Adventures of Raghu - the trek with Uncle Seher (Part 2)

Uncle Seher put his sleeping bag next to Raghu and lay down to join him in gazing at the stars. Just as he lay down, Raghu jumped up pointing towards the sky – “Uncle look, a shooting star!! Did you see it??” Uncle Seher smiled – “Yes I did Raghu. It was absolutely fantastic! The wonders of nature!” Raghu lay back down. “We never get to see all these stars in the city uncle Seher. I guess we’re higher up in the mountains now, so maybe that’s why they’re more visible here” said Raghu thoughtfully. Uncle Seher laughed, “No Raghu that’s not the reason. It has to do with the Light pollution and smog in the city.

Here the air is clear and there are no street lights. That’s the reason we’re being able to view the fantastic spectrum of the night sky.” Raghu kept looking up.

“I had read about so many constellations before I came here uncle. But I find it hard to find them in the midst of these millions of stars” said Raghu. “Okay, let’s start with the big dipper,” started Uncle Seher. “Look for seven major stars: four in the bowl and three in the handle. The two stars on the outside of the bowl are called the pointer stars. They point to Polaris, a bright star that is also called the North Star because with it you can figure out which way is north.” Raghu looked hard, as his fingers started to outline the big dipper in the sky. “I found it Uncle! I found the big dipper and the north star” cried out Raghu in excitement. “Great, now you can use this to also find Ursa Minor or the little dipper.

You know Raghu, these star patterns called constellations helped people navigate on land and by sea as well as tell time, since they appear in different parts of the sky depending on the day and year.  You see this is because the stars don't move only the earth moves.”

Uncle quickly got up. “Raghu let’s have our meal now, it’s getting late.”  Raghu sat near the campfire chopping vegetables, while Uncle Seher took out the pots he had brought along with him and started boiling some rice. Within a little over half an hour, rice and vegetable dal soup was ready.

Uncle poured some in a bowl for Leela to eat and sat down with Raghu to enjoy the meal they all so well deserved.

After the meal, once all the food items had been cleaned away, Uncle, Raghu and Leela sat near the campfire as Uncle Seher started narrating a story. “Raghu do you know the legend of the Sarolsar lake?” “No uncle” said Raghu, his eyes lighting up with both fear and excitement. “So Raghu, this lake is many thousands of years old. It was actually much bigger then, and had many types of fish and plant life in it at that time. It was a thriving place back then…” Uncle Seher started narrating the story of how a being from deep in the forests had found its way here and had slowly taken over the entire lake.

He had shrunk the size of the lake, killed most of the animals and plants in the lake and had buried itself deep in the waters where it could not be seen. “That is why no one dare ventures into the lake.”

“And even today he comes out some nights and his wild call can be heard.” Raghu looked around rather cautiously, fear lurking in his eyes. He loved spooky stories, but this was a little too close to home to laugh about. He moved closer to Leela, at which point he didn’t realize Uncle Seher jump on him from the back. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” screamed Raghu as he ran as far as he could without looking back, Leela running and barking right behind him. Uncle Seher started laughing and screamed out -  “Boy you’re so gullible! Come back here! It’s time we get to bed….a long day of rock climbing awaits us tomorrow. I hope you’ve done your homework for it!”

Adventures of Raghu - the trek with Uncle Seher (Part 1)

“Wow!” shrieked Raghu as the low lying hills of the Himalayan range started giving way to the upper snow covered ranges. Raghu sat staring outside the window of the car as though lightening had struck him.

It was his first time ever in the Himalayas. His mouth wide open, Uncle Seher looked at the astounded Raghu and smiled. “So boy, welcome to the mighty Himalayas. Nowhere in the world would you have seen such majestic ranges. We’re now moving towards the Kullu district in Himachal where we’ll trek to Jalori pass and Sarolsar lake.” Leela barked in approval while Raghu’s eyes remained glued to the view outside.

It was the second week of May and Raghu was on his way to Jalori pass and Sarolsar Lake with Uncle Seher and his dog Leela, in the Himalayas as had been planned. (9th April 2014, Adventures of Raghu - Camping with Uncle Seher)

Raghu didn’t speak much until Uncle Seher stopped the car and prompted everyone to pick up their bags and move out of the car. “We’ll begin our trek on foot from here. There’s a small guest house just up the hill there Raghu. You have two hours to take a short rest, get ready, eat something and then we’re off.” Raghu stepped out of the car with his bag, took a deep breath as though trying to take in as much oxygen as his lungs would allow and began running, calling Leela to follow him. Leela was jumping in excitement as Raghu was dodging her. “You both need some rest now, you can play later!” called out Uncle Seher as he went to check into the guest house.

Two hours later Raghu was standing at the steps of the guest house with his rucksack. Uncle Seher had a much bigger rucksack as he was also carrying the tent. Leela had a small waist pack tied around her waist with dog biscuits. “Water bottle, food supplies, sweater, extra pair of socks and unders, sleeping bag, ropes? All set?” asked Uncle Seher. Raghu responded as he put his feet together in attention position and hand to his forehead “Yes Sir!” “Lovely, then let’s begin!!!” called back Uncle Seher.

So they set off for trekking towards Jalori pass.

Sarolsar lake was further about a 2 hour walk from there where they would spend the night camping. They passed steep mountains with narrow snow covered paths. Leela trudged along carefully as Raghu followed. There were snow covered peaks, cattle grazing on the sides, all varieties of flowers growing on the ground. They took their time to view the beauty around, had fun sliding down snow covered mountains as they walked along.

