Valley of Dreams...

Just when I thought that life has gone on at a pretty lull pace for a long time, came the news that my hubby will have to go to Kashmir on an official trip for 10 days. Had it been the period before 1988 we all would have looked forward to the trip and in all probability i would have attempted to join him. But since the region – though one of the most beautiful on this planet – has been in News for all the wrong reasons, I was forced to stay back and pray that everything goes well. Well, thankfully, everything did go well, and he came back rich with memories and stunning photographs of a virtual paradise on earth. Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir is a breathtakingly beautiful valley in the northern Himalayan ranges. The temperatures were most comfortable in the range of 25-28 degree C, and the morning view from the room was a stunner. One could see snow on the mountain tops even though late July is a peak summer month. He was told by the locals that these are the hottest months in srinagar (they should visit the north Indian plains to see what heat is all about!). So, for late July, the hottest in Srinagar was cool enough for him, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that security situation in that place was not at all as deplorable as the general perception is. The place abounds in gardens, with some of the very famous Shalimar and Nishad gardens leading the pack. The pictures of these beautiful gardens with Himalayan ranges on one side and the pristine, pure Dal Lake on other, made me yearn to have the experience first hand. Dal lake is a landmark almost synonymous with srinagar. The lake is unsurpassed in beauty, with beautiful houseboats of Victorian era lining its both sides. One can stay in these house boats and enjoy the divine natural beauty – lotuses, water chestnuts, lilies, and numerous exotic birds which throng the lake. Gulmarg is one lovely hill station atop the Himalayan range encircling Srinagar valley. It was again – a paradise within a paradise. The slopes of the meandering roads leading to the hill station were covered in Daisies. The hill station itself was an abode of flowers: Gulmarg literally means place of roses. Hill station was bathed in crystal clear sunlight with the daisies gleaming in delight as sunlight shone on them. The slopes, now covered with flowers, turn into world famous ski slopes with the onset of winters.This is one place which has to be visited repeatedly in different seasons to be able to imbibe its complete beauty. During the months of August- September there is a bounty of apple crop and one can only imagine the site presented by the apple laden trees which line every path, every house. October to February is the time for snowfall, when one can enjoy Skiing on the beautiful slopes of Gulmarg. March heralds the onset of pleasant weather conditions with flowers blooming all over the landscape and especially in Srinagar’s majestic Mughal gardens. The photographs of Srinagar and Gulmarg were enough to leave me crying over the missed opportunity to visit the places, but there was more. Just when I thought that nature has been a trifle unfair in bestowing its best to Srinagar and Gulmarg, came the mention of Pahalgam.Whole of Pahalgam is a big recreational resort, and to quote a line from my hubby who got inspired by the beauty first hand – ‘It is better than any fairy land of the kind I had imagined on reading little fairy tales’. Plants appear to be in love with the place too. These blooming beauties stand testimony to the kind of place Pahalgam is for plant lovers. . Drive from Sringar to Pahalgam takes 2-3 hours, and midway through the drive the sparkling clear waters of this river accompany you well inside Pahalgam. The journey is fascinating with absolutely no music required as the sound of flowing river water is a melody no man made music can match. Chinar trees were in plenty there. The beautiful Lake, the flora, the weather, the huge Himalayan ranges, friendly people, sprawling gardens, freely flowing jhelum river…Srinagar has it all; yet the paradise has been made inaccessible to the common people on account of terrorism. P.S – Kashmir is a hot bed of dispute between the neighboring countries of India and Pakistan. It is definitely not my point or authority to decide or comment on the respective claims, but one thing is certain that to be deprived of a visit to such a place because of the conditions created by self serving politicians is a huge injustice towards humankind.

An Indian Summer!!!

Life has been in slight disarray over past one month. Hot and humid summer months are always a stress, not only personally, but professionally as well. The number of patients suffering from viral fever and gastroenteritis goes up drastically sparing me with less time for other things. A side effect of all this has been borne by my garden and my blog. The lawns do not present a pretty picture with unkempt tall grass making me a little shame faced. All kinds of small creatures have made their abode in these tall grasses. The pruning and cutting work has been relatively better managed, thanks to my garden help who obviously wasn’t constrained by the weather factor; he is a weather hardened guy totally unperturbed by any sorts of heat or humidity. The mango tree disappointed this season and I couldn’t have more than a single piece of my favorite fruit from it. But the loss in the quantity of mangoes – if not the taste – was made up by the jamun(Indian blackberry) tree, which produced an abundance of sweet jamuns; a very rich source of anti-oxidants. I tried several innovative – if I dare call them so – techniques to conserve the vegetables, guarding them against the onslaught of bugs emboldened by their favorite hot and humid weather, but most of those ‘innovative’ techniques fell back on my face: the security ring around the bitter gourd - the newspaper cover - was compromised, and these nasty bugs... ended up enjoying a meal leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. With my aversion to the use of pesticides I feel like a dumb standing there mutely watching the parasites eat into my labor and patience. I believe in trying to avoid too much negativity, and so the issue of bird eaten, bug-laden guavas will be discussed some other time. Meanwhile, the silver lining is that barring supernatural wrath things cannot go any worse; hence I can expect a recovery from hereon. This year the weather has played very truant with exceptional humidity and failed rains, but by first of September things will start getting cooler and hopefully, we will have a healthy blossoming season ahead (The threat of Swine Flu notwithstanding).

