All Xmassy already!!!

Weather is cooler, Xmas songs are playing in buses and taxis, office cubicles are decorated with green and red, restaurants are full of servers with Xmas hats! Don’t you just love this time when holidays are round the corner and every other person is waiting for the grand year end with a brand new start?

Cooler winds in Singapore are certainly a pleasure, all that natural air to breathe in, only December can do this miracle! Ya, it’s not quite cold to wear boots and coats but a few nights without turning the AC on, is definitely not less than showing off your stylish winter clothing.

This bit of a slowdown at work, colleagues relaxing and listening to music without headphones, everyone wishing each other “happy holidays”, god I love it!

Donot rush, take your time; this is the most happening time of the year. This glimmer and cheer around you is to enjoy and have fun! Stop, look back, breathe and thank for all those beautiful and not-so-beautiful Decembers you have had. Don’t be angry with you or anyone else. Let go and everything around you will be simply beautiful.

Oh, is it Friday already? Well, not quite! One more day to start a long vacation until next year :)

Merry Christmas you All and happy Friday Thursday!

And the mood just gets better :)

Candle light hot shower is therapeutic! Hot steam of water and miraculous flame of candle make a deadly combination.

If you are sweat-soaked after an intense workout or if you are worn out after a full day of hectic work, aroma of the Lux lavender bodywash will scent you up from top to bottom. This hot shower after loads of tiring paper work is like a rebirth for me. And it can be made absolutely divine if you shut the 100 watt bulb off and light a beautiful scented candle in your shower. Why do you think a little flame in your shower brings “Bali” home… it’s all the candle effect.

Now just as much I love candles, how about a cuppa scalding hot coffee after this steaming hot shower! Ahh “Life” -- What’s there to not love about it?

A dream that i saw with my eyes wide open!

This poetic evening with "Gulzar" at the Esplanade theater was indeed one of my best evenings in Singapore. I have tried to put the entire experience in words...writing a poem on this poetic evening would only make up for a few emotions that i went through while listening to Gulzar, the great Indian Poet, Lyricist, Story writer, Screenplay writer, Director....

I enter the theatre and settle down in my seat,

I see him on the stage, mere visual treat!

Rest of the lights are dimmed; in that One spot is the "Star",

My world is shaken in a moment, at the live sight of "The Gulzar"!

I rub my eyes again; make sure he is sitting in front,

Cease the moment, I feel, on this evening pleasant!

He reads to us his poetic treasure, one after the other,

His presence noticeably simple, everything else but glamour!

His overly starched, naturally crinkled kurta, purely white,

Symbolizes his personality, peacefully calm, undoubtedly polite!

Hushed everyone else, his voice thunderous, husk and heavy,

A memory of Gulzar sahib narrating live, an experience classy!

His imageries are made of daily life through his eyes, savored,

His imaginations out of the world, An array of topics covered,

Be it a mountain, a river, a walnut, a tree, a cigarette or an ashtray,

His pen doesn’t hold back to write anything that sways in the way!

His gentle Urdu-Hindi, to which he refers as “Hindustani” proudly,

Leaves the audiences mesmerized, rising their emotions fiercely!

The web of words he knits, has no rhymes and bounds,

Compositions flow from heart to paper; it’s not a square or round.

My eyes full of tears after this wonderful 2 hour poetic journey,

My body trembling from head to toe, mind unsatisfied and thirsty!

I want to meet him in person and hold his hand, my urge says,

20 minutes later I see him walking across and I jump his way!

I hold this "legendary hand" of Sahib and bow with earnest satisfaction,

My eyes closed to feel the zeal of standing with a superstar of our nation,

Even more surprised to see his reaction,

He taps my head with his other hand to shower blessings and affection.

And I, Astounded, Astonished, Stunned and Amazed, stand there stricken!

Only to question myself, "Is he Him and am I Me", Did All this just happen?

Are you blessed too? I am...

And how do i find time for everything? Right! I just love doing everything, What A Pain...arggghhhh!!!

