Its fall!!!

From greens to yellow to red... Yes those long sunny days are gone and its Autumn. The little pleasures that “Fall” brings to the innocent heart is nothing but a simple delight... The beauty that cannot be expressed in words. Every single day, brings a new colorful leaf that speaks nothing but bliss. One rain and heavy winds, and the leaves come tumbling down and lay a colorful carpet beneath the trees, leaving them bare and light. Sometimes these precious leaves lay silently down, waiting for the snow and other times they rustle and hustle, encircling with the wind blowing from north to south.They dance and swirl at the tune of wind and then come bumbling down again.... Its the time of the year, when pumpkins are bright yellow and apples are red; nuts fall on the ground and melons are so juicy. No wonder Autumn is the best time of the year - to go apple picking or visiting a vineyard! While the entire season is wonderful and delightful, the only bad part is that it marks the beginning of winter. How I wish it would not lengthen the cold nights and shorten those sunny days. How I wish, the beautiful maple trees could see the evil halloween and the splendid thanksgiving!!!

Takes me back in time...

This post is a continuation of one of my previous post... Yes I didn’t expect that I will be continuing it but the turn of events lead to this post.. Last night I was speaking to my mum, and I narrated her my cab driver's missing child's incident. And she remembered this one incident that happened many years back...

Me and my sis were quite young around 10 years old may be.. And this one fine day - we were going out somewhere in Mumbai with my mum and grandpa in local train. It so happened that my grandpa got in the train in the males compartment, me n my sis got in the ladies compartment. Unfortunately my mum couldn’t make it before the train hit the tracks..Mum kept running along with the train, trying to get in.. The passengers on the platform didn’t let her try getting in as it was too risky to board a running train.

I and my sis panicked. We started crying and screaming in the train and my mum started crying and screaming on the platform.. as the distance between the train and mum increased, mum's face was fading away in distance, and fearful and horrible thoughts grew bigger in my little mind. My sis being elder, felt more responsible and was just trying to console me, but I had just freaked out so much that I started imagining life without mum and me n my sis struggling around to live a lost life in this big city - Mumbai.

We didn’t have any money, or phone or anything to contact anybody. We were so young that we wouldn’t have known, what train to take back home.

Before I could imagine anything more dreadful the train stopped at the next station and one lady got both of us off the train.. we were handed over to a hawaldar over there on the next station. We were in tears, the constable tried asking us something in Marathi... We didn’t know what he is speaking, we were scared of his big personality and mustaches. Suddenly I felt like I am in the world where I don’t know anybody anymore and don’t understand what people speak. I felt so lost, I kept holding my elder sis's hand tight so that I don’t get separated from her too - the only person I knew around me. We kept sitting on the bench with the hawaldar not knowing what else to do.

On the other hand mum had managed to inform the train authorities about this incident and so they stopped the train for longer than usual at this next station so that we could get off the train. Grandpa totally unaware about this incident, like other passengers started wondering what was going on and why the train was not starting. So he got off the train, like couple of other passengers and I saw him coming towards us. My eyes sparkled at the thought of reuniting with grandpa. But before he could come to us, train started moving again, and so all the passengers who had got off started getting in again. And so did the grandpa..

No we lost him again. This was not as expected. I started crying louder this time. I don’t really know, what my sis was thinking, but m sure she was totally freaked out too..The train left the platform and in no time, there was another train approaching the platform. As the train was approaching to halt, I remembered faintly that when me and my sis got separated from our mother, one lady in our compartment told my mum, 'Don’t worry, I will take your daughters n get off at the next station, you take next train n come to next station too... "

And the moment I remembered this - I realized that it was the same lady who took us to this hawaldar, and if mum would have heard her, she should be in this train approaching. My eyes kept looking for mum - and finally the train stops, and people started getting off the train. And I saw mum.. I screamed with joy and excitement, and tried running towards the train. But the constable held me tight and we just waited for mum to get off the train and come to us...I hugged mum so tight still terrified at the thought of separation.

May be it was just the matter of 15-20 minutes we were away from mum, but the whole world seemed upside down, nothing seemed to be falling in place, there was this heaviness in the heart, that was sinking me and my sis and my mum too somewhere...

What would have happened that day, if we were not reunited? I can’t even imagine, my mum still screams out loud when she remembers that day.
There were two other similar incidents, but somehow this one has left an impression in my mind, that could never leave my mind. Thank God, that everything fell in place and thank God, that my cabbie found his kid back!

