expresso

A peaceful relaxing vacation in Bay Area with friends

2014-12-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days have been awesome and as year of 2014 is coming to a close I feel that I deserve this time off and just be happy and merry for just no particular reason.

This year 2014 did not start so great for me. I was grumpy and moody and I had lots of valid reasons for that too. Of course it was much better off than 2013, so am not complaining much. Still lots of things happened in 2014 and it will be always a very special year for us.

I was wondering how this year end up would when a couple friends decided that they will stay over for about a week and just go around the bay area. To add to that delight was a sudden self-invited guest who was a bachelor. I felt as if Santa Claus was coming to my home as it was a big surprise for us .So thus began our so called happy holidays which were a blessing for us because we never planned any for ourselves , otherwise.

So the couple friend reached late evening though they were planning to come to our home around lunch time. Also, we picked up the bachelor guy from the airport and so the more the merrier ….

I had prepared only vegetarian food and later felt that was such a bad choice as they happened to be pure non vegetarians! Anyways, later we did order lots of non-veg food and had a good late night dinner enjoying both veg as well as non-veg food along with some good booze .

The next day being the Christmas Eve, we decided that we shall go see the Napa valley. We started from home early and Napa was only about 2 hours’ drive from the starting point. The weather was so beautiful. We played the game ‘Guess who “ on our way which was a game were one person has to guess a person and the others had to find out who that person in about 20 questions …it was so much fun and we didn’t realize how quickly we reached the destination . We went straight to a place called “Calistoga “and went to the castle there. We didn’t take any tour as none of us were in a mood for it. But we were all so excited to taste the wine. I too tasted wine I guess for the first time in my life! Of course I had sipped wine before but was never so fond of it. I thought I should not miss the opportunity to taste the Napa valley wine and oh boy! It was magical … I don’t know if it was because of my first time feeling tipsy, ha! But altogether the whole experience made me so happy! We tasted reserve wine along with the normal ones. I enjoyed the sweet wine a lot though I don’t remember the names of any of them now … The guy who served us was so graceful and kept telling us how it was made etc. , and I was so impressed with his knowledge . I was happy that all the sweetness of wine is not by adding any artificial sugar but from the gapes itself .I asked him for suggestions as to which are the wines I needed to try first and the sequence of checking out the wine list so that I could enjoy the taste the most. I figured out that I enjoyed the sweet wines the best! And H seemed to enjoy a strong taste, better. He asked us if we were a couple and married and we said yes. Immediately he said that soon we will be blessed with a child! I didn’t know what to say! I was so touched by his statement. I was so over the board with happiness and got slightly emotional that I blabbered and muttered something like “thanks “, “ I hope your words come true “ I wanted to say something like “ I hope you have sugar in your mouth “( there is a saying in another language which meant something like –“I hope your words are true “, and I was just trying the raw translation, how stupid !, I guess I got so excited ) , I started the statement and later on realized that I was not making any sense , and kept quiet feeling slightly foolish and the guy would have wondered why this silly girl is gleaming with his comment !!!! Ha... but I was indeed happy … We were all pondering as to whether we should buy any wine or not as they were so expensive crossing 80 dollars/ wine. Of course they were too good and I felt the price is reasonable but all of us opted out, finally. Also the others were little concerned as to how they will carry wines in flight and will it break etc. etc... I have definitely vouched myself that I will come back soon and will buy some wine and enjoy the taste of Napa from the comforts of the sofa at my home …. I hope that day comes soon.

I don’t know what to write about Napa … everything is so beautiful... it’s like a country side I have never visited but have seen many a times in movies... Food is expensive; hence we didn’t do any proper dining. We found a Nepalese restaurant, and decided to try out their food. The food is very similar to Indian food. We ordered garlic naan, along with mutton and chicken curry. Along with that we ate some rice and everything was simply delicious. It was slightly expensive, but thought may be that should be expected in Napa considering that it is such a tourist destination. We wanted to try out another wine place but it was getting close to 5 pm and it was Christmas Eve, so all the shops were closed. We did travel down to another place and found that place closed... Anyways having decided that we should now head back home , we bid bye’s to Napa and its serenity and started our “guess who “ game which we continued till we reached home . The guys went to pick aapam and lots of non-veg curry from apakadai , and the taste was just out of the world! … They went on to make it a party happening night with drinks while I was so exhausted that I slept after dinner... I slept off in the car too and I wonder now if it was due to the tasty wine or the sumptuous food we had in the Nepali hotel …

The next day we got up slightly late. It was Christmas day and we knew that all the restaurants were closed. We had some bananas as breakfast and then headed out to see SFO down town. We saw the golden gate from marinas, but it was dark, so we couldn’t take lots of pictures. We just drove around SFO downtown but there was too much traffic by night we decided to wind the day getting some food again from apakadai and had a nice relaxing dinner. We went to sleep little early as we were planning to go to Yosemite the next day ….

We got up early and rented an SUV. We played the “Guess who “game and stopped along the way for food and coffee.

We didn’t go to the Yosemite lodge directly. We had only planned to reach there by night. We entered Yosemite from the west entrance, and saw the bridal vein fall first. We stopped to take lots of pics...We went to the nearby visitor center and collected information as to the places we could see that day. The guide told us that we could see the half dome during sun set. It was such a breath taking view that I have no words to describe. I thank the guide who gave such an excellent suggestion. We winded up that day’s trip going to the cedar lodge in el portal. There were restaurant nearby and we ordered some sandwiches. The food was not that great and they delayed the food over 2 hours!!! Not just us but all the people in that place were waiting to get food .Finally when the food came it was not that warm. I think their oven or microwave had gone bad. I saw lots of people shouting at the chef, though we quietly ate and decided to head back to the room. We have seen poor reviews of the lodge and didn’t know what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised! The room was neat and clean, had continues supply of hot water, had a lavish big bath room, tub as well as shower (I think we had paid little extra to get this room)…We watched TV for some time, and boys ended up together drinking and chatting. The next day morning we saw the Yosemite tunnel view and it was extremely serene and beautiful. I loved the drive to mariposa grove. It was snowy and slippery, but thankfully had no rains that day...The snow made it difficult to walk and heavy winds slashed our faces. In spite of the freezing cold weather, I still enjoyed the walk up to the top to see lots of points on the mariposa grove. I feel this is a must see if you are going to Yosemite...We headed back after that and stopped somewhere near by to have some snacks like bread and coffee. After that we resumed our journey and took food from paradise point. We ordered 2 chicken biryani and 2 mutton biryani and ordered it extra hot. Though we went red with the spice drank gallons of water to control the spice in the mouth, the food tasted great after such a tiring day.

The next day the couple friend had to go back to Los Angeles and from there to San Diego. We started our morning with food from Madurai idly kadai, which is a best way to start any day with awesome south Indian breakfast. We took the US 1 and went to see the pebble beach. Though we didn’t get to see the pebble beach as there was some confusion about the road, we enjoyed the other beach points...We took the 17 mile drive and stopped at many points to take pics. We also saw whales from far splashing water into the ocean which was a surprise sight for us and of course unexpected. The day was bright and sunny though cold... After that we headed to Big Sur. I had been to Big Sur before but somehow this time it felt more beautiful. We stopped to take pics and were swamped with tourists. We decided to travel with the couple friend along with the bachelor friend (in our car), to see the Hurst castle. It was beginning to get dark and the winding roads made it difficult to drive faster. Also the speed limit restrictions, made us move very slowly. The sun kept going down and I saw a sight which I had never seen live but seen a lot in pics. The sky got the crimson red color. My god! I wish I could stare at it for hours together...Each minute of the sun set, the sky threw different colors as if exhibiting its beauty and I was dumb struck with her beauty. I have seen so many paintings but such a view is to die for! This time around I didn’t bother taking any pics but just enjoyed those rare moments .We had seen a Yosemite movie in the visitor center where we had bought souvenirs. The movie tells us how important it is to preserve the nature and I thank the government and the people for keeping Yosemite so accessible , neat beautiful and untouched .. Yosemite and Napa valley are a must see if you are coming to the bay area. We didn’t bother going to Hurst castle as we knew that it was dark and we would not be able to see the castle anyways. Both the cars stopped half way (as they were in their car, and we in ours) and we decided to quietly wind up that day’s evening enjoying the setting sun. We said our byes and they headed to Los Angeles and we three headed back home. On our way we decided to find a police station to give back a lost phone which we got from Yosemite.

The next day H dropped our bachelor friend to SFO airport where he was to take a flight to Michigan, H then went to work, and also gave back the lost phone which we could not give the previous night as stations were closed. I hope it reaches the owner. They would be so happy to get it.

This time, my vacation was so different from the ones I usually take...Usually H and I would be enthusiastically zooming the places. This time we decided to take a step back and go with the flow of our friends as they didn’t want a rushed vacation. I would say I like both the types. Both have their own sort of fun.

Anyways, as I wind up the vacation time, I feel so happy and relaxed and so serene... I feel I took a little bit of strength of Yosemite, little bit of calmness from the sunset and little bit of peacefulness from the Napa valley into me. I hope that this stays with me all through the months next year .Nature always reminds us it is supreme and we need to respect and stay calm. Things will take its own course and everything will fall into place in the end. Then why do I always rush and disturb the peace in me?? Peacefulness inside is such a difficult thing to achieve and now that I feel little peaceful I hope I don’t lose it for the next year. I wish the best for myself the next year. I always wish the best for all, forgetting that I need to wish for myself too... This time around let me wish that beautiful things happen next year and I enjoy each and every moment of my peacefulness for now and for ever ….

Welcome to Palakkad : things to do list for tourists

2014-09-08T14:09:00.001-07:00

My home town is a beautiful place called 'Palakkad'. It is a very laid back village/town which prides itself on lush green paddy fields and lots of history and culture dating back to ages. Growing up there was fun . Getting up at dawn , hovering around my grand mother to see her milk our cow, playing in rain , getting dirty and muddy , listening to chirping birds and so much more It was as if life did not exist beyond that until the real LIFE came !

Palakkad is known for Ayurvedic treatments , which means they use herbs and plants to make medicines and cures even deadly diseases . People come far and wide for this reason and get treated at an affordable cost .'Palakkad fort ' which stands in the center of the town reminds us of the medieval era . There is a quite hill station called 'Neliampathy' which is known for its luscious wild life , waterfalls, paddy fields, long hiking trails and some of the breath taking spots which are to die for . Another beautiful must see place is 'Silent valley National park'' which has wide variety of wild animals and known for its natural beauty .

Some of the must try food items are Idli, Dosa, puttu and kadala curry , kerala style kozhi curry , idiappam and stew. Of course there are many others as well , but the ones I have listed are a must try which will leave you licking your fingers and wanting for more .

A trip to the USA central , east coast

2014-07-21T16:51:00.001-07:00

I am back from a 10 day trip to the east coast of USA and what should I say! The trip was fantastic and so much fun... It is always so much when I go to any trip with H because we tend to get very adventurous and walk away the whole trip seeing all the beautiful places a city can give us with the limited time we had .So here I am documenting, even the minute details of the trip and as much as possible so that I can look back at these notes some other time and say wow! What an amazing time we had ….

So it all started in June last week and we had about 12 days in hand. We were thinking about going to Europe but the visa stuffs will take longer than expected. Then we thought of visiting our native but again 10 days is too short a time for that … So we decided that we will tour couple of places in the central and east coast as we have not explored those areas. Initially we had cities like Minnesota, Vancouver etc. but then due to budget issues we had to cut them out... So finally after going back and forth with discussions our itenary went like this 1) Chicago (2 days) 2)Niagara( 2 days) 3)Syracuse (1 day) 4)Washington dc (3 days) 5) new York and jersey (3 days). I think one day would have gone in travel and the time zone difference

CHICAGO:

So we vacated our apartment on the 28 th of June 2014, and the same day evening we flew to Chicago o hare international airport. This airport is said to be the busiest airport in the world and I should say what a traffic! Flights were waiting in queue to depart and it was a never seen before sight! We stayed in south loop hotel which was close to the city. Chicago is well connected by subways and buses. There was a bus taking us to the city, to the navy pier to be exact, just outside the hotel. So we rented an enterprise car and then we kept the car along with the bags in a parking area which was around 10 dollars per day or something of that sort. Then we headed out to have a hearty breakfast at “Meli café and juice bar “.The service was great and the food was awesome. It’s pricey though. We had already booked the “Go card Chicago “tour for 2 days. This is like a hop in and hop off and we can get down anywhere in the attractions and see around 45 places. After having researched in quora and Google, we had come with a certain set of places which we decided that it’s a must see. The best part about this card was “skip a line ‘option. So where ever we went we could just scoop through the crowd and absolutely no waiting. Whenever we hop in and off the bus we either show the card to the driver or swipe the card (I don’t remember exactly what we did now). This go card is activated only after you purchase the card going to their shop. Their shop is located inside the Hilton hotel. We quickly bought the pass, checked their list of places and decided to start our trip J . The first place we stopped was the FIELD MUSEUM. We skipped the line and quickly toured around the museum. There are lots to see in this place as mentioned by lots of people in the web, especially if you like history...They portrayed how people in the olden ages lived, how their house like was, what dress were they wearing, what were the challenges they faced. Some of the artifacts dated from the Stone Age. Inside the museum, there were many places where we need to pay extra and go. I would be honest here. I somehow didn’t find the place appealing and didn’t want to spend lots of time there. Thankfully H agreed with me though he was little irritated that I was pushing him around and showing him the exit path! But we did get an idea on the famous museum. I personally feel it’s a great place to bring kids to actually show them about the history rather than studying from papers.

