Photo Gallery - Tirthan-Solang Valley Trip (Day 4 and 5/5)

DAY 4

Day 4 began quite early for me. Though our room was the tiniest but it was blessed with the best views. I had mildly sun washed snow capped mountains to admire with burds chirping away in the balcony. As declared, I did not make any wake up calls or usual knocks on the doors to anyone. Infact, I was pleasantly surprised when CAT Om gave me a wake up call at the appointed hour in the morning! I felt completely spoilt :)

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Soon after the usual hustle and bustle began to ensure that everyone was ready in time. Most of us were ready by 7.30am for breakfast but a handful got late. We had to leave for Naggar early as winds were not showing any favours and we wanted to have as much opportunity to paraglide as was possible.

We were most pleasantly surprised as we were marched into this open van along with a Korean girl, a driver, 6 pilots for a joy ride of 20mins... At one stage, I head counted 19 people hanging from every possible hook of this van!


We had hardly caught our breath from the joy ride that we were told to start trekking along a steep hill to the top... But hey.. give us a moment to take a photo ;-)

We thought we were huffing and puffing our way up but the guide told me later, 'You guys were verry verrry gudd'

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Chalo - yeh trekking kahin to kaam aayi ;-)

All the layers had come off by the time we reached the top of the hill... the base for paragliding... we were told that this is the best place to paraglide from, after Bir Billing...

in case you are wondering why we are lying around after only 20 mins of hike... then just look at the next photo...

Look at the valley below... this is how far we had travelled since morning!!
Breath taking views awaited us.. if only the winds would start picking up in the right direction...

The Catty Gang from the car of CAT Ashish A in the meantime indulged in some games where we had parked the cars before jumping into the open van... CAT Ashish A got the bull's eye in archery... just as they caught a fish also...

Praying for the winds, pilots got the parachute ready for us...

CAT Jyoti, all strapped up.... Hawa ke intezaar mein!!

With some strange change of heart, the pilot sent off the Korean girl first instead of CAT Jyoti.. CAT Gauri got lined up next but she tumbled down in the aborted attempt.. I was the first CAT to eventually take off whilst the winds lasted and CAT Aman the pilot said would be taken, even if there's no wind!!

Everyone feels that this is one moment which would always remain fresh in the memory of CAT Aman.. not many get an opportunity paraglide at the age of 7, which is something he has been able to achieve thanks to all the CATS... and ofcourse he has something more to tease his elder sister with now.. He has done paragliding whilst CAT Amanat has not!!

This is one moment which simply can not be described in words CATS...

You are in the air... You can go round in circles, you can hop, you can come down and then suddenyl go up again... you are in control..... MEOW

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What rafting is to water.. Paragliding must be to the air...

and this is the landing site in the fields not very far from the Beas River....

This is the moment when CAT Aman suddenly gained confidence manifold...

He started prancing around like Dog with Two Tails... and dancing like a peacock in the rain.. and hopping across the fields like a wild goat... Suddenly, he could do everything without a hoot in the world!

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I just wish that every child within CATS atleast gets to avail the opportunities life throws at us and stride ahead in life full of vigour and confidence, rather than limping through it. Let us all give our children the ability to dream beyond the 'possible'.

With archery and fishing over, the last pack of CATS also started trekking their way up the hill, but not without indulging in the usual mischief ;-)

Unfortunately, winds were not too kind that day. We could not arrange the weather for this activity too. Only myself, CAT Aman and CAT Gauri could paraglide. Rest had to be trek down with a heavy heart. We had to travel down to Kullu to have lunch and then raft you see. CAT Madhvi had her exam the following day at 9am, CAT Shilpa had to get back to work and CAT Navpreet had to get a project off the ground too.

CAT Gauri and I felt guilty as hell as the rest could not paraglide.

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If only we could arrange the weather!

After a delicious lunch at Kullu HPTDC resort, we quickly changed into rafting gear and jumped into our rafts....

