When the wedding bells tolled,
And the couple exchanged vows.
I felt blessed to be there,
Watching them espouse.
That blissful ceremony,
Was the epitome of trust.
For someone like me,
Left utterly nonplussed.
Into the skies I went,
Met a strange exotic bird.
The fowl wanted to know something,
About a place I never ever heard.
I spoke with impunity,
During the lengthy conversation.
The bird was left impressed,
By the amount of information.
I went to the nest after that,
Met a tiny little dude.
I had hoped to see him smile,
He was just not in the mood.
Hours passed like minutes,
As I kept on trying.
Finally the smile came,
And then I felt like crying.
I moved on to explore a bit,
Met a whole new flock.
If I'd hoped for a quiet journey,
I was in for a shock.
The group was young,
And a lot of fun.
I was drowsy though,
Wish I had a gun.
The destination was far,
The journey was slow.
When we finally arrived,
We had nowhere to go.
The no man's land,
Was close to the border.
When the girls started dancing,
It seemed out of order.
The shopping had to happen,
What if there was no sale.
This is one of those aspects,
Always fuzzy to a male.
The shrine by the night,
Looked even more divine.
The still waters by its side,
Reflected a heavenly shine.
The next morning we had to go,
To the same holy place.
Sleep, hunger and lethargy,
Was all over our face.
When the plans went haywire,
No one had a clue.
I was just as perplexed,
Contemplating what to do.
We wandered like nomads,
Ended up in a garden.
Which was supposed to be a tribute,
To martrys gunned down by a crazy warden.
Life slowly dragged on,
Overwhelmed by depression.
The end was coming closer,
Of the team's disintegration.
The journey back was a cakewalk,
Apart from the lack of sleep.
We were in the middle of an ocean,
In a big white heap.
The farewells were quick and tidy,
As I had to rush.
To the place where the toddler lay,
Sleeping in quiet hush.
That same day went reflecting,
On the days gone by.
What a week it had been,
With all its lows and high.
If the journey was a picture,
The octet had to be its soul.
We fitted together like a mesh,
To reach the common goal.
Life is nothing but a journey,
You meet people along the way.
Some moments are there to stay,
Memories that just dont fade away.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Punjab - In Retrospect : Part I
The first time I went to Punjab was when I had just finished school. It was a stroke of pure luck that I was able to make it. I should really thank my uncle for actually taking the trouble of joining a spoilt brat like me on a trip around the state to where my origins belong.
They say that a visit to Punjab actually changes your outlook and your mindset. At least it has a lasting influence on your thought process since the people and the atmosphere just overwhelm you. You just have to experience the place since no amount of praise can do justice to the feeling of actually being there. If there is one place where you feel welcome, it most definitely has to be Punjab.
Ever since I came back from that trip I had promised myself that one day I was going to return to my motherland. My fortune had other plans in store for me though. I did manage to go back to the mother ship once again but the occasion and the responsibilities were so hugely surmounting that I did not get any time to get a feel of that place.
Finally it took another stroke of genius from another friend to get me back to the Land of Five Rivers. That week of my life can never be erased from my otherwise amnesiac memory. I experienced so many emotions, lows, highs, troubles and favors that I actually was more mentally drained than physically fatigued at the end of it all.
The journey began with me having to go to Chennai to attend the marriage of two of the closest friends that I have ever known. They have actually made me believe that true love exists and their solemn wedding was just the epitome for me. No other marriage has ever made more sense to me than that one. I haven't enjoyed any marriage more than I enjoyed their's. Love was truly in the air and I could get a whiff of it being there. Chennai was etched into my memory forever.
Before I could blink I had to depart to join a highly anticipated and the second leg of my trip up north. As I was leaving all alone in that cab going to the airport I had only one thought in my mind which was "I should have slept earlier". More seriously, I was just thinking how some events change one person's life and I was wondering if this was one of them. That one day had changed a little bit of my cynical mindset. Chennai had already done what I wanted Punjab to do to me.
I had a hunch that the flight would also not be as uninteresting as all the others that I have been on and I was right. As I sat in the front row of that flight to Delhi, all I wanted to do was sleep and wake up only when I had reached my destination. Then all of a sudden this British gentleman came and sat next to me. I generally avoid talking to people on flights and I give such condescending looks to others that no one else bothers talking to me as well. That trick fortunately did not work on this Brit chap and we ended up talking about loads and loads of stuff on the flight. He was so impressed with my knowledge about Delhi that he gave me his contact and promised that he would show me around London in case I ever wound up there. Again I had ended up enjoying my time even though I detest flight journeys to the core.
