Maybe all of you know that i have been writing a story for quite some time. Murmur of The Lonely Brook is set in this amazing place. Now, its difficult to maintain two blogs. So http://debashisdey.com will be the new destination for my updates. Also you can find all the previous posts there. Please subscribe to the rss or the newsletter to receive updates. All the best!

Chikoo - Chinese Goat

DId I tell you earlier that Chinese Goats, locally known as Chikoo is not only soft and delicious but also leaves such small trace of fat in our hands that you can simply wash it with water sans soap!. So, this winter I decided to procure one from near Chitkul where farmers from Tibet often cross over and sell their lot. I drove my new Red Mahindra Thar bouncing the 16 inch tyros across tough terrain deploying the 4×4 at steep turn s and finally got one. The goat – one of the first traveler in my jeep rode back with me to Sangla – not before it covered most of the back with droppings maybe out of the bouncy ride so unlike him. We kept it at the hotel next to my house and it bleated most of the chilly night probably in anticipation of its fate. Next day we git it butchered by the local guy who did it free in exchange of the head, intestines and fat. I got the skin, about twenty kg of meat and the liver while Symonds, my landlords doggy – about nine months old played with the unskinned leg pieces all day. I also got the skin which now lies stretched on a ply board for drying before I use it as a seat cushion in my Thar.

We first separated the ribs and then the meat was chopped in smaller pieces. The pieces were then hung in three sets on strings after sprinkling pepper and salt and some turmeric. This happen a day before the year ended and on 31st we had roasted spare ribs, roasted liver and meat curry. The jerkies now hang in my guest room and every now and then we pluck pieces like apples and roast them. Believe me they will sure remind one of Haji’s meat near Park Circus at Calcutta – maybe even better ! Not to mention we also got a local grass eating lamb – both these animals will sure pull us for the next two months when we intend to get another.

So much for the goats and lambs – but I need to also mention about the heavenly Anguri prepared from grapes at Ribba only in Kinnaur. This and the a full bar of chocolate to mark the beginning and end of delightful dinner ecery day. apart from that we are in the middle of the first major snowfall with neary 18 inches of white covering the road in front and the backyard. While my better half spends her time in warm comfort of Calcutta with invitations every day I spend my time with my cats below three blankets most of the time.

Winter Class 2012

At other comfortable moments during the day time I have taken up tuition for the poor school kids here revisiting maths, english, economics etc. which keeps me well occupied. At other times I drive off road across the valleys and rivers and boulders. The Thar is a beast with a 2500 cc turbo charged Crde engine and 16 in tyre’s but the one thing which helps is the double suspension supporting a 200 mm ground clearance. I have decided to keep it open back except for winter when I need to pull the hood to protect it from snow.

Winter is fine with a combination of maggi, meat and kichdi which comes with a subtle inside sensation of cholesterol fighting high metabolism but eventually losing the war to a grass eating animal from across the border.

Happy New Year to all – its never late and I celebrate each day here !

Adios !

Winter Birds

As you all know my net connectivity is poor and I operate on a limited bandwidth of 8 kbps, so it takes a while for me to upload content.

My most important work here is to soak up the sun while trying to decipher the age old wisdom of the mountains. After years of corporate life I decided to live in this remote Himalayan village so that I can enjoy a natural state of living. I left everything behind except for my camera and laptop and came here to live among poor villagers far away from civilization. These people are simple, nomadic and follow a primitive 5000 year old lifestyle with rituals and ceremonies while braving a difficult terrain and a harsh winter with 6 ft of snow. I live with them, celebrate with them, dance with them while drawing in the local apple wine, sacrifice goats and lambs for rain and sun, explore the hills, till the land, sow seeds, wait for rain, pluck the harvest, cut logs, break stones and spend my time wandering across the valley enjoying the beauty of the seasons…

Winter Birds

To me living is not just a disciplined, fixed-path, mediocre thing which most of us call existence. It is something totally different to me – it is rich beyond measure and changing every moment – and unless we realize this amazing motion our life becomes totally meaningless

Spirituality again is a notion – rather a perception. Can we ever observe anything without assessment, interpretation or evaluation ? Can we simply observe the bird, the sky and the trees … our mind (which I love to define as a neurological or genetic disorder) will never allow you to observe anything without interfering with its various notions and preconditioned parameters. I observed the mind as it leads us in various ways just to keep its dominance over everything. Now here, I can shut it off and simply gaze at the hills , the bees and the birds and the clouds. I do kill to eat but only as much as I need. The villagers kill bears and panthers but only to protect their crops and cattle. And while I appreciate the movement against killing of girl child across India I do not impose on the villagers the importance of conserving. Life to me is not simply an occupation – its a vast mystery spreading across an infinite latitude, cradled by the balance of nature in which we exist as mere mortals trying to redefine and defy the very purpose of our existence…

Winter Birds

Meanwhile a lot of birds returned to the valley and i found a whle bunch of them searching for food. I will upload a full gallery but meanwhile enjoy a few
Be Good !

