New Mommy In Town

Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a beautiful part of life. And now that I no longer have a big tummy obstructing my view of ground beneath my feet, I am sure to miss a few things about it(and there are other things I can always live without and do not want to make a note of!). Let me try and make a list. These days I live by lists and checklists and looks like this habit is here to stay.

• the joy that a simple snack brings to your life 
• long drives in search of samosas and pani puris
• making the best out of all-you-can-eat-buffets
• the smiles people throw at you
• the joy of jumping queues without a single glare
• special care in public transit systems(and ofcourse at home)
• hubby's cooking 
• frequent dine-outs
• laziness, at its best(or do I say worst? ;)

Labour & Delivery
But then life is not a bed of roses. It will take you ultimately to this beautiful looking section of the hospital.This section is aptly named. This is no picnic place however well they look after you. It's true labour which happens here, and working on the fields is better any day. There were moments when I thought it was the end, not of the delivery process but you know, 'The End', like when they put me on oxygen when my blood pressure went low. And boy, didn't I work hard!!! And that too having nothing but just pieces of ice for a little more than a day.

Mommyyy
Anyways, after pushing, crying, screaming, silenced, shouting at hubby, pleading looks at the nurse and praying like never before - all in 25 hours, I could hear a loud squeaking(which is called crying) and I became a full-fledged mom - to a sweet little handsome guy. I call it 'full fledged' because until then there was no diaper changing or consoling a crying baby. Just carrying around(take my word for it, its much easier that way however bad you puke!). Looking after him is no small thing and it took me a couple of days(and nights, oh yes, nights) to accept the fact that such a small one can cause sooo much work(and noise, I should say noise).
Days of trial and error methods followed, and despite all the advises you get, you will learn to accept the fact that advises rarely hold. You will find a method that works for you and your baby and that's what you stick to. And oh yes, let me not forget the fact that the same method might or might not work again. That was an element of surprise for me. But then, I am being surprised by our little miracle every now and then that surprise is no surprise anymore :)
Dirty diapers, sweet smiles, loud 'hawa ka jhonka', small hugs, pursed lips, loud cries, cute to watch stretches and sooo many other magical(and not so magical) moments. I now know that every single gesture which comes from your baby is special. And after overcoming the initial fear and pain, the mom in me is now wide awake even when I am deep asleep. Yes, look out world. New mommy is in town.

A trip to 'The District' - Capital of the U.S.

'To go or to not go' - that was the question which haunted us in the most important of cold December weekends. Yes, the one right before Christmas. And you can guess what the decision was. Off we went on a fine Saturday morning to Washington D.C, the capital of United States, often referred to as "The District".

We reached the city in the pm and decided to start off with what else?, the White House. After walking along what seemed like a looot of miles and trying to guess which of the white buildings might be White House, we got to our destination at last. White House beamed at us amidst all Secret Service cars parked in the area. Ofcourse, we had not booked a tour months in advance, so had to be happy with seeing it from across a fence. The whole area is full of Government buildings like The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Department of Commerce, American Red Cross and the Department of the Treasury, to name a few.  Each of these buildings look magnificent. And my personal opinion is that some of them actually look better than White House, more white even ;)

One of the benefits of braving the weather at this time of the year was that we got to see the National Christmas Tree placed near the White House. The tree was all decked up and was indeed a pretty sight. There are smaller trees each representing U.S states all around the national tree, and altogether it makes a very bright Christmas Scene.

We set off the next day to Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space museum. To be completely honest,I should say that this was the very first time that I actually fell in love with a museum. Museums to me have always been places with a lot of things that might accumulate dust but never much interest. Boy, wasn't that about to change. This one was a refreshing change. It was amazing with a hanger inside displaying all sorts of planes, helicopters, space shuttles, missiles, transmission equipment and what not! We got to see the space shuttle Discovery(and mind you, this was the real one which went into space, not a model), Enola Gay - the aircraft to bomb Hiroshima in Japan(the atomic bomb - Little Boy), Nemesis - the racing champion and a lot others including the ones used in World War 2. And flights were not all. There were missiles, maneuvering equipment, a model of Pathfinder(yes, the one which went to Mars and we read about in newspapers) and even an air traffic control room where you could listen to real transmissions from Reagan airport. Trust me, a trip to D.C will not be complete unless you dedicate a fair amount of time to this awesome place.

We drove by Washington Memorial(entrances closed after a recent earthquake) and off we went to the U.S. capitol, which until then I would have recognized(wrongly) as White House. The dome looked inviting and as we walked around it, realized that it was indeed an architectural marvel. It was picture time what with tripod setup and everything there. Infact, most of these places were not much crowded, one for Christmas and one for near-freezing temperatures. By then, it was getting dark and we drove around the city for another closeup look at the White House. Ofcourse, we couldn't find any parking spots and had to be happy with driving all around the city(same can't be said for Renjith who was driving then, driving in D.C., the city, can be a real pain!). And before we knew, it was time to come back.

This was another trip where we had fun going to places together and talking and making fun and eating and seeing wonderful monuments. We might not have "covered" a lot of places, but it was definitely worth every minute. It was all about being in good company to enjoy good things. And all we wanted to do was make it last forever. Hoping for many more such trips. Me signing off ;)

New Hampshire in the Fall

We have been planning this trip to New Hampshire forever, but something or the other comes up and this plan gets dropped. But not the last weekend. On Thursday, we booked a hotel(one of the very few available) and set out on Friday evening for a 'colorful' weekend.

On the first day, we started our journey with a trip to Franconia Notch State Park. There are multiple attractions there, but the best of the whole lot were the roads. Nature presented a plethora of colors on both side and each side-road would take one to simply beautiful woods each of which looked like an award winning painting(not modern art, thou!).

We decided to check out The Flume Gorge as 'Gorge' was a word only familiar to us from Geography textbooks until then. It was a 2 mile hike each way along wooden steps/paths by the side of the waterfall and all the way up. It was like backtracing a waterfall in a blackbox manner ;) The view from the Sentinel Pinewood Covered bridge and other scenic views made the trail an even more memorable one.

