Women I admire...and why...

Mary Carillo – Mary speaks her mind, and speaks it well. She sees what she calls ‘her’ game with clear eyes and wants women to be competitive and excel. That is a true sports person. I didn’t know her until I recently (not too recent) started listening to her at tennis grand slams and Olympics. She mostly speaks for my favorite sport- tennis (being a tennis pro herself) and, I’d like to meet her to thank her for the tremendous value she adds to my game-watching. Not to mention her humorous comments and interesting tit-bits which add to my tennis IQ.

Terri Gross – brave woman. For a diminutive, shy person Terri has created something unique on radio. She has created a new genre of exploring art, social science, political science and writing and molded the process into interviews. Talk about asking the right questions. With an infectious laugh and incessant curiosity she pulls out the story behind a topic, a book, a movie, any piece of work. If I ever wrote something that gets published, my mark of success would be an invitation on her show.

Steffi Graf – The greatest athlete ever, in my mind. She is the toughest player I have seen who played the game of tennis. She possesses unwavering mental toughness, infinite athletic ability, quiet passion, and deep ambition. She continued that throughout her life, doing what she wanted with the same poise and control as on court. With a complete game for all surfaces, whipping forehand and perfect backhand slice she’s the only one to win a golden grand slam. She led the women tennis for more than a decade and after her it hasn’t been the same again.

Priyanka Gandhi – A woman possessing such contrasting qualities and using them all at a right time in right places. People skills come so naturally to her as if she was born with them and yet she is a self proclaimed recluse personality in private life. She comes across as polite but firm, strong but charismatic, thoughtful and yet impulsive. She connects with the crowds in a language they understand and with thoughtfulness they long. She is clear headed about her role, her choices and her place in the Indian politics. She is not a politician but boy! she understands the politics of the that nation and its people.

Rachel Maddow – She is by far the most refreshing face in media. Intelligent and witty, this woman is not afraid to show who she is, what she thinks and all with a jocularity that could make anyone crack a smile. Sarcasm is an art, and Rachel charismatically brings it to daily news analysis. She has brought charm and politeness by treating people like guests. Her ‘no-confrontation’ policy ensued logic in debates and kept drama out of the daily dose of ‘what’s up with the world’. It took a woman to bring chivalry and decency to television.

Ellen Degeneres – three words you can learn from her - fun, dance and Vodka! Am I right ladies?! With an exceptional sense of comic timing and clean humor she brings to life her priceless expressions. She is a poster child for someone who lived and learnt and came out smiling. I think I share most of her ‘likes’ – white shirts, dance, drinking, games, laughter. Of course, she does all this in style and has become an iconic brand for ‘joy!’ Can you think of anyone else that conjures better picture of joy than Ellen as a celebrity? I like her more because she likes what she does and is gracious about it.

Shabana Azmi – coz’ she is a fire cracker! A feisty, fun loving woman who is so ahead of her times and yet completely in stride with the world around her. The only true feminist I can see in India, a voice for minority – be it the desolate gay community or the poor slum dwellers. She is politically active and not afraid to muster up a rally for a cause she believes in. She is a brilliant actor by profession. She lights the screen on fire and commands attention. Her personal life choices have been bold and her reel life portrayals have been nothing short of masterpieces. A vibrant lady with shine in her eyes, doing her part for everything she feels on and off screen. A self described secular liberal Shabana is AAA – actor, activist and azmi!

STORAGE = Store and age?

Public Storage…have you ever wondered how did this industry come up? Did someone have too much crap they didn’t want to part with? Too much good stuff! And then that someone thought there’d be more like them? What does it say about us – we need a place to store stuff we cannot keep and we do not need in our daily lives.

So, first we buy stuff to fill our space and meet out “needs”. Then we rent a space for that stuff. Be it separation, togetherness, loss of house, gain of relationship, no matter what the excuse is, the truth is it just means we have too much stuff. So much stuff, that we need storage to keep it, time to visit it, and money to rent it its own space.

Even if it is temporary, having to store something means…well, it could mean one of two things. Either the reason why we have to part with it is temporary (at least in your mind) or we just have too much stuff. It is true that we live in times when things are not needed but wanted. Things are not required but willingly acquired. The world we live in – things make us happy. New stuff makes us happier. But, is there a point where a line is crossed? Is renting a storage the point where we need to say to ourselves – “I have too much of what I don’t want”. To me, this marks the point where too much of good stuff is a bad thing.

This concept would work so well if applied to our emotional baggage. Store it away; visit it once in a while, but mainly, once you leave it behind you live in the moment. Memories worth keeping, heart breaks that we can’t let go, feelings we hold on to just because can safely be deposited and neatly shelved. Once we visit them, laugh and cry with them, we dust ourselves off and walk away unattached and brand new. The pain that won’t let go, the smiles that you don’t want to forget, all stacked up leaving you free to create new memories, explore new feelings and live in the present. I’d pay for that storage! I would store that and let it age while emancipating myself from binding age and time.

