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Travelling is such a delight. More so when you travel to various states of the country. Our country is huge and so is the range of diversity. Each state has something different to offer in terms of culture which is an all inclusive term in itself. This time round, I got a chance to visit Gujarat again. They say it is at its best during Navratri. I had been harbouring this desire for quite a while and at last my wish was fulfilled. Not only did I experience Gujarat's rich culture but I also had an opportunity to relive my past, that is to say, I had a chance to meet my best friend whom I hadn't seen for long. 

Navratri was just an excuse to reminisce about the good old past that we had shared together. Meeting friends does mean a lot of old stories being retold. While all these years have passed by, there are a lot of things that have changed in her and in me but the thing that remains intact even after this time gap is our ability to laugh at anything and everything. Getting together with my friend is always accompanied by bouts of laughter and uncontrollable giggles. She is now almost completely transformed into a Gujarati, at least the way she speaks, no one can deny that she does not hail from the state. 

My friend introduced me to a Gujarati dish mainly eaten on Dussehra. If on the day of Dussehra, you happen to miss the effigy burning of Ravan, it wouldn't affect the Gujaratis as much as missing the typical Fafda Jalebi. No Fafda Jalebi means no Dussehra, so I have been told. One thing I became fond of during my stay is the variation one gets in food items in Gujarati cuisine especially in snacks known as Farsan. Even the variety of Sweet Paan that you would find here is unimaginable. 

It is really fascinating to hear Gujarati language. My friend used to tell me it sounds very desi. After listening to it, I would agree with her completely. It does have a desi feel about it. Being a hindiphone, I did not find it difficult to understand the language except for a few situations where I might have missed out the meanings. Even the script is not that complicated to read.

Food and language were the principal features of my visit. But wait! How can I take the liberty of not mentioning the mesmerizing ambiance of Garba. Navratri is the nine day celebration where people dancebGarba to the tunes of Gujarati songs. Even if you are not on the dance grounds, you would see people all dressed up for the Garba nights on the road. This is enough to give a feel of what it is like to be in Gujarat. In the eveneing, the whole city turns out to be participating in a fancy dress competition or in a costume party. After having roamed around in the streets, if you get a chance to go to the Garba venues, you would remain ecstatic through out. People dancing in groups with their fancy costumes on. A veritable delight is to watch the boys dance with fervour. They dress up in the traditional attire, not all of them, however. They dance on the rhythm of the songs played, enjoying themselves to the core, matching up with the dances steps of the group.    

Once you happen to visit Gujarat during Navratri, you are bound to get addicted to come back again and again for the celebration. It had been amazing fun with my friend, food, fancy dress and foreign to me but a desi language.

                                                      હું ગમે છે

Anne of Green Gables

How did I take so long to meet Anne? But at least now I can lay claims to have met her. She is just so adorable. In the beginning I thought she talked a bit too much and never stopped short of breath. Eventually all the blabbering turned out to be amusing and interesting and that it came from an 11 years old made it all the more enjoyable.

Anne with an 'e' at the end is so full of life. Her vivid imagination is the best that I liked about her. Not a single moment can she remain without drifting away in her dreams and imageries. She has her way with words. At her age, she uses such "big " phrases that keep most of us delighted and pleased with her. 

However, she has her odd ways too. She cannot come clean at anything she does. There has to be some fault committed on her part. Though she claims not to commit any of her errors twice which seems to be so positive that she takes lessons from her past errors. She ,however, never fails to stop committing any. But this is her charm. Even if she has her sets of mistakes, you just can't stop loving her for what she is for she never has any ill intention.

She has found many kindred spirits along her life at Green Gables. After having met her, I had a similar feeling towards her. She enthuses life by her mere presence. She is by far the most cute girl I have ever seen. 

I wonder if I had met her when I was as young as her, would have I liked her then? I feel positive. There is surely something about this Anne-girl!! 

Yesterday at the dinner table was one of those moments when I have felt a great sense of injustice meted out to a few of us without any faults of our own. The girl in front of me was having her dinner quiet peacefully. She touched each and every thing put out on her plate before eating. It was when she touched the cucumber cube to eat that a deep anguish grew within me. I so much wanted her to not only feel what she ate but also see what it looks like, the colour of it. Unfortunately, she might not be able to have a sight of her food items ever. She is visually challenged.

At the very same moment, image of freshly made donuts with sparkling chocolate sauce over it flashed in my head. A few days ago, I had such a craving to have these donuts that LOOK so tempting. I wondered how much the girl has been missing onto in life without her asking for it. Certainly people like her are endowed with other senses : they feel, they taste but alas they can't see.

Merely having a sight of delicious food cheers up spirits sometimes. Today, while having my breakfast, I had a detailed look at my plate. I examined each and every item with its colour, texture, size. And I thanked God not only for giving me food but also for this lovely sight. But it would be so much interesting if everyone of us had beautiful eyes to be able to savour visually the food but the entire world we live in. However, I believe, they have the power of imagination just like Anne of Green Gables. Life is such a gift to us. Let's cherish each and every moment.

I waited for you for a fortnight. Now you have come back . I don't like this hide and seek that you play. But I wonder if you were all the time with me, would I still have the same feelings for you. I know you would remain quite distant from me. This ,however, does not stop me to think about you.

The pleasure that I derive while basking in your company is incomparable. You make me smile when I feel low. Just a glimpse would cheer up my spirit. Such is your strength and such is your spell on me.

