Rain or Shine We are Out !!

Here comes the first blog post on my experience of pursuing Masters in Outdoor Environmental Education at Linkoping University in Sweden. Well, by now after reading through my blogs you would have guessed how 'tropical person' I am. I had grown up in south of India - 12 years in Palakkad, then 6 years in Madurai, and 3 years in Ujire and guess what is common to these three places. It's the heat!!! From my childhood, I have experienced the tropical climate with average temperatures of 28°C. I am used to heavy rains during monsoons, and the sun and the warmth the rest of the year. It was always the mango trees, and the coconut trees that surrounded me. Growing up in these places made me think it is normal to sweat and it is very 'abnormal' not to sweat. During my short visits to Bengaluru for meetings, I realized it was too cold for me, and I didn't sweat which according to me was considered 'abnormal'. So, moving to Sweden which is located in the Northern Europe was a stark contrast!! When I landed in Sweden mid August 2015 and started living there, I realized how my body had got used to the tropical climate. And also it was a landscape that was so different. Soon I realized I was surrounded by pine trees, maple trees and oak trees! It was completely a new feeling. I was really excited to explore this new landscape!! 

The first thing I learnt from my new friend in the corridor (living space for students in Sweden are called 'Student corridors') was about the nearby forest 'Rydsskogen' ('Skogen' means forest in Swedish). I remember going up to this forest early morning along with her. I was thrilled to be amidst the tall and the huge pine trees, and walking along the carpet made of blueberry and raspberry plants.

Blueberry plants that surround Rydsskogen

These raspberries taste and smell really good! Fresh and organic

Well the second most important thing I did was to buy a cycle. I totally adore Linkoping because of the amazing bike roads that take me everywhere. As a student living in Linkoping, bicycles make it economical and also it is a very good way to keep myself healthy. Just a week before my course began, we went down cycling to lake Roxen organized by ESN (Erasmus Student Network). This was the very first time I encountered the vast country side, the yellow flowers and the blue sky (reminds you of somethings? Yes the Swedish flag!!). On the way I would stop and watch the butterflies and observe how unique or similar are they to the ones I see in India. Well I ended up spotting the 'Small Tortoiseshell' butterfly. 

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly spotted in the countryside in Linkoping

Beautiful countryside landscape en route to lake Roxen through the amazing bike roads!

And beside the lake Roxen, I happen to see the first ever Dandelion in my life. It was never a part of the tropical landscape where I grew up. So, everything was so new and so exciting for me to learn, observe and understand. 

My first ever Dandelion!!

Soon Rydsskogen became my favorite place for spending time with nature observing birds, animals, trees, bugs and so many beautiful elements of nature. I remember spotting a slug during one of our walks to Rydsskogen and shouting out, 'Oh wow, look at the snail!'. And it was then they told me that, it is a slug and not a snail. Well, snails were an important part of the ecosystem where I grew in Palakkad. As a kid I remember the huge snails sliding through the ditches in the monsoons!! I used to watch their big shells and how they moved through the wet surfaces. It was quite an exciting thing to do during monsoons. It was not until I went to Linkoping that I saw 'slugs' - the shell-less 'snails'. Interestingly, now that I am blogging about snails and slugs, I have so many questions like 'How does the shell develop? Does it grow in size?'. And I don't have a memory from school where we played and interacted with snails to learn more about it's interesting anatomy or its life in general. I wonder, why didn't the teacher take me out and teach about this interesting animal that was around us all the time! It would have been so interesting to be with the snails and learn about them than to read about it in my Biology textbook that had classification etc, etc. and huge chunks of data with amazing pictures. Well, thought for all the teachers out there who want to make learning engaging to children.  

Slug in Rydsskogen

As a Master student of Outdoor Environmental Education, I was privileged to meet students and teachers from different parts of the world who had come together for a common purpose. I had the unique opportunity to explore the 'outdoors' that triggered and opened up so many new ideas and challenged the approach to education that is currently driving the world - the way we are educating students at school, and the way children are brought up by the parents in the current society. During the first week of my course, I learnt one important lesson, 'There is no bad weather, only bad choice of clothes'. Well, coming from the tropical place, I could not gauge how cold it can get in Sweden if you get wet in the rain and when you have to stay outdoor for an extended period of time. Interestingly if I look back now, most of the days when we had our outdoor class it was cold or rainy or snowy. But we never had our outdoor classes rescheduled because it was 'raining' or because it was 'snowing'. We were out there no matter what - 'Rain or Shine we were out there to learn and explore'. As teachers it was important for us to learn this lesson that you cannot blame weather but instead it is up to you to make the best of it.

Our outdoor classroom!!

I feel a sense of excitement writing all about it now. This is how my journey kicked off at Linkoping, and it only gets more interesting!! So, folks soon I will bring more new stories, insights and fresh food for the mind and the soul.

Packing Memories and Lessons on Sustainability to Linköping

Its been a long time I have blogged, now its high time that I share the stories from Linkoping. But wait, I don't want you to miss out on some interesting experiences. Before I take you to Sweden let me tell you how the last two months looked like at home in Madurai and yes, I wanted to plant saplings here, and I am going to share those beautiful memories.

During June and July 2015, I had two young teenage brother and sister as my neighbor. My conversations with Monica and her brother revealed their eagerness to plant the saplings. So, I was at the door of the forest office again but this time in Madurai and I took 10 saplings home. The saplings were Arasa maram (Peeple tree), Ala maram (Banyan tree), Vepe Maram (Neem tree), Naval Pazham (Jamun tree) and two other species. So, Monica, her brother and I set out with the digging bar, axe and off course the saplings, and began our journey of planting the saplings in our colony. On our way we met many of Monica and her brother's friends. They described with lots of enthusiasm about their task of planting the saplings and roped in few more of their friends. As we started digging and working, the elderly neighbors from the nearby houses gathered and curiously questioned what we were up to. The kids again enthusiastically explained what they were going to do, and the elders encouraged them while also cautioning them to be careful with all the equipments. As we started digging I realized that the soil here is so hard compared to Ujire. It was much easier to dig the soil and we could plant so many, but here it required extra efforts to dig the hard dry soil. But it was so much fun with the children around. What brings me happiness is when Monica and other children come to me even after a year and talk about the plants that they planted. The other day Monica was telling,' Akka, only 6 plants survived.' It feels amazing to know children remember our efforts of planting the saplings and visit the plants often.

Children making a home for the plant

Look whom we found!! An earthworm

The next day, Palani the super gardner came to our rescue. The way we works with the soil, and plants the saplings, it shows his experience and the passion towards growing plants. I was carefully observing how he was working, and then occasionally I would grab the digging bar trying to ape his technique, and he would explain how I could be better. I realized that day how these techniques are not 'taught' at school. I just read about a digging bar, I never used it, and the result is a young graduate who has read about a digging bar, seen amazing pictures of it, but never used one!

I have to confess I just loved to see him work with the soil elegantly and passionately. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the crazy world that puts more value to the work of a software engineer or a teacher than to a gardner. I thought he is doing an amazing work and equally important job, then what makes the world put a lesser value to his work! I don't have an answer even today.

Palani, the super awesome gardner at work

Neem plant gets a new home

8 saplings were ultimately planted here, and two were planted at dad's office. And then, of course came the next planting session, thanks to Sushmitha, who has become like my younger sister now. Her dad had procured many saplings from the forest department that year to plant in the farm, and we could plant a couple of saplings with her dad's and brother's help. We were also treated by her mother with my favourite dish from Kerala 'Kadala Curry and Puttu' which tasted yummy. Staying in Madurai for a month, I had missed the rains of Ujire, the rain of Western Ghats. I was enjoying every bit of it with an amazing group of people Sushmitha, Sneha, my cousin brother Chaitanya and Nikhilesh! We played in the stream water, drenched in the rain, planted saplings, played with Cindrella - Sushmitha's favourite goat and went home with lots of memories.

Love for Cindrella

Planting saplings!!!

And more saplings!!!

The same day early morning me and Nikhilesh had gone to the nearby open area to watch some birds. Nikhilesh, being an amazing photographer, we could capture some really good pictures of the birds. We spotted the greater racket-tailed drongo, rufous treepie with its unique calls, and rufous babbler which was the very first time I spotted them; usually it is the common babblers that I saw here, and we were lucky that day to spot the species of rufous babblers that are endemic to the Western Ghats. It felt so wonderful to wake up early morning on a rainy day in the Western Ghats and walk on the wet leaves enjoying the lovely bird calls.

