Life is beautiful

Does life really change?

2011-04-01T12:01:00.001+03:00

Does life really change after a baby is born????

This questions used to linger always in my mind...Now that I am a mother , I can answer this too...Partially yes but its all the way we take it through. A baby is no wonder,the gift of GOD...We as parents have more responsibility in catering to their needs..They are demanding at times and challenging too.. For the initial years , life takes a roller coaster ride. Mother's lose their individual self and just live for their new born. But as time progresses, if we start our own routine as per our needs, the baby gets accustomed to such a surrounding and starts understanding the parents too..

So life is beautiful even after a new addition to the family and we have to lead it as per our wish..

New year eve 2009

2009-12-31T14:47:00.000+03:00

This is my last post in 2009..I resolve that I will be regular in 2010 in updating the happenings...New year resolutions are meant to be broken...So I do not have anything particular as of now..

Yesterday we made pani puri at home...The spirit and enthusiasm in maing it was tremendous and the dish als came out pretty well...

Wishing you all a cheerful and funfilled 2010...

Chennai Kutcheri Season

2009-12-12T08:01:00.004+03:00

Good Morning!!

A good start today..Listening to Karaharapriya in the morning by T.M.Krishna.One of my favourites. I am drifted back to Chennai where it is the peak music season now.One will be totally confused as to which kutcheri or sabha to attend. I really miss that 2007 December experience. I used to somehow get permission from office and religiously attend to concerts in Music Academy or Narada Gana Sabha (closest to my house). There used to be 5 -6 hrs queue for buying tickets to listen to a Sanjay's concert in the Academy.

And a variety of music stalls , canteen. Oh what a life that was. Me and my Scooty..and am off to a concert..I wish I get another opportunity in my life to listen to a music in such a grandeur.

Vadam making in Nairobi

2009-12-10T12:17:00.004+03:00

It is indeed a bliss to be with parents at this stage of my life...We miss them more when we are away from them and setting up our own family. I am fortunate to have them here in Nairobi for my delivery . Since we are so used to mother's cooking in younger days, it feels like heaven when I am eating her food after so many years. Hows standardized the tastes are. Today we made javarisi vadam and vaazhathandu karuvadam at home praying the almighty that it should be a sunny day. The reason am posting it is , whichever place we are, our food tastes do not change and I got reminded of the days when amma used to make such tasty vadam koozhu in huge quantities with all the strain to her hand and we used to dry them in the terrace. Today though the quantity is lesser, the taste and the method is still the same. Only difference is , myself and amma were thrilled to make them in African continent.

Govinda Govinda

2009-11-20T08:58:00.002+03:00

Today I learnt a Purandaradasar krithi “Venkatachala Nilayam Vaikunta Puravasam” from my mother.Since childhood I have been listening to this song but never took an interest to learn it. But yesterday when amma was humming, I felt that I should learn it. This song is in Ragam Sindhubhairavi set in Aadi talam. It was made popular by out great maestro M.L.Vasanthakumari . When we like something, its natural to find out know more about it. The melody in the song is very soothing and makes one keep listening to it. I am thankful to my mother to have hummed it. Hurray! I learnt a new song!!

