Day-4: Jogini Falls

May 7, 2009

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree" - Joyce Kilmer

pine trees are lovely when they are putting forth new

leaves. it is the freshest, brightest, happiest color. like one large

flower, only prettier.

the walk was lovely. we took the better part of the day,

lingering at places that caught our fancy - the village itself,

the schoolhouse,

the wildflowers and roses growing abundantly everywhere,

the sudden streams, the crisp green of the apple orchards,

the paint-box beauty of the himalaya cafe,

pine cones carpeting the wood, other walkers like us

with no agenda, but the walk itself...

To come upon wildflowers as one walks - such a blessing.

On the way up. A prayer got answered here.

A grassy knoll and a brook nearby, laughing secrets skipping by. solace to weary souls and feet, hope renewed and breath steadied.

this place reminded me of the one-log bridge over the brook flowing through my grandfather's small rubber plantation.

Day-3: Marhi and Solang Valley

May 6, 2009

my first encounter with snow. we did not get along.

Marhi in itself should have been quite nice, but too many people per square inch for the snow to remain white for long. the long long line of cars snaking for kilometers down the way did not add to the view. to make matters worse, there were too many newly-weds being noxiously romantic all over the place. that is enough to turn anyone's stomach.

way too many people and too many cars.

by the time we got to the place, we were ravenous. we shared the most expensive and definitely the most delicious bowl of maggi there. the scalding hot coffee seemed to make no difference at all. the cold still found all sorts of openings to creep through.

being stuck in a traffic jam was never this enjoyable. only downside was the cars emptying for the occupants to make generous contributions of uric acid to the local soil. there was a horse grazing on this spot. a nice looking white and grey beast.

Solang Valley.

the ski slope was devoid of snow, this being summer, but it was still terribly cold. we found this under-construction log cabin that still smelled nice woody smells and had a roof-edging in wooden wind chimes that rang at every gust.

back

everybody who thought i was dead - i am not. very much alive and kicking everyone in sight.

i miss the mountains. never mind the fact that when i was in them, my toes were threatening to freeze altogether off my poor hypothyroidic feet, and i had to shroud my glorious (ok, ok, to me at least) figure under all the pieces of clothing that i possessed. most of us would have given anything for pre-warmed toilet seats - even waiting with bated breath (and other bated things, besides) to be the last in line to answer Ma Nature's incessant and totally ill-timed calls. i have marked my trail across some of the most beauteous spots across the place in true wild-child tradition. some poor animal is going to be very very confused.

she-who-refuses-to-divulge-her-age made one interesting discovery - if one tinkles in fresh snow, it does not leave a tell-tale stain! interesting addition to the sum total of human knowledge. now i dont know for certain if the tinkle leaves a similar trail of non-odour and non-taste. i did not possess the moral courage to ask her if she had subjected the insulted snow to test on those counts too, for fear of getting an answer that might make living in the same room difficult.

of course i did other things too, besides. too lazy to type right now.