Bangalore through my eyes !!

29th June 2001, my first step in Bangalore and first ever in south India. My uncle’s friend dropped me to Basavangudi , ING staff training hostel  ,a day before the training to commence. Still remember , it was raining that evening ,found Bangalore quite romantic .Its been 11 years since then…neither I left the city nor did the city allow me to leave.
 Bangalore to me has been evening rains,

Evening rains at Hebbal flyover through my car windscreen

Roads with huge trees on both sides with dash of orange bloom ,



One of my fav roads near IISC

12 noon shade at road near Sankey tank

 Morning walk in Parks,



 Cubbon park



Evening stroll by the Lakeside ,

Evening sunset view at Sankey tank

Sankey tank

Beautiful churches ,

St. Mary's Basilica: The oldest church in Bangalore

Hudson church



St Andrew's church

St Marks Cathedral

Nariyal pani ,

Green coconuts(Daab in bengali)

and Shanti sagars and Shiv sagars even though the so called developmental works in last 10 yrs have changed  the face of B’lore beyond recognition.

Last weekend , my husband  was out on an official trip and the only relative in Bangalore, my sister , on her way to a month long trip in Europe . I was  alone in Bangalore with my all time company mum and kid. So I decided to get out of home and become a tourist in my own city for the weekend. Unfortunately I hadn’t even seen the bull temple in Basavangudi , a popular tourist spot , until last Sunday.

Bull temple at Basavangudi

 Also, I was a little guilty , “ Whats the point in traveling all the way to Paris to see Louvre or to Amsterdam to see Van gogh museum if one hasn’t even explored the art gallaries within the city." My agenda , this weekend was to visit Modern art gallery and Venkatappa art gallery. I realized these are great places to take kids too for their early exposure to artworks.

Modern Art Gallery on Palace Road

Visited Bangalore Palace too for the first time on Saturday.

Bangalore Palace

Sunday, I started early morning to see the roads without vehicles & Bangaloreans and have breakfast at Koshys only to experience the flash back city moments. I was able to see  the spring on trees , attend the Sunday mass at churches and wonder at one of the paintings by Mr Venkatappa. It really looked like a photograph. The sculptors at venkatappa art gallery have made me plan my next trip to Belur & Halebid to see the hoysala style of art.

The same evening I went to Iskon temple and Orion mall ,the new mall in Bangalore with a Lake.If there were two people in the whole art gallery,there were four per square inch of the mall inside :-) Anyway...here is a panoramic view.

From extreme left Orion Mall , Hotel Sheraton ,World trade centre , Brigade gateway and the man made lake at the centre

Not bad no? Get up early in the morning on a weekend, take your camera  and start exploring your own city before it gets a little more unfamiliar. You never know you might just fall in love with your city all over again. I have,  because this time my eyes were not just set on roads while driving but also on the road side places  which made me stop by  and see the real Bangalore hidden behind  vehicles ,roads and skyscrapers . So, guys get set go……………..



Just in time dimsums !!

Have you ever felt like getting down from an auto and start running or even telling the local train driver to be fast enough so that you could catch your connecting train or flight.

I have…not just once or twice but quite a number of times. And each time,I’ve had to go through a series of chemical changes in my mental composition.

The first of such instances was while I was doing  my MBA and my family used to stay in Bhopal. I was to catch a train from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kurla at 10.45 pm for Bhopal. My luck, that very day and time someone decided to commit suicide under my local train which was to take me to Tilak Nagar, only 5 min away from the terminus. I was with my friends Prashant, Venu &Preetam who had come to drop me. Even though we had started pretty well in advance, my weak actuarial capabilities didn’t account for such delays.  I wish I could just fly, 10.30 pm and I was still stuck. I probably reached local station Tilak nagar only at 10.45pm and from there we could see my train on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, just about to leave. Heard the siren and we started to run… run to the best of our management abilities. My bag being passed on from one superman to another,  while we ran holding hands and breaths across the length and breadth of the crowd at the station.

 Yep, I finally did board the train… .. what do you think, why do movies like DDLJ work even after decades, they are all inspired by realism. Thankfully as soon as I stepped on to the last compartment, then only the train picked up the speed.

