In which we shop till we drop at the bangkok airport and almost miss the flight

I went to Tokyo in November. I haven’t posted about this trip because frankly it just went by in a daze. It was a whirlwind of a trip where I worked like a maniac and came back totally exhausted. When I was not working I was taking my two ‘visiting- Japan-for the –first –time colleagues’ sightseeing. One of the disadvantages of knowing a city intimately is that you are expected to take first time visitors around. Not that I mind that but these two guys were a little bit too enthusiastic for my liking. So enthusiastic that they didn’t mind sightseeing at night after a hard days toil even when it was bitterly cold and raining. Tokyo is one city...

Is it better to go along with the flow?

There is a Childrens day festival in Japan called Koi-Nobori.Koi, as the carp fish is called in Japanese is supposed to be so powerful that its known to swim its way upstream against the current. To the Japanese it is a symbol of determination and perseverance. On Koi-nobori, they hang carp shaped wind streamers on their roofs hoping that their children will grow up to be as strong and courageous as the carp.Swimming against the current is something we do so often in our lives. Faced with unfavorable circumstances, we try to fight them, determined to change things or to somehow get out of the situation we are in. Most of the times it works, our...

Ruskin Bond Magic again !

What happens when my absolute favorite writer Ruskin Bond and Vishal Bhardwaj come together once again- Magic I am sure!Am sooo looking forward to this !http://www.indianexpress.com/news/i-am-not-a-bad-writer/543722/0Earlier Vishal Bhardwaj had made The Blue Umbrella - a delightful story written by Ruskin Bond into a childrens film.It was a lovely movie but in the original story the plot is much more simple and uncomplicated. In the movie many new subplots and characters have been introduced. But I guess this is a liberty every director takes while turning a short story into a full fledged movie. I had thoroughly enjoyed the story and had already...

55 Fiction - Winter Frost

The door slammed and she heard him leave.Loneliness and despair clutched at her heart like cold hands. She shivered, opened the door and stepped out. The first rose was peeping its way out of the almost- gone winter frost. The sun warmed her skin but her heart remained covered with a layer of i...

My Favorite Home - A poem

In continuation of My Favorite Places, Here's a poem written by my 9 yr old niece Shaivalini immediately after she went back home to Auckland after visiting us in India. I think it speaks really poignantly about how much she misses us. (Click to enlarge) I love you Shaivalini and I miss you very very much...

So whats your favorite Place !

I was watching an old Friends episode the other day. The one where Monika has just broken up with Richard and is so stressed out that she cannot sleep. Phoebe tells her to think of her favorite place in order to relax. That got me thinking.Each one of us has a favorite place. A safe and peaceful haven where we are always the happiest, where we’d rather be than anywhere else. Here are my favourite places in no particular order: Bank of the Ganges – GaneshpurGaneshpur is a small hamlet above Uttarkashi. We discovered this place quite by chance and fell instantly in love with it. The Ganges there is sparkling clean, unblemished by the pollution...

Writer's Block !

Why is it that an idea for a blog post always strikes me when I have no access to a laptop or paper. Like when I am driving or travelling. I half form the blog post in my mind; witty catchy sentences and phrases swirl around in my head and I am dying to jot them down. But Once I am in front of my laptop – nothing ! My mind goes blank and I am really at a loss on how to put down my thoughts. The words don’t come and the sentences that sounded witty and brilliant in my head look drab and boring on my computer screen. Now what kind of Writer's Block is that !Ever happened to any of y...

The travails of a Cab User

The long suffering Lumbar muscles finally collapsed thanks to Delhi's treacherous roads and after having a look at the groaning shuffling me the doctor asked me to stop driving altogether if I wanted to salvage what was left of my back. And so it was with great regret that I handed over the car keys to my parents and resigned myself to using the office cab. And using the cab dear readers is not that simple. One would think that just instructing the driver about the pick up point and writing official mails on the subject should be enough. Well not really.Day 1- Morning. I am at the designated pick up point and have been waiting there for a good...

