Swimming Alone...

It was the last day of our 4 day trip to Shantiniketan. The day was gloomy from the time the very first rays of the sun hit our house. First of all, the night before had not gone as expected. I was not able to spend much time with my sister or my parents. It was mostly boring, apart from the period between 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm, when I strolled around in the compound of Aamar Bari, listening to music, and occasionally talking to my friends. Thus, the next day, I was  thinking of how to spend the remaining 3 hours. Then, my parents suggested to go swimming! I was already a bit tired, but still I took my towel, clothes on my bicycle, and cycled off towards the swimming people...from a distance, I realized the water was absolutely calm, and NO ONE WAS THERE!!! I parked my cycle near the pool, took off my shirt, and just jumped in. It was a wee bit colder than the normal temperature, whereas the previous day it was probably perfect because we had gone swimming in the evening, and the sun had already warmed the waters by then. I took a deep breathe, and started a free style stroke. After completing four rounds, I stopped. Then, I was acclimatized! :) I then frog-styled and moved about the whole pool for relaxing. For perhaps the next 30 minuted, I did the various strokes I know. I practiced underwater from one end of the pool to the other as well. Then, the weather came to my favour...

The sun came out of the clouds, and sparkled the water! This was my all-time dream while swimming, something I couldn't enjoy in the city. I immediately took a deep breathe and moved below the surface of the water. The sight immediately pleased me and made me forget about all other worries. The floor of the swimming pool was shining with the rays of the sun, and beautiful patterns were forming. Mostly they were rhombuses with curved sides, and in motion. It was really magical, as it had always been...the power of the sun was reduced to beautiful shapes which soothed and amazed us! I touched the floor with three fingers and tried to trace out the patterns. However, soon out of breathe, I had to come up to the surface again. Now, the pool isn't too deep. Maybe 1.5 metres or so. But, that helped to move fast from surface to surface. The water surface was sparkling as well. Then, I had an idea...something I had tried out only once during my swimming classes, where the pool is perhaps 2.5 metres deep. I used to go deep underwater, and turn about to face the surface of the water from below. This pool was not that deep, but still, it was manageable. I again took a deep breathe, and sank, and turned about, in a flat posture, like we do while we sleep. 

The surface was glowing. Actually, I could see the rays of the sun pouring in from the top! Now, goggles usually give a clearer sight of the water, but this was equally nice. The streaks of light were just penetrating the surface like laser beams. I was holding my nose with my fingers, because under that pressure, and in a reversed position, water easily go into my nose. After a few seconds of eye-satisfying sights, I came to the surface again, to find that my sister had come to tell me that my parents were calling me to get up and get ready for returning back home. It was time to end the wonderful experience...

You see, in a normal swimming pool, there several other swimmers wading about in the waters. Alone in a pool, the waters around you are completely calm. It feels like staying below forever. In a movie, one of the main actors had described this as addiction. He had been corrected: this is purely meditation! :) I realized the truth from that day's experience...my mind had really gone completely blank. It was only absorbing what my eyes saw. Not many days have passed, but I think this sight will always be alive in my mind. It's absolutely vivid and clear. Maybe I'll be able to experience this once again when I go back, but that won't be happening for the next one year. This was the best form of refreshment I had had since a long time...

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Escape to Shantiniketan!

Yep! For another four days, I enjoyed life to the fullest at that place. Nothing new, but yet refreshing.
Actually, something was new: a swimming pool!

The compound that encloses the 150 houses, of which one is ours, contains many modern facilities, and yet the looks are rustic, once you enter into the area where the houses are placed. After entering through the main gate, you can see the parking lot to your left, and a wide expanse of a field on your right. I don't know what that expanse will ultimately become, but currently, it's a playground. And beside it, is the swimming pool! Earlier, that is seven months back, it was nothing but a cemented pit. But this time, it was totally different...but I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first describe how we arrived this time...

It was three o' clock in the afternoon. We started off during the hot daytime. We picked up my mother, and then my father drove on continuously for three hours, and arrived at Shantiniketan! After seven months, I truly had a fresh feeling to be there. We shared the bags we had brought and walked through the red soil, towards our house. The area in front of our house is quite large. This time, it was even better: the grasses had been trimmed and small plants of three colours had been planted-purple, fresh green, and dark green. It looked amazing! Even in the diffused rays of the sun, the door glowed with it's new colour: golden. Then we stepped into the house. After that, we had a great disappointing sight: the whole house was covered in a huge amount of dust! We took two hours to clean the whole mess up, and when it was finally done, we relaxed outside, and waited for another family to arrive: my father's friend's family. Each of their members made a good match with us. Their son is four years younger than me, but he is a great friend! And their daughter is an old school friend of my sister.

That night, we chatted on for a long time! The two of us, me and my brother-friend...:D, bicycled in the night time and played badminton, and at 11:00 o' clock, we had our dinner of chicken bharta and rotis. At midnight, we went to sleep. We two slept on the floor, on a nice and comfy mattress. That was how the first day ended...

The next day was even more fun filled. In fact that was the most memorable day of the small vacation. It was the day of holi. Now, I must tell you this before you understand anything else. Holi, the festival of colours in India is usually spent with water colours(I mean buckets of them, used for spraying at other people...:D) and abirs (powdery colours that are usually applied to the face and are much more peaceful). In Shantiniketan, the tradition that was started since Rabindranath Tagore's time was simple: In the central part of Shantiniketan, the university - Bishwabharati - students start a musical event by singing and dancing through a fixed route in yellow traditional dresses. This starts the start of the cultural event. After one hour, the main anushthan starts onstage, with various students, artists displaying their talents through singing, dancing, plays, etc. At around 9:00 AM, the function ends, and the audience throws abir into the air, making the air above them more colourful than ever! That was the memory I had, in fact, most people have had, until this year...their was a chance of a STAMPEDE! Hundreds of people had arrived to the function in an unorganized manner, and more importantly, the venue had been moved to a bigger area. The original flavour was absolutely lost. I could not see any part of the function...no one could, in fact. Later, while returning to our home, we stopped on the way, and played Holi in a small fashion with abirs. That was quite memorable. At home, we bathed, and then played a bit, after which we went to have lunch in the most popular ashram that also serves food to 'guests': Banalakshmi. A scrumptious meal inside our tummies, we moved towards a small dried up lake, and then at home, I watched a movie with my brother. And, also played a few games on my laptop....now for the main event.

Swimming: 

Splash! We jumped into the swimming pool. Even better? There was NO ONE ELSE IN IT!!! Only four of us: the two sisters, and we two! For two hours, we enjoyed and made ourselves dog-tired: Frisbee, underwater races, 'running', and splashing on and on...well I can't really describe the fun in a swimming pool, that to all to ourselves, in words. All you need to know is that it was LEGENDARY!

During the next two days, it was normal nature-enjoyment-protocol. I cycled 16 km roughly, and this time I took videos too! Then the amar-kutir photography...:D And, finally swimming again, on the day we were about to leave, only this time I WAS SWIMMING ALL BY MYSELF!!!

That was how I spent my 4 days trip to Shantiniketan...blog you again later! :)

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