Stories in the sand..

Some moments in time
grow with us,
we know them well
and yet not
for they reveal themselves gently,
like the buds of a spring.

This moment with you
turned into moments ,
as i stood in silence
watching sea unfold the wisdom
gently tucked
in the wrinkles of your smile;
a smile which welcomed
wave after wave,
the journeys that lay
in the vastness of oceans…

and as i stood there reading
contours of your wisdom
from the sea-shore ,
a wrinkle formed
as I smiled
🙂

11.11.19
Mandavi
Full moon

Lustige Ryzhiy IV

No no no !! You’ve got it all wrong. Let me show you.
Now watch carefully.

Warm up and stretches –
1) Look left and right
2) look down and up
3) Look back – these are great for your neck
4) Try and touch your head to your toes
5) Now lie down and give your legs a good stretch
6) Bring them up to stretch your buttocks
7) Now a nice stretch for the spine
Got it ?

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5

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7

March 5th 2015

Time

” Just look at her dude , it’s almost painful … That form and color , those lines, the way she moves ; simply breathtaking . It’s as if the flowers exist because she does. Everyone loves her, no-one can help but love her. I wish I was her,  I can not believe  that someone like me could ever turn into anything like her ; me – a fat , hairy, colorless, earthbound, slow creature that everyone dreads ; me – all I do is eat all day.”

Almost as if she heard it all, the butterfly smiles at the caterpillar and says – ” Believe it “.

 

 

 

 

The chronicles of Barcelona – Part II

And i was silent once again …. speechless, thoughtless, filled with an overwhelming sense of love and belonging.
Words could not describe what I felt, they only destroyed the feeling….

And there I spent my evenings, humming this song, exchanging kisses and embraces with her, collecting her gifts in this magical place.

जो भी मैं कहना चाहूं
बर्बाद करे अल्फ़ाज़ मेरे

कभी मुझे लगे की जैसे
सारा ही ये जहाँ है जादू
जो हैं भी और नहीं भी हैं ये
फ़िज़ा, घटा, हवा, बहारें
मुझे करे इशारे ये
कैसे कहूँ, कहानी मैं इनकी 

मैने यह भी सोचा हैं अक्सर
तू भी मैं भी सभी हैं शीशे
खुद ही को हम सभी में देखें
नहीं हूँ मैं हूँ मैं तो फिर भी
सही ग़लत, तुम्हारा मैं
मुझे पाना, पाना है खुद को

For those curious about this song, here’s the translation –

Whatever I want to say,
it’s ruined by my words.

sometimes I feel that
the whole world is a magic,
which is there and not even there,
these wind, clouds, air, and springs..
They signal to me,
how do I say
their story.

I have often thought,
that you, me, all of us are mirrors,
we see only ourselves in all,
I am not there still I am..
right, wrong, yours me,
I have to get.. get my own self..

The chronicles of Barcelona – Part I :-)

So this entry has been long due.

Came back from Barcelona completely hungover on Gaudi , Picasso, the sea , and all the love this city radiates.
For us, travelling in Europe has always required some amount of planning (since we always want to use only public transport, not waste money /food / resources, eat vegetarian food, observe and learn, not rush things but rather soak in cultures and the tiny details of any place ); as against in India where all we needed to do was book our train tickets in advance . The cost of impromptu journeys is Massive here , and results in a lot of guilt if  aimless wandering is involved. This trip however saw minimum planning – no campsites researched since we were staying in a hostel, no camping gear prepared, no food/utensils/ spices packed since we were flying with only cabin baggage,  no research on local festivals/ culture / art – went ahead with just the excitement of Picasso, Gaudi, the sea and the unknown.
This was also the first time we took a flight here in Europe, and it has weighed down heavily on our conscience for we firmly believe that our wants should not be fulfilled at the expense of nature. And hence we do not intend to do so again. We constantly struggle with this criterion every step of the way in life – food, shelter, clothing, knowledge , our dreams. We aim to restrict our wants to our basic needs, and to live simply and mindfully

A letter from Bruce Lee to his future wife.

One of the highlights of this trip was my accidental interaction with a group of elderly gentlemen on the very first day at Plaça de Tetuan. I love conversing with and observing old people; they have so many stories to share, so much wisdom to impart. I generally have a lot of fun with them. This particular group of gentlemen was playing what they told me later – a french sport called Petanque. They were all extremely friendly, very keen to share details about themselves, telling us more about the sport, so very curious about us, and quite excited about posing in-front of the camera 🙂 They were  very warm people, so warm that my eyes are welling up as I type this.

Pétanque balls

all smiles

and the winner is ..!!!

