Of Things big and small- a mostly picture blog

hmm,... i've tried and tried and tried.. and have fallen asleep on my efforts.
so i won't beat up my self about it , no no, i will only try and make it easier if it isn't coming on as it should have-we'll make it different won't we?


so -i think i should put out the mighty efforts i have made on sleepy nights after sweating away the whole day, i have to say,each night, my sleep is well earned and deserved. now that isn't something everyone can boast of :)

1st

 I am tired, i am sleepy. I am thinking of the placement of the rainwater pipe on the terrace of my current studio project,which is taking more time to finish than it should.

But i am no longer afraid, i love the work i have done, and they will probably find it alright.which is as much as you can expect from them anyhow. I am happy, though i still have one through section and one elevation to go, i am happy and i feel very blessed, and that is one feeling – if none other- which must be mentioned and the universe much be thanked for giving me that.

Who’d have known that i would know such wonderful people?  Am i not truly lucky to have a wonderful family, and the peace i know i can generate, even during the times of great distress only with a glance at the towering trees, isn’t that something very precious?

Why would men wish to make and live in huge cities?

Now,it is ironic and funny. I am an architect about to be made.

May be that is to rediscover good living. I am not sure i can ever fall in love with concrete alone.

Neither do i want to.

Diwali is on the 26^th

I am sitting in the fading light, the sun has set sometime ago and the western sky is  orange and navy blue, i have to go to college tomorrow, it is the first of the holy days of Diwali,the smoke and smell of fire crackers is very much distinctively there, it smells and sounds like Diwali but never mind, it is for my own good because the professor has got a whim,that she wants me to show up that day, no other reason,but she has to give the marks so i am going.

Let me drop the mundane problems , they are not of much consequence really. I am sitting out here, in this rather last century like dress with strawberries on it,and marvelling at the beauty of everyday life. My brother has gone to Savar Kundala, it seems i have all the time on my hand- or it is just that there is not a constant talk source around. So i am  the youngest in the house, that is good for a change. Though i do miss him, alot.

Winter is in the air, life will get more interesting as the cold increases, with hot food and new vegetables in the market, the dishes will be more lush and tempting. And of course, before that, there is Diwali to celebrate!

 

So let me talk of the big and small pleasures of splurging sometimes- of the pleasure of browsing and selecting, of liking and gifting.it is pretty much like how it is for Christmas in the western world.

So,here is one pleasant thing -i have been wishing to tell every one, that i DID NOT buy some amazing shoes that i saw yesterday in Ahmedabad.

Here is the pic

any wonder that i lusted after these?

ok so not very subtle or graceful,but it's high fashion :D

So of course i did try it on and told the shopkeeper to take me a photo, so please don’t be ashamed if i act rather oddly when shopping shoes with you, i am like that, i can not buy what is not needed, cause if i do i am usually  feeling the guilt of it each time i see the thing.

I have under taken a daunting task, that of writing a blog entry before it is 1 am here, it is 12 already, and as you know my posts are such long rambling accounts of everyday things.
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 31st October 2011

you know, failing at finishing my blog posts doesn't discourage me much, it happens and it is fine. it just means that i am a healthily busy person,who has a good appetite for sleep. it is 11:30 right now, than it will be the 1st. let me try and finish this as soon as i can, this is going to be what it comes to be really, i am not planning on any romantic flourishes and touches of literary genius,(supposing the i ever do get those) - i am just going to write,as nicely and neatly as i can, about my trip and life in general in the last few days.


so....we left on the 25th morning, Vidur wasn't with us,having reached Savarkundala before us with my uncle,it was a rather boring ride, one gets used to having him arguing and talking unceasingly about his games till your eyes hurt, and to have him to cuddle at all times. reached Bhavnagar, had a crazy- giggling and group hugged reunion with my two cousin sisters.gave the diwali gifts,had fun,explored the new macro lens, etc, than left for S.K. with my youngest sister, gosh, this description sounds so awfully silly, if i must say it all like this why do  i not just declare this the most boring blog of the world and be over with it?  
human limitations of a sleepy mind?


so..my stay there included some marvellous things, the precious time with my cousins,heart to heart talks,swims in the farm swimming pool with the trees overshadowing it,early morning walks and picnics in the near by forest frequented by lions and leopards, simple but delicious food, diwali celebrations,the famous ingoria (fire crackers) fight, giving an interview,new year celebrations,night safaris and star studded skies trying unsuccessfully to light our walks,( OMG i almost fell asleep)


i am officially making this a photo post, bite me!


we made some hugely brilliant rangolies 
one the night of Diwali,
(i know,very childish)

and this one is vidur's creation- original isn't it :D

and here is the one we made on the night of the new year

 

work in progress-initial stage

that's the finished design.

We spent the day of diwali at the farm, started off by an early morning hike in the nearby forest which is now inhabited by a group of lions and of course leopards, but encountered only an antelope, and an unidentified bird.had a picnic, came back, played with the dog, swum for hours , had simple but lovely lunch ,and lazed under the shade of trees.than when every one succumbed to sleep,but my cousin and i didn’t , we did a photoshoot. I rather like the results : )

Fireworks and Diyas or divas are the main features of diwali, i will give you an example of the most fun thing you could do with them, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HgE-rDJE_g

Though, only lumos seemed to work as it should, but i won!! See, i am meant as the most powerful witch of the Muni family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DJ-qmfxKLM

Here is the video we took off the tv screen of the interview- during the fire cracker fight in savar kundala- it’s been going on from almost 100 years, and it is nasty, but full of energy, adrenalin, burns, and obviously –smoke.it started as a friendly fight between the two towns on both the sides of the river navali, savar and kundala, now it’s a joined town, but the tradition continues, it really is like a war zone+ a gang fight- but fortunately, they don’t get agitated or start fighting with anything other than fire. their main feature is to spook away spectators, and they seem to derive evil fun out of trying to target any lady who’s been bold enough to come in their midst, as you can seen during the interview, they did manage to catch us on the backs –but to be truthful ,none of us screamed,we just laughed, as you can see from the behind the scenes video here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlKSUN3tx_w

We are braver souls than that,but we do mind burn marks, and ruined dresses, so don’t make me punch your nose in with your fireworks bag. So i ended up giving the interview in my night cloths,with smoke in my nose and my hair in utter disarray :P

Anyhow, it was fun, we were- for the most part, in the police station, it is not advisable to stand outside, the crackers even entered the room it self, but we got interviewed because we were the only ladies there, here is the video of last year, my aunt giving the interview and us all smiling behind her :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QzLKBlayok&feature=colike

The walk back to the car from the police station was strewn with missiles launched at our heads:P but i have to say the dodging was fun and can make you feel like matrix- lean back, side, that side, gosh it caught me  almost in my hair but burnt the back of my neck a bit.

I am thankful i bent down low enough.

view from inside the police station

Hmm so,enough of that,

Than there was the new year, so happy new year :)

The day after that was bhai bij, the day for brother and sister, we swam a lot in the pool that day, had a “ who does the most laps” competition,and i learnt a bit about how to dive, i always jump, diving freaks me out, but i learnt it. Not perfectly of course.

