'Kripya anjaan logon se dosti naa karen'... 'Do not befriend strangers' blares the PA system on the Delhi metro from time to time. I registered it the first time. When I heard it for the 3rd time, it got me thinking. It does strike as odd. Since I am not supposed to befriend strangers and everyone is a stranger to me at the time of birth, that implies I will be born and die friendless. If everyone was to take this sage advice seriously, the earth would be divided into 6 billion societies constituting 1 person each. I know I may be taking this arguement too far and the intention of the person who had this message written was just to caution people against trusting someone too much. The choice of words, however, is terribly wrong, which brings me to the point of this post.
What drives messages like these? Insecurity. In other words, the concern for security. It could be the concern for someone's personal security or the concern for the security of a country/society. In the last week, I have seen a friend cancel a trip to the North East and have seen another one feeling anxious about being locked in together with 3 unknown people in the 1st AC compartment of a train. I have myself not done lots of things over my life labelling them as 'dangerous' or 'not-safe'. We do that to drinking water all the time. Dont get me wrong. I am not criticizing anything or anyone. Infact, I do understand where the concerns stem from, which is why it is even more important to consider what this leads to.
Today, as we live in a world close to the one George Orwell vividly pictured in his masterpiece 1984, our thoughts governed by the mass media, we live in constant fear. Fear of being looted, fear of being conned, fear of being fooled, fear of being killed, harmed, injured, raped, taken ill. Infact, we keep inventing new fears all the time. While the fears in themselves are understandable because insecurity is the key to survival, the question is where is the line between being insecure for survival and being insecure in general. This question is important for it determines what we do with our lives.
I dont have a big point here. I am just wondering. How many times do we not have new experiences because our insecurity does not let us do so?
Monday, December 13, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Missed Opportunities
During over a year of travelling, thinking and vagabonding, I have come to realize that every time you make a choice to do something, you are also making a choice to not do many other things. The question I am faced at the end of any period is 'Did I make the right choices?' This is not an efficiency tirade. So, I am not discussing whether I made the most efficient use of my time. Its just a question of whether I did what I would have liked to do and whether I was good enough to overcome inertia and try out things I wanted to. Looking back at my 'independent life', which I would count as having started from 1999, when I was 17 and joined Bachelors in Engineering, a lot of opportunities have come my way. 11 years and counting to be precise. Each second of these 11 years, I have made choices to do something or sit idle. How have I fared? What have I missed? Below is a laundry list of things I could have done but did not do (and this is much shorter than it should be because I dont remember most of what I missed). I am sure if I think hard, I can find reasons (read excuses) to justify why I did not do these but thats beside the point. The opportunity was there, I was around, the time was right and I did not do it. This list will hopefully serve as a reminder of how much have I missed versus how little have I really done.
- Life in graduation - joined 1999, ended 2003 with a B Tech in Electronics and Communication
- Missed learning French/German - course was on offer, I attended one class and gave up.
- Missed travelling around - was young, did not care about comforts, could have seen the length and breadth of East India but chose not to. Was anyway not attending lots of classes.
- Missed being a good engineer - poor attendance, lack of interest in general.
- Missed playing badminton - was good at it but never did it regularly enough. Played once for college but did not follow up.
- Missed listening to new music - had people from all states of India, all listening to their regional music plus lots of them listening to English music. I just stuck to what I liked and only added some to my PC when I liked them. Never tried anything new out of the blue.
- Missed drinking - had a mental block (or whatever) against drinking. The one opportunity I had to try everything and be silly, I missed.
- Missed Bengali food - had converted to vegetarianism a couple of years before I joined and continued. Missed the brilliant bengali fish preparations and lots of other non veg food.
- Life in Post Graduation - joined 2003, ended 2005 with a PGDM
- Missed studies - yet again!
- Missed drinking and non veg yet again - Lucknow had the best selection of non veg joints and the brilliant Awadhi cuisine and I had none of it. Mistake repeated from Bengal!
- Missed learning new sports - had good sporting infrastructure, could have tried out tennis, volleyball but never did it for long enough to really learn.
- Missed partying - there was a weekly party at the institute, drinking, dancing, fooling around et al and I had none of it.
- Life in Chennai - worked for Citigroup for about 21 months
- Missed travel - hardly saw anything except local Chennai. South India was beckoning and I was sleeping.
- Missed local food - for a while till I was veggie, I missed Chettinad cuisine. Had the sense to convert later.
- Missed learning swimming - was earning well enough to pay for lessons but never did it.
- Missed learning anything - outside office, I learnt nothing new.
- Missed staying fit - transformed into a balloon.
- Missed meeting friends - was too 'busy' with work.
- Life in London - worked for Citigroup for about 27 months
- Missed travel - travelled about 4 countries, could have done much better.
- Missed drinking - of all things, missed drinking while in London. The breadth of offering was mind boggling but my mind was closed.
- Missed making many new friends - dont ask why, I dont know.
- Missed historical sites - went to quite a few but missed many more.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Footloose in Dilli
Its winter again. There is no trekking again. I go crazy again. This winter, its walking Old Delhi (Dilli) and learning Spanish. Its not all crazy though. Learning a language has been a long standing dream. Walking Delhi is a way of getting out of my comfort zone (again!) and doing something diametrically opposite to what I have done in the last over 1 year. It promises to be as different from mountain trekking as is possible.
All of it goes on a blog called 'Footloose in Dilli'. Suggestions and company for the walk are welcome.
All of it goes on a blog called 'Footloose in Dilli'. Suggestions and company for the walk are welcome.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
They Killed Me
I am dying tonight. I was born virgin, untouched. Virgin of body, virgin of mind, virgin of thought. The whole world was my playground. Everything beckoned me to do my bidding. Get out in the open air to walk my own path, make my own mistakes, cry over them, correct course, learn, be a better person and go on with life. Along the way meet new people, try everything there was to try, fail many times, getting up each time to walk towards the end of life. The day I would lie on my death bed, my life would be a rich tapestry of my experiences, a kaleidoscope of my many colourful adventures. I would have loved, been loved, hated, been hated, stolen hearts, had my heart stolen, broken hearts and would have had mine broken.
Before I had started, I had someone coming over to me and talk to me in hushed tones. It seemed they were telling me some secret noone else knew and I listened intently. I took it seriously. Along the way, I met others who would come to me, tell me things. Each time, I thought they were right and that I was making mistakes. They wanted me to learn from theirs. I did. I avoided paths they had taken and failed on. I treaded with caution on many paths. I looked at some from afar and remembered to not take them. I looked at some others from afar and was tempted to take them but resisted.
There were times I saw people taking the forbidden paths. Many of them fell over, had their teeth shattered, had themselves laughed at. It almost looked dark from far. Their paths were lonely, fraught with danger at every turn. It did not look like living at all. 'Surrendering to evil' is what they called it.
Looking back at what I have been, I dont see much. I just see a path which has many footsteps on it. It is hard, compacted. There are no footprints anymore. I cant see mine. I dont know who I have been. I have achieved a lot in life. I have things to show for it. I have succeeded. I have not lived. I am dying not knowing who I was, who I am, not even knowing what I could have been.
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.
- Henry David Thoreau
Before I had started, I had someone coming over to me and talk to me in hushed tones. It seemed they were telling me some secret noone else knew and I listened intently. I took it seriously. Along the way, I met others who would come to me, tell me things. Each time, I thought they were right and that I was making mistakes. They wanted me to learn from theirs. I did. I avoided paths they had taken and failed on. I treaded with caution on many paths. I looked at some from afar and remembered to not take them. I looked at some others from afar and was tempted to take them but resisted.
There were times I saw people taking the forbidden paths. Many of them fell over, had their teeth shattered, had themselves laughed at. It almost looked dark from far. Their paths were lonely, fraught with danger at every turn. It did not look like living at all. 'Surrendering to evil' is what they called it.
Looking back at what I have been, I dont see much. I just see a path which has many footsteps on it. It is hard, compacted. There are no footprints anymore. I cant see mine. I dont know who I have been. I have achieved a lot in life. I have things to show for it. I have succeeded. I have not lived. I am dying not knowing who I was, who I am, not even knowing what I could have been.
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.
- Henry David Thoreau
Friday, October 22, 2010
The end of a road
He was encumbered in thoughts. Thoughts circling his mind, thoughts searing his heart. Thoughts that refused to go away, thoughts that refused to let him get away. Outside, a cold, wintry rain was lashing down. The wind was howling, the thunder growling. It was violent and tempestuous. Suddenly, he got up, put on his waterproofs and walked out. Clad all in black, a hood all but covering his face and walking on a grey road, he cut a forlorn, almost a morose figure. There was no one on the country lane for miles. Two jet black crows were cawing on grey electricity wires.
As he walked a little up the lane, his feet, almost as if by instinct led him to a uphill dirt track. A grey dirt track leading through a black jungle. Two roads divulged in the wood and he took the one he had not walked on. As he walked up the road, it got muddier before culminating near two mud huts. That was when he remembered he had been here earlier. It was the road he had not taken that he had not been on. 'I really am lost....in thoughts', he thought to himself.
