Monday, May 20, 2013

Impressions of Sakhalin

Being back home in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk after too long is a surreal feeling, despite the fact that the city is still stuck in a seasonal time-warp. May is usually glorious in the city with temperatures flirting around 20 degrees Celsius, especially in the latter part of the month. I have been told that the last few Mays have been cold here.

I landed here on a sunny day with the temperature at 5 degrees above zero. It warmed up as the day went by but now, I recall those long cold days I spent here. It's raining and there is a chilling breeze blowing south.

After getting used to the crowds in Moscow, it feels odd to see just a handful of people on the streets here. Some of the buildings on Lenin Street have been painted in very colourful combinations, whereas the rest of the city remains brown...The panels in the 1980s buildings are also fading...Dust storms and deplorable roads add to the decay, of which the icing on the bittersweet cake is smog, a completely new phenomenon in this city.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

The month of Vesak

Holy to Hindus and Buddhists, this month usually coincides with the month of May every year. It was in Vesak that the Buddha attained enlightenment. I feel inspired when I think of the great man sitting under the Bodhi tree in Sarnath and using every ounce of mental strength to attain nirvana.

India in the days following the Buddha's attainment of Nirvana, saw its best days. I can't even imagine how simple life must have been in those days or how clean and pure the air and the great rivers of the country would have been then.

May the light of Vesak bring peace and contentment to people around the world

The Great China trip

There were so many impressions from my wonderful trip to the Middle Kingdom that somewhere along the way, I just lost the habit of writing them down.

All I want to write in this post is that I love the wonderful, generous and hospitable Chinese people. They made me feel completely welcome and I loved immersing myself in Beijing life. Chinese society, like Indian society, is open and welcoming of outsiders and it was a pleasure to be a part of it even if only for a short while.