Agra a complex and magnificent fabric ties the subcontinent together
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just a glimpse, stay tuned for more to explore MilesAstray unfolds in retrospect. I was living these stories full time, now I'm making space to pen them down. Head over to the countries section for the latest places/stories and completed countries.
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a glimpse
glimpse: LIFE LOTTERY | Against all intuition, this is not a picture that speaks for itself. It’s easy to misinterpret. The viewer might toss it into a cliché-drawer in a remote mind-corner, where it gathers dust quickly. Yes, these children are poor, but they are not “pity-poor.” They oughtn’t to be thought of as “aww these poor kids.” It doesn’t do their strength and fortitude and grace any justice. It denies them the agency to make the best of a hard lot. They have lives. Their slum in Chennai has a name: V-House Triplicane. They play, they laugh. Probably more than their spoiled cousins in the West. Having less is not the problem here; but having so little that access to the most basic resources – food, shelter, hygiene, healthcare and education – becomes a daily struggle, is an injustice considering how easily it comes to others. Pity doesn’t help these kids. Awareness and action does. There is little merit in most of us being where we are and a false sense of entitlement keeps us from redistributing resources and opportunities in this world more evenly; from us, the life lottery winners, to these kids, the runner ups.
glimpse: FLYING BY | With his ingenious equations, Einstein taught us that time is relative in this universe. Thankfully, he also pointed out how it ticks in our humble human dimension: flying by in joyful moments, slowing down when we can’t wait for it to pass. And there is another dimension to this ironic dilemma we are all familiar with: being young, time is slow and blocking our way to the perks of adulthood; but once we’re there, it passes us by to never be caught up with again, moving faster with every year. Of course it doesn’t really, but it really does. Time appears to have a twisted sense of humor, quite literally, and it never seems on our side. But maybe time was never the traitor here; after all, Einstein’s equations state that the actual physics-relativity is unnoticeable in our tiny world, where every simple watch renders time absolute. But wait a minute – I think I know who’s to blame when we ask: “where has the time gone?” It’s r o u t i n e that carried it away. Time might be hard to grasp, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to follow this logic: the more one day resembles the other, the less they are distinguishable in hindsight. Without event-anchors to hold on to, tracing back our steps becomes a blur and time will shrink in retrospect. Pack more memorable life into your life, just like you did as a child, and you will know where time has gone.
glimpse: ELDERLY RESILIENCE | Being old takes a lot of experience; you don’t get there overnight. But the journey builds resilience, especially when it’s hard. In places where clocks are rarely on time and hum erratic rhythms to moments of sparse convenience, every mundane task can become an endurance contest; but the elderly don’t shy away from them, and it’s the most normal thing to find an old man enjoying the morning breeze after a long sleeper bus ride halfway across India.
glimpse: REFLECTING UPON WASTE | India brims with myriad lives, scenes and stories, which unfold in a hued and complex fabric. The subcontinent's cultural normalities and perplexities often stand in stark juxtapositions, which beg for astonishment and consideration. Here I was prompted to reflect upon waste, which filled this lake in the heart of Rajasthan's Jodhpur. The architectural delights fringing the lake are mirrored in it to compose a blend of man-made marvel and man's ecological sin.
glimpse: BERRY | It wasn’t easy to find out what these are, and the answer is truly amazing. It’s my secret now, and I’ve said too much already. If you’re curious, you’ll have to follow the hints and do the detective work yourself.
English day
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Chennai
Alleppey Backwaters palmy generations
Udaipur hypnotic culture everywhere
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places / stories
story lived, yet to be written
Delhi / Indian Liberalism: Differently Abled & Open to All Religionsstory lived, yet to be written
Goa / Throw a Rock, Hit an Expat on a Scooter: Foreigner Meccasstory lived, yet to be written
Kerala / Life by the Waterstory lived, yet to be written
Rajasthan / Holy Dumpster Cowstory lived, yet to be written
Tamil Nadu / The Importance of Education & the Happy Homelessstory lived, yet to be written
Uttar Pradesh / Taj It or NotShow More
Delhi / Indian Liberalism: Differently Abled & Open to All Religions
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
Goa / Throw a Rock, Hit an Expat on a Scooter: Foreigner Meccas
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
Kerala / Life by the Water
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
Rajasthan / Holy Dumpster Cow
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
Tamil Nadu / The Importance of Education & the Happy Homeless
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
Uttar Pradesh / Taj It or Not
story lived
yet to be written
stay tuned
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