“Today
we are going to celebrate ‘Dandiya Night’.” The anchor announced. I heard it while
sitting on a sofa in the drawing room of my friends flat. The programme started
well with a Gujarati song. Then they played a Haryanavi song ‘Mera nau dandi ka
bhijana’. I was bit bewildered as how one can do dandiya on Harayanvi song. My
confusion increased as the next song they played was Punjabi. May be they are
trying fusion music on Dandiya Night! One after another, they played the songs
of different states of India.
I am thinking too
much about birth and death. From where one comes and where one goes to?
Mr. ‘K’ replied
We all come from
atoms and become atoms again
I replied
:D A scientific
answer. Actually I was searching for a spiritual answer.
Mr. ‘K’ replied
Spirits are also
made of atoms....2 peg rum (also a spirit) lagao...sab samajh mein aa jaayega (try
2 peg rum (also a spirit).... you will understand everything) :-)
“O-two,
Go out and play in fresh air.” I asked my little cousin who was playing brain
vita.
“Sis,
do you want me to play in air pollution? Or do you want me to play football wearing
mask to protect myself from pollution. Moreover, playing in polluted air will
lower my I Q level and I won’t be able to win more games in brain vita.” He
replied.
“Then,
you must know that inside home pollution is 5 times higher than outside and
sometimes even more.”
“O,
really!” He exclaimed and moved one marble on the board.
“Even,
in this room you will be surprised to know that a pungent smelling dangerous
pollutant is found and its sources are pressed wooden furniture, cupboards, drapes,
foam insulation and carpet. Its name is formaldehyde.”
“And
how does casual-dehyde pollutes air?” He giggled.
“Huh?”
“Dressed
up in ‘3S’ – shirt, snickers and slippers!” He chuckled.
“No,
dressed in female attire - sweatshirt, skirt and sandals.”
He
laughed aloud and I smiled.
“Come
with me, I will show you air pollutants in the kitchen.”
He
put his game on the table and accompanied me to the kitchen. He told. “In the
kitchen, gas stove is a major air pollutant.”
“Besides
that unvented gas from kerosene heater and wood stove emits carbon monoxide.”
“Is
carbon monoxide sister of carbon dioxide?” He inquired with a fun in his voice.
“Carbon
monoxide is formed when there is not enough oxygen to produce carbon dioxide.
Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, tasteless, and highly toxic. It is
more harmful to humans and animals as compared to carbon dioxide. It causes
dizziness, nausea, headaches and sometimes death.”
“Dangerous
sis!”
We
were standing in the kitchen and I explained further to him, “Nitrogen oxide is
also produced from the same sources as carbon monoxide and harms human body
similarly.”
“Dangerous
bro!”
“Radon
is a radioactive gas which is colourless, odourless and tasteless enters
silently like thieve in our homes from the surface beneath and from water
sources. We are totally unaware if we are inhaling unsafe air.”
“Dangerous
DAD!”
“Well
ventilation reduces the production and hazards of dangerous family.”
“As
soon as I entered the kitchen then my head started aching. It must be because
of the presence of these poisonous gases.” He put his left hand on his head.
“Let
us open the windows and doors for proper ventilation.”
“Are
cockroach killers the source of air pollution?” He pointed out at two bottles
placed in the corner of the kitchen.
“Yes,
insect killers are source of air pollutants. After spraying, windows should be
left open for some time. Let us move to the drawing room and find out sources
of air pollutants present there.”
We moved to the left and there was a huge drawing room
well equipped with all the modern facilities.
“Aladin’s magic carpet!” He giggled.
I noticed that it was blue coloured carpet with intricate
designs woven on it. He sat down on the carpet and ordered, “Fly Carpet Fly and
take me to a place where there is no air pollution.” He repeated it several times.
When the carpet did not move, he concluded, “There is no place now left in this
world without air pollution or my drawing room is the safest place.”
I smiled and explained, “Plastic side tables, chairs or
any other plastic products and carpets are the source of styrene which is
carcinogenic.”
“To prevent it we should buy more eco-friendly products.”
He suggested. I planted a kiss on his left cheek.
I
further explained, “Sofa foam, wooden table, fireplace and panels also cause
indoor air pollution.”
“We
frequently used air fresheners, candles and agarbattis for fragrance. They also
add a little to the air pollution.”
“True.
You are my intelligent little brother!”
