Distinctiveness - Travel and Lifestyle Blog

I have been pondering over my next blog article for quite some time now. My emotional instability during this period vetoed me from concentrating on my blog. But I needed to take a break from all that and return to my passion despite the fact that a lot was changing in my life. Summing up all courage remotely available within me, I decided to emphasize on what a part of my life felt like, as I was finally walking alone. Moving on is strange. You are always hoping that with each day, things will get easier, but there’s like a small cloud of sorrow over your head all the time and it’s always raining tears. And then, suddenly you get tired of the rain and long for a little sunshine. For the first time in days, you want to move forward and leave the pains behind. So you think all’s done and dusted and you are ready to start a new life. What is behind has been left behind and you are all ready to look ahead with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. The laughter and fun seem to be back, again, with...

For those who know what it feels like to have a dog to call one’s own, there is nothing better than walking through the front door after a day’s work and seeing a furiously wagging tail and barks of love. Just drop the bag and get showed in licks of love as you are pounded by a ball of warmth. I love Dogs. There is no doubt that they are my most favourite mammals in the world! I have been fortunate enough to have grown up in the company of great friends, many of them dogs (pun intended!). When I look back at childhood, there was Kitty at my ancestral place in Coochbehar. She’d drink tea, love to go to walks with us kids, she just loved all of us. I have so many beautiful memories with her. Jespa arrived from Nepal when I was in class 8. My life changed instantaneously, ‘coz here was someone who needed to be cared for and loved and attended to and who’d give back so much more. Jespa was a gem, from saving my bicycle from being stolen to irritating people I loathed, She always knew what...

What are emotions? Scientifically these are hormones gone wild, technically they are all about bodily senses and bodily sensors, signal and receiver, all biological. But what about what we feel? I have been through strange emotional turmoil in the process of growing up for the obvious reason – Love! Everyone should fall in love I feel, just to experience these feelings of strangeness. How depression can make you skip dinner or get you drenched in rain without you even feeling it. But why do we feel sad? Why do we cry? How can we love and hate the same person the most in the world? I wish I knew. I am a very emotional person, I cry while watching every other movie. I feel emptiness in my stomach every time something bad happens. Something as little as missing home brings tears to my eyes. Right now all I can do is write in my blog about it, but I might have to visit a psychiatrist soon! Music triggers my emotion like very few people can. Sadness means listening to depressing numb...

Sometimes a song can lift you when you are down. A certain tune can bring back sweet memories or make you think of a wonderful time that lies ahead. Sometimes more than the lyrics, it’s the notes that make a first impression in your heart. The best way to feel good is to keep such a tune as your ringtone. As you get a call in the middle of a busy schedule, suddenly you feel divine, the tension is gone and you are lost and alone in midst of everyone. When I first heart “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, I was experimenting with fresh country songs. The song struck me as a sweet love song, everyone has a love story and it was destined to remind me of mine. But as the initial phase passed out, I realised it’s the intro music which had caught my heart. The moment I heard the cute D progression, something nice happened inside. The lyrics are touching, as it’s always nice to hear a girl tell a boy “ You are everything to me, I’m begging you, please don’t go.... ” The song starts with a sweet li...

Ever since I shifted to Assam, it had been a hard time. Almost every other week there is news of a rhino being killed by poachers. Till date, already 5 Rhinos have fallen prey to poachers, 3 of them killed when they had strayed out in search of food or to avoid in-fighting. Last year, 14 Rhinos were killed by the poachers. Although rhinos are of large size and have a reputation of being tough, they are actually very easily poached. Because it visits water holes daily, the rhinoceros is easily killed while taking a drink. The sight of the Rhino carcass, with the horn missing is very demoralising. But I was delighted to read a special report on the Telegraph dated 23.02.2010. Assam had finally taken a stand. Poachers mainly kill rhinos because of the vague medicinal value of their horns. These horns can easily fetch a few lakhs. Unfortunately even though human beings are supposedly superior to the rhinos in the stages of development, Rhinos know a basic truth which is a myth to the human...

The Chinese Year of the Tiger began on 14 th February 2010. According to the Chinese zodiac sign, the year 2010 is the year of the tiger, which extends from 14 th February 2010 to 2 nd February 2011. The previous years of the tiger are 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998 . In the circle of the “ Heavenly Branches ”, the year of the tiger is the third year, also known as “ Yin” . 2010 is the “ Ji-Chou ” year. Jji is the sixth of the Ten Celestial Stems and yin is the third of the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and marks the Year of the Tiger. Of all the worlds that this Year of Tiger will affect, perhaps the most threatened is that of the tigers that still roam in the world’s fast declining forest lands. It is thought that there are only 20 tigers left in the wild in China, and in India, poachers are working doubly hard to make good use of the world’s largest tiger population. It is now officially estimated that there are only 1411 tigers left in India, which is a...

