HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINEERING INSTITUTE, Day 04: 12 May 09

The roads wind, go up, go down and open into views that take your breath away. The morning jog route is lined with trees and quaint little houses which look like they’re straight out of a six year old’s drawing book. Every morning, as I run among these lovely hills, I thank God. But I also wish that my shoe lace would come undone so I could stop to tie it and take a few extra breaths before my lungs explode.

Denial

When a patient who has received treatment (radiation and chemotherapy) for carcinoma cheek develops a hoarseness of voice that persists for weeks, it has to be taken seriously because ENT cancers have nasty habit of wanting to go everywhere. That much is simple. An intern fresh out of med school knows as much. But what is difficult to learn is how to explain this to the old man who persists in pretending that he has no idea what you’re talking about.

MOUNTAINEERING MAGIC,continued

MOUNTAINEERING MAGIC, Day 02: 10 May 09
The group of 31 is divided in to six groups, or ‘Ropes’ as they are called in the mountain lingo. Each rope has a ‘Rope Leader’ and a ‘Rope Instructor’. I’m the rope leader for Rope no. 1, also the Course Senior. The morning begins at with a PT at 0600 hours. First a 2km run on these spectacularly beautiful roads, then we stop near a park and do some strange exercises whose benefit we will apparently know when we start climbing

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.

- Alfred d Souza

A PRAYER

The steps feel damp as I sit on them
a cup of warm adrak chai in my hand
The garden looks like the dream of some mad painter
the puddles are blue, sometimes grey
it's so so beautiful
the mists roll beyond, and I want to sing some song....have no idea which one.

I sip my tea
and realize I feel gratitude,
and making lists has always been a hobby-

near perfect health
loving family
dreams as big as the universe
a friend's visit to look forward to
memories that warm me up, instantly

Memories.
freefalling at 14000 feet,
jogging in the rain
the view from Renoke
.."You're my best friend..."
..."We're so proud of you..."
..."You can everything you want, you can be anything you want to be....It's you after all!"
..."You're so beautiful..."
the patient who said with tears in her eyes today-"Thank you, I feel better.."

I take another sip
and say it, out loud

Thank you, God

MOUNTAINEERING MAGIC

It has been a month and a half since I returned from Darjeeling and the cry “Why are you not writing about the mountaineering course?” has become too loud and too shrill to be ignored anymore. It’s flattering ; and the reason why my coursemates want me to write about the course is that my blogposts on the skydiving course were such a hit (those posts also probably made sure that my skydiving career with the Indian Navy was short lived, given some of the too - candid observations I made, but that’s another story. One lives and learns.)

In many ways,writing about mountaineering is nothing like writing about skydiving.

Rakhi ka Swayamvar

With science and scientists exploring and deromanticising (is there such a word?) everything, there does remain one area which continues to baffle and that is - “What makes people laugh?”