Making sense of the MOUNTAINS (1)

I don’t know where to start. With all the anxiety of the pre trip planning and ending with the excitement of eating, chatting, joking with a group of trek mates, who were unknown 7 days back but now feel like we are a group of BFF’s.

There is so much to write factually and there is so much to mull over that I don’t know where to start. I guess it will take a few days / months for some of it  to surface and and some of it to be absorbed.

Like Eagles says in one of there songs (In Hell Freezes over)…this is how it all started.

Lets begin before the beginning.

A naive me in Ladakh dreamt of doing Chader Trek excited by the stories of walking on a frozen lake. But then Covid stuck and we were locked in for almost 2 years. In those 2 years and after that many things happened but the trek. Ladakh was the first time I experience nature like I had never done before and if I was 

Solan - Shimla - Beginning of the Himalayan journey

22 and 23 both years I spent considerable time in Shimla - Solan. I understood the mountains through the programs we did for the teachers who were working in small communities spread across far - flung areas. Their past, the secrets of traditional herbs, their dresses, festivals, aspirations , difficulties.  But what stood out was their love and kindness. One such experience was - On a small hike, when me and friend got lost they not only showed the way but opened their house for rest and tea. But then I saw the hills burn from our window - not able to do anything. How the mountain cried, vegetation disappear so does the species. We thought of doing many treks across nearby mountains but none materialized. This March / April the choice was to go for a meet being organized at Shimla and then navigate my way for a trek. But looking at the locations and itinerary I realized - it can’t be both. 

And that’s how a trek was decided

Why “Har Ki Dun” ?

This question was asked by the trek lead to all of us and the simple answer was “It called me”, there was no strong logic, which peak to climb - but the only thing which I could connect was what Arjun (founder of Indiahikes) says in his video of it being a trek of self discovery - spiritual etc. 

Does visualisation work ?

The pic above says its all. I joined this session being done by my friend to create a visual board for 20 26. It there on my soft board from Jan 1st.

1 bucket List done. Thanks to my lucky mascot JO. More Soon.

And 20 26 is here

Fab 4 Vision Board

It’s been a bad December, end of a otherwise defining year. Entire December the only sticky memory I have is of being sick. While the year started with special focus in building a healthy me with strength training and plant based diet. Life came a full circle when in December my never ending flu pushed me to visit a GP and got a dose of antibiotics.

Anyway, I hope that is swiped away with the remnants of 20 25.

                                So, How was 20 25 ? Some end of the year Musings…

I valued:

Slowing down although I did not know when I did it. Reading old newspaper or a long form article in Mint Lounge or Hindu Magazine, physically with the paper in  your hand and sitting in a corner. Maybe in sun if lucky especially when you are in Bangalore or in bed. It was / is my go to process for centering. 

& Work - Coming back to work after almost 3 years rewired my whole life in a new & positive way. It gave directions, interactions with young people and most importantly a life beyond home. Maybe I can call it independence.  

I also discovered - the quiet of BOSE headphone, the experience was surreal on how you can shut out the world with the press of a button.

Concept became experiences in 20 25: Interconnectedness, Abundance are not just concepts they are real. I got my job in 2nd innings after 2+ years of volunteering because I showed up at many places with unknown people to just volunteer and learn. In one such instance I met someone and Socratus happened. I have been desiring an IPAD from last 20 year but could never cross the middle class sensibility and buy 1. Then one day someone wanted to give his old IPAD as it was slow & it back happening :)

I tried / engineered making friends with people whom I admired / liked maybe infatuated with or I though logically and rationally that they should be my friends from college / past work but by end of the year I realized. It does not work that way. I remembered the quote which hung in my wall of my hostel for the longest time “If you love someone, set it free. If it comes back it’s yours, if not, it was not meant to be.”  But I also learnt the flip side of it, you have to show up with sincerity before you let it go - so that you can tell yourself “You tried.” I don’t think I will try much of this in 20 26. My books, movies & occasional plays / music are friendships I plan to cultivate more in 20 26

We are like this only? A phrase which played on repeat in my head when dealing with family. It was a topsy-turvy journey with 4 of us staying together for a whole year after 10 years.

Age showed up in the form of aches and pains, low energy - Yes it’s a number, but you should know what’s behind that number. The sudden decline can be humbling.

Accept & Move On.  Onwards & Upwards.

Sunday Musings (Last Post of the year): An ode to memory

As the year draws to a close, whether we are with our friends and family or in an unknown place. One thing which we will all do is to reminiscence. Yet in the age of reminders, push notifications and alerts when forgetting should have been impossible - the more we record, the less we recall. Have you noticed how we keep forgetting to remember a past incident.

I read this article many times and in case you don’t have the time to read the same here are a few bullet points for you and for me as well. Because I will treasure this touching note till next Christmas if not more.

“Our personal history are archived in clouds we never see, and our collective past is compressed in searchable databases. It is as if memory itself has been liberated from the burden of being human. But it may have lost it’s soul.”

In a sterile or an impersonal environment like office the pictures on our softboard are our gateway to a life lived through pictures. Echo photo triggering a memory or a story - told & untold both.

“Memory gives continuity to identity.”

“For most human history, memory was an art. Ancient cultures cultivated elaborate techniques of recall - the Indian Oral tradition, the greek ars memoriae, the monastic practices of meditations.”

“Remembering was not about storage, it was about synthesis. To remember was to interpret, to connect, to assign meaning." "True memory is selective shaped by emotion and meaning”, “We remember what matters not what happens”

If we are somewhere in mountain or in the beach, should we experience the sunset or record the perfect sunset shot.

As 2025 merges with 2026.

Maybe, “we must learn once again, that memory is not a file to be accesses but a flame to be tended. To remember is to care. And to care, in an age of distraction, is the rarest act of all.”

Memory in the age of forgetting (Link to article)