THOSE DAYS

“Match is against C section tomorrow. Come to the ground at sharp 7am”.

“Tomorrow evening we have a bet match against the next street guys at 4:30”.

“Come fast man, are you still sleeping? Everyone has come”.

Those were some of the phrases which one would frequently hear in my childhood days. The day would start as early as 6:00 am. Armed with bats & stumps, catching up 2 more sleepy guys, reaching the ground in cycle by triples and pitching the stumps when the rest of the world is still in dreamland were the routine on weekends. The energy levels would be at its peak. We would walk back home dragging the cycle along side with us, discuss the game played, have snacks at the road side stalls and make fun of each other.

Those days the term “Games” implied only outdoor games. PT was the most sought period. Young bloods would be waiting like a hungry lion to showcase their talents. This promoted sportsmanship and acceptance of defeat in the right manner & spirit. We had studies and sports in the right mix. We would reach home at around 4:30 pm, go out to play and return back at around 6:15 pm. After that we would study (not always) for around 2 hours before winding up for the day. We had teachers who taught us discipline, how to manage time, how to respect elders etc. Our teachers would chide us whenever we committed any mistakes. Today’s teachers fear to chide their students fearing the wrath of parents who shower excessive pamper to their kids and thereby spoiling them indirectly in the long run.   

These days I hardly find any kids playing outdoor games. They study throughout the day and find no time to play due to shrinking play grounds and excessive parental & academic pressures. Kids appear more sensitive & mature at such a tender age. They hardly tolerate failure and throw tantrums whenever their parents refuse them of their favourite toys, gifts. Those days’ tuitions were meant only for kids who were hyperactive and couldn't concentrate on studies or for poor performers, but nowadays all the students have started going for tuition irrespective of their performance, thanks to the burgeoning commercial coaching centre’s and the rat race to catch the first place.

They are more glued to cell phones, video games and idiot box thanks to the advent of technologies. I rarely find children cycling their way to school. They can be spotted zipping down the roads with their fancy bikes & scooters and most importantly they carry their cell phones with them to school under the guise of worried parents. We never carried cell phones to our school nor were we monitored by our parents. We never suffered from obesity because we always cycled to all the places and never had snacks in Mcdonalds, KFC, Dominos.

The front page of newspapers are always published with sensational news on students murdering their teachers, committing suicides, vandalizing public properties, abusive teachers and much more.

Where do the present day students lack?

I once flunked in a school exam. Depressed I was walking down the road and incidentally bumped into my favourite teacher. She read my eyes and said “It is only failure of examination, not you”. I was too young at that time to realize the power of those words and realized it when the same words were echoed by my boss when I flunked twice in my professional exam.

So who is to be blamed here for all the mess?

The students, teachers, parents, movies, education system?

I don’t want to sound like a politician. Everyone have a collective role to play here. Parents must read the minds of their children to realize what they want & what they really like rather than pressurizing their children to fulfill their unfulfilled desires. Teachers should impart moral ethics & morality rather than concentrate in completing the syllabus on time. Students must realize that educational degrees act as a good shock absorber and back-up when everything else fails. Movies must stop depicting violence, stalking and booze as a kind of heroism & pride. The education system can be changed only if we vote for real & uncorrupt people who promise change. 

The veteran Journalist and Actor Mr. Cho Ramasamy rightly said “Those days the streets were narrow but people were broad minded; now it has become the other way”.

AFTER EFFECTS OF "THE CONJURING"

"We will go to The Conjuring". "The reviews are good". Exclaimed Prabhakar.

"No way". "Its a horror movie". "I ain't interested in all those craps". I protested.

"Heck off bugger. We will cut our friendship here if you are not coming for the movie". Do you have an appointment with Bill Gates in the dead of the night ? Prabhakar got wild.

Why is he dragging Bill Gates in this conversation ? Has he got anything to do with exorcism ? I thought to myself.

"But who wants to see a horror movie in this era of technology. Do you still believe in all those craps ? We will go for some other movie." I was firm in my stand.

"No way, you are coming otherwise go to hell". He was firm in his stand as well.

"Its a hilarious movie. I laughed out loudly after seeing the climax". Prashanth suggested. He is a smart ass who has special talents to convert a lie into a truth.

