....The Heart of "Hindoustan ....."

.....the 1973 fmly trip  to  Agra , Fatehpur Sikri , Delhi , Srinagar , had an indelible impression  on  the  formative mind....the Howrah Delhi : 7 UP Toofan Express : First Class  four berth compartment  , and  the  adjoining coupe' of two berths  holding all seven of  us  , five siblings  and  parents, the  Canadian  WP Steam  Locomotive, with  its tender  of  coal fully  sufficient  nd water being refilled at the stop for  generating  incredible  amt  of  steam  to  haul  us  frm distant  Madhupur  Jn  to  Agra Cantt.....and  the  very  very  first  glimpse  of  the  Taj Mahal  frm  the  Compartment  windows  the  very  nxt  morning  with the  Jamuna  River.....nd  the  bridge.....  remember  vividly  the  Majestic  Taj , as  it rose  majestically nd  our trip  was  made ......with  all  of us  jostling  to  hv  a  glimpse , thr cudn't  be  a  better   start  to  the  three week  long  vacation .....as  it unfolded.....my first  brush  with  the National capital  &  red  sandstone nd  not  to speak  of  the  White  marble  of  the Taj .....as  we retraced  the path upto  Srinagar  ......the very newly  laid  Jammu Tawi  Rly Stn ahead  of  Pathankot ....nd  the  Mughal  Gardens   of  Srinagar ......this , was my first visit  to  the  heart  of  "Hindoustan", the  Red  forts  of  Agra  nd  Delhi , Fatehpur  Sikri, Dayal bag  under  construction , the  Qutub  complex , Sikandra ,  Chandni  Chwk , Jama Masjid ,  Old  fort , adjoining museums & of course  Taj Mahal.....further enriched  by  Lutyen's  Delhi .....the  Parliament  House nd  Rashtrapati  Bhavan .....a trip deeply  satisfying  tnx  to  the  indefatiguable  energy  of  parents .....seldom , did  I  think  tht  at  some  point  of  time  NCR  will  be  my  abode.....as  decks were  cleared  to  relocate  at  the  turn  of  the  millenium ......stumbling  upon  "The Great Mughals" by  Bamber Gascoigne at  the  National  Library  here nd  its  conclusion  today  leaves  me  immensely  satisfied.....a better  understanding  now  of  India &  its  heart  "Hindoustan "......as slated is the December  year end  annual  trip  to  Gurugram our  home  town.....plans  r  afoot  for  all  of  us  on  the  "hop  on   hop  off"  bus services  of   tourism  nd  definitely  a  trip  to  the  Rashtrapati  Bhavan .....this  time  it  will be  only Delhi/Agra/Ajmer circuit,  for  a  better  understanding of the  heart  of  "Hindoustan "......as , sometimes  u  take  the  most  accessible things , around you  for  granted  ,  ignoring  the   mine  of  wealth  of   information  buried in  your  region....&  as  I  hv  told  earlier "....the  Eyes only  see  those  things  which  the  Mind  has seen  already  .....!!!!!" 

....Truly Asia .....

.....back  again to  my  favorite  past time  ....of  communication .....as last  10  days  were  importantly  important , in tht  the  Malaysia  trip slated  for  Aug  had  to  be  placed in  priority  as we  depart  Nxt  mnth  fag  end ....as  Visa  arrived yesterday....nd  Tkts  already  purchased ....thr  is  a thunderous  roar  of  approval  on  the  home  front.....Burma , Malaysia , Thailand & Singapore with Cambodia , Laos & Vietnam ,  Indonesia were in some part of  their  existence been  heavily influenced  by India....India's  far  east  reach ....Last  yrs  Cambodia  &  Thailand  trip had  set  the  tone  for  further  visits , as we  loved  those  two  countries  immensely  .....&  the trip  highly successful....tucked  away here  in  the Laccadive  sea  nd  reflecting on  the  Andaman  Sea  & Malacca  strait is a strange  feeling  , about   a  sea  route  since  times  immemorial  .....with  traders  frm  different  parts  of  the  Arab  ,  Africa  , Europe crisscrossing  nd  establishing  themselves....colonizing ,  developing  nd  mindless  exploitation of  the  Locals ....as  my  mind  hovers  frm  the  Maldives  Isles   to  the  Malaysian Peninsula , I am swept aside as  to  the  huge  information  loaded  therein  , nd  a  butterfly  of  a thrill  in  the abdomen ......yes  , the  time  is  ripe  now, to  hv  a  real  look  at  it.....the  multicultural  community...truly  representing Asia .....!!!!

...The Heart Tht was Left behind .....!!!

