yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

~ ~ More thoughts from rail journeys Thanks Apurva Bahadur for the images आप की तस्वीरों ने तो रूखे सूखे से शब्दों को जैसे बारिश की मस्ती से भिगो दिया है ~~ Sunsets at the train door are ever endearing, Half moon somehow makes an early appearance, Together, we see the unending and unbothered tracks, The vast openness offers its hand, To walk together and share silences, The green, brown and blue around nod in agreement, Heart gets clearer on what it wants, Like I do on such evenings, I hear, or do I hum, Kahin door jab din dhal jae ~   कहीं दूर जब दिन ढल जाए Image: Apurva Bahadur ~ ~ Moon and stars as if run with the train, While the Trees below, stand still, Their silhouettes darker than the sky, Lights afar, yellow and white, caress poles and roofs, Time floats with the rythm of wheels on tracks, Music that flows into silences, Once in a while, a river changes it all, And remind...

** Cradling on the tracks, Getting lost in thoughts, Memories of days long gone, Open eyed dreams of those to come, Shutting off world, when in laps of those near and dear, Staring at all around, from within nature’s lap, Rekindling the art of doing nothing, Knowing a bit more of my country as I move. ** No tabs, laptops, fancy phones, people trying to look important, Such a difference as one moves to the more interesting class, Open windows and meals with unknown, Few years ago most of us moved this way, Today, only a handful see it as an option, I wonder why ** She comes to sell toys as the train moves across a reserve forest, I wonder if I could buy one or two toys, Like the newspaper I buy in evenings if stuck at the traffic signal, For the seller and not to read, She carries sharp features and a baby, Passes again after a while – tone more pleading, One of those who owned and lived amidst untamed lands, Got only this from devel...

Musings as one rolled on the tracks  ** Kuch aisa sula diya rail gadi ne, Mano kisi karibi ke god me sir ho, Uth ke darwaze se mehsoos ki Khoobsoorat sham – alhad, khud me mast aur apni aur bulati, Phir tare aye Peeth pe let kar hi unhe nihara ja sakta hai – baat chit ki jaa sakti hai, Train ke haule haule hilne se  - aur mooh pe hawa lagne se Maza to aati hai Aur neend bhi kya khoob aati hai ** Crossed the lovely Krishna and Tungabhadra, Both appeared busy - unlike me at times on the window at others the door, From Darters basking to herons awaiting fishes, From sand-mining using bullock-carts to fishing using coracles, People chatting, washing clothes, going somewhere, bathing, doing nothing,  Why did we have only dead-pan names in school days No trips to rivers ? No chats with people interacting with rivers ?  ** Earlier posts on railway journeys  Moving on rails ...

Musings on train journeys ** Clouds, as if, give the night sky a red hue and hide the stars, The moon peeps from within and – like someone close – asks Why don’t you sleep in the open? Weren’t even the warm summers – under the stars – dear then? As the train tries to cradle me to sleep in the shaky silences, I ask me: Why? And to the night sky: Can I make amends? ** Barren landscape was lovely the last time I rolled on tracks here, Rains have added that chutzpas: akin to pineapple in a salad, Green small carpets hide some rocks and bring out the beauty of others, Sun, as if, acts human and wants to do both: flirt with clouds and play with rocks. ** Sights and smells of clouds and rains as the train moves: induce endearing silences ~ Just love(d) getting wet at the door ~ The window brings forth ‘open-ness’ which is as intoxicating now as it was fascinating then: during childhood days ~ Yes: the questions have changed ~ The younger me...

Some random thoughts from recent train journeys ** About an hour from Delhi – I see - An absolutely stunning August landscape Green of the flowing bajra Earthly brown of the huts against the lively colours of flowing chunris worn by women Amidst these - two pairs of snow white Sarus Cranes stand tall ** How I wish to walk into the untamed open lands - I see from the train Climb these rocks up and down - touch the trees and lie down As I look at the sky high above Different species of birds - I happen to see Some I recognize and others not - wonder what they indicate – if at all Feel good to not know too much of nature - mystery is good at times ** Train moves on - as trains do It’s touch makes the signals go red As it overtakes the Egrets in the green vastness - dotted by electricity towers Rains hit my - fresh from sleep - face Time - as if -gets the train swagger ** Hillocks appear small and also vast at same time Wonder i...