I. A journey of loss
You are at Valley of flowers completely astounded by the majestic beauty of the nature. Every kilometer you trek ahead, colours keep changing due to change in flora around. You click pictures, try to capture the immense beauty through your camera (a camera u have possessed since long). Suddenly, the camera slips and falls out of your hand into the deep valley. You feel utterly depressed about the loss, about the camera and about the pictures in it. But the loss is so ephemeral that it evaporates and gets so miniscule infront of the immensity of the mountains, the expanse of the clouds and the profundity of the river. You just walk ahead and keep exploring. Then just a thought comes across your mind "Probably the best work of an artist never gets published".
II. A journey of randomness
You start going down the mountain wearing a Beatles T-shirt with all four members printed on it. Out of blue, a random girl taking a rest inquires from you that when had you got the last haircut. You are taken aback by the randomness of the question from such an arbit girl. And before you recollect, she comments that that guy (pointing towards Ringo Starr) in your T-shirt resembles you with the same smile and same beard. You recollect yourself and just smile back and reply "But my favourite Beatle is John Lennon" to which she says "But mine is Ringo Starr". And then she leaves climbing the hill up humming " Mmmm I get high with a little help from my friends....". You start descending the hill with an extra energy in love with the randomness and gregariousness of that girl.
III. A journey of innocence
You reached the base camp and now set yourself for the road trip back to Delhi. And before any bus or a public vehicle arrives, you spot a school bus and take a chance at hitch-hiking on it. And after a little convincing the driver, you find yourself amidst some school children aged between 6 to 10. They are so frightened of you, conscious of the devilish new comer. From the cool Ringo Starr, you have turned some uncool monster whose backpack is heavier than their school bag. You try to be friendly and smile and put all endeavours to mingle with these kids. Finally after a lot of attempts, they find you friendly and start accommodating you. And before it all ends, you find yourself singing "Why this kolaveri Kolaveri Di" with the kids.
IV. A journey of laughter
You are sitting at a dhaba alone enroute Rishikesh. And in the next table, there are sitting 5 Sikh men. They call the waiter who is also a Sikh guy and order: "Teen chai ko paanch cup mein daal kar lao (Bring 3 cups of tea poured into 5 cups)". The Sikh waiter replies "Ye kaise hoga? Teen cup chai teen mein hi aayegi (How is that possible? 3 cups tea will come only in 3 cups only)". There starts a min-brawl which has started with 5 sikhs explaining 1 Sikh about how to pour 3 cups of tea in 5 cups. It gets so hilarious because of the trivial nature of the source of the dispute. Finally you get up and intervene ordering 3 full cups of tea and 2 empty cups from the waiter. Everyone (the six sardaars) is so relieved and rejoicing at the solution that they end up ordering 3 empty cups instead of two empty because the sixth guy sharing in the tea party is you!
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PS: All the journeys are based on true incidents.
You are at Valley of flowers completely astounded by the majestic beauty of the nature. Every kilometer you trek ahead, colours keep changing due to change in flora around. You click pictures, try to capture the immense beauty through your camera (a camera u have possessed since long). Suddenly, the camera slips and falls out of your hand into the deep valley. You feel utterly depressed about the loss, about the camera and about the pictures in it. But the loss is so ephemeral that it evaporates and gets so miniscule infront of the immensity of the mountains, the expanse of the clouds and the profundity of the river. You just walk ahead and keep exploring. Then just a thought comes across your mind "Probably the best work of an artist never gets published".
II. A journey of randomness
You start going down the mountain wearing a Beatles T-shirt with all four members printed on it. Out of blue, a random girl taking a rest inquires from you that when had you got the last haircut. You are taken aback by the randomness of the question from such an arbit girl. And before you recollect, she comments that that guy (pointing towards Ringo Starr) in your T-shirt resembles you with the same smile and same beard. You recollect yourself and just smile back and reply "But my favourite Beatle is John Lennon" to which she says "But mine is Ringo Starr". And then she leaves climbing the hill up humming " Mmmm I get high with a little help from my friends....". You start descending the hill with an extra energy in love with the randomness and gregariousness of that girl.