Tons of interesting things to do around and Major Scarcity of time!
Wake up, get ready, rush, work, rush back, cook, clean, workout, sleep! Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day5...Weekend! Do a "ToDo" list for the most wanted Day6 and Day7 and on a Sunday evening you are soooo worked up by checking the tasks on the ToDo list, plus Monday is round the corner. What a Mundane life! When do i blog and paint and dance and learn a new language and see places and make a "handmade pillow cover" and learn ice skating and continue with my drumming lessons and read books and call up friends, friends from everywhere and and and...huh! Sometimes i think why do we have to sleep for 7-8 valuable hours and why do we have to preach healthy living when the Long Lived Life wont be enough to do what we love. But then i really love sleeping too :P

While i was struggling over all these thoughts i saw this episode of Kaun banega crorepati (who wants to be a millionaire) last night....this person wanted to win money because he has a government job paying 10,000 INR/month and a wife with 2 kids. His biggest worry is that he cannot support his parents with his salary. 10,000 INR, 257 Sing dollars, 257.06 Sing Dollars, Wait, is this real? People still survive, smile and act as if they are satisfied?

The other day i heard Singapore has come up with a special train station for blinds. The entire platform is Blind Friendly, isn't that amazing? Then it struck me, the morning rush to catch a train in Singapore is not a cake walk for a person with two eyes that are absolutely functional....and blind people travel by these trains? Is this real too?

My mom arranged a trip to a local old age home on my Grandmom's 5th death anniversary. She served food and donated some goodies to make the senior citizens happy. Bless her heart, what a wonderful way to celebrate a death anniversary of our loved one. I saw pictures of these old souls and the smile on their faces to take the goodies from mom. I got a feeling that they missed being Loved and were extremely happy to get that special attention from ma. "Not being Loved", i am sure nothing hurts more :(

And when i see such sad  little things around, my mundane routine life seems very stable, very hopeful, very satisfying and i feel absolutely blessed to have one...Discontent is sure a killer! We have, have to be thankful for what we have, a very simple key to Happiness, i think!

The hunt !!!

Are you kidding me? Last post on 15th August...no way! I have been crazy busy and really lazy otherwise. The stress level is now up here and I have to write to get relieved.

It’s that phase when I am not liking anything without friends. I am missing them all from back home and from Birmingham. All the ones around here have different lives and different directions, I feel. I haven't felt that connection yet. This urge to meet Bham buddies or school friends or college friends is driving me crazy.

Sometimes I think why can’t we just take our loved ones wherever we go? This ambitious life when superimposes those small joys like vada pav on a tapri, garam chai in a bad bad ambiance of a college canteen, limitless laughs on stupid jokes, waiting for a bus on a yuk bus stop, back benches and heights of inattentiveness in lectures, potlucks with loads of food, Saturday afternoon brunches and long lasting chit chats till dinner, late night walks to nowhere, midnight drives to somewhere, unending plans, cheap shopping sprees, THE SALE fever, coffee breaks, weekday afternoon time-pass and the list goes on. These simple things fade out in the hussle and bussle and you become an inseparable part of the corporate life. I still think that all this could be brought back if you find Friends and not just people. This can get really difficult, you know! Until now, friends just happened to me I think, I never looked for them! But here in Singapore I feel that I have managed to make a bunch of contacts but am still in search of “Friends”. The hunt of that special “Connection” continues.

This change in me is Novel or its a Novel ME ???

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 23; the twenty-third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for this month is FREE.

"Its amazing how you can speak right to my heart.....You say it best, when you say nothing at all...."

Ahh...beautiful lyrics and lovely song! Its "Our" song, Me and Mandy!

I am amazed to see the curve of our relationship going up and up and up. Five years ago, same time of the year we met each other for the first time and blink blink....fell in Love! Beautiful Love, which still is, exactly the same as it was on our first date, Sweet!

But one big difference between today and back then is Trust, the trust that is built up over years . Its the insecurities that made me crazy at a point but today i feel Free, free of insecurities that i had 5 years back, 4 years back, 3 years back, 2 years back.....