I requested ‘ say cheese’ , they shouted – whiskey’ 🙂

architecture with a purpose

Plaça de Tetuan

One very interesting thing was this magnet which they were carrying so that they did not have to bend to pick up the balls, I think its extremely smart and thoughtful.

I do not see elderly people play sport in India, i wonder why.
To be around fun old people feels to me like being around kids . I took a lot back from this experience, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside 🙂

Of Gorges and Falls

 
It all seems surreal, each time we meet,
fellow travelers , familiar strangers;
She , with all the miles behind her,
I , a lost soul in-search of direction.

Our paths meet often, almost fated,
just as I get anxious, afraid;
She greets me gently with a smile,
as if she was waiting for me to arrive.

Awe-struck at first, I follow her around,
she lets me, a little amused;
And eventually a conversation ensues,
in a wordless flow begins her story.

Born off what she breathes through now,
mountains shape her, like she shapes them;
For her no beginning, nor an end,
just an ever-changing her, an eroding them .

“But how ?” I wonder to myself
as meandering gives way to a fall
And almost as if reading my mind,
she laughingly , shows her way.

Neither proud nor clueless of her forms,
she was at peace with her soul;
For never have I known a fall so bright,
falling not with fear , but with a roar.

A roar so loud , it silences noise,
A roar so bold , it scares all fear;
A fall so free, it makes you fly,
A fall so deep, it breaks barriers.

With this force of the fall,
I see her climb up, wiser, stronger;
Rounding off all that’s sharp,
flowing over all that’s not.

And up there , she stays a while,
A pool of emerald and gems in light;
Giving life to all around her,
free of bondage, any kind.

Rostock revisited

Just came across this entry in my travel journal. Taking a backup here.

31-08-2013

Its around 8 :30 in the morning, and I am in what Rp referred to today as our first ‘real estate’ investment and our first home together – our cozy little tent. This is our third camping trip – Dresden was the first where we met Richard and Ruve from New Zealand , then it was Amsterdam where we saw the live-in sculptures , and now Ostsee.
We are almost on the beach , a little glad about the ‘almost’ bit since its so bloody windy ! Chilly and windy ! We are surrounded by tall, protective trees. They seem to be so full of life . Rp and myself were just having a conversation about the same . I had been observing this one branch for quite sometime. It was almost horizontal and was swaying up and down rhythmically; its leaves, fluorescent-green-beings dancing to the rhythm of life – joyous one moment , and not so much in another, but dancing nevertheless. I showed the branch to Rp , and he said he wished the trees would talk to us. We sat in silence together, and then it struck me. The trees were already in a conversation with us, we just had to tune in and listen. Food for thought.

I feel comfortable and relaxed in our tent. I will always feel that as long as I have Rp with me. And I will always have a lot to laugh about – Rpism today ” Oh look! caravans have satellite dishes, that means they have some device to capture the signal and convert it into a tangible output.” Me – ” You mean a television ? ” Hahahaha !

Warnemünde

I have grown up watching a lot of old English sailor movies – classic scenes of sailor shanties, drunkenness, the whiskey , pirates, wooden ships with huge sails, beautiful ladies blowing kisses – bidding adieu, the distant whistling of steamers , and so much more. A visit to the Ostsee put me bang in the middle of those scenes . No, there were no sailors and captains around, but it was not hard to imagine them being right there – people dressed up in uniforms, shanties played everywhere, the smell of Backfish, the waves crashing, the lighthouses !

It was very cloudy and windy when we had gone, the pictures did not come out that well. So I chose to illustrate most of our experiences.
(https://priyashasharma.wordpress.com/design/illustrations/in_warnemunde/). We spent most of the time on the beach and around the station since there was a local market set up -hogged on the fresh fish being served on boat-shops, picked up an album of German sea songs – Ronny, and got my hands on some really cool souvenirs.

musicians

boat-shops

market area

Our campsite was a little far, but pretty much right on the beach (http://www.ostseecamp-ferienpark.de/). One had to go to the Rostock Hbf and then catch a bus – the bus ride was around 45 minutes , but extremely scenic . We saw an old windmill which seemed to be serving as an accommodation as well.

en route campsite

campsite view

companionship

We went towards the end of summer. The sea was really stormy, and the breeze extremely chilly ( Bangalore weather has really spoilt us !) , but for an hour the sun came out and treated us to a double rainbow on the beach; a view firmly embedded in our memories forever.

sunrise

sunset

clear sky

a glimpse

We plan on going again next summer, that is if we are still in Germany . And hopefully will have learnt to swim by then too ..would be a shame if we didn’t !