“
Let’s go to the bathroom and I want to show you something new. Sis, come fast!”
He hold my hand tightly and almost dragged me. We took to the right, passed
from a gallery and at the end; there was a combined toilet and bathroom.
“You
have to come inside to see that.” He left my hand and hurriedly went inside.
Curiously,
I entered and found he was standing near a handmade devil.
“I
made this dustbin. I took a empty cardboard, pasted the coloured paper cuttings
to give it a look of a devil.”
“It
is very beautiful.”
“
If you press this wooden piece.” He pointed towards the base of dustbin. “Then
the devil will open its mouth.” He took out a small piece of toffee wrapper
from his pocket and put it in devil’s mouth. “Now, you can try.”
I
smiled and said, “Floor tile, pipe insulation and vinyl ceiling are made up of
asbestos. The lose fibres of asbestos are hazardous to health. They can cause
cancer. This pollution can be prevented by buying good quality asbestos
products and by constructing and managing them with expert’s hands.”
“Oh
my Gosh! The water pipe started leaking again and fungus has started growing.”
He exclaimed.
“The
mold, mildew and insects increase air pollution inside house. They cause
irritation to eyes, throat and nose. This can be prevented by closing any
leakage (as biological sources grows more in moisture), by cleaning the area
and by keeping it dust free.” I sighed and continued, “Chloroform which causes
cancer is present in chlorine treated hot water showers.”
“I
will smell and if it smells like chloroform, I will not bathe.” He winked.
“Naughty
boy!” I drew his attention towards a deodorant placed on a glass shelf. “1,1,1
trichloroethane which destroys ozone layer (2 -6 miles away from earth) is
produced from aerosol sprays. It is always better to buy non aerosol sprays.”
“ha
ha. How wrong I am to think that I can fire aerosol spray to one foot but now I
come to know that I can fire it as far as 2 - 6 miles!”
A
car honked and he rushed towards the garage saying, “Wow! Papa, came home early
today.” I followed him.
He
was disappointed to find that the car was not theirs and it stopped at the next
door.
To
divert his mind I pointed towards a genset and asked, “Do you use it quite
often?”
“Not
much. We have back up of solar battery. In case of emergency only we use it as
it causes air pollution.”
I
saw a small container of paint thinner in the corner of wooden shelf. “Paint
strippers and thinners contain methylene chloride which is a volatile liquid.
It causes nerve disorder and diabetes. The containers should be properly sealed
to avoid evaporation. They should be brought in the required amount only. Their
storage should be avoided.”
“Oh
that! I have to paint a wooden board for my school project. It will be finished
in that project. We are standing from a long time and my legs are aching now.”
“Let
us go to bedroom and take some rest.”
He
lied down on bed and I opened the cupboard to take out my bag from it. A sweet
smell entered my nose. I told him, “Tetrachloroethylene is ‘dry cleaning
fluid’. It’s sweet odour fumes on clothes can cause nerve disorder, damage to
liver and kidney.”
“Riya,
my classmate is just like tetrachloroethylene.”
“How?”
I asked with bewilderment in my voice.
“Sis,
she is very cute, her voice is sweet but she is idiotic. The more I converse
with her, more damage I cause to my brain nerves.”
“Para-dichlorobenzene
is used as air fresheners, disinfectants, pesticide, deodorants and moth balls.
It is colourless solid with odours and a long term exposure can cause cancer.”
I drew the structure of para-dichlorobenzene on the paper and showed him.
“There
is a plump boy in my class, his tummy is just like a benzene ring and he farts
every now and then. Sitting close to him for long time will definitely put me
in trouble.” He laughed aloud on his own joke. “Sis, you explained so nicely
about air pollutants but don’t you think that you forget to tell me something?”
“Like
what?” I inquired.
“VOC?
What’s that? Very Obedient Child like O-two!!!” He laughed. It was like a
soothing temple bell pealing and echoing.
“VOC’s means Volatile Organic Compounds. As
the name indicates, they are organic compounds that are volatile. They evaporate
at room temperature causing air pollution. Formaldehyde, methylene chloride,
tetrachlroethylene and paradichlorobenzene are all VOC’s. Paints, pesticides,
glue, printers, photocopiers, permanent markers and certain building materials
are the source. To prevent air pollution from VOC’s one should buy ‘Low VOC’s’
or ‘No VOC’s’ products. Only the quantity needed should be purchased from the
market and the storage of VOC’s at home should be avoided. They should be used
in well ventilated places.”
