Despite my best efforts, i haven't been able to exhaust the remaining 2 shots on the reel which contains the visuals of my travails in the mountains. As soon as i do that, i will get the roll developed and the pics uploaded.
The annual (?) sojourn to the mountains.....this time to Manali.
Before i take u too on a trip to the beautiful hill station, albeit verbally, i will tell u what actually takes me there. My friends asked me "Wow! So u are in Manali!! Who are u holidaying with? Family? Friends?" And i'd reply, "No, it is a business trip". And Everybody, without exception, was perplexed. They had sufficient reason to be. Coz i dont have a business, hence there can't be a business trip.
The inside bit is, that a relative of mine has a travel and tour company and they take school trips, among other things, to various places in India. This the season when the business peaks, and they need manpower. I, on the other hand, am fond of travelling and seeing new places. So we both help each other out. I travel for free and help the tour leader with the logistics on the way.
So, a 6 day excursion it was to be. May 23-38. Batch of 30 students frm classes 7,9 and 11th.
And it is always fun to be with these young kids. (Seems kinda funny, i am already referring to some ppl as 'young kids', as if i am a buddha baba already) And this batch was quite nice.
I tried hard to maintain a Real Log of the journey, but as soon as i was in the hills, i forgot all pen and paper. All i could do was gasp at the snow covered mountains, climb some of them and click sceneries and sceneries and sceneries.
First day began with me takin the bus to the school at 5 am, where the kids were supposed to assemble at 5.30 and we were supposed to start for chandigarh at 6. But as always, we left some 20 mins late. The journey to chandigarh was boring and uninspiring as usual. (the drive in a bus even on the best highways is anything but interesting). This was a budget tour, so no AC bus for this batch. Vaise, U cant really appreciate the climate of the mountains if u make the climb in an AC vehicle. Its like getting out of an AC car and walking out into an AC City (yes it was THAT good)
So, we reached Chandigarh by lunch time. Lunch at the hotel was waiting. After that we retired to our rooms, and the children were asked to be ready by 4.30. What followed was the most common routine we make all batches follow in chandigarh. Actually there are some handful of places u can see when u are on a one day stop at the city. The first and the most obvious stop was the Rock Garden by Nek Chand (or is it 'Tek' Chand?), I have been to the place n times to have noticed that. The place has really grown from its original size. 3 more phases have been added to the original creation.
Then onto the sukhna lake. still nothing much inspiring to write about.
The following is the only log that i wrote. This was on the way to Bilaspur, from chandigarh.
" Its been 3 hours since we left our hotel in chandigarh and 1 and a half hours since we hit the hills.
It isn't as warm as the plains, but i wont call it cool either. I was itching to start writing coz its been more than 2 weeks since I blogged and now that something is happening, I'm away from a computer.
Manali is still a good 200 kms away although it actually might only be a 10 km angled climb vertically. The climb is steeper than what it is for simla.
The 1st 24 hrs of the trip were a bore really with a trip to the rock garden and Sukhna lake for the nth time. The window shopping at the seec 17 mkt was the only novelty.
Anyway now i am enjoying the climb up the hills. What a life it must be, in the hills.Physically tough alright but otherwise relaxed, calm and serene.
It's only recently that it struck me, over all else, an annually sojourn to the hills aids me in keeping my head on my shoulders. Reminds me not of my insignificance but the worries, anxiety.....and all....all that seems so worthless.
I am losing track......
Another thing that comes to my mind everytime i see the face of the mountainis..... How amazing it would be to climg it, thru the forest and reach the summit. What a high that shall be. I am not talking mountaineering but only plain foote climb.
I will do it, one day.
The guy sitting next to me is the school's games teacher. And as obnoxious as any other. Picks hisn nose every 10 minutes. Wonder what an unlimited supply of muck he has in his nostrils.
----------------------------
Its 12.30 and from where we are, manali is 190kms and Simla is 68. so i presume Manali is further up and away from Simla. I also hope this place isnt an eyesore like simla.
