No time to stop and stare for a while...

Greetings!!

A very warm season's greetings to one and all....!!

It's truely time for festivities...at least for some of us...

Since Eid I have been doing a little bit traveling....here and there...

Ramazaan having gone with no time for self....I needed a much wanted break. And as far as I am concerned...any reason to travel anywhere is good enough!

So, immediately after Eid I left for Surat. Spent a good four days there. Not that I traveled the city by foot or went around the whole place. It's always the people that I find most intruiging. The people of the place define what the place is like. Otherwise, mostly everything is Antarctica....all the same...over and over...

From there I returned back home for a day's respite to move to Burhanpur. Now, for those who have never heard of the place - Burhanpur is a small town/village located on the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It's not very huge. I don't recall having seen any buildings that went beyond a third floor.... But it's bigger than a village would be...so, I call it a town. It has a lot of religious and a strong historical background. Well, if you are wondering what I was doing there... there in Burhanpur, is one very sacred ziyarat of Hakimuddin Moula...who is highly revered by Dawoodi Bohras as also by people of other faiths.

Now, on our second day there we were told there is curfew going on. That took us by surprize.

Then we discovered there were riots that have been happening around Dhulia (Maharashtra) since Eid. Now, since it had started spreading and there had been certain incidents that had happened in Burhanpur that morning. That had lead to the ensuing curfew. So, we were restricted within the premises.

Now, the next day we were to return back to Mumbai. Since the Dargah-e-Hakimi had special priviledges we had no difficulty getting back to the station. But it was while we were in the train that really made me think and re-think.

Boarding the train we realized that half the train was empty. Most people who had reservations did not turn up. Still, it was not empty....just that under normal circumstances, that particular stretch is over-crowded. Those who travel by the Kalyan-Igatpuri-Nasik-Bhusaval route know what its like. Usually it's full of life and people. However, I believe because of the riots or similar reasons, most people were holed up. Take for example Nasik. Very popular. For residential and business reasons alike. When the train hit Nasik around 7.30 in the evening, you could not find a soul on the platform!! A similar scenerio ensued on Igatpuri, Bhusaval, etc. Even as a child I could tell Igatpuri by its commotion and sweet aroma of various types of food. This time around it was dark and empty.

However, when we got off at Thane, life looked usually. At 10 in the night, there were people scurrying in all directions to get to their desired destinations. My best guess is that no one had heard anything about a curfew or riots on some other parts of the state or country.

It's things like these that make me stop and think.

We Mumbaites are at times so full of ourselves and our miniature lives that we don't ever bother looking over our shoulder. The incidents happening were just a few hours away from us. So close. Yet we somehow just choose to always look the other way...as if nothing is happening...or has ever happened.

I know that Mumbai is the city for the dreams. Everyone here is on a mission. I know life moves so fast here that at times its easy to even forget why we started running in the first place.

Maybe instead of a Mumbai Marathon, its time Mumbai city could take break... It could take the time to stop and stare....

But then maybe Mumbai would not remain what it is now.

The question remains - can Mumbai have a heart that beats for others without loosing its true spirit???

Welcome back...

Greetings Earthlings...

I know its been more than a month since I was last here....

I am back.....to pick up left off ties...

So, here we start our restless ramblings again.... Before we begin let me just quickly recount some recent activities. A few more ramblings, per say.

I think was here last around the time that Akbar masaji had passed away. Since then, I have quit my job as a Jr.Copywriter at Webchutney. And a couple of days after that I flew off to Karbala and Najaf to do ziyarat of Imam Hussain (A.S.) and Moulana Ali (A.S.). After the 14-day trip to Iran-Iraq, I returned on 5th August. Between then and now there is nothing very note-worthy has happened.

For today, I believe i will stick to decribing the events and the cultures that I crossed in these times. There is a lot to say. So many words that hit your mind. So many vistas that open up in all directions, exploring new horizons. I believe i could keep going on and on. Time travel never stops.

In the duration that I have been away, I had the opportunity to visit Iran and Iraq. Iraq, for all obvious & spiritual reasons, unofficially. Your true journey actually begins when you step out at the airport, your bags packed. The moment you have bid a good bye to your loved ones and step take the first step towards your destination, your journey truely begins only then. The times that we live in today, traveling by sea is no longer a necessity, its luxury. And flying is cheaper and faster. So, we flew.

Any journey is mostly also considered successful if your co-travellers help you do so. No journey is ever singular. I had a lot of companions who were masters in the art of life. Per say, I had a lot of aged people as companions, and a few youngers. I was the only single female.

Iran is neat and clean. Nevertheless, what is truely missing is the life of any country. The people. Iran is an Islamic Republic. One of the biggest implication is in way the women are treated here. All women in Iran will usually wear a jacket and a scarf. Very trendy dressing. Girls usually sport sexy heels and fancy hair dos. The monetary power shows well. The economy is good. However, all of this is only for the bigger cities and towns. For the rest of Iran is purely mountains. You will long to see a tree in sight. All you really see on the mountains is spiked shrubs.

So much for Tehran and rest of Iran.

When you cross over into Iraq things change. Drastically. There are few pakka roads. Most are so dusty and the heat is good enough to kill. However, you will see one major differentiation between Iran and Iraq. Iran is very dry in terms of vegetations; whereas, Iraq has plenty of trees. Most are date palms. But you do encounter a lot of oasises. It's definitely more greener. However, the women in Iraq wear a hijab that only shows their face and hands - your hair should not show in any circumstance. Apart from these fundamentals, Iraq is poor.

Moving beyond the enviromental and cultural aspects of these countries, we come to Karbala. The peace one experiences here cannot be exchanged for any valuables in life. I sure am glad I was able to go.

I think i am a little tired for now. There are too many memories. Memories of sitting for hours together in Haram Shareef. Memories of Taha, Murtaza and Hozefa. Time spent with Nafisa Aunty and Aliakbar Uncle. Time spent with Durraiya Aunty. The trip of 14-days. The memories have been hard-coded in brain for as long as I shall live.

More later....

Right time?

Good day Earthlings! So, when do we know it's the right time? Now, this question is not necessarily aimed at anything in particular. Just that we usually hold the belief that the Maker sets his time for everything that is supposed to happen, and when the time is right, it shall surely happen. Not even if you willed you could stop it from happening any more. So, if the Maker obviously knows when it's timed... when do simple mortals know it's truely the right time? Someone, I have this feeling that life treats us all differently. What I mean by this is some people seem to go from goal to goal strife-lessly. Others (like me, for instance!) take several stops on the way to finally reach somewhere; and that does not necessarily have to be where-we-wanted-to-go. I wonder why does He do that. I wonder why are we not equal. Maybe, I am aware of the answer myself. While all of us as humans do face problems and obstacles, we do not really face equally or as harshly. For the same problem, one man will treat it like it was nothing, whereas the other may feel burdened under it... even unable to sneak out of it for relief-sake. Similarly, even though the problems around us maybe similar, the way we treat them when they fall upon us makes all the difference. A person who can smile and face all adversities, will definitely see more of life, will be able to do more. Whereas one cribbing on a small hurdle, may never be brave to skip ahead. So, coming back to the question of when is it really the right time? All I can say is that God sets a path for us. He makes us go through adversity so that we can be stronger and be able to take what life throws at us. Yeah, when the time comes, we shall know "It's time"!