He is in Bangkok right now having a "guys-out" holiday, i mean in "The Bangkok" and i want him to have all the fun he can. Ironically i watched Hangover part II this weekend (if you have seen it, you already know what i mean) and i am perfectly fine! My mind doesn't wander in the strip clubs he might go to while going crazy in the wild city. It feels great to not sneak in his email while he is away.

And i am enjoying this new essence of ME being bound in a marriage yet being careless about the boundaries i sometime ago wanted my husband to be in!

The "Insecurities" are now Obsolete and My "Free Mind" on the other hand is novel today :)



The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Happy Independence Day!

Scribbles from Italy !!!

A Morning at an Italian cafe, while i sit out and enjoy this beautiful weather and charming Italy, i miss Mandar to the fullest. The cafe server gave me this piece of paper on which he plans to serve food but as soon as i see this piece, first thing i urge for is a Pen. Only to write my mind on and with, at that very moment.

I couldn't get the image to fit this template...so click on the image to zoom it if you cannot read the writing properly.. Here is goes...

A big "A" :)

A big "A" for Amir or his Adult Delhi Belly?

Not to say anything less when it comes to Amir khan. Be it a production, direction, act or any aspect of cinema, the tag Mr. perfectionist is much deserved by Amir Khan. After watching Delhi Belly, I believe in it even more.

Something that looks pleasant to your eyes has a quick appeal from the audience. A message that was delivered in Taarein zameen par or 3 idiots is truth of the country which has to be a hit nonetheless. Something on the lines of Lagaan revolves around Cricket which needs no further adjectives. It is bound to catch attention of the mob. Dil chahta hai had so much youth to it, pretty ladies and the melodious music added an extra charm, obviously people loved the movie, it was So Bollywood!  Rang de Basanti being pictured on a soldier’s tragedy, it gave a vibrant patriotic feeling that can hold the audiences undoubtedly. The list goes on for what essence his movies have had and what reason can be most closely associated for so many consecutive hits that he has gifted the industry with. But Delhi Belly is different, it’s PURE entertainment, definitely for those who would Accept the movie as it is. 

Yes, it is gross, foul, Not pleasing to the eyes, Not lyrically beautiful, songs Don’t sooth your ears, No pretty locations, No costumes that will leave your mouth open, language makes you mumble words like F*** & OMG & shit & plzzz stop. An absolutely "A" rated movie, not a category of entertainment to watch with kids or parents :) Being said that, I loved the movie. It’s a big step for a Bollywood movie and a Bollywood director/producer/actor. It’s a bold production, very much resembling the Hollywood eshtyle.

I was urged to pen this post because half of my friends on FB started putting reviews right after the release and when I read opinions like, “Delhi Belly: Pathetic, disgusting, stupid, senseless, worst movie ever”….I feel bad, really bad! “Hangover”... a recent example, it was a hugeeee hit, everyone lovedddd it. If I compare the two I don’t think there is much a difference. But since Hangover comes from the land of Hollywood, anything is pretty much uncensored, no objections taken. The moment a Hindi movie tries to be bold, it is hurting your values. Why?

If values and culture is an issue, you would rather wear khadi then and hate ALL Hollywood movies. I don’t believe in being somewhere on the edge where you can step your feet on both sides selectively & politically. Let’s be real, let’s be adults. Lets either Like it all, H or B wood, or just Hate it all, right?  Yes, the A rating is for a reason you see, so no point in watching it when you are not mentally prepared to be an A :PP

I think Amir Khan has once again proved his perfection. As gross and foul it can get,  Delhi belly is one bold and ugly production. I loved every aspect of it in an Adult sense.

Add that little Pinch :)

I read about this blogging contest sponsored by HP on Indiblogger and a sudden memory ran through me. An ophthalmologist that I used to visit often for my eye checkup had this portrait in his clinic. Hung on the wall, it sat there for years but every time i saw it, something about it made me smile.Three butterflies painted on either side of a window! These butterflies, Black & white inside the window and the same butterflies, colored, outside the window!