Than after almost 2 hours, when i floated – watching the pale blue sky framed by leaves, and the skylark swooping and swirling in the heated air, i thanked the universe for this life, and i said goodbye to the blessed place, for that particular trip, as i knew this would be the last swim before i went away. I had a habit of remembering special people on such occasions, what if we could communicate with our minds when we think of the people we want to include in that moment?

I love to float while staring at the sky ,it’s like sleeping, the water is so gentle and caring when you surrender fully. So relaxing.

Though, it does make me panic : )

Another mentionable episode, is our second night jaunt in the forest, the first one having been utterly disappointing, with only night jars and hares to add to the list, the second one was far more better, though it is a pity we had to be accompanied by some silly people without any jungle understanding- the kind who keep talking and walk slowly, stare in to mobiles and tell you not to take photos because the shutter makes a sound, assuming that you do not know anything at all,and they know everything- they also insist on seeming like the brave hearts and sit with you on the open part of the jeep, insist on keeping the search light in their hands, and always point at the passing tree tops because they are utterly freaked that something will jump down on them, while you despair of ever finding the lioness that you are sure has come somewhere along this road- because, naturally, she IS on land and not on a tree top. Though, not all of them were silly, just two. Enough to make me fume.

We left the car and decided to walk, i and my accomplices walked at our pace, a bit ahead of the noisy followers- giving them over in the care of my mom,she can handle the annoyance, i can’t-and as we were going ahead,they wouldn’t need to fear anything from the wildlife, because, of course if we walked with them , we wouldn’t even see the night jars that evening, while to our horror they raised voices to make us go slow. But thankfully, only moments after that we spotted the gleaming eyes of a lioness on the little hill besides the little dirt way we were walking on, beautiful. Gesturing them to shut up, we showed her to them –blending so well in the landscape, with only half of her head visible, she did look rather awesome. There was one forest guard with us, and hurried in- may be just to get away from the noisy presence, you know, it does grate on everyone who’s sensible-s nerves. so, if you are ever walking with me in the forest, whisper or keep quiet. Which, of course was a wrong move, it made the lioness move back at a greater pace than we could cover, so when we reached the top of the hill where she had been, she had hurried down in the grass and i could just see her tail behind a big thorn bush.  We should have waited for her to relax and come out, but the “new bees” moved in with the confidence of the people moving near a dog, they seemed to find the lack of a mane a deterrent in her ferocity, and thought that ,ofcourse, if the forest guard with 10 years worth of experience in the field can stalk her, so could they, yey!! So they moved in,, and i had to move in behind them, with the children and mom- they were so unstoppable without a shout. It is always advisable to stay in a group when there are more people,and well, they were kind of our responsibility, and they were moving from one side of the bush – likely they’d annoy the lioness and than she would make a circuit of the bush and emerge from the other side, and make for the opposite direction,that put us and our retreat way, both in her line of retreat- that’s a big NO. You don’t put your self in that dilemma.

Thus, they made the lioness change bush again , she moved farther left , and they followed, now and than i’d spot her moving tail, her eyes flashing –judging us and forgiving. Though, people like these could get you killed, and through no fault of the lion or the beast concerned. I couldn’t make them fear her unless she growled , i almost wished she would.a growling lion would make most people shiver and stop breathing. Or do something else. But than,if she did, they’d be sure to run, and that’s the last thing you want to do, you don’t run unless you must, that is why i said that that kind of people could get you killed, they can not stand still if the lion gets annoyed, that is the basic part of on foot stalking, you have to have the heart of standing your ground, when the fire spitting eyes of the lion is pointed on you, when they twirl their tails in just that way, when their ears twitch like that, you hold your ground, you make them realise that you are not afraid, you look them in the eyes,and pray to God that you could fool them. It usually works, after all, if a lion wanted to kill you, you won’t make it by running anyhow, you’ll just make him sure that you are afraid, afraid is easy to kill. Believe me, standing like that is very HARD! You need discipline and self control, not only courage. Even if your eyes water. Even than, if you think it will charge, your only hope is a near by tree.

No question of them having any such qualities, i mean the new bees – they’d probably get us killed if they listened to the lioness growl, they’d flee like a flock of chicken- shocking her more.

Well- here is the video of the blissful night when we were unbothered by chance guests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRNH-IIEulY

so.. the saving thing was when i spotted the bones of a carcass. I thought- yey! If you haven’t seen a carcass , the white bones gleaming faintly in the night, the flash having been gnawed by the sharp teeth of the lion, with the lion him self hiding somewhere near by – you do not know the cold fear that grips the most bravest of hearts. It gripped mine too, for a second you do stop breathing. So showing that to those idiots was like a treat, it cured them of their new found enthusiasm of lion stalking, made them realise that, it was not a stray dog they were following but a majestic animal that could easily turn them in to a carcass.. fun fun eh?

Then they hurried back behind us in the waist high grass back to the car.

But it did disturb the animal, it disturbed and stressed us.it put on the shelf every possibility of the leisurely lioness viewing i had been hoping for, which also mean i lost lots of potentially good shots.

I only have one to show : (

That was taken before that idiot put his hand in between to tell me not to shoot.

On our way out, we crossed a deep raving (in Jeep) with huge trees and dark shadows ,even darker than the moonless night, we sad the green gleam –potentially of a leopard, but that idiot was still pointing at tree tops, now more freaked than ever but still proving his maleness by staying on the open area of the jeep.

I am saddened that i missed it. 

But..... my dad took the flash light by almost force, than i got to take the wonderful pics (to my mind) of the posing fox, such a beauty. Thank you. That has to be the highlight of the trip. I love foxe.

Though we did see anelopes,spotted deer (i have a wonderful recording of them giving the distinct alarm call as the lioness moved – that was recorded later when we stood apart and away from the other group, contemplating the night, watching satellites and planes, and the milky way, oh so beautiful in it’s milky white glory, as the fireflies zoomed by, As we made out the constellations, as the horned owl gave it’s hooting call,as the chilly air and the thrill made Goosebumps stand out on my skin,as i remembered special people who would really appreciate the beauty of it all, the sheer wonder of it. The spotted deer started to bark and gave it’s alarm call –i have the clear recording of the still night : ) <3

The day after that, was spent in seeing a movie, the ninth gate, well  rather disappointing, though i did see- eat , pray , love. Better. Could be watched ones. Then , at mid day, we left for Bhavnagar, had a fun evening there with my other cousin sister, talked long in to the night, with the giggly girly way of ours, of things big  and small, we talked.

Brilliant Instances.

I breathed, deep. As the cool night air caressed. there are scattered white clouds in the sky, effectively covering up most of the smaller stars, accompanied by the town lights effect, the stars are not making a grand show of it.

The insistent urging sound, made by a scooter refusing to start, while its owner sweated and sweated, and at last, the noise of the engine whirring fills the almost still atmosphere. i  am happy that it started, it is not desirable that any one should be kept from home any longer than is necessary. 

