‘Survive in the Jungle’ tour - Part IV - Heading Back Home

The week that we spent in the remote Himalayan village of Jaina was a tough yet adventurous period. Himalayas are like a stunningly hot girlfriend, they are beautiful from wherever you look, but to stay with them is a big challenge as they demand a lot from you. These pristine hills were as beautiful as ever, but our lives back in Delhi were calling us back desperately. It was time to end our brief summer love with these hills.

Paras posing in front of roadblocks.

Thanks to landslides and fallen trees blocking the roads, we had already ended up overstaying some days. We hired some woodcutters from a neighboring village to cut the fallen trees and clear the road. Once that was done, we heaved a huge sigh of relief. Finally, we started back for home. We were to do a pit stop at Ranikhet, before starting for New Delhi early next morning. This beautiful hill station is maintained by the Indian Army. We checked into the hotel and relished being back in a city.

‘Survive in the Jungle’ tour - Part III - Leeches and Joint Bleeds

We had been in the Himalayas for some days and were getting used to our new life. The Monsoon had done its share of damage. Most of the popular treks in the surrounding areas were out of reach due to landslides and fallen trees blocking the roads. Our desire to spend a night under open sky in a Himalayan jungle seemed a distant dream. We searched for some safe places in the nearby areas. There was a trail quite close to the village. It wouldn't have qualified as an adventurous trail in normal circumstances, but the rains had made it fairly challenging.

We climbed up with a great enthusiasm, something told us that it was the only trek we were doing on the tour. The trees were getting denser as we moved up ahead and there was an air of wild animals. I could have spent many days right there just roaming around and appreciating nature's beauty, if only the clouds stopped trickling.

Its always wise to look before you drink from a fresh water stream in the mountains during the rainy reason, unless you want something surprising to go inside you.

‘Survive in the Jungle’ tour - Part II - Murphy's Law

The morning was beautiful. We could feel the cool mountain breeze rush into our room as soon as the window opened. I burrowed myself deeper in my blanket. The other boys were nestled tightly in their beds.

Our place at the Jaina village

Rising up finally, we opened the door to see what awaited us right outside. Light drizzle. WHAT! DRIZZLE! What was the possibility of it getting worse?! “It’ll stop in a moment, let’s pack our stuff, we should move early if we have to do all treks we planned.” Pankaj felt comfortably at home while saying this. No surprises there…it was his home! Jaina was his village, and we were standing at the doorstep of his home waiting for the drizzle to stop. It didn’t!

‘Survive in the Jungle’ tour - Part I

How do you bond with other young men living with hemophilia?

That's me with Paras in Haldwani

The obvious answer would be to spend time with them. That was the basic idea behind the ‘Survive in the Jungle’ tour last August. I teamed up with my friends from our local youth group which I admin and we started planning to hit the Great Himalayas. We decided to tour Ranikhet and surrounding areas in the state of Uttarakhand. The mountains were a natural choice. They represent something that’s powerful and invincible. There is an inherent feeling of a challenge about touring them.

Day One

Hi everyone, I'm starting a blog about my experiences in the bleeding disorders community. Its been a long time since I've wanted to write about my life with hemophilia. Somehow I was just not doing it.

Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder. About 1 in 10,000 people are born with it. Now that makes me a very unique creature. Its like being different from everyone else. Isn't that what a lot of people want to be. Well ask me!

Speaking out about one's life is a great way to ease your worries. It may not fix the issue but it can definitely help in feeling better, perhaps even stronger (if the feedback from listeners is encouraging). And I guess having a blog is the best way to shout out to the world without bursting your tonsils. So here it goes, this seems to be the best thing to do when I'm down with a bleed.

Read about the 'Survive in the Jungle' tour.