Thanks for hosting me for two great weekends this past month!
For some, the prospect of an early morning train ride from Delhi to Dehradun and the return trip the next day didn't sound very promising. Six o'clock AM? Six and a half hours? Coming back the next day? Seems crazy. But when I started to explain the reason why, the tone changed. "You see, there's an independent filmmaker," I said. "He's filming a movie about Indian ice hockey and he needs a 'Canadian' team to play against the Indians." With that simple sentence two years of my Indian dreams started to come true.
You see Uttarakhand, I started playing hockey in Korea and fell in love with it. Then I moved to Bangladesh where nothing is frozen. Ever. When I moved to India, I heard stories of an outdoor tournament in your northwestern neighbor Kashmir, I began to crave it. My first two years, I wasn't able to go. Another unfulfilled craving was my desire to be in a movie. In the land of Bollywood, it seems that almost anyone can be in a movie. Several friends were in Eat, Pray, Love, but I missed that too.
Then it all came together. A call from the director to the Canadian High Commission, an email appeal for players, a solicitation for a goalie, a train ride to the mysteriously built rink in Dehradun and bam! A two-fer. But hey Uttarkhand, why did you build a full-sized ice rink that nobody uses anyway? Seems weird. Maybe Delhi. Even Leh, in Kashmir where Indians actually play hockey. That would make sense. But I digress. We arrived, goofed around, shot scenes for four hours then it was back to the hotel, and back to Delhi the next morning. Whirlwind, but totally worth it. Thanks for the rink, maybe I'll be back. You're a wonderful northern state, known as the Land of the Gods, but to me you'll be the land of my film debut.
For some, the prospect of an early morning train ride from Delhi to Dehradun and the return trip the next day didn't sound very promising. Six o'clock AM? Six and a half hours? Coming back the next day? Seems crazy. But when I started to explain the reason why, the tone changed. "You see, there's an independent filmmaker," I said. "He's filming a movie about Indian ice hockey and he needs a 'Canadian' team to play against the Indians." With that simple sentence two years of my Indian dreams started to come true.
You see Uttarakhand, I started playing hockey in Korea and fell in love with it. Then I moved to Bangladesh where nothing is frozen. Ever. When I moved to India, I heard stories of an outdoor tournament in your northwestern neighbor Kashmir, I began to crave it. My first two years, I wasn't able to go. Another unfulfilled craving was my desire to be in a movie. In the land of Bollywood, it seems that almost anyone can be in a movie. Several friends were in Eat, Pray, Love, but I missed that too.
Then it all came together. A call from the director to the Canadian High Commission, an email appeal for players, a solicitation for a goalie, a train ride to the mysteriously built rink in Dehradun and bam! A two-fer. But hey Uttarkhand, why did you build a full-sized ice rink that nobody uses anyway? Seems weird. Maybe Delhi. Even Leh, in Kashmir where Indians actually play hockey. That would make sense. But I digress. We arrived, goofed around, shot scenes for four hours then it was back to the hotel, and back to Delhi the next morning. Whirlwind, but totally worth it. Thanks for the rink, maybe I'll be back. You're a wonderful northern state, known as the Land of the Gods, but to me you'll be the land of my film debut.
 |
| Getting ready for my close-ups. To all directors-Yes, I am available. |
 |
| Wow! Looks like I just saved the day! |
 |
| Film secrets revealed. |
So yeah, that could have been enough to make me love you Uttarakhand. But just three weeks later, I was coming right back to you. This time it was another whirlwind trip. The transportation was classed up as we flew to Dehradun. The fifteen minute flight from Delhi was exhausting, but luckily they served a snack. Then it was an hour in the car to Mussoorie, The Queen of the Hills. As I'm sure you know Uttarakhand, Mussoorie was a British Hill Station, and it was the entrance point into the Himalayas. Thanks to our friends Jake and Kelly we had a place to stay while we explored another of your fine cities. Although we were only there for one night, we still enjoyed walking(!) around, goofing off with other Indian tourists, taking chai breaks, riding the cable car and taking in gorgeous views(when the fog lifted). You know Uttarakhand, my reputation from Dehradun must have preceded me because we also took part in a pretty important photo shoot. Here are some of the best shots.
 |
| When I took this photo, the man behind me said, "Old is gold." |
So anyway, thanks for some great times Uttarakhand. I hope to visit with you again soon.
Tourist-ily yours,
jason
No comments:
Post a Comment