The night insects are going on with their monotonous but beautiful lullaby, while the few mosquitoes can not be heard but are only felt by me, as i am sitting on the steps of our terrace. Inspiration, comes quickly to me if i am here, witnessed by the treetops, the stars, and the almost navy blue sky. I realise i haven’t been up here often enough these past few months. I pray , i am determined, that i shall never be too busy to get sometime out to talk with my self,  to converse with nature, to converse with God. I promise me this, that i shall always have time for the really important people in life, the near and dear ones, and always there will be reserved moments, for peace and self exploration, to admire the miracles of everyday life.

Have you ever found the night air to be scented, in that oh so subtle way? Utterly romantically beautifully. Amazingly loving is the breeze. I Find solace and comfort in the night, i need the music that is always playing in the night.

Silly me – why didn’t i come up here the first day i got a laptop? Aren’t we just foolish.

Any how....let me become my talkative self, i’ve been on a small trip! As we all know, i love our sudden, unplanned and unpredictable trips. Not to say that all our meticulously planned trips usually never happen , the unplanned ones are the best.

We went to Abu, the hill station, the town, of course, was carefully avoided, and we put our selves in the hands of nature. The arravallies were breathtaking at this time of the year, covered in a coat of lush green, it’s big bad boulders which were formed once by lava, where looking almost timid. Small and big waterfalls intercepted the curving road here and there. The grandfather of Himalayas was looking pretty pleased with everything, what with the green capped by a brilliant summer sky with soft, cotton wool clouds fluttering here and there.

It is not a long story, it is a story of a girl ( so i am 22:P ),her beloved family, and a bear. An Indian sloth bear.

Plus, lots of flowers, and moss, and orchids, and birds and palm civets, and late night stories and history lessons and treasure hunts and lots of fun.

finding clues in the treasure hunt.

rock faces-how many do you see?

shadows shadows,let us play.
as the caterpillars munch away.

moss flowers i call these

beloved

orchid

 

 

 

 

peace

the pretty bachelor.

It is just as well that i am accompanied by the insects and stars right now, down there i would have probably succumbed to sleep by now.

It was me,mom,dad,brother and granny. We reached there at 2:30 p.m. while every one indulged in their chosen past time, i proceeded to fool around with the camera alone, than I and brother went on out usual tracks of exploration here and there, while weaving wild fantasy stories featuring us two, naturally. Took more photos, played treasure hunt, saved a few caterpillars, though not sure they wanted to be. Went to dad and did some more official bird watching. Than went to mom and grandma, talked and talked and worried about the world.ran after dad as he called us orchid hunting, up the slippery slopes and boulders, and found some : ) took some more photos and saw butterflies. Than my brother became sleepy, so I and father set watching the birds go to roosts, in the tranquil  place facing the beautiful lush forest in front.and were joined by mom. We also took turns counting face formations in a big rock in front, i had the highest count, of 10. : )

At night, we went around in a 4 wheel, to may be see a bear, in that still night, as we set waiting on its usual path, slowly a darker spot emerged on the dark landscape, though it was still early in the night. it moved and kept moving towards us. I had seen 3 bears on my previous visit to this jungle, but this sighting was one brilliant happenstance, i had to keep focusing manually on him, as the guide was very particular about not frightening him by any sudden moves/noises and light, so the powerful torch was kept off.but as it inched close, the dim flash light of my mobile, which was on thanks to my brother in the covered back of the car,i was able to keep the focus more accurate. Well, one can’t focus while being perpetually blind! I was leaning out a little, and slowly, and slowly, we came near, or say, he did, he was a young male, around 5 years, just attaining adulthood. searching for more food he happened up to try sniffing under the car a little, and that brought us pretty much nose to nose, only separated by some 3 feet, or  so .I , of course, stopped taking photos, while every one else pressed on me to have a closer look, i tried to lean back inside the car body as i was pretty much out and my upper body in full clear hit able range. He grunted once ferociously, it was something that would make your heart leap, it made my brother drop the mobile, while i just continued to stare at him, he remained in easy reach distance for quite a while, so i did take a few shots, and he very generously provided me with this full front one. I remember thinking at the time that he  was giving it to me because i hadn’t been annoying and hadn’t  taken his photos while he was too near. ( i could have worked with my portrait lens, he was THAT near).

Ah ....isn’t life fascinating?

Tonight the night is not still and silent, tonight is the first night of the auspicious festival of dance, Navaratri. So till the ninth night from tonight, the music and the dance will go on till the early wisps of the light of dawn gathers in the eastern sky. A great tribute will be paid to the forces of nature for nine long nights,the 9 forms of the goddess will be worshipped.

 Lots of love affairs will start as well, as it always does each year at this time. Well, well,well- you know, will all the excitements and late nights and dancing and getting dressed,it’s just natural :D who am i to comment.

One does hope for some splendid raas performances though, why not remember lord Krishna and his late night dances with the gopies and Radha.  My, i do love our festivals, i love everything here. If i were to leave here, i don’t know how i shall do it.

Some one is letting out some pretty evil laugh out on the next road,while the blare of music is rather tiresome, they used to sing better songs in the past.

I sound soo like a granny right now.

Talking of being a granny, my grandma told me about her childhood and how tings have changed since, she was born in 1944, and the English left India in 1947.she used to dream a lot about Gandhiji, as she had a strong desire to meet him, well my grandfather had had that opportunity, i wish i had interrogated him more thoroughly about it when i had the chance, though we had talked about it ,i had just let it slip by. It is a year, this month, since he passed away.

We miss you grandfather. May be you met some amazing souls out there though.

Grandmom told me about the incident with the king of Bhavnagar, and a small farmer, as india was a democratic nation,the first king to merge his kingdom was Krishna Kumarsinhji, of Bhavnagar state of that time. Than he was appointed the governor of madras, so, a farmer, had lost a bullock(most probably it had been stolen),  he didn’t know anything about there being a government now,a different rule, he only knew that if he had a problem, he should go and see the king, he went to Bhavnagar,(being from a small village in that state)found that the king was in madras and collecting the address, went there, laying open his problem. The king did have a mighty time making him understand the situation, but he did it, than bought him a return ticket, also gave him a letter to be given to some staff of his back home, and the farmer was given a brand new bullock for all that freedom the country had. See- we kind of had some great kings. Who actually did something, the politicians seem like a hopeless lot now.

The king of vadodara, the famous Sayajirav Gaekwad,the great patron of knowledge, had made it compulsory for everyone in his state to have basic 7-8 years of studies, in the time before freedom,so even the girls in the most rural villages knew how to read and write.the enlightened kings did do a lot, though, i can not say that there weren’t some pretty weird and odd ones. After all,there were 580 princely states here, they all can’t be good.

She also told me about her trips in a train engine,in the last compartment of a goods train with the guard,and in the ferries that towed the maharaja-a- bhavnagar’s luggage to and fro when he went to his summer retreat on the shiyal island near pipavav, as well as truck lifts used to give chase to buses that left without you, in those good old times when you could trust people,and the khadi cloths induced some respect in people.

A dear friend asked me,not long ago, about the situation between India and Pakistan, the question that seemed to torment his gentle soul being why we couldn’t look at each other in the way the outsiders did,wouldn’t it make things better? Perhaps the people of the two countries should take an outsiders perspective and focus on the their similarities than their differences. 