Another time, also in Mumbai and the destination - Bangalore. It was 2002 and I had been for a two months OJT(on the job training) at  Andheri branch for ING Bank. Was staying in Bank flats at Bhandup along with my friend Deaa. My chit chat quota never ends with Deaa so even the night before my travel, I slept late. The alarm didn’t work and I woke up only an hour before the train time. The train was to start from CST(Chatrapati shivaji terminal) at 8.05 am. In utter confusion and madness I chose to take a taxi from Bhandup to CST.  I was the back seat driver, driving faster than the driver all the way and repeating every sec ‘Bhaiya aur fast please’. Would have been impossible but that morning of 2002 was not that crowded and I did reach the CST station on time. As soon as my anxiety  settled down, I realized that the same train also stopped at Kalyan. First CST, then Dadar and then Kalyan at 9am. Kalyan, just 30 minutes from Bhandup. And I had come all the way riding in the opposite direction upto CST taking a few breaths and skipping a few. Anyways.….guess all is fair in the humdrum of life.

My Marriage too was no short of adventure. The day I was supposed to reach Udaipur for the function to commence, I was in tears calling Sudeep and telling him that I was still at B’lore airport and it was impossible for me to make it to my own wedding. Due to air-conditioning problem my flight was cancelled, and I had already missed my connecting flight for Udaipur. And in addition, due to some seminar in Bangalore, the airport was flooded with humanity, all flights were full and people were buzzing around the ticket counters for Mumbai ticket. I don’t remember what did Sudeep say or who had more faith but I decided to run from pillar to post. Finally an Indian Airlines senior officer screamed at others who were showing their ID cards to prove their urgency,’ Please understand, this girl has to attend her own wedding, I’ve to give a seat  to her.’

Grrrrrrr … am married courtesy Indian Airlines' policies J

The travel adventure anxiety not just doubled but multiplied by leaps and bounds post marriage.

Last Dec during my trip to Gujrat, the day I was to return back home in Bangalore along with my kid, Mum and friend, I chose to shop in Ahmedabad before my flight. We kept our bags in the cloak room of train station and ventured into the shopping bylanes of Ahmedabad. Plan was to shop, then eat  at Bikanerwalla, come to the station, collect luggage and then go to the airport which was 30 min from the station. Had 4 hrs in hand, flight was at 5 pm. Till 2.45 we kept shopping, finished lunch at 3.30 and then started back. Unlike the onward journey on Ahmedabad roads, the return reminded me of Bangalore office hours on roads. Tension started building up, all of us looking at the traffic and praying desperately. Had already spent so much unnecessarily that I couldn’t afford to miss my flight. Reached train station somehow, collected the luggage and since time was so little at hand, instead of praying that I should be on time at the airport, I thought God may find it easier to delay the Ahmedabad - Bangalore flight. 2 Autos, lots of luggage and my son who has to sleep in every moving vehicle irrespective of the situation. Wanted to get out of the auto and start running, the auto driver just wasn’t able to drive at the speed of my ‘if  and then‘ thoughts. Reached airport… ran with my son, mum and luggage for the check in. Wow!! To my surprise, check in was still on. The flight too got delayed.

Hmmm, I love my country, my travel prayers do work here. Only thing is the nervous tension of missing the train or a flight just kills.

Recently, this Jan in Hyderabad also I had another time of my life. Courtsey my husband who has best learnt ‘don’t stop till you get the work done’ of all the management lessons, I felt like jumping out of the train rather than answering his calls every minute to know how far I was from Kacheguda where he was waiting. Had been to Hyderabad for a wedding, my return was by train from Kacheguda for Bangalore at 9.30 pm. I had the whole day at hand so I made an additional plan to meet a Clairvoyant lady in Malkhaid road (4hrs by train from Hyderabad) along with my Mum and comeback by evening & meet my husband & kid directly at the station  to catch our train for Bangalore. Was running a tight schedule already and the train which hardly gets delayed had to get delayed by 2 hours that same day. My phone  started ringing from 6pm itself. In the train a gentleman informed me that there was no way I could reach Kacheguda on time by the ‘Malkahid Road’ passenger I was in and taking local train from Lingampally would be wiser to reach Kacheguda on time. I did the same but after counting 4 stations in 2 minutes in the local, my confidence began to shake, and like crazy I started asking everyone, ’tell me exactly how much time this local train takes to reach Kacheguda’? On top of that ringing phone with every passing second  to ask all sorts of questions about the station the train had crossed and time remaining made my human properties change into glass. Finally, I switched off the mobile. The local train reached by 9.15 and thankfully at the same platform on opposite side from where I had my B’lore train. I could see my husband, kid and sister at the platform, sigh of relief!

