Footnotes to Mythology

I don't know how many people listen to albums in their entirety these days.
Surely, the concept of an 'album' barely exists in the age of play lists.

Being a cassette-era relic, I am yet to get around to even downloading music ...free or illegally. I refuse to go the i-tunes way because, for me, the album-experience is incomplete without a sheet of printed paper in my hands.

I still believe in liner notes and album art. I believe in sides A/ B and concept albums.

Anyways, while listening recently to Pearl Jam's self titled album and its magnificent album-ender, "Inside Job", I started thinking up my list of great album-enders.

What I call a great album ender:A great album enters mythology only when it goes from great song to great song and ends with an unbelievable orgasm. (Note: If the album is one sustained orgasm the best end it can have is a dreamy finish.)

What is important, though, is this: A great album ender can be enjoyed alone (on a play list) but you appreciate it best only when it is reached via the journey of the album's entirety.

Here's my list:
A Day in the life (just about edging out the B side of Abbey Road)

Moonlight Mile

The Rock/Love rain on me

Thorn Tree in the Garden

When the Levee Breaks

Desolation Row

The End

Eclipse

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

Locomotive Breath

Slim Slow Slider

Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

Release

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Talking about downloading albums, I do hope you have visited Radio head's website of late. If you haven't read this first!

Moon Bathing
After several months of inactivity, pointless hard work and general restlessness, I decided to bring down the hung boots and go for a trek with our old friend Akshay (The Comrade) Gupta
Being completely cut off from the scene for more than a year now, I was glad to let the Comrade work out the trekking route, the way to get there and all the minor details except the booking of my tickets.
Through a rather stunning move from the Mothers Inc, which has been having quite a field day in these troubled times, Bala was plonked in quite unwittingly as the third member for this great expedition
If you ever want to go on the same expedition here’s a useful map

We drove from Delhi to Shimla on Day one through some amazing 4 way “express” lanes, great dollops of makhan on several paranthas, Kurukshetra and mild headaches after 4 hours of night driving up the mountains
Day two was the drive through a wide array of four wheeled wonders- bull dozers, cranes, several cars, trucks and one armored vehicle through a road left undone by a Chinese company.
The road to Rohru needs completion badly to make the trekking route as popular as its other Himachal cousins- but it’s adequately motor able nevertheless
At Rohru, a dusty, polluted, buzzing town, that belies the beauty which lies just a kilometer ahead of it, one will need a place to stay – we recommend River View Hotel (Rs. 300/- per night) , who can also arrange avoidable expensive treks.
At Rohru, our savior and guide was a gentleman from the “trade” thanks to some deft salesmanship and corporate leadership by yours truly.

These gentlemen, as is unique to the trade, showered our unholy trio with hospitality we were frankly quite unworthy of- introducing us to several guides and trekking options in a town where the concept sounded quite hilarious to many
“An why would you drive all the way to Delhi so that you can walk 30 kms up hill?” was one of the few existential questions shot at us by the guffawing helpful gentlemen

Day one of Trek:
Drive up to the village of Dharmwari, 20 km from Rohru, along the banks of the River Pabbar.
Contact the well experienced and yet quite young Mr Pankaj Neigi, trained at the Mountaineering Course at Darjeeling (as was The Comrade) and the porter of his choice
Stock up on Maggi, rice, dal, masala, salt (we forgot that!) and some candies and park your car in the unlikely zone offered by Pankaj Neigi’s uncle/shop keeper
Take a Jeep ride to the closest motor able path to the village Janglik
Start the trek
Cross a sheep’s bridge across the Pabbar on the way up, through huge sheep and goat traffic jams , an act that might sink the bravest in an existential quandry
Climb steadily up for one more hour to reach Janglik
At Janglik rent your tents (250 a day) and your sleeping bags and resume the trek
Do indulge the request for photographs the numerous kids of the village
Reach an abandoned Gujjar hut after another 2-2.5 hour trek, pitch your tents in the wilderness and wonder at the number of stars a clear sky can reveal
Chop enough firewood from the nearby woods to ensure you can cook some food and keep your rear end warm as the temperatures dip to zero
Make sure you get your salt or else cook the dal in Maggi masala (TM to loonatix.com) and get yourself into a sleeping bag faster than you can say frozen balls
Day two of the Trek:
Wonder at the frozen bottle of water you left outside the tent
Disappear behind the bushes
Have sweetened rice for breakfast
Trek for an hour through some scenic woods and meadows
Reach campsite two in a meadow infested with wild horses and buffaloes
Pitch tents and resume trek
Four hours on through more woods, meadows and some climbing along the Pabbar leads to the seven lakes of Chandra Nahaan
Have the packed lunch i.e. Maggi noodles in a pressure cooker for Lunch
Trudge back to the camp to realize that you have a snow peaked mountain just a kilometer over your head
Chop more firewood for the kitchen and general well being
Sleep out to warm the cold bones in some sun light, soothed by the sounds of gentle mastication of the grass by nearby buffaloes

Day 3 of Trek:
Go all the way back to Janglik and realize that you really have walked up quite a bit
Watch Bala leap and stroll like a mountain goat in the hope that the entire thing was finally coming to an end
The Mountain goat:

Watch Bala struggle again

The struggle:

Marvel at great feats and miracles by the Grey Wizard
Reach Rohru back at around six in the evening
Do your round of thanking the various people who sniggered, advised and accommodated weird requests from The Comrade for warm underwear

Day 4 of the Trek:
Drive down to Delhi from 9 am to 3 am singing along to various Stones, Doors and Beatles Remasters albums