At Nehru Institute of Mountaineering - N I M

(in continuation to preparation for the mountaineering course)
( http://indirakadambi.blogspot.com/2010/03/preparation-for-mounatineering-course.html )

After bidding good bye, Karan dropped me at the Uttarkashi bus stand from where a bus from NIM was supposed to pick me up at 5 pm. There I happened to meet Chandra Bhaai who had come as a guide with us to Tapovan trek. He is simply awesome. He is like a mountain goat I would say. Very experienced climber and a very kind and caring person. He was very happy to know that I was going for this course. He told” Aapto bahoth fit hei Madame. Phikar mathkijiye.Aap aasaanise karpaavogi”( you are very fit madam.Dont worry. You will do this course very easily). So, with all their wishes, I boarded the bus that was military green in color and on which it was written- Nehru Institute of Mountaineering ( N I M).There were lots of other students in the bus from various parts of India. We reached NIM at 5.25pm. We were the first batch to arrive. We stood in a line in the hostel. We got registered ourselves. Each one of us was allotted rooms in the hostel. There are 3 levels in the hostel. A ground level where our rooms were there and then 2 levels below us has hostel rooms and a Dining hall. I was allotted room no: 5 – named Monal! There were 6 trainees in one room. 3 bunk beds, 3 cub boards, one bath room and a toilet. After dumping bags in the room, I came out and took a short walk in the campus. There I met Avni, Dallas, and Nima, who were also exploring the campus.

The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering was established at Uttarkashi in the Ladari Reserve forest area on 14 Nov 1965 to honor the great desire of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who was an ardent mountain lover. The aim of the Institute is to introduce and initiate young men, women and school children to the mountains and nature through its various Mountaineering and Adventure training courses.

Few more batches of people arrived and all were busy with registration and other stuff. In my room, there were 5 other girls. Avni, Prarthana and Mallika are from Bangalore; Anshu is from Arunachal Pradesh and Bharathi belongs to Vishakapattinam.

Avni sanghvi, a Gujarathi settled in Banglore is a food scientist. She seemed to be quiet friendly. Ask her what on earth she has not eaten!. Right from snails, squids, octopus, and you name it - everything has a place in her stomach.. lol...Well.. That’s her job she says! But at home, she says she is a pure vegetarian! Mallika, very quiet and fair looking girl is half Swiss and half Indian. It took a while for me to understand that her name was Mallika!. She just finished her 12th grade. Her mother who was a mountaineer I heard. Anshu, 28 yr young, is married and has two kids. She has her own adventure organization Himalayan Holidays, which she runs along with her husband. She seemed to be a woman of few words. Prarthana, 30 year young girl had worn an interesting T shirt “I took out L from LOVER and now it is all OVER”. Bharati is 37 yr old and has a son who is in 8th grade now. She is beautician by profession. She is quiet calm and poised. She has done sky diving I heard! Well, this is a small introduction about my room mates.


After everyone got enrolled, we were called to attend an introductory lecture for Basic course 210.This was the first time a mixed gender batch was being conducted. Lecture was in Hindi and was mainly on how we should keep our rooms clean; how we should address the instructors as Sir and Maam; how we should be on time for all the sessions; how we have to maintain discipline and cleanliness on and off campus; …Lt. Ashish Bhandari was selected as our course leader. He is a Marcos – Marine commando specialized in maritime operations. I heard that only about 20 - 25% of the Marco trainees finally get to wear the Marco badge due to high intensity training. Instructor asked if any two were interested in becoming quarter masters. Anil and I volunteered to be quarter masters. I thought by taking up responsibility, I would learn a lot. Our role was to prepare menu for everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner. Note down issues regarding food and hostel facilities and address it to the higher level authorities.

It was already 9pm and we were all very hungry. Dinner was served in Dining hall that accommodates 100 people easily. Tables and chairs were laid out. Plates and cups were kept in one corner. I heard the system is similar to any other Hostel dining room. Dinner was simple. Roti - sabzi, Dhal and Chawal(Rice). Around 10.15pm, we all slept. It was very cold. I had only one blanket. I could not sleep whole night.

It is 18th October, 1st day of our course. I was very excited. I woke up at 5am. After having morning tea at 5.30am, we all assembled outside the hostel at 6.30am for physical training. We jogged a little and did few stretches. Breakfast was served at 8.30am. Training sessions started at 9.30am and went up to 12.30 in the noon. Whole of morning was packed with introductory sessions on mountaineering and equipments. I will talk about those in detail later. In the noon, we had to undergo medical check up. I weighed about 56 kilos and blood pressure was normal. Later, we had a lecture on mountain manners and customs. I like to share few things about this lecture here.

Mountain manners: Do not use polythene bags; No littering; Speak with low voice. Greet every people whom you meet on your way; Follow hut manners; Always walk. don’t run; Do not overtake other group without permission; Halt only at scheduled stops; Ascend in zig-zag manner; Drink water regularly; Maintain low profile, Respect others and nature too; Watch while you make statements; Assume responsibility for yourself and your actions; Learn to judge distance; ….

Environmental protection: Do not bath and wash in the river. Discourage porters from throwing cigar buds; Do not make any new trail; Get educated about environment fragility; Conserve flora and fauna; Develop conversationalist attitude; Educate fellow country men in conserving nature; Reduce noise pollution; Report poaching; ..

Lunch time was at 1pm. We had to collect our backpack and other equipments and had to assemble at Pine ground for a demonstration on how to pack our backpacks after the noon tea. Pine ground is to the left of the hostel. There is a nice stadium like seating arrangements all around. A 15.5 mtr high sport-climbing wall is erected in the middle of the ground. The wall, which is an international climbing wall, is the first of its design in India and the first ASIA Cup, organized in India by IMF in November 2004, was held on this wall.

Adjacent to the pine ground, there is a Gyan Hall, which is equipped with Gymnasium equipment and a 10 meter high indoor artificial climbing wall. The wall has changeable holds which makes it interesting and challenging for the climbers. Next to that is administrative block which has the offices of Principal, Vice Principal, Registrar, Accounts Branch, Training Wing, and Chief Instructor, Instructor's room, Training room, Radio room, Dispatch room and the Duty room. Opposite to the hostel is playing field, Basket ball court, Volleyball court, Handball ground, an Obstacle course and the historic Graduation Ground, a focal point of all courses. Orchards and a mini Nursery are also there. To the right of the hostel is the auditorium, which is beautiful with good seating arrangements and well equipped with latest technology. Next to that is the Library, Medical Section, Equipment hiring and Repairing Unit, Laundry, and last but not the least Hair saloon. Diagonally opposite to the hostel are Cafeteria and Internet centre, souvenir shop and residential complex for the instructors and their families. Well.. This is about the campus.

I forgot to mention that the total number of trainees were 91 approximately. We were 16 girls and rest were boys from Army, Navy and few civilians in the age group of 18 to 35. I was the oldest in the group. Whole group was split into 14 teams called Ropes. Each rope had 6 to 7 trainees and had a rope leader and a rope instructor, under whom we get trained for the next one month!. I was the Rope leader for my group and Susan from USA was our Rope Instructor. 32 yr young Suzanne is tall built – 6’2”.She is like a nomad. A full time mountaineer, she travels widely all over the world training young and old aspirants like us. Our rope had Kamakshi from Delhi, Avni from Bangalore, Vijji from Kanchipuram, Neethu from Lucknow, Jothi from Mumbai and me from Chennai!

Kamakshi sahai – soft looking, soft spoken, very jovial, and friendly and caring too. She is working for an adventure company in Delhi. Looking for Mr. Right to fill her life now!
Vijji is 18 year old studying 2nd year degree and is in NCC. Petite; looks frail; she comes from a very poor back ground. Mom is a gardener. Father is no more. She speaks only Tamil. Neethu is in her late twenty’s or early thirties. She is doing her MA. She fought with her parents and come to do this course. She speaks Hindi. Understands English. Jothi, a Malyali settled in Mumbai has come to do the basic course for the second time! Hats off to her!. She is friendly too, very organized.

