Unfathomable as it is my love for Egypt, equally mystifying is my love for the mountains. I have alwayshoped that the last days of my life will be spent at a cozy cottage in the lap of a lush green mountain - possibly the Nilgiries or somewhere up north - if I can put up with snow.

That's why one of my favorite songs is "Milate hai dil yaha". It is picturized in what is shown as a woodencabin somewhere in the hills. There is a group of girls - with of course leading lady Rakhi - who are allwrapped up in warm clothes. They play in the snow. And in between the stanzas when Shashi Kapoor opens thewindow we get a glimpse of a snow-blanketed village - a string of lights shining through the snowy landscape.I have always wondered if that's a model rather than a shot of an actual village. But that doesn't stop mefrom escaping into my favorite day-dream.

I love the lines:
कल रहे ना रहे, मौसम ये प्यार का कल रुके न रुके, डोला बहार का

But my absolute favorites are:

झीलों के होंठों पर, मेघों का राग है
फूलों के सीने में, ठंडी-ठंडी आग है
दिल के आईने में तू, ये समां उतार दे

Will life give me a chance to spend my last days on earth amidst mountains, trees and tiny waterfalls?