He
closed his nose with a hanky and said, “From where this foul smell is coming?”
“May
be this rat farted.” I saw it crawling on the bed’s headrest.
“It
is not a rat, sis. It is guinea pig. Its name is Oink.”
“Oink’s
dander has fallen on the headrest.”
“Does
my lovely pet causes air pollution?” He asked with a surprise.
“Yup.
Respirable particles are suspended particles, which we inhale with air. They
can be from pollens, pets, dust mites, cooking smoke particles and tobacco
smoke that can causes respiratory problems and eye irritation. They can be
controlled by proper ventilation, cleaning and maintenance.”
“A week back, we had a family meeting on the
prevention of indoor air pollution. We decided to clean air by growing plants
that clean air more like aloe vera, peace lily, bamboo palm, snake plant,
spider plant and garden mum in waste and unused vessels. Father quitted
smoking, mother stopped using sprays to kill insects and I stopped playing
outdoors.” He said with a little wink.
“Huh?”
“There
was no time to play as I have to work harder to clean air. In the meeting, I explained
them about Royale Atmos, the revolutionary paint that purifies air. I with papa
went to the nearest Asian paints showroom and brought Royale Atmos paints for
our house. It was I who decided which shade of paint to be picked for which
room. Out of more than 1750 shades of Royale Atmos, to chose the desired shade
was a challenging task for a little boy. I lifted those heavy paint buckets to
the car and from car to house. You will be surprised to know that I painted my
room myself.”
“Wow!
You painted your room so well.”
“Thanks!
Thanks!! After painting the house with Royale Atmos paints we solved the indoor
pollution problem to a great extent. It has a carbon activated technology which
helps in trapping formaldehyde molecule and breaking it into smaller molecules
that are harmful.”
“How?”
“Don’t
you watch T.V.? Haven’t you seen the advertisement in which Deepika Padukone
wore mask everywhere except in her house as her house was painted with Royale Atmos.”
“Ya.
I want to paint my house with Royale Atmos.”
“To
breath in pure air at home, you must.” What have you drawn on these sheets?
Show me.” On seeing me holding some drawing sheets, he asked.
“I
was thinking for writing a post on my blog about air pollution, its causes and
possible solution.”
“Let
us make a video. I will shoot it for you. We will share in on Facebook for our
relatives, neighbours and friends.”
“That’s
a great idea. Let us mix my knowledge and your knowledge for better solutions.”
After
watching it, he said, “What a boring video! In school, when teacher showed such
boring videos then I go to sleep with my eyes wide open!!”
“But
how can you sleep with your eyes wide open?” I desperately wanted to know this
secret.
“Practice,
Sis, Practice. Practice makes a child perfect!”
“O
brother!”
“By
the way, when your are planning to paint your house with Royale Atmos?”
“Next
weekend, I will be free. But which shade should I chose of blue colur as it is
my favourite? I will need you valuable advice in selecting the correct shade.”
“Sure. Any time, sis, anytime for you!” He gently hold my hand and said, “Aladin’s carpet didn’t fly and stayed in my drawing room because of Royale Atmos paint on the walls. My drawing room has the purest air. Now air is so clean that you can do yoga indoors.”
I spread the durrie, sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath. I said, “You are the oxygen of my life.”
While walking on the side road, I noticed a car stopped on
the other side of the road. The father
(I assume) sitting on driver seat drew the kid’s attention who was sitting on
the next seat towards something on the trees may be. The kid searched for a few
moments and then looked with surprise. The view brought a big smile on the kid’s
face.
I heard some loud rasping screeches. Although loud braying
were not at all pleasing to the ears but I was sure that such a high pitched
voice must be of some big birds. I could recognise most of Indian bird’s voices
but they were new to my ears. I hurried towards that spot, looking in that
direction to get a glimpse of a surprise. In between the trees, in a far off balcony, I
saw two long-tailed blue and yellow caged macaws. The two birds were huge, magnificent
and vibrant. I was mesmerised with the view till two ugly crows came from
nowhere and sat on the balcony railing.
“Their beauty caged them whereas their ugliness freed them.”
I thought.
“Chandrika, forget everything as if nothing has happened.”
