He danced like no one was watching...

...and he got up and started to dance, his body swaying to the rhythm and i can't recall now what music was playing in that sultry June evening. But he danced, like no one was watching, in a restuarant with a soulful live band belting out music, he danced alone, moving to the music, with eyes closed and a faint smile playing on the corners of his lips. It was beautiful, not becase he danced well, but because he danced alone, in a place where no one else cared to.

And I sit here today, thinking of that moment of years ago, and of the look that Prateek gave me long back, urging me to go ahead and cast my inhibitions. I mulled over my dilemma to join him and break his moment of beauty or to have become one with the moment.

I longed to join him, and did not muster the courage to, I am wont to belive that its better this way, the memory still comes back to me now and then, to remind me of an evening full of music and longing. But the truth is that i'll never know what an impulsive moment of breaking into a dance might have felt like.

Heightened Tastes!

A wonderful part of travel is the various kinds of cuisine one is exposed to. The local as well the the local versions of other globally accepted fares. The journey through a place can be traced by its food. One such book by Sephi Bergerson titled 'Street food of India' made me reminisce about the places in Himachal which made the trip rather lip-smackin'!

Tibetian Phuntsok, Road to Rohtang/Vashisth, Manali

An unassuming little place which is almost not visible from the road, a faded sign is all there is which leads into a tiny garden in the backyard of the house with a few tables placed overlooking the valley and the mountains in the distance with the Beas rumbling below. Its like a haven with overgrown shrubs around which makes its secluded. It claims homemade food and thus has brightly colored posters requesting you to be 'patient'. The veg/chicken momos and thupka there was to die for.

Chamba Dhaba, Marhi

We reached Marhi [enroute to Rohtang from Manali] one rainy evening, riding back from Rohtang. We stopped there for shelter at this Dhaba, rather a makeshift structure with wooden beams and tin sheets for a roof. We sat there hearing the deafening roar of the rain hitting upon the dhaba, a place suddenly warm and smelling deliciously of food! Tea, rather 'Chai' in such weather is almost like tasking heavenespecially when combined with the ubiquitous Maggi!

Johnson's Cafe, Manali

We landed here, strictly adhering to Lonely Planet's advice and well was quite bowled over. Perfect for a chilly Manali morning, the place sported a Colonial stucture with a touch of the local architecture characterized by the interspersing of stone and wood in the construction of the walls, as the backdrop. Seated on quaint wooden benches at the edge of a garden with trees laden with apples, old lamp posts and the wispy freshness of the morning dew on the colorful burst of flower. Breakfast consisted of baked egg and spinach, ginger lemon honey, pancakes – with honey, butter and lemon. We also returned for a shimmering yellow evening with translucent lamps above, the beads clinking away gently as the wind sweeps across the apple trees. The speciality here is the trout, we tried the smoked one and the world's most succulent lamb in thyme and wine sauce.

Chandra Dhaba, Batal, Edge of Lahaul Valley

In the vast desolate stretches of wilderness that Spiti Valley offers, this place is like a tiny little oasis in the desert with its warm makeshift shelter. A corner of the dhaba was lit with the natural light streaming in from a sort of skylight in the roof making it the sunniest part of an otherwise dark room. Supplies were stacked along the walls and there were stone platforms with mattresses strewn about. In the middle of a famished bus ride from Manali a kindly lady dished out ladles of steamed sticky rice, potato curry, a mix of pulses all at 13120 ft...divine.

Ylomo Restaurant, Kaza, Spiti Valley

A dark cozy room with little plastic chairs, and beautiful panorama's of Nepal and Tibet on the walls (with one of Kajol and Kareena Kapoor thrown in as well). Buzzing with activity, of little school children in the morning and a pretty little girl of the owner who flitted about serving us now and then. Breakfast consisted of heavily stuffed aaloo paranthas with sour and salty tibetian tea. Omelette and ginger honey lemon to add to the same.We tried the momos here as well along with the thukpa which are recommended.

Riding the mist

I find myself in Manali, Himachal Pradesh shortly after an impulse break-away from Bangalore. A bustling hill station of the north, defined thus by the bejeweled honeymooners and large families all congregating to beat the heat of the North Indian plains. There is an over-riding sense of well being and casual prosperity in stark contrast to the complying hospitality of the genteel natives of Manali, a significant portion of which are people from Nepal and Tibet.


