Mulki Trip

Day 1 (13th April) - Took an overnight train from Farakka (13154 Gaur express) to Sealdah on 12th night. Went to HCC guesthouse. Ate like a pig (6 toast + 3 eggs + 1 aloo parantha). Took flight from Kolkata to Mangalore via Mumbai and reached at 6:20 pm at Mangalore. Took a taxi booked by Mantra club and reached Ashram at 7:15 pm.

Met Dhruva (trainer and swami) , Ravi (graphic designer and bike rider), Yoga mai. (Self explanatory name) , Drona (12 yr old student from Bangalore), Aneesha (14 - 15 year old wizard of nano technology revolutionising hydrophobic materials). Had simple dinner of chapati and aloo cabbage beans mix veg washed down with roohafza/ similar chilled juice. Enjoyed the post dinner banter over discussing movies and the Superman vs Batman with Drona and Ravi while Dhruva teased yoga mai enough for her to leave dinner table. She gave us some banana pie cookies though earlier. Met Shaila post dinner (mother of Aneesha) who is a trained coach for swimming. Chatted up and then went to sleep.

Day 2 (14 th April) - Kept waking up in night at 4 am, 5 am..Finally got up at 5:30-6. Walked a little and saw Satya doing pooja etc. Got fresh and headed for prayer cum Gita reading at 6:30 till 7:15. Had few fruits before heading out for surfing. Reached across backwaters and was told that waves are little stronger. Got prelim instructions of standing up from Dhruva and then off to water. He kept pushing me and I kept falling off. Ocean has this high power of throwing u back and one wave will strike and other one before u can recover. Seemed like the whole ocean was inside me and oozing out when I stepped out. Felt like I was the ocean and ocean was me.

Got bumped through board in head, got scraped in knee underneath sand of ocean. Ocean overwhelmed me and I realized and it was just life. Got back and took shower then rushed for brunch. Had simple Rice pulao (shimla mirch/ green bell peppers only) alongwith some Mexican red curry washed down with muskmelon juice and topped with Yoga mai's Carrot pie (most awesome warm pies). Then slept like a log for 3-4 hours. Got up and chatted with Drona and got to know that his father has own firm called Reliance Packaging. Then read Kafka on the Shore and got to drink White Apple (Pear) juice (should ask recipe). Around 5:30 pm went out to do Kayaking. The kayaks made by Feel free were quite balanced and unlike Dandeli/ Tarkarli I didn't fell. Initially it felt a lot to kayak but soon got hang of it and was so enjoyable. Captured the sunset.

Dinner was brown rice, sambhar, salad (green leaves, green apple), cutlet and chatni. Topped with Gulabjamun made by Kiran’s mom who had arrived with his elder brother Kishore (Videographer and managing import and distribution of surfboards) and Ram (photographer; 1st surfing photographer in India, also covers cricket etc.).

Post dinner went for a small walk with new guys from Bangalore (Pradeep working with Morgan Stanley and Santosh in HP). Came back and chatted with Dhruva where he recounted how he joined the Ashram at age of 12-14 or so and how locals were wary of foreigners starting Ashram and thinking if they were smuggling stuff. Slowly they have gained acceptance but now locals think what do they do to attract high profile visitors like police commissioners and foreign as well as local tourists. Went off to sleep reading Kafka on the shore.

Day 3: (15th April) - Got up at 6 am and hurried up for morning meditation/ Gita reading session. Post that had some fruits and off we went to surf albeit at a new location wherein surf was advised to be a little better for beginners. Today Shyama and Daruka were our trainers. After reteaching basics of standing up and safety instructions we went up in water. Mother ocean ( as Shyama puts it was kind today to let me surf some of the waves). I have a theory that these people want us to struggle on the first day so that we respect the so sport. Fell off many times but unlike yesterday didn't got any bumps or bruises. One time the waves were so high it threw me and Shyama off and I was under water for 5-6 seconds with no leg on ground. My left hand muscles were paining like hell so took some rest, drank water. Collected some sea shells. Was amazed to see the speed of the movement of white spider. In full speed he can defeat Usain Bolt even with those tiny legs. A hovercraft came of coast guard and left in sometime. It was huge, had big fans at the back and could move fast. Best way to teach kids is to show them stuff is what i thought at that moment.

We came back by 11:20 in an overcrowded boat and boy I was famished. Had a quick bath and went for lunch. Lunch was lemon rice, beans, papaya and mosambi juice. I took some curd to go with rice. Yoga mai had again baked wonder with Corn cakes.

