My brief encounters

ना उमर की सिमा हो ना जन्म का हो बंधन ...

2011-10-10T20:31:00.005+01:00

होटो से छुलो तुम मेरा गीत अमर करदो....

The simplicity of his compositions, richness of his lyrics and the soulful voice is why the nation was singing along with this man who created what we call ageless music...I had the privilege of listening to Jagjit Singh live in concert years ago on my birthday and today brought back many wonderful memories from that evening when he sang one after another beautiful Gazals and songs from films.

I would have probably not explored the world of Gazals had it not been for your Gazals which brought out the curiosity in me to discover this whole wonderful genre of rich Urdu and Hindi poetry. Your music never failed to touch my soul. Your music has been a constant companion of mine traveling around the world with me. Your music has been part of my happiness, sadness and loneliness. Thank you for giving us so many beautiful gazals and an experience listening to your albums especially when I am traveling is priceless and your voice is just so soothing that takes away stresses of day to day life....

I am really saddened that you are no more but I know you will live through your music and that is eternal.....RIP Jagjit Singh

A sad day for all us music lovers.

B.

Imperfect but Incredible India!!!

2010-10-04T19:11:00.005+01:00

I don’t have enough words to express how proud I felt watching the Common Wealth Games- Delhi 2010 opening ceremony. What an incredible event that presented very beautifully all the vibrant cultures of India covering all the regions, folk dances and music, our heritage, our history and day to day life in India whether it be Yoga, Indian Railway, Chaiwala, Rickshawala, Bangles, Music, Indian Cinema, Garba, Bhangra, Jalebi, cycles, rich to poor it was all covered in a matter of few hours. Unless one has lived in India or been to India, one cannot truly appreciate how diverse, colourful and culturally rich India is, and to present glimpse of our heritage like this is a challenge if not impossible; however the way the organisers united all this to present a perfectly synchronised show was truly inspirational. It brought back so many wonderful memories of my childhood days seeing the glimpse of day to day life presented by Indian Railway, folk dances and yoga. The bad publicity prior to the event actually has done India a huge favour, as more people lined up to watch the opening ceremony, and even more people around the world now know how truly colourful and rich our nation is and more importantly everyone now knows to expect the unexpected from Indians! To end the show with none other then the pride of Indian music Industry Mr A R Rahman was just very special. I had an opportunity to see A R Rahman live in Concert few months back, and the atmosphere that Rahman creates around you is just priceless; so to watch live this amazing colourful event where dances were performed to folk music of India and Rahman’s compositions must have been an amazing experience.

Let the sports unite the nations that are divided by boundaries and religions….

Incredible India, our India. :)

Jai Hind!

Believe in yourself......

2010-10-03T21:32:00.022+01:00

“Believe in yourself, do what makes you happy and do not compromise with what makes you happy” is what Aamir Khan (AK) guesses is the secret behind his success. AK shared a story about his own experience at the Q&A session (Feltham, London) when he was asked “what is the secret behind your success as it is believed everything you touch becomes gold?” This is what makes him unique, he chooses his projects where his heart is in it. He might release a movie once in a while but when he does we all know it’s going to be a special one.
I am not a big fan of crowd and certainly not a crazy fan to push my way through the crowds to get a glimpse, despite of having same amount of admiration and love for AK as millions of people across the globe. Instead I had put on high heels and equipped myself with a Digi SLR in a hope to get a picture or two of this person whose work I have loved and this person whom I have admired for over 2 decades since the Qayamat se Qayamat days. AK came across very well spoken and a down to earth person despite of being a such successful star. These are the few of many great qualities that has won him admiration from across the globe. I wont deny the fact that I went to Feltham not only to watch the movie but to meet Aamir Khan. I had secretly hoped that I would have an opportunity to request an autograph and a picture. However this desire left me as soon as I saw the crowd at Feltham.
It was quite amusing when the film finished and AK arrived for the Q&A session, the audience in the cinema hall went crazy and all I could see was huge number of camera flashes and body guards but no AK. (lol). Then this little person with a larger than life persona arrived on the stage asking everyone to take a seat so he could begin the session. AK started the Q&A session by giving a bit of the background on the making of “Peepli Live” and drivers behind choosing this script. There were some very interesting questions and some controversial. There was lots of love and admiration shown towards AK by the audience. It must be great to be in a position where your work is appreciated so much! It was admirable the way he answered the questions, quite politely, gracefully and maintained his cool through out some very unnecessary controversial questions. Someone has put an excellent clip together of the Q&A session focusing on “Peepli Live” related chats and you can view this here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-18dZDMM40c
There were few aspects of the first Q&A session that stayed with me. The very first is the one I started my blog with. AK was asked what is the secret behind his success….? AK responded to this really well by sharing his life experience of time when he was going through a tough period in his career. “Believe in yourself, do what makes you happy and do not compromise with what makes you happy and that is so important” That is such an important point he made and by sharing his own experience, he showed even stars go through the tough times. Off course those of us who are at a stage in our life where we are wiser now knows all this but do the younger generation know it? A heavy responsibility comes with being a public figure, as you are also responsible for setting a trend; have a power to initiate a change and its wonderful to see when it is used in a right manner, like in this instance. I was not convinced by AK’s response to why he didn’t play the role of Natha. Aamir played a role of farmer in Lagaan quite convincingly, so I think he could have very nicely fitted in the role of Natha, but I do admit Omkar has given a full justice to the role of Natha.
I had an opportunity to ask him a question which I used it to find out about Media’s response to this film in India. I simply loved the way this film has portrayed media (its not the only thing that I loved about the film), I hope it acts as a wake up call for media to take a step back and think what they are reporting, how they are reporting and to what depth they go at times in craze for higher TPR's. I also hope they focus on the “real issues” that will bring about change in our much loved country. Offcourse in the film there is a little exaggeration but I do feel media has an immense power and it is so important that this power is used in a right way for the right reasons. AK replied "media and politicians in India have responded to this film very well and has taken it quite gracefully and he was pleased with their response". I hope the acceptance of film doesn’t just end there but results in these very people recognizing the seriousness of the “Farmer’s Suicides” issue in India and those in powers take actions to bring about changes that are long overdue. And that in my view would be a real achievement for the “Peepli Live” team if they managed to succeed in having such direct impact. Agriculture is the predominant occupation in India, accounting for majority of employment and it makes me sad to think people who work so hard to provide food for others themselves suffer hardships to such extent that they would consider/commit suicide. And if this is happening then people in the power need to work harder to change this.
Aamir has taken a huge risk financially in making this film, we all know that. It is a challenge to make a Satire film and get the balance right; it is credit to the “Peepli Live” team that they managed to achieve that. We also know he has used his creative talents to raise awareness and put this issue at an international platform. So I think he has done his bit and now its over to the general public and politicians to accept and reform the policies to bring a change for better.
“Peepli Live” is a thought provoking, a very good film and I really loved the way it’s made, quite simplistic and realistic but with humour poured in plenty. This film is of a very high standard and in line with expectation that we have from AK. This film raises awareness of many issues that still prevail in the villages in India. There are plenty of vibrant characters in the film; my favourite are Aama and Rakesh. Natha hardly said much but his expressions said it all and Aama was simply hilarious. For me Peepli live was not just bringing to light the issue about farmers but it also highlighted many failures in other areas too. I simply loved the way media turned a discussion among brothers on survival into a news headline and that all snow balled into this hugely talked about event, “will he die or will he not die?” There are many powerful scenes in the film like the one when Natha is walking around in his house with no where to go as media has taken over his home and his life. The expression of helplessness that Omkar brought into the character of Natha was priceless. Another when a cameraman discovers Natha in the fields having a comfort break and the follow on events from there are just too hilarious. The way this film sent the message about lack of basic facilities for farmers was brilliant. The scene where Aama goes crazy upon seeing a woman reporter in the house was really amusing. The seen when media leaves Peepli leaving all the mess behind was very clever and powerful indeed.
This is a similar and different film to 3 idiots in some ways, both tackles a social/political issue and puts it across with lot of humour; and different in the sense that “3 idiots” offered a resolution whereas “Peepli Live” didn’t, it left the audience to think or decide how they want to tackle this issue. I really liked that move by the makers of this film. The role of a creative person when they want to use their creativity to raise awareness, it should be that only “raise awareness” not give solutions. AK and his team comes up with something creative every time, giving us something unique that we feel it is worth making an effort to go to cinema to watch the film. I am very selective of what movies I watch, and once again I felt pleased to have made time to meet Aamir and watch this film as it is a truly inspirational film. I am however left with a question in my mind, why was the character of Rakesh killed? After all he was the only person with conscience in this mayhem…..
B.

