Himalayan Odysseys

August, 2008

Some photographs captured while on a drive in Manik's car, specifically to enjoy the rains in the August of 2008. The drive was along the upper Ganga canal road, or nehar, as it's popularly called. Idyllic villages, children having a gala time in the rain and a swim in the canal, and the laid back village scenes made up for a refreshing change from city life.

July, 2008

An official trip down to Chennai gave me an opportunity to do what I had dreamt for a long time - to ride a motorcycle along a beach. Had one full weekend to myself, so I met up with a friend, took a bus to Pondicherry, and the next day, headed straight to the market to rent a motorcyle. After spending a few hours inside the city, it was time for beach hunting, and to fulfil an old dream...

May, 2008

The itch to ride away into the hills has been there for some time now. The last I rode in the hills was way back in January. I had a new lens to try out, and this trip gave me plenty of vistas to fulfill that. And this trip gave me that unexpected dose of adventure in the form of a trail that we discovered from Roghi to get back into the highway.

March, 2008

I was still not in a condition to ride, and this trip came as a much needed relief after I had to spend weeks in bed with a broekn leg after the accident. Again, thanks to Manik.

February, 2008

This was a day trip with friends, and one of the rare trips that I have done in a four wheeler. Thanks to Manik for this.

January, 2008

Just another of those 3 day rides, the aim being just riding and photography.

September, 2007

Most friends from BCMT were going out on a tour of Ladakh, while some of the less fortunate, which included I and Dixit, were sweating it out in Delhi. So we decided to at least have a weekend ride, and we decided it to be Jalori pass.

July, 2007

With the rains eluding Delhi, I decided to give them a chase. Some friends down south posting marvelous photos of rides and rains were the inspiration. So we set out, I and Shamik, fully geared for a ride in the rains. Though we didn't have much success with the rains, we did come pretty close to the clouds.

March, 2007

After our last aborted trip to Harsil, this had to happen soon. So off we went, this time, I, Manik and Sparsh. The route planned was basically the same as the last time, only this time we decided to deliberately take the off road stretch from Champa that goes around the Tehri lake and brings us back to the main highway, some 60 Kms after Champa towards Uttarkashi.

February, 2007

This is one trip I won't forget about in a hurry. Our original plan was to ride till Harsil and turn back.

But then, It rained and rained,
and then it rained more.
And nearer we got to our homes on our way back,
brighter the sun shined.

February, 2007

Surajkund mela, an excellent opportunity to try out my photography skills.

January, 2007

Last trip with Manik, to Auli, exactly a year ago was a roaring success in terms of the adventure we had, and the fun we had with snow. This time, I wanted something bigger, better. I had seen the Seruvalsar lake start freezing at the edges on my last trip there, in November. I instantly had visions of how the lake would look like at the peak of winter. Thus we went hunting for a frozen lake and found it!

December, 2006

A quick weekend outing with my team from office. Only two days in hand. Nainital seemed to be the perfect location. Obviously, for a change I was not riding my motorcycle this time. And thus happens to be my only tour in the hills on a four wheeler in some years. A full day spent along the shores of the lake gave me plenty of opportunities to do some photography.

December, 2006

Being associated with BCM Touring.com, I get plenty of opportunities and like minded friends to see the world with. There are not many places in Himachal that are high enough or far enough for a 5 day tour once it starts snowing. Anyway, the past few trips were almost entirely dedicated to touring Himachal Pradesh, which made me suddenly interested when friends at BCM latched a plan for Kumaon.

September, 2006

My last tour of Ladakh left many places to be explored, particularly the Manali - Leh highway and the lakes Tso kar and Tso Moriri. Visiting these splendid locations was the primary objective of this tour. Of course, scarcity of leaves didn't leave us with much scope to explore other places, like Nubra, which I am yet to set foot on. Tso Kar and Tso Moriri are some of the spots in Ladakh that are yet to see an influx of tourists, thanks to absence of proper access routes to these places.

June, 2006

This is one journey I have been planning for more than a year now. My last attempt almost exactly a year ago was thwarted due to the flash floods on Sutlej, which caused massive destruction all along the roads I planned to travel. In fact, I would call myself lucky to escape the fury of the Sutlej as I could make it only till Shimla instead of Jeori as per my plans, thanks to bad weather. My last attempt was a solo attempt and I enjoyed it a lot. But after I met with an accident this January, my parents wouldn’t even hear of letting me go alone. All the same, I would have some how managed this trip, partner or no partner.

January, 2006

September, 2005