Sandakhpu trek: Sleeping Buddha with Silver Blanket Ramro Che

It had rained in Darjeeling the day before we started Sandakhpu trek. We didn’t know whether it was a good omen or the indication of disastrous trek ahead. Luckily, it turned out to be good for us as it didn’t rain for next 5 days when we were on road and skies only got clearer each passing day! This is my travelogue of climbing highest peak in West Bengal at 12000 feet and walking through India Nepal border on the oldest trek trail of India which is in Singalila National Park, part of the Eastern Himalayas.

Day 1: Manebhanjan to Tumling via Meghma

We left Darjeeling around 6.30am to reach Manebhanjan by 8.30am, place where we met our guides- Rakesh and Sujay. I could spot Indo-Nepal border with Indian SSB camp and 1950's made Land Rovers which climbs up to Sandakphu and Phalut on rent! We started off by scaling 3km steep hill to reach Chittrey – which had a beautiful monastery with stupa’s. This was our first foot in Nepal, my international debut! There were some small Tibetan villages along the trail throughout and on the entire trek, India was on our right and Nepal on our left. And we ended up sleeping in Nepal on Day 1, 2 and 3! {International Trekker swag!}

Later in the day, we passed Lamayadhura to reach Meghma, 7km easy trek. From Meghma we set foot towards Tumling and reached Siddharth lodge {which had amazing valley view} around 4pm, but it felt like it was already 7pm and visibility of 10m. Temperature had dropped close to 5c and we got our hands on delicious dal roti chaawal dinner at 7.30pm to end our day! Meanwhile, I put down some lines my mind had accumulated when I walked overhearing classic Tibetan instruments and here it goes:

The last mile is when clouds
Came together to bling my eyes
The warm clothes and gloves could not stop me shiver
My sweat merges with the cloud
When white and red rhodendrons smile
Along a way that is barely visible
Though it feels like a drea,
And you try to enjoy and catch breath
Last mile haunts me and reminds me
That loneliness is a famous myth
As clouds with my thoughts are on a fly
With Buddha, Nepal and Sleeping Shiva- Peace!

Day 2: Tumling to Kala Pokhri via Gairibans

It was a heartbreak to wake up at 5am in the morning for sunrise and not seeing Kanchanjunga due to heavy fog. Putting disappointment behind, we started trek at 8am which had in store a 7km stroll through dense jungle and steep ascents with descents, we reached Garibans to find Jawans of Indian Army celebrating holi with colors, pakoras and sweets! This is the best holi I have celebrated and made it more special when a Jawan quipped- “Neither I nor you are at our homes, we are family now and let’s celebrate”. I guess, life is all about friendships!

After sharing momo’s and cup of chai with all, we started again and took a soupy noodles break at Kaiyakatta, at around 1pm. These houses use firewood for cooking and run on solar lights. Different life indeed. Gariribans to Kala Pokhri is around 5 kms and we reached the black lake (Kala Pokhri) where super chill winds were blowing & ensuring that the beautiful Tibetan flags all over the lake kept fluttering. Quite a sight! It was easily around 3c here! With pasta for evening snack & dal chaawal for dinner, we retired for the day at Pandim lodge.

Day 3: Kala Pokhri to Sandakhpu

Surprisingly, sky looked clear and we could also spot Sherpa Chalet lodge, our house in Sandakhpu from Pandim lodge. With renewed hope of catching a glimpse of Kanchanjunga, we started 1 hour before schedule after lovely Choley roti breakfast. After a quick 1 hour ascent we heard the voices of joy and knew magic had happened-

Then I finally see you
As expected you were magnificent
Breathtaking, heap of happiness, picture perfect
And of course, you were elusive!
I had woken up before sun rose yesterday
Just to catch first glimpse of you
But then, you were cozying with clouds…
I sighed and went back to my daily chores
But today, you made up for everything
You glowed and shined under the morning sun
Majestically sleeping with cakmess and peace
Which I pray that never eludes me from now!
You, sleeping Buddha, with silver blanket!

Sleeping Buddha, with Mt. Kumbakarna as face, Mt. Kanchanjunga as tummy and Mt. Pandim as toes- is treat to watch and we spent quite enough time just watching it! After good amount of pics, we walked to stop at Bhaneybunjan from where Sandakphu looked the closest. We knew this was the last ascent and very challenging. With close to 70 degree steep ascents and constant climbing we could do this stretch in 3 hours and finally we had reached our summit! Time for celebration with kichdi and awesome sunset where you are standing on a hill to see red sun romance clouds which are below you!

