Sunrise at Mundajje

I had tough time porting 8 sleeping bags and 2 tents plus my backpack from my office to the Majestic bus terminal. Thanks Srushti and KD for offloading a few. The Rajahamsa left on time without Cuba and Hemanth, who boarded it running haphazardly at the exit of the terminal.

We filled up the last 1/4th of the bus. As usual soft targets were in the firing range with KD, Hemanth, Cuba and myself taking turns at the trigger. Benjamin was busy watching some soap in his ipod. We had to bring down the noise levels whn rest of the passengers looked annoyed. After a small tea break at kamat’s in Hassan, the bus took us to Ujire nonstop. At the end of the journey, I along with Cuba was sitting on the engine bonnet and bus driver was very enthusiastic in informing us about the places nearby and how adventurous he was during his childhood. The bus dropped us at Ujire by 6:30AM.

Narayan gowda's house

Narayan gowda(NG) was standing outside his old fashioned antique looking yet majestic house( reminded me of my Granny’s house). He asked us to get refreshened and leav asap and the guide(not one, but 2! – He had called another fellow as backup!) was already waiting for us. NG’s wife came out with their grand daughter Tanvi and girls set busy playing with the baby. NG went on to explain that he is a member of zilla panchayat and has plans to come up with a trek guide with trails in the surrounding areas to promote adventure. We appreciated his effort and bid goodbye and started our trek on a trail that begins right beside his house.

Stream no less than a waterfall

Grasslands - Finally, the No leach zone

Arbi(Bandajje) falls - front view

Benjamin , Sangram and Poonam had gone well ahead of us and we started very late after lunch.The uphill trek continues even in the grasslands and one can see the head of the Bandajje waterfall after about an hour of trek. We found some shade under a tree and rested for an hour or so( No water). The discussions and topics in that one hour was one of the most fun filled times in my trek life!!(@Srushti, Bindu, KD, Saritha, Cuba and Hemanth: I’m too much tempted to write! but, i’ll hold on ) Its only when someone stopped laughing – after a good one hour or so, that we realized we are far behind an d the guide was waiting for us a KM away under the hot Sun.

Bandajje falls - Breadthtaking top view!

Razor edge!

Sunset as seen from Bandajje waterfall

Mesmerizing!

Bonfire!

Chanda maama

Green carpet welcome

Ballarayana Durga

Come Sunday morning, we could not afford to be lazy. We had to leave early and it is not so easy to pull people out of water when they are in playing mood. We had to smother a few, threaten the rest before everybody were set to start. The trek continued in the grassland. It was very sunny and we could spot Elephant dung everywhere. After crosing a few hills, we could see the Ballarayan durga fort a sweet 3 hills further. I paced up along with Benjamin, Bindu and Srushti while the rest were far far behind. On reaching the base of the hill on which the fort stood, we could see a gunman and another fellow. They had disappeared when we reached the fort though. (There was another group who had come from sunkasaale just to visit the fort – They had a gunman too! )

Watch tower

Little wall of ballarayana durga

The fort is a ruin. There is nothing inside apart from a compound. It looks like a small wall of china . There is a watch tower which gives 360 degree view of the surroundings. The place offers breathtaking view of western ghats and the green carpeted mountains are just mind boggling!

The GANG

Temple at the base of the hill

We had our bus booked at 9:30 from Horanadu. Since we had wnough time, we booked 2 rooms to freshen up and visited the famous Annapoorneshwari Temple. We had the prasadam dinner at the temple hall and boarded the bus on time. (Just on time, as 4 poeple went missing and the rest had tough time finding them!)

The bus dropped us in Bangalore Majestic bus terminal by 6:30 and we all parted promising to meetup on a dinner someday the same week. And, we DID. Had a rocking time, AGAIN!

Summary:

* There are two possible routes: Mudajje – Bandajje falls – Ballarayandurga fort – Sunkasaale in that order OR in reverse order. I do not suggest reverse order as it takes out the fun and beauty of the route.

*Take a bus from bangalore to Ujire (All Kundapur bound buses ply this route)

*Jeeps are available from Ujire to Narayangowda’s house. Call him up well in advance and know the weather conditions, rainfall and guide availability.

