Sehar of the Indian Sahar...

.I finally had my long-awaited and hard-earned vacation out of Mumbai after a gap of 2 whole years!!!5 days of traveling and I panned almost half of Rajasthan-The Indian Sahara Desert.From aerobus to mini-bus,used them all.From scorching desert sun to heavy Mumbai-ishtyle rains,saw them all.From fresh phulkas made directly over firewood to a grand luncheon,had it all. It was one of the most memorable trips due to a multitude of reasons.
Leaving Mumbai during the its best weather to go and bear the cruel heat was heart-breaking in itself.Despite the weather the scheduled flights were on time and we departed towards our destination on time.Thanks to the absence of any clouds over Jaipur we reached as scheduled and were greeted by the clearest possible powder-blue sky.We collected the baggage and hopped on to our taxis to be welcomed by an extremely chatty old driver-cum-guide.Once all settled in their seats we started the journey taking one temple at a time,starting with a village called Khaatoo.[I know it sounds funny ;) ]After taking blessings from there we made our way to another temple where we also halted for the most amazing lunch of the entire tour.It wasn't even a village,just a congregation of few people surviving on money pumped in by the visitors who come to seek blessings at the temple.The temple being home to the main goddess that we pray to, the elders took some time to finish rituals and I took time out to explore its beauty. The amount of beauty,creativity and skill that I witnessed was astounding.The main entrance of the temple was intricately sculptured with various animals,flowers and abstract designs and painted in a gamut of beautiful colours.The pillars,the floors and doors,the windows all had beautiful engravings of various religious symbols and still it wasn't overbearing so sober was the work.After the Pooja, I got my share of Moli-the pretty religious red thread and proceeded for a delicious lunch right at the footsteps of the temple.Its amazing how the simplest of things can give you the most amount of happiness.The dhabba consisted of three sets of rough and worn-out wooden tables and benches thrown together in a dingy corner near the temple,run by a few simple local marwaris.Because firewood was used to cook the food,all the cooking utensils and the entire kitchen were coated in an inch-thick black soot making visibility almost zero and forcing them to shift the kitchen out in the open.The fare consisted of the locally produced vegetables being hallmark of Rajasthan cooked in spicy gravy and fresh phulkas having a smoked flavour to them.Thanks to the Trust that runs the temple, the dhabba had managed to procure a water cooler which provided us with chilled water with the piping hot food...

to be continued..

Vampires...

A bagful of mixed emotions is what the name evokes at the very start.
Yes I am talking about the immortal,deadly,blood-sucking yet handsome,enigmatic,mysterious,magical and the most desired of all the evil creatures in mythology-the Vampires.These black and red hooded beings with pointed ears, a sharp nose,slanting dark eyes and a wicked smile,not to forget the patent lethal canines sticking out of their jaws, staring at you, waiting to have a dig at your flesh, strike a chord with some of the most undesired and hidden emotions of the human mind.They make one come face to face with primitive emotions which drive each one of us,knowingly or unknowingly.
The blood-stained teeth and nails, the blood-shot eyes and the scarlet lips add to the attraction innate to human beings to the color red whilst evoking a sense of fear,pain,misery,anguish and even anger and hatred.The smile, full of deceit and lust, is extremely menacing, conveying full well the depth and meaning of the intentions of the person flashing it.The bitten neck with blood-oozing from the wound refreshes the malice lurking behind the smooth porcelain exterior.
The stark black overcoat with its red insides remind you that nothing is as nice or good as it seems on the exterior.The color red,universally standing for danger, stares at you straight in the face,demanding attention and forcing out emotions lurking deep inside.All in all-"Straight out of hell" they seem to say.
Vampires invariably have been related to the various phases of moon with special importance being attached to the presence of a full moon.History bears mention of normal human beings being transformed into parasitic vampires at the stroke of midnight on a full mooned night by the "kiss of death" from another vampire, delivered at the characteristic position on the throat.Here we see them taking from the night, its mystery enveloped in darkness and the voice of its silence.
These living legends who reside in their personal coffins,seem to appear out of their hiding only at night and only when they need to rebuild their strength by feeding on yet another unsuspecting victim.They,apparently,absorb all the knowledge,characteristics and complexities of the victim along with its blood,making them some sort of living sponge.
Hundreds of movies have been made depicting charismatic vampires rising out of their coffins and biting hapless young beauties in their bedrooms,all resting on one fact, that we all have a wicked side to us.Whether or not we accept and acknowledge its presence, there is a Mr Hyde behind every Dr.Jekyll and shows his face every now and then.
Its beyond good and evil...
its just there...like thin air....sometimes there...sometimes rare.

