A place obsolete on the maps

Tripoto

I heard about the crank's ridge from a traveller, come to deliver a Ted talk. And I left soon.It was a smooth bus journey to Almora from where I looked for autos to kasar devi (the name of the temple by which the place is presently known to the locals and around). Hitching a shared auto I reached in front of Kasar Devi inquiring for the crank's ridge, receiving puzzled looks from the only 2 people I found there. I realized this was my destination probably as I saw a couple of guest houses and a restaurant. I went there and then understood that this was called the crank's ridge only during the hippie movement in India (60's and 70's) and the name had become obsolete since then the place only being called Kasar Devi now, which isn't even a place enough to be on the map.It was just a point in between almora and Binsar wherein there were vast stretches of green hills, so very gentle in their expanse, adorned with white wild flowers The sun was exquisite rendering a yellow light on everything, tender to the skin and I kept walk it along talking to people here and there. I finally decided to settle down my backpack at a guest house and rest my tired limbs as I knew I'd be staying here for a while.I took up a guest house which had connected rooms to a shared bathroom and thus made friends with the two guys living in the other rooms (one Swedish, one Assamese). And though I had big plans for exploring Uttarakhand, I couldn't bring myself to leave the place for the rest of my travel days. I walked with my Swedish friend all around the place, into the forest to cross waterfalls and find huge meadows of green where we met two old German travelers sitting there skiing nothing. We walked for hours, the slopes gentle and thus the activity not tiring. Everyday coming back at dusk at the cafe to see the sunset and sit there for hours, eating delicious food, talking to all the other travelers for whom it was the only place to eat and sit to talk.They say, there's a gap in magnetic field here which gives rise to high energy particles in the area and I could feel the energy in the silence that everyone decides to maintain.Lord Buddha came here to meditate and then the place was graced by artists like Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, the Beatles and other legendary counterparts.I felt at such calm that no activity was required for fulfilment and I just lay there soaking in the place, making friendships as i I talked all night beneath the stars with strangers who have now become indispensable parts of my life.Photo of A place obsolete on the maps 1/1 by Angarika Deb 

Photo of GAIL Housing Society, GH-9, Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56, Gurgaon, Haryana 122011, India by Angarika Deb

And the views from everywhere

Photo of GAIL Housing Society, GH-9, Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56, Gurgaon, Haryana 122011, India by Angarika Deb

the gentle green slopes

Photo of GAIL Housing Society, GH-9, Kendriya Vihar, Sector 56, Gurgaon, Haryana 122011, India by Angarika Deb