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.

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...

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...

It was the penultimate day of 2012. I was not sure if the Annual cake show that is held every year in Bangalore was still on. I did not want to miss it not that they are exquisite or extra ordinary but I love the imagination of the innovators/creators. The zeal and enthusiasm for baking has been part of my life now. Bake a cake has become my mantra lately. So the journey began. Late in the afternoon after a quick cup of coffee, I jumped into my favorite pair of salwar kameez , favorite because it helps me bend, stretch and capture pictures the way I need them to be. It was the last day of the show and I had expected a huge crowd , long queues. On reaching the venue I noticed that the crowd was not bad though. It was a warm evening and a day before new years eve. Guess that may be a reason many opted to stay back home.Happily planning for the Big event - Welcoming 2013.   As I walked past the entry I saw a hu...

The season of festivals is just round the corner. It was Onam last week. Last year I had a story of how different onam had been to me. Come this year, it was no less. It was a fun filled day at office. So what was unique that made the day stand out from the rest. With a mail sent out to everyone in the organization about just 20 hours before the events brought a rise in activities on all floors. I could hear whispers, tittles and tattles about each of the 3 events - Pookolam, No-fire cooking [yes literally no fire was to be used, no microwave too :) ] and Best traditionally dressed person. It was decided that a group of 6 would make a team for both pookolam and no-fire cooking competitions. I was a part of the latter group and I tell you leading a project is cent percent easier than thinking something on the fly to cook without fire. Finally we had a menu fixed just before we left from office but was not sure how we'd pull it off. The plan was to have a frui...

What is Akshaya Trithiya? The third day of the Bright Lunar month Vaishakha [Shukla paksha Vaishaka maasa ] marks the auspicious day - Akshaya Trithiya. Akshaya as its literal meaning goes - Never diminishing,eternal,imperishable - in Sanskrit - is associated with Gold as this metal is enduring and long lasting. In the past decade this day has gained lot of prominence , rather I'd put it this way - The modern day retailers have exploited the materialistic urge in people - thus making the day very popular. Nowadays the purity is turned to marketing gimmick by most of the jewellers. However starting a new activity or buying valuables on this day is considered to bring luck and success. Last evening as I walked into a local store to buy some groceries I heard a couple talking about the auspicious day ahead of them. She demanded a gold chain. Her husband was trying to convince her for a simple ring. She refrained from saying anything. He persuaded till she said a Okay. And f...