Living to the fullest

Friday 4 November 2016

Breathe! Travel Solo

PC: Instagram@nikleo8

We are so busy competing against the world right from reserving that table in our favourite diner to getting that admission in a so called best university, then getting yourself placed in an agency or corporate and so on... Tired! Always in a hurry, so much that we forget to even take a beautiful breath and look around. All we do is run. Run in a race where no one knows what's happening and where we are heading. Give yourself a break from that mundane life, give yourself a chance to know what you exactly want and what your heart wants to do. Travel, Travel Solo

Solo travelling is often looked upon as a person is a loner; has no social life or is a douche. But wait! Solo travelling is taking a courageous step towards connecting with your inner self. Loneliness will pass.

Travel alone, understand what is it that you genuinely want for yourself. It makes you to connect with yourself like never before. Do what you truly want to do and not because someone has asked you to do. Before you enjoy with someone else; entertain yourself- make yourself laugh, go out and grab a drink in that unknown place, all by yourself. Learn something new. Go for that concert where you are not known; talk to people, let your hair down and dance alone in that crowd. Go to that shady place, go trekking with random people you just met, you never know a new beautiful story life has sketched for you. Make those fears your strength and overcome them, so courageously that you fall in love with a new you. Travel. Keep your insecurities, fears and anxiety at bay, give them away to the sea. Take a stroll on the beach all by yourself. Collect those shells, put your creativity at your best with the sand, sit there watching the reflection of the moon on the waves that are coming towards you. Embrace yourself for a beautiful life.

Explore a new city in a public transport, look at the beauty that nature has to show you. Let go off your baggage and learn to live with freedom from all the inhibitions that impeded you to getting close with yourself. Travel. Witness different cultures and traditions, sit with the locals and listen to their stories, share your stories; it is always fun and it widens your knowledge.

Go camping under the sky full of stars and the moon accompanying you through the night. Go to the mountains, trek where you always wanted to go and do that summit you always wanted. Be proud of yourself and give a pat on your back that you have finally taken a step towards happiness. Come out of your comfort zone, embrace the adventures life has to show you. You don't know what's in store for you. Stop contemplating and planning; just LIVE for Once!!

PC: Instagram@nikleo8

Amidst all this, do not forget about safety. Be alert and conscious about everything around you. Take precautions, download safety apps, inform someone close about your whereabouts, be healthy and strong at all time. One thing that has etched in my mind forever, something that my brother told me "If you can't fight, run- run so much that the other person is tired and gives up". But don't let anything come in your way and your happiness, keep going and learn how to live.

Friday 6 May 2016

Antaragange Night Trek!!

When I first landed in Bangalore, I must say, the city did put me off. Coming from Mumbai – a concrete jungle, bustling with life, I could not stop missing home and cribbing about where I had landed. All of this changed when I got acquainted with Sumit who I met through another friend. He was going for a trek the next day! He was crazier than I; and I couldn’t resist but ask him if I could tag along. Luckily he was kind enough to let me do so! Yes, I was finally out for my first trek after coming to Bangalore- Antaragange it is!

A friend of Sumit picked me up from Kormanagla and that’s where the journey began- a road trip!!! Being an adrenaline junkie, bike rides always give me a different kind of rush! We were joined by other riders at Byappanahalli, to become a group of 7 people, all unknown to me! So here I was hanging around with a bunch of strangers in a completely new city!

A little about Antaragange- It’s about 60 kms from Bangalore and approximately takes around one and half to two hours to get there. Unless, you take a detour, like us, which will then take another hour! But let me tell you, it was worth every minute!

The highways of Bangalore are smooth and clear unlike Mumbai which one of the thing I love and appreciate about Bangalore. Despite being a pillion, I wore a helmet all along- how I hated it! But I had strict instructions from my rider Srini; NOT TO REMOVE my helmet or else he would just leave me and go. Hahah!! Srini was a good one- made me talk through the journey- which can be quite a task, for some!

