Puzzle

I'm trying to find a way, a path to the unknown,
a street I never knew, a place I never saw,
in the midst of the chaotic crowd, find peace,
in the vastness of the sky, I seek refuge.

The days pass along with no sound of breeze,
each moment seems hard, the body wants ease.
I tread in the marsh, to find a land to plough,
thoughts wander along the beach, like the sand.

This bondage holds the soul, aching to leave,
this body seems dead, feels no ounce of pain.
a path I need, to surpass the bridge to self,
connect my being to the one living in me.

Attempting to unwind the entangled thoughts,
restore the upside curve on the mask,
spread the shoulders with a living breath,
restructure this shattered puzzled self.

Eurotrip - Part II : Surviving Paris

Life teaches you on a daily basis, based on incidents and decisions you undertake. There arrive such times in life, rarely, which get you to another level of understanding of the concept of being alive! Such moments define the person who you are and help you grow more. I’ve had a lot of incidences in my traveling life, but this particular one will be regarded as my first survival challenge!

It was my first day in a foreign country, France. I woke up in my dorm bed, where last night I took refuge to give rest to my aching body post a 15-hour flight from India. As I opened the window, the chill in the air shook me up and the beautiful surrounding filled me up with an extravagant feel and the realization that I was in the City of Love, Paris! My first ever trip to a distant land and that too alone, hardly dreamt of had some true in its own sense!

I recollected my last night, diving down the flight of stairs from the airport to the tube station, and then heading to Gare du Lyon, to walking down the streets to find my hostel, a colorful abode. The night I spend few hours in the red painted hall, filled with people from every continent of the world. I remember this distinct person from Hawaii islands. Then there was this guy from Sri Lanka, America origin, had a toy factory on the Lankan Island! Also there was a young lady from Spain, another travel freak and a guy from Argentina exploring Europe. We had a nice chat till late night knowing each other, which concluded with a soulful song by the gentleman from Hawaii who played his tambourine and told us stories about the volcanic island.

That night shall forever remain in my memories. I had a long day ahead and a long list of places to visit before I left the city. I had planned to take a night train from Paris, France to Milan, Italy where I was supposed to stay for 2 days. I head over to the main station Gare du Nord where I enquired about my tickets for the night train. There is when things turned over me, the train was full and I could not get reservation on my pass. I had to pay additional 147euros for the ticket which was not at all possible for me. So went out worried and in a lot of dilemma of how to spend the night in the city? It was a weekend and the nearby hotels/hostels were full. I made a few calls to friends who had been to Paris and asked what could be done. One of them, Pranoti, was there for her intern and had managed to stay in the Gurudwara on the outskirts of the city.

I roamed around well the entire day, visited the majestic Eiffel tower, and fulfilled my plan of eating ‘French Fries’ in France and a weirdly tasting Ham & Cheese sandwich. Also did a bit of shopping near the Arc de Triomphe and got myself a Zara Blazer! That was one of the best times, but somewhere I had a fear of how was I going to spend the night, most importantly, where? After meeting a few Indian Sardars at the Eiffel, I got the address of the Gurudwara, which then seemed to be a relaxing moment was going to shook me to the core.

Late evening I returned to my hostel to collect the baggage, and on the station got myself tickets for my onward journey. God bless that girl at the counter who gave me a fairly good deal and helped me set my itinerary till Rome, Italy which was 1800 kms away! I wakled in peace to the train, which led me to the outskirts, at a station called Le Bourget.

Now the real story begins. I got a lil goosebumps too!

I got down, a lonely place, kinda scary and asked for directions. The people there led me somewhere inside the locality. First ever day in a foreign land with no notion of whether I was going the right way, the growing dark night and scary people all around damped my soul. Thanks to my traveling experiences, I had hope and kept the search on. On the way, I met a French guy, (the locals are really helpful) who seeing me confused and alone walked along with me. I dragged my luggage and blindly followed him, trusting my instincts. We walked out a few blocks to a main road, where I met two Sri Lankans. One of them could understand English, and the other could speak French, what a combo! Somehow I explained my state to them and from the discussion we 4 people had made me sure I was in the wrong place! It added to all my worries and fears, and since there was no hotel nearby I was stuck where to head. Good Lord I met those people who were highly supportive to a fellow Asian, and guided me. I finally took a decision to head to the airport, as it was the safest place I could spend the night at, and after the entire day, I had almost no energy left within me.   

