D Day is here

Bags packed. Going to be slightly sleep deprived - I leave in four hours. Good last day before I go.

- I picked up the Suunto I wanted to - I'm going to read the manual on the plane. I think its an awesome piece of equipment. 

- I did a good deed and helped my maid's kid when she hurt herself - then I took some pictures with the kids. :) As you can see with the pictures below I did try to make the youngest one a climber (joke)

- Good omen: I skinned my knee on my trekking bag I think. Did not notice it but the bedspread was crimson by the time I did. 

- I've had my share of goodbyes but being able to say hello to my cousin on her birthday was special - Happy Birthday Aakriti!

- Kary called from Japan - it takes a good man to remember I am leaving in the middle of aftershocks in Tokyo. Karan is a champion

- I've mentioned it only to a few but its true. I turn a year older on the trek. I am kicked. Its a big birthday. I think I will love it

- As I type Ma is sitting quietly grinding my water purifying tabs to powder. It's a sweet moment just before I leave to be sitting itminaan se in a room with her. Like Diwali '08 on my trek I'll miss my family on the birthday

So, this is it. Its on. Back to the blog as soon as I can. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie

Untitled

Amit dropped by this morning to say good luck for the 'long walk' that 60 year olds do too. Thank god for Amit - always brings you down to mother earth. We managed to catch Vidur on the phone too to say hello.

Then I went to Def Col to run errands - medicines, camelbak and stuff. 

Ishan says go with the flow and come back and catch a beer with me when you're back. Rob says - I'm going to go to Sikkim / Leh so I'll see you when I see you ;)

I pick up the meds and a huge pack of sunscreen and then head to the adventure store. I think there I make one of the best decisions to date by picking up a 3 ltr Camelbak - I think its going to be a lifesaver

I might take a big decision tomorrow and pick up a Suunto with an altimeter, barometer and alarm. If I do - I am going to have to plan another trek soon to make sure I out my money to good use. ;)

 

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie

D Day minus two - the devil lies in the details

Its down to the details now for the EBC and ABC trek. Wrapping up work while running multiple errands is the tough part. But here's what today looked like

- camera spare batteries and charger procured. Little bit of running around to replace the faulty charger but worth it
- quick run down of inventory. Thanks to Chandini I now have a neck warmer and a spare beanie that fits my big head to boot AND
- a cool set of - 'expose to the air and have them warm' pads that are great to insert into a sleeping bag at night - final list of missing equipment - camel pack, fleece jacket, wondering if I need gor-tex lowers.

No workout today on purpose. I feel pretty fit. I have not lost much weight or maybe none at all but I've been throwing myself at the cardio bikes, cross trainer and treadmill. I've pushed and pulled weights. I've eaten early and slept a lot. I think I still carry 4 kilos too many but I think the legs and back are strong. I definitely find the regular gym routine - bike 3 km at a resistance of ~ 11, cross train ~ 3km at a varying resistance, 100 push ups / 60 stomach curls, 40 deadlifts / 60 squats quite a breeze. Usually I'll also throw in an extra km on the mill, few minutes on the bike, 40 extra push ups. The back niggles are gone - I've been doing a lot of horizontal lying swing from the hip. Feel like I have a new back. I don't think I'll be the sinewest on the trek but I think I'll be battle hardened with Everest for a solid hike up Annapurna.

I've also had a very heart warming response to my trip from friends and colleagues - I sent out an email and collectively the replies gave me goose bumps when I replayed them in my head. This stuff is what dreams are made off - ok, maybe small dreams :)

I also managed to close the day by extracting four 5 rupee coins out of my gorgeous dinner date. Not bad eh? Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie

Day minus 5 – checklist and gear

At this point I am most concerned about having my gear in place for the EBC and ABC trek.

I think the physical fitness is more or less there. I feel good and I think I am looking forward to the mountain air like it’s the fix I have been waiting for. 

The major part of the gear is done:

- I shopped a fair bit last week in India (light shoes, thermal and blister preventing socks, medicine, inner layers) and pulled out my trekking boots and packs. The headlight and torch (trusted maglite) and spare batteries are also ready

- My friend, Chandini (and an adventure type herself - you should check out her Antarctica pictures sometime) carted all the stuff I ordered via Craghoppers online all the way back from London. My beanie is small! I think she’s lending me hers. Sweetheart.

- Craghoppers took sometime to process an international order but the stuff is fabulous! The stitching is great, the finished products superb and hope they last well. I got a few kiwi trousers, a couple of shirts and waterproof stuff

- A friend of my Dad’s gifted me a telescopic walking stick and a waterproof pack cover – essential items for this trek

- Ma’s been nice enough to stitch a sleeping bag inner layer – critical for cleanliness and warmth

The list will go on – I think I pack up day after on Wednesday and then I’ll rush for last min stuff. 

Intrepid wrote in with a sweet note to check if I was all set. Like that about them – and as I told them, I cannot wait to go.

Tomorrow is the day to collect cash and travelers cheques, pick up memory cards for the camera and scoop up some music for the iPod. 

And oh yeah – Kaberi popped some great recommendations for reading on the trek. I think I am carrying some Pico Iyer and Marcus Aurelius’s – Meditations. Looking good yet. 

 

 

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie

Meerut & how 1995 seems so long ago

I wish this post had many more pictures – it would make things so much better and easier to capture. Especially when my mind goes back to the huge kadhai of gulab jamuns that I could just leap into. Aah life…

Meerut. Dusty Uttar Pradesh. Hick cowboy country. Loud. Surprisingly polite people – you wont guess it from the way they drive. Home. Correction – grandparents home – so better than home. Shastri Nagar. I lived here for a year in 1995. Familiar. Graciously and reassuringly unchanging.

I was tiny when I was here last. The walk to the end of the lane was long. Running an errand to the local market for grandma a chore. Getting to extra math lessons was a job. Now the same distances seem puny.  Navigating the city seems easy and figuring out all the new construction is a breeze.

Still it’s a timeless place. The old book shop remains. You find a chappie selling kuhar wali chai on the street. The shopkeepers are so polite. The roads remain chaotic – I have been tacking this pothole for a decade that remains a crater despite repeated re-metalling. Its awesome how Mayawati manages that (and how in my head craters in UP = Mayawati’s duty).

At the same time change is very palpable. The ATM density is tremendous. There’s TATA Photon and 3G billboards everywhere, there are so many new schools, everyone wears jeans, there are so many more women on the roads – driving, riding, running business – it is amazing to see. And a reminder of how deprived childhood has been ;) 1995 seems such a generation ago.

Photos for next time. I need to go perambulate to digest my sweet binge. I seem unable to control myself when I enter a true blue halwai shop regardless of the time of day / state of my belly. The rasmalai and lassi and the gulab jamun to add to it… whew. Such good food man. Need to come back again with an emptier stomach. (oh wait – I packed some milk cake). Life is good.  

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie

Spring, family & strategic expansion of 5 rupee coin collection

The second time I woke up this morning I found my little sister, Tarini counting her collection of 5 rupee coins on the dining table. As THE collector of 5 rupee coins I had to get out my own collection and stack it against hers… of course the fact it was a lazy Sunday morning helped.

As you can see here, my collection (left) considerably thumps hers (more than double for the record). In the end, the challenging army (Tarini’s 5 rupee coin collection) retreated the battlefield and agreed to a takeover by the stronger but benevolent army (the firepower of 18 ten rupee coins can be quite intimidating). For a princely sum of 1900 rupees my collection is now one and a half times its size. 

If this wasn’t quite a great beginning to Sunday the 0645 first awakening was. I dashed to the door, picked up and read the news of the Indian World Cup victory. To hold a copy in print of the victorious Indian team was quite worth it. Realizing it was all real and that we had indeed won me quietly snuck back into bed and slept another hour and a half soundly.

Those two stories are unrelated but significant. Tarini has been here about two weeks and the Varma family of four is together again. It takes some time to settle into being four in a house but its beautiful. The post dinner ice creams are more spontaneous, the jabbering at dinner light hearted and the sense of humour goes up quite a bit. From 2004 when we were last together, to now, Tarini and I have both gone through college and jobs and living away from home. We’re both older and more opinionated and set in our ways – four adults in the house vis-à-vis two adults and two teenagers. How time flies

This family bonding is poignant. In under two weeks, Tarini leaves for business school (God bless the hearts she’s going to steal at ISB this year), I for my quest to trek to Everest and Annapurna base camps and Ma and Dad are likely to take a holiday to the east. We will soon have great stories to regale each other with. 

The Indian teams apparent purple patch has coincided with brilliant spring weather in Delhi. The lanes of Lutyens Delhi are a burst of bright green, the koel coos gently through the day and the evenings are pleasant. For a city that generally doles out harsh weather, the moderation is a good pit stop. Here is to a great summer and good times with family and friends.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Tarun's Reverie