Archana..Archana...Short, slim, strong girl from Mumbai:).Not my room mate.. not my Rope mate..but a very dear friend.She belongs to the family of mountaineers..ha ha ! Most of her cousins and uncles have gone through these courses i believe!.wow..kewl .isn't it?!..well..She is an expert in Spanish language and trains students to speak and write Spanish:)She has also trained our hero Hrithik Roshan!!yes..proof??..there is a photo of her with him!

Well.. Late in the evening we had a film on training so that we will get an idea how it would be and what we can look forward to. After that, we had dinner at 8 pm and got back to our rooms, packed our backpacks with the Snow boots, crampons, wind proof - jacket and trousers, rope, helmet, short-sling … It weighed around 10 kilos I guess. After talking to Ram and writing my diary for the day, I hit the bed at ten. Lights had to be switched off by 10pm sharp.

The next day, we all left with our backpack for a short 3 hour trek behind the campus. Lunch was packed. It was steep climb with lovely pine trees all round. It was to see how many are fit and fine to do the course I guess. Most of us made it to the top in our own pace. Few girls could not carry the weight; one or two could not climb at all;. Few made it falling now and then. On our way to the top, we saw the snow capped Bandhar Poonch range spread out majestically in front of Ladari reserve forest. I had to share with my friends that I was there in the month of May!! That was a lovely nine day trek with family and friends. And not to forget the lovely black dog Shaggy which accompanied us through out the trek. Steep climbs, hail storm, severe thunder storm, playing cricket in that heights, long stretches of trekking on the ridge, playing in the snow, terrible cold nights, eating hot soups, fresh paneer, rasam, potato poriyal, dhal – roti – sabzi, wa waa waaa!… then, trekking down the steep hill, scenic Gujjar hut, Singing along with Ram listening to the flowing of the cold streams, camp fire on the last day, … unforgettable moments!!

Well, the next four days from 20th to 23rd, we had to get set for our practical sessions.1st week was allotted for Rock craft, which were held in Tekhla. Few more loads were added to our backpack. Ropes which weighed 4 ½ kilos had to be carried in turns. So, now with 15 – 16 kilos of weight we had to trek everyday early in the morning at 6.30 to Tekhla, which was 11 kms away from NIM. Walk was simple and straight on the curvy roads. But weight was the only issue. Had to get used to it slowly. We had to walk along side the river Asi Ganga. Early morning sunrays used to peep through the trees and smile on us. Sound of the Ganges and temple bells, vehicles passing and Sadhus (saints) walking was a common sight. We had a rest point in between for fifteen minutes to have some water and relax our backs. Then we used to march towards Tekhla.

NIM has been conducting the Rock craft at Tekhla for past so many years. Tekhla has plenty of Rocks of different sizes, shapes, different gradients, etc., so, it is lovely to explore our skills there. Day used to start with instructor’s lecture in the open air amidst rocks followed by demonstration and then we learn the technique. Let me talk about Rock Craft now.

Rock-Craft’s boulders offer many ways to climb up each boulder challenging each climber’s skills, sense of adventure and creativity. First of all, one should learn different types of Rope knots and Rope coils. Rope coiling is very interesting. Rope is coiled differently for different purposes - Climbing coil; Rappelling coil; Butterfly coil; Causality coil. We learnt different types of climbing rocks – free hand climb, climbing with ropes, chimney climbing, wriggling, etc., Skills of anchoring, rappelling, belaying, and lowering were also taught. There is lot of varieties of hand holds and foot holds that we learn while climbing rocks – Pressure hold; Pinch hand hold; Over hand hold; Pencil hand hold; Jam hold; Friction foot hold; Jam foot hold; …One needs lot of arm strength to do free hand climbing. Climbing on a long pitch rock -175 ft rock was challenging. My arms went for a toss. But I managed well. But rappelling down that rock was simply awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed Chimney climbing and rappelling a lot. I even tried the difficult one: Shoulder rappelling. Here, Rope can cut through the skin if we are not careful enough. I had a light cut near my neck. It was slightly bruised. No pain. No fun!.

There are 3 main principles in rock climbing a) Planning; b) Conservation of energy; c) Balancing. It is a game of technique and physical fitness. Ropes, carabineers, Rock pitons, Helmet, short sling, Seat harness, PA shoes and other accessories are a must in RC. All these equipments should be certified by UIAA-Union of International Alpine Association. The breaking strength of some of these equipments are anywhere between 1800 to 2200 kilos!! Apart from being well equipped, one should have a good knowledge on weather too. Hmm.. There are different types of commands used while climbing rocks. For example: take the slack, belay tight, I am there, I am climbing, and so on. My instructor Suzanne was very particular as to how and when we used these commands. Then we had 2 Indoor wall climbing and 2 outdoor artificial wall climbing too with different levels of difficulty – Hard climb, speed climb… I should say these are way tougher than natural ones that we did. Workout that I did to strengthen my arms and shoulders were not at all enough. I could do only 75% justice to this. It was physically demanding. Most of the girls except one or two couldn’t do it. It was quite exhausting too!. I really need to work on my shoulder strengthening. I slowly became tougher and tougher under Suzanne’s guidance. Suzanne is a very good trainer. Very meticulous, patient, encouraging, motivating and very cool. Under her, safety was given the utmost priority. This was her first experience in Indian mountaineering institute. It is nice to read her blog...http://www.whereisshethistime.blogspot.com/

Hmm.. Coming back to my experience, we six girls and Susanne had built a good cordial relationship. On our way to Tekhla, we used to talk a lot about our personnel life, our hobbies and passions, parents -kith and kins, movies, food, weather… So, except carrying loads, everything else was interesting and lots of fun too. Whole day was packed with practical sessions, lectures; movies … Lectures were on Tent pitching(ok), on Himalayan Ranges(good), Rock craft(interesting), History of Indian mountaineering(boring), Map reading(not bad), First Aid(important)… Lectures were quite humorous too. Instructor’s deliveries of the dialogues during lectures are just simply superb. Great fun! We saw the movie Vertical Limit, a documentary movie on Everest and Quest for K2, a documentary by NGC. All the movies were quite scary. None had good ending. They all spoke only about hazards in mountains and mountain climbing. So many deadly issues.. So many deaths!! After every movie session, we all used to think of putting an end to mountaineering after this basic course.. LOLJ

Well.. In these four days, I have been able to build good friendship. I took every opportunity at lunch, tea and dinner time to meet new people and know them. It was interesting to see the diversity in their jobs. Many trainees were from Army, Navy, Indo Tibet Border Patrol, and very few civilians like me. I was also like a PR person there trying to get people introduced to one another. The cooks were quite sweet too. They were all smiles when they used to serve me with Rotis and Sabzis. They always took out hot rotis out especially for me! And not to forget extra Soup at dinner time! Just talking to them nicely, wishing them and appreciating them every time made them to have a special care for me. After dinner, we all used to make calls home, chat, read, bathe.. But in those 7 days, I had a shower only on one day at NIM. That too exactly in three mugs of cold water! Ha ha!.. Way to go and reduce usage of water!. I can really give great tips on this – How to bathe in three mugs of water !; How to have head wash and bathe too in 5 mugs of water; … lol ... Hmm.. Weather was pretty cold. Water was colder! I was always covered, nice and warm in a sweater, a jacket and a scarf.

Forgot to mention. A day before we planned to go for Base camp, Chandra Didi came to see me and check if I have kept all necessary things that I needed for base camp. So kind of her... ……….

