(this post was written by me last month after my trip to matheran which is my favourite place in the world... it is a hill station near mumbai n i love going there... for more details read here... i am not describing the place here... but what i felt when i was there... hope u like it)
i am her soul… her essence... i live within her... but sometimes i tend to wander around... looking for things that touch me... intensely... passionately... just to see the effect of the events happening around her... how they touch her mind... her body... i look closely at people... at the emotions people try to hide... or the emotions they try to show... trying to decipher them... she doesn't realize what i am upto... but ofcourse that doesn't deter me... i go from place to place with her... gathering things for myself... gathering special moments... special people... special thoughts...
this time i don't move out... this time i am within her... just concentrating on her... her senses... her perceptions... but i realize thats not possible... i feel the vibes of people around her... i feel the aura of things around her... she isn't bothered... she is too busy riding... too busy loving the feeling of it to think about others... busy to such an extent that she doesn't realize the pain she is going through... (the swollen fingers and a deep wound on her ankle where the saddle kept hurting her)... that is the time i take over... i feel things for her that she doesn't comprehend... i take over her consciousness...
sound... i dont like loud sounds... i like soft music... i like the swishing of the flowers more than the howl of the wind... but today it is different... shes galloping... there is no sound in the woods other than that of the two horses cantering to nowhere... or maybe somewhere... i don't bother where... and then i hear the sound... a loud sound... which i generally don't like... but as i said... today is different... it is the sound of the wind in her ears... so loud... so deafening... so blatantly ear-splitting... but still musical... so very symphonic... in harmony with the galloping of her horse and her body... it feels like an orchestra playing... is it the philharmonic playing???
sight... all she sees is the riding track... the horse... the saddle... and nothing else... she doesn't see the animals scurrying away from the galloping beasts... i see them... she doesn't notice the look of awe on the face of other riders... i notice it... she doesn't survey the woods and the valleys around her... i survey them... she doesn't visualize herself on her horse... speeding to nowhere... i do it... i see her clearly... like the way you watch a ballet dancer performing... is she swaying to the music of the philharmonic??
taste... what do i taste here?... the wind in her mouth... she has this inane habit of parting her lips when she is riding... ofcourse she doesnt realize it... its not made up... but i notice it... as i feel the taste of wind in her mouth... cool... refreshing... tempting... and then there is this other taste... mud... the red earth blowing freely... clean earth... delectable earth... tasty earth... the taste remains in her mouth forever...
smell... i smell the balmy wind... i smell the pure clean air... i smell the naturally aromatic mud... i smell the acidic odor of the horses... the sour whiff of her perspiration... i breathe in the aroma of freshly fallen leaves... she doesn't heed them... i take them with me to bring them back to her when she is not there anymore... it will stay with her forever...
touch... i feel her touching the wind... or rather the other way round... the wind blowing on her face... the enticing touch... the feel of the saddle where her thighs touch it... the feel of the stirrups under her feet... as she rides ahead unheeded... the caress of her hair blowing wildly... and the contractions and expansions of her horses muscles... the feeling that was long forgotten... the feeling that had come back... the feeling that will never be lost again... the touch to be savoured all her life... by me.. her substance... her essence... her soul...
this time i don't move out... this time i am within her... just concentrating on her... her senses... her perceptions... but i realize thats not possible... i feel the vibes of people around her... i feel the aura of things around her... she isn't bothered... she is too busy riding... too busy loving the feeling of it to think about others... busy to such an extent that she doesn't realize the pain she is going through... (the swollen fingers and a deep wound on her ankle where the saddle kept hurting her)... that is the time i take over... i feel things for her that she doesn't comprehend... i take over her consciousness...
sound... i dont like loud sounds... i like soft music... i like the swishing of the flowers more than the howl of the wind... but today it is different... shes galloping... there is no sound in the woods other than that of the two horses cantering to nowhere... or maybe somewhere... i don't bother where... and then i hear the sound... a loud sound... which i generally don't like... but as i said... today is different... it is the sound of the wind in her ears... so loud... so deafening... so blatantly ear-splitting... but still musical... so very symphonic... in harmony with the galloping of her horse and her body... it feels like an orchestra playing... is it the philharmonic playing???
