Travel Diaries
15 Sept 2011:The impossiblity of finding Swiss chocolate that is not exorbitantly priced and not found in India….Made in China bags….a Brazilian who swears by Dabur Chyavanprash and South African regularly practicing Yoga….a restaurant waiter who appeared in 3 Bollywood movies….the bank sign written in Devnagri and 20 odd Indian tourists in a tiny town….we’re mixing up!
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15 June 2012: Quick update on what I am doing at Rio+20: Lobbying for including peace and non-violence in the future texts, contributing to various task forces, attending side events, conducting a workshop on the Gandhi way, and planning some direct action to push for getting Peace on the agenda :)
Also trying and meeting the Indian delegation (to see how I can help), attending the Peoples Summit, Terra Nova Vida (New Earth) festival, hopefully some Flash mobs and some attending some of the actual official negotiations :)
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4 Nov 2012: In Pakistan….what a beautiful overwhelming feeling….the hospitality and people…no different from ours…..and thesheer irrationality of the lines drawn on paper that separate like from our own….they are too weak for our love and friendship, for it has spilled over…and here we are, for an event co-orginzed by us (Blue Ribbon Movement) — The South Asian Youth Conference 2012….One more step towards a stronger and more cohesive planet….one more small step towards an emancipated humanity
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12 Dec 2012: What do I want this Saturday evening?
I want us to take Mumbai from the bottom of the Tripadvior ratings to somewhere respectable (http://bit.ly/UfVMj6)
I want all of us to realize the power of Co-operatives, dialogue cafes and other more democratic structures of work and planning that reflect our realities (http://www.theworldcafe.com/)
I want more intelligent programming on television and lesser diamond solitaire ads….and more FM channels and more art spaces….I want life to be filled more with experiences than products (www.karmatube.com)
I want my friends and people to be less busy and have more time for long conversations about life and love….
I want South Asia to have a stronger voice on the global platform, particularly on SDGs and the whole sustainability conversation
I want more time to read all the lovely books and gaze at meteor showers and hang out at the beaches and explore the nooks and corners of the world….more Rumi and Shakespeare…..
I want all of us to reflect on our collective condition, and where our nation and our planet are heading towards, and what can we do about them…
And I want to be content and at peace (if not happy) with the imperfection of our lives and times…
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11 March 2013: Khwajaji tells me that good is good and bad is bad….the so called nuances that confuse me are made by my mind — the heart knows actions that are good and genuinely serve vs actions that are fake and driven by other motives….
He also reinstills my belief in my work — somehow re-invoked the sense of belief and power in what we are doing…
The haziri at the Ajmer Sharif is a powerful experience — made even more so by Syed Salman Chishty. People across religions come here with their duas and mannats — I carried a bunch of them on behalf of my people :)
I would recommend this experience to each one — its seeing faith come alive and touching your deepest being :)
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6 April 2014: One of the most unique and memorable experience of my life….broadcasting live to an international audience, from Manori Beach @ Midnight!
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As a part of an online course called “Space Between Stories” by Charles Eisenstein, we shared moments in our life where we glimpsed the ‘new story’ (story of a new world)
Of the stories shared, two were chosen to be shared in the main course — of which one was mine. I was cool with it — no big deal. It was almost midnight when I was to go live, it it was the gentle nudges of Kiran Gulrajani that kept me up….
But minutes before the sharing I suddenly realised — that I was going to be broadcast to over 300 people from around the world….change makers of different hues, all a part of our larger family….this stands out as one of the most unique and memorable experiences I’ve had….WOW!
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My story is when I headed to Turkey for an international youth event — here I was, all Indian in all my ways. Seeing everything from the lens of my Indian-ness…..finding things fascinating, strange and alien-like. It was strange in terms of food, in hanging out with Pakistanis (and enjoying it), in terms of what each culture was doing…..and discovering myself through the eyes of others….
One of the evenings was a party — and me, initially awkward in dancing (our dances feel strange in a world that is so used to Western dancing), I took a few hesitant steps…..soon I was dancing when suddenly a song from our subcontinent played…..it was an Indian (Bollywood) song and on stage were my Pakistani friends performing to it…..this, followed by a Pakistani number where everyone was on the floor and dancing…..
Even as I type this, it gives me goosebumps — because the idea of me the Indian dissolved…..for the first time in my life I realised that this is all of us here, one big family….we are all together, here, in all our colours and shapes and sizes dancing to one rhythm, one beat, one song……we are one, on this lovely planet……yes, we are one…..
I have never been able to look at the world in the same way ever again….from die-hard patriotism, I am now a part of the Gaia in a very real way….aware of how my nationality plays out, wearing it like an accessory not my clothes or skin…..
Life has been scattered with many many such small events, and as a generation that has access to technology, we have been able to forge ties across borders, learn and synchronise actions….but that particular event stays with me as a shift in my consciousness….
