The Two Worlds Of An Airport

It is only on an Airport that you will find two sections, one for Arrivals and one for Departures. Unlike a railway station which has a uniform platform for both the purposes. So the kind of divisional display of human emotions so prominently visible at an airport gets profusely diffused on a railway station.

At an airport with it being divided into the above said sections it becomes a world of two minds. One mind is full of expectancy of meeting someone and the other full of reluctance of letting; someone you know; go. This is the same way we normally react to every other situation we face in our lives. Airport's Arrival and Departure sections are only a makeshift stage for this human behavior of expectancy and holding onto, to be displayed in its stark nakedness.

Whenever life throws at us situations; which we call favorable; we start getting excited and start growing more and more in anticipation. After receiving that favorable situation in reality we start holding onto it and not want to let that situation go and want it to stay longer. This human nature of us deter us to make the best of those situations as we are in a state of constant tension. Always trying something or the other.

What I have realized with my visits to the Airport; when I went to receive and see someone off is; when we start controlling our expectancy; keeping it under check; we receive whatever life throws at us with simple happiness and with less excitement. And if we can somehow reduce our clinging, we really live with whatever life has/had thrown at us. Once you have really lived with the situation/person, you get a feeling of contentment, and saying goodbye to the person/situation becomes easier. Deep down inside you know that the situation or the person will be coming back to you and till then you need to prepare yourself again to receive them better than the last time.

Misery is our creation and will always be. The effort should be about how to reduce this misery and grow more in contentment (I do not mean complacency here).

A Trip To Banares - Untangling Knots

बाबा के बैठक में बिछी चटाई , बहार रखे खड़ाऊं (At the meeting place of the wise man, there is a floor mat and outside are kept the slippers)

मिलने वाले के मन में असमंजस जाऊं या न जाऊं (There is a doubt in the mind of a man who so dearly wants to meet this wise man. And he is so caught up by this dilemma of whether to go in or stay back)

माथे तिलक आँख पर ऐनक, पोथी खुली स्वयं से बोले (The wise man has a holy mark on his forehead, spectacles on his eyes, there are holy scriptures in front of him and he talks to himself saying...)

आओ मन की गाँठे खोलें  (Come lets untangle these knots of the mind, Come lets untangle these knots of the mind.)

आओ मन की गाँठे खोलें | 

These famous lines from Aao Man Ki Ganthen Kholen by our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee naturally comes to the mind when one thinks about Banares; now known as Varanasi. I had been planning on visiting this sacred land back from college days, but never had a chance to do so until August this year. We had been watching a few documentaries on Banares (I prefer to call this ancient city by its old name) and also there has been a mention of this place in the book: Aghora: At the left hand of god by Robert E. Svoboda. Since that time me and my friend Approv (Whom we lovingly address as 'Pondy' - where "pondy" is a slang for hindi porn literature) had been so hooked on visiting this place. But the movie Masan really cemented our wish to visit this place into action and reality. 

I wanted to visit this place chiefly because of the following 3 reasons: 

1) The funeral grounds - Where one can witness death in its crude and naked reality.

2) The age old culture and traditions

3) The mighty Ganges

The Funeral Grounds - Life and Death!

There are 2 funeral ghats at two extreme ends of the Banares coast lines. In between these two funeral ghats, spirituality, business, religion, philosophy and everything else that comprises life exists. It is a geographic symbolism to the very fact of life; death. It is between this wheel of life and death that life exists. 

We stayed close to Raja Harish Chandra Ghat because we were told it is cheaper there. We did not mind the place being very close to one of the funeral ghats of Banares; rather we were happy. It was also a place closer to Baba Kinaram Sthal and Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. Don't forget to try the famous Balushahi of Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. It comes all wrapped up in environment friendly boxes made of bamboo shoots and is being packed with lots of Tulsi leaves.  

