Beautiful onset of dawn as first daylight cracks thru the clouds …. Verdant rainforest fresh from a shower of overnight rain…. Each tree silently standing and watching…. Clouds playing peek-a-boo with the volcano peak… Flocks of bright colored birds flying by….. Multitude of mellifluous bird chirps…. Howler monkey howling somewhere yonder…. The constant babbling of the brook creates an auditory illusion of rain falling …. Humming birds darting by…. Brilliant multi-colored flowers gently swaying in the ever so light breeze….

Time has come to a standstill

With my friend from Dallas and Costa Rica!!

In the hot spas of The Springs at Arenal – heated to 103 degrees by veins of lava flowing underneath..

Jharna jharna sundori jharna
Torolito chandrika chondono barna
Anchalo sinchito goiriko sworne
Giri mollika doley kuntale korne

Tanubhora joubono taposi aparna
Jharna!

Twelve year old Chiko, exasperated with my antics, declared over dinner: “There is reasonable, there is unreasonable and then there is Rajib-mama” 🙂

During college days, happiness used to be taking long aimless walks at dark nights with another friend or two holding hands with your girlfriends, playing “antakshari” and singing old romantic numbers from Hindi movies from the 60s and 70s. Usually with terrible sense of tunes. But we didn’t give a damn.

Last night we realized that, now that we have grown up, happiness is …. ummmm.. pretty much the same… An hour of Hindi songs … the four of us … pitch dark night… long walk on the streets…

Good thing that the iguanas in the bushes did not understand Hindi songs. Else we might have owed them some apologies for our terrible renditions.

On the other hand, even if they did, I am sure we wouldn’t have given a damn!!

Sunil and I sitting by the ocean, watching the sunlight fade away… We were talking about old Hindi songs when we came to the most appropriate one – and we sang together….
“Kahin door jab din dhal jaye
Saanjh ki dulhan badan churaaye chhupke se aaye
Mere khayaalon ke aangan mein
Koi sapnon ke deep jalaaye deep jalaaye”