Anchoring Life

Life surprises everyone when you least expect it. That's exactly what happened on one summer evening with a bunch of friends over a drink. Now I'm uncertain if I was dared into this act of bravery or if my friends were drunk so much so that they threw this challenge at me.

Whatever be the case, I decided to get inked.

What one forgets is, deciding to do is one thing, actually getting it done is a different ball game all together. From that evening, I started researching on what tattooing is, how's it done etc etc. As much as I spent my time on the "how painful would it be" part, I dint really spend any time on the former - which is Researching. That is simply because I dread injections. Anything to do with a prick in my conscious self, I run in the opposite direction. I am paranoid of getting vaccinations or IV although in the recent past I have had many tours to the hospitals getting exactly the same.

Note that I mentioned pricking in my conscious being. When I reached out to the tattoo Artist, I unabashedly mentioned to her that I would gulp a few glasses of wine and come over to her studio to get the tattoo and be oblivious to the pain and get home. But, I was disappointed yet again because liquor is a strict no-no.

My fear still prevailing, I asked her what would be the intensity of the pain that I might have to endure. She in all her tranquility stated "Don't you worry, it wouldn't be half as painful as the pain you endure for your threading". As much as I felt relieved hearing that, I wouldn't settle in. I asked my friends who had got themselves inked by sitting through the whole process for hours and they had a different view point all together.

Cut to current state, I had the picture in mind and the body part I wanted to get inked. By mustering all the courage that I can ever imagine and with my support system whom I fondly call my lifelines; I landed at the tattoo studio. There was another round of reality check and convincing needed for me in the studio as well. After an hour of all the talks and confidence build up, I lay there on the tattoo bedding with all the equipment and the ink around me ready to get inked for life!!

Amidst all the fear, I still managed to tell my friend to click pictures! Yeah, well you don't want to miss the moments of the act of bravery put out there for you to take a look at later.

I wouldn't say it wasn't painful, but what I enjoyed the most was I had never ever in my wildest dreams thought of getting a tattoo done. The first one always holds a special place in your heart and life and body of course :)

What's the significance of the tattoo in my life? It's the anchor of my life and very close to my heart!!

Will I get inked again? Well, never say never!!

Chickpet and Raja Market - My official wedding gift to a friend!!

"Don't wear high street fashion if you want to bargain." These were the exact words which my friend fired at me when we decided to go on wedding shopping to Chickpet and Raja Market (before you imagine anything out of ordinary, it was for my friend's wedding).

The places I am sure are synonymous to all Bangaloreans who have a wedding function happening in their household or even otherwise. I have heard of these places as well but never had a first hand experience of it. This time, I finally decided to shed the fear and take a stroll on the streets. I don't think I would have done that without this friend of mine.

We took an auto from one of the signals at Majestic and directed the auto-driver to Chickpet circle. He obviously was the no-meter auto that we encounter on Bangalore streets. As we got off and started walking through the streets, I, after a very very long time sensed the fear of getting lost on the streets directionless. I repeatedly kept asking my friend to stay in the range of my visibility. She obviously was a pro at walking such busy streets while I was struggling my steps forward.

As I walked behind her, there came a point where I saw a bull pulling the cart coming right on to me. I screamed my lungs out thinking the bull would charge at me anytime because I came in its way!! That was the most scariest moment and I realized I managed to get the attention of few passer-by's due to the screaming.

She also mentioned that we should take a walk in the very famous Raja Market. While the name sounds majestic, it is no way close to it. This place is no less than a maze with so many entries and exits. Every entry/exit had a Raja Market board written in some AD which had so many cobwebs and rust around it. What surprised me was people thronging this place even in the scorching heat with sweat dripping down their foreheads.

As much as it was a thrilling experience for me, I am not very sure if I would be confident and brave to venture this place again.

The final cherry on the cake was the auto ride back. The auto driver who finally agreed to give us a ride had an auto which was completely air-conditioned and no BHP whatsoever. I leave it to one's imagination on how the auto looked and rode us back.

