feel nothing experience everything

Siddaiah Road, Bangalore

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:34:02 GMT

Horn Experts: Siddaiah Road, Bangalore.

Old parts, new parts, spare parts and scrap, that is what you will find on Siddaiah Road in Bangalore; a one-stop place if you own a lorry, truck or tractor and need anything from leaf springs, radiators, horns to gears and transmissions. I had gone by this road some time earlier in the morning and had found all the shops closed and hence this shoot was scheduled in the evening. It rained a bit before we started but thankfully the sun came out after that. We started the walk from the Double Road side and turned back from Lalbagh road walking on the other side of the road; we did try to get some coffee/tea at MTR but it was too busy and we had them at one of the smaller shops on Siddaiah Road itself. The people themselves were friendly and inquisitive with the usual questions on why we were taking photos; only a few of them were busy while most seemed to be waiting for customers, chit-chatting with their friends or catching up on the news. The shoot ended with some discussion on film and cameras(since this was a film only shoot :).

This is also my first self developed roll of film. The film is Arista Premium 400 and was developed in Rodinal for 1hr with 30s initial agitation and 30s agitation after half an hour.

Mayo Hall is one of the older standing buildings in Bangalore named after the fourth Viceroy of India, Lord Mayo. It now houses a few offices of the BBMP but has served many purposes along the way, from housing courts to Rent Control offices. We had been there one early morning before any of the daily activities had started and found it quite calm in spite of being at a busy intersection.

Back to Rangdum

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:50:15 GMT

View from the monastery: view from the Rangdum gompa of the sun lit mountains; Zanskar, India.

It was noon by the time we started from Padum, the sun was warm but that did not last for long as the sun disappeared between the clouds and the winds started getting cold; to add to that we were hungry. We hurried and finally got to our lunch spot just before PensiLa at 3:30pm; we had stopped here on the way to Padum earlier for lunch and had asked what they do in the winter, "eat, drink, sleep, and sometimes clear the snow off the roof" had been their reply. The climb up PensiLa was cold but the view of the Drang-Drung glacier was again good.

We stopped by at the Rangdum gompa, built on a small outgrowth in the valley. We walked around every nook and corner; the monk seemed to be waiting for that before he asked us if we wanted to see the prayer hall. The views from the gompa were great as the sun started to set and lit up the sky, the clouds and the mountains beautifully. As we set off towards the village of Rangdum, the clouds cleared for a bit giving us a peek of the Nun-Kun peaks. At the village itself we found our way to the J&K guest house, it is frugal but serves its purpose of providing a warm night.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Around Padum

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:45:18 GMT

Zanskar: view from the Stongdey monastery of the Zanskar valley and river; Zanskar, India.

While having breakfast, a guy at the restaurant volunteered to take us around the gompas since he had some work there; but he was nowhere to be seen when it was time for us to start. We waited for a while ad then started towards Zangla. The road Zangla is completely tarred after which there was construction work going on towards extending the road. We took an off-track from here and ended up at the Nunnery near the village. A couple of kids showed us the main prayer hall and then an old lady took us around to another prayer hall which also served as the library while a class was being conducted outside amidst the trees. The old palace was also visible on the way back but we did not go there all the way, but enough to get a get view of the river, instead driving back to the Stongday monastery.

Perched on a hill - as most monasteries seem to - with a path leading up from the valley to the top is the Stongdey monastery, but now there is also a back road. A few kids were having milk in the courtyard while a prayer session was in progress in a small room by the side. We went around to get a view of the valley, with the river flowing below the mountains and the houses spread across the fields in a small village. On the way back down, one of the student monks came with us as a pillion as he needed to get to the village below.

Early morning the next day was the time we went to the Karsha monastery, the biggest in Zanskar. An old man was sitting in a corner and looking over the valley; another was making balls out of dough while chanting a prayer; three kids on one roof seem to be chit-chatting and another two were carrying a bucket of flour up the steps; could not see anyone else in the whole complex: either all of them were inside in prayer or all of them had gone somewhere out. The view of the valley is again great here; after relaxing for a bit it was time to get back to Padum.

We stayed at Hotel Ibex in Padum, run by Mr. Norbu. Padum is not connected to the electricity grid, instead electricity is provided to the whole town by a generator from 7pm to 11pm; the voltage is low but enough to charge batteries. Padum is right now connected by road only to Kargil but work is already under way on two roads to connect it to Nimu/Leh and Darcha(both of which are trekking routes now).

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

To the Zanskar valley : Part II

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:28:43 GMT

Zanskar valley: right after PensiLa, with a part of the Drang-Drung glacier visible in the background; on the way from Rangdum to Padum, Ladakh.