*For the return journey, book Horanadu – bangalore 9:30 PM bus. One can reach Horanadu comfortably from Sunkasaale. About 32kms. KSRTC buses ply this route from 4:30PM to 5:30PM (around 3 buses)

*camp just beside the Bandajje falls. There is a small campsite where one can pitch 3 tents.

*On the 2nd day, Leave the campsite as early as possible. One can enjoy the mist filled meadows on the way to fort. It gets really hot later.

*Carry fire crackers (Helps scare elephants away)

*carry enough water. Only water resource – Bandajje waterfalls.

My brother took this pic somewhere near Jayanagar 4th block. Wonder what all people SELL!!

So next time, if you want any one of these, you know where to go!

Do you have a pic that make people laugh? share it with me!

Click here for Previous day

It was silent. I could hear birds chirping. No fan and no alarm but still I woke up at 6. It was cold. I recollect today’s task ahead: Didna=>Tolpani=> Khopal top => Ali bugiyal => Bedni bugiyal, a 12km route.

Tolpani

Residents of Tolpani

I come out of the tent and go straight to the bonfire which was still hot. I sit there for a while before getting back to tent and packing my bag. Soon after that, we had a quick breakfast(bread-jam / omlet) and Rajesh promised that Alu paratha will be waiting at Ali bugiyal for us. Our plan was to reach Ali Bugiyal by 11AM and rest there for half an hour before proceeding to Bedini. 2 batches left ahead of us. Our Bangalore gang was a bit late to start and confident that we’ll catch up, we started climbing slowly. Soon after crossing a stream behind Didna, starts a rather easy forest walk for about an hour or so until we reach Tolpani. Tolpani is small 4-5 house village,2 kms from Didna. Raghu wasn’t feeling all that well and was walking on paracetamol. He was very paranoid of being hit by AMS. We stopped at the water source of the village and waited for rest of the team. The green fields were shining bright with the morning Sun. The villagers were reluctant to pose for the camera and seemed busy with their daily work.

Team at Khopal top

Then starts almost vertical but zig-zag climb that passes through the thick jungle. I was happy to run overtaking the rest of the people and joined Narayan ji who was leading the team. We stopped at Khopal top (people also call it Tol top) for about half an hour, before most of the team joined us. One can see the majestic Choukamba(7838mts) from a point at Kopal top. I was hungry and there was just one thing ringing in my mind, to run to Ali Bugiyal as soon as possible and eat Alu Paratha! After pestering our guide for a while, he dropped the idea of waiting for the entire team to arrive and left with us telling the rest that there is a definite trail to follow.

Entry to the world of Lawn!

The begining of bugiyals

Clouds- the artist. I just missed the India map formation!

Enterance of the wonderland

Alu paratha at the most beautiful resturant!

It was half an hour climb form Khopal top, I was taken by surprise when all of a sudden a different world opened up. It was no more jungle, no more brown. It was green lawn spread over kilometers of soft humped mountains decorated with yellow flowers. There were beautiful trees rooted to please even the daemon to get his girlfriend to play hide and seek:-). There were clouds hovering right through the place in all directions creating mystic figures. It was cold as I walked through the mist and then there was Sun to pinch and tell boy, you are not dreaming. From there I could see the entire first day’s route. I could see Lohajang, Wan and Kulling. Ten minutes – All over.(only Me, Ambreesh, Kunal, Neelima and few were lucky)By the time rest of the team arrived, there was a complete cloud cover. All the views were gone. Now, i realized something – damn, i’m hungry. I want Alu paratha! I started running shouting to Narayanji  “I want to reach Alu bugiyal! ” I was so occupied that I had renamed Ali bugiyal!.  On the way I saw a few langoors in the forest to my right. The meadows looked never ending until I saw Gopal waving at us. I ran with KunalAmbreesh, straight to him telling “I want 10 paratahs fast!” He said calmly “sab ke liye sirf ek ek milega, baaki Bedni mein milega”. I felt bad but said to myself ‘Paalige bandid Panchaamrutha’ and ate that Paratha in one go.

Flattered with the actual or reflection?!

Then I saw around. There was a small pond (kund). It had a name but I don’t remember. It was green all over me and it looked like an expensive, well maintained lawn. There was Nanda gunti peeping with all its grandeur(as usual). I went to the other side of the pond where I could see Nanda gunti’s reflection in it. It just gave me 2 minutes to click a pic before the clouds covered the complete area.

