Forgetting

Just as he was lowering himself into the sitting room sofa with a new book in his hand, Mr Roy felt a certain dryness behind his throat. He recognised it as a craving for some afternoon tea. He was looking forward to reading the book in the peace of the afternoon. He discovered it on his daughter's book shelf a few mintues ago. He could spend the next two hours with it and could do with a large cup of tea to go with it, he thought. 

This was a book by Perumal Murugan. He found it while dusting his daughter's book shelf. He was preparing for her arrival from Delhi. He wanted the room to be as spick and span as possible before she came. At least the book shelves needed to be dusted. Those were her most favourite possession.

He had vaguely heard the name of Murugan before but never felt the urge to read him. But on the cover when he saw glowing comments from the New York Times he felt like giving it a go. The book's size wasn't too intimidating either. Growing up in the late 70s and 80s Mr Roy had learnt to not like Indian authors writing in English. Not that there were too many of them. There was one Ruskin Bond but he never felt compelled to read him. It was well into his adulthood that he discovered that Ruskin Bond was not Indian really. 

The closest that came to his Indian English reading was Jim Corbett, who was a white Sahib who lived in the mountains and though Indian for all practical purposes his native language was English. As an adult he read some English translations of Indian writers but never quite got round to finishing any of the Amitav Ghoshes or Upamanyu Chatterjees - new age Indian writers who wrote principally in English. 

He was not sure in what category to put Jhumpa Lahiri or Kiran Desai. They were ethnic Indians but they could not really be called Indians in the strict sense of the term. Both lived in New York or at least grew up there. 

He thought he would give Murugan the benefit of doubt and read his Pyre. He was currently struggling with Toni Morrison's Beloved. The book made no sense to him. He could not understand what was going on. Obviously the agony of black life in America is the general theme, as all her books were. But the writing style is such that he could not even make out who was who or how they were linked to one another. When he read her Bluest Eye he was quite moved by it. So moved that he bought his daughter some four or five Toni Morrisons for her 22nd birthday. But he was making very little progress with Beloved. Giving it up would mean a literary cowardice of sorts if not defeat but not being able to progress was hampering his reading habit.

He hated watching reels on facebook or instagram. But that is what he has been endlessly doing of late. They have given it a new name - Doom Scrolling He did not like doing it but it was like a dreadful addiction. You know it is bad for you and you must quit, yet you have that craving for a snort every now and then and get sucked into the whole cycle before you could pronounce Zuckerberg.

As Mr Roy lifted himself up and proceeded to make tea, he suddenly remembered that he had already boiled some water in the kettle before going to his daughter's room looking for a book to read with the tea. All it needed was for the water to be poured into the tin cup with two tea bags. He was a little embarrassed by the fact that he had altogether forgotten about the boiled water. 

He has noticed that of late he keeps forgetting such little things these days. 

This morning as he was coming back from Dalhousie after dropping his wife at work, he suddenly remembered that he was to go to a friend's house to collect his current year's swimming club membership card. Swimming for the current year would start in a couple of weeks. At the last traffic signal before his friend's house he took the correct turn and went to his house, instead of taking the other turn and coming back home. 

This friend renewed his swimming club membership every year for him. He knew someone who knew people at the club. You need connections to get membership renewed every year. He never questioned this arrangement. This is how things are in Calcutta. Even for the trivialest of things you need connections. His friend and he sign up every year routinely for the 8.30 to 9.15 pm slot. But they are not very regular swimmers. Mr Roy likes to think that he is a swimmer and has a membership to stay fit.

Mr Roy has developed his father's habit of getting people's names completely wrong. His father used to call people by funny names that had no connection to the person's actual name. For example, his sister-in-law who was Tinku became Tuntuni for him. Tuntuni of course is the little tailor bird in Bengali. 

Mr Roy cannot remember names of people. He often cannot remember certain nouns and struggles to say common words like kettle or comb. At a  bird watcher's meet last year the local newspaper reporter who knew him wanted him to introduce her to other important bird watchers. He found it almost embarassing that he did not remember half the names of the people. He somehow managed the situation by referring to the person's home town rather than the name. "Here meet our man from Maldah. He is a teacher but keeps going to different habitats in and around Maldah and discovers many important and unusual birds" - while saying all this he was desperately trying to remember his name. Finally he gave up and quietly walked somewhere else so that the two of them could exchange their names in his absence.

Mr Roy's parents had very unusually long lives. Both of them suffered severe memory loss towards the end of their life. His father went completely silent and remained immobile in bed for a couple of years before his death. He would often ask his wife, Mr Roy's mother, the same question about very trivial things and then get into a loop asking the same question over and over again. His mother, very patiently answered him every time. But after a few months he stopped asking or saying anything whatsoever. Finally one Sunday morning he died. 

His mother suffered a more or less similar fate. She did not go silent but had other memory loss issues. She forgot the idea of time and place. It makes Mr Roy very sad to think of how his mother completely changed into someone else. She had lost all sense of time and place or even who she was and how she was linked to the others around her. She often thought of herself as her younger self asking people to inform her mother that she was fine "here". She did not know where this "here" was.

They say the brain shrinks with age. His mother remembered everything about her childhood days though. Mr Roy used to open Google maps and zoom into the Bagbazaar area where she grew up and knew every speck of dust on the roads. He would ask her about arbitrary names of various lanes and bylanes and her face would light up. She could almost guide him turn by turn through these lanes. She could quite clearly visualise these roads. And if he made a small mistake with any of the names she would immediately correct him. 

Mr Roy knows his childhood neighbourhood of Kalighat equally well. But walking down Sadananda Road the other day he could not remember whose tailoring shop it was where some of the elders of the locality used to spend hours chatting. It has now been converted into a garrage and a white Audi stays parked there. He could remember Nandi-da's grocery store just before this shop but this old tailor's name totally escaped his brain. He could clearly remember the old man's face but not his name. It was much later that he remembered he was called Beni Babu. 

When A Book Becomes A Trophy

At an age when you stop thinking of yourself as a youngster, possibly when I was in class XI which would make it 1982/3, I had attended a rock climbing course at Purulia's Susunia Hills with other boys and girls of various ages. This was with Mountaineers' Youth Ring (or was it Wing?) - a trekking and mountaineering club where our local grocer Bolu-da was one of the founder members. 

At the camp one of the evening activities for all of us used to be to sit together out in the open in a large circle and listen to various mountaineering or adventure stories from the elders who were our trainers. Some of the stories were of the spooky kind too. In that group of elders, a gentleman arrived perhaps on the second day, whom every one was calling Sadhu-da. He was a short and stout looking man with reddish beard. One look at him and you would know he was perhaps a mountaineer or trekker or at least an adventurer of some sort. He did not need an introduction. 

Incidentally later in life I met Sadhu-da at the Book Fair near a stall called Utsa Manush and discovered that he was now a teacher at St Lawrence High School - my alma mater. 

It was this Sadhu-da at Susunia Camp from who I first learnt the name of Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. He said, if you can find it please read a book by Peter Habeler called Everest An Impossible Victory. It is the story of their impossible conquest of Mt Everest without oxygen. In fact they were the first humans to do this on an 8K peak. It was a heroic feat of the extreme nature and much as lot of mountaineers do it these days, they were the first ones who did it going against the conventional wisdom of those days.

In those days the effect of living in an oxygen depleted environment for several days was not known. Particularly the effect on the brain. People speculated that they would probably go blank in their memory, if at all they survive this adventure. So obviously, after their successful competition of the impossible challenge they were hailed as super heroes. And both Messner and Habeler wrote their own books on the adventure. Sadhu-da advised us to read the book by the lesser known Habeler.

Upon return to Calcutta I went to National Library - I was a new member then - and discovered to my utter surprise that the book was available there. I promptly requisitioned for it. National Library had a rule back then. If a book is out of print it is not given out to be taken home for reading. They had several volumes of a very fat encyclopedia of sorts where every book in print was listed out. The library staff would scrupulously check every book in this encyclopedia before deciding on its lendability. If it was not lendable you had to read it in their reading room (on table and chair) and return it at the end of the day. I was just not used to reading in this way, particularly when it came to reading for pleasure. It felt very artificial and forced. I loved reading while lying in bed. 

Anyway, I had to accept that I would need to read it in the reading room only. 

Another problem with National Library was that if you gave a book for requisition it would take hours for it to arrive. The peons took their own sweet time to bring any book that you wanted. Going against all such odds I finally laid my hands on a copy of this rare book. A large hard bound book with thick expensive paper and lots of real photographs inside. I was awestruck by the handsomeness of Peter Habeler who had a full page coloured picture of himself in the book. Looking very tired and sporting what seemed back then like a denim shirt, he had his sunglasses on and Everest's peak was possibly reflected on it. Most likely this was taken by Messener.

An awestruck me flipped through the thick pages and looked at all the pictures. I am sure my jaws had dropped. After the initial dreaminess cleared I started reading it. Habeler said that he was writing the book because although Messner and he together completed the expedition, if you read the book that Messner wrote after this you would think only he alone went to the top of Everest !!! This is the problem with narcissistic megalomaniacs and Messner is one of the worst examples of that kind. No wonder later in life he started climbing completely alone (he did a few expeditions with his brother but he tragically died in one of the mountain accidents). An extremely competent and accomplished mountaineer that he is, perhaps the best in the world (many give that credit to Hermann Buhl though) he is not a nice man to know. While you could marvel at his achievments, you could never be his friend. He is a celebrity and cultivates that image very meticulously.

I loved Habeler's honesty. He wanted to set the record straight. He did not denigrate Messner in any way in the book but it is also true that after this expedition they never climbed together, though they climbed a lot of peaks together before this as a team. Habeler says he and Messner were never friends off the mountain but they were a very good mountaineering team. This obviously broke after the Everest victory and the book. He says we did not talk much while climbing but I knew exactly where he would put his next step in the mountain and he knew the same about me. When your understanding is so good you need not really communicate with words. 

Now, back to the National Library reading room. It used to be on the ground floor hall in the old heritage palace which is possibly not used as a reading room any more. That first evening after finishing a few pages of the book it was time for me to leave for the day. Instead of returning the book at the counter, which would mean another stupid wait of a few hours next day, I hid the book behind other books on a shelf of the reading room. So that the next day I could come and straight away get on with reading the book. There was no system of checking if you returned the book you borrowed at the counter. As long as you were not carrying any book out of the library they were fine with it.

So I hid the book and over the next few days I kept at this game. After a few days for whatever reasons I didn't go the library for a few days or perhaps weeks. Finally when I went I discovered the book was removed from its secret vault. Perhaps some staff discovered it and placed it back in its proper place. By this time I did not feel enough pull to go through the entire tedious process of requisitioning the book and then waiting for it for an eternity. 

So I let Peter Habeler's book to rest in peace and left it there. But the book remained in the back of my mind. 

After internet arrived in our life (at least fifteen years after this) I started looking for this lost gem if it could be found anywhere. I never saw it. Or perhaps I did somewhere but it was listed at a price that was beyond my capability. Plus add to that the cost and risk of shipping it to India. So I gave up on the idea of ever buying it.

For whatever reason, a few months ago I was looking at old book stores in London (one of my most favourite books is Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross). Then suddenly this book came to my mind and the childhood memories of the young adult flashed through my mind.

I discovered that an old copy is very much available for sale in the UK and all for five British pounds. I asked my good friend Sophie who lives in London if she could procure it for me. She gladly bought it for me almost immediately and also brought it over, carrying it all the way from London. In fact handing it over to me is one of the first things that she did after meeting me in Calcutta.

Funnily enough, while the book lies on the coffee table in my living room I have not read it beyond the first few pages yet. I really want to but right now I want to savour the sweet taste of owning it. Something that the youngster could not some forty years ago. 

Just imagine - I am looking for the book in its secret place in the National Library reading room and cannot find it when an old man with a flowing beard comes along and tells me in a metallic voice - the book you are looking for will come to you carried by a German fairy but you have to wait for a little more than 40 years for it. Can you do that?

I wonder what I would have told him. 

PS: Please don't embarrass me by requesting to borrow this book. I cannot let it go out of my house. So the answer is NO. 

From Puffin to A Penguin

February 11, 2026

On a balmy Thursday evening of late January 2026, when the weather in Calcutta is at its most pleasant, I was sitting on a red plastic stool near a tea stall on the foot path of Southern Avenue, sipping my favourite spicy lemon tea laced with fine slices of ginger and chatting with a friend visiting from abroad. The phone started ringing. It was Bebu, my daughter. This is odd. She has never quite called me unless in some emergency or to exchange information. Was she going to give me some good news or bad? I wasn't very sure which but I knew if she was calling me it had to be either of the two.

For two days we have been waiting anxiously to hear from Penguin (now Penguin Random House) about the outcome of the written test she had taken for an entry level position in their editorial team in Delhi. It was a gruelling two and a half hour test that she took using my laptop from her room behind locked doors. At the end of it when she came out she was almost on the verge of tears and fretting if not fuming that she was let down by the useless Windows laptop whose key board she was not used to and hence it took her a very long time to finish. She had to individually key in each letter and couldn't type fluently without looking at the board. Struggling as she did with the keyboard, she couldn't do justice to the passages that she was asked to edit etc etc. She was almost certain that she wouldn't make it because of the laptop. 

Mentally I remembered what type of workmen complain about their tools but kept my thoughts to myself. Because she was not a "bad workman" after all.

I was quite sad. Geetanjali Roy will fail in an English test anywhere in the world is something I find very difficult to digest. Not because she is my daughter but neutrally speaking, her English is impeccable by any international standard. If we were sure about one thing it was that she would sail through this phase of the interview process quite easily. If she had to get a job on the strength of writing decent English she would walk into any organisation anywhere in the world. But struggle with the keyboard was not something I had counted for. 

Having known her for more than 22 years now, she has this habit of managing her expectations in this way. She promises low so that she can deliver high. I repeatedly asked her, "it is okay that you didn't perform as per your own standard but do you think by a general or absolute standard what you wrote was bad?" She gave some evasive answers and we let the matter rest there. Keeping fingers crossed in such situations is all that one can do. That is exactly what we did.

Penguin's HR had called her on Tuesday and gave her a short notice to take the test with a computer that had a working camera. They would monitor her when she took the exam to prevent any possibility of cheating. Her Macbook's camera (she has never used anything else in life) had stopped working long ago and she borrowed mine for the test. She had two hours to finish it but when she realised the computer was literally not upto speed she sought some more time from them which was granted. Even then, apparently she could not do full justice to the last passage that she was asked to edit. 

Other than some five longish passages to edit, the test had a grammar section which she breezed through and an essay to write on the most striking novel she had read in the recent past. I asked her which book it was and she named some esoteric Dutch author that I had never even heard of. I wanted to tell her that even if it is true you should not write about such books because the examiner might think you mugged it up to make an impression in the test. But better sense prevailed and I said nothing.

We spent Wednesday hoping to hear from Penguin but no one called. On Tuesday when they had made the first contact they had shown a certain urgency. The HR lady asked her how soon she could join to which she said she was doing an internship with Kolkata Lit Meet (KLM) where she was required to be till the middle of the month. But after the test this urgency went missing from Penguin.

KLM happened in her life earlier in January. And that is from where a chain of events took place that brought her thus far in this Penguin journey. Therefore it takes a very important role in her career as a literary editor. Call it serendipity or propitious or whatever but I have noticed that when you want something very earnestly you end up getting it, no matter how impossible it might sound at the germination stage of the desire. 

My theory is that when you focus intently on a particular path in life you end up - consciously or otherwise - doing things that are related to that area. And there things happen that take you to your destination. If you are prepared opportunities definitely come. 

One evening, 6th January to be precise, while surfing from the living room sofa I was looking at the list of authors and speakers who would be attending the KLM scheduled for later that month. It had the who's who of the Indian literary and publishing scene. Among others Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai and Banu Mustaq would all be there. The absolute elite among Indian writers (not all of them live in India though). Together they have won everything from Booker to Pulitzer. 

I thought Mampu would love to be here and I knew the owner of the company - Jeet Banerjee - who with his wife Malavika organizes the event (they do another very important cultural festival which is the Bengal Biennale). So I asked Mampu if she was interested in volunteering here and I could send in a request on her behalf. A few years ago she had shown a desire to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival and we encouraged her to do it too. In fact while in Calcutta she had attended KLM in the past too as a visitor. She had also volunteered for a Seagull event (the only English publisher from Calcutta).

In a propitious moment Mampu agreed without batting an eye lid and I sent a message to Jeet asking if they required help. Things happened quite fast that night after this. By 12.30 am she got a message from Mala (Jeet's wife), after she took a look at her CV, asking her to come to her office the next morning for an interview and Geetanjali Roy started working in her office - Gameplan - from the very next day. Eighth January.

While there, she met among others Arundhati Roy, Banu Mustaq, Upamanyu Chatterjee - all elite Indian writers. In fact as things turned out she was tasked with picking up Kiran Desai from the airport and bring her to the hotel via the Book Fair. Nothing could be better than this as Kiran was her most favourite author at the Meet. And she got a chance to privately chat with sucha a literary celebrity for a few hours. In fact, Kiran wrote her a beautiful message while signing her book. 

All this while, when she was going to KLM I was hoping that here she would meet someone important in the field of publishing. I even told her - "for all you know Chiki Sarkar might be there at the festival. Get introduced to her". 

Chiki Sarkar is the owner/publisher of Juggernaut and had earlier been the publisher of Penguin where her father Aveek Sarkar held a big stake (Penguin later merged with Random House and Aveek Sarkar sold his stake to the new owners as part of the global deal. This made Chiki Sarkar leave Penguin to set up her own publishing house). Mampu had sent her a cold email offering to intern with her company but as it happens so often with such cold mail, she got no response. Poor Mampu. But I hoped something would happen here at KLM.

In football, coaches say if you are a good scorer and can position yourself in the right place at the right time you will get at least one opportunity. But when the opportunity comes you must be ready to score. You cannot fumble. 

That one opportunity came and Mampu didn't fumble and scored the all important goal. 

One Saturday afternoon (24th January) the publisher of Penguin, Milee Aishwariya (ironically enough, she replaced Chiki at Penguin after the takeover and is one of the most powerful people in Indian publishing), was waiting at the KLM author's lounge for her turn to moderate a talk. And Professor Arunava Sinha, our very own Bultuda, took this opportunity to introduce Mampu to her as a promising young student of his from Ashoka who writes very well. Mampu told her, albeit a little cheekily perhaps, "you have my dream job", to which she smiled indulgently. They had some exchange of pleasantries and it ended there. After all, all professors praise their students.

After some time another important character arrives in the scene. Kanishka Gupta. He is a hot shot literary agent in Delhi for who Mampu has worked very dilligently as an intern for a few months a year ago. Though an intern, she almost worked full time for his company reading new manuscripts, writing reviews so that the agent could take a call on its "publishability" and pitch to publishers, editing copies, writing jacket covers etc. She even wrote the text to go with the exhibits at an art exhibition. 

All this without ever even meeting Kanishka. 

I still remember how Mampu came dancing to my room one afternoon saying "I have got my dream job. I will be working as an intern for Writer's Side of Kanishka Gupta. Among others they represent Geetanjali Shree". I was happy for her because just a few weeks ago her stint with Namita Gokhale, the president of Jaipur Literary Fest, came to an abrupt end after a couple of days. They sacked her because they did not like her literary style of writing for a particular book project.  

When Mampu saw Kanishka at the KLM author's lounge she went up to him and quietly introduced herself saying - you might remember my name. I am Geetanjali Roy. 

Kanishka was visibly delighted to meet Geetanjali in person. When he learnt she had finished her four years at Ashoka he promptly decided to introduce her to some prospective employers. So once again off they went to Milee. Mampu smilingly told Milee "so here we go once again". But Kanishka said glorious things about Mampu's writing skills and how she helped him on four book projects. He also said, I know you need people in your editorial department at Penguin. You should consider hiring her. Later Kanishka told her confidentially that if Penguin does not get back to her he would recommend her to other publishers in Delhi. 

This introduction to one of the most influential ladies in Indian publishing proved to be a turning point in Mampu's life. Endoresement from an industry player means a lot in any industry. The credibility and weight of such an endorsement is priceless. Milee gave her email id and told Mampu to send in her CV. She told her that to enter Penguin's editorial team at any level one has to pass a written English test. This was the through ball that the striker was waiting for and she volleyed towards the goal from the top of the box. 

The CV went out on Saturday night and after the two holidays of Sunday followed by India's Republic Day, she got the first HR call from Penguin on Tuesday. The ball was going towards the goal but it took some time to hit the net.

Coming back to the phone call from Mampu on that Thursday evening, she started with - "so Penguin had called". The editor-in-chief, Saloni Mital who would be her line manager (meaning Mampu would be working under her) had called and told her that she liked the edit test performance and grilled her over what she wrote. After this they discussed her salary and when she could join etc. She also said that the head of HR, Ms Aditi Kumar, would speak to her after this and the CEO might also want to speak to her.

I was more than certain the goal had been scored. But Mampu did not want to celebrate. She said let the HR lady call me and let's see. Of course, as they say, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip but I could sniff the tea hotting up in the cup and there was no way it could now slip. I told her these prcise words - unless you goof up big time during the chat with HR and CEO you have got the job. Once your line manager approves and sends you to the head of HR it's just a matter of formality now. But you need not celebrate yet. Wait for the final word.

Next day the senior HR lady called her and they had a very cordial conversation. Mampu came out and announced - I have probably got the job :) Ms Kumar told her that their CEO might speak to Mampu as he likes to do that with all new joinees but it would depend on his availability.

Next day the junior HR lady called in to say, today the CEO may or may not speak to her depending on his availability but she would issue the offer letter before "EoD" in any case. Neither the CEO called nor did the offer letter come. Even on the next day there was complete silence from Penguin. 

Just when we were beginning to worry if something went wrong somewhere, Mampu got a call from the junior HR lady saying since she was a fresher it goes against Penguin's  policy to give her a direct employment on their pay roll right away. She was instead offered a consultant's position meaning she would be on a renewable contract for six months with a consolidated pay and TDS only. The CTC would be a little lower than what was promised earlier but since there wouldn't be any PF deduction ultimately cash in hand would be more or less the same. 

My opinion was this was fine and she had no reason to refuse it. Although it was a step down of sorts but if you look at it as a stand alone offer (without considering what was promised earlier) this was good enough to start. My only contention was that this they should have realized before offering her the job verbally. It's a little unprofessional for such a large and reputed organisation. 

Mampu was sent a soft copy of the contract which she accepted. As per the terms she would need to "not come to the office" and work from home during this period. However, she would be required to be in Delhi for two weeks starting the next Monday, 9th February, for induction. They would pay for the two way flight ticket but not for the the stay. 

Using her Delhi network she promptly got herself a PG accomodation in Saket for a month. I told her to spend one more week in Delhi looking for a suitable stay. Much as it broke my heart, I advised her to relocate to Delhi after a couple of months. If she wanted to make a career in publishing she should live in Delhi - whether she is required to go to work or not. 

If in Delhi, she should have at least two editorial jobs in her pocket at any point of time so that she is in a position of strength when the discussion comes up for making the job permanent at Penguin. This can never happen if you are in Calcutta and working remotely.

As a matter of fact, that same week when these back and forth phone calls were happening she got a call from one of the top literary agencies of the country - A Suitable Agency of Himeli Sodhi offering her internship. If she stays in Delhi such employers can be on first name basis with her after a few book launches and seminars. When you mention that you work for Penguin, or any other big house, you get taken seriously. And when you meet people face to face it has a different impact. 

8th January, 2026

Having been a copy editor myself - albeit for a daily newspaper - Mampu may not like the job of copy editing for too long. I'd give her a maximum three years to start getting bored with the routine nature of the job. From what I understand about the publishing scene, she would enjoy work in the literary agencies or the work of commissioning editors. The problem with literary agencies is that these are very small houses headed by individuals. They can be very unprofessional and be irregular with payments etc. But I can see that this industry will mature over the next few years and might professionalise themselves to survive and thrive.

