Slow Down

Slow down.
Let the next bus go, there will always be another.

..

Sit in the sun for a while, let its warmth wash over you, driving the cold away,
Spreading slowly from torso to tip-toe, like a glass of red vintage wine.

..

Watch the yacht lazily make its way across the horizon, gently rolling across the waves,
Its wake, a serpentine white streak across magnificent blue.

..

Let the waves wash over your feet, visible in the pristine clear water,
Sand streaming away with the tide.

..

Let time make its way around the clock, like the sun crawling across the summer sky,
Bright at dawn, with dusk late into the night.

..

Let the pillars stand silent, sentinels of centuries past.
Each sunrise and sunset like a wave crashing over rocks on the sandy shore,
Polished to fine sheen, wave after wave, standing firm, unmoved.

..

Let the village life take over, in a secluded cove on an island in Greece,
Away from the alarms, deadlines and time-tables of the city.

..

Feel the cool Mediterranean breeze across the vast blue sea and plunging cliffs,
Framed by clouds floating by, playing with your imagination as animals dancing in the sky.

..

Hear the sounds all around you, the gulls above, sparrows chirping,
Mountain goats on a rocky outcrop.

..

Slow down, and let nature have its way...

.....

Kastro, Sifnos, GR
19.05.16

..

Sifnos is one of the lesser known but extremely beautiful Cycladic islands in Greece. Quiet, laid back and peaceful, lined with white washed, blue roofed houses, it is frequented by tourists seeking a break from architectural wonders and party-hotspots.

Sifnos is reachable only by boat, and serviced daily in the summer by all popular ferry lines, from the port of Athens (about 2.5 hours away) For moving around on the island, you may rent a scooter or a car from the port of Kamares, or use the bus. 

Accomodation options include wonderful homestays owned and managed by local residents. We stayed at Aegean Eye Rooms, Kastro, in a warm cozy room on a cliff, with a view of waves washing ashore right beneath our balcony, hosted by the very gracious and helpful Aristidis. All reservations on our trip via Airbnb.

Don't miss the numerous treks which dot the island of Sifnos, and connect the various beaches and villages, cutting across hills and along narrow cliffside paths, offering views of blue sea and sky which leave you awestruck. All treks are plotted on maps at all villages, and are well marked with signposts and arrows at regular intervals.  

Tip: The larger faster boat of Aegean Speed Lines (Athens to Sifnos) turned out to be our best ferry experience of the trip, with minimal gyrations. Seajets services the island with a smaller boat (which we used for our onward journey, Sifnos to Ios, and was a little uncomfortable) Hellenic Seaways and Zante Ferries are the other ferry lines servicing Sifnos with larger boats.

Tip: Most beaches and villages are frequented by the bus only twice a day, from the central villages of Apollonia, so ensure you check out the bus time-table on alighting the ferry at Kamares. Sunday timings differ from the rest of the week.

Tip: If you happen to miss the bus, you can always walk. All villages are an hour or two away from Apollonia on foot, and you may stumble across or meet someone amazing on the way (we found a Pottery studio, an organic farm and a sweet smelling home-made jam store)  

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- The Last Ball
- Peace and Tranquillity

Peace and Tranquillity

You wake up with a start, in darkness.

The room, the air, your head abuzz with the sound of a million crickets, their loud persistent chirping, through the mosquito-net-lined door.

You glance around in all directions, trying to discern your surroundings, lost for a moment, with the incessant crickets and their drum-roll playing havoc with your mind.

...

All  of a sudden, the noise subsides to complete and utter silence.

A coordinated orchestra ending its symphony to the conductor's closed fist, the noisy and boisterous Wankhede Stadium suddenly silent at the fall of Sachin's wicket.

In the vacuum that presses in on your ears, the absence of sound whatsoever, you remember how you got here.

...

You remember the beautiful monsoon drive along the rolling green Sahyadri hills; the breathtaking views off the cliffs of the Western Ghats, as you climbed higher and higher into the clouds.

You remember the photos and selfies, perched awkwardly on a rocky outcrop on a dangerous curve along the ghat, praying the car doesn't roll away; while vehicles barely visible to the naked eye crawl up the narrow winding road you just traversed, snaking across the face of the mountain.