Scrambling down some rocks, pushing and racking through wet, spiny bushes, he found the road he had not taken. The sky was getting greyer and the day blacker. Mud was clinging to his boots, making them heavy and encumbered, refusing to go away. The rain drops were getting bigger and denser, scattering all over in no patterns. As he passed a small house, a dog started barking and kept barking long after he was out of sight. Nature seemed to talking in metaphors.
Further down the hill, other small tracks led away. He kept to the main track, it held more promise of taking him away from his thoughts. The rain was numbing only his hands. The thoughts were refusing to leave him. The heart was less anxious but the mind was still racing. He fell twice in the mud, each time picking himself up and walking on. A little further, it was the end of a road. There was a small footpath leading to a stream. He walked past the fields towards the stream. The stream had dirty, muddy water in it, dull brown and grey rocks around it.
He sat down on one of the rocks. Head down, legs crossed, a thoughtful expression on his face. The rain came down harder. Rain drops hit him hard on the chest, sending a searing pain through his body. They made a deafening noise in his ears and head, which refused to let him be. Nature was still talking in metaphors. The walk had not really helped. He got up, tried to best collect his thoughts and walked back home. He had not realized how far he had come.
As he walked a little up the lane, his feet, almost as if by instinct led him to a uphill dirt track. A grey dirt track leading through a black jungle. Two roads divulged in the wood and he took the one he had not walked on. As he walked up the road, it got muddier before culminating near two mud huts. That was when he remembered he had been here earlier. It was the road he had not taken that he had not been on. 'I really am lost....in thoughts', he thought to himself.
Scrambling down some rocks, pushing and racking through wet, spiny bushes, he found the road he had not taken. The sky was getting greyer and the day blacker. Mud was clinging to his boots, making them heavy and encumbered, refusing to go away. The rain drops were getting bigger and denser, scattering all over in no patterns. As he passed a small house, a dog started barking and kept barking long after he was out of sight. Nature seemed to talking in metaphors.
Further down the hill, other small tracks led away. He kept to the main track, it held more promise of taking him away from his thoughts. The rain was numbing only his hands. The thoughts were refusing to leave him. The heart was less anxious but the mind was still racing. He fell twice in the mud, each time picking himself up and walking on. A little further, it was the end of a road. There was a small footpath leading to a stream. He walked past the fields towards the stream. The stream had dirty, muddy water in it, dull brown and grey rocks around it.
He sat down on one of the rocks. Head down, legs crossed, a thoughtful expression on his face. The rain came down harder. Rain drops hit him hard on the chest, sending a searing pain through his body. They made a deafening noise in his ears and head, which refused to let him be. Nature was still talking in metaphors. The walk had not really helped. He got up, tried to best collect his thoughts and walked back home. He had not realized how far he had come.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Other Winner
Long ago, in one of my drunken blogs, I praised Buddha for what he was and proclaimed him 'The Winner'. It was a U-turn from my earlier stance of thinking what he was a loser. Yet another, I am drunk. Yet again, its time to write about something I have been wanting to.
There was a man called Kabir Das, lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. There has been enough written about him, including on the wikipedia link. Thats not the point though. The point is all that people say of him on the web or elsewhere is nonsense. Unfortunately, Kabir wrote in old colloquial Hindi. For a generation which does not understand basic Hindi, understanding Kabir is a chore. The result is books which attempt to translate Kabir and such pathetic attempts to translate, I have never seen.
Being drunk, I think I understand Kabir. Its as if I am a contemporary, as if he discussed everything with me before he penned it down. Kabir is not about prescription. Kabir is not about fixation. Kabir is not about conformism. He is about everything you dont associate with literature. He is about life. He is subjective. He is open to interpretation. You will read what you want to read. Its your mindset which will determine what you make of it or not make of it. Its a blank canvas. He leaves you with a thought. You paint it and come out with a picture. When you look at the picture, thats not what Kabir is. It is what you are and therein lies the beauty, in the eye of the beholder.
Kabir says on love
सबै रसायन हम किया, प्रेम समान न कोय।
रंचक तन में संचरै, सब तन कंचन होय।।
There was a man called Kabir Das, lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. There has been enough written about him, including on the wikipedia link. Thats not the point though. The point is all that people say of him on the web or elsewhere is nonsense. Unfortunately, Kabir wrote in old colloquial Hindi. For a generation which does not understand basic Hindi, understanding Kabir is a chore. The result is books which attempt to translate Kabir and such pathetic attempts to translate, I have never seen.
Being drunk, I think I understand Kabir. Its as if I am a contemporary, as if he discussed everything with me before he penned it down. Kabir is not about prescription. Kabir is not about fixation. Kabir is not about conformism. He is about everything you dont associate with literature. He is about life. He is subjective. He is open to interpretation. You will read what you want to read. Its your mindset which will determine what you make of it or not make of it. Its a blank canvas. He leaves you with a thought. You paint it and come out with a picture. When you look at the picture, thats not what Kabir is. It is what you are and therein lies the beauty, in the eye of the beholder.
Kabir says on love
सबै रसायन हम किया, प्रेम समान न कोय।
रंचक तन में संचरै, सब तन कंचन होय।।
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The death of Hindi
I am no jingoistic nationalist linguist ruing what many have rued before me. I just happen to belong to a generation which I believe is single handedly responsible for making Hindi what it is today. I am from a generation which is not good at Hindi and is proud of it. We are anyway sh*te at English but like to think we know it well. I have to strain my senses to speak one complete sentence strung together with only Hindi words. I am not much better at English either. I write a blog in English and maintain a site in English, partly because I cant write much Hindi and even if I manage to, my readers sure wont understand most of it. We also live in times where people are judged on their English speaking abilities. If you are polite and speak Hindi, you have probably not made it in life and would never do it. If you speak English, courtesy does not matter. You are very likely either someone big or someone connected or both.
I wonder how it came to this. I am not one of those people who whinge at change. Its nice to see things changing, thats the way it is supposed to be. To see a language dying, however is sad. To see an entire art of expressing your thoughts wilt away? To see tons of literature, where you can learn a lot from going waste? These are just catastrophic scenarios and yet they are coming true. By letting the education system veer towards teaching everything in English (except thankfully Hindi as a language) and not do it well and then let the world buy our 'cheap English speaking skills' (which are dubious at best), I dont know where we have reached. In isloation, I dont think either of this is bad. English is the international language, no harm learning it. If you speak better English than others and can earn bread for it, thats even better. What are the fallouts though? That we are often found lacking to find words?
I dont want to cringe and whinge more. By letting it reach here, Hindi does not lose. I am the loser. Starting today, I am going to start reading some long pending Hindi books, only because there is a lot to learn there which I have been missing. I may not find all of them here. Will anybody volunteer to send me some books please? Dont worry, I will pay.
I wonder how it came to this. I am not one of those people who whinge at change. Its nice to see things changing, thats the way it is supposed to be. To see a language dying, however is sad. To see an entire art of expressing your thoughts wilt away? To see tons of literature, where you can learn a lot from going waste? These are just catastrophic scenarios and yet they are coming true. By letting the education system veer towards teaching everything in English (except thankfully Hindi as a language) and not do it well and then let the world buy our 'cheap English speaking skills' (which are dubious at best), I dont know where we have reached. In isloation, I dont think either of this is bad. English is the international language, no harm learning it. If you speak better English than others and can earn bread for it, thats even better. What are the fallouts though? That we are often found lacking to find words?
I dont want to cringe and whinge more. By letting it reach here, Hindi does not lose. I am the loser. Starting today, I am going to start reading some long pending Hindi books, only because there is a lot to learn there which I have been missing. I may not find all of them here. Will anybody volunteer to send me some books please? Dont worry, I will pay.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Why the caste system is ok
This post is going to surprise people. One, because some have thought I stopped posting here. Two, the nature of the beast is such that calling the caste system ok is perhaps a big taboo. This is just an attempt to provide a perspective.
Ever noticed one of the first things we learn as we develop senses? To distinguish! This is mom, this is dad. This is good, that is bad. This is safe, that is harmful. The ability to distinguish is one of the most basic human (and animal) faculties, one which can distinguish between survival and death. The line is fine. Flirt with it and you could be history. Thats ofcourse not that true in today's human world because of how far we have come from natural surroundings and habitats. The point is distinguishing is central to our existence and society.
Fast forward a few years. When we grow up, whats the first thing we do subconciously on meeting people? We try and place them. Place them amongst the stereotypes we know. Our general chit chat starts with education, family, backgound, occupation. Why? We are judging where in the social echeleon does the person facing us stand. Above us or below us? And often, not necessarily intentionally, our judgement has a bearing on our behaviour. How many people have you seen speaking very politely to a guy cleaning a drain? How many people have you seen speaking rudely to someone getting out of a Mercedes?
Banks 'segragate' their customers by the total money they hold with the bank. Those with less money dont have personal service, are not offered all the products, sometimes dont even have their calls picked. Simple, they are not priority. Same goes for all corporates. Philip Kotler called it 'differentitation', as much amongst the people as of the product.