I don't know if I have to thank her or I have a rage towards my friend to let me experience this wonderland. Well for once I will be nice and Thank Her for this madness. Adios!! until I am back from her wedding and perform my duties as a bride's maid!!

Beautiful Bali

When some hear's the name Bali, the few immediate images that come to your mind are the scenic beauty of the place, tropical sun gazing through the mountains, never before seen the sunset. I was no different in expecting this and maybe more.

Talking to a few close friends, I thought I was quite geared up for a relaxing trip. But to have the much desired laid back trip, one must go through some bumpy rides for sure. The carrier plane to Bali crash lands (a little exaggerated here ;)) you at the Denpasar Airport. What you wish is a slow-paced airport and people ready to welcome you, but to my surprise, what I witnessed is the lively airport, bustling with the crowd who were excited to visit this place as much as I was.

I was picked up by my very friendly driver, Kittu, we drove through the sunny day from the airport to the resort. It was a good 45minutes drive from the airport. What I found interesting as we traveled through the roads were the many beautiful buildings some of which were half done and some of them that spoke volumes of the culture of Bali.

The Grand Mirage Resort

I was lucky to visit two of the most spectacular sunset points in Bali just right in time when the sun was setting. First was the Tanah Lot and the second being the Uluwatu. As I explored these places, I realized that the local people in Bali are so warm and welcoming towards tourist. They are so cheerful with their daily chores that it is hard to not have a cheerful day.

Sunset at The Tanah Lot

Uluwatu

For all the seafood lovers, this place has the best salmon to offer. I must say I haven't eaten such a lip-smacking salmon in ages.

Street shopping is a must in Bali to pick a few local offerings. Although the place is filled with tourist, the island is still quite affordable no matter what your taste is. The only catch being, you have to be extremely proficient at bargaining.

In general, Bali enjoys bright, sunny and warm weather all through the year. For all the water sports fanatics, you will be spoilt for choice.

I also had a chance to witness The Devdan Show - a magnificent display of art and culture under one roof. I had minimalist expectations from this show as my past experiences in theatre and art haven't lived my expectations. But The Devdan Show made up for all the loss. The dancers were spot on with their moves. The stage was a grandeur. I was wondering how the 3-hour long show kept the audience yearning for more.

The Devdan Show

The Dancers and Theatre Artist performing at The Devdan Show

Bali definitely has something to offer for everyone. I have saved my next trip Bali to venture more with a lot more time at hand. 4 days spent there went in a jiffy!!

The Act of Convenient Superstition

Everyone of us, at some point in our lives have been a victim of superstition. While there are many around you who strongly believe in superstition, the rest choose to conveniently believe it.

You may wonder, how different are the two? One is purely based on your deepened belief system where you don't take a step ahead without looking at the star reactions and their implications on the move you make. The other is a reasoned and selectively chosen belief system, in which you choose only to decide on what you can't decide, let the stars decide for you and move ahead. The rest of them, you take a calculative approach.

While I sat down to list out the many approaches we have in our day-to-day life today, I failed to classify them into categories of Real versus the Convenient. Simply because, the reason to classify oscillates between the two depending on a number of external reasons and approaches that may seem right to me but wrong to someone else. Hence, I just decided to understand the nuances of anything said against any system or religion and claim these to be just my view-points.

Let me start off with the most common belief that everyone has - The Horoscope match of a suitable alliance before moving ahead. Most of us might be aware that this is the most and the crucial part of any prospective alliance consummating into Holy Matrimony. Someone decides that some complex yesteryear algorithm reading into the star positions of the boy and the girl to deduce if its an alliance worth taking forward. What happens to the people from the same religion, who are in love but their Horoscope don't match? What happens to an inter-religion couple? Do they give up on the person they love or they go ahead and take the plunge and risk their lives, their partner's life and the relationship or have a workaround to temporary given solutions? Validation point or no validation point, this aspect depends on what you choose to believe and let go of the other.

