Posted by PRACHI...... in

A chapter.....

Well I really wanted to write this for some time now…
It's difficult to express feelings in mere words …
This phase of my life has been one helluve ride for me….turning me upside down….inside out….

After almost a lifetime of feeling worthless, life seems pretty interesting now. A 'thought' which came out of will to do something to be something had started to nurture…
I wasn't sure what was it exactly, a group of people coming together for what they believe in or just mere get together of people with similar interest or was I just doing it plainly out of boredom of doing nothing….

It seemed to be a whirlwind… It was impacting… I swept away in it..

The "ABEL Foundation" – we call it that…. A 'thought' much more than an organization….A thought which has lot of things to say… lot of things to do…of seeing the world we live, in better light….the thought of making a change in the lives of not only us but many… A change which I have truly started to experience..

I like this phase…

There were times I had wanted things to happen; I was perhaps waiting for things to happen. I wanted to do something, to be something; I never thought life could be that frustrating, when you feel like just shutting yourself from outside world, into complete isolation, I thought that would have felt much better.

But, Nature and People are two things that keeps me sane, I guess..

My thoughts and my mind now constantly ponder about these things that has affected me in truly great sense.. I forget everything else..
It's difficult to reason how different people traveling different paths meet at crossroads and continue to tread along the similar path.

I have got a reason to think, to reflect, to act…

I think its most challenging phase of my life, I want to do things which I think are beyond my reach. It feels good though, to be of some worth, to be appreciated, to be felt of some use…
It's been few days now, still under the charming spell of Youth Summit. It's overwhelming …

I can't believe nor began to explain the whole phenomenon (I wish to call it that); which I am sure everyone who was the part of it is still reeling under the effect….
When this whole thing was shaping up, I wrote about it in mail,which I am glad I did.. coz I don't ever wanna forget that experience;it said-

I am not sure why I am writing this mail... but, I guess its becoz of our current fetish of conveying everything through mail….. that has caught onto us with this whole thing (Peter Sir/ St Peters/ Spandan/ Youth Summit/ Unknown people/ new Acquaintances…… etc etc) surmounting the whole of "ABEL Foundation"…….

Each day opening up mail box filled with 8-12 frantic mails ( asking/ suggesting/explaining/requesting/ enquiring/introducing …etc etc..).
And with us figuring it all out ( wats new on agenda?/ who is this person now?/ is this link anything related/ do we have to reply to this one/Is it meant for us/ shud we write to them…. Blah blah) in middle of night talking in conferences( which we cant get enough of….:))

Beeping each other for scheduling the meets, beeping just to ask wassup, beeping to ask come in conference, beeping to ask.. u slept early kya, who will talk in conference?....

Googling whole day on things we could do/ how to register an ngo/ how to write funding proposal/ how, what why, when…. And on and on and on….

Yet with each passing day, conversing/ arguing/ complimenting/.criticizing/motivating and contemplating over wats more to do/ wats left undone/ wats finished/ and wats yet to be started……. we begin somewhere somehow….

Some ideas brainstorming us, some lull moments, some days of tiredness, and some bouts of enthusiasm, some of utter uselessness….

Yet through all this chaos….. mind-boggling and sometimes mind-numbing, we still yearn to- beep everyone, check mails ( on all possible ids), answer each one of them,
Google search again, check links again, read , re-read re-re-re-read mails again….

Each day every time.. I am still not sure why I m sending this, maybe little push to ourselves… in pulling "It" all up…..
It*- Refers to lot of things I m sure that need not need an explanation……

I am not sure how "It" all started but I m glad that I am a part of "It", life couldn't have bin better without "It"………


With lot of apprehension and little glimmering hope, we tried to organize something for the Youth Summit; little did we know the consequences of it… ….Teary eyes, sheer attachment, strong emotions, elevated spirits, raised hopes, bountiful of knowledge, bundles of courage, loads of dear friends and a "will"- A will to do something, to be something.

We all came out from nowhere but came to somewhere…. Out from nothing to something… We learnt, we enjoyed, and we shared.

I remember the first thing I did going back was logging to every damn account I have, trying to reach out to everyone…

Coming to write about the "It" – factor, it has broader meaning for me now… deeper effect on me.... and it encompasses of lot more things… now

I so badly want pensieve to exist (it would have allowed me to fully immerse myself in the memories stored within it and it would have also relieved my mind which is now cluttered with lot of information…with lot of memories… with lot of emotions).

Well I have herd people saying "Well that was the… turning point of my life" I am not sure if this is mine.
But, I hope it's not an illusion, not like a mere dream for an insomniac.
I would have never imagined myself being here, doing all these things I think I am getting addicted to these people….
I am getting addicted to all the things that I think I have been running away from all this while....

Of all the things in my life,that may come and go... I want this to stay forever..endlessly

 

Posted by PRACHI...... in

Out of the blue.......


