Go - Goa - Gone !!!

Goa is the smallest state in India by area, and the fourth smallest state by population. Surrounded by Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and the south and Arabian Sea on its western coast, the state has so much in its store than is generally expected by people who  A state known for parties, pubs and discotheques, nightlife and the tax free alcohol, and a tourist destination for vacation with friends, there’s even much more that the place offers. The state is on the checklist of every youngster, the must-visit with friends, and so was mine. So, finally I got a four-days-long weekend in the end of March, 2018, packed up my bag and was all set to go for it. 

We planned to have a stay at Margao, so that we could roam about everywhere being at nearly the same distance from all of Goa that is, North Goa, South Goa and the Dudhsagar Waterfalls. Margao is the second most populous city, and is the commercial and cultural capital of Goa.

The Goa Map, courtesy: www.mapsofindia.com (Copyright © 2017).

 The first thing you need to roam about in Goa is a scooty, and the next obvious is a fully charged cellphone with a power bank too to navigate on the GPS! So, the journey started with South Goa on Day 1. South Goa is full of luxury beaches, the most clean, serene and calm ones. You can spend some quality time with quality people there, it is away from the nightlife which is the soul of North Goa beaches. 

The first spot in the checklist was Palolem Beach is situated in Canaconaa district of South Goa, some 38 kms from Margao. The gobsmacking landscape and tranquility at the seashore, what else one wants! Next to it was the Butterfly Beach, where you can reach only through the seas, the beach surrounded by hills which are naturally in the shape of a butterfly, and hence the name. The serenity and tranquility is in the essence of South Goa, which is ubiquitous throughout the streets, the roads, the beaches. The street shops and the cafes add to its relishing beauty. I liked the Cafe Inn Palolem Beach the most.

Stills from the silent beaches of South Goa, Day 1.

 The early morning of Day 2, we were all set to visit Dudhsagar Waterfalls, situated some 38 kms from Margao. We reached to the Collem junction, and from there, we had to take a jeep which took us through the road full of crests and troughs to the waterfalls. Dudhsagar Waterfalls was an amazing meet with nature, as if the nature’s beauty has been preserved in its original form, without any mutilation or adulteration. The chilled green water with sun shining over the surface, as if pearls floating on the water, was an astounding view. Located on the Mandovi river at Goa-Karnataka border, it is amongst India’s tallest waterfalls (height 310 m). And there, you should not miss visiting the Jungle Book Resort. A place to explore the evergreen jungle near the Dudhsagar falls plus relishing food, the view and the scenery engulfed in it is a retreat for the eyes and the soul. 

The Day 2, dedicated to Dudhsagar Waterfalls, Collem, Goa and the awesome Jungle Book Resort.

And right in the afternoon, under the scorching sun, we drove towards North Goa. One can easily note the difference between North and South Goa. In contrast to the silent beaches of South Goa, North Goa beaches house the crowd, the tourists who would love to booze and party and dance all night, and in addition, the other important attraction is the water sports. A half day is not sufficient to visit all of North Goa. So, the remaining checklist was for the next day. The main spots on our checklist for Day 2 were Dona Paula Beach, Miramar Beach, the Royal Casino, the Mandovi Riverside and the Nescafe in Miramar. The thing I appreciated the most about Goa was the well-lit roads and the connectivity, and also the colorful houses and buildings.  Adding cherry to the blossom, was the eve of the Easter which was on 1st April. I felt the month of March was not right for Goa vacation, worrying about the sun and the summers, and absence of liveliness due to off-season visit, but there was nothing like that. I could see the houses decorated with LED lights and stars, I could see a red auto-rickshaw outlined with LED lights, it proved to be a celebration at this time of the year.

The Dona Paula Beach, the casinos and the landscapes of North Goa.

The 'Nescafe' at Miramar Beach, North Goa.

The colorful lights in the streets of Goa on Easter Eve.

Day 3 was dedicated to unravel the whole of North Goa, the party destination of Goa, the churches and the beaches, the forts and the Portuguese colonies. We started with the churches established during the Portuguese era, the Bom Jesus Basilica, Se Cathedral, St. Augustine Church cum Fort, and then headed towards the Portuguese colonies. The Portuguese Colonies in Goa are an assorted amalgam of different colors and hues, where no two consecutive buildings are of the same color, which is what is evident throughout almost the whole of Goa, and is what makes the smallest Indian state the most vibrant and colorful. 

The churches of North Goa.

