MATHERAN:Excursion Jan 26/27

When everybody was planning to go to IIM-A Chaos,some naive souls were chalking out plans to go to some place where they could find peace...stillness...bliss.Then suddenly Ritesh dost came up with the idea of going to Matheran and we jumped at the prospect of having fun of our kind in the holidays.Just needed to pack our small bags (lo!Prabha dsnt even care to bring tht...poor Ritesh carrying all her stuff,including 2 pair of shoes)and chk out the world outside SIMSR.
Matheran we discovered : Matheran is a picturesque hill-station 80-km east of Mumbai. Hugh Pointz Mallet, the collector of Thane, discovered this hill station in May 1950. This hill station is a haven for visitors escaping Mumbai's humidity.Situated at an attitude of 2,500 feet and with sylvan green surroundings, the beckoning silence of the woods and the serene surroundings of this hill station are quite inviting The silence of the woods is broken only by the pranks of the mischievous monkey's who are found in abundance and they try to attract the attention of the visitor's for small tit-bits to fill their bellies, sometimes to the point of greediness.And in Prabha they found a true friend and mentor,while me with Ritesh,Prabha and Priyanka were playing our part as tormentors.
The most enjoyable leg of the jorney was when we were on our way back from Sunset Point.Sun had already retired to its abode behind imposing hill fronts and we were on our way back from our second point of the day.It was very dark thr and we lost our way as was expected.But we all were having so much of fun,singing and making loud noises that the thought didnt occur to us.When it occured ,a chill went down our spine.We could make it out that we were on wrong path but not sure of which path to take.Thnx to the local couple we met at that instant,we came out of the woods,safe and still in the best of our spirits.
Taking every aspect of the trip into account,it was one experience which I would never ever forget in my lifetime.As Ritesh put it very rightly,We indeed have brought some extra baggage with us;a bundle of sweet memories which would stay for long;for ever, as if having fragrance of friendship and zeal in its doth.
I on the other hand can just think of aeon old couplet of Ghalib;
Sair kar duniya ki gaafil,
Zindgaani phir kahan.
Zindgaani gar rahi to;
Nauzawaani phir kahaan.

THE CLASS : PG-A,SIMSR

Hi again,
Just jotting down a poem which I had written long back in my UG first year.

O Luck!Donot Turn On Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

O luck!fix your ears onto me now,
I'm sending a plea your way;
For a very long time you have not bestowed on me,
those old memoirs old'n gay.

It's been an era I felt your tender touch,
and relished the wishes fulfilled by your magical wand;
Am I no more that lucky as I used to be,
when time was always found to be in my stands.

Ha!I know,you're hallucination,you're mirage,
you're like a person who only proclaims;
You're an ammunition for those who are self-handicapped.
and are afraid of taking on the blames.

So!you are leaving,pl'z grant me one last wish,
I've spent much of my life in your wait but in vain;
You have always taken something from me instead of giving,
now i'm ready to live without you so pl'z donot turn on again.

The poem can be read online as well on http://www.poetry.com/ by searching for my name

"Madiralaya jane Ko Ghar se Chalta hai Peene wala.
Kis path se jaoon asmanjas main hai woh bholabhala.
Alag alag path batlate sab,par main yeh batlata hoon.
Raah pakad tu ek chalachal,Pa jayega Madhushala."

Finally got hold of my laptop.Its been long since I touched its pad.Luv it.Awz,my laptop being back,I was now able to again go through 'MADHUSHALA; by Late Sh Harivansha Rai Bachhan.An awesome book it is undoubtedly but the best attribute it carries with itself is its capability to connect the reader with fictitious things like-SAKI,MADHUSHALA,MADIRALAYA,HALA etc.Madhushala is not a book containing couplets with nice rhyming words,its an anthology of feelings,of true and touching emotions.As the reader starts going through its leaves,expecting gross use of literary manipulations of simple words,he is amazed to find the stages of life getting unfolded in front of him.The book covers all the stages of a person's life right from his birth till the moment when fatal gaze of YAMA-God of Death,falls upon him.

The birth of a child is penned down as;

"Bas aa pahunche door nahin ab chaar kadam bas chalna hai
Chahak uthe sab peene waale, chahak rahi hai madhushaala"

And arrival of death as;

"Yam aayega Saaqi bankar Saath liye Kaali Haala
Pee na hosh mein phir aayega Sura Visudh ye matwaala
Yeh antim behoshi, Antim Saaqi Antim Pyaala Hai
Pathik Pyaar se peena isko Phir na milegi madhushaala"

No,for those who think that such books are just another philosophical gimmic as an attempt to make their own mark,this book would be a big dissapointment.It contains couplets which carry realistic weights wid thm and have social contexts as well.Following lines are amngst my favs in the book

"Musalmaan aur hindu hain do Ek magar unka pyaala
Bair badhaate masjid-mandir Mel karaati madhushaala"

To end the post,I would just quote another of Bachhanji's prose,

"Kisi jagah ki mitti bheege Tripti mujhe mil jaayegi
Tarpan Arpan karna mera Padh Padh kar ke Madhushaala"

Hail thy poets...Hail thy poetry...

Life is easy...is it?Well I wish Kaushik,Tomar,Swami and all could hear me saying this.Hey dudes...Its me ..and now I have learn to take life in my strides.I m now kinda person u had luvd me to be;not so rigid...not so ethical.Last year when I was at home all d time,I spent an aeon just thinking over this facet of mine.I came to terms with the fact tht I indeed was not all correct everytime.U ppl were.

Awz,this all came from the talk I was having with one of the friends here at SIMSR.I was just explaining to her how life's every turn,every move has some logical bearing.And probably its rite too.Life is simple...and logical...When I now look at at the events that have made me a person I m,logic behind each n every happening can be traced.Just Etg...

Closing the chapter-Dipankar way;

"Meri Jndgi ki Kitaab ka har panna kehta tha- kuch aur likh...kuch aur likh.
Maine har panne pe manjil likha..."

Life is moving fast...real fast...It has always been a roller coaster ride for me, courtesy the way I live it;shackled in a sense but probably thts the way I like it.If joining HBTI was a spontaneous decision,coming to SIMSR was eventuality:contrast;life again.I rightly said to Prabha moments back,Its like a Prism.

Had a long discussion over the way we live and the way we think wid two of the closest frends.It was after sucha long time I was actually putting across what I meant to pertaining to my philosophy(!).I still miss the kinda discussions me and Swami used to have.Those were some real good moments spent gettin acquainted with the various facets of life.Miss u ppl.Wish could have u back here wid me...Dev,Satya,Kaushik,Swami,Boss,Shesh,Ash,Bhaiji,Vardhan,Swapnil,
Tomar,Manish,Veeru and others. Miss ya.

1 day rejuvenation leave after Exams!Wow...Sometimes I really love this Institute...
But now the only thing we all can see is The Big week,The Placement week from Jan 12 th to Jan 19th.With 60 companies on the list and 280 souls making full use of every available minute at their disposal, in order to please all known/unknown dieties (33 Crore they say....Hmm...),high adrenaline flow is guaranteed.
Just keeping my fingers crossed!
Over n Out.

Exams Over ! A week long endurance test.Spending sleepless nights speculating over the pattern and content of the questions and wishing like anything that the paper would not take out the already hard-to-get breath off our body..All said and done,its fun to behave differently.:-)
The only problem is tht now feeling a kinda vaccuum.What to take up now to keep myself occupied!!!