Bye for now.. Preparation to head towards Base camp has to be done. Heyyyyyyyy !

Finally, Abba!.. No more trekking towards Tekhla with those heavy backpacks!. But I will certainly miss Rock craft… dancing on and around the rocks!

At Base camp continues.........

Trek on tracks

Location : Sakleshpur, March 27, 28, 29th 2009
Organised by Ramki / Indira kadambi

Peter, founder member of Chennai trekkers,had mentioned few times to me.. “Indira, you should arrange some treks now”...I was wondering how to do it. To begin with, I thought the best was to assist anyone who ever is arranging a trek.. There were some mails from core members planning a Sakleshpur trek..lo..I was so excited ..I immediately wrote to Ramki that whenever he is doing this, I will help him. .....Then every day, Ramki and myself exchanged few mails regarding arrangements to be made...food, tickets, and so on..Then, as we moved close to the departure date, there were many queries from new trekkers...Do we have bath rooms there..Do we have separate sleeping place for girls,...Where do we sleep,...and so on...for everything, I had only one answer...All under the sky...lol...:)...

well..25th march...I went for shopping ketchup, sandwich paste,...then few personnel items..started packing my back pack..I was so excited and had to do so many last minute things as I had to leave my family for 3 days..I had to fill up groceries, cook and dump in fridge for 3 days, make arrangement for my son, maid, dog......Thus every time before the trek, I land up having back pain:)

26th march - All set....One by one landed at Central railway station, chennai and there was one girl Arpita..very cute..She had come with her friend srijith , who also joined the trek and her mom had come to see her off and making sure she was safe with right people...She asked me few questions…Aunty, where do I sit, what is my seat number,.. where do i keep my bags,.....which made me feel I was a school teacher ..lol...:)………all 18 were there...and by lalbagh express, we started out at 3.30 pm…oh god!..I really missed my trek mates then..hmm..but Thank god!.. Kannan and Bala were with me..There were few guys from cognizant, who were having their own fun...we attacked almost everything that were passing by us...tea, coffee, soft drinks, vada, cutlet, masala dosa,...:)...

Then, I started clicking few photos for my story.."Trek on tracks"...
We reached banglore at 9.45 pm and walked towards Bangalore bus stand as planned earlier and met Ramki and co who immediately started distributing the food packets to us..Maggie, Teplas, few junks, fruits, jam, ketchup, Aloo, Beans, Onion,….6 others joined us from Banglore..and that made the total number 24.......ha!..I was happy to meet my old friend Subramanya alias subbu after a long time..thanks to net..I got in touch with him and saw that he joined me for this trek..When I gave him his food packet, he said he already had dinner, he doesnt need it..but I told him this food packet was not for dinner but was for the next 3 days !!...:) :)..lol...:)...CTC's eat less, trek lots..:)

Then few of us boarded the bus at 10.45 pm to shiradi ghats..We got down around 4.30 in the morning at the road side Muthappeswara temple..some of us rolled sleeping mats and slept...others were chatting….some were busy clicking photos...But the most happiest person was our photogarapher Subbu I guess...he got his model for the day..Arpita:)...almost half an hour they had profile shoot just behind the temple at the stream:)...By then, others who had left bangalore by 11.30 bus also landed..Some went to brush, some to bathe,...so by the time we started , we were late by an hour or so..We started slowly by 7am towards Donigal railway station..Weather was nice, pleasant..

We all assembled at Donigal station,.. had group photo as usual..Then the trek...TREK ON TRACKS began...initially it was very exciting to walk on those jellikallu( stones that r laid on tracks)...we were all given 3 water bottles each...some of them had already finished 2 bottles in an hours time:)...after an hour or two, as the sun started showing its colours, ..hmm...ayyoda!....It was bit tough to walk in the sun…Sunscreen lotion was applied all over, caps sat on heads, sun glasses on eyes, water bottle in hands,...but legs were on tracks all the time :)….Ramki and few others were quite fast..and so Ramki had to stop now and then to make sure that all of us who were bit behind make up fast…..

..Tracks were pretty simple…straight, some turns now and then…poking stones, lots of tunnels — measuring 100 ft to 500 mts, human wastes here and there, beautiful bridges, 2 to 3 stations, … Trail… full of trees, shrubs, wild flowers,. …some times huge rocks on either sides,…at some places, few constructions were happening…layers of mountains, lovely valleys, beautiful streams, deep gorges, scary tunnels, soothing sound of birds whistling, various shades of green tress, plants all over, dense forests, few bones here n there,….…exciting indeed…of course it would have been more exciting if the mid sun was more kind to us.. Few pro - trekkers trekked enjoying the mother nature in spite of scorching sun…few complained, ..few thought they didn’t expect this kind of trail and that trek would be only on tracks like this…few wished it should have been more exciting….well..i told Ramki…..Ayyo…when is this track going to end ? !..The big mistake I did was not to read the mail sent by Ramki which described the trail. As I always look forward to surprise elements when I trek, I usually don’t read these mails that describe the trail…

On every trek, on the first day, I always have this thought..” what am I trekking here for? .It is better dancing than pulling myself all along this treacherous trail” ..:)…hmm…those who were ahead of us had breakfast at a nice stream. Those who were little behind had to satisfy their hunger sitting on tracks and have breakfast.. Resting often now and then, unable to bear the hot sun, leg slowed down its pace…eyes were eagerly looking forward to some big stream…Lo…there we got a big, long bridge under which beautiful stream flowed dancing between rocks..Immidiately subbu, ramki and myself got down and joined others - kannan, gaurav, bala, and rakesh, who were already having a nice Jacuzzi….We changed into swim trunks and jumped into the stream..Ahaaa..Awesome..This is what our body required at this point of time …great rejuvenationJ…From stream, we could see the bridge high above us.. Few walking across, trains crossing,…When we saw few others crossing the bridge, we shouted at them to come down…but whether they heard us or didn’t want to come down, what ever the reason. Those who missed this really missed the fun…Then, we had lunch and climbed up to the bridge and again our trek on tracks started…Few meters ahead, we met other guys n gals who were resting…Then, we all started our journey again in our own pace..

When I trek, I realized most important thing is one need to walk at their own pace and take deep breathe two three times when ever you are tired... Never take big breaks. It is difficult otherwise to get back to pace. Secondly, you should carry sufficient water. You should never empty the water until you fine the next stream. Water should be sipped now and then, little by little. I usually carry a waist pouch which will have Glucose water in a Tupperware bottle, Dates, Badam, few candys, So that I need not take out my back pack for every little thing and I could keep on walking and energizing myself simultaneously. Then my waist pouch also has suntan lotion to apply often, knife, and lip-balm too. Another important thing is to carry as minimum luggage as possible. just 2 pairs of dress, food, a towel, knee cap, emergency medicines, crape bandage in case you have any ankle injury…that’s it…Carry light is the key word .

