And Then I Went To Dolanji Bon Monastery...

Well once in a while, the workaholic in me decides to take a back seat and the free soul sets out to explore the unseen. I realized that it had been a year & I had not taken a break away from the daily grind. Thus, I looked for the most opportune time and set out to the mountains.

I did a bit of research and got to know that there is a Bon Monastery in Solan. Well the web only had dated information about this Monastery but it was enough to pique my interest. The visit became one of the items in my itinerary.

An Innova was hired for the day and the driver shared that the drive to Dolanji is around ninety minutes or so. And then I set out. A little excited, a little nervous about this little adventure; I was looking forward to my rendezvous. This was the first time I would have visited a Monastery.

The drive was beautiful, the weather was lovely, the rain drops kept up their pitter patter throughout the drive. Luckily the driver had an aux wire as well and thus my favourite tunes played and made the journey even more memorable.

A few kilometers before the Monastery, we crossed a bus stand and saw a monk waiting for the next bus. The driver asked him to join us as he would have helped us get to the destination. He was an old monk & I took a liking for him instantly. When we reached the last stretch of our journey, the road was more of a rubble and I realised how difficult it must be for these people to travel on a daily basis.

The monk was kind enough & agreed to show me around the Monastery. A short uphill walk brought us to the quaint little Monastery. There were classes going on & so we had to wait for some time for the prayer room to get opened. During this time, quite a few monks passed us and they exchanged few words in their language. I knew for sure that they spoke about me, actually enquired about me and all I did was smile. The old monk did all the talking on my behalf.

And then came the time to visit the main prayer hall. I had never seen anything so beautiful. The books, the idols, the gong and so much more. They lit the incense sticks in front of the Goddess' idol. The monk said.."go ahead & pray for whatever you seek".  And I did....folded my hands, closed my eyes and bowed before the Goddess. Well if it comes out to be true, then I would definitely share it here as well but only time will tell...

Since I had taken up so much of the Monk's time, I offered him my gratitude and said that I would be leaving now. He then said something that not only surprised me but also made me very happy. He said-

"You've come so far...don't you want to see the rest of the Monastery?"

My joy had no bounds and I said "Yes ofcourse I would like to see all that is there!"

He then took me around the library which has been maintained very well, explained to me about the various scriptures and books kept at the library and also showed me the seat where His Highness "The Dalai Lama" sat when he came to inaugurate the library few years back.

We walked around a bit, saw the classrooms, and other sections of the Monastery. I thanked the Monk for his generosity and decided to walk back to the car. As I walked by, I looked back to the time spent at this beautiful place...set amongst the clouds, peaceful. serene and soulful.

When I had reached there, I had the restlessness of a city soul who had been travelling for a long time without rest. But when I was going back, I had a sense of peace within me. I felt rested, calm and happy.

This visit will always be engrained in my thoughts as one of the memorable journeys I have ever undertaken. Needless to say that the drive back felt even more beautiful as we cut through the rain drops and sped towards Kasauli...

Wanna go back again....and again.....

Beating Away To Silence...

The outlier goat & I had a chat. I thought I would feel better and I did for a while. But I'm back to square one once again.

Don't know if I was happy to see that a response came after a week or sad that it took a week for the outlier to respond. It felt as good as not getting a response probably.

I don’t know whether the discussion that took place would culminate into something meaningful or not but all I want is a closure. I think I somehow managed to share across my anxieties but have they been understood is the real question. And would the goat do something about putting them to rest is what I will have to wait & look out for.

By the look of things, all I can say is that I think I’m sinking. The beat is becoming weak and seems like the line will go silent very soon. I thought that this would be different but it’s the same story getting retold with some changes.

Gosh!! Will this ever stop? If yes then when? Will the goat look out for the other goat? Want know before the beat wears out…

How You Keep Her...

Will keep it short & simple. Not that any creative juices are flowing or nerves are tinkling enogh to write this. On the contrary, it's the jangling nerves, a throbbing heartbeat & the greyness of a thought that has been eating me up for a while - the culprits.

