Thanks for going away 2020!

Woahhhh...What an year it has been! If I look back in 2020, I see that this year has been like a movie, wherein 2020 is a character who wanted to be famous but chose all the wrong means to achieve its goals. It achieved its goals, but the scars it has left behind will be etched in everyone's mind thoroughout the life. World will never be same again and BC probably will now become 'Before Covid' instead of 'Before Chirst'. While pandemic goes by the name COVID-19 as the virus was first detected in 2019, it was 2020 in which it brought the world to its knees. Lockdowns across nations, people losing lives to this invisible demon, economies getting hit severly, people facing all kinds of hardships have been few highlights of this year. Not many talked about Delhi NCR pollution or other recurring issues. Covid-19 was slowly cementing its place in the initial months, while India was busy in welcoming Trump, Delhi was busy controlling the communal riots, and we were busy planning trips. We visited Dwarka and Rajkot in March. That was Kushagra's first trip. I also took my mother to Vaishno Devi for the time. After going through the lockdown (period when migrant wrokers and their families had to walk thousands of kilometers to go back to their home while the Rest of India was enoying re-telecast of Ramayan, Mahabharat, Byomkesh Bakshi and other old serials), things started opening up in June. Our Kimaya turned 4 and we enjoyed every moment with her like always. However, June also brought lot of pain in our family as our Suneet (Kake) Chacha lost his life after losing his battle to Corona. This was very unexpected and tragic for all of us. The second half of the year was all about getting closer to normal. While professionally this year also wasn't great for me (i would say it has been challenging), on personal front we were able to spend a lot of time together. We still couldn't meet out Dadi (she had fractured her hip bone in March) or cousins or other relatives, because of the fear that Corona has brought in our lives. Our Kushagra turned 1 on 11th October and it was a very special day for all of us. He has started to walk and speaks some words. It is fun and an amazing feeling to watch him grow. Now that 2020 has ended, I would say we are learning to be more grateful to God for all that it has given to us. I am hopeful that 2021 will be kind to all the front line workers and to mankind in general. I hope we see an end to this pandemic soon. While I am really happy that 2020 is gone and more than ever I am hopeful about 20201, I pray for a stable and peaceful mind for everyone, a less violent world, better environment, stability and success in mine and Neha's carreer, great health for my parents and elders and family. Bye Bye 2020! I hope you won't be missed.

2019: The Year that Was

As a person grows older, it is said that he/she gets matured, his ability to distinguish right from wrong improves, he grows as a person, but probably his risk taking capacity reduces and his fears also grow with him. While every new year brings its own charm, it also brings in all these possibilities of changes. While we are saying bye to 2019 and are welcoming 2020, we also need to realize that we are welcoming a new decade altogether. This decade showed me different phases of life. It brought me smiles, prosperity, friends, happiness, but also took away someone very precious to me. I got married in this decade, very recently had a kid, worked with different organizations, completed my MBA and enjoyed life. Now that we have entered the new decade, hope is to have loads of happiness, great health and success in this new decade. The year 2019 brought Kushagra Kapila in our lives and myself & Neha thus have become proud parents of Kushagra. We also saw our Kimaya turn 3 years old. This year I changed my job again,but have been happy till now in this new organization. Some highlights of the year 2019 have been: extreme cold wave in North India & Delhi, protest & support rallies for CAA & NRC, England winning the cricket world cup for the first time, because of a very weird rule; very very poor pollution still haunting, among others. Just like we had high expectations from 2019, we now have huge expectations from 2020, with a hope that there will be less killings and less fights across the world, peace will prevail, we will find out ways to reduce plastic and reduce air pollution, settle in our professional lives, while giving enough time at home. With this hope we move ahead, welcoming 2020 and saying goodbye to 2019.

2018: The year that was

Well...normally this blog comes before the year ends, this time around i am writing this down at 3 am on 01st January of 2019. 2018 probably was a year of learning, making mistakes, taking decisions and travelling. While we learn and very often unlearn them, in 2019 I hope to keep learning and keep the learnings with me. The year started with working for one organization and has now ended with myself working with another organization. This year I took decision to resign from my Job without having any other offer, as I was not enjoying that job.I am grateful to god that I had the comfort and support from family to take this decision. I spent 5 months watching movies, swimming, travelling and doing theater. All these activities gave me immense joy. I was part of the play "Spartacus"where I played the role of "Flavious". The workshop was amazing and there were so many takeaways. We traveled to many places this year...Ambala, Udaipur, Nainital, Jim Corbett, Manali, Orccha, Khajuraho, Lonavala, Ahmedabad, Surat and Sariska. Each place has something different to order and thus it was an enjoyable experience. I hope that this run continues and we are able to explore many more places in 2019. The year saw our Kimaya turn 2 Years. She now understands a lot of things and even speaks much more. Off late she has become a bit cranky. Hopefully with herself joining the school after few months, her energy will get channelized. On the other side, 2018 saw pollution issues still being a concern, India winning two Test Matches in Australia, Trump & Kim Jong fighting and then coming close to some solutions and many high profile marriages. Year 2018 might not have been successful professionally but was rewarding. I hope 2019 brings in career related stability, great health, fit mind for all. I hope we are able to spread happiness and help more and more needy people and enjoy the moments as they pass by. Here's to 2019 with lot of positivity and high expectations and good bye to 2018 for all that it gave and did.

2017: The year that was

Happy to be back and to continue with this habit. Yet another year gone by...2017 you will also soon become history, actually in less than an hour. This year, process was on to hunt for a house and this went on till March. By my father's grace and god's blessings, we bought a house in Gurgaon. This was possible after our family sold our family home in Delhi, which was built by my grandfather. Although, it must have been tough for my mother to shift from Delhi to Gurgaon, leaving behind all her memories, she has now adapted to the new home and new surroundings. First half of the year was very hectic as we were busy in finalizing the home and then getting work done in it, so that we could move. We shifted to this home on 03rd June. On 14th June, our Kimaya turned one. She now speaks different words and even understands a lot of things. I really love it when she calls me 'mama'. 2017 was also special in a way because myself and Neha could take our mothers for an international trip. We visited Bali, Indonesia and Kuala Lumppur, Malaysia and both the mothers enjoyed the experience. I wish we can give them many such experiences in 2018 and beyond. On the job front, although this year has seen ups & downs, I hope it gets even better in 2018, for both of us. The year saw GST being implemented in India on 01st July and also saw Indian women's team losing out in cricket world cup final, after coming agonizingly close to the trophy. While SC had put a ban on selling crackers in NCR, the problem of poor pollution continued to haunt all of us. What lies ahead is not known but I hope that this new year 2018 we will hopefully make some significant improvements in controlling the pollution. My welcome for 2018 will be simple with hopes of seeing a better and safe world. We will also try to do more to make this a better place to live in. Once the euphoria of welcoming 2018 settles down, I am sure, from 2018, this world would ask for a more sensible Donald Trump, a controlled Kim Jong II, no terrorism, no killings over beef and lot n lots of smiles all around. Cheers to 2018 and goodbye 2017. Thanks for being there in our lives.

2016

I had almost forgotten about a small ritual I have been following since last few years. A blog on the last day of the year. Thankfully it came to my mind few hours before the year would have ended and here I am once again, after an year. I had ended last year's blog praying for cleaner air. However, it looks like quality has further degraded. Not everyone is sad though with this. At least air purifier making companies are happy :D This year has been eventful too. The company I was working with was shut down and I enjoyed at home for almost 2 months. Luckily, I did get a job after that. This year we saw our Kimaya arrive in this world. Every moment when we are with her, we realize how adorable she is. We (me, mom & Neha) had enjoyed amazing South Indian food at Carnatic Cafe, on the day she was born. While we didn't travel much this year (only a short trip to Lansdowne), I successfully did a theater performance, in the play Guru Ghantal, playing the role of Guru. It was a wonderful experience and opportunity. I hope and wish that I get many such opportunities in 2017 and further years. The year saw "DEMON-itization", election of TRUMP and rise of BABA Sehgal on social media :D This too has been an eventful year, but I haven't planned much about what to write. On this note, I wish to say goodbye 2016 and WELCOME 2017. May this new year more peace and prosperity for all.

2015: The Year that Was

Another year about to become ashes, for it won't rise again unlike a pheonix. However, 2015 you will never be forgotten for what you brought for me and what you took away from me. This year ending blog is unlike others; not with much of excitement or energy. This one is just a silent reflection of the past one year. Year which began with a high of myself travelling with friends to a beautiful place, is now about to end, with a sense of confusion, with some regrets, some pain and some happiness. I am not sure if all these can exist together but these blogs have always been genuine, which does give me a feeling that the regrets, pain, happiness; all these are currently existing within me. This year we left a house where I had grown up, seen my teenage and my enterance into adulthood, where we as a family had spent our previous 18 years. The year saw multiple trips to Bangalore for official work and multiple visits to hospital as my father had fallen ill. From March end to August, my father was admitted 4 times to the hospital. He was fighting these demons and his ill health, like he had always done. He fought till the end, never gave up and never let his family feel weak. On the Morning of 13th August he decided that it was time to move on. He moved on and moved out slowly, probably and hopefully in peace. It wasn't easy but we also moved on. We have enjoyed our food, new movies, plays, family functions, get togethers and everything else too. All this without the person we were with since last 3 decades. After 3 months,I got married, on 24thNov 2015. Married the girl for whom I was fighting with my parents. My father had fixed it all just few days before leaving for heaven. I am blessed that he fixed it and approved it. I am unfortunate that he was not there with me when it actually was conceptualized and implemented. Marriage was followed by a trip to Mauritius with my life partner Neha and life is now same and equally different. This year will always be unforgettable for me for the kind of events that happened. However, I will still welcome 2016 with open arms and still hope that tomorrow it will be a better world with less violence, more love and much better and clean air to breathe.

