I am looking at our Rajasthan pictures and trying to relive the wonderful time we had. Looking at the pictures I am amazed how photogenic my family is! Aai and baba- very natural, they don’t need to do much to look good on camera. Then there is A who is really handsome (ahem..I don’t tell him this often), looks just as handome in his photos. K2 and K3 look mindblowingly beautiful. Even if they are having a bad hair day or are suffering from the so-called burst of pimples on their faces- the pictures look glorious.
Then there’s me. I am quite disappointed at how my pictures don’t do enough justice to me. tch..tch..There are a few pictures of mine, where I am looking at the camera with a scarf covering my face. There are countless pictures where everybody is smiling and looking at the camera and I have closed my eyes or I am looking sideways. Why! I wonder. I mean if K2 and K3 were to be in the arctic region and somebody would want to click their picture, I am sure they would remove their scarves, would even consider removing the sweaters and pose like models.
Some time back we had an official photo shoot at work. The photographer had to keep clicking for a full 5 min before I could get everything right. That is keeping the eyes open, look at the camera and smile. Three things at the same time. Sadly, while I was preoccupied with the three step process, I forgot to look good! So my official profile photo at work looks as if somebody has put a gun to my head and told me a joke. Arrgh!
Returning to our trip pictures, it’s indeed a sad affair. In all my pictures I haven’t shown off the pretty dresses I wore- it’s only my red sweater and blue scarf which hogged the limelight.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Total Gyaan
Sometimes the best advice we give to people is what applies best to us.
I realized this recently when my only advice to everybody around me has been “Relax!”, “That’s alright- don’t fret” and the like. I realized I was the one who badly needs to use my advice. My single point resolution this year is to live in the moment and to relax. Breathe easy.
Towards the end of last year, A and I happened to talk to Dada for about 15 minutes for which we are so grateful. He told us that 90% of population our age is stressed. And most of the times, we are stressed at work because we are not competent enough. So acquiring skills and honing our skill set on a regular basis will reduce our stress level. Not worrying about it.
The second thing he emphasized was time management and not wasting any time. He said when you waste time, your mind carries the guilt and in turns feels stressed. So, don’t waste time.
Again, this is my piece of advice to myself.
Sunday Times Life-Jan 18, 2009 yesterday had a very interesting and inspiring article on “first steps” towards making a difference. The article talked about some really creative and practical ideas which we will all wonder why we didn’t think of earlier?
The coolest one I thought was about this guy who thought about improving literacy by putting same language subtitles on movies. Such a simple idea but how effective it will be in a country like ours with movie buffs spread across everywhere.
My baby step would be to maintain the “Daily Dump”- putting all bio-degradable waste into an earthen pot. Let’s see my success rate.
K3, a couple of years back, took time out of her hectic schedule as a fresh programmer, taught her maid’s daughter. I am sure she would have been an excellent teacher to the kid.
If things are sustained on a long term basis, there is nothing that can’t be done. It’s up to us to decide what we want to build. I will share a story I had read years ago in the RD. There was long winding route to the top of a hill. In springtime, from the top one could see rows and rows of multi colored daffodils across the valley. There was not an inch of barren earth that met the eye. It was the magic of an old woman, who had planted the bulbs over the years to turn the place into a riot of color. When visitors, mesmerized by the spectacular sight, asked her how she did it, her answer was simple and profound.
“One bulb at a time.”
I realized this recently when my only advice to everybody around me has been “Relax!”, “That’s alright- don’t fret” and the like. I realized I was the one who badly needs to use my advice. My single point resolution this year is to live in the moment and to relax. Breathe easy.
Towards the end of last year, A and I happened to talk to Dada for about 15 minutes for which we are so grateful. He told us that 90% of population our age is stressed. And most of the times, we are stressed at work because we are not competent enough. So acquiring skills and honing our skill set on a regular basis will reduce our stress level. Not worrying about it.
The second thing he emphasized was time management and not wasting any time. He said when you waste time, your mind carries the guilt and in turns feels stressed. So, don’t waste time.
Again, this is my piece of advice to myself.
Sunday Times Life-Jan 18, 2009 yesterday had a very interesting and inspiring article on “first steps” towards making a difference. The article talked about some really creative and practical ideas which we will all wonder why we didn’t think of earlier?
The coolest one I thought was about this guy who thought about improving literacy by putting same language subtitles on movies. Such a simple idea but how effective it will be in a country like ours with movie buffs spread across everywhere.
