The Summit day

This is the fourth and final part of this series of posts written on my Himalayan adventure.

Do read the first part here, the second part here, and the third part here, before you move ahead with this post.

It was finally the day we summit Pangarchulla. We already got to hear about the difficulty of the final summit day the evening before, and given that except for very few people, for most of the others, including me, this was a first trek, we were tensed like hell! We were worried about a whole host of things, including

1. Would we be able to actually complete the trek? Was our fitness level good enough for it?
2. Would we be able to keep ourselves hydrated throughout the trek? I had taken only 2 bottles of water, and there were no water spots during the trek. I am one who sweats like a pig! Leave it to me to sweat even in the coldest of weathers. This meant that I would need to have constant water to drink!
3. What would we do to carry the bare essentials for the trek? Luckily, the wifey came up with a smart idea of using the sleeping bag covers as bags for the day!
4. What would we do to eat? We had no lunch box! Luckily, the wifey knew that we would get food in aluminium foils, so that was taken care of. (I tell you, the advantage of having a full fledged trekker as a partner is truly golden!)
5. Most important (and this was actually discussed at length that night)...... how would we be able to do potty so early in the morning? We had to leave the camp site by 4 AM, and that meant waking up latest by 3.30 AM. These are not normal waking up (and potty going) times!

After dinner that night, all of us quickly went to our tents and packed up for the next day.

We woke up the next morning to pitch blackness. It was 3 AM in the morning, after all. Midnight, for many of us. For others, it was normally time to sleep! We were so not used to waking up at this time. But then, this was no ordinary day for us. Like the saying goes.... NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

We quickly had our breakfast and tea, and at sharp 4.02 AM (or 4 AM Indian Standard Time), we were off! It was pitch black when we started, and were completely dependent on the guides to show us the way during this time. This went on for an hour, till we could just see the Sun just starting to show its presence over the Garhwal range. And boy! Was it a sight worth seeing!

This was at 5 AM. Clear skies, the rest of the day looked bright!

This was just the thing that was needed to take my mind from the hardships we were about to face the rest of the day. We soon (rather we thought soon) reached our first checkpoint, only to find out that we were supposed to reach that place about an hour earlier! It was time for the guides to take a tough call..... the people slowing the group would have to go on another route, or else the whole group would lose out on summit-ting the peak! A group of 7 people decided to go on another trek to Kuari Pass. 

And then there were 13.......

Once we started from the first checkpoint, the sun just started popping out, the rays shining over the Himalayas. It was a surreal sight, and I could have spent the whole time just staring at the sight!

The picture does not convey what we actually saw that morning. It was out of this world!

We were already behind schedule, and had a lot of catching up to do! The weather was holding up, with clear skies giving us hope that we would be able to reach the summit without many hiccups.

The immediate hour was spent navigating through grasslands. As the snow had already melted here, the ground was wet, which was giving us a bit of a hard time. But we continued onward, through the wet grass, with our focus solely on the path ahead. 

Soon, we saw snow on the ground. Which meant one thing. BRING ON THE CRAMPONS! The crampons had to be worn under the outsole of the shoe, and would give additional grip while walking on the snow. However, it did take some getting used to, as it required a different style of walking. It was easy enough walking in the snow, which is what the crampons were meant for, however there were some patches of grass and rock in between, and walking on them was like walking on a tightrope. One small step taken wrong, and you were bound to fall! Also, while walking on the snow, we had to make sure we were walking on the path already set, especially near the rocky patches. The snow was melting, and thus we had to tread very carefully through the snow, making sure not to step onto a soft patch and getting yourself stuck deep in snow!

The summit site was in close view now.......there was not much to go! Just another 3-4 hours of climbing! It looks like a long time now, but after 2.5 days of climbing, a mere 3-4 hours was nothing! And, seeing these views just kept me going!

The summit.....felt very close!

The other side.... what awesome views!

We had reached about 13000 feet now. With every step taken, I was getting tired. Water was also scarce, with all of us having to save it for the entire trip, as there was no other source of water available. The only thing keeping me going was the dry fruits that the wifey had carefully packed (oh man, what would I have done without her knowledge of going on previous treks and preparing everything beforehand!). Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the.......final stop before the home stretch! It was time to munch on our lunch that was given to us.

I just found the best place to sit down, and gladly munched on the food, as I was in need of energy for the final stretch! The only thing on my mind at that time was to get into my body as much nutrients as possible to be able to take me up. I was so engrossed in my food, that I missed out on what was an amazing, out of this world view of the Garhwal mountain range!

WHAAAAT? I MISSED SEEING THIS!!!!

Some of the others were already feeling a bit sick, the altitude was already getting to them. We were told to keep our heads covered the whole time so that the cold doesn't get to us. But even after taking all precautions, you could get sick. I was pleasantly surprised to see myself just hungry, and not suffering from any headache. The wifey, however, was starting to get the symptoms of Altitude sickness. And that was worrying me. She wanted to continue, and that meant having to go slow and steady to be with her the whole time. One guy decided enough was enough, and he would not be going ahead, and would stay here till we came back.