Post lunch had my 2-3 hour sleep after reading Murakami. Woke up and saw few other people streaming in for the stay. Couple from abroad and other one from Delhi ( Amrit Sharma; entrepreneur of Kohinoor.com and Twitter handle of Delhi vs Beijing)

Went up for SUP (stand up paddling) but was fearful enough to not stand but paddle sitting. Rowed hard to island opposite the river which was back breaking as sat on thighs for whole time. Clicked some pics while on other shore as Pradeep and Santosh were too excited. Paddled back in the folded legs position. Tried standing up once back near the Ashram but that fear of falling kept holding me back. I was reminded of definition of vertigo by Milan Kundera in his book The Unbearable lightness of being. Got freshened up after coming back and waited for Dinner. Dinner was chapati’s, Paneer gravy (green gravy), vada and rice (with green bell peppers). Slept by 10 pm

Day 4 (16th April) - woke up at 5:30 am and got ready slowly. There was no morning meditation so lazed around. Had some fruits and loaded the boards in the boat. This day started with the first adventure of the day. Our boat capsized near the other shore (30-40 ft away) as the  confluence of river (Shambhavi river and Nandini river) meeting the Arabian Sea has some strong waves. 6-7 of us ( me, Pradeep, Shyam, Daruka, Drona, Stuti, Matthew and her Gf) were asked to jump in river by Shyam while he and Daruka ensured that the boat didn't go fully into water else it would have been very very difficult to get it out. We all paddled our way to the shore where the water was removed from the boat.  Thankfully the water had not entered motor much so it restarted and Daruka went for second trip as if nothing happened. We went to Swami's as yesterday (learnt that they have named shores of beach depending upon the surgery who found the shore and ride the first wave there) unlike Baba on first day. However, Mother ocean wanted to show a different side of hers. The current of the ocean was so strong that it was pulling me in as well as the waves were so strong they were throwing me apart with my board. Hardly caught 2-3 waves and fell off 7-10 times. Learnt the lesson as to what is a current of the ocean. Wish the school teaches us in such practical manner so that u can never forget the concept or at the least understand it in the first place. Clicked some random pics. Came back (luckily) in the first boat back as there were too many people.

While having lunch of idle, chutmey, sambhar, lemon rice and chocolate cookies (yes, Yoga mai had baked before she left for Goa last night), we realised that others have not returned as the motor had broken down. While Kiran was planning to take on other spare boat, he realised that there was no petrol and he had to rush for petrol. Meanwhile, somebody called Aneesha and asked her to send car to pick few people up. Aneesha mom (Shaila) came and I also offered to drive other car of Ashram add they were many people stranded. It was a long ride of 15 kms one way with 2-3 kms of end route with sea on one side. Both cars picked up total 7-8 ppl and we returned while Ashram guys came back after correcting the boat or paddling or through jet ski.

Missed mentioning being surrounded in nature let's you observe so many wonderful creations of it. Saw Eagle with white head and copper brown flaps flying majestically over us. The flying fish which we thought as an imaginary creation in Life of Pi is actually a reality with fish popping up and down. Saw many Kingfisher birds too.

After bringing people back I rested for a while though unlike other days couldn't catch sleep. Read my novel which was hurtling towards end and in classical Murakami fashion getting much more weirder.

Around 5 pm went out to Kayak with Matthew (from Brazil) and his Gf (from Canada and a scuba coach but unable to catch her name). We went around the island and was comforting having them around. Was amazed to learn that Matthew was a tuk tuk driver in Ireland where they both met and he left his job to travel with her. They had already covered 10 cities in Sri Lanka. Going that long in kayak was tiring but was exhilarating. Came back and freshened up and went to Mulki town for a shave and checking if can get some stuff for Aasya and Seema. But it was too small a town to get any decent stuff and not any local artistry stuff too. Came back walking (2 kms) and had dinner (chapati, baingan subzi, rice, sambhar, shimla  mirch pakodas, orange juice and ice cream). Chatted up for a while with people at dinner table and then disbursed at 10 pm. Wrote this post same and went to sleep.

Day 5 (17th April) - woke up at 5:30 am. Attended the Gita reading session from 6:30am to 7 am. Had fruits and off we went to surf. Today it was turn of Baba’s beach to surf (same place I went first day). Quite a few people had joined in (students on vacation, nearby foreigners who work in NGOs who can come down on Sunday). Tried surfing on my own and fit thrown around many times including two head bumps and pain in left shoulder. However, was able to ride two small waves on my own. Soon my left hand started paining and sat out most of the session although did go in water many times without the board. Coming back decided to paddle my way from one shore to other and it was super experience just lying there and paddling away watching fish plopping up in front of my eyes. From middle was towed by the motor boat. Then came back got fresh and had lunch of Rice, Paneer gravy subzi, cucumber raita, grape juice and cookies some of which were left over. Got my bags packed.

Feeling of leash tied to your legs cannot be easily shaken off. Could realise a little more as to people who have been slaves their entire life don't know what to do. The leash seems to be there on your legs for a long time. It's an eerie feeling.

Book review - The unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has so many sentences which simplifies the most complex of things in life for you. Take for example following lines:

" Love does not make itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep ( a desire limited to one woman)." - This is one of the basest desire in most of men and differentiating sex with love could not have been done better.

"Those years were more attractive in retrospect that they were when he was living them". - This line will be so true to many who do not relish life's each day and may be grumble while these would the best years of their lives.

"Ess muss sien. Ess muss Sien" "(It must be. It must be)" - We are either at the receiving end or giving end of this statement every now and then in our lives as we have to face the compulsions of life. We may want to break-away but this is what brings us back.

"Tereza would listen and believe that being a mother was the highest value in life and that being a mother was a great sacrifice. If a mother was Sacrifice personified, then a daughter was Guilt, with no possibility of redress" - I do not personally agree with the logic of this statement. Highest sacrifice of mother doesn't necessarily mean that being daughter/ son is Guilt. It is however a statement to ponder upon by the ladies/ mothers who keep emphasizing this statement to their children as some of the children may look upon themselves as Guilt.

"But is not an event in fact more significant and noteworthy the greater the number of fortuities necessary to bring it about?" - This is one of the most resonating piece to me. Looking back, the most important moments and people in our lives are combination of so many events falling sequentially into place to make them happen.

"She had come to him to escape her mother's world, a world where all bodies were equal". - This line in essence captures the ethos that each women (wife/ mother/ sister) desire to be treated in their own special way.

"What is vertigo? Fear of falling? Then why do we feel it even when the observation tower comes equipped with a sturdy handrail? No, vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of emptiness which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves." - I have fear of heights though not vertigo. As author puts it, vertigo is the insuperable longing to fall.

"On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth". - This line cracks open the realities of the society, family or relations. There is so much of undercurrent turmoil although on the surface it is an impeccably realistic world.

Photographer freind (PF) - "If you live only for your husband, you have no life of your own"
Tereza - "My husband is my life. Of course, I am happy"
PF - "The only kind of woman who can say that is very... limited/ anachronistic" -
This statement couldn't be more relevant in recent time when each educated/ self made girl is faced with this internal (and many times external) question after marriage (and more so after kids). So are those choosing to stay home are out of realities of present world? Well, it would be undermining their contribution on the home front which is not yet accounted in any GDP calculation. But, whether it is leading to dead loss; yes, for sure, as one's betters skills can be used upwardly while properly delegating the other unskilled jobs to other people thus creating more for everybody. However, will the ethos of motherhood be lost in this process? I doubt that.

"I want you to be old. Ten years older. Twenty years older!'. What she meant was: I want you to be weak. As weak as I am." - Tereza was so distraught with Tomas's infidelity and weak enough to strongly protest it. So the only alternative was to please Tomas to be as weak as she was. However , soon after this statement we are given this line " But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave" . This is in a way rebalancing of power.

" Marriage bed is still the symbol of the marriage bond, and symbols, as we know, are inviolable" . Author loves symbolism. He goes on the explain the Woman by following " Not respect Marie Claude but respect the woman in Marie Claude"

Continuing with symbols, the betrayal is beautifully explained by following "But if we betray B, for whom we betrayed A, it does not mean we have placated A. The first betrayal is irreparable. IT calls forth a chain reaction of further betrayals, each of which takes us farther and farther away from the point of our original betrayal"

For Music he firstly explains that "Noise has one advantage. It drowns out words" . Then he mentions that "Music is the negation of sentences, music is the anti-word. " .

For people who are afraid of dark, following is so impactful that one would come to love the darkness "The darkness is pure, perfect, thoughtless, visionless; that darkness is without end, without borders; that darkness was the infinite we each carry within us. Yes, if you are looking for infinity, just close your eyes"

The balance of power between two people as is reflected in class divide is captured through "Marie Claude proclaimed Sabina's pendant ugly because she could afford to do so"

What is truth? Is not lying means living in truth. Explaining Truth negatively is easy but the way author puts it for Sabina i.e. "For Sabina, living in truth, lying neither to ourselves nor to others, was possible only away from the public: the moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful." . These lines paint the reality, that most of us playact our lives based on people around us.

