REBIRTH

They say - with the child, a mother is born. But with a child within, every relationship that you have lived for all your life gets a rebirth. Every person around you, goes through a newly installed scanning device in your mind. You instinctively start making a lakshman rekha (protection boundary) around your unborn child and put people around, depending on the points they score in your screening test. Leave alone the living, you even scan the dead. Believing in the philosophy of rebirth, you just want to be sure which ancestor of yours is worthy of contributing to your child.

But the relationship that goes through most metamorphosis is the one with your own mother. Actually now it is that I realise that we were hardly in that roleplay. She definitely started her journey as a mother to me but soon she became the teacher, taking my homework and looking after my academics. At the arrival of my teenage, she changed herself into a friend, not the one I could do all the dirty talks with but definitely the one who knew my dirty thoughts well in advance and also the way to hold me to the right path and keep confiding in her, in the most non-offensive way.

The vigilance of a detective she had on my college life, not by following me around but talking me into confessing every little mischief and crush straight to her. Never did she put a ban on them to make a rebel out of me. And soon she turned into my enemy, wanting me to get on my feet not just financially but also socially. Every opportunity she got to make me understand the importance of companionship and family and caring for it, was never a miss.
All this and trust me, by the time I got married I hardly was disheartened to leave her. To an extent, even relieved of not having her around often. But not too late, I realised that a mother with all her different roles cannot be replaced and should not be taken for granted. "Maa a maa, bija baddha vagla na vaa"- a Gujarati saying for "a mother is above all, rest all are like forest air" and "swami teene jagacha, Aai vina bhikari"- a Marathi saying for "the lord of the universe is also a beggar without a mother"; these two sayings she repeated to me for her mother, now go around in my mind whenever I think of her.

Soon she disguised into an agony aunt, advising me through every step of my married life. She never judged me on what course my life took on professional or personal front but always rejoiced in every right step I took in any direction.
And now when I stand on the threshold where I am stepping out of her shadow, heading to become one myself; I look back on all the valuable lessons I learned from her, all her genius parenting hacks on making me eat healthy, be truthful and humble, setting and achieving goals, confiding in her, trusting in her and even fearing her.

No doubt, she is the one scoring highest in my screening test and every now and then I keep wondering if I can match up to her motherhood skills. I wonder, the way I find the edge of her saree the coziest pillow, her hand the most taste enhancing spoon, her lap the safest escape, her voice the most soothing and yet most reviving sound and her presence the essence of my being on the earth; I would be able to create such world for my child.

P.S. she has not yet given up on the roleplays, trying to become my daughter before I actually become a mother.

EVOLUTION STAGES

"eating, sleeping, mating - is plain thinking, this thinking also in the animals... So if we keep animal life problems, at the same time we claim that we are civilised, is it very nice? - Swami Prabhupada.

Then what?? Gathering of wealth, reaching highs of society - is that what is humane? Certainly not, for that is human created.

Evolution of mankind - the ever fascinating concept to me. Why do we exist? Or who am I? Are these the questions not everyone bothers about? Then what makes some struck by these and some saved from it?
Age seems to have no roleplay in the game of enlightenment. Some get these answers at an infant age and some don't even reach the questions on their death bed.

I have ever been wondering why we all are put on different ways when the goal is the same? Why some live as animals, some question their existence while some know it all?

And with my search for answers, I have settled with a self created theory for now, that evolution in a life span is not possible. Evolution needs many reincarnations to be achieved. Those at older ages not yet understanding the purpose of existence might be at the first stage of evolution whereas those understanding it at early age must be at the apex of evolution. And the in between stages would be of guilt, acceptance, questioning, understanding and applying, improving.... in the precise order. That justifies the animal, in between and enlightened stages to me.

I would really like to know if anyone can help me dig deeper...

NOT JUST A SPERM DONOR

The world since ages has tagged men (or any male of many species for that matter), as just a sperm donor in the whole pregnancy, birthing and parenting process and all the credits of bringing up a civilised human and ultimately a responsible world has been enjoyed by us, the women.

