MP Diaries : The Rock Paintings (Blast from the Past)

The story so far:

Delhi - Kanha
Kanha and around
Kanha to Bhopal
Bhopal to Bhojpur and Ujjain

The next morning we did wake up as required... as early as 0400 hrs and were out of the hotel and in the temple on time... We had a small argument with the police there over the temple opening early and no cloakroom available to keep our stuff there...

We entered the temple... waited in a not that small queue, and finally got a seat near the Shivling... The Arti was already on and we watched the entire proceedings on the TVs fitted outside the Garbhagreh... The most typical of the morning arti at Mahakaal Temple is the BhasmArti where ashes from a still burning pyre are brought to be used in the arti...

What caught my attention was a Naga Baba who was standing still throughout the Aarti but suddenly he started moving as if he has the most energy in this world... For the next 20 odd minutes throughout the time when Bhasm Arti was going on, he was the person to look at... AWESOME it was....

We rushed back, picked our bags and rushed to the Railway Station to catch the 0715 Intercity Express back to Bhopal... We were just in time to take the tickets and this time we took the reserved compartment, to see if we could make up for the lack of sleep and manage some during out 4 hour journey back to Bhopal...

The Ganeshji :)

The next 4 hours did not see a lot of activity except me not letting Aro sleep when I did not get to sleep well...

The train reached Bhopal on time and we quickly found a hotel near the station only and planned for the rest of the day... We wanted to go to BhimBethka ( to see the rock paintings) and then again to Bhojpur ( We could not get enough of the place the last afternoon)...

A Bison attacking men...

So we changed, hired a cab and set off to Bhimbethka... The place was without a doubt magical with all those colorful paintings all around... You can read more about the paintings here. and the pictures you can check out below...

The Flying Man...

Ready to go hunting...

Community Dancing and Festivity...

Hunting in Progress...

Mammoths...

The Rock Shelter popularly known as the Zoo Rock...

Community on Rocks... There is a King as well whose horse has flowers all around...

Another one of the paintings...

After a while we moved towards Bhojpur again and spent the rest of the day there...

The Gold that INDIA produces... Wheat...

Harvesting Wheat...

The Shivling at Bhojpur...

Sunset from Bhojpur...

The place is in our hearts... Visible in the shades right now...

The platform at the Bhojpur Temple...

By evening we were back in Bhopal and in the new market area... Did some shopping in Mrignayani and had the best pan in the world at Banarasi Pan Bhandar... I was happy to see that the taste had not changed much in the last few years...

The day that started a li'il too early finally came to an end around 2200 hrs with no plans for our final day in MP... there was a certain amount of satisfaction though in whatever we had in the last 5 days !!! had lived INDIA the way we liked...

and tomorrow was yet another day :)

Cannot Do and the To do...

Its better to take your mind off a few things that you cannot do anything about, for a while... And honestly speaking, almost EVERYTHING that I need/want to do something about is not in my control these days... its a very very irritating situation... so here is a small list for me that I can finito...

1. Go through the CDs in the Changer and put in new ones... that usually needs some effort... getting the best 10 MP3 into the car is not an easy job...

2. Go long driving... this would be happening on Saturday hopefully if something does not go terribly wrong... and if this is not happening, I am going anywhere in the first bus or train I can take...

3. Re-think about a few things related to flickr...

4. Buy the Bose Headphones... or maybe not... I really really want to... have had my eyes on them for sometime now...

Allah-Hafiz

Itchy...

There is something bothering me... and its bothering me too much ...

and for the last few weeks...

In between I also get vibes that there is something wrong and I don't know what... something like the itch I cannot scratch !

I am not sure but I guess its the lack of travel travel wala travel...

The travel that I do for no reason... I have to get out of here... switch off for a couple of days.. or maybe just one, a couple of good hours should be good enough too for me...!!!

Its TIME !!!

let me figure out what is the best I can do !

For the Kid in Me... ( Three of Ten :)

(need to take this picture again... and the one below too)

I got more :) sometime later :)

Equations

Perception = What you communicated (+/-) what you really wanted to communicate (+) what the other person believed...

