few journeys and a naked soul

Kerela - Backwater Experience

2011-12-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Day 4 - Sunset at Kumarakom

Our Backwater experience of Kerela began as we drove towards Kumarakom on the 4th day of our Kerela trip. Kumorakom is a small tourist village set in the backdrop of Vembanad lake. Going from Kottayam towards Kumarakom, we could see the narrow water channels sandwiched between the road and row of small picture-perfect Kerelan houses. We could also see small canoe-like boats tied in front of almost every house, evidently the preferred mode of transport.

We reached Tharavadu Heritage home which had near perfect reviews at trip-adviosr. After our day's stay, there we have no reason to refute any of the good things written about the place. From our first impression, as we entered the gates of the 120 year old traditional Kerela home, to the hospitality of the staff and owners, the quality of food, the location, we liked it all. The fact that all this came at a price which was within our budget was an added bonus.

The main accommodation is within the neat structure of the heritage home. The heritage AC rooms for 2500 Rs looked really spacious and comfortable. But we choose to stay in one of the bamboo cottages (1500 Rs per night.) which are a bit separated from the main building by lots of trees and bamboo plants. It was a picturesque cottage surrounded by lots of greenery, and a small fish pond (not sure whether to call it pond or puddle) but it looked beautiful anyways. The room was neat and open and very well lit. We settled in quickly and ordered our lunch. I decided to try some fish after the wholly vegetarian diet for 3 days. The fried fish tasted as good as it looked (no offense to the departed soul).

Our plan to explore the surroundings had to wait for an hour because of rains. When we did finally venture out, it was almost sunset time, and we decided to enjoy the sunset near the lake, which was only 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Right across the street is the ferry terminal along the side of the narrow water channel that leads straight to the lake. There were plenty of houseboats parked on the channel, while many other made their way back after the day's excursion.

The first view of the lake was truly breathtaking. I hadn't expected the lake to be so huge. As it turns out Vembanad lake is the largest lake in Kerela, and supposedly the longest lake in India. The lake was made all the more beautiful by the countless lilies and hyacinth floating on the surface of the lake. The yellow, orange and blue shades of the setting sun provided the perfect backdrop. We were left completely mesmerized and I felt like we were finally getting to see the Kerela as advertised in all those travel magazines and websites. There was a small church at the edge of the lake. We sat on its short boundary wall with our legs hanging over the lake, wishing we never had to move from there. Sitting there we had another pleasant surprise. Vasu suddenly noticed a head bobbing out of the lake, then another and then yet another. They turned out to be a family of otters playing in the lake. Too bad, they never popped up long enough to let me take a good photograph.

As it started to get dark, we noticed many small boats carrying 2 people each heading towards the lake. One of the boat crew told us that they were going to fish. We asked if we can come along and he laughed saying that they would be gone all night. At that moment I thought he was just joking, but later at the houseboat we learnt the same thing, that the fishermen indeed spend the whole night fishing in the lake and return by first light, after which the houseboats and other bigger vessels start plying on the waters.

On the way back, we tried to rent a houseboat for the next day to take us to Alleppey. All the houseboats, were asking for a steep rate due to Diwali holidays.We also didn't quite like the inside of the few houseboats that we checked. We figured it was best to rent a houseboat at Alleppey. But even that seemed unlikely at the moment given the sudden rush due to Diwali holidays.

Back at the hotel, we asked the hotel staff about the nearby places to see. They advised us to visit Kumarakom bird sanctuary early in the morning. We also got timings of the public ferry that runs between Kottayam and Alleppey. The hotel staff was most helpful in providing any help or information that we needed. For dinner, I ordered Kerelan fish curry with rice. After the delicious fish fry in the afternoon, I couldn't wait to try some more fish, but I had no idea, Kerelan fish curry was going to be too hot to handle. It was tasty but the more I ate the more it burnt the insides of my stomach. In the end I had to drink almost a litre of water, and when that didn't help I ended up eating a full bowl of sugar, before I could go to sleep. So here is a tip straight from my heart - guys unless you have been brought up on tabasco peppers, dont try Kerelan fish curry if you have any love for your stomach and intestines. Go for coconut curry instead.

Day 5 - Diwali on Vembanad Lake

It was the first time in my life, and I don't imagine it happening anywhere else, that I spent almost the entire day and night on the waters of a lake. We got up while it was still dark, hoping to get to Kumarakom bird sanctuary with the first light of the day. We boarded a bus from the front of the hotel that dropped us at the bird sanctuary for 10 Rs. At the sanctuary, we were told that there aren't many birds inside the sanctuary at this time of the year, and we would be better off hiring a boat to take us around the sanctuary. I had my doubts about the sincerity of his advice, but I went with it anyways. We hired a boatman cum guide for the tour for 250 Rs for an hour, may be bit steep price, but I wasn't really in a bargaining mood.

I would easily rate this boat ride as our best experience in Kerela. It was a small boat though bigger than the small canoes a lot of fishermen were using, propelled and steered by a long pole by the boatman standing at the back of the boat. The boatman who was a retired army jawan also doubled up as the local guide, who had more than sufficient knowledge about the birds. Vasu was quite amazed at his ability to identify a bird even at a distance at which we could barely make out any distinctive feature. Initially, we moved along a wide water channel, and then joined the main lake. The guide took keen interest in spotting birds and pointing them to us, explaining their names, distinctive features and habits. I wish I could say I remember any of it, but I do remember seeing two purple heron (which are supposedly rare), and plenty of indian pond heron, cormorants, ducks, egrets, and some others.

Remember or not, I had an absolutely wonderful time, spotting these magnificent birds and trying to capture them with my camera. Even more than that, I loved the way our boat glided between the beautiful lilies, on the absolutely stunning lake on a clear day. And after the Periyar madness, I especially enjoyed the fact that there was absolutely no one else there apart from us. To use the cliche, I felt as if I was in nature's lap, the time holding still while we glided slowly across the lake, listening to bird calls instead of the usual traffic horns, a feeling of peace soaking into our souls, healing the scars left by the craziness of a city life. This is what a vacation is all about, to find a place, where time is no longer a precious commodity, where there is no hurry to get anywhere. To find a place where you can sit all day doing virtually nothing, without experiencing even a hint of boredom. For me, Kumarakom is definitely such a place, one which I would like to visit again and again to spend some quite time.

The boat tour also took us in front of a few resorts that were built right on the shores of the lake. For the first time I was actually tempted to stay in one of these, especially Taj that was right in the nesting area, and Kumarakom lake resort that had beautiful lake view cottages. For all the positive things about Tharavadu, one negative is that it was some distance from the lake. Ofcourse, the biggest negative with these resorts being that they are way out of my pocket, and I quite appreciated the homely feel that Tharavadu had.

As we moved into a very narrow channel right alongside Taj, our guide opened an umbrella for us. He explained that we were entering the nesting area of cormorants, and the umbrella was to protect us from the countless droppings that would be fired upon us. In the end, looking at the state of the umbrella, I was really grateful that he had this foresight. Along this canal, on a number of trees, we could see numerous nests being occupied by cormorant families. Our trip lasted for about two hours, and I was so delighted by the experience, that I offered an extra 100 Rs tip apart from the 500 Rs.

After that we had idlis at a nearby shop, took a bus back to the hotel and checked out. The hotel owner advised us to take a taxi to Kottayam as there was no direct bus to the ferry terminal, but by now we were really in backpacker mode, ready to slog it out. As we moved out of the hotel with our rucksack, a bus was already waiting at the bus stop, and we had to run to catch it. As I was standing in front of the bus with Vasu, she pointed out the strange fact that all the women were seated or standing in the front of the bus, while all the men were on the back side, and perhaps I was supposed to follow the same scheme. It took us 30 mins to reach Kottayam, which seemed like a crowded metropolitan after the quite Kumarakom. At the bus station, a friendly co-passenger lead us to another bus which would take us to the ferry terminal. Overall, I found that buses in Kerela, were quite cheap, well connected, frequent and easy to use.

At the ferry terminal, we were told that the public ferry to Alleppey that we waned to take has been canceled. It was quite a shock to hear that, after all the effort we had spent in getting to Kottayam specially for the ferry, when we could have reached Alleppey by road in the same amount of time. Luckily, a group of locals, who were also waiting for the same ferry, hired a private boat and invited us to share the cost with them. Though, I would have liked to experience the public ferry, the ride turned out pretty well, both of us choosing to sit on the roof of the boat.

Initially, the boat traveled through narrow water channels, with houses on both side of it. An interesting thing was that there were small draw bridges built over the channel to connect the two sides, and everytime our boat had to pass through, someone would rush to open the bridge by pulling a rope. Later on the channels started to open up in the main lake, presenting spectacular views. It took us nearly couple of hours to get to Alleppey and we reached there around noon.

At Alleppey, we got down near the Nehru Trophy Boat race start point, as I wanted to stay in one of the lake side huts. I called up Malayalam lake resort and few others that were recommended by tripadvisor. But seemed we were running out of luck. All of the resorts were fully booked, due to Diwali holidays. Earlier, I had tried renting a houseboat for the next day through a contact provided by a friend. Even, his response was that it was almost impossible to get a houseboat at this time and if we do get one it wouldn't be for anything less than 10K. So there we were, standing on the road with all our luggage, wondering what to do next, when a person approached us on a motorcycle, and asked if we were looking for a houseboat. I told him we were looking for a hotel, and our plan was to rent a houseboat tomorrow. He said he got a canceled houseboat booking for today and was willing to give it for 4500 Rs. That got me excited but I had half the doubt that at this price he would be renting me a decaying, smelling houseboat, so I asked him to show the houseboat first. What we had was a brand new looking, well furnished single room houseboat, just what we wanted. I could no longer contain my excitement, I wanted this boat, and I managed to further bargain it down to 4200 Rs. See this is what I talked about in the beginning, unexpected surprises when you go unplanned. One day earlier we couldn't get any booking at all, and the next day we got the houseboat cheaper than we ever expected. We wouldn't have received such a lucky break had we done either the houseboat or hotel booking in advance. But then it could have gone the other way too, and we were prepared to leave Alleppey without enjoying the houseboat experience at all.

The houseboat consisted of a living room in the front, a double bedroom in the middle, and a kitchen area towards the end. The houseboat had all required facilities like AC, water heater, shower, TV etc and was almost like a floating hotel. We settled in our room, while the houseboat staff prepared lunch for us. The lunch again was pretty delicious, the scenery adding to the whole experience. After lunch, we lifted anchor and took to the waters. We went around the Punnamada lake where Nehru Trophy Boat race is held. I sat on the front tip of the boat enjoying the views of the backwater life, capturing as much of it as I could with my camera. There was a lot of hustle bustle compared to the serenity of Kumarakom, houseboats moving to and fro, smaller boats carrying fishermen and locals, women washing clothes, kids swimming. We also saw some birds including kingfishers and herons, and the highlight was spotting a water snake.

By now we were quite used to the fact, that no matter what, it would start raining at exactly 4 pm every evening. Today was no exception, and it started really pouring. I have always loved rain, and rain in such green surroundings is most pleasing. Slowly we entered the main Vembanad lake. We could just make out the outlines of Kumarakom at the opposite end.

As the sun started to set, the staff parked the houseboat and started preparing for dinner. I requested them to prepare coconut fish curry as well. Vasu decided to learn the Kerelan recipes from the cook, while the beautiful sunset put me in the mood for some drinks. By now the lake was almost shining with the last light of the day, and in the distance I could see firecrackers going off in the sky. Fish curry was as good as any I have ever tasted, the Kerelan food continued to treat our taste buds. More often, we expect to compromise on food when away from home, but we will remember Kerela for food as much as for its natural beauty.

I almost passed out after dinner and woke up at around 3am. Immediately I was pissed to see that we were still parked at the same spot at which we had dinner. Somehow I had assumed that we would be moving all night on the lake, while we sit outside enjoying the cool breeze. I suspected that the staff was saving on diesel to make up for the low rate. I peeked outside through the window and the rest of the houseboats seemed to be anchored at one place as well. So this is what all of them do at night, stay at one place. I personally found it quite irritating, to me it would have been great fun to be cruising on the waters all night,.Whats the point of renting a houseboat instead of a hotel if it stays at one place all night. I expressed this point of view to the houseboat driver, who explained that they aren't allowed to move in the lake at night, as there are small fishing boats there.

Finally we started moving, after breakfast. We joined in the traffic of houseboats returning to Alleppey after the night's outing. This is the routine they follow day after day, moving off for the lake at noon and coming back the next morning.The houseboat dropped us at the same place from where we got an auto to Gowri Residence. It was almost in the middle of town not exactly a beautiful setting but I guessed this was the best we could do due to the rush. What also sold me is the fact that they offer free cycles to explore the town. Our backwater experience was over, short but sweet. Now it was time to explore the Kerelan beaches and that too on a cycle.....

Kerela - Planning Tips

2011-12-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is specially for my friends who are planning a trip to Kerela. Its an effort to put down information that might prove useful in deciding your plan.

Highlights :

1) Early morning boat ride on Vembanad Lake around Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

2) Experience Goa at Varkala beach and cliff-side

3) Houseboat stay at Alleppey

4) Treat your senses at Abraham Spice Garden, Kumily

Recommended :

1) Bamboo rafting on Periyar Lake ( leeches are a big problem during rains)

2) Ayurvedic massage with special oils

3) Kathakali Dance performance at Kumily

Tourist traps :

1) Over developed Kovalam Beach
2) Early morning boat ride at Periyar specially on weekends and holidays
3) Uninspiring Alleppey Beach

Places I missed out on :

1) Wayanad
2) Poovar

My planned itinerary (9 days) :

Day 1) early morning flight to Kochi - drive straight to Munnar(127 km) - sight seeing by car
Day2 ) Plan a trek to Atthukad waterfalls, visit Matupetty dam
Day 3) Early morning drive to Thekkady/Kumily (90 km) - bamboo rafting on Periyaar lake
Day 4) Explore kumily - kumily to Kumarakom (120km) - bid farewell to cab
Day 5) Kumarakom, go to Alleppey.
Day 6) Alleppey - overnight at houseboat
Day 7) Alleppey - kollam tourist cruise (8 hours) - to varkala by bus (30 km)
Day 8) bus to kovalam (60 km)
Day 9) trivandarum - evening flight to delhi

My actual trip :

Day 1) Fly to Kochi - to Munnar, enroute waterfall and spice garden visit, massage and dinner at Munnar Town
Day 2) Munnar sightseeing - Athukad Waterfall, speed boat ride on Matupetty dam lake, flower garden. Drive to kumily (Periyar Sanctuary)
Day 3) 11:30 am boat ride on Periyar lake, Abraham Spice Garden, Kathakali Dance at Mudra, Massage at Santhigiri Ayurveda
Day 4) 7 am Periyar boat ride, drive to Kumarokom, experience sunset at Vembanad lake
Day 5) boat ride around Kumarakom bird sanctuary, bus to Kottayam, public ferry to Alleppey, rented a house-boat for the night
Day 6) Alleppey beach, cycle ride to Marari Beach,
Day 7) took train from Alleppey to Varkala, swim at Varkala beach, sunset at Varkala
Day 8) Walk to fishing village at Varkala - train to Trivandarum - taxi to Kovalam - visit beach
Day 9) Kanyakumari, hanuman temple and padmanabhan palace enroute, evening flight to Delhi

Travel tips :

1) Kochi - Trivandarum route is well connected by public buses and trains. We find trains a fast and convenient way to travel on this route.

2) For detour towards Munnar and Kumily buses are available, but renting a cab seemed better option, as it is faster and comes handy for local sight-seeing. We booked a cab for 4 days at 1500 Rs per day from makemytrip. It included Kochi - Munnar - Kumily - Kumarakom with local sightseeing at Munnar and Kumily.

3) kottayam to Alleppey public ferry is a scenic way to reach Alleppey

4) We wanted to try public ferry from Alleppey to Kollam (for reaching Varkala) but 8 hours for a trip which can be done by 2 hours with a train seemed too long. If you have time at hand you might like to try it.

Munnar

Must do : Take a stroll through lush green tea gardens
Recommended : Flower garden, speed boat ride on Matupettey Dam Lake

Where to Stay : Avoid Munnar Town and try to stay near the plantations. We stayed at Ayur County which was nice but too far from Munnar to be worth it unless you are staying for long.

Where to eat : Sarvana Bhavan in Munnar Town, delicious meals at 60 Rs.

Tips : It can get a bit chilly - take light woollens.

Kumily/Thekkady/Periyar

Must do : Abraham Spice Gardens (try to get Mr Abraham to do the tour personally)

Recommended : bamboo rafting (booking at Ecotourism centre - avoid during rains) , kathakali dance (book early to get front seats, makeup start 30 minutes before show)

Avoid : weekend rush for the morning boat ride

Where to stay : We stayed at Coffee Inn and really liked the front cottage (1000 Rs/night). But there are plenty of equally good staying options in Kumily (both budget and expensive). Get there and take your pick unless its the peak season.

Where to eat : Plenty of places offering south indian meals. Chrissie's cafe served nice pizzas and pasta (slow service)

Boat ride on the Periyar Lake is the usual way of touring the sanctuary. Arrive atleast one hour early to get tickets. Boat timings : 7 am, 9:30am, 11:30 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. The 7am and 4 pm trips are for two hours. Rest are one hour each. Entry ticket available at park entry. Boat tickets available inside at separate counters for KTDC and forest department boats. Carry pen for filling forms.

Other options are bamboo rafting and trekking trips organized by Ecotourism centre. Interesting but avoid during rains - leeches are a nuisance. Some operators offer 4WD jeep safaris but since jeep safari are not allowed inside the park, we didn't try it.

Kumarakom

Must do : Visit Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary early in the morning. Frequent buses ply on the route. At the sanctuary, hire a 3-4 person boat to take you around the Sanctuary and spot birds on the Vembanad lake.

Recommended : Enjoy sunset at Vembanad lake next to ferry terminal.

Avoid : Booking a house-boat at Kumarakom. The houseboats at Allepey are much more tourist friendly, more abundant and generally cheaper

Where to stay : Heavily recommend Tharavadu Heritage Home (200 m from the lake) for medium budget travelers (1500 - 2500Rs) - we stayed in their bamboo cottage at 1500 Rs. If you want an AC room, then go for their heritage AC rooms at 2500 Rs. Otherwise there are plenty of high-end resorts right along the lake shore.

Where to eat : Best bet is at the resort. At tharavadu I tried fired fish which was delicious. Kerelan fish curry was rather too hot, try coconut fish curry instead.

Alleppey

Must do : the house-boat experience. Be prepared to shell out 6k (may be more in peak season) but well worth it. The trip starts at 12:00 pm, includes lunch, dinner and breakfast, and gets you back at 10 am the next day. Tip : look for houseboat with upper deck sitting area.

Recommended : Take a cycle ride around Alleppey town visiting the temples.
Boat ride along the back waters.

Avoid : Alleppey beach. Uninspiring and too rough for a swim

Where to stay : Finding an accommodation along the back waters proved difficult without advance booking. Malyalam Lake Resort is heavily recommended at Trip Advisor. We stayed at Gauri Residence which was in the middle of town, not a great location but the heritage home was decent.

Getting there tip : Although Alleppey is well connected by road and rail, you can try the public ferry from Kottayam to Alleppey (2 hours) through the scenic backwaters. There is also a tourist cruise from Kollam to Alleppey but that takes 8 hours and may get boring after a while.

Varkala

Must do : Take a swim ( but be careful the sea can be a little rough ), enjoy the beach experience

Get up early morning to see villagers haul in the catch of the day ( the fishing village lies ahead of black beach)

Recommended : Enjoy lunch on the sea facing restaurants perched on the cliff

Avoid : Getting too tanned. After cool Munnar and Thekkady, you are suddenly face to face with the sun. Keep your sun screens and hats handy.

Getting there : train takes 2 and a half hour from Alleppey to Varkala. Varkala cliffs are nearly 7 kilometers from the rail station ( 70 Rs by auto)

Where to stay : We stayed in Kerela Bamboo House in huts which we liked but might be too basic for most. There are plenty of other sea facing hotels on the cliff

Where to eat : We got hooked to pizzas and pastas served by Cafe del Mar. Plenty of restaurants display catch of the day, so go for it if you are a sea food lover

Shopping tip : There is plenty of jewelry and clothes for shopping. Dont buy anything above 50% of the quoted price. Even then you might be paying more but if you like it, its worth it.

Kovalam

Supposedly Kerela's most popular beach but I would advise to give it a miss altogether. Too much construction has destroyed the natural beauty of the place and we found the place too crowded. I would rather recommend visiting Poovar which is nearby (we didnt go there). Still if you can't resist it avoid the weekends when local tourists flock the beach.

Where to stay : The sea facing restaurants charge too much premium. Look for cheaper options at the back side. The room we got at Wilson Tourist home at 500 Rs was the most spacious of all the hotels we stayed in Kerela.

If you are willing to shell out some money, it would be worth it to spend on one of the upmarket resorts with a private beach. Uday Samudra and Taj Vivanta are recommended by friends.

To God's Own Country

2011-12-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Prologue

The traveler that I am, somehow God's own country, Kerela had remained elusive for me for quite long. My only visit to Kerela had been a long weekend drive from Bangalore to Kozhikode in Dec, 2006. Even before we entered the Kerelan border marked by swaying coconut trees, I had formed two opinions of the place, its very Green and very Hot even in the month of December. Over the next few days the explorer in me was slowly drowned in the resort's swimming pool, as my friends refused to step out of the resort's oasis into the day's heat. When I did finally manage to convince them to accompany me to Kappad beach (where Vasco-da-gama had first landed), the deserted beach occupied only by local fisherman failed to compete with the beautiful resort, and everyone except me unanimously decided that the swimming pool was a much better bet for a good swim. When we finally left after spending three days in the resort, I felt as cheated as eating paranthewali gali's paranthas in a south delhi mall.

On this short trip, I carried back with me three misconceptions about Kerela :
1) Its too hot to be visited any other time of the year except Dec to Feb.
2) Being a coastal state, its tough to get vegetarian food
3) the place would generally fail to live upto its hype as the top tourist destination in India.

As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong on all three accounts :)

Anyways, to cut a long story shot, I decided to take full use of two holidays at Diwali, to plan a full week trip to Kerela (22nd Oct to 30th Oct). After going through my Lonely Planet and couple of other travel books, it seemed it was almost a no-brainer to arrive at the list of places that I wanted to visit. These included Wayanad, Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom, Alleppey, Varkala, Kovalam and Thiruvananthapuram (trivandarum). I had to drop Wayanad as it was bit out of way and increased my traveling distance considerably. Second decision was to choose between a self-driven circuit from Kochi to Kochi, rent a cab from kochi to thiruvananthapuram, or to use public transport to get around. As I failed to get a reasonable deal on either a bike or a self-driven car, and I wanted to keep my trip adventurous without going overboard, I opted to rent a car for the first four days, and to do on our own for the remaining five. The tentative itinerary started looking something like this :

Day 1) early morning flight to Kochi - drive straight to Munnar(127 km) - sight seeing by car
Day2 ) Plan a trek to Atthukad waterfalls, visit Matupetty dam
Day 3) Early morning drive to Thekkady/Kumily (90 km) - bamboo rafting on Periyaar lake
Day 4) Explore kumily - kumily to Kumarakom (120km) - bid farewell to cab
Day 5) Kumarakom, hire a houseboat to go to Alleppey.
Day 6) Alleppey
Day 7) Alleppey - kollam tourist cruise (8 hours) - to varkala by bus (30 km)
Day 8) bus to kovalam (60 km)
Day 9) trivandarum - evening flight to delhi

Over the years, both Vasu and I have realized that we like a bit of unpredictability during our trips. To achieve this, we generally stay well clear of any organized package kind of trips and we try to use public transport whenever possible to get around. But planning on your own, takes a fair bit of research to come up with the places you want to visit, tourist-traps you want to avoid, modes of available transport with route-maps and timetables, and a list of hotels you might stay in. I enjoy the planning part almost as much as the actual travel, and it really makes me look forward to being in the places I am reading about. The reward of all this effort is that we can plan an itinerary suited exactly to our taste and in the process save a bit of money as well. Also, public transport may not lead to the most comfortable or fastest way of traveling, but it allows us to explore the places more closely and throws in unexpected surprises, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but unforgettable all the same. To the same end, we also avoid making advance hotel bookings unless we are traveling in peak tourist season (which again we try to avoid) or traveling with parents. This allow us flexibility to stay longer in places we like and leave the places we don't like sooner than we had planned.

So my advance preparation included, booking a flight to Kochi with return flight from Trivandarum (@10K per person), first night hotel booking at Munnar ( Ayur county@1500 Rs recommended by my dear friend Deepak), and a cab to pick me up from Kochi airport and take me to Munnar, Thekkady with a final drop at Kumarakom from makemytrip @5700 Rs. Apart from this I collected information about the places from books & internet, heard first hand accounts of my friends who have been there, and printed maps and information that may come handy.

Day 1 (22nd Oct) - The Journey begins - Destination Munnar

Our journey began with an early morning flight to Kochi. The flight was pretty uneventful except for the fact that it was actually an international flight going on to Dubai, and there was some confusion when we were suddenly pointed to immigration area for departures. As it turned out there was almost a back door entry for such flights and we found ourselves in the duty free zone without going through immigration. As we walked out of Kochi airport, we were expecting someone from Makemytrip to meet us at the arrivals. This was my first experience with any such agency, and immediately I had to regret it, as we spent the next 15 mins trying to find anyone looking for us. Finally, I had to call makemytrip office, who were completely clueless. They gave me the number of the local company, who put the blame on makemytrip saying that they do have a booking but for a week later. Thankfully, they offered to send a car over, and after an hour of waiting or may be more, we were finally on our way to Munnar.The journey had started on a bad note, but that is not always such a bad thing, as I believe that on a long trip something or other is bound to go wrong and sooner the better. Thankfully, that was it, and the next 9 days were going to be the most amazing. Irony being that the problem occurred on the planned section of the trip, and the unplanned ones went smooth as silk.

Enroute to Munnar, a couple of my misconceptions were proven wrong straightaway. The weather was surprisingly nice and we stopped for a delicious vegetarian banana leaf meal, that would leave us literally licking our fingers ( actually they didn’t give any spoon so there was no other way). A vegetarian meal, served on a banana leaf, consisting of rice, sambhar, rasam, papad, pickles, butter milk and two vegetable preparations of the day. This was followed by a dessert called payassam, banana chips and some fresh bananas. A king's meal that costed us 50 Rs per person. As it turned out the vegetarian food was one of the best we had anywhere in India, and when I did try some fish it was equally delicious.

After a most satisfying lunch, we started the beautiful drive to Munnar on curvy roads flanked by impossible greenery on either side that threatened to engulf the road if not kept in check. The generous amount of rainfall and plenty of sunshine ensures that there is plush greenery anywhere you go in Kerela. Our driver for the trip was Verghese, a friendly fellow from Kochi who spoke decent Hindi. Only trouble was that as soon as we landed in his car, he also became our tour operator directing where we go, where we eat and where we stayed. I am sure this would be appreciated by lots of tourists, but being directed is exactly what we hate most. So, our tour started right away. We stopped at couple of waterfalls on the way. Then Verghese took us to a Spice Garden on the way. There were conducted tours for 100 Rs per person, where a guide showed you around and explained the intricacies of spice plantations. It was a nice experience but seemed too touristy and crowded. At the end of the short tour, you could buy locally produced spices, home-made chocolates, beauty products and health related products. I had a strong suspicion that the drivers get a fair amount of commission from the sale, as everyone was strongly motivated to convince their passengers to stop there. I cant comment about the quality and pricing of the products, but the home-made chocolates were really yummy. After that Verghese had planned an itinerary for us that included Kathakali dance performance, followed by Martial arts performance, followed by full body massage, followed by dinner at Munnar town - all this even before we landed at our booked hotel for the day :) We decided to say no to Kathakali and martial arts show as we felt tired after the long drive, but were tempted by the massage option.

A few kilometers before Munnar town, the haphazard greenery gave way to manicured tea plantations on either side. The tea plantations with uniformly sized plants form a green colored carpet with dark criss crossing walking paths forming delicately beautiful patterns. Most of the tea plantation in Munnar is owned by Tata. The surroundings are beautiful, though Munnar town itself is quite uninspiring. We went straight to Mayura massage center, where both of us settled for a 90 minute massage + steam bath package that costed us 1000 bucks each. Massage was pretty relaxing, though I have nothing to compare it against, this being my first experience. Yes I have been to thailand and No I was not brave enough to go for much more tempting Thai massage. Guess my Indian roots made sure, the first one to roam his hands all over my oily body had to be a guy. Anyways, I was satisfied that I was finally doing something on a trip which was good for my body instead of the usual punishment that it goes through under harsh sun, bitter cold and dusty roads.

We wanted to try Sarvana Bhavan for dinner, but our driver again managed to lead us into a restaurant of his choice. No doubt he got some paybacks from the restaurant (may be a free meal), and I am equally sure he got some commission from the massage place. He was disappointed to know that we already had a room booking. Otherwise, he would have got us a nice, cheap room at a friend's hotel, he said. It was almost 9 and started to rain by the time we reached our hotel at Ayur county which was located at a very pretty location, but too far from the main town to suit the needs of travelers like us who just needed to spend the night. It had been a long day for us and we only had energy for a quick bath before going to bed. Munnar being a hill-station can get quite chilly at night and we had to ask for extra blankets to make sure we slept cozily. Our original plan was to reach the hotel at lunchtime, and we could only manage to get there at bedtime. Already we were not going to plan, and this only meant that it was going to be a fun trip....

Day 2 (23rd Oct) - Exploring Munnar

We woke up early on Sunday to a beautiful morning. There was a slight chill in the air but the sun felt great.We decided to have our breakfast out on the terrace which had a lovely view of the surrounding tea plantations. There was a signboard at the resort which pointed to a short trek to a lake downhill. I would have loved to spend some time exploring the picturesque surroundings on foot but our driver Verghese was still in charge of our tour planning and he was already ready with the car.

The first stop for the day was a waterfall on the way to Munnar town. I felt the one we saw on the Kochi-Munnar route was more beautiful than this one, as the natural look of the waterfall was spoiled by some high fencing. Anyway, Verghese got a nice opportunity to wash his car, while we decided to walk ahead and take a stroll amidst the beautiful tea gardens.

Enroute, we also stopped at a quite location between the tea gardens. We decided to venture into the plantation using the narrow walkways that workers use to pluck tea leaves by hand. A short walk away there was a big rock that we climbed on. We sat there for some time, enjoying the lovely view and cool breeze coupled with warm sunshine. I felt really peaceful, so different from the maddening Delhi crowd. I could have spent the whole day, just sitting there, doing nothing at all. Meanwhile, Vasu and I started dreaming about owning a small house in that lush greenery.

Next we stopped at the Flower Garden which had an amazing collection of flowers and decorative plants. I would recommend it to all nature lovers. Vasu was completely mesmerized and wanted to bring back all the beautiful plants with her. Although she couldn't carry any plant, she did carry enough motivation to create a nice little collection of her own in our house along with a small kitchen garden in front. Then Varghese took us to an elephant camp, where you can take an elephant ride through tea plantations. Vasu refused to ride any elephant for fun as she believed it was against the dignity of such magnificient creatures. Obviously Verghese failed to see her logic and tried his best to convince us to go for the ride, but its almost impossible to make her give any ground in such matters.

After that we went to the Mattupetty dam. The road goes right over the dam, with the reservoir lake on one side of the road, and the dam gates releasing water on the other. We also took speed boat ride on the lake which lasted around 20 minutes. The driver did his best to make the ride more adventurous than it needed to be by taking frequent sharp turns.

Next Verghese wanted to take us to Echo point and Eravikulam National Park. But by this time we had enough of the touristy circuit. Our original plan was to spend the night at Munnar, and leave early morning for Thekkady. Instead of the normal boat trip on Periyar lake, I wanted to do the full day bamboo rafting + trekking trip organized by Ecotourism Centre. I figured it would be difficult to reach in time for the bamboo rafting if we leave in the morning. So we decided to take lunch in Munnar Town and leave for Kumily after that. We insisted on going to Sarvana Bhavana for lunch and were well rewarded with a delicious south indian thaali for only 50 Rs. By the time we finished, it had started raining.We were told later that there are two monsoon season in Kerela, June and July when it rains non-stop, and October when it rains every evening.

According to Google maps, Munnar to Kumily is around 90km with a traveling time of 2 hours.We learnt that the time suggested by Google needed to be multiplied by a factor of 2 to arrive at the actual time it would take to travel between any two places in Kerela. The road from Munnar to Kumily twists and turns for almost the entire route. The route seemed even more greener in heavy rainfall. It took us almost four hours to get to Kumily and it was already dark by the time we got there.As we entered Kumily, it seemed the only reason the place existed was for tourists. It was a small strip of hotels, spice shops, tour companies and souvenir shops. We decided to stay at Coffee Inn which was recommended by Lonely Planet. I really liked the small bamboo hut which was quite secluded and peaceful. We booked the hut for two nights at Rs 1000 per night.

