Amber Fort , Jaipur

 Amber Fort, Jaipur

Rajasthan is a state of beautiful forts and forts in cities like Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur are worth visit in your trips to Rajasthan. 

This is short blog about the Amber Fort, Jaipur. 

Situated about 13 Kms from Jaipur Railway station this fort surely has got some of the breathtaking spots to capture!

How to go-

Book a cab if you are not a local! Or take your car if you are a local.

A drop point is made right in front of the fort from where following choices are available-

a. Go by foot and climb about 300 stairs! Believe me they are not much when you get busy in watching the amazing landscape around you. 

b. Elephant ride- If you have to avoid climbing stairs you can either take an elephant ride and walk the slopes to the top.

c. By Jeep- A local association of jeep drivers is formed at the starting point of Amber Fort. They start their rates from Rs 400 however can be bargined to upto Rs 150 as well. Here a lot of people will approach you as local guides too for the fort. They too start their charges from Rs 250 however can be bargained upto Rs 100. 

d. Your car- if you have come by car, pls do not be pressurized by the jeep drivers. You can take your car till the fort by taking guidance from local residents for the route. 

Enroute through jeep/car you come across a Jagat Shiromani Temple of Lord Krishna and Meerabai, which is the only temple in the world of its kind having the idols of Lord Krishna and Meerabai together! 

This temple was built around 1599 AD.

Fort-

The fort has magnificent work done with glass and stones. Some spots include concave mirrors which reflected the burning lamps of night as stars of the sky. 

While you click pictures, your will see your reflection in multiple mirrors . 

The arcade on the top has a small jharokha which is a great photography spot. Your co-tourist can click your picture from the ground as you enjoy 2 floors above! (Shown in the image above)

Hygiene-

The fort is well maintained from hygiene point of view despite being a large tourist attraction!

Enjoy your visit!

Dec 2021

Heart Break- One of the most difficult times of life

"So here's the thing with broken hearts. No matter how you try, the pieces never fit the way they did before" Ariana

Imagine a clay pot. It is hard from outside but has a tendency to be brittle. Once broken, all you can do is it to apply quickfix and Whoa its ready to be used again! But hey, will the cracks go? Never. Heart breaks are similar. They leave you with scars. But eventually you will heal yourself and put yourself to work back again as if nothing happened. 

This article is not meant for motivation. No advice on how to move on. Talk to people, keep yourself busy, follow your hobby again & the list continues. 

Here's an interesting fact only if people of entire world were a bundle of data science data sets you would realize that you are not very unique. The possibility of a unique event in a person's life is one in a million. So what has happened with you is also happening with some person somewhere else too. 

Hence this article is only meant to resonate. Because it pains less when you know what's happening with you, is also happening with someone else in some part of the world. Its just human psychology.

Break ups are hard. Moving on is even harder. The hardest part is to think about a future that doesn't have the other person.

The duration of the process of moving on varies from person to person.

The strongest people could take ages. The weakest could move on a blink of a moment.

The idea is to not judge yourself.

The idea is to not even judge the other person.

The idea is to come to reality that this person no longer is required in your life. Especially if such a person simply decided to cut off from your life.

The idea is to find peace with your own avalanche of memories or the feelings of hatred that you now have for the person. 

The idea is to avoid those thoughts from further disturbing you and spoil your mental and physical health.

It's not worth your precious time.

Break ups can be at multiple stages of a relationship. Overcoming them could depend on various factors like your involvement, commitment, tenure of relationship etc etc. 

I will talk of a specific example where the relationship just is beginning. You start feeling  attached. So might be the other person (That's what you feel, may not be true)

It is that stage of relationship, where you are just getting to know a person. Everything feels so good so rosy until one day its boom! 

One person in the blossoming relationship decides to walk away. No explanation. No conversation! 

Leaving the other one miserable to keep guessing. No closures! 

In shorter tenure you don't get to know a person well. All you know is what they are saying and what you keep believing. 

