Sabudana ki Kheer..

Today is Dussehra, Vijaya Dashmi.. and a day to enjoy. Cleaned up all the house and offered puja to all the electronic items. Mom told me to prepare some kheer and offer to Goddess Mahalaxmi. So i thought of trying something new today. Thou experimenting something for the first time and not having someone here to taste it and give a verdict.. is pinching me... but i can assure,that its tasting awesome.. :) .. and its true... hehe

Sabudana ki Kheer ( For 2, Preparation time : 15 mins)
Ingredients:

1 cup sabu dana (sago)
1/2 litre milk
1 tsp cardamom powder
few dryfruits(almod, cashewnut & raisins) chopped for garnishing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Mawa

Preparation:

Soak sabudana in water for an hour (Dont soak more than that, else it becomes very soft)
Boil the milk and add the sugar.
Drain the water from the sabu dana and add them into the milk
Let it boil till the consistency is a bit thick.
Now mix in the cardamom powder and mawa.( i took some grounded peda instead)
Kheer is ready.
Garnish with chopped dry fruits.

Enjoy Cooking!!!

Durga Puja : Navratri : Dussehra

Today is MahaNavami and the last day of Navratri. Some reminiscences of my childhood wanted to share here..
My father is a Central Govt officer because of which we have travelled places. Thou, getting transferred every 7 years to a new place, leaving old friends, getting accustomed to the new place, roads, people, the environment, the language, the surrounding, etc used to be a challenge. Still, the interesting thing was learning the traditions of the state, their culture and language. The opportunity to interact with new people and making new friends, plus we also got a chance to visit all the other cities nearby in the state.
Talking about the traditions, each place had its own different way of celebrating the festivals.
Come October and there begins Durga Puja.

In Madras (now Chennai), people celebrate these 9 festive days by building artificial steps in their home and placing dolls (Golu / Kolu). They decorate the steps with lights, flowers and rangoli. People visit each other’s homes to see the exhibition. The dolls mostly depict Hindu Gods & Goddesses. I had got the chance to see these at my neighbors and friends place. And the Prasadam that they made was also superb. Dussehra is considered the most auspicious day, hence Goddess Saraswati is worshipped and children commence their learning of classical dance & song on this day.

When we got transferred to Bhubaneshwar, celebration here was totally different. This festival here is observed for 10 days to honour Maa Durga (Shakti) for her victory of good over evil. Massive images of Maa Durga are installed on decorative Pendals and Puja is performed. There are competitions between Pendals for being the best decorated one.
At Cuttack, we could see the Durga idols bejewelled with Silver filigree work, locally known as Chandi Medha. It is a delight to see the entire city, adorned with lights and other decoratives.We used to specially go to see those pendals at Cuttack.There is so much of celebration in the air. Schools and colleges have puja holidays and that adds to the charm as crowds pour into the Puja Mandaps to enjoy the festivities
On Mahashtami. Oriya women celebrate Bhaijiutia, a fasting carried out for whole day to seek Goddess Durga's blessing for the long life of their bhais
Finally on last day, i.e Dussehra, the Puja Idols are taken in a spectacular procession for immersion in the river. Also, on this auspicious day, Puja is performed for all the electronic household items, vehicles, books, pen etc for the blessings of Maa Durga & Saraswati.
In the evening, we get to see Ravana poda, where huge effigies of Ravana are loaded with crackers and burnt to mark the triumph of good over evil. The fireworks are a spectacular sight. Me and my cousins had made it a point every year to see this event.

5-6 days later, the full-moon day after Dussehra is celebrated in Orissa as Kumara Purnima (also called Sharat Purnima) and on that day, people worship Goddess Lakshmi - the Goddess of Wealth and also the moon. Wearing new clothes, we used to be awake all-night & have many sessions of playing Cards. Thou it’s not a form of gambling but we enjoyed meeting all relatives and counting the amount of money we won at the end of the night.

