Pinku-Enchanted Life

A well planned city, a lovely day, laughter and good hearted chatter for company. With people you have met for the first time but feel you know so well. A wholesome lunch in the Punjabi tradition of ‘the guest must not lack for anything’. A visit to the city’s beautiful lake side and the chance to quickly through snippets bring each other up to date on one’s life and plans. A very upset young boy with strangers who are intruding on his time with Dad. A young girl who doesn’t know what to make of a woman who is mom’s friend but behaves more her age. Two husbands, amused participants to their wives latest crazy plan. A meeting that ended too soon. A friendship I am hoping will survive and thrive.

It looked like an island floating amongst clouds. Nothing else was visible and you could imagine plains, mountains or even the sea beyond the cloud curtain. Any of which could have been true. When it lifted though the fresh greenery around left no doubts that you were in the Himalayas and that too in the middle of the monsoons. Getting down from the bus at 6:30 am we found the quaint Apple Cart Inn fast asleep, atleast the attendants were. A few guests though had braved the early morning chill and wrapped in thoughts and shawls were walking about. The place looked so serene and just what we wished for that the non availability of attendants or tea didn’t affect our mood. And after making ourselves comfortable on the swings in the courtyard we decided to walk out to the neighbouring tea stall for some hot beverage. By mid morning after a lovely breakfast of fresh mushrooms on toast (this place is called the Mushroom district) and tea we were ensconced in our room which boasted a firepla

Hey guys!! We are off to the hills to check out the monsoon there. That too not just any hill but the mysterious, beautiful Himalayas. Do be back to check out the blog in a few days to know how it went. I promise some nice pictures too. P.S: The last time I visited them in the monsoons a story happened here's the link incase you want to read .... The Trip

Thanks to the handy camera in mobile phones we no longer need to just experience something we can also capture images/videos to share the same with others. Am putting down here some random shots taken in and around Delhi...its a testimony to my life and times. Hope you enjoy this journey, though its hardly enchanting all the time :) The bells that chime out the change in my life. It's neither golden nor rosy, its just easy right now. Easy with a free flow of thoughts, love and naughtiness. Easy with a shared sense of camraderie. Touchwood, am praying it stays this way always. Flowers in my garden. Its not Eden but I am not complaining. On the roads. What can I say? Perhaps this is enforced, "stand and stare" time. Sometimes brought up by the heavy traffic in the city.... Sometimes by somethings far more interesting... A few pictures from the recently held Osian. Some people including us have calendars which run from Osian to Osian. And all the goof ups not withstand

The office decided it needed to give us massive targets to achieve, for the current financial year and so it took us on an offsite seminar to a 600 year old fort called Neemrana in Rajasthan. The trip was actually the sugar coating on a bitter pill, as we got to know while sitting through the day in a stuffy seminar room, as figure after figure were rattled off…..the good, the better and the ugly they called them. What were these? Basically the revenue for last year, the figure by which we exceeded the target and the money yet to be collected…in that order. And then came the ugliest…huge targets for the ongoing year. We sat through two beautiful days cooped up in a small room….as nature and history stayed richly displayed outside…..can you believe, it actually rained in Rajasthan in May and we didn’t enjoy it at all? The fort is nice, though through so much refurbishing and recreating its now difficult to make out which is the modern installation versus the original. In the distanc

Remember the village scene from Sholay when the dacoits are about to come a lively village turns into a deserted one? That’s the feeling we got once we stepped of the bus. Hardly anyone on the streets, most shops closed, nay padlocked except for a few solitary ones that looked ready to pull the shutter any moment.It was a strange sight especially since all the other settlements we had crossed on the way had a lively bustle. Infact at a few the bus passengers had been made targets of water balloons to the complete glee of the children. We walked up to one of the shopkeepers and asked him what was up and more importantly what could we do about accommodation since unlike the main road in most other hill stations this didn’t seem to have any hotels. The man explained that the town shuts down for two days for holi and that’s what we were witnessing. We were taken aback, holidays in schools and offices was one thing but the entire town shutting shop for Holi that seemed something very uniqu

Its that time of the year again, when Delhi is in bloom. A slight nip remains in the air in the early morning though the days are getting pretty hot. The scorching summers will be here soon and you desperately want to linger in this moment just a bit more. To add to the flowers, the festival of colours also comes along around this time. That magical festival which binds people from all walks of life, filmstars to rickshawpullers, politicians to school children to even grandmas who lose their permanent frowns for just this day. since no deity worship is required, nor any rituals to be followed Holi is almost secular in nature allowing other communities to also join in the fun. All my life I have been in Delhi during this festival apart from two occassions when I was in Kolkata and Mumbai. This year the plan was to escape to the remote hills and see a different version. Since its the end of the month and not to mention end of the financial year, the plan was to do a SSB trip, i.e. a Shoe

The bird’s eye view showed a huge plain dotted with green and picturesque cottages set amidst palm groves, the hills however were nowhere in sight. As we swooped down to land at Coimbatore airport, I was surprised to find that ours was the only aircraft, quite an unusual sight from other airports which seem choc-a-bloc at all times of the day or night. That however was not the only surprise waiting for me, once off the plane I looked around to see where the bus was only to find fellow passengers walking to the airport building, I followed suit thoroughly pleased with the idea of being able to walk across an airport. A four hour journey by a rickety bus playing Tamil films found us moving through urban landscapes to rural to foothills and then finally an abundance of tea gardens. Finally the hills what a relief! The bus made frequent stops to pick up and drop travelers and at one such stop I witnessed the art of wearing a sari south Indian style. A middle aged lady traveling with a you