Yeh safar

2009-01-14T21:40:00.004Z

zindagi bhar yaad rahega, marte dum tak!

These were the words of our rickshaw driver on one of the days when we travelled from Santacruz to Borivali. I was feeling very tired after few hours of shopping and the thought of another hour to go before we get home, slightly rusted my happy spirits. Little I knew that was not going to last long and this ordinary journey home would turn out to be hilarious and a memorable one.

This is an extract from what I remember of this, no doubt I have missed out few comments. Characters short forms : RD = Rickshaw driver. B = me, K = Krazzy K and U = Mrs Patel ;)

Soon after getting into this rickshaw, I realised this was going to be quite a ride, as the riskshaw driver was driving his rickshaw like he was on formula one route, when my impatience got better of me, I asked him "Bhaiya aap ko rickshaw mein seat belt rakhna chahiye, aap aisi masti main chalate ho ki kya pata ek passenger edhar se gaya or ek udhar se" and what followed is this....

RD "Aap dua karo ki ek din meri khudki bhi rickshaw ho aur main jaroor seat belt lagwaunga"
B "Hum dua karte hain aap ki 10 rickshaw ho par seat belt lagwana nahi bhulna"
B " Aap side mirror kya is liye rakhte ho ki bar bar check karlo kahi passenger gir to nahi gaye?" ;)
RD “Nahi aise koi baat nahi, kabhi ese estimal bhi karlete hai, vaise to yaha ka asul hai bas aage ka khyal rakho, phiche ki parwa phiche wale ko karne do, es liye mirror ka hona jaruri nahi”

This is what I call an "organised choas", everyone knows what they are doing but it looks very chaotic and scarry to visitors like me who like some discipline.

K "To yeh kiski rickshaw hai?"
RD "Bhade (rent) ki, hum raat to chalate hai, shaam ke 7 se subh ke 6 tak”
K “Aap kitna bhada dete ho ek raat ka?”
RD “Ek raat ka 150 bhada bharte hai"
K "To aap ka kharcha nikal jata hai esme?"
RD "kharcha bhi nikalta hai aur 200/300 bachat bhi hoti hai"
B "Kya aap ki shaadi ho gayi hai?"
RD "nahi"
B "Tab bhi to paise bachte hai, shaadi karlo paise aur baal dono chale jayenge" ;)
RD "yeh shadi ke chakar mein he hum ghar se rafoo chakkar ho gaye, malum chala tha ki humare ghar wale humri shadi kahi karne wale hai to hum rafoo chakkar ho gaye, ghar walo ko aaj tak pata nahi hum kaha hai"

I thought now that sounds interesting, so I continued further "kyun, aap shaadi se dar gaye ya hone wali biwi se?" ;)
RD smiling "Humne bahoot logo ki buri haalat dekhi hai shadi ke baad. Shadi karke pachtate hai. Hume yeh manjoor nahi to rafoo chakkar ho gaye"
U "aapko ghar ki yaad nahi aati?"
RD "ghar ki yaad to bahoot aati hai par kuch halat hi ese they"

B "Aap kitne saal ke ho?"
RD " 26 saal, ek mahina or ek din"
U "ek ghanta to nahi na?" :)
RD smiling "nahi woh abhi tak to nahi hua"
B "aap ka naam kya hai?"
RD "Duniya ne itne naam diye hai ki hum khudka hi naam bhul gaye" I naively thought he probably has nick names like I have, so asked "really, kaunse naam diye hai aapko?"
RD "Kuta, kamina......... "
Suddenly there was silence in the rickshaw. Then he continued "kabhi kabhi to maar bhi khana padta hai"
B jokingly "To aap rickshaw mein hockey stick rakhlo :)"
RD "us se kaam nahi chalta, Bambu haina" all of us were puzzled thinking he said bomb haina
B "Bhaiya aap kya rakhte ho?!!!?"
RD "Lohe ka bamboo, jo kabhi jaroor padi to nikal dete hai aur estemaal bhi karlete"
B "oh Bamboo stick! phew! hum to dar gaye ki aap rickshaw main bomb rakhte ho. OK lets hope we don’t need it today"

B "aap ka asli naam kya hai?"
RD "humra naam Raju hai"
B "Raju Srivastav? jo TV main aate hai aur sabko hasate hai?"
RD "kaha woh aur kaha hum, humari esi haisiyat kaha ki hum tv main aaye?"
B "aap bolte bhi Raju Srivastav ki jaisehe. aur aap logo ko hasate bhi uski tarah ho. kya aap bhi bihari ho?"
U "par aap Raju Srivastav se jyada aacha kaam karte ho. Itne fast rickshaw chalake, sab ko ghar unke family ke paas safely aur jaldi pochate ho, aur woh bhi hasake".

After brief silence RD continued "aaj pehli baar aise log humri rickshaw mein bethe hain jo khule dimag ke hai, aur humse khulke baat karte hai, nahi to ese muh latkake log aate hai ki lagta hai jaise ghar wali se jagadke aaye ho"
B "humari shaadi nahi hui haina tabhi to hum itna hus rahe hai. Han yeh baat alag hai ki agar kalko, aap ki rickshaw main yaha se ek chota handsome ladka gusse mein bethe to samaj lena woh humara bhai hai jiski abhi abhi shaadi hui hai, aur wo meri yeh pyari si bhabhi se jagad ke aaya hai" ;)
U "hey not fair didi..." :)

Then the driver gets out of the rickshaw to see why there is a traffic jam and if there are any tiny areas where he could get his rickshaw through. He repeated this reviewing of the route few times until we got to Borivali. Numerous times I thought his rickshaw will hit another vehicle or simply roll over with us three in it and that also without the seat belts; but I must admit he was a very good driver and it was me who was not made to travel on Mumbai roads.
Once when he got out to do his regular check of traffic jams, K said "bhaiya aap ese bahar jaate ho, koi gunda yaha aajaye aur aapko dhaka deke, yeh rickshaw main hume utha le jaye to?!!!"
RD "aisa ho hi nahi sakta, aap befikra raho"
B "bhaiya chinta mat karo, yeh meri bahan ko jo le jayega woh ek hi ghante main wapas bhi chodke jayega, upar se pair pakade maafi mange ga aur yeh kahega humse bahoot badi galti ho gaye hume maaf karlo, yeh bahoot dimaag khati hai yeh hume paagal kardegee."

More laughter…..

RD "humare parivar ke paas 3 rickshaw hai"
K "to woh kaun chalata hai?"
RD "ek bhai chalata hai or baki bhade pe dete hai"
B "bhaiya aap ghar ki 3 rickshaw ko chodke, yaha bhade ki rickshaw chalate ho, bhade ki biwi le aate, ghar hi nahi chodna padta"
RD laughing "aise thodi hota hai, thode din chalta yeh natak?"
B "kyun nahi chalta, jaroorat padi to bachaa bhi bhade pe miljata, yaha bhade pe sab kuch milta hai"; remembering K's story about a fake wedding that she told me once, I continued "shaadi main baraati bhi bhade ke milte hai" ;)
RD "yeh baat aapne sahi kahi, aaj kal shadi ke dahej mein bacha saath aata hai :)"
RD continued "Gao mein abhi bhi etna kharab nahi jitna shahro main, bahut kharab waqt hai"
K "yeh saab serials main hota hain na, char char bar shaadi karte hai log, yeh sab dekhenge to thoda influence to aaye ga na?"

B "humne yeh he badi galti ki, serial main kam karna tha, aab tak to humari shaadi ho chuki hoti, atleast ek bar"
RD "Shakal kaha ki koi serial main role de"
K and I wondering with raised eyebrows "huh"
RD continues "kute bhi nahi bhokenge" at which point I had to calmly and jokingly query him "Aap humari baat kar rahe ho ya apni?"
RD "aap ko esa bole humari himat kaha, woh to hum apni baat kar rahe they."
He then continued "Aap to humare customer ho hum aapko esa nahi kah sakte, hume jute nahi khane"
B "to chalo theek hai kyuki humari juti bahar aahee gayi thee" ;)

At this point everyone was in stitches laughing so much as he had not realised I was talking about me and he made those comments thinking we were talking about him.

RD "yeh safar zindagi bhar yaad rahega, marte dum tak."
K "humne etna dimag khaya, etne question kiye phir bhi aap itna acha kahte ho"
B "Aap humari ek baat maanlo, aap ke pas 10 min hai ghar phone karne ke liye, phir humara ghar aajayega aur hum chalejayenge, aap ek bar phone karlo sab kuch thik ho jayega."

RD "na baba woh hume dhoodh lenge kyunki unhe pata chal jayega ki hum Bumbai mein hai.”
U " bhaiya to aap humara phone lelo aur apne family se baat karlo, unhe pata nahi chalega yeh kiska number hai......."

