Enthralling Trails

  “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” ―  William Shakespeare Rothrist proved to be a serene place to retire for the day; we regained our energies and looked forward to journeying ahead. The tour coordinator was a seventy five year old retired banker who was a world of knowledge and wisdom. The guide was a young lady who maintained the records and tried to keep everything going according to the planned schedule. We started from Rothrist early in the morning to reach Rhine waterfall which is one of the largest waterfalls in Europe . It is situated between Neuhausen and Laufenuhwiesen, in Northern Switzerland . They say it was formed during the ice age and has remained a scenic place. It has been a matter of dispute when environmentalists fought against the government, which wanted to use the potential fall of water for power generation. It remains a tourist spot even today with crystal clear water where one can see fishes in the upper...

When first mine eyes beheld that famous hill The sacred Engelberg, celestial bands, With intermingling motions soft and still, Hung round its top, on wings that changed their hues at will. William Wordsworth   That morning we woke up in Mulhouse , our guide told us that the place was synonymous to Chumbi Valley , which is a valley in the Himalayan divide. Chumbi Valley is a valley in Yadong County ; it is on the south side of the Himalayan drainage divide, near the Chinese border with Sikkim , India and Bhutan .  Wikipedia   Mulhouse is a city in France that shares its borders with Switzerland and Germany . We could not understand the borders for the reason that we travelled without any hindrance. The tourist visa and other charges were paid in advance, a few motorized toll arenas were seen and as we crossed the Rhine river we were told we had entered Germany . Mulhouse is famous for its museum, but we had ...

Hurricane Harvey lay down unrest in Houston and Texas leaving the beautiful cities in ruins; it destroyed buildings, boats and homes. The rescue team put in all their efforts and saved their animals and people. It was just about the time when the world had begun to forget Typhoon Hato which had triggered one of the worst floods in Hong Kong . Close behind was storm Pakhar that hit Hong Kong and Macau . The people in these areas are fewer compared to the populated Bangladesh in South Asia , where the recent floods killed more than a thousand people.  The monsoon was consistent in India this year till the torrential rains hit the over inhabited city of Mumbai , the industrial capital of India . It began with steady rains for a couple of days and finally culminated into floods bringing the city to a standstill. The city of Mumbai is densely occupied with people representing every family in India . The pictures of the floods hurled me two decades back. The situation w...

Confront your fear and turn the mental blocks into building blocks.” ―  Roopleen The Black Forest is a well known wooded area in Europe surrounding the mountainous region bordering France . One encounters the stretch of dense forest after one crosses river Rhine bordering France and many beautiful places in Germany . The country side is striking with long trails of roads, isolated and amalgamated as one drives uphill. The stretch of thick forests with occasional plains keeps one spellbound. It establishes the poetic lines of Robert Frost, ‘ the woods are lovely dark and deep, I have promises to keep ….. Plentiful rainfall, suitable climate and the richness of the soil have made the plants self perpetuating into a closeness that makes it difficult for the sun’s rays to penetrate into these. You see divine hues of light green, dark green and almost blackish Evergreen trees like the Pines and Elms. The forest area has also been a witness to the regular visits o...

  “No matter what happens to you, if you have life , with faith and hope, you will live to see your situation change.”  ―  Lailah Gifty Akita , Blue eyed Neelakshi was a young girl from Mukhed in Nanded district of Maharashtra. She was a fine-looking, stout girl with dark bluish eyes, making her parents choose the name for her. She was intelligent, with black curly hair, but was not a fair child. Her skin had the healthiest glow, but she was not very tall. In today’s world, if these qualities were pronounced by anyone they would be rated as a pervert or a sadist, but Neelakshi belonged to the good old days and was 60 years old now. As she grew older she spent her days running in the fields, and crossing the hurdles over the endless puddles. She never cared to look good as no one saw her beautiful curly hair, her large beautiful eyes or her ability to work hard and help her parents. They only saw her dark skin and pined thinking about her future. She wanted ...

“He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo.  Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic . Nothing is more sublime.”   ―   Victor Hugo The flight from Muscat landed at Paris Charles De Gaulle making one wonder why a French Capital bore the name of the Prince of Troy from the Greek mythology who had abducted Queen Helen and initiated the Trojan wars. This was an emerging city in the medieval past, but  a century later it has got transported to the most happening city with its modernity, monuments, and the relevant plan. People call the city of Paris , the city of love, the city of lights and perhaps a phenomenal capital city. One could definitely sense love as the city was rich in resources, architecture, amenities, cafes, restaurants, and theatres, captivating beauty, and broad spaces for pedestrians, and planned greenery all along that included a metropolitan graciousness with the end of monarchy. It was named the ‘Citivas P...

“Ignoring global warming is like crossing a road blindfolded.”  ―  Steve Merrick It happened exactly at the time when President Trump said that America would no longer be a part of the Paris Climate Agreement.  Maybe it did make a difference or it did not make a difference to India , but we had undeniably lost a dear one named Nimi precisely at the same time at Rajyog Colony in Pune.  Do we lose young ones regularly? No, we have never known of such a loss in the forests or the parks, but we have seen the young and the old being hacked to death while converting the rich soil into residential concrete Jungles. Have we ever mourned such a loss? We have never spent a split second mourning as we are involved in our lives and keep toiling to make our lives more comfortable. Have we ever missed the bereaved? This question needs to be pondered upon as we haven’t experienced bountiful rains for the past few years, the place is hotter and we face sporadic changes ...