As women, we are naturally inclined towards loving, caring and raising a child ever since we get pregnant, thanks to that ever thriving hormonal tree within. But what gets men to wear those responsibility shoes and how early can they pick up the pace? This question, to be true, matters to their partners more than the world in general.

I had my share of doubts until today while watching a pair of spotted munia, busy building their third nest on our window I pondered on the fact that males do play a major role in the whole reproducing system than just contributing a cell. The first and the second nest probably rejected by Mrs. Munia did not make Mr. Munia flee away, he was dedicated at the job till they had built the third and the best of all with proper ventilation, stability and protection. Mr. Munia with his efforts made me go back on counting my partner's subtle efforts to ensure my comfort while I am completely focused inwards in manufacturing a new human.

My journey is hardly half way through but the physical and emotional ups and downs have been massive. Being unknown of the fact that it is all part and parcel of pregnancy, I kept looking for a logical reason for the emotional havoc and have always drawn down to target my husband for it. But now reaching a sober stage I put it this way to myself that if I have been a taxi, driving a passenger (who seems in there for forever now) to its destination, my poor husband being a passengerless taxi has taken up the job of following me blindfoldedly and unquestioningly.

Experiencing my body going through various changes, I have been curious of the reasons, effects and after effects. And while reading and learning about it all I have been so awestruck that I excitedly pull him out of his mind cave to tell all this. Since then he has been learning about all the medical terms and procedures related to birth and about my uterus, birth canal, hormones and much more as if they are equally part of his own system.

No matter how much of a spiritual, patient and sensible person you are, motherhood makes you lose balance. The "stay happy throughout the journey for the best outcome" advice is completely mission impossible to achieve. And here to smoothen out the journey and make the advice quite an achievable goal, he has been fighting my real as well as imaginary demons to make sure I do what I thought I should be doing.

All this though is my part of the story, the way I perceive his journey through this phase and all so because he is a man of few words and most of the time, a man of no words. But the way he has taken subtle course of action like taking up most of the household chores, sacrificing his "me" time to entertain me, caring for my well-being every moment of the day, getting nervous on our gynac trips and feeling disappointed on not being able to feel the kicks and flutters even after many dedicated efforts. All this love for me that he has never expressed so much, has been brought forth by fatherhood. That is quite enough to ensure me of his child raising willingness and abilities.

The father's role hence is intangible. He is the psychological rock that can well direct the haphazard emotional stream of the mother, during this period. A mother has to nurture the baby within her but the father on the other hand has to emotionally nurture the mother to ensure the nourishment of their child. He carries his womb in his mind, holding both mother and the child for not just nine months but for life.

TRIAL ROOM CONFESSION OF A MOM-TO-BE

I just remembered that day when I went to shop for my wedding lehenga. Out of all the traditional wedding colours and styles I picked the one for myself which was hanging at the end of display rack, ignored by the other brides there shopping for their big day.

When I tried that unusual royal blue raw silk lehenga with a nine inch stark and bare copper hem at the bottom and walked my way from the trial room to the little mirrored corner stage, I felt many eyes following me. And not just others, even I was stunned to see myself in it. The perfect fall of the lehenga, the toned fatless belly through the net dupatta, the honed back and the flabless arms. I finally, had found a satisfactory day for my trial room diaries.

Back to today after realising that I have outgrown quite a lot in my wardrobe, leaving me to a few office wears and zero casual wears; I went to shop for my new size and my near future size. As I was picking all "L" and "XL" from the store, a salesperson ran to my help to guide me to my correct size which according to him was "M". Which it is so far but he is unknown to my changing body and I had to tell him that I plan to put on a few more kilos and want to shop for a fatter me. With a puzzled look, he helped me with my chosen size but;there I was in the trial room again, staring my growing belly and love handles suddenly showing up.

