Nagadeva

On the plains evening descended, and then night fell. The car streaked ahead through the night towards a small bubble of light, warmth, food and company—our home in Jammu. Far behind up in the mountains, Khajjiar lay dreaming in the lap of its mother.

This is the Pir Panjal mountain range running from east-southeast to west-northwest across Himachal Pradesh. The highest peak in this lower Himalayan range is Indrasan (6221m). Further to the right should be Dhauladhar behind the bend.Nowhere in between I could detect any sign of human civilization—it seemed to be all the way wilderness...