Learn the rules!

Like the germinating seed, looking up into the sky, facing the sunlight, absorbing nutrients from the soil, wanting and needing nourishment, water from a protector from outside, the rain, and sometimes competing with our very own to succeed. Like the plant which the seed growns into we forget that we too can be uprooted. Sunlight and water doesn't last forever. We are like that germinating seed growing into a plant. Sometimes we forget or refuse to look back and see where we came from and sometimes the sunlight turns us away from our ground. 

We as humans are ambitious, more ambitious than our ancestors. We aim to achieve the best and better than the rest, to surpass everyone. We are taught to compete, we are taught to win. What we are not taught is to handle failure. We are blinded by the sunlight, we don't know where we are going and if that is really where we want to go. We refuse to accept anything against us, we have blinded ourselves not only to others but also to ourselves. The presence of the other, the society, the environment is crucial for anyone to survive and survive happily but we've forgotten the importance of it.

We have got ourselves caught in the rat race, running towards something, most of the times we don't know what. Forgetting to ask ourselves what we want to achieve from the final destination if there is any and we do not know what to gain from the whole process. We are trying to outdo the others running with us. The run I believe has some rules to it, help others and tehy will help you in return to move ahead. No pushing around, stay in your path. Look around, enjoy the run. It's going to be long, you will be exhausted if you don't let your mind wander and do something else. Don't take the shorter path, thats not fun. Prove yourself by taking the longer path, you will be at least appreciated for it. And most importantly, don't forget the presence of yourself, you will trip on your own tail and fall otherwise.

We have got to learn to appreciate and love others and ourselves. We have got to show empathy and understanding. Till we dont show understanding of those like us and different from us it will only be a failed success. Acknowledge the other, you are yourself because there is another different from you. Lastly, acknowledge the presence of yourself, understand what you want and aim to achieve that. Do it honestly, with understanding and love.

Paragliding

                                I believe I can fly,
                                I believe I can soar high,
                                Beyond the clear blue sky,
                                Where my dreams take me every night.

                                Just like the birds,
                               Gliding through the wind,
                               Rising above the fields,
                               Where it's just me and my wings.
              
                              "Shreya, pre-flight check done. Ready for take off."
The glider behind me swelled as the wind gushed into its cells and shot up into the sky. The A-risers were released as I still clutched the brakes tightly in my hands. Trusting the glider I took off from the edge of the hill and there I was flying into the wind. Straight ahead, the sun gleamed with brilliance as it formed a golden canopy over the looming mountains. The green fields, spotted with colourfully painted houses were far beyond to the left. I was seated comfortably on the harness, directing the glider using the brakes. This time, the winds completely in my favour, did not let me descend much. I looked all around, enjoying my view from 45 metres above the ground while going for an 'S' landing approach. Keeping all the instructions in mind, I was careful not to look at the obstacles(read buffaloes and thorny bushes) and aimed for the target. As I came closer to the ground, applying 100% brakes, I ended my last flight of the Elementary Pilot course.

Four days and I could fly. A total of 8 flights from the top of the hill making it an airtime of approximately 8 minutes. I had got my wings, Mojo 3, orange and blue in colour and Boogi, my glider when I was still a fledgling. From a fledgling to a bird mature enough to fly on its own, the transition was an experience of a life time. Till now my world was confined to my nest. My limits defined by the edges of the nest. My eyes could only see the sky above and my wings were still eagerly waiting to flap. My world was limited to others like me and the ones who fed me. Unaware of the great expanse outside.

After a long wait on the 15th of December, I was at Kamshet, a small town 11km from lonavala. Known as the paraglider's paradise, the picturesque Kamshet sees hordes of foreigners and Indians visiting it every year, either to learn or share their experiences with other paragliders like themselves. I was there with four others to join the 'Elementary Pilot Course'.

