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Maybe...maybe not...somewhere along the way, one realizes, that

Home is not a place, but a feeling!!!

 

Broken Down Car

 

Near Mahim Station, Mumbai

Noted this broken down car near the Mahim Station Wall in Mumbai. Ready to be dismantled and discarded. Been lying here for quite sometime. This was a mobile shot taken from a taxi. What makes it interesting to me is the battered and tattered condition of the car along with the interesting wall art on the station wall. It sort of gives a character to the condition of the car. The car has been removed recently from the spot. Everytime I cross the road, I see the wall art cartoon but I miss the car!!!

Wall Art

Wall Art, Mahim Station Wall, Mumbai

I try to capture unique or random things or moments on cell phone. This is one of them. Painted on the wall of Mahim Station. Remains of a city activity which had once allowed its citizens to particpate by painting the walls... which most of the times are in its worst state of maintenance. Liked the geometry of this wall art and how it attracts your attention without giving any particular message...well thats how I look at it. Am sure thats not what the painter had in mind but nevertheless, putting it up here to share...

Sunshine

Extended Stay Americas, Norwalk, CT

 

Morning sunshine...

Rushing through my window...

Waking me up from a deep slumber...

Wishing me a very lazy Good morning!!!

Of a friend and an airport

As a I write about this (after a long time), there is happiness in my heart…for meeting a very very very very dear old friend of mine at the immigrations counter at the Newark Airport. Funny places these airports are…of chance meetings with old friends...

Newark International Airport

 

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".

Blue

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. 

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!!!

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. 

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. 

Mercedes Benz

Christmas is round the corner...festivity is in the air...love the month of December...celebration of 'birth' of a son, a new year and new dreams. My wish list ain't much but I'd like to share this song which I had heard long time back. Only if...it came true ;-)

Lot of versions are available for this song and even where Janis Joplin has sung it. But yes - I totally loved the way of expression.  Coming on to my new job :-), I am liking it here. Well - in a different way. It does not have the same familiarity like a small company where there is always a personal touch and where everybody knows everybody. Its a different setup. Totally different language. A different ball game. I am liking the change. The team size is pretty big whereas till now I was a loner in my team. I and only I was responsible for the work that I was doing. Over here, things are slightly different.

I had made new year resolutions at the beginning of 2010 and had also done a series of posts pertaining to that. But the point is, my new year resolutions dont carry beyond the new year. They are forgotten pretty much in the first month itself :-P. 

There's not much of a plan in place to celebrate the new year. Most probably there will be a house party. I am not much into getting sloshed in huge party places amidst rowdy strangers with obnoxiously loud music and pathetic food. Ya - call me boring. 

But Yes - I will definitely pray to the good Lord to grant me and my near and dear ones his blessings, inner peace and a MERCEDES BENZ :-)!!!!!

Independence Rock 2011

I am not really a Rock Music Fan, so when my Guitar Teacher, Zack D'Souza asked hubby and me to come along with him and his lovely wife Merelyn, we really were in two minds. Actually more than two minds. Rock music is really not our scene but hey what the hell... the entry was free ;-) ...hehehe.... so we could always leave if we didn't like the scene. Plus, this would be the first time I would be driving 3 people along with me or else its just me and my hubby Munish.

On the way, Zack educated us about "INDEPENDENCE ROCK" and its history. Initially it was held on independence day every year in Mumbai for all the rock fans. Soon the government started having security issues with alcohol and drug abuse. Now it is held much later and all the security. We were told that  "Rock" scene in India is not really encouraging. There are different types of Rock Music - metal, heavy metal, black metal, etc etc...and ideally each of them should have their own concert.But here, in India, they put all of it together, so if you are new to this scenario it really is a tricky situation. He warned us to stay away from the Mosh's Pit - a terminology popular in rock, where severe head jamming takes place and people are on a HIGH....Munish and me stayed on the sidelines....infact on the sidelines of the sidelines....The event was covered live by VH1, MTV and some other channels. 