You remember the hot steaming bowl of rice in a wood panelled rustic restaurant, facing a lake nestled between the mountaintops.

...

As you move groggily towards the door, trying to regain your bearings, and stare at the moonlit sky outside; as you hear your own breath in the silence that surrounds you, it all comes back like a sudden rush of colour into a black and white painting.

You remember pulling off the highway, onto a bumpy tree-lined country lane, forest stretching out on both sides as far as the eye can see; passing beautiful quaint bungalows, weekend homes of the rich and famous, while the fog rolls in and envelops you, hiding the lake from view.

You remember heaving your bags into a home-stay, your abode for the long weekend, anxious moments locating the caretaker, and finally falling flat on the inviting bed, crawling under the covers and drifting off to the gentle pitter-patter of drizzling rain on the sloped wooden roof.

...

You stare blankly at your watch, wondering how you slept through an entire evening, amazed at the peace and tranquillity of your surroundings, the smell of rain soaked earth and vegetation, the sound of leaves rustling quietly in the breeze. 

The crickets pull you out of your reverie. Just as suddenly as it had fallen silent, the orchestra resumes.

...

Panchgani, Dist - Satara, MH

16.09.2016

...

Panchgani is a famous hill station in the Satara district of Maharashtra, approximately 285 km (or six hours drive) from Mumbai and 100 km (or two hours drive) from Pune. 

Situated at an elevation of 4,200 ft and named after five villages in its vicinity, it is a popular weekend destination due to its cooler climate in the monsoon months of June to September, and winter months of November to February. 

It is easily accessible by car or cab, and is also well serviced by popular luxury bus lines as well as state transport buses. Accommodation options include numerous hotels, resorts and home-stays. 

Tip: It is advisable to make reservations a couple of weeks to a month in advance, if travelling on popular weekends of the monsoon or winter season. Some facilities may be sold out.

Tip: Panchgani is an ideal location for the weekend, given the weather, view and the number of hotels, if you plan to run the Satara Hill Half Marathon, held every year mid-September at Satara city, 45 km away. Most facilities at Satara and Kaas Valley will be sold out on this weekend. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to drive down to the Start/Finish line for the marathon.

We were at Exotic Homestay - Panchgani, off the Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar road, situated above Dhom Lake. The delightful caretaker family drummed up delicious Maharashtrian meals and made our trip truly memorable. 

GOQii

Recently, i came across a US based fitness tracking app called GOQii, which is rapidly expanding in China and India. It combines a wearable technology (own wristband) with an accompanying app and a personal instructor who structures a fitness regime for each individual subscriber and follows up on it through chats, telephone calls and v-con.

What is great though, is that the service and app is also compatible with competing wearable fitness technology devices like Fitbit, Jawbone and Misfit; so it effectively takes the hardware out of the equation, and encourages adoption by a greater number of people.

More importantly, GOQii is taking a shot at the most common problem faced by fitness apps worldwide, that after some amount of use by new enthusiasts, they are abandoned, that most people lose interest eventually. They are trying to get around this by doing two things:

1. Charging money (3 month subscription: Rs 3,999; 6 month: Rs 6,999; 12 month: Rs 11,999) so you might feel compelled to utilize the package which you have paid for without dropping out i.e. in Indian terms: "paisa vasool karna" (similar to a gym membership)
2. Providing a coach who will push, motivate and guide you (at a much cheaper rate than a personal trainer at the gym or outside)

Some gaps and challenges are still abound:

1. Need: For a fitness oriented person, who is driven and dedicated enough, the push, motivation and guidance of a personal trainer is immaterial, hence one may just use a free app like Strava, Runkeeper or Nike+  to track activities
2. Community: A major motivation factor for me, within Strava, is the community. The ability to follow rides and runs of friends and relatives, to like and comment, and interact with others within the app (similar to a Facebook feed, but for fitness) The GOQii community is currently an unknown factor
3. Portability: Having used Strava for the last three years, my history of activities and total kms run and cycled is a major moat which prevents me from switching to another app. If GOQii were to allow its import to their app, and sync activity history and usage between various apps, they would also take the moat out of the equation; while at the same time providing their personal coaches with a database of fitness history, much like providing a medical history to a new doctor
4. Marketplace and Network Effects: Apart from offering their own fitness trainers (who provide assurance of service quality) GOQii has also pivoted into a marketplace for trainers, where trainers need to be certified by GOQii before offering their services to subscribers. Alternately, it could gradually move to any user uploading their training routine, for others to follow, with the possibility of being rated by user feedback or number of followers. Charges could be pre-defined or auctioned, much like an an Uber for fitness, with GOQii purely being a medium for connecting fitness oriented folks, and retaining a part of the fees as their margin, and looking at alternate sources of income like advertising for fitness related apparel and accessories.