All three of tried to convince him but until we reached our destination he didnt call his home, he said he misses his family but fears if he did they would find him and then he will have to get married and getting married means barbadi................ I sensed there was more to this story then met the eyes……nevertheless it was a laughter filled journey that we throughly enjoyed.

This was the fastest rickshaw ride I have ever been on in my life; and while at times his driving scared the hell out of me, I realised why people in India don’t need fun ride parks, the journeys on Mumbai roads gives enough thrills!!! The Mumbai roads are crazy but there is some logic to it which the drivers looked like they understoood. Indians are big risk takers, whether it be in a business, marriage or while driving. On numerous occassions I felt ignorance was really a bliss especially when it comes to driving in India, some of the safety measures that are considered essential in the West, are really not a necessity and people are happy to take a risk (probably unknown), Or is it that the West has gone too far in some instances when it comes to health and safety? I wonder....

Some journeys gives insight into lot more then we bargain for, like how rickshaw drivers are treated; what was a general aimless yapping for us could make someones day! While I hated the noise and pollution in Mumbai, I absolutely loved the buzz of the city…. The place is vibrant, diverse and highly contrasts, and the best of all is there is something for everyone the rich, middle and poor classes….Infact that applies across whole of India. While I couldnt live in Mumbai, I certainly hope to discover more of Mumbai when I am there again. Its very industrial, people work very hard to earn the living, for millions it is a necessity to fight the poverty and survive the harsh realities. And I think this very necessity to “survive the poverty” coupled with some courageous Mumbaivasi will never let any terrorists or natural calamities defeat the spirit of Mumbai!

Bhumi

Har dua mein shamil tera pyar hai..........

2008-08-08T21:10:00.000+01:00

bin tere lamha bhi dushwar hai.............were the lyrics on my lips when I came out of Wembley Arena and was humming the song for many days after that. My dream to listen Atif Aslam live finally came true! After the cancellations of last 2 concerts I was not sure if this will take place. Nevertheless it did and it was an interesting as well as fantastic night.

The concert started over an hour late and after a "sold out" show at Royal Albert Hall last year, it was surprising to see they only managed to sell 25% of the tickets. As expected the audience did the Asian thing and moved into the front better seats. The concert started off with some good dance performances. Next hour was spent listening to new comers and four of Indian Idols. I was disappointed that my favourite Meiyang Chang was not among the Indian Idol performers at this concert. While the Idols tried their best I think the audience was just not wanting anyone but Atif….. Three guys from the audience hit the floor when Charu started singing “beedi” which provided some entertainment to little dull part of the concert… Emon was good and it’s a shame his slot got cut short as the concert was already running little late.

Amit Paul stood out of all the Indian Idols and he captured the audience and was entertaining. Meiyang Chang and Amit Paul were my two favourites from that round of Indian idols, so I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him, his originality, and depth to his singing appeals to me. Here's clips of his performance at this concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM618ZqxFg4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YpPPvCEFtA&feature=related

Then it was turn of the man of the night Atif Aslam, he started off with “Na main janu, Naa tu jaane”……….that was enough for the crowd to go wild!!!

This one although not at Wembley show but at the Manchester show a day later, it is worth it, just to get the feel of the atmosphere at his concerts - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d8f9E9zY7o

What followed on from there was one after one ecstatic performance, which I thoroughly enjoyed. “Ehsaas” “Doorie”, “Meri Kahani”, “Kaun tha kaha gaya” where he invited his friend Sara on the stage, “Maahi ve tere”, “Inteha ho chuki…from Shaarabi” and many more. Equipped with a great voice and a powerful stage presence he changed the mood in the hall the minute he sang a line from "Aadat - Bheegi yaadein" from the back stage. The atmosphere was electrifying and the crowd just went crazy. Here's one of my many favourites from the night

He started off his latest hit from film Race so beautifully…”Har dua main shamil tera pyaar hai, bin tere lamha bhi dushwar hai, dhadkano ko tujshe he darkaar hai……..” Although the composition for this song is heavily inspired by a Korean song, Sameer's lyrics and Atif voice has done justice to the song.

There has been few remarks about the "sur" element in Atif's singing in the Indian music industry; while I cant possibly comment on this as I do not feel I have an education or an understanding of "sur". What I can say is this man has a truly unique voice and that is why he has such huge following around the world!

It was simply great to hear this truly sensational voice live!!!! The only regret I have is not taking my camera with me but then 100’s of other people did and youtube zindabad ;) I end this with the final performance of the night, a beautiful number Aadat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVOaHaqfEpI&feature=related

AND my very favourite song "Kuch es tarah meri....."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QqRNzMCWl0

Date: 28th August 2008

Location: Wembley Arena, London

Looking back...

2007-11-24T23:04:00.001Z

23rd Nov 2007

A fun evening spent with trekkers from the last two trek challenges looking back at the experiences, memories and achievements. We also got to hear the story from Childline UK and from my friend Pauline about her experience as a volunteer at Scottish Childline. To date we have raised over £150,000 for the Childline UK through these treks, with South Africa Trek on its own raising around £65000. The funds raised for Childline enabled them to open an online help for children who were afraid to pick up the phones and seek help. In the first year it had 150,000 hits. Children call about all sorts of issues ranging from Bullying, abuse, to family break ups. These children have no one to turn to and therefore feel helpless and vulnerable. Among many issues that children face today, child labour, abuse and bullying are three top most in my view that prevents a society from becoming a better world, a forward looking one. I feel strongly against these and I believe NO child should have to go through it but develop like a free spirit. Although an equalist (note not feminist), I think I should stay away from the topic of gender discrimination as this could be never ending blog, in my view this a mental disease that people from many backgrounds regardless of where they live still suffer from even in 2007!

I wish I could volunteer for Childline and give up few hours every week however I do not feel I am strong enough to deal with children on such serious issues, so I simply have to settle for having an admiration for people who counsel these children and help with fund raising. It really was a treat to be at the top of BT Tower, enjoy the views of London on a clear night, simply stunning, and I have not seen London like this in my life before. I also felt content to have made a small but valuable difference. So often I have spent time on things and people that have been fruitless, but taking on these two treks really has taught me to focus on things that matter and make a difference! I took on these treks to help and make a difference to someone’s life somewhere, perhaps bring a smile on some one's face; little I knew it would make a huge difference to my life and I will end of gaining lot more then I could have ever desired for; I learnt so much about myself and my inner strengths, the life time experiences I gained and not to forget the wonderful people I met during these two challenges, on the trek and off during the fund raising.

As most of you may have by now heard how difficult these challenges were, especially the South Africa Trek. It is no walk in the park or for faint hearts to take on such challenges; it requires lot of hard work and commitment but there are real rewards too, reward of satisfaction. One has to give up pretty much all of their comforts, shower, bed, hair dryer, stay in wet/cold tents and complete strenuous walks for 5/6 days and sleep in very cold temperatures and if you are vegetarian then food can also be an issue. Even if one can let go of the comforts, raising £2500 each time is even tougher and you risk loosing your friends ;) However, when one is blessed with true friends like I am, it really is overwhelming and encourages you to carry on. Also giving up comforts for 10 days can make such big difference then I think its well worth it, and everyone should have a go! (saying that you just lost few of your friends Bhumi ;)

Finally I just want to thank my sponsors for their support during the 2 treks which has given me an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I also wanted to pass on my thanks to you all on behalf of Childline, Prayas (Delhi) and Cotlands (South Africa) as it really is your contribution that helped us make such a significant difference.

Thank you and kind regards,

Bhumi

Charities:
- Childline UK- http://www.childline.org.uk/

- Prayas India - http://www.prayasonline.org/

- Cotlands South Africa - http://www.cotlands.org/

My fundraising sites:

- Himalaya Trek - http://www.justgiving.com/bhumiamin

- Lesotho Trek - http://www.justgiving.com/bhumiamin07

Dhauladhar Trek

2007-11-18T21:40:00.000Z

May 2005

A group of 30 people trekked in the Dhauladhar mountain range, the foothills of Himalaya to raise money for the Childline UK and Childline India. The group efforts resulted in over £60k raised for the Childline UK.

There were lots of highlights through out the trek, this includes people in our group, fairly diverse but a good blend, beautiful snow mountains, colourful fields, visit to the Dalai Lama’s temple and his summer palace, captivating villagers and school visits during the trek.

