All in a day | Milind Shrivastava

Parenthood: A glance down the childhood memory lane

2015-07-03T23:33:00.000+05:30

Given a chance to be a kid around this time I am sure to have been a very tantrum throwing kind of a child. One that makes sure the attention is all his from everyone available around. As curious as kids could be. Ask my mom and she sure to confirm that this was actually true some 30 odd years back. It probably became a habit of her to expect the unexpected from me; not that I was always trying to be what I finally used to find myself as.

Fast forward to some 30 odd years ahead; I find myself in probably the same shoes as my parents and Mish in probably the same cute small shoes that I was in. You look at her and you instantly know there is something mischievous going on inside that otherwise cute thought process of her mind. And then lately her habit of pulling up a surprise here n there amazes me.

Her first haircut (the look after captured here in the pic) was (as I assumed) was all going to be a catastrophic exercise for the parlor. Instead what turned out to be was quite a dream I still fail to trust in. The storm passed by without a sound. No hiccups nothing..seriously not expected by her standards ;). Anyway, at the end it was like we both (me and wifey) settled with a deep breath and a little brush of index finger to wipe that sweat off our forehead. Not that we are complaining..seriously not. Stumped !!

A few days later; she starts her school. I couldn't understand, but the excitement inside me was a lot more than just a few more beats per min inside my chest. I mean, I know I am getting older but a kid who is ready for school is just out of this world. The excitement may go down after a few days; but this is just fun!!

Then to know that in her first 2 days while the majority of the class was crying and looking for their parents; she was quiet and then chirpy and then dancing to all tunes played and could go up on the stage and still be dancing and posing for all the photos being clicked is probably the biggest relief. 2 days and all the teaching staff know her name. On being asked her name she says "princess Sahana". I am still undecided if I should be scared ;)

Its fingers crossed for now !!

And She Turns 2 !!

2014-09-20T19:38:00.001+05:30

Pretty much around the same time last year we celebrated Sahana' first birthday with you all. You joining us in the party meant the icing on the cake. A few people missed out and we were really sad not have them. Nonetheless for the ones who joined us hope you had fun. The birthday girl was a little unaware of the proceedings; for obvious reasons :). That meant that the people who especially came to meet her were a touch disappointed. The little princess was quite comfortable with dad and had no plans or time for anybody else.

The memories are still fresh, not only with me and family but even with the guests whom we were lucky to have back then. This year the small celebration was a bit restricted for the close family people. And unlike last year the venue was our home. The excitement was no less; more so because the birthday girl now understands things quite a bit more than the last year. So while it was tough to find a birthday dress last time, we had a more tough outing this time around. The birthday girl wanted to try out the different dresses and it was difficult to confront her. Five dresses tried; a few more just looked at and although she was getting a

bit tired with the outing we were amazed with the excitement she showed. We were really outdone having her agreed on one although as you look on the left the dresses (coincidentally all shares of pink) were really difficult to decide on. Each one better than the other!!

We however decided on a couple others as daddy's girl finally settled on a white with polka dots and another one more suited for evening parties :) and the parents were pleased to finally stop jumping from one shop to the other; more so because the settled on dresses suited more to the budget ;).

There was a stunning similarity to the birthday cake for the last and this year' party. In the looks I mean!! But while the first birthday cake was prepared by a five start chef, this year' surprise item was courtesy Flavour Basket' chef Shruti Shrivastava :). I leave you with the cake pic to admire on !!

Yummy right? You bet ;)
Here is the little Princess' birthday look, enjoy and thanks for all the loads of blessings that you send to us; that just made the day all the more special. And She Turns 2 !!

And I finally leave you with the day' menu that was once more sponsored by Flavour Basket. Trust me it was quite a few times more yummy than what the pic here presents :)

Childhood Revisited

2014-09-01T22:24:00.001+05:30

I was near the main gate of my house just trying to open it up. The noise thus made was enough to let someone' sharp ears make all the required jiggle. Even before I managed to enter and in turn close the door, there was a sweet chirping sound. I turned to find her standing near the entrance to my living room. I could see an all happy face and eager eyes.

Mish was back after a 15 day visit to her maternal grandparents. Tough days for me to go by without her in the house; especially not getting the usual welcome as I come back home from office. So while she was back this Sunday morning, it was all "papa aao".. "papa come" and "aye papa" all through the day. That however didn't stop her from noticing that the rain started to fall. Couldn't blame her as after quite a few days it was raining well so the fall sound was enough to be noticed even while we were inside the house.

Not that the rain wasn't welcomed by me; its been a hell lot of wait for proper monsoon this year; but I was just about waiting for my little princess to get started to pull me and ask for a rain bath. The rain somehow makes her go ga-ga over the weather. She is all set to go out there and enjoy the fall. And I knew it was hard to make her stop; no matter what. That didn't stop me from trying a futile way to do the impossible. My mother was quick to notice that it was in vain. I asked why and "I never succeeded anyway...".

It was true, no matter what it was hard to stop me being away from the rain as far as I can remember. As a child (not as small as her) I would cycle around my society for a good 30-40 min as it rained; whenever it rained. I just couldn't stop myself getting under the fall. Not a choice.. at all !! So it was pretty evident that my daughter was just as rigid to go out there and have fun. On second thought I think I had enough of a resistance from myself and it was time. Childhood revisited !!

Not that it was the only occasion, but I will leave the rest for some other time maybe. For the moment it was just the rainfall and a naughty kid to handle. Enjoy the pic :)

Flavour Basket: Your Recipe Friend!

2014-08-29T22:15:00.000+05:30

Did someone notice I talked about another blog taking most of my time lately in the last post? At least the actual owner of that blog did notice that I didn't make "enough" mention of the blog and in fact there was no mention of the name. And for obvious reasons there was no chance of repeating "what's in a name" ;)

A few months earlier while enjoying the tasty dinner I have got so used to now; I casually mentioned to my better half if she considered having a site where she would be able to share the recipes with people. Though I knew the idea crossed her mind on several occasions but the final credit rests with me on finally putting the thought to the table. The egoistic feeling wasn't long lived though as the next thing in line was to find a name for the blog. This isn't the first time we were fighting over a name. A couple of suggestions(though good ones from my side) were down down, we finally settled on another good one from the home ministry. It was all set for the showdown!

Flavour Basket; that' the name!!

With the site well set, my wife was all geared up for the new busyness she was to get. Flavour Basket' Facebook page was also set for promotion. By the way, we are just one like away from the first hundred! Flavour Basket' admin wasn't comfortable with the look of the site, unless she started receiving calls and messages about how well the site came up. That at least settled a few butterflies in my stomach as my choice on the look was finally getting appraised ;).

While the confectionery items recipes are the hot favorites on the site, a few others (especially) like the spicy chaat items are doing the circles as well. We did receive a boost when Flavour Basket' guest blogging started on a good note. We received a few sweet recipes but as well some spicy Indian kitchen items. There are items for quite a few occasions, especially the family gatherings, the small kitty parties or those urgent Kitchen trips courtesy the uninvited guests. Though my favorite has been the donuts (and so too for quite a lot of people, who have tasted them), feel free to choose your own favorite. My colleagues have referred to them as Sahana Donuts; not a bad choice either but I prefer to be quite on this christening, at least for now!

Have fun in the Kitchen with these recipes and yes, comments are welcome :) !!

In The MeanTime...

2014-08-28T21:36:00.000+05:30

A year and nearly 2 months since I hit the publish button in this space. People have been asking if I am already done here. The answer to this question for now is a no. Since the last time I posted things have been rather busy both at the personal as well as professional front. And if you have been following part of the attention has been to the other blog, but more on that later. Soon after the last time something was drafted here, the news on professional front wasn't that good so the focus shifted on winding up the things and then later in the year in the search of another place.

In the meantime Sahana turned one and there were huge preparations to be done. After a lot of search the party place was finalized. The actual birth date was falling in the auspicious days period so it was decided to prepone the function and celebrate the birthday on the date which was also the birth date, but according to the Hindu Calendar. The day long event went really well. Good food, dance, enjoyment were all that marked the day. The little one wasn't quite aware of the proceedings but was happy to have her cousins to play with. The photos will stay there for her to admire when she starts understanding :). Coincidentally, its the same thithi today so as per Hindu Calendar its Sahana' birthday as well !!

2014 started with a new place and challenges, a personal loss and life has been here n there. Meanwhile Sahana has been getting naughty all the while. Keep up with me on Facebook to get all the photo updates of the little princess :)

Interesting Summer Already !

2013-07-09T10:00:00.000+05:30

Standing right under the sun, it was damn hot already and I knew the summer was yet to come. My mind was nostalgic, trying to gather some thoughts that I knew couldn't be pictured no matter how hard I tried. Not that my memory is that bad, but it seemed a little too optimistic for me trying to remember how the scene would have been in the summer of '81.

That was when I had my tonsure, a rather complete one. This time around I had my daughter who was completely unaware of the proceedings. Looking at the weather it was hard to believe we just passed the Holi days, Mish enjoyed her first Holi quite a lot. As is visible in the pic on left here. She obviously was unaware of why everyone was so colorful, not with the clothes but on their faces ;). I don't think she saw herself in the mirror that day, but I captured her enough for future days to have a look on how cute she looked with those color on her face. She anyway enjoyed the day with relatives around. The summer events were just beginning to come by!

Mish was visiting her dad' birthplace for the first time. If there was a bit of excitement my heart was hiding, I didn't realize; for I was too busy thinking of the moment she will had her tonsure. It will be a good workout for mom n dad then! It was a

difficult decision, considering the soft hair she had from birth. And they were growing fast enough for us to maintain and she wasn't enjoying the maintenance anyway. Keeping them for another 2 years would have been difficult. Especially when you couldn't trim them in the period. All these thoughts were now not important. The poor little child had to be perturbed and it was a rather shaky dad who had her in the lap all throughout the ceremony.

