Just a moment...

There will be a time in your life, when you realise that a year isn't as long as it used to be when you were younger. A day will be sometimes longer than a year and at some crucial turning points in your life - a moment will seem like eternity.
Then on other days you'll look back at all the years gone by and feel that they've all vanished in a rush - the syndrome the world suffers from :)

On other days when you have the time to sip your hot cup of chai or actually smell the coffee from your cup - you'll muse at the banality of it all.

You'll think of faces and voices who were a part of everyday life while growing up and are now just Facebook profiles on your ever growing friend list, profiles that you visit to just keep in touch with your own fading memories and not really those people.

You'll come to realise the importance of context and in the same breath understand the importance of the freedom from it at times - these are the times you'll take off on journeys of discovering the unexplored...

And as the years pass, you'll realise that you never remember the year - just some special moments from all the years gone by and even then you will not take the time from your rushed life to create more special moments - the ones which defined your past - the ones which will define your future - the only ones you'll remember when many more years have passed...

Sanchita Johri

Welcome Home!

Home will never be a place like we drew in art class,
It will usually never have mountains behind it, a white fence around it and a rainbow above it...
Sometimes it may not even have a door or roof,

For sometimes home is a person, sometimes it's a warm meal served with love and sometimes it just a quiet place which makes you feel at ease.

Home isn't and should never be a place you need to be a certain way or not be a certain way, it's a place where you can just be...
As a home is not a house, just like love is not a set of rules, family isn't by blood and warmth isn't something that surrounds fireplaces in the biggest of mansions...

So go where the heart is warmed, not by the food or the gifts or the lack of them - but warmed genuinely by the care, the concern and the feeling of belonging - not a fleeting one- but one that remains long after you've left it behind.

For sometimes life is spent in not acknowledging truths we've known and that in short is called a life wasted :) So while you invest in a house don't forget to build homes along the way for those are the only ones that truly protect you from inclement weather :)

Sanchita Johri

The Best Gift!

Time is the most valuable commodity! Spend it wisely - spend it with those who lift you up, spend it where you find happiness and spend it living your life. 
For before you know it - it will be wasted on people, situations and places you don't need to dwell on. It's a gift - one that you give others but most importantly give to yourself. 
Leave behind toxic residue, let it be eroded with the winds of time and let the winds power your ship to set sail in only one direction - the one which makes you happy - with whatever and whoever makes life happy :) 

Don't follow the rule book, someone else wrote it - you'll waste time navigating the maze. For those who preach, do not practice and life is too short to waste on cameos, so be the protagonist - set sail - live it up - your journey is your own :)

Sanchita Johri

A Phone Call Away

A Phone Call Away (dedicated to all our loved ones in heaven)

Sometimes I see you in the morning mist,
Sometimes I see you waiting in the shadows of the night.

I hear the echo of your laughter blending into the rays of the early morning sun,
I've also felt your hugs wrapped in gusts of winds during the storms.

It's funny how you were real when my eyes were wide open and now it's just the same, when they are closed.

I sometimes wonder if what we chase  are called dreams,
Then what about you? You're not here anymore, the dreams will always be incomplete...

It's almost like fluid, a bubble in a bath tub or just a whirlpool at times, life you know - it keeps changing pace.

While I know if you were still here, you'd probably be just a phone call away and I wouldn't call you as much,
We all have the immortal excuse of a busy life...but now that you aren't and never will be I promise you I'd have called you everyday.

Sometimes just about a great meal, a funny movie or just nothing at all,
I would have told you so much or even if I didn't you'd know.

I walk around in this busy world, trying to keep pace with the humdrum, and occasionally I hear a knock and still wish it was you.

Then I resume whatever I was doing, trying to either focus on what I want or maybe away from what I've lost...

I wonder why you were in such a hurry to leave this world, but then I look around and see that's the word which defines us - everyone's in a hurry to get somewhere.

So I will wake and I will sleep and live to the fullest,
In the hope of being united at the end of this life in a world where nobody is just a phone call away...anymore.

Till we meet again...

Sanchita Johri

A Blinkered Life!

You wouldn't know till I told you,

All the tales of the lands that hold you.

You wouldn't set sail, till you're old and pale,

For right now other things matter on the success scale.

It isn't about exotic destinations galore,

Those you've been to I'm sure.

It's about taking the time to explore,

The neighbourhood, the outskirts, the hidden village near the shore.

For when life's calling makes you leave the city,

You'll remember the roads, the shops, the monuments - a pity!

So take the time to take a quiet walk,

Drive out to the fort or sit near the rock.

You may discover a travellers soul respond,

The magic of the mundane, and a freedom which you had pawned.

Sanchita Johri

Eat that Cake!

It's really okay to worry about how you look, to try and look better and it's also okay not to worry at all. As long as you're happy worrying about it or not worrying  about it - it's okay.

The real worry is when you start worrying because of someone else, because of what they say or how they expect you to look. If someone makes you feel bad - That is not okay. 

You should be concerned about being healthy and fit, but the photoshopped picture perfect looks, let's leave that for the Kingfisher Calendar girls :)

Find yourself someone who loves you with all your imperfections and right out of bed disheveled looks because your life is not a soap opera and we will all wake up from this Instagram world looking like crap and not like our profile pictures.

While I constantly worry about if I look fat, fatter or just not my best - I worry because I know I can do better :) If I worried because someone said that I'm looking fatter/not my best then I'd make sure I'd lose and feel lighter. I would lose them from my life ;)  The well-wishers who are superficial enough to focus only on what's wrong with you instead of all the things that are right with you :)

So eat that chocolate cake, cause life is not a ramp walk. Don't eat all of it, all the time and get unfit, but eat some. Let not life lose it's sweetness because you're not auditioning for the movies.

So be a foodie, be healthy and lose everything that affects your smile adversely :)

So here's a big hug to all my loved ones and yours who love us for things beyond what all the cake eating has done to us.

P.S. I hope I'm not looking fat in my profile picture, if I am I'll just get myself clicked from another angle because I will not and cannot give up eating hot chocolate fudge :)

Yes I am aware of a word called exercise - so while you're building the body, don't forget to build the mind but more importantly don't forget to let your heart beat ;)

Sanchita Johri

Here's why you don't need a Break :)

Yes I know that you do not have anytime to take a break. Guess what? That's the whole idea - it's called a break for a reason :) Take it and you don't even need to take any leave from work if you live in Delhi/NCR. This is a long weekend break which feels like a complete holiday - Holi weekend well spent :)

It's about 40 kilometers ahead of Gurgaon just off Sohna road and a convenient drive on a Saturday afternoon. The tail end of the drive is quite picturesque and you would hardly feel you're anywhere near the concrete jungle of the city as you pass the lush green fields on either side of the road. While the road can be a tad bit bumpy in places, it's mostly a smooth drive to the beautiful   Westin Sohna Resort & Spa.

The check in time is 3 pm, so would recommend you time your arrival accordingly to avoid the wait at the reception before you're given your room. Reservations for rooms can be easily made over the phone at 0124 - 45508888 or directly online.

The resort has different categories of rooms, including villas and a presidential suite though the premier rooms are great too and very comfortable for two. You could choose between a king size bed if you're a couple or twin beds if you're just friends ;) The tariff includes breakfast and one major meal for two and works well as the spread is great and the taste of the food is good too.

The red brick cottages and villas nestled amidst the tall trees and vast expanses of green make you feel like your holiday has begun before you even enter your room.

Spacious bathrooms, clean linen and courteous staff only add to the experience and if you are looking at really calming your nerves you must try meditating in their meditation pyramid at the Spa. The Spa is one of the nicer ones I've been to and has a range of services. While I chose the Ayurvedic treatment called Podi Khizi which uses Herbal Potlis and hot oils for an hour long massage, you could even opt for the Thai or Balinese massages on offer. The treatment is followed by a relaxing shower, steam, sauna and use of the jacuzzi - all built in a large open space but also very private. Apart from the relaxing treatment I also loved the honey infused jasmine tea served to me post the pampering.

The rest of the day you can relax in a hammock or go for a swim in either the public pool or to the adults only pool. The latter is near the gymnasium and has a more tranquil air about it than the larger pool at the resort.

I spent my day walking around the green lawns admiring the fresh fruit trees and listening to the sounds of the nature around me and before you know it - it's time for dinner, which is served at the largest of the three restaurants the resort houses.

From the soups, to salads to the barbecue to the main course it's all quite sumptuous and the desert spread more tempting than I'd have liked it to be. It's indulgence time for the foodie and I really could write a whole lot more just about the gastronomic delights, but maybe another time :)

The resort offers a host of activities which include horse riding, cycling, paragliding, tennis, pool and others that you could get busy with the next day or you could just find an empty swing under one of the trees near your cottage and sway to the sound of the pristine silence broken occasionally by the sounds of chirping birds or footsteps rustling some fallen leaves.

A relaxing tub bath and a sound sleep  post a long walk or just some quality time with loved ones is really a great way to end your Sunday stay before you check out at noon the next day or earlier if you're going to work directly.

Make sure that when you check out, you make some time to catch a cup of coffee or some masala chai at the Damdama Lake which is just a little ahead of the resort and a great place for an hour or two. This is a place I'd recommend only as an addition to your itinerary.

We never have the time to take a break, but we'll never have time to be this age again either. Today you're too busy, tomorrow you'll be too old.

Do what you love and then go back to being busy. As Robert Frost had said - In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life - It goes on.

Sanchita Johri

A Mirror Image

Be with someone who makes you smile,Makes it last for a while.

Someone who understands your fears,Makes room for silly tears.

Be with someone who is busy but never enough to ignore -

You at your worst and when you're being a downright bore.

Someone who isn't perfect, but tries to be,Even if that means it would take eternity.

Someone who'd let you be at times when you just want to be,Yet look out for you from the corner of their eye, you see.

Someone who is a lover, but more importantly a friend,It's the secret ingredient to dealing with the road and it's every bend.

The best would be to be that someone - to someone you love,It's a two way street every word above :)

Sanchita Johri