Of Phuket and more

Phuket was amazing!! 3 days of undefined luxury, relaxation and bliss.

And all that we did was, lie in the pool or lounge beside it and sip on some pretty looking drinks. And then hit the beach and do pretty much the same. Throw in some wonderful Thai massages and some exotic food. Not to forget the carefree driving around the beach town.

What more can a girl ask for? Nothing, absolutely nothing. The villa we stayed in Marriot was to die for. The bath alone was bigger than my current bedroom in Singapore! Sigh. So a super hit holiday, a beautiful tan and the wait begins for the next one. And I have a feeling it will be Bali this time.

In another news, we are moving into a new house next week. The current one was a bit small for our liking. Moving into this house was an ill informed and quick decision but considering it was taken in the first week of moving to Singapore, we didn’t do too badly. The new one is nice, pretty and spacious. A little far from office, but manageable. So we broke our contract midyear, paid a penalty, but never mind, we got a place we like.

Also, most of you must be aware of the work we are doing around creating awareness on Child Sexual Abuse.  Do visit the blog and spread awareness by talkin about it. All the details are in here.  

And to help spread the word, Blogadda published this article - http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/04/08/child-sexual-abuse-awareness-month

Also, DNA did a article on CSA –
Online – http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_its-time-to-protect-the-children_1529628

Print (page 7)- http://epaper.dnaindia.com/dnabangalore/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&username=&useremailid=&parenteditioncode=9&eddate=4%2f8%2f2011

To India

Come Friday and we are off to India. Our first trip home since we moved to Singapore last year and the occasion is as joyous as it can get. Its Aman’s brothers wedding. Which means there will be much family time, finger licking food, clothes, jewelry, dancing, singing and the works!

Yes, yet another Big fat Punjabi wedding. And since I am the one and only Bhabhi (sister-in-law) there is much to look forward to. I have always been a great fan of Indian traditions and I know that there are times when we will go overboard with stuff. And maybe in retrospect we will think if there was a point in all the extravagance. But as of now, I just want to go with the flow of the celebrations.

So shopping for gifts has been done for some selective set of relatives. Buying gifts for all wasn’t an option. It would have emptied our pockets and we would have ended up paying for extra baggage too. So we decided to act sane and buy gifts for some of the folks. The remaining shall be gifted on our next trip.

As for my shopping for the wedding, it’s non-existent. I obviously cannot buy Indian clothes from here. So all my shopping which is like a lot will happen in India. I have less than 24hrs in Delhi to pick up as much as I can. It would be an understatement to say I am nervous. From my past experiences it takes but a week or so of dedicated effort to get the entire ensemble ready. And here I have just a couple of days, so tell me how on earth I do it. I need nothing less than a miracle to help me sail through. And no this is no drama, and I am so hoping that the ladies out there will understand! Send some prayers my way will you??

But keeping this earth shattering problem aside, I am super duper excited. I am so looking forward to welcome a new member to Malhotra household. And obviously there are very few things in the world like a Punjabi wedding you see. And you got to attend one to know what I mean. And I get to meet my parents too who will be very much part of the wedding so that’s the added bonus. All in all, looking forward to some major fun, provided I get my clothes ready, else there will be one grumpy, irritated me and that’s no good person to deal with! 

Of this perfect day in Phuket – Post 21

I was in Phuket in February this year. It was an official trip (yeah, not kidding, it was). We had our 3 day Sales Conference there. The schedule was as packed as it can get. And being in-charge of the conference meant I had no breather at all.

The event got over on a Friday night with this gala dinner and celebrations. And my return to Bangalore was on Saturday evening.

I had 2 choices 1) to step out of Marriott where I was staying and explore the local Phuket or 2) to stay back and enjoy the beautiful resort.

I was tired beyond words and so I opted for the second option.

And in that I had one of the most perfect days I could without Aman by my side. For me the idea of having fun without him is very limited. I love my girlie time out. I love my random shopping trips. I love my coffee and my books. But if it’s something big I have to have to have him.

Yeah I missed him and it goes without saying, for those who know me well. But I didn’t have too much choice. Either I could sit and sulk or I could get out and enjoy the sun, sea and sand!!

