Maastricht by the river Maas

I love my life these days for I am enjoying each moment of it. I am living in the Netherlands and I am surrounded by great friends and their families. Most importantly, I am travelling around in this country and exploring cities and towns at my own pace and to my own taste..

I just spent a long weekend in Maastricht. Many beleive that this is the oldest city in the Netherlands but some others argue that it is Nijmegen. I lived in Nijmegen for three months this year and I recently spent three days in Maastricht. My first ever visit to Maastrict. The trip was special for a number of reasons. For the first time I experienced Dutch life in camping cars.. for those of you who are not much in contact with the Dutch, they are fond of their bikes, their boats and kayaks and they cant imagine their summer without their camping cars. By now I had seen a number of camping cars from outside and a few from inside but this time I spent three nights in a camping car. I was excited like a child at this opportunity as carvans and camping cars for me were things to be seen in movies... and there I was living in one... and it was superfun... By the way, I live in Groningen, the city way up in the North and Maastricht is way down south, some 360kms away and Maastricht is a confluence of Germany,Belgium and the Netherlands. This city by the river Maas has acquired a unique character from these cultures and I have more stories to tell you about that...

What else I did in Maastrict apart from enjoying the camping car? Well, I rode an electric bicycle for the first time, I watched first Dutch play. I did not understand the words but I must say I could feel the tension as the play unfolded in front of us. I freaked out in the weekly vegetarian open market for super cheap fresh vegetables but also I could find Okra.. I do not get Okra that easily in the Netherlands, particularly kind of Okra that we get back home. We do get Okra from Suriname which is slightly different but in Maastrict I bought Okra from Kenya.. and I cooked a lovely vegetable out of it. One morning, I woke up by the river and the other day by a lawn with horses. I participated as an enthusiastic audience for a bachelor's party.. and I was overjoyed to take few fabulous shots of thunder storm and lightening... I visited a huge Asian supermarket, I had never seen such a huge Asian market before in this country and guess what, I went to Belgium one morning just to buy fresh bread and some muesli. The food in Belgium tastes so much better... I relived my moments in Leuven. I binged on my favorite apple-cakes. We visited a castle nearby on a Sunday morning, there was no one around.. we were the princesses strolling around. A tree lined canopy fascinated me and we meditated under this arch of green life. It started raining soon, we could hear the rain drops and its intensity but we were safe and dry.. the meditation was refreshing and energizing.

The ease with which we can cross borders within EU still surprises me. I spent an hour with a Belgian family, a family of musicians to be precise. Sunday morning, warm and friendly people and some apple sap... a dog competing to get your attention.. three siblings spending summer together in their Parents house. I met first Cello player in my life, this young, bright and beautiful woman is a professional cello player and has been trained in Brussels and Freiburg and will soon set the sail for Basel. It is a pity that I did not get to experience her music. Her dad is a piano teacher and he tunes the pianos back into melody.. I did not know what is the word for such a person but I did not want to say, he fixes the pianos or treats the ones who are not doing well. One of the brothers is a Kayaker and leads student groups on many expeditions. The family was so special but still so humble, friendly and happy.. I was happy to have met them all... I wish I could spend more time with this family.

The evening turned out special due to performance of the Dutch play. But we also cooked Indian dishes for a group of 60 people. My first cooking stint in such a massive quantity. I was a bit nervous if they would find food spicy but as luck would have it, we ran out of food. People just loved it and we did not even get to taste it. I think it is true that food can connect people.. otherwise how do I explain all the connections I have been making in this country... ohh I love food and I live for food...

Food, that reminds me.. I have to take you on a special culinary experience that I had in Maastricht.. I will do it in my next blog post.. so stay tuned and enjoy every moment of your life...

Love and sunshine from Groningen...Doei....

Sunday with the stars

Saturday, 20th August 2011, 10pm.

'Hey, we have to take 8.51train to Zwolle. Remember we are visiting Martha in the Hague. And yes, please wear something that you like and feel comfortable in. The weather will be nice so you can even put on a dress', My friend Margreet enthusiastically told me.