What I'm going to write in next few lines is not a part of my creativity but it seems that someone has penned the state of my mind beautifully. Read this on FB Mindporn page and so I quote -

You must learn her.

You must know the reason why she is silent. You must trace her weakest spots. You must write to her. You must remind her that you are there. You must know how long it takes for her to give up. You must be there to hold her when she is about to.

You must love her because many have tried and failed. And she wants to know that she is worthy to be loved, that she is worthy to be kept.

And, this is how you keep her...

The Outlier...

Well there is an outlier out there. Just like the word, way beyond those I came across these past years. Now the beauty of an outlier is that it can be on the either side.

What do I want? I want to know which side is this outlier on? If it's the right side then nothing can be better than that. But if it's on the wrong side, I do want to know one more thing...

Will the outlier sway?

I'm dying to find out the nomenclature of this outlier and thus the fact as to what does fate entails for me.

I think all I can do is wait and watch for a while....actually no... I've waited for quite some time ...If I can muster the courage, I will test it out and get to know....the question is....if only I can...

Singin In The Rain...

As I was slowly slipping into my daily slumber, I was suddenly awashed  by the sudden gush of happy winds. The nip in the air was back and I all I could see was droplets...all around me.

The rain made my day while it was on the verge of culmination. While the mets are calling it a result of some western disturbance but for me rain has a different connotation.

It washes away what's redundant and makes way for the new. It seems as if the universe has conspired to steer us clear off the weaklinks that hinder our journey up the curve of life. It not just brought the new moon eclipse but it also threw in the flavors of the rain.

Anyways, whatever has been planned for us will happen in the due course but at this moment as I go off to sleep, I have a smile on my face and a song on my lips..."Singing In The Rain...."

Tomorrow's going to be a good day...

Wishes...

It seems as if our lives have been intertwined from the day our paths crossed. We've flown to the heights & fallen down in the troughs almost at the same time. We've held each other, letting each other tide over the waves that keep crashing now and then...just like an anchor.

My mind goes back to 3 years from now when we were at the brink of a milestone - a personal one & a professional one. And life was never same again.

Looks like our lives have come full circle and yet again I find us standing at the onset of another milestone - a personal one & a professional one. Life would once again change forever. But this time, it's going to be different. This time, we'll have the time of our lives when we move forward & embrace what's in store for us.

So here I am... standing in a corner... smiling away to glory... holding a jar full of wishes. Some for you...some for me. Let's sit together and open each wish carefully. We'll keep the wrappers nicely folded...tucked below our pillows.

You never know, when the wishes would sprinkle good luck & happiness in our lives, it's the wrappers that would remind us of the delight.

God bless you Rachu...

When The Time Is Right...

Everytime my ambitious side comes to fore, I'm told to be patient. I'm told, "when the time is right", everything will fall into its place, the time is almost round the corner and so on so forth.

What keeps tinkering with my mind is the thought - is there actually a way to know whether the time is right or not. Be it the right job that you love and it obviously comes with great pay, or the soul mate that completes you, a vocation that brings smile to your face and warmth to your heart, or a much needed vacation that inwinds you and last but not the least, a much wanted fitness regime for a foodie like me who doesn't think twice before binging.



What could possibly be the right sign that tells that a change is round the corner? You start getting calls from recruiters, you run into someone who makes your heart skip its beat, a leaflet is slid down your door alongwith the newspaper and it states that somewhere classes are starting for your favorite vocation, a friend asks you to join him/ her for a getaway or suddenly a gym is opened at your work place.

The aspirations, ambitions, wants and/ or needs could be countless and so would the signs be. So is there a fool's guide to know whent the right sign is dancing right in front of you, coaxing  you to take the next step that will change the way things are?

May be or may be not....

So then what do you do? Close your eyes, cross your heart, take a deep breath and listen to what your thoughts have to tell you. If they are telling you to jump in and flow with the tide, that's your cue. And if your thoughts do not flutter you at all, you know that the time is not right.

Take a chance & see if it works for you. It might or might not...

If it does, then life changes its course and if it doesn't then don't let it get to you. Move on to the next thought and stay open to embrace the change that is right round the corner...