The Touch

A word that has gained a lot of attention in recent times. The spread of the novel virus has refrained everyone from 'The Touch'. Gloves have become an intermediate layer when coming in contact with any surface. Gone are the handshakes, the warms hugs, the planting of a kiss on the cheek, the 'High Fives', 'The Low Fives', 'the pinky swear', the makeovers in parlours, the window shopping or the door bells ringing; with the advent of the separate outdoor footwear and of course not to forget the inseparable masks on everyone's face.

The Social beings that humans are, 'Touch' is inevitable. The evolved beings that humans are, 'Touch' can be an expression of deep involvement with no physical contact.

And so I reminisce-

The umpteen video conference calls with friends and relatives!

The virtual birthday, anniversary celebrations!

The heartfelt e-letters to parents and parents in laws!

The birthday ode to a distant friend!

The uninterrupted work from home!

The recorded songs sent via WhatsApp!

The elaborate recipes and dishes clicked for Insta posts!

The sharing of books maintaining the 3 feet radius distance with a mask on!

The uninterrupted payments and more to helpers!

The cleaning of the building common areas!

The clockwise and then the anticlockwise scrubbing of the utensils!

The touch of the morning Sunlight, invigorating the day!

The 'sparsh' of the drizzle in the balcony!

The watering of plants!

The touch of the soil, embrace of Mother Earth!

The delicious mangoes touching the taste buds!

The enormous coconut leaves kissing my curry leaves!
The squirrel nibbling on the fruit!

The unseen of birds pecking at the balcony grill demanding their lunch!

The reverberation of the morning & evening chants, 'Hanuman Chalisa' of the devotees!
The joining of hands to form a 'Namaskara'!

The lighting of lamps to express solidarity!

The resonance of bells, conch shells, 'damroos', 'thalis', applause expressing gratitude!

The glowing faces on every floor with gleaming eyes of friends; social distancing well maintained!

Indeed, umpteen ways life touches! If only, there is the right perspective.

To The Banyan Tree

Oh the reverential 'Banyan Tree'
The sight of you fill me with glee
Your vast expanse, your grace
In you reside 'Brahma', 'Vishnu', 'Mahesh'

I touch your trunk, your dangling root
Serenity engulfs me as I turn mute
There's so much I wish to talk to you
To ask if 'Satyavan-Savitri katha' was actually true

But you mesmerise my soul
Inside me you drill a deep hole
An earnest longing to know it all
To be humble, yet stand tall
Perhaps before I finally fall

                       -Megha Sharma

An Ode to 'The Bond'

Ruskin Bond

Of you we are so immensely fond

Every year in May, on your birthday we pray

May your life be smooth, your writing helps us soothe

The Dun we left behind, our memories you rewind

Of the rosy rhododendron or the woody scent of the deodar

That’s etched our childhood minds, to which our soul firmly binds

Every word you pen down adds a jewel to the crown

The description of nature’s simple things

Of the Garhwal life musings

Your life is an inspiration of the small wonders

An attitude to hold on without surrenders

With the ‘Lone Fox Dancing’

The musical bells in our hearts keep ringing

An Ode!

With the ‘Guru Puja’ I dissolve,

With the ‘Guided Shambhavi’, I evolve.

The online sessions I didn’t want to let go

But today was the last day, lo!

As I read the message on the screen

‘Thank you, for the days with us you’ve been’

My heart skipped a beat,

Is that it!

And then the ‘Thank you’ song played in the background

I was soaked in tears of devotion all around

And a gentle smile enlightened my face

It was all because of ‘His Grace’!

‘He’ has enabled me to carry on

I commit my attempts will not be forlorn

You have given me wings to fly

I shall use these tools to go high

'Let it go'

For a 4:00 alarm the sleep breaks at 3:50 and then the feeling of victory marks my soul where I seem to have borrowed 10 minutes from Mother Earth because the alarm is yet to ring. 4:30 rings the second beep that tells me I should be ready to take bath now, having swept the house. The morning puja ritual should begin by 5:00 and I need to ensure I login to the webinar before that or else the login window for the 5:30 session would close by the time I would end my puja. No further alarms until 9:00 when the Google calendar reminds me of the work activities for the day and how they are spaced in time and duration; what is the allotted slot to prepare the lunch and when do I get back to my work again. The cycle repeats in the evening when the 15:30 alarm reminds me to wash the utensils and clean the kitchen. Prep ingredients for dinner as I won’t be able to walk into the kitchen before 19:00 hours. The ‘Sandhya kaal’ rituals of puja followed by yoga would keep me engaged. The final alarm rings at 17:45 to set the ambience and I am sorted. That is the lockdown effect.