Its getting interestingly funnier these days....

I dream a different dream each day(night!!), but with same "elements" that are a part of my life now…
My mind is filled with sweet memories of the same.. but my mind also tells me to let go of them… I have opened my study books …..

But my mind wanders of to different places.. to different memories!!

Interestingly while writing this and studying at same time I am solving a problem in English grammar.
It says.. solve grammatical error: the line reads.. “Many psychologists today suggest (a)/that we interpret dreams by comparing (b)/the dreams with (c)/the reality of each person’s (d)/Life” .
Out of 300 pages in my study book, I stumble upon this one precisely.. at this moment.

Untill now I have never witnessed anything that has had an impact on me. It’s difficult to digest the thought, pleasant but difficult....
I have never seen myself so vulnerable.

 

Posted by PRACHI...... in

Lucky Serendipitous .......


The Duke’s Nose trek is so famous that there are 700 people from a local trekking organization on an odd weekend to experience its beauty. That’s what lured me to check this place out….

It being a local trekker’s paradise we decide to try it out with some friends. Well this time we took to all by ourselves, having been experienced trekkers ( yea experience level being 1- Himalayan and 2-3 local treks).
After 6 out of 12 friends ditching us the day of trek, we were even more charged to continue with trek, come what may….
[I guess people are more enthu to take scenic pictures of locale to shove it off their (ditched) friends face…. :)]

We began our journey to khandala, the “we” and “us” included 2 experienced trekker gals and 4 zero experience trekker guys (most unnatural).

Well the journey was of 2hrs, most of which was spend playing dumb charades and acquainting new people.
[Read as- guys befriending other gals in compartment, even convincing them to join us in the game, but thank god for dumb charades, whoever invented it, anything for keeping mouth shut].
Time passed and we arrived at khandala station. But to my surprise the place is deserted big-time, not single chaiwalla, no stall, nor any people at 10 in morning… weird!!!!

Our route was very simple start walking the moment you get down from train.. yea… stick to the tracks,the very peculiar deserted, an old 1857 railway track.

All we had hoped on this trek was rain and mayynnn… we were blessed with not just that but with mist too…..
[A perfect start, a perfect weather, a perfect route, what more could we have asked for… yeah, what more could we have possibly asked for….]



We all walked the obvious route; track changing from “tar” to “mud” and when you reach a mucky path you know that’s the way to destiny…ooops destination….

Exploring the wilderness and sauntering in canopied route, the walk was fun…
The fun part was that there were foot marks on the path confirming we were on right path and we were happy about the fact there weren't 700 people trekking the same path but little a weary of the fact that we were the only one's walking….

But our assumption was soon falsified since we met up with group of trekker boyzz[ who had lost their way and seemed to be happy to have met us on our way].


Well we did know the route… which we eventually lost it……


I do not wish to elaborate the fact of getting lost… coz we enjoyed that fact*… lets just say we followed our instincts that day…
But,we could see the dukes nose gleaming across the mountain from where we were.. a small "waterfall" separated our destination, we followed that path…
(second most unnatural thing).

Somehow slipping, flipping, falling we managed to get on other side of waterfall, though we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The route that followed was undoubtable and we wanted to reach the top somehow… any how…

The somehow included clinging to bark of trees and stems of bamboo, 6 people climbing up path only meant for single person. The any how included clinging to barks of trees with thorns!!! And deep valleys on either sides of us…
Having finally reached the top, we realized that we actually ended some place else other than our intention.

Serendipity or what!!!!!

Well we didn't miss out on what we had come here for "Dukes nose" was just behind us, its nose gleaming with mist and rain
But after doing all this, one is truly physically on the top of the world; on the edge of cliff…We truly were….
The cliff was barely something that could accommodate six people.

















Well there were silly little added dramatic scenes to whole the experience.
With questions springing “what if we are stuck here and can’t manage to find our way back?” trust me we were in that situation, but my feeling was only euphoric….
“What do you wanna do if this was your last day on earth?” It was well answered by I wanna go back…


We decided to spent sometime on lonely cliff, just admiring the beauty of nature and were trying to sink in the feeling that it was totally worth it climbing up and the fact** that we could probably be the only people to have treaded this cliff.


I would like to alter some famous lines of a poem by Robert frost…..
(Suits our scenario quite literally)

Two roads diverged in wood,
And we followed our instincts.
Having lost our way,
Took the one less traveled by…..
And that really did make all the difference……………

The mere thought of finding (neverland, not exactly but something similar..hee hee) is something I am going to reminisce for my life…



[*Route to the top is always by just climbing…
False- We climbed only to come down again on our way.. and lost it..
**Follow the foot marks, they lead the way
False- Again.. they are misleading so make your own ways, you might end up in discovering totally whole new place yea we did....]

Mind numbingly adventurous, beautiful and unforgettable!!!!!!