After that we went to Ecotourism Centre to book our bamboo rafting tour, but were disappointed to learn that there were only 10 seats out of which only one was remaining. We left our numbers with them just in case there was any cancellation, and went to have dinner at Chrissie's Cafe. As we waited for our pizzas, we started talking to a foreigner who had taken the bamboo rafting tour that day. Her experience had not been pleasant though, mainly because of too many leeches in the forest. She said she is generally not too worried about one or two leeches, but this was really nasty. She had bite marks all over her legs and some leeches even managed to crawl up to her back. So many leeches were getting into their shoes, that she and her friends had to walk bare-feet. I could empathize with her, having gone through the same ordeal when I attempted a trek from Chakrata to nearby Tiger Falls during monsoons. The hotel owner had tried to warn us about the leeches but we had acted tough and ignored his advise to go by car instead. We had barely managed to cover 1 km, and already I must have pulled atleast 50 leeches from my legs. We had to beat a quick retreat and when we finally managed to reach back, I had another 6 leeches hiding between my toe fingers which had gone all red. Now listening to her experience, we thanked our stars that we were saved from a similar stunt. I guess bamboo rafting would be the best way to explore the lake, but due to rains, this was not the right time for trekking.We played a game of chess before the pizza arrived. Pizza was quite delicious and we ended up ordering one more. After that we walked back to the hotel and nestled into our hut for a good night's sleep.

Day 3 (24rd Oct) - Periyar Lake Safari

With bamboo rafting out of the way, we slept till quite late in the day. In the night, I was woken up by the sound of what seemed like rats running around the space between the roof tiles and wood ceiling. Except that they seemed much bigger than rats. The guy at the reception told us that a family of civets had taken refuge in that cottage. So we got to share our cottage with wild animals - pretty cool. After getting ready, we felt like having Idli for breakfast but it turned out that Idli was easier to find in Delhi than in Kerela. We ended up having Dosa instead. Till then Verghese had arrived with the car, and we drove to the sanctuary gate. Unlike most other National Parks & Sanctuaries, there is no jeep safari inside Periyar. Rather, the most common way of touring the Sanctuary is through boat trips organize by KTDC or Forest Department on Periyar Lake. Other option is to join treks organized by Ecotourism Centre.

The forest department at Periyar has come up with the most hilarious and frustrating system. First, you are supposed to buy individual and vehicle entry tickets at the sanctuary gate. 3-4 km from there is the ticket office for the boats. Now entry to the park doesn't guarantee that you will get a boat ticket, and when number of tourists is more than the available boat seats, this system creates such a mad rush for the boat tickets, that you don't know whether to laugh or tear your hair off. To top it off, there is no advance booking, even for the same day. The tickets are given only for the next available trip. This chaos is at its worst for the 7am boat because it has the reputation of offering best sighting opportunities. Also, there are KTDC boats, which cost 45Rs and Forest department boats which cost 15Rs per person. The boat timings are 7am, 9:30 am, 11:30am, 2pm and 4pm. Out of these, 7am and 4pm trips are for two hours and rest are for an hour.

We were spared the worst of this chaos today, as we had arrived at the gates around 9am hoping to catch the 9:30am boat. After buying the entry tickets, we drove till the car parking. The boat ticket office was around 500m from there.Since the forest department boats were closed for maintenance, the only option was to go for KTDC trips.There was a decent size queue for the ticket and before our turn came the 9:30am tickets were already gone. Since 4pm trip was for 2 hours, we tried to get those instead of 11:30,am but no advance booking was allowed. You are required to fill in the names, age, address and other details of all the passengers in a form. The operator at the ticket counter then takes ages to get all this information into a computer, before you are finally issued the ticket. I am not quite sure, what the department does with all this information. It was disheartening to know that even in the most literate state of India, the Government departments continue to work in the most inefficient way possible, with no regard to the convenience of the people.

After getting the tickets, we went near the lake to wait for our boat ride, which was still 90 minutes away. We saw couple of bamboo rafts being pushed into the water, each carrying 5 people. The rafts were just few pieces of bamboos tied together that looked too small and delicate to be floating with 5 persons on aboard. It sure looked fun but I was sure they would have a hellish time trekking back with all those leeches waiting to suck their blood. All of the people abroad the rafts were foreign tourists and I wondered if all those Indian tourists waiting for the boat were too scared or too smart to be traveling by rafts instead.

With so much time to pass, we were thoroughly entertained by a group of monkeys who just wouldn't stop monkeying around. They had so much energy and they kept screaming and running around and chasing each other, it looked like they had a bottle of whiskey each. They kept everyone occupied with their antics till it was time to board the boats.

There were two types of KTDC boats, double decker ones, and smaller ones. We were glad to find ourselves in the smaller ones which got us nearer to the action. Finally started our safari, which was a pleasant experience, with lovely views of the lake (which was much bigger than it appeared initially). The animal sightings were limited to a couple of wild elephants, a herd of sambar deer and a group of wild boars, all of them seen from pretty far off. Besides that there were numerous varieties of birds in the the lake. Highlight of the trip came when a small tortoise popped up on top of a submerged tree trunk to give us a pose before jumping back into the lake.

When we got back to the parking, Verghese was now where to be found, so we decided to walk to the gate through the forest. We had gone only a kilometer when we spotted our green Indica coming towards us. Verghese clarified that he thought the ride was for two hours. We told him we didn't mind the walk at all. We had another satisfying banana leaf meal, which was by now our staple diet.

After that we decided to pay a visit to Abraham's Spice Garden which was heavily recommended by Lonely Planet. Verghese tried to persuade us to go to a nearby Spice garden instead, but by now we had enough of his ideas, and stuck to our original plan. But on the way, he did manage to convince us to buy a couple of tickets for the Kathakali Dance performance in the evening. Abraham's Spice Garden was around 5 km from Kumily and from outside looked similar to the one we had been to in Munnar. But am I glad that we went there because it turned up to be one of our most memorable experience in Kerela, highlighting the fact that a little bit of personal touch can go such a long way in making a routine experience so special. We were also lucky to have Mr Abraham guide us personally around his 54 year old, 1-hectare garden. For the next one hour, our senses were on over drive, as Mr Abraham made us smell, taste and touch a variety of herbs and spices, starting from cardamom, cinnamon, cocoa, clove, ginger, vanilla, curry leaves, and a lot of aromatic flowers and leaves. I was also brave enough to try a small green pepper which was pretty hot. I really enjoyed putting fresh cardamom seeds into my mouth. Mr Abraham also seemed pretty pleased in finding a knowledgeable audience in Vasu, and shared his years of experience openly. Though Vasu was more interesting in finding out names of every other plant, and how fast they grow, and how they are used, I was content with smelling and tasting everything that Mr Abraham declared safe enough.

Later, Mr Abraham was kind enough to invite us to his home, and shared stories about his garden, about how Abraham's Spice Garden was voted in the top 8 most interesting plantations in Asia by some book. He also mentioned that though he gets plenty of foreign tourists, most of the Indian tourists are actually redirected to other plantations that sell products and give commissions to drivers. He also showed us a lot of wood carvings that he carves out of some red wood as a hobby. Some of them were pretty good including Gandhiji and a swan. We also talked about relevance of traditional medicine system in modern times. He said that Ayurveda is more a way of living than a medicinal system, that needs to be followed everyday, rather than only when you get sick. Most people of our age don't have that much patience and hence go for allopathic medicines which give fast result. A lot of medicinal herbs were part of their daily cooking which combined with pure surroundings enable him to live healthy.We had spent quite a lot of time but hadn't had enough, so we went back to the garden with Mr Abraham's permission, to get a final taste of cardamom and a whiff of all the lovely smells.

Since, we had some time before the evening dance performance, we went to Shanthigiri Ayurveda. The place is recommended by Lonely Planet and was also recommended by Mr Abraham as a nice place for Ayurvedic treatments and massages. Since Vasu has a back problem, we consulted a doctor who prescribed a whole bunch of medicines and a back massage for her. We ended up booking massages for both of us after the dance performance. From there we walked to the Mudra Centre where dance and martial art shows are held. We reached the show 30 minutes earlier to see the make-up. We were the first ones to get there, and for a while were worried that we might end up being the only ones present. The performance was in a small hall and we were seated on the first row which was touching distance from the stage. A male performer was applying green paint and other make-up to his face. After that he was helped by a couple of guys to arrange folded plastic sacks around his waist which acted like a frame for his costume. It was an intricate and time consuming process to get ready for the performance. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations from the performance. I felt I would not be able to understand or appreciate the classical dance, but I actually ended up enjoying the show.

The fact that they spent fair amount of time explaining the dance form proved pretty useful. Kathakali is the classical dance form of Kerela in which the actors narrate a story usually from epics like Ramayana in a dance form. All the actors remain mute, and the narration is accomplished by facial expressions, and hand and body movements. The green face represents a positive character and red face represents an evil character. One performer first demonstrated a series of facial expressions conveying different emotions like love, hatred, lust, anger and so on. Then he demonstrated various hand movements. We were told that performers undergo special facial muscle strengthening exercises since childhood, and we could see that they really needed that. After the demonstration, the actual performance started. Leaflets explaining the story were distributed before-hand which enabled us to follow the narration pretty much. Overall, it was a nice learning experience and I would recommend tourists to experience it atleast once.

After the dance, we walked to Shanthigiri for our massages. I really couldn't tell any difference from my earlier experience in Munnar. They pretty much seem to follow the same technique everywhere. After the massage, we picked up the medicines for Vasu and also a bottle of massage oil. The whole package amounted to 6-7 half litre bottles of dark colored liquids.I was not too amused by all that weight we had added to our luggage so early in our trip. It was beginning to rain lightly as we walked back towards our hotel. On the way, we purchased some more home-made chocolates and some masala tea oil, from the spice shops which dominated the whole market. We also had a light dinner, after which we retired to bed early, as we had planned a very early start for the next day.....

Day 3 (24rd Oct) - Periyar Madness

I am trying hard to control my emotions as I think back about the madness of the events that took place on that Monday morning. I had an idea of what to expect from my friend Kshitz,'s experiences, who had visited the place a week ahead of me. I tried to save myself by first trying to book a bamboo-rafting trip and then by exploring the option of 4WD jeep tour around the park. But since no vehicles are allowed inside the park, I failed to see any point in traveling around it. Even then my sixth sense told me to skip it, to lie comfortably in my bed instead. But having gotten there, I had to experience the 7am boat ride on Periyar Lake. I took comfort in the fact that it was a Monday morning and not exactly weekend.

Anyways, we got up at 5am and were at the gate entry at 5:20. Already, there was a queue of about 15 cars ahead of us but that didn't seem too daunting. I left Vasu in the car, and went to the ticket counter braving the early morning chill. I stood in the queue which had around 10-12 people ahead of me. Things were looking ok so far and I afforded myself a sigh of relief. I had expected the ticket counter to open at 5:30am but at 5:45am I realized that the actual time is 6am. Till then, the queue behind me, as well as the number of cars, had started to look alarming. I noted down our car number which was required to get the entry pass. At sharp 6am, the counter opened and immediately resulted in the chaos that happens in any queue in India. Soon, there were scores of drivers, handing over money and their car numbers to their friends who were ahead in the queue. I couldn't believe that the forest official didn't stick to the most basic protocol of giving only a single vehicle entry ticket to each person. The guy immediately in front of me ended up getting tickets for 6 cars and by the end of it he was confused which ticket belonged to whom, and how much money is to be returned to whom. Still, by the time I got the ticket, I knew that if we leave now we would easily get the boat ticket inside. But what would be the fun if the department made it so easy.

I learnt that the gates to the park would only be opened at 6:30am. That means first everyone present there would get the gate ticket, and then the gates would open and there would be a mad race to the boat ticket counter. Till then, a lot of drivers had already started breaking the queue for cars, and started parking their cars in front of the gate in a haphazard fashion. A lot of people actually left their cars and hired autos, which could sneak more easily to the front of the queue. When the gate opened at 6:30am, my worst nightmare got true. There was a mad panic as everyone tried to get ahead of one another. On the narrow stretch of 4 km, cars were literally racing each other inside the forest. I could imagine that when these cars stop at the parking, people would be literally running to the ticket counter. I was feeling so pissed at this sorry state of affairs that I kept cursing myself for letting us into this madness. But having gone so far, I was determined to see it to the end.

As the cars stopped at the parking, people rushed out and started running, literally like mad dogs. The aunties who couldn't run themselves were urging their husbands and even kids to run. Even foreigners, saw no alternative but to run. I was determined not to participate in this madness, and started walking briskly. But then I saw myself overtaken by people running from behind. And that did it for me, I said run, run as fast as you can. Now 600 m can be quite long, specially if you have never run in your life. With half-marathon training behind me, it was no big deal for me. But mid way, I could see almost everyone stop, panting for breath. It was pathetic to see even 20 year olds, struggling to run. Again and again, I felt that all these people have been reduced to the level of racing dogs, because of the mis-management of the forest officials. All they had to do was to sell both the tickets at the gate, and then whoever comes first gets the ticket. Why this stupid chaos ?? With these thoughts, I kept running, and kept overtaking one person after another. When I reached the counter I could see only a handful of people ahead of me. I collected the form and filled in our details.

As the people caught up, there was a competition for forms which were in limited supply. People were literally snatching the forms from the hands of forest guard. Someone told me that there are only as much forms as the number of seats in the boats. Those arriving late started fighting with the authorities. Some parents even pushed their young kids to go to office and request for forms. It was amusing and disturbing at the same time. I wonder if we can see such mismanagement and total lack of civic sense anywhere else. Now those who had got the forms, started complaining about the mis-management, and those without it started complaining and fighting. A guy even threatened to go to court, if he is not given the form immediately. But ultimately they were left with no other option but to wait for the 9:30 am boat.

Though I got the tickets, I found myself really irritated after all this. It hurts me to see people being treated with such disregard by the authorities. On the boat we were asked to wear life jackets, that were the most uncomfortable life jackets I have ever used in my life. It was almost like someone has wrapped a 6inch thick thermocol around your body. On the bright side, our seats turned out to be the best possible seats on the boat, the front ones on the upper deck. After all this effort, we really didn't have any better sighting than the previous day for the first hour of the ride. I was beginning to think, it would have been so much better to be sleeping in the hotel instead.

That's when our luck started to change. We spotted a couple of wild elephants quite close to the bank. They were spraying red dust over their bodies with their trunks. As the boat turned towards them, we saw 4 adult and 2 baby elephants join them. It formed a good group and we had plenty of time to shoot as many photographs we wanted.

Then on return we spotted a pack of 3 wild dogs guarding a kill. It was the first time we were seeing wild dogs in their natural environment. All of us were in a much better mood now. It also started raining which made the scene even more beautiful. In the end, I would have to say that even though the initial experience was a nightmare, it was almost worth it in the end. But I do sincerely hope that they do something to get rid of the madness.

After the safari, we left for Kumarakom which is 120km away, and took us nearly 3 and a half hours to get there. Verghese dropped us at Tharavadu Heritage Resort which had pretty good reviews on trip advisor. It was time to say good-bye to Verghese and the first section of our Kerela trip. Although, the first 4 days had been pretty good, I had the feeling that something better is awaiting us. After all Kerela is better known for its backwater experience. Also we were without a car now, and without a concrete plan, in a small backwater village. Things were beginning to get more exciting....

Tiny Guest

2009-04-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

I was in the middle of our weekly meeting, when my phone rang. It was Vasundra calling from home. I disconnected thinking that I would call up after the meeting. The phone ran again. What could be so urgent, I wondered. I picked up the phone to hear a super excited voice. "Manna and I rescued a baby squirrel from monkeys", she was shouting. What, where is she now, monkeys, when did this happen - a flurry of questions came rushing to my mind. "She is with us, you come home quickly", and she disconnected leaving me stranded. Ever since the first time I met Vasundra, her love for animals always get across. She already has got two cats in the home which she adopted from an animal shelter. She had also rescued a baby langur from dogs back in her village where she is doing her research. So this was not the first time I was hearing such things. Even then I was pretty excited to know whats going on. So after the meeting was over, I headed straight home.

As I drove in, Vasu rushed out to greet me, excitement all over her face. She couldn't get me upstairs fast enough. In the meantime, she told me the whole story. In the evening she and her sister, Manna, were at the balcony when they saw a couple of big monkeys playing with something. They realized it was a baby squirrel that they had picked up from somewhere. Immediately they went down armed with a stick and some stones for the rescue operation. They were scared of the big monkeys but somehow they managed to get the tiny baby from them and brought her home.

Upstairs, Vasu showed me the baby. They had wrapped her in cotton. I couldn't believe how small the baby was. She barely filled my palm. She looked so fragile that I was afraid to hold her, lest she gets crushed. She was a bit nervous and disoriented probably looking for her mom. I picked her up and put her on my T-shirt and pretty soon she was moving all over me. I was in love with the little chap - she was just so cute. When she got around to my neck, i was a bit nervous. It was a little creepy to feel her webbings (a bit like a lizard) move over my skin.

Here I would like to bring in the fact, that the elder of our two cats, Sarso had taken a particular fascination to the little squirrel. For the entire duration, not once did I see her eyes wander off anywhere else. She was transfixed. The squirrel had her complete and undivided attention. Nothing I assume, not even an aeroplane crashing into our gates, could have taken her eyes off it. She was constantly trying to get close to it. When I had it raised in my hands, she climbed on the table, ready to be airborne. Now we considered the possibility that may be she was just curious towards the little guest. May be she was excited to have a new friend in the house and just wanted to play with her. After all Sarso had never shown any inclination to eat anything at all apart from her imported cat-food. May be we should leave her and see how she acts. Then again may be not, sorry kitty, we don't want to take the chance of the little squirrel ending up in your tummy.

Warning: Dont try this at home :) Relax - the cat is being held safely.

Amidst all the excitement, Manna and I got photographed in various poses with the squirrel. I also got on a mission to practice my new-found photography skills and use my macro lens. The squirrel formed a most interesting and fascinating subject for me and I couldn't put my camera down. Vasu, meanwhile was making arrangements to feed the baby. She got some milk in a bowl, dipped a piece of cotton and squeezed drop by drop in her mouth. Apparently the squirrel didn't mind the taste of buffalo's milk and fed to contentment. Like all babies, fed stomach translated to a peaceful sleep. Next we got a basket and Vasu turned it into a best possible nest for the squirrel. She got some leaves, twigs, branches, cotton and rags, and scattered it inside. Then we placed the baby squirrel inside and covered the top.

So immediate things being taken care of, it was time to think about what next. Can we keep her as pet ? None of us would have minded that but we realized we wouldn't have much clue as to how to go about it and I doubted if there would be much help available on internet on raising squirrels. I am not sure if I have ever heard about a pet squirrel. Besides it would translate to a life of captivity for the poor baby and her best chance of survival lay with her mother. Vasu was certain that the squirrels nest was on a tree in our immediate neighbourhood and was planning to return it to her nest. But I had a lot of questions going around in my mind. How can we be sure its the right nest ? How do we get her up there ? Will her mother be there ? How will she react ?

Before going off to sleep, I kept the basket near the bed. Then off we went to sleep with vague plans about the next day. I could not have been sleeping for more than an hour when a loud crash woke me up. Immediately my reflexes kicked in and I jumped off the bed, aware of what was happening even before I tried to comprehend it. Yes, it was Sarso who just couldn't keep away. We had committed the mistake of assuming that Sarso wouldn't realize that the squirrel was inside the basket. To my horror, the basket was rolling sideways on the floor, its covering gone and Sarso was searching keenly. I shooed her away and picked up the basket fearing the worst. I started looking for the baby but couldn't find her. I frantically searched through the leaves and twigs but no sign of her. To my great relief I finally located her. She had managed to get herself wrapped completely in cotton, so much so, that if I hadn't been looking, it would have been impossible for me to know that something was alive in that cotton ball. Now I knew the damn cat isn't going to leave her alone, so I picked up the basket and left it in the other room with Manna.

In the morning, we were excited to find the baby squirrel awake and squeaking. She seemed much more relaxed and energetic now. We were her playground now and she was happily roaming all over us. This time we kept Sarso away, and the smaller cat which had so far remained passive, showed more interest in the squirrel. We were sure she was too small to be of any danger, and she was also not as swift in her movements as the bigger cat, so we felt in control as she checked the baby out with wide curious eyes. And the baby squirrel also seemed to be greatly interested in the cat. Instead of being afraid, she was actually moving towards her, checking her out. Does she think its her mommy or just trying to make a friend.

I also took opportunity of the morning sunlight to click a few more photographs, before it was time to try to return the baby. Vasu and I took the squirrel out, while Manna stayed back to keep the cats in control. I wasn't sure how exactly we were going to do this but I just decided to take Vasu's lead, all the while hoping that this doesn't require any of us climbing a tree. So off we went, Vasu with the baby in her hands and myself armed with the camera. Vasu pointed to the tree towards a small nest hidden partially in the leaves, at a considerable height from the ground. Neelu didi, our neighbour, was also standing outside near the tree.

Now the events that transpired when we got to the base of the tree, happened at such a fast pace that I have hard time believing that any of it really happened. Although we human, who take such pride in our superior intelligence, would refuse to acknowledge this, but it seemed the little baby with a brain the size of a peanut, had complete understanding of the entire plot that was unfolding right then. She was seated calmly in Vasu's hands till we reached the tree, at which point she gave a shrill squeak. In an instant, we saw an adult squirrel rushing down from the nest towards us at a lightening pace, yet maintaining such elegance and balance, as only a squirrel can, hopping from one branch to another, as though flying. As she reached the base, the baby squirrel jumped out of Vasu's hands towards the tree, or may be Vasu herself put it there, as I said things happened so fast. The mother immediately greeted her baby with a hug, curled her and then proceeded to lift her up completely off the ground in her own tiny hands. Then for an instant, I swear she looked directly at us, the baby in her hands, as if saying thank you for bringing my baby back. Then the next moment she was gone, disappeared between the leaves towards her nest.

All of this wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds. We were really overwhelmed. I couldn't believe that all of this had really happened but fortunately I had managed to click my camera at the right moment. The hurry in which the mother had appeared, as if she had been waiting all night for her baby. The ease with which she had lifted up the baby and carried her to the top. We were speechless for joy and the satisfaction of knowing that we had done a kind act. Neelu didi was quite overwhelmed as well, telling us that the mother squirrel would be really blessing us. We came back and shared the story and photograph with Manna and my parents. Everyone was really happy about the whole thing.

Possibly a whole month had passed, since this entire thing happened. Yet I have been unable to get it out of my mind. Ofcourse I am happy that the mother and her baby got reunited, but in a way I am also sad that the baby left. It was such a great feeling, to have a tiny life in your hands, to realize that life doesn't only come in the shape of two hands and two feet without a tail, a fact all of us so often forget. Life in any form is as miraculous whether it be a human baby emerging from a womb or a chicken hatching out of an egg. I often find myself thinking about the baby squirrel and her mother. I wonder if they remember us. I also amuse myself with the idea that one day they will pay us a visit, get us a nut may be. Ya I know, too filmy. But what the hell. I take the liberty of running my imagination lose. As any pet owner will tell you, humans are not the only ones with emotions. An animal can love you unconditionally. And animals have memory too, so its possible that the little squirrel still remembers me and possibly it watches from its nest high up in the trees.....

A Morning of planting trees

2008-09-29T01:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning 9 am - Odds are you would normally find me in my bed sound asleep with no intention of waking up for atleast a couple more hours. Instead I am awake since 6 in the morning, outside the comfort of my bed, my finger nails tucked with mud, a khurpi in one hand and a young sapling in another. And I am loving every moment of this time away from my bed, my heart filled with a unique happiness and satisfaction...

I have a mail from Selva (coordinator AID Delhi) to thanks for these happy moments. A week earlier Selva sent an email on AID mailing list stating that Kalpavriksha is organizing a tree plantation drive on the coming Sunday at a park in Mayur Vihar. Prof Rao from Kalpavriksha had requested AID volunteers to participate in the drive and since Selva was out of station he wanted someone to lead the drive.

As soon as i saw the mail, I literally jumped at the opportunity of doing something as wonderful as planting trees. I wasn't so sure of leading anything, but I was determined to help in the drive in whatever way I could. I immediately wrote back to Selva and thankfully it turned out that leading only meant calling up Prof Rao to find out the details of the drive and passing on the information to all the interested AID volunteers and making sure the interested parties remain in sync. Prof Rao intimated me about the venue (Sahyog Apartments, Mayur Vihar) and his plans to start early in the morning since the weather had been keeping really hot for a few days. We also decided that since we were planning to plant around 100 saplings we didnt need more than 12-15 volunteers including the local residents who were more than willing to lend a helping hand. I passed on the information to the interested volunteers and also invited an environmentalist friend who I knew would surely join.

Everything set, I couldnt wait for the Sunday to arrive. Ofcourse I had to get up at 6 to make sure that I had enough time to get ready, arm myself with a khurpi, pick up my friend and reach Mayur Vihar at the designated time of 8 am. We ended up 5 minutes early and were really surprised to find Prof Rao already there along with a couple of volunteers from Kritikal Solutions, Noida. After introduction Prof Rao told us about the park behind the apartments and his plans to plant 140 saplings in the semi-wilderness (his terminology for the badly maintained DDA park). He also told us that since the boundaries of the park were broken at a few places, his choice of species had been limited to those which would not be eaten by the goats, compared to the bio-diversity he would have ideally liked to plant there. So we would be planting begonia, sheesham, amaltas and kanakchampa along with few other shrub species. We also talked about the lovely weather and the rains for the last two days which would have made the soil humid and loose and ideal for the saplings. Things were shaping up to be perfect.

Meanwhile, other volunteers kept pouring in. There were 6 volunteers from Kritkal Solutions, few residents from Sahyog apartments, Shivani from Noida who also brought her parents along and a young couple from Daryaganj. In all we formed the perfect number that was required for the job. Each of us picked up a sapling in both hands and made our way towards the park. On first look the park seemed quite small barely 20 feet wide, but the rectangular piece made up with its length stretching really long, with a few rectangular offshoots in between. Prof Rao believed that this was a great place to develop an excellent bio-diversity plantation. It was semi-wilderness indeed, with uncut grass and wild shrubs, but the wilderness added to the place. Unfortunately, lots of plastic and wrappers had also found their way from the neighbouring apartments.

We started planting trees in a straight line from the beginning of the park gradually moving deeper towards the other end. Since the volunteers outnumbered the khurpis, pretty soon we had small teams, with one member digging a pit and the other planting the sapling and refilling the pit with soil. The rains had made the soil loose and much easier to dig and plant. Still it was fairly laborious work for the likes of me and the other software professionals, and the elderly residents who formed the majority of the group. The saplings which had already been grown for 2-3 years in a nursery, weighed atleast 3-4 kg with the soil wrapped around their roots. Carrying them further and further into the park started getting tougher and tougher on the tiring forearm and shoulders. Yet, I am sure that no one present there minded the work a least bit. I could feel so much energy all around me and everyone was eager to plant as many saplings as they can. Not once did I saw anyone sitting idle or resting. Everyone was totally engrossed in their work, deriving the same satisfaction as I was. It was so heartening to also see a 5 year old kid planting a tree with her mom. Meanwhile we also drew enquiries from the few passers by, who also expressed their happiness to see their parks being planted with trees.

So we finished with the trees, and were done with the shrubs a short while after. Everyone had enjoyed the experience so much that all of us were disappointed that there were no more saplings to be planted. Our hands were covered in mud, shoulders sore and clothes soiled, yet it had been a most satisfying day. We were really feeling grateful for the opportunity. On the way back, we tried to collect as much plastic as we could from the park. I guess we all shared this concern which was finally voice by someone regarding the subsequent care of the planted saplings. Prof Rao assured us that since the saplings were already a couple of years old, they should be able to thrive on their own if left undisturbed. However, he had talked to a gardner to water the trees periodically.

Our final reward for the day was a brief talk by Prof Rao on various enviromental issues and various projects in which Kalpavriksha is involved. He talked about the numerous trees that are being cut each day for building more roads and buildings. 35000 trees were uprooted in the very first phase of Delhi Metro-rail construction, and surely an equal number would have been cut in each subsequent phase. The law requires than an equal number of trees are planted else where, but companies often work around this law by providing false figures and bribing officials. By their own admission, the forest officials maintain that there is no land left around Delhi for planting trees, yet more and more trees are being uprooted daily. I am sure there is no need to stress the importance of trees for us, so am I to believe that even if replantation does take place, a tree planted in the outskirts replaces the benefits of a tree in my locality. The need for procuring more and more land would keep growing, but where do I stop. He cited the example of the UP link road just in front of us which was already a four lane road but it had been decided to extend it to six lanes. This would mean uprooting numerous trees on the banks of Yamuna for extending a road which barely sees congestion except for a couple of rush hours each day.

He also talked about the declining bio-diversity and bird population in Delhi. Even though DDA and MCD plant trees, for some reason they mainly stick to a few species like Ashoka and Palm trees instead of fruit trees like Jamun, guava etc which are very bird friendly. The number of bird species in Delhi is rapidly declining from around 250 to just a handful, simply because they arent enough number of fruit trees for them to eat and make their nests in. He also showed us how MCD was strangulating the trees existing on pavements by covering them with concrete. Kalpavriksha had obtained a ruling from court making it necessary to leave sufficient uncovered area around trees but its another task to get it followed everywhere. Kalpavriksha is also fightining cases against deforestation due to mining around Delhi, trees cut for roads and metro construction. Often the legal battle results in failure but every favorable verdict keeps them going on. Unfortunately, they are being forced to fight increasing number of battles in courtrooms rather than out in the open. However, Kalpavriksha do run projects in and around Delhi to study bio-diversity and tree population.

All this information served to re-emphasize the fact that all of us already know. Each day we are losing more and more plants and animal species to development. Yet somehow we need to strike a balance between development and conservation. Not out of sense of charity, not to ensure survival of other species but to ensure our own survival too. Its so obvious that our survival depends on survival of other life too, that all of us are weaved together in this intricate web of life. Just other day I received a mail stating the fact that children growing up in area without trees are 40% more prone to ailments like asthma. Yet we keep ignoring the obvious, hoping that things would turn up right somehow. There are some of us who choose to turn a blind eye to the environmental concerns that uncontrolled development is bringing down on us. There are others who are worried but clueless what they can do. Well you can start by planting trees and plants in your neighbourhood, community parks, in your backyard, even in small pots in your house. I can assure its a most satisfying experience to get your hands dirty in mud. Others would say that I havent cut a single tree in my life, its the stupid MCD and government. Yet its you who adds to the demand of more roads, more buildings, more raw material that ultimately lead to trees being cut. Everytime you walk down to the market instead of driving, everytime you car-pool, take a bus, avoid an unnecessary trip to the shopping mall, decide not to buy that dress we dont really need - you save a tree. Could it get easier than this. Is it enough - probably no - but surely we all need to make a start. Better soon for our own good.

Acceptence and Agreement

2008-08-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

Not written by me - picked up from http://my-insights.blogspot.com/2006/12/acceptence-and-agreement.html because I liked the thought.

I have observed that accepting a person is different from agreeing with that person. Acceptance is of the person and agreement/disagreement is of thoughts. A lot of times in relationships when one disagrees with someone then that person often takes this disagreement as non-acceptance (rejection). Leading to a feeling of unease or even sometimes a feeling of hostility.

Also at times if one agrees with something someone is expressing then that is generally taken as acceptance of that person by the person who has been agreed with.

I have discovered that if one is able to maintain a distinction between Acceptance and Agreement and also keeps indicating this difference in relationships then life becomes a lot easier.

Waking up in someone else's bed

2008-02-25T02:39:00.000-08:00

Inspite of the slightly dodgy title, I have no intention of writing anything remotely romantic or spicy, so this would be a good time to realign your expectations. Its just that after sleeping over at a friend's place this Saturday, it came to me how much I enjoyed waking up to a new surrounding than the familiar view of my own room. I don't think its not the most natural thing to feel this way. I am sure most of my friends and relatives go to a lot of pains to make sure they get back home at night. I know a few people who swear that they cant go to sleep anywhere instead of their own bed. I have had friends who have stubbornly insisted on driving 25 km to home at 1 or 2 in the night instead of staying over. And no I don't snore so thats definitely not an explanation. I guess most people are like birds - they want to get back to their nest after dark but then may be birds do that because they don't really have an option of staying over in a motel or at a relatives'.

But me, I just love spending my night away from home. I seem to get a deeper sleep in an unfamiliar bed. I have fewer incidents of waking up to a bad dream. I invariably sleep less and wake up more refreshed. I like it even better when I wake up. As my eyes open and my brain reconcile to different surrounding, I feel a sense of adventure. Something that doesn't happen everyday. I dearly love the different way in which the morning light fills the room. The different noises that filter through - sometimes its the heavy traffic on the road, sometimes the over enthusiastic maid going about her morning chores, news headlines from the TV, even someone putting on Bhajans or romantic Ghazals on CD player. I feel good getting up, folding my bedding in case I am in mood, or leaving it for my poor friend who had sheltered me.

Till a couple of years back my favorite night haunt used to be a friends place, who was my batchmate in college. As it turned out his rented place was quite near to my office but I don't think that really mattered. He lived on the first floor of a decently sized house with his younger brother, who happened to be working in my office and another friend who was in his office. There was also another common friend who lived on the second floor of the house with his two sisters. This friend also happened to be our batchmate in college, worked for the same company as me, and used to live downstairs before his sisters moved into the same city.

Well amidst all this confusion the point I am trying to make is that I was related to the house in more ways than once and felt quite comfortable with everyone there . Infact I am not even sure whom I started visiting initally, my first batchmate or the second one who was also my peer at office. But pretty soon, I was in more endearing terms with my batchmate's colleague, who I hadn't known earlier but who shared my interest in ghazals and classical music. Pretty soon I was staying over atleast once a week. I would get there after work and would usually be the last. We would sit in the living room in front of TV, call the one living upstairs, and chat for hours. Our favorite source of entertainment was to listen to the one living upstairs talk about his numerous encounters with his female colleagues and his boss. The encounters were no different than what happens with everyone in a day's work, but his take on the whole thing and his detailed narration of all the events, supplemented with thousands of circumstantial evidences, made the stories a must hear for everyone. I used to sleep in the living room initially but then I had started putting my bedding in my new friend's room, because we loved talking and hearing to latest collection of Ghazals as we slept.

