c u on top - satyabrata dam

These lines came to me this morning, just as I woke up and I dedicate them to the free spirit that every human being has or should have; and in particular this is for my dear friend Simon Thomsett:- As the sun gets up so bright I look up to follow the eagle’s flight Where does it go and how far will it alight How I wish I could follow its flight When it nests into the darkness night I wonder if I too might For an eagle’s spirit is free and sprite So much joy and full of delight But when they dive and do fight Filling up the air with magnificent sight How I wish I could follow its flight And fly high even if for slight For my heart soars with the eagle’s roar Then I fling open my wooden door Cast my boat from the ocean’s shore I follow the eagle’s stunning flight Oh how I wish I could be as light And follow the eagle on its flight

... continued from the previous post.... 6. Húsavík, Iceland: A nation with the word ‘ice’ embedded in its name has to be among my top favourites just for that reason alone, and Iceland has countless other reasons as well. The proverbial land of ‘fire and ice’, blue lagoon, hot water springs, active volcanoes, some of the world’s largest ice caps, rare flora and fauna, clean crisp air, ice covered mountains, lakes, mysterious coves and bays, and some of the world’s friendliest people; I can go on and on about Iceland but I must pause for the sake of this post. Iceland is among my most repeated European destinations and by now I have almost seen the entire country in a manner that most tourists simply can’t, all thanks to my numerous friends there who have gone out of their ways to take me around and to make me feel completely at home. In my next trip there I plan to cycle around the entire country following the national highway ring road. In my estimate I would take around 40 days t...

During my Naval career, I was fortunate enough to have had several foreign postings, many deputations and occasional circumnavigation and ocean sailing expeditions thrown in for good measure, besides of course climbing all over the world, for which my bosses always allowed me to go; even at the cost of operational commitments. And now when I sit back and gaze at that wonderful period of my life I am often led to believe that perhaps my Commanding Officers were actually glad to get me out of their systems, else how can one explain that never once were my leave applications turned down or my request to go climbing or sailing while on deputation. Perhaps more bizarre, absurd and dangerous my expeditions were, more they were merry as they could have hoped that I won’t return and they had seen the last of me and what a benign and legal way of getting rid of a real pain in the butt; for I was that for sure. But jokes apart I am primarily thankful to the Indian Navy and to all my superiors a...

I joined the Navy to fulfil my childhood dream of becoming a submariner hence I opted for the submarines as soon as I could once I got my commission. As a submariner I had dreamt of a life full of adventure, exotic locations, untold mysteries and uncharted vistas, all of which did come true but I hadn’t bargained for the amount of studies we had to do regularly and continuously, even appearing for qualifying exams every six months, failing which one would be expelled from the arm. During my 22 years of submarining I had to learn and absorb massive amount of knowledge regarding weapons, sensors, hydro-dynamics, physics, tele-communication, navigation and also copious amount of information about the ocean life. A submarine literally is like a metallic fish, the largest fish actually, which can easily dwarf the largest blue whales both in size, volume, weight and speed. A submarine is ‘an essence in the water a part of the ocean world’ since that’s where we live and operate. So it is i...

If one object can be named as an extension of my limbs then that would be a Swiss Knife (SK). To me it is not a lowly knife but a life saving device, exactly what the manufacturers Victorinox claim it to be. Over the years I have used many models and varieties of SK and currently I have 6 different models at home including the ubiquitous Swiss Champ with which you can literally dismantle a space shuttle or disarm a nuclear ballistic missile. Any one or two of these SK would always accompany me in all my travels, adventurous or not, and they have literally saved my life on numerous occasions. I am often asked by people to recommend a SK for their use and that is the key to buying a SK; what are you going to use it for; some use it as a keychain, some to impress, some to cut vegetables at home, some to climb Everest and then some to just hang it on the wall of their sitting room. If you visit the Victorinox website or a showroom you would be completely baffled and boggled by the range...

Every time I shoulder my rucksack, laden with climbing gear and my survival pack, my body automatically transforms into ‘climbing’ mode. From countless occasions before, it knows what it’s going to be in for, once that heavy rucksack gets on my shoulders. Each time I cling to a rock face from my fingers, once again my mind and body and my limbs know instinctively what could happen. Every time I leave the safety of horizontal ground and slither up into my vertical world, my body again knows what’s going to happen and it is also acutely aware that at some point I may peel off or gravity may take hold of me once again. Flying off faces is not new to me, I have been falling forever. Thousands of ice axe placements later, even today when I plunge my ice tools into a vertical and often fragile frozen face there’s no guarantee that it will hold my weight or that the face would not shatter and break away taking me along to certain death. For me climbing is as instinctive as breathing. Most of...

. At first sight, seeing from the upper escarpment, shrouded within the afternoon hot haze, Lake Baringo does not appear exciting or in any way unique; except that the water body is dotted with several tiny islands and has good amount of forest cover all around. It is the end of our Turkana trip and after the long, dry, dusty spell from Maralal I am only too glad to spread my legs just about anywhere. Lake Baringo seems to be better than ‘anywhere.’ By then I was back in the beer guzzling couple’s dusty SUV hence slightly better off than my truck-bound companions, whose posterior flesh had taken severe beating till now. The road winds down towards the lake and I am delighted to see the never ending row of volcanic and metamorphic rock to my right, ideal though hazardous rock climbing site. We finally reach Marigat (the main settlement in the area) and take to the broad tarmac road. We cross the entry gate, where we pay the fee and then proceed towards Robert’s Camp where we wou...

Mara Porini Camp – Ol Kinyei Conservancy My next destination with Gamewatchers was their Mara Porini Camp in Ol Kinyei Conservancy. This happened during the latter half of January and by this time I had gained adequate experience for wildlife and all things wild to consider myself a little above ignorant in such matters. So I start off with some sense of efficacy as I ride with Mr. Pappu, the rotund good natured Indian origin Gamewatchers overall manager cum all-purpose man. Pappu loves driving, eating and music and is a Formula race fan; thankfully he drives like a normal person. In few hours and with our vehicle full of supplies and provisions for the camp, we arrive at Narok, the staging town for Mara. A brief halt to pop few samosas inside our growling stomachs and we speed off on the un-metaled road towards the conservancy. The sky is grey, air is breezy and Pappu is full of funny stories. At a point we leave the road and drive into a dip, through a stream and up on the oth...