A Ride to Remember

I started today with a rather grumpy mood. I felt restless and angry as I set foot outside the home to leave for office. It is not unusual in any sense - I have had such bad starts to bad days quite often. So, what was different today? Nothing. Just another day of not wanting to go to office.

But then something changed. Like every day of running late for office, I decided to take a cab to work. As if that'd have helped! And like every other day, Uber decided to be a bitch with its surge pricing! Half-heartedly, I still chose Uber Pool over the Metro ride, which would have undoubtedly made me reach in time. But I am glad I did!

That uber ride is why I decided to come online today and write a blog post after ages. 

What was unusual about this ride was that the first time in the million year long history of my Uber-ing to work and other places, this was the first time I got a female driver. It wasn't surprising in an "Oh! I didn't know Uber had female drivers also!" way but like I said, unusual. Even though there is nothing misplaced about a female driving an Uber, but it did cheer me up for some reason. This was a 23-24 year old girl Pooja who lightened my mood. Pooja was everything that any of my usual Uber drivers are - grumpy about Pool rides, unhappy with Uber incentives, and of course not cheerful about driving in Jamia. This is going to be another rides that I am gonna write a blog post about, I thought to myself.

Pooja doesn't have a sad story behind choosing to be an Uber driver. She doesn't have an alcoholic father who spends all his money in drinking, or an angry young brother who beats up his wife and mother. Her father runs a small shop in some village of Delhi. Her brother studies in college, while she chose to earn for the heck of it. She is every bit of a common person as anyone who walks around this cosmopolitan city that is Delhi. She drives because this is what she thinks she is best at. She can't imagine herself doing an office job as in her words "I will never reach office on time" and wouldn't like her salary being deducted for a half day. She complains about Uber pool rides because we all know how fucked up their system is! She is as normal as it gets. But if you check out her reviews (or comments or whatever) on her Uber profile, you'll find people praising her for being a woman and a driver along with it. People think it is very brave of her to be doing this. I am not sure if it's brave or a 'new' but it definitely is refreshing. Pooja is as good a driver as you need to be a good Uber driver, and she is rather good at it. She puts all those "women can't drive" remarks to rest! 

During an hour long ride (thanks to all the fucked up ways that Uber pool works), she told me how she thinks relatives are assholes because they take advantage of you and won't return your car even after a week! She showed her anger on Uber because they make you drive around the entire city of Delhi with their fucked up algorithms that decide the route and pick-ups in an Uber pool ride. There was nothing new about these complaints coming from an uber driver, because I have listened to them many many times before. It was however refreshing to have a high spirited girl drive you around the city and setting a new normal. 

The Unconditional* Love

Unfettered love.

This is what people really mean (or at least should mean) when they praise “unconditional love.” 

Love that is unfettered—and enduring. Not unconditional.

Because in order for any love to thrive in a healthy way, certain agreements with regards to mutual respect and beneficial behavior must be embraced, thereby making that love *conditional* on honoring that sacred trust.

A love that comes with honorable conditions is like having a relationship that comes with healthy boundaries. No love or relationship can thrive properly without them. Otherwise the relationship is bound to be toxic and harmful.

So yes, unfettered love—and enduring love—let’s embrace that. 

Unfettered means you give your loved one permission to be free…

Free to embrace who they are deep inside.

Free to do what they genuinely believe is best for their life and soul.

With no emotional chains, shackles, or nooses that stunt their personal or spiritual growth.

With no fetters aimed at manipulating them into being who *you* want (or demand) them to be.

But “unconditional love”? Nah. 

God, protect us.

Too much emotional manipulation and spiritual abuse occurs when we are led to believe we must (or should) “unconditionally” love someone—or that someone must “unconditionally” love us—with no conditions at all in how that relationship should look or feel to us. With no boundaries in what we should or should not accept from the one we imagine unconditionally loves us.

Love yourself enough to see honorable *conditions* as not only a good thing, but also a necessary part of any relationship—and as the very essence of true love. 