Quite honestly, Simla looks like a moster's puke on the mountain. Just too bad and aesthetically bankrupt. Otherwise dirty, too.
Another 10 minutes till we reach our Lunch stop, Bilaspur. I have been comforting the hungry souls for an hour now.
27/5/05
3 Days have happened like a breeze. These have been very fast, too green to be true, sweet, nostalgic and amazingly beautiful days.
The place is the most beautiful i have ever seen and i haven't got enough of it. I just so HAVE to come back.
Such a contrast to the day we were coming to this town. The fatigue, the tiring journey.....
One sight of the snow capped mountains and it was all worth it.
1st thing in the morning, I removed the curtains and what a sight that was. My first ever....
I have been telling everyone i talked to , that the sceneries we all put up in our drawing rooms. i am seeing it for real! "
Quite an enthu post no?! Wait, there is more to it. I m like making up for lost time and all the unwritten blogs will come out in one go, now.
The experience near Rohtang was quite thrilling and embarassing at the same time. On the way to rohtang, there are a number of shops offering woollens and snow boots. I was just too comfortable in my reeboks, to take the trouble of changing footwear. Anyway, these were SPORTS shoes, these were supposed to work on all terrains.
And now i must tell you. BASKETBALL SHOES DONT WORK ON ICE AND SNOW!!!!. Bloody i couldn't stand straight on the snow. And the locals were jumping, running and doing everything on the life threatening steep inclines. Well, they were wearing the same downmarket PVC boots, which actally seemed to work for them.
Also, i did realise my fantasy of climbing the face of the mountain, many times over. The part which wasnt snow clad, i did climb the rocky surface, which saved me 1.5 kms of walk on the paved road. the climb took 10 minutes and it wasnt really easy coz my shoes were slipping even on the mud on the slants, leave alone solid rock.
On the way up i made all 30 of them climb up with me, although on the way down, most of them chickened out and said they'd rather walk 1500 mtrs than risk slipping on the slant.
It was great fun. On the last day in city, we went to the river front (the city is situated on the banks of the river BEAS). And the water was friggin cold. 5 seconds in the water and my feet were numb already. I also went to the van vihar sanctuary, and it was the first virgin territory of mountainous forests i treaded on. It was really really cool. All alone in the picturesque forest. It almost looked to good to be true. Long and high trees, i have no idea what they're called but they are simply majestic.
I really was sad when we started our way back.
I am really gonna go there again. Very soon.
May 31, 2005
May 11, 2005
This city has gone to the dogs
U R living in the gutters if u dont know what happened this sunday night at Dhaula Kuan.
And its pathetic.
I am slightly cut off from the offline world these days, coz i am in front of this box most of the time. Oh, what a cozy and comfy this place is.Every one is so nice to me. But why isnt everyone the same to my friends who come down from the beautiful hills in the north-east.
I know this isnt organised, and i am sorry for that. But i really dont have words to express my anger. I read about the whole episode when i was munching on a Filet-o-fish grub at McD's this Monday with a frnd and i happened to see the headline on TOI kept there.
Screaming, the headline was, but i dint see any one waking up. Will anybody ever? When will we get out of our slumber? The way we treat women in particular, and all ppl frm the north-east in general. It HAS to change.
It is nauseating, when the shiv sena mouth piece says that, it is the way in which women dress, which is responsible for men behaving the way they do. Think about it, before you label me as another one of those feminist kinds. Because I am not. Is 4 inches of skin all that u need see to get turned on in that nasty way. This friend of mine, i was dining with (?) said, with the way they dress, walking out at 2 in the night, "yeh nahi hoga to kya hoga."
I mean, hello! ppl?!
Do men still have their brains in the head, or has it found place somewhere in their pants?
The ppl who do this, (RAPE is what i am talkin about, if u havent got it still), how do they go home and face their mamas and sisters (and wives and daughters). These are not always the gangster types, always the criminal types. These are very much 'normal' ppl. They have families, work in an office and go back home........