55 Fiction - Melacholy

Tumbled thoughts in a jumbled mind. Everything topsy turvey inside my head. Despondency and listlessness, sadness for things that could not be, remembering lost dreams that have slipped away like sand through fingers. They say that Night is always darkest just before dawn. But hasn’t this night already lasted too lo...

Of Backaches and Boredom

Since middle of last week, the rain gods have been rather benevolent towards rain parched Delhi; the heavens have opened up and it has poured and poured.Rains mean standing outside letting the downpour soak you to the skin, of breathing in the heavenly smell of wet mud, or as meira puts it of going chapak chapak in the puddles.It means sitting outside and watching the plants and tress emerge a bright emerald from their drab brown covering of dust and eating pakoras or feasting on Bhuttas.So have I been doing all this? Well not really. Very erratic working hours, getting stuck in 3 hours long traffic jams (thanks again to the self same rains and...

55 Fiction and a prize !

Here’s a 55 fiction story I wrote for a contest held at work. We were given a theme and had to write something in 55 words or less in 20 minutes. My theme was ‘Nature’ -and I won the first prize. Yay !! The picture was clicked by me at Rishikesh ! She sat outside, waiting for the Sunrise, her mood as dark as the Night Sky. Slowly the sun peeped out from behind the mountains, bright and shiny as a newly minted coin, its rays like yellow arrows against a backdrop of flaming orange sky. Suddenly, all was well with the World aga...

An Oasis of Greenery

The flats in our block are in a sort of semi circle and bang in the middle of that semi circle there is a park. Many years ago it was totally barren with not even a blade of grass growing in it. Even the smallest gust of wind would blow the dust from the park into our houses and we would crib and grumble. The kids would not play in that park and no one would go for walks there because everyone simply found it too dusty and dirty.One fine day,a retired gentlemen living in one of the flats decided to put this piece of land to good use. He asked the municipal gardeners to come and grow grass, put in some plants and generally create some greenery....

The Greatest Gift !

A while back one of my favorite bloggers Preeti Shenoy asked this question on her blog. It got me thinking. Sometimes the best gifts that we get are not tangible objects but acts that end up changing our lives or at least influencing us greatly.The best gift I ever got was from my grandfather. A teacher by profession, my grandfather was also a writer and a great dramatist. Whenever I visited my grandparent’s house during my holidays I followed him around like a shadow. Everyday I would accompany him on his morning walk and he would considerably slow down his speed to accommodate my small steps. Once we were out on a walk just after it had finished...

Of Rains and spicy Bhuttas

The heavens opened up yesterday and it poured and poured and poured in Delhi. Once it stopped raining, I saw many bhutta (corn on the cob) sellers around the park infront of my house. Some squatting on the road and some with push carts; all surrounded by people and doing a very brisk trade. They seemed to have sprung out of nowhere as if intuitively knowing that people will queue up to buy bhuttas once the downpour ends. Personally I think rains and Bhuttas are meant to go together. So I bought myself a Bhutta and ate it piping hot and spicy as I strolled through the park. Now this park is a schleduded area sheltered by huge Gulmohar and Neem...

Quirks of Fate!

A few months back I was warned rather strongly by an astrologer (unsolicited advice off course since I never asked him!) that for the next few months I would be extremely accident prone. There could be some blood loss, broken bones, things falling on me and even electrocution (the guy didn’t leave anything to chance did he !).I am really not a believer in astrology but I've been trying to figure out If I've had any unforeseen and sudden accidents in the past few months and I just realized that I've had quite a few!. And all of them are weird and funny.Here’s a list –1) On a trek to Kedarnath in May, was walking along quietly admiring the snow...

In case of medical emergencies......

At 8 p.m on a quiet Sunday evening, My Bua(Father's Sister) in Chandigarh was engrossed in preparing material for the workshop she was to take the next morning. She went to the kitchen for a glass of water and saw a huge cobweb swaying gently on the kitchen wall. Irritated that her usually spic and span house had a cobweb and gently cursing the maid; she grabbed a broom and climbed on a table (look at her luck the table was right under the cobweb!). Not dissuaded at all by the small table and her totally insufficient height of 5 feet 2 inches she stood up on tip toe to swipe away the cobweb, promptly lost her footing, came tumbling down and dislocated...

The Great Himalayan Getaway-5

The Glory of KedarnathWe reached our rooms in Kedarnath at around 4 p.m and after a sumptuous and a much relished meal of aloo parathas and chole bathure we had a bath and then headed towards the temple. The Kedarnath temple lies nestled in a valley between snow clad mountains. Inside the temple complex just at the entrance, a huge Nandi made of stone sits as if guarding the Shivaling. Along with a maddening rush of pilgrims the temple also has a few resident sadhus. With wild eyes and matted hair they were covered with ashes and wore nothing but a small loincloth totally unaffected by the almost arctic cold. It was almost time for the evening...

The Great Himalayan Getaway-4

The Road to KedarnathWe could hear the cries of Jai Kedar from the pilgrims as we made our arduous way up to Kedarnath. To reach Kedarnath, one starts trekking from Gaurikund, a small rather dirty loooking place with restaurants and rest houses piled haphazardly on the mountains. It was chock-c-block with people, ponies, palakiwalas and what nots. But once we left behind the smell of ponies, the dust and crushing rush of Humanity, the rest of the trek was simply spectacular.It had just finished raining and the mountains were lush green. The Mandakini meandered between the mountains as if keeping us company. The path snaked upwards through alpine...

The Great Himalayan Getaway-3

Sonprayag A day’s travel from Rishikesh brought us to Sonprayag;a quaint little hamlet at the base of kedarnath. Since almost everyone who wants to trek up to Kedarnath stays at Gaurikund and not Sonprayag, Sonprayag’s natural beauty is still untarnished to a great extent. We stayed at a villa belonging to one of the most reputed business Houses of the country. Perched almost on top of the mountain, the villa was in the midst of a lush green forest and had a beautiful garden filled with exotic flowers. A steep climb down the slope led you to the river Mandakini; roaring and tumbling down from the locks of Lord Shiva. The water was so sparkling...

The Great Himalayan Getaway-2

Sunrise at Rishikesh Next morning I was up and out at the river bank before sunup. The Ganges at that time was not turbulent or fast flowing but rather calm; flowing slowly and steadily like an old woman on a sedate afternoon drive. The reason I was standing there groggy and bleary eyed at that ungodly hour was that I wanted to capture the sunrise on my camera.The first hint of the sunrise came when the dark blue sky slowly started turning a pale pink, the stars getting extinguished one by one as if someone was blowing out candles.Then the sun peaked out from behind the mountains, as shiny as a newly minted coin, a hue of yellow with just a hint...

The Great Himalayan Getaway -1

Rishikesh – Of Spirituality and Rain Storms! Last month I escaped the burning blistering cauldron that is Delhi and went for a very well deserving holiday to Kedarnath and Sonprayag. So here's a glimpse into the adventure ! We started early enough from Delhi, and managed to cross the Meerut Muzzaffarnagar chaos without any major mishap and reach Rishikesh at lunchtime. The first thing we all did after dumping our luggage was make a beeline for the River bank. The place we stayed in was actually on the outskirts of Rishikesh and had its own personal ghat. Unlike the usual ghats in the city, which are frequented by all and sundry this was really...

Why I Love Ruskin Bond

Imagine yourself in a beautiful mountain valley, where everything is so quiet that all you can hear is the sound of a mountain stream and of the wind rustling through the deodars. As you gaze at the snow peaked mountains, can you slowly feel peace and calmness descend on you? - this is what Ruskin bond’s writings do to me. His writings have the power to lift me out of any gloom and transport me to a world filled with happiness and serenity.He is the epitome of austerity and simplicity and this is reflected both in his writings and in his life. The power of his words lie in their simple wisdom and gentle humor which I feel is much more difficult...

When Londoners come calling

We have visitors from London. The hugs and kisses have been exchanged, gifts have been given, opened and fawned over. The visitors consist of my aunt, uncle and their two daughters. Daughter 1 – a shopoholic in her very well preserved 40s is a fanatic for perfumes and make up and is rather self possessed. Also she is totally into “spirituality” and does not as much as breathe before consulting her psychic and Tarot readers. Daughter no 2 and Husband are seasoned travelers who live out of well worn jeans and t shirts. They live in their own world, at their own terms, taking out time to travel to a new country every year. The elder sister carries...

Parking Blues

Yesterday mom and I were getting ready for bed when the door bell rang.Opening the door revealed this very bossy looking female who lives three doors away but never bothers to wish or smile when we pass each other.Bossy Female: Excuse me aunty – can you please move your car.Mom – Why?Bossy Female: Because I want to park my car there.Mom – But beta why do you want me to move my car. Why not park your car somewhere else. (Our car was parked in its designated place)Bossy Female – Because I have just bought a new Honda and you have a wagonR (yes she actually said this) so I would like to park my car safely in the parking lot. You can park yours anywhere.Mom-...

If you are a Punjabi living in Delhi ...

We were discussing Dev D at the work and I was told by some guys that you need a different sort of mindset to enjoy it and you can only appreciate the movie fully if you have ever lived in a hostel. Huh! (According to them 7 out of 10 people who live in hostels are on drugs and you need to be around such people to understand the movie).Weird I must say because I spent 5 years in JNU and I still couldn’t fathom the so called brilliance behind the movie. Also, the self -same people tell me that this film very well depicts what the rich kids of rich businessmen in Punjab do and what happens if you live in Delhi as a student/all alone (apparently...

Childhood Reads

One of my earliest memories is of the passage connecting the living room to the study in my grandfathers’ house. Bookshelves lined both sides of the passage and they were filled with the Readers Digest. My grandfather was an avid reader and he had started subscribing to the Readers Digest as far back as the 1960s and he had saved every single copy. I remember sitting on the cold floor, just a child of 8; breathing in the musty crumbly smell that I have always associated since with old books; trying to make sense of the stories and trying to solve word power.I started my childhood readings with Champak – I remember devouring the whole magazine...

Bloom Where you are planted

Although I work in the IT industry, I am not an IT person – I am a non techie – someone with a humanities background stuck in an IT company –When I started learning the language (Japanese) I had visions of myself wearing ethnic clothes from Fab India, doing literary translations and discussing Indo- Japanese art and literature over coffee. The only thing that has come true is that I wear ethnic clothes. Instead of doing literary translations I translate technical specifications and instead of discussing literature over coffee I spent my time with so called techie nerds who think Yasunari Kawabata is not worth knowing because he didn’t write an...

The month that was

Sometimes recession has its benefits. One of the benefits I got was that I managed to get almost the whole of December off to spend with my brother and sister in law who were visiting from New Zealand. The month was spent in Chandigarh in the “new house” with its huge floor to ceiling windows and airy rooms. But the only problem was that Chandigarh can be really cold in winter and airy rooms and floor to ceiling windows that are so delightful in summer aren't that great in winter.Any how before Bhaiya and Bhabhi landed in India, there were frenzied discussions on the phone on how this holiday was supposd to be quality family time and mom shouldn't...

A story for Shaivalini

My brother and his family visited us from New Zealand in Decemeber and I spent a blissfull month with them in Chandigarh.More about that later, but here is a story I wrote for my 10 year old niece Shaivalini. Shaivalini loves to read and paint and she also writes stories. She is a very creative and imaginative child and I wanted to gift her a story written by myself because I know how much she appreciates creative writing.Bina and the BirdThere was a little girl called Bina, who lived high up in the mountains in a house with a red roof. She lived with her grandpa and her grandma and had a dog called buddy and a goat called Tinker Bell as pets....