Day 4: Sandakhpu to Sephi via Sirikhola and Gurdum

On a shivering 5am morning, we woke up to see the best part of the trek- Sunrise at Sandakphu. Full moon setting on my left and new sun rising on my right, sleeping Buddha was shining red and slowly turned white. This is just wow! Icing on the cake- Vaguely visible 3 sisters- Mt.Makalu, Mt.Lhotse & Mt.Everest. I knew my trip was complete and with satisfied heart, we started to descent! After a while, I took off 3 layer of clothes on me as temperatures started to soar to 10c as I reached Gurdum, 9km trek down. River on the sides, Sikkim villages in front and constant descents of another 5kms trek along Timburey & Sirikhola, we reached Sephi. I enjoyed Sujay’s heartful singing on the banks of Srikhola. River, music, happiness of successful trek- what more to ask! We were served typical Gorkhaland food with homegrown spinach and potatoes-I had best food and stay at Lippohochha.

Day 5: Sephi to Darjeeling via Rimbick and Manebhanjan

After a quick lemon tea, we started off from Sephi at 6.30am on a shared taxi to Darjeeling which costed me 220rs! Passing through scenic landscapes, we reached Darjeeling at around 12pm and we finally had access to hotwater to bath! I have separately blogged on what I did in Darjeeling here.

Ofcourse, there were great lessons for me in this trek. Noting down a few:

1. Smile like the people from hill. Ear to ear!
2. Inner peace- go completely offline, look at landscapes and monasteries, appreciate smaller aspects and things which we take for granted
3. Build friendships- from sushi cook of Munich to retail banker from Bombay to trekmates from IIT KGP to reigniting friendship with Bachhubhai (Rakesh Da, our guide, fondly called Supraj like this)!
4. Work- You know that you have to scale up and you are catching for the breath- put your head down and do one step at a time. Manthan, I am going to remember you for long!

Like everyone, while I write this I am experiencing Post trek symptoms, which were/are:

1. Must have thigh pains (due to descent) which makes climbing down stares a nightmare for couple of days!
2. When you see beautiful girl and you think- “KT Dami Ramro Che!” (Nepali style!)
3. Looking up at the sky and giving white clouds the shape of sleeping Buddha- Kanchanjunga!

Trip to Sondha and Malkhed: Glory of Shri Madhvacharya and His Highness Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha

Welcome to 2016! I transitioned from 2015 to 2016 with series of soul searching trips. I started with my 3rd pilgrimage to Sabarimala (I had blogged my 1st time experience here), one place that reinforces humanity and teaches basic human virtues. Sirsi visit was my last trip of 2015 followed by new year 2016 trip to Malkhed. In this travelogue, you would visit with me only to Sode a.k.a Sondha (since I have already written about Sirsi earlier here) and Gulbarga.

Sondha is a small village where Shri Vaadiraja Swamiji, a great 15th century Saint in Madhwa tradition, set up his tapovana and ended his incarnation by entering Brindavana while being alive. This is the moola (root) mutt of Sode mutt, one of the eight mutts that worship the Lord at Krishna mutt in Udupi. Once you enter, you are greeted with old Rama Thrivikrama temple, where the deity is sitting on the stone chariot carried all the way from Badri by Bhoota raja. Bhoota raja is friend and disciple of Shiri Vaadiraja, and is the protector and local deity at Sondha to whom everyone who visits Sondha has to roll coconuts at his temple. Ritual is to take 7 rounds around the premises consisting of various small temples set up by Shri Vadiraja (including the holy dip at “Dhavala Ganga” pushkarani or lake). Center of devotion is pancha vrindavans with the vrindavan of Sri Vadiraja Teertha situated in the centre surrounded by four more vrindavans forming a perfect square. In front of the vrindavans is the temple for Sri Vedavyasa. Lifestory of Shri Vadiraja is really fascinating. His compositions are recited by millions everyday and he enjoys huge following that also included great Vijayanagara Emperor from Hampi, Shri Krishnadevaraya.

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Dec 19, 2015 at 9:15pm PST

Some coincidences are sweet. One of the places I missed while visiting Hampi was Navabrandavana where some historians claim has remains of Sri Jayatheertharu. There is even stronger voice that it is at Malkhed. Oh by the way, Sri Jayatheertharu is the sixth pontiff of Sri Madhvacharya Peetha who lived during 13th century. He is the one who elucidated Sri Madhvacharya’s philosophy clearly and simply so as to be understood by the common man which helped much to spread the Madhva philosophy. He is known for “Nyayasudha” which is the exhaustive and detailed commentary (Teeka is Sanskrit for commentary, hence he also known as Teekacharya) of Sri Madhvacharya’s Anuvyakhyana which in turn itself is a commentary on Brahma Sutras by Veda Vyasa. Clearly, one of the most revered gurus and me hailing from Udupi, land of Madhvacharya, was cursing my Hampi travel itinerary to have missed visiting Navabrandavana.

Fast forward three weeks, I am standing at Sri Jayatheertharu’s Brindavan at Uttaraadi Matha, Malkhed, after an early morning shivering bath at River Kagina! We had got down at Malkhed Road railway station in Bidar Express and took a shared auto rickshaw to reach the Uttaraadi Matha by 6am. A staff welcomed us and helped us basic amenities. We finished our morning chores in Matha’s very well maintained guest house and took the holy bath in the river. We got the darshan of Brindavana in the kindi (small window), explored the matha and were amazed with the divinity of the place.

With the magical start for the day, I felt there was more to come. And no surprises. I was standing at the Manyakheta fort and remains of palace, where the Great Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha wrote Kavirajamarga, the first classical Kannada work! This place is incredibly photogenic and for me, it overcame poor maintenance by today’s govt. with it’s sheer elegance. Manyakheta was the capital of Rashtrakutas in 8th century and subsequently ruled by Kalyani Chalukyas to Nizam of Hyderabad till 19th century. You will be amazed to know that Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha offered patronage to numerous well-known scholars and intellectuals, of which, mathematician Mahaveeracharya was the one who asserted that the square root of a negative number did not exist! Do read more on him in the wiki!

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Jan 12, 2016 at 9:25am PST

I also visited the 9th century temple of Neminath, a Jain Bhattaraka Math inside the fortified area, but it was unfortunately closed. We were the only visitors in the fort and there were carefree kids playing cricket. My thoughts were lost in the history being at Manyakheta or modern Malkhed on the banks of Kagina River in Sedam Taluk of Gulbarga district, Karnataka state and was wondering how the time flies to force us to forget such historically and culturally important place. 

From there, we took bus to Mudhol via Sedam crossing some biggest cement factories of India owned by the Aditya Birla Group. Mudhol is the last town in Karnataka that lies in Sedam-Hyderabad highway. I was here to attend my dear friend, Ambarish’s wedding to Nikita, at their residence(it would take another blog to describe how beautiful it is)! Wishing them happy married life and God bless!

[I visited Sode with my Parents, thank you Appa and Amma for everything! Thanks to my Sabrimala group for yet another joyful pilgrimage. Special thanks to Vinod, Kiran E, Ikku, Ashwin for the Gulbarga trip]

Trip to Delhi: Representing Team India Inclusion Summit

This was my first non-tourist Delhi visit, means, for the first time, I left out places to visit/things to do from my itinerary and filled it up with meetings/visits. I must admit that it couldn’t have got better. 3 days, completely packed schedule and lovely weather- I had ball of time representing Team India Inclusion Summit at various {a}venues.

To start with, it was at Vigyan Bhavan where I went through mix of emotions sitting in a hall which I always saw on TV. This was the Launch of "Accessible India Campaign" and National Awards for employment of persons with disabilities 2015, by Govt. of India. It was thrilling to watch and listen to Doordarshan anchor, the master of ceremony, and ofcourse, listening to Hon. Minister for Finance, Arun Jaitley, Hon. Minister for Social Justice, Thawaar Chand Gehlot who was accompanied by other ministers and beurocrats. I was amazed by the execution of event agenda and the way govt. event runs- with elegance and protocols! Not to forget, at this award ceremony I am undoubtedly introduced to few incredible IIS 2016 speakers who are the living epitome of humility, humbleness and motivation! This made up for my heartbreak of not seeing PM Modi live, who gave this event a miss as he had flown to Chennai which had drowned due to heavy showers and poor urban planning. I’ll wait for my next date with you, Mr. PM!

People rose up with smiles and tears in their eyes for this “special” national anthem {performed by troupe of people with hearing and speech impairment} at Nipman Foundation award, in India Habitat Center {oh man, I loved the campus- artistic and classy}. I was at this event to meet and greet 2 people- our rockstar IIS 2015 speaker and CEO of Nipman Foundation, Mr. Nipun Malhotra and charismatic politician who presided Nipman Foundation Awards, Mr. Shashi Tharoor. I had the privilege of spending some time with Mr. Shashi Tharoor- briefing him on IIS and getting some of his books signed. I met some interesting people here and I have this task of reconnecting with them looming over me for a long time now! Also, here is where I took a “Zen smile” picture with one of the awardee, host of IIS 2015, Deepa Narasimhan!