Rofous Treepie. Picture Courtesy: Nikhilesh Dharmala

Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo. Picture Courtesy: Nikhilesh Dharmala

Rufous babbler. Picture Courtesy: Nikhilesh Dharmala


Thank you Nikhilesh for the amazing clicks!!

 And, in the afternoon it was time to spend with Suhas bhaiyya and his humble family, who made me and Nikhilesh amazing Dhakshina Kannada style food and gifted me a hand made greeting card and an amazing Suhas style gift - a custom made lamp with my pictures and a custom made diary.

Suhas and Rajith's love to me

I came to Madurai with so many more memories from Ujire! It was emotional for me leave Ujire, the place that I fall in love with the first sight, and gave way to Linköping. I was all set to leave. And one last surprise, was the visit to Madurai by Sayli, my twin sister, as I call her. She came over to our home. We visited the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple and enjoyed the little conversations while queuing up for the dharshan. We enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the temple and soaked in the peaceful atmosphere and cherished the sight of birds flying from the high gopuram to the tall beautiful banyan tree. We were also stunned by the beauty of the palace - Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal. After that we tried the famous 'Jil Jil Jigarthanda' of Madurai and it tasted amazing!!

Some peaceful moments at the beautiful temple!

Some more amazing gifts! A fantastic painting of the 'Elephant God - Ganesha' from Vishal Bhaiyya and Salim Ali's 'The Book of Indian Birds' from Ananth, my friend more than a colleague who inspired to observe birds, listen to them and identify them. Now I can't stop myself from looking at birds and it has become an interest that I pursue enthusiastically. If you are interested to read more about birds, please do have a look at Ananth's column 'Urban Jungle' in Bangalore Mirror. I am very sure, you will become a bird enthusiastic after reading through his columns. 

All about birds!!!

Amazing painting of Ganesha 

These are the memories of love and the lessons on sustainability that I packed with me along with my other 'stuff' to Linkoping. I left home on the 19th of August 2015 filled with memories from children and people in Ujire, love from dear ones and the dream to pursue Masters in Outdoor Environmental Education. Yes, I promise the next blog will be from Linkoping! 

Best lessons on Sustainability from People and Children in villages

By the end of August, I was back to Ujire from the Himalayas and it seemed like the mountains of Western Ghats had shrunk in size all of a sudden, but still they always struck me with their beauty; I can stay for hours just staring at those mountains from the Selco Labs. By Septmeber 2014, children had already started working on the innovations and whenever they made something, like a toy, or grass cutting machine, they always fascinated me with their creativity. One cool innovation that I think was dear to me was bags made from Areca and how children in one school stitched together chips packets to make a carry bags. I used to see excitement in Sushmitha, Mamthaz and Nishkala (my colleagues who worked on Invention Education) whenever children made something and I could make that out from their face, that, today they have something exciting to show! And whenever I traveled to Yadgir, Naveen and Yallamma (my colleagues who worked on Invention Education in Yadgir) proudly showed all the items that children had made.

Areca bag was something I always carried with me, a sign of innovation and sustainability made by a 7th grade student

What children showed me was that innovation is not always what we perceive. I always thought innovation is making robots and making something that changes the whole world in an instant. I started digging deeper and looked for the meaning of the term 'Innovation' in the dictionary and all it said was 'make changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products', and children did that creatively.

I had been a person who always had environment and sustainability in the forefront, at least when I was 18(as much as I remember) and always trying to reason 'how can I live sustainably'. Suddenly one day everything seemed to demystify. My frequent visits in and out of Ujire, Yadgir and Bangalore, slowly opened up to me, how people in villages live a sustainable life. If you talk about recycling and reusing, children showed me that they are pro at that. Yes, we did keep them motivated and brainstorm with them for ideas, but what we found was that now they had a platform to showcase their creativity. They used old wires, umbrellas, tarpaulin sheets, areca sheets, chips packets, etc.

In the villages, the food waste is mostly used as manure for plants and sometimes given to cows. In one of the schools, the children would discard the left overs in a vessel and it was given to the house next door who would use it to feed the cows!! Isn't that sustainability, and children practicing that at school!! And there is an eating place in Ujire where the cows happily come in and eat from 'their' bowl and go out. Yes, that is sustainability to me, where animals feel at home!

