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
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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:)
"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:)
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