Well, one wishes to, it is not as if the civilians of the two nations want to keep barking at each other like mad dogs after one rabbit. We have a similar language, clothing, food and mannerisms. Actually, the people, are not so much opposed to each other as the politics would have you believe. The dirty gamer here is the Pakistani government, untrustworthy all around, now that America is learning it too, i don’t really need to elaborate, India had told them- over and over again, to not give such alot of financial support with a free hand, they’ve just gone and snuggled up with China, the dragon that lives to swallow everything up if given half a chance. What did anyone do when it ate up Tibet? All talk, while India still plays a glad host to the Dalai Lama. It has it’s eyes on Indian land, has had from a long time. Honestly, the weasel like ways of China are more worrying to me than the clumsy manoeuvres of Pakistan.Pakistan does have to be more careful about who it befriends.

While, it is not honestly possible for us to not look askance at Pak. Just consider- at this moment, right now, a  gun battle is raging on between our army and 2 remaining terrorists in Kashmir ,came over from Pak, of the total gang of 7.they have taken a huge chunk of Kashmir under them, and we’ve not taken it forcefully because we seem to be the only ones who listen to what UN says.with all the wars in the past, and than the dirty terror tactics that keep turning up everytime India initiates peace talks, really does make it easy for us to take any milder perspective on the situation. The thing is this, we are not out siders,we live as their neighbours. It does give you every first hand information which is never on international media, the millions of fake rupees that are inserted in to our economy each year by them, the fisher men captured from the shared ocean borders and kept in inhuman conditions in their cells, not to mention their almost blatant support to terror groups which constantly keep harassing us is not something that will induce any sort of liking for them. As it is out cities that are plunged in to upheavals, it is our solders that die in gun battles each month. Those are Indian kashmiri girls who are threatened on way to their schools to leave studying or they’d be killed, rape, murder and plunder, it is all happening to our people. It is not just some brief line in some news.

I have all sympathy with the Pakistani people, actually. India helped Pak, in the recent flood situation, and it keeps trying to solve things out, though their cosy ing up with china is ominous-i do not care for the amount of nuclear power there between the two, who didn’t notice the Pak nuk scientist’s letter to his wife in Sweden in news today?

They are banning Indian films there, saying it steals all of their profit and makes people neglect watching their own movies. I have sympathy for that, i understand that they have a rather valid reason and it can’t be held against them,though they could have asked for some sort of a fee and prevented the drastic measures . as the people of pak protest saying the only  other outside entertainment is eating out, why they should be prevented from watching good movies, (their words not mine) as the pak film industry doesn’t sprout up a good enough movie in anything less than 10 years.

The point is, we are not against everything that is Pakistan, we are against all that is Against India, that wishes it harm, and no , it is not possible to take an outsider’s view on the political situation, as long as greed is there, there will be conflict. Some might hold the impersonal opinion that if India gave up Kashmir,everything will be solved, no, it won’t be, it will just make us look weak,and they’d keep wanting more, after all,India doesn’t have to behave like the most nicest boy in the school, doing just right and not making any one sad. Well, they always said- in each war- that they’d reach Delhi by the next day..hello.. yeah,like  we’d let you.

But, personally, i hate wars.

So, can’t they just stop turning beautiful Kashmir in hell, and make it an amazing tourist destination and split the earnings! Yey!

Err... sorry,..... just that, i shouldn’t get started on politics, i have a big opinion about everything.

I hope you enjoyed the different tones of this post. Now back to worrying about those exams!

Good night people : ) a bat is shrieking out side.good luck to every one, including me.

Drunkenness and headaches.

Here are black words, sprouting from God knows where on this silly white fake page.. err,, or can it be called real in  some awesomely horrid way of thinking?

I probably don’t agree with myself here.

Hello! People! Hullo!

There, there.

I am drunk.

Drunk with happiness.

Yeah

You can be drunk,

Even without having consumed a drop of alcohol.

It is easy really,

What is drunkenness any way?

An oblivious and utterly happy state of mind and disposition,

Which keeps you in paroxysms of bouts of laughter and joy.

I have to say, that my brother is the best travel buddy,

If he ever went on dates, the poor girl with him would probably fall in love at the first go. :P

Or it is just me who makes him as crazy as me.

So let’s make it a bit clear,

It is , as i said, easy to be in a state which can be called drunk,

Though not necessarily with alcohol.

We all become drunk after a wonderful Sunday lunch,

You just have to look in on us, you will be assured of it.

 This  time it was a light dinner, some disgusting coke, and a yummy and last scoop of ice cream , vanilla+strawberry , shared between 5 – and mostly between two, two on their best drunk behaviour.  Licking the spoons and ogling cops that looked with wonder at us two. it would be more like acting akin to some 10 year olds who got hold of a full ice cream van. jostling each other a little, with steps that fell out of line, ice cream was never more satisfying. It is a great thing that it was the last cup, added some beauty to it.

(i don’t know what is there to be liked in a coke! )

Oh , did i mention? The light dinner had followed a wonderful water and laser light show at the gandhinagar Aksherdham temeple.

Gosh,i am overcome a by a sudden need to drop dead,

Or erm that is to say,

To go to sleep.

I seem to be passing out!

Alright, i have no clue what came over me,i know i was pretty  much tired,and very very very happy.

So does happiness exhaust one? So much so  that I couldn’t even control  my self. I don’t remember being so tired that i fall asleep so fast,and slept like a log the whole night, getting up at 8:30 am!

This doesn’t happen even when i am climbing in the Himalayas!

Enough said!

Any how, question, why do Americans always say “may God bless America?” and don’t include the whole of the world?

Anyhow, so the stories i wish to tell start from the day before yesterday.

I was working –or meaning to work hard, on last Saturday, and then around 4 just HAD to take a nap, i had a dream, a rather fantastic dream, which included parts of the natural treasures of India,Africa, northern Europe and Australia, (don’t the biologists WISH! )

I was around 14, my brother was a small mite and my favourite cousin brother was with me,i was lecturing them on the beauties of nature , flora and fauna, of our surrounding region as i always do when ever i can get my hands on those two, ( they are  scared of my that form at times yes) –considering that it was totally new area for me, no reliable information can be found on the reliability of my knowledge and account at the time, poor dears. (see, we were in the Australian hills. If there is  such a place, dry, taller trees than the ones found in Gir area, and deciduous )-so in short we were talking- me talking they obediently listening- and this sort of whistling + drumming noice started. Some type of warning signal, i looked and there emerged a feeling in my heart alike the one that a scientist must feel while observing something pretty horrendous but new. There, on the slop of the hill next to us, came a moose at a run, pursued by some bloodthirsty, football fanatic kangaroos, there also was a graphic scene of the moose falling down, it’s eyes bulging almost out of their sockets, and the kangaroos, performing their score kicks on it’s long neck, than it jumped back on it’s feet and continued running through the parched wood, they were followed by more bloodthirsty hyenas, the stripped Indian ones, teeth clinking, salivating and furious ,both at the moose and the kangaroo, and this whole procession, interestingly, was followed by a bunch of Australian aboriginals, with long spears in their hands, and an oddly African attire and makeup – the war make up of course. they even looked like the bushmen, but a LOT bigger. This whole crowd was dotted here and there by Aussi forest guards, trying to disperse them, or fight them off. The kids with me were scared, i told them that, it was just a show, a part of the resort’s amusement based on their forest culture (?),the resort, btw, was on top of the hill, on which we were holding our meeting. Seeing the aboriginals procceed to kill some of the forest guards and the running animals (as they all seemed to be running from them, as well as trying to kill each other at the same time), my opinion changed drastically, and than it dawned on me that the aboriginals has rebelled, they wanted their land back, it was their time again, and they’d probably want to roast and eat each and every none-aboriginal bum on the land.