Next stop was my nephew's house and no sooner had he seen me that the sweet little thing started raking his brains out trying to find that grey cell in that tiny little head of his, which recognized me. I never liked babies and especially the ones which cry, which, as a matter of fact all of them do. I dont know why though this toddler with his huge eyes and his chubby cheeks and his wafts of overgrown hair and his unrelenting innocence made me change my mind about babies. I just wanted him to like me as much as I loved him. His one smile was all that I wanted and it took me 8 hours to finally achieve it. Maybe it was a sign that he had registered me and my face in his memory. For me it was one of those timeless moments in life.
I wanted to spend all my time with him and my sister (of course) but I had a promise to keep and so I had to leave. The journey had not even begun and I was already lost in translation. I was physically present in one place but my mind was still trying to catch up with my physical being. The adrenaline was flowing and the heart was thumping. It happens when you expect the unexpected to happen and your future is all that you can see since you are oblivious to your present and your past.
They say that a visit to Punjab actually changes your outlook and your mindset. At least it has a lasting influence on your thought process since the people and the atmosphere just overwhelm you. You just have to experience the place since no amount of praise can do justice to the feeling of actually being there. If there is one place where you feel welcome, it most definitely has to be Punjab.
Ever since I came back from that trip I had promised myself that one day I was going to return to my motherland. My fortune had other plans in store for me though. I did manage to go back to the mother ship once again but the occasion and the responsibilities were so hugely surmounting that I did not get any time to get a feel of that place.
Finally it took another stroke of genius from another friend to get me back to the Land of Five Rivers. That week of my life can never be erased from my otherwise amnesiac memory. I experienced so many emotions, lows, highs, troubles and favors that I actually was more mentally drained than physically fatigued at the end of it all.
The journey began with me having to go to Chennai to attend the marriage of two of the closest friends that I have ever known. They have actually made me believe that true love exists and their solemn wedding was just the epitome for me. No other marriage has ever made more sense to me than that one. I haven't enjoyed any marriage more than I enjoyed their's. Love was truly in the air and I could get a whiff of it being there. Chennai was etched into my memory forever.
Before I could blink I had to depart to join a highly anticipated and the second leg of my trip up north. As I was leaving all alone in that cab going to the airport I had only one thought in my mind which was "I should have slept earlier". More seriously, I was just thinking how some events change one person's life and I was wondering if this was one of them. That one day had changed a little bit of my cynical mindset. Chennai had already done what I wanted Punjab to do to me.
I had a hunch that the flight would also not be as uninteresting as all the others that I have been on and I was right. As I sat in the front row of that flight to Delhi, all I wanted to do was sleep and wake up only when I had reached my destination. Then all of a sudden this British gentleman came and sat next to me. I generally avoid talking to people on flights and I give such condescending looks to others that no one else bothers talking to me as well. That trick fortunately did not work on this Brit chap and we ended up talking about loads and loads of stuff on the flight. He was so impressed with my knowledge about Delhi that he gave me his contact and promised that he would show me around London in case I ever wound up there. Again I had ended up enjoying my time even though I detest flight journeys to the core.
Next stop was my nephew's house and no sooner had he seen me that the sweet little thing started raking his brains out trying to find that grey cell in that tiny little head of his, which recognized me. I never liked babies and especially the ones which cry, which, as a matter of fact all of them do. I dont know why though this toddler with his huge eyes and his chubby cheeks and his wafts of overgrown hair and his unrelenting innocence made me change my mind about babies. I just wanted him to like me as much as I loved him. His one smile was all that I wanted and it took me 8 hours to finally achieve it. Maybe it was a sign that he had registered me and my face in his memory. For me it was one of those timeless moments in life.
I wanted to spend all my time with him and my sister (of course) but I had a promise to keep and so I had to leave. The journey had not even begun and I was already lost in translation. I was physically present in one place but my mind was still trying to catch up with my physical being. The adrenaline was flowing and the heart was thumping. It happens when you expect the unexpected to happen and your future is all that you can see since you are oblivious to your present and your past.
