From Lost To Found - I now walk into the wild!

Information Overload:

Amidst all the fights, furore and resulting social media gags on the rebellion of India’s literati against "rising intolerance and growing assault on free speech" and some bollywood actor’s wife’s input to the intolerance debate and countless justifications, I either thumb through other pages of the newspaper or simply stop reading them and grab a book instead.

Withdrawal Symptom:

Lately, I have no job, no deadlines, nor any particular goal agreed to achieve. I am greatly unambitious and annoyingly lazy. Yes, this is the state, although occasional, I call ‘I am vegetating – do not interrupt!’ Calling my maa every now and then, speaking to her about everything (silly) under the sun, making my maids’ work difficult and once in a while picking at my pimples that I would eventually get after all those do-nothing-but-eat-anything regime. (God, please don’t hate me, I never had so many of ‘em on my lovely fair cheek!!) I, sooner or later, start hating selfies, download all sorts of skin perfecting apps on my phone and land up being withdrawn from all social media. I hate to lie (or at least be seen when I do).

Catch Me If You Can:

More often than not, the saving grace has always been reading for me because what I read, I imagine and what imagine, I feel – feeling good or rather happy is important no matter what we do. We tend to overlook the worth of doing nothing at times, absolutely nothing at all, just to find again a new way of life, a new way to be ‘you’! My feelings renewed after taking notice of this book called ‘Into The Wild’ by Jon Krakauer. How I agree “I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.” I felt unsettled a little when I was done with the last page. I was ready for a new page in my life, was I? I questioned and questioned myself. Answer was - yes, a big fat yes to another adventure in life after university, marriage, job – all so perfectly on time. So, I packed my bags, I now knew what I was missing – an escapade. And when the journey began, I “was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life.” I was free. I was in my wildest skin ever.

An Odyssey:

Clear blue sky. Spark in my eyes. On one hand I had a gorgeous lake and on the other, the winding ghats and valleys of Satara, the golden yellow meadows were there to stay in the winters. I am on a road trip. I asked my best friend in crime my husband – are we hitting a Tiger Reserve or a Bird Sanctuary, it’s really been a long disconnect with wildlife – something that keeps us alive? The cool wind gently brushed through my undulating hair, the car playing no music as we both like it either quiet or the music of nature, my question came back with a mutual feeling - we never wanted to reach anywhere but go on and on until it was nature’s call!

And At Last:

And there it was – we were famished and we needed to stop for obvious reasons. A nameless little town with a lot of tall trees and a temple to tickle my fancy. The temple was small yet neat. I prayed. Prayed for happiness no matter what. Very few people and only one restaurant (rather a farmstead giving away extra home-cooked food for money). A chicken curry with two jowar rotis with mango pickle were all we ever wanted – that was how our stomach commanded, really! We didn’t eat. We swallowed every piece of it and burped like we ate an elephant (chuckles)! A hundred for such a juicy (literally, it was. ‘Burp’. Soft and juicy) meal was another big surprise. Next, we thought we would go exploring but….a full stomach is too bad for such lust. We took the luxury of time and sat down on the banks of the river, and kept on sitting there under the shade of a giant tree for hours. A stunning sunset in front of our dewy eyes, we wandered down to nearby sunset point. I watched with an unwavering gaze, as the sun slowly melted into the river, and fading light painted the horizon orange to red to dark blue, until all that was left of the sunset was only darkness over the sky. The wind hardened so did my hand on his.

Into The Wild Heart Again:

I don’t really remember what we talked that unassuming day. The feeling, that sense of calm was sincere and overwhelming – I didn’t know what I was missing by far – All this while he was too busy, too tired and too full to spend time with me who suddenly have all the time for him. (Did God just said, ‘wish granted – happiness it is’) It is cliché what I am trying to confess now! Adventure was just an excuse to be with him because “Happiness is only real when shared”.

BORNEO - WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST NON-CONTINENTAL ISLAND AND A BIO-DIVERSITY HOTSPOT

Although Borneo boasts of one of the largest and most bio diverse landmass of rainforests in the world, yet my first impression was disapprovingly challenged. Our starting point of historical border town Kuching has lost most of its rural heritages in the process of gentrifying - nature has been stripped in place of the flurry of budding industries, and wildlife displaced in the unaware human throng. 

The bed and board choice was wonderfully comfy with the outstanding Borneo Highland Resort giving an immersive, authentic experience. Old-style small wooden chalets with 1-2 bedrooms opening out on the sun terrace are spruced up with sprung mattresses, thick comforters and en-suite shower rooms.  Peaceful it was to observe the undulating Borneo golf course on that full moon night, from my shaded, pillowed lounge on the chalet’s porch.