We went out of the house at 9am only to find the whole village empty, not one person visible anywhere. We waited for some time and then the lady of the house knocked on the door, pointed a sickle at us and asked us to get out; from her signs we understood that she had to go to the fields and had to lock up the house after we left. Collecting our luggage which had been stored in another room we were out after paying Rs.200/- for the warm night. After a breakfast of Maggi at the restaurant there, we were on the way to a short easy climb to PensiLa. Right after PensiLa is the Drang-Drung glacier; this is the largest glacier in this region but the massive scale of the glacier escapes the eye with the tall mountains surrounding it. The Stod(Doda) river which later becomes the Zanskar river originates from this glacier. It is almost a flat road after this and even becomes a tar road closer to Padum which we reach before sunset. We do take a break at the village of Atill closer to Padum, where we entertain and are entertained by a bunch of happy kids

Route: Rangdum-PensiLa-Abrang-Takkar-Ating-Sani-Padum

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

To the Zanskar valley : Part I

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:40:17 GMT

Green, Brown, Black, White: 4-color mountains; on the way to Rangdum, Jammu and Kashmir.

The first part of our journey to Padum in the Zanskar valley was from Kargil to Rangdum following the Suru river upstream.

Padum is right now connected to the rest of the world by only one road and it is ~245km from Kargil; and the only petrol bunk around is in Kargil which meant we needed to carry enough fuel to reach Padum and come back to Kargil. We had cans for 20lts of petrol and needed 20 more for the two bikes. Having breakfast at a small restaurant tucked in a small alley off the main road, we got talking to the owner who arranged for two 15lt vegetable oil cans for us. After giving the cans a rinse in petrol to get rid of the little oil left and filling about 11-12lts of petrol in each of the cans we were on our way with my bike carrying ~45lts of petrol in the cans with a full tank.

The ride the whole day is following the Suru river upstream with villages dotting the path; with each village having about a dozen houses surrounded by fields of barley and the time we are here is harvesting time; so everywhere along the way people are busy in the fields, preparing for the winter. It is cloudy but thankfully it does not rain and clears up late in the afternoon; with the clearing skies the lower mountains become much more visible but the 7000m+ twin peaks of Nun-Kun remain amidst the clouds. Later in the day the road turns into a dirt trail but this is still somehow better than pot-holed tar roads earlier. The major religion in the region also changes as we go further along: the mosque at Partachik is the last one of this road till we reach Padum and what you will see all along the way are prayer wheels, chortens and monasteries.

We had taken a break closer to Rangdum when there are a beautiful glow in the sky from the setting sun which was hidden behind a turn in the road. We walked back to the turn to realize that the sun was hidden behind a hillock, so we got on our bikes and rode back for more than a kilometer before we could experience the full view, and it was beautiful, with the sun disappearing between the mountains lighting up the clouds gathered above(the photo does not do justice to what we saw).

The ride after the sunset was on almost flat path, with cold winds blowing across the wide valley. Our stop for the sunset had us reaching Rangdum in the dark, with no electricity and not a person in sight! Luckily one of the village folk walked into our path and with his help we settled down in a room in one of the traditionally build homes there. Rangdum gets cold in the night, being at an altitude of 3657m, but the razai ensures that you have a good night of sleep.

Route: Kargil-Trespone-Sanku-Purtikchey-Paniker-Tangole-Partachik-Rangdum

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

To Kargil

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:00:57 GMT

Diversity: in front of a small hotel where we had tea; Drass, Jammu and Kashmir.

Diverse, that is what describes the road from Srinagar to Kargil: starting with green fields near Srinagar going through villages, the pine covered hills near Sonamarg and then the bare mountains after ZojiLa, and all along following rivers and streams of different colors. We had started off a little late from Srinagar having brunch at a dhaba on the way and reaching Sonamarg a little after noon. Sonamarg seemed like a picnic spot, being close to Srinagar, with all buildings painted a particular shade of green which looked straight from Switzerland, we just rode on without even a break here towards the first pass on this road i.e. ZojiLa. And we missed the pass: we had been gradually climbing and then were riding on almost flat roads alongside the river before we realized we were already past the pass; after Sach Pass earlier in the trip we seemed to have overestimated ZojiLa. Anyway we were now following a dark green/gray river which got clearer as we got closer to Kargil, where the Suru river which is slightly brown in color joins the Drass river.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Devarayana Durga

Fri, 08 May 2009 14:59:35 GMT

Temple on hill: Yoga Narasimha temple, Devarayana Durga, Karnataka.

We had been to Devarayana Durga on a short half-day trip last Friday. The route was simple enough, taking Tumkur road and turning right at Dobaspet and going on a smooth empty road through the villages till we get the deviation to the fort which is marked by the Karnataka Tourism yellow boards; while coming back we took the other route at the bottom on the hill that went towards Tumkur. Since we had started early enough we were at the fort and the temple before the crowds came in. A series of well laid out steps takes you from the parking place to the temple after which a trail takes you further up to a small mantap atop the hill; the view from the temple itself is good but great from the top. The walls of the fort are minimal, lining some sections of the hill, with a couple of entrances. It was hot as the sun rose higher but one could relax under the shade of the mantap and enjoy the cool breeze for some time. We started back before it got too hot but thankfully there are a few places on the way to refresh yourself with coconut water and sugarcane juice.

