Friday, September 10, 2010

Pinewood and deodar


After Mussoorie came Rishikesh and after that Almora, but I skip them for now because since autumn arrived to Belgium I long for two things: the bright colors of Rajasthan and even more, the majestic forests of the Himalayas. I saw a postcard of the Jageshwar temple in 1999, when I was following the Char Dham yatra (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Ganotri, Yamunotri) and even so, with my mind fully saturated with the mountains and shrines, even by a faded little photograph, I felt attracted to that beautiful place and wanted to see it ever since. This year I did, and the shrines Jageshwar, set amidst a heavenly forest where the smell of pinewood and deodar lingered in the air like parfume, impressed me deeply with their tranquility and serene beauty. Jageshwar was a trap - it called me for years, and now it will call me back for even more years to come.
As Ruskin Bond writes: "The last puff of the day wind brought from the unseen villages, the scent of damp wood smoke, hot cakes, dipping underneath and rotting pinecones. That is the true smell of the Himalayas and if once it creeps into the blood of man, that man will at last forget all else, return to the hills to die."


























8 comments:

Nagy Erzsébet honlapja said...

úúúú ezek nagyon jók! Dolgozom rajta, hogy átrakjuk a találkozót, hogy te is ott tudj lenni. Írtam az indexben megadott mailcímedre, de visszapattant a levél. Lécc, küldj egy mailt a nagyerzsi@yahoo.com -ra.

Pataki Balázs said...

Roger willco.

Unknown said...

The landscapes are breathtaking, so sharp I can almost feel the mist and smell the pine. You're lucky to have seen these vistas and met these soulful people.

Pataki Balázs said...

Thanks Marie! I added anothar landscape (at the bottom) - more for the mood than quality's sake...

Stefania Cruceru said...

Hello Balazs!

Excellent series...again...:)
quite a surprise with those landscapes....the first is my favorite...love it...

Stefani

Unknown said...

Balazs, you're wonderful blog and masterful photos have inspired me to make my next destination India. I've been to China on a similar type of, "vacation." If you'd be so kind as to e-mail me about how you arranged your trip, I'd be greatly appreciative.

Pataki Balázs said...

Stefania: thank you - even bigger surprises like bird shots are coming. And oh just to motivate you ladies to read on, male nudes too :)))

Marie: hope you got my reply!

Thanks to you all for reading my stuff!

Antoine said...

úúúú ezek nagyon jók! Dolgozom rajta, hogy átrakjuk a találkozót, hogy te is ott tudj lenni. Írtam az indexben megadott mailcímedre, de visszapattant a levél. Lécc, küldj egy mailt a nagyerzsi@yahoo.com -ra.