Friday, February 28, 2014

A Sunset to Remember...

While on a very short vacation, I visited Kasaragod beach which is at a distance of a mere two kilometers from my husband's place. 
Along with my sister-in -law and her kid, we three watched a beautiful sunset. The kids went crazy playing with sand and waves and had a gala time.

Some memories captured by my camera...

Waiting for the sea to wash away my name... 

Bonding by the sea...

Celestial Light..

The romantic in me...

My son making some palm prints...

Almost time...
The final bye...


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Memento from the Awesome Three...


Time weaves a tapestry of memories. In my case, some areas of this fascinating tapestry are prettier and fonder, while some others elicit a forgotten ache in my heart.

I have a memento I cherish from a happy and carefree past. My three awesome friends presented it to me as a parting gift. I carry it around with me wherever I go. It is a lucky charm to me.


 "Girls always love gold" (Reason for giving me the gift)


Let me tell you a little about them. They were my colleagues in Dubai Metro and we bonded like real siblings while there. Sanjeev Bharadwaj (Sanju), Navneeth Kalangi (Pandu) and Anas Mohammad formed this amazing trio.


All three were in their early twenties. Each one was unique and I guess what endeared them to me was their innocence. There was no malice or spite in their hearts. They loved to smile and make others smile.


Sanjeev was a prankster, Anas courted mishaps at site and Pandu was sensitive and child- like among the three. He would end up fighting with the other two, and I would play the agony aunt.



Sanjeev once called me early in the morning while on night shift just to pester me and recorded the expletives I showered on him. Later he played it amidst much fanfare during a lunch hour.


Whenever some accidents happened on-site, Anas would be the site - in- charge without doubt. Once a pipe which was not shown in the utility drawings of Dewa (Dubai Electicity and Water Authority), burst while pile driving, leaving a poor Anas standing watching as a fountain of water shot up in front of the office of our client, the RTA (Road and Transport Authority). Another time an Egyptian met with an accident at midnight hitting the traffic barriers at his site while he was on duty.


Pandu was senior by experience and we would look up to him to guide us about the kind of work happening on site and about how to deal with our managers who were polar opposites of each other.
Glimpses from the farewell dinner


When I quit work in 2008, we vowed to each other to be in touch and thankfully, we still are.
Friendship :)



All three are a bit angry with me, as I could not attend any of their marriages. However, their wives are my friends already.


Thank you for being in my life.





"This post is my entry for the ‘My Most Memorable Memento’ contest conducted by My Yatra Diary travel blog and Indian Coupons."


I invite from anitaexplorer.blogspot.in,
Ayesha from http://aayesha1611.blogspot.in/

Sreesha http://petrichorandclouds.blogspot.in/ to participate in this contest.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Chronicles of Aunty Acid



Source


My earliest memory of Aunty Acid still manages to make me cringe. It was just a long and crazy day, that day more than two decades ago. I had joined my gang of friends in a game of hopscotch in the barren land near her house.


With the skin color that you have, no one worthy will ever marry you. Only fair girls get the best grooms,” she shouted at me ending her prediction with a maniacal laughter. I ran off crying, cursing the skin I was born with and wondering what prompted her to bug me in that way in front of my friends.


May be she was speaking from her experience, given that she was at least five shades darker than I was.

 My granny fumed when I narrated what had happened and then came near me armed with a few red chilies and a pinch of salt. She moved them in a few circles around me, muttering some mantras and then threw them in fire.


“There burn all the negativity she spewed on you. Phew...See how much powerful her venom is?!!” said granny watching them spluttering and fume.

Nevertheless, the ritual did not prevent me from having a nightmare about being married to an alcoholic, wife-beating husband like that of Aunty Acid and wake up screaming. It haunted me for a long time and I thought no one would ever love me.



Years passed and Aunty Acid continued to belch poison on others and me. Kids avoided her like plague; her words were like Acid and left an indelible mark. We all unanimously agreed that someone with his or her brain in the right place had named her Aunty Acid.


There was a rumor that, if she caressed a plant lovingly, it wilted the next day. If she praised anyone, instead of being happy, the object of her praise panicked. Such was the terror.

When I was awaiting my entrance results, she told me I did not stand a chance. Reason being that her daughter, who was doubly intelligent than me, had not cracked it. Again, fate proved her wrong and like everyone, I started to covet her negative comments.


One day during my semester exam time, Aunty Acid declared that no sane person would marry an arrogant girl like me after I declined to visit her, leaving my studies halfway through. My parents beamed hearing it. That was a positive sign indeed.