To Srinagar

Wed, 06 May 2009 02:30:30 GMT

Life on the lake: Dal lake, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

We had spent the night in Batote coming from Kishtwar on NH1B and the road to Srinagar was NH1A, and there is lots on traffic on this road, a combination of lorries and many army vehicles. We stop for tea at a small shop next to the road, run by Ranbir Singh. During our conversation I ask him if trucks stop there at all since there is almost no space in front of the shop which is right next to 2-lane road, he smiles and says they do. In a few minutes there is a traffic jam further ahead on the road and the long line of waiting trucks reaches the tea shop and there are truckers coming to have tea. He says the tea is free for us but we insist and he accepts money for the tea and the sweets.

Rocks have fallen on the road ahead causing the jam, making it a one-lane road and as a result a long line of trucks form on either side of the jam; fortunately army vehicles are involved and they do take control, letting vehicles from only one side pass at a time. We squeeze through the stagnant vehicles whenever possible and two jams and a hour later we are past the vehicles and this only meant that the road ahead would be completely clear for us with all the vehicles stuck in the jam.

We pass through Jawahar Tunnel near Banihal: one lane, sodium lit and 2.5 kms long. The area surrounding the tunnel is prone to avalanches in winter, as many sign boards explicitly mark out the different zones on the road. After the tunnel is the 'First view of Kashmir Valley, Take a break view point'! We do indeed take a break and have Masala Dosa as a late lunch at the canteen there. The valley looks completely green and once we are down the mountains, the road is flat most of the way to Srinagar. Closer to Srinagar the highway itself is manned by army personnel almost every 200m on both sides of the road. We take a break on one stretch of road that is canopied by trees on both sides and are within minutes approached by a army man who stands ten feet away and asks questions; he later tells us that a motorcycle bomb had been placed next to a chowki in Srinagar the previous week.

Boat houses on Dal lake: completely commercialized. But worth taking a boat ride in a shikara to have a look at the house boats where the locals live and the bazaars they visit, all by the water. There are mobile shops-on-boats too, all catering to the tourist, selling water, chips, cold drinks, cigarettes and hash. We spend the evening and the night in what I would call the residential part of the lake, away from the shops, but we do take a boat ride in the evening.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

How we did not meet gun-totting militants, and more

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:47:39 GMT

After taking the not so dangerous road from Killar, we were passing through Kishtwar late in the afternoon when we saw a direction board saying the road to the right went to Anantnag; Anantnag being a town on the way to Srinagar where we were heading the next day, and seeing a new road and that too a shortcut had us immediately making the turn and stopping at a tea shop to confirm the direction and the road. We learnt that it was a road that went through Singtam Top and there were a lot of checkposts on the way. We started off and soon reached the first army checkpost at Bhandakot and had to show ID cards and answer questions on what we were doing there and where we were heading, where were we from before they let us through; the security here is strict: a mini bus that went in front of us had to stop and all the passengers had to get down and undergo inspection before the bus moved forward. And this was just the first one, the next town had an STF checkpost where they doubted whether our long backpacks carried any guns and one of them took me to the side and told me that since my name sounded Hindu it was not safe to go ahead. After crossing another army checkpost, we were at Chchatru, from where we had to return: the person at the police station informed us that there was no army presence for many kilometers after Chingam and that was where we could be caught at gunpoint and that would mean they would have to come searching for us and so he would not allow us to go any further; even though Sumos and mini-buses run this route.

Once we were back in Kishtwar we were on the look out for the PWD Dhak Bungalow where we were informed we could stay. It was already dark and we could not find it after one ride along the main street, we asked and were told that we were already past it, we had to do one more roundabout before someone told us that it was right next to the tree that was on the middle of the road. Stopping next to the tree in the middle of the road did not help either until one very helpful passerby asked us to follow him and had the gates of the unlit bungalow opened and talked to the guy incharge and luckily for us there was a room available. Going out for dinner, we realized that this was probably the most guarded town around, with bunkers all along the main road in front of the government offices and hexagonal armored personnel carriers doing the rounds down the streets; even the PWD bungalow we were spending the night in had armed guards.

While crossing a small stream the next day between Doda and Batote, my friend's bike got a puncture. Since we were carrying a puncture kit, we got underway removing the tyre, the tube, finding the puncture, removing the nail and fixing the puncture. After fixing the tube back in the tyre and trying to pump in air did we see that the pressure never went above 10psi. The problem here was we had given complete attention back home on how to remove the tube and fix the puncture but not enough on how to put the tube back in, safely; the result, we had caused two more punctures! I just took the tyre to the nearest town and got it fixed there by the pro :)

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Dangerous road, not!

