Sahyadrica

[This post is part rant part figuring-out- life. It imparts some strong personal views vis-à-vis my own experiences in the wild or otherwise, and are not intended to be imposed upon the reader.] Cogito ergo sum ; I think, therefore I am; is a philosophical argument first made in 1637 by René Descartes. Simply put, to doubt one-self’s existence is to exist. It is said to be philosophy’s keystone from which one dives into the swirling thoughts of existence and nonexistence, of truth and lies. But if you think you exist, and therefore exist, you must also think others exist, but they may or may not indeed exist, for that thought is only applicable for yourself. If every person thinks the same, you could, like them, may or may not exist. With all its beautiful fallacies, the thought alone is enough to push you onto the next level of self-realization: that we all exist. And once you’re here, and you believe you exist, and so do others, self-realization is not only about yourself o...

On a cool monsoon evening, I sat on a bench made of rock and cement, crusted thinly by moss on a layer of black mass. This bench has been here for not more than a year, and this is its first season in the rain. Beside this bench is a dense mass of grasses, sedges, and herbs like Common Balsam ( Impatiens balsamina ) and Pot Cassia ( Cassia tora ), growing taller than the surrounding. I sat gazing at this small island as thin raindrops settled upon the blades and the spikes of grass. Like sitting on a safari vehicle, looking out into the grass for signs of a crouching tiger, I looked on. A grass frond sprang up from a corner of the island, the drops settled upon it now flying through the air. Like a tiger shuffling after arising from a cool pond. A grasshopper sat munching upon the blade of grass, right where the blade could take its weight. Munching; engrossed. Like a tiger, I reminded myself, like a tiger. A snail slowly made its way on the stem of the spikelet, just as another ...