Near to the museum was located the “ALDER PLANETARIUM”. This place was amazing . It has pictures and superb explanations of how technology has evolved and how we are able to go to the moon and outer space. We were also given free passes to see a quick movie which was a 3d one. The room was made dark (of course!) and that somehow put H and me to sleep. I was trying to be awake for some time but then the time zone and the jet lag kicked in and we snored away to glory! Once the lights were up I did notice few people looking at us and kids gigging at us... he he ... This place is well worth a visit if you like to know about the outer space and is interested in astronomy and science. We also had a chance to experience how it was to be floating with zero gravity. We were made to lie down and push our legs against the wall. I regret doing this because not only did I not experience any zero gravity I ended up having slight back pain as well!

The weather was hot and should I say windy!! No wonder Chicago is called as the windy city!! It annoyed me personally. I had recently cut my hair short and my hair flew here and there! Also it was beginning to give me a head ache!!! The Aquarium was next to the planetarium too, but we decided to pass this as we had seen lots of those in the recent pasts. Our next destination was Chicago 360 or the John Hancock observatory .This project was financed by John Hancock mutual insurance company and hence the name. This tower has 100 floors and over looks Lake Michigan. It’s located in the Michigan Avenue. We could skip the line here as well due to our go Chicago card which was great! The view was amazing. It was extremely sunny but my sun glasses saved the day.

The next place which was on our list was the Willis tower. It’s also known as the Sears tower. It has 103 floors and like Hancock it is a place for many offices and restaurants. The idea originated when Sears group, the largest retailers decided to place all its employees under the same roof. It is said that he got the idea of this architecture when he was out dining with a friend and he was playing with his cigarettes! If you see the building now it’s not a straight tall building but just how a pack of cigarettes in hand would be; one small, one big etc. A recent attraction which started here was the deck view .Sears tower is completely closed from all sides by glass and we wondered what is new here which was different from the John Hancock tower. And then we got the answer J They have started something called as “Tilt “ So we can stand on the glass stand and then the glass will tilt about 45 degrees and you can really see the entire city from an Ariel view . I instantly said No! I had a big fear of heights and I knew I could never do this . H was interested to do this and highly enthusiastic as well but he too backed out as I was not going. I thought it was time to give my fears a break and at least try. Now did I enjoy it?? Well, I can’t say that I was not scared. I think I screamed the loudest but still it was fun...it was something which I had never done in my life before and I had to admit that I was not so scared any more. Of course in all these observatory decks they do take the photos and you can buy them if you are interested.

We did not rely on the hop on hop off throughout because waiting for the buses meant that we can’t see many of these places in the two days’ time frame

Chicago is a land of sky scrapers... There are countless tall buildings and Chicago River cuts through the city joining many loops, like south, north. I felt it was planned well and well connected. There were many tourists mostly because it was summer break for kids and amazing weather.

After seeing this, we decided to go and buy the tickets for the architecture lake tour which was highly recommended in the web. The tour is very close to the navy pier. The tour got over by the time we reached there but we did buy the tickets for the next day. We were told that along with navy pier our go card gives free tickets to some other rides in the park (some fast rides, some slow) and to our surprise it was valid till about a week or so. So we decided to just casually stroll along the MILLENIUM PARK. There was some live music and I saw lots of people enjoying and having a good time with kids. This park is amazing and there won’t be any one who would visit Chicago and not take a photo in the park. The history museum is nearby, but we it was closed by that time and we were awfully tired as well. We heard lots about a very famous pizza from our enterprise car driver on our way from the o hare airport. It’s the GIORDANO’S pizza. We were hungry and tired as we didn’t have our lunch and headed straight to that place. The place was filled with people!!!! I couldn’t imagine that a pizza place could be this much crowded and understood instantly that this has to be the best pizza in the town. We ordered something vegetarian and some appetizer. Appetizer was out of the world. I think it was something related to avocado. Pizza was very heavy. We could not finish it and we had to get that packed for Togo.

After dinner, we went back to the parking lot to collect our car (which was just walkable) and then headed straight to the hotel to check in. As we had not heard about this hotel before, I was really hoping that the place is neat and thankfully it was! The hotel room was larger than we expected it to be and was well maintained .The TV played some friends episode and I thought nothing could have been better to end such a happy day. Of course we were dead tired, but we are used to this kind ofvacations .Our vacations are never too relaxing and our idea was always to see lots of places in the limited time . I sagree that many people would think our ways as stupid but hey! Everyone has a different meaning of vacation, remember??

As we covered most of the places which were there in our list, we were very relaxed the second day. We got up late and headed out to subway for some brunch. After that we took a bus to the navy pier from outside our hotel. It was just a straight ride to navy pier.

We headed to the architecture river tour. It was extremely sunny and I was feeling so sleepy but the narration was good and you can learn so much as to why and how they constricted such tall buildings. I personally would recommend this tour to anyone who plan to visit Chicago. Of course I did hear tall ship windy was good too, but after having taken a cruise we didn’t want to spend extra money on another cruise. Our go card covers only one cruise for free, so I think we opted the best. We were told the story as to how the whole city got burnt down due to some fire set by a cow kicking a lantern. Within minutes the whole city was burnt down and was one of the US largest disasters of the 19^th century .It killed around 300 people and rendered many homeless. It is still known as the “Great Chicago Fire”. At those times most of the buildings were made of wood. After this the city had to be rebuilt and the architects thought of constricting them with steel. Few buildings escaped the fire, one among them is the “Chicago Water Tower “which still stands tall and strong. I dozed off hearing the story not because it was boring but as it was too sunny and hot and I was still so much jet lagged and tired .

After the tour we headed to the navy pier and saw the whole city from the wheel. There were also few small and simple rides near by which we did go as it was covered in the go Chicago pass. We also bought some souveniors from the navy pier .

We headed to walk along lake Michigan and it was a beautiful walk starting from the navy pier . Navy pier seems to be the heart of the city with lots of activities , food , drinks, music. There is also a greenhouse glass there and that was such a huge relief from the scorching heat.

It was starting to get dark and cloudy. We were a little slow the second day mainly because we were tired and also as we had seen all the places which we had planned and were feeling happy. We decided to eat in an Indian restaurant which was serving food like subway. You get chapattis wrapped in a mix of curry and vegetables. It was nice and as were enjoying the dinner it started to rain. After a while when rain stopped we headed to the hotel and again saw Friends episode for a while and slept happily thinking what an amazing city Chicago is! It’s so well connected, busy city which was very well designed and built. It had subways and trains, and our stay was fantastic.

Chicago is also known for its hot dogs, but we forgot to try that out. Well, now that’s for the next trip then J

Niagara:

So the next day morning (though we saw some flood alert the previous day in the TV ), we checked out from the south loop hotel and were on our way to o hare airport to board flight to buffalo Niagara international airport which is in buffalo, new York . We were getting delayed due to some flood which stopped all the vehicles and rerouted the cars and busses to another route. We were stuck in traffic for about 2 hours. We knew that we would miss the flight, so we quickly called and rebooked the next flight. We were supposed to reach o hare at around 9 am and now we would be reaching, there around 11 am or so. As we sat there in the car wondering as to if we were going to miss the next fight at 11 am as well , we saw lots of people taking their luggage and walking and lots of people asking for a lift etc . Some how 2 ladies caught my attention from the crowd .One was an indian and another lady was a Mexican . I asked them if they wanted lifts to the airport and they thankfully got it . They both had to travel that day and they were cutting too close with their flight timings. We dropped them at the airport and the Mexican lady offered us the money which we didn’t take of course but we felt so glad that we were able to help them. The Indian lady was so touched and was saying that this looked to her as it was good karma and that we will also be getting help when we wanted. Those words made us happy and we were glad that both of them were able to catch their flights on time as they had no check in baggages.

So we drove to the car drop off place and then were on our way to the buffalo airport and reached buffalo as planned. We also had a plan to see Niagara from the Canadian side as well. So our plan was to see Niagara and spend more time on the Canadian side and then the next day we shall check out the hotel and go see Niagara from the USA side as well. We booked room for a day in Ramada plaza. I did not like this hotel so much. It was not that neat as expected from the standards of Ramada... The bathroom had some dead flies and I felt the front desk people were not that friendly. Anyways, so after getting down from the buffalo airport we took a rental car and I think it was national or hertz. The most funny thing was we took an insurance for any sort of accidents in USA as well as Canada as we were crossing the border and but we didn’t take any road side assistance .What happened without the insurance will soon follow!!! So yes, here we were at the Niagara, Canada and as were driving towards it we could see the water sprayed in the air from far which was the impact of the great fall. We went straight to a subway and had a quick lunch. We didn’t go to the hotel yet to check in and we kept all the things in the car itself. The weather was hot and sunny and you need a sun glass and a hat to get through the crowd and for the heat of course. We had checked in the web few days back as to which tour was the best to see Niagara, There were 2 tours. One was the discovery tour (on the American side) and the adventure tour (from Ontario side). We had decided that we will explore the adventure tour as many people had said good words about it. Before I talk about the adventure pass and Niagara let me write down few things about Niagara, the place. Lots of restaurants and lots of tourists through the year, this city makes money due to this water fall which attracts people from around the world. I saw people of all nationalities there, and couples, kids and older people. Ontario also has a giant wheel and many many attractions which kids will definitely enjoy after they are done sightseeing. We didn’t go to any of those stuffs, because they were fun but they were not unique. Like say a scary monster home or a giant wheel is something which we can get anywhere else too. So we decided to spend the whole day just going with adventure pass. In the night this street of Ontario, near to Niagara was beautifully illuminated and I felt as if I was a small girl on some fair, this is a beautiful place to send time with family and kids. Ok now back to the adventure pass. We took the pass which was valid, I don’t know how many days... But we decided to use it that day itself as we needed to head back to USA and see Niagara from there the next day. Our first visit in the package which we opted was the “horn blower Niagara cruises”. What can I say about this? I was on a world famous cruise and doing something which people dream about – that is seeing the Niagara!!! It’s about 30 mins ride and this is how close we can get to the Niagara. Once we are pretty close I could not even open my eyes as my eyes were dripping wet. I even shuddered at the thought of drowning. Such was the force of the falls that, our boat was shaky and we felt that we may fall off the boat if we do not hold onto something. We were given a red sheet of plaster to cover us so that our clothes won’t get wet. People from the American side also takes this cruise and they will be given the blue coats. I thought that’s a good and easy way to distinguish between the boats. You can see USA just right across and felt proud that the 2 countries share such a close border and such good friendship .After that exciting ride, we decided to venture next onto the “White water walk”. It’s a walk along the Niagara River where we can see the force of the world’s wildest rapids. The rapids were too powerful and the whole placed echoed with their sound. We learnt how Lake Erie travels from USA and falls on the Ontario river. There were articles alongside the walk which talked about the birds and fishes who survive in such a high rapid. These rapids are classified as class 6 which means that it’s too strong that it’s difficult to maneuver any boat in those waters .You will also notice that the water is green in color , not only here but in many places in Niagara and that is due to the minerals it carries .Just standing there and enjoying the rapids felt amazing and so peaceful , calm and so close to nature .I understood that day that no matter the type of camera you have , the beauty of nature can never be completely captured by them . We tried to take pics but were either dark shots due to sunlight or we felt that its beauty was not justified by it .By the way we need to get into that hop on bus of the adventure pass which is covered free and then reach this place called water walks . It’s near to Niagara but not walking distance.

How can I talk about Niagara and not talk about the rainbow bride. This is the bridge which connects USA and Canada. You can even walk and enjoy the beauty of the falls across that bridge. We didn’t do that as we didn’t get enough time but definitely planned to do it next time. This bridge is rightly named as we were surrounded by rainbows just above the falls almost all the time. The view was spectacular. I tried to capture some of them in my camera but it was nothing compared to the real life experience.

Next we went to see the 4D experience of Niagara. Here they talk little bit about the Niagara origin. It’s more of kids oriented but we enjoyed them anyways. We had water sprinkled on us and water coming on our shoes etc. , but you can give this a miss if you are not on any package. We also stopped in the shops nearby to buy some souvenirs.

Our next destination was the “journey behind the falls”. So here we again get to wear coats (this time they gave us yellow color) and we go under a tunnel and get to read about dams. We also read about how people have decided to swim and cross Niagara and lost their lives and later government decided to stop this kind of adventure .There were few success stories too and I had to give it away to a school teacher who managed to cross the waters .There were some like her who succeeded, but majority of them lost their lives .So in this tunnel we pass through all these notes and stories of how dams have been made and the engineering works etc. . We could constantly hear a thundering sound which is the sound of Niagara Falls and we can even see water droplets on the tunnel. The tunnel is pretty cold but as it was summer it’s not unbearable .At the end of the tunnel we are welcomed by Niagara, but from the sides! I saw the people in the horn blower below, taking the ride. That area was windy and full of water mist and spray .It like you feel you walked under the Niagara Falls and now that you are outside you feel how small you are in the hands of nature. And before I forget to mention, the buses which takes us from one place to another is called as “We Go” buses.

So that brought us to the end of the 4 places in the pass and we were extremely excited and happy. We ate some subway sandwich, some burgers, and snacks. Of course we won’t get all the variety of food but I still felt that a vegetarian was justified. Our pass also had some discounts for some restaurants etc., but by the end of the day we were super tired and by the time we hit the bed it was around 1 am.

The next day we vacated the hotel and cleared the immigration to enter the USA. Here we were told that there is one particular thing which was good in the discovery pass. We opted to take only that one and paid individually. It is called as “Cave of the winds” and it is a must to do, for all the Niagara tourists. You actually walk up to the Niagara Falls, and you get drenched in the water falls above you. It’s little scary though and I wouldn’t recommend kids to go near because it can get little slippery. But we were so thankful that we tried out this thing and I really thank all the people who gave their comments in the web as they were the ones who highly recommended them. Of course we were given the coats so our clothes were not that wet, but this is a must must must thing to do if you are going to Niagara. I can’t stress enough about this.