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:29:03 GMT

Road, mountain ,cliff, river: somewhere on the way from Himachal Pradesh to Jammu and Kashmir.

We left Killar after the I-day celebrations at around three in the afternoon. We had been informed that the road we were planning on taking towards Keylong had been blocked for some time now due to a landslide and the only option(other than taking the road back through Sach Pass) was to go towards Jammu and Kashmir; and as it turned out this was one experience we wouldn't mind doing all over again.

The roads started normally enough with just mud and rocks and soon we were crossing the Himachal Pradesh checkpost. As mountain roads do, these roads too climbed up, then would come down to the valleys before going back up again; that is until the mountain face becomes a cliff and the road is something that has been chipped off this, and sometimes scooped out from the rock face, not to mention the river down below is probably a thousand feet away and there are small streams and water falls we have to go through on the road. In reality it was not as dangerous as it may sound or look in the photographs but it was one traffic-free road :) as we did not come across any other vehicle on the cliffs.

The late start meant that the next town of Ghulabgarh was still quite a distance away in the evening; at close to six we were at a small village named Tiyari; where one shopkeeper(the only one around) had a battery operated dish TV with the batteries being charged with a couple of solar panels on the roof. We camped here on the roof just to make use of the tent we had but once it was dark, all we could hear was the sound of a flowing river far below with a starlit sky above.

Starting late the next morning, we followed the kuchcha roads to Ghulabgarh after which started the phukkah roads with a few patches of bad roads. We had our lunch at Ghulabgarh and also some apples( at Rs.1/2 each). There was more adventure ahead on this day as we tried to take a shortcut from Kishtwar to Anantnag, but more on that later; we ended up spending the night back in Kishtwar with armed men guarding the gates.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Coorg Wedding

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:07:15 GMT

Welcome to the family: welcoming the bride to the family, by dancing and blocking her, testing her stamina, and this went on for more than an hour; Coorg Wedding in Bangalore.

From slicing banana stems to show the prowess of the groom's family and sitting on stage getting blessings(and cash only gifts) from everybody, to a test of stamina for the bride carrying water pots while people from the groom's side(and in this case friends of the bride too and the groom himself) block her, not to mention the free flow of alcohol and dance; several unique things in a Coorg wedding; a few glimpses follow.

PS: shot on a roll of HP5+(pushed to 800) by me, developed and scanned by Sabir.

A random tram ride

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:02:46 GMT

In a tram: going on a random tram ride in Kolkata, West Bengal.

There are no dearth of options on how to get around in Kolkata: starting from the hand pulled rickshaw, the cycle rickshaw, the shared auto rickshaws, the buses and the trams to the underground metro, not to forget the ever visible yellow ambassador cabs. The tram is something that is unique to Kolkata and we made it our agenda one afternoon, taking a random tram and going around.

Walking back from the river towards Esplanade, we saw one tram stuck at a signal and ran and caught it before it started. Before we could pay for the ride the tram stopped at what looked like a tram station. There were heated arguments between one passenger and the conductor of the tram and from what we could make out there was a block somewhere further on the tram path and the tram would only go some distance before returning. We saw one more tram starting to move and we got on that one. The conductor was pretty confused when we asked for a ticket to the last stop; he tried telling us that we could get down at some stop and visit a temple. After going some distance we did get down when the conductor indicated that we could catch a tram back from that place. Our conductor here was much more understanding when we told him we wanted to go to the last stop; the tram was stuck in traffic for some time and even the driver came back and sat down stretching his legs under the big fan waiting for the jam on the road to clear. This one stopped at a depot and we were the only ones on the tram; we got down and took a taxi back to Esplanade.

and that ends the series of posts from the 'Kolkata, Feb 2009' set.

Manicktala Fish Market, Kolkata

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:03:10 GMT

Big fish, big knife: Manicktala Fish Market, Kolkata, West Bengal.

After the visit to the Vintage and Classic Car Rally and breakfast at a Mistan Bandar, we made a short visit to the Manicktala Fish Market. Ayan tells us that this is one fish market where it is impossible to buy bad fish. Though we only spent a little time there we could see the place was full of action, all sizes of fish being descaled, cut and sold with the help of different knifes. The whole place was lit by bulbs with spotlights, and while there were a few proper spotlights made of metal, most of them were made from inverting shiny paper plates on top of the bulbs; metal or paper it was clear the spotlight was on the fish and nothing else.

Part of Kolkata, Feb 2009

Vintage and Classic Car Rally, Kolkata

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:01:49 GMT

Dressed for the car: Vintage and Classic Car Rally, Kolkata, West Bengal.

The Sunday we were there in Kolkata was the day of the annual Vintage and Classic Car Rally organized by The Statesman. The cars started arriving just before seven in the morning at the Rabindra Sagar Stadium, collecting their goody bags at the gate and then parking at their designated places. It took more than an hour and a half for the more than 120 cars to arrive and be ready to roll out for a ride on a designated route after the inauguration ceremony. There were three cars from before WW I and a few bikes too. It was a pleasure seeing them so well maintained.