Then, we crossed many tunnels…sometimes goods trains passing us in and out of the tunnels. We reached Yedukumeri station and thought that was the camp site….but Rakmi had his own plans…he said NO…Ayyo…again our legs started.. right left right left…marching on the tracks !..but now sun had settled down a bit. Lovely views on both sides…it was pleasant finally. But legs really needed rest. It felt like as if we had acupressure of our life in one single day ..:)….Now, the chirping of birds became more ….and suddenly at sunset time, God gave us a great treat to our eyes…Lovely formation of clouds..dark and light..superb colours .. orange, yellow, golden.. peeping through clouds…It was so true at one point when we saw a beautiful silver lining around the cloud..”Every cloud has a silver lining” was perfect ! and made sense…my camera just could not stop clicking these clouds and trees at the sunset time. It was amazing…suddenly I felt all energized and thanked god for making me go through all the pains since morning and giving a wonderful feast to the eyes and ears in the endJ Most of the time while I trekked, I wanted to be with myself. Lot of questions, and many answers to life’s questions,…hmm..all one can find when we are one with this beautiful mother nature! I guess.. Finally God was kind enough and gave some gyan to Ramki too to end the day’s trek at the end of 21 kms stretch!and pitch a tent next to a tunnel…WOW !…

My happiness knew no bounds…ramki, shiva, kannan, bala got busy in pitching up tents. Few went to fill up water bottles from nearby stream, and few other guys went to collect some woods to make camp fire. but alas!...it started pouring!...So, what do we do for food?...hmm…should we finish up teplas, junk food?..ayyo..what about noodles and all the vegetables that we carried to make vegetable noodles? !…All plans went down the drains..:(…..Then we all sat in the dark tunnel wishing for rain to stop and suddenly we heard the train entering the tunnel…With supers speed, we all got up and what ever bags we could collect, we took it and put it in a safe place and stood safely and allowed the train to pass smoothly..:)..Suddenly we realized three guys had not come still..They had decided to stay back at yedukameri..!..So 21 of us were left……. By then, rain had stopped. We saw that inside the tunnel, there was a safe place where 5 - 6 guys could sit and cook…heyyyy….so, bala got into action. He was the chef of the day!...We collected all soup and noodle packets. Few got into cutting vegetables, few were lazing around, few were resting….But my mind was all into soup soup soup..Hot hot soup !…so, I immediately rushed to the kitchen place..Sat there..entertained the cooks with few songs…warewah !.. Soup was ready!..Soup was a combination of tomato and sweet corn J..Ladies are always served first in CTC…real gentle men styleJ!!...So, I got the first taste of hot soup..no patience at all…just put it in my mouth….oops!..burnt my tongue badly…no issue.. so what.. sip sip some more.. Burnt more..s o what.. Some more..Abba..my stomach was really satisfied with 2 cups of awesome knorr soup. Then my mind started thinking..”My god! Why are guys grumbling to walk on tracks?..It is so beautiful, great views,.More than anything you should have great attitude man! Common!...LOL ..:)….Then soon noodles were ready too…All of us had nice veg noodles …stomach too truptiJ highly satisfied..:)…by then it was 10 in the night, and Ramki told we all had to get up at 5 and start the trek latest by 6 !Some of us inside tents, few others outside tents…either way.. all slept well…suddenly I hear a scream..who is that?! …Arpita!..she had dream again!!..it seems the train ran over her in the tunnel….lol..lol..;)…comedian of our group!:)…hmm…the next moment..all grr..zrrr…

2nd day morning, few guys woke up early, finished their morning jobs, packed…one by one we started our march on tracks..R L R L R L…!…This time, I had Subbu to trek along with me. He started the day with nice song and explanation to it…He has a way to tell stories..It was so nice to hear him reciting shlokas, stories,…Got some good gyan!..So, this was my break fast J..Since Subbu had already finished all of his food on first day breakfast time itself!, I shared my food inexchange for his storiesJ…We stopped at few view points, drank the beauty of the layers of mountains, sat ..Had some fruits, exchanged each others life stories too..As we walked along, we met few guys who were working along tracks and came to know that there was a nice stream just after tunnel 82…so, we hurried there in anticipation..WOW!..there....put down our bags, changed and trekked uphill to find a small little water falls…Kannan was there with Bala enjoying it ,,,I had to wait for 10 mts for my turn to stand under the falls which I did patiently..It was superb!..…what else a trekker can ask….water water water!....Then other trekkers followed us and had good bath, breakfast,…it was 12 noon by then..Subbu and myself started again our journey further…Ramki had told that we are supposed to trek 18 kms that day and stop at Siribagilu..Just after an hour of walk, we see the board, Siribagilu!!!...My eyes could not believe that we had already reached..Kept looking at the board to make sure I was not reading it wrong…NO..I wasn’t!..wow!…yee…we were the first to be there…and those who followed later were surprised tooJ… Siribagilu is a small station in front of a beautiful peak..A station master is there with few assistants..But sadly no coffee, no teas available. Atleast, we were happy that we reached very early there…took good rest under the trees and waited for all others to join us…

Through enquiries, we came to know that there is jeep track adjacent to the station which leads to the kukke road..All of a sudden, my brain started working..Ha!..why should we again keep walking on the tracks till tunnel 92..why not take the jeep track , hit kukke road, and go to gundiya check post, have fun in the river and get back to blore…By then subbu already made up his mind to trek along this jeep track and go to bangalore and rest well the next day before he hits office on monday..He immediately packed his back pack, and bid bye bye to us…Then it was turn of Shiva and co to follow subbu…But 7 of us ramki, kanna, bala, rakesh, srijith, arpita and myself were in no mood to go to bangalore…so, we decided to take the same jeep track…

All 20 of us started slowly enjoying the dense forest…it was a beautiful and little scary trek …here and there we could listen to the streams flowing..lot of dry, wet leaves all over the track…At one point, I did not see any one in front of me and when I looked back, no one there too!...my heart started thud thud thud !…hmm..no problem,… my mind started working faster than my legs…what if some animal comes,.. how do I react..what do I do…so on.. lol…!..For half hour I almost was all alone…no fear?..NO..:)…Then litlle ahead, I saw kannan, bala ramki waiting…then rest of guys behind me also joined…then the group of 14 went to banglore and 7 of us went back the trail for a kilomitre and jumped into the stream…. Trek is no fun without water!..absolutely true!...1 ½ hour we enjoyed … just 7 of us had the whole stream for ourselves. By 5.30, we packed and started to walk towards the main road that joins Anila bus stand on kukke road….Wait !....ayyo!…leech !...here, there,…no.. one more here..ayyo..hmm…15 mts went in driving away those leeches….Anyway, we continued further down the tracks,..and there….ROAD !!....yippi yippi ..ya ya ya..

It was 6 pm by then..found a tea shop right there where the bus stops..dumped all our backpacks…gave the tea shop guy some ginger and requested him to make ginger tea. Thoroughly enjoyed 2 cups of tea each of us…then it started drizzling!..hey.. Why not take a walk in the rain??!,,,, ya.. why not ?...ok.. Now, we set a deal with the tea shop guy..decided to stay there that night..He agreed to give his gas and cylinder for us to cook.. …great!...Rakesh stayed back at shop…, Arpita was busy taking snaps with the new hat that she found in the shop..The hat was made of Arichnut tree leaf....very artistic indeed..20/- per hat. ….Slowly then we got ready for rain trek.. Guys removed their shirts..It was already getting a bit dark and we got on the road….wow! ..wow!…no words to describe that beautiful walk in the rain!.....at once I thanked god for bringing me and showing me and giving me such wonderful experiences…No regrets of having stopped performing dance!… The road was simple superb..well laid, nice winding roads, bamboo trees on both sides, and weather!. Very pleasant,.lightning now and then, good breeze, great company..What else you need?..!!..it became pitch dark..one of the guys had a brilliant idea..he told..”Hey!..all of you look up…stretch your hands, close your eyes…now feel the rain, feel the breeze…now walk quietly! “..adada..ahaha…Awesome man!!..We were KIDS there..!!....We didn’t feel like stopping our walk at all..We sat on a bridge there on a pitch dark night looking at vehicles passing in great speeds…good.. Relax!…

Then, we started to walk back to the tea shop.. Arpita and srijith had found a great treasure for all of us!!…we had to sit on the road and observe the vehicle light that was coming from a distance..WOW!!..it was like seeing in a movie where when the god or some great power arrives, u see slowly the rays of light coming and spreading all over!...oh my god !..u will pay anything to watch this scene! ..amazing!!!..can u believe we sat there almost an hour just watching these rays of lights!... some moments cant be erased from our memory at allJ…Simple things in life bring great joys in our life..Isnt it??!...Enjoy life guys..enjoy nature..enjoy treks…! ! ! Back at tea shop, we had hot omlettes, bisi bisi bisibelebath, sambar rice, Tea,.. …yummy yummy..had great dinner that day and rolled our mats, crashed to bed. One or two guys started snoring!..grrr grrr….

