Journey

I woke up today morning with a strange longing for the quiet days I spent in the scenic and oddly spiritual hills of McLeodganj. And, then I recounted the evening I was leaving the little place for the big bustling Delhi, the restless night I spent on the bus, and the few lines I penned in a moment of epiphany, that lay untouched and forgotten in a memo on my phone...

The view from the Pink House in McLeodganj

They both sat in silence

Breathing the same air

Staring into the same space

Letting the same world pass them by

The same thoughts toying with their minds

Outwardly calm but tossing and turning within

The same troubles troubling them...

Unspoken, unheard,

Both struggling to make peace

Discussion is futile as expression is hard to find

The questions are the same

But both seek answers in different places

The search for truth may lead them down separate roads

But now united in silence

They travel together down the path of introspection

Solitude

I love this time, when in the midst of night

Tomorrow still hasn’t taken flight

Today hasn’t completely died away

Yet, aeons apart seem memories of yesterday

I love this time, when all is bathed in black

My little room dimly lit, the darkness glares back

Bright lights of the day have all but slowly drowned

The sky decorated with stars, with the moon crowned

I love this time, when all is quiet

A contrast to the long routine riot

Photo Courtesy: Kumar Jhuremalani

Left alone, I do as my heart pleases

Encouraged by the wispy, cool breezes

I love this time, when every eye is rested

And, I’m awake, alone, alive – emancipated

Undisturbed I am, with no one to pry

Yet secure, that they will awaken with my cry

And I love this time, as I sit peacefully,

Gathering my thoughts in a heap

Dreams await me, beckoning me...

Yet, I refuse to give in to sleep

Awakening of Peace

A balmy evening has set upon the city
I am surrounded by a sea of humanity
And the rhythm of a million hearts in a steady beat
As I play with the soft sand beneath my feet

The place is aglow with blinding lights
Brighter, more electric than other sleepless nights
A million marching legs unsettle the sands
As the air is filled with the choir’s musical strands

Then, the bright lights flicker and die
As the stars gently radiate in the shadowy sky
The constellations twinkle in tranquillity
Till an insolent star breaks away from its community

In a flash of white, it falls to earth
And I can hardly contain my mirth
Witnessing a wondrous moment
As a star gracefully shone in descent

The blackness above takes on softer hues
In the pale moonlight colours come alive – grays and inky blues
And down around me, candles light the way
Soft yellows and shades of orange drive the darkness away

We have gathered as a community in soulful prayer
In a solemn vigil, for coming celebrations we prepare
In religion we are one, we revel in togetherness
As drops of holy water gently fall on us to bless

Standing there beneath nature’s glorious beauty
I send up a gratuitous prayer as I’m engulfed in serenity
Feeling a part of an extended family
Has awakened a spirit of peace even in a sceptic like me

The Little Things in Life...

We try so hard to live by the ideal of “Plan like you were to live forever; but live like you were to die tomorrow”. But it isn’t always that simple, is it? Being optimistic, yet not losing touch of reality; Being enthusiastic, yet remaining practical. The cliché of living in the moment is easier said than done... Because circumstances change and people do not remain the same; friendships fade away and new opportunities seldom come without newer challenges...

Sometimes, LIFE, this moment to moment existence in the face of such cynicism, just bogs you down so much that it is very easy to simply forget your spirit, your reason for being... And, lately I’ve been a frequent flyer to that not-so-cheerful place I hate so much. But, it is in times like these that the numerous little things come together to be my anchor that holds me above water, stops me from sinking into the abyss of depression...

The little things that bring me great joy...

When I feel so lost that I’m a stranger in my own home,
I listen to the peals of the wind chime
And it fills my heart with melodies.
I gaze at the pictures on the walls,
Moments captured for an eternal time,
And it fills my head with memories.

When I feel so lonely that I’m alone in a crowd,
I see the nameless, unfamiliar faces,
And exchange knowing glances, few words, shared smiles
I look at life as it moves on around me, thrives...
Till the beauty returns to empty spaces;
As does the spring in my steps that can carry me for miles.

When I feel like I’ve lost the reason to laugh,
I remember thoughtful messages and long conversations,
A telepathic connection and the unexpected call,
The sweet words of support & stern words of rebuke
Bring to mind the many friends and relations,
All a reminder of bonds that will never fall.


When I feel like I cannot go on
I head out for a walk, letting my feet chart their directions
Under a refreshing breeze, collecting my thoughts
When it seems like there is no purpose to life,
I pull out my bucket list and rediscover my ambitions,
Rediscovering the passion that once seemed lost.

In life things seldom are the way they seem...
Sometimes happy moments may seem far and few.
But when life seems like nothing but a lie,
And reality appears to be an illusion...
Look at the little things to remind you,
That life is as beautiful as the rainbow in the sky.

Discovering the Adventure in Every Moment...

