They burnt bright this summer
But I hope to never see the same again
Or fight it till either of us perish
There is a lot at stake
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Showing posts with label uttarakhand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uttarakhand. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2016
A Summer of Forest Fires
They burnt bright this summer
But I hope to never see the same again
Or fight it till either of us perish
There is a lot at stake
Monday, October 07, 2013
Meeting an eccentric drunk
अपनों ने मुझे ठुकराया
गैरों में क्या दम था
मेरी कश्ती थी वहां डूबी
जहां पानी कम था
Curious characters you meet when backpacking. On longer journeys, you don't tolerate them. On smaller journeys, you enjoy the temporary transport into someone else's eccentric world of eccentric tendencies. The shorter the ride, the more volatility you're up for. This one came across on the last day of my stay in Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand), volunteering for relief work after the floods.
He joined us on our way back to Gyansu, from Bhatwari . His company by the roadside seemed eager to see him away. I picked up a whiff of suspicion right then. In entered this frail, shabby guy, flush at his cheeks, wearing a set of clothes savvier than the average people around, but also dirtier. He got in talking into his cellphone.
Twenty seconds into his conversation on his phone, and the phone startled us by ringing. "There's something funny about this guy," I commented. I said that out loud. English works well for cryptic communication in this region. He then cut from his imaginary conversation, to the real one. Same gibberish, about life and all.
Upon inquiry, none of our fellow back-seater passengers happened to know him. "पिये होगा," वो बोले| They were amused at his demeanor and talk, much like us. We were giggling under our breaths. I was reminded of that weirdo from Lodhi Garden in a vest with a spray-can that I met on one of my photowalks.
"Since that Bill Murray movie ('What About Bob'), I really don't find it scary to be around such strange people," I remarked, in cryptic English. It had been only a week that I saw that movie, so I could imagine a desi Bill Murray of sorts, walking into a human circle trying to avoid all eye contact (as that would make him sick). What if he passed out whenever he looked into a stranger's eyes? The way we had to sit cramped in the taxi, half my being mingled with his. So if he upped his crazy in a violent way in the next moment (who knew), I'd be the first victim. But despite that realization, of all the people around, I was intent on reading this guy, and his antics. "Theater material" is what came in my head. And my smirk didn't hide that these city-dwellers weren't pushed into intimidation or anxiety by things like this.
This guy was worth my expectations. His conversation was twitterific... When he said out that 'Shayari', it was an epic moment in the day. That is when I asked R to turn on the voice recording. All aural 'happenings' of this ride now a memory.
"गरीब के घर में सोने के लिए एक कम्बल मिलेगा, और एक रजाई मिलेगी, और क्या!"
A while into the journey, and he finished his conversation (finally!) to take a look around. We exchanged glances, then his maw opened wide in glee, dirty tobacco-painted red-brown teeth baring, and an anticipation came over his face. He introduced himself to me, shaking hands. He told me about his village (Pilang), that was on the opposite hill "नदी के उस पार". Earlier, our teams has distribute relief in Pilang, so I well knew the geography of his home. He would have to cross a bridge and walk for another 20 minutes (at least). When Pilang came, he got off. His wallet was empty, and he didn't pay for the ride, much to the vexation of the taxi driver.
Parting words:
Him: "अब क्या करें अभी..." [what to do...]
Me: "घर पहुंच जाना" [get home]
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The random of today
1. Decimated cockroaches today. An entire colony of Germans. The force was on my side.
2. Enjoyed the foreboding clouds over Uttarkashi that appeared near sunset. Thin tufts of great clouds. Things in silhouettes. All were stimulating.
3. Found this frame on the same silhouetted walk. One rarely comes across dashing Pomeranians, as this one. [Friends have asked why I didn't steal it]
4. "Easy": This is a low-cost rural solution to female sanitation needs. Plenty of stock in the relief supplies. Good initiative!
5. Canines make for great friends, or great fellow animals to play with.
2. Enjoyed the foreboding clouds over Uttarkashi that appeared near sunset. Thin tufts of great clouds. Things in silhouettes. All were stimulating.
3. Found this frame on the same silhouetted walk. One rarely comes across dashing Pomeranians, as this one. [Friends have asked why I didn't steal it]
4. "Easy": This is a low-cost rural solution to female sanitation needs. Plenty of stock in the relief supplies. Good initiative!
5. Canines make for great friends, or great fellow animals to play with.
6. What's this?
Turns out these are Japanese heat pads. Shaurya has explained it so many times, that I was got really curious; to finally see a pack of one is a kick. He explains it best: "In Japan, even during winters, girls come out on the streets in short clothes. I was, like, ****, I'm cold inside a jacket, and you're fine without one. Then I got to know that they apply a head pad under their skirt which keeps their legs warm. Each head pad works for a few hours."
7. "Ghodey ki naal!"
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Friday, July 12, 2013
Updates from Uttarkashi
Seems like I need all the outdoor gear in at least a smaller showroom, because
1. Otherwise I'll steal, or worse, borrow
2. Because i'm not leaving this passion any sooner
Here in Uttarkashi, days are like a discovery. Each comes with its highs - lows are only the time that i'm sleeping, but even in that i'm dreaming strange things - like polar bears and people crashing scooters - as well. I could wax lyrical, but one will think I'm mad.
It is raining really hard right now. They just started, and it doesn't look like stopping. In 3 hours, we are to be starting off on the trek to Bhatwari village, which is where we - yogi and I, - in November last year, changed the mode of transit for our Dayara misadventure. I shall be in plenty of mud for sure, and maybe even a rockslip or two. It shouldn't be a surprise, right? After all, the entropy is ever-increasing in the universe.
We are presently operating from Gyalsu, a village 2 km from the town. The last that we visited the town, we were hosted at Shivling Hotel, by one girl Arunima. She is the first female amputee, internationally, to scale the Everest, which she did just a few months back, a mere year from losing her leg after being pushed off a moving train. Her story is amazing, more so to hear from her own person, and to see the political and social movement these guys are going to turn the sport of mountaineering into. No wonder she has a 350cr movie deal from Hollywood upcoming! Good news for those who toil.
I finally had to get a new boonie hat and Chinese goggles, as my efficient packing and restricted thinking led me to leave the ones I love back at home like a graveflower; but the goggles will look good on me. Days on the trail will be challenging, and at the same time unpredictable, so I'm happy with conveniences that I won't mind losing or accidentally destroying.
These mountain heads are a average breed at conversations. I can't keep up with them. It is not suitable to my participation, so I guess I'm the only one not having fun. Not complaining, but I wish silence dominates so just the roar of the river could dominate the aural-scape. But I can't tell how tangible I feel the word "complete" in their proximity. [see also, adj. forms of "ambition", "gusto", "discipline", "freedom"]. These people can help make psychological breakthroughs when kept under observation.
I just hope by the end of this trip, I'm not making such perverse observations.
1. Otherwise I'll steal, or worse, borrow
2. Because i'm not leaving this passion any sooner
Here in Uttarkashi, days are like a discovery. Each comes with its highs - lows are only the time that i'm sleeping, but even in that i'm dreaming strange things - like polar bears and people crashing scooters - as well. I could wax lyrical, but one will think I'm mad.
It is raining really hard right now. They just started, and it doesn't look like stopping. In 3 hours, we are to be starting off on the trek to Bhatwari village, which is where we - yogi and I, - in November last year, changed the mode of transit for our Dayara misadventure. I shall be in plenty of mud for sure, and maybe even a rockslip or two. It shouldn't be a surprise, right? After all, the entropy is ever-increasing in the universe.
We are presently operating from Gyalsu, a village 2 km from the town. The last that we visited the town, we were hosted at Shivling Hotel, by one girl Arunima. She is the first female amputee, internationally, to scale the Everest, which she did just a few months back, a mere year from losing her leg after being pushed off a moving train. Her story is amazing, more so to hear from her own person, and to see the political and social movement these guys are going to turn the sport of mountaineering into. No wonder she has a 350cr movie deal from Hollywood upcoming! Good news for those who toil.
I finally had to get a new boonie hat and Chinese goggles, as my efficient packing and restricted thinking led me to leave the ones I love back at home like a graveflower; but the goggles will look good on me. Days on the trail will be challenging, and at the same time unpredictable, so I'm happy with conveniences that I won't mind losing or accidentally destroying.
These mountain heads are a average breed at conversations. I can't keep up with them. It is not suitable to my participation, so I guess I'm the only one not having fun. Not complaining, but I wish silence dominates so just the roar of the river could dominate the aural-scape. But I can't tell how tangible I feel the word "complete" in their proximity. [see also, adj. forms of "ambition", "gusto", "discipline", "freedom"]. These people can help make psychological breakthroughs when kept under observation.
I just hope by the end of this trip, I'm not making such perverse observations.