One of my elderly relative tried to console me when I was crying uncontrollably
on my father’s death.
“I can’t forget him.” I replied amidst of my sobs.
“You have spent so much time with him. He taught you so many
things. You have lots of sweet memories to remember. But look at me, I have
never seen my father.”
I stopped crying and looked at him with a surprise.
He told, “When I was one and a half year old my father died.
I couldn’t remember his face.”
“You must be having his photograph or portrait.”
“We were not rich enough to afford them therefore there is a vast
blankness for me on remembering him.”
“One person, Mr. ‘X’ was walking bare feet on hot summer. His feet were
burning and he was cursing God because God had made him so poor that he couldn’t
even afford a pair of shoes for himself. On the way, after sometime he met a person
who didn’t have lower limbs and was creeping on the hot road with the help of
his hands while his hips were rubbing against hot road with his every move. Mr.
‘X’ thanked God for giving him feet.” I recalled the story and wiped my tears.
“Madam, courier-wala is coming.”
Security guard informed me.
“Fine.” I said and put the receiver down.
It was hot and humid. To quench my
thirst, I took out a cold water bottle from refrigerator and pored the water in
a glass. While I took the first sip, the door bell rang. I hardly drank two
more sips then it rang again. I put the glass unfinished and almost ran to open
the door for impatient courier-wala.
He handed the courier to me. I signed
the receipt of courier and returned back paper and pen to him.
“Do you send couriers?” He asked.
“No. Not much.” I was bit shocked with
his blunt question.
“I can do the free pick up of courier
from your house. We have a shop near to your society. Please note down the
address of my shop ................ and phone number................ Whenever
you need it just call me. My number is......................and my name
is......................Generally a person provide the service for only one
courier company. But we provide service for all - First Flight, Blue Dart,
DTDC,..................You name it and we have it.”
“Thanks!” I ended his endless marketing.
“He didn’t have the time to wait patiently till I
attended him but he had plenty of time to do marketing of his recently started
business. Bahoot aage jayega ye banda to! (He will reach for the sky)” I
thought.
In 2007, my father fell sick. He needed
constant care. Therefore, I left my profession to take care of him. My family
members and I took good care of him. He followed all the precautions, diet and
exercises suggested by the doctors. He disciplined his life as per the doctor’s
advice. With the result, he lived happily for ten more years.
While he was recovering, I attended to
him as well as family business. In the beginning, I did not know the ABC of business,
money management and financial transactions. I was naive.
While looking after him, taking care of his
smallest needs, we spent a lot of time together. During these years, I got his
full attention and time. I learned from him not only budgeting, saving,
investing, spending, money making and business tactics but also much more about
life.
Those ten years were the bonus years! And the best
time of my life!!
My father, Dr. Madan Lal Saini was the most
hardworking person I ever knew! He worked near about 18 hours per day. He never
took any break from work. In his life, there were no holidays. Even during
festive time like Diwali or Holi he was busy working while the rest of the
world was busy in enjoying lights and colours. In spite of whatever happens in
the world, he strictly followed his working routine.
His hard work made him successful in academics as well as in
business. He retired as Professor of Plant Breeding, CCS Harynana Agricultural
University, Hisar.Earlier in his academic career, he was a
bright student and always secured excellent marks in his school and college
time. He was awarded Dr. V.K. Kashyap Gold Medal in recognisition of the best
Ph.D. research worker for the year 1974. He worked on genetic improvement of
gaur crop for about 12 years and remained associated in development and release
of eight important varieties of guar. He was awarded ‘The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Memorial Prize for Agriculture Research for the biennium 1982-83 for
outstanding contribution in the field of plant breeding and genetics. Associated
with wheat varitety WH542 and had been awarded ICAR Team Award for
Multi-disciplinary Research in Agriculture and Allied Sciences for the
Triennium 1994-96.
In the field of teaching, he guided four
M.Sc. and seven Ph.d. students. He was awarded Best Teacher Award of the
Department of Plant Breeding for the year 1998. He also received The
Outstanding Teacher Award, a national award in teaching for the Biennium
1998-99 for outstanding contribution in the field of Plant Breeding and Crop
Improvement by the ICAR.
He was selected for the prestigious B.P.
Pal National Environment Fellowship Award for Biodiversity for the year 2002 by
Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi to work on grasses
and medicinal plants in arid region.
