¡A word to the wise!

Hello, I am new to CS but I am aware of its altruistic model and would love to host and make new friends. However, my capacity to host in NJ, for the time being, is unviable. One of my high school friends is in town and staying with me and my roomies till midsummer. Afterward, though, it would be my delight to share your company and offer you my sincerest hospitality.

CURRENT MISSION

If I were to put these in words, then I would probably lend myself to the hands of Albert Camus. I, by no means, am a scholar on Camus but his writings certainly have wrapped me in a haze once I allowed them to diffuse and considered what it would mean in terms of my attitude towards life. Camus' existentialist outlook speaks of a deafening note: one that asks us to admit that our existence is and shall forever be plagued by a tension, a conflict that pits our need to create and inject meaning in our everyday lives against the universe’s silent and stubborn apathy towards our suffering. The antidote for him comes from an uncut display of our free-will that is, a dogged resolve to persevere and live in the face of the truth that there remains no explanation for our arbitrarily cruel, unjust world. As he puts it tellingly, “the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” I understand that life may hide a great deal of surprises but if I can accept this unforgiving truth about our existence and stand tall maybe I could imagine myself happy-just like beloved Sisyphus :)

ABOUT ME

Greetings,
Ah, the dreaded I! I thought of evading this part by asserting that the self is an illusion, but I would be better off deleting my profile, considering that the CS community seems to be well-stocked on freak jobs, jk! What I can do however is not mislead you by hiding behind abstract zombie labels; that is to say, I won’t be basking in the categories of “open-minded, fun, friendly, spiritual, easygoing et al.” Don’t get me wrong, would I love to live up to those ideals? Absolutely yes! but it would be ignorant of me not to consider the fact that I am a leaf waiting to be swept away by the winds of time and vagaries of life. The streams of today often drain in basins far away.

This being said, I want my profile readers to know that a search for a good life has been my constant companion over the past couple of years. So far, the obvious and disheartening answer has been money and power. Fair enough, we are creatures of flesh and bone, and I still have not been/lived in California in order to dismiss this truth. Occasionally, however, I have heard either through the wise people I have met in life or through the teachings of two chaps by the name of Socrates and Buddha that curiosity, healthy skepticism, and watertight moral character can be of help. That is the mask that I want to wear and the hide in which I want to crawl around. If you think you can help me put these hollow words into actions perhaps "ours is the Earth and everything that’s in it."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

An immediate response that comes to mind is that the CS model replicates how humans, across cultures and time, have traveled for much of our shared history. Yet if I were to peel off this mask of custom/practicality for a moment, I realize that I would still be left with a pressing issue: one irreversibly linked along the lines of "Why travel... considering the only trustworthy companion you shall have is your fickle fate?" To this I say, we travel for our journeys are the unclouded looking glass through which we understand ourselves and our relationship with the world. Most of the encounters we face while traveling are steeped in the understanding that they are unrepeatable: in a manner similar to Achilles' solemn remark in The Iliad, "... any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed." The dramatic toasts exchanged over pints, the innocent smiles stolen amidst the beaming rays of dawn, or the insights sprung at the end of a conversation, to name a few, sparkle in the archives of our memory because they remind us that despite the fleeting nature of things, the choice to cherish the time and company we find ourselves in rests entirely upon us!

Interests

• writing
• poetry
• yoga
• meditation
• gardening
• reading
• folk music
• guitar
• cycling
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• skiing
• martial arts
• swimming
• anthropology
• ecology
• history
• philosophy
• psychology
• volunteering
• linguistics
• football
• wilderness
• sustainability
• stargazing
• farming
• satire
• standup comedy
• vipassana
• long walks
• dark humor
• psychedelic rock
• rocknroll
• religious studies
• psychoanalysis
• grunge
• classics
• entheogens
• hiking,
• long distance running
• tragedy
• western literature
• paganfolk

Music, Movies, and Books

Here I am at the mercy of forces beyond my control and foresight and in my experience it's an unending loop. Nevertheless, I am more than open to recommendations, thus please feel free to share if you believe in timeless masterpieces. So far, my carousel is limited to the following

** Essays contribute a vast chunk of my readings** If you could spare a moment, please do checkout these two wonderful links (purely non-profit sites and a treasure trove for any genre) https://aeon.co/ and https://psyche.co/

Books:
Lord of the Rings, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Little Prince, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Things Fall Apart, To Kill a Mocking Bird, L' Hote, The Iliad, Platonic Dialogues, The Examined Life, Man's Search for Meaning, The Bluest Eye, The Bell Jar, Into the Wild, Into the Thin Air, A Descent into the Maelström, Carpet Sahib: A Life of Jim Corbett, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, The Silence of the Lambs

