The clear waters of Dawki!!

The clear waters of Dawki!!

About how the sun rays piercing through the sublime waters of Shnongpdeng left us in awe and joy, opening up and letting free the child in all of us. The trip had been long sought after, we all had heard about the place over and over making us eager to land our feet on the sand covered riverbed. Starting of the morning in a shaky car with a reckless driver behind the wheel left each of the traveler in frenzy. Cutting through the traffic and the twisted roads from Guwahati to crossing Meghalya we reached in vicinity to the Bangladesh border in the little but guarded town of Dawki overseeing the green waters of Umngot river. As one arrives at Dawki, the presence of the Indian military can be felt easily but the whole purpose seems Ok given that Dawki is a border town. The first site of Umgot river does not seem very promising as you may find the locals involved in fishing, construction or their daily laundering business and that was one of the reasons we did not stop by to take pictures of arrival.

If you are lucky you may find something like the above picture i took from the web if not, do not worry the land ahead has more to offer as you move on.

Snuggling, making our way through the broken roads based on pieces of broken information we managed to gather from the locals due to a language barrier that exists between the travelers and the locals... we reached the rock laden river bed in Shnongpdeng village.

Add caption

Now, being true to the traveler ethics one must make a sacred pact with oneself to leave the place with great memories only but without any footprints on the place.So be ready to pack all your garbage into a bag, if not one does not deserve to cherish the beauty of a place like this.

A ride by the wooden ferry or a modern kayak can easily be uptaken to cross the river and reach the promised riverside where we stayed the night. Be informed that the night stay is deficient to any kind of electricity or any facilities uprising from its use. Lighting comes from hurricane lamps and bonfire.
Basic amenities for reliving yourself of the natures calls are well established using make shift arrangements.

The boat rides awaits.
Its easy to learns to steer these things

The nighfall

The bonfire is the camp center. Chit-chats, boiling water and
cooking, all can be done here.

Dawki along with clear waters is also a place of clear skies. Visiting Dawki will change the night sky for you forever. Its a humbling experience to just lay back in the land an watch the night sky full of all the stars and the interstellar beyond and just be a part of the whole marvel the universe is.

Early mornings begin with gushes of cool air and cool sand beneath your feet. Trust me, the place is only for a water enthusiast and if you are one...a jump into the chilling waters will be inevitable.

A small fire can help boil the water and saves from the chilly breeze

When all is said and done for all the necessary morning rituals one must embark upon the task for which we came, "enjoy the waters"

The locals....always smiling

joy of the water....more to follow

Look at the rivers beds while scuba diving or snorkeling.Swing across the rivers and jump from the highest points into the waters. Its simply amazing.

The beauty lies n the eyes of the beholder...but such a place has to be sacred for a traveler. Maintaining the integrity and longevity of the place is utmost...so when you are moving out..do remember to clena up the place off your footprints. 

I just wish to return!!

It has been a strong inbred belief in me...that we are the ones to choose what is best and what we make out of life.The choices we make now may lay a way for greater things to come up.having said this...but knowing all of this i very easy i suppose,but doing what is right matters the most....because as it is rightly said "knowledge not put to practice is futile" and the very same gives us a path...of satisfaction and gratitude towards everything that makes it possible.But as i may put it...there remains no being who may not be affected or carried away by delusions coming in way of this noble practice.And today....i too feel standing on such a path...where i feel decisions i make here would affect people more than just me....actions of now..will decide my satisfaction...some years from now.The curiosity i nurture now...will give way to greater findings for not just me...but for the higher pursuit in life...that is "service". The once brazen thirst and hunger for greatness and completeness seems to be tangled in some kinds of strong invisible strings of neglect and connivance.In the pursuit i come back here...come back to one of my beloved sections of the heart....that is "writing"....with the same zeal..to the same hunger...and to the sheer hunt for knowledge......."i just wish to return"

where to find the "spirit"...

i am no die hard fan of athletics....but sometimes i do find it enchanting to watch someone adroit performing that gives one a sense of awe and surprise.yes,indeed its great to find at least someone fighting for glory and pride with right means and rock turning dedication.thinking about the same some random thoughts cross your mind thinking about any of your favorite performers who may have brought laurels to self and the country by their hard work on the field,and when one thinks about the same we can not bypass the great sporting event, THE CWG 2010 India hosts this sporting season.India may have done a praiseworthy job bringing these games home,people may also enjoy the games to peaks of fervor and an immaculate sportsmanship.

in spite of the brighter side that kind of bolsters the reason for these games one should not look on to the guiding light and the underlining principles of the mega sporting event.if one looks up the real means of the commonwealth is to promote friendship,harmony and celebrating a festival dedicated to sports between the countries that were once under the British imperial powers.no doubt we may have been freed from the shackles of ruthless imperialism practiced by an other country...but to look deep we are still entangled in the cobweb of other issues.