In conclusion, our lifestyle nowadays involves long periods of physical inactivity during the day, positioned at a laptop or a desktop, coupled with unhealthy eating habits, and elevated levels of stress on an everyday basis. I am a big proponent of allocating some time everyday for physical activity, either before or after work, be it something as simple as a half an hour walk in the nearby park.

It is really nice to see the technology and internet oriented support, apps and communities mushrooming around fitness, and catering to the growing mass of newbies and athletes alike, on their path towards a long term healthy routine and lifestyle.

References and additional information:

1. GOQii recently secured some funding, and here is a complete review of the product and service itself by the good folks at NDTV Gadgets
2. More on network effects here and here, by Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures. I am a fan of his investment philosophy, and if such opportunities were to emerge for a retail investor in India, i would go long on these scrips
3. I have used Strava for tracking my runs and rides over the last 3 years, and my Strava profile can be found here. It has been with me through 4 half marathons over this period, and through the ongoing preparation for a full marathon early next year

Delirium

He rides like the wind.

Through the semi-darkness of dense brown forests, filled with timber.
Through wisps of mist amid trunks as wide as a house.
Arching above him, blocking off all sunlight.

He is a blur, screaming past lush green meadows
Over gentle undulating hills, with sheep grazing in the distance.
Under blue skies with puffs of white clouds lazily rolling by.

He squints into the distance, in the bright sunlight.
His next waypoint, his all important marker.

Excitement!

...

He rides like the wind.

Towards one goal.
Occupying every part of his heart, every minute of his day, every thought in his mind.

Enraptured, for the last few moons.
Heightened by the thousand leagues between them.

He can sense her presence. Drawing him to her.
Closer, with each passing moment.

That fleeting glance, the child-like innocence.
The sound of her laughter, at His Majesty's court, two winters ago.
How he has longed for it to echo in his ears again.

Anticipation.

...

He rides like the wind.

Pushing, driving, willing his steed farther.
A sleek black shadow, beautiful to behold.
Two bodies as one, flying through the night.

Rest is unbeknownst to them, halting only for food and water.

Thundering hooves flashing past, leaving barely a whisper in their wake.
Riding harder, faster, as he nears his destination.

Hunched over the mane, his mind is alive
His eyes focussed; on the road ahead and where it leads.

Delirium.

Dreams (Part 2)

This is Part 2, a continuation of a two part post, titled 'Dreams'
You can find Part 1 here.

----

He wipes the rain from his eyes, and looks again across the road,
Trying to ascertain if it is her, through the maddening squall.
The wind buffets her hair and skirt. Still she stands.. unmoved, unreal.

A sudden breeze cuts through him, chilling him to the bone.
That one moment of indecision, with the umbrella closed and the door ajar.
Jumping in quickly, he slams the door, and curses
To have led himself to believe, for even a moment. That it was her.

All sound is cut off. The silence presses in on his ears.
From the cacophony outside, to a world of vacuum.
The only sound is of his breath.
Water seeps off his hair and clothes, onto the seat.

He sits there forlorn, his hands on the wheel,
Staring blankly at the odd shapes ahead through the rain swept windscreen.
The memories come rushing back. Happy thoughts. Sad thoughts.

Is it really such a remote possibility, her being here. Isn't she a thousand leagues away.
Is he a fool, to harbor such feelings, and continue this train of thought.
After trying so hard, since that fateful day. To erase. To forget.

"What if it is, though..?", a small voice asks.
"Would you take that chance..? Would you drive away..?"
The voice gathers strength. The voice is now a roar.
All around him, in this small closed space.

