Jodhpur - a certain uncertainty !

                                           

                                       

Blue.

The stone. The particle.

The sun. The ray.

They laugh. They run.

They question to personify.

Blue.

The vibration. The beat.

The foot and the finger tip.

They jump. They dance.

They fly!

Blue.

The waves. The sounds.

The silence. The ground.

The swiftness in imperfection!

Blue.

The heart. The body. The soul.

They stop function.

They LIVE!

Blue.

The vien.

The flow.

The thought.

The existence.

Exalted!

JODHPUR - "A CERTAIN UNCERTAINTY"

We live. We travel.

We experience. We capture the city.

We sweat. We feel the weather.

We breathe. We inhale the smells .

We admire. We live where we go. 

We create. We create memories that live beyond us.

We eat. We eat a chef’s passion.

We walk... We walk the streets like a nomad… streets that don’t lead you where you expect them to.      

We see… We look.. We watch… We perceive.. We ponder… We judge.. We think… We believe.

We live.. We travel…

Blue buildings.. ..  blue events… 

blue people….  blue thoughts…

blue memories.. blue canvas

Blue pages of a book …."blue city"..

An orchestra in your mind.. an orchestra of colors.. an orchestra of music.. an orchestra of sounds… 

A “blue” orchestra..

A city that can bring out your emotions.. a city that can make you cry.. make you laugh.. 

a city that can surprise ..make you question.. 

a city that would make you want to paint its walls…

all this..just by looking at it…

A very sly city.. rather shrewd.. cunning.. playing with your emotions… 

taking charge…. 

Getting hold of you..

Tightening the grip… 

firm hands… 

bare hands… …

 reluctant hands… 

wants you to stay .. 

a firm conviction that something is the case.. 

a firm conviction that something is not … 

A certain uncertainty !

From turquoise to duck egg pastel....  from mehrangarh to ghantagarh.. 

from havelis to guest houses... from courtyards to jharokhas… 

From pyaz ki kachori to dal bati churma... from langas to kalbeliyas.. from katputlis to kings.. 

this city gives more than you ask for…

A city that can define the three most important words in architecture; color - space - light … 

...this city can make you feel blue even when u take a black and white image of it..

The advent of the festival of holi here is almost like an uprising… a revelation.. with excitement and growing anxiety in all people… 

The moment when an excited kid comes and throws color at you.. the moment when the holi fire is lit.. the moment when people start dancing and singing waiting for holi.. the moment when theres a smile on everyones face.. the moment when there is bhang down peoples throats and energy in the circumferent air… these are the moments you experience and you remember… 

your mind and your senses unconsciously start behaving like a camera… capturing random images.. images that you would never forget.. images that are hard to express.. images that are ardent.. ! 

Its hard to express what you feel about this city.. no whole sentences.. just random words can explain it.. because there is nothing here that is just “there”.. at a certain moment; All is placid and still, and it’s as if you are dreaming.. and at the other; there is ruckus and movement…

a firm conviction that something is the case…. a firm conviction that something is not…

a certain uncertainty !

The Melting pot

A crazy quilt of cultures that have been time woven and merged with one another is just about it to describe the cultural capital of India, Kolkata. The city as a living organism flourishes under the smooth collaboration of its different organs and declines with every amputation. Kolkata is rich with its eclectic histories of the diverse immigrants hence forming one of the most cosmopolitan cities of India. Walking on the streets is the thing to do when in Kolkata; though larger distances can be covered in the eye opening “dirty yet amazing yellow”, good old, Ambassador Taxis. Sitting on the rustic springy seats of the Ambassador, with dust blowing out at every speed breaker, stickers of Bengali Gods and Goddesses decorated with flowers, and with a sweaty driver, looking at the Bengali Paras’ (housing), the palaces, tombs and mosques of the Mughals, the mansions and churches of the Portuguese and the monumental lodgings of the British, truly takes you back to the 18^th century. The metro trains of Kolkata, being one of the oldest metros in India, still are a very efficient transit system. The heat and humidity would make you want to wait for an air-conditioned train but the real essence is felt in the non air-conditioned as climatically you haven’t been disconnected from the city. Climate plays a very important role in the experiential quality of the metropolis.

The city also imbibes a myriad of literature from one of the best writers and poets India has seen. The termite filled shelves on College Street houses one of the best collections of Literature. Surrounded by a jungle of ancient moist notes on literature would make you want to not get out of there ever. But the aroma of the traditional filter coffee coming from The Indian Coffee House down the road will surely pull you at it!

Walking down the dark and narrow streets of Kumartali, an extremely undisturbed part of Kolkata, the settlement of the sculptor families that create larger than life size sculptures of Goddess Durga and other Gods that are worshiped all throughout West Bengal, you will also notice quite many Roman and Greek style sculptures being recreated. These grass and mud sculptures are later painted in stunning bright colours.

The randomness and the chaotic vibes of the cultural mix is actually a key factor in making Kolkata what it is today. Unfortunately the local government doesn’t feel so and are trying to put in a lot of effort and money into formalizing the city. Creating boundaries by fencing all the public properties and painting them in White and Blue, stating these two colours are “The City’s Colours” can be taken as a strong example. A lot of public buildings, pathways, fences, busses, and even the new taxis are now being painted in White and Blue, trying to create a formalized system of order and rule which is also affecting a lot of historical sites of the city. Nevertheless, the locals of the intellectually climatic city carry pride and respect for their city’s history and are putting their best efforts to maintain and develop at the same time.

“Different” is the word that describes the city of Kolkata, it keeps offering and you can just  never get enough of "The Melting Pot" !

Encountering Bhutan !

                                                                                                                              

Traveling in Bhutan is less about seeing monuments and roaming in touristy streets. Its more about immersing yourself in the experience of “encountering” the place; not necessarily in a very spiritual manner but in a very layman way; because when you start to feign over-spirituality, you tend to loose out on many small little details that seem negligent then.

 A perfect place to “loiter”; the experience of just strolling in the streets is almost like entering into a time warp. Encounters with the architecture, with the people, the landscape, the religion, the culture, the cityscape, the monks, the chili and the cheese, are all experiences which are rather tender and intimate.

Religion is like an aura in the Bhutanese air and the prayer flags are like its prophet; like metaphors of the religion; a progressive revelation. It is believed that when the wind moves the prayer flags even with the slightest breeze, these prayers and blessings become activated, and then are carried through the air in a spiritual vibration across the vicinity. Everything that is touched by this wind becomes pure. This is what the prayer flags are “supposed” to do to you spiritually. But to a layman, they are flapping and fluttering bits of tidily cut cloths painting a highly reminiscent and almost elusive image of color, sound and movement in their minds. Very often the only sound one would hear in the streets would be the flapping of a hundred prayer flags, in unison with each other; but contrasting to the tempo of the activities occurring around them. Similar is the sound of the rotating prayer wheel that one can see everywhere in Bhutan; its hypnotizing motion and sound. 

Religion seems to blend very naturally in the fabric of the landscape and the prayer flags, prayer wheels, the tiny stupa offerings, the monks, all seem to create an enchanting rhythm. The country seems to sing in unison because of the serene and persistent architecture, the prayer flags hung in every nook and cranny and most importantly because of its people. People who are happy, friendly, unified and content.

The country is happy and colorful; colorful both literally and metaphorically, but it is debatable that in the current times whether the colors are natural or rather imposed. A simple example of the cornices that one sees all over the country in each and every building. Bhutanese government has made it mandatory for all new buildings to add these cornices in their design; whether they look good or not. They seem like a stuck on addition to the new buildings; stubbornly unyielding. The king has banned the import of any car in the country saying that the amount of cars in Bhutan is enough to support the amount of people in the country. The country is trying to keep its culture intact and stay untouched by western influences in any way; but it is totally debatable as to what is more important to a country; its unique and isolated cultural  standing or its global growth; and it is totally not our job to make any value judgments in such political matters.

Leaving everything aside; it is simply the mysteriousness and elusiveness of the place that would make you want to revisit it and encounter everything all over AGAIN …