Going royal with the gals

It was a foggy morning with the mercury plummeting south when the  dream of  "girls only" vacation came true as the Jaipur Shatabdi streamed out of the station. We, sisters were on our way for a vacation sans hubby and the accompanying baggage (pun intended). Yes, the train got delayed due to foggy conditions on the track but a glorious sun welcomed us as we trundled in at the Jaipur station. I and my sister couldn't wait to get started on our" holiday".

 Dumping our bags at the hotel we started making tracks for the city palace.The agenda was to get  up close and personal with the fabulous and famous Peacock doors. These doors had excited our imagination as they had been featured in Chitra Banerjee Devkurni's Palace of Illusions...a book on the heroine of Mahabharta, Draupadi. However ,before that we checked out the huge durbar hall with its marble pillars and art scattered throughout the room. Interesting to see how the lordly kings lived their lives. It must have been exciting times. Looking at the pictures and paintings one does get a n overview of how they lived and well....partied...
Pushing through the crowd in the hall we finally came to the Chandra Mahal, which was supposed to be the inner sanctum of the royal ladies and here we were rewarded with not one but four gates which lead to the boudoirs of the queens. These four doors represented four seasons of the Indian subcontinent :summer, winter, monsoon and spring. The doors held to their promise and showed us the mesmerising and detailed carvings of peacocks, lotuses etc.And there right there was the door which had haunted me and graced the covers of the book. It was green and it seemed as if there were doors on doors ,layers and layers like  a well written poem.
After this fascinating feast for the eyes we decided to go to the royal temple Govind Devji temple. its a small pretty well kept temple for Bal Gopal. He is depicted here as a baby so the time for the darsshan revolves around his waking time.It was a very cute and sweet concept  to think of god as ones child. Having said that ,i think that shows the essence of our religion which sees gods image in each living thing. The concept not only encompasses the world but also allows one to be at peace with everyone.
Then it was the markets for us.Frankly the markets in Jaipur are a sight for sore eyes. Colours on colours everywhere. You think of a colour and it is there ,displayed artistically as if inviting you to step into it and colour yourself in all the hues of the world. Rajasthan is one of the most colourful state of India though the geographical features beg to differ. The people of this state use more colours than the peacock...and it is beautiful. The markets in the old city invite you to take turns in their serpentine gullies and loose yourself in colours and smells. Fluttering sarees, dupattas, clinking bangles, shinning silver anklets, royal pugrees ; all vie for your attention and woe the person who can resist the siren calls. Well, we didn't. Soon our bags were full to the brim and yet our hearts still hankered for more. Gandhi Bazaar, Johri Bazaar,Nehru Bazaar and many more beckoned us to go on shopping till we drop.Fascinating they were.
Come evening and it was time to explore Chokhi Dhani- a heritage village resort which showcases the traditional food and flavour of Rajasthan. Once you are there you are transported to the very essence of Rajasthani culture,.. and the food ...awesome!!! Normally one balks at having a whole thali meal by oneself but there our appetites were having a ball. The fact of the matter is food tastes quite good when you are hungry or when the food smells divine. Well, here both the conditions were met.
The trip was at its fag end and nothing remained now but to board the train back home however the journey lives on in memories over a shared cup of coffee for always. Such is life. A kaleidoscope p 

Where Silences Rule

Where silences rule
Even a shout trembles
And dies.

Where hearts speak
Even a whisper shouts
And echoes.

The test of love

Some authors have a way with words which opens up minds and imaginations. What is writing if it is not a force to power the feelings and emotions out of oneself and onto paper to read and contemplate. Every writer writing is not only the learned but also the seeker....contradictory perhaps but true nevertheless. Each word which comes out of the pen is not his/her own but of a greater force which uses the writer as a medium to tell the world about the great unknown...yet it is surprising that even though reams have been written about the emotions which connect each individual;we are still at loggerheads and unable to understand that which is clear and shinning. Maybe that's the curse of Cassandra and the others who were touched by the great unknown. It made things which were supposedly clear hard to understand and harder still to follow.
The basic emotion of love is the hardest to speak about and harder still to follow. God made man in his image and told him to love his fellow beings yet that is the most  impossible thing to do.If god is love and he is the one who has made us then where is the problem of following his diktat. It is because Love as an emotion is fairly strong and impossibly convoluted. The feeling of Love is the simplest when one is a wee infant but it changes force as one grows older and interacts with others. Things start unravelling as soon as one starts over thinking.
Marriage between two people .,sanctified by the society has its origin not in love but in  a basic urge to survive and ensure that the species goes forward. We actually don't want to go the dinosaur way so...marry and multiply. But how many people are happy with the person chosen ,if you ask me no one.Everywhere there's a comparison between the person standing next to you and the person on the opposite side of the track.The proverb holds true : the grass is always greener on the other side. Rarely if at all does a marriage become a union of two people so much so that they become one single entity. The rest unfortunately just lumber along; alone and scared .
When two different individuals come together to be able to talk to each other about their feelings,fears,inhibitions and ambitions;love stands and observes. To be able to love another unconditionally one has to love oneself unconditionally....and therein lies the test.Not many like the face that peeps from the mirror. There's always something pathetically wrong in one's reflection but how many think that the mirror never takes sides.It shows what is and nothing else. It takes courage of a different kind to look into the mirror and accept what is shown and harder still to give thanks for the same. Loving oneself involves accepting flaws and that makes the test even more tough. Accepting what we are and acknowledging that we might be flawed helps one be at peace and also allows one to see the others for what they are. Mistakes and faults in ourselves is magnified when we attribute the same qualities to the other person. With them we are more strict because the faults that we have hidden away in our souls glare out menacingly in theirs.
What then is the right path to love? Not several as I think but just one . Loving oneself with the faults and allowing ourselves to love others with their faults.