Grand Canyon of India - Raneh Falls

 I had never heard of these falls, having lived in M.P. for nearly 9 years now. A point to ponder for M.P. Tourism? Anyway, the taxi driver mentioned it on the way from Orchha to Khajuraho, and it was also the right time- monsoon was still on, so there was lots of water. The Panna Reserve Forest is also right there.. remember Panna Diamond mines? And Heera Panna, the film? The river is Ken, by the way. We also saw the Betwa- stayed on its banks, in Orchha just before this.

Memorable Outings- USA

 Two that I can recall from the U.S.- a trip to Grand Canyon with friends in November. It snowed the evening we drove there, and we woke up to a surreal sight. Grand Canyon was blanketed by snow, and it contrasted well with the browns.

One more trip by road that I clearly remember was to Yellowstone National Park. Driving through and watching the geysers erupt, as also the various geological wonders, was fascinating. 

Each Fall season, we would go for long drives into the mountains nearby to watch the interplay of colours - yellow and orange predominantly mixing with green- that presented a rainbow. Gatlinburg was a favourite destination, not too far away from Clemson. We also went to stay with Ron Green in Tennessee once in Johnson City during Fall. That was a beautiful drive.

Within South Carolina, Myrtle Beach and Charleston are two places I remember visiting- an impressive Aircraft Carrier-turned Museum, USS Yorktown was an attraction in Charleston, and the old Fort (not much by Indian standards, but historic). 

Driving Across the USA

I did it twice-once in 1986, and another time in 1990.

 Clemson Football (below) in my abode.

 Bryce Canyon (above) and South Dakota..

 Bonding with Roger Moore (above), and a map of South Carolina we found on an outing.

The first time, it was three of us, my brother Satish and friend Anil were with me. One of us slept at the back, while one of us drove and the second played RJ, changing the cassettes. We would listen to music through the drive (around 600 miles in a day). We took a break at San Antonio (Texas) at Anil's uncle's place, and then at Albuquerque, New Mexico, with some friends. The third or fourth day of driving, we reached Los Angeles. On the way, we stopped at the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest National park, and Las Vegas. Our car's radiator broke up near Las Vegas, and we had to go to a junkyard and replace it.

At L.A., we saw Knotts Berry Farm (an amusement park), with our friend Kiran, and also Disneyland, the NBC studios, Universal Studios etc. which then had the actual car that was used in the TV series Knightrider (it was called KITT, and it talked to the hero-a supercar). This was our first visit to L.A. and we were impressed.

The second time was a more circular trip, up to New York, across to Warren, Ohio (my cousins whom my parents had to meet were in these two places), and then to Detroit where a family friend resided. On the way, we also went up the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Then, it was real wilderness for hundreds of miles until we got to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota with the 4 Presidential faces carved into the mountain, and then to a highlight-the Yellowstone National Park. We rounded off the trip again with L.A. as our last stop (Kiran was there again to welcome us), and then back via Texas.

My First Snowfall

A first view of snow was in Gulmarg, Kashmir, in 1978, I think, but my first actual snowfall was in the U.S. at Clemson. And boy, it was exciting- for about an hour, maybe two. We did all the crazy things that one does, usually. Here, I was bewitched-

Clemson not being used to much snow, did not have equipment to clear it. So we were pretty much stranded as far as using cars went, and we walked as much as we could. But mostly, we chilled (literally) at home. It was like the Mumbai rain holidays.

The beauty of a snow-clad view was in two places- Leh recently, and Grand Canyon in the U.S. The night we visited one Thanksgiving Weekend, we found there was heavy snowfall. The next morning, there were amazing views (this place remains one of my favourites in the U.S., apart from Yellowstone).

Leh with snow-women.-

Winter Sets in

Winter has set in at Nagpur, roughly at the time it does every year. I am reminded of some of the winters in my earlier life. Nagpur winters are mild by comparison.

One I will remember vividly for a long time was in Kashmir. I had visited with my parents and sister in 1978, and we stayed on the Dal Lake, in a houseboat. Not a great idea, in retrospect. That night was one hell of a cold night, and two or three rugs were not enough! I think my dad had to save me by lying on top of the quilts for a while to add to their warmth. There were no heaters on the boat!

Another similar night was at The Grand Canyon, USA, one winter. This time, I saved myself with some brandy, I think. There were several cold nights in the US, during my stay of 5 years. One visit to New York during winter holidays, we stayed indoor to beat the cold, the entire time!

Once at the IIM Lucknow campus, it was around zero degrees for almost a week, and gave me the jitters. Wonder how the nawabs coped with it.

A recent visit to Leh also saw us cold, but in summer. Nights were cold as cold can get. But we were prepared, and coped reasonably well.

I shudder to think of the homeless and what they might be enduring at such times. Thank God for our home and hearth!