Ten Years Of Shock And Awe!

This was my third Himalayan trek and I can safely say, this is one place on earth I would never get tired of. The first was with my father, who after a lot of persuasion convinced my mother to tag me along, the second time it was my cousins turn to care for me. Not to mention, both the times I was the youngest participant of the group. Finally, here I was all by myself ready to conquer the Himalayas.

This time the destination was the Saurkundi pass located in the kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh situated at an altitude of 13000 feet. The base camp for the trek was located at Babeli off the Kullu-Manali highway. Incidentally this turned out to be the same village from from where I had begun my first Himalayan sojourn. I still had fond memories of the place.

I still remember the first bus journey with my father on the Kullu-Manali highway. One could see the snow covered peaks all through the route and river Beas accompanying us wherever we went, with all its gusto. The cold chilling breeze hitting one's face would make shivers go down the spine. It was the first time I had experienced something so spectacular, it had made me go numb. With respect to the camp, the entire location was something fascinating, with snow covered hills and beautiful valleys surrounding it and river Beas flowing adjacent to it on the other side of the highway. We could hear the sound of the gushing waters all day long. For a thirteen year old boy like me, it had to be the most beautiful place on earth. It has been ten years since and suddenly you realize all's not the same.

Being relatively familiar to a particular place gives plenty of scope for improvement . It was really hard for me to resist the comparison of what the thirteen year old boy had seen then to that of the present and I must say it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. This time round, traversing on the Kullu- Manali highway one had to make an effort to see the one odd snow covered peak (which were plenty then), there was no more the cold chilling breeze that I had hoped for and the Beas was nothing more than a megre stream, a far fetched cry from those ravaging waters. As for the camp site, one could see the denuded hill slopes all round which were severely exploited for want of softwood (Pinus and Deodar) and occupied extensively for human habitation. There was no more the sound of gushing waters of the Beas. The river once accessed by hop, skip and a jump was now out of reach, one had to walk much longer to reach the water front. One could easily make out the drastic reduction in the water levels by pointing to the water markings on the scattered boulders. The water levels had receded by nearly 15-20 meters (in a decades time). My notion of the change in water levels was re-iterated by the local folk who seemed to share similar views. On the contrary, it was also learnt that the previous winter had been the most severe in the last fifty years and there had been extensive snowfall throughout the valley, even then this was the case. This definitely makes clear the extent of damage that has been created in the last decade, even after so much fanfare about global warming and its ill effects.

Considering ten years not long enough in the life span of the planet (Earth), I was nonetheless surprised or I must say shocked to see these dramatic changes. The trip became more a self-realization of sorts. I never knew it would hit me so hard. Global Warming is not a joke, it is as real as it gets. Its high time we realize the consequences and work towards mitigating this phenomena, by doing our bit for the good of all species.

Our Forests Weed-ed!

This is something which I have been wanting to write for quite sometime. As I'm new to this blog, I think this would make a nice begining.

This is relating to a recent trip of mine to Kabini Jungle Lodges and Resorts on the banks of river kabini, which is also one of the foremost wildlife resorts in the country. I say foremost because this zone which comes under the Nagerhole National Park limits (Karnataka), is said to be one of the safest abodes for tigers in the country. The density of tigers here is said to be 10 tigers for 100 sq km area which comes next only to Kaziranga and Jim Corbett parks. Also, its close proximity with the IT capital of the country (Bangalore) makes it a favored destinantion for many.

I would not want to get into the details of the stay. As it was a wildlife resort they offered sarfaries twice a day for a couple of hours into the national park, which was the main reason for us being there. The safaries had their own share of exitement, about who spotted the elusive tiger first or any other animal for the matter of fact.

Inbetween all this there was something which caught my eye, which was definitely not soo pleasant. The tracts on either side of the jeep route was filled with Parthenium Hysterophorus(congress weed) in epidemic proportions. This was the last place on earth I expected them to be. It was perticularly peculiar to me as I had'nt seen something like this before. This weed which is absolutely useless and cannot be used by any other species is always a problem anywhere. Least, it reduced the visibility, which made the sightings all the more difficult. The occasional deer we used to spot also went missing, I guess looking for greener pastures towards the interiors of the forest.

Though I must say the trip turned out to be a memorable experience for us, the thought of Parthenium Hysterophorous and how it landed up in one of the most prominent wildlife sanctuaries in the country would always remain a mystery to me.

Oye! Amritsar here we come

It was an unusual welcome; we were woken up by the loud pronouncement of Amritsar by the bus conductor! Just as I was about to disembark, I saw my dear friend standing outside ready with his backpack. I was surprised; next to him was an unknown face. I later learnt that he was an auto driver who was willing to take us around. Mind you, it was 5:30 in the morning! Though we had other plans, we went with him. He did find us an affordable place to stay. After some rest and freshening up, it was time for us to explore the city.

Before I get on with my story, I would love to take a peek at my eager friend who had a thing or two on his mind about Punjab and its marvels; the spicy hot paranthas and the beautiful girls who made them. He was in awe of Amritsar and also expectant of the langar at the Golden Temple ever since we embarked on this journey.

Our plan for the day was pretty much chalked out, Golden temple and Jalianwala Bagh by afternoon and Wagah border in the evening when the gate closing ceremony would happen. After enquiring we understood that Golden Temple and Jalianwala Bagh, were pretty close to where we had put up.

We were so excited to see the Golden Temple that it made us forget even the oppressive sultry weather. We hired a cycle-rickshaw which is commonplace in these parts of the country, to take us there. As we got down from the rickshaw, we realised that contrary to what we had imagined, the temple complex was located in the crowded city centre.

As we entered the temple complex, looking at the mammoth proportions, we were perplexed for a moment wondering what to do next. I guess the best thing one could do was to follow the crowd of devotees; hopefully we would end up at the right place.

There it was, the magnificent Golden Temple right in front of us, positioned exactly at the centre of a man-made pond shining with full intensity in the bright afternoon sun. We could barely open our eyes to see. For once, I realised that what we had heard, seen (in photographs) and spoken about since the beginning of the journey, was so very true. In fact, it was a lot more than what we had expected it to be. We were awestruck!

The first thing one would do is to take a photograph of oneself with the temple as the backdrop. Walking around the temple taking pictures we lost our bearings. It took us sometime to realise where exactly we were.
The entry into Golden Temple was possible from one particular side only. There was a huge crowd and a long queue to enter the temple. On enquiring we learnt that this was a festive season for the Sikhs when more devotees gathered at the temple to offer their prayers.

Golden Temple is the largest gurudwara on the planet. Sikh devotees from all over the world come here to offer prayers to the Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

To get into the temple, there was no other option for us but to come together with the other devotees. It was a long and a tiresome queue but, I guess it was worth all the pain.

Once inside, it was rather cool. If you thought that the outside look was spectacular then you would be mesmerised by what you see inside. After I had finished offering my prayers, there was not a moment of hesitation to capture all that I saw in my camera.

It is a distinctive Mughal style two-storyed building with all the intricate carvings and designs made on a plate of gold. It would be difficult to take your eyes off it.

And then, an elderly Sikh gentleman quietly approached me and reminded me in a soft tone that taking photographs of the interiors, within the temple premises, was prohibited. I politely agreed with a nod. Lucky that he did not ask me to surrender my camera! I wouldn’t have carried the camera with me if there were to be a proper sign board to that effect. We left the temple premises with a deep sense of fulfilment like never before. It is a place you want to come back again and again. If not, at least, once in a lifetime.

Finally, it was time for my dear friend to fulfils his life-long dream of eating to his heart’s content in the langar at the Golden Temple!