"You want to see a horror movie for the 2nd time" ? "Have u gone nuts" ? I asked.

No man you come and see the movie for yourself. It will be similar to"Pizza". 

"Pizza" ? How on earth can you compare an english movie with tamil movies ?

Somehow they managed to convince (brainwash) me to accompany them for the movie.

I neither believe in ghosts nor the so called exorcism. But deep down I had the fear of someone calling me from behind when I was all alone in home, after all, horror movies are made by sadistic people who derive pleasure from scaring others.

The movie started with a good tone. A happy family move in to a dilapidated farmhouse in Rhodes Island. As usual their pet dog refrains from entering the house. It keeps barking throughout the night only to be found dead the next morning.

Could it have fallen dead due to dehydration from the excessive barks ? I thought to myself. But we were so engrossed in the movie that the entire crowd in the theater believed it to be a spirit that attacked the dog.

Slowly and steadily we travelled along with the screen play. Some of the scenes like "The clap", "The place where the mother possessed the kid" were a real treat to watch. There was this scene where the clocks stops exactly at 3:07 am as one of the erstwhile occupant of the house was declared dead at the same time some years go. As usual the ghosts attacks one by one and the warrens perform the exorcism by themselves and save the family from the clutches of the ghosts.

"How was the movie" ? Asked Prashanth.

"Screw you". I told him even though the movie was good. I haven't seen a horror movie like this. I imagined myself being an exorcist and whipping Prabhakar & Prashanth indefinitely.

Some of the scenes were flashing before me continuously Quickly I reached home at around 1 am. My mom was away at my brother's place in Bangalore and I was all alone in the house for around a month. I quickly dived into the bed and made sure not to get up before or after 3:07 am.

The next day I returned home from office at around 11 pm. I was baffled to see the balcony door wide open. Any person can enter into our house balcony easily by just creeping along its adjacent wall as it is very close to the foot steps of the apartment. I tried hard to recollect whether I closed the door or not before leaving out. The thought whether an intruder could have sneaked in started running in my mind seriously. I left my cell phone in the sofa and slowly walked inside the bedroom. The behro was intact. I felt like a shadow standing behind me. Immediately I turned around to see if anyone was there.

No one. Just my intuition.

I slowly looked under the bed to see if the intruder was hiding there.

Again my intuition.

My cell phone started ringing. The ring tone was the "horror ring tone" which the antagonist had in the tamil horror movie "Pizza". I'm not sure if it was a coincidence. I ran to the hall to check who it was. It was from some unknown number.

Hello

Hello Preethi irukangala ? (Is Preethi there ?). He muttered in a drunken tone.

What ? Can u please come again ? 

Yow Phone Preethi kitta kudu. Ava phone nee ethuku vechirka ? (Give the phone to Preethi. Why are you having her phone with you ?) 

You bloody son of a bitch, can't you see the number before dialing ? Idiot. I screamed before disconnecting the call.

After disconnecting the call the bathroom door banged with full force.

What was that ?

The fierce bang sent shivers down the spine and I was pretty sure that the intruder was hiding in the bathroom. I thought of locking all the doors and call the watchman and my neighbours.

Wait don't be a fool, Just go and check it for yourself.

I gathered courage and slowly walked into the bedroom. The words of Ed "Spirits attack when you are vulnerable" were continuously ringing in my mind. Unlike movies I quickly opened the door to see if anyone was there.

No one, it was just the wind.

I heaved a sigh of relief and walked straight to the hall, shut all the doors tight and slept off immediately after dinner.

As the old saying goes by THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GHOSTS. It is only the movies and false stories of people which led to a complete misconception about ghosts. Even The Conjuring movie is based on a true story which I hardly believed it. Its better children, pregnant women and people with weak heart refrain from seeing horror movies. Its not whether we got scared at the movie. Its important that we don't perceive the atmosphere around us to be of spirits & ghosts after seeing the movie.

Chennai Wipro Marathon: My First Half Marathon

I woke up at 3:30 am as the alarm went off. I was quite nervous. Months of  practice gonna be put to test today. Took a quick bath, had 2 bananas, a small glass of milk and drove straight to IIT Madras campus. I reached there well within time to avoid parking hassles at the last minute. As i began walking towards the stadium it looked like entire Chennai has converged at IIT. Surprisingly there was no chaos as everything was so well organized including the designated parking lots, refreshment stalls, restrooms. The scheduled start time for the run was

5:00 am for Full Marathon

5:15 am for Half Marathon

7:00 am for 10kms.

