Happiness comes in small packages !

Usually we look for happiness in big things. We feel we would be happy if we had a bigger house/car or a better Job. We would be happy if we were married (or not married!) We confuse happiness with the fulfilment of our desires. Happiness to us becomes something that we will get once we have all that we want. And if life doesn't go the way we want, we become sad and bitter and decide that it’s not our fate to be Happy! Happiness doesn't come from big materialistic things. It comes from small everyday things that we usually forget to enjoy in our maddening pursuit of the “Bigger Things”! For me happiness...

A fairy-tale called Quebec City !

This post is a continuation of my "Canada Chronicles" series.  After I finished wandering around Toronto, I was at a loss with what to do with myself. Since I had spent a lot of time and resources traipsing about UK and Scotland, I couldn't take myself off to a week of hiking in the Rockies as I was dying to do. So I did the next best thing. I took a trip to Quebec City. I couldn't have chosen a better to spend my last few days in Canada because that trip was the highlight of my entire Canada Trip.I discovered that Quebec City is quaint, delightful and quite magical! Perched rather precariously on top of a steep...

Thursday Challenge -The Hemis Festival at Ladakh !

Today"s Thursday Challenge is "CULTURE" (Food, Dance, Clothing, Festivals,...)  Last summer I had the opportunity to see the Hemis festival in Ladakh. It is one of the most visually enriching and vibrant festival I have ever seen.  The Hemis monastery is one of the finest and richest in Ladakh. Situated on the outskirts of Leh – around 40 km from the city, Hemis monastery is most famous for the festival it holds annually for two days during the summer. The monastery started getting crowded from early morning and it was choc a block with not only tourists but locals who had come from far flung villages...

Just Married - Please Excuse - Book Review !

What happens when a MBA fresh out of B school falls in love with her senior at work and they decide to tumble into the land of holy matrimony after just three months of courting – mayhem and loads of fun ! This is what Just Married Please excuse is all about!Written By Yashodhara Lal who blogs at Y on earth Not ! Just Married Please excuse is a roller coaster ride of a young couple into marriage and then parenthood. The main characters are Y – the modern, willful and slightly strong headed girl from Delhi who falls in love with the much older Vijay from small town Jaipur. The book covers their journey right from their first date – where...

The one in which we go under the Knife !

I had some surgery two weeks back. Nothing major, something rather inconsequential but then knowing me, something funny is bound to happen to me even within the four walls of a hospital!  For starters I am going through this stage of “I am a self-sufficient person and don’t need to rely on anyone” for quite a while (frankly for the last 15 years or so with no signs of abating). So to keep up this facade I decided I didn’t need my parents to accompany me to the hospital. The idea was to drive to the hospital, check myself in and the parents could make their entry once the surgery was over. Obviously all my objections were overruled and...

Book Review: Hilawi by Ritu Lalit

Ritu Lalit is a blogger par excellence and blogs at PhoenixRitu. If you havent read her blog, I suggest you go over and do it right now!When you have been reading a person for a long time, you set a certain expectations. You expect the person to stick to a certain genre, employ a certain writing style. Usually even writers play safe and stick to the style and genre they feel most comfortable in. It takes immense gumption and I must say a certain amount of dare to venture out of the comfort zone and enter into a hitherto unknown territory. Most writers don’t do it. But then if there is one person I can expect to go off the beaten track,...

How to hit where it hurts !

Sometimes I feel that most men in this country consider eve teasing and leching at women as their constitutional right, especially since the Police or the law does nothing to prove them otherwise. We have all had to deal with “lechers” who ogle at us as we walk down the street, men in buses who try to touch and grope and stand too close. Most of us ignore such incidents. This is our biggest mistake. Ignoring these men will just make them more confident. They need to be taught a lesson. I have lost count of the number of times I have stomped on a man’s foot in a crowded bus or poked him with a safety pin. Once a group of us even confronted the...

Oprah and the Art of putting your Foot in the Mouth!