Another ride which we took individually was the winge ride. I forgot the name of that, but it was not worth the money. I think it was not that expensive so that’s why we took it. But I would not recommend it .The winge will take you across a river and back but there is nothing worth seeing there.

Over all I am very happy that I took the adventure pass, which is the pass to see Niagara in Canada. So if given a choice I highly recommend that you see Niagara from the Canadian side. This pass is worth the money. I also noticed that all the tourists were going towards the Canadian side and there were not so many on the American side. But you should not miss the “cave of the winds” which is only from the American side .But I also saw few construction sites in USA side, so I am sure the government is planning some good entertaininmet to attract tourists here. I wanted to go see a dam which I read was used to create electricity but due to lack of time could not make it (on the USA side)

We felt we thoroughly utilized the time here and felt it was time to go to the airport. One funny incident which I mentioned in the above para’s but forgot to say was regarding the road side assistance. So we were in the Canadian side and the next day we were checking out and about to go to USA side to see the cave of the winds as planned earlier. H kept all the luggage in the boot and then closed the boot keeping the keys inside! We didn’t have a road side assistance either. We called the AAA which was the most popular in Canada and after few minutes of waiting and feeling stupid, the guy arrived. He was a friendly person and told us that his son got admission in Texas College and he was sounding so proud and happy. Anyways, we finally got our car keys back from the boot J I have to say that Ramada plaza neither helped us nor were least customer friendly. We did loose some money on this and that too on another country but glad when we could get our keys back. After that we went on to see Niagara from the American side .We also saw Niagara lit up at night , but I think that’s little over rated as I didn’t feel anything too great about it . Still it’s worth a watch.

Syracuse:

We were now on our way back to the buffalo airport so as to catch the flight to go to Syracuse. We reached Syracuse Hancock international airport. It was late in the night we reached there. We rented a car and it was around 11 pm or so that we reached Syracuse. We took few quick rides along the street and H was excitedly showing me around though it was past midnight. I could see that he was happy and excited to be there. We checked in at the “Comfort suites and Inn”. I was not very sure of how this hotel would be. In fact I was not even expecting much. I thought it’s just a day and let’s just crash somewhere. To our surprise it was excellent. They even provided free breakfast in the morning which I felt was superb. It was late and we were very hungry. We went to a nearby Dennis which was even walkable and thus ended the day. The next day we were all set to see Syracuse University and the neighboring areas. This university is so vast and spread across acres and acres of land. We went to the ethical department and their computer lab.Syracuse was larger than I expected. I have heard it’s a big college with rich kids. The rich students stay very close to the college. The so called hostel buildings where students stayed looked so colorful and bright unlike our image of the college hostels back in India. I saw few students partying and having good time. When you enter the college you are welcomed by a big building. This is the music hall and you have to see the architecture as it’s amazing. We parked the car in the campus and the security was kind enough to let us park near to the college when H mentioned that he was an alumina .There was some construction going on near the gym. We took few photos of those buildings as it was nostalgic for H to be there after about 8 years! I went inside the Carnegie library and was amazed by the amount of books they had .It was beautifully kept. Then we visited the hall of engineering which is also called as the link hall. This was the main corner of the electrical electronics lab and we saw few classes going on there. Saw lots of Indians students too. H showed me the phone booth which was red in color where he used to make calls to his family. I also saw the famous lab where H and his friend had done their final year project .There was also library which was called the Bird library. We took pics from this place as this was where H went after his college hour’s .There was also a Sheraton hotel next to the college campus.

There was a Starbucks coffee nearby where H admits that in the initial years he never drank any coffee to save money and after he got his internship he spent most of the time there! I have heard lots of stories about a pizza place called “Acropolis “where H and his friends used to hang out for a long long time . H took me there and I have to admit that pizza was very filling, huge and heavy. The most surprising thing was when the guy asked H “hey long time no see “and we dropped our jaw as he still remembered H after such a long time. We also went to dunkin donuts which was filled with medical and engineering students who have come not just to have coffee but also just for a chat .We bought some souvenirs from the university. I still remembered that H had a Syracuse pant which was so warm and comfortable and I wore that day after day and was sad when finally I had to throw that away when it tore off L It really did protect me a lot from the cold, when I first came to USA .The pant was expensive so we decided not to buy that. H also showed me where he stayed during the 2 years of his study. His last term home was near to a graveyard and people had asked him many times if he was scared to live there. He used to walk across the graveyard as there was a short cut to reach there from college. But rather than feeling any kind of fear he used to always say how he met people who used to come and keep flowers early in the morning for their loved ones and he used to feel very good seeing these flowers. That changed my outlook on the graveyard completely. After all they were people like us and they are missed by their families. He also showed me the flower shop next to that where people bought flowers to keep in the grave. I think this was in the east Colvin Street and he told me his room was in the second floor and the number was 1112. So that was Syracuse University. It was great to see all the places and to put a face to all the nice and fun stories which I heard about the university. We were getting slight late and we rushed to go to the airport. All that rushing was for nothing as we got stuck in the airport for about 4 hours due to heavy rains in Syracuse. We ate food from the airport and even slept for a while there as we were dead tired. We had planned a moon light dc tour the same night. We post poned that to next day and later cancelled the whole thing when we felt we have seen enough of DC.

Washington DC

We reached Regan national airport on a late evening .In Dc we had decided that we will take the hop in and hop off bus tour. We can get the tickets for that from the Union station which is in DC. We stayed in “Radisson” and I can’t talk enough about how comfortable our 3 day stay was! Everything was very well taken care of. This hotel is in Arlington, Virginia. We reached Radisson at night and after keeping all our bags there we decided to go to union station and get a feel of the place. The next day was July 4 and we had decided to see the parade which starts at around 11 30 am or so. With the help of google maps we roamed around a bit and then got back to the hotel. Dc and Arlington are well connected with subways. Our station next to the hotel was the crystal city which was In Arlington. The next day we were all set and ready to see the dc parade. We went to union station and collected the tickets for the hop in hop off dc. The bus was very useful but we also felt later that most places were of walking distance. Anyways so that particular day, that is on the July 4 we headed out to see the Independence Day parade. The parade starts from Constitution Avenue and 7 the street. We reached there early so as as to get a good spot. There were lots of people from various nationalities there and the day was sunny and bright. There were lots of people selling water, juices, sandwiches, hot dogs on the streets. We got a place near to the road and we were all set to see the parade. Contrary to all the hype, I was disappointed with what I saw in the parade. It was just a casual parade with people or rather let’s say kids and students doing some parade, gymnastics, and dancing etc. . . . There were no military display as I had expected. Anyways we were upset and we thought that may be Dc as such is hyped and there may not be anything worth a watch. There was a museum close by, but we were too tired and hungry do didn’t venture inside. I forget the name of the museum though. DC is filled with museums and buildings which has historical importance as you all may know it. I don’t remember the sequence of our visits but I will try to put down a list of all the places which we saw. Our first priority was to see the White house. We decided to take the tour. We walked all the way and then realized that white house is closed as a part of some restoration work or something like that but the lady there was nice and explained us everything. I totally felt low and really thought that our day was going wasted. We took maps from there which was helpful for navigation. We also got maps from the Washington DC tour bus and those maps were excellent. There were many lines there like red, yellow. Blue, green. Most of the places which we wanted to see were of historical importance and so we decided to choose red line. We have heard a lot about the July 4 fireworks. We have seen them in Seattle as well, but I was sure that the DC one would be a treat to our eyes. I was not wrong here. The fireworks started around say 8 pm, so that moon light was just setting in. People swarmed around the Lincoln memorial to get a good spot so that they could see fireworks without any hindrance. We got a spot on the very top and we settled down there and within minutes the big show started. It went on for about say 30 minutes and it was spectacular. I felt very happy that coming all the way to DC was totally worth it. I saw lots of people cheering for USA and there was lots of excitement in the air. After the fireworks display, people were heading back home. We stayed there for a while in the Lincoln memorial (from where we saw the fireworks) and then started walking along the crowd. There were lots of people walking with us and I felt different as if I was in India. You usually don’t get to see lots of people in Seattle and this experience alone was enriching. We reached home I think around 12 am or so. There was a Mediterranean place called kebab which runs 24/7. We decided to walk there and get some Togo food. The place was swarming with people. We ordered something vegetarian, though I heard non veg id great there as well. This place had great reviews in yelp too. We finally got the food and ate the food back in our beds enjoying the Friends episode. We slept late the next day morning and felt extremely fresh. We caught the train from crystal city to Union square in DC. We also got a free pass to see the Madame tussahs which was a part of the deal. Our first trip that day was for the US capitol. There was a security check as expected before entering the building and we were not allowed to take any food or even water. After clearing the security, we were given an audio in our hands, and also the entire group had a guide. The guide told us about the building and we saw the beauty of the paintings and architecture from inside. We also bought souvenirs from there. We were not given permission as expected to venture into all the doors there. There was tight security. We just got a coffee from inside which we had to finish it there as foods can’t be taken outside either. Our next plan was to see Madame Tussahs. We didn’t want to keep that till the last day in case we didn’t get enough time to see it. We took lots of pics here with various statues and they looked so real! One incident which I particularly remember here is that we were passing by all statues and I saw a lady who was kind of blocking our way. I was just standing there thinking she will give me way. After a while I was shocked to see that it was indeed a statue and felt amazed and stupid at myself! If you have never visited Tussahs, I think you should see this place if not here, some other place. We got free tickets so we felt this was totally worth it. Near to tussahs where a big line to see ‘house where Lincoln dies’ .There is fees to enter that house and we decided to skip this .We were also given a free pass for a lake cruise which I thought was a sweet deal. We walked to that destination and after waiting for few minutes were in a guided cruise (recorded). I couldn’t catch much information from the recorded voice which was playing as there were a bunch of old ladies with kids who were talking about someone’s ex-lover or something and I really felt irritated. There were people who have paid for these cruise and they seemed annoyed with them as well. I almost felt like shouting at them to stop their talk but controlled my temper. The cruise was not very informative anyways and I felt this can be easily skipped if you were to pay for this from your pocket. After taking this cruise, we walked all the way to see the monuments. On our way back we saw the George Washington University which was one of the oldest colleges there .We also spotted a Wholefoods nearby and ate some very tasty sandwiches from there .It was past 5 pm then and the buses don’t shuttle then. Though I was too tired I felt that I was walking and doing a great deal of exercise and that kept me motivated. One thing which I can now confidently tell any person who is visiting DC is that, if you are interested in monuments and history, you just need to be on the Lincoln memorial or the place nearby. By this what I mean is that all the monuments are so closely located that if you are healthy and are able to walk , then it would be better to walk and see DC rather than waiting for any bus . On our way back from the cruise we decided to go to the Spy museum. We were given free tickets for this as well which was again a sweet deal. I loved this place. It had so much information on how pirates, spies evolved and some of the world famous stories of how they had tricked the cops etc. . . . I even played a game where one has to open the lock / safe with some number codes and try to get inside the case. There were lots of people trying that and they were not able to open it. I read the instructions clearly which said that we need to turn the knob clockwise and then hear the sound, note down the number and then turn the knob anticlockwise and hear the number again . I was easily able to do this and even received applause from people around me and felt proud of my accomplishment J .. I could have spent more time there but I also didn’t want to lose out on other stuffs and also H was little bored. I would say that if you are interested in knowing about counterfeit notes, spies, police, crime scene etc., this is a must stop. They also have information of how hacking is done these in internet , how can you secure a good password etc. which are very important for any person to know these days .You have to pay more for a guided audio which we didn’t opt . We took the yellow line (I guess) which takes all the way to Arlington where we crossed a bridge which connects dc and Arlington. The bride has two gold plated / bronze plated (not sure here) horses with riders on either side .We were now heading to the Arlington Cemetery. Potomac River connects DC and Arlington. The cemetery is right across Lincoln memorial. Here also rests, john f Kennedy who was USA 35^th president and his wife Jaqueline Kennedy. It is said that the late president liked that place so that that in his last trip he had mentioned that he would want to be in that place for ever. It is also the burial ground of many who lost lives in the American Civil wars and many other pre post wars. We were told that we had to climb up to see the burial ground and as we were too tired to climb a hill we decided to skip that, and paid our humble respects to the lost lives from the DC bus itself. We wanted to see the Holocaust memorial museum as well, but we had to skip that as it got closed as we reached there, just by few minutesL. We sat on the bus and the bus took us one of the most secured place on the planet - The pentagon. Of course we could only see this place from far and there was no tour on this. We were strictly told not to take any photographs and that we would be penalized as it’s a place of national security. We switched off our cameras and gladly obeyed the instructions. Then we got down at the park which had all the monuments and decided to walk from there and explore all the areas. I forget the name of the park here, but this is like a central park where you can get down and all the important monuments and in and around that park. This park is near to the Lincoln memorial and other memorials like Vietnam, Korean etc. . . . We headed straight to see the DC war memorial. It was a tomb like structure with many legs. We visited the Martin Luther king Jr memorial. Of course all the way people were taking the pics and enjoying the beauty of the buildings. Am sure an architect or a student of that field would find this place like a library in itself. There was a rock sculpture of Martin Luther king here. We sat there for a while and this sculpture looks at a river called the tidal basin which is an extension of the Potomac River itself and I felt that evening was very beautiful. Then we went to see the Korean War memorial. Here you can see statues of soldiers standing and I felt as if they were real. I think all these memorials make you realize that people have paid a heavy price for the freedom we enjoy today and we should honor all those who sacrificed their lives for the country. It also makes you think that no matter which nationality you are, war should be condemned and people should just live happily. We also saw the Vietnam veteran memorial which had the names of people who died in the war. I saw that lots of people had kept flowers and notes, and got emotional seeing all this. The place was silent and I loved that fact that people behaved well and respected the sanctity of the place. Though we had seen the “Washington Monument “from far, it looked beautiful under the moon light and we headed there next. We were told in the DC tour bus that when this big monument was being constructed they fell lack of materials and it had to be stopped. Later when they restarted the construction they didn’t get the same color material and hence there is a difference in the color. If you look closely you can see difference in the colors. We were very glad that we came at night to see most of the monuments. It was not sunny and sweaty and we could confidently look up and see the building. I loved this particular moment as I felt it stood tall and strong amongst all the clouds! H wanted to see the Iwo Jima, but it was very late and was getting very dark. We went next to see the World war 11 memorial which was beautifully lit with fountains and also had names of all the USA states in a pillar like structure. We didn’t take our big camera with us but I also felt that such beauty of the architecture and the buildings can only be experienced. DC is well connected and people were humble and hospitable. We even got lost and police were kind enough to help us. Over all my experience was amazing and I felt that this place deserves to be the nation’s capital? There was a lot of dignity among the people and the buildings talk so much about the country’s history. The city is beautifully constructed and I salute the people who had lend their mind and body for creating such epic monuments. Next day our flight to New York was at around 9 pm or so, and we had to be there in the airport by around 6 pm or so. The one good thing which we did was that we didn’t leave anything much for the next day. We got up extremely late the next day as we were tired after all the walking which we did the previous day. After having a quick meal from a very good Indian restaurant , we wanted to take the day light and decided to just sit there in the DC bus ,enjoying the audio about each of the buildings and not getting down at all . We had already taken the red bus and seen all the places so we decided to see other areas like blue green etc. By the time we reached the union station it was around 1 pm or so, and we were enjoying the oranges in the bus. H was doing all the peeling and stuff and I was enjoying them so much. Our main idea today was to sit in the bus and listen to all the talks, or the recorded version so that we get an idea of the history. Also we were very tired and I was really not in the mood for any more walking. I think this is the day we saw the Kennedy memorial and the pentagon. After that it was around 4 pm and we decided to wind up and head back to Radisson. We had free rides to the airport and we didn’t want to be late for that ride. I have to say that DC trip was most amazing and Radisson hotel stay made it even more wonderful! We were on time for the Regan airport and we were all set for New Jersey