I was elated on seeing so many people gathered for the event.

Stretches drill’s started for the full marathon runners. One of the Assistant Commissioner’s of Police whose name I couldn’t remember flagged off the event. Was also quite surprised as usually it is only the celebrities who flag off such events.  3, 2, 1 and the full marathon runner’s bay were on their heels.

The half marathon runners were called upon. The stretches drill’s started for the half marathon runners as well. 3, 2, 1 and we all started running. The trail represented ghat roads before we ran out of the campus. The first loop was from the start point to MRC nagar (up & down) and then back inside IIT campus for 3 more loops.

All along the trail I witnessed lot of people cheering each other and boosting others mentally. I thought it will take more than 3 hours for me to complete the run but by god’s grace I completed the run in around 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was a satisfying experience.

The key to a successful half marathon is:

1. Sleep well before the race day.

2. Drink plenty of water.

3. Have atleast one banana before start of the race.

4. Not to eat any junk food atleast for a week before the race.

5. Stop practice and give rest to ur legs for atleast 3 days before the start of the race.

6. Don't believe people who say that they didn't prepare for the marathon. 

To sum up I give full credits to Mr. Fauja Singh, yes the Indian Centenarian runner who was my one & only inspiration to take up the marathon. If he can run at the age of 100 then why not we?

Regards,

Vijay Prasad

My First Himalayan Trek

This is it (Suneel).

Guys I have a surprise for you (me).

I took out the proud Indian flag. Everyone was terribly excited.

We were at the centre point of Hamta Pass (14,300 feet.)

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy. We were rejoicing over our victory.

We finally did it. Exclaimed Thilak & Ratz. Dhana and Ganga’s happiness knew no bounds.

 So is mine: D.

Back home Thilak created an event in fb and invited around 14 people. No response from around 4 ppl, 4 ppl couldn’t come. 6 of us myself, Thilak, Gangadharan, Dhana, Arunima and Ratz were ready to scale the mighty Himalayas. But the event bore the name “Destination Nanda Devi”. I thought it to be a base camp trek. Nanda Devi is the highest mountain which lies entirely within the boundaries of India unlike Kanchenjunga which is shared with Nepal. After so many rounds of phone calls & emails we dropped Nanda Devi and finally zeroed in on “Kuari Pass and Hamta pass”. Kuari pass lies in Uttarkhand and Hamta pass in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.

After deciding upon Hamta Pass I called upon my brother who is an experienced trekker to ask the things to be carried, not to be carried etc.

Arunima dropped out on the week before the trek due to some issues in college. My huge back pack was ready and I was eagerly waiting for the day to arrive.

My best friend Shan came to see me off at the railway station with the words “Anga poi cheta panna koodathu” :-(

September 7^th – Chennai to Delhi – Duronto Express.

The train was scheduled to leave the landmark railway station “Chennai Central” (invariably featured in all Tamil movies when the hero comes to Chennai for a living or to take a revenge on the villain) at 6:40 am. I was there at the station at 6:25 and soon Gangadharan, Thilak, Dhana (Thilak’s wife) and Ratz (Bhagirathy) came up. Followed a round of hugs with Thilak & Ganga. It was 6:40am and the train quickly pulled out of the station. As usual Ganga’s hilarious dialogues kept us entertaining until we reached Delhi.

September 8^th – Delhi to Manali

This is the second time I am setting my foot in New Delhi. Ganga’s and Ratz’s sister Vidhya came to receive us at the railway station. We had 6 hours of time before we could catch our bus to Manali. We then drove off to Vidhya’s place for a quick shower. We passed through Rashtrapathi Bhavan and Parliament (the place where hooliganism originated). The roads in the parliament’s vicinity were spick and span.

Soon we left for lunch and had good North Indian food after a tiresome journey. As Delhi is well known for the numerous tourist spots we decided to go to the Red fort and then to the bus station directly from red fort. We reached Karol Bagh metro station by rickshaw. Delhi metro was simply superb. It was designed perfectly by the Famous Engineer Mr. Sreedhar to cater to Delhi’s exploding population.

We had to catch the bus to Manali at 5:00pm. It was already 4:20 and we were still in Red fort. We had to wade through the heavily congested Chandni Chowk to catch our train to reach the bus stand. The ticketing counter had a serpentine queue but somehow we managed to get tickets as myself and Thilak stood in 2 separate queues. It was 4:55 and still we haven’t reached the bus station. I was quite worried but didn’t lose my cool. We caught an auto and kept on irritating him to drive fast. After so much of phone calls to the bus operator we managed to reach there on time. (Whew!!!!!!!).

My uncle used to tell me a lot about the highways in north as he has travelled the length & breadth of India. Of course he was absolutely right as there wasn’t even a single jerk in NH1 before the bus entered the state of Himachal Pradesh. There was a right turn near the outskirts of Punjab with straight arrow mark boards pointing towards Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and right arrow mark towards Manali, Shimla.

September 9^th – Manali.

Woke up to the sound of whispers from the adjacent seats. Took a long yawn and had a look at my watch. It was around 5:45 am and the bus had stopped at a Dhaba. I got down from the bus and saw my mates. I was quite elated and said to Thilak with a hug “Machi, this is the first time I am visiting Himachal Pradesh”. I understood why the state was named as Himachal Pradesh. Whichever direction you turn you get to see the amazing Himalayan Mountains. We had hot tea and took some pictures of the lower ranges of the Himalayas. Dhana was kind enough to feed a couple of street dogs with biscuits. The bus took off from the Dhaba at around 6:30. The moment the gas pedal was pressed my eye lids lashed at each other and I went into a deep sleep again.

Again I woke up to the whispers of “Wow, amazing, excellent, awesome”. I pulled the curtains and the first stroke of sun light greeted me directly on my face. I was awestruck on seeing the beautiful green mountains and a perennial river flowing in between the mountains. While the bus was nearing Manali I literally jumped in joy in my seat after seeing snow capped mountains for the first time in my life. Foreigners sitting behind me were also excited on seeing the beautiful mountains.  I held on to my window seat until we reached Manali. :D.

We reached Manali at around 10:00am. We were greeted by our trek leader Suneel Kumar, a handsome chap in his late twenties. We were driven to a guest house and were instructed to get started for the trek soon as it was already late for the day. After reaching Manali I realized that I lost my brother’s Quecha water proof trekking shoes somewhere in Delhi. I felt very bad about it and wanted to kick myself for my carelessness. I realized that I had no other option other than trekking with my slippers but it was not advisable as we may encounter snowy paths in our trek.

Suneel was quick enough to get me a pair of shoes but to my dismay the shoes were terribly tight. But I was happy as I got something for nothing. We were ready with our back packs and a mini tempo arrived with the common gears for the 5 day trek. We met our cook Rinzing. A fair man in his early forties whose muscles were ready to tear off from his tees. He ensured that we would not lose even an inch of fat from our body for the next 5 days.

The trek started after a half an hour drive. The ponies were loaded with all the common gears. We were ready to conquer the Himalayas.

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo: D.

Where the hell did you lose your shoes?!!!!!

I kept asking to myself.

Day 1 September 9 – Manali to Chika     

The trek started at around 1:15pm among the green meadows with Rani river in one side and big rocky hills on the other. We came across a small circular road which was used by the locals for carrying supplies to the nearby villages. However steep footsteps made up of partial mud & stones were built for trekkers to avoid a circumferential walk on the road. After an hour of steep climbs I got mild exhaustion.

44 hours of non-stop travel, irritating steep climbs, the frustration of losing my shoes, mild showers, thick mud and the tight shoes spoiled my day. I was more frustrated on losing my shoes than anything else. I couldn’t help myself with the fact that we barely took rest for an hour before starting the trek.

 The shoes were so tight that my right foot’s thumb nail clotted. Ganga came to my rescue and offered me his shoes as the shoe which I wore and his were almost of similar size.

I can never forget Ganga’s good gesture. If not for Ganga I would never have completed the trek successfully.

We stopped at a small house cum shop for tea break. This gentleman had lot of biscuits, chocolates, wafers; maggi’s including chappathi and north Indian dishes for travelers. We had hot maggi and tea. The drizzling too stopped after which I felt much better.

But I was still upset over losing my shoes. The shopkeeper told us that this was the last place where we would get mobile phone signal. I finally decided to inform my mom on losing my shoes.

The phone rings

Mom: Where are you?

Me: We are in a village near Manali. This is the last place from where we will get mobile phone signal.

Me: I want to tell you something.

Mom: What is it?

Me: I lost Anand’s shoes somewhere in Delhi. Don’t know where.

Mom: You could have been a bit careful. You know that Delhi is famous for theft and robbery.

Me: I know that I should have been careful but but!!!!!!

Mom: Leave it.

Me: Inform Anand

Mom: Ok. Enjoy the trek. Be careful. Bye

Me: Bye     

I felt much better after talking with my mom. I also realized that I came for the trek to enjoy the serenity & beauty of nature and not to frown upon and snub people. We started after gulping down hot tea and maggi soup. The frustrating steep climb finally ended. We came across an apple orchard. The kind owner gave us a handful of apples to us. I haven’t had such juiciest & tastiest apple anywhere.

We came across a hydroelectric power project dam which feeds electricity to some of the northern areas of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh is a power surplus state. If a hilly state like HP which lacks adequate infrastructure and rail connectivity is a power surplus state then why not Tamilnadu?

It was slowly getting dark and we haven’t reached our campsite yet. I was worried about trekking in the dusk as even a simple fall may become too costly since we were far away from civilization. Suneel gave us enough confidence that we were just few distances away from the campsite. Thank god it was 7:20pm when we reached the campsite.

The colourful tents and hot tea was awaiting us. I just had a quick change over and rushed to Rinzing’s tent to witness what was being cooked for the dinner. Soon everyone came to the tent and a round of laughable jokes followed before we had yummy dinner and dived into our sleeping bags.

Day 2 September 10 – Chika to Bhalu-ka-Ghera

A motionless sleep after a gap of almost 60 hours meant a lot for all of us. We were terribly afresh on the morning. The campsite looked beautiful on the broad daylight. The sky was clear. The sun was just up and the beautiful sight of the sun rays settling on the top of the snow capped mountains was really a treat to watch. My energy levels were at its peak. We packed off after breakfast and started our trek.

Today we started walking through boulders and patches of stones amidst the green meadows. It reminded me of the treks with Chennai Trekking Club. I was really enjoying each & every moment of the trek as I haven’t witnessed such green meadows. They looked afresh after being sprinkled by the mild drizzles yesterday. Soon we crossed the river over a makeshift bridge.

We encountered some moderate steep ascents and descents. Day 2 was comparatively tougher than day 1.   

We started feeling the heat once again but carried on. Dhana was little tired and walked slowly. I, Suneel and Ratz were going on the front and Dhana, Thilak and Ganga were coming behind.

It was lunch time. We stopped at grassland and had packed sandwich, raw potato, banana, chocolates and a mango drink. The sun was really high at this time and we felt the effect on our head. Dhana was exhausted and wanted to take rest but Suneel insisted on moving further as the climate swaps in no time. I notice that Dhana is slow and so is Ratz. Ganga was slow but steady. Dhana stops now and then taking off her back pack. Thilak helps her by carrying her back pack.

Man this guy is very strong. He single handedly carried her back pack for a long time before loading them in the pony.It was 4:30 pm and we were far away from the camp site. The lights were slowly fading. Dhana was completely exhausted. The symptoms of mountain sickness were there and she was little dehydrated. We gave her electrolyte water. She couldn’t drink more than 3 sips.

I had a quiet word with Thilak and thought of evacuation. The prospect of evacuation was daunting as the ponies were far away from us. Thank god my worst fears went down the drain as Dhana was only exhausted and not hit by mountain sickness. Quickly I and Suneel decide to go to the campsite and get her something hot to drink.

We were walking quietly until we came across a huge boulder. After crossing the boulder a huge snow capped mountain unearthed before me.

Oh my Godddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!.....

That’s how I felt on seeing them. This mountain made my day. I terribly felt the absence of my mates as they couldn’t see one of the best snow capped mountain.

I called Suneel and told him “Bhaiya this mountain looks stunning”.      