Then off we went the route most traveled, Kancamagus Highway, and realized the reason for it. The place was at its fall peak and was amazing! Waterfalls, scenic overlooks, short hiking trails, path to the woods, bridges, you name it and you can find it here. A drive well worth the time we had to spend to get into this route from the interstate(that part is generally congested at this time of the year). The route took us eventually to Attitash, where we could choose from scenic chair rides and Alpine slides. And finally, we reached Conway where again there was a road trail that we followed but only until it started raining, that is. Moreover, days are indeed getting quite short. When it drizzles, the place looks even better with the water drops falling on multi-colored leaves, but when the rain picks up, that's the cue to get back home (well, it was for us!)

Sunday was indeed an on-road-day. We started off driving along Twin Mountains, White Mountains and Mt Washington Valley. The route has colorfully-clad tress on both sides welcoming you and beckoning you to just aimlessly drive even more, and that's exactly what we did.  And yeah, we even saw a moose on the road. Had been wondering what a moose was from the time I saw the many warning signals posted about it. I still do not know what it is, but know what it looks like :)




The road finally led us to Mount Washington Auto Road which in turn led us to the summit of Mt Washington. The drive along pretty steep and narrow road without any rails by the side took some daring from the part of hubby, especially towards the summit where it was all fog and frost. A chill went down my spike when I saw ice flakes around and thoughts about impending winter was, to be honest, a little scary! As we drove down, and stopped for another scenic overview, realized that it was time to get back to NJ. Oh yeah, I felt sad!!!

More than what we saw,  remains unseen and as we bid goodbye to New Hampshire, realized that this is a place we wouldn't mind coming, how-many-ever-more times! Live free or Die, says this state!!!

It was not all about them...

The girl turned around
Not in fury but in tears
'Am not asking for more
 But please hold me close,
 I know your love
 n I need to feel it now;
 It is not all for me...'

Her man looked away
His eyes blazing red
'How in the world
 Did things get so worse
 I love her so,
 And I need to tell her so;
 It is not all for me...'

It took just a second
To sweep away the pain,
With the smile that crept in
And played on their lips,
They held each other close
And it was not all about them...

An American Vishu

Vishu is around the corner and am about to get into a panic driven state. I am one who truly believes that the better the Vishukani, the better the year ahead. And this year, I have no clue about what is in store for me! And the fact that we are in the States does not help either.

I decided to start with a picture/statue of Lord Krishna. And on a rainy(and cold) Sunday evening dragged hubby darling through a bath and set off to ISKCON. It was nothing like what I had imagined(do you remember those rows and rows of shops in ISKCON Bangalore?) except for the kavi-clad 'sayips' and 'madammas'! I was really happy that we had a plan B in place and started off to Bridgewater temple. There, I could see a small store near the entrance and a super-duper-happy me rushed through the Darshan and dashed to the store(without even waiting for the Prasadam, which is otherwise a highlight!). But only to see a 'closed' board hung over it! I was kind of sure then that I will have to make do with the small pic I had carried with me. But hubby had a better plan. During our drive to Philly, he stopped at the temple again and this time we went straight to the store and it was indeed open, much to our delight.
And 'Krishna - Check' says our list :)

The next on the list was even more tricky - yellow flowers. After trying out a couple of stores, and after making 'completely' sure that hubby doesn't plan to stop the car by an interstate where I saw some yellow shrubs looking very much like 'kani-konna', I decided to invest in a disaster recovery plan immediately. Read, an artificial yellow bunch. After that came the real search for yellow flower bonquets. Afterall, nothing can beat the fragrance of fresh flowers, and nothing can beat determination too(talk about oil prices and we may have to rethink about this statement!). We found a dozen yellow roses :)
Flowers-Check

Incense stick(Agarbathi) time! This one wasn't all that difficult. Though selecting between cinnamon/vanilla/chocolate/strawberry flavored incense sticks was a new experience. Should say that I enjoyed it though :) Check.

And now for yellow fruits and veggies. A trip to Indian grocery store covered the whole part, and I even bought a couple of apples and a box of strawberries to liven up the occasion. The sad part was that while in the checkout line, I saw this big piece of jackfruit with this old uncle who was directly in front of me. I couldnt stop myself from asking where he found it. As I rushed to the stand he pointed, got to know that they had run out of it. A sulking me came back to the line and stole another look at the jackfruit this uncle had, wondering how close I had been to having a jackfruit for my kani. What I do not understand is why he immediately took it out of the basket and carried it like I might steal it and run away, or could I have???
Anyways-check.

And then it was time to arrange my precious finds, hoping that the fire alarm will not go off at 3 in the morning for all the incense sticks and the lamp. And lo, we got ready to open our eyes to a new year... One of happiness, prosperity and togetherness...

Wish you all a very happy Vishu...

From the campus... SMS

We were a part of the crazy SMS maniac campus generation. Thanks to service providers like Airtel and Aircel, ours was controlled frenzy. The maximum number of free SMSes per day was limited to 100 for student pack. And for those who think that 100 is a good figure, trust me, it wasn't.  To survive a long day of boring lectures and that too with the numerous gossips floating around, it was actually too less. I remember the day when I woke up to my best friend/roomie promising me my ever fav Diary Milk. I realized that something was up since she is not this sweet, usually. And the reason became quite obvious in a few minutes - my free SMSes for the day were done for, and the day had not even begun! Moreover she didn't look like she had lost her sleep!! Those are the figures we are talking about. Hope you get a picture now.

SMSes helped classmates let the late comers know what was in store for them, or if the lectures had been shuffled (so that you can plan and avoid a particular subject for which you already have enough attendance). For cross-department friends, it was absolutely necessary to synchronize their bunking. And while in auditorium, who doesn't like a well coordinated booing? And most of all, it made one feel like a hero(ine) for mobiles were banned in the campus. There was a friend of mine who had made a storage closet for a mobile on her notebook. She had carefully cut a neat dwelling fitting her phone in one notbook, and one befitting the charger in another. Such were the ingenious methods devised to smuggle the phone in and out of the college hostel and to charge them inside empty classrooms.

Not to mention the numerous funny, crazy, and chalu forwards, silent sorries, fights and as my friends recently reminded me, pranks! One of us once received a forwarded message. What made it special was that it was sent by a spirit(or so it claimed!). All we had to do was to give a missed call to a number at night, and the ghost will call you back at midnight. And well, the courageous ones gave miss calls, and midnight swept by without anything happening. But the phone did ring, early in the morning. As we picked the call all so scared, there was a guy at the other end of the phone shouting and screaming. He was indeed blood-thirsty, caused by the fact that he received numerous miss calls during the night spoiling his sleep!

And oh, this will not be complete without saying about messages gone astray. How would you feel if a gossip about you landed rght on your inbox? Well, definitely not an intended gesture, but a small 'spelling' mistake :) The consequences depend on how well you manage it at the moment, and of course, on your luck. I really really do not want to explain more.

There are probably numerous more incidents to quote, but the point is made. Campus was where we enjoyed everything to its most. And simple as it may seem, SMSes contributed big time to it. Love you, my dear friends... such a time will not come by again, but the memories are ours, forever...

My relationship with ghosts

As the girl walked towards the tree on a no moon day, there was suddenly an eerie silence, and the screech of an owl from a distance disturbed the silence. But she continued walking, and then suddenly, there was a figure right in front of her... it was a little girl, and her face was distorted and she walked  towards her....


It was at this point of the movie that I heard a knock on my door and boy, wasn't I scared to the core? As I walked to the door taking teeny-weeny steps and checked, I found to my immense relief that it was my neighbor who had dropped in to ask for a cup of milk!  But nevertheless, this incident made me think about the hate-hate relationship I share with ghosts.

I know that there exists this class of 'abnormal'(what else?) people who love to watch horror movies, and later (can you believe it) do not flip or flinch about it... and then the other class who actually watch these hiding behind their chairs. Cowards, really! Why take the pains of watching it and scaring oneself to death? I have never understood the psychology behind that behavior. And then comes the third section, the one I am proud to belong to, who changes the channel as soon as they see its a horror flick. But wouldn't mind watching ever favs (read, Manichithrathazhu) or a few minutes of some gross horror movie(though we later regret it and walk around as if ghosts are all jobless and in search for you!).

But then horror doesn't really start or end with movies. I remember that as a child, I had listened to numerous stories of ghosts haunting paddy fields at night. It might have been a clever parent who floated those stories around as we kids, never strayed alone after dark listening to those (which now seem like) crappy stories. But ghosts had made a permanent scar on me right then. I have never been scared of the lack of light, but the notion that there are unworldly creatures lurking in the dark waiting to pounce on you, has always always always scared me. And with me grew the fear which gradually gave way to hatred. I hate ghosts (well, who would want to love them, eh? )

This reminds of an incident from my college life. Onam was around the corner and to make sure that I get good seats in a bus bound home, I woke up before dawn and walked down to the bathroom area. It was while I was brushing that I heard a sound behind me. I strained myself and tried to listen. A panic-struck me could not bear to turn back and see what's happening and hence opted to look in the mirror right in front of me. The mirror gave a good view of the corridor and I couldn't spot anyone/anything. And then suddenly, from nowhere, I saw a figure on it, with a long robe draped around it and hair all around where the face should have been. There was no mistaking that it was staring at me, I could feel it, I could sense it. But I couldn't make a noise, it was as if I could no longer talk or make a noise. As it walked towards me, I turned around with all the energy I had and managed to throw everything I could find then at it and ran. At the door I met my roommate, and she saw me on the verge of tears, but I wouldn't explain anything, she said later, I just ran! As she put her head in, and checked to see what happened, she was blasted, in full-fledged Tamil, by some bewildered girl in all so drenched night clothes! I had thrown mugs of cold water onto some girl who decided to use the bathroom when she woke up in the middle of her sleep. My best friend did her best to explain to the girl that I was scared and mistook her for a ghost. But that kind of alleviated her feelings (I wonder why ;). And once I had calmed down enough and they managed to pull me out from under the blanket, it was not just the wet girl that I had to face but also my best friend who by then was agitated by all the Tamil bad words showered upon her so early in the morning!!!

And now, my husband has resorted to hiding in the house and scaring me every now and then so that I get around this fear of mine. But a couple of days back, when he did this at a time I least expected, I threw the spoon at him. I had a knife with me on the other hand but thankfully, I did not throw it! And now, he has withdrawn from his attempts too. Oh, dear life!

Scary houses, Halloween stories, and all horror movies freak me out. I make out strange patterns lurking behind the shower liners. And the strange coincidences drive me crazy. Anytime, I talk about ghosts, I feel its eyes on me. And oh God, there is a knock on the door, and am not expecting anyone at this time of the day!

The Magnificent Niagara

The fall of 2011, and we decide to visit the mighty Niagara...
It was not a decision taken on impulse. That's a place I have always wanted to visit, right from the day I learned about it from my Social Studies book. And when all conditions seemed to meet, off we went and that too, driving all the way!

As we started early morning and drove along the roads, which was more like a fall foliage drive, we could not but only admire the plethora of colors that nature presented before us. It was a beautiful drive and even more so for me since I did not even budge from the passenger seat :)

With just a pit stop, we reached Niagara a little after noon and rushed to the falls area minutes after we checked in. It was the American falls which welcomed me from a distance  and I had absolutely no idea that the 'Cave of the winds' trip would take me right next to this damsel. As we were given the raincoats, I actually contemplated wearing it, but no sooner than I put one feet out of the small cave, I realized why it was provided in the first place. Icy cold water from the falls were splashing upon us, and Ms beautiful was smiling from above. We could climb up the wooden stairs along the falls letting her soak us up. It was as if she wanted to show off her beauty and with each drop of crystal clear water falling upon us, we couldn't agree more. It was a dream come true for me. All I wanted was to see the Niagara falls, and there I was actually getting showered by her!

It was only early in the evening and we could have moved to any other attractions offered by Niagara, but we were so muck taken aback by the beauty of the falls that we chose to spend our time walking around the American falls. We walked to the Three Sisters Island, and to other points which gave us wonderful views of both American and Horseshoe falls. Once it turned dark, the falls were illuminated and that added to the spectacular sight. Had it been summer, we could have taken the boat ride at the time, but the cool winds blowing against one and the colorful trees made up for that miss. As it turned darker, the only sound was that of the waters and it was as if she was showing off even then trying to scare people ;-)

The icy morning took us to the adventure theatre which showed the story of Niagara - the legend, the myths and the miracles. The video was incredibly shot and the story of Lelawala, the maid of the mist, who lives in the cave of God Hinum kind of struck me.

And wasn't I thrilled when I got to know that the next trip was aboard a boat named 'Maid of the mist' which would take us near the American falls first and then the Horseshoe falls. I should say that this was when I really saw Niagara falls for what it was. I had not realized how mighty she was until we approached horseshoe falls. I took a glimpse and could not but bow to the majestic one. It was a sight which I know for sure will be with me for a lifetime. And know what, the boat actually crosses the US border and into Canada before it turns back. No one can say that they put their foot in Canada, but we were in all in Canadian waters then :)

It was time for a guided tour, we felt, and off we went by the trolley within the Niagara state park. As the driver explained the geography/history/geology in his own witty manner, am sure everyone had their ears glued and eyes moving! It was then that we saw 'the point of no return', the pedestrian bridge to Canada and the small streams which flow into Niagara.

We also made time for the Niagara Discovery Center museum which just didn't capture my interest. People who like geography might like it but then, we most definitely did not. Soon we made our way to the Niagara Aquarium. I really don't want to write that I saw fishes, penguins and seals here though I have already made the point here :)

It was time for us to bid goodbye but not before we took another glimpse of the falls and waved her our goodbyes. And there she was thundering, to be seen and to be felt... The trip had left us soaking wet, not just with the water from the falls but with memories worth a lifetime.

Madison, at its best

When I generally write about any place I have been to, I kind of filter, put in what we have done, describe the place ans just move on. But to write about Madison will not be all that easy. Coz it is to be seen and felt... But I would still like to try...

Madison is a small little town in the state of Wisconsin. This was where we spent 2 days out of the long weekend mentioned in my last post Go Chicago. This is a quaint little town with all the beauty that a typical American neighbourhood has to offer. The city is based around their state Capitol and built all around it. Yes, exactly the way Trichur round is :)

As we were put up near Monona Terrace, there was the very beautiful Lake Monona flowing with an elegance I have rarely seen. And cycling around the lake and the capitol is a very common task for people there making the environment more eco-friendly and making the people, much healthier.

We were indeed happy that we didnt visit the place during winter as the place freezes even before winter seeps into other places. It's generally cool and has an inviting touch to it. As we spent our days stolling around the small city and taking in some of what it had to offer, we realized that this was the first time that we felt American culture at its best.

It's home to University of Wisconsin and the merry student population adds to the picturesque town. At evenings, the university has a lot to offer to the general public and this includes food and music at a park overlooking the lake. Trust me, you couldn't have seen both young and the old looking happier!

Once in a year, the city hosts a food festival 'Taste of Madison' and weren't we lucky to be there at the very time? With Peruvian, Brazilian, Indian, Thai, Italian and all kind of cuisines(complete with desserts), it was not just a street food fest, it was a celebration. And the food was just yummy.

The Dane county farmers market, the Botanical Garden and museums are all listed in the things-to-do wiki for Madison. But once you are actually there, all you gotta do is walk out and enjoy the city for what it is. And you will not eb disappointed for it celebrates all the time, the Celebration of life...

Go Chicago!

To make up for the anniversary trip that hurricane Irene blew away with it and to make the most out of the labor day weekend, we went to this small town near Chicago. The place was beautiful, and displayed American culture at its best with restaurants lined up, awesome Tiramisu, biking around lakes, an university overlooking the lake, jazz and pop music in the evenings(with country food, of course), cool breeze at all times of the day, and a food festival over the weekend to top it all with.

The place had a healing effect to it, which could soothe one. After spending a couple of days in this serene location, we embarked on our journey to Chicagoland. The city does not have the hustle and bustle of New York, but is busy in its own natural manner. There is no rushing, but there still is so much energy and adrenaline. And yes, it is truly beautiful.

As we got into the elevator in the Willis Tower(formerly known as Sears tower), we were eager to see the Skydeck and go out onto the ledge. The first step into the glass floor was slow (I should probably add that a few heart beats could have been missing then :), but soon excitement took a better hold and I stepped out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck, the tallest building in the western hemisphere!

The view from here was breathtaking and on a clear sky day like the day we visited, one can see the four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.

After Skydeck, we took a nice long walk in the city, all the way to Shedd Aquarium. And when I said long, I really did mean loooong. On the way we passed 'Agora'. It's a sculpture of men withour arms and head. Though wiki says that it depicts democracy, we felt that it more suited us, the IT professionals :)

For someone whom the biggest aquarium visited ever was the one at Trissur Pooram Exhibition, Shedd's was indeed a magnificent place. From tiny-weeny fish including the jelly fish to the killer sharks, they are all there. We were indeed thrilled at our first meeting with Penquins, sea lions and dolphins. That was about it. For the rest of the meetings, like the ones with killer sharks, anacondas and the sort I was really happy that there was a glass between us and hoping that I would never see them this close again without this amorphous solid material barricading between us!

It was then time for a cruise in the sprawling lake Michigan. It had taken to drrizzle by then, and the view was spectacular.

As we got off at Navy Pier, we watched a few weekend shows there and took a long stroll around it. The rain dampened the spirits a little bit at this point as all rides were cancelled. That was the only disappointment in the whole trip, I would say.

A trip to Chicago will not be complete without visiting the Millennium Park which is why we decided to make a pit stop there and walked away from Navy Pier. Though we lost our way and ended up walking on the bridge instead of the river walk, we eventually made our way. Thank goodness I was not the one with the map!

The 'cloud gate' was indeed bristling with tourists but we couldn't not resist taking a few pics there before we headed to Buckingham fountain in Grand Park where a music fest was happening.

A beautiful fountain, a cup of coffee and music was all we needed to decide that we should stay just there and wind our trip up without further ado.

And that was precisely what we did.
After spending quite some time there, we started our journey back home, happy that our plans for this trip worked out really well and craving for more...

I, Me, Myself...

