Himalayan Hopes

I’m a curious and restless soul, and

That is the problem and solution to everything.

The mighty Himalayas and me

Himalayas has captured the wildest imaginations ever since I started reading travel genre books. 

Life at the 20’s is very special to everyone. You will be in free-spirits with vigor, zeal, and constant quest to learn more and go places to explore the world. 

Ladakh valley

Levison Wood is my favorite author and his book, walking the Himalayas always triggered my unbound love towards the mighty Himalayas. This COVID – 19 lockdown brought me to watch his series - walking the Himalayas by UK based Channel Four in Discovery Plus. Wood starts his epic 1700+ miles journey by walk from Afghanistan to Bhutan, via Pakistan, India, and Nepal the entire stretch of Himalayan ranges. Awe-struck and I rewind my memories a few years back to my 20’s.

The best travel companions - Cath, Som, Ling

It was my first solo trip in my 20’s to Ladakh valley between Karakoram ranges and Zanskar Mountains in the Himalayas. On a very tight shoe-string budget, I backpacked, hitch-hiked, stayed with locals and home-stays; I completed my first incredible travel experience of my lifetime. Since then, I become addicted to solo-traveling and the gorgeous Himalayan ranges.

Himalayan Bliss

• I learned many life-lessons in this Himalayan solo-trip
• Language is not a barrier to communicate
• Strike the best with first impression
• Strangers can become your best travel companions
•  Locals can share their house, bed, and breakfast to total strangers
• Body can survive on minimal calories – eggs, maggie, and chai
•  Listened to nomadic tales under a starlit sky
• Warm water is the best mixes for Rum
• Consuming Himalayan vegan leaves can get you real high ( Hope you get me right)
• Frostbite in the night and intense heat in the day portrays the life experience
• The best of the view comes from the hardest climb 

Leh Palace

Life is filled with rhythms and cycles as narrated in the nomadic story; cold and hot, day and night, snow-capped mountain summit and deep gorgeous valley, sun and moon, rich and poor, gods and demons, good and evil, joy and sorrow. And every human being is destined to experience these very often in his lifetime. The journey itself an experience to behold through the stunning views of Himalayan ranges, contrast terrains, and the highest motorable passes in the world.

The land of mystic dragon

Fast forward and off-late, I have been blessed with wonderful opportunities and immense possibilities to travel to many parts of Nepal and Bhutan on special official assignments from my alma mater organization, Navodaya Education Trust - Karnataka.  I pondered those great opportunities and with immense reverence I rewind my encounters in these Mountain countries.

Pokhra & Himalayan ranges

 With endless cups of chai, sitting on the terrace of my hotel at Phewa Tal lakeside in Pokhara - Nepal, I rehearsed my official presentations surrounded by the spectacular view of Annapoorna ranges, glistening peaks of Macchapucharre, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu snow-capped summits. I watched the spectacular sunrise from Sarangkot peak, an incredible Himalayan sunrise. It was an astounding magical sunrise to behold and the sun rose behind the Annapoorna mountain ranges. Nature played its best masterstroke in the sky – crimson red hues and strokes in the grey sky, the golden sun rays kissed the snow flaked Himalayan peaks, the sun emerged slowly as an orange-red bowl between the ranges, and started unfurling the gorgeous scenic landscapes of Pokhara valley. Standing there in the morning crisp year, I admired the mighty Himalayas and bewitched the luminescence of Himalayan eight-thousanders.

 

Mount Everest & Himalayan ranges

Bhutan, the land of Gross National Happiness is my favorite Himalayan land-locked country. Blogged enough about this mystical kingdom, I urge my readers to browse my old blogpost to experience the thunder dragon Himalayan experiences. The ultimate experience was witnessing the Mount Everest, Mt Lhoste, Mt Makalu, and Mt Nuptse on Bhutan – Nepal trip Druk air flight.

 

Explorer as always....