Countries segragate between people using passports. If you are an Asian (ex Japan) and want your passport stamped by the US, you know what you need to go through. Even if that happens, reach JFK and expect a strip down search. Does that happen to a US born US citizen? No, because he/she is perceived to be a lesser threat, both as a terrorist and from a resource drain point of view. India would do the same to a Pakistani citizen. Isn't it always about allocating more resources (which are always constrained) to a few?
The point I am driving at is, we have an inherent insecurity which is perhaps part of being a living being. We want to eliminate that insecurity by putting checks and balances in place to aid survival. We dont want to feel threatened by anyone around us. We need to know who to please and who not to please. We dont want unnecessary complications anywhere. Only as much is necessary to be handled.
Now, rewind back to a rural society. All people have similar assets, land and animals. The earnings are not much different as well. Maybe the richest (except the king of the territory) earns 4 times that the poorest in the village. The society is growing. It now has 5000 people. How do they differentiate? How does one part of the society feel better than the other? How do they ensure better resource allocation to a few? The measures we use today are non existent. The society has not 'globalized and liberalized'.Travel is limited between a few villages, countries do not exist. The world is not networked, MNCs do not exist. Kotler is still not born. There has to be some way of pigeonholing people. Caste system it is! You take occupations and arrange them in a hierarchy and you have the answer. Just to further secure the causes of your insecurity, the powers that be also decree that occupations pass down from generation to generation.
Now when there is nothing wrong with statistical analyses of various kinds, when there is nothing wrong with differentiation amongst nationalities, what is wrong with the caste system? Nothing, except that in today's context, its a little outdated. With new parameters to segragate on, the caste system is not needed. So, lets stop fooling ourselves when we say we dont believe in caste but do believe in segragation. You either believe in both or you dont believe in either. So looking down upon rural societies who still exercise this is not really holy. We do the same thing, in a different way. Just as we think we are doing right in our way, they are doing right in theirs.
Ever noticed one of the first things we learn as we develop senses? To distinguish! This is mom, this is dad. This is good, that is bad. This is safe, that is harmful. The ability to distinguish is one of the most basic human (and animal) faculties, one which can distinguish between survival and death. The line is fine. Flirt with it and you could be history. Thats ofcourse not that true in today's human world because of how far we have come from natural surroundings and habitats. The point is distinguishing is central to our existence and society.
Fast forward a few years. When we grow up, whats the first thing we do subconciously on meeting people? We try and place them. Place them amongst the stereotypes we know. Our general chit chat starts with education, family, backgound, occupation. Why? We are judging where in the social echeleon does the person facing us stand. Above us or below us? And often, not necessarily intentionally, our judgement has a bearing on our behaviour. How many people have you seen speaking very politely to a guy cleaning a drain? How many people have you seen speaking rudely to someone getting out of a Mercedes?
Banks 'segragate' their customers by the total money they hold with the bank. Those with less money dont have personal service, are not offered all the products, sometimes dont even have their calls picked. Simple, they are not priority. Same goes for all corporates. Philip Kotler called it 'differentitation', as much amongst the people as of the product.
Countries segragate between people using passports. If you are an Asian (ex Japan) and want your passport stamped by the US, you know what you need to go through. Even if that happens, reach JFK and expect a strip down search. Does that happen to a US born US citizen? No, because he/she is perceived to be a lesser threat, both as a terrorist and from a resource drain point of view. India would do the same to a Pakistani citizen. Isn't it always about allocating more resources (which are always constrained) to a few?
The point I am driving at is, we have an inherent insecurity which is perhaps part of being a living being. We want to eliminate that insecurity by putting checks and balances in place to aid survival. We dont want to feel threatened by anyone around us. We need to know who to please and who not to please. We dont want unnecessary complications anywhere. Only as much is necessary to be handled.
Now, rewind back to a rural society. All people have similar assets, land and animals. The earnings are not much different as well. Maybe the richest (except the king of the territory) earns 4 times that the poorest in the village. The society is growing. It now has 5000 people. How do they differentiate? How does one part of the society feel better than the other? How do they ensure better resource allocation to a few? The measures we use today are non existent. The society has not 'globalized and liberalized'.Travel is limited between a few villages, countries do not exist. The world is not networked, MNCs do not exist. Kotler is still not born. There has to be some way of pigeonholing people. Caste system it is! You take occupations and arrange them in a hierarchy and you have the answer. Just to further secure the causes of your insecurity, the powers that be also decree that occupations pass down from generation to generation.
Now when there is nothing wrong with statistical analyses of various kinds, when there is nothing wrong with differentiation amongst nationalities, what is wrong with the caste system? Nothing, except that in today's context, its a little outdated. With new parameters to segragate on, the caste system is not needed. So, lets stop fooling ourselves when we say we dont believe in caste but do believe in segragation. You either believe in both or you dont believe in either. So looking down upon rural societies who still exercise this is not really holy. We do the same thing, in a different way. Just as we think we are doing right in our way, they are doing right in theirs.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Ganjing
Its a term in Hinglish used to describe shopping (sometimes window) in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow. I went Ganjing many times when I studied here for 2 years. It was however, narrow minded Ganjing, covering just some restaurants and eating joints. Today was a little different. For starters, I had an SLR in my hand, an itch to click in my head and a friend getting engaged tomorrow. The places I saw therefore, were quite different.
Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar guides the Lucknow crowd on its way to shopping.
The telecom wars have reached Lucknow. BSNL, the country's largest operator and Uninor, a new operator fight it out on the main street of Hazratganj.
The nawabi Nagra shoes on display in a Janpath shop. The price tag depends on where you buy them. Cheapest in Old Lucknow, costliest in Hazratganj and a compromisable compromise at Janpath, these are best worn with Kurta and Payjama.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tunda Land
The Confused is wandering to Lucknow on 1st April (and its no fool's day joke). The Confused was not very bright when he was earlier in Lucknow. Infact, he was dumb enough to be vegetarian in the land of Kebabs for full 2 years. This will be a short opportunity but the confused is not confused enough to not make full use of it. 3 days, 12 possible meals, all on kebabs and sharabs. The new Nikon D5000 will accompany the confused and will try to capture stuff when the confused is kebabing and sharabing.
Meanwhile, the confused also came back from an arduous trek in the Dhauladhars. Read more about it here.
Meanwhile, the confused also came back from an arduous trek in the Dhauladhars. Read more about it here.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Desperate Times
Desperate times call for desperate measures. When you are running 3 blogs, seemingly thinking they are unrelated but the distinction often blurs, you are desperate for people to read all 3. People cant but not keep up. So, you go and post on one blog and post about it on another one. I am leaving for another trek day after, more here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Whispers in the Mountains
Whispers in the Mountains, thats the name of the new blog. Its not hosted on blogspot. Its hosted on Trek Himachal. Just so that the agenda is clear.
1. Whispers in the Mountains - will contain travelogues for all my treks/trips within Himachal, any side/small trips I do or other bit of interesting information about Himachal. If you subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, you will know Himachal better.
2. The Confused and The Wandering - personal blogs like the famous drunk blogs and any trips which dont fit in on Trek Himachal like the Annapurna Trek. If you subscribe to this blog, you will know me better.
3. Sunsetophilia - ofcourse, what else, you will know sunsets better.
1. Whispers in the Mountains - will contain travelogues for all my treks/trips within Himachal, any side/small trips I do or other bit of interesting information about Himachal. If you subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, you will know Himachal better.
2. The Confused and The Wandering - personal blogs like the famous drunk blogs and any trips which dont fit in on Trek Himachal like the Annapurna Trek. If you subscribe to this blog, you will know me better.
3. Sunsetophilia - ofcourse, what else, you will know sunsets better.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Blog and News
There comes a time in every website's life when she realizes that she is too large to exist the way she has. She then needs to restructure herself and feel in better shape. All the flab needs to be shed and all the curves accentuated to make her look good. I think this is happening to www.trekhimachal.com. Ha, what a joke! I know anyone who reads this is going to laugh out loud. Too big? That website which has barely had double digit visitors in the last 6 months?
Well, yeah, like it or not, it is happening to Trek Himachal. Her lover after long procrastination and then a long discussion with his brother realized that she actually is a little out of shape. It will be a painful process. There wont be any VLCC thinning classes. Just plain good diet and lots of exercise.
As part of this restructring, all travelogues on the site will slowly shift to a blog created on the site. There will also be other content about trekking and Himachal which has been lying in the wastelands of my right brain. Very creatively, the blog was called 'The Trek Himachal Blog' till I realized I could possibly not feed such tripe to my readers. It is being renamed as I write this and I dont know what will it be called. That notwithstanding, its available on the top menu of the site and will get updated quite frequently. It can also be accessed at http://www.trekhimachal.com/newsite/blog and an RSS feed is available. Meanwhile, ofcourse The Confused will keep Wandering here and the sun will keep setting elsewhere.
This is the time to prove yourself. If you really are followers of this blog, prove it by following the yet-to-be-named blog as well.
And yes, any views you have about the site, please feel free to post. I know the maps are shit, I am already working on that. Ta and Ciao till we talk next.
