Escape the Ordinary

The gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal softly kiss my feet as I slowly make my way down the beach, leaving a trail of footprints in the golden sand. A touch of crimson lights up the turquoise blue waters at a distant horizon. The serenity of dawn is broken only by the occasional chirping of a bird or two. I savor my solitude while I can.

Nature: Conserve, Share & Care

I looked out of my window. Several years ago, the view outside was straight out of a picture postcard. Set against a background of blue green mountains and dense evergreens, a host of wild flowers – snow white daisies, pale yellow marigolds and bright red poppies – carpeted the ground. As a kid, I had spent many raucous hours playing there with my friends and as a teenager I had spent many peaceful hours reading under a birch tree. It was Paradise.

Summer Camp

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)

If you're peppy and you know it, then your face will surely show it

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)

Christina, Emily, Florence & I have friends since our first day as kindergarten. We called ourselves the ‘Peppy Four’. We had adopted the slightly modified nursery rhyme as our anthem and our dearest dream was to go on an adventure like Enid Blyton’s Famous Five... Five on a Treasure Island was unanimously voted as the best story ever!

Zombie Apocalypse: A Zica Adventure.

Pippa and I had barricaded ourselves in our third floor apartment. The sofa, a book case and a chest of drawer had all been piled up against the front door… just in case.

We sat in absolute silence only broken by the occasional growl outside.

“Please let this be a nightmare,” I prayed silently.

Navigating Troubled Days

I stand in front of the mirror dilly dallying over a strand of straying hair. Music wafts in through the slightly opened door, some Bollywood number about long lost love. I feel the beginning of a headache as I try to block out the cacophony of excited voices outside my room.

Raja Dada is getting married in two hours. I can’t call in sick at my own brother’s marriage.

“Get a grip,” I tell myself.

The Proposal

Fourth February, 2011

I decided to leave work early today. By early I mean, in time for dinner rather than the usual last cab before midnight. The project for March was of mammoth proportions and even with sixteen hours working days we were only just meeting deadlines.

So, could I afford to leave work in time for dinner? No, absolutely not.

Lyrics & Music

Years ago when my world was ruled by pigtails with ribbons and arithmetic homeworks, one summer, I had decided that I wanted to be a musician. A world renowned one no less. Kids my ages where dreaming of becoming doctors and pilots, but not me. I dreamt of standing on a stage with red velvet curtains in front of a thousand people … which was at least twice the number of people at my school, so yes to me it was a very huge crowd … and sing my own songs. My dream performance would invariably end with me being carried off the stage by my fans chanting my name over and over again.

Remembering Dadubhai

My earliest memories of my grandfather involves an old rocking chair. He would sit in the sunniest corner of the rambling old verandah reading the newspaper often accompanied by a steaming hot cup of Darjeeling tea and occasionally supplemented with a bowl of muri (or puffed rice, if you will).

Awakening the Netbook

The desert is endless. The sands stand still, save for when they shift ever so slightly in the evening breeze. In front of me there is a solitary figure walking hastily towards the horizon. She exudes an aura of royalty. But if you look closely there is a weariness in her gait, a sense of broken heartedness even, perhaps from all the battles she has seen.

She is not really alone. Her companion is short, almost like a child, armored in a white with orange patterned suit. ‘It’ seems to be rolling along speedily to match her stride. I call her companion an ‘it’, because it is most certainly not human.

“Who are you?”

“I am no one.”

“What am I doing in the desert?” I ask myself. The sun has disappeared completely beyond the horizon. There is an eerie red glow in the luminosity of twilight. I watch mesmerized when suddenly a streak of brilliant scarlet cuts across the dark skies.

I wake up with a start. It was just a dream after all!

Shillong: Scotland of the East

Tucked away at an elevation of 1496 m, Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is set amidst thick pine covered hills. This magnificent hill station is also known as the ‘Abode of the Clouds’. It is said that Shillong’s beautiful lakes, waterfalls and rolling hills of conifers reminded the European settlers of Scotland, hence it had also earned the sobriquet ‘Scotland of the East’. The British legacy is still visible in the architectural design and food habits of the locals.

A miracle called Compassion

In 1995 I was twelve. Keya, my little sister was four. It was the year Keya started school. God! She was so excited. She loved everything about school right down to the homework assigned at the end of the day.

