In February this year, we had the fortune to visit Allahabad. We were attending my cousin’s marriage and since the girl was from Allahabad, the marriage was taking place there. First we went to Agra and from there the entire entourage of family and friends took an overnight train to Allahabad. The journey was good. Baba had met up with many of his childhood friends who were part of the marriage party and the seniors were having a great time. The kids were asked to sleep early as the next day would be very tiring one and there will be no chance to rest. The rest of us were having our own fun. There was some singing and joking and the usual festivities usually associated with an Indian marriage. Finally, well past midnight, one of the co passengers requested us to keep quiet and we also realised that it was quite late and one by one we went to sleep.
The train reached Allahabad at around 7 in the morning. It was the day after the final day of the Ardh Kumbh Mela which was on the 2nd of Feb, 2007. The station was full of saffron clad sadhus returning from there visit to the Holy Ganges. Also, lots of pilgrims on there way back after they had taken a dip in the Ganges. Bala, who is very perceptive of these things, felt a lot of positive energy on getting down at the station. I cannot say that I felt the same but I definitely did not feel as irritated as I usually feel in a crowded place, especially a station. There was the usual confusion that prevails when the Grooms party of around 45 to 50 people land at the Bride’s place. Many biscuits and cups of tea later, we made our way to the hotel where our stay was organised. All the small units of family were given separate rooms and we all retired to our respective rooms to bathe and freshen up. Some cousins of mine were already there and among them Baba’s elder brother’s son. He and Bala hit it off quite well right from the word go.
We all freshened up and made our way to eat some breakfast. The whole day was packed with lots of rituals which finally culminated in the marriage ceremony in the night.
Bala and my cousin wanted to go to the “Sangam”, which is the point where the three Holy Rivers of Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati meet. It is supposed to be a very beautiful and a very charged place. I, of course, would not be left behind. We planned to go in the afternoon but never made it. Then someone suggested that we go in the night as it is a very beautiful sight at night especially it being the day after a Full Moon night. We never managed it in the night as well as it was too late and we were too tired. It was decided that we will go early morning the next day. At around 5 am Bala woke me up and called my cousin’s room to wake him up. We quickly got ready and left at around 5.15 am.
In the North, there are shops which are open throughout the day and the night where you have these huge vessels on the fire where the milk is continuously boiled with sugar and the thick cream that gets formed is pushed to the sides. There are these huge pot bellied people managing this who are called Halwais. The thick cream known as Rabri is then taken out and served in small earthen pots. These shops also serve hot milk and cold lassi in long glasses which are really great.
My cousin headed straight for one of these shops across the road from the hotel and had a glass of milk. Bala and I had some nice tea. Then we went in search of transport that will take us to Sangam. We managed to fix one of the eight seaters for the up and down journey. It was a 10 minute drive from where we were staying and we reached the banks of the River Ganges at around 5.40 am.
We had to take a small walk to reach the shore of the water. We passed an old fort which houses an ancient underground temple. On reaching the waters, we learnt that we will have the wait as the boat takes around 8 – 10 people and we were only three. We did not want company and hence we decided to hire the entire boat only for us. It was a little expensive but well worth the experience. By this time it was around 5.50 am and the Sun was slowly making its way up while the Moon was not yet ready to leave the scene and caught in between these two giants was our tiny boat making its way to the Sangam.
It was a sight that I had never seen before. The Moon, which was almost a Full Moon and the Sun were in the sky at the same time. I looked to my right and saw the Moon and then to my left and there was the Sun. You could look at the sun as it was still very early and it was not yet very bright. And right above our heads there were hundreds of white birds flying all over and making tiny little noises. The only other noise was the sound of the oars falling gently into the water with a tiny splash. It was an experience and a half. Added to this we had a boatman, the one who was rowing us to the Sangam point, who was a very friendly man and has been doing this work since he was a young boy. His ancestors have been doing the same work before him for hundreds of years. He was also very talkative and started telling us the legends around the place.
