Categories
Musings

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’
veni_vedi_vici

* * *

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.

* * *

‘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.

* * *

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

view_from_the_top
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!

Categories
Stories

Guarding the hills


The Dadhikar Fort is well concealed in the Aravalli Hills and even with modern technology, it can be hard to find. So when we did eventually find it, we tried to get as close a look at we could!

Photographs edited with the help of my brother.

Related post: The fort in the hills


nanopoblano2015lightThis is post #29 in this year’s NaBloPoMo, or as Ra calls it Nano Poblano

NaBloPoMo = National Blog Posting Month = Thirty straight days of blogging

Categories
Stories

The fort in the hills


On our return from Sariska, we decided to pay a visit to one of the forts in Alwar. We skipped breakfast to beat the sun and reached the Bala Quila, only to find out that the only way to get to the fort in the morning was by trekking up a few kilometers. We’d have to wait for another hour before the gates at the foot of the hill would be opened for vehicles. Since we had to return soon, we changed our plans and decided to visit the other fort nearby.

For something which was supposed to be nearby, it seemed like we had been travelling forever. We couldn’t see anything but the hills. The long winding path had good and terrible roads in equal measure. The network connectivity was terrible – online maps were not really helpful. There were few houses, and fewer people. The signboards along the roads were the only indication that we were on the right track.

We climbed one hill after another, with each turn slowly revealing the beauty of the misty Arvalli. The fort though, was still nowhere to be seen.

We approached a crossroad where even the signboard seemed confused. As we took a turn, an old man standing nearby waved at us. He must have known where we were headed and pointed us towards the right direction.

After several more minutes, we finally laid our eyes on the thousand year old Dadhikar Fort – now a heritage hotel.

I don’t know how it looks on the inside, but with the amazing hills, little ‘modern civilization’ around and poor network access, it seems like the perfect weekend getaway 😉

Well concealed behind the trees, this is about the best view we could get of the Fort.

dadhikar_fort
Dadhikar Fort from a distance

Photo edited by my brother

Related: More information on the Dadhikar Fort


nanopoblano2015lightThis is post #23 in this year’s NaBloPoMo, or as Ra calls it Nano Poblano

NaBloPoMo = National Blog Posting Month = Thirty straight days of blogging