Kaminey - Reviewed

I would say Kaminey is very well made Bollywood movie this year! Not only the movie is well made, but it has taken the Bollywood film industry to a different level. The movie is not one of those 'leave your brains at home' types of typical bollywood movie. It needs attention and patience to understand the various twists throughout the entire ride. Not sure if the audience is prepared for this kind of bollywood movies yet, but surely they would enjoy once they acquire a taste for it. The film can leave you confused if you are watching the movie with lots of other things going on in your mind.



The movie is about the twin brothers - Charlie and Guddu. Charlie who lisps, pronounces S as F, is a small gangster kinda guy. And Guddu who stammers, is a good citizen working for an NGO. Both the brothers hate each other and haven’t seen each other in years. The whole story is about how the brothers hatred for each other turn into love when their paths cross once again!



The movie starts slow, but slowly picks up and the later half is just simply amazing when one thing unveils to other. Vishal Bharadvaj has done incredible job with Shahid Kapoor by turning his image from chocolate boy hero to an emerged Actor! Shahid handles the two totally different characters very well throughout the movie. Priyanka is as usual at her best! She has got the perfect Marathi accent too!

Enjoyed a bollywood movie after ages. I would recommend you to go and watch the movie. "It if full Paifa Vaful Movie"!!!

Little feet biking around for 3 hours...

Imagine the feeling that you are not going to see your child's face ever again!! The worst thing that could ever happen to you if you are parents - is lose your child!!

Well most of the days, I take this cab to work and now I know the cab driver so well that we talk to each other all throughout my short journey from home to work. Today he told me that last evening he had the worst experience ever. God forbid anybody has to go through that. He lives in this quite neighborhood - where his 8 year old daughter goes for biking every evening. But last evening she took a wrong turn while biking and she could not figure out her way back home.

She knows she shouldn’t speak to strangers, so she wouldn’t stop for asking help. She keeps biking all around looking for her house. She does not know how to call 911 as she has no phone. Poor little child is terrified but keeps biking without giving up. Her little feet tired of peddling and at the same time her heart racing fast at the thought of not meeting her parents again.

On the other side, her mommy calls up the daddy informing about the missing child. My cab driver leaves the work and rushes straight off home. They call 911. There were 18 cops on the road looking for the missing child. The mommy and daddy are on the roads too in their respective cars and looking around crazily. The feeling of never seeing their child again, was killing them but they didn’t give up. With tears rolling down their faces, chanting the prayers all the time, feet on the brakes and hands on the steering - they went all around the neighborhood looking for their lost daughter.. 3 hours down and no sign of their child.

The little kid finally tired of peddling, decided to stop and ask for some water. She is afraid to go and knock a stranger's house, but she is so exhausted of biking for 3 hours that she couldn’t help but stopping by this old lady's house. She knocks with confidence, without any sign of fear on her face, boldly asks - 'Can I have some water please? I am tired of biking.' And the old lady felt it very unusual and said yes to the child, goes inside and calls 911 reporting the unusual incident. The cops asked her to keep the child with her and they turned around the wheels to fetch the child.

The girl would not stay at the old lady's place, she had water and was ready to head back. But the lady convinced her to stay back by saying that she had called her mommy and daddy. On hearing that mommy and daddy are coming to fetch her, her eyes sparkled with joy and she was so happy that she agreed to stay back. And then the cops turn up, and she started crying, 'I haven’t done anything wrong, don’t take me.' Poor little soul! Cops had a hard time convincing her that they are going to take her to her parents.

And alas - there was finally the reunion of the parents and the child! Thank Goodness, my cab driver found his daughter. He cried, hugged and kissed his daughter like he would have never before.

The Vibrant City!

Yes its been long since I have penned down any of my trips or experiences... Well I know all of you must be tired of reading news of economy slow down, swine flu and war.. Well I am tired too and its time for enjoying some of the nature in your sweatshirts, denims and trainers..So gear up guys - and be ready to explore the nature with me.

Here is a post for soothing your thoughts and to think of nothing but the beauty and feel blessed! Our latest trip was nowhere in States this time, it was to Vancouver, Canada.

Though it was a very short trip over a weekend, and was meant to be a family get together, we managed to escape in the wonders of this beautiful city..

