Kanatal

26 November 2017

Kanatal, Uttarakhand 

Memories remain fresh in the brain but a picture reminds us of the moment and captures the beauty. The magnanimous mountains cover themselves daily with a huge white blanket. Slowly, as the sun rises, the valley becomes clear as the warmth of the sun kisses the human beings, animals, plants and trees who become bright and active to begin their day. 

I am not a morning person as I don’t like to wake up to the morning chaos of school vans, vegetable hawkers passing by in the cities. I love the silence of the breezy and dark nights when the moon shines brightly upon us. 

Living Kanatal is one of the camps in Kodia forest where I stayed for a night in the month of November 2017. It’s an untouched beauty, a haven of peace and the forest breeze.

The morning view of the sunrise is spectacular and a life-changing moment as one realises the power of the Sun when it gulps down the darkness and brings out a new day of brightness and light. 

One must witness the experience of the rising Sun from this spot to make a memory forever.

Picture Courtesy- Sumiran Caprihan 

Inspirational Teenagers

I met these boys in February just a few days before the second open mic I had organised in Khandwa. Nitin’s (dancer) uncle is an employee at the hotel grand barrack who is extremely supportive and proud of these boys.

I still remember clearly the night of the first open mic (13.1.2018) in Khandwa. 

Sumiran and I had decided to organise the event for the city. Our main motive was to give an audience to the performers. 

The evening was planned for the poets, storytellers, musicians and singers. Even I got a stage to share my thoughts, emotions and poetry.

During the first open mic, Mithun, our employee kept on insisting me to call the boys for the dance performance. It wasn’t an event for the dancers and I hadn’t seen the boys dance too. At that point, I promised him to see the dance performance soon. 

In February, just a few days before the open mic, few boys from the GN Dance Crew came at 5 in the evening and surprised my primary students and me with their passion towards dance, precise moves and foot tapping music and especially their stylish hairdos. 

17th February 2018 will remain a memorable evening for the performers and the audience too. These boys performed thrice and the audience was enchanted by their moves and the story of their life. The boys have auditioned in Mumbai for dance reality shows and run a dance academy in Khandwa. They save money to beautify the dance class, train journey from Khandwa - Mumbai - Khandwa and everything else. 

I am proud of these teenagers who are independent, passionate about their dreams and set an example for the teenagers. Their dream is to make Khandwa proud and they are working towards it with rigorous practice on a daily basis at their dance studio. 

These young artists are mentors at one of the summer camps held in Khandwa too. I am grateful to the kidtastic 2018 management team for giving them a chance to prove themselves and proud of these boys. 

Sometimes, we don’t know what we want. Open your eyes, look within and the universe will show you the light. 

The glorious sky

24.3.2018

Khandwa

6:25 PM

I was busy teaching the kids in the Open area at the camp and suddenly a kid looked above the sky and exclaimed with joy, “Wow! Ma’am, the clouds are playing hide and seek.”

All of us were amazed experiencing the glorious and ever-changing colours of the sky. The six to nine-year-olds followed me in a queue to a silent area where we just gazed at the clouds, sky, birds and the blue-orange-pink-grey colours. 

I told them a sorry of a cloud family which my maternal grandmother used to tell my sister and I every night before going to bed. 

The memories of my childhood, the grand sky, the white clouds, the melange of colours, the happy smiles and surprised faces made the evening special and a beautiful closing to the three days workshop with these innocent and beautiful souls. 

P.S - Listen to the happy and inquisitive voices of the kids.

Solitude

28 February 2018

Dayalbagh Agra

Solitude

A glassful of tea at just one rupee,

served with loving hands and humility;

While sitting on a cemented bench quietly,

I listen to the distant voices in the canteen;

The sun is about to set to shine again tomorrow, 

It’s time to leave to a new place tomorrow;

The canteen is closed to open tomorrow, 

The pure dust enters my shoes as I move forward.

Sisterhood

26 November 2017

Separated by distance but in each other’s hearts,

a sister is a shadow of yours;

Surrender yourself in her arms,

she is the best judge as she has seen all four seasons of the past.

The touch which is soothing as a balm;

the screams that are loud as if sitting

in a roller coaster that goes round and round;

A sister is strong when you are weak,

she wipes your tears when no one speaks.

PC - Avnish

Kodia Forest Kanatal,Uttarakhand

Womanhood

24.2.2018

Taj Mahotsav, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

This is Archana Jha, 32, a Madhubani Painting artist. She is painting since childhood. Her art exhibition at Taj Mahotsav Agra is a delight. She hails from Jitwarpur, Madhubani District, Bihar. This is her first commercial exhibition. I wish her all the luck and happiness in the world. Contact www.madhubanikala.com for online shopping for her paintings. You can directly call Archana too at 6200972437 for orders. 

Let’s celebrate womanhood and support each other to grow together.

Tree of Life

The curvy tree of life

 asks to take everything in your stride. 

The wind of ordeals would hit,

fight till the end arrives.

The trunk and naked branches 

devoid of flowers and leaves;

The brownish, rough and sturdy bark 

asks to stay strong at every hit of the hammer

till the last.

December afternoon

22.12.2017

This picture was taken today by my friend Mehr at a local nursery. The hues of the flowers, the shape of the leaves, the green of the grass and the soft touch of the petals made me grin from ear to ear. I laughed at the joys of the natural beauty and wondered at the mesmerising beauty of this little wonderland at the corner of the city.