CAT Gopika opted out as she had fever, CAT Amit chose to supervise driving down of cars to the pick up point though CAT Ashish A agreed to sit in the raft upon exhortion ;-)

Amidst chants and cheers and memories refreshed from last year's rafting trip... we put our pedals to work... Whilst CAT Navpreet was at the helm of entertainment in the other raft, CAT Om took the position in our raft.. Apart from the usual frolicking and throwing water at each other and the occassional call to 'Huqooooommm'... CATS in both rafts had great fun.

CAT Aman suddenly lost all his confidence at the sight of cold water being splashed at him from all sides, even though the rapids were only of grade II and perhaps an odd grade III. From 'Maine rafting ker li aur Didi ne nahi ki' he started shouting, 'Mujhe bukhaar ho jayega!!'

CAT Om surprised us all with his impromptu rhyms:

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Billiyan - Gilliyan

Billiyan - Dhilliyan

Billiyan - Jhalliyan
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After all this fun, we were greeted by the news at the finishing line that CAT Amit's car had broken down and had been taken to a garage. This meant that most of us did not have a change of clothes after having merrily soaked ourselves wet whilst rafting in icy waters of Parvati/Beas combine. Here again, hats off to the Catty spirit. CAT Paramjeet immediately offered his shirt and CAT Gopika gave her pair of shorts to our little CAT Aman who was shivering away. Others also shared their chappals and T-shirts and jackets to ward off the chill. Infact, CAT Paramjeet had a pair of unclaimed black Reeboks and a pair of socks knocking around in his car for a week :)

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Upon reaching the garage we found that CAT Amit's car can not be mended till the following morning. CAT Ashish A being the saviour that he is, he refused to leave CAT Amit by himself to sort out the car and declared that he was going to stay behind till the car got sorted. CAT Paramjeet immediately let go of his dream of paragliding and offered to drive down to Chandigarh since CAT Madhvi's exam was hours away. 6 of us packed into his car to reach home by 2 in the morning.

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All this happened WITHOUT a word of request from anyone, without a whimper of help being asked. CATS managed everything by themselves, between each one of them they have the strength and courage to stand by each other, not just in good times but also in rough times. It is this spirit of CATS that humbles me each time I meet any of you, for each of you carry a story which comes alive for me when I meet you.

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DAY 5

Anyway, going back to our trip, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for 6 of the 7 CATS who stayed behind. Everyone got to paraglide simultaneously the following morning as the winds were favourable whilst CAT Amit got the car partly fixed. Mind you, this all happened due to the adulterated diesel !!!

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The joy is written all over their faces... I dont need to say a word.. They had been to the top of the world at back :)

However, I do promise a paragliding trip for the CATS who could not paraglide on either of the two days; especially CAT Paramjeet, CAT Shilpa, CAT Navpreet, CAT Madhvi and our reluctant CAT Amit. I would include CAT Amanat too so that she can get CAT Aman off her back!

After lunch CATS pushed the car into action to be looked at the authorised car dealer in Mandi. Unfortunately even after a diagnostic session of 2hours when they could not pin point the problem, CATS came into action again.They decided to drive down from Mandi to Chandigarh non-stop as even though it meant no loo-breaks or food/chai breaks along the way. The second lot reached Chandigarh monday night at 11pm. We had a lovely time during our trip. For the first time we went over the schedule, for the first time we had a car break down, for the first time we had to suspend a long distance activity, but there is no obstacle that we could not overcome... there was no adversity which my fellow CATS did not hit on its' head and shouted MEOW!

- CAT Supreet

Photo Gallery - Tirthan-Solang Valley Trip (Day 3/5)

DAY 3

With sun shining mellow and a sway in the trees, our third morning arrived with loads of excitement for us. There was hardly any water running through the taps (and the flush!), evry CAT had to be washed or drycleaned, every single piece of luggage had to be packed away in the cars for an early departure towards Rohtang.

However, CATS took everything in their stride... half dressed dreamy eyed CATS could be spotted brushing their teeth or washing their faces at every possible tap around the dormitory...
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I probably offended rather than befriended my CATS since I kept yelling, 'Be Quick, Pack Up - YOU ARE LATE!!' to every poor soul coming my way... I did not want us to be stuck in the traffic going up to Rohtang you see.. and I had to get my little CAT Aman dressed too, who's knees first had to be dressed by CAT Om and doing up his long hair used to be a joint venture between myself and CAT Jyoti. I would do the plaits and had sub-contracted out tying the 'joora' to her! Infact, CAT Shilpa pointed out in the morning, 'you spend more time in getting Aman ready than on yourself!'
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In all honesty, I would never have been able to bring the kids on any of the trips, had it not been for the active support of all the CATS, since the very inception. I guess that's what makes us special, we stand by each other rather than adopting a typical 'chalta hai' attitude :)



And we surprised our Guide Ankit, by being ready 'just' in time!!
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We were late by only 20mins as CAT Navpreet decided to tie his turban just before jumping into the car... the boy has to look sexy you see ;-)

CATS just before hitting the road towards Rohtang...

I think I must have died under a bridge or building one, for I can not help myself when I see one! Though Ankit was feeling exasperated due to the delay we were causing by making unscheduled halts, we assured him that this would be the last one; atleast for a while!!

The place we stopped for breakfast.. this place had put up enough posters around to keep his guests well entertained whilst he went to buy potatoes for the paranthas!

But apparently, the food was sumptuous as CATS could not stop eating!!

Yupp... that's me... knocked out by the deadly combination of fatigue and 2 Stemetils!

I was so afraid of holding up my fellow CATS due to travel sickness in climbing the hills that I took 2 pills in quick succession, which ofcourse meant that I was either asleep or dazed at best through the day :(
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Best was that I was totally zonked at this stage that all I wanted to do was sleep, but every CAT of mine was so concerned about my state that they kept knocking on the car window pratically every few minutes to ask, 'Are you okay? Can we get you something?'

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Love you all :)

Round of Cheerful Cheery Cheers in one car :)

Snores galore in the other ;-)

Army came in handy for the water filled CATS; we had a quick loo-break at Gulaba

(not at the monument ofcourse!!)

Sight where we blew our first flying kisses to Rohtang ;-)

Lovely terrace fields along the way to the top....

Snow covered Rohtang was getting closer by the mile... but we were really mesmerised by this lovely stream gushing down the hills...

Till we went a little further and traced the ORIGIN of this lovely gushing stream :(

This really was the end of the romance you know!

Vultures feasting over the carcass of a dead horse/mule...

Lessons in hard and not so scenic realities of life!

But here is one lesson which cost us a bob. We made an error judgement and committed a mistake we do not want any of you ever to make.

CAT Amit thought he did not have enough diesel in his car and just to be safe, a deal was struck with these army 'looking' guys whereby they purchased 20ltrs of diesel in black from these 3 people. Even though CAT Madhvi had slight concerns about the quality of the fuel, but Ankit was quite confident that armymen are honest and are known to help out people in distress all the time.

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If only. The fuel they bought was adulterated and cost us a day extra of the trip and Rs.25,000/- to get the car repaired.
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HARD LESSON: Make it a policy that you must always fill up your tanks at authorised fuel stations wherever you come across any, even if you feel that the tank is stil half full and your journey is shorter.

However, we did not know about the fuel being adulterated at this stage and were simply deliriously happy at not just having reached Rohtang Pass despite being stuck in the traffic for 1.5hrs, but actually gone beyond a little to the Spiti side too...

The other two cars stopped behind at the start of Rohtang itself since CAT Paramjeet was also running low on fuel and CAT Ashish's car was suspected to have broken a shocker on the way up. Additionally, CAT Gopika had a severe headache and nausea due to altitude sickness which we took care of with Diamox prescribed by CAT Shakuntla before our Leh trip last year.

Mohtarma Madhvi in the meanwhile enjoying the sleigh ride...

CAT Joey and CAT Gauri 'tubing' down the snow... Aaachhhooooo!!

CAT Navpreet updating his facebook and his mates on the phone ;-)

CAT Aman enjoying his second brush with snow, first being at Shali Peak 18months previously.... He was more happy about the fact that he was able to reach Rohtang whilst his elder sister, CAT Amanat could not!!

