Maybe...maybe not...somewhere along the way, one realizes, that
Home is not a place, but a feeling!!!
Jellies, Nemos and Roaches
On one such visit to Norwalk, CT, my colleague and me ended up visiting an aquarium for lack of something better to do. And we were pleasantly surprised. My favourite were Jellies. They are actually 95% of water and very calm and soothing on the nerves. Or maybe thats how they were presented.
Another pretty picture to look at were these colourful Nemos. Quick movements and turns and responding to the tap on the glass wall.
Imagine having cockroaches under the scanner. Well, these were sort of different. Though dont remember exactly how.
New York City
My work has started taking me across continents. Across cities. I like to believe that I am a traveler and enjoy every bit of it, however when one travels for work, it is different. Its not the same thing. But, given that work takes you around, you might as well see around for a bit. Not exactly a traveler and not exactly a tourist. This would be somewhere in between.
During the last year and the current year, my work has sort of 'gifted' me with almost 4 visits to the US of A to the same place :-/. Not that one has a choice but then work is work and you got to make best use of your time, professionally and personally.
Have been landing up time and again at Stamford, CT which is close to an hour away from New York City. Stamford being a small place, has a small downtown and couple of 'go to' places like a museum or the river front. The major attraction of this place is its proximity to New York City (NYC). Well, and when you do go to NYC, for the first time, you do end of doing the touristy stuff. We arrived at Grand Central Station via train. Its a beautiful train station. The ceiling has designs of constellations embedded in it and it has a very active market, eateries and even an Apple Store. I think it has atleast 4 levels to it.
Couple of things which we covered over the weekend, with adequate energy levels along with sensible clothing and walking shoes are the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, MET Museum, Central Park and Times Square towards late evening. For some cases, we decided to take the hip hop bus but once we were in the central business district we were mainly on foot.
Couple of pictures follows :-)
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| Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island |
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| Rockefeller Center, popularly known as the "The Rock". The Christmas tree and its ice skating rink is seen in many a Hollywood movie |
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| Remember? Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged??? Well, this is stationed at "The Rock" |
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| View from the Top of the Rock! |
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| Another view. Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock |
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| The first ever Winnie the Pooh. Maintained at the New York Public Library. |
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| New York City, from the Central Park |
Have visited most of these places with work colleagues. It was fun and good time spent. New York City has very similar vibes to that of Bombay a.k.a Mumbai. Gelled in instantly... as if I had know this place for quite sometime. The traffic, the commute and the sense of urgency... calmed down by the river / sea as the case may be. In the midst of all the hustle and the bustle, you do manage to find the quite and calmness. Would love to be back here :-).
Broken Down Car
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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...
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| Newark International Airport |
And the Award goes to....
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:
- If you could be something/someone for a day, what/who would you be? No one in particular. Really blank at this one.
- Your favourite dish. Not cuisine. Bhindi :-)
- What is your biggest phobia? Mountain heights
- Which season are you? Spring :-)
- 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.
- One embarrassing thing you did as a kid/teenager? ate mud...yeah..even got shots for that one!!!
- If you could choose a decade from the following to live in, which one would it be and why? – 20s, 40s, 60s, 2k? 2K :-)
- 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.
- What is the worst gift you have ever received? (I once received a 3-pack deodorant set!!) a key chain :-P
- Finish this sentence – “If I could pack my bags and go, I would travel to……….” Nubra Valley, Ladakh :-)
- 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
- Describe yourself in one sentence.
- Your favourite colour.
- What is your biggest phobia?
- Which season are you?
- What is your favourite song? The one which you could always go back to and makes you feel good?
- One embarrassing thing you did as a kid/teenager?
- Where would you rather be...if not here?
- Tell us your most unusual, unique travel story?
- What is your best gift you ever received?
- Finish this sentence – “If I could pack my bags and go, I would travel to……….”
- 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.
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| Source: www.google.com |
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).
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.
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....!!!!!
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