I have been in another country for 15 days now. And it has been a totally different thing for me. Before coming here, I thought I might not be able to take it at all. Not being in another country, but the fact that I will not feel the adrenaline rush that the working-lady in me used to experience . But surprisingly it hasn’t been all that bad. I realized much to my surprise that am not a bad cook after all. In fact, I can even make it taste good. I can read books and watch movies whole day, and even bug my husband to take me out for long walks in the evenings. But something was still missing. No, and am not talking about sprint and scrum – something more than that which I was not able to recognize.

And when this chore of going to post office came up, I wanted to back out, just like how I would have in Bangalore. Just that it was for a different reason this time - I was scared. And even more so to accept it. The new surroundings and way of life had got me. And I was desperate, to break open, to break free…

As I got ready, I dropped the plan many a times.  I was not sure of the bus routes, and everyone who knows me well that road sense is something God totally forgot about when he made me. The thought of my hubby who did not let his fear show upon his face and trusted in me when I volunteered for this drove me this time. I was determined to make it. And I stepped out of the house, alone, for the first time since I came here.

As I walked to the bus stop, and got into wrong bus not just once but twice, my confidence level was more like our economy – shooting right down. But thank goodness, I had a friend on the other side of the phone who tried to help me out of it with google maps. My confidence boosted again. And at last, I boarded the bus, paid the amount right and even picked out the right pamphlet with the bus route and timings. As you can guess, I was already feeling better.

I got off at the wrong bus stop(which I ofcourse didn’t know then)  and walked nearly 2 miles and found no post office (‘no surprises there’, I can hear you say!). Thankfully my map-reader was still over the phone and I realized that I will probably get back home walking the way I did then, but definitely not the post office. This time, I was not scared. I just had to make up my mind and make use of the good one hour I had before taking the bus back home. Talking about maps, work and life with her, I walked all the way back to where I got down and sat down for a coffee at McD.

There was a ‘Walmart’ nearby and I decided to spend my time there. And after my exploration where I actually found some stuff we needed for our home, I set off.  I was right on time for the bus and made absolutely no mistakes and got down at the right point. The elated me made calls to my hubby and my friend to announce that I had got back safe. I am not really sure if they heard the pride in my voice, but I definitely heard the sigh of relief in their voices J.

This was most definitely not a Herculian task. I had gone in search of a post office, and had not found it in spite of walking a few miles in the hot sun. But I still feel triumphant. I feel  good, I am no longer scared. I have taken the first step and am sure that I can make my way. I have found me – I, me, myself…

From Bengaluru, To Amrikaa

Chapter 1 – Bengaluru International Airport Limited

All set to check in. Luggages intact. Those which are not intact have been opened and reshuffled right in front all the astonished onlookers in front of the check-in counter. Immigration counter in sight and we soon reached the front of the queue. ‘We’ here refers to me and SreePriya – both participants of ‘onsite-offshore’ programme. The guy at the counter looks up and asks what he feels is a very obvious question, ‘can you please show me the invitation?’. It’s obviously non-obvious to me and I chose to respond politely, ‘may I know what you need MY wedding invitation for?’. He probably thought in his mind ‘here comes another lousy passenger’, and said ‘not yours, your husband’s’.  This time, the frustration clearly showed up on my face and he proceeded to explain,  ‘did your husband send you an invitation asking you to join him in US?’. I chose not to respond when he asked the same question to Sree. The look on her face was much better than mine for it spoke a thousand words and he immediately shut his mouth up. 

We soon passed all the hurdles, and were all set for boarding.

Chapter 2 – The flight

We boarded into the Air France flight set to Paris, and chose not to look at the good looking flight attendant.  It’s very true that we made that choice ourselves, and this was not a reaction to the fact that he not even threw as much as a glance at us. Guys can be really stupid at times.

After 2 failed attempts to upgrade ourselves to the Premium class, we soon settled into our respective seats, and fell asleep discussing about the CSAT(Customer satisfaction) points for this particular flight. It ought to be in the negatives. And before long, the Captain made a very smooth landing in Paris. 

Chapter 3 – Paris

After frantically searching for Eiffel tower during the landing and having seen only a couple of mobile towers, we realized how beautiful Europe was. Every single field, every vehicle and all trees reminding us of DDLJ and SRK J. We were looking forward to see Charles De Gaulle Airport. As good Samaritans, we waited patiently for the bus to arrive, did not scamper for seats and Sree even made the silver lining by giving away her seat to an elderly person. But the next few hours at CDG did not live up to our expectations. The picture-hungry beasts in us died of starvation! I had to console myself clicking a pic of that of Sree lying down in a make-shift bed of 2 chairs(yes, she fits in!). Soon, I went in search of 3-4 beds lined up(and yes, I don’t fit into 2). After a short nap, we fought a war of Dollars and Euros, and we finally found coffee. It was over coffee and croissants at CDG that this particular master-piece took birth.

Chapter 4 – The flight, yet again

The next flight from Paris to Newark definitely scored better CSATs(Air France, again). I slipped into sleep and pusued my dreams(literally), and Sree browsed though the movies available before falling asleep. By the time, we woke up and got all set, the crew announced landing. Probably the flight was indeed long, but having good company always helps.

Chapter 5 – United States of America

We moved into the immigration counter. One look at us and we were both placed into this huge room which was most definitely not the place to be, as far as we knew. There a girl sobbing and this set off another animated conversation between us – whether we will be bound on a passenger flight back home or will that be by cargo! 

Not sure which of these helped – our innocent looks/never ending conversation now in whispers/complete info about our lineage on their screens – but they soon let us out. We sighed out of relief. But alas no, not so soon. The customs officer decided to check our luggage in the next counter. Hooooray(n uff) we came out clean!

At this point, we had this huge grin pasted onto our faces as we collected our baggage and this further widened on the sight of our wonderful husbands standing at the Arrivals gate. As we ran to them, it was love and hugs and stories and smiles everywhere. To hell with jet lag, there is so much to say…

Weekend getaway - to Kodai

We had an approved leave on Monday and decided to get set n go to Kodai. The journey kicked off on Friday evening from Bangalore by our fav 'Rajahamsa' and I soon drifted off to sleep (no surprises there, I can hear you say!). I woke up to my loving hubby gently calling me and pointing to the huge mountains covered in mist, and I felt our bus spiraling up through the many hairpin bends to this paradise which is 2300 meters above sea level. There were trees on both sides of the road bearing beautiful wild flowers, and there was absolutely no traffic along the way giving us the intuition that this was going to be the relaxing weekend we were looking forward to.