Vancouver is the city surrounded by mountains on three sides and ocean on the fourth.. The skyline of this city is simply superb with a backdrop of snow covered mountains and blue waters... The Canada Place, is the most distinct structure that makes the skyline of Vancouver special.. The way this structure is built - is such that it gives you a feel of a big ship docked at the shore. Stanley Park is the biggest park over there which you cannot imagine walking all by yourself.. You either need to drive through the park or hop in- hop off the tour bus. The best place in this park is 'Prospect Point' where you can get a panoramic view of the ocean from a good altitude. Another stop over in the park was the English Bay where you could just relax your tired feet on the beach. Yes Beach Again!! :-)
The amazing rain forests of the city can be explored by visiting the suspension bridges. Granville Island is another must go place which is so lively and vibrant!


Nestled between the mountains and the ocean, the city has so many outdoor activities to offer for those who are adventure freak!! From fishing to hiking, camping to golfing, jet skiing to whale watching - name the activity and the city promises to offer you...This is probably the only city which can offer you skiing on the mountains in the morning and heading to beaches in the afternoon.. Yes amazing isnt it, but yes if you visit this place in june/july - you can do both winter and summer activities. :-) This unique thing and couple more makes it a city that has no parallel in the world.

Walk around the downtown, and you can simply praise the way its built with all the greenery around the walkways and the trees on either sides of the streets simply adorn the place. The small flower baskets hanging from the lampposts can promise a big smile on anybody passing by with a long face..

This town of 2.5 million has got an international flair to it. All kinds of great food - be it English, Italian, Asian.. And to mark our trip over, we had 'un bon dîner' at Sarvana Bhavan - the mini ghee idlis and the dosas were simply amazing!!

The quite lifestyle and the weather just makes it an awesome place to settle down, but ofcourse in ur late 40s...

Transformers: Revenge of the fallen - Reviewed

I guess - Transformers is not a film which needs a review.. No review for Michael Bay's movie - Transformers II will stop the fans to go and watch this movie. The Box Office hit the totals of $60.6 million on the opening night of the movie, which reached to $200 million on the opening weekend. Yes the movie this summer is the Box Office Behemoth!! No negative review could stop the viewers to hit the road and catch up the movie! So I am not going to waste my time in either criticizing the movie or praising the technology, sound effects, etc worked upon by Paramount Studios.

'The Proposal' Reviewed

Yes Sandra Bullock made a great come back in Romantic Comedy after quite some time... 'The Proposal' is about how two people lie to their boss, colleague, family and friends to avoid deportation and continue working in united states. They pretend to be in relationship, when they have no idea about each others life. Sandra Bullocks blackmails her personal assistant Ryan Reynolds to marry her, so that she can avoid being thrown out of US, get US citizenship and continue living her life as highly powered publishing executive in one of the leading firms in New York.

This romantic comedy - with a very predictable end, sure is a promise to make you think, you should aboard a plane to Alaska. Well unless you know that these picturesque mountains, beautiful lakes, and the lush green trees of Alaska are actually shot in a small town called Rockport in Massachusetts and not in Alaska!!

The movie has quite a few hilarious scenes and dialogues, but with no original plot or creativity. Its just for an easy laugh after a tiresome day at work.. Do not expect anything out of the blue, the whole plot is quite predictable and overall its a good time killer. Its always good to have a laugh with such appealing stars on the screen. So if you want to go and have some fun, head out to the theatre and go and watch this movie. You sure can imagine the end before even you get out of the parking lot to buy your movie tickets...

Sunshine City

One of the best vacations ever! America's southernmost vacation resort is one of the world's best sought tourist attraction. Yes, you guessed it right - Miami - Florida..
Miami has got something for all different kind of people from different place. Not only is it wonderful place to relax yourself from a stressful work life but at the same time a great place for the water sport aficionados and passionate sailors. There are many beaches on the entire coastline, each having various things to offer to tourists of all age : South Beach, Central Beach, North Beach, Key Biscane, Bal Harbor, Surfside, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderale and many more.I personally felt south beach was one of the best miami beaches. The deep blue waters and the golden sandy beaches can offer a great relaxing day under the sunshine.

It was an awesome trip to florida for 5 days.. Yeah my hubby swept me off my feet by taking me here for a surprise vacation... Our trip kicked off with Blue Man Show. It was a different kind of drama, musical and comedy I would say. The drum beats were too good to keep the audience from cheering. Two days in orlando were totally amazing with various roller coasters at universal.. Although these 2 days were pretty thrilling, they were indeed tiring and so we went off to south of florida - miami to relax a bit and get lil bit of sun.. These two days were simply adorable. The quiet waters, sandy beaches, the lighted city with soothing background music could draw any tourist back to this vacation spot without any doubts.

I love traveling and the more I travel, the urge to travel grows deeper and deeper... And yes my favorite vacations will always be by beach sides!! I can never get bored of beaches.. I guess I fell in love with beaches when I was at Surathkal doing my graduation. And ever since, beaches keep attracting me towards them...

'Hangover' on a monday evening!

We could not make it for Hangover over the weekend, and were just waiting for the eve so that we could catch up this movie. Its been 3 days since its released and we had not yet watched.. Still debating if we should go for a 7:15 pm show or 8:30 pm show.. And we threw our shoes and jacket on at 7:10, and headed to amc. Phew!! Tickets SOLD OUT for 7:15.. We had to go for 8:30 one... We had 45 minutes to pass, and the only thing we could think of was CPK.. (My next post is going to say about our 4 CPK trips in a span of 10 days!)

Finally the wait was over, and we got in the theatre quite early to make sure we get good seats. Started watching the trailors to decide whats next after Hangover...

The movie is simply Hilarious!! Must watch.. Its about 4 friends who end up in a total mayhem just before a wedding is going to take place. Groom's last night before wedding in Vegas, was meant to be a fun bachelor party, and it turns into a total unexplainable wild night where nobody could remember what happened, and they get up with a baby in their suite's closet and a tiger in the bathroom :-) Totally unexpected events take place throughout the night and they wake up the next day only to realize the groom-to-be is missing! One of the guy wakes up the next day to realize he is married to a stripper and that he is missing a tooth!! Todd Philips the director of the movie has well depicted the humor along with shocking discoveries and how the trio regains self confidence slowly and put in efforts to backtrace their steps to find their lost friend!

The movie has characters who are admirable and funny and the series of event do get explained in the end! The story line was amazing and well made with each unique character!!

If you have not yet watched the movie - please go and watch the movie and I promise you ll have a non stop laughing session for 100 minutes!

This Summer - Movie Season

Even though both of us have loads of important things to do everyday, we somehow find time to go and catch up a newly released movie. Its been just a fortnight since I am back from my India trip, and ever since then every other day you will find us in amc theatres with a large bucket of popcorn and pepsi. There is something about the movies this summer, that we are unable to resist and we have to watch almost every single movie released whether the review is good or bad :D
I know this is an addiction, but may be its for sometime and as the season changes, I am sure the movie fever will fade down as well..
The crave for the movie is growing more and more with every passing day - and now its like we cannot wait for the new one to get released but we have to .. no choice...
To name a few, we watched Angels and Demons, Star Trek, Night @ the museum, Terminator Salvation, UP.
The next few ones in line are Hangover, My Life in Ruins..
Does not end here.. Already waiting for 'The Proposal, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Ice Age, etc' to get released.

A rainy day!

Its been raining since I have got up. Does not look like its going to stop. A gloomy weekend i guess with no sunshine.
It reminds me of the beginning of a recent movie I watched. Yes you got it right - UP!
There is a cloud, that fails at each task it is trying to do. Tries hard, and just cannot be one like other clouds - who are really good at their work! Finally the cloud gives up, it is sad, angry, depressed and starts crying - yeah and it starts RAINING!

There is not much I like to do on a rainy day. We had plans to go and watch the new movie released yesterday - Hangover - but as I said I dont do much when it rains. So here I am sitting next to my window with my mac.

Everytime it rains,
I feel like going back to old days.
Everytime it rains,
I feel like sitting by the window pane,
Everytime it rains,
Clouds cover the sky for certain,
Everytime it rains,
I wish he holds me tight again,
Everytime it rains,
Are the angels crying again?
And everytime after it rains,
There is a bright sunshine again.

"UP!"

This would be my first post ever on a movie review.

Yet another film from PIXAR. All of us have a child in us that enjoys the pixar films. Though people enjoy pixar films a lot, say it - finding nemo, incredibles or wall-e, I guess "UP" was great when it comes to the script, story line, animation in itself but didnt hit it off like the previous ones. This movie was a bit of let down, may be I expected more from the film than it had to offer.
Up had many emotions to offer: happiness, sadness, love, loneliness, fun, adventure, still it did lack something to keep the viewer going. There was lack of action and there was no race for anything. It was a slow and steady wins the race types of movie. Though it started with a very funny note, it struggled to keep on the funny dialogues through out the movie. Up is a story about old man who lives his wife's dream after she is gone!! Life is all about adventure, is the message throughout the movie. However, the adventure somehow didnt turn out to be as exciting as it could have been.

