Marccain jacket, Diesel tee and jeans, Zara shoes
We’ve been languishing in 2014 for over 3 months now (hey its April) and I have been experiencing strong hankering to get off all the to-dos from my list and start a fresh one. And voila, the beginning has been made. This post has been sitting in my drafts since the end of December and I am finally changing its status.
So this December {three months back} we headed for a short trip to Igatpuri and it was one of those moments when you’re travelling by the countryside and spot a cool location where you’d know you’ll get a great shot. This hut was my cool discovery en route from Igatpuri to back to Mumbai when I nearly jumped out of the window to get some pictures. Somehow strutting down the kachha roads in those heels gave me a high.
I may sound a bit of a brat here but when it comes to travel choices, the small hill stations and the quieter places fail to pleasure me after a certain number of hours; so when I visited Igatpuri I was nothing short of disappointed. With an exception – Dhamma-giri center, which was quite a delight. The moment you spot the center from a distance you’ll feel you are transported to a different world {the first picture) with its beautifully done welcome gate, the lush green gardens and the Pagoda with 400 individual meditation cells. It’s no surprise how grand and monumental the place was considering people from across the globe visit this center to learn the ancient meditation technique called Vipassana, which has a huge following. The facade reminded me of temples in Thailand.
Isn’t it amazing how just a few miles from Mumbai you’re transported to a very different world. In fact even when discovering Mumbai, sometimes, you’ll experience the urban rural juxtaposition within the city. From the stretch of Marine Drive to the old mighty Bhuleshwar. But don’t you think every society stereotypically perpetuates sections that constitutes both urban and rural mindsets?
Ya di ya da. Let’s not digress, but it is a fodder to thought.
