For the longest of time (read seven years), I managed to keep aloof of the euphoria that is GoT. Despite friends, cousins and family imploring me to watch ‘just one-episode to get hooked’, I held out for as long as I could.
Until, the summer of 2018, that is- when I found myself ‘out-of-action’ and basically bundled onto a bed for a couple of months. It was troublesome for me, having a leg encased in an uncomfortable and itchy cast, perched up on pillows, sitting/lying and watching the world go by… without me.
And that’s when I bit the bullet as it were, and watched that very first episode of season 1. As Bran says in the end to Jon, I too think I was exactly where I was supposed to be- watching it! 🙂 Before I realized, I was waiting for winter too (quite literally, it was a hot summer, after all).
My life got engulfed by the lovable Starks, the scheming Lannisters, the Stallion worshiper Dothrakis, the Targaryens, Castle Black, the un-dead White Walkers and the heads of numerous Lords and Graces flying in the air. Quite gory, one would say, but, hey, all is fair in love and the ‘Iron Throne’. 😉
GoT of course didn’t change my life in any way but provided terrific entertainment when I needed it the most. The fantasy-political drama with witty and cunning characters of RR Martin was my escape, a holiday of a sort, right from my bed.
Printed in The Pioneer, April 13, 2019
Printed in The Pioneer, May 21, 2019
There is a plethora of good TV series out there. However, it was Breaking Bad (2008-2013) that first broke all records for the greatest television of all time. One of the first series that I binge watched, it was hard not to sympathise with the high-school chemistry teacher turned meth maker Walter White (dying of lung cancer). Cooking meth from an RV ‘The Krystal ship’ along with his student Jesse, the trajectory of Walter going from a meek teacher to being Heisenberg, a drug producer was bewitching. I used to be riveted to the edge of my seat every time his DEA brother-in-law Hank, the local gangs or the cartels came calling him.
And then, Game of Thrones. Ironically, after eight seasons, there is no throne left to sit on. Very much like in my life where nothing is permanent. Not the lowliest of the lows or the highest of the highs- everything is fluid and transient.
It is, alas time to bid adieu to the kingdom of Westeros.
But, here is another summer, full of unending possibilities.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
My previous two camping treks were when I was still in school and as such, though I must have noticed, but I did not truly appreciate the beauty of my surroundings. It was more of an ‘exercise’ trip, and it helped that after each of those trips, I came back 5-6 kgs lighter. 🙂
I had been looking to go for camping/trekking for a while and this trip came as a great opportunity. We travelled through Haridwar, Rishikesh and Joshimath to Auli the starting point of our 5 day trek.
At the Haridwar Ghaat
At Rishikesh
The flower ‘chadawa’ in the Ganga river at Rishikesh
While walking, the rhythm of the breath moving through my body was like the movement of the ocean tides. As I breathed deeply, I learned to sense the breath in this way. It was like discovering that I had a beach front view inside of me. Mindfully walking, breathing, living and enjoying every moment was a novel experience. (‘Sweat the Alphabets, Dance the Digits’) (Taming the Lions) ( Let’s wander where the WIFI is weak )
“THE UNIVERSE IS FULL of magic things, PATIENTLY WAITING for our senses to BECOME SHARPER.”~ Eden Phillpotts
Trek
I was a part of a large group of people hiking and camping to the popular Kuari Pass top. We were also the last group of trekkers before the trail closes for the Monsoon. Providentially, for us, it would be bright and sunny while we hiked, and the rain Gods would open up the minute we reached our campsites. So, luckily, all through the hike we enjoyed all kinds of weather without being inconvenienced by it.
The trek is not as ‘easy’ as my pre-trip research made it sound. At some places, it was very steep climbing and at times with narrow trails with sharp 90 degree cliff drops. However, all the huffing and puffing lead to devastatingly beautiful views which were heavenly to say the least- worth the suntan and the sore limbs. As it is said, “the best views come after the hardest climbs.”
On the way to Tali
Khullara in the background
The steep 90 degree fall on the way to Tali
In fact, I also had a pleasant surprise when on the very first day of the climb at Auli I bumped into a friend I had studied in Melbourne with. It was a pleasant coincidence that he was there holidaying with his wife. Such a small world!
Focus
In any outdoor activity, the focus completely shifts from us as individuals to our surroundings- making them the natural center-stage. Throughout my treks, the focus moved from the green rolling hills that were our campsites to the snow-capped mountains that glistened on the horizon. Sometimes, it was the soft clouds drifting in-between us as we made our somewhat arduous walk, and sometimes it was the angry dark clouds bellowing at us from above.
Gorson Bugyal campsite
Khullara campsite
The pitter-patter of rain as we sat huddled in our tents with our cups of hot soup or curled up in our sleeping bags. Or, in sharp contrast, the clear starry evening sky, with the smoke curling up from the cooking tents as the meals were being prepared.
There were the gurgling sounds of fresh water streams we hopped across on our trails, small ponds awash with rain water, and wild strawberries and berries that grew with abandon in the forests as we trudged past them. Alternate to that were the patches of farmlands in the villages we criss-crossed with their organic produce of potatoes, rajma, apricots and colourful flowers.
Wild Strawberries!
