Apr 5, 2012
Jan 26, 2012
The mountain will tell me when I am old
updated on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
I have chosen a mountain to define my limits. In 1989 (I was just over 40yrs and I had already published The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage in Brasil), I was on my second sacred pilgrimage in the Pyrenees. And I saw a mountain in the distance called Pic du Gez and I said, ‘okay, I have nothing to do today, so I’m going to climb that peak’. First, it was very difficult to get close to the base – from a distance it looked so easy. When I finally arrived at the bottom, I had about five hours to climb about 2,000m. Not a big deal. So I started climbing, and I got lost. I knew the peak, but I had no water, no food, I had nothing. Eventually, I made it to the top and looked around. It was summer. There was no snow, it was barren.
It looked like the moon and I seriously thought, ‘I don’t know my way back. I can’t take the same route that I took to get here’. I spent nearly four hours climbing and I had no energy for the descent (which is more difficult than the ascent). So I sat down, and my first decision was that I wasn’t going to smoke – I needed to preserve all my energy.
As I looked around, I saw a city in the distance and I said ‘I’m going to that city’.
And again, it seems easy to navigate when you see something like that in the distance. So I started my descent, heading towards the city, but soon after I began I could no longer see the city anymore. I said, ‘my God, I may die here’. And then I thought ‘well, that’s not so bad. I die on a mountain. Winter will come, my body will disappear and I will become a legend’.
Eventually, I made my way to the city, but I couldn’t sleep that night. My body was completely tense. I had gone beyond my limit.
I called my wife Christina the next day and said, ‘yesterday, I was lost in a mountain, I almost died’.
And she said, ‘okay Paulo, great, but don’t call me very often because our telephone bill is getting very high’. And I’m thinking, ‘oh my God, I almost died and here she is talking about my telephone bill because I was always calling collect’ (laughter).
After this experience, I decided that this mountain would tell me when I get old.
So once a year, I return to climb this mountain. One day, I will be unable to climb it and when that day comes, it will be a landmark moment, a turning point, telling me that I can no longer overstretch myself that way and that I need to find something else. I will find something else.
So this mountain is a symbol for me.
Jan 23, 2012
Kerala Backwaters Cycling 2011-12
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| A thin strip of land between backwaters & the ocean - Chavara, Kerala |
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| Devi Puram Beach, near Mayannad |
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| Early morning at a deserted seashore near Allepey |
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| 'Holy' Backwaters - Chavara |
“People can take everything away from you except memories” … Memories of my very first bicycle tour with Prateek (One can almost call it cross-country) in the backwater area in the year 2010 are still so vivid in my mind. Sense of adventure of the unknown rising way above apprehensions, moments of joy, excitement, as well as that of frustration, shared with equal honesty within the team, eagerness to capture as much beauty as we can on our cameras in the very little time … it’s all as lucid in my mind as the crystal clear seabed of ‘Devi Puram’ beach.
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| Devi Puram Beach |
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| Devi Puram Beach, near Mayannad |
I would never forget the sight of those long stretches of clean white sand around Mayannad area, against turquoise oceanic background with hardly a couple of fishermen here & there. We could not believe our eyes! It was enchanting, inviting … these shores were out of the blues, untouched, never visited by tourists; they looked like being preserved by the fishermen and I hope they remain as sanctified for the coming years as we saw them.
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| Morning action at a beach on the way to Varakala |
More than a year later, the essence of each and every small ride is still afresh. Finer moments of achievement, childlike joy of smaller things, decisions gone bad, togetherness, disappointment … altogether made it a perfect tour. As much high it sounds to be on the emotional scale, it was just as sound on the technical & practical front. All of us had spent good amount of time practicing, planning & programming ourselves for the first longest journey of our lives (Not for Prateek, of course, who had done 2000 km of cross-country cycling before, twice); I feel our preparations only helped us to get the most precious experience out of our journey.
Real beauty of the region, however, lies not only in the land but more so in the people, who make the ‘country’ as wonderful as calling it ‘God’s own’. May be, except for certain strata of the society, we witnessed high level of simplicity in almost every aspect of living; be it commuting via local transport such as a ferry, clothing (except for, of course, the gold ornaments that the ladies wear), or the food … Kearla, as a whole, gave me more than one reason to thoroughly enjoy my first cross-country-cycling experience with Life Away From Life.
I loved the way the day started with a fabulous breakfast … simple, no-frills, not much choice, but high on quality. The matter-of-factly way in which a highly efficient ’Anna’ in the roadside stall served hot, delicious idalis or appams or dosas, of course, with unlimited accompaniment of either sambhar or chutney or a simple-no-nonsense curry (remember, not much choice such early morning), while solid, melodious chanting from a nearby temple loudspeaker entered my senses along with soft rays of the dawning sun, made a perfectly positive beginning of the day! It was all ‘simply’ touching. It made me feel at home. Eat as much as you can - one can almost feel the fellowship, a like of brotherhood that is long lost in the city. Even as a visitor like me, who does not understand the language beyond a few set words, getting by was simpler than I thought; partially thanks to the 100% literacy of the state. Common people’s lifestyle, piousness, cleanliness, eco-friendliness, awareness of civic duties … all of it makes Kerala truly unique.
Oct 5, 2009
- ASHISH MAKARIA
Oct 4, 2009
"My lungs were filled to capacity with fresh oxygen" ... RAJEE NAIR writes her experience..
Life Away from Life … the name sounded good and I wondered how they would be? First time I heard of the group was when I saw a post on my friend’s face book profile. I had re-discovered cycling after several (read 10-15) years and was itching to get back on the trail. My friend’s profile said some thing about cycling from Mumbai to Goa. Divine intervention? I traced the post and reached Prateek Deo and LAFL.
I went into overdrive as I explored their web site – cycling, rappelling, trekking, sight seeing, basically every thing that I had always dreamt of. I was raring to go and wanted to experience everything they had to offer.
As a start I signed up for a trek to Rajgad – King Of Forts. My main apprehension was that I was a single female taking off with a group of strangers but I had spoken to Prateek a couple of times and it seemed like he knew what he was doing. More importantly he came through as decent and dependable. We were asked to meet at Sion circle at 0700 in the morning for the drive to Pune and then further on to Pali from where we would start our trek. I approached the meeting point in anticipation; people who were going for the trek were clearly distinguishable from others on the street. The attire and the backpacks had trekking written all over them.
The moment I met Prateek I felt at ease and the rest of the group fell into camaraderie so easily that it seemed like we had known each other for ever. The drive on the expressway was spent in pleasantries of introductions and narrating past adventure experiences. By the time we reached the first stop for breakfast, we had fallen into easy conversation with each other. The last stretch of the drive from Pune to Pali meandered through quaint village lanes bordered by fields and trees. The weather was beautiful with slight sprinkling rain and wide open skies, it was a perfect day for being out in the open.
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| Beginning the trek - at the base village Pali |
As we got off at the base of the hills where we were to commence our trek, Prateek started handing out the rugs and mats that we were to use for the night and our lunch packs. I realized that a lot of planning had gone into this from their side, and the lunch packs made me think that they had done this many times before and arrived at that perfect meal which was to be carried for such trips. Our trek started off through gentle slopes, paddy fields swayed on the side and we fell into smaller groups matching steps with each other. Cameras started coming out as did exclamations of delight. Birds were chirping, squirrels were running around and nature had put out her best to welcome us.
We soon approached rougher terrain and steeper slopes. There was a mist rolling in and the higher we went the better the view became. There were lush green grassy meadows, and slopes rolled out with flowers of bright purple and yellow. Beautiful enough to forget all about the trek pull out a rug or hang up a hammock and just stay there for ever in blissful oblivion from the rest of the world.
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Pali Darwaja, Rajgad |
Once we reached the fort we sat down for a delicious and well deserved lunch with some white coloured stray canine company.As the mists rolled in heavier we abandoned our plans of pitching up tents and decided to spend the night in the shelter of the temples in the fort area.
Our sense of adventure was heightened in the room with rain and mist coming through the leaky roof. Steaming hot instant noodles, thepla with cheese and chai never tasted better. We guarded the spot where we intended to spend the night and exhibited territorial instincts which our new found canine friends would have immediately identified with!
The night was spent in a tangle of arms, legs and blankets not knowing which belonged to whom. In the morning the mist lifted and we saw the view that was denied to us on the previous day. We explored the fort, Padmavati lake and looked at the endless valley from Rajgad to Pune stretched out as far as the eyes could see.
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| Chandra Tal at Balekilla on Rajgad |
Meadows, peaks and valleys spread out grandly, shades of green beyond imagination rolled out one after another. The grass blades, leaves and flowers nodded their heads with the breeze and sparkled with fresh dew. The sunlight reflected off them and the dew shone like diamonds. I felt like staying there and soaking in the glorious view for ever. As I breathed in the air it seemed like my lungs were filled to capacity with fresh oxygen.
Because it had rained all night the walk threw up challenges and changed the trek to a balancing act. Arms and hands jumped out to help each other with a team spirit that only an adventure can kindle amongst people who had met only a day before.
We reached back to the spot that we had started from but parts of us had changed for ever. We had set out for a thrill but came back with so much more. Our minds totally re-booted. Gone were all the prejudices and petty issues that occupied our mundane lives. I came back with a whole new set of friends, like minded people with whom I had spent one of the best moments of my life …. Away from life!
We reached back to the spot that we had started from but parts of us had changed for ever. We had set out for a thrill but came back with so much more. Our minds totally re-booted. Gone were all the prejudices and petty issues that occupied our mundane lives. I came back with a whole new set of friends, like minded people with whom I had spent one of the best moments of my life …. Away from life!
- RAJEE NAIR an enthusiastic participant and good human being.
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