As for me, I was annoyed to be saddled with a little sister even in school. Not that I saw her much, or at all during school hours. It just irked me that my parents expected me to keep an eye on her. Don't get me wrong. I loved her but I rather spent my free time hanging out with my friends than baby sitting even in school!

The Call of the Wild

Kaziranga National Park, the home of the famed One-horned Rhinoceros (also called the Indian Rhinoceros or the Asian One-horned Rhinoceros), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Assam. This expansive grassland is the home of two-third of the world’s One-horned Rhino population.

LG NEXUS 5X: The Dream Phone

I take my smartphones very seriously. And why not? It has replaced my watch, my camera, my music player, my calculator, my phone book, my diary, my calendar - well, I could go on and on but I am sure you already know what I mean.

Image Source: Firefly Daily

Celebrating Smiles!

~* This post was declared a Runners Up in the 'Let's Put A Smile On That Face' Contest organised by McCain & Indiblogger. *~

My little sister was born at the stroke of midnight. So every year on her birthday we would throw her a party at 12 o clock – a small family affair with balloons, steamers, candles, cake and of course snacks... lots and lots of snacks.

My parents were spending their summer in London, so this year it fell on me to uphold this sacred family tradition.

Protect Her Heart

~* This post was declared a Winner in the #ProtectHerHeart Contest organised by Saffola & BlogAdda. *~

So I took the Weight Heart Test at the Saffola Life website and I am very happy with the results! This is one place where 0% is A+ grade.

Choosing Happiness

Until about a couple of years ago, I was stuck in a rut. Working on onsite assignments in the USA, bound to my desk 9 to 5 and often late into the nights, targeting the next promotion, attending inane meetings… in short, my days had all the usual trappings of an ordinary life in the IT industry.

Did I hate my job? No. Not at all. I liked my colleagues, respected my boss and hell I was even good at my job. In fact I loved the fat pay check which made its way into my bank account every fortnight.

The Dinner Debacle

For almost a month after we got married, my husband and I were swamped with dinner invitations at one of our many many relatives. I probably cooked two dinners in our first month of marriage, both times because my husband had an upset stomach and had to cancel postpone the plans for the evening.

I don’t know about you, but in my side of the world a plethora of otherwise unknown relatives crawl out of the woodwork during weddings and they try to outdo each other by inviting the newlyweds to the most extravagant meals.

So it was not surprising when Tutan da – my husband’s second cousin two times removed – invited us home one evening.

My Blank Canvas

My room is a blank canvas.

No really, my bed room is actually totally devoid of furniture. Having spent most of my life living away from home – boarding school, residential college, PG and shared apartments – it’s hardly surprising that when my parents bought an apartment in the city they did not furnish my room. Given that we hardly spend time in the city – average two days per month – and my parents had no intention of moving to the city for at least a couple more years, mom wanted to keep the furnishing to just functional for now. Way easier to clean up that way I tell you. You cannot imagine the amount of dust an empty house can accumulate, especially one by the river as mighty as the Brahmaputra. So all that the apartment consists of is: one fully furnished bedroom (my parent’s), one partially furnished bedroom (my sister’s), a functional kitchen and a dining table.

Now by some crazy twist of fate, I landed in the city last month and have taken up residence in the apartment. So, I now face the daunting task of adding colors to my blank canvas of a room. Needless to say I have spent an inordinate amount of time trolling the internet looking for inspiration, most of it a tad unrealistic, but then did not someone say ‘in dreams begin realities.’

Learning Together

I had been up all night studying for my last Board exam. Mathematics, my favorite subject. As the golden rays of sunshine slowly crept into the room I decided to take a break and went to stand by the window.  The beauty of a breaking dawn never ceases to amaze me. There is hardly anything more beautiful than a sunrise accompanied by the distant songs of the birds leaving their nests.

I contemplated what I should do next. Should I take a walk to refresh my mind? Should I catch a couple of hours of sleep? The exam wasn’t until the next day.

Heaven on Earth - 5 North East Indian Summer Vacation Destination.

This year, it’s my turn to plan the annual summer getaway for the family. As I surfed the web looking for inspirations I came across this list of summer getaways tantalizingly titled – Heaven on Earth - 5 Indian Summer Vacation Destination.

While I completely agree with the author who has picked Ladakh, Kerela, Ooty, Kashmir and Goa as the perfect destination for a summer vacation, I was a teensy bit disappointed that North Eastern India had not made it to the list.

So here is my list of 5 scenic destination in North East India you should definitely add to your bucket list this summer.