We spent a lot of time on Harish Chandra ghat trying to realize the impermanent nature of life in the grossest manner possible by looking at the procession of funeral pyres next to us. Also we realized that there is a separate ghat for upper class and the rich of the society; Manikarnika Ghat; then there is a ghat for the lower class and poor of the society; near to which we were staying; called Raja Harish Chandra Ghat. We have not spared even death from this ugly human division of high and low, upper and lower. Life and death existed in this place at such close proximities. Such existence gives you an altogether different perspective in life which is so hard to find in Cities and concrete jungles of a metropolitan. Life moves at a different pace in these places and have a bittersweet taste to it which simply enriches the taste buds of your life experiences. I am sorry I don't have any pictures of these two ghats as we wished to honor the deceased and the privacy of the near and dear ones.

The age old culture and traditions!

"A Scene From Assi Ghat"

Banares is a city known to be founded by Shiva and is considered to be one of the oldest cities in India. From Buddha to Adi Shankracharya to Tulsidas to Guru Nanak jee everyone has some relation or the other to this place. Such is the heavy weight, age old history of this place. You will find here from different traditions to different cultures all amalgamating here in one stream of life. 

This diversity is not only limited to people, traditions and cultures, but you can see its presence in varied food options available from sweets to 'Chaat' (very spicy and piquant snack) to drinks. If you are in Banares, you should let your tastes buds run wild and go crazy. Try everything to anything. Especially the local chaat, pan (Indian Mouthfreshner) and thandai. This place is a heaven for foodies. Especially for people who love street food. 

Godowlia Chowk is the place where you can get amazing Thandai. You get this drink either plain or with Bhaang. Banarasi Thandai is prepared with melon seeds, cream, milk, rose petals, saafron, almonds, sugar, cashew and saunf. Thandai in Banaras is also available with a dose of bhang, if you’re up for trying. Bhang consists of dried leaves and buds of the female cannabis plant. 

"Shiva Thandai - Godowlia Chowk"

The Mighty Ganges:

From Rishikesh to Banares I had always been fascinated with rivers. Sitting on a river bank and watching the river flow in juxtaposition with my flowing thoughts had been my favorite past time. I can sit on a river bank for hours at a stretch without getting bored. Observing the river with the flowing thoughts in my mind, sipping tea once a while, and reading a few pages from my book has been what I was there for, majorly. 

"Chai, Book and The River! A Still From Narad Ghat"

I wanted to take a boat trip as I saw people taking it, but I let that thought pass and did not care to transform it into action. It was too much trouble. But I loved watching these boats passing by. Sometimes full with 15-20 people and sometimes only with couple of people on the entire boat. It was as if looking at them from the other side of the world and they being placed at the other end. 

"Boat Parking"

Probably these boat trips could give you a different feel of the ghats and the place. It can let you look at things from a different perspective. It will cost you somewhere between Rs. 150 - 400 (depending on the boat size and group strength) to get this perspective. I saved it for a later visit when I comeback to the place. One should always leave a thing or two undone to keep it as a reason to come back that is my modus operandi when visiting a place. 

"The Boat Ride - Break On Through To The Other Side"

There is something for everyone in this city. From someone as introverted as me to someone very gregarious and outgoing. This is a place which will not be bothered to interfere with your true being. It will let you be what you naturally choose to be....

"A Sage, Sadhu, Taking A Holy Dip In The River"

“जिन खोजा तिन पाइया, गहरे पानी पैठ, मैं बपुरा बूडन डरा, रहा किनारे बैठ।” (Those who try, they get something or the other. Just like a hard-working diver goes deep into the water and comes up with something. But there are some poor people who are sitting on the shore with fear of drowning and can not find anything.) 

So please be the diver, go out and visit this ancient city of India, lovingly called as Banares and formally known as Varanasi. 

The Starting of Starting All Over Again and Again

"The Wobbly Clothesline In My Balcony; The Clips Depicting The Inconsistency Of Life With Moments Of Interruption"

When it comes to picking up a hobby or activity; leaving it all of a sudden and keep coming back to it; I will be crowned as an unprecedented, unrivalled champion! I am an expert to this kind of pattern. I have only been consistent in being inconsistent. Before we can go into the pros and cons of the matter; let me put some facts about my life to support the argument made above in regards to my inconsistencies:

1) Took up playing Basketball and Cricket. Played it till State Level; now play neither of the sports.

2) Loved Mathematics and Computers; but lost interest in both subjects in Engineering College.

