The Konkan Kind – II

Konkan plain stretches approximately 530km and is almost 45-76km in width. I experienced only a tiny bit of the mighty Konkan and here is the second post in my series, hope you enjoy the read.

After a good sleep, we were all up on time and headed to explore Vijaydurg fort by 6:15am. As we reached the fort, we witnessed the Konkan kind of good morning. We saw the sun, rise above the horizon with its reflection flowing and reaching us. I clicked a few pictures and then stood still to embrace the moment.

The moment pumped me so much, I was overjoyed. And so the consequence had to happen. I couldn’t take my eyes off the mesmerizing sea and structure of the place and didn’t see a hole and got my right leg stuck in it.

There was terrible pain from the bone near the feet up till the knee. I couldn’t exactly figure where I was hit as it pained from the knee till my feet. I had a good friend beside me who witnessed my fall who asked me to check but I refused and kept walking.

I didn’t wish to miss out on exploring the most magnificent sea fort. I didn’t want the group to have any delay because of my stupid fall either. I needed water badly to gulp in my tears, but sadly we had forgotten to fill our bottles that morning.

Vijaydurg is a good place if you get hurt and wish to divert your mind. There is so much to know about. The older name being ‘Gheria’, this fort is among the only two forts where Shivaji personally hoisted the saffron flag, other being Torana.

It was a naval dock of the time and the entire construction of the fort is an architectural marvel, a good place for students of architecture and history. The fort is also known to be the place where French scientist, Jhonson took readings to detect that helium exists as one of the prime elements of the Sun.

In total awe for the fort we left and took bags from our rooms to catch the 9:15am bus to Jaitapur. As we were getting out bags, I checked my leg and it looked terrible. I gulped the fear of how I’ll deal with it and went down for the quick breakfast before we left.

I sat alone on the bus and looked outside the window. I spotted a few birds and saw many beautiful houses. I noticed a completely dry banyan tree which still, stood strong. It was as if telling me to ignore the pain in my leg and be strong for the day ahead.

We got down at Jaitapur hopped into the Sumo we had hired. It took us first to Yashwantgadh, a fort we missed the last time we had come to Ratnagiri. This fort was used for trade along with Ambolgadh.

The fort is divided into two parts, the plateau and the creek. The doorway has a Ganesh idol and lotus flowers carved. The fort has two storerooms. Patki family stays inside the fort premises and they even have a well outside their house.

dav — Three of us walking towards the entrance that has the Ganesh idol and the flower. Picture Credits – Sanish

On our way to the next place in mind, our tyre got punctured. One of the screws of the tyre was stuck, we oiled and tried everything, but the screw refused to move. After around half an hour with a fellow Sumo driver’s help, we got it fixed and began our journey again.

This half-hour was like a reality check. It gave a glimpse of all that had happened during the first time and how we sailed through it. It was time to thank some superpowers who helped us not have too much delay in the day and we got down at the beautiful Kanakaditya Temple.

It is a famous place for devotees of Sri Kanakaditya (name of Sun God). The five-day celebration of Ratha-Saptami receives many devotees from all parts of the country every year. The kirtans, pravachans and aarti done during the festival is quite an attraction.

Now we were on our way to Purnagadh when we decided to quickly visit the Kasheli point. The view from the top was breathtaking and I couldn’t wait to run down the steps to the point and see the heavenly scene.

I ran the first few steps and what a big mistake that was! My leg began to hurt so bad I thought it will rip off. The sound of the waves hitting the shore was so loud, it was as if my leg shouting out to me and please just stop and stand in one place.

No, I didn’t do that, slowly I walked down the steps to the spot. The shades of blue of the sea, the blurring of the horizon, the sound of the waves, the serenity of moment made my soul so happy, I could have actually danced! That would be asking too much from my leg so I just stood there drooling over the beauty of the place.

777 — How’s the pain in your leg? ‘I can’t feel the pain with such a pretty picture painted around me, it is all too dreamy to feel anything.’

Then, we reached Purnagadh, a small fort which can be viewed in one sight. It had a Hanumanji’s deity at the entrance. Some evidence suggests it was built by Shivaji Maharaj while some suggest it was built by Sakhoji Angre, son of Kanhoji Angre.

Now we headed to Thiba Palace, a lesser known place. It is a fine architecture and clearly gives a feel of old British era. Thiba hailed from Burma and one can dig into the history of his interesting life which made the existence of this marvellous palace possible in Konkan region.

My attention yet again was driven to something else, a tree. After exploring and knowing about the Thiba Palace, I climbed a tree outside the palace. It was so pretty, I couldn’t control climbing it. I could feel the happy hormones dancing in me to the tunes of ‘Sawar Loon’ that I sang.

Now, we headed to Bhatye beach. We reached in time before the sunset. I and a friend kept our shoes in the vehicle and ran to the sea. The feeling of the first wave kissing my leg is something I can’t put to words.

I and my friend walked to the calmer, fewer people end of the beach and spent time playing and doing everything that came to our mind. We observed the sun, its reflection, and the clouds on the opposite side, the waves, and the horizon. There wasn’t a single cell in our body that wasn’t overjoyed.

After a while, we walked back to our group and had fun with them. In some time we left to figure out our stay for the night. Life balances everything since the day had made me so happy, it was time for the night to show its darkest shade.

October 8, 2018

The Konkan Kind – I

Konkan is the coastal plain region between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. It is home to many beautiful beaches, forts and temples. This is the first post in the series of my experience of the Kind Konkan. I hope you enjoy the read and perhaps learn something new.

I had yet again chosen to travel over something else more important. I had an extreme guilt of being selfish but I knew my decision wasn’t wrong and kind Konkan did prove me right!

As planned, we took Mangalore Express train from Thane station at 10:30pm. We were hoping to at least get on the train, but we not only got in, but we also got seats. The place wasn’t enough to get some sleep yet somehow we managed to relax and reached Kankavli station at 7:10am.

Eight of us freshened up and started walking towards the bus stop. We managed to have tea before we stepped in the bus to Ramgadh. Peeping through the window I saw the landscape of small houses and fields touching the horizon and in minutes we reached our first fort.

Ramgadh fort has the most unique Ganesh idol with a wobbly trunk and asuras at the base. There are seven tofs kept in line with a lot of grass and trees around it, obviously making a beautiful frame.

This intriguing fort kept us exploring it for more time than planned and we missed our bus to Achra from where we would head further to Sindhudurg. Soon, we hopped into a tumtum to Achra.

I and my friend sat behind and couldn’t stop smiling the entire ride. It was like living our ‘khwabon k parindey’ moment. The road had trees on either side, the clouds in the sky forming various shapes, the warm smiles of people in intervals, the leaves on the road following us for a while and the calm breeze soothing our souls.

Luckily, we managed to get this tumtum to ride directly to Sindhudurg. We kept our luggage outside and headed to our boat ride to the fort. Sindhudurg is a 16th-century architectural marvel made possible by the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The entrance to the fort is hidden like that of the other sea forts built at the time. The purpose was for the enemy to never find it. Only locals can point the correct entry, no tourist can locate it.

Yes, the fort has a beautiful structure and amazing history but my attention was totally driven to the sea. The waves kept thrashing the fort walls, the sound of which was so serene I got lost in my own world.

The mighty sea waves many time hit the fort walls so high the water fell inside. The waves managed to fall on a few of us as we walked past the entire fort wall churning excitement among all of us the entire time.

If the waves could climb the fort walls and reach us, I kept thinking of all the things even I can do and think are impossible. Like the endless efforts of the waves, even I can and I should keep giving my all for my masters and hope to achieve what I think I can.

After a thoughtful walk around this historical fort, it was time to leave. By now, the heat and hunger both were unbearable. As we returned from the fort, we had a kala-khatta gola and headed straight for lunch. The old lady serving us food reminded me of grandma so much, it made me cry within.

