She Who Never Stopped

It finally happened!! She did it!!
Rupin Pass. A cherry-picked trek with loads of challenges all through out the terrain. But wait, that's not what I want to tell you here! You can google about Rupin Pass and get plenty of information. You don't need me for that. You must be thinking....then what is in store!!

What if I tell you an interesting story about a mad-passionate girl..? The girl who crossed all the barriers to see Rupin Pass. The girl who thought its 'now or never'. Now, does it sound interesting?

Teetli loves to do different stuff. She feels she's born to do bigger stuff in life. No no...don't get her wrong. She's not the conventional type who would just dream big and do nothing. There's one life, a long bucket list, and way too less days left for her to explore her world. Yes, her world. Everyone has one. You just need to be aware of your own.

Teetli always loved mountains. It amazed her every-time. So, when she heard her school buddies discussing about a High Altitude Trek, she was super excited. They didn't pay much attention to her, rather dissuaded her saying she doesn't have the required fitness. Even her parents didn't approve of her passion for mountains. But....no one can stop her if she made her mind. She started her preparations. Right from fitness, to booking, to buying the equipment and clothing she would require. All by herself. It was super fun. Decathlon, didn't had her shoe size for a long time and they were expensive too. She also needed money for her trek. So she bought a pair of trekking shoes online. Little did she know, how it would turn out next.

Finally the day arrived and she like a confident beaming star, started her journey. In the month of June, where monsoon had just started. Let me mention here, she was accompanied by one of her schoolmates. The other one couldn't make it.
Teetli was already high. Her 1st ever High Altitude Trek and that too Rupin Pass. Whoa!!

After reaching the base camp at Dhaula (5,230 ft), she was simply amazed to see the surroundings. Deep valley, thick forest and Rupin river. It was as if she's actually the Alice in her own wonderland. She got introduced to her team and the team-lead. Bunch of exciting trekkers. She went down to the chilling river and dipped her legs till the knee and sat their for sometime, soaking the nature within. She had a bad fall the other day in Dehradun while climbing a staircase, and wounded her right foot. The chilling rivers' ever-flowing water touched her and kept healing the pain she had. No wonder why we call Nature as Mother.

The next day they started their long journey to their next campsite at Sewa (6,300 ft). On her way, she saw a beautiful ancient temple build in the honor of Kunti-putra Karna, the fearless warrior in Mahabharata. Though it was just the starting of June, monsoon had already settled in. It rained all night at the base camp, and it didn't stop. With the ponchos on, she and the team were merging ahead exploring the unexplored. The whole day was full of surprises; for every nook and turn, there was something new to unfold. She realized, this trek was going to be a challenging one.

After she reached Sewa, Teetli realized, there were some signs of blisters under her feet. Painful ones. She was worried, as she realized her shoes aren't the right kind for this sort of terrain. But too late a realization. It was just Day 2. Seven more days to complete the trek. Would she be able to walk an average of 10-12 kms everyday for the next 7 days? .........Let's see.

The next 3 days were really strenuous with the blisters spreading across her fore-feet and also fingers. Every step she put forth, evoked ruthless pain. She prayed to attain more endurance. Her love for mountains were more than anything in the world.

She reached Lower Waterfall campsite (11,700 ft) on Day 5. Feet totally wounded, but mental strength yet strong. No medication or first aid helped. Continuous rain with chilling temperatures also played a pivotal role in aggravating the wound. Yet, she was happy as she knew she would get a complete day rest, as they would stay there to acclimatize before setting up for Upper Waterfall. The next day was spent resting, chitchatting, and training on how to walk with crampons, on perpetual snow. In the evening, the team leader suddenly called Teetli and declared she would have to descend down as her condition was only deteriorating and might get worst if she ascends. But, Teetli wasn't ready to give up at all. How could she not see her dream come true, so close. She's been a go-getter all through her life. Nope, even if the team disowns her, she would still go ahead on her own. Period. The irked team leader threw her a challenge. She would have to climb with him upto a certain path and come back to the camp site within an hours time. If she passes the challenge, she would be allowed to continue on with the team. She agreed. At 7pm, a pitch dark and extremely chilly night descended upon her venture. It was tough, but she didn't lose her hope and her speed. She forgot all about her pain. All she could see was Rupin Pass. She had won that challenge. She was in.

