The majestic Himalayas from my I Pad lens, on-board the flight from Guwahati to Delhi

The majestic Himalayas from my I Pad lens, on-board the flight from Guwahati to Delhi -11th December, 2018.

The second week end of December, every year, is the time when the heads of Indian science centres and museums, from across the country, meet for an annual conference and the 18th heads of science museums conference (2018) was hosted by the APSCTC, Arunachal Pradesh - on the sidelines of the opening of two new facilities - at Itanagar. I was privileged to deliver the key note address during the opening ceremony of the  conference at the Dorjee Khandu, State Convention Centre, Itanagar, in the august presence of the Hon. Minister, Mr Nabam Rabia and other distinguished dignitaries, Secretary, S&T, AP and other guests and delegates of the conference.

Five of us - the Directors of NCSM science centres- had to reschedule our return journey to make way for a meeting in Delhi, on the 11th December, for which we had to fortuitously take a morning flight from Guwahati to Delhi. My friend and colleague Srikant Pathak, Director, CRTL, was lightening quick to take advantage of the change in our travel to Delhi from Guwahati on the morning flight and he quickly blocked each of our five seats on the north east facing window seats to facilitate sighting the effulgence of the majestic Himalayas (derived from the two Sanskrit words Hima and Alaya meaning the abode of the snow), which our flight was to overfly. The date of our journey - 11th December (2018) coincidentally also happened to be the UN International Mountain Day and therefore it was a unique and memorable experience for each of us to commemorate this international day, (with the theme “Mountains Matter”), by looking at the the majestic Himalayas, which are home to precious freshwater resources not just for India but also to several other countries in South Asia. Some of the mighty rivers - the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra etc., are born in the Himalayas. 

The Himalayan mountain range covers an area of approximately 600,000 square kilometers, extending over a range of 2,500 to 3,000 kilometers in a roughly east–west arc. With its subranges and extensions, including the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and the Pamir, the Himalayas, which are spread across parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, and China, as well as all of Bhutan and Nepal, are one of the most magnificent and breathtaking natural structures on Earth that are the youngest and also the tallest range of mountains in the world. The Himalayas, which comprises of mountain peaks that include the majestic Mount Everest - the tallest mountain on Earth with a height of 8,850 metres, and other mountain peaks including the Kangchenjunga the tallest mountain in India, with snowy peaks rise over a staggering 8,000 plus meters to be aptly and befittingly called the snowy roof-tops of the world.

Some time during the Triassic period - some 220 million years ago- the Pangaea began to break apart. The landmass of India, which was part of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, began its slow migration northwards towards the Eurasian plate on which the massive continent of Asia lay, and some 40 to 50 millions years ago it collided with the Eurasian plate, resulting in the creation and birth of the Himalayas. Neither plate gave way; the pressure of the collision moved the rock upward, eventually into the form of the jagged Himalayan peaks, which are continuing to increase in height, year after year. This dynamism is evident today and is witnessed in the form of frequent earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches.

Our flight took off from Guwahati at 7.45 AM and immediately rose above the clouds and in quick time reached almost 32,000 feet above sea level. We soon found ourselves flying high above the snow-capped mountain peaks, which appeared before us. For most part of our rest of the journey, spanning more than an hour, we could see one peak after another peak sighting almost the entire Himalayas through our windows. We were flying at almost the eye level with some of the highest mountains in the world and I could hardly believe my eyes. Hundreds of mountain peaks sprawled across my horizon, each of them standing high and mighty above the clouds, rising like sharp white daggers poking the skies. Puffy white clouds lay beneath us under a clear cloudless sky, creating a sharp contrast to the white snow that blanketed the mountain peaks. It was as though the peaks were floating in the sky and I felt as if I am in the mythical heavens.

I am not an enthusiastic photographer nor do I have an eye for this wonderful art but then the sight that I witnessed from the window is something, which tempted me to photograph the snowy mountains using my I Pad. I am honoured to share some of the images that I captured during our flight journey from Guwahati to Delhi, which will remain etched in my memory for ever.

Long live the Himalayas.