Ayyo…arpita and myself couldnt sleep at all…It was around 12.30 midnight I guess..Both of us woke up and stood on the road… our hairs were left open..it was pitch dark.. We sat on a kutti stone watching all vehicles passing by…many of them for sure had looked at both of us…But none dared to stopJ.. no one wants to risk their lives with ghosts…isn’t it??.....lol.:) …That was an experience!.Later, both of us got back into our sleeping bags…r.rrr…rr..

3rd day – Sunday..early morning 6.30, we woke up, brushed , then packed our bags, and started to walk towards gundiya check post..Scenic roads, great weather,..had some fruits, clicking now and then on our way…and around 8 am, we hit the Nethravathi river bridge close to check post..We got down the bridge, got into the river.. Nethravathi was beautiful but muddy, flowing gently, and dancing sometimes in between rocks…We kept our bags under a huge tree..We all freshened up there…Till 9.30, had great luxurious bath and came to check post.. We had Dosas, uttappam, coffee, tea…and boarded a bus to Dharmasthala..There Ramki went to bus stand to cancel others tickets and 3 of us srijith, arpita and myself climbed Ratnagiri hill to have a look at Gommateswara…Bala, rakesh and kannan who were supposed to look after our bags were happily snoring at the bus stand itself !..They were woken up by arpita’s kicks and we then moved to the new bus stand..boarded the bus to bangalore…Before that , we had nice badam milk, spicy butter milk, lemon soda,…and quenched our thirst for trekking

Preparation for the Mountaineering course

This is in continuation of the blog - Dancing to the mountains.......
http://indirakadambi.blogspot.com/2010/02/dancing-to-mountains_18.html

Flight just took off from Chennai. I had some breakfast and tea. After going through in-flight magazines, I got back to scribbling in my notes…It was in July 2009 I guess when I got confirmation regarding my participation in the mountaineering course. I had good three months to prepare. In the mean time, in June some time, I got a mail from a guy called Tathagatha from West Bengal, settled in Chennai, whom I had not met at all. He is a CTC member who had come to know that I was planning to take up this course. Here are few letters that we exchanged. It is quite interesting to read this.

15th June 2009

Hi Indira,

I had attended the BMC at NIM in 2008 between similar dates and that was a men-only batch. On checking the NIM site however, I saw that there has indeed been a change in the nature of the batch; it is now a mixed-gender batch. It’s a really welcome change to the strictly gender-discriminated course structure at NIM. Would be fantastic to know how this came about and how you got the information.

Now some unsolicited information/suggestion :) . I am sure you are pretty fit to have opted for the NIM course in the first place. But still I would recommend the following since I personally endured a 28 day course over there and was pretty overwhelmed, and since you did not specifically mention a training plan.

If you are fit you shall regard those 28 days among the best days you've experienced, but if you are not then you will curse every day spent there and may even have to drop out midway because of exhaustion/injury.

The course is pretty physically demanding with no special consideration for ladies. In fact since the course is going to be mixed, it is going to be even harder for ladies. Even we guys found the going tough since we had to match steps with supremely fit army men training with us. The logic they give is: mountains are the same for everybody.

So do train properly and go: CTC treks are good but not nearly enough.

Now, the tips:

A) The physical fitness levels required are:

1. Being able to run continuously for 30 mins at 10 kms/hr since everyday morning at NIM. They make trainees jog all the way down to the river/bridge and all the up to the institute. Plus exercises on the way.

2. Being able to walk for 10 kms (with a break in between) with a load of 15-16 kgs on back on uneven terrain. This would be required for all the walks to the mountains. No concession is made for anybody.

Both are counted in the final evaluation

B) Technical levels

This is a secret :) . Although NIM categorically mentions that no prior technical know-how is necessary, it would be extremely helpful if you could have the following experiences:

1. Knowledge of important rope knots and hitches. They would be taught at NIM but unless you are some sort of a genius, which I wasn't, you most probably won't be able to remember half of them at the time of requirement, ie., on the cliffs. It would really give you the extra edge if you can learn it from some expert here in Chennai. Most students, although they do not mention to the instructors, come prepared. So do not be demoralized. If you find that you are grappling with it while your mate is happily done with it long back.

2. Rock climbing: Again you are not expected to know in advance but , believe me, its not easy to be asked to climb a near vertical face 120 ft high without any prior experience. Again fellow students won't mention it to instructors at NIM but would come prepared. So please try to have at least a minimal exposure to bouldering and rock climbing under the guidance of nobody short of an expert - Do not try on your own.

Here again, one more point, you would be exposed to artificial wall climbing at NIM, this needs considerable strength in forearm, so developing the strength is necessary.

3. Team work: They pretty much observe your every movement there. The way you interact with team members, cooperate with them, help them out, everything counts. We Indians have a tendency to flock to people from the same state. At NIM your group will not have another person from the same state. If you are found mixing only with people from the same state, this will count as a negative attribute.

In short the experience at NIM would be unforgettable one and one needs to be prepared to make the most out of it.

You may be thinking who this crazy guy is, giving away unwanted nonsense. :} Actually i am a bit passionate about nature and mountains in particular. Have tremendous respect for mountaineers. Been lucky to be in touch with some accomplished ones. In fact my ultimate dream is to settle peacefully in Uttarakhand among my mountains!

If you already have the information I wrote here, then please ignore and my apologies :)

If not, then please consider them as humble suggestions from somebody who has been privileged to be associated with a national institute of excellence.

Take care,
Tathagata


16th June
Hey! Thanks a lot Thathagatha:)..Liked your name. Very unique :) so sweet of you..I am jogging. But slowly increase the duration and kms too :)..I am planning to carry 12 - 15 kgs and trek alternate week end through ctc:)..I will try my best :)..But I won’t forget your valuable tips :) As per knots, i did attend a workshop but couldn’t learn more than 3 !!..So, probably I will request them again to teach :)Also try to go to Ramnagaram to do rock climbing. Are you planning to go there? if yes, let me know,. I will join you..Thanks a ton once again :)TC Cheers
Indira

17th June
Hey Indira,
That's the spirit! I am sure you will complete the course with flying colors. Just make sure you are well-prepared and it would be just fun.

You have 4 months to prepare, that's time enough by all accounts. Take it easy and gradually increase the capabilities.

Regarding rock climbing, yes I am very keen but want make sure that the instructors/course conductors are knowledgeable and take all safety precautions. That is very important. This year I did a very enriching RC course under the guidance of Mr. Debabrata Mukherjee in West Bengal. He was the captain of the Indian Mountaineering team in 2005. Every moment was worthwhile and I was thinking.. 'I should have done this course before going to NIM' .
Tatha


Hey,
That’s nice. Thanks a lot ya.. Basically, I am a professional bharatanatyam artist --for almost 3 decades. So, no stamina problem. Have taken a break from my profession and doing more of trekking now :)have a good flair for rock climbing. Only issue is remembering knots..:)Well we will learn in RC..thanx for updating:)cheers
indira

Hi
Wow ! You are quite a celebrity! In fact I felt from the very beginning that I have come across your name before. Must have been in Art and Culture reviews on The Hindu.
Sorry for not being able to recognize since I am an absolute zero in matters pertaining to dance! Music is my passion, especially sitar.

It is pretty obvious then that stamina is not an issue for you. Balance, which is so very important on mountains, would be natural to you as well. My humble suggestion would be to then additionally focus on the mental and the technical aspect of the training like getting used to rocks and ropes and also the issue of bearing heavy loads.

