The Journey ..........

The Journey ..........
Just as everything that glitters is not gold, all those who wander are not lost

Friday, September 20, 2013

What have I got on my own

Sometimes, well quite sometimes you hear an eminently hummable number that hither to was unknown to you. You hear it once and then here it again and again ! And before you realise you get hooked to it. I guess you know what do I mean. 

Here, let me share with you the number that is now a days constantly on my lips. Well, it is called "What have I got on my own" by Trini Lopez. I hope, like me, you too would appreciate the beauty of the lyrics and be enthralled by his near hypnotic vocal timbre. 


Folks and all those of you who liked it, here is another number called "The Lemon Tree" by Mr Lopez. 



Long Live Trini Lopez!
And Long Live You tube !

Monday, September 16, 2013

Club 180

Club 180, our club organised a badminton tournament for the kids of the station from 30 Aug to 01 Sep. The tournament witnessed a decent turnout and saw some memorable matches. Enthusiastic kids and proud parents came in numbers for the finals. It was fun organising the same for our kids. Have a look at some snaps of the event -
Little ladies with their coach smashing their way around 

Rahul and Chris (runners up doubles)

                                                      Rahul (winner singles)

Parul (runners up sub junior girls)

The players with their prizes

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Inspirational Stuff

The other day, I was leafing through books at the library and chanced upon "The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management" by one Hyrum W. Smith. Generally, such books fail to find favour with me. However, a little poem at the beginning of the book had me rivetted. The poem, the author says, is inscribed on a sun dial at Wellesley College and goes like this -

The shadow by my finger cast
Divides the future from the past.
Behind its unreturning line,
The vanished hour, no longer thine..

Before it lies the unknown hour,
In darkness and beyond thine power.
One hour alone is in thine hands,
The now on which the shadow stands. 


The Sun Dial


Inscription at the Sun Dial


I did some googling around and found out that Wellesley College is in US and was founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant who were "passionate about higher education of women". I visited the college's website (www.wellesley.edu) and was impressed by what I saw.

No, I am not in the good College's pay roll !

Presently, I am wading through the book and  I must admit Mr Hyrum. W. Smith has not disappointed me. Alas ! he doesn't pay me either.  

Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Lamb’s Got A Kick | Uttam Sengupta

At last in a week that was rife with sad and depressing news here is a success story that would indeed warm the cockles of the heart.....our own Koh Panyee Football Club! The news is indeed brilliant and has come at the right time.
The Lamb’s Got A Kick | Uttam Sengupta

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Words of Wisdom




Here is a collection of some inspirational quotes, thoughts and words that help me keep my bearings in the pell mell of today's life.

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."  - Anonymous

After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.
                                                                - An Italian Proverb

The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? 
                                                               - An Arabian Proverb

I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives
                                                               -Tracy Chapman

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
                                                               - Chico Xavier

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”
                                                               - Kahlil Gibran

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
                                                                - Ralph Waldo Emerson

There'll be two dates on your tombstone
And all your friends will read 'em
But all that's gonna matter is that little dash between 'em..."
                                                                - Kevin Welch

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.
                                                                - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Use what talent you possess:
the woods would be very silent
if no birds sang except those that sang best.
                                                               - Henry Van Dyke

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." 
                                                               - Martin Luther King Jr.  

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
                                                               - Albert Einstein

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of sails and not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.  
                                                                - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"Come to the edge."
"We can't. We're afraid."
"Come to the edge."
"We can't. We will fall!"
"Come to the edge."
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.
                                                                    - Guillaume Apollinaire

The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
                                                                     - Lao Tzu

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.
                                                                     - Ayn Rand

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world which is within our reach.
                                                                     -Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes
                          

Friday, August 9, 2013

Tiger Country

Life was becoming a little mundane what with the same cycle of events repeating day by day and the Missus and the kids were itching for a break from the routine. After a lot of dithering and googling about the possible destinations (read short and sweet) from Jabalpur it was destination Kanha that emerged victorious.  Panna, Pench and Khajuraho were left to be conquered some other day. 

The Missus and the kids joined their heads and managed to book a Safari online (Tala Zone). Faxing a letter to the office of District Forest Officer, Mandla pleasantly confirmed an accommodation at the Forest Guest house at Kanha.

Off we went on a bright sunny afternoon after the kids were back from their schools. The drive became fantastic the moment we escaped the chaotic traffic of Jabalpur. We covered a distance of 150 km in about 2hr and 45 minutes – thankfully before the kids could commence a fight. 

There are countless hotels, properties that pass away as resorts and guest houses that flank the road as one approaches the Tala Zone of Kanha. Unfortunately, the accommodation at the forest guest house was a let down and so we hunted out a cosy little place complete with a pool for the kids to frolic around and burn some energy.

No sooner does the night fall, Kanha settles down. The gentle quietness of the night engulfs it. The all pervasive quietness is only shattered by the occasional jungle cry from the  woods nearby although it is not uncommon to encounter a SUV ferrying in some bone tired tourists hitting base late in the night. 

Next day we were up and about at 430h and embarked upon the jungle Safari by 530h. Here have a dekko at the charms that left us spellbound at Kanha ! 

The Safari

Here tigers tread


A morning at Kanha !


A herd of deer



And the one that believed in "Ekla Chalo re"



Getting Comfy

My first tiger sighting



Up close and Personal



An elephant calf






Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Sabbatical

The last two months passed by in a jiffy. It was a sabbatical of sorts interspersed with some frenetic travelling - Jabalpur - Jhansi - Orcha - Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra - Gwalior - Jhansi - Jabalpur and then Jabalpur - Patna - Jabalpur and finally Jabalpur - Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai - Jabalpur !

Nothing pleases me more than to go on long drives with the family and explore the places. The drive to Agra and back was liberating. Almost Cathartic ! Even as Junior was busy camping, rappelling, navigating with the help of stars (ahem), rock climbing with his friends at the Summer Camp at Panchmarhi, I, the Missus and the little lady hit the roads. Some careful planning and tying up loose ends helped making the trip fun and memorable.
The Little Lady and the Taj Mahal

 
Missus at the Taj Mahal

The Little lady with the mirror - her best friend !

At Jhansi - on the way back

A Vintage BMW at Gwalior Palace

Forts never fail to fascinate me. Their architecture and the size always impress me but what makes me awe struck is the fact that such edifices were erected with remarkable foresight and precision without the benefit of today's engineering tools and equipments. This trip took me to Orcha Fort, Agra Fort, Gwalior Fort and the Jhansi Fort. Simply amazing !