@ Mullayanagiri

Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka. N thts exactly where we were on our anniv. The road all the way to the peak is well paved - but the person behind  the wheels betta be a competent one!

Now the view from up above is supposed to be amazing. But as I said the place was ravgaed by rains when we were there which on afterthought was the silver lining!

The wind was raving mad! This was the state of our umbrella the moment we tried opening it!

As we trekked the few step up the peak, the wind was blowing madly wooosh in ur ears n the rain drops felt like a knife pricking on our skin n it was cold beyond belief.... brrrrrr! Definitely what I call a thrilling experience.......

Look at the smile on his face ~~ doesnt tht tell it all :-D

Linking this to Thursday Challenge - "PARK" (Woodland, Recreation Area, Playground, Garden,...)

Few books by Jaishree Misra

I read a sinppet of Jaishrees Misras book "Ancinet Promises" when I was flipping thru the book the book "Where the rain is born". She  came highly recommended by Sabina Zacharias ~~ n ofcourse undoudetly i was hooked!

So this book - "Ancient Promises" has been on my to-read list for ages now! The book revolves around a educated-outside-Kerala, smart young bride getting into a rolling-in-money family ~~ written in a simple straightforward manner thts a joy to read! But unfortunately, I hvnt yet got around to reading the entire book

I hv thou chanced to read two of her other books - "Rani" and "Secrets and Lies". "Rani" is a historical fiction centered around - Rani Lakshmi Bai. I had picked it up with high hopes after a dose of mughal trilogy by Indu Sundaresan. The book started to a good start ~~ but somewhere off lost the steam :-/.

Now onto the other one - "Secrets and Lies" will not fall in one of the "must-read" list. But then not all books need to fall in the list ~~  Its a book I still enjoyed reading. A simple story revolving around friends, teachers, relationships etc.....

A writer whose writing seems as much a joy to read as her stories.. So "Ancient Promises" it is!

Romanticism ~~ Hubbs version!

When hubbs whisks u off from office on a weekday from office, to celebrate his B'day(was a good month ago) .... more like to make up for screwing up my day by not getting me in time for a meeting @ work, I go all week-kneed envisioning a 'romantic' sojourn! But but knowing hubbs, I knew there has to be a catch somewhere! Of course the apple doesn’t fall off v far from the true....


His idea of a 'Romantic' day ended up driving off into some unknown nook off the city (luckily far far off from the maddening traffic), treating u to a roadside dhaba lunch. If u think me exaggerating here hv a look at this pic!

Yea u see that rt, beer in a plastic glass... how much more romantic can it get huh.. Grrrr!. Don u miss tht dog at the background BTW this is a v common visual whenever we head out outside the city.... Dogs(n monkeys if its his lucky day) follow him ala the piped-piper story! Doesn’t he look like a perfect 'Devdas' in here :-D. (Dhaaru in one hand with the dog curling up closer)... Some definition of a romantic date huh!











When we on this topic lemme also show u a pic of how his romantic-date lunch looked like too ~~ Roti, Dal Fry, Chicken Tikka with some green chilies(n beer in platsic glass :-P) .... sob, sob sob. Go ahead, roll ur eyes!





I hv to add(thou grudgingly) that the topping on the cake was the sighting of this lovely, deserted, a treat-to-city-tired eyes water-body tucked in far far away from the maddening crowd. The rain drops (for once i welcomed the rain) that showered for jus a litt while, cooled the place giving it a magical glow:-D. Ho no, don let ur imagination run wild.... the romanticism ended with enjoying the nature! Somebody has to take ma hubbs thru a crash course in being romantic I say!

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,...)

Good News syndrome!

So as I said in previous post, we celebrated 5 years of our marriage recently(Aug 31). "Learning Together" is the best that describes these 5 years for us - starting from being clueless(Ho who am I kidding - I think we still are!) to being wee-bit-less-clueless(:-D). Donno abt hubbs(I think he is slowly grudgingly getting there :-D) but its definitely true of yours truly(:-P). U C now growing old, Bank balance(or rather lack of it), health-n-lifestyle are all giving me palpitations - truly sign of growing up na :-D

The v obvious q tht we are asked as soon as we mention 5 years of marriage is but of course the much dreaded "So how many children" - n ho this can come from your relatives to next-door-aunty to the lady at beauty parlor (baaa!). As long as its at this non-intrusive level, I laugh it off ~~ but ho! if u try nget too intrusive abt it  - with no qualms whatsoever are u placed in the "ignore" list (n ho me good at it!). Giving somebody a dose of "ignore maadi" gives me a definite high - so beware! While I would love to throw some attitude around n say tht we will hv a baby when we want one - this subject is a sensitive one for the simple reason tht the missing child is not cause of lack of trying :-/

On this note, lemme tell u tht I hv a laprascopy scheduled for tomo ... sob sob sob!

PS: I think its only fair tht I thank my stars that not a single person(not even hubbs 85 year old grandmom) even whimpered of a child(or make it lack of it) when they wished us on anniv!

