UpCountry Tea!



@ One of the many tea factories in Nuwara Eliya.

Possibly cause Nuwara Eliya is located at a height ~~ on a hill station ~~ they call it "Up Country". And the "Up Country Tea" u bet is the best seller in Srilanka! If you ask me, for the Indian palette the upcountry black tea is a safer bet. Their regular milk-tea jus doesnt hv our "Kick" ~~ Can be a litt too mild for our taste!

But indeed What more can one ask for when you get the air of the mountains and a chance to taste lovely unblended black tea. Its a combination to live for (or die for?? ) :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(T is for Tea)

Ha n with this I succesfuly finish the NaBloPoMo... Indeed it was maddening this time esp with the crazy schedule at office... Glad I finished it thou :)

Ice Ice Baby!

The first time you sit in front of a fire place not cause its fancy but cause you are chilled to the bone ~~ Now thts a memory you'll treasure for your life.....

Possibly the only reason why NuwaraEliya and more Importantly Binota Residency will remain special (We figured out later that its not NuwaraEliya which is chilling cold ~~ This hotel we staying in is so positioned that it gets hit by the cold mountain wind n tht explains the freezing temp there!). N ofcourse for ma hubba ~~ no hol is comp if theres no hill station in the iternary!






Linking this to our world

Sizzling....

... Sizzling 5 years tht I met ma hubbs!

To be noted tht its not yet 5 years of marriage but the day marks 5 years of the 'Bride-Seeing' Ceremony.... You can read my 'Jab We Met' story here.  Doesnt it seem a non-consequential day to be remembered n celebrated! But if you ask me... It was this day (22nd of November) 5 years ago tht kickstarted this new phase of my life :). A day to be treasured rt........... N wht betta way to celebrate a 'Sizzling' life than with a 'Sizzler'



@ Kobe in Koramangala - This place gets a Thumbs-Up from my side! Almost lip-smacking!!!

Linking this to Color Deckors.......

Aye Captian!

Almost every other day we met somebody ~at work, among frnds, among colleagues who are well jus toooo big for their shoes n this invariably when they must be jus a step or two above you in the value-chain!

But then you meet somebody, who defines what "Humility" means ~~ Somebody at work whose style of operation can be described only as ~~ "Underplay"! So here hes been working with a minion in the value-chain for the past few weeks (yours truly) and me in my ignorance have been treating him jus as one would yet another peer. Its only by chance that I learn that he is right there at the top in the value chain and all I could do was "Gulp" with surprise at his humility, humbleness!

The topping on the cake thou should be his story of "How I met my Life partner" ~~ Not publishing it here as well its his story to tell....

Somebody, who you would truly want to bow down to and say "Aye Captain" ~~ Its not everyday that you meet a true blue gentleman! Aye Captain!

Happy Bday.....

Sax! Ho yeap the same Sabina Zacharias who keeps popping in v frequently into this blog! Well if you go here and read, you will know tht she is goodness personified. But well well, if u think shes this Miss. Goody-two-shoes, you couldn't be more wronger. Sample her latest FB msg to know what am speaking....

May those who love us love us,
and those who do not love us,
may God turn their hearts,
and if He cannot turn their hearts
may He turn their ankles
that we may know them by their limping ;)))))



She can be this imp and well I guess its tht mixture  which makes her this perfectly lovable n interesting person :). Heres hoping tht this year, she ends up finding the much-awaited professional happiness in her life..... Something which as she keeps saying is "More Than A Job".... This I believe will be the elixir to all her maladies!

Leaving u with the cake tht we baked(ho yes! More of it later thou) to mark the occasion.....

Book Review: Resident Dormitus!



Pic courtesy: Google.
This book came in via Blog Adda's Book review program! Even before I start the review, I should tell u the first thing tht stuck me about this book is the intro of the author on back cover, a part of which read something like this "He has random obsessions which include dropping one-liners, missing deadlines, and an unhealthy emotional attachment to his slippers". Lol! Esp as the first and the last bit reminded of ma hubbs. Ma hubs n his shoes deserve a post in themselves :)

So back to the review, Frankly, I flipped thru the first few pages jus cause  I had to do this review. The book started off jus as yet another of those boring chiklits ~~ couple of disillusioned boys straight out of college n well u can guess the rest of the plot.

But am happy that I dint give up reading it at tht instant...... The way the book took a shape slowly but steadily was indeep a pleasant surprise! A surprising mix of "chiklit" with a v healthy dose of "Gyaan"(The variety tht really doesnt breath down ur neck). It indeed comes as a whiff of fresh air to meet characters who are from larger-than-life but by design n sometimes by chance reach their goals in life...... As a afterthought, this book thou seem to be skimming on the surface does in reality makes u pause n think twice. Here is a piece that you would want to sample to ow what am talking:

"You Know why we construct these walls around our homes" Achet(the hero in the book) is asked by his father. "To Keep unwanted elements at bay" answers Achet trying to humour his father.  But of course the father has the final word -  "And to keep the desired elements within. The trick is to know which is which" - simple lines but thot provoking rt!

Thou to be fair, I wouldnt still rate it as "Must Read" ~~ But if this is somebody’s first attempt at writing, then trust my words, he is author to watch out for!

Book: Resident Dormitus
Author: Vikas Rathi (Yet another IIM Suspect)
Rating - 7\10.

This review is a part of Blog Adda ~~ Book review program! If u ask me, its quite a innovative way to market ur books ~~ reaches the audience without spending a bomb on marketing! Thank You BlogAdda :)

PS: Edited to add this bit this bit tht remained with me even a good week post reading this book ~~ a desc of the IT Crowd. As the author says "The IT crowd can roughly be divided into three groups. The first group consisted of those who were new in their jobs. They thought were smart, except they were not ~~ They were a lethal combination of arrogance and absurdity. The second group consisted of those who had been around for a while. They were either sufficiently numbed or were smart enuf to realize that the minuscule impact they could make on any project. The third group consisted of a minority of employees who had been doing very well, in line with their ambitions. They took every meeting as an opportunity to show how smart they were" ... LOl! A good one rt... no prizes for guessing which group I belong to......

Reflections!


A click By hubs! Captured here for the simplicity yet the elegance tht only nature can eva personify...

The KodiMaram has a Story to Tell tooo......



If u from certain parts of India(esp south), you will realize tht the pic in here is tht of a Kodimaram - you can read about it and it s significance in a temple here.

But whats interesting abt the pic here is tht it wasnt clicked at a temple but instead at a church. Here's  is a closeup of the pole-mast!.



 This I guess must be the influence of the local culture and people on the church! Clicked in a small nondescript town in kerala!

Linked to SWF

One God ~ One Religion!


This is a pic tht adorned (in the theme at least if not a exact replica), not a political office not a govt office but across the walls of bakeries, travel offices, shops and even on the glass panels of public transport in a small town tucked somewhere in the heart of Kerala. A point to note is that these areas are the ones where typically  riots regularly break out in name of religion! Kudos to them!!!!

Linking this to ABC Wednesay(S is for sacred), wordless wednesday

The Stories a Tomb says...


Clicked at a church in Kerala. Jus look at the date of Death in the first few entries to know why this tomb deserves a click....

Linked to MyWorld