We were all together, making sure none of the riders were left behind. I think that’s what I like about road trips- the amazing amount of trust that binds even unknown people together! And if you are a Pillion, you should have complete trust in the rider- and that I did, completely! He was amazingly good at it- amazing control on the bike even when we hit 110- this guy knew his shit! The roads were pitch dark only to be illuminated by the starlit sky and the ‘moonshine’. Not every day do we get to see such a heavenly view! I was awestruck by the beauty Bangalore had shown me. We went from all the possible lanes that could take us to our destination.

I saw the beauty that night had to offer me- the road seemed serene, with big rocks under the twinkling sky and the cool breeze brushing my face. OMG! Something that I desperately needed- a break from the mundane! We reached the base camp and parked the bikes. Here, a small mosque gave us the certainty that the bikes are going to be pretty safe.

These chaps were all geared up with torches for us to find our way in the dark. We trekked up the hill and found a place to stay for the night. All I did was just sit and gaze at the sky while these guys were preparing for a bonfire and barbeque. They, very sweetly, got me some veg noodles to hog on- good people indeed!! Oh! But how do I eat them?!- Hands bro, hands! No fork scene! What fun it was to lie under the stars and moon on a huge rock, lying down and eating noodles. The moon was at its fantabulous (if there’s a word like that) best in an uncanny yet beautifully gorgeous blood red colour!

We started collecting small twigs, broken branches and dried leaves to light up our bonfire. The place was full of thorny shrubs and one needed to be quite careful. Some set up the bonfire, others did the barbeque and put up the tent. While, all I had to do was keep finding some more small twigs to keep the fire burning!

There was a big rock- that soooo reminded me of the Lion king- Pride Rock!! Yes, that! We were all chilling under it, gazing at the moon and listening to a few epic failed ghost stories by Shushant and Srini.

It gets pretty cool in the night and if you are not the one who can bear the cold wind, carry your jackets or pull overs. I couldn’t bear the cold after a point and went inside the tent to sleep but ended up looking at the dazzling sky from the mesh of the tent.

Finally, I managed to sleep in the morning at around 4- 4:30 a.m. Mr. Sumit Xavier interrupted my sleep at 7 AM. Who does that? Wake up someone and then go back to sleep himself! Well but I’m glad he did that- I went for a small trek jumping the rocks and sitting looking at the sky where the sun and the moon looked at me from above. It was still a bit chilly, but it didn’t bother me much. Then I came back and lied down on a big rock listening to my favourite melodies, enjoying my own company. I think that is what matters the most, when we start enjoying and start being comfortable with our own company, the entire perspective of life and our frame changes. Later, I heard Sumit calling me, well not by my name, he has some short term memory loss issue. Well old age has some baggage after all. Sumit, Shushant and I went on the other side for a small trek. It was scorching hot but we had to go up there. Sumit looked pretty experienced and skilled when it came to treks. He climbed the rock with absolute ease and swiftness. I just went from one rock to another and at one point I was shit scared to even climb it. But I did manage to overcome my fear- well some credits to you, Sumit uncle, for giving me a hand at the peak! I felt like I have done a kalsubai summit. Hahha! Exaggeration, I know! But felt really good. After all, it’s all about the little joys in life- and well, this was a big one for me!

Taking a selfie with the tent was mandatory, I guess! After the selfie session and wrapping up our camp; we found our way to the bikes. While on our way there was a small cemetery which would have freaked us out in the night had we known before; well at least me!!

Well it was a pretty cool place to chill with friends (or even strangers, like in my case).

I definitely recommend this place to the fellow travellers in Bangalore. Go! Go for it! It will definitely be a memorable one!!

Tuesday 19 April 2016

5 reasons why you should practice PARKOUR!!

Parkour, what’s that???? Well it is a form of sports, invented by David Belle, making use of your locomotives in the most efficient ways… Jump, crawl, roll, flip, and get dirty. If you are up for it, go for it, then go explore it. Parkour Mumbai has been home for many Parkour enthusiasts to come together and explore extreme sports in their own way. a few years back it was home for me and I still cherish all the good old memories.