Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright!

The Tiger Hotel and its patrons slept peacefully. It was the 1st of January 2010. The peace was testimony to the fact that the entire city of Udaipur had spent it's energy celebrating and ushering in the new year only the previous night.

The Thursday night saw everybody in the City of Lakes stay awake till early morning. Gangaur ghat was a potent cocktail of music and revelry. Every terrace, window and house that overlooked the lake and the ethereal Lake Palace was lit with thousands of strings of light. The cold only helped to increase capacity for food, wine and laughter.

As the eye travelled across the ghat, one admired the dazzle and shimmer of the new dress that the city had draped. Beyond the ghats, the Lake Palace stood as a reminder of a time that had managed to seep into the 21st Century. It sent forth it's emissary to make sure the guests and the citizens are greeted on time and with love.

The white open boat glided across the mirror surface breaking it into ripples of dancing light. It was a royal time call. The hour struck and the night sky which had waited with unconcealed eagerness burst forth with light. Millions of man-made stars twinkled for a fleeting instance and faded away leaving a wispy cottonball of smoke, only to be immediately followed by a million others.

A warm hug from a dear friend was the reminder that a new beginning had commenced in every personal life. An opportunity to accomplish goals, a ticket to a beautiful life, a chance to right previous wrongs. A new year indeed! And because of the immenseness of hope and discovery, a happy one too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!











sorry for the low-res shots...taken with a vgs camera on my old 1st gen camera phone