Blogs from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 3

These days are slipping right through my hands These days turn out nothing like I had planned Powderfinger “These Days” Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in Leonard Cohen “Anthem” I am living in a beautiful space (a house) on the outskirts of a village called Solahnu (population 123), an hour by walking track (no road) up a steep mountainside from the town of Jibhi in Bangar Valley Kullu (Himachal Pradesh India). How I got to be offered this opportunity is a long story, but suffice to say this is my fourth time in this valley since 2009 and my mind's eye has fancied being able to do just this kind of thing since that fist visit. I am doing nothing and everything. My days are empty ... read more

Manikaran - Parvati Valley Hills of forest green where the mountains touch the sky A dream come true, I'll live there till I die Don McLean – Castles in the Air 'You are a bit crazy Paul', I said to myself for not the first time as I scrambled on all fours through yet anther dense thicket of seemingly impenetrable scrub of bracken, grasses, stinging nettle and 'farmers friend' weeds (to mention just a few). I was staying at Manikaran in Parvati Valley, and had woken up early (around 4.30am) and already been to the temple hot spring bath. It was now turning out to be a perfectly clear blue sky morning. It was like being landlocked (only this was valley-locked), being down in the valley knowing that the peaks are just 'there' – up and ... read more

“If your life isn't holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned” Leonard Cohen, The Sisters of Mercy Its 4 am and I am awake. I go outside and take a look at the night sky and its dark (the new moon has already set here in the mountains), crystal clear and cloudless – so the stars are amazingly bright. I go back to bed and lay there to see if I can get back to sleep. Yer nai sacta he, so I get up and go about my morning routine: meditation, chai, catch up on some emails, and then think about yoga and breakfast and washing. But I look outside again and the sky is blue and cloudless, so I decide on a trip up the mountain to Bahu to catch possible glimpses of the distant ... read more

Bright the Hawk's Flight on Empty Sky I was again a little reluctant to actually take off (leave Varanasi) but on the other hand it was getting far too flooded for comfort due to the still rising Ganga, and I was itching to get to the mountains. The weather forecast seemed good but once I hit the road, it rained on and off for about 3 hours. Many little stops on the way. The memorable one was pulling into a small father and son carpentry shop (me and Gladys taking up most of their covered work-area – at their invitation) to get out of a heavy downpour. It was a cosy little scene – and within a space as big as the back of stamp was their shop next to a small grocery shop on their ... read more

Today I went to lunch at a restaurant in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India. There was a boy who could not have been more than 13 sweeping the floor. As he wiped my table he gave me a lovely smile. On leaving the restaurant I went to a shoe repair roadside box-stall to have my Menorquines repaired. Dillip was about 12 and worked with hammer and nails as 5 peers looked on. I was very happy with the repair job. But being Tuesday Dillip should have been in school instead of being on the street ... repairing shoes. Yesterday in Udaipur I was excited watching skilled workers lining carved tables and chairs with silver foil. What patience! Among them were two children. Their parents would benefit from the extra income coming to the home to supplement what ... read more