The Native Connection

The Native Connection

As I recall…with the height of about 3 foot, I entered the class room for the first time…somewhere back in a remote village and as my curious eyes surveyed…a calendar bought my attention. 

Chandigarh to Dharamsala via Kaza

Chandigarh to Dharamsala via Kaza

The Making

October 8, 2011

I’d been looking at the posters of Kaza terrain in one of the washrooms of Sector 34, Chandigarh for a long-long time and read more on only over the internet.

Then after 3 years came a moment when I decided to stop gazing at the posters and visit Kaza myself in practical. I searched on the internet about travel options, distance and choose my mode of transport and routes.

Fixed October 14, 2011 as final day to check out for Dharamsala (Aadi Himani Chamunda Devi) via Kaza from Chandigarh. Then I asked some of my friends if they would like to join me on this trip.

All declined with the excuse of beginning of cold weather in Kaza and which eventually set my mind also to postpone my Kaza excursion and instead head to my home.

Chandigarh to Kaza- Day First

As the days neared to October 14, I searched again on internet if it was right

decision to visit Kaza in October but found no response. Then I tried some forums
contributed by various travelers on internet, I joined them and put my question about visiting Kaza in October….but there too I got no response from senior members.

Well then it was the morning of October 14 and I was in the market of Sector 22 Chandigarh getting prints of some photographs for home and after getting the prints, something made me to reach my room as soon as possible. 

Upon reaching my room at 04:05 PM, I searched the internet for the contact number of HRTC Dept in Chandigarh and called them to inquire which and when bus to Kaza will leave Chandigarh.

The representative of HRTC told me the bus will leave at 06:00PM sharp. As I was staying at a distance of about 1 hour of travel from ISBT Sector 43 of Chandigarh (Since all buses to HP, Jammu and Uttaranchal depart from Sector 43, except for Delhi, Ambala that depart from Sector 17 ISBT of Chandigarh) I hurried and packed up backpack with my laptop, one jacket and other stuff and was ready to leave room by 05:05PM. 

At the bus stop the local bus showed up by 05:15 PM and I was not sure if I would make it to Sector 43 ISBT on time....and as I’d assumed, the local bus dropped me at Sector 43 ISBT at 06:10 PM.

I felt the bus might have left already….and walked to the platform from where buses to Shimla leave and was surprised to see the bus to Kaza still there, but it was already almost full and I was looking for a window seat on left hand side.

Still happy to see the bus still available approached the ticket counter only to find out the last seat was already taken a few moments ago :\ … As I thought it was the only and only one bus to leave for Kaza in a day….went for advance booking for the other day….and there the representative informed me that there will be another bus up to Reckong Peo leaving at 07:30 PM.

Hearing that I decided to wait for 07:30 PM and board the bus up to Reckong-Peo. In the mean time I inquired more and found there were at least more buses that leave at the interval of 2 hours up to 04:30 AM from Chandigarh up to Reckong Peo!

At 07:30 PM I lined up to board the bus from Chandigarh to Kalpa near Reckong Peo. But the conductor gave me the ticket up to Rampur and the ticket cost was INR -270 and he told me from Rampur, we’ll have to change the bus to Reckong Peo, and from Reckong Peo I need to change another bus for Kaza.
Well there started my maiden trip to newer districts of HP beyond Simla.

Chandigarh to Kaza- Day Two in Reckon Peo

As I read in internet fellow travelers complained it was not easy to travel in regular buses for 14 hours up to Reckong Peo and further up to Kaza….some suggested a deluxe bus service up to Reckong Peo and a shared taxi from Reckong Peo to Kaza.

But I felt no unease on traveling more than 12 hours in a regular bus (probably because of my curiosity of new place and a night travel) wearing only a T-shirt and jeans (though I was carrying a jacket).

As the bus entered Parwanoo in Himachal from Kalka, we were stuck in the traffic for about 1 hour as some irresponsible truck driver had parked his truck in the middle of the left side lane, blocking the traffic flow coming down from Simla.

Further to my surprise after getting out of the traffic jam….the HRTC bus driver held mobile on his left hand and steered the bus with his right hand and to my surprise no one complained to conductor and neither the conductor stopped the driver from using mobile.

Since the road on which the driver was using one hand drive is accident prone with hundreds foot deep slide, I was concerned but could not gather the courage to ask the driver to stop using mobile on drive and he continued for more than 2km with one hand drive on night and then he put the mobile aside.

Well we stopped at Sonawaar for dinner and arrived Simla new ISBT at 01:25 AM. I was welcomed by all new ISBT of Simla in Tutikandi….and saw some fuming passengers there,  who had no bus to reach the old bus stand of Simla about 7km from new ISBT. Since I was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans felt the cold of Simla and had second thoughts about the weather in Reckong Peo and Kaza ….but even then did not brought out my jacket.

At 03:30 AM the bus stopped somewhere in a shop for tea….and there I’d to pull out my jacked from bag….as I didn’t wanted to spoil my trip with cold that gets severe on me mostly.  At the outside of the shop I saw an aged driver bathing with cold tap water….seeing that gave me some courage to face the cold.

