स्वयं से संवाद

स्वयं से संवाद  

ग्रसित था मन वेदना से,  छाया था अवसाद 

तब किया अंतर्मन ने स्वयं से संवाद 

भ्रम था ये न तुम्हारा की मनुष्य अपराजय है?

घुटने पर ले आया एक विषाणु का भय है 

बाहर बीमारी का साम्रराज्य,और भीतर झंजोड़ है 

पर व्यवयसिकता और स्वार्थ की अब भी अंधी दौड़ है 

घुट घुट कर दम तोड़ रही हैं मानवीय संवेदनाएं  

बढ़ रही हैं तो बस तुम्हारी मशीनी निर्भरताएँ 

चिड़िया भी चहचहा कर चुगलियां करने लगी 

बंद करने वाले हमें, पिंजरे में बंद हैं खुद ही 

एकाकी जीवन जैसे सामाजिक जंतु का अभिशाप हुआ 

फिर भी प्रकृति के दोहन का न तुम्हे पश्याताप हुआ  

बंद घरो में झाँक कर देखा , कार्यक्षमता तो भरपूर है 

जीवन के संतुलन की मगर रीड़ चकनाचूर है 

घनिष्टता और मित्रता की परिभाषा ही बदल गयी 

एक स्पर्श मात्र के लिए विछोह की पीड़ा प्रबल हुई 

बुझे चेहरों पर नकाब डाल कर जब तुम बाहर जाते हो 

औरो को तो छोड़ दो, खुद को कहाँ  पहचान पाते हो?

कोई इसी इंतज़ार में चल बसा और एक हसरत रह गयी 

जाने से पहले मिल तो लेते वो मुलाकात रह गयी 

किसी का घर छूटा किसी का कारोबार ढह गया 

तो कोई बिना कुछ बोले ये चुप चाप सह गया 

रुक कर पूछते खुद से, क्या मैं किसी का सहारा हूँ ?

कोई मुझ तक पहुंच कर हासिल हो, क्या मैं ऐसा किनारा हूँ?

सुन कर अंतर्मन का संवाद ,गहरा हुआ मन का विषाद 

पर सैकड़ो सालों की मानवता छोड़े कैसे आशावाद 

मैंने पलट कर पूछा अंतर्मन से, कोई उपाय भी तो हो 

सिर्फ परिस्थिति से विवश हो जाऊं ? मेरे सहाय भी तो हो 

हंस कर बोला अंतर्मन, झाँकने पहले भी आते 

अब विवश हो तो ही सही, मनन के मौके न गवांते 

यह परीक्षा है संतुलन की, कोई पीछे न रह जाये 

एक जुट हो कर मानवता इस कष्ट से विजय पाए 

कुछ सक्षम हैं कुछ अति सक्षम , वैश्विक परिवार ग्रस्त है 

सौहार्द, प्रेम, धैर्य और संयम, ये ही मानवता के अस्त्र हैं 

एक हाथ अपना भी बढ़ा देना, थाम लेना किसी का तुम भी 

गिर के उठना , उठ के गिरना, बस यही है नियति हम सबकी 

पीड़ा में दिन लम्बे कितने , पल पल कर के रात कटे 

सुख से उलट है रीत ये दुःख की , घट जाये दुःख जब जब बंटे 

आज अगर निराश करे तो कल फिर से आएगा

जब तक अंत भला न हो, वो अंत कहाँ कहलायेगा 

स्वप्न था संभवतः कोई, अंतर्मन कब कुछ कहता है?

हम जीवन में लीन रहते हैं वह मूक देखता रहता है 

एकांतता में हो गया मुझसे भी अपवाद  

आप भी कर के देखिये कभी स्वयं से संवाद 

स्वयं से संवाद 

Diy birthday wish box- Ready in 15 mins

It is Mr. Husband's birthday today it's been a terribly busy week at work. I was at loss of ideas on what to gift him for his birthday. It's kind of tough when you are trying to meet deadlines all through the week and you want to spend time together with your spouse on the weekends. So making the most of Sunday when Mr. Husband was enjoying an afternoon siesta I upcycled a cardboard box to a photobox to make an instant diy present.

