Sunday, 24 February 2013

The Shortest Month

February is not only the shortest month of the year literally, but also figuratively! The past couple of weeks seem to have whizzed past at breakneck speed!... As North India's biggest sports festival Spardha'13, organized by our college, got underway; IIT-BHU witnessed the influx of over two thousand participants from all over the country for this adrenaline pumping event!... And although I fancy myself as an amateur in certain sports like table tennis and badminton, I decided to spend the weekend with my father instead, who had taken some time out from his hectic schedule and come over to Varanasi for a trifling number of days...!

But due to the ongoing 'Kumbh Mela', the world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims in and around the Allahabad region, booking a hotel in Varanasi became an arduous task. However, after a few grueling hours of searching, my father finally managed to obtain a room in the Haifa hotel, overlooking the Assi Ghat, at double the normal rates.

I had come over from my hostel and the bird's eye-view of Varanasi and the banks of the Ganges, that we got from the hotel terrace, was simply breath-taking!... For the first time since I had come to Varanasi, I was truly able to appreciate the beauty and charm of the old architecture that surrounded the hotel, neglecting the filth in the streets below.

This area has numerous medium to high range hotels and lodges, which attracts a tumultuous number of tourists every year. We noticed some of the foreigners residing in the lodge across the street, opposite to our hotel, keenly analyzing this strange place where they had ended up. Quite frankly observing them was nothing less than hilarious. One of them, with long locks and his mop-like moustache, was trying his best to play a flute but it sounded more like the moaning of a little puppy. He remained engrossed in it for hours on end, as we ordered dinner after capturing the beauty of the hotel terrace and its surroundings in our camera.

A supper consisting of sweet corn soup and some delicious sandwiches served my taste buds much better than the traditional mess food. Sleeping in an air-conditioned room on a cozy mattress was a pleasant change over the countless number of sleepless nights in our hostel, where my room-mate and I used to compete for the title of most mosquitoes killed every night.

We woke up late in the morning today, and the hotel staff, while not as active as in other major cities, still indulged us with the luxury of room service. Its raining outside and as February is about to end as soon as it started, the scene has been suddenly set for me to be writing this article, while enjoying a very late breakfast...!
A View of the Ganga coastline from the terrace of the Haifa Hotel

Friday, 15 February 2013

Breaking The Shackles!!!...

Take away all the expectations to be met, duties to be done and impressions to be created; strip away all the layers of baseless assumptions and fears that builds up within the confines and complexities of the human brain, and all that remains is a guy who simply wants to live, fulfill his ambitions and make a mark for himself before biting the dust!...

You might be tempted to think that these are the conceited words of a despondent, but they unequivocally aren't! I might not be closer to perfection than many of you out there, and that's totally fine because guess what? If your aims aren't laughable, then they're probably too small!...

Like many others, right from my budding days in school, all the way through higher secondary and even now in IIT, I had been struggling to break free of all the chains imposed on us by society, myths and a countless number of other things which tend to hold us back. But somehow, someway, clawing and scratching the rungs of life's ladder, I think I've finally reached that threshold, where I'm ready to break free of all these shackles!

A couple of days back, a few friends and I were just outside our college premises enjoying some hot tea, as the clock's hour hand struck the bewitching hour. Taking in the cool midnight breeze and gazing at the stars in the clear night sky, I was face to face with life's nitty-gritties. And in a flash, bleakness was replaced by chastity. As we leaned against our bikes and sipped on the tepid beverage, we could feel the ardor growing within us, abetting us to decimate all the walls confining us!...

Those few moments resurrected me as I felt reborn! And its only a matter of time before others are gripped by this overwhelming sensation too!...

BE THE FORCE!!!...