....lot  of  homework  is  to  be  done as   bound  for  SE  Asia  again  nxt  mnth.....Cobbling  up a  plan  amidst  busy schedule  nd  commitments , with the  Unit stationed here  , reaffirming  a  promise of  last  yr  to  thm....as close  relations  frm  Bombay had  visited  us  last  mnth, a  slight pendency of  the  plan  was needed, as  Sept is  Puja  Mnth....wht  best  can  be  thn off  the  board  now for  a   fortnight....with  "Drik Panchang"  our  North  Star  to  guide us...sounds  funny, yet whn  u  use  Drik  Panchang  with  access  to  Language wise  calendar,  ur  swimming  with  the  tide  .....the tide  to which  u  r subjected  to du  2  ur  genetic  predisposition.....ur  conditioned  self  of  centuries....gives us  immense  happiness  whn  we  avoid  an  "Asslessha "  &  a  "Magha" Nakshatra in  ur  travel  plans  nd  'Disha  Shool'  avoided......!!!....as dear  Ma  nd  GrandMa is  remembered nd  Father  invariably  askin  Ma  for  auspicious  travel  dates....for  domestic travel  in  India  lasting  a  minimum  of  3 weeks  !!!....sounds  impractical  to  many....superstitious  to many ...does  it really  matter whn  u  feel  deeply  satisfied performing  a rite  ritualistically in  consonance  with  ur  genetic  predisposition ....??...this  time  it  will  be  "Truly  Asia" : Malaysia , with  Kualalumpur , Georgetown Penang  , Ipoh  ,Melakaa , Cameron highlands...hv decided  a laidback itinerary....nd  being  a  train  lover the  West Rly of  ETS will be tried....31st Aug we  depart....lots of  research  is  to  be  done.....as  again u  only  see  those  things  which  ur  mind  has  seen  already  ....!!!!...as  last  yr  Angkor & Thailand was  well  appreciated by  the same  methods....Have to Re unite

 

 
  with the  Heart  tht  was  Left  behind.....!!!!!

...Paradise Lost...Paradise gained......!!!

.....the AI flt took off  frm  Bombay yet again  , making  a  quickwork  of the  distance  between  Delhi & Bombay , into  the  Coastal stretch  now  on  way  to Trivandrum...the thick  coconut  jungle   to  one side  nd the deep blu  to  the  other  ;  like an   arrow  it  shot into  the  runway , shattering  the  heart  to  pieces......as  I was  travelling, headed  for Male'....the  maiden flt, bereft of  fmly .....to  the unknown.....extremely  drained emotionally  ....as taking  the  call  was a   tough decision ....whn  ur  kingdom  is  lost  u r a pauper  on  all  frnts  .....a  step forward  nd  a   huge  drag to  counter....the  trip  frm  the airport to the guest house felt as if  I was already  in  a  foreign  land  , as  I was mentally  resigned....a couple  of  hrs  nd  the decision was made,  to  fly  back  to  safe  haven......it took  full  6 mnths to fly back  again  , but  this   time  fmly  in  tow  ....Blessed  is  the  person who  hv a fmly  to support...as  all ur  efforts gain  a  resolute  meaning whn  u r together ....the  Journey  has  to  be   concluded in  tandem  ,  not  alone  ,  as  Life  is  short  , flying by , in  jet speed......thnk  my  stars  how we braved it all  nd  proceeded & on  even keel  now .....tht  meant  sacrifices  frm  all  of  us  here ....everyone  of us gave  away  our  own  little  bit  adapting  & adopting.....!!!!

 

.......Familiar Bell in the Mind's eye .....

.....as  the  train  wud  slowly  inch  its  way  towards  Home Signal at  the  Puri  Station  of Odisha state  of India , the  roar  of  the  Breakers  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal would  be  heard  clearly .....as  those  days  , population  was  sparse,  nd  construction between  the  RS  &  Beach  were few  .....hence  the  roar  nd  our  childlike  delight....!!!... of  a  memorable  vacation to  Jaganathdham Puri  , where  the  presiding  deity  is  Lord  Jagannath in  the  Jagannath Temple  of  Puri  dham ...a  must  pilgrimage  .....as  generations  of  our  Guardian  ancestors  wud make  it  a  point  to  visit  at  least  once  in  a  life  time.....as  we moved  away  frm  the  Rly  stn  the  sound  of  the  waves wud  increase  nd  our  heart  beats  enhanced ......as  the  Puri  beach is  a fabulous  one  with  strong  high  waves  &  kilometres of  pristine beach.....the  ubiquitous  'Nuliya'  : boatman ,  dark  tanned , trim  &  fit  donning  Conical  caps  of  Colorful  Cowrie  shells  , with  inflated  Tubes guiding  many  a tourist  into  the  deep  sea,  with  the  Sun  shining bright ,  his skin  dark  ,  glistening  , as  he  wud  make  us  , hoist  us  up  over  a  huge  breaker ,  teaching  us  the  technique  of negotiating same  .....as  Neil  the  Kid  brother  wud  stay  away on the shore  nd  wud  wail ,  much  to  our  amusement  as  if  we  were  all  lost  in  the  sea .....!!!....scary  it was  sometimes  as  my  elder  sisters  got  swept  away  &  sucked  into  the  vortex  of  a  huge  breaker upon its  return  frm  the  shore , luckily the  sea  was  kind ,  never  to  retain  anything ,    throwing thm back  as we  watched  horrified  ......the  early  morn  Sun  rise  nd  fishermen  returning  frm  the  sea  with  their  booty  , a  load of  Silvery Catch nd  we  jostling  to  hv a  view ......relentlessly  though  the  Waves  wud  crash with  a  thud  nd  the  sound wud wane  ,only,  as we  moved  away  towards  the  Temple....the  Evening  beach  stroll with  vendors  blowing  their  Conch  shells  nd  Sweet  meat   selling  briskly was  a  treat....those were  the  days  of  complete  relaxations  with  parents  nd  siblings  ......as  , recently  as  last  week  ,  as  I was  relaxing  at  a beach Villa  here , a  handshake  distance away  frm  the  sea , I  cud  hear  the same  thud  of  the  breakers  breaking  relentlessly , ringing  a  familiar  bell  in  my  mind's  eye nd  the kids  enjoying every  bit  of  it  ......!!!!!