All you need is:

1. Gift paper of choice

2. Cardboard box

3. Sticky notes

4. Craft items to decorate

5. Pictures

6. Scissors

I started with wrapping the box in gift paper. Then I stuck the pictures on all sides and wrote small notes and wishes on each of the sticky note.

I then folded his cash coupons inside envelopes with items drawn that I wished to gift him and presto!!! 

Birthday box of surprises is ready!

Here are some pics

Top of box

Side 1 outer

Side 2 outer

Insides top

Inside bottom

Inside side

Inside side left

Inside side right

Diy cash coupons

It was a hurriedly put gift but managed to be a saving grace!

Thanks to some great craft collectibles from papermarket singapore ( they have the loveliest stationery) that saved the day!

Now we are waiting for a chance to spend the moolah on the presents😍

So if you have less than 15 mins to ready a gift this may just be your thing! 

Singapore treats -Southern Ridges Trail

One of singapore's treats are its well kept hiking trails and parks. While the tree top walk is a famous tourist attraction less is mentioned about the southern ridges trail. So one of these weekends me & hubby decided to find out the wonders and views of the SOUTHERN RIDGES trail.

The trail consists of marang trail-Faber walking-handerson waves-hilltop walk-forest walk-Alexandra bridge-Hort park and canopy walk! The total trail spans 14kms and there are plenty of refills n stops for a leisurely walk. Here is a glimpse into the walk with pictures

We started from harbourfront mrt exit D in late afternoon, I bet the trail is even more exciting in early morning. But we wanted to try a moonshine walk. Sure enough there were sign boards everywhere to lead us on. Here is the marang trail start.

Beautiful Stone steps cut across the path with greenery all around you! This place looks straight out of Rudyard Kiplings Jungle book!

This is view from top of mount faber..beautiful isn't it. The city dotted with green.

On top of mount faber there's a happiness bell. Ring the bell for happiness😊

Couples tie small bells around the bell of happiness. Quite a romantic place I must say! It had a beautiful koi pond and a small cafe with a wonderful view.

Moving on there are many varied flora and fauna in the park. Perched atop thick canopies it offers bird watching opportunities. Good luck watching feathered friends with binoculars. You can also spot several species of flowers like this one

This walk is quite a treasure trove and reveals its wonders one after another. You can step back in time and educate yourself on Singapore history with beautiful engraved walls adorned with graphics on Singapore's history. 

The mural above is titled Singapore today where diverse races and religion co exist in harmony!

Next on the trail we were greated by the spectacular view of the Henderson waves bridge which has a uniquely interesting architecture.

The bridge itself is quite sturdy and stable and amazing sky view can enjoyed atop it. We took a few pictures here.

Moving on to the hilltop walk, there are exercise areas and benches to catch your breath. 

We proceeded to catch the sunset on the forest walk which is a grated walkwy atop lush green canopies and foliage, just intime before dark

The forest walk spanning through the trees

Sunset seen from the forest walk.

We moved ahead to the Alexandra bridge.The Alexandra arc is beautifully illuminated during evening and the strategically placed lights bring out the beauty of the landscape to a spectacular view.

While there, it is impossible to decline the invitation of the samosa chaat at SP Jain canteen. So we gave in to the drool worthy samosa dipped in yoghurt and variety of chutneys asking to be devoured 😋

Moving on, we crossed on to Hortpark to catch the beautiful full moon from the canopy walk

The canopy walk takes you up through several winding staircases was a great calorie burner and offered the much awaited view of moonshine above the city. Here's our prized picture 😊

Pretty isn't it!