The head was shaved clean and it was time to come back. The first visit to dad' birthplace was more exciting and troublesome then she would have first thought. But as it is with kids of this age, they forget sooner than we would imagine. Some discomfort, lot of cries, a tight cling to dad and a quick nap in his arms was all that was done. When she woke up; it was the same mischievous kid that was rolling over in everybody' arms a few hours back. Don't look like she was even aware that the soft n lovely hair on the head are now gone :(

A month later it was time for me to celebrate possibly the best birthday ever. When it was time to cut the delicious cake(as you see) baked by my wife; the little princess was asleep.
It seemed like the kido realized dad was about to cut the cake. As no one was paying attention to have her into the cake cutting area, she woke up and cried like anything. Finally in the dad arms to cut the cake with him made her happy for it was only a couple minutes that she was there and then she was back to sleep. I wonder if I had any other birthday that was so cherished.

Enjoy the cake, the pic I mean ;). See you around !

An Invisible Network

2013-07-08T10:59:00.000+05:30

The other day while talking to a friend we both realized we have a huge contact network if we include all of the social and professional sites that we are active on. And then we casually starting checking if we had a common contact on the professional site. What we discovered was something that is pretty obvious with many of us. For a major percentage of the people we accepted in our network, we didn't even realize they are in our contact. Obvious? Yes. Usual? Yes!. Beneficial? Not from a networking point of view!

Many of my friends accept requests from only those people that they know either personally or professionally or both. And then there are a few I know, who accept all; irrespective of whether they are known to them or not. "What's the harm in having people in your network that you don't know ?". Considering that I work in a social media domain, the question usually pops up; often. While there would be different perspective you could answer the question from; I will take it from the networking perspective.

Having people in your network just for the sake of increasing the count or circle numbers doesn't make sense if you aren't aware you have them. So for instance, you may have a contact who belong to certain industry/domain; say HR; but it's useless if you don't know about him/her especially when you may want to gather some information on that particular industry/domain. The purpose of having a virtual network gets defeated. Laying down in deep the actual benefits that the networking sites were created for. So having people in your network that you do not know, is not bad; not realizing the power of your network is!

If you don't know about your network, it's difficult to put a price tag on it ;), not that I am asking you do ;). Jokes apart, the worth is not in increasing the numbers in your contact/address books, it rather sits in how you connect! Don't let part of your network be "invisible". You will be surprised how informative and knowledgeable your network could be. Paying a little more attention from the start always helps!

Are you one of those who carry with them an "invisible network"? Get started to know them, its just a virtual barrier that needs to be crossed!

Developer in Paris : 5/6

2013-03-23T04:52:00.001+05:30

The Opera house was still putting us to dreams, less we knew there were sights much seductive to come in the rest couple of days. We were still afraid of what will happen to the plans to visit the Eiffel. We kept hearing the "you should visit" and "something not to leave" every now and then about the world famous monument.

We decided to postpone it till Friday as Thursday evening also seemed enough busy not to get time. Spending time with the teams was much fun and made the visit worth. And no I wasn't trying to hide the fact that the major and much awaited visit was still a bit away.

Friday was going to be a bit rushy, specially since we planned to leave a little early for the Eiffel and may be one more place if we had time to. We finally managed to get thru the last day in Paris office very nicely, completing all the meetings that we had planned. When it was time, it was difficult to leave people here. Its been just a week and the bonding already showed. So it was farewell to the office and all the colleagues, hoping a few would visit us in India in the coming time.

And finally we embark on our journey to the Eiffel. Office, Hotel, Metro and in some time we were at a place were we could see it from some distance. A tuk tuk ride and we find ourselves at the place, just below it and it was time for some cam action. Taking pictures is fun but it becomes difficult when the building or a structure is as big as this one.

I tried some tricks and here is a view I was able to click from my phone camera. You may find a better high def version on my Facebook profile. The charm of some buildings/monuments is that you just keep them in the visibility. Less care about the vicinity and irrespective of the cold weather and the chilly wind. And on top I forgot to carry my gloves and the cap. Even the ear plugs just to protect my ears with this wind.

The next wait was for the darkness to settle in so we could see the Eiffel in all lighted up. We decided to walk around a bit in the mean time. And the river on the other side of the road was just the attention we required. For otherwise it was difficult to wait, the wind was catching up a little and was getting chilly. We were close to the Eiffel but didn't realize the other side of the road would present a little far but just as lovely a view. In fact it seemed better than the one close. A couple more before we heard the water, to what seemed a backyard. Stairs? yeah sure and we get down to be a little closer to the river. Wonderful sight as would be obvious:

Here is a panoramic view I had from the river side. So while this was just as fascinating, I nearly lost my breath the moment I turned. The view was worth a life. And you could compare it to the view one would have of the Taj on a full moon night.

As you see the sight was just awesome and the click as much difficult. I leave it to you to decide how good the click was ;).

And this was it. We take the metro back to the Hotel. Dinner and stuff packing were still to be done. And yes, there is this post to be finished and published. Hope you enjoyed the series. I have a flight to catch tomorrow morning so I think its time I put the post to an end and hit the button above that says "Publish" ;)

Paris, thanks for having us. It was fun!!
Farewell !!

Developer in Paris : Day 4

2013-03-22T05:18:00.000+05:30

Middle of the week already and we haven't had a chance to visit too many places. The silver lining was that the meetings with a few people and just some unofficial chat with the others were going really well. People back home have been asking if the weather has been a problem. Seriously not as bad as we expected it to be.

So while the Eiffel visit was still in the pipeline (yeah unlucky sorts for now), we were getting a good look of a few more things. We decided a little and quick visit to La Défense is a good idea. And what a good idea when you have someone to take us thru the way and tell us little stories about the few places we went to (Thank you Hicham :) ).

For example the structure (rather the building) that you see here is the world's largest for a built up that's without any pillar support. So the bow structure (or the arc down) that you see if not supported by any pillar whatsoever. The structure is very big for that sense and in case you are interested its just sits on the other side of the La Défense mall. You may find a short cut from the make up store if you are actually inside the mall. Walk straight thru the store for the exit on the other end. And just on the left of the picture there is a big stature that will be of interest in case you would want to see the view of Paris with the Arch de Triumph in it. The absolute top of the place presents a wonderful view I am told. And it is really high. A

Image Credit:wiki

sample of the skyline from the La Défense is here on the right. The night view I am sure will be much more seductive.

Not much time since it was the afternoon and we took the time from our lunch time. So we decided to hurry back as we were required to take the subway two times in order to be able to reach the office. Fun all the way it was!! The ride in the metros (subway) has been fun. I don't think the frequency of the rides have been the same in India. Figuring out the route was much of a challenge and winning the bet when you get it right is much more enjoying.

Come evening and there were some plans as well. We were being taken for another tour in the streets for some wonderful views and dinner at a Libanese restaurant. I will leave to you to figure out the pronunciation of the hotel. All I can be of help is a nice clear picture of the entrance.

The food we found was very good and stuffing. The company that we had was just the icing on the cake. It was nice to be able to walk the streets with the guys especially when we met them after some good gap. The fiddling with the menu cards at the restaurants have been made easy this time again like yesterday. Food and desserts finished, we decide a walk to the opera house. I am told its as beautiful as anything during the night with all the lights. We do a 5 minute walk to find ourselves in arguably the most expensive place in the area we were in.

But did we complain on this? No not at all and there was no second thought about that as well. What we saw in front of us was just eye catching and glittering at the same time. Not sure if what I captured above was more glittering and rare or the trio who were generous enough for a walk that evening with us. In case you are wondering, here they are :). Thank you guys, we just loved the time!!

Developer in Paris : Day 3

2013-03-21T03:48:00.001+05:30

Coincidences don't happen everyday, but when they do; they may be accompanied by their colleagues as well. So while everyone agrees that this was never planned, we were lucky to find a few colleagues from China and Russia visiting the Paris office during the same time as us. We couldn't have asked for a bigger surprise. Although those who are on holidays are dearly missed.

So while there is work to keep an eye on and the visit to Eiffel still pending, the time in between the meetings is spent searching for people I may have worked with in some project or other. The idea is obviously to meet as many people as possible during the stay, with priority to those whom we interacted with on gtalk some time or other. Just so the chats find a face to get attached to.

The weather was comparatively good and we had a nice view of the sun if only for a couple of hours. So we decided it was a good option to visit the Eiffel. The Paris weather is as good as the mirage that you see in the Arabian desert. It may well be sun literally bathing you in the light, the moment you are set with the plan..clouds open to listen well and spoil the game. We were told it isn't a good idea to be visiting the Eiffel today for the fun will be spoiled by the rain which was very uncertain and it stayed that way for the rest of the night. No happy about cancelling our plan to the so awaited visit, we actually had no choice.

Choices are as good in numbers as the people around you. So while the Eiffel had to wait for us, our friends and colleagues had plans for us..to hang around with them for a few drinks and take us to a French restaurant with suitable food for us. The drinks and dinner and the whole time was much fun. Thanks to everybody who hung around. It kept raining and we kept enjoying ourselves with the group. (Ali, I told you your hood was in the way ;) )!

Pronunciation is a a bit of a problem when you are in this part of the world. Not that the other things are easy, but they are fun too. I decided I keep the logo of the restaurant with me, just a token of my visit. So the guy (seemed like from Popeye' family) is here and

you may say "Hi". The night was awesome and the rain finally stopped. Good time to leave for the Hotel and give our cheeks and jaw some rest. We had a good laugh over a lot of things(a hint for a few people and talks I didn't want to mention here, concerned ones understand ;) ).

