And you call me coloured?

TRAVELOGUE 1.1

The journey has just begun.

Travelling in Mangalore Express from Mumbai C.S.T to Madgaon arrived at 2215hrs. Ticket not confirmed, waiting list 41. Headphones in ears, listening to “Don’t You Worry Child” by “Swedish House Mafia”.

Berth number 15 passenger will board the train from Madgaon heading to Mangalore as I saw in reservation chart pasted outside. Thought the berth will go empty till Madgaon so will sit but a young boy, wheatish complexion was already sitting with a girl of similar age and complexion. Hope I get a berth to rest my eyes as its 2235hrs now. I have done my dinner. I can see a young girl having dinner with her mother.

Train is going with jerks as I feel daily while coming in boat. Climate is quite humid as I can observe little sweat on my forehead. Darkness outside the train can be seen as compared to inside. I feel very silent right now. These pantry car people are doing “khana-khana”.

Train has slowed down, looks like some station is going to come. And I have reached Thane and its 2315hrs now. All I see is a big crowd outside the train on the station. God knows when the T.C will come. I can see people hanging outside the local train, some going on job and others to their home. And the train has arrived again but this time from Thane.

Looks like I have left the city. And now I noticed that there are twin brothers sitting in front of me. One in formals with a soul patch and other in casual green T-shirt having an arrow like mark on his head in the centre.

Rupees ninety per box, take any, vegetarian pulav or chicken biryani. I feel Netravati Express has better pantry service. I wish they could sell some fruits in this train. Feeling little tiered. Listening to “Mera Mann” from “Nautanki Saala”. Nice strumming and lyrics. Yawning! Feeling so bored. No one of my age group to talk.

Khana man comes again and screams again as if screaming will make people hungry! Reached Panvel and its 2345hrs now.

Its 0001hrs now, happy to write that I have got a middle berth to rest my eyes. A couple agreed to give the berth to me. Thanks to them. God bless! They are the same people who were sitting by my side. Time to sleep, hope I get a good sleep, good night!

Good morning. It’s quite cold now. Had a wonderful sleep, a comfortable one. Outside I can see all green with cool breeze, mountains, big rocks, tunnels. It’s really wonderful to watch the nature outside. Listening to “Tum Ho” from “Rockstar”. Perfect song for the moment! And here comes the coffee guy, smells fresh. Took a coffee to enjoy the moment!

Guess what! T.C has still not come to check the ticket, this is India! Goa is still the same. Not changed at all. Cool and humid, so much greenery everywhere. Time has passed and its 0705hrs now. The train has almost reached Madgaon now. I can see small rivers, fields, countless coconut trees and churches.

It was a great trip to Goa. I didn’t meet much people out there but the change definitely fascinated me. Happy to see the change and it attracts me. Next time I’ll visit again and hope it won’t be the same but different and more beautiful.

Happy life!

RAVEN

Raven is the common name given to several larger bodied members of the genus Corvus. They have black plumage and large beaks. Smaller-bodied species in the genus Corvus include the crows etc.

In some cases the diet of the raven is similar. Most ravens eat some sort of fruit, such as dates, or berries. Most are omnivorous.

The ravens look similar to another, common at birth, the crow being related.

There are many references to ravens in legends and literature. Most of these refer to the widespread common raven. Because of its black plumage, croaking call, and diet of carrion, the raven has long been considered a bird of ill omen and of interest to creators of myths and legends. As a carrion birth, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. The Raven obtained mythic status because it was a mediator animal between life and death.

One ancient story told on the Queen Charlotte Islands tells about how Raven helped to bring the Sun, Moon, Stars, Fresh Water, and Fire to the world. The Queen Charlotte Islands is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

“Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.

When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and Stars, and Fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them and a brand of Fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.

He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.

Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.”

Crows are also considered ancestors in Hinduism and during Sraddha the practice of offering food or pinda to crows is still in vogue.

The Hindu deity Shani is often represented as being mounted on a giant black raven or crow. The crow (sometimes a raven or vulture) is Shani's Vahana. As protector of property, Shani is able to repress the thieving tendencies of these birds.

In the Crow language the word apisaa refers to “a bird that lived long ago” (in other words a mythical bird). Apaa means nose or beak, isaa means large and daaka, laaka or looka means the offspring of animals or birds. Taken together, the term for the crow language is Apsáalooka.

There is a peculiar way to understand what raven’s have to say which I acquainted from my paternal grandfather. He says “if they say, it’s for a reason.”

If you watch them say, try this! The following is the way to go for and discover what they have to say;

एक लकड़ी को अंदाज से आठ अंगुली तोले, फिर उसे नापे। आठ या नौ या दस जो आता है, उसे दो से गुणा(MULTIPLY) करे। फिर उसे सात से भाग(DIVIDE) करे। जो शेष(REMAINDER) रहे उसका मतलब निकाले।

शेष का मतलब(MEANING OF REMAINDER);

एक रहे तो मंगलकारी।

दूजी लंबी जा सवारी।

तीजे मृत्यु यात्रा पावे।

चौथा कल्ला आग लगावे।

पाँच और शुन्य अपनी भाषा बोले।



LOVE IS RARE!

In life some things are very important on which we don't give importance until we lose them. Some bonds in life are transparent. They don't have an existence or a name. But they are important. So is ours! "Loving is easy but to get loved by someone is rare, true love lies somewhere deep but deep love lies somewhere in care."

FALL IN LOVE!

There is an antique saying "You Fall In Love". If you understand this phrase well, then you'll actually understand love. If you remove 'fall' from the phrase, then the phrase has a sweet sense! But 'fall' actually has two meanings here... 'to drop down' and 'to get down'. Now it depends upon you, which 'fall' are you falling for!

Who said I'am blind or I'am deaf,
I smile for myself or that's all is left.

BE CAREFUL!

Every motion is in a circle. If you can take up a stone, and project it into space, and then live long enough, that stone, if it meets with no obstruction, will come back exactly to your hand. Just as in the case of electricity the modern theory is that the power leaves the dynamo and completes the circle back to the dynamo, so with hate and love; they must come back to the source. Therefore do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you, must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.