When I was young, I thought you followed me everywhere. I would wonder how do you find me where ever I go. But I never got annoyed for even a bit. I liked you as a kid and I like you still and this would remain forever.

I am not jealous while I know you have thousands and millions of admirers. I am sure they are not too. A glance at me and I know we have a special relationship that others might be having with you as well.

O Moon, unimaginable is my life without you!!!

Overcoming fear reveals its beauty !!!

There are so many things we fear in life. They say it's all in your mind. If you let fear creep within, no one else can help you get rid of it. And how true these words are. But they also say, it is better said than done. Well, with me, I can be certain that it would really take a huge effort to overcome my fear. And yet at some point, I can make up my mind so quickly to confront what I fear.

The story begins with a walk towards the east gate of the campus today. I am with a friend. He challenges that it would start raining within 10 minutes. I am not quite convinced with what he thinks. There are grey clouds of lighter hues, coming in from all direction. The breeze has just stopped short of blowing. Every single leaf has stopped its movement. The yellow flowers of the Amaltas trees lay unmoved. And suddenly, the darkest of grey clouds one could have seen, appear above us. The wind starts blowing and the yellow flowers start showering themselves on us. And this is the moment when I feel the small droplets of water on myself. They are intermittent in the beginning. Eventually they come down heavily on us. The much awaited heavy showers in Delhi have finally made their way.

And at once, the mood changes. Everyone around appears so elated. No one is in a hurry to get under a shelter. They are enjoying the rain, so are we. We are getting all drenched under the sky. The drops are more pronounced by now. They are getting into our eyes making it difficult to keep them open. It has been long since I have enjoyed myself under the natural shower. The moment overpowers me. My heart knows no boundaries of ecstasy. I am completely overwhelmed. At this moment, I remember the town I grew up. How beautiful it looked when it rained. Back then, I would enjoy myself watching the rain from my balcony. Such a pleasure it had been during those days and such a delight it is today.

The story does not end here. As I haven't mentioned about the fear I have. I fear lightning. When I was young, it would scare me so much that I would run into the comforting arms of my mom or my sisters . And now that I have grown up, it still scared me until today. Though completely drenched, my friend and I have managed to find a shelter and regard it better to watch the rains from beneath a roof. While it stops raining, we can see some lightning every now and then. At every moment of lightning, my friend admires them, telling me they are just so beautiful. I don't see them as beautiful. It appears that the rain has now stopped. My friend goes out to check if it really has and calls me to join. I go to my friend. We are standing looking upwards to the sky. There is huge ray of light that shots in the sky, I react to it the same way I have done till now in life. A little while later, I tell myself to stop fearing it and face it with calm and courage. I am lucky!! The next time, there is lightning, it is in its full glory. I don't waver. I have kept my calm and it is because of this overcoming of my fear that I can truly admire the glorious lightning that I just saw. It was really BEAUTIFUL!! And I know, next time there is no more fear of lightning but admiration!!

And the dry spell ends!!

All these days, I had no urge to write. Not a single moment moved me and stirred my mind to pen down my thoughts. The dry spell, I hope, has now taken a backseat and what better day than today when Delhi had its first share of heavy rains after such a hot , scorching dry spell. 

My mind had almost become like a dry, parched land with the sun sapping all the creative juices that flowed through it. But the first drop of rains, that seeped and touched every cell of the body, has rejuvenated the dry spirit within. Oh how much we love the rains!

And when the rains settle over for quite sometime, this love tends to take a U turn. We begin to complain how it has been raining cats and dogs. We start praying to God to stop the showers for a while. How we tend to miss our very own Mr Sun whom we had despised a little while ago for unleashing his wrath and now crave for a little glimpse of him. And then, there are the uninvited guests in our rooms all the time. The insects we would have never seen before would make themselves comfortable around us. My God! It's just a beginning and I have already started thinking of all the possibilities that we would be coming across in this season. How much love to complain!!

In summers, oh it's so hot, is the common refrain. When the rains quench our thirst, we get bored of them and look forward to some dry spell. And the phase moves on..

Well, I really love the rains sans the uninvited guests in my room. Today, it was amazing when the heavy downpours drenched the entire city and broke this dry spell. 

Life is a series of events both good and bad, happy and sad, pleasant and grim. This is the ultimate pattern followed in anyone's life. No one state can be eternal. Happiness can't be forever. Same goes with sorrow, it cannot take shelter in one's life infinitely. It is these events and moments that make memories. When you look back at your life, the treasure trove of memories smile at you, the only possession that you inherit.

When I was a kid, an idea, quaint some might call it, used to knock at the door of my mind. I would wonder why God did not have some kind of a video recorder. With this device's aid, we could have access to our past actions, events and moments. On request, at any point of time in our lives, we could avail the facility of watching ourselves, our behaviour towards others, the beautiful moments spent with our loved ones, the bitter experiences. Well, I was really young, so I never thought of man making any kind of a similar device.

After so many years, I still have the same idea finding its way back to my mind. I wonder, if we could register our whole lives' actions in one CD, DVD, or whichever medium, so as to keep them alive. I am certain that there cannot be a recorded version of each and every moment passed, however, people have found out ways to keep afresh their memories through Diaries, Photos, a few videos.

Whatever medium you bring to your use, it is bound to make you happy if after a long time you stumble upon your memories. A smile would not leave your face until you want to stop thinking about it. How I still wish to ask for this service from God, so that I could rewind and relive the moments.