Silence that heals

I spent one day with Upasna (from Someplace Else) and Pradnya (nature's baby) at a forest lodge. We ate, we hiked, we soaked ourselves in the lake water, we followed the lake trail, we chatted (a lot!), we played cards, we shared experiences, we dare deviled the trek to duke's nose and came back alive and a bit tired on friday the 13th.

During all this in a rare moment of calm, we were listening to the nature speak to us, when I exclaimed, 'I think I can bear this silence. But not the city silence.'

Of course the talking did not stop :D

The view from the hill

inside our gorgeous homestay

How fun is the warli painted wall!

~nightflier

cruising through the western ghats

The role reversals in the family are getting funner. Brother planned all the transport and logistics details, while I fussed over waking up on time, packing enough food/supplies for emergencies etc. While parents watched.
(ok, aai helped pack the picnic box and knead the puri dough, while I deep fried them!)

the temple of wai!

On a certain level calling a day's outing 'a picnic' sounds even more fun! Remember the anxiety with which one used to sleep before a school picnic day and wake up all full of 'picnic energy' ? No ? OK. then you were not the *hyper excited about picnics kid* that I was. Anywho, the point is we went on a picnic with the parents. Wheeeeeee!!!


Starting off with the village of Wai, we took our first halt at the table top of pachgani. <inserts bollywood movies boarding school reference>.  Moved onto eat to our stomach's content at Mapro gardens. <ate the most awesome pizza, better than any 'traditional' pizza outlets> 

<3
from google

Then baba started telling his tales of 'being a roadie' in the 1980s.  He along with like minded friends toured various parts of India on their scooters/bikes. Starting point of all journeys central part of India.
1988 - Jabalpur, Bedaghat on his LML Vespa. 
1989 - Aurangabad, Mahabaleshwar, Goa on his LML Vespa.
1990 - Kanyakumari via Mysore, and other southern cities on his LML Vespa.
Petrol prices were between Rs. 20 to 25 during that time FYI. Also how they would decide on where to halt and the difference between things back then and now, was most fun to hear! Also I think must have been romantic for aai to wait for father, to come home after his myriad adventures! <she would, of course, shy away from these speculations and tell how difficult it got not having the 'husband' around>

picturesque valleys around
mahabaleshwar

Dhananjay, the most exciting and quite experienced driver to have on these ghats, joined in with his tales. To the cult music from the 80/90s playing in the background. 

the entrance to the fort

Aai and baba were really excited to visit Pratapgad. The place where Shivaji killed Afzal Khan using ganimi kawa (guerilla tactics). We hired a guide, Jadhav, who along with some exaggerating insights told us the most fascinating story of the 'kill' and the battle that ensued. 

posing outside a more than
100 years old school
in the hills!

There are still some 84 families living inside the fort. Life full of adventure and mystic!


And if you visit these places and don't eat the typical Maharashtrian food of 'pithla-bhakri' 'kanda-bhaji' 'thalipith' with a light drizzle in the background, then you are missing one of the most *worth it* and *cliched* experience in the world. Every visit to such places and not eating any of those feels almost like a crime!


And the journey wound up, with visits to two more Ganpati temples in Pali and Mahad. With sore legs from climbing the fort and a rejuvenated mind after breathing in the fresh air of the hills, last night was the longest and most peaceful I have slept in days! 


How was your weekend ? :-)


~nightflier

Spectacular !!!

It was my childhood dream. Something I nurtured since I was may be 6.

May be since I got to know the power of eyes and how much they could express. Or may be I was just fascinated.

Whatever may be my tiny brain's excuses then, my wish finally got fulfilled at the age of #^ (Girls don't reveal their 'real' age!! what!!). In retrospect it did take me a lot of years!! Geez!!

Anyways when I finally came out of the doctor's cabin holding my eye check-up report, I triumphantly acknowledged to my uncle 'Yes! Finally, some doctor agrees that I should get spectacles made! And yeah that to numbered ones!'

