c u on top - satyabrata dam

I was speeding along the onrushing waters of Gaj River, en route to the peaks and passes on the horizon. The jungles around were green and thick and full of chattering birds. I had only a few days to accomplish my climbs and speed was of essence. As I rounded off one big boulder, by the trail, I came across Sujan Singh (I learned his name later) sitting atop a rock, nursing a young sheep on his lap. He wore a deep red turban, wool waistcoat and a big bright smile. He looked around 50. Where was I going, he enquired, bidding me to rest a while. Hearing my objective he nodded his grey haired head few times and said, ‘Are you sure? I have never heard any outsider going there in my entire life. No one goes there. Do you know the way to reach there?’ I accepted my complete ignorance of the route, except that I could see the peak far up on the horizon and had thought of navigating by pure line of sight. He agreed to take me a part of the way, where his flock of sheep was grazing. He had come...

Thousands of kilometers of road crisscross the Indian Himalaya taking people across remote and high passes, valleys and rivers. Majority of these roads are built by Border Roads Organization. Since all these roads are really dangerous to drive upon, BRO's prime concern is about the safety of those who drive on these roads. Over the years, BRO came up with road signs at vantage points along the way, to keep the driver wary and careful. I have no idea who in BRO came up with these road signs but they are scattered through the length and breadth of the Himalaya. Following are some of the interesting ones that I have come across during my Himalayan travels. Be gentle on my curves If you are married, divorce speed. If you are not, think of your future wife Peep, peep, don't sleep If I could, I would have been wider Don't be a Gama (a legendary strongman) in the land of lama This is a highway, not a runway Curves are blind and sharp drive your vehicle like playing a harp After dr...

During one of my recent trips out of Delhi I got acquainted with two drop-dead gorgeous girls with faces full of smiles and heads full of ideas. I was lucky, since not only does one seldom find oneself in such company but they also allowed me a brief but most enlightening peep into their world… a world that I had thought I had lost and had left far behind. Aishwarya and Sanaya; the former fluttering at 14 and the latter evolving at 11. During our brief encounter, they took me on a heady journey back to my carefree young days, when I still believed in the power of dreams and thought that anything was possible. They both rekindled my faith and my belief that one must continue to dream and that anything was still possible. This post is of them, for them and by them. Trying my best not to swallow one of the millions of flying ants that infested the air, I gingerly stepped on the verandah of the house where I had been invited over for dinner. After being ushered in, I...

Two days after landing in Iceland, I was standing at one of the remotest parts of this country. Around 90 km short of the village of Hofn, at the Southeast corner of the massive Vatnajokull ice cap. There were nine of us. My friend, Leifur, perhaps the top alpinist and mountain guide of Iceland in the current times, was our guide for the day. When Leifur had earlier come to pick me up from the guest house where I was staying, I was delighted to see, three pretty girls perched laughingly on the back seat of the 4WD Landrover. The previous evening, Leifur had briefed me about our day’s objective. An ascent of Iceland’s second highest peak, Sveinstindur (2045 m) by its very long and winding and strenuous S – SE route. We would be making only the 4th ascent of this route. It would take us between 15 – 16 hrs of continuous walk and a height gain of 2000 m and an identical descent, covering over 25 km in distance. He assured me that we had a crack team of eight very able Icelandic mountainee...

I am fascinated by nature, every facet, every nuances. Astral bodies fascinate me in particular. Never have I missed a chance to gaze at the rising and setting of the sun or moon, or charting the course of our milky way. Countless sunrises and sets later, I am still as fascinated and awestruck as ever. This is a short post, again for reasons unknown, just to share some of my most beautiful shots of the Sun from very high up... a world where I belong. Being nearer to the sun, it simply looks more enchanting. At least once in every man's lifetime, one should go up above the terra firma and gaze at the heavenly bodies. And remember always, that when the sun sets for one, for another it is rising. Enjoy the view.

The following is the first in a series of stories that I intended to write about a central character: Uncle Sam. I wrote these more than 15 years ago. I penned six such stories. Uncle Sam does not exist, except in my imagination in my world. He is a mythical figure, capable, almost of anything. I wish he was there... I wish we all found our Uncle Sam. This post today is for a special friend who checks my blog every day. The above pictures are of her home, or the view from her verandah, not in reality, but as she dreams about, or as I understood her dream. I hope she finds it somewhat familiar. If these pictures don't find her approval then I cannot be held accountable, I downloaded these from the internet. If Uncle Sam hiccupped after a voluminous meal we knew he was ready for a tale. He was a distant relative on my mother’s side—so distant that nobody remembered the connection. A boisterous bachelor hovering around forty Uncle Sam exuded boyish charm and bonhomie. His mere presenc...