And how could the night be over before we discover a new dish or thing especially while we were in the company of a few people who know the place and things so so well. And yes I am really not good at remembering the names but that's why I keep the cam handy. Here is a sneak peak to the desert that seems very famous and contains some really tasty fruits. Take you time with the mouth watering dessert and I will tell you in next part to what happens to the Eiffel plans!!

Developer in Paris : Day 2

2013-03-20T03:57:00.002+05:30

Not a surprise that the mornings are a little early when you are away from home. Making sure I don't sleep till 11pm was good enough to avoid the jet-leg. But waking up at around 5:30 or 6 in the morning made sure I miss home that much. But it also meant I was able to make it to breakfast at a time I expected, even when I was slow getting ready. The breakfast was much welcomed after a really good night sleep.

Although we had the navigation printed for our way to the office, a check with the hotel reception was anyways a good idea. In 2 min we had a Paris map with the road color marked. But then what's the fun in a new place if you don't get lost a bit. The streets here are very similar to what you find in the main New York area in US or may be in some parts of main Delhi. One wrong turn and although you are always in reach, you keep losing yourself in the area. We did. We were just that. Lost !

Finding your way is tough if you feel a little short on the local language of the place. While a few people didn't entertain, we had some people willing to walk us to the place till they knew the way. Loosing our self wasn't that bad after all ;). Finally at the office, we might have waited a bit longer at the main entrance if the guy from the sales team didn't come. The entry is via a code that we obviously didn't know.

We were a little early in the office and while Paris was already fun with the visit to the city last day, much welcome was still awaited in the minutes to come. A few minutes we had people coming in and the warm welcome we received was wonderful. Going around the floors to meet different team was excitement and with each team it was fun to interact. Finally meeting the people, we do a video call everyday, in person is a different story and people who work in geographically apart teams would know this.

The picture you see here is the All-Hands-on place and if you are in team, I don't need to say more :). Meeting different teams and seeing them in person is always fun, either its a personal visit or a professional one. Finding a seat for yourself is not difficult when everybody in the team wants to have you by the side.

Did we meet everyone yet? Yes and No! So certainly looking forward to exchanging a few words of "How" and "When" and "Why" as and when possible during the stay. Keep reading :)

Developer in Paris : Day 1

2013-03-19T03:47:00.000+05:30

It was around 7 in the morning when I landed and it was still around 6hrs after the normal checks that I still had till my connecting flight was there to take me to my final destination. It didn't help that the airport (part of) was under renovation, restricting my otherwise access area. No, I wasn't allowed to move out of the airport due to some rules as my wait time wasn't as much.

That was a few years back and the scenes obviously changed this time around. Paris is open for a much wider visit; both in terms of space and time. Landing as early as 6 in the morning is not a good idea, unless you already spent around 10 or so hours in the air in the last half a day. The first feel of the city? Just a little cold, enough to let my body and mind know there is a switch required. From 30 degrees to nearly zero(feels like a little below the actual, with the wind) was what my body had to adjust to. Out of the airport and a quick taxi, helped to reach the hotel for some quick rest, especially a nice shower!!

Beginning the week long stay on Sunday is a good option. Lets you relax and roam around and especially settle down getting familiarity with the streets around. So once we were ready

to leave the hotel for a walk and take something for lunch, it was time to head on the roads. In any city its not difficult to find some food, even if you are new to the place. In Europe it becomes difficult if you are a vegetarian. Luckily we found an Indian restaurant, unlucky that there was time for it to open and we (me and colleagues) had plans. We decided to try the restaurant for dinner and settle for some veg pizza for the lunch.

In another hour we found ourselves on the road to the city subway. A little help on the direction to the museum Louvre on the counter responsible for tickets and we were on the subway to a place called Concorde, where we were told to change to another direction (metro line) for our final destination, the museum. I found the subway pretty similar to what I have been used to in my time in the US. The travel was fast and it wasn't more than may be 20 minutes that we found ourselves inside the museum. In fact the entry was a bit embarrassing as the exit from subway and the entry to museum was such short lived that we found ourselves asking for the museum while we just entered its boundary ;)

A huge museum that has a lot to offer in terms of some history and wonderful paintings and reminiscence and what not. Its so huge that you may need complete 3 days at least to have visited all the parts of the castle look alike place. For some jet legged and tired visitors, it was good enough that we covered nearly 1/3rd of the place in a few hours. Disappointed that nearly all the descriptions were in French and we had hardly anything to understand from a language perspective. What we saw was worth the tiredness!

A few hours later we decided it was time we reached the hotel for some rest and sleep. The last nearly 24hrs have been very tiring and without much sleep. When we came back I decided to take the time to chat with my family back home and keep myself away from sleep or else the jet-leg strikes. A couple more hours and the time for dinner. Some Indian food here was a welcome pleasure at the end of a tiring day. We decided it was time to retire to our respective rooms. The next day had some good things in store for us:)

Sahana Made Us Wait !!

2012-12-04T23:53:00.000+05:30

The time to be on toes was here. Baby Shower went really well and relatives were now back to their respective places. It was time I broke the news out to at least a few people around my social network just so my paternal leaves doesn't come as a surprise to them. Till now we kept the news a secret. Intentional? Yes sort of. But it was more because I was kept rather busy and "after a few more days" really never came till now. Baby Shower event planned on the Google Plus event also meant it was the mother to be' first pics that went on air since we discovered the news on the last day of January. Circling the pics anywhere else was a strict no no.

Landed straight here, don't forget to read the First Part of this trilogy: It's Confirmed!!

Around 18 days after we visited the gynec, we were told to report early morning on 17th in the hospital for a check up. Not sure why she chose Monday. We never the less had to obey, considering she has been spot on with the predictions. 17th morning felt a little edgy and thus it was just obvious that the day started around 5am; yes an early start but it was for both of us. A little chit chat and we made sure we were ready for a 8am presence on the 3rd floor Max Hospital, Noida.

Feeling incomplete? Because you forgot to read 2nd part : When Baby Shower Went Live!!

With all papers besides us we were there on time. Well almost! Wife was admitted to the labour's room for some checkup and it was around 2hrs later that the doctor told me she has started with the cramps. Cramps? But she didn't mention feeling any. Just a coincidence that we landed in hospital on the right day and at the right time?

It was already 4hrs with me on the same seat. The only update I had by then was that the doctor was waiting for the mom to be to go in to labour. How much time? She didn't know but gave a 8pm window. OK, it was going to be a long long day. Surprisingly a busy day for the docs and nurses that day. Normally I was allowed to go inside during the checkups considering there weren't any other patients, not today with the labour room already to its full. It was after five hrs I got to see my wife. Contractions started but very little and the baby wasn't moving down that well. My wife was kept on a liquid diet and we were looking towards a caesarian delivery?

Around four to five deliveries already done (all caesarian) the place was getting emptier by the evening. I had no clue of our turn even now. Going to be 10hrs and the anxiety was already at its high. I was sure my wife was having a tough time. I was finally again let in by the nurse once the labour room had only my wife there. I could make it out that she desperately wanted to deliver normally. She has worked hard in the past months for a normal delivery and the patience was round the corner to be broken. A 10min talk with her was all I got still unsure of how she will carry it up.

I was rather more edgy than my wife at that point. Unsure of the time, the gynec told me she will have another look at around 10pm to decide on the delivery. Considering the baby doesn't move down well, she said we will go in for a caesarian. At that point it looked more tough with the clock really moving slow. I didn't want the effort and patience on my wife' part to go in vain. Anything I could do? Pretty much nothing.

Another couple of hours till the next visit and the update was that the baby started moving down well. A lot of distance to cover yet the doctor decided a last visit at 1am in the night. Considering the doc was already waiting for us to have a normal delivery and was respecting my wife' patience, there wasn't pretty much I could ask her. In the meantime due to a rush that day it was hard for me to secure a room where we could move once we had the baby out. I think it was around 12am that I finally got the room. Already tired and a lot of phone calls to handle, it was getting much tougher. Already around 16hrs outside the labour room, no food no water and it seemed like I caught the nurses attention too!

Trying not to be in too much attention I finally decided to shift to the room which was n the same floor and not much away. Already 1am and no sight of the doc. I inquired and was told she would be there in some time. Another half an hour and I decided to come out and be at the same place I was for the last 15hrs or so. But it wasn't till 2am that I finally saw the doc going in. She asked me to wait till she check on my wife. Another 10min and she told me that it seems to be in good condition for a normal delivery but she will have another check in 20min time. And that she will now stay with her till we have the delivery. Enough of a relief!

I moved back in to the room with the nurse assuring she will call the moment there is any news. Sitting in the room for another 20 or so min felt like a lifetime. When I suddenly felt like my eardrums reacted to a baby crying I nearly ignored considering baby nursery was also on the same room. It was 2 min after the nurse came rushing in to tell me that baby has been delivered. I rushed out of the room with the labour room entrance on other side of the small corridor. There I saw the nurse coming slightly out of the door, with the baby in her arms. Majestic site to see the baby!!

3:05am on 18th Sept 2012, my wife delivered the best gift possible. Shipping charges? For the moment I didn't care ;)

Phone call to my mom to inform her was all I could make in the excitement. She was already ready to come to the place and it was very hard to finally agree he to wait till the morning. She finally settled for a 7am visit.

My wife spent a good 18hrs inside the labour room. I spent around the same time outside. The result is just priceless. It wasn't till 6am that I got to see my wife. Wonderful girl really, couldn't make out from her face she just came out after a marathon delivery time. The next wait was for the cute little girl. Although the nurse made me see her in the nursery for a couple of minutes, it wasn't for another half hour that she was sent to her parents in the room. Before the girls came in I had a brief talk with the doc to thank her for the patience she had in waiting for so much time. She had one thing to say, "your daughter wanted to be delivered normally" :)

The pic of my daughter that I took in the nursery is a private one, rests only with me. But here are a few more that took afterwards on the day (and later when) we Christened her "Sahana", with the nick name Mish.

