After a good rest and sound sleep over the night, we took off from Pipalkote, to Joshimath. We were asked to report at the parking spot where our coach was left, precisely at 5.30 am. After a refreshing bath & hot coffee we boarded the bus which started immediately. I was hoping for a glorious mountain sunrise, as it was so early in the morning. But then as per Murphy's law, I was sitting exactly at the opposite side, plus the peaks of the mountains hardly revealed any rays of the rising sun. As I was looking out the window watching the beautiful mountain scenery that started slowly showing up like magic from the light of the dawn, I saw the setting moon smiling at me. Oh gosh!!..how did I miss it, in my greed to snap the sunrise, I totally failed to notice another beaut of the nature. Cursing myself for being so ignorant, I switched on the camera, and as I got ready to shoot the moon, the bus was taking a turn to the other side ( again Murphy's law).. still I managed to make a few clicks. But then, it is the crappiest shot ..So what..The place, The Himalayas, the time, morning 5.30, and the shot - from highly jerky bus that was ascending- makes this photo a Special.

Chronicle of a Trans Atlantic flight.

It was past 10pm when I walked in to the security chk at the Logans domestic terminal. Strange, because, I was flying to India via London and cannot comprehend why the flight was from that terminal. Anyway, that is not a big matter of concern. I am very much used to the, sometimes highly inappropriate rules and instructions slammed by the TSA authorities. I was lightly amused but greatly annoyed by the total body scan done . This is the first time I've undergone that. And I wonder even after that, why the passenger is frisked/groped by the officials. Now what is that they trust or dont trust is a big puzzle!!. All aboard, overhead cabins shut, doors closed. Ok, all fine. But the flight never took off, even 30 minutes past the scheduled departure time. And the crew never bothered to make any announcement regarding the delay.
I had a middle seat allotted and it wasnt very pleasant traveling with a farting bugger on one side and a smelly stinker on the other. The lady on my right was having a shawl around her, and whenever she opened it to adjust it, it was emancipating an odour that could bring out the breakfast you had 2 days ago. At around 2am food was served, which I declined, but my companions were duly served with what they asked, a meat in gravy, and beef curry or something. Oh boy!! the plight of people like me under such condition is pathetic. Think they must avoid allotting seats for pure vegetarians/vegans along with the general meat eating crowd!!!. That way you can be spared from the shock of having a plate of some Chicken dish, in the middle of night thrust in your hands while you are half asleep... Other than this it was a wonderful flight...
We are s'ppose to land at 10.30 local time London, but we made it only after 11am. Then again the ordeal of reaching the terminal 5 thru the transit claimed another 20 minutes. My flight to Chennai was at 1pm and I had literally no time to use even the rest room ..once the immigration at London was over, surprisingly, no frisking, not even the metal detector.. just a walk thru, I was a lil exasperated, when I saw the terminal for my flight. It was in the C , which again required a transit, this time the tube. Again the climb up/down, repeat at C..All done, reached the terminal C at 12 noon around. I precisely had 15 minutes before they call for boarding. The lobby was crowded, and I found an empty corner two gates away, to finish my packed lunch. Unlike the last time where I ended up with a soda, instead of water, ( mislead by the label that read, 'sparkling spring water'), I cautiously asked the counter girl to get me a bottle of water. She gave me a weird look and picked up the bottle for me. 'A pound and thirty for that'. 'Oh sure, here is my 2 dollar, I gave her the notes, for which she said 'I shall give you the balance in pound denominations only'. 'No probs' I smiled. Gave me a local daily as compliment. Not bad. The flight to Chennai was smooth, the food palatable (but the quantity served was ridiculously small!!) and drinks abundant. I can never understand the funda behind the idea of serving one teaspoon of curd/yogurt during lunch, and a big tub of yogurt at the early hrs, along with a pint of coffee!!! Most relieving thing was, the seat next to me was vacant..just that.

Mana Village- End of Indian terrain bordering Tibet/China.

I was a bit weary when the guide made the announcement about our next visit, the Mana, after finishing lunch that day, at Badrinath. Least I knew about the significance of the tiny hamlet another 2000 feet up there in the Himalayas. Boy!!!..what a place it is. It has not one but many unique features tucked under its folds!!!.
The river Saraswathi, which can never been sighted on surface anywhere else originates from a mountain near this village.
This is the last destination from Indian side, after which starts the Tibet and China border.
There is a tea shop that was started 25 years ago, which claims to be The last tea shop of India.
The Vyas Gufa has a small temple dated back to 5000bc!!
The Ganesh Gufa and the bridge of Bhima also has a mention in the epic Mahabaratha.
The path was very steep and there are people with basket like seats fastened to their back, slung by a rope from their head , to carry the persons who are unable to make the steep climb. They are the locals of the village.
A Bhotia lad.
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The people of Mana village are the Bhotias, an Indo Mongolian descendants. They stay there during the summer months raising short term crops and engage in tribal handicraft work. They also rear cattle. Each house has a patch of land in the front and everybody in the family work, including small children. I dont think there is any school up there, and was curious to know what this small bunch of people do to educate their offspring.There are 180-88 houses in this hamlet, the population not exceeding 600. During winter when the Badrinath temple closes. they move down to Chamoli .
River Saraswathi originates from here, the water gushes out with great force through a rock, from nowhere and flows for some 100 meters before it goes underground. It also merges with Alaknanda at Keshav prayag, some one km from the place of origin. Then it disappears only to surface again at Allahabad, to confluence with other two river Ganga and Yamuna.

