6th of August – 10:00 am by the clock, Vladimir & Estragon picked themselves up to walk outside their den (The Hosteller). There was a third person too making them a group of three all sharing an unnerving silence in peace. They walked on the road like tramps with backpacks hurled on their back – that baggage they had carried from distant lands & loved to bring them over & over again to the mountains. Looking for a bus to take them to Tosh, they relished some time by the lively roads of Kasol, dotted with shops on either side. There was this one particular shop that interested Vladimir. This was unlike any other shop in the mountains, especially in the Himalayan belt, a shop from where you could procure instruments. Since Kasol is home to “Mini Israel”, the influx of foreigners brought with them a lot of old curiosity shops & their share of interests.

Vladimir walked into the shop to find out about that one instrument he had been on hunt of. He finally found a purpose, at least visibly on his face. He exercised that kind of control, before jumping to a decision as he inadvertently weighed things within, for way too long & there he was looking for a hang drum inside the shop. Testing the ones on display, he played a couple of them with his artistic fingers, creating ripples of sounds – he checked them all. After a long investigative chat with the owner, he discovered where he procured his stock from.  A man called Allahabad, in some far-off village in Benaras. The thought of Benaras, was the second-best thing that lighted up his face today. Meanwhile, Estragon quickly vaporized outdoors to check for the bus, until Vladimir walked out too.

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