Cut to 2000, we shifted to Ahmedabad, and there I experienced another unique form of celebration for these 9 days. Here, mostly celebration begins at night with worship and dance, hence Navratri..The entire state gets rejuvenated at the night. For the first time I saw a tradition where everyone enjoys, from a little child to the oldest one. Everyone who stays in Gujarat by default knows the two danceforms - Garba and Raas and they swing to the tunes dedicated to Maa Ambe all night. The colors, the lights, the enthusiasm makes everyone enjoy to the full. The interesting part is seeing all the girls and guys being in perfect sync while dancing. Navratri in Ahmedabad has been a real lovely experience. And Dussehra is incomplete without the special Fafda & yummy Jalebis.

Missing all these years and looking forward for another exciting experience in future.

HAPPY DUSSEHRA. May Maa Durga bless us all.

Jahni Alu Posto

Another Oriya specialty which I tried last evening, turned out quite well. Surprisingly my friend was very impressed with it and I promised to share the recipe of Jahni Alu posto with her. The name doesn’t click to non oriyas, so for them it’s a dish made of Ridge gourd and khus khus and very much unique to oriya cuisine with no masala at all.
Don’t know what else can be prepared with this vegetable, except 2, one that I learned at my house ( Jahni Kaari) and other that is more often eaten at hubby’s house (jahni alu posto).
Though the preparation varies from home to home, my version is very simple and purely suited to our taste buds and preference. So here it is.

Jahni Alu Posto ( For 4, Preparation time : 20 mins)

Ingredients:

3 medium sized Ridge gourd (Jahni/Dodka/Turiya)
2 medium sized Potatoes (Alu)
1 Onion
½ tsp mustard seeds
8-9 cloves of garlic
6-7 cashewnuts ( Kaju)
1 tbsp KhusKhus ( Posto) soaked in water for half an hour
3 green chillies
5-6 curry leaves
2 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Remove the edges from skin of Ridge gourd.
Cut the potatoes, onion and ridgegourd in thin n medium length sizes.
Make a paste of garlic, khuskhus and kaju
Heat oil in a Kadhai and put in the mustard seeds & curry leaves
Add the onions and green chillies and let it fry
Then fry the ridgegourd and potatoes.
Add salt acc to taste
Mix in the paste and cook on medium heat, till its cooked.
Add little milk, if consistency is too thick.
Serve Hot with Chapatis.

Enjoy Cooking!!!

Tomato - Khajuri Khatta

This is my post after almost a month, cos I didn’t have anything substantial to write. Suddenly an idea struck to me to write a little bit about my other hobby (hobby out of compulsion) and that is Cooking. Thou I am still a Learner and haven’t got my permanent license yet, some of my experiments do turn out well and i get praises from few, apart from the only victim of my so called culinary skills, my Hubby.
Yesterday being an Sunday and having bunked college, I had all the time to prepare for a perfect lunch consisting of Pakhala, Machha fry (bhaja) and Mashed Alu with badi chura. Later in the evening our friends were to come, so on demand of hubby, I prepared one of the most unique and easiest dish of Oriya household.
Tomato- Khajuri Khatta, which normally acts as a side dish with dal, rice and vegetable fry else it can be taken alone with Vegetable Pulav. Below I have tried to give my version of the khatta.

Tomato- Khajuri Khatta. (For 4, Preparation time: 10 mins)
Ingredients:

4-6 juicy Tomatoes
4-6 pieces of seedless dates (Khajur)
3 tbsp jaggery
Pinch of salt
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp mustard seeds (sorisa), cumin seeds (jeera) and fennel (saunf) mixed
1 tsp cooking oil

Preparation:

Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.
Heat the oil in the kadhai and put in the mustard seeds, jeera and saunf
Then add the chopped tomatoes and the salt
Fry till tomatoes become soft.
Add in the jaggery, dates and chilli powder.
Cook in medium heat till the tomatoes are boiled completely & gravy becomes thick.
Serve it hot /cold. Anything will do.

Enjoy Cooking !!!

बस पाँच मिनट और !!! Conquering Siddhagad !!

Mumbai Monsoons….The word itself creates a magic in the mind. Mumbai may deal with potholes and water logging but the outskirts flourish with floral delight. Raj & me wanted to have some unsual experience this monsoon. And Aug 15 being a Friday was a boon for us. We made plans with other friends for a trek to Siddhagadh fort, which was organized by an adventures firm.