You don't get to know their friends, their family, their colleagues. And hence the belief gets no chance to be dented from anywhere. And thus when the breakup happens you think why it was me and where did it all go wrong?

One of the ways in overcoming such break up during healing process is to know more truths about person coz this person for sure is not telling you one.

The more truths you keep finding they will not hurt you  but will only make you strong with the thought that you should be happy you not with that person and it will ease your process to move on. Such truths could shock you initially but on the flip side surely they will help you to connect the missing dots. Thus helping you find answers to the numerous questions that gave you countless sleepless nights. 

You made a mistake in believing what the person was making you believe. 

But it's ok to make those mistakes in life. Which is why wise people say love is blind. 

The beautiful part about love is if is honest and is not reciprocated it comes back to you, to soften you, melt you, heal you and freeing you from the toxicity in your heart. 

Moving on is hard but it's one of those processes of life which makes you a better person, in becoming neutral towards someone. 

The presence of whom doesn't bother you. The absence doesn't hurt you either. Their thoughts stop coming to your mind and even when they do you have the power to ignore them coz they now don't carry any meaning. The memories are nothing but trash. You detach. You are finally able to break the link and breathe free.

You have evolved.

and what about loving again? Haahhh

The world says don't fall again, my heart says let there be a few scars again! :)

Image courtesy : Shutterstock

From the diary of first time half marathon runner

My experiences from Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2016
                                 


Ran a Half Marathon for the first time... It was an experience that can't be defined. ...it can only be felt!!

First things First

It definitely is a competition not with the world but with your ownself. And believe me it is more difficult than former as you are trying to identify your real potential.
At the finish line you will never be the same person who was on the start line.

In sports like these you not just require physical strength but a lot more has to do with your mental strength. Will tell you later why?

Every body is different in its stamina. If there are 5 classifications from an elite running (1) to a leisure running (5) I would classify myself at no 3 where an avg of 26% runners would fall in timing

My practice sessions:
I started 2 months ago rigorously. WRONG way to start.  At least should have done 3.5
months ago. I am a lot into sports but am not a professional runner.

Get yourself a good pair of shorts and practise in that.  In case you are not habitual of wearing shorts this is best time.
Two reasons : a. U should not try anything new at last min.
B. It will help you spraying your knee portions and above during run. U will need it.

Your shoes should be really PERFECT as a lot depends on it.

Medical Advice needed:
Wouldn't say you should but it is good to take advice of physiotherapist as to what to exercise and a dietician  regarding your eating patterns and what to eat over these months.

Your lower limbs are definitely more imp in running hence the days I did not run I used to work out on my legs with basic exercises  of squats crunches lunges cycling etc etc.
I did for 25 mins but 35 to 45 mins will be great.
if Ur legs shiver while you are putting your entire body weight on them during exercise you should know that they are weak n u really need to work on them. Few physios told this to me.

The race day approaching :
It's good to be nervous to have butterflies in tummy.
Memorise all your paths in mind , memorise the kms, memorise various distance time and speed at various intervals.
Do calculations of various splits ...that gives an emotional satisfaction. At least a week before the race no eating outside no miss on practice.
No new clothes no new shoes or socks or even inner wears.

Two nights and two days before:

Take good sleep. Don't exhaust much.  No going to shopping malls however tempting the sale is. Don't tire your legs unnecessarily.
Fill your mobile with good numbers the real punjabi beats help you when u show down.

A night before:
Don't eat heavy but decent to freshen up in morning.
U can't much change your body clock as u will have to get up at least by 1 am and latest by 3 am depending on where you stay from the venue.
Try to have min of 4 hours sleep.

Do some ten mins of yoga to control your nerves.

On the race day morning:
Eat banana for sure n light snack if your body needs.
U might find funny but trust me don't enter the holding area without freshening up.  U would hate yourself later if you do it.

