The World As We Know It

The Long Winding Road to Spiti

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:07:00 +0000

On reaching Kasol we went straight to the travel agent to figure out the route to Spiti. Kunzum Pass, which is the gateway to Spiti, was closed since the road was blocked by snow and it would take another 3-4 days to clear up. It generally opens up by early to mid-June. Due to time constraints we couldn't wait, so we embarked on an adventure to reach Spiti from Kinnaur.

With no booking done, we traveled by local transport, changed several buses, to reach Spiti. Well its a very long distance to cover, but after the trek in Parvati we were up for it. This is the route we took -

Kasol to Bhuntar - 25 kms, around an hour journey.
Bhuntar to Mandi - 57 kms, took us 2 hours to reach
Mandi to Karcham (Kinnaur) - long journey, takes around 13 hours
Karcham to Reckong Peo (by taxi) - 20 to 30 minutes
Are you up for it?

We missed the bus to Bhuntar, but there is one every 30 minutes, so we went to Rainbow Cafe in Kasol to have a quick bite. They serve delicious food, and its facing the river so good location to chill. Don't be surprised if you bump into many Israelis smoking spliffs, a rather common site.

There was a direct bus from Bhuntar to Reckong Peo at around 2.30 pm or 3.30 pm, I am not sure of the timing at present, which is the last bus. Since everything got delayed, we were hoping to get another bus from Bhuntar. The ride to Bhuntar is really bumpy, it will cost you around Rs 45, and lot of locals travel on this route, so the buses are crowded.

Somehow we managed to get a seat, and Clyde was kind enough to hold a child till his stop arrived. One thing that worked for me on this trip was that I could easily doze off in the bus, no matter how hard my head hit the roof, I would still be sleeping, thats how this short journey to Bhuntar passed by. That's the domestic airport at Bhuntar (Kullu-Manali), it has a single runway with handful of flights operating to Delhi, Shimla, Dharamsala, Pathankot and Chandigarh. Guess what, there were no buses to Reckong Peo after 3 pm, so really harrowed we asked the bus drivers, ticket collector for the next option. One guy suggested we go to Mandi, around 57 kms from Bhuntar, to catch the 6 pm bus to Reckong Peo. We had to be quick, we jumped in a bus and crossed our fingers to reach Mandi on time. Mountain roads are uneven and uphill, so you can never predict the exact duration of the journey.

But luck was on our side as we made it to Mandi bus depot on time to book our tickets to Karcham, quite close to Reckong Peo, for Rs 295. It was state transport, so the buses are decent, no reclining seats or anything and less leg room. Mandi is a main hub to Kullu Manali, Lahual and Spiti. Its also a place of religious importance for the Hindus and Sikhs. It was some respite for us, as we made it on time and that very soon we will be in Spiti. There was a huge forest fire on the way, it nearly covered half the mountain. The driver stopped for dinner around 10 pm at a dhaba located in an isolated spot, we freshened up and had a bowl of tomato soup to fill our stomach. The ticket collector told us that the bus would stop at Rampur in Shimla at 2 am for two hours, what would we do in Rampur in the middle of the night? I was sleeping when we reached Rampur Bushar Bus stand, Clyde and his friend got off the bus, so I had no choice but to do the same. We had tea and went for a short walk on the deserted road in Rampur. It didn't look very impressive, its more of a business center and a busy market place. But the empty roads allowed us to entertain ourselves by taking pictures.

This hoarding below was amusing, it read - Influx of monkeys or monkey terror. Monkeys only come when you litter, so to be free from monkey attacks we all should cooperate.:) There was an old Buddhist temple at the side of the bus station, with Pagoda-style roof and colorful entrance, we see much more of these in Spiti. The side view of the Buddhist temple. We were back in the bus now and the journey was going to be another 2-3 hours long, we were just 120 odd kms away from Karcham. At the break of dawn we were in Kinnaur, as I opened my eyes I saw a shepherd guiding his herd of sheep to the side of the road for the bus to move on. I felt a sudden shiver, it was colder than Parvati, so I put on my jacket and was looking around.

The road begins to get dusty as a huge hydro-electric project is underway. The 1000 MW Karcham Wangtoo hydro-electric project started in controversial circumstances. When we got off at Karcham in the middle of no where, we got a taxi to Reckong Peo, the local driver told us the sad situation facing the surrounding villages. He said that the dam was of no use to the locals, since they were not employed for the construction work and neither will the electricity generated be given to the villages. Lot of villagers have lost their land due to this project and are displaced without any compensation. Where ever you go, situations like these are quite prevalent. It seemed like a massive project, because the work was on for several kilometres. We halted at a small village to have a cup of tea. Kinnaur is in the northeast corner of Himachal Pradesh and surrounded by Tibet to the east. The locals have very peculiar features, different then the rest of Himachal. Some have Mongoloid looks and others have Tibetan features.

The driver pointed out at the famous Kinnaur Kailash range, believed to be abode of Lord Shiva and it has a huge rock formation that resembles shivling and changes colour as the day passes. As we moved higher we felt closer to the snow-capped mountains. The view was amazing, the place is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides and is 2,670 metres above sea level. Reckong Peo is the administrative headquarter for Kinnaur district, so there wasn't much we could do. There are limited hotels, since its not a tourist spot. The next option would be Kalpa, around 20 kms odd away but its on a higher side.

There were very few decent ones in the main market area. Most of them were packed, and at one place the hotel owner was quite rude with us too. We paid Rs 50 to the taxi driver and began our search. We were tired after the long journey, so we took few rounds and settled for whatever was available. We got a room at Hotel Fairyland, decent room for Rs 300, although the hotel owner wasn't friendly.

We had breakfast and were off to bed for a while. We soon ventured out to find out the bus timings to Spiti, it was a long, cold walk to the bus depot, but we got the feel of the place. Lot of government offices, military quarters, in fact we witnessed a simulation attack as well while passing by.

There was only one bus to Kaza, the main city of Spiti, at 7 am in the morning, no evening buses because the roads are too risky to drive at night. The guy at the ticket counter asked us to reach at 6 am to book the tickets. For that we would have to wake up at nearly 5 am to check out and walk with our backpacks to the depot. Here's the bus schedule from Reckong Peo. It is worth it, I said to myself, and walked back to the hotel. We sat at the Cafeteria Roof in the Main Bazaar to eat some Tibetan delicacy, Momos and a veg and non-veg soup, the bill came up to only Rs 90, food was cheap in Reckong Peo, the only good thing about the place. It was an early night for us, as something marvelous was going to unfold tomorrow.

The Road to Spiti

On a chilly morning we were up and ready to start our beautiful journey. We reached Reckong Peo bus depot by 6.15 am and bought our tickets to Tabo for Rs 145. Tabo is around 46 kms before Kaza, and it suppose to be surreal. Waiting for the journey to begin. Unfortunately there was double booking for one of our seats, so we had only two seats to be shared among three people. The bus was overpacked, people were seated everywhere, on cartons, in the alley, next to the driver, behind the driver, it was a wake up call for all of us. But no complains, because they all were friendly and cooperative people. We took turns to share the seat, as the bus wriggled its way on the narrow road. No wonder there are no evening buses, the path is too narrow and uneven, a slight miss and you would be in the Sutlej river. But I was enjoying every moment of it, looking out of the window with eager eyes to see the landscape transform from greenery to aridness. We were still in Kinnaur, said the talkative man next to us. He narrated instances from his life when he was in Maharashtra, and how he was so fluent in Marathi, which he had not spoken for a long time until he met us. He gave us an interesting piece of information as well, few villages in Kinnaur follow the practice of having one wife for a family of brothers. Why do brothers marry the same woman, was our next question. He replied in order to avoid land disputes in the family. I noticed that the tribes and locals of Himachal adapt to the social environment they are living in, its like what works for them they practice.

The rocky terrain took its toll on the bus and the back tyre got punctured. Luckily a service station was close by in a small town called, Pooh. We burst out laughing when we read the sign board. Passengers waiting for the bus to get fixed. The topography had certainly changed, barren mountains with snow at its peak and patches of green fields and Satluj river flowing by, made a lovely picture. In a short while we were back in the packed bus only to be stopped by a natural calamity, landslide few kms from Nako. The landslide had completely blocked the way, it would take a day or two to clear that up. The deal was that we empty the bus, cross the landslide and another bus coming from Kaza would pick us up. It took some time for the bus to arrive, so we sat on top of the rock awestruck by the magnificence unfolding in front of our eyes.
The cold desert, I had never seen something like this before. We sat patiently there at peace with ourselves, the time had come to a standstill. Suddenly we see people shouting that the bus had arrived, the moment of solidarity came to an end, but just for a short time. A Kinnauri woman holding her cute kid on the back. It was almost 1 - 1.30 pm, so the driver made a stop at a village called Hurling for lunch. It was small dhaba serving basic rice, dal and vegetable. We ate little bit, and waited outside to board the bus. A furry and cute donkey was waiting outside in the cold, he had so much fur we couldn't even see his eyes. Spiti starts from a village called Samdho, close to the Indo-Tibetan border, we were just few mountain ranges away from the border. The terrain gets even more treacherous, narrow road passing below the overhanging cliffs, it looked like a landslide prone area.

Just under an hour away from there was Tabo, at an altitude of 3,050 metres. The place appeared so quiet and isolated. The cold wave that hit us after that was crazy, shivering and throbbing we moved around looking for a guest house. Another guy who got off at Tabo runs two hotels, and he asked us to check those out. We didn't like the first one close to the bus stop, so we moved ahead to the second one walking through a helipad. An open area, cold desert, snow-covered peaks, you can imagine our state. His second hotel called Tashi Khangser was quite decent and in a secluded spot. The tariff was Rs 200 a night, we happily took the room and didn't step out until dinner.

A Magical Trek in Parvati

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:15:00 +0000

The next day we planned to trek over 6 kms uphill from the village where we were staying to a tiny village on top of the same mountain. Though not visible from our location, we heard it to be a very serene place with only a couple of houses perched on the top of the mountain and then nothing but a spectacular view to greet the eyes.

So we set on our journey early in the morning, Brunel dropped out and stayed in bed as we began our journey. We crossed over several small bridges running over the streams, as we climbed higher the view just seemed to get better.

