MAGNIFICENT MOUNTAINOUS VOYAGE

The grandeur of snow-covered mountains on Khardungla Top with snow as far as the eye could see; took my breath away and awoke the long-dormant artist in me. The place is captivating with the highest motorable road, Mandir, and the highest pass in the world. In the peak of summers, the perennial glaciers and the frozen rivulets add to its magnetism. How beautiful and bountiful could nature be? The rugged hilly roads add to the escapade. It is a voyage. It is an exploration.

The petite quaint villages, near Leh, with cascading rivulets and the specks of greenery looked just out of the travel magazines. Monasteries all around the place add to the mysticism of the place. The tranquility and calm in the night and the dim lamps in the houses in the ancient Leh town encircled by gigantic mountains and almost nil moment took us a few decades back.

Dark towering mountains and the stillness of the early morning surroundings were mesmerizing and haunting at the same time. The darkness and the tough terrain scared me but my fears were washed away with the sight of the rising sun and the luminous water of the Indus River. The early morning orange sky and the dark brown hills completed the painting of the Supreme Being.

The monasteries in Leh and Ladakh, apart from the precious collection of Buddhist scriptures, Stupas, Thangka paintings, have magnificent Buddha statues. The Thiksey monastery near Leh has almost 50 feet Buddha statue. They are sites of learning and add a charm to the otherwise dry and rugged place. The Diskit monastery in the Nubra valley is one of the oldest, offered serene atmosphere and inner peace.

The famous Pathar Sahib Gurudwara a few kilometers from Leh is a place to be revered for its calm and peaceful atmosphere. The story about Guru Nanak Dev told by my grandmother came alive.

 From then on the way to Drass and the famous Kargil town and the 'Jalebi Modh' with its twists and turns got me almost nauseated but the view from the top was too good to think of the rough and dangerous route.  The vibrancy of the green, brown, orange, and purple mountains will turn anyone into a poet or an artist. When nature beacons and it shows its raw beauty, anyone could be enchanted. 

At the sacred temple on ‘Captain Modh' near Sonamerg, every vehicle stops to pay their obeisance and remember the martyr. A young army captain lost his life while helping build a road on this complex path.

The rugged mountains contrasted by the Sonamerg’s Deodar tree line, surrounded  by flower-filled green meadows was out of this world view. The famous Amarnath Cave of Lord Shiva is situated here. A visit to the caves with its huge ice Shivling is a lifetime experience.

Slowly we were leaving the mountains behind with river flowing alongside and passing through the apple and walnut laden trees in the scenic villages near Srinagar. 

On reaching Srinagar, the Dal Lake with its boulevard of Chinar trees was a sight to withhold and submerge in the splendor of nature. We reached the city, dust-laden, but refreshed in mind. 

This journey through the rugged allure of mountains to the green boulevards of the Kashmir valley was remarkable. I undertook this trip almost two decades back but it remains etched in my memory forever.

                      YOGIC MINDFULNESS

 “Touch your inner space, which is nothingness, as silent and empty as the sky; it is your inner sky. Once you settle down in your inner sky, you have come home, and a great maturity arises in your actions, in your behavior. Then whatever you do has grace in it. Then whatever you do is a poetry in itself. You live poetry; your walking becomes dancing, your silence becomes music.” – OSHO

Yogic meditation, the alignment of body, mind and soul is the need of the hour in the stressful pandemic times.

Yoga clears away the restless energy and prepares us to meditate and reach a state of blissful joy and enlightenment.

 Meditation is not about emptying our mind and stopping our thoughts, it is about changing our relationship with our thoughts. One does not have to run away from the daily life and life’s realities to realize yogic mediation. But it is living the world with the full understanding of the self and the world around us. It is the hunger to be connected to the soul. Meditation is not concentration, it is deep relaxation. It is going from movement to stillness and sound to silence.

Meditation is not something apart from life. To be choicelessly aware of things around us (like watching a butterfly being carried along the wind) is part of meditation as the eminent philosopher J Krishnamurti observes. He further describes mediation is to know oneself, not only superficially, but the whole content of the inner, hidden consciousness. Without knowing all that and being free of its conditioning, you cannot possibly go beyond the mind’s limits. That is why the thought process must cease, and for this cessation there must be knowledge of oneself.

One may follow the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of living in awareness taught by Buddha or the ways by Patanjali, or the Thirteen Mantras or Zen ways or any other path. All roads take us to the path of ultimate joy and happiness.

All paths cultivate attention and awareness and research shows that meditation can bolster concentration. Enhanced memory and an ability to regulate emotions can help people with anxiety and depression. Meditation increases social connection and reduce loneliness.

 Mindfulness is to be aware of the current moment in a focused non judgmental way. Different medical experiments have proven the benefits of meditation in treating various ailments from depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, heart health etc. It also brings in a sense of hope, contentment and joy, brings calm to otherwise chaotic day and clears the cobwebs and makes thinking crystal clear.

We are here to improve ourselves and continuously reflect and grow to become better version of ourselves. By improving ourselves we can create a better environment for us and others to live a better life. Counting one’s blessings when feeling any discontent or sadness like what we all are facing these days in the pandemic times. Letting go what you cannot control gives you real peace of mind. Practice kindness, show gratitude and listen to your heart. And see your worries and insecurities shrink away.

 Mindfulness is effortless alertness and being in the present moment. It is not an extravagance but a prerequisite to have sustainable relationship with oneself and the world around us.

                                GRATITUDE

SIGNIFICANCE OF SITA IN TODAY’S WORLD

Sari clad Sita sitting under a tree, waiting for Lord Ram to rescue her; a scene from the Ramlila comes to my mind when I think of Ramayana and Sita in particular. The image altered when I grew up as I familiarized myself with the different versions of Ramayana. It changed from the demure to the tough character she is in actuality.

The traditional tale ascribes Rama as the savior and Sita as submissive Pativrata following her husband everywhere. Real Sita is modern yet traditional in her approach in dealing with the situations in her life. The situations range from her Swayamvara to accompanying her husband to fourteen years of exile to remaining faithful while in captivity and yet proving her chastity in front of fire to bringing up her children all by herself and finally  going down to mother earth when asked  to prove her purity again.

 Sita in her own way represented rebellion and the power to say no. She has a strong sense of self which is evident to her reaction to her captor Ravan and also in her reaction to her ordeal by fire. She in a way gives power and strength to women who put up with problems and do not speak up. Sita is an integral part of our psyche. She is more relevant today as a torch bearer of women’s rights.

 Every Indian woman has a fragment of Sita in her. Proportion may vary but the rudiments are there. She is placid though tough, calm but focused. She has the capacity to overcome all the hurdles that life throws on her and comes up successful. In an authoritative patriarchal society she finds a place for herself.

 Has something really changed for today’s women from the time of Sita? Not  Much. Unlike men, she has to prove her chastity all the time. She is put in restraining and self-effacing roles. Why? The answer lies in the patriarchal attitude of the society as a whole. The Laxman Rekha still exists in the way men control women; ranging from her behavior, her dress up, who she interacts with and where she goes. Social ridicule and abandonment are the punishments she has to face in case she defies the order of the family she is married into. Women are facing problems and finding solutions with resilience and will power.

Some positive changes are there over a period of time but much needs to be done. The grooming of the boys at young age of being equal to girls in all respects will bring about an attitudinal change which will go a long way in reducing the disparities.

Mahatma Gandhi had advocated women be encouraged to smash the chains of domesticity, to come out of purdah, to lead political movements and be part of an equal world. We need more men like him, Ram Mohan Roy, B R Ambedkar, Ishwar Chander Vidyasagar and Jyotirao Phule to fight for women’s rights so that our daughters grow up in an equal world. It may seem like Utopia but is it asking for much?

                                        GRATITUDE

                  SUMMER FIESTA

In current times, travel for leisure is not feasible, our environs are our destinations. There is time to cherish nature and reflect upon life. Isn’t travel all this?

With the first rays of the sun everything comes to life. Plants and flowers look delightful as if new life has come into them. Trees are glimmering in the golden light of the morning sun. There is serenity in the environment before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. One solitary magpie robin is whistling a sweet song, perched on the top of the tree, with a watchful eye for a mate. The sunbird is enjoying the nectar from the fire bush and singing a sweet song of gratitude. The gregarious babblers are giving background music to the morning raga of nature. Magpie’s symphonic melody and bulbul’s rhythmic song is soothing and prepares you for the heat of the day. 

Summer air is fragrant with the colorful cannas, pink and yellow oleanders, zinnias and pristine white satinwood. Lustrous leaves and petite flowers of begonias are a sight to behold in the heat of summers. The wild and beautiful periwinkle is blooming happily.  The winter annual petunias and spring roses are also surviving with water, sunshine and care.

 Sitting in the garden; amongst flowers and birds, relishing the morning dew drops on the grass is relaxing before the heat of the day picks up. In the early morning silence, only observing the sights and sounds of nature is true meditation for the nature lover in me. Vibrancy of nature can make any nature lover curious with the hunger to explore more.

As the day is progressing the seven sisters are busy looking around the garden for food before the day heats up and they will hide in some shady corner of a tree to protect themselves from the heat. The beautiful parrot is perched on top the peepal tree soaking the sun after a watery mud bath in the garden fountain. Soon babblers too get the confidence to enjoy the muddy bath in the garden. Bulbuls do not want to be left behind so they too join in, mesmerizing my soul. My little cocker spaniel too is soaked with the wet mud enjoying the coolness. This becomes a daily ritual and he enjoys every moment of chasing and playing with the birds. He loves being a total ‘Jungle Ka Raja’ of his garden kingdom.

Afternoons have become hot but mornings and evenings are still in love with the spring. Hot summer afternoons are meant to be spent indoors with the company of loved ones; books and board games for company and of course the essential homemade cool drinks to satiate and rejuvenate ourselves.

Bright red fire bushes stand alongside the vibrant yellow golden showers and the orange cannas with the setting sun in the background look like a divine painting of Supreme Being. It’s wonderful to walk on the wet grass in the evenings and see your worries wash away.

The celestial light show of fire flies in the dark of the night seem like the star and the sky have descended down.

 British writer Jenny Uglow rightly says, “We might think we are nurturing our garden, but it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”