Unveil the Other Side

Aaah soon another year is about to end. Its celebration time throughout the world - letting go the year that created so many memories and welcoming the fresh new year that'll carry with it the unkowns. 2013 for me has been good. Travelling to places, meeting new faces, plentiful adventures, amidst crazy people and more. The year has beautiful bag of memories that will be cherished down the years. I had a twist for each of the festival celebrated this year - Be it the cusine or the decoration or dressing up for the occasion , I wanted it to be different in a way by itself still maintaining the authenticity of the festival in the right spirits. So with joy I welcome the new year saying a sweet GoodBye for a wonderful year 2013 has been.

Traffic masti! There were days when people asked about the "weather" when we meet in the mornings maybe at the lounge or while walking up the stairs or say while making hot coffee up there in the pantry. Now the subject seem to have moved to "Bangalore Traffic". I walk into the office premise, the security man asks "madam, aaj itna late.. Traffic zyaada kya?"["Madam, you're late today. Was the traffic so bad?"]. I give him a nod and a sheepish smile sticks to my face. Next a colleague greets with a sweaty hand and says " Oh pathetic roads and damn the growing traffic." Remember, I have the smile still stuck to my face. Hence only exchange of morning greetings continue. I read this somewhere. Man1: Sir , I guess you have a Honda City. Man2: Yes thats right I have the super class car but no roads to drive on. Man1 and Man2 : ***Smiles*** That is so true!!! There have been too many cartoon strips on Bangalore traffic. Each...

It was an awesome zone of having so much happening around, my head constantly buzzing and my heart so filled with joy and life. I would not make an attempt to re-iterate the details of what Deepavali(or the festival of lights) is about. Instead I'd present the celebrations I got involved in. The office floor was so full of noise the day before the festival. The HR team had organised a couple of events .. which is a business as usual. I was nominated for the Diya painting competition without my knowing. In order to keep the spirits high, I agreed. No ideas and no preparation , packed the paints and brush in a bag and bought the Diyas from a nearby store. Festivities call for a traditional gathering and I dont miss a chance of clinging on to my sarees. To beat that I travel in the local buses. I painted the Diyas with fabric and glitter paints Thanks for the help of a colleague, I had completed the event on time and bagged the 2nd place. Diya's getting decorated. Se...

Me, a sub-unit of this well known Silicon-World called MNC’s, working in one of the IT giants located in a major business hub in Bangalore, its plain and simple to go munch on a well-spread-buffet in a nearby restaurant as often as it may be. If there is to be a definition to the frequency of such kinds of visits then probably a random algorithm best fits in. No specific day, no specific reason, we are hungry - we head out to the nearest eat-out. It’s not that easy as it sounds. For those specific hygiene freaks, the options nail down to a very few restaurants that stand up to their standards, but for the happy-go-lucky-ones like me even a golgoppa wala[Indian Street chats] on the road would be more than fine to substitute a light meal. There is a Cafeteria stationed in almost every premise but hell with their quaality of food and their high rates. Who would want to eat the dry-tasteless Rotis [Indian breads] with “Yelloooooooooooooooooooooow” Dal [I am exaggerating for sur...

Its been ages since I made a cartoon strip. Here is one for some smiles.

Its been a long time escape from my blog. MIA mainly because of the technical glitches. Okay now to get to the fact lets see whats happening on my side of the world that I have to share. I've been busy with home, work and other miscellaneous activities. A lot of shopping, a lot of cooking, and some time spent on painting - Time is just wading away. With Nagpanchami marking the start on the festivals in India have been busy with a lot of fun filled activities. Some highlights to mention from the missing period: 1. Participation in Painting competition in Office and winning of course. Here is a glimpse of what I painted. 2. Participating in pookalam(Rangoli with Flowers) for the Onam celebrations - A team effort shown below. Bad luck as this did not win the prize though got a special mention by a lot of co-workers.:( At home have been cooking and baking a lot of things. You can visit my food blog for some updates. I have not forgotten my other hobbies - pho...