He said “That’s alright, you come fast. They are waiting for us”.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We reached the campsite. Suneel quickly told Renzing to prepare hot soup and tea. He also advised me to stay back and help Renzing while Suneel and Munish (the pony caretaker) would carry tea and soup for my mates. I quickly arranged the tents with the help of Munish and laid out the sleeping mats and bag before the rest of them arrive. I finished off the work in half an hour and went to Rinzing’s tent as usual to see what was being cooked for the dinner.

Hot pakora’s were being fried for the dinner and I grabbed a few pieces before Renzing fried them.

It was 6:50pm and I was little worried as my mates weren’t back. To my surprise they reached more quickly than I thought. Dhana was feeling little better after she was administered with a Diamox pill. The weather outside dipped after dusk and we felt the effect in our spine.

Day 3 September 11 – Bhalu-ka-Ghera to Siagoru

The D-day has finally arrived. Suneel warned us to walk slowly as we will be gaining high altitude coupled with very high steep climbs. The trek started with narrow paths and easy ascent at first. The hills looked fresh and we were walking slowly so as to get acclimatized to the thin air.

“We have to cross 4 narrow ridges between 6 mountains before we reach the centre point of Hamta pass. This will take atleast 5 hours”. Exclaimed Suneel.

 

We came across a sandy lake and couldn’t resist snapping a group shot before walking further. We saw lot of foreigners on our way and I was awestruck when an Italian told me that he has trekked to Hamta pass all the way from Ladakh.

Italians are well known for their climbing abilities. Reinhold Messner was the first Italian and in the world to summit all the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountains above 8000 metres) without supplemental oxygen.

We were climbing amidst loose rocks and were directly exposed to landslide at any time. My worst fears were confirmed when we heard rocks rolling down the neighbouring mountains. I was chanting prayers within myself to reach the campsite safely.

I felt the altitude gain and turned around to see how much altitude we have gained. Indeed we gained by more than 2000 feet and I was astonished to see the back-drop of the mighty Himalayas.  For a second my breath was arrested and I felt the altitude gain. Took a deep breath and I was alright. We came across a huge ice patch. The rani river drains mysteriously at this place. We were elated on seeing ice.

I asked Suneel in Tamil “ Yow Eppo ya hamta pass varum” and he was confused :P.

This is it (Suneel).

Guys I have a surprise for you (me).

I took out the proud Indian flag. Everyone was terribly excited.

We were at the centre point of Hamta Pass (14,500 feet.)

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy. We were rejoicing over our victory.

We finally did it. Exclaimed Thilak & Ratz. Dhana and Ganga’s happiness knew no bounds.

 So is mine: D.

After a few minutes of celebrations the clouds were fast approaching. Suneel warned that we descent quickly so as to avoid altitude sickness. The descent was extremely steep and it was not what I expected. It was almost a descent of 90 vertical degrees and the most steepest I have ever encountered in my trekking experiences. Ganga & Ratz joined Suneel while Thilak & I swept the team while Dhana was descending in between. The campsite was visible from 13,000 feet. Ganga & Ratz marched towards the campsite while Suneel was waiting patiently for we three to descend. I was the last to reach the campsite as it took me hours together to descend the steep trail. Hot tea welcomed us at the campsite.     

Day 4 – Siagoru to Chatru

Siagoru was the coldest part of our trek. I woke up half past midnight to check the time. The weather temp recorded in my mobile was 2°C. I was bit uncomfortable as I am not a big fan of cold weather. I woke up with a itching pain on my right foot. My right foot’s thumb nail completely clotted and I could in no way wear the shoes. Slowly I limped out of the tent and I was completely surrounded by snow capped mountains. My happiness knew no bounds. Completely forgot all the pain and started shooting as many pictures as possible. We could see many colourful tents which resembled a battle field. Some trekking groups reached the campsite after us. After breakfast Suneel gave a small briefing. I was elated on knowing that I can avoid wearing the shoes today and switch on to my slippers.

The trek started with a long walk first. Suneel, ratz, ganga & Dhana lead the team while me & Thilak were sweeping the trail. We were so busy in shooting pictures all the way that we were far behind from our team. I couldn’t even think of leaving siagoru as the mighty mountains were displaying enough courage to protect us from snowfalls. We walked fast to get in touch with our mates.