He wrote three books namely ‘Plant
Breeding and Crop Improvement’ Vol I and Vol II and Practical Manual on Plant
Breeding. He wrote near about 200 papers including research papers, review
articles and popular articles.
In business, he was keenly interested in
introducing new technologies, starting new projects and launching new schemes
for the betterment of society.
Surprisingly he followed his working
schedule punctually even after he fell sick. His poor health could not restrict
his working hours. In the last days of his life, he was discussing business,
suggesting innovative ideas to make money and guiding me to tackle problems.
He led a very simple and disciplined life. He was kind,
honest and was always ready to help everybody in need.
With moist eyes, I said ‘Goodbye’ to him last night.
Photo : While searching album for his photo, I found the pics were mainly
about taking awards, giving talks or researching in the field/ lab. There were
hardly any photos with friends or relatives. So here is one taking The
Outstanding Teacher Award from Mr. L.K. Advani.
When I opened my eyes after practicing anuloma viloma, I saw
teacher’s helper standing in front of me quite confused. Before I could ask
her, she inquired, “Do you know who live in the room adjacent to your’s?”
That was a million dollar question for me! I suggested her to
ask Ms. ‘G’ who must be aware about this. She hesitated to ask Ms. ‘G’ because
of language problem.”
Just to help her I went close to Ms. ‘G’ and whispered ‘Excuse
Me’ as I did not want to disturb the rest of the class who were practicing
sadhana.
“Excuse me.” This time I said a bit louder.
“WHAT!” She opened her eyes and inquired with anger.
“Who are your roommates?” I asked politely.
“I am doing sadhana, can’t you see. You can ask me later.” The
anger was still in her voice.
I calmly said, “The teacher’s helper wants to know. I am
asking you just because she can’t converse in English. Please tell if you
know.”
My calm tone brought down her anger. She told the names.
LAST DAY OF SADHANA CLASS
I was feeling thirsty; I got up from my yoga mat and went
towards the main door of the asana hall. I was quite surprised to notice that Ms.
‘G’ was not present in the class even though one hour class was over. I went
down the stairs. I found my water bottle empty. I took it to fetch some water
in it. I noticed her sitting with Mr. ‘V’, one of our batch mates on the stones
near river Ganga. Many a times they were sitting together, enjoying each other’s
company generally during the free time. When I came back I noticed the teacher’s
piercing eyes and Ms. ‘G’ and Mr. ‘V’ walking slowly in opposite direction with
their heads down. Ms. ‘G’ came late for about 70 minutes in the sadhana class.
“A breeze of romance disturbed her sadhana!” I thought.
“What are you writing?” An ochre robed middle-aged woman
asked me. I was writing on a paper while sitting with her in a shared taxi. Unlike
other ochre robe people, she was too talkative and was only silent when she was
munching something.
The local villagers had blocked the road to Gangotri as some
young person died because of landslide. The government officials were searching
the dead body but the fall of stones, mud was too heavy, and the flow of river
was speedy as well. Above all, it was raining making the land slippery and
searching a difficult mission. They were also trying to convince the villagers
not to block the road. All this was taking time and I was feeling bored so
decided to pen down my experiences. On searching my purse, I found a piece of paper.
On that, I had to jot down my memories of 30 days living with people of different
cultures, living away from home for the first time, studying in an ashram and funny
situations that happened. I did not want to miss out a single such situation. The
space was less, words were more, and to manage them I was writing extremely
small.
“Why are you writing so small?” She inquired again. “I can’t
read.”
“I was jotting the points so that later on I can create a
blog post out of each point. And I do not want them to be read by anyone till
they appear on my blog after mixing a little fiction and some more humour to it.”
I thought, “A piece of paper was journal of my 30 days memories!”
“Chandrika, ask me
any question from the course. I have prepared for the examination. I am ready
to answer any question out of the syllabus.” Mr. ‘J’ said as I was filling up
my glass with aromatic drinking water. I looked up perplexed as what to ask. I
had not prepared for the exams yet which was going to held after two days.
Moreover, I had read only one question by that time.
“Ask me any
question, just any question.” He repeated.
I said, “What are different
types of kriyas?”
He told, “For
nasal cleaning, jalneti (Cleaning with water) and sutra neti (Cleaning with
thread), for respiratory cleaning, kapalbhati, for food pipe cleaning, antar
dauti. It is of four types plavini, kunjal kriya, agnisara and vastra dauti.