Next day, she was the first one to reach the Upper Waterfall campsite (13,385 ft). Now, "that" was an achievement. Her morale was beaming high. She kept praying, as the summit day neared.

On the Summit Day, she was all set to climb. She tied and covered her wounded feet well, so that nothing could bother her. She knew it was going to be the most difficult day, as there was a steep climb to Rupin Pass (15,380 ft) via Rati Pheri, and then a steep decent to Ronti Gad (13,139 ft). The Rupin pass gully is a steep climb (more than 60 degree in angle). Very thrilling and surreal. Teetli was super cautious in her every step, as the path was steep, extremely narrow and snake-shaped. She had already slipped once in between and it was difficult for her to climb back then, imagine now. At last, she summit-ted. On reaching the top of the gully, her joy knew no bound. She could see the entire Dhauladhar range. She was indeed in her wonderland. She felt that her whole being was meant to experience this. She had tears in her eyes. No, not because of pain, the excitement of her dream coming true. She did it.

But wait, the story is not over yet. Descending to Ronti Gad was equally demanding, if not more. On reaching the camp site, she was in tears again. This time, because of immense pain. Her feet were in terrible shape. She knew, difficult times were ahead. The next day she finally reached Sangla (11,427 ft). It took 3 more days to reach back home with a very high fever and an acute feet infection. Her doctor, too, got disturbed upon opening her wound. If, Teetli was a bit more late, she might have got Gangrene, is what her doctor told her. It took more than a month to recover. But she was again ready to explore Har ki Dun trek the next year. Such is her love for mountains.

She is an explorer. She is unstoppable. She is Teetli.

Cheers!!
Yours, Teetli.

Finding Your Nemo

Well, here I am back again with a new post, after a long time. Most of us have seen the movie Finding Nemo. Oh I had loved it. No no, I am not going to write anything about the movie. Yet I feel I should tell you why I named this. Who is "Your Nemo"? Well, your Nemo is you. Yes, you read it right. We all have a child version of us,

within us. We all do. A few of us nurture, take care of the Nemo in us...a few of us just laugh away the thought of being Nemo again.

Today amidst the deadly pandemic Corona Virus, where the whole world have sealed, locked-down it self. We the inhabitants are finding it so difficult to confine ourselves within the four walled boundary. We don't know what to do. The TV channels, WhatsApp messages, Facebook, Insta, Twitter, etc, are all infected/affected by Corona. This Made in China virus have left us with uncertainties in life. How much can you absorb! No where to go, no one to visit... it is a sort of sabbatical break, the Mother Nature have bestowed upon us.

Where we never had time for anything in life other than our routine, now we have plenty of time for everything in life. Mother Nature's plan to put us behind the bars of our own home has some bigger objectives it seems. We all were in absolute hurry to perform our daily chores earlier. When was the last that you looked at yourself and said, "Hey you! Take it slow buddy. Get some life!" Or  rather, "Hello Nemo! Do what you love". In the rat race, we all just went with all.

Mother Nature have its own way of dealing. So she dealt. She suddenly stopped us. She gave us the time, the cue to find the Nemo in us. A golden opportunity. Its now or never.

Do what you love and then Love what you do. Nurture the child in you. Sing, dance, paint, write, read, make, bake, cook, play....the list is endless. Do what you always wanted to do. That could be anything, I repeat Anything. Trust me, you won't look foolish. Spend your time with your loved ones. Call your friends/loved ones whom you haven't called for ages. Sit in the balcony. Watch the clear sky. It is rare, isn't it. Sip your favourite beverage and watch the sun set if possible. Breathe the fresh air. Talk to your plants. Hey do you know, they understand what you say. If you converse to them nicely, they grow well. Don't you always wanted to do all these?

You always wished you had some time to nourish your dreams, your passion. See, Mother Nature have just granted your wish. Go.....find your Nemo!

Unsaid.... Unspoken....

Do you have any unsaid words in your heart? I think we all have. Those unspoken unsaid words keep searching for a way. But, they hardly get the conduit to open up. They just remain within.