My husband was still more hopeful to see the greener and wilder Borneo the next day. I couldn’t sleep that night – my heart thrashing the chest and mind introspecting this Borneo decision. Time stood still. I looked out of the window undecidedly – the wind hardened, it was half past eleven!

My notes were spotless as I read in the morning - ‘Borneo is split up into three parts, Sabah and Sarawak which are in the Malaysian part of the island, then Kalimantan on the Indonesian side of Borneo. The sultanate of Brunei is a separate country that sits in between Sabah and Sarawak.’ 

A foggy humid morning greeted us with light spell of rains, we put on the rain coats and boots. Loaded everything aboard and headed to cover Sarawak (and Kalimantan on the next day). 

I have been to a lot of mountains while in India – the ideal visions of the landscape peppered with piles of stones, juniper bushes, white-washed peak, prayer flags carrying worship on the winds – did not match. I was startled to see so much of green on all my sides - pristine nature that defy predictability, deep, dark, steamy jungles to tranquil, imposing mountain tops, where everywhere seemed to be a part of a uninterrupted high definition wildlife documentary.  That was the road leading up to Sarawak highlands. It was euphoric to be able to have my hands wet in the passing fluffy white clouds (I could just lie here all day, and watch them float by with winds stroking my face fondly). What a welcome!

Nature unfolded its untamed wilderness in a significantly less touristy quarter. Every bit the Eden that it was - uncultivated – natural. A treat to all my senses. I could not wait to explore. That night was a sleepless one again – excitement all over. I quickly ran through my notes.

The first time we took the weight off our feet and stared into the jungle in silence, waiting to hear the crash of creaking, breaking branches and see the flash of orange fur - the first sight of an Orang Utan in the wild - was almost supernatural (yes, it is, with so many legends around regarding the orange old man of the jungle and then suddenly when you see – surreal is the correct word). 

There are a number of rehabilitation centres and national parks throughout Borneo where it is possible to do this. Regrettably some of them are awfully touristy (hence, we skipped the Sepilok Orang Utan rehabilitation centre in Sabah and opted Semenggoh in Sarawak which do emphasise conservation and minimise tourist impact on the Orang Utans whilst balancing the fact that they need the MONEY in order to function) .

SEMENGGOH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PARK

The primary purpose here is to protect, care for and rehabilitate wild animals that have been injured, orphaned, mistreated in captivity or otherwise displaced. Here we observed the partly wild Orang Utan in the wild at afternoon feeding time.

TANJUNG PUTING NATIONAL PARK

Located on the tip of Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo, this stunning park is one of the best places in the world to see Orang Utans and other tropical rain forest creatures in their natural milieu as you sail idly down the banks of the Sekonyer river on a ferry.

Kalimantan is a very different innate to its Northern neighbours. More rugged, less developed with far less infrastructure, this is the Borneo that people imagine when they dream of intrepid explorers hacking their way through jungles and coming across undiscovered tribes. 

Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan – although all part of Borneo – are all semi-autonomous states in their own individual rights, so each has their own immigration border controls and you will have to go through immigration every time you cross a border. That goes for Brunei as well. Guides and permits are a must while visiting any part of Borneo, and the costs of these will as well as transport are a lot compared to the rest of Borneo or Indonesia.

We also took a night safari along the highlands of Malaysian Borneo – it was two-sweaters and a scarf cold that night and I had swelling and discomfort due to leech bites that morning. Safari was rewarding with some exceptional species of creepy-crawlies to spot but we could not complete the safari and had to rush back – the chills and fever ruined the show. The husband had a wakeful and I, a fever-smitten unconscious night.

The next day, we had our flight back to KL, my body ached but eyes spangled, we both were contented – unbeatably first-hand experience – bagging some spectacular shots to our credit. Two happier souls going back home with oodles of heavens in the heart to share - tasting Borneo was the best thing we ever did.

We went expecting a Borneo…we came back with an experience much grander and more recompensing!

One word of caution that we learned from our experiences - travellers are strongly recommended to be up to date on their routine vaccinations including MMR, diphtheria, chicken pox, hepatitis A, typhoid and dengue fever.

It is Chinatown - Take a virtual trip!

In the bygone days when Malaysia was famous as ‘Tanah Melayu’ or Malaya, the Chinese had come to this country to work at the tin mines. However, during the Selangor Civil War, the tin mines were temporarily abandoned. The Chinese returned after the war, only to find the mines flooded. Yap Ah Loy, an influential Chinese figure back then, had opened a tapioca mill on Petaling Street in his bid to coax the Chinese to stay on. To this day, Petaling Street is sometimes called ‘Chee Cheong Kai’, meaning ‘Starch Factory Street’ in Cantonese, referring to its history as the centre for the production of tapioca flour back then.

