In a blink of an eye, I was at Kasol YHAI base camp in June 2015. From getting on a flight from Chennai to Delhi to inter-state bus travel from Delhi to Bhuntar and a local bus from Bhuntar to the base camp where monkeys sat beside us and travelled , I was completely unaware of what this trip would mean to me. It was an 11 days trek comprising a total of 60km, 3 days to acclimatize at Kasol, a 4-day climb to reach 13500 feet above sea level at Sar Pass, and 3 days back. As unfit as I was for this challenge, low blood pressure, fainting, the multiple falls, spraining my leg, and the constant anxiety that I was pulling the entire group behind; when I think about young Steffi I feel so proud that she didn’t back down or quit. I remember fainting after a day of exercise, however, I was also the only one who could climb a 75m high rock inclined at 75° with just my upper body strength the next day.
While I could describe every detail of the trek, the purpose of the blog would change. Narrowing it down and accentuating an experience at the second base camp-Padri, which unlike all the other camps was a widespread area surrounded by a forest, hills, a river flowing close by, and had a view of the snow-capped mountains from the valley. The camp leader warned us about bears and stayed up with the group all night flashing the torch towards the forest at timely intervals. Unbothered, we sat around the campfire and sang our hearts out to Bollywood melodies. It was around an hour into our jam session that I realized how the snow on the mountains around was still glistening with the little light that it received from the sun at that altitude. It made me smile at how beautiful nature is.
It was then that I noticed a light at one of the tips of the mountains. Very naively I remember thinking that it might be someone flashing a light and believing that it was just “shiny snow”, and continued with the ongoing horror story session. I only took my eyes off for a second from the light, and when I looked back, it had moved into the sky. In disbelief, I blinked again and noticed another, then five more and within seconds the entire sky was filled with stars. And I gasped in wonder, I literally just visualized Earth rotating. This right here would qualify as one of the most magical moments in my life. We all lay on the green grass of the valley, under the starry sky, and wished for shooting stars.
I guess the hopeless romantic in me was very lucky that day, as we did spot two. These are the little things I look forward to in every travel plan I make, and I’m very grateful for having created an overflowing bucket of memories before the world got sick with Covid19. Here’s to wishing good health to everyone around, so that I can be a little selfish and get back to what I love doing.
By, Steffi Nixon, Senior school, Ekya BTM
कभी होते थे ऐसे मौसम
मिट्टी की सुगंध हवा में भरी
छत पर बूंदे टपकने की आवाज़
और झिंगुर की गीत कानो में गूंजते
यह है बरसात सुहानी |
ताज़ी हवा भी गर्मी ले आती
कड़क धूप आंखों में गड़ती
छाँव के खोज में पसीना बहना
इस गर्मी से मुझे न मिलना |
ठंडी हवा काटों - सी चुभती
तीन कंबल के नीचे छिपना
अब आइसक्रीम भी गरम है खाना
सर्दी से बाहर मत जाना |
आखिरकार यह वायु हुई सुखद
पेड़ों ने पहन ली फूलों की पोशाक
न चाहिए पंखा न कम्बल की आवश्यकता
अब बसंती भोर खिला ||
By, Pragya Prachi Bharat, Grade 10, Ekya BTM
Music is one of the most important and powerful things in my life. I truly believe that life without melodies and harmonies would be totally void of fun and happiness. Over and above, listening to and playing different tunes helps me to de-stress, relax and it can also help to motivate me in times of distress and loneliness.
As a little child, I didn’t have a great love for music as I do now. Songs that touched my heart were merely restricted to a few genres and bands which were popular back then. I mainly listened to whatever was playing in the background or what my parents were listening to. That’s when a song with the following lyrics-
“Oh my sleeping child, the world's so wild
But you've built your own paradise
That's one reason why I'll cover you sleeping child”
by a boy band of the late ’90s, left a sense of exhilaration and flipped my happy switch.
Whether I was in the car, at home, or in solitary moments of bliss, this song heightened my joy and helped me to view simple things in life, with great delight. Nothing else mattered, in those musical moments. Often when I was weighed down with studies, school and homework, this was my only ideal getaway. That’s when my love for music slowly grew and was persuaded to listen and truly appreciate the words in them.
Now, as I am in my teens, music has become not only my passion but also my life, which inhibits my soul. Realising that music has the ability to capture all emotions, and has the power to soothe, heal and even mend broken relationships, my outlook and perceptions have tremendously changed.
Images created by music and songs are absolutely amazing. The ability it possesses to transport me back in time like a time machine is astounding . It lets me revisit lost and forgotten moments in life.
Music, according to me, can paint a picture, for example in classical and country music a story is being told, in a love song a message can be conveyed, and inspiring words in musical form can impact the world.
It colours the air, produces magic, gives flight to the imagination, soul to the universe, which motivates and encourages the brokenhearted. One thing is true. It is a fact that music can melt even the hardest hearts.
Personally, I love to write songs and my favourite genre is Rap Music. Focusing on this and building my career in music is what I have chosen to pursue.
In conclusion, I would like to add that to me, music is more than just something to listen to or play, it’s something to feel. I think it brings me closer to my friends and family. I also feel that it helps me to get through anything. It has become an extremely important aspect in my life and is an immensely powerful thing.
I hope one day, I will be able to realize my dream of becoming a professional in Music and also inspire others through my lyrics.
By, Xavie Oommen, Grade 9 IGCSE, Ekya School Byrathi
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