Well, yeah, like it or not, it is happening to Trek Himachal. Her lover after long procrastination and then a long discussion with his brother realized that she actually is a little out of shape. It will be a painful process. There wont be any VLCC thinning classes. Just plain good diet and lots of exercise.
As part of this restructring, all travelogues on the site will slowly shift to a blog created on the site. There will also be other content about trekking and Himachal which has been lying in the wastelands of my right brain. Very creatively, the blog was called 'The Trek Himachal Blog' till I realized I could possibly not feed such tripe to my readers. It is being renamed as I write this and I dont know what will it be called. That notwithstanding, its available on the top menu of the site and will get updated quite frequently. It can also be accessed at http://www.trekhimachal.com/newsite/blog and an RSS feed is available. Meanwhile, ofcourse The Confused will keep Wandering here and the sun will keep setting elsewhere.
This is the time to prove yourself. If you really are followers of this blog, prove it by following the yet-to-be-named blog as well.
And yes, any views you have about the site, please feel free to post. I know the maps are shit, I am already working on that. Ta and Ciao till we talk next.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Streets
I roamed the streets of Kathmandu, those whose pictures are probably not found on google.
I started at 1530 hours yesterday and finished at 2000 hours.
I started again at 0800 hours today and finished at 1600 hours.
I saw the Kathmandu vegetable market. I saw people haggling for each rupee.
I saw the commercial streets with bright red dresses hanging.
I saw the meat market with huge fish, pig heads (literally) and lots of skinned and unskinned chicken.
I saw 4WD KIA and Mitsubishi vehicles, swanky with their owners dressed in smart party wear.
I saw street urchins trying to pick up leftover food from waste bins.
I saw old women selling 10 strawberries for 5 Rs.
I heard people talking Nepali, Hindi, English, Maithili.
I saw Thamel, the tourist area with all its buzz.
I saw neglected buildings in Newari architecture.
I saw well kept Newari buildings with a 300 Rs entry fee.
I saw huge museums with no one inside them and heavy security outside them.
I saw the International Convention Center holding no convention.
I saw the SAARC Secretariat and could not see or feel much co-operation.
I saw dirty slums with garbage all around and I saw glass front buildings which were bank headquarters.
I saw like all of us, Nepal is trying to move on, to be better despite everything.
I did not take any photographs because I wanted it to stay off google.
I started at 1530 hours yesterday and finished at 2000 hours.
I started again at 0800 hours today and finished at 1600 hours.
I saw the Kathmandu vegetable market. I saw people haggling for each rupee.
I saw the commercial streets with bright red dresses hanging.
I saw the meat market with huge fish, pig heads (literally) and lots of skinned and unskinned chicken.
I saw 4WD KIA and Mitsubishi vehicles, swanky with their owners dressed in smart party wear.
I saw street urchins trying to pick up leftover food from waste bins.
I saw old women selling 10 strawberries for 5 Rs.
I heard people talking Nepali, Hindi, English, Maithili.
I saw Thamel, the tourist area with all its buzz.
I saw neglected buildings in Newari architecture.
I saw well kept Newari buildings with a 300 Rs entry fee.
I saw huge museums with no one inside them and heavy security outside them.
I saw the International Convention Center holding no convention.
I saw the SAARC Secretariat and could not see or feel much co-operation.
I saw dirty slums with garbage all around and I saw glass front buildings which were bank headquarters.
I saw like all of us, Nepal is trying to move on, to be better despite everything.
I did not take any photographs because I wanted it to stay off google.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Poonhill
It was a total of 60 hours that I pondered over this. Sitting in hot springs at Tatopani, lazing around for 2 days, getting drunk on Chang, I cooked up all the excuses possible for not going to Poonhill. You can do Annapurna circuit in 2 ways at the end. Either you go to Beni from Tatopani, a dry, hot walk on a dry, hot road or you can go to Poonhill and then to Nayapul. The excuses included but were not limited to:
1. Its very touristy - have heard from someone there are over 400 people watching the sunrise even in off season.
2. Already on a trek of 15 days, I have seen enough sights and views. What more will a conventional viewpoint add to it.
The reason for the excuses: Tatopani - 1170 meters. Poonhill - 3200 meters. Nayapul - 1070 meters. So, climb 2000 meters and descend 2200 meters in 2 days. It is difficult to do that after the last 15 days.
Anyway, something, I dont know what, motivated me to do it. I am so glad I did it. The circuit would never have been complete without doing it. A 180 degree view of the himalayas, starting with Dhaulagiri (8167) on the left, Annapurna I (8091), Annapurna South (7XXX), Macchapucchre (6XXX) and many more. Clouds were below us, the mountains above. It was totally worth every meter climbed and descended. I think the images speak for themselves.
1. Its very touristy - have heard from someone there are over 400 people watching the sunrise even in off season.
2. Already on a trek of 15 days, I have seen enough sights and views. What more will a conventional viewpoint add to it.
The reason for the excuses: Tatopani - 1170 meters. Poonhill - 3200 meters. Nayapul - 1070 meters. So, climb 2000 meters and descend 2200 meters in 2 days. It is difficult to do that after the last 15 days.
Anyway, something, I dont know what, motivated me to do it. I am so glad I did it. The circuit would never have been complete without doing it. A 180 degree view of the himalayas, starting with Dhaulagiri (8167) on the left, Annapurna I (8091), Annapurna South (7XXX), Macchapucchre (6XXX) and many more. Clouds were below us, the mountains above. It was totally worth every meter climbed and descended. I think the images speak for themselves.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
More of the other side
I will confess it did start seeming like a trudge at some point, so much so that I even wanted to have a post titled 'Trek or Trudge?' The unforgiving road, the really hot sun, long days of walking on the hard road. There was a time on the day I walked from Muktinath to Jomsom that it felt like a Spaghetti Western. One person, only one person in a vast expanse of a desert, no settlement for ages, no water in sight except the dirty river. Then, a small settlement with huts. I almost felt like Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood. :)
It went on like that but with a little more crowd for a couple more days. And then things changed. Like they always do. Kali Gandaki remembered that it was a mountain river. The mountains remembered that it was not illegal to have trees on them. There were wheat fields and a whole lot of early spring flowers. Life was back
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The other side
I have often noticed the 2 sides of a mountain pass are different. Sometimes, they are quite different and sometimes, they are just different enough to be different. There are differences in geology, vegetation, geography.
I started from the east of Thurung La Pass and crossed over to the west. It is a different world on the other side. Pardon me, its actually a different planet.
The east is about a deep V shaped river valley, starting with tropical vegetation and then large expanses of blue pine and spruce jungles before it gets too high for any vegetation. There are wheat fields, some flowers and then there is the quintessential mountain river, the Marshyangdi.
I started from the east of Thurung La Pass and crossed over to the west. It is a different world on the other side. Pardon me, its actually a different planet.
The east is about a deep V shaped river valley, starting with tropical vegetation and then large expanses of blue pine and spruce jungles before it gets too high for any vegetation. There are wheat fields, some flowers and then there is the quintessential mountain river, the Marshyangdi.
The western side.....is a cold desert, a la Lahaul and Spiti. A cold desert at above 3000 meters. Do I need to say there is no vegetation? None at all, whatsoever. There are mounds and mounds of brown earth, heaped in various ways. This whole is surrounded by the really high Himalayas. Then there is the river, Kali Gandaki. A look at it and you could believe this is a river in its dying stages, about to estuarize. Its a very very very wide valley, runs for miles together. In a sense, its a high plateau, a very high plateau indeed. The river seems to have forgot that its a mountain river.
The other big difference is the road. The road comes right upto Muktinath. Ok, its not a great road but a road it is. I mentioned in one of the earlier posts about the trek dying. You bet, I was right. People take jeeps from Muktinath, like Peter did. I was wrong however about tourism dying. Road brings different kinds of visitors. Those who cannot cross the pass, those who do not want to cross the pass, those who think they cannot cross the pass and the came saw conquered type. Yes, those who huddle together in a jeep one fine morning, drive 4 hours into the cold desert, get the driver to stop in the middle of a valley, take out point and shoots.
Click left
Click right
Back into the jeep. Oh sorry, I forgot the center. Get back out, click center, get back in and go home. To there people, Shalabh says "Guys, dont waste so much money and time for doing this. Send me an email at shalabh.w@gmail.com, I will send you the photos, all free of cost with all the rights."
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Crossing the pass
First of all, thanks to all who are reading and commenting, makes the effort more worthwhile. If you really like it, make more people read it, that will make it even more worthwhile. :)
Its been 6 days since I last blogged. So much has happened since then. Lets do this in chronological order.
The moment I finished my last post, I met Peter, a Dutch guy trekking the same trail. When I said 'Easy name to remember', he replied ' Easy going person too'. By jove, he was right. Something clicked and we trekked for the next 5 days together. Our similar trekking pace and Snickers lunch philosophy helped.
From Chame, where I blogged from last, the walk to Lower Pisang and then on to Manang were pieces of cake. At Manang, the vegetation was almost non existent and it had snowed very recently. Cold winds in the afternoon made life really difficult. At Manang, both me and Peter felt good and fresh, skipped the recommended acclimatization and saved it for later. Letdar, 4200 meters, the stop after Manang was so cold that the water bottle next to my bed froze completely. I had a slight light feeling in the head due to altitude. Next morning, we left for High Camp. In some ways, I was not sure if I wanted to sleep that high.