My baby step would be to maintain the “Daily Dump”- putting all bio-degradable waste into an earthen pot. Let’s see my success rate.
K3, a couple of years back, took time out of her hectic schedule as a fresh programmer, taught her maid’s daughter. I am sure she would have been an excellent teacher to the kid.
If things are sustained on a long term basis, there is nothing that can’t be done. It’s up to us to decide what we want to build. I will share a story I had read years ago in the RD. There was long winding route to the top of a hill. In springtime, from the top one could see rows and rows of multi colored daffodils across the valley. There was not an inch of barren earth that met the eye. It was the magic of an old woman, who had planted the bulbs over the years to turn the place into a riot of color. When visitors, mesmerized by the spectacular sight, asked her how she did it, her answer was simple and profound.
“One bulb at a time.”
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Rajasthan trip in bullet points
The trip to Rajasthan which we had so dearly anticipated for a couple of months now, finally happened and got over really soon. Though the trip looked really hectic on paper, fortunately we could cover all those places and enjoy the sightseeing. Thanks to the enthusiastic bunch of travelers.
We started from Pune and visited Mount Abu, Udaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar and Jaipur. Much to K2 and K3’s irritation, none of these places have any desert area and so the Rajasthan we visited, in a way was very different from what we saw in movies.
Mount Abu was cold and I wouldn’t have survived without the room heaters.
Mount Abu-
• A typical hill station
• A lovely 24 km drive from Abu Road
• Very cold
• Delwada jain temples – spectacular, jaw-dropping carvings
• Nakki lake – good time pass, fair like atmosphere surrounding the lake
• Tasty marwadi food
Udaipur
• Majestic fort at Kumbhalgarh-Maharana Pratap’s birthplace (we wasted a lot of time reaching there but the view of the fort was rewarding). Watched dance performances by Raja Radha Reddy and their troupe.
• Nathdwara-Lord Krishna’s temple- endearing idols of Shrinathji
• Udaipur City Palace- The abode of Mewad dynasty rulers for about 23 generations. Very beautiful mirror work and paintings done one on the palace walls.
The Mewad kings moved here from Chittor as they lost every battle fought from Chittor. The current Mewad king, Maharaja Arvindsinghji Mewad also stays in one portion of the palace.
• Moti magri- Maharana Pratap’s memorial
• Fateh sagar- one of the several lakes in and around Udaipur
• Jagdeesh temple- one of the oldest temples in North India.
• Sahelion ki badi – nothing much to write home except that it was built for the queen’s girl friends.
• Shilpgram- A 12 month fair where local craftsmen display and sell their fare. We had an unexpected treat awaiting us here- live performances by various folk artists from around the country at the Shilpgram annual festival– simply superb!
Ajmer
• The dargah of the world famous sufi saint, Garib Nawaz Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Garib Nawaz is said to be very kind and is very popular among believers.
Pushkar
• Brahma temple - one of it’s kind in the world.
• Pushkar sarovar – the birthplace of goddess Gayatri. The kund is supposed to be since the Satyuga days.
Jaipur
• Very well planned city, especially the new part.
• Pink City- the old city is painted pink. There’s a law that fines anybody who paints the exterior of his house/shop in any color other than pink!
• Birla temple- Laxmi Narayan- out of this world experience. Must visit site.
• Jaipur City Palace- The Jaipur kings built this palace and moved here from Amer- the old capital city. It is the current abode of Maharaja Bhawani Singh.
• Jantar Mantar- awe inspiring gadgetry built by Jaisingh- the fist king of Jaipur, himself a well renowned astrologer. This is the biggest among the 5 built by Jaisingh.
• Amer fort- grand! Mansingh built this fort- painstaking attention to detail. Exquisite carvings, mirror work and paintings adorn the walls, floors and ceilings.
• Jaigarh fort – World’s biggest canon- the Jaivan is housed here.
• Jal Mahal
• Hawa Mahal – Built especially for the queens folk to watch the processions of the kings.
Ambaji temple (Rajasthan)
Mankambeshwar temple (Sirohi)- Saw peacocks, monkeys, parrots and mongoose! Any other animal and I would have freaked out.
Phew! Anything I have missed out here must be because of my occasional catnap!
We started from Pune and visited Mount Abu, Udaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar and Jaipur. Much to K2 and K3’s irritation, none of these places have any desert area and so the Rajasthan we visited, in a way was very different from what we saw in movies.
