???

Right now I am in a fix. This site has seen me coming every now and then and yet I am unable to decide what contents should be published here. This blogging is, believe me, more addictive than orkutting -- if I may say so -- for anybody having the slightest liking towards writing.

... until the time I make up my mind.

insane instinct

In Mumbai and almost the entire Maharashtra, it was raining like hell since last Friday. It was only today that the mighty Sun shone its warm light on a drenched world. There were a couple of things that turned me on this monsoon. First, the State Transport bus journey from Ale, my native place, to Thane via the Malshej Ghat. It was something you have to witness yourself to have an idea about. I am not so good a writer to describe the sheer naked beauty of a rain-soaked mountainside. I feel Mumbai should consider herself fortunate to enjoy the proximity of the mighty Sahyadris. Second, the book ‘Maajhi Mulukhgiri’ by Milind Gunaaji. I felt almost ashamed on reading the numerous places that he has given a first-hand information on in his book, because I must have visited not even a tenth of those; with all these places within Maharashtra. These rains had left me marooned in my own house. Our plan for a trek to Vikramgad that was to materialise today was also force-cancelled. And then, I had a tremendous urge. With a friend showing little interest, I was left all alone to go to Yeoor, a local hill; not that I don’t like the idea.
So yesterday I started from home at about 3:20 and reached Yeoor base around 4 pm. I had no intention of climbing the hill on a tar road. So no sooner did I see a path going right into the jungle, than I ventured onto it. The path was good enough surrounded by dense trees and criss-crossed regularly by rivulets. The danger of a cheetah lurking from behind and pouncing on my back was always there. I kept on walking; simply. I was questioning myself at what point should I back off. The tension within me was telling and I felt sweat in spite of a continuous drizzle. I must have walked for about 35 minutes and the thoughts of retracing my path back to the tar road were getting stronger when I was met by a loud roaring stream with a considerable force through which I saw some people making their way. I followed them for some time, blindly; the stream not letting them any knowledge of a lone walker just a few steps behind them. I had to turn back on knowing from them that this path won’t lead me to the aashram on the hilltop. I didn’t attempt much of tracing back my path, but just held on to some trace a passing stream had carved. To my surprise I was led to a tar road with a dead end. I took the road with the dead end behind me. The gate marking the end of road would probably have attracted more attention on my part had I not been in a hurry to find a way out.
There had been a point of time before I reached the road when I thought that I would be really lucky to get home safe tonight. There have been a couple of instances where an apparently safe action had landed me in deep trouble, though not ever-lasting, and walking through the jungle I just prayed that this doesn’t turn out to be something like that; if it indeed had, I would possibly have required to pay dearly; very dearly.
So walk I did along the road. I felt relieved at the sight of a few people across the fence on my right, which was running all along. Now it was just a matter of time before I got back to something ‘human’. To my left was a rising mountain slope and down it flowed many a big and small streams on to the road and down the fence. At last! I saw an opening in the fence – a properly cut-open part – and without worrying about trespassing I went through it. The rest was easy. The area was adjacent to a hill resort and the fence I believe was meant to protect it from cheetahs. I took a dip in the stream there – a mighty one again – and headed down the hill, on a road. Strangely I showed a finger to another path that seemingly promised an adventurous traveller a shorter route to his destination through the deep jungles.
Now show me two people in the world who will agree on the definitions of ‘instinct’ and ‘insanity’ and I will tell you one from the other.

are you afraid of the DARK?

I first of all would like to mention the name of Sydney Sheldon, for I owe the title of this essay to one of his novels; the mention however stands a value if this essay is responsible for a reduction in sales of the suspense storywriter’s famous book, if any.
It's been a long time since somebody asked me the question I have put forward in my title and when I wonder why this is so, it doesn’t take much time to figure out things. It's in the childhood only that a normal person is faced with this question. The reason can be put down to sheer unfamiliarity of the dark world. Childhood is the time when your daily routine is seldom perturbed; you are supposed to wake up at 7:00 am, go to school, have lunch and a siesta in afternoon, do some homework play a lot, watch some TV and so on, that's it. You don't need to stay up late until night and worry about your position two years into the future.
It's only after getting to your tenth or twelfth class, when you start having sleepless nights. I remember very nicely one of my first such experiences. I had spent some time in my balcony leaving aside my studies trying to enjoy the all-pervading silence. The city was asleep and there were lights burning everywhere, nevertheless that really seemed like the rule of the dark, the time mother nature planned for us so that we can relax; and contemplate on the day's events, perhaps. On a certain day I also listened carefully the sounds of the canine community in my neighbourhood. The present institute where I am studying knows no sleep. You can go anywhere, anytime and your friend can't curse you or ask you to come later if he is in deep sleep, and you decide to spend some time with him. It's been quite a few times that we returned to our hostels late in the night after visiting some nice place, like the beach or a hotel or a late night movie.
The essence of the whole essay is that, you have to get familiarised with a thing, if you want to be not afraid of it. Now, being a student of science, I will try to see if the hypothesis works equally well with some other things. What about the fear of talking to new people, fear of undertaking a project or for that matter, even the fear of riding a cycle in a crowded city street. A bit of thinking and you will see the question doesn't need an answer from anybody other than yourself. It's not that I have put here the greatest piece of advice you will ever receive, it's just that I tried to generalise a thing about which I personally have little questions to ask.