Naari – The Woman

Diwali – Nostalgia…

Diwali. The festival of lights. It’s that time of the year when everyone gets eager to celebrate, gets busy making preparations for enjoying the most widely celebrated festival in India. It’s also that time of the year when I get very nostalgic about my bygone years.

When I was a kid, Diwali mostly was an affair to meet people, make new friends, play with old friends and eat homemade stuff from all over my Nani’s (grandmother’s) village.

In Goa and in some parts of Maharashtra / Karnataka, Diwali is a festival celebrated to rejoice for Kanhaji’s victory over Narakasur (the demon who captured 1100 beautiful princesses and he was planning to slay them). We burn the idol of Narakasur and enact the victory of good over evil. This is a grand event with competitions held across villages for the best Narakasur idol etc, which runs throughout the night before Diwali. On the morning of Diwali, mom would wake us up while it was still almost dark (if we ever slept at all) and get us bathed with Utan (wonderful smelling ayurvedic powder mixed with oil and applied as a moisturizing body lotion). Then we would  go to the Tulasi Vrindavan in our garden and with the big tow of left foot burst “Karit”, a bitter fruit and taste its juice. Begin the festival this way signified that life may be bitter at times, but there are still reasons to celebrate.

We kids and the male members of household would go from one neighbor’s place to other visiting them, wishing them and eating pohe with them. Similarly they would come to our place.

Then the whole day would unfold with games we played with all the kids. Hide & seek, “Dongar ki Pani” (mountain or water) in temple courtyard. Or we just slept for a long time, lazed around, telling and listening to stories with cousins.

Evening would mean a time to show off all our paper lanterns, and paper based decorations. Everything we had been creating and sticking, hanging around the house and garden for days before Diwali. We would have pooja of Goddess Laxmi in our house and then light some crackers. Again, this pooja was an affair made grand by visiting neighbours and friends. I remember my Nani sending us kids with dishes she made and knew that someone in the village liked it. No matter what age or caste the village people belonged to.

All the celebration was centered around keeping your household sparkling clean, kitchen smelling mouth-wateringly wonderful, rooms full of lights, warmth and welcome for friends and people in the community. In general, the financially lower class people would be made to feel a part of the village community.

We didn’t have expensive gifts or crackers, nor ready made dresses and sweets. But these things-that-money-can-buy, didn’t count so much. Because we had love of our family and friends. Is it not how we should really celebrate our festivals? Liking people and using things (instead of the other way round)? Giving back to society and sharing instead of remaining simply a “grab-it-all, make-it-mine”?

Think about it….!

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Ladakh magic….

I just came back from a soul changing experience – a trip to the magic land, Ladakh.

We went in a group. So it was not really an intentional soul searching pilgrimage. But that’s what I found myself doing when surrounded by the ultimate grandeur of nature. It has also built an inner irresistible urge to share my experiences with you.

I know there are other sites that give tourism related info on this and nearby places, so I’ll let them do that job. I want to share with you my journey into this land and also into my own inner being, into myself.

Every moment of my time in Ladakh is memorable. From surviving the long night @Pang at –7°C to taking the roads less traveled in Leh on our bikes, and exploring Tantric monastery by chance where we met students being taught the lessons of life. From sitting in the hotel room’s balcony at Sonamarg staring at breathtakingly beautiful mountains sipping in a hot cup of chai in the morning (Heaven-is-here experience!) to driving on risky routes always living on the edge.

The whole trip, each moment is something I won’t ever trade for other. Nine days, approx. 1600 kms. seemed to pass in a single moment. Yet the joy and the longing ache lives on…

The time we landed back at the Delhi airport,  an air of unease surrounded me, as if I had left something precious behind. As I reached home, I called up friends, family and everyone I could to share the feeling , the mesmerizing experience. I had not had enough of the trip. Not yet.

And ever since, life has not been quite the same. Next day, I kept wondering how everyone around seemed to be in a rush, running after not so important things in life and missing out on so much. The traffic jams on Noida roads after the picturesque valleys of Ladakh was definitely not a pleasing sight. The pictures of  peaceful mountains with their majestic solitude kept revolving in my mind as I made my way to office.

The workplace now seemed to be so different from what it was before. It was a mixed feeling of being back and being torn away from nature. When I told my friends how I longed to go back, how I missed the place, some called it the hangover and some said that the Ladakh air has got me. Earlier,I always preferred to follow the sleep late, wake up late regime but never knew how refreshing could it be to watch the sunrise, to listen to the birds chirping in the morning. Never did I realize how beautiful an early morning could be.

The trip has changed me and showed what I have been missing out on. People out there were so simple, so real, braving all the hardships yet being happy and contented. A stark contrast to people in the cities – always trying to be somebody else, chasing what they don’t have and not cherishing what they have.

Yes, I seem to have fallen in love… With Nature.. Maybe, my friends were right, when they said that the Ladakh air has got me. It has me bewitched. Its’ pure magic!

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Welcome Aboard, Shikha

She is very girlie, yet quite technical when it needs to be that. Loves travelling, shopping and occasionally experimenting in kitchen besides other beautiful things in life. A good shower of rain after some really sultry days will find her standing in her balcony slowly sipping from her tea mug and enjoying the breeze.  Vivacious, adventurous, and yet very down-to-earth. Meet Shikha Agrawal. A dear friend of mine who is joining the NTW team.

She recently has been up north to some not-so-frequented places and has a report on the same coming up for you.

So, ready to see our beloved India from Shikha’s eyes? Watch this space…

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