Day Three

Today was my father's 50th birthday. To celebrate, we loaded into the car and left the city with Chaplin, our crooked spaniel. 

Choosing my favourite moment from today has been difficult. What made me most happy? Was it singing loudly to music in the car? Was it eating salted peanuts on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway? Was it the vada pav we stopped to eat along the way? The picturesque countryside? The quaint, brick house we spent the day in? The simple dal-rice-paapad we shared for lunch? Watching Chaplin jump into every stream and pond along the way? Running with him until I felt like my legs would fall off? Swimming in a river with my family and Chaplin? Hot cups of tea after drying off? Unraveling of birthday presents? Carrom on the balcony? Egrets flying gracefully in the lush greenery? The sunset?

After much thought, I found, looking for the best of all of today's moments is a ridiculous thing to do. How can I grade and rank today's happenings? Today, all of today, made me happy.

Today's photo is one of me swimming alongside Chaplin. Something I haven't done in years. The reason I chose this moment is because it gave me the chance to bond with and love this dog, this brother of mine, the way he deserves to be bonded with and loved. Watching him lose himself in the water, swimming against the current, lapping up the clear water, thoroughly delighted me. Sharing his joy added to both my excitement and his.

Day Two

My photo for today is one of my sister, Ilina, practicing the song "Aa Chalke Tujhe" on her violin. This song is special to both of us as our father used to sing it to us when we were little. The lyrics of the song promise to take us away to a land far away, free of sadness and tears. A land of love and joy. This sweet lullaby brings back the loveliest of memories and fills me with nostalgia.

This is Ilina, playing beautifully, in the candle light during Earth Hour today.

Day One

Today marks the end of my second year at college. I wondered today where and when time flew by. It seems like just yesterday that I walked into a large college, not yet ready to call it my own, intimidated by the seniors around me, unaware of how to conduct myself, clueless about my future and lost in a sea of strangers. Today, two years later, I can't imagine my days off that campus. Today I walk confidently, I wave and beam at every friend I pass, I know who I am and where I stand, I feel at home in that college. That college which is now a haven to me. Even though I still have one whole year of college left before I graduate, I feel like time is slipping from between my fingers. 

As I bid adieu to my seniors, I wonder how hard it will be to leave this place next year. This place that has made me wake up and and go to bed at unearthly hours, travel for hours, walk endlessly and study like a dog. This place that has given me the most wonderful friends, innumerable plates of food, piping-hot-early-morning-teas, laughter fits, silent solace, guidance, a sanctuary to read and write in, knowledge far beyond my syllabus and the ability to dream. I realize that letting go of my seemingly ceaseless college routine would be ridiculously difficult to do. The future scares me and makes me appreciate just how secure and stable my life currently is. Even though I wish for adventure and uncertainty, the stark amount of it laying in wait for me is intimidating.

Today, I walked all around town with my friends- scanning through book stalls, shuffling through crowded lanes and crossing main roads.We ended up at Marine Drive, just in time for sunset. Now, it seems like the most perfect end for the day.

I've decided to take on the 100 Happy Days Challenge starting today. I hope to write something everyday along with every picture that I upload. My photo for today is that sunset. Because it made me happy. And I'd like to remember it.

Bird (and other animal/mammal) Watching

 These are photos from a trip to Elephanta Island with some friends and two BNHS guides. I had my hair up, my camera slung around my neck and a vest that carried all my requirements. It was a lovely, crisp, gorgeous day. 

I made note of all the birds and animals we saw along the way. It turned out to be quite some list.

 

Allow me to tell you about my day in the style of my favourite childhood story book, "The Treasure Sock".

My friends and I took a ferry back to the Gateway of India and ate chips, parathas, cucumber and cake.

Before we got onto the ferry, we bought a hat for fifty rupees. It was black and smart and had a ribbon around it. So I took a picture of it.

Before we bought the hat, we visited Elephanta caves. They were dark and old and beautiful. So I took a picture of it.

Before we visited the caves, we found a snoozing black dog. He was small and clean and terribly sleepy. So I took a picture of him.

Before we found the dog, we went bird watching around the island. We saw birds and trees and dogs and insects. So I took many pictures of them.