As usual, instead of being low about missing grandma, I acted weird and made all around me believe I was annoyed with her being so much keen on me eating. She kept looking at my plate, conversing to me about food and other things, just like grandma.

I wish I had courage enough to hug her and say thank you, you made my day. Her kindness made my soul smile and heart cry. It definitely felt like grandma had come down to say hello, please take care and eat well one last time.

We had some time before our bus to Vijaydurg and we had a walk around. I crossed the lunch place twice, thinking if I should go in and thank the old lady, but I couldn’t. I think I need to get more emotionally stronger for that.

We boarded the bus and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets. The cool breeze helped me have a nap despite the ride being extremely bumpy and scary. I think the BEST drivers should be given special rewards and recognition for their driving stints. They are really underrated F1 drivers.

It was dark when we got down near Vijaydurg fort. A visarjan was going to happen soon and a procession was approaching towards us. The dhol was so amazing, I began dancing in reflex. Not for long but we all did a little jig of our own for a few minutes. It felt odd yet refreshing to dance at a distance from a procession.

We attended the visarjan aarti and I witnessed my first ever visarjan. I don’t have feelings about what I saw, kind of blank about the whole festival itself, I have no clarity of thought on the festival as it is just my second year of actually understanding it, I’ll surely write more on it when I know and experience more about it.

Soon after that, we finished our dinner and then the moon appeared above the sea. Deep pink, calm and as if smiling and welcoming me for a conversation. I sat near the edge of the sea and saw the moon reflect over the sea.

The waves hitting the rocks at the shore felt like the moon was responding to my questions. I clicked a few pictures and hummed a few songs. I was lost in the divine beauty of this moment after that.

My mind had zero tabs open, perhaps still somewhere some music player was on in low volume but nothing more. For a few minutes it was just me and the moon, its reflection and the sound of the waves at the shore, it was a soulful conversation with the moon.

I saw the moon rise above and observed the change in its reflection pattern. After spending these moments of peace it was time to head to our rooms and have enough rest for the next day. We headed back, played cards for a while and slept.

I slept with a big smile on my face. I thanked the superpowers for a beautiful day where I saw the power of the mighty waves in the start and for the beautiful end with the moon and everything serene that occurred in between. I knew somewhere within, that this was just a start and there was more madness in store in the coming few days.

October 4, 2018

It’s Never Enough!

“I was glad to see you, little good girl, God bless you, come every year, eat well now…” he caressed my head as I was sitting down to eat.

I looked up at him, smiled and nodded. I couldn’t utter a word as I felt so loved.

It was my friend’s dad, he did the entire hour-long aarti as many of us joined behind clapping. If you know me or have read a few of my posts, to see me standing at an hour-long aarti is a miracle.

Thanks to my cousin Sanish, who convinced me last year to witness this aarti, for an experience, to see how it is done. However, this year, I had to convince him to leave his team’s football match for this experience!

An hour of Ganesh pooja at this friend’s place is an experience I would like to go for every year, to observe all kinds of devotees. The one ahead, in full divine swing, one behind actually swinging and almost dancing, kids trying to adapt something, old ladies singing every word.

It is a very different world for that one hour, everyone is in a different mind frame but physically at the same place! For me, more than the aarti, uncle’s blessing words, decided to dwell and live in me.

My dad has never caressed my head or told me he was proud of something I did, blessed me or prayed for me. I crave for that kind of love. My friend’s dad perhaps said so and blessed many others present there, but for me that moment was everything.

That moment of love was a feeling of joy I perhaps can’t justify with words. When you feel it, it is never enough!

I am scared of horror movies. I can’t watch violence on the screen of any kind, too much blood and ghosts. It kills me. An irrational fear, I am trying to overcome.

I began watching bloodshed and violence to fight this fear. I watched, Gangs of Wasseypur both parts, Haider, and Sacred Games. Each helping me step up a ladder of being okay with violence.

