Tiny : You’re 9. New Tribes, New Mountains, same old you.
Dear Nibs,
I am so grateful you’re a part of our life. You add so much color and meaning to everyday.
In the last year, your long, shiny, smooth, flowing hair has started many conversations. To people we usually don’t talk to, also. Like the cop in Ooty, or John sir at the badminton court who tried growing his rather sparse locks, or the security lady at Bengaluru metro station, or the little girls playing in their hijabs on Zanzibar beach. It is not clear to me why you’re growing your hair, but now people are calling you ‘Dhoni’; I prefer to call you ‘Bjorn Borg’ though, Sr. JM referred to you as ‘my little girl’. But we are indeed having a lot of fun with you growing your hair.
It did not snow in Gulmarg till well into February of 2025. And the crowd was so high we weren’t able to book any rooms in any hotels, although we did try. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We realigned our trip to visit Qazak in the 1st week of April. And what a snow-filled, adrenaline-filled trip that turned out to be. You guys learned some skiing tips from an instructor every morning, and every evening, you and K were on your own adventure on the peak. You did the most trips up and down, probably 32 times if I remember correctly, compared to a measly 15–20 trips by me (although I had whole days and you just had 1/2 days). We also went over a small part of the Silk Route on the gondola.
Then, just like that, in May, Appa planned an IH summer trek with 30 other kids to Kedarkantha, which is at 12800 feet. We planned it for Sriju, K, and you — but Sriju dropped out and Jay filled in. You and Jay shared a tent, and the 3 of you came back with enough stories to fill a lifetime — the hailstones, dripping wet bags, bad idlis, and paranthas, tears of homesickness, and a national emergency with missiles and drones being exchanged by India and Pakistan were the highlights of the trip. On the last day, you guys woke up at 3 am, summited by 7am, and then made your return journey all the way back down. While reflecting on the question — ‘What did you learn about yourself during the trek’ — you responded with a ‘I realised I don’t like North Indian food!’. BTW, you did your whole trek in your nightclothes (and probably without an uw!) and in your croc shoes — but that never came up in any of the conversations.
Luckily, before we left for Tanzania, we had the Nilgiris District’s badminton and chess tournaments. On the day of the chess tournament, there was also your music test, so after the chess games, you rushed downhill to Coimbatore to take it. And it overlapped with my 3-day silent retreat at Navadarshnam. So somehow, the all-boys team of Thatha, Appa, K, and you managed to make everything happen. But I won’t say much about what happened at the tournament because you can read it in your own words, where the tournament is the meat of your “autobiography”.
We reached Arusha on 22nd Aug. Within a few hours of being on the NMAIST campus, you were outside playing football with Abdul Fetah and some other friends. You also formed a deep and unusual friendship with Ahana and 2-year-old Aadya while learning little Kannada, all while you were in Tanzania. Weekdays were swallowed by things, including swimming and juggling you were doing at school. At school, your closest pal was Kevin, and the whole football gang. And an unusual friendship blossomed between you and your teacher, Ms. Nancy Kweka. As part of your schoolwork, you interviewed Sr. JM about how she helps others. And you participated and finished your first triathlon at school in style — 400m swim, 4km cycle, and 2km run. You and K cycled all over the NMAIST campus; you had a few accidents while using K’s cycles. All the little wounds and lifelong friendships you accrued. Then, one week in October, the country shut down after election chaos. An opportunity to deepen friendships on campus. We also met Parth, Liana, and Anwika , who were in Arusha for 2 years as part of the Air Force and Army training programs in India. After our 2 months in Arusha, when I asked you what surprised you the most about Africa, you said something quite profound — “How little water they use”.
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It would be unfair not to mention your friendship with the Maasai folks. One long weekend, we decided to visit Oldulvai Gorge, Ngorongoro, and climb Ol Donyo Lengai. No trip agent was willing to plan something like this except one. So we went along. The first day was to camp near Ol Doniyo Lengai and climb the mountain at night, a climb so steep it was merciless. Our travel guides will be the local Maasai guys — Zefaniah and Matthew (I don’t remember their Maasai names!). And Zef has a 8yo like you; he was totally surprised at the relative ease with which you did the hike — like your body and soul are designed for the mountains … sleeping on the bare stony soil at 4am, sometimes just sitting and catching a nap, unbelievable.
Always be a nomad, a climber, and stay in love with the mountains.
“It is always the same with mountains. Once you have lived with them for any length of time, you belong to them. There is no escape — Ruskin Bond.”
Also, don’t forget to read this unsuspecting book called “The Mountain of the Moon — Bibhutibushan Bandyopadhyay”, it is about some intrepid travellers. Unfortunately, we could not plan and do the Kilimanjaro trek this time in Tanzania for lack of time, money, and old enough lungs. Next time for sure!
(We also went to Zanzibar, where you tried your hand at snorkelling, and what beautiful waters they were!)
Mowgli was one of your popular nicknames. You can see why!
Like all the hikes and the mountain weren’t enough for the year, a week before you turned 9, we did the most unusual winter trek to the Chhattisgarh Jungles with Jay and Siyu. Mostly like a walk for you, but you K, and J were always together discussing things, walking in the water, not bothered about much else. And it was a peaceful trip to begin a new year with.
You insisted that we should not have cake for your birthday this year … and mostly we didn’t!