Juley to ladakh- Part II

2009-11-12T22:01:00.001+03:00

We went to Khardungla which is the highest motorable road in the world at an altitude of 18380 ft. It provides excellent view of the Ladakh range as well as the Karakoram range on the other side. It is some 43 kms from Leh town but takes around 5 hrs to ascend. We had taken bicycles with us so that we can ride on our way down hill. And truly, I never dreamt that I could bike from that altitude. It was an experience of a lifetime to bike down the road from Khardungla to Leh. I felt as if I was on top of the world, like a bird flying with its wings outstretched. It was absolutely scenic with long ,beautiful ,winding roads and mountains very close and near.
Next trip was to Pangong lake. A pristine lake with deep blue waters, surrounded by tall mountain peaks.It lies in the Indo-China border with only one-fourth of the lake in India.The 4 1/2 hour drive(149 kms) from Leh to this lake passes through Chang la ,the third highest motorable road in the world. It was a sight to see the water freezing as it dripped down the mountain. What strikes the eye at first is the richest blue and greenish water with a "Garnet Hill" as the back drop where one can find raw, uncut garnets.
Our next journey was a white water rafting in the Indus-Zanskar range from Chilling (at Zanskar) to Nimmu through the Indus & Zanskar river confluence. This is one of the most exotic rafting expeditions in the world. The rafting on the Zanskar river passes through the steep gorges carved out by the river over countless years. The gorge has been referred to as the Grand Canyon of Asia by many explorers. The river is graded as Class IV, and it passes through very remote and difficult to access terrain of ladakh. The water was very cold (7 degree Celsius) and cold water gear like wet suits are necessary. This was my first rafting experience and absolutely brilliant. The confluence of the rivers was a sight to watch One is greyish and the other , brown. They merge and flow as Indus forming its tributaries and branches down the Himalayas.
The last event in our trip was the Ladakh festival which happens between September 1-15, every year. People from different tribes exhibit their culture and tradition with their traditional dances, archery competitions and processions.
Our 13 days trip was coming to an end. The Tibetan chants “Om Mane Padme aum” were still lingering in our ears. With that happy note, we boarded our flight back to Delhi from Leh. It is one of the most exotic locations in India, if one is ready for some adventure and can enjoy the serenity and tranquility of Buddhist culture. Our salutes to the ALMIGHTY who created HIMALAYAS.

Juley to Ladakh- Part I

2009-08-21T11:42:00.003+03:00

Ladakh is a fascinating place to visit .The Great Himalayan Range spreads across with its colourful mountains. It was like a dream come true for me when we travelled to Leh from Delhi by road. Never have I seen nature at its best with beautiful landscapes and pollution free air. Himalayas are, without any doubt majestic. Mankind cannot create anything like this. Leh is the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now Leh District in Jammu & Kashmir State. We took the road from Manali (in Himachal Pradesh) to reach Leh (distance of 473 kms).It took us two days for the ascend with an overnight stop at Jispa. The route was spectacular with winding, narrow roads and military checkpoints. We had to cross various passes like Rohtang la, Tanglang la, Baralacha la, Chang la (La is a “pass”) which were ranging between 13000-16000 ft altitude. Excited with the thought that we will camp in Sarchu tents overnight, our journey from Manali started witnessing an awesome and scenic route.

Crossing Rohtang pass, we saw a huge traffic jam on the road. Being a single lane winding road one has to wait in case of a traffic halt. To see what caused the roadblock, we walked up to the epicenter. And gosh, it was a terrible landslide that had occurred the previous night due to rains and one stretch of the road was completely broken. All the more, there were trucks, military cantonment who had been waiting for more than 15 hrs trying to clear up the mess. I lost hope that we would continue our journey to Leh as it was a horrific sight to see. The traffic was halted for about 4 kms and one can imagine the plight of tourists and locals, since there are only two roads to reach Leh, one from Manali and the other from Srinagar. Also the daily cargo, essentials for the inhabitants in Leh were being transported via this route.

We chilled out in a nearby tea shop for sometime with some Maggi noodles. The traffic was clearing up very slowly. Hats off to Indian Army and the truck drivers who helped clearing up the mess. Atlast after 7 hrs of long wait, we started our ascend. All the plans of staying in Sarchu went for a toss and so we halted in Jispa. It was also a wonderful experience because we could see the moonlight (full moon day) falling on the river showing a silvery radiance in the water.

Reaching Leh(Little Tibet) we visited monasteries (called Gonpa),Leh palace, and Shanti Stupa(the sunset view is brilliant). Leh is small town, dominated by Tibetans situated at an altitude of 13000 ft. Its clean, unpolluted without any plastic bags.After 2 days of acclaimatisation, our real adventure started.

