Redunancy ...

1. The state of being no longer needed or useful
2. The use of words or data that could be omitted without loss of meaning or function; repetition or superfluity of information.

...this is the word that can best encompass my state of mind these days, as I experience life within a new and improved universe:), the older experiences become redundant. Previous life seems like a book of stories to be cherished, deep morals learned but very clearly a thing of the past.:)

Anyways people ....Bangalore is a wonderful city, I am in abs love with the weather.. Amit goes out of his way to share his city and make me comfortable to the culture and life in the city. :) What to do if he is so adorable and caring ;).

Neways ..we both like taking adhoc trips...
The first one was to Agra to see the the Taj Mahal at sunrise...that was even before our honeymoon:D. We had to come to Jaipur for some work...and in the evening we decided to take advantage of the spare time and head to Agra. We left around 8pm and were in Agra in 3hrs. We stayed at a hotel 3oomts from the Taj:) ... next morning we walked to the most romantic monument at sunrise... what can i say people but that it was breathtakingly awesome....it made me believe in all that is romantic, scared and like we were meant to go there together:)

The second trip was to Kabini... this was my first road trip around Bangalore. The countryside was very green filled with paddy fields .... banana trees.. marigold fields .. very colourful and bright. My senses were engaged in the sights, sounds and foods of the different topography.:)
A whole list of South Indian food items has been appended to my list of fav foods :) thank goodness most of them dont append to my waistline:)... Me, GoldGym n Amit's theory about that experience will be another post all together.;P
Neways back to Kabini.. we stayed at a wonderful Orange County resort, that is located at the junction of Nagarhole and Bandipur National Parks. We went for a boat safari, jeep safari ..took a coracle ride . The Boat safari was awesome .. we saw tuskers...humongous crocodiles ... quite a few rare birds.... On the jeep safari we almost saw wild dogs making a kill ...but were interrupted by an unconscientious fellow in the jeep with us. :( ...after that, to Amit's utter dismay ..i was sleeping in the remaining safari... what can i say .. cool pure clean breeze..the earthy smell.. a warm body cuddled close.. what more does a girl need:).
(Yawn..... Big Yawn) ...time for me to doze off ...take care people .. have a blast ... will keep you posted on my adventures .... girl-let-loose in the city ... :) One last food for thought... the deepest most pleasure comes from the simplest smallest of things:)

elation & excitement..

:) I can hardly contain the joyful enthusiasm that has my spirits dancing these days. In a few days a new chapter, a new journey will start...I simply can not wait to start our walk together:).

neways people..June was a fairly adventurous month .... mom and I visited Dubai ... we stayed at the fabulous "Atlantis, The Palm" Hotel ( http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/ ) ... shopped n shopped and shopped till we dropped :D...well I did literally with all the bags i was dragging ... my ma can shop like nobody's business :)...the return journey in Emirates Business class was an awesome indulgence :)

I came back home to realize m going to be a grandma ... initially i wasnt excited about Fiona going the 'family way'...but with all the support and encouragement from Amit, it was very easy to be so happy for my oh so lovely bee-aatch :)....I became a grand ma to 8 adorable pups ..yipeee... both mother and seven pups are doing great ...we lost one .. but we found homes for the remaining seven.
One lesson i definitely learnt was that dogs are not humans ...dont treat them so ... well I should have got her spayed when she was 8-9 months... the reason i didnt was i thought it was 'inhumane' ... she should have a litter once ... bad decision ... coz not only did she become a mother so early on in her life ... but it creates health issues for her further down.
Neways ... we can not alter what happened but henceforth I am going to do more research where she is concerned and do what is best for my beloved pet.

Then came my bday ... Amit made it uber special by coming down and getting a very delicious chocolate truffle cake all the way from home :)...the 4 days he and mummy ji were here, just flew past ... we drove up to Nahargarh fort ..... walked in Central park ... ate Poha early morning at the bus stand ... shopped around ... went with the entire family to "Chowki Dhani"(http://www.chokhidhani.com/home.html)....Itx a treat watching him enjoying and savouring simple pleasures of life.... well itx a treat watching him ne which ways ;)

now all my thoughts have halted at him :) so before I fill more lines with mushy sentiments :P I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you .. for your love and wishing me happiness.

On a lighter note...

A boy was eating chocolate and a man walks by
Man: eating chocolate is not good for health.
Boy: my granddad lived for 105 yrs.
Man: how? what was his secret ? eating chocolates??
Boy: No minding his own business.

