Berlin! The Mixing Bowl!!!

Berlin Wall

I was still in the grip of Prague-o-philia, that made me feel bit dizzy when I got down at Berlin bus station. I sat there in the bus stand for some time, had a slice of pizza for €1.5 and had lots of water but nothing could really help me to come out of that weird feeling. I spoke to my host in Berlin and he told he will be late that I can only go to his place by 11pm. I sat there as if I lost the direction, thinking where to go observing the people moving around me. 

Alexanderplatz

‘’ Do you know where is the locker facility?’’ the voice came from a guy standing next to me. I got up with a smile on my face, as I could recognize that he is from India. I guided him towards the locker facility and we got introduced each other on the way. A Punjabi engineering student came to Germany on a student exchange program and that was his last day in Germany. I lend him some coins to keep the luggage till midnight. This is a good option if one is not planning to stay in a city and need to keep the luggage safe so as to move around comfortably. In Berlin they are charging €4 for a day.

@ Turkish Market

                                                                  Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

                                                                             The Brandenburg Gate

We explored the city rest of the day together; the day-pass for €7 was very comfortable as one can use the same pass for metro, tram and bus. I reached Epstein’s (my host in Berlin) by 11:30. He was all set to sleep but then cared enough to provide me a coffee. I slept in the living room where he had arranged everything for a comfortable sleep. I didn’t get much time to interact with Epstein, I left his place around 10am and I took all my belongings with me. My flight to Riga is at 8am the next day so my plan was to reach the airport late in the night. I kept my backpack in the locker facility in Alexander Platz Metro station. From this station it is easy to reach the airport.

Grosser Tiergarten 

Victory Column

Moving around in Berlin is quite easy with a day-pass, I resorted myself to the public transport instead of walking long distances. I joined Milton from Canada whom I met through the hangout option in couchsurfing. We started from the Turkish market then to Brandenburg gate, Reichstag, and Tiergarten. Once he left around 5pm I continued my journey; visited places like East-side gallery, Berlin wall and Museum Island. Unlike other cities, in Berlin I got to see people from almost all parts of the world. The evening drizzle and the walk through Tiergarten were quite mentioning. They have put some real effort in maintaining the garden and parks inside the city and the efficient public transport system. This reminded me of the pathetic condition of the cities in India where the roads are clogged with private vehicles and the greenery depleting day by day. Are these third world countries mere a market for them to sell off all crap? By late night I picked up my backpack from the locker and boarded the bus to the airport, the validity of my day pass was up to 3am.

Metro on Eastside Gallery

I wonder why infra-structurally advanced countries like Germany have the airports with just the basic facilities. My eyes were searching for a comfortable seat to sleep for some time and what I found was disappointing. There were only a few seats, with people even sitting on the floor. I sat on the floor near a charging point and got my phone and power bank charged. The guy sitting next to me left his seat so I moved to that seat next to Jack, securing my things under it. Jack the guy from Hong Kong currently on a trip in Europe covering the major touristic cities started talking to me. We had a lengthy conversation which lasted for more than an hour. My eyes stopped listening to my mind, I secured my bags and fell asleep; I did reminded Jack to wake me up by 7am and keep an eye on my belongings.

                                                                                         Museum Island

‘’They measured the size of my bag and asked to leave them in the luggage and I ended up paying extra as a penalty and the luggage charges’’ it was the words of Jack who just flew in Ryanair from Barcelona to Berlin. I woke up from my sleep thinking of these words, my backpack does look big for a cabin bag. I transferred some of my things to my side bag, tightened the straps of my backpack thus made it look small. My efforts finally paid off as I reached Riga without any issues. Traveling in Ryanair is worth for the money one spends but it is better to follow certain points for a hassle free journey. Do the check-in at least a day before your journey date, don’t carry any excess luggage if you have not paid for it, make sure your bag size is in compliance with their standards and finally take something with you to eat while flying…lol…

Free Hugs

Let's Party! in Prague

One of those shops in Prague

“A cute little pie of pure happiness” that is how I would like to describe the experience in Prague the capital of Czech Republic. The city which stood beyond my expectations, made me feel that three days were not enough to experience this city to the core.

