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. :)