M is for Monasteries !

I love visiting Monasteries and have been fortunate enough to see quite a few of them in Himachal Pradesh and off course in Ladakh. The biggest difference between the Monasteries in both these places is that the ones in Himachal are all bright and vibrant colors. On the other hand most of the Monasteries in Ladakh  are rather austere.

The terrain is totally different too. Himachal Pradesh, though at a very high altitude is very green. The Himalayas there look very friendly and benign.  Ladakh on the other hand is nothing but barren landscape and black jagged sharp edged mountains that look rather menacing !

We started off with the Lamayuru Monastry near Alchi. To reach Alchi, we passed the Confluence of the Indus and Zanskar river.

A prayer flag flutters over the confluence of the Indus and the Zangskar river - The dark muddy one is the Indus and the one in lighter shade is the Zangskar. You can clearly see the confluence.

 Lamayuru is supposed to be near what was a glacial lake centuries ago. The Lansdscape there is Known as the Moon Landscape. 

When You see it, you  do get an impression that you are not standing on Planet earth but have been taken to another planet.The landscape is eerily like that of the surface of the Moon. It has  a beauty and grandeur of it own. 

The landscape continued to be brown and muddy with no sign of greenery. A few houses clung precariously to the side of the mountain.

The Lamayuru Monastery signified everything Ascetic and Austere.

The young lamas added some color and cheer ! 

The Meditation Chamber for the monks - It stands alone symbolizing abstinence  and solitude.

The inside of the Monastery was bright and colorful, contradicting sharply with the drabness outside !

The next Monastery we visited was the Likir Monastery.
On our way, we saw prayer flags everywhere. Guiding and protecting us on our Journey !

The Likir Monastery, as compared to Lamayuru was a little more colorful ! 

I loved the windows and the corridors ! 

The windows in the above corridor opened to a magnificent view ! 

The colorful drums inside the prayer room ! The yellow robes are worn by the monks and they leave them behind after they finish their prayers. It seems as if the robes are guarding their  places !

The Likir Monastery is most famous for the 23 meter high gilded gold statue of Maitreya or the Future Buddha.

L is for the Loch Ness Monster !

About two years back, I decided to go in Search of the Loch Ness Monster.
I decided to fly to Edinburgh and then Drive all the way through Scotland to the Loch Ness.

I am glad that I decided to drive, because the journey was breathtakingly beautiful.

We drove through emerald green hills dotted with sheep.

And we saw some beautiful Lakes. 

The Mountains were in a playful mood. They kept hiding and then peeping coyly from Behind the clouds.

Finally we reached Loch Ness. Loch means Lake in Scottish.
There is a beautiful castle near the Lake. Called the Urquhart Castle. 

We decided to climb it. It was not easy because it was very cold. The wind was icy, blowing straight from the lake and it hit us like sharp Needles. 

But the view from the top was so worth it ! 

From the castle we trekked down to the lake, to do what we had come to do. Search for the Loch Ness Monster in the wide expanse of the Lake. 

And as got on a boat for one of the most enchanting rides of our lives, we saw that we were not the only ones searching for the Monster. There were other boats too !

Finally in the distance, we did manage to see something ! Was it the

Monster.
Wait .. are there two of them ! 

K is for Khaadi !

Khaadi – the hand spun cloth that was once such an integral part of India’s Freedom Struggle!

In our home Khaadi is not just a piece of cloth. It is a tradition, a reminder of a whole bygone era. My grandfather was very active in the freedom struggle and he resolved to always wear Khaadi in support of the Swadeshi movement. He even had a Charkha (spinning wheel) that he used, to spin cotton into thread. 

Mahatma Gandhi's Charkha at Sabarmati Ashram ! 

Till his dying day, My grandfather wore nothing but clothes bought at the Khaadi Bhandar. My images are of him always in a pure white Kurta Pyajama and a Khaadi Jacket that he used in winter. If he had to dress formally, He would wear a black Sherwani  on top of his Kurta. White kurtas pajamas - Crisp and starched and a Black Sherwani unadorned by anything except his pocket watch - It was the ultimate chic look. 

My cousin chose to wear the same attire on his wedding, disregarding the fancy Achakans and Sherwanis that Grooms favor these days. It was his way of honoring our grandfather. 

My aunts and Father wore Khadi for a while and then the lure of silk and chiffon was too much for my aunts ! 

The task of carrying on the Khaadi tradition fell on me! 

