The New Improved Warm Avatar of a Cold Degree C
Last month I read a front-page headline in newspapers that got me laughing till tears rolled out of my eyes. It was 7.30 am, I opened the sliding doors to the balcony, felt the refreshing chilly breeze bring a smile to my face and then I looked at the newspaper in my hand and… via The […]
The Mountain Walker Diaries: Doubt and Beyond
Rampur, Himachal Pradesh, India, 17 January 2017, 0850 hours: I woke up this morning with one question: Whatever possessed me to decide to go to Spiti in the midst of winter? 😡👿😈😃 I spent the first ten minutes thinking of my aching body after 10 hours on the road, the cold, the next 10 days […] […]
The Mountain Walker Diaries 2017: Off to Chandigarh
And after a good night’s restnat Hotel Aureole in Mumbai, we are now off to the domestic airport to catch our flight to Chandigarh. At 75 kilos, this is the heaviest I have ever been – a good 12 kilos above normal. Have started in one layer of clothing and since we have just heard […] […]
What’s a Vacation?
That’s a question we at Mountain Walker have been asking since the very beginning. Is the purpose of a vacation: relaxation? Is it travel? Is it discovering new (and local) cultures? Is it Learning? Is it a search for peace? Is it all of the above … and more? If you have an opinion, do […] […]
The Mountain Walker Diaries 2017: End to A 23-year wait
Pune, Maharashtra, India, 15 January 2017, 1614 hours: Am on my way to Mumbai. Have one 45-litre trekking back-pack and a slim, light-weight sling bag with a few essentials. I haven’t had time to think about the Winter Trip that has now commenced. In July 2016, I was in Losar, Spiti, and looking around those […] […]
Snowscapes from The Mountain Walker
Observatory Hill, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, 8 January 2017, 1340 hours: Reached my favourite place near my house after snowfall – The Indian Institute of Advance Study. Located on top of a hill (known as Observatory Hill), one can enjoy beautiful views of the distant mountains on a clear day. Though clouds have gathered around […]
Waiter, Waiter!
In 1993, I woke up one fine afternoon and found myself wearing a Navy Blue suit, standing in a 200-seater restaurant in Mumbai … apparently I had taken a job as the Restaurant Manager and so there I was supervising 17 people segregated as follows: one accountant cum cashier, seven waiters, two captains, one… via Waiter! […]
Christ Church & The Chapel of All Saints
January 10, 2017, marks the 160th anniversary of the consecration of The Christ Church in Shimla. Writer and Founder of The Mountain Walker, Sanjay Mukherjee, takes a stroll down memory lane to discover more about the monument and its relation to a quaint little chapel at the other end of town. Read the detailed article here. […]
From The Mountain Walker – An Enchanting Winter
Boileauganj, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, 8 January 2017: For those of you who are missing all the action here. The snow is more than a foot as measured by me at Boileauganj. Can’t feel my toes as of now, but I am so engrossed in the views that it isn’t an issue concerning me. Just […] […]
Existence
Found one of my old note-books from school-days with these questions. I believe I started asking these after my Sacred Thread Ceremony in 1982. Some, I have been able to answer to my satisfaction, some answers I am still pursuing some questions have ceased to be relevant. Seemed like a good idea to revisit this […]
