Flight of a little bird: December 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

My most memorable moments of year 2014

1. Sitting on the edge of a cliff at TUNGNATH

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over because out on the edge I can see the things I can't see otherwise."
Rainy season, fog all around, slippery rocks but some adventurous souls decided to take the risk. Not just of trekking up to Tungnath but to try our limits by standing on the edge and experience the thrill.The RISK involved made the moment adventurous and memorable.

At the edge

2. The view of frozen SURAJTAL

On our way back from Leh we crossed Bara-lacha-la pass. Driving at the elevation of almost 4,890mt...we reached Surajtal - the third highest lake in India, and the 21st-highest in the world. The lake was partially frozen. The white looked stunning against the deep blue sky. Couldn't stop appreciating the vivid and beautiful nature. The BRIGHTNESS of the moment is what made it memorable.

The MOMENT

3. The drive through the snow storm at KHARDUNGLA

This is all we could

manage to click

Going to Khardungla did not feel like a big accomplishment until we survived the snow storm while coming back. All of sudden weather changed from sunny on the way to Kardungla to light snow at Khardungla and the killer snow storm on our way back.
Snow hitting direct on the face, zero visibility - due to the snowfall and snow filled glasses, numb body and no chance to stop as the road will get worse with snow. Driving a bike through this storm was an achievement.
The CHALLENGE of the moment made it so accomplishing.

4. Witnessing a tiger pouncing on its prey at KANHA

Wildlife has always astound me. For one creature to survive the other has to die. Have seen many of such moments on Television but witnessing it in a jungle in real was an amazing. A mixed feeling it was... The gravity of the king made me forget everything.

Tiger getting ready to pounce

5. Posting from world's highest post office at HIKKIM

Sitting there in a small mud room of a remote village in high Himalayas and writing a post card was the feeling that can't be expressed in words.

A proud moment

6. The sudden rainbow at THIKSAY MONASTERY

I was mesmerized by the beauty of Thiksay monastery when all of sudden a rainbow appered to add to the beauty. The moment will be etched in my memory forever.

Rainbow in the barren lands of LADAKH was no less than a miracle

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

It's December already!

We are already sitting on December. How fast this year passed. I guess this happens when life is full of happenings. At this time of the year reflection and contemplation is unavoidable -looking back on the journey of year 2014 and making plans for 2015.

Can't believe I was on road for one-third of this year. What a nomad I've become!

Explored some new places -
Lotwara- a remote village in rajasthan,
Orchha - a quaint little town in MP,
Khajuraho - carvings from the past that I wanted to see since long,
Langza, Comic and Hikkim - remote villages in high Himalayas in Spiti region,
Kasol - a laid back place where I would love to go to relax anytime,
Chopta - a marvel of nature that amazed me with its strong positive energy,
Kantaboni - a remote tribal village in Odisha and
Kanha - jungle at its best and i was fortunate enough to meet the king of this amazing jungle 4 times.

And revisited my favorite places - Pushkar, Ladakh, Bharatpur and Kinnaur.

I love traveling with familiar strangers. So all the above travels were with some amazing people. Met many new people on my journeys, made friends with lots of them while learnt lessons from others.
Putting down names of some 'strangers-when-met' added to my list of friends and with whom traveling was fun. +ayandrali dutta , +Nabamita Ray , +Namrata Gupta , Shilpa Ravishankar , +Rajneesh Mathur , +santosh arya , Paritosh , +sanket modi , +Saraswati Mohan , Shilpi Garg , +Kp Menon and Prasanna Menon.
While new is important old is gold. This year was really good as I found most of my school friends and am now in constant touch with them.

As much as I like being on the move and meeting new people, I love coming back home to my people and MY LITTLE SPACE. This year was exciting in this front as my home at Indirapuram got all new look. I got it repainted with all bright colors, so my life back home is as colorful as the world is!

I also got opportunity to do some remarkable assignments that added to my skill set and experience. Thanks Vaibhav Dayal and Aditya Arya for trusting me for work that I did for you.
And apologies to people I could not work with due to my tight work schedule.

And something that I love to mention - I got featured in Smart Indian Women and DNA this year. Its my dream to have my success story published in some leading newspaper or magazine one day. Who knows that's what new year will bring.

Will share my plans for 2015 soon. All of you known or unknown ones are most welcome to join me on my journeys. Let us hope this new year brings with it lots of happiness and positivity in our lives.

HAPPY 2015!