My tryst with Bharatnatyam

Bharatnatyam, a 5000 year old Indian dance form is still practiced and enjoyed by many dancers and patrons around the globe. The graceful art still has its roots and references to the oldest Indian text on dance, natyashastra and abhinay darpan. 

My tryst with Bharatnatyam started casually enough when I was looking around to join some form of Indian classical dance and chanced upon a Bharatnatyam class near my house.

While I was in India the dance class did not have a separate batch for working women and I started naively with 6 year olds..for once I was the tallest student of the class at 5' 2" and boy! what infectious energy and enthusiasm the kids have. I struggled to match pace all the while learning the Adavus or basic dances stances in Bharatnatyam. We also learnt the various Shlokas describing various bhedas (hand /neck/head/eyes etc.) 

Like most classical art forms the education in Bharatnatyam is also oral best delivered by an able guru or a teacher. It lays emphasis on a respectful relationship between the teacher and the student, each class starting with a namaskaram to the teacher and God.

When I had graduated from basic steps to korve, garland of gestures as they are called, I got a chance to perform for my company's foundation day.

A like minded friend immediately came to assistance and together we choreographed a dance on Harivansh Rai  Bachhans Classic poem " koshish karne walo ki haar nahi hoti" ~ translated those who persevere never lose.

Here's the full poem

Bharatnatyam dances usually choreographed on Tamil poems were reintrepreted for North Indian audience and was very well accepted. 

Here's my picture in full costume.

Link to performance:

http://youtu.be/MZPv9-UsOzY

When I moved to Singapore after my marriage I was determined to continue my dance education. 

I am currently learning under Alpana arts Clementi centre. 

Arya my teacher has had her dance education from kalashetra, a renowned university in music and performing arts in India. Her graceful movements are testimonial to years of hard work that go into making of a dancer. She's not only a wonderful dancer, but also a very kind and helpful teacher.

In the video below my teacher Arya demonstrates patakha hasta vinoyoga.

https://instagram.com/p/5lkgNWHBt-/

The Lost Art of Story Telling - A tribute to O henry

The lost art of story telling: a tribute to O Henry

image credits : http://paintingandframe.com

In the beginning there was nothing but stories, stories handed down from generation to generation, of valorous heroes and charming damsels. Of travellers lost at the sea and singing mermaids, each story that pulled at the strings of our hearts and immortalized itself within the fabric of our beings. We grew up to stories, learning from their infinite wisdom and taking imperceptible lessons from those English textbooks as we moved from boyhood to adolescence and stepped gingerly into adulthood. The stories never abandon us, they watch over us, compelling us to remember them when a parallel life event makes us go…wasn’t there once a story like that!

Inseparable is, therefore O. Henry, the master storyteller’s contribution to our world of stories. William Sydney Porter, who went by the pen name O. henry, has delighted readers with over 380 short stories, which were published by the New York Times, a story a week for over a year since 1902.

In recent memory, O. Henry made a reappearance in bollywood screenplay, with Lootera , director Vikramaditya Motwane’s period romantic drama film, which won critical acclaim and rave reviews. Though the film is not entirely based on the legendary story, it borrows an important part of the script from the story. Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat deserves a special mention not only for its subtleties and alternate realism but also for being based on another O. Henry classic, the Gift of Magi.

image credits :http://www.ladinedesign.com/html/magazine.html

O. Henry’s short stories are an amalgamation of more such jewels, all fine specimen of the art of poignant storytelling that compete with none other but themselves in their sheer brilliance of portrayal of human emotions and the twisted curve of fate and life. His stories are marked with his signature surprise endings, which won him the acclaim of ‘American answer to Guy de Maupassant’. Both authors wrote plots with twisted endings, but O. Henry stories were much more colourful and spiced with witty narration. It shall be enough to state in praise of this extra ordinary writer that an annual award is named after him to celebrate short stories of exceptional merit since 1919, called of course, the O. Henry award.

