Travel

"Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."
- Benjamin Disraeli

This is one of my favorite quotes...I love to travel..Physically and emotionally...Through the roads and through my soul...Have travelled a lot in my life-solo and in group....each with different kind of feel to it..solo ones made me learn life skills and gave me a sense of self belief..group ones always were about fun..sharing and enjoying the journey...in the monsoons i am always reminded of the journey i took on the foot- through the deluge of the century in Mumbai on July 27th, 2006!It was a group and a solo journey...

Like millions, i was stuck that fateful day on 26th July in the city, some 30 kms away from my home..And actually was outdoor when the clouds burst and walked upstream in running rain water to reach safety...Had the prudence to walk through the known roads and visible land otherwise would have found myself in the Arabian sea via open manholes and Mithi!!!!!! Another prudence we exercised (thanks to elderly advice!) was to put up at a place for the night to tide over the stuck traffic and trains...Lifesaving decision that was...And lifechanging too for me!

We started walking for home the next day...And what a sight it was! everything submerged..taxis floating...flyovers half visible and vehicles jammed in streams on the roads...water upto waist high and people walking in streams..one after another in a line..the only way to survive open manholes and being drowned! I walked four hours non stop- wise decision again... avoided muscle cramps and reached home in five hours flat! I heard stories later on that people travelled half of that distance over two days !

Nothing different from what almost every Mumbaikar experienced at that time! But it taught me few lessons i would never forget all my life! One- to always listen to yourslef when faced in a situation which is unprecedented..Another that no matter how much you are bogged down by whats happening with you, there are people struck by worse and they are managing as well! So you can manage too...I learnt to let go..take things as they come by..and trust myself that i would be able to face it head on.....

Am a much more self believing soul now and definitely saw more than i remember and remember more than i saw that day!

Sveltering

Mumbai nowadays is sauna! Cant stay outdoors without dripping in my own sweat!
That can be a pretty good reason for low voter turnout on April 30th! I hate going out in the sun, but i did go out to exercise my franchise! And vola! My name was not on the list even though i had filled up the required form two months ago...How long does it take to register a voter in the neoghbourhood is beyond my grasp..And the list where i was searching my name could well have been the 1970booklet of voter's list! Scrambled, with no particular order of registration and no english version! (Here all govt. work is done in state language!)

Well! I came back walking comfirtably under my parasol and glares...And wondering when will democracy will actually become accessible to each and everyone without any hassles? Needless to say, my maid was quite excited the same morning because she had to go out and vote(because a certain political party had offered them quite a sop!)....She was registered and enthused....Her day to feel important and powerful because political leaders at these time come begging at their doors! Ego masssaging always works.... :)

Woman's day

I am on a resting jig since last one week but couldn't resist the temptation to blog on the Woman's day...Thanks to the media and the newspapers which have given me a tips or two regarding how to fight the blues being a woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well! Blogging or keeping a personal journal is one of them! And then come meditation, mild exercises such as yoga and some indulgence such as massage, spa, bonding with female counterparts and taking time out for yourself! The world can wait, your sense of self and wellness is much more important than the chores to completed or deadlines to be met!

Another thing i have gathered thanks to my reading in the leisure that in India no law exists as of now against sexual harassment during travel !!!!!!!!!( Sexual harassment at work and Domestic violence is a criminal offence though at present!)..So i guess the only remedy as of now against the kind of misadventure that I had in the train is the FIR and the courts...The only silver lining is that nowadays the judges seem to be more sensitive and forthcoming to rule in favor of women in such cases!
A law which labels such kind of harassment under all circumstances as criminal is preferable....... Lawmakers seem to be snoozing when they sit down to pen such legislations I presume!!

A new life!

I am back from a vacation-have been holidaying in a nice valley in the heart of India.Complete with fishes, ducks, jungles, ponds and two lovely nieces.. I feel as if I have lived a life and am entering into a new life cycle again...The beginning of the new year has been life changing for me..Am a completely new person today than i was on 31st december 2008...
I have to write about an adventure in the train i had while returning from my trip(i had been travelling alone!)..
But right now i am logged in just to spread out a Happy New Year message thisUniverse which has given me more than i had ever asked for....Although with every gift i have recived from it I have gone a little bit more greedy :) ... Nevertheless, God has been kind........I thank Him for everything he sent my way in all the years that i have walked on this earth....