The joy of being able to catch a train or flight on time when it is just not possible, is beyond words. For that moment you’re the winner in your own world, its like not losing the very opportunity in your life to reach the final destination.

Except for once in London when I missed my bus for Birmingham, I’ve not missed any train or flight till date and I hope not to. Happy traveling!!

Time-out

Born in Pachmarhi, my love for jungles still runs through my bloodstream. One of the reasons I get sweepingly sentimental over weekends if I don’t get to go out of the concrete walls of my home. I need to breathe directly beneath the sky and refresh my olefactory system in the vicinity of huge trees as often as  possible,seriously.

Wish I were paid to travel as much as I want to. I’ve yet to cover many jungles within India itself. Kabini river lodge (the hunting lodge of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore) which is hardly 220kms from Bangalore was also on my wish list for long till recently when I made a 2-day trip.

River Kabini in the morning!

 A wildlife enthusiast appraised me of the allures of wildlife in Kabini and since summers are best known for sightings, I made my plan to visit in March and stay at Jungle Lodges Resorts.

Kabini River Lodge in March

Either  tigers have some problem with me or I’m more scary, as other than the tiger we saw most  animals. This is despite the company of very optimistic people on our safari jeep who kept reiterating ‘today we shall definitely see a tiger’. Until 2 days before, the tiger was seen on the tiger tank there every evening. Now I know the 'japa' was because of the doubt,we were all believers of probability more than anything.And as they say,

The good things that you expect …it is on your way

The things you fear about or doubt….. that is also on your way.

In the wilds of Nagarhole

Anyways,  jungle beauty sans the tiger is equally mesmerizing and we really missed having  tele- photo lens this time to be able to capture the same .

Kabini- Savior to so many species

Bangalore to Kabini is a nice road except that the last 12km stretch feels more like a ride on the moon - huge craters really!
But all that is worth in order to experience staying in tents, going on jungle safaris, listening to the wild melody and no TV, no cricket!! I loved it.

Jungle Lodges tent

From Kabini, I paid my customary  visit to Club Mahindra Madikeri(Coorg). There is something about  the energy of this place, which is just so refreshing. Have been to Coorg quite a number of times before, hence Abbey falls, Raja seat, Talcauvery  etc. were nothing new ; this time we explored the Golden temple (Namdroling Monastry).

Golden temple

Beautiful temple and surprisingly huge Tibetan establishment at Bylakuppe , on the way back to Bangalore.Reached home by evening and then back to the grind.

Do want to go back to Kabini again and meet Mr Tiger……this trip was just an appetizer. Anyone interested in coming along??

united colors of bhujrat !

One day before my anointed travel date and I was still struggling for tickets calling up Indian railways  & Gujarat tourism, using every related and unrelated trump card and contemplating on my last minute air travel. All this, for my  maiden entry to Thepla-Fafda land.

At Mandvi beach in Bhuj

I had only heard about the Rann Utsav from a few Gujarati friends before embarking on my journey with a friend,my mother and my kid during Christmas. Adhoc plan and delicate star cast. I did have to pay the exorbitant price for my last minute flight bookings courtesy a few Gujju business extremists from travel industry in Ahmedabad who lied through the skin that  Rann Utsav bookings couldn’t be postponed or cancelled even though I desperately needed to change my travel dates for the lack of confirmed train tickets.

Thought of Gandhi and Modi at the same time but my travel itch was difficult to resist given that I love colors and Gujarati thali. Also, how could I ignore Mr. Bachchan who kept saying 'Kutch nahi dekha, to kya dekha?'

Colors of Dhordo

25th Dec 2011, first day of my three day package trip ,I reached Bhuj, somehow and anyhow. We were the only Bangaloreans in a sea of humanity that spoke ‘aau chu or basi jaao’. After 1.5 hrs of dug-dug bus travel from Bhuj, we found ourselves in the tented city of Dhordo. Ethnically Grandiose! Besides, Gujarati food was a double bonanza for me. The glutton in me would keep all senses wide awake for every meal to hog on there.

Tent City where I stayed

Rann Utsav is an annually organized festival by Gujarat tourism every December and runs for a month. Best time to attend the carnival is around the full moon night of December.The tent city is hardly 5 kms from white Rann -the salt desert, which is splendid on full moon night. My lucky stars I was there on 25th December - a new moon day.

Houses in Dhordo Village

As per schedule, we headed to Dhordo village and Hodko village on the first day of our camp. Colorfully flamboyant houses,creative handicrafts and the fine art of patience -‘the intricate embroidery work’.

Unfortunately, evening was spent waiting in December cold for some transport to take us back to our tent city from the white Rann post sunset as our bus tyres sank into the salt desert. I am told salt absorbs negativity and I instantly recollected the altercation that a few Gujaratis on our bus had with the driver immediately upon our arrival at white Rann for parking reasons. So much so for Mr. Bachchan’s exhortations about Gujarat.

Next day on our list was Mandavi beach and a visit to Vijay Vilas Palace,made popular by Bollywood as the haveli for “hum dil de chuke sanam”. Its just 160 kms,said the guide. Reached Vijay Vilas in the afternoon, stomach already demanding  another round of Gujju delicacies. Nonetheless I did realize that Vijay Vilas palace is an eclectic blend of architectural styles. Amazing !

At Vijay Vilas Palace

There on to make peace with our hungry bellies,we drove to a restaurant nearby before setting our foot on the highly acclaimed beach of Gujarat. Camel safari at 2.30pm on mandvi beach with sun shining on my head was bad .

Mandvi Beach

Had wished to  take the shortest tour of the three options to be able to spend more time at the tent city but courtsey my ringing ears I  chose Mandvi beach tour .The whole day was dedicated to giving up one’s life control and limbs to the driver as we could reach only by 9pm.

A lady from Kutch at Dhordo into handicrafts

Kutch is mostly appreciated for its ecological and ethnic rich heritage, but more than anything a place is known by its inhabitants. Even though I hadn’t started on a very good note in this trip, my opinion was reversed by a few people I came across in Kutch. On the third and the last day, while I was struggling to find some place to keep my luggage in tourism office at Bhuj and complaining for non cooperation from tourism department, Mr. Good from Information Broadcasting department in Bhuj overheard me and extended help beyond my expectation."Caught in the wrong job", the monster india ad flashed in my mind. A strong believer in Bhagavad Geeta he said,' you came to see Kutch but you’ve not really seen'.And he went out of all his ways to make me understand the true Kutch people, irrespective of the fact that I was a complete stranger. 

Parag Mahal

Same day in Bhuj, we visited“Aaina Mahal” , “Parag Mahal” and also the ruins of earthquake which had hit Kutch in 2001.

Ruins of Bhuj

The fear of earthquake seems so evident that even the tourism department doesn’t do anything to rebuild or improve the toilets anywhere. Why would such things matter in the big scheme of things…Thankfully I met one more helpful family in the shopping district of Bhuj near Parag Mahal who not only let us their restroom but also their neighbors’.

I even saw the oldest Bhuj temple just next to their house which had survived the earthquake. Lord Krishna seemed strong enough so I took refuge in the same temple along with my son and a 50kg suitcase while my friend and mom shopped during the three hours before our bus to Veraval, nearest railhead for Gir.Gir and Somnath are mandatory being in Gujarat and yes, I did spot a lion within the first 5 minutes of our safari.

Gir lion

 A week of hullabaloo and I was back in Bangalore on 31st Dec.

By the end of the tapestry of contradictions that is Gujjuland, I realized that other than the lions of Gir,there are people atleast in Bhuj who have definitely learnt that the value of another human being is more than money or time and it does inspire me to irrevocably begin my life on a different note and in a different light.

Spirituality

Thought...to catch hold of God,

I should travel from the topmost part of India to the bottommost, but my endeavors have stretched only till Vaishnodevi & McLeodganj in North and Pondicherry in down south.

My knowledge is far from spiritual experiences so I am in a similar state as Sarah MacDonald in ' Holy Cow'.



In Haridwar, I observe the Ganges getting dirtier due to community bathing by men who flaunt their obscene, old, torn H shaped attires (if you know what I mean). In Pondicherry where people find peace, I get upset for not being allowed to appreciate a tree in Auroville for the lack of time at hand. In Rishikesh, I remember the tasty food by Chotiwalas more than anything. In Kukke Subramanya, I pay more attention to celebrity pictures of those who visited for Kaal Sarpa Dosha including Sachin. And in McLeodganj, I meditate at the roadside market which sells accessories and antiques. Sadly that’s me.

