World – Views Splash!

Choices

Ever felt like being stretched from your hands and legs, spread eagled in the air, helpless, caught by the people whom you so despise but you once trusted with all your heart? I think I’m going through a period when I’m now so used to this feeling that it feels more like an exercise. Everyday, I’m stretched painfully in either direction, emotionally. I have no clue when I’ll break but tension is high and I feel it in my veins. This isn’t normal – the way I’m trying to live, castrated by the things I’ve so loved. Brainwash seems imminent!

Anyways, that’s about me. Regarding this stretching, have you ever noticed how there’s always a power struggle between the ones who tend to take the middle path and the ones who don’t. Let’s call the former as ‘M’ for middle path and ‘B’ for clearly biased.

M’s, I think, are closer to attaining spiritual freedom, for they tend to keep their heads still, and always try to weigh the outcome of either of the choices. These are the people, whose focus is set at equality, and that they must never hurt anyone with their choices. They are often more articulate than most. These people tend to use a proper combination of heart and brain to weigh their options. These are also the people who’ll stay confused for far longer than most and don’t tend to come to conclusions until their set criteria is met.

The B’s though, tend to think more from their heart than their minds. They have a tendency to start building an opinion after they have elected for an option which makes them rather more prejudiced and prone to making mistakes. These are also the people, more hasty and unclear in their thinking. Their world revolves more around showing off than actual reasoning. These often have high egos which further prohibits clear thinking. They are also the people who tend to disturb the M’s more than anyone else. These people think, since they’ve made their choices early, they’ve got to have materialistic evidence to support their argument and this is where M’s come in.

B’s invite M’s to their side by telling them how lucrative and correct their side/argument is. B’s in this sense are manipulative as well. In short, B’s are often better equipped to take the world head on than the M’s. M’s hence find it even harder to make their choices. M’s are far more influenced than B’s who don’t leave a room for any further influence on their decisions than their own.

My friend narrated me the story of some man in American continent, who used to answer every question using just his right index finger. There were several attempts to figure out what exactly he meant by that index finger. Was it one, solitary? It was hard to find. Even when dying, the answer to the question about his index finger was… ‘an index finger’. Few years later, a very intelligent version of the finger arrived, in that, he always meant that “All is One”. That with experience we learn to take the middle road to happiness, in that the happiness of polarity in decisions becomes immaterial. That after a point in life, that one point, all your choices are correct. You have attained what’s called Spiritual Nirvana.

My argument, for which he had no answer was, is as follows –

What if the entire thing of that one focal point, is an alibi to escape the logics of the world and avoid all further scrutiny, an escape route? Viewing it from a different angle isn’t that one focal point also a side that we’ve taken. Don’t M’s become the B’s then? Aren’t we all scared again and running away? Is Spiritual Nirvana a prejudice?

For a person who makes his choices carefully and after a lot of thought, it’s so slippery, this world! For one single slip of thought and you will end up making the wrong choice, and for all M’s, it’s a huge setback. For B’s though, this situation/condition never materializes for they’ve already made their choice and are more often than not, ready to live with the repercussions.

I’ve made my choice and I am the middle-man, M.

What are you? M or B.

I am Exhibit D!

I ain’t a judge! Of whatever that I do judge though, I’m pretty bad at it and so, I’ll just limit today’s daily prompt to just myself. The prompt takes me to a question that I’ve asked myself a countless times before – why can’t I be friends with any human being at all?

I see a million others so cool at befriending others. They are like butter over a hot pan, all over you before you know it! They take control of your brain, have your attention at full throttle – you’re spellbound! They are sweet talkers, there’s nothing foul about their language, and there’s always an amazing contagious electric energy in their eyes and expressions. They just can’t lay low! They have jokes at their beck and call all the time. They look so colorful, they blind you with their shine. They never let that unknown fad of a smile on your face to ever fade. They’ll jump off their bums at the slightest hint of a joke. Sarcasm holds no meaning for these losers for they don’t have enough brains to understand it. Lets call them exhibit A!

Then there are million others who are sympathizing with you before you even tell them what you’re so upset about. They are your ray of light in darkness. They appear out of nowhere, lend you a shoulder or a coffee when you need it the most. These have a halo on their head or multiple ones depending on how deep your feet are stuck. They are that one branch hanging right at the reach of your outstretched hands when you are sinking in a quicksand. They have solutions at their beck and call – some realizable and some not, but you’re trapped. Trapped under the weight of their soft tone, that feather light touch on your shoulders that makes you theirs to own. They are the handkerchiefs to your tears. Lets call them exhibit B!

Now how do you relate the 2 exhibits A and B? By listing what they have in common –

1. They are forever willing to extend a hand.

2. They aren’t shy to utter those words when they matter.

3. They lend you a twinkle in your eyes, even when it’s only time limited.

4. Most of them are good-natured.

5. They talk good on your face.

Lets now talk about exhibit C –

They are unknown. They don’t talk. They simply observe till they think it’s time for them to jump on the throttle. Now what’s wrong with this behavior is – by the time, they take the reigns of the situation in their hands, it’s already handed over to someone else. They notice the failure and when this happens a couple more times and they realize that life’s a bitch, they turn into exhibit D – the passive ones. They give a rat’s ass to what or who you are. Their purpose of existence on the crude soil of this planet simplifies to pleasuring themselves. They are the loners. They can have all the fun in a party in which they are the only guest.

Yes, I’m exhibit D where D stands for – Dreary, Dysfunctional, Dodgy, Desolate, Defiant, Disdainful, Discreet, Distraught, and Dynamic.

For me, the very existence of people on this planet is uncalled for. They don’t deserve their places beside me. And if they do, then please do whatever you want to, at the other side of this planet, so there are 50% lesser chances of me ever meeting you. Yes, I’m exhibit D for I am not as buttery as exhibit A, balming as exhibit B, and I’m way past exhibit C.

No wonder I have no friends other than the ones I’ve cared to mention before in some posts.

Lets see how others befriend others –

Is this the End of Yuvraj Singh?

This article needed special guts, for it’s about an all-conquering Champion player who may not deserve such criticism but today is only a pale shadow his own former self, for it’s about a man who a whole nation is proud of, for it’s about a man who hurts the most when he’s not scoring runs!

Those who watched yesterday’s match, will provide a testimony of a player who’s terribly short on confidence. He just hasn’t looked like himself. The under confident footwork, the ebbing demeanor, that sinking chin, and eyes that just won’t match the levels with any other player in the team. He isn’t the same man who won MS Dhoni the most coveted World Cup in 2011. He isn’t the same roaring Yuvraj Singh.

He was a different man then, who’d match the best in the business any time of the day and between any dream of the night as well. And yet have enough to come out the next day and take on the next best. He was in a class of his own then. His feet moved ever so elegantly, he saw the balls earlier, and hence, read the lines better giving the bowlers an absolute nightmare. The nudges, the pulls, the hooks, the sweeps, the slog-sweeps, the cover-drives – lofted and otherwise, the square cuts, he was an absolute Indian treat to watch. The sore of the eye to the world and the twinkle of the eyes for India. He was untouchable – a terrific athletic and safe fielder, a fast runner – both on the field and between the wickets, and a man of organization. In all of the World Cup 2011, he fed off the confidence that he got from bowling his slow left armers which reflected in his batting too. Ask him now and he may himself say that those were the best days of his cricketing career.

Between then and now though, he’s had a rough ride. Forging through a near terminal illness, inspiring many a billions with his courage on the way, he came back on the scene with a bang, with a quick-fire 70 odd, and man, wasn’t Indian public and media gaga over his return. But since then, bowlers have figured him out, for he is still unsure about himself. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to bend down enough when playing his drives and his stride is shorter and legs stiffer. He isn’t playing straight enough. He’s trying to move but the feet take him to places inside the crease, he really doesn’t want to be.

