And they said India was safe....

In last two days, there have been two separate incidents of girls being stabbed publicly by their stalkers in delhi. In broad daylight these men decided to punish women because they didn't want to be with them. People passed by as these women got stabbed, to end it the guy hit her with rock and kicked her like yeah I won. Even after getting restraint orders and arrests, they just won't give up. If she's not mine, she's not going to belong to anyone else. I wonder what kind of theories people like them carry. Is it because they got nothing to do in life, its just being unlucky if you get into the eyes of a stalker in India. You get harassed in public and apparently even your death is a public spectacle.

Imagine how much these women suffered, rapes by uber drivers, getting picked up by rich brats or under age kids looking for prostitutes. When will this really end? Is there any justice ? Is there any solution? Are we ever going to be safe to just walk around without being bothered? When I visited India this time, I saw the difference. Here in america no one cares what you wear where you are off to. There in india you are the object of attention. Everyone looks at you at least once. What kind of bollywood crap is filled in our minds. What kind of country endorses this violence. We have politicians standing up for rapists. We have foreigners getting molested by hotel managers. We got religious leaders hiding their shameless forced sexual acts. Are we really modern or just a plastic mask of fake english.

I am really apologetic for my country's behavior towards women. If I could, I wouldn't really allow any women there. Its a sad and pathetic place where losers are bred poor to display their power by ruining a lady's life forever. 

Happy Camping Weekend :) : Vegetarian Camping List

Yay we finally made it, as usual the skeptical me was praying for camping trip to get cancelled or moving it to a luxurious cabin. Some people are rotten spoiled by luxuries of life, it didn't really look like an adventure to me, seemed like a torture I was purposely stepping in. Aint someone glad their procrastination was wrong.

Another couple who always gets us out of home planned this. So all of us packed up with our tents and prepacked food to wilappa bay. Some of the experiences we had were exquisite some of them not so much. My friend chose wilappa bay because of its facilities like clean restrooms, store and helpful staff in koa camping. For newbies in camping, it is advisable to bring along all stuff but be in a place where you can make up for the missing things.  Hmm let me jot down the must haves camping list for a vegetarian indian.

1) Tent : Obviously you need a tent, you can either rent it or buy. We got a rental from REI , our friends bought a coleman tent. Now when you do go camping, keep in mind a 4 person tent can actually accommodate just two people with all your bags. So a 2 person tent will barely fit your needs. If you do intend to make this a hobby, you might as well buy one. My friends practiced setting it up at home but its super easy. See a video or something and it shouldn't take more than half an hour.  Don't go lazy on rain cover. Put it up too. Pull it to back so if it rains, it will not enter your tent. What you can do more is get 2 tents, one for sleeping one to just put up higher to safeguard cooking place and fire pit. It helps a lot. Some people got a collapsible rack to put up spices and sauces. Genius folks.

2) Cooking equipment : No you are not going to cook on fire, you can carry your own grill or stove to heat up water make eggs etc. There is this one model that comes in suitcase, try that in super compact version. It works so well.

3) Picnic table cloth : They have 5$ ones in QFC, so get one with the clamps  so you can fix it on your table.

4) Fire starter kit : I never imagined starting fire would be this easy. Just put the fire starter kit, bring along a lighter or a match box, put in the woods that you can always buy at the camping site and you are sorted.

5) Camp lantern : There is this set of 3 lanterns available for 13$ on amazon. It works really well. Don't forget to buy hooks to hang them in tent. You might need headlamps if you are going on a real serious camping trip. Also, carry a torch and extra set of batteries.

6)  Water : Get at least 3 gallons of water from any store so you have enough water to last a day to cook and drink.

7) Ear plugs : I know you are there to enjoy the sounds of wild nature, trust me when it starts raining and your friend starts snoring you will miss these.

8) Cash : There is always some pit stop that won't take cards so carry some cash with you.

9) Tea coffee : If you do like your morning coffee or tea or cocoa, carry tea sachets milk packs that won't spoil if you don't freeze and sugar. The first sip of coffee on a cold dark morning is a blessing.

