Obama for Prez

"Someday, I'll be President"

Whether its the unabashedly hilarious satire of Jon Stewart and mate Steven Colbert on their shows or a host of ineptitude on FOX and other 'news' networks, the pages of every major magazine from Good Housekeeping to Rolling Stone, the buzzword is Barack. Obama is on the tips of everyone's tongue, here in the US and its easy to see why. He's run his campaign with alacrity and candour. He refuses to be browbeaten and his policies and ideas are sound and well researched. He has a team, that works tirelessly without any brouhaha, in the lowest possible profile and he has always come across as grounded and simple, all in complete opposition to the current occupant of the seat he's steadily working toward. And he's nursing something that comes at such a huge premium in our current existence. Hope.

I just bought the new Rolling Stone and was delighted at the incisive and sensitive interview that Ed-in-Chief, Jann Wenner conducted with the democratic presidential candidate, who might be the man to change many policies affecting the world in the years to come.

As a happily eternal optimist, I'm hoping too.

Here's a sample QnA
Is there a marker you would lay down at the end of your first term where you say, "If this has happened or not happened, I would consider it a negative mark on my governance"?
If I haven't gotten combat troops out of Iraq, passed universal health care and created a new energy policy that speaks to our dependence on foreign oil and deals seriously with global warming, then we've missed the boat. Those are three big jobs, so it's going to require a lot of attention and imagination, and it's going to require the American people feeling inspired enough that they're prepared to take on these big challenges.

READ THE FULL ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW WITH BARACK OBAMA HERE

Down The Rabbit Hole

"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well."

The Nagaur Fort, the sprawling setting for the Sufi Durbar later that December day, begged exploration, not unlike the rabbit hole. And although I wasn't adorned in a blue bowed skirt (Thank God), I took a plunge myself and dived in, through door ways and arches, narrow staircases and panoramic terraces. You never knew where your next step was going to lead you in this many-storeyed labyrinth. That was the best part. :)

Spirit On The Water

Begnas Lake 23Kms from Pokhra, Nepal

Street Walking - Nagaur, Rajasthan

Moving Mountains

Mount Everest (bang center)

Machupuchchare (Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal)

Annapurna 2 and Annapurna 4 (Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal)

Mt. Kanchenjunga

Off The Wall

Taken at the Lachung Monastery and Rumtek Monestery (Sikkim)

How Desolate Is My Valley?

The phrase Valley Of Flowers conjures up some endless grassy knoll, with a million rainbow blooms swaying in a gentle breeze, bringing with it their heady perfume. Unfortunately, we were a month too late. Other than a few mocking traces, the flora was all gone and all that was left was a bitterly cold desolation with spitting rain and an icy Teesta River.

Yumthang Valley - North Sikkim (Go in March or April)

Truth Prevails Again

Remember the Hunger Strike I was telling you all about. They've reached a breakthrough. I received this mail from Dawa Lepcha, who spearheaded the initiative.

Dear all,

with your kind, generous and great hearted support we have been able to achieve certain amount of victory. We have been able to save the fragile ecology in the Kanchenjunga National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Dzongu. In other words we have been able to stop the implementation of four mega hydel projects which would have been terribly disastrous for the environment in the area. Thanks to you all, a small piece of the Earth has been preserved for posterity.

Now we have to go on with the other mega projects which are going to destroy the Lepcha tribes, their culture, customs, religion, language etc and of course which will also be affecting the national park as they are within kilometer of the park.Two more to go.

Kindly follow our blog www.weepingsikkim.blogspot.com for updates of our activities.

with sincere thoughts and warm regards,

Dawa Lepcha,

General Secretary,

Affected Citizens of Teesta.

It just goes to show that if you truly believe in what's right and have the courage to stand up for it, the truth shall prevail.

I'm really really happy for them. :)

The Highest I've Ever Been

"Second time first, second time first," screamed Sonam, our friend, guide and driver. For a slightly sardonic guy not given to excesses of emotions this was a rare deviation in behaviour And indeed we were the first to arrive at the great Gurudongmar Lake on that day, located in North Sikkim at a gasp worthy altitude of 17,800 feet (around 5500 meters), where even our usually friendly oxygen calls it a day and takes off for the tropics.


For a phenomenal five minutes we lost our vocal chords as we took in the immensity of the lake and its guardian mountains, between laboured inhalations. Then the other cars started to arrive, some tourists dashing straight into the Buddhist temple to offer their prayers and others tending to their children already feeling the strain of oxygen poor air. It was still 7:45 in the AM and having left at around 4 from Lachen, I was unsure if I was experiencing the effects of altitude sickness or plain sleepiness. Either way the surroundings didn't let me dwell on such ridiculous matters of life and health.


This was after all a very spiritual place and an ancient energy made the air even more thick but not in a choking way. More like a security blanket. Guru Gobind Singhji had made this pilgrimage once on foot and consented to touch the water so that the lake wouldn't freeze over completely in the winter cutting off the only water source for miles. It's also a very holy place for Buddhists and the prayer flags struggling against the winds added a palatte of colour to match with the azure blue of the skies and water and the blinding white snow in the distance. You could drink this scene in. I'm sure it would've been cold and refreshing and hit the spot.


But as the fluttering increased in intensity Sonam told us it was time for us to leave. More than 45 minutes at such a high altitude without the proper acclemitisation could mean trouble. And besides the moment the time neared 10 AM the wind decided to blow so strong that large rocks would get tossed around like dust.

(the world's highest loo) :D

And so we left, straining our necks around to get that last glimse of the mighty Gurudongmar, with a silent word of thanks to the universe for sparing us the mountain sickness and letting us glimpse a wedge of heaven.

Great Plains

En route to Gurudongmar Lake, four hours from Lachen and an hour away from the nearest army camp and humanity, the great plains stretch endlessly, broken only by bald hills and snow mountains. I didn't get to go to Ladakh this time around but I was told that it was only 80kms away and only accessible on foot. I didn't bite. We were barely allowed out of the car due to the high altitude, so walking was pretty much a laughable suggestion. This place had all that desolation that Ladakh has to offer and took mind, body and soul beyond the mundane. It all worked out. And the lake was around the corner.