The Voyage

Its been ages since I last wrote something, esp in the public domain.. "In and Out of love baby".. Its like you know the world exists, outside the realm of ones days and night, outside ones friends and family, other than ones professional and personal life and beyond how ONE likes to confine themselves in some boundaries, THERE IS A WORLD THAT EXISTS OUTSIDE ONES CIRCLE. Funny that this is what came to my mind now that I've finally decided to write something. May be because for last 12 months I decided that my world will be what I see and what I do. I was so adamant on training my mind not to think and feel anything what I wanted to. I've been sleeping really well, because my mind is not thinking at the exponential rate like it used to, about probabilities and possibilities, ifs and buts, do's and dont's, and all that ambiguity of life that I wanted to avoid. After my Australia trip in 2014, after getting my US work visa stamped, I had just one thing...

Why Travel In a Group?? 1. There is a thin like between adventure and risk. While most of us are mentally prepared to deal with the usual problems, but the world of travel has its own little nuances.  One has to be safe first : lodging, guides, travelling at night, night safaris, best foodie places, transportation issues, adventure sports in groups. Its better to in a group , plan better, bargain hard. Harley Davidson Museum in Hobart, Tasmania 2. That weird co-traveller, either in bus or train – remember. You get chatty and then all of a sudden you realize – uh oh. Too much information sharing, is it safe to talk any more? Hopefully he’s not chep or stalker, and you are going to the same destination so are you brave enough to travel with him or you have the courage to say NO to his company and you want to travel on your own.  So be a group, save the dilemma and enjoy what you started for – the journey ahead. 3. The great trek/street everyone told you about. Either its...

Day 1 - September 21, 2014 Melbourne Star The cultural capital of Australia, located near to the estuary of Yarra river is just the Indian equivalent of Delhi. The drive from the airport to the Oakleigh suburb was about 30 minutes and my host was really cute.  Melbourne star was the first thing to catch my eye, the city skyline being very nice and clear and not so crowded. I liked the city already, it was beautiful but not full of skyscrapers and it took to my heart instantly.  I loved the beautiful flowers and ferns. What really got to me was the silence. The residential areas around Melbourne are really SILENT. Little traffic, no stray animals and noise. It was a relief from Delhi but later I thought that the pin drop silence might just creep me out.  Amid all these thoughts, I fell asleep, a must nap of couple of hours to freshen me up. Silence really helped :P. Got adjusted to my abode for next 6 days and then went out for the evening.  It was cold n...

Day 0- September 20, 2014 Somewhere in Melbourne, Spring, fresh flowers Here begins a journey, a journey of self exploration, of being aware of my surroundings and my innnerself . Excited, scared and enthusiastic- funny combibation. Hope it works. Met a meek, comely Rajasthani girl in the flight. I had changed my seat and sat next to her and she was relieved. It was her first air travel, travelling alone, she was going to study hotel management in New Zealand.She learnt everything from adjusting her seat belt to ordering food in that single day.. If she can be so brave in following her dreams, why can't I.. Good luck to her and to me..!!  

I have been struggling for quite some time on what do I write about. Anything and everything today seems to be over-discussed, over analyzed and everyone seems to be having a strong opinion on everything ranging from politics to sports to women empowerment. So I would like to open this season with something that everyone in my age group is struggling with: the TASK of getting married. Why do I call it a task? Because everyone seems to be setting up milestones and deadlines around this task so we get settled at the right time and do not miss the bus so as to say. As we all know in India, marriage is not meeting of two people and deciding to get hitched, it’s more of a social drama which is relished and enjoyed by the families and friends and the friends of the family. So who all are the perpetrators of this whole task?  My parents were surprisingly cool about the whole thing until recently. I peacefully finished MBA, joined my job and switched cities. It was not a big de...

Remember the story in childhood where a king captures the sweet singing bird in a cage and then the bird loses what made her so special, her gift of mellifluous voice, her singing, it all faded away. People say I'm very impatient and don't know what I want, yet keep chasing a dream - maybe dream job, dream love, dream house, dream city - but whatever I chase is a dream for all those who live on this practical earth. I never justify myself, not because I can't because this is something that you have to feel and no one can explain. Like the feeling when you have to breathe hard in December winter and your nose turns cherry red or when you see the October sky and stars entice you. If you can feel this, you know what I'm talking about, for the rest, don't worry - you lost your imagination somewhere on the way, its not too late to step out and see the sky and smile at the stars, your childhood will come back to you. Remember when playing in the ground with the neigh...

It happens with all of us. One flash, one moment of reality and we know what we want in life.   Most of the times, we are running clueless. May be we know what we are doing, but most of the times we don’t know WHY. We are running behind few things that seem so damn important that they make us blind. Something happened last night which has set my mind pacing. I was driving on that pitch black road coming back from Pondicherry to Chennai. It was raining for most of the 100 kilometres that had passed and I was trying to concentrate hard. I just wanted to save my spotless reputation of being accident free and reach home safe. Then all of a sudden, without any warning I saw him. I saw a dead man, I mean a dead guy. He seemed to be young, just like us. I saw him in his blood lying lifeless on the road. I think his bike was hit by the bus which had stopped nearby. Police was there but I didn’t see them making any effort to pick him up or try to save his life, maybe he was gone, mayb...