I was worst hit with Haider, because I know that the violence in it wasn’t a fictional story. I know it is the reality of people. If there is only one Bollywood movie you will ever watch in your life, please make sure it is Haider.

After I felt I could manage violence on my plate, it was time to go for horror. All this violence I saw on my laptop, but I decided to go for horror on the big screen. Yes, I love challenging me.

The ghost of the movie did give me a few sleepless nights, but the experience in the theatre stayed with me longer. I kept clinging on to a friend, screaming and even became hot with fear.

My friend held me tight, spoke to me, snuggled me but it didn’t help much. I was shit scared and the fear didn’t dissolve. However, the care received in that little time was impeccable.

The little whispers, the light strokes on my hand, the constant concern, made me felt loved. It is rare to receive care in your worst moment.

To be loved when all you feel is panic and anxiety for facing your worst kind of fear. And when you do get it, it is never enough!

My cousin and I were on our way to the aarti and we got speaking about our next travel plan. He spoke about how he wishes his friend to not miss many treks. We discussed how we can’t really do much about his friend missing out on so much.

I could relate to this feeling because I have my favourite travel people too. It is only human to have favourites. But, my experience in my Nature Club camps has made me stronger.

My first camp, I went because I knew one person out of the entire group. On my second camp, I knew only two. On the third camp, there was no one, I still went for it and kept going irrespective of who could or couldn’t make it.

I believe, when you travel with someone, you connect to them on levels perhaps you normally wouldn’t. And when you find that bond, that connection, it is hard to let go. You wish to spend more time, knowing someone, exploring the place with that particular people.

With nature club today, I bond with so many people and each bond is so special in its own way. In my trek group too, I have my favourites and I cherish all these people.

I am overjoyed when all my people are present on the same trip. It sucks the same when they don’t make it. This is exactly what my cousin was feeling.

He has also felt the bond, the connection with his friend, he wants to trek and travel with this friend. He wants his friend to explore more and experience all the fun. I could relate to it when you feel this bond with someone, it is never enough!

Why is it never enough? Because who doesn’t like being loved? Who doesn’t like being taken care of? Who doesn’t wish to share a strong bond?

When we receive something, we want more of it. We expect everything in the universe to fall in place for us to have that one feeling. And, that is where we go wrong.

I believe, true bliss is in the ability to let go and not expect. To be happy when you receive and not crave for when you don’t. This is difficult and so is the ultimate feeling of peace.

We all crave for something, a special someone’s love, a mom’s hug, a dad’s smile, a friend’s company. We are all humans when we have such expectations and sometimes irrational wants. It is okay to feel so, but it isn’t okay to let this feeling affect anything else in our life.

I know someone who ruined her life because she didn’t receive the same amount of love from someone with whom she was for more than seven years. I have so many people on my Instagram and Facebook, perfect examples of bad parenting and broken families and how they are ruining their life in crave of that little love at home.

The sorrow might not be the same for all but they have one cause in common, expectation. It is so very hard to not expect. To not crave for love. It is only human to feel the need to be loved and feel extremely low when you don’t.

This struggle is real, in its smallest form and on the biggest level. But hopefully, we are able to raise ourselves above it and witness the true bliss.

I am not saying it is easy but is possible. I do not believe in heaven so much, but sure know we can feel peace right here on earth. If you feel this kind of bliss, dm me about it on Insta @nisha_navgire

September 23, 2018

Yay! It’s a year of my weekly!

A year back, same month, I began my first job. I did so because my results came in late and hence my admission process for masters got delayed. I took up this job, hoping to save some money for my course and travel dreams.

In a few days, I felt out of place. A strong need in me arose to make time after the job to do something I love. This lead to the birth of weekly blogging. Every week, I challenged myself, to whack my head and come up with some content.

As I look back at the posts, I feel I have grown. There are posts that suck so bad, I wish to erase them off completely, while there are posts that make me smile bright.

