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 penning them down. Head over to the countries page for the latest places/stories.
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a glimpse
glimpse: LIFE LOTTERY | Against all intuition, this is not a picture that speaks for itself. It doesn’t tell the whole story and is easy to misinterpret. One might toss it into a cliché-box somewhere in the mind’s attic, 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. They play, they laugh. Probably more than their spoiled cousins elsewhere. Having less is not the problem here; but having little or no access to the most basic resources, rendering food, shelter, hygiene, healthcare and education daily struggles, is a fundamental injustice. Pity doesn’t help these kids, nor does indifferent awareness. Only action can level out the odds of an arbitrary life lottery. We don’t choose the circumstances we are born into and there is little to no merit in where we end up being when given a winning ticket. A false sense of entitlement keeps us from redistributing resources and opportunities in this world more evenly – from the life lottery winners to 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 drives resilience, especially when it’s bumpy. Like in places where it’s literally bumpy, and where life is rarely on time, which can make any mundane task an endurance contest. For those elderly, a loooong and d-e-l-a-y-e-d sleeper bus ride halfway across India is an easy-breezy trip.
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
yet to be written
Delhi / Indian Liberalism: Differently Abled & Open to All Religions
yet to be written
Goa / Throw a Rock, Hit an Expat on a Scooter: Foreigner Meccas
yet to be written
Kerala / Life by the Water
yet to be written
Rajasthan / Holy Dumpster Cow
yet to be written
Tamil Nadu / The Importance of Education & the Happy Homeless
yet to be written
Uttar Pradesh / Taj It or Not
Delhi / Indian Liberalism: Differently Abled & Open to All Religions
yet to be written
stay tuned
Goa / Throw a Rock, Hit an Expat on a Scooter: Foreigner Meccas
yet to be written
stay tuned
Kerala / Life by the Water
yet to be written
stay tuned
Rajasthan / Holy Dumpster Cow
yet to be written
stay tuned
Tamil Nadu / The Importance of Education & the Happy Homeless
yet to be written
stay tuned
Uttar Pradesh / Taj It or Not
yet to be written
stay tuned
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