10) Mattress : You will need it, take an inflatable one from amazon. We got queen intex.

11) Sleeping bags : Okay so if you are planning to go to colder places, check temperature in the description and then buy. We got 2 from coleman and they worked fine. Pillows too, you don't want a painful neck. My friend carried a throw so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable directly on the mattress.

12) Hammock : If you are going to be on the side of a lake, get one.

13) Cutlery : Carry the kind of cups that are more heat resistant. Take extra disposable plates spoons bowls. Take a roll of tissue paper too. If you want to drink coffee or soup, make sure you got heat resistant bowls. Extra polythene bags might help too. Also take trash bag roll. Get fire roasting sticks too.

14) Chairs : Take your own camping chairs. You get cheap ones in QFC or walmart.

15) Food : I am going to tell you what I carried- bread butter jam eggs readymade soup 2 minute cup noodles mtr dal mix mtr aloo saag apple, banana, peanut butter choclate bar, deep khakra, orange, white wine, tequila, spinach naan, marshmallows. Mtr and deep are indian brands of food. MTR has so many vegetarian curry options. You just put the packet for 5 min in boiling water and you have a curry. There are naans that you can just heat and eat. We put them in roasting sticks and it was amazing. Its so easy to pick snacks from indian store. Carry your salt pepper sugar. We made cucumber sandwiches. My husband liked banana with jam on bread. Hehe you can eat anything when you are hungry so always have options. What we could have done more was may be potatoes onions but this much lasted enough for two days. Our friend carried milk in like small packs and heated them up in boiling water. I had coconut water, god we did pack a lot. Take knife scissor and ketchup . Also, pack something to wash utensils. Take an empty 1 litre water bottle too.

16) Towel : Its a no brainer but still carry a thin one so you can dry it out.

17) LED rotating music disk : We got it from amazon. It looked pretty awesome and no one has to play dj as it kept playing country radio which again went with the theme. If at all it failed, I had a backup speaker with pendrive.

18) Umbrella : If you do see rain forecast, carry them so if its raining less, you can use it to shade lantern and led radio.

19) Flip flops : Carry flip flops along with hiking shoes so if you need to go washroom or just nearby, you can use them.

20) Lotion : Take lotion and lip balm as it might get dry, get sunscreen and insect repellant spray with you. Don't forget to pack toothbrushes toothpaste facewash. Damn, is it a camping trip or resort visit.  Pack bodywash shampoo whatever you might need in small bottles.

21)  Clothing : I packed my baeleaf thermal leggings alongwith rain jacket and 2 sweaters with hoodies. If you prefer something else, pack it. Take socks with you. Sometimes in sleeping bags, its more comfortable to sleep with socks. Get hairbands too if you need them.

22) Games : We got playing cards to pass time in night. You can go with any board games of your choice. Do check reviews of your camp site, it might have a lot of things too. If you like books, take them.

23) Bags : If possible, take a backpacking bag instead of suitcase. Suitcase will always take up same space but backpacking one would free some space up after food consumption.

I think thats about all of it. Happy camping.

Our camping experience was amazing if you keep aside the sleeping part. There is something majestic about living in wild, making fire, cooking under stars. We didn't see any stars sadly as it rained throughout our trip. If the tent rental asks you to wash and dry tent, just leave it in sun to dry and then pack it. There are a lot of food options for vegetarians too, check your local indian grocery.

We did have some problems with REI as they charged us more for cancellation and their demands with the clean tent were a little too much as we camped when it poured. I would have preferred buying too.


P.S. Most of the stuff I have listed was arranged by our friends. I am super lazy and do it later kind of person so all thanks to the awesome couple.