Many who meet me these days, even those who know that I have a growing human inside me don't hesitate to tell me how much I have put on and some even tell me where. And there are a lot of  complications and antidotes about pregnancy weight gain that I am warned and suggested of these days. Pregnancy is a mysterious journey one embarks on?! Expecting women are already concerned and conscious and do not need to be reminded of weight machine digits soaring higher every week. If not appreciated for our superhuman act, just leave us alone with our crazy hormones!!

I am rounding off everywhere, having aching body parts and over stretched muscles everyday and nothing being self-induced, I don't deserve those mean comments. I don't know how much more i will put on till the end of pregnancy and how much I will be able to squeeze out immediately on the labour table. Also I am not sure how my priority graph shapes once the baby is in my hands. But neither do I give a damn about getting back to my fit muscles and tight belly nor I am too worried about weight, not to enjoy and appreciate the miraculous job my body has undertaken. I am a clean and careful eater and also a fitness buff, so that makes me less fond of slim body and more fond of challenging it. I miss those squat repetitions, arm balancing postures, deep lunges and inversions more than my pre-pregnancy body.

Every mom-to-be should remember and remind others that we don't own the baby's destiny and neither it can own ours. It's not just the pre-pregnancy body but the pre-pregnancy life that we should aim for. Providing for the baby becomes a foremost job but giving up on yourself is the first down step of parenting.

So in this trial room today, I mirror the fact that my self respect and health here on are not just for my life but to set an example for my baby to learn respecting the only thing that we actually own in life - our body (our mental and physical self).

PERSEVERANCE

 If on your way, you get physically down;

 Grow me in your mind, I won't let you drown

 Dedication will keep you focused

 But in between when you lose your sight,

 Hold onto me tight

 I will get you there, may be late but still in time

 Hope itself is absolute mortal

 Breath me in,

 And I'll make it  immortal 

 As fear of failure sets in

 And courage shows its own doubts;

 Turn about and knock my door,

 As fear is the fuel, that runs me more

JOURNEY TO MOTHERHOOD

Having a working pair of ovaries and healthy uterus does not and cannot make you a mother. It needs a heart filled with forgiveness and kindness and a mind of strength, individuality and wisdom. And no, it does not come to you when you conceive or hold your child first time in your hands. It has to be cultivated, not just for a human you created but for the world and every living being that is going to exist around that human. If your compassion and kindness limit just to the human you created, mind you; it will not imbibe in your little Human's character.

So motherhood does not begin with conceiving a child, it begins way before that. By becoming a body and a character worth for a human to reside in. One should never produce a child because it is the right age, one should produce because they have the right character. Everyone in this case has to work on it but some of us who have lived alone, traveled alone, fought their battles alone, not being anyone's responsibility and not taking anyone's responsibility and finding the reasons of "child making you complete", "saving you from boredom", "giving you purpose in life" absolutely unworthy; for this lot of people it is a little tough time to inculcate these characteristics.

It took me YOGA, a DOG and a NIECE to work my way through motherhood. And no, I am not perfect with my character yet but I am conscious of it.

YOGA
The first two limbs of ashthanga yoga, Yama and Niyama aim to make you a better human. Yama meaning external ethics comprises of ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (unity, not celibacy) and aprigraha (simplicity and generosity). Niyama meaning internal ethics, comprises of saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline), svadhyay (self-study) and ishvara pranidhana (service to something bigger, like motherhood). These are the foundation for humanity. If today, every human on earth practises these, we will have a better world to live in. Who would not want these characteristics in their child? But children are just the reflection of our character. So to make them a better human we need not preach this but follow it and set a solid example for them.

DOG
Every second person on earth wants to own a dog but every fifth person understands that owning a dog is a huge responsibility. And only the tenth person denies owning a dog and calls him a companion. This tenth person did not get the dog to show him off to the world or to guard his house but to have a better life for himself and the furry friend. I have worked my way from one in two to one in ten and beyond, putting my best friend's life's importance ahead of mine. We do have a language barrier but so far I have come to understand his language, his dietary needs, his recreation and leisure needs and have reached a point where, the day I feed him the healthiest meal, give him a playful day and a satisfactory good night's sleep I feel the happiest. Isn't that a part of motherhood?

