Full set of photos from Kashmir
Srinagar: A houseboat on Dal Lake
Kashmir, Thu 23 JunDal lake is serene and beautifully clean (contrary to its earlier reputation). Silent engine-less shikaras paddle you around the lake, visiting gardens and the floating market. We stay in a large ornately carved wooden houseboat permanently moored on the waterside.
Photos: (1) The mango boat cometh. (2) Shikaras on clear waters. (3) Sunset on Dal Lake
Pahalgam: River rafting and trekking
Kashmir, Mon 20 JunThe river Lidder gushes and gurgles through the valley, its glacial waters pure as snow. Rafting the rapids is cold work. But there's nothing as heartwarming as trekking in the hills with the shepherds.
Pahalgam: Horse riding in the Kashmir Valley
Kashmir, Sat 18 JunTo one side the HImalayas. Beyond yonder mountain, the state capital of Srinagar. On the other side, the Kargil glacier and our borders with Pakistan and China. In front of you, a peddler profers a baby lamb to be cuddled for those tourist photos. And why not?
Pahalgam: Unparalelled beauty of Kashmir
Kashmir, Thu 16 JunA chance enounter with a man in McLeod. Tales of a guest house in his home village near Pahalgam. A ten hour taxi ride across mountain ranges. Eight days on an island garden in a green snow-capped valley. We are in Kashmir, India's most scenic state.
McLeod Ganj: Reflections from Tushita
Himachal Pradesh, Sun 12 JunA glade of peace at the foothills of the HImalayas. A hundred students from around the world. Ten days of noble silence. Meditations on awareness, reflections on emptiness, teachings on the four noble truths. Quiet contemplation of playing monkeys.
On the final night of the course three hundred candles burn brightly on the stupa. Students sit in the garden by moonlight. Silence and a sense of communion. Twenty minutes. Forty minutes. An hour. No one wants to leave. Next morning, the silence is broken. Experiences exchanged. Connections made. A change has occurred. Happiness comes from within.
McLeod Ganj: Meditation and Buddhist philosophy
Himachal Pradesh, 4 Jun - 13 JunI will be attending a ten day residential course on Buddhist philosophy and meditation at the beautiful Tushita campus, half way along the trek from McLeod to Bhagsu. I will be out of external communication for ten days. May all beings be happy!
McLeod Ganj: Cleaning up the mountains
Himachal Pradesh, Wed 1 JunA sad truth in populated areas of Himachal Pradesh is rampant litter and waste in the rivers and on the mountainside .The civic infrastructure of McLeod Ganj is shocking, and many vistors are moved to do something. Jodie set up Mountain Cleaners in 2009, campaigning for better waste management and cleaning up key trekking paths to nearby peaks. Mountain Cleaners also educates school children, tour companies and visitors on the envronment.
Photos from www.mountaincleaners.org
McLeod Ganj (Upper Dharamshala): Crossroads of a lost world
Himachal Pradesh, Sun 29 MayAside from Tibetan refugees, McLeod Ganj attracts itinerant wanders from around the world who sip coffee in hippy cafes, learn cookery, dancing and yoga, and watch films on Tibetan culture. It is a mini mountain crossroads !
Pictures: (1) View from my room overlooks the valley. The main temple and residence of the Dalai Lama is on the left. (2) Prayer wheels in the town centre (3) Temples and bustling narrow streets.
Dalhousie: Hill station
Himachal Pradesh, Thu 26 MayMy mountain holiday with parents takes us to the beautiful hill station of Dalhousie, where our guest house clings to steep hillsides.
Photos: (1) Snow capped mountains of the Himalayas (2) Stepped slopes (3) Peace in the pine forest.
Dharamshala: Tibetan government in exile
Himachal Pradesh, Mon 23 MayIn 1959, the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetans, escaped from a Chinese cultural and military invastion of his land. India gave him a place in the mountains where he set up the Tibetan government in exile with a prime minister and a fully functioning parliament. The area is home to monasteries and cultural institutions dedicated to preserving the Tibetan identity.
Photos (1) The valley from Dharamshala (2) Norbulingka, Institute for Tibetan arts, craft and design (3) Monastery.
Shimla: Summer capital of British India
Himachal Pradesh, Fri 20 MayMarvelous, old chap! We are in Shimla, former summer capital of British India. 10,000 staff were employed to move the entire machinery of state from Calcutta and Delhi to the top of the mountains for a cool seven months of the year. Colonels in red uniform and ladies of empire sporting parasols would stroll along the mall buying foods from England and catching Shakespeare at the Gaeity theatre.
Photos: (1) Here in the Himalayas, they built a little corner of England. (2) A grand old time was to be had at the Viceroy's Lodge with balls and garden parties throughout the summer (2) A policeman stands guard at the Mall.
Kalka - Shimla: The mountain railway
Himachal Pradesh, Wed 18 MayThe toy train winds its way up the Shiwalik hills to Shimla. I begin a month and a half in the mountains !
Photos: (1) The train chugs through mountain passes (2) People get off for the view (3) Old British-built viaducts.
Nagpur: The season of mangoes
Maharashtra, Mon 10 MayBack at base. Outside temperatures rise above 40 centigrade (straw air-coolers reduce it by ten to a comfortable 30c). It is the season of sweet delicious Alphonso, the king of mangoes.
Photos: (1) Grandmother rests in the afternoon shade (2) Sweet mango pulp accompanies every meal (3) Sliced alphonso, the king of mangoes.
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