God blessed me!

Day 1 – 13th April 2007, Friday.

I DON’T WANA GO..I DON’T WANA GO.. was all I kept shouting to myself throughout the two-hour journey from Thane to Bandra terminus. My dad had planned a 10-day trip with family + unknown people. No friends. What’s the need?! I was already biting my nails having to get to know people which I’ve always thought of as a very bad idea. We reached the station and the train was already waiting for us. It looked liked a monster, taking me to some place horrible. Most of my time today was spent taking part in boring discussions about Indian Railways with the uncles and Marriages with the Aunty’s. I slept early. I wanted to wake up by 4am since we’d be entering Rajasthan then. The sun on the desert was not something you get to see everyday and it was my first time.

Day 2 – 14th April 2007, Saturday.

I missed the sight I’d so wanted to see. Noone woke me up. It had just started getting worse. All the kids were in my compartment when I came back from brushing my teeth waiting for me to play Antakshari with them. I didn’t get a silent minute till we reached Chandigarh in the evening. I was so exhausted, I don’t remember anything else apart from falling asleep thinking about the really tall hotel room ceilings and the huge beds which were made for a minimum of 12 people. I’d been falling asleep and waking up every 2-3 minutes in the train.


Day 3 – 15th April 2007, Sunday.

I really didn’t like Chandigarh much. It was hot, very hot…Boiling hot..!! We saw the Rose garden, Rock garden and the Mughal Garden. Unfortunately, I din’t like any of those places. Maybe it was just so hot that I couldn’t really enjoy all those places. But then, as the sun set, we went to see Sukhana Lake ( I’m not sure about the spelling). It was suddenly cold and there were suddenly a lot of good looking guys. We were to leave for Shimla next morning, so we couldn’t hang out anymore.

Day 4 – 16th April 2007, Monday.

The next morning we left for Shimla. The journey was initially really boring. After a couple of hours, it was getting so much better that I couldn’t even sleep after being in the bus for so long. We reached around 9pm and the view from room took my breath away. The entire city was lit below me like tiny stars and the ones in the sky made me think as though I was in between the stars. Just that with no lights in the room. I couldn’t sleep for a very long time.

Day 5 – 17th April 2007, Tuesday.

Naldehra golf club is one place I want every Indian to see. When you reach the topmost part you get a view which makes you feel as though you’re standing among the landscapes of Ireland. We visited Kufri after that which happens to be the topmost point in Shimla. After the sightseeing it was SHOPPING TIME!! We started at 1pm and when I next saw my watch it was 6pm! We shopped all through Lower and Upper Mall and also saw the Ridge. The oldest church in India is located there. I was waiting to go to my room again.


Day 6 – 18th April 2007, Wednesday.

We started with our 15 hour bus journey from Shimla to Manali the next morning. We had the Beas accompanying us throughout the journey, 99% of which comprised of Ghats. I was a bit curious about the river and its history so I asked our guide for some more information. He doesn’t like being awaken for this I’m sure because all he said was that the river has changed its course 13 times and every time it destroys 60km of land. I’m glad he stopped there. It was so dark when we reached, I couldn’t see a thing. I wished we were still in Shimla.


Day 7 – 19th April 2007, Thursday.

The next morning I woke up at 5am-something to some voices outside my room. I opened the curtains and what I saw made me stand there in shock for don’t know how long. Straight from my window high up were the Himalayas. The snow was yellow in the sunlight. And everything else below was still dark, even my hotel. That particular picture, that moment was magic. I had stood there for a complete half an hour without realizing it. I still can’t explain the emotions I went through then. It felt like god had blessed me with this beauty I could see today.

Rest of the day was spent visiting Tibetan monasteries, temples and the Manali shopping market which is something similar to Linking Road in Bombay. I still couldn’t get that picture out from my head.

Day 8 – 20th April 2007, Friday.

I unfortunately woke up late and missed watching the Himalayas.
Today, we spent a lot of time at Rohtang pass. Rohtang pass is the military border in that part of the Himalayas. We weren’t lucky to see it up close since it was snow-clad but we could see it from a 250m below level. The area there was turned into a mini Esselworld. All sorts of snow-rides and snow bikes filled the place. I tried my hand at skiing and was horrible at it. We were dead when we returned to our hotel.

Day 9 – 21st April 2007, Saturday.

Today they were showing us the Hot Water Springs. My body was hurting so bad from yesterday that I couldn’t do another small journey. It was some 4 hours car journey. Somehow, I just wanted to keep looking outside my window. I was there, by myself, till the evening. My mom wasn’t happy about me staying back but she was so tired she couldn’t complain more. We had to leave for the party tonight. It was our last day together.

Day 10 – 22nd April 2007, Sunday.