Why do I need the dress, we are going to spend the whole day indoors, watching movies, talking, eating, gossiping, just being girls... I was wondering.. I said to her instead..'I have some nice dresses but I don't have shoes'

The excuse of shoes did not work as we both have same shoe size. I took out a beautiful dress that my brother bought for my graduation exactly a year ago and I never wore it. It was too beautiful for me to wear, I thought.. also it is smallest dress I have. I am not used to wearing a dress that is so 'sexy' in a way because I am too conscious of my body image.

Sunday Morning,21st August 2011, 8am

We both were ready, new dress, shoes, matching little sweater and the jewelry. I really felt I was overdressed but then decided not to worry about it.. we strolled happily to the train station, with the cookies and a thermos flask of tea... I wondered why we were not taking a train that directly goes to the Hague.. she had brilliant answer.. because the direct train doesn't work today... We settled in our train to Zwolle. I like to sit by the window in the direction of the train and she sat opposite me. We started chatting about the plans for the day. The train took off from the station and first envelop was pulled out of her bag. 'check this out. Today is your day' She said to me.

Vertrek 8.51 Noord, Zondag 9.10-10.00

The writing on the envelop read. I opened it to find a train itinerary to Nijmegen in the south of the Netherlands, a university town where I studied from January to March 2011. 'You know Martha and Gerard are in Nijmegen since Thursday evening for the Tango festival. Hence we have to meet them there'. I know about the Tango festival and I know how much Martha, Margreet and Gerard love to Tango. To be honest I love it to. I can spend hours together watching the couples Tango and dream that some day I will be able to Tango too. It makes sense, if they are in Nijmegen we have to meet them in Nijmegen. 'I did not bring my dance shoes'.. I looked at her helplessly. She smiles and says, 'I have them here'.... The train brought us to Nijmegen.

El Corte, Nijmegen

I love Nijmegen, the place where I really started recovering from my emotional troubles early this year. I felt bad that I did not contact my dear friends Josephine and Ilona who live in Nijmegen. Margreet said that they were not free today for a family function. Yes, that is true, I knew it too. Too bad that I cant see them today, I thought.

El Corte was beautiful as usual, too warm though.. couples were swirling soaked in sweat.. first I could find Martha in beautiful pink dress dancing and meditating on the dance at the same time.. and there I could see Gerard as well... I must say, I was a bit uncomfortable in my short dress... it definitely looked great and there were many elegantly dressed women.. it was just the nervousness of having worn something different. I watched them dance ... , I did not want to dance because I cant dance yet and el Corte being the Mecca of Tango in the Netherlands, dancers here are fabulous... but I enjoyed watching them dance..

We decided to go for lunch. It was Sunday and it made it difficult to find a restaurant. But we managed. We ordered our food and all four of us got busy chattering. We can talk for hours on various topics, from films to photography to being men and women.. and when I am with these friends, I laugh a lot.. it is impossible to be sad when surrounded by them. The drinks arrived and we raised the glasses towards each other... 'We are here today to celebrate the 'brave decision' that you took a year ago. We are happy because it gave us a chance to meet you and to get to know you. We are proud of you and we hope that you will stay here longer'...

I knew what was it all about.... a brave decision that I took a year ago.. the 1st anniversary of that decision, I could not control my tears but it was ok to fall in arms of these special friends and cry, sob, speak in words that are beyond comprehension in the middle of my tears and laugh at the very next moment. I was loved, protected and cherished all at the same time by my three Dutch friends in Nijmegen.. I felt overwhelmed but in happy ways.. after many more hugs and bouts of laughter, we headed to Nijmegen station.. I knew by then that Margreet must have cooked up some more plans.. I became curious and also excited about the evening but I had no idea what I was getting into...

Voor 15.00 uur, Vertrek 15.18 spoor 4a

This was the next envelop which I could open just before we said goodbye to Gerard and Martha.. it had an itinerary to Amsterdam Centraal... another city which has played significant role in my life... the journey involved two train changes..

