Elbow Room

You know…there are countless experiences we undergo in our lifetime...how many of those stay with us? For instance, I faintly remember- when i was very young..may be 5-6...i went to Shimla with my family. Of course i dont remember a fig of what that trip was all about but i dont know why i remember how when we were driving back in our Maruti Van-DBB 5014..we got stuck on the way with a herd of sheep. And there were so many o 'em! I remember , we halted--Dad picked me up and made me sit on the top of the car along with my elder brother and both of us were rejoicing in the obstruction --listening to the sheep go "mehhhh" but too afraid get near 'em!

And there is this other inconsequential incident i remember of my childhood (a lil irrelevant in what i am about to proceed with but now that i am at it, i might as well record this too!) I used to sit with my brothers on the stairs outside our kitchen with a glass of water...and a pack of uncle chips...and would dip the chips in the water till they were washed off from all their masala and till they were soggy and inedible-and then relish them...and i guess i once also tried tasting the masala-soaked water thereafter!


Anyways, There was this incident that left me unsettled ...as if i was slapped out of my reverie...and woken up to the reality of life and the way of the world! Not that I was unaware or even ignorant of it…its just that it had never ever unfolded in front me in the way that it did that day. It happened a few months back when i had arrived in Delhi after a wonderful vacation with friends in Nainital.

It was an exciting trip. All of us together,on our own in the cool hills of Uttranchal. There is nothing as refreshing, as rejuvenating as seeing new places! A slight digression here--

Sometimes I feel there is so much to see in the world! Great experiences to have and unique places to see...and here we are in our own cities, in our own states and countries and most of us live our lives in our own lil cubicles..our own individual cocoons! Of course I am aware of the impossibility of my suggestion here. Not everyone can afford or has the time for a world tour! But the thought of never being able to see the countless beauties and the exquisite wonders of the world! Of never having time off for an aimless exploration which is never bent on arriving! Doesn’t the prospect give you an adrenaline rush!!

And by the Wonders of the world and the countless beauties i don’t necessarily mean Egypt and Italy and China and Brazil...or a luxurious sunbath on one of the archipelagos of Zanzibar in Tanzania! Nay! Err…Yes… those too if we can arrange that...but making best of what we’ve got…optimum utilization of our resources at had…living in each moment of everyday wonder which we are too busy to notice…Stopping and Staring…and Pondering….Let me explain what i mean....

My friend and I visited Sikkim last year...any other tourist would make a list of 'places to see'-this waterfall, that museum, this river --and all the must-see tourist-crammed hang-outs!

Well we did visit all the landmarks. But what we also did (and what was more fun) was just explore, just wandered in our car and stopped at negligible places-small brooks, abandoned view-points, deserted dhabbas and shanties…. talked to local kids, went to the biggest monasteries like everyone else but didn’t forgo the modest ones...

There was this particular scene that we witnessed in one of such small old monasteries…which was a wonder in itself…..a bunch of kids were standing in a row in a garden outside the temple...and were engaged in this unique exercise!! A grown-up man was cueing them with rhythmic claps and they were performing what closely resembled a folk dance or a saltation...and it was mesmerising to watch them do it!



They were moving seemingly carelessly…but there was a pattern in their movements. With their legs wide apart ….they swept their hands up in the air…brought them in front turn by turn…took them to their back..slightly bending forwards and then bending backwards now and then …then with a slight jump…finished the routine to start it all over again….twas a sight…!

And then once we got down on this desolated creek..took off our shoes and laid our feet in the icy water and sat there- just chatting, not worrying that we will miss this noted 'Khola'(river) that tourists visit! We were blissfully secluded and had the brook for our own...!I can still feel what i felt then---aah...worth a thousand jacuzzies!

So you get what i mean, right? the paltry, the trivial beauties, the miniscule experiences and their effect on us-- such experiences that are hidden in the vast expanse of this infinite world…or even in our small cocoons and cubicles which we fail to observe! Isnt that worth vying for...isnt that worth dying for!

Hmmm..umm...i got slightly carried away...sommmme digression!...So I will quickly cut to the chase!

Or rather I’d make a new post later about that incident which I came to share in the first place…!