On top of the world

You must see this old bungalow, before I leave. There’s also a beautiful park nearby. You’ll love it!

The rooms of the old bungalow were given out on rent to college students, and we had a chance to see the room occupied by my cousin and a few other girls.

On the wall next to one of the beds was a post-it note with the words ‘Veni Vedi Vici’

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At the beginning of this month, I took up a challenge – to post something every single day of November. It’s what they call NaBloPoMo. A blogging friend wrote several inspiring posts and a fellow blogger whom I hadn’t known at the time gave me the courage to participate. But I did not believe I would be able to successfully complete it, and so I never registered for the Official Blogroll.

To motivate myself, I began drafting the last post of the month – celebrating my achievement. This note, an affirmation of conquest before really conquering, seemed most appropriate.

Today is the 30th consecutive day of blogging. The past month has been a fascinating creative experiment – completing long forgotten drafts and reliving stories from my childhood; recalling random conversations and writing poetry about mundane events. When the words dried up, I dug into reserves of virtual archives and pictures from travels. All of my posts were published on late nights. And I almost never knew what I was going to write till the moment I began typing. Even when I returned home late from work, despite the heavy eyes, I made it a point to write.

And tonight, I can say with pride, I have succeeded.

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‘Veni Vedi Vici’

I never met the girl who wrote that note, but I imagine she has big dreams. She has come to the biggest city of the country. She’s most definitely seen many days here. And making it through her graduation may well be the beginning of her conquests.

I’m guessing the girl has no idea that I snapped a picture of her note-to-self. If you are that girl, I hope you have made many a conquest.

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Even with weary eyes, the view from the top is beautiful.

The view from Dadhikar fort – the mist rising and dissolving above the shallow valleys

“Veni, vidi, vici” is a Latin phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar, who supposedly used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 46 BC after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. The phrase translates to ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’

And now it’s time for a short break!

Many many thanks to all the wonderful people who have been a part of this journey, for reading, liking and commenting. I’ll see you soon!