It was in the November of 2010 in Bangalore, nine years after my last visit to the Himalayas, I was seated in a train and was lost in thoughts. From a financially struggling teenager to a blessed 5-year-old software engineer in one of the best companies to work for in Bangalore, I have come a long way. In those nine years, the world has changed too. E-Mails and chats have given way to social media in the form of Orkut, MySpace, and Facebook and the best among all, the Google maps.
Pictures of people's travel to previously less known destinations are pouring in. Urban legends of friend's friend's friend having been on a Bullet to corners of Himalayas seems to have some reality in themselves as self-driven vacations are picking up. Fight for leave approvals with managers live on(some things never change). Thankfully, flights have gotten affordable.
All of a sudden, we in the southern part of India and are exposed to places unheard of. No itinerary on any package tour operators have shows the places in the Himalayas which are now seen on the social media. We have come to believe that there is more to the Himalayas than Char Dhams and the usually promoted hill stations.
For the first time in my life, I have been able to fund a trip for myself to a place that I have only seen in the pictures. I am 27 and the only time I traveled alone was to Germany on a company assignment. Keeping all the embarrassing experiences aside, it, at least, gave me the courage to step out on solo expeditions such as this one.
My train of thoughts ends abruptly as I am interrupted by the ticket checker. It was in the December of 2015 at New Delhi that I am made aware of tripoto website and I am encouraged to write a blog on it. Encouraged by people whom I have met since November 2010. So here I am.
Little did I know that one journey to the Himalayas will alter the course of my life. What was supposed to be yet another example of a classic textbook tourism ending up as a photo album on social networking has turned out to be a constant quest for answers, answers to questions that aren't even clear yet.
I wasn't prepared for the sheer size that the Himalayas presented when I reached Kalka back in November 2010 though I had visited the Char Dhams earlier in my life; I was however too little to understand much. The picture wasn't as rosy as I dreamt it to be. The narrow unguarded roads and the remains of the cars that have run over the cliff showed me few grim pictures that others tourists never did. The overloaded trucks that were negotiating the bends and the sudden appearance of an overtaking cab at a place you least expect reminded me of those many Gods that I never realized I knew.
When I did reach Shimla, my amateurish planning had given me six days of stay in train and just two days off it. It meant that my exploration of Shimla and place around had to be short. Armed with what are sold as 'Sweaters' in Bangalore and a pair of thick socks, I was rather poorly equipped to face the late November evening cold, on the mall road of Shimla. Having managed to stay alive through the usual site seeing spots, the view of the distant snow-covered mountains breathed back a lot of enthusiasm into me and made all the prior ordeal worth it.
With almost all the things having gone wrong instead 'as planned', I owe it all to the people who accompanied me during that journey for making it a memorable and most importantly, a bearable one. Heaving a sigh of relief after reaching the plains, when I looked back at the Himalayas, I could almost hear it laughing at me. I have always been treated with care, respect and hailed as the savior of my family. I seldom try to recollect when did all this respect and admiration bloat up my ego and made me believe I can do anything and can conquer anything. The Himalayas, in its mute but mighty way, had cut me down to an insignificant size. All the pride, the ego I carried into the journey expecting to boast about it when I am back, seemed all lost. A person who people depended on was all through the journey, dependent on others. If at all the journey did any good, it was that it gave me a new challenge to pursue. A challenge to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world. It ignited the desire to travel and appreciate the world that is around us.
Since November 2010, I have been motivated to
1. Experience the central India on road by driving from Delhi to Hyderabad
2. Enjoy Port Blair and surrounding on two wheels
3. Explore hills of Araku
4. Sail to the fort of Murud Janzira
5. Pluck fruits on the hills of Mahabaleshwar
6. Attend history lessons at Bidar Fort
While the journeys have given me a new passion, the Himalayas have given me a new purpose. I couldn't help but establish a connection with the hills. Though I was defeated by its climate, beauty, and its ruggedness, I heard a calling that to this day am seeking to find the source of. It is this Himalayan calling that has turned my life around and surrendered me to these hills.
These are the pictures shot during my numerous journeys to the Himalayas in 2015. Hope you all enjoy viewing the pictures as much as I have enjoyed capturing them.
This post was originally published on One Body Two Personalities