Mesmerizing Udaipur

The Jagmandir Island - floating in midst of the lake
the ferry dropped us here and then we never wanted to leave.
While we sat watching the mainland, the hill lined lake side lazing
under the peace and quiet afternoon sun.

The pool at the palace I was staying in
and if u think it's lovely by the day, It just turns magical by the night
I lay counting stars at night,
watching the night grow older, quieter
while I grew calmer within.

I went for a work trip to Udaipur, in Rajasthan, India for a couple of days. A beautiful town situated around three main lakes Udaisagar, Fateh Sagar and Lake Picola. Known as the 'Venice of East' It did live up to the description it has been adorned with.

It turned out to be a smashing fun trip as I and my friend Jacob, decided to explore the city on our own, walking it's streets (with a little help of helpful locals and internet) we discovered that the city had more than just stone palaces to offer, in terms of folk art, innovative ideas and experiences.

For three days, I broke free from the usual rush of life, and lived life in slow motion, holding on to each moment that came by, savoring each moment while it lasted before moving into the next. For three days I walked mesmerized by the beautiful city with it's majestic palaces, lakes, island hotel, moonlight lake view diners, peaceful lakeside afternoons and magical sunsets.

While we were mostly too busy capturing the moments and imprinting them as memories on the film of our minds, we did manage to capture a few as photographs on the lens of our camera. Here are a few

The City Palace, Udaipur all lighted up at night

I watched the sun slowly set, heard the birds calling those still
wandering away from homes back, and I knew why those
who were still out were not back in their nests
'cuz they were just as spellbound as I was with the magic the setting sun was weaving.

I never wanted to get out of the spell,
I never wanted to get down the hill we had climbed
I never wanted the music of the blowing wind to stop
I never wanted that moment to end
I just wanted to continue living in this moment
In fact in some corner of my mind I will continue living in that moment forever.

And not to be left behind,
the city began lightening up, to match up with the sunset with it's grandeur
while we just stood by as The Enchanted Spectators

And if u think it were only the nights that were magical
the days were no less, it was a magic of different kind.

This was a puppet show we attended, amateur but not bad with the music and dance.

This was at a vegetarian food joint 'the millets of Marwar' run by young cooks, who have worked
hard on their own recipes, tested them, added their own innovative touch
to the traditional Indian food, we were bowled over by their food
and I found this artist of Marwar paintings  and decided to get a few tips for this hobby of mine.

This was just plain hilarious, at a cultural haat  on the outskirts of Udaipur, showcasing different
dance forms that Rajasthan has to offer

The Aghori Dance

Taran taal another amazing dance form of Rajasthan

 The palace and it's beauties, the windows, the gateways, the beautiful glass work in and around.

This was terrifying, trust me it was one hell of a scary ride
I'm done with camel rides for a lifetime now.

Be the change

                                                               BloodAid
                                                  http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.halabol.com%2F10-social-media-stories-social-change-india&h=HAQFQ51f7 

A little thing of which I am a small contributor, helping to bring about a little change,

I dance


to laugh, 


to cry,


and then to forget it all and break free from the chains that hold me back,


to leave behind the world i am tired of belonging to,


to loose myself again to find myself again 


some where within the music that I surrender myself to after it has healed me.

And he just had to
walk in through the half open door,
to find
the kingdom of her heart,
that was all his.

Change - The reason

The reason - by Hoobastank

This song has one one of my most beautiful happiest and profound memory attached with it. The first time I heard this song, I was standing in midst of about 8-10 children between the ages of 3 months to 5 years holding a 9 month old baby girl in my hand, with a friend in a place called 'Akanksha' a shelter home for abandoned and unwanted children, which had been started in my medical school, by one of my teachers ( a veteran obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. S. Chabra)

And it was while I was standing there watching these children smiling and playing around happily that I first heard these lyrics 

                         'I found out the reason for me, to change who I used to be, a reason to start over new and the reason is you....and the reason is you..'

In that moment, watching those children, I stood grasping the huge difference that had been brought in their life, by this thoughtful, generous and kind act of this one person. Thanks to this one person these children will be taken care of till they are adopted by good families & if not, a fund has been set up for their education. This one person with her one act of thoughtfulness will be bringing about such a beautiful and significant change in so many lives. Her one act has managed to save so many lives from becoming a waste, and if even a few of these children manage to remember and appreciate and inculcate the same kindness in themselves, a chain reaction will have begun.

That moment is one of the most beautiful, happiest, strongest and most profound memory that I have and shall cherish for the rest of my life. Because in that moment I was reminded of the importance of the act of doing. That to bring about the change we crave, all we need to do is take a step, howsoever small and If the intent that lies beneath the initiative is good, that one step shall become the building block of the bridge of change. That one act became the reason for me to look at life with a new outlook.

It reminded me of the joy that comes with an act of kindness and the power of doing. The amazing change that a human being with a heart filled with love, dedication, empathy and determination can bring about.

That experience has been my source of strength in the lowest of my times. It has been my source of inspiration to do something responsible with this life that I have been gifted, to appreciate what I have and to utilize it as best as I can.

It has helped me believe in the things I want to do, the conviction to hold on to my dreams, the strength to work for the changes I wish to bring, to take the tiny little steps, to do tiny little things,  however tiny they might be, to bring about a change in the lives of those whom I surround with my own existence. And to not be deterred from doing things that I want t,o no matter how insignificant people may tell me that my actions might be in this huge ocean, I do take them. I take them believing that if nothing else, I will at least have the satisfaction of not having just sat cribbing. 

And I owe it to the one thought, which was converted into action by that one person and remembering the change that one act brought in me, I am sharing this experience with the hope that sharing it might help spread the chain reaction of change and the attitude to 'Dream, to believe and to Work for what we believe in'

'cuz as the song begins 'I am not a perfect person, There are many things I wish I did'nt do, but I continue learning.....'

None of us are perfect, and though we may not be able to undo a lot of many things we might have done wrong in our lives, but it's never too late to learn and to try.....and make this life of our's a bit more meaningful than it already is :)

The Haunted

It was...

One of those moments when the cold feeling she worked so hard to run away from, finally caught up with her. Slamming into her so hard, that she was left gasping. These were the moments when she stood face to face with her stillness, when she could no longer mute the noise within, instead the noise of the world and the life she was a part of, stood muted, by the roar of the storm that was raging within. Moments when she found herself  helplessly churning within the whirlpool of her choked up emotions, throttled self, locked up desires, chained dreams struggling to break free from the chains that held them,. 


She knew that cold touch. 

It was the touch of loneliness, her old nemesis, that relentlessly haunted her and It left her shivering. These were the moments when the emptiness that came with her loneliness felt like a huge burden she was dragging around.

She struggled to hold herself together, till she could get away from the world and lock herself within those comforting walls of her washroom, where she could watch herself break into pieces, feeling the stab of pain that came with every piece that broke, a place where the cry that came with every stab would go unheard. Where she could be left alone to struggle with the questions that had no answers, the problems that had no solutions.

She struggled to hold herself together, till she could slump against those stone cold walls and find comfort against the unyielding stone. While the tears washed away the grief that she could no longer hold within. 

And then She let the tears flow. These tears knew her story, they knew her, her pain, her emptiness, her desires, her longings, her joy, her ecstasy, they knew her like none other, they were her solitary solace, those tears, those cold stone walls and the silently gazing mirror. Before them she was a mask less naked soul, without any charade.

She held herself tightly with her arms, wishing that another hand would reach out to her, and knowing full well there would be none, she let the warmth of the tears caress and heal her. 

She did not know for how long it lasted, for how long she had wept, how many tears she had shed.

Before the storm finally passed over. And emptied of emotion, she felt the calm seep in. Slowly she found her strength return from within. She stood up facing the mirror, and within the very mirror where she had watched herself shatter, she saw her self regenerating.

The questions still remained and the problems were still unsolved, but she had found within herself the strength to begin again, her lonely journey to find the answers she sought and the hope that someday she would walk down her road, holding the hand she had always waited to hold.

                                                

                                                  

The tale of the tribe of lovers

There is a feeling that we all experience, at some point or the other in our lives, which cannot be explained with words, but it is there, an unexplained restless wistful gloominess.


A growing discontent, while having all that we had wished and worked for, while watching the dreams we had dreamed grow and take shape and being surrounded by the dreams that we had seen come true, and yet finding no sense of content or joy in our achievements.........there is a vague longing for something that we seemed to have missed in our life, like the center piece of jig-saw puzzle, without which the puzzle is meaningless, it's a feeling stubbornly resistant to all our attempts to escape its clutches, a feeling that, once when it enters the consciousness of our being just threatens to render our soul joyless and restless.

And it is then when u sit experiencing this feeling, trying to figure out what that missing piece of your life's jigsaw puzzle is, that u realize, that your soul is no longer being content with just being it's own company. And that this discontent is nothing but the emptiness of your soul, seeking an end to it's loneliness, seeking someone to share itself with, to be listened and understood. It is the emptiness of a living soul, that lies beneath the genesis of love.

It is this longing of a soul, that is love.

And thus it is no wonder, that love can be such a changing experience, because it is a soul, with a desire not to just exist with it's own self, but to share itself, to learn, and to grow. It is a soul no longer closed, rather one that is ready to brush past it's fellow companions in this sea of existence to fulfill it's destiny, ready not to just make it's presence felt, to feel the presence of others, ready to understand, because it seeks to be understood, ready to listen, because it no longer wants to speak to silence, rather it wants to talk out aloud and to be heard. And it is then that the soul begins it's journey to find other wanderers like it's own self, while searching for the one that shall be the one to quench it's thirst. It is this longing, that gives loves it's strength to bring about unfathomable changes. That opens one human being to reach out for another, to seek others like themselves.

So, when your souls is ready and it sounds the siren of it's longing, heed that call and let yourself experience the magic of love and let it light up the spark that is lying dormant within you, and watch the spectacle unfold, let your journey begin.........and though it will be a bitter sweet journey but when love has finished itself with u, and when u find your spring the sweetness of it shall not leave behind a memory of that bitter taste.

I have begun my journey....happy journey to those who are yet to begun and a prayer for a beautiful end for fellow travelers who are already on the quest.