And then there were 12........

The home stretch of the climb was the hardest. Though it looked pretty simple from below (oh just one final stretch and we would be there! YAY!), only while climbing did I understand how tough it actually was. There were not one or two, but three steep, narrow climbing stretches before we reached the summit!

We were all smiles, but the path ahead was anything but easy!

At this stretch, we now became grouped into 2 groups (Actually 4, the zombie and one of the Pangarchulla babus were slow and were behind all of us, climbing at their own pace). The faster group of about 6 were ahead and zooming towards the summit. The rest of us, headed by the wifey, were the 'slow and steady wins the race' group, moving slowly towards the summit. The wifey was already feeling pukish by this time, and was slowing down after every 6-10 steps. This gave the rest of us the breathing space we needed to get our energy back! I gladly stayed at the end of this group, as this gave me the best chance of successfully summit-ting the climb. Ahead of me was the director of photography, and behind me was the Kashmiri Pangarchulla babu. The clouds had suddenly come out of nowhere, and it looked as though it would rain, or snow! The weather just changes all of a sudden, and you just don't know what to expect the next moment!

We had now reached the final climb. Only a few more meters to go! However, every step I took was taxing on my body, and my mind kept telling me to just give up! I was at that stage where I had to keep shouting at myself to move on, and it was mind over body.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I hear some music playing. Not just any music, but gym music. You know, the kind that you hear when you go to the gym to workout. The person behind me had saved the battery on his mobile to play this music at this time. I finally realized the effect that these songs has on you. Not that I am a gym goer or anything, but I had heard that the music gives you the Adrenalin you need to push yourself in the gym. Though I never did understand it when I went to the gym (which was almost never, but that is a different story), over here, right at the home stretch, when my whole body was just giving up, that music gave me the strength to push myself that little bit more. I finally appreciated the importance of Adrenalin and its effect on my body. Now it was only a question of reaching the top!

AND FINALLY WE REACHED! PANGARCHULLA SUMMIT-TED! TIME TO CELEBRATE! Or, according to the rest of us, sit and rest at the top, preparing ourselves for the descend.

Me at the top! So tired, and recuperating for the descend!

This is what we could see from the summit. The weather changed in a matter of minutes!

Well, we had reached the top, but now we could not stay there forever! The descend awaited us. And that scared the living hell out of me, for I have a fear of heights! The weather had worsened as well, and it looked as though it would snow anytime soon! Oh man, things were not getting any easier!

To add to all of the above, the descend was through the same narrow stretch we had come up through. That same stretch looked a whole lot more steep and tough while going down!

I don't know if you can see this, but this is steep!

There was a technique to moving down with the crampons, and it was very important that all of us learn that technique very fast, otherwise the downhill trek would not be much of a walk, rather a slide! And that is exactly what happened the first few steps I took. The snow was hard as well, and it took a toll on my bums! However, the guides were there to help us out when we fell, and soon we were able to walk down on the snow.

Once we knew the technique, it was really good fun walking down! I even got a bit adventurous, and converted a routine walk down the slope to a slide, after I slipped! It was good fun! What effect it would have on my body, I got to know only after the trek was over, but during that time, I had a blast!

The wifey, however, was suffering. She was not feeling well at all! She had already puked a couple of times, and was having a headache. She really needed some water! I gave her whatever I had with me, and one of the guides was kind enough to give her support while walking the way down. Now I had a long way to go..... and no water to drink!

After sometime, while going down, I saw someone ahead had stopped and was bending down, and looked in pain. On meeting the person, I found out that the momo zombie had also gotten a severe headache, and was finding it hard to walk! With the guides taking care of the others, there was no one to help her out! Having just seen the wifey going through the same thing, I decided that the best thing to do would be to atleast show her the way to the camp, and to help her out in case she needed anything. We stopped after almost every step, as she needed to catch some breath and just rest, the headache pounding her! Fortunately I knew, approximately, the route that we had taken, and so was able to guide her and myself to the safety of the camp.

Oh the feeling I had when I saw those tents.... those beautiful blue tents.....it was pure bliss! I reached back at the campsite at about 5 PM, more than 13 hours after starting the day. The wifey was already in the tent, sleeping and looking much better! All was well that ended well! We spent the rest of the day talking about all the incidents that happened during the day, and reminiscing on what was an awesome day overall!

The team!

The last day was just going down the path that we had climbed the first 2 days. It felt like a breeze in comparison to the summit day! by lunch time we were back at Joshimath, and we celebrated by buying ourselves a well deserved round of local beer! (Kotsberg, in case you are wondering. A search on Google and Google itself will ask you 'Did you mean Carlsberg?', say no, and you will get to see the awesome brand that is Kotsberg!)

And thus, the summit was complete! It felt like an achievement. All these years of a seemingly mundane life, and finally I can say that I have done something incredible! It may not be an Everest, but it sure was one for me! I really had a wonderful time, and we had a great group of people with us through the trek!