The colorful Portuguese colonies of North Goa.

Next was the Aguada Fort, the Dil Chahta Hai fort, where the title song of the super-hit Aamir Khan movie  was shot. And you can see the amazing view of the endless green Arabian sea standing on the heights of the Aguada Fort. From there, we headed to the restaurant to have a good appetite after the restless roaming. Goan restaurants are known for their sea food. And then after roaming around the streets, and a li'l bit of street shopping, we drove to Calangute Beach for the water sports. The view of the endless and boundless sea during para sailing was inexplicably amazing and left me awestruck. I missed to get it captured on phone but it is captured in my eyes. It was a feeling like the sea, the waves, the oceans are a superpower! How the waters can give life to people and when furious, can wipe away the same. We got mad over beaches, went to Candolim Beach, Anjuna Beach, Baga Beach, covered as much as time and energy permitted to. The sunset view at Anjuna Beach was simply awesome. Feeling the waves, walking over the wet sand, playing with sand castles, getting tattooed, buying accessories, was all about the beach. And how can you miss Chai in this awesome moment! 

The adventure sports, the fun at North Goa beaches, getting tattooed was all of Day 3.

Glimpses of the Aguada Fort - the 'Dil Chahta Hai' wala fort.

Then, it was time for some shopping at the  Arapora Saturday Flea Market, a market which is open throughout the Saturday night, where you can watch live music performances by some of the famous rock bands, like White Owl; and guys wouldn't miss the Bikini Show! Some of the exotic collections of apparels and accessories were the major centres of attraction; the streets were full of dim lights and Easter star lights. Next in the checklist was the discotheques near the Baga Beach, where the huge crowd was rushing into and was the cause of traffic while driving, the Titos and Britos. 

Hues of the Arapora Saturday Flea Market, North Goa.

Finally, we sat at the Baga Beach in the moonlight enjoying the winds and the waves, singing to the maximum volume, enjoying the DJ while sitting at the beach. Going again through the memories captured in the photographs in all these days, we were happy that we made it through the whole of the checklist, the travel itinerary that we prepared before hand. 

Day 4 was the last day of the trip. We went to the Colva Beach in Margao, the white sand beach. Recalling all the memories we made throughout the trip, it was a nostalgic feeling that the trip was going to end and we had to rush back again into the busy and routine lives from the next day itself. The three-and-a-half-days long trip was completely and undoubtedly a soulful bliss! 

The white sand beach - the 'Colva Beach', Margao (Day 4).

Once in a while, you have to get yourself out of your daily routine life, and pack your bags and go on such an outing with your quality people to refresh, re-energize your mind and soul, so that when you get back to your busy routine again, you are loaded up with new spirit and zeal towards your work and life!

And, when in such an ecstatic mood, I don't miss to get my singing videos shot: 

'Hasi' from Humari Adhuri Kahaani (2015).

'Tere Bina Zindagi se Koi Shikwa' from Aandhi (1975).

Please, do watch the videos, like, comment, share and subscribe!!

Wish you all a new year full of good health, wealth, prosperity and success in all your endeavors!! 😃😍💗

And yeah, you can plan a Goa trip even in the summers of March-April! 😉

p.s. : camera courtesy: the one and only iPhone 6. 😎😎😇

Much love,

A girl who is too ambitious !!!

She wonders at times if this is what she wished;
which sometimes feels a delightful bliss,
at other times seems an unfathomable abyss!

Sometimes it feels the desired success is near;
sometimes she is lost in depths of despair!

She wants to sing, she wants to fly;
she wants to scream as hard she can try;
she wants to paint the canvas of her life.

For them, she has got the best 'success';
for her, that's a cage she wants to escape,
since this winning wasn't the ultimate one,
the 'utmost' is yet to come!

She's a rebel, she's impatient,
she's unable to find a way for it;
But then, she pauses for a minute and introspects,
and looks through both the aspects!

She finds that achievements and disappointments
are just the two faces of a coin,
the zenith is just a step away!
All you need is
a belief in yourself to stay,
a dedication and perseverance to pay;
and then she gets to know that,
that day is not far away,
when she will have a great 'story of glory' to say!!

Bangalore calling ...

The 'Silicon Valley of India', which serves to house the diasporas from every nook and corner of India, who come with so much hopes and aspirations, to build their career, to earn a living; keeps amazing them with its different shades.

Bangalore Night Drive, Bellandur Outer Ring Road IT Park.