At times they take an attempt to make their way out. But we have learned to remain tight lipped. They get assembled in the throat. And we keep gulping them back, push them back.

Pillows are our best friends. The only witness. They understand them, see them, wipe them with care. They understand you more than anyone. They witness secrets, fear, pain, sigh and loads of tears. Our confidant...our pillow.

Our heart plays a double role. It tries to reason us, justify us. Why don't you try this or that...or why don't you just speak up. Say your heart out. Pour your words. Why the words muggle up with each other and make a complete khichri of your emotions. Why cant they simply flow. But at the same time, the heart says, "Hello!! Wait..will it be heard...will it be understood? It might sound insignificant to others..so hang on" And, so it goes on. Words thus becomes meek one more time and try to take a backseat. Piles up. No way out.

Don't you think, we just need to be a little more caring to our emotions. We need to speak our heart out. Softly, nicely. Make way for those unspoken unsaid words. Allow them to meet the world. They might sound insignificant to some, but they might mean the world to a few. They might sound promising to a few. They might cheer up a few. You never know, what they are capable of. So let them flow, for they are not mere words, they are a sum of You. They represent You. They are You. And you are bold, you are fearless, you are an independent soul. Let your heart speak. They might have the power to change the world. 

My journey with me

Its been ages I kept dreaming, I will see the world through my own eyes, own way. But could never have the courage to give it a go. My daily chores kept me busy. They kept lining up for me. I was reminded of my duties, responsibilities towards people around me. And I kept getting tangled with all these big words. Life became routine, monotonous, dull.

But the dreams have been very persuasive. They wouldn't stop flashing. They kept poking me. Until that day when I really felt I have been forgetting someone really special all these while. That person, who also needs my attention, love and care equally. I was completely giving a cold shoulder to that human being all this while. That person is non other than me.

Why do we give ourselves a back seat I don't understand, when its us who handles the steering of our family most of the times..!!!!
If I am not happy, how can I make anyone happy???? I asked this question to me one day. The realization made me aware of what I am losing out in my life. I realized I stopped living my life long back. I am just living everybody else's life. Wherein I have forgotten what I used to like, love...... the only things I remember are what people around me likes. Their choice have become my choice. I forgot my own identity!!!!!
I realized, I also have to live. I am an identity by myself. I also have emotions. I like rain. I love singing. I love to dance. I love to read. I love to write. I love food, and yes, I love Chinese, Kebabs, fish. I love to paint. I love to travel to so many places. I love to explore new places. I love to meet new people, talk to them, understand them. The list is endless. And half of my life has just gone living other peoples lives.

There's only one life and I can't let it go like this anymore. I also have to start living. And start living from NOW. For there's no tomorrow.

So here I am. Meet me....I am Teetli, the butterfly. The world is in my wings. There's so much to explore. There's no stopping now. Feel free to join me. There's a butterfly in you too. Wake up from the cocoon!! Open your wings!! Fly Fly Fly!! And fly high!!

Tagore rightly said "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."

"She"

She loves nature. She loves people. She loves to sing. She loves to dance. She loves to read. She loves to paint. She loves to cook.

Oh my God..! She loves to do so many things. She loves to explore new arenas. She is so full of life.

Who is she? She is a daughter, a friend, a wife, a mother. She is you. She is her. She is everywhere. How do you identify her? Ask yourself, search within. She is there. She is scared to open her wings. Deep down she knows she wants to fly. She loves the independence. But she is being stopped by so many circumstances. She wants to break-free. She says, "Why am I being labelled to perform all the duties and responsibilities only? I too need to feel free, I too have my desires, which I want to fulfill. There's only one Life and I want to fulfill every possible dream that I saw, and I still see. It is equally important for me. My dreams are my life. They inspire me."

But who wants to listen to her plea. We are here to judge all her actions. All her words. How dare she pursue her dream? Why would she? Some will say, cut her wings, let her be grounded. Some will say, cut her throat, let her not speak at all. How dare she wants to explore!!! She feels devastated. She feels lost. She feels lonely. She is restricted. She feels lifeless. She feels trapped.

