Delhi and Mumbai!

 Looks like this blog has become an annual affair for me. Not liking the speed with which I m uploading stories and thoughts here. Perhaps that's the beauty of this city, you do nothing and still it keeps you busy forever. 

As the title says m going to compare the two cities that are very close to my heart. And yes, this of course is a favourite subject of debate among the people from these two cities. Aah Delhi! I miss you so... But do I really miss delhi? I guess not. I miss the food and the people. Ya ya I know that Mumbai people will jump on this sentence. 'cos for them delhites are loud, brash, rude and what not. They are the biggest show-offs on this earth! Partially this all maybe true but one thing Mumbai people fail to see is that Delhites have got heart. Once they accept you in their life, they will be with you and stand by you come what may. They know what friendship is 'cos for them there are no boundaries no restrictions for friendship. Unlike Mumbai people who are more concerned about not missing 5.45 pm train when there is another train for the same route every 10 minutes. One thing Mumbai is not short of is People. Rest all is scarce. Plenty of options here! Have you ever tried to analyse the crowd that's seen everywhere? It's individuals walking together. Everyone is alone here. But yes from the face of it, it seems that they all are together. 

Having said that, doesn't mean that I hate Mumbai. I love the soul of this city. It has its own charm, it's own attraction. It entices people of all moods and absorbs them. As they say, it's a city of dreams. Millions come here to fulfil their dreams and become a part of the crowd like the waves in Arabian Sea. This city makes you independent and fearless. This city breaks your spirit but does not allow you to give up. Oh no! Not yet!

 How can one miss out the monsoon! The best aspect of Mumbai. Wet, pouring, flooded yet running... That's how it is. It's not incorrect when somebody recalls the number of years s/he has been in the city with the number of monsoons s/he has witnessed. Oh! I love the monsoons here so much. Delhi can tease Mumbai with its chilly winters. Nothing is more wonderful than a long drive on a foggy December morning or eating kulfi at a roadside vendor in the middle of the night.

I was not born in any of these cities but I hv spent a significant part of my life in these two cities. You can easily figure out that my heart belongs to the people of Delhi. My take is ; make friends, learn to love and then learn the hard lessons of life. 'Cos these are also very important to become independent and strong. Live in Delhi first and then come to Mumbai. Otherwise you'll be just another indifferent person who sees other person as loud and show-off without realising  the presence of a beautiful heart behind those walls.

The falls, the pains and the conditionings

This blog is on my mind for the last two years. This thought dawned on me while climbing the stairs of Ta Keo temple in Cambodia and since then I have been thinking of penning it down, but never really did it. Perhaps everything happens when the time is right. Whatever it is, now I can't hold this thought in my mind without sharing it. So here it goes;

It was the first day and the 2nd temple visit on my trip to Siem Reap. There were fellow tourists of all age groups around. Same was the case that morning when I was admiring the view. Lot of people around. There were few kids who were running carelessly and at the same time group of men and women scared of each step. I myself was keeping my foot cautiously on every step. Why I was scared, what I was afraid of? When the place was same then why people had this different attitude? Why I wasn't like those kids, not afraid of falling or slipping?

I think the answer lies within all of us. It's the past conditioning, it's the pressure of doing everything 'the right way' that makes us so conscious that we are afraid to take another step. We are afraid of falling, more than pain, it's the shame that keeps us from taking the next step. And for many this is greater than every other fear and they stop exploring or venturing into the new altogether. Are kids not aware of failures, falls or hurt? They are! But for them the curiosity and pleasure of exploring the world is much more appealing than the hurt, the pain. But as we grow, we keep on piling the pain and shame in us. We forget the pleasure of curiosity and exploration and just remember the hurt and pain. Why can't we condition ourselves to remember pleasure only and forget the pain. And above all can't we take our failures just as failures and not be embarrassed of them? We just remember the pleasure that we got in the journey and if we fall then cry for a while , get up and again start running in the hunt of unknown pleasures.....

No words no vocab no grammar

I hv always been fond of traveling...meeting new people, trying different food and simply unwinding myself. The more I travel, the more I am happy. But lately I hv realised that I don't like languages. I don't like the music of words, I don't wanna understand and I even don't try to understand. To add to this, my English is very clumsy n am not so fluent in Hindi. U hv to choose carefully the words, the verbs, the adjectives to make sense. To add more to it, I never speak punjabi, my mother tongue... Now I understand, why I never felt uncomfortable n restless during the 10 day vipassana course.

Why do we need words? Is smile not enough ? Are expressions, gestures not enough to express your feelings. The universal language of smile works wonder wherever u r! Words just spoil the music. For me it does even worse, change the meaning of what I want to say or what I wanna express.

