T
he Himalayan weather annually separates varied colors from the white wintry
palette in the spring. A new phase begins in the cyclic natural and human
world. The transition from wintry to vernal mood of the mountain inspired the
first issue of 2019. A large amount of the content captures the latter.
Even though snow was soiled and slushy, the chill effect did not fade entirely
in March-April, 2019. An extra layer of clothing protected me during the day. The
blankets facilitated deep sleep dotted with sweet dreams in the night. The sky prematurely
delivered the rain on multiple occasions. The unanticipated babies forced a cut in field
reporting and pushed me indoors.
Nonetheless, non-rainy days surprised with beautiful sights. Birds carried nest-building
material. Black and brown thrushes and ashy drongos hopped in bushes and trees. Bright
colored grosbeaks, flycatchers, minivets, rose finches, and/or tits greeted me in all the
places I visited. Monal, a big colorful pheasant, glanced at me in golden oak forest of
Chattarkund while critically endangered red-headed vulture innocently posed for me
along the Badhani Tal road. Flocks of coots, barheaded and greylag geese, gulls, ruddy
shelducks, terns, teals, and other migratory birds thronged the Pong Dam Lake wetland.
A number of ornamental birds from different continents in the captivity drew my full
attention during the unplanned visit to the Dehradun Zoo.
Farmers harvested wheat crop in many fields of Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts. Some
of them plowed the empty fields for the next crop.
Pretty fruit blooms compensated for dry and dull grasslands, grounds, and slopes that just
shed the weight of winter snow. And wild flowers started smiling in a few alpine pockets.
Tourists did not arrive yet. A homestay served vernal fiddleheads with nutrient-dense
bread made from the goddess of cereals.
The first issue illustrates many of these alpine spring flavors and smells. Most of these
places neither strained lungs nor knees but shrunk the small pockets of solo budget
travelers like me.
AbhaA Transition from Wintry
to Vernal Mountain Moods
A Note to Readers
☻
2
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019