I did the course when I was 34 and so had to adjust intellectually since I had to share the rooms/tents with 18-24 year olds, who if anything were not intellectually inclined /mature. For me I did not get to discuss anything on business/politics/arts/culture/literature for 28 days and that was an issue for me.

However things could be different for your batch in the course and also because of the fact that ladies are more inclined towards the finer aspects of life in general.

Three additional things:

1. The discourse/lectures would be mostly in Hindi at NIM. Should not be an issue for you I am quite certain.

2.Be careful and judicious in selecting rock climbing shoes provided by the institute. Most would be worn-out and ill-fitting. So you need to pick-try-select carefully. An ideal rock climbing shoe should be tight fitting with no gap between the toes and the front. If you have your personal pair, then no issues.

3.. In October-November, due to the weather, there would be almost no snow at lower reaches and the focus of the course would be on ice-craft rather than snow-craft. The normal ladies' course in May focuses on snow-craft rather than ice-craft.
You would be required to wear and adjust to snow-boots with crampons which are cumbersome at best. We do not get snow in south, so pretty difficult to even come across snow-boots here. If you can some how an initial idea have on what it is all about, it would be that much easier to adjust. Again, be very careful about choosing a boot from NIM, fitting is of paramount interest. Ask the instructors pro-actively on the fitting part.
I suffered immensely due to ill-fitting snow boots. In fact I lost both my big toe nails there since snow craft involved continuous kicking on hard snow walls during ascent.

Finally, I shall try to contact the RC agency in Bangalore and if you are interested, shall let you know on how things shape up there.

Take care
Tatha

Hi:)
Celebrity??..I don’t know :) :)...well.. ya.. I was a very active performer. Thanks for your compliments :)I will certainly consider your suggestions provided I get a seat :). I am 40 now :)..Regarding getting along, it is no issue. From high school kids to 60's 70's...it is fine :)Regarding shoe, I will keep all the tips in mind. But what i need to work is about carrying loads..So, when did u do yr course?..Rock climbing…, I want to do. Will wait for your updates.. Well. If you know and remember different knots, probably could u teach me when u r free?Thanx a lot once againTCIndira


I hope you have applied for the course already. The seats get filled up pretty fast. I did
the course in October 2008 and had applied in March 2008. Hope you have the phone numbers of NIM training branch, its better to call up and enquire till you get the confirmation post. The post never reached me since I was in China and reached India a week before the course.

Fitness alone counts, age is no factor. The logic is simple, if one is able to climb mountains even at 55-60 (which is very common) one should be able to do a training which, although intense, is much less risky and rigorous compared to a real expedition.

Regarding carrying loads, i got this tip at NIM (too late for me!!) from Mr. Kushal Singh Rana (summitted Everest recently) : although you would be required to walk with loads there, the preparation should be by jogging with load. Need not be 15 kgs, start with 3-4-5 kg or whatever is comfortable to start with, but jog, don't walk. Then as you get accustomed in a few days, try to increase the load. You could not argue with that. You can even try this out on a tread mill. Another suggestion was to increase the grade (slope) in treadmill and then walk/jog. I plan to go for a mountaineering course next year and so am training this way at present.

Regarding RC , will keep you posted. ..Knot training:... This is important for you. Actually if you do a RC course at Ramnagaram/Bangalore, you can request to devote more time for knots there since knots are used everywhere.
Tathagata


Ok :)..Thanks :)...u really have great patience :)cheers

Indira

:) Been in IT for long. It’s an industry for dimwits! :) Think that’s where the patience comes from.
Tathagata

Well....
Now coming back to my actual preparation:. By nature, I am quite a lazy person. Waking up early in the morning was a sure no. But once I get up, I am all charged. Some one had to be there to push me. Yes. It was my dear friend Ram Dasari, who loved to run and who was preparing for marathon!. Ram used to call me Mom... Here, I would like to share our regular conversations that used to happen !!

IK – hey Ram, jogging tomorrow?
RD – yes mom.
IK- what time?
RD – 5am
IK- please give me a wake up call
RD- sure mom
Then next day, at 4.45 am,..Trin trinnnn..phone rings ………..
IK- hello ram
RD- Good morning. wake up mom
IK – hey! Good morning. I am so tired ram. I want to sleep. Let us jog tomorrow.
RD- moooom!..why r u so lazy..just wake up now
IK – I could not sleep well yesterday. so…
RD- I am leaving now. You are going to be ready in ten minutes
IK – noooooooo
RD – I am almost there. 5 mts away
IK- nooo pleaseeeeeee
RD – I am waiting in front of your gate mom. Come out!,,
IK- shucks man!..ok..One min hang on..
I have a quick brush, quick face wash, put on my jog track and shoe and out in ten minutes..
RD- Mom..why are you so lazy?!
IK- shut up. I am here. Let us go now!!,..

We used to go to Elliot’s beach on his bike. Elliot's Beach is spread along the coast down south from Marina.. This beach is comparatively quieter compared to Marina beach.. Though off late, lot of people are getting drowned due to rough sea. It is located near Besantnagar.. It is a real pleasure to go for early morning or late night walk or jog on the specially laid tracks. Early in the morning, one could see people jogging, walking, sitting and chatting, doing yoga, outdoor gym, Dogs sleeping, police patrolling, some selling fresh Vegetable juices and few selling Organic food stuffs… In the evenings, it is quite noisy, but one can enjoy the local food joints.

After parking the Bike, we used to do fifteen minutes of stretches right from head, neck, shoulder, arms, sides, back, and complete leg stretches till toe. And then start jogging. Initially I started with 3 kms and then slowly increased to 5, 6 and was able to do till 7.5 kms! It was a big achievement for me. I should thank RD for this. On an average, I used to jog 2 to 3 days a week, other 2 days, I used to do yoga, and alternate days, I was doing weights to strengthen my arms and shoulders. I never like to overdo things and hurt myself. Everyone should know their body well and rest whenever required. One should always keep long term benefit in mind while exercising. There is no point in overdoing things, hurt one’s body and injure ones limbs for a life time. You don’t have to prove anyone anything. Later, I went for few 2-3 day treks of 30 to 40 kms carrying 10- 12 kilos of load. This routine was going quite smoothly. I had ten more days to leave. I just wanted to test myself how I feel when I overwork. So, one day, I jogged, I did weights, I did yoga and I went up and down stairs carrying 15 kilos on my back.. idhu rumba overraaa therille?!!(Tamil: isn’t it too much of show off?! ) As I mentioned earlier, what would happen with over enthusiasm?.. Yes..I hurt my back and my knee was paining. I was bit worried. My mind told.” Enough Indira.. Now just relax..”.. Next ten days, I took it cool. Just gave my body a big break. Took some Amway’s Glucosamine tablets to strengthen my knee, then went for few parties, had lot of cheesy stuff like Baked bowls, kulfi,… knowing very well that I am going to burn out lot of calories in mountains!

In between, Chandra didi and Tatha were also in touch regularly to know my progress.

Next was packing of bags. I made a list of items that I had, and things that I had to buy. I made a check list; enquired about the quality of products from different sources, enquired about the prices from different shops and finally zeroed down. Even though the fee for the whole is only 5000/- which includes training fee, hiring of equipments, and food, the price for the additional things that was needed for the course (flight charge, train charge, shoes, track suit,..) went up to 20000/-. + …

All essentials were packed in separate polythene covers. It was a good packing I would say. Little experienced from previous Himalayan treks!