I used to almost like Oprah. I've never watched her show, but I was among the crowd that attended her session at the Jaipur Literary fest. Although I really couldn't understand the adulation even then, she did come across as someone sensible to me. Then last weekend I saw her show “Oprah’s New Chapter: India” On Discovery. I was prepared to see poverty, the slums, the cows and the half-naked kids. That’s how we are usually portrayed in the west. What I was not prepared for was Oprah’s totally crass and insensitive attitude. The show begins with Oprah paying a visit to where else but the slums.! Perhaps we should promote Dharavi as one of...

Book Review:The Mad Tibetan - Stories from then and Now By Deepti Naval

I have been a great fan of Deepti Naval since her Miss Chamko days (Anybody who has seen chashme baddoor will know what I am talking about!). In my opinion, she is one the finest actors we have. It was at the Jaipur Literary Festival that I realized that she was an equally good writer. We attended a session in which she read out a chapter from her book “The Mad Tibetan – Stories from Now and Then” and I was instantly hooked. Apart from the fact that the storyline was captivating it was her very emotive and expressive reading that kept us riveted to our seats. Obviously I simply had to buy the book after that ! Deepti Naval is a recluse and...

Bhoojo To Jaane ! - 2

Sand dunes and camel rides with Snow capped mountains in the background ! Now where in the world can this be :)  ...

Canada Snapshots - Thursday Challenge (Wood)

Today's Thursday Challenge is  WOODEN (Furniture, Buildings, Crafts, Trees,...) I saw these in a shop in Canada and fell in love with them !  I guess you can call this wood craft :P Cute aren't they !  ...

Canada Snapshots - A thousand Islands !

One thing I really enjoyed during my trip to Canada was the boat ride on the  1000 islands. 1000 islands is a group of more than a thousand islands dotted upon the St Lawrence river. Some of the islands are relatively big and some tiny enough to hold just a small house.The river here actually forms an International border between US and Canada so some of the Islands fall in the US and some in Canada. Most of these islands have been bought by the rich and the famous and they have built beautiful summer homes there. The houses are so spectacular that I spent most of the boat ride half hanging out of the boat lusting after them and wishing...

Canada Snapshots - Walking the Trails !

 The best thing that I liked about my stay in Canada was that it was a very relaxed laidback time. My two weeks in London were spent in hectic sightseeing and rushing about and I think the only time I sat down in those three weeks was when I boarded the flight to Toronto. My brother stays in a small town off Toronto and away from the hustle bustle of the big city. The town had a lot of nature trails and there was one right behind my Brother’s house. At all times, it had people walking their dogs,hiking, cycling, fishing in the small creek or simply barbecuing in the open. The Canadians love the outdoors, or perhaps...

Hello Ji. Kiddan? Welcome to Kanedda !

I really haven’t written anything about my travels to Canada last year, so the next few posts are going to be dedicated to that wonderful country.  I landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport after spending two weeks in UK. I had the most marvellous time there and London is way on top of my list of favourite cities. But let’s face it, The British are a formal lot and when I landed I was more than slightly jaded after two weeks of the British stiff upper lip and 8 hours of snootiness by a BA air hostess. The reason that my spirits rose immensely upon reaching Toronto can be attributed to the fact that as soon...

What’s in a Name!

My overwhelming desire while I was in London last summer was to see a traditional Pub with oak furniture, fire burning in the hearth, draught beer drawn from a keg and perhaps a game of dominoes being played in a corner. Unfortunately most of the pubs I came across were modern establishments but I did come across something interesting – Unusual Pub and restaurants names! Here’s one on Convent Garden, ostentatiously named after the famous Puppet Show. And my all-time favorite, I saw this near Westminster.  Perhaps its frequented by detectives !  And I suppose even writers must eat !  And finally a Pub...

The two kinds of Sunshine

Delhi summers, 2.30 in the afternoon. Hot enough to make you feel like a baked potato (or a fried chicken) even inside an A/C car. Tired after driving the whole day through horrendous Delhi traffic and running errands in the heat, all my thoughts are on reaching home as soon as possible. I try zipping through a green light before it turns red but it changes before I can cross it and so cursing under my breath, I stop the car. I am on the dreaded BRT corridor so I know I am in for a long wait. The sun beats down mercilessly, forming shimmering mirages and almost melting the tar off the road. There’s not a single soul in sight,...