What made my day :) cats and abs

Ohh what a wonderful day I had. It was always kind of scary how much work they will give me as a volunteer. Well to just play with a few cats, would it be worth it, may be I will come back sobbing regretting that signature, may be I will feel cheated. Nothing of that sort happened. On my way to shelter practising conversations imagining cats dogs in shabby area  around old wrinkled homeless volunteers, as I stepped in to meet my coordinator, 3 beautiful kittens called me in. Are they up for adoption, are you serious these cuties are going to belong to someone lucky. Its super overwhelming on your first day, you want to feel so happy meeting cats dogs but you do sense their pain their loneliness. Lets keep the post positive, she took me to a room where intakes are kept, one cat wouldn't stop putting her paws out haha holding on to your sweater jeans anything. Another one looked like a big friendly chubby guy. How can someone abandon their pets? They must have bigger issues, trust me no one would just surrender their loved ones like this. Every observation is recorded like what they like to play with how they behave around people, every small detail.

All cats looked healthy lazying around and there were so many of them. Dogs on the other hand were a little more restless, they wanted attention you can see in their eyes how much love they can give you. When the day comes when I own a farm, all dogs cats will come to my farm. I hope so.

My job is to socialize with pets so my first assignment was the one who was left by her owner of 5 years. Imagine cat's sorrow, she wouldn't trust anyone and keep to herself with her side of cage. On offering treat, she took it but then hissed me away. I got so much to learn gosh. Its not like I have never been around cats, raised a few but they were all stray so food or a little massage when they wanted. This is a huge opportunity for me to empathize with cats in shelter, know the behavior, bond with them. When she asked me to hold a cat, I couldn't because I never held one. Then she told me cats can sense it when you are scared, never approach a cat in scared tense mode, she will be the boss of you. Hmm also I have no idea how to make conversations here. All of them are dead end with me. Life is long and we are all constantly evolving. If you do love cats or dogs and you have time, try volunteering. I can't keep dogs or cats because of my frequent visits to india so this is the only way to keep in touch with animals.

So heading back with mixed feelings, cooked, headed for my yoga class. Finally, finally a charming exotic guy with abs lays your mat next to you and the best part he is new. So he is looking around a lot, he is kind of confused which makes him cute. Haha when yoga instructor said stretch keep your gaze up I was like you do that, I am gonna look at this marvelous piece of candy on my right. Ohhh not just that its motivating, you want to perform. I was sick of all the floppy bellies doing yoga perfectly. What a refreshing change. Aha made my day. Ohh how come we indians got the worst genes of the bucket. Or may be with arrange marriage we multiplied all the faulty genes like big nose, short height, balding heads. Think about it. They got everything hot we got left overs.

In my life, this was a perfect day which ended with idli sambhar.

For yoga, some new indians have joined in, they all act like assholes, like straight up no smiles no hi nothing. Hehe what is wrong with us, why are we frowning at our own . Ohh my practice is getting in flow with more poses more calmness more smiling resting face. I even did perfect backbend pushing from chest etc blah blah. Yeah perfecttoo....


NAMASTE

What have I been upto hmmm

Seeing tremendous response to my boring stories( 5 views ;P), I kind of stopped for a while since there was nothing to write about. There has been kind of a balance show in our house too, we were both a little shaken by the new roles we acquired which was a little on the edge rough. A few tears were shed, apologies gulped and now we are happiest at the peak again. You got to talk it out, if you feel neglected or overwhelmed, have a conversation. The only single solution to this is to forcibly sit , pour your feelings out, be clear with your goals your problems. Only way out is getting through. Couple is a team of two moving in same direction choosing same options, don't wander off and sulk.

My yoga has improved, at least my body says so. There are moments when you miss the heat too. Heat helps with elongation of your muscles, strengthens your core by giving you the focussed support. After a long time, to do something easier, I went for bikram yoga. Yeah, easy haha. With bikram yoga, the trick is you are on your feet more than power yoga. So novice can't just walk in adjust to heat do all the poses in flow.

What I would advice is if you have the option, try switching classes. One day, go for power yoga, another day try bikram yoga, on a hungover day try yin yoga. Every yoga practice is different. The flow varies which in turn challenges our system to evolve, practice better.