When I signed up for the Childline India Trek I knew it was going to be challenging for both fund raising target and fitness level required. I thought steep climbs, steep descend, altitudes, heights, strong sun at the top would be kind of issues we would come across but these seemed like nothing compared to the weather that we had to cope with, worst in last 30 years in Himachal. It would generally be warm in the morning, heavy hailstones for few hours during the afternoon (especially at lunchtime everyday), and then freezing cold from early evening. So we found ourselves geared up with various layers to cope with the changing weather, but only after getting completely soaked on day 2. All our belongings, which included clothes, sleeping bags and sleeping mat arrived wet everyday on day 2, 3 and 4.

On day 2 climbing up the steep mountains with hail so heavy that made the narrow path disappear faster then we could walk was not only hard but scary too.

On day 3 when we reached the top of the mountain in Triund, the picture perfect views of Snow mountains on one side, deep valley on the other side at sun set was simply stunning, and it made all the hard work of the day well worth it.

On day 4 sitting in my tent on my own, on top of a mountain with a full blown storm raging was the scariest experience of my life and the low light of the trek.

Our visit to Prayas (Childline India) was the highlight of the trek for me. It was an eye opener for me as until then I hadn't truly appreciated the size and depth of issues that they deal with at Childline India. One inspirational woman that we had the pleasure of meeting is Gargi who works for Prayas. Her strength, passion to help and commitment to the cause is simply admirable. It was really nice to talk to some of the volunteers and children at the centre, and to see the big smiles despite of difficult circumstances they live in.

This was one of most amazing experience of my life, and I met some of the ordinary people making an extra ordinary difference in the lives of those less fortunate in the society. I also met some of the funniest characters on the trek, who provided bundles of laughs during the times when there was very little or nothing to laugh about.

This trek challenge was an opportunity which I am glad I took it on and I will cherish this experience and the memories for the rest of my life.

Dhauladhar Trek diary

2007-11-18T21:37:00.002Z

I am writing this blog over just two years since I completed the challenge, extracting notes from my memories and a brief diary. I am pleasantly surprised that not only I remember all ten days so well but every single moment has appeared in front of my eyes leaving me with an amazing feeling and a smile on my face. It was a sheer stroke of luck that I got on to the Childline Himalaya Trek challenge as not only I had missed the application deadline but I was very unfit following injuries from a car crash.

This was the craziest thing I had signed up for ever in my life, it was something I had never done before, had no idea about trekking or fundraising at such level, all I knew within me was if I try I can achieve my targets. I remember being little anxious after signing up for this and thinking “Bhumi have you gone mad? How will you survive 4/5 days camping, having never done camping before? How will you raise £2500?” When the brief anxiety left me I was lot more focused and clear. Also to be honest I had thought about what I was getting into before signing up as I knew it was going to be tough, perhaps it was just an aftershock. I must say I was very focused on completing this successfully and when you know what you want; are clear on how to go about it; and work hard for it, there is hardly any force in this world that will not be with you especially when the cause is good!

I was shocked to have raised £1000 in the very first week even before my fund raising events took place. More importantly I started training and gradually increasing the distance and challenge. Most of the days Main aur mere tanhayee went for walks and this was truly wonderful time of my life, as for a change I got some time everyday to myself and I also discovered so many beautiful parts of the local area that I didn’t known existed. Since 2005 to now my fondness for Stanmore has continued to grow, there are so many beautiful hidden natural treasures in Stanmore and surrounding areas that I simply love living the moment right here, right now.

28th and 29th April 2005

Finally the day arrived 28th April when we left for India to embark on our trek challenge. We left Heathrow on the 28th evening and arrived in Delhi early in the morning. We were shifted to Ashok country resort for few hours rest before we left for a visit to BT’s call centres in Noida. I was really looking forward to this visit because although I grew up in India I had never worked in India so I was really excited to get a brief insight into the professional world; especially as for the last 5-10 yrs India is where all the actions are happening.

At the Noida call centre we picked up 2 Indian participants and we headed for a place called “The Broadway” for dinner, where two more participants joined us. The Broadway is quite an amusing place, here you would find an old car turned into a food serving table, a sewing machine turned into a dinning table and the best of all was the collection of the cutlery with “Chor Bazaar” (chor = thief) printed on the back of the items.

After the meal we headed for the train station to catch the overnight train to Phatankot. This was something I was dreading as I knew the station will be packed with people and it will be chaotic making it very difficult to get to the required platform. Being on Delhi station was the worst part of this trek challenge, so many people, trains stop for only few minutes and to add to the torture was being stalked by the coolies. Finally we got on the right platform and had to get ready for the train as the stop time is very short.

The curiosity of locals to discover a group of well equipped foreigners looking like on some kind of mission reminded me of my childhood in India. I remember if a foreigner came to the town, people would be so curious they would come out to see them. In those days it was not common to see a white person travelling through small towns in India especially in Gujarat. The first time I saw a white couple at my dad’s shop, I was really young then and I remember wondering are these people really that white? Is that their real hair colour (blonde)? As until then I had not seen any other race apart from brown or olive skin and black or brown hair.

Finally the train arrived and I was pleased to be on the train, few of the trekkers had a glass of wine to get over that experience. I had the top booth and boy that was hard with so many mosquitoes to share the bed with. Its amazing how one gets used to comforts so quickly. I have travelled in First Class before in India but it never felt so uncomfortable. I soon got settled and started to enjoy the travel especially standing by the moving train open door. That was quite a thrilling experience.

We were all split into three groups so that gave an opportunity to experience travelling with locals. For some people in the group, I think it was an interesting experience to travel on the Indian trains and one that no doubt left a life time impact, memories of the crowds, short stop times, friendly travellers on the train sharing food, etc. I believe I am very adaptable, I may struggle a tiny bit in the beginning but it doesn’t take me long to adapt. I believe a change gives a new lease to ones life, opens a new chapter in ones life and should be welcomed with open arms, hence i enjoy taking on new things offcourse within limits.

30th April

Early morning views from the train were amazing (sunrise) and not so pleasant at the same time (morning chores by the people who live in huts). We were told we were going to get off at Cikibank instead of Phatankot as it means 20 min less journey. After the train journey we headed for Dharamsala in 4-wheel drives. About 10 jeeps driving through villages at the same time packed with lot of foreigners was bound to catch the attention of the locals. I remember being so scared during the early part of that journey and thinking I will be pleased if I make it to Dharamsala. Once again within short while I got used to the driving, as it’s an “organised chaos” on the roads in India. Those who can understand the concept of “organised chaos” in my view will love being in India.

(Photo: Richard Goodband)

We stopped for breakfast at a small restaurant on the route and then continued our journey. The views as we started getting closer to Dharamsala were amazing, in particular the views of Dhauladhar mountain range. The journey to Dharamsala was shared with a trekker and an English guy who converted to Buddhism at a young age, left London and had been living in Dharamsala for the past 2 years while writing his book.

We arrived at Asia Resort where we had rest of the afternoon and evening to ourselves to relax and get ready for the trek starting at 8am next morning. We were told to take 7kg max to last us for 5 days and this included clothes, sleeping bag, snacks and first aid kits. They put three of us girls in one room all the time and I enjoyed getting to know my two new trek mates who seemed like a good fun and considerate people to be with. I even taught them the secret of a bucket bath. We spent rest of the day chilling and sorting things out for the trek. One of the things that I didn’t like about this trek was to pack and unpack every single day.

(Photo: Bhumi)

During the afternoon we visited the Dalai Lama’s temple. It was a treat as it is such a peaceful place. I was looking forward to this visit as I had enjoyed reading Dalai Lama's “The Art of Happiness” book. It is love, compassion, peace, respect etc that really makes a big difference to one’s life yet we get so sucked in the power, status, war, religion, caste matters that we forget these important ingredients in our day to day lives.

1st May

Next morning we were up and ready to rock and roll by 8. Unfortunately few of the trekkers were unwell so we had to leave them behind, this included one of our room mate. For her it was very important and special to complete the trek as not only was she raising money for Childline, she is actually a Childline counsellor too. So it was little sad that it happened and we hoped she would soon join us.

(Photo: Bhumi)

We started our trek going through small villages, getting a glimpse of early morning village life. It was Sunday so the children were on their day off, however they heard a group of foreigners are in the town for trekking so they all turned up at their school. The first school we visited was Satovri and the children sang a beautiful song for us, which brought back so many wonderful memories from my school days that there aren’t any words to express how much “at home” I felt. The children sang “TUMHI HO MÃTÃ, PITÃ TUMHI HO”. The excitement on children’s face to see them-selves on a digital camera was so cool and the smile on their face when offered some chocolates was simply priceless. When anyone opened their bag it was guaranteed that they wouldn’t see the bag again as the kids just raided the person.