It is theee moment:

For the entire 2.5 hours that I ran I do not recall seeing people nearby. It was just me, my mind, my body and my kms.

Of course be careful of timing mats.

The first few kms:
Like 10 of 21
If u have practiced till this will just finish quickly and u would not realize u have done it.

The road after 14 kms :
U have finished 66% . That's great! !!
Don't be very happy right now.  The road ahead will be 5X  difficult.
There were inclines real steep ones.  They would drain the entire energy whatever you have absorbed so far.
This is the time when u mental strength should Over power your physical strength.

At 16
O i wish it would have been sweet 16 .....But it wasn't.  Once u reach 16....u embark a road that u have never traveled before.  Ur mind traverses the paths that are absolutely unknown.

There will be times when Ur body would simply give up. But this is it. ....where your mind has to stop you from stopping but continue the run cos if you stop. ....U will not be able to run as the pain starts taking over .....run  even it means Ur speed has dropped by 20 to 30% keep running. ....JUST RUN! !!!

Believe me these few kms if you do it. ...they will change Ur mind forever!
U will be filled up with so much positivity at the finish line n it's just AWESOME!

It's not just Ur win but of 1000s others who cheered you all through your way. ...
It's so imp to see those smiling faces who motivate you to not stop n finish the last lap

In our daily lives We keep saying to ourselves " one must finish what he/she has started"

"Mind is the driver of the body"  etc

But the true experience comes from such challenges ....

The biggest feeling is of accomplishment that u took yourself seriously ,  identified Ur potential, stretched Ur limits,  did not stop even when every part of your body resisted to move ahead, your hard work towards goal  and achieved the result.
U DID NOT STOP HOW MUCH U WANTED TO. UR MIND WON OVER UR BODY

I was 7 mins late than my target n it was painful.
Only satisfying thing was I finished it in stipulated time.

Little I spared myself on grounds of being first time half marathon runner but next year I am sure to not give myself any !!

The precious pandora box of memorable moments

It was a gloomy June afternoon, with discussions of Uttrakhand fiasco just getting over at the lunch table. At 3:38 PM  I was at my work station, looking outside from the french windows next to my desk....The last Wednesday of the month & the heavy showers made Mumbaiakars wade on the road, ... but here was I, thinking of an emotional connect on some shopping trend as I was asked to design some proposals for sales pitch. During my work, my mind was hopping from one thought to another....

As my thoughts drifted from one set of driving emotions to another!

I thought of this: I thought of how every day each of us experiences a few little moments that have just a bit more resonance than other moments—we hear a word that sticks in our mind—or maybe we have a small experience that pulls us out of ourselves,
if only briefly, I could pen out—a small salute to caretaker of my building, as I start for my work, I share a Ram Ram (One of the typical Hindu way of greeting someone instead of a hello) with sabjiwala as I go ; park my vehicle outside the station,  I share an everyday smile at a distance of 20 ft away with the senior gentlemen at Ticket counter just as I climb the staircase to catch the scheduled local... 
I would not call these moments as nostalgic, they are not with people whom I have any relation near or far...its just a bond of everyday smile

apart from this there are those few special moments
some moments that make u say that the time should stop by, 
some moments that make ur day, 
some moments that flash in your eyes as if they were a thing of yesterday, 
some moments that are nothing BUT SIMPLY MAGICAL...

Those are the moments, probably the count of which will be much lesser than the no of paycheques we got in life but will still be more precious....giving us the strength to rebuild ourselves in broken times....

And if we were to collect these small moments in a diary and save them over a period of months we would see certain trends emerge from our collection—certain voices would emerge that have been trying to speak through us. We talk to people who are not with us....We would realize that we have been having another life altogether; one we didn’t even know was going on inside us. 

And maybe this other life is more important than the one we think of as being real—this cluttered world of honking horns, office chick-chacks, those depressive scenes around u.... 

