Enthralling Trails

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”   ―   Lao Tzu The main gate of our building opens on the Rajyog Marg, a narrow, long lane which leads to the main road on one end and towards Ravet , an upcoming locale to the other end. However, the road leading to Ravet is not yet set, it is a muddy path with gravel which has got hardened due to the sun’s heat and rainwater. The narrow road widens into a large expanse and encompasses a lowland where garbage is dumped, sorted and disseminated   to sellers. This area has a board of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation stuck in the ground signifying the negligence of the Muncipal Authorities. Once we traverse this area, we are in Ravet , which is full of life with a multitude of shopping arenas, bazaars, eateries, hospitals , Gym and aerobic classes, hardware and grocery shops. The well lit skyscrapers  incorporated with their own generator...

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved." HELEN KELLER  “ Human ego respects a person of stature ” It said that a person of stature is respected, valued and the whole world is polite and kind. I wondered what stature here was. I understood that people do not respect any other human being for what the person is but they respect their position, their wealth, their beauty, their power and their achievements and accomplishments.   It suddenly reminded me of my drive to Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium. Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium is a newly built stadium which was inaugurated with the IPL games. We drove to the place searching for a property site which had commenced building a series of apartments on the sprawling grounds near the stadium.  The stadium is near to Mumbai Pune highway. The drive was a pleasant one on a winter aftern...

Rohan looked tenderly at his distressed teacher and told her that he was not hungry. He said that he suffered from colitis and so he felt better when he did not eat. He did not have an appetite and suffered from nausea. His teacher gazed mystified at the behaviour. Rohan was compliant, bright, diligent and above all well mannered and courteous, an apple of the teacher’s eye. Rohan a fourteen years old  was lean and lanky. A healthy boy with a positive attitude .Adolescence is a period of rapid growth and when Rohan was indifferent to consumption of food, his teacher was apprehensive. She hastily skimmed through the dictionary as she was an economics teacher and words like colitis sounded Greek and Latin. Accordingly she understood that colitis was the inflammation and sores of the colon accompanied by bleeding and pus in the large intestine. She read that the specific cause was unheard of but could be caused due to emotional distress. It is caused in people with an ab...

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness  when shared, is doubled.  There was just one pair of medium sized ladies leather slippers left. The hawker shrieked at the top of his voice soliciting people to buy it. I and my friend had reached the place wandering and now both of us wanted the pair. We asked the vendor for another pair. The vendor glimpsed at us and nodded in disapproval. The whole ground and the surrounding area in Neemuch was covered with young scouts and guides in the age group of 13 to 15. It was a State Rally for the scouts and guides. We belonged to K V Golconda No 1 situated in Hyderabad but all the scouts and guides from various Kendriya Vidyalayas at Hyderabad and Secunderabad were included in Mumbai region. From K V Golconda near about 10 students belonging to class ninth had been chosen to represent the State rally.  We belonged to different sections. I and my friend Rupa belonged to the C section. My mother never wanted me t...

“Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.”   ―   Aristotle The Bank was an undersized one situated in a huge open place in the most picturesque surrounding. Across the road were a beautiful garden and an open restaurant. On one side was the Volkswagen showroom. This Bank is situated on the road leading to National Chemical Laboratory near Pashan. It was crammed with people. The employees across the counters were snatching a break to drink water to wet their parched throats as they answered and directed people. The guard was watching everyone cautiously and answering the queries put by the tired customers. My husband tugged me along though I was not very interested being there. I stood near the gateway hoping he would finish his work soon. He has taken up all these responsibilities hence I felt naive as I looked around the transactions going on. There were many notes of notice put up. One which caught my att...

29 th November  “Perfection is such an unrealistic expectation which is discouraging too for those who feel they must live up to an adult’s expectation of perfection ” Jane Nelson Winter mornings are gloomy and frosty at Durga Tekdi, a man made forest which has got its name due to the Durga temple on the hills. No one likes to discard the warmth of a blanket to hustle for a morning walk into a dingy dark forest where you see ethereal human figures till the sun rises to illuminate the beings around. As habitual we reached the outskirts of the forest area, parked the car and started walking briskly to overcome the chill. While walking along the long stretch guiding the walking track in the forest we felt warmth enliven us. We could see many vehicles parked in the parking lot. The cars were sheltered in the huge ground and the scooters and bikes along the core path. Outlying the main gate at the entrance a striking long log is mounted vertically on two forked logs ...

As I kept the book “Positive Discipline” aside, memories deluged and everything seemed as if it had transpired recently. It was a rainy day, the morning attendance time for the class. I had begun with the prayer as the school assembly was cancelled. I noticed a couple standing at the doorway with their daughter. I gestured them to wait as I completed the prayer and led myself towards the doorway. The parents told me that she was admitted in class eight. I acknowledged being the class teacher. I glanced at the girl who was a little plump and short with two plaits, immaculately dressed. Her mother longed to speak something more but decided not to. I smiled at the girl who was looking at me predisposed. I took her aside and asked her to introduce herself to the class as usual. She declined. I made her sit in the first row as I always did to make the child feel at home. Since that day she sat on the same bench at the same place and refused to move according to the rotation of seats. Sh...

“Perception of disability lies in the mind ” A P J Kalam He was fair, short, emaciated, wearing slackly appropriate clothes and had black glasses on his eyes for protection. You are right in your presumption; he had undergone a cataract operation. He was standing out side the office chatting amicably to others. I understood that he was the caretaker. We entered the office of Nachiketa Bal Gram, a home for the destitute children after crossing the narrow road on the Gurudwara lane at Akurdi in Pune.There were a few more elderly men who were chatting in the open yard of the orphanage. The place was large, well kept and spotless. The building was tinted yellow with blue doors and windows which were in good form. The office was a tiny space with a table and three chairs with space just adequate for these. We went in to take our seats. My friend has adopted the dependability of two children at Nachiketa. The intention of our visit was that my friend wanted to arrange a workshop by an ...

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour-Henry David Thoreau It was late in the evening. Me and my husband were rushing back home after a customary visit to the kocchu Guruvayur temple at Nigdi which is a miniature Guruvayur temple at Trissur in Kerala. We had parked our car in the by lanes of Pradhikaran which is a well planned locale at Nigdi and walked to the Temple .  In reality we find these walks irresistible as we are able to meet people and we rejoice looking at the far off starry skies, the exquisitely lit monuments and the demanding market. Nigdi is known for Bhakti Shakti square where Emperor Shivaji’s and Saint Tukaram’s huge statues have been mounted at a height depicting Shivaji’s undying faith in his teacher. It is surrounded by green vegetation and curved paths leading to the figurine. As we entered the open area we met Mrs.Varghese who has been a good friend of ours for the past ele...

The wedding preparations were in full swing. Kaaki was cheerful and perpetually had a beaming smile on her face. She was a proud mother with her two fair ,tall ,fine-looking sons who were well settled.  Her would be daughter in law belonged to a wealthy family at Mahim in Mumbai where most of the affluent Gujaratis resided. It was prestigious when a family owned an accommodation in central Mumbai or near about for those mumbaikars who reside in western suburbs. Mrs Patel was addressed Kaaki despite the fact that she wasn’t many years older than us as she got married at the age of eighteen and was blessed with two sons before her twentieth birthday and her life revolved around her family. She entered the family as a young bride to take care of her husband and father in law as this was an elucidation provided by nature when the lady of the house was no more. Kaaki treasured serving people and executed her house hold chores with utmost sincerity. Her evenings were spent meeting in...

The marketplace was crammed with wares. New shinning steel utensils, latest cookware, gas stoves, dish stands and many more festooned the steel shops. The flower vendor had an unusual order of sacks of marigold flowers; there were pale yellow marigold with smaller florets and finer petals. The orange ones were the poor man’ delight which was low priced. The shop keepers had a tough time overseeing the sales and the orderliness of their shops. The shops had to be cleaned and the pictures of Gods also needed the obligatory gleam after all it was to summon the goddess of wealth. Yes, it was all groundwork for the laxmi pooja, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Few were getting their houses painted, yet others were emptying the junk away from their homes. Every one seemed busy and eventful abruptly with an evocative seriousness which a marathon runner faces when he stands ready to out beat all to prove a do or die situation. Aroma of goodies was wafting out of kitchens. Chakli, ch...

                     News papers splashed the news report with pictures. It was in the year 1992. People vied with each other to read the news first and share it with others adding a bit of spice to the news from their side doubting the credulity. Folks began planning their trip to the hospital. It was no less than the ordeal of climbing Mount Everest . The event was the birth of rare conjoined twins. There were two faces very close to each other, so close that the lip of one head was in one of the cheeks of the other. It had three normal hands but the fourth one a little small at the back. The body was conjoined from the heart to the shoulder. The legs free. With in hours after the news was telecast, we saw a lengthy serpent like queue in the hospital where the child was born. People thronged from far and near for a glimpse of the baby. The two heads were the most beautiful with a tuft of hair, pink and plump smiling faces. D...

" A joy that's shared is a joy made double. "     John Ray We were at Pune railway station half an hour ahead of time. We got the platform tickets and climbed the access ramp to reach the over head bridge from where we were directed to platform number five. We reached the platform and found it reasonably full. There were people every where, a mail train to Bangalore was about to depart the platform. We lingered as it slowly chugged and stirred ahead. The crowd did not budge instead there were many more people trickling slowly to board the Mumbai Hyderabad express. There was a huge family with their extended family of roughly fifteen people with kids and adults on a holiday. The women were clad in “burkha” a black cloak. We were frantically searching for a place to be on our feet with out people pushing us around. We were to meet my sisters who had boarded the train from Mumbai. As time went by people started hastening with their luggage and families. There ...

Far-off I could witness the ten year old in his red shorts and a navy blue T-shirt, his winning long strides justly being a reminiscent of an Olympic champ like Milkha Singh. There was delight written on the lad’s countenance as he sprinted in the course of the desired vicinity. He did not gaze at the by passers. He was neither apprehensive regarding the time nor concerned about the people; he was moving through the paths taking giant strides, each tramp assuring him that he was in the vicinity of his aspiration. The pace of his thin long limbs and his synchronized hand movements were sheer elation for every one of us. We had observed the boy a few months ago when he would commence with a scurry and draw close to a halt within a few steps, clasp on to his legs and pant loudly. His father would call him aloud uttering that it was time for him to get geared up for school. I have seen the sports teachers of an array of schools bring an entire lot of students and coach the stude...

It's incredible to realize that what we do each day has meaning in the big picture of God's plan"  ( Bill Hybels With the value of rupee plummeting and the price of natural resources like petrol escalating, we resolved to amend our life style by resorting to a two wheeler to reach neighbouring localities and walking areas in the nearby locales. As we reside in  busy environs we are unable to stroll serenely, more over the roads are mercilessly tinted with squashed tobacco and beetle leaf spatter and pot holes. After seconding the decision I and my husband rushed to the Hero and Honda showrooms to purchase a latest four stroke scooter which would be handy for both of us. We were not very glad with the models available and the other models which were out of stock had a waiting period of eighty five days. Our Chetek and my Kinetic Zing though well maintained were losing on utility due to the repeated repairs and services. We visited the new Kamala Yamaha showroom t...