"WHY"

What let me into writing this piece was a thought that had been gruelling me for the past some weeks. And here is how it goes...

Why can’t life be objective? Why do we complicate our lives... and why is it that “WHY” is purely a subjective problem? What I intend to convey is that questions like ‘what, where, which, when and even how’ can be answered with a little bit of knowledge and understanding. But the word “WHY” is so complex in itself that it takes one to become a philosopher and turn bald in the process of finding it’s solution. A why, always presents a mystery which doesn’t come with a well defined explanation.

One such mystery which I wanted to understand was “WHY WORK” and I was desperate to find the truth behind it. This compelled me into churning my brain to get some ideas and realize them into words. Going by the length of the question one may feel it’s not a tough nut to crack, but believe me once you commence contemplating on the subject you might even end up committing suicide, which is never the correct decision. Here are my views which will definitely give anyone seriously interested a fine platform to begin his introspection on the subject.


The topic was literally leading me towards a nervous breakdown and whenever I encounter such situations where I am placed in an unstable equilibrium state, I imagine myself to be sitting on a beach beside a sand castle, gazing at the sun rise from underneath the ocean, with a quote playing as background music in my head: “To answer many questions you need to look beyond the horizon”. What it does is purely miraculous as I feel lighter and get the hint that the finest truths of life are like hidden treasures which can only be found when your total effort exceeds even your cent percent. With this, commenced a new moment; with thoughts flooding my brain and they are discussed hereafter.

Taking the scenario of the present day lifestyle, a question as humungous as this is subtly answered in words like “one has to work to earn and he has to earn in order to live and raise his family”. Indeed if you look deeply into it this is exactly “why” everyone works today.

People work to earn money, which they feel is the source to feed their family and themselves. Today Money is considered to be the sole power that can buy someone happiness along with other necessities of life. The perception of money being the sole reason for someone to work might not be true since for some it is success, fame or power. But believe me these are just synonyms of money and its manifestations in one’s mind. And so it goes on... man chases money all his life well knowing the fact that he is running out of time. Every precious moment that should have been dedicated into being lived was wasted earning some pieces of paper.

But what compels him to do so? Let us have a sneak peek into the training that goes into the making of this philosophy. It is the psychological nurturing that goes into one’s personality development right from his childhood. Parents, family, peers and the surrounding atmosphere are phenomenal in moulding the clay. Attributes like competition, thirst for power and fame go into the making and as time goes by, these become the foundations of one’s personality. Hence is created a machine which only knows about money, power and fame. This machine may even end up achieving all these in life, but still there is emptiness in his soul which agitates him and makes him feel incomplete all his life and hence he goes after more and more, being caught in a vicious circle, but never being able to fill that cavity.

What I feel is that spirit of competition is excellent but when it comes with an air of superiority it loses its worth. Thus in order to complete one’s life, one must break these strands of moribund life and reincarnate from within in order to lead a life true to oneself. Doing so isn’t the easiest of steps when you have lived a life of self created norms and conditions, which repel you from doing anything different. But self-believe is the sole power that can help someone break these barriers and metamorphose. With this much thought going into it I eventually did realise “why must one work”.

Every person must primarily work in order to complete his life and secondarily to earn or feed and be fed. One must work in order to be blissful, joyous and live a life true to oneself. A great philosopher once exclaimed “Make work your hobby and hobby your work and observe the world change in front of your own eyes”. Lastly I feel one must work to develop the society for the better and one’s work must contribute even if at nano scale to the growth of not just mankind but the earth as a whole that we abode.


I end with a thought “Biggest conundrums with a little more thought put into them, and an eternal solution is in its making”.

ALAPPUZHA

 DAY 7

Haven’t written about the final day for almost months since I wrote the last post! Wondering what took me so long? 

"Quest for a perfect ending…"

But does it really exist… Don’t know and can’t tell, although what I can express is that there is no point in procrastinating work till you find the magic ingredient which makes the recipe perfect. Now is the time, so, GO FOR IT! Reiterating these noble words in my head, I am finally writing about the final day and hence concluding this topic. So here is what transpired on the final day of our trip in ‘Venice of India-Alapuzzha’.

Vembanad Lake

We booked the shikara that our so called guest house had and rented it for four hours, as the person in charge told us this much time would be sufficient to take a leisurely circuitous route in the backwaters and see the Vembanad lake as well (Longest Lake in India and Largest in Kerala, which really appears as the ocean itself as the other shore is never visible). We checked out from the guest house as well and proceeded for breakfast. Since it was the last one of our trip it definitely had to be south Indian (cannot defy custom now, can we?) , and luckily we found a restaurant “India Coffee House” which didn’t disappoint us in any way and served us amazing coffee as well, hence worthy of its name.  

Shikara

Beautiful House-Boat

Following it we reached our boarding point and settled ourselves into our modestly decorated Shikara. The journey began from a backwater tributary which was mainly the resting place of all kinds of boats and hence we got to see a variety of house boats resting supremely in the waters. A few pics to give a visual feel…as a picture is worth a thousand words!

Resting for the day to begin

It was quite a unique experience, extremely serene and tranquil. The only sounds were that of our Shikara cutting the water and a few birds chirping here and there, nothing else for almost the entire duration of four hours. 

School Boat

During this time we got to know why the name Venice indeed suited this place, as we saw vegetable vendors in boats, children waiting at boat-stops for their school-boat to come and pick them up, people crossing the water in a boat to get to the other side, and houses that run parallel to water for miles (and we were told, they flood during the monsoon every year!!! But people still continue to live there). 

Boat-Stop

Ishan with the new friend

With The Bird...missing the hat and blindfold!

Most happening moment of our boat-trip was when we stopped for Nariyal pani and were welcomed by an eagle. It was electrifying! We got to take pictures with it sitting on our shoulder, only thing missing was a blind fold…and we could have officially become pirates. Anyways…it was memorable as this creature was amazing. Firstly a pet bird (out of cage) and secondly a pet eagle…can’t get better than this. After spending some quality time with our new friend we moved on and kept witnessing serenity of Alleppy as can be felt from some of the flicks presented in this post.

Ravi showing the way

House Boat in Action

We got to see some house boats in action too following which we got an idea  and we took the control of boat from the driver (or whatever is the term for Shikara driver) who taught us the basics in a hush and then in turns we throttled our Shikara, capturing the scene on film (or rather binary to be technically correct). Finally when we were about to reach the end (i.e. the same place from where we began) we got a call from our college friends that our counseling had been postponed by at least a month. So, our mood suddenly changed track and now we were planning on how to escape from Kerala and reach our homes. Luckily the news came after we had enjoyed the whole trip (7 days in different districts of Kerala)! Else who knows what we might have done if we had got this intel earlier…we could have possibly cancelled it midway, thank God nothing of that sort happened.

Can serve as a Conference Hall

After the Shikara round concluded we had a quick lunch and boarded a bus to reach Trivandrum and thereby our college wherefrom further plan of action could be chalked out. I guess we reached before 8 pm and hence avoided being handed a memo (don’t know if we were still eligible to be handed one…as college life was over, quite a realization, actually). 

Panoramic View

Placid Waters

Suddenly we weren’t students any more but grown-ups who had to enter their professional life soon enough… And somehow this trip proved to be our transformation.  

THE END … OR YET, A NEW BEGINNING  

Periyar

DAY 6

As per the information gathered, we got to know the primary way to explore “Periyar Reserve” is by  ferries which ply at 2 hour intervals mainly in the morning and evening time. Since we were to leave the place before evening set in, we had only one option. Moreover, its first journey commences at 0630 hrs followed by second at 0900 hours and if you have been reading the posts all along you would definitely know which one we opted for. Yes! The second one… (Although, we realized afterwards that first one could have been better, since animals come to the lake early morning for a drink and hence there is a higher probability to come face to face with them at that time) Thus, if you ever plan on visiting this place kindly compromise on one day’s sleep, it might just prove to be worth the effort.