It is as easy to paraglide as it is difficult and vice versa. The initial phase was 'Ground Handling' which consisted of introductory sessions, pre-flight briefings, inflation and direction control. This was indeed the most difficult stage as we had to direct the glider by ourselves while we were still on the ground. It was only on the next day that we got our first baby flight, 3-15 meters above the ground. Left with the spoils of war, we returned back to the native place every evening. The native place is the home where we were stationed with other paragliders like ourselves and a bunch of tenth standard students who were there for a study camp before their prelims. (We are still trying to figure out why!)

Away from the hustle-bustle of the city life, the tranquility of native place provided us with the much needed peace and seclusion. Overlooking a lake, the home consisted of small common rooms, an area for artificial rock-climbing, terraces, tiled to play hop-scotch, held barbeque nights every Saturday and plenty of sitting areas with hammocks. We were made to stay in tents and given the most fantastic homely food. Jenga and card games filled up our free time, not to forget the some educational and some hilarious videos on paragliding. Rappelling was an unexpected adventure sport we got to experience. The most striking feature about this place was its people. People from all walks of life, from an army man to an Indo-Austrian model, a lawyer to a biologist, converged here to fulfill their dreams. In fact, the biologist, an avid mountaineer, was currently a scuba diving instructor and was now here to learn paragliding. It was truly inspiring, to say the least, to interact with such an eccentric group passionately pursuing their dreams.

Dreams truly touched the sky every night. As we gazed at the innumerable stars, tried to figure out constellations, the shooting stars carried our wishes with them.      

Redefining our awesomeness - walk 2.0

It was the last leg of the walk. One left turn and one kilometre left. All the pain, struggle, tiredness, exhaustion seemed to vanish and excitement, madness, vigour and joy was taking over. We looked straight ahead into the lush green fields, dotted with red and brown brick huts and the clear blue sky above.  The fields with cows and buffaloes grazing, and the chirpiness of the birds made the atmosphere even lighter, a drastic change from where we had left and where our homes were. The sun, at the peak of its power, sparkled with energy sucked in from others like us. It had tried its hardest to stop us and had now given up on us. We felt invincible, intrepid and magnanimous. We were on the verge of completing and beating our previous record of 25 km. The feeling is indescribable. Our hearts filled with enthusiasm, our minds told us the little distance left, our legs refused to stop moving, taking each step almost unconsciously and our eyes could only see the destination. The final stop, it stood there on a mound, awaiting our arrival, waiting to be touched by us. We had moved closer, at a distance which was nothing compared to what we had covered till now.

Everything comes with a fee and so did this. The entry into the Thol Bird Sanctuary was Rs. 25/- per person. That was unimportant, what was important was it gave us a receipt which became a certificate of achievement for us. It mentioned our names, told us we had come from, Gandhinagar, and our mode of transportation, by foot. We ran, we ran the last 20 meters ad climbed the last 20 steps to reach the highest point on the plains and we were there. We were high. The sense of achievement is inexpressible and can only be felt. It was crazy. The joy had overcome the fatigue. We screamed, we hugged. We wanted to shout it out to the world about our feat. And then we looked back. Looked back for the very first time throughout the walk to see what we had conquered. There had been no looking back till now. We could not have given up at any point of time. We just had to keep moving ahead and we had done just that. Everything was behind us then.  1:00 pm, 15th October, 2011. 7 hours, 36 minutes of walking and 36 kilometres covered.

Yes, we achieved something. It might not be something impossible or unachievable, but it was that for us until now. Marathon runners run 42 km for every race. Recently, a hundred year old man, Fauja Singh, ran the full marathon and set a new world record. We are twenty and had walked 36 kilometers. We had not broken any records, just personal records.

Why?
I do not have an answer to this. It did not give us anything materialistic. There is no substantial reason to why we did it. We did not get up one fine morning and decide to walk. Maybe we did it to test our limits and how far we could stretch ourselves. Maybe it was to experience something new. It could have been all futile. We just  did it because we wanted to do it.

