Falling in Love with Jaonli

Couple of years ago, I spent most of the time in my map reading classes taking forward and backward bearing of Jaonli, never imagined that I would be climbing it some day.

Unclimbed for the last 25 years was reason enough to change Bhagirathi expedition to Jaonli expedition!! Being part of the 1^st Indian women team to summit Jaonli in the same year that marks the 25^th anniversary of the 1^st Indian women summit of Everest is something I will cherish for ever.

The toughest trek to the Basecamp gave a trailer of the toughness of the peak. Hike-up in a dense jungle, crawling under the shrubs in heavy rainfall, traverse the hills and clinging on to everything possible with Lodhgad river gushing right below, frustrating walk on the fresh landslides with ever sliding rocks, never ending moraines, heavier rug sacks and tons of energy took us to something that looked like football field, which became our advance basecamp.

The first look at Jaonli, I made up my mind to write a book, a peak that made me braver, stronger than ever and left me craving for more. Taking pictures when almost pounded under an avalanche or when slipped in a crevasse or dozing off anchored to an ice axe at 21000 ft on the summit day, I enjoyed being on Jaonli every single minute. Each time I returned to a lower camp I only wondered if we really kicked our crampon-ed toes up those huge ice walls.

Even though I can never trade-off Annapurna for any mountain, I am sure I will die on a mountain, freeing my spirit to crawl in & out of the crevasses, shower under avalanches and slide around the glittering snow field all year long.

- Kavitha Reddy

Mt Jaonli - 6632 Mts, IMF Expedition May-June 2009

Show the FINGER!!

I voted today, for a party that can give a safe, secular, strong and stable government. For me voting is not a right, it’s a responsibility, a responsibility which entitles me to hold our politicians accountable. Even though I had to go in search of the booth due to the recent delimitation, it did not deter my determination to deliver my duty as a responsible citizen of this country.

As a kid I grew up among people who were in public life, it will not be an exaggeration if I say that, when I learnt alphabet, “B” was for ballot box. I cherish the first hand experience of campaigns, elections, vote share, voting patterns, counting and post-election evaluation. I learnt that, which booth, which panchyat, which hobli, which taluk, which assembly segment did not vote in favor of a candidate is as important as celebrating winning.

This elections is rather very important, I believe that the government that comes to power will define the road map of our country for the next 30 years. This is an opportunity of a life time, a time when India can change the course of the economic recession, a time when India can play the role of a super power and a key nation in addressing issues related to terrorism globally.

This election may even bring up the debate on the role of regional parties, small parties and independents in national politics. I tend to agree with Dr Manmohan Singh, that the independent candidates are the spoilers for consolidation of secular votes.

Logically, what can an independent MP do at a national level? They have to align with some party or the other, what would be their contribution on a national policy? How will they make an impact on economic policies, foreign policy or any other key issue that is related to the larger vision of the nation? One may be a good person and can spend his/her funds allocated on developmental work of the constituency in an appropriate way, is that all we want from an MP? What if the independent voted by us supports a party that may not be of our choice?

ay be the independents should be banned from contesting at least parliament election, yes it’s important to have good people in the government, but independents are no solution to that. May be if they join the national and regional parties they can clean up the parties in the process, rather than being spectator and giving external view.

I look at the parliament elections not just on basis of electricity, water or any local issues; I want a government that’s capable of:

- Providing inclusive economic growth

- Fighting terrorism

- Rural development & infrastructure

- Representing India’s views strongly at a global platform

- Providing quality education to every single kid

- Ensure that no one dies out of hunger

- Being responsible in reducing/slowing global warming

- Following secular views

- Giving a full-term stable government

- Putting the country first

Elections are our belief in democratic process, and that we have the ability and the choice to choose our next government. In fact, I decided not to watch IPL when the arrogant Lailt Modi made a statement that he cannot postpone IPL for election, he is indeed setting a bad example by taking the cricketers to South Africa and keeping them away from the democratic process. Well I want to tell Mr Modi that he has lost his right to ask for anything from the government of India!! Shame on such people, my house keeper took her entire family to her village for the big voting day, she knows her responsibility better than most of the so called “Urban, elite, educated class”.

I do hope that every Indian who is eligible to votes and bring a strong government at the center.

Kavitha Reddy

MiG the FIGHTER

She lives up to her name! Tearing, ripping, smashing, somersaulting, fighting and crashing everything that comes her way. After naming her MiG even Indian Air force decided to take MiG’s off the runway, such is the might of our MiG.

MiG is just 2-months old, but her deeds seem to exceed her size, she poses sitting outside the gate as a cute little thing attracting every single person in the neighborhood and sometime even doing funny acts to get attention. We have more friends in the neighborhood then before because of MiG.

With her cute looks she has already stunned Dexter, Tiger and Chinnu, all the 3-boys wait near the gate every day just to get a glimpse of her. Chinnu refuses to move till he gets to see her and is forced back home every single day. It will not be too far when she starts flirting with all the 3-boys causing dog-war, heart-breaks in the neighborhood, Dexter & Tiger for sure will be at each others neck as they are from the same home.

For the first 2-weeks she was all over the ground floor of our house happily peeing and shitting everywhere, even after her toilet training she peed at every single place as, she was too busy playing and going to the toilet for a leak was not a priority. Once she started climbing up the stairs, our heart skipped a beat, our house internal staircase is not little dog friendly, so we decided to put her in the terrace room, where it was safer and she has the terrace all for herself.