I went for a half hour appointment and spent close to 2 hours with an iconic journalist of India, Sandipan Deb, who interestingly happens to be an engineer and management graduate. Prior to Swarajya Magazine {of which I am a subscriber}, Sandipan, IIT and IIM alumnus, was with Open{which I used to read when Sandipan was the editor} and other media houses for close to 25 years. I loved every moment of this meeting, his Calcutta humor, his views on socio-political scenario and his oneliners from his wisdom of vast experience. I’ll look forward for more such opportunities to meet him in person and upskill myself.

I was at 1st International film festival on disabilities, hosted by Govt. of India and at 2nd National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. I spent some time and clicked pictures with Karnataka Wheelchair Basketball team- most of them were daily wage workers from Yadgir, Davangere and other tier 2/3 cities of Karnataka. Today, Irony is neither govt. nor any firm supports them and they have self-sponsored to come all the way to Delhi ! But that doesn't stop them... They had managed to finish runner's up last year and were super-motivated this year too!

Vigyan Bhavan event and other things which made my Delhi trip memorable was only possible through most respected Mrs. Uma Tuli. I visited Amar Jyoti again and was lucky to spend a day with her. I wrote to her the following once I was back in Bangalore-

Thank you so much for allowing me to shadow you. I am indebted with the learning and I am going to cherish the day for long. I had life time opportunity in piggybacking you to basketball game, film festival and meeting everyone at the lunch in your home. Special thank you for anaar kheer! I felt I am part of your family and I would look forward to host you & your family in Bangalore/Udupi. I am also extremely grateful for arranging me an entry pass for PMO event,. It was as well my first time at a govt. ceremony and dream come true when I entered Vigyan Bhavan.

Last day of my trip I woke up and followed these instructions for an soulful experience-

1. Reach Saket metro and take shared auto to Tigri stand from gate 3 (Saidullajab exit) 
2. Come to tigri stand and cross the road (the auto vala can guide u here
3. Take an auto from there to J block school. Make sure to tell the auto vala that u need to got to J block SCHOOL NEEM CHOWK SE AAGE VALA. Once you have the deal, he'll drop you off at my school.

Geographies changed- from luxury of South Delhi to slumber of underprivileged. I was here to meet my inspirational dear friend, Sanymi, who as part of Teach For India makes us envy of her life as Didi, everyday! These kids taught me knitting in exchange of a 30 min story telling by me. My respects towards TFI and their teachers grew two-folds and I certainly wish that their network expands to keep igniting young minds with best teachers. This experience was indeed fitting end to my incredible 3 day trip to Delhi!

[Thanks to Core IIS team for giving me the honor of representing you! Special thanks to IIS volunteers for building World's biggest community led event- IIS! ]

Trip to Hampi: Magically sail to those Times of Glory

I am sure that many have written their travelogues on Hampi from time immemorial, err, I mean from times of Lord Ram and Hanuman till today, from times of Kishkinda of Dandakaranya with most sacred Pampa sarovara to Vijayanagara to modern day Hampi. I see this as never ending fable in praise of limitless and His love for this place. They say, you would return dejected as you would seep in the sorrow of seeing Hampi ruins, but I, have made up my mind to revisit since I am caught speechless by the imagination and infinite stories, by that of irrigation systems and structural engineering, by that of the glory and intelligence of our forefathers. Hampi- for sure is a place for those who love history, architecture and stories. It is limitless and of limitless!

I spent first 3 hours at Virupaksha temple. It is believed that this temple has been functioning uninterruptedly ever since its inception in the 7th century AD. Most of the temples here in Hampi have been damaged some way or other and not fit for Puja. If I am not wrong, there are only two functional temples in Hampi- Virupaksha and Malyavanta Raghunatha Temple, only place where Lord Ram is in sitting posture. Post Virupaksha temple, we walked the bazaar lane to reach monolithic Nandi. Another 15 min walk we were at Cave temples of Ram {kondandarama temple} and Yantroddaraka Anjaneya temple, Chakratheertha, established by Vysasatheerta in 15th century. Vyasatheerta used to often sight Anjaneya and wanted to capture him in “yantra” so that he could worship him. This is a very holy and sacred place of worship for saints {Udupi Pejavara Swamiji was initiated to Sanyasa here}. We took a coracle boat ride to Purandara Dasa mantapa, where renowned saint and poet, who gave up his wealth worth 9 crores and turned philosopher, Purandara Dasa meditated. This place is really magical. From there we walked to what is popular known as Hampi group of monuments, which consists of the Vitthala Temple with the Stone Chariot, and the musical Mandapas, and the King’s balance.

That evening I got lucky- it was last day of auspicious Karthika month of Hindu calendar and at Virupaksha temple, villagers had come over to spend their night. They lit up entire premises beautifully with diyas and there was a pallakki utsava of Shiv and Parvathi, led by elephant, Lakshmi. I was transported back in time! A Russian lady walked up to me, understood more on what was happening and left me with a sentence- “I have never experienced anything beautiful before!”

Next day, we started series of temple visits with Mustard & Groundnut Ganesha, followed by Sri Krishna Temple, Ugra Narasimha Vigraha and the Badavalinga, Veerabadra temple, Lotus Mahal, Elephant’ stable, underground Shiva temple, Queen’s bath, Hazara Rama Temple, Fort area, remains of official chambers, Mahanavami Dibba {modern day parliament}, Kamalapura museum, Pattabirama temple and Malyavanta Ragunatha temple, where Ram spent 4 months, chaturmasya. I would probably end up writing books if I start writing on each one of them. Every place is for sure treat to be and I suggest you don’t pack this in a day like I did!

Last day at Hampi, we crossed over Tungabhadra River on a 10rs ticket boat to reach the other side, Virupapur Gadde. Here we started off with visiting Pampa Sarovara {purana’s say this is one among 4 sacred sarovara’s of India- includes Manasa Sarovara as well} and Sabari Caves, where Sabari waited for Lord Ram. From there, we visited some cave sites to check out 14th century unexplored paintings. Next stop was at Anegundhi Gagan Mahal palace and Ranganthaswamy temple, on the way to Vaali Parvata which has Durga temple. Post this we visited Chintamani, from where Ram shot his arrow towards Vaali who was fighting Sugreeva in neighboring hill. You’ll be reassured of Ram’s archery skills here! We climbed up Anjanadri hill, the birthplace of the Monkey god, Hanuman and ended the day with visiting mesmerizing Sanapur lake reservoir. Magical end to my journey in the Times backtracked, unexpected and unexplored!

We took the overnight Hampi Express from Bangalore and reached Hospet. Hampi is 14kms aways from Hospet- accessible by bus and auto{don’t forget to bargain!}. I came back to catch overnight bus to Bangalore at the same place. Eating at Hampi is a delight. Every restaurant has similar menu. Must tries- oats, pastas, pizza, all sort of lassies, parota’s, paddu at Brahmin’s vatara and sunset at Hemakoota hills! I spent 3 days there. Got out from the shack by 8.30am and returned at sunset. Enjoyed every meal with those trance music and drank gallons of water. Hired guides {very senior Mallikarjuna and very junior Maruthi} and did innumerous attempts to capture the mesmerizing sights in my camera. I would revisit. This is my Hampi. You, discover your Hampi- your own ruined sandalwood castle, inverted gopura on your palms and meditating Hanuman in your hearts!

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Dec 12, 2015 at 7:17am PST

A photo posted by Jaideep Rao (@jaideeprao) on Dec 13, 2015 at 5:50am PST 

[Special thanks to Vikas, Archi and Adyasha for making this trip memorable]

Trip to Coorg: Shades of Green and Miles of Emptiness

Imagine that your birthday is on a Sunday and you have made no plans. All of the sudden, you make couple of calls on the Friday night and plan things out, and you start at 5am on Saturday morning and cover Abbey Falls, Mandalpatti and rest in a coffee estate homestay {Vinayaka homestay} at Madikeri, and on Sunday, i.e., on your birthday, visit holiest Bhagamandala, Talakaveri and Tibetan Monastery or The Namdroling Monastery or The Golden Temple, Kushalnagar, and return back to Bangalore by midnight- with your best buddies! Can’t get better right?!

It happened to me and I am left with that fulfilled heart which wrote these lines:

Throw your soul into a world,
Where there are endless roads…
Filled with clouds and shades of green…
Where in yourself- you explore,
A new life, a new friend, and a new love…
Unaware of those noise, you pray,
In silence, in solitude, in sync with your heart…
Spotting that raising sun with a cup of coffee,
Stopping to thank an unknown guide for those directions…
To knock the heavens, that exists here with us,
Midst miles and miles of perceived emptiness…
Throw your soul into a world,
Where there are endless roads…

To know how monsoons inspired me write this poem and get to know some places to visit in Coorg during a weekend getaway from Bangalore, watch my 4 min video {pardon my language and no-edits, intention was to keep it raw and capture first impressions!}