Here It Begins!

So, we checked out of our room, kept our luggage in a storeroom at the hotel and had our breakfast (need not mention which one) and boarded an auto which dropped us in the reserve. There is a parking area beyond which vehicles are not allowed and hence we had to walk in order to reach the (ferry) boarding point. The stroll was accompanied by a variety of bird voices in a moderately dense forest. We bought the ferry tickets after reaching the destined place and headed into a gallery which showcased various animals that abode Periyar (an informative as well as visually appealing place...I guess the forest dept. has done its homework on how to attract crowd) while we waited for the boarding to begin. The way seats are pre-allocated when you go for a movie so was the case with this ferry (a well-organized system).

There should definitely be some tigers around

Various tour packages available

More or Less! What we saw...

It was a pretty slow beginning and we hoped it would soon pick up some speed but sadly it never did, making it a very peaceful 90 minute journey. It was so serene that I eventually slept off latter half of the ride, partly due to the fact that we were able to see, leave a tiger not even an elephant. A few birds must admit though (pretty colorful ones) and a wild bison were the major sightings for us (quite disappointing) mainly because of our timing. The flora and panoramic landscape view however was quite exquisite which we thoroughly enjoyed for some time, after which I decided there were better things to do and hence dozed away (didn’t miss on any action…LOL). 

Other ways of exploring the reserve are “Tiger Trail” being the first, wherein a trained professional takes you on a track most likely (as they claim...but, who knows) taken by a tiger, and “Bamboo Rafting” wherein you get to roam around in a bamboo boat instead of a ferry (however, kindly note it isn’t in any way similar to an adrenaline rushed river rafting and hence quite dull).

Sighting of An Animal... And we went to Periyar for this guy

Major Attraction Of Periyar

Once we were through with this we came back to Thekkady, had a heavy lunch at a restaurant with enjoyable ambience and boarded a bus to reach our final destination-“Alleppy- Venice of India...or so, it's called”.  It took nearly four hours to reach this place i.e. just before sunset (not that it’s famous for sunsets or anything…for that one must consider Kanyakumari, tip of Indian mainland). One man saw us getting out of a bus and potential customers as we were, he asked us whether we were looking for accommodation. In usual circumstances one must not entertain such people but since we were three guys and he was just one we thought there isn’t any harm in having a look. He led us into a pretty narrow lane and after about ten minutes of walking we arrived at the hotel. It was more of a house turned into a guest house kind of place, but very beautiful. With a lush green garden, a hammock hanging between two coconut trees (as it must be) and white circular pebbles lying in a pattern along the perimeter of the house, it was love at first sight. We booked ourselves into one of their rooms and relaxed for a while.

As I said...more or less, what we saw

After a while as hunger was ticking in we got ready and headed for the market beside a backwater lagoon. We inquired about various ways of touring the place and got to know that there are two predominant options, one being a shikara while other a house-boat. A house-boat is definitely worth it if one is with family or in a group of more than six. Since we were just three we decided to go with the first option. A shikara charges by the hour whereas a house boat is rented for a day offering meals on deck, all included in the rent. 

Note: Thus when in a large group house-boat is definitely a great option as you need not check into a hotel at all, just book a house boat (mostly ply at noon, hence reach accordingly…would require a little bit of foresight and planning )

After we were sure about our next day’s plan we went to have our dinner (not many options available, but we did find a place serving north Indian…must mention it had an interesting variety of juices to offer) and headed for our guest-house once through with our meal.     

Another tiring day ends!!! And by tomorrow night we shall be back in college, to enjoy another oblivious period of waiting, waiting and waiting, chanting seat matrix day and night.

NO! That will never happen .