 

Roadside market in Mcloedganj

Parents and grandparents introduced me to the temples and pujas, but true credit goes to my 'nose' which threw so many tantrums post surgery that I got slipped into the world of spiritual solace. Coming across those doctors who make faces like you will die the next day and prescribe hundreds of tests for simple problems is the first step towards spirituality.

    

Spiritual introspection before surgery in Manipal

For most problems, complaining to God in Amitabh Bachchan style does provide some relief. But unlike Amitabh Bachchan who went to the temple towards the end in Deewar, I say temple temple here I come, with my own list every time. 

Kangra Devi in Himachal

Of all, it is Lord Shiva who I have related to since childhood. Anytime I’ve been denied the due, instead of catching the collar of bosses, boyfriends and mom-in-laws, I’ve run to Lord Shiva. It’s only for my own health that I had to look beyond Shiva temples. I’m not the one who really believes that God is accessible in temples and can be moved by pujas only, but I like our culture which makes it easier for the girl to gain brownie points with in-laws and in turn please her home hero too . That’s a different spiritual level altogether.

  



In Bangalore, Kempfort gets the credit for my maximum ' first job, single status' visits (and school of ancient wisdom for my post surgery visits)

Kempfort temple

Kempfort Shiva never filled the blanks matching my wishes but I am thankful that the same Shiva in Ujjain and Srikalahasti granted my wishes immediately, VIP class .The Lord at Tirupati took time, by then it was like what the heck, justice delayed is justice denied. Not God's fault, amidst the South Indian screams of Govindaaaaa Govindaaaaaaa and the rush to reach Mt. Tirupati, God works in random order.

The two places where God did make me feel important are Siddhivinayaka and Vaishnodevi. Year 2002, it was early morning and my first visit to Siddhivinayaka in Mumbai. I entered the overcrowded temple and wished for a special puja for which pre booking was required, and was impossible at that time. It just so happened that a lady came up to me and said, 'take my ticket and do the puja, am getting late for work.'

I was happily surprised since I hadn't even uttered my wish.

Second time recently, in Vaishnodevi.....

Vaishnodevi temple

 

My first visit, delayed by about 7 years, became special when a policeman who controls the crowd told me, 'Phir se andar jaana hai doosri baar darshan ke liye, aarti hone wali hai, tujhe jaane doonga, jaldi teeka mitao, bachhe ka bhi aur husband ko bhi bula lo.' Initially the Karnataka citizen in me thought, ' sabka sapna money money' but then I soon realized, ‘wow am not that big a sinner. God does know me’.

My spiritual journey and relationship with God has been weird. Somedays I've kept the fast without even water throughout the day and someday I have puked throughout the night in the name of Shiva's Somras.

Somedays I've done all kinds of yoga, japas and tapas and somedays have slept in glory, postponing my sincerity for the next day. Am such an average human that becoming spiritually fashionable is quite challenging. The only permanent shift in my life has been 'Tulsi tea and veg food' despite being an ardent fan of Mutton Roganjosh.

Nevertheless, marriage and after-effects like children, at times act like sparks in lighting the spiritual growth lamp inside. Both me and my husband have visited more temples than any other types of places in seven years of our process of learning to tolerate each other and our kid :-)

Baijnath in Himachal

On a serious note, my quest for solutions to my insignificant health issues has introduced me to many a good things and great souls. Reiki, pyramid meditation, kriya yoga, numerology, Louise Hay's 'heal your life' (courtesy my friend Shalini), Yogananda's 'Autobiography of a yogi', writings by James Redfield and Brian Weiss.

I’ve learnt that forgiveness is liberating, thinking good doesn’t let you collapse when you lapse, and evening Aarti on the banks of Ganga in Haridwar is truly majestic.

My journey is still on though with really long big breaks in between.

Spirituality is an experience, a way of life…and I am trying hard to meditate to get that 'Ek idea jo badal de aapki duniya'. But a long way to travel I guess!

JACK AND JILL YET AGAIN TO THE HILLS .......

Due to 'Monday Blues' on friday morning,Mr. Jack calls up as soon as he reaches office,' let's do Mysore over weekend.On sat,at Mysore... lets do the Bandipur safari.On sunday at Bandipur ...why not drive till Ooty.

Derby Green

 At Derby Green Ooty,why one? lets stay for two nights :-)



Unknown to our adventure, people were amazed .............' Spaghetti top in ooty cold !!

For a day I was like the Indian heroine who never feels cold even in the snow.Unfortunately my hero didn't even have the coat to pass it on to me and so we had to rush to 'Mohans' ,the most advertised shop in Ooty, to buy some acceptable hill station clothing.Most advertised doesn't mean most admired but anyways...it served the purpose.

Right now am sitting on a bench ,sipping my coffee and thinking (my all time fav job)...... Mysore.,Ooty the nth time :-)



Mysore Palace

 Thats one advantage of staying in Bangalore.Mysore is just 2.5 hrs away and one can reach hill stations like Ooty at whim. 

My quiet evening at Lalitha Mahal Palace ;-)

Stopover at Metropole for lunch and Lalitha mahal palace-Mysore for a quite evening dinner to do the quarterly review and feedback session on married life can be surprisingly elevating. 

And ofcourse icing on the cake is Mysore to Ooty drive because of bandipur & mudumalai forests on the way. It really arouses the junglee in me. Infact in my childhood list of ,' I WANT TO BE', forest officer would be on top despite my fear of jungle ghosts.





Till date i've been able to spot only deers,sambhars,peacocks,monkeys and my saathi 'the haathi' in the name of wild life in these forests, but i do hope to face tiger someday ......much more appealing than going on a date with Abhay Deol ,recent inclusion in the list of my likes on facebook

Haathi mere saathi in Bandipur

When it comes to hill stations , it is the OOTY where am well known from Charring cross to Pykara lake :-)Think,there is an advantage in repetition.When one leafs through the albums to compare notes, the increase in the waist diamater,the changes in the expressions and the additions to the party give an excellent review of life.Each trip brings a new set of memories

Infact my first trip to Ooty was around the time the horror movie 'Raaz' on marital discord had come out.Ironically in this trip I received the blessings for a happy married life by an old couple after conforming to their request for a lovey dovey picture.

Another memorable trip with friends was in Dec cold.10pm ,dark woods and Yummy chicken ,one of the tastiest dinner !! I was in the company of gourmets.But courtsey the focus of the team, my 31st night was spent driving through Ooty lanes in search of some chinese restaurant, when all I wanted to do was party at the hotel and dance all night.At the end, we all settled for dinner at Taj where we did some clicking and as they say ' the circle of life' !!.... I ended up having a similar pic with Mr. Jack, as the one I had taken for the old couple a few years back.

Hmmmm!! this monsoon trip is special too...

Mr. Jack had the first 36 hairpin bends of his life, this time.

Secondly, its my son's first time in Ooty who has cold and fever but not going to school and singing 'swity swity tera pyaar chahida' with the system has been the motivation enough to carry on.

Ooty like hill stations do inspire me to indulge into their flavour,though I'm a person with no tea-no coffee tagline .In south, most hill stations are either tea stations or coffee stations.

Besides, there are Ghost stories, scenic spots ,the toy trains made famous by our film industry and lots of woollens ,facepacks,oils etc which attract the shopaholic in women irrespective of the metro they come from.

Downsouth other than Ooty I have been to Munnar,Thekkady,Madikeri,Yercaud ,kemengundi & Kodaikanal .  

Pristine Munnar

Munnar and kemengundi are still commercially virgin.To the extent that I almost had my nirvana experience in nature at kemengundi for the homestay we had chosen, in middle of deep forests called nature nirvana .

Somehow we had reached that secluded world but on the way back, the budding adventurer & the romantic in me had almost died as our only jeep ran out of fuel and the driver left Jack and Jill in the middle of the ghostly jungle just around the sunset to go back and get some petrol.No other vehicle was to be seen even at miles distance till 2-3 hrs. Would always be indebted to that 5 pax capacity vehicle carrying more than 10 people to give us lift too. Luckily we reached the civilization that night.

Hmmmmm ...if I don't stop here my list of such events will go on as one may not remember what one ate last night but anything beyond routine and monotony is delicious enough for quick retrieval..

And honestly speaking,despite these lovely mishaps here and there, going back from these green jungles to our concrete jungle where undo & redo work is always on,seems very unspiritual.I can't help living in these times forever.

Planning for northern hills around october this year and I do hope to have a lovely uphill journey with the Papa Jack and the baby Jack .:-)...... Excited ..!!