Once Upon a Time...

    We grow up not knowing what we become. As children we exemplify an ocean of innocence, learning the art of deception, perfidy at each step of our evolution. By the time we are adults we are already masters in adopting different masks for different occasions and act hypocrites whenever the need arises.

    The poem titled ‘Once Upon a Time’ by Gabriel Okara , from my high school perfectly describes this feeling of mine.

                                                            Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.

There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that’s gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.

‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thrice-
for then I find doors shut on me.

So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.

And I have learned too
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.

But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

So show me, son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.

                                                                                                     ~Gabriel Okara

Credits: Ahmer Khan

Ladakh - An Intrepid Dream

We knew it was a long way to go, through the barren lands, mightiest of mountains, furriest of waters, the excitement and thrill however overpowered all the fears one must have had.

Mountains are always a thing of wonder and where else can one feel more close to them than the Himalayas. Lofty as they seem immensely patronizing, as if talking to the heavens. The roads no different, make you pass through the yawning valleys and the roadside dreading waters coming out of the glaciers seem to personify all your imagination. The heights you reach are just astounding, makes you feel at the top of the
world with no parallel mountains and peaks you would wish to go.

Zojilla Pass

Zojilla Pass

Zojilla Pass

The start of the Ladakh Region

The road to Leh passes through Zojilla pass, the most dangerous of all passes (peaks), which is followed by more or less hassle free road upto leh. Of places worth mentioning are the Drass, Kargil, Lamayuru (alongside Fotella mountains), Drass being the second coldest inhabited place on earth.

                                                                 

Drass

Ahead of Kargil our travel was mostly under a charming full moonlight. The experience was mesmerizing as the moonlight only added to the glamour the landscape had in store for us. The moon full bright just at the exact tip of the mountain made it feel like a journey from a fairy tale.
                                                           

Road to Kargil

 
Leh, a desert, a desolate open land is carved in amongst the barren, stony and haughty mountains. The air is dry, no wonder you would find moisturizers and lip guards immensely useful. It wasn’t long until I realized what I had read about the place. Leh is a place to sit back, stop all you have been doing and just wonder how amazing the creation can get. It’s a place where the time stops, life slows down. This sparsely populated place is all about adventure. Not much different from ones thinking of a chinese or a tibetian culture this place has the same Buddhist architecture, religious beliefs though with less exotic food.

Leh City

We managed to find a good place for our stay, a small lodge owned by the most generous lady we could find in the entire region. Lucky as we got we found the home like food and all sorts of pampering we could ask for. Things got a lot easier for us then onwards.

It started off with a wonderful morning, with a stint of chill and sunshine. Quite excited as we were we made our way to explore the local places. Aiming professionalism we hired bikes to tour the city. With what I call the most amazing experience I have ever had, a bike in ladakh (on rent) is the best thing you can have to roam around, although you can hire a bicycle too.

The Leh city is a lot about tourist assistance, shops and vendors selling the traditional clothing, kitchen ware, and local food. Tourists, of course are in profusion, bustling around the streets on their bikes producing the typical guttural sound.                            

At Hall Of Fame

                   

Bike Rentals

Bike Ride to Magnetic Hill

                                                                     
Life is about exploring places, and with the world famous Pangong in mind our excitement knew no bounds. The lake known for its colours and vastness was perhaps what made us to plan the whole trip. A 150 km drive from Leh, tiring and hypoxic as it gets as you keep climbing up slopes of mountains one after the other to reach Tchangla Pass. 

Chang La Pass

Its hard to believe but the first view of Pangong Lake would make you screech out of excitement. Darker than the sky as it seems, the blue colour made it glow and the slanting rays of sun made it to sparkle. A peculiar of its kind as it was, we camped along the banks of the lake, though setting up of tent was much of difficult task and even wasn’t allowed in the area. But determined as we were, ready to confront all uncertainties, we put up a tent in a very short span of time.

We experienced the sunset along the banks of a salty lake stretching a long way along the mountains into China. It wasn’t long until darkness fell and the only people you could find there where us. Much to our delight, we lit a bonfire which followed a night of relishing food prepared on fire and storytelling. Even more amazing was to see the moon rising behind the mountains, dispelling the darkness both on the land and within us. With stars appearing brighter and bigger than ever, the night was unlike any other night we had in our lives. The sunrise being equally mesmerizing with the birds flying high and low, swift and slow, all praising the same creator.

First view of Pangong Lake

Along the Banks of Pangong Lake

Pangong Lake

A stay at Pangong Tso

Bonfire- Pangong Tso

All about story telling - Pangong Tso

Ever heard of double humped camels? Well, we got to ride them. The Nubra valley has a lot offer. The Hunder silver deserts are a treat to watch. The silver white squandering sand, the galloping wind, the sand dunes all are worth seeing. The camels very peculiar, with double humps are only to be found here in whole of asia.

Camel safari - Hundar

Camel Safari - Hundar

Of the commonest things you would see in Leh and surrounding places are the small places of worship, the monasteries. Quite peculiar as they seem, they reflect thoughtfulness and devotion of the people of Leh.

Symbols Of Devotion

Art and Tradition

The Fat Ladakhi Rotti

Of what we found out, Ladakh is all about

the mighty hills and the deep valleys, 
       of Gods very presence and the divine feel, 
 of barren lands and mysterious waters, 
   of generous people and incredible food. 
Its also about the lessons you learn, for it teaches you the virtues of consideration, partaking, teamwork, appreciation and few which words can’t describe.

The Final Goodbye

When Autumn came

Bewildered as I stood, I looked at what surrounds me,

Mighty chinars, mesmerizing hills that cover me.

The Lake had in it a tinge I never did see,

The boats simmering over it like a bee.

O’ the leaf that fell without harm,

Melodiously, with grandeur charm.

It’s this time of the year, I feel hopeful than ever,

The land looks vibrant and the soul seems richer.

Ramadan Kareem

It’s always the changing wind that hints to us,

A month is here full of mercy and trust.

The daffodils, the lily, blossom early in the morning,

They greet the people and appear charming.

It’s the time, we find people engrossed in prayers,

Glossing their heart and soul with colourful layers.

Photo Credits: Ahmer Khan

The dazzle of food is like never before,

Cherries, strawberries, and dates galore.

And I fast knowing hunger of the poor,

Giving alms to needy, and pray for their cure.

I feel the dawn, I feel the dusk,

Can feel the fragrance of that heap of husk.

O' people let us love, let us share,

For surely this month, we ought to care.

A River That Flows

                                                     

It is said "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. If you want to make Him laugh even harder, tell Him how much you know."

It’s strange how people around the globe keep planning about their future, not knowing if they are going to see the tomorrow they are planning about. Perhaps, hope is what makes them do so.

Still, life does not provide you everything you desire for. It’s like some divine power is processing our desires and wishes and executes them the way it wants. People try to fabricate their lives in the most preeminent way possible. But it’s a fact that life is not as one would have wished it to be. It seems to me that life is like a river that flows of its own, not concerned about the wishes and aspirations of those inhabiting around. Thus like a river, life is self directing, in a way asking us to follow and takes us where ever it feels like going, through and over the barren rocks or along the gardens full of flowers.

Photo Credits: Saalim Maqbool

Life can also be regarded as the wind which blows directionless and may prove harmful and once given a direction help boats to sail to their destination.

From what I have figured out, the best way to live one’s life is not trying to give direction to the swift flowing river but following it wherever it takes you in a way that it befriends you and with time can’t move around without you.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

BEING A BURNHALLIAN

From the dawn of human civilization people have been engaged in the teaching and learning processes. Life perhaps is an unremitting utilization of the experience, one gains from day to day life.

I was a fistful of clay when i was put in a room full of other small mounds of clay. I didn’t know what i would be transformed to as i didn’t know what i am. The time passed and i realised that i was being acted upon by some dexterous moulders who were trying every now and then to give me the best possible shape. The tint of personification and experience was what made me a sagacious human creature and that is why i feel that although i am a product of God’s creation but what i have been transformed to in my life is mainly due to magnanimous effort of those skillful moulders.

Today looking back at the time that has passed, one wonders how fortunate are the ones that have been a part of this big establishment. The best platform for learning after mother’s lap is one’s school and it is this difference of school that creates people with different contemplative minds and different thinking. Burn Hall school has not only provided an extended platform for exploring the talents within, but has also played a major role in integrating these talents together to create bigger avenues that have proved fruitful for the students and the society at large. Being a student is always joyful and what else one can desire if he is an eternal part of ‘this’ school. The school has unwrapped the gifts the creation has bestowed upon us and taught us to use them in a rational way. One feels proud to be a Burnhallion and feels blessed for it. For all of us it has been a home away from home. Not just because we have spent more time in school, but because of the warmth and genuine affection that persists within this family.

The school days have undoubtedly been the most joyful days and the memories of being with friends, that first act of sharing and building a relationship with the unknowns are some divine things that one can learn in his lifetime. The atmosphere within the school is of heaven, perhaps ineffable because everything seems to be so perfect that it is beyond one’s imagination. Perhaps out of love and compassion; i always see angels moving around in the compound every now and then thus making me strongly believe that it is one of the holiest places i have been to, a place touched by GOD’s grace and blessings.

I have heard that if one teaches you even a single word, you ought to respect him/her. And with so many teachers and so many words taught it seems that our entire lifetime is insufficient for paying back what the teachers have given to us. The peculiar teacher -student relation is something that makes this school a little different from others and a little special.

The impact the school has left on each one’s mind is beyond the understanding of mankind and wherever we go and whatever we pursue the feeling of being a Burnhallian will always remain with us and will motivate us and enthuse us to do the impossible and facilitate to make benefits for the society as well as for the entire mankind.

The spirits enthused, and the minds nurtured,

By that very thought of me.

Blessed seems me and blessed seem others

By that very shower of thee

SAALIS MAQBOOL                            dated: 18-10-2010