(Photo: Bhumi)

We then continued our trek and arrived at Ghera village where we had an opportunity to see how they make butter, visit a spotlessly clean house of a local, and enjoy some local fruits while Ajay tried to marry me off to a local dhotiyawalo unfortunately that attempt failed too. ;) The last three places that we visited had few things in common, stunning scenery, pretty women and beautiful children. Pahari people in particular women are well known in India for their beauty and one could see why. The slide show when i finally complete will have some lovely photos of scenery and the natives.

(Photo: Richard Goodband)

After we left the village we crossed a small weak bridge before it was time for a lunch break. The weather until now had been simply great and I made a mistake of thinking god this is cool I can cope with this, but whoever said “Ignorance is bliss” perhaps had a point. We were just about to finish our lunch and the rain arrived. We had to take a shelter in a really small brick hut.

Like few others I had made a mistake of leaving my rain jacket behind so trekked rest of the day getting completely soaked. I must admit secretly I enjoyed that, those who have grown up in India will know the fun of getting wet in the rain! :) I remember as a child we used to run out when it rained, in a place where temperature reached 40+ degrees, to have few drops of rain was like heaven :) and I even remember thinking those who stayed in were bunch of boring lots :). Sometime after lunch the group was split into two and the faster lot took the harder route.

We passed through a place called Langah before reaching our destination for today’s camp, Harnall. The last half hour of the walk although was through some amazing scenery did become difficult and I was ready to hit the floor, I mean the bed. I had never camped in my life so this was rather interesting. After hearing the baby lamb being sacrificed for dinner was enough to put me off the food that night. I literary had to force myself to eat some rice. After meal I sat just outside my tent enjoying the views of stunning mountains under the beautiful sky, the moon and the beautiful galaxy of stars!

(Photo: Bhumi)

2nd May 2005

We started our trek at the Harnall camp and I was in the second group to leave. Unfortunately it was my turn to get the upset stomach. This was the most difficult day of the trek for me as I had absolutely no energy and we climbed very steep mountains through out the day especially after lunch, it was all the way up and no looking down. Our first stop for the day was Kareri village. I carried some more of the chocolates today and once again had the pleasure of seeing few more beautiful smiles. I remember this little girl, so cute I offered her second chocolate as the first one was little mis-shaped due to the heat, she didn’t take it as everyone else had only one. I remember this school really well as outside each classroom there were few words around values and I assume the school was a values based school. For e.g. “Ekta main bal hai” “paapi nahi paap se nafraat karo”,“Satya main vijayte”, etc.

(Photo: Bhumi)

We continued our walk after a short break and we crossed a small stream before arriving to the next stop Khari Behl Village School. While having a breather by the school we were pointed out our target for the day and boy that was really a steep mountain. For some reason challenges fuels me with enthusiasm and motivation to succeed, so deep down I was excited and little nervous as it really was going to be tough. I sneaked away to check out a small flour mill run by the energy created by water force, while trekkers were queuing to cross an interesting bridge at the next small stream.

Next was our lunch stop and soon the rain arrived forcing us quickly finish lunch and carry on. This time we had NO choice but to keep going in a heavy hail storm ranging between the size of a green pea to golf ball depending on who you asked in the group. :) Walking up a steep mountain in heavy storm on a narrow path was really scary as the path was disappearing quicker then we could walk. While I was pleased with my investment in a good Jacket and boots, I had made a huge mistake of not getting any waterproof trousers or gloves. This meant my boots were soaking in water and this made them heavier then they were. Completely soaked we arrived at the top and that was just an amazing feeling to have survived that bit of challenge.

Finally we got to the campsite for the day, the Bahl village camp. Soon everyone started drying their boots by the fire, only to find someone’s boot caught fire too, Opps! :) (it was not mine). Our room mate Pauline joined us today and it was nice to see her back on the challenge. Tents and rucksac’s arrived wet so there was another mission to dry all that out. I think most of us didn’t think of taking any water proof bags. I, however was pleased that my obsession with organising everything properly finally paid off as all the things I had separated out in little carrier bags from home were safe and didn’t get wet. :) India Sunil’s yoga tips helped me a lot on this day and even after two years I find them very useful especially on the days I go for hiking.

3rd May 2005

The start of the day was already damped by the weather, the forecast was not looking good so the start time got delayed by an hour. Despite of the caution by the local guides the tour leader decided to start the day’s trek at 9am. Today the weather just didn’t look settled and the worst was to come. We passed through Galu (Galu = bridges/pass connecting one village to another). We then stopped for a short break at Arar place (temporary shepherd’s camp), which had a small temple and a snack shop. Scenery here was really lovely reminding me of scenes from Shimla which I saw on TV and hope to visit the place one day.

(Photo: Bhumi Amin)

We continued our walk up on a quite decent wide path but still tough. Our group was getting little dispersed until Nas started telling Sarah one of his stories. Soon most of us kind of started walking in a group just to listen to his story. Through out the day, trek and few months after that few of the members in the group wondered whether he really have 3 ex-wives and 6 odd children :) I think lot of credit goes to Nas for his stories which distracted people and perhaps made that steep climb lot more manageable then it actually was.

(Photo: Bhumi)

We were forced to have a break at small shop with plastic roof as the hail storm arrived with full force, thunder and lightning. We were here for roughly an hour and half and also had lunch here, i.e. third day in row we had lunch in rain. The group had to be split into two as there wasn’t enough space for everyone to take a shelter in one place. It was wet and freezing but I must admit the spirit in the group was excellent. Every time we hit a tough situation, the spirits got better. When finally the storm cleared the views of the valley were amazing.

(Photo: Bhumi)

We continued our walk through some beautiful Rhodendrun and Alpine trees, and we walked through the first snow of the trek. After a gruelling day we finally arrived at our campsite for day four, Truind. This is no ordinary place, situated by the Dhauladhar mountain range with valleys on both side, making this location simply amazing which ever side you look. The views on all sides were different and really stunning, one side was the view of the Snow Mountains, second was deep valley full of Alpine and Rhodendrun trees, another side deep valley overlooking local villages. We camped here for the next two nights.

(Photo: A Trekker)

This was another challenging day mostly everyone had their belonging go wet in the rain. All the sleeping bags, mattresses were wet making it a very challenging night for us. One person had already caught Hypothermia so some of us were encouraged to take the shelter in a government tourist forest house. We made our way to the house in the dark being watched by 10-15 wild dogs and horses. We got here to escape from the freezing cold weather only to find we may die of smoke inhalation in the house as the fireplace had not been used for years and an attempt to light a wood fire resulted in smoke everywhere. We all left the house and at this point we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as we opted for the safe warmer hut against the wet cold tents only to find we could have severly suffered from the smoke inhalation. We slept with windows open to let the smoke disappear completely while we froze ourselves.

4th May 2005

(Photo: Bhumi)

Managing some sleep towards the early morning it was time to wake up. Dean (our guide) arrived at the house to inform us the plan for the day. Then he kindly informed us there are 2 groups, one fast and second photography group, you shouldn’t think of your group as a slow group as it can be mentally disturbing. Having had an eventful evening and night we were given a late start and also we had time for a group photo as the mountains that morning looked stunning.

We started our trek at 10.30 and headed for Laka Got Glacier. Today it was a moderately steep climb through narrow paths. Taking regular breaks as it was getting tougher as we continued walking through some stunning scenery until we reached towards the Glacier and we found ourselves in the middle of another hail storm. Sadly what this meant we had to turn back from there as it got very dangerous to stay up and there was no signs of weather getting better. This also meant we had lunch in the rain/storm on the fourth day in row.

(Photo: A Trekker)

Most of the return journey was done in hail storm and I for sure just wanted to get back into my tent and inside my sleeping bag as it had been really freezing today. We got to the tent and I hit the tent straight away, within 30 minutes the storm arrived at the tent site. This was not any ordinary storm it had the full orchestra effect, the hails, thunder and lightning! The next few hours that I spent in the tent on my own are the ones that I will not forget in hurry. I was convinced my tent was going to be blown away or there was going to be a land slide. It made it worst as I was on my own in the tent, at this point I did wonder why on earth I decided to take on this challenge? I also prayed like never before.

(Photo: Trekker)

When the storm finally departed everyone came out of the tents to check if they are still in the same place :). After storm the scenery was simply beautiful, especially the sun set. The down side of the storm was all the water resulted in causing floods in the temporary toilets and was the worst I have ever seen. This was going to be another cold night to be spent sleeping on the wet mattress, and sleeping bags and unlike the previous night we did not have the tourist shelter.

(Photo: Richard Goodband)

I was not feeling very well and I am indebted to my two buddies for helping me out and ensuring I was ok. The last two days were interesting and somewhat sad from one angle. When all the mattresses and blankets got wet the tour agents asked the local porters give up their mattresses and blankets for some of the people in the group. I thought this was simply not right, if anything we were better equipped with water proof jackets and trousers and expensive sleeping bags where as some of these guys struggled to have a proper boots or a jacket. This I think made a number of people little uncomfortable.