And consequently, he now faces issues with fast bowlers, both seamers and swingers. He pokes at anything going away from him (very Gautam Gambhir style). I guess that’s what lack of form brings to you – an inherent urge to get off the strike so you spend more time on the crease. He doesn’t read the balls that come in and hence, sits like a duck being shot at. He is unsure about off-spinners bowling to him, for they have their own variations to bamboozle him with. It seems he has never played the doosra from any off-spinner, when all the while during his playing days, he had one of the best exponents of bowling doosra in his own team, bowling at him in the nets – Harbhajan Singh (and later Ravichandran Ashwin as well). A world-class batsman like him is facing issues differentiating between the balls that skid on and the ones that leave him. He isn’t watching the balls closely enough. The only bowlers he seems contented playing, are genuine leg-spinners who don’t have their own doosra, for that’ll take the balls away from him too. He’s hitting them for sixes aplomb!

His bowling too is coming apart, for the turn and guile isn’t visible and the man just lacks confidence to even arrive at the crease with a ball in his hand. The Yuvraj Singh of old who was once the go to bowler for MS Dhoni in crunch situations and who invariably broke critical partnerships, is now at best a part timer and much preferred is Suresh Raina.

Now some may say that he’s lacking opportunities and a long rope that MS Dhoni so often provides to players with promise, ones like Rohit Sharma. But I argue this point with the expectation that Yuvraj Singh carries with him every time he walks out to bat. Rohit Sharma is no Yuvraj Singh and may never even come close to achieving what Yuvraj has. But the Indian public looks at Yuvraj the same way they used to when he hit Stuart Broad for those 6 consecutive sixes in an over – the ever flamboyant batsman, who demolished bowling attacks at will and was once invincible. Players like Rohit Sharma have a lot of years still to go under their bellies but not Yuvi. He has to make the lost time count, for he owes it to his country and I certainly believe he knows it too.

But how do performances like the one yesterday help him get a go ahead from the selectors and the captain himself? Everyone’s looking at the World Cup in 2015 and although ICC T20 World Cup isn’t of the same the magnitude as the 50 over version, it certainly gives us a peek into what Yuvraj Singh is going through. It’s not just the lean patch that most batsmen go through a few times in their cricketing careers, it’s a total lack of belief in hitting the same balls that he so disdainfully dispatched out of stadiums in his hay days. No IPL style batting is going to help him earn his place in the national side. He has to come through stronger but till then, Indian side needs a stronger middle order that isn’t scared of facing the short pitched bombs that they’ll be pampered with, in Australia and New Zealand.

So who’d serve as his replacement, Cheteshwar Pujara? Ajinkya Rahane? With Suresh Raina himself now losing his place in the 50 over side, the Indian middle order looks the weakest ever. Whoever his replacements are, the best basis they must be selected on, is their ability to play the short pitched bowling else India look sure to not make it through, to even the second stage of the tournament.

Dhoni has a lot of issues at hand and a under confident Yuvraj Singh only makes the matters worse. How Yuvraj Singh goes on and fights his battles over the next six month is what will grab everyone’s eyeballs, for India needs him badly and knowing that tournaments like IPL will not serve him well, is what makes the onward journey even tougher for Yuvraj who clearly doesn’t have many opportunities at his disposal now, to impress the selectors and the ever believing Captain!

Go on Yuvi, we are praying for you to come back stronger!

Superheroes

You know what’s so special about superheroes and common man? A superhero wants to pretend as a common man while a common man wants to pretend as a superhero. The difference is between the need, the want and their aspirations. They are a case of dichotomy!

One is a superhero and needs to show himself as a man to gel better while the other is a common man but wants to be a superhero to look different.

We grew up watching and reading superheroes. As the childish innate desire grows to emulate them – their heroics, their generosity and their responsibility, the child grows too. Like all desires have their ceilings, this too has only two ways to go with age – either to get killed in the whirlwind demands of the world or come out, turn us into real superheroes of the world.

Some people choose roles that make them humans while others decide differently. While the former dissolve in the sea of normalcy, the others become the insoluble particles always visible. When we see them, we talk about them and decide whether they be acted upon. Whether they be left there untouched or be filtered out. We decide what to make out of them.

In this world where the different is what’s noticed, the value of the act in the eye of the observers decides if doers are really our superheroes. Since each act is scrutinized for we are too judgemental, we sometimes forget that in the end, they are humans too.