Rain drops bring Green Visitor!

One can never trust the weatherman! At first the forecast was of normal monsoons, then they modified it to a delayed but normal monsoon, and now it is delayed and subnormal monsoon. I guess its just another euphemism for telling that we might have the spectre of drought staring at us. Well, we did have some rains lately and they were enough to infuse a sense of freshness in the whole ambience. This colorful birdie flew in to add to the ambience with its myriad moods and expressions, and was patient enough to pose for me. Nicely camouflaged between the green leaves this Parrot was busy feasting on the sunflower seeds. A little zoom and his antics were more apparent. My loving gaze failed to flatter him and he shifted his location thinking that he’ll have more privacy atop the Mango tree. But, oh no! Horrors of horrors…the sunflower stalk escaped his beak and fell down. 'Look at the impertinence of this lady; she is reveling in my misery, let that camera meet the same fate as my food and then I’ll love to see the look on her face.' 'Hey! You wanna shoot me? Well then, take this….''How about this…'

Oh! It's so hot!!!

It will be an understatement if the weather is described as seething, scorching, baking, burning, fiery…because at 45degreeC it is nothing less than Catastrophic! There is absolutely no sign of monsoon clouds. Now and then an occasional stray cloud shows up with no promise of any respite from the searing summer heat. Life looks tough outdoors yet these intrepid birds fly around undeterred, settling down only to have a cool sip. I remember reading somewhere that the best way to beat the heat is to drink lots and lots of water and to stop cribbing about the weather. They say its all in the attitude; well, these birds do teach a lesson in attitude building.Not everyone protests the oppressive climate though; the sunflowers look gay and sprightly. The blooming sunflower is one thing that gives me a reason to dare for a stroll outdoors; it is fascinating to see the movement of the flower head with the movement of the Sun. Heliconias are always a beautiful sight to behold though their fiery red color is not exactly very summery, and when seen outdoors in this weather, they look more like a yellow flower, which has been roasted red. The lilies bloomed just in time in my makeshift pond to lend a cool touch to the garden – a desperate need in this weather. There is a measure of optimism though. The monsoons have finally started moving, and if the weather forecast is to be believed, there may be some respite coming in a week or two. Till then I am trying to keep my cool by dreaming about all the good things I am going to do once the rain gods start showering their blessings!

Paradise Regained!

The Himalayas are home to some of the most breathtaking locations on this planet. This time, thankfully, my jaunt did not end with nainital, rather we went deeper into the Kumaon hills to the idyllic locations of Kausani and Ranikhet. A 4 hour drive form nainital had me transported into a different world altogether; quaint, pristine, absolutely untouched by the maladies of urbanization.Kausani, at an altitude of around 1900mts is situated near to the snow capped higher ranges of Himalayan Mountains, and that makes the place ideally suited for a panoramic view of Himalayan beauty. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all throughout my stay, and so I could only catch a faint glimpse of the snow covered ranges. It is at these sorts of places that the feeling of ultimate calm and unison with nature descends. No honking horns, no cacophony of the modern day traffic, no humans jostling through the morning crowds to reach their workplace, just plain lazy contemplation on the why’s of life, over a cup of tea with the mountains in the backdrop. The landscape of Kausani was dotted with beautiful sights of terrace farming. The farming here, thankfully, is as yet untouched by the menace of fertilizers and pesticides. This fact was all too evident in the taste of food, as it was a pure gourmet delight. At a small distance downhill from Kausani is a small cluster of fairly ancient temples – believed to date around 12th-13th centuries - known as baijnath dham (abode). The Gomti river nearby had huge gluttonous fishes which are regularly fed by the pilgrims who consider it auspicious to do that. Leaving kausani was like leaving the soul behind. The aura of Kausani meant that probably no other place would seem worth a visit now, as it would invariably be compared to it. But to my huge relief, on visiting Ranikhet after Kausani, I learned that every place carries its own unique charm and that renders any comparisons meaningless. Ranikhet is another beautiful jewel in the Great Himalayan crown. A quaint cantonment town with fruit orchards and wild life sanctuary all around it is an ideal getaway. And if one gets to stay in a resort in the middle of the high altitude jungle, the memories are going to last a lifetime.The resort, where I stayed was an old heritage building built during the colonial era and converted into a hotel two decades back. The rooms had a vintage cozy feel, and the view splendid.I could even catch a shot of this colorful parrot from the window, trying to steal a peek at the new visitors in the room.The cleanliness and the calm of a cantonment, the heady cocktail of the voices of barking deer, monkeys, mynahs with an occasional roar of the leopard, amidst the cozy comforts of a forest cottage makes you thank God again and again for giving this life and this planet.A huge golf course, at an altitude of 2000mts, from where a misdirected shot can land in the valley below! Inspired a feeling of awe at the kind of life being led by the defense personnel, who deserve all the wonderful things for the service they give to their Motherland.Traveling and visiting new places has a wonderful effect on mind and the body. Besides being relaxing, the very act of moving out of the confines of your daily rituals stimulates positive vibes in the body and opens new vistas for the brain. I hope the feeling will last till its time to pack my bag again.