Those guys were good enough to accompany me to the train station and waited till the train arrived. I was brought forward this reality by them that the place was a breeding crime hub and if any anti social had found me, no one could ever find me again! That shook me to the core. They even had offered me their place to spend the night, but if anything happened to me during the night, they would have been in deep trouble. I had all these words echoing in my head as I reached the airport which was not far away. I went up the way I came the previous night, only to find the waiting rooms closed! Only place available to relax were the chairs in the space.

I took a deep breath, found all my senses and made my mind that tonight you survived a great ordeal, that I was safe and I had to keep myself awake all night to take care of my stuff! I found a beverage dispenser and made myself cozy at a chair near it. There were a handful of people around me, which built a little more assurance inside. It was freezing cold, almost 6-7 degrees and it was a huge open space. I took all the warm clothes I had, wrapped up and sat still. The entire night I was in different thoughts, gulping down hot chocolate and coffee at intervals to keep myself warm. It was then I realized of what kind of situation I had grown out of, survived a city in a foreign land, in my first ever visit abroad.

 

Almost 6-7 cups of hot chocolate and 3-4 cups of coffee later, the dawn arrived and I packed up to head to the station to begin my next phase of the journey. It was another beautiful morning with a new me, feeling ALIVE. I had a feeling of renewed strength and a proud streak that I spent such a time, alone, in such adverse conditions. As they say it, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!’

The UniSun

Photo Credits: Rapunzel

I pass the streets with a thought in mind,
I wish to live in this day sublime,
the sky shows me its colours, it paints,
the body asks for bread, while I faint.

The paths run dry to the sight ends,
the kids on them emerge with friends,
the joys in their eyes is beyond measure,
such sights, I tell you, are the best treasures!

I race to the light, the way it calls,
at its enthralling beauty, my heart calms,
painting the sky red, orange and blue,
where does the breath stop i have no clue!

Tangled amongst the ropes I find the Sun,
like blowing a huge pipe, the foggy clouds run.
lost in the beauty of this nature's play,
I lose insight and the human way!

While I capture these moments in my lens,
the visual poetry makes me lose sense,
I wait for the the day to dawn on me,
so through the sleepy eyes, life I may see!   

~ Mr. Khan.

Twenty Three

Birthdays are a special occasion in our lives. We have built and entire tradition along it. It takes us to a new level of understanding, makes us feel older, mature, and happier and it also makes us understand that we are growing faster than we ever thought! It was one awesome year for me, and I’m excited about the next one! Each birthday I have this ritual to ponder over what I missed doing, my failures, my weakness and try to overcome each of those in the next time. 2012 was a year of accomplishments and a year of dreams coming true!

I’ve turned 23. It’s the number of chromosome pairs we have in our DNA! Turning twenty three was something I was looking forward to! I’m not very fond of numbers, nor have faith in numerology, but 23 has been an important number of my life. Not just because I was born on that date, but because some important numbers of my life have 23 in them! My tenth grade board exams, the first biggest exam of my life, when everyone expected very least of me, I managed to succeed very well. The first person in my family to pass the board exams with a Distinction rank! 83.06 percent with 623 marks. I scored 823 marks in my first undergraduate year. It took me a total of 23 months to show off my biggest creation ever. My current cellphone number has 23 in it. So many examples, somehow the number 23 has its impact on my life greatly, and hence the excitement to turning 23 was huge. 

Turning 23 was a joyous adventure. Steve Jobs had quoted, “You can never join the dots looking forward; the dots connect only when you look backward.”  Looking back is termed to be a losing attitude by most success coaches. But I tell you, you can only count your success and learn from your failures when you look back! But look back when you have reached somewhere and not while you are moving towards your goal. Turning 23 made me realize my dreams, took me places I never dreamt of and gave a reason to my life which is more concrete than ever. 

I feel blessed to have the people around me who support me in all I’ve been through and even in the lowest point have realized my worth and made me scale up the depths I’ve been into. Turning 23 was a journey of success. There have been a lot of failures in the life before, but this year turned those very failures into success. I had lost a year of college, one that was highly disturbing and unplanned time of my life, but it turned tables. The last year, was the year from being a 22 year old young entrepreneur to being a 23 year old researcher, innovator, scientist and a better human being. 