How?
Determination is all it takes. Physical strength is required, undoubtedly, but it cannot happen unless you actually want to do it. You have to know your aim and then do anything to achieve it. Push yourself, it is difficult, but not impossible. Before starting, I did not once think about how I would achieve this and what I might have to face. It just had to be done. Along the way we kept motivating ourselves, always kept our spirits high and kept moving. Never did we once think of giving up.
Whenever our legs tried to give up, we kept telling ourselves we can do this.

In terms of the items you need to carry, it is three bottles of water, one bottle of juice/lemonade, glucose, salt, biscuits, chocolates, cap, road map, good shoes and a good bag to put all this in. Take a piece of paper to mark off landmarks and distances to give yourself motivation with minor accomplishments. And of course, company of two great friends. It might sound clichéd but honestly we could not have done this without each other. There was always one person who kept the other two going.  It was the support of the other which kept one going.

Doesn't it hurt?
It hurts a lot. The blisters scream at every step you take and the heat exhausts you. For at least one-fourth of the walk we were talking about the comfort of the home. The only respite was the short five minute break after every 1.5-2 hours.

Do we have to walk 36km to prove ourselves?
No! You do not even have to walk to prove yourself. Just do something which you have not done and which would make you feel great about yourself. How many of us remember anything significant we did in the last six months? We always want to do things, we have plans, we have ideas but they are never implemented. If you are not doing what you love doing, stop yourself. Stop and think. Think about what you have done till now and what you want to do. It could be the most trivial thing for others but it is the greatest for you. Doesn't matter, just follow your passion. We did that, we had an idea, and we just followed it.

Walk 2.0 completed. Memorable moments created. Newer dreams formed.  Awesomeness redefined. 

Strange and Beautiful

Something very strange and beautiful happened to me today. There are quite a few things which catch my attention quickly but this was something which will not get out of my mind for long. It had been a normal day, I went to IITB, met my crazy but cool professor, did some timepass with a bit of work and so on. It had not even rained until I was leaving for home when all of a sudden it started raining cats and dogs. I somehow managed to reach Kanjurmarg station(which is another adventurous story) and catch a train till my next stop. Rains got me really high (water does that to me). As always in a local train, I was listening to the radio and reading a book when at some station a girl got onto my coach.

There is always someone or the other entering or leaving the coach and it is very unlikely you will remember any of them long after your journey is over. Not everyone catches your eye unless there is something distinct about them. Usually, these distinct characters are either overdressed or dressed differently as compared to the rest or are talking loudly on their phones. They will have some quality which makes you notice them throughout the journey till either they or you get off the train after which everyone is back to their own business. Now, this girl I previously mentioned was wearing an ill-fitting men's shirt over a dull, khaki brown, loose, ankle length skirt. She was bald with only slight hair growth. She was obviously not well-off but also did not look like a beggar.  Carrying just a polythene bag in her hand, she did not seem bothered about travelling in a first class coach without a ticket at all. She stood their quietly, leaning against the wall with her eyes roving from one end of the coach to the other, sometimes outside the door and sometimes towards the floor.

Initially, I tried to ignore her and tried to absorb myself in the book but I just could not help but lift my head every few seconds to see what she was doing. I did not want to make eye-contact with her which could have made her self-conscious and feel out of place. There were two or three other women in the coach, all very well dressed, but none of them really seemed bothered about anything, it was just another page for them out of their book of life. About five to six stations passed and that girl still stood there confidently but now I realised she too had gazed at me as I was trying to avoid staring into her eye. I became very curious. Curious to know about her, about her life. Curious to know her story. Curious to know how she got there. I wanted to talk to her. I had not turned a single page of my book since the commencement of my train journey. A lot of thoughts, a lot of possibilities, a lot of questions were continuously crossing my mind. I just wanted to call out to her and ask her to seat on the seat next to me. I was feeling uncomfortable seeing her standing there for so long. I did not know if it would be right to do so. I might just be behaving awkwardly. I was just waiting for the right moment to call out to her.