Pin River at Pin Valley

First, my apologies for not updating this blog for quite some time. The Internet connection at Sangla is painful and I am yet to get a Broadband connection. However, I must tell you about Pin Valley – a spectacular valley hidden in Spiti. We went there about a month back but the landscape still haunts me. Pin Valley in Spiti was declared a National park in 1987. While going to Kaza we crossed a bridge across the Spiti river approx 10km before Sichling took a narrow winding road towards this valley. It was evening as we crossed barren meadows and reached a cluster of white-washed houses at Gulling. The next village we came across was Sagnam. Unfortunately the housekeeper who earlier agreed for our stay expressed his inability as there was no water supply. This was November and he informed that water froze every morning and he had to close down toilets. However we located the PWD care taker who was kind enough to provide us two rooms for the night.

Pin valley is the home of Ibex and Snow leopards - we did not see any as our stay was just for a day. About  2km above Gulling at Kungri one can visit the the 600-year-old Ugyen Sanag Choling Gompa or Monastary. From Sagnam one can proceed further to the Mud Village which is the starting point for the Pin-Parvati trek.

Pin Valley - Mud Village

We traveled further down – about 4 Km’s from Mud Viillage but could not go further as a frozen stream which blocked our way. Pin valley is different – even in winter the valley offers a spectacular landscape which is different from the Spiti valley. Its serene and virgin in most parts with the blue-green Pin river, the dried fauna, the small villages, the snow clapped peaks, the eroded mountain faces offering an amazing view both for exploration and photography.

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Bird Pool

First, I am sorry for not putting in enough time for this blog. What kept me busy was the changing season – the greens spreading from across the valley to the meadows filling up the ravines, the nooks and corners and the banks of the rivers. the peeping out of small red, yellow, violet flowers the chirping of the finch, wagtails and the bulbuls. In our resort we all engaged in making flower beds, small patches of vegetables and a bird corner. The bird corner has been the master project with a bird bathing pool, a bird house and lots of bushes and tree trunks to help them build nests.

Bird House

Every morning we watched the birds. While some devoured the dead butterflies and insects others looked for seeds in the nearby buckwheat fileds.  The pool is now ready with natural rocks adorning it and so also the birdhouse protected by branches and twigs. The path to the local school is just behind the bird corner and so maybe we need to improve the fencing a bit more. The kids are too curious and spend a lot of time around the corner.

Meanwhile we have alos added a wind chime and a swing for kids. Anita my friends wife has promised to bring in loads of bamboo chimes which we plan to hang all around the resort as an alternate to the irritating CD music. Apples, apricots, flowers are in full bloom now and the valley looks awesome with pink, green, yellow, rust all over.

We also have another project. We plan to give face to rocks ! Selected rocks from the Baspa river valley will be used as a mould to make paper mache masks which will then be hung around the resort. Will update you all once done.

Till then.

A Lonely Tree

Across the winding roads
in the dense of the hills
among the mist and fogs
amidst the unknown thrills…

On days which are bright
on days which are grey
across the mountain trails
I love to lose my way…

Tracing the lonely tune
from a far away flute..
of some shepherd boy
on some unknown route…

In a jungle maybe..
playing with shadows
walking in slow steps
across plains and meadows..

With a smiling mind
no love no hate!
across the bridge of time
no destiny no fate…

Next week we will complete a year in this remote Himalayan village. So far it has been the best year of my life. A natural state of living with people close to mother earth – with the trees, with the river, the waterfalls, birds, clouds and the mountains full of ancient wisdom who stands tall in solemn solitude… an uneventful year when the clamor of the city life was drowned by the murmur of the brook.

