Stupendously Sublime

A little bit of sadness: My grandmother turned 100, the celebration was epic, here was a human who has seen the world literally transform in front of her. We lost her in August, uncharacteristically, gone peacefully in her sleep on a balmy august morning. I knew the day was coming, as all death comes - but knowing something is about to happen doesn't lessen its load when it happens. This was my last grandparent, an entire generation of my lineage has lived and gone. Ave to the centurion, you live on. I'm writing this one a little faster than i have been doing in the past couple of years, what I've realised is that I get distracted really easily, that's why one of my favourite lines from a movie is "Your focus needs more focus" (Jackie Chan to Jaden Smith in Karate Kid). This realisation dawned upon me when the missus (feels so strange to write this) sent me an Instagram reel. That was a real trip down a rabbit hole, i realised that i had been flicking videos...

Most of the folks who know me, usually, would also know that I love wildlife. I'm proud to tell you, dear reader, that i have taken this to the next level. In light of my impending nuptials and as is customary of friends to do. I celebrated my bachelor party at Ranthambore. Doing what I love doing - Watching Tigers. Lets be honest, COVID has destroyed much of the fun that one is supposed to have before getting married, like going to Thailand for your bachelors. So Lala called me up and said park is opening from 1st October, lets have your bachelors there. This was exactly the kind of opportunity i waiting to hear and I jumped at that opportunity. 7 months since the lockdown began, in the middle of marriage preparations, I stepped out of Delhi for the first time with dire warnings of becoming infected and falling ill ringing in my ears. Thankfully, some of my friends were there so that it seemed like a bachelors - plus Lala had planned 4 safaris for us. Co - Travelers - Ashutosh, Sw...