Vltava River

A chilly weather welcomed me in Prague, got a reason to wear the leather jacket which I was carrying all that while. Exchanged €10 from the bus station to get 240 Czech Koruna (crowns) and moved to the adjacent metro station to take a metro to my host’s place (Mr Michael). The metro ticket machine accepts only coins and I was in short of it. Silva a guy from Portugal standing behind me gave me some coins with that I managed to get the ticket. He was on his way back from Karlovy Vary a small city in Czech which is 2 hours away from Prague. The description about this spa city elicited interest in me to visit that place. We both were getting late and it was close to midnight so I took his number to contact him later and collect information about Karlovy Vary. I thanked him generously; these small acts of kindness reminded the existence of humanity in this world.

Michael had sent me a clear description on how to reach his apartment. He lives with his 9 year old son in the fourth floor of an archaic building constructed during the communist period. The elevator was very primitive and the facilities were bare minimum. He showed me around his apartment, gave his son’s room to use and the spare keys of his whole apartment, to use his facilities as per my convenience. He is a late sleeper so I didn’t disturb him by coming late to his place. We had a long conversation over a coffee, smoke & snacks till 2am.

I woke up at 9am only to realize that I was all alone in that apartment. I had no specific plans for Prague so I expected the city to unfold before me as I move around. I was going through the hangouts in couchsurfing to check what the fellow travelers were doing, also if I can join with them. To my surprise one guy was discussing about Skydiving, I took his number and contacted him over WhatsApp. He provided me with the location and contact number of the skydiving facility. I got ready in no time, grabbed some sandwiches on the way to reach their office by 11am. The previous day they had to cancel the diving due to bad weather. It costs €145 for skydiving and if one need photos and videos will have to pay €90 extra. I decided to go with the complete package. The guy in the reception reminded me that I need to pay the charges only if I am alive after the dive. Lol…I thoroughly enjoyed that statement.  

On the way to the diving spot

They took us to the diving spot which was 80KMs away from the city. The long but beautiful journey gave me enough time to sink in the fact that I am going to do the skydiving which was there in the top of my bucket list for long. The excitement kept me awake while all my fellow divers fell asleep in that van. The view of the descending divers on their parachute gave us a warm welcome to the diving area. It was green all around; the flight took off from the lush green runway. Flying in the rickety aircraft itself was an adventure. The view from the top is breathtaking and it took some time to ascend to the height of 14,000ft. By now the green earth has been eclipsed by the white clouds. I was the third to jump in our group of four. Realizing it’s my turn and when I started seeing the ground through the open door of the aircraft, was the golden moment of my whole trip. It is difficult to describe the emotions going through my mind just before the jump, but it really pumped a lot of adrenaline for sure. Yes! I did it!!!  A fraction of second after my jump I was smiling for this great achievement, I was enjoying each moment of it and I kept my eyes wide open to make sure that I don’t miss a fraction of it. Their video and the photos clearly absorbed my emotions throughout the dive. The 200KM/HR free fall was the highlight of the whole experience. ‘’ I will do it again’’ my mind was saying these words soon after I completed the dive.

We got back to the city by 3pm. I joined the fellow divers who were there in the diving group to roam around the city. Later the guy from Portugal (Sylva) joined us and we moved to the banks of the river Vltava. We grabbed a beer from the local shack and walked through the side of the river enjoying the view. People sitting on the sides against the golden rays of setting sun appeared like stone carvings. The music flowing from the groups performing near the shacks and the bustling young crowd took me to a different level. I clicked some of the best pictures at this place. Silva explained me how to reach Karlovy Vary and the things to do over there. As it was getting darker we moved to the most happening places like the Charles Bridge and the clubs. I reached back to Michael’s place quite late but he was still awake. We continued our conversation and in between he helped me to book the bus to Karlovy Vary.

