Bird watching an important aspect of my life

Birding: A hobby

Well guys, here I am again after a long time. I have pursued birding ever since I was a child, knowingly or unknowingly, the eagerness in me to find out where every bird stays and how it survives, does it have parents at home or does it have children to take care of were few of the questions which egged me on and on. My interest was even more kindled when from the Kolkata book fair my father bought me a book "Some Indian Birds". This was an epic book which turned my thoughts and however few pages the book might have, they included the most commonly viewed bids viz the Crow, the Common Myna, The hill myna, etc etc. A small paragraph stating the birds nature food habits and lifestyle was all that was there. Slowly the inquisitiveness in me got the better of me however nothing can ever surpass the practicality a middle class boy faces during youth. So in spite of several thoughts and afterthoughts, I could not take up birding as a profession. However at present when almost all is settled, I have the opportunity to be in the vicinity of Keoladeo National park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. This has allowed me to usurp the opportunity to visit the place as much as I can and also now I do have a camera at my disposal to etch my cherished memories forever with me. Enough talk now I would like to bring to light those less lucky ones to visit the national park what all ecstasies are there.

1.   The Green Bee eater:

2.  The Black beaked Ibis

3.  The brown magpie

4. The grey Hornbill

5. The green pigeon : This one is easily not seen in the eastern or southern part of India.

6. The spoonbill

7.   The Grey owl: Most difficult to spot during day.

Thats all for today folks. If you like them let me know in the comments and obviously tell me how to improve. Thanking you.

Dalhousie-The Summer Retreat by Ashima Banerjee | Tripoto

Dalhousie-The Summer Retreat The greatest gift of life on the mountains --is TIME.A hill station situated on 5 hills was the summer retreat of the Britishers.Very wisely chosen by them,this destination is an exotic place and heaven during the summers.The less spoilt nature here attracts the nature lovers.Well, I have seen people burn their pockets to be near the lap of the mountains especially when we talk of the Himalayas and its ranges,here I always feel myself lucky to spend a year almost being a residential teacher in one of the schools in Dalhousie. During the summer blissful mornings the Sun lors is clearly visible in the azure sky reflecting an aura of glowing golden lights on the snow-capped ranges of the Dhauladhar. The pace of life in this hill station is quite slow in comparison to other ones..Nowadays  the influx of the tourist has initiated some unpopular ways of dumping garbages on the hill slopes but the cleanliness drive by the local school  and defence forces present there is worth appreciating.

I can suggest to keep your baggages at bay and come here to refesh yourself.Trust me you will fall in love with this place.Take your time and visit Dainkund, Khajjiar (the mini Switzerland of India),Kalatop bird sanctuary,Bara Patthhar, Subhash Bowli, Panjpula, Satdhara, Chamera dam and lake,.For shopping you can visit the Tibetan Market at Gandhi Chowk and Dalhousie Bus Stand.The best time to visit here is april-to june and again october to mid november.You can also visit anytime at least carrying a raincoat or an umbrella because you can't predict showers here.Even

 you can get hailstorm in the monsoon or early onset of it.On a clear night you can become a star gazer also.Enjoy trekking and a pony ride.Beware of the monkeys though. During autumns of course which is the best season,you will get a picteresque view of blooming fiery red rhododendrons in the lush green forest,will surely captivate your minds for a long time.After a shower you will feel you are in the abode of clouds settled on the top of the hills crowning them.Try to avoid winters as it is not recommendable for the weak hearted people who will not be able to bear the numbing chill and 5-6 feet snow. Enjoy Dalhousie and let the moments there become unforgettable memory of your life. y Ashima Banerjee | Tripoto

biking experience

A JOURNAL ON BIKING TO HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Life is a composition of varied ingredients which adds taste with each experience earned..The experience of 24 years of of my life has taught me so many innumerable experiences…This tour on bike with my husband, Nishan Banerjee, added another taste that life is full of curves and we should be alert on each curve to protect our life from any untoward incident..The hill roads , if seen from a  short distance seems that it is the dead end ahead , where we view the horizon, but when we advance further, we see that a road joins it taking a sharp curve..Life is quite similar..a new start from the dead end..The future is uncertain like the roads(hills I am talking about)---full of possibilities and probabilities which we have to decide keeping in mind place, time and characters involved..Well, this tour was special..I have been on tours with my family before also but this time it was quite special to document our journey as this was my second and long drive on bike(Pulsar 150 dtssi)..Being an ardent bike rider, my husband never compromised the thought of traveling on bike in spite of my varied suggestion regarding the tour..

              This is the 3^rd week of January and we know the climate of northern India in this season..Our well-wishers definitely suggested some other time to visit there, when we can enjoy the lush green nature with flowers blossoming, but my husband was quite determined to give it a shot..So we started our journey on 23^rd of January 2011..Well I must mention that we did a homework(in my terms a small research) about the roads, hotels or resting inns, and sight-seeing places about Himachal Pradesh.

We woke up late in the morning coz we slept late night..We were still in a dilemma that whether we should move or not, but Shanu insisted to get ready within an hour and we moved out at 10:30 hrs from home(Mohali)..We took the Kharar—Mohali Highway(as was suggested in Google maps,on which we relied throughout our journey)..In the midway to Bilaspur we stopped as Shanu had to buy shades to protect his eyes from constant dusts and smoke created by other vehicles..We even stopped at some points on National Highway—21 to get some good snaps in our new Nikon camera..Actually I started to set my hands on it..After we crossed Kiratpur, we found that we took the wrong route..Instantly I became upset but had to change my mood when Shanu started appeasing conversations..We took a little break to have our breakfast(which later sufficed as lunch),we were served alloo parantha with dahi(I added sugar with it  always)..In the mean time Shanu started a conversation with a nepali boy there(Shanu is always good in communicating) ..OMG i.e Oh My God!! I forgot to write(type here) that I had a backpack(huge one) which I was carrying from the start of our journey, started causing bach-ache..Though Shanu suggested from the beginning that we tie this up with the bike but on my insistence he dropped the idea at that time..But now I was suffering because of my own stupidity..So, he tied that now with a nylon rope and it became easy for me to sit and enjoy the natural scenes..Again we took some good snaps in Roopnagar and a short video of Beas river or canal we may say.It took 6 hrs to reach Bilaspur and it was nearing to dusk when we decided to stop for the day…We had already travelled a distance of 137 kms in one day..It was pre-decided that we halt before night falls..Though we decided that our first stop will be Mandi(H.P) but we were 69 kms beyond our desired destination..The reason for this is lots of smoke spewing  slow motion trucks(snail speed) which made vision miserable and mission incomplete…In Bilaspur we took shelter at Sainik Rest House near bus stand..We had our dinner at Raj Dhaba(the only food joint we could discover)…We went to sleep after that and I had a disturbed sleep due to change of place and horns of vehicles moving outside..

J

 The caretaker of the rest house brought us bread and butter as breakfast and after refreshing ourselves we started for Mandi at 10:00 hrs this time…After we travelled a distance of 500 mtrs or so our  bike’s speedometer ceased functioning…We were tensed naturally…but asking the localites we found a mechanic who suggested to travel more than 5 kms from there to get some proper solution as some parts which were to be mended was not available with him…Not 5 but travelling a distance of 8-9 kms from there we found a proper garage where we found ourselves relieved to get those defunct parts…We couldn’t even imagine the signal of mishap waiting and smiling just after three hours from there…We reached Mandi at 12:45 p.m and found that the rest house we were seeking for was under repair and maintenance and no room was available… Staying in some hotels would have deficit our budget and that’s why we proceeded further to Prashar Lake(H.P)…the destination is at an altitude of 2790 meters from sea level…We saw the shiv mandir on the way and hanuman remple and took some snaps..We took suggestion from localites  over there regarding the route (a gentleman suggested rather laughed and gave instruction that the road is kutchha  …but never said that it is closed or remains closed during winter season)..Thanks to him ….After 2-3 kms from Mandi we took the district highway instead of NH-21 which connects  Kullu and along the same route and after a small diversion Prashar Lake at 23-25 kms from Mandi..After travelling 25 kms from Mandi we saw road filled with boulders and soil…stretching  their arms to welcome us…The road..ahh..will be etched in my memory forever for its dangerous and steep curves, full of pebbles adding to its woe…It seems to me that H.P government may be unaware of its existence ,is still proud to boast its tourism sector…And then to my dismay and horror(I couldn’t have imagine in my worst night-mare) we found fresh water (a ripple)oozing  out from melting snow, on that fateful road…Taking a great risk and trying to show some qualities of airman(heroism)..my hubby crossed it dipping his boots and pants and even our backpack, trying to save me from that water…(me as a pillion rider at that time cursing our fate ,road and humming gayatri mantra)…J..We crossed it and again crossing some more turns ahead we found the same thing(only this time the ripple was big)…We saw some local women crossing that over a merely under constructed bridge…Shanu instructed me to follow them where as he struggled through the icy-cold water along with his bike…Well..with fear in heart we proceeded uphill…With roads becoming more steep and narrow we found no sign of human being or even strayed animals…At 3:00 p.m we had to stop at a curve where it was impossible to advance ahead as the road was filled with ankle-deep ice and our bike ceased to move with so much load on it…Thanks to our destiny that we saw some fresh trail of human steps on the ice…Shanu kept on encouraging me to sit behind and he thought that he would easily cross that ice…but in the mean time our bike started throwing tantrums at us….just kidding..the (MRF) tyres were skidding and it was quite impossible to keep on the balance…We immediately judged the situation and I climbed down and suggested to walk further so that he could manage along with his bike…He is a man with immense stamina and bold hearted coz in that situation also he never gave up hope and half skidding and sliding from his seat he still managed to move on…The depth of snow now increased with each turn ahead…I was capturing the scenes with my camera and half panting making my way through ice…Shanu suggested that I should follow the human steps so that I do not slip…I gave up all hope to reach Prashar by that time..It was already 4:30 p.m and we were still struggling through ice…Suddenly ,to my surprise a woman(wood cutter may be)distracted me by her shrill voice…I was lagging behind Shanu as I was walking with a slow and careful pace…She asked me something in her local language(which was not possible for me to decipher at that time)…well she was wise to understand my problem and switched to hindi when I said I didn’t understand her question…Her husband was behind her and after seeing us he suggested that we should immediately move back and go to Mandi..as the road ahead is filled with 5-6 feet of ice and the distance we have to travel further is 15 kms.and adding more woe to it the H.P Guest House remains close….This is called destiny…We saw sun is just goin to set and we have to move back…so I suggested that we should go to Kullu as going back to Mandi will prove to be a waste…The words documented here can be enjoyed by a reader but the fear cannot be judged…If some one would have offered a thousand bucks room in exchange of that fearful dusk at that time we would have danced with joy…but that was not our story…We didn’t find any human sign on the road in the afternoon itself let alone be the question of getting a helping hand in dusk…We gathered all the surviving courage and Shanu accelerated through those rough roads of India…Again to mention we had to  cross the ripples,but this time I did crossed both on my feet…We took the road to Kullu…While Shanu was driving my eyes met the horizon at a certain curve(we were going uphill) and I saw the canvas of the sky painted with crimson red and in the background the setting sun…I couldn’t control myself to stop this irrelevant thought of jumping from the edge of the road…I don’t know from where this thought played in my mind and I immediately closed my eyes…When I opened them after several minutes distracted by Shanu’s question,I thanked my ancestors that I was not driving the bike and we were safe and sound…The setting sun created an impact in my brains forever…Whatever we had to travel another 69 kms from there to Kullu…It started to get darker and darker and no lights visible on the road except our high beam light…We speeded ahead feeling like some evil chasing us and we are running for our lives…At acertain point we  saw a Maruti van parked and some people inside it…They were boozing inside and they informed us that the road ahead is clear only ice on both the sides…I thanked my fore fathers that there was no ice on the road,like they said..With huge trees on one side and deep gorge on the other, wearing night as a blanket we proceeded with the wish that the road ends soon and our body gets some rests…We saw two vixen crossing the road ..they were awestruck to see our high beam light and paused for second blocking the road..well their vision was blinded by the light may be…Shanu asked me a question”era ki pack e thake na eka ghore?”(do they move in a pack or single?) …May be I am weak in geography but without guessing I said they move singly…We crossed some villages in the mean time(names I forgot to memorise) and at a certain point we saw a himachali driving a scooter with his wife as a pillion rider..Just imagine in that no light visible area he was diving scooter with no lights at all…Well he helped us and suggested the road to Bhuntar(International Aero-drome)(H.P)as we wont get any hotels or rest house before that…We reached Bhuntar at 7:30 p.m…Half-exhausted and half-excited that we were alive(because of the ripping chill outside)and without any scratch we took shelter in a hotel(Hotel Samrat)J for the night…we celebrated the night with good food and drinks and went to sleep….Sound sleep(no dreams at all)…JJJ

J

The room where we stayed was painted recently and this smell was choking but we had no other option as yesternight this smell didn’t even bother us as we were completely exhausted to pay any attention towards it…After midnight I had a problemand could not sleep any longer…my ankle started paining too much…I had to wake Shanu up early to get some medication…He brought a crape and painlkiller so that I can continue my journey farther…We had our breakfast and freshened ourselves and started for Kullu…It was a height of a joke that Kullu was just 10 kms away from Bhuntar…But may be this short distance yesternight would have been dreadful as we were not aware about the road and too weary to continue further…But a night’s sleep washed away that weariness from us…However, it was just a 20 minutes drive bur the condition of the road is not at all maintained…It should be given priority to enhance the roadways as International airport is connected near-by…We searched for the Sainik Guest House at Dhalpur(Kullu)…The localites seem to be unaware  about its existence though it was near Kullu Taxi Stand and inside the complex of D.M’s residence and Circuit House…Some information mis-leaded us to uphill and downhill near about 3 times…Now this uphill and downhill is not an easy task for people of plains…and on top of that with bike..So I suggested Shanu to park the bike and look for the rest house…In the mean time took some snaps…Suddenly he appeared with a strange expression on his face as if deciphering it would lead to consequences like stabbing him with a knife or punching him hard…Well..he disclosed that the rest house is booked for the day and we would have to stay somewhere else coz an officer booked it for marriage purpose…We went to a hotel near-by(Hotel Daulat Kanchan)J…We kept our backpack or rather unloaded, took the Nikon l110 and Nokia X6 and went to have lunch…The tour packages painted on the wall of the Taxi-Union office attracted our attention and we stood there to decide which would be better for us…Seeing our curiosity(as is the duty of the manager) he handed us a leaflet comprising of various tour packages starting fom range Rs 700-5000…We decided to visit Manali—Hadimba Devi—Jagatsukh—Vaishno Devi temple—Naggar Castle—Vashisht  hot spring and back to pavilion(means hotel)..We were given a choice of cars and we chose Indica(appropriate for two people)…The driver Mr.A jay Kumar came and introduced himself…A fact to mention that people of hilly areas are always smiling..may be because they know how to be happy always…Our first destination after having lunch was Roerich’s Art Gallery…Roerich’s paintings were based on Himalayas and mountains only…As Shanu is never interested to visit any temple or other religious buildings,we aborted the idea to visit Vaishno devi and Jagatsukh…Rather seeing my excitement towards snow on distant mountain slopes,he directed the driver to take us near Rohtang Pass…Well,it was obvious that Rohtang would be closed till February—March…So,the driver(happy face) took us to Solang Nala(valley)..He(happy face) charged 500 bucks more..Shanu paid it coz that amount was nothing infront of the scenic beauty,a life time treasure for us…Satisfaction ,the word is comparatively nothing to which my eyes beheld…The white peak of the mountains seem to wave its hand and attracted towards it…No materialistic thing can give more pleasure than what the nature holds in it…Wherever we saw there was snow..even on the roof tops and courtyard….We can put this like “aha ki na dekhilam,jonmo jonmantoreo bhulite paribo na…!” The localites who earn their living by renting clothes and shoes don’t get their best business in this season…We reached there by 3;00 p.m…tourists were skiing, biking and slipping down in a tube from the ice-filled slopes…We opted for the cable-car to get a picturesque view of the valley and the mountain as well…The thing which I couldn’t imagine at Prashar seemed very easy here i.e walking on the ice…I could feel my feet dipping  and creating foot steps in the snow…A sudden question came in my mind…why tourist don’t’ come here in winter? Well it will never be lucrative idea for me to visit in summer just to get respite from heat and view a barren mountain with some patches of green than to visit in winter where snow white waits for the dreamers to enjoy its cold beauty and be elated…Wherever our eyes can see …it saw white beauty as if someone was given a task in the secret of the nights to paint the valley white and it has been accomplished…sometimes it also seemed that an angel mustiacated its beloved mountain with ice to sleep in peace…We took the cable car which took us to an altitude of 3200 mtrs…We saw a trekker trekking through the ice-filled slopes and we thought to cheer him up but the cable car was sound-proof…We took some snaps and movie of the place…All of a sudden we noticed that on the top of the mountain it started..Yes..the thing which I was waiting to visualize,my heart yearned it for days…I was lucky to see the snowfall the first time I came in winter…It was getting to dusk and we had to return…I promised myself that again I will come here and be a part of nature’s show….We visited Hadimba Devi temple next and after a days tour we were back to our hotel…I felt thankful to myself that I stuck to the decision to visit the mountains in this season and grateful to my better half to make my dream come true..The treasure my eyes beheld would never be any match to any valuable materialistic thing…

 A sudden commotion in the air woke me up…oh! I almost forgot that today is 26^th jan republic day…I saw a huge crowd of boys and girls marching towards the parade ground, with different colorful banners and posters in their hand with teachers behind them guiding as traffic controller…I recalled my past but found nothing to cherish for this occasion as our school used to remain close and never participated in any such event as far as I remember or may be I was never an active participant of such an auspicious occasion..Whatever waste discussion in my mind will play its role forever so better to concentrate on something useful..Today it was pre-decided that we will go to Manikaran , a place where there is a source of hot water spring ..It is believed that this water can cure gout,skin diseases etc…But we didn’t have the plan to bath there…As this was the theory of Shanu “you will enjoy while bathing in that steaming hot water ,but when you come up from it you will shiver to death”..Coz don’t forget the season..,This words were enough for me to despise the thought of bathing…Now when we talk about the roads of Manikaran in some places it was as smooth as butter and somewhere marvelously worst…What else than being thankful to H.P govt. for being so carefully careless to develop the roadways ..after all it is a tourist hub….After all any experience is a good experience ,at least for pillion riders like us…Whatever after crossing Jori and Kasol village and several other villages we finally made it to Manikaran…We parked our bike in the bus-stand and went ahead on our feet…Well,the first thought that came at the first sight was ..it was clumsy, shabby township and also crowded…We saw the source of hot water near-by Ram Mandir…A himachali guy was boiling siddu(a preparation of bread with some masala ingredients in it)…We proceeded further and visited the Gurudwara Sahib …It was evident that the water had huge amount of sodium and we could smell its essence that filled the air wherever hot water was  exposed…Some localites were also cooking rice in it..(what an idea sirji..no use of gas or Woodstock or any other fuel)…We did a little shopping there and had our lunch…

Well it is important to say that I always throw tantrum at my home regarding food but in this whole tour I didn’t even disturb Shanu for any such thing..I survived on alloo parantha and dahi(of course adding sugar to it)…We returned back to Kullu through bypass via Bhuntar …we had our dinner, unloaded our camera and went to sleep..

Excess of everything is not good for health always..Similarly,we were bikikng constantly  for four days,which at least exhausted me..So, I needed a break..B  R    E   A   K…..Yes ..i thought about this after my eyes viewed the picturesque beauty of the Kullu morning…I insisted to stay and it was granted instantly…Well,I was not in peace at all for the whole day coz my hubby ( a restless person) insisted me to walk (in his words stroll) uphill…there was nothing much to see yet I followed him …The utmost adventurous task given to me was to follow him and climb some rocks…I thanked myself that doing the task I didn’t injure myself..,I came down (obviously with his help) and posed infront of my X6…Well we did nothing for the whole day..just sat and enjoyed the heat of the sun in cool afternoon at Kullu park…

We woke up in the morning …I relied on the Google tempearature forecasts too much…It was predicted that there will a little shower but nothing happened actually…(It was my secret wish that it should rain so that we get one more day to stay over there)…We  prepared ourselves for 160 kms journey to Bilaspur via Mandi…The morning was chilly but beautiful…We went through the same bypass we took the day we travelled to Kullu…As it was morning fear didn’t engulf us any more but chill surely affected us…We even saw fresh spell of snow on the roads and  to take a break after biking 20 kms we went to a tea stall (till now this one found to be opened) and had a glass of steaming tea…We reached Bilaspur  by afternoon..We went to Govind Sagar Lake and thought to ferry the other side of the lake but Shanu was not a bit interested (ganga parer chhele kina!!) Well nothing more remains to pen down…We rested here for the day and the next day(29^th January 2011) we returned back to Mohali….It was an experience of a life time and will remain till the day I would not be available to answer any questions of my life...

                   

A days adventure

Hi fellas,

I am Nishan describing my journey on my favorite bike (the pulsar 150cc 2005 model) and sweetheart wife Ashima  as the pilion rider, from Bilaspur(Himachal Pradesh(HP)) to Bhuntar, HP a distance of 124 kms(excluding our futile attempt to reach Prashar lake around 23 kms).

            We started from Bilaspur Sainik rest house at around 1030 hrs after a small breakfast of bread and butter, along with a cup of steaming hot coffee. We started and faced a trouble about a km from our starting point that the bike’s speedometer was malfunctioning. God was gracious that we didn’t have to return and got a mechanic about 5 kms from there and got the repair done. After that the journey was smooth with a few stoppages to capture the scenic views from different spots along the way of places which you can see.

After reaching Mandi, HP around 1245hrs we were looking for the Sanink rest house as it was cheap and best. But unfortunately the rest house was under repair and so we had to think otherwise. The other best option that was suggested by Himachal Police staff was to go to Prashar Lake and to have an accommodation at the HPTDC Guest House situated there. The option was very lucrative so we jumped at it and started from Mandi after a small lunch of dahi and alloo ka parantha and a small visit to hanuman       mandir on the way side at around 1400 hrs. The route was good except for that the road was just enough for one truck to go and at places extremely steep. But to add to our worries the road bifurcated at a place differentiating the routes to Kullu and Prashar lake.

                                      

The route we took towards Prashar greeted us with a small ripple which we had to cross. Ashima was very much scared but still I managed to cross it of course not without dipping my leg up to my ankles in the cold and shivering waters. Well my anklet boots which are commonly known as fauzi boot helped me in this regard from wetting my socks. Then again after a few steep turns we had to face the same type of a even huge watery place. Both these places the ice cold water was flowing down from some ice berg towards the  river. Ashima proposed to get down and pass over a half built bridge which was being worked on. I adhered to her and let her get down. Then I passed through the watery place on my bike.

     And then she got on my bike again. But to add to our woes the road was constantly getting worse and I had a great difficulty in riding even at the speed of 20 kmph. Slowly the road turned to be a muddy path and it was even more difficult. The road went winding its way up the hill and I followed strictly. At places there were a few houses and a small stall of grocery items. We just passed them and kept going with a thrill just unawares of what was lying in wait for us in the next few turns. We just passed a very steep turn just to see ahead of us that there are even more. Seeing them Ashima commented about how risky it would be to return via these sharp turns the next day or even after. But may be God had destined something else for us. We remained gossiping and continued further till we spotted some ice on the road side and then we were even more happy to see ice and snow. Even we shouted hurrah but this happiness was just a few moments till we turned the next turn and found our way filled with snow. I was thinking it easy to drive and get past the snow. But it turned out other wise and we were compelled to get down from our bike as the tires were skidding and it was too dangerous but still I encouraged Ashima to go on saying that the ice and snow cover on the road is only for a short stretch or so. Ashima co-operated a lot and decided to walk on her own leaving me with the bike so that I could easily ride the bike over the snow with a lesser weight

       I was really grateful to her then. If it would have been the same Ashima I met in school life, she would have shown all her anger and fury at that point of time and that would have been disastrous. But thank God and Ashima that she was not the same. After a troublesome journey of around 1.5 kms I saw that the rest of the road was totally covered with snow and huge snow and ice around 1ft  or even more at places. At this certain point when I was in a fix about what to do and what not to, I just heard Ashima shouting from behind and stranded the bike there and went downhill only to see that she is talking to some localites there who were foraging for wood. I enquired and she told that the distance from that place to Prashar lake was around 9kms and during this month of January the HPTDC Guest House remains closed till 15^th of Feb and even after since the snow cover there is around 1.5 mtrs high. Hearing this we decided to return to Kullu or some place to rest since it was already 1600hrs and the sun was almost setting as it is hills. Somehow we crossed the area of snow Ashima walking and I dragging the bike through the snow when it was almost dusk the time by my watch was 1700hrs. Then started the return journey after a tiring day of biking. This was the most dangerous part because we had to go through the same road and it was not very pleasant during the day, how could it be during dusk??? But still we managed to come back and reach the place we changed route. That fateful juncture. Again we started our uphill drive but it was around 1800 hrs and here visibility was so bad I had to put my lights on. Still the steep turns ahead ran shivers down our spines and as far as the question of asking the way, the trees don’t answer and there are hardly any signboards – courtesy the HP Govt (They develop tourism most certainly) After a long way we found a milestone, which could hardly read Kullu that too with much difficulty and we were certain that we were on the right way. Then luckily we met a car parked by the road and the driver informed us that the road led to Kullu and there was no ice/snow on the road. We were damn happy hearing this since our experience with snow clad roads just a few hours ago was the most horrifying nightmare for both of us and if it happens at night I would have fainted straight away. We continued again and reached a small group of houses (around 12 at the most) named as Ropa at around 1900 hrs. Till here we saw ice on both sides of the road clearly stating that the road was cleaned only a day or two ago. But to our excitement and horror we also visualized two wild vixens crossing the road. Well that was an added gain to the night driving. Crossing Ropa we found that a man around 40 yrs of age was travelling the way we were going. We enquired into and he said he was going to Bajoura where the road met the National Highway 21. We were happy to follow the man thinking that it was God’s help, also on the other hand we were risking ourselves of theft or decoity. But the man turned out to be a good Samaritan and helped us till we reached Bajoura and told us to continue along the highway till we reached Bhuntar, the airstrip, and look for a resting place, since we won’t get a resting place other than Bhuntar. We followed the man’s instructions and reached Bhuntar around 5kms from Bajoura and found a resting place which was cheap(Samrat guest house near Bhuntar market chowk). Here we celebrated our return through the dark woods by having a sumptuous dinner and planning our trip tomorrow: Kullu a distance of 10 kms from here.