Birthday celebrations, roars of laughter...great weekend with friends at Nirvana Adventures

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The baby sparrow decided to take the eternal flight :(

Rescued a baby sparrow today

I could hear the heart beats of the dad-sparrow, as it peeped through the grills while I was inspecting the baby-sparrow struggling on the floor. I knew what was going on in the dad-sparrow's mind, but my 'I-know-the-difference-between-a-chicken-and-a-sparrow' look assured the dad-sparrow that I was not a mindless carnivorous.

With one look one could guess that this featherless bird had not come flying miles to land on the staircase of my apartment. It had simply fallen down from it's cozy nest, which it's parents had built inside a telephone cable box, 9 feet above. It was a lucky day for the baby-sparrow. I picked it up carefully with the help of two pieces of paper, taking care that I don't hurt it, and gently placed it in it's cozy nest. I knew I had done the right thing, and I truly hope the baby-sparrow survives to take wings soon. I looked at the Dad sparrow who gave me a gentlemanly nod of acknowledgement and took off. Lucky baby-sparrow. Happy me.

circling the smiling moon at Kemmannu, Karnataka, India

Far across the sky over the Indian ocean these birds were playfully traveling across the horizon. Their aerobatic play was mesmerizing to watch and before I could set my camera, they were right above my head, circling the smiling moon. A moment after I clicked they were gone. They were a brilliant display in the sky.

a peaceful morning by lake wadavali

A late morning stroll by the tranquil lake at Kamshet. When we don't have early morning flights, this is where we spend our time.

lonely moon

a beautiful evening sky dotted with a smiling moon, at Kemmannu, Karnataka, India.

aing! where did the takeoff go?

Ground handling at Kamshet, Maharashtra, India with Nirvana Adventures.

my tryst with paragliding at Kamshet, Maharashtra India.

Flying with Nirvana Adventures has always been fun and a special experience. Here's one of my experiences of flying with them folks at Shelar:

http://blog.flynirvana.in/?p=1030

beautiful sunset in kemmannu, karnataka, india

Definition of Nothing - an SMS from a dear friend

Today I woke up to a wonderful text message from an old friend. Right out of dreams, this message drove me into a parallel world of my past.

Here's how it went:

'Definition of Nothing: Time doesn't wait for you or me. Days pass and years change. You move away from your dear ones. You miss your loved ones. Your life changes. Friends change. People change, but your heart has those precious moments engraved in it. Whether you like it or not, they are always there making you happy at sad times and sad at happy times. You think about those days and then smile. And when someone asks the reason for your smile, you say - Nothing.'

Before long I was smiling at nothing :)

legends

like a spark they lived for a moment and, yet, left behind an eternal flame.

We create and destroy the world around us with our thoughts

As usual, I began my day reading the newspaper. Serif fonts communicating deaths, rapes, domestic violence, potholes and some more blahs to fill in the blanks. Not a very good way to start a day, I admit. Words poisoned. Words attacking. Words unrelenting.

How does consumption of all these stories affect us? Does it go deeper into our subconscious self? Does it create a new reality within and a new world around us? While these thoughts harass me, I arrive at real beauty – The Speaking Tree. Today, it spoke about ‘emptiness’; how, by being thoughtless you could realize more; by having a blank mind could in reality be more productive and fulfilling. Active thoughts, passive thoughts, no thoughts; wow! And then, sipping my morning chai, I arrive at a gem written by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. It said that our thoughts and feelings emit energy particles into the atmosphere around us. These energy particles remain behind as a residue even after we leave that place, and affect others who come within its vicinity. That answers a lot questions about why I feel my soul bursting at the seams with happy energy at some places and why I am completely sapped of my energy at others. We may call it vibes.

All these things happen involuntarily. We are affecting and being affected by our surroundings. We are simply victims of our surroundings with no strings attached. We take in loads of negative inputs from newspapers; fill our subconscious with strained energies taken from mind-bogglingly stupid and violent TV content (serials), and create a negative field of energy around us. We churn this energy through out the day and share it with others like a bumper offer. This vicious cycle is creating a massive ill-functioning society, which is quite evident all around us.

I have been told that certain breathing techniques break you from this vicious chain. It unlocks a space within yourself, which sets you on an auto-pilot mode, generating positive energy within and around you. Sounds good to me and I, for sure, am going to try it.

VIVA FIFA World Cup 2010

With my favourites for FIFA World Cup 2010, Argentina, out of the tournament, life has become pleasantly bearable. Watched 'Invictus' last evening, and all of a sudden the soccer arena on the South African terra firma became so much more meaningful. Perspective changed. A new paradigm appeared. Sports, though, is about defeating ones opponents it, unlike war, brings people close to each other.

I remember the other day, when Argentina lost to Germany, my buddy, clad in the Argentine jersey, had tears in his eyes. While, on the same evening, my Spanish-jersey-clad buddy was happy to blow the vuvuzela to the sleeping world. While others are awaiting tonight's Germany v/s Spain semi-final match.
A week ago, my charming Goan friends around the world were exposed to a horrific game of foot-and-ball by the Portuguese, though I personally feel they were severely impoverished of class and tactic to win any game in the tournament. That said, in the very next game the Brazilians left another pal limp with 6 vuvuzelas and 1 miniature Jabulani ball.

In a nutshell, thanks to FIFA World Cup 2010, the last 40 odd days have been fantastic. I, for one, am ok with any country winning the cup now. But, though more of a football fan than a cricket fan (I totally believe that cricket is a joke), I wouldn't want an Indian team to be qualified for world cup...ever. In such case the whole nation would blow conches or play dhols for India. That would be sad, as I would love the entire nation routing for teams of different nationalities. You see, in this diversity there is a sense of unity...a sense of celebration. And I wouldn't want to miss it for anything.

there is no planet b

blueberry it appears from the voids of space; our only beloved home, earth. it took millions of years to transform from a ball of fire and gases to the most gorgeous home one can live in. and, yet, in a few thousand years, we humans have driven it to the point of total destruction.

every time we see a spot of water on moon or some planet, we rejoice in the belief that living there would be possible someday. now, how about appreciating our own 'water of life' - the earth's ocean? over fishing, over pollution, over exploitation...have led the oceans to the brink of death, which could mean widespread death on land as well as in the air.

as a kid, in school, i had read about the man who killed the goose that laid a golden egg everyday in his greed to acquire all the golden eggs at once. the goose died and the man lost his daily fortune of a golden egg.
it's a simply story with a simple lesson. yet, in today's global scenario, that man resembles greedy mankind and the unfortunate goose the helpless, dying earth. hopefully, we will learn our lessons in time to save our planet earth, as there is no planet b.

wavin' flag

sound, rhythm, music...this is pure joy...the freshness of it is incredible...finally a somali rap star had to rise and kill the monotony of music that is happening around the world...k'naan, are you bob marley of the 21st century? i'm gonna wave my flag...for world peace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME&feature=channel

best beaches in europe

 http://www.wildjunket.com/2010/02/01/8-of-the-best-beaches-in-europe/

Indian Paragliding Pilot Census

Paragliding Forum India is conducting a census to collect information on Indian paragliding pilots. An online database of all paragliding pilots will be helpful in maintaining a communication channel between the authorities and the pilot community through a democratic association / federation...

http://www.paraglidingforum.in/pgcount/indian_paragliding_pilot_census.html

tandem paragliding indian style, director's cut

http://vimeo.com/9348992

man, this is crazy. i'd never try tandem tandem flights anywhere in india, unless i know the pilot and i would suggest the same to all those who want to enjoy a flight on the paragliding wings. take a tandem flight only if you know the pilot well, or are sure that the equipments are safe to fly in...to sum it all up...this happens only in india :-)

paragliding weekend at sheilar, India

flying for the first time at Sheilar, near Kamshet, India was a liberating experience indeed. The longish ridge that provides for constant flow of soft and sweet wind gives your wings the perfect lift. It was my first flight after completing CP course at Nirvana Adventures. At a height of nearly 1500 ft above the take-off spot, which itself is around 120mts from ground level everything changes: a view very few humans are naturally born to enjoy; serenity that birds don't share with the land crawlers; liberating solitude; enveloping sky; stress-busting smell of pure nothingness; and a sense of life that's worth living. When I joined Nirvana Adventures school of paragliding, India's leading school and, must admit, my second home, little did I know that it would teach me to respect nature immensely. I certainly look forward to flying around the world some day.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food
that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8.. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her
mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems
are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra
class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree....

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything...
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends
will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy.