Uncovering the story within at Alekhya
- tarjanisamani
- Jun 11, 2023
- 3 min read
It has been a really long time since I published a blog post because I have felt creatively blocked in a lot of silly existential crises. Somehow working as an architect or a researcher within the practise/academia bubble was getting claustrophobic for me. And since then I have been trying to manifest a space much more vast and open towards the idea of creative pursuit. I had written in my journal a prayer to be able to go to the mountains by the end of the year. It feels almost magical and I am deeply grateful that my prayer was answered when I randomly spotted the Alekhya retreat out of nowhere. I am writing this blog very impulsively to process the intensity of what I experienced at the writing retreat.
Why was going for a writing retreat in the mountains crucial for me on a personal level
Going to Alekhya was a desperate last-minute shot that I pitched to Mahima. Looking back, I am glad to have taken that leap of faith.
The retreat was nestled in the mountains almost 8500ft above sea level. Being secluded from the hustle and bustle of an Indian city, I was forced to meet my true self. There was nothing to escape into other than the wilderness of nature around me and the untamed thoughts from deep within. And this is why I find the mountains quite overpowering. Maybe because of having grown up in Mumbai, I have often associated that the sea offers a calm endless horizon. So I am very much a beach person rather than a mountain person. However, I cannot deny the magic of mountain terrain. Somehow terrifyingly it reminds me that we are just a tiny speck in this universe. This death of the ego is very humbling and what attracts me to the mountains during difficult phases of my life.
Being a city person, I am addicted to finding stories through people and spaces around me. But the mountains prompt me to introspect on my own story. This time in the mountains I realised that as much as I love the plethora of experiences that Mumbai offers - the city can also is a toxic relationship of being in survival mode. It provides many distractions that can lead to not truly feeling what is churning within.
More than anything, the entire retreat experience reminded me that the most important person to take care of - is your own self. Although most of my time at the retreat was absorbed in trying to keep myself warm and calm the storms within, there were some important glimmers also. Just like how I have described in the following image...
What Alekhya offered in terms of workshops and connecting with peers
Do we tend to prefer a familiar hell over an unfamiliar heaven is what I often wonder. Because whenever I have moved away from Mumbai, I have always felt an inexplicable pull to return to the city. And pondering on this is what made me realise - that the city teaches you so much about negotiations. Everyone and everything is so jam-packed together that no one can escape the realities of life. And maybe that raw honesty of the city is what keeps me grounded.
So yes weirdly even in the mountains, I was constantly thinking about the city. Maybe because the workshops also prompted me to uncover what would I like to write upon. And as a subconscious habit, I first started thinking about being a young woman/girl in an Indian city. And then the next line of thought was of being an architect. What pinched this introspection even more was when in one of the workshops Ushinor asked us to write about our own socio-cultural contexts.
This is where I let intuition answer the prompt for me. I realised that I am an architect trying to make space for herself through the stories around her and within her. For a change, the retreat sparked a journey within me to imagine what would the idea of writing mean for me especially because in my field of work I have often written for other people and their ideas. But what is writing really to me? What is the story that I aspire to bring forth to the world? What is that dream that will keep fueling me despite the roller coaster of mundane everyday life?
There is no way I can document every single learning discovered through the writing retreat in a short blog because it is a mini-book in itself. However, I felt an inexplicable urge to just churn out this blog honouring the personal growth I felt in those few days and will end here by sharing a few images from the writing retreat.
Just a few more snaps of moments which are forever imprinted in my memory now
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