Miles and Experiences

(From my diary of 2009) Riding bumpily on the muddy stretch of land which they call roads, we were busy confirming appointments with representatives of various oil companies who have a strong presence in this part of the world (Port Gentil in Gabon). I was accompanied by a Gabonese guy who was entrusted with the joint responsibility of driving me to the respective offices and be the French-English translator wherever required. The meetings went well…enlightening to be precise. It’s a great experience to understand how culturally diverse people can be. But I don’t intend to go in-depth into how people work here. I will rather like to look back into the dreams of a simple African…or shall I say the dreams of a simple man!!! This guy should be in his late thirties…its difficult to estimate the ages of people. A native of Togo, he had moved into Gabon in the pursuit of a better life. These days, he has been granted Gabonese citizenship and has well adopted to the nuances of t...

About ten kilometers ahead of Joshimath on the road to Badrinath...this is the highest location from where I have seen the Alaknanda.... Still, young and stream like, Alaknanda has left Mana and Badrinath behind. Mostly, she is on her own, except accommodating river Saraswati at Mana. Locals call this stretch of Alaknanda as Vishnuganga. Possibly because the  beauty of this river and the musical flow of the water is soaked with an eternal touch.  And I stood there and tried to absorb the landscape around. Again, short of words to describe...a panorama that can only be experienced. Tall, conical peaks and within them...two young rivers fresh from their glacial origins, ready for the confluence... an enigmatic temple at the location of the confluence...and the refreshing  breath  of the mountain air....I sometimes wonder how magical the manifestations of nature are. Ahead, there was  a signboard towards the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve and the Valley of Flo...