Wednesday, October 19, 2011

just little things that i love

thoughtful gestures; smiling faces; late night coffee & conversations; midnight chai at carter's; the sight of the highway, early in the morning; nip in the air; when beer makes people bond; when the door bell rings and I see friends who have made a surprise visit; the first sip of my morning tea; underneath an open night sky, the sound of waves at a shore; walking with my music and coffee giving me company; waking up early to reach the airport; long train journeys; when I'm untraceable while travelling; spacious green parks; the aroma of coffee; nutella crepes; an english breakfast; going through old photographs, looking at our silly, ugly dark ages and laughing howlariously; when a smile makes people bond; when crazy, stupid ideas make people bond; when awkward moments make people bond; mom's food; dad's reaction while watching india lose a cricket match; mom & dad discussing a saas-bahu show over their phone conversations; brother tuning/ playing his instruments that remind me of the weekend having begun; the me-time with casper;singing with rajiv & nameeta on our drives together; digging out lyrics to match the mood of the day; everyday making people laugh through silly bbm jokes;thinking of more things to add to this list and so on :)

its very easy to make a list of things we hate. when was the last time, you made a list of things you love which make each day worth living?

Friday, July 29, 2011

To me or not to me!

We all love reading words of inspiration. And then there are deep, awe-invoking, insightful thoughts that add a certain extra zing that make it worth sharing. Like these few words of sunshine written by a friend which I just discovered:

Respect... Persevere... Think...
Opine... Don't Impose...
Ideate... Let others too...
Perceive... Don't judge...
Sift... Don't need everyone...
Look behind... Learn...
Look ahead... Venture...
Fail...
Fail again...
Fail better... Learn...
Succeed...
Kill... Weed out...
Fly... But stay rooted...
It's a new journey all the time...
Don't forget where you first came from...
Lead... Follow... Guide... Step back...
You aren't ever entirely right...
Nobody's ever entirely wrong...
You are not as good as some... You are better than most...
Be the bigger man...
Forgive... Don't forget...
You can't repay everyone... For everything they give you...
Don't try too hard to...
Learn to be inferior... Will help you be superior...
Look eye to eye to all...
Don't look down upon yourself or anyone else...
Look up... To learn... To dream... To sunshine...
Laugh... Don't hesitate or hold back...
Cry... Don't hesitate or hold back...
Your pain is singly yours...
Learn to deal with it...
Love people that love you unconditionally... Learn...
Love always leaves you with something...
Don't invest...
Effort, time, money or yourself into quarters that yield not
You are loved... You are hated...
Don't try to change the world view... You can't...
Just be... Do what you have to...

Hold your head high... You are bloody good!


- Sagnik Mukherjee

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Cycling Silk anyone?

Remember Kate Harris?

A while ago I had written about this super-awesome-lady that I had the good fortune of meeting some months ago.

And why do I idolise her? For her fortitude, strong grip over her independence, her sense of perspective and above all, her humility - all that were put to test when she started her misiion to cycle along the Silk Route.

When I met her, she had only completed one stretch of the Route. And now she along with her friend is in the midst of the year-long Cycling Silk expedition across Istanbul, Afghanistan and the dotted line finishing in the northern parts of India. I am following her expedition closely and hope to meet her when she is in India by the year end.

And I know that many friends who enjoy cycling would also love to know more about her.

So here you go - Cycling Silk.

Have fun :)

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Faith Market

An interesting observation from my recent Rajasthan trip has been playing on my mind.

This trip to Ajmer and Pushkar was more of a spiritual sojourn for me than wanting to just see some popular tourist attractions. Some friends and umpteen blogs had given me enough dope on the do's and don'ts while taking this trip, especially while visiting the Ajmer-e-Sharif Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Since the initial plan was to travel all by myself, I just wanted to be a bit more careful, so my research I thought had prepared me well.

Only on reaching Ajmer and while walking on the main street leading to the Dargah, I witnessed something that I wasn't prepared for that took me by a very pleasant surprise. Selfless help.

