Light of the Lamp

 Hi,           As we reach the end of another year, I thought I will write 2 blogs related to travel, but Iam writing ✍️ only one, as the other travel is postponed.                     Last weekend ( November 21st) we, the group of runners, went to Malnadu(Malanaadu) in Chikmagaluru for a trail 👣 running event. For the running world in South, Malnad is becoming a popular place to test the endurance in trail running distances of 30 kms, 50 kms, 100 kms. It is now certified as Only Western States ( WSER) qualifier from India. What started with just a handful of participants in 2016, this year saw more than 1500 participants with some coming from different countries.               Malnad is full of coffee ☕️ estates and running through those Trails is a spiritual experience and also connecting with  nature. The never ending elevations, downhills,  the dense for...

 Hi folks,               I have not been blogging regularly for more than a year now. Except for 1 post on stampede in Kumbh mela, I have not been visiting here. I want to keep my writing ✍️ skills alive and I am trying hard to make a come back despite distractions around.          I went to valley of flowers 💐 trek trip with a ladies' group. This was my first trip with a group of unknown people outside family circle and it was fun getting to know and make new friends. We were given a fitness regimen plan to be followed before the trip. Because  I am into fitness activities for a long time,  following this was not much of an issue for me.              Uttarakhand is a relatively new state separated from former Uttar Pradesh It is known as holy state as it is full of well known temples like Kedarnath,  Badrinath,  Yamunotri, Gangotri,  temples in Haridwar,...

 Hi folks,            Wish you all rest of peaceful and happy 2025 ahead. My last blog post was in November 2024, 'The death of a yoga 🧘‍♂️ guru.' After that, I seemed to have drifted away from my favorite space hoping to come back and write about something that I hoped to end 2024 on a high note, but did not happen so. I will get to that in the next post. This one was lying as a draft which I intended to write during Kumbh mela mahotsav. Now, maha Kumbh mela is 2 months behind and is almost forgotten.                   Anyways, I will continue and finish this post before moving forward with the next one. Maha Kumbh mela saw crores of crowds not wanting to miss the holy dip which was advertised as not to   be missed in ones  lifetime. This kind of publicity drew much more larger crowds than the usual Kumbh mela  that occurs once in 12 years . The pavithra snan or holy bath taken dur...