What is your Goal?

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Recently I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine. He wanted to know what my goal in life was. My reply to live each day as it comes didn't satisfy him. His contention was you have to do something in life. Now how does one define "something"?

Each person has a different perspective of what that something is in life. For some it is material possessions. Their goals are promotion, providing for the family, buying a house, buying a car, basically advancing up in the financial world. While it is good to strive for such things, how do you know when you have achieved your goal? When is enough, enough? For some, it is contributing to the success of their business/company. It is all well and good if the person is the owner of such establishment, else it is a borrowed goal. Some want to contribute to the building of a futuristic society. A noble intention but a thankless one.

So what is the real purpose behind all these goals? What is it that we are trying to achieve? Our entire life is striving to define that something - coming first in the class, getting into the top colleges, best placement selections, climbing the corporate ladder - to what end? As Mahatma Gandhi said, the destination does not matter. It is the path that we take that matters. And going back to my roots to quote the Bhagvad Gita:

"Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,

Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani"

Or simply put - do your duty, don't worry about the goal. Live each day as it comes, for you never know where you will be tomorrow. You must have heard this: "Don't cry over the past, its gone. Don't stress about the future, it hasn't arrived. Live in the present and make it beautiful". 

And if feel that you have not achieved anything in life (as my friend was kind enough to point out):

"Kal aur aayenge nagmon ki
Khilti kaliyan chun-ne wale
Mujhse behtar kehne wale
Tumse behtar sun-ne wale
Kal koi mujhko yaad kare
Kyun koi mujhko yaad kare
Masroof zamana mere liye
Kyun waqt apna barbad kare"
(Read more: http://www.lyricsoff.com/songs/main-pal-do-pal-ka-shayar-hoon.html#ixzz4ORmcu6fs)

Bhutan - Land of Happiness

This year (2016) vacation led us to the mysterious land of Bhutan. The interest in Bhutan was kindled with the pictures of Tiger's Nest flashing after the famous visit of Kate and Prince William earlier this year. Come September we decided to make it our vacation destination for this year. We opted for a package deal from yatra.com covering Thimphu, Punakha and of course Paro.

Glimpse of runway from the plane

Flights to Paro, the airport of Bhutan, is via the Royal Bhutan Airlines, Druk Air. Flight from Kolkotta to Paro was an hour long. The landing was pretty thrilling. The approach to Paro is unbelievably complicated with the pilot having to maneuver an s-curve along the valley. With surrounding peaks as high as 5,500 m (18,000 ft), it is considered one of the world's most challenging airports. Of course I didn't realise this until after we landed. Once we landed at Paro airport, the guide was waiting for us with car and driver. I had always wanted to arrive to someone holding a placard with our names on it and that wish was fulfilled!! 


Bhutan introduced the concept of GNH (Gross National Happiness as opposed to GDP) and is often explained by its four pillars - good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation. As part of environmental conservation, 65% of the country is mandated to be under forest cover, currently it is at 70%. It hits you right at the first glimpse from the plane - the lush green cover, mountains, crystal clear rivers and greenery.  It beats Switzerland, Scotland, the other green countries that I visited. Not only the forest cover is under scanner, scaling mountains more than 6000 mt is prohibited by law, tourists at all times need to be accompanied by local guides (exemption for Indian nationals), thus the tourism and tourists are monitored ensuring preservation of the culture and greenery. 

Another thing that strikes you is the colorful flags all around, over the mountains, near rivers, over bridges. These are prayer flags with inscriptions and Bhutanese believe that the prayer flags generate spiritual vibrations that are released when blown by the wind and the prayers are carried in the air like silent prayers. And of course the prayer wheels, I fell in love with these spinning columns with inscriptions, supposed to give you the result of chanting the prayer by mere spin of it, always clockwise remember.

Thimphu

Suspension bridge at Lhakhang Dzong

From Paro it was an hour's drive to Thimphu the capital city of Bhutan. On the way we stopped at iron chain bridge to reach Tachog Lhakhang Dzong. It is a suspension bridge made out of iron chain with no solid base or railing, I didn't have the courage to cross it, though Ravi did. Another halt was at Chudzom, the confluence of Rivers Paro and Thimpu, where three stupas - Bhutenese, Tibetian and Nepalese are built.

Trashichhoedzong

We reached Thimphu around 2pm. It seemed very peaceful and awfully quite, till we realised the absence of car horns!!! Most of the roads were two-laned, a bit cramped but the people were very patient. After a sumptuous lunch at an Indian restaurant, we checked into the hotel. Around 5pm, the guide came to take us to our first site seeing destination - Trashichhoedzong. This is the administrative seat of Bhutan, the place for the Royal Monarch and Chief Abbot - center for government and religion. We visited the courtyard and the temple inside. As a mark of respect to the royalty, everyone is supposed to wear long sleeves attire.

Buddha Dordenma Statue

Next day after breakfast we drove first to Memorial Chortem - a monument to peace, dedicated to the third king and then to Buddha Dordenma Statue, where the statue of Sakyamuni stands at a height of 51.5 meters. Next we visited the Institute of Zorig Chusum (painting school), national library (housing the record holding biggest publication), textile and folk heritage museum (displaying a traditional Bhutanese house) and handicrafts emporium.




Punakha

Chortens at Dochula Pass

Next day we started our day with a long drive to Punakha. We passed Dochula pass, the highest mountain pass in Bhutan at an elevation of 3,000+meters, with 108 chortens or stupas. Of course it was covered with fog and we couldnt get a glimpse of the Himalaya peaks as promised. 

Trek to Chimi Lhakhang

Our guide was enlightened of the fact that we do not prefer to sit and see the sites from car, so he started his detours from the itinerary and started taking us to all the places which offered scenic beauty and involved lots of trekking. So the first among the many was Chimi Lhakhang, monastery dedicated to the "Divin Madman". It involved a walk through paddy fields and then a climb to the mountain top. Buddhists, like Hindus, believe you have to undergo suffering to be blessed by divine, All the monasteries are located on mountain tops with no proper access roads, so the devotees are forced to walk the entire way. 

Punakha Dzong

Next halt was Punakha Dzong, fortress at the confluence of Po Chuu and Mo Chuu rivers, the administrative centre for Punakha district. This was the most beautiful Dzong, it is an architectural wonder and the scenery is amazing. It is built in the typical Bhutanese style without the use of any nails or plans (!). Inside the Dzong is a monastery and the administrative blocks. The wooden bridge leading to the Dzong is both majestic and lovely. 

Punakha Suspension Bridge

Before calling it a day, we visited the Punakha suspension bridge, longest suspension bridge in Bhutan at 160m.






Next day I got up early, thanks to a power cut, to an amazing site. Our hotel was across the road from the Punakha river. Early morning the mist was so dense, it was lying on the river and across the mountain peaks, with a bare portion of the mountains in the middle. The view was absolutely amazing. After breakfast, it was drive back the same Dochula pass (still covered in mist) to reach Paro.

Punakha River

Paro

Namgyal Chorten

Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten is one of the oldest and best Chortens of Bhutan. The approach is a walk across a suspension bridge, through paddy fields and trek up the mountain. 

View from Namgyal Chorten

The main Chorten is surrounded by 8 smaller ones. It is a four-storey building boasting the best view of the Punakha valley. 







Tiger's Nest

Tiger's Nest

Taktsang Goemba or Tiger's Nest Monastery is definitely the creme la creme of the Bhutan trip. Guru Rinpoche is fabled to have flew this site on a tigress' back to subdue the local demon. The approach to this monastery hanging over a precipitous cliff at 3120mts involves about 10km trek on foot or half-way by pony/horse or as our guide loved to say on a tigress' back. We choose the first option, by foot. Internet search told us the average time would be 2.5hrs, it took us 3.5hrs. 

Waterfall enroute Tiger's Nest

That was by far the longest and most arduous 3.5hrs of my life. The trek is a combination of muddy path, paved path and steps, with climb ups and downs, steep climbs, you name it and it was there. We started early so as to skip the heat of the day. At one-third point there is a cafeteria where the hot tea is really refreshing, then at the two-third point there is a large waterfall dropping 60 mts which forded by a wooden bridge. The view breathtaking. It is worth the effort and pain to reach the this spot. Throughout the trek all you hear is the waterfall, birds chriping (of course heart beat and labored breath, in my case) and you can smell the pine, such pure and pristine beauty has to be experienced, no words can describe the feeling.

You can see lots of similarity in the Bhutanese way of life and Indian way of life. First and foremost the religion, there are many traditions which are in common, like no shoes inside the monastery, circumambulating the monastery before entering, prayer wheels have a bell attached to them so it rings every time you turn them. Economically, rupee is widely accepted and it is equivalent to their local currency ngultrum. Indians have special concessions in the form of visa exemption, guide not compulsory etc. etc. Wherever we went we didn't have any problem obtaining vegetarian food, most restaurants had Indian menu!!!!!

Weekend Getaway

It was a long weekend, it was my birthday, it was too hot in Hyderabad, it had been too long since we had an outing, it was a bit boring at house, there were many reasons. And then again we do not need any reason to get away from the routine and monotony. So with that in mind, Friday morning we started driving, after breakfast, without a plan in mind.

Mantralayam was the first thing that came to my mind. Have heard a lot about it and had seen a board on our trip to Ahobilam. A quick Google search revealed Belum caves and Mahanandi in the vicinity. With Kurnool as base all three could be covered in a two-day trip. So, chalo Kurnool, we decided. 

But, since I was navigating, things were bound to go south. So we ended up at Kurnool, some three hours later, only to realise it would have been easier if we had gone directly to Mantralayam, night halt at Kurnool and Mahanandi and Belum caves the next day. Well, change of plans. We were already in Kurnool, so had lunch and continued onto Belum caves. Caves were awesome. Stalactite and stalagmite formations with lighting and indefinite paths to explore. I was expecting the caves to be cooler, thought they were cool the humidity made things bad. But on the whole a super experience.




By then it was getting too late, so we ditched Mahanandi and returned to Kurnool and checked into a hotel. A word of caution to those trying to visit Kurnool, avoid local cuisine. It was spicy, raw chilli powder, understood the meaning of "goddu karaam".

Saturday morning started around 9am towards Mantralayam. It is the house of Sri Raghavendra Swamy and I was reminded of Dharmastala. Similar layout and atmosphere. From there we went to Bichale, which is supposed to be on the river banks of Tungabhadra. But alas, there was no water in Tungabhadra. Hard to believe that in 2009, floods destroyed the entire village.....might be if we had visited during monsoon then it would have been better. We returned to Hyderabad by evening.

Though the trip was not planned it was fun. The highway (NH7) was great, smooth and beautifully laid out. And then there were these inner roads from Kurnool to Belum Caves, Kurnool to Mantralayam; the GPS and Google Maps led us to the destination without having to ask for directions. Even for the place to stay and eat were with the help of our friendly Google. 

So this trip is dedicated to Google.........

Voting Experience

Recently we had GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Commission) elections. Since our return to India 10 years back, I have been the conscientious citizen of India not missing a single voting opportunity. I may be politically dumb but that doesn't deter me from being the supporter of the underdog and vote for Lok Satta. I was eager to exercise my right with NOTA this time.

The best thing I love about voting is going there early morning, be among the first people to vote. So off we went, me and my hubby, at 7:45am to vote. We didn't get the customary voting slips this time. We didn't pay much attention to it, wrote it off as manual glitch, since both of us are working must have missed it. After all we were on the roles for the past couple of elections, so where will we disappear. As expected there were no one at the polling booth, so I was elated. Our company had given us half a day off and I planned on completing few errands and reach workplace post lunch. 

Alas, our name was not to be found in the list. Without that no voting. Hmm, what to do? The polling agents didn't have a clue and to us it seemed like they weren't even checking sincerely, just flipping the pages and declaring not there. Since there was no one to vote, we were allowed to go into the polling booth and check. No luck. Our area has two polling stations, so we checked even there, without any luck. We were back home by 8am, sans voting.

My husband was non challant and started getting ready to go to work. I was determine to cast my vote, so spent the next half hour trying all known websites to locate our names. I discovered that not only ours but majority of our apartment residents' names were also missing. With nothing else to do and not expecting much to happen, I randomly called the Election Commission's office.

Surprise, surprise. Someone from a Govt. office, answered the landline before 9am. And to top things, she was very courteous, polite and helpful. I was so impressed with her that I decided to dedicate this blog to her. Alas, I forgot to ask her name. 

This is the gist of what she said and I guess it works the same for all states in India. The CEO of every state maintains the voter database, which is used for national, state and municipal elections. They keep updating the database every year. For some reason, our names got deleted from that list. So from our end, as citizens, we can check the state CEO website for our names once a year in January. If our name is missing we can apply online and it will be processed. If we do this exercise we will not be missing our voting chance. Agreed there are loopholes in the system, but we can do our bit to fill the gaps and be part of India Shining.

As for me, I decided to go back to work and get things done, instead of trying to do personal work in office time.

Proud to be Indian

Republic Day and Independence Day bring out the patriotic nature in every one. We see shades of orange, white and green everywhere. Even I am proud to be Indian. So what exactly do I love about being an Indian? Well, let me see....

 - I love the fact that we believe in sharing, as is evident from the loud conversations we hear in malls, buses, trains, on roads and from our neighbours balconies;

 - I love the fact that we are concerned over the well being of all, as is evident from the amount of free advice we dole out even to strangers;

 - I love the fact that we believe in getting value for money, as is evident from the fact that we pay thousands at restaurants but haggle with the bandiwalla;

 - I love the fact that we take Swach Bharat seriously, as is from the way we clean public walls with our urine;

 - I love the fact that we stay in touch with our family and friends risking our lives, as is evident from the way take calls and check messages even when on road driving;

 - I love the fact that we evaluate our options carefully, as is evident from the way we stop at the doorways of elevators, airports, trains and buses before taking the next step;

 - I love the fact that we don't waste space as is evident from the narrow gap between houses and our capability in creating three or even four lanes on a two-way street;

 - I love the fact that we are artistically inclined as is evident from the paan spit art on public walls.

What is there not to love about this beautiful country? We constantly strive to imitate the west at the cost of loosing our identity.....