I added one more thing to my hot yoga routine, chill pal towel, its awesome. It cools you down quickly, you feel more calmer and in control. Try it. My water bottle is normally unused in class. When your guide says smile, smile. This is all in line with the body, as long as you are doing it right, you wouldn't feel a thing or you might. If there is no challenge, go learn higher forms.

He got eggos, instant waffles this time hmm delicious quick treats for high people, add peach melon banana berries and some whipped cream to go with hot choclate. We made our punjabi khichdi with spicy fried egg bhurji. Try it. I don't know if there are people out there who feel they eat too much when they are high but I do, so to counter it have yogurt, dry fruits, probiotics and indian churan or some laxative to keep your colon clean. We got nice led lights to go on our pillar in the center of the hall, it looks ravishing in sunset.

NAMASTE

Yay long weekend is gone :)

The long labor day weekend is finally done and we can all move on to our routines. For me, there are two different variations of the same day, if he is home it all circles around him, if its just me nothing goes on except the serious yoga class and dinner prep. After years of staying alone as a homemaker, the peace of easy passing days haunts me when it is not there. The thought of people staying over for span of months is suicidal hostile situation. On one of our trails, he pointed out how much guarded I am. Holding my peace as a sacred untouched phenomenon, it gets swayed as soon as circumstances vary around me. Its not peace, its convenience of avoiding sun, people, job, cooking, restaurants  blah blah. So it should be a constant in the equation of life not a variable like mine. What to do, find your inner peace don't look for it in the perfect lifestyle perfect routine perfect company. Its must be in you always, how do we preserve it? I got no clue. The one that I held so dearly was an illusion of comfort.

The struggle of finding a good book in a public library is only known to frequenters. I love the library but going in the section to find the right author's perfect food for brain is time consuming. Also, homeless people snoring around are not the required motivation for a non reader. Hmm got to get the job, its the moment where he's realized I might be having too much fun in exploring spirituality by being at home. I got all the time in the world to chill. If you see it from his angle, it is kind of unfair to him. If only lottery tickets worked, there would not be any pressure to work ;)

Finally the weekend is over, we had way too much fun watching psychedelic videos, kapil sharma show ( I know desi jokes are the best ) and all our google searches ended on ozora festival. Are we using our high for nothing? Should we may be try to focus, cultivate some art form practice? There are a few bands in ozora festival lineup that are awesome. They are classical, they are modern, they got so many instruments to play with. Pure bliss. Do check beat antique music. 

After his yummy  pancake breakfast offering on tuesday morning, he set out for office, red fairy is finally here and diva cup is the best. Hehe and it turned into one of those women's well being ads.  I gave my yoga class a try and it worked. Your flexibility your strength is maximum at a certain time of the moon cycle so use it. Now that the  yoga flow is coming, I yearn for more poses more flexibility challenges, more balance ways. Power yoga should advance the steps as you go through classes. Every instructor is different, some ask to pull towards legs in downward dog others say spread wide. Hmm consult ramdev baba. Actually on a serious note, try reading books on yoga so you know which parts of body you are going for when you do certain poses. Every time there is a bit of unpleasantness or you lose your calm, rest for a bit and join back. Don't ever suffer in name of yoga fitness. There is no such thing as yoga fitness. Enjoy the moments of stillness, there is no need to focus, just be in it, think about a beautiful trail when you do plane pose. Life's awesome. 

NAMASTE

Last few days

I was pretty sure red fairy was on way, my mood was swindling like irish coffee day lurking around like a cat. All of  a sudden, it sees labor day long weekend and its all chill. Don't you just hate when someone does something for you and then tells you how much they  hated it. Wouldn't you love doing it with a person who actually loved it as much as you did? Those ignorant assholes think they did us a favor well no you embarrassed us into wondering how much of that time you even liked. Guilt ruins you for next few moments. But then they should tell us if they are not into it. Also, if you suffer while walking or feel hungry, other people in your team feel the same. You are not special never were.


Skipping yoga class on friday, thanks to the irish coffee hangover ;) I managed to kill time whole friday just moping around cursing previous day which by the way is the worst use of anyone's time. Moping is like extended torture to soul. Like an on off switch, try to be happy try to see positive in it and move on asap in seconds. If you forgot to buy something, either run get it or work recipe around it. If I had that specific ingredient, if and buts and whys and aahs eat up our body fuel.


With all the mustered courage, yoga class was on for saturday after trail walk. Made one more rule, never talk to people before yoga, it messes up focus strength. Some days heat hits me like its the first time they switched it on. I love doing yoga, balance is getting better. What helps in improving balance is if you keep your feet grounded. Set them firmly like a base. Don't even think about falling, just look at yourself in mirror or for starters find a point on ground between feet. It will let you stay. For me, the point between feet works. For bends, listen very closely how and where you should push. Do shavasana at least 5 minutes.


Saturday and sunday passed by, he made walnut sweet. Super easy and healthy. Grind walnuts coarse, put a little oil, stir them till brown, add a little milk cardamom, stir till it is all guey mess. Hehe all done and tasty. Try some rice with chickpea cottage cheese potato gravy. Yummy. We went on 2 trails nearby, it was heavenly. Accidentally we entered off leash dog park, ohh god pure dog fun. Hmm I so want that life, I so know it will never happen. A labrador ran to us like consoling us for not having any dog friend. So many regrets so many wants life will run out all i will have is blogs.


NAMASTE

Irish Coffee day

As I sit by my window looking outside like a hopeless annoyed cat and look back at the day, it was kind of cool which still ended up like this shitty mess. Sometimes people are so much in your life, they hold so much power it makes me want to run be on my own.

Day started like it always does, wake up make lunch, if day ended differently even start of day would be some poet's dream. Somehow a single moment of rejection can make you nullify every good thing in your stupid worthless life. Hehe gosh its the super angry hulk me writing, every character is going to get crucified. Where are these words even coming from, my agitated version might write better posts. You have to vaccum clean up some day, so I did. Always thought shipping returns would be easier in US but it sucks. In India, they actually come to your house for returns, packages are delivered in 2 days, there is no concept of prime shipping. Yeah yeah cheap labor. So one more annoying stop, usps office hmm.

Then rushed off to yoga for my favorite non favorite instructor, she speaks so fast and pushes so much, it breaks the flow with peace. Still my balance is getting better which some other day would have taken another paragraph but no, I am angry I am mad so yeah I hate her.

My shavasana, the dead pose is not in the warm studio. Its on the smoking zone bench with nice breeze. Imagine me in my t shirt all sweating tired looking like a defeated bum, 2 girls came up requested me to take the pic, okk my instant reaction was I suck at taking pics, they insisted, I took some unwillingly, my legs crying out of lunges and warrior poses. In one of the pics, the girl closes eyes, in another one they want the shoes. What the fuck is wrong with you, leave me alone.

Feeling not so confident decided to take a trip to salon, what else could cheer me up. Hmm the lady that stupid indian accent aunty literally ripped and shredded each and every hair of my eyebrows. If you wanted to torture me, at least warn. Is it just that misery was inside me, worldly situations were mere reflections of my inner peace killed. Still not losing hope, hopped on the bus to way back home, guess what a sardar is driving the bus. He almost crashed it in 3 cars, ran through green lights. This country is hiring all immigrants for these jobs while they vacation around or do yoga. It was scary and dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I got nothing against them as long as they do their job right.

Cold drenched shivering looking for irish coffee to turn the day around made a quick stop, bad fries bitter over filled mug, still at least I got drunk listened to my own playlist moved me to a secluded table. Then tried another irish coffee in irish pub, finally some happiness peeked in. Called him up, waited for him at bus stop, picked him up, we drank more and then of course same same drunk saga. I am not in the mood to narrate.

It feels good to listen to that saddest playlist on your saavn, get a few tears. Life's too repetitive, same instances show up, same people talk rubbish things and we keep offering our mind to get fucked up day after day. What a depressing day. Worst of all, irish coffee won't let me sleep so I suffer.