Part of Kolkata, Feb 2009

Idol makers at Kumartoli

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:34:49 GMT

Eye to eye: Kumartoli, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Kumartoli is an area in north Kolkata dedicated to making idols where the artisans keep themselves busy almost the whole year making murtis for festivals. The people here are busiest in the months leading to the Durga Puja in October but we caught another busy scene on the day before the Saraswati puja when we were in Kolkata.

The plan to go in the morning on Saturday did not materialize because of the wedding festivities the previous night and we only got to start from our hotel near Esplanade after noon. We asked the taxi driver to take us to the Kumartoli ghat hoping that it would be a good place to start, and it was as we found one person selling lumps of mud from the river, by the river. With freely given directions from the people at the ghat we took a turn into a smaller gulli where there were a bunch of statues lying on the side of the road and this was only the beginning. As we walked further inside we got into the core of the area packed with shops on either side of the busy path with barely enough space for two people to walk abreast. The tigers and the demons that would have been visible during Durga Puja are replaced by the swans and the veenas adorning Saraswati statues; the statues themselves are made with a inner frame of wood and hay and then covered with mud and lastly painted and decorated(trivia : the Bengali association in Bangalore also make statues and they import some of the mud they use from Kolkata!). We could see groups of students in their uniforms, sometimes with their teachers shopping around for statues while at other places the statues that had been pre-ordered or bought then were being carried along by groups of people to be transported by cycle, autorickshaws or vans depending on the size of the statues. We walked past the last shops back to the main road after spending less than an hour here, and in this short period we had seen the end results of months of labour.

Part of Kolkata, Feb 2009

Weekend in Kolkata

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:21:11 GMT

Bengali Wedding: at a friend's wedding in Kolkata, West Bengal.

A friend's wedding a couple of weekends ago resulted in a trip to Kolkata; taking a couple of days off along with the weekend gave us an opportunity to see a few things in Kolkata including visiting the Kumartoli area, seeing a few vintage and classic cars and bikes and taking random trams around(more posts coming up on these).

Of course we did not miss any opportunities to gobble up some good food; at the wedding the guests were required only to munch on the provided snacks and then have dinner :) We did eat at a few places near the New Market area and the most food we had was at Bhojohori Manna which was recommended by Ayan, where we had no reason to stop ourselves from having the delicious Misti Doi, Aam Doi and Rasmalai, and these after a full meal.

Part of Kolkata, Feb 2009

Huthri in Coorg : Part II

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:02:31 GMT

a rhythmic dance with sticks; on the last day of Huthri celebrations; Coorg, Karnataka.

Huthri is the harvesting festival that is usually celebrated in November or December every year. In Coorg, it is a 4 day festival and we were lucky to witness the celebrations on the last day in Murnad.

The people from one family start from their ancestral home to the centre of their village to join other families from the same village and then they head out to the pre-decided place where people from other villages would come to meet: it was at Murnad for the villages in this area where a platform had been built under a tree in an open field. Every village that would come in would first go barefoot around the sacred platform before meeting up with people who had come earlier, getting blessings from the older people and catching up.

Once all the villages had gathered there was a meeting of sort conducted by the elders - where I guess issues with the celebration and how to make it netter next time were discussed - and then a rhythmic dance around the platform with sticks repeated by different groups. The gathering was over with a final salute and then everyone including the village folk who had come to witness the gathering dispersed.

Part I

Huthri in Coorg : Part I

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:24:18 GMT

Head of the family: the head of the Palanganda family; on the last day of Huthri celebrations; Coorg, Karnataka.

Huthri is the harvesting festival that is usually celebrated in November or December every year. In Coorg, it is a 4 day festival and we were lucky to witness the celebrations on the last day in Murnad. All the members of a family usually gather in their Ain Mane(ancestral home) before heading out to a predefined place where families from different villages gather.

Our hosts, the members of the Palanganda family, were all meeting up in their ancestral home near Murnad. While most of them were busy catching up with other over some pork and drinks, lunch was being prepared outside. A couple of tribal men, one of them using the tail of some animal as a mustache and another dressed as a women, danced outside providing some entertainment. We were told that different members of the family would take responsibility to maintain the ancestral home every year and making arrangements for the Huthri celebration was part of that responsibility; and ofcourse the lunch that day being an important part of the family gathering, was a wide spread of delicious food including chicken, mutton and pork(it seems good pork is hard to find nowadays).

One by one the men started getting ready in their traditional dress right after lunch. Once all of them were ready it was time for everyone to gather inside and offer a prayer to their ancestors. Then a few of the men picked up the drums which had been kept ready while the other men gathered in the courtyard; the men dance here going round and round to the beat of the drums and later start walking out to their jeeps. While the women stay behind, the men go to meet up with other families from the same village and then all of them start towards the central ground where they would meet the groups coming from other villages...