15.18 - 15.48

The next envelop came out when the train got out of Nijmegen station. I need not take out the letter completely.. I could see the typed letter in marathi, my language.. and I instantly knew it was a letter from my mother.. My mother has written 100s of letters for me over last 30 years, her letters accompany me on each journey... This year has been especially hard for our relationship with each other, we were avoiding each other and I was clearly running away from her.. I read the letter with great hunger and in the first paragraph itself, I burst into tears. I made no efforts to control that flood. I cried and cried... and felt how stupid I was to avoide my mother all these months. My mother apologized to me through this letter for failing to understand me and support me when I needed her the most but also told me her difficulties to cope with my pace of life. she said she feels tired for two reasons, first for not being able to walk with me in the same pace and second for strong realization of her own inadequacies to support me.. even when she wants to.. Have you ever received such a letter from your mother or a loved one? It breaks your heart but it also melts all the coldness between you... I had to call up my mother, the connection was not great and it was impossible to understand me amongst those tears.. but I did tell her that I am sorry for all my behavior and that I love her dearly.. she told me to enjoy the day ahead and be happy always.. 'she is also part of this conspiracy'.. I could clearly see that.. the journey continued and I continued to cry in arms of Margreet...

15.53- 16.51 1st letter

By now, I was happy to change the trains, as it meant, I would receive my next envelop.. and there it was.. this time, I received a beautiful, light hearted and yet thoughtful letter from my brother.. my brother has always been my biggest support.. he stood by me in every difficult situation and he was the one who encouraged me to take the necessary step last year.. he kept his word and he stood there rock-solid by my side.. in fact he also encouraged me to return to Europe.. this time, I did not cry as much but I had a constant smile on my face.. how does one feel when your younger brother who knows you so well writes a letter to you on such a special occasion?

15.53 -16.52 2nd Letter

Dutch trains often have problems and this is particularly true when the weather is bad or on weekend... we had to take one train extra.. it was not in our plan but as luck would have it, Margreet had one more letter waiting for me.. it was a poem.. and there was no name of the sender.. my eyes caught one word in the poem and I said to Margreet..'This is from Madhavi, How did you contact her in China?'... Gosh.. Margreet has really been up for a task..

Madhavi's words were so genuine and straight from heart, I have received many handwritten letters and poems from her since our medical school days.. I can feel Madhavi in each of her words... but her unconditional support went beyond words and poems.. she gave me a shelter in her house in China when I was falling apart in Mumbai in those early days.. She said, 'look I have two kids and my house is a mess but please come and stay with us.. a change of place will do you better and you have never been to China..'Ohh Madhavi.. you were with me then and you are with me now..

I was in thoughts of my friends and family from different parts of the world at the same time and they were reaching out to me through their own innovative ways through Margreet.. I felt showered in much love and affection.. I was speechless.. and I saw Margreet busy texting on phone.. yes of course, there were more surprises ahead of us.. we saw the Nemo through the train and she pulled out the next envelop..

Before entering Amsterdam..

This envelop was empty... may be that was part of the surprise.. we got off the train.. and I saw Katrine walking towards us on the platform.. I saw her but I could not believe it was her.. was I seeing a ghost?.. no it was Katrine... we hugged and I started crying again and thanking her for being there and she kept saying.. 'wait and watch.. this is just getting started..' and right at that moment.. our Chinese friends Peggy and Olivia came running towards us on the platform... big hugs followed, accompanied by laughter and joy...

Where in Amsterdam

Take tram 4 towards station Rai, get off at Fredreikspleine, walk through the park with a tree painted red and walk towards Utrechtstraat.. there you will find vegetarian restaurant 'de golden temple'..

Five of us followed the directions together... my friends know how much I love food... as we reached the restaurant... I saw Nuria hanging around on the street looking for someone.. I knew what was going on there.. they had mobilized all my friends in Amsterdam to meet at this place..

Nuria kept pretending that it was just a chance but we all knew it by then.. we settled in the cozy restaurant, had our tea and lassis.. hellos and catching up with each other.. and there walks in Anisha.. wowwww I kept wondering who else is coming in.. Nasima and Rhona arrived and we became a full house.. 9 lovely ladies in for a great feast...