After our engagement, with my heart threatening with a heart attack, I heard my fiance answer my query that he does not drink, not even socially. Phew…. I thanked Aunty Acid heartily. From then on, I deliberately made Aunty Acid angry, praying secretly that she erupt like a volcano.


Aunty Acid predicted my marriage will end within a year and that I will not ever have peace in my husband’s house.


I celebrated my tenth wedding anniversary last year and my in-laws still dot on me.


Aunty Acid still grinds her teeth when she sees me and I eagerly await the blessings that are about to be showered on me.


This time when I visited her, I went with a bag full of Cadbury 5 star, with a selfless aim to cure her acid tongue. 

Source


To my dismay, I hear she cannot eat them any more. Diabetics is the culprit.

Who knows how many future generations she will bless with her acid tongue. Our whole village predicts she will outlive most of us. Such is the strength of her negativity.


May be after her death, a temple will come up in place of her grave. There, people will pray in antonyms.


I have even written down a few prayers.


“Make me bankrupt…Aunty Acidaya namah  (11 times)”

“Make me ill… Aunty Acidaya namah (101 times)”

“Make me sad… Aunty Acidaya Namah ( 1001 times)”



Meri bhi #Condition Serious Hai… :) :) :D


This is written as part of a contest in Indiblogger in association with Cadbury5Star

Source


 If you wish to cure me please visit this site.


Don't forget to courier sacks full of Cadbury 5 star for me....

I am waiting!!!


Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Charcoal Portrait of Bhagwan Shri Satya Sai Baba

Bhagwan Shri Satya Sai Baba
A Portrait for a dear friend, done as a Thank You Gift.

Thank You Sai Leela Rallapalli for the Love, Knowldege and Happiness you give me...


Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A Long Cherished Dream

The United Kingdom has always been a charming world for me, to be exact, right from my childhood. The main reasons have been Literature and Nature.

The boarding school stories, the Famous five and the Secret Seven by Enid Blyton coloured my childhood memories. Through these stories, a part of me began living a secret life, a life as portrayed in these enchanting stories. I longed to live in a boarding school like Elizabeth Allen of ‘The Naughtiest Girl’ series. I wished to solve a mystery like the kids in ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’. More than that, I started craving for an English breakfast complete with muffins, scones, hot cakes and creamy porridge. I decided, come what may, I was going to study in the UK.

Time flew and my dreams of studying in the UK remained just that- Dreams.  As a teenager, I graduated into serious literature and interests. Then Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Charles Dickens arrived on scene, pulling me back to UK with their vivid descriptions. This time the addiction was bad. I longed to visit the land of birth of a thousand sonnets. I wanted to see the places where my favourite writers created their masterpieces.

The land which has also the most unpredictable and varied climate intrigued me. The visuals online of the wildest winters, the wet and mild spring, the warm summers and the picturesque autumn, tempted me further. 

Fate, but soon chose a different path for me. A new interest in engineering, made the literature-lover in me, take a back seat. I completed my Civil Engineering degree and immersed myself in a world of Construction drawings, Quotations and Quantity surveying.

With the birth of a son, I took a sabbatical from work and that was when the writing- bug bit me. I began content writing as a way of working from home and started a blog as well.

While searching online one day, I found this snippet at http://www.summer-school.hss.ed.ac.uk/suiss/cwcourse.html about a summer course on creative writing at the University of Edinburgh.
My dream of studying in the UK returned with a bang.



Source

I now wish to apply for this short-term course on creative writing from UK. Which place can be greater than Great Britain when it comes to creative writing in English? The details about the course are so alluring. The best thing is, it is a scholarship course.

I sincerely hope, I will get a chance to fulfill my dreams. I wish that the little girl in me, who cherished to see the sunlight shining on the dew drops on daffodils, will at last breath the air which stirred the muse in many great minds.


While composing this post, another snippet at http://knowledgeisgreat.in/ caught my attention and an additional and loftier dream resurfaced. An Engineering Management course, right there at the University of York, beckons me to fulfill another of my long cherished dream. I was always good on the management side in engineering and the description given below speaks my story. No wonder, I involuntarily dusted out another forgotten dream.



Little do I know what time has in store for me, but I refuse to let my dreams die an early death and I wish they would come true this time.



 Knowledge is Great and man needs to keep his thirst for it alive, throughout his life. The moment he stops seeking knowledge, marks his end.



Visit http://knowledgeisgreat.in/ if you are interested to study in the UK.



This post is written for a contest hosted by Indiblogger and British Council.

  

Monday, February 10, 2014

Dancers...