And I choose the saner option!!

Woke up really early and went for this hour long swim followed by a session in the open Jacuzzi. The place has Asia’s largest meandering pool (that’s what I was told.)

This was followed by a real sumptuous breakfast of salami, croissant, eggs, waffles, pancakes, fresh fruits and of course lots of coffee.

The next few hours were spent on the beach reading and introspecting. Staring at the pristine waters, soaking in the sun, and trying to get some tan. After all who comes back from Thailand without one??

And then I did something I have never done before. I treated myself to a proper Thai massage. It was heavenly to say the least. Those women have some strength. Don’t go by their petite frame. They are pretty good at this. So floored by them I also got a head message done. It was as close to ecstasy as one can get.

After letting the oil ooze in to each and every pore on my skin, I went swimming in the ocean. The warm salty water was a delight. And yeah the tan was coming in. Floating on my back, eyes closed, warm water on my skin, I was as close to Nirvana as possible. I have no idea how long I did that but it must be pretty long coz by the time I got out it was way past lunch time.

Which meant that time to leave for the airport was nearing.

Taking one last look at the sea, absorbing in as much as I could, content and happy, and of course with the promise to be back soon, this time obviously with Aman, I made my way back to the room.

Random mumblings of a confused mind. Post 12

No matter how much I travel, each time I am about to leave for the airport, I still get that sunken feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like there will be something amiss happening. There is always this thought of calling the boss and telling him that I am almost dead and therefore can’t do this trip. But some things “have to be done” and travelling on work surely tops that list.

Sleep is another aspect that is totally screwed up while I am oversees. I sleep with the lights switched on and with TV playing as well. I have this major phobia of sleeping alone. So with TV on, I get the feeling that there is someone in the house. Also, I need to be fully aware of the surrounding and therefore the lights are kept on all night. With TV I have to be extra careful to ensure I tune it to some safe channel. Like some sport or some cartoon. Now what if they start showing some horror movie and I suddenly wake up to see some gory images!!! Night mare!!

Now why am I talking about all this today? That’s because I am sitting at the airport waiting to board my flight to Singapore. I will be gone for a couple of days. And didn’t want to skip writing a post.

So tomorrow’s update will be from Singapore la!!!

Why be rude..

When smile can do? No really, why?

This is why I say so:

My return flight from Singapore to Bangalore was completely full. For obvious reasons I couldn’t do e check in, which meant that my getting a good seat was left to chance. And when one leaves things to chance, the worse usually happens. So I was given the center seat in the middle aisle. I was tired and all I could think of was reaching home on time.

So I boarded and settled down with a book. On one side was a middle aged gentleman. The other seat was empty but not for too long. After a few seconds, a huge middle aged woman walked in. When I say huge I mean really huge. I am not being judgmental here. Her size was really really big. Big enough to ensure that half her shoulder was on my seat, her legs were in-front of my foot rest, and the center arm rest was lifted up to accommodate her.

She looked visibly uncomfortable in settling in. And like any other person I too felt bad for her. So I decided to make as much space for her as I could. Just after we had taken off, she suddenly turned to me asking me to keep my hands to myself. I was shocked. I really couldn’t believe my ears. I smiled and said I was on my seat, to which she replied that my elbows were jamming into her. I was stunned enough to forgo a reply.

Now if you are so fat to be on half the seat of your co-passenger, how can you even complain? Here I was, mighty uncomfortable, but still sitting politely to ensure that she was all right. And that’s what I get. Grrrrr.

Bang Bang Bangkok

Now what happens when you are stranded in a place like Bangkok in between 2 flights? Add to it the fact that you are all alone, the Laptop refuses to start, the hotel looks totally uninviting and the head is buzzing with ideas.

So what if you have just landed after a 9 hours flight? So what if you haven’t slept for 3 nights? So what if all your body needs is sleep and rest. So what if the heat and humidity is completely unbearable. When have all these been a deterrent to a “lady on mission”?