As we reached the bus stand, our cab for the next few days was waiting to pick us up to the resort. Villa Retreat resort was all that they promised in their website - few beautiful rooms, with a valley view and opening up to a even more beautiful lawn from where we could see Cocker's walk.


After refreshing ourselves, we decided to do some exploration on our own. A walk along Cocker's walk(ofcourse eating Cotton candy n boiled peanuts) was the very first thing we did. And the chilling cold weather enhanced our spirits for sure. And then we walked along Kodai town least bothered about anything else in the world. I was really feeling happy that I chose to carry the over-sized sweatshirt which Amazon gifted me. At last, that was put to good use. After lunch and more time at the resort, we walked to the lake (popularly known as Kodai lake), n walked by the lake before renting out a pedal boat. At the end of this, we decided to call it a day and retired to our room.

On Sunday, we decided to visit Berijam Lake - the road less travelled by many who visit Kodai. This needs special permission from the Forest department but most hotels there can take care of the procedural stuff required. As we drove off to Berijam, our driver gave us a tip - carry water n snacks - for there are no shops there. Afterall, who expects shops in the middle of a forest where there are no electricity lines and not even the most feeble of the network coverage from the numerous mobile towers cast their range? However, it turned out to be a trip much more wonderful than we had anticipated. We stopped at various places on our way in the forest which gives a great valley view. We lingered around each point for some time for the mist to clear for a better view. Trust me - walks along those mountains were toooooo good to be true and is definitely a memory worth a lifetime.At the end of our jouney, we saw this beautiful lake sprawling across quite some area with unpolluted water, carefree birds singing, mist rising from a side and mountains guarding it. As we walked towards Berijam lake, we were totally speechless. It had an uncanny scenic beauty and was very peaceful -the best location where one can get in harmony with oneself. And to all my friends who are 'photographoholics', guess this is a place you should add to your 'must-visit' list.


We decided to spend the rest of the day strolling aimlessly across the streets of Kodai and drinking tea from the many tea shops along the road.

Monday evening being when we were bound on our journey back to Bangalore, we decided to spend the day doing some local sight-seeing. Meaning not straying too very far. We visited the usual tourist places like the Guna Caves, Green Valley view point(Suicide point of olden days - not open for suicides anymore with barricades all around ;) , pine forests, a temple, Byrant Park, Moyer point and Fairy falls. Horse riding along the pine forest and a long long walk along it was quite filmy but romantic and we thoroughly enjoyed it :)

As our cabbie dropped us at Kodai lake and said a bye, we decided to cycle around the lake. That's something almost everyone who visits the lake does but I had never had a chance to do in my last trips to the place.I was excited about it and after riding for sometime even raced with hubby dear (if you are interested in the results, I was not bad - I came second :P ) And Oh yeah, and we bought Home made chocolates and marsh mellows like any other chocolate-freaks to carry back with us!

Soon it was time for us to say 'bye' to the land which offered us a relief from the hectic work schedules for 3 days. As we packed our bags, sipped another cup of coffee and boarded the bus (Airavat, this time) - we knew from our hearts that we will come back!

Badminton couple

Yes, we have taken the decision at last. After months of hogging and more hogging, and of course - more hogging, we have decided to start with our exercise regime after what we call a quite short 'wedding break'. After deciding upon our over spaced terrace to serve as the badminton court, we went shopping. As you may very well guess, we are now proud owners of brand-new light weight badminton rackets. Only sad thing that he had to encounter was that we could find only pink shuttle corks(to his utter dismay!).
And we started off today with a half an hour game. Needless to say, my hands started aching and I felt a cramp in its coming-soon mode, and immediately stopped playing (not that I was lazy, I just dint want to over do it, you see...). The reluctant hubby was convinced for the same only by Mr. Maruthi (a.k.a. wind :). Guys!
And now, a strict pattern is in its blue-print. We have decided to wake up early every morning and spend some time playing. I am a little scared because I know that if we do stray off the idea, it's mostly going to be because of me - an avid morning sleep lover. And to think that I used to wake up at 5 and go for 2 hours badminton session with friends while in school!! Gosh, that thought is depressing!!!
Anyways, the alarm is set and the game is on. Let's see if we make it. Three cheers for us.

The journey to a small paradise in Indian Ocean - Mauritius

To celebrate the journey from being committed to being married, we planned another journey - to Mauritius. And when we flew after wedding, all we knew was that it was a beautiful place and that we were on our own. We did not have the time to do a lot of research and hence had absolutely no presumptions.

Day 1 - As we arrived at Mauritius, all so sleep-deprived with the 12am check-in, 2 am flight and nearly 6 hours of flight, we very much tired. But the resort(there is no other word - it was just magnificent) was so very inviting with the beach view that we almost forgot about sleep (well, temporarily!). And after a hot shower, we remembered all that we temporarily forgot and slept like logs. We woke up right in time for dinner, and after an African buffet, we walked around the resort and really appreciated it for what it was(in a woken-up mode). The room was lovely with the balcony opening up to the pool, garden and a fragment of the beach. The beach there is formed by coral reefs, and the area is so very clean that we fell in love with the place.
View from lobby:

 This was what I loved the most at the resort (the bridge to heaven, as I called it...):

Day 2 - After an English breakfast, we decided to go through the various options available for us to spend the day, and after a lot of thinking decided to take the submarine ride - which according to the catalog, is available at only 3 places in Indian Ocean. The Blue-safari was indeed breath-taking, where we went 35m down the surface, and saw fishes kissing(I guess that's what they did) against the window-panes and the wreck of an old Japanese ship. The beauty of coral, the white sand and the uninterrupted calmness of the ocean surprised us.

 After the submarine ride, we visited a public beach (which sadly had a French name which if I had to learn would not have given me the time to absorb the beauty surrounding me!). Then followed a walk along the roadside shops(which again were quite few in number and very clean), and visited a mall there - 'Jumbo'.
On the long ride back, we noticed how the driver sped the car carefully and swiftly across the tracks, and followed all traffic regulations(which again is quite a sight for someone living in Bangalore :)
Late evening, we took a long walk along the beach adjacent to our resort, and checked out the view from lobby, the Spa and the sports center.