I made my very first trip to a foreign land, roamed France and Italy, saw two Wonders, Eiffel Tower and the Colloseum which was the part of my first international conference trip to Rome. Travelling thousands of miles on air and a trans-country trip in the beautiful railways of Europe and witnessing the breeze of the Atlantic Ocean have made their impact on the traveler spirit within me. Being the only Indian and the youngest in the conference was in itself a huge achievement for me. Sooner after my return was another conference in Pune, where I got to sit with people scientists from NASA on the same table, a moment never dreamt of! Two huge achievements in a matter of two months were more than I could ask for!  Also, I have now almost finished my work on something called the ‘Batpod’ the first one in India and the 5^th in the world! 

It isn’t boasting, it’s a testimony. Life can turn its path if we keep and trying if we keep moving inspite of all the failures and forces that keep us down. We aren’t meant to live the lives the world wants us to, we can be more, and we can be someone more than just another face in the crowd. I mean to tell you, we have the potential to be great. But greatness requires not just hard work but more importantly patience and perseverance. If we have those, we can be great. 

Turning Twenty Three was a tale of success for me. I’m more excited about what’s in store now that I’ll be living the 23^rd year of my life. It’s the time to RISE. Deeshay Basara!  

What's your story?- You are invited!

Hello my dear blogger buddies! I hope you all are doing great!

This is regarding the blog event 'What's your story?' starting 16th Feb, 2013. It would be conducted jointly with blogger buddies 

Pradosh Kumar of  'Against Pseudos' and Manju of 'And my life goes on...' and 'Manju'z Kitchen'.

This event is about you...your thoughts..and your life..

So if there is anything or anyone who stirred your life... means a lot to you...People....happenings...failures and achievements or memories that you wish to share..tell us! We will put up your expressions on 'And my life goes on' for the world to read. 

Mail us your story at AndMyLifeGoesOn.Blog@gmail.com

Rules of the event:

1. Send in your stories prior to 15th February 2013.

2. You may send more than 1 story. Maximum stories published from one participant will be 5.

3. You may send pictures relevant to your story. It will be really good if you send one picture of yourself also, to put it in the introduction part.

4. After your story is published on 'And my life goes on', you will need to publish a notification  along with the above picture and the link to your story, so that your readers don't miss the action!

My First Road Trip!

A random thought, a longing desire, a traveller’s dream: winding roads and a ruling the asphalt with rubber.  If you are a traveller, a rider, a nature lover, you always want a chance, a reason to get out and adore the enthralling beauty. Live amidst the nature and gulp its beauty down the soul. Face the winds, the rough terrain, drag the mountain and conquer the peak. I did it. I did all of it and much more. Touched the heavens, met the cry inside me, alienated self, conquered my fears, I lived.

I just had to do it. I was dying to ride, experience the thrill, and empty my adrenalin, and burn the rubber, fly, And RIDE. I received a blessing and I caught it with the force the winds hit me. It was a 120kms journey on the very coveted trip in the Sahyadri Mountains, those Ghats I had only witnessed through the window pane of the AC bus and a few pictures. Now was the time to experience it with a bare nature. Two major cities in the state of Maharashtra, Mumbai and Pune, connected via an Expressway, curling between the Ghats.  My stuff was loaded on a black stallion, a 220cc Bajaj Avenger with all the horses roaring high. There I was, all set to conquer and carried some fear inside me, a fear I had been holding since long, a fear I had to conquer: Me. A few prayers and a lot of guts, I set out. Nerul, Navi Mumbai to Kothrud, Pune.

The evening had masked the surrounding in a light closer to darkness and the calm before the storm (literally). In the very first 10kms of the ride, the rain clouds overwhelmed over me, making me dripping wet in the emotion. With not even the city crossed and a tank longing for some fuel to satisfy the thirst, I faced the very first hurdle. To cross it meant finding a petrol pump and let the bike have its share of liquid. A slippery, muddy, rocky path with heavy vehicles around, I managed to reach the petrol station a few heavy meters away from the highway. With a little exercise with the wallet in the dripping wet condition and a half full tank of shining liquid I left the place with a little content inside me.

Getting outside the city limit was another task, which took a lot of time of accomplish. The expressway as mentioned in the rulebook was meant for heavy vehicles and two wheelers were strictly not allowed on it. So it was time to take the State Highway numbered as 4 on the Nokia Map I was referring to. Officially the journey began when I actually felt I had hit the highway. Green all around me, black strip ahead of me, and a colourful sky above! It was the first time I was travelling on a bike all by myself with slight issues in the machine. It made me a little scary as well, but the excitement took over.

