Footprints on the Mountainside

After a long season of slog, its the good, diyllic times again, before the summer vacations get us. We have plenty lined up for the summer, so Raka and I thought it was time to take a working breather.

Out came the trusty Hero Honda passion, and off we went - just the two of us, journeying because we wanted to, like the old times, and like we rarely get to go now a days.

Out first halt was at the Kamath Residency at Nagothane. It is a place we go to often and consistently like for the comfortable home like environment and outstanding food, which is getting rare, in a world of resorts which taste and feel like all others. We had a hidden agenda here. They are planning an extension of their resort facilities, and want to include an artificial wall as one of the offerings. Naturally, we were in on the discussions, and that was a pleasant evening well spent on talking passion of climbing and planning the ideal climbing wall.

The room itself felt like home. Not surprising considering that we have probably stayed in every room this place has over the years. Raka is trigger happy with the TV remote, and the rest of the evening was pure romance with the old Kamal Hassan, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple film - Saagar. Speak of flash back times, I practically grew up singing the songs from this one. Raka has a huge crush on Dimple, of course

Next morning, we were good to go on. We rode through the Tamhini Ghat, passing the multitude of camping facilities come up recently, right on, past the Garudmachi - the programme location of High Places, which of course was founded by Vasant Limaye, one of the oldest outbound training pioneers in India.

And we rode on….. the two of us and our trusted bike. That’s how we like to travel. Carefree!

The kilometers were ticking, the milestones were flashing, and we were in Pune, in time for the first birthday of the son of a very old friend. It was the time for flashbacks, and backslapping and cheer. We stayed with another old friend in Pune and spent the whole day watching Amitabh Bachchan films, while the poor chap slogged away in his office.

I contacted friends from ISABS in Pune, but didn’t meet anyone. Strange how I called when I was in Pune, but didn’t meet. The calling could have happened from Mumbai too. Go figure. Lazy time passes fast, and it was time to head homeward again, but not before my favourite halt on the way - The Japalouppe Equestrian Center. I usually want to stay here, but this time, we were short of time, so it was a quick couple of hours.

Japalouppe is special to me. I love horses and dogs, and this place has them both. Its a farm house cum riding school overflowing with life forms. The owner Rohan More, is a good friend of ours, and its a special thing indeed to catch up with another horseman and talk about horses - just like the good old times. Scratching dogs and being at peace was the chief agenda.

Rohan is planning a new climbing wall too, when he adds some facilities to the place, so we talked about that. Materials, location, planning…… dreaming is fun. its dreams that make us do things once they get urgent enough. We discussed various materials that could be used for the wall, and different ways it could be utilized in the scheme of things at the ever busy life in Japalouppe.

All too soon, it was our deadline to leave. Since we like to travel on bike, we also like to reach places before dark. its really not funny driving long distance on busy roads with trucks claiming ownership of the whole road, and bikers being as vulnerable as mosquitoes.

So off we went, in the direction of Mumbai. Our quick escapade out of Mumbai having succeeded in a most satisfying way.

Tagsdestinations,experience,general-stuff,outdoors,quirky,travelare applied to this post

The difficulty I faced in my ALHP has helped me face some needs I have in terms of emotions and insecurities.

Coming back from the programme, it was easy to just let go and return to my old ways of vague, supressed dissatisfactions, but I’m surprising myself with my eagerness to actually deal with my needs and care for myself. I’m trying to be aware of the motivations behind my actions, and seeing patterns in my own behaviour.

Don’t know where this is taking me, but right now, it feels like I’m an onion, with layers and layers and layers. The inner layers also have a greater tendency to bring tears I’m meeting myself for the first time and I like it.

Relationships are very important to me - is a new discovery I’m making. I like to connect with people. Perhaps this is why, rather than have a business website, Wide Aware has this massive informal place with pictures and discussions and articles which will never ever sell anything. I want adventurers to feel comfortable here. I want to connect with people.

Another thing I’m discovering is that I am very fast, and I tend to make people feel pressurised when I expect them to cope at my speed. By fast, I’m not speaking of actions, but of thoughts. It tends to alienate people when I do that, because it makes them feel inferior. It hurts me too, because I want them with me. I am now consciously trying to take my time and be sure that I am actually communicating, rather than assuming that people understand because of familarity, and I find that it is helping me be more connected with them.