sight... all she sees is the riding track... the horse... the saddle... and nothing else... she doesn't see the animals scurrying away from the galloping beasts... i see them... she doesn't notice the look of awe on the face of other riders... i notice it... she doesn't survey the woods and the valleys around her... i survey them... she doesn't visualize herself on her horse... speeding to nowhere... i do it... i see her clearly... like the way you watch a ballet dancer performing... is she swaying to the music of the philharmonic??
taste... what do i taste here?... the wind in her mouth... she has this inane habit of parting her lips when she is riding... ofcourse she doesnt realize it... its not made up... but i notice it... as i feel the taste of wind in her mouth... cool... refreshing... tempting... and then there is this other taste... mud... the red earth blowing freely... clean earth... delectable earth... tasty earth... the taste remains in her mouth forever...
smell... i smell the balmy wind... i smell the pure clean air... i smell the naturally aromatic mud... i smell the acidic odor of the horses... the sour whiff of her perspiration... i breathe in the aroma of freshly fallen leaves... she doesn't heed them... i take them with me to bring them back to her when she is not there anymore... it will stay with her forever...
touch... i feel her touching the wind... or rather the other way round... the wind blowing on her face... the enticing touch... the feel of the saddle where her thighs touch it... the feel of the stirrups under her feet... as she rides ahead unheeded... the caress of her hair blowing wildly... and the contractions and expansions of her horses muscles... the feeling that was long forgotten... the feeling that had come back... the feeling that will never be lost again... the touch to be savoured all her life... by me.. her substance... her essence... her soul...
Sigh...i m already feeling nostalgic
ReplyDeletebrilliant! if this is the kind of writing "matheran" inspires then m heading for matheran when I get to mumbai next!! :)
ReplyDeleteloved reading this neha...it's beautiful:)
southpaw
ReplyDeleteu been there?... im going bak soon :))
ishi
oh believe me its a wonderful place... not someplace to b missed (ask mala)... n i dont know if others r inspired by this place... but i am... n thats bcoz it was my dads fave place too n i have been going to matheran since i was a kid.. no place comes close to my heart like matheran does... :)
oie!!
ReplyDeleteAlso on ur blog ...
hmmmm
....
BTW ( who has taken this profile pic of urs?)
i went to matheran with my mumn aunt couple of yrs bk.. but trust me we enjoyed every bit of it :)
ReplyDeleteneha i loved the way u expressed
**busy to such an extent that she doesn't realize the pain she is going through...
sweety HUGZZ lot of time u dont come out with ur true self i try to make u smile wen we meet cos somewer i know d inner u .. hUGZzz
you look a bit scared on that ghoda (or is it ghodi?) ;)
ReplyDeletelooks like i am the only i who hasnt heard of matheran.. what a shame! let me find "chullu bhad water"
Love ya expression. Its someting out of the ordinary.:)
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of this place before. But its good to feel ya senses through ya.:)
*** i feel the vibes of people around her... i feel the aura of things around her
Remind me of me at times.:)
Have a good weekend.
~Jewel
Yeah me and my friends used to go there atleast once in a month when i used to live in mumbai...And on normal weekends khandala used to be our ground so that incase of any call we cud come to mumbai fast...:) I really miss those days...
ReplyDelete**abhishek
ReplyDeleteyeah.. i wrote this a while bak... n the pics taken by myself :p
**utsy
hey hugss sweety... i like to smile when ur around... n yeah ur an aqua... ofcoz u know the inner me.. :))
**jitendra
lol that was a ghoda... n naah i aint scared in the pic... just skeptical bcoz the rider (who clicking my pic) didnt know how to hold the cam... n he was holding it all wrong... sadly no one was around to help!
** jewel
all of us can feel this aura if we concentrate on ourselves... we just dont bother u know!
**southpaw
oh u lucky chap... once in a month to matheran is awesome... i wish i could go more often... sigh!
Oh yeah, those were some days....:)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to many places in India and use this an excuse to tell many people that India is so vast, blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteMatheran... hmm, i'll be adding this to my list. High time I visit such places in India.
And yeh, needless to say, this is quite an impressive write.
awesome pic. there Neha!! and another place that i probably need to put on my list... ^_~
ReplyDelete... nicely written, i love the way u express the story... it's full of life, muaahh!
... keep it up!!
hugss**
mebbe my next stop should be there then WOW!
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
***we just dont bother u know!
ReplyDeleteI do..:P
~Jewel.:)