Conditions and boundaries are your right. Don’t let anyone tell you different, no matter how praiseworthy and honorable they paint “unconditional love” to be.

When love is an action word—as true love always is—then there must be *conditions* of respect, compassion, and genuine support of each other’s emotional and spiritual health. There must be the *condition* of genuinely embracing your loved one’s freedom to exist as a whole person outside of and separate from you. 

And there must be the *condition* of sincerely and humbly unfettering your loved one from the shackles of what you imagine they owe you…just because God was gracious enough to gift them to you during your brief sojourns on earth.

So embrace the beautiful side of conditional love:

Unfettered and enduring love.

God-willing, it will set you free.

The worst thing you can do to a person is to make him feel useless. 

Something Changed Today..

Until very recently, I truly believed that 'writing' was my calling, like I was meant to be a writer and just miraculously screwed my career. But today I realised that I don't write; I vent out, like a 10 year old wimpy kid whose complaints are not being listened to. That's what I am, just a pretentious writer. Well this explains the pattern in all my last blogs (minus a few) which are just a sob story of my life. Well, this isn't a blog, this is my journal which is meant to write all the sad little things! Also, this explains why I haven't been able to finish all those countless half written stories. I wasn't meant to be anyone, and specially not a writer.

Something changed today. There was that moment when it suddenly dawned upon me that I no longer like my own company - something I used to brag about. I don't like being alone. I need people to surround me and distract me from everything that is going around me. Yes, I don't want to be the centre for attention certainly, but I don't like to be left out either. It feels like suddenly a loose shallow facade has come off of me, like all these years I was pretending to like being alone, and now it just can't seem to continue.

Today brought back so many memories that I never wanted to re-live. There was that familiar door that blocked me from someone I love the most in the world. There was that wait that kept on expanding like a spell had frozen the time. Above all, there was that nausea all over again that I dreaded when it happened last time, and now more than ever. I know that this time is different - much different than the last, but this was as bad as the last time, if not worse. Somewhere deep down  I know that she'll get better, that she IS getting better, but that didn't stop the same horrid feelings to strike again. It is not only difficult to control those dreary thoughts to take over, but just out of my human capacity as well. I can't imagine going through the same thing all over again. I can't imagine failing as a son all over again. Above all, I can't imagine losing that one person who I love more than anything and anyone in this entire universe.

Another dreadful thing that struck me today was that I need to learn to overcome my social anxiety. It isn't something casual, it's not like what people think - that I am too full of myself to take note of others around me. In a social situation when I am anxious and afraid of going up to people and starting a conversation, it isn't of much significance. However, today when I had to muster up all my inner strength to go up to the doctor and discuss something which couldn't have been avoided, it hit hard. People including my close ones actually think that I am making up excuses to avoid doing something on my own and want them to do for me, because well, I am too full of myself. But this really needs to be said - I genuinely want to be confident and move past this nonsensical fear of mine.

As much as I wish I didn't had to face the occurrences of today, I think it took reality and threw it across my face to have to realise what a lie I had been living!

Happiness and Life..

It's funny how a little gesture like a phone call from her makes you want to get back to writing blog posts. I would always be in awe of how she manages to just cheer me up in all these years that I have lived. Sometimes she'd just say something innocent and it makes my day, sometimes she'd just laugh hysterically over my silly habits and my life seems complete. 

I think this is what life has become. Happiness in all these little things - those meaningless phone calls, senseless jokes, and everything that comes with it. 

Walking on Thin Ice

Do you also find it strange to be taking those first steps all over again? It is so much effort to be doing this - trying to mend things, but I am hoping it's worth the work. To get to know you all over again, is like revisiting things of the past that I had strangely overlooked. It is indeed a strange feeling, but there is no doubt about me really 'wanting' to do this. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be doing this for anyone else in the world, but for you, it feels like a natural instinct. It surprises even myself how patient and restrained I have become. I am constantly waiting for that notification on my phone, and hoping it's you. I fight the urge to just randomly text you telling you that I truly love you. There, I said it, I don't think I'll find a less cheesy way to put this in words. But, I also know that you are coming out of a bad phase, and I don't want to screw up, again! So, I'll patiently wait for a time when you are more welcoming and open to the idea that second chances can sometimes do wonders. 

I am also scared that this all will go away in a whiff, like I'd suddenly wake up from a wonderful dream. It frightens me that I might do or say something which'll set you off, and I might not be able to get a second chance at all. I am scared, but I am also hopeful. Hopeful that things will get better. I am not known to be optimistic about anything, but this, this is something I am extremely positive about. It may well be because I am too scared to lose you and hope is the only thing that keeps me sane. It is like walking on thin ice - I am not sure which step will be my doom, but I am so hopeful that we get through this and find each other on solid ground. I have no other way to put this, but you'll always be everything I want. Always!

ماضی ، حال ، مستقبل

ماضی کی چند باتوں نے یوں اک احساس سا جگا دیا جیسے اسی لمحے كے لیے اپنی زندگی بتائی ہو . لیکن موجودہ حالات کچھ اور ہی بیان کرتے ہیں . مانو آج ہی شروعات ہوئی ہو ، ماضی کا وجود ہی جیسے ختم ہو گیا ہو . جانتا ہوں كے ان حالات کا قصور وار میں خود ہی ہوں ، لیکن خود کا ہی دِل گوارہ نہیں کرتا یہ شکست حال . کاش میرے بس میں ہوتا ماضی کو مستقبل کرنا .

29th

It's such a bittersweet thing to be growing old. You gain a year and you lose one. 29 is exactly like being 21 when you feel sad to have entered the 20s.. and 29 when you are almost 30 and haven't achieved a single thing. 

Oceans

..And nothing comes close
To the way that I need you

The mere idea of your being rekindles a desire so deep that I cannot even fathom to inhale the air that feels heavier because of your absence. I still like to live in the time that was sweetened by your breath. 

I wish I can feel your skin
And I want you
From somewhere within

The thirst for your presence keep on growing. How long can I live in the past, after all!

It feels like there's oceans
Between me and you once again...

The vastness of this physical gap between us is a wound to my soul. But nothing could ever pull us apart in our hearts. To have lived without you is an unimaginable pain..

You know I'd rather drown
Than to go on without you

Because..

It feels like there's oceans

Between you and me..

Inconvenience

The view from my desk is just what I need right now. It's amusing how the whole city fits within the one metre wide frame of my window. This little space contains so many people, going about their lives as usual, having no idea about a person who is sitting atop the high rise tower, wondering what his life would have been if he had never stepped inside the poorly designed lobby of this building. 

Thoughts go awry as I sit here and visualize the possibility of being someone who I should have been. But it becomes slightly inconvenient to depart from the normal. Exactly like my thoughts..

"You are so ungrateful", "So many people would die to be in your position", "Don't take what you have for granted". 

Why do people impose their dreams on you all the time? Do they even wonder that maybe I don't want what they want? That maybe I have different plans? Why is it so easy to judge? 

I haven't had it easy like you think, but because I am not complaining about it all the time, you think I don't value it. Let's clarify something - you and I are different beings. I am not superior or inferior to you, but I am very much different. So, let's leave it at that. I don't intend to please you - at all!

..

Do you still secretly wish to visit the past? 
Does it ever hurt to have left things midway?
Or have I withered away from your thoughts?

Do you still put on a mask and hide the longing?
Does your heart still ache the same?
Or have you already buried me in your memories?

Do you still come and read this?
Does your mind still wander away?
Or have I become a ghost of the past?

New Year, Old Myself

So, a new year has started; not much has changed. I still want to coil up in my blanket and sleep all day. So, I am going back to sleep now.

