Magic of Monsoon

Monsoon is best enjoyed with a cup of coffee in hand in a quiet corner near a window. I am sitting near this huge window in my house which allows me to be a spectator to the whole drama nature puts up before it starts to rain. It's like foreplay or a precursor to a grand theatre...a build up to something magnificent. First grey clouds cover up the lazy monsoon sun. Then there is an invisible choreographer who guides the plants, leaves and tress to dance and rhythmically move to music we all can't hear. Or it just dies down in the noises of city life. The noises increase as people rush to reach 'somewhere' before it starts raining. Cars speed up. Motorcyclists are in a rush. People can be seen running. But nature doesn't care. Like a focused actor performing on stage, it goes on. It can only hear the secret music. Clouds cast a shadow. It gets dark, darker, darker.... Trees sway in celebration. The sound of the breeze is pleasant. And then - pitter, patter, pitter, patter drops fall....sometimes slowly and sometimes like they are on a mission. You are left wanting for more, sometimes. You are dreading the potholes, blocked sewer, puddles, et al.

Nature, of course, doesn't care. Birds are chirping. There must a peacock dancing somewhere in the jungles. Fresh flowers must have bloomed. Mountains that were barren when I visited them in March must be lush green now. What can be more beautiful time than this to please your senses. This is one of the very few times when I don't feel like packing my bags and going somewhere. I'm simply happy being here and admiring nature as a mere spectator. 

Jungle Calling - Jim Corbett

“Pack your bags. We are leaving for Corbett at 6 tomorrow morning.” The jungle was calling. With a two-day break from work staring at us and a
dozen plans made and cancelled, we finally zeroed in on Jim Corbett.

More than visiting the wild, this trip was meant to be a respite from a monotonous routine. So instead of staying in a cottage somewhere inside the jungle, we chose a lush resort offering everything from perfect rooms and clean pool to a sports room and decent food. That certainly isn’t a nature lover’s complete delight. You are close yet far. But there is something so fascinating about the Corbett that leaves you enthralled even as you are near it.

Corbett is a six-hour drive from Delhi that is if you don’t take frequent breaks (like we did) and know your way right (we didn’t). We took longer than that and couldn’t help but pounce at the lunch like the hungry tiger, we all were hoping to see. The safari requires a permit from the forest department and the timings change with season.

Entering the jungle in evening was highly improbable so we decided to spend time swimming and chit-chatting. But when you are in conversation with the wilderness all you want to do is sit silent and stare at the untamed beauty in front of you. And as night descends the voices around you seem more real and you become aware of the predators some or many kilometres away. We lit a fire and sat around it joking about the rendezvous with ferocious animals of the jungle the next morning.




If darkness makes the jungle intriguing then early hours of dawn make it even more charming and mysterious. Sitting on a jeep we were ready with our cameras to quickly take a snapshot of whatever we saw of over “580 varieties of birds, 25 reptile species and 110 kinds of trees”.


They say you could spot a tiger if you are lucky. Guess we were quite an unlucky lot. We saw nothing to boast of except a few beautiful birds, wild hen, spotted deer and some admirable flora. It was only later we were told that the bright pink I wore like other members of the group are a strict no-no.

Then there are a few tricks and signs that alert you of animals around. So, it’s best to have a guide or someone familiar with the jungle with you when you are out on a hunt for wild animals. But even if you don’t spot any, there is nothing too disappointing since the experience of being in the forest is worthwhile.

Fiery Shades of Fall

Strolling on stony streets
Mind full of rocky dreams
Thousand doubts in my mind
No way I see, only bars I find

Autumn sky is dark and gray
Taking my light far away
Dying leaves sadden me
They'd leave behind barren tree

Until thy beauty I behold
And let you make me your own
With your touch and divine embrace
I see the beauty in your grace

Your glory filled my soul
And your love made me whole
No stones I see
No doubts blind me

When beauty marries peace
Silence hears what silence speaks
There are messages in fallen leaves
Love will not let trees die
They'd rather help a poet write
And make a painter's work worthwhile

Beach Sand In My Shoes....

Dusky evening in its spring
Takes the shining sun with it,
Dressing the sky with seven colours
Letting it be kissed by the sea......

Standing near the beach, I wonder
What can I take with me?

Water dancing to tunes of flowing breeze
Making waves come and kiss my feet
Carefree waves, playful like the children around,
Revel in the ...unheard song

Marvelled by the mysticism, I wonder
What can I take along?

Lying below is the vulnerable sand
Embedding my feet with water's kiss,
Is a bed to a thousand shells
And castles that people make....

Awed by its affability I wonder
What from it can I take?


With all these soaked in my soul,
There is nothing I can choose
There is nothing I can lose
And I walk away with peace in my heart
and beach sand in my shoes.......