Re-blogging [Going around the Sun and the sunny connections!]

The original post is here via livingvipassana.com

This is a special year and the day this post goes online, I celebrate my 40th birthday. I have so much going on as I reach this milestone of a year. It makes me quite humble at the thought of rounding the Sun forty times already :-)

I am happy to realise that I am more open to forgiveness as I connect with people now. I am not sure if this is as a result of my conscious practice of Vipassna or I am mellowing down with age. I am sure both have an affect on my current peaceful existence. I am glad that I am growing up to be peaceful in my surround, to be able to accept things as they are without being irritated. I am able to value the gift of moments to stay centered, to be able to celebrate and not waste time in cribbing and complaining.

I am at an interesting place in life right now. I have already had lived a life quite full with events, experiences and looking forward, I intend to have another full-fledged innings with love, life, laughter and peace. And I intend this next innings to be meaningful and that I live this in all awareness.

I don’t know why, just from the time September began this year, my world got into a frenzied action. They say one’s birth month always brings in action around you, and I am seeing all that is happening around me from this context. And its uncanny how people, colleagues, friends, acquaintances from past are suddenly appearing in my horizon from nowhere. It’s as if this new phase should be named ‘blast from the past’ :-)

For example: one of this was like as if I had a déjà vu when someone who I last met in my univ days (a foreign student who I lost touch), I wanted to get in touch recently, suddenly sent me an email looking me up on the internet. Then there was this old colleague from another city calling me up in the middle of a work day to discuss a potential collaboration. Then there was this person who runs a travel company with whom I did one of my memorable tours way back in 2011 (where I managed to climb the Tiger’s Nest by foot and felt ‘all-so-serene’ despite bad knee and failing lungs), called me asking whether I would do a travel blog for his company.

Well, you get the scene, right?

I see I am responding to all these connections with an open mind and trying to see just the fact that people are reaching out to people, old friends reconnecting with old friends. May be, as you get older you tend to reminisce more and get nostalgic, and you tend to search for old friends from univ and send an email. And its not difficult these days with a slight help from the ‘Man Friday’ called ‘Google’ :-) I am observing a change in my response – that I am not asking questions, and not getting suspicious about people, not remembering bitter things that had happened or for that matter not even getting upset why they didn’t keep in touch for so long. I wish to continue this streak of ‘taking things as they are’ and live in the moment and enjoy the life this way.

Hope I continue to live my life in all awareness and in consciousness and able to share all the metta all around me, in my surround, in my interactions, and in my relations. And let there be loads of happiness, peace, love, laughter in everyone’s life.

Lots of metta from the birthday girl :-)

P.S: it just came to my mind to tell you that my name literally means ‘Sun’ and I got my name after the place I was born!

In the roots of things....

This is gonna be my very last blog this year. 2009 has been a ‘great trip’ so far in so many ways in the journey of my life.

Its been a fulfilling year. Its been a memorable year. Its been a defining year. Its been a nice, beautiful year. And I wear a beautiful smile and my face looks nice....ummm....(more on this later)

I am happy as I sit next to an open suitcase, cameras peeping from within my old black backpack. I am just back from a fabulous vacation- a memorable trip from the land of my ancestors where I went tracing my roots. This was great in terms of my own identity, my Bengali roots. Bangladesh was a great experience.

This is gonna be a short blog as I had a very long ride back home, and I long for some massage. I wish to wake up to the New Year all fresh, feeling great and this requires a nice tight sleep.

I wish to wake up to the New Year looking forward to loads of travel, great time at work, friendship, and happiness. And my mind is full with Bhutan, snow, smiling faces, beautiful faces and a happPPy me.

BTW, life is a smooth ride if you have a great smile, have you ever thought so? I have a recent realization and I am in complete agreement with someone who once said “I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful”. And to be honest with myself I enjoyed every bit of attention I received in Bangladesh, be it in the music shop I went hunting for Bangladeshi pop music, be it from my fellow travellers in the jungles in the deep mangroves of Sunderbans , be it from people I met on the streets, in the villages, on the local buses, in the narrow lanes of old Dhaka, at the various eating places I visited, from friends and colleagues. I have come back home 'almost' feeling like a celebrity (I remember reading one particular sentence from the Lonely Planet's Bangladesh edition and that was so very true) with loads of admirers (hmm....thats for another time).

Wishing you all a great year ahead and I wish to write many more blogs in 2010, many more than 2009, inshallah!

Yahoo!

Yahoo.....Hmmm....there is a famous Bollywood song and I ‘almost’ am ready to sing that one! It goes like this: Hero appears on the screen all energetic, with ‘wild’ fervor dancing and sings (as it would read in English) “yahoo!....yahoo!...let people call me that I am from jungles....yahoo!..”

And I am here ‘yahoo-ing’ and feeling all ‘junglee’. I will explain in a bit....

Things are looking all gorgeous around me and I am all pepped up and in high spirits. This indeed is good news after a ‘flat’ spell (hmm...thinking about a graphical representation!). Year 2009 brought a lot of changes in my life. I changed track in terms of profession..umm...came to academics to teach public health in an Indian institute (btw, this is my first appointment with an Indian Organization in the capital). I have a new address now, living on my own in my own apartment and cooking food on my own in my kitchen (it feels pretty powerful, you know!). And after all these months in new settings, new neighborhood and new colleagues, I am kinda getting a good feeling.