The Great Rann

It was a holiday next day. Everyone was partying and had plans to welcome New Year with crackers, booze, food, music, friends etc. while I quietly was off to bed and had set alarm to wake up at 5 next morning. It was dark in the room, with no one around but I heard a voice saying, “Are you an idiot, not partying on New Year’s Eve and setting alarm for early hours”. I happily ignored it, for the voice didn’t know that my welcome for 2015 will be grand. Early into 2015, I will be travelling to Jewel of the West, also known as Gujarat. With this feeling, I said goodbye to 2014 and went off to sleep. Next morning, journey began via train from New Delhi to Ahmedabad. While we were a group of four travelling, we could get only ticket confirmed. It was easy to manage during the day time but the period from 9pm to 2:30am (time we reached Ahmedabad) was taxing. All four of us had to adjust on a single seat and we somehow managed it. After reaching Ahmedabad, we met 5th member of the group and the only ‘gujju’, who had come along with the cab which had to be our companion for next 1800 kms. We boarded the cab and moved ahead. Our first pit stop was supposed to be ‘Bhachau’, a city 235kms from Ahmedabad. Here, we had to meet ‘Ramji Bhai’, a DD & AIR reporter, who also works passionately to arrange guided tours in Kutch region. We got his number from a blog as the person who had taken Ramji bhai’s services was really impressed and thus wanted that others experience it too. It indeed was of great help to us. I am sure we would have missed out on real beauty of Rann, had we not met Ramji bhai. Coming back to the trip, we had covered around 100kms and our cab started having some issues. Odometer stopped reflecting the kilometres and headlight went off and driver stopped the car, after which it was not even starting. Driver was freaked out. We convinced him that we will push the car and it might start and then we will take it to a place where there might be someone to help us out. We reached a nearby dhaba at around 3:45am where driver tried fixing the issue, but couldn’t. We then reached out to the concerned operator and another cab was arranged for us. We slept in the car till around 5:30am, while waiting for another cab to arrive. The incident actually was a blessing in disguise as the driver who came now (although a man of few words) was an amazing driver and efficiently reduced our travelling time. We moved forward and reached Bhachau to meet Ramji bhai. Bhachau was one of the cities which was severely impacted during 2001 Gujarat earthquake. 8-10kms from Bhachau was a guest house, where Ramji bhai had made arrangement for us to stay. After settling at the guest house, we went for lunch to a nearby mess. It was amazing Gujarati food, complimented by Chach (butter milk), gur (jaggery), green chillies and traditional Gujarati hospitality. Ekal ka Rann After a sumptuous meal, we moved to Ekal ka Rann, which was about 40kms from our guest house. It was dry barren land in most of the part, with some trees and bushes. The area is a wildlife sanctuary, where one can easily spot wild ass and even Neel Gai. As per one of the person accompanying us (Kaushik), tiger can be spotted if someone spends 2-3 days in that region. The area offered such a strong mirage that we thought there was sea few hundred meters ahead of us. After making our cab run for some time to capture a closer glimpse of Wild Ass, we decided to come back. On our way back, it had started getting dark and we thought it will be great go to the white rann now. Ramji bhai accompanied us and directed us. Till a point we took our cab and then got down, only to find mushy land. Ramji bhai informed us that it had a rained a day ago and thus land was mushy and it was better to walk from there, instead of taking the car further. We started walking and around 5oo meters inside, we could see a line glowing with some haze around it. From there was starting the white desert. As we were coming closer to the desert, I started getting Goosebumps. It was a different feeling and an amazing one. We felt like we were about to enter another world. Soon we were walking on the salt and the sound of walking on it was euphonic. We kept walking in till we reached a point where we could see only salt and white light all around us. With moon shining bright overhead, light reflecting off the surface, it looked like we were standing below an inverted bowl with a lamp at the centre of the top of the bowl. The beauty was surreal and none of us had ever witnessed such a sight. I tried capturing the beauty through the mechanical eye, but my digi cam couldn’t do justice to what we were actually witnessing. We sat down and tried to get ourselves immersed in the silence. After spending some time there and listening to some amazing stories about Kutch, from Ramji bhai, we came back to our room to end a tiring but splendid day. Out there in desert, amidst that peaceful bliss, we had left behind some eloquent beauty and the only sound, which was of Hyena crying out of fear after seeing its own shadow. Some History Lessons learnt Paul Prudhomme (American celebrity chef) once said, “You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food”, and