Keshavprayag
Saraswathi river
The simple tribal people has all the warmth in their smiling face and courteous behavior, that will make one forget the hardship of tough climbing and lack of basic amenities at that height.Great place for the younger generation who are inclined in adventurous trekking and camping.

Colorful rugs and mats done by the Bhotias.

May 1st. Holiday, but falls on a Sunday, disappointing the 'hard working' laborers!!. Well now thats not the point I am gonna write abt. It is abt the TV prog that has been much hyped since last week and eventually got telecast on that day. Wow..what a tribute to the working class. It is some so called cultural extravaganza conducted in Dubai. Only thing missing in the prog was the 'culture'. A Lady Ga ga & Jennifer Lopez will be put to shame , had they happen to watch it.. such was the 'quality' of the dancers. No doubt they were all talented..in stripping & shaking of course. The irony is, all males were buttoned up to the throat!!..the so called 'tamiz kalacharam' was very well portraited by these dancers..and I couldnt understand the need for a singer to expose the legs and back!!!.she wasnt dancing (thank God, for it would've been quite a sight had she chose to!) just standing in front of the mike and singing along with a partner. Look at the dress she was wearing!!!..and the angle of camera. Oh Modesty Where Hast Thou Gone? Should one lower to this level, may be I am wrong here for they do it willingly..Ok the moral police of Tamilnadu are effective only locally I presume. Remember the Sreya furor??..she was an actor associated with glamor and showbiz.. yet she was not spared. Anyway, the trend nowadays is to sit and watch some buxom extras shaking their hips for some vulgar lyrics. The CM of the state himself is a great fan of such shows and stays put till the end of the prog generally!!.Long live the great culture propagators . Bless their service.

Cutting across Cauvery

April 3rd was the Mannargudi Garuda sevai, and I happen to join the rest of the family for the occasion only a day before. I traveled by road from Chennai to Mannargudi via Kumbakonam. The journey was comfortable and I indeed enjoyed the rural India as we cruised through rich green fields.
As we crossed Vadalore and proceeded towards south, we were a bit skeptical about the Anakarai bridge before Kumbakonam, that was under renovation. The bridge was being serviced, and traffic for the heavy vehicles been closed. But the cars were allowed by a small service lane in the bridge. As we reached the spot, we found even that was closed for traffic. As I sat wondering how to retrace the path , we were told, we can still proceed, by the mud road across the dried river. I was speech less for a moment. By then our driver have already started descending the slope to enter the mud road. Oh boy!!..what a scene it was. We literally drove through the belly of the mammoth river. I imagined it with full water, and absolutely cant visualize where we would be then. The summer is yet to start and the river was almost a bed of dried sand, but for a small pocket of fresh water here and there. I had a feeling of walking over a sleeping giant!!!.It was a thrill for me, crossing the 1km distance across the river.

He was anything between 17 to 22 . A rag picker or a beggar, I couldnt make out from his clothes as the light was very low. It was a Saturday night around 9pm. After dinner I was annoyed by a loud thumping noise from across the street and found this lad was the one who was making it. He was trying to break a wooden frame out of a tin sheet, which was looking quite sturdy, of size not less than 3ft by 6ft. It must have been some piece left by the canal digging people. I was intrigued how he manage to break the wood without any proper tool. So I started watching the process. He was having a big stone with which he was banging the frame at some precise point (now you understand the amount of noise that was made, tin and stone!!) to loosen it from the sheet. He was almost done, when a guy passing by in a Bike stopped and enquired what he was up to. The boy mumbled something and the next thing I saw was the Bike guy hitting the boy right and left, kicking him violently calling bad words and tried to chase him off. The boy taken by surprise submitted initially, but raised his hand against the hitter, and tried to defend himself. The people from adjacent apartment intervened and made the bike guy to leave the lad.
Now I was wondering who was the bike guy, and who gave him authority to hit a fellow human like that. The sheet was only a junk, and other than the noise he was making, the lad I think was committing no offense. May be he wanted it to fix it in his hut, or may be he wanted it to be a shelter for his platform corner where he was staying..could be anything. Eventually he broke off the frame and carried away the sheet on his back. The whole episode lasted only for a few minutes, but it did leave an impact, which I couldnt explain. Why did he get assaulted?? It looks a bit ridiculous/make no meaning, terms like human rights et al..Worst of all, I have no idea how to react in such a situation!!!..I was yet another silent spectator, like quite a few people watching like me from their safe and sheltered homes...

It is exactly 60 days since BIL passed away. The grief and pain of the loss is still very raw and fresh. I have no idea how long will it take to get used to his absence. I havent yet come in to terms with my Dads absence even after 8 years. My heart really bleeds for my SIL. I have so many questions but wonder if they have any answer at all. Certain things are beyond our hands no doubt, but why and what for is very intriguing. One thing is proved beyond doubt. That each day we live is precious and we must live it fully. Not just live but cherish every moment by doing things that make us happy. We dunno how much time is left for us.
RIP KK.