LISTEN TO THE WIND
Setting: the Sherpa village of Khumjung, at 3, 600 m above sea level, Khumbu region, in the lap of Mt. Everest
At 13, Dawa does not have usual boy interests. His parents Lhakpa and Phuti are peasants who don’t understand him and worry. Dawa’s best friend is an old nomad, from whom the boy learns about nature and life, who is slowly losing his sight. He is Buddhist, as are all Sherpas, but his is personal attitude to nature and life, in keeping with a life lived in this rugged terrain.
The nomad’s favourite exhortation to Dawa is: Listen to the wind… It never lies nor does it scream the truth.
Dawa transfers to middle school, in Khumjung, built by Sir Edmund Hillary, first Everest summiter. Dawa is apprehensive about the change, and he will have less time for his nomad friend. The old nomad expresses his desire to see one last time metok Kalma, the white rhododendron that blooms in the higher pastures of the region. The boy silently pledges to make it happen.
Numerous obstacles stand in his way, such as the difficulty of finding the flower; a gang of boys who pick on Dawa, and pressure from his parents who do not understand him.
In the face of such tribulations, will he be able to listen to the wind?