Flower of the woods – The book concept

Flower of the woods is a fictional narration of a junglekid Mali, presented in poetry form.

Mali is born in a very beautiful village called Floria which is nestled in a faraway land among the forests. Mali’s parents – Giri and Nadia go thorugh the usual anticipation of her boirth but choose too abandon her because of the evil omens at birth amplified by eerie looks she had.

Not known to anyone, Mali is bestowed with a special gift that spreads as  she grows up. Abandoned in the jungle, Mali is adopted, cared for by a hog family with piglets as her siblings. As Mali grows, her special ability of making everything around her merry by just her smile manifests unbelievable miracles in the jungle. Animals, birds, plants and everything around her just blossom in unified exhilaration of her presence.

As everyone begins to experience this miracle, The news of a special junglekid Mali’s spreads, first within the jungle and then to the villages. It reaches Giri and Nadia who are still tryng to find thier lives and happiness before they let Mali go. Nadia is especially unable to bear her plight and she finds herself losing her love for Giri unable to convince Giri to change his mind. She finally sneaks out into the jungle hoping to get a chance to hold her precious angel one more time. She is in for a surprise and fate does a turn for her too…

The story weaves around the interaction between good & bad as the characters and emotions mingles with happiness, grief, optimism, envy, trust, fear, compassion and resent shaping the consequences. The interplay unfolds a wondersome world of fantasies and dreams. Using a rhyming form and subtle illustrations, I try to convey this message in the form of a story woven around characters of the jungle and the village.

The key characters of these books are “Mali” – the junglekid whose story unfolds as the she is born and grows up with the forest animals; her parents – “Giri” and “Nadia”; “Sante” – village wiseman, “Balon” – village Strong man, “Ari” – wood gatherer, Mali’s hog parents “Swarna” and “Swari”, “Swupi” the hog kid and Maali’s best friend, the king of Jungle “Kesha” and “Aema” the lioness, “Kalan” the scheming fox who feasts on helpless animal kids and is the King’s sworn enemy.

While the target audience for this book will be children between the ages of 8-14, I believe that there is enough excitement for serious readers and some general readers with an exploring mind. Being in rhyming poetry form, it would be a great learning tool for children with different abilities and learning disorders.

This book also offers an opportunity for parents of younger kids to use this as a read along book for them. The poetry format allows both of them to paint the details with their own imagination and build a life-long memory.

To give an easy and sustained pace this book is organized in chapters and each chapter has a distinct start and stop. I would also got some illustrations worked out to enhance the appeal of the book to kids. I haven’t finalized an illustrator,  but have some sample illustrations and I am on a look out for someone who would be committed to illustrate the whole book.

The plan is to have about 60 chapters with 8 stanzas of 4 lines each for the book one. The plot however offers the scope to be expansive and can be extended into a series based on the readers response.

Please visit the book at http://randhirmishra.com/fow/

A weekend out of Kuala Lumpur – Trip up to Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu Malaysia

To set the context it is important for me to specify that I am on a business trip to Malaysia. Haven’t done the punch in by 9, 5 days a week schedule for a while and I had almost convinced myself that I had seen the last of that routine. Though, handling multiple roles and one of them trying to get a fledgling new set up on its feet is no easy ask. It does take its own toll on ones time for other interests. I am sure the ones who know me well would be laughing away on reading this, but here in KL, we surely had earned ourselves an indulgent and relaxed break. Asked around and were told of the Malaysian rainforest at Taman Negara. Did our research and thought it suited us fine. National park, river cruise, rapids, birds and breath taking scenes – that we thought would do for us.

Looked for some reasonable accommodation and found a lovely little resort on the banks of the lake and the review promised sure sightings of famed hornbills there. So we thought we were all set till I ran my plans with a local friend. Unfortunately we were booked in a Taman Negara (national park in Malaysian), but one which was about 200+ km from our planned destination! There was no way to get the thing reorganised. Not to let the mix up ruin our plans, we decided to still get to our planned place and take a call based on the options there. I did revisit the resort I had booked on the net and the attractions the review had mentioned still held true. I was a bit unsure of making a 1000 km trip for a two day plan but I was not entirely against the idea.

We kicked off early from our residence at Petaling Jaya to avoid the weekend traffic trying to get out of KL. We managed a 7:30 start and we were on our way. The city posed no big challenge to manoeuvre with the GPS lady giving us timely shouts. We reached our first milestone – the Gombak plaza toll quite quickly. That was the last of city sights and the scene changed rapidly as we continued on the highway. I must acknowledge the quality and design of the roads & the first sights of nature made it even more enjoyable as the driving was relaxed. As the road curved and stretched through some mountains and valleys, we were really happy that we were out to explore the country.

Our first stop was Taman Negara, the rainforest reserve of Malaysia. A lovely sight of the Tembeling river branching off greeted us. We hired a boat and started our experience of the place. One of the first attractions was the canopy walk – a 585M walk on a rope suspended bridge from the top of tallest trees seemed an exciting thing to do. Surely a new experience, but one should do it early in the morning to have a chance of spotting some birds and animals. The views of the national park from the top were surely worth the efforts. We spent some more time exploring the place and preserving a few frames in our cameras to relive the experience.

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Our next plan was to get some lunch and find a place, if possible, to stay over. Both efforts were futile and we just decided to get back to the road and make a run to Tasik Kenyir resort. The GPS gave us a distance of about 250km and we were hopeful we could make it before dark. We never found any maps of Malaysia we had hoped to buy on the way and we were heavily reliant on the GPS with Google maps on my smartphone. To our surprise it was directly pointing to the resort all the way even when it looked like the middle of nowhere. To add to that the paid licence GPS could not see anything more than a road going in that direction!

The drive was enjoyable. For the less informed, the Malaysian country side is actually a huge palm farm and you can see miles of continuous rolling hills of palm all around you. Few miles out of the city and you would have no doubt that the country would be ranked among the highest producers of palm. However this in no way reduces the scenic appeal of the countryside. In fact, if you run a quick search, you will be surprised (like me) to find that there are over 2700 identified species of palm. Many of them are rated as huge draws among horticulturists as ornamental plants. The setting sun added to the views and I was happy soaking it all in and letting my camera have a field day.