The plan was to reach Bandra stn by 6am. So we stayed the night before at Ani & Shash‘s house. Adventure had already began. We were meeting post 3 months, so all of us slept around 1 .30am after a lot of gappe-shappe & card games.

“Uth jao yaar…Bandra pahuchna hai.” Sab ne ek dusre ko uthaya. Raj called up Amit who stayed at Santacruz... “ Chal uth ja yaar.. gaadi chali jaayegi warna”
By 6.30 sharp all had assembled. The leader was a dude and had instantly impressed Ani.
Four of us gals had to adjust ourselves at the backseat of the Qualis while the guys conveniently occupied the middle seat ( piche unko jagah nahi hoti waise bhi..hehee) and zoom started our weekend trip.

At Kalyan, Yogita, the other leader was picked up. By this time almost everyone was terribly hungry & desperately wanted to have breakfast. So they stopped at some dhabba. Misal pav & Egg omelet with hot tea was fulfilling for the moment.

Finally we reached the base village, Narivalli, where we put the bags on the backs and got ready for the trek. It was pouring a little so everyone flashed their colorful rain-gears. The organizers gave a Sleeping bag & liner to each of us to carry along. Me & Raj had to manage by carrying 2 extra polythene bags. Small polypacks of a Oatmeal snack and bhujiya aside, there was not much to look forward to as far as the stomach goes.

Around 11.30 to 12, we commenced on our trek. The idea of walking in mud and rains with mosquitoes and worms was creepy to me. But since ours was a big group, it was good fun walking with everyone. We weren’t so regular trekkers so it wasn’t a usual thing for us. After a few mtrs we came across a dirty stream, full of muddy water. At first, we were very careful and tried to avoid the water. Jumped sideways and did all possible things to avoid getting our shoes dirty. But later, a portion of road came where we had no other option but to step into the water. So all of us rolled up our trousers & jumped into that water.. Eeeks.. !!!!Walking in the ankle deep dirty water felt gross.
Shoes, and socks all had united in the march and oozed muddy water energetically while our feet tried to find some respite from the mud.

Sauntering for some half an hour, we reached the lovely paddy fields. The view from there was simply gorgeous. It created a stunning landscape picture. The lush green fields and the lovely blue mountains with sparkling waterfalls was so exhilarating. There we got to know that we had to climb that mountain. Phew!!!. “Abhi tak aadha ghanta hi hua tha.. Abhi toh kitna kuch conquer karna tha..” . We reached a village on the way, from where we picked up some local guides.

Again began our journey walking thru the fields, thru the narrow trails, avoiding the grubby slippery portions, and some small streams. Then came a huge river, which we crossed holding each other’s hands. It was almost knee deep, flowing at a decent speed. Here started the dense green forest. It was a lovely view. On one side was the dazzling waterfall and on other side deep forest. We had already started climbing the mountain range. It was quite tiring, holding a bag on shoulders, carrying the sleeping bag in hands and getting wet in the showers.

Cutting past the tree branches and rocks for abt 1 hour we reached a big stream. All of us were completely exhausted. Most of them went into the water and had a fun time getting wet. The water was chilled. Sat there for some 15 mins and then ascended. When ever we asked Yogita for the time left – She had only one answer “ Bas Paanch minute”. And Paanch minute Paanch minute karke ek ghanta chala deti thi. After abt half an hour climb we reached another waterfall. Few people, who were descending that time, said the top was another half an hour from there. Hearing this we were like.. “Nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii aur nahi jaana.. bas hua. “

Ani, her sis and me were the last climbers. All others were quite fast. Mr. Photographer, Amit was busy taking his brilliant snaps. And Raj bichare was also tired holding the bags and climbing. He was constantly behind me so as to save me from any mishap. :) (Yehi mauka tha hero - badla lene ka... hehe)

We were completely wet plus it was raining. This made me freeze. We were literally climbing the rocks of the stream and sometimes it was quite slippery. At one point our guide took us the wrong way and we were aghast at the thought of getting down and climbing again. But there was no other alternative. Finally after some 3 n 1/2 hours, around 3.30, hiking up the dangerous path, we reached the entrance of the fort. Our joy knew no bounds. The clouds went past us making us feel in heaven.

