Breaking Barriers - Meetup with Strangers!

It's amazing how I always find something new to learn or experience. I moved to Toronto,Canada recently. Have no friends here, and just 2 acquaintances (more of reference contacts who stay in Toronto in case I needed help). First couple of months went in getting the logistics lined up, so was busy. This weekend was the first time, when I wanted to explore the city, and I did not know where to begin.

Google has been my best buddy in Canada so far; always at my disposal and ready to guide me. But I wanted to go hiking this weekend, and I did not want to do it alone, nor did I have time to do detailed study of trails etc...

I am not a social network person. I have Facebook account, which once in a while I log in. No twitter or Instagram accounts. Whattsapp, I keep it updated for my family to know my whereabouts. The only thing I love is blog'ing.

So, very nervously, I registered on Meetup. Then searched for groups with keyword hiking. obviously a whole bunch showed up; and I gingerly joined Toronto Hiking GTA group since that had a hike coming up on the weekend. Then I found their upcoming Sunday hike in Mono Cliff, 13 people going, 16 KMs, I registered for that hike. This happened on Saturday morning; and then throughout the day I started reflecting back, only one question came to my head - is it safe? If I would have done this in Denver or anywhere in USA, I knew I had people watching my back. If I dint show up in the evening, friends would investigate. But here in Canada, I am a ghost. No one knows who I am or what I do. I thought I will leave a message with couple of friends, just in case. Maybe I will drive to their meetup point, and if I don't get a good vibe, I will drop out and drive back.

But I am glad, I clicked on register button and joined the Mono Cliffs hike. 2 Russians, 4 Canadians, 1 Pakistani, 2 Mexicans; a diverse group from various age groups. But all had one thing in common, passion for hiking and we all shared same bucket list - Machu Pichu, Kilimanjaro, Everest base camp etc... I learnt so much from their experiences, I was glad I decided to try this out.

When I told a friend, she asked, how can you go out with people you haven't met at all; I said - when you are alone, you have to learn to trust strangers, give them a chance; sometimes you will get cheated, but most of the time, you will have a wonderful experience. We trust but with care, we never let our guards down.

Everyone in that meetup group had the same problem I had in last few years, 'we don't have company to hike; our friends don't like hiking'. And after meeting them all, I realized one thing - Life is too short to wait for a company to fulfill your dreams. Just keep doing what you love, you will find company along the way. Like they say, there are no strangers here, just friends we haven't yet met.

This hike has left me highly motivated to do what I love.

- Sarita
Dated - 21st October 2018

Comments

Zindagi Gulzar Hai - A feast to ones eyes!

Today I am here to make a much interesting comparison of our current Indian TV industry with our neighboring country’s television industry. Interesting because I never thought I would ever engage in watching any of the Pakistan TV series/movies or listening to their music. My disinterest in Pakistan entertainment was not because of the tensed relationship with the country. But I myself am not a big fan of TV serials. The kind of drama that is filled in Indian TV Channels today is just exhausting and tiring to watch. I hardly follow any Indian TV series. When I visit home on vacation, I join my family in watching the program they watch and that’s how I keep myself updated with what is trending in the TV industry. I love listening to music and I listen to all genres of music. I did start listening to Pakistani music since last few years and have admired their music. Strings, Fuzon, Kaavish, Jal, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Parveen Abida, Quratulain Baloch and many ...

Ahamasmi Yodha - My First Tattoo

I finally did it. It isn’t a great achievement to show off, but for me it’s one more item on my bucket list getting fulfilled. So I am very happy about it. What did I do? Oh like I said nothing great – I just got my FIRST Tattoo :) My first Tattoo Artist I had done a lot of research on it since last couple of months. I wanted to get it done on my birthday, but it somehow dint work out. For all the first timers, I wanted to list out my personal experience, just in case it helps :) First of all, I felt it will be very helpful if you have some friends who would have got it done already. But I dint have that privilege. So I went through lot of blogs and articles in About.com, Wikihow, YahooAnswers etc… Well Google, the new lord of knowledge :) has all that you need to know. So, in summary, what I got from all these sites were First decide on what you want to get tattooed and where. Go over it again and again, since it is permanent, you will have to live ...

Dawn & Dusk at 7th Wonder of the World!

As I walked down the street through the red walled East gate entrance , I stood still at the first glance of the Seventh wonder of the world! The Taj Mahal! First glance of Taj hidden behind the gates! It was an abrupt trip, completely unplanned for; thanks to a friend who shot this idea my way to take a pit stop at Agra for an evening before I catch my flight to US from Delhi the next day. I just had one evening in Agra, and did not have time to plan anything. View of Taj from the main entrance. Time Check — We reached Agra at 5 PM on a Saturday evening and headed out to buy entry tickets at 5:45 PM; were inside the East gate by 6:15 PM and it was not crowded at all. We saw the interiors of Taj and then sat outside in the veranda watching the sunset. April being the hottest month, the evening was warm but not uncomfortably hot. 7:30 PM we had to leave as it was closing down. The next day morning we got the tickets at 5:45 AM, were in Taj Mahal again arou...

Life... A Blank Page!

