Thank you, Parvati. Mountain calling.

There's something truly exhilarating about the mountains. One that I discovered in my 35th year. Well, better late than never, as they say.
I've always been a beach bum. I love the sand, the sea and Goa! Who doesn't right? So when the penultimate holiday-planning sessions were on with my hubby, I finally gave in to the mighty mountains this time, albeit with incessant coaxing. And regret I not, because experiencing nature at its regal best is something I hadn't done for a while.
My father has always been a mountain-person. Literally so. Calm, peaceful, quiet, holding his ground with magnanimous humility and patience; and yet controlling and dictating almost subliminally. Me, on the other hand, is one who loves to make a noise or two, run around, chase, conquer, and restart to re-conquer. So chasing the waves always seemed like the thing to do. Until of course you learn how to chase (rather accept) the mountains (read: hiking, trekking, endless walking, painful back, thighs, calves et al!).
I have found new-found love for the cliffs and the peaks, notwithstanding anything, they stand like the pillar that supports, but can also annihilate at the blink of an eye. That's the power of the mighty Parvati.
My first reaction as I gave myself into the arms of the Parvati Valley was one of overwhelming peace. Like letting go of all your fears as you sit in your mother's lap. Nature has a healing effect and the mountains do so with prowess and bountiful elegance. The quietude, solitude, unsung songs of the valley greet you only if you welcome it with an open heart.
As I sat atop Kheerganga after a treacherous climb (I kid you not, the heart was in the mouth more than a couple of times!), there was a sense of fulfillment that words fall short to describe. Everest climber I'm not, but as I crossed ridges, waterfalls and creaky man-made bridges to cross-over rivers (yes you read it right!), I could feel the calmness laying its veil on me. Literally like I was one with nature; from being a bystander to really experiencing the silent tales of the mountains that stand since time immemorial, it's a cathartic experience. One where you let go of all your inhibitions, fears, worries as you witness yourself merge with the the trees, the rocks, the sky, the stars.
I'm not the person to let go easily (read: control freak). But as you surrender yourself in the hands of Parvati, you realize there's nothing more overpowering than what you behold in front of you--the grandness of nature undisputed letting you in with open arms. You only got to take the leap. And so I did.

PS: Next up, the mountain trail. 

Movie date

There's nothing new in going to the movies on a Sunday. This morning was no different, only it pertinently was. It was my first movie date with my daughter. She's four and her first-ever movie outing will always be with her mother and it will be The Junglebook. Mowgli, be damned, but for Prisha, this will be her formal entry into film entertainment outside the idiot box, and of course the iPad.

I still, uncannily quite, remember my first movie viewing at a theatre. It was Qayamat se Qayamat tak. Yes, you heard that one right! And my invincible (almost!) crush on Aamir Khan started from that moment on.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to pen today's experience was because 'firsts' are always special, right? The first walk, the first word, the first day at school, the first birthday, the first job, first kiss, etc etc..it's quite endless, really! But innocuously it just ends up being one of those life aspects that's given significance (sometimes unduly so!).

I'd been meaning to take my daughter out for this 'first' time movie experience for a while and today, just felt right and Mowgli was introduced to her, and in 3D! Yes, there's technology engulfing us from every corner, it seems and one that we so readily accept.I actually loved the movie, honestly and loved it a wee bit more because my li'l one was curling up to me every time Shere Khan almost jumped out of the screen into our laps!

I know for sure, I'll remember this 'first' for a long time to come and one that I hope my daughter remembers somehow too. The first mother-daughter movie date got to be special, right?

Comeback

Emotions flood as I read the pages written eon ago. It almost seems like a different lifetime, yet it's not.

I'm a mother now. She's four years old already. Back in the place that most people call the 'city of dreams'. Dreams that you once had, dreams that you've achieved, along with dreams that went unfulfilled, but you never stop dreaming.

Sometimes, just at times, there comes a time in life when all you want to do is Stop. Stop running, proving, deciding, moving on...the endless cycle of life. And for me, the time is as good as it is now.

As I rigorously try to catch up with all the facets of my own life, trying to play 'perfect' to the best--a mother (a working mother!), wife, daughter--in the rigmarole of it all, somehow the 'me' slowly dissipates. Somewhere, if you're not careful, the 'I' takes a backseat. And probably its a natural process, or something that the social milieu expects. Yet at the core, the 'unsettled' I seeks, dreams and continues with the journey.

It's like a paradox of sorts. Settled, yet not so. Yearning to explore the unknown and striving for perfection all along. Its a life always in progress.

As I get back to this page after years, all I know now is I'm coming back here often now. It's more fulfilling than what meets the eye. I've always been one with few words; but written words flow seamlessly, as does the desire to fly!