Miti Sekhon - Senior Motorcyclist

Sukhna Lake nestles in the north-eastern corner of Chandigarh. Beyond the lake is   Shivalik piedmont, a gently rolling plain dissected by large number of ephemeral streams locally known as choes. This undulating plain is not very wide. Most of this area is forested and forms a buffer zone between the city and Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The lake itself is a great attraction for migratory water fowl in winters. A large water body and very less human presence have made it a very important biotope. Last week a paper reported that some Open Billed Storks and Spot Billed Ducks have stayed behind and are nesting. I was intrigued so the first opportunity that arose saw me accompanied by my friend Prithvi, laden with camera, binoculars, field book and water-bottle heading towards Sukhna. This part of city has a very jumanjisque character. You park your car and climb up the embankment, you are in the forest. It is a very surrealistic feel and as we walked up, I stumbled on to a herd of Sa...

How many times have we heard James Deacon, John Wayne, Glenn Ford, James Stewart etc. drawl “Must be a drunk shooting the moon?” But last week I actually shot the moon...of course not with a gun but with my new 500 mm bazooka of a lens. After having downloaded the picture, I suddenly realised that yes there is a rabbit on the moon we have read about or the man or the lantern bearer. So I started reading and came up with a large volume of information. Then I thought why not share it with my friends...I know it is not really  Moonshine(!!!) but then it is all about shooting the moon, mooning, rabbits and folklore...  The Moon I Shot The Moon rabbit, also called the Jade Rabbit, is a rabbit that lives on the moon in folklore, based on pareidolia that identifies the markings of the moon as a rabbit. The story exists in many cultures, particularly in  East Asian folklore, where it is seen pounding in a mortar ...

  Dodra – Kwar is a very less known cultural region of Himachal. It is a narrow valley drained by River Rupin, and enclosed by loft ranges of middle and greater Himalayas. Last year, a jeep able road was completed, connecting this valley to Rohru. Prior to this, people of this valley travelled by foot or horseback to Rohru. The easier rout was to walk along the river and reach Netwar, a large village in Uttrakhand. Netwar is also the confluence of rivers Rupin and Tons. According to the folklore, this valley was a part of the kingdom of Tehri but was given in dowry to the princess who married King of Rampur Bushahr. Thus it became a part of Himachal. The very idea of biking up to an unexplored region is very rib-tickling; so the plans are made well in advance and on 30 th May two of us load our bikes and scoot off. The rout we are to take is Chail, Kufri, Narkanda, Baggi, Khara Patthar, Rohru, Chanshal, Dodra and Kwar. The return is from Rohru to Hatkoti, Jubbal, Theog and Shiml...

Baisakh (April) is so pleasant, The branches blossom with new leaves. The soul-bride yearns to see the Lord at her door. Come, O Lord, and take pity on me! - Bara Mah - Guru Nanak Dev Ji April is the month of new leaves, ripening wheat and birdsong. The bare branches of trees bloom in to hues of reds and greens as leaves burst forth from bare branches. Bougainvillea explodes into colours as birds sing their nesting songs. This is the time when Mr. God sneaks in and paints everything in myriad hues of divinity. Winters are over and summer approaches. Plants and trees erupt into a riot of colour. Mulberries are laden with luscious purple fruit. Ants, flies, bees, birds and squirrels flock to the trees gorging on fruit or each other. A bee eater in his robes of green, red cardinal’s cap and kohl lined eyes meditates on a branch. Suddenly it darts at an unsuspecting bee flying by and breaks his ...

5/6/09 The conference in Garhwal University, Srinagar is just the excuse to pack my bags and ride off on my bike. Gagan is the only other person who is free, so both of us start early morning (6 am, if it is early enough!). The ride up to Dehradun is nice with a breakfast stop at Nahan. Here we meet a Swiss couple on a BMW who are riding from their home to Nepal! We can not keep pace with the Beemer but surely make quick work of the ride to Dehradun through lovely green forests. Till so far the ride has been a song but now the blistering heat and chaotic traffic starts taking its toll especially as it is high noon. It takes us best part of an hour to cross Dehradun and another to reach Rishikesh. A leisurely lunch and a siesta later we walk down to the Ganga. People flock in droves for the ritual baths absolving themselves of all the sins (and boy do we sin?). Some sit meditating afterwards while others frolic. As the sun drops towards the horizon the beautiful “ Ganga Aartis ” start...