Newyork and jersey

We landed on the Newark jersey airport and we were greeted by H college friend. There were many terminals in that airport and was a busy place unlike what we had expected. We thought that as it was just jersey it won’t be that crowded which was totally a misconception. We were planning to stay with him and his wife at their home and they were the most graceful of guests. We were given a separate room and a bathroom and I felt that stay was the most comfortable. We reached their home and had dinner with them. She had made prawns, fish, rice and it was indeed a treat for us to eat home cooked food after such a long time. We were also excited to meet H relative who had come from India. As it was late we sat up, talked for a while and then slept around 1 am or so. The next day we got up very late and then went to meet his relative. We had lunch with her and she made some amazing food! Her daughter was also present there and we all had a fun time chatting and laughing. As it was late around say 3 pm or so, we decided to go to Princeton University which was nearby. The university was beautiful, just like most of the universities which I had seen in USA. We walked there for a while taking pics and then had a coffee. We visited a library nearby. We also saw the battlefield through which troops had entered use. I think they were British troops. The battle field is just a plain field with American flag hosted .We decided to head back home as it was getting late for dinner . The daughter’s husband also joined us and we went to an excellent restaurant. I heard it’s a chain but the food was just mouthwatering. Even the thought of that food makes me hungry now as I write this. There was pasta, and hot dogs and lots of vegetarian stuffs on the table as we three ladies were veg and the 2 guy’s non veg. After that it was followed by a dessert. By the time we were done with that food and said goodbyes for that night it was 12 30 am and our hosts had gone to bed. We felt little bad having arrived late but we had lost our way in between and that delayed us a lot. We decided that we shall be back early the next day and spend some time with them. The next day we got dressed early. The previous day we had rented a car and kit coasted us around 65 dollars. This day we were offered their car (from host) and so we decided to pick up H relative. We quickly made it till New York, parked our car there in some parking lot. We were directed to a place where we can find boats which takes us to the Elis Island. Yes! The plan that day was to see that island and of course statue of Liberty. We had come to New York before but saw this statue only from far. We were so hungry by then having just had some corn flakes in the morning. I ate pizza while the others ate something Mexican. Then we had to walk a little bit and then we noticed that buses showed as” free shuttle within new York “ We quickly got into that bus and the driver was kind enough to tell us where to get down to catch the ferry . It was getting very sunny and H and I were wearing hats. Our relative didn’t get a cap from home and we did some shopping for a cap for about 5 dollars. We had to go through the security clearance to get into the boat. The boat was crowded and we decided to get to the upper most deck to get a good view of the island. It was a beautiful ride to get to the island and I would say that if you have not seen the statute close, you need to go there once. We can also get inside the crown of the statue and we were not aware of this. By the time we knew this tickets were sold off till November! Anyways we reached the Elis Island and we were given the audio tour device which we didn’t use as we were busy taking photos and chattingJ. We also bought souvenirs from there. The statue stool tall and it was a beautiful sight. We sat down for a while to talk and by then it was time for us to get back to the bay. We also saw Staten Island from there. last time when we had toured this place we had taken a boat trip from Staten island and saw Elis from far in the ship, It was cold and windy then and though I was excited, I didn’t enjoy that much though due to the harsh winters, I was also new to USA and still managing to deal with the winters. That time we saw the ball drop and it was an exciting experience so see that with thousands of people around you. After getting back from the island, we walked a little to see the Peace tower. This tower was well guarded by police and there was museum inside the tower. We didn’t see the museum as we got highly emotional seeing the name of people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9, 11. We decided to grab some coffee on the way home and then headed back to have dinner with family. This time we went to a Chinese / Thai type food. The ambiance was extremely good but I felt that the food was just average. By the time headed back home it was around 12 30 am again and we couldn’t meet the hosts that day as well. We felt terribly guilty too but our hosts were so graceful and understanding. We bid goodbye to our relatives as we told them that the next day we need to spend time with the hosts. There was also another of H college friend joining us and there was going to be a get together party! H was highly excited and I could sense that he was waiting to meet all his friends J the next day we decided to see the Empire state building and also stop somewhere to get some gifts for the hosts. We took the bus from New Jersey all the way to New York. The bus stop was very near to their home, just walking distance only. We reached New York and after buying a metro card, took subway and reached the famous Time Square. We were extremely hungry and stopped to eat food. We ate some Chinese food which we didn’t quite enjoy but enjoyed at the thought of having food in time square. We also walked past a park which was in Time Sq. It’s called as the Bryant Park and people were having food, talking, even working. It was beautiful to be there! What can I say about Time Sq.? It’s busy, busy, busy all the time. It’s as if that lane never sleeps! I totally enjoyed the crowd, the loud music and all the tourists there! I was reminded of the time we came few years back and I didn’t enjoy the street then as it was too cold! We reached the E. state building (ESB, for my convenience). You can buy 2 set of tickets, either 82 and / or the 102 floor. We decided to see both the floors. The view upstairs was amazing. We got a good view and an idea of the entire city. We were given the audio to listen but we didn’t pay attention to it at all. I heard in the audio though that the reason why they made a stop at the 82 ND floor was that at that time of construction that is around 1931, that was one of the highest achievable architecture marvel and there was a stop created on the 82 ND floor to commemorate the marvel of that place. We stopped and took some pics from the top. Anyone looking down from the ESB, would be amazed by the number of buildings down below. Each building looked so different and was an epic by itself. We also saw the Rockefeller center from there. We were told that people go there to get a good view of the ESB. As we got a good view of New York we decided that we will skip seeing and going top of the Rockefeller center. Also we had to be back little early as the next day we were heading back and had to spend time with friends. We also saw the statue of liberty from far. We saw the central park which was beautiful sight as it was a large park in the midst of a big city. We saw various bridges which connects New Jersey and NY and we also saw the Hudson River which flows in between them. Over all I felt that trip was well worth it. We then headed to the 102 ND floor. This is not an exposed floor and it is covered by glass from all sides. If you ask me, the trip to ESB is just a onetime thing as it coasted around 100 dollars over all just to get this view. I felt it’s not something which can do often. We took couple of pics from the 102 ND floor and we even asked the help lady standing there to tell us what each building meant. She was ready and willing to help us and with her help we figured out the river and the name of the buildings which I mentioned above. After getting down the ESB, we were walking along the Times sq. to find some shopping place to buy some stuffs. We went to some shops but we didn’t like any. Finally I found a crystal shop. We went inside and picked up an ague crystal which H found it to be very beautiful. I also got a crystal for us but it was small in size compared to the gift crystal, and much cheaper. We were glad that finally we could get something we can gift to the couple. I also enquired about the crystal and its importance and the lady there was kind enough to take time and tell me about everything. We were running short of time as we knew we had to catch up for the dinner with friends but were extremely glad with our purchase. We came to know that crystals bring good luck which was totally a new knowledge for me but am glad that they too liked the gift and were not returning it for another one. After our shopping, we decided to head back to jersey. We got lost little bit but finally ended up in the correct bus .I think that was the 114 normal bus and not the 114 express. 114 may only go via the highways but this bus was going inside all the small lanes as well. The worst part was that my cell phone battery was running out so before it completely passed away we decided that we will step down at some place and then they could pick us up from there and from there we could head to the dinner where another couple was waiting for all of us. The plan worked perfectly and finally all the 3 guys were happy to see each other. We went to a Mexican place with loud music and full of people. We were happily chatting and laughing, taking pics and finally all of us along with my new friends (and H‘s old friends) got home to the host‘s home. We were talking late night at around 2 am or something and all of us crashed there. The next day we bid goodbye to the new couple and their beautiful daughter of about 3 years or so and then bid goodbye to the hostess. We were again alone at home and after having a quick breakfast we headed out at around 12 pm to reach New York to catch flight to San Jose.

We did reach the airport on time but the Delta flight was delayed. It was a connection flight to Minneapolis and from there to SJC. We reach Minneapolis late, again due to air traffic and we made a dash to get the next delta flight to SJC. We missed the flight and had to rebook flight to San Francisco. If the delta people would have waited at least just 10 minutes we could have made it for the sic destination . Anyways around 14 people missed their flight and the next flight to SJC was only the next day. We decided to take the flight to SFO and then drive from there to Milpitas temporary home. We were supposed to reach SJC at around 9 pm or so and that would have been picture perfect. But what is a trip worth remembering without missing a flight, and some adventure! We reached SFO at around 1 am or so which was technically the 11 th of July early morning. I remember coming to SFO airport at my first time trip to USA and that time I didn’t notice how big the airport was. It has so many terminals and there is an airbus which we need to take to reach the car rentals. By the time we got that and we reached home it was around 4 am. We were tired but happy that due to God’s grace our trip went on well. We got up the next day morning which was a Friday and H had some meeting to attend and then enjoyed the weekend exploring the new place .Now, let the new adventure begin! J

A trip to Olympic National Park , WA

2014-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am just back from a fantastic trip from the Olympic national park. What can I say about the park! I am not so much of a nature lover or that’s what I thought I was , but this place is really worth giving a shot even if you have just 2 days in hand , which Is what I had !. So it’s the summer time (June)with temperatures over 70 degree F and I thought I should explore the Olympics as much as I can when the time is right . I can’t bear the cold much so I don’t know if this experience would have changed if I had visited the same places in winter! The beauty about the ONP is that 101 highway circulates all around the forest and there are lots of sign boards. We got a map from the hurricane ridge visitor center which was more than enough to give us directions...So my point here is, it’s all very easy to figure out if you know where to go!

We took the 10:30 ferry from Edmonds on a Sunday morning. It was about 30 minutes’ drive from Redmond and the traffic was not that much , may be because it was a Sunday . We thought we would be getting the ferry at 11 but we reached earlier and were the last to board the ferry! The ferry was decently crowded and even before we knew it we reached Kingston. We checked the phone app and took the road to Port Angeles. We reached Port Angeles around 11 30 am or so, and headed straight to the Asian cuisine buffet place. We had some Chinese, Thai mix food and the buffet was really huge considering that the price was only 9 dollars or so per person. After that we headed straight to the...

1) Hurricane Ridge.

There is a visitor center in the bottom of the ridge and we stopped there to collect all the information about the same. The people were so warm and nice. We had to pay a 15 dollar fee (Includes car fee)to see the ONP(Olympic Nat park), and it was valid for 7 days and can be used at any entrance like quinolt , kaloloch , cresent , forks etc. …We paid the money and started our ride . I do not know how to describe the ride as it’s a must see! We stopped and took pics from many places. There were points were we could see Victoria, (Canada) and many other adjacent islands from far. It’s so nice to know that we could see a country from such a short distance! Then we reached the top of the hurricane ridge which was just breath taking! It was a sunny day so the sun glazed though the mountains far by... I saw few deer’s too and lots of people having food enjoying the mountain view. The day was not windy and what can I say it was just perfect for a person like me who dislike the cold ! . I didn’t have to wear any jacket (thank goodness!). We took some pics and then we went to the visitor center at the top and bought few souvenirs …We decided to climb a hill nearby to get a better view , but climbed only half way which I feel little disappointed now!. I had other plans for the day and I thought that may be an hour or so for the hike would mean that we would compromise seeing other places which was a big No No for me. But if you have the time and the energy I highly recommended it. People who climbed said they got a 360 degree full view, and could see Victoria, Canada and mountains from a distance and am pretty sure that it would have been a memorable view. Nevertheless this hurricane ridge is a must see!

2) Lake Crescent

We got down from the hurricane ridge and then drove through 101. We were thinking that there are many access points to see the lake. We went past few roads and a nice guy told us that there is only one access where you can get a good view and that is the lake Cresent lodge. So we drove up till the lake crescent lodge and the view was amazing. Again the sun was up high and it was warm and not windy... There were lots of children taking a bath in the warm lake and lots of people , kayaking. We went to the crescent lodge to get some soveneiers but didn’t find anything which we liked . After clicking few pics we headed to the next destination which was the sol duc falls... We were thinking of doing kayaking in the lake here but again we had limited time, so I think that would be a great thing to do if you guys had more time in hand …

3) Sol duc falls

If you looked at the map you would see that it’s very easy to reach all these places as they are all accessible via the 101 (thanks to the 101 highway which is beautifully maintained). I was appreciating the efforts which the government takes to manage the whole forest and also the roads .There was a small hike, I think about a mile or so 1 way and then we reached the falls. I am scared of heights but I still couldn’t get enough of these falls...Lots of people say that it’s not that great compared to Niagara or the Snoqualmie falls . But I have not seen Niagra and have seen Snoqualmie only from far, but here was a fall where we could see from a hand reach distance and to add to my fear and excitement I was actually standing on top of the water fall...The water was falling steeply and the force with which it fell drenched my hair a little bit it but it was an amazing feeling to be so close to nature!. While we were heading back, we met a very nice old American couple and they gave us tips on where to eat etc. and it was fun talking to them !

It was getting late around 8 30 and we still had not checked in the hotel. So we headed back , checked in and ended the day with fantastic pizza to go from “West side pizza” They are open till 11 pm , so it was perfect for us to have a nice dinner (Veggie pizza) after taking a warm shower . The crust was neither too soft nor hard and it was a perfect way to end the day having pizza and seeing a nice movie (godfather part 1) in Olympic lodge.

The next day, we slept till late and to our luck was sunny as well. We checked out from the hotel at about 11 am.

We ate at the" first street havens" and the food was delicious .No wonder they have such good reviews in yelp! I ate an avocado sandwich and it was super! After that we headed to see the

1) Hoh rain forest

There are few trails which we can take in this forest. We took 2 trails. One was moss trail (0. 8 miles) and the other one was the spruce trail (1.3 miles). There was a Hoh river trail which was about 8 miles which we didn’t take as we thought it may be too big a walk for us. The 2 trails showed some of the oldest trees which were so huge that they covered the whole of the area. It looked to me as if they were there for thousands of years ! Luckily it was sunny day. We saw lots of plants which were growing on top of other plants. They are called as epiphytes. We covered the trails quickly but we did stop and take lots of pictures. I think twilight serial was shot here and in the forks area as we saw lots of boards saying “welcome to the twilight “ etc. …On the way back we saw the HOH river and took photos. The water was crystal clear and from the glaciers. So it was extremely cold. We washed our faces with it and instantly felt fresh...How refreshing it would be to take a bath in such fresh water every day!

2) Ruby beach

Our next destination was the ruby beach. It was just about 30 mins drive from the hot rain forest. This beach is just few minutes from the parking lot. It was nice to experience the Pacific Ocean from such a close distance. The tides were not too harsh so we could walk and play around the area… I searched in google as to which beach was better - Ruby or the Rialto and we got mixed results . Both beaches are nice but visiting Rialto means a slight walk from parking lot (as per the yelp reviews)..As we didn’t want to go to any more beaches we skipped rialto …

We had not had our lunch. So we stopped at a Chinese restaurant in Forks. We had a nice refreshing lunch and we were deciding as to where to go next. We noticed that our petrol tank was almost exhausted and the worst part was that we couldn’t find any gas stations nearby. We found few gas stations on our way to port Angeles but they were either closed or were not accepting the credit cards. Finally we found one (chevron) in port angels and were relived! We called up the ferry and the next ferries to Edmond were at 9 40 and the last one at 11 05 pm .We thought we shall go back to the hurricane ridge and climb the hill to get the 360 degree view which we missed the previous day . We reached the bottom of the ridge and then suddenly we noticed that the sun was going down. It was also getting chilly and going to be 7 pm! It was not worth the effort of going up the hill taking 30 mines drive and then doing a 1 hour climb to the top of the hill. Also we were in hurricane and from there we need to reach Port Angeles and then to Kingston which was about 1.5 hour’s drive . So we decided to head back. Another thing which we were concerned was if the hood canal may get closed . Hood canal is the one which we need to pass to reach Kingston. The drive in hood’s canal is about 2 mines approx. If the hood canal gets closed then we will be stuck in port angels and need to stay there another day which was not there in our plan. Thankfully for us we reached Kingston by 10 10 pm and the next ferry was at 11 05 pm. We thought we shall walk a little bit but was beginning to feel little chilly. Then we saw this crepe place. Crepes are like India doses and we have eaten there before when we came here for the lavender festival. We decided to order 2 vegetarian crepes. It was close to 6 / 7 dollars for one and was very heavy. I highly recommend these crepes to an one coming to Kingston. This place is close to the ferry (in fact walkable distance) .By the time we had the crepes, it was about 10 50 pm and was boarding time. We reached Edmonds after 30 mines ferry and reached home around 12 15 pm.

All in all it was a fantastic trip and I felt I was in nature's lap .I have not met any one who had been to this national park and disliked the experience . Of course there are many places to see in ONP, but I think given the 2 days’ time we saw maximum number of places and ate in some of the awesome restaurantsJ. I hope my trip review helps people who are looking to see the ONP in may be 2 days time .Have a nice time guys J, you won’t regret it but just plan where you need to go as ONP is spread for miles and miles so just pick the places you want to see or things you want to do . Also keep in mid to fill the petrol as soon as you see a gas station and don’t wait till it dries up! Have a safe trip

The so called funda of "Life" : Negative angle

2013-04-20T23:59:00.001-07:00

As I walk in the road called " life "

I realize .. Family friends are in some way extrapolation of our life , created by us based on needs and passions..

In reality , everyone is alone ....

When you were born you were alone and when you die you will die alone ...

The path between life and death is a strike where we need to fight and fight to keep living ..

Your so called parents cannot guide you all the time and its rather unfair to rely on them ..

Your so called spouse have enough pressures in life to actually pamper and love you..

Your so called sibling is fighting his or her own battle and some where forgets that you both came from the same " place "..

Your so called friends are busy making a nest of their own ...

Your children depend on you and by the time you can depend on them , they are long gone ..

So in reality ... You are basically alone and from start to finish its yours and your battle only ..

People come and go in your life but in the end it just matters how much you , just "YOU" lived your life ..

Your laughs your sorrows your worries and anxieties are just your own ..No one actually cares a damn or can even understand you ! Even if they understand you , what can they do after all to help you ?

You don't ove the world anything ..
You have to just fight till the end to live or rather survice and if you are lucky and the circumstances made you a good person , congrats ! you have a place in heaven , else the "hell " is all yours !Well dont worry , be it heaven or hell , there will be loads of people with you to party ! Or as per hindu religion , be a good human so that you can get a better life in your next "life" !Well , so dont loose hope ! there is this "next life " to look forward to , in case you messed up this one !!

Heroine movie :Review

2013-01-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Firstly i am not a fan of this person Kareena . When she came to the industry i often wondered why was she even there ! She was lucky i guess, as she came from a family full of important Bollywood people. Over the years i cant believe- am even writing this; i truly admire her. She has turned out to be a diva! She is charming and elegant . She has maintained very well and she looks stunning in all the movies. I some times feel she needs to give better interviews but hey ! no one can be perfect i guess..

Now, when i go for a movie where she is the star cast i know for sure that she wont let the audience down . I have learnt this from her that- may be you wont be that great when you start your career but over the years have you gone for the better or for the worse? in that way she is some times very inspiring too ...She also makes one realize that , be it from a film family or not , one has to be creative and challenge one's own self to be on the top .She looks good , can act , and she dances well and even item songs ! Now that is one hell of a package ! Her success is largely attributed to the person /the actor she has become over the years , which is commendable !

i just loved this movie ! and hats off to this lady . The movie is really worth watching just to see her ! She looks absolutely fantastic. I was amazed by the way she gave our her dialogues in a gutsy manner along with her portrayal of insecurity and vulnerability when she was in love . She made it look so real . Yes true , the movie shows negative side of the film industry but i think such movies are an eye opener to girls who come to this industry thinking they can make it big quickly . The struggle one needs to go through , the ups and downs which can drive one nuts , and then betrayal and the paparazzi .. this movie shows it all ... The movie gives the silent message that, come what may , we need to get a hold of our self and not swing based on success or failure of movies or the comments made from critics .. i just totally enjoyed watching this movie altogether ..But of course i hardly read anything good from critics review, so as i said this is just my personal take !

Swimming : my journey !

2012-02-29T10:15:00.002-08:00

There are some days in your life where you just want to shout at the top of your voice and say "oh my god! i made it " !!! today is one such day for me ... 28 th feb 2012 !!!
well ,i learnt to swim !!!!! oh my god! i know swimming now !!!

i have been gleeing ever since i came from pool today , and i just cant contain my excitement ! yieppeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!i was really never sure if i could ever swim ! ... but when i got into the water today , i was able to some how manage without a tube / board , and then within minutes i realised even without my own knowledge that i was "actually " not depending on the board / tube...i was gleeing away to glory !... All these days i was going on checking you tube ,watching and listening to what people were telling about their swimming experiences , and wondered will a day ever come for me , where i would actually swim !!!
Well , to all the people who knows swimming and who are reading this , i hope u understand how i feel now , because am sure even u felt the same like how i feel now , when u first conquered the water ! Conquer sounds so bossy !, well i just loveeeeee water !
and to those people who are yet learning , guys ! believe me ... if u feel its tough and u are not getting it , its okay ! some people take a bit more time than others (like how i did ! )

Considering my weight and my age (both of which i cant disclose here ), i really did take a good number of days ...and I took so many gaps in between where i have never been to a pool , as i was so fed up "trying "!!. i got bored ! i got so bored going there every single day and then just trying to just float in water / trying to twist my body and i was like "will i EVER do this " ??

i still remember my 1 st day (unfortunately it was many months back and hence i don't remember the date), where i was so scared of water and i was just standing on the pool . i stood there , and i noticed even the tiny tots playing and dashing in the water and i was so scared . i was scared that i would drown .. i was scared that i could never put my head inside the water .i remember my dad and mom trying to teach me(when i was a kid) and i used to scream and scream . i was so afraid of water !.
Well, i had to begin some where ! , hence i remember just putting my head inside the water and just "feeling the water " and i guess i was just trying to be friendly with the water.

Its true when people say "All things are difficult before they are easy "...As a week progressed i was more confident in the water - "walking "! .. and then came the big leap -" the float ".. Well i really really dont know how many days i took to learn this . i remember my gym here , giving 5 days(30 minutes daily ) training and i had a free coupon and hence i joined there . Along with a friend , few strangers , i was there in the water with the trainer . It taught me one thing . I can get tips from a trainer / you tube , but its just one thing " Practice Practice , Practice " . Its all about practice and how much of dedicated time we can put to it ( Is everything in the world not like that ??? )...I was the only student in her class who didn't know how to float . So my 5 days of training was more of observing others .I practiced later after her class got over and finally some how learnt to float . i was so happy then, i can still remember !.I was going on telling each and everybody i knew "hey i can float " "u know what, i can float "!!!hehe!!

In my class the rest of the 4 days of the 5 days class just went with me trying to do a "back float "/ rather observing others , because every one else in the class was better than me ... i was just standing there and doing nothing ! but hey i was not dejected . i was so sure that "ok, i don't know this , but am sure i will learn this one day !!" i understood that a trainer can just tell you / show u , but its us who needs to practice ...
From then on , for many days i tried doing the back float which even today am a little scared of doing . I finally thought " ok move on ", " move on to the next step" , which was trying to twist the body inside the water ..I would like to really really thank all the people who posted in you tube the swimming techniques and various talks, because i have seen many of them and was always trying to practice like how they were doing it !..

After the body twist , and the hand movements ,came the breathing ..I was ok with this as long as i had a board / tube to help me with . I tried this for many days , and then some days (i have to be sincere , here ).. i just got so fed up !.. i was fed up of trying .Thirty minutes was all i used to spend in swimming and that thirty minutes i began to get bored ! Bored of trying and in fact grew so bored that i stopped trying altogeher !. i did work outs like tread mill and elliptical but i didnt go to the pool at all , for days / rather i would say months ... and then when i thought that it was time for me to get into the water , i did -with all the enthusiasm and happiness and with all the excitement !!and then the biggest realisation came ! oh god! i had missed the pool !.. i was so happy to be back in the water again ! i realised that day how much i had missed swimming !.

I learnt some thing very important that day !.. We should be really passionate about what we do ! it can make a lot of difference . Initially my aim was just to "learn swim ".. i was doing this with all my body and soul , but i was aiming for the target . i forgot that "Rome is not built in a day ". When i began to get passionate about swimming , that is when it made the whole difference . i was really really enjoying my experience just by being in the water ! . i just totally loved it ! From that day on ,(though it was there at the back of my mind that i need to learn swimming ) , i was never under any pressure . i just began enjoying the days in the pool . The struggle with the water was over and i was just going with the flow !. After a lots of trials , with the side twist , the breating etc .. today .. Viola ! i am blogging !

To all the people who are in their initial days of their swim , always remember that your body weight or age can delay you but it can never suppress your passion and your will power . And try and try , we must ! . Its okay to take extra days / even months , but you bet , you will definitely get it one day ! Its good to turn your mind and body to some other sports too , if you get bored etc ..The break can do you good .There is no point in going to the pool feeling sad and dejected that "when will i EVER get it "!..Rather , just enjoy the "process " . i cherish the days when i learnt the "swimming process " ..
am sure when you too will get the hang of it , you too will cherish these days ...
All the very best newbies ! , and enjoy the ride ! Believe me , its totally worth it !

My personal take on Ra.One movie

2011-11-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

I saw this movie RA One couple of days back and before I proceed let me put in few words. I truly like SRK, his work and personality. But I am not a blind fan. There have been many movies where I too have felt like many others that he could have done better or have not felt that magic. But this movie was somehow so special.

With all the marketing strategies for this movie by SRK, the one last thing u would want to read in this world is a review from me. But I am sorry to say guys; oops! This is indeed a review. Hence, before u read any further let me pre warn u, so that u could opt out of reading this and not feel like strangling me 

I just totally enjoyed the movie from the beginning. I was neither bored nor distracted till the end. Lots of people complained that the first 10 minutes was extremely shallow but hey , if u can recollect it was a small boy’s dream and so as adults let’s just excuse the digitals and the graphics here 
The proverbs used in the movie (quoted from V Shantaram) were so good!). These days with the movies showing drinking, rash driving, broken relationships and so much negativity, I felt this was such a big relief , even for the the older people to get into the groove of the good - old age proverbs(and not just the kids alone !). The famous quote “Burai sang jo mel rachaya, phir kabhi naa chhute uska saaya...” (If you join the forces of evil, there is no turning around...).. Is superb!. I loved this one too “Haan. Farishtey Hote Hain”( Yes, angels do exist) and many such more …

I am not publicizing the movie and that is not my intention. To watch / not to watch a movie is a personal choice. But I loved the positivity in the movie … I loved the scene where the father Srk tries to become super hero in the eyes of his son . He just wants to impress his son so badly, and that was so cute. Even when he knew that RA one (the villain) would kill him the next moment, he admits that he is “Lucifer” (so that Ra one would not hurt his son and kill him instead!). The movie epitomizes the strong uncorrupted love of a doting father to his son .A love so incomparable and out of this world which only our parents can bestow on us and is irreplaceable. To have been blessed with such pure love from parents is truly a blessing and a gift from God.

I also loved the scene where the son says in the end that “my father would have never let the evil win” (even though the video game was designed in such a way that villain wins the game ). Somehow the son was so sure that his dad being such a nice human being would never have let the game be in the hands of evil.

Apart from parental sentiments, on a commercial note the movie was too entertaining with superb songs and the heroine has done more than good justice with superb acting and scintillating dance moves. The movie on the whole, displays such positive energy and ends on a positive note that I was so happy, when I walked out of the theater. (Of course, as I said previously, this is my personal take on the movie). After watching some bad movies earlier with the typical boy meets gal types , the big fights in the dance clubs and the gal falling for the guy , the ill effects of drug usage and the guy ending in asylum, the pathetic and humiliating display by the hero , heroin and the crew to bring Hollywood culture into our very own Bollywood masala movies(!!!) , I somehow felt that RA One had a totally new and fresh approach . Such super hero movies have never been experimented in Bollywood before and hence I have to congratulate the entire team for such a big effort. I would also like to add that I had no idea about the movie, not even the story line, though I was aware that Srk has travelled far and wide to spread the message of RA One across. I could totally (in fact very easily) connect to the emotions of a doting father and a growing up son.

To distinguish the good from the bad and grow up to be a good super hero is what every father would want to tell their son , holding them close ; and with such strong dialogues and by portraying the roles of G one and prateek(his reel son) justice to those emotions has been done superbly . Somewhere this is what SRK himself (like any other father) would want Aryan (his real son) to be –a true super hero in real life.

Hats of to u Khan for making such a different and positive movie. We do not have many movies in Bollywood where a father can tell his son how much he loves him. It’s been a mother’s world all the while and will surely be for years to come .But the movie –Ra one had the boldness to open the door for a whole new trend in Bollywood world with a different outlook both emotionally as well as technically .

Hope not from Better to Worst !

2011-05-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Some times i wish life was more simple....

We live only to get the simple amenities in life like food . water , shelter , clothing with some inventions..(Ya, ok with me ! :)
Why all this education , then the job hunt , then take stress , and going round and round in a vicious circle . Like better improvement of life means going to some developed countries , then going away from the folks u know ur kins kiths .. and then again face the competition of live ...Restrictions of moving from one country to another due to visa issues !!! i mean , why cant the world be just one happy place where people dnt even know the meaning of "violence ", and there is peace and peace every where!!!! Ya this is an "Ideal " world and our current world is not even close to ideal !!!

The rich gets richer
Poor becomes more poorer
U open the Newspaper in the morning and see and read only violence and bloodshed , or break up and gossips of film stars (Hell , who cares who they are with !!! ) and then i remember my grandma saying "open your eyes with good thoughts in mind ; now even if u do , reading all this bloodshed bullshits can really in some way cause adrenalin to raise and trigger negative thoughts at the start of the Day !
Phew !!!!

Where are we actually heading to !!!
100 years from now on .. will our good old earth even exist ?
Will we go back to the primitive style some day ? So much of progress happening in all the fields , i don't see any "going backwards"
But i wonder how much "MORE" can Man make his life simpler ?
We used to walk , now we have cars , buses , airplanes
We used to talk , then write letters,now emails , twitter , and does today's kids even know that their grandparents used to write letters !!! ya well , they could be learning that in the "History chapters".(But we have some a long way , and WOW!!!, its really good and appreciable . Change and development are really cool ! )

The environmentalists shout each and every day in some corner of the world saying "go green ' and we eat potato chips and say , oh.. so boring , Play some movie instead Its not that we don't care ... but i feel people have not actually given it a thought .. or they feel "What can i do " ?(well , am not doing anything about it either apart from writing this blog , to be frank ..)

We buy grocery and get lots of plastic bags ...And we come back home and just throw them in the bins !! Where will be heading to in 100 years this way ?We will definitely not live to find out ..but Our grand children's... I guess they will be surely having the so called "easy life" (Easy is always relative, They may find even airplanes as "Difficult"), so easy with respect to our lives , but then the beauty of nature , the fun childhood, wont they be missing a lot ? Well again "missing " is again relative but they may not even know what they are missing , so i guess it is ok ! Smiles ! Smiles ! :)

So Why do we need so much of inventions . Ok , Now talents have to be appreciated , and yes a green signal to all the inventions .. But there can be a clear "No No " to certain inventions too..?
If the so called "great findings" pose a threat to the environment , or to the human race , then why in the first place are we welcoming them at all ? Why are we we also honouring the people who made them, because it can encourage others to make stuffs like that (I don't know if this makes sense , but i was just thinking ...) !! We can use our skill sets and make cures for illness(say Cancer) but there should be some stopping when these radiations are used for destructive scientific purposes .

We do not need any more of destructive inventions.When i say destructive i don't "only mean" an atom bomb", i also mean say a plastic bag . Ok we have polluted our Earth enough and all of us are happy with plastic bags . If we cannot use brown bags then at lest lets not waste time and money making bags which are more hazardous than the plastic bags ! from worse to worst(due to competition and industrialisation )??. A way by which we can trap the nature's resources and recycle would be like "ideal" to preserve our nature our Home . We get so angry when some one spoils our home , throw away stuffs which creates bad smell, or even if objects are not rightly in place !And all the techies , does not the Earth and a home have parent child relation ! So if it effects the parent , it will in course of time (ha! thts the catch , so why bother NOW!)..effect our homes . ....Oh ! this will be one of the "most boring " stuff i have written so far .... But i will not say you guys dnt know abt this .. U guys may be even doing a research , but What i would like to conclude is Even when it comes to technology and even a new inventions there should be someone to say "enough "(else there can never be enough , as human beings are so aspirational !) because you never know that when let out that new "whatever" ...It could be so customized by people around the globe and destroy Our Parental Home (i mean earth :) )one day ..

Lost.....

2011-04-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

I was watching “lost” TV series (an American serial, which won many awards), where a group of strangers get stranded in an island after a plane crash. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know how long / how many days it will take for them to be rescued. On top of this, there are issues like water, food and protection from wild beasts etc. . . . They also know before the crash that the plane had lost the contact with the center and so it will be so difficult for the outside world to track them. The TV series is extremely gripping and thus the story moves on ….

All the while, one thought kept coming to my mind; When are these guys actually happy? Was it when they got food and water, Well Definitely a big Yes, but that did not make them “Want to live “!.. They still grumbled.. It was just meeting that special someone on the island , making new friends,and the thought of going back to the people they loved which invoked the deep urge to live and survive on that island .

Be it a lost island or be it in outer space ... Humans are so bounded by the emotions!(Why humans alone !i guess “All” ! ) They need love, care, support and they like to belong to a society and to have friends and to be wanted!!! What kept them going in that long lost island were not just the food and the water and the fact that they were brave; it’s the mere fact that, they all loved one another, found solace in each other. Some of them even met the special someone there and they felt so "wanted". To Love and to be loved is the most essential thing, as important as the food and water and it was just that mere simple fact that "kept them going”

Now in the real world, we don’t stop by to think the people whom we "can’t live without"! We just take them for granted. Close your eyes and imagine that all the people u love, your parents, kins.., your spouse, your kids, or friends are just not with u .Shuddering thought rite??? Now imagine the same situation with loads of money, will this make you happy ? Money can or may buy you friends but , genuine friends?, family ? .. Well i guess they are worth than a million gems ! So at the end of the day, if u have just no one in this world to love, care nor protect nor people to love and care u back, it’s the same situation as being stranded on a lost island is it not ?

Respects the people who love u and care for u, and take time, to show them that you care.

You never know how important they are to u, until they’re gone...

So take time to love and to be loved ...

Indian cinema bewitched !

2010-10-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

I was watching a Hindi movie recently (sadly I do not get the name ), where the hero influences a heroine saying it is cool to drink on a week day and then get to work , and also to drive after that . Why ? Ya , You bet - our hero has an explanation to that “because its pure fun , and we need to drink and drive to get the real masti effect “ !!!His words are so powerful and so magical that the gal (our heroine , I didn’t think she was so dump , by her looks and her attire ), ignores her so called boyfriend , brands him as boring (because he has a routine and drinks only on weekends!!!! Is that not enough ), and “Enjoys life “(If so called drinking daily and driving with a reeling head can be called so ...)…I did not understand what the director was trying to prove there ? To enjoy life we should not have a routine ?? to enjoy life one needs to use alcohol daily ? we need to drink and drive .. Ya, kill ourselves we will , but we can also knock down someone on the road too.. I didn’t get the logic at all .. Anyways the movie ended with a note happily ever after , and I have nothing against the movie . But I didn’t agree with the movie’s scripts .After all powerful , meaningful ,clear dialogues are still enjoyed by many apart from music and dance! .

Cinema is meant to be for fun , but don’t the directors get this; There are millions of people idolizing their dream hero’s and their ravishing heroines. So MOVIE is not just a form of entertainment, but something more than that. When a movie gets released, it is with the same enthusiasm that a villager or a person from a city enters the hall. . This is true , we wait for days for a movie release and do take out time to watch that movie . Kids are no less . They in fact get more excited to catch a glimpse of their super star and carefully note their accent , their costumes , their styles etc …An average movie hits the market and reaches out to millions and millions of people in towns, cities , villages.

I am not saying that every movie has to convey a message, ok well if it can then Excellent !. But messages in movies are too much to ask for these days ..! In India we have lot of channels and programmes revolving around Cinemas , may be more than the number of news channels. After a tiring day a kid is more interested to sit back and watch a movie than know what is happening in India or abroad. If the kid can get the good from the bad then she will know that “ hey drinking is bad for health. Teacher told me that we should never drink and drive. This is dangerous. Life is not about talking back to parents or not taking responsibilities.. Or is it , hmm, “” . Now, I am not at all surprised if at least 10 of the 100 children who watch hindi movies , these days think this way and getting confused !…

In most of the movies , the heroines have to drink (forget the guys drinking , it’s too casual and ordinary ), guys have to bleed the villains to death , , they have to be bad and impolite ,and not do well in studies etc. etc. … and not to mention the pub culture (shown in a very bad way )etc.. But the point is , there is too much of western influence in the movies these days. We at this age, can say from the good and the bad, Someone from the college, a student , of course can.. But think of a girl or a boy whose middle class parents work day and night and have no time to actually “see” what this guy is eyeing in movies. They may think after all its just a movie..! But hey NO, There are no ratings for the movies like they have in the English movies. All the Indian movies are of general category!!! Ok , so now the kid may think its cool to drink and drive ,to beat up people , be confused , and irresponsible just to idilosie the characters they love in the movies!. He may get highly tempted to try out and booze with his friends at a very early stage of his school life .

Now, analysis 2-A normal Indian kid (I meant financially) has to strive through all the competitions and tension to get a good job .We forget that India is still a developing country. True, India is progressing at a high rate. But yes, we have still not reached a phase where we can proudly say that there is not single family in our country who do not have 3 sumptuous meals a day . In the midst of all this, the directors bring about these confusing concepts, and influence kids at a large scale . After all a gangster is not born in a day . Blurred thoughts and a confused outlook towards life , with no proper guidance can mislead the YOUNG MINDS into wrong paths.

Just like Politics and Press, Cinema is highly influential and something which is looked upon by a large audience. When we say that Politics or Press has got responsibility, why do we forget that directors also should have some moral obligations towards the people of our Country? It is ok to ape the west, but then why can’t we take their good things, TOO!!!. Why can’t there be 1 good movie which conveys their punctuality and their dedication towards work .Why can’t they put the message across the people of India that in THE West , drink and drive is a criminal offence and you will be penalized like hell , If you ever break the Rule ,You are restricted from driving may be throughout your life , and hey rules are rules, one must follow them . If you get caught for drugs , people are send to jails for years and years and the price they pay for their misconduct are too high ! Most of the western countries deny citizenship if a person is caught with enough evidences ..How many kids in India know all this?

Our country has got a beautiful culture and the foreigners look forward to us, when they talk about family and relationships. I do not deny any of them. Most of us are extremely close to our families. We value our traditions. And then comes the villain like directors who brings out and highlight matters which are not at all relevant to the movie or to the time we live for a mass of audience . How many of us drink liquor daily , break rules daily , drink and drive etc .just on the basis of fun ! .Why do we high light so much on the drinking alcohols, or drugs, or violence unnecessarily . Just show only what is required for the movie. Why the hype ?and they end the movie with a happy note which could some where trigger some wrong brain cells in kids . The movies these days do not depict a common man’s India .

A poor man ‘son may get awed by the onscreen alcohol or the drug usage and may feel sad that he has no money to buy them. A rich man’s son has enough awareness of its implications to his health. But think about a middle class or less than an average family. Can his parents always protect him from knowing which is good and the bad or have enough oratory or influencing skills to brain wash his kids to protect him from the bad!

We know that most of the things which happen in the movies do not happen for real .We also put a note in you tube when we hear good old songs and movies as “good old days “, because we loved the movies where we could match and be like hero or heroine of that period. Now a days , movies potray a heroine as some one whom a normal indian girl just cannot compare to . The way the hero talks ,or his mannerism are not the way a normal guy in the city would do . So we as audience fall far behind the dreamy characters that they play . An average Indian knows that all this is just “maya “ or a foam which we need to forget once we leave the theatre, and there is nothing to take back from the movie . The movie was ‘just fun “ But let’s not forget to think and criticize when we hear meaningless scripts

The sensor boards should take serious actions in this regard. The script writer can show his responsibility towards his job, by not spreading wrong messages through his scripts if not a good script !. But more than ever , I would say that a hero should at least have the guts to speak up and say that “hey , is this line really required here , can we change this line slightly “and he should be given this flexibility and freedom . After all a hero/ heroine has the moral obligation to his devoted fans for their love and support. The media who can hype to any extend to get a good public attention can protest against the irrelevant and dirty usage of dialogues. If not a revolution, at least awareness can be created in a huge scale .In the West, the kids are the most protected lot. Why? Because they are the future of a nation , and they like to see their future bright .So if we are actually aping the west , then don’t we all also have the responsibility to protect our children from the compelling clutches of the reel world !

Evolution : Daughter to a Mother

2010-06-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

Nitya was very silent . She felt very sad . she was the best daughter any parent would want to have . Then why were her parents always cribbing and complaining ? She felt irritated .
She opened her books to study . Her mother called her down for helping her with cooking . Grumbling , she walked down stairs and thought , Neeta never does any cooking at home . Her mom pampers her so much . They get her any thing she demanded and she does not even study well !

Her mother was casually talking while her mind roamed around her other friends . Padma! God! She even has a boy friend and her parents take it so lightly . how can they ? are they not worried or bothered about her ? Will my parents be ok if I take some one home ? Nitya was 100% sure her dad would throw her out of the house .

It was not that she was unhappy .She loved her family and would do anything to make them happy . Just anything in this world .But her parents never appreciated her . Never ever ! Not even once ; at lest she didn’t remembered any .
They loved her and adored her , she knew that , but she wished one day they would pat her back when she came first in her class, pamper her with toys or not scold her if she dropped curry on the table top and ........................

She felt so jealous of her cousin . Her aunt boats about how she tidies up her room , folds her own clothes, and how good she is in studies . Why ? What’s so great about it ? why is her aunt always boasting about her daughter ? She always did all this work every single day of her life but never seen her mother even hinting about any of this , to a single soul!

She looked at me and asked me “common u tell me , what is really so great about folding clothes or cleaning a tea cup ? !! “
Heeee , I giggled and to our bad luck , Miss betty heard us and shouted “You girls seems to have better topics to concentrate . Please go out , finish that and come inside “.. hmmmm… We marched outside classroom ….Well it was ok for us . This was not the first time we were shown the door . Well , I felt really sorry that I was laughing (not for going out of the class ! anyways class was always so boring . Why cant the teachers ever make it more interesting ? ) at nithya . But it was so obvious that she was so jealous . Her jealousy showed on her face and i couldnt help laughing . I knew her dad and mom . I didn't know what to say . I couldnt have to give her a study class on how all parents loved their kids . That would be so insulting .She would kill me surely . Nithya knew all that far too well . Her parents would just die for her .I really didn’t know how to comment on such topics. It was too sentimental and so i casually brushed aside the situation remarking that she was taking it all too seriously and may be her love for her family has got on her nerves . Well what else could i have told her ??

Summer holidays set in , and I had invited all my friends to my home to stay for some days .Nithya was over joyed. She loved my mom and dad , and had an excellent rappo with my grandparents . She made friends with all my cousins and her face was glowing with happiness. We all had a blast . We stayed up late , ordered food home , played the DJ music, danced , roamed around lots of near by places . It was as if my parents never existed . They were too cool anyways . In fact they too enjoyed our company and became one among us those five days .

"This is one thing I dont get in my house neeta … “ and I thought what !! ?? “ “parents , cousins, grandparants , food , what was she missing at her home “ !!!. Though she is my best friend ,she is sometimes like a tangled puzzle to solve .I couldn’t force her and she wouldn’t talk either . I gave a nod on my head and kept my mouth shut which was the best thing to do , when u don’t know what u ought to do !!!.

Finally , the day came when all my friends had to go back to their respective houses . I was surprised .! Nitya was so upset . This was not a “bidai ceremony “ but she literally hugged every one and even shed few tears . Now this was too much for me . What was she up to ?? is there any cousin brother of mine whom she was aiming at ? No !she was not that type anyways and besides she would go only for the person chosen by her dad .
Why was she so emotional then ?“Oh ! why does she always makes situations so dramatic! “ she should try her hand in movies .I was surprised that she even shed few tears . May be a carrer in movies was not a bad option for her at all .She was going back to her own house , and I didnt totally understand what was the need for such a melodrama , back home .

I accompanied her back to the bus stand , and I was teasing her how she trapped all my parents with her undying love and affection . She was still sad !!.
Hey common , now this was too much . I felt that she was insulting her parents in someway and got annoyed too . God! Why was she irritating some times .
Her bus came , and she boarded into the bus .I sat next to her to give her company till the bus took off trying to cheer her up .

She thanked me profusely for calling her over to my house . she told me how much she loved my family . How much freedom she had in these 5days with my family . She said there was totally no tension in my house and that she felt completely relaxed . It’s ok if we all didn’t get up at sharp time in the morning . It’s ok if we didn’t wash our hands after food , sat there and laughed. It’s ok to talk about guys . It’s ok to cling on mobiles for long long time . It’s ok If we didn’t help in kitchen . It’s ok if we didn’t take bath the first thing in the moring . It’s ok… God !!! She was now talking no stop and the list was endless .

The bus took off and I bid her good bye .Though she was highly irritating some times , she was an extra nice girl , and I adored her and was proud that she was my Best friend. What was all that she was talking about ? Were her parents so strict ?? Is it wrong to be strict then . Its for her own good anyways .? May she was over reacting , and yes grass is always green on the others side ;’I loved her parents , and she mine .
I laughed and could only describe her acts as chidish .

School ,College ...time just flew .

After 5 years of battling wth books , I am now a renowned doctor with a comfortable living . Now ,my parents were worried about my marriage and getting the perfect guy seemed more complex that completing my medical courses .My friend Nitya was soon to be married and I was thrilled that she was moving over to my place after her marriage. Marriage went on grand and she soon was my neighbour .

Its heaven, I tell you , when u have Ur best friend as ur neighbour .I come back after a heavy day and unwind myself to her . She is an exceptional cook and i love her pokkoras(a food item).
Soon it was D day for me , and I too soon crafted a nice niche for myself . From the start ,like arranging a carpet in the drawing room , till pillow covers , dishes ,to making my bed , I found everything so difficult ! Then came the big task – cooking .! I wondered how nithya managed to make it look all too easy . I never heard her once complaining about her house hold activities . Besides she was working too . How ever did she manage all this , so perfectly , so elegantly !.

And then one day , I called it quits . It was getting too much for me . i just couldnt handle my house any more . No matter how much i cleaned the house, it always looked dirty . Am a doctor , who wanted it tip top and sparkling clean at the hospital and my own house seemed to look like a cow shed . Just then nithya came with her good old smile and I just had to ask her this Question . How ?? Nithya gave all the credits to her mom and dad . They had made her to take up small tasks all the while even from chilhood that its all part of her life now .She does not feel all this as “work’ any more . She told me it was as easy and essential as breathing .!

She helped me with cleaning that day , but of course I didn’t allow her to do much work , not because she was “another girl “ but she was an expecting mother and I was too thrilled , in fact as excited as she was .

I feel life after a baby is born is something which can never be explained or described in words Its just far more than all that . U have to be extra cleaner , keep changing diapers , lack of sleep etc etc . But still it was so much fun . I could see a constant glow on nithya’s face .I too was learning a lot from her .

How the days passed by , she will surely not know ; but that kid was the light of my life and I too was so attached to jeena . Jeena was beautiful and at the same time smart and cute . She was a rare blend and I just loved her . Nithya as a typical mother was strict when it came to basic house hold work and as expected she didn’t spare Jeena . I couldn’t interfere too .Managing house hold activities had been my biggest failure when I had got married and I too was insistent , that Jeena learn it little by little ,starting from her early day’s .

One day I met the mother and the daughter outside my hospital , vey surprisingly . Jeena was excited as she was elected as the class representative of grade 5 and I too joined them for a small party . Nithya proudly spoke about her daughter and how well she managed the class when a teacher was not around ,and went on to say how good a girl she was and also that she was incharge for her classmates on a trip which they were going the coming week .

My thoughts were “Common nithya , she is just in fifth grade . How can she manage the class ? Obviously it would be the teachers and other staffs . Just because her daughter is a class rep… , GOD ! Why was she over reacting ! ? ""Suddenly , I remembered our childhood days , and about her boasting aunt.
Well I guess all the parents were just the same when it came to their own kids ! and I smiled .
Nithya caught me just in time and read my mind . Well , I guess when some one is there with you for so long and she happens to be ur best frined, I shouldnt be surprised .She always catches my mind in action and can even predict what was going through those cells . And am supposed to be the doctor here . But i loved her anyways ...She was a gem .

We were walking back , and jeena went to play . Nitya said “Neetu , am not praising jeena and spoiling her . I never got a word of praise from family and I crave for it even till this day. May be they thought i was too naive and could get spoiled or that i couldnt handle appreciaton properly or that it may get into my head .What ever the reason was , sometimes I feel they were true too . They knew me well . Of course I am careful that i do not over do it for jeena , but I really want to give her the appreciation and the freedom . I thank my parents profusely for what I am today , but I want to give her what I missed the most in my life .A mother always wants the best for their kids , but yes after going through years of parenting , I still may not be able to own up as a best mother . Jeena still could have compliants , later on .I express my love sincerely and openly to her , pamper her and yet at the same time i want to make her smart , independent , a good human and prepare her well for today's world .

Parenting is very tough task Neetu , and once you go through it u too will know .It is like Music where u need to get the correct blend of the ragas . It may turn out to be an extrodinary piece of art for years to come; well appreciated by many , an ordinary work of music or might even be withered and dead lying there untouched and least recognized if we do not give them the right polish where and when required . Or is music is too much to be compared with ; after all there are no exact parenting classes . Every parent grows with their kid .

You have to be good and timid at the same time and pulling it all through is sometimes really tough.I will always try to put up a good show and jeena could still rate me as a not so good mother , later on . I do not know and I realy do not care . What it matters to me today is that my kid gets the best of everything and i want to support and care for her , just like how our parents have done for us , all the while . I shall struggle , no matter how bumpy the ride is just to make sure that years later she is happily settled and independent . I would be there with her all the way till then ". Nithya was not so sure if i understood what ever she was telling me , but looking at her eyes , i knew she was getting very emotional .

Well , Nithya was wrong . I totally knew and understood her . She made an excellent mother and she was right . Parents never demand or even expect to be rated , if they were good , better , bad or what ever . We are a part of them and nothing in this world can change that . We would have done uncountable mistakes and got punished from them ,and even been forgiven by them .So when we become successful , rich and independent ,We should not wait even for a single moment to brush off any scars (if any ) caused by them in our making .After all they have always wanted the best for us. We are them , and they are us .

A parting note to a friend!!

2010-06-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Some people…some very special people …
They just touch u in such special ways
That they live the mark till the end of life!!!

I don’t want to tell u a thank u, dear friend!!!
I don’t want to tell u a good bye!!
I just want to be there for u, when ever u need me!!!

For what u have done for me,
For what u were for me ,
U r, and will always be special

At the corner of my heart which shares the deepest of my deepest feelings
U ll b always treasured …
More precious than a jewel
More precious than the precious things …

As I walk further I meet new faces
New destinies, new fears, fresh joys…
I search for such a long lost friend
In the deepest of my sorrows...
Thinking that u will come from no where
Just to hold me and say “It’s all rite “
Just to let me know that life is still young
And life is still with me!!!

As I walk further, destinies change and I grow strong
Hope a stage never comes that…
I was needed, when I couldn’t be there..
I wanted to be there, but just couldn’t be there..

Still my dear friend, I want u to know that..
In some ways I had always cared for u …
I had always liked u …
A silent prayer was always there for u
That no matter where ever u r, what ever u do
B the same u r!!! Let smile b there always in ur life!!!

who is more luckier ?