Punjab - In Retrospect : Part II
When I ended up at the railway station I almost forgot my cell phone in the cab. I shook my head, gave myself a kick in the backside and pleaded my mind to stay with me for a little more time before I gave it some rest. I was mistaken. What was going to come my way was a barrage of verbal assault from the gang I was supposed to go with. Before all that happened though I spent a little time with the close friend (A) who had organized the trip and another gang member (V). (A) was looking tired, obviously because of all the travelling. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere the other gang members arrived and all hell broke loose.
I have always been amazed to see how each person reacts when they meet someone new. Everybody has his/her own special or rather unique way of meeting and greeting a stranger. What made this congregation even more interesting was the fact that we all had to be together for the next two days and so everyone started off showing their best self.
Punjab beckoned and as though some conspiracy was being unfolded the train that we had to board was getting delayed by the minute. When it finally arrived I thanked the heavens for my mind had had enough of introductions and pleasantries. I got into the coach and was getting ready to sleep when (A) quite surprisingly came off and made me realize how filthy and selfish I was acting. I knew that (A) was right and so I decided to spend a little more time with the gang. There were two people who hailed from a village in Punjab (CJ a.k.a. Devil 1) and (JS), two Tamilian twins (Devil 2) and (CHA) and one Bengali (SO a.k.a. Devil 3). All in all it was just the perfect mixture of stupidity and intelligence that makes a trip interesting. I spent as much time with those folks as I could. My mind had switched off a long time back but it was only when my body started giving signals that these folks relieved me and I gladly obliged.
I slept like a baby and the next thing I knew was that we were in Jullundur on our way to Amritsar. The events of the past few days had been playing on my mind. I decided to get off the train to just have a change of environment before the train started chugging off again. There are few things in life better than sipping hot tea on a strange looking platform with the winter chill biting you. What makes it even more special is if you have friends who share the same interests as you. Tea never tasted as good as it did on that platform in Jullundur city.
The next stop was Amritsar and when we finally got down the anticipation of it all had just drained the excitement out of us. We wanted to explore but our hearts and our minds were just not in sync. In a fit of helplessness we decided to book the return journey tickets back to Delhi and that later proved to be the single biggest mistake in my book. But a trip is incomplete without it's screw-ups. As travellers our first priority was lodging and we managed to find a decent hotel which was reasonably priced as well. The cost of living in the city had struck me as shockingly low, but I chose to ignore the first signals.
It was already late afternoon and we decided that our starved souls needed some respite. So we headed towards the "Brothers Dhaba" which sounds quite uncanny when the Punjabi name of the restaurant is translated in English. In the heat of the moment each of us ordered a full Punjabi meal and by the time the food arrived we had already started regretting the decision. The calorie scale would have to invent new units to measure the amount of fat that the meals contained but to all of our surprise we gobbled all of it up and even had space left for some Lassi. A trip to Punjab is incomplete if you dont have a glassful of Lassi right after the heaviest meal you will ever have in your lifetime.
Next destination was the Wagah Border and it just had to live up to its expectations. The place is utterly crowded and very poorly managed but the ordeal of reaching the destination is definitely not in your mind when you make that final rush to the Indo-Pak border. The entire ceremony is quite a marvel. It certainly got my, almost dead, patriotic juices flowing and that in itself justified the amount of chaos, energy and decibel levels that that place generated.
One piece of advice to all folks who love to travel. Always keep some time in your itinerary for shopping immaterial of which place you visit, since when you travel with the shopaholic sex you got to give in to their addiction. We all decided that in the best interest of us all, we have a rather sober dinner to quench the raging fire in our tummies. By the time we reached our rooms almost everyone had decided to call it a day and were about to retire. I had other plans though.
I knew that the "Harmandir Sahab" looked even more divine by the night and I knew that I just had to be there when it mattered. Luckily that enthusiasm rubbed off on all of the rest of the gang members and everyone decided to join me on the holy trip. (A), (Devil - 2), (CHA) and (SO) being the items that they are, happened to try on their shopping. I must admit that all of them were looking quite cute though.
That one night in that heavenly place is the stuff dreams are made of. If I ever was closer to God it was then and it was at that place sitting next to the "Sarovar" looking at that wonder structure standing majestically with the serene waters around it trying to soothe my restless soul. It was as if the silence was talking louder than ever, preaching us, telling us that true happiness lies only in selflessness.
