As the contest draws to a close....

All I wish for each of us, is the Zeal to Live life everyday to the fullest.

Pic Courtesy Hubs!

As Rumi Says in the book "Forty Rules of Love" - "The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals.Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment."

The reason why I choose 'Zeal' to bring the A2Z contest to a closure also happens to be the reason why am most thankful for taking up this contest!

You see until a month back, almost every day I would wake up with despair over us not yet having a child. But well the past month dint give any time to brood over this - every morn the first thot as I wake up is "New Comments", "New Posts" :-D. N for this alone am thankful to A2Zeders FB page - for all the camaraderie there that gave me the extra impetus to post everyday. A special thank You to Corinne for being the force (behind this  page n of course to each n every one of you who took time to drop in here over this month! Errrr nee I am not thanking Phenomenon(for his pics), Sabs(for literally burning the midnight oil along with me)  n to Veena(well u know for what!)... well who thanks family rt!

Linking this to A2Z challenge - Ooo to think I did all 26 posts despite the trip, despite the out of blue shocker! Yeaa me proud or what :-D.

@UB City......

Pic courtesy Hubbs

This is a click of Mallya towers from top of UB City. Am a sucker for open air dining - n tht alone is reason enuf for me to frequent this place thou the dent it creates in my pocket is significant enuf for me to not to make it a regular affair...

Lemme admit thou that today after 6 years in Bangalore I am almost anti-mall. Simply cause entering a mall over a weekend will mean jostling for space with people, literally stepping over their toes! N that exactly is my shopping-mall pet peeve - the fact that at least for Bangaloreans, hanging out at shopping malls is a form of entertainment'! No, am no talking of teenagers - am referring to Families(Complete with parents n kids). For quite a few of my colleagues, a family day-out means packing the entire family off to a mall - the kids run amok in the unimaginative "play areas" crowded with silly video games, mother-father do their share of retail therapy n then the entire happy-family troop into the food court to treat themselves to some staid boring food!

I agree Bangalore is a city that has more than its share of these usually obnoxious - ugly shopping malls n not many options when it comes to other forms of entrainment! But then a a stroll in lalbagh, jumping into the apartment pool, cooking up a meal together or jus simply catching a movie together - reading out a story to the child - aren't these better form of entertainment than hanging out at these malls!! Maybe its jus that driving out to the mall needs much less planning - much less work than these other activities.....

Linking this to AtoZ Challenge - U is for UB City...

Lighting the Lamp.......

Pic Courtesy Hubbs

  Lighting the Lamp - to banish the darkness, to welcome a new day - a new year that brings along in it's wake the long overdue blessings, smiles n happiness. Amen !

Tomorrow is Vishu - The new year in Malayalam Calendar. It promises to be a day of delicacies courtesy my sis in-laws :). Wishing all of you from Gods Own Country a V happy Vishu...

 Linking This to AtoZ challenge - L is for Light, Lamp.

My Dear Soul-Sister......

My Dear Soul-sister,

The very word "soul-sister" - took me ages to accept it thou u hv used it liberally from a long time! Maybe simply cause I could not believe that one can love a third person as one would love a sibling.....

The funny part is how the equation changed between us - from a manager - reportee one to a I-am-so-in-awe of u to one today that has some semblance of being "equals". Of course u can still be the tyrannical elder sibling who can spoil my happiness until I decide to see sense :-P

The thing that I love the most thou is the unflinching confidence I have in you that I can throw any verbal missile at you, bombard you with my darkest thots (lemme assure u tht it woul hv made anybody else look at me like a weirdo) without u being judgmental.

You know u have been a strong anchor in times when i lose hope n drown in my own grief! Thank you for being there always!

Here is wishing u on ur B'ay a lotta good luck, good health, more money, more happiness n many happy memories simply cause u deserve them the most!  hope this year sees us breaking the jinx of " Why Bad things happen to good people"! Amen......

Heres a slice of virtual-cake to bring in ur spl day......