So, did I always have a phone to ring the alarms as and when I desired? Of course, not! I belonged to the era where the initial phone I possessed was the Siemens brick like heavy model, just like the one ‘Sameer’ uses in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Sameer, of course you know him, if you belong to my generation! The role played by the brilliant Saif Ali Khan, one of the finest Khans in the industry whom we have seen grow and mature from ‘Yeh Dillagi’s - Ole Ole’ to the famous Netflix Original Series- ‘Sartaj Singh’ in ‘Sacred Games’ !!

Cut the clutter! Before the iconic cell phones, it was the humble alarm clock that would turn off on the press of the glass in front of the dial.

The alarm entered my life as a school going child. We lived in the then outskirts of Dehradun (now Dun has expanded far and wide), near the Indian Institute of Petroleum campus on Haridwar Road. Mom wanted to raise us; sisters, as the Convent educated damsels and thus we use to pass through the dense woods of ‘Shastri Nagar’, cross the 'River Rispana’, enjoy the chirping of birds in the morn as our ‘tonga’ trailed the E.C. Road, under the vast tree canopies’ to reach our school, Convent of Jesus & Mary, Dehradun. This ‘tonga’ ride would commence sharp at 6:30 hours and we had to be ready for school before dawn. Of course, during the chill winters, we had other cozy means of travel but the wake up time was always 5:30. If you’ve grown up in the 90s, you’d experienced the immersion rods which were used to heat water in the buckets to take bath. A time consuming process, indeed! And the early morning baths we must take, for that would never be skipped in our Brahmin family that would follow all the rituals throughout the year. So, alarm clock was the most precious possession of every child in the family. I wonder if mom had one. Never thought she needed it!

The devices changed but ‘Mr. Alarm’ was a consistent, committed companion throughout life. I graduated from school to Engineering college to MTech hostel, and the alarms in different devices followed me like a shadow. At the age of 35, when I realised that I need to chase one of my latent dreams and pursue my PhD, life turned topsy-turvy! With student life left behind over a decade  ago, it was a challenge sitting down with books and taking regular exams. In a nuclear family, the relationship among all the members is symbiotic. Everyone has to learn to be independent. And the sooner the children learn, the better for them. Scheduling, rescheduling, fitting in everything that needs done, and squeezing study time with proper dedicated slots was possible only because of the alarm buddy. One could not choose to miss the 3:00 alarm else, one would not catch up with the topic for the day’s class and miss the context in the lecture. Also, one had to set the duration of the study time, else kids would miss school! Thanks to the numerous alarm tunes to choose from, the body’s response got calibrated with each alarm’s voice, mechanically knowing what needs to be done when.

With the ‘Isha Sadhana Support’, during the challenging COVID-19 times, the consciousness arose and I became more aware of life and of my actions as well as my thoughts. It was with the cycles of the moon, on ‘Buddha Purnima’, that this thought dawned on me. "I should let it go!" A conscious effort to bid ‘auf wiedersehen’ to my partner for more than 3 decades, the alarm clock! I reckon you have enabled me enough to live independently and not miss you. The cell phone also stays peacefully in a corner untouched until required. I think I will blossom well, not to let you down. The body clock seems to have adapted and the time is set in the mind. This week has been successful and the future is promising. 

Well, do I miss your voice. No! I hear you daily through my children’s alarm tunes. They are growing, and of course they need the companion in you. Until, they realise like me that they should let you go!

The Virtual Connect

A decade and a half passes and all of you haven’t been together at any one time. A tit-bit here and a tit-bit there, some Facebook posts, Insta stories and all the other social network seem to keep you updated with a peek in each other’s lives. As a matter of fact, none of you are truly aware of how each one is sailing through. This is evident from the fact that when you connect in the group together, you realise people have switched jobs, switched domains, moved into new homes, new cities, new countries and you are clueless! So, how does this reality dawn on you. Well it takes the pandemic COVID-19 to bring you back to your roots and the longing to be truly connected with each other. 

Physical social distancing well maintained, the hypothetical social connection to be weighted. Now was the time to face each other, look into each other’s eyes, see each other’s expressions, hear each other’s laughter while remembering all the resonance and vibrations it used to create when we were all in the room together. Indeed, it was time for the Room No. 52’s reunion! It was time for a virtual connect via a group video call. 