While this designation of superheroes may or may not necessary be happening at a worldly scale, it may be happening in our small little lives. This designation may or may not be happening at the doers expense too. It may have already happened in our subconscious without us even knowing about it.

But since most of us need a figure to look up to, we first choose them from among each other. Most often, they are dads, moms, grandmas, grandpas or a simple caretaker even. But they all exist and sometimes we fail to analyze and see these mere mortal men and women as humans. Vulnerable to the world and prone to mistakes themselves.

I pointed this out, because for some reason humanity is the last practical virtue we learn in our lives. By then we have already placed it below so many other crappy values that it becomes hard to find in the face of some simple human needs and desires.

While you may run in this world scathe free, your superheroes always have to watch out for their reputation in your eyes for your heart just can’t be broken. For this, some may even sacrifice their secret desires, their aspirations for the latter part of their lives when they have seen their children grow up, get married. The question for them will always remain – what do you need?

While the others may just break a few hearts and return to being humans and fulfil their own aspirations from their lives for their part in their small world is complete. They make their point clear to their world and tell them – we got to do what we got to do. The question for them is – am I done with my responsibility?

Both the sides live in this world harmoniously and yet when they do show their faces, both of them are right! Which side are you on?

Readers’ favourite railway stations

BBC News – Readers’ favourite railway stations.

I have traveled so much in my life and so many miles in a very short span of time, that I think I know the insides of Indian Railway travel. Not the routes, but the authenticity of true India, the feel of a new life that you have to live inside every train, on every separate occasion. The co-travelers, the beggars, the luggage, that typical foul smell of a toilet in any train, the open doors, the windows that leak the cold air into the compartment every night. Every travel makes you live a different life. And each of it starts with a railway station. Some beautiful, some not so, some busy as hell and some barren as deserts, most dirty and some being cleaned with a hose in the early mornings – all so futile.

This post is not to tell a tale about my days inside a train but it showcases some of the best railway stations that you can get to go into and live a dream, some so Harry-Potteresque. Please try and browse through the descriptions, locations and models of some of these stations that help you live your dreams on rails.

Period Speech

Can the world keep its promises on schools?

Click to read more!

Guess what! India is ahead in atleast one of the fields where rest of the world lags – child education! A mammoth 20% increase in the number of child enrollments in primary education! Brilliant head-start! African countries are being held up the most, probably due to infrastructure limitations but then there should have been South Africa that should have led the revolution but they are one of the poorest performers – I’m amazed at the figures. The figures themselves reveal a sad story even with so much progress. A mere 20% progress in 10 years? Are we in stone age or just loathed in indulgence with no moral responsibility towards the backward classes. Everyone should have done their bit. Children are the foundation of any nation and ignoring their education will lead developing nations like India to go backwards rather than forward. Children establish the identity of the nation amongst the world. We should care for them. Just today Supreme Court released a notice saying every working child should be enrolled in a primary school. A head start I must say!

Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn

Dhanolti – A glimpse of heaven on Earth!

Last few months had been quite hectic. I had been through a lot and we (me and my wife) were looking for a perfect weekend getaway spot. Went through a lot of names for a cool, calm and hilly destination which would give peace – Lansdowne, Manali, Dharamsala, Mussourie, Mcleodganj and some others. After a lot of thought on what would suit us and our budget (which was not much to be described anyway), we decided to go to Mussourie even though that place was not new to both of us. I had already been to Mussourie around 12 years ago and wifey had been lived in Dehradun (which acts as a step to climb to Mussourie) for 3-4 years and we thought we would be able to manage our finances well at a place which we had seen before.

So, in came the D-day and we decided to board a bus from the travel agent namely Kings Travels for our journey tagging along my brother-in-law (I’ll refer to him as BIL for the rest of this article) as any other mode of travel would have cost us a fortune and a lot of time. We decided that time was money and money will bring us more time so it made perfect sense to leave on Friday night and reach Dehradun early Saturday morning. Below are us just about to leave from Delhi:

Prince, Wifey and Me!

