Self Improvement

Sun, Silhouettes, and Serendipity On The Hills

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” — Khalil Gibran

Dear Reader,

Happy May!

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets can allure a Photographer to climb any mountain. Summer is a joyful season for Photographers as there is plenty of natural light. I love to take beautiful sunset pictures from the hilltop near my home. I am a regular on The Panchavati Hills for nature walks. These silent walks with Nature help me to unwind and rejuvenate my body and mind. It is also a respite from my demanding chores as a homemaker.

We had a very long monsoon this year almost six months long which was followed by a short winter season. The rains made me stop my regular nature walks. Even after the arrival of summer in Feb, I couldn’t break free from the vicious grip of procrastination. It was pretty long. After starting Medium Blogs this month, I decided to embark on a self-improvement journey, with a ’’ one week at a time’’ project. This decision to break free from procrastination through ‘’one week at a time ‘’ activities finally propelled me to take some action toward health and fitness and other aspects of life. Thus allured by the glowing beauty of sunsets and a great craving to improve my fitness and emotional well-being, I decided to climb the Panchavati hills for my second-week project.

The trek is small and I can reach the top of the hills within ten to fifteen minutes of moderate climb. Once you reach the top you land on a vast meadow extending acres of forest area. The mere sight of meadows with the small beaten walking trails, gentle breeze, and greenery wiped away my tiredness after the climb. Normally I walk for twenty more minutes in these meadows and start to climb down after sunset. Sometimes I choose to sit down under a tree and unwind watching the peacocks strutting around and an occasional hare being chased by the stray dogs. I take different routes on different days to avoid the repetition of watching the flora. Some days I carry my camera to take pictures.

Day 1:

I started without any preparation, I forgot even to carry a bottle of water. Dampened by inertia and skepticism I sat down on a bench. Not knowing what to do, I sat there aimlessly staring at my mobile.

I was jolted from my inertia, hearing a happy voice,

‘’Hi, Beautiful woman. ‘’ or something like that !

I looked up and saw Pam a regular walker on hills walking past me in a hurry. She had her backpack and headphones as usual. I shouted back,

‘’Are you going for the sunset ‘’

‘’ I am coming with you ‘’

Without waiting for her I started following her.

I asked,

‘’ Do you have a water bottle? ‘’

She opened her backpack, handed me the water bottle, and told me I can keep it. That was so kind of her!

I followed the route taken by Pam, It was an area with flat rocky beds. We sat a distance and she soon stretched herself on a flat rock. I never did this before, but today I simply followed her and lay on the rock on which I was sitting. We were silent and the sun was setting slowly painting the sky in a palette of orange, yellow, and red. The evening was bright as well as calm with a light breeze in the green canopy of trees in the valley. I felt joy and warmth in my heart. I felt welcomed back.

I looked up at the vast blue sky, the moon had emerged and a tiny star popped up beside the moon. The vastness of the calmed my jagged nerves and soothed my tired eyes. I sent a silent prayer of gratitude toward Pam for just being there with me. I remembered a Bollywood song ‘’suraj hua madam ‘’, and played it loudly taking permission from Pam. I climbed the hills today only because of her. It was getting dark and we both started to climb down silently. Even though we meet each other regularly during the day, we had kept a strange boundary between us. I decided to carry my camera on the second day of my ‘’ week two ‘’ project.

Day 2:

Today I carried water and a camera in my bag. I had taken my notepad and pen which I rarely use on a nature walk. But these accessories made me feel good. I felt agile even though my calf muscles were sore. I went up quite fast and started moving around looking out for some lovely silhouettes. The sky was clear of clouds and the sunset was going to be stunning. The meadows were desolate and I couldn’t find someone near me so that I can take a picture. The wind played on my hair and I felt so happy and carefree standing there. I took some selfies on my mobile. It was a moment of self-love. Ah, It was a poetic moment,

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” — Khalil Gibran

I loved Khalil Gibran for penning those lines!

A few moments later just before the sunset, a young lady came up the hills carrying a water bottle. Beads of sweat flew down her forehead, baby pink chin glistened in the evening light. She was slim and tall and wearing a red sports shirt on top of track pants. Apparently, she was heading forward for further walking. I couldn’t suppress my longing to take a silhouette of this pretty woman.

‘’ Hi, Can you do me a favor? ‘’ I waved at her in anticipation.

She stopped abruptly and walked towards me. She gave me a friendly nod and said ‘’ Yes’’.

I told her about my need. She happily agreed to pose in front of the sun to give me some amazing shots.

I asked her,

‘’ what is your name? ‘’

‘’ Anna ‘’

‘’ Anna Sebastian ‘’ she repeated.

I looked at her in amazement,

‘’ Are you from Kerala? ‘’

‘’ My Dad is from Kerala ‘’ She replied.

At that moment I felt a twinge of serendipity descending on my heart. I felt a fondness and strange love towards this beautiful stranger.

Now no more a stranger. I walked with her. She poured the water she was carrying under a marigold sapling which was getting weak in the sun.

She told me she is a nature lover. We walked down chatting like long-lost friends.

We exchanged numbers.

Day 3 :

The next evening I felt a longing to meet Anna. I was hesitant to call her. I dialed her number, to which there was no reply.

Now, I can sort of handle these kinds of attachments, I told myself. I am not in the habit of checking messages and forgetting about them.

I caught up with Pam that day and enjoyed a serene evening with a moment of meditation.

That is another story!

Later that night I was quite overwhelmed to read Anna ‘s message,

‘’ Hello, Surekha,

Loved the beautiful evening, I was busy and didn’t see your call.

We will continue tomorrow for sure, feels like I have known you for a long time … ‘’

And we met on the hills again and continued with our nature walk.

Day 6:

I am taking a break today and tomorrow.

My aim was to get my muscles moving after a long gap of almost six months, and I succeeded.

This exercise eventually led to making a good friend and so many great moments!

PS :

I started writing in Medium in April. After one month and four blogs, I succeeded in making my first milestone of 100 followers here.

I am so excited and grateful today.

Thank you so much Dear ILLUMINATION Community for accepting me and showering me with encouragement as a newcomer.

Thank you so much, Dr.Mehmet Yildiz, Dr. Gabriella Korosi, and Dr. Preeti Singh, for making me feel at home here. I wish for your continued support to me in this journey.

Thank you so much dear Prahalad Rajkumar for making sure I posted my first Blog on Medium hassle free. Can’t thank you enough, dear buddy, for the masterful guidance to post my first blog with numerous screenshots and chats on Medium Edit and formatting. Thank you for helping me during a time when I was going through a phase of writer’s block. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Love and Hugs.

Now I am planning for my third week of self-improvement, with my ‘’ one week at a time ‘’ project.

Will share my Self-improvement stories in my upcoming posts.

Keep Smiling 😊