Day 3:
This day was reserved for city(North Island) tour(that is - a day when we will not get wet), and did not turn out to be all so exciting. We visited the capital town - Port Louis, where there was a beautiful church atop a hill, and a fort close by it. After that we visited Apravasi Ghat, where Indians were brought by British to work on sugarcane fields in unhygienic conditions and very low wages.
After this we went to the Le Caudan Waterfront which is more like a small city by itself with its French buildings and wonderful shops which included Souvenir shops. We also walked around the China Bazar nearby with its many streets reminding us of Commercial street.

The drive back to the resort was wonderful as it was along a road by the side of the sea. I have no idea how an hour swept by and we reached back home - it was a truly beautiful ride.

Day 4:
This was most definitely a great day and off we went to the South Island. We first visited a souvenir-ship factory where they made souvenir ships(I can hear you say that it was obvious, but nevertheless..), and Adamas outlet where diamonds imported from South Africa are cut and polished.
The crated of an extinct volcano was quite nearby and once we reached there - the view was indeed breathtaking. The place was soooo very beautiful that I think we spent a lot of time gazing around and taking pictures. There was also a Siva temple nearby opening to a small river which they call as black Ganges. From the volcanic eruptions had formed Charamel - seven colored earth (I can swear that I counted more than 7 colors though!), and near to the Charamel ground was a beautiful waterfall (between - did I use the word beautiful again?).

We decided to call it a day and embarked on a journey back to the hotel (again along the beach and which indeed helped him as his lens would not have allowed him to take a nap and any journey along boring roads would have been a trauma since it was a drive of nearly 2 hours).
But hey, the most exciting part of the day was yet to come. We took a pedal boat from the beach and chose to ride along our resort, and as we pedalled rigorously we quite crossed our resort, and another, and well, another! But this was a wonderful ride with the current and as we were thinking of going back, a speed boat came to us(which had the boathouse-keeper in it), tied our boat to it and pulled us back to our beach (by them - it was dark, and he decided to give us a ride back since it was nearing the boathouse closing time). Oh man, the ride was wonderful and as he saw we enjoyed it, he took us a little further into the sea on our way back. It was too good and very much like the water sports we were to see in the next day.
And during the course of our dinner, we saw girls taller than me walking as a hoard(well, that captured my attention), and later got to know that Ms Mauritius 2010 was happening at the resort we had picked. Entertainment followed :)

Day 5:
We were all set for water sports, and off we went, straight to the dock from where we can do under-sea-walking. Here, they put a square-glass-helmet around our neck(which makes sure that our face does not get wet and that we get enough Oxygen), and stones around our hip to make us stay under water and experienced divers pull us down and straight to the bottom of the sea. Once we get used to the pressure levels there, we could walk around with fishes sniffing us(do they really, now?), white sand under out feet and corals all around. It was a different and un-worldly experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the part where the diver pushed a piece of bread to my hand and I felt all the fishes swarming around it. It was just magnificent. After the 45 minutes under-sea-walk, we sped off in a speed boat to see a waterfall in an island. That was (again) a beautiful sight in itself, to go by a waterfall in a boat with water splashing all over you(and knowing that you are no longer in WonderLa but out in the sea!).

After this, we went to an island and went for para-sailing. That was the first time for both of us, and we truly enjoyed the panoramic view from the parachute. In between was a dip in the sea after which we were raised back to the air. This was indisputably the best part of the trip and as were dropped back to the land, we made a perfect landing. After that we explored the island for some time and then decided to call it a day.
(Between - that's us in the pic :)

Day 6:
Not a great start to a day, since it started with a Tetanus Vaccination(I had a small scratch on my leg caused during under-sea-walk and by no idea what but most probably rusted iron from the ladder we used to climb back). Since we had to fly back that evening, we decided to just spend the day in the resort, and did just the same. Walked round the place, said bye to everyone and everything, took a few last-minute pics and hopped in to a cab to the airport.

One of the things we said bye to ( from the beach with its many elements):

Day 7:
You might be wondering why day 6 came to an abrupt end at the airport - well, the trip ended there and on day 7 we were at Bangalore - he, at office, and me shopping for household stuff with my father and aunts. We thought that the chapter called 'honeymoon' in the book named 'life' has come to an end, and as we look at life now we know that it's not true - it never ends!!!

The fun of being "committed" :)

To all the workaholics around, I am NOT talking about being committed to work.. I meant "Committed" as in engaged to be married. The fun and joy of being committed is beyond words and cannot be jotted down in a few points - but then, I thought of penning down a few things I love the most (not necessarily in any order):

* Being fussed over - for the silliest of things!
* The fun of rushing to movies together - both planned and all so unplanned
* Those loong bike rides. Oh, how we love them!
* Shopping and swiping (his card!!! ;)
* Dine-outs : be it at Chettans Appakada, or at new places we experiment (some of them soo very drastic that we don't even think of eating out for next few days, and a few others enter our fav list)
* Corner house Ice creams (even without chocolate sauce!)
* Calls whole day - by which I do not mean calls which last for a whole day. Rather, calls throughout the day
* The wonderful feeling of having someone to listen to any crap you say (while he repeatedly says that he hates the word crap!)

Well, that's my list and now before you think that love is all about just happiness - let me clarify. There are flip sides of these coins too. (Exceptions: The movie and bike-ride coins have heads printed on both sides, and the shopping coin actually has heads minted all over it - but again that will be flip side #1 if he decides to print his list :) But then, forgive and forget is the rule of the game. Forget the fights, the words of anger, credit card and telephone bills and live the moment. That's the game called love, or is it called life???

@amazon.com

Joined Amazon, and now trying to go to bed by 11 and wake up by 7 - both tasks seem to be Herculian. The environment here is very different. People are so very involved in what they do - I think most of them are really passionate about what they do and this makes it very different from what I have seen around me in the service industry. Well, I do not how I will fare here, hoping for the best.

