The Journey begins at Govindghat which is a 9-10 hour bus ride from Rishikesh. There are many ways to do it, by taxi (expensive), shared taxi, small bus; and one can break the journey or do it at one go. I spent the night at Srinagar and so had a shorter journey to Govindghat the next day., here I spent the night so that I could start my walk early next morning. I have been to this region before and both times have combined a pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib with hikes to the Valley of Flowers. My blog to the Valley of Flowers this year is placed here . For a blog of my previous hikes please see Valley of Flowers and Hemkund -a Trek to Paradise ; the photographs I took are at Valley of Flowers , and at The Flora Around Hemkund . From Govindghat to Ghangariya is a journey that is now made easier by riding in a shared taxi for 4.8 km until Pulna and walking 10 km from there to Ghangariya, whi...
I wrote this essay five years ago based on my memories of a very significant period of my military life. In 1987 the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed in Sri Lanka to underwrite the Sri Lanka Accord signed in July that year. But the situation quickly spiralled out of control, and by October the Indian Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was locked in what would be a three-year armed conflict. Up to 80,000 Indian troops served on the island, but despite relatively large numbers of casualties and the importance of the conflict in the region, the episode remained an undeclared war and has been treated as a postscript to Indian military history. Killed or wounded soldiers were seldom given their due, but those who fought there will not forget. A serviceman remembers the trenches of that war. Coming in over Mullaitivu Town in a helicopter. The approach was usually over water to avoid ground fire. It was a beautiful beach, with the seabed dropping deep v...
The now familiar outline of the Medhafaru wreck appeared out of the blue-green waters, the bridge tilted at a Pisa like angle with the glass still intact though black with algae. DJ moved off to the front of the wreck as I stayed at the back, my more conservative Suunto demanding that I remained relatively shallow for our second dive of the day. One of the regular denizens of the wreck, a greenish yellow moray, a species we still have not been able to identify, poked its head out a small structure on the deck. It stared out, clenching its jaws repeatedly, as all morays are prone to doing. This does give these eels quite a vicious look especially with their jagged teeth but apparently all this gulping is just to help circulate water over their gills. It�s still not advisable to go sticking any body parts you are fond of near a moray; in fact that�s a good general rule with pretty much any animal. Best to stay clear of those teeth Unfortunately I was experiencing some issues with my came...
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