Danta dauti (teeth), hrid dhauti (throat), moola shodana (rectum) cleaning are
some more.”
He took a deep
breath and said, “Abdominal churning, vama nauli, dakshina nauli and madhyam
nauli for stomach cleaning. For cleaning of lower intestine, basti.........That’s
all!”
“You forget to
tell about eye cleaning, trataka.”
“Oh, yes. One is
candle gazing.”
“Ya. Frontal
gazing, gazing between the eyebrows and nasal gazing, gazing of the tip of nose.”
He repeated
frontal and nasal gazing. He seemed to be impressed with my knowledge.
“Bye. I have to
prepare for exam now.” I said.
“I have prepared
only ONE question which I asked him and the rest of the course I have yet to go
through!” I thought. “After talking to Mr. ‘J’, I was suffering severely from
examination fever.”
I was explaining
different concentration exercises to focus mind and experiences in meditation
to my students. After practicing concentration exercises, I asked them to close
their eyes and focus. After ten minutes of silence, I noticed that the tears
started flowing from the eyes of one of my students. That was an unique experience
in meditation! About which I had read in books only but had never experienced. There
was a little feeling of jealousy in me but a very strong desire to experience
it. I desperately wanted to practice hard and experience the magic of purity in
the form of tears.
Place : Sivananda
Kutir, Netala, Uttarkashi
Time : September,
2016
After completing
my Teacher Training Course from Netala, I went to nearby places like Dayara
Bugyal, Gangotri, Gaumukh and Tapovan as there was a week gap until my next
course Sadhana Intensive started in Netala.
Trekking to these places was mesmerising,
adventurous and quite hectic. When I returned to Sivanada Kuitr near Siror Bridge on the evening before Sadhana Intensive began, I was suffering from dehydration
and fatigue. Even plenty of liquids and fruits didn’t help me and my health
further deteriorated. Now I had cold, cough, constipation and muscular pain in
limbs. I was feeling extremely tired.
For one week I
attended the classes regularly but decided to leave the course in between as I
was not feeling well and there was nothing new to learn and experience. I had
to drop this idea as I found it impossible to travel to Dehradun airport (6
hours horrible journey for me because of travel sickness) alone in taxi with my
poor health. It was better to pull one more week and travel down hills with
friends. Hence, I continued the practice.
In the second week, they introduced new techniques for focusing mind like mahamudra, mahabanda, mahaveda, viprit karni. They as well increased the duration of practice. One
practice was of three and a half hour and every day it had to be repeated thrice,
which means more than ten hours of sadhana. I practiced sincerely whatever I
could with my not so good health.
Sivananda Kuitr near
Siror Bridge was situated near river Bhagirathi (Ganges). It was amazing
experience to live, to learn, to study, to practice and to meditate near the
sacred river. Hindus believe that bathing in the river Ganges causes remission
of sins. While taking a dip in river, people leave something behind generally
bad habits, food items or negative thoughts. As I took dips in Ganges, I forgave
two individuals whom I was finding extremely difficult to forgive. A huge
unnecessary burden from my mind was removed. The river Ganges helped me and I
felt light from inside, really very light!
On the last day of
practice, while doing Anolum Vilom, the tears started flowing from my eyes. I had
waited and practiced quite long to experience this ecstasy. The ashram’s calm
and serene environment, restricted diet mostly khichadi and moong dal with less
salt and no spices, doing neti (cleansing exercises) regularly, Mataji’s guidance
and caring attitude helped me in purifying myself and growing spiritually.
I highly recommend
this course for spiritual aspirants.
Col-boy and Col-girl were selected
for Colgate Mega Space Launch Project even though thousands and thousands of girls
and boys had applied for the project. Colgate Mega Space Launch Project was a
unique mission to experience the space launch of rocket, moving around in space
stations, doing space walk, watching planets, comets and UFO and if lucky then
might get a chance to say ‘Hello’ to an Alien.
Col-boy wore orange colour space
suit that weighs 127 kg with 13 layers of material to protect him from adverse
conditions in the space. Col-girl wore a green colour space suit that provided
her with oxygen to breathe in outer space. They got into the rocket upper part
with sufficient stock of food, water and Colgate toothpaste for cleaning of
their teeth after meals. The reverse counting began. ‘Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven,
Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One and Zero.’ The rocket was lifted off which exerted
more power than 13000 train engines.
