Revival of sorts

It has been some time when I last wrote for this blog. A little more than two years, I gather, from the date atop my last post on Kanvashram. Much has changed in these two years. I have two little delinquents at home; job responsibilities have grown; my rum-adventures have scaled down; I have not been able to go on a trek (the last I wore my rugged woodlands was in 2007 — or was it 2006? — from Munsiyari to Nanda Devi base camp); and, saving the worst for the last, my waist ring carries more weight now, an ugly rotund mass of thick skin, jeering at me at a time when the SRK six-pack is in vogue.

But the itch to push in words is alive. So is the itch to walk up the hills. And the latter itch is growing. In fact, winter chill brings with it a homely, familiar evening smell. Each night, when I come out of the centrally — and often unbearably — heated office building after work, the cold winds bring a nostalgic shiver. I feel at home. I feel surrounded with hills. And I can’t help smiling. I also can’t help feeling sad a few minutes later. Thankfully, there is rum.

This nibbling itch to hike is often followed by surfing the internet for a suitable week-long trek, and almost every time checking out blogs and information on Roopkund and Ladakh. These two destinations have been on my radar for as long as I first came to know about them from personal accounts. So it feels kind of silly why I haven't gone there. I know I will, eventually. The question is WHEN. My leaves quota in office has swelled to make it past 100 days and I can afford a leisure journey till the beginning of trek on foot. So?

Incidentally, there have been many other olden days trips that I would want to write about here. But I guess it will happen only after I am back from a punishing trek in uncertain weather; city life comforts are cherished only after such trips. The cushioned bed, warm soups, piping mutton qorma… their worth is multiplied. Thus here goes my resolution for the year 2010: One weeklong trek and one rafting trip before December 31. Wish me luck.