New Year. . .New Beginnings

Happy New Year (Source: Google Images)

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning…

 ~T.S.Eliot

As the hands of the clock continue their journey on their pre-defined path, we are just a few hours away from the midnight hour when this year will eventually pass making way for the newer one to come. The arrival of the New Year has always been a source of elation and exhilaration to everyone as it marks the ending of the instant year with all the good-bad things it did to you. However, in strict sense, ending doesn't really mean The End but the start of the New Beginning and hence the beginning of the new year. While the ending emits the negative feel, the beginning ushers the much needed positivity!!

Pensive Reflections. . .Dec 29 2014

Sometimes you just feel the need of having that remote which enables you to regulate the record of your life...enable you to rewind some, enable you to forward some and (most importantly) enable you to pause some moments.

...not always, just sometimes !!!

~ Shubh Life. .Om Sai Ram

Movie Review: PK

PK Movie Review (Source: Google Image)

Movie Details. . .

·         Title: PK

·         Director: Raj Kumar Hirani

·         Music: Shantanu Moitra, Ajay-Atul and Ankit Tiwari

·         Genre: Comedy / Drama

·         Running Time: 153 Minutes

·         Language: Hindi

·         Rating: 3.75/5

Plot Summary. . .

PK is a story of an alien who lands on earth on some research mission with his spaceship debarking him in a remote village in Rajasthan. However, no sooner does his feet lay on earth, he finds himself stranded on his newly found haven with his remote control stolen by someone (Welcome to THE EARTH, Mr. Alien). The remote control is indispensable for his return to his planet as this is suppose to give signal to his space ship to come back. The movie explores his tryst with his destiny and also the struggle he faces on his journey of searching for his stolen remote control.

~Together Forever ~

Source: Google Images

***The customs and practices of the world are such that these, at times, forbid the union of two loving hearts…the love binds them together but the customs tears them apart. These verses represent the agony of the tearing heart who wants to defy the rules of the world to create a world for themselves ***

When you have no light to guide you

And no one to walk beside you

I’ll come to you O’ dear

I’ll come for you O’ dear

The irony of being December, the Sixteenth. . .

Peshawar Attack on Dec 16 2014 *Source: Google Images

It’s been exactly two years since the 23 Year old Delhi’s daughter Nirbhaya was brutally gang raped by six men, showcasing the need to immediately address the cause of woman safety in the capital. That was brutality at its worst with the fighting soul finally gave up the struggle of her life after few days of torment. Was that the price she paid for being an independent soul in an independent country or for being democratic in the world's largest democracy? She finally left leaving us entangled in the web of so many questions, compelling us to introspect as to where we were currently and where we were heading. Is this the society we, our martyrs and our fighters aspired for their next generation? The day that witnessed that horrific incident was December, the Sixteenth.

Time passed and these introspection perhaps took the back seat with we all adopting the most comfortable manner of tackling with the things – it happens. Unfortunately, those questions came haunting back to us with the recent rape of another girl in uber cab just a few days back. Has something really changed? Can something really change?

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It was again that dubious December, the Sixteenth this year which witnessed another flagitious act of killing of more than hundred small children on the other side of the border. It was again the same date, the humanity was again embarrassed and the innocent was again victimized. Same web questions again cropped their head demanding answers. Where is this world actually heading towards and where has that thing called 'Humanity' gone? How else would one defend the killing of innocent children in Peshawar district of Pakistan today? What reason could one attribute to such a barbarian act?

~ गुलदस्ता-ए-ग़ज़ल (Guldasta-e-Ghazal) / Bouquet-of-Ghazal ~

Source: Google Images

~~~ Ghazal in Hindi ~~~

हुई शब की दस्तक की निकलाया चाँद

अक्स-ए-रुख़ यूँ दिखा की शरमाया चाँद 

थी ज़ुल्फो की साज़िश में अब्र की रज़ा

केसुओं की काली घटा में छुपआया चाँद

कशिश-ए-फ़ुर्क़त की ये कैसी थी गर्दिश

अधूरे से मिलन में यह पूरा आया चाँद

Pensive Reflections. . .Dec 12 2014

It’s such a beautiful world indeed and it has just two people in it – You & Me. Despite this, I fail to understand as to why does you resort to spread anguish and hatred around. There are already so many layers and lines demarcating the hearts of the people, please don’t add more to these. What the world and its inhabitants need is more of love and compassion – spread these and then this would be a more beautiful world with more beautiful people. .

~ Shubh Life. .Om Sai Ram

Trip to Mata Vaishno Devi - Part IV (Kol Kandoli Temple & Deva Mai)

• Read First Part of the Post Here – Reaching Katra & Legend of Mata Vaishno Devi
• Read Second Part of the Post Here - Starting the trek from Base Camp Katra to Adhkuwari
• Read Third Part of the Post Here - Finishing the trek with Mata Rani & Bhairon Baba Darshan
• Read Final Part of the Post Here - Kol Kandoli Temple & Deva Mai

We have completed the trek of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine along-with darshan of Bhairon Temple which is situated about 2 Km further, in our third post. In this last and final post we will visit Kol Kandoli Temple at Nagrota and Deva Mai Temple at Katra. These temples hold a key importance in the Vaishno Devi Pilgrimage as it is said that Mata Vaishno Devi has spent time here granting boons to the devotees. We visited Kol Kandoli temple but couldn’t visit the Deva Mai temple as we were not aware of the same initially. I have gathered some information about the same from the net and given here for the readers interested in the same.

Trip to Mata Vaishno Devi - Part III (Finishing the trek with Mata Rani & Bhairon Baba Darshan)

• Read First Part of the Post Here – Reaching Katra & Legend of Mata Vaishno Devi

• Read Second Part of the Post Here - Starting the trek from Base Camp Katra to Adhkuwari

• Read Third Part of the Post Here - Finishing the trek with Mata Rani & Bhairon Baba Darshan

• Read Final Part of the Post Here - Kol Kandoli Temple & Deva Mai

The holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi is one of the most revered shaktipeeth of Mother Goddess. Infact, this is the second most visited temple in India after Tirupati Balaji in southern part of the country. We completed our trek till Adhkuwari in our last post, which is the half way mark of the ~13 Km trek to Main Bhawan of Mata Rani. As we have read in our second post, there is an alternate way (referred to as new track) for the devotees to undertake the balance track to Main Bhawan, which is 1 Km shorter and relatively less steep than the older way. This new track is located just 500 meters before Adhkuwari at Inderprastha.

It is important to note that the newer track via Himkoti bypasses Adhkuwari and thus, devotees desirous to have darshan of temple and Garbh Gufa at Adhkuwari before going to Bhawan may not take this trek; they can take the Adhkuwari route while coming back from Bhawan. However, one can go to Adhkuwari, take darshan there and reconnect to this new track (there is an option for the devotees to re-connect to this new track from Adhkuwari too).

The first two posts covered our trek till Adhkuwari and the present post will take us till Main Bhawan for Mata Rani darshan and also to Bhairon Ghaati.

Pensive Reflections. . .Dec 03 2014

It’s so surprising to see that the similar state of being alone has varied connotations for different individuals – One who experiences pain calls it ‘Loneliness’ and the one who experience the solace terms it as ‘Solitude’. And for the very few who figures in the later, there is some inherent charm in those moments which makes them not only bearable but also gratifying.

~ Shubh Life. . .Om Sai Ram