Once they reached in Earth’s orbit,
they tied their respective cords to the space stations and did the space walk. Space
adventure was quite exciting for them! Col-girl saw the beautiful sun wearing
sunglasses to protect its eyes from the glare and heat. She told Col-boy that
the sun is Helium except 3/4th of its mass that is Hydrogen. Col-boy
pointed towards a comet and explained to her that it gets heat up when close to
the sun and its long tail is made up of dust and ice crystals. They noticed
Venus together which was fuming with anger while rotating in the opposite
direction to most other planets. Far off, Saturn was smiling because it has
rare rings made up of ice, rocks and dust.
Col-girl asked, “What is the name
of that red coloured planet?” Col-boy confidently told, “Mars!” They admired the beauty of red
planet and could not take off their eyes from the ‘red planet’. Col-girl suggested, “Let’s see it
from close.” They turned their space shuttle
towards Mars.
On reaching Mars, they left their
space shuttle. They were trained astronauts to work without gravity in space
and their space suits were so designed that they could easily breathe in outer
space. They were moving in rover, a space exploration vehicle that moves across
a planet’s surface to collect red stones from Mars. Then Col-boy saw an UFO,
unidentified flying object with a great speed coming closer to them. He could
not change the direction of rover as a big rock was in front of them. UFO was
about to hit them, then an alien came from nowhere and pushed UFO too hard with
his little hands. The powerful alien had a big face, lean body and sharp mind. UFO
took a sharp U turn. He took out his laser pistol, shot UFO twice and broke it’s
edge. To escape from unexpected attack UFO returned and disappeared in the
space.
Col-boy and Col-girl came out of
the vehicle and said thanks to the alien. They offered him chocolates, which
they had taken with them from Earth. As he took a bite from a chocolate, his
gums started bleeding. He had a strong body but very weak teeth. They gifted
him Colgate toothpaste with Calci-lock protection and asked him to brush his
teeth after every meals. “Soon your teeth will become as
strong as your body!” Col-boy said with a sweet smile.
The Alien presented him rare red stones of Mars. The mission of Col-boy and Col-girl
was accomplished. They returned to Earth after spreading Colgate smiles on Mars.
“I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.
"You do meditation!" A man uttered with a surprise. "How do you do that?"
I replied, "I do Japa Meditation in which I chant the mantra of my personal deity repeatedly."
"Then you are not doing meditation, you are only increasing the bundle of your thoughts." He was in a mood to argue.
"Mantra chanting cleans all the negativities from mind and improves concentration power. Moreover repetition of mantra produces vibrations that are soothing for mind. It is a panacea for getting peace of mind." I said.
"Meditation means no thoughts and only bliss. Whereas mantra is a thought and you are increasing it with every repetition therefore it is not meditation."
"One can't experience bliss on mere closure of eyes. It is experienced only after continuous practice and repetition of mantra. Neither you have faith in the power of mantra nor you know the power of mantra. Only those who repeat it continuously knows its power. If you want to know more than you must read the book 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind' authored by me."
To take a break from my work, I looked at my mobile. It showed a voice message from my close friend, Mrs. 'P'. I played it. It was not her voice but her little son's sweet voice.
He said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Chandrika aunty! I love you!!"
It was the sweetest message I have ever received on Valentine's Day. I took a leave from my office and went to the market to shop a nice gift for him.
Soon after the monsoon showers, water in the river was flowing swiftly making it muddy and dirty.
At the curve of the river, the river was quite deep and water was very clear.
Surprisingly, it was not muddy. It was clean. It was clear. It was calm. It was
serene. It was blue-green in colour.
I was watching the gently flow of
water and enjoying the soul uplifting moment. I was so immersed in tranquillity
that I forgot about the rest of the world. Honk of a horn brought me back in
the reality. I turned to saw which vehicle was it. And found two staring eyes!
The colour of eyes was same as that
of the river Bhagrathi. Blue-green! The eyes were transparent, pure and serene
just like river water. These days, like muddy water there is so much dishonesty
and trickery in the eyes of the people. But these gentle eyes did not have a
tinge of deceptiveness. In the twinkling drops of blue-green dew, innocence and
purity could be observed clearly - as pure as freshly melted snow! The truthful
eyes were so transparent that the reflection of his soul could be seen in those
eyes.