:D

Ignorance is bliss

..any person who values his peace of mind and state of happiness, will tell you that he doesnt read the newspapers these days. News these days is all but North America and itx allies trying to play the big brother- be the stalwarts of democracy. If history and reality has to be checked ever since Vietnam these allies have all but created havoc in the name of restoring democracy.
The Vietnam war saw roughly 4 million civilian casualties, and till date Vietnam is a 3rd world country struggling to provide basic amenities to its people. Take the situation in the Gulf region, the toll of civilians dead, is mounting ever since the Gulf war, total chaos in the region, no peace restored, not to mention the sky rocketing oil prices. Would someone please explain how these wars benefit common people.. the normal civilian for whose sake these wars are fought? .
I believe in what goes around comes around...if NATO and itx allies create havoc on international soils.. they should expect that there lands are equally open to attack. Death of Osama Bin Laden will never bring back the loved ones lost in September 11 attacks. As long as America continues itx international attack policy more Bin ladens will be born.
It is no secret that the economy that benefits the most from any war is the American economy, however the trembles of economic collapse after 9/11 can still be felt, so why doesnt the American Govt. realise it is building a pyre for itx own people.
The common man's liberty and freedom (the two pillars of Democracy) are snatched away in all this melodrama. His perfume or bottle of water becomes a threat to the national security while the soldiers of his national army plunder and demolish nations to create more threat. Itx a vicious cycle. The only people who end up paying heavily for this brutality are the common men because they loose their life, homes, families, livelihood, soldier-sons, liberty and freedom.
Every American president who has agreed to war, is no different from Ratko Mladic. He too is a war criminal and should faces charges of genocide, extermination and murder, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, murder, cruel treatment and should be punished.
I want to believe that human life is precious and no one has the right to terminate it for whatever mundane reason. This wide-scale murder in the name of democracy is so so mundane. Wars only lead to more wars and never to peace.

Women on Wanderlust

.. or WOW is a Bangalore based ..woman traveller phenomenon .. a travel club that organizes all-women trips the world over. It is the perfect solution for women who want to travel, but do not like the idea of travelling alone.

Neways .. the women on wanderlust in my scenario are Poorni and me. The last two weeks we have been wandering in the hills, mountains and valleys of Himachal Pradesh. The initial plan was to go with the YHAI group to Dalhousie for the six day "NATIONAL HIMALAYAN NATURE STUDY CUM TREKKING EXPEDITION-2011". However when we met in Delhi, we decided to go to McLeod Ganj instead.
Mcleodganj, is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It has an average elevation of 2,082 metres (6,831 feet). Situated on the Dhauladhar Range,it is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" due to its large population of Tibetan refugees. The Tibetan government-in-exile is head quartered in McLeod Ganj...(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLeod_Ganj).

We stayed two days in Delhi with Cheryl (Major Francis) and her adorable son Abhimanyu. It is amazing to see the transformation of Cheryl from a sweet, soft-spoken girl with long curly hair.. to the strong, commanding short-haired Major Francis :). Time just flies so fast...last that I saw her was in June 2001... a decade later we meet and though we all have gone in radically different directions ...it seems like we parted ways yesterday.:) Oh I miss the 'Dattaa Leela" days ..

After a bit of shopping frenzy at Delhi's Janpath Road, we left for hills. Waise let me add... our mode of transportation was my Altis and who else but Gopal driving us. :) Sigh my adventures would be incomplete without him :). Neways we drove for 12hrs continuously to reach the Kangra valley and stayed over for the night. The next day, we covered the remaining 30 km odd to Mcleod Ganj...only to find dearth of accommodation... we had forgotten that it was the long weekend (Good Friday) and so practically everybody from Delhi was in McLeodGanj.
Oh boy! the very, very narrow streets of McleodGanj were littered with vehicles ... not to mention the horns, noise n the pollution. The place was like an overcrowded market in Goa. I had pictured it to be a serene, calm n quaint town in the hills with sounds of Tibetan chants in the air and monks strolling in the lanes. The first night we did find accommodation about 1.5 km uphill from the town centre at a place called Dev Cottages. Hence begins the adventures :) ... on the way back we figured that the town centre ..was actually the centre for everything and staying far away would mean leaving a well lighted area to trek 1.5 km in almost pitch darkness... not to mention how freezing cold it was in the night ..brrrrrr... :) The place is all but 10km form a base of snow capped mountains.. though they are lovely to gaze ... they do make the night so cold .. oh so cold. :)

The second day .. we had scrumptious breakfast at a place called Nicky's and decided to change our residence to the rooms available there. Oh btw Nicky's has awesome food... we had delicious lemon cheesecake... fantastic Ravioli....steamed momos.. wonderful assortment of teas... mint.. ginger lemon honey... everything was finger licking :). Then we went to visit the Temple Complex and the sites.
... to be continued with pictures and more adventures... Kahani abhi bakki hai :D

Our beliefs . . .

our beliefs shape everything we see, everything we try, everything we risk and everything we create. Our beliefs shape who we are and who we might become.
I believe that love can transform anything. I beleive in possibilities. I believe in impossibilities that suddenly don't look that way anymore.
I believe that it is never over until it is over and I believe that every moment is a new opportunity to change your life.

Never Hide..

are the two words flashing prominently on my mental dashboard these days. I realize that there are so many experiences that I want to relish in this life time.. where do I have the time for inertia, fears, insecurities, doubts and other pile of things to hold me back :)

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be fabulous, brilliant, talented, gorgeous? Actually, who are you not to be, you are a child of God and you playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, like children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone of us. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.As we are liberated by our fears, our presence automatically liberates others."
A very inspiring part from Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech as the elected president of South Africa.