2010-05-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

i remember this day in my school when 3 of us close friends, decided that we bunk an important exam .Reason ? simple ..we hadn't studied .
the day before the exam , some how my friend got this sensible thought (or non sense ) -what ever , that it is very wrong of us to bunk an exam as we had been in the good books of teacher's always . She calls me up and gives me a philosophical lecture that it is ok to fail but try , we must .She convinced both of us somehow and promised that she would be there for the exam on time , without fail .Most of u , reading this will (or could ) think of us as nerds as there could be many of u ,who would have just missed exams . Well , i can only tell u guys , i don't know about the "nerd part " but i really dont have an explanation for this . Knowing 100% that we shall fail , we still some how didnt "feel right or ethical " to bunk an exam where our teacher took lots of stress teaching and setting up a good question paper .
Well,my friend and i were dump struck when we dint find the person who convinced us to write the exam , the next day morning !!.
my anger had totally no senses .It was as if a third eye was opened and i was waiting to burn her into ashes . it was too late to turn back so we both attended this exam some how ...
I can never ever forget this day in my life .After the exams , the first thing i did was to find a telephone booth .i called her up and before she could say anything, not even a single word, i gave her left and right !.. i have never been so upset in my life! (Well, if life meant the short span from my birth till that date ! ). how could she cheat me .i was fuming when she just said "my dad passed away last night due to heart stroke and just broke into tears" .

i didnt know how to react ! My friend who was with me also shared same emotions as i had . I cried , on the way to meet her . She lost her dad and here i was , thinking mean things about her . I hated myself ..I didnt trust my friend! how shameful! .
I walked into her room and she just ran into my arms crying .. and i was standing there holding her in the midst of grief and guilt .!
Years later , even now, she is one of my closest friend and most of my good old friends crown me as a trustful and patient friend. i guess every relation do matures and grows with age .Well , what had gone wrong that day ? i couldn't tolearte the fact that she broke my trust ? Or was it because i gave lots of importance to exams ? . or was it my immaurity , childishness or foolishness .Truly speaking ,i do not wish to justify my act .i had been a bad person to even think bad about a good friend . That was it .
i flung my exams terribly , got a bad report card and do not wish to quote on the troubles which followed , because some how they were nothing compared to the pain which my friend was going through at that time ...
It was then that i overheard some of my classmates remarking how lucky my friend was as she missed the test .After all she didn't have a bad report card .i was surprised to hear this but yes there were few who didn't know of the sad demise of her dad . NO !!! i couldn't turn around and walk, hearing this remark . i told them the matter and left them shocked .

years later , i still remember how, some of my friends marked her as "lucky" bz we all flunked in a test .. GOD ! how unlucky she was to loose her father at such a young age . he was the pillar of support for her . She had so many dreams as she came from a very conservative background and her dad was the only person who understood and supported her all the while thru ..
well, it was "us' who were lucky that rainy day when we were following our parents back home with a bad report card and she , her dad to the graveyard to pay her last respects. We lost a paper , a very important paper and she lost her father . The loss was immense for all of us but incomparable .
some times , things are not what it looks like . We may look at a person and remark "wowo he is so lucky " but we may never know . He surely will have some tensions which u are not aware of : after all there are lots of people in this world who are not comfortable sharing their problems with others , even with their closest friends. They would just like to keep it to them selves.
The people whom we consider lucky may surely be having issues which could be more trivial than your's.
Well , cant help comparing and expecting as humans , right ?then how do u find happiness and contentment .Gandhi ji has written "when u feel low , look around to some one who is less fortunate than u r , then u will find ur sorrows winding away ".. Well , i dnt know if it's ok to look at that person and feel good or to sympathise with his situation but i do know that when we mark some one as lucky and wish that our life was like "that person " there would be lots of people out there who may think that u are more luckier than them , and waiting for a chance to live "UR LIFE ".So , even in the worst of worst situations , we all are , in some ways "lucky" . Don't u think so ?

why is life such a struggle ?

2010-05-29T01:30:00.001-07:00

why is life always such a struggle ?
when we were kids we had to strive so hard because we were told that we need to get in good schools.. When we play or watch a tv show for long , the words of wisdom from parents , teachers relatives "u need to study , dnt waste time "!!! .. ok sorry
not to forget the bugging neighbours ! they have to interfere u know ..it their birthright !.
once in school, time and again the trauma of boards and getting into good colleges... we are send to tuition's, coaching classes and what not ! Patel sir's kid has gotten into a good engineering college , u need to get into a very good college beta ! Advice from all , which seemed more compelling than gita upadesh "study , word hard, only then can u get into good college..dont waste time hanging with friends , or going for useless movies " once in college , ofcourse who can ever forget the karate-kumphu we need to do to get those stress interviews, group discussions right !..and then finally we are in a job , we need to learn new things to keep up with others in work and to keep the managers happy , but surely- to have the work in hand '! after all "logon ki kami nai hein yahan pe " and u need to be really smart !
then comes the challenges in life like marriages , kids financial issues etc etc , were we run behind all this, one after the other .
"shadi karo beta , ur time is passing by" ... of course there will always be a Patel's sir's son or mishra ji's daughther to be compared with !
"have kids- its been 2 years since u guys are married "- "married life teek hein na ' koi problem to nai .. how come no kids ! Questions , questions !!! pressure from all sides, after all neighbours and relatives do contribute to the maximum "its time u had kids " their final verdict .
and u raise the kids with all the tensions starting from a diaper to school , to marriage ;then their kids " and hey !!! u are already running in Ur fifties !!
u are stuck with some , if not all - medical complications ..then again u play the cat and mouse game with life ! trying maximum to cope up with middle age, and how do u end up as!! i guess may be like another Patel sir who may tell the youngster's "hey ..hurry ..time... bla blah blah " ..the vicious cycle continues....
why is life such a big struggle ?? starting from the day one u r born , be ready , u have fallen in this race .
well , can u blame the parents? ..after all , parents always want the best for their kids and hence the pressure .
well.cant blame the society either .With the population rising exponentially , we all have to strive for the best ...after all Darwin has left his popular "survival of the fittest " mantra for all of us which we shall knowingly or unknowingly grip us till our grave.
I guess the bitter fact is , no one is to be blamed for all this . This is where the human evolution with all its goodness(and of course the negatives) have left each and every one of us . True but u really cant blame any one...u just have to go with the flow...
So yes, life is a struggle and will always be . To live each day can get challenging for many .but hey !
its never too late to make good memories . we try so hard to give our children the best of everything forgetting our sorrows and miseries , but do not forget one thing ; its ur life too. As u and i too know ,
time waits for no one .
Was there a place which u always wanted to go and u never could till date ? Was there a piano or a guitar class which u were waiting to join in ur childhood ? Was there a book or a sport which u wanted to take up which u had post poned due to lack of time ? Time ; u do not have it today and u surely will not have it tomorrow . Go ahead, fulfill ur dreams and make beautiful memories .
Do not forget to live.

realisations on facing death ...

2010-05-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

i was in pg one day and just had this instinct to call up my friend who got married recently .With so much excitement i called up and her hubby sadly informed me that day before , her dad had passed away in a train accident . This was too much for me to handle , as i felt i knew her dad so closely . There was never a single day when she didn't tell me about how special her dad was for her .

how often we hear a train accident a plane crash , a car accident to some one near or far . we hear , we think, we pity , and then we just forget ; because we just dnt have "time " Who is the master of 'Time " ? or have we become slaves of the same ?

she saw a terrifying dream and woke up in horror and was so happy that she was still alive ! GOD ! what a horrible night mare ..
she ran and ran , toppled down the stars and finally a bullet shot her ! she was dripping in blood and breathing her last ...She felt sad . She wished she had some more time with her , there were so many things she wanted to achieve and now "no time "!
she got up in shudder ! thank God thank god she was alive and well . thank god it was just a dream . She stayed awake the whole night thinking about that bullet shot and the terryfing moments closer to death, till it dawned !

What if this would have been real . How terrifying is that one minute when u know that u are going to be in this world for just 'some more minutes "and u could hear the clock ticking away !. she wondered about the car accidents, the train mishaps and the plane crashes.. would they have gone through this fear ?the last one minute when they came face to face with death !

she lay awake in her bed thinking about her dreams and her wish lists .. she wanted to marry , have kids , cook , and invite her friends for a party . She was planning to go biking , trekking , learn swimming, yoga etc etc her wish list was end less ! she had some plans for her parents and her sister . When was the last time she talked to them in a nice way , without taking on the job frustrations on them ?
there were so many things which she wanted to do , and what if the time was too short .what could she have done ?. she would just pray , just pray GOD to give her some more time on this earth ... pray pray so hard that GOD had to listen to her ! But does life always gives every one a second chance ?
Next day morning , some how seemed very beautiful to her . She stopped grumbling , but opened her windows and embraced the cold winds which flew past her face . She saw a birds nest and sat gazing at it for a long time !She enjoyed her cup of tea then she slowly got ready , and went humming on her way to office .
Some how ,today she did not feel like hurrying .She took time to greet people around ,gave a smile and even gave a pat to few of her junior colleagues ! They all gave her a look of surprise ! After all she was a manager , and when was the last time she just enjoyed dressing up , wearing a nice salwar , hummed a beautiful romantic melody and walked past her corridors ! well , looks like in college .. those years where life only meant one thing - have fun !enjoy life !

She began her daily work in office and thought , how much she has changed . Now life was just full of frustrations and tensions , keeping up with dead lines,meetings . She remembered her final year in college where all had worked so hard to get a job to keep the life going ...Now , did the work keep the life going ??she wondered !.She had so many lovely moments in college to cherish and when she looked back at the past 5 years till date, she could not even trace any ! Had she totally wasted her 5 beautiful years just doing nothing but work !

The day went well and she was calm and relaxed She never thought her smile could be so contagious and could make the work place so good !.Some how she felt so good.. On the way back home , she met her dear friend who was talking about a loan which he had not got sanctioned . She wondered if the issue was really so big as much as he thinks .He was so much on the verge of a nervous attack , totally down , and her presence nor her counselling did him any good . She always thought of him as a very lucky person ; with his envious job, loving wife ,2 little kids and hoped that one day she too could craft a perfect family for herself too ..She left him, promising and assuring him that she would definitely help him and his family .

As she said her prayers at night before she fell asleep , she thanked god for all the goodness she was blessed with . She smiled when she secretly hoped that the same nightmare should strike her friend today .
"hey has some one prayed that a night mare like this should happen to me " this was her last thoughts before she feel asleep !

i guess in this busy life we do need a bad nightmare ,now and then , to count the blessings how ever big or small GOD has bestowed on us . To make us realise that we have many miles to go before we sleep and life is so precious ! make most use of every single day !

2010-05-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

hey wowo!!! FREE space to write !!!
it feels so good to get a space like this to express your thoughts , and am so much charged up and so excited that sadly words fail to come ~! ..How did this title "expresso" come up ?? Well , its funny actually . I was planning to start a blog and suddenly thought of a word which best describes my character ; my friends call me express !!! hahah , just like an express i walk, talk, in fact have bumped into (and some have actully fallen ) so many people in life .hey hello wake up ! am not talking about love here , all am saying is that is how this name came ; in hostel corridors many called me "minal" wa ma minall !! so may be tht's it or may be i may change the title later too ! confused !!! well yes guess i am confused , i take lots of time to decide and then things go round and round , but i must say , its ok to get confused but think ! unless a person thinks about all the pros and cons , how will he ever get confused , bz getting confused shows u r thinking and wait ! forget it ,, bz am really confused now mmm... Well this is a typical characteristics of Aries as said by linda goodman's astrology book ! and also by margrett mischelle's "Gone with the wind ". But am not an aries , am a taurus . In fact i call my self a declared taurean . Why so ? well may be because am a cusp and i know that virgos and taurus gel the best in marriage :) Well , i just read this blog my self now after i published and thot " Wat the crap '!!! who on earth would ever even feel like reading this !!! its just so random so confusing so very bad , i would say !!! but hey thts ok ..:) Remember i told u in the 1 st line u see am excited and u r meant to be like this when excited - totally out of speech out of world !! and this is just my introductory blog , u see , where am telling u guys about my self and i just loveeeeeeee talking about my self , i can go on and on ..in fact i have created the history where my family my friends my dilbar , have been put asleep with my so called "chit chats" (a small talk) so tht's ok .and in my campus interview u always have this question "tell me about urself ". We have rehersed this so much from the 2nd year of engineering college , so when this question was put to me .. i jumped into action and in fact almost brought out my janam patrika (my horoscope ) with so much happiness that the interviewer glared at me (oh god! how stupid i was ! thank god he didnt say "get out " ) and there was another guy sitting near him to take my stress interview and now to think of it sadly i feel i had him stressed out !!! i love myself the most and of course sabko apni apni pasand hoti hi hein (all have their likes dislikes) .Every person is so unique in this world and i love studying about people .. There is no good or bad person on this planet .. its all by what u think that matters .., its just the chemistry which binds u together with ur family friends or with ur husband wife kids etc etc . dnt u think so ?? Well i feel i have written so much already about me so much ...and who is interested to know about me anyways !!! u see , in these situations as you are now , ; if some one wrote a blog and it talked blag blah blah about them selves will i be interested .. hmm think think ..well genuinely a big NO ... exactly !! so why would i ever think that on a topic like "about me " some one would spend their time ?..so thts ok .. am totally ok ..but hey watch out for this blog ..its just purely my feelings ... and all the very best to u readers .. :) am so happy today to get my free space to write ..i really need to thank google and my destiny for giving me this Free time too to make a mark on net !!! :) H4 ki jai ho !!! for the time being its just that "my dil bole hadippa !!! " hehe :)