Parul's Journal

It was a plan, an unfamiliar one. I was accompanying a friend to a visit to her Grandparent’s home after years. To reach Thiruvalla, we had no train reservations. We knew the train number, its name and the time it would leave Bangalore City Station. So we found in on a platform and hopped on to the last compartment- the unreserved one, for women only. It was already full as we hesitantly got in to it. We were possibly very lucky to find a little space next to the door. So we kept our bags and sat on them as I refused to put my ‘Bob Marley- One Love’ spreadsheet on the floor and we had conveniently forgotten to carry newspapers. For a compartment that has a capacity of max 60 people, under normal circumstances, this one had more than double the number of people in it. An old woman sat next to us, embarking a 15 hour plus journey to Kanyakumari sitting next to the wash basin. As the journey progressed, our irritation grew. It was a fight for space. Every inch counted. You find it, you st...

Take a walk by the side by lanes without remembering why you have to remain outdoors for some time. And it will not disappoint you. The first thing that anyone visiting Pondicherry should do is to walk down to the beach. If you are coming from the bus stand, head absolutely straight down to the beach road that ends in clear blue skies flanked by clear blue water. There are a few reasons for it. Firstly, the tourism office is housed in a small building there and they provide you not just with cold water and fan, a much needed updated map of the city and the best free guidance regarding anything you might need for your stay. Second, when one takes that walk, from say the State bus stand towards the beach, the architecture and roads change swiftly and make you feel like you have left behind a typical Indian small town and entered a villa in South France. On the by lanes you can catch people lazily sitting around or playing a game of marbles or a traditional game, that gives you a feel of ...

Mr.Takafumi....Bangalore roads.

Crisp blue skies with small white clouds. Pleasant sunshine. And cool breeze on your face. Welcome to Bangalore, (oops!) or Bengaluru. The Indian Airlines flight did not disappoint me the moment I saw our ‘delayed’ right next to our flight number. Thanks to one of our team-member’s anxiety, we checked in ‘much’ ahead of time. So then, with a lot of time in hand I walked the place up n down, read the newspaper, walked up and down again and then got chatty with my team mates. Interesting, one of them has a two year old kid, other was originally from Maharashtra but settled in Bengaluru, other was a Japanese Diplomat and another was standing in the Mc Donald’s food line. Our supervisor, a young enthusiast, super planner was also really pleasant and chatty. In the two hour flight we were served small kachoris with spicy curry and my American-Chinese friend refused to even try it!! Small hitch at the airport, she lost her luggage. It was strange that she had kept her backpack as her handbag...

Of Graphic Novels and Novelties Another semester ends and the craving for a fiction work sets in motion. I came across a review of a graphic novel in an impressive review magazine. And then, chanced upon it. Novel idea. On the whole, that is. The story, not very novel maybe. Kari is about survival. Of the heart and the mind. In a crowded alienated train, on her bed next to the dam bookshelf, on the water tank of the building, in discovering new roads on the same path, in fornicating with a stranger to even the 2 or 3mm buzz cut. It was a disappointment when the pages finished actually. I was hoping for more. The discontinued continuities and the condensed moments made up for intense and unrelenting impression. The graphics, some were very impressive, a few were thoroughly disappointing. Nevertheless, the description of the city, the urban life and the alienation, I assume are very effortless. And that is why they flow so effortlessly. The pain, separation, attraction and the wish to lo...

"WATER HARVESTORS OF RAJASTHAN" Protecting an increasingly scarce resource There are no substitutes for water, unlike any other resource. Fresh water resources are thinning rapidly today. In our times water is a resource without which imagining life would be immensely problematic. In the media these days- radio channels and newspapers in Delhi- there has been a rise in the advertisements that emphasize on the importance and need of harvesting water. Owing to the presence of Aravallis, the state of Rajasthan falls in the rain-shadow area. The Thar Desert is one of the densely populated deserts among the world. The state is one of the driest regions in the country and the total surface water resources in the state in only about 1% of the total surface water of the country. The water resources are not just scarce but also highly uneven both in time and space. Groundwater also plays an important role especially in agriculture and drinking water supply. It was being over exploited...

throw the spotlight right on her face, hidden like this in the dark; lets see her; make her glow.... she smiles, with a bright small moon up on the bombed out hill, with the innocence of the snow down by the river.

from the MATRIX "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path".

