Enthralling Trails

“Keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.”   ―   Marilyn Monroe Pradhikaran is a well-planned locale in Pune. Nestled near the post office in one of the lanes in Pradhikaran lived old Mrs Navale. My first encounter with her was when I went in quest of  a music teacher to continue learning Hindustan i classical Music. She was a retired professor and a teacher who taught Violin to students at their place as a passion. Wednesdays were reserved for vocal music by a sir named Mr. Malta ni who came to her place and taught vocal music, harmonium, a percussion instrument called tabla. Harmonium is a type of reed organ that generates sound with foot-pumped bellows. He started at three in the afternoon and taught till seven in the evening. He taught young children, ladies and men. I and a few more ladies and  men were taught at 5.30 in the evening. Sir taught us classi...

Wealth has to be won by deeds of glory. Rig Veda Money has varied significance and is viewed differently depending upon what it means to the person. It is a retreat for a rich person to spend it while it is a measure to buy basic necessities for a poor person. Money is also viewed as a status symbol as it can buy you diamonds and  other possessions to flaunt. People say they are basic necessities, but still money can buy a dwelling but not a home, riches can buy a bed but not a goodnight’s sleep, it can buy food but not an appetite or hunger. It can buy a coffin, but not the affection of people who will miss you and mourn for you. These basics are perhaps evoked through goodwill gained by people rather than money earned. True value of money is actually known to those who are in a financial crisis with its need for food and clothing. Every year an employee is given an increment in the pay. An employed person looks forward to this to plan life with greater purchases like a ...

Holding on to   anger   is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. – Buddha The shop owner was a  young lady who seemed busy as she handed a beautiful glass framed poster of horses to the buyer. She had cautiously wrapped it with a newspaper and showed the purchaser the way of holding it so that she would not drop it.  She was neatly dressed in a saree sporting small pieces of jewellery, her hair loosely tied with a few locks of hair deliberately left to make her look attractive. She was plump and well built. The shop was a tiny one, very near the Mumbai Pune highway, in a lane. The shop had framed pictures of Gods and Goddesses, the sheen of the frames added brilliance to the pictures and the dimly lit shop. The lady was busy attending a Phone call on her mobile, and used crude language while speaking, then her eyes sparkled as she yelled at the speaker asking him to reach early. Just next ...

“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”   ―   Martha Washington She brought kum kum and turmeric and put a vermillion mark on my forehead with it. She touched my feet seeking blessings and gave sprouts of chickpeas, a coin, flowers, beetle nut leaves and a banana before the gesture. Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the Hindu year, beginning late July and ending in the third week of AugustShravana(jupaka) is considered to be a holy month in the Hindu calendar due to the many festivals that are celebrated during this time (Wikipedia). She was celebrating Varalakshmi Vratham, a festival followed by the people of Andhra Pradesh in India. I looked at her as a volley of memories shoved me into my childhood. I could reminisce Padma aunty standing serenely dressed in yellow and green silk saree with a vermilion mark on her forehead as she yelled and called out our names to collect the Prasad (offerings gi...

“The real poetry and beauty in life comes from an intense relationship with reality in all its aspects. Realism is in fact the ideal we must aspire to, the highest point of human rationality.”   ―   Robert Greene The man cycled through the busy streets with a blue drum of water which spilled the water he had painfully procured having stood in a long line. Unhappily he got down to tighten the lid with a plastic sheet to prevent water from spilling. As he began cycling it continued  to dribble. The road in the street was burning hot. Each drop of water evaporated the minute it touched the road. There were women who had covered their faces with long pieces of cloth called dupatta in Ind ia . The heat was unbearable. Occasionally the sky would turn dark with interspersed heavy clouds giving people the impression that the monsoon would begin but it was a mere illusion.  People felt the anguish of heat greater with the reduction in the supply of water. There was har...