We placed orders for food.. and my friends took over.. first came out a box, beautiful pink box.. they thought I need a box to put all those envelops and all other letters and cards which were coming my way.. they named it 'my good luck box'. Each girl brought out her card and little goodies they thought I would enjoy.. Anisha gave me a beautiful painting, painted by her.. a sea shore with rocks where a small daizy bloomed happily.. she said.. however rocky the situation may be around me, I have to remember my potential to bloom like this daizy.. Katrine gave me a card with bright sunflower and a small sticker to be ironed on my jacket or backpack.. all happy images and also funny.. my friends know I love flowers.. Peggy and Olivia gave me little pouch and a wooden seal to make my personalized stamp.. may be with my new name.. lovely.. Nasima gave me a little pebble with inscription 'friends for ever'.. Nuria was the messenger of Julia, Piet and Sjaak as well.. Julia and Piet sent me a card and beautiful little idol of Ganesha.. and Sjaak sent me a bottle of jam that he himself made with ruberb and strawberries.. he knows we both love that jam. The card he chose for me came from Poznan, in Poland and has a bronze statue of a man with a bicycle on it..'I chose this card for your love for the bicycle', the message read.. Nuria's card came from Bremen, a place where we traveled together in winter of 2009 and she gave me a pair of earnings with butterfly wings.. beautiful.. it also states that the butterflies were not killed for the purpose of making these ornaments.. I think they are the most unique earrings in my collection and it is true that I have been facinated by butterflies these days..

My box got full but more importantly my heart overflowed with joy and gratitude towards these special women..my friend Nasima called it 'a constellation of stars' the stars which are on move to and from different parts of the world but who come together and form meaningful shapes and structures.. the most important is gigantic support structures that we form..

The food came in and we ate it all.. we just loved it.. that was the only time we fell silent.. our Chinese friends tasted Indian food for the first time..I realized that it was me and Nasima who knew all the ladies present in the group and many women did not know each other that well.. that is when we started a new idea.. together we described each woman, the way we had met her, understood her and her unique qualities that we had noticed and experienced.. and that was a fabulous idea.. we had so many things to share and highlight about each other.. we were indeed stars but most of us felt that we were just ordinary people... that evening proved to us beyond doubts that there is extraordinary in each ordinary thing or a person. All we need is a perspective to feel the extraordinary facets.. the evening grew young.. the restaurant gave us space and freedom.. we spent about 4 hours there but soon we had to say goodbye..

Me and Margreet had the lonest travel home. Nasima was leaving for Bangladesh the very next morning.. Olivia burst into tears to say goodbye to all these friends she made in one evening and Peggy pondered..'have I ever made such special friends in my life?' Rhona responded, 'my dear quality and depth of friendship changes as we grow older. The things that mattered in the beginning, the competetion with fellow women doesnt matter anymore and we start appreciating friends just the way they are..' I thought that was the best words Peggy could have received in an answer.. so reassuring and comforting..

I am blessed with such lovely gang of friends.. I cant beleive that I had one or two friends max till the age of 23 .. I have been a slow starter but now, I feel it was totally worth it.. better late than never.. I wondered why am I blessed with such lovely friends... and my friends responded... 'are you kidding? Just look at you. we feel enriched to be here' 'you have great friends because of the way you are' 'oh we did nothing, mobilizing this party was such fun and easy because each person contacted bounced back with equal energy as they all wanted to be there for you..'

All I can say is thank you everyone .. for being there for me, spending your sunday evening to be with me, to prepare a good luck box for me .. I just have to open this box whenever I feel low and left out in life and all of you will spring out of the box.. It was this very same blog where I cried my lungs out last year.. when friends rejected me on facebook and I was almost an outcast for the circle of friends back home and it is one year and I am surrounded by much stronger bonds of friendship.. thank you, thank you, thank you very much...

Just before we left the restaurant, after series of hugs and kisses and goodbyes and wishes.. there came another envelop..

Planning last train home

Last train from Amsterdam to Groningen noord takes about 3 hours.. which meant we had ample time to reflect on.. just to let all the feelings and emotions sink in.. just feel happy and blessed.. we took the tram to the station.. if all train connection go as planned, we would be home by 1am. Both me and Margreet were visibly tired.. she had taken immense effort to plan this day... but she was happy...

