Nepal in Six Syllables (December, ’17) (Part IV)

Sauraha “Hum” I left Kathmandu at the break of dawn, after 10 monotonous and tiresome days. “So happy to be leaving!”, read a text that I had so gleefully sent to a friend back in KTM. The continuity and the development of patterns acted as the final push and I set my way to Sauraha….

Nepal in Six Syllables (December, ’17) (Part III)

Mustang “Padme” As I alighted the bus from Pokhara to Jomsom, the first thing that struck me was the darkness. It was way beyond sunset, the valley was enveloped by a looming silence and the wait for the next day’s sunrise. The village smelled of leafless trees, dust, and isolation. The conductor handed me my rucksack,…

Nepal in Six Syllables (December, ’17) (Part II)

So, what do these flags signify to a generation for whom the musical and aesthetic value overpowers and somewhat overlaps its intrinsic or acquired spiritual and religious value? During my travels in North India and Nepal, my sub-conscious, with the conscious overwhelmed by the unpredictability, vibrancy and unexpected encounters of the places and the people…

Nepal in Six Syllables (December, ’17) (Part I)

What does the flag of five colours, fluttering on monasteries, on rooftops of houses, on windows, in bullet motorbikes headed to the Himalayas mean to you? The green, yellow, blue, white, and red of the soft silk fabric of these flags sold and bought, ever so enthusiastically, are almost always for “aesthetic” purposes. Looking for…

Going Back To School (The Time I Volunteered With Bethany Society, Shillong)

Over the past few months, I have realized that a ‘writer’s block’ can be of two types. One is where your creative and imaginative juices run dry, resulting from a severe lack of motivation. And the other, however, is when you consciously block all the pleasant and beautiful memories which inspire you to pick up…

Exposition of Mumbling Thoughts (Shillong, 2017)

26th June 2017 Shillong, Meghalaya From my house, Shillong looks different every day. Amongst the green of trees stand interruptive, vibrant colored buildings which, at evenings, look quiet and desolate. From where I see it, the sun’s rays are sometimes crimson, sometimes a strange pinkish orange. Right in front of my building is a two-storeyed…

Double Domino (Spiti, 2015; Part 3)

Chandra Tal (The Moon Lake) has been very rightfully named. Imagine a lake, crystal blue colour, resting in the lap of these magnanimous mountains glittering in the moonlight, exuding absolute silence, with only the wind and the ripples in the water to intercept the blue of the sky and that of the lake. Sitting there,…

Double Domino (Spiti, 2015; Part 2)

When our bus (HRTC, of course) made its way into the valley through bumpy, rocky roads, just a glance at the Spitian mountains and I knew that these were entirely different from the mountains we had seen in Manali or any other mountainous region before. They were rocky, rugged, barren, bearing the exact features of…

Double Domino (Spiti, 2015; Part 1)

This is not a travelogue. It isn’t a memoir. I didn’t jot all this down on my daily dairy. These are the ‘wordly’ illustrations of the myriad fragments of memories that I still carry with me, Smiling faces, rocky mountains, clear blue skies, and  a river that runs throughout Spiti. I was asked multiple times…

Auroville, 2016

There’s a place hidden from common scrutiny, Sheltered in carefully woven nestles of principles, hope, and unity, Where people are a bit more happy, where roads wind at peculiar angles, Time doesn’t bind actions there, It’s a place I hold dear to myself. In my heart, I never really thought I could fall for the…

The Stranger In The Night

I took a quick, sudden glance at him and shut my eyes tight. I felt a delicate tingling go down my spine and clenched my fists to not give it away. That smiling face, that same wonder and wander in the eyes, the restless lull in his body, I could attest to that feeling. Even if…

A Poem Born In Madurai

Madurai, the city of floods and temples, Confused maps and communication gaps, People on the street everywhere, But taxis to be found nowhere. I have been to the Meenakshi Temple, Had experiences ample. Food was in Plenty, Drinks, lunch, and dinner I had in gaiety. If you ask me what I feel about the city…