Part II

Independence day at Killar

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:34:44 GMT

Dance: Independence day celebrations at Killar, Himachal Pradesh.

The last time I had attended Independence day celebrations was on the way to Hampi two year ago and that was a school celebration. The celebrations at Killar were held at the school grounds too, but being the only town around it was the place to be for people from all the surrounding villages. There was singing and a few traditional dances and the audience was most enthusiastic, surrounding the ground and finding places to view the celebrations from every angle possible, and colorful too.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Sach Pass : Part II

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:37:39 GMT

Water and rock: coming down from Sach Pass, Himachal Pradesh.

Stack stones horizontally and you get a wall, do the same vertically on the ground and you get the road to Sach Pass; do not stack the rocks and you get the road down from Sach Pass on the other side!

The road down to Badodhu, where the next checkpoint was, was just rocking. First gear was the only useful gear, as it had been on the way up. Going over a road full of loose rocks requires the utmost concentration, especially when a fall could be fatal. Numerous water paths later, we reached Badodhu where we had more noodles and tea for lunch at 3pm. The road pretty much remained the same for a long time, becoming a little less rocky from Prengram.

We had only seen one loaded vehicle on this road that day and that was a 4x4 Force which was carrying passengers; the road is not wide enough for two such vehicles to pass and even we had to stop on the side of the road to let this one jeep pass. Another bunch of people we met on the way were the road workers trying to clear the rocks. The most interesting people we met were the shepherds. We came across the sheep first as they went off-roading down the hills at the sound of the bikes and then we came across the shepherds following them on the road. The shepherds tell us that the sheep know the way to the pass and pointed us towards the other side of the valley where a few moving dots turned out to be sheep; they tell us that some of their flocks have 3000 to 4000 sheep. When we met them, they were going back to Punjab for the winter, where it would be warmer; and in summer they would come back to these mountains in HP where it would be cooler and greener; doing this year after year.

We reached Killar, a mere 104kms from where we had started, at 8pm. An enthusiastic sardhar heading the PWD there took us for a walk along the bazaar street showing us the shops of the carpenter, plumber and blacksmith among other shops: all of them were closed and we had started our walk from a "Bar and Restaurant".

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Sach Pass : Part I

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:34:20 GMT

Going up: as we leave the valley and the mountains behind and below us; on the way to Sach Pass, Himachal Pradesh.

Stack stones horizontally and you get a wall; do the same vertically on the ground and you get the road to Sach Pass, and that is just part of the story.

True to his word, the keeper came around at 6am to wake us up. We were joined here my Mandy on his thunderbird, who had been criss-crossing HP and was going along the same path as us that day. It was raining in the morning(and hence no photos from the early morning); after a round of tea and some directions, we donned our duckback raincoats(which we had bought from the exclusive store on BVK Iyengar road) and started off. It was a tar road from some time as we gradually rode up the mountains. Further on, the road was still in the foundation stage with rocks and mud, and with the rain some parts of it was only slush where the tyres would just not get enough grip to go forward without some human help. At one such slushy part Mandy decided to head back saying that if the road continued to be the same, it would not be possible for him: he had to reach Manali in a couple of days(and we later found out that the road from Killar to Manali had been closed for a couple of months due to a landslide). We went ahead, slowly; we had just spent half an hour over 200m of road. It did get better going forward, with just rocks on the road and no slush while we came across many flowing streams and water falls from the melting snow.

We reached the Sathrundi checkpost at 10:35am where we were required to make entries in a log book. It came as a surprise when we were informed that ours were the first motorbikes to go along this path. A small shop also happened to be our breakfast spot for the day. Boiled noodles had been made earlier and kept aside while the soup was being heated then; just add the noodles to the hot soup with a few pieces of dry meat and breakfast was ready.

The road from here onwards climbs just one mountain for quite some time. And the road is just rocking: stacked rocks, loose rocks or just plain rock. The whole valley with a river flowing under the solid ice blocks and the lower mountains becomes visible as we go up. Around one last corner and we were at Sach Pass. A lone guy had come there to pray at the small temple at the pass; after he offered us some prasad, he told us that it was all up to the goddess. It was 1pm then and we had taken close to 7hrs to cover the 60kms from Tissa to Sach Pass. The mountains looks reddish and bare on the other side and it was only an indication of things to come on the way down.

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

The journey to the mountains

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:32:22 GMT

The valley below: Taking a break and enjoying the late evening views; somewhere between Chamba and Tissa, Himachal Pradesh, India.

It was 23°C in Bangalore when we boarded a flight to Delhi, and it was 33°C when we landed there; all we wanted to do in Delhi was to collect our bikes and head to the mountains as soon as possible.