Almost afraid to look, he sneaks a glance out the window across the road.
Afraid that isn't her. Afraid that it is.
But she's gone. Disappeared into thin air.
He looks again at the spot, wiping his breath off the window, squinting through the glass.

"Isn't this the life changing moment you've been waiting for all along?"
The voice makes a very good point.

He grabs his keys and umbrella, falling over himself in his rush to exit the car.
Back outside, in the thundering tumult of rain, wind and chaos,
He looks frantically across the road, in both directions.
Almost willing the Gods to part the white and grey sheet around him,
Just enough to see that faint silhouette.

He doesn't bother about checking oncoming traffic as he runs to the other side.
Such things are too trivial now.

He reaches the spot she was at. Breathing heavily, almost panting.
The excitement, the happiness, the prospect of seeing her again,
Evaporates slowly. Reality sinks in.
What is this cruel game the Gods play.

She remains a dream.
Like the elusive wisps of smoke from an extinguished candle.
Like the joyful bubbles in the wind you tried to catch as a child. But never did.
Like the grains of loose sand in a tightly closed fist.

She remains a dream. Nothing more.

Dreams (Part 1)

He exits the house, glancing up at the heavens.
The sky.. cruel, grey and unforgiving.
A typical monsoon day, cold and pouring wet.
Its been like this since that fateful day, when the rain first came.
A day he wishes he could forget.

Huddled underneath an umbrella, he protects his bag,
Quickly covering the short distance to the car on the street.
Careful to avoid the puddles, and not let too much water into his shoes.
He thinks about the puddle in his life he din't see coming.

The rain thunders into his umbrella, a roar blanketing all other sounds around him.
Like a waterfall in the forest, close by, but hidden behind the foliage.
Millions of gallons crashing down. Loud, but not visible.
Underneath the umbrella, he is a small lonely island. Dry, as of now.

As he walks, his mind is deep in thought.
The day ahead. The week to come.
His to-do list straining against its reigns.
All these events, such a regular part of corporate life, seem minuscule now.

The road is deserted.
Strange, for what should be a busy weekday morning.
Maybe some offices are already closed, due to the rain.

He has no such excuse.
He reaches his car, quickly opens the door and shoves his bag inside.
Crossing over to the driver's side, he shuts his umbrella and throws it in.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots someone across the road.

A familiar figure, almost a silhouette dressed all in black, standing perfectly still underneath her umbrella.
Looking right at him.

He pauses, the door ajar, one foot inside.
His pulse quickens, his heart is racing. It can't be her...!

He wipes the rain from his eyes, and looks again across the road,
Trying to ascertain if it is, through the maddening squall.
The wind buffets her hair and skirt. Still she stands.. unmoved, unreal.

----

This is Part 1, of a two part post titled 'Dreams'
You can continue reading Part 2 here.

Pain

He sits alone, and stares into nothingness.

Perched on the very tip of a rocky cliff.
A cliff which extends away into the horizon on both sides, its jagged edges cutting into his heart.
A cliff which drops away vertically into the crashing waves of the ocean far below.
So far below, their sound does not reach him.

The sky is drab and grey, reflecting his thoughts.
The water is dark, as far as the eye can see.
No seagulls caw. No wind blows. The air is still.
Life itself, has come to a grinding halt.
There is silence all around. The sound of sadness.

Tears well up in his eyes.
The weather Gods bend the knee in reverence.
Dark clouds roll in.

He sits alone, and stares into nothingness.

Joy has been sucked out of his life, a huge gaping hole for grief to fill.
The loss so sudden, he is left speechless.
A major part of his life, his mind, his heart. Taken away.

There is no glimmer of hope, no tinder left to spark.
Even the slightest of glowing embers has been drowned out by the finality of it all.
He can never be happy again.

The dam gives way. Tears roll down his cheek.
Salty streaks, past the corners of his mouth, splashing onto the ground.
The clouds burst forth in response.

He glances up into the rain, looking for answers.
Why this path, of all paths.
Why this sudden heart wrenching turn of events.

There is no thunder or lightning. This is not anger.
This is grief. This is pain.

He sits alone, and stares into nothingness.