NIECE
My niece was my first close encounter to a human child. Needless to say, I was completely petrified of a new born in the house, having never liked their dependency and their cries and the worry of caging my dog, my baby to ensure her safety. And then we witnessed that, in the beginning the dog barked hearing baby's cries and the baby cried hearing the dog's bark until we introduced them to each other and within seconds, both acknowledged each other's existence.
Catering to my niece in her initial months, I learnt that kids are like moulding clay, you punch the clay and it shows depressions whereas you gently smoothen it out and it shines.  You show anxiety to kids and they cry but you show them joy and curiosity and they laugh. You just work on your skills and they get moulded accordingly. A much needed motherhood lesson.

These three experiences of yoga, dog and niece assure me of my potential motherhood characteristics and my capability to bring up a human who can make a difference to humanity in its own chosen way.

TIGER TROUBLE

‌I heard an interesting insight about tigers recently that when a tiger approaches you, stay still. No, the tiger won't run away. He will come closer and try to nudge you, sniff you and scare you to your bone. He wants you to run, he wants a play, a catch-me-if-you-can game to excite him to kill you. If you don't fall for all he does to instigate you, he will get bored and move away unless he is starving to death (rare case). But how many of us can think of this when a tiger approaches? I guess very few. As we spot a tiger, the mind goes to fight or flight mode. The tiger being not something that can be fought (which is analysed by the brain instantly), we run. We scream our lungs out and outperform our capability to run, to go as far as we can from the tiger.
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‌Now, why would you read this any further knowing that you facing the tiger is one in a million chance? But we face a tiger every now and then in life. Not in the form of striped skin, broad paws, load roars and sharp teeth but as a challenge, a fear, a difficult decision. Life is just that tiger, that wants a little play before it can screw you up. The more you try to run away from it, the more it chases you. The more you try to avoid the encounter, the more it entraps you till it can render you helpless to surrender, to give up and give in. Here comes a time to change or get changed. Rest and digest. When we are completely trapped with no space to move only then we stop and start thinking of a permanent solution. That if thought first, we can save ourselves of all anxiety and running around.
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‌We have been designed by the nature in such a way that if the body and mind are used to their full potential, they get better and better with time. But unfortunately, we believe in updating our computer softwares but not our inbuilt mega computer.
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‌Our autonomous nervous system which is responsible for involuntary and reflexive functions in the body has two divisions. The sympathetic nervous system or the "fight or flight" response, prepares the body for action. It activates automatically and initiates increase in heart rate, contraction of muscles, termination of digestion process and the glycogen conversion to glucose. All this happens to aid our body for fight or flight.
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‌The parasympathetic nervous system or "rest and digest" response, relaxes the body. It has to be worked on and when enabled, it restores the calm and counterbalance to the body to carry on all the bodily systems normally. The more we follow parasympathetic response, the less likely we are to fall prey to anxiety, stress and all related problems.
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‌So clearly, being in "rest and digest" response mode can add more good times to our lives. But how do we exercise it's functioning more? If we don't want a tiger to feed on us all our life from time to time, we got to face him. We got to understand and work out a way to keep him out of our way forever. So, find your niche and indulge in something that truly relaxes you like loving a dog, dancing it out, learning something new, working out and you will see the effect spreading to other spheres of life, helping you to ground those unruly tigers of your mind.
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YOGA AND THE PHYSICAL SELF