What will it take, to civilise these beasts? Shoot'em on the street, if nothing will. At least it will keep the others from turning into such parasites.
And the stuff about people, who we all love to call "chinkys" and make fun of. These are as human as u and i am. It is not their fault if they look different. Well YOU would look different if you go to their home. They're here not to make our lives worse, but to make their own, better. To look for better opportunities, better life, better education. And it is because we havent given them their fair share. We haven't given them what they need, at their home. We love to call the seven states in the north east a part of india, but dont really treat them as Indians. Most of us in the metropolises are so busy in our own comfi lives that we give a damn about a woman being raped by the army in a distant land, or houses burning or students rioting on the street because they have nothing better to do. My friends are as hardworking and intelligent as we, mainlanders are, if not more.
I dont get as many stares when i ride with another gal, as i do with Sam, who happens to hail frm Meghalaya. I mean, why can't ppl GROW UP. Give them space. The city is as much theirs as it is mine. Just as not everybody in delhi understands telugu, tamil, marathi.....similarly it isnt funny if u dont understand assamese, or mizo. If they speak heavily accented hindi and aren't always able to put their ideas across, d u want to make an effort to understand them, or do you want to laugh them off?
Studying school or becoming graduates doesnt make us educated......it makes us literate.
GET THE DIFFERENCE? That guy selling sabji under the tree, near my home, isnt "LITERATE", but he is EDUCATED & CIVILISED, to the extent, that he knows how to talk to women, to behave with his children, even when he is slightly inebriated, and doesnt bash up his wife at the slightest provocation.
I know young execs working in reputed companies, using public means of transportation, wouldnt think twice before forcefully brushing past a woman, to get his share of cheap thrill. RESPECT, doesnt only have to be outwardly manifest. It is when u think about the other gender with respect, will u be able to alter your thought processes.
Please god, bless the people of this city, and make it a little safer for my female friends to have some harmless fun. At all hours.
And its pathetic.
I am slightly cut off from the offline world these days, coz i am in front of this box most of the time. Oh, what a cozy and comfy this place is.Every one is so nice to me. But why isnt everyone the same to my friends who come down from the beautiful hills in the north-east.
I know this isnt organised, and i am sorry for that. But i really dont have words to express my anger. I read about the whole episode when i was munching on a Filet-o-fish grub at McD's this Monday with a frnd and i happened to see the headline on TOI kept there.
Screaming, the headline was, but i dint see any one waking up. Will anybody ever? When will we get out of our slumber? The way we treat women in particular, and all ppl frm the north-east in general. It HAS to change.
It is nauseating, when the shiv sena mouth piece says that, it is the way in which women dress, which is responsible for men behaving the way they do. Think about it, before you label me as another one of those feminist kinds. Because I am not. Is 4 inches of skin all that u need see to get turned on in that nasty way. This friend of mine, i was dining with (?) said, with the way they dress, walking out at 2 in the night, "yeh nahi hoga to kya hoga."
I mean, hello! ppl?!
Do men still have their brains in the head, or has it found place somewhere in their pants?
The ppl who do this, (RAPE is what i am talkin about, if u havent got it still), how do they go home and face their mamas and sisters (and wives and daughters). These are not always the gangster types, always the criminal types. These are very much 'normal' ppl. They have families, work in an office and go back home........
What will it take, to civilise these beasts? Shoot'em on the street, if nothing will. At least it will keep the others from turning into such parasites.
And the stuff about people, who we all love to call "chinkys" and make fun of. These are as human as u and i am. It is not their fault if they look different. Well YOU would look different if you go to their home. They're here not to make our lives worse, but to make their own, better. To look for better opportunities, better life, better education. And it is because we havent given them their fair share. We haven't given them what they need, at their home. We love to call the seven states in the north east a part of india, but dont really treat them as Indians. Most of us in the metropolises are so busy in our own comfi lives that we give a damn about a woman being raped by the army in a distant land, or houses burning or students rioting on the street because they have nothing better to do. My friends are as hardworking and intelligent as we, mainlanders are, if not more.