She feels at home, the lovely cow!!

One thing I realized is that to live your life you don't really need all the 'stuff' that you think you need. Say for example, 20 different types of shoes. Really ? I have to share my experience at a beach in Mangalore. It was lovely afternoon and I wanted to have some quite time with my friend at the beach. Since it was getting very hot, we were walking towards the mangroves, and it looked so clear and pristine, but as I stood there for sometime, I saw slippers, and bulbs floating in the water. They were in huge numbers and I stood there thinking 'Deepti, do you realize the sandals and slippers, and bulbs that you throw away can enter the marine ecosystem.' It was that day I decided I will not buy a new pair of sandals, or slippers unless I absolutely need it. I wanted to live the life with the value, 'less is beautiful'.

Traveling through the vast stretches of corn and lentil fields in Yadgir and walking through the paddy fields in villages in Ujire, I realized farming is so close to nature and walking through the fields brings so much happiness deep within me. Also, every villager I met, every child always showed kindness and love. A key ingredient to grow and nurture anything in life, be it paddy or lentils or groundnuts, or a baby!!

The paddy from the south of Karnataka (above), and lentils from the North of Karnataka (below).

By the end of October, I started realizing it will be nice to study, to have a Masters in Education. And by now I had a clear idea of what I wanted, outdoors, and experiential education. I wanted to learn more about these aspects, I had the urge to seek more knowledge and that is when I found, tada, Masters Programme in Outdoor Environmental Education and Outdoor Life at Linkoping University. As usual, I sent in the application, and went through the normal procedures for gaining admission into this university.

Meantime, it was November and I realized I missed the children from GHPS, Kukkavu whom I used to teach before and I so much wanted to go and meet them. So, one fine Sunday, I took my cycle and traveled 18kms to meet them and surprise them. I was so very happy to see them after a long time, talk to them and spend a whole day with them. They were like, 'Deepti Madam' with a smile and I would beam with happiness. We visited many houses of my students and at one of the houses, the student was out for work, but I asked his mother to convey my regards to him. And then we all went to the river, bathed and splashed water on each other having a great time together.

Water, sun and the lovely students

I didn't want to leave them, but to my surprise when I returned home, one of the students whom I couldn't meet, called me up and said, 'Madam, you could have told me you were coming, then I would not have gone out for work.' The satisfaction that I had after the call, is something I cannot explain, but I still feel it today when I recollect.

During November, the we started kitchen garden in schools and do you want to see how enthusiastic the children were, well, I let the pictures do the talking.

Getting the land ready for the seeds

Can you see an innovation here? Well I would say it was quite innovative of the children to make a hole and sprinkle the cow dung water mixture to the soil.

Meanwhile, soon came December and we were making solar cookers from waste cardboard. This was one of those activities that children would love to do anytime. Just imagine making a cooker by yourself and cooking food in that. Off course,  its exciting. All the inventions, fire, firewood, etc. has been around the food you see ;)

Children of seventh grade working together with an old Umbrella to make a solar cooker

One of the school had an annual day soon and the teachers wanted to know whether I could choreograph and teach a dance to the students. I was actually excited, but the school is a bit far and the first bus was at 8.15. But I had to be there at 8.15, so that I could teach dance to the students. So, I used to take another route and the first bus was at 7.00 (as my vague memory says). I had to walk nearly 5 Kms with my heavy laptop to reach the school. But it was a delight to see the students learn the dance with so much dedication. Though it was hard, you know what was the reward. One of the students came up to me and said 'Thank you teacher for teaching the dance.' She was one of those who had the love for dance, and I could see that in her when she danced. I smiled and that 'Thank you', is something so special because she really meant it!

The dance troupe

And here comes January and we were getting ready for the Invention Fair 2015 !! It was one of the important events for the team Invention Education and also for the students who were ready to show everyone what they had made!! Oh, the excitement of the students and the team resonates as I write this. Vishal and Suhas bhaiyyas were those who really helped us with the local logistics. It took a lot of efforts to organize this, and it was the first time this region was having an 'Invention Fair'. But on February 28th 2015 during the Invention Fair I see the children having fun, one special moment when I see one of the students, who was really shy and not confident when we started the programme, because of his difficulties with reading and writing and we know how the education system is biased to reading and writing. But guess what, he stood there confidently explaining to every stranger what he had made. Isn't that worth the efforts!! And having had my lessons on sustainability from the students and the villagers, we inaugurated the programme by planting a sapling and made sure we did  not use any plastics, and used areca plates to give food to the 500 odd students and teachers who were at the Fair.

Well this lovely journey with the villagers, and students and lovely people I worked with increased my desire to study, to seek knowledge on sustainability and education and to contribute more for the nature, and by March, I decided to pursue my dream to be educationist in love with outdoors! Thats how the road led to Linkoping. Now we have reached a milestone, Linkoping, in this journey, we have to wait till we get aboard the next blog with a lots of new stories from Linkoping!!

THE HIMALAYAN EXPERIENCE

There comes August 2014 and its time to set out the long journey to Himalayas - destination LEH. And guess what, I am so glad we didn't take a flight and just land there in LEH, but took it slow and nice and climbed the Himalayan stretch in a public transport!! Yes, Himalayas are best experienced when we climb it and not when we just land in LEH and go back boom in a flight. You will soon know why. This post is about discovering beauty in nature beyond our mental pictures of the perceived beauty.

Well it was 1st August, and we started from Ujire, really a long way from Himalayas ;) and took a train from Mangalore to Mumbai. You know the West Coast journey in August is one of the most beautiful journeys ever. Yes it is raining and the train is messy, but along with the mess comes this beauty that you will not see in any other season. The paddy fields and the mountains of the Western Ghats bring such picturesque sights to you that you don't need any book or music, just looking out of the window brings you such immense amount of peace.

This is were we started our journey

I will let the picture do the talking

The mesmerizing beauty of the rains

 I have taken this journey from Mangalore to Mumbai in different times of the year, that is, in different seasons, but trust me the most beautiful time is in August when it rains cats and dogs, but when the green comes alive !!

From Mumbai we went to Udaipur, and then Jodhpur and then Jaipur. Rajasthan is really beautiful and colorful. One thing I really like while we were traveling is that, we walk a lot, yes there were times when my legs ached, but in the end it's all worth it because 'I came out alive, haha :D'. Well you explore a part of you, that you thought never existed. Though initially I was hesitant, I feel its one of the best experiences - to just let go of all your inhibitions, and perceptions about traveling like staying in a posh hotel, having food in fancy restaurants, visiting places in a cab, etc. We ate a lot of local food, street food and were never really particular about anything. We always used the public transport and always had local food and all these made me feel like a traveller and not a tourist, made me explore so many new types of food, pushed my limits, and it was all worth it. I enjoyed talking to people, understanding them, and just being in the place, admiring the nature and enjoying the moment.

Well from Jaipur we went to Delhi, and then we took a public bus to Manali. Well the journey from Delhi to Manali was suppose to happen in the night. But as soon as we reached the foothills of the Himalayas, our bus just didn't move. We all slept throughout the night in the bus, and it did not move even an inch. Then in the morning the road was clear and our bus started moving. Well, all that happens, happens for the good. In the morning when I opened my eyes, I woke up to the beautiful nature and I realized how I would have slept through this beautiful journey if our bus had moved in the night, and I was lucky that I did not miss this awe inspiring nature and enjoyed every bit of it.

While traveling through the Himalayas in a slow moving bus without a TV, I learnt my best geography lessons. Well I have to tell you how wonderful the journey becomes without these TVs in the bus, and AC. I was very glad indeed to be traveling in this bus were we had to hold an Umbrella to save our friend from getting wet in the leaking bus ;) .

I remember reading through my textbooks about how Himalayas are divided into Shiwaliks, Lesser himalayas and Greater Himalayas. But as I always say, reading through textbooks with tons of amazing pictures is no where close to being in the place and learning about it. Yes, it did inspire me to come here but never taught me geography so well.

Journey from Delhi to Manali was filled with lots of greenery and rivers. Then, the next day we took a bus from Manali to Leh, with a stop over in Keylong. The bus from Manali to Keylong was again without TV and AC, I thank those bus people for keeping it peaceful and letting us all enjoy the journey. I was so fascinated by the majestic Himalayas that I went to the front, sat close to the drivers seat, put my head out (off course I was making sure my head did not fall off :D) and enjoyed the fresh air, the greenery, hugeness of the mountains and how tiny we all become in front of them, yet the bond that we share so strong yet subtle.