As the sun set we realised that we would not be able to make it to our resort in comfortable time. The fact that we were not on the express highways made the scenes more enthralling but it brought our average speed significantly low. As the evening began to unfold, so did a sudden deluge of fog and it further compromised our progress. We continued to push as hard as we could hoping that the resort would hold our room and we would have someone at the desk to give us the keys. Last of the journey was a miracle of technology. There were barely any lights or signs to guide us other than the small point on my phone GPS screen and I thanked myself for having the foresight to pick a phone charger (paying a decent premium) on the way. We still needed a few U-turns but eventually we started seeing the signs for the resort and eventually the resort too. To our horror we were greeted by an empty reception with no soul around. Luckily we had seen a security guard at the entrance. Just when we started getting into our car to drive back to the entrance, a golf cart magically made an appearance with a typical hospitality groomed service executive at the wheel. He even knew my name!

Our check-in was smooth and the check in girl seemed no less than an angel giving us the best possible rooms since they had a fairly low occupancy for the evening. The buggy took us to our rooms and luckily we had thought of packing some sandwiches for our dinner. The room was huge and well appointed, what mattered most was the bed was inviting and AC effective. Can’t even remember when I passed out like a puppy. Lucky had set the alarm beforehand…

Got up early though I was willing to catch a longer sleep… We had checked in late and the night was too dark to give us any idea of the place; meant we only a few hours to soak in the beauty of this majestic lake and the flora-fauna around. The GPS also showed a golf course right in the middle of the lake, didn’t have the time to catch a game but I would certainly want to do a walk through if I could. Just too much of excitement to be able to laze in the bed and I had to be out there… I was glad I did that, the resort was a beautiful one. Lovely tree cover, our cottages were really beautiful and the scene around was as soothing as could be.

The first thing to catch my attention was the bird calls. Melodious and very different from the ones I was used to in Indian forests. First on my agenda was to get to the sunrise spot as I was primed to expect a really spectacular one. Got in just in time and the scene didn’t disappoint me. A misty lake just about lazily woke up as the day broke out from the tips of the trees. Glad I had a great vantage to get some good clicks. The morning lake is a sight to soak as it begins to interact with the surroundings. The mesmerising play of hot lake being drawn out by the atmosphere creates a fine mist almost hiding the lake and makes it look like a cloud instead.

The trance was interrupted by my next big draw – the hornbills! I could not believe my luck as I saw one landing atop a tall dead tree trunk at the other side of the resort. I must confess, having just been updated about the possibility of sighting about 8-9 species of hornbills, I was really keen to spot one at least (given that I had all of one morning to spare)…

My next hour went chasing the hornbills and trying to get as close to them as possible to get a clear shot and do some justice to their magnificience. I had a decent camera and a 300 MM lens to take a picture but that needed me to get close and I soon realised that the birds were not very used to being photographed. I continued my pursuit and in the process got to spot a Malayan giant squirrel, some common squirrels, few sun birds and loads of Mynahs, Bulbuls, possibly Oriole and a Minivet too. After a long pursuit, I did manage to get some good pics.

After a good look at the pied hornbills, I started longing to see some more of the species , but then I was happy I saw at least one. Without a big lens and a binoculars, there is only so much one can hope for. The rest of the resort was equally exciting and I thought it was a good time to explore that too. I certainly was not disappointed as I made my way to the main building where we were scheduled to have our breakfast.

The lure of the blue lake and the sight of the boats speeding around them was too difficult to ignore and we decided to make a quick dash to the jetty and hop into a boat if possible. As the luck would have it, we managed to find a boat and a captain willing to take us around. He promised us a few added attractions around the lake. I was keen to get onto the golf island too, but unfortunately the course was abandoned a few years back and there was little if any sign remaining of it as the rain forest had reclaimed its lost area. But there were far too many things to keep me excited.

As we kept manoeuvring around the big and small islands, our captain cum guide kept pointing us to the various points of interest and the love for the place kept getting stronger and stronger. I asked the captain about the hornbills and he just broke my heart. He had a collection of almost all the hornbills pictures and he gladly shared them with me. If I had managed to meet him the last eve he would have taken me to that part of the lake where I would have surely seen a few of them!

 

Well the captain did see the utter disappointment in me and tried to make up by taking us to some really great places, but I was already planning my next trip to the place. As if for solace, a white bellied sea eagle made a sudden appearance and I added another lifer to my list of birds. I continued to capture all the great sights around the lake including a lovely waterfall, a herbs garden and sights around the main Tasik Kenyir jetty.

The trip was after all just a dekko to plan a proper trip to Malaysia. For starters, this was a reaffirmation of the fact that there is more, much more to Malaysia than just Kuala Lumpur. It seems that sometime around February-March, once the rains subside, it’s a bird lovers paradise. With all that new information and first hand feel, we left the Lake resort resolving to return soon.

https://plus.google.com/photos/115456665894830036652/albums/5574200850611099105?banner=pwa is just an idea of what one could see and experience here!

GOD@1234 protects me…

So we are in the digital age, there is no denying that. We now have digitally wired babies; a two year old can deftly run her finger through the key board or swipe the screen or launch her favorite program- do not be amazed, it’s the same instinct that enables a new born calf in a remote African jungle to survive.

It should be all nice and rosy in this digital world, right? WRONG! VERY VERY WRONG!!

With digital age comes digital theft, believe it or not, your imagination will fall horribly short of setting a limit on the assets that are at risk. These are perpetuated by unsuspecting common man, novice frauds, novel cheats and imaginative professionals.

Your last bank transfer error could land the amount into an account that is ultra-secure and you might never see that amount back in your lifetime. The sales man at the counter could give your card an extra swipe and record all your information stored in the magnetic tape. Your Facebook account can be used to propagate the corniest websites to all your contacts. Your home Wi-Fi could be used to send terror mail across continents and your hard work on your last research could be copied and reused. Does that mean that we all are extra vigilant and possibly paranoid when it comes to protecting ourselves?

It should be hard to crack passwords and digital firewalls protecting us, right? WRONG! VERY VERY WRONG!!

Welcome to the world of supremely blissful digital citizen! On the only serious note, I would like to put my safety first and claim immunity from any claims arising out of possible abuse of clues given here.

Folly 1 – Almighty to the rescue

Mr. Chatur is no pushover. He is a god fearing man. He prays daily and he remembers to thank God for every run of luck. He keeps all his passwords very close to him. After all he has only one of that – GOD@1234. How clever is that? Can you ever guess it? But then it is possibly better than ILOVEU he had used earlier, after all it was more heartfelt –till one day he learnt that it has to be unique. His God is so unique, so much his own, what better than using Him?