Often I was the last one to wake up, but that too would be quite early compared to my usual routine. The first thing I used to do was to to get to my favorite part of the house - the huge balcony. I loved that balcony, I had spent countless hours sitting on the narrow ledge looking at the few trees that were planted below, observing the people as they passed on rickshaws, cars, buses or simply on foot. It was a fairly busy road and even early in the morning there would be a fair amount of traffic. Usually I hate traffic, but looking at it from above was different. I was not a part of it, stuck in it. Rather I was just an observer sitting on the ledge just like that crow sitting on a branch of the nearby tree. Even on that narrow ledge I managed to sit comfortably enough with my legs stretched out together in front of me, my weight balanced a little bit away from the 20 feet fall. It used to make my friends nervous but then they got used to it. My friend used to make tea for me, this was something he never missed, and I never offered to do it instead, even once. He would take a chair and we will sip the tea in early morning sun. If it was a weekday, we will all go to office one by one, otherwise I would stay a little longer, sometimes even till lunch.

They shifted to their own apartments, which is quite far away now, closer to their new office. The new place is quite far away from all the hustle bustle of a city, but I still continue to go over once in a while. I like the quiet surroundings but I miss the balcony. Its very small and there isn't anything to see below. Now their place wasn't the only one that I used to sleep around. Their is another batchmate and now colleague who didn't mind letting me stay at his place whenever we had to go for an early morning cricket practice. "Didn't mind", I have chosen my words carefully, for I don't think he was ever excited at my visit. But then he never gets excited at anything. He is the most simple person you are ever likely to meet. I am avoiding the term boring even when to most people he would seem that, but I used to feel comfortable with him. We never talked much and it never seemed necessary. His rented two room apartment reflected his simplicity. There was no furniture of any kind, no show-pieces - I am sure he could have easily left the house unlocked coz there wasn't anything to steal. He only had what he needed - and all he needed was a pair of clothes, a bedding, one pair of old shoes, few kitchen items. TV was the only thing valuable in the house which otherwise looked like an empty apartment. I actually liked the emptiness, there was so much space to move around. We could have easily played cricket inside with all the space and nothing to break. I don't remember if we ever did. There were a lot of books though, stacked one on top of other and he used to read a lot. There was a huge terrace in front of the rooms that I really liked. I paced to and fro, for hours, talking on phone to someone or simply gazed at the stars. In the morning we used to get up at 5 in the morning, when it was still dark and make our way towards the stadium. Those were the few times I saw the sun rising and each of them is a wonderful memory.

In the initial years of my office, I became friends with a new colleague. Besides from the fact that he looked as thin as I do, we had little in common. He kept everything organized at home, was sincere at his work, always looking for ways to help others, always bought gifts for everyone when he visited home and was popular with everyone at work and home. And I don't think he ever played any sport or went traveling in his life. But we did share a common interest and, most of the times, taste of movies and were perfect company for each other. Since we saw the night show most of the time, and he lived alone, I used to stay back at his place after the movie. For a bachelors place, his house was always too clean and organized. Coming back from the movie, we would talk and watch TV till late in the night. He was always worried about making me feel comfortable. He would try to get me to change into his pajamas, would take out new bedsheets, and worry about whether it was too cold or hot in the room. I always tried to convince him that I didn't need much to get comfortable. I always slept in my jeans. In the morning he would try to make a breakfast, but I was fresh out of college and not used to having breakfast in those days. We spent a lot of time together, saw uncountable movies, shared a few secrets, sought advice on problems. I am not sure if we were good friends at that time. Looking back, I think he was too nice to be my friend really. Not that I was the worst person on earth, but I was more concerned about immediate fun than long term plans. Like a responsible son, he got married at an age, when I wasn't sure if it was even legal. Seeing him with his wife at the wedding, the thought of child marriage kept coming in my mind, but before long he had a lovely baby girl of his own. Needless to say, he got too busy, and since our world were a lot different now, we hardly met any more.

So it was a pleasant surprise to bump into him at office after a long time. We started to talk and he told me that his wife and kid were away for a week. We decided to meet in the weekend and I ended up driving towards his home on Saturday night after a dinner with another friend. Even with the wife missing, his home was as clean and tidy. No scattered newspapers, no sign of any shoes, nothing on the table, all bedsheets and blankets folded tidily - it was difficult to imagine that someone actually lived there. On a typical day, on my bed you would found atleast following items - a pillow, bedsheet or blanket or quilt or all of them, my laptop, internet modem, my office bag, 4-5 books, couple of CDs, few clothes, a bottle of water, some eatables and a few other things I am expecting to be useful in near future. He had a rocking chair in his living room and I was quick to plant myself on it. To and fro, I went, and we talked. We talked about his family, about office, about colleagues, about gossips. We talked about my marriage plans, when you are single at 30, it would be a wonder if anyone doesn't raise the subject of your marriage. He tried his best to convince me the virtues of a married life, but by now I am an expert at fending off all such arguments. Now as I remember, I am amazed that we didn't talk about cricket. What sort of Indians are we - but then he never had an iota of interest in sports of any kind. Before I realized, it was 2 in the morning. Its not an unusual thing for me to be awake at that time, but he is an early sleeper, and so we shifted to the bedroom. He took out a pair of shorts for me, but I felt too lazy to change. He put a new blanket for me but the room was already too warm.

As I opened my eyes in the morning, I realized that I was not in my own bed. I had drifted to sleep rather quickly at night, and had an undisturbed sleep. I felt fresh. I checked the time on my mobile, it was only 8, but I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. The other side of bed was already empty. I got up and went to the living room to find him reading the newspaper. I borrowed some pages and again occupied the rocking chair - I think I will get one for my room as well. I was also just in time to see the first ball of the India - Australia match being bowled. We saw Indian bowlers getting hammered all over the park but I was the only one whose hurt was getting broken into pieces. Not able to take it anymore, I suggested we go to a nearby place for a South Indian breakfast. He wanted to take the car, but I was feeling energetic and somehow convinced him to walk instead. Mind you it isn't as easy to convince people to walk nowadays. The Dosa was lovely and I couldn't stop myself from ordering a plate of Idli, so by the end I was so full that I was glad we were walking. We had booked movie tickets for the afternoon show. When it was finally time to say good-bye, I felt happy about the day. It was nice to revive an old friendship but I also knew that pretty soon his family would be back and he would be too busy again.

Smiling works

2008-02-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well I had a strange incident in the morning. I was riding on my bike to work. I was already late and in hurry. As soon as I got out of the colony, immediately a thulla (cop) stopped me. Now I have realized that theres something with bikes and thullas, they are always stopping the bikes in the hope of finding some missing document, and pocketing a 50 Rs note in the process. In the past 12 years of driving a car I have never been stopped as much as I have been in the three years that I have been riding a bike. A month back I was fined 600 Rs for neglecting to renew the pollution certificate. The thulla has hinted for a smaller bribe instead but I was just on a morality drive and refused to grease his palm. I was adamant that I would rather pay up the government as if they are going to put it to some better use.

Anyways, this time I was sure that all my papers are in order and my pollution certificate has another fortnight before it expires. So the stop was only going to cause me a little inconvenience and delay. Normally even that would have been enough for me to scowl and curse. But I was in an unusually good mood, for reason I am unable to recall now. So seeing this thulla jumping in front of my bike brought a smile to my face. I was smiling because I knew that this guy is not getting anything from me. As I stopped my bike with this smile on my face, the thulla was immediately confused. I am sure he was also not used to see people smiling when he stopped them. Now he was not sure what to do. He mumbled something incoherent, then again was in doubt, and then he asked me - "sab paper hai". As if I was going to tell him that they aren't. I broadened my smile and told him - "yep". And he let me go. Wow - 5 minutes saved :-) So next time you see a cop, try a smile.

Tryst with Men in Uniform

2008-02-18T00:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know whats with these Government offices but my previous visits to any thing Government - banks, electricity departments... have always left me with a sour experience. So when I was entrusted with a seemingly harmless job of sending a registered post from the post office, I was immediately concerned. Long queues, rude staff, unnecessary delays - I had so many worries on my mind as I made my way towards the nearest post-office. But somewhere I had also been hoping that things would have changed for the better somewhat, with competition from all the private players. I would have myself preferred to pay more to some courier company, except that I wasn't sure if they catered to such small destination. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed and the old reputation was preserved with complete proficiency.

I was somewhat relieved to see only 2 persons in the queue ahead of me. From the small barred window, I leaned to catch glimpse of a man in his early fifties, bespectacled and balding with gray hair. He must be the postmaster, I assumed. He had a kind face and was busy filling out details from a form in front of him into a computer. I was impressed to see for myself that our post-offices were now computerized. I watched as he repeated the motion of looking at the form, then trying to locate the corresponding alphabet in the keyboard. Everytime he was successful his eyes would lit up and he would lift his right hand and take his leftmost finger towards the keyboard and press the key ever so gently. Looking at the concentration that he was working with gave the impression that he was a member of Delhi Police Bomb squad trying to diffuse a deadly bomb that could go off any second if he was even a little careless. Anyways I can't be too critical of this. Surely he was forced in his retirement days to make use of the advancement in technology when he pretty much preferred the old way of managing everything on paper.

I waited patiently for him to finish typing or for the computer to blow-up, whichever happens first. Finally he finished typing and I was thrilled to find myself second in the list. The person in front of me was there to send a money order. Post-master ji took his money-order form and immediately started shouting that the whole form has been messed up and needs to be filled up again. The person expressed his inability to read/write and requested him to fill the form on his behalf. At this masterji stated in clear terms that it was not his job to fill the form for him. Even on repeated requests he refused to budge from his stand. Made me think about that postman I used to see in Doordarshan serials who will happily ride a bicycle from village to village delivering letters. He would great each person cheerfully as he delivers the letter and would be too glad to read out the letter to the village damsel, anxious to hear from her spouse or the aging father worried about his son's welfare in the big city. He would even take dictation for a letter from behind a veil or over a puff of hookah.

Anyways, this postmaster was clearly different and believed in the sanctity of his job, lest he ended up doing something that was not required of him. I offered to fill up the form for the person. As I scratched my brains over the form which always have to be too cryptic for the commoners, postmasterji quietly made his escape. Clearly typing in one complete form and shouting on another was too much for his tiring bones. As we waited and expressed our discontent in hushed tones, postmasterji was replaced by a younger person, and we were glad that this post-office was not being run by a single person. The younger person unfortunately turned out to be in equally bad mood - I guess it has to do with those caged counters because every person behind them seem to be in a mood which is a mixture of anger, annoyance and frustration. He declared that the destination address for the money order was wrong and there was no way such an address could exist in India. When the sender insisted that he has been sending money on the same address for last 3 years, he gave up with a look that said its your money, so do whatever you want with it.

It was my turn next, and I suddenly found myself in the spotlight. Luckily I was let off cheaply except for an instruction to remove the stapler pins and glue the envelope instead. I hurriedly carried out the instruction, and got myself in the queue behind the person who had replaced me at the front. The same procedure of entering details was repeated without any further incidents, and I was handed a printed receipt of my registry. I was actually glad - although unpleasant - I had actually managed to complete my mission in a single attempt. Now only if the letter reaches its destination, all this might be worth it. And its only once in a few months that you are tested by such encounters. Little did I realize that the same day I would be heading off to a police station next.

What happened was that a colleague lost his wallet. He wasn't sure whether it was stolen or he dropped it - the only thing certain was that he had it in his pocket when he started off for work in the morning. He had little hope of its recovery, although there have been miracles where in a person has received his wallet in his mailbox after dropping it somewhere. He quickly got his credit cards disabled. Besides 2500 Rs, he had also lost his Driving License, and needed a police verification to apply for a new one. Obviously none of us were expecting police to really find the wallet.

Anyways at the police station we were asked to submit an application written in Hindi. Now its our turn to feel ashamed but writing an application in hindi proved a real Herculean task for the two engineers. First glimpse at the application and it was immediately rejected. We had mentioned that the wallet was stolen and the police-wala refused to accept such a blemish on the criminal records of his area. Didn't we know that things like robbery and theft no longer occur in Noida (or they are not registered) and if anyone lost something he must have definitely dropped it somewhere. So we re-wrote the application to correct our little mistake after being laughed at by the people present there over our ignorance.

On receiving the application, the police-wala told us that the application needs to be printed on a stamp paper, and either we can get that done, or we can pay him 160 Rs for the stamp paper and he will buy it for us. On first look the offer seemed really kind - he was saving us all the trouble of buying a stamp paper and printing the letter on it. But coming from police the kindness was immediately under suspect. I called up a friend to find out if such a stamp-paper is needed and he confirmed that it wasn't. I tried to argue with the policewala but he handed the application back and asked us to get it printed on a stamp paper. Finally he asked for 100 Rs and we saw no other option to get that verification letter. Its sad though to realize that having lost 2500 Rs, his DL and cards, my colleague had to bribe the police-wala to get a verification letter without even a false hope that police can actually make an effort to trace the wallet.

So often I have heard incidents when police have flatly refused to lodge a complaint of a theft or a robbery simply to maintain a better record. My own mobile was stolen from my house in banglore but the police there too refused to file an FIR. When as a kid my bicycle was stolen from our verandah, I was heart-broken. I loved my bike and I was hopeful that if we report it to the police they would find it. Don't they have so many resources, forensics. But my father wouldn't agree to register a complaint and I was really mad at him for that. Now I know he was just being wise - no one in the police has time to solve such petty cases. I wish I could have the satisfaction of knowing that they are doing a better job of solving the apparently bigger cases. Evidently its impossible to register even a complaint unless you find some contacts.

I know there must be several ways in which I benefit daily from our law and order system. The fact that I am able to work and live peacefully in an environment where more and more people are developing an attitude to snatch what doesn't belong to them and to exploit anyone they can, means that there is some system out there protecting me. But as for all my direct contacts with the police, I would have preferred that they never existed. As a citizen I don't view a police-wala as someone who is out there for my safety. Rather my experiences have taught me that most police-walas simply try to show-off their power, talk rudely and never miss a chance to extort money out of helpless people. They drive around on bikes without helmets, to demand bribes from other traffic violators. I know all of us have seen all this for ourselves. For now I dont know of any means to get our police to do something for me or even worse to save myself if ever I happen to get on the bad side of some policewala, except to call on someone who knows someone in police or someone important enough to exert some influence. Till I find such contact, I would do well to avoid any contact with any unlawful entity and even more importantly our beloved police.

Chupke Chupke - Ghulam Ali is awesome

2007-12-12T20:57:00.001-08:00

chupkae chupkae raat din aanshu bahana yaad hai
humko ab tak aashique ka wo jamana yaad hai.............

tujhsae miltae hi wo kuch bebak ho jana mera
aur tera daanto mae wo ungli dabana yaad hai...........

chori chori humsae tum, aakar milae thae jis jagah
muddtae gujri par ab takwo thikana yaad hai.............

tujhko jab tanha kabhi pana to ajrahae lihaj
halae dil bato hi bato mae jatana yaad hai......................

berukhi kae saath sunna dardae dil ki dasta(n)
wo kalaie pae tera kangan ghumana yaad hai............
humko ab taka ashique ka wo jamana yaad hai............

waqtae rukhsat alvida ka lafj kahnae kae liyae
wo tera sukhae labo ka thartharana yaad hai.......

aa gaya gar vasl ki sabh bhi kahi jikrae firak
wo tera ro ro kae mujhko bhi rulana yaad hai.........

chupkae chupkae raat din aanshu bahana yaad hai
humko ab taka ashique ka wo jamana yaad hai..............

Came across these lines from the famous Ghazal which are not there in the movie version though. Wo time yaad aa gaya when we had gone for the maestro's concert and he had actually sung these lines for us. Before that I was only a little interested in his singing, and I had gone mainly for the other singer for the night Jagjit Singh Ji. What a night that was !! I was so impressed with the energy that he infused in his performance, that I came out a huge fan of Ustaad Ghulam Ali. His performance was easily the better of the two that night. And even when the host announced that the time was over, he fought with them to sing a last ghazal on everyone's request. His modesty and simplicity and talent was for all of us to see and admire. Hats off to you Ustadji....

Strangers or long lost soulmates

2007-12-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

We talk almost every other day. Ok we don't really talk, we chat - but in this electronic age where cards and letters are no longer posted in a strange red box, where surfing is not something for which you need your bathing suit, where most kids favorite sport is Doom or some other computer game, where chances are that you found your best friend on orkut and are yet to met him in person, I am sure I can be excused for making this small mistake. Anyway, coming to the point, we have been chatting for the past 3 years and sorry to disappoint you but we didn't meet on shaadi.com, or orkut or some chatroom. We were actually in a pretty serious relationship for a couple of years. She was the love of my life, but unfortunately by the time I realized that, she was already married to another guy and flying abroad with him. I had hurt her feelings and she had every right to be completely mad at me, but she is not the type to hold a grudge for long.

So we talk about everything from daily matters to work pressures and relationships. We seek each others advice and support, we shared our joys and sorrows. Sometimes when one went missing on messenger for a few days, the other would feel betrayed and fight when we got together again. Although we never decided it, but both of us try to keep our discussions away from the past.

Just this day I was discussing a problem with her, when out of nowhere I suddenly told her that I feel like hearing her voice, to really talk to her. Almost instantly I was regretting saying that. I suddenly started feeling anxious about so many things. I was not sure how would I feel or react on hearing her voice. Would there be an awkward silence between us. Would we have nothing to talk about or so much to talk about that we wouldn't know where to start. Or would we find the same connection that we shared earlier, when we spend days together or talked for hours on phone. Would we be complete strangers or long lost soul-mates.

I was surprised at all the emotions evoked in me just by the thought of talking to her. Have we not been talking all this while. We talked about everything that was going on in each other's life so how is speaking directly to her so different. And then I thought that all this while we had been shielded from each others emotions by the electronic media. All the text that scrolled across our screens carried information but effectively filtered out all the feelings. We could read what was going on but we couldn't feel each others emotions. She could write about her US trip but i couldn't hear her smile as she speaks about it. She could write about her nervousness about MS exams but I couldn't hear the fear in her voice. She could write about her problems but I could never hear the depth in her tone as she talked about it. She could tell me that she feels lonely at times but I could never hear the sudden silence in her voice when she couldn't stop her tears from wetting her eyes. We were insulated from each others feelings and suddenly I was threatening to break the barrier between us.

Anyway she spared me the anxiety. She said that she would feel awkward to talk to me. And she certainly don't want to meet me ever again. Looks like both of us are happy to hide behind this barrier. It would be too much pain and confusion to confront all those emotions once again. And till we are prepared for it, we have a perfect medium in front of us which allow us to tell each other everything without betraying our emotions...

Bali Pass Trek

2007-11-13T05:15:00.000-08:00

I am tired and shivering with cold. There is snow everywhere I see. My shoes are buried in snow struggling to keep balance on the steep descent of the Bali Pass. The sun is going down behind the ridge and the wind is picking up. I am cursing myself for taking off the thermal inners before starting the day's trek. But I had no clue that we would be out on the snow this late in the evening, instead of being safely nestled in our tents. Just an hour earlier we were at top of the Bali Pass basking in the warmth of the sunshine and the glory of crossing 4 km of snow field and climbing successfully to the top. The snow had been waist deep at a few places and the final climb had proved too taxing. But we were in triumphant spirits after reaching the top and the view was simply magnificient. All of us were really excited and the steep descent hadn't seemed so treacherous then.

Within an hour all the ecstasy had turned to pure agony. The three of us had managed to descent two-thirds of the way down holding onto the ropes fixed by our guide, JaiSingh. At few instances we were literally hanging onto the rope for dear life. It was after the most difficult part was over that things started going wrong. Suddenly Rama took a slip and was sliding down the slope followed by Ashu. Both of them managed to stop some distance from the bottom. There slide looked uncontrolled enough for me not to attempt a similar stunt. I dug my hiking pole into the crumbling snow and started inching my way downwards. Suddenly a backpack came rolling down the slope from above and missed me by a few meters. I looked up to see another backpack somersaulting its way down the steepest section of the slope. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was actually one of the porters tumbling down with the backpack, and still my mind refused to believe what my eyes were witnessing. With great momentum he rolled past me to come to an abrupt halt around 20 meters below me. I was shocked beyond words. It was a miracle that he actually got onto his feet after the fall. Even from the distance I could see his face covered in blood. I was the one closest to him and wanted to rush for his help but I was too terrified of taking a fall myself. I shouted asking him if he was ok and carefully started making my way towards him...

The beginning

The turn of events that led to all this started with a harmless little post on the "Trekking in Himalayas" community at Orkut. Sometime in July I noticed a post from Ashu regarding Bali Pass trek. I knew Ashu as a regular contributor to the community so I was a little interested. But I was even more reluctant in joining a team of complete strangers for a trek and the planned date in end October was too far away for me to make any sort of commitment. It was not till September that I started to get a little more serious about the plan. I wrote a message to Ashu indicating that I would be interested but can't really plan the leaves and all before beginning of October. Meanwhile I started convincing a few friends to join in with me.

The proposed itinerary was as follows :

Day 01- Delhi – Hanuman chatti – Janki chatti
Day 02- Janki chatti(2575) –Yamunotri(3150) –Damni (3500 )
Day 03 - Damni (3500)– Upper Damni (3650)
Day 04- Upper Damni – Bali pass (5172)– Tange Camp (4000)
Day 05- Tange Camp(4000) - Kyarkoti – Ruinsera Tal (3560)
Day 06 - Ruinsera Tal(3560) - Osla (2260)
Day 07 -Osla (2260)- Taluka – Sankri (1900)
Day 08- Sankri - Purola - Mussoorie - Delhi

I didn't know much about the route, but a bit of googling promised a great adventure in front of us. I was still having trouble convincing my manager to give me a week off. He reserved the right to cancel my leave at any moment if some urgent work turned up. A couple of my friends had decided to join in but I had a feeling that there plans were as fragile as mine. Meanwhile Ashu was having no better luck in forming a decent team and he had actually started talking about going on his own. So confusion reigned supreme and even till the last week we were not sure about the team composition. With just two days to go things had started looking up for me in the work front but Gaurav and his friend decided to opt out due to some emergency. Not in favor of letting any traveling opportunity go waste, I decided to take the plunge with a set of complete strangers this time.

Random Notes from my Diary during the trek

Day 2

"One continuous climb, initially through bushes and thorns. Then we were above treeline and now only dry grass is there. The moment we reached the top of the hill, we could see snow peaks all around us. To my left is a continuous range of snow peaks, Bandar Puch range in my front. Towards right I can see Syani Chatti from where we had started. These peaks had appeared so distant then. It was a tough climb but then we sit down and look at the view and it become worthwhile. Air is cold but the sun is shining brightly, giving me feeling of cold and warmth at the same time. Wind is making a slight whisper against the grass. Some eagles and crows are flying in the sky. I can sit here for hours but we have further to go"

"We have reached the ridge. The path was almost a vertical climb through rock and dry grass. Towards the end it was so steep that our guide had to fix rope for us. One by one we went up. Rama was the first to go up but I wish it was me coz i didn't really liked the feeling of being stuck on a small foot-hold with a steep fall beneath. Now the porters with a big load would do the same thing. We are waiting for them and once again enjoying the view which keeps getting more magnificient as we climb up. Rama has gone to sleep after packed lunch. I am hungry and out of gas but my stomach is grumpy since yesterday and I haven't eaten much since last night. The snow peak which were so distant are now so near. Although the sun is getting into the eyes but it is also feeling good. A gentle breeze is blowing and the grass twigs are dancing to it. An eagle just glided past in the clear blue sky. If I were an eagle this trek would have no meaning for me coz I would probably fly there in an hour. There is a strange silence all around me except for the sound of flowing water. Its as if time is standing still and asking us to be still as well. I almost slept but decided its better to sleep at the camp. Its just the second day and each day gets more and more difficult. But I know I will through and then I will have only these memories left with me."

4th morning

"It was a cold night. -3 C at 8 pm and Ashu reckoned it was going to get till -8. I thought I had more than enough woolen but I guess you can never retain enough heat at these temperatures. The cold creeps through layer after layers of clothing and freezes your bones. In between I got up to put on another lower and sweater. It felt warm for a while before the cold crept in again. I went out to pee in the middle of the night. It was a beautiful moonlit night, with the snow shining on the peaks. The air was really chilly and I was forced inside before I could really enjoy the scene. In the cold you alternate between sleeping and feeling cold. We got up with the daylight but the sun was still behind the mountain. Had a cup of tea - only helped a little with the cold. Then you get the first rays of the sun on you and you feel a warmth like you have never felt before. Slowly the rays shower you whole body making you feel alive again. Slowly the uncountable layers of clothing start coming off. The camp has sprung into activity. Pradeep is preparing breakfast in his kitchen tent, Deepak is going off to fetch water from a nearby stream. Ashu has gone for his morning chores. JaiSingh is getting out his snowboots and Ice axe. Today we would be walking over snow to cross the pass. Sun is beginning to shine brightly now and the moon is still setting in the west. Can hear some birds singing in the distance. Its going to be a beautiful day. "

5th Morning

"I am spread up on a rubber mat warming myself in the early morning sun. My boots and socks are left out for drying. Yesterday they were buried under two and a half feet of snow. There is usual activity around the camp. The camp is pitched on snow at a height of 4600 meters right at the foot of Bali pass. We are almost packed and ready to leave. JaiSingh has gone ahead to find a route. It seems the snow is too deep at places and there are a few cravases too. So he is finding a route around the center. We are not doing too well. We lost a lot of rashion in yesterdays mishap. The team morale is low and people are occasionally breaking out in violent outbursts. Yesterday had started beautifully. We started walking from our Upper Damini camp. Initially the path took us through light snow. The view was beautiful and everyone was upbeat. Rama had never seen so much snow in his life and he was excited. Little did he knew that pretty soon he will get tired of it. After a few kilometers of walking we reached a vast snow-field. This was two and a half feet of snow for 3 km. We put on our gaiters and the guide put on his snow boots. JaiSingh walked in front cutting a path for us in the snow. On more than one occasion we went thigh deep in the snow. We could see the Pass now and it seemed too high and too far away, but we knew one step at a time would get us there. Each step took extra effort as our feet sank 1 feet into snow."

Day 1 - The starting day

Friday morning 4:30 am was the set time and Ashu was supposed to pick me up in front of my colony in his Scorpio which we would be driving till Barkot to rendezvou with Chandan and the support team coming in from Uttarkashi. Rama, our third companion, had already joined Ashu at his home, the previous night. Ashu seemed big on preparation and he had jotted down a long list of things we would be needing but all I could manage to do was to stuff a few trekking wear and some woolen in my rucksack, the night before. Thankfully Ashu and the support team covered us for a lot of stuff that I casually forgot to carry like gaiters, sun-hat, medicines and most important of all - toilet paper. I only got a couple of hour sleep but I was too excited to feel sleepy anyway. So when on a normal day I would struggle to get ready for office by 9 am, I was up and all set by 4 am.

At 4:30 I was making my way around the Metro construction towards the silver Scorpio parked on the opposite side of the road, cursing Ashu. Yes the guy had to actually park on the opposite side and make me walk all the way around the Metro barriers with a huge rucksack on my bag at 4:30 in the morning. And no need to remind me to stop complaining about having to walk 100 extra meters, when I was undertaking the mission to trek 80 km, some of it in snow and some of it around 5000m high. We will get to that when we get there but right now I have a Scorpio to catch.

Once I got near the car, another realization stuck me. I haven't met these guys before and even worse I didn't know which one is Ashu and which one is Rama. What have I got myself into, I wondered and whether it was really such a brilliant idea. "Par jab okhli me sar de hi diya hai to moosal se kya darna" - I hung out my right hand towards no one in particular. One of the guy took my hand and perhaps sensing my confusion, introduced himself as Rama. He obviously had no doubt about my sole identity - with the tell-tale signs of a rucksack on my shoulders. Ashu who was busy shooting with his handycam was the next one to get introduced.

Michael Schumacher

Without any further delay we got into the vehicle and drove away hoping to beat the morning traffic on the pathetic Rishikesh highway. Now I have never particularly liked this highway due to large number of truck and Qualis/Scorpio drivers who muscle their way past my smaller car. It turned out our Mr Ashu was exactly one such driver, as he took the wheels with the concentration of a rally driver and the others cars jumped right and left to avoid getting trampled. Before I could even appreciate fully the merit of being in a MUV, we had crossed Meerut - in under an hour. It was only a bigger bully that was finally able to stop our roaring vehicle at the railway crossing.

While all this while I was on the edge of my seat in front, Rama was in a fully relaxed mode in the back of the vehicle. He had not spoken more than 10 words so far, and although I didn't think it was possible, he was turning out to be a bigger introvert than me. Ashu on the other hand loved to talk and both of us shared a lot of thoughts about our favorite topic - trekking and mountaineering. All that while I had assumed that I would have very little conversation with Rama during the trek and in all likelihood we would fail to come out as anything more than acquaintance. Little did I know that I would once again be proved wrong in the course of the next week.

The deadly 'Paan'

Moving on, after allowing the train to pass, we were in Mussorie just six hours after we started from Delhi. In between Ashu had shown little inclination to stop for anything except a lone breakfast. After Mussorie a most hilarious and embarrasing incident happened with me. I had switched places with Rama by then and was in the back seat. I was rearranging the stuff kept on the seat to make more space for me when I suddenly discovered a polythene bag with a dozen or so paan in it. So far I had seen Ashu devour one paan after another since he started from Delhi but I hadn't thought much about it. Now with the whole bundle in my hand I couldn't resist the temptation to put one in my mouth. It tasted bitter - so it wasn't sweet but i was still unsuspicious. I kept chewing inspite of the awful taste when it started to hit me. Suddenly my hands were numb and my mind started floating. Now I have had enough alcohol in life to realize the effect of an intoxicant. With a shock I realized that the paan actually had 'tambaku' in it. Immediately I spit out the remaining paan. But I was too dazed by now and my world was going for a spin. So I did the only logical thing left for me to do - I pushed all the stuff to the side and laid down.

I have no recollection of the events of the next one and a half hour. When I woke up we were parked in the side of the road. Ashu was showing the Bandarpuch range to Rama and both of them were outside the car. I was still a bit dizzy and choose to remain seated inside. Apparently we were a few kilometers from Barkot and the Bandarpuch range was the direction in which we were headed for our trek. I could see a few snow peaks behind green and brown mountains with the holy Yamuna serpenting in the valley below. The snow peaks seemed real distant but I was sure we would be getting real close in a few days time.

Full team Union

Another half and hour drive got us to Barkot where we met up with Chandan and his team at the GMVN guesthouse. Our support team included JaiSingh (the Guide), Pradeep (the cook), Deepak (porter + cook's assistant) and five high altitude porters. It actually seemed a bit overkill to me to have 8 support members for a team of 3. At Roopkund we had managed with a guide and 2 porters for the same team size and duration. But I knew nothing about the trek and conditions to make such a comment. In any case I was relaxed that all the arrangements are being made for us. A quick lunch later we left for Janaki Chatti, our destination for the day. It was a pleasant drive along the winding mountain road. On the way we went over the route and arrangements with Chandan and Jai Singh.

The team from L to R - BS Rathore, Rama, Jayendra Panwar, Pradeep, Deepak Thapa, Ritesh, Jaisingh, Rajan Karki, Chander Thapa, Vishnu Thapa, Ashutosh

At Hanuman Chatti we were told that the road ahead is blocked for construction. So everyone decided to stop for a cup of tea. Meanwhile I was able to buy a pair of woolen gloves for 40 bucks from a local shop. The gloves turned out to be real lifesaver in the sub-zero temperatures of the nights during the trek. At Hanuman Chatti, two tributaries of Yamuna confluence and there is a temple of Hanumanji on a small hillock. Hanuman Chatti is 13 km from Yamunotri and used to be the starting point for Yamunotri pilgrimage. Now the road has been extended further by 8 km till Janaki Chatti. I couldn't resist the urge to climb up the steps to see the temple. It was a small temple beautifully located. I was shooting some pics when Ashu and Rama joined me. After spending some time there we got down and were on our way again.

Initiation into trekking mode

The road was blocked near Syani Chatti which is 5 km from Janaki Chatti. Not wanting to wait and ready for some action, we started our trek from there itself. Just a little further we saw a huge crane clearing the debris of a blast. The crane looked like a huge T-rex bending down to pick up a pile of rocks and suddenly snapping its neck to the side to hurl the stones rolling down the slope into the valley below. The thing was working at such speed that it was impossible to get past it without performing a hollywood stunt. Wisely no one opted to play the Rambo and only when it finally rested for a couple of seconds did everyone scampered across.

It was getting a bit dark and cold by now, as our guide led us through hidden shortcuts. This was the first test for all of us. No one had any previous idea about the fitness and mental toughness of each other. We didn't know how fast or determined we were as a group. Ashu has been trekking for something like 15 years, I have been on a couple of difficult ones and Rama although it was his first Himalayan outing looked fit and strongly built. Ashu was leading in front with JaiSingh. He had opted to carry one of his rucksacks on his back while Rama and I were satisfied with our small back-packs. I was in the middle and the front party was walking too fast for my liking. Rama was behind me and was walking with a consistent pace. For next 5 km no one gave any sign of letting up the fast pace and I assumed that it was a good sign.