So this childhood obsession of donning my own chashma, started when my dad got his reading glasses done. I would wear them and ask my parents to click snaps (which they never did :|). After some years came my mom's turn. I used to doll up in her feminine glasses and get pleased when people used to tell me that I looked like a teacher (teacher-teacher is a favorite Indian indoor game for girls!). Then one fine day an older cousin gave me a long lecture on how one's eyesight goes bad because of wearing numbered spectacles, and my obsession became private limited from a public affair. And as I started growing up, mom-dad's spects had started to become less fashionable. As there was no other way of fuelling my passion of trying other people's spectacles, I asked dad to buy me those zero power glasses. I did not quite like the actual buy and hence stopped wearing them. But the little girl inside me who had always loved them, did not stop dreaming. What did she know, that it will take her more than 15 years to fulfill it!

So today I finally went to make the spects (you buy a lens and a frame and ask the optometrist to make it for you). I went to Lawrence and Mayo store first. Well some sale caught my eye. Apparently it was on a specific brand of frames, obviously out of which I did not like any. Then I moved to the lens part. The sales guy there did not take any pain in explaining me anything. So naturally giving him the usual 'budget ke bahar hai' reason I exited.

Then I entered Titaneye+, a tata enterprise. Entry to exit I was made to feel like a person who should be wanting to buy herself a pair of glasses and not hating her doctor for giving her the report! (I was obviously naturally inclined towards 'wanting to buy glasses for her own Sukh, Shanti and Samadhan' (Mind you these are not Rakhi Sawant's prospective better halves)). So I almost tried their entire aisle of 'on display' frames and ate the sales guy's and my brother's head over which frame suited me the most. Both proved pretty useless in the end as they started approving anything random I was trying. After settling down on a slight geeky, less nerdy and more Yo! frame, we turned towards the lens section. Titaneye+ people sell only essilor, nikon and canon lenses. The most reasonable for me were of course Essilor starting from 1800. I gulped. And decided to take off, when my brother pulled me back. The sales guy tested his 'always works' marketing gimmick. He said local vendors might sell you anything under the name of Essilor, whereas here you get guaranteed stuff and also an year's warranty (I felt like blurting out, its of no use as I am not going to be in India, mr. smarty!!). Anyways the next thing he did was open up the big fat lens booklet and give me some jargon. I understood a mere 5%, but I was impressed. I ermed and errrred and finally said yes. Then he also gave me a free eye check up (again!) where their doc told me some really cool eye exercises. Sharing them with you, as I know most of you just cant take your eyes off the laptop :P

1. 20-20-20 rule : take a 20 second break for every 20 minutes work on the laptop. In the first break consciously blink you eyes. In the next break concentrate at your infinity (distant) point. This would avoid your eyes from getting dry and the occasional blurring syndrome will also disappear.

2. tip of the pen exercise : take any pen and concentrate on its tip. Keep moving the pen towards your eyes until you get blurred image of the tip. Do this every hour.

So as I finalized my bill and payment, I was told that my spects would be ready in an hour. My jaw almost fell to the floor. Otherwise I will get a call, as to when I should pick it up. So much attention !! I was mighty impressed.

In a long long time I have had a truly satisfying experience in terms of shopping. I am recommending it to you. Sadly they are not paying me. Yet !

~nightflier :)

GREEN day

Oh no, its not about the "band" !! Am I that obvious ?

For days, I had heard about the St. Patrick's day celebration, and when the chance came upon me, I had no plans. My roommate was equally excited, but St. Paddy's needs crowd and not company!!

Last minute plans (this also included 3 females getting ready in record 30 minutes, on a Sunday morning) were hatched and we (a crowd of four) headed to the South side of the city. It is supposedly the best and most famous parade of the city.

Never ever I have seen people involved in merrymaking, especially in the US. My notion of Americans is, that they are reserved kind of people. May be I am too presumptuous.

Anyways..

