HarPiyTravel

When Travel Is Life!

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Harmit, Piyush, and Aayansh chase, The golden light where highways bend. A shutter captures nature’s smile, On wild trails that never end.
  • Embracing Life’s Lessons: The Good in Every Situation

    Embracing Life’s Lessons: The Good in Every Situation

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Do you think everything happens for a reason?

    Absolutely, everything happens for a reason. Right now, as I write this, there is also a reason for it. Daily writing helps me stay consistent, improves my writing skills, and connects me with you all. Isn’t that a beautiful reason to write?

    Not only that, I am a strong believer that everything happens for good. There is no bad element at all; it’s all about how we see things. When something happens, we see its impact in the present and don’t know what it’s gonna mean for us in the future. Since we don’t have a magic ball to know that, we feel annoyed, frustrated, and angry about how things are going.

    But in the long run, we realize whatever happened was for the good only. It’s just that we didn’t know it then. I can give so many examples to prove it.

    1. When my client wanted to hire me full-time from a contractual position, my then-employer didn’t let me join. This drama happened during Christmas time, and I felt like a sandwich patty between both parties. Things didn’t go as I wanted, and I had to revoke my resignation (first time in my whole career). Now I am full-time with a different organization; I am learning here, and I like what I do. At the time, I was frustrated with how things got out of hand, but today I love that I didn’t join that client, as it was too good for my comfort.
    2. I am an epileptic; just remembering those college days when I used to have frequent fits makes me uneasy. Life was difficult, and I had no clue what would happen with my career. My memory was degrading, and I wasn’t able to focus on anything. The treatment and the solutions we tried are a different story. But all this put me on a spiritual path, and I thank god for that. Whatever spirituality I have today, it is because of that period. So again, it felt bad to everyone in my family, but ultimately it had a good reason. I am living a successful life now.
    3. During COVID, I got stuck in India for 5 months. My flight was canceled because the Indian government imposed a nationwide lockdown just one day before my flight. My spouse was in a different city at my in-laws’ place, and I was with my parents. Although I was paying rent in the USA and was away from my spouse, I cherished these 5 months as I was with my family for many months after a long time; I got my mother’s hand-cooked meals and bonded with them.

    So overall, whatever happens to us is for a good reason. It’s just that we don’t have a way to see the good in it. Just have trust and try to be positive. Remember, negative is just the absence of positivity.

    Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!

  • Identifying Your Home Decoration Style

    Identifying Your Home Decoration Style

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    What’s your home decoration style?

    I am not the kind of person who is into home decor, although I love collecting artifacts, magnets, souvenirs, and coffee cups, and decorating them here and there; I have never truly decided on a theme or planned anything for my home. Whatever my spouse does there looks great.

    The previous homeowner had a bar, which I converted into a coffee bar because I love coffee. That’s my favorite place in the house. I love photography and have lots of prints. I have a couple of them in the guest room and main bedroom. It always feels great to see your own work. My elder sister is a painter, and she gifted one of our works, which decorates our living room.

    Coffee bar

    Disclaimer: Both pictures are old; these spaces have improved a lot

    We also decorated our kitchen area and bar countertop with peel-and-stick tiles (that was not easy) and wallpaper. We had a deal: I helped Harmit with this project, and she helped set up our home gym. Our basement has a cute gym, which was our first project in this house, with foam tiles and peel-and-stick mirrors.

    Home Gym

    I love my home, and it feels so good when I am there, away from all the anxiety and chaos of life—just being with my beautiful family.

    Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!

  • Meaningful Song Lyrics That Resonate Forever

    Meaningful Song Lyrics That Resonate Forever

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    What’s a song lyric that has stuck with you forever?

    Music is the most beautiful discovery humans have made. It can touch the listener’s heart, breaking the language barrier. There are so many songs we don’t understand a single word of, but they’re still on our playlist. Examples include Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Manike Mage Hithe by Yohani, to name a few.

    I personally like meaningful songs, especially philosophical and Sufi ones. There are many such songs, but one song whose lyrics I sing frequently is:-

    अर्ज़ियाँ सारी मैं चेहरे पे लिख के लाया हूँ
    तुमसे क्या माँगूं मैं, तुम ख़ुद ही समझ लो

    दरारें दरारें माथे पे मौला
    मरम्मत मुक़द्दर की कर दो मौला

    तेरे दर पे झुका हूँ, मिटा हूँ, बना हूँ
    तेरे दर पे झुका हूँ, मिटा हूँ, बना हूँ
    मरम्मत मुक़द्दर की कर दो मौला

    जो भी तेरे दर आया
    झुकने जो सर आया
    मस्तियाँ पिए सबको
    झूमता नज़र आया
    प्यास ले के आया
    दरिया वो भर लाया
    नूर की बारिश में भीगता सा तर आया

    ओ एक ख़ुशबू आती थी
    ओ एक ख़ुशबू आती थी
    मैं भटकता जाता था
    रेशमी सी माया थी
    और मैं तकता जाता था
    जब तेरी गली आया
    सच तभी नज़र आया
    जब तेरी गली आया
    सच तभी नज़र आया
    मुझे में वो ख़ुशबू थी
    जिससे तूने मिलवाया

    टूट के बिखरना मुझको ज़रूर आता है
    टूट के बिखरना मुझको ज़रूर आता है
    वरना इबादत वाला सुरूर आता है
    सजदे में रहने दो
    अब कहीं ना जाऊँगा
    अब जो तुमने ठुकराया तो
    संवर ना पाऊँगा

    सर उठा के मैंने तो कितनी ख़्वाहिशें की थीं
    कितने ख्वाब देखे थे, कितनी कोशिशें की थीं
    जब तू रूबरू आया
    जब तू रूबरू आया, नज़रे ना मिला पाया
    सर झुका के एक पल में
    सर झुका के एक पल में, मैंने क्या नहीं पाया
    मौला मौला मौला मेरे मौला

    It’s a beautiful song that a devotee sings for his god or the supreme power he believes in. The meaning is –

    What do I need from you? I need not ask; it’s written all over my face. You know it. I have wrinkles on my forehead; oh lord, fix my destiny. I bow at your place; I was finished here, shaped up here.

    Whoever came to your place, with bowed head, became in harmony. He came thirsty but went away with an ocean after being drenched in the rain of light.

    I was chasing a pleasant smell for so long; it was like an illusion. When I came to your door, I realized the truth: the smell was coming from me. I became one with myself.

    I know how to break into multiple pieces. Let me live in you devotion, I wont leave you. If you reject me I won’t be able to recover.

    I had so many desires, but when I faced you, I couldn’t look at you; I couldn’t ask for anything. I just bowed down, and I got everything, my lord.

    Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!

  • Why I Won’t Change Any Book’s Ending

    Why I Won’t Change Any Book’s Ending

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?

    Given the chance, I won’t rewrite the ending of any book. I respect the author’s view and the story he built after considerable research and time. Writers spend years coming up with the story, and it’s a privilege to read it. Maybe the ending doesn’t satisfy me, but it could be a perfect ending for other readers. What I think would make a good ending might even make it worse for other readers.

    So I won’t change any book endings, but there is one book I regret reading. I struggled a lot to complete it. I took almost 5 months to complete this masterpiece – Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

    My review on good reads-

    “Ahh! Finally, I was able to finish it- my longest read ever. It took 5 months (that too in lockdown), and it was forced since I don’t leave any book unfinished.


    I really don’t know what to write about it; it is considered a classic, for what reasons, only god knows. I borrowed it from my sister and soon regretted it after going through a few chapters.
    The story is about a man who has a great interest in nymphs; he marries a lady since he had a crush on her daughter. He gets what he wishes for; his wife dies after discovering his extra-curricular activities, and he gets custody of his love – Lolita. From here starts his lust story, which is so difficult to read that I used to skip the book, especially on Monday (my religious fast), so as not to corrupt my mind.


    It’s not actually pornographic or erotic but immoral for sure. But the definition of immorality varies from person to person. One thing I could feel was that his love for his step-daughter (still inappropriate for me) was somehow real.
    This book was banned for its inappropriate subject matter, but I feel we should not ban any work; every creative work is art. It’s up to the readers whether they like it or not.
    At last, I won’t recommend it to anyone; it’s better to be away from this.”

    It is considered a classic; that’s the reason it landed on my shelf. Did I like it? No. I needed cleansing after reading it. But again, I don’t hate the author or want to change anything. It’s his story, his opinion, his work, and I respect it. It’s just that it was never for me.

    Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!

  • Exploring the Garden of the Gods: A Scenic Colorado Gem

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    In continuation of our Colorado series, today we will sneak peek into Garden of the Gods. When we first visited Colorado (RMNP) in year 2018, heard …

    Great Garden of the Gods