Roll on!

Auli bugiyal (Photo courtesy : Deepak)

The sword of Zorro! with the temple in middle (Photo courtesy: Deepak)

Bugiyal temple!

Bugiyal vultures

By that time most of the team had arrived. A few of us decided to continue and not wait for the rest of the team.  The next 1 hour was memorable walking in the lush green and cold meadows. I had seen a minor version of it near Kemmanugundi(karnataka) but this was tens of kilometers of green carpet. Branded as one of the most beautiful meadows in Asia, it can defeat any other competitor hands down. We reached a small temple which was in the middle of nowhere( It appeared to separate the bugiyals – Ali and Bedini). There we saw the famous “Bedini vultures”. Previously Rajesh had told us about these creatures. These are huge scavengers whose wingspan are in the range of 1-2 meters! They don’t usually trouble anyone, Narayanji say. From the temple, its 15 minutes climb and then easy walk for about an hour to reach Bedini. On the way we met two Isreli travellers who had come to just visit these bugiyals(Not Roopkund!) and they were praising its beauty. As soon we could see the campsite, I ran to it and booked the best placed tent and ran straight to Kitchen tent asking “where is the paratha? ” to which Gopal said “khaana abhi bhi ban raha hai, soup ready hai” to which I say “Anything, just give”. Then? I sit watching the vultures fly and have 5/6/7(I don’t remember) glasses of soup by the time rest of the team arrives.

Campsite at Bedini

Bedini kund - Awesome reflection

How beautiful can it get? Bedini

Then it started raining heavily and I wait inside the tent waiting for food. It got real cold and I slept off. It rained for about an hour and once it stopped I came out for lunch. The area was completely cloud covered and when it opened up in the evening, we saw partailly cloud covered Trishul(7120mts) to the south of Bedini, beside Nandagunti. I walked up to the Bedini kund with Deepak, Poonam and Neelima to get the reflection shots of the mighty mountain in the kund. Deepak was so pleased with the view that he summoned for Smita. The Trishul was very stubborn to open up completely. But we still got amazing views. As it got dark, it got colder and colder and there was no firewood available for bonfire (its a grassland). So Ravi, Ambreesh, kunal and me settle down in the tent playing cards(for a long time) until we were called for dinner. Soon after dinner I slid to sleep in my tent shared with Deepak and Rajesh.

Sunset at bedini. Nandagunti and Trishul, say Hi

I saw how beautiful the view of Nanda gunti and Trishul was, still unaware of the hidden beauty to the west of Bedini, covered with the clouds the whole time. It was just waiting for me to open the zipper of my tent the next morning! Come back and check my next post

October

October 1

•         Get Organized Week, October 5 – week.

•         World Vegetarian Day

For those new to vegetarianism, it serves as an enticement to give meatless fare a try (even for a day) and learn about its many benefits. And, of course, it’s the perfect occasion for vegetarians and those already moving towards plant-based diets to celebrate their healthy, compassionate food choices.

•         World Habitat Day (First monday of october)

October 2

•         National Frugal Fun Day(First sat of october)

Frugal Fun Day is a day to enjoy fun activities that are free (or very inexpensive). If you use your imagination, the ideas are endless. Go on a bike or walking hike. The Fall leaves are on display. Have a picnic in the park, or your back yard. Invite some friends or neighbors over for a garage party and dance. Go fly a kite. Pull out the those old board games or puzzles that you have stored in the basement.

•        Name your car day

Does your car have a name? Lots of people name their cars. Every car has character and personality. We spend a lot of time in our cars, and caring for them. So, its only fitting that each car gets its own name.

Selecting a name should be made with care and consideration. Give your car a name that properly reflects its character. What you name you car should be a proper reflection of its character and performance, and your desires for your car. In general, guys names are for guys’ cars, and girl names are for the cars that you ladies drive. Aside from that, selection of a name is wide open. But, be careful….cars have feelings, too.

Here are some of our thoughts in selecting an appropriate name for your car:

Don’t select wimpy names. That might give your car a personality complex and it will perform accordingly.
Do give a strong, aggressive name to sports cars and cars with powerful engines.
Sleek, sexy feline-like cars savor names that begin with “lady”.
Old junkers are proud just to be around. You can call them just about anything. Try “Tramp”, or “Old Yeller”, “Old Blue”.
Pick names to reflect your personality.
“Pickemup” trucks must have country names.
Don’t give common names (like Joe, Mike or Sue)  to luxury cars. They beam over names like Reginald, Archibald, and Crystal.

