The Himalayas conspired ....

Home cooked comfort food , lots of sleep and my own comfortable bed with a back support mattress is the ulterior form of luxury i am relishing these days. For the last few days since i returned from the most crazy trip i ever had. Yesterday was the first day when i didn't feel sleepy during the daytime.

I realized i am loving my home all the more after this exhausting detour i took to confirm my sane state of mind.I also realized that i am the mad variety trying to sound saner....and yet i like it when my folks call me mad.This mad woman felt really bad when she had to leave the expedition halfway for someone else's reasons  , found difficult to calm down her spirits and yet knew that when the superior powers conspire we just have to take a back seat.

I was talking about coming home.

Yes, i loved and relished the adventure and loving my home even more now. A mad mad mind trying to sound saner and calmer.... You wouldn't believe i was feeling equally at home in the Himalayas too , till the treeline lasted at around 11000 ft. After that it was a different story . A different planet it looked like....it was magnanimously beautiful but i didn't feel at home. The monochrome of grey and brown was blinding in it's vastness and still there was a feeling of emptiness .

 I felt enamored by  this emptiness experienced in a stone age like civilization where one could see a whole lot of naturally carved stone figurines as if they are waiting for you to come . As if they would come alive any moment and have a chit chat with you , or at least give a glimpse of what they actually are.

As if a story is about to unfold in the silence of a dark theater ...

All of these theatrical appearances were great distractions for a cyclist . A cyclist has to focus on the road , on the uphill and one the rhythm . This rhythm and pace of cycling are a concern if you are a novice like me. I enjoyed cycling in the mountains , although it was tough for a first timer . I liked the way i could cycle long distances in the mountains and still feel fresh most of the days . Altitude sickness took it's toll later on but in the lap of such untouched unspoiled nature it doesn't take long before you feel refreshed again. A nature lover like me was more and more enthralled by the beauty that was waiting for me.

It was awe inspiring to see life springing out in the most harsh conditions , in the most unlikely surfaces. I couldn't stop myself from getting distracted in many places , not worrying about getting late and loosing my rhythm i stopped by many flowers to say hello ...

 A spore born in the lap of sunny florets 
is blown away by chilly winds
to be thrown into the face of intemperate stone
into the deep crevices of weathered rocks
puckered , tunneled , cracked and torn !!!

The spore chooses a niche
and dissolves the hard interiors of the rock
bit by bit , one after another molecule
and then it extends an appendage
to capture the world !!!

It grows and grows into the labyrinths
of the abrasive and scratchy, rocky mountains
takes some time underground , silently
to collect the resources to evoke an inner eye
"inner growth" !!!

And then comes the time to open a window
peep out and say hello to the wind
take the showers and sunshine
sprout the heads ... many heads
and splash the colors !!!

It flourishes , grows out into leaves
and then flowers and then makes more spores
bursting with life , to conquer the world
Then it adorns the window of it's own sweet home
and gets ready to say hello to me when i pass by !!!

I wonder how much time the spore took
inside the dark labyrinthus crevices of the rock
to grow into such a vibrant composition
to sing such a lovely song
to wave such a lively hello for me !!!

More stories of the Himalayas to follow and more smiles to be shared. 

Thank you all who wished me good luck for the expedition.

Be well !!!