A Trip into Nature

 

I started this New Year taking a trip into the Nature with my Best Friend. We took a weekend off and went to this lovely hill station Matheran. Right up the steep, topsy turvy road we took a fast drive up to the car park Dasturi. The drive was so fast that my friend called me Schumacher Beyond Dasturi, one could only trek or take a horse ride. It was pure nature zone and no pollution.  We pumped energy in us by having a cup of hot tea and a bhadang misal pav. After the energy intake, we took off on horses to our destination, Matheran. The horses were tall and handsome. My horse was black… reminded me of black Beauty. I felt like the Queen of Jhansi riding to a battle. The weather was so cool and the road full of red mud and gravel. We rode the horses right upto our resort in Matheran. On the way, we also saw the human ancestors, monkeys J

Our hotel was lovely. It was huge and so green. It had a lovely garden and lots of swings and of course loads of monkeys. One of the monkeys was jumping from one roof to the other holding and protecting it’s baby. My friend was happy seeing such caring and love amongst animals. In today’s world, wherein at times a mother also thinks more of her self rather than her children; here was a monkey showering love and protection on it’s kiddie monkey.

We (me and my best friend) had a lovely time at Matheran for 3 whole days. We began with a trek to the Charlotte lake, the Lord’s Point and Echo point. Being in Mumbai and not used to such silence and greenery, we had a lovely experience walking through the woods, hearing the chirping of the birds, the whispering of the trees and the cool breeze. Sometimes a few people would ride besides us on horses and the dry red mud would rise in the air. At the end of our trek, our shoes were all red. The horses had funny names like Dhoni, Shera, Sannata, Ranbir, etc.

At Charlotte lake, it was more cooler. It was a small but sweet lake in the middle of the Mountains. We further trekked to our favorite Lord’s point. It’s a scenic view but what makes it special is that far from the point across the plains is a mountain which looks like the face of a king. My best friend called it the “Kings Face”. One can actually observe on the mountain a king’s eyes, lips, forehead and the face as a whole. We also clicked a photo wherein I was face to face with the King. The aspiring photographer that I am, I too tried to click a similar one of my Friend but was not very successful in spite of several attempts. The trek was lovely and one of a kind and what made it truly enjoyable was the company of my best friend.

My best friend .. I think when God created him… He thought why not create a true human being… Sensitive, emotional and loving… The best thing with being with my friend is that I can be myself J And that itself is so difficult now a days.. In the race of impressing people and being adults, we forget our true selves.. But my friend is one who just lets me be “ME”. We had loads of fun… We played badminton.. Saw a magic show.. Ate Gola… Drank lots of coolers… Did horse riding… Blew bubbles in the air… Ate Butta… and Commented on lots of people.. Above all we had lots of fun…

We loved the evenings in Matheran… It comes to live in the evening.  No cars on the road.. Just people spending time with their loved ones.. The streets are lighted.. the breeze is cool and the sky full of colours as the sun sets… children are playing and enjoying themselves… Overall it feels like a heavenly place… One of the best time we had was in the evening.. We visited the Garden and placed ourselves on the “Fighting Bench” . My friend and I call it the fighting bench as whenever we have come to Matheran earlier and sat on this bench we have ended up fighting… It was after a long time, we got to talk and share our lives with each other far from the hustle bustle lives of Mumbai. It was lovely. It cannot be expressed in words. It was just so so beautiful.

Over 3 days, we felt like we lived with Nature.. We were just ourselves… We didn’t even realize the 36 hours and were back in Mumbai… But, the experience was truly memorable one…. It was truly a bliss…

 

 

 

 

 

Am i lucky?

I am lucky……

To see the sun shining high in the clear blue sky,

To hear the ripples in still water as the stone jumps in the river,

To taste the flavours of spices and relish delicacies,

To walk  on the lovely beach and feel the sand particles,

To feel the the touch of my mother as she sings me to sleep.

 

But, as I see blood all over the street and dead bodies being strewn all over,

As I a hear the cries of those who have lost their families in a terrorist attack,

As I can smell the ash left over by the bomb blasts,

As I feel the  pain in the eyes of a mother who has lost her child in random shootout,

I wonder….

Am I lucky

Learnings from Kung Fu Panda

I saw this amazing “Kung Fu” panda over the weekend. It was an animation movie with learning. It’s about a big fat sleepy panda named “Po” who works with his father in a restaurant and dreams of being a Kung Fu champ. The movie takes us through how this lazy panda becomes the legendary dragon warrior and the best in Kung Fu.

The entire movie shows us that we need to believe in something and then it just happens. Just like how Sharukh says in the movie Om Shanti Om that” Agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to poori kaynath use tumse milane ki koshish main lag jaati hai”.

 In this movie too, Po dreams of being a Kung Fu champ and believes he can be one. So the entire universe conspires and he becomes the champion.

 This movie has few wonderful lessons:

1. Po is this huge, lazy panda with a big belly. Looking at him, no one will believe that he can be a Kung-Fu Warrior. One will feel that he is just good enough to spend his entire life cooking noodle soup like his father. But, Po believes in his dreams and does not allow his knowledge of himself to limit his aspirations. If he had thought that he is fat and sloppy, and then may be he would have never become a dragon warrior. But, he dreams of being a kung fu warrior and does become one as soon as he starts believing in the same. Thus, we should not allow our knowledge about our self to limit our dreams and aspirations. It’s not how we look, or what we feel about our self that matters. It is how much we allow our self-impression limit our thinking.
2. For achieving a thing, we need to believe in it with our heart and it will get done. There is no secret formula or recipe for special power/ quality. You have to believe that you are capable of it and are special, and automatically you will be the best. Po was huge, lazy and didn’t know Kung-Fu at all. But, the moment he believes that he is the Dragon Warrior and the best, he defeats the cruel strong Tai Lung, a former student in the academy. And it’s not his strength or skills that make him the best, but his belief.
3. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. “This is an advice which the wise old master Oogway gives to Po when he thinks of quitting as the dragon warrior. Sometimes we get so caught up in the past and in planning the future that we forget to live and enjoy the present. We brood over the past and spend our present time in thinking about how different it would have been if we had taken another decision. And the rest of the time we think of planning the future i.e. our career, our financial stability and keeping up to the competition in our lives. And in this game of table tennis in our mind between the past and the future, we forget to live the present. We forget to enjoy the freshness in nature, spend time with our loved ones and just be our self.

Kung Fu Panda through the jolly, cute and focussed character of Po aims to communicate several learnings to today’s human beings busy in the hustle bustle of their lives and are working hard to achieve their so-called dreams. The dreams which they plan to achieve but they don’t believe strongly that they can achieve.

My Favourite Things

The lovely vast blue sky, changing it’s colours as the day passes by

Sweet cute dogs cuddling by my side

A huge pink teddy bear in my room

Stars twinkling above my head wishing me goodnight

A smile on my teddy’s face to start my day

A huge scoop of ice cream makes me feel great

A raindrop on a green leaf

And the smell of soil when it rains in June 1st week

Watching soft romantic movies and the action packed ones as well

Listening to light music and an aroma in the air

Dancing in the rain and walking on a green lawn

 

Oh… I so love all this…

Takes me back to childhood again……

I wonder what if…..

Why is the sky so blue?

And why are the roses red?

Why is it that we cry when sad?

And why do we close our eyes when asleep on the bed?

 

Why does the sun come to wish us good morning?

Why do the stars twinkle at night?

Why do birds fly in the air?

Why do we need light?

 

I wonder what would happen…

If the sun came out in the night..

And the stars came down on the roof and fly like butterflies..

 

I wonder what would happen…

If the fish would fly in the air..

And the birds would have traffic jam and stop at signals everywhere..

 

I wonder what would happen..

If the rainbow had two colours- black and white..

And that there was no sorrow and no humans fight..

 

I wonder what would happen…

If science is proved wrong..

And that it’s not the earth that revolves around the sun..

 

I wonder what would happen ..

If God comes to real…

He becomes our next door neighbour and not does not reside in an idol..

 

I wonder what happens..

That one fine day,  all our assumptions and our sight is questioned..

And we all realise that we stay in a mere illusion…..

 

An illusion created by us…

To bring meaning to things..

And just to be comfortable, that we know everything….

Ladka ladki friends(only)?

Jaane  tu ya jaane na… I saw this cutie Rats and Meow movie twice since it’s release… It make me wonder whether a gal n guy can just be the best of friends… Or there is this tinge of love somewhere unknowingly.. And there is a need for that insecurity of your best friend to make one feel the spark of love…I wonder…………….

I wanna be free

 I wanna be free…

Flying like a bird in the open sky..

Travelling to new places over the hills so high..

Fluttering in the breeze so refreshing and cool…

Over the foamy waves so wavy yet smooth…

 

I wanna be free…

Like the ray of the sun..

It goes everywhere it can…

Bringing light to the darkest corners in the world..

Along with hope to people that nothing is impossible.

 

I wanna be free

Like the river that wades itself in the clear blue sea…

Rappling through the rocks on the path it likes best

Towards its end goals just like a bird going back to it’s nest

With no binding or fear or limit of any sort…

 

I wanna be free

Like the bird, the ray and the river

All that I want is…

I wanna be me.

Words I love

Beautiful…… Red…….. Sky……. Love……. Calm………Teddy Bear… Stars……..Fascinating……

Why ?

So many questions are in my mind to which I seek an answer?

Why do I dont get to do what I want?

Why is it that I have so many beautiful things and nice people around me and still not happy?

Why do we hurt ourselves and people whom we love?

Why is it important to be nice to everyone?

Why cannot I just be myself?

 

Jag Mag

“Jag mag” that means “all bright and shining” in Hindi… But this word reminds me of a girl wearing a bright shiny salwar kameez, with lots of bangles, a colourful handbag and high heels…  On our holiday to Naintal this year, me and my dear hubby, kept this nickname for most of these brightly dressed girls.. Thinking of this ..brings a smile to my face.. Small things… but beautiful memories