Some of the bands that played and which we were and audience to were "The Other People", "Brahma" and "Bhayanak Maut". On a relativity basis, I liked the music played by "The Other People" but "Bhayanak Maut" gave me a splitting headache. I tried recording some bit of it in my cell phone but the clarity leaves a lot to be desired. But I found some clippings on You Tube. 

This link pertains to the Mosh's Pit. We stayed away from it. We could see some bits and pieces on the screen and were glad that we were not standing in the middle of it. Here, have a look :

Link of some of the performance by "Bhayanak Maut"

Post this performance, both of us decided, that Rock Music was really not our scene. Should leave. Must Leave. But yes - to give it credit, really appreciate the dedication of all the rock music fans that for 26 years, they have been loyal to the music inspite of it not being very popular here in India (which is ruled by Bollywood Music). Cheers to them. 

Random Musings

Its been quite a while since I visited this space... especially after the month long holiday that I went too.... From almost posting daily to nothing at all.... Was inactive on my twitter account too except for maybe one or two sporadic tweets...

Life is pretty busy now between work and home and weekends....don't have as much time to practice my guitar or try and make a disastrous attempt in the kitchen over some wonderful receipes I used to discover earlier. 

Not that I am cribbing about my current state of affairs, buts its refreshingly different from my previous state of affairs...:-) A lot happened in this one month break. For starters, I discovered the art of "DOING NOTHING" more of which you can obviously read HERE. 

There are a couple of things and some unfinished posts that I would like to write about...some of them are saved in the drafts!!! And some, some are in my mind :-P, for how long - that is another thing.

Today, there is no such agenda for writing, but I just wanted to write. Been on my mind for a long time, and had started to feel guilty about it, so decided to drop in say "HELLO" :-)....

2011 is going to end soon... with Christmas and the New Years around the corner. Waiting for Christmas eagerly. It reminds me of school and my school friends. I try and recreate some of it at home :-) and thoroughly enjoy the day!!!!

But right now, today being a Saturday, catching up on some puzzles with tea and chips!!!!  

So - see you soon again, hopefully with a new update and something interesting. 

My Report Card

Ahem!!!! My report card for the holiday I just had, which vanished into thin air...I just didn't realize that it was time to go back to work again. Now- Now - Now- To begin with, I followed a good friend's advice and also decided to enjoy the vacation as long as it lasts and not just keep ticking off my list. :-). Remember the list which I had made HERE, well here's what it is -->

Anyways, here's what it is:

1. I had decided to blog daily for the month of October, 11 as a part of a Blogger Challenge. Well- I blogged for a little more than half a month but come Diwali and I just forgot all about it.

2. Cooking / Baking: Well, I didn't go all exotic and stuff as much I'd like to do, but yes  COOK - I did. 3 meals a day. All the time.:-P

3. Guitar: Well, my sessions did pick and I have improved with my chords progressions and can even strum and hum a song or two *collars rolling up*

4. Photography: Well, the only photography I did was during Bhaiya Dooj and our family visit to Taj Mahal, Agra. I clicked like crazy. :-) And no - I did  not try to learn Photoshop :-P

5. Shopping / Cleaning / Dusting - NOW THAT - I did with full gusto. My home was sparkling and most importantly clutter free. *pats my own back*

6. Healthy regime - Ummmmm.....uhhhhhhhh *Still thinking*..... ummmmmm....uhhhhhh...*suffers from selective amnesia now* !!!!

7. I collated all my old photographs and re-organized them - ready to be printed and pasted. Scouting for a good deal. Got more than1000 photographs to print. Help required here. If any of selective, few readers who know a studio who could give me a good deal please get in touch :-)

8. Plants: *crying* :-( Well- they have all died thanks to the 15 days spent with my family and In-laws in Delhi :-(. The only survivor of this drought is my precious Christmas Tree !!!!

9. Read I did :-). Will be posting reviews on them soon. Currently reading Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen. So far - I am liking it.

10. All in all, it was a good break. After a long long time, did I find so much time to gether to so do so much of Nothing. And I - terribly enjoyed it :-)

Yes - I could have been more active, could have extracted more....but I went slow...at my pace...with leisure and loads of pleasure ;-)

Cheers!!!!