Folly 2 – Tickle my creative genes

There was this other friend of mine – Mr. Right. Now he was a bright one if there were any. So full of common sense but so creatively challenged that he found the whole effort around thinking an original password totally unbearable. He thought I could help, and sure I did. “Why don’t you use date of birth”? He liked the idea and said he will use it. Luckily it was not his bank account that he used it for. Came back to me horribly upset – “Use date of birth, what a stupid idea you gave me?” Caught unaware, I could only ask – “What format did you use, DDMMYY or…?” I knew the answer before he replied, “That isn’t how DOB is spelt…”

Folly 3 – Getting the copy wrong.

If you have ever written an original copy, this would be your nightmare – Protecting your copyright. You have spent serious brain cells and midnight oil to think of the original stuff. You certainly hope that it would be attributed to you, and for this it is important you protect your document. You research and find out that you can do so by saving it in a secure format and protecting it with a password. Well the instructions clearly says – to protect your document use “password”. Possibly this is an explanation why “password” ranked the most commonly used password even last year. Come on people, copyright is not just about copying the right things when it comes to passwords.

Folly 4 – Don’t leave it to Lily, silly!

Mr. Bhole is an educated, successful and law abiding industrialist. He single handedly built a Rs. 200 Million business from nothing. He has armed body guards, security personnel, steel safes and possibly huge insurance against any mishaps. He personally monitors all his transactions, closes each business deal himself and supervises every book entry. Unknown to many, his secretary Ms. Lily is his (possibly most) vital staff. She manages his bank, mail, forums and even the ticket booking accounts. Then one day he learns about the romance between her and his accountant and fires them both. Of course he made Lily return the entire password list. Now Ms. Ditto manages the same. But he did not think it was important to change the password. How silly!

Folly 5: Bank cards and the pin, till death do us ‘part

What’s with these 4 digit numbers and bank cards? They can sure drive you nuts. So Ms. Lolly chose a simple way – 1234. Well it’s just a question of time (more on losing the card than cracking the pin) till she would realize how challenging it could be for anyone to crack that. Remember those days when cash was the king (it surely is these days too), Mom would make sure that you distributed your cash around your pockets and bags. Now in this modern cash less age, you can’t even find two places to keep your card and pin. You don’t deserve even the first penny in your account.

Another version of the card complacency would be –“Can you please find me a ticket for that special show on my card?” you ask on the phone. The tele-booking agent asks you for your name, your card type, your card number, validity, your address, and then those three innocuous digits on your card. In the excitement of your booking success, you just don’t think through the fact that, next time the booking agent won’t need your help to make a booking, or make a small online purchase or a big international transaction.

Well, we managed to guard our assets when we needed to physically lock them and mostly remember the keys, why should it be so difficult if the lock and keys have gone digital? Be safe and not scared to make the best use of the opportunities available!

Meter Jam: think before you sign up…

If you are a soul dependent on the use of ubiquitous auto rickshaws in any of the metros, you are a blessed survivor! But if you reflect, you are certainly sitting on a saga of precious wisdom caught in every moment you there!

Embedded in the persona of the driver, the aura of the vehicle, the mystique of the drive and the wisdom accumulated through the interactions therein is a treasure trove of experiences that you can be the star attraction of each party you attend with an original narrative for the rest of your life. Come to think of it, don’t you come to think of this three wheeled poetry-in-motion when you experience an ultimate smooth and soothing experience? Or isn’t that auto driver your closest example of perfection incarnate, or the interiors extraordinaire you will surely be reminded of the magnificence and luxury of the royalty…

It’s so belittling to think that our mass can only think of the insurmountable services rendered by this ace community as unacceptable practice. What wrong is the little 5 Km walk you will have to endure because one evolved soul of the auto driver blatantly refuses to subject his exquisite coach to that strain. Was it not what your family physician recommended after charging a hefty bill? Then you surely don’t want everyone in your locality to know of your secret royal ride?

Do you realize the invaluable lesson you are letting go by letting your logic, ego or even the anger cloud your mind when you hear the rick star refusing to take you to your destination. How often have you seen yourself having the courage to say no to your parents, boss, professor or just that obnoxious scum hanging by your side? Pay attention here, for you get invaluable lessons of emotional intelligence when you hear the gutsy saint say an effortless NO, as he lets go every temptation and chooses to set an example for you to follow, for the chances are he will demonstrate the same resolve when the next fare accosts him.

Think of the top dollars you will have to spare if it was not for the priceless lessons in negotiation you get when our guru on the driver seat refuses to put the meter on. Imagine all the complex management and mathematical lessons you miss if it were not for the double, 50% extra and various other innovative algorithms you are trained on if this tutor just charged you by the meter?

Will it be possible for you to think of any amusement park ride that could replace the on-the-fly weaving and squeezing art of drive you get one board this miracle vehicle. Scientists are just beginning to challenge the Newtonian and Einstein’s theory, but our epitome of intelligence dwells at the frontiers of physics & meta physics around every corner. Remember the streak of love for god he instills on every faithless lesser mortals when he flies through the chaos of the main street.

Come on now! What you should campaign for is to ensure that our mighty Mohicans continue their good deed and hold their carriages in good stead. Wave without any inhibitions, wait if y0u have to, walk if you must, wriggle in your value and waste no energy in trying to make it any more perfect…

Meter jam no way! Surrender your wits and butter your way at least till the next point you are unfortunate to abandon this ride to the space of freckle less fantasy! So next hail not just this three wheeled miracle, but also the inscrutable fellow on the head chair and let him take you for a ride… Amen!

En route to Enlightenment: Survival Guide to travelling in Mithilanchal

So my cousin decided to get her daughter married. That’s no revelation, that’s what girls from Bihar do for sure – get married, and if you are from Mithila – the forgotten land of North Bihar, you do it over 5 days of the actual wedding ceremony!

The mandate from my cousin was very clear, attend with all the family (Kid, wife & mother), and be in early enough to help with the preparations. Well it was very tempting but I opted for a solo trip of three days. This was going to be a big fat Indian wedding as the bride’s parents were well to do with a strong standing in the society. This would reaffirm their ascent to the elite society.

A lot of deliberations and possibilities were explored and discarded. One could take a three day long train journey from Bangalore, get onto the private buses/taxis/trekker etc. Being less adventuresome, my plan was to reach Patna by air, take a train that takes you to the destination Saharsa – a small town (about 50 Km from the Nepal border). Seemed the most convenient route was:

Land at Patna at 1230 Hrs, reach the railway station after a lunch stop on the way to comfortably board the train – Koshi Express that departs Patna at 1655 to reach Saharsa at 2215, in time for a hot dinner and kick off the extreme gastronomic indulgence.

It all went as per plan till I reached the Patna station and boarded the train, aptly guided by the giant electronic display directing me to the platform number 8; barring the minor oversights like no signs on the foot over bridge and the missing number on the platform as well. Luckily I was counting and I reached the train and my designated reserved seat in the AC chair car by the window – chosen via internet booking a week earlier. The coach resembled the looks of the platform; very clearly confirming the democracy so richly treasured in this part of the world – no discrimination in terms of class, status or kind of ticket you hold.

It is also important to understand that this was the marriage season and that too one which had come after a long lull of auspicious dates. During these times you begin to wonder about the probability that every person in the world will be at a place different from the location where the most important family marriage will be solemnized. As the train moved I realized that the coach was full to capacity. There are about 75 seats in the coach, arranged by an aisle with 3 seats in one side and 2 on the other. The person at the window on the side with three  seats (like myself) were slightly better off because both the seats adjacent to the aisle had two passengers each and in a space-constraints-defying -miracle, they could even claim some bit of the seat next to them though railways had clearly tried to put partitions between the seats!

The aisle was another miracle street- two passengers standing adjacent right through the length of the coach and few even propped up on the top of the seats back rests. There were few oversized bags that created vital lung space, especially where a kid or two didn’t find it convenient to park themselves. Another miracle to experience was the hawkers’ maneuver in the aisles with everything from newspapers and magazine to “jhalmuri” (puffed rice snack, bhel equivalent of the east), boiled eggs, cucumber, roasted peanuts in the pod, fresh tea-coffee kept warm with the kerosene stove attached to the kettle and modern snacks like chips, biscuits and chocolates, right where you thought another person wouldn’t fit in. The art of balancing the oversized baskets, secured tightly to their chests with most innovative ties  is a lesson in dynamics.

The train started on time and I was suitably impressed. There was news of a train being fed to arson by the Maoists not very far from this place. The fact that the activists had apologized the very next day for their deed saying “we regret the action as it adversely affected the very people they are fighting for” – surely meant that they would not commit the same error the next day, right? Well, one can’t really plan for such things and such decisions should be made before embarking rather than letting it shadow this wonderful ride. It’s only when one steps out of their shielded protected backyard that the reality and seriousness of these threats dawn on you.

As the train chugged along, the activities in the coach began to heighten. Some seasoned travelers were more prepared and quickly unpacked their bag of goodies. The coach quickly started smelling of the freshly cooked savories. I smelled the ubiquitous mango and stuffed mirchi pickles. The aromas of common spices like roasted cumin seeds, asafoetida, fresh coriander, garlic and so many subtle ones created due to the infusion of the spices and the preparations. The fresh earth smell of wheat flour mingled well with all the accompaniments. One would certainly want to drop inhibitions and beg for a bite or two, but I could not get around to doing that.

I comfortably retired into listening to my music with the ear phones cutting out the ambient sound progressively marching towards new crescendos in a symphony with the constant clatter of the train on the steel tracks. I barely had the time to drift into the train rides in Bihar I had as a child, when I was suddenly jolted back to reality by sudden brakes and howling wheels. The cry in the coach was “the train has caught fire!” It was rather confusing as the sentiments of the news seemed more sedated than desperate. Quickly the severity of the situation was realized as an overpowering burning smell began to engulf the milder smells and flavors I spoke about.

The first reaction was of course panic. Being cloistered in a steel cabin with no visible way to come out would surely not make anyone wait to be toast before screaming for help. Keep in mind that we are talking about a coach packed to the brim and any sane mind would take less than a moment to realize that there is no way out. But one can really not expect the common mind to be sane, can we? It was pandemonium. Suddenly the coach seemed to be fuller than what it appeared the previous moment. People were trying to climb on each other and the coach became a gravity defying spacecraft cabin. It seemed that everybody had a prayer on their lips and a resolve to reach that fast disappearing gap in the door.

It was rather strange how I took in this whole experience. It took me a moment longer than others to understand the impending peril. This would be my grand curtains! The natural reaction – run for your life! came first and I tried lunging to the door. Then it dawned that I could salvage some of my belongings. I was somewhere in the middle of the compartment. The realization that I had no chance of making it to any of the doors came next. I’m not the kind who would give up so easily, neither I am of the sort who believes that there is a God designed for such predicaments. I amazed myself by thinking about the emergency exit – possibly due to the experience of nearly a million air miles and the multiple security drills and announcements I have been involuntarily subjected to.

Of course no one else was interested in that innocuous sign on either side of the coach clearly marking out the emergency window exit. I sighed with cautious relief, what’s the chance that the window might not be designed to break easily? Anyway, I never had to test that as sanity returned to the coach as quickly as the pandemonium had erupted. The alarm was false and there was no need to evacuate. There were some mixed cries of relief and life returned to the usual excitement in the coach. Some analysis – a standard approach to any minor or major event, directly or indirectly impacting their lives, followed the event and the reaction to it. Anyways, I thought that probabilities were clearly stacked against any such event happening again in this journey. I returned to my own reflection and soothing the nerves with some water and switching to easy music on the music player.

The next break in my peace was an animated discussion, actually more of an argument. I gathered it was about the current state of governance in the state. For the lesser initiated, it might help to know that Bihar saw a change in the power equation as the decade old government lost to a newer local party and there have been some marked changes (improvements) in the state of affairs. But then you still have some very devoted old faithfuls. The famous Indian democracy got free play here and quickly the two parties seemed to have run out of points to debate and got to the free-for-all fist fight. Like a possessed ninja warrior, one of the guys lunged into the air and delivered a couple of humiliating slaps on the other guy! What ensued was hour long mediation on the part of the other debate participants. Somewhere near the arrival time, the conflict was resolved and I started to wonder about the arrangements for me to get to the marriage venue from the station.

The main streets of Bihar can be intimidating for even the locals. The lack of regular electricity supply means that the street lights are not functional. It is most advisable not to venture out on one’s own. I asked the ticket collector the expected time of arrival. “The train is about an hour late” he said and I informed my hosts accordingly. One of the utilities that has been able to defy the general state of affairs is telecom. You can get uninterrupted cellular network coverage right through the state. 11:15 would still not be too bad to reach, I thought to myself. That meant I had about half-an-hour to organize myself and be ready to disembark. With the tinted glasses and virtually no light anywhere in sight, it just meant that I had to wait for the train to arrive at the destination. After countless stops and starts and false alarms of arrival, the train finally came to Saharsa station. It was 11:45 PM, so I technically did make it to my destination the same day!

