Relishing the charms of a city!

As we speak Amritsar is gradually transforming itself into a city of tourists. Amritsar has a rich history linked to our independence and thereafter (Jallianwalah Bagh) and contains the holiest shrine of Sikhs- the Harmandar Sahib or the Golden Temple; the Bagah border being other attractions drawing multitude of crowds. I today visited a temple known as Sheetla Mata mandir or Durgiana temple which is a mirror image of the Golden Temple. In here is hosted everyyear the world famous Langoor Mela for ten days during Navaratras and run up to Dusshera. Inside the Durgiana temple there is a Bara Hanuman Mandir with Hanuman ji's statue in a particular pose rising from the ground. Believers say that childless couples who seek God's blessings are gifted with sons by the God himself. In thanksgiving, these blessed couples dress up their sons as langoors when the kid attains a certain maturity and age. For 10 days a very strict regime is followed where these Langoors are taken to the Bara Hanuman temple barefooted and presented at the altars of Hanumanji morning and evening. The langoors are dressed in silvery dresses with conical caps and a gada to hold. Such is the fame of the temple that the temple overflows with devotees at all times of the day during the fest. The temple also sees a procession of people dressed as hanumanji, their feet and hands lost in the chorus and dance to please God. Outside the temple, we could see the regular Gol-gappa walahs, and the famous challi (Magic Masala corn seems to have stolen the recipie), along with numerous vendors selling flutes, bow-arrows, lighted latoos, bracelets and accessories of numerous kinds, and religious books etc. As I stepped out of the boundaries of the temple, I resolved that I will come here again.

A night in Paris...

I don't know how long I have been in a state of denial, where oblivious of the world around me I passively let things happen to me without appreciation for the good ones or neglect for the bad. I simply didnt want to meet myself, being an afraid little girl, refusing to grow up...

But, it all got registered in the diaries of my memories. Because: I had told my mom that I would be going to Europe, and I had told my father that I will be going to Europe, and inside I knew they were very very happy and supportive about it. Life has been topsy turvy ever since. A lifetime had passed when the actual moment came -a vacuum was created and then filled- as the 6 of us boarded the connecting flights to Paris. Struggling our way out of the huge airport, and transcending the barriers of language and cultures as we stepped into Paris, I still cant forget that a cool breeze was blowing, forcing us to pull out our sweaters. We were given the address of a hotel by EGIDE, our scholarship agency in France, and as we waited on the streets and fumbled with the public telephone booths to dial in the agency's toll-free number, the wait seemed endless to us. 2 of my fellowmates even hopped on to the contact the reception of the grand hotel infront of us, in vague hope that we might be lucky enough to put up there. Obviously we were not, but finally when the cabs came, and we were subsequently transferred to the temporary accomodation for the night; we could help ourselves but admit the fact that it surpassed our expectations simply because everything around was so new and unimaginable. Not only the rooms were extremely cozy, EGIDE had played us a good host by sponsoring our dinners and breakfast, which were extremely fruity and healthful in the least, as we started discovering that the continent was not for vegetarians... Later, we had a nice stroll along the streets of Paris, trying to seep in every ounce of beauty that existed around us, the beautiful fauna, the Seine river and the above-ground metro, and most importantly the feel of the city and its cleanliness. We instantly fell in love with her. As we were to discover later, there was a lot to Paris than this, which I would write about in my leisure time. But as I slept that night, I thanked my parents, my STEX professor and God who had given us the once-in-a-lifetime chance to discover the world.