(Photo: Bhumi)

5th May 2005

Waking up to the most beautiful scenery ever in my life, made all the pain that I had gone through well worth it. This was our last day and I was feeling really sad to have to leave this beautiful place. There were speeches and “thank you” to a number of key people and all the support staff who made this possible and somewhat comfortable challenge for us. This is the point we handed out 13 jackets that were donated by people at work and with help of few trekkers we managed to get them there. It felt good to see the smiles and appreciation in the eyes of these locals.

(Photo: Richard Goodband)

The Snow Mountains this morning were just amazing. I sat there for a moment to try to capture the feel and the breathtaking mountain views in my memory. Through out the trek I had mostly been in the middle or end of the group so I didn’t mind being the last again but have those few moments to absorb the beautiful scenery and last two days up there. Today was all steep descending until we reach our destination and our first break point was Lehta village. We walked through some lovely villages. We passed a temporary shepherds shelter surrounded by few (actually many) local wild dogs warming up for a fight. I really didn’t want to be caught in this wild fight so sooner we got out better it would be for us was my only desire. From the temporary shepherd shelter to the river crossing we walked pass a temple where a special function was taking place, we got some glimpse of the local people and their festivals.

We crossed a river which was quite tricky and we stopped for a brief break until everyone crossed the river. We then walked by the river and headed towards the Bhagsu village. We reached a temple in the Bhagsu village which had a little water pool called “Kund” not really for a swim but for people to dip in it or at the least wash their hands and feet before they go for their prayers. We decided to have lunch here and guess what? It wouldn’t complete our trek without the rain, would it? 5th day in a row it rained at lunchtime and that is where we finished our trek as the remaining path was believed not to be safe to continue.

(Photo: Bhumi)

That evening we had a celebrations event. The hotel had live singers every night and I enjoyed this as I am very much into Hindi music and to make my day the guy sang few of my requests too! :)

6th May 2005

(Photo: Bhumi)

We had a relaxed start the next morning and had an opportunity to visit Dalai Lama’s summer palace. It really is so beautiful, serene and full of happy vibes. After lunch we left Dharamsala and it was sad to say good bye to some of the local guides who became part of the group and couple of them referred to me as didi. :) We drove to Phathankot train station to catch our overnight train back to Delhi. There were lots of goodbyes in these last 3 days, first the place and the people.

(Photo: Bhumi)

7th May 2005

We were back in the chaotic Delhi station and made our way out through 1000's of people to get to the coach. We had the breakfast at The Broadway and after that we walked to the Red Fort and the famous Chadni Chowk shopping bazaar which was half closed due to some reason and I was glad it was otherwise it would have been chaotic. We were then driven to the Ashok country resort for a quick rest before heading for the visit to Prayas situated in Jhangiri Puri, Delhi. Dharamsala and the beautiful mountains, the serene atmosphere was all long way behind and we were once again back in the midst of the happening place. Prayas centre has 5 branches in Delhi. Prayas is an organisation adopted by Indian government. Prayas means an attempt, and in this context it means an attempt to change, also known as Childline India. I had read up about Childline in the UK and India before signing up for the challenge, however when I met people working for Prayas, and learnt about the projects they are working on, and met some of the children at Prayas, I went through slightly different sets of realisation and gained deeper insight into the size of the issue they are dealing with and the various difficulties they encounter on daily basis.

I think most of us will agree that childhood is a very important part of our life, it forms the basis of who we are today and what we achieve as a grown up………. Some of these children helped by Childline, are those who are deprived of a normal childhood due to various factors like poverty, broken family and abuse (physical and sexual), making these children the most vulnerable and defenceless in any society. Thanks to organisations like Prayas and Childline UK, who work towards making a difference to these children's lives by rescuing them, providing protection, counselling and eventually helping them to build their future. At Prayas, for those children where returning them to their home is not possible, Prayas give them accommodation in the centre and train them with a skill that will enable them to support themselves. The centre had a number of skills workshops, for e.g. computing, sewing, beauty, and cooking. A number of children rescued and trained by Prayas have gone on to work for big hotels as chefs and also work at Prayas to continue to help those children who are in need.

(Photo: Bhumi)

While I realise the Childline in India and UK deal with slightly different issues, at different scales and in a different manner, I felt the Indian issues were intensified due to lack of required level of support especially from the Indian authorities. Clearly the set up in the Childline UK and Childline is very different due to not only the difference in the funding available but also the laws and infrastructure in place to protect the children is significantly different in these two countries.

This visit was the highlight of my day and it certainly made me feel happy to be part of a group that has made a valuable difference to the Childline in the UK and in India. We were showed around by Gargi who truly is an inspirational woman and a great role model for those who wants to make a real difference in the society and fight for the cause they believe in. At such young age she has achieved a lot and made so much difference in many children’s lives. Her work with railway project in India brought her recognition in the UK and Scotland too.

(Photo: A Trekker)

Some of the group members joined in the cricket game that was being played. All the time we were surrounded by these happy children and I managed to get some lovely pictures. There were a number of stories we heard that day which really were sad and it’s the side of our society that I had never seen while I was growing up in India, whoever said “ignorance is bliss” was perhaps right. However the truth is these things happen and we need to make children aware of these issues and their rights. I know children’s abuse happen but it’s quite a different shock when you hear about what really goes on from the staff at Prayas. I was left with lot of admiration for these people who work hard day and night to make a valuable difference. Sometimes when trying to help they are up against some big forces in the name of the rich and people with power in the society and hats off to Gargi and her entire team for her continuous efforts to bring about the change.

We had the celebrations meal that night which was attended by Gargi and her mother. It really was a pleasure to meet them and listen to Gargi’s stories and more importantly to see how proud her mother is of her work. It was also nice to hear Pauline speak on behalf of Childline and I also admire her continuous support to Childline in Scotland.

8th May 2005

Some of us took an opportunity to stay back one day extra and visit one of the most beautiful places on this earth “The Taj Mahal”. It was really hot that day which made the day very tiring but it was so well worth it. My dream to see this place finally came true. I must admit when we left Taj Mahal I was sadden by a reminder of the harsh reality, to see something as grand as Taj Mahal on one side and children begging with various physical disabilities on the other without any shoes or proper clothes.

(Photo: Bhumi)

Until the population growth and corruption is controlled, poverty is eradicated the situation where children will be vulnerable to a number of issues like child trafficking, child labour, abuse, etc will continue to grow. I remember my mind was racing with all sorts of things in relation to this topic and I really should leave my views on this matter for another time. It is the survival of the fittest in India. This is where I really think “Ignited minds” by Dr Kalam is well worth a read and I recommend that every Indian and in fact anyone who wants to bring about a change in their country while fighting against similar issues as India to read this book.

9th May 2005

We had free day to ourselves before getting on the flight back to London. I hate good byes and especially when it has to do with leaving India it always is sad for me. However there also was an excitement to have completed the challenge successfully. I was looking forward to getting back home and be with my family and have mum’s food. That also was the first time I realised I had finally started thinking London as my home. I don’t know whether it was having lived rough for few days it was great getting back to comforts and conveniences or simply a matter of your home is where your family is? Whatever the reason it certainly felt great when the plane landed in Heathrow. For days the cold wet tents somehow seemed more appealing then the comforts and conveniences of the life in London. Everytime someone asked me how the trek went, they found themselves listening to me for hours and so for months i kept re-living this life experience. Well until people started to stay away from the trek topic ;).....

The Waddesdon Manor

2007-08-07T21:23:00.000+01:00

A beautiful summer afternoon/evening spent exploring the wonderful gardens and a small bird sanctuary at the Waddesdon Manor with two good friends. There is a distinct fragrance which one cannot escape as you enter the grounds of Waddesdon Manor. Although I know what the shrub with this beautiful fragrant flowers looks like I still haven’t managed to find the name of this shrub.

The water fountains and garden display around it reminded me of my visit to Chateau de Versailles, France few years ago. I remember chilling by the water fountains there with my cousins during August heat and 100's of people enjoying the gardens. I really enjoyed the brief time by the water fountain today, enjoying the gardens and the sound of water, no crowds and simply relaxing.

The gardens this year are packed with Begonia, Geranium, Verbena, a huge variety of beautiful roses, and many more flower beds. The grounds are full of really interesting and unique trees and I was pleased to spot one of my favourites, A Japanese maple tree. More importantly I was pleased to spot a number of plants in the Waddesdon gardens that I have in my garden too. So good one Miss Amin, your taste matches to that of professional gardeners at famous gardens. ;)

The collection of birds at the bird sanctuary is just outstanding. The first half of the sanctuary impressed me more then the second. The colours, feathers, shapes, eyes everything was simply amazing and perfectly colour co-ordinated. I recalled once my mum said if his (god) creations are so beautiful imagine how beautiful the creator is........ Its a shame my memory let me down as I cant remember the names of these beautiful birds. I must admit while at the sanctuary everything is really lovely, I couldn't help but feel sad thinking even in really rich surroundings these amazing birds weren't free to fly and explore the world.

Above are some pictures taken on my phone camera.

4th August 2007
Location: Waddesdon Manor, England

Lesotho Diary - Days 7-10

2007-06-18T21:58:00.002+01:00

DAY 7: PITSENG
Even the mixed sized rocks under my sleeping bag massaging quite happily didn’t prevent me from getting a good night sleep last night. After 10 minutes warm up we headed for a river crossing to start our final 12km trek. Today our route once again took us through more villages and schools as we walked along the track that lead across the Mphosong River to Pitseng. We walked through some "perfect picture" type scenery's through out the day and pictures here say it all.

[Photo: Bhumi ]

On route we stopped by a school that allowed children to come out of class to sing for us. They sang a few beautiful, harmonized pieces about friendship. In return we sang and taught them the Okie Kokie? Don’t ask me more as I had never heard this song before in my life but I did enjoy the song and dance. :) It had arm waving and a wiggle, which the kids enjoyed. Thanks to John Daffern here's a copy of the video of children singing:

We collected some money within our group to replace the broken windows for the school. Another group was due to visit that area the following week to build a school so it all fell into place beautifully. This was our last full day of trekking so after lunch we joined the two groups together to walk the last 6km as one team. Rest of the afternoon was spent walking through more villages and fields, climbing mountains and crossing rivers before we embarked on the last climb of the day to the finish line. We were greeted by our support team, and were served fizzy wine to celebrate our success. This was truly a great night for all of us as it was quite a tough trek and we completed it without any serious injuries, only what few of us had gone in with.

DAY 8: PITSENG—PILANESBERG

It was our last day in Lesotho and quite an emotional one too. Waking up to the views of the beautiful mountains was special. The school children came to see us and performed an impromptu concert, singing few beautiful, harmonized pieces, including items on friendship and AIDS. It was moving to see these talented children full of joy living in communities with highest % of AIDS in the world and where life expectancy is 37 years! I couldn't help but feel sad thinking these young children should be singing about other things and not serious issues like AIDS! This morning was full of mixed feelings; on one hand there was the satisfaction of having completed the challenge successfully despite of various difficulties, and the other hand sadness that it was our last day in Lesotho, where despite of a striking poverty and vacuum of needs, the locals seemed to be so content! Here's a link to my favourite video of the Lesotho trek by John Daffern

After 6km walk we boarded the coach for 6 hrs journey to Pilanesberg National Park. After 8hrs we finally arrived at the park at 8pm where we spent the next two nights. The luxury of a proper bed and pillow, hot water and flushing toilet, big enough space to leave all your bags around without compromising sleeping space injected a lot of excitement in the group. I was quite surprised with myself to have survived 7 days with baby wipes shower and no Indian music!!! South Africa unfortunately is not a vegetarian friendly place, so I had to survive on bit of salad that night and the next!! Breakfast however was delicious! :)

DAY 9: PILANESBERG

Today was our first and only free day to ourselves to enjoy and recover from the last 8 days of travel and trekking. I decided to go for Safari at 6am in the morning, with a hope to catch a glimpse of a baby Elephant. We managed to catch a glimpse of few animals including Lion, Elephant (from far away and I am sure there was a baby elephant but others had a different view :), Zebra, Rhino, a rare view of a lioness with a fresh kill, Antelopes and some distinct beautiful native birds. That night we had the Gala Night to celebrate our success, this kicked off at 8pm with a meal, followed by a number of activities (organized by trekkers during the day) that provided us with few hours of comedy and entertainment.

DAY 10: COTLANDS ORPHANAGE, JOHANNESBURG

In the morning we made our way to Cotlands in Johannesburg where we would be spending the afternoon before our return flight. Founded in 1936, Cotlands continues to meet the needs of children impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

[Photo: John Daffern, Steve with a child at Cotlands]

This was a very moving experience for a lot of us especially to see the hunger for love and attention that these children had in their eyes when they rushed towards us opened their arms wanting to be picked up. The branch we visited looks after orphans from 0-7yrs, a lot of them are HIV positive. We spent few hours with children, offering them toys, colours, books, etc while learning about Cotlands and admiring their contribution to the society. Anna showed us around sharing stories and answering endless questions from the group.

[Photo: Dick Goodband, Richard sharing photo with a child at Cotlands]

That night we flew back from Johannesburg and arrived in London on Sunday the 22nd April. I slept for 14 hrs straight waking up the next day. I had not quite realised how exhausted I was!!! Despite of few difficulties it was definitely a worth while challenge to have taken on board!!!

Lesotho Diary - Day 6

2007-06-18T21:58:00.001+01:00

DAY 6: HA MASHILI TREK

The drums went off at 6am and walk started at 7am with our group to leave first after the warm up exercises. The target today was to achieve an elevation of ~1100m (7.5km steep walk up) by lunchtime. For the past couple of days I had been asked to walk right at the front with our guide to set the pace for rest of the group which was made up of people with varied speed. It was tough going up especially when we started hitting the altitude so Jess and Chris took my jacket and fleece off me to reduce the weight in my daypack. Gillian’s “small steps tip” and Volker’s “runners breathing technique” made a big difference and helped us throughout the day. We walked pass the triple waterfall once again from a different angle, simply beautiful! The path that we used today was under construction by the locals working hard and it completely disappeared as we got closer to the top, when it became just a matter of finding your way up. When we got to the top (3109mts) the views were amazing, and we had a view which I feel truly describes “The kingdom of mountains”! A feeling of jubilation prevailed through out the group to have made it to the top with no serious issues.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

After a quick lunch break we embarked on our next stage walk which was to cross the plateau (7km). This was done mainly in hailstorm which lasted an hour leaving quite an impact. As the walk was tough today, we had to carry extra water, food and extra layers of clothing so I had taken out all the other things from my day pack. Unfortunately, this was also the only day when waterproof trousers, hand gloves and head torch were needed big time! Soon the sun was out and so was the rainbow. We stopped for another short break before heading down on a vehicle track (not in use) for ~ 5km walk.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

Soon we discovered why no vehicles used this route that was full of rocks ranging from a size of green pea to a baby rhino! (well, felt like it :) This route was tough on knees and ankles and as a result my knee pain worsened, and I limped for the next 3/4 hrs going down carefully stepping on rocks, escaping few falls thanks to Dave and Richard (co-trekkers) helping me at numerous tricky points.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

Four of us got left behind because of me and when we finally caught up with the rest of our group, we had a small hurdle to clear. The group had discovered the river (now dry) had washed away our road so needed to drop 8ft down in to the actual river bed to cross to the other side. Last hour or so of the walk was done in the dark and I am grateful to Dave, Richard and Narinder for helping me and ensuring I had enough light to see where I was stepping.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

By now I just wanted to sit down, but we had no choice and had to keep going as it was getting very dark and the second group was behind us another 20 min away. At that point, it was a great relief to see the campsite only minutes away. We were roughly 300yds away of the campsite when we came across a group of madly barking wild dogs. At this point it got very amusing as we had to group together and run, and guess what? I DID! The fear of a wild dog jumping on me was worst then the pain in my knee. That was just too funny and a perfect way to end a very long adventurous day, with a laugh!

Our group seemed to have stayed together, looking after each other, maintaining a positive outlook throughout the day, through some tough and good times. Our guides Gillian and Volker were great, offering tips to make walks easier and managed the team well ensuring we stayed together most of the times. While the whole group discussed today’s events around the fire, I escaped to enjoy some space in my tent and rest my knee. I didn’t really expect any issues with getting a good night sleep tonight as for the last 2 days we had just walked and walked until we simply dropped! There was a massive cheer when we were given one extra hour lie in the next day and the route sounded lot less strenuous.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

On these challenges I always go in with an attitude to “expect the unexpected” within a roughly set parameter and deal with the situation when it arises. Although very hard on my knees and at times pain reaching an unbearable point, I truly enjoyed the day which had all the ingredients of a real adventure – climbing steep mountains requiring us often to use hands and feet at times, steep descend sometimes requiring to slide on our bottoms, jumping a 8ft drop in the river bed, crossing a number of rivers, walking in the dark, crossing a river in the dark with ropes for safety, etc. I suffer from vertigo and this day especially tested my physical as well as mental strength (esp. my determination to deal with my fears) but more importantly it left me with an amazing feeling of satisfaction and truly having earned the sponsorship!