 I bravely cried, “ run children, RUN” and i made sure they did by dragging them along by hands, we needed to reach the main hall, (why not our room? ) and meet the others there, as it was barricaded, but the time was short, i could almost feel those cannibal, African Australian aboriginals in their war attire at my back, we ran and ran,.... than my brother came to wake me up, i had told him to not to let me sleep more than an hour!

Well, i’d have liked to see the end of that particular dream. So interesting was it.

So, there goes the hope of dreaming up grand elevations for my apartment project. When i was supposed to be working on that, i was busy dreaming of 3 different continents  and was being invaded by all the savagery at leisure.

The next day saw me in ahmedabad. Happy, chatty and in high spirits, i am usually in high spirits, or i am blazing angry :P take your pick. May be that is what has made me this tired again today.

I almost dropped dead right now.

It is becoming a challenge, i have almost been an online “no where to be seen” too ,from the last two days.

Well, foot ware, a passion, an obsession, a compulsion, err, nooo,, not necessarily, not unless they were something utterly unique, & i found something utterly unique, it is something that i have had a photo of as a desktop picture for almost a year or a two. It is a white satin, tie up shoes. I tried, honestly did

Can’t any more, i have to go to sleep, more will have to wait till tomorrow, good night

As   i was saying last night, i honestly did try not buying them, those wonderful, white satin tie ups, will a 1 and a half inch heel. Not bad! I said i wasn’t interested, when the shopkeeper said that the only remaining pair was my size, i looked here and there, and said no i had enough shoes for the time being, and no more should i keep. I walked out, out of the store and out of that particular street, resolute that it will not be bought. Than mom asked me why i looked so downcast, and i said it was the design that i had been searching for from ages. That one beautiful dream pair- almost- but simply couldn’t buy them, how many shoes does a person need? 

All she did was to walk back all the way and get it, wrapped in a news paper as i am particular about not ever taking a plastic bag.

Don’t I love her! 

I wish monsoon rains will now be over, and that winter will start, not that rains are not lovely, but you know, we’ve had them , and now we again want out sun, and with all the water and mud gone, i can wear all the new shoes that i have and am not able to wear, i am still wearing some absolutely old, tattered pair, because of the spoiling effect the monsoons have on footwear. 

We were to meet my mother’s two girlfriends there, we all came back home in her car,it was a fun time at home, we all inspected our small garden, made some yummy snacks and induced dad to eat in the afternoon, went to inspect my door at the temple, and so on, finishing with the customary photoshoot. a shoot that included some bulls and flowers as well as us.

Than the water and laser show comes in to the picture, I and brother sat in the front row, pretty much near the place where it all went on, and slowly, almost magically, the mists were let out, and similarly, a green jet of laser light was shot through, making the mists become wavy plains, everything became almost 3 dimensional,  and after that, the show was awe inspiring, all the colours of the rainbow could be found , the shimmering plains, floating high above your head, and you wonder, what would happen if i could just touch it? How would it feel? While you know that it is jus water particles pierced through with light, photons and H2O is all there is, you fully expect something more than just dampness. You expect there to be a woolly fuzzy feel, something solid, like a loving granny’s hair.  You also expect magic, you expect that- if you could some how get your hand in that wave of shimmer, you will probably be able to retrieve some pixie dust. I understand that i probably won’t be able to describe how beautiful the show was, (well there was a story interwoven , of nachiketa, well you can not help it, it was made by a temple after all- if it were in science city, than it would be another matter)not that i mind the story, that particular story is very true. As far as philosophy goes, i like it. What i didn’t like much was the brainwashing they do in the end, for their Swaminarayan cult, but any how, they are hosting it so.

There were bolts of fire and jets of water, and an almost full moon, and from where we were perched, we could almost assume that the glorious, colourful and shimmering water jet , with all it’s intricate designs, would hit the moon from below and sent it shooting through the stars, and i and brother would gasp when ever it hit the moon. The fountains, were almost like the dancing fountains show at the science city (almost as awe inspiring – i love it) but they had the lasers to accentuate their beauty, actually, here, the fountains weren’t that brilliantly made, but it was all about the mystic environ created by the water mist and the laser and light that profuse it with tints and shines, with colours so brilliant and vivid, that you almost feel  spellbound.

So, as the lasers and fountains danced, shrouded by the mist, i could almost fancy that i was on the north pole, witnessing some brilliant plays by the aurora, or that i was some where far out in space, seeing a black hole suck up all the light, or seeing a start, a galaxy being made. You could imagine any of those ,& you will feel that you were just there,  you only have to cut out all the people ..

Than came dinner, it is a nice place to dine, but it goes on for only about 45 minutes and than they close down, the whole campus seems deserted, the departure of people is so fast,every table was full, when i and brother went to get the ice cream, and when we returned (after having the outlet doors being shut on our backs) the whole place was occupied by us and one another family. So, than we walked out, on the main walk, lighted by dim lights low on the side pavement, behind us the huge temple stood, it’s big spot lights which render it wholly golden now shut, in the shroud of night, only gleaming a bit in the moonlight, we, two utterly happy children of our parents and the earth, went about without breaking in to a song, because we were licking ice cream off our spoons, the three friends walked ahead, a bit more sane than us i suppose, and we proceeded to give ice creamy smiles to all the security guards as we passed out of the great doors.

Those three, were going to be driven about in the big car by the chauffeur, and of course, we didn’t care for that, not when we had the scooter! Yey!

I said i’ll be taking the most deserted road , the one that wound out of the town and circled it, with the big nature park sprawling on it’s side, a beautiful road, more so on a night like that. Well, you can not compare anything with on scooter chats under a full moon, while the car chose to go a bit ahead of behind us,  the road, though perfectly safe, is rather lonely. Well, it only gave us a sense of having a sort of a royal body guard he he..

So,, thus a beautiful night ended.  I am angry with my brother at the moment, but he is still most wonderful and lovely to talk with on a scooter.

·         I would also like to add, that , my birthday gifts are still trickling in slowly, a book by my cousin, “johny gone down” a very interesting book that i haven’t read much yet.  A wand, from Warner bros, Harry’s wand that is- i Love it- from a friend, and a beautiful, beauuuutiiifull pearl bracelet from my friend. I adore it. I love pearls  and stones. 

    and yes, how can i forget to mention, my beautiful, lovable, and sleek laptop? it's cherry red and it's awesome, though, not a strict necessity,  but i've had enough bouts of guilt about it. my professors just HAD to see the stuff on my laptop, requirements are sometimes quite futile,

any way. i adore it.