October 4

•         Visit Your Cousin in Prison Day

Who comes up with these holidays, anyway? If you do go to visit an incarcerated family member, don’t forget to take the ubiquitous prison gift of a cake with a file baked into it. The old English proverb “Blood is thicker than water” rings true on this day

October 5

•         Fire Prevention Week

•         National Apple Betty Day

An apple brown betty is a traditional American dessert made of apples baked between layers of sweetened bread crumbs.

The recipe dates back to Colonial times. In fact, it first appeared in print in 1864 in an article in the Yale Literary Magazine. It was a very popular dish back then because it was quick and easy to make and could even be made on the trail while people were traveling in their covered wagons.
Though nobody knows who Betty really is, her apple brown betty desserts have been a longtime favorite dessert. In honor of National Apple Betty Day, try making your own topped with lemon sauce, ice cream, or whip cream. Yum!

•         Long Walk Day

October 6

•         National Storytelling Festival

•         World smile day

Today, give everyone you meet a big smile! Harvey Ball, who created the smiley face back in 1963, also had the idea for World Smile Day. Mr. Ball was concerned that his smiley face had become too commercialized, and decided everyone should set aside one day each year to spread smiles and random acts of kindness all over the world.

October 7

•         Bathtub Day

Celebrating introduction of bathtub in England in 1828.

October 10

•         Tube top day

commemorating the first appearance of the tube top, a wardrobe staple of the true fashionista. Celebrate by going out and buying one in every color!

October 11

•         Meet a friend for lunch day

Take time out of your busy work day to schmooze with your best friend!

October 10

•         Tuxedo day

Celebrating the American debut of the tuxedo circa 1886 in New York City.

October 11

•         National Sausage Pizza Day

•         You go, Gril day

A day for celebrating courageous women who go out into the world and accomplish their goals by never giving up.

October 12

•         Farmer’s Day

•         World egg day

Celebrating the egg. Yes, the humble egg, staple food of the masses. I wonder how the chickens of the world feel about this day?

October 13

•         Canadian Thanksgiving Day

October 15

•         National Grouch Day

Celebrate your favorite grouch on this day! Buy him or her a small gift, and maybe they’ll know longer be grouchy when they realize someone cares.

October 16

•         Dictionary Day

•         World Food Day

First celebrated world wide in 1945, this day fosters awareness and understanding of world hunger. Forget your diet today – instead, be thankful you have food!

October 17

•         Black Poetry Day

The time to celebrate past and present authors like Langston Hughes, Phillis Wheatley and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Spend this day appreciating African-American authors and spreading the word of Black poets through your friends, family members and throughout the world.

The birth of Black Poetry Day came as an anniversary of the first published African-American poet, Jupiter Hammon, who was born into slavery in 1711 on Long Island.

With the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Black Poetry has strived to become what it is today.

Famous black poets include
Maya Angelou
Sterling A. Brown
Lucille Clifton
Toi Derricotte
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Jessie Redmon Fauset
Angelina W. Grimke
Jupiter Hammon
Langston Hughes
Claude McKay
Anne Spencer
Ntozake Shange
Natasha Trethewey
Margaret Walker
Phillis Wheatley (one of the first female black poets)

October 18

•         Long Distance Day

a holiday to commemorate the first long-distance phone line that was established between New York City and Chicago in 1892. This would be a good day to reach out across the miles and call friends and family.

October 19

•         Dress Like a Total Dork Day

October 20

•         Shampoo Day

October 22

•         Used Car Day

The first used car dealership was opened in 1897 in London, England. This day has been set aside to recognize the beginning of what is now a time-honored way of buying a vehicle.

October 23

•         Canning Day

•         Mole Day

•         Do it yourself day

Be motivated to choose a challenge, them go out and succeed as Blanche Scott did in 1910 when she was the first woman to make a solo airplane flight.

October 24

•         Match day

Today’s holiday commemorates the day in 1836 when Alonzo Philips of Springfield, MA, first patented the invention of the household match

October 25

•         National Greasy Foods Day

October 27

•         National Potato Day

•         Make a Difference Day

•         Boxer shorts day

These comfy underpants first appeared in 1901. Celebrate the day by donning a pair and relaxing!