Evenings, CR and me look at each other and run upstairs to get her, and enjoy playing and seeing her do stupid things, our living room is her favorite place. She runs behind me up and down the staircase to the kitchen, looking at me in anticipation of food, if refused she gets angry barks, growls and raises hell, if still no response sits or lies flat of the floor with a sad face and she know that sells.

She totally likes her name, “MiG come here”….she runs to me as if there is no tomorrow, she loves licking my feet and biting my fingers, tried hard getting her everything that she can chew but cant replace her choice even now.

My house keeper loves to play with MiG, and demands to get her down when ever she is doing work and MiG anyways loves attention, she is all ready to jump around making faces and nibbling her feet and chasing the house keeper around.

Leaving to office is a task, she knows that she will be locked in her room and angrily sits at the door making it impossible to close the door behind. She yells, screams and kicks hell for few minutes and calms down to play with her dangler, climbing rope and a runner toy.

MiG is truly a darling; she keeps all the pressure and tension away at all time and having her around is a lot of fun.

I am looking forward for her to grow bigger, trek with me, making her a true outdoor girl.

- Kavitha Reddy

Hey Ram!!

Karnataka government response to the horrendous Mangalore incident days after the National outrage headed the recent Bramos test fire way, “just off the target”.

- It’s a shame that the CM has blamed the “Pub culture” for the incident instead of asking the police and the judicial system to imprison the so-called “Ram Sena men” for life, so that no one ever dares to try it again.

- It’s a shame that the NCW when to Mangalore and were questioning the “Pub license”, “security at the pub” and looking into visitor register rather than meeting those traumatized women, taking a first hand information and assuring them that justice will be done.

- It’s a shame that that politicians want to ban pubs to ensure security for women, what if there is a rape in a school or college will they ban education too?

On every other news channel the only thing the bloody politicians like Mr BP Sengal said was that we should ban “Pub culture”, and also went to the extent of justifying that the hooligans did harmless protest all these years and since nothing happened they did what they did.

Let’s justify our case to Mr BP Sengal, every citizen in this country have been protesting against the misdeeds of our corrupt, power hungry, useless politicians and we see nothing happening, so now lets get violent and butcher them once for all, what say?

These justifications are not only stupid but also irresponsible; there can be NO justification for violence of any kind whatever maybe the reason. The people of our country need one thing, “able to live without fear” irrespective of “WHO” we are.

The young girls were beaten, traumatized, abused and chased by 40 odd goons who claim to be the guardians of Indian culture!!

- Who are they to define Indian culture?

- Who are they to tell women (who are as equal as any man in this country) what they should do and what they should not do?

- Who gave them the approval or permission to do what they did?

- What do they know about “Indian culture” or “Hindu culture” which they seem to be representing?

Beating women is not Indian culture, Violence is not Indian culture, Taking law into your own hands is not Indian culture, Abusing unarmed people is not Indian culture, Destroying others hard earned property/assets is not Indian culture, and the hooligans violated all that is part of any “human culture”!! They do not belong to human society, if people who attacked Mumbai are terrorist then people who attacked women in the Mangalore pub are also terrorist and there is NO difference what so ever.

All these idiotic outfits with idiotic ideologies should be banned, why are they getting registered in the first place? If they think they are capable of doing anything good for the country then,

- Let them, Join the forces and fight the real enemies

- Let them, Fight against bribery, corruption, injustice

- Let them, Get the politicians to do their jobs

- Let them, Get every kid in this country to go to school

- Let them, Ensure that every village in this country gets basic facilities

- Let them, Fight to ensure that dreams of every kid in this country comes true

- Let them, Fight to ensure that no one dies out of hungry in this country

There are more than a one million things that one can fight for in this country to make it a better place. Real courage is in fighting for those one million things and not in committing crime in the name of “GOD”.

The tragedy is that, all the hooligans who were arrested after a prolonged outburst after nearly 72 hours post the incident, walked free. They walked out with no remorse what so ever celebrating their “achievement”, thumping their chests and announcing that they will do it all over again and it’s their victory.

NCW defended their inability by bringing is legalities, asking the women to come forward and register a case, completely ignoring the fact that it was all visible on camera!! And what would be the need for some one to register a case? If camera is NO evidence to the act then what is?

I feared that they will trivialize the issue, the real incident will be covered up with unwanted details and at the end of it and that’s exactly what happened. The vociferous Ms Renuka Choudary should hang herself in shame, it’s easy to talk on a TV channel and condemn the incident and also say its Talibanisation!! And finally do nothing about it.

Again relating this back to Mumbai attack we are all angry on Pakistan as they have ignored the evidence, and what have we done in case of Mangalore? If letting go the goons of Managlore incident is right then what Pakistan has done is also right.

It’s sad that we as a society glorified and have given muscle to this brutal act, forgetting that fact that we are a free country and every one in this country is equal irrespective of religion, gender, caste or creed and we the people have the right to choose our lives as permitted by the constitution of this country.

- Kavitha Reddy

Post Cards from Malaysia

“New Year at Malaysia”, I too wondered why!!! But since it was family & friends….

Genting, Kuala Lumpur (KL) & Langkwai in 7 days, was quite a tight schedule. As we arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport and left to Genting, a 2-hour drive to this mini Disney world across the main city gave a glimpse of the planning, infrastructure and maintenance one would expect in a key tourist destination of Asia. Malaysia got its independence in 1957 for the colonial rule, and makes me wonder how the country has emerged as one of the popular tourist destination globally. Thinking about it, Tourism, Oil, Rubber, Wood are most probably the largest or only contributor to Malaysia’s GDP.