There was a temple at a “bas paach minute” climb.We all were wet and shivering. Our guides took out the lunch pack then. Theplas & Kachoris, with chutney, curd, cheese spread & thessa. Nobody knew the count how many each of them had. The hunger was at its peak at that moment.
Anyways post lunch, all of them planned to go to the village- Siddhagad wadi to look for some arrangement for the night. I wasn’t in mood to go anywhere.So it was decided that four of us stay i.e. Kash, Sanj, Raj and me. The rest of the gang went off on expedition.

I was shivering like anything, with gooseflesh and teeth chuttering. I terribly wanted to have some hot tea. We all then changed to dry clothes and wore our raincoat so as to feel little warm. I didn’t realize when I had fallen asleep on that wet dirty floor. There was no door at the temple to close, so cold breeze blew in unstopped. I literally felt that I was gonna fall sick.
Round abt 6 pm all of them returned. Then we packed our things again and headed towards the village. It was 15 mins walking. Crossed few small streams and reached there. It was still not dark outside, which helped us to see the hut. There I came to know there was no electricity since May in that village. The path was quite a gross with loads of buffalo dung and soft mud. “Pich.. Pich” was the sound coming from our shoes. Yucks!!!.
The guides had managed to arrange a big 1 BHK hut there. (now don’t wonder – villages also have BHK). The village was on a big plateau and hardly had some 5-6 homes with a school. The hut had typical mitti ka choolha which we find in villages and along with it only one small lamp. After getting fresh, our group got inside the sleeping bag and had some hot tea prepared by Yogita, followed by some hot Soup and Maggi noodles, which took approx 2 hours for her to prepare. Bas bhook ke maare sab kuch achha lag raha tha, thou I must say kuch bhi khaane layak nahi bana tha…In between we had our usual humor and ghost stories by the men. The ambience was chilling. A desolate village, with creaky sounds by insects, dogs howling and faraway there was a villager playing his harmonium and singing songs. I prayed for the night to end soon।

The morning was drenched in rains. We woke up with the cock-a-doodle-do from the red rooster. After packing our bags we started off for our down trail. Climbing down the hills seemed as difficult as climbing up to us. The more we went down the more we were surprised at our own courage which pulled ourselves thru this altogether different experience. Through all the body pains and killing aches, what we took home was this invigorating experience of being so close to nature.

Jab train went (जब ट्रेन वेंट)

I know the topic above seems so funny.. But that is exactly what happens with me every morning. I literally run, something similar to what Geet ( Kareena kapoor) does in the movie"Jab we met". And ironically i also have that lovely jingle playing in the background (of my mind ofcourse!! it is the one that is there in the film) while rushing to catch the train to office.
Morning :
7.30 am : I drag myself out of the bed. And that happens daily irrespective of sleeping early or late in the night before.
8.13 am : I am ready & perform my Puja, which is always in a hurry burry.
8.18 am : I have breakfast( if i have prepared.. else just a glass of milk)
8.22 am : I am out of my house with bag & chatri (aajkal bahut baarish hai Mumbai mein).. Waiting for lift.

Now comes the first hurdle. Lift agar time pe aa gayi then i can reach on time. But our dear lift has its own mood swings.. Sometimes it doesnt come up & if it does , then the door refuses to close. And if it does close, it gets so excited that it closes n opens for 3-4 times. Sadly my time keeps ticking away. And in this mad hustle, every little second of my morning counts a lot.
Suppose.. sabkuch time se ho gaya , lift ne natak nahi kiya toh i reach dowstairs on time.

8.25 am : I rush to catch a rick. Now here’s the next hurdle. I never get lucky to find a rick exactly outside our society. A speed walk for some 100 mts leads me to the virtual auto stand. Now here, our rickshaw wallas have a different set of mood swings. The moment i say - station. Some walk away, some refuse bluntly & some behave as if not heard at all. One of them may feel like hes out there to help others( the ultimate savior, the Messiah), thinks over and then suggests another rickshaw wala to go with me.