There are other things too. I tend to focus intensely on things and tune out all distractions, which makes me lose touch with other things that are happening. I’m trying to maintain regular awareness of things I care about.

That’s it folks for now. Thanks for bearing with this rambling session, but it feels good to admit it, and acknowledge that I am also doing something to make things better. Hopefully, Nirvana is round the corner. Its more likely to be new discoveries round the corner.

Tagsexperiential-learning,initiatives,inspiration,ponderings,self-improvement-journeyare applied to this post

There is a dog in our building. He was hurt last week. Quite badly. I tried to help him, but he wouldn’t let me come near. He usually doesn’t allow anyone to come close. He’s a stray.

I called up the folks at Karuna last Friday, after trying for two days unsuccessfully. I was told that they were overloaded with requests and the van couldn’t come before Monday. I waited.

The van came on Monday night. The dog wouldn’t come close and couldn’t be cornered and caught, so the folks had to return. They came again at my request today, and I’m just back after a second unsuccessful round of catch-the-dog.

I feel so angry with the poor dog. After seeing me for over a year, he still doesn’t trust me to come to his aid. Actually, I don’t blame him. A street dog’s life is probably not a honeymoon, but still……

The Karuna guys have seen it all many times. They just asked me to make a fresh request and they could come again on the next day.

For those who don’t know what Karuna is, its an NGO committed to the animal welfare in Mumbai. If you find a horse, dog, bird, cow…. any animal that needs medical attention, or intervention, feel free to bring it to their attention, and they may be overworked, but htey will certainly come. If you have some money to spare, you might also consider donating, so that their overworked service can be extended to come to the aid of many more animals that need it.

As far as I know, they don’t have a website, but you can call them on these numbers (below) to request for services, or express your appreciation for the work they do. God knows we need people like them around. Their staff is working from early in the morning to very late at night, constantly attending to the needs of animals. You make a request, and their ambulance will come around - completely free of cost to help the animal. They care. You can see it in their actions, in their untiring efforts, and their willingness to go the extra mile to hunt for the street dog that suddenly went missing when they arrived to treat it, or even bringing their team of people to help catch it.

Do keep them in mind and keep these numbers safe for the sake of any animal you could end up helping without doing much more than a phone call:

28763856, 28761313

Please keep in mind that for every request, they will need the contact of a person in the area, who can identify the animal and be there with them when they arrive. So if you’re calling about an animal on the highway, it might be worthwhile to speak with a local shop or something and provide their contact, unless you intend to camp there until they arrive.

You can also call them for pets. They don’t charge any money, so don’t hesitate, just be there for an animal that needs it.

Well… our dog needs to wait some more I guess, but another very injured bitch came to notice just as they were leaving and they went there and treated her. So the trip was not a wasted exercise.

Tagsanimals,dogs,inspiration,reaching-out,societyare applied to this post

This is a particularly sweet memory from my life as a nomadic horsewoman in the mountains.

I lived in Manali, where it snows in the winter. Horsemen here rarely stable their horses, preferring to let them loose in the high altitude pastures in the summer, and tying them together at nights in the winter. The horses themselves are hardy, and I haven’t seen them ever come to any harm like this.

When it snows in Manali, all the Khampa and Kinnauri and often even local horsemen bring their horses down from the alpine meadows and migrate to the Mandi district, where it doesn’t snow, so that the horses can graze by day, and their costs of feeding are lower. They return to the higher areas in spring.
Horsemen come together in small groups for the journey, so that you often have a huge herd of about 50 horses migrating together. Manali to Mandi town is about a 4 day trek, and reaching the interior locations with adequate resources for horses takes another few days. Overall, the journey is about 6-7 days.

We used to travel by the highway and roads, so a huge herd of horses was out of the question in the day. The nights are a different story. The treacherous mountain road is deserted of vehicles by night, so this is when the caravans travel. It was a tough time, as we used to walk all night, and had camp work (cooking and other stuff) and grazing the horses to see to by day. Hardly any time to rest.