Just looking around all through the way, we reached the famous cable car point, asked the cab to reach the hotel, we waited over an hour with tons of people around to take a RM 5 ride to the main city of Genting, its basically an indoor center, with all types of fun rides, crazy magic shows, artificial snow ski center, casinos, hotels, food courts and shopping centers.

It was like being in a khumb mela, with people all over and noises that reeled my head for hours, 2 days was quite a thing to tolerate. With nothing else to do all we did was some 20 rounds of window shopping, some real shopping and cribbing over smelly food courts. It would be wrong to say I hated it, but would rather say did not like it much. Some of us were already tired and exhausted, it was showing all over our faces. The 2 kids who were with us had some fun, but I guess all the 9 of us were completely pooped out. The only memorable part was the India food we got to have for dinner on both the days.

I was quite eager to leave Genting, we did so on the 31st morning, right after breakfast. KL was not new to me; even though I had not explored it much in my earlier visits it looked too familiar. We took a monorail to another shopping mall and by then I was frustrated looking at the same stuff. I generally dislike shopping and by now I hated it.

We just had enough time to get back to the hotel, take a shower and get ready for the “New Year” party, with limited choice we ended up in a 5 star hotel, where there was some ok music and a just ok crowd, I did not even realize when it all started and ended even without a drink. We were back in the hotel by 2 pm starving and tired, the hotel did not have a 24-hour room service so we ended up at “Maju Curry” a small restaurant that serves Indian food right behind our hotel. Food never tasted better than this, we ate all the food we could and cleaned it down with a nice filter coffee.

Full of 1st Jan and 1st half of 2nd Jan was all we were left with in KL and we had not visited a single place, its was a total piss off, I realized the difference between a tourist and a traveler. I am driven by curiosity and eagerness to see things, but ever ones objective was not the same, with all the resistance we started our day going to China Town, no clue why we were wasting our time there till about 12 noon. Time was running out and the tempers were running loose, with much drama and tension we hired a taxi for a day and went straight to the Batu caves, a hindu temple (lord Muruga) some 270 odd steps we are at the temple right in time for an abishikam, the caves are beautiful and quite unique in all its textures as its more of sand stone that has caved in over a long period of time.

Row of street lights with bulbs popping out of the hibiscus shaped structures looked very creative, Malaysia’s national flower is hibiscus and the way they have used them in the streetlights around the park that covers the Bird park, Orchid park and the Butterfly park was very fascinating. Our next stop was the bird park, world’s largest aviary in captive, it was superbly maintained, large species of birds, many of which I did not even know, it was an eye opener indeed, the most popular among are the peacocks that are walking all over the place with no real fear of the people walking around. The hornbills that I only saw in Dandeli forest were also there, breath taking one was a large vulture whose wings were about 2.5 ft each.

We left the bird park after some souvenir shopping; on the way was the palace of the king of Malaysia, its really not visible from the main gate, but that did not deter us from taking pictures with the guards outside. On the list was the Chinese Buddhist temple, and anything about China or Buddhist is colorful. Even though it’s not an old temple, it had all the ingredients of the old look with bright colors, for ones it was peaceful and calm.

We also visited the Freedom square, the National mosque before hitting one more shopping mall adjacent to the Petronos towers. If there is one symbol that represents Malaysia it’s the Petronos Twin towers. I tried, as many shots I could to get the entire length of the tower on camera, was almost successful. With no more love left for any shopping I sipped a large glasses of juice till the rest of them returned to the meeting point. We returned to the hotel and crashed right after dinner.

2nd Jan was the last day in KL, so we left early to visit the National museum, which was a treat, I loved the ancient weapons section and the concept of arranging the sections based on the era, which ends with “Malaysia now”. The history of Malaysia is quite similar to that of India, with the colonial rule. The entire artifacts, weapons etc have a lot of Chinese influence but resembles a lot with India too. Malaysia is a multi-culture country, even though its predominantly muslim, every other section of the people can safely call it home and leave peacefully with varied religious beliefs.

After lunch at an India restaurant, we rushed to KL towers, which houses some games and a snake sanctuary, its amazing to see such a place in the heart of the city, and was indeed a great experience to see very large size snakes. Coffee and we were off to the airport, flew to Langkawi after a long wait. It’s a 50-minute flight to the Island of Langkawi, we reached the hotel driving from one end to the other end of the island within 45 minutes. I dozed off with no much trouble, was indeed happy that the place shuts by 9.30 pm and was spared from yet another shopping spree.

Morning was bright we visited the wildlife park, where the prime attraction was feeding the Ostrich and holding a parrot, it sounds funny but it was really cool. After much deliberation we went up to the view point on the cable car, the highest elevation on a cable car in the world I guess, it raises 42 degrees, and gives a great view of the island, since its on a mountain, the green cover below is quite a treat. I was by now running out of space in my camera, had to delete not so good pics to accommodate the new ones.

Our next stop was the Crocodile farm, not much of an exciting place, just average, but the underwater world was the finest of all the places we visited, even though its not a large place the number of species it has was quite informative. I loved the pics of the fishes I took; I can say that they are the best pics of the trip. After spending some time on the beach we headed back to the hotel.