The GIFT called LIFE

One doesn't value what one has.Most of us don't value the greatest gift of a normal and healthy human life that we have received.To be born, to be born healthy with every organ down to the smallest nail normal and healthy is one of the greatest gifts that one can receive.To be born with a thinking and reason-gifted mind that can change the life of not just one's ownself but also others' is an underestimated miracle.The joy of living an independent life, physically and mentally is a right denied to many unfortunate ones for no fault of theirs and there can be nothing than more heart-wrenching and pathetic than the plight of the parents of children who are born incapable of living a mentally and physically productive life.It tears your heart, makes you cringe, makes you crib, makes you want to cry, then it makes you angry, makes you hate fate and finally it makes you want to reach out to them and do whatsoever in your prowess for them.It makes you want to heal them.It makes you humble and value what you have.It makes you realise the greatness of the small roles that each and every part of the body play to drive the most complex yet self-maintained piece of machinery made on earth.It makes you want to use this indwelling reason-gifted mind for such higher purposes of existence.

Categories of people

Over the past few years and especially the past few months I have realized that there are three categories of people as far as opinions are concerned.And based on what category they fall in they can make your life heaven or hell.
First, and the one I most respect, is the category of people who have an opinion and initiate it,express it freely, contribute in decision making and take a stand by it.Because having an opinion is proof to the presence of and usage(good or bad but atleast its being used!!) of the God-gifted gray matter.These are the people who actually bring about (revolutionary?) changes in the world and make it move, more or less.If their opinion is practical it changes the face of things;if not, one knows that its one-idea down!
Second, very obviously, are those who have an opinion but choose not to express it.Oh there are plenty of those around!Fine by me!I guess they don't feel the need to express it, which I can totally respect or they choose to not take a stand by not saying which ways they believe things outta go,which shows lack of confidence in self's idea. These people add neither to the decision making process nor to the confusion that might ensue in critical judgement hour(thank goodness for that !)
Third, are those who have an opinion only and only on the other' opinions.They take their stand by virtue of the others having voiced their respective opinions and taken a stand. Such people I feel not only lack self-confidence but opine only to sling mud and not add in any positive way to the discussion or argument. Such opinions are meant only to pull the perpetrator of the original chain of thought down. Their opinion is neither original nor growth-promoting. But it sure swings-votes!!!

Networking sites...

Whats with people and networking sites these days??!!
Every site has a space called My status...or Whats on your mind...or some other similar space which expects you to fill it up with something or the other..simply because everyone else has updated theirs..!!!
And worse everyone actually keeps updating these on an hourly or 2/4/6 hourly basis! Are we such a repressed people that we need networking sites to express what's on our mind?
Or is everybody so desperate to showcase what's on their mind that they were just looking for an opportunity to jump at !!!
I don't see the point at all!
Maybe i am not interested in telling the entire world what's going on my mind......
.But apparently not too many people think this way...most people are more than just click-happy to let the whole wide world know what exactly are they thinking,doing,loving,hating,travelling,eating,sleeping,shitting??
Can one person tell me what joy does it afford putting up hoardings of your emotions all over your page....??Is it the joy that one gets out of sharing..or is it just plain simple show-off?
What is one trying to show by putting up the most-recent-yet-not-so-significant-event of their lives?? Are they even aware why exactly are they doing what they are doing?? OR is it just an obligatory field to be filled up because you have seen it ??

One needs to start questioning the purpose of their actions and correct them when they seem purposeless...

Municipal hospitals

Three visits to a municipal hospital in the vicinity and i have been grossed out enough to thank my stars for not having taken up MBBS...the place is supposed to be a hospital...a place where sick and needy come to take treatment to restore their health...but what they get is not just worst quality treatment but also they are not even treated and regarded as anything but objects which need to be repaired...almost inhuman treatment and an even more pathetic state of hygiene....as far as i am concerned i think people go there not to get well and walk out but to be rolled out on a mortuary guerney...such a place makes u thank your parents for being rich enough to put u anywhere but a municipal hospital and makes u wanna preserve your health more than any damn thing on earth...you can smell the air reek with death....you can feel a rodent lurking around you somewhere,ready to pop its head the minute u leave its territory...you get the feeling that you never gonna get out of this place alive no matter what hands you are under....
God bless all those there...poverty is a curse...

purpose of life

what is the purpose of our life?
what is that one thing we all wish to achieve at the end of our life..so that when we take that last breath...it doesn't seem being snatched away but u pleasantly give it away..??
what goals does one set and achieve in life that give the ultimate happiness?
does achieving goals give real happiness at all?
or is it the simpler things of life like putting a smile on a friend's face, or helping out sumone in trouble, or the simple act of giving anything to sumone in need that give real happiness...?
suppose u set goals.u achieve them.then?
newer goals to be set? always remain in the rat race? always remain a rat?
running behind materialistic goals and successes?
is that life?is that the happiness of life?
or is happiness abound in knowing that u gave yer best shot ever ...so what if u didnt win...
isn't it in knowing that u just made sumone's day..?
isn't it in knowing that sumone just loved themselves a lil more after yer words of faith in them?
isn't it in feeling the breeze blowing in yer hair?
isn't it in feeling the of silence that you share with sumone you are comfortable with ?
isn't it the pride that u feel when u create sumthing awesum?
isn't it the self-respect that u have when u have done nothing wrong?
isn't it the strength to stand and face the world without shame or guilt?


i think..thats what happiness is...