Linking this to AtoZ Challenge - D is for Dear N delicious cakes (Cake n pic both courtesy Hubbs)

April is here....

... N with it brings along a promise of lot of happy times ~~ From the prospect of a short break to the new year (in kerala calendar) to my upcoming B'day (tht deserves a post in itself) to meeting my lit niece! It indeed promises to turn my frown upside down ...... About time I say :) So here's to a "A New Dawn ......

Pic courtesy Hubbs!

With this I kick start the A to Z challenge(A is for April). I signed up for this after a lot of debate ~~ But maybe this is the impetus that I need right now!

Insatiable...

.. is what my "mood" emoticon should read :-). But err can u blame me when my resident-chef is on a cooking spree... Hv a decko on what was on menu over last few days......

A  cheesy frittata with the works for the appetizer?

A Beef steak medium well-done with pepper sauce and Mashed potatoes!

A Tiramisu experiment with mascapone cheese, Kahlua, Coffee powder and dark Chocolate!

 Pics n ofcourse all the cooking is courtesy Hubbs :-D

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (I is for Insatiable)

All I want is....

.......A day where am contended to be in today, without wondering what tomorrow will bring, Without worrying about the time ticking by....

Pic courtesy Hubs!

Post 3 in my series of POW

Picture of the week....

pic courtesy Hubbs!

.... A sparrow! Recently somebody told me that they are on verge of extinction (at least in cities) n to think tht there were so many milling around the colony I used to live in as a child!! I hope a day doesnt come when I will hv to look out for them in Zoo parks :-/

We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.

Post 2 in my series of Picture of the week!

Story of a Bud.....

... is the story of Tomorrow,

The story yet to be told,

the story thts yet to be scripted....

......will the bud bloom into a beautiful flower spreading the joy of beauty all around or will the bud jus shrivel n fall off before it even blossoms??

Only time will tell.....

The first of the series(hopefully!) where I intend to post one random click(usually by hubbs)!

Valentine day.....

.... Should be symbolic of the true loves of our life! Now who says that its only ur "Special somebody" who can be the "Love of your life". It could be anybody from your niece to your pet dog to your best friend rt.....

So imagine the high that hubbs is in on this special day for he is been gifted with what can only be called as one of his many "true loves in life" -  by his SIL on the valentines day eve!

So without any further ado let me introduce this "special something" that has hubbs positively glowing ..... A pair of "pluggers" :-D (Jus a fancy term for funky sandals - the kind that you would wear on beach)

All of u allowed to roll ur eyes at this juncture for how can  a pair of sandals can give a man in his 30s a high(beats me too!)! But  plz remember its ma hubbs we talking of who is truly in love with his shoes-sandals n the fact that there is a ongoing curfew at our house on buying more shoes-sandals. The curfew is simply cause he already has 30+ pairs of shoes-sandals(!!!!).

Here is a pic frohttp://capturedalive.wordpress.com/m his blog, to commentate this day.......

PS: This post originated post a conversation on FB with Mridula

2013 Beckons.......

Cause I don want this space to be as despondent a "Mayan Doomsday site"(Ho my frnd Sabs used this v term term to describe it!) as we welcome a new year, I will leave u with a pic of the X-mas celeb at home(pic as well as the cake is courtey hubbs)

Here is wishing all of us a V happy New year n hoping that this year gives us more chances to smile, to be happy n fill us with hope!

Ho 2013, Plz be nicer to me.....

@Shravanabelagola

After almost 5 years in Bangalore, did I manage to make a visit to Shravanabelagola on the way back from Chikmagalur.

This place figures in prominently in the religious circuit of Jains. Its known for a austere but mighty statue of one of the Jain gurus located on a hill-top which can be viewed from Kilometers away and is supposed to be awe-inspiring. Here's a click of the same.....

But makes me wonder in today's times of Internet, skyscrapers haven't the words 'Huge' taken a different meaning? I mean, yes I was awed that somebody caved this out centuries ago but in today's time is the size of the statue in itself(app 57 ft) awe-inspiring?? Maybe not.