Of Places and Experiences - Barot

Barot, Himachal Pradesh

If you have heard about Barot in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, well you are well travelled and know your places! This little village is a hidden gem in the beauty that Himachal is. About 50 km away from the amazing Bir, Barot is a quaint haven of beautiful views, Uhl river, and fishing! If you ask the locals for the directions to Barot, they'll cheerfully do so, and will instruct you to definitely try the 'trout'. Barot is a valley village that survives on fishing, aquaculture, and of course the tourism. 

Unlike Bir, Barot is well connected with local buses, and is home to a few hotels, home stays, and even a government guesthouse. Despite the frequent tourists from nearby places (read Punjabis), the place has managed to keep the charm of a quiet isolated village. What one misses in Bir (the water), is made up for by the flowing Uhl river that runs through the entire Barot valley and provides breathtaking views along with the livelihood to the locals i.e. fish farming.

Dear Myself..

"You are such a hoarder"

Someone had told me once, and I agree. While cleaning up the room today, I came across one such thing that I had hoarded from a phase of my life which I have happily forgotten. The pale white paper from a 'Personality Development' class I had taken 13 years ago. I remember not wanting to take that class, but it was the only elective course where there was no familiar face. The teacher was this 40-something lady with an ever-smiling face and a very cheerful aura around her that had always made me uncomfortable. When I think of that time, it feels almost impossible to even imagine myself being that inherently introvert. I’d like to think I am still very introvert in nature even today, but looking back at those years, it feels like I have evolved so much.

Year – 2003, just one of those days

When the class started today, I thought it was again going to be one of those days when we’ll be asked to pair up with someone and do some stupid activity, and like every other time I’ll be left to the mercy of Ms. Ansari to find me a partner. But today she came equipped with this very peculiar assignment. We were asked to write a letter to a 30-year-old ourselves. Of course it didn’t make sense to me, because I somehow thought I’ll never reach that time, and will be consumed by the abyss that those two years in the high school were. I felt really uncomfortable for two reasons – one, I was extremely scared that I’ll be asked to read my letter out loud and I will make a fool of myself, and two, I sucked at writing. I really did! However, Ms. Ansari made it really easy for me when she said, “Just write those letters, you don’t have to show it to anyone, you don’t have to submit the letters. I’ll not read it, just write for yourself.” I felt so relieved. My immediate response was ‘Well I don’t have to write at all, nobody will read it, nobody will find out I never wrote any’. But the excitement I saw in my fellow students was something alarming; they all set to writing it as soon as she had uttered the word ‘Write’. I sat there blank for about 5 minutes, before the teacher handed out a blank A4 to me, with a smiling face. She thought I didn’t have anything to write on. I hated that moment, and then I started…

“Dear 30-year-old me,

I really hope you have improved your writing.

I really hope you have become a writer or a journalist or something to do with writing. Please tell me you have published at least one book! I hope you have and I hope it has done well. 30 is a long time from now, so there’s a lot of time, please keep writing. You anyway suck at everything else.

I really hope you did better in studies. Be above average please, it feels bad to be just average. I hope Arts or Commerce has proven to be the right choice, because you suck at Science. 

I hope you finally have more friends than you have right now (i.e. zero). I hope you don’t find it difficult to talk to people anymore. I really hope you found many good friends. I loved it during the middle school, so I hope you are living a similar life in the future. 

I hope you did not get married at an early age. Stick to the plan – finish your studies, find a well-paying job, and marry when you’re all set. I think 28 is an okay age to be married, even if it’s late. So if you got married at 28, I hope the last two years have been good. I hope you don’t have kids yet – they are just so irritating.

I don’t expect that you’re living in Paris, but I hope you have visited it at least. 

I hope you read this and tick off all the above from the checklist!

All the best!

-

14-year-old yourself”

--

Honestly, the original letter had such poor grammar that I couldn’t make myself post the same, so I edited (but did not change the content) the mistakes and this is what I sounded like. Such a sad thing though, I’m two years away from 30, and I am nowhere close to where I thought I’d be.

I'll be there for you?