Ab is chakkar mein these fellas don’t realize that i am gonna miss my train yaar.

Chalo.. kabhi kabhar koi maan jaata hai (time pe), and then I expect him to drive like a ferari and I shout.. “bhaiya jaldi chalo.. thoda fast chalao..” Koi samajh gaya toh thik warna, kisi kisi ko farak hi nahi padta.
8.28, 8.29... as we getdown the flyover its 8.30am. Still i have a minute to go. I keep the change ready, so that i can just hand it over and run.
8.32 am : i have reached the station. I give the money, and now... RUNnnnnnnnnn..........
Arre.. koi train ko roko...pls.. koi toh ise roko...( that music plays in my mind now)

And there i rush the stairs to see that the train has already arrived and everybody has boarded it. I again zoom past to the ladies compartment. ( Bhaago, daudo.. )

Ooof..Phew! finally I manage to board at the nick of time huffing & puffing. I gasp for air.

Now why is it important for me to catch this train every morning. That’s because we have to reach our office by 9.00am. And any second past this gets a latecoming mark in my Attendance. Thanks to the frequency of the harbour line trains, if I miss my 8.33 local, then the next comes at 8.48. So adding a 9 mins of train travel ( from home to office) plus the walking of some 700 mts from station to the office block takes 23 mins ( there is no other mode of transport except to walk). So u see we can never make before 9.00am.

Every morning these days, I gamble with myself… ke aaj train milegi ki nahi.??? And, if I catch it on time.. then the entire day falls in place and somewhere I also have this "satisfactory" feeling gushing down within me. He he

Elephanto !!

Yuppie!! Finally i came out of my lazy syndrome and completed this one which was pending with me since one year. Every evening i sat with this n finally finished it in 10 days
Thou it didn’t involve much of my brain; it was more of a “mehnat wala” kind. I had to scrape the black coating as per the design embossed on the piece. And below it was this Copper metal which shined as i went on completing the entire thing.
It was a slight tough thing to do. Any wrong move would scrape at the wrong place & i cudnt touch it up like i normally do with my other paintings. Plus it was little difficult to do the dots.
Anyways its definitely a good try for those who wud like to do some similar craft & don’t have the knack of drawing. Its available at the Hobby Ideas store.
Thou one of my friend said ...” Itni mehnat kyun karate hein.. Aise hi taiyar de dete“ , I really enjoyed it.. :)

Nature beauty...

This beautiful scene from the top of Vagator beach, Goa, was captured last Novemeber. The sunset at this point was worth watching. Finally I had got an opportunity for a pleasure trip with parents, siblings & hubby. Need i say.. we all enjoyed a lot, specially the beaches. We stayed at Whispering Palms Beach Resort which extended to the Candolim beach. It was quite a serene & deserted beach, with very few people around, which made us enjoy all the more.

And to add to our enjoyment there were Theme evenings, Buffets, Barbecues, Live entertainment ( dance plus orchestra)at the hotel.

This picture I took at DonaPaula beach. Another spectacular sunset view..Must say Goa is a wonderful place, but the crowd that is there almost 12 months in the year, makes it clumsy place and sometimes irritating too.

Well.. all of a sudden i am writing abt Goa is because, there was this 'Capture Nature’s Beauty Contest' in our Company last week & I had sent the above 2 pics for entry. I couldnt come in the 1st 3 winners list but my name was in the Special Mention list of next 5. And guess what!! I got a company t-shirt as the prize. It made me elated ofcourse!!!

Splash of Colors !!

I have a strong inclination towards doing anything creative. It gives me immense pleasure and a creative satisfaction. Thou i may not be in the lines of Picasso or Shakespeare. But chalta hai !!. I love painting & writing such titsy bitsy stuff. Got this little poem in my mind this morning and i loved the way it rhymed.

A little bit of scarlet red,
a tinge of midnight blue,
a trace of serene white
& a hint of the yellow hue.

A dash of plush pink,
a tint of gorgeous green
with gleaming purple & bubbly orange
blending on to the scene.