It was a treat to hear him talk. One of the several things he told us was that the River Saraswati no longer flows on top of the earth. It was a curse from Mother Sita that made the great Saraswati go underground. That the Saraswati flows underground may be true as some satellite pictures have shown a water channel below the earth at that place. But for the boatman to know of this and talk of this was something different. The Sangam, as is the case now, is the meeting point of only Ganga and Jamuna as the Saraswati does not flow above ground anymore.
Soon we reached the point that we had come all the way to visit. The Sangam. There was a small barricade installed where the boats get tied and people bathe at that point. We did not want to take the plunge and just asked the boatman to row us very slowly. You could actually see the point where the two rivers meet as they had opposite currents. It was beautiful and serene. We had some cans which we had bought to carry back the Holy water and my cousin filled these up. By this time the Sun was a little brighter and the Moon was gone. The birds still danced and sang around. The oars made wonderful music with the water. I don’t think any of us wanted to leave that place. It was one of those times which remain etched in your memory eternally.
But then all good things have to end and so we made our way back to the shore. On reaching terra firma we walked to the fort and were told that we can go inside and see the temple.
We entered the fort and had to walk thru a walkway sloping upward and reached a courtyard. There was a huge tree in the middle of the courtyard which was half hidden under the ground. We were told that you can see the bottom half of the tree from inside the temple. Since it is an underground temple, to go inside it, we had to descend a few steps and go down. Amazing is not the word for what we saw…. Assembled all around were some 40 idols of various Gods and just by looking at these idols you could say that they were ancient. Never saw these kinds of idols anywhere else. The shapes and forms were unique…. First time I saw an idol of Hanumanji with Ram and Lakshman on his shoulders… there was writing on a board which said that a Chinese traveller who had visited India around the 6th century mentioned this temple in his travelogues. This meant that this temple already existed 1500 years back and probably stood there from much before. And then there was the bottom part of the tree that we could see from inside. And it was amazing to see the temple built around that tree……… we were there for around 30 minutes and then reluctantly made our way up.
The next stop was a Hanumanji temple on the banks of the river that again is unique. Here the idol is a huge one with Hanumanji carrying the mountain in his left hand and his mace in the right hand and leaping into the air. It is saffron in colour. Now I may be asked what is so unique about this posture which is quite a common one. The uniqueness lay in the fact that this idol was in a lying position. It was flat on the ground. There were doors leading in and out near the head and feet of the idol and steps that descend down to where He lay. There were railings all around Him and you could look at him from there. It was an awesome sight. Bala, as I mentioned earlier, is quite perceptive and said that the place was charged. He took a long time coming out. My cousin was also quite awed by the place and said that it was the first time that he had tears in his eyes while visiting a temple. There were of course legends attached to this temple. One said that when the British were here, they had tried to pull the idol into a standing position but after several attempts gave up. Another said that when there is high tide, the Ganges comes up to this temple and washes over the idol and goes back. It never goes beyond this temple. Incredible, right? But true.
It was time to go. Though we did not want to, but time constraint forced us to head back to the hotel. We had a train at 12 noon that would take us back to Agra and people at the hotel would be wondering where we were. So we sat in the same 8 seater and travelled back each immersed in his own thoughts of the experiences of the morning. We arrived at the hotel and had a nice breakfast. There were some ceremonies to be completed after which we packed and made our way to the station and bade good bye to Allahabad which will always remain in my mind as a place where in a very short time I had experienced a lot.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Little Friends
I was traveling from Chennai to Madurai by train with my husband and I was thinking for the umpteenth time how boring the journey will be because Bala is not much of a conversationalist when he is traveling and added to that the fact that we were traveling in the A/c Chair Car compartment, a thing that I wholeheartedly detest as one is cooped up inside and does not get to experience the thrills of traveling in second class. But I need not have worried. There was a young lady sitting next to me with her two year old daughter. The little one was a very inquisitive child and she was firing questions at her mom at the rate of an AK 47 and kept the entire row entertained during the journey and before we knew it we were at Madurai. It was one of the most interesting experiences during a journey.
The company of small kids can be quite an experience. The innocence with which they say what they think is not only amusing but can also be very enlightening. And they say things without any pre-thought. They just say what they feel and that in itself can be quite an experience.
