Everest House-India

We had arrived in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand which sits on an airy point in the hill country of northern India and sought out the estate of the first Surveyor-General of India (1830-1843) Sir George Everest. With the help of marginal local directions we drove a windy one lane road to a washed out dirt path. A mile walk (with a long detour after getting lost momentarily) brought us to the remarkably preserved estate. The main building stood with roof intact as well as the observatory that crested a small hill. We wandered alone over the grounds with just the company of grazing cows. The sun broke and a breeze blew the clouds higher opening the views to a ridge producing the loud sound of prayer flags in the wind. Everest House-Mussoorie, India

Journal Entry-Thursday, October 9th, 2008   “A ridge of flapping prayer flags filled the air with noise. I stood beneath the multi colored rows, one after another in a choreographed dance with the wind. I froze, captured in their songs to heaven and was filled with immense joy and sadness. An orange and black butterfly settled on my shoulder as I reached down and picked up a prayer flag that lay in the dirt. Reaching over I retied it to the string and said my own prayer for the wind and heaven.”