Rain water pond
The grazing sheep, the mooing cows, the tottering ponies, the sheep dogs that followed us… it was nature at its best. It suspended all my anxieties, thoughts and trepidation making them trivial in front of the the vastness and expansiveness of the Universe.
Sheep scurrying past our camp
Many a time, I found myself sitting in silence over-looking the deep gorges with a mighty river meandering in the distance, or on large branches of trees staring into nothingness as birds hummed in the background. As a quote I read by Jon Kabat Zinn says, “Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing, both in stillness and in activity”.
Gastronomical Delight
It feels slightly odd to talk about this, especially on a camping trek, where food is nourishing, but quite basic. In a delightful break from my previous treks, the food served at every camp here was a delight. Though vegetarian, the zeal with which the cooks whipped up not just North-Indian, but South Indian, Chinese and Italian cuisines with a selection of desserts, evening tea-time snacks and different soups would give any eatery in the city a run for its money.
Chola Bhatura
Lunch -Rajma Chawal
I could not believe that after a tiring day I was having steaming hot macaroni, Chinese Manchurian, noodles, pani puri, samosa, cream of mushroom soup, idli, sheerkhurma, gulab jamun (the list is endless) at high altitudes in dense forests and grasslands, with no motor-able roads for kilometres, no electricity and completely cut away from any other civilization.
Needless to say, I doubt anyone of us lost any weight on this trip! Haha…
My parents, some family members and close friends have also advocated these to me. Everyday messages on the same lines flood my inboxes…these messages are fantastic to read, but can they be really practised in our daily lives?
Is it so easy and life altering to change thoughts ingrained in our psyche over the years?-thoughts ranging from self-doubt, loneliness, anger and other negative feelings that crowd through us every day?
Passing through a challenging period in my life right now, I desire to try to bring a change in the way I think. I chance upon an app in the App Store and try their ‘7 days of calm and happiness’ to see if it is easy to feel these despite the daily challenges.
Day 1: A few minutes of concentrating on my breathing and trying to calm myself down. Every few seconds I find my mind wandering, but I calmly bring it back to my breathing.
Next is a 10 minute session on feeling gratitude for all that I actually have in life. Wow! I do have a lot of blessings to count!
Day 2: I concentrate better on my breathing- following my breath as it goes in and out is slightly better than day 1. My mind still wanders, but it is easier to bring it back to the task on hand.
This is followed by a session on self-love and realizing my weaknesses without passing judgement on them. Listing my positives and my negatives without criticizing made me feel strangely quite contented.
Day 3: Breathing while concentrating on every part of my body from scalp to toe ensues. I breathe into each part individually trying to feel the signals they send me.
This is followed by an exercise of ‘letting go’. This is not so easy. Letting go of pent up feelings of anger, resentment and past failures and future uncertainties is challenging. While doing the exercise, momentarily, the mind ‘let’s go’, but doesn’t forget.
Day 4: Today’s session is about pulling out of ‘auto-pilot’ and ‘living in the moment’. This is difficult, as my mind is crowded with many thoughts and constantly wavers. But, as the session goes on, it becomes easier to bring it back to concentrate on the breathing exercise.
It is an exercise to appreciate the moment that we are in right now. Though hard, the few minutes of meditation does help bring a perspective to my life.
Day 5: The exercise on concentrating on breathing today involves taking breaks through the day to ‘do nothing’. Again, my mind wanders, but it is easier than earlier to bring it back. Breathing into each part of my body- the knots in my shoulders and back though they don’t dissolve completely, but they feel softer.
The session to embrace uncertainty and look at it is an opportunity is an ideal situation, but requires lot of effort.
Day 6: The session today is about building patience and better mental and physical health. Counting 1 as I take a deep breath saying 2 as I breathe out helps to maintain my focus on breathing. The first few times the mind is concentrated, but again it wavers. It requires an effort to leave the comfort of ‘thoughts’ to bring it back to concentrating on breathing.
Apart from breathing into different parts of the body to soften them, the exercise also urges us to breathe into our emotions and feelings. As I do that, I feel a softening of my anger- I feel less angry at certain things that have been troubling me.
Day 7: Today is the last day of the exercise. It wishes to inculcate being ‘aware’ and taking time out for hobbies and other leisure interests. The exercise is about breathing into each part of my body one after the next and only feeling the signals they send me and not alter them. It is a fairly long session and as everyday it is a challenge to keep my mind only on the breathing.
The next part of the session urges me to think about the last time I laughed, and what I like to do for a hobby or my idea of relaxation. It is a jolt to me that I cannot find answers to these basic questions right away. As I breathe in and out trying to soften my tense muscles, it makes me think about them.
Doing craft is my hobby and I remember feeling so creative and joyful every time I made something. The session inspired me to decorate some pieces.
Focusing only on breathing and not thinking about anything else is hard. Meditation is not something that I look forward to do daily. But practising it this past week, I do sense a change in me, however small, but it is unmistakably there. I feel calmer and more accepting of my circumstances. It has served as a reminder for the many good things in my life, instead of only focussing on the not-so-good.
I haven’t tamed all the raging lions in my mind, but they feel more pliable now. (Published!)
Here and There