A snake fell on my friend's bed on a hike to Sudhagad
An incident from a hike to Sudhagad, when a rat snake fell from the rafters of a temple we were staying in, straight onto my friends sleeping bag
Footprints on the Mountainside
Memories of the mountains. So here’s some of what I saw, heard and went through, behind the scenes action on the best planned trekking tours and some hair-raising situations that are definitely easier to write about than to be in.
Native breeds and native work
Two articles by P. Sainath – Cattle Class: native vs exotic and Holy Cow! Small is beautiful! about the value of indigenous breeds of cattle caught my attention and took me straight back to my nomad days. I remember having very similar opinions with horses. Sharing here my observations with three breeds of horses, and …
Amaji’s home in Shaminala
Amaji lived in a village (6-7 houses) at a place called Shaminala about 5km from Manali and 2km short of the bigger village of Jagatsukh on the west bank of the Beas. This road winds along the river, and the entire mountainslope has apple orchards everywhere with terrace fields for crops in more even areas. …
Thandi Hawa yeh chandani… mountain memories
This is a particularly sweet memory from my life as a nomadic horsewoman in the mountains. I lived in Manali, where it snows in the winter. Horsemen here rarely stable their horses, preferring to let them loose in the high altitude pastures in the summer, and tying them together at nights in the winter. The horses themselves …
Advanced Mountaineering Course
Here are some photos from my Advanced Mountaineering Course sent by one of the participants. I don’t have any of the Basic – no camera, no one sent. [slideshow] The sad part is that there are very few pictures of the action, since she couldn’t click pictures then. Over the coming days, I’ll try and …
Nomads and tribals in a stereotyped world
Was talking with someone about the problems wildlife sanctuaries face with local populations. On one end, there is the need to conserve the wildlife, to ensure that natural life survives in an increasingly crowded world. On the other hand, what happens to all those people who live in close proximity to nature? Over the years, …
Horses, rain and memorable times
This is from a time when I was a horse woman in the Himalaya. With 27 horses to feed, money was always short and life was tough. We hadn’t achieved success in business yet and the love for horses was such, that I’d rather stay hungry myself than compromise with my herd’s comfort in any …
The wanderer's mind
Vidyut Kale comes back to Mumbai after 7 years of living in remote mountains as a nomadic horsewoman and finds herself homesick for the mountains….
I have been a professional outbound person for over 12 years now and it is one of the most satisfying professions I could be in. I have worked hard and often on high altitude treks, with horses on riding trails, cooking, guiding, translating, climbing, organising and in general wishing that a day could have 48 hours. I have been frustrated, tired, happy and every other emotion there is, but I have yet to feel like leaving the outdoors as and find work elsewhere.
Chance booking as an Instructor in Adventure Camps in Manali
I first went to Manali as an adult in 1998. Vidyadhar Joshi, or as he is informally known as Kaka had started a new outdoor adventure company called The Outdoor People in partnership with Sunil Joshi (the owner of Great Outdoors – manufacturers of trekking and camping equipment) and was holding camps for children in …
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