I just got back from a vacation in Manali, an awesome trip. All the credit for planning and execution of the trip goes to Sur, Eshan and Sakshi, I just tagged along :).
Jassi Bhai (Eshan's Driver Sahib) drove us from Sunam to Mulana to Chandigarh to Mandi to Kullu to Manali..back to Kullu to Manikaran to Sunam ...approx 1000km + ...all in 5 days.
While going we shopped in Chandigarh, hogged on yummy foodstuff diligently prepared by Eshan's mummy ji and took a break at a place called Mandi. The beauty of the hills and the valleys along the way is indescribable... we were in total awe of nature, it's beauty and majesty.
The next day we ascended up from Mandi to Kullu to Manali. At Kullu we stopped at 'Apple Valley ' resorts, had awesome lunch and splashed around in the river passing by. In Manali, we booked into a fantastic resort called Manuallaya.. the duplex room had the most heavenly view of the snow capped mountains.
Like all people fascinated by snow, we decided to go up to the Rohtang Pass the next day. We booked a cab for the same. Believe me if you love yourself and your car.. you wouldnt want to drive up the road to Rohtang. Itx a mere 50 km from Manali .. but one hell of a hellish road ... n if you get a driver like our Schumi ... chak de phate of your back and bones :D
So after 1000 bumps and bends we finally reached Rohtang ..to find the snow fields covered with people ... animals and animal poop :(( so much for the 'yeh Haseen wadieyan' experience with stretches of snow and only snow. We did manage rides on snow bikes, a skiing 101, posing with yaks :) and a bit of snowball hurling.
After the gruelling experience .. we stayed in at the resort for the next 2 days ...going to the local market, Hidmaba Temple and the Club House.
On 3rd we went to Manikaran, to check out the hot water springs. .. we boiled small gunny bags filled with rice in the springs :) On the way back ... we decided to come all the way back to Sunam and hence another 8 hrs of bends, curves and Jassi bhai's Schumi driving :).
In all it was a fantastic trip to Manali, a feast for the eyes and the mind.... a lot of twists for the back !! :)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
True love ...
well a student's cousin got chatty with me a few days ago... and he told me some wonderfully weird tales from the Bhagwat Gita. As per him True love is what is between Thakur ji (Krishna/ Narayan) and Radhika. The legend has that Krishna had 16800+ wives yet he favoured and loved Radha above all.
Queens Lakshmi and Rukmani were curious to know the reason and hence asked Krishna .... to which he just smiled and told them he will tell them in time. Once the queens were passing through a place very near to Radha Rani's village , so they decide to stop and invite Radha to their camp.
Once Radha was amidst them they bombarded her with questions as to why Krishna love her most ....but she kept mum...ultimately they gave her a glass of warm milk to drink and bade her goodbye.
In the night when Rukmani and Lakshmi were massaging Narayan's feet they noticed big huge boils on his soles. They got real worried and asked the Lord what happened. Krishna asked them if Radha had visited them and they started crying and replied yes ... he asked them what did they give Radha that her heart was effected? They thought ... and told him a glass of warm milk. The heat of the milk had effected Radha's heart where the lord's feet reside and hence the corresponding effect on Lord's feet.
Queens Lakshmi and Rukmani were curious to know the reason and hence asked Krishna .... to which he just smiled and told them he will tell them in time. Once the queens were passing through a place very near to Radha Rani's village , so they decide to stop and invite Radha to their camp.
Once Radha was amidst them they bombarded her with questions as to why Krishna love her most ....but she kept mum...ultimately they gave her a glass of warm milk to drink and bade her goodbye.
In the night when Rukmani and Lakshmi were massaging Narayan's feet they noticed big huge boils on his soles. They got real worried and asked the Lord what happened. Krishna asked them if Radha had visited them and they started crying and replied yes ... he asked them what did they give Radha that her heart was effected? They thought ... and told him a glass of warm milk. The heat of the milk had effected Radha's heart where the lord's feet reside and hence the corresponding effect on Lord's feet.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Who am I ?
self introspection is a deep rooted habit. Thanks to a Yog session I recently attended this question resurfaced and the wheels started churning for answers.
Who am I ?
Simply ...a woman in her late twenties, an Indian citizen by birth but a world citizen by preference :) or
a wild gypsy, a princess, a moon goddess, a child- woman, a strong opinionated dame, an emotional charge, sensitive soul, crazy witch :), passionate workaholic, zealous spirit, daughter of my parents, sister of my siblings, 'bua' for my niece and nephew, scary madam-boss for my staff:), jhansi-ki-rani-junior for my grand parents, slave driver nut-case for some of my friends ...
The list seems to become endless, there are so many roles we play in our lives and each contributes in some measure to defining who we are and become. :)
Today I was a ten year old child... enjoying herself at a village fair, taking rides on a merry-go-round, squealing and shouting in a torra-torra... enjoying the spin in a Ferris wheel... jumping merrily all around ...and slurping on orange candy icecream :)
Who am I ?
Simply ...a woman in her late twenties, an Indian citizen by birth but a world citizen by preference :) or
a wild gypsy, a princess, a moon goddess, a child- woman, a strong opinionated dame, an emotional charge, sensitive soul, crazy witch :), passionate workaholic, zealous spirit, daughter of my parents, sister of my siblings, 'bua' for my niece and nephew, scary madam-boss for my staff:), jhansi-ki-rani-junior for my grand parents, slave driver nut-case for some of my friends ...
The list seems to become endless, there are so many roles we play in our lives and each contributes in some measure to defining who we are and become. :)
Today I was a ten year old child... enjoying herself at a village fair, taking rides on a merry-go-round, squealing and shouting in a torra-torra... enjoying the spin in a Ferris wheel... jumping merrily all around ...and slurping on orange candy icecream :)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Reel vs Real life
"Much of what we know is little more than a goulash of disparate and contradictory ideas, rather than accessible clarity." -Ian Mann
I think the above quote correctly answers the dilemma in most of our dilemmas. We never know the complete facts pertaining to a situation and have to decide based on whatever little we do know. So when we move as per our assumptions, have we turned our life into a movie based on our perceived reality?
What is reality? A traditional outlook? preconceived ideas and patterns passed to us from older generations? If one digresses from a traditional pattern should he/she be frowned upon?
The past few weeks have made it very clear, reality is what you believe it to be. You have no experience living as this is your one and only chance so how do you know what is real and what is reel/aka a fairy tale? if you see a road or people around you point to a road, it is real. If you were in a remote corner in Africa and were told about the concrete jungle you would think it to be a magical place.
Tradition or patterns or model behaviours are just baselines. In a complex world where people can be atypical in an infinite number of ways, there is great value and safety in knowing the baselines. However living your life strictly by them and accepting them as way of life?
We are bought up believing in patterns, finish school by 15, college by 21, become a respected professional ( aka doc, CA, engineer...)...get married ..have kids... by such and such age...
after that you will be settled.. you have lived a well fulfilled, happy life. My reaction can only be Yuck !!!!!
How can we reduce the vagaries of human behaviour to over generalized patterns. If, for example, if one added up all the women and men on the planet, on average , the typical adult human being has one breast and one testicle...and yet how many people fit that description?
I think the above quote correctly answers the dilemma in most of our dilemmas. We never know the complete facts pertaining to a situation and have to decide based on whatever little we do know. So when we move as per our assumptions, have we turned our life into a movie based on our perceived reality?
What is reality? A traditional outlook? preconceived ideas and patterns passed to us from older generations? If one digresses from a traditional pattern should he/she be frowned upon?
The past few weeks have made it very clear, reality is what you believe it to be. You have no experience living as this is your one and only chance so how do you know what is real and what is reel/aka a fairy tale? if you see a road or people around you point to a road, it is real. If you were in a remote corner in Africa and were told about the concrete jungle you would think it to be a magical place.