On the way I met my German Friend “Martin” whom I met daily in our trail. I was completely happy and I felt the pride when he told me “Your country’s Geography is awesome dude. This place looks more beautiful than the Alps”.  Martin came on a long holiday to India with his wife. He travelled to Varanasi, Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh and Amritsar before coming to Manali for the trek. Took a snap with him before waving him goodbye.

We were slowly descending down the hills. After crossing through narrow ridges we could spot chatru from a distance. The roads far down below resembled the shape of a serpent. I was quite relieved to see human habitation after a gap of almost 4 days. We descended, descended, descended and finally reached chatru after a long walk of almost 3.5 hours. Ganga puked in-between due to lack of sleep in the previous night’s cold temperature.

We reached chatru by lunch. Two small eateries were and a resting place for travelers welcomed us. It was time for munish (the pony care-taker) to leave for his village along with his ponies. We took a snap with him and bid him adieu.

While bidding him adieu my mind was flashing with the rat race which we encounter in our daily lives. We slog for hours together daily in our workplaces but still we are not satisfied with the fat pay cheques while people at the other end of the country depend on trekkers for their livelihood.        

“Guys this is Sanjay” who was introduced to us by Suneel. His vehicle was ready to drive us to Chandratal. After 4 hours of an awesome drive through the Lahaul & Spiti valley we reached the campsite of Chandratal.

The campsite was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We put up our tents amidst the lush green meadows. Mount CB13 was clearly visible from our campsite. While the others were busy in erecting the tents I & ratz went for a small acclimatization walk.

Day 5 – Chandratal (Heaven in earth)

After a quick round of hot tea we were ready to drive to Chandratal which was around half an hour drive from our camp site. Sanjay parked the car near the foot of the hill.

After a walk of around 15 minutes the beautiful Chandratal Lake emerged before us.

My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s how we felt on seeing the lake.

A crystal clear lake at an altitude of 14,500 feet ? I just couldn’t believe myself.

The entire area was plagued by dead silence. I started getting mild headache due to its serenity. Unable to bear the pin drop silence years of hustle bustle life in the cities I quickly broke the silence by having a quiet word with Suneel without disturbing the others. I touched the waters with an apprehension that it could be freezing cold but to my pleasant surprise the lake was warm. We stayed there for around half an hour. 

I & Thilak were terribly happy as the entire agenda went off very well. We trekked through the finest of the fine weather. We went through many blogs on this (Hamta pass) route and there were lot of people who recounted that hamta pass is well known for its heavy snow but the weather gods were kind to us to ensure that we don’t fight the heavy rains & snows. Our happiness knew no bounds. We drove back to campsite and winded up the tents to leave Manali.

The drive to Manali (around 92kms from Chandratal) was breathtaking and mindblowing. Literally there were no roads and we had to drive through a single lane jeep trail. Any vehicle coming in the opposite direction has to leave way for the other in such a way that neither of them avoids skating down the hill with their vehicles. :P

I sat in the front seat and was thoroughly enjoying the drive along the Lahaul & Spiti Valley. I cursed at myself for not getting my car’s audio cd. The backdrop perfectly resembled the landscape that appears in Aradhana’s “Mere Sapno Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu” Song J. 

After 3 hours of grueling off road drive and much to our relief we started on the road drive. We soon reached Rohtang Pass and the climate was so damn pleasant. Much of my friends told me that the climate at Rohtang Pass is always near 0 degree but to my surprise the climate was so good. The temperature in my mobile showed it at 14. We visited a small temple at Rohtang Pass and then hopped on in the car to reach the final destination.

The roads were well maintained by the Border Roads Organization. The signboards such as “After Whisky driving risky, Be gentle on my curves, In fact we don’t own the roads” kept us entertaining until we reached Manali.

Day 6 (Back to Manali):

After a thorough undisturbed sleep for almost 12 hours we shopped for hours together in the main market, ate momo’s to our hearts content and bought small gifts to our families and to our trek leader Suneel who guided us safely back to Manali.

As the bus was riding down the hill station I slowly waved goodbye at the snow capped mountains and promised her that I will be back in 2014 to meet her at Stok Kangri before pulling down the window seat curtain.