I always did hold it against the Powers That Be for depriving me of An Adventure of a Lifetime……

The day will go down in History as one of the most disastrous ones as Mumbai drowned in the furious deluge of Biblical proportions. Thousands of Mumbaiittes waded through chest deep water, walked for miles and spent the night on any nook and cranny of the city that wasn’t being choked with muddy water. I, on the other hand, got the last train out (before all services came to a standstill as water seeped onto the tracks). I waded through only calf-deep water and got back home while the phone lines were still functioning and electricity still powered the TV set to announce “Breaking News” of the mayhem that was just beginning to unfold. On the bright side, I did get soaked to the bone because I had unwittingly chosen this day to leave my umbrella peacefully resting on the window sill back home. But even this little silver lining around the large big black clouds (some of which were bursting with rain and submerging the city) waned when I realised that I missed my “adventure” by a mere seconds - one second too late and I would have been stranded like all the million others who did get their adventure (though none of them shared my enthusiasm, I suspect!).

However, a wise old man managed to swing my perceptions. “Adventure”, the great one quote with a great insight, “is not outside a man, but within him”. And in a flash I realised that in my pursuit of that ONE life-altering adventure I was ignoring the many little things around me that were just as exciting. In hoping for a night where I would skirt danger, win millions of rupees and find the love of my life (sounds quite like a movie, I admit), I was overlooking the inherent adventure in living each day.

Adventure is indeed within each of us. While for some adventure may mean sky-diving or bungee jumping, for others jumping in and out of still-moving, over-crowded local trains of Mumbai is an equally exhilarating experience. While for some white water rafting or jet skiing provides the rushes, for many others riding in auto-rickshaws over Mumbai’s many potholes, weaving in and out of heavy traffic and the occasional sudden swerve is enough to set the adrenaline pumping. While for some rock-climbing and hiking doesn’t seem like an uphill task, many others would sweat simply at the prospect of attempting to cross the roads at one of Mumbai’s many chaotic junctions.

Adventure could mean many things for many people – adventure sports, a whirlwind romance, a leisurely walk in the dead of the night, a back-packing trip across Europe, watching the kids play, wedding preparations, a trip, the miracle of birth, waking up each morning…! Indeed, life itself is a rollercoaster (Ronan Keating!) and Adventure, the pursuit of life (Daniel Roy Wiarda)!

And so I reassess my definition of adventure – scrutinising every moment of my life that I have felt a thrill or when the butterflies in my stomach stirred to life or when the adrenaline pumped so hard that I could hear nothing else over the buzz in my ear. Where I once believed an anonymous Smart Alec when he/she said “If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space”; I now adhere by Laurence Sterne’s philosophy that “A large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little span of life, by him who interests his heart in everything.”

So just to recapture some moments that I now consider “adventures” now…

• First Days – in a new class, at college, at work
• Flying – the butterflies in my stomach during take-off, flying over the hills and the seas and then sailing above clouds, to the beat my heart skips when the plane jerks a bit during the landing…
• Visiting a new place – a new city, suburb, or even just a restaurant
• The slumber parties where we would share secrets, have heart to heart chats, cry, giggle and scare each other with outlandish stories;
• Sitting at our “Haunt” with my gang of friends reliving “those days”…
• The numerous games of “Truth and Dare”!
• Walking in the rain in the wet fields and rescuing a stray dog – we later called “stormy”
• Being stranded thanks to the rains and the not-so-reliable public transport…
• The many exciting Girls Night Out
• Dancing like no one’s watching – all night in Goa or at parties, or even all alone at home…
• Jet Skiing and para-sailing at glistening beaches or Skiing in pristine snow…
• Roller Coaster rides – feeling your insides turn and screaming because that’s the only thing you are capable of doing then!
• Learning to ride the bicycle after numerous collisions into walls and tress and a thousand scrapes to the knee.
• Sitting behind the wheel of a car for the first time…
• The first ever scratch to the car!
• The numerous near-misses – getting hit by swings, sofas and stones and of course the boiling hot water that left me a rather fascinating mark on my left arm (serves as a constant reminder of which is left and which is right!);
• Crawling into dark corners and under thorny shrubs (where no one else dared for fear of snakes and other creepy crawlies) to retrieve the little rubber ball we played with.
• The stress of Exams, then relieving the stress by watching the corniest movies afterwards and the imminent results later…
• Sharing a smile, a compliment or even a conversation with a complete stranger!
• All the movies I’ve watched with friends – sitting in dark theatres or on comfortable sofas at home, with a bowl of popcorn and laughing at the silliest of comments!!
• The numerous efforts to cook a meal
• Watching a nail biting cricket match – hopefully one day it’ll be in a stadium…
• The silly feeling every time I discover a new Crush!

So, slow down.. stop to smell the roses and catch the beats of music and take every exciting moment of this adventure called LIFE!