I dont get as many stares when i ride with another gal, as i do with Sam, who happens to hail frm Meghalaya. I mean, why can't ppl GROW UP. Give them space. The city is as much theirs as it is mine. Just as not everybody in delhi understands telugu, tamil, marathi.....similarly it isnt funny if u dont understand assamese, or mizo. If they speak heavily accented hindi and aren't always able to put their ideas across, d u want to make an effort to understand them, or do you want to laugh them off?
Studying school or becoming graduates doesnt make us educated......it makes us literate.
GET THE DIFFERENCE? That guy selling sabji under the tree, near my home, isnt "LITERATE", but he is EDUCATED & CIVILISED, to the extent, that he knows how to talk to women, to behave with his children, even when he is slightly inebriated, and doesnt bash up his wife at the slightest provocation.
I know young execs working in reputed companies, using public means of transportation, wouldnt think twice before forcefully brushing past a woman, to get his share of cheap thrill. RESPECT, doesnt only have to be outwardly manifest. It is when u think about the other gender with respect, will u be able to alter your thought processes.
Please god, bless the people of this city, and make it a little safer for my female friends to have some harmless fun. At all hours.
May 4, 2005
One of those days
It was one of those days..... days which you wouldnt forget in a hurry.
It was one of those days when, as Paulo Coelho would have said, the universe conspires in your favor, to get you what you want.
I had to go to the university, that is at Kashmere gate. A good 30 kilometres from my place, post which i would have gone and met my friends at MIB, and have a good time coz they were getting free with with the 2nd sem exams, after which all of them wud have been off to their summer projects and never have the time to breath, leave alone go out with frnz.
It was my 3rd round to the university to get a darned Migration Certificate, which the finicky NM admin staff wouldnt let me in without.
See, the world knows that offices in delhi (hence also all educational institutions also) shut shop by 5 in the evening. But yours truly, the worlds biggest lazy bum would only get out of home at 4.25 knowing fully well that the 30 km odd trip thru one of the most congested roads in delhi, wud not take less than 50 minutes.
So, as usual, the only thing which takes the beating in such a case is my poor bike. Whipped as hell, the iron horse would gallop and neigh at all obstacles in its course, slowing only for the blue colored, 6 wheeled behemoths roaming the jungle. And honestly, i was impressed for the first time, at its ability to really really go fast and stop even quicker. So this thoroughbred got me to my destination in 40 mins flat. Thats an amazing avg speed of 45 in city.
5.05 it is 5 minutes overtime alrite, but not all indian govt. officers leave for home early. (not coz they are overly enthu about their work, but coz they cant finish the simplest tasks in time) So i had the good fortune of finding the concerned guy and handed him all the relevant documents, rushed to another office on the 4th floor, to submit an application for an additional 1st sem marksheet.
Came back down, to find my stuff almost ready.
The Universe had conspired, FOR me.
But now i was a lil late to join the gang in Kamla Ngr McD's, where most o the ppl were about to leave for home, and quite contrary to my expectations, were too weary after the exam to really chill out. But i wasnt gonna let em go so easily. For i knew, there wudnt be many such days in the future for me, ever. When i had most o the gang with me and we could do whatever we wanted to and go wherever we wanted to.
So yours truly, managed to convince enough ppl to come along to CP.
Hey, all this while i missed mentioning the squall, which made the weather so pleasant and the ride one of the best ever. And add to that i had to travel thru the ridge, and i was smitten. I mean had it not been for the plan with frnds, i wud have gone up and down the 3km road till it became dark. It is so darn beautiful, the curves, the bends, the uphill and the downhill, and of course the honda ride is so enjoyable.
And now, when we're plannin to goto CP frm K Nags, Sam asks G, if its ok if she came wid me on the bike and not G. And u know Sam not one of the, but the only woman i know who loves bikes and enjoys bike rides as much as i do. for eg, when i take a really fast corner, others say "ACHAN!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" and Sam says "WHEEEEEEEEEE, WHOAAAAAA!!!!" And when u have some one who enjoys it as much as u do, its double the fun.
imagine that thru the ridge, then on the wide open ring road.............
Then we had fun at CCD in CP, and when we came out it was dark and it was raining.
On other days, i shud be worrying about getting wet, going back home late, and wondering what excuses should i conjure up which wud sound convincing enough, but today was different.
Today was a day everything was happenning for me. And so was this rain, we walked to Palika Parking and got a lil wet alrite, but then when we came out of the underground lot, it had stopped. Almost as if tellin me, that uve had ure share of fun, now get back home safely.
Came back home and it was all cool..............
The universe conspired.........big time!
It was one of those days when, as Paulo Coelho would have said, the universe conspires in your favor, to get you what you want.
I had to go to the university, that is at Kashmere gate. A good 30 kilometres from my place, post which i would have gone and met my friends at MIB, and have a good time coz they were getting free with with the 2nd sem exams, after which all of them wud have been off to their summer projects and never have the time to breath, leave alone go out with frnz.
It was my 3rd round to the university to get a darned Migration Certificate, which the finicky NM admin staff wouldnt let me in without.
See, the world knows that offices in delhi (hence also all educational institutions also) shut shop by 5 in the evening. But yours truly, the worlds biggest lazy bum would only get out of home at 4.25 knowing fully well that the 30 km odd trip thru one of the most congested roads in delhi, wud not take less than 50 minutes.
So, as usual, the only thing which takes the beating in such a case is my poor bike. Whipped as hell, the iron horse would gallop and neigh at all obstacles in its course, slowing only for the blue colored, 6 wheeled behemoths roaming the jungle. And honestly, i was impressed for the first time, at its ability to really really go fast and stop even quicker. So this thoroughbred got me to my destination in 40 mins flat. Thats an amazing avg speed of 45 in city.
5.05 it is 5 minutes overtime alrite, but not all indian govt. officers leave for home early. (not coz they are overly enthu about their work, but coz they cant finish the simplest tasks in time) So i had the good fortune of finding the concerned guy and handed him all the relevant documents, rushed to another office on the 4th floor, to submit an application for an additional 1st sem marksheet.
Came back down, to find my stuff almost ready.
The Universe had conspired, FOR me.
But now i was a lil late to join the gang in Kamla Ngr McD's, where most o the ppl were about to leave for home, and quite contrary to my expectations, were too weary after the exam to really chill out. But i wasnt gonna let em go so easily. For i knew, there wudnt be many such days in the future for me, ever. When i had most o the gang with me and we could do whatever we wanted to and go wherever we wanted to.
So yours truly, managed to convince enough ppl to come along to CP.
Hey, all this while i missed mentioning the squall, which made the weather so pleasant and the ride one of the best ever. And add to that i had to travel thru the ridge, and i was smitten. I mean had it not been for the plan with frnds, i wud have gone up and down the 3km road till it became dark. It is so darn beautiful, the curves, the bends, the uphill and the downhill, and of course the honda ride is so enjoyable.
And now, when we're plannin to goto CP frm K Nags, Sam asks G, if its ok if she came wid me on the bike and not G. And u know Sam not one of the, but the only woman i know who loves bikes and enjoys bike rides as much as i do. for eg, when i take a really fast corner, others say "ACHAN!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" and Sam says "WHEEEEEEEEEE, WHOAAAAAA!!!!" And when u have some one who enjoys it as much as u do, its double the fun.
imagine that thru the ridge, then on the wide open ring road.............
Then we had fun at CCD in CP, and when we came out it was dark and it was raining.
On other days, i shud be worrying about getting wet, going back home late, and wondering what excuses should i conjure up which wud sound convincing enough, but today was different.
Today was a day everything was happenning for me. And so was this rain, we walked to Palika Parking and got a lil wet alrite, but then when we came out of the underground lot, it had stopped. Almost as if tellin me, that uve had ure share of fun, now get back home safely.
Came back home and it was all cool..............
The universe conspired.........big time!
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