My hosts had a reception committee awaiting me at the platform. For the first time since the evening, I actually felt at ease. I will spare the details of the stay at the wedding – another prime candidate for a blog sometime!

While this trip did leave a lasting memory for me, I drifted a few times thinking of the countless commuters who do this journey many times over. Then, is it not true that it takes an outsider to appreciate the nuances. My return ticket was booked on the same train but I had a resolve – till the current memory is overwhelmed by a more exciting one, I am not stepping into a Bihar train in a hurry…

Kadkani in the Monsoon: Connecting with the elements at Coorg (Kodagu), India

“Why must we holiday any place in the rains? “ I asked. “Everything is so gloomy and dreary, we can’t go out and if we must sit indoors, I would much rather do it at home”, I added petulantly. This was in response to my husband, R’s suggestion, one wet Friday evening that we head to a riverside resort in Coorg, Kadkani.

Now I have driven to Coorg many times over the summer and I am the first one to agree that it is the most serene, beautiful, nature lover’s paradise within driving distance from Bangalore, but all the charm was in being outdoors and soaking in the atmosphere, wasn’t it? R looked at me mysteriously, told me not to be a fuddy-duddy and pack my bags, ‘cos I was to see Coorg as I had never before.

We started from Blore early Saturday morning, bracing ourselves against the cold breeze blowing over the open roads. And what a vista unfolded as we passed Hunsur. Tobacco fields in full bloom -pale pink and white blossoms over large, dark green leafed fields as far as the eye could see, roadside bushes covered with bright pink and peach coloured lantana, delicate white flowers perched like pearls on the single tower-like appendage that emerged from the inconspicuous cacti lining both sides of the road, the canopy of bright yellow flowers overhead planted by some long forgotten official giving pleasure to the thousands of travelers who passed beneath it. “This is what you would have missed”, said R smugly as he watched me ooh! and aah! over the never-ending visual delights.

Reached Kadkani by mid afternoon and quickly ran to the riverside to see a swiftly flowing, powerful river that enticed with its charm and yet reminded you of its power – very unlike the staid, meandering Cauvery visible on my earlier trips. Had a quick nap, stepped out rested by 4pm and walked around the resort. First impression – the green is breathtaking, its such a vivid colour that I wondered how much the dry heat of summer dimmed the aura around the place. Everything felt so fresh and pure in the sometimes golden, sometimes blue, play of sunlight among the clouds. The backdrop of the coffee estates turned bright and full of life and alternately deep and brooding in the whimsical peekaboo of the sun.

The next morning we decided to be up and early to raft on the river. It was one of the rare mornings with blue skies and innocent looking white puffy clouds. We saw a host of huge butterflies making the most of the weather, colourful mosaics of silk flitting over the profusion of flowering plants in Kadkani. Scores of tiny rivulets chimed their way from the estates uphill, tinkling and gurgling through numerous channels to reach the end of their journey – the Cauvery. Saw 2 new birds that I hadn’t seen before – the Oriental white-eye and the White cheeked bulbul in the trees close to our room. Then we packed ourselves with other enthusiasts in a jeep to head upstream where a raft awaited to ferry us back to the resort.

What can I say about floating downstream on a wide, majestic river in the absolute absence of city noises that our ears are so attuned to? The bliss seeps into your very soul making you feel glad you are alive, that the world around you is steeped in beauty and you are in good company. We had moments of excitement when people on the raft couldn’t resist the inviting waters and jumped into the river to float along with the raft or when we navigated a “baby” rapid with as must enthusiasm as world conquerors! We saw kingfishers swooping down to catch their prey, bats going about their business and a beautiful wire tailed swallow that showed off its superiority over land bound humans!

The ride had whetted our appetite to a keen level making us storm like hungry locusts to the restaurant where piping hot breakfast awaited us to round off a blockbuster morning.

 “Why must we holiday any place in the rains? “ you think!!!! Well, I for one have made a vow not to miss Kadkani in the monsoon ever again!

AUSTRIA, JAN 2005

Our first winter holiday!

People:

This trip was planned thanks to our friends Erwin and Kinga (E and K herewith, are serious travelers, they have both done Round the World trips) who were part of a group who made an annual ski pilgrimage to a resort in Austria ever since Libi had discovered this jewel of an apartment. The other members of the tour were Miki (also called Teacher Miki, for reasons obvious later) who works with Microsoft, his wife Valeria aka Vali, Miki who is a freelance translator, Zolt who works as a naturalist (enthusiastic bird watcher) for the Hungarian National Park in Debrecen, Lasci who works for the supermarket chain Cora, Zolt’s wife Erica who works in a hotel in Debrecen and Libi – the original finder of our retreat!! Most were enthusiastic skiers and wished to do a little hiking and photography.

Place:

A marvelous house at the foothills of the Alps in a picturesque little village called “Bruck an der Grossglocknerstrasse” near the famous ski resort town of Zell am See in the Salzburg district. The house had 2 self contained apartments to let – a smaller one with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen and a bigger one with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and kitchen; all wonderfully shining clean and well equipped. Erwin, Kinga, Randhir and me were in the smaller apartment.

The landlady is a charming, very friendly lady named Helga Haderspöck. Bruck an der Grossglocknerstrasse means Bruck on the road to Grossglockner. Grossglockner is the highest mountain in Austria standing 3798m tall.

Food:

The arrangement was that we cook our own meals. We were on our own for breakfast. Lunch was usually on the move. For dinner, one couple per apartment would return early and make dinner for that apartment and all food would be carried over to the bigger apt in the evening and shared.

Our preparations :

We packed some ready to cook masala packets for our share of dinner, a bottle of champagne, some cartons of juice; deciding to buy fresh meat, milk, veggies, bread etc. in Bruck. We were supposed to hire ski costumes which require a little detail. To ski you need water-proof pants, jacket, gloves with some grip, goggles, ski boots, poles and of course skis. We had decided to rent ski boots and skis at the resort and pick up costumes in Budapest as they were cheaper here. But cheaper still meant a big dent on the pocket (especially when I was already skeptical about my interest in spending the holiday sliding on 2 horizontal poles!!! I mean, reflect!!!). So we decided to beg, borrow or steal. A couple of calls got me gloves, jacket and goggles from Randhir’s friend Piroshka; so I was set. Randhir had size issues!!! We called a few men we knew, but statistics will now reveal that big men in Hungary either dont ski or are shy about proclaiming it to the world. In consequence, we fell back on Plan B which was piecemeal borrowing from others who were getting some extra stuff with them.