Mount Abu was cold and I wouldn’t have survived without the room heaters.
Mount Abu-
• A typical hill station
• A lovely 24 km drive from Abu Road
• Very cold
• Delwada jain temples – spectacular, jaw-dropping carvings
• Nakki lake – good time pass, fair like atmosphere surrounding the lake
• Tasty marwadi food
Udaipur
• Majestic fort at Kumbhalgarh-Maharana Pratap’s birthplace (we wasted a lot of time reaching there but the view of the fort was rewarding). Watched dance performances by Raja Radha Reddy and their troupe.
• Nathdwara-Lord Krishna’s temple- endearing idols of Shrinathji
• Udaipur City Palace- The abode of Mewad dynasty rulers for about 23 generations. Very beautiful mirror work and paintings done one on the palace walls.
The Mewad kings moved here from Chittor as they lost every battle fought from Chittor. The current Mewad king, Maharaja Arvindsinghji Mewad also stays in one portion of the palace.
• Moti magri- Maharana Pratap’s memorial
• Fateh sagar- one of the several lakes in and around Udaipur
• Jagdeesh temple- one of the oldest temples in North India.
• Sahelion ki badi – nothing much to write home except that it was built for the queen’s girl friends.
• Shilpgram- A 12 month fair where local craftsmen display and sell their fare. We had an unexpected treat awaiting us here- live performances by various folk artists from around the country at the Shilpgram annual festival– simply superb!
Ajmer
• The dargah of the world famous sufi saint, Garib Nawaz Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Garib Nawaz is said to be very kind and is very popular among believers.
Pushkar
• Brahma temple - one of it’s kind in the world.
• Pushkar sarovar – the birthplace of goddess Gayatri. The kund is supposed to be since the Satyuga days.
Jaipur
• Very well planned city, especially the new part.
• Pink City- the old city is painted pink. There’s a law that fines anybody who paints the exterior of his house/shop in any color other than pink!
• Birla temple- Laxmi Narayan- out of this world experience. Must visit site.
• Jaipur City Palace- The Jaipur kings built this palace and moved here from Amer- the old capital city. It is the current abode of Maharaja Bhawani Singh.
• Jantar Mantar- awe inspiring gadgetry built by Jaisingh- the fist king of Jaipur, himself a well renowned astrologer. This is the biggest among the 5 built by Jaisingh.
• Amer fort- grand! Mansingh built this fort- painstaking attention to detail. Exquisite carvings, mirror work and paintings adorn the walls, floors and ceilings.
• Jaigarh fort – World’s biggest canon- the Jaivan is housed here.
• Jal Mahal
• Hawa Mahal – Built especially for the queens folk to watch the processions of the kings.
Ambaji temple (Rajasthan)
Mankambeshwar temple (Sirohi)- Saw peacocks, monkeys, parrots and mongoose! Any other animal and I would have freaked out.
Phew! Anything I have missed out here must be because of my occasional catnap!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Enough is enough
Seriously, seeing this "enough is enough against terror" caption against the backdrop of the burning dome of Taj Mahal Hotel with meaningless news reporting is enough. Enough of this inane blabbering!
It’s been three weeks since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Those 60 hours were the most harrowing for so many people. People whose loved ones were involved, people whose places to hang-out were burning and the majority of us for whom the idea of being safe in our homes was dead. When I am talking about myself I know I am talking about several thousand people like me who were scared, stunned, ashamed, angry and terrorized. The 60 hours have changed a lot of how we looked at several things. Enough of this mindless, barbaric terror!
I am deeply anguished by so many things, the callous politicians, their insensitive remarks, the immaturity of our media and the sorry state of our entire system. Ministers were sacked, but do we have good politicians to fill in these places? Each one makes the previous one look better. The statements they make on air are ridiculous and bile-rising. I cannot read newspapers or watch news channels these days without getting extremely angry first and then disturbed. How can a country of one billion be such a soft state? How dare terrorists come on our land and kill our brothers and sisters and get away with it. Or worse still get into the prisons where they are fed off tax-payer’s money. Enough of this anybody can come and kill Indians non-sense!
My heart goes to all victims of terror who left behind scarred families. I sincerely hope and earnestly pray that we do not lose the lesson and the memory of our fellow countrymen who lost their lives, the brave men and women who died protecting us. Enough of this losing precious lives..
We need something more and tangible than to hope and pray, I know. But right now I am still too numb to think.