This magical window drew a fine line between the B&W and the Colorful world, yes, the window represented nothing else but Spectacles, Ophthalmology in its own artistic way, right?

I loved the concept then and there and never forgot it ever after. The way those spectacles can make this beautiful life Look beautiful! Moreover, make life Look colorful! What do I say differently about how I love Every color. Please don’t let me pick one or five. I honestly cannot. My mind makes a somersault when I see a refreshingly fresh color, any color. My heart skips a beat when I see a hint of “Rangeele Rang”. I decorated my living room in orange and green. Yes, the couch -- bright orange and it never looked gaudy for a minute second. The Mouse that I got for my black office laptop is pink and it looks perfect. That little accent a Color can add to your office, house, car, dress, shoes, bags, smile and life as a whole entity, makes it all so much worth Living. 

If we cannot imagine such simple things without that extra accent, how do you think a big black & white spot in life not make a difference? Confused? Don't be! I don’t want to knit a puzzle here; it’s a simple question about those kids, those poor little innocent buds, who are deprived from the brightest color of their life, an important reason to be in this world, Education. The underprivileged kids in India who are fighting against that big black hole of not being educated and are trying to push the dark future away, need help to do so. They need my and your help to make their future colorful. Their circumstances that might leave them all blank, white or colorless without the arms of books, need you, each one of you who can help them fly on the other side of that window. You can let them be the colorful butterflies by offering a small part of what you might spend on a delicious dinner in an expensive restaurant, a small part of your exotic holiday to Hawaii, a little bit of what you owe to the society since you are part of one. They don’t need much from you but they do need many of you to give away just a little bit. 

So let’s add a pinch of color to these black & white lives and see how everything around us will turn bright in a glimpse. It's time to think in color! You can help these children and support their education through “Asha for Education” or many such NP organizations.

Let’s thank HP  for adding color to our lives with their products and moreover giving a chance to us bloggers for supporting such wonderful causes through the platform they have sponsored, the blogging contest conducted at Indiblogger,

Like me on FB if you Like this :)
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This post has been submitted for the HP Take Flight with Colour contest on Indiblogger, where HP Laserjets give colour to your imagination.

It just so Happens :)

I found this quote somewhere, read it! Quotes reflect so much reality, reality that is expressed in beautifully constructed sentences, right?

"Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you"

This guy, Breyon Hooper, met me in Alabama, 24 years after my birth, we worked together for less than a year and today i feel like i have known him forever. We met, became co-workers, made friends, became buddies and the day this job was over, he said he found a sister in me that he never grew up with. This touched me, i felt a churn in my stomach when i bid him a final goodbye on the airport while leaving US.

Now that i am traveling to Italy on a business trip, i recalled him mentioning about traveling to Europe sometime this year. I rushed to ask him about his plans and guess what, he is coming to meet me in Italy. His real sister stays in Italy. What a small world and what coincidences! I will see him after almost a year now and i think that's relatively a very tiny period of time for two people living in two different continents, going to meet in the third continent. See, small world, right?

Do these things surprise you? I happen to be very fond of such coincidences, always. I can Feel the awesomeness in these lil bits. It might be a usual thingy for someone to co-ordinate trips and meet up in different parts of the world but for me, this is beauty.  "The happening" of such coincidences and the least expected things that just "happen", is the most wonderful thing in life. I can't wait to see "Hooper" or "Mayo" as everyone calls him! Yo Italy!