It is said that there are as many asanas as there are living species, that is around 8,40,000. That means the muscles and joints can flex, extend and rotate in several thousand ways. All these asanas are classified into basic, intermediate and advanced levels. But how do you put yourself into one of these? If you are absolutely new to yoga, it is easy as you will be starting from scratch and so the basic level. But if you have been practicing for quite a while then it is a task. You can be struggling with the basic level of an easier pose and on the other hand be able to do some really difficult one. So then where do you put yourself?
But there is a way to decipher all the postures is one common way and to know how you fair physically and mentally. This way can help you understand your personality and hence your strengths and weaknesses to be applied wisely in other zones of life. Any posture can be broken into three stages - getting into the posture, holding the posture and coming out of the posture.
Getting into the posture requires you to take up the position, firm up the body yet keep it lose enough to go into the posture smoothly. Going from a neutral pose to the desired pose will demand you to align each and every involved muscle and ease into the pose consciously so as not to bend knees, tense shoulder or hunch back. Hence it demands you of a conscious will power. And there the mind questions, "how do I look when I go into the pose?",  "What would everyone else in the room think if I topple?". Can you rise above these questions and do the pose anyways? Here's a check on your perception of the self.
Holding the posture is uncomfortable to begin with. You realize that your body is shaking all the way. Your mind is focused on the only wish of ending the pose soon and so you breathe unevenly or forget to breathe completely. You realize which part of your body lacks the strength. Thus, it hones your endurance and brings awareness. And if you fall out of the pose in between, would you wish to go back into the pose? Here you check your dedication.
Coming out of the posture seems to be the happiest part until your teachers instructs you to come back slowly, step after step. Here you realize, coming out is the most difficult part actually. The core muscles are put to work here. Initially, either you rush out or you fall out of the pose till your core strengthens to ease you out smoothly.
This whole saga of a single pose puts your will power, strength, endurance, self image, fear for challenges, acceptance of failure and your ability to mold your mind; to a test.
So when Patanjali said sthira sukham asanam, he did not just mean to prepare the body for sitting still for hours of meditation. He also meant that in every pose, try to reach a state where both mind and body become still and it looks as easy as your natural state of being. Hence, asanas though important for health and balance of the body, have a deeper purpose; to diffuse the consciousness uniformly throughout the body so that duality between senses, nerves, cells, mind, intelligence and consciousness are eradicated and the whole being is in harmony. When the nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, endocrine and genito-excretory systems are cleansed through asanas, prana moves unobstructed to the remotest cells and feeds them with copious supply of energy. Thus rejuvenated and revitalized body moves towards the goal of self-realization.
Sri Brahmananda clearly and beautifully sums up the effects of asanas. He says "the body is full of inertia (tamasic), the mind vibrant (rajasic) and the self serene and luminous (satvic). By perfection in asanas, the lazy body is transformed to the level of the vibrant mind and they together are cultured to reach the level of the serenity of the self."

JILLING TERRACES in UTTARAKHAND

the main building at sundown

Three years back while hiking to Mt. Everest base camp in Nepal, inhaling in its thin but pollution free, fresh and healthy air I was wondering whether India being much bigger in size and with wider spread of Himalayas has such unadulterated place to offer? And three years later this April, I found my answer in Jilling Terraces, Uttarakhand.

Meditating in nature's lap

the Jilling trail

Nestled aloof on a hill in Uttarakhand, Jilling Terraces is not easy to reach. Nothing compared to Everest trek though but still a nice steep 45mins hike to reach this heaven. But I believe good things in life should never be easy, that way they are valued and cherished more.





Once you are up there, your mind goes to a self cleansing mode. No worries, no stress, no past and no future. Time literally freezes. But mind you, it's not just the pretty location that enchants you to this place. It is as beautifully done inside by its architect duo owners as outside by nature. Every furniture piece, cutlery and crockery, fabric, artifact and lamp is an art piece not just tastefully collected but carefully carried over shoulders to this height.

valley view from the rooms

dining lounge

And home stays are worthy of visit if you feel mother care in the hands of your hosts. The caretakers are friendly, helping and ready to go an extra mile for your comfort with a big smile. Fresh Rhododendron juice, omelettes and parathas for breakfast, authentic kumaoni meals of pahadi dals, mutton, achaar with phulkas along with the pure air to breathe in; takes care of your health all the while you are there.


