Trek Himachal

Jango Ram

Residence: Siddh Bari, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

Profession: Trek Guide

In old Hindu tradition, when a new born was given a name, the name was slowly whispered into the baby's ear. It was believed this would inculcate the traits the name epitomized into the baby. I am sure something similar was done to Jango and by jove, it worked and worked darned well. Born Phanga Ram; Phanga is Pahadi for wing, Jango does have wings and very strong wings. He has used these wings for the last 25 years to fly around all the mountain passes Himalayas in Himachal have managed to throw his way. He started guiding trekkers back sometime around in 1983, at that time without any training. Later, a training came his way at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Dharamshala, not that it was needed.

Born in Kuvarasi, Jango is a Chamba Gaddi by lineage. His father had moved to Dharamshala earlier, quite possibly via the Indrahar trail and bought some land there. Jango has spent most of his life in Siddh Bari, such life as a man who is forever on the road can spend in a single place. It would be better to say he has a place there which he visits once in a while when he is not visiting the rest of Himachal. At 44, with all the wisdom of the mountains in his head, this man is more than pleasant company, he is exciting company. Beware though, his physique is pretty misleading. If he does not get introduced to you as a trek guide, it is difficult to imagine this portly man as a trek guide who walks strenuous mountain trails for days on end. Father of 3, husband of 1, guide for many, Jango runs his household from income as a guide, some farming in Siddh Bari and Kuvarasi and small trading of commodities like rajmah, walnuts.

It is not the 25 years that matter in Jango's case. It is the unadulterated pleasure he derives from being on the road and infects you with, that is material. There are others with similar experience in terms of years available to guide you but there is only one Jango. He knows almost everyone he meets on the trail, in villages as distant as Surai, Silhabdhani, Himri and everywhere else. And everyone he does not know, he makes a point to talk to and know, so that he knows them for the next time. A more resourceful man never walked the passes of the Himachal Himalayas. Having trekked twice with him, I have seen him pick apples from his own orchards in Kuvarasi, steal tomatoes close to Holi, ask for radish in Jhatingri, for corn in Gramang and do a lot more. I will also admit that I have participated in each of the stealing ventures with him, my apologies go out to the land owners we stole from, it was irresistible. A guide with Jango's experience would normally ask the trekkers to take along a full complement of a trekking team - porters, cook et al. If Jango can avoid, he avoids the usual trekking jing bang. Of course, provided you are willing to share the extra load and effort with him, assist in cooking and partly live on whatever nature offers. In short, if you are willing to travel as an equal and the trail has some population, places to stay, no extras are needed, only the star cast suffices. If that means 5 consecutive meals of kidney beans and rice, so be it.

A master at reading people, Jango gauges your trekking ability and your idea of a trekking holiday in no time. You better be the outgoing, wanting to know all, wanting to experience all once kind if you want to max Jango's company. If you are, get ready for a drink of the locally brewed liquour at each village, a drink of Dhrubdi or substitute wherever possible, possibly a whiff of cannabis smoke, legends and stories of all the local gods, stories of tourists getting stuck at various passes, Jango's adventures with army treks.

The man has plenty to offer and lives life large, it all depends on how much do you want and can extract. For experiencing Jango, call +91-9816214339. Be patient for Jango might be travelling and out of coverage area.

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