Call it the Stuck-Record Syndrome but I have a weakness for finding the slightest excuse to reminisce about my adventure when I had to interview Ruskin Bond exactly seven years ago in his home in Landour. Needless to say, that meeting remains one of my most memorable interactions as a journalist. But I am getting carried away. Because this time, with Joshimath being in the news for all the wrong reasons, my reference to that visit does not have a picturesque ending.

As the car wormed its way to Landour, circling the hilly, craggy terrain of the lower Himalayas, my heart was in my mouth. Not meant for the faint-hearted or the vertigo-inflicted, our gasps of fear were interspersed with the wows of soaking in the beyond-stunning views. The beauty of this mountainous region needs to be experienced in all its rugged character, and one visit to this magical ecosystem is never enough. Interview done, Mr Bond chuckled when I asked him my last question before his lunch hour beckoned, “What keeps you ticking…to write with such enthusiasm, after all these decades?” After letting out a long, almost childlike laugh, he shared, “Look outside this window…” drawing our attention to the scenic, green-topped gradient hillside view from his study, “Who needs any more inspiration? It’s this fresh mountain air.” But that’s where our dreamy, mountain-inspired script began and ended.