Meri yaar ki shaadi

Another close friend of mine tied the knot last weekend, a cross-cultural wedding, an alliance between the fast-talking Malyalees and the calm Konkanis. A few months earlier another childhood friend got married to his love too, in pure Bengali tradition. My sister stands ready to become a mother in a month or less. And I cannot help but feel a sense of happiness wash over me, as I am for all these people. I grew up with them, we've played together, we've fought with each other, we've spent time pondering over our futures together. And today that future is upon us.
Each one stands at an important juncture of their lives.
But with increasing incidence among my friends near and dear, each one has chosen a life partner of their own choice. More importantly, they have done so while having hand-held their families through their decisions. Their choice to spend their lives with an individual of their choice has not been at the risk of abandoning their families, nor did they decide to abandon their companions of choice when faced with pressure. They have persisted and been able to rise above cross-communal differences while pacifying resistance from within their families. It speaks volumes about their character, and my friends I am proud of you. I am proud of your families too, for they have trusted your decision which indirectly is a firm trust on the way they have brought up their children, a belief that their children would make the right decisions when they decide on their own. My own family is a witness to this phenomenon, from resistance to acceptance, my brother-in-law (who became so solely by my sister's volition), today has become a pillar of support in the family. A life without him is unimaginable.
Marriage is a defining moment in our lives, and is less of a gamble when we choose our life partners. But the Indian marriage being as much a marriage of families as a union of two individuals, couples that ensure the bonding between their families, steer the ship of marriage towards calmer waters.

The music of the seasons

You know spring is here when you can walk out of your apartment in just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to check whether you have a parking ticket. And in the happiness that ensues when you discover that you haven't been slapped with one, you realise what a marvellous day it is. The birds are back, chirping, picking twigs to build their nests, the kids are back playing football. But the moment doesn't last too long as I realise I need to drive to Kingston in an hour, our first spring getaway.

Coffee time

So a friend of mine while walking down the street desires for a coffee. Luckily enough he spots a Tim Hortons and off he heads in it's direction. Now lazy as he is, he wonders whether he can avoid opening a door for himself and get his coffee more easily. A brainwave strikes him, he walks to the drive through counter to get his coffee. Now the dear lady at Tim Horton's who'd probably been working there for a long time, didn't know what was coming. In all her years of service, her drive through customers drove up to her counter and were always a few feet away within the unthreatening confines of a vehicle. She was probably cleaning up the place and thus was bent over looking down. Imagine the shock she would have had when she looked up to see a face barely a few inches from hers, that was our friend trying to get his coffee. I am sure she would have jumped out of her skin, and later our friend did confirm the same. It took her a while to gather her jittery self, and she proceeded to explain to him that he could get his coffee inside. But then he poses a very valid question, does he need to have a car to get his coffee??? That single question evoked enough sympathy(or amusement) in her to make him his coffee.
He got his coffee, she got the much needed excitement in an otherwise boring job and all of us here got a story to laugh our asses off. We're all happy.

Oh! Brave voyager, godspeed!

Through all the pain and hurt that life puts us through, we continue to live for that one moment of satisfaction, that one moment of exhilarating joy. Be it the cry of a newborn held to the bosom of his mother, or a father's sense of contentedness on seeing his daughter at the marriage altar, or the mere sight of a clear rainbow after the rain, it is these moments that keep us moving. It is these brief moments of intense joy, that helps us endure the upsets of life and lead us to believe in tomorrow. And when I made that climb on the Canadian Shield, to reach a peak overlooking the Bellevue valley, the view from the summit gave me one of those moments.
We drove from Toronto, struggling through rush hour traffic, to be welcomed by open highways on our trip to the Algoma region in Central Ontario. 8 hours later we were driving through complete darkness, a lone set of headlights making its way through the night towards a chalet in the woods near Bellevue valley. As we began to near our destination the moon decided to give us a glimpse of what would be our home for the next 3 nights. As she came out of hiding from beneath the clouds a frozen lake revealed itself with a pine forest in the background, and in the stillness of that beautiful moment I was aware that our SUV was the only object that disrupted the quiet of the night. Soon we were all within the warmth of our beautiful chalet, and despite our tiring journey we couldn't help but celebrate our excitement before we called it a night.
The next 2 days the region opened to us, showcasing her beauty along every road we drove, every trail we hiked. Robin and Enn, our wonderful hosts, and residents in Bellevue valley for more than 20 years, helped us make the most of our short stay. Just thinking about the whole weekend brings back a flood of memories,..........hiking with Enn to the Bellevue valley, discovering a trail to Gros Cap, the spectacular views on the Trans-Canada highway, the rugged beauty of the mountains, the friendly people we met along the way......memories that will be etched on my mind forever. The Trans-Canada highway(between Sault St. Marie and Wawa) offers one of the most marvellous drives, the highway seems to neatly force it's way through mountain and st0ne as it offers a view of Lake Superior on one side and the Canadian Shield on the other.
This is the best trip I have made in a long time, and the reason is I wasn't waking up in a hotel room, I wasn't spending my time looking for parking spots, I wasn't faced with the mechanical and monotonous drawl of conducted tours. This time I was an explorer, I was finding my way on my own, talking to local people to chart our trip, driving along less travelled roads, walking along less traversed paths. And it makes me wonder, isn't it true in our own lives? We fear the uncommon, just like the conducted tour we follow our lives as dictated to us. But if we decide to end the monotony and follow our hearts where it takes us, despite the darkness that may surround us along our journey, when the sun shines upon you at your destination, you will realise that you have given meaning to your life.

Easter in the woods

The adventurer in me begins to get more restless, as the week comes to an early close. The next 3 days will be spent in the heart of Canada's wilderness, a region called Algoma. An 8 hour drive across the province of Ontario will take us into largely uninhabited territory known for it's pristine environment. It will be a good drive, and if one hasn't, I must tell you driving across Canada is a great experience, and a thoroughly pleasurable one. We have had some snow and the weather at Algoma will be cold this weekend, but am sure our chalet in the woods will keep us warm.
Far away from the din of daily life, it will be a good time for me to gather my thoughts.

3

Three words I said too much, ....and still wasn't enough.