Nature has always been an inspiration to me ever since. It teaches me to be bright and colourful even the darkness of the night of life.

19.12.2017

Harda

हम देखते ही रह गए इस अजूबे को

बाहरी रूप से सुंदर प्रतीत हो रहा 

पर अंदर ही अंदर मर रहा है यह पेड़।

#words #roadtolifeisbeautiful #life #people #lookbeyondtheexterior #lookwithin #poetry #poetrycommunity #philosophyoflife 

I write and delete many poems 

it is an old habit which may not die young.

The worthiness worries me 

but I ask today, who decides our worth?

It’s in our hands

 whom we shall give  the reins.

Our soul is the real cart puller, 

I want it to know it’s worth today.

Chidhood Moments

We capture moments in our hearts and create memories for our souls. The happy memories make us smile and the sad ones remind of our tears and the years have gone by. Love is the basic ingredient of making a happy life. I love you with an open heart whether you're far or near, a plant or a flower, a boy or a girl, a messed up teen or a too difficult to handle an adult.
Flower picking, car driving, talking, smiling, laughing, talking, dancing, listening to music, reading a book, riding a horse, rafting, parasailing and some other little and big things give me joy.
What gives you happiness? Count and share to spread smiles.

Piece of Art

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked myself after clicking several pictures of this beauty. It isn't just a pendant or piece of jewellery for me but a work of art.
The story of this turquoise baby goes back to a few years to Jaisalmer.  Even today people live in the narrow alleys of the old Jaisalmer fort. There were houses attached to each other, small and similar. Suddenly, the guide stopped outside one of the homes and escorted us in. I was mesmerized by the uniqueness of that house which was a silversmiths workshop from the inside.
For the first time, I saw silver jewellery being made. The workshop was on the ground floor and hundreds and hundreds of boxes of beautiful works of art like these were spread on the mattresses in the room on the first floor.
There were countless chains, earrings, necklaces, rings, antique silver boxes and some of the never ever seen before artecrafts.
The jeweller told that many neighbouring families like his had shifted to Jaisalmer after the India - Pakistan partition.
 Most of them export jewellery to many countries and buyers, tourists, travellers from different nations visit their doorsteps and never go empty-handed.
This beauty stayed in my almirah until today, November 3,2017.
I went to the jewellery market in Khandwa and looked for some magicians who could accentuate the beauty of this turquoise piece to hold it properly. Luckily, I found a jewellery artist and I discussed the thread or chain which could hold this precious piece of art for me. After a few minutes of discussion, we finalised the colours and the sequence. Still anxious about the outcome I waited for some time. My aunt who accompanied me all this time had faith in the artist.
Finally, when I looked at it and tried it on, my body felt an unimaginable bliss as I could feel the effort, time and travel this precious beauty has gone through.
It's a creation of many creators and let's value and respect art and artists who create works of art from their imagination.

Sahastradhara Maheshwar

20.10.2017
One must take a boat ride from the Ahilya Fort to Sahastradhara to listen to the roaring sound of the waves of the river Narmada, soak one's feet in the cold turquoise water and become one with Nature.
Sitting at one of the rocks just for a few moments have always been magical for me, the unstoppable water flowing speedily towards oneself is a reminder to be alert and enjoy the surreal experience at the same time. The fish in the stagnant water come only when we wait patiently which reminds us again to keep looking for the beauty in the ugliness of algae and sticky slimy situations of life.
The river reminds us to become one with ourselves by reaching a point in life, listen to the silence of our souls while experiencing the gigantic and scary waves coming towards us, wait for the sight of the most beautiful fish after walking the rocky path. It also teaches us to listen to the unspoken words when we meet someone, listen to their emotional,  physical or mental needs of by looking into their eyes.
We all face ordeals in life but a constant reminder to ourselves "I am there for myself" or by asking someone by looking deep into his/her eyes "Are you doing good?" or genuinely asking "How are you?" helps in some way or the other. Sometimes,  just listening helps. #maheshwar #madhyapradesh #india #indiantraveller #narmada #boatride #life #midnightmusings #words #experiences #writersofinstagram

Hide and Seek

I didn't want to blink my eyes while watching the gigantic hot ball of Sun playing hide and seek with me. Like every lesson taught by Nature,  it left a message for me and you "Do not worry, the Sun will shine through the little holes of Hope." #midnightmusings #words #thoughts

Diwali 19.10.2017

Some experiences are best felt by the heart and the photograph is just a visual memory. This Diwali night will be remembered forever as I spent a couple of hours at the Ahilya Fort,  Maheshwar with my loved ones.
The ever flowing Narmada River was pitch dark but the water was alive with the innumerable fish which jumped in and out of water when they were given something to eat.
A local girl was pouring oil in the diyas and she told me I could do the same. Igniting the diyas was a surreal experience along with the local family who has been enhancing the beauty of the Ahilya Fort for a few years now by igniting diyas at the banks of the river Narmada. It's a selfless service to show their gratitude to the River and the Hindu gods and goddesses. Like this year, the family had put 551 diyas from their savings and little donations from their neighbourhood.
There are a few legends involved about the history of Maheshwar so I talked and discussed until it was almost midnight with a promise to be back again in the city which is close to my heart to meet that local girl who ran a tea stall at the fort.
#ahilyafort #madhyapradesh #holkar #diwalinight #surrealexperience #india #maheshwar #indiantraveller