Not a green in spring
Not a red
turning yellow in autumn
Blue - yes - thats what I want to be...Blue!!!
Happy Feet
The weekend went by...in utter laziness... Hubby dearest wanted to go on a hike to Lonavla...then to Pune...and back to Mumbai after a day...but me - was in no mood to oblige :-P...perhaps the following weekend!!!
And the picture you see up above, yes - its weird, I have a thing for feet together :-P... like the way sometimes they hang out together... Well to begin with I thought I'd update you about the weekend I had... it was a mix of things...and then while writing I put up this photo and it reminded me of all the pictures I had taken of "feet" per se!!!!
The feet you see in this picture belong to my friend Ekta and me. It was while sitting on the rocks at Kashid Beach I had taken this picture. I remember her telling me, "Its weird"... but I took one nevertheless...advantages of a digicam I guess....We had gone there to celebrate the new years...the end of the year 2005. The one below, the feet are mine. The footwear you see, used to be a favourite with the students at the point of time. Yes - Rs. 100 only...from Hongkong Lane at Fergussen College Road.
The feet you see above belong to 5 girls. Our girl gang that is. Taken at my birthday. Its a ritual to cut the cake, play Holi with whatever you get in the middle of the night. Well - these belong to Ekta, Shobha, Soumya, Megha and myself. Yes - we are that crazy...to even pose for it.
This one is of Munish and me...at a small dam at Matheran. There are steps to it. Had gone there one of the weekends. Its my foot over his :-). I think its pretty cute.
These are mine. The chappals are from Goa. Goa has amazing chappals and even amazing shorts. For shorts - Goa is the place to buy it from. I know, of all the things in Goa, I recommend buying Shorts :-P. Oh yes - the picture was clicked in Nagaon, Alibaug.
This one was at Baga Beach, Goa. Had gone there with my friend Megha. Last day, lazing on the sunbed. Killing time until we had to leave Goa. Yes - I remember it was a Sunday. Sad and disheartened over going to work the next day.
Had set out to write something totally different. Please ignore this post and do NOT stop reading my blog since I am guessing it would not make sense looking at feet and their locations for some but I sure did enjoy writing about it.
The moon
Clicked almost 2 years back in the shivering evening cold of the Ladakhi mountains. Its my agenda to go back there again. Once is simply not enough. Time and again, I keep going back there...in my mind.
Well, we had this picture enlarged, printed and framed. But it was framed upside down and well - we realized it only 2 weeks later when a friend point it out :-). Well, it is difficult to make out - I think. Until, you look at it more closely and see the tall grass on the bottom left hand side.
But yes, looking at the moon, in the shivering evening cold, was a very soothing effect. A paradox in itself.
Through the glass pane
I miss the evenings. Largely to the kind of work I am occupied with. This view is from my office window, through a huge glass pane. You can see the reflection of the lights, some partial construction on the left, a lamp post raising its head and a road going amidst the construction and the trees. On looking closely, you may see orange in between the green. Those are the flowers on the tree. I think its a breed of the Gulmohar. Not sure. Need to find out. It had been raining the day I took this picture. The picture is a bit hazy with the condensation on the glass.
Yes - I miss the evenings but treasure the mornings I get in return. So the mornings are not rushed...well - relatively.
Flower plant
I have been a very successful plant killer...:-)yes -I have managed to kill a lot many plants either by watering too much or a wrong positioning in the sun or simply by sheer negligence.
But this plant beats me hands down. It grows and it grows and it flowers a lot which gives me immense happiness. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of this plant. Do you?
Kelwa
This time, it was a drive to Kelwa. A small beach town before Manor, via the Saphale Road, on the Mumbai - Ahmedabad Highway. After leaving Dahisar, the road was pretty much in the good condition other than some slight road work and an overturned truck. The clouds had gathered and it was pretty windy.
After leaving the highway at Varai, we drove down to Kelwa which was close 30 Kms. The road was beautiful with lush green trees and bright red shoeflowers popping up now and then. It was quite and serene. Would have loved to walk down on this road.
We crossed the Vaitarna river on the way and then some ghats. The drive was wonderful. On reaching the beach, we had some wonderful local Chinese... I know, its not the place, but what the heck...Munish wanted to have some and surprisingly, it was pretty decent and better than most of the small restaurants who offer the Indian version of the Chinese Food :-).
We stayed there on the beach for an hour and two and then headed back home. We met some rain on the way and by the time we reached Mumbai, it was on full swing. Yes - the monsoons had arrived. And now, almost when I am writing this post, its raining...my plants have sprung up and are looking so fresh and green. A cup of piping hot tea at my side while I write about our drive to Kelwa.
To Myself....