Polyethylene No.1: - Clothings
Polyethylene No.2 - Tool Kit
Polyethylene No. 3: -Toiletry kit
Polyethylene No.4:- Medicines
Miscellaneous: -

I was all set. I was mentally prepared to do well. I set my goals and worked on it pushing my limits every time. Only thing I needed now is the power and strength from HIM to do the course successfully. It was nice of my hubby and my baby for agreeing to take care of them selves in my absence. They were more than happy I guess! ha ha :)

I had lot of best wishes messages from my friends and family.. Some nice ones, some encouraging, some funny…few are here:

Hey!..You can do it!
Do how much ever you can. If you can’t, just come back. No big deal
You don’t have to prove anything to anyone
Take care of yourself and enjoy
I am very confident that you will do it.
We hope to see you back in one piece!
Let us take one last glance at you!
That’s the way to go. Not everyone can do it, all the best!
Kick your ass!
Have a great time there.... a literal Dhamaka - Diwali style!!! :)
Rest in Peace!! May you should find peace in the high mountains :)
Be safe!!!! Be a good gal....don’t be too adventurous!! I
Hey.. Sure u will be having an "out of the world" experience. Just one thing... Never give in..... Just push yourself always & you can make it for sure.
Have a great time. Don’t worry; it won’t be tougher than DOA5 ;).. ( Dead or Alive Treks – toughest treks in CTC)
Hope u find lots of good people, make great friends n have a fun learning time..Do share with us some useful tips on climbing once u return :)
Another mountaineer from our group :) :) Guess you would become a full time adventure sport woman soon :)

Well. Preparation has not stopped yet. It will continue…. In the mean time, ….

Now, flight has landed at Hyderabad airport. I am still sitting in the plane writing my journal. The flight is going to take off shortly to Delhi. I took a short nap. By the time I woke up, I was in Delhi. Flight landed at 3.45pm.Took a cab and went to my friend Madhura’s place. After having Dosa and chai with Madura, we caught up with our Chennai news and gossips. By 8.30pm, we had dinner together and around 10.30, I was dropped at the Nizamuddin station to catch midnight 12 train to Dehradun. I took a share taxi to Uttarkashi. I left Dehradun at around 8.30am or so. Cost was 200/- per head and I got 2 seats for myself in front of the cab. At 10.30am, I had some brunch- Aaloo paratha and sabzi. Route was very scenic. But after some time, it was sick traveling in the winding roads in the mountains. I had to take a tablet to control vomiting. I reached Uttarkashi at 2.30 in the noon and Karan bhaiyya was there to pick me up. Karan is the nephew of Chandra prabha, the mountaineer. He took me to his place. His house is on the banks of River Ganges. The sound of the Ganges could be heard 24x7 !. After putting all my things in a room, I had lovely tea. . It was inspiring to see once again all the awards that Chandra didi had received. No place to keep anymore awards!.. As I glanced through, one of them caught my eyes. “ .. mei bharath ka rashtrapathi…aapko Padmasri pradhan kathaa hu..”.. My monkey mind started dreaming again. It was reading “…mei bharat ka rashtrapathi mountaineer aur bharatanatyam kalakaar Indira Kadambi ke liye Padmasri pradhaan kartha hu…….”…LOL…suddenly I started laughing at my own self. I had not even started the course still but already big dreams!!!.. Fortunately there was no one around. Mind is really funny. At one moment it will be in Chennai. Suddenly it will be in moon in next one sec! Mind travels faster than light I guess!! ..

That day, I just took good rest. Later in the evening, Karan gave me the book to read and get inspired –“Mountaineering – The freedom of the hills” that describes the concepts, techniques and problems involved in pursuit of climbing mountains. I read few pages and slept. Here I would like to share few things from that book…

Passion: “…We do not climb mountains because we must. We do because we love mountains. When we do, we enjoy it and is deeply satisfying”
Mountains do not exist for our amusement. They owe us nothing. Mountaineers have been granted the privileged communion with high places of Earth…”
“Mountaineering is more than climbing, panoramic views and wilderness experience. It is also challenge, risk, and hardship. It is also exhilarating and irresistible as well as frustrating and deadly. These qualities bring inspiration and passion. It is complex and indefinable…. The attraction of uncertainty what we get from this adventure is just sheer joy …”

Tips:”.. Just as important as physical conditioning, our mental attitude often determines success or failure. We need to be positive, realistic and honest with ourselves….Never climb alone. Never climb beyond your ability and knowledge. Never let judgments be over ruled by desire…. “

On environment: “ The privileges we enjoy in the mountains bring the responsibility to help preserve our environment we love… It’s also time to speak loudly for support and wilderness preservation so that our next generation will be able to enjoy…..”

Responsibility and leadership: “.. Assume responsibility for your knowledge, skill and preparedness.. Thinking about the group, its welfare and how you can contribute is in itself a preparation, perhaps the very best preparation for leadership… while climbing, establishing supportive atmosphere is very important. People need to know that their companions care about them and will help them… Both goals oriented leadership and relationship oriented leadership has to be balanced for an effective team…”

Well, I settled down very comfortably the next three days in Karan’s house. I came to Uttarkashi early to get acclimatized to the higher altitude gradually. It was quite cold there considering the fact that I came from Chennai all the way. Weather was a total contrast. Chennai is on the sea level. Weather is hot, hotter, and hottest! Uttarkashi is in lower Himalayas. In day time, I had sweater all the time. Inside the house it is pretty cold and outside, it is quite hot.

Karan had asked to me to jog up the hill facing his house. So, the next day, I woke up at 7am and started jogging. First half km was fine. Then gradually upward slope started. Hardly 200 mts up the hill, I started panting a lot. I couldn’t breathe anymore. It was very cold too!. I had fears in my mind.. Shucks!.. There back in Chennai, I could jog 7 kms so easily. There weather was warm. Roads were flat. What else is required to make jog smooth!. Here at Uttarkashi, steep hills, winding roads, and cold weather made it worse.. I was stuck. My god!. How will I do this course here!.. After 5 minutes break, I continued to jog slowly and soon I could do 4 to 5 km up and down the hill.. I was disappointed. Thought I would try doing it better the next day.
Later in the evening, Karan got a small rope to teach me knots. It was like a revision for me as I had learnt few with Arul in Chennai. For almost an hour, I practiced – Thumb knot, Reef knot, Single sheet band, Double sheet band, Fisherman knot, Clove hitch, and Figure of 8.

The next day, I made up my mind to jog well. I stretched a bit. Karan also joined me. I could do 7 kms up and down the hill. Still I had energy to jog more. But just put a break to my legs. Had 2 cups of hot tea and sat outside bathing in the morning sun light!. Karan was all happy and he told..” didi phikar math keejiye. Aapto aaramse ye course karpaavoge “. That gave me a bit of confidence. After lunch, He taught me few more rope knots – Guide man knot, End man knot, Middle man knot, Prusik knot, Bow line knot and Bow line on the byte. I kept practicing it until I became familiar with it.

As I write, I could hear the sound of Ganges, kids playing, fighting, dogs barking, and the sound of the temple bells,.. But my mind is still disturbed with lot of things that I carried from Chennai. And also lot of fear whether I will be able to do the course well or not… I switched on my cell to listen to Gayathri mantra. I took a small walk to Ganges. I heard Vishnu sahasranamam. Mind became much calmer and peaceful. I felt very relaxed. Every now and then I used to call Ram and seek solace. He was very encouraging. I missed him a lot!. My mother’s messages now and then came like blessings.

I had a day left to leave to Nehru Institute of Montaineering. I started repacking things. The things that I need at NIM; things I need for mountains; things that I need during my return trip. I was quite excited and all set to leave!. I don’t how to thank Didi, Karan and his family who were so very nice to me - took care of me so well, taught me, and encouraged me for the course. I am highly indebted to them.