Since then, Petaling Street has been given a makeover. Gone are the patchy roads, broken pavements and colourful umbrellas attached to wooden barrows lining the street on both sides. A green canopy covers the length of the street – a sun and rain armour for the vendors and punters. An Oriental-style abbey with the words ‘Jalan Petaling/Petaling Street’ spelled out in gold letters greets visitors at its main entrance.

Ask anyone who’s been to Malaysia about Petaling Street and they will name it as a bargain hunter refuge, albeit in a different league when compared to its more glamorous counterparts, Bukit Bintang and KLCC. The entire expanse alters into a sprightly night market after dark, with chock-full of kiosks selling all kinds of stuff right from street food to batiks to souvenir items like key chains to bags and shoes at dirt-cheap prices – WARNING – handbags, watches, trainers, clothing – you name it, they have it but watch out as the whole street is practically littered with fake branded items, so, you see Prada sitting next to Cartier, impeccably.

Every nook and cranny of this street is filled with another thing as revealed above – FOOD – Chinese and seafood mostly, bringing about a hard-to-resist mixture of aroma filling the air. The best thing about them is that most of them are open until very late at night (unlike most parts of Malaysia).

While it is one of the bustling shopping meccas of Kuala Lumpur, the basic rule of thumb while stopping by is to visit as many stalls as possible to look for the lowest price of the item that you want. Go local. Eat local. Interact. Bargain. And remember that Malaysians are one of the friendliest people in the world. An experience in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown will show how the rich confluence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islam cultures help shape the present Kuala Lumpur as a melting pot.

Chinatown is served by a good network of public transportation. Buses heading for ‘Kotaraya’ or Central market should be opted while you can also either take the LRT (Pasar Seni or Masjid Jamek station), KTM Komuter (Kuala Lumpur station) or Monorail (Maharajalela station) from where the street is pretty much walkable.

I wasn't carrying my camera along this time, hence, google was the only I could count on in getting these photos - sigh!!!

The Lost Home - Mumbai

There must be so many times you must have visited a new place for work, for holiday or sometimes plain return visits to meet family or friends and when you come back to your habitat: you have lots of memories; good bad or ugly. You remember them for a few more days or months may be, upload photos online, keep talking about them and sharing your own list of do's and don'ts and then one day you get back to routine and commitments without slightest of remembrance or impression left of that place on your mind or life, until you dig into your old albums.

When I come to think of my memories related to travel for work and otherwise, I remember many - cities, towns, homesteads – some that I don't even remember the names of! I often shift base for work and long stay, in the last 4 years I called two cities my own, both in their own rights and now is again that time of my life when I am just a month old in this new bustling city, this time a new country on top!

Guess this homeless feeling is miserable and the more I talk about the leaving of my last home instead of going gaga over this new setting (which is one of its kind to get gaga over, really!) the more greeting my new home feels, like last time!

I never thought I belonged to this place and yet a part of me belonged there always. It is Amchi Mumbai! Rightly so!

My first memory of Mumbai - of a winter vacation trip with family is vague, sick and bland! The city where roads had as many potholes as the number of people, tall and narrow high-rises in the labyrinth of a dank maze of ever-narrowing ways covered by a canopy of smog. I always loathed the idea of holiday in a city of man-made high-rises juxtaposed against the never-ending slums. The place looked like a rut to me. The local trains were infuriating, the yelling and elbowing crowd was anything but a sight to watch and the heat in the month of December was unbelievable! We did all the touristy stuff right from munching on the vara pav to visiting Haji Ali and Mount Mary Church (when my mind kept trying to justify the need for visiting these strange places, as in we never go to a church or a mosque on any given day in our home town, for heaven’s sake!). We strolled along the marine lines and mom exclaimed at one such point, ‘this is the most beautiful place on this earth, wish I could settle down here forever!’ I wasn't sure of mom’s announcement that time as I personally hated everything at that point of time and cursed myself over and over again for not insisting on staying back home or agreeing to the stupidest idea of going for a picnic to the local zoo! Anyway, deep down, I knew that I and my sister (the two most submissive girls everyone in the family would give examples of) would never disobey our parents’ decision, not in this lifetime!

In our last 48 hours of our vacation, mom was the happiest, my dad disinterested, my sister excited to have more vara pavs and I could not help counting every nano-second until the last minute. Cheers to my mom’s addiction to bargain hunting, we ended up stopping at Colaba Causeway – our last shopping jaunt. She kept on fighting with the shopkeepers for a rupee or two and we two (me and my little adorable sister) could not help but gawking. Dad was the only one standing mournfully smoking a cigarette while keeping an eye on mom, or rather her spending!  