I could not sleep all night not because it was cold but because I was more enjoying seeing the dark woods and mountains silhouette out from the window of my seat.

Then came the sunrise and we were still on ride….and as I was sitting on the left window side and down the road which was amazingly carved out of the solid mountain sides could see the river flowing.

You will be surprised (If you visit for the first time) to see how the personnel of Border Road Organization have cut out the road on mountain sides  and only a professional can drive here….!

But the drivers of HRTC are more competent here and some were driving as if they were on an open wider Broadway. Though I’d been riding (bus ride) on such roads from childhood but these were the extreme sort of and giving me more of joy than fear.

As the bus was moving up and down some time slow, some time fast….I was just enjoying the beauty outside and had the desire only if I could get down the bus and feel the surroundings myself for a little longer.

But we were on constant move and reached Rampur of district Kinnaur around the morning of 06:30 AM. At 07:45 AM from Rampur, I boarded a private bus up to Reckong Peo with ticket cost of INR 110, the bus stopped at Jeori stop for breakfast from where on right hand side there is another road for Sarahan with a distance of around 17KM, another interesting point with temples of Bhima Kali and more.

Further from Jeori the views outside are just amazing and for some like me an open invitation to come again. The road gets more adventures (If you can manage own vehicle, it’ll we more of more adventures, but please do not throw garbage).

I saw new faces of Kinnaur region and noticed that here men also use eyeliners.
We crossed many villages, bridges but the river was constantly flowing on the left hand side. I was amazed to see how the electricity wires were put up from one point to another point with thousands feet of depth and across the wide mountains.

After climbing another 1000 feet we reached Reckong Peo around 12:00 PM. As there is only one bus leaving to Kaza early in the morning by 06:30 AM so I headed to Kalpa and after returning from Kalpa stayed in a guest house and next morning woke up early by 05:30 AM.

Chandigarh to Kaza- Day Third in Kaza

Since the bus leaving to Kaza is the only one so there is good crowd.

I reached Reckong Peo bus stand at 06:15 AM, but the bus arrived at 07:00AM half an hour late. After getting the ticket to Kaza for INR -260….I witnessed the sun rays slowly kissing the mountain series above Reckong Peo.

Well the bus started off at 07:30 AM. Prefer a seat on the right hand side window as 98% views are on the right side with calm and constantly flowing Spiti river and here too the road is well engineered by Border Road Organization though in most of points the work is still in progress rest the road is in good condition.

Not to mention here, also on this route the HRTC driver was careless or overconfident as he was using mobile while driving….and this time inside the bus I noticed a number 09459100100 where anyone with complaint on driving or traffic violation could send instant sms.

I sent a text about the driver but lucky for the driver I was using a private mobile operator the service of which is not available there and the sms landed on outbox instead of sent item box :( and since the driver was using BSNL mobile  he was enjoying his chat.

Well then we stopped for breakfast and I took the opportunity to shoot some photographs. After the stop we started again and the views around were or are awesome and inspiring with each turn the bus went up a few feet more and more and some time were at a height of 2621 meter and then 2518 meter and 3624 meter. By 04:30 PM we reached the bus stand of KAZA.………to be continued

Racing Extinction

If We Want then We Can Save our Earth and Earthlings, We The People make the Govt's, We make Corporation--so All We Need is Commitment and Practical Approach...Rest is our/your Choice how you/we want to contribute -- OPS6 Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) Racing Extinction and The Cove also Blackfish

illUmiNations: Protecting our Planet #ProjectingChange from Oceanic Preservation Society on Vimeo.
#ProjectingChange

The United Nations Department of Public Information, Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), founded by photographer and Academy Award-winning director Louie Psihoyos (THE COVE), Obscura Digital, a creative technology studio that has staged multi-sensory media experiences all over the globe, and Fisher Stevens, Academy Award-winning Producer of THE COVE, lit up the United Nations headquarters in a revolutionary call to action for citizens of the world to demand action from their leaders to protect the world’s ecosystems. The musical score was crafted by Academy Award-nominated composer J. Ralph.

The visual showcase created by OPS, Obscura and Insurgent Media, was sponsored by TheDodo.com and the Lerer Family Foundation, and produced in conjunction with Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea, Vulcan Productions and Millennium Art.

ILLUMINATIONS PARTNERS

United Nations Department of Public Information
Oceanic Preservation Society
Obscura Digital
Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea
Vulcan Productions
thedodo.com
Millennium ART
Trailer Park
Picture Motion
Obscured Pictures

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS & ARTWORK

60Solutions.org
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
James Balog
William Coupon
David Doubilet
Earth Vision Trust
GoodPlanet Foundation
HOME
Jerry Greenberg
Michael Greenberg
Howard and Michelle Hall
David Hannan/Ocean Ark Alliance
Shawn Heinrichs
International Center of Photography
Frans Lanting
Steve McCurry
Plankton Chronicles
Sebastião Salgado, Genesis
Joel Sartore
Louis Schwartzberg
Daniel Stoupin

