"Freedom", just another F word? Said a write- up on a fashion magazine. Smart one by the writer. I rarely "read" from a magazine about fashion. The usage of F to catch attention always works. I was amused by what freedom meant for Bijoy Venugopal. I was actually smiling after I finished reading it. I wondered how many more people in the world actually felt truly free when they din have to answer tests in mathematics and physics. I personally(yes, weirdly) loved the pressure of exams. After the exams I would miss the last minute frantic studying. Din have the chance to study physics in school, but mathematics was a pet paper. It was the pressure of results I could not take.
Anyway, Bijoy got me thinking for a while. What did freedom actually mean to me? No answer. I asked myself again. Wait a second, said a small voice. Was I not free yet? I was getting to do what I want. Oh at least most of it. But was I truly free? Did I complain bout how unfair the world around was. Did I envy people with lesser boundaries. I did. So often. All I needed was freedom of being chaotic when I wanted. :). I wanted to be the person who doesn't wait for opinions and permits to live my own life. But that would mean I would have no access to people I care about. I'm chaotic enough this way. Let me spare poor souls around me. And whoosh went the crazy thoughts OUT. The freedom I already had was scary enough. If I just knew how to thank god for what I have. Let me go back to my book. I might find more dangerous questions to ask myself. So long.
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Is it human tendency to question everything? Is it arrogance? Or is it curiosity? What is it that we spend a lifetime to gain an understanding of? Why is it that so many of us, might not even get close to understanding the difference between a lucky co-incidence and a miracle. No I’m not being philosophical. I don even know what that word truly means.
Somebody close to me once said, “The most difficult part of being spiritual is being the spiritual being”. To her surprise, it drew a loud laugh from me. It was pure gibberish to me. I was sure she had read it somewhere and was repeating it in a vain effort of sounding wise (read cool). She squinted at me and walked away. And half spiritual people are probably tough to apologize to. :-)
I’m not a spiritual being. Neither am I religious. So then what does it make me? Confused soul I guess. I learnt at a very young age that chanting memorized prayers is not an easy way to connect to any supreme power protecting us. I realized, speaking to him whenever I felt like, put me in more comfort. I know when I put my palms together and bend my head to surrender to her, I feel warm inside. The warm feeling is what I love. Like a reassurance.
May be some day I’ll understand what it is to connect to him. In a better way than I do now. In pursuit of spirituality.
Half a mile into the forest, i chickened out. I din want the leopard prediction to come true.
We left Shirdi and started towards Mahabaleshwar. The plan was to reach before dark. The fogs of Mahabaleshwar are notorious. And the rains wouldn’t help we knew. Apart from a small round apricot shopping on the way and a tiny confusion in Pune, we were on schedule. I was going to this beautiful town for the first time. So was eager to get there sooner. The fogs beat us to it. The drive up was nice. Everybody somehow seemed quieter. Intermittent rains accompanied us all the way up. The highway was buzzing. Not uncommon. Mahabaleshwar is the favorite of all the IT clan from Pune and Mumbai. No worries about accommodation though. Our cottages were already booked. Only one thing was eating us –how to get there? The place we’d booked our cottages was nearly 2kms away from the main town. The roads were super foggy and few people in sight. We finally got there, thanks to GPS and a kind soul who put us on track. We were told we were reserved 2 beautiful cottages. But the only problem is they were at the far end (That’s cos we got there last). We din mind initially. But once Parag and Anup (my husband’s 2 good friends) got the feel of how deserted the cottages looked and the forest looming behind it, did not waste a minute to start about leopards being a menace in this part of the country. And obviously the Ghost stories weren’t too far behind. After a quick dinner, we settled down for some high scale chatting. Believe me I laughed like there was no tomorrow. My belly hurt for almost an hour into sleep. Those are the times you treasure. I can’t remember when we fell asleep. We set out for a walk when we woke up. And there in front of me was the name of the Cottage. (I missed it in the dark the previous night). “Krishna Cottage” the stone outside said. My heart skipped a beat literally. If it doesn’t strike a bell, let me tell you more. Krishna Cottage is the name of a Indian movie. A horror movie to be precise. I knew the night that followed would be difficult now that I carried this knowledge. I’m not particularly afraid of ghosts. It was the two pranksters I was worried about.
Interesting question. Kept us nonsense hunters occupied for quite some time. And a fabulous lunch followed on the way back from shirdi. Chateau Vineyards served great lunch with better wines. Set among beautiful vineyards complete with an artificial well, it was a feast to the eyes and my stomach. sadly no pics of the place
We hit the Bangalore-Pune Road and the speedometer hit 120 with ease. India NH4 baby! I could not take my eyes off the road.
More pics on the way.
After much planning and postponement, we settled on taking a trip to Shirdi and topping it off with a relaxed stay in Mahabaleshwar(a beautiful hill station in Maharashtra). The rains were a bonus. The journey started on Friday. And what a start!! Foggy ghats of Amboli welcomed us with open arms and i loved every bit of it. I longed for corn-on-the-cob and there it was. It wasn't great but it was my first this year. The monkeys were a menace. I almost gave my corn to them in fear till sac came to my rescue.
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