A Brand New Beginning

Cuddling puppies, warm blankets, a cup of coffee, clothes that effectively hide your fat, presents, cookies, cakes, jingles, fogs and in some luckier parts of the world, snow. 

Winter. 

Christmas.

New Year. 

There's something special about this time of the year. The air feels fresh. Winter mornings offer you a breathtaking site. Dense fog, pearl like tiny dewdrops on leaves. A stillness around you. The birds take their own sweet time to come out of their nests. The sunrays touch your face, gently, very gently. Just to make you aware of its presence. Just to provide you with the warmth that you yearn for when the temperatures dip into the 10s.

That's winter. 

The trees shed their leaves, animals seek comfort underground. The year's coming to an end. "How did this year get over this fast?", that's exactly what we're thinking right now.

We've reached the end of a book. But, there are many more pages to be filled, many more books to be written, stories to be created and shared.

So does winter signify an ending?

Nope. Look carefully. 

It signifies a brand new beginning. 

Choose.

Friends.

Google the word and you'll find hundreds of dictionary definitions, dozens of sites which help you make new friends and stay in touch with the old ones, and almost a million stories on friendship written by the likes of Blyton, Bond, etc.

But, are mere words enough to express the essence of this word or this relation? 

No.

Our body holds the most advanced machine on this planet. The Brain, lodged in a compartment of the skull, the cranium. We think, analyse, act. We choose. We decide. And all of this is controlled by this organ weighing less than 1.5 kilograms. So, isn't it natural to think that we "choose" our friends? 

We don't. We can never choose such stuff. You make friends by accident. And once you've made a friend, there's no going back. 

It's been almost two years since I left my old place and shifted to this city. Making friends was tough initially. I was reluctant to do that. I felt I had exhausted my capacity of forming new ones. Now, I know, it just wasn't the truth. So, yes, while the master organ above, made me think that I didn't need friends, life whispered that I do. 

So, to conclude, don't plan to choose your friends(otherwise you'll just keep waiting forever), choose to make friends. 

Keep smiling! :)

Merely existing?

Here's a quote: "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all"

So, yeah, are we truly living? Or are we just trying to make it through the day? It's just a random thought. But, I think, it does require a bit of our attention. 

The world's full of pessimists. "Life sucks" for them, they dread Mondays, nothing(nothing at all) gives them joy. More importantly, they make you question your own opinion about life. Don't let that happen. 

Life's not easy. It's a roller-coaster ride(that doesn't always go up, if you know what I mean). To live through it, is a part of the deal we made, right? 

But, why not make this interesting? Why shouldn't we make this journey fun? A popular ad says, a human being turns 60 in less than a billion seconds. Imagine that! So, why not stop right now, and enjoy the remaining part of our 1 billion seconds? 

So, stop whining! Believe that no matter how hard it is, you will make it through. Catch up with friends & family. Go hug someone, dance it all out with your people, write, sing, play, be your craziest self, read, work(work hard) believe, hope love, laugh, Live! 

Is it really that hard? 

Shimla:)

"We're going to Shimla", mom said. 

"NO WAY!", I screamed. But, obviously I strained my voice box unnecessarily because on Sunday we were sitting at the airport waiting to board the flight to Delhi. 

We reached Delhi a couple of hours after noon. We were greeted at the airport by my dad's friend. We were going to Shimla accompanied by uncle and aunty. It takes six hours to travel from Delhi to Shimla by vehicle. The journey was extremely smooth. The roads were so much better than the ones we had while travelling to Gangtok! We also stopped by a "dhaba", just for the experience. While these guys enjoyed tea, I was making unsuccessful attempts of capturing the setting sun. 

After we reached Shimla, we were really tired and straight away went to bed!

Next morning, we got ready and started exploring Shimla. The people were very sweet and helpful. Life's hard there. Climbing the slopes will leave you breathless(literally). Yet, students of all ages travel long distances on these mountains to reach their school. 

That day we visited Kuffri and the view from there was breathtaking. Here, you could see buses filled with tourists from all over India, who had come to soak in the beauty of Shimla. 

We also visited Chail Palace. In the evening, we went to the Mall Road. We saw the Church there, took lots of pictures and also visited The Indian Coffee House. The shops and buildings in that area had a victorian-era feel attached to them (Shimla had been the summer capital of British India). 

We went back to our hotel and I treated myself to a lavish dinner that involved about 5 different kinds of desserts! After that, we retired to our rooms. 

The next day, after breakfast, we started exploring Shimla once again. This was our last full day in Shimla. We visited a temple, which was built in a 'huge' area. Some construction work was still left. So, not many people were there. I felt that's how temples should be! Calm & peaceful. In most of the temples, we are constantly being pushed around and we hardly get to see the idol! 

The best part of the day was the Train ride. It was absolutely amazing. I recommend it to everyone. The train moved with moderate speed as the sun set behind the mountains, the trees partly hiding it from our view. We sang songs throughout the 45 minutes of our journey. We got down at a really small station where the car was waiting for us. 

The next day, we began our journey to Chandigarh, from where we had to board our flight. This trip had been great. We had a great company and that just added to the fun! So long Shimla! :)

Will post pictures sometime soon! 

Fiction reveals the truth that reality obscures

Fiction. Or non-fiction? I haven't got anything against non-fiction. I know that there are a lot of people who like reading autobiographies of legendary people & books on events which have turned the world upside down, who look for motivating & inspiring books at a bookstore. So, yes, I respect their choice and I honestly do feel that some non-fictional books are good. 

But, there is this one thing I don't like and that is that most people hate Fiction. They look at fiction as something which was made for intellectually immature people. And that's not true! 

When we read books we want to learn something from them, to gain something. And I very strongly believe that Fiction is that one genre from which you can learn a million things, if you want to. A certain group of non-fiction lovers(or adults) would probably laugh when I'll say that I've learnt so much from a series like Harry Potter! Yes, I have. See, the truth is, most people look at Harry Potter like it's all about flying brooms, swishing wands, crazy spells and some impossible adventures. They say that they can't digest this much of fiction! And that is where they are absolutely wrong. Harry Potter's about wands and brooms and spells, but it is more importantly about the power of love, friendship and the war against something wrong or evil. 

You can learn so many things by looking at the life of another person and that's what fiction offers you. You get to almost live the life of the character. You get to know how they are feeling and you're like, "Oh my god! I felt the same way when..."

The best part of Fiction is that the characters live with you forever. Their words stay in your head. When someone says, "Always", you'll be reminded of this Hogwarts professor who wasn't liked much, but he was a great person who loved someone very dearly and died protecting her only son! You never cry or laugh or feel respite, anger or other important human emotions when you read non-fiction. You do that only when you read fiction. How many times have I cried while reading a book!

So, to conclude, I would like to say that you can learn so much from Fiction. The characters will become your friends! Their words will remain etched on your mind and heart. So, try and look at a work of fiction like it's an autobiography of a person you've never met. You wouldn't be able to stop yourself from exploring more and more! 

Fiction reveals the truth that reality obscures. 

"Shoot for the moon"

Sometimes, you have the best experiences when you least expect them. Let me share one such experience with you. 

Yesterday, we had the orientation meet of the Interact Club of Delhi Public School, Udaipur. I was hosting it along with my classmate. Members from the Rotary club were a part of the event. They told us about the concept of Interact club and about Rotary. I was chosen President of our Interact club. The meet was executed nicely and we had been pretty good hosts. Just then, the members of Rotary said that they would like to take a few members, out of the 25 children in our club, to a government school in a village, where they had recently inaugurated toilet facilities for the kids. I was one of the five children who left for the village.

Dhikli, the village where we went, is a small village in the outskirts of Udaipur. A car ride takes 15-20 minutes to reach there. The journey was quite with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan playing on the radio. The road  was completely empty. Small hills towered over us from both sides of the road. Soon enough we reached our destination. As we entered the small campus of the school, we could hear the students praise Mother India by saying slogans like, "Jai Hind" and "Bharat ma ki jai". We were greeted by small girls wearing beautiful indian outfits for the occassion. They applied tilak on our foreheads and we were also given garlands.

We were shown the newly built washrooms for girls and boys. One has to appreciate the efforts of the Rotary Club. We were told that many girls didn't come to school because of the absence of proper toilets. In countries like India, where the rates of illiteracy are pretty high, it is important that we do everything possible to ensure that more and more people go to schools. We went and sat down among the students. I started talking to a girl who sat next to me. She told me that she would walk to school everyday. She was also happy that now her school had toilet facilities. 