Dancers: 18 X 24 Inches, Acrylic on Canvas

Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian BloggersYay...Another Indistar

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Another Versatile Blogger Award

Another Versatile Blogger Award came calling almost a month back. My grey cells were so lost in the shine and sheen of it that I forgot all about the requirement of an acceptance post. I had left it unseen in a far away corner of my Indimail where it had begun to gather dust. It had come from a blog called Petrichor and Clouds, send by Sreesha Divakaran; who dreams of little smiles and tummy butterflies.

Today, I remembered it, dusted it with a velvet cloth and there it was, back to it former glory.

Thank You Sreesha...  ( A Hi-5 to you, for being a Harry Potter Fan)

Now for the rules:


1. Link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award to 11 bloggers who you think deserve it. 
4. Contact the people you've nominated.

Seven Things about Myself:

1) I can't live without reading for more than a day. When I don't have anything new to read I go back to re-read some of my favorite books. I have lost the number of times I have read Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter. 

2) I love doodling. Most of the pages of my books used to be filled with doodles of faces. Happy faces, sad faces; all reflecting my mood.

3) I am an internet addict. Especially after I started my blog and became a member of Indiblogger, I am always online. I panic when my WiFi shows no signal.

4) I believe that Kitchen is a lab and cooking needs constant R&D. I do it everyday and my family are the unsuspecting guinea pigs.

5) I believe in God. I have added another to the list of gods I already believe in. Google-eshwari... I simply can't do without her. Ask her anything, within seconds you have it. Which other God is so prompt?

6) Once upon a time... is my favorite tagline. Read me a fairy-tale anytime and I will snuggle and go to sleep, dreaming about a prince and a happily-ever-after.

7) My craziest dream is to own a Time-machine (or invent one) so that I am able to go back in time and undo all the mistakes I now realize I did in my past. 


So that is it....

Here are the list of my nominees for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Mridula.. I know you are busy to accept this...but,You are my Versatile No.1...

Anita, the most Versatile Bollywood fan..

Sakshi Nanda, I have spend half my day going through your posts. They are addictive.Keep Blogging and inspiring.

Pallavi and Nabanitha ... I don't know why, but I keep thinking of you both as sisters. (I know you are not..;))


Indrani... I absolutely love your Versatile Photography. I cannot pass by your blog and not comment. I feel guilty. 


Sindhu Devi K, you are Versatile to the core. Arts and Me and Tantu keeps me dazed.



Aayesha, Namrata and Karan Sampat; So young and so Versatile...Keep blogging...

Sreeja Praveen, It is a pleasure to read your Versatile posts.



So fellow bloggers... It is time you accepted that you are Unique, Amazing, Awesome all rolled into one - a Versatile Blogger.

:)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   :)   

A smile for each one of you too...!!!






Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian BloggersYAY.... Another Indistar :) :) :)

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Some Amazing Websites for Kids

Kids learn fast when the lessons are taught through song and dance.

There are some amazing websites online, which helped me educate my son. A few minutes a day goes a long way in developing their interest in learning.

Some of my son's favorite websites are:

1) Starfall.com




2) KidsTV ( A YouTube Channel)


This channel in youtube has the most melodious Alphabet and Phonic songs. Also there are videos that teaches about colours, shapes, addition, multiplication, etc.

3) Curious George from Pbskids: Learn through Games.





4) Alphablocks from Cbeebies: There is a TV show as well as games online.





It is an amusing show. The Alphablocks come together, tell them what sound they makes and then join together to form words. They also show what the word means..!!

5) Numtums from Cbeebies



6) Nursery Rhymes: Mother Goose Club( YouTube Channel):



There are many more such websites. 

With Google, Knowledge is just a few clicks away.

Hope these links help.


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

What goes around, comes around...





Years ago, there was a five-year-old girl, who never went to bed without listening to her favorite bedtime story about the Hunter and the four friends. Listening to it every day, she knew it verbatim. If her parents left out a single word, she would start howling.

The Hunter and the four friends became a terror to the parents and the book went underground quite frequently. However, the girl would search it out and the ordeal of the parents will begin anew.

Years later, the history is repeating itself….
She is the mother to a five-year-old now and this time the culprits are the ‘Three Billy goats Gruff’.





That is what I call ‘Karma’. What goes around comes around…Never doubt it!!

No points for guessing who the girl is though...


P.S: I am secretly making a list of things I did as a child. It helps to be prepared...right?!!






Saturday, February 1, 2014

A Romantic painting to begin the month of Love

An Acrylic painting : Love in Moonlight ( 16 X 20 Inches)



This painting was inspired by the poem, 'The highwayman' by Alfred Noyes.


Especially the lines:

"Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

Wishing everyone a Happy Month of Love!! :)


Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers