Full Moon Eclipse in Upper Bhagsu

It's midnight; the moon has another hour in which to disappear and I have as much time to write by its light. High in the Bhagsu Valley, various sounds emanate. Birds burning the midnight oil chirp quietly amongst themselves. The distant sounds of drumbeats echo across to my perch, mixing with the laughter of the late night cafe dwellers. The occasional whoop and moon howl are carried to me on the windless night, although this moon is gentle; there are no loud trance parties anywhere near us. I think others have traveled to Manali and the Parvati Valley for such occasions and I'm glad for the gentle peace that remains. Possibly it's the guesthouse I'm at; the two Frenchies, a Venezuelan and I are more content to sit and watch the moon before getting a reasonably early night, than to stay up all night jamming. A dog barks and I see the white patches of a cat quicken their pace on the lawn below. I want to stay up until I can write no more.

I have just come from Shivam's full moon musical celebration, where a wonderful harmonium player jammed with various drummers and the orange clad baba from down the hill whose voice crescendoed as they sang some devotionally rockin bhajans while we sipped chai and lemon ginger honey. I joined in and felt my whole body vibrate with the sounds within and around me, although I knew none of the words. All the while, Shivam sat on his orange blanket, twisting his hands into various mudras and swaying his body devotionally, stopping occasionally to pay homage to the many portraits of his teacher that adorned the walls.

Such are the contrasts in this valley - you can find anything you want really. On my walk to Shivam's, I was tempted to stay in Roza and be part of an impromptu sitar and flute concert - instead I drank one of their famous masala chais before trekking up, and up, and up. Others told me about a rooftop party somewhere to the left of me, while the more adventurous had opted to trek to Triund and sleep in a cave to see the eclipse from there.

Back in the present moment, the moon is a crescent for a while before turning into an orange pac-man. There are no clouds around for him to eat though - by this time Federico has come home and is amazed to learn of the disappearing moon - we watch awefully (as opposed to awfully) from the steps below my room, wondering aloud whether or not the moon will reappear, and from which direction...

At 1.15 I give up and make for my bed, happy to have watched the moon nearly disappear from view. I leave the tiny orange sliver to disappear completely and curl up in my puddle of blankets, asleep instantly in the small family house...