Next chapter.. At Nehru Institute of Montaineering....... continues

Dancing to the mountains

Passion

12th October 2009 - Sitting at the airport and waiting to board the flight to New Delhi, listening to Vishnu Sahasranamam, I am wondering how it all started - My passion for mountains. Well, going back to my childhood. I think it all began through my parents especially my Mom, who equally shared her love for nature with my brother Balaji, fondly called Bali and myself. My mom is a gifted writer. It is such a pleasure to read her articles on her experiences with nature. She is a good photographer too! My father was a real inspiration for me. He never stopped me from exploring any things in life. Never said no for anything and encouraged me in all my endeavors. I never had the fear to explore. I had learnt cycling when I was in 3rd grade and had learnt driving a moped in 6th grade. When I got my first car, he just asked me to take him and my mom to Mysore even though I never had any experience of high way driving or even night driving. But my father had lot of confidence in me!

In my childhood days, every holiday especially summer time, I, along with my brother used to meet up with my cousins who used to stay in the Kudremukh amidst beautiful Sahyadri mountain ranges. The place was surrounded by dense forests, little streams, and Bhadra River. We all cousins loved to just take off into the forest, play in the streams, bathe in the river,…Also our idea of a picnic was to be next to river and have fun!. I was fascinated by the huge 900 ft Jog falls, Gajnur dam near Shimoga, Cauvery river at Shrirangapatna, Mysore zoo, dense forests around Kudremukh,.. Thus my love for nature was sown in my childhood itself.

In the mean time, I finished my studies; got married in 1993, and had a baby. I was a professional classical danseuse. I used to travel a lot for performances and teaching. During these years, nothing much happened apart from focusing on my career and family commitments. Here and there we used to go and have fun at resorts, stay at jungle lodges; go for back water rides in Kerala; sun bathe at Goa beaches…

It is during my early visits to USA 2000 onwards, I developed the passion for trekking again. There I used to take a day off for hikes at Santa Monica mountain ranges in California, Appalachian in West Virginia, and the best of all was my hike in Grand Canyon during April 2005. After too much of brainstorming whether to hike there or not, I hiked in GC all alone. ....
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the United States, in the state of Arizona. 277 miles long, it ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles and attains a depth of over a mile (6000 feet). Except for whitewater rafting, I did some hiking and helicopter tours. Many hikers overestimate their fitness level, and become de-hydrated. Due to lack of experience, I didn’t even bother to carry pain killers with me. My camping place after a day’s hike was at Phantom ranch. The trail was steep. Well defined. Some shade was present on the trail, mostly from the canyon walls. The Bright Angel Creek on the northern side of the Colorado River and is the only lodging facility below the Canyon’s rim. The Ranch can only be reached by hiring a mule, by foot, or by rafting on the Colorado River, and is a popular stop-over point for hikers and mule riders traveling to the bottom of the Canyon via the famous Bright Angel or Kaibab trails. The rustic cabins and the main lodge are built of wood and native stone and do not take away the natural beauty. Hiking down the canyon killed my knees and hiking up killed my back! I survived with those pain killers and a Hiking stick that was lent to me by a fellow trekker whom I met at Phantom Ranch. When I got back to the top of the canyon, it was drizzling and then suddenly it started snowing too. I cried my heart out thanking god for bringing me back alive! Later I figured that it was a foolish thing to hike in the canyon all alone. If any mishap took place, no one will ever know that you were even there!!!

Turning point

Dancing Bharatanatyam for over 34 years, 21 years as a professional, I led a very active, athletic life. Ill with Chikkunguniya in late 2006, a potentially dehabilitating joint infection (like severe arthritis), I was down - both physically and mentally. The disease put my life completely off track. I could not even get up from the bed on my own; brushing my teeth, carrying a milk packet or walking up a staircase was infinitely challenging. Dancing or trekking was a definite pipe-dream. After almost 9 months, I beat this disease through Yoga.

I began to walk and slowly, started jogging, but not dance. But I could not dance. Rather I didn’t want to dance due to various reasons. There was so much of attachment to it that I hated it - as not dancing in these past months had put me into so much of pain. I neither wanted to see any program nor meet any one related to that field nor take any classes. In one way, it was good. I got to spend a lot of time with my family. But it was quite childish though when I look back into that. Well. Each one of us learn our lesson on our own pace I guess. When we are going through the pain, it seems very difficult but later after some time, when you look back; it is all for good I feel. . Once I was physically better, I went for a trek with my brother’s family to Coorg. And in May 2007, several of us with the help of Chandrasang Foundation planned a trek in the Himalayas - from Gangotri to Baby Shivling via Tapovan and back.

8 days in the serene Himalayas - the ‘heaven on earth’ : The deeper you trek inside the Himalayas, she reveals more of her beauty to you. Layers and layers of mountains sketched and colored by the Supreme keeps opening in front of our eyes. At Tapovan, when I saw the gorgeous Bhagirathi peaks on one side, majestic Shivling Peak on the other side and the crystal clear stream flowing in between, in the presence of the power of nature, I felt the power of the Almighty. I used to feel the presence of that power when I danced and had missed it since.The Himalayas gave me so much of joy that dance seemed inconsequential in comparison. It slowly brought detachment to dance. For the first time, I could imagine a life – happy & constructive, even without dancing.

After this trek, back in Chennai, I googled one day and came to know about CTC-Chennai trekkers club!, that’s it!. My happiness knew no bounds. I registered myself into that and my first one day trek through CTC was to Tada on 28th Aug 2008, with my husband. Hmm. My hubby Ramprasadh, a Carnatic vocalist by profession is exactly opposite in nature. Warm heart by nature, He is tall. I am short. He is calm. I am short tempered. Rather drives me madJ. He loves indoors and I am outdoor person. He loves resorts and relaxes. I love trekking and sweating. That’s how God makes pairs I guess. Make pairs who are totally different and have fun at our cost!. lolJ..But we do have few common things like music, movie and travel that we enjoy together. It is only after marriage, Ram got exposure to nature and other adventure related activities. What I appreciate is, he never says no to what ever I would like to do and when ever he can, he would like to be a part of adventure activities and tries his best to do well...I just love him for that!

I enjoyed every moment of my treks in deep jungles, in unknown trails, steep, rocky, slippery trails....diving into deep crystal clear pools from different heights, swimming across pools ferrying loads,. It was fun... Well… In the over 15 treks in the last sixteen months, I have discovered, Nature is amazing. Nature is God.

Treks put life back into my life. Friendship and self - lost in deep jungles, sleeping under the open sky, I began rediscovering who I am and what I want.

I started attending The Bhagavad Gita classes. It was such an eye opener! Gita belongs to all. It doesn’t belong only to Hindu or preach only for Hindus. Gita is way of life. It can be adopted by any one in the world who wants to understand life. I always used to think all these philosophy stuffs has to be read by people after their retirement lolJ But after attending these classes, I realized how foolish i was for not having learnt in my younger days. I strongly feel all schools should make it compulsory for all the kids to know Gita so that they would be well prepared to face the challenges of life in a more matured manner. So, trekking and Gita has been the most influencing factors in my life I would say.. My favorite quote from Gita – Chapter 2 ……

Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah kamat krodho 'bhijayate

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

Krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso buddhi-nasat pranasyati

From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool................................

This is what exactly happened between Dance and myself !. Now, I hope I don't get attached to treks any more..:) Easy to read..But very difficult to follow.Isn’t it ?!
Well,,, In May 2009 after completing a family trek in Gharwal Himalayas towards Bandhar poonch range with Chandra didi, winner of the Padmashree, Arjuna and National Adventure awards, I applied for the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) course. I then jumped headlong into the rigorous training program there.

Thus, at the age of forty, I began pursuing my dream of becoming a mountaineer – a journey whose first steps began with rediscovering an enthusiasm for life via treks.

Now, After this four years of silence, trekking has inspired me to come back to Dancing once again!!. I hope trekking and dancing would be my heart and soul. I am still discovering myself. Probably, I have now started Dancing to the mountains!