As she stood there.

As she stood there, one could feel,
There was so much power in those clasped hands,
As she stood there, enlightened,
The trees shook a little,
As she stood there, with no remorse on her face,
There were birds singing songs of freedom,
And as she stood there with perfection,
the clouds gathered. 

5 Books to read while on a Backpacking trip!

  1.     Coasting by Jonathan Raban: Coasting tells the story of the author's 4,000-mile journey around Britain in a 32-foot ketch, using only a compass for navigation. The story, like the voyage, digresses into personal memories, while the book is a metaphor for Raban's own life. This book will definitely inspire you and keep you going. The writer captures the beauty of a wonderful travel experience in such a way that it may just inspire you to do something that he did. One can read Coasting for his precise naturalistic descriptions. It is one of the best travel books out there.

 2.  The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux:  Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey is a modern classic of travel literature. The author writes down his experience about his early adventures on a rare grand continental tour. Asia's legendary trains – the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express – are the stars of a journey that takes him on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo Central, then back from Japan on the Trans-Siberian. This is a must read for the passionate explorer and the armchair traveller as Theroux puts all his observations and               emotions into the book gripping the reader to it. 

                                

3.     Into the Wild Jon Krakauer: In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters. How Johnson came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild. Craving a blank spot on the map, Johnson simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. It is one                                        of the best books that are out there.

  

     4. India in Mind by Pankaj Mishra:  From Mark Twain’s puzzled fascination with Indian castes and customs, to Allen Ginsberg’s awe at the country’s spiritual and natural splendors glories, or from JR Ackerley’s delightful recollections of his visits with an unusual gay Maharajah, to Gore Vidal’s unforgettable scene in his novel Creation, in which his character finally meets the Buddha and is puzzled; all twenty-five selections in India in Mind reveal a place that evokes in the traveler, reactions ranging from fear and perplexity to astonishment and wonder. India in Mind is a marvel of sympathy, sensitivity, and perception, not to mention outstanding writing.

     5. Wanderlust: Real Life Tales Of Adventure and Romance by Don George and Pico Iyer: Probably one of the best travel writing collections released in recent memory, this collection is under the name Pico Iyer, who helped to edit this collection. These stories come from the Wanderlust section of Salon.com and create varied embroidery of travel writing that will keep the reader flipping from one writer to another. The book is funny, insightful as well as enlightening. The experiences of almost all the writers revive the Wanderlust in you.

Happy Independence Day!

Disclaimer: Thoughts are personal. My intention is not to stereotype anyone. They do not intend to hurt anyone.  Just simple thoughts. 

It's Independence Day.

People's favorite time to be patriotic. Definitely.

Though it is also people's favorite time to cry about the corruption, poverty and what not! 

But who gave you the right to criticize corruption? 

Did you ever realize you are a part of it? 

Did you ever realize your parents are a part of it?

Did you ever realize your forefathers were a part of it?

When in your whole life, you haven't done a single thing waving which you can proudly say. "Yes, I tried stopping corruption, oh fuck you Government!", then you have no right to cry about it.

And who gave you the right to cry about poverty?

Was that something you wrote about on your iPad while sitting in your Mercedes sipping hot Starbucks coffee? 

Ever visited a slum? 

Ever donated? 

Ever tried making their miserable lives better?

Remember a small child that came to you and asked for something to eat? No?

Then you must remember how you told him to fuck off? No?

Then who the fuck gave you the right to cry about poverty?

OH YES! FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

That little freedom!

And what exactly have you used that freedom for?

Haven't you misused that freedom rather than using it?

Oh yes they did try to curb this little freedom of ours and oh yes they were wrong! 

But were they always wrong? Didn't we sometimes go overboard?

Didn't we cross that sleek line between using and misusing? 

NO! WE ARE ALWAYS RIGHT AND WILL BE!

Well then, Happy Independence Day! :)