As I got ahead, the huge and beautiful mountains glittered in my vision with snake-like asphalt trails on it. A huge flow of adrenaline gushed in my nerves and I revved up the road. In just a few minutes, the glory showered us in a huge magnitude of raindrops, hitting the skin, the soul inside. Quickly I halted to cover up my body with a raincoat and be ready to face the unexpected wrath. The drops began to tear the sky and fall with a bigger company slashing every being on the path. The force only made the breathing heavy and let a little more fear creep inside. As I began the upward journey, it began to get darker and the rain got heavy, quite enough to scare my insides.

I had a small halt at the Tata Power station. What a beautiful view from that spot! I grazed more, fuelling the horses at a steady pace, with an autowalla driving past me. Now there is a certain point on the mountain where the State Highway and the Express Highway meet. This is a place where anyone can get lost, anyone, including me. The expressway has a significant colour to its roadside borders, a band of yellow and blue. If you are driving beside one, it is no harm to conclude you are on the Expressway. The heavens wanted me to, and I was on it! The rain had left no soul left to ask directions to and all that was ahead was the road. The rain kept on increasing its volume and force and on one corner turn I noticed a small hut, a chaiwalla, and a hope rose in my heart. I just slowed down and hoping to get a nice sip of tea in the heavy downpour. The dripping wet body was expecting a little warmth but was subtly let down by the man who quietly said he ran out of tea. Highly disappointing. The next phase began, fear in my heart and power in my wrists, and a determination to break this hurdle. A little music in my ears helped to take my mind off the hell I was going through. Prayers inside the throbbing heart and search for hope in the eye are all that I can remember. I knew this was going to be terrible, but I had made my mind, I was going to get through.

All around me where huge vehicles, SUVs, Trucks, mostly carrying those huge containers and the most dense rainfall I ever had witnessed. With near zero visibility and scary fast vehicles, this joyride had now become an endurance test.  The Ghats had a few tunnels which provided a little shelter from the rain, but the condition was you cannot stop in between and the minimum speed to be maintained was 80kmph. Also, the magnitude of the terror was realized when I could actually see the size of the vehicles around, and among them was this puny motorbike. Each of this moment was filled with fear and a thankful soul being reminded of how awesome and fearful the Almighty Father was. That expanse on the top of the Ghats filled the heart with the light of the creative and destructive powers of the heaven. The transition from the tunnel to the open weather was so quick that the body shivered with amount of rain crashing all over the body. I so well remember that one moment when a white Toyota Innova ran past me and splashed water all over my entity with some of it making a way through the raincoat and over my chest. Chilling!!!! Filled with rage, I yelled out a few foul words to that insensitive driver.

As the road continued with all its twists and turns with literally rivers flowing on that asphalt, I gave a few glances to the highway police posts only to find no bloody man there.  It was getting dark, time flying, and now a pursuit began, to catch the city. I throttled more and reach the highest ‘safe’ speed I could. The heart felt a little light after the Ghats end and the straight road became visible. That stretch was like another 40kms. I slowly started losing myself, the chill inside the body, mind filled with the scary moments from the mountains and a steady body started to give in to fatigue. There were moments when I wanted to talk it out to someone and the moment not allowing that to happen, made screams to escape my throat. Those moments still move my very core, unable to express myself, screaming was the only option left. At least that got a little warmth in the upper body which was trembling with the cold. Shouting gushed blood in my head and jaws and the lungs felt a little free from the ribcage that had been dominating the internals. After a little stretch I suddenly felt if I drove more, I’m sure to lose control of the speeding vehicle. Gently pausing to the left the disc brakes worked well on the slippery path and the machine halted. I got off the bike in the fastest stroke like it had been eating me. I shrugged myself; let every emotion drain away like the water from the entire flesh.

That once small moment and eliminating the fluids holding in and on my body made themselves one with the streams flowing off the road. I was near to the city. Some 40 kms more were left to be burned. I was dripping wet, exhausted, scared and had huge amounts of adrenaline gushing through my glands. The mind pushed the body back on the bike and I again roared the engine to 70-80kmph. The city lights welcomed me soon and some peace reigned inside the heart. Soon I reached the toll post and the guy there was shocked to see me driving on a two wheeler (which aren’t allowed) on the Expressway. I told him I was lost and he asked me to take to the left on the State Highway. Buzzing ahead in the darkness between mountains the road was still confusing. It added to my fears already breeding inside. Heaven’s grace shined and a couple of men guided me to the right path and I set off. I was the darkest patch I’ve witnessed at 8pm, lone roads, daunting surroundings, it was depressing. Soon I found myself connected on the State Highway and took of the known path from there. Zooming past men, machines and wandering cattle, the road felt like an acquaintance.