Whenever I open a notebook and come across the set of blank pages; my mind goes blank. For some reason, it always reminds me of my life. It forces me to start thinking about my life; about the past and the future. Being part of the age of computers and belonging to the IT industry, I hardly get an opportunity to actually pick a pen and write in the notebook. I write lot of blogs, poems etc… but I write them on the webpage or in Microsoft word in my laptop. Once in a while I like to go back to traditional form of writing; using the actual pen and paper. And in last few years; I noticed that every time I try doing that for some reason the blank paper gets me all philosophical. Although I never have that thought while opening the book; but whenever I see those blank pages; I just go blank. I always feel that my life is staring back at me with all those unanswered silenced questions, doubts, thoughts…forcing me to think – What does my lif...

My Favorite Read - 6 - The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev (and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer)

So, now that I want to get into some serious mountaineering activities, I started with reading books on mountains. When you check for top few books on mountains the one that comes up is " Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer " followed by “ The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev" ; both based on the 1996 Everest disaster which was made quite controversial. I started with "Into Thin Air' and while I was reading, I was continuously in conflict with Jon's views. Mind you, my memory is pretty weak when it comes to remembering details of any story - whether its books or movies. I had watched few documentaries and the Everest movie based on this topic; but that was a while ago. when I started reading this book 2 weeks back, I had no background; you can say I was totally new to this story. And yet, it was difficult for me to understand some of Jon's accusations or feelings. But nevertheless, Jon's style of writing was amazing; he knew how to keep reader's...

Alone & Happy, not Lonely!

There's a difference between the two states of being; being alone & being lonely. I am single and have been alone in new places all by myself; with little or no acquaintances; let alone friends. When you are single, it's a common norm for rest of the world to investigate about your companionship needs. Single people are often surrounded with friends and family that give them company. In my case, I have got used to staying alone as well. And trust me I do just fine. I do miss them but I don't get depressed or frustrated when I don't find the company of my friends or family. So I am single and alone and happy. That said, it's not that I don't have friends or I am not social. I am very social, enjoy parties, hangout with friends when I meet them; I am not an introvert, am more of a happy go lucky kinda person. When I say I am alone, I am in company of myself. And I have realized that I enjoy my company a lot, so I never feel lonely. ...

All I know is..

What is it about you that I can't put my finger on? You are not perfect But I have started loving imperfections When did my feelings for you change? You are not the one I dreamt of But I want to live in your fantasy Why do I want you to be part of my story? I don't know if it's for better or worse But with you by my side I see no bad in world Why does life seem beautiful when you are around? You are not right for me But I want to stay wrong, to be with you If this is not love, then what is? You are not the strongest I have met But I feel like I can win the world with you by my side Why do I feel like a superhero when you are with me? I don't know when I let you have such power on me. I don't know when you swept my life into dreamland. I don't know if this will make me or break me. All I know is My life is not the same anymore. And I am not scared of this change anymore. -aarohak

Missing the Golden age of Ghazal & Qawwali!

I was watching Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – a Music competition on YouTube when one of the contestant Ranjit Rajwada sang “ Chupke Chupke Raat Din ” (Ghulam Ali-ji’s Ghazal) and one of the Judge; Shekhar Ravjiani mentioned that now the generation no longer listens to or has interest in Ghazals. And so true it is. I being a South Indian did not have a lot of exposure to Ghulam Ali-ji’s music, but I did grow up listening to Jagjit-ji/Pankaj-ji and have always loved Ghazals. When I started working and going places, mingling with people from different backgrounds, is when I heard Ghulam Ali-ji’s Chupke Chupke for the first time, which was 7 years back. From then I have always maintained a playlist of Ghazals, Qawwalis or Poems of wonderful people like Ghulam Ali, Aziz Nazan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Mahmood, Gulzar, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pankaj Udhas, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Javed Akhtar, Sabri Brothers etc.. They are so meaningful, soulful that you just get immersed in them; immensely pe...

You Got to Finish What You Started!!

It's a normal Friday (8/28/2015), trying to finish up all the work and leave early to begin an early weekend. I get a mail from a friend+colleague, invitation to dinner at his place, with a note at the bottom " Note: Sarita- We are planning a 14er tomorrow if you are interested let me know". Zooop, my antenna straightens up, and I respond with a yes and a yes to both :) I did not ask where? how? plan? etc..etc.. I just asked when? They said, we will leave early come early, will be back by 1 PM in the noon. So I packed light, thinking a trail hike, starting early morning, less time under the sun. My backpack and what it carried 1. 4 litres of liquid - Water/Gatorade/Coconut water 2. Some trail mix (Dates, Cashews, Raisins, Almonds, walnuts) 3. a half packet of Gummy bears; an apple 4. iPod 5. My favorite - Bose earphones. 6. BatteryPack 7. Pocket Knife 8. Cap 9. Sunscreen 10. Travel size Face wash, body lotion, Sanitizer 11. Paper Napkins 12. Su...

Love, Loss and Father's Day

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now, but somehow words fail me. I started writing, and stopped at the first two sentences, erasing and rephrasing, re-iterating the process every time I attempted to write this. 8 months later, today on Father’s day, I think I finally am able to put words into meaningful sentences. It’s weird how most of the times, I just need an inspiration, an idea or a feeling to write pages together without any effort; and then there are times, when my mind is cluttered with so many thoughts ,eager to be put on paper that I find it hard to form a single straight sentence. But I feel like writing today, so here it goes. My best friend lost her mom to a health incident few months back. When I spoke to her she asked me how did I handle it when my dad passed away few years back. I could not explain it to her then, I just said you will learn to live through it. That was when I first tried to write this blog. Even after so many years, ...

When Silence Speaks...

Search This Blog