Our flight to KL was at 12 noon and from KL to Bangalore was at 9.55 pm, so we planed to visit to Formula 1 track, but Air Asia had different plans, our flight did not take-off till 5.45 pm. We reached KL domestic airport and rushed to the international section, after a long flight (given how tired we were) we reached home in the wee hours of 5th Jan.

Lesson for the next year: “Spend the New Year on a calm beach side”.

- Kavitha Reddy

Battle Ground Mumbai

Great city of Mumbai lived through the night of terror; all of us know that Mumbai will be back to normal even before the news channels find other BREAKING NEWS. But why should we always expect the city to bounce back terror after terror?

Over 120 killed, 330 injured, assets worth crores damaged, crores of revenue lost, terror stuck citizens, this is what Mumbai has been for the last 25 hours, bring the city to a standstill.

14 Policemen 2 Army jawans laid down their lives fighting militants, the city came to a stand till with the most prominent landmarks under siege. The ATS chief who has been blamed by the BJP & Co for the last few weeks over the Malegaon investigations, lead his team from the front and took 3 bullets straight on his chest. Do the BJP still want to question his integrity? It's sad that people like him who wanted to make a difference had to lay down their lives fighting for the rest of 1 billion people.

It's disgusting that not even a single politician made an effort to visit the place of horror. I wish these places had the kin of a politician, just getting killed by terrorists, then they would have reacted I guess. Innocent people are being targeted; I wish it was not the common people, not the brave forces but the politicians who were targeted for once. They would then know what is the result of their disgusting politics over religion and power. Our politicians are so thick skinned and petty minded that they would ONLY know what it is to live in terror if they are held hostage.

The police force moved-in with no proper ammunition and ill-equipped to fight highly armed terrorist, the Prime Minister of the country says on TV, that the police should be equipped better and its time for police reforms, is that not common sense Mr PM? Its been due for the last 20 years Mr PM?? Or is it that you woke-up now?

The Army marched in, and the people of Mumbai stood up to cheer them, it was an assurance for the terror stuck citizens that they will be safe now. But what have we done for the Armed forces? The 6th pay commission is still to be finalized? There has been no betterment for lives or conditions for soldiers braving it out in the most difficult terrains in the name of DUTY.

Maj Gen Hooda came in with his men, they did not march thinking about their pay scale or their lives; they came on duty to serve the country, they came to kill the terrorists, and prepared to lay down their lives if required. They did not go on a strike like PSU employees or State government employees or Bank employees or Teachers, they did not refuse to work if they did not get the much needed and long-overdue pay hike. We should be ashamed as a country that we treat our brave hearts with absolutely NO dignity.

It's time we woke up, see what the brave hearts of this country are going through. It's easy to blame them when things go wrong, but how much of freedom do these brave hearts have to implement, to act and to achieve results. How many more officers will we lose in this petty politics? It's time leaders LEAD from the front and that is what LEAD means, in case our politicians do not know the meaning of the word “LEAD”.

My heart goes out to those brave men; they fought for all of us. Nothing at all can replace the loss to their families or the police force, but I know that they would fight once again with the same determination if they were alive.

Taj Hotel is not just any other landmark or just a 5 star hotel, it's a monument that was built by Jamshedji N Tata when he was refused an entry in a Hotel during the British rule. It's a symbol of determination, protest against discrimination and voice against the British rule.

May be its time to refuse to vote and register a protest vote, making it loud and clear that we will not elect anyone till they clean up their act. It's time to confront the so-called leaders of this country on our terms and refuse to accept them as leaders any more. We have a choice to speak out and make our voice heard and our blogs read. The media should black-out all politicians on both print and electronic media, running a protest campaign like the Indian Express running blank papers during emergency, and bring the politicians down on their knees.

We are a nation of great tolerance; we have tolerated our politicians for too long. It's time we declare our independence from the politicians, the atrocities and the polarization they have put us through, with no sight of any reforms or constructive action.

In this emotional moment, I received an SMS saying, “Forgiving a terrorist should be left to GOD, but fixing their appointment with GOD is OUR responsibility – INDIAN ARMY”. The armed forces and the police know their responsibility, let us help execute their responsibility to the fullest.

Jai Hind.

- Kavitha Reddy

Flirting with Mt Everest

Someone asked me what do mountains mean to me?!! Hmm…taken by surprise..!!..I never thought about what mountains mean to me; since I can relate to them, never felt the need to define. But I know why I love them, Mountains are Arrogant, Cranky, Confident, Lonely, Magnificent, have their own mind, Rude, Beautiful, Protective, Moody, Tough, Elegant, NO one can mess with them, you simply go by what they dictate. My choice of people in life is no different ;)…many of them reading this will smile in agreement.

The Trek Route: Lukla–Monjo–Namche–Deboche–Dingboche–Lobuche–Gorakshep– Everest Basecamp (EBC)–Gorakshep–Kala Pattar–Pheriche–Namche–Lukla

Number of days: 12 days

Team: Ajit, Kavitha, Keyur, Shabna, Srikanth, Subbu, Maila (Guide), Adarsh +2 (Porters)

Six people one mission “to see Mt Everest form the closest distance”!!! 3 days at Katmandu domestic airport waiting to fly to Lukla in THE best the season says only one thing, “mountains have not made up their mind yet”. Many of the co-trekkers from different parts of the world had some how reached Lukla or decided to do other treks.

In the most desperate attempt on day 4, we landed up in the airport at 6 am for a 9 am flight. Looking at our sad faces but sheer determination, Agni airlines staff boarded us on a charter flight immediately, we made it to Lukla within 24 minutes.

With the enthusiasm and the thrill that we made it to Lukla, the 1st day trek to Monjo seemed like a cake walk, even thought we climbed up and down few hill and crossed over form one hill to another on the swinging bridges across Koshi, it was all picture time.

The beauty of Himalayas is that, till the tree line ends the entire landscape is lush green and covered with beds of flowers, and this trail was no different. Dudh Koshi that causes havoc in Bihar was gushing between the valleys, looked like it was in a hurry to hit Bihar once again. Like the name the water is white due to the speed at which it travels, maneuvering all the turns and twists between the hill range and on the rocks. All through the trek one thing that was running parallel with us was Koshi River and its tributaries.

Namche was a big trek, as we gained an altitude of 3440 mts, and had an extra day stop over. Namche is like a supper market in the middle of the hills, you can buy any thing you want but at a slightly higher cost. It also gives the 1st view of Mt Everest & Lhotse and tempts you to go ahead.

At Namche we heard that one of the flights crash-landed at Lukla, all the 18 people onboard died. Lukla airstrip is scary, its just 150 mts long, elevates 15-20 degrees on landing, if the pilot does not land with great precisions it’s a nosedive. The flight was carrying a German family, few Canadians and Nepalese; I was lucky to be alive and breathing even in the thin air.

As we trekked to Deboche the visibility of Mt Everest was more and more clearer, the night in a tent, which Subbu and me opted for woke me up to Mt Everest. As I stretched out from the tent, I saw the fascinating hump of Mt Everest, tiny teardrops trickled, I could not have asked for more, it was truly “dream” come true.

The weather was getting colder and had dropped to 2-5 degrees; wind got colder, stronger and wilder making it difficult to breath. The terrain was rapidly changing, the stupas, which had the Buddha eyes all through the trails so far were getting replaced with memorials for people who died or just never found. It was an indication of what is it going to be next. The landscape was darker and less green; the trail was heaps of rocks and pebbles making the trek slower. We turned into the range that had Touche to our left, Amadablam to right and Mt Everest & Lhotse ahead, which eventually crossed over to Pumori, Mt Everest and Nuptse in the front.

As we crossed over to Lobuche, Shabna decided to return. Rest of us trekked to Gorakshep on the ridges alongside Khumbu Glacier, the moraine became visible. We entered the EBC route, and could see the pinnacles and the deadly Khumbu icefall jetting out, one could only wonder how the climbers would cross over to open route to Mt Everest peak.

Moraine is an unforgiving terrain; ice below topped with debris can slide you down if you are careless. It’s exhausting; with wind blowing at a high speed and the temperature dropping, trekking after 2 pm in this terrain is a task. Many, rather most of them were returning from the ridge, but I was determined to make it to EBC by 2 pm, so was Subbu, but the rest were still not visible at that point.

Ah!!! Reaching EBC (5364 mts) was a reassurance that I still have a lot more left in me. I remembered Vishal as he would be here next year for his Mt Everest expedition, so left a message wising him good luck and safe return. The rest of group arrived, it was a perfect picture moment, I was very happy that all of us (expect Shabna) made it to EBC…..and could say loudly here after “been there done that”.

In the middle of the night I felt breathless, my lungs refused to take oxygen, I was not wiling to die in Gorakshep!! If it is, its when I attempt Kanchanjunga my 7th 8k’er ;)!! I realized that 3 layers of clothing lead to excess heat and it was choking me, I immediately got rid of a layer and started to breath easy.

After EBC the next mission was climbing Kala Pattar, it’s just a trek up, but at 5545 mts and the steepness it’s quite a climb, finally only Subbu and me decided to go. It took exactly 2 hours, loads of energy, not to let it go spirit to reach the top. Kala Pattar gives the best view of Mt Everest, and that all I wanted. Not sure what went into our heads, Subbu, Maila and me made it to Pheriche in 4 hours flat, next day the entire team was back in Namche and the following day at Lukla.

On return to Namche, Adarsh & Maila looked at me at the breakfast table and said “Didi, next time you should come only to climb Mt Everest, you are very tough”…..one compliment I will cherish for the rest of my life. After spending so much time with the mountains, my belief in destiny has become stronger than ever, and I know when the mountain calls nothing can stop me. So I am waiting for my DATE with Mt Everest.

- Kavitha Reddy
6th Oct – 17th Oct 08

“Namaste” Nepal

Area: 147181 Sq Kms

Population: 24 million

8+k Peaks: Everest, Lothse, Makalu, Cho-yo, Dhaulagiri, Manasalu, Annapurna, Kunchanjunga just in the fag end into the Indian border

Activities: Trekking, Mountaineering, Rafting, Bungee Jumping, Mountain Biking, Sky diving, Paragliding etc

“Namaste”, “ Tapaai Laai Kasto Chha?” “Mo Sanchai Chha” are the first few words one gets to start with. If any one says Namaste instead of Hello, it’s for sure that he/she is a Nepali or a Mountaineer or just returned from Nepal. One not only falls in love with the mountains but also its people, language, culture, and smell of a country that has embraced modernization on its own terms.

The “Himalayan country” eats, sleeps, breaths, drinks Himalayas. Every peak is a selling point, with almost 8 of the 14 8000 mts peaks in Nepal and several 6000-7000 mts peaks mountaineering /trekking is unlimited rather never ending in Nepal.

T-shirts, Mouse pads, Fridge Magnets, Caps, Bags, Posters, Calendars, Pin-up’s, Note pads, Paintings, Photos, Bands, Badges, Playing Cards, Mugs etc carry symbols of Nepal and the Himalayas, and are sold for NC 50 – 2000. One could confidently say that the brand equity of Himalayas is unmatched to any other brand in the world.

Nepal is a paradise for shopper, artifacts, Kukries (traditional Gurkha knife), ethnic stuff, hand made ornaments, mountain wear, paintings etc etc. It’s quite inexpensive and actually cheap if you are a qualified bargainer. One important fact is that every brand in the world that manufactures anything related to mountaineering or adventure can be seen in Nepal, you will find both the original make and the “Made in China” under the same brand name. So if you are looking for real stuff check the “Made in” tag, there are also few possibilities of “Export” quality made in China stuff and you can make out the difference most of the times.

You look around from Thamel Circle it feels like a mini-world, people from all nationalities walking around freely as if they have been there forever. Travel junkies, Nature admirers, Photographers, Travel Writers, Honeymooners, Holidayers, Pilgrims, Mountaineers, Trekking enthusiasts all at the same time and the same place is simply overwhelming. Each one has come with a different reason but will leave Nepal with once in a lifetime experience (Good one).

Some come back searching for more and more and keep following the old lanes that looks new always, that has not lost its past glory or the rustic looks. Nepal is a land where both the worlds meet without intimidating or challenging each other, the two worlds seem to have made peace forever and let the country flourish with a free mind, body and soul.

One would leave Nepal saying “ Dhanyabaad, Malaai Nepal man parchha….Pheri veethaula.”

- Kavitha Reddy, 3rd Oct 08

The Great Indian Train

The stench of the urinals welcomed on-board of S4 compartment of Karnataka Express. CR could not take it even for a minute that I was traveling by train to Delhi. He was trying to convince me that I should ditch the Train and fly the following day.

I asked him to leave even before the train left fearing that he will force me till the last minute to take the flight, but he refused saying that he will give send me off like the way Shahrukh does to Kajol in KKHA, ah..ah.. how romantic!!!

To my delight the stinking toilets were getting cleaned and it was smelling better..if I may say that. The platform was filled with people of all shapes, color, size, religion age and culture. For a minute, I wondered how fearlessly they traveled in such large numbers with all the terrorist threats and blasts in the recent days. I remembered Godhra, as I saw the train there was a hesitation, but looking at people who seem to be less cared about what could happen or may happen or never happen I felt free and boarded the train.

Indian railways are as mighty as the Indian middle class; the contrast of real India v/s an aspiring India can be simply explained as Train v/s Flight.

The mighty middle class bares the brunt of it all; with pro-poor and pro-rich policies the middle class is forgotten conveniently at all times. The lower-middle class do not get the benefits of pro-poor reforms and the upper-middle class cannot “afford opportunities” of the rich.

Rahul Gandhi on the floor of the house spoke about a poor lady from Maharastra, Mamatha Banarjee is up against one of the richest man in India, and millions of middle-class are left for RK Narayan!!!…the common man….

No lower-middle class citizen wants to be called poor; the upper-middle class wants to be rich, this is the “class” that can question and think but does not have a voice, hence gets pulled between “compassionate terms” of poor and the “unfair terms” for being rich.

Anyway, as the train started moving the passengers settled down, since it was a late evening train very soon I could see people taking out the home packed food, the dinner table J almost had all kinds of conversations. We had a Fuji who had a RAC ticket and was waiting to get a seat allotted, TT had very little respect for the man who has been called to guard the country mid-way of his leave!! He was carrying a warrant (it’s a letter issued by concerned regiment/ army HO to report to duty), as per rules seat should be allotted on priority in such cases, but little did the TT care.

Early morning the train was passing through Maharastra, Pakni junction was when I was completely awake and watched the birds flying across the vast cultivate fields. I was trying to identify the birds and suddenly wondered why storks were flapping in the air at the same place, without realizing I am on a moving train. Its so true, many times in life, we do not realize that we are at a higher induced speed due to better opportunities or pure luck and have little respect for those who are not keeping to our pace. Suddenly I spotted blackbucks running across the fields……and few peacocks.

When I pulled myself out of the sleeping bag, passengers around wondered what the hell was it and were quite glad to see it; I wasted no time in explaining the usage of it.

One more full day and a night to go to reach Delhi, I was not really keen on the time anyways. As stationed passed I remembered my last travel on the same train 16 years ago…for the Republic Day Camp as an NCC cadet, quite a time since I traveled on a train. I sensed that I had lost in touch with the real people and real India, at some point almost felt like a foreigner in my own country.

People around were all talking and getting to know each other, the Fuji had still not got his seat, he asked for the newspaper I was reading and within minutes we started talking, I asked him which regiment he belonged and where was he posted….he looked at me with surprised smile and almost stood-up, asking me if I was from the army too, refusing to take no as an answer….I had to show him my entire wallet, and that I had no document that anywhere states that I am from the army. He was still not convinced; his convection was that no civilian could ask such appropriate questions. My eyes went moist for a second, would have been happy to be called “Maj Kavitha Reddy”, life is a bitch!!!! I thought…but….that what it is for me.

There was a calmness traveling on a train, the large green fields, and the changing landscape from state to state felt like actual divisions. Karnataka has large boulders and mass hills where as Maharastra had pinnacles and layered peaks giving sandstone kind of a feel. As the train entered Madhya Pradesh, stones almost turned to heaps of red soil, and barren miles of rocky ducts. MP once upon a time was famous for the dacoits, and even trains were not spared, but that was long long ago.

