A Painting or a Photo?

This is a photo that I had clicked when I was travelling in a double Decker bus from Aylesbury in the Buckinghamshire  to Oxford on route A418. It was a rainy day (it had snowed earlier in the morning in some parts near Aylesbury) and I had clicked this photo just for the heck of it.  It was taken from the front window pane and since the pane had rain water blurring the vision it was much later did I realise that it gives the impression of a painting. The photo was clicked most likely when I was passing Thames town.

On a rainy day in UK

Importance of Time

It's hopeless what I am asking for:
Time can't be put back to an hour
At which it has been once before;
That's something no earthly power
Has ever managed, to be sure.

Time runs along and flies away
And won't come back until doomsday,
And I well know it isn't right
To ask if Time could halt its flight
Or else if Time could speed its way.

- Cervantes

Kharapathar and Giri Ganga

I try and visit locations which are normally not frequented too much by the tourists and so I went to Kharapathar and Giri Ganga. Kharapathar is a small village about 85 kms from Shimla in the Pabbar valley and has scenic snow capped views, green dense forests, orchards and wild flowers.

Giri Ganga Resort, Kharapathar

I stayed at the Giri Ganga Resort run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) - a state government enterprise. The rooms are decent and give good views of the valley and the peaks.

View of the Snow Capped Peaks

Wild Flowers

Next day after a hearty breakfast I decided to take the trail leading to the source of Giri Ganga. The trail is approximately six to seven kms from the hotel one way. I packed a knapsack with water, snacks, chocolates etc  and started at Nine in the morning. The view on the trail is very good and you get a panoramic view of the snow capped peaks. If one wants one can drive right up to the top but if you are interested to do so make sure that you have a 4x4 with a high clearance vehicle.

Deodar Forests

The last one-third of the journey not only have denser forest but also the rocks are huge (some several hundred feet long). The path is along the pines first and later deodars and full of wild flowers.

A Water Snout on the trail

Flowers

Flowers

Flowers

 The Giri Ganga temple complex has five-six small temples of Durga, Shiva etc.

Giri Ganga Temple Complex

Durga Temple at Giri Ganga

The point where the Giri Ganga reemerges (presumably it originates at Kuppar peak and then vanishes and reemerges here. Also known as Giri, it later on merges with the river Yamuna. The actual point is quite hidden and most people presume the larger concrete pond to be the place instead of the actual one (photo given below)

The Source where the Giri Ganga Reemerges (presumably) 

The temple complex does not have even a tea stall leave aside any place to eat so it was just as well that I had carried some stuff with me. During pilgrim season I believe several pilgrims do visit the place so it is important that either a private enterprise or the state government comes up with a place to stay and as well as some eateries.

Dhosi Hills

Dhosi Hills or Dhosi ki Pahadi as they are called locally are situated about eight kilometers from Narnaul, a small town in Haryana on the Delhi - Singhana - Jhunjhunu route. Narnaul would be approximately 150 kms from Delhi. After crossing Narnaul (towards Singhana) one takes a minor road on the left approximately five kilometers after crossing the town and go further 3 kms to the base of the hills.

Interesting Rock Formation to Climb

I decided to climb the hills for the fun of it one winter morning as in summers the rocks would be too hot to touch. I reached the foot of the hills by car at around 7 AM and parked the car and started to climb on the path initially and later on as it became too boring to stick to the path I started randomly to climb and find my own route including some interesting rock climbing as well.

View of the Dhosi Hills as you approach from below

Sunrise as seen after climbing some distance on the Dhosi Hills

As per some sources (I am not vouching for the authenticity of the same) Manu Smriti, Vedas and Upnishads were written in and around this hill. The famous Chavan Rishi Ashram is located here. The ashram gives the looks of a fort.

Chavan Rishi Ashram

The area around the Ashram and the temple is in a depression with the hill walls all around and there is a pond where the water therefore gets accumulated from the whole area.

Remnants of a 500 year old fort built by Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya are still visible at several points.

Fort Walls

The view that I got from the top of the Dhosi hills of the villages down below as well as the nearby areas was worth the climb.

A village seen from atop the Dhosi Hills

Would you like to go there?

Rock Climbing anyone?

Sunset at Mandi

This beautiful red sky sunset was at a place called Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Sunset from the balcony of my hotel

Mandi is a small town with a population of just about 60,000 persons. It is located at a height of about 2461 feet above sea level. It can be quite hot during day time even in early winters but nights are cool to cold in winters. From my hotel not only could I view the mountains all around but look down upon the river Beas as the hotel is located almost at the heighest location in Mandi.