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

AFNR/Shutterstock
Borisoff/Shutterstock
branislavpudar/Shutterstock
Brian Lasenby/Shutterstock
Henk Bentlage/Shutterstock
iPrano/Shutterstock
John Butler
Lukas Spieker
Miles Away Photography/Shutterstock
NASA
Peter Gudella/Shutterstock
pixelparticle/Shutterstock
Rich Carey/Shutterstock
Richard A McMillin/Shutterstock
Rick Ray/Shutterstock
Stefan Siebert
Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library
Tim Hellier/Image Quest 3-D
Xavier Marchant/Shutterstock

SUPPORTED BY

Dieter Paulmann
The Lerer Family Foundation
William von Mueffling
Dan Nelson
The Gerbode Foundation
Sarah Shaw
San Francisco Foundation Shaw Family Fund
The Moore Charitable Foundation
The Opel Family
Richard Schaden
The Baum Foundation
Trevor Bacon
Jill and Carter Wheeler
Paulette & John Kempfer
David and Diana Toole
W Wilder Knight III
Primland (60 Solutions)
OPS Kickstarter Backers

Dhauladhar Sun Rise

Dhauladhar Sun Rise  ~ No Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom ~ All from Dhauladhar and Mother Nature 

Help Keep Nature Clean and Green, Be A Green Hiker!

Dhauladhar Sun Rise 

Kareri Village and Lake

Kareri Lake

Kareri Village is another interesting place neighboring Triund Hill. Kareri village is approximately in following co-ordinates 32° 16′ 50.93″ N  76° 16′ 50.77″ E and is just 3km from Ghera village. Total distance to Kareri village from Dharamsala ISBT is about 22km.

Save Sharks

From Hollywood to Tv Series till now we Humans have always depicted Whales, Sharks as devils always on hunt of surfers and wrecking sailing ships and all these have created a mentality that Sharks are dangerous even we have not spared innocent WildLife.

But hardly ever we look or take note of What is the reason behind Shark attacks or Elephants destroying our fields or why a shy Leopard turns a man-eater and also we blame Mother Nature for floods, landslide and other. We forget to mention that it is us and our desire plus greed for money and unbalanced development that we are indirectly forcing and force WildLife, SeaLife and Nature go against humans species.

Till now whatever Natural calamity has occurred we have been partial to Nature and readily point fingers toward Nature even our mainstream Media also blames Nature for increasing Heat on Summers and Harsh Colder Winters.  

This post is not intended to gain links or clicks...since our collective blog is concerned with preservation and cleanliness of Nature so, we have decided to include guest posts on WildLife and SeaLife.

There will be the guest blog posts with link to main site and our first guest post for SeaLife is on Dance with Tiger Sharks

Tigress Shark - Woman Dances with Tiger Sharks from Blue Sphere Media on Vimeo.

Bhima Paani in Satchali

Bhima Paani in Satchali

Bhima Paani in Satchali ~ during the Exile Pandavs roamed Himalayas and to quench thirst of his mother Kunti, Bhima hit the mountain wall with his Gada (mace) to find water and that resulted in this little fountain and as named as Bhima Paani ~ For trekking to Satchali you may contact Gaurav Walia over +919459790810

As Indrahar Pass so is Waru Pass

As Indrahar Pass so is Waru Pass 

 

This is not about the height or difficulty level of Mountain Pass....it's more than that!
I got up early by 3:30 am to get ready for my third High Mountain but first long duration and length hike with all ration and cooking stuff on backpack. Left home around 5:40 am and was at Dramman around 06:15 am and the good thing was like election campaign days and marriage functions for all taxis were engaged so I'd to kill myself at Dramman for almost 2 hours and finally at 8:30 am got the lift up to Kandwari....I remember my first high mountain hike of Indrahar Pass in Dhauladhar Mountain Range..during my first climb and stay in Indrahar Jot the feeling I had was just like a child has once he/she sits on the shoulders of parents and seeing the views around that are generally barred owing to once height and age!

Pir Panjal Range and ManiMahesh Kailash Peak Chamba

Read Here...........

Gauri Jhundha Dhauladhar Matter Horn

April 2014 Gauri Jhundha or Dhauladhar Matter Horn with bubble clouds as seen opposite to temple of Aadi Himani Chamunda Devi from Triund Hill ~ image shared by Sahil Bakshi

Langha Mata

कृपया प्रकृति माता और लान्‍ंघा माता मंदिर परिसर और रास्ते को साफ रखें कोई प्‍लास्‍टिक या कूड़ा-कर्कट ना फेंकैं |

Since long Mountains have fascinated humans and some felt scared of them. But only within these Mountains the sage and saints find Peace. Mountains have been watching every activity down on Earth and have kept a record of all incidences and they share it with whoever comes to them and has the capability to communicate with them.

Mountains have found an honorable space with the Gaddi shepherds. As these Gaddi shepherds have been frequenting them since long time and used Mountain Trails and Passes to migrate with their livestocks from one region to other. Though at present this trend is on decline as so called future generation finds this tradition a symbol of backwardness, but they keep forgetting that the Real Life is what their parents and ancestors had.