26th of January 2017, 1037 hours, Kaza, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India:

Throughout my life, I have tried to be grateful for all that life has given to me – primarily because I have received much more than I had ever hoped for.
And here in this moment, I realise that destiny has been generous once again – who would have imagined that The Mountain Walker team would have the opportunity to attend and participate in and cover the Republic Day functions in Kaza, deep in the heart of Spiti, this wonderful jewel of India?
When we woke up this morning we were geared up to watch the Republic Day parade live on Doordarshan Television. Tsering Dolma informed us (as part of routine conversation) that there would be a function at the local school since Kaza is the district headquarters, beginning with the hoisting of the Indian Tricolour at 10.58 am.
The whole team grabbed breakfast and was ready in a winter jiffy… and now we are walking to the Government Senior Secondary School as if drawn by an invisible thread by fate.
Reminds me that the best laid plans are often the ones that are not planned.