Tarna Devi Temple, Mandi

The temple of Tarna Devi situated atop the Tarna hills is quite famous here but when I went there to see this ancient temple there was not much ancient looks to it as the people who manage it has painted it in gory colours and it did not appeal to me at all. Of course the only good thing reaching the temple site was to get views of the town and nearby areas from another angle.

Meeting the Legend - Sir Chris Bonington

Yesterday I met the legendary mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington. I got to know that he is coming to our campus couple of months back and since then I was eagerly waiting to meet him. When he arrived on the campus he pleasantly surprised me by saying – so you are the mountaineer here.

With Sir Chris Bonington

Later in the evening he gave a public lecture at Taj Ambassador on “Everest – Peak of Achievement”. The lecture was based on Sir Chris’s experiences as a member of the Norwegian Everest Expedition’s successful ascent of Everest in 1985 to illustrate leadership, teamwork and motivation.

Sir Chris Bonington's lecture on Everest A Peak of Achievement

After the lecture over drinks we discussed some other climbers also like Jon Krakauer, Anatoli Boukreev and others. Another bonus was meeting his co-climber friend Dr Charles Clarke who is an accomplished mountaineer and has written several books on medicine – more specifically on high altitude medicines. He was the medical officer in two of Bonington’s Everest expeditions - 1975 Everest SW Face and 1982 Everest, NE Ridge, Tibet.

With Sir Chris Bonington and Dr Charles Clarke

Britain's best known mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington has led and been on 19 Himalayan expeditions, including 4 to Everest which he climbed in 1985 at the age of fifty, and has made many first ascents in the Alps and greater ranges of the world.

His most important climbs are:

1st ascent Annapurna II (26,041 ft) 1960
1st ascent Nuptse (25,850 ft) 1961
1st ascent Central Pillar of Freney 1961
1st ascent Central Tower of Paine (8760 ft), Patagonia 1963
1st ascent Old Man of Hoy 1966
Leader of successful Annapurna South Face Expedition 1970
1st ascent Brammah (21,030 ft) 1973
1st ascent Changabang (22,520 ft) 1974
Leader of successful Everest South West Face Expedition 1975
1st ascent, the Ogre (23,900 ft)1977
1st ascent Mount Kongur, Western Xinjiang, China (25,325 ft) 1981
1st ascent Shivling West (21,250 ft) 1983
1st ascent West Ridge, Panch Chuli II, Kumaon Himalaya, India, 1992
1st ascent The Needle, Greenland 1993
1st ascent Rangrik Rang (21,499 ft), in the Kinnaur Himalaya, India 1994
1st ascent Drangnag Ri (22,312 ft) in the Rolwaling Himal, Nepal 1995
1996 Reconnaissance Expedition to Sepu Kangri (6956m) in Tibet
Leader of 1997 British Expedition to make the first attempt on Sepu Kangri
Leader of 1998 British Expedition to Sepu Kangri
1st ascent Danga (24,776 ft) in Nepal in 2000

He has got several awards: Knighthood, CVO,CBE, Hon. DSc, Sheffield, Hon. MA, Salford, Hon. DSc., Lancaster, Hon,. Fellow, Lancashire Polytechnic, Hon. DCL University of Northumbria, Founders Medal Royal Geographical Society, Lawrence of Arabia Medal of the Royal Asian Society, Livingstone medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Sir Bonington has authored of 15 books; he has presented and appeared in many television programmes. His books are: I Chose to Climb (autobiography, 1966), Annapurna South Face (1971), The Next Horizon (autobiography, 1973), Everest South West Face (1973), Changabang, Everest the Hard Way (1976), Quest for Adventure (1981), Kongur - China's Elusive Summit (1982), Everest - The Unclimbed Ridge (with Dr Charles Clarke, 1983), The Everest Years (1986), Mountaineer - Thirty Years of Climbing on the World's Great Peaks (1989), The Climbers (1992), Sea, Ice and Rock (1992), Great Climbs (1994), Tibet's Secret Mountain (with Dr Charles Clarke, 1999), Boundless Horizons ( 2000), Chris Bonington's Everest (2002), Everest Expeditions (2003).

Oxford or Cambridge

Recently when I was reading the ratings of the universities in UK I noticed that Cambridge has taken over Oxford this year.

Personally, if asked where I would like to go again between the two cities Oxford wins hands down. I have already visited Oxford thrice though I have gone only once till now to Cambridge.

Though both the cities are beautuful in their own sense, Oxford is more lively what with more student population and nearly forty colleges - all having majestic building architecture. The residential areas of Oxford are also more bautiful than Cambridge.

Radcliffe Square, Oxford

The night-life and the city centre in Oxford is much more livelier than that of Cambridge. Oxford is more known for Arts whereas Cambridge is more known for Sciences.

King's College, Cambridge