On reaching, it took us an hour to calm down the excitement of being there. After which we had lunch and a nap to rise up to a setting sun, enjoying it's beauty with a cup of tea in the verandah. We took a walk around and went to playing board games in the dining lounge over snacks and rounds of drinks followed by scrumptious dinner. The food made us edacious and we ate too much to initiate a round of story telling session near the chimney till we felt the need to retire for the day so that we can begin the next day hand in hand with the rising sun.
Second day began with yoga in the open. After breakfast we went for a long trek; up to the edge of the hill to the village at the foot of the hill and back to our little heaven. Then exhausted, we lazed around the rest of the day chit-chatting, napping and reading books from their wide collection.
We regretted to leave on the third day and so I would recommend 3 days and 3 nights minimum stay to explore and experience and a day or two more to relax and replenish your energies after all the jumping around.

But all in all, it's a place that you visit and never leave instead you leave a part of you at the window sill, on the deck or at the dinner table and lock up its beauty in your memory so that you can revisit it every time your busy life takes over, at least till you plan to come back, which we certainly are.

              

Ringol cottage

    

Padam and Kafal



Uttish and Buransh

• Location - Bhimtal Road, Uttarakhand
• Commute by air - nearest domestic airport @ Phoolbagh, Pantnagar is around 50kms away. nearest international airport @ Delhi is around 295kms away.
• Commute by rail -  nearest railway station @ Kathgodam is around 44kms with Shatabdi running every day to and fro.
• Commute by road - nearest hotspot Nainital is some 30kms away and you need taxi in any of the above cases. Call for Jitin Bhai's taxi service @ 9412039589, it's very prompt with decent drivers.
• Commute on foot - from matial village (at the foot of Jilling) to Jilling Terraces, the hike is 2kms (nearly 45mins). They send portars for luggage but carry rucksack (that would be better for porters to carry). Wear proper shoes (climbing ones, if you have or shoes with good grip will do) and comfortable clothing for the hike.
• Stay details - the rooms are named after endemic trees of the region. Buransh and Utish on the ground floor with common verandah, an extra room with single bed and chimney; Padam and Kafal on the first floor with a wide window framing nature by the bed and the cottage Ringol with a living and dining space, a double height toilet (too sexy), verandah and terrace overlooking the valley.
• In and around - trek to nearby two villages Paniali and Kanarkha or the Gaula river. Play board games in the lounge, read books or just sit around watching birds glide and chirp and the play of sun and shade over the mountains.
• Seasons - Summers are pleasant in day time and
  cooler in nights, rains are dramatic to visit and winters would be chilling with snow mountian views.(chimneys and electric bed warmers would take care of your sleeps)

during nights

SURYANAMASKARS - HOW MANY ARE ENOUGH?

It has n number of benefits (you can Google those later) but it is not a number. It is not that a certain number of suryanamaskars a day will keep the doctor away, but it might keep you away in a few days if you treat it as numbers.
If practicing suryanamaskars daily is exhausting you, if you roll back into your bed after the practice or want to rest before beginning with your everyday chores, than you might be going all wrong with your inclination and intentions of doing it.
Rightly done, suryanamaskar will of course shake up those joints and muscles rusted by laziness and make them sore in the beginning but eventually it should be more energizing and restorative than tiring and exhausting. It is, after all called suryanamaskar for a reason, that it is a way of bowing down to Sun God and thanking for being the greatest source of energy. It is supposed to stimulate pingala nadi also called as surya nadi, that helps to tap sun's energy and remove energy blockages if any. But if you target to do so many suryanamaskars in so much time than you better call it burpees or something more fancy because it won't be beneficial as it should be if it is not done as a spiritual ritual.
So next time when you get down on your mat for suryanamaskar, switch off your phone, turn off your timer, silent your mind and just be in the flow, breath comfortably in all postures, stay as long as you wish in any posture letting it massage your muscles, align your mind in every pose and do as many as it feels good. Yoga is never about pushing yourself rather it's more about raising yourself. Numbers would increase on a healthier day and decrease on a not so healthy day; doesn't matter. What should matter is showing up each day and finding a new you after each practice.

