Khoya Khoya Chand

I recently watched 'Khoya Khoya Chand' and simply loved this song from the movie.

Aaj shab jo chaand ne hai roothney ki thaan li,

Gardhishon me hain sitaarey, baat humney maan li;

Andheri syaah zindagi ko soojhti nahin gali,

Kay aaj haath thaam lo ek haath ki kami khali;

Kyun khoya khoya chaand ki firaak me talaash me udaas hai dil?

Kyun apne aap se khafa khafa zara zara sa naaraaz hai dil?

Ye manzilen bhi khud hi tay karen, ye faasley bhi khud hi tay karen,

Kyun raasto pe phir sehem sehem sambhal sambhal ke chalta hai ye dil?

Kyun khoya khoya chaand ki firaak me talaash me udaas hai dil?

Zindagi sawaalon ke jawaab dhoondne chali,

Jawaab me sawaalon ki ek lambi si ladi mili,

Sawaal hi sawaal hain, soojhti nahi gali

Kay aaj haath thaam lo, ek haath ki kami khali

Jee me aata hai, murdaa, sitaarey noch loon

Idhar bhi, noch loon, udhar bhi, noch loon

Ek-do kaa zikra kyaa, main saarey noch loon

Main saarey noch loon
Idhar bhi noch loon, udhar bhi noch loon,

Sitaarey noch loon, main saarey noch loon;

Kyun tu aaj itna veheshee hai, mizaaj me majaaz hai aye gham-e-dil?

Kyun apne aap se khafa khafa zara zara sa naaraaz hai dil?

Dil ko samjhana, keh do kyaa, aasaan hai?

Dil to, fitrat se, sun lo naa, be-imaan hai,

Ye khush nahi hai jo milaa, bas maangta hi hai chalaa,

Jaantaa hai, har lagi kaa, dard hee hai bas ik silaa;

Jab kabhi ye dil laga, dard hi humein milaa,

Dil ki har lagi ka sun lo dard hi hai ik silaa;

Kyun naye naye se dard ki firaak me talaash me udaas hai dil?

Kyun apne aap se khafa khafa zara zara sa naaraaz hai dil?

Kyun khoya khoya chaand ki firaak me talaash me udaas hai dil?

Kyun apne aap se khafa khafa zara zara sa naaraaz hai dil?

Road Trip - Seattle to Crater Lake National Park

 

A car decked with good music, a portable GPS navigator, a reasonable road map, camping material and crazy us, is all set to hit the road. There was definitely no scope for working out differences or creating a balance of preferences with this kinda journey as none of us really knew as to whats gonna be next. It was as erratic as one could think of and we were glad that we found an order in that chaos.

Day 1 Saturday, August 30, 2008 : Started driving from Seattle around 8.00 AM in the morning towards Oregon's Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Drove the Historic Columbia River Highway. This highway runs roughly parallel to the Columbia river.The greenery around and five different waterfalls cascading over the walls of the Gorge is beauty worth the drive. We loved the Wahkeena, Multnomah (being the second highest year-round waterfall in the nation) and the Horsetail Falls (a personal favourite, reminded me one of Mani Ratnam's movies). Drove later in the Mount Hood National Forest passing by vast vineyards and orchards, lovely vistas to reach the Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood where we ended the Mt Hood Scenic Loop. Mount Hood's snow-covered peak rises 11,249 feet and it definitely seemed to look stately and tall. Drove to a city called Bend, OR, had dinner first as we were really hungry after around 400 mile drive, checked into a good motel and called it a night!
Day 2 Sunday, August 31, 2008 : After a nice American breakfast of oatmeal, buns and oranges we hit the road to Winston's Wild Life Safari for animal encounters. The drive was beautiful as we drove from one national forest to another. We passed through the Diamond Lake and stopped at Mt. Thielsen viewpoint for a while. Drove through the Deschutes, Winema and Umpqua National Forests to reach Winston stopping in between for lunch at Glide, OR. It was a good first time experience of a Safari as driving amongst the animals offered enthralling sights of Giraffes running to your car from far off, different kinds of Deer, some just sitting and gazing at you, some seriously engrossed in road crossing, Rheas and Emus pecking at your car windows, nestling Zebras, ravenous Bears feasting on some flesh, Hippos cooling themselves off in the pond, Swans continually pruning themselves, Rhinos happily engaged in a play with the cattle, some lazy bactrian camels, naughty Gibbons jumping from one branch of a tree to another, a spectacular march of the Tibetan Yaks, some American Bisons here and there were eye marveling. Later drove through the Rogue River National Forest to Edgewater Inn - Shady Cove, OR to retire for the night.