ತಂಪಾದ ಮುಂಜಾನೆ ಮಂಜು ಬೀಳೋ ಸದ್ದಿನಲಿ ಕೇಳಿಸಿದೆ ನನ್ನಯ ಹೆಸರು ನಿನ್ನದೇ ದನಿಯಲಿ ಪಿಸುಗುಡುತ ಮಾತೊಂದ ಕಿವಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಇಟ್ಟ ಹಾಗೆ ಇಬ್ಬನಿಯ ಒಂದು ಹನಿ ಎಲೆಯ ಮಡಿಲ ಸೇರಿದೆ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆಯ ಗಿಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಳಿ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಚೆಲ್ಲಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಮನವು ಶುಬ್ರ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಹಾಳೆಯಾಗಿದೆ ರಂಗು ರಂಗಿನ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ದಿನಕರನಿಗೆ ಉದಯ ಹಾಡಿರಲು ಹಕ್ಕಿಯ ಗುನುಗಿನ ಚಿಲಿಪಿಲಿಯಲಿ ಹೊಸ ರಾಗ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಭತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಚಿನ್ನದ ಕಿರಣ ನಲಿಯುತಿರಲು ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣು ತೆರೆದಾಗ ಸಂತೋಷದ ಸಾಗರ ಹರಿದಿದೆ - ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ

That describes all the fun "we" had at Wayanad. Here Wayanad I come again. It was Unplanned,not forseen, a never-dreamt of event.A friend DB had made a vague reservation at a wild resort in Wayanad - "Coffe Acres". I shall not forget to mention that it was YD's elaborate research on the resorts that really helped. Yo!! 3 Cheers. She will be the official research specialist henceforth when we plan a trip. You hearing?  A couple from chennai(DB & DK),a couple from Hyderabad(MB & RJ) and a couple from Bangalore(AN & SV) + YD consititue "We". DB & DK reached Bangalore early Saturday morning. The Chennai mail got them here by 5. As always the religious, loyal and reliable Indian railways, one of the trains had to be late. This time it was the one from Hyderabad. The train was delayed by an hour. The always lazy YD, had taken the initiative this time to make this trip possible. All of us needed this well deserved break from the sti...

I would to thank a zillion times for all those who visit here and see what I have in store. Its been a pleasure taking part in this A-Z series. I am doing this for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's a photo that carries the zest of cheerful life. I'd love to hear from all of you following this A-Z series on my blog. 

Random Shades of Yellow. Lovely yellow flowers from the wild. Hope you love them.

There is something extra and unique of this cat that makes it the king of its surroundings. I call it the X factor of his that makes him favourite in the household.  

I had a fantasy of capturing various windows. Some from my collection are put up here.

Oh how can go without mentioning the medhu vada's on this series. They are Indian donuts. Not sweet and made of rice and black gram with a little spice twist and salt. The chutney that accompanies it makes a wonderful snack. So here is Vada's for you!  

To be precise Queensland Umbrella tree as it is commonly known was a new tree for me. I had never seen this species until recently and I was so amused by the fact of its shape. Resembles the umbrella spikes very clearly. Scientifically it is known as Schefflera actinophylla. It is an evergreen tree and a native to tropical forests and Gallery forests of Australia.

A tree and the path in Sepia to get to the good old days when color photography was still to boom. I love this photo for its simplicity and the beauty it carries.

India is a land of heritage. We have very old scuptures that are seen in many historic places (scattered in almost all parts of India). A few of them are captured and displayed to give you a glimpse.

Happiness makes anyone cheerful. Here's one such monkey that's rejoicing to the fullest.

Peaceful and quiet is a place I love. Silence and quite depicts the capture below. What you think?

The black pepper corns when raw - Have you seen them? The spice known world wide and used in many recepies is grown in abundance in the south tropical region in India. I happened to click this picture while I was visiting Coorg(in Karnataka India) a while ago.