Monsoon Magic at its Best!

This space is been silent for too long for my liking! So in an attempt to revive this space, here is a review of the place we stayed at our last weekend getaway to Chikmagalur (it was our anniv if u wana know!)....... Guddadamane

First things First - this is a "Home stay" in its truest sense. So u are allotted a room tucked right in the heart of their home thou don yea worry u will have all the privacy u want!

Now lemme start with the negatives - as they really arent many

One of the many pathways!

There are some lovely outdoors out there- what with it being bang in the coffee estate. So it seems atrocious that the rooms you stay at do not open out to the outdoors. Especially considering that for many city-breeds a holiday equates to spending time in midst of nature! As for food, the variety is great but at least in non-veg u get this distinct feeling of it being put together in a haste(so chicken seems not properly marinated)

Now for the plus - beautiful property in midst of nature(they could definitely do more to use that to their advantage) - ha the pleasure of waking upto chirping birds.Great place to sit back with a book over cups of hot coffee, go for long walks. The topping on cake is the fact that if you choose to do more touristy things like tick off the 'To Visit' places list - you arent really v far off from them either.

Now isnt tht Truly a desi-style Barbeque!

One thing u should definitely do when you there is go for a walk on their estates - Gumboots, walking sticks, umbrella are v thoughtfully provided - hubss got some amazing clicks of the flora n fauna that abound there.


As for the food, One thing I absolutely loved is the lip-smacking good live - barbecues(v much our desi style) and home-made wine devoured as u huddle around a camp-fire!

All in all a value for money (2500 per couple per day including breakfast-lunch-dinner - monsoon weekday offer i guess)! N definitely a place where monsoon plays its magic... the place is so green after a shower of rains that it’s a balm for city tired eyes!

PS: Ignore the lack of pics - these are from the "Mobile Uploads" on FB courtesy hubbs! More will follow

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(H is Hols)

Hang Our heads in shame!

Did u read this article on mass exodus of people back to their homes in Assam - for they fear that they will bear the brunt of the back-lash of communal riots.


Imagine they must be people like u n me who have made some other state their home in search of livelihood(More often than not - they will be the only breadwinners of their family with no other financial backup). And today, they will hv to abandon everything and flee to save the own skin from their own brethren.

Sadly, this happened on the day of our 65th Independence day... Someway to being in th eindependence day huh!!! Time we hang our heads in shame....

Dinner is a Delight.....

...... When you know each morsel of food u eat is not jus healthy but equally Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-D

That soup u see there is a hearty mutton soup - Some bread to dunk into it. You could of course eat that up with the Bulls-Eye-On-Capsicum or the scrambled eggs (made with the left-over yolk  - the egg white went into the soup).

Definitely Delightful rt :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (D is for Delightful Dinner)

Daddy O' Daddy!

Thank you god for all you have done

For giving me a friend, the best under the sun

He guides me in whatever I do
Always with me filling my life with hue

He makes me laugh and makes me cry
With him around life is never dry

Sometimes he is someone who I really hate
Other times he is my very best mate

Life is crazy with him around
To him I am eternally bound

He can be the worst critic on his part
When he appreciates something, it comes from his heart

He is someone I will never understand-a complete enigma
His character and patience unchallengeable- hundred percent six sigma

He makes me happy and he makes me sad
But then I'll always be his lad

By best friend in the world
U guessed it, will always be my dad!!

This lines were penned by my husband a long time ago. But each word still resonates with truth today - a decade n more later. It must indeed speak of something abt a person who sticks to his ideals thru thick n thin of life! Selflessly helping others has been the motto he is lived thru his life - giving back to the society much more than what hes got, never being awed by problems, seeking new challenges daily - Qualities of a true leader or should I say of a true rotarian.    You see  ma FIL is now the president of one of the chapters of Rotary club in Chennai :-)

Sweet Somethings!

Lemme show a glimpse of the dessert I licked clean(literally :-D) over the weekend!

Doesn't it look yummmmmmmmm! This 'Tomato Halwa'(yea u read it rt) was dished out by hubbs grandmother - on our recent visit to Chennai. Just for records, she is hitting 85 soon.

What amazes me is the verve with which she
 follows cookery shows even at this age  and then v religiously dishes them up! Dint I tell yea tht cooking runs in their genes. But imagine doing that at 85.... Hats off to her!

Of course the 'Aaaw' factor for me is the fact that the only one at hubbs home with a sweet tooth is me n invariably a sweet-dish gets plated by the grand old lady only when yours truly is visiting :-D. The fact that we come back loaded from there with all kinda masala powders is jus the topping on the cake (I tell yea they hv a magic ingredient in them which ensures that any dish u add them into will turn lip-smaking good). Whats there to not to love in it :)



Linking this to ABC Wednesday(C is for cooking; C is for chennai) and Color Deckors Weekly Story!

PS: Jus realized tht my space now seems to be having posts of only food n books! Yea agreed that they are truly the two loves of my life... but huh aint there nothing else happening in my life! Not a good sign people....