That’s exactly what happened last week. On my way back from Melbourne to Bangalore, I had more than a 10 hours halt at Bangkok. Landed, cleared immigration, took a visa, reached the hotel, slept for 1 hour and lo behold, I was all set to undergo the therapy that works like none.

After a quick round of investigation I closed down on 3 shopping destinations. After all there is only as much one can cover in half a day. Well fed and armed with the essentials i.e. lots of Thai Bhat, a cold water of bottle, sun glasses, flat footwear, and focused mind, I was raring to go.

What transpired in between is any girls guess. 8 pair of footwear, 5 Bags, 5 skirts, 30 plus tops, 2 dozen odd accessories, few jackets, some sleepwear, a empty pocket and really heavy bags.

And I am not kiddin’ when I say heavy. Heavy to the extent that my fingers were swollen after a while. I had to remove my rings to give way to the swelling. But when the heart is determined who cares about a bit of pain.

Finally, I had to get back to the airport, not because I thought I had shopped enough but because I didn’t want to miss my flight back home. By now my fingers were as thick at sausages, numb with pain and totally lifeless. So the only way to carry the bags was on my fore arms. Yes, I looked demented, a spectacle worth a laugh. But who cares, behind the layer of pain was a very happy heart.

Writing this today, as fingers took a while to get back to normal. Happy and content and the pain is now gone, but the gain is there to stay!!!

Of Relationship and interests

Cometh the long weekend and off we go to the beautiful forests of Nilgiris. Holi coupled with the weekend is the perfect excuse. Add to it the fact that both Aman and me have been travelling for a while and have not been able to spend as much time together as we would have liked to. So this is the perfect opportunity to escape.

It’s said that couples should cultivate common interests to enhance their relationship. I am really not sure about the cultivating part. As we never had too. We both love travelling and we both are spontaneous with our travels. We love eating out and experimenting with various cuisines. And once in a while we both get down to cooking together. We love the water and swimming is another thing we do together. We love shopping. So we head out together and then go to respective sections only to meet again at the trail rooms. Life looks all set.

We haven’t made efforts to imbibe each others interests, but we have found a way around it. Like in his free time he watches TV and I stick to my laptop. So we sit together but do different things. He is loves playing and my only association with sports is watching it. So I watch when he plays.

We both read, he likes economics, business and strategy, and I stick to fiction. But atleast we go pick books together.

I am sure there are people out there who make a lot of effort to pick up a hobby just for the sake of their partner. We didn’t, coz we didn’t have to. We had our common interests and we had our not so common interests. And we like it that way. For once, I really don’t understand how someone can read all possible business magazines each month and he really doesn’t understand how I can be fixated with Farmville. But so be it.

It might be important for couples to enjoy stuff together. But it’s equally important to have some varied interests as well. Now if 2 people were just the same won’t 1 be wasted?

Of Swine Flu

How could I forget writing about this, damn me. It’s totally outdated now but like heck I need to write it. So please bear with me.

Some of you know that I went to Sydney this May. I was there for about a week. My return flight was via Bangkok and instead of coming straight to Bangalore I had to change my flight at Mumbai.

Now there have been confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Australia. Considering I was coming back from there I was sure there will be some major delay at Mumbai Airport in order to do a check up. Add to it the fact that I had a stop over at Bangkok too, which also had had a few cases.

Reality how ever was quite different. At Mumbai International airport I was given a form which had a few random questions like - have I been to a infected country, did I come across someone who has swine flu, do I have fever and cold etc. barring the 1st one I answered no to all.
After submitting the form the guard on duty scanned me up and down and then declared me healthy. Just like that. I was authorized safe to roam about the city. That took my goat. What if I really had the virus? Wasn’t a through check needed, what if I hadn’t said the truth? Was my saying so enough to let me go?

This was back in May; I hear that situation is better now. Not sure as my experience was quite vague. Anyone else who has had some similar experiences?

June Update

It’s been a hectic and busy month. Work showed no respite, it never does, I guess its time I should stop hoping too.