Sometimes the mom may say to the dad, “Mrs. XYZ is such a pain.” Obviously they would not want Mrs. XYZ to know this. The next time Mrs. XYZ comes for a visit, the little child, who may have overheard this comment may, with all innocence, tell her, “Mom says you are such a pain.” Quite embarrassing for the mom, but who can blame the little one.
Once my friend had brought her boss and the boss’s business partner home for a cup of tea. Her 5 year old daughter went to the partner and with all innocence asked him if he was the boss’s boyfriend. He laughed and said that he makes tea for the boss in the office. Without blinking an eyelid she said, “Then you must be a girl since only girls make tea.” My friend did not know where to look…
Kids are also very free with there affection. They don’t know the concept of hate. They either like you or they don’t. I know this little 3 year old kid who will always reply back with “I love you too Joo aunty (He calls me Joo aunty instead of Jui aunty)” to my “I love you Kibu”. He never once hesitates to reply back to me. It is very heartening to hear him say that.
Quite frankly I enjoy the company of children to that of adults. When you are with adults you always have to wear a mask… you can hardly be yourself. You have to be careful of what you are saying and what you are doing. With children, I can be myself and have a blast with them. I remember when I was staying in Kodaikanal, my husband and I would visit some friends who had a boy aged 5 and a girl aged 6 at that time. This little fellow would throw me on the floor and sit on my tummy and wrestle with me and tickle me… it used to be so much fun. The three of us used to pack a little basket with some snacks and cool drinks and go for a walk and sit under a tree and while away the time talking and playing games. We would spend hours like that and not get bored. I always treasure those times. Sometimes they would want to go cycling. Those days I thought I could not cycle. One day, when I took them cycling, this girl insisted that I try. I instantly refused. She was very persistent and said that since there was no one around, I should not feel embarrassed and give it a shot. When she put it that way I could not say no and gave it a try and realized that I could cycle. It was amazing. At the age of 32, I discovered that I could cycle. All thanks to the little friend of mine.
Once some friends were visiting us and they had an 8 year old daughter. She was a very talented girl. One day, we had to go out somewhere with them. We went to an old house with a beautiful compound which was full of nice old trees. The dad, mom and Bala had some work inside. I decided to stay with the little one outside. We found a nice shady tree and sat on the ground and started talking. She was explaining to me how to make small ear rings and I was giving her some tips on the design. It was fascinating talking to her. We were so engrossed in our conversation that none of us noticed that it had started to drizzle. When Bala came out to call us inside he could not get our attention. Later he told me that both of us looked like we were part of the entire surrounding and also we were so comfortable with each other sitting under the tree and chatting that he did not feel like disturbing us. This little girl also taught me how to feed milk to a baby squirrel with ink filler. It was such a beautiful experience. At first I was very scared of holding the tiny thing in my hand. But she was so confident that I could do it that I had no choice but to do it and I always thank her for that lovely experience.
Kids can have an amazing memory. I have a childhood friend who moved recently to the US of A with her husband and their absolutely fantastic 2 year old son. I know this little fellow since the minute he was born. In fact I was one of the first one to see him outside the operation theatre. It so happened that whenever they came over to our house, I would be cooking and I always wear an apron while working in the kitchen. He was one and a half years when he left for the US of A. There, when ever he sees someone in an apron or when his mom wears an apron, he calls them ‘Juimashi’. Incredible, right?
Bala has some friends living in Chennai who have this remarkable 4 year old son. I have never seen him actually cry. He is always having fun. Bala also keeps saying that he is the only kid that he knows who always wakes up with a smile. When he was very small, his mom used to give him a bottle of milk whenever he was close to tears and he would bounce back immediately. Once when we were visiting them in Chennai, we went to a club for dinner. This little fellow walked straight to the waiter, placed his own order and when the order came, sat down and ate without any fuss. At age four, that was quite a feat. Later on he wanted to eat an ice cream but his mom said it would be too cold for him. So what does our man do? He orders for the ice cream and asks the waiter to put it in the oven for 10 seconds and then he drinks his ice cream. He has a little squirrel as a pet and he also wanted a frog. I asked him how he would catch one and he explained his strategy… he said he would throw a stone at the frog and the frog would get unconscious and then he would put the frog in his pocket. And the entire evening he spent crawling around the shrubs looking for a suitable candidate. And we had a huge laugh when his mom saw him put something in his pockets and thought it was a frog only to discover it was a stone.