The beginning of the trek

For those coming here directly, this is the third blog in this series.

Do read the first part here, and the second part here.

Ìt was time to get up and start our adventure! But first, we had to get some stuff from the Joshimath market, to be fully prepared for the trek. Looked like even after all the pestering and forcing from the wifey, we were not fully equipped! We had to get a lunch box and gaiters, which we would get at the army store in the market.

On reaching the market, however, we found out that there were no gaiters available in stock! What do we do? Without the gaiters, all the snow would go into our shoes and our toes would get frozen!

We in India, however, are the best in finding very good alternate solutions to solve any issue. In Indian parlance, it is called 'JUGAAD'. We are the masters in Jugaad. Give a stick to an Indian, and he will make a house out of it! In a lot of ways, this trip was the mother of Jugaad for a few people, especially the Pangarchulla Yogi jugaad babas (yes it is a group of people who should actually make a Facebook page with that very name, their following would be epic!), but more on that later.

The wifey, on the other hand, went into her jugaad mode, as though it was her second nature. She immediately asks the shopkeeper 'Do you have any plastic packets with you?'. 'Yes Ma'am, that we do', says the shopkeeper and gives her a whole load of plastic packets. She asks 'How much for these?'. The shopkeeper thinks 'Should I take advantage of this situation and actually ask for some money for this?? HAHAHA :D' but then actually says 'Nothing. It's free!'.

I am outside the shop the whole time, and suddenly I see the wifey with a whole set of plastic sheets. She goes past me saying 'LET'S GO! WE DON'T HAVE TIME! WE NEED TO BUY RUBBER BANDS'. The guide had given us about 20 minutes to buy all the extra stuff we would need for the trek, and that was enough for just the one shop. However, we started our mini expedition through the Joshimath market, trying to find the first shop that would sell rubber bands. After running around, we finally got the ingredients for the makeshift jugaad gaiters.

It was now time to start the walk up to the first campsite! We were all excited! We were taken by our taxis to the drop off point at Dhak Village, where we then had the option of using mules to carry our luggage to the camp sites, or we could take the stuff ourselves. The wifey, being one not to use the mules for luggage, carried all the stuff in her trekking bag. She has been doing it for the past 4 treks, so for her, it was easy peasy. Me, not wanting to look weak in front of the crowd, thought 'CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!' and also took the luggage with myself. However, little did I know that my luggage was a good 2 kilos heavier than the wifeys, and that actually carrying your own luggage was not as easy as it looked in the photos that the wifey took in all those other treks she had gone to! But, once a commitment was made, it had to be executed till the very end. So there was it, I had the stuff with me!

The clear skies and the cool weather just made conditions perfect to start the trek!

Not a single cloud in sight, and the snow peaked mountains! What a sight to start our trek!

Pangarchulla peak as seen on the first day. Looked so close by!

The lush green forests being overlooked by the snow capped mountains made us want to reach the top as soon as possible! However, it would take another two days for us to reach there!

From Dhak village, it was a 5 km walk that we took to Gulling top, where we stopped for the night. Even though the distance was only 5 km, it was a climb, so it was tough! However, we were told that the difficult in the 'moderate - to - difficult' rating of this trek was not because of the first 2 days of the trek. So there was a whole lot more to come!

The Gulling Top Campsite.

The tents were put up by ourselves. The view from the campsite was breathtaking! However, the skies had started becoming cloudy, and apparently this was a pattern. The mornings till noon, were almost always clear, however, post noon, the clouds would always cover the mountains.

View from Gulling Top campsite

Once we were set for the day, we had a briefing with the trek leads on certain do's and don'ts that had to be followed, no matter what, to make the trek incident free (even then, there was no guarantee of things going smooth).

1. You are NOT to sleep in the tent post lunch. You are to find out some or the other activity to do to keep yourself awake during this time of the day. This was hard, especially after walking so long, and having a sumptuous lunch! But no, we had to stay awake! This doesn't apply when you are coming down, however.
2. Climb high, sleep slow. (Yes. That is what the lead said all the time. We all knew he meant 'Sleep low', but we did not once stop and correct him. It was fun just to hear him say that all the time! :D)
3. Drink at least 4-5 liters of water during your overnight camp stay. This would build up your oxygen level and help you prepare for the next day's climb.
4. Even if you do not feel like eating, you are required to eat food.
5. It was important that you had atleast an oxygen level of 80 for you to be fit to climb up the next day. A test was taken every evening after dinner to check our oxygen levels.
6. Most important of all, when nature calls, you are not to go wandering on your own outside. There were sophisticated (yes, for trekking standards, they were very sophisticated) western and eastern toilets dug up just for us to use.