Aman’s side of the family came visiting. And like good hosts we packed them all and took them to Coorg. (Pics are up on FB and Orkut, one on the header up there). Lush, green and raining. The heat tortured souls from North of the country couldn’t have asked for anything more. We stayed in the interiors of Coorg, in the midst of the coffee plantations. Lovely food, awesome weather and the most scenic surroundings. It was picture perfect.

We also did a quick 2 day trip to Chennai. For the uninitiated, the Bangalore – Chennai highway is splendid, be it the road or the landscaping. Parts of it are quite a delight. Chennai was horrible. I am sure the city is nice, but the weather was pathetic, and that for me is such a put off. For that reason I truly couldn’t enjoy it. It was sticky and humid and hot. You know the kinds where your own hair and skin irritate you.

For the good deed of the month – I forgo my official tour to Singapore to be with Aman’s side of the family. Now isn’t he lucky to be married to me?

For the highlight of the month – Younger sister has finally moved to Bangalore, bag and baggage. If you remember I was upset a while back and this was the reason. But now she is here and I couldn’t have been happier.

And yes, for the achievement of the month, I have learnt swimming. As in I have moved ahead from just the playful splash splash. I still have a long way to go, but who says I can’t rejoice small achievements.

I have missed blogging and reason being the lack of time. I have also missed reading a lot of your blogs, but I am doing the catching up. Bear with me all.

Airports are strange places..

Airports are strange places. So are railway station and bus stops. But for the sake of completion of this post, I will be limiting my observations to Airports.

Airports are like tossed salad. Of what you may ask, of EMOTIONS says Professor Iya.

Sitting in the lounge, and too tired to go shop in the duty free store, I had an amazingly interesting time noticing people

- A young girl and a young boy. The girl still has her Mehndi intact and so are her Churhas. She mustn’t have been married for more than a week. All excited. Boarding pass tightly clutched. The boy on the other hand looks so love struck. He is unable to take his hands and eyes off her. No points of guessing that this is one smitten newly married couple off to their honeymoon.

- Exactly next to them is this group of 3 men must be in their early 40’s, engaged in some very energetic discussion. They are dressed in formals. Each pause from the discussion is spent in stealing a glance to the blackberry’s.

- At a little distance is this old lady, sitting anxiously. From the look of it, I think she is traveling outside India for the first time. She has her hand bag clutched close to her chest. Has to be a mother who is going to meet her child settled far far away.

- Then there is this lady sitting right next to me, busy giving instructions on the phone. It’s to her husband is my guess. All mechanical, without a single iota of emotions. Mundane stuff. She is finishing her duty before she looses connectivity for some hours.

- There is this couple standing in one corner, in a heated argument. They are trying to keep their voices low but still it’s evident that they are fighting. To save them the embarrassment I quickly look away but not before seeing accusing look the lady is giving the man.

- There is this man, must be in his 30’s and an elderly couple with him. My guess, it’s his parents. He is going all out to make them comfortable. He gets them coffee. He is constantly talking to them, trying to explain stuff (so it feels from his gestures). On the other hand this couple looks cheerless. As if they are being forced to leave the place that they so love and go somewhere else.

Then there are some lone travelers like me. Either on the phone, or immersed in a book or tapping away on a laptop.

In a radius of a few meters I see love, romance, monotony, career aspirations, fear, regret, hatred and a lot more.
Each one is traveling for a different purpose. Some happy, some not so happy. That’s life. We start and end at the same point but go through something so unique in the midst. That’s what makes it special and that’s what makes it worth it.

Love comes to Darling Harbor

I have realized that I suck at writing travelogues. Have tried a number of times before but haven’t yet finished any. And if you don’t write a travel update as soon as you get back it looses its Zing. My draft folder shows me this reality.

Coming to what I wanted to share with you folks through this post is what I saw at Sydney’s Darling Harbor. Now Darling harbor as the name suggests is this nice place along one of Sydney’s water front, replete with Cafes, Restaurants and Bars. Throw in the museum and the theater and it’s a perfect place to spend the evening.

After a long day I was etching for good sea food and I landed there. While walking towards this particular Italian restaurant I saw this guy not more that 16-17 years of age, busy putting up a floor mat right on the landing of the steps that lead to water. There were also a couple of boxes next to him. Me being me, thought to myself “now who the hell will come and buy things from him at this late hour”. Thinking that and not any more I went ahead.