I Stand at the edge of the cliff
Looking over the mountains and hills,
Feeling the calm of the blue river,
Anticipating the rising sun,
Listening to the chirping birds,
Feeling the breeze,
Letting down my hair, literally,
Waiting for the full splendour,
The moment, when I unfold my arms,
Unclench my fist, close my eyes,
Smile to myself and murmer....
This is it....!!!!!
Patterns
Two weekends ago, now that sounds like "many many moons ago"!!!! :-), again - to begin again, two weekends go, Munish and me landed at Nagaon Beach, Alibaug. Alibaug is a very popular weekend getaway. Nagaon - a not so popular beach town near Alibaug and hence we had a great time... The weekend was spent in utter laziness with almost nothing to do :-). The resort we had put up at was full of coconut and palm trees, along with chikoos and mangoes, a small pool, table tennis, carrom board, a wonderful hammock..where we spent my afternoons snoozing away under the coconut tree and wonderful wonderful food. :-) To sum it all, it was short and sweet.
We would walk on the beach for hours...noticing the small crabs, the sea shells...trying to stay put in the shore...carving a small hole for themselves just so that they do not get carried away by the waves...the reflection of the trees, of us...on the watery beach... the sweet salty air...and the wonderful fried fish cooked by the village lady...the feeling yet lingers.
We tried capturing some of the patterns ..on the beach..patterns made by the sea and the sand and the sea - shells!!!
Blog Update
A lot of little things have been happening in my life. A lot of planned and unplanned travel, Poland for work, Delhi for a cousin's wedding, Bangalore for a friend's wedding, Alibaug for a get-together and an official one day 'team bonding' session waiting to happen this weekend. In between, attending Kala Ghoda, meeting up with my ex boss, chatting up with friends, helping friends shift out, watching some of very good movies - Descendants, Paan Singh Tomar and Kahani, along with my work life which has now taken an a U-turn from what it used to be before. For lack of effective time management, had to let go of a couple of my guitar classes and blogging.
I am busy but not stressed. The only thing which stresses me out is myself when I start ticking off my To-dos!(which personally - I think - has not turned out right for me).
Its like running, the only difference is that though I feel I have ran a lot, I am yet standing there :-P.... you know that feeling....so much to do - yet nothing!!!! Its precisely that feeling that has overcome me these days.
Yeah - I hear that little voice inside my head, nagging and cribbing and feeling ignored. I guess a week more, and then, hopefully, things should settle down.
Until then, Arrivederci!!!
Let the sunshine in...
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| Open the doors... Let me in... |
This picture was taken by Munish during one of our trips. Nice composition. Its only today that I got around to work on it. I miss this.
I miss my blog too. There have been so many instances that I wanted to blog about a day, a wedding, work, movies, friends, plans...but somehow, I have not been able to make time for this. Whenever, anything of importance happens, I miss writing, I miss my blog.
I want to spend more time here. Have not been able to. Would love to....
Until then...
Watching
I am watching you watching me...
I am waiting for you to make your move!
Take Me Home
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| Take Me Home....please! |
I don't like it here
In a box
No open spaces,
No woolen ball,
Makes it hard to bear
No friendly faces,
No one at all.
I don't like it here
In a box
No shoe laces to pull
No one to pamper me
There's so much of lull
There's lack of glee
I don't like it here
In a box.
I have been here, All my life,
Not too much of a memory,
Not much of an open sky,
Dont feel no happiness
However, much I try
I don't like it here
In a box.
There's no friends here,
No one to play,
No mices here,
During my entire stay.
I don't like it here
In a box.
I want to play too,
On the green grass,
Under the sun,
With wool tangled in my paws,
Escape the dreary
conundrum,
Of my life in a box!
Kala Ghoda 2012
The Kala Ghoda Art Festival has always been on my priority list whenever it happens...but somehow, this time, I was not able to spend as much time over there as I would have normally done :-(. Yeah - no excuses!!!! But have been keeping pretty occupied. No - its not about work, but somehow my weekends have been even busier then the weekdays. I found myself wanting for some 'me' time. Have not been able to do a lot of things since the last few weeks and that has left me a bit restless. But, but, but....don't want to start a cribbing session here.
Went to the Kala Ghoda festival last sunday. Landed directly at Cross Maidan. That was a 'musical' evening. The performance by 'Band, Baaja, Bachhe' stole my heart :-). The kids belonged to the Salaam Bombay Foundation and gave an impressive performance. It was the first performance. There was not much of a crowd then. So lesser encouragement. Sometimes, I wonder, why such 'special' performances are slotted with the popular category of performance. Since its a 'not for profit' Art festival, these performances where it could actually make an impact to the lives of these children, should have been highlighted. But I guess - the organizers would have thought about that aspect.