True, we do not had many a things here… things with which we got accustomed but we never missed anything… maybe they never formed an habit… Its like a distant past life standing at a distance in a smoky haze but never waving at me… its like traveling in a train when you leave the noisy station far behind and journey through the meadows and the plains…

The hills are now green. The fields have been tilled and sowed and ploughed. Its just a waiting for the new crops and vegetables to peep out. The apple orchards holds a big promise this year with abundant display of small young green apples. Small green walnuts, apricots wake up everyday swaying with the new sun … even the bushes along the river banks invite bees with waving little bright flowers while miniature yellow flowers on top of tall stems stand in clusters along the grass green meadows shaking their infant heads maybe in wonder. Evenings are now filled with the chatter of barbets and finches flying around the waterfall which woke up after a long slumber.

Schools are open and young boys march down every morning spinning their copy books on one finger above their heads while young girls flock together swinging pigtails in bright blue dresses. The days are longer with the sun setting late painting the hills with a golden glow as the women folk return from the fields along with their long shadow following them across the mountain trail. Clouds float around leisurely touching the top of the peaks with occasional drizzle much to the delight of the village folks here. Its still cold at night with temperatures around five – six deg. Mornings we wait for the sun as it comes around the peaks touching the millions of dew drops all across.

So long …

A week back we organized free medical camps for the villagers at Sangla and Rakcham in association with Mission Mohhabat an NGO working for the welfare of the  Kinnaur. With no doctors or clinics these people are more often exploited by quacks and the road side bone-dust seller announcing their wares with microphone and music.

Free medical camp at Rakcham

Just a generation back the staple diet for the villagers was Buckwheat pancakes and farm fresh veggies which gave way to rice, wheat, dal and other things. Any species takes quiet some time to adjust and adapt to new lifestyle and foods. And sometimes it can be thousand of years before the system gets fully tuned. Even a few hundred years back our ancestors used to carry huge loads, walk long distances and eat farm fresh unmodified begins and fruits. A change from those habits with the advent of technology is already taking its toll in terms of heart diseases, obesity among other ailments. It will take quite sometime before we get adjusted but again there will be further change and we don’t know how the otherwise unique biological system will cope up with such advancement(?) We got a Naturopathy Practitioner from Delhi who agreed not to promote any particular service or product. He is skilled in reflexology and acupressure and managed to provide some relief to quite some patients suffering from migraine, joint pains etc.

We managed to attend about 130 patients suffering from various ailments. We also distributed free medicines mostly enzymes, supplements, general medicines. The majority suffers from arthritis and osteoporosis due to load bearing and food habits. I assisted in checking BP while Tania attended to the women folk who felt comfortable with her. What we need now is a child specialist to check the kids who seemed to be victim of maggi, kur-kure and center-fresh in the contraband format. Also needed is a gynecologist for the women folk here. My plan is to organize free medical camps as frequently as possible and at different locations in these region. Participation in any form is most welcome

More Images:

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Summer is finally here with the sun knocking our door every morning with a pleasant spread of warmth and shine. The barren fields and hills are also fast turning green with the nourishing rain they receive very evening. Villagers are busy planting seeds and tilling their lands – most of them are back from their winter homes. The apple orchards are all in full bloom and everyone is happy as they expect a good harvest this year.

Tania our daughter is here and exploring the terrain every day along with our new found friend Romeo a local dog which follows us every where. Romeo comes every morning and sits outside our gate much to the dislike of our cats who watch him with curious eyes from behind the mesh. On our  journey from Kalka to Sangla we experienced a beautiful stretch with bright blue Jacaranda adorning the lower valley between Narkhanda and Rampur. The tree like many others does not grow at our heights but I would be trying out one variety of maple (not the Chinar we see in Kashmir) with help from the forest guards. This year we also planted rows of poplars in between pines on both sides of the road.

On the hills and meadows one can now smell the fresh green from the young pine cones and the green grass slowly filling up the corners and crevices of rock with occasional march marigolds and violets. The river is growing and soon we expect it run in full volume cutting across the ravine. The azure blue sky and the white clouds which floats all day tempts me to do a time lapse video so that I can present you the landscape opposite our house. Tania got me some software which will sure help in doing it soon.

We also wen to Chitkul and this time we went down deep inside the valley to spend some time next to the river. I have found a lot of visitors asking about accommodation in Chitkul. But my honest opinion is to keep Chitkul and Rakcham as a day visit as there’s nothing much to do or see in this locations. Sangla offers much more and setting base at Sangla helps in exploring all the other attractions nearby.