Once the briefing was done, it was time for tea, and immediately afterwards, we went up for our evening acclimatization walk (Yes, the climb high, sleep slow rule being applied here). It was here that we finally got to know the names of the other group members of the trek. That too, only because the trek leads forced us in a circle and played a game where we had to memorize the names all the people before us, and I was the second last in the circle. I finally got introduced to the Bengaluru flutist and his brother in law, the professional social networking gym goer; the Gujarati Financial babus, the momo zombie, the pangarchulla yogi jugaadu babas, the director of photography, the CSR and Sustainability ladies, the IIM Cal trekker, the Navi Mumbai engineer and the Ladakh Marathon volunteer tester (Guys who were actually part of this trek may probably understand who they are, for the others, there was a wide range of people from different walks of life here, from Kashmir all the way to Kochi, and that in itself was amazing! This is another advantage of going on a trek, and that is.... meeting people!)

After that, we had a team session, where we had to figure out, as a team, how to solve a problem. The idea was to get the team to work together to plan out and execute a problem. However, on the ground, what actually happened was a lot of planning, and a whole lot of fun! This made us get to know each other a lot more.

Dinner was served at 7 PM, Soon after, it was time to sleep. And this was what we were seeing as we went to sleep.

The stars were shining, the clear skies making it a sight worth seeing!

Sleeping at night was not an easy task by any means. For one, the weather was very cold, so you had to wear atleast 3 layers of clothes and tuck yourself inside the sleeping bag to keep yourself warm. Second, and probably more importantly, as one of the Do's given to us was to keep ourselves hydrated, we had drunk a whole lot of water before sleeping. That would mean only one thing during the night, and as the toilets were far, far away in another galaxy, going through the cold windy climate to the toilet was a task in itself!

Somehow, we managed to survive the night and woke up to another clear sky. The sun rising meant that the rays were just peeking out from the mountains, and that was some sight! It did give me the positive vibe that I needed to move on in this trek!

Welcome sunshine! On a side note, the mountain just peeking on the right of the picture is the almighty Nanda Devi!

Pangarchulla Peak in the morning from the Gulling Top campsite. Our final destination was at the top of that very mountain!

The second day was a 6 km walk to Khulara. However, in terms of height, we went up to 11,122 ft from 9,600 ft at Gulling top. That was a steep climb! We would not get to see snow this day either, as the snow had just melted from the Khulara top. That meant that a lot of the trail to the camp site was damp.

However, it was not as bad as I had thought it would be. We had to go through a forest to reach the camp site. Thankfully, the skies were clear in the morning, and the sun was shining bright!

Some trees just stood out from the rest!

More of the above was what we got to see along the way!

But the sight of the day was not on the way, but at Khulara, where we were to stay for the night.

You could see the entire Garhwal range from this site! It was just out of this world!

We could have spent the whole day just gazing at the sight of the entire range. There was only one thing that could stop us from looking at the awesome views.

Cricket.

Yes. You heard right. You might ask 'But where is the TV? And was there any match going on that day?'. And I would say, ONLY THE BEST MATCH IN THE WORLD!

Playing cricket at 11,500 feet is, as I found out the hard way, not easy at all! The thin air made it very difficult to run, and after having walked up about 6 km and 2000 feet, the body just did not want to do anything else but rest! However, I did take it as a challenge to test my fitness level, and did an OK job batting.

Yes, that is me hitting the ball!

The bowling was even more tough, because you actually had to run to bowl! However, I did not do so bad in the bowling department, being the wild card for the team, picking up a couple of wickets in the one over I bowled, and saving the team from at least losing the game! (Yeah, the game did not complete, and we self proclaimed the win, but the fact that we still lasted so long in the game against the locals was in itself an achievement!)

I did manage to generate some pace while bowling

Once that was done, it was time to do our acclimatization walk (Remember the climb high sleep slow guidance given by the guide?). Here is when we got to hear about the difficult path that lied ahead. It would be a good 12 km climb, with a 3500 feet increase in height, and as you keep on climbing higher and higher, the air would get thinner and thinner, and the weather that much more unpredictable. All of us were brought back to reality, and were quiet for the rest of the day, just mentally preparing ourselves for the next day. We were to start at 4 AM in the morning, and the only rule was that we had to reach the top of the peak by 12 noon. Now, it may sound very easy (6 KM in 8 hours??? I can do that in my sleep!), but, as you will read in my next part of the adventure, it was nothing but!  

What would happen the next day? Would all of us make it to the top? What would be our situation during the climb to the top? To know, read on here!

The prelude to the trek!

For those who have come here directly, please read the first part of the trip in this post!

So the stage is set, we are all packed up and excited about the trip!

We boarded the train from Mumbai to Delhi (Yes, you heard right. A train trip from Mumbai to Delhi, when so many flights were around. Leave it to the wifey to give an 'authentic, different' experience to the trip, right from the beginning!) on April 28th, and reached Delhi's NDLS station by the evening on the 29th. We had already hooked up with a few of the wifeys fellow trekking mates, and we had decided to have dinner at Ginger Hotel.

