In search

Flying away into the sunset. .. This is evidence of how each year trees are being cut to make space for human settlements. The last of the birds leave their habitat to search for better homes. I remember how we used to play in the jungles. Today very small patches are left of our playground and the homes of the birds and the squirrels. The face of the hill has now been plastered with concrete buildings. There's a small patch of jungle in front of my house that is thriving with birds, squirrels and insects. We throw leftover rice and roti into the jungle which creates a lot of activity within the bushes. It's a magnificent ecosystem! One that lends freshness and beauty to our home, one that doesn't need or depends on us. My wife and I contemplate if this jungle will remain till the next ten years. We have less hope of this jungle surviving. Deep inside my heart I wish to buy this patch of land, so that I can preserve it for my son and for our retirement days! I gue

Waiting Not wanting, just waiting Eerie silence, the calm before the storm perhaps? When and why? Who knows? There are the ones who speak And there are those who don't, Words, sentences language... Can't you you understand what I am trying to say? No you don't understand, it's my silence that speaks... Waiting..?

Making the Jump, Girl power! Boys don't seem to be too good at it Failing Miserably! It's seldom we see children playing out on the streets. Most of the children stay indoors watching TV or playing video games! It was heartening to see children come out on the streets to play macchakara ( literal translation would be fish bone, but it could mean something else) , a game very few children play or know about these days. First multiple rubber bands have to be woven into a string which takes a lot of time too and is so much fun because it involves group work. Girls always beat us to it. So the game is played on the string made of rubber band and combines heights and styles of jumping.Two of the opposite team members act as posts while the other team jumps on the strings. Some jumps involve dexterity of jumping and holding down the strings by the sole of the feet.I don't exactly know if this game is intrinsic to Darjeeling but I remember girls always beating us bo

A kid feeding his dog Was passing through when I took this picture; memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. I used to play in a similar enclosure in my house while my mom went about her work. My thoughts continued around the dogs that I used to play with.My love and fondness for dogs, that's the only thing that hasn't changed about me in spite of these years. Thought about Henry, Jango, Likhuri, Spy but most of all Magdalene, the dogs I used to play with, and wondered how and where they are? According to Buddhism it's said that amongst the many lives, we are born as dogs finally before we are born as humans. I wonder if  they are walking amidst us as humans. Each of the dogs has his own tale, and hopefully I will write about them soon. The circle of life...

This post is in reply to a post by a dear friend " Kiss the Ground" Ya same here, cant remember the time when I last touched my guitar-I think my nephew has it now. There was a time when I could spend the whole weekends just playing irrelevant tunes, composing songs and then forgetting them. Cant remember the time when I painted or sketched. The last time I wrote was until now on the pretense of posting something on my blog :) I wonder if life begs for consistency or is it just about doing things that make us happy? But I console myself that there are seasons, an each spring yields a new bloom. I am a dad now and these days I spend most of my time taking my son's photographs. I love making paper toys for him and painting them in vivid colours. Oh how i wish I had more time... Which kind of concludes that it is enough that we follow our bliss..that we bring happiness to ourselves and to others; that we contribute to the beauty and good of our world in our own small

Its said that you need to take time out for the things you wanted to do rather than regret not having taken the time to do so. The New Year is an excellent time to review this list. For me, one of the many things I have not taken out the time for is this post, which I meant to write on New Year's day. So finally here I am busily punching on my keypad at a children's park in Siliguri.  My wife is lazily sifting through the Sunday newspaper while Appa seems pleasantly satisfied on his wheel chair basking in the warmth of the winter sun. Chunki our Tibetan abso is now finally resting after all the running and chasing. My wife steals occasional glances as I bury myself into this gadget aware of her disapproval at my preoccupation. Well the thing is that much happened in 2012 and so in retrospect here's my top three wishlist for 2013. 1. Firstly a prayer and wish for the Delhi Rape victim, that her death and suffering will not go in vain. Like everyone else he

Its yet another cold winter in  Darjeeling  with the same festivities and spirit of Christmas. Some daring or off season tourists have arrived in the hope of catching snow or perhaps they are here to take part in the Tea and Tourist Festival of Darjeeling .  Over this one year or so much has changed in Darjeeling, the roads have become wider,  major drains are being cleared as the foot path shops have been removed. The road leading up from Chowk Bazaar till Chowrasta has widened. These places which used to be major attractions for the tourists for shopping have lost some of their their charm.  It's not to deny that the change is welcome but also to acknowledge that many locals in the process have lost their livelihoods at a time when the economy of the hill is recovering and is at it's nascent stages.  This Christmas let's pray that there  is lasting prosperity and peace in the beautiful Darjeeling Hills. Let us hope that people are able to live in peace and har