A few "she" thinks, whatever they do, is their life. They keep suppressing themselves thinking this is what it is. This is what they are destined to do. They could never talk about their dream. They could never dare to otherwise. They too have aspirations. They never realize, they too can. It is them who they need to push, convince. No one else, Can they not fly?
My answer to them....."Yes, you too can. Just believe in yourself. Believe that you can fly. Believe that you too can dream and you can touch your dreams too."

But hey!! I am here to talk about that She, who dares to dream. She is like a river. She is unstoppable. Though there are rocks and other hurdles to stop her flow, but she knows, eventually she would flow. She will meet her ocean of dreams. She believes in the sound of music. She believes that she can. One day she will. She cant possibly wait. She doesn't believe in next life, for there's only one life she knows of. She wants to fulfill herself with everything she sees, she feels. She is so full of love. She is soaked with love. She is You. She is her. She is Me. She is everywhere.

She loves to quote......

"Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream."
 

Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai

I love to travel. Since I am based out of Gurgaon, and Delhi being the Rajdhani, I have been availing the Railways quite a bit. And my choice is ofcourse The Rajdhani Mail, wherever possible. This blog is all about a journey from Mumbai to Delhi via The Rajdhani Mail.

Day 1
This time my co-passengers were a sardar family of four, husband-wife  with 2 kids. And 3 Haryanvi men. And ofcourse myself and my daughters. My parents, sis and niece had come over to see us off, and as usual my niece was in tears to see us leave. The first dialogue came from the sardarni. Ice-breaker you see. "Apni teesri betti ko chhod ke kithhe jaa rahe ho ji...kudi di le lo".......Come on! Is that even possible!!! I replied saying the lil one is my niece and I can't possibly take her along with me. As my niece's howling gained intensity, the Sardarni again implode me that I should take her along. Clearly, she wasn't convinced!

The train departed.
 After a while, one of the Haryanvi shifted next to me. His looks was giving me that "Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai" tune. After a few friendly questions, he became more and more inquisitive. Initially, I obliged him by answering whatever I felt I could. But his friendly gestures were too much to handle."Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai" tune once again rang in my ears!!!
He tried to show utmost care by keeping the food tray down, play with my lil one, giving me those endearing smiles and mushy looks. Aarrrgghh!!! Weirdo!!!

Day 2
The romeo again shifted next to me giving those irritating cupid looks!!
Meanwhile our sardar parivar was having a super time with their breakfast. Sardar Paaji ate heartily finishing his own portion and his kids share too. He didn't leave a sauce or jam pouch either. Ate all!!!
Reminded me of Bakasur! Naah! His structure is too thin!!
I was wondering how things will get adjusted in his poor tummy! But he adjusted I guess!

He then opened his pagri and let his Rapunzel hair come out! He started combing vigorously as if he was combing after decades! Dandruff started flying everywhere like snowflakes (complete Hollywood Romedy scene)!! God knows even lice may be!!
There were hair-fall everywhere. Finally I had to intervene politely, requesting if the hair could be accumulated and thrown in the dustbin. And he obliged but not without those hostile stares from his better half.

Side by side, the Haryanvi was totally taking all his chances to impress the mother of two daughters, me in short.
Hariyanvi: "Aap toh mummy lagte nahi ho ji...ye aapki hi betiyaan hai?"...I ignored him.
                  "Aap ki bachpan mein shaadi hui thi kya?"
                  "Aap ki aawaz rasgulle jaise hai ji"
                  "Aapke husband government employee honge!!"

I had enough by then.
I retorted, "Kyu, mere matthe pe likha hai kya yeh sab"

Hariyanvi: "Nahi jee, aapko dekhke laga!

Now this is an art. People predicting your husbands profession by looking at you. He went on and on. I stopped looking at him. Two of his friends from the side berth were calling him, but no one could uproot him from my berth.

I kept looking the other side just to avoid his questionnaire but he would find some ways to keep irritating me! The journey felt so long!!
Finally it was time to get down. And with it came the ultimate question.
Hariyanvi: "Aapka naam kya bataya tha aapne??"...

"Maine apna naam aapko bataya hi nahi, batana bhi nahi chahti"

Hariyanvi: "Ji koi baat nahi, mera naam puch lijiye" .......

"No thanks"...and I started walking away with my kids.

