Yo Vizag • August’09
There were six mother-daughter pairs in the group. The youngest of the lot was 13-year old Sanskriti Gupta who resides in a boarding school based at Dehradun. Having gone on many excursions around the Himalayas, she was initially not keen on this trip, but was coerced by her mother. "I had got slightly tired of visiting the same place again and again. I was also slightly sceptical, but as I look back now I realise that it has been one of my most memorable trips so far. The beauty of the Valley of Flowers amazed me but the beauty of the Hemakund Saheb left me awestruck. This trip helped me get closer to my mother and I got to see the hidden
36
child in my mother as well as in other ladies. I realised however old you get, you don't need to forget the meaning of fun! Overall the trip was absolutely amazing!" Her mother, Bela Gupta felt that though initially she knew hardly anyone in the group, she made many good friends. "We felt challenged - mentally and physically and were struck by the beauty of the Himalayas. It was the most awesome holiday ever!" Keiti Garuda, on her first trek accompanied her mother Manjula Garuda. For Keiti, the trek was tougher than she had expected, but loads of fun. Spellbound by the scenery and spectacular mountains, "not even a 6 mega-pixel camera could do justice to what we saw!" is how she describes views and vistas. "It was also a nice break after the last two years of only studying and something to cherish before joining college", she adds. Her mother too echoed her views on the spellbinding scenery, "the path is skirted with breathtaking views, picturesque landscapes, and sceneries worth freezing into a frame made of gold. We walked on perilous pathways overlooking the deepest gorges and beautiful streams, waterfalls and rivers; we even picnicked on lush green meadows. On the whole it's an experience worth a lifetime. I've been to paradise and now am back on earth". Studying in Singapore, Shireen Mehdi joined her mother Tasneem Mehdi on this trek. "It was the first all-ladies trek, with no age bar and all as spirited and young at heart as teenagers… I never saw my mum so carefree and naughty!" exclaims Shireen. She found Hemakund especially soulful and touching. Her mother adds "I truly felt like a teenage girl. We rediscovered ourselves and drew strength from each other". Nymisha had to be convinced by mom Sudha P to join the group, and realised that there were other girls of her age after embarking on the trip. "There was lots of hard work involved, risk too… but the overall positive attitude encourages you. My confidence increased after the trip." Mum Sudha had ventured on a similar trek in Kashmir during her college days and was keen that her daughter experiences the same. According to Jayalalitha Pollisetty, "it was not just a "girls wanna have fun" thing, but it was that and much more! At the toughest of times I drew my strength from the group which kept me going. I wish to compliment Shaheda who was cool and composed all along and this kept the group together." for Dr. Zohra Mehdi, the eldest in the group, "The whole walk has taken us by surprise with its unimaginable beauty and I think that was our only inspiration to complete the whole trek. All this associated with religious beliefs, pilgrims chanting 'Wahe Guru' was so divine and pure that it had just got us all mesmerised. In the true sense we experienced a lot of cultural diversity of our country. God has given me a chance to capture the unbelievable beauty of nature, I felt 20 years younger". Salma Mehdi echoes similar views… "A trip to the Himalayas as our learned ancestors have said is a rejuvenating and cleansing experience. The trip was physically, mentally and spiritually exhilarating experience for all of us. I have returned a more confident person with a sense of achievement, feeling younger, more energetic and recharged. Yes our ancestors were right - a trip to the Himalayas is a must for all of us."
Padma is thankful to her sister in law for making this trip happen. "We were travelling between trees, mountains, streams, rivers, clouds, arresting landscapes, magnificent mountains, dangerous curves, steep valleys on road rail air but mostly on foot. We are the Foot Steppers", is how she sums it up. Even for Tejaswani, being a part of the Foot Steppers trek was memorable. She credits Shaheda for expertly organising everything, right from the training sessions. "A lifetime experience; the seven days passed by with fun filled moments and memorable moments" she adds. P Anuradha had long cherished the desire to trek to the Valley of Flowers. For her, "surprisingly, a holiday trek turned into a holy-cumpleasure trekking, with the Hemkund beauty, Badrinath temple, Haridwar, and the cable car ride making it a pleasant and memorable trek". Radhika Ramana found the trek "thrilling, exciting and fun loving experience. A moment that will be etched in my mind forever