As long as I remember I have worn Khaadi. In the beginning I might have been influenced by my Grandfather. But then I genuinely found it to be very comfortable. Khaadi may seem like a rough cloth to many but for me it has a certain homey and snug feeling. Its a misconception that Khaadi jackets and kurtas come only in either white or a dull green. They come in all designs and colors and you have a lot to choose from!

The great thing about Khaadi is that it’s cool in summer and really warm in winter. I have lived my teens and university years in jeans and Khaadi Kurtas. I had, and still have kurtas of every color.  

Once I entered JNU my obsession with khaadi increased and when I added a Cotton Jhola to go with my attire I became an integral part of the JNU Jhola culture!

I use a lot of Khaadi Jackets in winter and believe me they are my saviors in the harsh Delhi winters. I think they look really ethnic and smart when worn with jeans and a full sleeved shirt or top. You can wear them with your Salwar Kameez as well ! Over the years my loyalty has shifted from Khadi Bhandars to Fab India. It’s been my favorite haunt since my University days! 

Khaadi is now considered the attire of intellectuals - Specially in Delhi. Someone wearing Khaadi is automatically labeled as either a journalist or a writer or someone in the field of arts like dramatics !

Khaadi may not be very popular among the general public these days but I do believe that it is a integral part of our legacy and something that we should not forget!

J is for Jewellery !

I am not too much into Jewellery. But I do love my Silver. 

Specially if it is the intricate kind 

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker 

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker 

Or has pretty flowers on it :P 

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker  

Photo Credit - Sangeeta Khanna 

Sometimes I prefer stones ..

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker 

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker 

Photo Credit - Indian Home Maker 

I dont like Chunky Jewellery but sometimes, its too pretty to resist :P 

This one has been clicked by a cousin ! 

As I have mentioned credit for most of the photos goes to the Indian Home Maker and Sangeeta Khanna. Both of them marvelous photographers ! 

I like wearing jewellery and they like to click it :P 

I is for Introverts !

I have been bestowed with many compliments by people who don’t know me too well. I have been labeled as shy, reclusive (well this one is not too incorrect!!), haughty and arrogant.

The truth is I am just an Introvert! And we Introverts are such a misunderstood lot! Introverts take a lot of time to open up and be comfortable with people, and till then we prefer to speak and interact as little as possible.And so we are misunderstood as being arrogant !
It is not as if we don’t like people. Off course we like people – from a distance!

Frankly we just prefer not to surround ourselves with all sorts. We are extremely selective about whom we want to associate with. An Introvert will always have a few close friends she is extremely loyal to rather than have a whole bunch of friends and acquaintances. We are intensely private people. We don’t like to share our feelings and emotions with everybody.

And it’s not as if we don’t like to talk at all. Off course we do! The truth is that we suck at small talk! Conversations about trivial things simply don’t interest us. Put us in a social gathering and ask us to make conversation and we fail miserably. Give us 1-2 people who share the same interests as us and look how voluble we get!

In social gatherings unless I know the people very well I will be the one speaking the least. People who speak too much actually irritate me and I generally remove myself from the surroundings as soon as possible.

We also hate getting noticed. We prefer to do things quietly in the background rather than try to be in the limelight.

Introverts live more in their inner world than the outer world. We like being with our own thoughts. I tend to feel drained and tired if I have been in the company of others for long. I then usually wander off on my own to get my few hours or even minutes of solitude. If that is not possible, I try to retreat inside and block out the others.Some people get recharged by being with others. We get recharged by being alone and by turning our thoughts inwards.

People don’t seem to understand how I can like being alone. But there is a very big difference in being lonely and being alone. I cherish my alone time. I can spend hours in solitude, reading, writing, dreaming or just watching the world whizz past. I love travelling solo, alone with my thoughts, soaking in the surroundings, exploring and doing things my own way!

We Introverts don’t have much use for words. Not for the spoken ones anyway. All our feelings and emotions come out though the written words. We are not too good about expressing ourselves verbally and sometimes that is not a very god thing !

It’s becoming more and more difficult for introverts to survive in today’s world. In these days of social media and instant friendships, we tend to feel a little lost. Having few friends is what is just not acceptable these days.

Over the past few years I have made an effort to be more vocal and expressive, especially over the social media. People who know me online tell me that I am a different person when they see me in person because I tend to me more reserved and shy when I am meeting someone for the first time, even if I know that person online!

I love being an introvert, this is the way I am and this is the way I feel the most comfortable. But over the years I have actually made a little effort to be more social. If I may borrow the words of Shail Mohan of Shail’s Nest  - I am now an “Introvert in the garb of an Extrovert!”

I don’t think I could have put it more succinctly than that!