Lately I hv seen people who cannot hear or talk laughing much more as compared to us, the people who can hear and speak. They say that love has no language... yes I in believe this. Languages r polluted n words hurt. They take away the beauty of emotions, feelings. Words are brutal, words r violent. When u r silent, the universe speaks to u. U start understanding things more deeply. Because for understanding u need no words, no language. And for love u need no language... Cos the one who is loved needs no language to understand it. It is simply understood!

On way to Coorg...

A lone journey to a new place... I'm on roads alone after more than a year... Over last one year I've traveled a lot...sometimes with family, sometimes with colleagues, sometimes with friends, sometimes with strangers who became best friends, gang of bikers and many more. And yes alone as well but for official purpose. Not like this, in my own company to explore the unexplored... Just to travel, just to enjoy the journey and to discover myself once again..

The day started on not so happy note.. Booked a cab to bus stand but the driver didn't turn up on time.. He called late and irritated me canceled the booking and went to the nearby auto stand.. Lucky to get an auto comfortably (not to forget its office time). But nobody knew where exactly the TTMC bus stand is.. Not even the autowallah! As most of the autowallahs in Bangalore are, he also was weak with our common language - 'English'. I tried to explain again that I need to catch a KSRTC bus to Coorg. Then he asked again if I want to go to bus depot, and I said Yes! Thats where I want to go (wondered at times simple things are so difficult to explain).

The moment I entered the place I understood why nobody knows it by its name TTMC bus stand. It is new bus stand and most likely became functional just a week ago. No wonder it is not there on google maps or anywhere else for that matter. Not a single man was there on the platform from where I had to take the bus.. It is an astonishing thing to find an empty platform at 7.30 AM in the morning in a country like India.

Anyways... M sitting alone at this virgin, granite laid platform waiting for the conductor/ driver to come while writing this post... More to come as the journey unfolds...

"for some miseries in life, the only answer is - WAIT"

Why South East Asia?

4 splendid days in Cambodia, my second stint in SEA countries. Serene, beautiful and lovely place...Once again I came across loads of Europeans, Australians and people from rest of the world. And this time I was forced to think that What is so Special, so Enchanting about South East Asia that millions of people from different culture and ethnicity come here and live here, thousands of miles away from their homeland... This made me observe the simple little things about these countries that make them so special. Here are few of my observations -

• Climate - Tropical climate that is neither too hot nor too cold makes SEA a perfect place to relax. But yes rains make it difficult to go around at times.
• Beaches - What more do you want in life than a pristine beach with white sand and turquoise blue waves?
• Jungles, gardens full of trees not concrete - Places are so real and close to nature that you can spend you days simply walking around the place.
• Food - SEA has adopted world food with whole heart. Most of the restaurants serve food that is available in your road side deli. You name it and they have it. And yes who can forget the free flow of liquor.
• Economic - Be it food, homestays, hotels, hostels, things of daily need, everything is so cheap. Its a heaven for back-packers traveling on shoe-string budget. And if you want to taste luxury, they have the best of the options available.
• People - People are by far the sweetest and most humble. Simple, down-to-earth, Eager to learn about different cultures they welcome guests with open heart. They have seen hardships of life yet they'll always greet you with a smile :)

Like this there are many more reasons that make this place so special that whoever visit here once, definitely wants to come back again....

...IN THE END

Don't know where the life will take me in the next few years, don't know what I will be doing and where I'll be living in next 10-20 years. Its all very hazy and unclear. I have stopped planning things because life don't turn out as you plan it to be. Life simply is LIFE and it has its own plans for you.

Still when it comes to end, I see things pretty clear and simple. I see myself in a small neat one bedroom house on a beach. Yes, you heard it right, ON A BEACH!! Vast endless sea is visible from my room through the door sized glass windows. Every morning I wake up with chirping of Sea Gulls and every evening sun sets at the horizon. Spending my days reading books, cooking, sometimes listening to my favorite music. Every evening witnessing a new sunset sometimes hurriedly packing my stuff to rush inside and at times simply sipping coffee and enjoying the marvels of nature. Starry nights with moon-lit bed of water....What more to ask for?

And yes I also see myself making new friends with the loners or groups who come there in search of some quiet time, some soul searching, some peace. Sharing our stories and experiences. I visit the nearby market sometimes for basic necessities. By market I don't mean any mall or flashy departmental store....a simple roadside flea market where I meet people who are not running behind money, who are relaxed and want to live every bit of life rather than running behind it.

Why life has to be so complicated? Why we have to live in this concrete jungle? Why we can't live a simple peaceful life close to nature away from the cacophony of these evergrowing cities...

Mann bole ke rasmein jeene ka harjaana duniya dushman sab begaana inhe aag lagaana Mann bole mann bole, mann se jeena ya marr jaana

Photograph Courtesy: Photgraphy Talk (Jeanclaude Vankanban's album)