Sunday 16 August 2015

Tales from the Hills


A few years ago, two young Indian Air Force Fighter pilots on duty lost their life's.


One of them was my 32 year old Brother in law. Late Ritin Jain, who led his life fearlessly and who is and will always be remembered for his bravery, and will remain in our hearts forever.


My sister at a very young age faced hardships, but very bravely left  the Indian Air force life and stepped out in the civil life. It was tough, but she was determined and so rather than shutting herself inside the sadness of her life, pulled herself together and took a brave step of settling up in the Himalayas.
  
(Sister - Reema Jain)
 
She travelled first on her own and later led self driven expeditions.




My sister was always fond of driving and never feared anything in life. Her courage and strong will power has made her what she is today. And she has definitely followed my father's footsteps, as he is well travelled and a very experienced driver. He ran his heritage hotel and travel agency and now my sister is doing the same.

                                                              (Our Father)


Two years after leading expeditions  'Zahir Resort'  was open, 'Where Adventure meets Comfort.'


This is part of her resort and for the last couple of weeks, we spent our holiday with my parents at her place.                                                                   


The high cealing and the interior was so beautiful.


Comfort in such a atmospheric settings is what I call HOLIDAY!


It was lovely to spend time with my family and feel so proud to see my sister achieving all this after such a shocking and tragic fall in her life. I am so proud to be her sister.

                                                          (My sister with little Emily)


And this is Abi Safa who is the partner and companion of Reema Jain. A wonderful singer with melodious voice, and an excellent photographer and lovely human being. As well as all this, he cooks mouth melting Afghani cuisine.


The resort is located in a most beautiful area. The surroundings and view are breath taking. All around you can see the Himalayan mountains. To spend our summer holidays here together with family was just a bonus and so inspirational for me.


This is another house, also part of the resort but a bit more remote. Its not far from the main resort, but is located in more rural settings and it's a really old, wooden house.


I could just live here the rest of my life. Haha...



Tibetan prayer flags are everywhere in Kullu Manali, and lot of Monasteries and Tibitans live in Himachal Pradesh.


Pomogranate flowers


Lots of pomegranates, apples, pears and plums were enjoyed during this trip.


This was a page in my travel journal, which I started working on in Delhi at my parents house. But we stayed there only three days and so I didn't manage to really do much then. Guess I was chatting all the time.

But I did manage to complete that and a few more pages of my journal, whilst sipping chai and enjoying the beautiful Himalayas.