October 28

•         Fall Back Day

October 29

•         Oatmeal Day

October 30

•         National Candy Corn Day

•         Buy-A-Doughnut Day

October 31

•         Halloween/Harvest,

•         Magic Day

This day honors the memory of the great magician, Harry Houdini, who died on this date in 1926.

ENJOY THE MONTH!!

(contd.. from previous post) —–dary!!
I wake up, feel that my bed is not so comfortable only to realize that i’m in a sleeping bag 7000ft above my real bed.

Nandagunti as seen from Lohajang campsite

Sunrise at Lohajang

I come out of it, open the tent zipper and I was pleased to see the majestic Nanda gunti(6309 mts) wishing Good morning peeping out of the mammoth range in front of it. Wasting no time we clicked a few pics of the sunrise and got ready to start our 5 day journey to Roopkund. We had a briefing and introduced ourselves to another group of people who were to accompany us during the trek. Most of them were in their forties and early fifties. They had done their Kailash Maanas sarovar yaatra in 2008 and this time they had decided to complete this trek. I was impressed with the Sunrise and did not miss to capture a few snaps. After a quick breakfast (Chapati and Bhendi, If I remember it right) we split up in three groups and start our trek. I went with the group which left first( well ofcourse I was eager to see things before rest of the folks could see them!) with Gopal (a silent and ever smiling chap) as our guide.

• Route: Loha jang to Didna
• Distance: Approx 12kms
• Terrain: First half distance downhill, easy walk crossing numerous streams , fields and waterfalls
  Second half is a very steep uphill to Didna
• Time taken:Around 5 hours

Classic setting

Colorful fields

Raan bagad falls

Crossover - Neelganga (Photo courtesy: Poonam)

The downhill was a very easy walk. While crossing one of the streams my sunglasses fell in to it and broke which left me thinking of what to do for the final day’s climb to Roopkund (Where sunglasses is a must). Gopal went down to the stream to retrieve my by then Pirate’s Goggles!. We found large bushes of cannabis plants (Bhaang!) all through the route. The next hour or so trek took us through colorful fields, numerous streams, beautiful waterfalls, “Lord of the Rings” styled green bridges with wet algae and stair-cased waterfalls flowing underneath, open hilltop carpetted with green lawn and a mammoth Iron/steel made bridge that help cross the river Neel Ganga which flows underneath it after falling as a kilometer sized waterfall named “Raan bagad”.

Life in hills. Not so easy

After crossing the bridge, its a steep never ending uphill climb to Didna. This is physically one of the most challenging stretches in this route. We met an 85 year old woman carrying a huge load of dry grass to feed her cattle. She was kind of half hearted to pose for a snap. She continuously blabbered something in Gharwali language and all I could make out was “what would she gain by posing for us? !”. I felt so true. But, tipping them would give them a wrong signal and I dint want to start a culture where villagers start posing to visitors for money. Further up, I met Ram and Savitha, both 5-8 year old kids who were going down with a cattle heard. I was amazed with their demeanor when they politely said “Namaste” with a gesture and smile. I asked them if they study. Savitha said something in Gharwali which I understood to be “yes”. I smiled back at them and offered them chocolates which they happily took and ran down with their cattle.

I tried counting stones. 1 2 3 4 .....

Campsite: Didna

I was way ahead of the team along with Narayanji – our guide, Jagadish, Bhanu and Zimit. We reached Didna, a small yet beautiful village located at 8000ft above sea level. The village is quite big with colorful fields, cattle huts and stone houses. Narayanji seemed to know everyone there. All people seemed to be friendly souls who smile at anybody they see. Our campsite was on a flat land right behind the village. I ran to the campsite where porters were pitching tents and cooking food. We pitched our tent in the most comfortable location and dumped bags inside and settled down waiting for others.

Enlightened! - A view from Didna campsite(Photo courtesy: Neelima)

This is the last place where we get cellphone network (Airtel/Vodaphone/BSNL). After informing the family about our whereabouts, we had lunch. The rest of the evening was eventful. We played cards(bluff) for a good long time. Then started Dumb charades in torch light. Then it got cold, dark and under clear sky we lit up campfire to play Antakshari. Narayanji with local folks started the play with a folklore ghrawali song and a million hindi songs followed thanks to Poonam and Ravi’s gigabyte sized song databases in their brain. Among the songs “yahi hai, yahi hai rang roop….” will continue to be in our memory for a long long time (well, for its never ending yahi hai! ).

The session ended with the Om mangalam bajan(Thanks to the Manas sarovar team) After the dinner everybody settled in their tents but for a few of us who stood in the dark chilling cold discussing “offline” topics of that day’s trek till 10PM! (here people retire to bed at around 8PM).

It was near Full moon and Roopkund was still on top of our dreams on that glowing night.

Click here for Next day’s post: Rendezvous with dreamland bugiyals

The failure of the Vasukital trek was still at the back of my mind. The himalayan addiction has no cure and my footloose attitude made me decide to do another trek in the month of holidays – Sep/oct 09. I had decided to go with a group I met in a forum but one of my friends cancelled out. With a month to go and tickets booked, there was no turning back. I had to go. I heard of IndiaHikes helping arranging it and pinged Poonam and within a matter of days we were a big gang ready to do the Roopkund trek.

I wasn’t much into the preparation for this trek as I had most of the things required but it was not the case with the rest of the group. They had looted the famous decathlon store of all its trek gears and had began a huge mail thread for discussion about it. The thread which included all kinds of nagging, checklist and even java code and scripts to make a few people happy!! All flights,trains and jeeps were booked. I had to make a few cancellations and postpone a flight to adjust to the new date of travel but was happy to be accompanied by known people for this trek which had a 50% failure rate.

I am too lazy to blog. I haven’t yet made my mind to blog about my Tapovan-Nandanvan-Vasukital trek and since I have started this, I have decided to keep it short instead of writing a novel.

The day had arrived and I had an AI flight early in the morning which reached the IGI Delhi 2 hours ahead of rest of the gang. I waited or them, reading a novel until Poonam called me telling their flight has reached IGI. In no time I met the rest of the group and was happy to know that Bhanu has got the Spare battery and charger for my camera from the US. The Raniketh express to Kathgodam was scheduled at 10.20PM and hence we departed promising to meet in the railway station.

Everybody boarded the train at old Delhi Railway station in time except for Poonam and me and we boarded it at Ghaziabad. We had seats(and a few tatkal) booked in different bogies and without much hazzle everybody slid to sleep except for our compartment where 6 of us were together busy pulling each other’s legs.

The next morning the train reached Kathgodam in time(5:30 AM) but the cabs had not yet arrived. We all introduced ourselves. Though I knew half the batch, knew the rest only on the forum. After 1-2-3 rounds of chai the cab finally came and we left the station in no time. Our driver proved to be a Shaumaker and we had a good lead from rest of the cabs. We stopped at Bhimtal to take a few photos and learned that it has a branch of Indian Fish Research Council located there.

Bhimtal

We climbed on to their floating deck and the guard explained us how they cultivate and study endangered fish there. By that time the other two cabs came and we were forced out of the deck. We stopped at a roadside dhaba for breakfast and hogged all kinds of paratas royally. I still remember the taste of pakodas and onion chilly paratha with cucumber raita. We left our so called co-ordinator Ravi to settle the bill and ran from that place in our cab to get a good lead.

River kosi - The playground

Indo-Chini bhai bhai

After about an hour or two we realised the other two cabs are far behind us and hence we stopped at a beautiful place on the banks of the river Kosi where we got down for a photo shoot and played in the water for a while. With still no signs of the other cars we decided to wait for them at Kasauni where we stopped for lunch. Mahatma Gandhi had called this place as “Switzerland of India” as it provides a 360 degree panoramic view of Majestic himalayan peaks.I found a few funny menu cards at this famous place.

After lunch at Kasouni, we visited the famous Baijnath Temple located 19kms off Kasouni. The shiv temple town was the capital of the Katyuri dynasty who ruled Uttaranchal during 12-13th century.  We visited the temple at sunset time and the environment was very pleasant. The Gomti river flows right next to the temple and one can feed fishes here.