These are my personal thoughts, some people might have loved the movie. Ofcourse the theatre was full and surely audience had expected a lot from the disney pictures. I would not say not worth watching the movie, but remember if you head out to movie theatre to soak up in this emotional tale - its not one of the best pixar films! Expect less and may be you will like it!

5 weeks or 5 days???

After a lousy mundane life for about 4-5 months in state i was so very much looking forward to this trip to India. Though i hate attending weddings, the purpose of this trip was attending two weddings of my really close n dear ones. 12 days in mumbai passed by like a hectic weekend doing all the wedding preps n chores. Then flew across 900 miles to north - Delhi. Like the humidity n heat of Mumbai was not enough, went to experience the scorching heat in north. My Bharat Darshan was not limited to north india - had to fly down 1300 miles to south - Bangalore from Delhi. Hardly did i know then, that i will be traveling while suffering from food poisoning.
Reached Bangalore to my disbelief in a better state than what i had expected. It was a great reunion with my mates from university. Ahh the weather was a such a relief as compared to Mumbai and Delhi... It was nice n pleasant out here.. A week in Bangalore dragged on lil longer than i would have imagined. Travelled across 350 kms to Mangalore from here by train. Though I have spend 4 lovely years of my life in this town and should not be new to the weather, it was nearly impossible to take the humidity and heat of Manglaore once again. Had two awesome days here at friends wedding... After which flew back some 600-700 miles back to Mumbai.
Just a week more in India and I was suppose to fly back to states. For the first time felt like extending the holidays lil longer than planned. No but did not change the plans and tried to wind up the chores that I was suppose to before leaving from India.

These 5 weeks were like 5 days to me.

I know for all the Indians residing abroad, India trip is always hectic n no matter how well you plan, u end up having less time catching up with family n friends. Wish could have another holiday to India which is much more relaxed and peaceful and get to spend all the time with my mom.

life of a sea man...

Still in teens.. barely finished schooling.. out on the roads to explore the world... all on his own.. no support of any elderly.. ready to face the world to take care of a younger bro.. got married so early in life.. but was not lucky to spend all the time with his lovely wife.. he is on the sea for like 6-9 months.. n then gets break for couple of months to be with family.. cant imagine that kind of life.. all he does is reads maps, draws lines, directs the ship - yeah u got it right , he is the navigator for the ship.. He is the Sea Man.. he takes all these huge cargo ships to different ports... there are times when they dont get to see land like for almost 45 days... does he not get sick of water after so long... no mobiles to call loved ones.. only satellite phones to call back home.. no source of entertainment... they have no idea about lives on land.. they get to catch up with it once they are back home from work after months.. never get to see a movie when it is released.. can catch up after few months.. only thing they have to care about is water, sea creatures, wind, climate, etc.. what a life!!

Met a sea man on my way from schipol airport to chattrapti shivaji airport...

4 hours @ schiphol airport..

after a long tiring flight from twin cities to amsterdam, i was so very looking forward to this halt before catching another flight to mumbai.... yeah u might think i m crazy... who likes to be on airport waiting for the next flight... yeah but i was looking forward to this.. so that i can catch up on some writing... some time to myself n some time to think about things i dont generally think of.. well now u must be wondering - even though i m out of job right now.. at home full time...why do i not get enough time to myself??? well i do.. but have gotten into this crazy routine of just lazying around on the couch.. watching tele all the time....

i got off the flight, checked my gate for the next flight... checked my checked in status... freshened up.. checked out the duty free shops... n came to this waiting area.. looked around.. lots of indians waiting along with me... a kid roaming in his socks... an old couple tired n impatient to catch their flight home.. an irritating chap voice chatting on his lappie.. a young gal trying to read something... a firang nibbling on some cookies... a businessman eager to catch a flight for his meeting may be... n me by myself.. i finally opened my macbook... tried making some nice calendar on iphoto.. not very good at it :-) so the next few hrs in writing down something.. :-)

met this indian doc doing his theisis in Chicago.. he was from kerala.. very enthusiastic, energetic n cheerful guy.. we spoke bout diff medical systems... in different countries.. the two sides of the system... life is so different for docs... they see the world totally in a different way.. well everyone sees in their own way...