Market Squire

Prague Castle

View from the castle

Wedding shoot @ castle

Way to castle

My bus to Karlovy Vary departs at 12:30pm so I spend the morning in Prague castle and the nearby streets. Karlovy Vary is better known as the spa town, people visit this city for week’s long spa treatments. It was a small but beautiful town comprised mostly of people in their old age. There were mineral water fountains in every 100 meters. Shops selling specially designed mugs to collect and drink this mineral water were common in these streets. I used my water bottle to drink from those fountains. The water had a strong taste of Iron. I climbed the nearby hill to have a better view of that town; there is this cable car facility which takes one to the top at a reasonable price. Julie; a sociology student from Karlovy Vary took me around the town and explained the history behind each monument. Meeting Julie was a mere coincidence; I overheard her conversation with a German guy about couchsurfing which gave me an entry to their discussion. The association of this city with film industry and theaters is very deep.

Karlovy Vary

Julie

I managed to reach back Prague by around 10pm. The night was still young and the streets were in a party mode.  It’s my last night in Prague and I made it memorable. Like the previous nights I reached back home late but my host was still up. The routine followed and before I was going to sleep I handed over the keys and the souvenir I got from Qatar. That night he made some wonderful pancakes which I relished with a topping of honey. The following day I revisited some of the places in Prague and boarded the bus to Berlin by afternoon 2pm to reach Berlin by 7pm. 

Charles Bridge

Tram

Exploring Consciousness

Finally the run from the heat laden plains took me to the close vicinity of the snow clad peaks. A small town in the midst of the mighty giants. Over there anytime is a good time for the rain, the intermittent rain fruitlessly tried waking up that lazy town. But she preferred to remain in that inebriated state, brooding under that cozy blanket of coldness. I was overwhelmed in that silence which prevailed through the day and night. 

The sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the rain all added to the charisma of this town. I often stood like a judge in a beauty pageant, while different peaks wore those shades of completeness. The panchachuli peaks gave tight competition to the rest. Those 5 peaks lined up side by side like sisters with so much discipline. 

The early mornings are the best! when they all stood washed in the predawn light, when the air is still, when the stars kept twinkling and when you tie your hands close to your chest to block that penetrating chillness. The long meditative breaths were refreshing moreover recuperating. 

Panchachuli Peaks; Early Morning View

Munsyari, in the north of uttarakhand in the district of Pithoragarh. A mountaineer’s Heaven. Soon I got plunged into that laziness. So much time to talk to myself, rather to listen!. Listen to my own long breaths. Aware of every fraction, imbibing every drop of it, cherishing all my senses. They stood as day and night, cloudy and sunny, balmy and chilly, thoughts and awareness, black and white. The whiteness! of the snow covered black mountain peaks. So as the snow, the darkness, the coldness and the ignorance should melt off and flow away. Only to remain that pure consciousness like the mighty black peak. 

Irrespective of one’s religion many experience this consciousness. A few dedicate their time and energy to explore it. We need environments suitable to explore this consciousness. A conscious effort is needed to develop incubators to tune the minds of future. It’s hard to chain one’s desires. As long as the rein of desires is with the mind. Let’s dedicate some time for the mind. Let’s rest our body and brain. Allowing the mind to take complete autonomy. Let it connect to that consciousness. Emptying every thought of my “self”. Then nothing really exists only that pure consciousness. 

It would be difficult to chart out a curriculum for exploring consciousness but we can create environments to nurture these minds to consciousness. They run to the caves to explore this same consciousness.  The suffocation in temples, mosques, churches and other pilgrimage sites has rather turned the minds unconscious. It is high time to turn these worship centers to centers of exploring consciousness. 

Human! made religion to lead their race to light to consciousness. But it ended up adding a layer of ignorance of darkness. He conveniently forgot humanity and sleeping in that darkness, adding a glittering feather to the crown of his self. Finding peace in that belongingness to caste, creed, class, race, and many more such divisions, though blind faith could be a way of achieving this consciousness. 

But the logic mind likes to debate. They need scientific proof. These centers for exploring consciousness should be the laboratories to test the blind theories. Making one to ask questions and facilitating him to find the answers. Teaching the art of emptying!

