Summer at the door

May 20, 2011

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.