White Rhino

2009-07-22T12:42:00.000+03:00

Last Saturday, we had been out on a day's picnic to Lake Nakuru National Park which is 160 kms from Nairobi.I was very excited because we were outing after a span of 3 months which rarely is the case since we have been residing in Nairobi.
Now Lake Nakuru is a world renowned place for Pink Flamingoes .We did see lots and lots of them.But what fascinated me the most is the sight of a lone two horned White Rhino grazing in the open vastland near the lake. It was a breathtaking view as this was one of a rare species . I was very curious to know why is baptized as a White Rhino and how is it different from a normal Rhinocerous which we have read in out textbooks. After returning I immediately googled to find out these interesting facts.
The rhinoceros is one of only a few remaining “megaherbivores”. Five species of rhino are still alive today. The White rhinoceros is one of the African species. It has two horns on its snout. Unlike the horns of cattle, sheep, and antelopes, the horns of the rhino are not made of bone. Instead, the are a lump of keratin fibers. The White rhino actually has almost the same color skin as the Black rhino. They are probably named after the color of dirt that covers their body. It has a distinctive hump on the back of its neck that houses the ligament that supports its large head. The footprint of the rhino resembles an ace of clubs because of its three toes on each foot. The White rhinoceros is also called the Square-lipped rhinoceros because of its broad, flat lip that helps it graze on short grasses.
All rhinoceroses are herbivores , living off of various types of foliage. The White rhinoceros had broad lips that help it take in grass from a large area, allowing to to consume more grass in less time. Rhinos drink water from watering holes almost daily. However, when conditions are dry, they can survive four or five days without water.
The White rhinoceros lives in Northeastern and Southern Africa. Since it lives on grasses, it prefers the savannas.
Rhinoceroses are mostly solitary animals, although a mother will stay near her most recent offspring until the next offspring is born. The White rhinoceros is the most sociable. Immature individuals will form groups, as will mothers without children. This can result in a group of up to 7 rhinoceroses. Males almost always stay by themselves, except for an occasional encounter with a female.
After a gestation period of 16 months, a mother White rhinoceros will give birth to a single calf weighing about 143 pounds. The calf will stay with its mother until her next offspring is born. If threatened, the mother will stand guard over her baby. Otherwise, the infant usually runs ahead of its mother.
Rhinoceroses have very poor eyesight. In fact, they cannot see a person standing motionless if they are more than 100 feet away. Since its eyes are of opposite sides of its head, the rhinoceros must look with one eye at a time to see straight ahead. They can rotate their ears to pick up sounds, resulting in fairly good hearing. However, the rhino most relies on its sense of smell. In fact, the part of the body responsible for smell (the olfactory passages) is larger than its entire brain.
The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths. White rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing and black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage.

Foreign exchange Blues

2009-07-21T12:39:00.000+03:00

Hi. This is my first post and thought of writing about the recent adventure we had in the Mumbai airport. We ( myself and my hubby ) are currently residing in Nairobi, and last May ,thought of making a trip back home to India . We were so excited with the whole thought of meeting all our folks out there especially, I was dreaming of the day I would walk with my hubby to the Matunga market to have a pani puri, dahi puri from Pankaj, an icecream from the Naturals, and a fresh juice from the Health juice center. I had made all the travel booking for both of us and as is customary Harish did all the packing.
We travelled by Kenya Airways which was a decent journey. The seats were much wider in Economy class (better than Emirates) and we enjoyed the duration of the flight too. On landing Chatrapati Shivaji International Terminal, everything went on smoothly .The airport is renovated and looked bigger. The baggage came quickly. We were getting restless as to when we will reach home and hug our parents. It was 3 o clock in the morning and dint expect anyone to stand with a placard to greet us. Initially,we wanted to hire an A/C cab to reach home.
That was when Harish checked his purse and realized that there was no Indian Rupees with us at all. All we had was Kenyan Shillings. We were very embarrassed in the beginning but got a silver lining when we saw lots of private foreign exchange bureaus inviting us for money exchange and were much relieved to see such a warm reception by the agents. Proudly Harish took his Kenyan Shillings and asked for Indian rupees. To our shock, and the agents surprise, he refused to accept and told that Kenya shilling is not traded at all and only the top currencies are exchanged.
I totally panicked. Here we were in Mumbai airport waiting to enter the city and reach home but with no means of hiring a taxi as there was no local currency. Suddenly I remembered my small little purse which I always carry with me and prayed that there must be some change. Both of us started hunting for money in our big luggages and I could collect Rs 295 in the form of soiled notes and coins. That gave us a little bit of relief though we had to abandon the luxury of an A/C car travel.
We approached the prepaid taxi stand and waited in the queue. My heart was throbbing when Harish asked for a cab to Wadala ,as to what amount will the lady cut the receipt for. We eagerly waited as if exam results were coming out. Harish saw the receipt and burst out laughing. The receipt was for Rs 290 and we could not hide our smiles.
Happily and proudly we headed to the taxi stand and made this royal journey back home. Life is indeed beautiful.
P.S. Learning-Never hope to exchange Kenya Shilling for Indian Rupees in the airport exchange bureaus.