The onward journey was to be divided into 3 phases as we had classified it and each of these little parts had its own little moments:
1. Part 1 would cover us leaving our home, reaching the boarding point and leaving Delhi to reach a Dhaba (Restaurant) midway.
2. Part 2 would cover us leaving the Dhaba, reaching Dehradun early morning.
3. Part 3 would cover us catching hold of cab and reach Mussourie by 9 am in the morning.

We had decided to leave our home by 8 pm to reach the boarding point by 9:15 pm. The twist here came when auto-rickshaws refused to leave Chhatarpur. What the hell! Now what? It was time to push the panic button and we surely did. We decided to board a metro at Chhatarpur Metro Station and got an auto-rickshaw to drop us there. But as luck would have it, another auto-rickshaw at the station agreed to drop us to our boarding destination and we could reach the place on time all stuffed up in one auto-rickshaw huffing and puffing during the way!

So we boarded the bus and started moving towards Anand Vihar which would be the final boarding point from Delhi and then straight to Dhaba. All of this went smooth. On my way, when I saw the Firozeshah Kotla Stadium, I suddenly remembered that I am missing the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians going on in Delhi and the stadium was easily visible all lit up perfectly and it was passing us by. Score tally summarized via GPRS on my phone – MI struggling.

We reached the Dhaba at around 1:20 am, all sleepy ofcourse with no hunger. But having not tasted an authentic dhaba food since a long long time, I was lured into trying something and had quite a normal quick food in roti, dal and one paneer veg. It was time we boarded the bus again and now was the time we started feeling the pain of small bus and the pain it provides to your knees in the way of pathetic seating positions. It was impossible to sit or lie down but we decided to keep sitting as there was no way to relax the knees. The roads from Delhi to Dehradun are not too friendly if the buses are not comfortable and we bore the entire brunt of it having gotten a seat at the back of the bus. Kept jumping throughout the journey and every pause during the journey was our only chance to catch a nap even if it only lasted for a few minutes. Waking – Sleeping was the pattern as there was nothing but darkness outside amidst all the turbulence. But at the back our of our heads was the peace of a holiday in the making. We were absolutely unperturbed by the tame discomfort or jerks. One look outside would tell us how the still the night was (even though we were not). No complaints though.

By the morning we were completely exhausted. Sunlight woke us up from our paradises in our sleeps and what we saw outside was absolute calm, orange of the sun mixed with the green from the nature and a dense forest covering our bus from both the sides – a sight we hadn’t seen in ages it seems. This was nothing new to us – but certainly awakening and beautiful. May be a knock on our luck for a nice and a comfortable holiday. We reached Dehradun at 6:30 am with sunshine making its presence felt strongly and cool breeze in the air. Not bad at all. Caught a “Tempo – Bhatsuar” and made our way to the bus stand to catch a cab.

Then the surprise of our trip came calling from my wife who had somehow changed her mind during our bus journey – “Lets go to Dhanolti and not Mussourie. I have not seen that place and looking at Dehradun now doesn’t make me feel the same way I felt about it 10 years ago. I think same would happen to me when we reach Mussourie and I don’t want to waste my holiday”. The taxi driver pitched in – “Yes saab. Dhanolti is a better place if you looking to stay there for a day or two – not more than that. It’s beautiful and very peaceful”. This sudden change of mind jolted me but made me aware that these are the situations you can or may always face on a holiday. To decide between what to do and what not to do could mean a lot and I’m glad I made the right decision. “Ok. Lets go to Dhanolti.” – I said.

The taxi fare doubled and we would reach Dhanolti at about 10:30 am. It was a fare deal given we would get ample time to make up for our lost sleep from the bus – which in my opinion I was the most incorrect I had been throughout the journey. Stop no. 1 from Dehradun to Mussourie came when the hunger pangs started talking. Breakfast had bread – butter and omelet in order and we moved on with gust in our head and fresh air in our lungs. God, the air had not felt so fresh in ages and it obviously took our sleep away. Lots of recording from inside the car followed and we could now feel the difference between the city life and what it would be if we lived in the mountains. The twists and turns brought about obvious churns in our tummies but they would not bother us now. We were all geared up for a 3 hour hike in our “Ambassador” car. The car in itself never posed a question throughout the journey and we enjoyed the ride with our driver. Stop no. 2 would be to have photography session few of which along with ones from the car are below:

