Beau View (mate)

As the kiwis amongst us are often heard to say - beau mate..

The view up the valley - as fabulous as always. The mountains over Manali, glistening with newly laid snow (though melted by the last 3 days of sunshine).

Sad to say, i heard that the spotless streams and high mountain passes are not quite as idyllic as I thought. Apparently one of the functions of the mountains is - that they pull the air from below - including Delhi - and provide planetary air conditioning services, cooling, cleaning, scrubbing, revitalising. Sad to say - the air now is so polluted that there is now a black layer across the top of all the caps & glaciers around. Not good. The pristine air & water has lost it's completely kosher status - but it's got to be better here than most places so.. as the antipodeans say - 'no worries'.

Settling down to village life, the views becoming commonplace, the sounds and tastes reassuringly familiar. The underlying spirit - like the local bakery treat 'Dil biscuit' - all firmly based on the heart.