Terugreis

Return journey in Dutch is called terug reis.. was it really a return journey for me? I think it was a new journey home.. yes I was coming home finally.. after feeling homeless in many ways for last one year.. where is my home? I am not referring to my home in Groningen Noord or for that matter in Mumbai.. I carry my home with me.. my home is my family of friends... friends across all age groups, all cultures and from across the globe.. some I meet in person and some keep shining the light of their love on me from the distance.. like madhavi shining from China... all my struggles and self doubt about my life altering decision vanished.. I finally made peace with myself and my life.. it was such an incredible feeling...

there she brings out yet another envelop... I open it with tears of joy.. I knew.. it was her letter.. the woman who did everything silently.. but with so much love and care.. she was speaking her heart to me through this last letter.. she thanked me for giving them all a chance to plan this day for me.. she thanked me for opening my world of friends in front of her.. she was happy to have interacted with my mother and brother and to have met all the special friends of mine in the Netherlands.. she oppologized for not being able to contact Leen in Leuven who gave me immense support in the winter last year.. I was speechless.. now I really started crying.. I hugged her and just kept saying thank you.. Thank you Margreet for all that you have done for me...

Special note:
The idea was conceptualized by Nasima and Margreet and they contacted all the friends who have been a great support for me in last one year.. I am extremely grateful to all of you (Margreet, Martha, Gerard, Josephine, Ilona, Nasima, prats, aai, Madhavi, Katrine, Olivia, Peggy, Nuria, Nasima, Rhona, Leen, Sjaak, Julia, Piet, Jan and all of you that are not listed here but are definitely in my thoughts.. you all have seen my roller coaster ride in last one year).. thanks a million for being there in so many ways for me...

The 'brave decision' that we celebrated this Sunday was to not get married when I was not ready for it. I wont discuss why I took that decision and how it must have hurt the people around me. I have apologized to everyone hurt in the process but do not know if I would ever be forgiven. On Sunday, I decided not to talk about that episode again but take the lessons learned with me for the life ahead..

This was a rather long but beautiful story of my 'Sunday with the stars..' This blog gave me a means of expression in those hard, gloomy days.. and I had to now share my happiness through the same blog.. we the gang of girls are planning something larger.. a sort of online community of friends.. who have supported us.. we want to share our stories and also the stories of special women we have met in our lives.. who continue to inspire us in different ways.. we are planning to be up and running by October this year.. so stay tuned..

The lady with the shell necklace who served our food in the restaurant has taken a lovely picture of the entire gang.. but I did not post it here.. friends, I hope you don't mind me using your first names in this blog. I did not want to change your names and nor did I want to write about M1, M2 M3 and R and K.. Please let me know if you disagree with me on using your first names..

Loads of love to you all...

I am off to Maastricht for yet another adventure this sunday and I will be back next week with more stories..

Till then take care...

String of beads...

I have no good reasons to be dormant on this blog for yet another month. There were number on inspiring thoughts, events, meetings with people and experiences. It was just that I felt too lazy to write about it. But here I am again writing to you all from Amsterdam.

I have been living in Groningen for last 6 weeks and I love this city in the north of the Netherlands, cozy, comfortable and friendly.This university town has 190000 residents out of which 50000 are students. The students are mostly gone for it is summer holiday but soon the city will start buzzing with students again. I love my quite and peaceful life in groningen. I live in a silent residential neighborhood which has no shops. The city center is 10 minutes by bike and the huge public park is a stone throw away. I already feel connected with the fresh fruit and vegetable market, the neighbors and the city skyscape. The weather has not been great but that is the situation all across the country. This has been the wettest summer in years, rain everyday, dark gloomy sky and cold wind. But I am not at all depressed or low, instead I feel light like warm air. I am surrounded by friends and we cook great meals each day and then spend hours talking over the dinner table.. I have been having little adventures almost everyday and bouts of laughter on silly things. I cant imagine it is almost a year since that disastrous time in my personal life. I think I have found my old self back. Finally I have made peace with myself, all the guilt, pain and self-blame has gone away..

Yesterday I took a four hour train ride from Groningen to Alkmaar, to be at a friend's art gallery opening. It is always enriching to be surrounded by these special friends of mine in the Netherlands. Artists, painters, writers, copy editors, chefs and budding models.. I don't think I knew one in Mumbai, let alone being invited for such events. The art gallery going crowd looked so far out of my reach and here I am being one of them in a new country. I do not understand much in art, be it painting or music but I like being with people, all sorts of people, observe them and listen to them. What seems common in all of them is that they are not afraid to dream and to put their dreams in actions. They do not hold themselves back. Why is is that I am so afraid to dream? I always wanted to make some strokes of colour on a canvas. Now I have a friend who offered me the canvas, the paint and the paintbrushes. I could spoil one canvas without worrying too much about it but I do not have courage even to take the paintbrush in my hand. Why is it so? What is it that I am afraid of? Not being good enough? Not being gifted artist?Not wanting to waste a canvas? What is it that stops me when I have perfect opportunity? There is some kind of fear.. I feel it all the time. What I don't know is how to address that fear. how to take a step forward.

The other day, a friend of mine gave me a box of glass beads to make jewellery. 'Do what you like with this. Let the imagination flow..' I froze. I was happy to see the box coming out of nowhere. Was it not that I always wanted to try it out? Now I could. I expected myself to jump at the opportunity. Instead, I kept looking at the box and the beads. 'You don't know how to combine right colours. Look for similar beads. It should look symmetrical. No whatever you make will look ridiculously childish. Don't waste the beads and your time.' My mind started gushing out all the reasons why I should not give it a try. What would have happened if indeed my attempts turned out to be a disaster? The world was not going to fall apart nor was I going to incur huge losses. I was not going to harm anyone and what's wrong if my creation looks ridiculously childish? If I were a child, I am sure I would not have thought for a second before starting to make the string of beads, from one end of the living room to the other. Who cares about the colours, and harmony, symmetry and structure and child looks back at his/her own creation with great pride and satisfaction. When did I loose that ability in pursuit of growing into adult age? Can I get that ability back? Can I be a child again?

The box remained untouched for two days before I made an entry in my list of things to do. That's right! I have to make it to do list to be involved in some activity that could give me happiness. When anything gets on that list, I know it gets done and it did get done. After struggling with my overtly critical mind, i made a string of beads. I was far from satisfied with my work. The colours were not right, some beads looked so out of shape that they distorted the structure of the necklace. I lost my interest in it. I did not even tie the end-piece. I left it by the window, totally neglected and prematurely abandoned. We had a friend over for dinner the same evening. The necklace caught her eye and she seemed to love it. She gave me great compliments. I heard those words but could not feel it at all. I was so convinced that it is one of the stupidest things I have ever made. She could feel it in my voice and body language. I so wanted to feel good about her words of praise but I just could not. I offered her the necklace. 'She appreciated it more than I did. She will put it to a good use'. I thought to myself. She was happy to hear that and immediately tied it across her neck. The evening continued with food, conversations and sharing our life stories.. she kept touching her necklace with fingers whenever she was talking about something every emotional and personal. The evening light through the window started shining on her face and rays of light reflecting through the beads.. I must say I kept looking at her neck adorned with my necklace. It indeed look beautiful. She looked beautiful. Why was it that I could not see it that way before.. why was I so stubborn with the idea that it was no good...

I learned a valuable lesson.. it is important to appreciate myself, to love my abilities however poor they may be, to be able to do things without hesitation and self doubt as long as I was not harming others.. I have to really make conscious effort to love myself and my life. I don't need to be always critical of myself. It is ok to be not perfect, it is perfect to make mistakes and be like a child. It is essential to dream and not be afraid of dreaming... that is what I am trying these days.. and guess what this is the testimony.. I always thought that macbook is something from different planet as compared to my ordinary laptop.. I started with shaky hands working on this macbook.. at a friend's place in Amsterdam... and now I realize, it is not some rocket science. I still don't know how to use right-click on mac to correct the spelling but apart from that it all seems ok.. the important thing was to gather courage to work with unknown, work on unknown and work for unknown... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.. but then I will try again.. someday I will get there...

Do you ever have any such fears and inhibitions that hold you back? What do you do to overcome those? I am eager to know your stories and also the solutions you devised.. so feel free to respond...