Lovely scenes them. I think what made us love the entire road trip more than anything was the excitement to see what would be in store for us at Dhanolti when all of this mediocre stuff (I mean it) was getting us so ecstatic. All of it felt so so similar like we are yet to forget our trips from earlier but more was to come. We nearly reached Mussourie when the driver took a right turn for the road to Dhanolti. The air was absolutely clear and fresh, the soil still smelt like heaven from yesterdays rains and all the flowers and trees left their essence in the air like they were about to burst with happiness. The best part I think about the road from Mussourie to Dhanolti is without doubt the clean and smooth roads with absolutely perfect curbs and slants. It goes up and down and left and right and never gives you a chance to sit straight – you are either jumping with excitement or falling over due to left and right cuts. We just couldn’t stop laughing at our plight. It was hilarious. These are the pictures from the turn we started for Dhanolti:

And then we started on. The quietness that engulfed us except the revving Ambassador engine was quite riveting. The road started stretching its legs and faster we tried to move, the slower it seemed. The mountain view and the pine trees were not doing too bad in keeping us distracted from the harsh twists and turns and the fear of mortality arising from the gaping dive to death. Quite frankly, we just weren’t having enough of the scenery. Every next view would surpass the previous one in beauty and serenity. Sometimes the wall side of the road would be on left and sometimes on right and very rightly keeping us engaged to keep a look out for anything that we might miss because of the twists on the road. And I will again mention the quietness in all of this. This is one property that enthralled us throughout our stay and the journey towards Dhanolti and back. Some more pictures from the way:

The next stop on the way was very interesting. First we saw a sign board that said we were only 260 km from Gangotri on the same route. And the next we were told that the mountain side had apples growing on them. Fresh and green. Also we saw an absolutely belligerent scene. How proximate we were to Himalayas could be linked to two facts: the air was absolutely clear from the rains last night and the Himalayas were only a few ranges away and were clearly visible. We just couldn’t believe our eyes but yes that was not clouds hanging in the air but Himalayas at the helm. Gorgeous view. The Himalayas though, could not be captured by our mere 5x optical zoom Sony cameras.

At this point we were only 6 kms from Dhanolti. Our worries grew if we would be able to find an affordable place to spend our night here. We entered Dhanolti never actually knowing that we had entered it. A small hut, then a maggi palace and then something that turned out to be a cure for our sore eyes – A Hotel. The price inquiry in the area led us to a very small affordable hotel – Pine Hotel. A room cost us a mere Rs. 800 and an extra bed cost another Rs. 100. And as we were to find out after entering the room, the water was extremely cold. So cold that the 2 men in the group decided to give bath a nice little goodbye. After freshening up we decided to hop on to any restaurant to catch a bite as hunger pangs had started dictating their terms yet again. So there we were right in front of a restaurant (a brand new restaurant which had 4 tables inside and a view table outside). We decided to skip the indoors and gave outdoor table a try. All of it – absolutely heavenly. The peace, the gusting wind and sounds from the monkeys and peacocks around completely made us forget that we were at a restaurant and not in the forests themselves. Then came the best part from the restaurant – the food itself. Absolutely similar to home cooked food, the food was prepared to not give the tourists any troubled tummy and it was flawless. Simple Rotis, Dal, a veg and fried rice. Nothing extravagant but the quantity could easily satiate even the biggest slurpers of the world. We started out and went out roaming after our lunch. A visit to the park that greeted us at the entry of Dhanolti was due and we made our way on foot roaming senselessly around and clicking pictures that wouldn’t have made any sense then but now they mean a lot.