The mood is Fluid, my dear readers :)

I am in a Friday mood yet again and the gloomy weather and the rains is giving it a perfect edge. The weekend awaits! Something tells me I want to get high with hot coffee, pull that cardigan in tightly, more tightly to save myself from the monstrous AC in the office. I want tit bits to munch over while looking out the window and watching this shade of rains with all that mizzle. I wonder how the day makes it all different, if it was a Monday with all this mist in the air, expression would certainly reflect depression. Friday makes anything beautiful though, this misty morning too. The plant in my cubicle gives me a feeling of being loved and the flowers on my desk ask me To love. Flowers, yes I feel like buying flowers. Have you noticed there is a special pleasure in walking through the aisle of flowers, fresh scents, water sprinkled on the leaves, droplets dripping from the petals, colors soothing your eyes! I feel like walking through such an aisle right now and breathe in all that naturally perfumed air. Earphones plugged in my ears, lyrical pleasure, instrumental satisfaction, hindi romantics are to die for! A chocolate brownie or a blueberry muffin would have been perfect, leaving the calorie part aside :). Fragrance of the twilight woods body cream makes me feel soft and positively chic.

Files, papers, calculator, binders, stapler, caliper…yuk, this stuff is so not Friday. Friday should have been a “whatever you want to do day” or “a treat yourself day” or  “have fun day” instead of a week day, ya?

This mood is to blog for, always, no matter how many more Friday’s I see in life, I will still be refreshed after blogging about a same yet different Friday every once in a while :)

I was Flying for a while :)

I know i have been misplaced from this space for a while but lots been going and finally it looks like i am settling from the Euphoria and excitement of my new job in Singapore :)

The simple pleasures that i have experienced in last two months, right from getting the interview call to the second interview to the offer letter to the visa approval to the extreme happiness of getting the visa in my hand to the first glance at my business card to my empty and awating cubicle in the office to my own 3 digit phone-extension that indicates DID to getting a building access card in a grand business park location! It has been a long long wait after i relocated to Singapore before i got this job and got working, again. Its beautiful to cherish all the small ME-moments that i have experinced these last 2 months.

And now that i am back on the ground from that other world where i was almost unable to land on my feet, i better stop flying and start blogging ;) what say?

Connecting dots!

Its all about connecting the dots!

You come from extreme corners of the world and meet people who suddenly take an important place in your life. You meet, make friends, stay together, depart, get in touch, miss each other and pretty much forget about how you met in first place. A simple bond of Friendship makes it all so wonderful. I get a strange feeling about it sometimes, how people come from somewhere and just start meaning so much to you, you find out strange secrets about them, you explore few common friends, you simply share a bond of memories that felt, like new, just yesterday!

My friend KG, many of you already know her, for those who don't, read this, and you will know her.

Well, here it goes!
Part 1:
KG, originally from Dhanbad (Jharkhand, India),
Me, originally from Sangli (Maharashtra, India),
We, met in Birmingham (Alabama, USA).

Part 2:
She, got married and moved to Shetland (Scotland, UK),
I, got married and moved to Singapore (Singapore, Singapore).

Part 3:
My sister, moved (for her MS) to Aberdeen (Scotland, UK),
KG, has now moved (for her PhD) to Glasgow (Scotland, UK),
Ankur, KG's husband is working in London (England, UK),
My parents, who stay in Sangli (India) are vising my sis in Aberdeen (UK),
My parents/sis took a trip to London (UK) and KG was with Ankur in London (UK) at the same time,

and after each of them traveled so many miles from the extreme corners of the world, they finally met in the Marriott of London yesterday, that too without the actual point of contact, and that would be certainly, me :) I was wanting my Mom and KG to meet for a longgggg time and it finally happened.

These are the reviews i get to hear from both the parties.....me sitting in Singapore, wink wink!
Mom says, " KG's smile is priceless and she chats with no bounds, we loved her"
KG says, "They are such lovely people, Shalmalee - tell Mandar he is lucky to have such in-laws!! :)"

and i am a happy soul to read these precious comments :)

"That"

Hardship is sort of a human shadow,

Like a smooth forehead with "that furrow",

Like a worry that is tough to calm and mellow,

You walk ahead and it will still follow!

You wait for an answer for so long, 

And "that answer" awaits you a furlong,

Things fall into place with a click, and

You keep searching "that moment" of a flick!