Lesotho diary - Days 5

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000+01:00

DAY 5: TSEHLANYANE LOOP

The briefing for today stated “a moderate walk finishing at 3pm” as the following day was going to be a tough one. The walk today turned out to be everything but “moderate” in our terms and we eventually finished at around 5pm, having walked 17km taking us around 8/9 hrs. On this sunny day, we did steep mountain climbing achieving an elevation of 900mts (2953 ft) to reach height of 2700m (8858 ft) in the first half of the day. When we reached at the top of the mountain, we decided to name our group “Storm Troopers”.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

I enjoyed the challenge of having to deal with few unexpected events and enjoyed walking on a rocky mountain requiring us to often use our hands as well as feet. After a short break at the top we headed for a steep descend towards our lunch break stop by the spring. I knew this would be little interesting for me as I had struggled going down the mountains during our training walks in the Lakes District. I stayed focused and was very pleased to make it to the lunch not far behind our front guide and only falling once and escaping injuries!

[Photo: Dave Stewart]

After lunch we headed back up a bit and then across the mountain, walking through and experiencing some amazing scenery's. The views were so perfect that it was almost unbelievable, a bit like a film back drop, and no picture can match the feeling of being there. One of the highlights of this trek was a beautiful triple water fall with a very soothing sound. As the rain was heading towards us, we had to carry on and we walked across a river and through the forest until we reached the campsite.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

This was a hard day for few of us in the team and the next day was even tougher, so few of us were rightly given an option to take an alternative route which was less strenuous. Although I did struggle today because of my knee and perhaps not having enough stamina as others in the group to move faster, I decided against the less strenuous option provided I was not hindering the progress of rest of the group. These are the times when real team work comes in play and it was great to see the whole team stuck together to take on the next day. The briefing prepared us for the next day; we knew that we had to expect a very hard day, starting at 6am, longer and steeper walk with a higher elevation target with possible altitude sickness and fewer breaks. That evening I decided to brave it and go for the ice cold shower and yes it felt very refreshing!!! :)

Lesotho diary - Days 1 - 4

2007-06-17T10:51:00.000+01:00

1 AND 2: LONDON—HA NTSOAKELE

We left London on the 12th April to embark on the Lesotho trek challenge which we took on to raise funds for Childline UK. Although the actual challenge had began months ago with the work on achieving the fund raising target. We got to Johannesburg at 6am the next morning and headed off to Lesotho via a coach. We arrived in Lesotho after roughly 6hrs coach journey, passing through the Northern Free State, the Maluti Mountains and crossing the Lesotho border. The scenery from there on was stunning, beautiful villages not yet hit by commercialisation with signs of conservation throughout.

[Photo: Bhumi]

With the clouds promising rain, we had a very quick lunch and started our 6km trek on a relatively flat ground, well, as flat as it can get in a place that is well known in the world as “The kingdom of mountains”. Next few hours we walked through some beautiful villages where the villagers welcomed us with illuminating smiles before we arrived to our first campsite. The campsite was on a small plateau just outside a village, over looking beautiful hills and fields. After the evening meal we had the full briefing on the next 5 days. Pretty much whole village children joined us at the campsite, shouting “shoot me, shoot me” :). That night we also had the most amazing galaxy of stars in the sky that I have seen in years! It was just over 36 hrs that I had been up now and it was time for me to hit the bed in the tent which was small, cold and wet.

DAY 3: BOITHATELO

Last nights briefing stated that there will be a wake up call at 6.30am every morning, however what I hadn’t realised was that it will be by a sound of African drumming! I have always been very fond of African drumming so I was pleasantly surprised and that was an uplifting way to wake up and got us going straightaway. After we completed morning chores, and a 15 min warm up, we were split into two groups to make the management of groups easier.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

At 8 am we were the first group to kick off the walk. We walked along the Hlotse River valley at the foot of the majestic Sekameng mountain range, walking past several villages, going up and down the valley, and over looking beautiful corn fields before we reached our lunch destination.

[Photo: Richard Storey]

After lunch we carried on walking through more beautiful villages; until we reached our campsite for that evening. Today we walked for 15km taking us about 8 hrs including breaks. It was quite a warm day which made the day lot more enjoyable however within half hour of finishing the walk it started raining/(hailing) which carried on for the most part of that evening, bringing back memories of Himalaya trek when we had rain/hail everyday!!! The coffee/dinner camps were not covered on the sides so it made it very difficult for all of us to get a proper shelter and it was freezing!!!!

DAY 4: TSEHLANYANE NATIONAL PARK

Today we walked down into the scenic Pela Tsoeu valley and walked past the villages of Mahlabatheng, Ha Malefetsane and Ha Mali. Just before lunch we crossed a small river and had an opportunity to have first dip in the water in 3 days! Few of us got excited like a baby discovering water for the first time. Although excited I only managed to dip my toes in the water as it was freezing cold!!!

[Photo: Richard Storey]

After lunch we continued our celebrity style walk on a long road through more villages and contagious friendly smiles. Until lunchtime today my knee had held up well and then it started all going downhill. It was a long day during which we covered the distance of 19km and walked for about 8-9 hours, before we entered the tiny but beautiful Tsehlanyane National Park. Our treat of the day was to find the washrooms with a flushing toilet in the National park!! Unfortunately the shower turned out to be ice cold! It was a cold night and we spent the night in a tent with a broken zip (on my side), freezing ourselves but worse esp. for me was the fear of insects making their way in the tent!! We camped at the National park for two nights!!

My brief encounter with Lesotho!

2007-06-17T10:35:00.000+01:00

[Photo: Bhumi]

Children shouting “Shoot me, shoot me”, beautiful scenery, serene mountains, friendly locals, children with illuminating smiles, Volker’s uplifting drumming and trekkers singing by the bonfire every night, beautiful galaxy of stars in the sky, small wet & cold tents, walking on red soil with beautiful fragrance, crossing numerous rivers, climbing countless mountains and excellent team spirit everyday, are few of many things that reminds me of my brief encounter with Lesotho. It was an overwhelming experience especially the perfectly synchronised impromptu concert by the school children on our last day in Lesotho and the visit to Cotlands Orphanage in Johannesburg. (shoot me = take my picture)

A summary for those who wish to skip my Lesotho diary ;)

[Photo: Richard Storey]

We left London on 12th April and reached Johannesburg on the 13th at 6 in the morning. We straightaway boarded a coach for our next bit of journey to Lesotho which took roughly 6hrs. With clouds promising a heavy rain we had a very quick lunch by a road side before we started our 6km trek. We trekked and camped for the next 6 days. Our day started everyday at 6.30am with exception of the day 6 which started at 6am. We walked a roughly 95km over six and half days, achieving total elevation of 2124mts (6969ft).

[Photo: Daksha Patani]

The longest day we walked (12 hrs) was day 6, covering just under 20km and reaching the height of 3109mts (10200 ft) having achieved an elevation of roughly 1100mts (3600ft). This also was the day when we walked in the sun, hailstorm, rain and just over an hour in dark. Day 5 was not far behind in terms of distance and number of hours walked (17km, 9.5hrs, 900mts elevation).

[Photo:Richard Storey]

We had one free day to ourselves when we were given an accommodation in a national park resort and the feeling of excitement was injected in the group to find a proper bed/pillow, hot shower (after 7 days of baby wipes shower!!!) and a place big enough to put your bag without having to compromise your sleeping space!

As a result of this challenge the group raised £62k for Childline UK. Cotlands, Johannesburg and a school in Lesotho also benefited from this event. I feel Lesotho gave us lots including, a great adventurous experience, some beautiful scenery's, a location for the trek challenge that raised some serious funds for Childline to answer over 20,000 calls, very friendly and welcoming people. As a group we attempted to return the favour by donating £440 towards replacing a school’s windows and provided toys, books, colours to children at Cotlands. Cotlands in Johannesburg looks after orphans and most of these children are HIV positive. The children are cared for until they are seven and those that survive are either adopted out or moved to another branch of Cotlands.

[Photo: Dick Goodband]

I left South Africa feeling there is lot more that we could have done and can do for the children in Lesotho and Cotlands. This trip has left me with a reminder of the harsh reality of life for many there and an admiration for people who work for the orphanage. I hope to continue to raise awareness of the work that Cotlands does and generate more funds for the charity that offers excellent support to people who live in the most difficult circumstances in which they find themselves helpless.

I have put together a video for the sponsors to show my appreciation for their support and I very much hope that you enjoy it as lot of hard work has gone in creating this.