Enthralling Trails

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”   ―   Albert Camus   I ran up the stairs. I knew there were seventy-seven of them and then came the clearing, a rock supports the rest of the ground and  muddy earth leads to the clearing. The  elevated area is like the tableland near Panchgani. It is long, planted with trees all around. A railing surrounds the tableland and the whole area has a lawn ‘beautiful  and well maintained’. One can see the exquisite beauty of the place and the city from here. There is a lone tree growing in a small secluded area in the centre making it appear like the tree in the movie ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. The railing is broken and its supports are missing as someone has been stealthily  selling its iron parts bit by bit. The view from the place keeps one spellbound to notice all these trivial things. I rushed to my ...

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.”   ―   Mahatma Gandhi The boy  looked timidly at his father. He was seven years old and seemed to have just awoken from sleep. It appeared that he had been dragged downstairs by his father. His father clad in a pyjama and kurta gently coaxed him towards the cracker kept on the ground. The boy viewed the cracker and then looked at his father. It was near about six in the morning, dark with the street lights glowing, the sky was gradually turning  blue, a few birds were chirping as they perched for a second on those low boughs of the green bushes. It was one of the most important days of Diwali, the day people adorn their best jewellery, wear their best clothes and pray Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity to be blessed with grace and riches. The mornings are not very important, people relax as they wash the courtyard and shape beautiful designs on the ground filli...

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison”   ―   Ann Wigmore Early Mornings are brea thtaking and exquisitely beautiful. We commence our walk around 5.45am when dusk gives way to dawn reminding us that after every gloomy phase there is a striking  bright new day, perhaps just as a new canvas for a painter to shade life, a new day to set new goals in life, a new day for new accomplishments, a new day for new decisions, a new day to begin  life afresh, God lets us understand the intricacies in life through nature. The  morning Sun as a red round ball changes the hues of the blue sky slowly gifting all organisms the bodily energy, intelligence and wisdom. Plants gain their source of energy from the sun and share it with all other living beings through the creation of food.Food is an imperative need in our life. I saw  a few middle aged men rush back after their walk cheerfully...

“Every parent is an artist, but not every artist is apparent”   ―   Eric Micha'el Leventhal It was late evening, in fact, it was almost dinner time, but the little girl wis hed to play. I saw the mother pondering for a while, maybe she wis hed to prioritize the needs of the child. She sighed, but let the child have her way. I saw them run all over the place, shrieking and enjoying every bit as they kicked and shuttled the ball on the lawn.  I watched the little girl fall several times, but so great was her enthusiasm that she stood upright within a second. After a while, I saw a contented mother and her  happy little daughter climb up the stairs wearily to go home. The mother had forsaken her timely duties and awarded beautiful moments for her daughter to cherish.  Memories del uged as I remembered the growing years of my son. After school in his kindergarten, we would never return back home without playing in the play area of the building for a long t...