Well, these are a few of the innumerable experiences that I had with the little ones which have enriched my life like no other ever had. The innocence, the vulnerability, the quite confidence that nothing is wrong with the world is something quite remarkable and something that we adults must always strive to achieve. I know that somewhere in the process of growing up we have lost the innocence that we were born with and we have become less confident about our surroundings, but then we can always get back a little of our childhood back by just being with the little ones and becoming one of them.
The company of small kids can be quite an experience. The innocence with which they say what they think is not only amusing but can also be very enlightening. And they say things without any pre-thought. They just say what they feel and that in itself can be quite an experience.
Sometimes the mom may say to the dad, “Mrs. XYZ is such a pain.” Obviously they would not want Mrs. XYZ to know this. The next time Mrs. XYZ comes for a visit, the little child, who may have overheard this comment may, with all innocence, tell her, “Mom says you are such a pain.” Quite embarrassing for the mom, but who can blame the little one.
Once my friend had brought her boss and the boss’s business partner home for a cup of tea. Her 5 year old daughter went to the partner and with all innocence asked him if he was the boss’s boyfriend. He laughed and said that he makes tea for the boss in the office. Without blinking an eyelid she said, “Then you must be a girl since only girls make tea.” My friend did not know where to look…
Kids are also very free with there affection. They don’t know the concept of hate. They either like you or they don’t. I know this little 3 year old kid who will always reply back with “I love you too Joo aunty (He calls me Joo aunty instead of Jui aunty)” to my “I love you Kibu”. He never once hesitates to reply back to me. It is very heartening to hear him say that.
Quite frankly I enjoy the company of children to that of adults. When you are with adults you always have to wear a mask… you can hardly be yourself. You have to be careful of what you are saying and what you are doing. With children, I can be myself and have a blast with them. I remember when I was staying in Kodaikanal, my husband and I would visit some friends who had a boy aged 5 and a girl aged 6 at that time. This little fellow would throw me on the floor and sit on my tummy and wrestle with me and tickle me… it used to be so much fun. The three of us used to pack a little basket with some snacks and cool drinks and go for a walk and sit under a tree and while away the time talking and playing games. We would spend hours like that and not get bored. I always treasure those times. Sometimes they would want to go cycling. Those days I thought I could not cycle. One day, when I took them cycling, this girl insisted that I try. I instantly refused. She was very persistent and said that since there was no one around, I should not feel embarrassed and give it a shot. When she put it that way I could not say no and gave it a try and realized that I could cycle. It was amazing. At the age of 32, I discovered that I could cycle. All thanks to the little friend of mine.
Once some friends were visiting us and they had an 8 year old daughter. She was a very talented girl. One day, we had to go out somewhere with them. We went to an old house with a beautiful compound which was full of nice old trees. The dad, mom and Bala had some work inside. I decided to stay with the little one outside. We found a nice shady tree and sat on the ground and started talking. She was explaining to me how to make small ear rings and I was giving her some tips on the design. It was fascinating talking to her. We were so engrossed in our conversation that none of us noticed that it had started to drizzle. When Bala came out to call us inside he could not get our attention. Later he told me that both of us looked like we were part of the entire surrounding and also we were so comfortable with each other sitting under the tree and chatting that he did not feel like disturbing us. This little girl also taught me how to feed milk to a baby squirrel with ink filler. It was such a beautiful experience. At first I was very scared of holding the tiny thing in my hand. But she was so confident that I could do it that I had no choice but to do it and I always thank her for that lovely experience.
