Enthralling Trails

    “The truth about an animal is far more exciting and altogether more beautiful than all the myths woven about it. ”   ―   Konrad Lorenz Mansoor walked down the cool lane calmly. He was ten years old, not very tall, but was fair and well built. He had a school bag on his shoulder and a water bottle in his hand, which he swirled as he walked. He saw people look at him inquisitively, their curiosity was well understood as he smiled. It was the end of April, and the  summer vacation had commenced. The young lady across the road could not stop herself from asking Mansoor as to what made him go for tuitions in the summer vacations. Mansoor smiled and told her that he belonged to the ‘KridaKul’ school and that he had just ten days holidays in the last week of May. The lady asked him ‘Krida’ is to Play so why did he have to carry a huge school bag’. Mansoor patiently described his schedule saying that a ‘KridaKul’ showered equal emphasis on studies and sport...

And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”   ―   Kahlil Gibran , It has been ages since I contemplated a question as simple as this one. This has been the way of life, the scriptures also speak of this as Grihstashram.   Grihastha   ( Sanskrit :   gr̥hastha ) literally means "being in and occupied with home, family" or "householder".   It refers to the second phase of an individual's life in a four age-based stages of the   Hindu ashram system ,  It follows   Brahmacharya   (bachelor student) life stage, and embodies a married life, with the duties of maintaining a home, raising a family, educating one's children, and leading a family- centred and a   dharmic   social life . ( Wikipedia) The young girl looked at me and asked me ‘why should one get married? Does marriage put an end to the problems in ou...

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.”   ―   Sylvia Plath The early morning  walks in the man-made forest have been the most satiating ones for me. It has nev er bored me as there are numerous paths to tread, giving a newness each day. The hilltop is breezy with the ghats visible till the horizon, the varying tints of the sky at sunrise keeps one spellbound. While returning back there are two paths to reach the main gate. One of the paths is a large course, while the other pathway curves as a paved alleyway with the lawn and playground on one side, and a fenced wall encompasses the lake on the other side. The lake is actually carved hilly rocks which have been chisled to fill water, and with time the rocks have dissipated. The lake has widened naturally and now has a mountainous wall on one side with numerous birds like the pigeons living in the small fissures and whittles . Th...