Sometimes in life, you listen to a number and wonder if you are ever gonna listen to another good song. This is a fear most music lovers have deep within themselves, that maybe, one fine day, all the good music will be gone and we shall be left with only the nasal craps! Thankfully, our fears can never win over our faith and faith delivers yet again. Dil to Bahccha hai Ji is a sweet romantic melody about falling in love and it is so wonderfully composed that one can actually feel the emotions that make love so special. Rahet Fateh Ali Khan sings this wonderful number in “ Ishqiya ”. This song takes me back to that wonderful year in school, mid 2001 to early 2002, when as a class 12 student, I experienced that special feeling. The walks through the basketball court, with my eyes on the class 11 veranda in the second floor.. “Aisi uljhi nazar unse hatti nehin...” Love is magical when it happens to you. The many sleepless nights, the effortless smile from inside just at the sight of E...

1411 mean a lot of different things to different people. The year 1411 was a common year starting on a Thursday of the Julian Calendar. The University of St. Andrews was founded. Under the Yongle Emperor of Ming China , work began to reinstate the ancient Grand Canal of China . The First Peace of Thorn was signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. To the average uninterested Indian, 1411 will hardly ring a historic bell. To every wildlife lover in India, however, 1411 means panic. There are just 1411 Tigers left in India. We knew this would happen. Naturalists all over India were warning about this for decades and yet, the average Indian hardly gives a damn. Tigers are territorial and often require large adjoining areas of habitat that support their prey demands. They are also home to the most densely populated areas of India. This has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six ...

“Hello, 2441139, Can you hear me, Bela Bose?” Anjan Dutta sang this song a decade back. And yet, to some people like me, it still rings a bell deep inside. Although the original song is quite pacy, Mr. Dutta performed an acoustic version sometime back, with his son, Neel, which really melts the heart. This song has a special memory of my childhood. As a child, we always look at things at a different perspective. We seldom realise the intensity of the moment. “2441139” was a fun song for me and my cousins in Coochbehar. We play the song until the last part, where Anjan Dutt repeated sings “Hello, 2441139; Hello, 2441139....” We would dial 2-4-4-1-1 (back those days, telephone number used to be of 5 digits). An old lady would pick up the phone and we would bring the receiver close to the speaker of the stereo and Anjan Dutt would do the rest. “Hello 2441139, Hello 2441139...” Then it was growing up and stages of infatuations, understanding love and finally, falling in love. Unless ...

Everyone is humming this tune. Every guitarist wants to play this number! These are the complete chords I deduced for the song. It’s originally from C, but I play it from G, as it helps me when I sing! (Yes, I do occasionally try to scare the mosquitoes away!) Intro G5 - - à C5 x 3 G5 - - à D x 1 Verse1: G5 D Saari Umr Hum G5 D Mar mar k jeeliye G5 D Ek pal to ab hume C5 D Jeene do, Jeene do G5 C5 Naa na na na x 3 G5 D Na Na Na na naaa Chorus: G5 D Give me some sunshine G5 D Give me some rain G5 D Give me another chance C5 D I wanna grow up once again Verse 2: (chords same as previous verse) Bachpan to gaya Jawani bhi gaye Ek pal to ab hume Jeene do, jeene do Rest of the song is the same as the first verse is repeated. Alternatively, you can also play G and C instead of G5 and C5. Just make sure the E string (...

Next time someone calls me an Idiot, I’ll be glad! This exactly was my reaction after watching “3 Idiots”. The movie brings in different kinds of realisation into you. What I realised are: • We all need good friends to survive and stay alive. Friendship is more than having fun and hanging out, it’s standing up for one another. This movie makes me realise how lucky I am to have people who are always there for me, but more than that, it makes me sit back and wonder, am I that good a friend? That question, unfortunately is for someone else to answer! • Amir Khan is the best, simply the best performer there is! Be it is Bhuvan from Lagaan, ASP Rathod from Sarfarosh, Akash from Dil Chahta Hain, Nikumbh Sir from Taare Zameen Par or Rancho from 3 Idiots, He has done it all. Playing a college student when he’s 44, that’s a “Chamatkar” (couldn’t refer to the * word from 3 Idiots, this is a family blog!). I was a Amir Khan fan for as long as I remember and in 3 Idiots, he made me so glad and won...