FOOTHILLS HIMALAYA @ JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK

Jim Corbett National Park, the home to the mighty king of the jungle and inspiration to the "jungle book" is worth a visit, not just for its king but for every flora and fauna there and the best places to put up for your duration of stay are the forest guest houses inside the forest zone (Dhikala being the best one). But the better they are the rarer the availability, rarer than spotting the king himself. But it's not a news of disappointment anyways because here comes Rushil Shergill's foothills Himalaya home stay into picture and trust me it will be a much better option.

right at the foothills with the forest around

Needless to say, tiger spotting and staying inside the Forest sounds more thrilling but if you go as a tourist and book a safari directly with forest office your chances of spotting a tiger gets thinner. On the other hand, if you have Rushil to accompany you; his knowledge of the jungle, about secret whereabouts of tigers and his familiarity with the locals can thicken your chances of a game or two. I think my husband rightly called him young Jim Corbett of India. Plus you get to experience hearty Punjabi hospitality, a sneak peek into the life of a falconer/organic farmer/self made architect building his new rammed earth wall house with quite efficient chimneys all by experimental learning.

organic onion farms

We were not lucky enough to spot any tiger but I swear we do not regret it as we visited quite interior parts of the jungle where no safari jeeps go, saw the surrounding village, farms, got introduced to art of falconry; all thanks to our generous host. His whole family treated us with such warmth and fed us with farm grown organic mouthwatering food over rounds of drinks and countless stories about the jungle and their life in the wilderness. Even their dogs seemed to be trained in hospitality. They came running to greet us (like old friends), slept under our bed (sleeps are sound with a furry friend at your feet) and stood guard at night when we were star gazing in the open (leopards do visit the village occasionally).

the cottage and the fruit trees' garden in front

In the end, while leaving after just two days, we didn't have a "check out" feeling but as if saying goodbye to a friend and his family after spending a whole summer with them.

Details - 

Jim Corbett's winter house

• Location - Kotabaug, Kaladhungi, Uttarakhand ( just 30mins from the Jim Corbett National Park)
• Commute by air - nearest domestic airport @ Phoolbagh, Pantnagar is around 50kms away. nearest international airport @ Delhi is around 295kms away.
• Commute by rail -  nearest railway station @ Kathgodam is around 44kms with Shatabdi running every day to and fro.
• Commute by road - of course you need taxi in any of the above cases. Call for Jitin Bhai's taxi service @ 9412039589, it's very prompt with decent drivers.
• Stay details - there are 3 double rooms to opt from and tents are pitched if need be.
• In and around - National Park is indeed the reason for the visit but don't miss Jim Corbett's winter house which is converted into forest museum, buy his books "man eaters of Kumaon" and "My India" for thrilling hunting stories.
• Seasons - Summers are best for tiger spotting, rains are dramatic to visit and winter treks around are fantastic.

MY YOGA STORY

You can call yoga as just a form of physical exercise till you revert back to it just for flexibility, strength and weight loss. This definition of yoga that I presumed,  hurdled me to stick to it for anything longer than a month. Asanas are actually a preparatory tool to train the body for stillness required for the further stages. This outer most stage involving the physical body is called Annamaya kosh. 

The physical body is controlled by the sensory organs which are controlled by the mind and the mind by the breath. Controlling breathing is the next stage called Pranamaya kosh. To move further inwards to this stage however, you would need a prescription by your doctor for some ailments ( it does not show benefits so much on the outside unless it's practised for a longer period and so is not so interesting). I was though curious to know the further journey and how would that benefit me. Pranayama and asanas together ensure a healthy mind and body for the yogic progress.

A regular and steady practice of both would start affecting various spheres of your life magically. My food preferences, my mood swings, my temperament started changing. My patience, perseverance, tolerance increased in a course of time. This stage called Manomaya kosh ignites a thoughtless mind that activates the intellect.

The breath that controls the mind is kryptonite to the intellect. This activated intellect will have a hundred doubts and a million questions and will thus need direction for further journey. A good guru is a must here. I wanted to know all about yoga, it's origins to its preachers to its goals and teachings. I began reading lots of ancient scriptures and preachings by Patanjali, Swami Vivekananda and many more; asking my guru for translations and more explanations. This stage is called Vijnyanamaya kosh.

I won't say I crossed all these stages for the next one. It's not correct to cross them. You need a constant practice of stabilising at this yogic path through these stages going through lots of failures, learnings, acceptance and evolution to be able to experience the innermost stage called Anandmaya kosh or the blissful state.

FACE OFF

Facing yourself got to be the toughest task in the world. Well I don't mean, looking into the mirror, not literally of course but sure metaphorically.
There have been millions of good, bad, embarrassing, shameful incidents in everyone's lives since childhood and irrespective of the fact that we forgive those or not, they get stored into the dungeons of our minds. We lock those scary dark places, leaving those dirty, filthy prisoners to their fact hoping they would disappear with time. And then we get busy with making new experiences, busy with jobs we assign ourselves to the daytime and family and friends for the rest of the day. Nowadays not even the nights are lonely and interrogative, thanks to our cellphones and social media.
We have become so equipped with things to do, that we don't allow ourselves time to grieve our loses, time to contemplate our mistakes, time to plan improvisation. We as a community, have fought and achieved right to information but as humans we deny those rights to our minds, to question our frigidity, our cowardice, our incompetence or our successes and pleasures.
And as a result, we cannot sit alone doing nothing. Any such void becomes a sign of danger to our lives. Within seconds of stillness, our minds rush back to those long forgotten locked forever dungeons, opening every door, visiting every prisoner, digging out every I-don't-want-to-remember-that-ever moment, making it impossible to face ourselves ever alone. And then we plan our every second of the rest of our lives so carefully not to allow such moments to appear ever. But the mighty nature has planned such time for each one of us. At some point in our lives, we will have to go through the dungeons and decide either to go lock ourselves with those prisoners or to hear them out and release them, accepting all our shortcomings and strengths.
Those who have been there and done that will always love to face themselves (figuratively of course).

Introspection...

There are two kind of human beings on earth. One- who just live as humans, enjoying the perks God bestowed on our species. And two- who take the matter way too seriously and think of it as their responsibility to act as a higher being.
Mistakes still happen by both. Just the difference being, one carries on whereas other one tries to evaluate, analyse and evolve.
When you chose to be the second kind, the path gets twisted. The worst enemies you see are the first kinds.
It is hard to see how being a human being, it is not considered by them to not respect the opportunity. You think every human, has in him to act as one. So.... So you try to make them understand and in the process disturb their perfect harmony.
You are all righteous with your concept of higher being behaviour- respecting nature, protecting your loved ones, growing with the nexgen, always trying ways to self improvement and all the wacky ideas you think of as "higher being code of conduct". But while thinking all this, you in your perfect imperfection try to interfere with other's vision of themselves. You take it on yourself to make the world around you, not just better but better than the best. You reason it out as you cannot see wrong happenings in front of you and not attempting to improve it. And so you forget the fact that you cannot and should not chalk out everyone's path which would get synonymous with you being dictator. And you are ultimately not being the second type that you initially set out to be.
When Gandhiji said, Be the change you want to see in the world, he did not mean to later go and by any possible means change the world yourselves. So here is a little addition to his original saying just for these second type enthusiasts to go easy -
Be the change, you want to see in the world, then...
Be patient and give way for the world to change,
If it does not happen overnight,
Wait for a fortnight,
If not still...
Just forget it and concentrate on your personal journey.