The other "Star" performers of the evening were "The Other People", "Raaga Boys" and "Susheela Raman". I quite like the music the "The Other People" play but somehow I felt, there was an audience mismatch. They were really good... but the audience was I guess more towards the hindi - bollywood music types!!!
The Raaga Boys is a Pakistani Boy band and belonged to the 'Patiala' Gharana. Out of the 3 brothers who were the main lead, only one of them could sing properly. Felt there were too many people on the stage at the time of their performance. And well - they advertised their lineage a lot of famous uncles and cousins!!!!! And last but not the least, there was a performance by Susheela Raman. I think, I would have definitely liked it, provided I understood the language. She was singing in Tamil!!!! And she kept on singing in Tamil!!!....
Some Pictures I clicked....
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| The Other People |
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| An exhibit |
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| Raaga Boys |
I would have loved to see more of Kala Ghoda, but paucity of time kept me away from it. It was by sheer coincidence that I met a fellow blogger Purvesh over there.
Kala Ghoda Art Festival has played an important role in what makes Bombay "tick". I thoroughly enjoy what all it offers to the Mumbaikars as well as the artists. I hope it continues forever and does not have to deal with the string pulling as a lot of other festivals go through!!!!
Cast in Stone
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| Krakow, Poland |
We,
Stand alone,
Cast in stone,
Staring at the passers by,
The rustle of the leaves that dry.
The hurrying wind so cold,
To play along - we are told!
The trees that sway with the wind
Flutter of the pigeons that sing
Silent, stony notes are rhymed
There is no track of time.
We are captured for the nth number
Are we awake or in slumber!
The pose we strike, Angles alike,
The picture stays, memories linger!
Of us,
Cast in stone,
We stand alone!
Taj Mahal
It has been written about scores of times. Endless amount of praise, endless amount of debate, endless amount of politics and the romance around this monument. Books written on it. Movies made on it. Songs sung for it. And yet all of this does not prepare you for the splendor and beauty that hits you when you see the Taj Mahal for the first time.
Yes - in the break before joining my new job, I had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal. The mention of it here --> Report Card is not exactly justice to the visit and the monument. It makes me wonder, why didn't I visit it before during my innumerable visits to Delhi to meet my innumerable relatives and friends. But anyways, better late than never.
I don't think I am good at taking pictures, but I try nevertheless. Missed my DSLR here but got my fill with the digital camera. Not sure, if the output would be as great but nevertheless. Visited the Taj twice - in two days. Once during the evening and the very next early morning. We just kept staring it.
Even after going to the Taj Mahal twice in a row, didn't feel it was enough. There is one view yet remaining. The one from across the river Yamuna on a full moon night.
Perhaps, some other time :-)
Warsaw, Poland
Had gone to Warsaw, Poland as part of work earlier in January. Just after finishing off the new year celebrations. On the night of 1st January, I took off on a 9 hour flight to Warsaw. Nice, quite place. Neat and Clean. Fewer people on the roads (which was almost a cultural shock for me). It was pretty cold. Temperature ranging from 2 deg till 5 deg. Travelling alone is not much of my preferred activities but when you are travelling for work, you got no choice. In your free time, one's got to do his / her own R&D.
A giant Christmas Tree welcomes you along with the spirit of Christmas. The streets are lit up and you can come across odd groups of people singing carols on the streets in Polish of course. Further down, groups of students running to catch the last bus home. Sometimes, there is a drizzle. Indication of snowfall just around the corner. Which just makes you yearn for a hot cup of coffee and cookies. I loved the bakeries there. Fresh, oven baked muffins and waffles. Would grab some, especially on my way to work in the morning.
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| Market Square, Warsaw |
Over the weekend, paid a visit to Krakow. Once upon a time the capital of Poland during the Nazi rule. Very similar to Warsaw in terms of architecture and history but found it more livelier. Especially the market square. Reminiscent of eras gone by of the kings and the queens!!! Went to the St Mary's church of Basilica, the art musuem, Schindler's factory, the Jewish Ghetto and the fort of Wawel. Couple of hours in a day were just too less.
What was common between Krakow and Warsaw was the strong impact of World War II and the end of the communist regime 30 years back. The art, the museums and majority of the conversations express the history of war the nation had to face. Sometimes, war is all people have to give to their children. The remnants of War become the stories to pass on by. Because everything was razed very systematically by the Nazis when they left the country.
But also on a lighter note, what was common between Poland and India, was an artist (read sanyasi / baba) managing to position itself in the air!!!! ;-) Just the way our famed choti wale, saffron clad, barefooted babas do :-).
There's so much to write about my two week stay over there, but I guess I wont be able to do justice to it. But will keeping posting intermittently about the people, culture and comparisons.
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