We then reached the eco-park, paid a nominal fee of Rs. 10 per person and entered with burnt corns in our hand. The view – amazing. The feel – simple. The aura – peaceful. The park clearly states a message to conserve forests and plants and the messages were scattered all over the park. We climbed, clicked and made merry. Here are some pictures from the first park we visited:

All of this was such a clear view and our color thirsty and smoke damaged eyes were savoring every minute of the natural colors up there. It seemed that this is what earth is about and not all the development that it makes possible and the ease it provides to the mankind. Although I agree that I wouldn’t have shared this article if we wouldn’t have exploited earth’s resources but still I think we should keep a certain sanctity to how nature performs its daily tasks and keeps life running. All of what we were doing apart from clicking pictures were – thinking. Then we returned in broad day light to our room to catch a nap after deciding that the rest of the sight-seeing will be done after a doze off. During our sleep we noticed that the weather had suddenly gone dark and there were loud sounds of thrashing on our roof and the windows. But we were just too tired to take a heed of those and kept sleeping through what could have been an exhilarating spectacle for us to watch.

We woke up after 4 hours of absolute mayhem of a sleep and then decided to take a stroll through the street that was “Dhanolti”. We opened the door of our room that faced the hill directly and were greeted by near freezing winds entering our room blowing our heads off and sending shivers down our spines. I had never witnessed such sharp fall in temperatures and this was definitely a “First” of my life. With our teeth tattering and after covering ourselves up with almost anything that we could find in our room, we straight away headed to the shop that sold scarves and woolen items only to find out that there had been a huge hail storm in the afternoon that had wrecked this havoc. After covering ourselves up properly and to satisfaction, it was time for us to head to a Maggi palace to have a shot at one of the various versions of Maggi they sold along with hot tea. This is where we realized that life could be this simple as well. Small inviting shops, simple people, small eateries, 1 clinic and 1 beer & wine shop. That was all that was there in that street along with 2-3 restaurants. Here are some pics from the evening:

We kept roaming the street all through the evening that day and felt the cold wind telling us the meaning of peace and the essence of spending time on the hill-side. It was cold and people had taken the shelter of either their homes or the small cozy shops they run day in and day out to make a living. The pic above with the street view is the densest part in Dhanolti. This is it. Yes you read it right – this is it. This is all of Dhanolti’s population base. Although we didn’t get a chance to roam around in a lot of light but we accumulated enough material and places to roam about even in the dark. All the mixture of dark blue and grey in the sky along with the occasional orange peeping through the sky were all too breath-taking to be described in words. Personally I would love to live here. Or atleast have a summer home here.

As we were engulfed in our thoughts, we realized that it was already dark and the skies were darkening to be unforgiving again through the night and as we would later find out, we made a brilliant decision to have an early dinner at one of the restaurants even though we weren’t very hungry. But the locals had told us that it was going be a hail storm like the evening again and it was going to get extremely cold and the signs were again becoming very ominous. So we had our dinner and had normal food which in entirety cost us only Rs. 240 for rotis, dal, 1 veg and rice again.

Now it was time to run though our mobiles and this is something I have forgotten to mention. Only two networks were working there – BSNL and Vodafone. No Airtel and since all of us three belong to the Airtel family, none of us had network and were not being allowed to switch to any other operator as well – so we were out of touch with the entire world for sometime. So, we tried calling our families and as we would find out, the place has only one STD booth and that too had its lines turned off at night due to palpitating weather and the operator told us that the lines will be on in the morning when the skies are clear. In the end we had to ask a local to give us his mobile and he helped us gladly and told us that this was a common issue at Dhanolti. We paid him duly even on his insistence for not doing so.

Now that we were all hunky dory with our families, we decided to give ourselves sometime in the room and tried watching some local channels. But as fate would have it, we lost electricity for about 4 hours and some till we were awake. After that, it was pitch black with no motion and people had slept outside on the streets at 9 pm sharp. We were the only galactical birds flocking at Dhanolti then and we used our license to stay awake on till very late and enjoyed ourselves, joking and making merry! Life couldn’t have been better!

We woke up in the morning at about 8 am with no electricity and decided that it was time for us to hit the second park at Dhanolti as there would be nothing much to do at home. The bigger eco-park, one that Dhanolti is supposedly known for. My wifey had read somewhere on a pamphlet that we were allowed to plant trees in this park and this had turned into her wish since then and so we decided to abide by it. A wife’s wish is husbands command, remember – all you wife loving husbands will totally agree with me I know – say yes… come on come on – say yes. Ok I see you nodding your head. That’s enough for affirmation to me. So there we were at the eco-park at 11 am after we had had our breakfast which included heavy-duty aloo ka paranthas with butter and tea. And as I said, life just couldn’t have been better!