Few years later you will never recall what was the content of your first presentation, but you will always remember when u broke rules in colg & got punished


So probably such small silent memorable moments are the ones which make true stories in our life & make it eventful...

Collect such memories, Treasure them
Cherish your emotions, Express them

They are the ones that had real you!!!

Finding yourself....Who u are, what u were and where u want to be....

This blog is a dedication to all those people, who fail to realize that how important, unique & capable they are....

To start with...

I have always wondered about a thought....who we are...where we want to be and the enigma magnifies...when I think...where I have come from.

As humans, we often create an identity of ourselves in the public around us, by what we wear, what we do everyday, what surrounds us, gadget geekos, news freakos, brand logos

But nevertheless, it cant be denied that, our presence brings an impact on people around us..good or bad is altogether a different subject matter..

The thought process starts maturing in when we start thinking.....what and WHO WE ARE WHEN ALL OF THESE MATERIALISTIC THINGS ARE NOT AROUND US...

When we literally strip off everything around us...and are simply left with an empty space ...

Eventually,  dats when we really get the time to ponder of WHO WE ARE...and make our thinking bells to ring...

Imagining a status quo like this is not an easy job....Cant be denied that it can prove to be an intimidating and menacing task...

I would here like to bring another thought!!

There is a difference between being happy and being eternally happy.

Being happy is a term short lived...few seconds, few mins, few hours....

Eternal Happiness is long lived...

& coming back to where I started, Finding passions around ourselves, undoubtedly brings us closer to answering the question, WHO WE ARE

Executing them....gives answers to the question WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND WHERE WE WISH TO GO.....

In the empty space, when we start to put up our thinking caps, there can be a moments of enormous scare, dat might lead to the heart pumping out...But, when we start realizing that thr's  nothing more real (m not saying that there's nothing more possible) so when we realize that there can be nothing more real than what we are already, or there isn’t anyone who is “more adequate” than just us.... but only people who are different are more adequate, here is where we become conscious of  what our standards are...

There might be a sense of inadequacy creeping in &  that's jus coz we compare ourselves against a std set by someone else. 

Here our thoughts need to conquer the feeling of inadequacy, and when we remove this mirage, there is nothing which can be proven to be better. 

One must realize the importance of giving importance to one's own-self. To find those passions inside, which gives us a life...a sense of direction of where we are and where we want to be. 

The emptiness around us can be filled up with ur own joys which comes in on its own, when we open the closed doors of our dreams. 

Those so called bigger things that we use to define ourselves, are nothing but tools to make us shamble. 

Go through the joys of discovering yourself;

Feel the bliss of knowing what you are!!

Enjoy every moment of deciding what you want to do and ..

Experience the jubilation of execution & triumph...

Take some time to read this article twice when you find some solace....

Think about every line, and you will find instances of your own life relating to this article...

and I just aim....that you make your dreams come true and feel the eternal bliss of achievements which might not be any worth to the world around you but may mean the world to you...

1 Panchi ki udaan....

1 panchi ne bhari sapno ki duniya me apni pehli udaan,

Kuch karne ki chah thi ; chune the use kai makaam,

Udaan bharte hi uske pankh sambhal na paaye usko,

Dagmagayi uski udaan aur toot gaye uske saare armaan,

HAara wo apni koshisho me..socha, nahi bharni dobara udaan,

Gumsum tha wo khamosh tha wo ; jeene ki chah na thi.. har pal bus thi aakh bhar aayi..

Kosa usne apni kismat ko..kar li usne apne aap se ladai;

Bhagna chahta tha wo apni zindagi se bus dil k kone se 1 awaz aayi...




