Chalk & Cheese and other Alliterations!

Picking your bags and setting off to lands unknown, there is always a spring to your step no? that palpable sense of independence? So in the five days ear-marked for solitude, 3 were at a secluded sanctuary cut off from civilization and 2 in the outside world. The stark contrast jolted me out of routine and was truly fodder for thought! Makes me wonder, how our circumstances totally influence expectations, impressions, likes, dislikes, yearnings, resistance, all of it! The first day usually ends up being most eventful and every moment is utilized to the hilt and that’s exactly how my first day at this spiritual sanctuary was! An obvious transition from a bustling city to a narrow path dotted with tiny sloped-roof houses, slight drizzle, open skies, and several green hillocks later, here I was! Working as a volunteer in such a vibrant place where everyone seemed to be charged with a purpose and a sense of sincerity proved truly transforming. Would I be just as motivated day after day to do this knowing that’s what I’d do all my life?? Definitely not! And that’s why maybe they say, to find a purpose beyond you is of utmost importance! Jolted out of slumber by a torrent of cold water, Walking barefoot to feel the grass blade caress, eating an absolutely vegan meal, being lulled into sleep by this mild afternoon breeze next to a Pillar with the sounds of birds chirping & water flowing, watching the sky change colors during the sun set and finally a content night’s sleep on a mat have painted super colorful hues on the canvas of what should be an ideal 2 day detox ! I also ended up watching an amateur play put up by kids, where Krishna who delivers pep talk to Arjuna before war ends up forgetting his mike and apologizes for it, totally had the audience in splits. Left with a heavy heart and vowed to embed every moment!

Opening an even heavier work Inbox made my head spin, acclimatizing slowly, got thru the work day and literally showed tremendous resistance to check-into an uber luxurious hotel room ! Left with no choice, I reluctantly walked into this glass-mirror-exuberant-wood-fluffed-up-mattress room! Felt this shock when my feet touched the super soft carpeted floors, a look in the roof to floor mirror made me realize I hadn’t looked at my reflection in 3 days ! TV was such a revelation! Suddenly made me wonder if 3 days made such a huge impact, what would it be like to live a lifetime in such a sanctuary and be pushed into luxury immediately. Does the mind go into a guilt trip thinking luxury is to be abhorred? Or does it over-indulge due to deprivation? Or is it more conscious of experiences and their impact when a stark contrast happens? Does the mind automatically put all things comfortable into the “Like” Box? Do we inherently incline towards the easy in Life ? *Thought Clouds*

"Come forth into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher" . - William Wordsworth

What effects would virgins have on you ? Woo-hoo, i was talking about virgin beaches. Well, they compelled me to blog. Simply by memories of vast streches of sand, rocky ledges, clear blue waters peppered with the reality of rural life in india.
With no experience of a backpackin trip, with zilch plan in place and with just a travellers book for directions in hand, we headed out of the crowded dirty roads of mumbai, so excited about not wallowing this weekend in alchohol. The ferry ride from Gateway of India took about an hour of being followed by swooping seagulls to get us across. Just as the ferry hit the shores of Mondwa, i was soaking up sights of beaches with such untouched scenic beauty. Is it possible that an hours travel is all it takes to transport one into this no-mans-land literally ? We, backpackers, followed this up with a series of rides on different kinds of autos and buses to finally have us being dropped at this deserted beach. Found a small shack to stay only to leave in fresh spirits to soak up more of the sea ! Allured by the stony ledges which was uninhabited for long streches, we found a rock each (mans' territorising habits seldom take a back seat !!) after making our way through many of them. Solitude is such a necessary habit for the soul, time was well used with absorbing every minute of the sunset. Sky was changing colors very gradually, against the horizon shifting from yellow to orange to a mild pink, to indigo to finally the color of the night. Waves so incessant crashing at our feet, tryin to get higher each time as though wanting to swallow us. Soon as we turned around, we found to our shock that rocks that we strode on were now submerged with water, and visibility was very poor. Heated debates on how to get to the shore followed. "How i wish we stuck with the rest of humanity on the other side of the beach" we lamented. Possibilty of lurking sea creatures and having to wade across really deep water left us in a state of shock. "Lets just go !!" we decided. and slowly made our way back on all fours, not knowing if the next step would hit a rock when we wud yelp for flayed skin or deep sand when we were neck deep in water. The moon and the willows looked eerie, as though taken over by demonic forces to teach us a lesson for getting too close to nature. "We are like moths, attracted by the light of nature, only to be killed by it" realisation dawned in. Nature makes repeated statements establishing its supremacy over man, time and again and maybe we were meant to go thru this to face that fact. "Oh my god !" we whispered, too scared to be loud and too shaky to say anything else, hugging each other in reassurance of the fact that we got out of that alive. The rocky ledges had taught us a lesson for life. "lets get something hot into our system" declared my fellow-backpacker. The Shack, hot tea, wood-fire cooked meal, everything seemed so heavenly and inviting after this escapade that we decided to not leave its comfort for the rest of the night. Come morning, we forgot about our tiff with the waters and rushed to see it like estranged lovers.

It was as if the waters had emptied all their pent up ferociousness last night and assumed its tranquil, composed roles now. A day full of possibilities unfolded, resolving to help us visit many more untouched beaches. Destination : Solitary Lighthouse at Korlai beach - the book enticed us too much with its description of it. The only means of transport we found to get to it was a bullock cart, and we jumped at the possibility of experiencing it. It was a rickety ride, dotted with sights of thatched huts, dried fish spread out, water pumps from the quaint village we were passing by, as villagers stared curiously at us, we passed through the fishing area crowded with wooden boats and reeking of fishing nets. It was then that we saw this breath-taking sight that looked like it was pulled out from a picture, of a meandering narrow path leading to a solitary lighthouse set against the vast seas, white sands and quaint tropical shrubs. This was like the icing in the cake of the trip which ended with us back tracking our steps to get back to the grand old city of bombay. Oh boy! were we glad we made this voyage happen ???