Movies/Series/Documentaries:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Good Will Hunting, Lion King, The Princess' Bride, Monty Python, Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Pianist, The Reader, Downfall, The Death of Stalin, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, LA Confidential, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Joker, No Country for Old Men, Mullholland Drive, American History X, The Usual Suspects, Do the Right Thing, Y Tu Mamá También, City of God.....I can't sort out the Kubrick, Nolan, Tarantino, Spielberg, Scorsese, Del Toro, Fincher movies, thus I will be only name-dumping them

Seinfeld, Trailer Park Boys, Breaking Bad, Band of Brothers, GOT, True Detective, The Sopranos, Sherlock, Narcos, Rick and Morty, The Midnight Gospel, Love Death + Robots, Black Mirror

Baraka, Samsara, Tales by the Light, The Act of Killing, BBC Earth: Our Planet, I Am Not Your Negro, We Shall Remain

Music
Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Dire Straits, Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Guns N Roses, Aerosmith, Queen, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Alter Bridge, Metallica, SOAD, Dream Theatre, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters

Kabir Cafe, Shpongle, Free Tibet, Os Tincoas, The HU, SKÁLD, Wardruna, Apocalypse Orchestra, Miracle of Sound, Hans Zimmer, Andy Timmons, 2Cellos

Bob Dylan, George Harrison, A.R. Rahman, Arko Mukherjee, Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver, Elton John, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Nick Drake, Johnny Cash

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Miles to go before I sleep but I have picked up some tales along the way

Went on a month-long trip to South India (all the way to Kanyakumari) with my family, this time to meet a close family friend of ours and pay homage to some significant Hindu temples scattered on our way. We took a nonstop (two days, one night) train ride for the 2,344 km-long journey. The scorched landscapes of rural central India and south India were a haunting wonder to behold, and the long sultry days rendered all the more precious by my unwitting choice to pack in a shabby copy of the LOTR. The days spent free falling into Tolkien's boundless fantasy shall forever rest strong in the halls of my boyhood memories. 2015

Volunteered and joined my high school buddies to organize two social service trips during my senior year in high school. The first (and the one worthy to list here) was a book and educational materials donation program in a picturesque Gurung village named Pasgaon, deep in the hills of Lamjung, Nepal. On account of our adolescent zeal, we managed to land ourselves stupidly in the hamlet right in the middle of Monsoon season. The roads were useless, and it seemed we had to carry all the books, computers, and other educational materials by ourselves in a 4–5 hour-long hike. Thankfully, the kids attending the local school where we intended to donate this stuff had caught wind of the event and were eagerly waiting for us, and to our surprise, joy, and embarrassment, they were more than willing to shoulder the heavy load. In the comforting arms of hindsight, I think the journey opened my eyes to the strange relationship between the intensity of our sufferings and the texture of our memories: without those discomforts (torrential monsoon, an epidemic of leech worms, lack of toilets), I may never have felt so relieved after we managed to drag our muddy selves by the warm fire of our host's hearth. 2016

Took a road trip with my college mates in the summer of 22 across New England. The 5-day long trip was enough for us to taste the rugged wilderness and pristine beauty of Acadia National Park, Maine and soak in the grandeur of one of the oldest cities in the "New World"- Boston. Thrillingly special because I was fortunate to experience camping and kayaking for the first time in my life. 2022

Teach, Learn, Share

Mostly limited to the bits and pieces of my finite understanding of the world and humanity. Yet if you really want to learn about the Nepali language, history, and culture, I would be delighted to let you pick my brains out. On a side note, I have been trying to polish my creative writing skills and if you see poetry as an ointment for your soul then maybe I could toss some haphazardly assembled couplets along your way.

When it comes to learning, I am thankful that the fire in me is still burning bright. Time and circumstances permitting, I am all ears to listen and learn from your share of lived experiences. Alternatively, if you have any skills or passions that might need a guinea pig or a whetstone to be sharpened upon, then have no doubt when I say I would consider myself the luckiest test surfer alive.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Most importantly, I want my hosts to know that I am not there to treat them as a means to my own personal ends/gains. Apart from my unflinching regard for your time, space, and rules, I have been told that I can whip up some decent Nepali home cooked meals-if you are in a mood for chicken pilaf, chicken/goat curry, cottage cheese curry, or any local Nepali meals then I'm your guy. Among other things, I also have been consciously trying to improve my listening and dialogue skills in general, so if you are passionate to unearth the truth- or nuanced opinions🙃- listen to stories from the far side of the world, or merely embark upon our shared gift of awe and wonder then I think I can be of help. Last but not least, I do not shy away from the simple pleasures that life has to offer nor mind making a fool out of myself if that means a smile on both of our faces.

Countries I’ve Visited

India, Nepal, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Nepal, United States