Saturday, April 23, 2016

It was me!!

He kept staring at me,
for I knew not what was it with me!!

He seemed to laugh with me,
When I laughed with an open heart!!

He was weeping the loudest,
As I sat quietly and wept on my sorrows!!

He seemed to tell me of my moves,
even before I crossed them!!

As I wandered in my lost world,
It kept guiding me, though I ignored him!!

When I heard him, the glass seemed to have shattered,
For once I felt, I was one with him..

It was the force that always guided me...
Waiting only to be met at the crossroad of realisation!!

It was me!!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Perceptive Scare!!

It was my first time travel to Europe and more so to fashion and cultural hub, Paris. As usual a lot of my friends had given me a cautious warning about the thugs and petty thief prevalent in Paris, more so you are all alone there...

"Be careful about your passport and money"

Oh boy!! I was almost clutching and checking on my pockets for my passport and purse the moment I landed at CDG airport. Felt being foolish and stupid doing that... Anyway, the tape recorded had started playing and I was dancing to its tune. I found out about the metro and got in. The moment I sat down, it seemed everyone was waiting to snatch my little money and the passport. As the train chugged along, I was distracted by the beauty of the nature outside and i stopped playing the record. But with every stop, it would come back.. "Do you see that white guy looking like a thug?? That black guy, that asian.. oh boy!!"..

As the train stopped at "Gard du Nord", I stepped out with my luggage and tried to talk to someone, who outright said, "No English" and I lost in French translation.. blinking.. Someone, spoke to the cops and made my way out of the station. As I stepped out, I felt I was back in India, with the litter and beggars stretched out. I held my luggage tighter after zipping up my jacket... I even avoided making an eye contact with any one, till I realised that my GPS was out and what worked was only the map that I had printed out with the route.. But, "Which is north and east, the paper could not move like a compass".. Grr, Sid... take hold of yourself and ask!!" That seemed to have woken me up somewhere, and I started asking every passerby... after some five attempts one guy seemed to know english and he helped me... I literally started running through the deserted lanes... the words kept coming back again... "Your PASSPORT, your MONEY"... After running for close to 1 1/2 kms, I reached the nearby metro close to the hotel I was to check in. And that place was swarming with people who were trying to sell cigarettes to things that seemed inappropriate.. Couple of them approached and I ran as if I was on a mission of being invisible and not to be traced.

Well somehow I managed to reach my hotel and once in the room, took stock of what had happened and why?? That late evening I again stepped out and just wandered around the streets. Realised that

  • I was over-reacting. Yes I needed to be guarded but not to the extent of panicking. I was asking for more trouble.
  • I lost out on enjoying the space around me and the beauty of the place. I had some moroccan food that evening that I did not even notice.
  • While returning back, I realised how beautiful Gard du Nord station was. I paused and took some pics, soaked in the beauty and walked towards my train to CDG.. 
  • I have a choice of saying no, taking action rather than playing simply to the tune of my head, which seems looking for trouble rather than looking for some beauty around.
I must say that, I really learnt the choice that day and it helped me in the next few days that I stayed and roamed around the place.. It is amazing!!! more was the Choice of clearing the Perceptive scare.... :)