Did you read about the mermaid in that tale of yore and wonder what it would feel like to play and live in the waves in a big castle below the ocean? I did. I always had a fascination for water, lots of it. Free flowing, moving, without bounds and with unknown depths, holding so many secrets within its bosom. Having never learnt how to swim never dampened my spirits and the first glimpse of a big water body always brought on but one reaction to throw myself in it and let the water hold me up. Growing up in an industrial town bereft of even a swimming pool let along huge stretches of water these desires bubbled away beneath the surface much like underground streams. Alive but invisible. That is all in the past at age 29 I have finally experienced water. Water in its most mighty, life giving, limitless form…the sea. Not knowing how to react to it, I walked out to the beach to confront this huge moving entity. Stretching to the horizon and beyond. It was all that I had dreamt off and more

A basket full of cakes, doughnuts, chocolates, cheese, olives, bread, juice, rum and coke. A car tank filled with fuel. A heart set on adventure. A mind taking rest from being practical. The perfect ingredients to have a terrific time. That’s how the last trip to the hills started. When you start on a trip you need a destination don’t you? The easiest way to decide on one is to get a list of probable destinations and do a random selection. Your lucky number, your pet’s date of birth or the number of helpings of ice cream you had last night are equally good numbers to choose from. I though went with a more sedate method, I opened the book found the first place that was listed and firmly believing the first page of a book is the best place to begin headed towards Lansdowne. A maniacal 7 hour drive from Delhi through Meerut, Bijnor and a host of small and big towns with nary a break found us in Kotdwar. The last town before the drive into the Pauri Garhwal hills began. Dusk had fallen and

The haze lifted momentarily and my eyes slowly focused on the fast zooming fan stuck to the wall as I tried to recall where I was. Then it struck me I was back in my one room PG digs and the throbbing in my body and head was caused by the sudden high fever and the exertion of the past hours. As I reached for the bottle of water kept somewhere on the bed my head reeled and I had the distinct feeling of being on a roller coaster. Roller coaster, the thought brought with it a smile and a groan. That’s how I had described my life nine months back and everyday since then had been nothing but a new ride at a new speed with new hurdles. The latest lap on it had been an impromptu trip to the hills. It started of pretty inanely with a wish to breathe in some fresh air outside the confines of the city limits and it somehow stretched into a long ride which finished at my favorite hill station, Nainital and then a mad rush to be back in the city in time for office. They say people never forget the

Hi, I am off on another jaunt. Am not sure where but I think it will be the hills, have been daydreaming of the rains in the hills for the past few days. It’s a beautiful sight and the rainwater seems to wash away every worry, every problem, I am hoping it will do the same for me yet again. The last few days have been full of turmoil and I find it hard to concentrate on work or even hope for a better future without the bitterness of the present seeping into it. Anyways, just the thought of traveling has perked me up a bit and I thought I would share with you some fun snippets from my previous trips. Over heard in a train: “Iska paer kharab hai, uska pet kharab hai aur mera dimaag kharab hai” a man telling a flustered middle-aged lady who is asking everyone around to exchange seats with her since she has got a middle berth. The viewer’s view: “chaliye yahan khare ho jayiye aur neeche dekhiye, yeh Mussourie ka view point hai. Chaliye, chaliye aab aage chaliye” A tour guide shepherding hi

A trip to a holy land undertaken to dip yourself in the holy Ganges and wash all your sins away as per Mom’s version (she seems to be growing old finally to be able to talk like this without laughing). A trip to a never-seen-before land to dip yourself in the fast flowing Ganges and have a good time in the water was my version. The two coincided in the form of our Haridwar trip last weekend. How did it go? Eye opening. Question raising. How can a place so venerated be so dirty? How can people spit in (not to mention do everything else besides) and drink up the same water with equanimity? How can a government be aware of the potential of a place as a tourist attraction and then do nothing to maintain it? How can people spend thousands on traveling to a particular spot to bathe in the river and not spare a few thoughts and pennies to keeping it clean? How come I the non-believer in all that’s expected to be believed without question land up in the same river and then as I prance about in

An Empty Canvas Have never painted. Atleast not since the mandatory paintings of zoo, holi and diwali scenes in school. Had never known the itch that an empty canvas must give an artist, brush poised to mark the white canvas forever with a thought which germinates like a seed in the recesses of his mind and then flows through his fingers to reveal itself. I know it now. Travelling for three straight nights in the semi barren lands of Rajasthan with the stars keeping me company, bright, awake, waiting for me to give vent to my feelings and thoughts and the odd palm tree swaying as if with the silent music of my soul, I knew the agony of not being able to communicate the multitude of feelings that submerged me. I stared at my blank piece of paper almost in a trance willing myself to put my thoughts into some coherent pattern that would enable me to capture the delicate thoughts and dreams so that I may relive them forever. Easier said than done, I fumbled with my pen, chewed on it for in

Pictures from my two day trip to Udaipur and Jodhpur Udaipur was a pleasant surprise, a green, lake dotted city in the midst of dry Rajasthan. Steeped in history and romance. A local informed that the most love marriages in Rajasthan happen in this city, not for nothing is it called the Venice of the East. Jodhpur was very diferent - conforms more to our idea of Rajasthan, huge tracts of land without much green cover, fearsome looking rocks and hills, hardworking, ruddy people and traditions steeped in history still being followed. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Jodhpur Shastri Nagar Police station where we were hauled off for quarrelling with an autowallah over his charging us extra.