Baijnath Temple

An Evening at Baijnath

History:
Baijnath was once known as Kartikyapura. One of the most important places to visit in Baijnath is the historically and religiously significant Baijnath Temple constructed in the twelfth century. The temple holds significance because, according to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and Parvati were married at the confluence of River Gomati and Garur Ganga. Dedicated to SivaVaidyanatha, the Lord of Physicians, the Baijnath temple is actually a temples’ complex built by the Katyuri kings with the idols of Shiva, Ganesh, Parvati, Chandika, Kuber, Surya and Brahma. Also the town of Baijnath draws its name from the temple. Situated on the left bank of the Gomti River at an elevation of 1126 mts, the temples are constructed in stone. The main temple that houses a beautiful idol of Parvati is chiseled in black stone. The temple is approached from the riverside by a flight of steps made of stones constructed by the orders of a Katyuri queen. On the way to the main temple, just below the house of the Mahanta, is the temple of Bamani. Legend goes that the temple was built by a Brahmin woman and dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Camp at Patwal guest house - Lohajang

We passed through Gwaldham and Deval to reach Loharjung. On the way we had very good view of Mt.Trishul. With the sun setting the whole mountain was gold lit. We reached Loharjung Patwal guest house by 9PM where Arjun received us. We had quick dinner and slid into our sleeping bags inside the tents at the campsite there.

The rest of the amazing days will continue in upcoming posts. Its gonna be Legend… wait for it!

Click here for next day’s post: Lohajang to Didna

SEPTEMBER 3
Sky scrapper day

SEPTEMBER 4
Newspaper carrier day:
Newspaper Carrier Day is celebrated in the United States and honors Barney Flaherty, the first newspaper carrier (or paperboy) hired in 1833, as well as all current newspaper carriers.

SEPTEMBER 5
Be Late for something day:
Be Late For Something Day is a great day to be a procrastinator. If you are among the millions of us who never seem to be able to stay on schedule, then you will certainly enjoy today.

SEPTEMBER 6
Read a book day:
Take time out of your busy life, and relax with a good book. Cozy up on a chair, indoors or out. It doesn’t matter where you read that book, as long as you can do so in a comfortable manner.

SEPTEMBER 8
International Literacy day:
September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world.

SEPTEMBER 9
Teddy bear day
I don’t know why it is called by this name. But just another day for kids to celebrate!

SEPTEMBER 10
Swap Ideas day:

SEPTEMBER 11
Hot Cross Buns day(US):
So closely are Hot Cross Buns associated with Easter, and in particular, Good Friday, that on first blush you’re quite tempted to think, good grief, why would you want Hot Cross Buns in September?

It appears, though, that some people so love them that they squeal with delight at learning they can have them again, only a short 5 months or so after Easter, when normally you have to wait a whole year to have them again.

Now, you can usually find some grocery store bakery somewhere that sells them just about year round,

Even if you can’t find them in your area today, you can learn all about their history, find out some of the myths around them — and how much of that is true.

patriot day:
In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the September 11, 2001, attacks. Most Americans refer to the day as “Nine-Eleven (9/11),” “September 11th,” or some variation thereof.

SEPTEMBER 13
Helicopter day
National Grandparents day(US):
National Grandparents Day is a secular holiday celebrated in the US and Canada on the first Sunday after Labor day. There is even an official song (A Song For Grandma And Grandpa” by Johnny Prill) and an official flower (Forget me not flower).

SEPTEMBER 14
National Cream filling Doughnut day:
sugary, sweet day. Dontcha just love special days like today!? Sure, you were watching your weight. Then, along comes a special day that is just packed with calorie and carbs. And, that special day encourages you to eat one of your favorite breakfast treats…. cream filled donuts.

SEPTEMBER 16
Collect Rocks day
day to enjoy and add to your rock collection. Ahh, to be a kid again, and have a rock collection. Well, we have good news for you. No one ever said you had to give up your rock collection when you became an adult. We hope you always keep and cherish your invaluable rock collection.

SEPTEMBER 17
National Apple dumpling day(US):
It’s National Apple Dumpling Day. This site has a recipe for what they call “the world’s best apple dumplings.” Here’s another recipe from mealsmatter.org, and here’s one from southernfood.about.com.

SEPTEMBER 19
National butterscotch pudding day(US)
Talk like a pirate day:
parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon[1], who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate. For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with “Hello,” but with “Ahoy, me hearty!”