One of my favourite spots on the road arrived, an intersection which had two ways, one to the suburb of Aundh and other to the suburb of Kothrud, where I had to go. That place also had a tea stall and my insides were screaming for a cup of that hot liquid! I stalled near it, shrugged all the left over water over me, and walking between faces staring me; I reached the stall and satisfied the want for tea. It was then; I called up my friends in Mumbai and told them I was about to reach and safe till now. The city was all dry with no sign of a rain cloud over it, with me drenched in the spell on the Ghats! I continued again, bit refreshed and with a clean and less scary road ahead, I pondered over all that happened in the past few hours. It was exalting. With a less traffic of thoughts inside the mind, I calmly reached my resting place. Carrying the water from the mountain top all over me, I entered the room, changed, and dozed off!

When I think over it, it sure blew me, tested my spirit, mind and body, but it gave me a story to tell. A story which has just been completed, it was an experience of a lifetime. I won’t be able to have those moments again, and frankly I don’t want to go back to that situation. Maybe, I cleared a level of life; I reached higher state of being in that entire journey. Something better and bigger waits for me. It was a great lesson; the hardest times surely teach you a lot!  

    

Eurotrip (Part I)

[First part of the series of posts to follow.]

 

‘Planning every step of life will only make you become completely lost.’ Khan.

I’ve a huge craving to travel. I always want to be travelling, meeting new people, seeing new places, experiencing the adrenaline of being lost and the joy of finding yourself. There was another big feather that added to my journeys in 2012 was my first international trip, as titled by my friends, my ‘Eurotrip’ ;)

My research paper got selected in the European Satellite Telecommunications (ESTEL) Conference in Rome, Italy. It was the second time of having an opportunity to get myself out there and meet my dreams. This time I had enough experience how to deal with my college and get the permission to get to the conference. Also, by God’s grace the invitation came almost 6 months before the conference date and I had enough time in my hands to plan everything. There was a lot to plan out, the travel dates, and the places to visit, the college exams, finances, visa process, travel plans and so many minute details. I have a habit of planning every detail of my travel when I know from my experiences that it will never happen the way I have planned. It has been good so far with no bad experiences and under God’s care and the blessings and prayers of family and friends I know it never will go wrong!

The big deal of the trip was returning back and appearing for my semester exams in just 2 days time! Thankfully, the college had made arrangements for my practical exams to be handled after I return. *blessing* The entire staff was highly supportive. Things were tough from day one, managing finances was tough and the biggest hurdle was the visa process! I got my visa approved 12 hours before my flight departure and I just can’t explain the nervousness as the embassy had rejected the visa twice in a period of 4 days. I was SCARED. The two days before the journey, I had to be in Mumbai for the procedure and thanks to Mehul, who was highly supportive in the entire process.

This needs to be mentioned. The kind of help Mehul provided was simply beyond words.  This night, the last day of registration of the conference, I had to transfer €350 (28,000 INR) to be registered for the event, after which I would have incurred €150 additional late fee. I was online for 6 hours trying to do the payment and nothing worked! 3-4 cards, 2 bank accounts, all failed to transfer to the PayPal account of the organization. I was hopeless and then I pinged Mehul on Facebook chat in desperation asking for help. Without another word, he went ahead and voila! The payment was successful! I still cannot thank him enough! Just not that, he helped in the visa process, gave me a shelter before I left and also was there at 0100hrs to see me off at the airport with Gaurav sir. This guy is the man behind the world’s largest Batman community, Official Dark Knight Rises Community on Facebook.

Getting back, I was at the VFS collection center to get my passport at 1400hrs on 27^th September, and my flight was 15 hours later. Thinking of all possibilities, I waited there for a couple of hours and was handed the package around 1600hrs. Even my visa agent was surprised to see that I had been approved the visa within 24hours! I was filled with joy! I sat on the marble seat just outside the center, overwhelmed, calling all the people who were waiting to know the status. I was a huge moment! The last hurdle was cleared. I was going to board that plane to the city of love, Paris!  

Next post - Coming Soon!