Julley Leh! It was awesome getting LEH'ed !!!

As I somehow begin to jot my thoughts down, I am almost certain it will again turn out into a travelogue, which, is a dreadful thought. It’s not that I don’t like putting down notes about the places I travel to. It’s just that One - I don’t write too many blogs anyways and thus travelogues are the only posts that are there on my homepage to judge-me-on if someday Booker Committee is looking through random blogs to scout the next esteemed winner you see. Who knows maybe, why take a chance. And Two - Because I don’t think I really do justice to Travelogues. I mix too many things - Unwarranted, Unrequited. So my less than 3 regular readers, you still have a choice,whether to spend next few minutes of your lifetime to browse Twitter, Metacafe, FB etc lest you be interested in reiterative useless piece of writing. (See I am giving links also here for your convenience. Social Service Award anyone? No? Ok!)

LEH, Capital of Ladakh. State – J & K... Dear Bucket List. Here goes another one. Swoosh! 

Alas! Anti climax to your expectations (!), I think Leh was 'Okay'. I mean yes it was a different kind of adventure-oriented experience and I seriously witnessed stuffs I had not witnessed earlier but still I somehow found it - Average. Or may be as is something wrong with my hard-wiring, I believe I was expecting a bit too much or  probably 'coz Gangotri - Gomukh Trek has no comparison, whichever be the case, that is how I felt then and still feeling. But having said that, I also believe that it is certainly a place worth visiting once. Its Wet- Dry - Cold - Hot (Yes trust me when I say this) - Windy - Still ... Beautiful! 

Experiences! Leh, is a place that calls for just letting yourself be. It’s testing but protective. I still remember, during the preparations for the trip, I repeatedly told everyone to be prepared for AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), Breathlessness, Anxiety et al and despite of that when I reached there, I was the one who got sick first. Thanks to loads of research, I just allowed myself to relax as much as possible and let Leh teach me how to breath. So exactly a day later I was fit like never before (while some of the other folks were still battling the mild symptoms). And never took to any altitude sickness again. Guess that is the ‘Cue’ there. Just take it easy and don’t overdo yourself. Let Nature take over and Let yourself drift, lightly, without offering inertia !

Bikers! That’s kind of a synonym for this place. You go anywhere, you will find riders in flocks heading towards one or the other terrain. Just kind of fitting into the landscape. Not to be missed if you plan to go there.

Touristy Thing! Some of the places like Khardung-La & Chang-La are definitely worth a visit. You will get an approximate 'near-iota' idea of what life is for armed forces personnel. RESPECT. While the former falls when you drive towards Nubra Valley (An over-hyped place-Diksit,Hunder), the latter is on Leh-Pangong Lake route. Ya! Ya! The 3 Idiot Lake, if that makes you happy. Beautiful but again over-hyped location. :-) And yes, should you need to know, this Lake has appx 150 km spread, only one-third of which is in India. And also that this lake is considered as sacred so think twice before chilling your Godfather (Leh's answer to Kingfisher beer) here. Just in case.

My High-points of the Trip? Well actually couple of them;

• Visiting Phyang Monastery and spending over 2 hours there, debating origin and traverses of Buddhism with Head Lama amidst ongoing preparations for Revd Dalai Lama's visit 2 days later. 
• Visiting Shanti Stupa at 5:30 am in the morning and getting a feel that World is nothing but a figment of our imaginations. The only place I ever felt completely disconnected from everything else,worldly.
• Visiting Hemis Monastery and feeling the sensation which you only get when you are at a place different from others. As per my research (thank you thank you), this is place where the documentary proofs of Jesus’ stay in India were archived for ages. Apparently Christ spent his youth in Kashmir learning whatever Buddhism had to offer. Don’t believe. Read New Testament & Bodhisattva’s teachings and trace the striking similarities.
• Random Bike Rides - Pick Enfield 350 cc and just let it be. It just enhances the whole experience.
• Border road organisation (BRO) – Amazing efforts of building roads through all so magnificent mountains. Respect. And hats off to those who crafted your captions – e.g. – I am Curvaceous, Please Handle my Curves with Care; Darling I like you but not so Fast; and so many others.
• People - Interact with locals. Its therapeutic...

 It was indeed a memorable trip and if I were to summarize it all in 3 pointers they would be;

1. Immense Respect to Armed Forces for everything. You will know what I mean when you visit Leh, once.
2. Peace cannot be sought outside. Its always within your own self.
3. We, humans are nothing. Absolutely Nothing in the magnanimous design of Universe.

Julley Leh. You were lovely and it was awesome getting LEH’ed there …

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Shanti Stupa

Where Skies are as clear as Hearts!

Buddha@Shanti Stupa

Beauty & The Bridge ! @ Camel Safari,Hunder

Pangong

Saffron spread enroute Hemis Monastery

Flakes!

Flights of Fantasy !

Those for whom LEH is not a touristy circuit!

Traverses !

Buddha @ Diksit Monastery

Blooming Beauty!

Canopy !

Hemis Monastery

Escape to Self !

These days routine has become a bit too idle. All my plans regarding joining Guitar, Photography, Swimming, Archery and what nots have literally gone down the drain and all that I could manage to do (worth quoting here) is stealing a quick trip to Bhandardara, a beautiful hill station near Maharashtra. Only if monsoon had arrived as it had committed,the place would have been atleast thousand times more amazing. Only if ! Few days of absolute serenity in Bhandardara were kind of detoxing for my internal psyche after over 5 years of non stop work-life. 

Now back home at Meerut for a month am gearing up for the amazingly poised Ladakh trip starting 11th of this month and am kind of losing my sleep over it. 6 cousins on a 7 day long escapade without their better halves. I am not taking the credit for this remarkable feat but you then got to give some respect to the catalyst as well. Wouldn't you!

There is so much to write, if only I am able to pose  myself some serious pretexts and ask for answers but now is not the time. Will be back soon,hopefully,after the Ladakh trip.

Bon Voyage to Self ! Escape to Self !

Corporate Travelogue !

Few more days to go for 5 years of my not-so-awesome stint in corporate life. For the uninitiated, 14th May 07 was when I recall having taken the last real decision in my life. A decision to eternal (its such a b'ful word. Completely absorbs the meaning implied and is pretty revocable as well at later date) bonded slavery. When I had let short term logics take over long term dreams and decided to take a plunge. A pretty deep one at that. 

If you actually managed to read through that preamble,Respect. 

So, having established that and in sync with my infrequent blogging (which I modestly explain as not been able to gather thoughts ofcourse and which actually can mostly be ascribed to psychic lethargy) I am just going through this phase of 'not-knowing-what-I-should-be-doing' syndrome. 5 years is a landmark in general terms but I somehow feel its very regressive. How? 

Lets see what I factually lost in all these years

• Creativity of thought, of action
• Humanitarian touch, empathy
• Focus, determination
• Consistent persistence towards a goal, visible, invisible, deemed, non existent
• Capability to build long term touch & affection; and maybe a few good people. More about that later.
  
  

What have I gained?

• Can I count in my Car & LCD here if allowed to? No? Ok ...

No. I wouldn't say that its been a bad phase. That would be unreasonable apathy towards all that I have accrued but yes its been a pretty very average run barring few and far niche 'n nicer patches.

Was reading this brilliant book translated into English by Bhawana Somaiya - Krishna: The God who lived as a man. Remarkably amazing book. And at one instance when Krishna (I am Peepal amongst the trees - Bhagwat Geeta) while lying against the bark of Peepal tree, foot bleeding with the arrow shot from the bow of Jara the hunter contemplates and sighs - 'Life is more like the path taken by a Trapeze artist walking over tight ropes. To balance himself he has to keep moving come what may but in the end he will have to invariably come back to the starting point every time' 

So true. That's precisely what I have been doing and unfortunately have been seeing people around me doing  all the time. Walking on the tight ropes. Trying to find a balance amidst acute chaos. And at such times I feel that at least I accept the status and am aware thus not attaching artificial glory to some petty achievements. There are several of those who don't accept the status as it is. Sadly. 