Then, as if she had read my mind, she came down and sat next to me. It had made one of my tasks easier. Really, thank God for that. She was staring away from me. After a bit of hesitation, I asked her which stop she was going to and got “VT” as an answer. There was a little ‘Yay!’ in my head as I was going to the same stop, the last destination of the train. She was back to gazing in the other direction.It was only now that I realised she was barefoot. I asked her if she belonged to Mumbai so I could help her out with directions in case she did not. She said she had been staying here for long. Next, my question was about her home to which she just nodded. Her family lived in some place elsewhere. She was much older than what she looked, she was thirty six years of age. Gradually a smile came upon her face as I moved on with my series of questions. I asked her what she did for a living. She was jobless and was travelling from one place to another in search of a job and a roof. After a long pause I asked her about the reason due to which she had to shave off her hair. She said she got “phoda” or “dana” to explain further. She did not know what it was in English. That was the end of my questionnaire as the train halted at the CST station.

I wanted to say one last bye before she left and accompany her till we got out of the station. Expecting her to get down with me from one side of the coach I got off only to realise she hurriedly got off from the other door. Something came over me and I just climbed back onto the train and got out from the other side to quickly follow her. I had to almost run a bit to catch up with her. And the next thing I know, I was asking her if I could help her in any way possible. I had avoided asking her that to escape hurting her ego. I did not want to sound pitiful of her condition. I could not have let her gone without knowing if I could help her or not. I had to ask her. I had to help her if it was in my capacity.  She said, “naukari ya rehne ke liye jagah chahiye”. I did not know how to provide her with any of that at that moment. I told her I would surely try. She was leaving for Pune from the CST station to look for work there. There was no way I could have contacted her. As we moved out of the platform I took out a piece of paper and scribbled my name and phone number on it.

I could not have let her gone without knowing about her safety, health, food, living, money et al. I offered to buy her some food but even as she refused I was reluctant and bought her two packets of biscuit.  All along she appeared so confident that she would live through all of it. Her family had abandoned her. She had no money. But she did not seem concerned. She was just plain confident that she would travel to Pune even without a ticket, spend time there looking for work and if nothing worked out she would go to some other place.  I was scared about her but she was not. She was confident she would survive  through all of it. I wanted to sit with her, question her further, make her eat a full meal but she just wanted to leave as soon as possible without wasting a single second. As I bought the biscuits she enquired about trains to Pune from the people around. For the job she told me about her qualifications. She knew counting and had studied till tenth class. I offered her fifty rupees to which she replied that she wanted to earn big money, fifty would not help her. Beggary was not how she wanted to earn. This was the first time when she addressed me as “Beta” which straight touched my heart. She left promising that she would call me up if she could not find a job. I just saw her walk away into oblivion.

I felt a sudden sense of joy in my heart. I do not know what she did but life seems so much more beautiful to me since then. These are the sort of little things which make me happy. I was high, high on life. I do not know if I had helped her with that little conversation but I am hoping it would have definitely made her feel a little loved. Everything I have, the materialistic and the non-materialistic things, it all gave me a sense of satisfaction. There was so much pain she was going through but it was all taken over by her confidence and determination. She lived a completely different life from us, struggling even through the basics of life. We crib over the most insignificant things in life but do not realise the value of the things we have been blessed with. We are really blessed to be able to even eat our daily meal and sleep securely. Our dreams touch skies but forget that there are people who are not able not even put their foot down on the earth. There are scams running into thousands of crores of rupees. There are politicians who loot money from the ‘aam janta’. There are laws which are made just for the sake of making them. It has just become a game of power, where no one cares. No one cares even about the person sitting right next to them. I do not even want to get into the nonsense going on in the country at the moment. All we can do is improve ourselves.   

I have not stopped thinking about her even for a minute since then. I am not pitiful but hopeful that she would be safe and would get some work. She will not be out of my mind for long now. I hope I do not miss her call when she calls me and I hope I have an answer to her questions. 

A Psalm of Life

And the blame game begins. Whose fault is it? Can we blame one individual or entity or is it every one's responsibility? Change the system or change the way We (read not just the victim) react to situations? Is life just about achieving one goal and shouldn't happiness at all costs be the ultimate goal? Who defines goals for us? How do you define success or failure? Is it failure of one or failure of all? Is this one heinous act the end of all miseries and sufferings? Does it not mean start of grief of others? Is there no other alternative? Was the situation more grave than what is being projected? Could not We have acted earlier? Could not We have improved situations earlier? Will anything be done now?

Questions will remain unanswered, unanswered as the answer has been taken away from us. Life cannot be brought back. It has gone to live in another beautiful part of this universe leaving only footprints behind. Footprints on the sands of time. Footprints which will bring happiness, sorrow, disappointment, hopefulness and guilt all at the same time on the onlooker's face. Happiness over the beautiful moments spent together. Sorrow as there will be no more beautiful moments. Disappointment due to the lack of love for life. Hopefulness that there will be learning. And guilt, guilt for the inability to have acted in time. He departed to punish us for our mistakes, to punish us for our ignorance, to punish us for our lack of consciousness. It will be a thing of the past in a few days with reasons forgotten. Only spoken about as a pitiful act.  But, memories will remain forever.  

Sadly enough, true knowledge is forsaken and condemned. Ignorance is garlanded with ignorance profound. Every opinion which has once been adopted is never thought over again. Every idea, every view which has once been formed is rendered as eternal. Every act or thought, however baseless it may be and however much it might distort the truth, never tries to welcome criticism. The victim of consequences faces the heat. Though, irrespective of all consequences, a person should always uphold his voice of conscience, face every adverse current with grit and endurance for it will only increase his patience. The more the going gets tough, the tougher he should become. His struggles will provide light, making it easier for others to tread this path.

May we learn and appreciate small things in life. There is no end, end is only infinity. Infinity, which cannot be touched by any mortal. 

A Psalm of Life

 Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

     Life is but an empty dream! 

 For the soul is dead that slumbers,

     And things are not what they seem.

 Life is real!  Life is earnest!

     And the grave is not its goal;

 Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

     Was not spoken of the soul.

 Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

     Is our destined end or way;

 But to act, that each to-morrow

     Find us farther than to-day.

 Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

     And our hearts, though stout and brave,

 Still, like muffled drums, are beating

     Funeral marches to the grave.

 In the world's broad field of battle,

     In the bivouac of Life,

 Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

     Be a hero in the strife!

 Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

     Let the dead Past bury its dead!

 Act, -- act in the living Present!

     Heart within, and God o'erhead!

 Lives of great men all remind us

     We can make our lives sublime,

 And, departing, leave behind us

     Footprints on the sands of time;

 Footprints, that perhaps another,

     Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

 A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

     Seeing, shall take heart again.

 Let us, then, be up and doing,

     With a heart for any fate;

 Still achieving, still pursuing,

     Learn to labor and to wait.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The most memorable semester. Jan - April, 2011.

Another semester comes to an end in DA. But this was not just 'another' semester for me but the GREATEST of all. Synapse - almost became my life. Youth Run - 20th Feb, Believe.Change.Run , my biggest achievement ever. Special Ops - I love you guys. 3rd yr - Thank you so much for all the care, support and guidance. 1st yr - The most enthusiastic and hardworking batch ever. 4th yr - College will be empty without you. The Craziness, getting High on anything and everything, the Lows, witnessing the unexpected, Exams, Projects, Meetings, Music, Dancing in cafe, Sports, Eating, Travelling, World Cup - TOTALLY UNFORGETTABLE!! :D

P.S.: This was only the end of a day. New dreams and aspirations for the next day. :)