The next thought that came into my mind is the direction in which you sleep. They say some directions in which your head rests are not suitable for your success and prosperity or is a sign of a bad omen. Now, let's take a one case of an insomniac like me (I would limit the examples to me, as it's a lot safer). To be able to have a sound sleep on many of the nights, I will not be able to justify which direction gives me a peaceful sleep. I change innumerable places and directions just to fall asleep. My prosperity primarily depends on the sleep I get the night before. So I can't really make sense out of this one.

The other thought or might as well say the discussion that came to my mind was when I was having this conversation with a friend of mine on a rainy day. I just happened to mention to her that I feel something is going to be terribly wrong. Although, the part of something being terribly wrong is yet to be experienced (God please give me strength while that happens!!), but what took me by surprise is she mentioning to me that I have such feelings because I have too many moles on my face. Failing to comprehend, I requested her to enlighten me. She confidently states that, the more moles you have on your face, indicates that there would be more problems in future. Hence, it would be a good idea I get rid of them. Now, the only immediate reaction I could give her was, I would get rid of the moles to enhance my beauty and have a spotless face. If eradicating moles, would eradicate the problems in life, then that would be the first thing anyone would spend their hard earned money on. Isn't it?

There are so many such conversations or debates that I have with my friends or with my own mind. Sometimes, unintentionally you fall prey to these superstitious behaviors that you can not completely do away with. But it would be more apt, if we were informed and learned about our superstitious beliefs and not drive our life and survival only based in these.

The Golden Triangle: Delhi - Agra - Jaipur

Family vacations are rare, specially when everyone's caught up in their own schedule. We finally managed to get ourselves together and decide to go on a quick yet worthwhile trip. Like always, after numerous discussions and Yes's and No's, we came to a common conclusion (which is a miracle ;)) that we would visit what is famously called The Golden Triangle - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

After battling the flight delays, we landed in Delhi to a pouring afternoon. We checked-in to our hotel and decided to take on the streets of Delhi for what its famous for - Delhi Chaats. You sure will not be disappointed. I am not a big fan of chaat, but the chaat thela's of Delhi will soon make you an avid chaat lover.

The next day we were set to city tour Delhi. The first early morning stop was The India Gate. This place effortlessly brings the feeling of patriotism in you. To visit Delhi just after the Republic Day wrap up is so emotional. Navigating through Delhi is not tricky at all. The directions are very clear. As long as you maneuver the traffic, you're good. The Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb spell history that is hard to not be overwhelmed at. The Lotus Temple and Akshardham dispense serenity, creativity, purity and calmness to every soul.

India Gate

The Qutub Minar

Humayun's Tomb

For a Delhiwala it's the usual, but for a tourist, the Dilli ki sardi accompanied with garam garam Jalebi's on the streets of Chandni Chowk, The kebab's at Kareem is a definite treat.

After a heart warming stay at Delhi, it was now time to explore Agra. The first and the only place that comes to mind when anyone thinks of Agra is The Taj Mahal. I had a lot of expectations from this place and I wasn't disappointed at all. There is no reason why, it shouldn't be one of the wonder's of the world. There is no reason why, it shouldn't symbolize love. There is no reason why, you would not fall in love with a place like this. No prizes for guessing, this place will definitely make you fall in love with not just your partner, also with yourself.

The Taj Mahal

They say the beauty of The Taj increases exponentially on a Full Moon Night. I am sure it does and I would love to come back to witness the beauty of this gorgeous creation and fall in love all over again.

We then continued our voyage to Jaipur. Jaipur is a city of colors - vibrant colors. It just perks up your day and brings in a big smile. Our visit to The Ajmer Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Hazrat Sheikh Salim Chisti's Dargah was enchanting. These places only prove the unending curious lifestyle of  Akbar, the Great and Jodha Bai who fell in love with dignity and respected each other's differences which is a rare sign today. The devotees who come to Salim Chasti's Dargah claim that the Dargah has magical powers to fulfill your wishes. 