Before we found those birds, we found some pond herons. They were graceful and sleek and grey. So I took a picture of them.

Before we found the herons, we took a ferry to Elephanta. It was warm and breezy and peaceful and calm. So I didn't take any pictures of it.

(While we were on the ferry, we saw several seagulls. They were large and brave and swooped in close. So I took pictures of them.)

Before we got on the Ferry, we walked to the Gateway from Hornbill house. It was lazy and early and we saw Coppersmith Barbets. So I looked at them through binoculars.

Before we left Hornbill House, we found a chai walah. His tea was hot and rich and full of elaichi. So we all sipped some tea.

New Shoes

My old shoes had ripped.

I loved them.

Dearly.

So, I decided to salvage them.

I stuck some cloth over its holes.

I made them worse.

The glue made them hard.

They felt like steel-toed boots.

But I loved them.

Dearly.

So, I continued wearing them.

Today, my dad showed me this ad:

So, I decided to buy new shoes.
And I did.

But I'm still not giving away my old ones.

Because I love them.

Dearly.

Standing At The Door Of The Train Songs

Train travel can get boring when you don't have someone to talk to or the company of a good book. And no matter how artistic or observant of human nature you are, at the end of a tiring day, you couldn't care less about the fifty people squashing you. So, what do you do to keep entertained for the next fifteen stations? This is where music comes into play.

I often find myself standing at one of the doors with music in my ears. Some songs are perfect for these journeys. Songs that make you want to stick your neck further out into the breeze, allow your hair to catch the passing scenery and hum to yourself. Songs that turn a boring train ride into a lively experience. I like choosing my songs such that I get off the train feeling less tired than I was getting on it. And, I've found that it isn't just a genre that befits the mood- it's just good, quality music- perhaps something that beats along with the train.

I give to you some of my favourite Standing At The Door Of The Train songs. (That should be another song.)

All You Need Is Love
American Pie
Asleep
Blowing In The Wind
Can't Help Falling In Love With You
Paradise
Come On Eileen
Could It Be Another Change
Digital Love
Don't Worry Be Happy
Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Fergalicious
Fix You
Float On
Forever
Forever Young
Giving Up The Gun
Gold Watch And Chain
Happy
Happy Pills
Hard Sun
Here Comes The Sun
Heroes - MOST AWESOME TRAIN SONG EVER.
Hold On
Higher Window
I'm A Bitch I'm A Lover
I Gotta Feeling
I Walk The Line
Iktara
Best Unsaid
Judas
Nindiya Re
King And Lionheart
King Of The Road
Kya Karoon
Kyon
Let It Rock
Lost
Welcome To India
Will You Be There
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone
Pee Loon
Another Brick In The Wall
Powerless
Price Tag
Right As Rain
Rolling In The Deep
Skyfall
Seventeen
Somewhere Only We Know
Strange Love
Suddenly I See
Take Me Home Country Roads
Take You To Rio
Tears In Heaven
Yellow Submarine
Travelin' Thru
Tumse Hi
Viva La Vida
Waka Waka
Walking On The Moon
Wavin' Flag
Way Back Into Love
You Raise Me Up
Yeh Honsla

The Bed

Exhausted, frustrated and aching, she walked away from the chattering in the kitchen and into her grandmother's bedroom. It was dimly lit by the gentle evening light, filtering in through the curtains. The air stood still, as though it hadn't been disturbed in years. This quaint room, its green walls looking pale in the fading light, looked sad and worn. Yet, she felt at home there, comfortable in the stillness and quiet. She shuffled over to the single bed in the far corner of the room. Her favourite bed, standing on four wooden legs with a thin foam mattress on top. She could feel her back sinking into the foam even as she approached it.

Gingerly, she sat down, pushing aside the freshly hung laundry before lying down across pillows and folded blankets. She lay flat on her back, looking up into the canopy of damp saris and dhotis. A dusty breeze blew in through the mosquito nets and hit the overhanging clothes, making the air around her cool and moist. She could smell detergent and dust.

The light began to die and the room looked darker and calmer. The breeze moved the saris, tickling her ankles and nose. She lay there in the dark, hidden completely in her damp tent, as the voices around her began to fade further and further into the distance. She closed her eyes nimbly into soft slumber, listening to the bats beginning to wake.