Across The Singge- La Pass

Wide plains draw

Rays down from wider skies.

The daylight, rising higher,

Burns through thin air to grass;

At night globes of green fire

Float on the pastured pass.

Cold, shivering like a duck

I watch the Eastern sky:

A shooting star brings luck;

A satellite swims by.

The Silver River flows

Event less, through the night.

The moon against the snows

Shines insular and bright.

Here we three, each, alone,

Me, Myself & I

The Singge La (Singge-Lion, La- Mountain Pass) is the pass one has to cross between Photoskar andLingshet during the Lamayaru - Zanskar trek in Leh & Ladakh) walking through the broad and lush Photang valley. A gentle trail leads through this beautiful landscape, where villagers graze their yak/dzo and horses.

One of the most fascinating things about the Zanskar trek is the ever-changing landscape. Every time you turn a corner, or cross a pass, a new world appears in front of you. Passing through the deepest of gorges and meandering through the greenest of fields, the majestic Zanskar River assume a fascinating form and life of its own.
With ever changing colored and the cloud shadows changing with the sun, one never gets bored!

A Trek To The Sainj Tirath Valley

Toyotas and cars get us to Sainj.

At last we’re almost in touch with our range.

So onwards and upwards with porters galore,

Towards Denga and Shakti and even Maraur.

When camping at Kudal some people got ticks,

On their arms and their legs and even their dicks.

At Parkachi Thach we settled the mule train

But the afternoon was spoiled by a misty rain.

Don’t worry my friends,

I am in top form,

‘The weather will clear with a really good storm.’

The cook gives us chai each morning at seven,

This isn’t a trek, it’s much more like heaven.

I’m getting twitchy to get at a peak,

So up to Camp 1, an objective to seek.

To recce we set out in three separate ways,

And agreed on a summit to fill the next phase.

The weather’s not perfect but still, off we set,

And it’s not very long ‘fore it’s hailing and wet.

But I am still hopeful and true to form:

‘The weather will clear with a really good storm’

It snows on the tent until it all sags,

And, oh no, some people are starting to flag

A couple and I set off in a bit of a hurry,

While the rest of them wait trying hard not to worry

When we return safely, much to their relief,

With a point on the ridge successfully reached.

Back down to Shakti to get some food

Some of the porters are beginning to brood.

Rain the next morning but on with phase two,

Slogging up and then down, we carry on through,

Dhel was so pleasant we stayed there two nights,

And then towards Ghumtarao we turned our sights.

The route was not certain and caused so much chat.

Should we go this way, or should we go that?

In the end we went 'that' way and what a descent.

I'll swear that my knees are now permanently bent.

To even things up we climbed at such length,

By the end of next day I'd used up all my strength,

You know the saying, 'What goes up must come down,'

Well, the descent to Tirthan just went on and on.

Just a short day to Gushaini should hold no fears,

And the sooner we get there, the sooner there's beers.

So there’s a memory of forests and flowers and ridges,

Of mountains and gorges and torrents and bridges,

Of singing and laughter and new people I’ve met,

T’was a trip that will prove hard to forget.

Go to ImageShack® to Create your own Slideshow

Temple of The King

in the mist

lost in the mountains

the temple bells...

---

temple bells die out

their faint echo remains

A perfect evening!

---

the wind

gives prayers

wings...

and they soar....

---

I can sometimes hear her whispering my name .. The Call of the North Wind as it whistles through the Valley... The Misty Mountains are beckoning..

In Between...

The present is a luminous ball.
Behind it - the past; in front of it - the future.

The whole soars in total darkness and reels to and fro, now gently, now vigorously.

Below there is an abyss, above vapor, It is pitch dark.

Either the ball crashes, then all is lost or it glides into the future and renews hope.

Which way is it going? I for one am totally helpless and can't seem to influence which way the twin headed hammer of time will fall and what will be the result.

Sometimes I feel that I am suspended between 2 worlds the one that I see and perceive and another which keeps on eluding me.

I feel like the old roman who filled up his bathtub and slit his wrists, suspending himself between 2 worlds
between life and death,
between the agony and the ecstasy,
between understanding and revelation,
between reality and fantasy,
between space and time,
in between heaven and hell..

Thats how I see things these days anyway...

Precious.....

It's no idle boast when I say that through the ages men & women both lusted for me
Some people would go to any lengths to possess me, some even died for me.
and some wept openly begging me to be theirs forever
Small wonder that whenever someone utters my name, fierce emotions are aroused
I still feel the power of my passing, because in me resides the fate of billions.

Oh! you think I am just bragging, but nay I do not boast, I merely state facts
no matter how distasteful it is to for you to hear.
The passions that I aroused are still topics of long discussions & one can still find
many a tome larded with scholarly erudition & some with idle political kant.

Like Helen of Troy epic wars have been fought over me,
And like The Great Caesar himself, I Came, I Saw & I Conquered

Not that I am a mighty Warlord or despotic King, Nor am I filled up with too much hubris.
I never desired for people to exalt me to such a godlike pedestal
It just came naturally to my legions of followers and lovers.
It just is.. and there is nothing that I can do about it.

Before you jump to any rash conclusions just bear with me while I tell you my tale,
I leave the decision to your own sense of fairness to judge my guilt or innocence
----------

Oh those were heady times
Well do I remember that hour of my coming

I was clad in spotless whites fashioned by mother Change herself,
As I entered the clock in the room struck the hours of midnight.
The hall went quiet as they saw my approach to the Dais,

A dapper white clad man with smart black shoes with a rose buttoned on his lapel approached the mike no doubt to address the gathering & say a few words in my welcome,

A deep hush fell on all who were present for it was an important day, for most of them who had gathered there from all corners filling that small but ornate hall,with a high ceiling and slowly circulating fans.

All eyes were riveted on him as I stood at his elbow and whispered into his ear.

He well knew the significance of my words and so did the others who were met there in that hall.
In loud assured tones, of fluent English with a slight trace of an Indian Accent, and a definite stamp of a British Public School Education the man started to speak

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes
when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure,
but very substantially.


At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world
sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history,
when we step out from the old to the new,
when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long
suppressed, finds utterance._{+}

Oh!!
I see that enlightenments dawns,
yes...yes...


I was that moment in time,

So tell me now that did you not feel the weight of my presence on your shoulder and didn't a thrill run down your spine as you read the words of that man who was Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru The First Prime Minister of The Republic of India spoke then

Photo Courtesy :Harappa


See the full video A.R. Rahman JAYA HE & Jana Gana Man Video :

Technorati Tags:Indian Independce Day, Nehru Speech, Tryst With Destiny

You....

You can smile at your reflection in a window or a spoon and I'll smile at you.

Your eyes are pretty, flat on the underside and curved above like cathedral windows, and they look like they've seen too much and may be the color of jade but aren't jaded.

You struggle with the notion of forgiveness for those who have hurt you. Most of those lines are from wicked crooked grins and a quick wit.

You thought for sure you were bound for hell and bravely bared your teeth until you learned "sin" comes from the Greek word meaning "missed the mark," and that nobody else could tell you the destination of your soul.

The way you smell reminds me of winter, kind of musty and black leather and old patched coats. Residual camphor and cedar of dark old closets. Constant dark burgundy lipstick, a wild mane of dark black hair, and a butterfly tattoo on your shoulder. Black clothes, always.

You say it hides stains best

Bedroom Chatter

Getting up in my bed
now empty of your presence
I find evidence
Of the most intimate kind
That says that you were here...