We had parcelled our bikes by train to Delhi a week before we boarded the flight and the only glitch we faced in the process was when the railway people wanted a Delhi destination address in the forms; before we had to think of making up an address we glanced at the sample form on the notice baord there and it had a Delhi address: we used that and put our names in. We landed in Delhi in the night and took a taxi straight to the Old Delhi railway station and got ourselves a room at the hotel closest to the station.

Walking to the station in the morning we tried to find our bikes at the parcel office but couldn't locate them; with the hot humid weather beating us down we ended up using the help of a tout whom we had avoided earlier and finally got our bikes out by noon. FYI: The nearest petrol bunk to this station is at Connaught Place(since petrol has to be removed for the bikes to be tranported by train). Once back at the hotel, we spent close to half an hour packing the bags on the bikes: it was the first time we were trying it with our custom made carriers and the multiple straps and bungee cords we had bought all the way from Bangalore. On a related note, we had also taken four 5-litre plastic cans by flight; they did not fit in our backpacks and we had just tied them with rope to the bags, half expecting them to not arrive at all, but they did without damage!

Leaving the city and getting to NH1 took us an hour and a half: first we were stuck in a traffic jam in the narrow lanes of Old Delhi and then we were roaming around on the ring road trying to find the turn to take, which we finally got to after asking for directions many times and going back and forth a few times. Once on the NH it was a smooth ride, the weather was hot and humid but there were green fields on either side of the road and as long as we were moving it was manageable. Staying that night at a hotel in Ambala we started the next day with cool cloudy morning weather. A huge board welcomed us to Punjab(as compared to a small one earlier when we had entered Haryana) and we took the straight forward road via Ludiana and Dudiana to Jalander, where we took the deviation towards Pathankot. The road from here onwards was 2-lane with lots of lorry traffic and one crazy Maruti 800! The road leaves Punjab twice and enters patches of Himachal Pradesh before coming back to Punjab and heading to Pathankot. It was already evening but we did not want to stop in the plains and took the road towards Dalhousie, the deviation to which was marked with a 'BRO road begins' board. The road started with a bunch of boarding schools and then got wet and curvy as we started to climb; it was cloudy most of the way with light drizzles in some parts, but we rode on to reach cool Dalhousie at 10 in the night.

A short walk late in the morning and then we were off again, first up to Khajjiar, through the Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife reserve: with pines dotting both sides of the road. Khajjiar claims to be the Switzerland of HP with board that mentions that Switzerland is 6194kms away. We stop for a little while here and see a few zorb balls visible, but the hillside does not seem to be steep enough for it to be any fun. We go along down to the valley to Chamba where it is quite warm and it is here that we fill up our tanks and the petrol cans to be brim before heading towards Tissa. The days are long with the sun setting late and we are making full use of it, reaching a tea shop a couple of kilometers before Tissa at 8pm. We get to know that there is a rest house at Kelone, a few kilometers ahead. At the rest house, the keeper, for Rs.320, allows us to stay under the condition that we leave early the next day at 6am, which is good for us too, to get over Sach Pass where we have been warned the road is new and is bad!

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov.

Happy Deepavali

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:02:20 GMT

Where are the kids?

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:44:12 GMT

It was Ganesha Chaturthi last week and there were no kids knocking on our doors this year too. We as kids would go around visiting each house in the neighbourhood, keeping count of the number of Ganeshas we had seen, trying to reach the magic number of 108.

The bike and the road

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:59:23 GMT

'Road' To Sach Pass: what looks like a wall is actually the road, the foundation of the road to be more precise; Sach Pass, Himachal Pradesh.

Bike Maintenance
Odometer(kms)	Place	Comments
12312	Jammu	Bike serviced: clutch plates changed
15030	Leh	Engine oil topped up
15660	Mandi	New air-filter
16680	Pithoragarh	Bike serviced: new brake pads
17220	Lamahi	Engine oil topped up
18490	NJP	Engine oil topped up
19964	Siliguri	Bike serviced: electrolyte topped up