My heart said, “Who will not have
unconditional love for those eyes? Never changing emotions for those lustrous
gems?”
I like to give small
gifts to friends and relatives and most of the time gifts are not costly. Generally,
the presents consist of little things that go perfectly with their taste. I
held the gift in my hand, pray for the person’s success and well-being and
then give it to him/ her.
Although, I did
not want to give a present to Ms. ‘F’ but out of courtesy sake I gifted her
three unique silver coins. Goddess Lakhshmi, Lord Shiva’s family and Lord Ram were respectively engraved on them. In her fit of anger, that
arrogant woman threw away those silver coins on the floor. Looking at those scattered
silver coins, I thought, “Does she throw away her good fortune?”
This year I wanted to celebrate my
b’day in a different way! I want to be alone. Neither with my family nor with
my friends but with myself. To experience inner silence unlike others who went
to ashrams or in forests near a lake or a river, I booked a suite in luxury
hotel in Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi. It was quite expensive somewhat out of budget
but I did not mind spending lavishly occasionally, especially if it was my b’day
and I wished to celebrate it in a unusual way!
As soon as I entered Sheraton
Hotel, Delhi I was mesmerised with the beautiful ambience. It was illuminating as
if the stars came down on the earth to reside permanently in Sheraton Hotel. Crazy
me, forgetting about the rest of the world, started clicking photos.
I clicked
my photos from every angle, not missing a single niche of a hotel. If you have many
photos to upload on Facebook and Instagram what else, you can wish! ;)
I felt tired; I retired to suite to
take rest physically and mentally. Unpacking my bag, I realised that I forgot
to bring my slippers. I turned to call the reception then I glanced at a pair
of beautiful white slippers lying on the doormat of bathroom. The luxury hotels
take care of guests tiniest needs.
Sitting on the comfortable chair, I
closed my eyes and experienced the inner peace like never before! It was beyond
the description of words!! Bliss!!!
Next day, I have to check out. At
the reception, in the line to hand over the keys there was one foreigner in front
of me. Waiting for my turn, I adjusted my dupatta on the shoulder. While
doing so, my hand touched my ear. Oh my God! I forgot my earrings that my
granny gave me. I rushed back to the room in search of them. I found them on the
side table. I looked into the mirror and wore them. I took a look of the room again
to confirm that I am not forgetting anything else here. I closed the room and
walked towards the reception.
When I was walking through the
passage, I saw Karishma Kapoor, great Bollywood star coming out of a meeting
hall. She was wearing long cream top with crimson red skirt. Her hair was
plaited and she was smiling. I hesitantly requested for a click with her. She
agreed. I had a selfie with Karishma Kapoor one of my favourite Bollywood stars.
It was the best b’day gift I ever
had! :)
That photo is still enhancing the
elegance of my drawing room! :)
“I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an
activity at BlogAdda in association
with MakeMyTrip“
"Today my teacher told me a story." My little cousin told me.
"Great. What was the story about?" I asked.
"It was about the goat and other animals. My teacher told me to learn more about the animal that looked like a pig."
"You know about pig and goat."
"It was a new animal which I had not seen before. It had white and black stripes."
I showed the picture of zebra and asked, "Was it zebra?"
"No. It was small in size like pig and has pointed face."
I searched the animals with black and white stripes on interent. While surfing, I found an animal which looked like a pig and had black face and white body.
"Is this animal about which your teacher told about."
"Yup." He exicitedly said.
"This is Tapir."
"Yes, tapir, tapir."
"Tapir was a new anilmal for me too." I thought. "While teaching him, I am also learning new things with him."
A elderly man while conversing with me asked, "What is your age?"
"My age.......why do you want to know?" I said.
"So, you do not want to share. O.K. Let me guess. It is 60."
"60!!!!!! why don't you get your eyesight tested?" I thought.
"Do you want to read this book?" A senior citizen who was holding an old book asked me. I have neither met him before nor have noticed him walking or sitting in the park athough I took my yoga class daily in the park at the same place.
"Yes, Sir." I said politely. "Thank you very much."
He handed me that book and asked, "This book is written by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Have you heard his name?"
I nodded and glanced at the book. On its faded page, 'Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha' was boldly written. I said, "I have read some of the books written by him but not this one."
"I was yoga teacher. I saw you teaching everyday. Read this book and return it."
"Sure, Sir."
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