Tradition or patterns or model behaviours are just baselines. In a complex world where people can be atypical in an infinite number of ways, there is great value and safety in knowing the baselines. However living your life strictly by them and accepting them as way of life?
We are bought up believing in patterns, finish school by 15, college by 21, become a respected professional ( aka doc, CA, engineer...)...get married ..have kids... by such and such age...
after that you will be settled.. you have lived a well fulfilled, happy life. My reaction can only be Yuck !!!!!
How can we reduce the vagaries of human behaviour to over generalized patterns. If, for example, if one added up all the women and men on the planet, on average , the typical adult human being has one breast and one testicle...and yet how many people fit that description?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
30 yrs of adventures...
This year I turn 30 and here is a list of adventures I have had in these 30 yrs on earth :). My dearest friends have been a part and parcel in most of these adventures. I thank you guys and gals for making my 30 yrs remarkable hug, kisses n love.
btw please feel free to jog my memory :)
1. sky diving
- para gliding
- slapped an irrational police officer.
- cursed out aloud in front of police officers :) the c word ..yep
- white water rafting.
- driven 750+ miles from Durham to Boston in under 11 hrs.
- Seen the beautiful sunrise at Acadia National Park.
- taken a train to an unfamiliar city to meet a stranger.
- asked a random guy to dance with me in a random club in Detroit.
10. had 50+ different types of drinks.
- oh canoeing and camping.
- Jet Sking in Texas.
- moved by the faith of 10000 people in the mass in a Houston stadium.
- got myself into a top business school.
- stayed 2 yrs and 9000 miles away from family.
- 5 day trek in the wilderness in Cradle Mountains in Australia.
- learnt to speak and write Spanish.
- learnt to play a classical instrument.
- performed/sang in a group on All India Radio :) yeah now it would be
more like croaking:)
20 fallen head over heels in love :)
- lived in a house with 3 strangers and a cat. twice 2 different set of strangers actually.
- had 5 dogs, 7 fishes, 2 rabbits and one squirrel as pets.
- read more than 500+ books.
- packed my bags and ran away from home. it is a wonder that my family still adores me :)
- been a house captain and an academically sound student :)
- made cakes and fire decorations from cow dung.
- flown kites in hot summer afternoons.
- taken a ride on a two seater glider.
- went hot air ballooning.
30 - been inside a gentleman's club :)
Well i will keep updating this list. However I am making a new list on the adventures i want to have in the next 30 yrs, getting a PPL is one ... all your suggestions are welcome :)
btw please feel free to jog my memory :)
1. sky diving
- para gliding
- slapped an irrational police officer.
- cursed out aloud in front of police officers :) the c word ..yep
- white water rafting.
- driven 750+ miles from Durham to Boston in under 11 hrs.
- Seen the beautiful sunrise at Acadia National Park.
- taken a train to an unfamiliar city to meet a stranger.
- asked a random guy to dance with me in a random club in Detroit.
10. had 50+ different types of drinks.
- oh canoeing and camping.
- Jet Sking in Texas.
- moved by the faith of 10000 people in the mass in a Houston stadium.
- got myself into a top business school.
- stayed 2 yrs and 9000 miles away from family.
- 5 day trek in the wilderness in Cradle Mountains in Australia.
- learnt to speak and write Spanish.
- learnt to play a classical instrument.
- performed/sang in a group on All India Radio :) yeah now it would be
more like croaking:)
20 fallen head over heels in love :)
- lived in a house with 3 strangers and a cat. twice 2 different set of strangers actually.
- had 5 dogs, 7 fishes, 2 rabbits and one squirrel as pets.
- read more than 500+ books.
- packed my bags and ran away from home. it is a wonder that my family still adores me :)
- been a house captain and an academically sound student :)
- made cakes and fire decorations from cow dung.
- flown kites in hot summer afternoons.
- taken a ride on a two seater glider.
- went hot air ballooning.
30 - been inside a gentleman's club :)
Well i will keep updating this list. However I am making a new list on the adventures i want to have in the next 30 yrs, getting a PPL is one ... all your suggestions are welcome :)
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