O. Henry’s stories are set in his own time, and bring to life the sights and smells of the New York City as well as the cattle lands of Texas and the highlands of Arkansans. His characters are extremely believable, given to human failings, and at times some con tricks too. 

The character development in the short span of the story speaks of exemplary skill in delivering life to pen character in prose, in brevity. O. Henry can move you to tears as well as to laughter. The humorist in him tickles you one moment and makes you raise your brows in amazement when you didn’t see the end coming.

Best put in words of critic, A. St. John Adcock, for Waifs and Strays: Twelve Stories, by O. Henry, “He has all the gifts of the supreme teller of tales, is master of tragedy as well as of burlesque, of comedy and of romance, of the domestic and the mystery-tale of common life, and has a delicate skill in stories of the supernatural…"

image credits : http://www.amazon.com/The-Trimmed-Lamp-O-Henry/dp/1479166006

Notable among the many, is my personal favourite, ‘The Trimmed Lamp’. This masterpiece narrates the fate of two country girls trying to make a living in the big city, given to ambition and determination of making the cut to the upper class. While Nancy aspires to marry any rich millionaire who she hopes to catch at her departmental store someday, Lou seems satisfied in her ironing job and steady boyfriend, Dan. But when fate decides to have the last laugh, it swaps the destinies of the two bosom friends. O Henry had the deftness of master craftsman when it came to sparkling commonplace lives with unusual situations.  

Another, lesser known , but a beautiful pearl in the string is ‘Springtime Ala-Carte’a hopelessly romantic story, narrating the miseries of frugal living of typist Sarah in the city and her springtime longing for her lover Walter, who re-discovers her through half-comic and half-heart warming series of events. ‘Cop and the Anthem’ is a hilarious account of small-time scoundrel Soapy who tries every trick in the book to get arrested, in order to avoid spending harsh winters outside the prison.

image credits : http://www.christmastvhistory.com/2013/03/ohenrys-full-house-1952.html

More famous ones, like the ‘Furnished room’ where a young man searches for his lost love around the filthy bedsides of New York, has an eerie feeling to it which you cannot shake off long after you have read the story.

The remembrances however are incomplete without the mention of his stories based in the southern states, about Con artists, Red Indians, Cowboys and of course ‘The Ransom of the Red Chief’ where two kidnappers fail to heed the old adage - never work with children.

image credits :http://pictures2015.mobi/the-ransom-of-red-chief/

Such is the illustrious brilliance and diversity of O Henry’s story telling. Storytelling, the simple truth and honesty behind the art, is a treasure; we hang on, we have hope and we want to believe. Whenever a story is told with compelling resonance, people read, listen, take in what they can, dispense what they can pass on, and so the story goes on…….

Ta Dhozng Tatsang & Paro

The Bhutanese national dress -Kira for ladies

A beautiful day to end the wonderful stay at Bhutan. On the agenda today was the national museum and Tatsang-tiger's nest monastery. I woke up the latest today to the sound of school kids rushing off in ghos and kiras. As I made my bed and started to get ready for the day kakku informed me that we will carry our lunch and have it on the way before the tatsang treck. An impromptu day picnic in the forest! What more can one ask for! I excitedly got ready. Bhakta dada's wonderful wifey had already left for work and packed our lunches n readied our breakfast.
Soon we were on our way to ta dhzong, the national museum.  The old museum has now been shifted to a new building which is open to tourists.

National museum image credits :
http://www.wellknownplaces.com/national-museum-of-bhutan-discovering-bhutans-rich-history.html

The museum has a permanent mask exhibition displaying all masks for dances during festivities called Tsechu. The mask dances are elaborate dances performed on themes to instill values such as compassion and conservation of natural environment or relating a religious story to the lay man. It is said that watching a cham or mask dance alone is a spiritual experience. I had bought two masks earlier from thimpu, one of them a manifestation of guru rinpoche and the other of achara or a joker(shown below). It was now that I could read and find out about different masks and their meanings.