My curious and restless soul always crave for more such incredible experiences, as spending time in this Himalayan region is one of my life’s great experiences. No mountains can match their beauty and Majesty. I was fortunate to have glimpses of the Himalayas and its greatest terrains in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. I am astonished with this greatest bio-diversity on the planet earth with the bizarre diversity of cultures in an exceptionally hostile and incredibly beautiful environment.

 

Phew tall lake - Pokhra, Nepal

All I wish and long for is to experience the Himalayan ranges in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Will I make it to those two countries? Will I cover the ancient silk-route?

Will I walk into the fairy meadows of Gilgit- Karakoram ranges?

Will my dreams come true? Dreaming all these, is it a problem of my curious mind or will I find a solution? Post-COVID 19 & my hopes are the answers, I have here right now.

Buddha Point, Thimpu - Bhutan

Green story from a parched land

The ultimate goal of farming is not growing of crops;

But the cultivation and perfection of human beings.

-       Masanobu Fukuoka

Naveen Garden

Agriculture and Farming is deeply rooted in my living tissues. Hailing from a modest agricultural family, my parents, and my ancestors earned their livelihood from farming. All the cells and building blocks of my body are nourished from the agricultural soil. I belong to the first generation graduate, who flew miles away from my nest to earn money and food for a living, without knowing the food and simple living is already there at my backyard.  This is a post about a progressive and new-age agriculture farm located in Trichy district of Tamilnadu, South India. Krishnapuram is a typical village in Musri Taluk of Trichy District. Agriculture and farming is one of the most predominant occupations in this village. Though River Cauvery flows 20 kilometers away from this village settlement, the land is dry and parched due to the geographical elevated location & rocky terrain. The deficit in successive monsoons and extreme summer posed extreme challenges to the farmers in this village settlement.

Hangout Zone

Midst of all these obstacles, an inspiring agricultural farm flourishes with many great endeavors to revive farming, to promote awareness on protecting nature and wildlife, and animal rescue operations. I walked into this agricultural farm on a gloomy night to spend a few days volunteering and experiential learning. A pack of canines came running towards me, and jumped on me. Matrix (Rottweiler breed) was the leader of the pack. I went on my knees to the ground to hug those friendly pets and started to pat them fondly. Sooner, three Labrador Retriever breeds - Kukuva, Luna, and Kutta, two cute Pug breeds – Puggy and Sham, Kaaka (Dobberman breed), Panda (Lasapso breed), and Bolt (Miniature pinscher breed) were fighting to get my attention and the pat. All of them were friendly, and at the same time terrific, started pulling me in each of their directions.  I have to spend a few minutes with each of those friendly breeds to calm them down. In all those breeds, Bolt was very young; he got my rapt attention. He jumped into my face, started to sniff my eyes, nose, and ears. This is one of the best and most over-whelming welcome I have experienced ever in my life. 

Shrida - The Curious kid

Ganesh and his small family were volunteering at this farm for the past one year. Shrida, his kid is worth mentioning here. Curious and inquisitive mind gifted with immense talents, he can easily befriend with any stranger at no time. Ganesh is a university by himself, and he exposes his little son to real-life learning. The family keeps moving to inspiring places across India, Nepal, and Srilanka stays and volunteers there, and lives a minimalistic life in this materialistic world. These family members are my guide for the next few days at this farm.  It was the first week of January, and the night was shimmering with cold in this winter. I went to my room to retire for the day. Bolt came running under my legs, jumped on the bed, sat on the pillow, and nodded at me with his usual hyper reflexes. Shrida ran into my room, to inform that Bolt will be sleeping in this room; whereas other pets will be guarding my room by staying outside. I slept with a puzzled mind; whether I am privileged to sleep with Bolt or Bolt is privileged to sleep with me?