For those who do not know about the place, it is part of IRCTC's network of budget business hotels, right next to the NDLS station. Food is good, with self service being the mode of order. The only problem I could find was the way to the hotel.

You know how frustrating it can get when you can see a building so close (oh SO CLOSE) by, but somehow you cannot find a way to reach the place? I mean, its right there in front of you, but there is no way to go there! The hunger and the need for food added to the frustration. Very much like the land above the waterfall Bahubali, we knew that paradise was at the end of the road, we just could not find the route to the paradise!

Finally, after a lot of trial and error (and going into dark alleys which were, frankly, quite scary!), we finally reached the hotel. Maybe the food was all that much better because of the effort we had to put in to find the place, maybe not. But whatever the reason, the food just tasted good, and made us think of a second helping as well!

Our other trekking mates were coming by flight and were on their way to the hotel, so we took the time to see our final updates on facebook and whatsapp, and laugh looking at the mobile phone at some random forward. (God, how life changes after 1 year of marriage.... all the holding hands and talking to one another about random stuff seemed so old fashioned! It was now back to the mobile phone and FB and Whatsapp!)

Finally, after what seemed like ages (or, in FB parlance, after 3240 likes to various FB posts), our other trekking friends came and finally we met the Doctor and the Punekar Hipster (I like putting pseudo names, and you will get to see a whole lot of them, do keep track!). After their dinner, it was time to go back to NDLS station to catch the train from NDLS to Haridwar.

In what seemed like not enough time to put even one FB like, we reached Haridwar. Time just flies when you sleep, and no amount of sleep is enough sleep. On reaching there, we found the weather to be cloudy, with slight rain! It was the height of summer, and to see that kind of weather was very surprising. That only meant one thing.... MORE SNOW AT PANGARCHULLA! Yippeeeeee!!!

Having gotten our stuff packed in the car, we were now ready to take the drive from Haridwar to Joshimath, the place where we would stay for the night. However, the distance was not small (about 270 KMs). And took a good 8 hours to reach there! Finally, after going from one 'prayag' town to another (Rudraprayag, Karnapraya, Devaprayag, Bahubaliprayag etc.etc.etc. (OK I just made that last one up)...... the places ending with prayag just seemed endless!), we finally reached Joshimath. Actually, not quite Joshimath, but about 5 KMs from Joshimath, which is where we were put up.

After settling in, we were asked to report to the main reception area at 7 PM for our briefing on the trip. Our briefing in the evening was a general introduction to the trek, a few do's and don'ts (the most important don't being 'DO NOT ASK HOW MUCH MORE TO GO!'), and a first introduction of everyone in the trek.

This is how the round of introductions went.

Person 1: Good evening everyone! I am XYZ. This would be my first trek in the Himalayas, however have done a lot of trekking in the Sahayadris.

Person 2: Hello Hello! I am ABC and this is my first time trekking. Ever.

Wifey: Hi everyone. This would be my fifth Himalayan trek. Been doing this for 2 years now. Otherwise go to Sahayadris now and then.

Everyone else: :O :O Wooooowwwwww!

And thus, the wifey became an instant celebrity. How things went on the ground ahead, you will get to know later on.

After the briefing session, it was dinner and time to go to bed. The next day, we got up to this.

The morning blues. Just did not want to move from here!

The skies were....ummm... well... sky blue! And not a single cloud to be seen! The beginning looked just awesome! I could have spent the whole time just looking at the scene during the sunrise, but a trek had to be completed. Or, to put it in other words, a mountain had to be summit-ted!

The rest of this epic journey is coming soon! Please read on here!

Planting the seed to climbing a Himalayan mountain

It all started with a need to just take a week off!

All of us go through that phase where we are working all day, only to come home dead tired, to sleep early and to continue the cycle again the next day. There was a desperate need to cut this vicious cycle and just do something out of the ordinary.

Having started cycling, and also dabbed into jogging and swimming as well, the best thing for me to test my fitness was either to do a BRM (which, trust me, a whole lot of people were telling me to do immediately!) or do a trek. With the trek, the wifey would become the planner, and I did not have to think about anything! PROBLEM SOLVED!

I just needed to plant the seed in her head. She had already done a trek in the beginning of the year, and her plan was to do just 2 in a year, so getting her to accept it would be tricky. Or so I thought.....

Before I could even broach the subject, the wifey pitches in 'Isn't it just too hot here in Mumbai! Why don't we go to the Himalayas! A trek at this time of the year would be perfect!'. My plan couldn't have gone any smoother. Even Amul butter wouldn't be so smooth. The only thing remaining was to take an easy trek, and life was set in the cool lands of the Himalayas.

Alas, leaving the entire planning to the wifey does have its downsides. Being a pro trekker (having done four Himalayan treks before this one herself) the choice between an easy trek, a moderate trek, and a moderate to difficult trek was very easy for her. She chose the moderate to difficult trek. And I, having given all the responsibility to her for arranging everything, could not say anything.

Her first words were.... 'Let's go to PANGARCHULLA!'