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Kids!!!

He may be young, but the 'No Litter' policy of CATS has become well engrained in this young soul... Atleast he is learning one good thing in life and that is to respect his environment..

... and this is beautiful terrain that you missed guys!!!
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It is only a day's journey away from Chandigarh.. if only you could take out the time...

Some last minute photo shoots before we jumped back into the cars to head back towards Manali... All of us were very hungry since it was close to 4pm and we had not had our lunch!

Journey on the way down was also full of adventure. With one car low on fuel and second car with a suspect shocker, we had traffic jams and rain to keep us company. The car behind of CAT Amit actually fought its way through the snow blizzards and temperature of -3C to reach back.

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We shared whatever food, niblets, and drinks we had in the cars.. We even purchased some corn on cob on the way but we were missing having 'propah' food for sure.

CAT Navpreet chose an eatery away from the row of dhabas in Kothi for a late lunch.... This is where all the CATS finally got together.. Stories of tubing and sleighing and snow balls made the rest of us green with envy :(

Que Sera Sera.... Given the shortage of fuel and the damage to the other car, high altitude sickness and the brilliant hind sight, we still feel that we made the best decision by turning back after touching Rohtang, under those circumstances.

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We reached Manali just as the sun went down. Our hotel was in the middle of the town. Ankit showed me the rooms which he had appointed for each sub-group of CATS. With minor readjustments, we had settled in the rooms of our choice. Another group of girls from YPS were also staying at the hotel who were facing a medical emergency. It caused concern to me since both CAT Aman and CAT Amanat are in YPS too. Our benevolent fellow CAT Om once again swung into action and advised the school teachers on taking care of the young girl in pain.

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We chose to skip dinner since we had stuffed ourselves with food during late lunch on the way back from Rohtang. Ankit once again told us to be ready by 7.30am the following morning to ensure we get a good chance to paraglide. I also handed over the baton of responsibility of waking everyone up the following morning. I was feeling tired by worrying about everything over the last few days and was still a little drugged from stemetils I kept stuffing myself with the whole day to keep the nausea in check. In my effort to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves throughout the trip and keeping the schedule intact proving a challenge, I had perhaps stretched myself beyond what my age permits! Perhaps I was looking towards my fellow CATS to be a little accommodating. I am getting old you see.
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Some of us decided to look at the local fair, others wanted to explore Old Manali, some wanted to sleep/rest and I wanted to wash CAT Aman. It was his third day without a bath!!! Honestly, it felt divine to have a hot bath.. Another sign that I am getting old :)

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A very CLEAN Good Night ;-)

Photo Gallery - Tirthan-Solang Valley Trip (Day 2/5)

DAY 2

This is what we woke upto on Day 2.. Can you beat this view CATS?

However, we found out soon that CAT Om had been terribly ill through the night.. Something he must have eaten during the day on way to Aut did not agree with him and he had been sick as a parrot through the night... But he did not wake a single soul during the night and he insisted that everyone went ahead with the planned activities, including his wife and daugher instead of hankering after his health..

CAT Shilpa in the process of getting ready for the day ahead...

Aparts from the paranthas, toasts with scrambled eggs, homemade jams of various berries without preservatives and fresh fruit.. surprise for the breakfast was wafer thin pancakes, which as you can see, CATS can not have enough of ;-)

Our first activity of the day was rappelling which seemed an uphill task at that time..

However, even a delicious and sumptuous breakfast could not keep the CATS down...

Don't believe me?? ......Chalo phir urr ke dikhaayo :)

One can not escape from the impromptu lessons in the jungle either...

Extraction of natural oils being done for various purposes.. if any of you have any doubt about what this little drop is about, then just ask CAT Ashish A who had inspected the tree!

This was the monster challenging us.
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In all honesty, when we first looked at its straight face, even the experienced Rappellers amungst us fell silent!
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'Arre yeh Ankit marwaayega aaj??!!!'