Hariyanvi (loudly) : "Aare apna number toh dete jaiye, kabhi baat kar lenge.....mera le lijiye"...........

"Tu mera lelle Thane chalke...." There arrives the GRP.

Hearing that I turned around to see the GRP pumping him.

I grinned. "He who laughs last laughs longest".........remembered the phrase.

Wanted to sing the song for him instead "Golmal hai bhai sab golmal hai".

Roadmap

GPS - Global Positioning System or Golok Pother Sathi as I fondly call.

Thanks to smartphones and google maps,  we all know what is a GPS today. I experienced the same in Frankfurt in the year 2006 for the first time. It guided us to a theatre. Though we had to key in the roads names quite a few times and keying the names were tough as the features were very basic then. Nevertheless we could reach our destination to watch a Bollywood movie dot on time. I was thrilled. Superb!

I had wished then, back here in India we should also have the same technology someday. Understanding the Indian roads and sub-roads and sub-sub-sub roads(we can go on actually) and the pulse beat of our well-known traffic, it was a distant dream.

Well though it took some time, but we do have a GPS in each and every smartphone we come across. We all have it. And with the latest technology it has become a very neat and useful App.
There where times when we were really smart enough to figure out a new place by ourselves. Now days our phones are smarter than us. The apps are even smarter. But are they really smart!! Well, let me take you through to some amazing experience.

We are a big fan of GPS. Wherever we go, we would just put it on and it would safely take us there without a second doubt. Soon Miss. GPS became our day to day guide to those places which are a bit unknown to us, or has multiple ways to reach. In Gurgaon, it is of utmost usage.

Once one chilling Saturday in the month of December, we ventured out to reach the famous Shitlamata Temple in Gurgaon. I fed the name on the app so that Ms. GPS guides us correctly. Little did I realise, that there are more than one Shitlamata Temples, one in Gurgaon and the other one is in the outskirts of old Delhi. The difference between the two  is only in the placement of the letter "a". Since I typed  Shitalamta Temple, Gurgaon, Ms. GPS assumed that I meant the Delhi one. We kept on driving and it kept showing us the way. At about halfway my husband realised that we are into a wrong direction but since the GPS was still showing us the way we kept moving. We wanted to know where does the wrong destination lie. We reached a very old part of Delhi after a LONG drive, wherein a small cosy minuscule Shitalamata temple was standing tall. We had our darshan and named the journey after Ma Shitalamata. As if, She wanted so we visited. Dearest Ms. GPS goes off scot free.

By the way we did go to the other Shitlamata Temple on some other day by typing the spelling Ms. GPS felt comfortable and confident with.

In one more incidence, when we typed Taj Mahal, Agra, surprisingly it couldn't trace. I meant The Taj Mahal. But it could immediately trace the infamous Hotel name where we had our booking in Agra.  "Mr. Shahjahan its time you start building a five star hotel for your Mumtaz!!"

Ms. GPS always has the habit of choosing the shortest path to reach the destination. And if that means one have to go along with the bullock carts in a crazy earthy so called road, leaving behind the stunning Yamuna Expressway. It took us almost 30 odd kilometres extra  to move back to the expressway. That wasn't enough. That evening in Agra, Zomato helped us to find a decent Fine Dining Restaurant. And as we fed that to the GPS, it took us to the most congested, filthy, over-populated gully of Agra, where we could only see chaiwallahs and hawkers, leave alone a small theka. As we moved ahead the gully narrowed like hell. And the only thing we could see were thick crowds of people everywhere with their irritated face, trying to make way by pushing and banging our car from all the angles. I finally got down to guide my husband for a complete U-turn. In the course the amount of dirty looks and the cold stares with scorching remarks I had to digest was phenomenal. Suddenly, a known face from our Hotel turned up from no where. He was God sent. We were then guided out from that Bhulbhulaiya. It was truly a nightmare. While all these were happening, Ms. GPS kept re-routing and showing the same hell road to go for. I understood, thou the apps are really smart but they have to go a long way to be as smart as us.

At time I think that what if the app was really smart. What if it could predict which road is safest. What if it understood my mood, what if it could suggest a few good songs that would cheer me up while I drive....what if...what if...what if....

I am sure we will have it all one day!