Being Golden is so precious,
i mean the color not the name
It is the color that glitters with hope & warmth
and it makes me feel the same.

Life is a mixture of different colors
I feel their magic everyday.
They beam with joy and sometimes pain,
yet have a lot more to say.

Bande Utkala Janani ...

Last night while browsing thru the TV channels, we happened to get stuck at this show on NDTV Good times called “Highway on my Plate” . The 2 anchors on the show are on a long journey from Varanasi to Tamilnadu, and in-between they get the chance to taste the best offerings on the highway dhabas. What caught my eyes was the dhaba that they were showing at the moment - Chilka Dhaba.

Now for all those who do not know, Chilka is a place in Orissa, famous for being the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, also called the “Bird watcher’s paradise” and it has a lot of freshwater fish, crab & prawns to offer. That is what those 2 guys were having, a special crab curry & chilli prawns.. And it looked Yummy!!

When I arrived at Ahmedabad for my graduation, the most common question asked to me in my college was where did I come from. The moment my classmates heard the name ‘Orissa’ their expressions used to fall. Orissa – Yeh kahan pe hai?? South India mein hei kya? Woh Nagaland ke paas hei kya ? Wahan bhi aise ghar, roads hei kya ? and many more.. That’s when I realized, people are so ignorant of my state. Well I would not blame them, it is the picture that has been created by the media and our politicians - Orissa, a poor state, with starving people, no food, no shelter, no economy.

But the actual scenario has never come to the notice of people who do not belong to Orissa. No doubt there are certain sections that really have such a picture, but certainly that is not the entire story. Every state has such divisions where a part of people are struggling and are under poverty level. That is true even to Mumbai, which houses to the extreme economy of people, i.e the rich & the poor.

Why isolate Orissa? It also has a rich history and cultural heritage. Jagannath Puri is one of the Chardhams marked important by Hindu pilgrimage. Plus Oriya people have proven themselves in all the fields, whether it is Administration or Literature, Science or IT. The major steel & IT companies have invested here.
Not to forget, the unique cuisine of Orissa. The seafood, the vegetarian delicacies & also the wide variety of sweets.Chhena poda, rasgulla, chennagaja, etc .History says the famous Rasgulla was invented in Orissa, but became more well-known as a Bengali sweet because, the brahmin cooks from Puri, were routinely employed in richer Bengali households during the Bengal renaissance. As a result Oriya specialties got integrated into Bengali kitchen.

Well there is so much to talk abt my native and that is why I got inspired to write something during a project in my last semester, wherein we had to design a webpage. And I slogged for some 15 days to come out with this.Thou it may not be a extensive page, I have managed to put in some pics and facts related to Orissa. My Professor still remembers me for this. He had rated mine to be the best among the others and I was happy that I cud atleast change the mindset of few who thot of Orissa otherwise. And its not only Non-Oriyas that have this outlook, I have come across many Oriyas too who are not aware of their wonderful state. But I have no qualms in saying that. I am proud to be from Orissa. !!!

A few lines from my webpage ::
Click on this for the whole page : Sonali

Seeing is believing and unless you get to see the beauty of Our Orissa you can never get the true essence of her exquisite beauty. It has not only the bounties of nature liberally sprinkled but also the marvels created by human hands in shape of Sculptures and other ancient monuments.
Amazing Seas, Temples, Lakes, Waterfalls, Wildlife, Monuments, Hotsprings, Tribals, Colourful Fairs & Festivals, Enchanting Dances and Rare Artistry, Orissa, a perfect blend of natural beauty and creativity, has it all.

Rains & Rains..

Rains & Rains : This was something I read on my Umbrella last evening. Me n hubby laughed at the name of the umbrella company. Did it mean that it cud give us shelter even when it poured the double it normally does. Hehe.