 

I guess i shall finish this now.

the hungry blog

well,for the time being,Just today mind you,I honestly have no idea how a rainbow tastes like,I wonder- may be a little like currents?

so what is all this about?well,I asked my self, when the 74 year old person has been fasting for 6 days now, why not try and see how it feels for only 24 hours?Even in the memory of the grand experiments held by Gandhiji, why not! in addition, I can also show my love and respect for Krishna, the most Fun God, really. Today being his and my brother's birthday, as per our calender. why not pray and hope today, for a better world.why not show my support for a nation full of concerned people who still understand and value the doctrines of  peaceful protests-with zero incidence of violence in the long on going protests.the discipline makes me proud.

Not that I am doing something amazing, many people will be fasting today, the thing about the religious fasts that I do not like is the way they go about munching on delicacies made without the flour the whole day through.I mean , what's the point? those foods are mostly more fattening than the usual ones.anyhow not a morsel of food shall pass my lips, for today :D

I have gone without food,on many occasions, mostly when I am faced with a whole day climb/trek. you can't do it with a full stomach, but it is different, one is always guzzling down lemonade or chocolates. one is also doing something besides the usual. and one is definitely not cooking! while- today, I had to cook, of course, and that felt like torture at first , but that my senses stopped clamouring and I started feeling content by only filing my nostrils with the aromas,  which felt positively thick and divine.it was more felt at the start, Hunger, but now I am feeling perfectly well, I am not even hungry, unless I ask my self very seriously, the good thing that I observed is, rather than lulling you in to submission, the empty stomach just sharpens every sense, you are more attentive and concentrated, may be the hopes and prayers will be more coherent, May be those Hungry children in Africa will receive some help-in the mad scheme of the universe you can not know how things work.that said, I think I should finish the homework today too.

so here is a tiny blog with a tiny hope, of a better world and lots of love.
Amen.

one way-http://help-international.org/ 

p.s. I am sure I will ENJOY the first bite,something juicy and luscious !mmm...

a silver line of hope

Darling Angel!- yes you,the one who's reading this.  
hello & welcome,thank you for visiting my blog, a journal that I, pretty Infrequently write.

I have been suffering from the lack of inspiration,inclination and most of all-time. sometimes I wonder - how could I allow life to become so common-paced ?it is not that it shouldn't be though,but it should also be something different,something awe-inspiring and magical,ethereal and enchanting enough to take my breath away every moment.

though, if I am fully honest- it is ,take for an example,the rain, it has been coming down here quite frequently,making the trees go all dark barked,the leaves dark green with pale undersides & making the general appearance of our local countryside resemble the English one:) when i look out of the window in front,I expect the trees to start swaying,the thunder to sing and that dance would be something amazing,I do not know why,but I love the clap of thunder,I also expect something amazing to poke it's head out of the mist shrouded scene, of tall towering trees,pale and whispering, I sometimes catch my breath,just imagining the kind of creatures that might dwell there,if given half a chance,of witches on broomsticks and dragons with fiery breath.I admit, i dream of stumbling through dark enchanted forests wearing a long white dress or red or something cream,shimmering like moonlight,while the practical mind does step in a bit and suggests that - finding exotic creatures in the depths of a forest might require wearing something more sensible,but who wants to be sensible,nothing compares to the swirl of silk around the base of a tree,a sparkle of a jewel here and there,dark eyes drinking in the beauty of nature,and wind playing  in long hair,marvelling,wondering,travelling, running and stumbling-laughing and staggering just for the fun of it.nothing compares,believe me.though I am yet to try. I only need a mossy forest,a dark or semi dark hour and a beautiful dress.though  a camera sounds amazingly tempting for interesting results.

this doesn't even come close to what I mean.

 

oh, I mustn't go on & on about my dream of a forest,& believe me I have many, I meant to tell you also about my birthday,the wonderful day on which I became 22.

the day overflowed with books,literally, & also with some fine things,& flowers! how can I forget flowers,I had been wishing for flowers -that's what I got.

 I will have to start - the list is not in any "liking" order.
a slam book,a bracelet & beautiful flowers.

a silk purse, a lovely bracelet,& a tiger brooch,my aunt.lots of flowers & blessings as well as monetary wealth,grand mom.


two lovely dresses,white and royal blue,bought at the last possible minute-because my original "new birthday dress" was utterly ruined,my mom is very generous.


a bronze & mother of pearl apple,openable,my brother,the lovable.

the Queen of England Vol.1 a first Addition of 1843 with golden letters,bearing a sentence "to a once & future queen" ( if you are in any doubt- I AM boasting- I simply can not help it)

a wonderful Kangaroo skin hand crafted book mark,and a painting of the Australian coast-fridge magnet-which always draws my eyes when ever i pass it,making me wonder at the beauty.

a terribly wonderful book,called "my family and other animals" utterly charming and Delightful,like me, as per the book's opinion."the remains of the day"-the delights of it are yet to be sampled by me,chosen carefully for me because it was published in the year i was born,1989. isn't that lovable?

my annual shopping of shoes,just before my birthday, of course! 

& the big stock of books bought for me from mom and dad,second hand but that is what makes them more valuable.

Imperial Blandings.
Doctor Sally.(r)
The Subtle Knife.(r)
All Roads Lead to Ganga.
Landour Days.
I seem to be well stocked for the time.
some really lovely cards,hand made and other wise.I treasure those.
I know , I know, it must seem quite shallow to be listing the gifts I received.well,I am only counting my blessings,while I still hear the far cry,of the wishes still stuck on the way, I know,& I thank you for those:) while the post has been a source of anxiety for me from a while, things that I sent out haven't reached,and i HATE that.

I haven't posted photos of each thing separately this time, it seemed like taking "talking about gifts" too far.


And as for what I actually did that day,wore new cloths after the chores, went to the music class,gave some unknown kids chocolates,planted seeds,met my school time friend,just stayed with loved ones in general, and at night, we went out for dinner,where,amazingly, live music was going on, and to top it all, they played summer of 69!! I was SO thrilled(made my blood run fast, i was remind of the BA Concert in Bombay , I love the energy of it-and getting to sing it along in real was again a treat), it was indeed the best thing to have happened, i was so happy, that at the end of the song, I went and gave the group leader a firangi pani flower off the tree that grew there, thanking him for the wonderful music.there couldn't have been anything better to wrap up my birthday, though we did have the most wonderful Italian dinner with great conversation. I am very thankful to every one for making that day  special for me.




I have a new interest,reusing transparent plastic bags by making them the covers for paperback books. 


my heart was crying out when out trip to the Himalayas had been cancelled, this August.well it still is, but now it does seem to have a more sensible cause than just an important meeting in office that father must attend(!) (read sarcasm) - the roads are all blocked up because of heave landslides on the route that we would have taken,from the last few days and still are, that would have made returning on time impossible and returning safely questionable.I had been telling my self at the start that there must be a reason,beyond my understanding at the time,for the cancellation, and so there is. 


that doesn't stop my heart to want to be there. The Himalayas, the Enchanting land, land of Gods and fairies, if you are once infected, there is no curing you,no medicine in the world would give you your heart back,which obviously is dangling on one of those snowy peaks. the land of inspiration, fruitful earth, in with everything blossoms to it's full beauty,even humans. the land of old legends and real mystical powers, where- undoubtedly, creatures which seem only mythological dwell. oh how I long to Embrace you. to drink your nectar through the crisp, freezing air,so that when I am back on these great planes ,  I can still feel the essence of you in my body.the empowering kind.