Day 3 Monday, September 1, 2008 : After a good night's sleep woke up a little early had a healthy breakfast and hit the road towards the Crater Lake National Park, OR. It was a good drive into the Rogue River and Fremont-Winema National Forests to reach the Rim Village of Crater Lake National Park. The park protects the deepest lake in the United states. Fed by rain and snow but no rivers and streams the lake is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. The water is exceptional for its clarity and intense blue color. A product of Nature's grand design. I wonder, could there be a Blue bluer than the whats really known to be Blue. You are face to face with something called INFINITE BLUE. The shades of Blue what one encounters in the lake are immeasurable, indescribable ( as words like sapphirine, copper sulphate blue, cobalt blue, teal, turquoise, ultramarine and azure are just not enough to describe its color) and cosmic. The Blue is soul piercing! You got to see it to believe it! And for me it was - BLUE redefined! Drove the Rim Drive covering the Watchman Overlook ( A 2.6 km hike to reach to the top for unmatched and breathtaking views of the Crater lake and Wizard Island), took the Cleetwood Cove Trail( A 3.5 Km trail and the only legal access to the shore of Crater Lake), reached Cloudcap Overlook ( highest point on the Rim Drive), stopped ahead to see the Pumice Castle Overlook ( a layer of orange pumice rock that has been eroded into the shape of a medieval castle), then stopped at the Phantom Ship Overlook which offered a great view of the Phantom Ship framed through the trees, drove to Pinnacles Overlook ( A 1.6 Km trail to view the volcanic spires - 'fossil fumaroles', each marking a spot where volcanic gas rose up through hot ash deposits cementing the ash into solid rock, then drove towards the Sun Notch Trail ( A 0.8 Km trail - short uphill walk through a meadow to the rim of Crater Lake for views of Phantom Ship). End of the day a little tired with all the hikes and trails, literally dry with fuel in the car and in our tummies drove all the way to the Mazama Village for refuge. After enquiring about vacant tent sites for camping chose and booked one to camp for the night. Later drove to the Rim Cafe for a quick bite of Mediterranean sandwiches and then were right in time for the sunset at the Watchman Overlook. I can tell this was the most wonderful and picturesque sunset I had ever seen - truly magical and enchanting. Got back, set up the tent and retired for the day.... it took a long while before we fell asleep as the night was real cold and chilly. Even while asleep I found myself mystified by Crater Lake - overwhelming yet a sublime beauty.

Day 4 Tuesday, September 2, 2008 : Woke up a little late, got fresh, drove to Rim cafe for morning breakfast, and then bid adieu to the Lake from the Rim village and hit I -5 after passing through couple of National Forests like Winema and Willamette stopping at a place for nice veggie wraps. Reached Seattle before dinner time. Had a nice dinner and were back home having covered almost the length of Oregon.
A will to face the odds and a craze to hit the road is what one needs - And yes...We made it!
Miles covered in the trip : 1275 miles
Color of the trip : Green and Blue
Theme of the trip : Exploring the beauty of nature in chaos
Song of the trip : Yun hi chala chal
Color of the day: CRATER BLUE
-Manasi
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. ~Robert Louis Stevenson



View Larger Map