Adding 5 more days to a week!

"Find a job u love and u will add 5 more days to a week"

They said. And i agreed.

    But what is that exactly meant by job we love. Is it a job with high technical challenge, or with a good package. Is it being with like minded people,  is it the job which needs us learning new things every day. Or is it a job which we can complete easily without any pressure. Is it with which gives us name/fame. Is it a job where no one will ask any status update, in other words you being your own boss.  Its very difficult to find an objective answers to these kind of subjective topics.

    When ever i think of job or career , I remember my music teacher. The way he enjoys his work. Each time when he plays the music, I can sense the  enjoyment/satisfaction in him. He is doing the same since last 20 years, 9 hours a day. The joy of learning new and practicing the learnt.  He says he'll forget time/food, every thing when he music. Surely he did not choose music for making money. While all students were sitting in class aiming for a degree and a secured job to en-cash the degree, he bunked his school to practice music with only aim of learning it. I think all kinds of artist are same. When ever i go for class, I'm not sure how much music I learn but I'll come back with a kind of motivation by seeing him, and also a big question in my head. The work we do, writing a piece of software code, are we considering this as an art. If we see the tech-revolution and the latest gadgets like iPads galaxies tablets, software is really not lesser than any kind of art. The question is how many of us involve ourselves while doing our work to an extent to forget time/food. When we were in school, most of us never knew what the software was but we wanted to become an computer science engineer. How can some one wants to become some thing, with out knowing any thing about it. The only thing we knew about software was the monetary benefits that comes along with it, the money part. If this job paid us, say 10k/month, would we choose it. I liked the system in many countries where all the jobs are paid almost same salary, so generally people wont get a second thought to pursue their career of their interest.

    Lets consider agriculture.The most ancient job we humans have been doing. There is no doubt we are doing it for money, to survive(that is why its called farming, otherwise its called as gardening). I'm not sure how much they enjoy farming. But being from agricultural family, one thing I can say that farming has became an integral part of their life.

    What ever it may be we all are enjoying our job. In office we will surrounded with like minded, same aged people(In other industries it is difficult to find), we enjoy spending time with them, we enjoy the coffee time, office outings, parties, technical challenges, meeting, lunches, dinners, week ends etc etc. So again the question arises, are we really enjoying the work or working environment!.

    Lets clarify ourselves by asking a simple question. If we were given an huge amount of some few crores, what we are going to do. If the first thing that comes to our mind is "I will quit my job and....  .", then I think the question of loving job will be answered. Given this amount, I'm 100% sure that neither the music teacher will quit from  music nor my father will quit from farming!!.

Or in other way if u think that, with that amount you'll hire few best developers in market try implementing your dream product(Here I'm specific abt S/W, it will apply to specific fields), then you are already in love with your work and already adding 5 more days to all weeks !

The Higher Himalayas !!

Ali Bugyal

Himalayas!!

  Very long back I had read , if you are the person who enjoy a lot seeing mountains, greens and  forests, or if you are a nature photographer, then if u don't go there ,then you'll miss a biggest thing in life.

  From then it was always been a big dream. The Himalayas !!! Trekking The Higher Himalayas !

  

  My friend told me that we require total of 12-13 days for trek. So at least 7 working days of leave!! Now i felt like only my manager is the bigger mountain i shud cross to reach Himalayas. But thank God! that he agreed soon and i was already half way through the trek.

  After that first thing we did was booked our trek with "India Hikes"(Organizer) and flight ticket to Delhi for 6 of us. So 2 more months to go. Preparing for trip, planning and talking about it are some of the best part of trips. We did the same,created lot of buzz around.

  To-bring list in the website , God it was so long! I thought its enough to get married and settle there itself. So I decided take only things marked as mandatory. And luckily weather was good there so most of the things took from here were no use.

 

  Everything was set to go and one fine Thursday(22nd-Sept) evening we flied to Delhi. It was midnight when we reached. Next whole day we spent time in  Delhi. Weather was too hot and the day went very slow. Not to forget Delhi Lassi, liked it very much. Every one of us were eager for trek, so every things looked dry in Delhi except Delhi Girls , as hot as weather there ;). Already we had booked train(Raniketh express) ticket to Kathgodam.

  A whole night journey. As usual kept 2-3 alarms to get up @ 6. We slept.