Apart from above lines, there are stories of Oedipus, of Stalin's son and the whole book trying to bring one to reality of living a light life which in reality is so tough. The symbolism of ending when the nocturnal butterfly circles the room and music rises from below is one of those endings which though seems odd, doesn't make you look for more as the book could have ended somewhere in between and yet be complete.














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Book review: Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar

Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With this book I can firmly say that I will never forget that Babur was first Moghul ruler, his son was Humayun and he defeated Ibrahim Lodi in Battle of Panipat and Rana Sanga in Battle of Khanwa. If only, history lessons in school were taught in this beautiful way, I could very well be a historian. Dates are my nemesis in history and author does a glad service by not mentioning them more than 6 times in this 600 page book. Thank you Mr.Kiran Nagarkar, am indebted to you.


If Bhoj Raj's memoirs are found they wouldn't be as scintillating and titillating as this.

I wish if few of Meerabai's poems were written in Hindi in book or Hindi words written in English script (with an English translation). I feel that the ethos and pathos of poetry gets lost in translation.

While reading the book, I didn't knew the exact meaning of Cuckold and wondered as to what does art on cover of book wants to signify. Also the book cover was squinted upon and people (including wife) wondered what kind of sick book I was reading.

Cuckold means (noun) " the husband of an adulteress, often regarded as an object of derision".

Thus to me, the cover art signifies a man fondling breasts of woman while other man (husband) watches.

The central plot of Cuckold hence revolves around the Maharaj Kumar in search of unrequited love towards Greeneyes.



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Book Review: Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda by Roald Dahl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wish i would have read these books much earlier. But the book transcends age groups and is a lovely read at any time. Matilda is the sweet little prodigy with no air about herself. She can honestly admit that she can read although many a times she doesn't understand the meaning of it.

As author mentions, few parents who show no interest at all in their children are worse than doting parents. Matilda is stuck with such parents and in school the bully of Miss Trunchbull is there to crush spirits of little children.

Subtly the book also tells about teacher seeing the brilliance of its pupils. Quest and longing of freedom of Miss Honey is also weaved into this story.

The "miracle" power first gave me a bore but then i reminded myself to read this book with child like innocence.



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Book review: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I should have put the book down once I realized that it's one of those self help books. But since it was so thin and very fast read I continued and finished it. Actually the book (or Morrie) says all the right things. You can or will hear most of these things from your parents, grand parents or uncles. Yet many few people will follow the diktats and realise the importance of the words at a certain age only. Lest it may be read by those people who are purely like Mitch.

Though I wonder that whether Mitch would have met Morrie had there been no strike and he was out of work.



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Book Review: Metamorphosis and other Stories by Franz Kafka

Metamorphosis & Other Stories by Franz Kafka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was looking to read some works of Kafka before picking up on Murakami's "Kafka on the Shore" as the lady at the Zazen library said that Kafka is mindf*** and Murakami writing on same would be square of same. So getting intrigued, i picked up this short story collection. It has six stories (different from names given in Goodreads description), namely Metamorphosis (5 stars), In the Penal Settlement (4 stars), The Burrow (4 stars), Investigations of a Dog (3 stars), The Great Wall of china (3 stars) and The Giant Mole (2 stars).

I have realized that reading short storied takes much longer than a novel (I am reading short stories by Sadat Hassan Manto parallely). Plus Kafka fills in so much in a sentence that you have to hold on to each and every word, and re-read to check if you have got the meaning correct. I wonder the level of imagination to write these stories as these topics can only be researched to an extent and balance has to come from knowing the intricacies of the nature of that living being (beetle, mole, dog and obviously human).

Reading Kafka was so frustrating in the beginning as i was not sure whether it is realty or a dream as it never gets discussed or even questioned. Things and thoughts are stated in one of the most straight forward way. Some stories have a closure, some don't.



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Book Review: Jaya: An Illustrated retelling of Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik

Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book by author lives upto its name. It's a retelling of Mahabharata. Considering that I like Mahabharata, the simple retelling of Mahabharata didn't gave much although it again created those moments for me to be lost in the epic.

The key value add which Mr. DP does are two pronged in this book:
1. Peppering the books with anecdotes from regional versions (oriya/ bengali/ tamil, garhwal etc.)
2. Adding perspective to many events and in few cases showing a different angle to the event which would elude to a reader.

Would recommend the book to friends who either like Mahabharata and get some more perspective or to those who don't know anything about Mahabharata and want to know it quickly.



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