Okay so this is not a cry for help or anything. It's just I'm a little weird right now. The thing is, I am starting to realise that there is suddenly no one around to just sit and chat. I mean like tell things that you really mean. Laugh at things. Cry at things. Be angry at something. Together. I always had this feeling that I am a very good friend. It turns out, I am not. You know that feeling when you don't have anything to say yet you want someone to just listen? I think I am there right now. There is nothing particularly wrong with my life right now, and yet I feel like it couldn't be much worse. Every night I have this tendency to scroll through my contact list and find just one person who I can just randomly text and chat about just any random nonsense, but I can't find anyone. And yeah I know everyone tells you 'i will be always there for you' but in truth, nobody is always there for you. 

Blackouts

You know what I miss?

I miss those nights when our colony had long power cuts. Those 8-12 hour long power cuts. Having to sleep on the terrace on those old 'chaarpaayi's. Nights when there were no inverters or generators. When the mosquitoes couldn't let you sleep, and you had to use those handheld makeshift fans to keep yourself comfortable. All this sounds so unrelatable now, almost weird. Like it never happened, like it is beyond real. 

 But you know why I miss those nights? It brought us all together. When my father would gather us all, and talk about some random thing. Through those blackouts, and my father's tales about his childhood, our grandparents, the village, the haveli, and whatnot, we got our life lessons. Lessons that remain with us even today!

My father would quiz us all, about stuff related to our forefathers and our village. He would often quiz about terms used in the village that we had never used in our city life, and even though I used to hate my village or anything related to it, I would feel so bad for not knowing. It was so bad to lose that one rupee coin, for not knowing. 

I miss the endless fights with my brother over who gets the better charpaayi. The difficulty of carrying the bedding on the top terrace, using that broken piece of a wooden ladder. I miss having dinner with mom and dad. Not eating unless mom had made that thing she made by dipping my chapati in the curry. She was the best at it. She still is. I miss being scolded by dad for missing my 'Bismillah' before starting to eat. 

In that moment of everything being so dark, with those little candle flames fighting to stay alive, when everything was so quiet, those conversations and laughter and the life of the gathering reflected like we were the happiest family on Earth! 

The blackouts these days - even the longest of them, are not the same anymore. They'll never be, because he'll never be there. So you know what I miss?

I think it's time.

I quit!

Of Places and Experiences - Bir

Bir, Himachal Pradesh

Bir is a little town in Himachal Pradesh, unknown to most of the people, so much so that when I enquired about the bus to Bir at the enquiry counter of the bus station, the guy on the other end was like "Bir? Where is that?". To escape from the hustle bustle of the city life, it of course made the perfect destination then.

Bir is very different from most of the famous hill stations of India. So far, it has been left untouched by the crazy commercial tourism that has ruined most of such places in India. But, it is not long before this beautiful little town will also be consumed by the commercialization. As of now, Bir is known for two things - the paragliding, and the tibetan colonies. When you enter the town, you see all these single storey residences scattered all over the place. I was a little disappointed that the place has lost the vernacular architecture, and most of the buildings are now constructed with RCC. I for one, really  miss the traditional architecture that these hill stations proudly boasted once upon a time. 

The roads inside the town are fairly wide for a hill station (given the crazy driving skills of the Himachali drivers), and make it easier to reach your destination. Thanks to the scarcity of public transport, and population, this make for a perfect and enjoyable journey. Just as you enter the town, you see a hoard of commercial shops promoting paragliding and other adventure activities in the area. Gladly, they have managed to maintain the sanctity of the beautiful town. If I had to explain what is so special about the place, I probably wouldn't be able to figure it out. All the hill towns have the same features - mountains, thick forests, small houses, and lovely people, and yet each one of them is so different and unique. Bir was unlike any hill town that I have been to. The quiet and peace of the place is just lovable.