Incase you are smirking at our silent misery, then just look at his picture. It was tough to even climb up to the top through the path which was too trecherous for us Punjabi Billiyan.. there were no footholds and nothing to grasp incase you slipped!

Infact CAT Aman kept yelling from the road to me,

'Bua, neeche aa jayo.. abhi aayo!'

All the CATS are grateful to CAT Joey, the brave one who volunteered to go first... MEOW :)

It was surprising that apart from CAT Joey, all the boys opted out for one reason or another while the fiesty felines went ahead...

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'kyon ki darr ke aage jeet hai :)

The cliff on top of the rock had no foothold and you can see CAT Gauri being led by two guides towards the cliff edge...

Do have my word for it... it was scary even to reach the edge of the cliff!

Though CAT Jyoti was terrified but one line from CAT Gauri was enough, 'Mumma aap to nahin ker paayoge yeh!'

Call it the spirit of CATS.. the Challenge to Motherhood.. or sheer madness... There was no way CAT Jyoti was going to skip out... MEOW :)

CATS making merry amungst the lily flower beds and wines after conquering the scary rock...

CAT Gopika and CAT Joey held a competition of the best 'Puppy Face & Act' in Tirthan itself!

It seems CAT Gopika had won this round.. with CAT Navpreet in agreement..

I feel her Paro has trained her wonderfully well :)

The Community Centre at Banjar where commendable community projects are taking shape to make the localites, especially the women economically independent. The dormitories and the forest rest house is also here to accommodate the wandering souls.

CATS making their way through the jungle and numerous pretty bridges to reach the rock climbing site...

we were home :)

CATS listening to the climbing instructions attentively...
Though the rock did not look that menacing, the climb had to be done free-hand...

but boy... looks can be deceptive, especially if climbing from the 'other side'

The first one to climb up....

Once one reached the top, rest of us literally scrambled to follow...

at one stage there were 5 of us trying to molest this rock!

Thereafter 3 of us tried our paws from the difficult side also.

The cheery on the cake was the sight of ice cold fizzy drinks in the hands of the little German Boy and CAT Amit. BLISS!!!

Post lunch and a little siesta, CATS made their way through a precarious path leading to this very pretty site... for river crossing!

Catch was that the weather was cloudy, water was freezing and river was running away with much greater force... As the photo shows, you see many resting on the rocks rather than being on the rocks ;-)

CAT Gauri took the laurels to take the first plunge...

The girls were really in leading in every activity boys... That does not really sound like CATS since we have always seen equal participation ALWAYS.

The only reason CAT Gauri could not reach the other end is because the support rope turned to be a little shorter than the shore!

But we were overjoyed when CAT Joey reached the other end...

as you can see as well... he's deliriously happy!

In his own words, he loves the cold and he loves the water, so he had a killer combination :)

Alongside the fishing demonstration took place.. though actual fishing had to be postponed because of the torrid rapids in the river and the rain ofcourse... CAT Navpreet and CAT Ashish A were really disappointed, but we could not arrange the weather for them :(

That's how bad the weather became CATS...

Infact, we had to shift our abode form the tents to the dormitory in the evening...

Whilst waiting for CAT Paramjeet and CAT Madhvi to arrive from Chandigarh to join us, CAT Joey entertained us by strumming some lovely melodies on his guitar, CAT Gauri was too enchanted by 'Guru-(Ghantaal)' CAT Joey, CAT Om thankfully had recovered from his bout of illness too, CAT Shilpa was simply enjoying the moment, CAT Amit was supervising the operation of washroom taps, whilst CAT Ashish A and party were devicing a plan to skip out to Christopher's... again!!

CAT Paramjeet had a project to complete and Azeeza Madhvi had to sit her finals for Urdu Diploma on Monday, they left Chandigarh around 4.45pm. Since it was going to be after 9pm that the last lot of CATS from Chandigarh was expected, CAT Amit and I decided to send for a driver to guide them from Aut (Pandoh Tunnel) to join us.

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They arrived at 10.30pm, had dinner and eventually joined us at the dormitory at 11.15pm.

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Finally, there were 13 of us :)