My first thoughts were that of a Gujarati Dish. Pangarchulla sounded very much like one of those dishes you get at any Gujarati family home (like the Dhokla, Thepla, Fafda, Pangarchulla.... get it?) Given the thairu saadam lover that I am entitled to be as a TamBrahm, what else was I to think of Pangarchulla?

However, my brain stated telling me 'You dumbo! She said 'GO TO'... there is no way Pangarchulla would be a dish to GO TO!'. And that brought me back to reality.....

'We have company dear! Look, my friends are also there, and there are others who are new to trekking also going to go for this! Come on! you can do it easily!' she said.

There are very few things in life that evoke the kind of heart filled response and emotion in the wifey. Trekking is one of them. I trusted her instincts blindly in this area. For, I did not want to use my brain in anyway planning this trip! A week was chosen, and the rest was left to her.

And so the planning (by the wifey) began. With the wifey listing down all things required for the trek. And it was a long one! I never knew that a trek would require so much meticulous planning! The most important thing on my mind at that time (in fact, during the whole trip), was how to take care of nature's call. Very important. So the wet wipes, the hand sanitisers, the tissue papers, were all taken in double quantity. The assumption was that because the Himalayas were a cool place, I would not sweat at all, and hence I would be able to survive the trek on a couple of clothes. I found out later on that the assumption that I would not sweat at all was WAAYYYYYY off the mark! But still, the clothes to take on the trek were kept to a bare minimum. The cameras were set, and we were just waiting for the approvals from our respective bosses to come through (GASP!!!).

Thankfully, the approvals did not take as long as anticipated. Also, we (as in, the wifey) took our chances and booked flight and train tickets beforehand itself, to save on costs. Thankfully, no major hiccups were encountered in getting the leaves.

And thus, we were ready for the trek! My first ever Himalayan Odessey! What adventure lied ahead! To read more, please go on to my next post here.

My Adventure with Cycling: Experiences and Takeaways

Leave it to the wifey to bring in something new to our home.

We were quietly having dinner one fine day, when she comes up with her version of the Eureka moment.

‘I cannot just sit here and just trek. I need to do something different. I know! Let’s buy a cycle!’

My first reaction to that was utter silence. In my entire life, I had never cycled more than a couple of months, and that too after continuous coaxing from my parents (WHAT ARE YOU DOING SITTING AT HOME PLAYING COUNTER STRIKE! GO OUT! HERE IS A CYCLE!). The cycle, somehow, kept losing air after a few weeks (Most probably because of my lack of usage, but that is a topic for another day!), and then I just lost interest in the activity itself, leaving the cycle to rust.

For me to go back to that ‘cycle’ mode would take more than just a casual conversation from the wifey. I knew that this was something that was NOT going to happen!

And just like that, I found myself at Decathlon buying a cycle. I totally, completely underestimated the power of the wife. All you bachelors out there, especially those with girlfriends, be rest assured, your life will completely change after marriage.

Before the wifey could go into the ‘Oh let’s enjoy our trips together and get 2 cycles now itself!’ mode, I quickly went to the cash counter and paid for the 1 cycle (‘Oh dear, already bought one! Let’s wait for an ROI on this’ said the typical management me).

And thus, started my cycling journey!

I started off doing cycling loops around from Matunga to Sion and back (and by loops, I mean a single loop). It was an achievement for me just to get my backside out of home and going out! We used to take turns jogging and cycling, and the days I did not cycle, I took the option of NOT jogging (the smart me, as always, wanting that extra amount of sleep!)

My first longish ride was from Matunga to Bhandup. My in-laws stayed there, and we had this brilliant idea of cycling instead of taking a cab or public transport. I thought at that time that it was a good idea, but only when actually cycling did I realize that maybe I was better off taking the train! It was about a 25 KM ride, but boy, was it tiring!

We had a friend in Badlapur, who would call us for rides. We would go and rent cycles over at a place near the station, and do a good 50 KM ride during the weekend. We also tried the famed matheran climb, though I had to walk through half the climb, it was just amazing that the wifey and our friend just went through it as though there was no hill!

Slowly and steadily, having gone through the internet and understood what minor modifications to your seat (its called get a bike fit), it made the cycling experience more enjoyable! That is, until the day I took the round trip through Andheri – Ghatkopar. That was the day I fell ill with Dengue, and had to take rest for about 3 weeks.

All of the effort put into getting myself interested and continuing cycling, down the drain.

Though I recovered by November, it was not until January that I started cycling again. The wife, not to be stopped by the lack of cycling, did her own rides and treks and what not, to keep herself fit (I have no idea how she manages to keep doing it!). She also did quite a bit of research on cycling groups in Mumbai, and came across a group called Ghatkopar Cyclists Club, a club of fellow cycling enthusiasts mainly based out of Ghatkopar.