Achara Mask

A section of the museum was devoted to thanka paintings. The thanka paintings are intricate and delicate work of art painted on fabric which depict a religious theme, spiritual leaders etc. Three buddhas are noteworthy, Dipankara buddha-the buddha of the past, Shakyamuni Buddha- the buddha of the present and Maitreya buddha-the buddha of the future.

Also on display were objects relevant to bhutan's history. Weapons and artillery, costumes of the ancient warriors and traditional constumes of highlands , other rare artifacts were horse's egg - said to bestow immense wealth on the owner and horse's horn, a water dial to give measurement of time, serpent stone, ara or local wine containers made of water buffalo horns and valuable jewellery.

The national museuam also houses the rich biodiversity of bhutan in terms of specimen and slide shows of its rarest birds and animals. Among the birds the white beaked hornbill and Himalayan monal caught my attention.  Among the animals the snow leopards, blue mountain goat and yak are creatures of magnificence.

image credits : http://spectrumtour.com/wildlife-himalaya/

Also rare is a catterpillar which is a host to a special fungus that infests the catterpillar and forces it to bury itself in the ground.  Then the fungus sprouts from the ground and is used to make special medicines for immunity, aphrodisiac effect and anti ageing effect. The fungus sells for as high as 12 lakhs a kg!

image credits : http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/wine_msg.php?titleid=1143.html

After wandering the museum to our heart's content we rushed to the base of the tatsang monastery.
The tatsang monastery or the tiger's nest got its name from the famous legend of a female tigress who came to the land and made the cave its adobe.

The stunningly beautiful monastery is situated at dangerous heights and is appproached only through a mule track trail which has only recently been reinforced with railings for visitor's protection.  Many incidents of tourists falling to their death have been reported and I have to admit that it is a treck to be done respectfully and slowly. The mountains are mightier and the fall steep, it is not a languid trail and once close to the monastery the magnificent heights are enough to arouse acrophobia in any human.

image credits : http://www.tigersnestbhutan.com

We first had our lunch of ema datschi and rice washed down with sweet milk tea at the base of the treck. Then we proceeded on to the way to THE tat sang!

My city accustomed body took some while to warm up to the mountain path. I was huffing and puffing with effort, moreover handling the kira with the climb made it doubly difficult. A good half and hour later when I saw a mountain spring gurgling, the scene made me forget all the effort and after a bit of rest I was good to go again.  We didnt have to make a second stop till the top. It takes almost two hours at the top, where the mule track ends and begin the stone steps to the monastery.

image credits :http://windhorsetours.com/sights/sights_view.php?country=bhutan&placeid=95

One has to walk way down to a waterfall making a steep drop of 200 ft  from bare mountain, then right up to the monastery which is on the adjoining mountain. Everywhere the drop is so steep that you wouldn't save a single bone if you  were to fall, but the risk is worth taking for the amazing view.
Tatsang beats my best trecks till date, the others being Sarkanda devi in melting snow and Treck to narayan Swami ashram which I was too young to remember, at the time of the treck.

Once in the monastery, the walls silence the roar of the waterfall and beautiful paintings adorn the insides of the sacred place. Its so quiet and peaceful that ecen a troubled mind will be put at rest. I offered a small prayer for the well being of my family and joined kakku n bhakta dada. There are no lamas to be seen anywhere. They probably put up at separate residence.

A word here for the chirpy kakku and careful bhakta dada who didnt let me feel the exhaustion of the treck at all. They helped me match pace with them and we made it back before dark. I did some quick shopping from the makeshift souvenir shops and we drove back to the town.
After enjoying some quick coffee and pork momos, we made a stop at bhakta dada's office where i got an access to internet.We then headed back home to an eagerly waiting Rufus.

After dinner and exchanging photographs we retired with our tired bodies to  bed. Bhakta dada had to get a massage for his back and kakku took a long bath. Me? I will catch all the sleep in travel tomm. Long day! Gnnite from bhutan.