Now here the variables are What you communicated and what you really wanted to communicate... because if the other person believes something already, it does not matter how you say or what you say... both the first variables are multiplied by zero and the other person's belief stays constant...

Howzzzzattttt !!!

You want to watch a match... sit in front of the TV...

You want to live a match... go see it live!!!

Bhangra, Screams, Dance, Drums, Fours, Sixes, Bouncers, Wickets, Excitement, Electricity... and lots more I witnessed while Delhi Daredevils won over the Royal Challengers...

Every time a DDD batsman would hit a four or a six, the crowd would just erupt into screams and dance... and I also did practice my dancing skills on the dhol beats standing on the chairs :)
it was quite funny if I think about it now !!!

I don't think if I saw more than 10 overs in all, but I was there throughout and enjoying every second of it... dancing and screaming and jumping all around :)

...

Aankhen band rakhta hoon to zindagi nazar aati hai...
Khuli aankhen sirf andhera hi dikhati hain..

Sochta hoon ke sapne mein hai zindagi...
ya zindagi hai ek sapna...

MaThS...

Two people + Lots of Things - (Respect + Trust) = Nothing

Two people + Lots of things + (Respect + Trust) = Everything

Ab Jhoom Barabar Jhoom Barabar Jhoom !!!

A To Do and Done list...

Things to do when you are not too well :

1. Go out and spend time doing something that takes your mind away from the sickness !!! like I did... went out with the DFC gang ( about 20 of them is what I counted :), there could be more)

The Camera Party...

Mon and Sonu at the Fort...

I am not very comfortable being clicked... but your logic just does not work at times...

So the sunday morning well spent @ Tuglaqabad fort... followed by a session of Hindi Scrabble at the Saket Barista !!!

Nandita, Arun and Japs...

Monika and Sonu again...

The ladies in the DFC... Concept : Sonu; clicked by Me...

I am not too fond of Chocolate, but for some reason I don't mind having it these days...

Thoughts going into the game of Hindi Scrabble @ Barista Saket...

Absolute fun... its only when I was back that I realized how low on energy I was...

2. A couple of short and long naps during the day

3. Buy a Cycle ! Yes... I bought a cycle, A Hercules MTB; 6 gears, and drove it to home through the small streets enjoying the zip, while Aro, the actual owner of the new cycle followed me in a car :D

4. Be; Do what you like, what makes you feel better, and try and not feel too bad about things around !!!

5. Buy pearl necklaces for Mom...

6. Meet someone who without any selfish interest says something about you that makes a lot of sense... and then says it about Aro, and leaves us speechless !

7. Fight with one of your best friends over smallest of things like why is it that he cannot sit properly while eating, and why he has to laugh when you are feeling so low

8. Discuss Hitler, Jews, Kite Runner, Red Bands (Read Ray Bans), and lots more !!!

9. Hope for a great day the next day !!

and did I mention that I got clicked too :) here is a picture clicked by a dear friend... Though I am not very happy with my expressions here, but I love the presentation and the details !!!
You might want to check some more of her work HERE.

A week that finished in just 5 days !!!!

Back from a quick trip from Bangalore... Did not even realize how quick the last week was !!!

Starting everyday at 0630 and finishing only around 0130 hrs was not really easy !!! but then I better get used to something like this for the times to come...

C'mon Give it to me :) lets see it !


I want to bring back the trees from Bangalore, Delhi is amazing in many many ways but the biggggggest minus is the amount of trees that I don't see and could have been there !!!

I hope someone is looking at that in addition to all the amazing work that is going on in and around Delhi !

The flight first got delayed at Bangalore... and then it was not allowed a landing in Delhi for about 45 minutes... Some navigation systems were being checked and caused that delay... and there was so much turbulence during these 45 minutes that it almost killed me !!! Had food sometime back, and then this turbulence... reached home with one of the worst acidity situations :( the entire food pipe and stomach was burning like hell :(

but never mind !!!

Lets look at the brighter side...

I am back home...
well.. umm... ok let me think of more...

I can click again :) I did not take my camera along...

I can attempt watching one of the IPL matches live... Not that I am cricket fan or something, but I have always wanted to see a match live... nothing better than watching something that finishes in about 4 hours and is in the evenings and is a game that you understand too..

rest later..

I need to figure out a way to take care of this ultra-burning inside me right now !

Games HE Plays...

When HE starts playing, no one else wins !!!

And yes I am complaining to you Uncle God ! Aa rahe hain na maje tumko full full !

About 3.5 hours later....

OK Sorry ! I will appreciate what I have... Par tum dhyaan rakhna mera ! Smaller things make the biggest difference in my life, and you better remember that.. Achcha na sorry ! kitni baar bolun?

And thank you for the conversation in the evening and that opportunity to drive around and to that place :P :) Tum utne bure nai ho jitna behave karte ho kabhi kabhi :)

Love you Uncle :)

MP Diaries : Bhopal to Ujjain

We had slept pretty late last night, and were not sure what was in store for us today... so the mood was lazy, and the conversations slow..

but at the back of our minds we knew there was much to see, and much to go to... so we kinda picked up some pace and go ready around 1130 hrs and had our breakfast at a Haldiram types restaurant just outside our hotel !!!

Oh, yes ! I am back to finishing off my MP travelogue :)

Here are the first few parts if you have missed them :

Delhi - Kanha
Kanha and around
Kanha to Bhopal

We wanted to go to Bhojpur, had heard nice things about it, a 1000 year old incomplete temple, world's tallest Shivling etc etc and we also wanted to go to Ujjain... ok I wanted to go to Ujjain (I feel some connection with Shiva and hence all the Jyotirlings come into the list of places I feel good about; and the Shivling @ Ujjain happens to be called MahaKaal too)

Talked to a few people and found out that there was an intercity express to Ujjain from Bhopal at 1700 hrs and will take 4 hours to reach Ujjain...

Now this made perfect sense, we could take an auto, go to Bhojpur come back, pack our bags and leave for Ujjain... come back to Bhopal tomorrow and take it from there... super..

So after talking to a few Autowallahs, and doing some bit of not to successfull bargaining we agreed to give the guy 270 bucks to take us to Bhojpur ( around 25 kms away from Bhopal) and bring us back...

The drive was fine, the sun not too strong and once we were out of the city between the farms it actually became must pleasent !!! I realised how much Wheat MP must be producing looking at the wast span of the golden fields all around !!! lovely view it was... Did stop at a few places to enjoy the calm and finally reached Bhojpur...

The Sprinklers for Wheat Fields...

The temple is massive, and was my second stop next to the river Betwa (The first being Orccha), and we were surprised at the size of the Shivling too... no wonder !

A Kiddo who was there with his parents for a Pooja...

Renovation work in progress at the Bhojpur Temple...

We spent a good couple of hours at the temple before we decided to move back to Bhopal and catch the train !!!

Aro at Bhojpur

A Local Musician at Bhojpur...

The return journey was equally nice and we did manage to reach the station on time too, rather before time... I remember buying the tickets and then coming out of the station to eat something... how could we not...

So this time... we had rasmalai, some other local mithai, some tea, and some cold drinks, not in this order though :)

Soon enough the train journey started again, this time a different flavor... General Coach, Wooden Benches, not too crowded though :)

A Passenger in the Intercity Express from Bhopal to Ujjain

did take us close to about 4 hours, but enjoyed every minute of it... talked to people, took pictures, got a small lesson on gun management from a Railway Policeman too :)

Catching Hope :)

Sunset from the Train...

We reached Ujjain around 2100 hrs and checked into a hotel near the station only... Learnt that the Bhasm Aarti starts at 0500 hrs in the morning and we should be in the temple by 0400 hrs to get a decent view !!!

Arobindo in the train...

The General Compartment we were in...

Now this meant a quick dinner and sleeping without much talking !!! And that happened too !!!

More to follow...

B/W Newspaper Colorful News :)

Some Data now..

Bhopal - Bhojpur : 25 kms
Auto fare : about 250-350 bucks depending on how you bargain...
What to do in Bhojpur : Nothing :) just sit back and relax
Train for Ujjain from Bhopal : Intercity Express @ 1700 hrs everyday
Fare : 50 rs. for the General Class, You can take that ticket and enter the reserved compartment too where the ticket can be upgraded for about Rs. 17 for that coach... the difference is better seats only !!!

So much for so little :)

Love for me was never a single word... or a single feeling, rather I personally felt that there is nothing that can define love easily...

It is more of a convinient way of saying many things in one word...

Feelings that talk about

Assurance
Presence
Comfort
Satisfaction
Smiles
Anger
Discomfort
Relaxation
Togetherness
Indivuality
Respect


and many many more that I have not written here...

so next time you hear someone telling you that (s)he loves you, don't just hear one word, hear a lot of them together...

And every time you tell someone that you love him/her, don't just say one word, say many :)

sticky note

Ok lets make is simpler !!!

Only two types of things:

1. Which you have a control on...

3. Which you cannot control...

For the third,

Leave it to the bigger better powers !!!

For the first,

Do what you can, and then leave it to the bigger better powers...

Wondering where is the number 2? that is the third type of things !!!

...

बस दीवानगी दीवानगी, दीवानगी है :)

विडम्बना

Can't even say that I hate it, because I believe whatever happens is only for Good !!!

Can't even like it too much, because its coming at the cost of a few things which bring happiness !!!

Such are the ways !!!

(Deadly) Track Record

A Query under the RTI has revealed that more than 20700 people have died in the last 5 years in Mumbai while traveling on the local trains...

On the Central Railway exactly 17553 lives have been lost between Jan'03 and Dec'07...
Western Railway tracks account for 3153 deaths between Mar'03 and Feb'08...

On an average over 10 people die everyday on the tracks..

Very sad !

Laluji, you have done wonders for Indian Railways in the last few years... this is something that you might want to look at too...

Meri Jaan Jeenat Amaan !!!!

Ab jaan le legi kaa chori !!!!

Arre hai re meri jhumri tallaiyaa !!!

When you are listening to some songs, the ones that I mentioned in one of my previous posts, in addition to the simplistic lyrics, the basic instruments like the dholak, harmonium etc, its the filler lines lines like the two above that give them the perfect mood !!!

Have been listening to Dekhta hai tu kya for a couple of days now, and I still love it... Super energy, and fun !!!

Pity that I am not with a group of friends dancing on this number ! soon... sometime soon...

Jai Chichorgardi on the dance floor !

Having said that and done that !!!

Some things go terribly wrong, only because they have to get better...

God Uncle ! Dekh rahe ho na? Phir se maje mat lena !!! Achcha nahin hoga.. bata raha hoon !

O Billo Raani....

I have this thing for the songs that are labeled as "Chichora" songs... and the latest addition to the list is...

Billo Raani! Kaho to Abhi jaan De doon...

I hear it almost every morning on 9Xm or radio... and today I asked Tushar to download it and send it to me too... so I can listen to it after any hot pursuit of some people in the office, or a call where i had to speak a lot, or just like that...

The list is endless... but the ones that I can remember right now are...

• Nain Lad Jai Hain to Manwa ma Kasak hoi be kari...
• Mere Pairon mein ghungroo bandha de, phir meri chaal dekh le...
• Sapne mein milti hai...Aye Ganpat...
• Bidi...
• Namak...

Every time I think of a song like this, I can effortlessly imagine myself dancing away to glory on the song :) hehehe... its super duper funn...

I can' think of many right now... Can you? Please share... let me make a collection, an exclusive one !!

and look at the irony... I am currently listening to a Jugalbandi with Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiya :) Raag Kirwani... lovely !!!

Some additions to the list thanks to the Chai ki Dukaan'ers..

• Aai meri meri zohra zaheeb.... phurkate gam mita ja !!! jumme raat hai ;) aaja !!!
• Ek chumma to mujhko udhar dai de :D
• Babuji zara dheere chalo....
• Chamma Chamma (China Gate right?)
• Kajraare Kajraare tere kaare kaare naina...