Let’s be honest! I’m not a mountain person, nor am I a great fan of trekking. My tryst, therefore with the great Himalayan ranges, is a mere coincidence, but enough to put me in awe, make me feel my breathe and at the same time, scare me to death. My first meeting, with the Himalayas, was no more than an elegant British royalty wedding, perhaps more magnificent. My mother, a great fan of the Himalayas, kept on telling my brother and me the stories about the craziness of the mountain ranges and how its grandeur could put anybody to shame, bringing one on the brink of salty water eyes. Well, I did cry, when I first saw the range. Mount Everest (the highest peak of the range), though remains a distant dream!

To give you a glimpse of the greatness of the Himalayan range, just think of the rage running from Nepal, Tibetan borders to Jammu & Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh, Shimla, Kullu-Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Nainital in Uttarkhand. I am sure, I have missed a lot of places, villages, hill-stations that fall under the great shadows of the Himalayan ranges. So, coming back to the point, my first visit to the Himalayas, was well, off course with the family. We were all on our first time visit to Manali- a hill station, situated at the northern end of the Kullu Valley at a height of 2050m (6398 ft) in the Himalayas. Since most of the northern-India, hill stations connect to each other, Manali  falls on the road to Ladakh, and thereby the Rohtang Pass.

Since we were on an escorted family tour, we left for Rohtang Pass in a tourist bus. Fortunately, the weather on that day was good, sun was shining upon us. The weather in Himalayas can be of a concern, sometimes and therefore, my eyes were all glued on to what was happening outside the bus. Being oblivious to the inside commotion, I soon realized that the weather turned suddenly cold and the clouds covered the sun. It had begin to get a little dark and stormy. I put my hand out of the window of the bus and realized that rain had commenced its journey. After a few minutes, I suddenly realized that what was falling on my hand was solid water and not the liquid that we drink. I screamed “Mom, it’s ice.”  After royally ignoring my shrill for five minutes, my mom suddenly turned around and was stunned. The lush green mountains, pine and fig trees on our way, suddenly started to look white in color. I screamed again! And finally, everyone realized. “Yes, it is snowing.” What surprised everyone was definitely that it was snowing in the summer.  But most of us were stunned due to magnanimity of the situation. Yes, it was big.

“We saw what it means to snow, for the first time in our lives, perhaps , the last time for some people.”The scenario suddenly turned from green to white

The snow- laden Himalayas- will bring you to tears..

With my family, on the way to Rohtang Pass, unfortunately which we couldn’t reach due to bad weather conditions

How swiftly can the animals get, adapted to their surroundings. You will be stunned to know!

The snow falls on our face and the camera, off-course, blurring all the epicness! 😐

Father, daughter and son enjoying the snow games! Well, almost! This trip was undertaken when I was a teenage and my brother was a little baby. My brother turned blue and black and couldn’t stand the cold. At last,we had to rub his hands and burn some heat in the body to get him outside on the snowy ground!

The sheer magnitude of the moment stumped us!

The Himalayan range is assumed to be the most astounding and magnificent view in the entire world. For you to second it, there is no other way than to walk, climb, hike and experience it first hand. Thousands of people, from all over the world, walk up to these ranges every year. Some of them are serious hikers, others are touristy visitors. You’ll get to hear a lot of stories- about the fresh air, about the best views of the stars from the ranges, to the people you meet on your way, the food that you eat, to the culture that you see to the simple joys of being a human are all experienced in the Himalayas.

The truth is, there is no grand power and presence on this earth, other than the Himalayas. Don’t agree? Go find it out for yourself. And just by the way, be ready to be stripped naked! Because that’s what the Himalayas do to you.

The Himalayas strip you naked of your fears, dreams, aspirations, hopes and reveal your real character.