On Sunday the 8th January, 2026 our little Puffin flew out to Delhi and on Monday she became a Penguin. 

Epilogue

Mampu has got a work laptop (the same "damn" HP machine with which she got in) and a Penguin email id. She is being issued a consultant's card to wear around her neck while in office. It may or may not have her name. She has also been told that if she lived in Delhi she should go to work twice a week, as they all do and attend the edit meetings in person. These might sound like small things in future when she looks back at how her professional life began but to a young girl starting her life as part of a large organisation these are big prestige issues. And she is very happy with them. Because, it shows Penguin is treating her as a bonafide employee for all practical purposes.

They have told her that her contract situation will be evaluated after five months and they will decide on her future after that in the sixth month. They might roll it over for another six months or confirm her in August. At The Economic Times I worked as a trainee for a year at a consolidated stipend of Rs 2500 per month. We are keeping our fingers crossed. 

If quality of work as an editor is all that she is going to be judged on, she should walk into a confirmed job in August. But large organisations have many other things to consider before final full time employment. So, let the little Puffin now slowly morph into a Penguin and enjoy an independent life in Delhi. 

We shall see what happens in future when future comes.

An explanation of sorts from a happy father

As you can see, I am shamelessly proud and happy about my daughter. I am not so proud as happy. Pride is a negative force. I am extremely happy for her. Simply because she has got into a profession where she always wanted to belong. She started reading even before she learnt the alphabet. I used to read her bed time stories from various books even before she learnt to speak and she would look intently at me and listen to every word I spoke carefully. Slowly she learnt these stories by heart and then picked up the book herself. She would read them out and turn the pages exactly where they needed to be turned over. I still remember the book - Enid Blyton's Mary Mouse and a series of funny animal stories like Balan the Bat and Farida the Fish etc.

Her most favourite activity as a child was to spend time at a book store on Elgin Road (first Crossword and later Story) where she crawled in the children's section playing in the play pen area for toddlers. In Darjeeling, when she was less than five perhaps, we once left her in the large Oxford book store near the mall and went out for two hours. She was happily browsing books and drawing on a drawing book with coloured pencils and never cried for her parents in an unknown store full of strangers. For her birthdays she always wanted books and not new clothes. By the way, on her latest 22nd birthday I gave her a set of Toni Morrisons.

Now, if you want to be a chef in life (many children do these days) you can go to a reputed catering institute and join Taj or Oberoi. If you want to be a lawyer you can go to a law school and join the Khaitans or Amarchand etc. If you want to be a doctor you go to a medical college. But how do you get into publishing from college? There is no such professional course in our country except a short online one offered by Seagull (which is not so bad but Mampu was not very keen to take that). I have never seen any ad from any publisher saying "wanted copy editors". I guess word of mouth is how you get in. And that is what happened to Mampu too. 

So I am incredibly happy for her that she got into her chosen field in life without any string pulling. The only string I pulled was to ask Jeet if he needed a volunteer for his event. After this everything that she did was entirely her own. That she will start her media/publishing career with the largest global name in the business is beyond my imagination. Call it luck or serendipity but as I say, luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Mampu prepared herself for 22 years and the opportunity came at KLM. She grabbed it.

Bolt From The Blue

 Written on 9th April 2025 

After much trepidation and hesitation I went ahead and did it. I installed two anchor bolts on the wall to fix a clamp for my resistance band. And quite successfully so. I have been missing such a clamp in the house for a long time (you can do certain exercises only if you have this) but shied away from installing it as I had no idea how to do it perfectly. It has to be very strongly driven into the wall. In olden days people would typically cement them in with the help of a mason. It is not as invasive an operation as that any more but it requires knowledge and experience.

A few weeks ago I had to repair a broken small bracket on the tube light in Mampu's room. It had broken off. A mini success with that prompted me to go ahead an install a brass hook on the wall for hanging my helmet. Encouraged by its success I installed three of them for all my helmets. I even fixed the board for the various keys. It used to earlier hang off the wall like a photo frame.

Each of these involved making a hole (in fact two) in the wall, putting a nylon plug in and then driving the screw in with the Bosch drilling machine. After this mini success I considered using Rawl bolts to install this D bracket. Rawl bolts are heavy duty stuf but they have a beauty that you can take the bolt out because it is screwed in and not hammered. And it has very high strength to hold really heavy forces (depending on the size you choose). Once you screw the bolt in the plug that is hammered in expands into the wall and makes a very strong grip.

I ordered the bracket/clamp off Amazon a few days ago. It came with four Rawl plugs/bolts as it has four eyelets on either side. These were 10 mm bolts which looked like an overkill for my purpose. So I ordered a few 6 mm bolts. 

They arrived today and I got down to the job - complete with my head lamp, eye cover for dust and everything else. This "everything" else included the following things 

The Bosch drill

10 mm masonary drill bit

Cellotape and scissors (to mark the drill bit for depth)

Pencil (for 90 degree vertical alignment line)

Spirit Level

Hammer (to drive the plug in)

The bolts (obviously)

  

A Journal of Sorts

Two Tagore Songs

Tagore classified his songs into a few broad themes. Puja, Prem, Prakriti etc. Prem means love. Prakriti means nature. These are easily translated but translating the word puja is a bit tricky here. Because generally by puja we mean religious rituals, functions etc. Tagore's Puja songs are not at all religious in that sense. In fact being a Brahmo himself he was against the idea of organised religion with gods and goddesses.

I think the word "spiritual" best describes the word Puja in the context of Tagore songs (if you are a Bengali and have a better suggestion please feel free to let me know). 

Now many, if not most Puja and Prem songs are interchangeable depending on how you interpret them. Some obvious love songs, you might discover, are classified as spiritual and some apparently spiritual songs are classified by Tagore as love songs. We ordinary mortals do not understand how the mind of geniuses work. 

I will discuss here two such songs. One is classified as Puja song or spiritual while the other is classified as a Love song while it could easily be a spiritual song where "you" could well mean God. But one is free to interpret it to have some other meaning. These two are two of my most favourite songs. They are quite famous among Tagore lovers. And the two songs are more or less similar in their thoughts.

One I sang and recorded to be played at a memorial for my mother. I sang it as my address to my then just departed mother. It is supposed to be a love song, as classified by Tagore. A song of longing and waiting in vain. It has a lot of pathos in the way the words are arranged, not to speak of the tune in which it is set and the tempo at which it is supposed to be sung.

It is about the waiting and longing for someone who you think might come some day and you are staying awake for that moment. But you are getting tired and feeling sleepy while waiting. The melody of the song has a pathos in it. It could be interpreted as a wait for a lover, a departed soul or God himself. It is entirely upto you how you want to interpret it. Because the setting is a temple somewhere in a dark forested area.

I shall write the Bengali version of the song first and then attempt a translation to explain the meaning. I will also try and find a link to the song I recorded for my mother. 

দীপ নিবে গেছে মম 

ধীরে ধীরে 

এসে তুমি যেও না 

গো ফিরে 

এ পথে যখন যাবে আঁধারে 

চিনিতে পাবে 

রাজনীগন্ধার গন্ধ 

ভরেছে মন্দিরে 

ধীরে ধীরে 

এসে তুমি যেও না 

গো ফিরে 

আমারে পড়িবে মনে কখন 

সে লাগি প্রহরে প্রহরে 

আমি গান গেয়ে জাগি 

ভয় পাছে শেষ রাতে ঘুম আসে 

আঁখি পাতে 

ক্লান্ত কন্ঠে মোর সুর ফুরায় 

যদি রে 

ধীরে ধীরে 

এসে তুমি যেও না 

গো ফিরে 

Now the translation. I am not sure if there is an official translation of it. I will attempt one without the rhyme. It will be a literal translation just to explain the meaning to any one who doesn't know Bengali. 

Dip* nibe gechhe momo 

My prayer lamp has flickered off

In the gentle breeze of the night

Please don't go back if you do come afterall

In your soft steps

You can find the way here in the darkness

From the tuberoses

That fill the temple with their fragrance 

Please don't go back if you do come afterall

In your soft steps

I don't know when you might remember me at last

That's why I stay awake throughout the night

Singing songs every hour

I fear my tired eye lids might close 

Towards the end of the night

When my music dies out in my tired throat

Please don't go back if you do come afterall

In your soft steps

Those who are not poetically inclined and have still read this far - Tagore is pleading for the lover not to go back even if she (since Tagore is a man I am assuming it's a she. In Bengali gender cannot be understood unless stated categorically) remembers about him and comes some time late. There are two reasons why she might go back, he fears. First the darkness because the lamp has blown out. Second she might find him asleep from the tiredness that comes from waiting in vain. But he is trying his best to stay awake. 

He possibly wants to be woken up. He doesn't say it. Certain words are best kept unstated, particularly in love.

Being an extremely emotional man every time I sing this song I break down crying. The emotion is too much for me to handle. 

* Dip in Bengali means the small butter lamp that is used in temples. The translation "lamp" doesn't quite convey the meaning of the soft gentle light that it produces in a dark temple in the jungle. 

The next one is a similar song of waiting but it's a Puja song. It's very famous and usually it is sung in spring time, particularly in the evening. 

Aaj jyotsna raate sabai gechhe bone 

আজ জ্যোৎস্না রাতে সবাই গেছে বনে 

বসন্তের এই মাতাল সমীরণে 

যাবো না গো যাবো না যে রইনু পড়ে ঘরের মাঝে 

এই নিরালায় রব আপন কোনে 

যাবো না এই মাতাল সমীরণে 

আমার এ ঘর বহু যতন করে 

ধুতে হবে মুছতে হবে মোরে 

আমারে যে জাগতে হবে কি জানি সে আসবে কবে 

যদি আমায় পড়ে তাহার মনে 

বসন্তের এই মাতাল সমীরণে 

Again I am not sure if there is an official translated version of this song. Here is my attempt at a literal translation to explain the meaning. 

This moonlit night everyone has gone to the forest

In this intoxicating springtime breeze

I won't go, I will stay alone in the solitude of my home

I won't go in this intoxicating springtime breeze

I have to keep this house clean, sweep the floors with care

I have to stay awake, you never know when He* might come

In case he remembers me in this intoxicating springtime breeze

In the last but one line I have used the pronoun He because it is classified as a Puja song. By He Tagore definitely means God. But we in Bengali do not use gender based pronouns. A person is "shay". It could be a he or she. We understand from the context. So we can freely interpret to mean as any person. 

I have no idea why Tagore made such an obvious love song turn into a spiritual song. A song of longing and waiting in the intoxicating breeze of springime that too on a moonlit night. The gentle breeze during a moonlit spring evening is extremely romantic in Bengal. Who wants to wait for God? You can only wait for your lover. Also the song is set to a faster tempo and cannot be sung with any pathos really. 

But as I said the mind of a genius is very difficult to understand for us ordinary mortals. 

As I discovered, I do not have these songs readily available to share. I shall record them some other time and then share. It will take time. Keep coming back to check. 

A dove story

First nesting. The blooming yellow orchid is on this side of the window.

A few months ago a pair of spotted doves had made a nest in one of the orchid tubs on the grill of my window. They used to visit my little window garden almost every day for a long time and then built the nest almost overnight when we were gone for a long weekend. It was quite successful in that the chicks hatched, the chicks grew and flew off the nest. This was in March 2024. The entire process took about a  month or so. I observed and took photographs of various stages of the process. 

Now they have come back and once again have started the process. This time I want to keep a day by day journal as a citizen science project. Here in Calcutta we call them box grills. They are installed on windows to discourage thieves. They are a foot or so projected outside the window so that you can use the space outside the window. People mostly dry their washed clothes there :-) I keep orchids on that grill with a curtain to cut back on the strong tropical sun. 

14th June 2024 - Day 1 

While opening the window in the morning today to water the plants, I startled the dove sitting on the old nest. I didn't realise it was there. It flew away. It was sitting with its tail touching the window pane. It was in the incubating pose. It has still not laid the eggs but I am more than certain it will do so in a day or so. I moved the tub (in which it had nested last time) a bit away from the window so that it does not touch the pane. It seemed to have cleaned the nest a bit. 

After the chicks flew away last time, it looked terribly dirty with their droppings. I was in fact wondering how they would ever nest here again. But they have. 

Didn't see them for the whole day. But heard. 

15th June 2024 - Day 2 

Evening 8 pm - it was still there on the nest. I think the eggs have already been laid. It is not flying off even when I open the window. I guess the first few hours/days they are so protective that they don't fly off easily.

Here is the note written in the morning. 

Morning ten o clock and it is sitting there again. Today I didn't open the window. Will do so when it goes away, if at all. I can see it from this side of the smoked glass.

Even at 11 am when I went back it was still sitting there. I opened the window thinking it was not there. But it was very much there. And it didn't move at all. I watered the plants. It made its body smaller and ducked its neck down but allowed me to carry on with my job for about a minute.  I am sure it has perhaps already laid the eggs. Or may be it was in the process of laying the eggs at that point of time. I had noticed this courage when the chicks had just hatched. It would just not fly out. Otherwise when it was just sitting on the eggs it would fly out to let me finish my job and then fly back again after I would be gone.

I am using the pronoun "it" because I am not sure if it is the mother or the father. If the egg laying process is on then it could only be the mother. The previous pair had one of the birds with a hooked bill. Possibly the female. This one that I saw this morning seemed much smaller and with a normal bill. Is it possible that the front of the bill had broken in the meantime and grew back normally? Not sure.

I am curious to know if the same old pair came back or it is the chicks that have now paired up. Do they get ready for parenthood so early in life ? Shuvankar-da thinks it is the same old pair and if the nest stays good they will repeatedly come and raise their chicks.

Note the crooked bill. This used to sit on the eggs in the day time. 

16th June 2024 - Day 3

Morning 10 am. I opened the window and watered the plants. The bird is sitting still in the nest. Last time when I would open the window the bird would fly off and sit on the branch of the mango tree behind and later come back. Of course towards the later stage it became more tolerant. This time it's just not budging. In fact I have not even actually seen the eggs so far.  This behaviour of absolutely not budging I saw when the chicks had just hatched. The parent would just not move, leaving the chicks exposed. 

I noticed the bill of the bird closely. It is straight. Also this bird is quite smaller than the previous ones. 

Afternoon 3 pm - at around 2 pm I decided to grease the rails of my window. These are aluminium sliding windows and they make a lot of squealing noise. Now that I am frequently opening and shutting the window I thought I would grease them to make it easier for the birds. I am sure they hate that noise as much as I do. So I greased the rails thoroughly. The bird didn't budge at all. 

I left the window open and went away. After some time at around 2:40 I noticed the nest was empty and there were those two jewels of white eggs sitting pretty there. I was so happy to see them. As if I have had two grand children. Just as I was preparing to bring the camera for a shot of the eggs I saw the other dove come in to sit. It is obviously the male. It's a little larger than the one I saw earlier in the day. And its bill is also straight. I photographed it. 

So the eggs are there and I can quite differentiate between the mom and dad. Mom is visibly smaller. Will keep observing every day. 

17th June 2024 - Day 4

12 noon. I just checked the nest while watering the plant. Moma dove is sitting. She didn't fly off and allowed me to water the plants from close proximity, as usual. In fact I have to extend my hand over its body and head to water one of the plants. She is fine with that. Just ducks a bit. 

I am more than convinced that this is a new pair and possibly the ones that had hatched in March. One of the birds from that lot looked visibly smaller from day one of hatching. That looks like is the new mother now. 

18th June 2024 - Day 5

No change in status. I watered the plants at 9.30 am. She was sitting there. Didn't fly out. 

The Dove Family

 A little miracle of sorts is happening in my room right now. A pair of spotted doves has made a nest in one of the orchid tubs that I have on my window grill. They laid two eggs when we had gone on a short vacation to McCluskygunj. That was on Sunday, the 3rd of March 2024. The chicks hatched yesterday, that is on Wednesday 20th March, 2024. Which means a total of 18 days' incubation period. 

Right now the chicks are two days old. The parents are still sitting over them round the clock. I saw the chicks being active outside the mother's (it could be the father also - doves cannot be sexed apart) breast in the afternoon for a short while. Both are alive and kicking. 

Yesterday in the afternoon, when I saw the chicks for the first time (I think the parents were changing their shifts and the nest was unsupervised) I thought one of them was perhaps dead. But today I felt reassured to find both of them active. Just a woolen ball though with nothing discernible in the form of eyes or bill. 

I will note down my observations here. 

The pair was visiting my window box for a few weeks now. Tthe grill is outside the window opening and in the shape of a box where I have a few tubs with orchids. I have recently also placed a thin cloth to give the plants shade against the sun. From their visits - they were targetting a particular tub - I could make out they were planning to set up the nest. Doves are known to make their nest like this and tubs with growing plants is their favourite place. Being orchid tubs it has charcoals and broken pieces of red bricks. 

The eggs were laid when we were gone. When I started observing them I found they sit still round the clock over the eggs. Extremely patiently. Not even a wink. If I stand close they look at me with caution in their eye, regardless of the time of the day. They allow me to water the plants on this side of the window without getting alarmed. When I try to water the plants on their side of the window they would fly quietly to the mango tree nearby. 

The parents apparently take turns to sit on the eggs. The male in the morning and the female in the night. I have not been able to see this shift change. But I can distinguish between the individuals, though I cannot sex them apart. One has a slightly curved bill (it's a deformity) while the other has a normal bill. 

During the day the curved bill fellow sits. 

I left some wheat grains on a plate in front of the nest so that they could feed on it. They have not even touched it so far in the last few days.

Yesterday while watering the plants I found the parent was super bold. It did not fly out even when I entered my hand on the other side of the window. I watered the plants carefully. It didn't budge. First I thought I had gained enough of their confidence for this. Later it struck me that probably the chicks had already hatched and the parent didn't want to leave them unprotected.

I later found a broken egg shell lying on the next tub. Later I thought the chicks were possibly born. I think I saw one of them coming out from under the parent's breast. I saw them for sure only when I found the nest without any parent for a very short time. I took their photograph. Nothing much is discernible. Just a fluffy ball of cotton wool. 

Today I saw them being active outside the parent's breast but soon enough they were inside. I am told they will remain like this for about four to five days. After that they will be grown up enough not to need any of the parents. Finally they will fly the nest in two weeks or so.

I am worried about crows. I just hope they make it safely into flight mode and be on their own.

I am told if they succeed with these chicks, they will come back soon enough to raise another pair of chicks. Let me see how it goes.

DIY Valley of Flowers

These days there are lots of trekking agencies that take trekkers to different routes in the Himalayas. While you can go with them for any of those treks, you could also do many of these treks on your own and solo quite easily provided you have prior information on what to expect.

Here I will try to describe the do's and don'ts of a Do It Yourself trek to the Valley of Flowers which is supposed to be one of the easiest beginners' treks. But before that let me give you a brief idea about the pros and cons of going with an agency. 

Going to VoF involves a long road trip through the Garhwal Himalaya in monsoon (there are fears of landslides and disruptions). Trek the Himalaya takes care of this part of the trek right from Rishikesh. That's a major advantage. If you do it on your own, you have to board the bus from Rishikesh bus stand very early in the morning. And it's a day long trip in an ordinary state bus. The TTH mini buses are much better. If you are in a small group hiring a taxi from Rishikesh would be a better option, albeit a little expensive. 

Agencies like India Hikes ask you to report straight to their base in Govindghat. Might as well walk on your own also. There is nothing special about walking with India Hikes or any such agency. I will explain why a little later. In fact after the trek I thought the most difficult part of the trip was getting in an out of Govindghat - because of the monsoon triggered landslides.

While TTH puts you up for the night at Pipalkoti, a couple of hours before Govindghat and even before Joshimath, the public bus will take you straight to Govindghat where you can stay for the night and start the trek early morning next day.

The other disadvantages of trekking with an agency is that they typically choose the cheapest possible hotels with very basic food. The rooms have to be shared with complete strangers if you are alone who might happily snore right next to you. I cannot sleep like this at all. 

Also, while walking, you have to keep pace with the team. You can neither walk too fast, nor can you be too slow. You don't have much personal time to take photographs on the way etc. My experience with India Hikes was really poor in this respect. They even make you exercise after reaching the destination :-) Too old for all that bull shit.

An advantage of being with an agency is that you have experienced trek leaders and guides. They know the route extremely well and can be of much help in any medical emergency. On certain risky sections they take care of the safety aspect.

However, Valley of Flower route being a pilgrim trail is full of porters and mules. Believe it or not, there are garden chairs all along the way. So there is no reason why you should not do it solo and without any guidance of anyone.

You don't need to camp anywhere. You walk on day 1 to Ghangaria where there are plenty of hotels. The next two days are day treks without any overnight stay. That is, you go to the destinations - VoF and Hemkund Sahib on two respective days - and come back the same day. No question of spending the night anywhere. So it is basically a hotel trek. Eminently doable for a novice.

Since many costs are shared, trekking with an agency is quite inexpensive. If you are going on your own there are certain costs that might seem expensive to many. 

So now on with the day by day break up of the journey.

Day 1 - Rishikesh to Govindghat

The day starts from Rishikesh early in the morning at 5.30 am or so. Arrive the evening before and check into a hotel near the bus stand so that the next morning you need not worry about getting there so early. The main hotel area of Rishikesh is Tapovan where there are literally hundreds of hotels. But it's not near the bus stand. The main taxi stand of Rishikesh is near Ram Jhula which is not very far from Tapovan.

The bus journey should take about 12 hours or so if there is no road block and disruption en route. Landslides are very frequent in this route so be mentally prepared for that. The road follows the river Alokananda through Devaprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag etc and then climbs down from Joshimath to reach Govindghat - the last town on the bank of Alokananda. 

A hotel in Govindghat

There is a large Gurudwara in Govindghat where they offer Langar (free food) to anyone, regardless of caste, creed or religion. There are several basic hotels in Govindghat where you can check in for the night. There is a small market around the Gurudwara selling mostly Sikh religious items. There are many eating joints too. I had veg momo for Rs 100 a plate. 

Incidentally this entire route is vegetarian. You will not find any restaurant selling anything remotely non-veg. Don't even mention non-veg food anywhere. They are deeply offended. 

Day 2 - Pulna to Ghangariya (Jeep for 4 km and trek for 11 km)

From Govindghat cross the small Army Green bridge over Alokananda and proceed towards a village 4 kms away called Pulna. You can take a shared jeep here for this journey that would otherwise take you less than a couple of hours on foot. It's a black top road in decent state of repair. Beyond Govindghat they don't allow any outside taxi as this route is controlled by vehicle owners from Pulna village only. 

Pulna is the last village on this route. While Ghangariya is almost like a town, all the buildings there are basically hotels. It doesn't have any residents living there. In fact these places are under deep snow for about six months a year and no one stays here round the year.

If you are ready to rough it out, you could perhaps walk the previous evening from Govindghat and spend the night at one of the small homestays in Pulna. These are not hotels but homestays in the true sense of the word. 

Important thing to know here is that, no one is allowed to proceed from Govindghat after 2 pm. This rule is very strictly enforced. We were not allowed to move as we reached Govindghat at 3 pm. But if you explained to them that you would go only as far as Pulna they might relent. Don't bank on it though. I didn't personally do this.

The Hindi notice at Govindghat about movement restriction after 2

At Pulna one has to register oneself at the small registration counter on the left hand side of the road. For Indians one has to show some official identity. Foreigners have to show their passport. You can have breakfast here also. There are plenty small dhabas on the roadside. 

There are many porters and mule drivers who will solicit for your business here. They charge Rs 1000 for the 11 km uphill journey. 

The walk is up the very well defined and broad trail with a railing. Nothing could be easier than that in the Himalayas. To top it all, it is a very pleasant walk through a forest with innumerable glacial streams flowing all around. There are water taps along the route and of course plenty of eateries. Tea is Rs 30 for a cup. 

The trail is a continuous and rasonably steep climb. If you are not used to panting, you will find it difficult. Take rest. Start walking again. There is no other challenge involved. It took me about 6 hours to complete this hike with couple of tea breaks. It might rain. Take adequate protection against it. 

In Ghangria 

Ghangariya from the Hemkund trail

First comes the helipad of Ghangaria. It's a wide spread out valley with plenty of tented accomodation. We didn't stay here but proceeded towards the small town of Ghangaria which is about a kilometer or so away. There is a GMVN accomodation with dormitories and rooms etc and plenty of small hotels on either side of the road. Each hotel has an eatery in the ground floor. There is a Gurudwara also where they have rooms available at reasonable rates. I stayed in a room for Rs 800. This was Holiday Inn opposite to the Gurudwara. There was another hotel that offered its room for Rs 2000. I have no clue if their room had jacuzzi or what but I thought it was an exorbitant rate. 

Two things are offered at every hotel it seemed. Foot massage and hot water. I took neither. 

Near the GMVN rest house, there is a place where they sell books on the VoF and a documentary film on the uniqe valley is shown there too. This is an NGO that employs the sweepers along the way who pick plastic trash and clear the poop of the mules (it could be disgusting for many).

Day 3 - Ghangaria to VoF and Back

VoF is not only a National Park it is also a UN declared World Heritage site. It has a formal gate that opens at 7 am. You have to pay an entry fee here of Rs 150 per head (I am not sure what it is for foreigners). Every entry and exit to the valley is noted in a register. Being a highly protected biosphere, they don't allow mules on this route but porters are available. They even lug humans on their backs in a basket.

If the weather is bad on a particular day the gate may not be opened at all. In that case you have to go to Hemkund Sahib and hope for better weather the next day.

After Ghangaria the road forks into two towards these two destinations just before the check point. The left one goes to VoF and  the right goes to Hemkund. The Hemkund trail, being a pilgrimage, is never closed rain or shine. 

The VoF trail is a relatively narrow stone paved one. It's perhaps steeper than the first day's trek. After about four kilometers from the town, up the steep trail, you enter the valley that is wide, flat and well spread out. The flowers start right from the gate and here the variety and numbers are a lot more. 

However, don't believe the exaggerated and photoshopped photographs that you see on the net. The valley is all green. Not purple or red or yellow etc as shown in those pictures. The flowers, being wild, are very small. The overwhelming colour is green and the bright flowers dot this greenery very beautifully. 

Contrary to popular perception this valley doesn't have Brahma Kamals. For that you have to go to Hemkund and that too in late August.  

 

 

Trekking for the Beginners

Recently while hiking to the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand I got a chance to meet and walk with several completely novice trekkers. For many of them this was not only their first trek anywhere, they were even seeing Himalayas for the first time in their life. This is quite understandable. Valley of Flowers is promoted as a beginners' trek by the trekking agencies, which it indeed is, and it is natural that many new comers to this pursuit choose it as their first Himalayan experience. 

Having interacted and observed them closely during the four days of the trek, I noticed that several of them were very ill informed about the do's and don'ts of a Himalayan trek. Therefore it makes sense to write a blog addressed to such people that will surely help any novice - regardless of his or her age.

What I am writing here is entirely taken from my own experience. No knowledge here is Googled for you. It is knowledge acquired through years of experience in various physical activities.

The trekking agencies do give a lot of advice on their websites but it's either inadequate or on the extreme side of caution. For example, a standard thing that is mentioned on India Hikes or Trek The Himalaya site is "you should be able to comfortably run 5 kms in 30 minutes." This is a load of bull shit really. I have never run 5 kms in my life except on a couple of occasions. And they were never done in less than 30 minutes. 

Such a blanket advice for all without taking into account the person's age is completely meaningless. What a 20 year can do can surely not be done by a 60 year old. But it doesn't really matter. Both can hike a mountain trail with reasonable fitness. Frankly I don't read such literature beyond a few lines.

We must remember - the trekking agencies don't like taking chances. They don't want to be faced with a charge like - you never told us so. Also they never paint the complete picture that might discourage some of their potential clients. After all they are a business. No matter how friendly they sound in their websites, they are there to run a business. 

The kind of things they advice you to take with you in a trek is another piece of total crap. Short of the kitchen sink, they ask you to carry virtually everything. We will come to that in my article shortly. 

So what does it take to trek successfully in the basic Himalayan trails? 

Research The Trail 

Trekking agencies rate their treks in 3/4 categories in terms of difficulty. First is easy to moderate. Next is moderate to difficult and third is difficult to perhaps very difficult. New comers generally choose the easy ones which is the right thing to do. But they are not given any idea about what they mean by easy. If you are a new comer who has never climbed even one flight of stairs at home or office, even Valley of Flowers will seem like a the most difficult trek in the world. Because it involves a walk up a reasonably steep mountain road for about five to six hours on the very first day.

So what is easy or moderate or difficult when it comes to trekking? Please understand that there is no such trek that is like a walk in the park. So when they say "easy" it doesn't mean you will never huff and puff. Most Himalayan treks start with a steep ascent. And for a first timer it is not easy to deal with such a climb. You will most definitely huff and puff and right from the word go almost.

So why is VoF or other such treks termed easy? Well, easy is a trek where the trail is extremely well defined. The VoF trail is wide like a motorable road. It has rocks laid by humans to make it walkable. It even has railings on the sides and tap water every now and then. There are tin shades made over the trail here and there where you can take shelter in heavy rain. There are even garden chairs all along the way, damn it. 

Even if these pilgrim friendly features were not there it would still be called easy because on this trail you need not worry about where your next step will be.

Moderate trek is where every now and then there are sections where you have to measure your steps and step carefully. You have to chalk out your next few steps before hand, These are moderate treks. What is difficult? Well, generally there is no well defined trails. It is where you often fear for your life. You worry that you might fall and either break your limbs or just die. 

Very difficult would be trails where you need to do technical climbing with special skills and expertise. 

Steepness is a given in all treks. Just steepness does not determine how easy or difficult a trek is. Altitude beyond a point is certainly an issue that should determine whether a trek is easy or difficult. At very high altitude even a level path can be dangerous because the altitude itself can kill you. 

Does the trek involve crossing avalanche prone areas? Are their glaciers to be crossed? These make it difficult. Not just steepness.

So my advice is - read up on the trail that you will be following and stay mentally prepared. Many just look at the kilometers. That is a wrong approach. Ten kilometers of continuous uphill climb and 10 Km over a flat valley are two different walks altogether. I never look at the distance per se. I ask how long does it take to cover it. That is a more relevant piece of information and gives you a better picture. 

Pulna to Ghangria in VoF Day 1 is 11 km. Should take less than 3 hours if it was flat. It actually takes six hours for an average trekker because it is reasonably steep. Ghangria to Hemkund is just 6 kms. It took some of our trekmates a good 5/6 hours to cover. 

Weight Management 

In the mountains how much weight you are carrying is crucially important for enjoying a trek. There is a famous saying that "in the land of the Lama, don't try to be a Gama". Here Gama is the legendary wrestler. It means, in the Himalayas don't try to show off your strength. Manage the weight you are carrying by not taking unnecessary items. 

These days, the agencies allow you to give your main load to their mules and you can walk with a small bag of essentials. This bag should have the following items - a raincoat even if the weather looks sunny, a hollowfill or down jacket, a spare pair of socks, drinking water, some snacks to munch on the way and a small emergency medical kit like a crepe bandage (you might sprain your ankle), some cotton wool, Dettol etc. If packed lunch or breakfast is given at the start that you have to carry too.

When you walk you will feel warm pretty soon unless you are in sub zero conditions and the weather is gloomy with no sun. I usually walk with a base layer, a thick or thin T-shirt over that (depending on how warm or cold it is) and a rain coat with the front zip open. If it gets really warm I take the rain coat off and put it in the bag. If it gets chilly I can pull up the zip. If walking in really cold weather take a pair of gloves too.

If you stop on the way and it is cold you will get the chills pretty soon. This is when you should pull out the warmer jacket and use it. Keep the head covered all the time. You might want the gloves also. 

I keep the spare socks to deal with any accidental dipping of the feet in water. Walking with a wet pair of socks is a sure fire way of catching a cold.

Another important point to note - if it is winter, put a layer of Vaseline or moisturizer on your face, particularly on the nose tip and cheeks. Keep the ears closed.

I also carry two bottles of water. One has Electral in it. Manage your thirst and electrolyte level carefully. Drink a little every now and then. If you feel thirsty it's already too late. Many people prefer the bladder on their back with a sipper near their mouth. I have somehow avoided it so far. Mainly because of the cost. Also I don't like sipping like that.  

Dehydration can be dangerous in the mountains. You can get cramps. You can feel pain in the joints. All sorts of disasters can happen. If you are young you might get away with a bit of dehydration. For the older people it is of critical importance. 

 

The Mind over Body - A Mental Attitude

Most youngsters who think of going to the Himalayas for a trek, I have noticed, bank on their gyms to see them through in the mountains. This is a big mistake to make. I have seen well built North Indian boys in their mid-twenties with gym sculpted biceps and lats going back from a trek to Roopkund on the second day. They all had excellent muscles and I am sure they spend hours in their gyms to build them but they lacked something more crucial. A strong mind. 

Walking up or down a steep trail for the whole day, often in bad weather, is what you should expect in a trek. Just lifting weights doesn't prepare you for this. You could stop once in a while to rest or to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings but rest of the time you just have to walk like a mule. Look down at the trail and keep walking. Some do it with a load on their back. Some without. But just keep walking. That's all. This is for the easy treks. On difficult treks you have to constantly look for where to place your next foot and sometimes about losing your life.

Now to walk the whole day like a mule, you don't really need muscles sculpted in the gym. What you need is a certain mindset. A mind that accepts physical suffering for a long time throughout the day. A mind that doesn't give up easily. A mind that is not looking to prove anything to anyone. A mind that is not trying to "defeat" the Himalayas but seeks her permission to go to her interiors to see the beauty that is lying there and unseen by most. 

You don't need to be able to lift X kilos to do this. But you certainly need to have experienced suffering and physical exhaustion at whatever level. While walking up a steep trail over a long time I often play a scene in my mind. It's a hot and sultry evening in May in Calcutta and I am running in the Lakes. I am sweating profusely, But I am going on. I have to finish the distance of X. It doesn't matter what X is to you but have you suffered like this ever? If not, go out and experience such suffering. It could be a long walk. It could be a short run. Whatever it is but you need some memories of suffering. 

You are lifting weights. Have you lifted a bucket of water for the family ever? If you are just lifting weight then it becomes your comfort zone. Come out of that comfort zone. Get the habit of panting like a dog. Whether from walking or running or skipping - do pant over a long time. It is not only good for your heart, you will be able to negotiate the Himalayan trails well.

By the way, I am by no means discouraging going to the gym. By all means please go and sculpt your body if you are a yongster or strengthen your bones and muscles if you are a senior. But don't think that only going to the gym is enough preparation.

If you are walking as a prep, carry some weights in a rucksack. Just putting two 2 litre water bottles means you are adding 4 kilos.   

Where flowers sing

If you happen to go to Kakrajhore, it's not too far from the city, you will find a small idylic village inhabited by tribal people and surrounded by pristine mixed forests. Go there in spring time. Ask the locals to show you to the temple. It's across the small rivulet by the side of a narrow footpath that cuts into the forest from the main road going to Ghatshila. Take that narrow jungle trail you see going deeper into the forest there. Don't fear about getting lost. You will soon see a largish tree standing alone in the forest. It looks like any other tree but it is not.

The forest floor surrounding the tree would be green because it is sprinkled with the dropping flowers of that large tree that are showering on the ground below. Some get blown away in the gentle breeze. No one has crossed the path to crush the flowers yet. You might hesitate to cross. The tree doesn't really care. It keeps on shedding its flowers. 

If you stand quietly there, you will hear a unique, subtle sound. The sound of those green flowers falling on the ground. Yes. Flowers do make a soft sound when they fall in large numbers. You can hear them if you try. You can hear Mohul flowers also making a soft sound when they drop. But they are large flowers. You can hear the shaal flowers if there is enough dry leaves under the tree. The shaal flowers make the softest sound because they are very small and soft.

This particular tree you are standing under makes a sound like it is drizzling. As if rain drops are falling on parched earth. Enjoy the sound. But don't get too curious about the tree. It is one of the most dangerous trees in the jungle. Tribals use its poison from the seeds and barks to smear the tip of their arrows. Even the leaves of the tree can potentially kill a human, if consumed in large numbers. 

It is the strychnine tree. Nux Vomica is its other name. 

Standing on an idyllic morning under such a tree, I recorded this subtle sound. It may not create the same effect on you, sitting in an urban atmosphere. This is just for me. To act as a background music when I reminisce about Kakrajhore later. 

Wake Up Call

24th March 2023

These last few days I am waking up in the wee hours of the morning to the beautiful song of an Asian Koel or what we call in Bengali as Kokil. It roosts on one of the branches of the mango tree just outside my window behind the house and starts this earnest call. Believe it or not this starts at aroun 3:25 am and goes on and off for about 20 minutes.

It's a mixed feeling really to be woken up so early in the morning. On the one hand it is a very sweet call, perhaps the sweetest bird song that there is in the world. But on the other hand I hate being woken up so early in the morning every day. I love the call but hate waking up.

I was determined to record it today and kept the recorder, microphone and the headphone on the ready next to me on the bed when I went to sleep last night. As soon as it started I switched them all on and recorded the song. I made some four recordings. In mono and stereo both. 

The call was so loud that I had to turn the recording level down to five. Otherwise it was going over and the light was turning red on the level panel.

So here is the call for posterity. I have made Asian Koel recordings in the past. It is one of the easiest things to do if you are from this part of the world. The bird is very vocal. But I had to record this particular artist because there is a certain bond that has already been created between the bird and me. 

Against All Odds

After several years I had chanced to meet an old friend  at a movie hall in South Calcutta. Monisha and I had gone to watch a Bengali thriller. This friend, Sukanya, was there with her bubbly little daughter who was playing around in the lobby. She had a hearing aid and I soon learnt that she is deaf since birth. My heart was filled with a sudden sadness about my friend and the little innocent child who perhaps did not even know what she did not have. She was very happy with herself and didn't seem to care. 

I had earlier worked with Sukanya at a small newspaper house and she was a very nice girl, full of life and a general enthusiasm about everything. 

On and off we stayed in touch over phone when one fine afternoon, Sukanya told me she was struggling to find a better school for her daughter. Her daughter would've been in her early teens then and studying in a normal school with normal children (I have quite forgotten the name of the school but it was one of the better known schools in South Calcutta). 

They had put her in a normal school because they had read that now inclusive education is being promoted and no child should be denied entry into any particular school on the basis of her disabilities blah blah blah. It went off pretty well in the junior classes but now that she is in a higher class the teachers are becoming impatient with her. She is by no means dull but due to her communication problem she takes time to be explained things. The teachers are not willing to give her that time.

Sukanya was worried that the child is very attached to a few of her friends and leaving the school and those friends might be traumatic for her. I felt so hopelessly incompetent that I could do nothing about the situation and it was all so wrong. I have been a teacher in life and I would've killed such teachers if I found them in my staff room. But here I could do nothing but give her the contact details of an NGO that works with hearing impaired children. 

I did not keep track of what was going on in that little girl's life. More out of a feeling of regret and a denial mechanism that perhaps worked in me. If we do not look at a problem in the eye the problem does not exist for us. It was somewhat like that. Meanwhile I learnt the child had left her school and joined another school, which is not the best in the city, but it has a very inclusive culture. She was happy.

And then several years passed. We have been in touch over facebook but never exchanged any notes about the child.

Yesterday Sukanya's facebook post caught my attention. A beautiful porcelain installation artwork on display at an Indo-Russian cultural exchange venue. It's by her daughter Srijoni. She is now an artist. She has done her graduation from NID it seemed. Such a wonderful success in life. I was so happy to learn this. I have not been part of her struggle. But I am happy to see the outcome.