N ho! jus so you know, the approach to it is thru well-laid steps, but be prepared for the seemingly endless stretch of steps to reach the summit :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(M is for Monument)

Intricate Designs!

A click @Halebidu on way to Chikmagalur. This place is truly a delight for every historian - But is a dream-come-true for a photography buff! To quote the exact words of hubbs "This place will drive me crazy - I dono where to start n where to end!"

The stones used(N they made 100% from stones n jus stones) are supposedly quarried from Tumkur and the reason they are used so extensively in temples is cause they are easy to chisel n the more they are expose to sun n rain, the stronger they become!

Linking this to Thursday Challenge - "FANCY" (Decorated, Embellished, Deluxe, Frilly, Intricate,...). Truly Intricate designs arent they?

Finding Nemo!

The caption n the pic are courtesy hubs!

Beautiful it of course is, but what I like abt this pic is the setting where it was shot. No it wasnt shot when he went snorkeling(:-p) or in a giant aquarium! Believe me if you will, this was shot at a dusty small aquarium on a way side hotel on the Kerala-B'lore highway!

Of course it drives me up the wall - imagine the heads tht turn when he goes click click click with a SLR at these wayside hotels or a village-side..... eeeeee! But when I see these results like above, I end up indulging him yet again :-D (Like I hv a option)

Linking this to thursday Challenge - "ATTRACTIVE" (Beautiful, Good Looking, Handsome, Cute, Sweet,...)

'Bombay Toast' And Other Tales....

The tasty,filling,delicious yet easy-as-a-jiffy sunday morning breakfast... Jus puurfect for a cosy, cuddly Sunday morning :-D


More Food Porn For u! Pic courtesy Hubbs....

 
If u want to know, this is french toast with a twist! French toast minus the sweetening agents n of course topped with cheese strips - supposedly called "Bombay Toast" in these parts!
 
Now onto some other interesting news, my mom is decided to become a egg-iterian n a Fish-iterian after a long gap of 13 years! For once am happy that she decided to heed the docs advise...  Our incessant breathing down the neck jus kicked out the last iota of doubt she had :-D. Indeed its time for a "Pat On The Back"!

Linking this to Color Deckors weekend wrapup and ABC Wednesday(B is for Bombat Toast :-P)

Mirror on the Wall!

The beauty parlour tht I frequent is this small dingy place down the road from ma place! Not for me those fancy places where if u choose to go with anything less than their "premium", they do such a half hearted rendering!(despite burning a hole in the pocket). The only exception thou is the hair saloon where we(me n hubbs) hv been loyal customers for more than 5 years(!!!) ~~ come to think of it thats the only retail brand to which we have shown any loyalty!

So onto ma hole-in-the-wall parlour -  I am generally so engrossed in my Kindle that I hardly bother about its ambiance(or rather lack of it!). But yest on a quick glance up the roof, I realized that this beautician (something tells me that she is a divorcee for whom this is the sole source of survival) had made a valiant attempt to cover up all the dirty wiring dangling from the roof-top(Which was a eye-sore on ma previous trips there) by a false roofing.

Nothing out of ordinary abt it u say - the 'out-of-ordinary' bit here is that the 'false roofing' she has used is these mirrors stacked along-side! How wonderful n apt for a beauty-parlour rt - for a moment u forget that u sitting in this dingy parlour. The fact that these morrors must be the low-quality cheap ones picked for a deal at some wholesale market doesnt take out the wow! factor from it(if not for nothing but for the thot thats gone into it!).

Its these small elements of beauty in such unexpected places that brightens up my day.

PS: There is ofcourse a element of exxageration involved in this post :-D.  N hey! with this I finish 400 posts in this space. So time for Cheers it is!

Pic courtesy Hubbs!

Note the usage of 'Milk' for bringing in the celebrations(yikes!) ~~ well with the 'Absistence' period still going strong, we obviously cannot hv Champagne flowing can we.. duh!