Trek To Churdhar...

After the “Oh! So many” meetings regarding the do’s and don’ts, what to carry and what not, after the “humungous” effort to put everything in place and the last minute rush for water and food, we finally bid farewell to all our friends and set forth to the weekend trek to Churdhar. 

The Enchanting

TTTT  TThe The    eeeeeChurdhar mountain in Sirmaur is one of the Shivalik ranges at a height of 11965 feet (it is the highest peak in southern Himachal Pradesh), Churdhar, commonly known as Churichandni (Bangle of Snow), is blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes in this region.

29^th October,2010; that Friday night, 20 of us split into groups n seated ourselves in the two mini buses arranged, which were quite comfortable! Most of the journey time was spent knowing each other. We tried our best to keep ourselves awake but after the heavy “Friday” dinner (biryani;-)),how long could sleep evade us?J

We took a couple of small “chai” breaks to keep our drivers awake through the night. In the morning we stopped near solan at a guest house to use the washrooms. Since all of us made quite a long queue, some of the girls(including me!) had to use the “men” toilets :P It was an unexpected “first” in my life that I actually never expected!

We moved on from there and reached Nauradhar from where we had to start our trek! We had breakfast-the gwayor hall paranthas with achaar and after filling our stomachs to full,it was time to shed those extra kilos!

Everyone started with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement but only a few could retain it till the end. It was not long since we had started and we saw Arjun n Harman carrying two rucksacks each!

The trek started getting tiring but the scenic view kept our excitement intact. We aimed to camp at Tisri by the end of the day so that we could go upto Churdhar the next morning and return back that same day! But to our surprise the statistics we had were extremely misleading. It was already four hours since we had started and Tisri was nowhere near! We couldn’t resist taking a half an hour break at the mesmerizing sight of the mountains and trees.It was then that I realized that Friday night was not a farewell to my friends but a break from the fast, busy and monotonous “Delhi” life,which, after 2 years I’m still trying to get used to!

After the much-wanted rest we filled all our water bottles with the stream water.The water tastes way different.It was cold and extremely refreshing!we washed our faces,drank glucose water,stuffed ourselves with whatever little was left and proceeded further. The trail wasn’t that tough but the heavy bags made it quite a deal! For once,I so wished I had not packed all that was there in my bag!! We trekked for one more hour and decided to stop and wait for the entire group since our porter(a local person) told us that camping at Tisri is not possible as it’s too windy.Hence we decided to wait for Prof. Nanda for the next plan of action. Sir and the remaining others joined us after an hour or so where we all decided to camp at the same place since it was about to get dark;which in that “wild-life sanctuary” area was not that safe! There was a small wooden hut which they called a “hotel” from where we got tea and our dinner-dal-rice.the hot tea n food was welcomed by one n all in that cold chilly weather. We pitched in out tents,laid out our sleeping bags and rushed inside to escape the cold! We all gathered in the larger tent and chit chatted till around 12:30 am despite of the fatigue! At night when we stepped out of our tent there was this most spectacular sight I had ever witnessed in my life! I was below the open clear sky that seemed not more than a metre away! Stars twinkling,bright as never,all closely packed!Soon we got engrossed in spotting constellations and shooting stars! I wish I could stay there all night!but Alas!the freezing cold!

Despite the three pair of gloves n socks my hands and feet were numb due to cold.For once I thought,what if I had not brought all that in my bag! :P

We slept pretty late,only when Arjun threatened to pull out our tents if we don’t get ready to start the trek by 6am! To be very frank,that was quite a lot to ask for with the amount of tiredness we felt! The moment I entered my sleeping bag I slept, only to be woken up in the morning with the much required “hot tea”.As soon as we finished our tea,we were told to march to Tisri,without even allowing us to attend to nature’s call! With the “orbit” packs managing our breath we started out trek! The incline was steeper than what we had experienced till now but since we were now trekking without our bags,(Nanda sir agreed to stay back to make it easier for us!) it was still better. We were pretty fast and managed to reach Tisri in 2 hours! Tisri was what made me go crazy!!! There were snow clad Himalayas right infront of me.WOOOW!!!! is all I could say! I was spell bound by the magnificent mountains standing so tall n firm! We waited for an hour for everyone to join and had soom food from the “hotel” up there in Tisri. It was then when everyone decided to trek upto Churdhar,come what may but Arjun blatantly refused us to go further since it would have taken us long(because of the snow) and the much steeper incline. Also, we had time restrain since sir was down at the camp site, waiting for all of us for lunch! Indeed this “wretched” time!!

But since we were so determined to see snow we all decided to go a little further,find snow,and then come back! ;)

Just after 15minutes we encountered snow! That was the first time I actually saw snow! We had fun playing with it for quie some time and then returned back to our camp site! We had cup Maggie for lunch, packed our bags, packed the tents,posed for pictures and celebrated Halloween (thanks to the exchange students:Sonal and Nonan) and started the downward journey!

After the strenuous uphill journey, downhill seemed fairly easy! We enjoyed our way down and could not help admiring the beauty of nature!

It took us less than half the time we had taken to trek up!!!

By 5 pm all of reached Nauradhar!

After refreshing ourselves we left for Delhi in our mini buses at around 6 PM!

The journey back was fun too! We stopped in between for dinner and took quite a lot of “small” breaks now and then to keep the drivers awake. We stopped at a dhaba around 3:30 am for almost 1.5 hours,to let our drivers rest for some time(They really needed it! Driving was getting way too risky!) We had loads of fun interacting with Nanda Sir, who told us about his college life, the changing times and attitude, the change in students and teachers and how St. Stephen’s has evolved over the years! It was quite an enriching discussion!

We then started our journey back to Delhi at 5am and reached college at around 6:30am!

Most of us were dead tired to attend classes on Monday, but a few did, only to sleep in between the lectures!

Nonetheless, it was an amazing experience and I shall not miss any other trek in the coming year! Also I’d urge you all to go for it once in your life!

The Last Lecture

Well, those of you who are actually reading this thinking I’ve written about my last lecture, forget it! :P

That would NOT come anytime soon ;)

But ya…I read this Randy Pausch book quite some time back..and thought I’d write about it..but then that never happened ;)

Nonetheless, I’ve got hold of this book yet again and so would not miss the opportunity now. Would brief you about this MUST READ novel; before I pass this on to someone else J

Though I would personally insist on everyone reading this themselves but I can’t help giving an account of the gist of this ‘no.1 best seller’ novel. There are quite a few things that I learnt from this book and would certainly share those with you.

Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon was asked to deliver his last lecture since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He had the option of either spending time with his wife and three young children or he could spend the limited time preparing for a lecture that he knew would be video-taped!

Very unlikely, he chooses the latter! He says:”I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I’m a lecturer. So I lectured.”

This book is basically an account of Randy’s fifty-three “lectures”. I’d quote a few things I just LOVED!! :D

“The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to

keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

“I watched Dr.Wolff use semantics to phrase whatever he could in a positive light. When we asked, “How long before I die?” he answered, ‘You probably have three to six months of good health” That reminded me of my time at Disney. Ask Disney World workers: “What time does the park close?” they’re supposed to answer: “The park is open until 8 p.m.”

“People are more important than things”

“The MOST formidable brick wall I ever came upon in my life was just five feet, six inches tall, and was absolutely beautiful. But it reduced me to tears, made me reevaluate my entire life and led me to call my father, in a helpless fit, to ask for guidance on how to scale it.

That brick wall was Jai, my wife.”

Once Jai hit one car with the other. The convertible got the worst of it but both the cars were running fine. Randy wasn’t angry at all but told her that they didn’t need to do repairs. They’d live with the dents. So he says:

“You appreciate the part of me that didn’t get angry because two “things” we own got hurt. But the flip side of that is my belief that you don’t repair things if they still do what they’re supposed to do. The cars still work. Let’s just drive them.”

“No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better.”

‘There was one line in the film (Mr.Magorium’s Wonder Emporium), however, that remains with me. The apprentice tells the toymaker that he can’t die, he has to live. And he responds: “I already did that.” ‘

“As Jai was being rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section, she said to the doctor, “This is bad, isn’t it? I admired the doctor’s response. It was the perfect answer for our times:“If we were really in a panic, we wouldn’t have had you sign all the insurance forms, would we? We wouldn’t have taken that time.” The doctor had a point. I wondered how often she used her “hospital paper-work” riff to ease patients’ anxieties.”

“I really do feel I was able to pack a whole lot of life into the shortened lifespan I’ve been handed.

• Time must be explicitly managed, like money.
• You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
• Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things?
• Develop a good filing system.
• Rethink the telephone.
• Delegate
• Take a time out

Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

• Don’t complain, just work harder.
• Treat the disease, not the symptom
• Don’t obsess over what people think
• Look for the best in everybody
• Watch what they do, not what they say
• All you have is what you bring with you
• A bad apology is worse than no apology
• No job is beneath you
• Know where you are
• Never give up
• All you have to do is ask

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other. Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.”

“If I could give three words of advice, they would be” tell the truth.” If I got three more words, I’d add; “All the time.” My parents taught me hat “you’re only as good as you word,” and there’s no better way to say it.”

Hope you got to learn something from here! :)

P.S :You can also view the video at www.thelastlecture.com

Parents Wedding Anniversary!!

This one is for the best parents ever!!! :) :)

Happy Anniversary mom n dad! (i'm yet to wish you over phone :P how could you just sleep knowing its your anniversary day! aaaaaaaaaaannnn!!!)

Mom n Dad, Thank you so much for all the love and care you've showered on me since i was a child and i know no matter how much i grow i'd remain a child for you always! :)

Dad, I've never seen as friendly a dad as you!!! You'd be the first person to whom i'd talk to incase i ever feel low or guilty in life. You can calm me down with such ease! :) love you!

Mom,I've never seen a woman as strong , pretty and so caring and loving a mom as you! how can you be so?? :-O Respect you alot! Most love! :-*

Both of you have been the most WONDERFUL parents!! EXCEPTIONAL!!! :)

"mummy ko paapa se..paapa ko mummy se pyaaaar hai...pyaar hai..haina? bolo bolo?"