time for security check in for the next flight.. amsterdam to mumbai...

minneapolis to amsterdam...

all bags packed.. ready to fly.. kissed my hubby goodbye... n there i go....
my first flight was from msp to ams.. i met this old gentleman on the flight.. president of a small company in denmark... learnt a lot about denmark from him.. had a nice conversation with him.. we spoke about marriage, children, divorce, religion, work, politics, recession,medical system, alcohol, meat, cooking, etc. almost everything under the sky... well quite a clumsy guy.. kept spilling wine, pepsi all around the place... he was struggling to solve a sudoku.. n i was like y the hell he is taking so long.. man he had an Extreme sudoku book .. no wonder he was thinking so hard... i started peeping in ... n thought m sure i cud crack it.. but man it was really extreme... finally asked him he wud like some help... n yeah he let me... n we both solved the puzzle in the matter of no time together.... it was fun.. he helped me with my luggage n we got off.. both separate ways.. i had lots of time to kill... lets go explore the airport...

wat a terrific week...

This post was due from over a week now...

It was a Sunday morning and we had an early flight to catch to new york... i so very much hate early morning flights..

U barely done with your sleep and have to get out of the covers and rush to airport.. go through the entire check-in and security process... u are still half asleep n have to take off shoes n laptop n liquids... oh god need some more sleep...n then finally u get into the airplane n now keep waiting for it to take off so that u can try to catch up some sleep... still on the runaway... c'mon man take off...ahh finally the aircraft starts moving... its still on the runway n the person next to you dozes off.. now thats what u wud have wished for urself.... n still waiting for the green signal to take off... yeah finally all clear and its on the run... thank god, now lets see the city under.. its still sleeping.. got the blanket n pillow in the right position, now lets get some sleep...

I had just fallen asleep when der is announcement of landing... cudnt they like not announce.. let it land n then tell people... let them sleep till then.... well we had to get off at detroit n take another flight... now we waiting for another flight.. got something to eat before we boarded...Finally in the flight... all excited to meet ma friends after a long time...

We reached, picked up the rental car and drove to our hotel... it was on the water front n we got an amazing view of NY skyline from our room...it was awesome... we freshened up, had lunch n met friends in the evening... i was meeting them after ages n it was still the same... we went go carting n bowling followed by delicious north indian dinner... came back to hotel n crashed...

monday i went over to my frnds place... we went shopping followed by lovely mexican dinner at on the border... loved the food.... tuesday we went to manhattan... loved the city... felt so lively n busy.. walked around the whole day.. had a south indian lunch.. got great moments clicked on the red stairs n headed to macys for some more shopping... n then we went for thai food to topaz... man this place has got so many choices for eat outs! wednesday was a quite one... hanged around at frnds place.. had our long talks all day followed by dinner at their place.. we had to take rest on thursday...all of us were tired... friday we had chinese at nanking opposite to our hotel and then we headed off to manhattan. We got on the top of the empire state building to enjoy the panorama.. it was chilly out there on the top... we got some pics clicked n headed down.. grabbed some coffee at starbucks n then went to sarvana bhavan to enjoy the mini ghee idlis n dosas...

after dinner we walked around the wall street n new york stock exchange ... n then the path to the hotel... our frnds came over n we played cards all night... we had to catch a flight on saturday morning so we decided to be up all night.. learnt a new game - kali ki tiri... awesome fun... n then we packed n went to ihop... grabbed some breakfast n rushed to airport...thankfully this time it was a direct flight so cud get some sleep before getting off...

man it was one hell of a week... and hell of a food in NY : from chinese to thai, from north indian to south indian, from mexican to american...

finally back home... we were so tired.. slept all saturday like zombies...

bad news day...

I got out of the covers quite late in the morning and was not feeling great to make myself a nice cup of tea and toast. So got myself a bowl of cereals and logged into my lappie. Found a friend online and was happy to see her online only till i knew she had a bad day. Here she was just out of the job and I did not know how to comfort her. In these times of recession, it gets really difficult to pull yourself together. Hardly comforted her and it was time for her to get under the covers.

Was still thinking about her, when I met online, this another friend of mine in another part of the world. And there she comes with another shocking story - she was hit by a tram!!!! Man what the hell was she doing. Thank god she did not get hurt.. Just missed the major accident. She is fine now. This is like a nightmare almost coming true. Had a strange nightmare few days back where a friend of mine got hit by a train. Well the friend was different and it was a tram and not a train. Well had a long chat and I was finally convinced she is ok. And then she left me in thoughts as it was dinner time for her.