High Camp was where I realized how much of a mental thing high altitude trekking is. Every step, you fight your doubts, you conquer them. The moment you start losing the battle, your body stops responding. I was always skeptical about High Camp and that brought about a wave of Acute Mountain Sickness. Only the name is horrible, it was just a little headache, loss of appetite because of the brain getting little oxygen at height. Now, this is normal, it happens to everyone, even those who acclimatize. Since I was not sure in the first place, I felt really down. There was a time I even considered climbing down but decided against it because once you go down, you never usually make it back up.
I slept the night with a Diamox and a Paracetamol and 2 hot water bottles. Something changed in the night, I dont know what. Probably the doubtful part of my mind was conquered by the more optimistic one. I felt fresh as ever and the walk to a 5416 meters pass seemed like a cakewalk. Just 2 hours in -20 degrees and lots of snow and ice instead of the estimated 3.5 hours. 5416 is the highest I have ever been and it is really and exhilarating feeling to have managed this, more so after having a bout of doubts. The climb down was like a run. I did not even notice the 1600 meter climb down in the adrenaline rush of passing the summit.
Oh and I forgot to mention, myself and Peter crossed the pass on just 1 snickers and 500 ml water between the 2 of us. Not for nothing do they say, 'Its all in the mind'.
Doubts aside, the pass had some fantastic views of the Annapurna range. I a short on time and internet is again as expensive. Am pasting some photos, not sure how good are they because I have myself not seen them on large screen. I am sure when you are live blogging from such a place, this is excusable. More later.
Its been 6 days since I last blogged. So much has happened since then. Lets do this in chronological order.
The moment I finished my last post, I met Peter, a Dutch guy trekking the same trail. When I said 'Easy name to remember', he replied ' Easy going person too'. By jove, he was right. Something clicked and we trekked for the next 5 days together. Our similar trekking pace and Snickers lunch philosophy helped.
From Chame, where I blogged from last, the walk to Lower Pisang and then on to Manang were pieces of cake. At Manang, the vegetation was almost non existent and it had snowed very recently. Cold winds in the afternoon made life really difficult. At Manang, both me and Peter felt good and fresh, skipped the recommended acclimatization and saved it for later. Letdar, 4200 meters, the stop after Manang was so cold that the water bottle next to my bed froze completely. I had a slight light feeling in the head due to altitude. Next morning, we left for High Camp. In some ways, I was not sure if I wanted to sleep that high.
High Camp was where I realized how much of a mental thing high altitude trekking is. Every step, you fight your doubts, you conquer them. The moment you start losing the battle, your body stops responding. I was always skeptical about High Camp and that brought about a wave of Acute Mountain Sickness. Only the name is horrible, it was just a little headache, loss of appetite because of the brain getting little oxygen at height. Now, this is normal, it happens to everyone, even those who acclimatize. Since I was not sure in the first place, I felt really down. There was a time I even considered climbing down but decided against it because once you go down, you never usually make it back up.
I slept the night with a Diamox and a Paracetamol and 2 hot water bottles. Something changed in the night, I dont know what. Probably the doubtful part of my mind was conquered by the more optimistic one. I felt fresh as ever and the walk to a 5416 meters pass seemed like a cakewalk. Just 2 hours in -20 degrees and lots of snow and ice instead of the estimated 3.5 hours. 5416 is the highest I have ever been and it is really and exhilarating feeling to have managed this, more so after having a bout of doubts. The climb down was like a run. I did not even notice the 1600 meter climb down in the adrenaline rush of passing the summit.
Oh and I forgot to mention, myself and Peter crossed the pass on just 1 snickers and 500 ml water between the 2 of us. Not for nothing do they say, 'Its all in the mind'.
Monday, February 15, 2010
First Impressions
I finished the 4th day of walking today. Time for first impressions. These will be short (I am paying 300 NR per hour for the internet).
1. Stunning views - but of course. In the highest of Himalayas and the highest of mountains on the earth, this had to happen. There are snow capped peaks, beautiful villages, interesting clouds.
2. The River - should have been part of views but deserves a special mention. Have been walking along Marshyangdi River for the last 4 days. It is angry, furious, fast and everything else a mountain river can be. There have been some scary suspension bridge crossings.
3. Commercializtion - When I see Swiss Rosti, Hash Browns, Mushroom Pizza on the menus of these small tea houses here, I know something is wrong. Heavily commercialized trail.
4. Road - noise of pneumatic drilling from the road that is to reach Manang in a few months. On the other side, it has already reached Jomsom. When the road is completed, this trek will be a 3 day trek. That, in one word makes me sad.
5. Local people - have seen nothing of them. No one is willing to talk. I am just a tourist for them. Feed him well, earn off him. Thats where it ends. I might be naive but I like my mountains with small, untouched villages where you get a genuine smile from people, lots of incredulous looks and lots and lots of questions.
I am at Chame right now and it is very cold here. Snow all around. I should reach Manang in 2 days. Have heard contradictory news regarding the state of Thurung La. Some say its open, I have seen others returning. We will cross the bridge when it comes.
1. Stunning views - but of course. In the highest of Himalayas and the highest of mountains on the earth, this had to happen. There are snow capped peaks, beautiful villages, interesting clouds.
5. Local people - have seen nothing of them. No one is willing to talk. I am just a tourist for them. Feed him well, earn off him. Thats where it ends. I might be naive but I like my mountains with small, untouched villages where you get a genuine smile from people, lots of incredulous looks and lots and lots of questions.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The fun begins
It has started. I landed in Kathmandu yesterday. A prelude to the trip was visible from the flight. Went straight to Thamel, the tourist neighbourhood. Expensive!! Very expensive! Needed a couple of passport size photos. Only option to get 8 for NR 250 (INR 185, USD 3.5). Internet at NR 100 per hour.
Himalayas from Jet Airways Flight 9W 262 on 10th Feb 2010. Very average shot but better than nothing.
Checked into Kathmandu Guest House, recommended by Gary (the guy courtesy whose facebook update I am here). Changed INR to NR, went for dinner. Large Jack Daniels with coke and a chicken starter, Nepali non veg thali for dinner, sweet dish and masala tea to complete. Wonderful and perfect dinner except the price tag.
The elite Nepali Non Veg Thali. Chutney, Spinach, mixed veg, dal, mutton, papad (Clockwise from left) and rice in the center.
The internet connection is too slow for me to write too much and the keys on the keyboard worse. In short, I got the trekking permit pretty quickly and cheaply today. 3 minutes and 200 NR vs 1 day and 2000 NR for Gary. Indian passport also helps in some places. :)
Lodging was so expensive, I did not see any point in staying. At 11, I got into a constricted 'Micro Bus' (actually a van which accomodates 18 instead of its capacity of 10). 5.5 hours later and 300 NR poorer, I have reached Besishahar a day earlier than I thought I would. Met some really nice locals on the bus, got some tips on getting around cheaper. They say I look Nepali with my short hair and I learnt some basic words. Not sure if that was the reason but today internet is NR 35 per hour and room rent NR 250 per night.
Here I come Gary!
Checked into Kathmandu Guest House, recommended by Gary (the guy courtesy whose facebook update I am here). Changed INR to NR, went for dinner. Large Jack Daniels with coke and a chicken starter, Nepali non veg thali for dinner, sweet dish and masala tea to complete. Wonderful and perfect dinner except the price tag.
The internet connection is too slow for me to write too much and the keys on the keyboard worse. In short, I got the trekking permit pretty quickly and cheaply today. 3 minutes and 200 NR vs 1 day and 2000 NR for Gary. Indian passport also helps in some places. :)
Lodging was so expensive, I did not see any point in staying. At 11, I got into a constricted 'Micro Bus' (actually a van which accomodates 18 instead of its capacity of 10). 5.5 hours later and 300 NR poorer, I have reached Besishahar a day earlier than I thought I would. Met some really nice locals on the bus, got some tips on getting around cheaper. They say I look Nepali with my short hair and I learnt some basic words. Not sure if that was the reason but today internet is NR 35 per hour and room rent NR 250 per night.
Here I come Gary!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What is this called?
Yesterday started as a normal day. I swear to god it did. I woke up slightly later than usual. It was raining outside. I had been feeling slightly restless for the last 4-5 days. The usual stuff, feeling a little confused and not sure, doubts about whether I am doing the right thing and so on. I am sure everyone passes through this phase. I knew I needed to get out but the climes were not really supportive. I saw a facebook update from a friend about him leaving for the Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal.
I was watching India getting bashed by South Africa in a test match when I suddenly remembered I could make better use of my time by meeting someone in Dharamshala. It was a nice meeting, was glad to know that there are people who are doing such good work. You can see www.himalayanexplorers.co.in for details. I was also glad because I may have just ended up fixing some treks for the summer.
At 4:30 PM, I was back home to see India getting even more bashed by South Africa. The friend whom I had asked about the trek said it could done in this season as well. At 6 PM yesterday, out of the blue, without any prompts, I decided I am leaving immediately for Nepal. No bus tickets in hand, no flight tickets, no reservations in Nepal, no clue about the trek, no maps, no information.
As I write this, I am sitting at a friend's house in Delhi after a 13 hour bus journey, having failed to get a flight today and having booked one for tomorrow. Tomorrow, I leave for Kathmandu, day after I get my permits for the trek, day after that, I leave for a 28 day trek without any clue.
I hear the trek is pretty commercialized, so internet would be available at points on the trail. So, more about this 4 week wild, unplanned journey to follow.
Sometimes, at times like these, I myself wonder. Am I mad? Am I crazy? Am I out of my senses? What am I? Then sometimes I think, maybe this is me.
I was watching India getting bashed by South Africa in a test match when I suddenly remembered I could make better use of my time by meeting someone in Dharamshala. It was a nice meeting, was glad to know that there are people who are doing such good work. You can see www.himalayanexplorers.co.in for details. I was also glad because I may have just ended up fixing some treks for the summer.
At 4:30 PM, I was back home to see India getting even more bashed by South Africa. The friend whom I had asked about the trek said it could done in this season as well. At 6 PM yesterday, out of the blue, without any prompts, I decided I am leaving immediately for Nepal. No bus tickets in hand, no flight tickets, no reservations in Nepal, no clue about the trek, no maps, no information.
As I write this, I am sitting at a friend's house in Delhi after a 13 hour bus journey, having failed to get a flight today and having booked one for tomorrow. Tomorrow, I leave for Kathmandu, day after I get my permits for the trek, day after that, I leave for a 28 day trek without any clue.
I hear the trek is pretty commercialized, so internet would be available at points on the trail. So, more about this 4 week wild, unplanned journey to follow.
Sometimes, at times like these, I myself wonder. Am I mad? Am I crazy? Am I out of my senses? What am I? Then sometimes I think, maybe this is me.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
An Appeal
This is a sudden and unexpected post. I am excited, excited beyond belief. It rained in the night and I got up today morning to see lots of snow on the mountains. Then it cleared up and I was disappointed. Then it went dark again and I have cheered up again. It is snowing up there. This is an appeal to the weather gods.
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We are not improving in a hurry. We will do thousands Copenhagens. Developed nations will not do anything because they are developed. Developing will not do anything because they are developing. Underdeveloped wont do anything because they cant. All is not lost thought. For every one ignorant human (like I was a few months ago), there is atleast one who is aware (like I am now).
Dont ignore this appeal. For once, I want to see the forests at their lushest green. For once, I want to see the flowers bloom with all the colours. For once, I want to see the streams full of water. For once, I want to see the Dhauladhars all white again. For once, I want to live life like I could have 50 years ago. Please, please, please!!
If it stays like this for the next 3 days and 3 nights, I may, just may............................................. start believing that you exist.
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A HUMBLE APPEAL TO THE WEATHER GODS AT PALAMPUR, HP, INDIA
For once, please, for once, let it rip in the mountains. Let all the pent up snow fall there. I am sick of seeing false starts. I am sick of seeing dying bamboo forests and almost dying deodar forests. I am sick of the general lack of water in streams. I am sick of seeing the bare grey of the rocks. I am sick of seeing midget wheat plants. I am sick of everything the world's progress has brought upon the mountains and their ecosystems.We are not improving in a hurry. We will do thousands Copenhagens. Developed nations will not do anything because they are developed. Developing will not do anything because they are developing. Underdeveloped wont do anything because they cant. All is not lost thought. For every one ignorant human (like I was a few months ago), there is atleast one who is aware (like I am now).
Dont ignore this appeal. For once, I want to see the forests at their lushest green. For once, I want to see the flowers bloom with all the colours. For once, I want to see the streams full of water. For once, I want to see the Dhauladhars all white again. For once, I want to live life like I could have 50 years ago. Please, please, please!!
If it stays like this for the next 3 days and 3 nights, I may, just may............................................. start believing that you exist.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Good Books
I have recently finished reading 2 books and I liked both of them for different reasons. The first one is 'Blood of the Isles' by a scientist, Bryan Sykes. It is, if I can call it that, the genetic history of the British Isles. Using DNA samples collected from people of all backgrounds, from all areas in the isles and isolating male and female DNA, the book attempts to construct the history of the UK, its settlements, addresses the myths of the Picts, the Celts and the Vikings. DNA from the Cheddar Man's tooth, from other fossils around Scotland, Ireland and from thousands of living people. The reason I liked this book were:
1. Unlike other books on history or science, Sykes does not claim, implicitly or explicitly his text to be definitive. He admits that this is his way of 'interpreting' whatever he has and he could be wrong.
2. Instead of using statistics to interpret, which we are so used to seeing in scientific studies, he leads the reader with stories, legendary and true.
3. Most of all, he also recommends the best place for having ice cream in Wales and I love it when people love their food irrespective of what other pursuit they are engaged in. :)
The book reminds you that History, much like current affairs (read news) these days, is supposed to be read, not necessarily believed in entirity.
The other book is by one of the greatest travellers of all times, Travels in the land of Kublai Khan by Marco Polo. The same Marco Polo, who at one point inspired great explorers like Columbus and continues to serve as an inspritation to generations after generations of travellers and explorers. Inspite of all its alleged christianity bias (which is actually true), the book is worth a read. What amazes me the tolerance of a man so far back in the past towards a land so new and so different to him. What open mindedness more than 700 years ago! What observation!
There is an elaborate description of Kublai Khan's court, his palaces, his hunting parties, civil administration, running of a welfare state, efficient postal system, penal code, dinner table. There is all of it. The one thing that got my attention the most was the postal system, which according to Polo was designed such that news from land 100 days of journey away, would reach the Great Khan in 10 days. This means that world has always been ruled by people who get their information the fastest. Only the means have changed from horse posts to telegraph to the internet. Hack the mass media of those times and you were Kublai Khan, hack the mass media of today and you get Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four and the Big Brother (Boss).
1. Unlike other books on history or science, Sykes does not claim, implicitly or explicitly his text to be definitive. He admits that this is his way of 'interpreting' whatever he has and he could be wrong.
2. Instead of using statistics to interpret, which we are so used to seeing in scientific studies, he leads the reader with stories, legendary and true.
3. Most of all, he also recommends the best place for having ice cream in Wales and I love it when people love their food irrespective of what other pursuit they are engaged in. :)
The book reminds you that History, much like current affairs (read news) these days, is supposed to be read, not necessarily believed in entirity.
The other book is by one of the greatest travellers of all times, Travels in the land of Kublai Khan by Marco Polo. The same Marco Polo, who at one point inspired great explorers like Columbus and continues to serve as an inspritation to generations after generations of travellers and explorers. Inspite of all its alleged christianity bias (which is actually true), the book is worth a read. What amazes me the tolerance of a man so far back in the past towards a land so new and so different to him. What open mindedness more than 700 years ago! What observation!
There is an elaborate description of Kublai Khan's court, his palaces, his hunting parties, civil administration, running of a welfare state, efficient postal system, penal code, dinner table. There is all of it. The one thing that got my attention the most was the postal system, which according to Polo was designed such that news from land 100 days of journey away, would reach the Great Khan in 10 days. This means that world has always been ruled by people who get their information the fastest. Only the means have changed from horse posts to telegraph to the internet. Hack the mass media of those times and you were Kublai Khan, hack the mass media of today and you get Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four and the Big Brother (Boss).
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wisdom flows.....
..when I am drunk. The 'drunken sage' (as a friend called me) is back. Back from the Dhauladhar Base Trek, back to drinking and back to spreading the words of eternal wisdom.
When I had Royal Challenge today, I had it slower than I usually do. Much slower (only by accident). The result is I have the drunkenness from 2 pegs which I have dont usually have from 5 pegs. This taught me something I have been thinking for my website, सहज पके सो मीठा होवे. Do it slow, do it patiently, do it well, do it perfectly, dont worry about the outcome and you will come out a winner in whatever you do. Even if you dont, you would have the satisfaction of a lifetime. Isnt that all that matters?
Truth - what is it? I remember being taught 'Sun rises from the East' is a universal truth in class 6-8. How relative!! Till 1996, the Roman Catholic Church did not even admit the earth revolved around the sun. Today all of us take it as given. A few centuries down the line, something else might be the 'truth'. We live relatively, there is no absolute. Lets admit this and get on with life, it will make life much easier. There is no truth here, not even the fact we exist.
Dreaming is essential to life. It does not matter if you fulfill them. There are 3 states possible.
1. You only dream
2. You dream, try to execute and fail
3. You dream and succeed in the execution
State 3 is bliss. State 2, you would have lived your dream for some part of your life. State 1, you would have atleast dared to think different and felt good while you did that. I would take any of them with both hands any day. What about you?
When I had Royal Challenge today, I had it slower than I usually do. Much slower (only by accident). The result is I have the drunkenness from 2 pegs which I have dont usually have from 5 pegs. This taught me something I have been thinking for my website, सहज पके सो मीठा होवे. Do it slow, do it patiently, do it well, do it perfectly, dont worry about the outcome and you will come out a winner in whatever you do. Even if you dont, you would have the satisfaction of a lifetime. Isnt that all that matters?