The train was full of boisterous crowds singing, dancing, drinking (beer, even though its not allowed :|) and having fun. There was a group at the entrance of our car, who made everyone going out and coming in dance. They were all dressed up in bright shades of green with funny hats, matching beaded necklaces, nail enamels, head bands, scarves, eye shadows, wrist bands, shamrock necklaces, and even green footwear. Oh well, we were also carrying teeny weeny bits of green with us.

As soon as we reached the parade venue, we were caught into the frenzy. I eagerly started looking for shops selling shamrock head bands. Luckily I found a lady selling those and bought myself nice springy shamrock green head band. I was also a part of the crowd now. So contagious was the merry feeling. 

The parade was about Irish culture, their traditions. It consisted of the most graphic and sonorous Irish bagpiper bands. If you think men cannot carry off skirts, think again! I think the way Irish men looked changed that for me, as they were looking more manly in those skirts. And the bagpipers, oooohhh.. The sounds are still ringing in my head (ears is it ? :|). There were other bands too, with drums and heavy beats. They somehow reminded me of a lazy Saturday morning and school grounds. We all have gone through those PT days.

There were groups of kids doing the famous Irish dance (I want to learn!!!!). There were leprechuan masked people, circus folks, Irish sheriffs. Irish traditional cops, on horses and ponies were also there. The best were the Irish wolfhounds. They looked so adorable and really tall. I could not touch or cuddle any, though :|

There were people distributing free beaded necklaces, candies (I got em all :D), balls. The ladies in front of us were really nice, who helped us get all this stuff. 

Our day ended on a dry note. Earlier it was decided that we would go to an Irish pub to see more merrymaking (yeah just to see). But hungry and growling stomachs came in our way. We dispersed without mentioning this.

But it was a nice change. Seeing green all over the place. The color of spring, may be :)

I was already missing holi. But the music, the color (though just one :)) made me feel good. I am going to add more green to my wardrobe now. And going to attend St. Paddy's day parades as long as I am in US (or countries where its celebrated). So what, even if I am not an Irish ?

~nightflier :)

Car-waar and all

Disclaimer : I wanted to write about this one on the same day, considering my age old memory problem and the fact that 'I suck at cars' !! If some car enthusiasts, find things misplaced, then kindly contact me offline (not on the blog!!).

Someone likes to see to new things, learn them, even if they are beyond her comprehension. So when someone found out that the auto show was at 10 minutes walk from her house, she got very excited. Plus they were offering a special discount to women on a particular day. What happened next is not history then!!

Lets start with some customary checks.

I know driving. tick.

I think I have forgotten it. Big tick.

I can only spot out a maruti 800 or a van, on a busy traffic day. tick.

I cannot tell the difference of one car from other (except for pity details like color). Big tick.

I am studying a whole new subject about cars. tick.

That subject was a reason I made it a point to visit the show. Big tick.

I SUCK AT CARS. Big big big tick.

So what I subjected myself to, was as good as entering a new land with one's consent but without a valid visa and passport. Believe me, I had no clue, my life was going to change forever.

It is funny, when sometimes, the vastness of some things totally take you by awe. Sometimes things you don't understand and in this case beyond one's comprehension, leave you elated, spellbound and surprised. 

First things first, hats off to car designers. Its an amazing kind of creativity. I mean for a novice like me every car seemed impeccably noteworthy. Sometimes having no views about stuff helps. For a change I was not commenting on anything and just letting the cars take over. Anyways, after re-reading everything, I feel like I was illiterate. But what the heck. I really did not know anything particularly interesting about cars. Now at least I feel educated !!

Special mention of Hyundai, Toyota and Chevrolet. Loved the concept cars by Hyundai and Chevrolet. And Toyota's marketing strategies are amazing. Let people call them a closed company who don't let the outside world know what's cooking inside, but they are the most clever car makers - technology, innovation and customer satisfaction wise. Total respect hai boss!!

And guess what, we collected free goodies here too! When the Scion guy gave me the bag and the booklet with a smile I felt so special. Even in the times of recession, its good to see people distributing goodies for free.

Anyways I finally managed to blog about it. 

Passing thought, cars must be one of the best material/man-made bliss.

~nightflier