Again the nominal fees of Rs. 10 would let us have a free willed stroll through the park and we gladly paid for it. This is where the twist in our day would start. As soon as I paid for the park, it started drizzling. It rained at first but slowly the cold winds started picking up. And the rain turned into a slow hail fall. All of this was lovely, we decided to stay out and not get bound by this weather. We also paid Rs. 350 for the tree we wanted to plant and decided that it had to be Cedar Deodar tree. They are simply beautiful and the most abundantly available plant in the area. One more wouldn’t have made a slight bit difference and as it is, that plant was the only one available that day at the park to be planted. So we went ahead with the weather worsening. Started to stroll slow at first but then picked up our speed up the hill so we could reach our spot early which had been marked by the local keeper at the park. He helped us with the tools and water and stuff and by the time we made our way to spot, the slow hail fall had turned into the big hail storm with winds gusting into our faces and throwing us off the already wet track that we were following. We were careful and hence no casualty occurred. My wife apparently was on a completely different plane of resolution that day and totally ignored our calls to stay inside a shelter for sometime. So while we mortals decided to catch a shade, she went ahead with the keeper to plant the tree. So while we were watching from a distance, me being below a mid high plant and BIL below a shade, she was planting the tree. It was awesome for us to say the least because the last time I was eating salty ice from my collar was way back in my childhood and it was absolutely phenomenal to bear it for sometime. As this video would show:

Once we were through with this, we decided to do some photo shooting around the park in whatever time we were left with. Here are the pics:

It was then time for us to leave Dhanolti and we decided to have a short stay of around an hour at Mussourie just to have a feel of what commercialization had done to that place. The place is full and not very enjoyable if you have ever been there before when it was not so crowded. We wished we had more time to spend at Dhanolti though because the locals who knew the weather there told us that there might be snow if it continued to be bombarded with hail storms at this rate and how disappointed we were to hear that. We really wished we should have seen that spectacle too but not to be this time and we saved this for later. The colors, the peace, the feel, the aura, the forests, the rain, the smell of the fresh soil, the hail storms, the cold, the winds, and teas. We had an absolutely wonderful time there. It just couldn’t have been better. The place makes you feel like you belong there. And for people like me, it felt like I should own everything or atleast some part of the land there. And the best of all, it was pocket friendly. Along with the taxi which we were very very lucky about, the entire trip cost us a mere Rs. 10000 for 3 people who also included the bus fare to and fro between Delhi and Dehradun that stood at Rs. 3000 and the taxi cost us Rs. 3200 to and fro between Dehradun and Dhanolti.

The return journey was as painful and hard and bumpy as the onward journey and there was just no letting go of the pain in our knees. The suspensions in the bus were pathetic and we suffered thoroughly. You see, fate has its own ways of making sure that not every thing remains hunky dory throughout a journey.

All in all, Dhanolti is a place worth visiting once in your life time and the best time to be there should be around the end of January as per the locals. Board a taxi and not a bus for the sake of comfort. Everything else will remain a happy dot in your otherwise boring lifetime. I feel blessed to have been a part of this experience. Hope you have yours too.

Hurricanes and typhoons

Hurricanes and typhoons – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

Some of these images may look funny but in reality this is earth’s way of revenging against this violent human race.

Daily Life: September 2012

Daily Life: September 2012 – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

Revealing more of North Korea

Revealing more of North Korea – The Big Picture – Boston.com.
Its so nice to know that people around the world enjoy the same things as we do. If when the country is near war torn, North Koreans dare to smile their way through and go through their daily paces knowing that all of it may not last long.

Scenes from China

Scenes from China – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

This is the other side of China that world is missing out on I think. They have their own problems and issues and they are trying to resolve all the issues rather autonomously. There, I think lies the problem wherein China has it’s issues with the world.

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