It was very interesting to hear people talking about many things I would generally not care about. One among the passengers was a pakka Tamilian woman now staying in Faridabad with her husband, her Hindi was so Tamil and she was talking about the various festivals and the reason behind each one of them. Couple of college kid who were in the next compartment rushed to check if their mother was ok, they were talking about the college and the fun they have which I guess was the same when I was in college too. One of them realized that I was carrying a book “Shantaram”, he asked me why the foreigners make India look so ugly? And as Indians we should stop buying or reading those books. I was quite glad about the thought he had, I told him that whatever the foreigner talk, think and write etc about India, its important to remember that they simply cannot ignore India. That led to a long conversation about our country, war with Pakistan, Cricket, Kashmir, America, Bush and the rest of the ingredients till their mother forced them out to let me sleep.

Morning got warmer and Delhi approached really quick, with 40 hours of travel I still felt fresh and there was a sense of happiness that I did what I always wanted to, travel simple and see real Indians.

- Kavitha Reddy

29th Sept 08

Mission "227 Annapurna"

“You do not have to work hard to ‘Dream’, to make it come true you better”, for Shekar and I “227 Annapurna” is the culmination of our dreams. “Annapurna” is our tribute to the toughest 8000+ meter peak and optimism that the goddess of harvest would bless us at all times.

It was indeed the toughest and biggest financial commitment we ever made, coming from a humble background we know only one thing, to “Work Hard”. We were less fortunate financially than many of our friends at school and college; our parents were working their heart out to give us the best possible life as they prepared us to succeed in every possible way. The best comes in the toughest of the situations and we lived each day of our life determined to change our destiny.

BASECAMP & ROUTE PLAN

“This is the most ideal location, let us know if there is a proper dimension site out here, we will buy”, was what I told the real estate agent when he showed us an odd measurement site, he confidently said that there is no possibility at all, exactly 5 month later we registered site # 227 in Oct 2006, 60 feet to left of the site we had rejected earlier. When you get what you ask for it’s an indication that you are on the right track, and there was a sense of relief that our decision was heading in the right direction.

“24-27 lac is the maximum construction cost considering the best of the material” was Venu’s (my brother) estimate and I can kick him a million times for the rest of my life for saying that.

Sometimes we meet people and feel that we met for a reason; I would have never imagined that Jeetu would design our house when I first met him at a rock climbing camp ;). I liked the roughness and the sense of space Jeetu has so for me, there was not much of a deliberation, Jeetu met CR for the 1st time over lunch and we got started.

Venu spent all his time running around to get the work started, right from getting the BDA approval to the final BWSSB approvals every single vendor, worker, service provider was listed out negotiated ready to delivery material or service over a phone call.

My personal focus was on cost control and being as environmental friendly as possible, I started accounting every penny we were spending. CR and I agreed on the draft designs very quickly but went through Vaastu consultation process just to be on the right side of the ancient science of house construction.

CAMP 1

We started at good speed, the soil was wet due to rains, digging for the foundation and the underground water tank was really fast; the material requirement was very basic the expenses were quite controlled. There was a lot of excitement around, we started enjoying it all. We took turns to monitor the work and the curing activity on a regular basis, checking every bit of the site and ensuring the water is adequately sprinkled. The next level drawings came in; it was time to start raising the walls.

CAMP 2

It was my time for the Himalayas, I signed all the required papers related to the property and packed for a month long trip. By the time I came back ideally the 2nd level roofing should have been completed, but sometimes worst things happen. My mom-in-law passed away and I was out in the mountains, worked stopped for a month. If there was one person who wanted to see the house completed more than anyone else, it was she. I walked into the house still imagining that she would be sitting on the sofa as usual, she was not. She did not suffer, and that was a relief for the entire family as we had seen our dad-in-law going through hell.

CAMP 3

The list of materials increase so was the cost, CR stared to pull out of his saving, as the loan approved by the bank was released in stages, the final 3rd level roofing was finally complete. Shopping for wood, marble, tiles, bathroom fitting began, Venu and me went around shopping based on the references, when we zeroed on the vendor we did cost analysis and explored options. Kaveri, our labor contractor was driving us crazy by now, he stared changing the workers and since there was no consistency the plastering work was getting delayed, so we had to get in back on track. Even thought Venu had different views, it was easier to make choices on the marble, laminations, design, tiles etc as CR & I both ended up pointing at the same thing, majority won ;).

CAMP 4

We were on very thin air, the cost had crossed 25 lacs and there was still lots to do. The co-ordination between workers was getting tougher and work started to drag, they started to blame each other for mistakes and delays. Our patience was running out, there was more screaming sessions and tempers were running loose. Venu & I had many fights on everything possible, mom played the moderator since my dad would only support me. Painting work started, George and his team were quite at work and understood the requirement. There was some release of funds from the bank, it was a real breather and striking off the items on shopping list was the only thing we wanted to do. With all the pain around, just looking at the house brought a smile and kept us going. The internal layout was looking excellent and bright, that brightened us too.

CAMP 5

We were exhausted and completely drained, but we knew there was no looking back and summit was the option. CR was the only one who had not yet lost his cool; guess he was balancing it all for me. Flooring work was complete both Vijay and Ramesh did a great job on it. Few more lac was pumped in, selecting the right color paint, texture, glass, bathroom fittings, light fittings etc etc kept us very busy. Work speeded up as we fixed the day for puja and that could not change at any cost. As each day passed we kept our fingers crossed, the final result was what we were focused on, as we were by then clear that it was not going to be easy anymore.

SUMMIT

The last stretched was all left now and what ever energy and money we had was almost down to zero, but what has to be done has to be, we reassured ourselves that there was no looking back. So we managed to pull in more funds, Puja arrangements, Food, Flowers, Labor settlements, pending material bills and cleaning was all in the list. The moment of truth, the D day was finally arrived, all the difficulties we went through looked trivial. We had our day, a great satisfaction that it was the right thing to do and that it was all over now. Our entire family was very happy and proud of us. We are still licking our wounds but there was a sense of comfort that it will heal with time.

We will remember Kaveri, George, Muniyappa, Nagaraj, Vijay, Ramesh, Shiva, Nagina, Sunil, Vijay, Muniraju, David, John, Pattabi, Chandru, Maruti, Reddy, Madhu, Muragesh and all the vendors who were part of our mission for the rest of our lives, even though they give us some tough time, once they saw the final view they were proud too. They knew they will have more references in time to come and more business to do with people known to us.

I realized that some things are just once in a “Lifetime”, we will never be able to experience what we did. Mission accomplished, “227 Annapurna” stands tall and beautiful, smiling as the sun rises.

- Kavitha Reddy

Welcome to the Club

India gets a nod at the NSG!!!, we are now part of THE CLUB, it’s indeed a proud moment for every single Indian. The need to find an alternate source of energy to fuel our growth is one but being accepted on our own terms is a different high altogether.

Great show by the team lead by the PM. “When you put everything you have on the table THEN winning is the only option”. They must have gone through a million negotiations and phone calls at a diplomatic level, but this time they got their PR right with Indian Media.

Opposition started its blame games 3-days ago, then came the letter follow-out, then blaming the PM for misleading the country, selling out to US, giving up the option of testing a bomb etc etc.

None of them realized that they are talking about the nuclear tests as if its some firecracker we burst during our festivals. It takes decades to come close to a test; India has just done two tests, from the day of its existence as a free country. But who will tell the fools, their intentions are to “oppose” because they are the “opposition”.

Last evening news one of the representative of a political party asked, “if this deal was good, why was it not done during the tenure Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi”? I thought it was the most stupid question. I felt like screaming out “dude we would have never got what we wanted if we had signed the deal then, and it was not difficult for the world to ignore us then”.

We have not signed the NPT, we have conducted nuclear tests, we possess nuclear weapons, we intend to test, we aspire to increase our nuclear arsenal, we are purchasing the combat aircrafts that are capable of dropping a nuclear weapon, we have disclosed the names of the cites our missiles can target in case of a war, we have a huge defence budget, so why did this part of the deal come through?

It’s our track record, and the fact that world cannot ignore us anymore:

- We are a responsible nuclear power
- Our democracy ensures that we debate what we intend to do
- Our armed forces defend the country and not invade others
- We are an intelligent nation; we exercise our soft power first
- We tell the Americans to go to hell when we HAVE to

Hope we implement many more initiatives that are good for the country, that have a sustainable growth without impact on the environment or our social structure.

We have arrived!!!

- Kavitha Reddy

Mad ANGLES

This flower is now part of 'Endangered Species' list

click here - Photography - Experiencing Nature

I gave the title “Mad ANGLES” as I intended to write about 'photography', but that’s not what I really care about. Photography for me is ‘flirting with nature’ capturing the moments and an honest attempt to bring in as much attention as I can to Environmental issues.

As a trekker my bond with nature is very close, it provides me an opportunity to visit Wild Life Sanctuaries (WLS) and National Parks (NP) across the country. Over the years I would have trekked some of the places more than 2-3 times and there has been a substantial change in the demography.

Currently, India’s geographical forest cover is a mere 19% as against the stipulated 33%, going buy the current rate of growth it’s a mammoth task to retain this 19% and working towards the 33% is not even close to consideration. Government’s initiative of declaring additional WLS on one side and constructing dams, permitting mining and regularizing encroached forest land is certainly not doing any good.

Yes, India, as a country is growing younger, which implies that our working population is increasing rapidly and demanding for more infrastructure. This is continuously adding strain on our natural resources; is it not time we asked the most important question, “Is there a road map to conserve our natural resources and wildlife?”

Think about it, today “Conservation” for majority of the population only means a cause for which environmentalists are fighting for, rest of us think there is very little we can contribute. Given this, why would our voted representatives and lawmakers care about natural resources or wildlife? Animals, sadly, do not vote and people fighting for the cause are not a substantial vote bank! Such is the plight of ‘Conservation’.

Positive thinking and belief in the system is critical but “let's do it” is more important than forwarding e-mail or discussion over a cup of coffee/tea. The condition of Environment conservation in India could only change if there is an increased awareness, involvement as stakeholders and more importantly participation of the larger population. The awareness cannot be just at the local level, it has to be at a level where one could be heard loud and clear.

Next 30 years is not about Economics, Employment and Education its clearly about Environment, Energy and Ethnic issues. Many major issues that have been consistently increasing in the last 5 years are related to the later 3 E’s. We are busy with our lives, driven by India’s growth prospects without even pausing for few minutes to think where will we finally reach.

- Kavitha Reddy

Do watch this space for more on the “3E’s” of the next 3 decades.