Truth - what is it? I remember being taught 'Sun rises from the East' is a universal truth in class 6-8. How relative!! Till 1996, the Roman Catholic Church did not even admit the earth revolved around the sun. Today all of us take it as given. A few centuries down the line, something else might be the 'truth'. We live relatively, there is no absolute. Lets admit this and get on with life, it will make life much easier. There is no truth here, not even the fact we exist.
Dreaming is essential to life. It does not matter if you fulfill them. There are 3 states possible.
1. You only dream
2. You dream, try to execute and fail
3. You dream and succeed in the execution
State 3 is bliss. State 2, you would have lived your dream for some part of your life. State 1, you would have atleast dared to think different and felt good while you did that. I would take any of them with both hands any day. What about you?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My Parallel Worlds
World No. 1...
...is the one I am sitting in right now. It has internet, facebook, blogger, gtalk, skype, cable TV, cell phone, Twenty20, www.trekhimachal.com, chilly chicken, news channels, newspapers, hordes of people, public transport, private transport, late mornings, late nights......you get the drift.
When I am in this world, I often yearn to be in World No. 2
World No. 2...
...is the one I often go to. It has mountains, no roads, small villages, nice simple home cooked food made of ingredients grown in the backyard, inquisitive village children, beautiful flowers, early mornings, dinner at 6 and sleeping at 7 in huts/caves or anything else suitable, evening fires to keep warm, no cellphone signal, woods for miles and no one in them save Monals, wild goats and maybe a simple shepherd.
When I am in this world, I sometimes want to be back in World No. 1
Which world do I really belong to? Or do I belong to both in part? Or am I still trying to find a balance? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, if you happen to know the answer or have clues to it, please keep them to yourself. :)
...is the one I am sitting in right now. It has internet, facebook, blogger, gtalk, skype, cable TV, cell phone, Twenty20, www.trekhimachal.com, chilly chicken, news channels, newspapers, hordes of people, public transport, private transport, late mornings, late nights......you get the drift.
When I am in this world, I often yearn to be in World No. 2
World No. 2...
...is the one I often go to. It has mountains, no roads, small villages, nice simple home cooked food made of ingredients grown in the backyard, inquisitive village children, beautiful flowers, early mornings, dinner at 6 and sleeping at 7 in huts/caves or anything else suitable, evening fires to keep warm, no cellphone signal, woods for miles and no one in them save Monals, wild goats and maybe a simple shepherd.
When I am in this world, I sometimes want to be back in World No. 1
Which world do I really belong to? Or do I belong to both in part? Or am I still trying to find a balance? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, if you happen to know the answer or have clues to it, please keep them to yourself. :)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Drunk Wisdom
Ctrl+A works on Winamp. Did you know that? I didn't. I always used the remove tab on the playlist to delete all. I just used Ctrl+A and Del to do that. Thats new to me. It probably wont matter to you because you either dont use Winamp or dont listen to songs on your laptop or dont listen to songs at all or...... The point I am trying to make is there are positives of almost everything, even getting drunk. I am drunk and I tried Ctrl+A by accident and it worked. So, being drunk is not bad, it is good, it helps learning new things, even if thats by accident. Try new things, however stupid or silly they may sound, you will come out a better person.
If you go to a monument like the Masroor temple ruins, like I went yesterday and you want to photograph them in all their splendour, make sure you go in the morning. Usually, monuments are built facing North or facing East or facing North East. If you start after 9 am and travel more than 2 hours, you reach them when the sun is behind them and you get a dark monument and a white sky, like I got. Be a good boy/girl, get up early and leave by 6 am. Then you will get a bright monument and a blue sky like you wanted.
Why are all of us brought up conditioned to be awfully nice to each other? Nice to the extent we fear speaking the truth. The other day I had a nice little argument with a friend over Virender Sehwag calling the Bangladesh cricket team ordinary. My friend thought Sehwag was arrogant. I thought he was wrong. Bangladesh are not ordinary, they are sh*t. Whether thats because they are only a decade old in tests or not is immaterial, the fact is they are sh*t. Just because Sehwag said it, the entire world is after him. His statement was factual. Whats so wrong with being factual? Are we brought up to be such sissies that we cant speak and take the truth?
Our education system is in shambles. This statement is not inspired by 3 idiots. I have always felt that. To put my point across, just one simple example. We preach about tolerance towards and equality of caste and religion in our books right through school. And yet, parallelly, we preach nationalism in all its glory. If all castes are equal, if all religions are equal, why is India more equal than other countries in our text books?
When we 'evolved' from monkeys, did we actually evolve? I have my doubts. We created this thing called society. Animals eat what is palatable, they sleep where night falls and shelter is available, they dont have stereotypes to follow; each living its life as it pleases as long as it survives. We seem to have so much around us that most of us dont know what we should do. There are so many prescriptions available at all times. You maybe anyone, you may be doing anything, chances are you are receiving advice all the time and the advice is almost always unwanted, unsolicited. And we call ourselves free!! Free in body but free in spirit? No, not by any means.
When I was young and read about Buddha giving up his family to travel in the woods and starting preaching 'detachment', I termed him a 'loser' in my mind. Now, years later, I admit I was completely wrong. For one, I myself travel in the woods very often. For second, I misunderstood detachment. To the new me, detachment means lack of inertia. The state of detachment from one's current state i.e. ability to cope up with change in circumstances, change in the world, change in ones desires. So, if I tomorrow feel that all this trekking is no use and I should be a painter, I should be able to trash my site and pick up a paintbrush. Thats detachment. Not being attached with something so that you deny yourselves new experiences. Stretch this thought to every aspect of life and you get a happy human being, who takes life as it comes and makes the most of it. He was a winner, The Winner.
Tomorrow I leave for a Dhauladhar base trek. Thats another way of saying it is too cold to be scaling the peaks and I will be happy looking at them from afar and walking at their bases. I dont know what will the route be or where will it take me. Leave all that to the one and only Jango. When I am back after 4-5 days, dont forget to read the travelogue. I promise it will be nice.
Cant make much sense of what has been posted above? Seems like none of the paragraphs are connected to any other? Have a look at the title. It should tell you the reason. This is like Catch 22, you begin at any chapter (paragraph), doesnt make a difference. Only thing is it is more evolved than that. You can read any paragraph and you wont miss anything. There is gain in reading any paragraph of this post.
If you felt this post is full of insights which you never thought I was capable of, please post your appreciation in the comments. If I get more than 5 comments, I am going to make all posts drunk!!
If you go to a monument like the Masroor temple ruins, like I went yesterday and you want to photograph them in all their splendour, make sure you go in the morning. Usually, monuments are built facing North or facing East or facing North East. If you start after 9 am and travel more than 2 hours, you reach them when the sun is behind them and you get a dark monument and a white sky, like I got. Be a good boy/girl, get up early and leave by 6 am. Then you will get a bright monument and a blue sky like you wanted.
Why are all of us brought up conditioned to be awfully nice to each other? Nice to the extent we fear speaking the truth. The other day I had a nice little argument with a friend over Virender Sehwag calling the Bangladesh cricket team ordinary. My friend thought Sehwag was arrogant. I thought he was wrong. Bangladesh are not ordinary, they are sh*t. Whether thats because they are only a decade old in tests or not is immaterial, the fact is they are sh*t. Just because Sehwag said it, the entire world is after him. His statement was factual. Whats so wrong with being factual? Are we brought up to be such sissies that we cant speak and take the truth?
Our education system is in shambles. This statement is not inspired by 3 idiots. I have always felt that. To put my point across, just one simple example. We preach about tolerance towards and equality of caste and religion in our books right through school. And yet, parallelly, we preach nationalism in all its glory. If all castes are equal, if all religions are equal, why is India more equal than other countries in our text books?
When we 'evolved' from monkeys, did we actually evolve? I have my doubts. We created this thing called society. Animals eat what is palatable, they sleep where night falls and shelter is available, they dont have stereotypes to follow; each living its life as it pleases as long as it survives. We seem to have so much around us that most of us dont know what we should do. There are so many prescriptions available at all times. You maybe anyone, you may be doing anything, chances are you are receiving advice all the time and the advice is almost always unwanted, unsolicited. And we call ourselves free!! Free in body but free in spirit? No, not by any means.
When I was young and read about Buddha giving up his family to travel in the woods and starting preaching 'detachment', I termed him a 'loser' in my mind. Now, years later, I admit I was completely wrong. For one, I myself travel in the woods very often. For second, I misunderstood detachment. To the new me, detachment means lack of inertia. The state of detachment from one's current state i.e. ability to cope up with change in circumstances, change in the world, change in ones desires. So, if I tomorrow feel that all this trekking is no use and I should be a painter, I should be able to trash my site and pick up a paintbrush. Thats detachment. Not being attached with something so that you deny yourselves new experiences. Stretch this thought to every aspect of life and you get a happy human being, who takes life as it comes and makes the most of it. He was a winner, The Winner.
Tomorrow I leave for a Dhauladhar base trek. Thats another way of saying it is too cold to be scaling the peaks and I will be happy looking at them from afar and walking at their bases. I dont know what will the route be or where will it take me. Leave all that to the one and only Jango. When I am back after 4-5 days, dont forget to read the travelogue. I promise it will be nice.
Cant make much sense of what has been posted above? Seems like none of the paragraphs are connected to any other? Have a look at the title. It should tell you the reason. This is like Catch 22, you begin at any chapter (paragraph), doesnt make a difference. Only thing is it is more evolved than that. You can read any paragraph and you wont miss anything. There is gain in reading any paragraph of this post.
If you felt this post is full of insights which you never thought I was capable of, please post your appreciation in the comments. If I get more than 5 comments, I am going to make all posts drunk!!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Kangra Fort
All right, here comes. As grand as they come, as old as they come, as romantic as they come and as insurmountable as they come. The Kangra Fort. It was another of those wandering trips. I had no plan of this kind when I left home at 11 am. It just happened.
The valley from the fort.
The palatial ruins inside the fort.
Open grounds across the Ban Ganga from the Fort.
A Himalayan Eagle perches atop a tree near the Fort.
The valley from the fort.I have always had a poor impression of the fort. Having seen ruins from the road below, it never seemed inviting. So, when I decided to visit it, I was expecting some ill kept ruins. I reached to see a ticket booth. That was Surprise No. 1. The ticket was a grand total of Rs 5. That was surprise No. 2. The biggest of them all was when someone offered me an audio guide to the fort. Yes, you heard it right. An audio guide to the fort, complete with some literature and 15 stops, cost Rs. 100. Knowing how well the Archaelogical Survey of India maintains its monuments, I did not think twice before taking it.
The palatial ruins inside the fort.It was a 4 hour trip down the history lane. Listening to the audio guide, replaying some parts, taking down notes in my pad, clicking some shots, picturising how it must have looked in its days of grandeur. Time just flew by. I have tried putting a brief history together on my site. You can read it here. The audio guide was fantastic. I never knew someone has done such good work for Indian history. Because it was so very good, I have no qualms in putting a link to the Narrowcasters site here.
Open grounds across the Ban Ganga from the Fort.I am not going to spoil the surprise by letting all out here. All I will say is if you are someone who likes a bit of rich history, really, really old history, a picturesque view of the Dhauladhars, a grand view of the valley below, visit the Kangra fort. Its a little off the beaten tourist trail but it is every bit and more worth the trouble you will take for it.
A Himalayan Eagle perches atop a tree near the Fort.And if you like to see who sunsets look from this fort, seen them on Sunsetophilia.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Ookhal Mool
Did I get you by the name? Or did I not? Either way, Ookhal Mool, the name, originates from the Hindi words for mortar and pestle. Ookhal Mool is a place halfway towards the Dhauladhars from Palampur, quite possibly a shepherd stop. I went there yesterday or atleast tried to at any rate. The huge rocks at the top of a mountain are what lends the shape of mortar and pestle to the place, hence the name.
Why did I go there? Bad question. You are reading 'The Confused and The Wandering'. I was confused and I wandered towards Ookhal Mool. I drove 3 km from home on a road which I thought should lead towards the trail start and I reached a check post and a sceptic. The sceptic was the check post guard (CPG), who made me park the car outside the check post and the following conversation ensued.
Shalabh (courteous): Hello! Could you tell me which way is Ookhal Mool?
CPG (disbelieving): What??
Shalabh (stressing): Ookhal Mool.
CPG (further disbelieving): Why?
Shalabh (non-chalant): I want to go there.
CPG (eyes popping out): What!! Do you think you can reach there?
Shalabh (being modest): Yes, I have trekked a little.
CPG (sizes me up and down): Does not seem so.
He finally obliged. I have been feeling fat since I ignored that comment.
So, anyway, I walked up a trail, feeling fat and unfit everytime I panted and remembered CPG's comment. I heard a strange bark from the hill opposite. I dont know how a leopard barks (if thats what it does) but it pretty much did sound like a leopard. I almost pissed my pants, just that there was not enough water inside. Inspired in part by an ice harvesting post by Brett Stuckel on State of Place and in part by Les Stroud and Bear Grylls on Discovery, filled my empty bottle with ice and carried it under my shoulder.
Had reached the ridge just below Ookhal Mool when I heard the bark again and saw some footmarks. To top it all, there was some scat (good word for animal shit) on a rock and some piss (not mine). Could I risk entering marked territory? I dont think so.
Headed back immediately. On the way back, I got a shot I have wanted for long. The close up of a flying bird of prey with the blue sky for background.
One day, this trekking season, I want to see the sunset from Ookhal Mool and show it to you. Till then, make do with these.
P.S.: I have photos of the scat and the piss but keeping in mind the sensitivities of would be readers, have not succumbbed to the temptation of posting them here. Not all my trips end up as 'almost there'. I often reach there. For those kinds, see this.
Why did I go there? Bad question. You are reading 'The Confused and The Wandering'. I was confused and I wandered towards Ookhal Mool. I drove 3 km from home on a road which I thought should lead towards the trail start and I reached a check post and a sceptic. The sceptic was the check post guard (CPG), who made me park the car outside the check post and the following conversation ensued.Shalabh (courteous): Hello! Could you tell me which way is Ookhal Mool?
CPG (disbelieving): What??
Shalabh (stressing): Ookhal Mool.
CPG (further disbelieving): Why?
Shalabh (non-chalant): I want to go there.
CPG (eyes popping out): What!! Do you think you can reach there?
Shalabh (being modest): Yes, I have trekked a little.
CPG (sizes me up and down): Does not seem so.
He finally obliged. I have been feeling fat since I ignored that comment.
So, anyway, I walked up a trail, feeling fat and unfit everytime I panted and remembered CPG's comment. I heard a strange bark from the hill opposite. I dont know how a leopard barks (if thats what it does) but it pretty much did sound like a leopard. I almost pissed my pants, just that there was not enough water inside. Inspired in part by an ice harvesting post by Brett Stuckel on State of Place and in part by Les Stroud and Bear Grylls on Discovery, filled my empty bottle with ice and carried it under my shoulder.
Had reached the ridge just below Ookhal Mool when I heard the bark again and saw some footmarks. To top it all, there was some scat (good word for animal shit) on a rock and some piss (not mine). Could I risk entering marked territory? I dont think so.
Headed back immediately. On the way back, I got a shot I have wanted for long. The close up of a flying bird of prey with the blue sky for background.
One day, this trekking season, I want to see the sunset from Ookhal Mool and show it to you. Till then, make do with these.P.S.: I have photos of the scat and the piss but keeping in mind the sensitivities of would be readers, have not succumbbed to the temptation of posting them here. Not all my trips end up as 'almost there'. I often reach there. For those kinds, see this.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sunset Blog
If you have seen my last post, you will know that I am a self confessed sunsetaholic and I suffer from an incurable malaise called Sunsetophilia (also known as sunsetomania). So, here comes a new blog, fittingly called Sunsetophilia. No prizes for guessing the contents. Sunsets, sunsets and more sunsets. Sunsets from everywhere. Sunsets just before the sun sets, sunsets just as the sun sets, sunsets just after the sun sets and sunsets much after the sun sets.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Photo Blog
In retrospect, I think I should have named it a Photo Blog. It now has more photos than it has alphabets. And here am I, someone who can never get enough of the sunsets. They just keep getting better and better everyday. Each evening throws up something new. One day, it is the bright orange clouds; second day, a clear sky with a round orange disc; third day, slight clouds with a orange hue and a blue sky littered with dark clouds.
I now believe I am a sunsetaholic and this malaise is incurable. Here comes today's sunset, yet again from my favourite point and some of the earlier ones as well, just to serve as a reminder.
I now believe I am a sunsetaholic and this malaise is incurable. Here comes today's sunset, yet again from my favourite point and some of the earlier ones as well, just to serve as a reminder.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Vagablogging
Before you start blaming me for it, let me tell you that this is a shameless marketing blog post. I have had the account of my latest trip published on Vagablogging, a fairly well known travel blog. I am pretty chuffed about it and I also want everyone to know about it. This post is nothing more than an attempt to educate everyone who bothers to read this blog, which is a small number.
The account has been published at www.vagablogging.net and the original story is at this link.
Dont tell me I did not forewarn you!
The account has been published at www.vagablogging.net and the original story is at this link.
Dont tell me I did not forewarn you!
Living Life.....Part 2
For those who did not quite feel as jealous or inspired as I wanted them to feel with this post, here comes another post. It rained through most of the day in Palampur yesterday. It was late coming but it poured when it came. Good for the winter crops. It was foggy, the nice misty fog you only get in the mountains and the Dhauladhars were shrouded in mist(ery). Right when the day was about to end, the sun made a comeback. It snowed all day up there. Brace yourself for a very beautiful Dhauladhar.
Another beautiful sunset after it cleared up
And finally....the toast of the winter. Dhauladhars with the fresh snow.
Part of the town all cleaned up
Another beautiful sunset after it cleared up
And finally....the toast of the winter. Dhauladhars with the fresh snow.
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