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Happy new year
You are the first thought of wakefulness at the break of dawn. You are the warmth under the quilt that I struggle to part from. You are the light of the lamp in the temple, you are the fragrance of burning incense. You are the joy that beats in my chest, you are the vigor that runs in my veins. You are the smell of fresh coffee in the misty morning. You are the water break in the middle of a boring meeting. You are the taste that lingers on the tongue for more after a midday meal. You are…
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Ash and an empty cup
It felt good to step out of the car. We had been driving for about two straight hours. Slightly limping and stretching to set ourselves straight, we made our way to one of the numerous Lyangcha stores sprouted along the highway. These delicacies had made Saktigarh a popular pitstop on the way to Shantiniketan. We snacked, and tried all four variants the store had. Each was made of a different combination of ingredients. Votes were cast, and a boxful of the winning candidate was packed for our gracious hosts. Unwound, and full to the brim, we leisurely walked out of…
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E = mc² in Cancun
She stared at me with her eyes wide open in her drunken stupor: “Are you serious?” “Yes.” She broke herself free from my supporting hand. I had helped her up to the room upon receiving a hint from one of our hosts, something the other hostel mates were too kind to admit. Noone particularly enjoys an obnoxiously drunk at their dinner table. She got out of her exhausted outfit that reeked of sweat, Mayan liquor, and veiled vomit. The cinnamon concoction she had been sipping on the bus for her itchy throat was a lot stronger than she had anticipated. …
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Mountain Daze
2009. Bagga and I had just returned from a 3-day hike of Mount Rinjani. Kranti Singh Bagga was my batchmate in college, and my housemate. He had all the adventurous ideas, and I was the guy who’d always say yes. The hike had been pretty amazing. We saw lava pour down the cinder cone into a lake while having fried chicken on a not-too-distant peak. The squad was two porters, one guide and the two of us… so you can guess, it was a luxurious hike. In fact, just before we had summited Mt. Rinjani, the active cone erupted in…
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An hour in an isolation tank
It must have been early May when an old friend of mine shared with me her mystical experience of the isolation tank, also known as the sensory deprivation tank or the floatation tank. The concept was so new and fantastical that I had to try it out. Months later, I was visiting another dear friend in Sterling Heights, Michigan when a window of opportunity to try a float turned up on a warm afternoon. Needless to say, experiences like these leaves one forever changed! Getting started with the float I walked into a cozy reception that resembled that of a…