While Himanshu, tries to negotiate a sweet deal on a '93 RE Machismo, I gaze upon the tibetian settlement across the street. There are a multitude of people, tourists of all colors, bikers, and even the few natives, old, crinkled and sitting in groups with their prayer wheels. Old women, with beautifully lined faces, making me want to reach out and touch them, as if that single act can convey the stories behind each line.

With the noble steed right in place, we set off for Rohtang Pass (3978m), a ride through kilometre long traffic jams owing to the double laning of the road to the pass, at times a feet of mud to bike through but mostly gorgeous views of the valley spreading below lined with tall deodars and pines. At the fringes of the Lahaul Valley, Rohtang is still largely covered in glaciers here and there and hordes of tourists trying to ski. We set off a little beyond the pass and stop by in the freezing wind, to just lie on the grass and take in the panorama that the places springs up.

What was most stunning about Rohtang that day, was the mist that envelopes the place shortly after we start hiking around the pass. Visibility is well impaired, and at intervals, ghostly figures of tourists on horses emerge from the mist to cross me and gradually dissapear into the mist again. Now and then the mist separates just a wee bit, to give a peek at the valley below. Its breathtaking!

Sojourn into Himachal and within

An impulse decision to travel to the Himalayas happened a while back and armed with confidence, return tickets, maps and a tiny bit of apprehension, Himanshu and I set forth for the Valleys of Eastern Himachal Pradesh following the route attached. The places largely covered were:

1. Kullu Valley - Manali, Vashisht, Naggar via Jagatsukhi, Mirhi
   
2. Lahaul Valley - Rohtang La (3978m), Chandratal, Kunzum La (4551m), Losar, Battal
3. Spiti Valley - Kaza, Ki Monastery, Kibber, Tabo,
   
4. Road from Kaza to Rekong Peo via Hurling, Nako
5. Kinnaur Valley - Kalpa, Rekong Peo
6. Sangla Valley - Sangla
7. Road from Sangla to Shimla via Wangtu, Narkanda & Fagu

A few pictures are uploaded here and while i sit down and combine various little pieces of paper, scribbled upon and put together a coherent story of my experiences, the thought of having been there still is enchanting and magical. To say that it was an experience of a lifetime, would be quite an understatement.


It simply blew me away.

All the little things...

So here's the deal, I seldom recall or miss the big things about my folks, like you know the education, the values and all the grand stuff. What I often miss are the little things, the nice ones, often even the annoying ones.

1. like Ma/Baba lying down next to me when waking me up on lazy mornings
2. Ma always saving the big pieces of mango (or any favorite food for that matter)
3. Baba teaching me to ride his Bajaj scooter one fine morning
4. Baba's cold cold cheek on mine, right after returning from work, to check the temperature when i fell ill.
5. Ma laboring over "pithe" or other delicacy just for a change
6. Baba narrating us his childhood memories of Jamshedpur, everytime we passed by a certain street or house
7. Baba waking me up for morning walks when i least wanted to go
8. Baba, calling out for Ma and without fail inquiring when i was as soon as he got back from work
9. Ma singing "O tota pakhi re" or "Se aamar chotto pakhi Chondona" to put me to sleep
10. For always putting more vegetables in the Maggi, than the noodles themselves.

and perhaps most of all for forgiving, everything small and large.

Rebooting

Kalyan Varma & Mukta Darera from iReboot opened up a whole new world of wildlife photography over the last three days at Banerghatta National Park, Karnataka, India. For those, considering this and who didn't quite make it, I must encourage you to join them in their future endeavors.


While, i don't want to sound like a forthright adversitement for either Kalyan or iReboot, they make it compelling enough. Kalyan's style of approaching the subject is commendable both in detail as well as his approach in passionately communicating wildlife photography as a subject very well. The workshop personally helped me clean up a lot of my technicalities as well as increasing the breath of my eye for photography.

The arrangements were well managed and I am grateful to iReboot for beinging this together. While both these people take most of the credit, it wouldn't have been quite so much fun without all the other participants as well. So here's my hearty thanks going out to Abhishikta, Badri, Kinjal, Milind, Selva, Subin & Shubhra.

Coastal Cruise