It’s been three weeks since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Those 60 hours were the most harrowing for so many people. People whose loved ones were involved, people whose places to hang-out were burning and the majority of us for whom the idea of being safe in our homes was dead. When I am talking about myself I know I am talking about several thousand people like me who were scared, stunned, ashamed, angry and terrorized. The 60 hours have changed a lot of how we looked at several things. Enough of this mindless, barbaric terror!
I am deeply anguished by so many things, the callous politicians, their insensitive remarks, the immaturity of our media and the sorry state of our entire system. Ministers were sacked, but do we have good politicians to fill in these places? Each one makes the previous one look better. The statements they make on air are ridiculous and bile-rising. I cannot read newspapers or watch news channels these days without getting extremely angry first and then disturbed. How can a country of one billion be such a soft state? How dare terrorists come on our land and kill our brothers and sisters and get away with it. Or worse still get into the prisons where they are fed off tax-payer’s money. Enough of this anybody can come and kill Indians non-sense!
My heart goes to all victims of terror who left behind scarred families. I sincerely hope and earnestly pray that we do not lose the lesson and the memory of our fellow countrymen who lost their lives, the brave men and women who died protecting us. Enough of this losing precious lives..
We need something more and tangible than to hope and pray, I know. But right now I am still too numb to think.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
* ! * ! * Let's wish the birthday boy * ! * ! *
He is the funniest guy I have ever known.
He is somebody the teachers at my school were scared of- because he would ask them why they gave so much homework.
He asks me/K2/K3 to sleep during exam time and not worry about the last minute revision.
He always eats not-so-tasty stuff from our plates without anybody noticing.
He scolds me/K2/K3 by saying “Be careful! I will tell your mom!”
He allows us to play to our heart’s content whenever/wherever we vacation- without worrying about schedules.
He is the best driver I can rely on anytime.
He laughs at Kader Khan/ Amrish Puri/Johnny Lever jokes when all we can do is roll our eyes.
He listens to all my and K2/K3’s instructions- but just listens.
He reminds me of chores I want to get done and love to forget. (e.g. Get your ration card done.)
He is my banker of last resort.
He is my dad and the coolest one on the job!
Happy birthday baba!!
ps: The post title is meant to be read as confetti.
He is somebody the teachers at my school were scared of- because he would ask them why they gave so much homework.
He asks me/K2/K3 to sleep during exam time and not worry about the last minute revision.
He always eats not-so-tasty stuff from our plates without anybody noticing.
He scolds me/K2/K3 by saying “Be careful! I will tell your mom!”
He allows us to play to our heart’s content whenever/wherever we vacation- without worrying about schedules.
He is the best driver I can rely on anytime.
He laughs at Kader Khan/ Amrish Puri/Johnny Lever jokes when all we can do is roll our eyes.
He listens to all my and K2/K3’s instructions- but just listens.
He reminds me of chores I want to get done and love to forget. (e.g. Get your ration card done.)
He is my banker of last resort.
He is my dad and the coolest one on the job!
Happy birthday baba!!
ps: The post title is meant to be read as confetti.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Randomly random
Years ago I read a book where the author shares a wonderful tip to de-stress. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a place with something/someone you feel protected with and breathe deeply for 10 minutes. The author in that book always imagines herself in a huge cake because she is a baker. I close my eyes and imagine being surrounded by the beautiful people I love so much and imagine us all vacationing on a fabulous, pristine beach. Wow.
Festivals have this effect on me. I turn nostalgic and with such intensity that nothing in the present holds any charm. I don’t know when/how I will learn the bliss of living in the moment. The word “bliss” reminds me of this book I happened to read on my trip to Pune last month. The book “Krishna- the god who lived like a man”, it came with strong recommendation from my mom and K3. I knew it would be an interesting read looking at the preface and the translator’s note. The book is based on the unusual concept of what would have transpired in Lord Krishna’s mind while he was breathing his last in this mortal world. Because I did not want to spoil my vacation by getting too involved in a book, I read this book with a strange detachment. Still, the book made its presence felt. If you are patient enough to clean out the fluff, the book has precious little gems in unlikely places. Since the post was not meant to be a book review and since K2 and A are yet to read the book, I will restrain myself. I know K2 will like the book, but I am not so sure about A. Out of curiosity I googled for this book and came to know that film stars had come for the book launch. I know the translator has written filmi stuff before, but she could have sure sought someone better than film stars!
A and I have diametrically opposite taste in books and movies. That said I am glad to observe that we have recently started to like similar movies with a success rate of 25%. Great compatibility, I know.