We embark:

We had optimistically fixed an early afternoon departure on Friday 14 Jan, but since most people were working, we finally set off at 5.30pm from Budapest. Erwin and Kinga picked us up at our place. The rest of the people (Vali and Libi were to join us only on 18^th) were in 2 other cars which left independent of us. The drive to the border was uneventful. Since it was already dark when we left, I have no scenery to describe. Erwin did all the driving while Randhir and I contributed sparkling conversation from the back seat. The border had mile long queues for non-EU travelers and no waiting for EU ones. (Just for traveling in Europe, all Indians should campaign to be part of EU!!) Since we were cunningly seated in a car (full of) Hungarians, we boldly drove to the EU counters and submitted our passports. The Hungarian passports were barely glanced at but our Indian passports generated much excitement and merited long and detailed scrutiny by all guards in that cabin and no doubt won them the “Examiners of Most Exotic Passports of the Month” award hands down!!! Overall, we were through in 5 minutes and into Austria.

Despite the dark, we noted some landmarks that were pointed out by our escorts.

Within a few miles of the border is an Outlet mall where Hungarians (and probably Austrians) shop for designer labels at slightly less than regular astronomical prices. I was itching to get off and was informed it was past closing time; realized the sheer brilliance of the men in timing our departure from Budapest!!! Well, we women are known for our formidable oh-well-next-time attitude and onward we went. The quality of the motorway distinctly improved and we were shown lots of large, wide (about 6 lanes) overpasses which were built solely for animals to cross over!!!! One such overpass near Vienna seemed rather different and we were astounded to learn that it was the protruding part of a runway… what fun! I wanted to stay at the spot until a plane landed on top of me! The countryside was dotted with sleek, aerodynamic windmills that emitted intermittent red lights.

Brushing past Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Bischofshofen (where we started seeing snow by the roadside and were we got our first glimpse of the Alps looming over us), we arrived at Bruck around 1.30am. The rest of the party had reached before us and after a round of introductions and tentative plans to ski the very next morning at 9am, we fell asleep.

15.01.05, Saturday

Must have been a glorious morning. If so all the beauty was lost on us as we straggled out of bed at 8.30am. All seemed quiet at the other apt, no sounds from E and K’s room and we sat pretty, congratulating ourselves on being up early. We were barely into our second cup of coffee and contemplating breakfast in the near future, when Teacher Miki knocked on our door, fully dressed and ready to leave in 5. The next I knew we were in the car munching on hastily put together sandwiches by Miki and Randhir trying to breathe in his borrowed ski pants, fit his hands in his borrowed gloves, zip up his borrowed jacket…..u get the idea! We went to the slopes called Kaprun. It had snowed heavily the previous week and no snowfall was expected over the next few days. It was 9AM, clear sunny morning and I was shaking at the prospect of skiing. Went up one level in the ski lift (did not admire any view……ok., never saw my surroundings till I gave up skiing which is now not very far off……no point keeping any suspense going…Will she? Wont she?), wishing all the time that I should have spent more time looking for a manual on skiing on the internet rather than reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. So we (me, R, Lasci and T. Miki) went into the rental area. Teacher Miki had appointed himself our friend, philosopher and guide. Hence his nomenclature. (I see a dawn of comprehension on all your faces!!) The remainder headed off to do whatever skiers do.

We had to rent skis, poles and ski boots. So we filled forms stating we were beginners, our height and weight and waited in a queue. First we were given boots. These weigh about a kg each and are made of wood, albeit shiny and colourful (these are impressions mind, not solid facts!). Putting your foot into them is a test of

• how delicate ur ankles are
  
• do u really want to keep ur toes
  
• what percentage of ur body weight do the boots add up to? In my case, pretty signficant.
  

Now the boots are not just protection to your feet, but they must fit well ‘cos you can control the skis with them. So they gotta be snug, but the size that fits your feet perfectly are too inflexible to let your feet in! Murphy or his bretheren at work. So with size 40 boots clinging to my feet, I made my way to the ski counter in a gait like Gaint Robot’s. There I was told to take one of them off so the foothold on the ski could be adjusted to hold just that particular shoe. I swore and after much hopping around took one of, got the skis (which weighed as much), poles and hopped out to get myself together.

Now, I must mention that I had adequate encouragement to ski…….

• Randhir saying “Come on sweetie, it will be fun” in an or-else kind of tone.
  
• The friends who had seen my performance at ice skating saying “Of course, skiing’s easier. You have more than just a thin edge to balance on and the falls are not so painful!”
  

The best was from our absent flatmate who on a call from India quizzed me: Can you roller-skate? No? Cycle? No? Do ballet? No? And running out of options – Lie down in bed? Yes. Then it cant be tough. You are already half-way there!!!!

So out on the ice we went; in the flattish area outside the rental which sloped off on one side (we are at Level 1 already, remember). I can tell you I was already totally miserable. 7 layers of clothes, equipment which weighs enough to contribute further to your immobility and you are expected to sway gracefully downhill! It stretched my imagination so far you could hear the twang when it retracted!

Randhir and Lasci took all of 5 seconds of instruction and started doing their thing. I only saw them when they came back to clarify some niceties and T. Miki had to dig me into the ground to stop me from getting hysterical while he took his eyes off me and answered them. I learned to brake in 5 different ways, climb a hill sideways in the next 15 mins all the time panicking whenever I slid even 5 cms……even T. Miki pointed out how uncannily I managed to slide in the direction of the steep slope no matter which direction  I faced. Soon my lungs gave out and my knees started knocking with the intense pressure of keeping me up and I called it a day. I just wasnt having fun and refused to let my nerves dominate the rest of my holiday. T. Miki was a brilliant instructor but I was too much of a scaredy-cat.

Forgot to mention that the gang was such a regular on the slopes that they were equipped with walkie-talkies, today one was with E and one with T. Miki. We learnt E and K were on their way up, with plans of only hiking around the slopes that day, so I said I would wait for them and join them while shooing everybody else to go on to the next level and so forth. Randhir left with a very disappointed look on his face, I must say. But even that didnt mar the joy I now felt. I started to breathe again and looking around, saw that I was surrounded by peaks covered with snow in picture-postcard fashion! Wow!