SEPTEMBER 20
National student day(US)
National punch day:
The idea of punch was brought from India to England by sailors and employees of the British East India Company in the early 1600s. In fact the word “punch” actually comes from the Hindi word “panch,” which is a drink made from spirit, sugar, lemon, water and tea. From there it was introduced to other countries and today we have hundreds of punch recipes from which to choose.

SEPTEMBER 21
World gratitude day
The United Nations Meditation Group created World Gratitude Day to express appreciation for the great things that individuals and groups do. This recognition is on a global basis. According to their website: “World Gratitude Day presents an award to someone who we feel has done something outstanding in the spirit of Globalism.”

SEPTEMBER 22
ice cream cone birthday
Elephant appreciation day:
September 22 was declared Elephant Appreciation Day in 1996 by Mission Media, a graphics and publishing firm who got the day included in “Chase’s Calendar of Events.” Why bother celebrating elephants? Mission Media says elephants deserve a day of their own because they are the largest land mammal of our era and are undeservedly threatened with extinction.

SEPTEMBER 27
Ancestor Appreciation day
World Heart day

SEPTEMBER 28
National strawberry cream pie day(US)
Ask a stupid question day:
Ask a Stupid Question Day is a holiday that is sometimes celebrated in the United States, usually by school students and teachers. Although Ask a Stupid Question Day takes place on September 28, it is usually observed on the last school day of September.

My Toastmasters Project #2. Here it goes

(I don’t remember the speech word by word but it was something like this)

TOPIC – ARE WE ALONE?

How many of you have seen movies like Aliens, Species, Mars attacks, Independence day, Star wars, Men in Black, Predator, Transformers, koi milgaya? What is common among all these movies?

Yes, ALIENS!

Dear toastmasters, Mr.Toastmaster and guests. I have a question to ask you.

Are we alone? Are we alone in this 15 Billion year old super big ever expanding universe?

We desperately want the answer to be NO. Humans are social animals. Being the only life bearing planet of the universe would make us unique, but the fact is, it is boring. The movies I mentioned and numerous other movies have brought out the imagination in humans about the concept of existence of fellow beings somewhere. These movies have introduced the ideas and images of what aliens might look and act like.

When ever we think of aliens, we picture the face from one of these movies, but do they really exist?! what do they look like? To figure that out  various scientific organizations like NASA , Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence have invested billions of dollars building telescopes, space crafts, radio frequency emitters and observers to detect some clue about the existence of extraterrestrials.

Hundreds of greatest minds in the past believed in the existence. We all know about the theories and conspiracies surrounding this topic.

One of them is the famous Unidentified flying objects. Who hasn’t dreamt of  a fantasy joyride across universe sitting in a fancy flying saucer? Tens of UFO sightings have been documented across the world. In the year 1940, a huge UFO was spotted at Los Angeles and thousands of rounds of artillery was fired by US airforce. People even believe that the United states has already established contact with the Aliens who had come in those UFOs and covering it.

Another famous theory to support the existence is the Bermuda triangle. Hundreds of vessels, aircrafts have disappeared in mysterious circumstances which fall beyond the boundaries of human error, equipment failures and natural disasters .Popular belief is that this place is kind of a testing lab for the extraterrestrials who are studying the Earth! If you happened to pass through the Bermuda triangle, don’t be surprised if you wake up and find yourself operated by weird creatures!

Some scientific religions think that God was an alien and Earth is his galactic nursery and no contact will be established until we have reached an adequate stage in our development!

These theories have evolved because we want to believe that there is someone in the universe to give us company. Even if there is no one out there, this false impression and hope will help us investigate and explore the depth of universe and provide us better understanding of it. But if they exist, it would open up numerous questions and possibilities. Are they the only other life form outside the earth? How do they look? How primitive or advanced is their technology? do they have space ships? Is it possible for us to co-exist with them? can we make this universe a better place joining our forces? Or are they, like in the Independence day, the “Destroyers”? Do we have to engage ourselves in a war with them?

How far are we in this search? Our eyes in space Hubble, Chandra and others have explored so much that nobody now expects ‘advanced life’ on any of the planets or moons in our Solar System. But our Sun is just one star among billions. And in the vastness of space far beyond our own Solar System we can rule out nothing. But until we find them, one question will continue to haunt us; ARE WE ALONE?