The location of the Bir Zostel is really isolated, you wouldn't reach there without the help of the locals in the area. They are just so amazing. An isolated place far from the crazy population is exactly what I wanted, and Zostel was the perfect place therefore. It has recently opened, and is home to some very nice people, and exciting vibes. The moment I reached, I met this group of people who were going for paragliding, and asked me to join them if I wanted. I, being a sucker of good company and adventure, of course agreed. I had plans to do paragliding anyway, but I didn't know I would do it the first thing in Bir.

Within the first 30 minutes of my arrival at the hostel, I had already met three very interesting, different, and adventurous people, who all were on a solo trip of their own. I was told that the ride till the paragliding site is going to be more adventurous than the paragliding experience itself. They couldn't be truer. To reach the take off site, one has to go through all these twists and turns on the hilly road. The view is amazing, but your driver makes sure that you are more worried about your life than the views ;)

Once you reach the top of the hillock, you are satisfied that the crazy ride was totally worth it. You are suddenly surrounded by nothing but the clear skies and the beauty of the mountains. It is a different feel altogether.

Like every other adventurous thing on my 'bucket list', paragliding was something I was super excited as well as a bit scared about. I have had a brief experience with paragliding at Kamshet during my last solo trip, but this experience at Bir was a bit 'more'. The paragliding site at Billing is world's second highest, and of course the best in India. To fly high in the sky with such amazing views to surround you, is an experience to cherish after all. I didn't know I could make that run and glide away in the sky, until I did it. And for the lack of apt words, it was the best experience ever!

I fell in love with the place, and not only because of the best paragliding experience, but there was something about Bir, that made it a tad bit 'perfect' in every sense. The people were amazing, the places were beautiful, and the experience was just exciting! From the monasteries that were just so peaceful and quiet, to the energetic young monks who you could see hopping around in most of the corrners, to this beautiful little village called 'Gunher' which Google maps couldn't even find, and above all, the super awesome starry nights, I loved every bit of it. 

Not everyday do you get to sleep under a beautiful sky full of shining stars, and fireflies spread all around you. Bir has truly been something of a charm!

The Perfect Escape

So it is all over. The two years of pure torture. I have been waiting for this end for as long as I remember, and of course what better way to celebrate. This trip is something I had been planning in my head for a long time, and yet it was the most unplanned trip I ever took. But, the perfect one too!

--

It started with an Instagram post. I just fell in love with the place instantaneously. I had never heard about this place called Barot in Himachal Pradesh, but somehow suddenly it was the only place I wanted to be. I needed this break, after all the craziness and mind numbing experiences. So I googled it, and of course, there was not much information about the place. Thanks to the original post on instagram, I did find the whereabouts and ways to get there. After my last experiences of solo travel, I was really looking forward to another such experience, but somehow I still had the same inhibitions as I did last year when I took that solo trip to Goa. I guess, the excitement of a solo trip remains the same, even if you have done it before. I had no plans. All I knew was that I had to get there. In the middle of all this, of course I had friends who wanted to join me, and because their plans didn't resonate with mine, I just decided to go ahead and do it on my own. I was all set to explore this new place, and it was only the next morning that my plans suddenly changed. I saw this another post on instagram, and I just needed to be there. The amazingly beautiful starry night at Bir, Himachal Pradesh was just the motivation I needed. Bir was not a new place to me, I had heard about the place, I had seen images on the internet, and of course it had recently become famous because of the paragliding world cup that they hosted. One of the best part of this new plan was that Bir is only 50 km away from Barot, and so I could easily visit both the places.

To reach Bir, one has to take the 15-16 hours of journey by bus. Till the last minute, I was not sure if I was ready to embark on this journey, and I hadn't booked my tickets knowing that I could change my plans any minute. But I really needed this escape from the maddening heat of Delhi, and moreover I really needed time for myself. So I just went ahead and booked a room in Bir Zostel, which is a backpackers' hostel. My previous experiences with such backpacking hostels were enough to know that this was my best bet. So, now since I had already booked my room, I could not turn my back or change my plans. I reached the bus stand, found out about the bus, and waited... for the amazing experience that awaited me! :)