And as about this blog, I found a widget from Amazon Associates programme which we can integrate with our blogs to download and play songs from Amazon, and as you can very well guess I have done that to my blog with a rapid selection among a few Bryan Adam MP3s. Do check it out!
Meanwhile, All the Best to myself :-)

A decision made is a decision made!!!

I have(had ?) been thinking that am too good at decision making and recently discovered to my utter dismay that am not! I had 42 days of utter chaos in my life playing "aar ya paar" - not knowing whether I should move along this comfort/safe zone at IBM or move to 'amazon.com' which everyone around me says is great and I have no idea about. However, I have cleared 7 rounds of interviews there, and I have made my decision(after troubling myself and others, ofcourse) - am not looking back. There a lot of things about IBM that I will definitely miss, including walking up to the floor at 12:00 pm remarking that am quite early today, fights for cakes and chocolates, and fights for misc reasons. But more than these stuff and flexibility, its people whom am definitely gonna miss.
Rohan - ever-ready to help - be it keeping my MBA books safely locked in his cupboard or saving sweets for me on the days am late - he is the one I look up to for almost everything here
Sandeep ettan, who fights with me more than talking with me - but changes very serious and very attentive once he senses tension or fear in me
Raj - with his silliest of comments and fear - one of the very few whom I get to counsel (usually, am on the patients chair!)
Sree - The one who had only smiled at me earlier but became quite close when she was across the oceans, the one with whom I lovve to pose for photographs and shrieks "kollum njan athine.. " ;)
Prasanna - The "Damager" who can embarrass anybody with his comments and ofcourse, "The Paa Effect" is patented under his name.
Siba - the food-lover who will believe any cock-and-bull story if you say it with a straight face (me n Prasanna once even told him that Prasanna is gonna get married to Trisha and this fellow believed it ;)
Gayathri - the person with a Scooty, currently on diet, and whom I can never forgive for digging onto the center of my choco-lava cake and scooping out all the chocolate in one go! And yeah, I think she tops the list in the number of lifts anyone has ever given me
Abhishek - who is now pooling info from 'Manoja' about her guy, too very good at taking treats and my competitor in number of hours spent on phone
Siva - whom I can never thank enough for the wonderful collage he sent me for my birthday last year, and whose excitement in sharing Krishna songs and movies always inspire me
Ilay - who for some reason hides his mouth while speaking. You know, the typical "shy-type" :-)
Soumil chettan - who goes thinner day-by-day
Neeraj - The ever-so-demanding fellow. If only Microsoft knew how much he made other people use their products, they would have made him Marketing Division head for sure
Pradeep - who doesnt forget to wish anyone on all occasions and the official secretary for CTP
Karpagam - Our "chechi" whose fish fries are sooo very yummy
Radha - with her kiddish looks and serious talks
Suresh - who fell down from the bike on hearing a dog barking elsewhere
Apurba - Bengali sweeeeeetssssss

And this list is still not complete. There are still so many people left!!!

God, aint I gonna miss everyone? Thanks all, for making my stay here worthwhile and happy and am sure gonna miss you guys. Do miss me and my "ee" smile in all the photograps you take from today...

To my mother, who I know has read it even before I wrote it...

I can feel you all around me,
My mother, Who rocked me to sleep
And this makes this life more worthy
This feeling, this presence...

There were times, of tears and smiles
Of pain and love,
When I could touch you,
And whisper to you...

And one day, all of a sudden
As you faded behind the curtain
I could only look by
Not knowing where you went to

And today, my eyes get moist
And my heart even more,
When I think of you
And all these years without you

It would have been different
With you smiling at me,
But more than the difference
It's the smile that I miss...

I love you, my mother
And all the memories we hold
I love you, my mother
For hugging this crying child;

I can feel you all around me,
My mother, Who rocked me to sleep
And this makes this life more worthy,
This feeling, this presence...

Bye-Bye Autorickshaws.. sob.. sob..

As I pull myself up from the bed and get on with my daily chores, I am generally not the least bothered about the long walk to office from home since I know that there will be Autorickshaws standing in a line just near the signal, looking for us, the TP-carriers. And once I get into one, they squeeze the vehicle through all the blocks, and take me inside the campus.

After a short bumpy ride from the gate till my block where they fill us all up with details such as which blocks have interviews, how the candidates do not know anything about finding their way in, and how sick the security people are, I am all set to get down. And in case there are friends with me, I will also be all set for the impending fight coz they ask for double the rate in such cases. And I guess they should by now be knowing my reply byheart (its always the same drivers) - "Does your rickshaw swallow double the quantity of gas in case one more person gets in?"

However, these rides have indeed made my days simpler since there are no fixed timelines for ricks. I need not pick them up at 8:23 sharp or anything like that. I am the king, rather, queen :) I still remember those days when I was down with disk prolapse, and all the humps made me feel sick, I asked the driver to go a lil slow and the next day, this guy actually called out to another guy(in whose vehicle I had got in then) and asked him to drive slow and safe. And another day when I could not find enough change in my purse, the driver casually remarked - "there is alwaya another day when you can give it to me".

And in the evenings when I did not feel upto a walk(which is quite rare), I just have to walk outside the block to find a parked rick. Well, they do lay out their rules and conditions - "I can take you only until the signal, cant park to the right, cant take u-turn, cant take service lane... cant do this, cant do that, give me these many bucks... ", but then, it was only until that point that I wished to go, and had no issues with it.

And on one lazy tuesday afternoon, as I kept refreshing my official mailbox for some unseen mail, I saw a new one creeping in. Little did I know then that it will actually be a letter bomb for me. "Traffic regulation at campus", said the subject line and as I was thunderstruck as I opened it thinking it will be another of a closing-gate or new-gate scenarios. The mail said that ricks will not be allowed inside the campus anymore starting the next week, for security issues. Well, I for one, have not seen or heard about an Autowala sneaking a bomb in, and so were the others around me. People with cars and bikes probably did not give a second look at the mail, but people like me could not even find words to express what we had.

And today, as I got into a rick knowing that this is probably the last time I can take a Rick to office, since today is the last working day in this week, I felt troubled - of the long walks I have to take if I miss the shuttle from the gate at 10:20 sharp! And as were riding, the driver whom I have known from many journeys said with a troubled voice - "I think this will be the last journey in this route for me"...