A touch of light⁠, a splash of gold⁠,
Captive, my gaze it holds⁠,
In the stillness of that quiet hour⁠,
My thoughts, my soul⁠ Reflected.⁠ ⁠

Just after sunset along a quiet riverbank in the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. The edge of the riverbank leads the viewer through the image while the boulder in the water provides an anchor to the frame. The rising moon is just icing on the cake.

There is something humbling in welcoming a new day amidst majestic creatures that roamed this Earth millions of years before our feeble bipedal species climbed down from the tress to walk upright on the grasslands. A shared experience of oneness with our evolutionary cousins that whispers to us of our place under the sun, and our insignificance in time. A gentle reminder of the simple truth that we are but one tiny branch, a twig, on the tree of life. The passage of time may well be the hand that wipes the slate clean. Till one day, we too are numbered in the thousands, as another claims dominance over this planet.

This was the view from our homestay in Mudh Village, a tiny settlement in Pin Valley National Park in Spiti Valley.⁠ The village consists of less than 50 families who live surrounded by some of the most gorgeous landscapes crafted by mountains, rivers, and big open skies. Getting here was a two-hour drive over "barely-there" roads from Kaza, the closest town located in the heart of Spiti Valley. Cell signal coverage is non-existent. The summers here are pleasant and everyone in the village was out and about, preparing for the long, harsh, winters. And everyone we encountered during our stay had a smile that was as infectious as the scenery was epic.⁠ We did not want to come away. This was travel at its best.⁠