And, thus it was Day1 when the ‘Madame Chairperson’ of the group initiated the Zoom video call for the group. Well, don’t be alarmed. No sooner did the government issue its advisory on the usage of Zoom than we switched to other alternatives. But the show didn’t stop! Thrill ran down our spines as we awaited the weekend. Not that we were all not tied up with our weekend chores and family time which needed the due attention; missed over the rest of the weekdays while we work from home. Nor that we had some extra hours donated by Mother Earth from the 24 hours clock! All we had was the enthusiasm, the will and the longing to be together! And yet again, ‘where there’s a will there comes a way from the most unseen of passages’!

Cheerful greetings, incessant laughter, uninterrupted chatter; you bet! Yet there was no disturbance or confusion. When engineers sit at each end of the call, the loops are complete and they know the unsaid protocols very well. They know there have to be turns to speak, no one to be left out, each message to be duly acknowledged when received, and if an interrupt occurs, the processor should resume where it paused the conversation. Thus, it means nothing should be missed. If anything is missed, the team ensures to check their respective broadband connections, switch to better interfaces, repeat telecast and what not! Well, no we were not too many. Only the five of us. The ‘Famous Five’ who spent their hostel lives together through thick and thin. Were we really famous in the hostel, well we don’t care. But we were famous amongst ourselves, we bonded well, we quarrelled well, we had unsaid expectations; which were sometimes shattered, we had no expectations, which came as pleasant surprises when the others in the group showered their love! We ate together, studied together, used only 1 desktop shared together in 2004, and of course we washed utensils together! That defines a family. Indeed, living in our separate worlds with our own small families, there still was a bigger connect which tied us together. That is what Banasthali Vidyapith ensured. Every individual to be independent and geared up for life with the sweetness to share their lives and spread happiness across. No moral lesson classes to preach us these qualities but an ambience provided in the right spirit. Thus, we imbibed!

And weeks pass, but the calls became more regular. Some of us eagerly awaiting the call, while others joining reluctantly and yet not ready to quit. We are now like the infamous characters of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Shatranj ke Khiladi’! Come what may, the weekend show goes on! It may for several more weeks until the world outside gets back to normal routine, and then it may cease. Or it may go on! We never know. But for now the moment we enjoy together is inevitable and there is no stopping us! Cheers to friendship! Cheers to life! Cheers to one of the regularly captured screenshots of our calls!

A gratifying vacation

Cleanliness, Hospitality, Gourmet. The three words that complete our recent vacation! And here I elaborate..

Our family of four decided to close 2019 and pull in a fresh start to the new decade in a company of a close friend and some relatives who have their abode in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. This was a relaxed trip so we had ample time in hand considering our kids are travel sick and we don’t have the liberty to move at a fast pace.

No sooner than we landed in Indore, we were awestruck by the cleanliness of the city. On the record- Indore had been the cleanest city of India for the third time in a row as of 26th Dec,2019. All you needed to do was take a panoramic view which we did clockwise then anticlockwise then again clockwise, just to be sure and be pleasantly surprised how spick and span the country was kept in this part of the globe. On our way to the hotel, we heard the ‘Chowka lagayenge’ motivational song by Shankar Mahadevan as part of the 'Indore Swachhata Abhiyan'. This was being played in every waste collection vehicle that kept ensuring any mess is immediately taken care of. The song was to be a regular treat to our ears for the coming days. A truly passionate endeavour by the municipality to lead the cleanliness survey 2020 in the country.

We stowed our luggage in the hotel room and off we went to dine with our friends at the vegetarian restaurant, ‘Guru Kripa’. To our utmost disbelief there was a patient queue outside the restaurant in the December winter evening close to 12 degrees C. There was a seating arrangement by the coal fire which the customers surrounded to keep themselves warm while they chatter and pass their time until they get seated at the dining place which was to be decided, on call by the staff. A seamless, efficient affair which would have been precarious if the city was our home town, Bangalore! Such was the paradigm shift. The 'dahi kabab', paneer platter, crispy corn starters with the ever so winter soothing lemon coriander soup were a delight. The main course offered 'dal fry', 'veg kofte', hot crispy 'tandoor naans' , the unique ‘sev ki sabzi', relished by all namkeen lovers! This was a heads up. If you’re at Indore, you need to develop this compulsive love affair where lovers cannot choose; for the love has to be with the 'Kindred Indore Spirit' that resides in ‘Sev’, a popular Indian snack consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flower paste in umpteen flavours! Thus the ‘sev’ would follow us no matter where we eat.