One fine republic day of 2017, I took the plunge and decided I would join one of their rides. They were going to Yeoor hills (a beautiful hill station in Thane), and were starting at 5.30 AM from Ghatkopar. Having started at 4.45 from my place (Is that even a time to wake up to cycle?!?!?!), I huffed and puffed and somehow reached Ghatkopar just in time for the group to move ahead. And once the group started, they were just gliding ahead. My face went ‘WTF! :O’, but I still pedaled (It’s not like I had any other choice! I was already too far away from home!). After a long, strenuous 30 KM one-way journey, I found out that we had reached only the base of the hill, and that the hill climb was only starting now. My thoughts went back to that day at Matheran! I dreaded at the prospect of even looking at the road, and said I would stay back.

With this experience (the way back was excruciating to say the least!), I realized that I wanted to do more. More rides meant more exercise! But getting up so early in the morning was such a pain! There had to be another way out!

Fortunately, there were a few riders from around the area I stay who also shared the same timing cycle and enthusiasm to cycle as I did. I also came across another cycling group based out of people in my area, Chalo Cycling, and that was the Launchpad I needed to take my continuous cycling journey to the next level. I now had the option of choosing which rides I wanted to go on, and at what time as well! Things were looking great! There was just one thing though…… we were 2 people at home, and we had only 1 cycle! We were missing out on each other’s company during the rides (not that there was much to miss, whenever we did go, we always ended up fighting! Everyone kind of knew that we were married, just because of that.). It was time to go for another cycle! We ended up buying a second cycle (this time a hybrid), and now enjoy riding together!

From the start of my riding experience, I have learnt the following things about cycling, riding in general, and about myself. I am sharing this as I feel this could help anyone who wants to start cycling.

1. The beginning is tough. Very tough. There are times when you will feel ‘Why am I even doing this??!?!?!?!’. All this will make you want to stop and just go back to bed. You have got to just fight it back. Once you cross that wall/ barrier, cycling becomes a very enjoyable experience!
2. You will be able to feel even the slightest elevation and slope while cycling, especially once you are tired.
3. For those wanting to reduce weight, try pedalling as fast as you can (a high cadence, in technical lingo) at as high a gear as possible. It may feel difficult at first, but the next time it will become that much easier, as your body would have developed that much to make it easier to cycle at that level. I keep pushing myself that much harder every time, and it has had a profound effect on my body. Please note, you WILL get tired! It is not easy trying to continuously push yourself hard for so long.
4. Having your saddle at the right height is very important, as it could help give you the right posture to achieve the best efficiency while cycling. Getting a ‘bike fit’ is very important.
5. Keep essentials with you always (spare tube, puncture kit, spanners, tube changing kit, Identity card). Getting a puncture is the worst thing that can happen to you, so you need to be fully prepared for such eventualities, every time you cycle.
6. Summer time (especially in a place like Mumbai), can get very hot (and is very humid) very early! Make sure you are very hydrated before, and during your activity! I try to reach back home by 7 AM when I cycle, as by then I can reach before the heat starts, and also before the traffic starts!
7. Talking about traffic, it is really bad, at least in Mumbai where I do cycle. The city needs infrastructure to support cycling, however in the absence of this, it is up to us cycling to be very aware of traffic and our surroundings, you never know when a vehicle would just come in front of you!
8. Finally, it is all about you! You need to keep yourself motivated to continue to do what you want to do. Do not wait for the encouragement of others, it may never come! It takes a threshold amount of time (I put it at 21 days, or 3 weeks), to make something a part of your life. It also takes something as small as just ‘wanting to enjoy to cool morning sea breeze’ to keep you going. But it has to come from within. Intrinsic motivation is a much more powerful tool than extrinsic motivation.

So there you have it! An account of my journey till now. I must say it has been a very enjoyable one indeed! And I intend to continue it!

Part 1: To the land of high passes we..... plan to go!

January, that time of the year when the winter has set up north, the weather is nice and cool down south, and Mumbai is..... well.... Mumbai!

 

It is also that time of the year when professionally, you get one of the most important pieces of information you would need for the rest of the year. And that is....... the holiday calendar! The relief you get when you see a 4 day weekend happening without you having to take any leave of your own is a feeling worth savoring!

 

So, in January, the wife and I set about planning our holidays for the year. And we had only one place where we just had to.... HAD TO go.

 

LADAKH.

 

For the uninformed, Ladakh is a district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is famous for hosting some of the highest motorable passes in the world, and renowned for its mountainous terrain and beauty. And the people are just the best! This is a place everyone should visit once in their lifetime!

 

The number of days of the trip was decided by the toss of a coin. Heads, 1 week, Tails, 2 weeks. The first coin toss came up Heads......we said 'Let us take best of 3'! We continued so till we got a Tails maximum.

 

The route was simple to decide. We would be thorough in our travel, and go from Manali to Leh to Srinagar, thus enjoying two of the most mesmerizing road routes you will ever get to see on this planet.