“Well written”

Thank you, Sir,

“This was a nice read, didn’t think of these aspects said Ashuta, a teacher from Bangalore”

Thank you, Sir, this made my day

Okay, let me decode this above lines. Sir, referring to the head of college Nature Club with whom I go for the big camps outside Maharashtra. He not only read my blog, but perhaps sent it across to others, and send me their feedback too!

He is a master of so many things, I owe the birth of my blog to him. This coming from him, made me mad. I took a screenshot and sent it to my friends, I told them, this has to go on my gravestone.

But, I also remember weeks where I didn’t have anything. The pen refused to write, the papers were totally blank. I didn’t give up. I cheated perhaps, I went through some old poems I wrote and posted that.

I must have missed a few weeks and haven’t really done a complete year of weekly blogging, but this is the closest I have got. And perhaps, now the challenge will be to be able to write and not miss a single week until next year.

The quality of content goes down when you do something you love, is the notion I was fed which kept me away from blogging too often. But this year’s experience has made me believe otherwise.

It is not so much of a test of your creativity as it is of your will. I remember, this fellow blogger’s feedback on one of my posts saying in a very polite way that it sucked, that it doesn’t fulfil the expectations from the previous stuff you have written.

His words made me choke. It killed me within. I felt I am good for nothing that I should give up this whole idea of weekly blogging. I should only pen what I feel in my book and leave it there. I almost decided to delete my blog.

I was about to do so when I read my first post again. I re-read all of my blogs. I edited the crap I had written. I gulped all my shit thoughts and penned an experience I had that week. I posted that week too and decided to not stop whatever the results.

The worst that can happen is I’ll have some stupid post up, but I can rework on it, I will have something up to work upon. The idea to keep flowing kept me going.

On a post a few weeks later he texts back saying it was one of my best. He is glad I kept writing. Little did he knew I almost gave up on it and he was the reason.

I am a person who definitely takes the smallest things to heart and feels shit about doing so. After a good nap, I am back to being me and dealing with stuff better. If I could get over this stupid blogger’s comment, you can too.

You can always make time to do something you love. You have to make the most of what you have now. It won’t be easy, but it isn’t impossible either. Insta @nisha_navgire is here to help!

September 16, 2018

Funny Guy

About you funny guy
I am unable to decide
Whether I should come and express
Or let it be within me
Should I tell you
How I feel
Should I tell you
How you make me feel
About you funny guy
I am not sure
How you will react
To the volcanoes of emotions
To the thunder storm of feelings
To the flood of hormones
I feel
When I am around you
Funny guy
Do you have a single clue of this?
Slighest idea?
Tell me you do
Tell me you feel the same
Tell me you are as attracted to me as I am
Tell me, I am beautiful
Tell me, you care
I am sorry funny guy
I feel desperate
And it feels like a rebound
And so wrong in my head
To come and express to you
What I feel
As it is, telling someone what I feel is difficult
And in trivial matters as such
I feel I am not capable enough
I don’t feel I deserve you
But I definitely feel for you
And hope to tell you one day

I send in this poem, expressing what I felt.
I got a poem back as a response, stay tuned to read that!

March 3, 2018

BRO Quotes

It is like the drive up Nathu La

was listening to music,

while the drive down

understanding the lyrics.

As the ride took little pace

suddenly I saw a picture of my dad

yes, in my driver

it usually happens to me when

I speak to elderly men

The climate outside was getting cooler

As we drived up

But monsoon had began within

As my cheeks felt the showers

Each horrible memory of my childhood

Playing like a movie

It wasn’t Sanam my driver

It was his warm personality

Also he was too handsome to be my dad

Whenever I see a good elderly man

I think what if even a percent of this man my dad would be

So different each day of my childhood would be

Then suddenly a BRO Quote appears

“Tough times don’t last, tough people do”

So true I murmured under my breath

Sanam, was kind

He felt the vibe

He shared how he misses his small daughter

But this made my rain showers

Become silent thunder storms

Sanam didn’t know what went wrong

As I was already a bit low

But ‘missing’ the word only

Reminded me of my sister

How I wished to be there

At the airport, to wish her goodbye

To tell her, in one way or another

Intentionally or no

She did shape me into the person

I have turned out to be

but I am an awkward human

I know I wouldn’t have said so

If I was there, would have

Helped her and may be hugged her

And her behaviour would as ususal

Make me wish to stab her

Again a BRO Quote I read

“BRO it is never too late”

I wonder if it was to

Tell my sister what she means to me

Or to stab her

Smiling slightly I got down near a lake

Me and Sanam caught hands, had a quite walk

Without a single word

Just absorbing the beauty of the place

Silently, admist the touristy chaos

Just before I entered the jeep again

I saw a mother trying to save her small kid

From the cold, she held him inside her own jacket

I tried to see her till the last moment

The climate changed outside

As the clouds started covering the roads

So did the stormy clouds cover my heart

And heavy rains made my only tutle neck sweater wet

First time in the ride my crying made a sound

However I am too good making it feel

Like a cough & nose cleaning sound

How could I let her be alone

In a moment I knew she would need me the most

Dad is never there when needed

Grandma had left us abrubtly

Neha had to leave

How could I have been so selfish

And come for this IV?

I read a BRO Quote again

“BRO look on the bright side”

For the first time ever

I smiled in the middle of tears

Yes I thought

Wasn’t it all worth it

To be here, in the middle of clouds

And with these people #onelasttime

Meeting so many people

Formally and on the roads

I had consoled myself

As we almost reached Gangtok

When again a BRO Quote appeared

“BRO you live only once”

As if summing up my entire

Emotional Turmoil in the drive down

Sanam and BRO Quotes became my new BROs

I am not sure of meeting these BROs again

But they have given me a lesson

I will rewind again and again

February 25, 2018

The Balance – II

‘What’s your name?’

‘Nisha’

‘What’s your full name’

‘Nisha Navgire’

‘Okay, so what are you?’

This question expects a certain answer, and if it doesn’t receive it, there are high chances of the person asking it being offended. And I can definitely have a degree at offending people in this context as my answers usually don’t fit in what is expected.

And this is precisely why I avoid all social gatherings. These gatherings are highly important to my mom. An example can be the wedding of x person who is related to me in a chain which is perhaps more complicated than the political situation in this country.

The situation above is a tiny glimpse of the kind of social pressure to be boxed into a religion. If not what you believe in, the thing that satisfies such questions is what were you born into. But, if I don’t believe in the religion I was born into, what’s the point of telling it?

I believe there has to be a space, where in a person can speak up and say, I don’t understand my or any religion and I don’t wish to either. A person anywhere around this world should be given a choice to know, understand, learn and grow in a religion he or she wants to.

Twenty two or sixty two, it’s okay to not know what your religion is, what faith you belong to. I didn’t for the longest and I am still not sure if I do. It is really fine.

Just as education in this country which is ‘take it all in and please vomit it in exam’ religion is too. It is ‘take it all in from the time you are born and vomit it all over till you die.’ I envy the very few friends I know who were part of families where they could question, understand, learn and grow into the religion they were born into.

These guys are the most sorted as they completely understand what they believe in and why and also have total understanding of the ‘co-existence of various religions.’

I was only born into a religion, the latter part of knowing, understanding didn’t really happen. I was supposed to figure it out myself. I began my quest to find the ‘perfect’ religion to imbibe. Only to realize such a thing doesn’t exist.

Over twenty something years on this planet I realized there is no perfect religion as each has been at the end made by a human. And no human can be perfect, there has to be loop holes. After I figured this, I decided to take the good out of each religion I come across, over the years I live.

But the next question is does God exist? If religion at its base is made by humans, is God fictional to human minds or a reality known to few? This is where for me the word, balance comes into play.

You can be completely from the side of science and might deny the existence of God, or believe in its existence from all your heart and soul, but if you are neither, if you have related to the text above these two paragraphs then balance is the word for you.

In the flowing river, in the steady mountains, in the crawling clouds, in the flying birds, in the tiniest insect and the biggest mammal, in each of these and much more that I have witnessed of nature, is where for me God dwells in.

So for me there exists God, but I still am not sure of my religion. And question here really is why, why does one need a religion? There can be many answers to it, a general one I wish to consider here is for humans to live in a fashion which helps them last on this planet for long and in harmony.

If the above has to be considered as a base, I believe I have found my religion. My God is dwelling in nature. Main motto of my religion is humanity. And for humans to live longer on this planet, protecting it the way it has always been.

This all can make sense to you or not, point for this explanation of my frame on this subject if for you to grasp balance in this situation. Is for you to understand that in a society where on basis of religion there is violence and ever increasing intolerance I wish for you to have balance. A balance of understanding what your faith is (if there is) and what you behave in the name of this faith.

So what are you? What do you believe in?
Let’s share ideas on this, DM me on Instagram @nishanavgire

February 18, 2018

Do It Right

I got to finally blogging every week, maintained a travel book, a monthly planner, an ideation book, read many books, drew few doodles/drawings and wrote poems for Insta posts. In one sentence, this is my entire 2017.

I didn’t write poetry until Jan last year. There was a certain amount of fear I had about poetry especially looking at the way it has all expanded over the internet. It scared me. Like a big canvas.

I realized, when you first start drawing in school you start from a small book and not on a canvas. That’s exactly what I did with my poetry.

I started with whatever images I had and started writing poetry on each. Over the year I gained courage and wrote few poems on various pictures I clicked during my travels and made sure I pushed myself to post it on my Insta profile.

I felt similar fear with doodling too. Doodling on A4 page scared me. When I cut it into four parts I doodled with confidence and results looked good too. Also, I realized I doodle or draw more when I need clarity of thoughts. I observed that after a bit of drawing, doodling I was able to pen down thoughts fluently.

Chaos in my mind is a common thing as I am one of them who over thinks too. So I always keep with me few small white papers and loads of stationary for safety.

IMG_20180107_135024162 — Some doodling/drawing from last year which managed to look good

Untill last year I would read one book in like 2-3 months. I would always want to read more but never would end up doing so. I tried to figure out why this was happening. I never read anything on weekends and during big trips. The only time I read sincerely was daily in local trains.

So I tricked myself and kept two books in my bag. I read one while going to work and other on my way back. In a span of a month, I finished both. I have decided to keep this habit going and continue reading more this year around.

One of the biggest achievement last year personally was being able to write my blog every week. And this I would completely credit to the other big change in my life, my first job.

Being at work 5 days of the week made me realize the importance of spending time on something I love to do. The thought of losing the core of my being due to a job terrified me and hence I kept writing every week.

As a reflex reaction to calm my body, I traveled. I have said it before and I say it again, travelling in a way is my therapy, a way I heal myself. And therefore a huge part of me is inclined towards it. I know come what may, I’ll be travelling various places this year around too.

To do it right, to achieve what you want I suggest figure out your body clock. I am a morning person and I end up ideating and being more productive in the morning. Figure this out, it will ease the process of achieving what you want.

Figure out how you function, tap your own habits. Like how I figured when I read the most and when I didn’t. Analyse yourself and try to absorb your natural behaviour into the tasks you wish to do.

At the end of the day, only you can help your boat sail. Making resolutions is merely saying it. I would suggest don’t say, make your boat sail through it, do it and do it right.

I have penned down here how I managed to do it right, I hope it inspires you to have a more productive year. All the best!

My last week of the year was beautiful in Ranthambore, Rajasthan.
A post on the travel coming up soon. Until then, my insta (@nishanavgire)
will have pictures from the trip with poems of course!

January 7, 2018