Of heart, belief, strength & beauty.
Hello!
Today’s newsletter is a little different. But just as it is meant to be, it is majorly an account of my travels, stories of incredible people I come across and experiences with them. Pardon me for not including much content on books, fitness or veganism this month! I’ll be back to writing more about it once I am back in Pune.
The trek up to George Everest peak
A narrow path, the Doon Valley right below and a couple of scared, inexperienced trekkers are probably not a great combination! But it ended up being something I will remember for a long time.
I hiked up to the peak about 30 mins uphill from Sir George Everest’s house here in Mussoorie. I have never been the trekking/hiking kind (I have never trekked before in my life). A pro trekker would probably find this to be a very easy hike.
Was it scary? YES.
But it was completely worth it. Some times all it takes is good company, a few seconds of courage and belief in yourself even if you’re afraid for your life.
When you’re scared about something and someone you care about is scared as well, your heart seems to find some courage within. That tiny ounce of courage was enough to guide me up and down the mountain-side.
We ended the trek with some hot maggi (of course!) with green chillies and red wine. Not the most conventional combo, is it? Head out at 6900+ ft elevation and try it out ;)
Here are the pictures for you to check them out in full screen!
Chasing a Secret Waterfall
Another interesting discovery around here was a trail that led to a Secret Waterfall (yup, that’s the name!). Not many know about it except some locals. You can hear the water flowing from a fair distance but it is hard to spot unless you are with someone from here.
After a small hike up the hill followed by a short climb down the hill and then walking through a small stream barefoot, we finally emerged into a narrow clearing with the waterfall in front of us.
The water flows peacefully over the waterbed, cold as ice, never seeming too fierce. I have a fear of water bodies, and I felt perfectly comfortable going in (until a particular point before it got deeper & fear kicked in again!).
I felt okay standing there after a while though. For some reason I remembered Deepika telling Ranbir in YJHD “Maine kaha tha na. Kuch waqt do, theek hojayega”.
I could sit here alone for a long time, listen to some music, maybe read a book and not feel scared (hopefully).
Click for the pictures & videos and see how beautiful this hidden treasure looks like!
Snippets from my life:
I started my college last week and I’m so happy with the system I have created to study. I’ve been using Notion to manage my studies. My whole semester, all managed from one page :D
Here’s a couple of screenshots of the homepage and a subject page in my template.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”
- James Clear
If you are a student and want to understand how to take your studies to another level and create an awesome personal system for your notes, research and quizzes, hit me up! I’ll be happy to help you create your own customised study structure.
Can I help add value to you in any way? Let’s talk about it. Text me on Twitter or IG!
Gratitude - for a fellow traveler, the mountains & the sun:
This newsletter’s gratitude space is mainly for one person. (Click here to check out our trip to the beautiful town of Landour - more on it next week!)
There’s always more gratitude to express, and I shall do so next Sunday again for some more people here.
As long as I have had a voice over the internet, I have been an advocate of kindness & gratitude. Some times you come across people who make you feel grateful by simply being around you. I met one such fellow traveler here in Mussoorie - Shreya - a fellow traveller, blogger, and most importantly, a beautiful woman (or The Thinking Woman as she would call herself - go check out her blog!).
I hardly think she looks at herself from the same point of view as I do (I tell her she could be more kind towards herself), but our conversations and trips around Mussoorie & Landour have surely been the highlight of my trip here in the mountains.
The album above also has a time-lapse of a beautiful sunset from Landour. I’m grateful to be at this beautiful place for making me realise the value of little things in life.
What/who are you grateful for? I would love to hear.
I’m sure they would love to hear too. Let them know below!
Finally, happy Diwali from me to you! Wherever you are, I hope you & your loved ones are finding something to celebrate this festive season.
And if the year has been too tough to find anything to celebrate, you can always celebrate the love you have around you :)
Here’s a couple of pictures from my Diwali night!
Talk to you next Sunday with some more beautiful stories from the mountains!
In the meantime, if you find value in these newsletters, do share them with your friends or over social media! I’d be very grateful :)