Daily journal

Today was very busy. Didn't have time to eat all day. My payroll sucks! Trying to get it settled. Then Dr. W drove me to her house with her pretty little girl and I had fun meeting Taylor- the yellow eyed black cat. Loved the colours and paintings and pictures. She came to drop me and the funniest thing happened. She showed my picture with Abhishek to her saying," that's her boyfriend". I was amused. 😊 

My first hands on driving experience in the USA! Was awesome. Need more practice though but I'll be good. The beautiful sunset on my way back made my day. 

Nothing is better than ending the day with a delicious avocado salad. Yumm. 

The writer takes at photography

Photography is an art and I've always been fascinated and overwhelmed by good pictures and cameras. The dream was a DSLR! Having bought a Nikon D5100, I sure am on cloud nine and clicking pictures is now an obsession. The whole camera selecting and buying process was frustrating, thank God for the techie friends. The most amazing part of the story is that the camera was available only in stores, not online. Having lost all hopes, sitting in the car leaving for Memphis, that magical phone call of an awesome friend who happened to go to that very store and picked that camera for me. I cannot be thankful enough.

A few weeks of possessing my new camera, I have been able to take few good pictures and I thought of sharing my experience of capturing some of natures most breathtaking views. I'd try to describe these pictures through words and I hope I do justice to the serenity of these fabulous scenes.

Sunset at Sardis Lake-

 Well, I'd start off with thanking my friends for coming up with the idea of going to Sardis and reaching just before sunset. It was so magnificent, the Sun. Looked as if we could walk down the sandy way and touch the giant red ball or just stand and stare at it. Even the naked eye could not do justice to how mesmerizing the Sun looked. The diffraction caused it to appear scaled and cosmetic and that's exactly how the camera captured it.

And then it was time to say goodbye. The sun set and went home, leaving is awed, cold and wondering- if only we could be as warm, if only we could be as magnificent, if only we could be the same tomorrow.

The solitary journey

As kids all we ever wanted was to grow up and go on adventure trips and see the world. Well once in a while you get lucky and you realize that hey, you're actually going to get to do all of it. 

I've been one of those lucky ones. My boyfriend has been to more than 22 countries and I was absolutely amazed by that because I thought only few people get lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I saw the pictures where he was in the places where I wanted to be, on our first date. I got more and more inspired but didn't know if I'd get a chance. 

Two years later, I'm in a position where I see myself doing everything I always wanted to and traveling most of the places I have on my list. 

Well I have to admit that wanting to be on your own all your life and suddenly being on your own are two very different feelings. Apart from every single thing that you gotta do on your own, you have to take very good care of yourself and those around you to make sure that you function normally. 

You're going to have beautiful new experiences and some not-so-pleasant ones, eg- if you're a vegetarian, you could be surprised at the definition of vegetarianism by other people or you could be absolutely thrilled by how amazing the variety of potatoes is! 

Sometimes you're going to be homesick, miss those trivial things you took for granted and crave for moments that were monotonous. Familiarity would disown you for a while and suddenly you'd find yourself on the edge of a cliff , hanging by a weak thread which only you could strengthen over time. 

There are going to be moments of immense pleasure and satisfaction, of happiness in newfound chores. Moments of discovery of how good a manager of your own self you are and a feeling of gratitude that you made it so far. 

What I'm learning from my whole new experience is blissful in each emotion, it's overwhelming at times but I know for sure that it's never going to keep me down and soon I would blend into the new culture and carve a niche which I call all my own. 

A cold night and a warm sunrise amidst the mountains

I became an instant fan of the Dhauladhar range as soon as I got their first glimpse, I had to.We reached Naddi (H.P) at 9:30 p.m and we were all set to saunter in the lively market of Mc Leodgunj. Packed in 4 layers on an extremely cold early December night, we left the hotel. The market had an overwhelming and seductive fragrance of Chinese food. Hell yeah, we were hungry! So went went to this really nice Tibetan restaurant called Norling. They serve the best Chinese food I'v ever had in my entire life, seriously! Thukpa (pronounced thupka, see picture) was the winner. 

We'd driven five hours from Kathua to reach here n hence slept like babies.

 I woke up to a really bright light which I thought to be a street light but turned out to be the Moon. Yes full moon, so close I could almost touch it. Ah Lord! what a splendid sight it was.

I check my cell phone and It was 5 a.m. I was eager to go out for a stroll but it was deadly silent outside and I couldn't sense any activity of any kind. It had been ages since i was in that kind of timeless phase so I left for a walk accompanied by really friendly mountain dogs. 

Man! was I in heaven or what? Bliss was an understatement. The refreshing sound of a distant waterfall and the sweet song of a koyal and the birds chirping a welcome symphony. Oh the mighty mountains were a sight! I felt so tiny and insignificant walking parallel to them. And the Sun, it was hiding behind this huge mountain(picture) making it glow with a golden halo and radiating its warmth all around.

Even clicking a picture was an unnecessary noise but anyhow i couldn't resist the pristine scenery and the most beautiful horizon. (see pic)

The early morning breeze was the best thing that you could feel on your face. A few steps downhill was an Ashram and it  marked one end of the mountain we were on. There were huge empty halls meant for meditation and foreigners flocked in early in the morning and sat for hours amidst this beautiful spectacle God created so tastefully and at leisure.

"Himalayas is my father and i cannot express my feeling on coming here except to recall the glory of my Father. Himalaya is the Sahasrara Mother Earth created for us. It should be worshiped. I cannot feel anything here but vibrations, just like fish in the water. These vibrations are spread around so beautifully and are joy giving that it cannot be expressed in words"- This is exactly how one feels there.

I sat there, facing the mighty Dhauladhars, completely mystified by them. Awed by their might and absorbing each glorious detail that I could about thousands of years of their history. I didn't feel like going back to the monotonous city life, with our screwed priorities now seeming insignificant, wondering- if one day here can do this to me, how amazing would it be to actually belong here!