E and K arrived and I put K in confusion by asking her if she would like to ski since I had already rented all the equipment and it was paid up for the day. After much debate, she took over my stuff and I set off sightseeing with Erwin.

We climbed two more levels in the ski lifts and went to the topmost stop. There we had a breathtaking view of mountaintops bathed in sunlight, glistening with snow, dotted with colorful skiers and a sky so vibrantly blue, I wanted to wrap myself in it! We trekked down a tunnel half a km long and reached a viewpoint from where the highest mountains circled around us with Grossglockner at the extreme left. It was now nearing 3pm and the shadows cast on the mountainsides created illusions of myriad shaped smooth sided bowls in the snow where there were actually sharp falls!!!! A queer feature of these mountains is that at the top, they get two-dimensional i.e. the sides flatten to meet in a sharp edge on top. Therefore, the range seems like an undulating knife-edge, sometimes white, sometimes brown, sometimes grey and even pink for a few minutes before sunset. Oh glory!!

Spent lots of time there and then had an exhausting trek uphill in the tunnel. At that altitude, you are fighting for oxygen anyway and it does not help that you have not kept up with strip-tease aerobics or yoga-with-ur-pets or whatever is “in” in New York these days!

We made our way leisurely down the slopes in the last lifts of the day at 4pm. At the bottom, we met up with the rest of the gang. R was completely thrilled with all the spills he had taken and was declared a natural by the expert skiers. Once on top, he had let everyone go their own way and experimented his way down, which filled me with a lot of admiration for him!!! All of us set off to the supermarket. E and K decided to cook that night from our apt. We shopped leisurely and returned to the apt for a hot bath, some rest and a great meal of Thai chicken soup and rice (courtesy E) and Hungarian fare (courtesy other apt) about 7.30pm. The gang was also into videotaping the day’s skiing by various people, which would then provide comic entertainment to the rest and material for introspection and improvement to the actor. The landlady, Helga, is a real gem. She sent up a miniatures collection of single malt whiskey for the men and bottles of wine for the women to greet us!!!! Chatted about this and that, drank a lot of wine, palinka, popped our champagne and went to bed around 10pm thoroughly exhausted.

16.01.05 Sunday

The scenery over the next few days followed the same pattern and was guaranteed to delight the senses no matter how long or how often u looked at it. Therefore, I will not go into repetitions. We were better prepared on Sunday morning (another bright sunny day). Randhir had decided not to ski and we went with the gang to the area named Schmittenhöhe closer to Zell am See. The skiers did their thing; we bought passes on the ski lifts, stopped at every level, and admired the scenery from all sides. A restful day. At the top is an open-air restaurant and bar playing blaring music (strikes a jarring note). We had our lunch there, trekked to another nearby peak, parked ourselves on the snowy slope on deck chairs in the sun with chilled beers and gazed in the distance at the completely frozen lake of Zell am See. It is about 3 times the size of Ulsoor Lake and looked like a plate of translucent glass covered it, with cracks shaped like ripples, giving the impression that the lake had frozen over in an instant as waves were rippling across its surface!

The last lifts down are at 4pm and if you miss those, you can only come down skiing. In addition, it starts getting dark by 4.30pm and the slopes start emptying and close at about 5pm. A few beginners in the group (Erica, Zolt, Kinga, and Lasci) have skied only a few times before and are comfortable on blue slopes only. The hierarchy of slopes is blue (beginner), red (intermediate) and black (expert). That evening the gang missed the last lift down and was forced to descend on skis and the last slope down was a red one. The beginners all came back with horror stories, had to be helped, and coaxed every step of the way down. Zolt had to be carried down on a snow-mobile (he was so tired), Lasci took a wrong turn and ended up at the base in Zell am See town (where he was rescued from a bar!!) and Kinga had lots of spills and took over an hour over the last slope, usually done in 10mins by ordinary skiers. As we waited at the base (we had made it to the last lift), it was great to see even 4-5 year olds skiing down the red slope with aplomb.

It was our turn to cook and we made Mutton Roganjosh with our trusty packet of spice, with rice. Randhir was chief chef and I was cleaning crew. Dinner at 8pm and our dish disappeared in minutes!!! We also had some Hungarian food from the other apartment and some wonderfully thin pancakes made by Lasci. We were introduced to the rules of a strategy board game called Risk, but were too tired to play that night.

17.01.05 Monday

Randhir decided to ski again and as they were headed to the same slopes as Sunday, I decided to take a day of rest and look around the village of Bruck. All set off by 9.30am. Had a leisurely shower, cleaned up the kitchen and set off to the railway station to enquire about trains to Salzburg. The station is a 10-minute walk and you cross over a stream that runs through the village. Stood for ages on the wooden bridge and watched mist curl up from the water. Was informed at the station of the timings and that tickets were applicable only to the next train, so we should buy just before our journey. There was no need for reservations.

Went to the church….. Beautiful altar. Walked back, going into little lanes and gazing at the stream from various bridges across it. Went to the supermarket, bought chicken (after much comic miming as I didn’t know the German word for chicken and to my dismay, the woman at the counter was among the only 2 non-English speaking persons I came across on this trip!!!), discovered a bus stop not far from our apartment giving us access to nearby towns. Returned to the apartment, which opens to a great view of the hills from the front room (which is kitchen cum dining room with large French windows leading out to a sloping lawn) and sat there with a book. By 2pm, R called to say he had had enough of skiing and was headed back. He had a great day, navigated a blue slope without a fall and the sum total of his injuries was a painful knee. We prepared for dinner and set off by bus (my German coming in useful) to Zell am See, 11 minute ride away. We walked over for a closer look at the frozen lake. At one edge, the water was still unfrozen and there were coots and two huge, white swans floating about. Found a little café and had hot Apfelstrudel with Vanilla Cream Sauce (absolutely yummy), bought some more for serving as dessert and caught the bus back.

The Chicken Curry with pita bread was again a giant hit. Apfelstrudel and assorted drinks later we settled to a game of Risk. I partnered with Lasci, Zolt with Randhir and the two Mikis completed the quartet. Unofficial treaties, suicidal attacks, discovery of new rules mid-game, Hungarian secret messages – all made the game absolutely hilarious. Lasci and me won by our cool and sound reasoning!!!!

18.01.05 Tuesday

We had high expectations of being able to catch the 8.30am train to Salzburg, but laziness won and we finally just made it to the train at 10.30. We reached Salzburg at noon. The journey was spectacular, the train comfortable. The tracks go through the mountains and we saw small icefalls (a frozen waterfall …it stands out bluish against the white snow) and trees coated on every individual twig with snow. On arrival, we enquired about R’s onward journey to Budapest and found that if he did not want to make 5 changes, his options were the train at 5.05pm or the next at 2am which required only one change at Vienna. We opted for 5pm and I found a train departing to Bruck at the same time. That gave us only 4 and half hours of sightseeing. We had erroneously planned for a stay until 9pm assuming there would be frequent trains to Budapest. So in a rush we bought bus tickets to the city-center and back, and a map.

The city center is beautiful, but we have lost interest in staring at buildings, I guess. Nature is so much more appealing. We went to the Cathedral Square, into the Cathedral, nearby to St. Peter’s abbey, admired the Hohensalzburg fortress (perched atop a hill) from below and decided to take a guided tour to squeeze in the most possible places. Had a nice lunch and boarded a van for 1 and half hour guided tour in which we were the only 2 participants. Went across the river Salzbach that had many beautiful small gulls migrated from Scandinavia. Drove past Mozart’s birthplace, building where he lived, couple of palaces and churches, theater, buildings built with their back to the cliff which have survived since the 15^th century, the lake and house where Sound of Music was filmed, Maria von Trapp’s Abbey (established around year 700, it is the oldest nunnery north of the Alps). Do not think we wanted to see more of the buildings anyway, so we were quite satisfied. Headed to the station by 4.45 and bid each other goodbye. Boarded my train to Bruck and was picked up by E at the station at 6.30pm. E had cooked Thai chicken curry and (as he jokingly remarked that it was because R had left!!) that was enough for both apartments and the other food was put away for the next day. We played another game of Risk that night. I was on my own and T.Miki won this time.

19.01.05 Wednesday

Fresh snow had fallen in the night. We had decided to do some hiking and set off to a nearby slope. We started a slow climb at about 200mts and were informed that trails ahead were closed due to expectations of snow that day. We decided to go a short distance and started climbing a narrow trail through the forest. The snow was a foot deep and climbing was tiring but fun. We stopped at a small waterfall called Kesselfall where many narrow streams joined to make a 20ft or so high fall. We continued to climb as the map indicated a reservoir about 0.7km from where we were. 2 hours after we had started, at 1370mts, we reached a landing. It was so cold that there were small boulders of pure ice here. Towering to our right was a huge icefall and the trail ended there. There was a funicular and we saw, from photos posted on the info booth there, that there moved on it a giant cabin, accommodating about 200 people which operated in summer and hoisted people to the top. Saw a huge circular man-made tunnel going down, barred by a wooden door, and had fun making weird noises and listening to distant echoes!!!!! The guys decided to climb further. Erica and I decided to head back. The journey down was easy and took us about 40 minutes and the guys followed us not long after. They had reached a dead end a few meters ahead but had shot beautiful pictures of large stalagmites and stalactites. It was now 2pm and we went to Zell am See for lunch. Had a nice Danish pastry, saw an ice sculpture in the square. Headed back for rest. Vali and Libi arrived and Libi moved into my room. Had dinner and then drove back to Zell am See for some partying. The well-known pub Crazy Daisy was filled with oldies so we walked around until we came to a place with thumping music. We entered (not before we had seen a sign outside that said “we are different”)!!!!!! The place did have guys with silver wigs, sparkly earrings, frilly fur coats!!!! There was also a regular crowd, so we stayed. The place was packed and we elbowed our way to the dance floor where E, K, Libi and I stayed only until midnight. The rest partied away until 2am.

20.1.05 Thursday

Woke up to find that the entire view from our front room had vanished. It was like changing the backdrop in a play…..Scene 1: Glorious snow clad peaks

Scene 2: Grey gloomy mists!!!!!!!!

Astounding! If you had just arrived that morning, you would have trouble believing there were mountains in the scenery. We could just see a few rooftops beyond our apt and the rest was grey.

The hardcore skiers decided to ski despite failing light, poor visibility and forecast of strong winds on the higher slopes. Peace lovers and beginners decided to spend the time indoors mostly, with very tentative plans of a walk later in the day.

All was peace and quiet. The intensity of snowfall increased through the day. By 2pm when we stepped out for a walk, the snowflakes were the size of Glucose biscuits (sorry, cant think of any other object!) putting it in the category of Heavy Snowfall. We (Erwin, Erica, Zolt, Vali and me) walked around the village for an hour. Mid way, I decided that it would be fun to eat fresh snow and the freshest it is, is when u catch it when it is still falling to the ground. The idea caught on and so for a few minutes, the inhabitants of Bruck were treated to a spectacle of 5 people running around with their tongues sticking out and staring at the sky!!! It was hilarious. However, by the time, we seriously started weighing strategies for the best way to catch the biggest snowflakes (the next logical step being formulating Rules of the Game), we realized we were outside a café and hot coffee suddenly displaced all other thoughts. The skiers arrived early as the slopes were closing down. It had snowed 10cm in 3 hours! I even tried my hand at shoveling snow on the short driveway of our apt. Tiring work. All those (light as) snowflakes sure add up good.

We had a relaxed evening. There were half-hearted suggestions of going dancing again but the roads were too treacherous and we were too warm and snug. Erwin, Kinga, Zolt, Miki, Libi and me settled for a few games of Cluedo. Great game albeit more serious. Crashed by around 2am.

21.01.05 Friday

Time to leave. Were set to depart by 10am. It was snowing heavily again and visibility was poor. The first hour was harrowing. Snowfall was a misnomer that day. It was so heavy and with the wind, it was more of a snowdrift. It blew right at our windscreen and rendered any object 20mts ahead invisible. Add to that slippery roads and we were in an adventure. There was a stream in a 50ft deep channel, which flowed alongside the road. Over the stream, from my window, it seemed that a river of snowflakes flowed steadily at eye level in the direction opposite to ours. Very mesmerizing and incredibly beautiful. The radio reported accidents on the motorways in Northern Austria due to black ice. However, after Salzburg, snowfall ceased and by the time we neared Vienna, it disappeared altogether. It was only visible on the distant mountains we had said good-bye to. The countryside was now green rolling hills dotted with cottages. Very serene after the violent weather we had left behind. Stopping for shopping at a giant mall near Vienna, for a meal etc. delayed our arrival into Budapest and I got home at 9pm, tired but supremely satisfied!