I love our great grass planes enough!!!! never think that I don't. there is nothing like them really, not even the mountains,those two are two different entities with serious importance attached to them.I think I would feel pretty frustrated if I were not have the blazing sun over me.the golden , shimmering,fragrant land- with hot sun and shades of fire.


isn't nature wonderful?


and thus, there is still hope for me, my mortal mind, this life that I am leading, there is still hope, there is a silver lining.
p.s. I believe I will be adding later on on the gift list. if the post people are not too annoyed with me.

this vacation.travels,experiences, people and me.

so, I told myself, "are you ever going to write now or not?" , my  only excuse is that three trips and a vacations seem like an overwhelming subject to write off in one post. it is not as if  i have not been trying. (now 4)

here's one attempt-

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I am sitting besides my brother, holding a book and commenting how I cannot remember who Richard is, wondering aloud if he is the same character I think he is from P.S I love you.  While I did not expect my brother to know, who at that instant was engrossed in a computer game as it were, I do still talk about it to him. As he talks about his enemies and allies and guns in games with me, while I just glaze over , we love to talk.

My memory of the book is rather faded and I am going to have to go over- the cause- the trip. So many memories and  a whole regency romance book consumed in between. While urging my brother to again take up reading “the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” which he has been reading on and off from quite a while, I decided to write a bit.

There is still the small brown and white kitten out there somewhere in our garden. it’s been distracting me since morning. I could only manage a few shots in the early morning, after that it has successfully evaded the lens. While I do get quite near and all, but it just looks away when I get the camera out. I put out milk and it’s mother came and drank it, good that, for I was seriously considering having to take it in. well, it will be happier free, and I am not a cat person after all, no matter how cute they look.

I think it must have been an ostrich in its last life

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 updates on that pre life ostrich - i managed to capture it :) and not only one good shot either yuppiee.

see it? -

http://magicaldiva.deviantart.com/art/cute-cat-213675184

first trip – (warning- this is more like even notes)

Gandhinagar-Jammu- 1500 Km- two days one night in the train, boredom, games,stupidities, truth and dare and teasing,heat and discomfort, shortage of water,whistling idiots when you get down to get water,starers, talkers,lots of kids and card games,useless audio books as you can't hear a thing in that hub hub,strangers travelling with you who buy you salads which you are apprehensive to eat,silly boys who ask you to "please ask that girl's name in the next compartment" while they are under the impression that you are 15 or 16,so a friend, you disillusion them but still go and get an introduction, that particular girl in the next compartment calls you over for an extensive chat as she is bored witless too,talks of some intelligence with their trainer,but with none other, a brother who sleeps a lot, all in all, fun.

Jammu- stepping off the train at a small station, declaring to the world that it was your first step in that state,glimpses of the far away snowy peaks,the usual big station confusion, the realization of being somewhere with a lot of security and guns,first bomb shell- pre paid mobiles don't work for security reasons, (lending a blissful serenity as far as mobile calls are concerned, no one can reach you), frenetic search for a phone booth,than having one just beneath your hotel room owned by a pleasant old gent, a bath that felt amazing after such a long time :P,bad food,good company.

Jammu day 1- confusion and more, heat, sightseeing, photography, history and shops, getting a little lost, plus a few temples thrown in, dangling our feet in the cooling waters of river tavi, rescuing a pen, seeing some one slip in to the water, always being the last to come back because of being busy taking photos, misplacing the flowers I had taken from a cave temple for my mom, looking for them everywhere while checking out, the phone booth gentleman coming to help in searching for he thought they were special in a personal way, finding them in my pocket at last :P buying walnuts also with the good meaning advice about quality from the old friend. :D

Jammu Days- sports authority lodgings, meeting people from so many states, fights, performances, photo shoots and national champions, lunch and dinner queues , horrible tea and the absence of milk L ,  karate player that asks you worriedly what is wrong when you run around in a big building- on the deserted floors, apparently in so much hurry as if the devil himself is behind you, while what you are really doing is giving in to a whim to run while searching out your brother while half knowing he will be on the floors below, odd balls, people falling asleep on chairs before their fights, my own brother struggling to stay awake before his fight (the nerves make them sleepy :P ) , cheering ,screaming and booing is a lot more fun when you are doing it, the master flirt who tries to get to you through little brothers asking them recipes and numbers to get it when you don’t chat with them, stories of previous tournaments, the medal ceremony and celebrations with the team, leaving at night for Manali on the third night.

Jammu-Pathankot-111 Km – a night at the Pathankot bus stop, a surprisingly clean station, interesting experience that :D my first.

5 am bus to manali – 341 Km , reached at 5 in the evening, the bus ride included the transfer from the planes to the magnificent views of valleys and mountains, rivers and streams, dense forests, and at nearing the end, the amazing snow topped summits accompanied by the pleasant coolness – we had left the heat behind, the mountains awaited us.

Manali-1-discovering our hotel, a small nice place facing the river with a little temple and lots of red roses, first day trek to Jogini falls, going off the trail and getting stuck/making paths through bushes and brambles on steep wet land, which is of course more fun, cute furry dogs that become your guides, female dogs that distract them mid way, cool breezes accentuated in temper because of perspiration wet cloths, reaching the grand falls, rainbows , slowly but surely, getting down to it, and somehow making it behind the falls without breaking your neck, being ecstatic and totally washed out by the mist and water spray, being horribly cold but loving it, (icy water and breezes plus cotton shirts :P ) shouting at the top of your voice, following the normal trek back, learning how to make rushing water look like spun silk in the photos ( first time for me), beautiful flowers, hunger and the joy of it, getting back in town, honey butter cake, amazing flowers in people’s gardens which bore signboard saying “100 Rp fine for plucking flowers”, Vashisth temple with hot water springs, litcheess –utterly delicious, walking for Miles before reaching , a light lunch, a small trek through the campsite to Hidamba temple, watching the annual sacrifice ceremony’s start, dance and celebrations accompanied by sounds and drums that made children nervous, while dark clouds rolled in and lighting became a bit frightening, a walk back through high oak trees which are preserved around the temple, pitch dark , children clinging to my arms dreading a ghost attack any minute, a walk back to the hotel postponing the shopping expedition.