Two States

DAY 5

Continuation of previous post...In case you haven't read that, here is the link  

http://enigmatic-kush.blogspot.in/2013/03/munnarsouth-indias-highest-peak.html

Done with this we headed for our next destination, a “Tea Museum”. How can you not expect to have one of these in a tea estate and then how can you miss one of these when you have an opportunity to? Thus there we were… standing at the entry of the museum buying tickets for the museum (mentioning this because it was an expensive entry…but an experience worthwhile). Once inside we got to see a video about the history of this tea estate Munnar-how the idea originated, the growth of plantations, settling of many farmers from nearby states, British involvement, development of various facilities in and around Munnar like electrification and establishment of rail structure… etc, etc. In short it was a knowledgeable flick. 

Scaled Plant...Thorough inspection going on at the other end! 

One of the cutting stages

Next, we saw a scaled manufacturing plant in operation and got to learn a little about tea. The process involves four stages of cutting (of leaves) followed by fermentation, drying and filtering into different sizes. The finest particles are termed as “tea dust” and impart strong colour (a favourite choice of the common man) while the bigger particles add flavor and fragrance with almost no colour (quite popular amongst connoisseurs of tea). 

Filtering In Process

Another piece of information…Green tea which has become quite popular these days is manufactured differently with no fermentation happening in the process and hence the time to get the final product is roughly thrice as compared to the usual product, justifying the high cost to customer. There was also a presentation on the right way to have tea. In a nutshell it suggested that tea is best taken without milk, but I know habits die hard (still mentioning as even if one of the readers brings about a change in his/her style of drinking it will be a blog worth writing). We came back to Munnar, had our lunch at the same place (fifth meal here…Really amazing food! Must try for anyone…goes by the name of “ANNAPOORNA”) and headed for our next destination “Periyar”. 

We had enquired as to how to reach Periyar from our hotel manager and verified the information from our reliable Dhaba waiter (Yes! It was usually the same guy who served us…of the five meals we had there) and it appeared he provided us with some valuable inputs. And we went along with the knowledge imparted to us. There isn’t any direct bus to periyar from this place and hence we first had to board a bus to “Theni” wherefrom we could catch a bus to “Thekkady” (A town 5 kms from Periyar Reserve…and the place where most of the hotels are located). 

Note: One can however find accommodation at periyar reserve as well, if he/she is willing to shell out the amount of money usually demanded by 5 star hotels... (We obviously went against this decision…coz we were neither going on a honeymoon nor on a business trip…LOL)  

It's Still Kerala

Coming back to buses…two buses ply each day and we caught the 1330 hrs one (Oops…forgot when the other one departs) and it took nearly four hours to reach the intermediate stop “Theni” which is located in Tamil Nadu. As we crossed the state border once again the distinction was quite clearly visible, this time though, it wasn’t the roads but the dry and dismal state of the state which gave away its identity. It is the topography and the weather which can be blamed apart from the administration (for a change) for this particular condition of the state. The Western Ghats lie almost at the Kerala and Tamil Nadu border and the monsoon comes from the south-west direction, hence wetting the lands of Kerala but leaving the state behind the mountains crying for water. And hence I would once again like to say “KERALA IS TRULY BLESSED”. 

Here comes Tamil Nadu

Anyways, from Theni we caught the second bus which took a mighty two hours to drop us at our destined location -Thekkady. We booked ourselves into a decent hotel (after checking the room…obviously) at a fair price. After relaxing for a while we headed for dinner. To our surprise we found in Thekkady, branch of the restaurant where we had one of our meals in Munnar (the only meal which we didn’t have at our usual Munnar place). Since we knew the taste would suit the needs of a North-Indian tongue (as we had already tried it out the day before) we had our dinner at this place (It was a Marwari Restaurant). 

 

Feeling sad for the dry and arid region!

It served delicious food (Maybe we were too hungry to notice any flaw in the food or we were just too happy to find north Indian food in Periyar…Can’t say!). We roamed around for some time after the dinner in the gentle breeze, made some enquires, went to our hotel and slept peacefully.

Another exhausting yet beautiful day ends…with just two more days left.