The meal was fantastic. Delicious and plush. The satiated me had to get back to the hotel and I took the exact same path to get to the taxi stand. And then what I saw moved me beyond words.

The same guy had now set up the place. The floor mat now had a comfy mattress on it. It was lined by beautiful candles all around it. There were flowers all over. There was a small table and on that stood a tall bottle of wine and 2 glasses. And there he sat with his girl, hand in hand, her head on his shoulder, staring into the water, oblivious to people like me standing awestruck behind them.

It was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen in Sydney. I stood there for a good minute before realizing that I was in fact being a spectator to someone’s very special moment. Thereafter I walked off with a very obvious smile on my face.

I have been missing

Part deliberately, part not so deliberately.

Deliberately - because I was at home, for a family function. And I still feel guilty if I spent time blogging when I could spend all that time with folks. So this time consciously I kept myself from visiting the blogosphere. Tell me, do you also feel conscious if you spend time on internet when family is around? Is it normal for me to feel this way?

Not so deliberately – was because as soon as I landed in good old Bangalore I fell sick. It started with the usual, cough and then cold and then fever. But it went to become very bad. It turned out to be an acute case of bacterial infection in the throat. I am much better now, thank you.

Wedding was a grand affair. All my clothes were appreciated to the hilt and I managed to look good on all days (I am just being modest; I was looking gorgeous on most days).

This post is to announce that more of me is back, what with all the awesome food and sweets, a couple of kgs have been shamelessly added.

Off To Punjab

We leave for Punjab tonight.
This is my first ever trip to Punjab during such extreme winters. Bangalore has a way of spoiling us. Be it summers or winters, all months here are just so wonderful.

We are off to attend Sis-in-laws wedding. A grand Punjabi wedding it will be. This time for sure I’ll do a post on Punjabi weddings once I get back.

This vacation was planned almost 6 months back. All necessary arrangements were done accordingly (read leave approvals), but owe it to the market conditions or my luck, my leaves have been chopped to half. This meant I either postponed my travel by a few days or travel on the set date but work from Aman’s home. We choose the second option.
These days not many of us go on a non working vacation, I mean we are reachable most of the time. But work from home means I’ll have to be in-front of my laptop continuously from morning to late evening. Which means I miss out on all the fun and the last minute wedding preparations which at this time will be at its helm. But I am not complaining. At least I have the evenings and nights with family there.

Aman has been transported into a different world all together. He is so full of stories of his childhood. The winter afternoons, the fruit baskets, the parathas, the pani puris, the kite flying. I think it’s a good idea to make him do a guest post on this.

I will not be very regular on the Blogosphere for a while now. You see I still feel guilty spending too much time reading and writing blogs when family is around. So will keep hopping here now and then.

Only a few more hours before we leave,and packing is still in shambles. Don’t want to repeat what happened at Bhaiya’s wedding.

So off I go. See ya all soon..

At the Changi Airport – Part II

Stranger and his attempts were not the only thing that happened at the Changi airport. There is more to it. I was traveling light, with just my laptop bag and a small suitcase. I happily took the boarding pass and went off without getting any luggage checked in. Cleared the emigration and went shopping at the duty free for the customary stuff.
I walked towards the boarding gate when there were some 45 minutes for my flight. As luck had it mine was the farthermost one.
At the security clearance the guard asked me to open my suitcase. This has never happened with me before and I did quick recall of what all I had stuffed in. There is a limit of carrying only 100 ml of liquid content and that is when it struck me that my suitcase contained my brand new perfume bottle. An Elizabeth Arden, 125 ml.

The security guard told me I had to dispose it off. No. How could I do that?? I had paid a fortune for it. No no no. I am a sucker for perfumes. Let alone a full bottle I don’t even throw empty ones. I couldn’t believe what was happening. And in a la Indian style I started pleading and getting all emotional. But that lady was made of steel. My innocent requests had no impact on her. She said I could either throw the perfume or miss my flight. I was completely heart broken and then I conceded. There didn’t seem any other option.