Neways people February had me moving in and out of Jaipur. Walked down memory lane hanging out at college day hangouts... Sheetal restaurant ... same service ..same extremely sweet fresh lime water .. same fried rice .. same oily dosas :D took a ride in the local bus ( lal dabba)with the topiwalas :). Dragged Poorni to Bikram Yoga classes ... it is an abs awesome experience :) .. Yoga for 90 min in a hot room ... you discover, realign and realize the potential of your own body..itx like reconnecting with your core... thank you, thank you, thank you, Amit for suggesting we try it out (hugs, loads of them :)) ... n for all of you in US of A ... go for at-least one class, check it out n I will be waiting for the hugs :)

After an awesome week with Poorni, talking, shopping, walking, reading, watching '7 khoon maff'; went to Goa. The road trip to Goa with Anil was fantabolus.... not only was the way beautiful but we made it through all our set milestones in time ... lunched at the busiest Mc Donalds on that highway... stopped to admire the beautiful valley and sites on the way ... had excellent tea at a local store ... neways .. we reached our destination before Kanchan, Komila, Deepak and Rob :)
In Goa.. went to 4 beaches and a fort I have never visited before ... got a tan ... sacrificed my phone to the sea gods :) .. had breakfast at Britto's ... jumped around at Tito's ....walked on Varca Beach with Papaji. :) and totally unexpected.. Vinu turning up..it was abs wonderful :)
time just flew by...all kudos to Kanchan for planing this trip .. thanks girl :).

Itx past midnight ... time for me to snooze n get set for all adventures that tomorrow promises to bring :) good night and sweet dreams darlins:)

I can choose ....

Yesterday's Daily wisdom from Tiny Buddha was about we having the power to choose...

(http://tinybuddha.com/blog/we-have-the-power-to-choose/?utm_source=The+Tiny+Buddha+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=d602fdef9f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

and the following lines were particularly inspiring ... btw I think the lady is an oracle..she can read in to my mind like open doors :)....

I can choose what affects me.

I can choose to not be damaged.

I can choose to not be afraid.

I can choose to not let situations depress me.

I can choose to look at mistakes as learning experiences.

I can choose to be confident.

I can choose to be happy.

I can choose to feel loved.

I can choose.
James at gothamknight33(AT)yahoo.com

my additions ...

I can choose to live a healthy lifestyle.

I can choose to love and respect the temple that is my body.

I can choose.

Thanks Poorni for recommending Rujuta Diwekar's latest book .."Women and weight loss Tamasha"
Her first book ("Dont Loose your mind, loose your weight") was a common sense approach to health and nutrition and this one is an eye-opener :).

We females in our quest to become the 'ideal' daughter (DiL), girlfriend, wife, mother, grandmother..etc etc ......neglect the one thing that supports and backs us in all our endeavours... yes we take our body as hell for granted. My dearest darlins..pick up the book it would do you a world of good ... please.. please.. pretty.. pretty.. please :) it is an wonderful experience listening to your body and falling in love with yourself. :)

Neways people today I drove a 42 seater bus ..yippeee ... No casualties, Gopal and Arjun (Bus's Driver) are hale and hearty...so now I have added to the list of vehicles for my Bollywood style elopement :) only have to patao the groom-to-be.

O KaTTaaa . . . .

no, no one or animal has dared to bite me (animals thankfully have that much sense) :)..neways people Happy Makar Sakranti...and in the spirit of the festival 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya', may you go higher & higher, to more & more Light and never to Darkness.

Neways yesterday the skies here were full of colourful kites, everyone around was atop their roofs to fly kites and the shouts of "O.. Kattaa" were rampant :).

We went down to the Kite flying organized at Jal Mahal, (lake Palace) and had an amazing time. I even managed to cut 2 kites,basically I still have some ragamuffin skills :). The main thing is to shout "O.. Kattaa" irrespective of whose's kite gets cut, this sparks a deep sense of camaraderie :) So the next instance your kite get tangled with someone else's kite and gets cut and what do you do ?? shout "O.. Kattaa" with total glee:)

Bhai teaching Prisha the fine art of kite flying








Father Daughter "O Kattaa" moment :)

Happiness....

"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open." :). My dears wishing that happiness flows in abundance thru your lives and you have a fantabolous n brilliant 2011. .

This is the year of the "Rabbit" (the Chinese zodiac and not Eminem ) essentially associated with traits as creativity, compassion and sensitivity. I am still talking about the zodiac and not Eminem, though at this point it would be difficult to demarcate :). Neways last few days of December went exploring Jaipur and life in glorious shades of pink n gray :). A recent trip to Albert Hall Museum (http://www.rajasthan-tourism.org/prime-attractions/albert-museum.html) ..tanga ride into the city ...visiting the City Palace ... wondering over the girth of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh - I's pyjamas, which are over 2m in length and 1.2m in width, who himself was over 250 kg in weight.... Quite Amazing !!! not to mention racking our brains to figure out the working of the Samrat Yantra at the Jantar Mantar. :)

For me Albert Hall Museum has always been this beautiful artifact with loads of history and pigeons :) It was remarkable to see the essence of it captured beautifully in sepia. Walking in the drizzle ... garam garam chai at a local shop ... oh such joy in such simple silly things :-)