Blame the city if I, now, tell you that I became a little less (okay, far less rather) hateful about city ever since I gorged on a plate kheema pav at some roadside corner at Colaba followed by the blue berry cheese cake at the Leopold and most outstandingly, ever since the last day lunch at Mahesh lunch home and brun maska at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus, then). I, in a few hours, was completely in love with the city’s food. The last thought that crossed my mind when our train was leaving the station (or I was leaving the city, forever) was, ‘how to coax my mom and dad again on my next vacation, is Mumbai too much to ask for?’ I couldn't think of anything after that until we came home as my mom says I was ‘wet with tears and depressed to the core’!

I still keep saying this that I was not really living until I came back to stay in the city years later!

Yes Mumbai was as welcoming as ever when I revisited - not as a tourist, but as someone with a promise not to leave again! Dizziness, uncertainty, fear were translated into ecstasy, gusto, and a dream!

Yet, this time I had a past – of a living in a beautifully planned city – I was coming from the garden city Bangalore where the greens, salubrious weather, elegant layouts and real estate, decent roads and an old world charm meet the modern, pluralistic, tolerant and cosmopolitan culture. Despite all the ‘oh my’s in my kitty, may be, just maybe, this time when I came back, I was a little more hopeful with a little less hang-ups!

I watched the time – it was morning 10 a.m. at Mumbai central - local trains running with people oozing out of its packed compartments – yes, it was still nerve-losing to me but this is when I suddenly picked up joy – joy in noticing the people with different backgrounds, lifestyles, outlooks, age groups travelling together, laughing together, fighting for others’ seat rights and sleeping together till the destination comes.

The roads are still the same, now with more flyovers and sky walkers that I had ever imagined in Bangalore – well, who cares!

The high-rises are now skyscrapers, the slums where sixty percent of Mumbai population are living, are still standing tall (and famous, kudos to Slumdog Millionaire) with dish TV antennae on every metal-sheet roof! Isn't it great to house around 12 million people and still be awesome at the same time! Yes, it definitely is!

The number of cars have skyrocketed to a horrifying number and so is the expanse of traffic, yet that fails to scare me from going to gulch my favourite Bombay sandwich or drive 30 kilometres to watch the sunset at the Marine Drive on my first weekend in the city – yes, I undeniably understand now why ‘it is the most beautiful place on this earth’ (I get it mom!).

With each fleeting day, I was a little more Mumbaite and I wanted to ‘settle down here forever’ and bring my mom to live the life with me and my husband!

Surprisingly, every time we headed back to Kolkata on a holiday to meet our parents, we missed Mumbai (yes, even my husband missed Mumbai, probably, more than I did!) and we kept checking flight rates to plan our return. That’s the ‘Maaya’ (magic) of maayanagri that everyone talks about!

It is not a cakewalk to live in the city, honestly, but, this maaya makes it easy! Mumbai spoils you with choices, you name it and the city has it, no matter what your hunger is for! You get to eat it up right here! You don't feel homesick, you feel ‘which place to explore next’! Neither do you feel like comparing its ugliness to the loveliness of other cities - see the truth is it’s you who make it so! You are surprised by the warmth and kindness of the people here (doesn’t matter if you don't belong here, you will, one day!) Never mind if Mumbai keeps you on your toes, it is this city (plus the people, of course) that gives you enough reason (beyond no power cuts or the rains to get a lovely soak) to feel lovely amidst all that ugliness of life!

I was given outstanding opportunities to work yet stay calm, endless second chances to perfect what I couldn't in the first go, Mumbai embraced me when I hated it the most, it made me who I am today – a human being with a heart filled with patience, forbearance and gratitude!

Yes, I did it! I even created a whole online album dedicated to my beautiful Mumbai and I call it ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ (I know that’s cheesy but ‘Jaan’ in a factual sense, you see)!

And when I realise that I left the city more than a month back, it hurts! It hurts to become conscious of what I might have lost – something that is a part of me now! I am feeling like the girl leaving the city years back, because I wouldn't know when I will be back again. And because I know the city won't even notice now when I am gone. And maybe because I am not sure if my new habitat would touch my soul the way Mumbai did – perhaps not – there could only be one soul-mate in each life-time!

Quoting Nonita Kalra, editor of Elle, would perhaps articulate my current feelings just perfectly - I came to Mumbai with just two suitcases and my dreams. …I just wanted anonymity. The freedom to be who I wanted to be. If I changed my mind every single day, so be it…Mumbai - gave me the greatest gift of my life. The confidence to know that I might not be the nicest person in the world but this is who I am. Which is why, the city is my greatest love affair—one I cannot cheat on. Even though I try.