The Trek

Summer this year saw my husband and I join a group of 166 people on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath. A part of this adventurous trip was a 14 km trek up to Kedarnath - the abode of Bholenath. Along with the excitement of visiting these spiritually charged and beautiful parts of the country was a severe apprehension of how I was going to make it up that trek. Being a very "healthy" human being and a master procrastinator in the physical movement department, not just I but all around me shared in this apprehension. To begin with I found out about alternative options of horses and dolis and helicopters etc but while on this search I felt a comforting inner voice say to me "You are coming to meet me and I will give you the strength to get here - so walk as far as you can with the faith that I am with you."

Perfection

9th August, Thursday at 2.22pm my niece was born, and the only word that came to my mind when I held that little bundle in my hands was how perfect she is. It did not matter to me that her skin was blotchy or her hair patchy, that she could barely open her eyes and had wrinkled skin in places and a toothless mouth - as I held her I marveled at the miracle that was before my eyes. As various relatives began dissecting her every feature and wondering what came from whom and how the maalish waali needed to be instructed to scrub her baby hair off and shape her nose, all I could do was stare in wonder and love at this tiny, fully formed human being that was not even visible to us till an hour ago and yet already knew how to breathe and cry and yawn and feed.