Tag Archives: New Year

Himalayan highs-The healthy habit of hiking

Doorways to the next dimension

Its hard to express the unparalleled euphoria of exploring a pristine dimension to unearth the ultimate sanctum in words. Although it has no door but the doorway into the infinite abyss of uncertainties can only be unlocked by a key of guts and passed by a spirit full of adventure.

Anyone dwelling in a valley would testify that the surrounding mountains allure you sooner than later. Dehradun is one such valley, ideally located at the lower Himalayas. The 10-25 km trails to surrounding peaks are a perfect platform for novice hikers.

Hiking or simply running up a mountain (without spraining your ankle or bruising your knee) is one of the best cardiovascular exercises. Moving up a mountain is an absolute physical and mental workout, specifically challenging the pillars of your frame( your lower body) and the resilience of ure brain. It also makes your lungs suck in more oxygen and your heart pump more blood, thus making both these vital organs function more efficiently.
Anyone looking to overcome health concerns this new year, can take up hiking. Although the health benefits are only a bit part of the overall package that hiking offers. The interaction with nature, typical to the specific terrain, infuses calmness and serenity to the hikers paradigm. Simple things teach you much more than elaborate researches and Byzantine texts.

Hiking

Hiking up a mountain can be quite debilitating by itself. But it will test the resolve of the toughest men if it follows their lower body workout day. My spirit for adventure overruled my lower body’s plea for recovery when an acquaintance made a spontaneous plan to backpack up the 18 km long path to Mussoorie, the queen of the Himalayan hill stations.

What to carry in your backpack?

I have made around 6 backpacking trips to Mussoorie and each time the backpack has gotten a little heavier. Our latest journey was much more organised as compared to the first one. So for anyone starting off with hiking here is what you can carry for your short trips:

1. Water Bottles- The elixir of life is the ultimate essentiality,.

2. Something to Eat- Carrots, Bananas, Chocolates, Chick peas and protein.

3. Army knife- Just in case.

4. Camera- So that you can share better photos than I am.

5. Footwear- How can I forget footwear, I slipped so much the first time. Footwear with good gripping is a must.

These might not include everything but they are definitely enough for simpler terrains.
Hiker1

You might get tired and want to turn around and go home where all the comforts of the world await, but then the feeling of reaching the peak,even of a hillock, cannot be mirrored by any luxury that your house beholds.

hiker2

 

What does the new year promise?

The Gregarian calendar, which graces most walls and wallpapers, is punctuated with jovial events. Ironically the grandest of these saturnalias corresponds with the ultimate cessation of the calendar. But  what would we be looking forward to once the euphoria and revelry welcoming the new year fades.

For the Country

A new Prime Minister, one who will be more vocal and understands the significance of digital communication. or maybe just communication. We would do well if we manage to be distinct in selecting the leaders of tomorrow. We can then help these leaders in weeding out the progress impeding  obstacles which have thwarted our progress.

For The Capital

Hope the national capital and its administration isn’t damaged beyond repair just like the river that it sits on.

For The Unhealthy

Though I am skeptical of resolutions but having a few is better than not having any at all. It helps you to instill trust and confidence in yourself if done in the correct manner otherwise they will be garbaged by the Republic day parade at the max. Setting the optimum resolution, which is not beyond your means and still keeps you on your toes, is the key. Most people get confused on resolution setting and end up quitting to early after choosing something way too difficult. You wont be able to transform yourself into Ronnie Coleman in an year nor would you be able to attain absolute enlightenment, but you might get better then where you are right now and that is incentive enough to start.

For the dreamers

Dreams aren’t limited by the calendar like your resolutions. The ones who dream understand that they have a faint chance but a chance nonetheless at achieving the incomprehensible, if an only if they stick to it. We live in an age where the majority settles for what they get rather than chasing what they deserve. I hope to see people following through with their dreams and dream even more than before so that they can break the shackles and live up to their full potential.

For Sport Fanatics

The biggest religion in India finds itself Godless. With Sachin retired the nation looks forward to a replacement. This is a great chance for other sports to come up at par with cricket.

Elsewhere, as the Premier league heads into its second part we see a number of clubs in still very much in the title race. Not once in my living memory have I seen more than 2 clubs competing for the premier league and this year I am sure the title will be decided on the final day. Any of the top 7 can still win it, but obviously its easier to repeat a feat than to do it for the first time. Elsewhere Pep will pep Bayern to the champions league unless Carlo does something real about it.

For Gamers

2013 offered the ones who prefer sitting indoors never seen before graphics and gameplay through The Last of Us, The game ably created a virtual world which was so close to reality that it dented cognition in an absolutely distinct way. With the massive circulation of consoles like PS4 and the XBox1, developers will further enhance games and offer real life depictions. The new year offers games which would not only depict the present world in a better way but also give us glimpses of what the future beholds. Watchdogs is a classic example of one such game. We are living through a technological cyclone and soon everything around us will be under a common network. The game offers us the experience of living and controlling one such digitally enhanced city.

Their might be a dozen other things to look forward to but I just want to break the jinx of the 27th for now as it has blocked my expressions since a month now. 

Hope the new year brings you all the energy to follow your dreams and galvanizes your thought process to make your life fruitful and adventurous.  

 Happy New Year