III. A journey of innocence
You reached the base camp and now set yourself for the road trip back to Delhi. And before any bus or a public vehicle arrives, you spot a school bus and take a chance at hitch-hiking on it. And after a little convincing the driver, you find yourself amidst some school children aged between 6 to 10. They are so frightened of you, conscious of the devilish new comer. From the cool Ringo Starr, you have turned some uncool monster whose backpack is heavier than their school bag. You try to be friendly and smile and put all endeavours to mingle with these kids. Finally after a lot of attempts, they find you friendly and start accommodating you. And before it all ends, you find yourself singing "Why this kolaveri Kolaveri Di" with the kids.
IV. A journey of laughter
You are sitting at a dhaba alone enroute Rishikesh. And in the next table, there are sitting 5 Sikh men. They call the waiter who is also a Sikh guy and order: "Teen chai ko paanch cup mein daal kar lao (Bring 3 cups of tea poured into 5 cups)". The Sikh waiter replies "Ye kaise hoga? Teen cup chai teen mein hi aayegi (How is that possible? 3 cups tea will come only in 3 cups only)". There starts a min-brawl which has started with 5 sikhs explaining 1 Sikh about how to pour 3 cups of tea in 5 cups. It gets so hilarious because of the trivial nature of the source of the dispute. Finally you get up and intervene ordering 3 full cups of tea and 2 empty cups from the waiter. Everyone (the six sardaars) is so relieved and rejoicing at the solution that they end up ordering 3 empty cups instead of two empty because the sixth guy sharing in the tea party is you!
_________________________________________________________________________________
PS: All the journeys are based on true incidents.
14 comments :
Love the way you've recounted the journeys! And yes, losses are ephemeral..
Nice and mature reads....
Your stories remind me of our desi SRK in KHNH...
and i dont care if srk is ur fev or not :P
Wandering is an innate human trait, a never ending search for an elusive peace that lies somewhere within us, though I have been quite non-human in this regard but your post really enforced me for an inward journey and quite painfully, I would say, I found myself shuttling between the extremes of cynicism and belief - from it's all cooked up or at best embellished to what's there not to believe. Then I realize may be my diurnal rational numerical job and nocturnal fanciful literary avocation are at war with each other, may be I should make them co-exist. This conflict is something I am experiencing for quite sometime like recently I had the similar epiphany while watching Pan's Labyrinth and reading Life of Pi. Your post truly accentuated those ongoing collisions.So one day - hopefully when I would be maturer or more evolved - when I would be recollecting all those works and situations that made me question something visceral about me, this post will definitely feature in my musings! Keep posting:)
Very interesting read... Somehow it seems the story is incomplete. ... The blank call from the girl will surely haunt you for a while... I am sure you were not able to capture her in your frame.....but only in your mind. Follow your heart and you will reach your destination.
Aman
I envy ur life man...
[1] Loss of Camera: if i were the camera i would like to be lost like that.. than to be replaced by my owner by a better version of my kind.. or to wither away slowly until i am no more useful.
To be lost forever among the paintings that I drew is only appropriate.
[2] Ringo Starr versus Monster: Its so amazing that grown ups would like to judge you by the T-shirt you are wearing and beard u have.. but kids would treat you like a blank slate and would only accept you in time, when they are convinced..
perhaps they are the grown-ups!!
[3] Sikhs in Dhaba: awesome story...perhaps typical sardar character is evident...
the real protagonist is not the one who beats the bad guy and saves the day..but the one who make friends out of dispute... we need more of that character these days...
,,,,
You have an interesting life man. Keep it that way :)
Bhai, you are having too much fun.
:-) NICE.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Valley of Flowers is on my to-do list for long. After reading this piece, I plan to hitch hike on my way to the Valley.
This was so good, that I after reading this in Google reader, I HAD to come to your site to say "wow"...
One of your best pieces, so evocative, subtle and singular.
And of course, very Kunderaish :)
Ps: Send me the list of movies you promised.
Boy o boy! This post is enchanting.
Enjoyed it!!
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