We left for Chandigarh early morning. It was a tiring journey since we’d hardly had time to sleep and pack! We played Antakshari to pass our time since we had nothing else to do. We reached our hotel and slept, woke up, had dinner and slept again. We left for Delhi then early morning again by car this time. The traffic was horrible. I somehow think Mumbai has competition now. We reached the airport just in time for the check in. In the flight we got time to think for sometime on the last 10days. All that I remembered was that picture of those heavenly mountains. We reached Mumbai in the afternoon. My dad didn’t even wait for lunch. We started our drive down to Pune.

In less than 24hours, I had traveled more than half the country. I can’t wait to go back and live those two days. One among the stars and one at the mercy of those Gods!

A Page from my Diary.

Dec, 20. 2009.

So much has changed since I last Wrote. Well, for one thing, the priority changed again.. Nothing seems to overcome my questionable attention span. Nevertheless.

The day started with a lot of cooking and baby-sitting since Siddharth had stayed over and mom is still in Goa. It continued to be more or less the same till late afternoon.

Met Tushar sometime later and we somehow managed to not aimlessly drive around. Nothing in Crossword made me happy.. (Surprissing!) Lol. After Mr. Busy left I met Mukta, and then it was the usual – SHOPPING, RUTUJA, BARISTA, JJ & it’s stray dogs which somehow materialize only with my seldom visits. But the walk still holds its charisma.

An addition to the list – Planning. How could we do without it?! Cheers to the wonderful similar hopeful thoughts.

Then I was back home to surprisingly no more cooking since my loving neighbour had prepared dinner for me and dad. LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR! Lol.

& yes, to end it on some note.. Someone told me he hates Shakespeare because he didn’t know English. =p Bless your soul Mr. William.

Secret Laughter.

I learnt not to walk behind but to walk away,

Learning that reality does teach you the harder way.

I learnt not to stay but to move on,

To now draw my world with a better crayon.

I learnt not to make forgiveness my habit,

For those who don’t value consideration a bit.

I learnt not to give up everything but to hold on to a few,

For in my life, I have the ability to sew.

I learnt to laugh when you cry, hating it with every try.

I learnt difficultly to turn back, something you thought I always lacked.

I learnt to smile in your pain, something that solely you have gained.

I also learnt that mirth has some value.

I learnt all my lessons and I learnt my best,

To the lesson of quiet laughter, I shall now leave the rest.

For Quack..

Rain.

The rain falls, knowing not on whom. It falls equally, surrenders unconditionally. It bestows farms, crops, rivers, lakes. It bestows life. It blesses us with the rainbow and the colors of a new life. It stays, to fulfill.

I see the raindrops on my window. I put my hand out and feel them. It reminds me of all the happy moments of us together. The days spent endlessly on the roads, the rain accompanying our every memory. The smile stays, content.

The old eyes look at his dying land, he looks at the sky. The clouds tell him it will rain. The clouds cannot lie to him. He waits for until the dying sun. He feels the arrival on his forehead. He closes his eyes, and takes the name of God. His land shall live.

The children run. The waterfalls, streams and the smell of mud excite them. They play like there is no tomorrow. They get wet, splash mud and jump around. It’s the best way they like to see Mother Nature. They hope they can play till eternity.

The children tire and fall asleep, content with all the happy hours of joy. Suddenly, it thunders. It rains like never before. The shower of destruction. It continues to shatter and destroy. The houses disappear so do the smiles. Life ends.

Then humanity remembers, the one with the power of birth is also blessed with the power to kill, to end.

Voting - A moral right or duty?

India as it is and as many have forgotten, according to its constitution, is a "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic." We are the most populous democracy in the world and our reforms since 1991 have transformed our country into one of the fastest growing economies around the world. Today, we stand as the 7^th largest economy in the market and fourth best at our purchasing power. Our economic stand is thus not very but satisfactorily powerful.

Politics in our nation however has always been criticized, negatively talked about and surely “underestimated”. With such a powerful economic condition, we surely do have and have had leaders of great talent. I say talent because that only can rule or should I say control a country as diverse and vast as India.

The youth however is not only ignorant of these facts but also of their duties as citizens of this great nation. What is the harm in taking part in choosing your own leaders? I mean.. I really don’t see a negative side to this thought! The voting day in our country is most often celebrated and not worked at/upon.

I am not criticizing the youth but I am asking them a simple question as to why not vote? I’m sure it’s not because you aren’t getting paid for it. Give it a second thought, you are! In more than just one way.

Rajeev Gandhi saw to it that Indian citizens can vote as soon as they turn 18. Why? Because he saw that a young mind can work in more ways than one. We can dream bigger and turn most of the dreams in reality. Most important we have a direction, the most important ingredient of success.

Four of the largest religions were born in this mystic land. A thing that we should flaunt however has given rise to nothing more than religious conflicts. Politics is not only “played” in the name of religion, it is also based there at times. It is for us, for you to decide.

Know your leaders and their achievements well. Study their past and what they can do in the future and then take a step to make them the present of this country. Voting is not only your moral right it is also your duty and responsibility. Register yourself today if you think you’re going to be busy tomorrow. Make yourself a citizen of this country in the true sense.

Go Vote!