Take for instance a games village that looks less like a sporting arena but more like a fortress....Delhi deployed more than 150,000 security men laden with automatic and semi-automatic rifles,unmanned air vehicles,anti-aircraft guns,bomb diffusion squads,snipers,cctv cameras and lots more in stealth form.by a deep analysis the games may be supporting the spirits mentioned above but only when besieged.have we gone astray,has the spirit of aggression taken a macabre face to kill rather than to win,have we forgotten to follow humanitarian way of life if not guided by a gun.i want to address this writing to anyone who wishes to target and shake the "spirit of humanity" the very foundation on which the great indian system of life rests......"jiyo..utho..jeet lo"may just sound like a theme song but is also the elixir that when missing sucks out the marrow from life.So lets go out and find the "spirit" of humanity,friendship,happiness and most important...the "spirit of life"....so all my fellas enjoy the extravaganza and as i have a dear quote that comes to me now...



"let men live like men
and let animals live like animals"




ENJOY

a new kind of love!!

ever sat down to experience and realize all the things around u that u may like..those which could bring a smile to your face...give you a light of hope in the darkest time...and connect you to your inner self..bringing the world closer to you...running around the time is one constraint..but when appraised against the peace of mind i thing time is left behind...

today i found what i will call.."a new kind of love" for me...never experienced to close(close is too far not even anywhere around)

just swapping TV channels at ma place i today got on to listen to one of the finest poetry i had heard till date..pure ecstasy i should call it...and it was the very much loved and melodious Hindi in which the golden words described 'love'....so simple yet so intricate and there and then i was a fan..fan of the diffused and fragrant words that could captivate the soul of any human being..
one of the great lines i still remember are...........
"pyar k baare me maine jitna likha..
pyar us se b bda hokar dikha...
pyar likhte likhte kalam ruk gai..
dhai akshar k aage kalam jhuk gai"...



so each one of us may not be having the "new kind of love" as the same one but i should say..go out look for something new to do to life..bring a new flavor and savor a beauty which "if u knew u liked it, wud have missed if not done it".

ENJOY

its almost time!!!

It was 22nd august..4 years back when i stepped at the college grounds to accommodate myself at the hostel of ACE & AR.Numerous times have gone by since then,we mat countless people and on the bigger picture had a merry time at this place.But during these fantastic years....that have passed by undetected...the thought of leaving this place seldom crossed our minds.....and now when 2 days back we had the hostel FAREWELL party i just realized..........."its almost time"..........we had organized the same events thrice before, for those moving out but the this time it was different,it was for us and somewhere had the message that we are soon to leave the place and exit the gates where we lived life in the most carefree manner.The party i should mention was really good and well organized...though we had a higher portion of faculty invitation than what we are accustomed to...but the change was for the good.as they left we had the dance in which each one of the hostel let himself free.......and then was the water pouring from the first and the third floor..........oh man!! it was really fun.....and at end i would just say that i hope each one of us moves out of this place to write for himself/herself the golden destiny that we aim for.........best of luck to everyone.........

a lot to come!!

:-)(i am smiling now)


sitting ideal listening to "the angel" by the aerosmith...i am thinking about everything that has gone by....everything we have savored about each moment that went past giving us something....some may have been new some old, some uninteresting but some good to be faced again.....but i don`t know why something suddenly inside me suddenly starts think about what may be behind the door.....its a surprise gift wrapped in the opaque packing of time.Sometimes getting eager to open the pack like the kid,who has come to know about a gift with his name on the tag....phew!!.Silent but commanding tricks time plays on you...and we really don`t discover how and when we have been shifted to a totally different situation..conditions change,boundaries change,changed friends and foes and most importantly responsibilities changed.Have to go on....have to run ...have to try to win..bcoz every time we are to take a break....we listen to one of the "angel song" and we again discover..."there`s a lot to come".........

THE TRUE HERO'S.

This was a story that i came across while surfin thr'u many blogs like any other day but the story waz touchin and somewhere is a part of each one of our livez so wanted to share wid all as waz done by itz original blogger mr. Anirudh Singh..

A TRUE STORY WHICH MAY B FOUND SOMEWHERE EVERYDAY BUT NOT ALWAYS CHERISHED.

Last Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra.
When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different...

As we set off, my eyes fell on a few magazines (kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver's back rest.

I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel.

My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines.

This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle.

Then I looked round again, and discovered more - there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths
- from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.

There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan.

I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.

I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished.

I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when hisemployer's plastic company was shut down.

He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night.

No break unless he was unwell. "Sahab, ghar mein baith ke T.V dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega."

We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai - the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life.
I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time.

He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use.

He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: "25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped.

Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50.

My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO!

A hero who deserves all our respect!!!

Our journey came to an end;

45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai, my temporary home.

We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tipthat would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.

I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.