Jodha Bai's Palace in Fatehpur Sikri

Hazrat Sheikh Salim Chisti's Dargah in Fatehpur Sikri

The Hawa Mahal proves it's beauty as the sun sets and you take a stroll on the busiest streets of Jaipur. 

The Hawa Mahal just at the sunset in Jaipur

You cannot leave Jaipur without gorging on the very famous Pyaaz ki Kachori and of course treating yourself to some Jaipur Shopping. If Chandani Chowk, Karol Bagh and Khan Market in Delhi boast of modernized outfits, then the streets of Jaipur leave no stone un-turned with their colorful Bandani's and Mojari's. They alwys will hold a special place in your wardrobe.

As I depart from this trip, I realize India is a country that is enriched with History. Indians have to take time off to explore it. See you soon with my next expedition. Until then, happy travelling!!! 

My tyrst with Mr. Insomniac

Every time when someone would ask me, "Hey, did you sleep fine?", I flustered to answer this question. Most of my friends would easily respond saying they had a good nights sleep. I always failed to comprehend what is a good nights sleep and how does one have a good nights sleep?

Is it to snore your way to glory? Is it the tiredness after great sex (I say that because, all my friends are married and love their spouses)? Is it the rumbling sound of the fan which is critical to put you to sleep? Is it the nice playlist on your phone which is a must? Is the bed time stories to tell your child while you put them to bed? Is it a nice book by the bed side you read before you close your eyes into the imaginary world? Is it the romantic movie you watch which magnifies your dreaming capabilities? I can go on and on..... but fail to understand how does one achieve a good nights sleep?

As I wonder on most of the days to get the answer to this question, I realized that during the nights I began falling in love with an imaginary soul - Mr.Insomniac. The more days I was awake, the more deeper we got connected. As funny as it might sound, but Mr.Insomniac doesn't really answer any of my questions, because he knows, if he did I would dump him. *wink*.

Well we started talking almost every night and I must say Mr.Insomniac is quite a personality and a great company. He ensures to make every single night of mine very interesting and longer than the previous one. He just doesn't give up even when I ask him to leave me alone for sometime. Such thick is our friendship. And what can I say, I see it growing deeper and thicker with every passing day.

As much as I like Mr.Insomniac and don't want my tryst with him to come to an end, I wish he understands that I need my space too. Yes Mister, you need to be alone on some days and  let me be alone as well. Only then will this friendship last longer, else you would see it gone before even one of us realizes.

I wish I had not…..

A lot of times we hear people say that I wish I had done this and done that, which means they regret not having done certain things in life.

Well, can you look back at your life and see if there were any moments in your life you wished you had not done? I do sometimes go through the phase were I feel I should not have done that, should not have said that, should not have even had a thought which I dint like cross my mind. But then, it was all done, said and thought. It was too late.

If you could go back and undo those times today, would you? I certainly would!! But how the conversations would have been while un-doing those times needed another level of courage and maturity to understand.

Every time, I have the thought of “I wish I had not” cross my mind, it leaves a very big impact making me feel awkward and the thought gets stuck in my head for a very long time until I perform the cleansing action. When I go through that mental anguish and look for a door to vent that anguish, I probably end up writing, not because I can’t articulate it, but because the pain is so deep that I feel my vocal chords stop functioning. The only permissive organs that functions at that point in time in my body are my mind, my broken heart and my tear glands.

Now that I wish I had not, but then I know I did, there comes the bigger battle to fight - holding myself accountable. The biggest irony, yet beauty of life is, not knowing how it’s your fault and yet being accountable for not having to do what you did. It’s a tough battle!!!

How many times have I gotten past that battle, I don’t know. I say I don’t know because I wish the venting and talking happened more realistically. I feel it’s a challenging event that happens to me.

I know I love myself a lot and I can love people who matter to me going all out, but I do feel miserable on some days. You might wonder how can one feel miserable if they are so self obsessed. I don't have answers to it either. Does my mind know? - Maybe. Does the thought in my mind say it loud and clear for me to accept it and move on - Maybe or Maybe not....