When Baby Shower Went Live

2012-11-30T11:55:00.002+05:30

Start of the 6th month gave a bit of worry on the sugar front. The readings were going a bit high and so were the insulin dosages. The poor mom-to-be had to adjust her diets strictly to what the dietitian suggested. My wife known to have a sweet tooth had to keep away the sweets. To me and my mom's surprise the lady was bearing the restrictions well. The day used to start with meds at 5:30 am in the morning and end at around 11 in the night with the last bit of them. Me in her shoes, NO I couldn't. It was too tough, thanks to the sugar levels.

Also read the 1st part of this post: It's Confirmed.

The doc on the other hand was very cool. The highlight of the whole visits throughout the pregnancy period was the anticipation of the doc about the conditions. Knowing her for some time did help with my wife' history already known to her. So her telling us beforehand on the rise of sugar levels always helped us plan mentally during this phase. With the help from the doc we were more able to concentrate on preparations for the baby shower and enjoy the phase rather worry about the different types of the readings. And then the baby reactions were getting on for us to enjoy. For all the few times we were able to sneak through the restrictions for a movie outing, the kicks frequency were more than the usual with the loud sounds. Rather than worry they were more suggestive of her enjoying the sounds. Seems the baby was enjoying whatever few chances we got like these.

The ultrasounds were getting interesting too with the doctor always making it a point to share that the baby enjoyed these sessions as well. The level II revealed the baby was camera shy and loved to cover the face with some hand movements. Besides we knew mom to be was hungry whenever she received more kicks than usual :). Although the ultrasounds suggested the delivery date to be late September, gynec made it clear the delivery would be somewhere around the mid of that month; again related to the sugar levels we saw during this phase and throughout. It then became important to plan the baby shower before the end of August or very start of September to be sure to complete it well in advance and be ready for the special time. The date was finalized to be 26th August.

The planning for baby shower were a bit urgent and the date meant a few relatives would miss out on attending the event. Instructions of my mom and the mom to be were clear, "it should be perfect and every relative should be able to attend". The poor father to be had a lot on the plate. 25th being a birthday celebration for my cousin was the best start to the party mood. Those who could make it for the baby shower were already here, so it had to be a wonderful birthday and the small party was wonderful. Time for the next morning that should start a bit early. Every thing was set. "The only issue is to make sure something went to the people missing out on the event", was what my wife retired for the day with. The pics would obviously go to them but it won't be that special. Wait, did she say "event" ? I slept the night with a smile, finally thing I got the icing part of the cake!

The next morning started really early and we had to make sure everyone was ready for the ceremony to start in time. No worries with all my sisters and cousins being there. Everyone was ready before time, the last bit was to find a second Android phone. Yeah the "event" was planned on Google plus and was setup to be relayed live. Well nearly live. Everyone would be able to see the pics with a lag of may be 10 sec. Me and my birthday cousin being the photographers for the event. So while the ceremony went really well with a lot of blessings for the gorgeous lady I would have ever seen in my life, the event on Gplus was helpful to make the event play live in Pune, Nagpur, Bhopal, Bangalore and USA; making the day just as we wanted it to :)

The day deemed a galore of smiles and satisfaction on the night, but was there time for relaxing? Being a first time parent has its anxiety and it was getting high. Join me for the 3rd part when I reveal the events that took place between morning of 17th and afternoon of 18th. Plus how we ended up christening the baby. Coming soon...

[Image Credits: Google Plus Events Gallery]

It's Confirmed!

2012-11-27T23:00:00.000+05:30

Just the lethargic time of the day when you feel like lying on the sofa with the idiot box turned on. I was rather in that small corridor sometimes standing to a still and sometimes strolling up n down on the mere 10 steps area. It wouldn't have been like more than a 5-7 min wait but the edgy feeling was making it feel much more than that. I would rather have knocked on the door and inquired but the lady herself opened it to call me in. Right in front was the small decent size screen and from the distance I was at it was clear what was showing up in there.

The small room that it was only a few steps were enough to take me closer to the screen with my wife right there on the left of it. Already bearing a smile and I knew what to expect and search on the screen the next moment. My flow was broken by the doctor working on what I supposed should be called a keyboard if that screen was a computer screen. With her nearly winding up the check up, the moment she realized I was close enough to hear her normal voice; she did speak something which in my excitement felt like I missed a miniature part of the sentence but the main thing.. "it's confirmed".

If there was a name to that feeling I don't know. If it was the best I don't know. What I know is that there was a much elated sorts coming in the next second when she asked me to have a look at the screen. My eyes saw something like Arjuna would have seen that bird' eye. It felt like there wasn't anything left right, top or bottom to what I was looking at. 31st January 2012, a near week after we celebrated my wife' birthday I got a return gift. A news that couldn't have come at a more appropriate time considering the time we both decided on. What I was looking at was a first exclusive look of my baby to be born around 8 months after. My wife was, at that moment, five weeks pregnant and she never looked more gorgeous to me in the past 4yrs we were together. We couldn't help but smile looking at each other, still thinking of what we saw on that magical screen that day.

A couple of calls, one to the gynec and one to my mother, after we got to our senses were all the activity we could afford at that moment besides making sure I drove us back carefully to the house. While my wife' doc was happy and composed at the same time, my mother couldn't have been more happy on the other side of the call. After a couple of minutes of talk the next 15 minutes were just plain instructions that I had to listen, memorize and follow, till she comes back from her visit. I don't think I heard her more happier, not in the recent times. With too much complaints from her of making her wait see my next generation, it was time she got to her elated self. "No outings, no movies and no work for the next few days before I get back". The only option I had was to obey. The next couple of weeks were going to be tough, managing home n office is only a woman's mastered thing; absolutely not for men. Or at least not as mastered.

A couple weeks later it was time for mom to get back and a lot of relief for me. Not easy taking care of a pregnant lady, is it? The first 3 months belonged to extra care and we missed our normal outings and movie weekends. We weren't complaining even a bit. Once the 3 months were over it was a relaxing time. Not that the hospital visits got any less. More so since now it was the time for physician and the dietician to play their role. Courtesy the gestational diabetics that kicked in at the time that our gynec already warned us of. From then on it was added meds and insulin injections to be administered on our own. And that was after the physician ordered a 2 day stay in the hospital so she could monitor the sugar levels.

The visits to physician every week, gynec every 2 weeks and the sugar tests every 10 days started for a routine till the delivery time. Guesses on a baby boy or a baby girl were getting more n more on the moment we reached the month. It started to be a surprise on how many of our relatives were talking about the born to be baby. My wife started complaining of the time at which we should start deciding the names. Which at this time would mean names for a boy as well as a girl. We finally decided it would be somewhere late in the third trimester.

The last trimester was going to be more fun than we actually thought. The name finding and the so waited baby shower were all to be done and prepared for. How it went? I think I will keep it for the next part :)

This One For My Car

2012-04-11T12:08:00.002+05:30

It was 9 in the morning when I rang up Nirulas, Sector 2 Noida, to book a table. Fingers crossed. I was doubtful but was hoping to get a nice seating place in the upper section for the meeting at noon the same day. It was the start of April in 2007 and the summers were just starting to pick up. Luckily I did get a nice place booked. After the call it was hard to keep track of time as it flew and I had to rush so as to be in time. It after all isn't considered good manners to make a girl waiting ;-)
07th April 2007, the first time I met my then would be wife! Dressed in the best dress for for the day and she still insists it was her intuition to be wearing pink color. Something I doubt till today but dare ignore ;-) For the records, we married later that year and yes..each other!!
A year later on our first anniversary (1st meeting anniversary that is), actually a day late, I gifted my wife one of the few priced possession I have as of now; a Maruti Suzuki SX4!!
We decided it was time I bought a car. My first choice to be honest was a Honda city, a little over budget, a little too good and class apart. I wasn't aware of the SX4 model until one of my close friend suggested I have a look. Some online research and some look and there was no doubt this is what its going to be! It was a new model that Maruti introduced from its partner company, around 6 months back in India then. Reviews were good, look was awesome and a little less expensive then my first choice.
It has served well..too bad had to deal with one visit to the body shop last year but apart from that its been fabulous to posses and ride.
This one for the fourth anniversary of my 2008 model Maruti Suzuki SX4!!

ICS for dessert

2012-04-08T17:34:00.000+05:30

My dear phone just completed a year and though Google was a bit late in celebrating the anniversary,I was happy the Android community didn't forget it. Most of you would already know what I am talking about here. For those still clueless here is more.
Google finally started to roll out the new version of Android. Code named ICS (Ice cream sandwich) as Google follows the alphabetic ordering of dessert names since it bought Android. So the version 4.0 started its journey from the lab to Android devices (only a selective ones) somewhere in December last year. Nexus S, the Google phone, was reported to be receiving the update first. Me being a proud owner of one was eagerly waiting for the over-the-air update, only to be disappointed as even after a few weeks there was no sign of any update. A force system check, as few forum experts suggested, didn't help much. And then the news that the update has been suspended due to a few bugs. I kept checking for the next month till the first anniversary of my phone. But who ever would know with Google.

Galaxy Nexus, the new Nexus line phone and the first device to be on ICS was in to quite a few markets with owners of Nexus S still waiting hopelessly for a word from Android community. Nexus One owners were disappointed as Google already made it clear the device will not get any update on ICS. I left looking in to the system checks since past couple of months. Thanks to xda developers quite a few Geeks were able to flash their respective smart phones with a custom ROM provided by the community. But since that required rooted device, the only option I had was to read about the features made available in the new version and in doing that just wait for Google's mercy. I had no idea on when Google again started sending out the upgrade to devices left out in the first round. This time luckily Google decided mine was to be included. While browsing a app on my phone I was suddenly presented with a upgrade popup. It took me a while to get it that it was the update I was waiting for nearly 5 months. The ICS was finally here :-)
The smell of the new dessert was better than expected. Once I nodded in affirmative to the upgrade request, it was around 20 minutes and there you go. Android version 4.0.4, the newest available in market, and the look was enough of a pleasure!
A new notification bar, new font, new apps (especially the Gmail, YouTube and message conversation look), a new way to dismiss individual notifications was worth a 5 month wait and a 20 minutes in to the update...a creamy feeling of using a new look phone; priceless ;-)
Since the past 2 days..its been neighbours envy, owners pride.. and no its not the Onida ad we were so used to!