Our next morning was a planned trek uphill to Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread over 5 sq kms and is home to different species of birds and other wildlife. It has an ancient palace, called ‘shikarghar’ which was built by the Holkars and used as a hunting hut long back when it had a huge population of tigers, leopards and deer. Our group consisted of 3 kids and 3 adults. It was such an adventure with the adults trying to catch up with the unstoppable, running, rolling kids. And our dear friend was marvellous in matters related to children. His ability to gel with the kids and interact with them respectfully, involving them in mystery solving adventures kept everyone’s spirits high. The nature walk was breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerising with a good cardiovascular workout.

   
           

         

                         

This definitely deserved a fine breakfast on our way back at the ‘Apna Sweets’ shop where we relished the famous 'poha-jalebi' combo, an eternal Indore breakfast. Lunch at relative’s home was a sumptuous feast over warm pleasantries. With a stuffed belly we slept peacefully at the 'Radisson Blue' that did keep its reputation at par with the other branches. The street food, however was a clear winner in comparison to the buffet served at the hotel.

The next day was our local visit to the much revered ‘Khajrana Ganesha Temple’ built in the 18th Century by the queen, 'Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar'. Indore airport is named after the same queen. Our love for reading took us hunting for some book shops. Alas! We didn’t find any. 'Reader’s Paradise' on Race Course Rd is the one stop book shop which we discovered later. The scrumptious ’Dal-Baati’ was ready to welcome us for lunch hosted by our friend’s aunt. The outpouring affection was soaked in lots of ghee with variants of crispy as well as soft 'batis' that kept coming out of the aunt’s magical cauldron! This was not all. We had some hot steaming rice with delicious ‘Hari mirch ki pakori waali kadhi’ which is a thick gravy based on chickpea flour containing vegetable fritters called ‘pakoras’. Apparently, the tongue kept craving for more while the stomach cried for mercy! A word of caution for all those going in for ‘Dal-baati’. Never try to quench your thirst for water soon after you have this dish. Let the system settle down before you gush water down your greasy throat.

Day 4 of our trip was a planned visit to 'Mandu' or 'Mandavgad' which is an ancient city in the present day Mandav area of the Dhar district. There is a deep gorge called ‘Kakra Khoh’ that separates Mandu from the Malwa plateau. This is located about 7 to 8 kms before we reach Mandu. It displays some excellent views in Monsoon when the waterfall is vibrant. The children enjoyed the camel ride here and tried some shots with their archery skills. Mandu was ornamented with colourful lighted trees and beautiful handcrafted chandeliers welcoming one and all to the New Year Carnival. The MP tourism had really put in their best show to make the tourist spot more attractive. We were mesmerised by the architectural marvel, the Jahaz Mahal, which literally, is shaped like a majestic ship. The well maintained lawns were impressive. A stroll through the garden sprinkled some royalty on our common souls. It left us pondering how the maharajas and queens would have lived in such massive structures and what would the ancient life be like. Ahead by centuries, we can hardly imagine the culture of those times. This followed by our visit to the massive celestial white dome called the 'Hoshang Shah’s tomb'. 'Mandu Fort' was massive and we concluded the trip with the 'Roopmati Pavilion'. This is constructed on the lofty crest of the hill, beyond the palace of 'Baz Bahadur'. 'Rani Roopmati' agreed to go to Mandu on the condition that she would live in a palace within the sight of her beloved and venerated river Narmada. And we were just in time while returning to seek the blessings of the ‘Narmada Arti’. The beauty of the place topped up with the fancy ambience left us mesmerised.

The hospitality factor of the trip moved us to our friend’s family apartment which was a comfortable stay with all furnished amenities. Morning breakfast explorations were at ‘Chappan Dukan’. The 'Johny Hot Dog' had a mix of the veg and non veg fillings inside the buns which he had christened as 'hot dogs', 'banjos' and burgers. The famous 'poha- jalebi' at the Madhuram and some 'sabudana patties' at the 'Vijay Chaat House'. This was a filling morning breakfast at a considerable low price. To top it all we had the winter special, ’kesar milk’ and ‘rabdi’ at the 'Lakshminarayan doodh wale ki puratan Dukan'. And one must say, 'Old is Gold'!

Our day was supposed to be a relaxed break with a quick visit to the local doctor as the winter cold and digestive unrest had to be attended to, for we had an evening to savour the famous street food at the ‘Sarafa Bazaar’. This is the local market that comes to life after the jewellery shops are closed for the day and the palate is all prepped to be enraptured. We began with the ‘Joshi’s famous dahi bade’ and  ‘Bhutte ka khees’. I loved the ‘dahi bade’ that had the right mix of all the ingredients and soothed the taste wonderfully well, not to forget the dexterous flip of the plate and the magical way in which Mr. Joshi added all the spices. ‘Sabudana khichdi’ was enriched with peanuts, lemon, coriander, chillies and the inseparable ‘sev’. Hot, crisp ‘Aloo Tikki’ was just apt for the cold night. And what we had next was the ‘Kulfi at Nema’. One of the striking feature of the market was that every stall was very enthusiastically installed. The snack was prepared generously and ornamented attractively with a flock of customers at every stall. The entire street was vegetarian and one could never really imagine the variety there was in store. Bon appetit is the sole motto at every Indore food stall. 

Thus began our pilgrimage to the holy city Ujjain. It was roughly a 2 hours comfortable drive and we were there! Soaked in the spiritual ambience, was the magnificent 'Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga’. There are temples all around the city and one can never finish visiting all in a day. We paid our homage to the ‘Ram Mandir Ghat’ at River Shipra offering some food to the fish. Silently wishing that the river could be well kept to maintain its sanctity. Our return journey was en route the ‘Jantar Mantar’ or the ‘Ved Shala’, built by 'Maharaja Jai Singh II' in the 18th Century. It was constructed with the aim of measuring local time, altitude, declination of the Sun, stars and planets and to determine eclipses. An amazing treat to ponder intellectual quest of that era. We lunched at 'Charpai- The Dhaba' on the Ujjain Indore highway. It is supposedly very well known for the vast spread of menu. However, the main 'dhaba' was closed getting prepped for New Year's eve. It was at their cafe that we ordered some 'Masala Dosas' and 'Uttapams', which did justice to the cuisine. The warmth and love awaited us at the splendid dinner hosted by auntie, our friend’s mom. ‘Dahi bade’, ‘Maa ki daal’, rice, ’bhindi veg’, ‘papads’ with ‘hot tawa rotis’. Oh! What a delight! Cannot thank enough!

And we welcomed the New Year, the New Decade, 2020! Indore had hit the ‘chowka’, the cleanest city for the fourth consecutive year! And we were heading to ‘Omkareshwar’. The highway was smooth. We had a total of 4 kids tucked at the rear seat, busy with their varied childhood games. And it was a wonderful journey all the way. The temple is situated on the 'Mandhata' or 'Shivapuri' island in the Narmada river, the shape of the island is said to be like the Hindu 'ॐ' symbol. One needs to check the timings of the temple as we had to wait for about an hour before the gates were opened for the devotees. The 'Garbhagriha' of the temple remained closed between 12:30 to 13:25 hours. You could choose to row across the river or cross the bridge to reach the temple. Lunch was in the open, under the shade of the ‘Chickoo tree’ next to the farmland with colcassia growing far and wide. Never felt so near to nature especially at the meal time.

And off we were to ‘Hanuwantiya’, one of the finest MP Tourism resorts gracefully positioned on the largest man made dams in India, the Indira Sagar on River Narmada. The wood cottages were unexpectedly comfortable. There were water rides and sports corner where age wasn’t the barrier. Good food, lots of birds, nature at its best and the evening bonfire with some dances and songs are etched into our hearts forever. We stayed overnight and returned the next day to our base location. The hot 'tandoori parathas' with delicious veggies at the ‘Jassi da dhaba’ filled us to the brim. Such a humble and scrumptious affair.

We checked into the ‘Sayaji Hotel’ to complete the last leg of our Indore trip. There are umpteen restaurants in the hotel. We chose the ‘Kebabsville’ and to name the other few were the ‘Chopstick City’, ‘Sanchi’, ‘Mediterra’, ‘Cravings’, ‘’99 Degress’, ‘Quorum’ and ‘Go Bananas’.  Food was ravishing. Light music by the coal fire was a treat to the soul.

Bidding farewell to all our lovely Indore people, we returned to ‘Namma Bengaluru’ the next day with lots of fond memories and bags full of Indore packable savoury. 

What a wonderfully gratifying vacation to start the year!