I digressed- apologies. One thing that the book emphasizes was that Krishna accepts everything that we offer to him- be it good or bad or whatever. One particular moment in the book which I felt was very poignant is when the queen Gandhari curses Krishna that he would witness the downfall of his entire Yadava clan- his children, grandchildren and all and then suffer before dying alone- Krishna simply raises his hand and says “Tathastu”- so be it. The entire paragraph has this strange calm feel about it. It is so simple- he is the Lord because he accepts everything. I know I will think about this piece for some time.
ps: I have used the word "book" so many times-rusty blogging skills. And the title looks so utterly random. I have to start asking people for suggestions I guess.
Festivals have this effect on me. I turn nostalgic and with such intensity that nothing in the present holds any charm. I don’t know when/how I will learn the bliss of living in the moment. The word “bliss” reminds me of this book I happened to read on my trip to Pune last month. The book “Krishna- the god who lived like a man”, it came with strong recommendation from my mom and K3. I knew it would be an interesting read looking at the preface and the translator’s note. The book is based on the unusual concept of what would have transpired in Lord Krishna’s mind while he was breathing his last in this mortal world. Because I did not want to spoil my vacation by getting too involved in a book, I read this book with a strange detachment. Still, the book made its presence felt. If you are patient enough to clean out the fluff, the book has precious little gems in unlikely places. Since the post was not meant to be a book review and since K2 and A are yet to read the book, I will restrain myself. I know K2 will like the book, but I am not so sure about A. Out of curiosity I googled for this book and came to know that film stars had come for the book launch. I know the translator has written filmi stuff before, but she could have sure sought someone better than film stars!
A and I have diametrically opposite taste in books and movies. That said I am glad to observe that we have recently started to like similar movies with a success rate of 25%. Great compatibility, I know.
I digressed- apologies. One thing that the book emphasizes was that Krishna accepts everything that we offer to him- be it good or bad or whatever. One particular moment in the book which I felt was very poignant is when the queen Gandhari curses Krishna that he would witness the downfall of his entire Yadava clan- his children, grandchildren and all and then suffer before dying alone- Krishna simply raises his hand and says “Tathastu”- so be it. The entire paragraph has this strange calm feel about it. It is so simple- he is the Lord because he accepts everything. I know I will think about this piece for some time.
ps: I have used the word "book" so many times-rusty blogging skills. And the title looks so utterly random. I have to start asking people for suggestions I guess.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Warm up
One thing I really wish I should have learned from my mom is her steely resolve and gritty determination. If I had inherited even an ounce of what she has I would have reached the moon by now. Similarly, I should have learned how to love your job from my father. To see the daily grind he goes through without expecting much from his bosses is eye opening for the forever cribber in me. This sudden introspection is because of my infrequent blogging.
All the promises I made about blogging every month no matter what lay broken. All this because of the usual lame excuse- work takes so much time that it’s tiring to type out the post. Aargh! Such things no longer make me angry at myself- which is bad news.
August was..well…I strain to remember.
A lovely weekend trip to Secunderapur.
Gosh! I got my promotion at work. Totally unexpected and absolutely flattering. And a lot of work my way.
September- Ganpati!! Yay! Gauri- again yay!
And a lot of sulking and moping over A’s absence.
A week’s trip home to mom and dad to recharge my batteries- which did not improve my feelings about going to office on Mondays.
This post is my way of testing how well I can type with one finger. The right hand oh so hurts. The left hand knows “the squeaking wheel gets the oil” and has promptly stared hurting.
I have no sympathies for these lazy bones-not when they have so much work to do.
All the promises I made about blogging every month no matter what lay broken. All this because of the usual lame excuse- work takes so much time that it’s tiring to type out the post. Aargh! Such things no longer make me angry at myself- which is bad news.
August was..well…I strain to remember.
A lovely weekend trip to Secunderapur.
Gosh! I got my promotion at work. Totally unexpected and absolutely flattering. And a lot of work my way.
September- Ganpati!! Yay! Gauri- again yay!
And a lot of sulking and moping over A’s absence.
A week’s trip home to mom and dad to recharge my batteries- which did not improve my feelings about going to office on Mondays.
This post is my way of testing how well I can type with one finger. The right hand oh so hurts. The left hand knows “the squeaking wheel gets the oil” and has promptly stared hurting.
I have no sympathies for these lazy bones-not when they have so much work to do.
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