Timeline / August 21, 2020

Album Published August 21, 2020

In praise of the Himalayas (4 new items)

I have been in love with this part of the globe before I was able to comprehend any world beyond that of my family. My then infant brain was uninterested in her name, I knew she was far away by her creatures and costumes. While my brothers were captivated by Everest I was enchanted by her curious cows called yaks. The Himalayas smiled at me way back then and waited restlessly to become an important part of my future life. The mountain range stretch for 1,500 miles and spread in an arc over five countries. Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Himalaya is her own space with its own people, squeezed uncomfortably between two global heavyweights itching to expand. Her people are independent, resourceful, devoted and totally enchanting. The passage of time in those ancient layers are a source of sheer joy. Silent prayers dissolve and are dispersed by the wind to fill all spaces. Her thin air takes a little time to adjust to, her roads can be terrifying, her weather extreme. This high altitude world evokes a bygone era of beaming smiles and genuine courtesy. Time expands to accommodate the gentle breeze of Buddhism as it permeates all spaces. A modest request to honour all life while accepting the wheel of karma as it filters through the universe. Ancient rituals and magnificent temples navigate her people to a smooth way of living. Devotion is a daily practice. Colour are saturated in an aura of fizzy light. Greasy reds, marigolds, saffrons and deep lacquer surfaces silently resting in prayer, adding credibility to the layers of shamanic stories of gods and demons. Traditional folkloric stories and high altitude dreams have a profound echo that ooze me back perennially.