Reminiscence Or Déjà vu: Let It Be What It Is

2012-02-20T15:45:00.000+05:30

It was around 3:00pm, on Sunday 19/02, in the afternoon when I went to my backyard garden to pick up the chairs that were empty now. Much quieter than they were around an hour back in time. Boring as well and lonely too! The sun however was still shining brightly and the wind was with enough speed to suggest the evening will be colder than it was the last night. I decided it would be worth sitting there for a while, just to enjoy the sunshine; or else it would be another week before I get the opportunity. Well within I was just remembering the time I spent there with a couple of kids and my relatives.
An hour in to time since my relatives left for the railway station and it was already feeling dull. Just about an hour back two cute kids were playing there with me in the backyard here with the sweetest chirp you could imagine. The place was much quieter, the roads were empty. The squirrel doing the round of the boundary was gone and the pigeons whom my nephew was so happy to see, were already hiding themselves in the space between floors or the upper balcony corners.
The weekend was busy with relatives and was much more fun. My cousin and sister-in-law must be visiting after some 10yrs or so. And it was the first time I had the pleasure to meet both my niece and nephew. My niece being old enough to know my name and relation, my nephew still in the infancy could get to be comfortable with me only after I had a few grapes to share with him :), one of his really favorite fruit.
It used to be fun some 10-12 yrs back with me still sharpening my study path and my cousins still just about entering the job arenas. With time we all get busy only to realize the importance of those days at times like this weekend when we meet after a gap of few years. Facebook and gtalk have made it easier to be in touch with each other, but then the charm of having a cup of tea or sharing the breakfast,lunch and dinner table has its benefits. A sense of Déjà vu always exists and we still remember how good it was during those days, being in the same city; just about 20-30 min apart has its benefits I guess.
A "come in" was enough to break my thought process. My wife and mom calling me inside and I was sure they were feeling it dull as well. It has always been good spending time with my maternal aunt and uncle to take a few lessons and discuss things that I otherwise don't have time for. Though I wasn't able to spent much time during the week with my aunt, the evenings were a galore. Being a working guy has its disadvantages as well. The idiot box was switched back on without any cartoon channels and we all were back to our usual with me back to my laptop, waiting for a call from my cousin to confirm they are in the train.
Let's hope the good excuses (like the marriage a couple of days back) continue to happen, so we relatives can take some time out of our busy schedule and meet each other if only after a few years, if only for a couple days.

702 kms for a bit of sunshine

2012-01-22T23:35:00.000+05:30

Just happens to be the first running post and it already seems I am kind of reporting :-). And since this is my first this year, I wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that it started and will continue to be a very fruitful one for all of you.
Just so you know, I am on my way to a city in the heart of India, Bhopal, and currently on a train. With something like 7° Celsius outside, feels like 3°, I am in a nice AC compartment. And just as I put this down on the blogger android app, a fellow passenger just ushered in to her phone that its looking like the coldest day this winter. Coincidental.
The weather is surely rocking, and both ironically and frankly I don't like travelling in winter. Not until my Mom has a wedding to attend and I don't like the idea of her travelling alone. I hope it is fun in this winter. As for me its going to be another bustling weekend. Moving to and fro for the two loves of my life. After a nice chirping hour the family travelling alongside has finally settled down. A couple of Indian girls currently residing in London have no idea what it is like travelling in an Indian train. How do I know its their first time? Not knowing what to do with the bed-sheet packet, accompanying a quilt, gives it away and so does not knowing how to pull down the Side Lower berth from a sitting position to a sleeping one. Should be reaching Mathura any time now and its better I take a nap, with the hope (and fingers crossed) that I will reach my destination on time. Hmmm should be a sound sleep and hope I don't get up to someone asking me why these train move so much while running ;) I should catch you now when I board New Delhi Shatabdi tomorrow on my way back to Delhi and should brief you how the morning went. Stay tuned! ......................
18:20 that's what my phone's clock strikes just now. On my way back to Delhi and currently on a window seat on New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi, which is apparently running 3hrs behind schedule. Not to the liking of course, not me not anybody else. To continue where I left: I woke up this morning in the train, surprisingly not to the question of why the Indian trains move so much but rather to a couple of chirpy remarks of 'this is expected of Indian trains'. Do agree sometimes but it's difficult with all the fog around, but as I kept checking the weather; at no point my weather app detected any sort of visibility problem. And I assure you its pretty accurate for the few months that I am using it. So wasn't so sure of why we were behind schedule. Reached the destination some 3.5 hrs late. Catching a train back to Delhi in a few hours was a disturbance already. Caught hold of an auto rickshaw to reach my maternal Grandfather' place, first of my two destinations in what was to be a very short n tiring bit of a stay in the city. Landed around 10:30am and greeted to a very nice bit of sunshine, a majestic feeling for someone from the north at this time of year. A quick shower and a standing breakfast was all the time I had. The next deep breath was in another auto rickshaw to my second destination..to meet my eldest sister, in her house, where my youngest sister already joined her. Just as I entered I was welcomed with two kids on a bet to who reaches my arms first. My two nephews :). Just the sight itself takes all the tiredness away.
I stayed there for a few hours, more than what I initially expected. Courtesy the Shatabdi, my train back to Delhi, running around 2.5 hours late. I made sure to arrive at the station in time to see the train arrive, which by now was 3hrs behind its schedule. Another half an hour as expected to clean up and the doors were open to let everyone take their respective seats. See you soon after I settle down in my seat.
......................

About to Set

Its been an hour in to the journey. A welcome drink and a start up snack and I am looking at a late entry in to my house. Still to see if the train is able to make up on some of the lost time. In between all this and my first really reporting kind of a post, I just realized that I still haven't put down a title for this post. So yes that's one thing to think about. Just clicked a couple of pics to the sun going down on a very busy day for me. Here is one of them to your right.
Its difficult sitting for some 7-8hrs especially when hitting the bed is all that's there on your mind. I think its going to be a couple of movies and this blog keeping me company. I so much would like to publish this post right away as soon as I finish this but for some pics and tracking thing, I think I will have to wait for tomorrow. I don't trust the blogger app for a nice formatting anyway. See you tomorrow and till then I will enjoy the movies and hopefully will reach home without freezing, from station to home, in to the night when this train makes it to Delhi.
......................
Ok, took me some time getting back to this once I was home. I reached Delhi at 2am in the morning and was stopped midway trying to cover up for the auto rickshaw drive when its driver told me that today the train is early. I thought I heard something wrong and had to reconfirm. The same train previous day reached at am in the morning. Considered myself lucky there then.
2:45am when I reached home and from then on all I remember is waking up at around 11am. And oh by the way since this post is my first as a 'you get as it happens', so I decided not to do any editing or proof reading on this one. So mind my typos if there are any :-). The last thing I have is to think of a title here for this post, yes still pending ;) And I must admit that the title of my Blog 'All in a Day' absolutely well fit for this one.
Missing the Bhopal sunshine already.....
Hope you had a good time on the read!!