DSP - The crazy kid 

I was super amazed by strolling around the integrated farm next morning with Ganesh.  The farm was established by a young post-graduate Mr. Naveen Krishnan, a visionary agripreneur with a great mission of meeting few objectives of Dr. Kalam’s vision 2020 – environmental protection, creating awareness on wildlife and nature, educating farmers about innovative farming, and creating man-made forests.  The entire farm was distinctly earmarked based on the specific tasks – animal zone with proper fencing and appropriate strategies to house a list of exotic animal breeds. I was completely engrossed with those exotic collections in an agricultural farm – pigmy goats, Arabian racehorses, Asino Amiatina donkeys,  two giant green and orange iguanas with dozens of baby iguanas, gerbil, hamster, tortoise, native kangayam bull, brahma chicken, fish breeds like alligator gar, arapaima, and piranha. It takes a lot of special interest to rear these exotic breeds. Ganesh explained to me in detail about those exotic breeds and he had enough patience to clarify most of my inquisitive doubts. There was a fenced livestock area nearby this animal zone to rear goats, cows and poultries. 

Miyawaki method

The farming techniques and approaches are unique and progressive here. The Miyawaki tree plantation method is being adapted here in one area of the farm. It’s a technique pioneered by Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki, which helps build dense forests by planting few native species in the same ground pit. This approach ensures the plant growth is ten times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser.  Few thousand plants are spread across evenly giving a lush green cover amidst the surrounding parched lands. I was breathing the fresh miyawaki morning air at the moment. The rest of the farmland was cultivated with pomegranate orchards, vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal, spinach varieties, chilly, and cattle fodders. Toiling in the soil for hours; reverberated to me, the wisdom of celebrated great Tamil Poet and Philosopher Thiruvalluvar;

The world tails the plough despite other pursuits

Even if one toils, farming remains foremost 

சுழன்றும்ஏர்ப் பின்னது உலகம் அதனால் 
உழந்தும் உழவே தலை.

Volunteering

Amused by all these endearing endeavors, we moved ahead for another surprise of an artificial Olympic size agricultural pond with the  length of 140 feet, breadth of 70 feet and depth of 12 feet filled with gallons of water.  Water is being pumped from a bore well which is located 6kms away and stored here to irrigate this farmland. Every drop of water counts here and, all the crops are watered by drip irrigation ensuring optimal water management. As time eluded, I was soaked completely in the daily chores of the farm, chopping fodder grass, processing the fodder, feeding the cattle’s and pet dogs, and cleaning the cattle sheds.  We took a pair of goats to nearby veterinary doctor. The animals are deprived of communicating by language; and when it is sick, it’s very complex for us to find the etiology, and it’s suffering. The veterinarian was professionally competent, examined the sick goats, diagnosed as an infection and gave an antibiotic shot in the goats neck. Tired and exhausted; the goats took comfort on my lap and shoulder while returning back to the farm. 

Naveen with special kids

Naveen Garden farm is quite popular among the school and college educators for providing their students with an experiential learning on nature, wildlife, and agriculture. And it is also equally hit among the public for a relaxed day outing in a farm along with exotic breeds. During my volunteering, a bunch of special kids arrived here for their Pongal celebrations. I went to receive them from their van along with the entire matrix gang. Luna, Panda and Bolt stormed into the van; and few kids started to scream their lungs out. I assured these intellectually challenged special kids about the friendly character of the pets and brought them to the common activity area. My community rehabilitation & public health expertise helped me to manage these kids with very minimal efforts; and sooner some kids were seen attached to the pets. I was their guide now taking them to all the areas in the farm; detailing them about the exotic breeds, agriculture techniques, water conservation techniques, and all about Naveen Garden. Abandoned by their family members, neglected from society, these special kids have a horrifying past in their lives. But at this very moment, I can see smiles, excitement and laughter in those kids’ faces by the love, affection, touch and nurturance of the pet animals.  