But the true hardship lies in "that wait", 

The moments in life when the time dictates,

"That time" when you want to know what's ahead,

The reveal of "that something" that's yet, unsaid!

Shades of that morning!

A click of the shades of that morning, the day of India-Pakistan semi finals.

I went for a run and it was mesmerizing. The morning sun beaming on the amazingly-greenly-green leaves and the fresh air around felt magical. Musical waves through the iphone left me no choice but to hide behind a tree where no one could see me while i tapped my toes to a few tunes playing in my ears. The green, the songs, the sun and the run made my day that morning.  

Purely Life!

Champions 2011!

A day later after India won the cricket world cup 2011, i have now settled down from the euphoria to write something about it. Three crucial matches, India-Australia (knock-off round), India-PAKISTAN (semi-final) and INDIA-SRI LANKA (WC Final). What beautiful games these three have been!

India-Australia was a definite victory. We did beat the three-times-in-a-row WC winning team, Australia. That was a huge relief to be honest. I never thought India was going to beat Australia because we have had a bad bad history in 2003's WC finals :(  Inspite of all that India gave a tough head-to-head fight and won with a gorgeous performance this time.

India-Pak was undoubtedly the most awaited of all three and we watched it with a big crowd on a big screen and man-oh-man, that was some fun. My eyes were wet the instance India's national anthem began and every Indian in the room who was drinking, chatting, smiling, clapping,  just stood upright like a storm coming to a sudden stop. The low voices in the room singing to the tune along with team India made me feel heart full of pride and extra long breaths that i was breathing within. As soon as the Anthem ended, the storm was all set to destroy the opposing team, India won the toss and the shouts remained unended  till the final finish of the game. Of course, we won!

India-Sri lanka, both Asian countries, contenders of the WC Final 2011. India being the host nation, the match was in Mumbai, with Indian team playing for the cup, in the WC final, on their own soil. Are you kidding me, it was the bestesttttt feeling for each and every Indian in India or where ever in the world. Those 8 hours, i am sure where the beautiful hours of 2011 April's first Saturday. Unbelievably special, unforgettably amazing, undoubtedly The Best day in any Indian's life for many more coming years, you bet! Sri-lankan's won the toss and chose to bat first. Team India is not very well known in terms of chasing a score and playing under pressure, that too, to a score of 274! Whoa! It was some target and hearts were pounding before the second inning started. Are you kidding me again, team India proved every previous misconception wrong. In a row, first two batsman who were expected to pull the target were out of the field in no time. I mean , 4 runs for 1 wicket in the WC final was nerve racking, trust me! Before coming out of that shock, Tendulkar, the god of cricket as they say was gone and Indian's almost thought, that was the end of it. But hey, the man Gambhir and our captain Dhoni, handled the pressure like noone has done before. They chased the score magnificently and Dhoni ended this historical game with a striking sixer and there, there it was, OUR world cup, glory for next 4 years and more, We the Champions of 2011 WC Final! What a match, what a game, what a spirit!

Extremely proud to be an Indian! Long Breaths and Emotions full of Tears, again!

Shalmalee's International Kitchen, in its real sense :)

Now you know why Singapore is soooo expensive after importing all this from around the world! This is a sample receipt of the groceries i did yesterday at a local store and was amazed to see how i can use this stuff and make a thoroughly diverse international meal.

Potatoes from Bangladesh

French Beans form Indonesia

Coriander from Thailand

Cucumber from Japan

Red Onions from India

Egg plant from Cambodia

Cabbage from China

Bananas from Philippines

Guavas from Malaysia

Whoa, isn't my kitchen International in real sense?

What fun to compose such a post where you can write less and convey more :))

I have lived through it, with you, trust me!

Not that i have experienced it in first person but my friends have, so in turn i have suffered through listening to their cries and feeling their wounds. Different faces of love in its own way has made me experience pain, longing, possessiveness, ego, too-much-love, too-harsh-love, pretentious-love, momentary-love, lost-love, not-found-love and much more.