Its just amazing to know how much you people love each other!

would be even wonderful if you both can "show" this love to each other! ;)

I remember everytime mom used to be upset, dad used to go and sing a song(romantic situational number! :P) Oh my! dad loves mom!

I remember mom having hot dinner ready for dad as soon as he came from clinic and then over a walk or at night..in the bed, used to share her day with dad! Oh my! mom loves dad!

I remember dad giving us afternoon meals and putting us off to sleep even before mom used to come..and at times take special effort to make tea when mom so does not want to! :P

dad loves mom!

i remember mom being too worried over dad's health,being besides him whenever required and adjusting in whatever we've always had! mom loves dad!!

Now that i remember all those loving moments it strikes to me how much do they still love each other today as much as they did 24 years back! I see this evidently every time I come back home.. though both of you are in separate rooms /beds

but knowing that each one is there if needed! :)

Mom and Dad, what a blessing the both of you have been to me!

I have so much to be thankful for, but I would not have any of those blessings if it weren't for the blessings of YOU BOTH loving each other till today...as fresh as ever!!

LOVE YOU hell lottt!!

P.S: It's just the start of the day,would update this as the day proceeds...... ;)

The January Examinations.

The January Examination or as popularly called the Jan-tests are held every year in the second week of January in college. They go about for 10 days showing their terrifying and mystic nature that brings a different “wave” in college. (I’d explain you this wave towards the end :P :P :P)

We are given a “preparatory” leave to prepare for these exams but since that leave encompasses both the Christmas and New Year Celebrations, you can well understand how we “use” this leave!! J

We do prepare…but for Joy…loads of Masti and so much Fun!!!

At the start of the exams the usual question is: “kuch kiya/did you study anything??” :-P

It is ironic if I see the trend of the perception of these exams in all the three years…

For the first year junior members it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT thing!

Everyone aims or at least tries to aim for the prestigious Sumitomo Scholarship that is worth around 25 grand! And what makes it big is not just the amount but the fact that the one who gets it in the first year gets it for all the three years! J

For a second year junior member it’s somewhat important, they realize by the 2^nd year the value of Jan test beyond Sumitomo, i.e. the internals!You screw your internals badly enough in the 1^st year to realize that had there been just 2 or 3 more marks there in the internals you could have easily crossed the 70%(for scienceez) or 60%(for Artseez) in univs.

For 3^rd years it’s a routine, the ones who are already placed are the ones least concerned…and by that time the ones who are not placed are as it is not concerned:-P They don’t even get to know when they come n go, as Pallavi says!

During Exams,everybody in the residence (i.e. hostel for a non-stephanian) is found in relationship with books: eating, drinking n sleeping with books! ;)

Hahahahahaha… the sight is soo amusing since none of us (leaving chem. Hons legends :P) studies before exams!!! You have people who are ready for jagraatas and that too soo many! J

Go around any time in the block…be it as late as 2 am or early morning 4 am…all lights are switched on! :D This is the wave I had mentioned earlier!

When I came as a Futcha(first year bachchas are called futchaas in D.U.), I often used to wonder..When do people study here? But you get to see that sight exclusively during exams! ;) It’s just that night before when everyone gears up and says, “Oh the exam is tomorrow indeed!!” :)

My experiences have been very different. As a first year, Jan Tests to me were important.I was another aspirant of Sumitomo Scholarship. In the preparatory leave, I went back home with a small bag of clothes n other stuff n a huge suitcase full with books. My mom was so shocked n asked why so many books? You could have got only those from which you would study and I well remember that I had promptly replied that aapko pta ni hai?? Mere “Jan Test” hai…. I gotta study them all! N trust me the time I had to return back to college that was the only suitcase that I dint have to pack, it was as it is: “untouched” :P

Well, this year I decided not to go back home to study, since I had my first year experience and knew well that “now” studying at home does NOT work at all!! I thought I’d stay in college and study but realized it early enough that that so does not work!! With no classes to attend in the day, I’d happily sleep till hunger pangs or Nature’s call intervened!

Then I thought if I go to my guardians place, at least I’ll have some shame and so would get up on time and get ready but Ahh!! That too did NOT work :P Instead, I used to wake up around 12 or 1pm with no scolding or guilt! Also, I got some amazing food along with so much of Television to see and what more, there was Wi-Fi at home J n how could I forget the dog? How could I study?? :P To add to it, had a dancing bash at the New Year J

Rest all is history! Exams went bad! They never go that great anyways… but this time I feel indifferent to the results.

Lets see what the final year holds for me...as of now I just feel that next year I’d be indifferent to the exams itself!

One resolution is that this time, come what may I’m not screwing my Christmas and New Year!!! I would go back home….without a single book and then come back after the celebrations and studyJ

As it is we start then only, what’s the whole point of not celebrating!! ;)

P.S: I guess all “hostel” students would agree with the last night preparations.

Elders say: “last minute studying never helps”. Now how to tell them that ONLY last minute study helps?? ;)

Also, I guess I forgot to mention that the Jan tests contribute to the 10 of the 25 marks we have for internals. The final university examination is for 75marks each.