Sunday, May 20, 2007

Hiking in Kumaon

On Sunday (May/20), Rajeev Singh organized a picnic for us at a beautiful wooded area just past Kilbury. Although it was a bit cloudy, the rain stayed away and we had a superb time. The view across the foothills into the Himalayans was a bit foggy, but here (with artistic licence) is what we would have seen on a clearer day. Rajeev's henchmen laid out some blankets, and we devoured the fantastic lunch (tandoori wraps, puris and potatoes, etc.) that the hotel had packed for us. After a few short walks to explore the forest and the mandatory group photos, we set off back down the mountain, stopping along the way to soak in more scenic vistas and to take some short hikes off the beaten trail that were conducted by Rajeev's children.

We also stopped along the way to eat some barbequed "bhutta", i.e. corn, that was slathered with lemon juice and spices. Although not as good the the "bhutta" on "the Flats" in town, we weren't sure when we would get the next opportunity, so eat them with great gusto. That evening we had dinner at Rakesh Ahuja’s place. His wife is a master chef, but at this point we all felt we had been eating endlessly. Entertainment (songs, stories, general clowning around) was provided by the usual suspects, Millie and Rajeev, but the highlight was Nayantara da Lima Leitao, Noel's wife, who could easily be a professional singer. She sang Goan (Kokani) as well as English song without any musical accompaniment. Her rendition of Don't Cry For Me Argentina would have to wait for another time, when we had a guitar.

Back at the hotel, we had our usual nigh-cap session, trying once again to solve the world's problems.

1 comment:

Arvind Upreti said...

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