On 'Sumthing of a Mocktale' by Soma Das -- where Kurta fell in love with Jeans after the semester ended, i was keen on getting back to lay my hands on some fiction. chanced upon..this new work by a first time writer-PH.Dstudent of Geography -on our very own JNU. somebody made an effort..and alot was left unsaid. its not a big book, a light read actually. the descriptions of PSR,ganga dhaba..tapti..the Centre..most important-the people and their lives...i realised that the places and their purposes change, the people and their lives do not in JNU. true, that there are professors who are the way they are described in the chapters...the friends and their ambitions are also like that. but what kaya and her friends go through is the average story of all the kayas and their friends across the campus. altho i would say that she missed out on alot too. the halla bol, the strikes, the politics and much more. the place is magical as it provides inspiration and depression both, dependin...

NB : are u trying to test the balance of reality..? TB : maybe..all that is there..the patterns in time..the twisted perceptions..when the darkness blinks, the silent dance of the shadows..and the distance between our souls. . all of them.

Boondon se baatein ..... On the Marina Beach last week..i hated the rain drops that came phat-phat-phat(as Sam said) on us..there was no shelter n no place to hide..so we ran..and the chilly wind(read 'chilly') caught us..with sand on our feet..water everywhere on us...n ppl singing around us(!!)...i realised i am not much of a rain fan.. Sitting at home now..i can hear the rain drops..i can see from the window..as they fall on the green grass in our lawn..i can see a cat shaking itself.. somehow..sitting inside and looking at the rain seems better..!!! its the monsoons again.. everything around is green..though it aint raining cats n dogs in the capital..its much better than the dry loo... wet roads..chilly winds.. froggies coming out..snails also...clothes don't dry..!!! ok ok ... lets take a walk..in the rain...if u arent too fussy like i am..u will love it. don't forget a chai ..with a drop of rain falling in the glass..n pakoras ..from sabarmati hostel.. y...

" Broken Wings " I desire to hope for nothing. I desire to believe in nothing. I desire the fear of nothing. "I desire to be free..."

...the unsettlement of the mind, i dare, to survive. Of the heart, i dare, to dream...

"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say , and say it hot" D.H Lawrence

“ IF ONLY” If only, this night was day. If only, these roads were unending. If only, these shadows were silent. If only, this wind could not touch me. If only, this noise was not gothic. If only, these jitters were not shaky. If only, the balance of reality could be tested. If only, this perception was not twisted. If only, the time showed no patterns. If only, this darkness could blink If only, this landscape was chaotic. If only, I was inherently not a fool. If only, I was not too foolish for a tear and too wicked for a smile. If only, there was dance in death and stillness in life. If only, expectations could be turned into happiness. If only, promises were made and fulfilled. If only, this journey was as interesting as the destination. If only, my cry was not mute. If only, i could choose..and win over my own heart. Only then, maybe, I could have your body or mind. And then this life would be less ‘unsettled’ perhaps.

“IF ONLY” If only, this night was day. If only, these roads were unending. If only, these shadows were silent. If only, this wind could not touch me. If only, this noise was not gothic. If only, these jitters were not shaky. If only, the balance of reality could be tested. If only, this perception was not twisted. If only, the time showed no patterns. If only, this darkness could blink. If only, this landscape was chaotic. If only, I was inherently not a fool. If only, I was not too foolish for a tear and too wicked for a smile. If only, there was dance in death and stillness in life. If only, expectations could be turned into happiness. If only, promises were made and fulfilled. If only, this journey was as interesting as the destination. If only, my cry was not mute. If only, i could choose..and win over my own heart. Only then, maybe, I could have your body or mind. And then this life would be less ‘unsettled’ perhaps.

There are stories, which are our own.Then there are stories which are not our's; where we merely play a part.... Everything that i see, everything that i touch and everything that i feel, even from a distance......is you.

'Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rainYou are young and life is long and there is time to kill todayAnd then one day you find ten years have got behind youNo one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.." - Floyd

EVERYTHING IS FIGURED OUT, EXCEPT HOW TO LIVE. ...and the reason is you...

The Space Between... The Space Between, your happiness and my heartbeats. The Space Betwen, our secrets and this world. The Space Between, our love and the truth. The Space Between, your life and my dreams. The Space Between, the distance that seperates us, is in your smiles and in my tears....