The ascent was tough we had not done a trek of this size until now, our bodies were not yet acclimatized and we were frequently running out of breath, especially me. Ramu who accompanied us was understanding enough, and he waited for us to move on, as he walked behind. We pushed on slowly and steadily with the frequency of stops increasing.

We climbed up one mountain, then walked to another and then a steep climb awaited us, but just at the start we took a slight detour to see this lovely waterfall. We also got a glimpse of one of the houses from there and we heaved a huge sigh of relief, we were closer to our destination. Since we had completed over 70% of the distance by now, we also made it in good time in spite of taking numerous stops, we decided to relax by the waterfall. The huge waterfall had a good amount of force but it was too cold for comfort, we decided to step in anyway. It felt good, water coming from a melted glacier flowed around our feet, as we shouted out in joy and also because the water was icy cold. All of us took turns to get our picture taken with the waterfall in the background. Just 15 minutes away from the waterfall we reached the only school in the village. A school situated high up in the mountains, has only one classroom, four students and the government inspectors or education authorities don't even bother coming up. But the teacher, Ranvir Thakur, walks from Manikaran to up here every day to teach his four students. He was such a nice, sweet and determined person, we spent some time talking to him, education was not a priority amongst the local people of this region and he was hoping to change that. The distance he covered everyday, apart from being strenuous, would possibly take us around 3-4 hours, and he walked up in an hour's time. The school also had a ferocious dog to guard the place.

The route from the school to the village takes good 30 minutes, not for people from the mountains of course, because its steep and a tricky path. We managed to reach the top of this hamlet, and were greeted by an old woman, Ramu's aunt, who was peacefully sitting outside her house, the first one of the few on the mountain. The village was virtually empty since people go to work during the day to neighbouring villages. The houses had the lovely Himachal look, the structure, the doors were similar to what we have seen on this trip. It was time for us to take some rest and enjoy the scenery and the majestic mountains around us. We thought of taking a walk around the village and soak up everything it had to offer. The view from this height was spectacular as the whole valley and mountain ranges lay ahead of us, like a painting. So beautiful that it all hardly looked real, it was like standing in a movie set. Buzzzzz, the sound suddenly appeared from nowhere, we looked around and saw a swarm of bees all making their way in and out of the little hole in the wall, we found two spots like these, perhaps the owner of this house managed to collect the honey. Bhavika is highly energetic, I think all the amount of sweets that she eats directly converts into globules of energy, she wanted to go further and further. Another friend who came along with us, found a spot and sat down, I proceeded a little further and then she was on her own. She walked on the path to get to Rasol and found a spot to take some lovely pictures of the entire village, comprising barely 13 houses. We found a Gharat lying abandoned by the stream, I had not seen one as yet and was thrilled to find one. A Gharat has an aqueduct with a wheel and fins that turns round as the water pushes against the fins. Its used to grind grain into flour, there are some projects in Uttaranchal where Gharats are used to generate electricity as well. Walking down is always faster and most of the times its easier, we were racing down until again a different muscle began to hurt or got strained. It was a good day, with a lot of walking, something that we do not generally do in Bombay, the scenic view was admired the most on the way down, because you are not trying to catch your breath.
A group of monkeys scattered off when we were quite close to them, they ran up the mountain with incredible speed, mothers with babies holding onto them, it was a lovely sight, into the wild. A macro shot of moss growing on the bark of a tree. Feeling drained and hungry Ramu took us to one dhaba, run by a Punjabi guy who had married a local woman. She made Aloo Paranthas and tea for us, we had the paranthas with cauliflower pickle, that was absolutely delicious. We went back to our rooms, and just waited for dinner to be prepared. This is the view of the room we stayed for 5 days for Rs 100 per day. The following day we had to drop one of our friends to Kasol since he was flying back to Bombay as he had to return to London soon. So we went to Kasol to drop him and canceled our train tickets to Mumbai, since our tickets never got confirmed. While waiting for the bus to Bhuntar, we saw a funny sight. The chicken walking on top of a sleepy dog, and the dog never woke up either, I guess they shared a good rapport. It was also our last day in Parvati valley, which had been so good to us, we enjoyed our stay here, made some nice friends and spent the last day absorbing this magical valley. Bhavika went out for a walk with the camera, capturing the essence of the place, while a friend and myself chilled with the farmer's two kids who were quite fond of us. Especially the little boy, who was naughty and playful, he even started dancing with me.
The village life is simple and wholesome, and a tough one too. You would see this often, a woman assorting grass and weed to feed her cattle. They loved to photographed and to view their pictures as well. It was difficult to get them still. We sat on top of the bathroom roof, watching the river flow by and in the distance we saw a distillation process, the villagers were brewing their own alcohol. We watched the moon rise and set behind the valley in the shortest time, it was just evening. We had our last dinner with the family who had hosted us, spoke to them for a while. We were tempted to ask Ramu to get us some of the local brew, which he willingly did and also set us a bon fire on a cold night to enjoy the drink. We spent a good amount of time keeping the fire going with all the wood shavings around the place. The fire flames also managed to burn me close to the eye. After an hour or so we crashed only for Bhavika to be dressed up once again before we made our exit from Parvati Valley. Ramu's wife was very excited to dress up Bhavika in her shawl, that she wears on special occasions. This time I was not left behind, as I wore Ramu's cap, to pose like a married couple. We bid goodbye to Ramu and his family, and thanked them for showering us with so much kindness. We walked back to Kasol to start our long journey to the cold desert of Spiti!

Parvati Valley, Setting our Minds Free

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:50:00 +0000

When you have a stunning view like this every morning when you open your eyes, who would feel like going back to the concrete jungles of Mumbai?

Well, we were destined to spend time in the lap of nature, because the train tickets we had booked prior to leaving for Parvati never got confirmed.

Woohoo, the voice in my head went, when a friend of ours checked the ticket status online. In the end it turned out that all of us were happy to spend more time in Himachal.

Walking on Green Pastures

The local guy, Ramu, whose rooms we were staying in, took us for a walk around the village. Early morning it was good to stretch our muscles as we got a glimpse of the rustic landscape - the fields, houses, orchards and everything around.

The wooden houses had a striking resemblance to the houses of Manali, the structure and the way it was built. Its partially made on stilts, small windows and doors and the lower section is generally meant for their cattle.
The pretty purple flowers we saw on the way and the insect caught on camera, which I realised only on seeing the picture on the laptop. Ramu showed us his apple orchards, unfortunately this year he said the produce hasn't been too good due to the lack of rain. Generally by this time of the year the apples are fully grown, alas, climate change is slowly altering things in the Himalayas. Himachal Pradesh, known as the 'apple state' of the country supplies nearly 30% of the total apple produce. But this year the production of apples is likely to drop by nearly 50%. We were disheartened, the village depends on fruits and vegetables to make a living, but if that falls, wonder how they would survive? Moving on to greener pastures, colorful flowers of different varieties were growing around his fields, with bees hovering above them. It is sights like this that make us wonder, what are we doing in Mumbai, when there is so much to absorb and learn from.
He also showed us fields of rajma, garlic and wheat. It was easy to walk around as the farmers start to work only by late afternoon, nobody works in the morning here. This is called life, they are living it, we yearn for it. So the visual treat was soon followed by treat for the taste buds, as Ramu's wife had cooked Aloo Paranthas for breakfast to be eaten with home made ghee. Believe me when I say, I have never tasted such delicious ghee before, even if you are calorie conscious you have to try it out. Kasol, The Hebrew Heaven

We had to go to Kasol to book the air tickets for Clyde's friend, so he bid farewell to Ramu's family and we were on our way. The weather had turned out to be quite pleasant, other wise it gets hot during the day, and the beautiful view around us added to the immense joy! While the three stooges stood in the middle of the bridge to strike a pose. Kasol is synonymous with Israelis, its one of the many villages in Parvati that has more Israelis then any other tourists. They have literally taken hold of the village, which is easy to say when you move around in the streets of Kasol and find numerous shops displaying boards in Hebrew.
So we went to a travel agent, booked the ticket and went looking out for a wine shop. If you have read our Manali post, we in awe of the apple and plum flavoured wine. So we bought 2 bottles of Waterfall wine for Rs 220 each. We made a brief stop at the shop next door selling psychedelic t-shirts and wall pieces. Such shops hike up their prices because of the high demand, so we soon walked out and decided to head back to our lodge. On this trip we have always been on the move, constantly traveling somewhere or the other. This time we thought of chilling at one place for few more days. Ramu told us he would take us fishing in the Parvati river after the sun sets. What a brilliant idea it was, I had never been fishing, nor do I eat fish, but still I was excited!

To warm up for the evening adventure, Clyde suggested that we head to the stream, that we passed while going to Manikaran. Find a spot next to the flowing water, drink some wine and play few games of UNO, told you that was our favorite past time on this trip.:) After a bottle of wine comes naturally made toupee for Clyde, don't worry all of us were in this state. The serene surroundings, clear water gushing through the streams and nobody to bother you, I was overwhelmed by the occasion. The Fishin' Expedition

We made it before time to accompany Ramu on his fishing expedition. He had gone to finish off some work, so his wife asked me if I would like to wear her traditional outfit. I couldn't refuse, and I was ready to don the outfit for the second time.:) There you go, I was wrapped up in a shawl neatly pinned up together. The shawl was actually weaved by her and she had a glow in her eyes when she finished dressing me. Totally embracing the culture, I thought of going one step further and pretending to weave yarn on the complex machine. While we waited for Ramu to get back, we just took some pictures around his house. The sweet little girl who we met on the day of arriving, is seen playing with the plants. Some more pretty flowers here growing in his backyard. He returned with supplies for dinner. There was going to be something special for dinner, Ramu's wife explained in her Pahadi Hindi accent, we couldn't wait! The hospitality we received here was heart-warming, they were always so open and straight-forward. I like people from the mountains!

Soon Ramu's friend and brother came to help him get the fishing net ready, tie few knots and we were set to go. The fish we going to catch is English Trout, majorly found in Himachal. Ramu goes often to fish, but last couple of days he was tad unlucky, so lets find out if we can change his luck.