Shop till I drop and yak stories

Woke up this morning to say goodbye to jijjaji, who had to leave for bhumtang to join office. Though I had tried my best to give him a decent farewell by parting with my warm and cozy bed but he took so long getting ready that I was soundly asleep again. I woke up to Remith announcing that the head lama was leaving for his winter adobe and people had lined up to receive his blessings, if I wanted to see it then I should get ready real fast! The head lama makes a bi-yearly sojourn through the city of Thimpu to and fro his summer and winter residence.  Though I missed the parade, I had got a headway in getting ready for our all girls shopping trip through Thimpu.

Thimpu craft bazar image credits :
http://www.thimphulive.com/2012/attractions/places-to-visit-in-thimphu/

First we headed for the parlour, they have a habib here too where I wanted a funky bhutanese hair cut. From where I come I am used to hair dressers tut-tutting at my hair calling it thin and ugly. So when the hairdresser complimented on my soft curly hair nourished by the mountain air, I was more than pleased. The haircut did bring a positive change to my appearance and I was pleased with the effect.

Haircut from Bhutan

The visa atm worked like charm and I shopped for cousins and friends with aplomb! Postcards, bags, mufflers, wallets, t shirt I shopped for it all. I hope everyone back home like the gifts.

We dined in hotel tandin. I had jasha pa or sliced chicken this time. The sisters ordered beef datschi, chilly chicken, ribs, and rice. We had fruit cocktail to top it all. Amazing lunch as always. I have nearly had all of bhutanese fare by now.

Back home we had tea and packed our bags for paro. I bid farewell to remith and charmith. Will really miss these girls, they have been wonderful hosts and so loving and kind that I never did feel that I was away from home. If bhutan was an amazing experience then it was thanks to Isaac and the girls, every country and place has a face to it, to me its these girls! Love you all..Remith Charmith and Kakku..you are real darlings!

Kakku had so sweetly adjusted her holidays to show me around in paro, so she accompanied me to Bhkata dada's house who was to be our host in thimpu.
Most of the ride we went through pictures and kept chatting and before we knew it we had arrived at Paro.

Bhakta Dada, who is Jijjaji's friend has a cute kid Rufus. Rufus was delighted at the ben 10 stationary set we had bought him. The delights of childhood!  When a new stationary is your biggest treasure.

We played with Rufus and made him a paper aeroplane and a boat. We told him stories out of the book I  had bought, 'folk stories of bhutan,' language was bit of a problem so I read the story in english and kakku translated it in Nepalese to Rufus who kept asking for more stories.

A painting showing famous folk story of bhutan the 4 friends

When the night drew close, bhabi served delicious pork and daal with bhaat. Bhakta dada joined us for dinner and told us of his trips to upper reaches of bhutan with pictures on his laptop.
The government employees are supposed to carry out election duties by carrying ballot machines, rations and other utilities to remotest corners of the country. At many places where there is no road, they go walking or on mule backs.
At times there are exchange campaigns and workshops for yak rearing nomadic hill men to be carried out where they are provided by equiment and techniques for making yak cheese. A family has typically 50 to 100 yaks which they rear in north during summers and due south during winters.
The yak is an aggresive animal if it encounters an unknown visitor.  Yaks are reared for milk cheese and wool. Yak wool is coarse and expensive also very warm. The hill people at the upper reaches wear clothing made of yak wool to keep warm. Bhakta dada showed us a yak wool bag and a yak tail.

He also showed us a picture of blue mountain goats and an Albino yak.
Albino yak is very rare, it is all white and belongs to the king, the king had seen it on one of his trips across the kingdom and purchased the rare animal

image credit : 

http://www.yaks.ca/white-himalayan-yak.html

Unwillingly I took to bed so captivated I was with this fine and fancy animal of the himalyan kingdom. So long blog! Kakku and I are trekking the tatsang monastery trail tomorrow! So excited..gnnite for now