There comes another friend online. Well he is happy with his job and health but not happy with his personal life. Never have seen him up at 3 in morning, when he has to be at work by 8. What is happening to everybody.

Its just little past noon and came to know three of my very close friends are hurt in one way or the other.. i hope i dont have any more bad news pouring in today from somewhere else in the world.
Well should stop worrying now and have my burrito bowl.

Hopefully tomorrow should be a better day.

a meal by the window...

Last friday I was in Chicago when I had to grab a quick meal with my hubby. It was a quick one because he was getting late to work. We got sandwiches and some water and picked a table by the window. It was just 5 minutes after we sat down there, he finished his sandwich and was off to his work. I chose to enjoy my sandwich slowly as I had a whole day to go before he gets free...

After he left I started observing people around me. There was this old couple sitting quietly and having their food. The emotions in their eyes were so deep and fresh like it would have been 30 years back when they might have met for the first time.

On the other side was an old couple. They had brought their grandchildren out for lunch. There were 3 girls and 1 boy. The eldest girl out of the lot seemed little quiet and responsible. She was taking care of her younger siblings. The boy was in a way quiet but naughty... He did not want to eat his lunch and was just fooling around. The youngest girl was just jumping around all the time and her elder sis was taking care of her, running behind her. The grandma tried getting the boy eat something but he did not. After a while they were done and they left the place.

Then an old woman who was sitting somewhere else came to these tables. She cleaned up the mess on the table using a tissue. She started bringing the coats of her and her gang to these tables. May be she wanted these tables because they were in the corner and she wanted to enjoy the sunshine peeping through the glass.

It was quite sometime and her gang did not turn up or may be they were taking time in picking up their food. It was getting late and I was sitting there for quite sometime now, so I decided to leave and stroll around the mall.
It was a lovely feeling to just walk around in the mall. I did not intend to shop but it was great seeing people around. I wish back at home the weather becomes better soon so that I can just go on my own for a walk may be to a mall or to a lake and just sip a coffee all day long dreaming about everything under the sky.

grass is greener on the other side..

why is it that we are never happy with what we have?
why is it that we always envy what others have?
why is it that we like the house on the other side of the street?
why is it that we like the car parked in the adjacent parking slot?
why can we not find peace within ourselves?

why is it that we strive for something so hard
and when we get that we realize we were better off before.
all these years away from each other,
two soul-mates used to die to meet each other.
even for a day or two.
It used to bring immense happiness..
And now when they are together
after giving up the lives they used to love but think they don't.

why is there no peace?
what is it that brings contempt?
why is it that we want to drive a car that we don't own?
why is the struggle never ending?

such an irony i want to be on the other side,
and there is this friend of mine who is trying to come over to the side i am on.

1000 miles drive...

Unlike saying goodbye every time he has to go for work
this time i joined him on his business trip..
It was a long drive from the twin city to the windy city...
3 days in Chicago, passed by like fleet of birds in the sky..
It was an awesome time to catch up with friends and their beloved,
cherish the old school days and the time we spent together..
Just 3 ordinary days, but will be cherished forever...

miles to walk....

I know what I have gone through
to reach where i always wanted to.
Then it was hurting me
but now it is a history.
Then it was my own choice simple and plain
now why should I find a reason to complain.

Started walking on this path
happy and excited.
Now which is leading to wrath
fury and madness.

May be it is just the phase
just a moment on the stage.
Before reaching the final goal
I am going to take the control.

I know it is sad
to lose hope.
But I promise to stand
and to cope.

I know there are miles to walk
before sitting by the loch.
I will go for the stroll
to embrace my goal
May be not so tensed
and with some confidence.

'mahalo'

Hawaiians taught us a new way of expressing gratitude - yes and that is 'mahalo' (literally means 'Thank you') . This small wonderful island is a beauty that cannot be expressed in words. Whether it be the sea-life or the house of sun or the beach or even their very own traditional Hula dance...

Hawaiians believe that Hula dance was first performed by God or Goddesses which makes it a sacred ritual. The dance can be the expressions of inner thoughts and emotions, or the story of the lifetime, or the tales of Gods and Goddesses. It is performed with the spirit of Aloha and with all due respect, compassion and love. Some say that Hula came even before the written language of Hawaiians. It came from the hearts and souls of these islanders...

This sacred ritaul is performed on almost all occasions such as Graduation, Wedding, Parties, etc.. I would say Hula Dance as a expression of Mahalo in the true Aloha spirits.

a walk to the moon...

After a tiring drive on the road to Hana previous day, we still had all the enthusiasm to go for a drive to this dormant crater.. we checked out from the resort and dumped our bags on the backseat and headed off to this crater.. it was like a road starting from the sea level and twisting as high up as 10000 feet in the clouds... we started off at a temp of 25 degree celsius at sea level for this 20 miles drive to Haleakela National Park.

Hale-a-ka-la literally means "House of the Sun". This is the highest peak on Maui and the most beautiful spot to enjoy the spectacular sunrise and the sunset. Although we did not make it for the sunrise, I can imagine that sunrise on Haleakala must be breathtaking. First the pitch black sky when the entire maui will be under its blankets. And slowly the rays of light spreading across in the sky.. the colors of these rays slowly penetrating the darkness and clearing the sky from this darkness could be unbelievable.. And then the dark ocean beneath sparkles up when the sun rays kiss the waters...

The road is quite rough n tough.. And the drive is quite adventurous up this crater.. First you see the clouds high up.. and slowly as you go up the elevation, you see that you driving among the clouds.. now this was really amazing driving through the clouds.. and then in no time you are above these white clouds.. it feels like you are in the airplane.. never thought we could get such view without being in airplane.. as we climbed higher up the elevation, clouds went lower n lower and we could see the sun on one side and the moon on the other side.. the lava rocks and the crater formation makes one feel you are climbing up the moon :-)

for the first time in my life i understood what do you mean by a breathtaking experience...

'aloha'

There are some who like to skate along the surface, crossing over the boundary at times into unchartered territory yet there is a part of them curious and attracted to the mystery that depth would bring. While there are others who can not restrict themselves to the border and go deep down the depths to explore the beauty of life. Does not matter - which category one is in - its the beauty that one must be able to enjoy whether from the surface or from the depths. It felt like the butterfly in me unfurled, as I splashed the warm tropical water to find what was beyond those crystal clear sapphire waters.

As lovely as the Maui (Hawaiian) islands are above the water, beneath the waves I found a treasure filled with mysterious sunken ships, long-forgotten wrecks, colorful coral and exotic sea creatures.The mystique of an ancient underwater volcanic caldera - Molokini is still in my eyes. Molokini is one of the three volcanic calderas in the entire world. I went snorkeling at this crater. A couple of hundreds of fishes call this crater their home. The crystal clear sapphire colored water offered us an amazingly unlimited visibility to this beautiful underwater life.

Another incredible tropical water oasis where I went snorkeling was Turtle Town. The coral reef and underwater lava formations, animated by numerous colorful fishes, starfishes, and other aquatic delights was breath taking beauty. The most gentle residents of these waters were the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles who were intrigued by our presence, and they swam near us to get a closer look of ours :-)

After this adventurous snorkeling, I set my foot forth to whale watching. These pacific warm waters are home to tons of whales from november to march. They come here for breeding and give an amazing view to the spectators on the ship... While I was enjoying the mai tai on the ship watching sun go deep under the blue waters - this herd of hump back whales kept roaring in the background... sometimes they even sing and one can hear their singing while being underwater.

Amazing sea life experience .. Aloha (Greetings) thats what they say in Hawaiian language...

beyond the horizon..

what a respite from that cold chilly weather!! 10 hrs in the sky and we were transferred from the snow land to the wonderland... full of greens, sunshine and deep blue waters... now thats something i would call beyond the horizon... there were no limits to the awesome fun that we had on this small island 'maui'...

after the tiring flight we got some sleep in the executive suite of this resort. and we get up to see a stunning view from our balcony on the topmost floor.. it was like a dream come true.. could hardly believe we were up from the bed n enjoying the blue waters and the crystal like sand from our very own balcony... now that was such a relief from getting up to see the snow in the balcony and frozen lake view...

we had our breakfast and were there on the sunny beach in no time... that long walk on the beach, holding hands, in the silence of the sea currents, we had our best conversation ever... the unspoken one..... we walked away from the beach without saying a word to each other yet had the most beautiful conversation ever....
sea side drive on maui is amazing... the entire island has only one highway which circles around the island giving a spectacular view of the sea on one side and the mountains standing high on the other side....

we were awaiting the next day to enjoy the wonderful pools in the resort and then have some fun in the pacific ocean...