Junkyard

When I am typing these words, I can view the snow-clad mountains right before my eyes. I can still hear the gushing sound of the river in my ears, I can feel the cold wind. Yep, that’s the impact it has made on me.

I had been to 15-day trekking camp with a group of over 50 people in the Himalayas along with an organization called “Outward Bound Bharat”. Our final destination was Kafni glacier. But, even though the destination was the coolest place I have ever seen, it’s the journey up till there, is something that has made all the difference. As I try to jot down my experience, I feel, “Why did it all have to end so soon!”

Firstly, I encountered the feeling of being really far away from the house. No! Not because of the physical distance. But, due to the fact that all you get to know, when you are amidst those mountains, is that "Now, you are on your own, no matter what!"

We began our 104 kms long trek (Read again: Hundred and four kilometers trek!) at a place called Tsong. I can’t call it a village because all that place had was a small shop…the only landmark. As we started heading up through he hills and valleys with those BIG rucksacks on our backs, I felt, “Hey, where have I come? What am I doing?”

People normally get paid for carrying luggage from one place to another. And here I was pushing myself ahead with so much of weight on my shoulders, even after paying a huge amount of money. But strangely, I didn’t complain, I moved on.

And then, even though I was so tired that I was unable to put a single foot forward, the view almost took my breath away…. I stood there facing those huge mountains, some green, some brown, some white with snow & I was left spellbound.

The vastness, The greatness, The magnificence that the scene offered can’t be described here, in words. I have heard people say that when you stand facing an ocean, you realize how small and tiny you are. But this is not what I felt. I saw before my eyes the Nature in it’s true and pure form. Though I was far away from my home, I felt being really close to it. That was the moment when I thought, ”To come to the camp….is one of the wisest decisions I‘ve ever made!”

Later when we had completed a huge part of the trek, our Sir declared that we had a 1km down trek to one of our rest houses situated at Dhakuri (about 2,700 meters above sea level). My legs were aching so badly and I was clearly able to hear the sound of my own fast and deep inhalation. I was unable to make out how much distance we had covered or how much was left. Just when I was rushing down on my toes down the road between the thick green forest, I remembered the lines from a famous poem by Roger Frost:

Today, I returned from Mumbai by a train journey. I brief here a small incident at the train.
We entered our compartment & looked for our seat numbers. I had the side-upper berth. But, the lower berth was occupied completely by one fat lady & her two sons. After discussing with them, we found out that they had a RAC (Reservation against cancellation) ticket. The remaining four seats were occupied by a family of four, who for no particular reason were continuously chit-chatting in English-cum-Marathi(Their mother tongue being Marathi). I really don’t know why, but I hate all those people who think speaking in English in public places makes them look smarter.
After a while, I sat opposite the lady I mentioned before. The lady was engrossed in reading a certain magazine and her son was reading a comics digest. The other co-passengers talked with each other on all the topics like: Oil prices, M r. Obama, Weather changes, Foreign life for Indians, Meals form pantry car etc…. But, these guys were reluctant to talk with us. So, I started doing everything I could to entertain myself. I read a whole book. I listened my favorite songs. I ate snacks. But time was not moving as fast as it usually does.
So, I did a really dreadful thing. I asked the lady to have me take a look at her magazine. She gave a warm smile and handed it over to me. After that I had one of the most astonishing experience of my life. I scanned the pages of the magazine & returned it to her instantly. It was a woman magazine (or whatever you call it) & I found all the following.
It had titles like:
How to make your skin shine in four days?
How to control a child who is naughty and arrogant in ten steps?
How to gain attention or make your presence felt in a social gathering?
How to remove pimples & wrinkles?
How to make your ignorant husband love you in easy-to-implement 15 steps?
How to get your dream figure (without dieting) within a month?
How to update your wardrobe with the latest bollywood styles? Etc..

I was lost in thinking. Why do all think that these are the most important issues for females?
How is it possible that women are only concerned about how they look? Isn’t there anything else that these women (who enjoy watching saas-bahu soaps) think rather than reading latest gossips about the Actors and Actresses? Do these girls or women realize how their head stinks with the bad smell of junk they are putting in their garbage-bins (read: heads) ?
Anyways, I had nothing else to do. So, I kept pondering.
If these women start doing something far more creative and innovative than going through these magazines, they can create a revolution. At that moment, I thought that this topic was as important as the global warming issue!
Just then, my mom asked me to soon go to sleep on the upper berth or I wont wake up on time.
I felt empty. May be I could feel better when I wake up. I fixed the alarm & said “Good Night!”

Earlier in India, i.e. back in the age of Ramayana or Mahabharata, the concept of “Gurukul” was followed.(Gurukul is a place where, the students reside at their teachers Ashram or Cottage and complete their formal education.)
In this Gurukul, the student learnt the four Vedas (Authoritative Hindu sacred texts, composed in Sanskrit and gathered into four collections)

The Indian-origin word “Guru” has been adopted by the English dictionary.
The definition of this word, as given in the dictionary is:

• A teacher and guide.
• A trusted counselor and adviser; a mentor.
• A recognized leader in a field .
• An acknowledged and influential advocate.

I came across this poem a few days back.
I enjoyed it.
I hope you like it too....

Which one are you?

Card Captor Sakura.
The best Japanese TV-Series, I have ever seen.
I am a great fan of such anime serials.

In Japanese, "Sakura" is the name of the cherry blossom flower. This name suits the best for the lead character Sakura. (The girl with brown hair in the center-front with a magical character called "Kero")

The story of CCS:
The story revolves around Sakura Kinomoto, who is a Ten-year-old, 4th grader student. Once, she opens a mysterious book in her father's study and accidentally lets loose the magical Clow Cards. By her ability to open the seal, Sakura is revealed to have special powers, and it becomes her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards.


The interesting part of this series is that, it has real life characters and environment with a soft-touch of magic, adventure and fantasy.
The anime television series (1998-2000) based on the manga consists of 70 half-hour episodes (spread over three seasons) was broadcasted in India on the channel Animax.
Every single episode is a treat to watch. I always take a stop to watch it, whenever I am bored or frustrated. It cools my mind.
I can write on and on... about its characters and storyline. But, its total loss if we already know the story before watching or reading it.
So, go ahead guys and gals. In the free-time, give yourself a nice treat.

Sakura rocks!