Desert Rose

A dying winter Sun had hushed the land below to sleep but on the bridge that spanned the backwaters Saira stood wide awake in stillness. Transfixed like a little girl caught in headlights; eyes captivated by the water currents far below. She watched the water that rushed unquestioningly on in its blind search for an ocean’s dark but welcoming shroud.               By eleven in the night, it was almost graveyard silent. But she stood there lost in thought. The slight breeze rustled through her hair and her long flared kurta moved along. This was all she needed that night or maybe any night. Her body and soul braced forlorn on the wrong side of the railing. Suddenly a voice shattered the silence and with it went any semblance of peace she might have had. Saira nearly jumped out of her skin, for she’d not seen or heard a soul for a long while now. 'Steady on mate,' said the voice, ‘didn’t mean to make you jump.' She gripped the railings...

All that noise. The hassled scenes. So much of dirt and garbage. Unpleasant smell dominating the air. Every face showing different emotions. Every frame giving me ideas of a little tale . Just a whole lot of chaos but that is the world’s largest railway network.  Every time I take a train in India, there is something or someone that gets me thinking. Never the less I always enjoy my dates with the Indian trains. From “this is my seat” arguments, to “may I sit here till the next station” requests. From making acquaintances during long journeys, to being freaked out by drunk locals in a rather empty compartment.  From trying to catch a train that almost started, to jumping out on late  realization  about the destination arrival.  From shifting legs and luggage continuously to escape the cockroaches, to getting used to them moving around.  6 years of living here and travelling around has been much more than just seeing places. A...

I’ve probably known about the Taj Mahal since I was seven years old; it’s one of those iconic monuments whose form is burned into your world imagery at childhood. I’ve seen it on the calendars, the incredible India bus, cards, as pieces of decoration, on television but I hadn’t ‘seen’ it until last month. From my childhood days, I remember asking my father to plan a trip so that I could see the Taj Mahal but he would say that summer break was too hot in Agra and winter break was too cold and that both these timings would make me fall sick. And of course the rest of the year I had school. (I am sure he tried but probably it wasn’t time yet.) So after a really long wait, Desert Rose went to see this symbol of love last month and yes she loved it. The Taj Mahal is one of those works of genius craftsmen that when you actually experience it in person you finally get it. You get why you’ve seen pictures of this place since you were a kid; you get why millions of people com...

The above image reflects what runs through most of our minds when we hear ‘vacation at Goa’. But for desert rose it was much more! Ever since I joined university for under graduation, I have made several trips to different parts of the country and of course each one of it was memorable in its own ways. So then the question would be why a blog entry only about this trip? Guess reading this will give you the answer. Each of my previous trips has made me realize how much more India has than what we think. Be it the grandeur of architecture, breath taking natural beauty, varied cultures, traditions & lifestyles, amazing markets both day & night, myths & stories and so much more. But when I reached Goa, it took a while to take in the fact that it was part of India. A state so much part of this country but way different… way liberal… and to put it in the language of youth, way cooler! A place where having beer instead of water to quench your thirst feels the same...