Memories for storage!

Raindrops

One of nature’s miracles - the one that quenches earth’s thirsty milieu, the one that nurtures the life itself, is a beautiful thing to watch and hear. Rain – to me is a shower of blessing in form of droplets that seep into earth and enrich its womb. Rain – to me is the rhythm that falls on a beat which is unparallel and cannot be replicated. Rain – is a mood. It has character. It can paint rainbows and it can rein havoc. It can bestow life and it can unleash death – both at astronomical levels. At times, it bring along its orchestra of thunder and lightning to put on a show. Sometimes, it ushers a misty gentleness to caress its path, veil its way.

Rain is not biased. It subscribes to the culture of inclusivity. Poor or rich are soaked alike, mansions and slums are treated the same. It doesn’t differentiate based on caste, color and even specie. Its moods are for all to bear. Its music is for all to enjoy. It follows its own schedule and possesses a mysterious disposition.

Rain – the sound of falling rain can make you smile thinking of a good time. Rain – the sound can make you cry thinking of a long lost memory. Rain – its sight can bring a sense of nourishment. Rain – its temper can inundate and leave anyone helpless. The puddles it leaves can bring back a child in you. There’s something about rain that lifts our spirit. It brings to life a fundamental element of existence – water. Rain corroborates that ecosystem is thriving. The mighty sun creates saturated clouds which ensue that the water will be returned back to earth. The same elements change form to transform life itself.

Listen to the rain – falling on car roofs, windows panes; watch the rain – interrupting the normal pace of life and find the traces of miracle. See the rainbow, launch a paper-boat, drink few drops – sing in the rain.

Beautiful Bend...

Call it a freak of nature or a spectacle of sorts but the Horseshoe bend on US Route 89 it an amazing vista. A meander of Colorado River, it is located in Glen Canyon National Recreation area. The cliff is a short ¾ mile hike and has no barriers. You reach a cliff and look down and there it is in all its grandeur. Green, still water snaking around the bend. It is a truly a mesmerizing sight as you witness the dramatic natural ‘bend’.

It is a quiet area with vivid orange landscape in the surrounding. In the distance, Lake Powell and its orange rocks glisten. This Arizona landscape has been part of many popular music videos. Michael Jackson, Brittney spears, Michael Bolton have all used Lake Powell and surrounding areas for their videos. The Orange rugged land, crisp blue water, clear skies make this a picturesque place.

I was most surprised that this place was so approachable. You could walk right to it. You could lie down on rocks to take pictures. You could jump if you wanted. It seems very intimate. The horseshoe bend has been pictured extensively; different times of the day bring amazing colors to the water and the rocks. The water is very sluggish as it hugs the bend and it seems stagnant. River’s nature is to flow, for a river this bend might be queer. It slows down, it bends. But, this amazing perplexing bend in the middle of a flowing river is a beautiful oddity. Just as in life. If something is not like how we think it should be, doesn’t make it odd in a bad way. It just makes it a beautiful fitting piece.

Ready or not, here it comes...

Another year rolls out. The day itself, in its natural self, is as quiet and as loud as any other day. Sun isn’t any brighter, moonlight isn’t any more calming. Nature didn’t set itself to Day 1 of anything. No one has discovered that birds and animals look to re-set themselves. They live by rules of nature, their cycles and rituals match the four seasons.

A new year, a year at all…is all for our (human) convenience. Sure it is based on celestial calendar. But, it is for us to not get lost. It is for us to have a new start. We give ourselves the time it takes for earth to revolve around sun. Then we re-set our time and hope and wish for a better cycle. We make resolutions, we make promises and then we go one more time on a journey, with the earth, on the earth.

Holidays for us should be a prep time. How simple would that be? Time to introspect, time to look within and then re-set with hope for better. A basic ritual for humanity. A unique thing that ties us all. Time set apart t look at what we did, what we wanted to do and what we can carry forward. Time to be generous if we haven’t been. Time to be polite, civil and helpful, if we skiped that in some hurry. Time to deck places we live in, time to eat up and enjoy company of loved ones.

I don’t know if New Year brings any hope to those at war, those in pain and those who sleep hungry and in fear. But, it should beacuse they deserve a break the most. I don’t know if we need to dance and drink, perhaps there’s a place for that. How I wish that the year MMIX by Georgian calendar which is designated as international year of reconciliation, when we re-set ourselves and our ‘time’, we do it in its spirit. We do it to find ourselves.

Into the Belly...

December 1st, 2008. Page, Arizona.

