A Journey Is an Adventure in Itself

A handloom at the shawl emporium, Manali

One of the best feelings in the world is when I travel. I just love the journey be it anywhere. I love to lower the window and let the wind, regardless of how warm or cold it is, rush through my hair. I love wind in my power. And I think my straight, non-fussy hair are perfect for this. Even after messing it up in every way possible, it still falls straight down. Thanks, galactic powers to-be. You probably knew all along that I couldn't be bothered to brush them out.Anyways, enough back-handed self compliments. Back to the joys of the journey. Whenever I get into a vehicle, I imagine soft music playing in my head, sit back and settle into the seat, and turn my head towards the window. I'm all prepped for the journey. This is when I'm ready for the world. Bring on your sights, sounds, people, and wonders. My mind will take them all in.


At Manikaran, Manali

Because I have a runaway imagination, there is a story everywhere I see. And of course, each person gets their own soundtrack. The busy ones get calm instrumental music. The quiet ones get music with lyrics. The agitated ones get a folk/country singer performing live at their side. The dreamers get a grand musical show all to themselves. I have to partial to them. They are after all  "my people".


Of course, like Japanese tourists, I too get trigger happy and look for things, people, places (crevices and cliffs included), and sights to click and capture. Of course, there is nothing like the mind to relive the memory of the moment. And you need people to share the experience it with. The moment when you experience something life-changing and you look sideways to see that the friend standing next to you also experienced the same are moments worth cherishing. My "moments" always make me smile. I'm proud to cherish those cheesy moments.

So go have those journeys. Go click those moments. Cherish those memories and make sure you have plenty of those to keep you company for a lifetime.

Some Questions I Seek Answers For...

Have you ever tried to help people? If you have, have you ever had tomatoes thrown at you by the same people who wanted help? If not, can you tell me how you help people out because my methods clearly don't work!

Me trying to help is often like being alone at sea. Calm for a while, roaring waters later on.

 Time and again, one distraught friend after another has asked me for advise simply because I was the only one present. As an individual, I usually stay away from conflict creation but inevitably find myself at the heart of conflict resolution. Even after wishing to not be in a situation, I end up being in one.

Though this isn't a comment about all my attempts at relationships with boys, this is a view of how terribly I need to learn how to be a more diplomatic person rather than a caregiver.

I have mentioned before that I have made attempts at mending relations between friends who had love troubles, friends who needed an ear to relieve their problems, parents who needed to vent, and teachers who tried hard to change me. As a result of being a confidante for many friends and family, I have all these jumbled up stories in my memory palace. I'm not a fan of gossip in the way Kim Kardashian is dating Kanye now. Nor do I like tales of who's sleeping with whom and how many times. But I do get to hear such stories against my will.

And this is why I need to learn how to develop it the other way round.

I want to tell a friend that she's making a terrible mistake by dating a guy who cheats on her. I want to be able to smack this guy's face, leave a print of my palm on his bony face, and make her realize that he is not the one she's been told to believe is the Mr. Right. She needs to know and understand that I don't want her to waste her time on a futile romance when it holds no future and is based on the idea of "settling down because there's no one else right now."

I also want to tell a hopeless romantic friend that her day will come. Till then she needs to be strong and face all oppositions. Most importantly, she needs to stand strong. She needs to believe in fate and stars if she wants to. She needs to believe in God or a higher power, if that gives her solace. There is someone out there for her is the advise she gets. However, what I want her to believe in instead is that she is a one-of-a-kind gem. I'd love to make her realize that I'm proud of having her as a friend and that all that's happened is in the past. (No amount of cyber-stalking will help her cause.) Till her day comes, I want her to know that she'll have friends like me to support her in any way. And that I love her.

To two of the first people I ever met, I want to tell them that they're together for more than just two reasons: my brother and I. I wish I could make them realise that I would love them more if they made an attempt to understand each other instead of giving in to traditional roles and expectations. Every time a situation arises, I wish they'd talk to each other instead of letting feelings and thoughts fester inside them. In this case though, sometimes I think I need "Age" more than the acquired "Wisdom" to settle them down.

I want to tell someone that I don't love them and have never done so. What happened was idiotic and a mistake. How could I correct it? I don't have a time machine and even that we know doesn't work. (The Time Machine and Big Bang Theory tell us so.) How do I tell this person that I don't require their attention? That I have a life I love which doesn't include them. How do I let this person down easy? How do I prevent them from not being sad?

Looking for answers...

I'd like to tell the world that I need to meet more like-minded people. Why won't you send such people my way? Why do I have to deal with people who don't understand my jokes, who can't help me increase my knowledge, who let me down by being too normal? Why are people I enjoy spending time with so far and away, scattered across the globe? Being one in a crowd is not so fun if you have to stoop down to the level of others. And attempts at making them rise above themselves is always met with derision. Why aren't there any songs about this? I guess if there were songs for this, they wouldn't understand.

These are some of the questions I wanted to get out of the way and into the universe. Universe, now it's your turn to handle them. Of course I need answers. Answers that don't require me going to a remote monastery in the Himalayan mountains and meditating for days. Answers that can be worked upon together, that is, if I don't piss off the people above.

Of Photographs and Memories...

I've always wanted to do a photo essay and have looked at various themes and photos, trying to piece them together into a tale. I found that this is a very time-consuming and painstaking exercise and I need time for it. And since I'm a procrastinator by genetics, I present to you my first closest attempt at a photo essay.

All of these pictures are of Kerala, my home state. While I have many more beautiful pictures and fond memories of the places in Kerala, I thought I'd start with these pictures. They're of my most recent visit (last year). 

Hope you enjoy these as much I enjoyed taking them.

Sunset in Nellambur, Kerala. This was outside the home of a cousin of mine. Nestled between the mountains, Nellambur is an absolute paradise.

This is similar to a lot of roads in Kerala. I just wanted one to remind myself of how country roads compare to city roads. 

If I had to have a house in the lap of nature, I want it to be exactly like this one. Small, beautiful and homely.

Believe it or not, Photoshop brought my grandparents closer after their deaths. They don't have a pic together when they were alive.

Sunset again. I really love sunsets!

Roses planted by my mom.

My nephew Alvin. He's an Australian now.

My niece who's a semi-Kuwaiti.

The veins and branches spread outwards from this more than a century-old tree and provide shade to many a weary soul.

A decorated altar, common to many orthodox churches in Kerala.

One from the flock.

And this is the century-old tree in multicolour.

A church in Manarcad, Kerala

My mother is a nature buff and always wants to pose next to plants or flowers.