A friend of mine is struggling to get married to a person she loves with her whole heart and he does too but their religions don't allow them to unite. A friend of mine got married and was extremely in love with her husband, unfortunately she is getting divorced for reasons not to be mentioned publicly. A friend of mine, happily married for a while with a sweet little kid, just lost her husband in unavoidable circumstances. A friend of mine suffered through a lump in her breast, didn't tell her husband for a long time and kept on suffering because she thought, he will be in too much pain after knowing it. A friend of mine has a picture perfect connubial bliss for the outside world but i know what she is going through while tackling her husband's ego issues.

To all my Girl-Friends, on this Women's Day, i want to say, i love you all. You all shared your pain with me and believe me, i have lived through it, with you. I am always there for you all, in pain and happiness.

Happy Women's Day 2011!

Symmetry and colors!

Went to the mall!

A SALE! HURRAY!

$1: Pick any nail polish :))

I picked six!!!

The pics depict colors and symmetry for me :)

Very chick post, right? I know :P

My heart weighs those additional XXX pounds....

Its some kind of a heavy feeling,
That makes my heart weigh,
Those additional XXX pounds,
I struggle to breathe in and out,
Drowning in my own worries,
The terrible loneliness surrounds!

I need some air, And that too fresh,
A brand new breeze, to help thoughts un-mesh,
Someone who can teach me to be least bothered,
If at all i can learn to stay un-quivered!

I want my heart to explode for once,
Throw it all out and find a balance,
Keeping it inside makes my brain go numb,
I really want it all again, to be blithefully blithesome!

PS: Blithesome: Cheerful, merry

A trip to.....Somewhere or Nowhere!

This post is submitted to clear trip "my purpose" contest,"Tell us about an interesting trip you took and it's purpose!" Vote for me :)

No, i don't want to take you on a tour, neither do i want to be your tour guide. Mine is not a travelogue, so i definitely won't be writing every second of the day 1 to day 6 of my trip. I would rather like to focus on "the purpose". A million trips to same place are different for millions of "different us". Yes, may it be India's splendid Taj Mahal or New York's rocking Time Square, our unique perceptions create different versions of the same place. So every trip in my opinion is unique to YOU and thus, the place hardly matters.

You are bored with your routine chores, make a trip to "somewhere".
You are exhausted from work, take a break to "somewhere".
You want to find your Self, go "somewhere".
You want to wander a little, where? "somewhere" :)

This going "somewhere" always has a reason, a purpose. We had one too. Me and my husband Mandar planned a road trip in the spring of 2008.

The constant existance and support of technology, flights to fly you around the world, laptops where ever you go, GPS if you are traveling in cars, iphones to give you traffic updates, is somehow making us too dependent. So-very-handicap, that we don't want to memorize roads anymore, we don't want to look at the directions, we might possibly get lost looking at the maps, we won't be surprised to look at the jammed traffics because we know it all in advance with the help of a million gadgets surrounding us. They won't let you think beyond the extra-comfort and the instant-assistance.

So, we decided to leave it all at home, plan nothing, allow ourselves to bungle a little and try our luck at the most exciting road trip to..............where? Well, we didn't know yet. The purpose of the trip was to make it to somewhere without the technological armaments :) Instead we grabbed an Alabama state road map and..............we left :)

Coming to a traffic signal from where we were suppose to turn left for highway X and go straight for highway Y, but of course we didn't know which one to follow. So we left it up to the traffic signal. First come, first serve :) and thus we turned left because it was the first one to turn green. Progressing through the journey to nowhere, the map came handy and we spotted an excitingly beautiful destination, The Talladega National Forests of Alabama USA. It was a few exits away from where we were on highway X and we stamped it, Talladega it is! The air felt romantic. Enjoying the company of the greenest nature, windows open, music aloud, and lovely spring weather, we drove, drove and drove without any specific destination to go to.