I wish I was the goat out there!! ;)

Beautiful: Subtle greenery that compliments the rugged rocks 

At Keylong we stayed in tents which was amazing. And in the evening went to the places nearby and spoke to a family who were working in their apple farm :) I was really excited to talk to the grandma and her grandchildren, and her daughter in laws, they were all very friendly and we had such a nice time together.

Then the next day early morning, we set out the journey to LEH !! And I was still in the hangover of this beautiful Manali- Keylong journey and was expecting lots a greenery on the way. And then to the shock of my life, the terrain totally changed from Rotang pass, it was no greenery anymore. It was sharp, rugged mountain peaks everywhere and no vegetation at all. I was taken aback and was sitting quietly asking myself, 'Is this really nice? Where are all the trees?'. I was so grumpy and was looking for ideal beauty of Himalayas that were defined in my head. And slowly I realize that we had reached the Greater Himalayas and oh dear, it is dry, arid, and rugged.

The rock formations on the way to LEH. 

As we reached Leh, I just wanted to go back to Keylong to the green mountains, but then I was going to spend 10 days in Leh. It was a biking trip organized by YHAI, and I was so much excited about it. And now I was thinking, ' What!! Am I going to cycle in this place? Is it really beautiful?'.  We had three days to explore Leh before we started the biking trip. And I was still not sure whether I would have a good time cycling. Then it was 12th August and time to start the cycling trip. We started the trip from Lamayuru. As soon as I reached Lamayuru, I was astounded by the beautiful formations of  the mountains and it looked like we were in moon, a totally different place that I had never seen before in my life. We camped under the sky, and oh my God, the beauty of the land came alive in the night when the mountains sparkled under the moon light! And then I knew I was falling in love with these mountains that looked initially strange but it was me who had to see their beauty, who had to wait till they showed me how beautiful they are. I knew I was falling for their beauty and sleeping under the sky living a life of a nomad just cycling through the mountains for 10 days was just what I need to explore their beauty and the wonderful people who inhibited them.

Lamayuru

The next day when we started cycling, I was filled with new found energy and new found enthusiasm, and it was because I was falling in love with the mountains and was eager to explore them more.

Yes, that me!!

Thats us admiring the beauty of the mountains.

After long day of cycling, we rested in the evening, under the sky, on this road, lying down there, just watching the stars. Yes, I felt as if I was in a dreamland, no light pollution, sound pollution or any kind of disturbance, lying down on the road to watch the stars just like a fairy tale.

The next day, it was time to cycle again, and it was a really sunny day and a lot of uphills, it was indeed exhausting! But there came along a baby and his mom working under the sun. I stopped there to talk to them, and that smile of the baby, I still remember. His smile just spread so much joy and I was ready to cycle the next stretch.

Baby and mother who inspired me!

Then came along another person, and this was truly inspiration. This was a man from Europe who was cycling from DELHI to LEH. I had met him at the last stretch when I was really tired and wanted to head to the camp as soon as possible. But, meeting him killed all my tiredness. He was such a huge inspiration. He was cycling on his own from DELHI to LEH, and we spoke to him as we cycled, and he told us that we would cycle back as well!! We were completely taken aback by his zeal and energy and I was no more tired ;)

My inspiration!!

This cycling trip was one of the best, since I met so many different people from different walks of life coming together to cycle. I also met the world renowned cyclist from India, Sumit Patil.

Sumit - the super cyclist!! It was such a pleasure meeting him.

 And on the last day at Fotula Pass, I met a lady from New Zealand who was cycling on her own to Fatula Pass.

Thats me!! Cherishing the happiness of reaching a milestone in our journey

Yes, as you see it was the first time I learnt that sometimes true beauty is different from what we perceive in our heads. I had fallen in love with the most rugged terrains, the Greater Himalayas and the lovely people who I met and who inspired me. This was a journey of discovering beauty and it would not have been possible without my friends, people at YHAI and off course the Himalayas.

What this journey gave me was a deep sense of responsibility that how much more I can do to protect the nature, how much we are a part of it. Though I am not in Himalayas everyday, I came to know I effect them, yes I effect them the way I live, the way I travel, the way I consume. I effect them!!