Eyespotting Iguana

Naveen Krishnan endeavors are really inspiring, and most of his aspirations are fueled by Dr. Kalam’s mission. He invested enormous resources in building in a residential home for mentally challenged on his farm. The project was ultimate, with a novel approach to care and nurture the mentally challenged individuals in a peaceful residential ambiance midst of green farms and pet animals. The buildings are in the last phase of completion. Unfortunately, this project is stalled now at the due to a lack of sufficient funds.  This unfinished building is the only unaccomplished dream here in this Naveen Garden. My volunteering days here in this Naveen Garden was a great quest for my learning in many dimensions, understanding the importance of farming, practical insights to miyawaki tree plantations, water management approaches, playing around with the gang of the matrix, the best time in bringing out the smiles in those special kids and most importantly nurturing the sick goat by hugging close to my chest. 

Miles to go

This farm is a perfect embodiment of Masanobu Fukuoka’s words - The ultimate goal of farming is not growing of crops; But the cultivation and perfection of human beings. Naveen Garden is cultivating the perfection in Human beings.

You can find more details about Naveen Garden

www.globalnaturefoundation.org

Naveen can be reached @ +91-98423 53713

People don’t die here, they live an eternal life

The Buddhist shrine caves on the outskirts of Aurangabad city is one of the least popular tourist attractions when compared to Ajanta and Ellora caves. This sixth-century rock-cut caves are located in the Sihaychal ranges depicting the teachings of Buddha. I was trekking alone to this cave shrines on a Sunday morning.  While descending, I found a gentleman in mid-fifties carrying a 50-liter water can on his shoulder and walking in the tree woods. A girl was following the gentleman in the deep woods. I was observing them closely, and as always curious to know, where are they heading with so much water in this no-man’s-land.

They reached near a small plant inside the jungle, which was fenced by barbwires. The gentleman and the girl kneel down to the plant, removed the weeds and tilled the soil by a stick. Both of them watered the small plant with utmost care and affection, stood there in an eerie silence for a few minutes. At one moment, the gentleman stroked the leaves and stem of the plant. I found something strange in them and reached them to strike a conversation. A touching story unfolded here to me in this Marathwada region. The man lost her daughter in January 2018, at a very young age of 21 due to a medical illness. Most of her organs were donated. Her ashes and mortal remains are placed beneath the soil and a tree was planted on it.  Since then, it was a regular affair for their family members, to visit this plant every week with water and manures. They fenced the plant and ensured the plant is nurtured with enough nutrients and water for its growth. The gentleman said, my dearest daughter is living and growing right here, as another meaningful rebirth and gift to the world.

His eyes welled up-in tears while sharing this story and tears started flowing from my eyes. He said that planting a tree on her mortal remains gives him the best of satisfaction rather than building a cemetery in her honor.  He also said that, most of the trees in this jungle are raised up like this. The relatives ensure the trees are well-grown; and they visit the trees often.  I was literally astounded on hearing this custom, where the dead take a rebirth, giving oxygen to the living ones. I walked further deep into the woods, sat there beneath a tree, gazed at the trees, leaves and its surroundings. The mid-morning silver sunrays pierced through the dense green foliage to touch the ground. Two tree squirrels were seen mocking a fight for a wild berry on a tree bark.  A herd of goats was busy grazing the bushes at one corner of the jungle. The herdsman resting under a tree was occupied with his smartphone; busy in completing his daily mobile data of 1GB. In the distance, I can see the fluttering colorful prayer flags from the nearby Buddhist monastery.   The gentleman bid adieu to her daughter and left the place. He slowly started disappearing from my gaze behind a statue of Lord Buddha in the monastery. I took a deep breath, bowed down to the base of the trunk of few trees, the living human souls, with much of reverence and respect.

Planting a tree is an enormous expression of love.

You never know if you will enjoy its shade or fruits, but you know someone will.

It’s an enormous expression of love to the departed soul. 

Truly, people don’t die here, they live an eternal life. 

It is indeed a great lesson for me from this Maratha land!