And the Award goes to....

This post comes very late...very very very late...and my apologies to Tanu that I have taken eternity to post this over here. Have never received any major awards for writing in school hence this comes as a special one. Tanu has honoured me with a blog award and I am very proud to accept it :-). So thank you dear Tanu very very much.

This award has some rules. I shall try to follow it at my very best and here is how it goes:

These are the rules of the Liebster Award:

• When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.
• You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!
• Make sure the blogs you choose have 200 or less followers.

11 Random facts about me:

1. If you could be something/someone for a day, what/who would you be? No one in particular. Really blank at this one.
2. Your favourite dish. Not cuisine. Bhindi :-)
3. What is your biggest phobia? Mountain heights
4. Which season are you? Spring :-)
5. What is your favourite TV Show Moment? That moment on TV that inspired you/blew you away/made you sob/made it memorable? I love watching Big Bang Theory and feel just great for the geeky ones. These are the ones, who in school are not really cool but mates wanted to be friends just for their notes. 
6. One embarrassing thing you did as a kid/teenager? ate mud...yeah..even got shots for that one!!!
7. If you could choose a decade from the following to live in, which one would it be and why? – 20s, 40s, 60s, 2k? 2K  :-)
8. Tell us your most unusual, unique travel story? Munish, myself and another couple went to Kashid, Alibaug. Hop, skip and jumping literally. From Andheri to Ferry Wharf by a local train. Then a local ferry with goats and fish and villagers to Revas. Then a tempo (read tum tum) to Mandwa. Then a Lal dabba (ST bus) to Kashid finally :-). Best travel to destination ever. And all of this on a whim and no plans at all.
9. What is the worst gift you have ever received? (I once received a 3-pack deodorant set!!) a key chain :-P
10. Finish this sentence – “If I could pack my bags and go, I would travel to……….” Nubra Valley, Ladakh :-)
11. What are the 5 things in your handbag right now? Keys, datacard, Pen, some money and a pic of my parents.

And here are my list of questions..C'mon be a sport and don't be a lazy drone that I was...:-P

1. Describe yourself in one sentence.
2. Your favourite colour. 
3. What is your biggest phobia?
4. Which season are you?
5. What is your favourite song? The one which you could always go back to and makes you feel good?
6. One embarrassing thing you did as a kid/teenager?
7. Where would you rather be...if not here?
8. Tell us your most unusual, unique travel story?
9. What is your best gift you ever received?
10. Finish this sentence – “If I could pack my bags and go, I would travel to……….”
11. And what is your favourite word? (In English)..it has to be one word...

And here it goes (Well - 11 other blogs are not my favourite..but well these are :-))...the blogs I nominate are:

• Anita Menon Love her blog and the multiple things she blogs about. A story, a vacation, a recipe...enjoying reading it a lot.. 
• Aditya Sanyal a very techy blog... love his writing..but just feel he should write more...
• Sarika Chowdhery a budding artist. She puts of paints and pictures... and very good ones at that...
• Monu Reikhi lovely style of writing..majorly poems...sometimes I don't understand...but kudos to her...
• Beyond few words Love his writings...his photographs along with the one liners..too much depth...

And here's to all of you...Cheers!!!!

People

They are a strange species...these 'people'... typically classified as homo sapiens or as human beings and well generally as 'people'... In this category, well- there are all sorts of people. No - this is not a philosophical post. This is definitely not one of those crib sessions about what kind of bad people are around..blah blah blah.... Well then is just about my happiness ( too strong a word ;-)) in having loved / hated /dealt / met / lived / laughed / cried / fought / etc with some of them and boy am I glad I met at least some of them. 

Have come across quite of few of them in my short span of life. Remember some of them and definitely don't remember lots of them. Some of them have been around for a little while.. not long... but they have been good... remember them with happiness. Some of them were just around...many  a times classified as acquaintances.. Some of them I hoped didn't stay for so long in my life..well there are some of them like that and I feel I could just be a bit more of me without them...Some of them have been good friends...some of them have been not... No regrets... all of them played a role.

Its been good so far. Don't have many of them in my life but yes I do cherish the fact that they stayed... this long...:-). This is just my small way of saying Thank you people :-). Most of them have moved on. I just wish that they remember me with as much nostalgia as I remember them. 

Source: www.google.com

Road to Rome

Leh Ladakh Highway, Kashmir, India

All roads lead to Rome...

Seriously!!!!

Bhajan Mandali

@Kirtan in Delhi

There are somethings which are very specific to a very typical Dilli (not Delhi) culture. One of them is having Kirtans before the wedding, either for the bride or the groom.

A bhajan madali is called. They sing songs for the God / Goddess. And before you know it, very active audiences start dancing to those 'bhajans'... Interesting..

At my brother in law's wedding, we too had a kirtan afternoon. This happened before the wedding celebrations begin. All of us dressed up to the hilt as if we were to go to a grand party. Elaborate food arrangements, decorations and of course the bhajan madali. It was a first for me and trust me, being the bhabhi of my devar, I found it very difficult to dance to these bhajans (I was expected to :-P).

Introspection

Introspection. For the year that went by. Have a mixed bag of feelings. Good and not so good. This year just....went by. And that is why I felt I need to sit down and introspect ...how did it just go... The thought coming to my head right now is that I just went with the flow. Absolutely had no plan. Or the plan in my head and the actions on the ground were totally different. Maybe that is why, I have mixed feelings.

I guess I know what went wrong...perhaps wrong is not the correct word. Amiss. What went amiss. I, as a person, am a control freak. I hate loosing control of myself, my thoughts, my actions and up-to a certain extent my surroundings or circumstances. 

I do not want to start a "cribbing session" out here but may be  I was not strong headed enough or assertive enough. I just went with the flow. I took the expectations from others from myself a bit too seriously perhaps. "Perhaps" I was bogged down trying to rise up to their expectations. Maybe. Maybe not. I became quite verbal at times. Did not think of the consequences. But then, I never have. That is not me. 

Yes - I am not happy with me myself. I am not content the way 2012 turned out for  me. I did not visit this space often which is an outlet of sorts for me. My silly, stupid ventures, my rumblings and grumblings are out here. But this time, I did not even do that. 

Reminds me of a few lines I had written here..my own words quite sometime back. I guess its time to revisit those words here.

2013 is important for me. I seriously believe women are a much more enhanced species then their counterparts and are a wonderful set of managers. I am sure, I hope, I will, manage 2013 much more effectively then the mess I created in 2012. 

P.S. I am not going to paste any picture which I normally do. But please go ahead and the poem when you click the link on "here".