A Surprise Snowfall and a Sky Full of Stars

Hey there lovely hivers!

Last month was straight out of a Bollywood movie for me ,you know the ones where friends randomly meet after years, go on a trip, and nature itself decides to throw in a few magical surprises?
Well, something similar happened.

I was in Chandigarh for a friend’s wedding. Trust me, North Indian weddings never disappoint. The food, the music, the drama, everything was top-notch. But the real cherry on top was meeting my school friends after ages.

Somewhere between the third round of wedding snacks and the 47th group photo, one of my friends from Shimla suddenly dropped the idea. “Let’s go to Narkanda tomorrow.”
And just like that, without thinking about our, assignments, or classes we all said yes.

The Great Escape to Narkanda

Next morning, we were all running on excitement, caffeine, and absolutely no planning. We just stuffed ourselves into our cars and took off towards Narkanda. The whole drive was pure madness ,loud music, non-stop chatter, random chai breaks at every other dhaba.
it felt less like a road trip and more like a moving circus, and we loved every second of it.

And then, as if the mountains wanted to welcome us personally, it started snowing.
Not the just-a-few-flakes kind of snow, it was proper snowfall. For some of us , it was the first time ever seeing snow falling like that.
We literally ran out of the cars, screaming like crazy, catching snowflakes like kids who had never seen snow before. It was freezing, yes, but our excitement kept us warm enough.

The town looked like something out of a postcard. White roofs, misty trees, and that fresh snowy smell in the air. We spent the day slipping, sliding, throwing snow at each other (and at some poor tourists who became collateral damage), clicking a thousand pictures, and eating hot Maggi at a tiny roadside stall because nothing beats snow and pakoras with chai (Tea) , trust me.

After the crazy day, we bundled up in layers and sat outside at night. And oh my God, the sky.
I am from Delhi where “star gazing” basically means looking at one sad blinking plane. But here in Narkanda, the sky was absolutely packed with stars, thousands of them.

It felt like someone had spilled glitter all over the sky. We just lay there on the cold ground, trying to spot constellations (and failing miserably), sharing stories, laughing till our stomachs hurt, and soaking in the beauty we rarely get to see in our city lives.

The next morning, after soaking in the chilly mountain air one last time, we sat down with steaming cups of coffee and a simple but delicious breakfast at a local dhaba.
There was a comfortable silence, the kind where everyone knows the trip was special and words would just ruin it.

Reluctantly, we packed our bags, hugged goodbye to the snow-covered wonderland, and began our journey back to Delhi, back to reality, traffic, deadlines, and boring skies.

But Narkanda gave us something precious. Memories, a little bit of snow in our hair, stardust in our hearts, and a promise that we would never wait another ten years to do something crazy again.