That’s when the guard picked my perfume and moved towards the bin in slow motion. She pushed the lid but it didn’t open, she tried again and it still didn’t open and then once again and it still didn’t open. That was it. That was the signal of the divine forces. Even God didn’t want my perfume to be wasted. Instantly I screamed asking her to stop. I realized that there were some 50 more people staring at me at this point of time.

I told her I wanted my perfume back. I was going to go back and get my luggage checked in. She gave an incredulous laugh and said that I couldn’t go out as I had already cleared the immigration. I insisted that I wanted to try. With a shrug of the shoulder she handed my perfume back to me. I stuffed it in my suitcase and ran towards the immigration. There was some 40 minutes before my flight’s departure and the immigration was at quite a distance.

At the immigration counter I had to come up with a heart wrenching story of how important this perfume bottle was for me. A story of how this was the last gift from my now non existent dead Aunt. Finally the immigration officer gave in to my requests and let me out. I ran to the ticket counter and got my baggage checked in.
But the ordeal was not yet over. There was quite a distance that I had to run to get back to my departure gate. There were some 20 minutes left. With all the energy I sprinted towards the gate. The same security guard was there and she almost fainted when she saw me without my baggage.

Ah, and did I mention that this perfume smells even better now??

There is more to what happen when I landed, but that’s another post.

At the Changi Airport

A rather strange incident happened with me on my way back to Bangalore from Singapore.
I was standing at the counter to get my boarding pass. Suddenly out of no where this tall well built guy comes to me and says “I have extra baggage and I see that you are traveling light, please take some of it on your name” and with that he placed a huge suitcase on the conveyor belt and immediately stepped back. No introduction, no identity proof, just a statement and there he goes. I called out to him asking what his suitcase had to which he gave some gibberish reply which I couldn’t decipher and with that he retreated a bit more.
I am not a suspicious person by nature but this person sure made me uncomfortable.
The entire act was mistrustful. And he wasn’t looking me in the eye either. There was no time to think so I quickly turned to the lady processing my ticket and asked her if I was allowed to help a passenger, knowing very well that I wasn’t.
This time both of us called out to this guy who was now standing a good 15 feet away and was giving me stealing glances. He finally came up and spoke to me in Hindi saying that I could tell the ticket lady that I was his friend. I refused point blank. I was sure I wasn’t getting into any such mess especially in a foreign country. At this point the ticket lady very sternly told him to remove his bag from the conveyor belt otherwise she will summon the security.
Having done that I took my boarding pass and walked away briskly.

I am not sure what happened to that guy. Was he able to convince some other passenger to help him? Or did he pay extra money for extra baggage or did he throw away stuff?

I don’t know what I did was right or not. Was I over skeptical and behaved like a paranoid? Should I have helped a fellow Indian in that foreign land? Maybe this was a harmless situation and I over reacted.

Maybe yes maybe no. This is what omnipresent violence and terrorism was done to our psyche. Being careful can save a lot of trouble but did I go a little overboard?

On the Highway

This weekend Aman and me packed our bags and drove down to Yelagiri. Just like that. Without a plan and without any resort reservations. We did some basic googling, downloaded the route map, picked up loads of food, music, some clothes, sunglasses and off we went.
2.5 hours of driving on a fantastic road brought us to the foot of the hills. And then the drive uphill through some 14 hair pin turns.

We needed this break and the enjoyment was enhanced since it was impromptu.

There isn’t much to see or do in Yelagiri. It’s a quite place. It has a trekking track, a lake, a few temples and some sunset points. That’s about it. And we didn’t do any of those.

We just drove around aimlessly through the narrow roads of the villages. We covered the length and the breath of the hilly town. We had chai at the small road side tapirs, we went for walks, we ran, we talked, we played, we sang. We had fun.

We slept till late and we had long leisurely breakfast and lunch and dinner.

We kept the camera aside, we didn’t open the laptop and we switched off our cell phones.

Excellent weekend.
Energized us
To the world - Bring it on!!!

July Update

It’s been a rather funny month. Rains in Orissa were very heavy on our pockets. We (Aman, me and parents – in – law) were to travel from Bangalore to Ranchi for Bhai’s wedding. All tickets were booked on the comparatively economical mode of travel - the TRAIN. But just a day prior to our departure, all trains to the eastern part of the country were cancelled. As a result we had to fly to Calcutta (as there is no direct connectivity) and then take the train to Ranchi. There goes all the planning to be sane and reasonable for a change. Return was also the same story. But this time more than rains it was Aman and his work. So we had to pre-pone our return by a day, again making the already light wallets some more lighter.

Wedding was a grand affair. All money shopping for it feels like a worth while expenditure. I actually like weddings. I like the state of happiness the entire family is in. I like the fact that my otherwise short tempered family is quite patient for a change. I like meeting all relatives and catching up on the lives of distant cousins. I like food and lastly I like dressing up. And bhaiya’s wedding in all possible manners did live upto these expectations.

One incident worth a mention is Aman and his "Suit". We reached Ranchi on the morning of 4th July. The engagement was scheduled for 5th July. Packing is almost always a last minute affair for us and in this last minute Aman conveniently forgot to pack "The Suit" he was planning to wear for the engagement. "The Suit" that he had got made more than a month back after a lot of trips to all possible malls and stores. In such scenarios the most viable and the only possible option looks like wearing something else. And in case you don’t have an extra dress then buy one. But unfortunately or rather stubbornly these options weren’t available for him.

The solution – he asked his brother who was in Bangalore but not in our home to break the lock, pick up "The Suit" and air cargo it the same day. All this did happen although with a whole lot of twists and turns mostly credited to the landlord who vehemently opposed the idea of breaking the lock. "The Suit" was sent through air cargo on the night of 4th to Delhi. After spending a night in Delhi the suit was sent to Ranchi on 5th. Some million phone calls followed to keep a track of "The Suit" and ensure it was boarding all the right flights. We picked it up from the airport at 7 pm and Aman was wearing it at 8pm.

Talk about being determined to make things happen

For Records, this is the Suit I am talking about !!! And for those who don’t recognize him already, he is the tall guy in the center.

Trip to Ranchi and Back....

I don’t believe I am back from Ranchi already. I mean just the other day I was frantically packing for this break. And it was like only yesterday that I took that flight to Calcutta and it was like just a moment ago that Aman and I sat at Flury’s for an elaborate breakfast to fill time before the connecting train.
Phew....

Home was such a delight. Mom has kept my room just the same as I had left it years ago, 5 years to be precise. All my soft toys and dolls still sit pretty on the shelves. She has even preserved all those little trinkets and accessories Neha and I picked up every now and then.

It was such a pleasure to be woken up by the familiar noises and the aromas that I have grown up with. Home is just the same.

But Ranchi looks like a whole new world. It is much more crowded than I can remember. Ranchi is loosing on the small town charm that we so proudly boasted about. There are more vehicles, more shopping complexes, more theaters, more restaurants and more of everything than ever before. So much so that even Big Bazaar hasn’t missed the opportunity.

But in-spite of all these “on your face” kinda changes I still feel the same about my home town. And taking Aman around was a joy of a different dimension. I get such a thrill in showing him places I frequented from my college to school to the ground I played in to the market I went to and the places I ate at.
Another highlight of the trip was the ever delectable delicacies my mom prepared. From breakfast to lunch to dinner each meal was better that the previous one. It was amazingly cute to watch her fuss over Aman.

This break has done wonders to our systems. Both of us are geared for some more grueling months ahead. Bring it on till we collapse once again to embark on another journey....

Jaipur as seen from my lenses....

I got a chance to visit Jaipur earlier this month to attend Prarthna’s wedding. It was a short trip of just 3 days. Rajasthan is one place I have been really enthusiastic about visiting for a long time and somehow the plan has never materialized.

A few clicks

Jaipur is all about color and that is very prominent in all that you find there. You will notice a vibrancy in everything be it clothes, accessories, décor, furnishings, buildings and even food for that matter.

Go Goa - 2

Another one from my Goa Trip.