"not all who wander are lost" -tolkien

Gaeboo Achyok 278th Birth Anniversary

2009-12-20T18:52:00.009+05:30

Today was the 278th birth anniversary of Pano Gaeboo Achyok, a brave Lepcha warrior who defended his bastion and revolted against the invaders and oppressors of the 17th century. He was believed to be an excellent general who fought and sacrificed his life for the “Lepcha civilization.” He is fondly remembered on December 20th of every year and is commemorated for his contribution to Lepcha society.
Today he has become a symbol of hope and unity as the birth anniversary celebration of Pano Gaebo Achyok brings together the Lepcha community who are fast becoming a micro-minority in their land of origin. There is a hope that the Gaeboo Achyok celebrations continue to arouse the forgotten nationalism from within the community and outside.
Above pics are the young Lepcha generation in their traditional. Aachuley!

people person

2009-12-18T21:11:00.004+05:30

When I was in college, I said I was a people person
for the "residence assistant" interview.
I don't know what I meant when I said that,
but that was me -a people person.

I didn't get the job,
I became editor of the college newspaper instead.
The Broad Street Journal.

Indian Train

2009-12-11T07:24:00.008+05:30

Nothing, I reflected, unites India the way the trains do. People from every part of the country are brought to the same bogey... from every stratum of the society to the same platform.

Never does chaos, the hallmark of our nation, look so picturesque. Never is it more colourful. Never does noise, a blend of the train's snort, the engine's whistle, the chai-walah's rattle, the vendor's cry, the traveller's murmur, bring such brightness to the heart.

______

To understand what India is, I reflected, one must travel in a train. The window in a train is not an ordinary window; it is a window to the richness and diversity of India. How vegetation, terrain, people change effortless as one passes through the country in a train is an amazing spectacle. Nohing provides a more complete paranoma of India as the window of a train does.

-Tushar Raheja in Anything for you, ma'am

love and ethnicity

2009-12-03T18:09:00.000+05:30

i asked a friend why she broke up with her boyfriend.
"umm... ethnic problem!" she responded.
i let a big laugh out loud.
as she added, "just kiddin'"
i didn't want to laugh anymore.
because despite the "just kiddin'"
i knew there was truth in "ethnic problem"

i then wonder who the winner is
between
love and ethnicity.

Rock 4 Life 2009

2009-12-01T19:27:00.008+05:30

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, Shillong hosted its first Rock4Life concert with eight Northeast bands...

The bands included Soulmate (Meghalaya), Digital Suicide (Assam), Scavenger Project (Mizoram), Recycle (Manipur), Alive (Sikkim), Native Rising (Nagaland), Horjwlai (Tripura), and Alien Gods (Arunachal Pradesh).

It was good times.
Concerts in Shillong are the best and this one did not disappoint us either.
The bands were rocking and the crowds were rolling...

It's gonna be a good December! ( I can feel it)

inspired by the november wind...

2009-11-21T17:19:00.004+05:30

police bazar in mid-november

2009-11-19T19:56:00.005+05:30

chop chop

2009-11-16T15:12:00.007+05:30

This tree is still alive and strong.
But a firewood collector decided to chop a bit here and a bit there; unfortuantely it was from the bottom. I find this very disturbing and lacking common sense. But then, how do I make her understand? She needs her fire. It is cold in Shillong.

creep on in

2009-11-09T20:26:00.003+05:30

there's a big ol' hole
goes right through the sole
of this old shoe,
and the water on the ground
ain't got no place else its found
so it's only got one thing left to do
jus,
Creep on in
Creep on in...

-Norah Jones

urban hypocrite

2009-11-07T18:40:00.003+05:30

We don't live with nature anymore, we exploit, rearrange, and even suppress it and then fool ourselves into believing that we lead normal lives..."

-Pema Wangchuk in Walking with the Dokpas

family portrait

2009-10-16T09:05:00.004+05:30

dad was listening to his radio.
mom was chopping potatoes.
son played his video game.
a regular family portrait
with the sidewalk
as their home.

Ferry on the Hooghly

2009-10-13T18:25:00.004+05:30

Sealdah to Barrackpore (train): Rs. 7.00
Barrackpore to Junction (auto): Rs. 4.50
Juction to Ghat (rickshaw): Rs. 5.00
Ferry on the Hooghly: Rs. 2.50
River Bank to Serampore College (rickshaw): Rs. 15.00
(in case you want to travel the road less traveled?...)

Momo in Kol

2009-10-11T21:18:00.002+05:30

feels uncharacteristic of the city.
Kol is more of a roll city.
I love them chicken rolls from a crowded Gariahat stall.

road art expression

2009-10-10T07:04:00.005+05:30

Park Street, Kolkata

Kolkata Kolors

2009-10-08T21:31:00.008+05:30

Sunday Snacks

2009-10-04T16:28:00.005+05:30

Sunday scene outside Bom Church, Middle Bom Busty, Kalimpong.
This rotiwala is a regular without fail.

local dragon wonder

2009-10-01T23:45:00.007+05:30

M.G. Marg, Gangtok, Sikkim

hidden talent(s)

2009-09-25T06:43:00.004+05:30

I can bribe the TT and get an AC seat even when I am # 63 on the waiting list in Kanchenjunga Express.
But I guess I can also sleep away when somebody opens my bag and steals away my fone.
Nonethess, I love the Indian Railways...

Indian mind.

2009-09-21T07:10:00.003+05:30

All the convergent influences of the world run through this society: Hindu, Moslem, Christian, secular; Stalinist, liberal, Maoist, democratic socialist, Gandhian.
There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind.

-Shashi Tharoor in India: From Midnight to the Millennium

happiest in neutral

2009-09-19T14:12:00.006+05:30

But even at those times, when he was the centre of everybody's attention, there was always something a little detached about his manner. He did not seem to want to make friends with the people he was talking to, and that perhaps was why he was happiest in neutral, impersonal places--coffee houses, bars, street-corner addas--the sort of place where people come, talk and go away without expecting to know each other any further.

-Amitav Ghosh in The Shadow Lines

'tis him again

2009-09-13T17:33:00.005+05:30

he walked
barefoot
many miles
many days
long strides
same pace
looking
searching...

still unfound.

money change

2009-09-08T19:37:00.006+05:30

he was
a painter
he was
poor

he saw
quick money
abandoned
his brush
pocketed
hard cash

he became
a thief

weeping willow

2009-08-29T09:22:00.004+05:30

swallowed
its tears
forgot
its sorrow
instead,
stood strong
and lent
comforting shoulder
for those
wanting
to cry.

that light

2009-08-28T20:52:00.001+05:30

not the morning sun
not the setting sun
but before
and after
illuminating
a dusty shade
a polluted stare.

is it that crazy?

2009-08-28T10:29:00.008+05:30

Kolkata is a crazy place.
Its premier football clubs have different fish as mascots, and the price of these in the market shoots up or falls with a thud depending on which team is the winner of the match on a given day.

-P.G. Tenzing in Don't Ask Any Old Bloke for Directions:
A Biker's Whimsical Journey Across India.
(but that's the one description i like from this book)