And then the quintessential rat race. I am ok with the rat race after having spent some time in corporate. I am also ok with staying the rat even after coming out as a winner of the race (as if I have a choice here after having run with the rats) but atleast then one got to be complete rat like. Communal, Participative and Harmonic. Guess only humans can be so amoebic. Rat at one instant, a Canine at another and mostly like a Cuckoo bird, taking someone else's credit and throwing off other's efforts down the drain. Mostly. 

But am I being a bit too caustic? Yes of course but again this is not a remorse or regret. As I stated above, this is just because I am aware of what is happening to me and surroundings. The changes. Variables. Its a cognition and not repentance and for reasons deep rooted within me,I have to keep shoveling myself at regular intervals just as to ensure that I am still pretty much alive ...

I realize that even this post like many others on this blog can be termed as 'Karna' I guess. Born merely out of curiosity ... Curiosity to drill 'n grill and hard-press the haywired psyche. 

Its a Long journey ahead. Bon Voyage to self !

Camping.Trekking.Wanderlust.LIFE !

Even at the cost of reiteration and pretext of being finicky at all times I hereby would reinstate my views. The most beautiful things in life almost always come for free. This was the note on which I planned the said trip itinerary of mine and this was precisely the affirmation that came out of it. Seclusion. Roads less traveled. Non-touristy circuit. Midst of forest range. Friends and Long Zoom camera for company. Bliss.So while the weekend before last was spent amidst the frothing serenity of Kashid, with family; this was the weekend of sheer adventure, thrill and fun unbound as 6 of us,office colleagues, backpacked and drove down to Lonavala for a camping cum trekking trip to Rajmachi Fort. Before I start this travelogues, let me put a word of thanks to oh so wonderful Abhijeet & Maansi from Letscampout - a team that organizes such camps for wanderlust driven souls like ours. 

So, having reached Lonavala (which infact is just over 75 minutes drive from my part of the city) we took an SUV cab to Rajmachi. I somehow have become an unofficial trip planner for my department over past 1 year but then this time even I wasn't very sure of the whole rendezvous as there was no prior evidence of success. Blank but excitedly we disembarked at Village Rajmachi and headed to our campsite. Amazing comfortable camps awaited our arrival but we wanted some action so after an awesomely sumptuous lunch we took off for a casual walk to the cliff and then to the nearby lake. A lake crossing session was organised for us and while it tested stamina, it nevertheless was good fun. Back to camp site a barbecue and campfire was organised and it was further corroborated by spooky tales we discussed. This followed by a (mid) night trek - lit only by solar lanterns was worth every missed beat. And the best part, after so many years I could actually see so many stars in the sky and crescent moon all so close to us. Silence is the best healer and that was evident from the all-so-cheerful conversations. Was wondering all the time if this was all in some way lost courtesy our work, routines, life.

After a slightly disturbed sleep (imagine sleeping in the middle of a forest with monkeys climbing over trees and dogs sniffing around. Add to that news of a wild boar hunted down in the vicinity in the evening) we got up to a clear 'n chilly morning. After freshening up we headed for a trek to Rajmachi fort which is considered as second most difficult trek in Maharashtra (not really!). 2 hours and gallons of sweat later we left from the campsite to Lonavala.

It was all very rejuvenating and the silence was so connecting to self that while driving back, honking of horns was a pain to ears. Back to the rut, I was feeling completely out of place and completely out of sync. Having said that, I feel light, determined and so much more willing to take up another excursion soon. Very soon. So next weekend I am off to MP for some tourist thing coupled with relative-bonding. 

If only time could just cease to tick whenever heart is at bliss missing beats ... if only ...