We began our walk towards the river, and came across farmers working in their fields. As mentioned earlier, they only start by late afternoon. Here a local woman was digging out garlic, harvested and ready to eat! There is enough light at least till 7.30 pm to walk around without a torch, so the only problem we faced was to keep up with Ramu and his friend, who were racing ahead full speed. They are so use to the terrain, unlike us who lead an inactive urban life. Ramu carried the net, while his friend did the strenuous work of throwing it in the gushing water. The net had weights attached to it at various spots, which it made it really heavy, almost 3-4 kgs. This thin-looking guy gathered all the ends, tied one end around his wrist and flung the net with full force in the water.

He repeated the same step countless times, that left us awestruck in amazement, he sure is a strong fella! He kept trying, throwing the net in water from various spots as we walked ahead on rocks next to the river. We almost reached Manikaran, and just then I saw the happy look on Ramu's face. His friend successfully managed to catch a female English Trout and a another small one. The thin boy's effort had finally paid off, as all of them got super excited with the prospect of eating fresh Trout for dinner, to be prepared by Ramu himself.:) He pushed his thumb through the gills to hold the black and red-spotted trout. We put our torches on to climb the rocks and the slippery path to come back on the route. As soon as we reached, Ramu got to work instantly. His wife doesn't eat or cook non-veg so Ramu did the cleaning, cutting, and cooking.:) They shared a good rapport in the sense that both of them divided the house work and performed the daily chores together. I was really happy to see that, because in some of the villages in Himachal only women do the work while men sit and relax!

The bigger fish had roe as well, and that made Clyde, in particular, very happy. He loves Fish roe, nay, who am I kidding, he just loves to eat. Ramu cooked the trout in turmeric, salt and a variety of other powdered spices, making it sligtly yellow in colour. He then deep fried it for while, until it was ready to eat. I was hoping in the meantime that my food is tasty as well.:)
The trout turned out to be delicious, the fins had turned crispy like masala chips, the flesh was tender and according to Clyde it was the freshest fish he has ever eaten. It was only prepared using simple, home spices, no exotic ingredients but yet mouth-watering. That's the beauty about such places, it lies in its simplicity! For me Ramu's wife had cooked huge Momos stuffed with chutney made from some plants. It was delicious, and to dip it in the sweet-tasting ghee, simply made my day! One was enough to fill my stomach, then we watched some TV and played with his kids. The next day we planned on going for a trek to another village around the place, and Ramu agreed to accompany us. We were glad about that, but how will we match up to his speed, is something we pondered over!

The Serene Mountains of Parvati Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Our long stay in Old Manali came to an end as we decided to proceed to Parvati Valley, stay in Kasol perhaps and take a look around. To reach Kasol we had to go from Manali to Bhuntar and then board another bus from Bhuntar to Kasol.

Manali to Kasol, a Bumpy Ride

A scenic bumpy ride in the local buses of Himachal Pradesh awaited us, the cost from Manali to Bhuntar was Rs 45 and from Bhuntar to Kasol was Rs 55. Not too much since the journey was approximately five to six hours long. The bus schedule at Bhuntar, you can go almost any where in Himachal from here.
A school bus passing by on the way to Kasol. We arrived in Kasol to be welcomed to some beats playing at the Indrasan Music festival, excited with the thought of an all night party next to the river we scouted for a room. Nothing seemed to fit our budget as people quoted around Rs 600 at the hotel we first asked and as we walked further away from the market we reached Lucky Dhaba.

Run by a group of Punjabi women, she gave us one room for Rs 300, that was reasonable but it wasn't hygienic. However we wanted a place to crash just for one day as we planned to move further in to Parvati, so we adjusted in a messy room.

We refreshed ourselves with Dal, Chawal, Chapati, Salad, Papad and Subzi (vegetable) for Rs 40, made by the Punjabi women, and later on we spent some time on the terrace absorbing the view of the Parvati river flowing just a few meters away. As evening drew by we went towards the party, we were stunned to know that it was Rs 600 to enter and it would last only till 10 pm, that was just two hours from the current time. We were delayed as Bhavika had left our room keys in and locked us out, but with someone called XNoise playing at the party we didn't regret our late entry.

Paying Rs 600 was definitely not worth it, so we just walked around and jumped in from the river side, thankfully we entered free of cost because the music was terrible. There was no flow, the music did not match my taste and I was dissatisfied, anyway we were happy that we got to go for a free party and went back to our room that was now uninviting with a lot of creepy crawlies on every wall.

Into the Wild

We were eager to get out of Lucky Dhaba, it was our priority for the next day. So we began our backpacking journey, on the way we picked up some supplies to have our breakfast while trekking to the interiors of Parvati. The higher altitude comes with thinner oxygen and since we had our backpacks with us, the frequency of our stops was increasing, although the view itself was something that we needed to ponder about. We walked through the forest with birds chirping, the rivers flow varying as per the terrain, speeding up at times and mellowing down at broader spaces. It was beautiful, the trees delightful, the formations that the barks created as they grew in age were vivid.
Experiencing the joy of just us and nature since the possibility of bumping into someone here are rather slim, except the locals who frequent this route to go back to Kasol for their supplies.

We walked for a good two hours to reach a small village in Parvati, it was suppose to be a stop over for our trek to a village beyond that, as the sky was clearing up and it was beginning to get hot. Luckily for us a woman came running up asking if we were looking for rooms to stay, Yes, we replied and followed her. As we walked towards the house we hoped it would be that gorgeous wooden house with a hammock hanging on the porch of the first level.

To our surprise it was, as compared to Lucky Dhaba this was something different, a refreshing change, the spotless carpet, the well made beds, the colour, the sheets, the wooden planks on the floor and ceiling, a lovely room it was. The cost she said, we would have to wait for her husband to come, and as we anxiously waited we thought we would pay about Rs 300 and not more. But we were shocked when he asked us to pay Rs 100, an awesome price that worked out to Rs 50 a day for each of us in this home-like accommodation.

The village was quiet with around 100 people living in 20 odd houses, which were well spaced out.

All the houses seem to be equipped with a shawl weaving machine and the women spend at least an hour everyday to make the shawl, it seemed to be a complex process to us. The good thing is that it gets the family an additional source of income.

We were told that this village too has a hot water stream like Vashisht, so after resting for a while we decided to go for a stroll to the stream. It was early evening when we set off, the temperature had fallen quite a bit. We passed by a statue of the local deity in the picture decorated with colourful garments. The view as you can see is quite interesting, but the walk itself is good fun.

We had to walk for a good 20-25 minutes before we could reach the hot water spring and prior to that, we ended up going down towards the river assuming that the hot water would be there. But with the help of few locals who were passing by, we managed to find the spot where the hot water emerges.

We got to see some lovely patterns formed on the banks of the river.

Unlike the hot water springs in Vashisht, this one was lukewarm a pleasant temperature to the cold outside, the only problem was that it was merely 6 inches deep so you had to pour the water on yourself. I just sat down in it, splashing some water in myself. Unfortunately it started to drizzle, we could feel the cold drops of rain hit our wet bodies, it was time to run for cover.

As we walked back to the village the weather started to clear up, we reached in time for dinner. Rajma chawal and subzi, it was home-cooked food that was simple yet satisfying and definitely tasty. After eating our fill, we crashed and had a good nights rest. The next day we decided to go to Manikaran, pilgrim place for Hindus and Sikhs, and also known for its hot water springs.

Mellow in Manikaran

On the way we went to a restaurant and tanked up on something known as Shiva Lassi or bhang. The walk to Manikaran is two kms from Kasol, once again this is a beautiful, scenic trek.

With the Bhang beginning to take effect in some time, the colours seemed to get nice and bright, the sound of the river forming tunes in the head and by the time we were in Manikaran it had fully kicked in.

Manikaran was bustling with activity, not just human, but there was steam oozing out from many places in every area, though the streets were wet and quite mucky nearly everyone was walking barefooted. We stopped to refresh ourselves with a chai and Aloo Parantha, I took a walk around capturing glimpses of the place.

There are quite a few temples, some old some modern, but you will actually see the similarities in the old architecture in these places, the temple in the picture is similar to the one at Vashisht. There are temples of Lord Ram, Krishna, and Vishnu in Manikaran.

We were quite disappointed with our visit to Manikaran, it was overcrowded and well not peaceful like the surroundings, so we decided to walk back. But before that we were asked to buy a couple of vegetables for our evening dinner from the market place. The vegetable seller was a friendly man with a well-arranged display of the vegetables.

We noticed that the river gets quite dirty as you approach Manikaran, a lot of their trash is dumped into the river. Its really sad, in fact most places where there are too many tourists coming in like Hemkund Sahib in Uttaranchal as well, the surroundings tend to face an upcoming environmental hazard. Although we passed by a raddi walla who fished out plastic and other recyclables from the river.
The scenic route embraced us as we walked back home.

Back to the house to eat some delicious home food before calling it a night.
We still have so much more to display, it seems never-ending but it just keeps getting better!

Vashisht Hot Springs & Manali's Wheat Fields

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000

We woke up to the sound of the drum beats coming from the street and we rushed to the balcony to see what was happening. It was a religious procession with the villagers carrying the local deity on a palkhi, beating drums, holding flags and a long trumpet-like musical instrument, I guess they were heading to Hadimba temple. Another day of drinking and celebrating for them, I assumed.

The Crowded Hot Water Springs of Vashisht

I had not visited natural hot water springs before, neither of us had, so we decided to head to Vashisht, which is known for its natural sulphur springs and is situated 6 kms away from Manali. We had a quick bite at German Bakery and walked all the way to the market place in New Manali to catch a rickshaw to Vashisht. Its a pleasant walk but at the same time the amount of the vehicles constantly moving about can drive you crazy. We weren't in a city but it felt like we were.

These beautiful flowers caught our eye as we were passing a hotel, they were growing in the garden, so we just sneaked in to take some photos. The big roses adorning the lawn with some unusual flowers too.

After some 30 minutes of walking we reached the rickshaw stand. Its best to haggle before settling for a fare with the rickshaw guys, he charged us Rs 80 for the 4 of us, which was a decent deal.

A lovely view of River Beas and the snow-covered mountains greeted us as we took the road going up to Vashisht. The peaks were far away but we got to spent good amount of time on snow in Spiti, photos of that will come in the next few posts. The settlement at Vashisht is at the foot of the mountain, you can feel the buzz as lot of Indian tourists come to visit the temple. The rickshaw dropped us in the parking lot and just few steps away was the temple. We walked through the busy market that had concrete structures on either side of the road. One of our friend who had been to Vashisht 2-3 years ago said that it changed drastically, the green fields and meadows have been replaced by cafes, guest houses, shops etc. A sleepy village has been transformed into a place hustling with activity.

This is the temple outside the main Vashisht temple, with the wooden carvings and the phirang (foreigner) sadhu sitting at the entrance distributing prasad. You will find many such foreign tourists who stay permanently in the mountains or spend long time here, learn about Indian culture, or start their own cafes or lodging facilities.
A local Himachal woman sitting outside the temple with a huge rabbit, she charged Rs 10 to hold the rabbit and take a picture. Everything seems to be big in Himachal, the flowers, monkeys, dogs, who are nice and furry, cattle, etc. That's what fresh air does to you, even the locals are so strong and fit, without any modern gym or health club. The entrance to the main temple of Vashisht, the intricate wooden carvings on the door forms a distinct feature of the temples in Himachal. Various deities have been etched on the wooden surface, that appears to be quite complex. The main temple is dedicated to Vashist Muni, his idol remains unchanged for centuries but the things around continue to change rapidly. Next to it are two separate water tanks for men and women to bathe in natural spring water. The ladies section was empty when I entered so I happily put my leg in the hot water tank. Ooops, the water was too hot to leave my foot in even for a minute. The water is suppose to have curative properties, so I splashed it on my face and hands and I was out. Few of them also dived in the steaming water, wonder how that was possible. Several taps were placed next to the tank for people interested in taking a shower. Apparently for the convenience of visitors modern bathhouses with Turkish-style showers also have been made.
Even outside the temple people can have bath under the hot water tap. You can see the steam oozing out at so many locations.

Opposite to Vashisht temple is the ancient Ram temple, made of stones, where idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana have been installed. It was closed when we reached, but on walking around the temple we could see that the front part was just an extension, probably to support the old structure.
This picture gives you a closer look of the stone architecture of Ram temple. It was closed at the time of our visit so we went further up to get away from the concrete walls in order to get a better view of the valley. We walked past lodges and went through houses to find an isolated and peaceful spot.

There were so many pretty flowers on the way, am sure if you have read our previous travel articles you would know that we are fond of floral delights. A bumble bee feeding on nectar from the flowers.
We reached high enough not to spot any houses and that's when we soaked in the beauty around us. Dark clouds began to gather above the mountains and it was soon followed by a shower. We ran for cover, because if we get wet the cold would be unbearable. I didn't even carry my jacket, so we took shelter under a rock, a natural protection from the mountain rain. It was big enough to accommodate all 4 of us, comfortably. It was already 4 pm, so we started our descent and caught a rickshaw straight to Old Manali. We thought of skipping lunch and going for dinner to our favorite restaurant Green Valley View, for an Olive Pizza.

Stroll Through the Wheat Fields, Apple Orchards and More

It was a late start to the day, almost noon when we woke up. A lovely day in the offing, the sun and clouds were playing hide and seek in the skies. Before enjoying the weather, it was time to fill my growling stomach. Besides, in such beautiful weather you just feel like eating all the time.

The guest house we stayed at served delicious food from the next door Simpy restaurant. The food was reasonably priced and well-presented as evident from the picture below. Going from left to right - Fruit Salad with Curd, Potato Egg Salad, Paneer Mutter, Dal Makhani, Chapatties, Mango, Banana and Chocolate Shake. My mouth is watering profusely as I write. Simpy restaurant serve moutn-watering food, so if you visit Old Manali and want to affordable food, then Simpy and Green Valley View are the places to eat.:)

The story of Manali is similar to Vashisht, rather worse, as I have spoken about it in my earlier post. But today we explored a different side of Old Manali, which was always the real side. A short walk from our guest house took us to vast expanse of wheat fields, vegetable farms and apple orchards. There are just handful of guest houses, but on walking further inside, there is nothing but fields.
You are totally cut off from the developed side of Manali, with no one but farmers doing their work. Fields of Green peas were spread far and wide, that was the first time I saw the plant and I love Green peas :). We plucked some of them and started to eat, so sweet and juicy, you can eat them raw.
I was overjoyed with the feeling of being one with nature, with all her beauty as far as I could see. On the periphery of these fields marijuana grows in the wild, it grows everywhere, outside the temple or school, its perhaps what draws some of the local and mostly foriegn tourists to Manali.
There are small narrow paths between fields, so its easy to walk through them, you can find a spot to relax in the afternoon under an apple tree. What a life would this be, if you are harrowed or sad come to the fields or the apple orchards and absorb the positive energy around you. It felt so good walking through the green patch. There were couple of houses on the way, and this cute boy had just woken up from his sleep, you can see the dazed look on his face. While this little girl came chasing me asking for money, then I gave her a Rs 10 note and clicked this photo. We reached a spot where the view was fabulous, we had a view of the entire place with the mountain range at the end.

Flying high in the blue skies,
over the forests and snow-capped mountains,
that's where my heart lies! ~ Bhavika Jhaveri

I am not too good at rhyming words, but at that moment I wished I could fly!
This cute dog sure was lucky to be staying here. Many houses in Himachal had a dog to protect the house and their fields, but robbery is not at all rampant here, so I guess they just love dogs.
The path was running parallel to the Club House road, so we looked down on the road and said how lucky we were to find this route instead of walking among annoying cars. In the distance a hot air balloon is getting ready to take off! We walked on the path parallel to the road and then reached the other side of Beas river facing Vashisht, wandering in the mountains, didn't know where the path was leading, it was great fun! The view kept getting better with every step we took. We waited for some time enjoying the scenery. The sun was setting and it was time to reach the guest house before dark. We slowly started the walk back, looking at the mountains and the reflection of the sun rays on the snow-capped peaks. We got back on the path to walk through the golden wheat fields, which were gleaming under the setting sun. We lost our way as well for a while, but were right back in no time. On reaching the guest house we ordered for some simple Indian food from Simpy's, played UNO, a favorite past time on this trip and went off to sleep. The next day the plan was to catch a bus to Kasol in Parvati valley.

Last Day in Manali

We had to postpone our plan to Kasol by a day since one of our friends was unwell and unable to travel. One more day to roam around in the fields of Manali for us.:) While he rested we thought of going to Naggar, a small town around 15 kms away from Manali, but the cost of a rickshaw ride was working out to be too expensive for 3 people. So we cancelled the plan and started to walk towards Old Manali village.

We see this really funny sight of group of Indians clicking photographs with a foreigner, I think she either owned one of the souvenir shops or was a tourist. Each one would go up to her, give her a hug and pose for a picture, it was hilarious. Some of them also started to clap while the photo was being taken. A brown bird hopping close to the bridge that separates New and Old Manali.
With nothing to do we went to German bakery, bought bread rolls and Yak cheese, went straight to the fields and made ourselves sandwiches. It was different in taste, less salty and went perfectly well with bread and butter. You have to try it the next time you come to Himachal.
The last day in Manali was just spent lazing around, doing some shopping and chilling in the room. We had spent way too much time in Old Manali, Prakash at the guest house was sad that we were leaving. We on the other hand were extremly happy to be making some progress with our travel plans.

Dancing in the Mountains of Old Manali

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:39:00 +0000

Our travel plans are generally made at the end moment as we decided to explore Himachal Pradesh, the place blessed with the most varied landscape. With no fixed itinerary or any hotel booking, we took off on a journey to get close to the Himalayas.

Our first stop was in Manali (we will take you through each place we visited in several parts).

Journey from Mumbai to Delhi

We were fortunate enough to get train tickets in spite of booking just 4 days before traveling. I clearly remember the countless number of times we refreshed the Indian Railways reservation web page to check if we were on the confirmed list :)

We managed to get RAC tickets (Reservation against cancellation) on Golden Temple Mail where one sleeper had to be shared by two people, and the agent charged us Rs 900 for that, which was too much for no proper reserved tickets. But that was barely an issue as the excitement started to build up.

The crowded Mumbai Central station, so many people sleep on the platforms waiting for to get tickets or to board the train.

The train getting loaded with goods before the train departs at 9.30 pm.
More passengers started trickling in from various stations, and if you have traveled by Indian railways before you would know how crowded and chaotic it can get. The pantry guys are regularly walking up and down the aisle selling food and refreshments, shouting chai every time they walked by.

The journey got really tiring in the afternoon due to the scorching sun and hot breeze coming by, especially when we passed Rajasthan. The picture below shows a small girl begging on the tracks in Rajasthan. We were waiting to reach Delhi now, we were quite drained out. The train arrived at Nizamuddin station around 7.30 pm, and soon we were on our way to a friend's place in Gurgaon to spend the night.

Idyllic Locales and the Traditional Dance of Manali

A night's rest was enough to get the excitement levels up again. We didn't waste any time in Delhi, and boarded the bus to Manali late afternoon from Connaught Place. We got the tickets for Rs 550 from a friend who works for a travel agency in Manali. He also sorted our accommodation in Old Manali for Rs 300 a night.:)

The bus started at 4.30 pm and made several stops before it actually hit the highway. It always takes time to get out of the city also due to heavy traffic. But it was a decent ride, that takes around 16 to 17 hours to reach Manali bus depot. It was a chilly morning, the sun rises early in summers, so by 6am its quite bright.

We were in the mountains, the fresh air, pure water, green pastures, apple orchards, and more, I was feeling relaxed already! Everything around us transformed into beautiful gifts from above. Even the fat and furry monkeys on the windy roads to Manali looked so cute. On reaching the depot we took a rickshaw up to Old Manali, which is much more chilled out and has many affordable guest houses as compared to New Manali. Since the road to Old Manali is uphill, the rickshaw charged us Rs 70 to drop us till the guest house.

The Guest House is run by Prakash, a friendly guy who always wears a smile on his face. The room was spacious with hot water facility, that's a must because no way you want to bathe in ice cool water. It was time to have a cup of hot tea and catch up on sleep before we venture out.

Later on we headed to Manu Rishi Temple which was a short walk away from the guest house. Prakash told us that the village was having its annual fair where the locals dance, smoke and get drunk. On the way we witnessed the ethnic side of Manali, the old wooden houses partially made on stilts and small doors with designs drawn around it, that sure made a pretty picture. The pagoda-styled Manu Rishi Temple dedicated to sage Manu, the local deity. Everyone had gathered close to the temple - locals and tourists - to watch the colorful and rhythmic dance performance called 'Naati' accompanied by traditional musical instruments. In Himachal the tribes and local communities love to dance, it forms an integral part of their vibrant culture.

Dancers, traditionally only men, join their hands and move in steps to varying rhythms. They were dressed in tunics, churidaars, stoles and decorated head gear, and in the centre were people playing drums, shehnai or Indian Oboe and many more instruments. Even tourists were encouraged to join in the fun! Some of the locals, who were quite drunk, were swaying to the beats and few of them were dancing with swords. You can watch the video below to see the local tribes performing Naati.

I don't know what this instrument is called but it sure made a powerful sound and is used on many occasions in Himachal. Clyde posing with the locals along side the idols of local deities. They love to be clicked!
There were couple of food stalls selling Momos, Chowmein, and Indian sweets; momos are widely available in Himachal, because of the Tibetan influence. We had plate of those delectable momos and proceeded to see the temple. The temple had detailed woodwork on its entrance and interiors, even the temple roof was made from wood. This is the idol of Manu Rishi. There were idols of different deities including Hanuman, Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna and many more.
After all the action it was time to eat dinner, we went to Moon Dance cafe in Old Manali, where the food was not good. We ordered for Salsa with chips and comes is French Fries with some red sauce. That was the first and last time we ate at Moon Dance.

The Israeli Factor

After spending a whole day in Old Manali, we realised that the place is dominated by cliquey Israelis, that's the reason why they are well-catered as compared to Indian tourists. There were many instances where we felt like strangers in our own country. Every restaurant serves Israeli food, there are shops with things written in Hebrew, its a haven for Israelis, who in order to escape the gruesome reality in Israel travel in large numbers to various parts of India.

Everyone is welcome in this country, but the attitude you carry in a different country makes a lot of difference. We saw few of them carrying air-guns and shooting at a bottle in a guest house opposite to ours. Its a scary scenario when you see the big picture.

Away from the Chaos

Moving on the next day we rose early to go for a 3 kms trek to Goshal village, that's beyond Manu Rishi temple. The streets were empty with only handful of locals doing their morning chores. Look what we bumped into, the long-haired bovine - wild yak - being washed by his owner. So Clyde and myself decided to pose next to it, the story is that the owner insisted that Clyde held his horns but the yak refused by shaking his head violently. But somehow Clyde managed to say cheese before being kicked. The nervous look on my face says it all! :) We heaved a sigh of relief after the picture was clicked. Imagine nibbling on freshly plucked cherries early morning, then we met this cherry vendor who had just gathered bunch of cherries from the trees. We paid him Rs 20 and he willingly gave us decent amount of cherries. They were delicious! We walked towards Manurishi temple, after which you will see a signboard pointing towards Goshal village. It was simple straight route through the picturesque Deodar forest and the majestic pine trees. The trek is alongside River Beas that gushes along its rocky course, it was lovely, away from the hustle and bustle of Old Manali, which is cluttered with guest houses, restaurants, travel agencies, money changers, Internet cafes, souvenir shops, etc. Manali was full of big size, beautiful roses, I had never seen roses of such enormous sizes before, and they had such sweet fragrance too. The majestic pine trees providing some shade to passer-bys. Fractals are found in abundance in nature. The pine cone is a perfect example of that, we came across whole lot of them dried and scattered on the path. The pretty pink and blue flowers caught through the cameras macro mode.
The elusive lizard totally camouflaged against the rock. I took several shots before finally getting a clear image.
There were mountain sheep grazing in the forest and horses strolling, the rural side is definitely much more happening than the concrete Manali. Caught in the spider's web, aren't we all caught in a web?
After walking for 1 1/2 kms we could see Goshal village at the end of the mountain, and one villager passing by told us that its just another village. Since one of our friend was joining us, we had to return to the guest house. This was the view from that spot, you can see Rohtang Pass in the background towards the right. From Goshal one can also trek further to Solang Valley, that offers view of glaciers and snow-capped peaks. I only got to know this while writing the post, otherwise we could have trekked up to Solang. Alas...

The only food that are stomachs had were the fresh cherries, after the long walk we had to get some breakfast. This time we stopped at Shiva cafe, that was another expensive place, breakfast for 4 costed nearly Rs 500, that was way too much! Cafes in Manali are expensive and they mostly have the same touristy menu as well. The afternoon was leisurely spent in the guest house and we ventured out in the evening to Hadimba Temple in New Manali, around 1-2 kms away.

By the time we reached there it was already dark, so we couldn't get a full shot of this beautiful temple. I was quite impressed with the architecture, it had a four-tiered pagoda shaped roof with intricately carved woodwork of mythological figures at the entrance. Built in 1533, the temple is dedicated to Hadimba, wife of Bhim, one of the Pandava brothers. Its believed that she meditated here, so the temple was constructed in her honour. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, there is no idol only footprints of Hadimba on a stone. Huge footprints too, make you want to believe that mythological figures were huge in size! The temple is built in middle of the Dhungri forest, but there are cemented steps leading to the temple.
Outside the temple there was a woman who dresses up tourists in ethnic outfit of Himachal. She insisted to put on the outfit for me, "Gudiya, main Rs 10 main tayar karongi tujhe" (doll, I will dress you up in this outfit for Rs 10). Since she was so sweet, I agreed to be dressed like a Himachal woman.:) I was made to wear this traditional outfit at least 3 times on the trip.:) From there we moved on to a riverside cafe, just across the bridge in Old Manali called Green Valley View. That was the best place we've eaten at in Manali, good view, tasty food and more importantly affordable! It was freezing outside but we were getting use to the cold.

We ordered for one Olive Pizza that was oozing with cheese that set us back Rs 80, we bought a bottle of Apple wine for Rs 200 that went very well with the food and the ambiance. Pizza was followed by Chicken and Veg Sizzler and cheesecake to complete the meal. Although cheesecake we bought from the German bakery, there are plenty of them around in Manali.
Next day we go to the hot water springs in Vashisht, wheat fields in Manali and much more...

Back from a Holiday to Himachal Pradesh!

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:20:00 +0000

Hello readers,

We are back in Mumbai after traveling in Himachal Pradesh for nearly a month and what a wonderful surprise was in store for us. Fractal Enlightenment has moved up to Page Rank 5, thanks to everyone who likes to read this blog, it wouldn't have been possible without your support!

Speaking about the trip, there are lots of pictures (more than 5 GB) coming your way of the snow-covered mountains, fresh air, local customs, scenic landscape, monasteries, our trekking expedition:) local tribes, and much more. We had an adventure-filled trip and we were lucky as well in some cases. (you will find more about that soon) Here is a glimpse of the few places we visited!

The route we took was crazy from Delhi to Manali, then to couple of places in Parvati valley, from there we took a long route to Spiti, trekked through Kunzum Pass and reached Manali again, and from there we moved on to Dharamshala-McLeodGanj and back to Delhi from there.

There are lots of updates coming up, we just got back this morning so are sorting out pictures first! Stay connected :)

Kashmir, where are you Now? : Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:00:00 +0000

In the first part of Kashmir where are you now? we took a look at the trauma that the woman in Indian occupied Kashmir go through with rape cases. In this post we shall take a look at Half widows, what are half widows and their suffering.

Many people mostly males and some of the rape victims end up disappearing, sometime huge graves are found where bodies have been buried to hide the evidence.

So what are half widows? When a woman's husband goes missing, the mostly never reappear. They are half widows, unable to remarry because their husbands are not dead, unable to have a right to the property, and sometimes with children they are ostracized by society.

How does this happen, heres' a short documentary on how a husband is taken from his home by the Rashtriya Rifles a regiment started specifically for Kashmir, in front of his wife and children, never to return on the claims of being a militant.

Half widows who marry generally have to face the wrath of not only their previous in laws but society as a whole. There are few NGOs who are working to help these woman not only by supporting them but also trying to find clues as to their disappearance.

If you watched the video above you would realize that the numbers are not small, there are over 20,000 woman who have been widowed in this manner, and still every month that count gets higher.

The future is bleak for the half widows of Kashmir, according to womansenews.org, during the last 15 years the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, an organization of the relatives of the disappeared in Kashmir, claims that about 10,000 people have been subjected to enforced disappearances by state agencies, mostly taken by armed personnel.

Of the disappeared, they say between 2,000 and 2,500 people were married, and almost all were males.

Kashmir, where are you Now? : Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Kashmir, if there's heaven on it they said its Shangrila in Kashmir, I have been deviating from this topic for a long time. Every India for some reason perhaps its what we are born and brought up with this inborn hatred towards Pakistan and that Kashmir is ours.

We spend millions of our tax rupees to enforce law and order in Kashmir, as usual the main stream media does not cover issues that glorify the pain and suffering of the day to day Kashmiri. So after going through Kashmiri blogs, the picture of heaven on earth seems to be taking a change at least when it comes to the lifestyles of people over there.

I shall start off with Rape cases in Kashmir, a study done by Medecins Sans Frontieres in mid 2005 reveals that Kashmiri women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world. It further mentions that since the beginning of the armed struggle in Kashmir in 1989, 11.6% of the Kashmiri woman are sexual abused or molested.

In Kunan Poshpora, a small village in Kashmir, the soldiers of fourth Rajputana Rifles allegedly raped about 30 women on the night of February 23, 1991, during a search operation while men were taken away from their homes and interrogated. The ages of women raped ranged from 13 to 80 years. According to newspaper reports, on June 17,1994, troops of Rashtriya Rifles accompanied by two officers Major Ramesh and Major Rajkumar entered into village Hyhama and allegedly raped and molested seven women.

In another incident, troops raped a mentally ill old woman in her house in Barbarshah in Srinagar on January 5, 1991. Medical reports confirmed rape and locals lodged an FIR with the concerned police station, but the police did no investigation. She later died in 1998 while the FIR still awaits action from the state government. In another gruesome incident, an army Major in Badra, Handwara, raped Aisha, a 29-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter, Shabnum.

These are few of the incidents that I have picked up from this article on Wailing woes from Combat Law, the heading of the article states, women in Kashmir suffer rape, molestation, kin's disappearances, psychological trauma and torture, while the much-hyped slogan of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proclaiming 'zero tolerance' towards human rights abuse stares him in the face!

According to Dr Maiti, a professor of political science at Rurdwa University, West Bengal, explains, "Rape continues to be a major instrument of Indian oppression against the Kashmiri people while the majority of victims are civilians. This concept stands fortified by a report of ICRC dated March 6, 2001, where it has been mentioned that women are raped in order to humiliate, frighten and defeat the enemy 'group' to which they belong. Rape in a war is not merely a matter of chance; it is rather a question of power and control, which is 'structured by male soldiers' notions of their masculine privilege, by the strength of the military line of command and by class and ethnic inequalities among women."

One of the reasons given by Radhika Coomaraswamy for sexual violence in armed conflict is that violence against women may be directed towards the social group of which she is a member because 'to rape a woman is to humiliate her community'. Complex and combined emotions of hatred, superiority, vengeance for real or imagined wrongs and national pride are engendered and deliberately manipulated in armed conflict.

We have also written about the sexual molestation of woman by the Indian army. Here is the firs part of a documentary called Kashmir - The Truth.

Kashmir, where are you Now? : Part 2 will be published shortly.

The Calling by Max Igan

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Sometimes you come across a documentary that makes you question and quells your ideas of certain things. With the point of watching documentaries is to hopeful pass on information you can use, the calling may perhaps cross that barrier and begin to bring down walls placed in your head.

For me the most shaterring was the properties of Fluoride, a substance that is used in tooth paste, its also added in many water bodies around the world. But there are side effects to it, after doing a little research I came across this article on fluoridation.

It pushes up infant mortality, it had adverse side effects on human health but its still used. As the calling puts it, fluoride is a kind of inhibitor, it makes it easier to control the masses and facilitates mind control.

Its a scary thought and thats just one of them in the calling by Max Igan. In March 2009 he was approached to create a combined and summarized version of his previous documentaries "The Big Picture" "Fight the NWO With Global Non Compliance" and "NWO The Final Solution."

The calling was born from those three documentaries, its available for high resolution download here or you can watch it on YouTube below.

Floral Delights at your Feet

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:39:00 +0000

There is no limit to a person's creativity. Many times just a thought or an idea is transformed into something beautiful.

Just like in the case of the French photographer Michel Tcherevkoff who has made the most unusual work by creating shoes out of plants. Its amazing to see how delicately the whole thing is made, which also depends on the kind of plant he uses.

This idea took shape when he saw a photograph of a leaf lying upside down and Michel thought that it looked like a shoe and after that he started his inventive creation.

Michel started to shot flowers and stems, twisting, knotting, weaving and tying them to bring floral delights to heel. These photos are then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop to give them the proper footwear shape. His work is meticulously done and he uses single variety of flower or plant. Michel says, "I’ll take a leaf, make it into a sole, bend it to make a heel or a strap, then shoot it. Each plant spoke to me in a different voice. One was very light and delicate, so the strap had to be thin. Another one said, ‘I am big and strong — I could walk for miles.’ From that I designed a more rugged shoe." Michel has quite wonderfully blended the medium of photography and digital art. He has also written a book on it called Shoe Fleur: a footwear fantasy. Who would mind walking with flowers at their feet?

Aurora Australis: The Magical Southern Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:49:00 +0000

When the cosmic energies are at play it produces the most enchanting visual spectacle in the night sky. Nature's light show you can call it, that is like a splash of colors over the dark sky. If you haven't been able to guess what I am talking about, then you must read this post as am sure you will be mesmerised!

I am talking about Auroras, seen particularly in the polar regions. Clyde had written about Aurora Borealis or northern lights visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, so now lets look at its southern counterpart, Aurora Australis or the southern polar lights.

To give you a better idea, Auroras are formed when electrons and protons coming from the sun, known as solar wind, collides with the atoms and molecules of the Earth's upper atmosphere. When collisions of such high magnitude occur its bound to have produce something unbelievable. This collision excites the electrons and molecules causing the release of various colors of light.

Aurora Australisis only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia. Here are some images of Aurora Australis.

Auroras appear in many forms like arcs, streaks, curtains that extend in the east-west direction.
Different gases will produce different colours. Most of them have been in varied shades of red, yellow, green, blue and violet. Nitrogen molecules produce blue or violet aurorae or atomic oxygen emits red and green. Aurora Australis can be seen at the South Pole during the six months from March to September. It generally lasts around 15 to 40 minutes and may recur in 2 to 3 hours. If not Antarctica where it mostly occurs, you can also get to see Aurora Australis in Tasmania, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. You can also watch a video on how do Auroras occur?

Image Source:

Images of Aurora Australis

Aurora australis, Invercargill

Southern Lights

Buddha Boy with Divine Powers

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:35:00 +0000

We have written about the Buddha boy before, Ram Bahadur Bomjon who is trying to attain enlightenment by meditating without food or drink for six years. But there has been a lot of criticism, a lot of praise and some unbelievable achievements by this young lad.

One such ability is to alter his body temperature to suit the environment, its possible by a certain kind of meditation to keep oneself warm even though it could be freezing outside. Apart from that a channel has recorded him for four days and nights continuously without water or food.

Ram Bahadur had addressed a large crowd, this is part of his message, "Murder, violence, greed, anger and temptation have made the human world a desperate place. A terrible storm has descended upon the human world, and this is carrying the world towards destruction.

There is only one way to save the world and that is through dharma. When one doesn't walk the righteous path of spiritual practice, this desperate world will surely be destroyed. Therefore, follow the path of spirituality and spread this message to your fellows. Never put obstacles, anger and disbelief in the way of my meditation's mission. I am only showing you the way; you must seek it on your own.

What I will be, what I will do, the coming days will reveal. Human salvation, the salvation of all living beings, and peace in the world are my goal and my path. "Namo Buddha sangaya, Namo Buddha sangaya, namo sangaya."

I am contemplating on the release of this chaotic world from the ocean of emotion, on our detachment from anger and temptation, without straying from the path for even a moment, I am renouncing my own attachment to my life and my home forever, I am working to save all living beings. But in this undisciplined world, my life's practice is reduced to mere entertainment."

Spend some time and watch the Discovery Channel's documentary, The Boy With Divine Powers, our enlightening video for last week.

Gulabi Gang Upholding Women's Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Woman in India have been taken for granted, they have been physically and mentally abused in many sections and stratas of society. Today there are still so many problems like the ongoing rapes in Delhi, Molestations of foreigners in Mumbai and not to forget the recent Ram Sena incident where the woman were pulled out of clubs and beaten on the streets.

Instead of depending on government bodies or officials, one woman called Sampat Pal Devi, decided she had enough, she started the Gulabi Gang in Banda, one of the most backward parts in Uttar Pradesh. Gulab means a Rose in Hindi, the Gulabi Gang protects the powerless from those who abuse their power.

They retaliate against violence of brutal husbands, crack down on those who abandon their family, fight corruption and they force reluctant police officers to register cases for underprivileged people. The gang has also help subsidised grain reach the poor people by ending corruption in the delivery system.

According to Sampat, "Nobody comes to our help in these parts. The officials and the police are corrupt and anti-poor. So sometimes we have to take the law in our hands. At other times, we prefer to shame the wrongdoers"

The woman are trained to fight with a staff or a lathi which is similar to a baton, except its made either of bamboo or a stem of a tree. The women have even trashed policemen to protest against the arrest of the poor.

They do have peaceful protests as well and try to maintain peaceful means, their aim is to empower the Indian village woman who in India according to Sampat is not given an education, married too early, bartered for money.

They are trying to help the village woman become independent enough to stand on their two feet, the Gulabi association is try to provide basic education to the woman as well as train them with skills like sewing so they can become sustainable.

The woman in pink sarees have come a long way and still have a long way to go, try and help if you can! Here's a short documentary on the Gulabi Gang and the work they do, its amazing! As Sampat puts it, "Mind you, we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice."

Some information has been taken fron the BBC's article on the Gulabi Gang

Exercising the Mind and Body with Pois

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Poi means ball in Māori, its basically a ball attached to a plaited chord. Perhaps you would have seen a poi performance in Goa, fire and LED pois are pretty common. The earliest Poi performances have been dated back to 1905 by the Māori tribes of New Zealand.

Poi performances were done for various reasons including war dances known as the Haka, a very active performance, that included fierce shouts as well as welcoming dance performed with swaying and rhythms. Take a look at a fire performance done by a poi professional on the left.

But what are the benefits of this form of juggling? When you first begin to spin the balls you would realize that its pretty difficult to get your left and right hand co ordination even without trying to intersect the ball routes. This helps develop your coordination after you get that you realise that it can be quite strenuous on your hands.

The pois also help you develop flexibility, strength and most importantly dexterity of the wrist. The poi is an exercise of movements central to the use of hand weapons, but today its more of an art, a dance along with music as well an exercise.

Pois are hard to find in Mumbai, but are quite easy to find at the flea markets in Goa, they barely cost Rs 150 to Rs 200 for the simple pois with fluorescent colors and tassels while the fire pois and LED pois are more expensive. A warning especially to the males who wanna try juggling, when you are learning don't spin too fast because the Pois tend to hit you where it hurts the most.

Lets take a look at this set of Nathaniel Everist's Poi learning videos on YouTube that can teaches you all that you can do with pois, he's got over 50 tutorial videos and some of his tricks are mind boggling.

The Old Custom of Stilt Fishing in Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:17:00 +0000

This is no ordinary fishing, there might be several methods of catching a fish but this one is mind-boggling. Fishermen in Sri Lanka use stilts to catch a fish. Yes, stilt fishing is an old tradition practiced by around 500 fishing families in Galle, in southwestern-most Sri Lanka, especially around the towns of Kathaluwa and Ahangama.