The programme started. A few girls paid homage to Goddess Saraswati by singing a hymn. After that girls from 11th performed in front of us. I had wished them all the best before the performance and when I was leaving, they very sweetly approached me and said that I should visit them again. After their performance, the members of the Rotary Club spoke to them. Suddenly, I was asked to speak a few words to them. For the first time ever, I spoke directly from my heart. I asked them to dream and dream big because if they can think it, they can achieve it. I also told them a quote, which is one of my favourites, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars". Afterr everything was over, we distributed chocolates and biscuit packets to the kids and they were all feeling extremely shy and telling me, "Thank you didi". 

I hope I was able to motivate a few of them. It was an amazing experience. 

We crib, we want more all the time. These girls and boys, who lack so many material things, are still happy and content. 

Help the underprivileged, by your words, by small things that you give them. You will feel happy. 

In My City

I've been away for a very long time! But, I am finally back. You know what? I'm going to complete a year in Udaipur on the 1st of April. Time flies, doesn't it? 

So, this post of mine is a little insight into this city. I hope I can provide you with some useful information although I must admit I'm yet to discover a lot more places! 

Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh II, which explains the name. It is also known as theCity of  Lakes. It, according to me, is a very apt nickname since this city has got many large lakes. Apart from the lakes, you'll find many small hills in the city. A very noticeable feature of the city is that you'll find bougainvillea plants of every imaginable color in every nook and corner of the city!  

Some important places to visit in the city are the City Palace, Saheliyon ki baari(which has beautiful fountains and lotus pools), Gulabh Bagh(which is a delight for children and adults alike), Pichola Lake, Rajiv Gandhi Park, Nehru Park(which is on one of the islands of Fatehsagar Lake), Fatehsagar Lake and many other places. If you're ready to travel, you could go to Jaisamand Lake(You could visit the Jaisamand Island resort and stay there for a few days. You'll love the experience), Nathdwara, Eklingji, Sajjangarh Fort and Mount Abu. 

Picture above: Fatehsagar Lake

Pictures above: View from Rajiv Gandhi Park

Fatehsagar at sunset

View from Sajjangarh Fort 

View from Jaisamand Island Resort

I'm going to describe Fatehsagar Lake in detail for you. Fatehsagar Lake, a.k.a F.S is a large artificial lake in Udaipur. On one side, there is a cycling/walking area where people go in the mornings and evenings. You get to see a breathtaking sight, the sun's reflection in the blue water of the lake, small fountains and islands in the middle of the lake. Near this area, several food stalls are present to make sure that all your walking goes to waste! It is really beautiful. You cannot come to Udaipur and not visit this lake! 

A little note on the climate: For a person who's always lived in the eastern side of India, the climate here is extremely pleasant. A pleasant breeze blows during all seasons. For me, winter sets in early. The summer's dry but the wind helps. Let me tell you that inspite of being a city in Rajasthan, this area receives a good amount of rainfall, starting July. 

That brings me to the end of my post. I was reluctant to come to this place for obvious reasons and initially didn't notice the beauty of this place. But, it definitely is a beautiful city and everyone must visit it. 

2014, Family, Happiness... :)

It is time to abandon the old book and start writing a brand new one. It is time to learn some new lessons without forgetting the ones we learnt last year. It is time to grow up, yet remain just as full of life as ever. 

A very happy new year to everyone around the globe! May 2014 bring lots of joy, success, fun, happiness in your life. 

Right now, I am sitting at the Delhi Airport, returning from a family get-together. I've said this before and I'm saying it again, our family get-together is something that I look forward to every year. We have our share of fights & tantrums(which are inevitable 'cause we refuse to grow up!). But, it's really fun! And when it all ends, you're left with a heavy heart and moist eyes. 

But, soon we adjust to our normal lives. It seems hard in the beginning because we get used to the noise that we make(and that's a lot of noise, mind you!).

Through this post, I would like to thank my family for being my family! It's great fun to be with you all! The singing in the train, the dumbsharaz(did I get the spelling right?), the dancing, the photography sessions, the petty fights, the jokes... all will be missed until next time(make sure its soon and for a longer period of time :P)

Missing you all! :'(

Anyways, a very happy new year once again! Enjoy! Make the most of this year!!!