View of the same snow peaks from Syani Chatti that I shot earlier from Barkot

By the time we reached Janaki Chatti, it was dark and I was tired. JaiSingh got us rooms in a small hotel. The first shock came with the news that we were already disconnected from the world. No telephone lines and no mobile signal and we hadn't even started our trek yet. Sorry mom - but its not my fault that I wouldn't be calling for the next 8 days. The dinner was much more elaborate and tasty than I expected or hoped. I wondered if this was just a trailer or we would be getting pampered similarly, all the way till Bali pass. At sleeping time Rama and I decided to share the room since the other room was anyway littered with Ashu's stuff. It got really cold during the night and I already started doubting if I had enough woolen, especially after feasting my eyes on Ashu's Downs jacket. We will see......

Day 2 - Janaki Chatti to Yamunotri, camp at Lower Damini

It was a splendid morning. Perfectly blue sky without trace of a single cloud or bad weather. A gentle breeze was blowing and the sun was shining brightly. I had tried to take a bath in the morning not knowing when I would have the same luxury again. But the water was too cold for me to do anything meaningful with it. The breakfast was pampering once again - with porridge, milk, cornflakes, tea, toast, butter, jam, honey - hail King Ritesh. JaiSingh got all the stuff packed and started distributing the load evenly among the porters. We shamelessly handed our rucksacks to be carried as well, keeping only the small day packs with us. Looking back, it was perhaps for the best, because we ended up in enough trouble even without 12 kgs on our back. I had borrowed a blue sun hat from Ashu and dare I say I think I was looking particularly handsome in it. It was a real pity to loose it later on our little misadventure on the Bali Pass descent.

Trekking begins

Around 9 am we left Janaki Chatti for a 5 km trek to Yamunotri. It was a stone paved way till Yamunotri and we even had the option of taking a pony, though none of us was considering that for the moment. It was the official start of our trek and we were roaring to go. As usual Ashu started in front with JaiSingh while me and Rama were at the back. Atleast for this day we were also going to have the company of other pilgrims, some of them laboring on foot, some on ponies. I put on some music on my Ipod and was really enjoying the gentle trek. I felt in a good walking groove and when the climb started, I was already past and moving ahead of the rest of the group. I wondered if I should wait for the others but figured it was probably alright to keep going since there wasn't much chance of any trouble for anyone on this gentle and frequented path.

The newly wed couple

A little further I caught up with a couple riding on ponies. Both of them were young and looked newly wed. Now for someone who is not used to walking, even the 5 km uphill trek may seem a daunting task, and hence they might decide to opt for a pony. But looking at the terrified face of the girl I was convinced that walking would have certainly been a better option for her. She was nervous like hell trying to keep her balance on top, and was grimacing with each step that the pony took. I cant really blame the girl for I have also had the misfortune of riding a pony once on my way down from Kedarnath. That must have been the most adventurous thing I have ever tried and the only good thing about the ride was that I came out alive. With each step my back ached and my stomach grumbled. And everytime it slipped, my heart was in my mouth, since the damn stupid thing refused to walk on any side other than the one towards the cliff. Needless to say I have never been on a pony back again and nothing less than being stranded in the middle of a jungle with both my legs broken, would make me consider to ride one again.

Just as I was passing them, the guy threw down an empty Bisleri bottle. I was really disappointed to see such irresponsible behavior from a guy who looks well educated. An elderly gentleman had once told me that there is a big difference between being 'literate' and being 'educated', and sadly our schools are no longer in the business of imparting real education. I often wonder how many schools really teach their students the necessity of being polite to everyone, being fair in all our dealings, to stand up against corruption and whats wrong, that we should not be so blind in running after our own success that we forget to give back to the society. How many schools emphasize the importance of preserving our environment, being kind to animals, being thoughtful about consuming natural resources. How many schools really help their students to look beyond the everyday materialistic existence and look for a higher purpose in life. Because I believe that in today's society if we are struggling to be thoughtful citizens, if we are often disappointed at people's insensitivity, and often aghast by actions of misdirected minds, then the obvious mistake lies with how our children are being educated.

Anyway, I just picked up the empty bottle and handed it back to him. I explained to him that littering like this would spoil the local environment, and it couldn't be that difficult to take the bottle down with him. I also offered to carry the bottle myself in case he was not ready to do it himself. He took the bottle from me and moved on. Later, I met them again when they have had enough of riding, and decided to walk for a while. They were from Bangalore, recently married and were on the Char Dhaam Yaatra, Yamunotri being there last destination.

Disappointed with Yamunotri

I will now get straight to Yamunotri, since I have already written more than I originally intended to about the route. The first view of the temple presented a beautiful picture, with a few constructions nestled below towering mountains in the background, and Yamuna falling in successive streams from snow peaks above. But as I reached closer, I began to feel disappointed. The entry to the temple was through a narrow cluster of shops with shopkeepers forcing people to buy 'Prasad'. Several people were busy washing dirty clothes in the small stream supposed to be Yamuna. The buildings looked ugly against the mountains with electric wires running across. At lot of places plastics and bottles were dumped. I was glad that pretty soon I would be out of here, in a place which would be isolated from any human activity.

Not sure if I wanted to go any further, I sat down on a rock by the stream-side waiting for others to join in. When the others arrived, I decided to leave my skepticism for a while, and join everyone inside. A narrow fleet of stairs went up past the ladies bathing area, with a small mesh providing a tantalizing view of the inside, towards the hot sulphur water kund. The kund is considered holy by pilgrims and most of them take a dip in the steaming water. I was tempted to do the same but we were not carrying any towels or clothes with us. Taking another fleet of stairs we reached the main temple area. Towards the right of the temple was a smaller kund of boiling sulphur water, next to which some pandits were performing pujas on behalf of the pilgrims. As prasad they would tie some rice in a cloth and lower it in the kund till it get cooked. After puja and some shots of the temple, we were ready to leave.

We backtracked on the Yamunotri trek for 400 m to reach a detour towards Damini. Pretty soon we were in a jungle walking on a thin trail bounded by mountain on one side and trees on the other. The trail went up and down, but we were steadily gaining altitude.

The money tree

After 5 km of walking, we reached a small clearing in the forest. In front of us was a beautiful tree with several hundred coins buried in its trunk. For a while we thought we had discovered what every man dreams about - "Paisa wala ped - the money tree". But alas the excitement didn't last long as we realized that it was some sort of holy tree and the coins and bangles must be the offerings made by the locals. JaiSingh announced that this was to be our camping site for the day. We were a little disappointed at this - it was only around 2 pm and we were all ready for more action. The place wasn't the normal camping site for lower Damini. The actual camping site was a few kilometers ahead, where the tree line ended, but seemingly the water source over there had dried up this season. There was no sign of our porters yet and there was a little confusion if they were ahead of us and moving onto the upper camping site. We decided to wait for them right there.

Camping in jungle

The air was a bit cold but the afternoon sun seemed really pleasant. I found a nice spot under a tree and sat down for some reading. An hour later the porters arrived. All of us had some packed lunch with black tea. After lunch, JaiSingh and others started pitching tents. Within an hour, the small clearing was transformed into a beautiful camp. Once the kitchen tent was up, Pradeep started preparations for the dinner. The winter sun was setting fast and soon it was damn cold out there. We gathered some wood and started a camp fire. Meanwhile we started preparing for the chilly night by putting on layers of woolens. For next few days, we would be following this routine religiously. As the sun begins to set, we get into our tents to put on layers of clothing, the number kept increasing as we get higher up, till we were literally putting on everything in our rucksacks. So cramped in my tent, I would put on a pair of woolen lowers, another one on top of that, followed by a couple of trekking lowers. After making sure my legs were warm, I would start on the top with a couple of warm inners, woolen sweater, Tshirt, another sweater and finally my jacket. Add three pair of socks, woolen gloves and a monkey cap to all this and I am ready to tuck into my Down sleeping bag. It might sound hilarious but starting today we would be spending our nights in sub-zero temperatures. As the sun rises in the morning, I would be spending equal amount of time to take off everything and putting it back into the rucksack.

We all gathered around the fire. JaiSingh and porter sirar, Rathore started sharing stories of their various treks. Their favorite stories seemed to be the ones in which things have gone horribly wrong. So they talked about the recent Kedarkhal trek in which some Russians had got trapped and had to be evacuated by air. And the trek to Tapovan, in which they had heavy snowfall, and some of the team members had given up on the way back and started demanding them to camp on the glacier. Thankfully none of us were superstitious or easy to scare.

Pradeep called us inside the kitchen tent for dinner where we had some delicious tomato soup to start with. But as soon as we sat down for dinner, I got first signs of trouble. My stomach was grumpy and I suddenly wasn't feeling too good. I couldn't eat much and before long I was rushing towards the jungle with some borrowed toilet paper. My night was just as awful as I continued to struggle with acidity and loose motions. I took some eno in the night and again had to go out to the jungle. In that freezing cold, it was not a funny business at all. Sitting there I noticed how amazingly beautiful the moon looked.

Day 3 -Lower Damini to Upper Damini

I was in my tent till pretty late in the morning. Rama had already gone out and I could hear everyone getting ready for the day's activity. But I had a bad night and wasn't feeling on top. Finally when I was afraid that the others would start thinking about leaving without me, I got out of the tent. After the morning routines, we sat down for breakfast, but again I didn't feel like eating much. Instead I went up to a spot where some sunshine was peaking through the trees and waited in the warmth, for the others to join in.

Around 9 am we were ready to leave. JaiSingh led us up the narrow trail. Pretty soon the trail seemed to end in a row of thorny red bushes. I was looking for a path when JaiSingh dived right into the bushes followed by Ashu. I was still not convinced that this was the correct path, but having found no other way I was forced to follow everyone. I soon found myself surrounded by waist high thorny bushes on all side, with no clear trail. I slowly moved forward brushing aside thorny branches with my arms and legs. Sometimes I was forced to bend down and crawl through a narrow clearing. Countless thorns had attached themselves to my shoes and clothes, and bruised my hands. It took us half an hour to get clear of the bushes. I can't say I enjoyed the ordeal very much and was happy to be out of the bushes, above the tree line, into the golden brown meadows of dry grass.

Another hour of uphill climb got us to the top of the hill on which we had camped. We sat down for a rest and a chocolate bar for much needed energy. I was ahead of the rest and took the opportunity to jot down my thoughts on the small notebook I had in my pocket.

"One continuous climb, initially through bushes and thorns. Then we were above treeline and now only dry grass is there. The moment we reached the top of the hill, we could see snow peaks all around us. To my left is a continuous range of snow peaks, Bandar Puch range in my front. Towards right I can see Syani Chatti from where we had started. These peaks had appeared so distant then. It was a tough climb but then we sit down and look at the view and it become worthwhile. Air is cold but the sun is shining brightly, giving me feeling of cold and warmth at the same time. Wind is making a slight whisper against the grass. Some eagles and crows are flying in the sky. I can sit here for hours but we have further to go"

The path led up a ridgeline towards a near vertical mountain wall. It seems we were supposed to climb it and get to the other side. The going was getting much steeper now and every step was beginning to be accompanied by deep breaths. The huge wall in front of us only promised an even tougher climb ahead of us. We were also aware and excited about the rope fixing activity on some vertical section of this climb, which JaiSingh thought was too steep for us to climb safely without a rope.

My stomach was still upset with loose-motions, and I actually had to sit down behind a huge rock to relieve myself, while the rest of the group continued to climb up. Luckily I had kept the toilet paper handy in my bag anticipating just this scenario. When I was ready to go again, JaiSingh was out of sight, and Ashu and Rama were struggling up the steep slope, holding on to their hiking poles for support. Between the steep climb, empty stomach and deep breaths, I was feeling really tired by now. We were by now almost climbing vertically up, planting each foot carefully and holding onto rocks and dry grass with both hands. Any mistake was sure to take us tumbling down the slope into the valley, several hundred feet down. And I didn't really want that to happen because that would have meant climbing the damn thing again.

Thats JaiSingh in front followed by Ashu and Rama. The narrow col on the top is where we are supposed to cross the ridge.

The rope trick

Slowly I caught up with Ashu and Rama, as they were waiting for the rope to be fixed. JaiSingh came down after anchoring the rope, and was trying to give us some instructions. I was too damn tired to listen to any lectures, and jokingly told JaiSingh not to worry. "We used to do this everyday in school", I said. Rama was the first one to go up. JaiSingh tied a knot around his waist and led him up. Meanwhile, we were left on that steep slope looking down at the fall below. I tried to get myself in a better position to take Rama's shot, but one slip convinced me that I rather stay where I was. Rama, meanwhile, was slipping and sliding above but wisely holding on to the rope. At one point his foot slipped hurling a few stones our way, one of which shaved past Ashu's face. It was Ashu's turn next, but I figured that with his weight if Ashu slipped too, then I would surely get buried under the stones. So I jumped the queue and Ashu was generous enough to let me go second.

The exercise brought back earlier memories of rock climbing at Ranikhet. I had really enjoyed that and the rock face there was much trickier. I was convinced I could do this without the rope just like JaiSingh. But as they say there is a very fine line between bravery and stupidity, and I decided to play it safe. In any case I don't think JaiSingh would have let me climb without the rope, and for the best as I realized after reaching the top. Although the climb was not as vertical as in Ranikhet but it was made treacherous by some loose stones which made it easy to loose footing. Carefully I climbed up on all fours with JaiSingh holding onto the rope in case I took a fall. Sure enough I did slip a couple of times, and didn't even realize that I lost my Raybans in the process. Luckily Ashu found them on the way and handed them back to me. I have lost and miraculously found my Raybans so many times over the past several treks, that I am beginning to believe that we are destined to be together for life.

Once over the trickiest section of the climb onto a relatively gentle slope, all of us sat down for a breather. JaiSingh meanwhile started worrying about how the porters were going to climb the same section with there huge loads. It was indeed miraculous that a couple of porters were actually doing the trek with double loads (nearly 45 kg) while we were struggling on the same with our back-packs. The top was still a hundred feet away, and I decided to go on ahead of the rest. The view at the top was even more beautiful. I could clearly see the height we had gained with respect to the snow peaks in front. Tired as I was, I couldn't help lying down. The sun was feeling so good on the body. The air was beginning to get a bit chilly. Soon Ashu and Rama joined in. JaiSingh was still waiting for the porters to climb. Rama was a bit hungry by now, so we got out our packed lunches of aaloo paranthas. I again refrained from eating anything more than half parantha.

We ended up spending a lot of time there since the porters were having difficulty finding their way up. Seemingly they had decided to climb from a different route which evidently was a little steeper than the one we had taken, but with better footholds. We thought about leaving for the camp but decided it was better to wait there in the sunlight then to go further to the camp without any woolens or camping gear. Rama decided to sleep for a while while I took the opportunity to scribble a few notes in my beloved diary.

"We have reached the ridge. The path was almost a vertical climb through rock and dry grass. Towards the end it was so steep that our guide had to fix rope for us. One by one we went up. Rama was the first to go up but I wish it was me coz i didn't really liked the feeling of being stuck on a small foot-hold with a steep fall beneath. Now the porters with a big load would do the same thing. We are waiting for them and once again enjoying the view which keeps getting more magnificient as we climb up. Rama has gone to sleep after packed lunch. I am hungry and out of gas but my stomach is grumpy since yesterday and I haven't eaten much since last night. The snow peak which were so distant are now so near. Although the sun is getting into the eyes but it is also feeling good. A gentle breeze is blowing and the grass twigs are dancing to it. An eagle just glided past in the clear blue sky. If I were an eagle this trek would have no meaning for me coz I would probably fly there in an hour. There is a strange silence all around me except for the sound of flowing water. Its as if time is standing still and asking us to be still as well. I almost slept but decided its better to sleep at the camp. Its just the second day and each day gets more and more difficult. But I know I will through and then I will have only these memories left with me."

It took the porters almost one and a half hour to catch up with us. The sun was beginning to set by now and it was getting cold. We still had a couple of kilometers to go but the climb was gentle. The porters were also tired by now and they sat down for a rest. Half an hour later we were ready to go again but its difficult to get your legs going again after such a long rest. It had been a tiring day and we were looking forward to get into our tents. Further we started getting some snow on the way. After a laborious hour, we were finally at the Upper Damini camp. The whole camping site was covered with snow with a little clearing at the edges. The camp was surrounded by snow peaks on all sides. Rama was really excited since he had never seen so much snow in his life. He began rolling in the snow posing for my camera. The crew got busy in setting up the camp.

Beautiful sunset

The sun was beginning to set. I realized that this was an excellent opportunity for a few good shots. Unfortunately the camp was in a little depression and the view was blocked by the slopes. I took out my jacket, secured the torch and decided to climb up. It looked like a five minute climb but then distances are always so deceptive in hills. It took me half an hour to get to a suitable point but the effort was well worth the wonderful shots I got. The peaks were shining as the golden light got reflected of the snow. The horizon was a lovely mix of light blue, yellow, orange, red and black. It was so amazing to see the whole scenery change colors every minute with the angle of the sun. I was all alone there and was filled with a profound peace and awe. I stayed there for almost 30 minutes watching the riot of colors. I almost didn't want to leave but realized that it would soon get dark and I better reach the camp before that. The thought of wild animals in the vicinity also crossed my mind. I hurried back and realized that in the enthusiasm I had wandered a fair distance from the camp.

Once at the camp, I started the now familiar routine of putting on layers of clothings for the night. I also took some medication for my stomach from Ashu. The dinner was once again splendid but I restricted myself to double servings of some delicious chicken soup. The temperature was already getting near freezing, and with the snow all around us we were sure of a cold night. While we were out we could actually see the milkyway in the sky and uncountable number of stars. In a place like Delhi only the real bright ones are visible, and only when you get to the mountains can you appreciate that in reality the whole sky is filled with stars with hardly any space left vacant.

Rama and I got into our alpine tent, while a separate dome tent was pitched for Ashu. It was a cold night alright and I really missed some woolen socks. Sadly I had carried all cotton ones and my feet were cold even after putting on three pairs. Thankfully my stomach was a lot better during the night and I only had to go out once to pee. It was a beautiful moonlit night but it was too cold for me to stay any longer. I guess I had a reasonably good sleep, as reasonable as you could expect in such harsh conditions.

Day 4 - Summit to Bali Pass

Sitting outside my tent basking in the warmth of the morning sun, I was noting down following thoughts in my diary :

"It was a cold night. -3 C at 8 pm and Ashu reckoned it was going to get till -8. I thought I had more than enough woolen but I guess you can never retain enough heat at these temperatures. The cold creeps through layer after layers of clothing and freezes your bones. In between I got up to put on another lower and sweater. It felt warm for a while before the cold crept in again. I went out to pee in the middle of the night. It was a beautiful moonlit night, with the snow shining on the peaks. The air was really chilly and I was forced inside before I could really enjoy the scene. In the cold you alternate between sleeping and feeling cold. We got up with the daylight but the sun was still behind the mountain. Had a cup of tea - only helped a little with the cold. Then you get the first rays of the sun on you and you feel a warmth like you have never felt before. Slowly the rays shower you whole body making you feel alive again. Slowly the uncountable layers of clothing start coming off. The camp has sprung into activity. Pradeep is preparing breakfast in his kitchen tent, Deepak is going off to fetch water from a nearby stream. Ashu has gone for his morning chores. JaiSingh is getting out his snowboots and Ice axe. Today we would be walking over snow to cross the pass. Sun is beginning to shine brightly now and the moon is still setting in the west. Can hear some birds singing in the distance. Its going to be a beautiful day. "

Little did I realize at that moment, that this beautiful day was also going to be one of the most adventurous days of my life. An adventure bordering on extreme and horror at times. The only reason that I am able to describe the events of the day as an adventure is that all of us managed to get through the day with nothing more serious than a few injuries. For there is a very fine line that differentiates between adventure and mis-adventure. And thankfully even after coming tantalizing close to that line, something or someone kept us from crossing it.

It was a busy morning. Everyone was excited for the day. It was to be the day when we would be achieving our objective - Bali Pass. The plan was to get over Bali Pass and camp at Tange. We were expecting some snow on each side of the pass but nobody was sure how much. JaiSingh and Pradeep put on their snow boots and we kept our gaiters handy. Leaving ahead of the porters, JaiSingh took the lead while Pradeep followed us. We started climbing the snow covered slope with Rama getting instructions from Ashu on the best way to walk on snow. Initially it was just a slight layer of snow beneath us, but we could already see that walking on snow makes for tiring and slow going. On the first of the several snowfields that we were to cross that day, JaiSingh pointed to pug marks of a bear. There were plenty of footprints in the snow pointing to reasonable animal activity in the area but unfortunately we didn't come across any bear or any other wild animal. We did however saw a flock of about 20 birds marching on the snow. It was quite amusing to see them cross the snow field in three parallel files. Penguins was the first thing that came to my mind on seeing them but we were ofcourse a long way off from the south pole.

Even till now we had not laid eyes on the Bali Pass and we were all curious where it was hidden. We reached onto another snowfield of virgin snow with a brown ridge in the front guarding the view beyond it. The snow was definitely getting thicker. Sunlight reflected off the snow was getting into our eyes and hurting them. I tried to focus my sight on the brown mountain in front. After crossing the snowfield we were climbing up the ridge. Once at the top we sat down to enjoy the view in the cool breeze. Ashu's eyes were beginning to water badly due to all the glare off the snow.

Day of the snowfields

Crossing onto the other side we were again in a vast snowfield. The snow was almost a foot deep now and we sat down to put our gaiters. I also decided to add a sweater below my sweat-shirt. Just as I was pulling off my sweat-shirt, my T-shirt also got caught up, and somehow I managed to get topless in all that snow, much to the amusement of everyone else. Geared up for the snow challenge ahead, we started off in a single file, with JaiSingh cutting the snow in front with his snow-boots. Each step in the snow was sinking to ankle depth now. The virgin snow was looking so beautiful stretching to kilometers in all directions.

An hour later we got the first glimpse of the Bali Pass, as we cornered a bend. There was again a vast snowfield in front of us ending in a long ridge-line in front. There was a snow peak directly ahead of us and to the left of it was a narrow col called the Bali Pass. The pass appeared too high a climb but we will worry about that later, we still had more than a kilometer of snow to cross first.

As we descended down into the valley, the snow kept getting deeper and deeper till it was almost two and a half feet deep. JaiSingh walking in front was carving out steps which each of us was following religiously. With each step we would sink knee deep into the snow. On more than one occasion, the soft snow beneath our feet gave way till we found ourselves buried waist-deep. Keeping your balance and getting out of this situation was tricky. If you try to use your hands to push yourself out, they would end up sinking in the snow as well. I found it was best to stick the hiking pole in the snow and use it for support. Despite the tough going, we were actually enjoying the adventure and laughing and cracking jokes everytime one of us went in.

Vast snowfield at the base of the Bali Pass

Toiling through the snowfield we finally reached the base of the Bali Pass. From here it was a steep climb upto the Pass. We were dead tired by now and pathetically behind schedule. The snow had been far worse than anybody had anticipated. But the excitement and determination kept us going. By now JaiSingh was already making his way to the top. It was frustrating to see him almost at the top while we had the whole 500 feet left to climb. Ashu was leading our pack and Pradeep was dutifully guarding the rear.

On the slope the snow was proving to be a little slippery. Carefully we started making our way up. Ashu was already at the section, two-thirds of the way up, that was littered with loose stones. He was slipping and sliding continuously sending stones rolling down. We decided to wait till he clears that section. He seemed to be having real difficulty on the slope and seemed to be going nowhere. After an agonizing long time, I couldn't wait any longer and decided to move on. Once there I could appreciate his problem a lot better. It was almost impossible to get a good grip on the loose pile of stones. And the steep slope meant that you really didn't want to be careless and take a slip. With each step some loose stone would give way upsetting the balance. Immediately I did what I think is the best way to handle such situations - go down on all fours. I started searching for strong holds with my hands, pulling myself up only when I was sure that the hold wasn't going to give way. It was a tiring process and the steep climb was taking my breath away. I was also anxious about making a mistake and slipping down.

The final ascent to the Bali Pass - Ashu is going up and can you spot JaiSingh almost at the top looking like a small rock

At top of the world - rather at top of Bali Pass

That rock climbing session took me above the loose stones and onto the snow slope. It was only a few steps now and Ashu was already at the top. Summoning last reserves of energy, I reached the top to bask in the glory of our wonderful achievement. JaiSingh welcomed me to the top while Ashu was busy making video of my final steps. Once at the top of the pass you could see both the valleys, the Yamuna valley from where we had come and the Ruinsara valley on the other side. We also got a wonderful view of the Swargarohini peaks on the other side. Rama was just a few steps away from the top now. Porters appeared as ants still making their way through the snow field below. We were all excited and amazed at the wonderful scenery in front of us. We could see for kilometers on both sides of the pass. The Ruinsara valley was covered in snow as well and if anything the snow seemed deeper than the waist deep snow we had just come through. There wasn't much space at the top and I found a small place to settle my bottoms.

The descent down the other side was covered in snow and looked menacingly steep. I played with the idea of sliding down the snow slope. But JaiSingh was convinced that it was too high and too steep and it would be difficult to arrest the slide once you start rolling. So we all waited for the porters to come in, since they were also carrying the rope. It was already 4 pm by now, and I wondered how we were going to get down and cross the snow field before dark. The sun was already setting and it was getting terribly cold. I was cursing myself for not wearing any inners below my trekking lowers. Its always a tough decision how much to dress at the start of the day, because walking in the sun gets terribly hot but it gets equally cold once the sun starts to set. I was also angry at JaiSingh for leaving the ropes behind with the porters. We had already been waiting for 30 minutes and were wasting precious time doing nothing in the damn cold.

As soon as we had the ropes, JaiSingh went down with two hiking poles to fix the rope. Unfortunately the rope was not long enough for the 500 feet slope and thus would need to be fixed multiple times. The rope was anchored on both ends with an ice-axe. One by one we started going down holding onto the rope. The first section of the slope was almost 70 degrees, and although with some difficulty but all of us managed to get down safely. There we were standing on the precarious snow slope doing our best not to slide down, while JaiSingh started fixing the rope for the second half. We were still 300 feet from the bottom. The wind was getting chillier and I was beginning to shiver now.

After the second half of the rope had been fixed, Rama went down first. This part was more treacherous than the one before and had a couple of completely vertical drops of around 20 feet. After a few steps Rama suddenly decided that he was going to try a slide. Couple of seconds later he was hanging over a vertical drop. Luckily he held onto the rope as JaiSingh rushed to help him. He was really cautious after that stunt and was taking forever to get down. Meanwhile we were getting real impatient. Once he was down, I started next. I soon realized what was troubling Rama. There was this 20 feet of vertical rocky face with hardly any snow to get a foothold. I put all my weight on the rope and glided down, hoping that the rope would hold. I was literally hanging onto the rope for life. Once at the bottom I joined Rama and both of us dug our hiking poles into snow to keep our balance, while Ashu started coming down. The last section of the descent was a lot less steep and we were going to do it without any rope.

Things started going wrong

It was after the most difficult part was over that things started going wrong. Suddenly Rama took a slip and was sliding down the slope followed by Ashu. Both of them managed to stop some distance from the bottom. There slide looked uncontrolled enough for me not to attempt a similar stunt. I dug my hiking pole into the crumbling snow and started inching my way downwards. Suddenly a backpack came rolling down the slope from above and missed me by a few meters. I looked up to see another backpack somersaulting its way down the steepest section of the slope. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was actually one of the porters tumbling down with the backpack, and still my mind refused to believe what my eyes were witnessing. With great momentum he rolled past me to come to an abrupt halt around 20 meters below me. I was shocked beyond words. It was a miracle that he actually got onto his feet after the fall. Even from the distance I could see his face covered in blood. I was the one closest to him and wanted to rush for his help but I was too terrified of taking a fall myself. I shouted asking him if he was ok and carefully started making my way towards him.

On reaching him I realized that it was Deepak who had taken the scary fall. He was on his feet but looked shocked. There was blood oozing out of his mouth and he had taken a bad cut on his waist. There were several other small cuts on his face and body. I looked up to realize that he had somersaulted nearly 100 feet down including the vertical rocky section that had given all of us a lot of trouble. The whole fall had taken him only a few seconds - it took us 30 minutes to get down the same distance. Luckily the snow had cushioned most of his fall and he hadn't sustained any serious injury. Both of us started to make our way down very carefully.

The other porters got into a state of panic after seeing Deepak take a fall. They decided it was not possible to get down with all that load, and they started rolling all the luggage down. Bags were flying past us in all directions. The sack containing our rashion got loose and soon all our rashion was getting sprayed on the snow slopes. Avoiding the falling luggage we managed to reach the bottom of the slope. I took one sigh of relief but our problems were far from over. As a team we were tired, cold, bruised and panicky. We had lost most of our rashion and were still a few kilometers from our camping site with a huge crevasses-ridden snowfield to cross in the fading light. I wondered how we would survive without the rashions and whether we would end up in the need of being rescued by helicopters.

Snow camping

None of the porters wanted to go any further. We were also too tired to walk any more. Although worried about the cold, we decided to camp right there on snow at the base of the Bali Pass at an altitude of 4900 m. It was my first snow camp and the highest as well, but at that time I was too agitated to think about that. We started pitching the tents and ferrying the bags over to the camping site. Deepak was still in shock and shivering uncontrollably. Someone lighted a fire for him out of the plastic table and an empty bag. He was mumbling about how he was lucky to survive today and was never going to come back again. I felt really bad for him and tried to calm him down. I put my arms around him to warm him up. I was freezing myself and my shoes were covered with snow.

When I got back to the camp, Ashu was worried that he had got a frost bite and JaiSingh was rubbing his legs furiously. Rama was trying to get his shoes off but they were frozen stiff and wouldn't come out. I felt that everybody was too tense and repeatedly shouted that we were ok now, so stop panicking. All of us proceeded to get rid of our frozen shoes and socks, and started dressing for the night. The temperature was already -4 C and I made sure to wear absolutely everything I had in my rucksack. The three of us slept in a single tent to keep warm, and everyone else bundled into the kitchen tent. The temperature went as low as -15 C during night. Overdressed and bundled between the rucksacks and Rama, I managed to retain some warmth in my body. Wind really picked up with night and was lashing against the tent. At times the wind blew strong enough to throw the rucksacks, that were lined up with the tent, over me. I was worried that the tent was going to blow away any moment and we would be left lying under the stars. Thankfully that never happened and we managed to get through that cold night.

Day 5 - Traversing crevasses to reach Tange camp

I was the first one to get up the next morning. I peeked out of the tent and was immediately greeted by a gust of cold air. There was no sign of sun or any activity in the kitchen tent. I wanted to go out into the snow but realized it was probably still sub-zero outside with chilly air still roaring. It was best to wait for the sun - our life force now.

I lied down again but couldn't sleep. The events of the last evening were rolling in my mind - all of us stuck on that slope, Rama hanging from the rope, Ashu sliding down and worst of all Deepak tumbling down like a loose boulder. I would never be able to forget those few seconds in which I witnessed Deepak fell from that scary height. Even today I can not get those seconds out of my mind and everytime they fill my heart with confusing emotions. Pradeep had later told us that the moment he saw the fall, he had feared the worst and was surprised that Deepak actually came out of it alive. Even this thought makes me shudder. I can not bring myself to think what it would be like if we had actually lost a team member. Try as I may to alienate my heart from this distressing line of thinking, my mind tells me that when you embark upon a harsh trek, you cannot totally disregard the possibility of an accident, somebody getting seriously hurt or even a lost life. With this knowledge, how can I possibly justify this whole business of trekking. How can I justify risking my life just for some thrill ? And worst of all how can I justify risking life of these porters who are only there to support our craziness. Would I have ever forgiven myself if Deepak had died that day. Would I have dared to go out on a trek again. And what about mountaineering ? So many lives have been lost (climbers and porters) for the glory of climbing Everest and other peaks, and so many lives continue to be lost each year. Is it anything more than ego that makes people go out there and risk their lives. Yes I have conquered Everest and Nature - is the quest anything more than to dwell in this foolish notion. Does a sense of adventure justify that you withdraw all disregard to life. And the so many who died in the quest, were they heroes for mankind or simply misguided souls confused with a false sense of achievement and ego. Why were Hillary and Tenzing such big heroes - did they really did anything for humanity ? Did they inspire a common man to go ahead and do the impossible ?

I thought long and hard about the questions that were raised in my heart. I wanted to defend my passion for trekking so badly. Somehow I didn't seem to be doing any wrong when we had set about for this trek, and in future too I know I would continue this passion. I am struggling to defend my case though. I guess its difficult to weigh any argument against a life. All I can do is to say that when I go out to trek, I am not looking to do anything risky or stupid. And like me, I believe most other trekkers also get out there with the sole passion of enjoying nature rather than the misguided notion of conquering it. We also try to minimize the risks by careful planning. Is it possible to be completely safe out there in the elements - obviously not. And thats the sense of adventure, but adventure doesn't mean you go out and jump off the cliff. No one gets out there with the intention of getting hurt, just like no one steps on the road with the intention of getting driven over by a bus. The fact that so many people gets killed in road accidents doesn't mean people stop getting out of their homes, just like the fact that sometimes accidents happen during treks would not stop people like me from getting out there, albeit with reasonable precautions. And if something unforeseen happens, you just have to be prepared to deal with it, although I sincerely wish I never see the day when someone with me gets seriously injured.

Reason as much as I did with myself, I was not able to drive out Deepak's bloodied face away. And I kept remembering how in the after-shock, he was shivering uncontrollably and cursing the guide and the day he agreed to come with him. "I am never coming back", he kept repeating and I wondered what permanent impressions would the incident leave on his mind.

Beautilful cold morning

I checked outside the tent once again. There was some sunlight only hundred meters away but we were hidden from the sun by a rise of stone walls. I surveyed our tent. Rama and Ashu were still tucked in their sleeping bags. There was frozen water all over Rama - probably he had got up for some water in the night, spilled a little on himself which had turned to ice in the cold night. Ashu's water bottle pipe was frozen as well. Our shoes were covered in snow, frozen out of shape and looked totally unwearable. I got out my mobile and put on some music to distract myself. I almost killed an hour before I couldn't wait any longer. I borrowed Ashu's down feather footwear and stepped out on the virgin ice. The sun was still hiding and the air was cold. It took me a while to adjust to the outside cold. It was only now that I started appreciating the beauty of our camping ground. We were camped at the foot of the Bali Pass, at the edge of a huge field of virgin snow. The snow field was surrounded by snow peaks from all sides. There was sunlight some distance away and I believed we would have sunlight on the camp in 5-10 minutes. I got out my camera and started taking shots of our camp and the surroundings. I hopped from one angle to another jumping about in the soft snow trying to capture the pass and our tents together.

Sensing some activity in the kitchen tent, I made my way inside to check out on Deepak. I had expected him to be bundled up between sheets. But the very first sight that greeted me was Deepak laughing, warming his hands in front of the stove. For a moment I wasn't sure I if was looking at the same person who had taken that fall yesterday. I went down inside and starting chatting with him. In an astonishing contrast to his shocked state yesterday, he was upbeat and chirpy, and laughing and joking about the accident. "Mujhe laga tha mai to gaya kal, aapne dekha tha". I replied I indeed saw him from pretty close. "Ye sab to chalta rehta hai", he remarked as he proudly displayed the cut on his waist. It was a deep cut and I was sure it would be stinging like hell in that awful cold. Yet he was grinning from end to end. Now Deepak isn't a particularly handsome or clever fellow, but I fell in love with his smile right there. That moment I felt a special friendship forming between us. This friendship was different from the others that it was not based upon commonality of thoughts and ideas. Rather the basis was my admiration for his courage, simplicity and cheerfulness, and his respect for my concern and friendliness. From that moment onwards we ended up spending a lot of time together and talking a lot during the rest of the trek.

Pradeep was melting down some snow into water and the rest of the porters were beginning to wake up. JaiSingh was still wrapped up in his sleeping bag. Ashu was continually inquiring about the sun but it was taking much longer to reach us than I had originally anticipated. I realized my hands were frozen stiff. I brought them almost to the flames but could hardly feel anything. We just sat there talking about yesterday's events mostly, but the mood was a lot upbeat now. It appeared that the reason behind the accident was that one of the porters entrusted with holding the upper end of the rope by stepping on the ice axe, had for some reason stepped off. I could well imagine my fate if the rope had given away while I was hanging to it during the descent. But then there had been too much chaos and delays before that, and my feeling is that we were short of another guide, with JaiSingh having to take care of too many things himself. With another guide, there would have been division of responsibilities and JaiSingh wouldn't have to go up and down repeatedly to chauffeur everyone.

It was not until another hour that the sunlight finally filled our camping ground. As always and specially that morning, sunlight filled us with intoxicating warmth. Its difficult to describe the pleasure your body feels when you are bathed in sunshine after a cruelly cold night. The sense of well-being that the sun fills in your mind. We were not out of trouble yet but things were looking a lot brighter now.

The whole camp sprang into activity with the sunshine. A team of porters went out to collect the lost ration and the rest began to dry out stuff. I lined up our shoes and left them for drying. They looked frozen and hopeless, especially Rama's shoes were totally out of shape and I didn't think he would be able to wear them again. I also spread out my wet socks and sports lower and myself on a rubber mat for drying. It was not till 12 pm that we were finally able to collect most of the rashion, pack the tents and get ourselves geared up for the snow challenge ahead. We had no water and the kerosene stoves were not working properly, so we had to start without any breakfast. As it turned out it was far worse for me, as I had hardly eaten much during the past three days due to my loose motions.

Although it was snow everywhere to the eyes, there was actually a small glacier in the middle of the field and everyone was worried about hidden crevasses. So it was decided that we would walk around the field at the edges rather than going straight through the middle. JaiSingh had already started cutting a route an hour ago but he was having a tough progress. Appearing like a tiny dot, we saw him on number of occasions disappear in the deep snow, only to retrace his paths to find a better route. We started following in his footsteps in a single file - myself in front, Pradeep behind me followed by Ashu and Rama. Right from the start we realized that the snow was a lot deeper than what we had encountered on the other side of the pass. At lot of places I could see the holes where JaiSingh would have gone deeper than waist depth into the snow, only to struggle out again and move on. Although these holes acted as sufficient warnings for us to take a slight detour, but most times we couldn't help going down ourselves since the snow was equally deep around it as well.

Angry crevasse right in our path

We were walking round the snow field taking a much longer route, but only a little further I saw the reason why. I reached JaiSingh's trail where he had gone ahead in one direction. came back and followed on a completely tangential direction. He had left arrows in the snow marking the path for us. It was when I had gone around a bit that I saw the other path leading straight to a giant crevass. It was scary to see the others behind me passing just a little distance from it. I could also make out a few crevasses on the other side, and I could appreciate what a incredible and crucial job JaiSingh was doing in cutting a safe passage for everyone.

It took us more than an hour to struggle through all that snow and reach a pile of rocks where JaiSingh was waiting for us. During that hour we had covered less than a kilometer in terms of distance, but all of us realized that distances hold a different meaning in all this snow. Meanwhile the cold had turned to blazing heat, as the sunlight got reflected of the snow onto us, and burnt our skins. Pretty quickly I was forced to get rid of my jacket, the only warm clothing that I was wearing, and although my head was sweating I had to keep the monkey cup to prevent the sun from burning my neck from behind. Unfortunately my sun cap had been the casualty of yesterday's mishap. We were also traveling without any water and eatables. We waited for all the porters to catch us and then started ahead in the same order, with JaiSingh taking a headstart from all of us.

Completely out of gas

After couple of hour of toil, the effort of walking through that deep snow with empty stomach was telling on us. JaiSingh was nowhere to be seen, and I was literally begging Pradeep to give me something to eat, a chocolate bar, a biscuit or anything at all. But in the chaos, no one had thought about keeping out something for the way. Pradeep tried to motivate me to keep going by lying that JaiSingh would be having some chocolates with him. By that time my stomach was really aching and I was so desperate that I actually started running, as fast as that snow would allow me, to catch up with JaiSingh. From a distance I shouted to JaiSingh to leave the chocolates behind, but he shouted back that he wasn't carrying any. Alas my last hope was killed and from then onwards it was nothing but a fight to cross the desert of snow and reach the oasis, where there would be water and food and chicken soup waiting for me.

I tried not to think about Jalebis and chole-batures, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to lie down there and go to sleep but I couldn't do it. I tried to focus my attention on all the snow and wonderful landscapes in front of me, but I was too hungry to enjoy it. If I were an automobile even a BMW make, I would have gone into reserve and finally stopped a long time ago. If I were an eagle I would be hunting right now, or I could have flown to the nearest chole-bature shop. Despite my best efforts I was beginning to slow down with no energy left in me. Pradeep had overtaken me long time back, and now Ashu was catching up with me. He was having his share of problems in the snow, struggling to keep his balance everytime his foot sank in more than he had anticipated. So many times on hearing a loud groan, I looked back to see him lying face down on his stomach struggling to get up. But he is a tough and seasoned cookie and had fought and survived many a battles before. I tried not to look at him too much, since even he was beginning to look bountiful and delicious. And I tried not to think about Jalebis and chole-batures. I know I said it before but if I were to tell you how many times I actually thought about them, I would end up filling 100 more pages.

After another hour, the only good news was that the snow was beginning to thin. I was even more low on gas, and I am not sure what was keeping me going. Slowly Ashu was beginning to forge ahead of me and I had no strength to keep up with him. Rama was still behind, hopefully ok, but I was too worried about myself to really care for him. The sun was beginning to set now and it was getting a bit cold again. The snow was thinning and getting harder now, but it was also getting more slippery. I was beginning to see some crevasses and signs of flowing water beneath the snow.

Ashu was soon out of sight and I was now left all by myself. After each step I was fighting the instinct to sit down. But I knew it would be harder still after each rest, and it was best to keep going. Thats one thing I am specially proud of about our group, no matter how tough the going got for any of us, not any of us on a single instant gave any sign of quitting or even stopping. So much so that I don't even remember any of us sitting down before the scheduled stop, because he was too tired to go on. I was specially impressed with Rama, this being his first trek. He had struggled and trailed us, but he had kept going on and on with determination. At that point I didn't knew that he was going to impress me even more with his determination, when he would be walking the rest of the days with a nasty blister on his toe thumb.

I was finally out of snow except for a few slippery patches here and there. With each step the destination was seeming that much further. Turning to music for strength, I put on some loud music on my mobile. A little later, Deepak caught up with me from behind. Not wanting to be left again, I picked up my pace to walk with him. I asked him if he had anything to eat, at which he produced a packet of sweet supari for me. "Doobte ko tinke ka sahara bahut hota hai" -that supari seemed that tinka to me at that moment. Temporarily rejuvenated, we started the final march together. Deepak was in high spirits for an injured man, but just as clumsy. I could see that he had a habit of slipping and he went down several times in front of me. But just as quickly he got up with a broad grin on his face. And he never stopped motivating me to keep going by repeatedly saying "bus pahuchne wale hai - 5 minute aur". His five minutes were finally over after half an hour, but it was a huge relief to finally reach our camping site, where JaiSingh, Pradeep and Ashu were already waiting.

We got a fire going in the shelter of a cliff, and began warming our bodies and drying our shoes and socks once again. Rama and the rest of the porters also joined in shortly, and all of us were visibly relieved at being out of snow and danger. Stories and jokes and laughter started once again around the fire. Tents were pitched up and preparation for dinner started. We had reached our Oasis...

Day 6 - March from Tange to Seema

10 am

"We started from our camp at Tange at 9am. It was a chilly night. And I was suspecting that some opening was letting all the air into the tent. After starting from the camp we walked past a frozen river. Then our guide led us through thick scrub plantation on the face of the hill. There was no way and we had to step over the scrubs. Rama is having problem with his toe thumb. Pradeep and Deepak crossed the frozen river and took the easier way. Now we just climbed above the scrubs to reach a clearing. Going should be a little easy now but we are supposed to go down again. Weather is turning out to be beautiful. Sun is shining brightly taking with it the cold. I can hear the river flowing below us. Air is beginning to feel pleasant on the face. Surprisingly you can still see the moon at 10am."

2 pm

"We have stopped for lunch. Lunch was delicious - yellow rice with pickle. Have been walking non-stop since we started. Rama had little problem initially with his sore foot but he is a brave man and going well now. After meeting the porters we continued down the valley. Moving away from the snow peaks, slowly colors other than white started appearing in my life. Brown of mountains, little bit of red bushes, a yellow in the distant. Suddenly all these colors are rushing a happiness into me. In between we had to cross the river. Porters wanted to cross the river downstream where they heard was a bridge. JaiSingh wanted to cross right there. So we split in two groups. Porters marched forward and we started looking for the best spot to cross. The river was roughly 25 steps wide, but the stones were damn slippery with algae. Water was freezing cold. We got off our shoes and plunged into the river. With a little help from the walking stick and JaiSingh we managed to cross without any accidents. Except that I cut my toe finger somewhere and it was bleeding. After putting on a bandage we started again through a beautiful forest of Bhoj trees. None of the trees had any leaves and their birch were coming out. It made for a beautiful shot but everytime I stopped for a photograph the entire party would disappear and I would be worried about getting lost. After a couple of hour of walking through a light trail, crossing a few streams, we have reached a pakka trail, paved by stones at a few places. On the way we met another party, mostly Bengali, some foreigners. Our porters haven't arrived yet and we are a bit worried about them. Right now we are deciding if we should wait for them or march on. Looks like JaiSingh is giving marching orders. Our path is now following the river. We don't know which side the porters are on."

7 pm

"We are at Forest Guest House, Seema. Everyone is gathered around the fireplace surveying their blisters. My right toe thumb hurts but it seems like I have been luckier than others. The guesthouse is right next to GMVN one and again built in colonial style with nice big rooms, fireplace and a long verendah in front. After the lunch all I remember is walking because thats all we did - walk, walk and walk. We were in a hurry to reach Seema before dark. We continued among trees and bushes, all the way along the river. After reaching a bridge, we started climbing through a thick deodar forest. Once we reached the top, Seema was a further 4 km away. Ashu and JaiSingh were hurrying in front, while me and Rama were together at the back. We gave up on walking fast and started trotting. Just before Seema porters caught up with us. We reached Seema by sunset. Right opposite to Seema is the Osla village on the other side of the river. Today we will have the luxury of sleeping in beds with a nice fire burning in the fire place. Earlier we had some jadi-booti tea and a dinner of local Rajma. We went to bed early. It was only moderately cold during the night and all of us had a good sleep."

Starting from Tange along the frozen stream

Bhoj tree

Rama crossing a stream over a tree trunk bridge

The riot of colors - after two days of white

Seema

Day 7 - Trek from Seema to Talluka - Simply perfect day

"Sitting down for lunch in a little grass clearing by the side of the river. We have been trekking through a forest for a couple of hours, It had been a perfect day, just as I like it."

It was exactly how the day was - perfect. After the rigors of the last few days, this was the day to take it easy. This was the day for a forest walk and a nice picnic lunch beside a river. This was the day to cross villages and bridges. This was the day to make friends with the local kids and take their photographs. This was the day for picking berries and drinking sparkling water of the streams. This was the day to crack jokes about the damsels we met on the way. And all the pain that we had put our bodies through for the last few days was so that we could enjoy the smallest of gifts on this day. So that we could appreciate the beauty of sunlight peeking through colorful leaves, so that we could feel the peace of walking through a dense forest, so that we could taste the sweetness of flowing stream, so that we could relish the taste of wild berries, so that we could get touched by the innocence of a smiling child.

The day started by all of us accomplishing a task that we had been gladly avoiding for the last 6 days, a task that I sometimes consider absolutely pointless and wasteful but is nonetheless considered absolutely crucial in civilized society - the task of cleaning your body by pouring a bucket-full of hydrogen dioxide over you, thus resulting in unnecessary wastage of this precious compound. Yes we were back in civilization and thus from now on were bounded by the same set of rules. The sun by now had formed a habit of getting up late in the morning and making all of us wait everyday. All washed up and looking beautiful we came out to start the day's journey. JaiSingh announced that his team would still take half an hour to get ready, and I decided to take that opportunity to go and shoot the bridge between Seema and Osla.

When I came back some time later, the porters were still not ready, and Ashu and Rama were warming themselves near a fire in a local tea shop. I joined them and started chatting with the tea-shop owner. He was dressed in a Himachali woolen cap and a long rugged jute-like coat. He lived in Osla and had this shop in Seema (just across the river) to sell their produce of Rajma and potatoes. I asked him how many people were there in Osla and I was expecting to hear something like nearly 100 or 150. I was surprised to hear his reply - "108". He seemed to know the exact number of people in his village. He had a calm face with almost a hint of sadness, resignation to the hard life out there in a village which was 25 km from road and snow-covered in awfully cold winters. His one eye was blocked by a white jelly like layer, probably 'motia'. But he was not too keen to go down for treatment since one eye suited him just fine for most jobs. He was a simple villager who hadn't seen much of the outside world. He talked kindly to me explaining the various things they grow in their farms, and their village life. He spoke softly in a non-excitable tone, stopping to put another log into the clay oven and urging me to come closer to the fire. I immediately took a liking to him and was glad for the delay that gave me the opportunity to meet him. While leaving he was kind enough to let me take a photograph.

There's so much that we saw and did on the way that day. None of it was as exciting to hear as the stories of our struggle through the snow territory earlier. It was a happy day for us, but unfortunately most great stories are made out of tragedies rather than pleasant memories. If I were to tell you how much I enjoyed eating some orange colored, sour tasting wild berries that we picked on the way, you would have a hard time appreciating just what was so great about those berries. If I tell you how excited we were to see a small water-mill out there, you would probably point to the big dams built out there. To be able to appreciate my true feelings about that day, you would have to be there, gone through what I had, walked empty stomach for 3 days, shivered in freezing cold, and then be able to feel the pleasant breeze against your face, taste the sour juice of those berries and see the water sprinkling off the mill blades. So I will skip the story of every tree and bird that we met, every bend and landslide that we crossed, every sound that we heard in the jungle, and restrict myself to the main events.

Right from the start of the day, I was feeling in perfect health. This was surprising since I had always come out of previous treks with my share of blisters and injuries, and here on my most challenging trek I was feeling as light as a bird. Others were not so lucky, specially Rama who had such a bad blister that I was surprised he could walk at all. For two days he had trailed everyone walking with a slight limp. Initially I was worried about him walking alone at the back, but a little chat with him revealed that he was quite enjoying walking alone through that jungle. "Its so amazing that I can hear nothing but the sound of flowing water", he said, and I immediately knew that not only we have a tough cookie with us but a nature lover as well - just my kind of man.

That day I spent a fair deal of time walking with Deepak. When I was not in a silent mood, he is the best company I could have had. He was always chirpy, making comments, cracking jokes and talking about his favorite topic - girls. He confided in me that he had a girlfriend in Talluka, the village where we were going to spend the night. Till date I don't know whether that was true or made up story, but he did seem extra animated in Talluka, and whenever I mentioned his girlfriend he always had a broad shy smile on his face. We even sang songs as we marched through jungles.

Our first stop for the day was across a village called Gangad. We had been walking along the river Supin (or was it Rupin or Tonge or Yamuna) since Seema, when we came across this bridge over a stream merging into the main river. On the other side of the river there was a row of brown huts lined up as in a showroom display for the benefit of the viewers. The stream was twisting and turning between boulders to find a meeting point with the river. Far away, I could see a snow peak from where the river seems to be originating, but I knew that it was indeed coming from a lot further. At that moment my initial reaction was that this place is just a perfect picnic spot, bubbling stream, rocks, beautiful surroundings, flowing river, green jungle, perfect weather - what more could you ask for. I went down below the bridge to sit on a rock at the edge of the stream, and I kept soaking in the whole surroundings. The rest of the team caught up, sat down for a while and then started to leave, but I just kept looking. I told JaiSingh to move on and I will catch up after sometime.

It was difficult for me to leave that place. I shot a lot of pics of the place but I was utterly disappointed each time. The camera has its limitations and couldn't really capture what my eyes, ears and other senses felt at that place. I made up my mind to come back to this place with my kids sometime to initiate them to the joys of nature. Just 100 meters down the trail I ran into four kids from the village. I asked their permission to take their photograph. Little did I realize what trouble I was getting myself into. For the next 15 minutes, they turned me into their personal photographer, making me take group shots and solo shots of each one of them in various poses. They were so excited to pose for the camera and everytime they would come running to me to check out their photographs in the digital display. I got out of there but they again followed and caught me for another photo-session. In the end I had to literally run out of there, because their enthusiasm was unending.

JaiSingh was waiting for me, obviously a bit worried at my disappearance. Now I may not have developed a liking for JaiSingh as a person, but I do think that he did his duties well as a guide. He is a good climber and technically proficient in mountaineering skills. He is also hardworking and took amazing care for us. Where he lacked as a leader was his inability to earn the respect and trust of his support team. There was always some grumbling amidst the porters against him and on more than one occasion they directly challenged and went against his decisions. One reason for this was the presence of another strong leader between them, Rathore. But I sensed that the primary reason for this mistrust was that he always put the welfare of the porters behind his client's (us) comfort. His primary concern was to make our life as comfortable as possible. Even at the Bali Pass descent he was more concerned about us than the group as a whole. He offered no help to Deepak after his fall, but was busy rubbing Ashu's feet fearing a frost-bite. I felt that if he were ever forced to choose the life of one of his clients over one of the porters, he wouldn't hesitate for a moment. Now this may seem expected and logical to some minds, but I think when it comes to life, its unfair to put more value on one. And knowing this how could have the porters trusted him with life and death decisions.

We were moving into thick jungles now. We hastened to catch up with the rest of the group. The trees were keeping most of the sunlight out, and it was noticeably darker and colder and damper. The trail was also beginning to get a little muddier and trickier. Ashu took a slip once just before we crossed a couple of Bong beauties going on Har-ki-dun trek. The whole group was quite pleased to have some eye candy after so long, but I guess I was in a different world as I ended up asking one of them if they were on a school outing. Later, Ashu spent an hour convincing me that they were well past the school age. Anyway that event turned our general topic of conversation towards girls for the next several hours, and we joked and teased and commented, sometimes bordering on coarse, but acceptable now since we were a much closely knit group after what all of us had faced together.

Around 2:30 pm, we descended down the forest to reach the edge of the river, where a grass carpet in a little clearing tempted us to sit down for lunch. It had been easy going for most parts except for a few places where landslide had blown away part of the trail. The sections had to be crossed on precarious log bridges, which was risky enough for us at times, but imagine the porters crossing the same shaky bridge with 45 kg load. Finishing my lunch quickly, I went down even closer to the river and seated myself on a rock. When it was time to leave, I came back to find Ashu explaining the route to a couple of French tourists with the help of a map. Apparently the two guys had decided to get going without any definite plan, any idea of the route or destination, and without any food, camping equipment or warm clothing. Hail to the spirit of adventure !!! I was quite impressed by Ashu's knowledge of the whole route - the map he drew would have done any cartographer proud. To put it in a filmy way, I felt that if Rama was the Body of our team, myself the Heart, then Ashu was most certainly the Mind of our team. He had planned and executed the whole trip, and was forever updating his knowledge with the names of peaks, rivers, villages and so on.

Starting after the lunch, I noticed there was something different about Rama. He was still limping but he was for some strange reason was carrying his 12 kg rucksack as well. Initially I thought that Rama has just decided to challenge himself more, but he told us that one of the porters had left it behind as he was unable to tie it back with his load. Its a testimonial to his courage that already struggling with his foot he was quietly prepared to go on with the rucksack now. It took me a while to make him see the logic that I should be the one carrying the rucksack instead of him. We hardly had 4 km left to go, and I didn't think of it as a big deal. But only after 5 minutes, I was beginning to feel the weight, starting to sweat more and was forced to take off the thermal inner. Each step from there till Talluka was a constant reminder of the bravery and determination of all the porters. And although on earlier treks I was used to carrying my rucksack myself, I couldn't comprehend our state if we were doing the same here as well. No doubt we would have done the trek even then, but it would have taken twice the effort, and so my sincere thanks to all the porters who bore our share of pain as well.

Entering into Talluka, I was greeted by life and activity. It was a small village by all standards, but it was a week since I had seen so many people, and it was probably a lifetime since I had seen so many smiling faces. Now I know my heart is a wanderer and doesn't settle on one one thing, but I surely left a part of it there. Immediately I was surrounded by four kids that I was trying to photograph, repeating the routine I had witnessed earlier at Gangad. People from all directions were looking curiously at us and returning our smiles. The forest rest house in the village looked so beautiful but sadly this was not where we were going to stay. JaiSingh and myself started looking for a place to stay and settled on GMVN. While JaiSingh went back to get everyone, I sat down on the boundary wall of the compound and struggled to put the whole surroundings and my feelings on paper...

"I am sitting in front of GMVN with a beautiful village in front of me. Just talked to a few local kids and they were as curious about me as I am about them. They wanted me to take their photographs but I am out of batteries. All of them go to the local school. One 8 year old kid actually offered to sell me Charas. There is a small half dried pond in the center of the village where a few cows and donkeys are drinking water. Some women are going to fetch water with their brass/bronze pots. Small kids are playing everywhere. There is a two-storeyed house in front of me overlooking the pond. A middle aged woman is sitting on the ledge outside and doing some household work. A young girl around 15 is standing with a sickle in her hand and giving me occasional curious glances. After two days in snow I feel life everywhere. People are smiling everywhere, and am I just over excited or their smiles seem more genuine. A kid is lying on his back outside a house on a grass mattress and trying to wear his pants. I think its more a game for him than actually wearing it.

The pond is surrounded by several two-storeyed houses. Houses are made of wood with stone roofs. Women are busy everywhere beating locally grown "Rajma" out of their skins. Men are mostly idling around. The place is a picture of simplicity with no machines, electric wires or concrete buildings on display. Kids, mostly dirty and unkept, but smiling and enjoying all the same are everywhere. Their parents do not seem afraid of leaving them alone. "

After settling into our rooms, I borrowed some batteries from Rama and went out to get a couple of shots in the setting light. I roamed aimlessly in the village loving everything about it. On reaching their small primary school, I even played with the idea of teaching in a small village like this for some time. I could see that it would be a tough life, tougher probably than what I could handle. There were no comforts to be had there, no TV, no electricity, no medical help, no bookshops. Pretty soon it would be winters and snow, making everything tougher still. But can I survive and be happy here. Happiness after-all is not enslaved to comfortable existence and people are known to live and live happily in harshest of places. In cities people spend so much time and effort building a comfortable existence for them, big houses, big cars, big TVs, costly mobiles, gadgets, zillions of clothes - but can all of their comfort combined together guarantee them happiness. What after all is happiness - the people of this village are obviously leading a less comfortable life than in cities but are they in any way less happy. Do they not have the privilege of much purer air and water, unadulterated food, beautiful ambience and non-stressful living away from pollution, traffic, bomb-blasts, politics and our so called rat-race. I know both sides of the coin are open to endless debate and the grass always seems greener on the other side, but still it is worth a thought for everyone who is running blindly towards a city life.

Forest rest-house Talluka - I absolutely loved the construction and the spot where it was built with a nice view of the river valley below and some snow peaks in the horizon

Back at the GMVN, all of us sat down in the open balcony, surveying the activities of the village in the dying hours of the day. We also tasted some local alcohol which JaiSingh procured for us. During the small camp-fire in the night we were joined by a group of kids. They shared a Garhwali song with us and one of the kids managed to sell some Charas to JaiSingh. JaiSingh was a bit high on alcohol and most of the bonfire was dominated by his egoistic narration of the various treks he had guided. Bored to death, I enjoyed the starry night for a while, went for an early dinner and onto our beds.

The kid who tried to sell me Charas - I met him again during my evening stroll. The girl is his sister.

This small kid kept playing unsupervised on the ledge around the house, and going up and down the plank. But he was sensible enough to be pretty careful. Made me think about all the friends who are so freakishly protective about their kids and wouldn't let them out of sight for a moment.

Some local kids at the village

Early morning classes, there is a school building but I guess everyone wanted to be out in the sun, there was only one teacher for the whole school and each row represents a different class.

I have decided to end this blog here instead of going on till the end of our journey. The first reason for this is that I feel like leaving on these sweet memories instead of the traffic jams back in the cities. Second reason I feel is that I have nothing interesting left to talk about and writing further is only going to drag the blog which has already stretched beyond a length that any sane minded person would care to read. I would like to end the blog with my favorite picture that I took in the Talluka village.

Here are the complete set of pics

Bali Pass

Afraid of increasing violence

2007-10-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

I have been living in this city all my life. Yet everyday I feel more and more ashamed and afraid of it. Rather than having the confidence of walking through its street and saying its my city, I no longer even feel safe.

Yesterday a blueline runs over people killing six and injuring several other. A few days back a scooter driver bumped into a pedestrian. When the poor guy objected he was repeatedly crushed under the scooter while all the passer by watched. A couple was driving their kid to school when they almost ran into a bus family beaten by an iron rod by a school bus driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road. And its not just confined to the newspaper. A colleague got beaten up on his way home by four guys riding on motorcycles. The motive of attack wasn't even robbery. Seems like they all were just looking for fun. Yes - fun - for thats the point we have reached where we beat each other because we think its fun. Or sometimes we beat someone because its the masculine thing to do.

Now I just wait for the time, when violence will leave newspapers and colleagues, and come looking for me. Will I be prepared for it ? How will I react ? Can I avoid violence by simply minding my own business ? I don't think so. What will I do if a guy bumps into my car from behind and when I try to make him see his mistake, slaps me. Will I be able to slap back ? Will I who have never hit anyone in anger or mouthed an insult, be able to fight for my rights. And if I refuse to hit back, does it make me civilized or a plain coward. Is my unwillingness to take disputes beyond words, a cover for my cowardice.

This also raises an old question. When the rights of a common man get violated, what does he do. Does he play the rambo and sets out to thump the guys. Or does he go to the insensitive police. In any case I am not sure who I should be more worried about - the goondas on the road or the police. For there is no dearth of the incidents where the system has proved more effective in harassing harmless individuals. The incident of Rizwan being threated and finally killed by the police for marrying a Hindu girl is one such recent example.

I know this is a question which has always existed. But it has started bothering me more and more, as news of violence keeps pouring out of the several news channels. My couple of unfortunate encounters with a few rude people who are always willing to pick up a fight for the slightest of things, have left me in a dilemma. Either I should get prepared to fight back if necessary, or I should think twice before leaving my home. Because it doesn't matter whose fault it was, you can not reason with a person who is keen to resolve dispute with a fight.

Ladakh - Dream Destination

2007-09-25T23:46:00.001-07:00

Our itinerary for 6 days :

Day 1 : Leh City, Leh Palace, Shanti Stupa
Day 2 : Leaving west for Kali Mata Mandir, Magnetic Hill, Likir and Alchi Gompa
Day 3 : Going South-east for TsoMoriri Lake (bottom right corner)
Day 4 : TsoMoriri (15000 feet) to Leh - 220 km
Day 5 : North-east to Pangong(14000 feet) Lake via Changla Pass (17800 feet) and back (150 km one way)
Day 6 : Going north towards Nubra Valley via Khardungla (18380 feet) , upto Diskit and Hundar - back to Leh (total 260 km)

Day 1

Early morning flight from Delhi to Leh - Yea we got 1Rs tickets from Deccan booked 3 months in advance. Additional security check for flights going to Leh means all check-in luggage have to be manually identified before it is loaded. The checks are even more stringent at Leh and you have to reach Leh airport 2 hours before the scheduled departure time. Also they discourage any handbags in the plane so make sure you only have a small handbag with all your valuables only.

The wow factor started from the flight itself as we looked down upon the snow covered peaks below us. After a while the plane seemed to be flying between the mountains and we had to hold our breath as it landed. We started soaking in the unique landscape - barren brown mountains - the moment we got out of the plane. On the way to our accommodations we were aware of our lungs doing extra labor for air. Its highly advisable not to exert yourself too much and let your body acclimatize for the first day.

Mantra Resort (Changspa) - This is the place we stayed in for the first two nights. A quiet resort amidst beautiful surroundings (just the way I like). Rooms were a bit small but the sitting area in the front was a great idea (perfect for a round of drinks at night). Bit far from the main city, and with no market or taxi stand around, we had to walk 30 minutes for anything. Food was awful, or may be it was just our appetite at 12000 feet. Overall - ok if you are in a big group and want to be away from the noise of the main city. Big no no - if you are with family.

After couple of hours of sleep, we had our lunch and set out for Leh. The city was bustling with tourists (mostly Europeans) and the market was quite colorful. We walked right through the city (~ 4km) to reach the Polo ground.

Polo Ground(Leh). Just behind Polo ground is the Magistrates office where Inline permits are issued for TsoPangong, TsoMoriri and Nubra Valley. You have to pay a fees of 20 Rs per person per day for the permits. An agent can get the permits for you for additional 100 bucks per person but its just as easy to get them done yourself. It only takes 10 minutes but make sure to reach the office before 4:30 pm. You will be required to leave a photocopy of the permit at all checkpoints, so get plenty of copies done.

Leh Palace - simple architecture - deserted inside with lots of small passages. Not much to look at but still holds a rustic beauty. Go there to enjoy the wonderful view of the Leh city from above. Would have been a nice climb to the top but we were tired and with two small kids, so took a cab.

Shanti Stupa - beautiful building set atop a hill in Changspa. Was build by some Japanese organization to promote Buddhism. There is a long flight of stairs leading to the top. Alternatively, you can take a cab up the long winding road at the back. The view from the top was absolutely magnificent. I thought it was a perfect place to view a sunrise or sunset. On the first day, we took a cab to reach the top. We were getting late and couldn't spend as much time as I would have liked. I decided to come back up the steps the next morning, but could never find enough time. Would always regret not getting up there again...

That was too much exertion for the day, so we all headed back to the resort with a light headache. After a light dinner, we immediately went to sleep.

Day 2

We were all feeling much better the next morning. Apparently our bodies had started acclimatizing. After having breakfast at the Roof-top restaurant, we hired a cab for our route for the day that was going to cover Sangam, Magnetic Hill, Kala Mata Mandir, Alchi Gompa and Likir Gompa. Taxis in Ladakh are way expensive (~ 16 Rs per km) and they all follow a union rate card. You can easily get a 10% discount off the quoted prices but nothing more. So round trip to Pangong (300 km) cost us 5000 Rs and Tsomoriri (430 km) - 7000 Rs. Carry double the cash that you originally planned because Ladakh is an expensive destination (but you would be too engrossed in the beautiful surroundings to really notice that till you come back)

Magnetic Hill - The hill is supposed to be magnetic. The magnetic force is said to be strong enough to be able to pull a vehicle up the slope. And yes we did get a demo of our Scorpio moving up the slope with its engine shut-down. What do I think - there's surely a catch. The hill doesn't pull any other objects towards itself - only big vehicles. I bet even a fully plastic vehicle would behave similarly.

Sangam - Confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers. A great riot of colors. The two easily distinguishable colors of the two rivers, and million colors in the background. We stopped our car on the side of the road. I wanted to get down to the rivers but wasn't sure if I would be able to get back up the steep slope.

Alchi Gompa - The monastery is more than 1000 years old. A guarded door led us into a dimly lit room containing splendid statues of Buddha. Another room had thousands of ancient Buddhist manuscripts. The monastery is along the banks of river Indus. I couldn't resist going down and splashing refreshingly cold water on my face. The monastery is not very big and had a bit of a deserted look. I don't suppose a lot of tourists go there.

Likir Gompa - A small detour on the way back to Leh took us to Likir Gompa. The monastery is situated on top of a small hill and looks impressive as you get the first glimpse from the road. There is a huge statue of Buddha in the monastery. Rest of the monastery seemed off-limits to tourists, hence there was not a lot to see.

Kali Mata Mandir - The temple is situated on top of a hill very near to Leh airport. There is a fair number of steps to be climbed to get to the top. The effort is rewarded by the view of the airstrip and rest of Leh. The place looks like another monastery complete with monks in their red robes. That is until you get inside to find Kali's statue instead of Buddha.

Day 3-4

Next two days we reserved for Tsomoriri lake. We left early, had delicious aaloo paranthas at a Punjabi Dhaba near Karu, and were on our way.

Enroute TsoMoriri - TsoMoriri is 230 km from Leh (8 hour drive). The roads are in reasonable good shape and the journey is not very tiring on the body. For most part we traveled with the Indus river. The way is absolutely beautiful and the landscape a canvas of colors ( can you make out the shades of purple and brown in the hills). We hardly met any vehicle on the way and there aren't many shops on the way either, so carry some water and eatables with you.

Hot Springs - Enroute Tsomoriri, most tourists take a stop here. Its almost midway and perfect place to stop for a cup of tea. Go down to check out small springs bubbling out between stones, just along the river bank.

This smaller lake was on the route to Tsomoriri. I am still not sure of the name of this lake. The lake had salt depositions that shone in the sunlight.

TsoMoriri - Absolutely beautiful. Huge lake surrounded by mountains. Was amazing to see different colors of the lake as the sunlight gets reflected from the surface. We spent plenty of time exploring the periphery of the lake.

Tourist resort, Tsomoriri - The 5 room resort stands about 100 m from the lake. Initially seemed a bit expensive at 2000 Rs (with full meals) but we really enjoyed the stay there. Rooms were comfortable and had an attached toilet/bathroom. The owner was one of the friendliest persons I have known. The food was excellent, the best we had in Ladakh. Would highly recommend the resort if money is not an issue. Other staying options were home stays at 300 Rs or tents at 1800 Rs. The home stay didn't appeal to us. Tents were already booked, otherwise we might have gone for them.

Picture perfect view from my room at the resort. Can you ask for more ??

Tsomoriri with snow peaks in the background. The colors kept changing with the angle of the sun.

Colors of setting sun getting reflected in the water.

It was a night before Full Moon, so we decided to wander way past sunset. Was amazing to be out there alone, in the milky light of the moon. Catch the sun setting behind the mountains and moon light getting reflected in the lake. The lake is big enough to have gentle waves hit the shores that make a soothing sound. One of the most beautiful night of my life. Turned out to be quite adventurous as well because we got really late while going back. We had underestimated how far we had gone. There were only two of us, and when the moon light was shadowed by a hill on the way back, it got really dark with my Chinese torch not working. By the time we got back, the rest of the group was really worried and had already started a search & rescue mission.

The next morning we woke up at 5 to catch the sunrise. It was absolutely chilly and my face almost froze. Don't know how we survived those 30 minutes before the sun came out and warmed us. In hindsight, sunrise was definitely not worth getting up that early and braving the cold.

On the way back from Tsomoriri, this little mammal decided to pose for us. He came right upto our car, stared at us with inquisitive eyes before disappearing into its underground hole. There were plenty of them roaming about in the green pastures.

Yaktail hotel (Leh) - We returned to Leh and checked into Yaktail hotel in Leh. Compared to seclusion of Mantra, this was right in the centre of Leh market. The inside of the hotel was very green (which is what lured us). The rooms were much bigger and nicely decorated. The food was more tolerable than Mantra. Not a bad deal at 1000 bucks. This is to be our night stay for next 3 days.

Day 5

Again we left early for Pangong Lake. Pangong is nearly 150 km from Leh but you can easily do the return journey in a single day.

Changla Pass - The way to Pangong Lake goes via ChangaLa, third highest motorable pass in the world. As we started our climb to the pass, we could feel the air getting thinner and chilly. It was quite cold at the pass inspite of the bright sunshine. While walking you could definitely feel the effect of thin air in the form of a light headache.

Army personnels posted at Changla Pass. Amazing that they spend so much time in those harsh conditions, and not just in summers. Even then, they were more than friendly. Wish our police force can learn some things from the Army. Three cheers to them !!!

TsoPangong - Even larger than TsoMoriri (we could only see a small portion of the lake). Nearly 40% of the lake lies in India and the rest in China. Bounded by mountains, the lake shone in brilliant colors of blue in the afternoon light. There are a couple of small restaurants and a hotel at the lake. Few tents were also pitched in and they actually offered us for 300 bucks. We were so disappointed we didn't have an extra day to spend there. You are also allowed to pitch in your own tents (that might change depending on border conditions - a friend on earlier visit didn't even get permits to visit the lake). Would strongly recommend all to spend a night at the lake.

There is a small village a few kilometers further down. We set out for the village, but the road was so bad we stopped at a nice spot in between. There was a small strip of land extending into the lake and we actually had water on both sides. Absolutely beautiful. We spent a few hours there but no amount of time could have been enough.

Freezing water. Felt like going for a swim but didn't want to fell sick. Kids had a gala time making sand castles.

This guy actually drove a caravan and parked it right at the lake. Now thats a cool way to travel. Wish I owned one. The guy never came out of the van, so I took liberty to pose as it was mine.

Now time to pose in front of our vehicle. It actually got stuck in all that gravel. At the driver's seat is obviously our driver, a gem of a person. Very soft-spoken and helpful. Never heard him complain or raise his voice even a bit.

Tents at the lake. Going rate 300 Rs - only valid for that night. No extra day :-(

Day 6

We had kept the last day for KhardungLa and Nubra Valley. Normally Nubra Valley is a two day trip with overnight stay but we had only one day, so we skipped going towards Panamik. Our main aim was to satisfy our egos by going to KhardungLa. We didn't have much expectations of the Nubra Valley but 'boy' were we in for a surprise.

Khardung La - Highest motorable road in the world (till China makes a road to Everest). Highest I have ever been in this life. Damn cold !!! However, we were disappointed not to find much snow around the pass. Pictures of my friends who had gone there earlier in June showed the road surrounded by 5 feet snow on both sides.

Nubra Valley - I thought I had seen Ladakh already. But as we descended from KhardungLa into the Nubra Valley, I was amazed. The landscape was unlike I had ever seen in all my traveling years. Not for a moment do you feel that you are still in India. The road journey from KhardungLa to Diskit/Hundar was definitely the best experience of my Ladakh trip. Beautiful beyond words. I wished I was on foot rather than inside the car.

Camel ride at Hundar - There is actually a desert (complete with sand dunes) in Ladakh. And ofcourse there are camels too albeit double humped ones, and much furrier and healthier, though shorter than their Rajasthan counterparts. Probably the camel rise wasn't worth it at 150 bucks/30 min in the hot sun, but what the hell. It was another experience to remember. Seeing the desert stretch upto the mountains was unique.

School kids at Diskit - Diskit is the largest village in the Nubra Valley. We stopped for a nice lunch at the Sangam restaurant. This photograph was shot from the window of the restaurant.

Diskit Gompa - How can a major village be without a monastery in this region. And yes like most monastries this was also situated on top of a hill. There was a fair bit of climbing to do - more than any other monastery that we had been to. We reached the top to find all the doors were locked - apparently it was lunch time. After half an hour, an apologetic monk unlocked the doors and showed us around.

View from the Diskit Gompa. Afterwards it was back to Leh via KhardungLa once again. Next morning we boarded the return flight amidst lots of security checks and chaos at the airport. Dream trip finally came to an end but the memories will remains fresh forever. Ladakh is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have been to and the most unique. I hope to return for a trekking trip sometime.

Valley of Flowers and Hemkunt Sahib

2007-08-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

Our planned itinerary

Day 0 - Delhi to Rishikesh (220 km /6 hours) - overnight bus
Day 1 - Rishikesh to Badrinath (300 km / 12 hours) - bus/sumo
Day 2 - Badrinath Darshan - ride to Govindghat (25 km) - trek to Ghanghria (14km / 4-5 hours)
Day 3 - round trek to Hemkunt Sahib(6km + 6km) - night stay at Ghanghria
Day 4 - Valley of Flowers ( 4 + 4 km + as far as you go inside) - trek down to Govindghat.
Day 5 - early morning bus/sumo till Rishikesh - bus ride back to delhi

What we ended up doing

Day 0 - Delhi to Rishikesh (220 km /6 hours) - overnight bus
Day 1 - Sleeping at Rishikesh - waiting for landslide to be cleared
Day 2 - Rishikesh to GovindGhat (280 km) - landslide before Badrinath
Day 3 - trek to Ghanghria (14km) - round trek to Hemkunt Sahib(6km + 6km)
Day 4 - Valley of Flowers ( 6 + 6 km) - trek down to Govindghat.
Day 5 - sumo till Rishikesh, drove around landslide at karnprayag - bus ride back to delhi

Useful information

Delhi - Rishikesh highway is blocked by kawarians during the month of sawan. Buses take the alternate route via Dehradun, Saharanpur. Takes longer and roads are bad. Rishikesh and haridwar would be packed with people. Better avoid this month.

Valley of flowers would have maximum blooming during monsoons (July/Aug). However, monsoon means rains and more landslides. Carry a raincoat and water-proof your bags. Be prepared to be flexible with your planning and spend some time in studying the main route and alternative roads. Landslides may take 2 - 24 hours to be cleared. If your path gets blocked, options are to wait for the road to be cleared or to drive around it via some other route. In some cases you can walk over the landslide and catch a ride from the other side. We had to wait a full day at Rishikesh while going up. On the way back we had to take a detour via Chopta at Karnaprayag.

Buses from Rishikesh to Badrinath start at Tehri Bus stand. You can also catch a sumo/bus at petrol pumps in front of the gurudwara. First buses start early morning around 5 am. Buses to Delhi start at a different roadways bus-stand.

At Govindghat you can easily get a room for 200/300 Rs. Only CellOne network is active and landline STD services were shaky. There are a few dhabas but nothing great. Langar at Gurudwara might be a good option. You can leave your extra luggage at the cloak room run by the Gurudwara. Porters and ponies are easily available. They quote a fixed rate but are open to some negotiation.

All things on the way are sold at twice the marked price. After having maggi, we were shocked to be charged 80 Rs for two plates. We also ended up paying 25 Rs for a bottle of water.

GMVN guesthouse at Ghanghria seemed to be the best option. Food and service was excellent. Rooms are a bit pricey at 750 Rs. But you can check into a dorm at 150Rs per bed. There are plenty of dorm rooms so if you are a little lucky, you will have the entire room to yourself. Rooms were also available at small hotels for around 200 Rs. Most Sikhs stay at the Gurudwara so inspite of the pilgrim rush, there is no shortage of cheap rooms.

We carried a tent with us but didn't find much use for it. Camping is not allowed inside valley of flowers and no good camping site between ghanghria and the valley. Staying is not permitted at Hemkunt Sahib. Only good camping spot are a kilometer before ghanghria around the helipad. Tents, sleeping bags, mats and other camping gear are also available at rent at Govindghat.

Trek to Hemkunt Sahib is very steep and tiring. Night stay is not permitted. Try to start early morning so that you are able to come back on time. We did the Hemkunt Sahib trek on the same day as Ghanghria trek but it was really grueling. If weather is bad, it might get very cold at Hemkunt, so carry sufficient woolens. My advice would be to avoid taking steps and stick to the trek.

Valley of flower trek is pretty gentle. Nothing is available inside, so its a good idea to pack a small picnic basket. Please don't leave any garbage or plastic behind. You can explore as deep as you like but stick to the trail. After a couple of kilometers the trail becomes very thin. Its worth the effort to go upto legge's grave.

Buses/sumo/qualis ply between Govindghat and Rishikesh. Buses have to be booked the previous night. There is a time based unidirectional flow of traffic between Joshimath and Badrinath. The first gate at Govindghat opens at 7:50 am. So if you want to start earlier, you might consider reaching Joshimath the previous night. Travel is not allowed after dark on the Badrinath highway.

Thursday, 2nd Aug, 7:00 pm

I am sitting in a small room of Shiva resort at Rishikesh, some 400 meters from Ram Jhula. The room is comfortable and the resort is open and green. Coming from an expensive place like Delhi, the room is a good bargain at 300 Rs. Its not the worst place to be spending a day in. About 5 minutes walk away, the Holy Ganges is flowing in full monsoon glory. In the morning, when I laid eyes on the fierce flow of the muddy water, I was awed. The fury of the water had submerged the banks and the ghats, and it was wider than I have ever seen at Risihikesh. A layer of mist had formed on the surface making the water level appear a lot higher than it actually was. Curving and bending it seemed like a giant anaconda ready to swallow whatever comes in its path. This however, did nothing to deter the faith of the devotees, who come to take a dip in the holy water and wash away their sins. This was also the month of Sawan, and millions of kawarias flock the city from far off places to fetch the holy water to the temples in their villages and cities. Dressed in saffron, Bhole-Bhole on their tongue, they would walk several 100 kilometers, carrying the Gangajal on a balance pole (kawar).

I had not planned to stay in this room, or in this city. 22 hours earlier, when I and my companion Pratyush(PK) had boarded a bus to Rishikesh, I had only one thing on my mind - Valley of flowers. The bus was rattling everywhere, the seats rather uncomfortable, and the air was choked with the smoke of bidis that everyone including the bus driver and conductor puffed on, blatantly ignoring the no-smoking sign painted on the front. I took comfort in the fact that each minute in the bus was taking me closer to the place, I had planned on visiting for the last two years. Reaching Hardwar around 5 am, we had quickly got ourselves on a bus to Badrinath. We had intended to visit the Badrinath temple with the first light of the next day, catch a bus to Govindghat and start the 14 km trek for Ghangaria, which is 4 km from the valley. No sooner had we started to get ourselves settled for the 12 hour ride, we were stopped by police and informed that the highway is closed due to a landslide. No one knew when the road would be cleared.

We have spent most of the day, sleeping. The disappointment of the break in journey have filled us with a strange lethargy. Neither the temptation of a refreshing dip nor the promise of a place in heaven, have been able to drag us to the ghats of the Holy Ganga. We just went out on a reconnaissance mission to check out the bus-stops and the bus timings to Badrinath. What we don't know is whether the route will be cleared up for the following morning. It is our only chance, for we could not afford to wait another day. Before starting we had been warned about the landslides and kawarias. We were prepared for small delays and discomforts. But we were not prepared to turn back. Yet now we could only pray and hope that this is precisely not what we would be forced to do, the next morning. It all rests on fate....

Friday, 3rd Aug, 10:00 pm

We have reached Govindghat, checked into a hotel after a light dinner and are preparing for bed. It was a long journey but filled with most breathtaking views. The road twists and turns continuously amidst a background of green mountains. Ganges flows parallel to the road, sometimes nearby, sometimes deep down in the valley, but never out of sight. The path is often crossed by small streams, that flows down from some secret location in the mountains and join the river below. I have been on this route several times but I can never get tired of the abundance of beauty that is sprawled in each corner.

Our day started early at 4am. We woke up the manager to pay for the room, but only after we made him promise that he would take us in if we come back an hour later. It was still dark outside when we stepped out of the resort. Ram Jhula was a sharp contrast to the madness of the day. The faceless crowd had been replaced by a handful of devotes taking a dip. Bright yellow lights were getting reflected in the blackness of the water. There was a slight drizzle in the air. It was serene and inviting but we had no time to waste. Hitching a ride with a group of kawarias, and walking the remaining 1.5 kilometers to the Tehri Bus stand, we reached almost too early. As we handed the ticket money, we were afraid it would be refunded an hour later. By now it was raining quite heavily.

The bus started 45 minutes later, stopping to pick pre-booked passengers on the way, each stop adding to our anxiety. The highway had been turned into a dumping ground of debris by the frequent landslides. The pile of huge rocks stacked up on the sides of the road, made us appreciate why it could take so long to clear the block. Crossing the point where we had been stopped the previous morning was the first good sign, but it wasn't before another 50 kilometers that we finally relaxed. Yes, we are on our way..

First came Srinagar, followed by Devprayag, Karanprayag, Nandprayag and Rudraprayag. After 6 hours of drive, we were almost halfway there. A welcome break at Pipalkoti for lunch and we were on our seats again. The relentless journey was finally broken up at Joshimath. There had been another landslide near Badrinath and our bus would not go any further. "Way to Govindghat is still open" and that's where we decided to spend the night. A quick change of bus got us to Govindghat, a small settlement on the banks of Hem Ganga, serving mainly as the road base for Hemkunt Sahib and Valley of flowers trek. Govindghat is made up of a Gurudwara, some small hotels and a row of small shops mostly selling prasad and religious stuff. On the bus we made friends with a couple of tour operators who are now sharing the four bed room with us.

Everyone else except me has gone to sleep. It has been a long day and we would again start early the next morning. A little while back, we had decided that we would not be able to carry all of 24 kg luggage during the trek. After some discussion we left behind the tent, all the camping gear, extra clothing, and managed to get down the load to half. Leaving behind stuff is like cleaning up disk space on your computer. You are not sure if you are going to need a certain file but you don't want to delete it just in case you do. My eyes are getting heavier now and I should get some rest as well. Hope we have a clear weather tomorrow...

Saturday, 4th Aug, 8:00 pm

My legs hurt, my shoulders hurt and my back hurts worst of all. I have spent the last hour in bed. Pk is spread out in a similar condition on the adjacent bed. He hasn't moved for a long time but I think he is still alive. Both of us have already taken a double dose of paracetamol. My belly is demanding re-fueling after all the energy I have spent, but I don't feel like getting out of bed. I wish I was at home eating pooris out of my mom's hands. But I am 25 hours from home, in a dormitory of the GMVN guest-house at Ghangaria. It has been a grueling day, with 14 km trek to Ghangaria, and 12 km tough, tough, tough return trip to Hemkunt Sahib. If I ever have been more tired in my life, I just don't remember it.

It was raining and quite dark outside, when I got up at 5 am. Looked like it had been raining all night. Rain was just what we didn't need ahead of a full day of trekking. After waiting for an hour, we decided we had to get going anyway. After depositing our spare luggage at the Gurudwara, we set off with several other Sikh pilgrims. My poncho (single piece raincoat with split sides) covered the bag as well, so I would have the bag on my shoulders as long as it continued to rain. "Its better if it rains for a while" remarked pk - he does have a sick sense of humor. I tried to imagine that climbing with the bag was just part of my Everest training. Yes, ever-since I read Tenzing's autobiography, Everest is on my list of places to go. Slowly we settled into our rhythm and concentrated on the beautiful surroundings. The path ran through a forest surrounded by mountains with Hemganga flowing violently to our right.

After 3km, we crossed a small village. The bag was proving to be a bit heavier than I would like but every so often a passerby would remark "itna bada bag leke chad rahe ho" and that would bring a spring to my step - oh what an ego. Finally it stopped raining after a couple of hours. I quickly split the bag in two and handed the heavier one to pk. Mid way we stopped for a cup of tea and maggi. While paying I was shocked to be charged 80 bucks. Everything was being sold for double the price and afterwards we were careful not to order anything without asking the price first.

Pk on move is a perfect example of a tortoise. He would walk at a leisurely pace, sometimes even bordering on painfully slow. But he is sure to beat the hare with his persistence, for he would continue to walk kilometer after kilometer without ever stopping for a breath. On the entire 28 km (both-ways) between Govindghat and Ghangaria, he stopped not more than twice. I prefer to go a little faster, so I would build up a lead, find myself a nice spot, and wait for pk to pass me while I enjoyed the scenery.

The later part of the trek had a lot more signs of landslide activity. The climb got a bit steeper at the end and we were exhausted by the time we reached Ghangaria. Just before Ghangaria there is a helipad and a beautiful camping site. Ghangaria itself, is a long row of hotels and shops, on both sides of a muddy road. We quickly checked into the GMVN dorm at 150 Rs per bed. The rooms were a bit pricey at 750 Rs. The dorm had 5 double-storeyed beds but none were occupied. After a quick lunch, we started for the valley of flowers. It was 12:00 pm by now and was raining again.

There is a common path out of Ghangaria that forks into two after a kilometer. The straight road continues to Hemkunt Sahib while the one on the left takes you to the valley of flowers. We decided that we won't be able to enjoy the valley in such weather and would rather go to Hemkunt Sahib. The trek to Hemkunt Sahib is so steep that you gain an altitude of 1.3 km over a distance of 6 km. The rains made it humid and we were sweating in our raincoats as we climbed. Very quickly we gained a decent height and could see Ghangaria much below us. I took the first opportunity to get rid of the raincoat and did the rest of the trek with a gentle drizzle against my face. Looking back it was much pleasant to do the trek in a cooling shower than to have the sun beating down on us.

The trek to Hemkunt Sahib is up the face of the mountain. Looking down we had wonderful views of the valley and the mountains on the opposite side. One look up and we couldn't believe how much we have yet to climb. By now we had been walking for 3 hours. Combined with the 14 km trek to Ghangaria, we were dead tired and our progress was slow. It was not raining but the weather remained pretty bad. We couldn't see more than 200m ahead in the mist and clouds, and were not sure how much distance is still remaining. Everyone else that we met was going down, and the few going up were hurrying past on the back of mules. Pilgrims are not allowed to spend the night at Hemkunt Sahib and we realized we were running terribly late if we are to come back.

A little later we hit a point where you had an option of taking steps. Standing on the foot of the steps, I could only see them disappear behind the clouds. With no idea of how many there were, we took the steps anyway, to save time. By now I was running on reserve and Pk almost out of gas. Steps didn't prove too kind on his knees and he started to stop for rest every 5 minutes. I was not enjoying them either, but I did my best to encourage him to keep going. By now, we couldn't see any other soul around us. Pk suggested that we should go back but I said its not the Everest that we are climbing. The news of a few people dying at Hemkunt Sahib due to cold was still fresh in our minds. Suddenly I saw a Sardarji climbing the steps behind us. I don't think I have ever been happier to see a Sardar in my life. It was such a relief to know that you are not the only two fools left on earth. So the three fools started climbing again.

Everytime we would feel that this must be the last 100 steps, only to get there and find another set of steps. We kept climbing and then at last there were no more steps - we had reached the top. By the time we reached it was 4 pm and so foggy we couldn't see much of anything. A sign board in the middle of a huge empty space declared that there was a lake there, somewhere. Suddenly a Sardarji in a dark blue knee length skirt and a yellow turban with a dagger hanging by his side, came shouting at us - "tusi hun ki kar rahe ho". I guess he was surprised to find us there at that late hour. He declared that there is no place to stay at Hemkunt Sahib and we must go down immediately. When we told him that we are coming from Govindghat and dead tired, he turned a bit kinder. He asked us to take a dip in the lake and come for Langar. One hand in the icy cold water convinced us we were not going inside. We were not carrying towels or clothes anyway. So we just washed our hands and faces, and went in the hall. We were served some khichdi and hot tea.

Now, I generally don't believe in miracles but what happened in those 30 minutes was nothing sort of one. When we sat down for the Langar, we were totally exhausted. The weather outside continued to be bad. It was getting darker and threating to rain anytime. We realized that if it started raining we would be in real trouble. But as I had one spoonful of khichdi, after another, I was abruptly filled with a feeling of goodness. Sipping on the cup of tea, all tiredness evaporated out of my body. I felt like I had been reborn, full of energy. Pk was also beginning to grin in a way that comes so naturally to him, when he is in a good mood. We came out to find the sun shining brightly. All the clouds had gone into a hiding somewhere. It was now, the beauty of the place hit us. The structure of the Gurudwara standing against the background of mountains. The clear water of the lake reflecting the green and brown of the surroundings. The stillness and quite around us. We were no longer in any hurry. We sat about taking pictures of the lake. Going down 6 km no longer seemed much of an issue - hell we felt like we could climb right up. We felt blessed by the pleasant sun rays. It was finally the same Sardarji who drove us out of the place saying it was getting late.

We almost raced down. The steep slope that had killed us while going up, now gave us wings. It felt wonderful to be out on the trek alone - without the usual rush of people and mules. On the way down, I spotted several different flowers and among them Brahmakamals. After getting some nice shots, we continued to speed down. Within an hour, we could see Ghangharia below us. The sun was beginning to set now but there was fair amount of light. No longer afraid of getting stuck midway, we sat down on a large rock to soak in the scenery around us. We sat there for a long time, till the light begin to fade. This time we walked slowly, with none of the previous urgency or energy. It had been a long tiring day. We had been up for more than 12 hours and had spent most of it walking. It took longer to get down than we had expected, but we were not in any hurry. As our bodies cooled down, it started to hurt everywhere. We were reduced to a bundle of aching muscles. Somehow we found our beds and crashed.

Thats where I have been lying for the last hour. A few times it crossed my mind if we would be able to walk to the valley of flowers tomorrow. But I already know the answer to that. In truth, I am feeling a little disappointed in myself. It had been a tough day but I didn't expect my body to betray me like this, to be in such agony. But I know it will bounce right back tomorrow, ready for another adventure, another day of walking. All it need is a good meal and a night of sound sleep, and I am sure we are going to sleep like logs tonight....

Sunday, 5th August, 11 am

"In all my mountain wandering, I have not seen a more beautiful valley where the human spirit may find repose"
- Frank Smythe

I am in heaven. No I haven't died, I am more alive than ever before. I am lying on a thick carpet of grass, adorned with several different floral patterns. The sky is clear blue with a few white clouds playing around. A cool breeze is blowing, making the flowers dance to its tune. The sun is shining brightly. It was getting into my eyes a bit when a little cloud floated across to cover it. "Everything is going to be perfect for you today", it seems to be saying with a slight grin on its face. Honey bees are flying around me, playing with the delicate flowers. Sometimes they come and sit on me. I let them without any protest or resistance. I am sure they have no reason to sting me. They know, that although I have encroached upon their land, I mean no harm to them or to their flowers. The carpet of grass and flowers extend through out the valley, continuing up the slope of the mountains that bound the valley on two sides. Small streams are flowing down the mountain, right across the valley, into the HemGanga below. At the far end of the valley, a snow covered peak is hiding behind a lonely cloud.

This is the Valley of Flowers, home to over 300 species of wild flowers, a World Heritage site. I am near the grave of Joan Margaret Legge, a botanist who fell to her death here in 1939. "I will lift mine eyes unto the Hills from whence cometh my strength" reads the gravestone. 15 minutes earlier, Pk and I were sitting beside the grave. Now I am alone. No, he has not been taken by her ghost. He is walking back, but I stayed for a little longer. I wanted to be alone amidst all this beauty. I know I need to get going now, otherwise Pk would wait for me and get worried. But its proving difficult to leave. All I want to do is to just keep lying here....

I woke up in the morning to find a crystal clear sky. This was certainly different from the previous 3 days. "Its a lovely weather for the Valley" remarked the GMVN attendant. Looks like our decision of going to Hemkunt Sahib yesterday, is going to be a good one. GMVN guys have been really good to us - very hospitable and friendly. After preparing a breakfast of aaloo paranthas, they also packed us a couple of sandwiches for the Valley.

There was a rush of Sikh pilgrims, but surprisingly not even one of them turned towards the Valley. A small check post at the entrance displayed a map of the area and a list of some of the more commonly found species of flowers. We found ourselves walking through a beautiful forest. Already there were several different species of flowers on both sides of the trail. I began clicking my digicam like crazy, while Pk held onto his role for later.

The Valley starts after 3 km from the check post. Its a mild trek and you gain an altitude of nearly 500 m. The path goes through a forest, crossing a frozen stream, onto a bridge over the ferocious Hem Ganga, followed by a climb on the other side. The trail was narrow here with flower cover thickening on both sides. As we gained altitude, the forest started giving away. A recent landslide was blocking the way, forcing us to climb over the rock and dirt.

Eventually the trail leveled out, and we could see the valley a kilometer away. HemGanga was flowing to our right, covered at some places with snow. Opposite us a vertical cliff was rising a few hundred feet. We crossed another frozen stream. 15 minutes later we were into the valley.

Even from a distance we could make out the purple over the green valley. Now the flowers were everywhere. We were literally walking between flowers. I think its quite useless to say that I had never before seen so many flowers. The flower cover was so thick that we were forced to stick to the narrow trail. "It is so beautiful" - thats the thought that kept repeating in my mind. Now even Pk got his camera out. He had saved his role earnestly for this, and I think it was worth it. Pk was taking my pic, when a Japanese guy offered to shoot both of us. As it turned out this is the only pic of the trip with both of us in it. Talking to him, revealed that he had flown down to India specifically to see the Valley.

As we were marveling at all the beauty around us, we met three person who made me realize how different perceptions can be. All three of them were from Ludhiana and had come to visit Hemkunt Sahib. Spare time had prompted them to come to the Valley. Now they couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. "There are more flowers in my backyard. Will it get any better further" one of them remarked with a disapproving look. I got angry at their remark. I felt as if they are being critical of something personal to me. I thought that some people can only find beauty in a free langar. I told them that they should not waste their time in going further. I also asked for an invitation to visit their backyard sometime.

Moving on we hit the documentary team from Japan. They were shooting a documentary for a local channel. One of the girls told us that we are really lucky to get such sunny weather. They had been trying to shoot for the past seven days but it just wouldn't stop raining. Only today they had been able to get some work done. Personally, I wouldn't have minded a slight drizzle but rains would have definitely been a big spoilsport.

Continuing on the trail we reached a small stream. A wooden bridge had been constructed over the stream. We had a drink out of the refreshing cold water and sat down for our sandwiches. After eating, Pk picked out a grass clearing and lied down. We were determined to go as far into the valley as time would allow us. So we moved on even after the trail started to blend into the flowers. Clearly this part was not very frequently visited. We kept moving forward forcing our way through. Every so often, we would spot a species of flower that we hadn't seen earlier.

We hit another stream, this time without a bridge. A big leap would have taken us across but we sat down at the edge wondering if we should go any further. We would have gone back if we hadn't met a Bengali group who were coming back from Legge's grave. They told us that it was less than a kilometer ahead. A little further the trail forked into two, with the right one turning back towards the grave.

We had been sitting near the grave for half an hour, when Pk left. I had told him that I would follow after 5 minutes but I don't feel like going back. It seems like such a perfect place for an undisturbed reading or sleep. Its such a shame that I can't spend the night here. Its such a shame that I can't stay here longer, probably for a lifetime. But I would go back and what would remain with me are the memories of being at a place whose beauty can't be described with words, whose beauty can't be shown by pictures, whose beauty can only be experienced.

"You cannot stay on the mountain forever. You have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher.
- Rene Daumel, Mont Analogue

Tuesday, 7th Aug, 1:30 am

According to plan, I should have been home right now, nestled up in my cozy bed. But things have rarely gone to plan on this trip. Instead, I am in the middle of a deserted road, few kilometers before Saharanpur. Our Uttrakhand Parivahan bus is standing a few steps away from us. The driver is trying to crank it up after every five minutes. Initially, I was hoping that it would start any moment and we would be on our way. But after an hour, all of us have given up hope. We are trying to stop some bus going in the right direction. A few minutes ago, a UP Parivan bus sped past our outstretched hands. "Saale UP wale nahi rokenge" came a piece of Gyaan from our driver. Apparently there aren't such good relations between UP Parivahan and Uttrakhand Parivahan. I lift up my head to look at the bright moon in the sky. Its a beautiful night. Still I would rather be home than in the middle of nowhere.

My feelings right now are in exact contrast to the peace I felt in the Valley yesterday. After staying near Legge's grave for almost an hour, I finally made myself to get up and walk back. It was a long solitary walk, one that I wished would never end. It was only after an hour that I saw Pk sitting on a rock beside a stream. There was another family sitting beside him. The family consisted of two adults, two kids and two elders who were traveling on an open doli carried by four porters each. There was a look of exhaustion and disappointment on there faces. The effort was proving too much and their tired souls were unable to see the beauty around them. They were going to turn back just at the edge of the valley. Even later, I have heard so many people remark how the valley wasn't as beautiful as they expected. I am not sure how to react to that. Perhaps, I am a little too easy to please. Perhaps, I am able to find beauty in a lot of things that others ignore. But the fact is that the Valley would remain one of the most beautiful places that I have been to.

After a quick sip from the stream and a gentle splash on the face, we started back. Back at the guest-house, we had a quick lunch, paid our bills and packed our bags. It was already 2:30 pm, but we were hoping to get back by 5, and grab a transport till Joshimath or further. Again didn't turn out the way we planned, and we were only midway by 4:30 pm. We decided to spend the night at Govindghat. By the time we reached Govindghat, we were dead tired and had just enough strength to find a room and crash to our beds. For dinner, we had a packet of biscuits.

Early in the morning, we found a shared Sumo for the ride back. Pk and I occupied the front two seats which offered a lovely view throughout the journey. The middle seats were occupied by two Sikh couples, and the back seats were filled by 4 youths from Ludhiana. The Sumo ride was much interesting than the bus ride coz we had the whole view in front of us. It was also nice to chat to the driver and gather some information about the place. We stopped at Pipalkoti for breakfast and were relieved to know that our Hutch connection was back. Inspite of the PCOs at Govindghat, we had remained disconnected from the world for 3 days now. A quick call to home on the way telling them that we were expected back around midnight. That plan changed soon enough. At Karanprayag, we were told that 5 km further the road is blocked by landslides. No one knew how much time it would take for the road to be cleared. The driver told us that there was an alternate route via Chopta. The detour would take us around the landslide to rejoin the main highway at Rudraprayag but it would cost us an extra 3 hours and 50 bucks each.

I was more worried about the extra 3 hours. It meant we would not be able to reach Delhi before next morning. But still it was better than waiting for the landslide to be cleared which might take another day. I decided to play it cool, forget about plans and enjoy the new ride. However, the Sikh couple had a major fight with the driver over the extra 50 bucks. They insisted that the driver should take them to Rishikesh on the agreed fare. There was a heated argument between them but finally we were able to convince them. So we left the highway and took to the small hilly road. Once I got over the upset schedule, it was actually quite a fun ride. We climbed over the hill driving on a small road through the lovely forests. We stopped near a hand-pump to fill our water bottles. The water was so chilled and refreshing that I couldn't resist splashing it all over my face and hair.

We were in Rudraprayag 3 hours later but still a long way from home. I had given up on any timetable by now and was just trying to enjoy the way. Few hours from Rishikesh, it started raining heavily. The sumo's wipers weren't in the best condition and we were also worried about more landslides. Sardarji in the back started singing some religious songs. I don't understand Punjabi well but he did have a deep resonating voice. It was getting dark by the time we reached Kaudilya, around 30 km from Rishikesh. I thought just an hour to go now but that again was not to be. We ran into two sumos in front. One of them had a totally dead battery and hence no horn, indicators or head light. Everytime the engine shut down, the occupants had to push it for a jump-start. It was decided that we would lead the sumo with our tail lights while the other sumo would light up the road from behind. Wasn't easy synchronizing the speed of all three vehicles in the dark. Our driver had been driving for 12 hours by then, and he was clearly in stress guiding the faulty vehicle. Our procession was slowed down considerably and it was not before 9 pm that we finally reached Rishikesh.

Rishikesh was still flooded by all the kawarians. We quickly got down our luggage and started for the bus stop. All the vikrams that passed us by were already jam packed. Some even had passengers on the roof. We were told that the bus stop was only a kilometer down the road, but we had already walked more. We managed to convince an auto-rikshaw to drop us to the bus stop - at a hefty fees ofcourse. But the moment we landed at the bus stop and saw a deluxe bus ready to depart for Delhi any minute, we felt that the extra fees was worth it. It was a much better bus than the one we had arrived in and we even got two seats in the front. We put the semi-sleeper seats back and made ourselves comfortable for a nice sleep. We felt lucky at having just caught this bus.

The luck didn't last for long, however. The bus and all its passengers are now standing in the middle of the road. People in cars and buses are passing us with a smile, that the misfortune of others so often brings to our faces. Sitting there under moonlight, in this hopeless situation, the same question is popping up in my mind, again and again. With the landslides, delays, uncomfortable bus rides, grueling trek, bad food - was it really worth it. Surprisingly the answer is still yes. Those few hours we spent in the Valley and the feelings we had at the Hemkunt Sahib were well worth all the inconveniences that we had to bear. Not to mention experiencing the beauty of the Nature all along the way. And the landslides and the bus rides had been an adventure of a sort. Once I am able to make it back home, I know I will come back to these mountains. For nowhere else have I experienced a greater bliss. But atleast for the next few times, I think I will stay away from the Parivahan buses.

My Pics

Valley of Flowers

Pk's pics

Valley of Flowers

Hemkunt Sahib

To the source of the Ganga

2007-07-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to go to Gaumukh/Tapovan ever since I heard the experiences of a few office friends who had been there. They had the most wonderful stories to tell about the place. How the Bhagirathi emerges from the mouth of the Gaumukh glacier, how they trekked over the glacier to reach Tapovan, about the Babaji who stays at Tapovan all year round, how they had khichdi at Tapovan that seemed to be cooked in kerosene oil. Most of all they were mesmerized by the beauty of the place and used the word 'heaven' a lot in their description.

We finally made up a plan for Gangotri/Gaumukh/Tapovan in June 2006. I was joined by two colleagues from office - Satish and Deepak Rath. We worked out a rough itinerary and booked a taxi. Our plan was...

Day 0 - Leave Delhi around 10pm - overnight to Rishikesh - 226 km drive on NH-58
Day 1 - Rishikesh to Gangotri(3048m) - 253 km drive via Uttarkashi
Day 2 - Gangotri to Bhojbasa(3792m) - 14km trek via Chirbasa(3350m)
Day3 - Bhojbasa to Tapovan(4463m) via Gaumukh(4000m) - trek 4 + 4 km - back to Bhojbasa
Day4 - Bhojbasa to Gangotri, drive back to Delhi

Day 0 - Leaving Delhi

We stumbled into our first road-block even before we started. I had booked a cab from the local taxi stand. The cab was supposed to pick me up at 10 pm after which we would pick up Satti and Rath from the office (Noida). At 9:30 pm, I called up the taxi stand to confirm the status. To my dismay, I was told that the driver who was supposed to come with us had fallen sick. I urged the person to arrange another cab from somewhere. After a while, he called back to tell me that an Indica is supposed to arrive from Agra around 11 pm and he has agreed to go to Gangotri. We waited anxiously for the Indica to arrive. By 12 am, we were really frustrated and no longer sure if we would be able to leave. To my great relief, the car finally arrived at 1 am. However, the driver was very reluctant to go on this route. He was concerned about the bad roads. He was also afraid that the Uttaranchal police was being very strict on cabs operating without commercial license. He was convinced that the other taxi-wala was just faking sickness. I assured him that nothing would happen and also offered him some extra trip. We picked up Satti and Rath, and started toward Rishikesh, nearly 3 hours late from our plan.

Luckily, we didn't run into much traffic and made swift progress. The driver cribbed for a while but soon settled in a holiday mood with us. Midway, we stopped for a cup of tea and had aaloo paranthas that I had got from home. On the way, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. Neither of us are used to waking up early so this was indeed a rare sight for us. We reached Rishikesh around 6 am and continued towards Uttarkashi.

Day 1 - Rishikesh to Gangotri

Right after Rishikesh, the hilly route starts. The mountain surroundings provide a spectacular view. Rishikesh to Gangotri is roughly 256 km and approximately 11-12 hour drive. The route goes via Narendranagar, Chamba, Dharasu, Uttarkashi, Maneri and Hasil. Uttarkashi is 155 km from Rishikesh, on the bank of Bhagirathi. Bhagirathi emerges from the Gaumukh glacier and joins Alaknanda at Deoprayag to form the Holy Ganges. Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) is also located at Uttarkashi. We stopped at Uttarkashi for lunch. After lunch, I caught up with the night's lost sleep as we drove on from Uttarkashi. After Hasil, our driver realized that due to the climb the car was burning more diesel than he expected, and we wouldn't have enough to come back. There were no petrol pumps from now on. We tried to buy some diesel from shops but without any luck. With no alternative we decided to keep going till Gangotri. In the worst case, one of us would have to hitch a ride to get some diesel in a can. The condition of the road deteriorated rapidly as we approached Gangotri. Some sections of the road were completely broken. We managed to reach Gangotri before dark.

As the source of the Ganges, Gangotri is one of the holiest places in India. According to Hindu mythology, King Bhagiratha persuaded the Goddess Ganga to come down from heaven so that he could release the tormented souls of his ancestors. It is at Gangotri that Lord Shiva received the Ganga in his matted locks to break the impact of her fall. Hundreds of years back, the entire stretch of land from Gaumukh to Gangotri was actually covered with Glaciers and Ganga did emerge from this place. Since then the glacier has receded more than 14 km.

Gangotri is crowded with dharamshalas, hotels and lodges. We found a cheap room in a lodge (300 Rs for the night). After unloading our luggage, we walked to the river through a narrow crowded market. On the bank of the river is the holy temple of Ganga originally constructed by Gorkha Commander Amar Singh Thapa of Nepal. Deciding that it was too late for the temple, we crossed the bridge to get to the other side of the river. We remained along the river bank enjoying the surroundings till it got dark. After that we came back to the lodge. The lodge owner introduced us to a guide and insisted that a guide was must if we wanted to go till Tapovan. We settled at a rate of Rs 300 per day with food and lodging extra. Looking back, hiring a guide proved to be a total waste. There is a clear trek till Gaumukh and the further trail to Tapovan is usually marked with little piles of stone. So we ended up spending about 1200 Rs just for walking with him. After dinner we went to bed planning to start real early the next day.

Day 2 - Gangotri to Bhojbasa

I woke up in the morning to find it was drizzling outside. I went to the balcony. It was a wonderful view with the small drops falling against a background of huge mountains. But I knew rain was not good for our plan. I have always believed that rains make for the most difficult trekking conditions. Fortunately it was not raining that hard right now. We had a cup of tea and got ready. For the next hour we waited for our guide to show up. The rain only got heavier and we were feeling a little anxious by now. Our guide showed up at 8:30 am. Apparently he was waiting for the rain to stop. By now we had accepted the fact that we would be trekking in rain. We bought large polythene raincoats to cover ourselves and started the trek.

The trek starts through a preserved forest area. We paid for the forest permits at a small counter. A sign-board put up there said no polythene allowed but I don't think it acted as much deterrent. Later on we spotted a number of discarded polythene bags and wrappers through out the trek and at Bhojbasa there was a plastic dump. I wish more is done to spread awareness and punish the offenders. All of us must take care not to leave behind non-disposable wastes at such places.

The forest soon thinned into a landscape of brown and grey, with framed views of the mountains in front. The trek is fairly well maintained and hugs the river in most parts. The rain stopped after we had trekked for an hour. On the way we came across a stream falling down the side of the hill and flowing right across the trek into the Bhagirathi below. A rudimentary bridge was constructed over the stream by keeping two wooden logs side by side. We crossed plenty such bridges till Bhojbasa and everytime it was a mini adventure. At couple of intermediate stops, there were small chai-shops inside small plastic tents.

8 km of trekking brings you to Chirbasa. The place derives its name from the pine (chir) trees that grows there. There is a forest bungalow and few dhabas at Chirbasa. Few chairs were laid out in a beautiful location in front of a dhaba. We sat down for a rest and ordered tea and maggi.

Above Chirbasa, the valley widens, and offers views of snow-clad peaks in the south. It is a gentle walk to Bhojbasa (3792m). We reached Bhojbasa around 2pm. Bhojbasa is named so after the silver birch trees. Growing to about 15ft, the silver birch is a very attractive tree. The bark of the tree is a fine, slightly brittle material, and tends to curl. Before paper came to India, manuscripts were written on this bark called the 'bhojpatra'. Although we didn't really see too many trees at Bhojbasa.

Bhojbasa is the widest point in the upper valley with a wonderful view of the Bhagirathi peaks. Almost everyone coming to Gaumukh or Tapovan, plans a stopover at Bhojbasa. There is a GMVN guesthouse and Lal Baba's Ashram for accommodation. Few tent like structures were constructed along the trek by putting thick plastic covers over stone walls and wooden frames. The front of each tent had an oven and acted as a dhaba with chairs spread out in open. The back of the tent had beddings laid out in two rows that acted as a small 20 people dormitory at Rs 80 per head.

We occupied the chairs in front of the first tent. We had a lunch of aaloo paranthas with pickle and a cup of tea. During lunch we met an elderly couple that had come from Haryana for the Gangotri/Gaumukh pilgrimage. Both of them were in their late fifties. We were really surprised to find out that they had planned to cover the entire Gangotri - Gaumukh trek and back to Gangotri in a single day. They had left Gangotri with sunrise and were now already on their way back from Gaumukh. Everyone at Gangotri had told them that it would be impossible to do the return trip of 36 km in a day, specially at their slow pace. I admit it did look a daunting task even for us. But they believed in themselves and were about to prove that nothing is impossible once you set your mind to it. After lunch we discussed the idea of going to Tapovan the same day. We were a little tired but felt we had enough time to do another 8 km to Tapovan. Satti and I were really tempted by the idea of spending the night there. Even though we were not carrying tents, we knew that we would be able to stay at one of the ashrams. However, our guide was convinced that it was too late. He maintained that it would be a big risk to start for Tapovan with tired legs and it would be too cold at Tapovan to spend the night. Satti and I didn't agree with him and we even thought about hiring another guide to take us. But Rath declared that he was really tired and not going anywhere. So it was decided to spend the night at Bhojbasa. We were initially reluctant at the idea of staying in a tent packed with 20 people. But the guest-house was full and the available rooms in the Ashram were really small and unclean.

Rath went to sleep but Satti and I were feeling fresh after the lunch and decided to explore the surroundings. We figured that Gaumukh is probably too far at 4km. Instead we decided to go to the base of the snow peaks in front of us. What we didn't realize at the moment was that what looked like only a couple of kilometers was infact a lot further away. As it turned out we ended up reaching Gaumukh without getting any nearer to the peaks. Both of us left Bhojbasa around 3pm.

It was a nice gentle trek and we were walking at a leisurely pace soaking in the wonderful scenery. After a couple of kms we realized our folly that the snow peaks were actually the Bhagirathi peaks and very far away. We changed plans to go till Gaumukh. Somewhere before Gaumukh we had our first glimpse of the snow covered Shivaling peak.A kilometer before Gaumukh the trail ends abruptly and is replaced by a rocky terrain. One has to pick his way through rocks and boulders. Just before Gaumukh there is a small shrine of Lord Shiva.

As we approached the origin of the river, we were a little confused. It appeared that the Bhagirathi was flowing out of the mouth of a small mountain. Where was the glacier, the river of ice, we wondered. We drew closer to the U shaped mouth of the river, making our way forward along the river bank. We noticed that most pilgrims had stopped near the shrine but we wanted to get as close as possible to the mouth. We were warned to be careful of the falling stones.

We continued inching closer, climbing over small rocks and boulders along the edge of the slope. Slowly we began detecting flecks of white under the mud and rocks. It was then the reality hit us like a lighting. The small mountain that surrounded us from three sides was solid ice covered with mud and rubble. In front of us, Bhagirithi was flowing out of a solid cross-section of 200 feet of ice. Huge chunks of compacted ice were falling off the face of the glacier into the river. At the very top of the glacier, like a crust of crunchy chocolate on a vanilla bar, was a 30 to 50 foot layer of mud and rock, the debris dragged down the mountains by the flow of glacial ice. We were amazed at the enormity of the scene. It was unlike anything either of us had seen before.

Totally mesmerized by the surroundings, we walked till the very edge of the glacial wall. We photographed each other against the background of ice. Stepping carefully over a few large stones positioned across the path of the river, got us a third of the way towards the opposite bank. We sat down on the last stone and put our legs in the freezing water. There we were alone, surrounded by the glacier, at the origin of the Ganges, with the river flowing beneath us. Both of us were two awed to speak much. We just sat there for a long time.

I wouldn't say I felt very peaceful there. On the contrary, I was a bit nervous, aware of a strong force around us. Nature was at its dynamic best here. Ganges was flowing down with a fury around us. Chunks of ice were falling off the glacier into the river and being carried downstream by the flow. Small stones and pebbles were rolling down the slope near us. I knew that the glacier, that once existed till Gangotri, is receding rapidly each year.

The realization of this powerful and dynamic force, brought contradictory emotions inside me. On one hand, I realized that it was probably not very safe to be sitting so close to the glacier and we should go back. On the other hand, I wanted to surrender myself to the intoxicating force and be there for all eternity. Lost in the confusing emotions, I was brought to my senses by a most remarkable incident that I would remember all my life. Suddenly there was a loud thunderous sound, and even before realizing what had happened, the sixth sense was alerting me to some danger. I looked up to see a huge chunk of ice, the size of a big car or a bus, cracking from the face of the glacier and falling down into the opposite end of the river. The chunk displaced a huge wave in the river that traveled straight towards us, threatening to sweep us away. I clearly remember feeling that it was all going to end here. Within a moment adrenalin kicked in and we were on our feet in a flash. Satti shouted 'Bhaag' (run) but before we could flee the wave broke across our bodies drenching us.

Looking back at the incident, I realize that in the moment of panic, our shocked mind had greatly exaggerated the danger that the wave presented to us. It was a big wave but it died before it reached us. In the end it was like getting soaked by a big wave at Marine Drive. We were never in any real danger, but the emotions that ran through us were as real as it gets. We were visibly shaken and drenched. The whole incident would not have lasted more than a couple of seconds. But things seemed to happen in slow motion and even after a year I still remember everything clearly. Thinking about it still gets adrenalin flowing to my veins and it will remain one of the most memorable moments of my life. Afterwards, we shared a loud nervous laughter. We decided to get the hell out of there before another of those big chunks fall over us this time. I still tease Satti about how he had panicked and shouted 'Bhaag' at the top of his voice. But he realizes that I had panicked as much as he had.

Back at the Shrine, we refocused our thoughts and headed towards Bhojbasa. Instead of following the trek that curves away, we decided to walk along the river. A little further we came across a tent belonging to a couple of researchers. They were staying at Gaumukh to study the rate at which the glacier was receding and the factors responsible. The glacier which forms a mass of ice about 18 miles long, is retreating at a rate of more than 100 feet a year. While the glacier has been retreating since measurements began in 1842, the rate of retreat, which was around 62 feet per year between 1935 and 1971, has almost doubled. Global warming is mainly responsible for this drastic change. At such a rapid retreat, a gradual increase in droughts, flash floods, and landslides are really something to be worried about.

We were feeling a little lost, when we came across an army camp. We walked into the camp and had a chat with some of the army men. They were posted at Gaumukh to learn mountaineering skills on the glacier. The next day, we actually saw them in action on the vertical ice cliffs with their ice axes and crampons. After a quick chat, we asked for the directions and rejoined the trek.

The light was fading fast and we increased our pace to make sure we made it back to Bhojbasa before dark. We stopped at the ashram to deliver a message that someone at Gaumukh had sent for his fellow travelers. We reached our tent to find Rath safely tucked under the blankets. Soon we got rid of our shoes and joined him. The dinner was again aaloo paranthas.

A lot of other people came back from Gaumukh and started filling the tent. I observed that almost 80% of the people around me were Bengalis. I have continued to notice a similar trend in almost all of my treks. Bengalis have an insatiable desire for travel that makes them pack their bags and leave for an adventure at the first opportunity.Around 9 pm, I learned that a group in the tent was still waiting for a couple of people to come back from Gaumukh. I was surprised and wondered how they would be able to make their way back in the night. Going outside the tent, I got my answer. An almost full moon was filling the entire valley with a milky white light. Those who haven't been to the hills on a full moon night, would probably never realize how bright the moonlight can be. I felt we could easily trek till Tapovan in this light. This made me regret our decision, to not go to Tapovan, even more.

I dragged Satti out of the tent for a walk. It was a wonderful experience to walk in the soft moonlight. Since that night, I have always wanted to do a longer trek under full moon. After following the trail to Gaumukh for a while, we descended down the valley towards the river. We reached the bank and sat down on a rock. It was wonderfully peaceful this time round. I have known Satti for a long time. He is an unusually quiet guy and its difficult to drag him into a conversation. He doesn't hold strong opinions about most things except cricket and football. I am not a very talkative person myself. So we were mostly quite sitting there along the river under full moon. But sometimes quite moments goes a long way in cementing bonds of friendship and I felt this was one such moment.

By the time we got back to the tent, everyone was gearing up for sleep. All of us tucked ourselves under blankets. It had been a long day. We had walked about 25 km, that was the most I had done in a day till then. I was hoping for a refreshing sleep but had no such luck. I heard someone snoring loudly. The disease seemed contagious , for soon I could hear atleast 3 more snoring sounds. Two of them were coming from Satti and Rath who were asleep on my either side, giving me a complete surround sound experience. I tried to go to sleep but without any success. I was so frustrated I wanted to kill both of them. I tried shaking them but that only turned off the music for a short while. I wondered how the others were able to sleep. The whole night passed in complete agony for me. I was able to get only brief moments of sleep throughout the night. Not a good ending to an otherwise wonderful day...

Day 3 - Bhojbasa to Tapovan via Gaumukh - back to Bhojbasa

We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. After a cup of tea, it was time for the morning routines. I asked the tent owner about the toilets. He handed me a bottle and pointed towards the rocks. It took some time for the cruel reality to sink in, before I started walking gingerly towards the pointed direction. Like so many other firsts on the trek, this was also a new experience for me. I made sure I got as far as possible and sat behind a rock to do the needful.

After breakfast we started for the day's journey. The walk till Gaumukh was already familiar to us. Instead of going to the mouth of the glacier this time, we climbed over the northern side. The holy trail ends at Gaumukh and the path becomes dodgy after that. We climbed to the top of the glacier snaking through loose debris and hopping over a few boulders. The route here changes frequently due to the movement of the glacier. We were a bit disoriented at first and relied on our guide for directions. However, pretty soon we realized that piles of stones were kept on the higher rocks to mark the way.

After reaching level, we turned south to cross the glacier. Huge crevasses in the path reminded us that we were actually on a huge glacier. Few accidents have been known to happen where a person got trapped inside after falling through one of these gaps. We could hear water trickling underneath.

Going higher, we spotted a team from the Indian army, practicing mountaineering techniques on the glacier. Few members were climbing a vertical wall of ice. They were laboriously making their way up with the help of ice-axes and crampons, while their team members held the rope for them. Similar exercise was going on another 75 degree ice slope. We were told that a team would later be attempting to summit one of the Bhagirathi peaks.

Our walk had become pretty laborious itself. We were beginning to feel the effect of steep climb and high altitude. The bad path was not making things any easier. We were panting for breath and stopping frequently for a rest.

We ran into a Sadhu on the way. He was dressed in a vest, light jacket and lungi. He had a big beard and his long braided hair was wrapped around his head with a turban. He had sat down for a rest. As we approached him, he asked us if we would like to have some Charas. We were intrigued by this offer but declined politely. Then he proceeded to take out a 'chilam' from his pockets and lighted it up. He exclaimed that he was badly in need of some energy before the final climb.

Sadhu Baba had set off on the 'char-dham' yaatra from Rishikesh on foot. He had already been to Badrinath and Kedarnath. A devotee of Lord Shiva, Babaji wandered in the mountains in his rubber slippers and light clothing. He was without any provisions, money or spare clothing. He used to eat whatever other devotees offered him. Most of the time he was high on charas. Although I didn't approve of his chosen lifestyle, I took an immediate liking to the Baba. He was lost in a world of his own. Unlike usual Sadhus, he never preached or tried to coerce any money from us.

Babaji joined us for the rest of the journey. Soon we were standing beneath a nearly vertical wall of stones and debris around 1000 feet high. We looked for a way around it. When our guide told us that the way is straight up, we thought he was joking.The climb was both exhausting and dangerous. We had to stop for breath after every 10 steps. The debris didn't allow for a good footing. One slip and there was nothing to break the fall for a long way. Few slippery corners found us on all fours clinging to the slope.

As we climbed, we got a wonderful view of the snow covered Bhagirathi. Bhagirathi are the group of three high peaks namely Bhagirathi - I,II,III with the height of 6856, 6512, 6454 meters.

A little more effort took us to the top that opened into a large meadow at the base of Shivaling. This was Tapovan named so because several Sadhus choose this spot for extended meditations (tap). To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. The place was beautiful but I had expected something much more remarkable after my friends' description. There was no carpet of grass and no blooming flowers. The place was a vast field of stones and dried grass. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to be there or perhaps going there with a preconceived image was an even bigger mistake. However, the journey to Tapovan was most memorable and the backdrop of Bhagirathi and Shivaling peaks made for a splendid view. Totally exhausted by the climb we lied down on the grass for a long time.

There are a couple of ashrams at Tapovan.Both offer places to stay, food to eat, tea. My office friends had stayed at the Shimla Baba's ashram where they had kerosene khichdi. Our guide led us to the ashram of Bengali Mata. The ashram was built around a small cave under a huge boulder. Bengali Mata had been staying at Tapovan throughout the year for a long time. She was dressed in normal clothes.

All of us sat down on mats laid out in front of the ashram. We were immediately offered some tea. Our own Sadhu Baba joined us a little later with another companion. The person belonged to Calcutta and worked for Ramakrishna Trust. A pronounced bachelor he was extremely fond of traveling. There was another interesting fellow from Delhi. A businessman who had been coming to Tapovan for a full month for the last 8 years. I told him if I had that much time I would go and see all the other places. There is certainly no shortage of places in Himalayas. But he insisted he felt a peace there unlike he had ever felt anywhere else.

Sadhu Baba lit another 'chilam' and started getting high. He shared the chilam with a group of porters that had brought provisions for Bengali Mata. The gentleman from Delhi started talking about spirituality and stuff. He had a huge problem with the Sadhu Baba and his way of living. Rath also was making fun of Baba. He commented that Sadhu Baba must have seen Lord Shiva a lot of times. Sadhu Baba didn't take the slightest offense. Infact I doubt if he ever paid any real attention to the conversation. He lived in a different world of his own.

Bengali Mata invited us into the cave for the lunch. It was a neat little cave. She actually had gas stove for cooking. The food was unexpectedly delicious considering the circumstances. I have read about the bad experiences some other people have had at the ashrams at Tapovan. They complained that the Baba's are just running unlicensed hotels in the name of religion. They are greedy and overcharge for food. I must say that I never got that feeling. Although I never thought about Bengali Mata as a saint, she certainly appeared as a kind and generous person. She was affectionate in serving us food and tea. She never demanded any money from us. While leaving, our guide told us to give 100 Rs. I assumed he was talking 100 Rs per person, but it was just 100 Rs for the four of us. I don't think that was excessive at all for tea and lunch for 4 people at that height.

By the time we started back, the sun had gone behind clouds, and chilly air was starting to blow. I felt a light headache, no doubt the combined effect of altitude, cold air and sleepless night. Unfortunately, I didn't have any woolen cap with me. The descent was even trickier than the ascent. We were struggling for footholds due to all the debris and small stones on the path. One look down the slope reminded us that any lack in concentration could prove costly. Carefully we got down till Gaumukh. We spent some time at the glacier, though we didn't go as close as the last time. My headache was killing me by now. We started back for Bhojbasa. Those 4 kms proved to be the longest journey of our trek so far. My head ached with each step. It appeared to me as if Bhojbasa had receded till Gangotri. I remembered how we had just strolled to Gaumukh and back, the previous day. But now it took all my strength and will power to go on. The sight of our tents restored some energy and I raced to the destination. Once inside, i swallowed a Dispirin and went to sleep. When I woke up a couple of hours later, my headache was gone but I didn't feel too energetic. So I had my dinner and went right back to sleep...

Day 4 - Bhojbasa to Gangotri - back to Delhi

Next day we left for Bhojbasa early morning. It took us only a couple of hours to get down to Gangotri. At Gangotri we were amazed to see so many people and vehicles. Things had seemed so normal when we had left but now it was crazy. We struggled to find our car. Our driver told us that it was Ganga Dusshera that day, and was considered very auspicious for a holy dip. Therefore so many devotees had flocked the place and more were coming in. We told him that we are going to the temple and would be back quickly. The small market before the temple was jammed with people. We made our way through the sea of bodies towards the temple, only to find an impossibly long queue there. It seemed unlikely that we would be able to get out before a couple of hours so we dropped the plan. We bought small cans from the market and went to the banks of the Ganga. Some people were bathing in the freezing cold water but we weren't in a brave mood. So we just washed our face and limbs, and filled the cans with the Holy water. Around 11 am we left for Delhi. But the huge inflow of vehicles on the narrow road created a massive jam. It took more than an hour for the jam to clear. Once we were on our way, we only took a couple of stops for lunch and dinner for the whole journey. We were back in Delhi by 4 am, just in time for a brief nap before another day at Office.

Trek pics

Pindari - Day 6/7

2007-07-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - Dwali to Dhakuri

It was the 6th day of the trek now and we were on our way back. There wasn't the usual excitement of arriving at some place for the first time. Perhaps, it was this fact that helped me relax. Perhaps it was the wonderful start of the day or perhaps it was the music I listened to. Or it was all these things combined. For I don't know how else to explain the wonderful sensation that swept over me. I felt happy and not in a normal way. It was as if for a few moments happiness had filled every pore of my body. I felt blissful and free. I could find nothing wrong with the world around me...

The day started with our morning fairy knocking on the doors. It was Tiwariji trying to wake us up at 4:30 am. There had been some huge misunderstanding between us. We were under the impression, that with only the return journey left, we don't need to lose our morning sleep anymore. Our forest guardians though wanted us to start even earlier as the weather was not holding very well. Tiwariji voiced his concern about the rainfall. I told him it seems impossible to wake up Diggu and others early today. After this brief interruption, I tried to get back to sleep but could not. So i decided to enjoy the sunrise.

It was still dark outside. The hills on the opposite side were appearing dark silver in the twilight glow of the sky. I could hear the Pindar flowing across the valley below. The air was a bit chilly so I immediately went inside and got a jacket for me. I joined Tiwariji and others who were sitting around a fire inside the kitchen. I shared a cup of tea with them. Then I went outside and seated myself on a wooden bench. I sat there enjoying the early morning views of the surrounding peaks. The sky turned from dark grey to silver, then took some shade of red and finally started turning blue as the light started to fill in. It was a beautiful sight and the whole surrounding felt real peaceful.

As the day broke in, I saw a herd of sheep sleeping in the valley beside the river. They were all huddled together in a big circle keeping each other warm. I got out a camera and decided to go down for a shot. The herd was accompanied by a group of four locals. They told me that the sheep belonged to villagers from Khati and they were going to drop them at Pindari for grazing where they would remain for the summers. They offered me some tea but I told them I just had one. I took their photograph and got mine taken with them and the sheep. We had a great time sitting around a fire and listening to each others stories. When I went back to the rest-house Chote was already standing outside. Together we woke up the rest of the group. I got myself ready and sat down to read Mr Burton's philosophy again. Chote wanted me to listen to a song on his Ipod. The lyrics are totally unmentionable here but the song was great. I started going through the other songs and was soon lost in music.

Everybody was taking his time today and no amount of coercing from Tiwariji could get us to leave before 8am. The DDA team had left hours before us. We descended down to the river, crossed the bridge and headed back to Dhakuri. Most of the way between Dwali and Dhakuri goes through a thick forest. I dropped back from the group till I felt I was walking alone through the forest. For the first time I was walking without a bag on my shoulders and I felt wonderfully light. Pindari was flowing along to the left. The weather was a bit cloudy giving the whole surroundings a slightly romantic touch. There I was walking alone amidst beautiful tree covered hills. Suddenly a feeling of profound happiness overwhelmed me. I realized there was no thought, no worry, no hatred, no love in my mind. I felt totally free. Free from traffic, free from rules, free from work, free from responsibilities, free from relations, free from misunderstandings. I put on my favorite song at full volume. Soon I was actually dancing to the beats as I got more and more drunk on my own happiness.

The surge of happiness lasted only a short while but the effects remained much longer. I continued to walk till I caught up with the rest of the group as they waited for me near the river. We sat near the edge listening to water forcing its way through the rocks. After the usual round of photographs, we continued along the up and down path through the forest.

We would have been walking for a couple of hours when we reached the tea-shop at which we had taken shelter from rain while coming. It was a strange coincidence that as soon as we got there, it started to rain again. We had maggi with a cup of tea while waiting for the rain to stop. Realizing that the weather gods were not going to relent anytime soon, we got our raincoats out. I have always loved rains. I was actually enjoying the light drizzle falling across my face as we made our way forward. However, with more than 13 km still left, the rain was slowing us down considerably, as we stepped carefully over the slippery stones avoiding water holes and muddy paths. We also had the last 3 km to Dhakuri in mind. While coming it was a swift descent but now we would be faced with a steep climb up-hill. Dwali and Dhakuri are almost on the same altitude and the 18km trek goes up and down, at times descending into the valley only to climb up the opposite hill. We realized that we were in for a long day.

The rain in hills is very different from that in the plains. It comes without much warning. The sun would be shining one moment, and within minutes clouds would fill in quickly and it would start raining before you had a chance to take cover. Fortunately, in most cases it does not pour down heavily. Its mostly a persistent drizzle that may go on for hours and when you would have resigned yourself to it, it would stop just as suddenly, and within minutes you would have the sun shining again. The rest of our journey continued between this hide and seek between the rain and the sun. It rained continuously for an hour, stopped suddenly, and just when we had taken off our raincoats, it started raining again. The last few kms to Khati was a climb. We caught up with the DDA team on this stretch. It had stopped raining by now but the path was very slippery. It got even worse around the landslide area near Khati. The original path had been taken away by the landslide. The new dirt trail that ran around the landslide had turned into a river of slippery mud. We had a hard time going forward. As the trail crossed over the landslide it had become a real risky affair. Imagine our delight and relief when we finally reached Khati.

At Khati we sat down near a chai-shop. We asked the owner if he had anything to eat. We half expected the reply to be maggi when he said that he can also prepare Aaloo Paranthas but it would take 10 minutes. The wait was well worth it because the Paranthas tasted out of this world with a slice of butter and green chilly pickle. A shameless attack on the paranthas followed as they were brought one by one only to be grabbed in a second. A casual observer might have inferred that we hadn't had anything to eat for days. The final count of paranthas came down to 20 but I am sure the owner had missed a few. Kailash was so impressed with the paranthas that he wanted to stay at Khati for the day. I too was having a relaxing time as I sat down with my book.

The rest and the paranthas did wonders to our battered souls and we were ready for the second leg of the day's journey. I looked back at the small beautiful village for the last time. Just outside the village, a herd of sheep blocked our path. I was pushed into the side of the hill as I tried to find my way forward. My attention was on the sheep and I failed to notice the 'Bichhu' plant as my legs brushed against it. 'Bichhu' plant is named so because it actually stings pretty badly if you are unfortunate enough to come in contact. The leaves are covered with small thorns that injects a chemical and the effect lasts for hours. There is another plant whose leaves are supposedly the cure. I tried to look for this plant but without much luck. Meanwhile I continued enjoying the stinging sensation. After half an hour it started raining again. We continued to make slow progress in the rain. As much as I enjoy the rains, we have had enough by now and we couldn't wait for it to stop.

Rain finally relented after a couple of hours. We stopped at a chai-shop in a small village. The village was in a valley surrounded by small peaks. There was an extra-ordinary stillness in the surroundings after the rain. Not even a single leaf was moving. All the clouds were rooted to their location. I stared at the hills, the clouds and the valley in front of me. It was as if I was staring at a huge wallpaper. After the valley, we started the ascent to Dhakuri. The weather was better by now but we were really tired. The steep climb was taking its toll now. The trek was skirting round the face of a hill. Dhakuri lied midway on this hill. Losing their patience, Diggu and Kailash started climbing directly up the hill. My experience is that taking such shortcuts usually drains much more out of you. So if you are tired its better to stick to the trek. It took all our reserves to climb up to our destination of the day. It seemed like a great achievement at the time.

Once at Dhakuri we left our shoes and socks for drying. Clouds were clearing by now and fading sun was spreading its rays around us. All of us sat outside enjoying the warmth of the sun after a wet day. After a while, we had a wonderful view of the Maktoli and other snow peaks near Sunderdunga glaciers. We had missed this view during the whole of our earlier stay at Dhakuri because of cloudy sky. We managed to get a few shots before the peaks disappeared again. Vikas wanted to spend the night in a tent. He had never slept in a tent before and had contemplated the idea every night of the trek. Each time the fear of cold and leopards had deterred him from going ahead with the plan. We used to joke that Vikas is waiting to get back to his home where he would pitch the tent on his roof. Realizing that this was indeed his last opportunity, Vikas started to pitch the tent. He implored everyone to help but all of us were feeling too lazy by this time. Kailash finally offered his help and soon both their ladies also joined in the action. It was getting cold outside so the rest of us moved back to the room. Soon we had tucked ourselves in the two quilts that were lying inside.

After putting up the tent, Vikas started shifting anything useful he could find in the room to the tent. First went the rubber mats and plastic sheets lying on the floor, followed by the two mattresses. Then the bed sheets and all the blankets. He even took the door mat. Obviously, he had already kept his dagger and pepper spray inside. Throughout the trek, Vikas had made sure that he kept a one foot dagger and a pepper spray besides his pillow. He felt he needed them more than ever now, sleeping outside amidst wild leopards. It was indeed funny to imagine Vikas spraying pepper spray on a leopard. Amused by the proceedings we were wondering if he was going to come for the beds next. Instead he came for my quilt. I flatly said that there was no way I was getting parted from my warm quilt just then. By the time Vikas finished, he had turned the tent into five star accommodation. It was decided that the couples would spend the night in the luxury of the tent whereas the bachelors would have the honor of sleeping on the beds for the first time. Next there was a round of cards inside the tent. Diggu had fallen off to sleep by now and I decided to read till the light lasted.

During dinner, Chote started teasing Vikas about the dagger and pepper spray. He retorted that when the time comes he wont be able to kill a fly with the dagger. He also joked that how would Vikas lock the tent to keep the leopards out. By now Vikas half suspected that Chote had plans of scaring him during the night and warned him to stay away from the tent. We also joked that if Chote ventured anywhere close to the tent he was sure to get pepper spray in his eyes. We continued the bakwaas for a while. Then the two couples departed for the tent and the three of us occupied our respective beds for a well deserved sleep. During the night few dragon flies found their way inside the room. I wondered if a few would have also managed to get inside the tent and if Vikas was chasing them right now with a dagger in his hands.

Day 7 - Dhakuri to Loharkhet - drive to Bageshwar

If rain had troubled us the previous day, this day was to be the wettest of the trip. It was raining already when we woke up in the morning. Perhaps it had been raining all night. Any hopes of enjoying the morning view of the snow peaks was soon washed away. Rain drops were looking beautiful falling on the carpet of green grass. We knew they wouldn't feel as good falling on our heads. Lazily, we started getting ready for the final day of the trek. None of us were in any hurry to get back to civilization. We had been without electricity, mobiles, TV, newspapers for 6 days now , something totally unimaginable in our routine life. We just hadn't managed to live without them, we never missed them in this beautiful place. I know soon development of the region would mean bringing electricity and roads to the place. Perhaps it would make the life of the people and tourists more comfortable, but it would definitely take something out of the place.

We got our bags ready, put on our poonchos (raincoats) and stepped out into the rains. The first km was a steep climb to the Chilta Pass. The path went in circles around the slope. I tried climbing straight up the face and was soon exhausted. Up at the pass, we sat down for a breath as the rains continued to pour down on us. It was down all the way from now on. But the descent was made tough by the slippery surface. Worst of all, I couldn't employ my strategy of running down. We walked slowly, careful not to step on the slippery rock faces. Still we slipped and slided. I tried to concentrate on the surroundings instead of the path, but it wasn't easy. It was taking forever to cover a few kilometers. Rain seemed our worst enemy just as it does between an important cricket match.

Vikas and I were walking together when we came upon the shortcut we had taken while coming up. Vikas wanted to take the shortcut but I thought it would be too slippery in the rain. While we were trying to decide between the longer route and the slippery shortcut, Chote went past us down the shortcut. Not to be left behind, we started to follow. Soon Chote slipped but managed to regain his balance. I found myself in the middle of slippery mud with no where to go, my legs sliding in all directions. As I was trying to make my way out, I witnessed Vikas losing his footing. But instead of landing straight on his bum, he took a couple of somersaults before coming to a stop. Then just as abruptly he stood up and started running towards the stone trail. I didn't know what to make of it. If I hadn't known better it would have appeared that instead of slipping, Vikas has just performed an amazing acrobatic stunt. Initially I was worried if he had hurt himself but seeing him run I assumed he was alright.

I was in a sticky situation myself and instead of following Vikas, where evidently it was much more slippery, I continued down the shortcut. I joined the stone trail, some distance down. I had left the others behind me. It was raining heavily and there was no shelter to stop. I started to walk down alone. I saw a local porter walking up and I asked him if there was any shelter nearby. He told me that there is a chai-shop only half kilometer down. I decided to reach the chai-shop and wait for the others there. I walked on hoping to see the chai-shop after each corner, only to be disappointed each time. What was half kilometer to him turned out to a couple of kilometers. Walking alone in the rain, the journey seemed endless. A lot of times I thought about stopping for everyone to join, but there was no place to sit. I had almost resigned myself to walking till Loharkhet, when the chai-shop finally arrived. The rain was slowing down by now.

I ducked into the small room and spread myself on a chair kept near the fire. The shopkeeper was a young local and we talked for a while. Meanwhile he got me some hot tea. I was so happy to see everyone join in some time later. The rain had stopped by now and sun was beginning to shine from behind the clouds. Everything was suddenly looking bright after hours of gloom. We put some chairs in the open.

Pindari - Day 5

2007-07-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

Phurkia to Zero Point and beyond, Down to Dwali

The day started almost similar to the previous day, with me waking up to find out that I was feeling a little cold again. This time I knew we had no spare blankets, so I put on my jacket and tucked the blanket securely under me. A little later we were woken up again by the alarm. Vikas was really taking the lead today as he jumped out of his bed to get ready. He had planned to get ready first and leave ahead of the rest of the group with Geetika, while the others got ready and caught up later. Vikas and Geetika really did a remarkable job and managed to get ready, have breakfast and leave at 4:45 am. Meanwhile, I was not having such success in trying to wake up Diggu and others. Rest of the group didn’t share a similar enthusiasm for waking up so early for a trek they had already done once. Waking up Diggu had remained a difficult job through out the trek, as he growled at every attempt to get him out of bed. Chote had not been feeling well since coming back from Pindari yesterday, and straight away said that he was staying. At one point, I was not sure if any of us were going back since no one seemed in the mood to get up. I too had grabbed the extra blanket left by Vikas, and made myself more comfortable.

Finally Kailash declared that it was time to go and woke up for his morning chores. Kavita and I followed. Diggu was still sleeping and by now we had assumed he was staying too. When the rest of us were ready, Diggu suddenly jumped out saying he was coming with us. Half an hour later, he was still not sure if he wanted to go or not. I was really anxious to leave now. I discouraged Diggu from coming if he was not feeling well. At the moment, the suggestion was also a bit selfish one as I wanted to be able to leave as soon as possible. However, I think it really saved Diggu from another tiring day in bad health and helped him to recover for the return journey.

I had made up my mind to go solo on this stretch. I wanted to have a feel of trekking alone and also wanted to reach Pindari really early. My ego also wanted the satisfaction of timing myself and seeing how fast I can manage the 6 kms. I was carrying a very light bag today and planned to reach Pindari in an hour. So I started around 5:45 am, a little ahead of Kailash and Kavita, and an hour after Vikas and Geetika. I started in a rush almost breaking into a light run even on the ascent. Soon I was getting out of breath on the steep climb and had to slow down. I decided to stick to a steady pace on the climb and break into a run on the descent. Again I was confronted by the water stream. The water level was much higher now and I definitely didn’t want to get my shoes wet at the start of the day. So I got my shoes and socks off, folded my lower and jumped into the stream. I crossed over, put my socks and shoes on again, slightly annoyed at the five minutes the whole process had cost me.

I kept up my race with the clock. I breezed through the narrow trail breaking into an uncontrolled run at the sight of a descent, carrying the momentum into the ascent that usually followed. Looking back, it was perhaps the worst way to do any trek. My whole focus was on reaching the destination quickly. I wasn’t stopping to enjoy any view. Fact is, I didn’t stop even once during the 6 km, not for a conversation, not for a sip of water, not even for catching up a lost breath. Needless to say it was lot more punishing on the body as well. I wouldn’t advice anyone to have hurry on their mind while trekking. But on this occasion I have been already through the same route twice, once while going and the second while coming back. Also, I was enjoying the challenge of putting extra physical effort on myself. So far, this trek had been reasonably easy on the body. We had mules to carry our luggage and three forest officials were taking great care of us. We were provided with luxurious food and had always stayed in permanent accommodations. The trek had been broken down into reasonable distances and I hadn’t felt really tired or stretched so far. I clearly remember the Roopkund trek, where each one of us with a huge rucksack on his shoulders, at much higher altitude and for much longer distances had walked till each step became a journey in itself.

Midway, lady luck brought me a beautiful companion. Both of us were traveling alone and immediately some bond connected us. This bond was that of a chance meeting between two strangers, who meet, spend some time together, and finally part, not knowing if they would ever meet again but satisfied in the knowledge that the memories of this encounter would remain forever in their hearts. We acknowledged each other and started walking together, deeply engrossed in our own thoughts but drawing comfort from the welcomed company. Neither of us spoke a single word during the whole time we were together, yet this was not an uncomfortable silence. We didn’t need words to tell each other how much we were enjoying this walk. I was by far the slower mover, but my companion waited patiently whenever I lagged behind, on one occasion even coming back to check on me when we were blocked from each others sight by a steep turn. Later, I was allowed to lead, but whenever I would break into a run on a descent, I would find myself being overtaken from behind with such ease, that it would leave my ego totally battered. When gasping for breath, I would finally catch up, I would be greeted with a kiss on my hands. This affair continued for a while, when finally bored by my slow speed, and realizing that I am not going to give him anything to eat, he ran away wagging his long furry tail behind him.

I had been walking for 50 minutes when I ran into a couple of people coming from the opposite direction. I asked them how much distance remained and was told that it was around 2 km to Pindari. I had made good time but still I was going to miss the one hour mark. Another surprising thing was that I hadn’t run into Vikas and Geetika till now. I had hoped to catch them a lot earlier but evidently they were going a lot faster today. May be a day’s rest had done them some good. The weather was also lovely today, with pleasantly cold air and bright shine. I increased my speed for the final leg of the journey. After 10 minutes, I saw first glimpse of our leading party - Vikas, Geetika, and Tiwariji. I ran to meet them. To my utter delight, my furry friend was also with them. He was a mountain dog with brown furry coat and patches of yellow in between. He appeared quite healthy and I am sure, amidst his group, he would be the desired male. He had a bell strapped to a wide metal collar around his neck. Clearly, the dog belonged to someone but had enough liberty to roam around and make new friends. At the time, I had wondered why there was a metal collar around his neck and whether it caused him pain. The collar was around 5 inches wide and had sharp metal teeth pointing outwards. I was later told by Babaji that the dog belonged to the shepherds and his job was to guard the sheep. The collar was to protect him from snow leopards. A leopard usually kills his prey by grabbing the neck and choking off the air supply. The metal collar and the teeth would prevent a leopard from biting into his neck.

I ran the last kilometer of the journey. Soon, I was greeted by the familiar view of the Pindari valley. This time round, however, the valley had an even more beautiful look. The sky was crystal clear and the morning sun was shining brightly. The lush green valley had patches of rocky stones and snow. Pindari river was flowing on the left of the valley along a small hill that had a narrow trail leading to the Zero Point. Babaji’s ashram and temple were in the centre of the valley, along with a few tents. Nandakot and Pindari Glacier were visible at the far end. The valley was surrounded by snow-capped mountains from all side. A herd of sheep were grazing midway between where I was standing and the ashram. Everything combined to give the place a heavenly feel. I walked slowly between the herd, trying to slip past the grazing sheep. But as soon as I reached near one, it would suddenly get startled and run away, in turn startling the others. It was sort of like a ripple effect.

I walked into the ashram where I was greeted by Babaji and Kandpalji. Babaji asked me about my friends and I told them that they would be coming soon. Babaji offered me tea which I accepted gladly. All of us talked for a while. The ashram was still in shade, so I moved across to a low rectangular boundary wall enclosing a small plot of land, some 100 m from the ashram. The plot carried Babaji’s plantation of potatoes, spinach and other vegetables. I perched myself on the wall, removed my shoes and socks, and basked in the sunlight sipping on the jasmine tea and enjoying the view. A new tent had been pitched nearby, definitely belonging to the group we had met the previous day on our way back to Phurkia. Soon, I saw Vikas and Geetika trace the same route I had followed, through the herd, into the ashram and out to the plot to join me. Vikas got his camera out and started capturing the surroundings. After half an hour, Kailash and Kavita joined in to complete the group.

The Pindari glacier trip ends for most at an arbitrary point which has been designated `Zero Point'. Beyond this, the going gets relatively technical and ordinary hikers do not go. We started walking towards the Zero Point through the green valley. Our canine friend also decided to join us. We had to cross the river at one point and again the water level had risen above the stones at the centre. A couple of us picked up a big flat stone from nearby and placed it at the centre completing the bridge. The winding trail to the zero point went up the face of a small green hill. The whole trail right to the zero point runs parallel to the valley below. The valley and the hill were blooming grounds for numerous species of wild flowers that had grown in abundance. I noticed a small red flower the size of a marble that looked very similar to a rose complete with the petals. Then there were bright yellow ones, and small purple ones that grew in a circular bunch. The climb was a steep one and soon we started losing our jackets.

As we approached the top of the hill, we looked down the other side to discover an amazing view. There was a deep U shaped gorge running through the other side of the hill. The side of the hill facing the gorge had been cut into a vertical muddy cliff. Looking from the side, it would give an impression as if someone had sliced the hill with a big knife and taken the other part away. Pindari glacier was on the opposite side of the gorge. I searched the internet later for such U shaped formations and here is what I got – “A valley carved by glaciers, or glacial valley, is normally U-shaped. If we can see the valley, it means the glacier that formed it is no longer there. When the ice recedes or thaws, the valley remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice.” Evidently this gorge/valley had been carved by the Pindari Glacier that had receded since then.

Walking forward, we reached an abrupt point, with a sign board claiming that we have arrived at the zero point. Another sign board warned us that it was dangerous to go forward. I could see the reason why. The trail narrowed down running along the top of the hill with one side an almost vertical cliff. Zero point offers splendid view of Pindari glacier and an opportunity to get yourself clicked with the glacier in the background. We took a few photographs. I decided to explore the trail further and continued along the narrow path carefully. I went down the trail for about 100m and sat down waiving for others to follow. I was joined by our furry friend as he came and sat beside me while I patted his back. I offered him a few raisins from my pocket which he gulped down quickly. We enjoyed the view for a while wondering if the others are going to follow. Meanwhile, I shouted at Kailash to take our picture. I saw Geetika turning back for the ashram, while the rest of the group started towards me. We continued along the top of the hill walking parallel to the valley on one side and the gorge on the other side. Going forward brought us views of the glacier from different angles. After a while Vikas decided it was enough adventure for him and descended into the valley. Kailash, Kavita and I moved on determined to reach the end. In between we spend ample time taking photographs and enjoying the view.

After one and a half km from the zero point, the trail terminated in a wall of rocky mountain that stood at right angles to the valley and the hill we were walking upon. This was the nearest we could go to the Pindari Glacier. Now we had a steep fall to the left and a vertical wall in front. The only option left was to descend into the valley towards our right where Vikas was waiting for us. At the bottom, we wondered where the Australian couple would have gone from here. The valley had suddenly terminated here and was bounded on both sides by mountains. The forward path was blocked by a vertical wall. The left side was bounded by the gorge. The right side looked like the only possibility with a gradual slope leading to snow covered mountains. We argued about exploring this climb. Vikas didn’t think it was possible to reach the top and was worried it might be dangerous. I agreed with him but wanted to get as far as possible. We climbed straight up the mountain getting out of breath with every step. The clouds played a spoilt sport again and soon it was threatening to rain. Kailash and Kavita decided to stop, while we continued to climb. A little higher we saw footsteps cutting across the snow in the direction of a faint trail. The trail skirted up the vertical wall that had blocked the valley and lead to the other side of the cliff. So finally we had solved the mystery of the missing Australians. We thought about going up the trail but decided we didn’t have enough time.

Vikas turned back but I continued to climb up our original path. There is something about a peak that makes me loose my mind. The irresistible urge of getting to the top makes me ignore all logic in favor of going back. A passion keeps driving me forward till the point of complete madness. I realize that there is no purpose to all the effort and hard work, yet I keep going on. And so I plowed up, alone and tired, till I reached a point where I couldn’t go any further without taking considerable risk. It was getting late and looked like it could rain any moment. I knew I had to turn back even if I didn’t want to. I could see the others at the bottom of the mountain. They were waving for me to come back. I waved back indicating that I am not going any higher and would walk back parallel to them from here, towards the ashram. They got the message, and we started back. It was nice to walk higher up, the view being so much better. I could see the others way down walking along with me. After a while, I lost sight of the group below. This had me worried as I was on my own now. The thought of running into a snow leopard crossed my mind. I neither had a dagger nor a camera – so couldn’t imagine any positives out of the encounter. I thought about going down to join others. But I saw that some distance away the face of the mountain was covered with snow. I imagined that if I was able to reach that I could slide down on the snow saving me the effort of climbing down on the rocks.

It was then my little adventure started going wrong. I was confronted by a wide stream running right across my path flowing down into the Pindari below. I looked for a possible place to cross the stream. But unlike the regular trekking path no stones had been arranged here to enable someone to step over. I made a couple of attempts to cross over from a few likely spots. Each attempt brought me to the middle of the stream with no stepping stones to go any further. I had already got my shoes wet and was beginning to lose my patience. Realizing that there was no other way, I got my shoes and socks off, folded my lowers, and jumped into knee deep water. I carefully stepped on the slippery stones forcing my way against the current. As I neared the edge, I made a crucial mistake. Elated at successfully crossing this barrier, I let down my guard, and hurriedly stepped onto a flat stone surface on the other side. The stone was more slippery than I had anticipated and immediately lost my footing. I struggled to maintain my balance with my hands and feet. I managed to avoid being plunged into the stream but not without a few bruises and cuts to my right foot, that was the culprit to start with. There was little blood oozing out of the sides of the thumb nail. I accessed that the damage was not much and it could have been a lot worse. By now I was feeling really irritated at myself for landing myself into this stupid situation. During each of my earlier excursions, I had managed to land myself into similar situations at-least once. Yet my obstinate mind refuses to draw a lesson. I was dead tired and couldn’t wait to get back to the ashram. I wasn’t sure where Kailash and Kavita had gone and if they were worried about me.

I hastened towards the snow slide. Once there I assessed that it looked safe enough to slide upon. I positioned myself in a sitting position with my weight resting upon my left shoe and my right leg spread out in front. This way I can slide on my left leg using the right one for balance and braking. I had mastered this technique by now having practiced it on earlier treks. All set I gave myself a push with my hands, gaining speed along the slope. I kept my speed in check by digging the right leg in snow whenever I needed to slow down. In a couple of minutes I had reached half of the way down. It had taken me more than 30 minutes to climb the same distance. Unfortunately, the slide ends here and the remaining half would have to be made on both feet. The terrain was pretty rocky here with another small stream flowing down. I walked down along the stream stepping from one stone to next. I was beginning to lose my patience. I was also worried if I would have to cross the river again once I get down to the valley. I continued to make my way downwards in the direction of the ashram. I had been walking for so long that at one point I was worried if I might have actually overshot the ashram. Then I saw the zero point right across the valley and knew I had another kilometer to go.

It was then I saw Kailash and Kavita. My feelings at seeing them could be described as a cocktail of surprise, happiness and relief. They had found themselves a nice romantic spot on the side of the hill. They were seated on a lush carpet of green grass with small bright yellow flowers blooming everywhere. A small stream was gurgling nearby and they had a wonderful view of the Pindari glacier from their vantage point. I sat down to join them. After the earlier misadventure, it was such a comforting feeling to be among friends again. I took off my shoes to examine the damage done earlier. My right thumb had already started to swell a bit and I knew immediately that it was going to trouble me for the rest of the way back. There was nothing I could do about it now, so I threw my shoes aside and lied down to enjoy the beautiful view.

After a while we headed back towards the ashram. We located a trail that seemed to be leading us straight back. On the other side of the valley, we could see the women group from DDA returning from the zero point. We waved to them and they waved back. Kailash started barking loudly and he really sounded like a dog. I am sure the other group would have been really wondering where the barking sound was coming from. All of us had a big laugh at this. Kailash is a real great guy with a wonderful sense of humor. He is always smiling and in high spirits. He is also pretty friendly and I believe has a good heart as well. I never heard him say anything bad about anyone. Kavita makes a great couple with him. She is uncommonly beautiful but not of the dumb variety. I was really impressed by her during our card games. I had also known her to be pretty athletic from our tennis sessions in Noida and she had kept up the pace all through this trek. Both of them look great together. It was a delight to hear them sing a duet during Antakashri at Dhakuri. I didn’t notice a single argument between them during the course of 8 days. They always stuck together talking kuchi-ko kuchi-ko which I have to admit did get irritating once in a while. Having found each other, I wonder who is the luckier of the two.

On the way back we ran into two ladies from the DDA group who were coming back from the zero point. They were furious at something and constantly cribbing. Apparently, they were part of the 13 women DDA team to the Pindari glacier. Most of them were between 30 – 40 yrs in age. All of them had reached the ashram in the morning but a couple of them had refused to go further to the zero point, as they weren’t feeling well. Now these two ladies were mad at the ones who stayed behind blaming them of spoiling the whole trek. We expressed our sympathies for their cause. It was then one of them asked who was barking and we couldn’t stop our smiles.

200 m from the ashram, I broke into a run again. This was, by now, my standard way of reaching the immediate destination. In front of the ashram, I saw Vikas and Geetika sitting with the Kandpal family. I greeted both of them and it was now that I finally got to know her name – Vasundra – how apt was my first thought. Deciding to have a little fun, I declared that we had seen a snow leopard. Not only had we seen it, but we had also managed to get a photograph. Vasundra remained skeptical at this but her father got real excited. He even offered us money for the photograph. I immediately admitted that I was kidding though we did try our best to run into one. Vasundra had a book with her that carried the pictures of the commonly found flowers in the Himalayas and we went through it looking for the ones we had seen. Meanwhile, Babaji called us in for lunch. The DDA team members were already there and all of us sat down to enjoy Poori – Sabji with a cup of jasmine tea.

After lunch, Vikas and Geetika decided to leave, while the rest of us stayed for a while. We joined Vasundra and her dad again for a chat. I sat down beside Vasundra while Kailash was talking to her dad. I asked her about the day’s work and she replied that she had climbed up a nearby hill looking for leopard’s droppings. I remarked that if she actually saw a snow leopard would she find herself running away or towards him. I told her that I was really envious she could stay and work in such beautiful surroundings, but does nature meant as much to her or was she just stuck there by chance. This remark brought about a flurry of revelations from her. Ever since she remembered she had felt a great connection with nature. She wondered why people choose to live in cities where they don’t even get pure air, water and food. Not only she liked living close to nature, she always had felt the need to fight for its protection. She never got along with her college mates because she would always urge them to save water, switch off the lights, save fuel and so on. She would always drag the monkey-walas and bear-walas to the nearest police station and sit there till they agree to register a complaint. She hated people who kept four cars in a family and drove even for very short distances. She wondered at how people buy forty pair of clothes and a new mobile every six months, without even realizing how much strain it puts on the natural resources. And when they waste electricity, they justify it by saying that they are paying the bill. How people living in cities don’t realize that they are directly responsible for vanishing forests and melting glaciers. How industries abuse rules and dump their wastes in rivers. She wanted to be able to stop the people from continuing to abuse the earth. She had plans to study law after completing her PhD, so that she can take up legal fight against the offenders.

I realized that there was a bitter truth to all she said. Though, I am not against development and comfortable existence, but all of us have the responsibility of being just a little more careful. In the end it’s the small things that matters. Things like avoiding plastic bags, switching off lights when you go out of room, choosing to walk small distances. Paper napkins and paper cups are convenient but can you imagine the amount of paper we waste like this in offices and restaurants. Didn’t our parents got along just fine with handkerchiefs. Why can’t we keep a cup for us in office instead of wasting paper cups every time? What about the amount of paper we waste on unnecessary print-outs. If I continue the list, I would probably go on for another two pages. But we are all smart people and already know most of these things. We just need to be more sensitive to the issue and do whatever we can to help and feel proud of it.

It’s a strange coincidence that I am writing this on 07/07/07 when they are having the Live Earth concert to raise awareness on global warming and climate crisis. “What seemed like a science fiction is now an inconvenient but undeniable truth. Global warming is affecting Planet Earth and us as its inhabitants. From now on what we do will determine what we pass on to our children and to their children” says Leonardo Decaprio. Finally we are waking up to the fact that global warming is not a myth, it’s a reality and the effects are already there for us to see. Europe is reeling under a heat wave, US is hit by cyclones and it snowed in Dubai last year. Global climate is changing every year and we can feel it in our parts of the world. I can still remember the chilly winters we used to have in Delhi 10 years back, and last winter I managed just fine without a single sweater. I am continuously listening to the messages during the concert about global warming and what we can do. Go to www.liveearth.org and check out for yourself.

Vasundra and I had different opinion on one particular thing. She believed that the most effective way to save nature is to have more stringent laws and stricter enforcement. I have always believed that normal people do bad things only because they fail to realize the consequences of their actions. So for me awareness is the solution to most problems we face today. For instance, plastic bags and toffee wrappers left behind by tourists litter the hills everywhere. Not only are they an eco-hazard, they also spoil the natural beauty of the surroundings. I have seen these plastic wrappers right till Roopkund, on Gaumukh glacier and here at Pindari. Most people don’t think before throwing away those plastic bags and wrappers, otherwise how simple it is to put them in your pocket instead or store them in a separate bag. Can we really hope to enforce rules at such heights and distant locations? Can people not be expected to do the right thing themselves ?

We continued to talk about global warming, life in cities versus life in hills, about our work. When Kailash announced that we should probably get going now, I surprisingly realized that we had been talking for full couple of hours. As much as we were enjoying the place, it was time to go. Babaji insisted that we have a coffee first, and I gladly accepted the opportunity of spending some more time amidst the lovely surroundings. It was then Babaji bestowed on us a special privilege, by inviting us into his cave. He later told us that he rarely lets anyone into his cave. Vasundra and her father had not been into the cave either, so they excitedly joined us.

The way to the cave was through a small temple in front. Few bells were hanging on a 5 feet by 2 feet door that led inside. We got rid off our shoes and went into a small room. It took some time for our eyes to adjust to the darkness before we could see a few idols inside. Babaji warned us to watch our heads as he took us into another small room through a narrow opening at the back. It was completely dark inside this room and Babaji lit a candle. A very narrow path descended into a small cave below. One by one, we crawled into the cave which was nearly 4 feet high and barely big enough to accommodate the six of us. The centre of the cave had a small altar with a statue of Babaji’s guru. An asana was laid out for Babaji in the right half of the cave. Kavita, Vasundra, I and Kailash occupied the mat on the left, while Kandpalji remained at the entrance.

Once inside Babaji started talking about his life. He hailed from Orissa and had renounced the world very early in life. He had stayed in Rishikesh for a while but was troubled by too many sadhus wanting to make him their disciple. He had also stayed at Gangotri before moving to Pindari 13 years back. He spent most of his time meditating and reading books. His extra time was spent in serving the people who visit Pindari. He himself had only a single meal in a day. He narrated us a story about how he was once trapped inside his cave for three months after an avalanche buried it under snow. He had survived on nothing but water while everyone in the village below had assumed that he was dead. About this time he had gone a little mystic. He said something about leaving his body and flying away. I think I also heard something like remote conferencing with his Guru. We didn’t know what to make of it and were exchanging meaningful glances with each other.

I don’t know if it was the surroundings but all of us were feeling a bit spiritual by now. Kailash was the first one to throw his question at him – “We go to office, work, eat, go to sleep. We have fun on weekends. In all we have a good life. But at times wonder if this is all to life. Can’t help feeling something is missing. What then is the purpose of my life ?” I knew it was a basic but a difficult question to answer. I wondered if Babaji would start giving lectures about the higher purpose. His answer was probably a diplomatic one. He said “look inside you for the answer. No one else can answer it for you”. On further probing he said that our primary focus should be on fulfilling the responsibilities that have been assigned to us. He chose to become a Yogi because his heart told him to, but he would never ask anyone else to blindly follow his path. What he would ask though is to be true to your heart and kind towards others. I was more inclined towards talking about the supernatural side of things. So I asked him if he believed in ghosts and if he has actually ever ran into one. He went a bit scientific this time and said that everything around us is made up of energy. There exists both positive energy and negative energy. It is the negative energy that some people experience as a ghost. He himself has experienced both kinds of energy but don’t believe they actually mean much harm. Amidst our spiritual queries, Vasundra pitched in with her question – “are there mountain mice (Pika) in the ashram”. We couldn’t help laughing out loud. Some people refuse to let their mind wander. Our queries kept pouring in and Babaji kept answering. I told him that my scientific mind refuses to believe in a lot of stuff he said. He didn’t take offense to this. He said science is yet to discover a lot of things.

Finally, Babaji put an end to our conversation. He said otherwise we would go on forever. He wished we had stayed the previous night so that we could have talked more. One by one we crawled out of the cave. Outside, Babaji got some coffee for us. After finishing the coffee we took a photograph with everyone, said goodbyes and headed back. I honestly don’t remember much of the journey back to Phurkia. I walked at a leisurely place lagging behind everyone. I was too engrossed in thinking about the day’s events and conversations with Babaji and Vasundra. I agreed with some of the things they said and disagreed with others. Still the encounters had left my mind with a plethora of new thoughts and that’s always a welcome thing.

A couple of hours later we joined everyone at Phurkia. Inside the rest-house we shared our experiences with Diggu and Chote. Although we were dead tired by the day’s journey, we decided to push it till Dwali. We packed our bags and left for the last leg of 5 km, after the 19 km we had done already. I sat down at the ledge of the trek admiring the view for the last time. There were a few cobra lilies that Chote and Diggu decided to shoot. It took them some 10 minutes but they were successful in the end. The return is often the toughest part of the journey. You are already tired and there isn’t the expectation of discovering a new place to spur you on. Geetika had shown great resolve through out the day but her legs were giving up now. I wasn’t feeling so good either and my sore right thumb was beginning to hurt now. The journey seemed endless as we labored on and on. A little more than a km from the Dwali, I have had enough and I told everyone I would see them at the rest-house. It was downhill all the way from here to Dwali and I broke into a frantic run. At a bend I nearly ran into three DDA team members as I swirled to avoid them. They got a real shock as I whisked past them. I kept running, more out of desperation this time.

I stopped only when I had reached Dwali. Tiwariji was already there and he asked me if I needed hot water for a bath. Oh what an angel - I couldn’t thank him enough. I hadn’t had a bath for 3 days now. I immediately got my clothes out and jumped into the bathroom. Warm water felt so wonderful over my tired body and aching legs. I came out feeling totally refreshed. Others had also come in by now. We all had a cup of tea. I sat in the fading light outside and read about Paul’s quest to find inner peace – “Be still and know that I am God”. We had egg curry in dinner that night. Vikas wanted to have a round of cards before we sleep, but all of us couldn’t find enough energy and called the day off. I made sure I got an extra blanket this time.