this was easily proved right in Gujarat. We had four meals in village homes with people from humble background and the taste of each and every meal was equally outstanding, even though each meal was different either in the way it was prepared or what was offered or how. Beginning the morning of 03rd Jan’15 with mouth-watering ‘Methi Thepla’, a Gujarati flat bread made out of flour and fenugreek leaves; and ‘Poha’, flat and light rice flakes cooked with vegetables and garnished with pomegranate seeds, we knew that this day will also be offering us some great experiences. After the breakfast, we moved towards Dholavira, an archaeological site in Bhacahu district. Site which belongs to Harappan Civilization was discovered by Mr. JP Joshi in 1967-68. It boasted of probably world’s first signboard (which still has not been deciphered) and a water management system so efficient that reflects how much advanced was the science and technology and human’s thinking, even thousands of years ago. The site also had a museum which offers us to look at the utensils which were discovered, along with tools and even ornaments among other things. It is said that Dholavira was occupied seven times with each occupant community having something different about the way they spent time over there. It is also believed by Archaeologists that Dholavira served as an important centre of trade between Punjab, Sindh and Western Asia. After having lunch in a nearby village where we had ‘Bajre na rotla’ (flatbread prepared from Pearl Millet), Chaach (butter milk) and cooked vegetables, we moved towards the Fossil Park, maintained by Gujarat government. The park claims to have wooden fossils about 1.8 billion years old. Being adjacent to white Rann and on the foothill, view from the top offered an amazing site. Our guide ‘Kaushik’ asked us to search for mobile network manually. To our surprise, our phone could catch signal of Telenor Pakistan, as we were very close to the border area. We came back to Ramji bhai’s farm and by the time we reached, it was already dark and temperature had dipped. There was one couple who had come down from Delhi and were also with us throughout the day. After reaching the farm, the evening accompanied by music, was well spent around bonfire, eating corn and playing dumb-charade. Utsav & more Next morning, it was time to say goodbye to Ramji bhai and move ahead. After having typical Gujarati breakfast (Fafda, Jalebi, Dabheli & Tea), we started our journey to Rann Utsav, a festival organized by Gujarat government at the edge of the white Rann, spanning across 5 months and known for its mass display of rich Gujarati culture. En route to festival was city of Bhuj. A city founded in 1510 and severely impacted by massive earthquakes in 1956 and 2001, Bhuj used to be the capital of Kutch. While we didn’t explore the city, Bhuj known for its monuments & “havelis” stands tall proud of its history and culture. Bhuj is close to a village named as ‘’Bhujodi”. Village has many shops which are holding strong the culture and craftsmanship of the region. In one such shop, one of the owners (younger brother) who attended us, took us inside and showed us how shawls and saris are hand made with precision and sincerity. The family was given National Award twice for preparing some master pieces. We couldn’t stop ourselves from taking at least one souvenir of this wonderful art. By afternoon, we reached Dholivari, a village few kilometres before the place where Rann Utsav was being organized. One of the house in the village or Bunga (as they call it there) was our shelter for the night. After placing our stuff and having another delightful lunch, we made a move towards ‘The Rann Utsav’. In the Utsav, there were shops selling a variety of things from food to shawls to toys to decorative items. Local people as well as tourists had made the area lively and there was hustle bustle all around. It did give feeling of the Trade Fair which is organized in Delhi every year, though is at a much larger scale. We then moved to the white Rann once again. Dusk was approaching and thus the sky was filled with multiple colours. On one side one could see Sun slowly going down, and on the opposite side full moon was starting to appear brighter. While the sky was definitely gorgeous, the sand desert had become a victim of the commercialization. With so many people around, it looked like one was visiting Juhu beach in Mumbai. People had thrown plastic and other waste, thus ruining the beauty. We felt lucky that we had already witnessed the real beauty of Rann, couple of days back, in an area which had still not been touched by this commercialization. After spending some time, we said goodbye to Rann and came back to spend our night at Bunga. The next day morning we had to head back to Ahmedabad, from where we finally would get back to our destinations. Few hours left, were spent in Ahmedabad at Sabarmati Ashram, where M.K. Gandhi used to live and also in buying ‘Bhakar Waadi’ & ‘Khakra’, types of Gujarati snacks, which are now loved by all. We boarded the train in evening, but this time thankfully we had the comfort and luxury of having a seat each for all of us.