My Little Log Book

 When the Mountain Calls, It Calls   Prelude   I had been secretly (and not so secretly) yearning for a Himalayan trek for years. The information I got was either too much (bombarded with ads) or too sketchy (never got into a detailed conversation with people who did it). So when some friends registered for the Goecha La trek, I tagged along (literally). I registered just a month and a half before the trek. In the briefing a month before the trek we were given a picture scary enough to freeze the souls of first time Himalayan  trekkers, with never heard of terms like AMS, HAPE, HACE, etc., of experienced trekkers not making it, of 4 nights in sub zero temperature, a strict criteria to fulfill the fitness requirement.  Goechala Trekking - At 53 Years - Age is SO NOT a Number! What started for me was a fitness regime that would have made any NCC cadet proud. Cardio, weights, jogging with weights, jogging on incline, backpack and incline, with yoga thro...

Here are my Top 5 things to do in the morning for a healthy, happy and fit day. A Black Kite from the window 1. Listen to songs of nature. If you strain your ears in the morning, you will catch the tailorbird, babbler, sparrow, or drongo conversing, if you are lucky. Else there is the pigeon mynah or crow. A few minutes of listening to the titter and tatter sets a tranquil mood for the day. There are are other sounds of nature to catch too like the fall of leaves, rustle of wind or if you are lucky and near the coast, the breaking of the waves. So go ahead and find your songs of nature around you. 2. Sit quietly and reflect. Even a few minutes of absolute solitude helps set the tone for the day as one reaches out to one's core. It helps one figure out what is essential in life and what is not. 3. Observe a creature. This activity again connects us to other beings other than humans. Whether  it is an early bird looking for a worm or a bee looking for honey, a wasp going about buildi...

  Banaste Dakila Gaja,  Barasa Ke Thare Asichi Raja, Asichi Raja lo Gheni Nua Saja Baja... so the old Odia folksong on Raja goes. The Raja festival is upon us. We know it and celebrate it as three days of fun, joy, celebrations, new clothes, home cooked pitha, preceded by days of shopping for new clothes and ingredients. The Raja festival  is the day of the year when the earth weeps tears of joy as its dry soil is drenched with the first monsoon rains.  It is during the time of Mithuna Sankranti, which is when the first rains of monsoon strike Odisha. There is also an allusion to the menstrual cycle of young girls of age in the festivities that occur during Raja. While girls have their periods every month, Mother Earth has hers every year. The festival is a tribute to mother Earth and she is given respite these days and not allowed to carry any burden. The traditional Odia family jobs of "kata", bata", "randha", "badha", "boha bahi" are spar...

Day 3 On our third day at Masai Mara, we woke up  to see two Hippos fighting, out of the water and a baby Hippo amongst them. The Hippos loved the water so much it was difficult to see them out of it. They are called "jalahasti" in Odia (translated to water elephants) for a reason, I guess.  Dik Diks (little deers) roamed around the camp leaving their traces in between and marking their territory! The robins, starlings and the swallows accompanied us as usual at breakfast. The chef Julius at the camp was a genius and provided us with amazingly well prepped meals every time. That required some commitment since we were the only guests at the resort as it was the middle of the week of an extremely lean rainy season. The rains ensured that the grass was long, which hindered game viewing. Cheetahs were harder to spot this time of the year. The staff wished us luck in spotting the elusive Rhinos and Cheetahs as we started on the third day of the drive.  The drive took us to the...

We have just returned from a Masai Mara trip.  We reached Nairobi from Mumbai in the early hours of the morning. From there we went straight to the Wilson airport to catch a Safarilink flight to the depths of the Mara. Safarilink operates many flights to and from Nairobi to various airstrips in the Masai Mara Reserve Forest region. We were taken to the Mushiara airstrip from where the vehicle from our resort and our guide for the next few days were waiting for us.  The little plane gave us our first glimpse of the vast Masai Mara reserve. There was an incredible vastness with rivers looking like little channels interspersing the landscape, the mountain ranges bordering the huge stretches of savanna, herds of buffaloes, cows, elephants, zebras looking like toys, only the movement revealing them as wild creatures of the area.  The vehicle waiting for us was the hardy Land Cruiser which we came to realise was exactly suitable for the wild terrain. The open sided vehicle prov...