It was only when (SO) caught cold that we decided to leave since we had plans of visiting the place the next morning and it was not worth risking it. I knew that none of us was going to make it. It was tough to leave that place and it was even tougher to understand how one can feel so connected to something having seen it only minutes back.
I have always been amazed to see how each person reacts when they meet someone new. Everybody has his/her own special or rather unique way of meeting and greeting a stranger. What made this congregation even more interesting was the fact that we all had to be together for the next two days and so everyone started off showing their best self.
Punjab beckoned and as though some conspiracy was being unfolded the train that we had to board was getting delayed by the minute. When it finally arrived I thanked the heavens for my mind had had enough of introductions and pleasantries. I got into the coach and was getting ready to sleep when (A) quite surprisingly came off and made me realize how filthy and selfish I was acting. I knew that (A) was right and so I decided to spend a little more time with the gang. There were two people who hailed from a village in Punjab (CJ a.k.a. Devil 1) and (JS), two Tamilian twins (Devil 2) and (CHA) and one Bengali (SO a.k.a. Devil 3). All in all it was just the perfect mixture of stupidity and intelligence that makes a trip interesting. I spent as much time with those folks as I could. My mind had switched off a long time back but it was only when my body started giving signals that these folks relieved me and I gladly obliged.
I slept like a baby and the next thing I knew was that we were in Jullundur on our way to Amritsar. The events of the past few days had been playing on my mind. I decided to get off the train to just have a change of environment before the train started chugging off again. There are few things in life better than sipping hot tea on a strange looking platform with the winter chill biting you. What makes it even more special is if you have friends who share the same interests as you. Tea never tasted as good as it did on that platform in Jullundur city.
The next stop was Amritsar and when we finally got down the anticipation of it all had just drained the excitement out of us. We wanted to explore but our hearts and our minds were just not in sync. In a fit of helplessness we decided to book the return journey tickets back to Delhi and that later proved to be the single biggest mistake in my book. But a trip is incomplete without it's screw-ups. As travellers our first priority was lodging and we managed to find a decent hotel which was reasonably priced as well. The cost of living in the city had struck me as shockingly low, but I chose to ignore the first signals.
It was already late afternoon and we decided that our starved souls needed some respite. So we headed towards the "Brothers Dhaba" which sounds quite uncanny when the Punjabi name of the restaurant is translated in English. In the heat of the moment each of us ordered a full Punjabi meal and by the time the food arrived we had already started regretting the decision. The calorie scale would have to invent new units to measure the amount of fat that the meals contained but to all of our surprise we gobbled all of it up and even had space left for some Lassi. A trip to Punjab is incomplete if you dont have a glassful of Lassi right after the heaviest meal you will ever have in your lifetime.
Next destination was the Wagah Border and it just had to live up to its expectations. The place is utterly crowded and very poorly managed but the ordeal of reaching the destination is definitely not in your mind when you make that final rush to the Indo-Pak border. The entire ceremony is quite a marvel. It certainly got my, almost dead, patriotic juices flowing and that in itself justified the amount of chaos, energy and decibel levels that that place generated.
One piece of advice to all folks who love to travel. Always keep some time in your itinerary for shopping immaterial of which place you visit, since when you travel with the shopaholic sex you got to give in to their addiction. We all decided that in the best interest of us all, we have a rather sober dinner to quench the raging fire in our tummies. By the time we reached our rooms almost everyone had decided to call it a day and were about to retire. I had other plans though.
I knew that the "Harmandir Sahab" looked even more divine by the night and I knew that I just had to be there when it mattered. Luckily that enthusiasm rubbed off on all of the rest of the gang members and everyone decided to join me on the holy trip. (A), (Devil - 2), (CHA) and (SO) being the items that they are, happened to try on their shopping. I must admit that all of them were looking quite cute though.
That one night in that heavenly place is the stuff dreams are made of. If I ever was closer to God it was then and it was at that place sitting next to the "Sarovar" looking at that wonder structure standing majestically with the serene waters around it trying to soothe my restless soul. It was as if the silence was talking louder than ever, preaching us, telling us that true happiness lies only in selflessness.
It was only when (SO) caught cold that we decided to leave since we had plans of visiting the place the next morning and it was not worth risking it. I knew that none of us was going to make it. It was tough to leave that place and it was even tougher to understand how one can feel so connected to something having seen it only minutes back.