When 20yrs passed by

2011-12-23T10:56:00.000+05:30

It must have been the scorching and so famous summer when I met Delhi the first time, because all I remember of the initial days was the nice taste of RoohAfza and me waiting for my Mom to finish off the daily house chores so I could play snakes & ladder to pass my time in the day.
It was 1985 and I was a five year old kid. My Father was just transferred to Delhi from Jaipur. With me being the smallest of my siblings, I was allowed to accompany my parents. 'Lucky' as far my siblings, who were left with my Grand Parents, were concerned. Not sure what fascinated them about the city, especially when it was dealing with the aftermaths of the country' PM's death. My first feeling wasn't that good. Especially when I wasn't allowed to leave the house too much and there weren't any children my age in the neighborhood. All I had is the top floor heater house and some occasional visits to market in safe company of my parents. It took a few months for my parents to have us shifted from that house and move to a place south of Delhi. Mehrauli. A city within the capital city. The place where we were to spend the next 13yrs of our lives, later joined in by my siblings.
My parent's next mission..getting me in to a school. The search ended with the only convent in the area. St. Johns'.
I don't remember the initial feeling about the school. As I was from a Hindi medium so far, the transition was going to be just a bit tough. I don't think I had any idea how to go about it. A problem indeed, as it is even today and I think will continue to be as is with all kids who land up being in that situation. As my luck determined it to be..the next thing I knew, I was in the company of some fantastic Teachers. From then on the next years that I were to be there, were one of the best era of my life.
I think I was enjoying it the city more with new friends and an awesome family out of my initial habitat. How quickly the years went by, was a mesmerizing surprise. My Parents were keen on getting me in to a new School for some time. They finally decided it was time. Seven yrs later the winters were just moving out and so was I. The year was 1992 and I wasn't liking it. The thought of leaving the School never crossed my mind till that time. It was hard to say no to Parent' in those years. So, practically I had no choice but...obey.
My Father arranged for a person to pick me up to visit another reputed School in South-Delhi, out of Mehrauli. I got it that from now on my means of travel were going to be another specialty of Delhi, the DTC buses. I guess my seat was already arranged for in this school, since all the time that visit looked nothing more than a mere formality meeting with the Principal there. I..wasn't amazed. I somehow was able to convince my Parents for another School' admission test. How did I do that and what happened in that test is a different story, may be another post :) ..back to my first School' story!
The parting with the School didn't hurt much. Or at least that' what I thought at that time. From my then Principal shifting his base back to America and a couple of small advancements in the School, there were very few updates that rested on my ears for the years after I left. My closest of friends left the town..some for boarding Schools and some because their family decided to move. Very rarely I would meet a few of my old Teachers on my way back to home from my new School. Moving out of that School, I just had a couple of friends who later joined me in my new School and a sound foundation of values/virtues and etiquette. The latter still accompanying me as of the day of writing this post and I am sure will continue the journey with me.
Why I never visited the School later is still a surprise to me. If there was any particular reason, I surely do not remember. A few more years down the line, my Father was provided with a Govt. residence..and we moved out of Mehrauli! Any visits that I had to the place were either at odd hours or on holidays, so there was no chance of visiting the School anyway. All I could do on a couple of instance was have a view from the outside. By all means the infrastructure seemed like changing. Expanding or just being within itself, I didn't know.
All these visits were in the last century. The 19 hundreds.....
The current century saw me grow first as a Graduate and then a Post Graduate in Computers, later to be what I am now..a Software Engineer. The wish to visit the School and meet the Teachers growing stronger and stronger each passing year.
I didn't know but the wish was to be true, soon...
Just a few days before, I had to meet a Friend for some work. We decided to meet at the Qutub Minar, which also happens to be at the outskirts of Mehrauli. How I couldn't be in Mehrauli if I was this close. Qutub parking was the best place for my car to rest as my legs started covering the distance to the inside of the place. "Nothing has changed", I told myself. Its been years so I wanted to visit a few places in there, especially all the houses I resided in once and the famous markets. But, it had to be the School first.
I decided to take the back route which goes trough the bus terminal. The bus terminal hasn't changed a bit. The first turn and I see the Temple in there. Still there since as far as I could remember. I remember visiting the same on numerous occasions with my friends while at School. The back of this Temple touched my School' boundary wall. I bowed my head in front of the temple and with crossed fingers I took the turn to move closer to the School' entrance. It was a Saturday, and I just wasn't sure if it would be open. It never has been whenever I visited it last times. But hey, that was some 12+ years back.

St John' Mehrauli

Hoping my prayers would be answered, I took the next turn to see the small mosque still there. I think the only place where I see both religion exist..peacefully and quietly. Moving some 20 steps I was in front of the School main gate.
"Lucky day" was my next expression within. Seems my prayers were answered. The School was well open..it was rather crowded. Upon inquiring I was told there is some campaign. Campaign?? The only external visits I knew of in my time were some docs who just for fun used to inject us with some precautionary meds in our times. Anyway, the good news for me was that the School was open and there was still time before it will close for the week.
I decided I will take a small tour around Mehrauli on foot till the staff finishes up with the Campaign..or what ever it was. I looked at my watch and off. I think I went around for an hour and a half before deciding to arrive back at the School, just in time. The visiting Bus and cabs were leaving, the main door/gate of the School was bigger than I could remember. I could peek a boo of the inside of the School as the bus was coming out of the main entrance. For whatever I could see behind the bus there a moment when I was a kid in the backyard.
The School was a complete change to what I imagined in all these years. Before I could realize I was walking within the School premises.
March 1992 was the last time I was inside the Schools. The number of years since then was reflecting the way the School was portrayed now. A complete change to the what ever I could recollect. The security guard was smart enough to notice my presence in between all the movement and before I could digest the look in front of my eyes, he was there asking me of what I wanted. I asked him if i could meet a person who used to be in the admin staff during my time in School. He didn't answer me, but headed straight back in to the building. I could imagine he didn't know anyone by the name I just told him. It was 20yrs and I didn't expect any Teachers I was once so familiar with. I turned my back to the way he went to and started starring at the four floor building, remembering the 4-5 rooms view I was so used to. I realized I was standing on a concrete floor. It used to be full of sand and if I was imaging correctly, from where I stood I could touch the then stationed swing which me and my friends were so fond of. We always made sure no one apart from use cold be on it during the lunch break. Any extension of arms in the present would only have fetched me some funny glances in case some was looking at me.
I was completely lost when the security guard I had almost forgotten about, fetched a man from the inside. I just turned back on the sound, but it seemed like I turned back 20 yrs in time. The man was one of my Teacher way back then. He still looked the same. A mere introduction to him by my name was enough to tell him who I was. It was surprising he still remembered me, by the name at least if not by my face, which was rather obvious. I talked to him for around half an hour on where I was these years. He took me around the School to let me see how much it has changed. Finally taking me to a lady Teacher who taught me in my initial days in the School. It was hard she could remember me, but was surprised when I told her I remember her. On telling her a bit of details about me, she could recollect me and my then friends group.
The next thing I felt like I was still a kid in her class. She took my hand to take me to meet all the new Teachers exclaiming 'He is Milind, one of the fellows I taught very early in this School some 20+ yrs back..he has grown much taller to me and is a Software Engineer now...'
During all this introduction time all I could do was stand there speechless...unaware of the expressions I was wearing and looking at one of the first Teachers, who taught me, be proud in introducing me. It was that moment I realized how much I missed this School. She is just the same as all Teachers were back then...caring like Mothers and taking the utmost care required of each of the pupil.

Thought of the day..still there

The School, as was evident, changed completely for the exteriors. What existed inside in the roots is still the same. The boundaries still encompasses in them the same virtues and high values that people like me carry out with them in the outer world.
I wasn't lucky to meet more Teachers that day but a couple of whom I met were surprised that I still remember the names of all the Teachers who taught me. For Students to remember and recognize their Teachers is a common thing. For Teachers to be able to remember some students is a miracle. I witnessed one that day and was rather fortunate to have done so!!
The rest of the couple of hours till I got back to my car were like I was still in the School, a kid of old times.

Google Starts Ice Cream Sandwich Rollout

2011-12-18T13:51:00.002+05:30

Nexus S on ICS

As a proud Nexus S owner I am a fan of what Google has been able to with Android since thier acquisition back in 2005. With the release of Galaxy Nexus and the newest version of Android, I am looking forward to taste the new dessert Android has this time. Every other day I am on Google searching for some news of an over-the-air update of 2.3.x on my current phone to 4.0.x

The word is here.. Google has started rolling out the Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) update to the GSM Nexus S. The update as we all know was highly anticipated since Google introduced the new Android version and its new features. The official word on the update release comes just a day after the Galaxy Nexus (world' first phone on Android 4.0) was made available in the US.
The news was available on the official 'Google Nexus' Twitter account:

Ice Cream Sandwich Update to Nexus S

The update as obvious would be over the coming month and was started on Dec 16. We are also aware that the Galaxy Nexus (latest in the Nexus line) has already got one OTA (over-the-air) update for a few bug fixes. More could be read on this here. It may be noted that this update is was versioned 4.0.2.

The news was available on Googlel+ official account of Android. The version available for the GSM Nexus S will be 4.0.3. The bad news is that the CDMA Nexus S (Sprint' Nexus S 4G) will have to wait a little longer for the update as there is no official word about this version from Google, but all indications are that it won't be too long.

The update is to be made available as an OTA, so you can either manually check your phone or wait for the notification pop-up to appear. However, if your patience has run thin then you will be glad to know that the ICS ROM is available for download and install manually for those who know what they are doing (do at your own risk as you may be required to root your phone, which s not a good idea if you would like to keep the warranty on your phone intact). If you want to find out how to do that, click here to read on details. Again, please do it at your own risk.

As for the changes that you will see with this update, here is a quick look:

App upgrades
You will have some surprises with the way your phone' apps will work now. The app developer' are working to release new version of their respective apps since the release of Galaxy Nexus. Be patient and look out for these points:

To use Adobe Flash with Android 4.0, first update it to the latest version
You will need to update most of your apps to their latest version before they could work with Android 4.0
For connecting your phone to a Mac via USB, you will first need to install the File Transfer app on your Mac. Use this link to know how to.

Home Screens

As you are supposedly updating from Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) to ICS (Android 4.0), there will be some changes to how the new Home screen and some functions will work. Google has set up a page for users with Tips on the new transition. Here is the link

Lock Screen

The way you answer or reject a call has changed. To answer a call, now drag the lock icon to the right. Here is more detail on this.

Swipes

Swipes are to be noted especially. Make sure you know what left-right swipes do. For example you should be able to swipe sideways to:

Dismiss notifications
dismiss recent app thumbnails
navigate through you email messages in your inbox
check on your recent G+ notifications

Screenshots made easy

You are now able to take the screenshots from your phone without the help of any app. Press power button and the volume(down) button simultaneously. What' more is that the screenshot is saved automatically. Now just click on the screenshot icon in the notification bar and you will be able to see the screenhot that you just took. Easy!

I am sure the update would be as tasty as the Ice Cream Sandwich itself is. I too am looking for my Nexus S to receive the OTA, hopefully it will be soon enough as my patience is low on this and frankly I would not like to do rooted install of the update.
Have fun and let me know how you liked the new Android version once you have tasted it!!

Oh you Smart-Phone!

2011-12-06T21:51:00.000+05:30

Remember the days when you were without a cell phone. Peaceful isn't it :-p. So, once you were out of your home parents couldn't track you, and after a tiring day there was no girl friend disturbance after you landed back in the boundaries of your sweet sweet home ;). Some might disagree..I agree to their disagreement as well !!
So while you thought it worked the best possible way, someone just wasn't happy with it. They decided it was time to destroy the dreamy environment that you lived in and give you a trouble...and there were the tracking devices called cell phones. Then, as you somehow handled (or rater tried to handle) the new trouble in your life..someone again out smarted your thoughts and introduced a more advanced version..in came today' smart-phones.
I possess one myself and frankly can't do without it in my normal day-to-day life. A dependency I am happily living with. Before you start throwing tantrums and sending abusing comments here is what this post is all about....
Introduction and popularity of smart-phones is a good enough reason to be happy for some, and a good enough reason to be "more" happy for others. If you possess a smart-phone like I do (mine is Nexus S, by the way) and you haven't been visiting Mars in the last fortnight, you probably already have heard about the waves Carrier IQ is creating since the news of it's rootkit tracking (or as most people put it... "spying") the smart-phone user' activity (each of them) broke on every possible blog and site you may have heard that publishes these kind of news.

In case you do not know, here is a fill up for you:
Carrier IQ is a company based in Mountain View, California and provides mobile analytic services for smart-phones to the wireless industry. It came in to picture just a few days back when one of the Android security researcher, Trevor Eckhart, discovered Carrier IQ software on one of the smart-phones that he was using. No problem, I say! The problem and a rather alarming one was that this software was collecting data right from the device' location, to the application installed in it and even (take a deep breath) the key strokes performed on the device.
Why is Carrier IQ collecting all of that data? According to them, their software is installed on the devices by the carriers who are interested in getting these statistics to improve the user experience.
Now this may be "sky is falling" for some of you out there and may be nothing for others. Its ok if you got a little uncomfortable and curious after the news broke. The next think I did was to search the net to see if there is a way by which I could find if my phone has one (obvious haan!). Much to my dismay there was no app available in the android market at that time. I did, however, find some news on detecting the Carrier IQ but that involved rooting my smartphone..which I wasn't comfortable with.
I did see a few pages/articles/blogs which mentioned Google confirming that the Nexus line of phones (which includes mine) are free from Carrier IQ. That in itself was a calm-er.
Anyway, for those who are still uncomfortable about all this fuss around Carrier IQ, here is a good news. An android app is now available in android market that could tell you if your phone is carrying Carrier IQ or not. Its called 'Voodoo Carrier IQ detector'. At the time of writing this post, it's still in the development phase but is being updated very frequently so we should have some pretty reliable results in no time. I have tried this application myself and below is the result:

Nexus S, running Gingerbread 2.3.6 (No Carrier IQ)

Vodoo Carrier IQ detector

The app already has some 2K plus installs and has a 4.7 avg rating. For those interested here is the QR to the android market install page. Use your smartphone' camera and a QR reader app (as you may already know).

More links for your read:
1. Carrier IQ, What it means to you !
2. Block Carrier IQ on iPhone (earlier ones) !
3. Should you worry? (One of my best ones in the list)
4. What does it do on my Phone?
5. Apple says no more!

Some apps, that I found afterwards, that could tell you if Carrier IQ is installed on your smart-phone or not:
1. Lookout Labs (Seems most reliable and user friendly at present)
2. Trevor Eckhart also developed one

Feel free to contribute more links, I will be glad to add them to this list for the benefit of others.

Diwali to Thanks-Giving

2011-12-05T22:07:00.000+05:30

For an eight post and a few months old blog, its enough flattery that I am being constantly asked for when the next post is coming. So the first question I am obliged to answer is where I have been since my last post that was some 50 days back. The answer is, just here! I decided to dedicate a post just to sum things up since my last interaction with you all on this platform. The presence on the virtual world have been as much as it has been in the past, though I have been just a touch away from my blogging habit.
So, in between a couple of nails puncturing my car wheel and a stupid driver making sure my car needed it's first visit to the body-shop department with the SX4' fourth anniversary just close-by, there was enough to do during the festival days.

Diya made out of thermocol beads

Apart from my car not able to celebrate the festival of lights with me, the celebration and the festivities were so much engaging. The decorations in the office and the environment for a couple of days was more of an enjoyment than tiredness. It was nice to be decorating the new building that we shifted in around a couple of months back. A sample of what I contributed is on the right :)
I couldn't realize how much my car has been involved in my day to day life, not till the accident took place. Luckily, me and my colleague accompanying me didn't had any impact. My car had to be in the body-shop for a few days though, and that was for sure the moment I stepped out to have a look at the impact point. The rest of the days till I got the car back were going to be a little troublesome.

With Diwali next day, the shopping and gift distribution took nearly double the time as it normally would. At the body-shop they told me it would take around a couple of weeks for the insurance formalities and the repair work to be done. Diving in to a loong weekend gave a bit of respite from travelling and I knew it will have to be the all famous auto rickshaws that will be giving me the ride once the weekend and festival gets over and I am back to my home-office-home routine.
For Diwali, this time, I decided a little more than usual light-cover for my house. And with my better half asking (more of a command ;) ) the same, I couldn't afford another thought on this!

On the right is a sneak peak for you of how the exterior looked like after the lights were installed and functioning. The lights that you see on top of the big tree should look awesome but were as hard to put that way as you could imagine. That's a guava tree by the way and the fruits on it are usually very sweet, barring a couple of exception when I am not as patient to let them grow big enough. The hard work was paid as the final look (as seen in this pic) was worth a watch. The people passing by during the late evening and night hours couldn't afford not to be jealous of the view. I decided to leave it through for five rather than 3 days :)!

The next two weeks following the Diwali break, were not so comfortable with the auto rickshaw as my ride on my way to office. Got a feel of how much my car has been a part of my day to day life and how much have I been dependent on it for the past nearly 4yrs since I bought my priced possession. Two weeks and my little beauty was back with me and my daily ease just seemed to have come back. Now, I wasn't thinking twice to go out.

During the festive season it was so much fun out there in the markets. The same kind was out there in other parts of the world as my close friends started sharing the the news/pictures of how it was getting on with Thanks-Giving approaching soon. It's always fascinating to read stories about how crazy people could be during these days when its such a fun not only to roam around in the streets but to shop with all sorts of discounts available. And, there are the big guns in the market who love to be in news during these festive times. So we had Apple coming out with a new version of their iPhone and Google announcing a new version of their OS plus a new phone to accompany the mystery.

One of my friend forwarded a link which had the account of 2 friends who were queuing in front of an Apple store to be the first to take the new version of iPhone 4S. So they were there all day and all night long for quite a number of days and on top were blogging on their websites while being there. Crazy or what !!!!!!! I remember I was in US during the launch of first iPhone...wasn't as much craze then. I agree you got to give it to Apple there.

On the same talks, being a Nexus S owner myself, I am also waiting for the new android version upgrade available for my smart phone. Sadly its been a long wait already as I was thinking it would come by Thanks-Giving. But the latest that I hear is that Google has started the ICS (Android 4.0) dogfooding. Cnet confirms the reports and so does android police. Hopefully, I won't have to wait till next year for the upgrade.

With October a big celebration month in here, November and December are made sure the tempo is kept up. Q4 anyway has been very very up, take your pick on 'what'. As for me, since I changed my employer last year..Q4 has been a little relaxing. From what I hear from my ex-colleagues in that company, it's still the same. Hopefully with the last month of the quarter and this year already on its roll, I hope the hectic season comes to an end for all of them. Since I have been part of that group for quite long, I know how hard it goes down there as this festive season picks up. The amount of work that goes in the background is amazingly huge and tiring.
Before I close this post, as a Thanks-Giving note all all my friends, co-workers (current or past) and everybody else.. Thanks for making the world a better place to live in!!

Just as a note, in case you guys haven't noticed. Each of my posts now accompany a 'ApnaCircle' (AC) share button at the end of each of them. Have fun sharing :)

2 ½ things that came around last week

2011-10-13T12:35:00.001+05:30

wake-up, work, home, sleep....wake-up and the circle repeats. Interesting and familiar as it may sound, life sometimes gets sedate. The physical circle becoming smaller as the days in winter and the virtual ones... bigger, seeming like the soap bubble we were so used to in our childhood days, ultimately getting difficult to maintain as it grows.
Decorations, visits, crowded markets are a must at this time. October does start with a nice festive mood. So you wake up every morning with a new decorative idea, or a plan to visit the market and in some cases welcoming relatives (which is as usual such a fun thing to do). Simply put there is some or the other thing/news on mind these days. As I recollect the last week that I lived, it seemed that the week was in much more than a usual hurry and I was left gasping... some moments were rather enjoying while there were others that were good enough for life (professional or personal) to stop momentarily.

The 1st part
I started this festive month welcoming a few relatives, my in-laws and then my maternal aunt and uncle. The only bad thing about your dear ones visiting your place, is that the stay lasts only a few days..never surpassing a week. With just 3 of us in the house, its always a fun with people visiting during celebration/festival time. These visits make even my car happy. With a dull routine of home-office-home nearly all days of a month, it gets to roam around the city a bit more. At least the visits to the railway station and/or airports seems a fun to my sx4.
This time around though, the visits included a visit to a residential society in Gr. Noida. Couldn't stop myself mentioning the security procedures required to get in to the society. I was required to call the ppl I was visiting and let the security staff talk to them for a confirmation. Once they were satisfied, they issued me a visiting pass and just as I started to change gear to proceed, I was asked to leave my driving license with them. Surprised myself, I asked the guard again as to what he meant. Smiling he explained, they keep the DL with them to be returned when visitors present the visiting pass on their way out. I agree, it was my first such kind of an experience for both me and my car.
It already was taking ages to enter the society when the guard informed me that if I stayed in for more than 3½ hrs, I will be paying some parking fees. Pheww !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally we were able to enter the society. On my way in I couldn't help but admire the way the interiors were maintained. Half an hour of stay and I was ready to move back. On the way out, I must admit I was impressed with the security arrangements in this society. If we all could be patient enough with the procedures employed, life inside the houses would be at least one worry less.

In the last 9 or so yrs, I hardly remember a time when I had these many relatives visiting during the festival time. To quote the message I posted on my fb account "Seems I forgot how it is to have elder's' in the house on pooja days....Feels awesome!"
It was simply awesome!!

The 2nd part (RIPs)
Tragic news of Steve Jobs biding bye to this world. Got to know the news on fb, as I was too busy to be reading the papers or following the idiot box. The world owe a lot to this man, who alone was capable enough to change the way the world communicates. So much the irony (Steve may be loving this though), that people were reading the tragic news on iPhone/iPad....devices that were the revolutions induced by the man himself. With people poring their messages for the genius that now may be busy designing the apps for the heaven world..the best that I liked was the below one:

"Three Apples changed the world: the one that Adam ate, the one that fell on Newton, and the one that Steve Jobs created."

Just as I was closing this part of the post, there cam another tragic news. The Ghazal maestro is no more. Can't remember since how many tears we have been humming the master pieces written/sung by Jagjit Singh. Who can forget the 'Tum itna jo muskara rahe ho...' or the 'hosh walo kp khabar kya....'. Music and words that were so so majestic, yet so simple. For the 42 yrs of singing that we know him, he bought the ghazals to our living rooms. Its sad to realize that the magical voice will sing no more.
RIP both of the greats and I close this part with the best comment that I read about these two loss:

"God! You called Steve because you wanted an iPod, and now u want ghazals in it?"

The ½ part
During the Dussehra days its like a dream to avoid the traffic jams, either on the way to office or back. The best part you see all the melas and multi storey like effigies of mythological characters, ready to be burned as part of the ritual on the Dussehra day. Every day on my way back from office, I would notice the effigies and think that this year again it would be fun to be part of the gatherings when someone dressed up as Lord Ram would send a fire arrow right in to the chest of the Ravan, Meghnath and Kumbhkaran effigies. Unluckily though, as it turned out, the wish for this year remained just that..a wish.

Sorry Mr. Ravan..couldn't be part of your death events this year, and am very sad to have missed it. Family is more important you see. Will try to be there next year, to see the evil burned to death and see a whole lot of goods triumph again...as it is every year. Hopefully the recession will go away so we will be able to see all 10 heads of yours rather than the mere 3 or 5 this year. And also a few more crackers, I am sure this time around it wasn't that noise as we are used to from the burning evil effigy.

Leaving you to ponder with the QR for this post:

Lucknow Calling

2011-09-13T11:49:00.001+05:30

For people who love travelling, its always a fun to go around places. Discovering new areas, knowing all the history is always fun for them. I am home sick, yet have gone around places for one reason or the other. Not as much as I would have liked but at least to a certain extent the trips have always been fun...start, middle or end...always fun!!
So, what do I have for you in this post? My encounter with 'The City of Tehzeeb'
I was rather confused on the title of this post. 'The City of Tehzeeb', 'Adab, Tehzeed and Lucknow', 'A city besides Gomti' being a few candidates but I finally settled for 'Lucknow Calling'. Let me know if you think a more apt title I should have opted for after you are done reading this post :)
Me and wife were to travel to this city dotted with remnants of its rich cultural past. The reason this time of the travel was my wife' interview. I am sure the interviewing authority had good enough a reason to call us there, as we came to know that interviews were also scheduled in Delhi. Or else I fail to understand why they wanted us to travel some 500 km rather than a mere 20-30km. No regrets :) as it turned out to quite an experience.
Interview scheduled for 10:00am on 6th morning of this month, we decided it was ok to take a train on 5th night to reach the city at around 6:45am (the train permitting). A full AC train but a couple general compartments and we were on our way at the right time from New Delhi railway station. Travelling for the first time on a train with no pantry car. Our seats being in the compartment nearly at the start of train it was difficult to get down at any of the first few stations to get a water bottle, knowing the train only stops a min at each station. Thanks to the AC we could sleep nicely for the night w/o much trouble. But that sure was a lesson learnt ;).
Tired after a day in the office, the next thing I knew was my watch striking 6am. Got up to know the train was late. Hoping every minute that we reach on time, we passed around 2.5hrs before finally reaching the much talked about place in this part of the country. Need a rickshaw to the hotel? Well you need to ask them for a room as well or else quite a few don't offer to take you if you have a pre-booking in any of the hotels. Quite strange haan..It was a 4th time lucky for me but finally got one rickshaw. That too made sure I had to pay a little extra once he knew I already had a booking. I should have clicked a pic of the station knowing I may not visit here again as we already had our returned ticket booked in the flight, but a touch concerned on the time as I was...missed the moment.
The hotel was nice, already discounted price with both 6th and 7th morning breakfast complimentary..couldn't have asked for a better deal :). BY the time we reached the room it was nearly 9am. With the warning already issued at the reception that it takes around an hour to reach the interview place, it seemed to be late already. Hurrying here and there..a few fumbles..a real quick breakfast that even the waiters serving were amazed at we were ready to move with around 45 min left to reach the scheduled place. Thanks to the rickshaw driver, the next touch down on the ground was at precisely the moment the watch on my wrist said 10. With a nice deep breath that we made in time, we proceeded to the gathering room nicely helped by the arrow marks on the walls and boards. Nice AC room after a 45 min in the sun and zooming here and there to make sure we reach on time, was a more than welcome. Sitting in the waiting room while my wife went thru some official procedures, it was like a deja vu of my PG counselling around 9yrs back. It was nice to feel it again though :)
A four hr wait to finish the things up and when we started our move back to the hotel, the rain was all it was left for our welcome. None the less, we soon found a rickshaw back to the hotel, hungry and a lot tired but happy with the first half of the day. By the time we finished our lunch relaxed for some 20 minutes, it was already close to 5pm. The next thing on our mind was to go around the city so heard of but never visited.
The spirits were dampened a bit once we were made aware at the reception that the most famous place to visit in the city closes at 5 in the evening and it was already time. Somewhat sad..we were given a tip free of cost...to visit the market. The free tips are more costly, I discovered it alright :-p. We shopped at the most famous shop in the area, visited the Sahara mall and finally as my best half wished, went around in the city in a manual rickshaw to enjoy the city in the night.
The day was filled with fun and the next was more of a wonderful time as we were to discover the next morning.
We started the 7th morning a bit early as our flight was also scheduled the same day at around 3pm in the afternoon. We were already told that it will take around 2 or so hrs to visit some famous places in the city. All set and after a much refreshing shower and a very nice breakfast we were all set for the next destination for the day...the all famous Imambara!

The history of this place is long and I am afraid wont be covered in this post :( but what a place and what history. It took us around 5-7 min to walk down from the main gate to the big hall that holds its place in the history. As we were told later, the place was built fully in between 1773 and 1784. 11 yrs in total and the architecture tells the story. The architect was an Iranian and all he demanded at the end of his work was to be buried in this place. So as it is the Nawab and the Architect both lay in peace in the main hall of the building.
The whole of this building is around 340 odd feet long. Divided in to 3 halls, named after the type of work they hold. So the first one is called Chinese hall, the second Persian hall and the third Indian hall.

Chinese hall

You see the Chinese hall pic on the left, the windows that peep out are part of Bhul bhulaiya. Strange as it seemed to us, the windows appear to be in a circle to each other from here but once we were in bhul bhulaiya itself, they seemed arranged on a wall that was absolutely straight. Not sure if that is how they planned the architecture or it turned out to be the way it is. Whichever way, standing there for a moment we seemed lost in the beauty of a 220+ yrs old building.. mesmerized by the thought process of a single man who lay just 10 steps from where we stood.

Persian hall

If Chinese hall was able to take our breath, there lay another example of how good people were with their design skills way back then. We entered the Persian hall. This 1600 ft long hall is the biggest hall in all of Asia without any iron support. Built like a kitchen tray, the hall holds a religious place. Said to have been lit by candles in the era that the Nawab lived here, the hall has a strange calmness to it. Its kind of scary as well that this length of the hall doesn't have any support of iron and still is as strong as you may know any building around. There are around 10-12 eatable ingredients that constitute the wall, pulses, sheera for example. That's what our guide for the day told us. Hard to believe?

It is in this hall that the Nawab and the Architect still lay in peace. As you may see in the left pic. The emeralds and precious stones that existed in different forms in this room, now take there place somewhere in UK. Look closely and you may see Nawab' crown in the foreground of this pic. This is a replica, the original as you may assume (correctly) was taken to UK by British ppl during that time :(

Indian hall

The third hall, Indian Hall, is of a form of a melon. Again, from inside it looks like round with the windows peeping out and from inside, its as straight as possible.
The bhul bhulaiya that holds these windows is interestingly built within the walls. So from the ground you see walls and as you try to go up the floor floor building, without realizing you are actually travelling within the walls till you reach the absolute top. A wonderful experience.
If you plan on visiting, do take a guide or else bhul bhulaiya is a place you cannot get out of :)
We looked around a couple of places in this hall and one in the bouli later, special thing in these that someone from inside could peep thru the whole area outside but from outside no one can have a look. Seems was used by the army stationed just in case enemy attacked.
The guide took us to the top thru the mesmerizing place called bhul bhulaiya and then asked us to guide him down. We tried for 5-7 min and failed. Such is the surprise at every turn within the walls that you really can't get thru. The guide however, seemed as familiar as the people who would have built this sculpture.

Our guide, Mr Hasan

Thanks largely to our guide for the day for all the lovely time and super information that we got. Our guide, who also happens to be the driver of the Chairman of the Trust that maintains this building, is working here since past 12 yrs. No doubt over his knowledge once we knew this :-P
After some 2-2.5hrs we finally bid goodbye to the lovely place to be back at the hotel to have a nice lunch and begin our journey to Lucknow airport to catch our flight back home. The airport from the outside looks more like a fort that an airport :)

Lucknow Airport

This being my wife' first flight, it was a special one. Enjoy the view from the plane window once we were airborne :)

Little bit of Sun :)

The wing seemed a slider :)

And here is a video as we left the ground :)

As always, here is the QR to this post :)