Kya hua agar main haara..kya hua jo naa poori hui meri udaan,

Kya hua agar kismat ne saath nhi diya

Kya hua jo main ud naa saka

Aaye ab chahe koi toofan

Udna to main seekhunga chahe ye hawain naa de mera saath

Mod lunga 1 din hawaao ko main apne saath

Sab kuch hoga 1 din mere haaath

1 din hoga yeh mera aakash

1 din hoga yeh mera aakash




Hai kuch aisa MERA EHSAAAS

Rendezvous with Oneself- ZNMD

well.....i still havent browsed the net for so far what has been written abt ZNMD...bt for sure i knw m not the first one to write abt it......

hindi movies are something which i decide to c when the trailer clicks my mind. ZNMD was one of those. i so very much wanted to bunk my office to c this movie........1. title. 2 hritik 3 farhan 4 songs (obviously i am a work freak like hrithik.......who did not bunk the office)

i saw the movie after a very heavy week waking up ON A SATURDAY FOR A 9 o Clock show in the second week. and yes the movie is so right about the concept we fail to think.......ZINDAGI NAA MILEGI DOBAARA......

though of course the movie shows its own brands of richness........fish 12,000 euros ki BAGWATI...

n a trip like this in an SUV... an easy faluda of ur 2 yrs savings when u r just a bachelor........

bt i wondered......is it worth it???

i came out with an ans ...

a trip with friends...

a trip with friends amidst most beautiful places on earth......

a trip with friends amidst most beautiful places on earth doing craziest of sports....

a trip with friends amidst most beautiful places on earth doing craziest of sports of which u are scared off.............

a trip with friends amidst most beautiful places on earth doing craziest of sports of which u are scared off which helps u get out of those fears.............

a trip with friends amidst most beautiful places on earth doing craziest of sports of which u are scared off which helps u get out of those fears and brings u closer to urself ..........

YES A TRIP LIKE THIS IS WORTH IT.........

the movie was actually not about the trip.......

it was about coming out of ur fears and living the life on the edge.

and facing the biggest fear of all " death" ....

it was abt coming closer to urself and to do what u actually want to do...

it wasnt the movie which touched the heart. it was the concept that is close to all of us but we fail to realize it.

the three most beautiful scenes of the movie-

i hope i would be using the right paraphrases to describe them

1. Eternal Bliss

when the scuba diving is over and the actors are in the steamer.....

the feelings of Arjun. it wasnt a sense of achievement, but it was the feeling of eternal peace. the closeness with nature and ultimately god. the spirituality that evolves in the soul of such a person who always finds a chance to show off his extravagance.

2. Triumph

when Imraan finishes his para gliding and touches his feet on the ground. the silence in the cinematography but the scene continues with the sense of achievement on Imran's face. the joy of success was like "no one at the moment has achieved more that what i have done"

3. Conquer

the last but one scene of the movie, when they all have failed in the race, two of them near the wall, one almost under the bulls and which is where Kabeer's inner self says.....go for it, conquer it and it shows on his face. this is what inspires arjun and imran.

n how could i miss out the most important one

4. Friendship

u know there are some BEEEEEP kinda ppl in this world....Damn who know u more than u do at times....

they are the one's who would take away ur g.f.s/ throw ur phone away/ pour a drink on u/ probably in all sad and happy times of life......(when ur g.f dumps u, when u fail, when u succeed, when u lose, when u r down, when u r happy .....these folks will only say CHAL DAARU PEETE HAI)...

They are actually the one's who would look in ur eyes and say " Tu Khush to Hai Naa"

Probably who would help u in worst fears of urs and help u come out of it for once and for all...

the real motivators who would make u believe that YES U CAN DO IT

hey parents, m not saying u are not the important ones (definitely there is nothing more imp than u in this world...) bt at times we cant share with u what we share with friends.

TO sum it all..........

truely this is what life is about....

finding an inner peace with oneself, knowing what u want to do in life, conquering ur fears and living the life as if ZINDAGI NAA MILEGI DOBAARA......

hmMmm...ZNMD is much more than just a film, to my heart than what i cud pen it down here....

there are some emotions u cant explain...

LET URSELF GO ..........;U THE SICK MANTAL THE BWOYZZ (well includes both galjj and guyjj :) )