After 2000 Years...

I post after 2000 years.
I just thought that with my exams all over now, I should pump some life into this page.
I reiterate. This ain't a daily log, or a page for all the incoherent and utterly insane thoughts that often come to me; this is but a page where I offload some of my mental cargo when I'm totally relaxed or when I'm totally not-relaxed. :-)

In my previous post (which was about a million years back), I was talking about Jaipur. Jaipur. One of my perennially favourite topics. Jaipur, with its forts and people. Well. I *did* manage to go to Jaipur and whoa, it was one memorable holiday. For I went in January, when Jaipur's not just the custodian city of the culture I love, but also the site for the World's largest literary fest, 'The DLC Jaipur Literature Festival'. And what makes it even better is that its co-hosted by one of my all time favourites, William Dalrymple, the 'White Mughal' himself.

I had two of my pals with me. Our hotel was a stone's throw away from M.I. Road, so food was not an issue. Later on in the trip, we shifted base to MNIT's hostel, so as to save some cash. And in the three (or was it four?) days that we were there, we paid a visit to the Zoo, the Amber Fort, the Jaigarh Fort, Bapu Bazaar, the nearby mall, Birla Mandir, and of course, the fest itself at the Diggi Palace. The fest. With people like Dalrymple and Vikram Seth, Patrick French and Ford roaming the hotel grounds without any security, and free beer, it was the experience of a lifetime. You see these names, these people, ever out of reach. And then you reach this festival. And there they are. Your idols, writers, poets, painters, directors, politicians. Approachable. All of them. And then there's the parking. I guess the only parking I've seen where Mercedes' E and C Classes' seemed to be outnumbering the Marutis. And I guess, the only place where I've seen a Jaguar. Anyways, meeting Richard Ford, Dalrymple, Prasoon Joshi was an incredible experience. Celebrities.

Anyways, coming back to Jaipur. You know what has fascinated me the most? Beyond the glorious history and the forts and the vintage cars at the Polo grounds? I am thoroughly fascinated by the deep attachment Rajputs tend to have with Rajasthan. Faith and attachment. And yes, I sense pride.

Dalrymple's books ignited in me what was to become an obsession with traveling and history and these places I go to, Jaipur, Benares, Ujjain, Ellora, Sarnath, Chittor, Udaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar, Delhi. These places only serve to fuel that obsession.

What can be better than this, I wonder? Can any number of malls, or cars, or parties, or joints and people make all these monuments, all these ruins, all this history any less alluring to me? I know its tough to get my point across. Just watch Michael Wood's brilliant 'The Story of India' and you'll never look at your country the same way again. Wood traces the journey of what are today known as Indians from their time in Turkmenistan, Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent beyond the Khyber Pass. He has a logical and totally rational explanation for everything, the Epics, the Gods, everything. Brilliant.

In other news, I am now a member of AIESEC. For those who have never heard the name, there's always Google. Without delving into any details, AIESEC Agra's first social initiative, 'Utsav', was an awesome affair. As were the parties that followed. It was something different. And no number of press articles or group photographs can ever hope to describe that day. If you weren't there, you weren't there. AIESEC is a great experience; its just that I hate all the bloody bureaucracy. The organization seems to have forgotten its roots, mired in all that red tape and project goals and whatnot. Someone needs to clean it up. But after just three months, I don't think that I'm in a position to dictate that.

I'm planning a trip to Pushkar. Lets see how that pans out. But it is tough to convince people to come. People. People. People too busy with their statuses and problems that don't exist. I know people who can complicate a fuckin' vacuum. Fuckin vacuum. Try explaining that to them. That'd be futile. People can't stop and appreciate places like these. They'd rather spend a useless week in Noida or a thrashy Hill station than an enlightening trip to Ujjain. Too busy with problems that Do. Not. Exist. A trip to some ruins; a philosophical angle; a smorgasbord of emotions; sheer awe; respect; a twinge of anger; contempt. People. Buried in cliches. People.

I'm so tired that its almost as if I were drunk. Not drunk though, just pretty tired.

Exams happened and having finished The Office (UK), The Tudors, Spaced, Deadwood, Sherlock, Battlestar Galactica and every other intelligent show ever conceived, I'm bored right now. Might post again.