3) Took up reading and avid interest in English Language. Till now had frequent love hate relationship with it. This inconsistency can be observed from difference of date and time in my blog posts.

4) Went for my first Vipassana Meditation course in 2011, maintained the practice of the meditation technique for nearly 6-8 months, managed to stay away from Alcohol and Smoking during this time. Fell back again. Went again for another course in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The story remains the same for years 2012, 13 and 14 and after 2014 I had went into chronic drinking to the verge of being declared as an addict. But since 2015 I had been consistent in my practices till date and now have no intentions of falling back.

5) Recently took up cycling and running; but had been many a times quite consistent and many a times not so consistent with them.

That being said; you must be thinking what good 'being inconsistent' can bring in one's life. The negative aspects attached with inconsistent behavior pattern are quite evident and clear, I need not to highlight them or state the obvious facts of the matter. Everyone knows that perseverance is the key to success; even the person with my level of inconstancy understands this simple fact of life. I am here to talk about a few positives which I had taken from my own vacillations in the following few paragraphs.

The very first and foremost is the art of dealing with reluctance when it comes to starting something all over again. Reluctance is one aspect of 'co-efficient of friction'. There is a fundamental difference between life and physics; i.e. of objectivity and subjectivity. In life there is no one co-efficient of friction; but series of co-efficient frictions deterring your movement forward. So with each new endeavor of starting all over again, you get rid of one or two of these co-efficients or reduce the intensity of it.So that way; as compared to every (n-1)th process of starting over; every nth and (n+1)th process becomes easier. And time taken to get back 'on track' reduces. This learning in itself is worth the trouble of starting it all over.

The second benefit would be awareness towards 'self ignorance' resulting in self-awareness. People who do things consistently does not mean that they are doing it with awareness. And since they have a straight line graph so there is a very little chance that they will come to know about this ignorance. Whereas with people like us; we will be totally self ignorant and at the same time will not be doing anything what we should or ought to be doing. This will give us some space to see this self-ignorance and we become aware of it. As soon as we be aware of it and aware of the fact that we have been off the way; off the track; we snap right back in and this time with some sense of awareness into the act. The more this happens more is the awareness we get. The only trap here is of falling more into the phase of inaction and self-ignorance and not making any visible or viable efforts of coming out of it. Rather totally giving in. This happens with the thought "what is the use", "not worth it". But let me tell you with my own experience that it is totally worth it and that is the only use life has. To fight back your own lows and come up to fall down again and so on and so forth.

The third positive is that you learn the art of dealing with ennui. Ennui is the root cause of all evil in the society is my take on it. Most people don't know how to deal with ennui. People with a consistent life have consistent way of dealing with ennui which in itself becomes the biggest ennui of their lives. But people with inconsistency will try to find different way to deal with the same. And these different ways will become different activities in their lives. There is a chance that some of these activities becomes hobbies and in turn becomes a part in life. But the pit fall here with this type of dealing is: sometimes it leaves you as jack of all trades and master of none.

The fourth and very last positive I find with my type of inconsistent life is getting prepared for the second half of the life. Life is very long.Worldwide, the average life expectancy at birth was 71.5 years (68 years and 4 months for males and 72 years and 8 months for females) over the period 2010–2015 according to United Nations World Population Prospects 2015 Revision, or 69 years (67 years for males and 71.1 years for females) for 2016 according to The World Factbook. Keeping that in mind, if one does not get an untimely death one is going to live for atleast 72 years. Mostly people they get married at the age of 28 and gets settled at the age of 36 and then they go on vegetating and become clueless as to what to do with life till they die. The kind of education and values we impart on our children is to lead them to settlement at a certain point of time in life. And that number is defined as mid thirties. But no body knows or thinks about what next? What after 35-36? With inconsistency you get opportunities to experiment till you are 30-34, then the time comes to consolidate on these experiments you have done with yourself. You would be left with so many things and ideas which you could work upon in the later half of your life. The only pit fall in this line of argument is: you tend to lose focus and there are chances that you never will be focused enough to turn your experimentations into viable outcomes.

