mountains
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All That I Want…
A beautiful old wooden table with scratches smoothened by age. T’s heart shot through with an arrow shot by J, jostling for space with 25.8.1973. a butterfly and a faded pyramid. My journal on top, waiting for me to pen secrets, hopes, poems, petty thoughts, and some lonely stories. Five cubby holes to stack paper Continue reading
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When the Mountains Called
Chandrashila Peak beckons. Image credit – Binu Sivan Winner of IndiaHike’s March 2016 Blog Contest. http://indiahikes.in/march-2016-blog-contest-winners/ Recently I went on a high altitude trek to Chadrashila Peak (12,083 feet) in the Himalayas. If you want to read something that is packed with edge-of-the-cliff adventure, this is not that blog post. However, if you are willing Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey Part 10 – Manali Magic
If the trip in and out of Jalori had been fraught with a sense of danger, the drive to Manali was like a breath of fresh air. It is really no surprise that so many travelers list Manali amongst their favourite places to go to. It is a lot like a perfect Mojito – clean, Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey Part 8 – Lil Brown Mouse and Some Unwelcome Rain
We just dumped our bags outside our respective tents and headed to the rickety plastic table and chair arrangement outside the dining tent for a few beers. The local beer that we had purchased in Solan from a local shop (the plan to buy it from the brewery had amounted to naught as it was closed Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey Part 6 – BRO On The Hilly Highways
A road trip in the Himalayan foothills involves many things – adventure, fun, great views and most uniquely to India – road signs from our BRO. That is the Border Roads Organization and not Big Brother. So what is so special about these signs you may well ask? Is it the Indian penchant for misspelling Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey Part 5 – Chalo Jalori!
Please forgive me… so tardy that I am not even giving an excuse. Just read please. I think the very fact that the www.dangerousroads.org lists the road to Jalori on its site should have warned me off. According to the website, the Jalori Pass (at an elevation of 10,800 ft / 3,120m) above sea level in Kullu, features on Continue reading
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Mountains – Where Time Stands Still
You know it all really comes down to how you perceive yourself to be. What is your self-image? I grew up reading a lot of Western novels… Louis L’Amour and the whole Man With No Name series brought so sexily alive by Clint Eastwood in his Westerns like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. So it Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey – 3
Driving up the Himalayan Expressway, it doesn’t take us very long to climb up to 5000 feet and then 7000 feet. It doesn’t really register because despite the awe inspiring mountains all around us, there is no real sense of having left the maddening crowd behind. The hills are dotted with apartments and cottages, picturesque Continue reading
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My Himalayan Odyssey – 1
This has been long overdue – well… three to four weeks overdue, which is not too bad by my standards! A wall of fog The narrow road ahead is barely visible. Thick fog blankets the Mahindra XYLO from all sides. On the right side a sheer wall of rock looms up. Up ahead, coming from Continue reading
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