18th May was Buddh Purnima (the birth day of Gautam Buddha) and we were in Sangla to witness the colorful procession when the Local God went out with Lamaji to tour around the village and bless the villagers. Many people fast on this auspicious day and schools and Govt offices are kept closed. In Kinnaur people follow the local God as also the Buddhist rituals and nearly each village has a Gompa apart from a temple which houses the local God.

This weekend we are planning a Free Naturopathy Camp for the villagers with help of a friend coming here form Delhi. Some ailments are common among villagers and I think a change in food habits can really help them. We plan to sit all day on Sunday and meet as many as possible. If it really helps then maybe I can plan some more in coming months. I am also looking for a female gynecologist for the women folk here and if someone volunteers it will be a really big help.

I got a full library of Tv series, Movies, Documentaries from tania measuring close to a terabyte of data and this should keep me occupied for the next six months when she promises to come again for a refill. After the first few days of cooking extravaganza we have now shifted to finer delicacies like Peas-Kachuri, Fish Croquets, Cholar Dal, Mutton Rogan Josh, Chicken Coconut Curry as also desserts like brownies and apple pie. Tania is schedule to leave for Mumbai on 23rd and plans to come again with friends during September.

Just hang on for the Time Lapse video and an update on the Naturopathy camp. Will come back soo and post pics. – Till then

More Pictures from the Summer Album:

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Apricots in bloom

Finally the sun is out in full strength. And the villagers are happy. I went down to Sangla the other day and had the real taste of sweat after a span of six months. Two weeks back we planted flower seeds in a small patch of land in our resort covering them with a thin layer of dead pine needles to protect them from the harsh weather. I found them sprouting with little green heads peeping out through the needles and shivering with the cool breeze while relishing the summer sun. This will be removed soon and replanted in patches along the pathway. My friend and his wife who came here a few weeks back took the pain of placing stones along all the pathways and they look real nice. We also planted a whole bunch of cabbage, carrots, radish and turnips. Maybe we should have a patch of coriander and mint next to the kitchen. Mint tea is good and coriander is my favorite garnishing. My wife’s Indian Recipe ebook recently released has all garnishing exclusively with coriander leaves apart from south indian dishes where curry leaves were advised. We also intend to plant a curry leaf but we could not get any cutting here. North is really far from South.

Meanwhile the villagers are busy tilling their lands and every morning you can see them dragging their bull up the road to their fields. The fields are still barren brown but one can see the uniform marks of the plough and patches of cow-dung spread across. A village meeting is scheduled tomorrow to decide the penalty or fine for stray cows for the coming season on a per day basis. Stray cows are a menace as they eat the farm vegetables. But the greater menace – a leopard is still prowling on the outskirts of the village and have so far killed three cows. The villagers are worried and maybe there will be another meeting soon to find a solution. I only hope it escapes to the higher slopes in time.

In the hills, the apricots are in full bloom with white flowers breaking the monotony of the bare poplars and oaks while the apple orchards proudly stands erect displaying their adoration of fresh greens. I am waiting for the orchards to flower as this will give me an indication of the future fruit.

Apricot covered in snow

We heard the foot-steps of summer and enjoyed the sun last week – not in its full glory and strength but enough to help the pines shake off their white attire and a few springs to wake up from their siesta and bless the valley with their murmur. The apricots are first to blossom with their white flowers while the berries followed them with pink buds all over. A few patches of green appeared inviting the wagtails to hop around while the river stretched both ways to recover lost ground. The snow receded to the shadows and remained only at the base of the pines patterned with brown pine needles.

The villagers came to check out their fields and summer homes. Devta (the local God) also came out from his winter recess. Everyone got ready for the ensuing Bishu festival scheduled on the middle of April to mark the sowing of seeds. The schools reopened and the young ones rushed. The boys went spinning their books on one finger while girls went swinging their pigtails with bright red ribbons.

And then we had a snowstorm. Not severe but enough to chase away the few birds into hiding and spread a thin white veil across the valley. The apricots suffered most with flowers catching the snow and transforming as if into cotton balls while the boulders looked solemn with fresh white caps adorning them. The only thing visible was the road which cut across the hills like a winding black snake. The villagers sat in groups, sullen and worried discussing about the poor harvest last year and speculating on the upcoming season.

The forecast says it will snow for a few more days and one can expect clear weather by the middle of this month. But the assurance will not prevent the villagers from sacrificing a few lambs to please their God and get his blessings.