So all in all I would say that there is no harm in being inconsistent in life, unless you are determined enough to fight back and get back in the game of life. This is a fight which you fight within yourself and is the only fight worth fighting for. So keep fighting and keep coming back. Be as inconsistent as you wish to be, trying not get consistent even with this inconsistency. Try to find something concrete from this wobbly life, taking every wobble as an opportunity to find something composed which can accompany you all your life till the very end like I found cycling and running.

A Short Poem Dedicated To My Backpack

"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question" – Harun Yahya

Tour-De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 3 (Last Part)

The Final Crescendo - Day 3 - Jaipur - India Gate:

“The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.” This is what is being said in Dan Millman's inspiration stirring book 'Way of the peaceful warrior'. This is one of many lessons which this book has to offer when you read it. I remembered these set of words arranged in a sentence from the book, as we were sitting on the stairs of the Hotel entrance. 1:30 AM it was on the clock as we have reached our destination for the day. While sitting on the cold marble floor of the hotel staircase, I remembered a day from the past when I used to be all eccentric and stupid. A group of friends; including me; belonging to the same clan of similar stupidity and eccentricity booked a cab to come down to Jaipur to check in a hotel to get high and wasted. I don't even remember my own thoughts and feelings at that time. I just remember being completely wasted, on the way I had vomited twice and was carried on two shaky shoulders to be shoved into a hotel room to be left alone to sleep off the booze, just to get ready to get wasted again. The destination was the same, a 4 star hotel in Jaipur, but the journey was different and the purpose was different. One journey was taken towards self-abnegation, destruction and complete annihilation of the mind while another was taken towards self cleansing, purification and complete catharsis of the mind. I could conspicuously see the contrast between my old self and the present self to understand the quote “The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination” in depth and with better clarity. This train of thoughts and realisations were broken by a sharp pang of hunger originating in my very stomach. 

Tour-De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 2

The Fugue - Day 2 - Agra to Jaipur

Here comes the pain! When I woke up next morning in my bed at Taj Resorts Agra, room number 1002, I felt a mild pain in my left knee and ankle in form of a soft whisper trying to warn me about the upcoming horror, like clouds on the horizon. As I was in the process of regaining my consciousness, I realised that I had made a big mistake in carrying the monkey on my back and completing the 224 KM stretch from my home to Taj Mahal at more than my comfortable speed. Lesson learnt for long rides: Set a pace for yourself, in which you are comfortable, and follow it till the entire ride. Also choose the gear combination which you are going to use for majority part of your ride, when you are not fighting the headwind or sprinting.

Brushing aside the thought of pain, I got ready as we had to get down for breakfast sharp at 7:00 AM, with flag off time set at 8:00 AM by our captain Kamal Bisht. Me and Gaurav checked our bikes, and  after cleaning and oiling our bikes we went together towards the breakfast table. At that very moment I felt so glad to have Gaurav by my side on this expedition. Without him I would have had been totally lost. When I first told him about this expedition he was a bit reluctant in joining. I was not at all expecting him on this trip and it was a pleasant surprise to know that Gaurav will be joining this expedition too. He phoned me the day before the ride and gave me a long list of some useful items (which I that time found it utterly useless) to bring along with me for this ride. For those who do not know Gaurav; he is part of my company and we both have done many rides together as part of HCL Pedal Pushers Group. We also shared rooms together along with another riders, Dhruv in Agra and Avadhesh in Jaipur. Gaurav is a seasoned rider with good experience. He is a kind of person who will not flinch an iota in throwing one or two good advice at your way, without sounding or seeming bossy.

