My Travelogues - Day 3

26 Dec, 2009

5:00 AM: A call from Chetan wakes up the three musketeers. And even though it was extremely difficult to make our first moves outside the quilt ( I wonder why we get the best sleep in the world when we are woken up once and then cuddle back into the quilt), we still managed to get ready in time (obviously since none of us dared to take bath today) and made our way out of the hotel by 6PM.

It was still dark outside. No sign of sun yet. We checked out with the hotel staff if we could get anything to eat, but we were left dissapointed as the mess would only open as per the scheduled time of 7PM. Since, we did not want to compromise on our trip to Rohtang, we started the drive up the mountains. The sky was beginning to turn grey and it cast a certain mysterious spell on the icy mountains above.

The roads were narrow now, the most infact on the journey so far. One mistake or a minor lack of concentration and the car can go spiralling down the valley.

7:00AM: We stop to buy some special suits meant to help us survive on the mountains above full of snow. It was weird to wear them initially since we had no idea how cold it would be up there. The suits covered us from head to toe, the troubling part being that they had absolutely no opening. And so the job of relieving ourselves from the natural pressure became a strenuous exercise in itself. There were some lucky souls though who still managed to do that without dropping off their suits. Some talent, I must admit.

We pick our suits and head up again. Within 15 minutes, we stop again for the breakfast. Eating hot egg omlette in such suits and those long snow boots was certainly one of its kind experience. Outside, it was now windy as well besides the cold. I was slowly realizing the worth of these as I was feeling considerably warm inside. This place was Kothi. The news from Kothi is that it is very good snow up there but the disappointing part is we might not be able to go upto te Rohtang. Not only the road is covered with snow, it has also become extremely slippery to allow any kind of vehicular movement. Not willing to give up on our excitement yet, with our stomachs full, we began the ascent again.

8:15AM: We reach a site 30 kms before Rohtang Pass. Its all snow and much more can be seen at the mountians upwards from the point from where we are all standing now. This place is 7980m above sea level. Phew, never had imagined that I would come this far. It has become much brighter now compared to when we started. However, there is no sun yet. The sky is clear and so the sunrise would happen soon and would be clear as well. The otherwise green pine trees are also full of snow.

The police officer tells us that our car cannot go beyond the point and we would have to board the local jeep whose tyres have been wrapped with steel chains all around so as to prevent the vehicle from slipping because of the snow. Some bargaining later, we board the jeep to go to even higher altitude.

9:15AM: We reach Gulaba. The temperature is 0 deg C, it is very windy and surprisingly no sun yet. The road till gulaba was extremely narrow with snowy mountains on one side and deepest valley ever seen on the other. At some sharp turns, we could clearly feel the tyres slipping away only to get back on the road in time.

With snow in front of us, our excitement levels reached its zenith. We started walking. Nitin for some reason has found glory in slipping and is doing so very often now. Mind you, it is extremely risky to do that here. I was wondering, who brought him here. Anyways, the first thing that I did after reaching here was to thanks God for the suits which we were wearing. Although they made us look like complete astronauts, yet they were managing pretty well in keeping us a little protected from the cold, strong winds.

As the sun began to emerge from somewhere within the mountains, the colour orange on white snowy mountains felt so pure, so beautiful. I have not seen heaven but may be this is what it is supposed to look like. This was nothing short of a God's miracle and only he is powerful enough to create a moment like this. Between the two mountain peaks, out came the sun bringing life to the entire place. We spent two hours there, playing with snow, a bit of trekking, and lots of poses. Yes, lots of poses but no pictures. And that is so because Praveen forgot the charger in Delhi, Shweta's camera didn't charge enough through the night (since there was hardly power at the hotel) and Chetan forgot the camera cells in the car itself.

I remember from my marketing class, a question was once posed to us, " Who is the biggest competitor to Sony cameras?". The answer is neither canon, nor kodak. The correct answer is a mobile phone. How powerful can this answer be was only realized by me today. So, out came our mobile phones, which also needed some immendiate charging but we started clicking anyways. All was going well, we were gearing up to return to the base when as much as Rs. 130 slipped out of Shweta's hand. As people shouted, I turned immediately, looked back and I could see a 100 Rs note flying freely in the air (swinging like a sinusoidal wave) and down towards the valley. One amongst many localites present there ran behind it doing a Hrithik Roshan from Krishh and managed to fetch back Rs.110. And the reason why money had to come out was because Shikha tried out a daredevil stunt by fitting herself inside a tyre and diving down from a certain height. Gosh, this was risky as well because the tyre is tied to a rope and as you go down, you go down only till the lenght of the rope. And when it stops, it gives a sudden jerk, powerful enough to throw you out of the tyre and make you fly down the valley. If you do not hold on to the tyre strongly with both hands, only God can save you.

There was in fact more to thank God. While we were going down, our jeep got stuck at a turning. The driver gave a full raise, but the tyres continued to rotate on their axis only and did not move ahead. Praveen suddenly jumped out of the jeep and started running ahead. Sensing something wrong, I too started to unbolt the front door. At this the driver shouted back and instructed not to move because it would make the jeep lighter and increase the risk of slipping. As the driver continued to give raise, all of us tried to find the humour in going down. Unsuccessful, the tension began to mount with every second now. Suddenly, I found that instead of going ahead or backwards, the jeep was sliding sideways. I gave a quick glance to my left, it was a deep valley, so deep that if we do go down, it would take at least two days for someone to locate us. Suddenly, I saw Praveen coming towards us and with him were two more men, probably the local people. This brought a certain relief to a few tense moments.These localites then helped put the jeep back on track. The scariest few minutes of my life had just past away.

We reunite with our driver and begin the downwards journey towards our next destination for the day, solang Valley.

I do not know why, but my i-pod has just switched on " We shall overcome, we shall overcome, hum honge kamyab..ek din...mann mein hai vishwas, poora hai vishwas, hum honge kaamyab ek din". Enjoy!

My Travelogues - Day 2

25 Dec, 2009
Merry X-MAS

And what a Christmas all of us were having. It was freezing cold outside and all six of us were inside the car with everyone under the quilt. Chetan was on the front seat accompanying the driver, Praveen and Shweta sleeping in the back seat and Shikha, Nitin and I in the middle seat fighting for the extra piece of quilt. By the early hours of the 25th morning, we had begun our ascent up into the Himalayas. There was no snow yet but the mountains were beginning to look heavenly. At this point, Chetan began to feel a bit nauseating and out came my most trusted remedy, “Hey, have this avomine tablet and trust me it would not only stop your vomiting but it also does not have any side effects”. I am still figuring out what made this statement legendary to be repeated time and again by everyone with a teasing punch added in the end. I on the other hand was just ensuring a vomit free journey for all.

8AM: We make a stopover at Mayur Hotel, some 10Kms from Bilaspur. Manali is still 148Kms away from this place and from now onwards we only get the mountainous terrain comprising of the usual turns, twists and wonderful scenery with mountains on one side and the river on the other. The temperature is 3 degree C and there are strong winds blowing. We order omelettes and while we were settling in for a cosy breakfast, Nitin packs a punch, “You know guys, I have a strong feeling that this hotel is fake. It says it is an AC hotel, but even in extreme summer conditions, I doubt if they would ever be using an AC”. There was no reaction from anyone except the usual statement made by me crediting his talent, “Isko yahan pe laya kaun hai yaar”.

As we were about to leave, Shikha announces that she has lost her cap and begins a fight with Chetan. Lancercoolgang conducts a search operation, locates one cap but the satisfaction on Shikha’s face was only temporary as this was just one amongst many caps lost. Her favourite was still missing. We resign to the fact that it must be inside the car somewhere and hope to find it once we reach our destination. With our driver completing some of his lost sleep, we begin the journey again.

From here one, one more companion joined us in our exciting journey – the river Beas. Our driver also pointed out that the river would continue to accompany is till Manali and even beyond. The road ahead was smooth, there was some fog but much less than what we had expected given the extreme winter conditions. The speed of our car came down from 100kmph to about 50-60kmph now. Though a little slow, we were anyways heading up the mountains. Everyone was beginning to show some signs of being tired, the long journey was beginning to take its toll, yet the prospect of seeing snow kept everyone’s spirits alive.

12:15PM: We halt at a road side dhaba. This place is around 69Kms before Manali. Everyone steps down the stairs to reach the river side. Living in Delhi, cannot imagine that water can also be so pure, clean and transparent. River Beas was flowing in its full glory and it separated us from the tall mountains on the other side. There was not much snow yet, no sun either. The weather was cloudy and very windy. We struck some conventional and some unconventional poses for Chetan as he donned the hat of being the official photographer of the trip. Sometimes you pay a heavy price for even carrying the camera. We order maggi and it vanished even before it arrived.

Mountains on one side, river on the other, 6 friends and a plate of maggi – Ah! What a life – that is our Maggi story.

2:15PM: We reach Manali and check into our Hotel. Its called Hotel Beas and is situated right on the river beas. We can see the river from the windows of our room and it makes a gushing sound as it flows in full speed and might. If you close the curtains of the room, the sound is so loud that it appears as if it is raining outside. So, Chetan and Shikha in one room, Shweta gets the luxury of having one complete room all by herself and the three of us are therefore left with no other option but to share one room. By this time, the Maggi had completely digested and we felt a strong need to fill our stomachs once again. A quick shower for everyone and we headed out for much needed lunch.

I was still wondering why anyone would need to take a bath in this cold weather. If I can recall it was Praveen who initiated a discussion on taking bath and he went ahead and had one. I guess the rest of us had a bath only to prove that we are not left behind either and can also bare all in this chilling weather. From inside, none of us really wanted to try bathing in such weather. Chetan and Shikha were the only intelligent people not to take the risk. Cheers to them.

4:30PM: Lunch at Mt. View restaurant, Chinese food. I never like it that much, was much more in favour of Italian, but nonetheless ate whatever was ordered by the group. We just did a little stroll at the mall area but since everyone was so tired, we all decided against going any further and headed back to the hotel.

8:30PM: Candle light was a perfect thing to happen at the hotel. It was pitch dark outside and the moon was shining brightly up in the sky. I remember someone loved looking at the moon while in college. How much I wish for that person to be here with me today and indulge in a romantic candle light dinner under the moon. WOW, lovely. Fortunately the food was good as well with dal makhani, paneer and custard in the end. A small walk on the dark road post dinner, hand in hand was something that just remained a fantasy for me. I guess something needs to be left to do in the next trip as well.

Tomorrow, we plan to go to Rohtang Pass and Solan Valley and hence needed to get up really early in the morning so as to avoid the peak traffic time. With no energy to do anything else, we crashed into our beds. Good night!

My i-pod goes romantic, “na hai ye paana, na khona hi hai....tera na hona, jaane kyun hona hi hai.....tum se hi din hota hai, surmayi raat aati hai....tum se hi, tum se hi”

My Travelogues - Part I

Just Another Journey
24 Dec, 2009

6PM: With my backpack ready, I boarded the cycle rickshaw for Chetan’s home. As I reached, I realised that Chetan has yet not arrived from work and obviously there is no news of Praveen either, going absolutely against what was decided. Shweta and Nitin were calling more frequently now as the time passes by. And I am feeling the heat because I was the one who had asked them to be ready early in the evening so as to avoid a lot of late night drive.

8PM: Still no news of the two guys and it seems that Shikha had not even packed yet. I was only wondering how much delay before we start.

I struggled to see India/Srilanka match in between Aunty’s channel hopping from one serial to another. Glad to see her back in full fitness post the operation.

Chetan just called, says he is at Britannia Chowk.

8:30PM: Chetan arrives and we call the driver, the guy who is supposed to drive all night and ensure our safe arrival in the city of Manali. The driver says he is stuck in Gurgaon, which means further delay from our or rather my scheduled time of departure. I watch some more television, surf the internet for some time, drink another cold drink with no fizz and also eat dinner. Now this last part was very disappointing because one reason why we (I mean I) wanted to start early was to stop at Murthal and have dinner there. But now with stomach full, chances of stopping at Murthal are slim.

Still no news of Praveen.

9:45PM: Praveen finally arrives but not before the drama straight out of a Bollywood teen romantic movies.
“Come out and receive me”, Praveen calls and instructs Chetan.
“I will go and get him”, I volunteered to face the suspicious eyes of big brother and two cute kids. “Yes bhaiya, we will have dinner, spend the night at Chetan’s place and set sail in the early hours of the morning only”, we are good at bluffing, after all we are lancercoolgang.

10:00PM: Praveen, Chetan, Shikha and I board our innova car and thus began the journey. Praveen still cannot believe that we are actually going to Manali and more so we are going together. We stop to buy some drinks and head towards Rohini to pick up Nitin and Shweta.
More drama was waiting to unfold as we reach Shweta’s place. Though Nitin arrived smoothly, we waited for some half n hour outside Shweta’s home, but no sign of her. First to come was Shweta’s brother and the only question he asked was, “where is Harshita?’. Now, I do not remember who but someone said she was not even supposed to come. Shocked! he said that Shweta told her that even she was going. And then he left.

We waited more. No sign of Shweta still. As the suspense was not beginning to end, Chetan said, “May be she is not coming now”. I was still hopeful though, lancercoolgang cannot be jinxed. I mean, this is our first trip together and it had to go on by hook or by crook. Even if we have to kidnap Shweta, we would still do it.

Finally I see Shweta coming down the stairs with her entire family and everyone was carrying at least one bag. I was wondering if she plans to return with us or not. As soon as she hit the last step, she gave out an expression of shock, something which we were least expecting. “Where the hell is Harshita?” The only thought that crossed our mind was she too had bluffed about the presence of another girl on the trip and so like true lancercoolgang, we played along. Chetan was obviously our best bet to play such bouncers.

“Oh actually Uncle! Harshita has to urgently attend one of the official conference in Bangalore and unfortunately her boss cancelled her vacation because of which she could not make this trip.”

No one noticed but I was laughing my heart out and with Praveen by my side, we were only wondering when we would start.

11:00PM: All izz well. Truly, I believe in it all the more now. With everything settled in, we finally started the long journey towards Manali. We had to drive the entire night and then half of the day tomorrow to reach Manali. The route was
Delhi – Murthal – Karnal – Bilaspur – Kullu – Manali

11:45PM: Our first stop – Murthal. Few pictures by the car, one parantha each and one ice cream for Shweta, the loo session, tea for the driver and we begin again. Ready for the non-stop drive through the wonderful night. The moon was out in full glory, stars were shining brightly, smooth road ahead, one car, six friends – what a life.

My i-pod sings along, " Yaaron, dosti badi hi haseen hai, ye na ho to kya fir ye zindagi hai"

Look down your window - What does it say?

As I look down from the window

I see the cars passing by
But don’t feel like driving ‘em

I see the bikes zooming around
Am in no mood to zipping away

I see people running for work
I remember a trip with the friends

I see girls late for the exam
How i wish I had given none in my life

Show me something new...O my eyes
And i close them
I open and look down from the window again

I see the drops of rain
And I want to get wet

I see the kids playing with the ball
And I want to join them

There is no past, no future and only the present now
And I ..........
have only the smiles

Anushree joining i-dream

Have known Anushree since several years but never have had the chance to interact with and ofcourse work with her ever.I have always admired for one thing though - for chasing her dreams. I remember distinctly, she had mentioned long time back about her passion for flying and becoming a pilot. And through all the ups and downs, she did manage to reach where she wanted to. Fantastic!

But thanks to recession and turmoil in the airline industry, she had nothing much to do once she came back from US post her training and therefore willingly joined i-dream. Most start-ups fail to rise up just because they lack a quality team. I must therefore thank my stars that in Anushree, I got a team member who is smart, intelligent and most importantly sharp in dealing with people and situations. If nothing else, she did give me the confidence that I can now take i-dream to the next level. Ofcourse we have miles to go, but such a start has been possible only because I had Anushree in my team.

Even though I would want her to be a part of my team forever, yet I wish that she gets back to where she belongs to sooner. Because even then she would continue to inspire me that dreams do become a reality and all you need to do is dream.

My guitar has taken a backseat these days, all thanks to a terrible injury on my fingers. While shifting some heavy wooden stuff within our new home, I lost the balance and unfortunately it fell on my right hand. However, my i-pod is giving me good company as it sings along, " Aasman ke paar shayad aur koi aasmaan hoga....". Enjoy!