Banaras

 

I haven't yet witnessed
a place
where menfolk, animals, rickshaws, trucks, autos,carts, bullocks, cattle, dogs proceed in narrow lanes
without any complains...

People are happy high...
You sit at a corner sipping kulhad chai
and someone would start sharing
their favourite Banaras story...

I stepped in and thought
what a big mess have I arrived into!
But walking past the narrow lanes..
Eating the cheap good food..
And feeling sad for ganga..

I leave banaras being amazed
by the spirit of the city..
It's filthy...
yet beautiful in its own chaotic ways...

Cold Day in The Sun

Last week I chased snow…

The feel of it…

The thought of it…

In my head…

In my skin and bones…

And finally…

How it feels!!

Destination: Kufri (16 km from Shimla on National Highway 22)

Height: 8,600 feet

Mode of Travel: Bus, Jeep, Horse (I’ll get down to the horses later)

Travel Time: 10 hours from Delhi

This journey was all about chasing down snow. Did I? You will know that as you read ahead.

When you are at the foothills, hills aren’t a distant dream. So, I packed my bags with a hope to chase down snow.


Himachal Pradesh isn’t a new place for me. I was born there, travelled there with my family and friends. But this time was different. It was only me and you surely tend to discover things more closely when you are all by yourself.

I just had one day with me and in order to make the most of those 24 hours, I started early, at 5 A.M from Chandigarh.

Within 20 minutes, I was there on the Himalayan Expressway. I was feeling a bit drowsy, but the hills and the sunrise kept me alive. It was serene and beautiful.

The roads were meandering like a river, showcasing the hills, and the sunrise acted like a splash of color to the entire view.

I passed through small hill stations during the journey uphill- Kalka, Parwanoo, Dharampur, Solan.

It took almost four hours to reach Shimla and another 45 minutes for Kufri.

Throughout the journey all I was thinking about was snow; snow laden on Deodar trees, on the mountains and along the road side. But to my disappointment.

Shimla was all bright and shining; with that winter chill that hits your face.

The turns and bends across the road increased rapidly as we entered Kufri. A few passengers, first timers on the hills, pointed out on something that looked like a big lump of cotton ball.
I totally ignored it.

Another bend on the road and to my surprise I saw what I wished, snow laden roads, hills, pine and Deodar trees. It never stopped thereupon.

Kufri was laden with snow as I thought, as I wished.

The bus dropped me right in the centre of this small town.  I took a jeep and within 10 minutes reached the Himalayan Nature Park. The snow was six feet deep.

And therefore I had to take a horse ride. The snow melting in the sun, makes it hard to walk along the narrow lanes surrounded by pine trees and hills.  And the horse ride, well I am going to remember it for a long time.

I tripped almost twice on the way, it didn’t hurt much that time but I can count the bruises right now.

Almost four kilometers of the ride and I reach a place called heaven. The highest point at Kufri is a huge depression in land, surrounded by hills on all the sides.

You can take a deep breath and never let it go, just hold on to it.

It was an awesome moment, like you take a full turn and sense. It was just flawless!

If you are an adventure sports lover, you can ski and feel the adrenaline rush. I saw many adventurous sport enthusiasts enjoying skiing in the ice laden frozen depression at Kufri.

With just a few hours with me, I skipped skiing and walked along, enjoying the snow. But all this is beautiful for some time only. Being there it feels good, but tough times begin when your gum boots start biting.
You would be surprised to know that its so cold that even a cup of tea wont stay warm for more than a minute.

It’s then I realized that the thought to write about is more beautiful.

I also saw China and  its snow laden distant mountains through telescope and got my pictures clicked in a Himachali Dress. And how could I come back without shopping? I shopped for handmade shawls and woolens.

The only drawback of this trip was that I was time bound.  But one thing that I have realized is that you end up having the best time when you are alone and limited time.

So with my first memory of snow and my headphone plugged in my ears I travelled back to Delhi.
For a moment, it felt like Christopher Macandaless, bare feet, wet boots, glacial snow melting in the sun, but after a while you realize you have to get back…to your family…friends…for more of life!!

The edited version of this article is published in Viewspaper: http://theviewspaper.net/cold-day-in-the-sun/

On the Mend- A visit to Bharatpur, Deeg

Travelling is like food for me, I need it to live, to breathe, to survive. And in the end, that’s what life is…The roads you forgot, the wrong bus that you took, the train that you could not board, the stranger you met…It’s such incidences that you always remember and think about!

This year, is all about travelling to small places…connecting with roots. And that’s why I chose Bharatpur.
I always wanted to travel to Bharatpur, especially in winters. An expect the un-expected destination, Bharatpur is just five hours away from Delhi.

With the January chill on my face, I reached Bharatpur at two in the morning. A friend had booked a room for me at Hotel Spoonbill. It was like a lodge near the Keoladeo National Park which was formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

All that I look for in any hotel is a basic room with a neat and clean bathroom. And for 300 rupees per day a  Hotel Spoonbill fitted my budget well. As soon as I reached my room I was off to sleep to wake up to a beautiful morning.

Day 1, 25^th January, 2013

It was freezing cold and I wanted to go back to bed. But thanks to my friends, I woke up, had my breakfast and reached the bird sanctuary in 15 minutes.
The entrance to the sanctuary was not that grand, and I wondered whether we were at the right place or not. We hired a rickshaw guide and started on the journey into the wildlife, a journey which I am never going to forget.