It had disappeared after the 2004 tsunami that struck Sri Lanka and other countries bordering the Indian Ocean, but resumed after things got back to normal. Its a beautiful sight looking at fishermen balancing on a thin plank, but at the same time its tough too. All this effort and toiling only to preserve their old custom, wonderful!

They usually fish during sunset, noon and sunrise, with each one taking their elevated position and balancing about 2 metres above the water. As you can see in the picture below, there is a vertical pole engrafted into the sea bed, attached to it is a cross bar, called petta, on which the fishermen do the balancing act. So with one hand they hold the stilt and the other hand they have a fishing rod or a line to catch spotted herrings and small mackerels, which are then kept in a plastic bag tied around their waist or the pole. Earlier bags woven out of coconut leaves were used, but now they use discarded plastic bags. Why don't they use nets instead? If the tradition is being carried on for so long, there has to be some reasoning behind it. Stilt fishing is done on the banks and is unobtrusive, so the fish stay around for a longer time because they don't get disturbed. But with nets, if the fish gets disturbed they might not return for a long time. So the fishermen of Galle don't mind sitting for long hours to get their catch, it seems they don't use a bait either on the hook. Since how long this custom is practiced is not known, but I came across a government document which says that according to old fishermen stilt fishing started after the Second World War.

Unfortunately such traditions generally are threatened due to commercialisation. Building of hotels close to stilt fishing areas, bathing tourists leads to disturbing the fish and driving them away from the coral reef.

Resources:

The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa

The Stilt Fishermen of Sri Lanka

Stilt Fishermen

J Zerzan on Modernity & the Technosphere

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:41:00 +0000

John Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocate drawing upon the ways of life of prehistoric humans as an inspiration for what a free society should look like.

In 1966, Zerzan was arrested while performing civil disobedience at a Berkeley anti-Vietnam War march and spent two weeks in the Contra Costa County Jail. He vowed after his release never again to be willingly arrested.

He attended events organized by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and was involved with the psychedelic drug and music scene in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

His speech at Binghamton University is quite interesting, talks about modern issues and why there is so much chaos in the world.

More Psychedelic Vacations to Inner Space II

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:01:00 +0000

I wouldn't want to keep you waiting for long before you decide to take off. Here are the remaining six places where you can go on a mind-altering holiday. If you haven't seen the first five places, then go through Psychedelic Vacations on Earth to Inner Space.

Temezcal or a Sweat Lodge in Mexico

You don't always need substances to feel elevated, a purification ceremony can help you achieve higher levels of consciousness. A ritual happens in Mexico that originated with pre-hispanic indigenous people in Mesoamerica.

Temezcal or sweat lodges are small round stone or mud structures which look more like old fashioned beehives, and are used to cleanse your mind, body and spirit.

In fact the word Temezcal is taken from the language of the Aztecs and its oriented according to the cosmic directions, its very interesting how this entire ritual works, will speak more in detail later on the blog.

Participants lie on the floor gazing into a central fire while a shaman creates a steam with medicinal herbs and guides you through the one-to-three-hour ritual, where temperatures range from 90 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You can expect total euphoria at the end of it.

Bhang in India

During the festival of colours, Holi, in March nearly the whole of India in stoned on bhang, which is synonymous with holi. This drink is made from leaves of cannabis mixed with almonds, spices, cold milk and sugar. Technically, cultivation and consumption of marijuana is illegal in many parts of the country, but during holi cops turn a blind eye.

Bhang is widely available at roadside carts, small shops and restaurants. There is only a mild social stigma attached to consuming bhang as compared to smoking marijuana, which is outright. Many people consume bhang (a marijuana drinh) while others get drunk.

Although some places like Jaisalmer in Rajasthan you can get Bhang any time of the year. It does a couple of things apart from making you laugh, its an aphrodisiac, as well as helps you sleep like a baby after the come down, although you get a mighty heavy head.

Peyote in Mexico

An old song by The Eagles 'Bitter Creek' goes, "Oh, peyote, She tried to show me, You know there ain’t no cause to weep, At bitter creek." Peyote has a long history of religious and medicinal use by indigenous Americans during pre-Columbian times; possibly as early as 300 BC.

Within half an hour of ingesting peyote, you begin to feel the effects. Initially you might feel muscle tension, nausea or queasiness, but within an hour it disappears and then the real trip begins to manifest itself, as there is a shift in consciousness. There is a feeling of inner peace, heightened awareness, rapid thought flow and oneness with life.

As time passes the trip intensifies and it enhances visually, colours become more intense, halos and auras can form above things, objects begin to seem closer, big or small. Your experience can last from 6 to 12 hours depending on the amount you consumed. Peyote cactus grows like weed in the deserts and mountains surrounding Real de Catorce, a town in central Mexico, where it's totally legal!

Ayahuasca in Brazil

From Mexico we move further down to the jungles of Amazon where the Shamans have been using Ayahuasca for centuries as a window into the soul. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic combination of plants and chemicals which varies in potency, depending on the maker. {The brew is a traditional South American preparation most commonly combining the Banisteriopsis caapi vine (harmaline/harmine as MAOI) and Psychotria viridis leaves (DMT)} The shamanistic ceremony is quite intense, there is chanting, songs in tribal languages and of course drinking the tea. It induces vomiting in many users, considered to be the curative part of the process. Music shapes the visions as it gets more complex. Ayahuasca is known to heal several ailments, depression, or anxiety disorders and even cancer. Its known to be a powerful mind-changing entheogen, because it evokes profound state of altered consciousness, its like a divine manifestation. If you are up for the Ayahuasca experience then there is Heart of the Initiate that offers ayahuasca workshops at an eco-resort on the coast of Brazil.

Cobra wine in Vietnam

From the highly spiritual experience, lets come down to a few mellow options as compared to the rest. Rice wine poured in over the body of a snake and left to ferment for some weeks to make snake wine, found in most of the decent bars in Vietnam. Now a serpent to get you high!

There is a snake wine festival that takes place in Le Mat, a village close to Hanoi in northern Vietnam, where a glass of potent rice wine is served with a still beating heart of a cobra. If not wine there you can also opt for fermented snake blood or snake liqueur.

Absinthe in Paris

We move across the globe to Europe now. Have you heard of Absinthe? The hallucinogenic drink found in Paris, that led to bizarre behavior among artists like Baudelaire, Van Gogh, and Oscar Wilde. It has 45%-74% alcohol and is made from herbs and leaves of wormwood. Absinthe became a part of bohemian Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many artists thought it gave them visions.

With suspicions that the drink is too potent, it was banned in Paris for nearly a century, until 2000 when the ban was lifted. There is nothing wrong with Absinthe, as portrayed in the 19th century, its merely an up tempo drink that make things around you look brighter.

The best way to enjoy this alcoholic drink is to dilute it with ice water. You also get Absinthe mixed with fancy cocktails. What more you can enjoy this drink during the three-day absinthe booze-fest every October in Pontarlier in eastern France.

Hope you enjoyed this mind-altering article on taking an vacation to inner space.

Resource:

11 mind-altering vacations

Psychedelic Vacations on Earth to Inner Space

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Sometimes a vacation filled with sun, sea and sand is not enough, you need mind-altering experiences to make it worthwhile. A vacation to enter a new dimension, tread the unknown path and explore the immense power of the human mind and the cosmos. This would be no ordinary holiday, but one to free your mind and expand it.

There are destinations around the world that take you on a journey of the mind, legally of course, and it can be in the form of a ritual, cultural immersion or simply getting high.

I stumbled upon this list of places where the use of substances is legal or decriminalised, as its generally termed, or part of their culture. For all the people who want to open new doors to their perception, let me guide you on a mind-altering trip across the globe. (The laws can change, so please check before you set out on that much-awaited trip, and be aware and alert).

Kava drink in Fiji

Kava is a plant that is consumed by many island communities in Oceania, that includes New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Marshall and Solomon islands. In Fiji its an age-old tradition to drink kava, for social and medicinal purpose.
The root is ground into a powder, mixed with cold water and then strained through a cloth or sometimes even a sock to make a pinkish-gray drink. Locals sing folk songs as the drink is prepared, then its poured in a large bowl. Everyone sits in a circle as the cup is passed around, you have to clap and down it in one go.

After a couple of rounds you can feel the effect of the potent drink, your mouth and throat turns numb and slowly your body tends to feel relaxed. With Kava you can have lucid dreams, and it is also known to cure insomnia, relieve stress and anxiety. The ceremony can last up to 5 to 6 hours, where drinking 2 to 3 bowls in half an hour is not unusual.

Even the late Pope John Paul II had it on his visit to Fiji, so go ahead have a cup of the Pacific elixir. Its always best to experience it with a local community instead of a hotel, which won't be that potent. Recently Alcohol bars were banned on the islands as it led to fights, violence and other crimes and in place Kava bars were set up, bringing in a more peaceful island and community.

Pot in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is known for its open culture towards marijuana and its notorious coffee shops, where the some of the finest greens are available. It would be the only European country where marijuana is legal in limited quantities. Club that with some great music and you are on your trip to space.

Ironically, tobacco smoking was banned in 2008, a good move, especially since smoking the herb seems to fight cancer, rather than cause it.

Magic mushrooms in the British Virgin Islands

Located in the Caribbean, British Virgin Islands is one of the places where the magic mushrooms grow naturally, and it is legal to possess and consume these psilocybin mushrooms, however, their sale is illegal. Does that means you need to either barter or plain old share them?

If you have heard of shrooms but don't know what they do, then here you go. These mushrooms grow in the wild and as many psychedelics how good your trip is depends on many factors, your state of mind, atmosphere, people, music and how much you have consumed. It generally leads to enhanced visual perception, hallucination, colors seem more brighter and clearer, euphoric and sense of time is distorted almost sums up the experience.

Tortola is the main island where shrooms can be consumed freely. Bomba's Surf Shack on the beach in Cappoon's Bay where mushroom tea is served instead of straight shrooms. That's also where the Full Moon psychedelic music parties take place, so you can look deep in and get far out on the sandy beaches of Tortola.

Coca Leaves in Bolivia

Bolivia, the third largest producer of the coca plant, they follow the centuries old traditions of using the coca leaf for religious, medicinal and cultural purpose. Coca leaves are legal and not the processed cocaine or crack cocaine.

So virtually every culture has its indigenous and preferred mind-altering substances, which are used for social events, religious ceremonies, etc. Still, they are tagged as illegal in many places even with a rich cultural background with plants.

Coca leaf is held in the side of the cheek, that gives a mild high, a sense of well-being and a buzz which can last all afternoon. It also helps to relieve altitude sickness, stave off hunger and cold. There are several coca carts found on the street in the capital city of La Paz, where you can buy leaves in bulk.

The Moroccan Hash

The Moroccan hash or locally known as 'kif' is of excellent quality, delicious, very inexpensive and concentrated. Although its illegal, there are plenty of people smoking, and if you find a local to smoke with, then you can also be assured of a decent spliff. Since it is Morocco's biggest foreign currency earner after tourism, it has been decriminalized.

The best part is you don't have to go looking for hash, there are plenty of young men offering hashish to you on the streets. Towns like Chefchaouen, close to Tangier, are a haven for stoned backpackers. So it's a mellow town with a good atmosphere and one of the safest places in Morocco for visitors. The different variety of hash aka kif available here is astounding! Besides the medieval landscape of Morocco is appealing, an interesting add on to the potent kif.

These are five places you can visit for a mind altering journey, there are more intense trips coming up in the continuation of this article, not to forget our motherland India!

India, Where are We Heading?

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:48:00 +0000

Hello friends, especially if you belong to this part of the subcontinent and here in India. In the news we had heard of the center launching a spy satellite built by Israel, we heard of a major amount of weapons sourced and defense deals with Israel.

A Muslim friend of mine, who observes Ramzan feels that its not a problem if the country trades billions of rupees for weapons with a country that ripped apart the whole of Palestine.

We all wished and hope for change when Obama came into place, while some were quick to say that Obama was a hoax as soon as he was voted president the bombings on the Afghanistan Pakistan border was stepped up.

Like Iraq, Afghanistan has oil, as stated by US sources it ranks 53rd in the world but estimated to be much more. But thats not the only thing, there is a very lucrative poppy trade that amasses huge amounts of revenue.

Today Obama speaks to India stating, we are a superpower, we need to go to war in Afghanistan, but prior to this a devious plot has taken place, the Mumbai Terror Attacks.

If by now you have researched into the 9/11 incident, perhaps this list on 911 Conspiracy Theories on wikipedia could help you get a kick start. If the chances that the 9/11 attack was used to shape the American people to go to war, then the Mumbai Terror attacks have been used to shape us to go to war.

If you remember, just after the Mumbai Attacks, we were angry and agitated, ready to lash out at Pakistan, Afghanistan whoever it was who brought our beloved city down, here's a video of the Gateway of India Protest.

Why is India being urged to go into the war zone, why should our soldiers die, why should our tax money spent on the rich getting richer. Do not forget that the evidence documents and related stuff from the Mumbai Attacks were provided by the FBI, USA once again. Are we being fooled on a level that is unbelievable?

Is this just a conspiracy theory or are they dots that we need to connect. I don't have all the answers but something here does'nt seem to be heading in the right direction. We have over 40% of the people in our country under the poverty line, what kind of a superpower are we?

Intriguing Underwater Sculptures

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:07:00 +0000

Art is not only about pretty and abstract paintings, but the thought and the way its executed. Since we started this art section on Fractal Enlightenment, I have come across so many interesting art pieces and innovative ways of spreading a message through the medium of art.

Here's another one which is exceptional work and its done underwater. The British-born artist Jason Taylor, has created underwater sculptures on the seabed of the Caribbean island, Grenada. Sounds weird? But on seeing more of his work, you will understand that how the changing face of these sculptures underwater, due to the ecology, indirectly shows the changing landscapes of our own lives. The works were made using wire, steel and concrete before being anchored to the seabed.

On first look they seem like remains from an old civilisation, but a closer view leaves you astounded. Taylor apart from being a sculpture is also a diving instructor, so it made his job easier. The works were made using wire, steel and concrete and then they were anchored to the seabed.

Taylor's different work also shows the people of Grenada, its culture and history. One of his work is called 'Vicissitudes,' where Taylor has used 30 life-size moulds taken of children of diverse ethnic background. It is placed five meters below the surface and symbolises the cycle of life and unity.

What I really liked about his work was that these sculptures are not just dumped into the sea, but they change in their environment due to the water currant, countless micro-organisms, light etc. They slowly begin to erode, wear away and then plants grow on it and they become artificial reef and habitat for the marine life. This way the artist shows the need to protect the environment, you will need artificial reefs when the real corals are disappearing.
A very unusual sculpture is 'The Lost Correspondent', its not artistic in the literal sense, but is a profound connotation that shows a man sitting at a desk with a typewriter and newspaper clippings which shows the rapid changes in communication between generations. All these sculptures are actually part of the underwater sculpture park spread around Grenada's Moliniere Bay, and they are placed in shallow waters so divers, snorkellers or those in glass-bottomed boats can easily view them. Objects appear 25% larger underwater, as a result they also appear closer.

Another classic work is a table with a vase and bowl of fruits. How is that art, you might question. Known as 'The Un-Still Life,' it kind of defies the conventional, constantly undergoing change so its still but at the same time transforming. It reminds us that changes are inevitable. Different angles show different and varied perpectives, these were amazing sculptures by James Taylor. You can see more of Taylor's underwater sculptures on his site.

2012 the Future of Mankind: Michael Tsarion

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:57:00 +0000

Born in Northern Ireland, Michael Tsarion is an expert on the occult histories of Ireland and America. He has made the deepest researches into Atlantis, the origins of evil, and into the Irish origins of civilization.

He is the author of the acclaimed book Atlantis, Alien Visitation and Genetic Manipulation and is the producer and presenter of the "Origins and Oracles" dvd series which explores ancient mysteries and forbidden knowledge.

Today we will take a look at Michael Tsarion's 2012 - The Future of Mankind, a talk at the Granada Forum in Los Angeles, 2006. The video takes you through the history of earth, the past, present and future. Its quite heavy and definitely very interesting! Its Three hours, twenty five minutes long.

A Parable by Buddha on the Brave and Foolish

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:14:00 +0000

In the past we have covered a few of the teachings of Buddha, we also spoke about human life interpreted by Buddhism, today we have a very interesting story, I am not going to give away any part of it, continue reading.

A man living near a cemetery heard one night a voice calling him from a grave. He was too timid to investigate it himself but the next day he mentioned it to a brave friend, who made up his mind to trace the place where the voice came from the following night.

While the timid man was trembling with fear, his friend went to the cemetery and sure enough the same voice was heard coming from a grave. The friend asked who it was and what it wanted. The voice from under the ground replied, "I am a hidden treasure that has decided to give myself to someone. I offered it to a man last night but he was too timid to come after it, so I will give it to you who are worthy of it. Tomorrow morning I will come to your house with my seven followers."

The friend said, "I will be waiting for you, but please tell me how I am to treat you." The voice replied, "We will come in monk's robes. Have a room ready for us with water; wash your body and clean the room, and have seats for us and eight bowls of rice-porridge. After the meal, you are to lead us one by one into a closed room in which we will transform ourselves into crocks of gold."

The next morning this man washed his body and cleaned the room just as he had been told and waited for the eight monks to appear. In due time they appeared and he received them courteously. After they had eaten the food he led them one by one into the closed room, where each monk turned himself into a crock full of gold.

There was a very greedy man in the same village who learned of the incident and wanted the crocks of gold. He invited eight monks to his house. After their meal he led them to a closed room, but instead of turning themselves into a crock of gold they became angry and rough and reported the greedy man to the police who eventually arrested him.

As for the timid man, when he heard about the voice from the grave and brought wealth to the brave man, he went to the house of the brave man and greedily demanded the gold, insisting that it was his, because the voice first addressed him. When the timid man tried to take the crocks away he found lots of snakes inside raising their heads ready to attack him.

The king heard about this and ruled that the crocks belonged to the brave man and uttered the following observation, "Everything in the world goes like this. Foolish people are avaricious for good results only, but are too timid to go after them and, therefore, are continually failing. They have neither faith nor courage to face the internal struggles if the mind by which alone true peace and harmony can be attained."

The Italian Church with Walls of Skulls

noreply@blogger.com (Bhavika) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:32:00 +0000

War memorials are built to honour the lives of soldiers or freedom fighters who died during war, but this particular place had a unique way of preserving an important piece of history.

A Cathedral in Otranto city, Apulia region in south Italy has skulls of 800 people adorning the wall instead of altar pictures.

The bones and skulls are well-displayed for the church congregation, it might seem bizarre at first but these were the martyrs of Otranto! Its a story of bravery and faith, and generally when its a matter of religion, there has been massacre and destruction, history proves it!

Let's go way back in time in 1480 when the Ottomans or the Turks invaded Otranto city. A fleet of 70 to 200 Ottoman ships arrived in Otranto and the locals and garrison took shelter at the Castle of Otranto. There were no cannons at the castle, hence it was soon captured by the Ottomans and the garrison was killed by the troops of Mohammed II. What happened next is gruesome, the locals who refused to convert to Islam, there were 800 of them, were taken to the hill of Minerva, now known as the Hill of the Martyrs, and beheaded.

So to honour these locals, who gave their lives to protect their faith, the cathedral preserved the skulls and bones of 800 martyrs behind glass of the altar walls, so it constantly reminds people of the past. Every year during that period on August 14th, this small town of Otranto commemorates the slaughtered souls.

The Economic Crisis Put in Simple English

noreply@blogger.com (Clyde) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:42:00 +0000

Whats happening in the USA? We all know something is wrong with the economy by now, although the Mayans predicted it ages ago.

I wonder how they knew it, most of us have no clue what happend to all the banks and of course the money thats led to a full-fledged recession.

Thanks to Amit Ayre, for the link to the video we now have an entire explanation in a simple animated video.

I would personally like to thank Jonathan Jarvis for this excellent piece of communication. Here's the short and simple story of the Credit Crisis.