 

  6AM we were in Kathgodam. Train dropped us and went on its way as if nothing happened. We could sense the change in weather. It was cool and pleasant. Railway station was surrounded by mountains showing us some hints of trekking. Now next destination is Lohajung, our base camp. Some 220km from here.Our jeep was waiting for us. Driver told journey is just 10 hours!.

 

  And now the fun started. The Roads there!!, I thought it will directly reach us heaven. I felt we were driving on a 50-100 feet high flyover which is still under construction !. Some times he would reach the high speed of 50km/hr which was breath taking. Views both the sides were amazing. He stopped after an hour for Break fast and we got freshen up there. Took a break were all possible. Whole day journey was very good and was not tiring because of the views around. Finally reached the base camp around 6.30PM. Others also joined from different states. Total 18 of us now. Already two days we left from Bangalore.

Bedni Bugyal

 Chilling cold started there. We were welcomed with hot soup. In the base camp we could see the tip of Trishul, the snow covered mountain, the view was unprecedented. I was enjoying the view of trishul, and in the background I could hear our guide saying to be careful and many people were lost in Himalayas. But we were already lost to Himalayas.

 They strictly advised to avoid smoking and drinking till we come back. I could see some pale faces.

 One night away from trekking. We were given sleeping bags to sleep. It was my first night with it. It needs some few nights to adjust with and get proper sleep. But when you actually learn to sleep-well in sleeping bag, trip will get over. We were supposed get up early next day. We slept.

 It was bright cold Sunday morning. They told us not even to wash our face for next few days, cold water may peel the top layer of skin. So now no need to worry about bathing for next 5 days!!. So first day, lot of expectation, curious and with more enthu we started walking with our heavy bag packs. Some people gave their bags to Donkeys to carry for them. We thought whats the fun in trkking without even carring our bag ourselves. But very soon we realized that they were smart people. With greenry all around we slowly walked. Initially it was a descending, happily we walked. After 3 hours of trekking down we had to climb upwards. With heavy bag packs it was very difficult. For each ten min we took 5 min break. Now we came to know why they told that atleast 2 months of physical fitness exercise was required. Which we totally neglected. But however tough it was, the views around was outstanding. It was more than worth. We reached the day's destination DIDINA. A small house with good sleeping arrangements. From the house we could see mountains, one taller than other and more beautiful than other. Just we took a chair with hot tea in our hand and infront of us were a bundle of most beautiful mountains under the Sun. Wow. What a feeling !!! After dinner some fire camp. And we slept.

Dedina

 Got up @5.30, Sun was yet to come. Cold was at its peak. Just a 100 mts away was a nice view point. Sat there silently for an hour. How beautiful could a place be to make a person sit silently for an hour, just watching it. That day we were more excited, we are going to Ali Bugyal, the best place of the trek. There was a reason for keeping lot of expectation on that place. Actually the organizer had mentioned in the welcome letter that "When you step into Ali Bugyal it is hard to hold back your emotions. I have seen grown up men and women cry when they see the sight of miles and miles of lush green carpet of the high altitude meadows". Wow!! what an explanation. Had read this line 100 times before trek.

 Again our journey started with bag packs on back. Left a bit early than others because we walked slowly and took breaks very frequently. Lots of fun, stories ,jokes ,views, photo sessions and we and Himalayas!.

 Next few hours of trekking was very tough, forest area was coming to an end and only grass meadows every where. Already views were so good that we were speechless and how Ali Bugyal may be. More curious. After 30 min we were in the Ali Bugyal. And that was first word came out our mouth, a single english word which can express any of our feelings. The view was 100 times more amazing than what we had imagined. It was really hard to control our emotions.

 I think heaven will be like this. If some one wants to see the heaven but dont want to die, come to Ali bugyal. Don't know which side to see, trying grab the beauty as much as possible. I felt like i was surrounded by tons of gold but a small bag to carry it. No body were talking, all were just sitting and enjoying the miles of lush green carpet. I thought trekking Himalayas is easier than describing it, you will fall in short of words. Its like trying explain colors to a blind person.

 May be there are no such words in vocabulary or only poets may be knowing it.It is a place where u'll feel to hug yourself tightly. Sun was bright but climate was cold we fell asleep there only for an hour. We almost spent 2-3 hours there. Then we walked to camp Bedni bugyal, way was easy, it took 2 more hours. Played a lot of frizby that day, the cooks and guides joined with us and they were more exited to play.