As Sri M says........''To 'empty oneself' sounds simple. However, it's the most difficult thing because we are so full of our thoughts, our prejudices and what others have taught us. There is no space; we are filled to the brim''.

The News

It was Basanth Panchami (Vasanth Panchami) a few days back, welcoming the spring!. They say Kama Deva went to wake up Lord Siva from his yogic meditation and get ready for the duties in the world. But the winter is not ready to leave just like that. Every day I see their fight in all dimensions….with an extra reflective dimension from the Kaligandaki River.

Like any other day Sun came with an extra power fighting with the mist and frost, making me feel that “let it get warm so I could take a dip in Kaligandaki”. A few hours! That is it! The dark Kaligandaki absorbs more darkness and appears enchanting. Darkness adds up her beauty. It was not even 3PM but the surrounding made Kamal our junior chef to run out to keep the bike in the shed saying “it’s already dark lets all go sleep”. Those big drops didn’t spare him or the bike. The hazy horizon appeared snowy; it might be snowing over there! The wind does bring the news from those snow clad Himalayan peaks reminding that the winter is not gone yet.

Kaligandaki

The Oscar for the Sound Mixing! Here is one nominee..the tin roof of our restaurant while Kaligandaki kept talking incessantly. That is where I sit and bring out the wisdom from Kaligandaki. I am listening to her through the day and night but these days the Winter rains rather I would say Spring showers making me to write. The roaring wind, followed by falling leaves and twigs then the rain all on this tin sheet. The stone walkways, the garden, the Gandaki, the neighboring mountains all played to its rhythm. Not just sound mixing we have another contestant for special effects the thunder and lightning. I can’t wait to watch this year’s Oscar nominations. There are some tempting nominations in the foreign language category. I love experiencing life in the other side. The life without any filters…maybe I am confirming that life is nothing different on the other side as well.

Mustard

Winter rain or Spring showers whatever it is, it has severely affected our resort business. She inflicts that laziness in everyone making them to resort to their own home. We ourselves preferred to brood on phones and have started consuming more tea. Can’t blame us, who doesn’t like a black tea sipping enjoying the chilly showers. Raj, our helper staff lost all enthusiasm in scrolling the smart phone screen as the rain kept disturbing the electricity particularly the WiFi.

Raj

Shiva is waiting for the rain to get over so he could proceed with the worldly duties. Till then let us sit and enjoy the rain. The spring is not ready to give up. The arrows of Kama Deva has started appearing here and there as buds, flowers and bees. Patiently she is stitching the costume for Parvaty to seduce Lord Shiva. Gandaki is taking additional effort to retain her light blue color. The intermittent rain doesn’t let the strawberries to flaunt her redness.

What is the news on the otherside?

How can Shiva go out to the world ignorant of the current affairs?
“ Which world are you living?” it was Niya asking me from the other side of the world voice calling in whatsapp. Making me realize that the news I am following in Times of India is not sufficient to survive.


I read them for the sake of reading; I feel the news is something about the past. I rather enjoy them unveiling in front of my eyes. I prefer living every moment than accumulating my mind and brain with the past.


The past is always with the one who is powerful. They dictate and the media tells us those stories in the way they want it to be told. By the time it reaches the receiver it would have lost all its beauty of truth and serves as a time pass, a mere entertainment. Are these news just trivial stories?

Relevant or not, Niya updates her with these stories only to use them as and when required and acquires the crown of “I Know”. If she knows everything then she is not ready to accept things otherwise. Not just she, we all knows everything. We are not ready to accept that I don’t know the truth. Neither our ego doesn’t like the truth so we keep sleeping in the ignorance of past stories or lies. Unless and until we are ready to accept that “I don’t know” or unlearn things one is grown up with, the true learning doesn’t really happen, the truth stays unreachable.


Did I fail to catch up with these past lies? If they are not lies then why India and Pakistan are still enemies? Or why don’t they build a Ram temple in Ayodhya? Because the wolf can only drink blood if they keep the sheeps fighting. They want them bleed for decades so they become the so called news entertaining and appeasing the general public.

When it snowed

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