Hmm....now I don’t really fret and fume because going to work means doing a mean 62 miles a day. How wonderfully I came to realize everything is possible and I ‘actually’ can do a lot of stuff, pretty much a lot more than I ever have envisaged myself ( this indeed is a big realization).

Things are falling in place. I am able to forge my position in the institute, in the classroom and more importantly in my own head that I can contribute well enough with what I know. Now I have a door to door commute available, making my ‘cross-country’ a smooth affair. And the icing on the cake: I am all set for a vacation. Finally! This is my very first (and last) vacation in 2009.

And there are reasons why I chose to hum that particular song....

I am all set to face the biggest cats (oops! second largest according to WWF) on the earth this winter. I will have a vacation in the jungles. And to set everything all-so-perfect, the whole thing is on a cruise and I am ready to sail! Yahoo!

With cruise booked, tickets nicely tucked in a beautiful folder, road map in hand and visa papers on my desk, I am a happy picture. And I am looking forward to December (now you know why also said this is gonna be the last one in 2009!)

I am all excited, and also emotional (read: very) for this vacation. This also means tracing my roots, going to a village by a river which is etched in my memory from a very delicate age. And it means a lot to my own identity, my own being and my own existence. And for some reasons year 2009 has been a very defining year in my life so far.

I am all glad, humbled. I am all excited, wild. I am feeling an itch under my feet. And those mustard seeds under my feet are in action again for me....yahoo!

One more year and another…

I am at half century… Umm…I managed to score a 50. Well, I am talking about number of posts this year. One post per week on an average if you want more analysis… (he he).

Its kinda year end stock taking! Its stats, my dear, hard facts and numbers…

Not bad, I murmur…given all the nomadic existence err experiences, mood swings... (Umm, actually these are rather high-yielding times, so discount that!), other time consuming activities (read: my apartment and things associated with that) erratic behavior (read: last minute plans for movies, parties and meeting with friends on a short notice and such things). Well, no bragging, but honestly I am happy at my regular relationship with this blogspot.

This year made a mark for many reasons, for good reasons and bad.

For my little world 2008 would be a milestone, as I bought myself an apartment which I call my home. I am also happy for my trips to 25 cities and three countries this year despite not-so-good economic situation. I am happy to meet some of my old friends when they visited me. I am thankful to all who hosted me in different places this year for making my time memorable and safe. I am very happy as Mr. Obama could head for the US President’s chair on 20 January (I really am a BIG admirer of Obama!)

2008 was also a damper of sorts for global and local economy, many would not want to remember 2008 and would avoid its mention in case it re-visits (such superstitions!). Terrorism (read: cross border terrorism) was at its height in India and five major cities were attacked in 2008 causing loss of lives, property and not to mention peace. It was really B-A-D, they had a B.A.D plan to hit Bangalore-Ahmedabad-Delhi but they also went beyond their plan and added Jaipur (looks like they pre-tested their method here?) and Mumbai. Mumbai incident saw the largest casualty and maximum involvement of forces (Army, anti-terrorist squad, Mumbai police, Maharashtra police and not to mention the commandos from special security forces). And this one led to massive nation-wide awareness campaigns which has brought people of India together to fight against terrorism and made all of us stand in unity with a hope for a peaceful and democratic system tomorrow. Let’s hope for a better time in 2009.

And this one will be the last one in 2008’s slot.

I decided to punch in this one today with advance new year wishes looking at my schedule on 31st December when I will be hopping from one airport to another, talking about statistics, preparing for e.ee…egg-(and)–jams…ha ha ha exams (or taking one, not sure, lets see) and juggle in some ‘friendly’ meetings (no partying, no plans so far). I surely have a busy day-and-night tomorrow. I will tell you how I fare. So, see you next year then :)

So, here’s wishing all of you a very happy, peaceful, prosperous, fulfilling NEW YEAR. Happy New Year folks!!

Now I really want some nice food and some……do I need to tell you that also?

One Year and Counting....

There is something very uncanny about me. Seriously, I mean it.

I somehow cannot forget dates and however busy I am I will still remember Birthdays and remember my friends from middle of nowhere.

Well, this time it was my Blogspot. This sweetheart has just turned ONE and I am so very happy for him or her (?) (I prefer a girl child!).

Thanks to all of you who makes the number ticking to more than 900 (wow, thats quite a feat considering this baby of mine is just 365 days old). I love all the attention you shower on my baby (and me) reading it, commenting on it, discussing it, sometimes even sending me reminders for more updates. I love that, even if I am tired and in travel mode and in a place with no gadgets; I like to oblige as I hate to disappoint.

I hope to continue writing and bask under the Sun shine (I love Sun, dont you know?). Looking forward to all your admiration and dedicated patronage. Its the 90th blog and Solna will write more; at least that is the plan.

And here's wishing my beloved a very happy birthday!

Joyeux anniversaire! (French connection, eh?)