When a rookie walks the Himalaya

I remembered a little affront I heaped at the mighty mountains when I landed at Aut. Taking a reel out of Apollo 13, I mimicked the scene where Jim Lowell covers the moon with his thumb and looked at a peak far away, murmuring, “As tall as my thumb.” Anand Yegnaswami reflects on his trek in the Great Himalayan National Park, one year later. Continue reading When a rookie walks the Himalaya

Valley of Potpourri – Autumn in the Valley of Flowers

In late September 2009, I joined Sahastra and four friends on a trek to the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand. When we reached there we were told that the season for flowers had slipped behind us by two weeks. We prepared for disappointment but instead discovered to our happy surprise that the Valley in September was fall’s magical fairyland, ready to be tucked in for a long winter nap. This piece was published as the cover story in India Abroad Magazine, August 27, 2010.     Autumn burnishes the Valley of Flowers with ochre, gold and fawn WHEN I ARRIVED in the … Continue reading Valley of Potpourri – Autumn in the Valley of Flowers