But this was also a magical time. Just horse lovers and their precious horses in an age old journey. We used to time the journeys to coincide with full moon nights and a favourite song from my city days took on a whole new relevance. Bear with me, as I share it with you.

Thandi hawa yeh chandani suhani
Ae mere dil sunaa koi kahani
Lambisi ek dagar hai jindagani
Ae mere dil sunaa koi kahani

Mere dil, tu sunaa koi aisi dastaan
Jisko sunkar mile chain mujhe meri jaan
Manjil hai anjaani…….

This cool breeze, this moonlight is pleasing
Oh my heart tell me an (enchanting) story
Life is a long way
Oh my heart tell me an (enchanting) tale

Oh my heart, you tell me, such a tale
Listening to which I come to peace my love
And the destination is unknown…..
And it was like that….. the heart was full of pleasant emotions, as the horses and owners walked in the moonlit nights at peace with themselves…. in harmony….. toward a destination that was an integral part of life for a horse and owner in this part of the mountains.

Saare haseen najare
Sapnon mein kho gaye
Sar rakh ke aasmaan pe
Parvat bhi so gaye

All the beautiful sights around
Are lost in their world of dreams
With their heads cushioned in the sky
Even the mountains are sleeping

And it was like that……….. the world was a beautiful play of moonlight and shadows - a world in black and white - the snow covered mountain tops a very grey against the night. The world indeed seemed to be sleeping, as we walked along the deserted highway through deodar forests silhouetted against the moonlit night. The only sound was the hoofs of horses on the road, and the steady river flowing along.

Aise mein chal raha hun
Pedo ki chaao mein
Jaise koi sitaraa
Badal ke gaon mein

And thus I am walking
In the shadows of the trees
Like some star
In a village of clouds

hmmmm….. drifting along the road…. all night the men, the horses and the night and the journey through the evergreen forests

Thodi si raat beeti
Thodi si reh gayi
Khamosh rutu na jaane
Kya baat keh gayi

Some of the night has passed
Some of it remains
The silent season I know not
What it has said

And the nights….. yeah they passed bit by bit, withthe last kilometer never seeming to end. Its surprising how after walking for 30 km, the last half kilometer seems impossible. It happened everynight, as weary caravans came to open grounds to set camp for the day. Until the night……..

It is a time of my life that was so beautiful, that for all my life, a part of me will remain the simple horsewoman with her simple life and simple cares - away from the complex urban life - far away in the mountains.

Tagsadventure,animals,experience,high-altitude,Himalaya,horses,memories,mountain,travelare applied to this post

Not much is happening work wise, but life looks good!

Planning a set of camps for children in the summer holidays, and this always sets me all fired up with enthusiasm. The variety is quite large this time too. Wide Aware has the usual adventure camps with mountaineering and basic orienteering, as well as some camps about life in the wilderness. On a more dramatic side, there are some wildlife tours timed specially for students in their summer vacations.

Then there is my favourite part. Himalayan tours for Spiti. This year, I’ve finally done away with the usual predesigned tours completely (I know I’d been promising that for a long time) and designed some tours specially based on my years of living in the mountains. What I’m trying to do, is show people a side of life in the Himalaya, that standard tours cannot.

Enthusiasm is flowing, and dreams are a plenty. I’ve completed itineraries for two tours in Spiti. One focuses on the culture, while the other is about wildlife at high altitudes - both subjects close to my heart.

The strange thing is that now I’ve got my pen on paper (or fingers to the keyboard) I don’t want to stop. So for all those who have been writing to me for more tour ideas and more tours along the lines of experiences I share, this seems promising. I’ve got a couple of other locations in mind.

If there is something specific you guys would like to see before I head on my own route, feel free to let me know, and I’ll see if I can make it a priority.

As for the rest….

Now is a time to take a nice deep breath and enjoy the fruits of all these months of labour. I’ve made new friends, introduced many more people to the outdoor addiction, and the payments are rolling in.

Life doesn’t get any better!

Tagsadventure,children,experience,mountain,news,outdoors,people,writingare applied to this post