Holy Trinity! The only truth in life is .... shunya!

(or Zero..no this refers to the philosophical symbolism of the mathematical term.. not some Mexican folk hero)


<= Sunrise from the Campsite

my latest fascination with environment development is solar energy (hence the logo on the right). However, this is about the last day of the trip so we continue... the campsite cleanup left a lot to be environmentally desired.. and no - burning plastic is a very BAD idea. You do NOT dump used jam cups into the fire. You also take back whatever trash you brought with yourself!! Chopping wood is OK (it will grow back again), burning dead trees is also OK. Cutting down entire trees is a very bad idea.

So.. we woke early (CPG a little earlier courtesy stereophonic-animal-repellent-grade-snoring), had the leftover food (bread buns chikki etc) and set off for the peak with CPG left to tidy up the campsite. With the sun in our face, wind in our hair (and for some leach in our boots - this is why morning ablutions and trekking dont mix! Bad breath is preferable to involuntary blood donation!)! The way up was lovely and cool - two people were worse of for the wear - V (regretting years of youthful indiscretions) and the Kid (regretting ... a lot). However T (The mountain goat, Savanna Gazelle, and the Impala all rolled into one) on a helping note, insisted on helping V. The leaches in the mean time were sucking the living daylights out of the Kid (literally). So the race to the top culminated with Yours truly, Muttergappa (who was "Shrieking" with delight, having spotted another "Shriek" or some such feathered bird). The day was hot and we had some right-wing blokes attempting flag hoisting (literally - it involved hoisting flag, pole et al). The views from the tip were spectacular - not great of photography, as Mutterguppa pointed out, because Indian landscapes are perpetually shrouded with haze.

Also photography and outdoors dont mix - this was refreshingly clear given last nights soaking! However, we went on to make the best of camera phone and haze ridden hills of Coorg. ... some other took the opportunity to "dry" some "freshly laundered money" - others soaked in the sun and shot some breeze.... yet others ...did nothing. The trip back was uneventful.. some of the plastic saved from the flames of eternity, was consigned to the locals - who reuse absolutely everything. Agenda for lunch was Tibetan Momos at Bylakuppe settlement - where, when asked for "vegetarian momos", the stock reply from the locals was "HA HA". However we did find veg chowmein for the one veggie in the group. That visit was uneventful, though we did learn that the locals (in this case the displaced), would be very comfortable in laddakh, why vegetarianism should be an integral part of Tibetan cuisine AND "colonise" is a positive word. Coming back to square one, where beauty is a preconceived notion, we returned to Bangalore......there is a lot more to write about but we shall let private jokes be private.

Boot note: Moral of the story - if you must stay in the enemy camp..make sure you control the Cauvery taps....or perhaps that is a preconceived notion? And we are back to Shunya...

Till next time. Be Safe and environmentally friendly...