Day	Date	Odometer(kms)	Distance travelled	Cumulative Distance	Place
0	10 Aug	9600	0	0	Delhi
1	11 Aug	9828	228	228	Ambala
2	12 Aug	10217	389	617	Dalhousie
3	13 Aug	10338	121	738	Tissa
4	14 Aug	10442	104	842	Killar
5	15 Aug	10475	33	875	Tiyari
6	16 Aug	10637	162	1037	Kistwar
7	17 Aug	10760	123	1160	Batote
8	18 Aug	10940	180	1340	Srinagar
9	19 Aug	11154	214	1554	Kargil
10	20 Aug	11286	132	1686	Rangdum
11	21 Aug	11405	119	1805	Padum
12	22 Aug	11483	78	1883	Padum
13	23 Aug	11626	143	2026	Rangdum
14	24 Aug	11787	161	2187	Drass
15	25 Aug	12120	333	2520	Batote
16	26 Aug	12304	184	2704	Jammu
17	27 Aug	12337	33	2737	Jammu
18	28 Aug	12718	381	3118	Aut
19	29 Aug	12858	140	3258	Narkanda
20	30 Aug	12925	67	3325	Shimla
21	31 Aug	12925	0	3325	Shimla
22	01 Sep	13107	182	3507	Sarahan
23	02 Sep	13245	138	3645	Rekong Peo
24	03 Sep	13417	172	3817	Tabo
25	04 Sep	13550	133	3950	Kibber
26	05 Sep	13688	138	4088	Batal
27	06 Sep	13792	104	4192	Keylong
28	07 Sep	13796	4	4196	Keylong
29	08 Sep	13796	0	4196	Keylong
30	09 Sep	13986	190	4386	Pang
31	10 Sep	14172	186	4572	Leh
32	11 Sep	14180	8	4580	Leh
33	12 Sep	14341	161	4741	Diskit
34	13 Sep	14487	146	4887	Leh
35	14 Sep	14599	112	4999	Leh
36	15 Sep	14764	165	5164	Spangmik
37	16 Sep	15022	258	5422	Leh
38	17 Sep	15034	12	5434	Leh
39	18 Sep	15294	260	5694	Sarchu
40	19 Sep	15405	111	5805	Keylong
41	20 Sep	15599	194	5999	Aut
42	21 Sep	15908	309	6308	Ambala
43	22 Sep	16090	182	6490	Haridwar
44	23 Sep	16090	0	6490	Haridwar
45	24 Sep	16289	199	6689	Karnaprayag
46	25 Sep	16362	73	6762	Gwaldam
47	26 Sep	16362	0	6762	Gwaldam
48	27 Sep	16430	68	6830	Bageshwar
49	28 Sep	16498	68	6898	Binsar
50	29 Sep	16649	151	7049	Pithorgarh
51	30 Sep	16675	26	7075	Pithorgarh
52	01 Oct	16690	15	7090	Pithorgarh
53	02 Oct	16863	173	7263	Banbassa
54	03 Oct	17195	332	7595	Lamahi
55	04 Oct	17195	0	7595	Lamahi
56	05 Oct	17366	171	7766	Tansen
57	06 Oct	17372	6	7772	Tansen
58	07 Oct	17507	135	7907	Pokhara
59	08 Oct	17873	366	8273	Hetanda
60	09 Oct	18298	425	8698	Kakarbitta
61	10 Oct	18298	0	8698	Kakarbitta
62	11 Oct	18403	105	8803	Ghum
63	12 Oct	18488	85	8888	NJP
64	13 Oct	18618	130	9018	Madarihat
65	14 Oct	18648	30	9048	Phuntsholing
66	15 Oct	18656	8	9056	Phuntsholing
67	16 Oct	18830	174	9230	Paro
68	17 Oct	18843	13	9243	Paro
69	18 Oct	18881	38	9281	Paro
70	19 Oct	18892	11	9292	Paro
71	20 Oct	18947	55	9347	Thimpu
72	21 Oct	18947	0	9347	Thimpu
73	22 Oct	18947	0	9347	Thimpu
74	23 Oct	19035	88	9435	Kurithang
75	24 Oct	19121	86	9521	Phobjika
76	25 Oct	19209	88	9609	Trongsa
77	26 Oct	19358	149	9758	Kuruthang
78	27 Oct	19474	116	9874	Paro
79	28 Oct	19474	0	9874	Paro
80	29 Oct	19646	172	10046	Paro
81	30 Oct	19846	200	10246	Kalimpong
82	31 Oct	19861	15	10261	Kalimpong
83	01 Nov	19861	0	10261	Kalimpong
84	02 Nov	19861	0	10261	Kalimpong
85	03 Nov	19861	0	10261	Kalimpong
86	04 Nov	19959	98	10359	Siliguri
87	05 Nov	19968	9	10368	Siliguri
88	06 Nov	20149	181	10549	Raiganj
89	07 Nov	20274	125	10674	Malda
90	08 Nov	20318	44	10718	Malda
91	09 Nov	20468	150	10868	Murshidabad
92	10 Nov	20484	16	10884	Murshidabad
93	11 Nov	20763	279	11163	Bishnupur
94	12 Nov	20768	5	11168	Bishnupur
95	13 Nov	20768	0	11168	Bishnupur
96	14 Nov	20974	206	11374	Digha
97	15 Nov	20975	1	11375	Digha
98	16 Nov	21355	380	11755	Bhubaneshwar
99	17 Nov	21355	0	11755	Bhubaneshwar
100	18 Nov	21429	74	11829	Puri
101	19 Nov	21509	80	11909	Puri
102	20 Nov	21523	14	11923	Puri
103	21 Nov	21587	64	11987	Bhubaneshwar
104	22 Nov	22448	861	12848	Vijayawada
105	23 Nov	23144	696	13544	Bangalore

Part of 'The Trip/2007', Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov