Author: RA

यक़ीनन ये सपना ही है 

और सपने में तुम हो 

सामने जो पसरे हैं ना 

तुम्हारे गेसू हैं 

काले घने मस्त शराबी 

कभी नहीं देख पाया मैं इनके पार

और वो 

जो पीछे से झाँक रहा है न 

वो, वो तुम्हारा     

झुमका ही है 

कुछ और हो ही नहीं सकता 

इतना सुनहरी 

इतना खूबसूरत 

या तो ये तुम हो 

या मेरा वहम 

– रा 

Sunrise over Mukteshwar hills, Uttarakhand. 6 November 2022

Himalayan wild cherry blossoms are blooming in the lower Himal these days. Locally the tree is called Padam or Padmakh. Its tiny petals fall like flurries taking their own sweet time to land and create a circular pink carpet on the sidewalk. In Uttarakhand and Himachal, a concoction made from its seeds is used in treating kidney stones and paste made from its bark is supposedly helpful in treatment of skin ailments. Mukteshwar, November 2022

Desperation sets in when you are just about a hundred and fifty miles from the beauties and still can’t wink at them. On a hazy warm morning at Mukteshwar (6,700ft) when mist was floating over Nanda Devi and its ridge connecting the two peaks, West and East, I surrendered to blind tricks with the camera, fooling with aperture and exposure. Of the ten-odd frames shot with a handheld zoom this is all I can share. Thermals and the particulate matter rising from the valley floor drift towards the mountains and meet the cool air midway creating a cloudy blanket. Kumaon Himal.