Oct 1, 2004 - Blinded by Nature

During the first 90 minutes, sweat leapt from every pore and marinated everything from my sizzling scalp to my trusty sandals. The next 90 minutes saw nature do its best to put me, and my increasing stench, through the 'spin cycle' - this included thick fog, heavy rain and gale force winds. So, why was I smiling through this entire journey up Parasnath Hill (1450m), in the remote and seemingly unvisited state of Jharkhand? Besides being enthralled by the view (even after the fog set in - see the Parasnath temple photo) and the sounds of...