A north eastern odyssey

Hey folks,

I am back after a long slumber! The summer of "The Punjab" had me steaming and fuming and I am ready to welcome the winter with open arms.

A lot happened in the last six months since my last blog. But this is not where I share it.

My pardner and I was written a contrack. The contrack reads thus:

The contract between me and you persuing witnesseth in the name of god--------Amen and so forth.


(one)   That me and you will settle this matter together: i.e. to visit north eastern India this december


(two)  That we will embark on a journey to explore new frontiers when the world is ready to welcome a new year


(three)  That you and me will not, while this matter is being settled, look at any liquer, nor any woman black, white or brown, so as to get mixed up with one or the other harmful. Unless of course if the circumstances make it inevitable. 


Signed by you and me this day


Bilkis Banu
Mohd bin tughlaq


Both Gentlelady and gentleman at large


I hope I am not charged with plagiarism ;). Well, I will let the readers figure out where this piece of writing was inspired from.

Getting back to the point, Rashmi and I will be touring the north east indian states in december. Fortune smiled on me when i was introduced to a lady friend of a close friend of mine. She has backpacked these parts by herself and gave a me a detailed account of her wanderings.

I am penning my itinerary thus:

We leave a foggy delhi in december and fly to Guwahati. We will spend a couple of days in Guwahati trying to get out hands on the inner line permit. A requirement to visit these states. Will be put up in the paltan bazaar  area.

From there, we first venture out to Shillong!  A bus from here to Chirapunji. Will explore the caves and waterfalls in this area.

other visits will include the root bridges of Tirna and Malingyong village. From there to Mawsynram, place with the highest rainfall in India.

The next state would be Nagaland. We start again from Guwahati and after a day long trip, hope to arrive at Shingyong village, the home to the Konyak tribe. Plan to spend a couple of days here. Djkou valley trek is a must and will happen.

In dimapur, we will visit the Kachari kingdom ruins and the north eastern museum. Will also be spending some time in Kohima. I have heard the women are beautiful in these parts but the contract restricts me from any untoward behaviour.

From here, options are open to either travel to mizoram or Aurnachal pradesh.

This should probably consume all of 20 days on the run!  

This blog is a reaction that has stemmed from the chemical locha that has kept me awake last night. I am expecting my second love, a royal enfield thunderbird this week.

So folks, adios for now!

Tughlaq!

A trip to lake Parashar

Last weekend was a long weekend, thanks to Easter. My parents are in town(Mohali) and had been wanting to get out to the mountains. My spirit of adventure was borne from them.

I had told my mother about a small setting in lower Himalayas called lake Parashar. This place is in Mandi district, Himachal. I first heard of it from Gaurav, a Himalayan buddy(friends I have made who live in these mountains). He had told me of this place with a small temple dedicated to Parashara muni, father of Veda Vyasa. There was a certain romance that was associated with this place. This romance is with a small pond opposite the temple with a floating island on it. I am not sure what the phenomenon behind this is but the island appears to be in different places of the pond at different times of the year.

Lake Parashar is approachable by road from Manali or Bhunter. Its a 3 hr drive to Parashar from Bhunter(58 kms). The road is navigable by bike or car but a jeep is preferable. We hired a Mahindra Maxx from Manali to Parashar to Bhunter.

My parents were genuinely interested in this place and I could sense the boyish enthusiasm in their description of this place to others.

                                       
We left thursday evening by an AC bus from Chandigarh and reaching Manali in the wee hours of the morning. I booked a couple of rooms at a mountaineering institute which lies in the heart of Manali but still feels like worlds away from the tourist trap that Manali has unfortunately become.

We visited Fateh Thakur Barua at his village, Barua. Barua is an small village in an idyllic location in Solang valley, a little ways from Manali.

 We got a taste of himachali hospitality. Papa and mummy were truly bowled over by the beauty of the land and its people. We got some beautiful views of the landscape from there.

Some images from Barua

The next day, we took a 4 wheel drive jeep upto lake Parashar.The route is Manali to Bhunter to Aut to Parashar. The road is quite treacherous and I would subject the meek hearted away from the window seat.

A total of 5 hour drive from Manali will bring you to parashar. The landscape changes dramatically before your eyes. You start from the valley and soon are zigzagging your way upto 8549 feet. This is where the tree line ends and desolate landscape dominates.

This is where Parashara muni is said to have meditated

The atmosphere is serene and magical. It is as if you are transported to a different planet. The floating island and the lake are added incentives for the soul.


Beautiful wood work is rendered on the walls of the temple.

Papa read a chapter of the Geeta, a composition by Veda Vyasa.

That night's stay was at Bhunter and then a bus back to Chandigarh.





I am excited about doing trips like these with my parents whose excitement and love is contagious.