Reflections

I have never had a dull train journey; no matter how near or far, how familiar or strange the destination. Every time I came back with tales to tell. This time was no different. I was out to meet dear family and friends in the southern part of God’s Own Country. The onward journey from home was pretty much uneventful as it was quite late in the night for adventures, having had boarded the overnight train from Shoranur to Trivandrum. I was at the capital city, early morning the next day and my time there, was, as always, a gorgeous one. I love the royal splendor which Trivandrum still carries with it and I love spending time with my friends there. The next leg of my excursion was to Tiruvalla in Parasuram express to meet my beloved Penguin aunts (nuns of the Bethany Order who have been affectionately christened so by my creative cousin). This trip of two and a half hours was more or less ordinary except for the excitement that I was unable to control each time the TTI came to chuck ...

Last weekend, I had a cat as a guest. Not that I am a big fan of the feline species but I was doing a very dear friend, a favour. She wanted to leave her pet with someone she could trust while she went away for the weekend and I was happy to be of help. This cat taught me a few lessons in the two days that he was with me. Till he arrived I was under the impression that cats were super friendly. And then he made his entry! Yogi, as he is called, strode regally in to our living room as if he owned it. My daughter and I went after him, like smitten fans to their object of admiration, to pet him, but he just dismissed us with a shrug of his handsome coat. It is not that he did not like it but it was pretty evident that he did not need it. He settled down in our house and started exploring his newly acquired territory, bit by bit. He sniffed at pieces of furniture, tugged at the door mats and carpets, jumped on to the couch to see if that suited him and finally perched himself atop t...

One day, many states A trip to the north eastern part of the country had been a dream for over a couple of years and I firmly believe that as the time gets ripe for a plan, things just fall in place. 8 th of October started very early and over the next 12 hours, I was in a state of continuous transit, crossing states of place, time and being; traversing through Karnataka, Delhi, and West Bengal and finally ending up in Sikkim. The vacation mode was on, the moment we left the trail of vehicles along with the chaos and the familiarities of our city behind us. By the time we reached Bagdogra it already felt as if we had been away for days. The military airport in Bagdogra takes you back in time. It operates as a civil enclave and connects various parts of north Bengal along with the north east states of India as well as the neighboring countries of Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand. To me the airport looked strange, resembling more of a railway station than a swanky airport and pr...

There are some years in your life that you just do not want to let go of. And the saddest part is that no matter how hard you try to pull it back it still moves forward and goes behind that curtain. Yet there are some other years that you would want to shove out of the window from the top most floor of your high rise apartment and they wouldn't leave till it's time for them to leave. It took me quite some time to understand that the clock of life follows its own rhythm and that I cannot tamper with it. That's what birthdays do to you; at least from that age when your birthday cake appears to explode from the weight of the candles on it. They make you see the truth more clearly with the passage of time. I celebrated my 43rd birthday a few days ago and looking back, I noticed that every year after I turned forty has been not so easy on my poor heart. It would get worked up with anxiety and worry; right from about the strands of grey which seemed to multiply with no conc...

When I spoke about my travel destination for this month to my friends, I received a lot of ponderous ‘umm’s’ and ‘are you sure?’ and ‘why do you want to go there and do that?’ I shrugged them all off but I did have my unsaid misgivings about the trip. The past few weeks in Bangalore have been horrendous with the clogged and water logged roads resulting in torturous commute lasting for hours to cover distances in single digit kilometres. Rains has never been a favorite with the city. It just cannot handle it. Will the rains follow me all the way till there? Attappadi is known for its unpredictable nature but that’s its ultimate beauty too. Something which can never be said about a city like Bangalore which is ripping at its seams. I didn't think much but went ahead and plunged headlong in to my adventure. The place was rather unknown to me except for what I have read and heard about in bits and pieces. A tribal settlement, one of largest in the state of Kerala,...

 It must be the place! I am sure of it this time.  It must also be the people!  They make the place! What about the biting cold and the ice like drizzle? Can’t be ignored. Along with all this it is also the fact that writing and love happen in isolation; removed from daily chaos, mundane routine and a cluttered mind. I have been counting down for the Jaipur Literary Festival 2015. It’s become a favourite from the time I visited it in 2012 which was my first time exposure to the festival in the pink city which huddled up its people in the month of January! The first thing I remember about the visit is its vibrancy; of Jaipur and of  JLF. They reflected upon each other. The traditional Rajasthani warmth softened the bone biting cold to an extent. Coming from a land which we consider as God’s own, hospitality was taken for granted by us. But what I experienced in Jaipur was something else; it beat it all. Right from the rickshawalla and the tea vendor to a passerby w...

Don’t let the lack of familiarity stop you from letting be Don’t let the ways of the world thwart your connect with the free spirit within Don’t let the picking of speed and the piercing wind shut you off from the pleasure that is yet to be Things  grow richer in shade and warmer in feel on a pillion ride