"Me and Gaurav Getting Our Bikes Ready For A Long Windy Day Ahead"

Tour De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 1 TDGT

The Prelude:

The seeds were planted last year, I guess in April. Nothing takes place in vacuum. In April 2016 I created a Facebook event - Noida - Agra - Noida on Cycle 400 KM. This was when I first got my Btwin Rock Rider 300 on Yamuna Expressway. There was a milestone next to the road reading "Agra 200 KM". A thought, followed by a strong feeling started creating cadence in my head; that if I can do this, then I will be prepared to face from worse to the worst in life. I will grow in strength, both mental and physical. A strong desire started giving shape to this thought like a potter's hand on the revolving clay. This was the phase when I was clean; off from Alcohol and smoking for 4 months now and was struggling with the relapse phase. 'Easier desired than done' is my twisted version of the cliched saying 'easier said than done'. I was not prepared physically for such long rides. Lack of experience and physical stamina were 2 biggest roadblocks. So this Facebook event's date was moved from pillar to post. Initially it was 4th April 2016; postponed to 4th May; then to 4th June. This epic drama went on till 4th September when I finally decided to take the event down completely. I could have deleted the event, but could not delete the strong desire from my consciousness to attempt something like Delhi to Agra and back on cycle.

Tour De Golden Triangle - List Of Riders And Marshalls With Their Introductions TDGT

Riders:

"Group Photo In Front Of Amer Fort. Captain Kamal Bisht Missing"

1) Gurleen Kaur (The Hardcore MTB Lady! 600 KM Brevet Rider On MTB. A lady with ardent determination and limitless perseverance. An inspiration for many)
2) Gaurav Dasgupta (Super Randonneur, my mentor in cycling, my room partner on this ride. Highly spirited and motivated person.Very helpful and supportive)
3) Dhruv (Young IT professional. Totally belongs to GenX. Someone filled with raw boisterous Zeal. A very strong and Determined Rider too.)
4) Nidhi Sharma (One of the nicest kids I have come across. The fact that she has 4 nationals under her belt, her personality does not reflect even an iota of ego or attitude. This the most amazing thing which I have observed in her and got inspired from. A very strong and aggressive rider; very amiable in demeanour)
5) Kamal Sundriyal (1200 KM Brevet finisher)

Life On The Saddle - 5000 Kms of Cycling

Nearly over an year ago on 4th February 2016 I bought my first cycle: Btwin Rockrider 300. Just 3 months prior to this I was into some brutally heavy drinking. I could have been easily classified into the category of an alcohol addict with my credit card outstanding towering 3 times more than my monthly earnings. I was also a big time chain smoker. All in all I was living a life of a tightrope walker with nothing in his hands for balancing. It took me nearly 15 months after giving up my addictions to conjure up this confidence to speak up about it. I don't know about other people's lives and issues but I know this from my life experiences that whatever happens, it happens for your own good. One thing leads to the other, and one good thing which happened to me following the bad was cycling.

"My Cycle Medusa At India Gate"

Through the movie scene from Vicky Christina Barcelona where all three, Juan Antonio, Christina and Maria Elena, they go for cycling in Spain, I have always associated the idea of cycling with wandering, freedom and a great platform for social interaction. That is exactly what it has been delivering ever since I picked it up. Freedom from my tendencies towards addiction, wandering off to faraway places and meeting new and amazing people along the way. We are slave and masters of our own minds. It is what we choose in the moment of action or inaction that determines what we really are. But neither it is that simple and everything that easy, still it is worth the effort and try; cycling.

Today i.e 27th February I will be completing 5000 Kms of cycling in total. For seasoned cyclists it will just be a trifling number on Strava, but for me it is an Achievement. An achievement which I can proudly boast of, with my children and future wives; just kidding. But seriously these 5000 Kms on the saddle has helped me a lot in growing to be a more accepting, loving and compassionate human being. From Murthal to India Gate, to Rishikesh, to Throttle Shrottle Cafe on Gurgaon - Faridabad Highway it had always been a constant tussle between pain and pleasure. Through cycling I have realised the importance of pain in life and the powerful choice with us to choose between whether to suffer or not to suffer from it. Not that I am a sadist; don't get me wrong here; but in our efforts to avoid pain we miss out on so many small and big pleasures of life which can make this life so full of happiness. All we have to do is to accept the pain as it is; not getting too much affected by it; and understand it's transient nature. This has been my highlight realization while riding.

This is just a post to mark the beginnings of another happening year in 2017. This year I have planned to go for the Golden Triangle (Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi) on my birthday and Manali - Laddakh route in June. Happy holi to everyone in advance. By the way I got a new Cycle, Scott Aspect 740 this year. A big thank you to my Grandfather and my travel blogger Aunt Mridula: