We leave the hills believing it is temporary.
For education.
For work.
For a better life.
We tell ourselves we will return when time allows.
But the truth is—we never truly leave.
The Hills Stay with Us
Long after the mountains disappear from view, they remain present. In the way we miss quiet. In the way noise feels heavier than it should. In the way the sky in cities never feels wide enough.
The hills stay in memory—in smells of rain, in sudden silences, in the longing we cannot always explain.
They wait patiently, knowing distance does not weaken belonging.
What the Hills Give, and Cities Cannot
The hills teach us restraint.
They teach us to listen.
They teach us to accept seasons rather than fight them.
In the hills, life does not chase growth endlessly. It understands balance. It knows when to rest.
Perhaps that is why, no matter how far we go, something inside us grows restless. The pace of elsewhere never quite fits the rhythm we once knew.
The Call That Never Stops
There is no single moment when the call begins. It arrives quietly—when city life feels overwhelming, when success feels incomplete, when silence becomes rare.
It arrives when we remember morning light over Almora.
When we remember village paths in Lamgara.
When we remember forests that listened in Jageshwar and Binsar.
When we remember kitchens that fed more than hunger.
The hills do not call loudly.
They persist.
Return Is Not Failure
Many fear returning because they mistake it for retreat.
But returning to the hills is not giving up.
It is remembering what matters.
Some return permanently. Others return briefly. Some return only in stories, songs, or words written late at night.
The hills accept every form of return.
Why We Belong
Because the hills ask nothing excessive.
Because they allow us to be small without feeling insignificant.
Because they remind us that life does not need to be hurried to be meaningful.
In the hills, we are not defined by achievement.
We are defined by presence.
The Journey Continues
We will leave again. Life demands it.
But we will also return—
to walk familiar roads,
to sit in silence without discomfort,
to look at mountains that do not change even when we do.
Because the hills are not a destination.
They are home.
Epilogue — Kumaun Never Leaves You
You may forget dates.
You may forget distances.
But you will never forget how the hills made you feel.
And that is why—
no matter how far we go,
we always return.