Few hours later.................we were LOST! Majorly! The map was 2 years old, we figured it out when we were surrounded by huge trees, extreme silence and boggling shade of the approaching evening. The roads were new which misled us somewhere deep into the forest and we didn't know where we were and how to get out of there. Suddenly the air felt scary, the breeze was too cold and the greenest forest seemed to be staring at both of us. No network on the phone and rest everything was at home. So, us, map, car and a non working phone in Talladega!

Lost in the map, still trying to figure out what exactly to do, after 2 and half hours of wait, i saw two lights blinking far away, slowly coming towards us and what do we see! Ah! A Cop's car, he stopped by, and asked "Can i help you guys?" OMG! a big big sigh! "Yes sir, you sure can :) We are lost and blah blah blah". This was the first time when an American cop escorted us to the nearest town instead of handing a traffic ticket :PP

We found a hotel to crash in and talk a little more about the day we had spent with heaps of mixed emotions. Roamed around the town, saw some countryside, clicked a few pictures, made some new memories and returned to Birmingham 2 days later. One heck of a trip through which we experienced freedom, endurance, adventure, thrill and a dynamic energy that surrounds us in the name of Nature. Plus, a satisfaction on the completion of an independent, non-technology-assisted trip full of spirit :)

That was Talladega for us in our unique way. We rocked it and you?
Give it a try some day to somewhere or nowhere :)


Image Courtesy: Google Images, of course!

Happy CNY!

Happy Chinese new year everyone. Went to the CNY celebrations the other day. Chinatown was crowded, oh! i am saying this as if any other area of Singapore is not. Yes, Singapore is always crowded, whichever part of the city it may be, whatever day you choose and the time of course doesn't matter to Singaporeans. They run at 2 in the night, health freaks i tell you. No offense :)

Chinatown has fireworks on the CNY eve, very similar crowd to the one on 4th of July in the US. I definitely noticed the difference in the way the fireworks were shot in the sky. On the 4th, fireworks used do be really pretty, organized, one after the other, streamlined. Here in Singapore, the fireworks were definitely not as random as it is in Diwali, neither were as streamlined as they used to be in Birmingham. It didn't give a feel of a monotonous parade, it was lively, colorful and warm. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 minutes of extreme sound pollution, colored sky, rapidly blinking eyelashes around, religiously pouring rain in the background, umbrellas not so much on the heads but in the hands and the heads looking up in the sky, mouths shut and open, mild smiles on faces, breeze breathing through hairs and the happiness around.

Pics:

For Agnes!

Back to my soul after a long break indeed! I know, 2011 has started and January is half way through. This is my 1st post in 2011 and 101 th overall. So happy new year to all you readers and writers out there.

India trip was awesome. One month just passed by. Other things are same as they were. While in India, i hardly visited my blog, so all my fellow bloggers, i am yet to catch up on your December posts.

After coming back to Singapore, when i first visited my blog, browsed through the updates from my blogger friends. I had mixed emotions when i saw an update from Agnes, one of my favorite bloggers. She was struggling with her husband's cancer for last few months and had hardly updated her blog. Her title update said, 16th Jan....which didn't give me any good or bad news. I was nervous to click on the link and didn't want to see anything that i didn't want to know about. I was scared for her like she is my childhood friend, my family or somebody who i have known forever. Surprisingly none of this is true. I have known her, her husband, her cats, her dresses, her boots, her purses and everything about her, through her one stop blog. I don't know how i got so attached through words, only words. Finally i gathered the courage to visit her page and saw what i hated to see. One picture, him and her, and one line which said, "He died in my arms". I broke into tears, lots of tears, unstoppable tears. Mandar was worried because he kept asking and i never said a word, just cried, for a long time.

Agnes,

I didn't want to blog about this, was going to send you an email instead. However, the hundred times i visited my blog to write something after that day, i couldn't. I was just so emotional every single time i saw your name on my page. I couldn't. So this is my attempt to support you in your hard time and get over my mental block and clear my mind.

I know how positive, how creative, how strong, how different of a girl you are. I hate to see you tearing apart. So this post is to help you gain your strength.

Love you. Be strong!
Shalmalee