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Monday, July 08, 2013
Helping Uttarakhand
Just finished with a half of each - chocolate brownie, chocolate eclairs, chocolate tart, mango tart, and velvet cake (the velvet crumbs still cling to lips). My bakery raid ended well. And I even rode the Godiva, on the roads of Delhi, near midnight, to rediscover the love with my primera amor. The day around it was no less indulgent, but the details are lost in translation into text, so I won't enlist them all. I could be off to a serene sleep. Only if..
Come the morning (which is in another hour and a half) and I'll be out to something ridiculous, courageous, risky, considerate, and - as I see it - appropriate. Yes, on the road again. Or to be technical, off the road, this time. It will be another first-of-its-kind experience, in tradition to the advance of year 2013AD.
In another 11 hours I should be in Rishikesh. In another 34, in Uttarkashi. I'll be a part of the team of some awesome "adventurists" who are dedicating themselves to the relief work in aftermath of the Uttarakhand disaster.
Besides those who died a quick death in the flash floods in the Kedarnath region, there are a fifty times more that are dying a slow one in other parts of Uttarakhand, like in the remote reaches of districts like Uttarkashi, where farm lands have been scooped away and the roads are a once-existed fact. It is these villages that we're helping.
If I were ever corralled into giving an interview by some on-site reporter, then I'll make a claim of how I know this region - having, coincidentally, done a couple of more hardcore/memorable treks of my life in this same region - and have a fond association with its people, coz of which an inner voice calls me back to pay my dues. I'll probably end with a line like "it is time to give back". I'd be hiding the reality that I didn't grow fond of the locals on these treks, even desperately trying to evade some who had business ends to met through a prospective conduit of ours. And the familiarity aspect is also humbug - nary did I take the lesser treaded path, or follow a spoor to its owner into the woods, so, effectively, my expertise is of knowing trails that aren't there anymore, and not of the character of these mountains.
To give the exact reason why I'll be there is hard for me. As per Richard Dawkins, philanthropy is a misdirected form of a primitive survival instinct, that works out an optimal profit making strategy; since the phenomenon of me and profits have never been observed simultaneously, I don't think I'm in it for any gains. Really, then, what am I in for?
Come the morning (which is in another hour and a half) and I'll be out to something ridiculous, courageous, risky, considerate, and - as I see it - appropriate. Yes, on the road again. Or to be technical, off the road, this time. It will be another first-of-its-kind experience, in tradition to the advance of year 2013AD.
In another 11 hours I should be in Rishikesh. In another 34, in Uttarkashi. I'll be a part of the team of some awesome "adventurists" who are dedicating themselves to the relief work in aftermath of the Uttarakhand disaster.
Besides those who died a quick death in the flash floods in the Kedarnath region, there are a fifty times more that are dying a slow one in other parts of Uttarakhand, like in the remote reaches of districts like Uttarkashi, where farm lands have been scooped away and the roads are a once-existed fact. It is these villages that we're helping.
If I were ever corralled into giving an interview by some on-site reporter, then I'll make a claim of how I know this region - having, coincidentally, done a couple of more hardcore/memorable treks of my life in this same region - and have a fond association with its people, coz of which an inner voice calls me back to pay my dues. I'll probably end with a line like "it is time to give back". I'd be hiding the reality that I didn't grow fond of the locals on these treks, even desperately trying to evade some who had business ends to met through a prospective conduit of ours. And the familiarity aspect is also humbug - nary did I take the lesser treaded path, or follow a spoor to its owner into the woods, so, effectively, my expertise is of knowing trails that aren't there anymore, and not of the character of these mountains.
To give the exact reason why I'll be there is hard for me. As per Richard Dawkins, philanthropy is a misdirected form of a primitive survival instinct, that works out an optimal profit making strategy; since the phenomenon of me and profits have never been observed simultaneously, I don't think I'm in it for any gains. Really, then, what am I in for?
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
One Simple Rule on Treks
Marge: "Where's your swimsuit?"
Bart: "I'm gonna swim nekkid."
[8F24]
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Friday, October 28, 2011
Enfield trip to Nainital now online
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Monday, April 25, 2011
Death Magnetic
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Gandhi
On Mar 24, people in an Uttarakhand village gheraoed, then set afire the caged leopard that was a suspect maneater-in-waiting, and had been caught by the forest department on the villagers' request. The police, the forest officials couldn't do anything; there were no activists around who could do anything worth. To boast of their achievement, the crowds opened up to the tv cameras that were there.
Widget by Css Reflex | TutZone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