Kids can have an amazing memory. I have a childhood friend who moved recently to the US of A with her husband and their absolutely fantastic 2 year old son. I know this little fellow since the minute he was born. In fact I was one of the first one to see him outside the operation theatre. It so happened that whenever they came over to our house, I would be cooking and I always wear an apron while working in the kitchen. He was one and a half years when he left for the US of A. There, when ever he sees someone in an apron or when his mom wears an apron, he calls them ‘Juimashi’. Incredible, right?
Bala has some friends living in Chennai who have this remarkable 4 year old son. I have never seen him actually cry. He is always having fun. Bala also keeps saying that he is the only kid that he knows who always wakes up with a smile. When he was very small, his mom used to give him a bottle of milk whenever he was close to tears and he would bounce back immediately. Once when we were visiting them in Chennai, we went to a club for dinner. This little fellow walked straight to the waiter, placed his own order and when the order came, sat down and ate without any fuss. At age four, that was quite a feat. Later on he wanted to eat an ice cream but his mom said it would be too cold for him. So what does our man do? He orders for the ice cream and asks the waiter to put it in the oven for 10 seconds and then he drinks his ice cream. He has a little squirrel as a pet and he also wanted a frog. I asked him how he would catch one and he explained his strategy… he said he would throw a stone at the frog and the frog would get unconscious and then he would put the frog in his pocket. And the entire evening he spent crawling around the shrubs looking for a suitable candidate. And we had a huge laugh when his mom saw him put something in his pockets and thought it was a frog only to discover it was a stone.
Well, these are a few of the innumerable experiences that I had with the little ones which have enriched my life like no other ever had. The innocence, the vulnerability, the quite confidence that nothing is wrong with the world is something quite remarkable and something that we adults must always strive to achieve. I know that somewhere in the process of growing up we have lost the innocence that we were born with and we have become less confident about our surroundings, but then we can always get back a little of our childhood back by just being with the little ones and becoming one of them.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Home in the mountains
After I got married the home that I went to was in the middle of a coffee plantation on a hill station. It was the first time that I was going to stay in a place like that. Coming from a city, it was extremely new and also very different.
The entire place was so colourful...it was green and brown... the brown mountains and the green trees and plants and shrubs.... I had never seen so much greenery..It was such a treat to the eyes. And in Nature's own arrangement, the flowers of various hues and colours dotted the entire valley... Nature is surely the world's greatest artist.
In the city, you can hardly see the sky, forget about the stars. Here, every night, the sky would be brightly lit..the stars twinkling away merrily, brightly like jewels in a huge crown. It felt like the sky shone more brightly here than anywhere else. The moon the brightest jewel.... shining with all its glory... When the sun rose at dawn and set at dusk the sky would be painted in a hue of orange and red and yellow and purple... It was as if Nature was painting a marvelous piece of art every day using the sky as its canvas.
During winter, the mist used to rise from the valley in a twirl..the entire place would be completely submerged in the fog. At nights, driving on the ghat road was like driving with a blindfold... you could hardly see whats in front of you..it was so misty....
We had our share of wild life as well. There were the leopards coming at our doorstep during their breeding season in search of dog meat for their young ones.... we lost 2 of our dogs to them... then we had a kind of deer which is as small as a rabbit..it is called a mouse deer..they are so cute... the monkeys, snakes and scorpions are of course always there... not to forget the leeches... occasionally we also had visits from the bisons... huge handsome fellows... weighs almost a ton.... mostly all muscles and no fat.... wild boars came for the potatoes that we planted... they love to eat the potatoes..... their favourite... and last but not the least a wide variety of birds.... oops...I almost forgot.... the flying squirrels... lovely creatures....
The entire place was so colourful...it was green and brown... the brown mountains and the green trees and plants and shrubs.... I had never seen so much greenery..It was such a treat to the eyes. And in Nature's own arrangement, the flowers of various hues and colours dotted the entire valley... Nature is surely the world's greatest artist.
In the city, you can hardly see the sky, forget about the stars. Here, every night, the sky would be brightly lit..the stars twinkling away merrily, brightly like jewels in a huge crown. It felt like the sky shone more brightly here than anywhere else. The moon the brightest jewel.... shining with all its glory... When the sun rose at dawn and set at dusk the sky would be painted in a hue of orange and red and yellow and purple... It was as if Nature was painting a marvelous piece of art every day using the sky as its canvas.
During winter, the mist used to rise from the valley in a twirl..the entire place would be completely submerged in the fog. At nights, driving on the ghat road was like driving with a blindfold... you could hardly see whats in front of you..it was so misty....
We had our share of wild life as well. There were the leopards coming at our doorstep during their breeding season in search of dog meat for their young ones.... we lost 2 of our dogs to them... then we had a kind of deer which is as small as a rabbit..it is called a mouse deer..they are so cute... the monkeys, snakes and scorpions are of course always there... not to forget the leeches... occasionally we also had visits from the bisons... huge handsome fellows... weighs almost a ton.... mostly all muscles and no fat.... wild boars came for the potatoes that we planted... they love to eat the potatoes..... their favourite... and last but not the least a wide variety of birds.... oops...I almost forgot.... the flying squirrels... lovely creatures....
Friday, July 13, 2007
Musical Journey to the Past
My family is from Agra.... I have lots of cousins there and in Feb this year one of them got married in Allahabad..... The bride was from there and my husband and I had gone for this marriage....
This was the first time I was taking my husband to my native place and as such we had lots of things to see together.
We decided to see all the places in Agra first and went to Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur, Sikandra and the temple at Dayalbagh.
It was at Fatehpur that we had a great experience. We were inside the dargah and were doing the usual stuff like tying the threads and putting the chaddar on the tomb and so on.... my husband is highly inclinced towards spiritualism and meditation and he sat down there and started meditating... he later said the place was very charged....
As I came out there was a musical troop who started singing qawalees. I sat on the steps of the durgah and was almost transported to another world... it felt like time has stopped and we are in a time warp.... I spoke to the lead singer later and he said they go around all the durgahs once a year and sing.....
After the group left an ancient looking man sat down with a harmonium with another guy at the tabla and a young boy clapping and he started singing... it was out of the world... that man must have been at least 90 years...absolutely no tooth in his mouth...but his voice was so strong... and he sang songs which were so intensely philosophical.... from guru-shishya relationship to rama and krishna and so many things...he also explained us the meanings... Bala and I were so carried away we sat on the ground in front of the durgah with these 3 and heard him out for more than one hour... there were just 5 of us sitting on the ground and it was afternoon and there were very few people around...
I realised later that it must have looked so weird...three musicians and 2 tourists sitting like that on the ground, one singing, 2 playing instruments and 2 enjoying like there is no tomorrow.... we did not take any pictures as it would have been a sacrilege to intrude on this scene with something as modern as a camera....... but I will never forget the experience.....
This was the first time I was taking my husband to my native place and as such we had lots of things to see together.
We decided to see all the places in Agra first and went to Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur, Sikandra and the temple at Dayalbagh.
It was at Fatehpur that we had a great experience. We were inside the dargah and were doing the usual stuff like tying the threads and putting the chaddar on the tomb and so on.... my husband is highly inclinced towards spiritualism and meditation and he sat down there and started meditating... he later said the place was very charged....
As I came out there was a musical troop who started singing qawalees. I sat on the steps of the durgah and was almost transported to another world... it felt like time has stopped and we are in a time warp.... I spoke to the lead singer later and he said they go around all the durgahs once a year and sing.....
After the group left an ancient looking man sat down with a harmonium with another guy at the tabla and a young boy clapping and he started singing... it was out of the world... that man must have been at least 90 years...absolutely no tooth in his mouth...but his voice was so strong... and he sang songs which were so intensely philosophical.... from guru-shishya relationship to rama and krishna and so many things...he also explained us the meanings... Bala and I were so carried away we sat on the ground in front of the durgah with these 3 and heard him out for more than one hour... there were just 5 of us sitting on the ground and it was afternoon and there were very few people around...
I realised later that it must have looked so weird...three musicians and 2 tourists sitting like that on the ground, one singing, 2 playing instruments and 2 enjoying like there is no tomorrow.... we did not take any pictures as it would have been a sacrilege to intrude on this scene with something as modern as a camera....... but I will never forget the experience.....
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