(But all the while, my mind kept wandering about how people seem very helpful in some of these touristy places and then at the end, quote their fees while parting ways. This mindset stopped me from depending on what these shopkeepers were sharing with us including their stories of the Dargah. In a loop, I kept telling myself ''I don't need any help. I have done my research well and I can manage on my own.")

So we finally entered the Dargah premises and one after the other, there were these young boys showing us around the significant spots and leading us to the main shrine. We discouraged them and thought they were guides looking at earning some quick bucks. Not realising that they were all a part of some kind of a relay race in taking visitors to the shrine and then just vanished in the huge crowd after someone else took over their job. This didnt end here. Inside the shrine, someone who I thought was a qazi was actually a volunteer who guided us to another destination within the premises for donations, waited till we finished, helped us solve our curiosity about the Dargah's history and again, just disappeared.

On our way back, the shopkeepers from whom we had bought the flowers still charged us only Rs 15 and with a warm smile parted ways by saying "Hope your prayers get answered."

Cut 2 - We reach Pushkar in half an hour and head to the Pushkar lake and offer our prayers through a small puja. Now comes the next surprise -
Priest - "How much would you like to offer?"
Me -''Rs 100."
Priest (with a surprised look) -"100? We have donations of three kinds ranging from Rs 1100 to Rs 5000. Aap Shraddha se jo dena chahein, woh aapki marzi".
So I quickly retorted, "100 rupay mein bhi bahut shraddha hai" and
Priest quickly replies "Lekin yeh bahut kam hai."

However, I still managed to offer what I wanted to and left.

Two distinct situations are just a few kilometeres away from each other. If only faith wasn't so marketable.

Monday, January 10, 2011

A rollercoaster 2010!

2010 was a crazy year.

And amongst many other things, what made this craziness more memorable and worth every penny, time and effort spent, was when I discovered my love for adventure sports like never before. Whether jumping off a cliff, trekking through the Himalayas, rafting in the Ganges, from cycling in the bylanes of my Bandra to enjoying a cycling expedition in the wee hours of a wintery Delhi morning over a stretch of over 50 kms, to keeping quiet for 10 days and discovering an interesting new side of life at a Vipassana course (yes-this is no less than an adventure), I couldn't have added more adrenaline rush to the year.



At the Valley of Flowers

Call it the love for testing my endurance level or fighting challenges, adventure sports shall for sure be my favourite lover for this decade. When jumping off a plane flying 15,000 feet high is a constant dream, this life makes complete sense.

And while weaving such adventurous dreams, when you meet like-minded enthusiasts, life seems on the right track. A dear friend dragged me along for a workshop organised by the Himalayan Club (started by world-renowned Himalayan trekker Harish Kapadia) promising me an interesting Sunday. Thank God that I didn't let my laziness precede over my decision of subjecting myself to a breathtaking experience. The reason was Kate Harris. A nomad who lives only to travel across the 'borderless world' (as she puts it). A rebel to those who imagine money to be the most important facet of travelling, she turned the tables around by adopting the most economical and eco-friendly mode of transport - 'cycling' to travel. A path not new but still, chosen only by the daredevils.

A young girl who learnt cycling in 2006, went ahead to follow her heart and cycled across the Silk Route fighting treachorous weather conditions, rough terrains besides setting a joyful ride in to a 'life-transforming' example for many. Like me. And to interact with this humble soul was a cherry on the cake. Even if I achieve half of her energy and determination, it shall mean - asking for a trip to the space in this lifetime. That's the effect Kate has had on me ever since I have met her. Nothing seems impossible!

I wish I meet a Kate Harris each year -

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune—I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.

Allons! the road is before us!

It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well.
Allons! be not detain’d!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen’d!
Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn’d!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!

-Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road


Paragliding, Bungee Jumping, Skydiving, Scuba diving (and swimming before that), Cycling expedition to the Sahyadris, Sailing, Trekking to the Everest Base Camp - these are just a few dreams to conquer in this lifetime. Hope I make it!