 

The time of the year to travel was decided to be the time when the rains would have just started in Ladakh. Hence, July 22nd -August 7th was chosen. It also strategically meant we could take only 10 days leave, but still get a good 15 days out of it! SMART! ;)

 

We needed people to come with us! We spoke to people we knew, and 3 other people agreed to come along. AWESOME! It's always great to travel with good company! 

 

Having had just about the experience in riding a motorcycle as a young kid learning to ride a cycle for the first time, I did not want to take any chances (rather, I did not have the balls!!!) in doing a Bullet roadtrip. The fact that I did not have a car of my own (or people who were coming along who had a car of their own), meant that a hired cab was the way to go! Sorted!

 

The wife was very efficient in choosing the hotels. Those with a good rating with good comments as well were chosen. Ah, the vast amount of knowledge the internet holds, that is of so much value to us! If not for them, how would we even survive?!?!

 

On to the most difficult part of the entire planning process. How to get your leave sanctioned by your reporting manager. Here, each man (& woman) was to themselves, there was no other way out! It just had to be done, by hook or crook! Strategies planned to get them to agree to the leave were hatched, and they just had to be executed!

 

So the stage was set, the five of us were ready to take on the world! Nothing could stop us from experiencing the greatness that is Ladakh...... or could it?

 

Skip to June end, and the 3 other people who were supposed to come dropped out.......this left with just me and my wife, and having to go through the exercise of bringing in a few more people! With every 'No yaar... can't do it... won't get any leave' and 'I would love to make it, but I just did a trip recently!!', we were losing hope. Then, at the last moment, a lovely couple agreed to tag alongwith us! We were saved! The trip was ON again!

 

Then, in July, this happened. Our trip included a couple of days stay at Srinagar. We were close to the date of the trip. The situation was not getting any better. Others who we knew were traveling around the same time were frantically canceling or rescheduling their trips and skipping the Srinagar leg. What do we do? Do we take the risk and continue with our trip? Do we frantically change our schedule to limit it just to Manali- Leh? So many questions to be answered.... so little time!

 

What actually happened was a memorable trip that would be forever etched in my memory. The ups and the downs, the drama that unfolded closer to the end of our journey (During the time of our planned Srinagar phase) is something that can only be experienced! I will try my level best to pen down the phases of our trip as much as possible, in coming posts! Stay tuned!

Lord of the Cable, The Return of the Idiot Box

What I am about to say now, was absolutely, completely, 250% true. You may say "YEAH RIGHT! FEKU!" and just close this post right away, or just sit in front of the screen with your jaws wide open ( :O "Are you kidding me?!?!") but you just HAVE to believe me on this.

I did NOT have the IDIOTBOX at my home for 2.5 years!

Yes... it seems a long long LONG time ago, but yes, it is the truth. Those were the days when I had only one thing that I felt was worth watching... FOOTBALL! And with the advent of Internet, and faster and faster speeds, it just made more sense to just stream the games I wanted to watch, rather than invest on a gigantic screen. There was NO WAY I was going to have one at home... EVER!

Unless.... I wanted an XBox, or a Playstation. Mind you, this thought did crop up my mind many a times! But, I had the resilience and the will power of a thousand SPARTANS fighting against the Persians (rather, it was 300, based on my extensive research of the movie "300") to resist the need for it. It only made it easy knowing that buying such a device would cover more than 75% of my room, leaving me with enough space to cringe in the corner of the room and sleep. And blog about it too.

Oh...How I digress!

So, things were good. I'd say great even! No T.V..... Just chill in life! Nothing could stop me from NOT getting it! Or so I thought.......

There comes a time in a man's life, when he think's he is making a decision that is of his own will, and that everything from there on would be smooth going, with a common consensus always being reached before anything is done. It is only AFTER marriage (which is "that time"), that he realizes that he is actually akin to the President of our great motherland! The head, but "naam ke vaaste" only! Of course, we men only realize this AFTER the blissful event has happened.

So on comes the wifey to her new home....and before you know it......BOOM! There it is.. in all its shining glory! THE RETURN OF THE IDIOTBOX!

It all happens so subtly, you don't even know what hits you. Next thing you know, your day after office goes in watching Wipeout, 2 and a half men, I survived a Japanese Game show (HAAAIII MAJJIIDDEE!! Oh that just cracks me up everytime!), Friends and what not. It's like smoking cigarettes. You can resist all you want before you take your first one.... but once you start, it's just so hard to let go! Time just flies when you have the TV at home! The only thing is that it's not just time that flies, you will find a lot of other things flying towards you! The rolling pan....the high heels... what not!

"hey... HEY!!OYE!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?!" *After no response from the hubby, who is hypnotized by the movements and the sounds of the idiotbox, wifey throws any object in her reach right at him* (In case you are wondering what this paragraph is about...it just describes the last 2 sentences of the last paragraph in a bit more detail!)

So guys... yes... ONLY THE GUYS!!! Please note, in order to lead a peaceful, wonderful life.... PLEASE HAVE ADEQUATE COVER TO SURVIVE THE ONSLAUGHT!