In the end, it is always about the journey and not the milestone in itself that matters!! I would have never seen the vastness, the diversity and the complete picture of Himalayas if it was not for traveling the entire stretch, if it was not for spending time with the mountains and not just cycling or hiking for the sake of it. I am very glad me, along with our friends could make this journey possible.

Well, the mighty Western Ghats looked very tiny for a few days after I came back to Ujire ;)

My Transformation into a Loving Soul

When I started cycling further and covering longer distance, I used to lose my way so many times. But the people whom I met in the villages were warm, loving, greeted me with a smile, offered me water and then showed me the way. I sill remember one time when a farmer walked till the end of his other field to take us through a short cut to reach gadaikal! And I remember once I fell off my bike and my trousers were torn. So, I went to a house, where lived a very friendly couple, their young 12 year old girl and their elder son. It was early in the morning and I stood there watching the lady kneel down and stitch it for me. It is people like them who showed me how loving you can be to strangers and what it is actually to give your time to others. So many times people would be so happy to see us, and offer us water. It was new for them to see a lady on her cycle in the interior areas but they we were thrilled and always welcoming.

Yes, when I left Ujire I realized I had become beautiful, because mother nature nurtured me with fresh air, lots of love from children and loving people around me, warm smiles, touch of the animals and their love. Before leaving Ujire I had promised myself to plant at least 50 trees, because I felt I enjoyed so much during my treks, it was the nature that gave me so much pleasure and I had give her back something in return and that why I chose to plant the trees. Yes, it was never possible to plant the 30 trees without my friend and also Anand who offered to let us plant 5 saplings in his farm, and the lovely forest officers who understood our intentions and offered to help us.

Once me and my friend Sushmitha had gone to the nearby forest nursery to take some 10 saplings. It was the place where you could not hire an auto immediately nor a bus stop to take the bus. The forest officer offered to take the saplings in his tempo and we cramped and sat in the front seat of the tempo. On the way, I came to know for the first time in my life that forest officers plant trees every rainy season. I thought it was such a beautiful job and it convinced me that world is not so bad, we have at least some people planting the trees. I was so thrilled to know that trees were being planted by the forest department.

One of our planting sessions. We were planting a sapling on the roadside.

It was always my dream to see Ujire from the top of the mountain, to see how beautiful it looks from the above. So on 4th May 2014, me and my friend went up to Ballarayanadurga. Going to this place early in the morning was one of the best moments of my life. It was serene, beautiful and the nature beyond my words came explain. 

Landscape like I had never seen before

This was also the first trek where I saw the skin shed by a snake.

Next was the time for the monsoon trek, where we had got leech bites like never before and this time it was to Amedikallu. I don't remember any other trek where all of us lost so much blood!! Haha.

One thing we found out during this trek was that it echos from a particular point and you can hear the echo for three times. It was a beautiful experience climbing the mountains with the leeches. Special indeed !!

Next task on our list was cycle-trek-cycle, like the triathletes who combine swim, cycle and run. And this time, the destination was Kudremukha. Yes, it was a task that was crazy yet the dream that needed to be accomplished. So, me and my dear friend, set out in our cycles. Well, please note we adhere to the safety standards and always have our helmets on ! ;) Well my dream again was to see Ujire from the top, but since it was early June, it was the rainy season and from the peak we could see nothing but thick cover of clouds. Haha :D But during this trek I had one of my best lessons in geography that even my school couldn't make me understand. 'Seeing is believing' and that is when I saw the majestic mountains of the Western Ghats that stopped the clouds from moving further and brought so much rain to Ujire!! It showed me for the first time in my life, what mountains are capable of doing. I might read a thousand paragraphs about mountains and their role in shaping the climate and topography and blah blah. But this sheer experience of standing there and watching the clouds go back after hitting the mountains, oh god, thats when I realized how these beautiful mountains let me enjoy the rain. 

This is how the mountains brought the rains !!

This trek was so special because it was for the first time that two dogs had accompanied us for the trek and I had never felt so safe and happy. The company of the dogs as we climbed the hill is a memory that still resonates in my mind.

The two dogs - Kalu and Bellu who came with us. Look Kalu seems to be happy posing for the picture and bellu seems phased out ;)

These experiences in nature, and the loving people, and children - little did I know they touched me all in a way and has helped me transform to an individual more beautiful and loving. I take you to my next blog as I share my ever growing stories about transformation.