Antelope canyons - nestled in the Navajo reservation of Arizona, have been discovered only some 100 years back. The canyons have been formed and are still being formed by the flashfloods that carve out patterns every time they flush through the canyons. Imagine that: every time there’s a flashflood, water 10-12 feet high rushes into the canyon and creates the carvings, smoothens the rocks, leaves its mark and then gushes out. It leaves a trail of mud behind as its seal. The rocks get chiseled with every flash-flood and have a sand-stone like smooth surface. It is fascinating. And it gets better. The canyon has an intriguing lighting system – the natural light! The slits in the canyon provide magnificent lighting effects on rocks. Some months of the year the rays of sun fall into canyons in form of beams. The smooth rocks light up with colors of mauve, purple, orange, golden and red.

Antelope canyon is photographer’s paradise. The canyons are only accessible by guided tours. The trucks that take you to the mouth of upper antelope canyon ride a long path of deep muddy terrain for at least half a mile. The mouth looks like a hill cracked open mysteriously. Walking into the belly and through the canyon is a spiritual experience with serenity and mystery engulfing the visitors. With the sounds of flute echoing in the canyon during the tours, the antelope canyon is one of the most intriguing and peaceful places I have been to. Walking under filtered light and with vivid colors on a narrow path, the canyon ends suddenly and the ‘normal’ sunlight seems very intense. Like emerging from a dream into reality.

My tour was guided by one of a very interesting and experienced person. Born and brought up in Page, he was a fascinating and rich mélange of culture and global wisdom. Extremely soft spoken, well travelled and an expert flute player, the stories, the culture, the rich description he provided was a great experience.

The Grand Grand Canyon

Saturday, November 29th, 08

Grand canyon, Arizona. South rim, Mather point, 6:30 am. That is where I was after the thanks giving day. I had always wanted to see Grand Canyon. If you have not seen it, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal but after witnessing it, many might change their view. It is most astonishing at sunrise and sunset. So, I made sure that the first time I see it, it was at sunrise.

I was at Mather point, which faces east and provides one of the best views of sunrise, well before sunrise. It was biting cold due to time of the day and due to the lingering effects of first snow fall the day before. It was dark and people were hustling around – setting their camera tripods, feverishly rubbing their hands for warmth and trying to sense the vastness before them.

The thing that your mind finds hard to grasp is the fact that this big gaping hole in earth stretching almost 277 miles is a natural phenomenon. I have read that it is likely that the Grand Canyon preserves history of evolution in its folds and valleys. Even the top layers are a few million years old. The deepest part of canyon is almost a mile (6000 feet), so the history of life is buried.

It is debated, and thus unknown, how exactly was this canyon formed. Colorado River cutting across, wind erosion, tectonic movements all seem like plausible causes. Frankly, I couldn’t wrap my head across it even if I considered all three. The reason is that the layers are so similar in erosion patterns, colors, rocks and landscape. It is quiet simply the most artistic the nature has been while using erosion tools.

The sunrise was magnificent. Specifically, the canyon was magnificent at the time of sun-rise. It is a slow process as the valley wakes up taking its own time. Nature uses its entire pallet of rouge and yellow and hue. The rocks and gorges that look asleep and distant and cold wake up as sun filters on them layer by layer. It is nothing short of an orchestrated show with drapes being raised slowly to reveal the grandeur of Grand Canyon. It is in the light that you notice how far and how deep and ho colorful is the landscape. It is a phenomenal experience.

I also did a short 3 mile round-trip hike inside the canyon. I took a very popular trail bright angel trail because it showcases the canyon beautifully. The trial is heavily littered with open views of canyon. As you slide down the narrow trail, it feels like you are peeling the canyon layer by layer. The colors change, rocks change, dirt to yellow to red in 1.5 mile. The most amazing thing you notice is the way rocks have changed colors. You can clearly see neatly drawn straight lines where the color change happens. It is nature’s paint workshop. The hike that takes you to bottom of canyon, to the Indian cap ground, is around 6 hrs. I chose the cozy Yuvapati lodge bed for the night and so 3 miles and 2 hours was my adventure for the day.

For sunset, the vista spot of choice was Hopi point. This point looks at the west and therefore is a better spot for sunset. It was windy and cold. I could see glimpse of Colorado flowing down one of the gorge. The scene was picture perfect and still and yet windy and cold. It seemed like a scene from a video game. It is really hard to fathom it is real, even as you sit in front of it, on one of its rock. The sunset for its colors and the place and the quietness was even better than sunrise.
There were a few more exciting things. I saw an elk – a big, huge elk in the parking lot. The cafes were excellent and the coffee was exceptional.

I only cruised along the south rim of Canyon, which is professed as more scenic. I have not seen the north rim to compare so I can’t compare fairly but of what I have seen, of the south rim, it is a wonder of nature. It looks exactly like the pictures you see of it and yet there’s nothing like being at the rim of these big, imposing, impressive Grand Canyon.