Learning Fishing Indian Style: On my Alibag- Khandala Route in Maharastra

Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the rain. And for the chance to wake up in three hours and go fishing: I thank you for that now, because I won't feel so thankful then.                             

 

Garrison Keillor

Every traveler and explorer know about how splendid and magical Maharashtra becomes in Monsoon turning the dry mountains into spell bound waterfalls and covering every field and barren area with bright green grass. Nature can be felt during such seasons.

I have written enough about my experience in Maharastra during monsoon while visiting Khandala and Lonavala, Matheran, Khapoli, Alibag and how badly it reminds me of the author Ruskin bond and his essays on Nature. 

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike

If life becomes too pressing and the world is too much upon me, a walk in the wood and communion with nature helps. I like being with myself and taking a walk in unspoilt surroundings and commune if not with the God, with myself. I believe being close to nature is spiritual experience.   Ruskin Bond

 
Today, I don't have much to say. And as a picture is worth a thousand words, I would like to share pictures more than my experience. During our travel to Alibag last time, our car broke down due to technical failure and it took 2 hours for our driver to find workaround. During this time, we were somewhere in between Alibag and Khandala and decided to explore the countryside. And believe me, it was magnificent. I have never experienced and appreciated nature this much before. When driver call us after repairing the car, I felt intense longing for this place and did not have a heart to leave this place.

As we started exploring, We found group of children trying to catch some fishes. It is something I have seen only in movies and read in novels.

I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge? - Douglas Adams

Me sitting in between

 I talk to them, however it was bit difficult, they were speaking Marathi and we were not aware about any other language other than Indian (Hindi) and Global(English) Language.
 However, they were smart enough to understood us and started showing us how to hold this and catch some fishes.

These kids told us that they generally have treat during monsoon by cooking fish and as well as it provide them some additional business. I have tried 2,3 times and was successful.

Kid having fish in his hand

 

Kid Putting more food at the top to attract fishes

 

Aise hi....

Really, it was one of kind experience. And yes good holidays does not mean huge money. Holidays are all about new experiences of life and to appreciate the life through the lens of other people. Come out of your comfort zone and get your hands dirty in order to have more fulfilling travel experience and thus life.

 is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/rain.html#A3CFGXc9PvmAeXKI.99

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/rain.html#A3CFGXc9PvmAeXKI.99

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/rain.html#A3CFGXc9PvmAeXKI.99

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/rain.html#A3CFGXc9PvmAeXKI.99

Trip to remember: Karva Chauth Special

Finally today our hectic journey of 5 days came to an end today and it seems like 1 week.

We (Me and CA) planned to visit our hometown to celebrate 1 day festival of Karva Chauth in which married women fast (do not eat/drink anything) for the entire day for the longevity of their husbands. Since it was our first Karva chauth after marriage, we decided to celebrate it at our hometown as there are large no. of rituals and ceremonies on this day unknown to my wife.

Ours was a very busy schedule. We started our journey on Saturday, 19^th Oct. Below is my itinerary:

Date	Source	Destination
19-Oct-13	Hyderabad	Delhi
20-Oct-13	Delhi	Moradabad
21-Oct-13	Moradabad	Saharanpur (hometown)
22-Oct-13	Saharanpur	Delhi
23-Oct-13	Delhi	Hyderabad

The best part was that we have met all our relatives and also attended the marriage of one of my close friend. 

On 22^nd, day of Karvaahuth, my wife dressed like a bride like she did during our marriage, put her favourite Lahenga,and then went to beautician. She applied heena on her hands and legs and other cosmetics and also a lot of jewelly. She was looking very beautiful exactly like she did in our Marriage.

 Although, Gents have little role in this festival, they only helps their wives in breaking the fast at moonrise by feeding her yet I also dressed traditionally wearing Dhoti and Shirt. Karva chauth is always a symbol of love and romance. 

We all were waiting for moon to rise from 7:45 pm and finally, it was visible at 8:15. We all went to terrace. My wife performed some pooja for 5 minutes, I took some pictures and then finally, I feed her with sweet puri and open her fast. 

 

L to R. My wife and Chachi doing Pooja

On this day, women consume the very first thing from their husband’s hand to open their fast. I don’t know how this festival I celebrated at places where due to cloudy weather, moon is not visible. May be these days, technology is advanced so much that people asked their relatives/friends to send the pictures of Moon and that is how the women open their fast in these places. 

After the main ceremony, we took a heavy dinner comprising of large no. of dishes. Then we went to studio to get ourselves clicked as we rarely dressed like this but due to bug queue in every studio, we returned empty handed as we have a train to catch. So, we clicked the pic ourselves.

Finally, this beatuful day ended and we start looking forward to it next year. We promised to each other that we will dress in the same manned next time also and get ourselves clicked by some professional.

A Wonderful Message by George Carlin

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. 

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. 

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. 

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. 

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. 

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. 

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. 

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

Celebrating my 100th blog post

This is the 100^th blog post so it deserves to be different. It will sort of summarize my journey on this platform. Let me divide this post in several sections and organize them in a Minutes of Meeting(MOM) fashion like we do in our IT Industry.The agenda for this post is as follows:

Courtesy: Google images/framefanatic.blogspot.com

1. History
2. Big thanks to my readers
3. Thanks to Google for providing this platform
4. What I write generally?
5. What this blog means for me?
6. Top posts
7. Going forward

1. History

   This section is needed as the vision and nature of this blog underwent a massive change. Previously, its name was “Rants and Raves” and the posts were more of a venting out of emotions close to what the title suggests. But as the time passed and I started travelling more, most of the posts were kind of Travelogue in nature. It becomes more of a microcosm of my dreams, lessons, fantasies and thoughts. Eventually, the final name comes out to be “Zindagi Express” which was very much related to the theme of this blog and also I was able to connect to this name more. 

   
   

   The first post of this blog was published on 15^th May, 2011, some 2years and 1 month back.

   
   

   2 years back, when I started this blog out of boredom of my summer training in Kolkata, I wasn’t sure if I will be able to continue for so long. But now, I must say that I enjoy blogging so much that I really wished to continue it for the rest of my life. It is an amazing ways to store your memories and when you come to your posts written 2 years back, it surprises me every time how much I and my thought process has changed.
    

2. Big thanks to my readers

   I would like to say thanks to all those who constantly read my blogs and encouraged me. If today I have completed 2years and publishing my 100^th post, then my readers/motivators also have some role. Some of the names I would like to mention are as follows: 

   
   

   1. Divenita/ Nivedata who used to encourage me and point out the mistakes in my writing and commented on most of my posts
   2. Anil ingle for his strong criticism and pointing out my grammatical mistakes and actually playing the role of the follower i.e. by reading all the posts
   3. College juniors taking help from my blog to plan their travelogues/weekends around the college
   4. CA, my wife, who closely follows my every post, whom I have to convince many times about my real life stories that they are fictional. Hehe….
   5. Sunny tonk for his encouragement

   And to all others who have been there once.

    

3. Thanks to Google for providing this platform

   I think this post will be incomplete without giving the credit to Google for providing this beautiful platform to express our ourselves. Although, many times, i have faced the issue with the blogger while uploading pics and related to formatting and all but still, Google deserves a big thanks. 

    

4. What I write generally?

   This is something which is not new for you guys but let me again make some efforts and value your precious time. This blog is about fictional autobiographical stories, dreams, fantasies, unspoken things, lessons learned both from life and books, things unsaid blended with sarcasm and mockery. The word 'Express' in the title expresses my love for my traveling particularly in Indian Railways and covers another dimension of this blog i.e. Travelogues.

    

5. What this blog means for me?

   This blog means a lot to me. It helps me in introspecting myself better. I have no intention of stopping this blog ever and would like to continue it till my life. In this way, it will provide me a storehouse for my memories and at the same time, helps my coming generation to know me better and to see things which perhaps will be vanish by then in this era of gadgets and technology in this fast changing world.

    

6. Top posts

   The following list of posts is not based on the no. of hits which one can already see at my homepage under Bestsellers list but actually it is based on the comments and my perception and feelings.(not in any order)

   1. The joy of living in small cities
      
      
   2. The healing Power of Surgery - 1 
      
      
   3. Husband and Wife arguing about smoking: Quite emotional
       
      
   4. Type of people one encounter generally in the typical local bar 
      
      
   5. Tribute to MY Grandfather Part-1
       
   6. Exams time 
      
      
   7. Do you think boasting about your alcohol capacity is cool??
      
      
   8. Comfortably Numb

       

7. Going forward 

    Like any other venture or hobby, i want this blog to grow and reach out to many more people. This blog will be continued like this only provided i get the ideas and opportunities to travel across the world. This blog does not focuses on any particular area but instead it is very generic in nature. I hope this blog will be able to woo you in future and give you a good content for reading in future and by respecting your precious time. 

   Thanks for your visit. 

   Please don't disappear this time without leaving your comment which is my dose for writing more.