I still remember the day when my Grandpa held my hand, trembling with anxiety and fear, when I decided to leave home to search for a job in Bangalore, to become self-dependent! He made me read an article in Dainik Bhaskar about 'the IT capital of India'. He asked, "You're still a kid, how would you be able to handle job and take care of yourself in a city which is all a stranger to you?"

But some day, I had to collect all my courage and step out of home to build a career, that forty hours journey, and I reached Bangalore. I was lucky to have friends I could trust upon, and who helped me out there, and also the city folks, who all made the city a panacea in my struggling period, it invited me with all the love it could. I was restless, bewildered with sleepless nights, preparing for job exams and interviews. Each day, waking up with a new hope, and ending up in nowhere as the day ended.

Irritated by the mismanaged traffic and flyovers at every next bus stop, all leading to an increase in the effective distance between places, still 335E and 500D were the major lifelines. Whitefield, Marathalli, Kalyan Nagar, Hebbal, Majestic, Malleswaram, Koramangla, and all I could recall; were the major spots. With many disappointments and rejections, I began to accept the city as it is, as I had to. The 'awesome climate' was after all a solace in times of distress. I started with a job in an IT company, not at all my cup of tea, and at the same time preparing for something 'big', eagerly waiting for a 'big day' in my life. I did not know when I began to love the city so much, despite its traffic and chaos, hustle and bustle. When I was over with my interviews with results awaited, I began spreeing around the city to grab all the flavours the 'Cosmopolitan City of India' could offer.

Traffic Jam at Bangalore's Tin Factory Junction on a Rainy Night

I could call it the cafe capital of India, the cafes filled with a refreshing ambience and mouth-watering cuisines were an all time 'must visit' list. And then came the rains, when city’s beauty is at its peak. Meanwhile, I got the ‘big day’ of my life, the ‘dream job’, when I had no clue that all of a sudden, I had to leave the city once and for all. I got to become a ‘Scientist’, but had to leave this heaven, which I can never ever forget. It gifted me those six-and-a-half months, a package of memories to cherish all my life!

Parents... the living God in a child's life.. !!!

My dearest Mom and Dad,

You're my most prized possession,

You nurtured me to what I am with all your love and affection;

You both are the reason why I'm so strong,

With you by my side, nothing can go wrong..

You made me learn my very first step,

I have always found heaven, sleeping on your lap;

You're the first words every child would learn to utter,

You're the ones to hold me in my darkest of the fears;

You bought me all happiness while sacrificing your sleep,

I could see you succeeding every time when I got rewarded,

You only hugged me tight whenever I fell into failure so deep!

Knowing that you're with me, I can shine in every of my endeavors,

You made me learn to love and live life with all fervor and vigor..

Thanks for being there through all thicks and thins,

You are my dearest and most beloved kins..

I fall short of words to pen down what I feel about you,

But I know that you know that, I truly love you..!!!

Those childhood days...!!!

Those childhood days... simply unforgettable..!!!
That childhood innocence, innocence in every act, right from one's first step on one's own feet, to toys and teddy bears, to chocolates and lollipops, and remote cars, from 'Cartoon Network' and 'Pogo'...to 'Tom n Jerry' kind of lilliputian fights with friends, ...to one's constantly nagging parents to buy the very first thing they see in the market...
That all fills me with a smile on face, turning into nostalgia in the next very moment; and an irreplaceable void, the void that came into shape unknowingly and miscreantly...

They say, 'You have to leave behind, let go of something; to discover new, and grow and achieve'...
And that's where all of us have put off the childhood innocence, that has shaped us to what we are in present..

The most important aspect of childhood, I guess is that a child, if he decides something, he tries to do it at any cost, without looking for the pros and cons. Actually, the child's brain has no room for conscience to look into the consequences, or the do's and don'ts. 
Most of us have experienced this, seeing planes in the sky, 
   "Papa, hawaa mei kese udte hain??
     Mujhe bhi jana hai aeroplane mei.."
And then suddenly, Papa surprised and starts laughing, seeing the kid flying a paper plane and saying "...zooooooooooon.. zooooooooon.........
Yayy, Papa, I did it :) :)) ;) "
That passion, 'unadulterated' passion, unmixed with fear and procastination, somewhere seemingly started attenuating... because we have developed the conscience, to decide whether this or that thing is practically possible or not.. Mastery over the art of manipulation, judging things, looking into implications; through all this,we have made our life more complicated, we restrict ourselves into boundaries, we look for if the conditions and circumstances are favorable or not.. unfortunately, truth is this..!!