After a trek of 5 hours, around 4pm they reached the magical Sarolsar lake.

The water was crystal clear and the bright blue sky above was reflecting itself in the lake later. Raghu and Leela started running around to investigate the place and touch the lake water. Uncle Seher in the mean time started looking for an appropriate place to put up the tent. “Raghu get the pins to tie the tent ropes to.  Let’s also start collecting wooden sticks to make a campfire.” They got down to work and had a fire rolling by about 6pm. As darkness started setting in, Raghu put out his sleeping bag and lay down on it with Leela at his feet to view the night sky. Slowly millions of stars became visible in the sky above. “Could heaven really be anywhere else but here Leela?” said Raghu softly.

Outdoor activities with kids - Storytelling around the campfire!

Sitting around the campfire at night is one of the most intimate parts of camping. It’s as though in those moments, all the people sitting around the campfire are connected to each other through an invisible thread of vulnerability and adventure. It is at this time that fed by the dancing flames, ones creative energy finds stimulation under the moon and stars. Use this time to connect with your children through stories that are engaging. They could be traditional tales, myths, legends or simply inspirational stories. If you involve the kids in the process in a fun way, they’ll never forget the story you told them!

We share with you one such inspirational story below -

“When I travelled to the Himalayas sometime back I met a man there who knew how to get many things done with very little resources. He had almost nothing to work with, but accomplished great things.
Whether the task was to build a fire underwater or stop a waterfall from falling, it seemed he could take care of it. I was so amazed to see the things he could do, I finally asked him how he did it.

He told me that a long time ago he had found a magical solution to nearly all challenges that came along. He said it was all contained in a single, ancient word that had mystic powers. When you understand the meaning of the word, it unleashes immense strength and abilities; it makes your mind more clear; it makes your imagination run wild with ideas.

Well, of course, I could hardly contain myself and I just had to know what this powerful magic word was. I pleaded with him to tell me and he finally agreed.

He said the word is, 'YAGODDAWANNA'. <ask the children to say it along with you>

In order to accomplish anything, whether it is small or big, easy or difficult, trivial or of utmost importance, in order to be successful, YOU’VE GOTTA WANT to do it. To earn good grades, you gotta wanna earn them. To become an champ you gotta wanna be one. The main reason people don't succeed at something is because they don't really want it bad enough. By really wanting something, you come up with ideas, make plans, and then do it.

Remember, to do something YaGoddaWanna do it. So next time you come upon a task that seems almost impossible, you gotta stop and tell yourself “YAGODDAWANNA” “

Here we give you a few ideas for storytelling in the outdoors –

Create your own story: let the kids tell you a story, or come up with your own to tell them. 

Visit myths and ancient stories from further back than you remember from your own childhood, maybe ones you learned about in a college class, or from a grandparent

Take a peek deeper into the civilizations the children are studying in school in their history classes, find a story from that culture and time to help make it real and tangible for them.

Look into your own family lineage, and heritage for stories and ancient traditions, old customs or practices and share them with your children.

Research tribal tales and stories to tell your children.

Ghost stories and other scary stories are always a favourite with the ambiance created by the campfire!

Adventures of Raghu - Camping with Uncle Seher

It was that time of year again! The days were getting longer and warmer with summer vacations fast approaching. Therefore, the only thing on Raghu’s mind was the camping expedition

planned with his Uncle Seher in the coming month.

Raghu was 11 now and since the age of 8, he had spent at least 2 weeks of every summer vacation bag packing in the outdoors with his uncle. They had visited Kodaikanal, Coorg and had even gone to Madhya Pradesh once. This time however, uncle had planned a trip to the Himalayas.

Raghu was thrilled! It was the first time ever he would be visiting the great Himalayas.He had read about them in his text books, heard stories about them from his uncle, seen documentaries on TV, but he had never actually been there. To top it all, travelling with Uncle Seher was really an adventure of its own.

They would just carry basic food items and camping equipment with Uncle always looking to take remote alternate routes. He told umpteen stories on the way and would talk about the flora and history of the place as you walked with him. There was always something to learn when he was around.

Raghu was looking out his window when the phone rang. “Hi Boy!” said Uncle Seher. “Hope you’re ready for the hills!” Raghu laughed back in excitement as Uncle Seher continued - “We’ll be heading to Jalori pass and Sarolsar Lake in the Himalayas the second week of May.

We’ll also do some rock climbing this time so I want you to begin learning some basic knots before we go. We will also be trekking long distances so I want you to start building your stamina. Start running and biking a few hours a day Raghu. We’ll take our own tents and food supplies and will camp each night. The routes I’ve planned are a little out of the way! Pack some swimming gear too. There are plenty of waterfalls on the way! You’ll be happy to know I’m getting Leela along this time Raghu.” Leela was Uncle Seher’s beloved Labrodar that he brought along on trips sometimes. Raghu screeched – “Leela!!!! This is like the icing on the cake. “

Raghu put down the phone and thought to himself - “I’ll start with the Figure of 8, Clove Hitch and bowline knots. I remember uncle once mentioning that they are the most commonly used knots in rock climbing.

Figure of eight knot

I’ll also take my telescope this year and learn to find the different constellations. I remember how we saw a million stars in the night sky when we went camping last year." Hiking shoes, bag pack, mosquito repellant, sleeping bag and woolen clothes lay all around Raghu’s room as he sat day dreaming of the adventure that awaited him.