Punjab - In Retrospect : Part III
Life goes on and when that day ended I felt that I had learnt something. I felt that that trip had already been a success and that, we all, together as a unit, just clicked. The next day promised a lot more fun and a lot more excitement. It turned out to be something quite extraordinary though. The first thing we did was to visit the Golden Temple again and have langar. Although it was a lot more crowded this time round, that place still taught so much to me that I was just left overawed by its beauty.
When we left that place finally, I knew that we would not be seeing anymore of it anytime soon but I also knew that one day I would be back to visit this out of the world monument. The next place we visited was the Jallianwala Bagh. I had a lot of expectations from this place but it turned out to be the worst experience of them all, apart from a few laughs that I had, seeing General Dyer (CHA) firing bullets while her sister (Devil - 1) combed her hair.
We had absolutely nothing to do after this since the plan that (JS) had made had to be cancelled partly because of the delay and partly because of our lethargy and we were left as clueless as dorks about the future of our itinerary. We visited a temple after that which had the idols of the Gods and Goddesses from all over India and was a nice little tweak to the trip.
All this while it just seemed that the end of the sojourn was coming close and that, alongwith the dull weather lent a depressing feeling to my mind. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get set for the ride back but not before we hogged some badly needed food and beverages. I managed to catch a little nap as well after the binging session and that helped me to carry on for the rest of the day.
The journey back to Delhi was quite uneventful except for the fact that the morning fog there was reported as one of the worst in the history of that city. Sitting in that bus, it felt almost like we were in the middle of a white ocean, trying to find the black strip on which we had to move. When I finally split up with the gang to go on my separate way I felt no emotion at all. I knew that this was quite abnormal at that time. Maybe my mind was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the trip had actually ended.
I had one more day to spend with the little dude and it seemed like he was the only one who could make me laugh after the terrifyingly tiring ordeal that I had been through. During my spare time that day when I regained my senses, I tried recounting the events that had transpired in the last week. I realized that those wonderful moments were never going to come back. I realized how much we all had achieved together as a group. I realized how fortunate I was to have been a part of a team which never let the spirits dampen. I realized how it is the company that makes an average trip into an unforgettable experience.
The soulmate, the flights, the friends, the Little Dude, the family, the roads, the places, the moments, the feelings and the memories had more than completed the collage of my life that week and it turned out to be quite a masterpiece. I most certainly felt alive that week of my life.....Punjab had done it again !!
When we left that place finally, I knew that we would not be seeing anymore of it anytime soon but I also knew that one day I would be back to visit this out of the world monument. The next place we visited was the Jallianwala Bagh. I had a lot of expectations from this place but it turned out to be the worst experience of them all, apart from a few laughs that I had, seeing General Dyer (CHA) firing bullets while her sister (Devil - 1) combed her hair.
We had absolutely nothing to do after this since the plan that (JS) had made had to be cancelled partly because of the delay and partly because of our lethargy and we were left as clueless as dorks about the future of our itinerary. We visited a temple after that which had the idols of the Gods and Goddesses from all over India and was a nice little tweak to the trip.
All this while it just seemed that the end of the sojourn was coming close and that, alongwith the dull weather lent a depressing feeling to my mind. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get set for the ride back but not before we hogged some badly needed food and beverages. I managed to catch a little nap as well after the binging session and that helped me to carry on for the rest of the day.
The journey back to Delhi was quite uneventful except for the fact that the morning fog there was reported as one of the worst in the history of that city. Sitting in that bus, it felt almost like we were in the middle of a white ocean, trying to find the black strip on which we had to move. When I finally split up with the gang to go on my separate way I felt no emotion at all. I knew that this was quite abnormal at that time. Maybe my mind was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the trip had actually ended.
I had one more day to spend with the little dude and it seemed like he was the only one who could make me laugh after the terrifyingly tiring ordeal that I had been through. During my spare time that day when I regained my senses, I tried recounting the events that had transpired in the last week. I realized that those wonderful moments were never going to come back. I realized how much we all had achieved together as a group. I realized how fortunate I was to have been a part of a team which never let the spirits dampen. I realized how it is the company that makes an average trip into an unforgettable experience.
The soulmate, the flights, the friends, the Little Dude, the family, the roads, the places, the moments, the feelings and the memories had more than completed the collage of my life that week and it turned out to be quite a masterpiece. I most certainly felt alive that week of my life.....Punjab had done it again !!
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