Moreover, the word 'game' meant to us as a child, simply the video games or the gilli danda and kho-kho; and now, here we are to decide the strategy to achieve something,many wish doing so, by hook or by crook, we keep listening from the society:
     "Jo seedha hai wo bewakuf hai... kab tak principles par jeete rahoge!!"
..and all that crap!!! :/ :(
And so we are caught in a vicious web of corruption, crime, deception, and all the evils and sins; not we are untouched of it..!!

Ah, that childhood innocence and ingenuousness, that accepted every heart and won every heart with just one emotion, "love",
..again perhaps because we didn't have that 'conscience' to judge who is friend and who is foe..!!!
One would agree, once gone, it has gone forever!!
Still I wish I could live that childhood once again..!!!

Add contemplation to cacophony..... and discover the real melody !!!

Jo bhi main kehna chaahun...
...barbaad kare alfaaz mere...!!! :/ :(

We fail at times to express what we actually wish to say. But we want our closed ones to understand us, to be more precise 'the unsaid part' of us. It's easy expecting such kind of thing from people; when it comes on our part, it's the real challenge!
There are many people in one's life, who could be harsh to you at some point of time, say something that hurts you. And then what? If something hurts our ego, our self esteem, we 'let it go', as it seems the easy way!

And we lose the 'real challenge' mentioned above, we always want our set of people, our family, our friends to understand us, but going this way, do we pay it back? No.
People whom we are connected to, whom we care for are meant to be there, don't just go over their harsh words, but pause a second to think, contemplate over their being rude and the 'cacophony' sort of thing. And you would be able to discover that their intentions would be never to hurt you, it's just the lack of compatibility between their words and emotions..
We can't experience what the other person is going through, we don't really have an idea of the story of their side. 

Still deep down, what one could call the 'depth of contemplation', we all are a little weird, a bit insane and yet the same, with the same crazy heart that seeks love, care and understanding; and is always ready to pay it back, and that's the invisible cord that connects a human to another human. All you need is to unravel, uncover the cacophony to discover the hidden melody. Try this mantra so that you won't end saying:

" Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both.
Neither I could keep hold of, nor I could let go!!!"

Life is surprising, take the way as it comes to you...!!

What is life? Is it just the time span for which one’s heart beats, one breathes? Is it the period for which definition of time and its being flowing exists for an individual?

Or is it something more than that? Is our survival on this earth individualistic and independent of others? Is our life just ours? The list of questions is endless, which I keep pondering about and I arrive nowhere at the answers. We have great plans for future, without knowing our destiny at the next moment! Strange, but true. The fact is that our destiny is decided before our birth. God has given everyone a certain task , and the years of our life are decided by the time required for the task to be accomplished, and so our life cannot end all of a sudden. Life is a cycle; we are born, we grow with our family, our parents are there to hold us whenever we fall, all the people we know are tied to us by bonds called ‘blood relations’, and our family is the only group of people we know. We grow, we make friends. ‘ Friends’, a small word with a deep meaning. We find friends in life, and when we get true friends, we actually find life in them. A friend is a person whom we choose on our own, whom we are compatible with and with whom our comfort level is set.

However, nothing can be ‘eternal’ or long-lasting. Neither  your  possessions and obsessions, nor your  feelings and sentiments.  We came empty handed, so we go. But life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. The past is gone, the future is unseen. All in your hand is your present. Live it the best way you can. Of course one should have plans for future, or else we will not have a path to follow, and when life ceases to flow, everything becomes stagnant. And we should of course try to resolve the differences that have arisen with people whom we care for. We should try to repair our past, if it is beneficial for days to come.  But being entangled in past and future, don’t forget to live today; because ‘today’ is just today, and can never be again. To repent for it later makes no sense.

In the words of an author, “He spent all his life waiting for something WONDERFUL to happen, the only WONDERFUL thing that happened was life!!!”

Life changes a lot with time, and change is inevitable, be it a change for good, or a change for bad. But every change leaves you with an experience. Our lifestyle can be mundane and tedious, and a boring stuff or so, but not the life! Life is different every moment, every moment is surprising, every second is a new experience. Take life as it comes to you. Think less. Enjoy more. Do what you wish. Don’t just spend life, live it, feel it, experience it to the fullest; for it’s the only thing which can give you eternal happiness and satisfaction. Live for your family, live for your friends, live for your dream and passion. But above all, spend life with your best friend, and that’s “you”...!