Travel Express with Mastani Musafir

When I visited Majnu Ka Teela in February this year, the little Tibetan enclave in Delhi left me with lot of questions than answers. My curiosity to know a little more about Buddhism and the Buddhist culture broke into multiple pieces of unpalatable impressions. The experience was far removed from what I had fondly envisioned. May be the incomplete experience was the pull that drew me to the Little Tibet in Mecleodganj, instead of my plans for Ladakh or Spiti Valley. Understanding the world view of the second generation of the Tibetan Diaspora engaged my thoughts. The trip happened in the first week of October. Where the entire country was engrossed in celebrating Durga Puja I was happily in the folds of the snow-clad mountains of Dharmshala. This was the 9 th trip of the year and I was at the striking distance of my resolution of completing 12 escapes even though I was reminded of the short time I had before the year ends. After I boarded the Garib Rath trai...

The hills of the Himalayas in Himachal awe struck me early this year. The towering snow-gilded peaks were grandiosely beautiful, overpowering in their influence and made me surrender to their superiority. I came back as a vanquished skeleton to my mundane and drab world. But in June something different happened during my over a weeklong sojourn at Shillong. They take pride in calling Meghalaya the Scotland of the North East but my experience elevated me to something beyond symbolism. The hills were small and undulating, appeared more human and part of your life. More than enchanting, they drew me into an intimacy, which was not exactly spellbinding but rather an embrace where you feel your own being getting lifted to their abode. The troupes of clouds rolling over the low-lying, curvaceous mountain horizon spread an exhibition of romance under a transparent blue sky that can only be seen in Meghalaya. The mumming sound of the streams, crystal clean in their colour to the botto...