2- early start for rohtang pass, amazing scenery, wishing I could walk it all- the maximum pleasure in the Himalayas is usually on the way than at the destination, wild horses, beautiful sunrise, magical forests, mad traffic, traffic jam up there :P ,climbing to madhi on short cuts , (the last destination, the snow hadn’t melted enough for the road to open till Rohtang pass) ,writing names in snow walls, climbing and summit a Himalayan mountain top (not the whole of course) without ropes and with hiking shoes on ice, (at something around 3,400 ft), snow flowers, learning to climb/walk on snow without slipping much, sliding, meeting traders of fake Kasturi, -good people note- there were huge tire tubes midway on the ice, where they let you slid down on it for 50/- , I was just slowly walking my way down , absorbing the upper reaches which we had just descended , without any kind of annoyance in form of people, and thinking why would I want to go down there where there were masses, when the tube man asked me if I’d like to slid, I didn’t ,he insisted that I do, I still didn’t ,so he went- “ I won’t take your money and I insist that you go” “but I cannot go on it for free , really” –, “you are like my daughter , do come and sit – I am not taking you money, but I insist that you go and not wear yourself out”,

So, you know “err okay, thank you very much” what else could I say anyhow, the ride which lasted only a few seconds was pretty exhilarating, while I struggled to keep my top from being stuck between the edge and the snow, (it was an old one which my mom used to wear when she travelled to cold places) , while I did miss walking down, it was a new thing to do, and I did pay him half the sum, I gave it to his helper down town while he shouted no from up :P and we waved goodbye.  Yaks, overly priced food and coffee which did feel heavenly after the excursion, while I hate coffee usually, the walk back down, watching the winding road while dark threatening clouds advanced on the mountain tops, bringing with them the realization of the actual cold- which had been held at bay by the harsh sunlight up there. As exhausted children fell asleep, I watched each passing scene wide eyed, trying to memories it all, hold it in my heart till I visited the mountains again, the indescribably beautiful terrain, which is not explained or talked of, but only felt. It needs to be sniffed ,touched, heard, sensed and looked on-each small aspect dissected and felt with a mind and heart brimming over with thankfulness and love, a feeling of calm and peace invades, as ones looks on the mighty one’s beauties, it is a slight mesmerizing of the spirit, you feel so joyous, and it just stops short of making you want to cry, but cry you do not, because you’re more awed than that. it is that amazing.

The same day was fraught with considerable pleasure and excitement, like river crossing,

Video here- http://youtu.be/1m6BOtJaDSU

Shopping – dry fruits, gifts for friends, sampling interestingly hued woolen caps while conversing merrily with the shopkeeper, buying something for my brother- discussing politics with that shopkeeper, buying a breathtaking fabric for mom as her birthday gift, conversing with the shopkeeper and his helps along with helping other guys choose things for their beloved females, I actually liked that place so much that I just might order stuff from there, amazing designs and bearable prices. cherries and ice cream. And the most interesting shopping- looking in at every single jewelry shop that came en route. Of course we went everywhere on foot no matter how far it was, that is the only way to get to know a city. we miss out too much when we don’t walk. The tourist city offers some amazing collection as far as silver jewelry is concerned, though you have to know what you are looking at or it is easy to be fooled. I had all the time in the world, something I don’t usually have while shopping, it felt like a big luxury in itself. Pearls, cats eyes, turquoise, moon stone, jade, Zircon, Aventurine and many more, I love stones and I was having a lot of fun.

a few random ones of the many shots of the mountains.

  

3- the day of departure, saw me ,brother and another team senior dashing out early for the last minute fruit shopping for every one- peaches flowing with juice and some cherries that we finished on our walks to and fro to find the precious litchis , and finding only the last 500 grams in the whole town, which we simply divided between us, though this way we got to see the local vegetable market, gaining some knowledge in some local veggies, the early morning also saw me making my first really big purchase for myself that is,, I bought myself a piece of  jewelry, something for my birthday, as mom said on phone, so hurrah on that. I will probably be wearing it all day that day.

The bus took us-my heart crying out saying goodbyes to the mountain tops, and in the evening , the great Indian plains came in to view, the next morning saw us in Delhi, near the front gate of Delhi Akshardham, I travelled in the metro for the first time, we stayed at a temple rest quarters, and went to the Tibetan bazaar, which was just rows of small shops selling cloths for men, nothing amazing, but in the last corner shop in the basement I found a Tibetan red and turquoise string bracelet. I am a lover of big antique designs and stones. buying A gift for father and stopping the seniors from getting us all kicked out with some nasty Tibetan kicks on our backsides by pulling them out while they were engrossed in flirting with the cute shop girl there, she kept looking at me- I am not sure if she wanted help or if she was wondering what I was doing with the gang of hooligans from hell- while the boys were pretty oblivious to the rising annoyance of the Tibetan males around us.

Anyhow, the next evening saw us home. Relief , and pleasure.

I also went to the beach with my cousin and tried my hand at being a zombie, - http://youtu.be/aXNKQJYJ2U8

Took lots of photos –while being totally amazed by the unexpected beauty of that particular beach. Went to the farm for a day and came back the next.

Another 4 day trip to Abu, did some heavy trekking in those mountains, saw my first sloth bears and Indian Badgers (very rare to spot in the wild), 3 specimens of both the species, very much near to the kitchen of the place we’d stayed at. (sitting out late on the out cropping of a rock with the camera at the ready on the tripod, after a grueling day full of trekking), As well as swarms of birds, so many of them for the first time, watching them only by sitting still or lying under the big banyan tree-the beloved place of the birds- I haven’t even come around to posting their photos yet. I do not know if I will. Eating the jungle berries, making friends with the caretaker’s children. Getting stuck on a hanging boulder- I got there alright by jumping and bumping myself in the huge crack that divided it from the main rock body, but seeing no possibilities of getting back the same was, as the disconnected edge of the rock body was higher than the edge of the boulder, with the gap – it was not possible for me to go back the same way, it was interesting how I slithered under thorn bushes to get out of that situation. I was trying to connect my mobile to a stray wi fi some where there, by the way. That trip was beautifully pleasant and full of adventure.

Then came the last one, to Pune, Ahemadnagar,

Good things about it-

Getting to go somewhere yet again with my brother.

Lush green valleys and mountains cut by flowing streams and tiny waterfalls, watching them in the morning from the moving train. Lots of tunnels, cool and dark, lovely weather. Green- everywhere.

Seeing a brilliant dance performance and getting- as I think- some amazing shots. Some lovely flower shots

Time with the team, getting to know them more, (mostly with the 2 seniors though) making friends and talking till late joking (half dreading having to go to sleep)

Brother winning a medal.

One and only decent shop in that town, a pastry shop, to which we went to celebrate the victory, that being the only relief in the sequence of “without sugar” food of the place.
the football+basketball matches we played in the basketball ground to while away the time,which included a water bottle filled with sand,each team trying to kick it in their round area near the basket and than getting 3 goes at basket it with hands. we won :D

The dreadful things about it- awful food, more awful lodgings and big rats, big mosquitoes and big bed bugs, enough said.

Anyhow , it’s all over now, and as someone nice said- bad memories and experiences sometimes make for the most inspiring writings, I am going to keep this already funny seeming episode well remembered.  My vacation is going to be over soon too, next Monday I resume college, the temple door project is shaping up and I am going to buy the timber tomorrow if all goes as planned, the carving is finalized, the funds almost ready, I simply can’t wait for my first baby project to shape up!

That is all for now folks, good night from me sitting in a distant land where it hasn’t rained today. The wind is dead and we may expect a drizzle by morning.

I promise a better composed entry the next time. Thank you for reading, I’d fully understand if you don’t :D