Anyways..after experiencing the scorching heat in Mumbai since last two months, I was avidly waiting for the rains to pour. It was a heavenly respite. The first showers created a different aroma in the surroundings. They brought in myriad beautiful emotions to the fore, teasing the senses and evoking them. The smell of the wet land, along with the music of the drops formed a certain romance in the air. And it made me all the more romantic..
The songs that cud come to my mind which compounded the feeling were –
In dino, dil mera - Life in a metro,
Mitwa, kahe dhadkane mujhse kya – Kabhi alvida na kehna
Tumse hi din hota hai - Jab we met
Are re are yeh kya hua - Dil toh pagal hai
Najane mere dil ko kya – Dilwale dulhaniyan le jaayenge
Bahon ke darmiyan – Khamoshi,
and many more..

The first thing that crosses my mind is to get right there in the middle of road and dance to the joy of the spells. But I have restrictions to do so, ofcourse cos of my dear hubby who does not approve to fall sick. Hehe..
Yeah but it certainly calls for a small party at home having hot hot Pakoras & tea / coffee. And I miss having this on a sunday afternoon, reading a book, listening to songs, painting or watching a movie & enjoying the moment, all thanks to my MBA course. But still nothing can deprive me enjoying the same in the evenings, so I do make it up on a weekday evening.
Its just 4 days now with the advent of rains and it has created quite a havoc in Mumbai, with roads, railway tracks filled with water, potholes, dirty ground, no power, no network, etc all adding up to the side effects of a good shower.


Still Monsoon makes the view delightful. Trees & Plants look greener then ever. Flowers look so fresh. The breeze is so cool. The clouds hold their place in the sky, making it feel like evening even thou its just afternoon. People are out with their best of coloured umbrellas & raincoats. It also evokes people to plan for a weekend getaway. Somewhere to Matheran or Lonavala –Khandala, else some trekking & hiking. I also have this urge to go somewhere but my exams round the corner, so have to wait for this month to get over.
Last year I had a nice time trekking at Lohgarh fort in the rains. It was a beauty to see the place from above the mountain. This year our group has shortened, yet I'm looking forward to have a good time.

Everything happens for the best...

Hello.. Hi.. Welcome to my Page..
Wudnt say m writing for the first time but yes.. this is my first post for this new page.. What made me inspire was my hubby's dedicated posts on his blog. Being a more responsible guy in his company.. i.e a Senior Manager( yeah finally he got his promotion letter yesterday) , he does find out time to write something, so why cant I? May be comparing myself with him on the first post wudnt be a fair idea, but still i can definitely say that i cant write better than him.. :)
2 years back, when i brush my memory, I remember having just met with him. I didn’t know that God had planned a life for me with him. But then, such is life dearies. Having been together for more than a year, I understand, what it means to say " I am married". Yes we have gone thru many phases. Some soft, some unspoken, sometimes sugary n sometimes a bit bitter.. But every time we have come closer to each other and moved a step ahead. And I am thankful to God for that..
Its June now, and i have a few memories of June last year. We were so excited to own a car. It was a different feeling altogether. Life was taking a new turn. I had got thru the exec MBA of NMIMS and was very excited abt pursuing my dream of becoming a MBA (like my hubby, thou not in true sense, cos hes better off than me. ;-) ) And we had made a final decision to take a Santro Xing XO after a lot of permutations & combinations.
Rains had started pouring in Mumbai and it was very important for us to have a car for commuting daily to BKC from Andheri. The first day that we got the possession, i remember how difficult it had been for him to drive thru the busiest S.V road. A brand new car from showroom passing by all those nasty autorickshaws and rampant BEST buses. was a huge task, specially when MP wasn’t so used to drive a Santro.
Yet we managed to cross from west to east, but then suddenly a wrong turn made us again go back to airport and take a U turn from there to come to our home. It took us 1 n half hour to cover a stretch which normally wud take half an hour. It used to feel lovely when he dropped me at my office in our car during those lovely rains.
It was a pleasant feeling. Thou expenses had soared high for us, we managed to have a happy life. Why am I writing all this, cos I don’t have that pleasure anymore. Rains are round the corner and our car is no more with us. I miss it dearly for whatever reasons, but then may be God wanted something better for us. Life hits us hard sometimes when the sun is bright and days are cheery and when u are completely unaware. We wondered what wrong we did to anyone that such had to happen with us. But as the saying goes… Everything that happens, happens for the best. And I believe in it. :)