Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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 !!!

17 comments:

  1. Wow ! Just amazing !

    "....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 !!!...."

    I think it was ready and waiting, to burst forth. The vibrations of the road must have rung a bell....

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  2. Thank you Suranga !!!
    I believe in the universal soul , this place was the best way to connect with the inner self too.

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  3. You have written your experiences so beautifully :) Why did you have to quit the expedition midway??

    I agree when you say "The monochrome of grey and brown was blinding in it's vastness and still there was a feeling of emptiness" that's exactly how I feel after a few days out in the mountains :)

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  4. This post is brilliant - I know the Himalayas have truly conspired to bring this to the fore..Loving it, Sangeeta.

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  5. :) @ "my own comfortable bed with a back support mattress"

    The terrain up there sure is desolate as I can gather from your pictures. Nature is exposed as destructive and violent. It is almost as if the thin veneer of nature as beautiful and nurturing is shorn off. If we are not able to recognize the unforgiving, even cruel aspect of nature, we wouldn't be able to appreciate life's resilience.

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  6. @ Sakshi ...quitting the expedition was conspired by the mountains :) I loved it while i was there.

    @ Corinne ...yes, the himalayas conspired multi folds ..those are fold mountains :)

    @ Amrita...So well said !
    Creation and destruction both go hand in hand.

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  7. Wow! Beautiful post. So agree abt the mountains!
    And kudos to u all! Waiting for more Himalayan tales :)

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  8. so beautifulllllllll mujhe bhi jana hai ...

    I love mountains I ma at home up there any Mauka i get I want to go there always ...

    Bikram's

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  9. Great.........."It was awe inspiring to see life springing out in the most harsh conditions , in the most unlikely surfaces."...........its a lesson we all shud learn from nature...... Its a great post Sangeeta, from the core of yr heart..:)

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  10. @ Swaram...Loved your stories about leh and kargill too :)

    @ Bikram...Yes it's a place worth vising at least once and i am sure you would want to go there again n again.

    @ Tapati...Nature does that to us . The place was really awe inspiring.

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  11. If the controversy is as beautiful as these pics, I wont mind getting into it :-D..loved the spirit here and lovely lines..I am glad you had a nice time..hugs and smiles

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  12. love the poem ,the Rock Bouquet,the azure skies ,the moonscape.
    You made an epic journey,and you inspire us to do the same.
    What made you embark ? The mundane stuff -from thought to conception to actual doing ?

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  13. Thanks Varsha...
    It is tough for me to pinpoint a reason to go for this , but yes i am a nature lover and that was magnetic pull i guess :)
    Also , i was already looking for a reason to revive my fit days.

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  14. Dear Sangeeta
    Very nice posting ...Putting the signature photo of ladakh is a great choice indeed...Your great effort to make this trip is rewarded.
    The poem is very nice but unfortunately I dont understand modern poetry.
    Have a great week ahead

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  15. Dear Ushnish...

    I know you and i know not understanding is better understanding sometimes:)

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  16. beautiful post Sangeeta. This is a kind of post I love reading over and over again. it takes me somewhere. I'm not the one for cooking.

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  17. Thanks Devasena...i am glad you liked this.

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