Kaivalya

 Happened to visit the KITS Warangal on my recent trip - not a planned event. One of those things that serendipitously occur... My friend Karun and I decided to meet for lunch at the Brindavan Dhaba to relive a few memories of our regular adda during the college days. Although it does not have the charm of those days, it became a Bar & Restaurant, going back in the individual brick-walled huts kind of gave a bit of the flavor of the days of the yore... After this, encouraged in spirit, we headed to the campus about a few miles from the Dhaba-- so we went. The road that leads from the highway to the entrance of the college has transformed totally since we were in the college. There are all kinds of buildings, stores, hostels, function halls almost all through that connecting road. Once inside the gate, there is obviously a concrete road now, which was filled with gravel after every monsoon that flooded it away during our time in college. Not just the roads, some buildings had to...

  (captured/created approx 18-July-2003) I know not what Love is;    Nor what the Lover doth Have thou any heed of thy victim?;     Have thou any know of thy weapon? Thou speaks to me in jest;    Whilst I silently savour thy fest. What trust begets lust begets not... I remember the future, not so bad; Seeking all the pleasures, I haven't had.

From July 2, 2003  (19 years back)

 (Wrote this on Aug 08, 2003) The auditorium was completely occupied and the students filled the atmosphere with their incessant chatter. The first row of seats was arranged for the teaching faculty of the institute and served the same purpose successfully, for very rarely were the esteemed Professors free from their routine to attend such an occasion. The weather outside was awesome and the campus looked beautiful when looked from the windows of the large room. Everyone was busy talking to each other. It wasn't yet time to start the proceedings for today.             There she was, clad in a bright blue dress that appeared to make the azure sky go inferior, sitting beside the window on the extreme left corner of the third row of seats. She seemed to have her mind pre-occupied by some strange incident, which she perhaps liked very much. Apparently, the cool breeze that entered into the room blew a few strings of her hair away fr...

  1994 October 18, in Warangal.

( Notes written some years ago- found recently.) Gandhi, who studied law at London, was based in South Africa- when his elements of his war against the English started to build up. His instinct when being thrown out of the compartment on the train, to hit the constable is well known (popular). After being thrown in jail, he had the opportunity to read among many essays- the Civil Disobedience by Thoreau. This would be a lasting impression on him, along with other influences like Tolstoy etc.  He was participating in the activism in South Africa against the racial inequality. Back in India, the weapons of Gandhi were his somewhat 'faith' oriented concepts of Ahimsa, Satyagraha which he vouched for and moved into the masses. In fact, the foreign origins of these tools like Tolstoy's advocacy of peace against war into Ahimsa, Socratic dialogues into Satya and Thoureau's Civil Disobedience were successfully employed by Gandhi. With these and the unquestionable discipline he...

 Part 2: The Arabian Sea Day 7: 11- Jul- 2001 It was not until 5.00 AM in the morning that I woke up. Then as usual after my ablutions, I woke up others and everyone was ready by 6.30 AM. I was expecting the train to arrive at Londa by 7.00 AM. Right it was!! We got down in the station. Actually, I thought Londa a so-called junction at the borders of Karnataka and Goa would be no less than our own Kazipet station. But it was my turn to get bewildered at the very look of the station. It was so remote a place that the TTE would actually beg for the passengers. However, it was richly greener and that made the secluded village a good spot to breathe air for a while. We got into the bus shelter, which was a 10-min walk from the station. Here we found so many folks and breathed a sign of relief, as it confirmed that we were on the right path. We met a couple of guys from California making their tour in India. Soon, the bus arrived. We got hold of the bus and had our luggage thrown beneat...

 Part 1: The Nilgiris (Written July 29, 2001) Day 1: 05-Jul-2001 Waking up in the early hours made me feel easy today. I was almost as ready by about 8.00 am. I helped my mom pack things for me. I couldn't feel anything right now because I was in the trance of my journey's fantasies. I started my journey on my own, with a first but short walk to Suman's house. There, I collected him and his friend Sandeep and here we were- starting our first ever trip. We were at the  [Warangal] railway station by 10.00 AM. We started our first waiting for Thota Suman who hereforth would be known as Thota to avoid ambiguity. So, we waited for Thota till 10.30 AM and found him near the stairs. [No cell phones at that time]. It wasn't much time that elapsed that we were already on the train. The train (Golconda express) was luckily empty. We occupied enough seats as to let our friends Karun, Satish and Ramesh get their accommodation; soon we caught them in the Kazipet railway station. ...