Spread over an area of 29 sq. kilometers, the sanctuary is divided into 18 square kilometers of dry land and 11 square kilometers of wetland. Living in the city I was devoid of sunshine and had never been witness to rising sun. Well as beautiful things unfold slowly I could see the sun spreading its warmth, falling on our skins, taking over bone chilling wind.

Thankfully the rickshaw guide was very well versed with a vast variety of birds and mammals present in the sanctuary. That’s not all, he was trained by Mr. Salim Ali, the Bird man of India. And when I told him about my native place Himachal Pradesh and my keen interest in the flora and fauna of the country he took extra interest in making me acquainted with the area.

I still remember the hues and the colors which the sanctuary was bestowed with; a drop of sunshine and the whole place was lit with morning glory.

In comparison to last year, this year there were flocks of birds everywhere. Some of the birds that I witnessed were Black Francolin, Grey Francolin, Common Quail, Rain Quail, Jungle Bush Quail, Indian Peafowl, Lesser Whistling Duck, Comb Duck, Tufted Duck, Painted Stork, Black-necked Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Grey and Purple Heron, Great Egret, Western Reef Egret, Little, Indian and Great Cormorant, Darter, Western Crowned Warbler, Golden-spectacled Warbler, Stork-billed Kingfisher.

I am sure I saw many more but I can’t remember all the names.

In addition to the flocks of birds, there were ungulates near the wetlands such as the blackbuck, Chital, Sambar and Hog Deer.

The area is also inhabited by small predators such as Bengal Fox, Jackal, Striped Hyena. Some species of poisonous snakes such as Krait, Cobra and Russell’s viper can also be seen.

Bharatpur Sanctuary is a treat for photographers; many international and national photo enthusiasts were present at the time of my visit. I met a couple from Holland who visits the sanctuary every year in January.
For them, “Bharatpur” is a one of kind place, where there is silence and mystic beauty. The best part of the Sanctuary is that commercialization has not yet hampered the place. It has its own simplicity.

This place is a perfect set-up for nature lovers, poets, philosophers and authors, a setup for thoughts, emotions and words. Every breath I took; I was taking something in, an unknown something, which I knew would stay with me for long.

After spending 12 hours in the sanctuary, travelling on a 29 square kilometer wide land, I was tired but not satisfied.

The sanctuary changed its color, from bright to sepia, by evening and it was hard to leave.

After taking a short nap for an hour, I headed to the city of Bharatpur. Frankly speaking there is nothing much to look out for. Everything shuts down by 8 p.m. so with just one hour to go, a city tonga ride for hundred bucks brought out the child in me. I felt no less than a princess, who was on her grand tour.

After coming back, I had dinner and within seconds of lying on the bed I fell to sleep.

Day 2, 26^th January, 2013

The best part of this journey was that nothing was planned; everthing just happened as we went ahead. We gave the roads the liberty to take us along and show us the wide landscape.

I woke up late and all of us randomly decided to visit Deeg, 32 kilometers away from Bharatpur.

A 20 rupees local bus ride, mustard fields, broken roads led me to this beautiful small place.
What’s good about visiting small places is that no one tries to make an impression, everyone is just themselves; devoid of any materialistic add on. People help you, without passing any judgement. In a nutshell this is exactly what “Deeg” is like.

I also visited the Deeg Jal Mahal (Deeg Palace), which is famous for the backwaters. I loved the beautiful architecture, huge jharokhas (ventilators), the waters that added reflective beauty to the palace and the artifacts. It almost took two hours to absorb the place and then after having lunch, it was time to bid adieu to this simple life.

The best thing about visiting small towns is  that, you are so lost in the place that after two days you realize that if you don’t have lands; there is no other way to earn bread and butter but to work, to head back to big cities and save money for such trips!

The edited version of this article was published in Viewspaper: http://theviewspaper.net/on-the-mend/

Butterflies in my jar

How I conjure love…

Unchained and free--

Not restless...

Yet not calm.

Chasing dreams,

In this eternal whirlpool

Of people

Venom

Nonsensical discussions!

And here …

When you find this

Unnoticeable existence..

Of somebody..

Someone..

Who makes

a small..

yet significant difference

to your niche...

 of dreams and vacant spaces...

which are occupied..

with colors..

hues and shades..

of warmth!!

The new "If"

If things would happen...

The way we plan,

If missing out on something, somebody...

Wasn't ever destined...

If every destination...

Had the same fate...

I surely would have missed out

A lot in life!

If all connotations were the same...

If people had loved ...

But never lost...

If no one was ever furious...

No matter what...

I would have never grown up!

If everyone had been immortal...

If no graveyards had existed...

If death were just a word...

I would have never valued life

The Explicit Narrative

How it feels to be ...
To be  under the shadow of someone's skin--
blinded by the blanket of night
to run away from your eyes!!

How it feels to be touched...
touched when your skins and bones shiver...
Shiver with pleasure..
with warmth..

How it feels to be scared..
scared of the unknown..
of things you never have experienced...
yet longing to know...
to share a piece of roof--
in a beloved's comforting  arms...
and yet...
being afraid of the aftermath!

How it feels...
to know..
that this warmth was something...
you were missing all this while...

It feels...
A lot like love!!