 Next day, the destination was Patal Nachauni. Reached there early evening. And the view of sunset!! It was transcending!. I felt a good kind of shiver running up my spine. Better i'll not try describe it. With my writing skills if i explain, it will be a sin. They should add Himalayas to dictonary as an adjective. Beacuse no other words can describe it. And a rule should be made that it should not be used to describe any other things. Yes! All of us had developed good kind of possessiveness over Himalayas. I'm a kind of a person who can sit and enjoy the view of even a small mountain in front of my home from my terrace. And now u can imagine the magnitude of happiness Himalayas has brought me. It was like, if u r a real music lover, and all of a sudden all the best musicians under the Sun starts performing in front of u.That is how I felt. An experience beyond imagination!!!.   Standing at the edge of this mountain we could see hundreds of other cliffs stretched to eternity and cold breeze moving the clouds below us here and there. Within minutes sky below us would be Cristal clear and the next moment we could not see the person standing with us. Its a nice feeling when u find the sky is below you. I really felt happy when my friend who had been to swizz told that Switzerland is nothing compared to this. Weather was becoming colder as we move up. Nights in Himalayas are horrible. Water in bucket would freeze

 to ice at night. When it comes to washing plates @night. Hands would lose sensation for 10 min. To escape from cold we were hiding ourselves in 2 layers of pants , 3 layers of shirts and a think jacket, a cap, gloves and sleeping bag from outside !.

 We were so lost to Himalays that one day we had a discussion to find out which day of the week was that. It was a nice feeling to completely forget even the day of today. No cell,internet no news and nothing. Next day reached Bhagwabhasa, weather was good, same day we reached Roopkund. Final destination of the trek. It was a small lake partially covered with ice. Finally we were at the height of 16000 feet!!!. Oxygen was less. Temperature was already negative. Everything was covered by fog. The place was very mysterious. We found thousands of human bones and flesh. And also some skulls, teeth sets and all. Few say that some King had come over their with his army and due to snow fall all 1500 people have died there. What ever the story may be but the fact is too many people died there. What a tragic death it is. Where there is beauty, there is cruelty. This was the other face of Himalayas. But i could partially convince myself by thinking that it was their fault to come in wrong season and die. Weather was becoming bad and guides suggested us to leave as soon as possible. Slowly we were striding down, no road  but a very slippery steep muddy risky slope. A great sense of achievement, reached the summit without any major problems. Not able to believe Himalayas exists from millions of years, because every thing looks so pristine and virgin. So clear , so neat. Some enigmatic power is present even in the breeze of Himalayas, you can sit there with the closed eyes for hours and no thoughts will cross the mind. I think that is the reason many people come here for meditation. Thinking all these we came back again to Bhagwabhas, stayed that night there.

So next 2 days we will be trekking down to base camp where we started in a different route. Trekking down is like going to office after a successful release of major project. More relaxed. More fun. Next day we started towards Bedni Bugyal. We had lot of time, no hurry. Lots of things to look around. One view better than other. Its like Sachin, he is the only person who can beat his record and create a new one. Same with Himalayas, only it has to compete with its own beauty. We were late by 2-3 hours than others to reach Bedni Bugyal. It was almost 5 PM.  Dinner was served very early. Till late night we played cards and slept.

Next day we had to walk till Wan, a village. Again some 6-7 hours trekking through forests. Initial 3 hours walking down in forests , then almost 2 hours it is very upwards.Then an hour walk in Wan village. For the first time after we started trek we saw shops, we eat maggi there. Used money after an week. A jeep dropped us till Lohajung. It was the place we started trekking. An hour journey. So it was Friday night.

 The worst part of the trip is, how ever long the trip may be , it will get over soon.  Again Saturday travel back to kathgodam. A full day journey in bolero. And again from there a night journey to Delhi. Sunday morning we reached Delhi. Spent there till evening. Sunday night 11 PM reached Bangalore. And Monday morning 8.30 in office!.

Ali Bugyal

 Overall It was 100 times more beautiful and 100 times more tougher than we had imagined. It was an heaven to eyes, mind and soul but an hell to the body !. While going I thought that I will be successfully completing one of my dreams in life. But while coming back I felt that trekking Himalayas is a dream that can never be completed but in turn it will give birth to hundreds of new dreams to explore thousands of other such parts of Himalayas!.