A Beautiful Journey

Birds in my backyard

2010-06-10T17:05:00.008-04:00

My apartment has tall, shady trees and beautiful well maintained(??) lawns at least to my eyes. I am a casual bird watcher, but didnt even look at a sparrow after coming to NJ. Last Saturday, as usual, I went for a morning walk. Suddenly, an orange-black color bird crossed me, re-igniting my passion for bird watch. I tried to follow it. It vanished into the bushes. I know, it is an Oriole. I used google to find out its exact name. It is a Baltimore Oriole. Good. I would like to post whatever I see and capture in my SLR. On Sunday morning, me and Bunny went to the Roosevelt park to find more birds. I saw some common birds like sparrows, canadian goose, mallard duck,black birds. There was a young Blue Jay, which should have fallen down the tree and its parents trying helplessly to defend it.We went for a walk around the pond in the park.In India, near all water bodies, like river or pond, you can find a Pillayar. Here too, near the pond,I saw one small Pillayar idol and someone has offered some flowers too. Indeed Pillayar cheers our spirit wherever we see him.

Below are some snaps.

Mocking bird.

Blue Jay

Mallard duck

Random thoughts

2010-02-26T08:41:00.001-05:00

Long time since I blogged something. Here I go, typing whatever comes to my mind, as I am watching this beautiful snow fall thru the glass windows of my home. All that flashes in my mind is my kid's smile and all lil pranks she does. I always refrained from writing abt her or bunny. Dont know why. And especialy this cute lil thing has been so nice to me, that I wanted to keep all for myself and dont want to share anything with anyone. The way she gets curious abt small things that wont even matter to us. Yday, I was abt to clip off her nails. I brought water in a small colorful bowl, to dip her fingers in it, so as to make the nails soft. Carelessly, I placed it on the dining table and moved to bring the nail-cutter. I thought she was playing with her toys. When I came back, she has spilled the water all over the place and on herself. She had this 'I dont know why I did this, but this bowl looks so cute look'.. Amazing... Kids have this beautiful communication skills.. Using their eyes and too few words.. A month b4, we were abt to sleep, Bunny had some office work and he was sitting with his laptop. She cudn't sleep. She wanted both of us to be with her. I kept calling my hubby. He dint respond. My kid decided to bring her father herself. She went out of the bedroom to him. This is the most wonderful conversation I have ever heard in my life..
My kid : daeee daeeee, (Daddy.. Daddy.. )
My hubby: Aemma. ( What dear? )
My kid: Amma. (Mommy. Meaning mommy is calling you. Come, lets go to sleep.)

She only knows these two words, Daeee and amma.
The tone and modulation in her voice achieved, what I cudnt achieve by shouting for almost 20 min.

Snow blanket around my apartment.

2009-12-19T23:14:00.000-05:00

Waiting to sculpt snowman tomorrow...

Resolving to be resolute

2009-12-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

Often I wonder why we need a new year or a special occasion to do things that are good for our life. Every year I decide to do some task that I have planned a long time before or to give up some habit. And my resolution lasts for atleast a minimum of four months.
This year, I decided to stay resolute on certain resolutions. But, as I write this blog, I have already violated some of them.
My resolutions,

1. *********
This first resolution cannot be revealed as it a long term top secret plan.
There is a Sanskrit sloga,

Manasa chithitham karyam vachasa na prakaashayeth |
Manthra rakshana goodathma karya sidhim prakaashayeth ||

Plans should not be revealed through words. The fruit of the action should speak for itself.

2. Learn photography

Clik Clik as much as possible using my SLR.

3. Climb up the career ladder.

Have some career plans. Get a job, get back on track.

4. Eat less chocolates.

Every year I take this resolution. I violate this easily. Gimme a packet full of ferrero rocher, I will gobble it in a jiffy.
This year too I failed. Let me try this next year.

5. Diary everyday.

Sometimes, I miss to write some special moments. Although I write in my diary everyday, I wanted to make sure it happens by taking the resolution.

Out of all these, only plan 1 succeeded. All others carried forward to next year (as usual ;) ).

Vibrant fall colors from my window

2009-12-05T14:39:00.002-05:00

View from my window in the peak of fall.

View from my window

2009-12-05T14:04:00.005-05:00

It is raining from today morning. The view from my window is gorgeous. Slowly, I see a lot snow flakes. This is an exciting sight.. So bloggin...

Crazy Life....

2009-12-03T15:09:00.006-05:00

Running like a crazy horse..
In the long weary road
No way to stop
And
No looking back

What makes me run?
What will I win?

My mind flashes...
Thousand valid reasons
Thousand vivid options
Quit, Quit and
Quit running now

My soul rejects,
A long way to go
No way to rest
Run Run Run
Run ahead somehow

I have chores to do
I have games to play
Like a dog
Like a kid

Work, work, work..
Pray pray pray
For the vigor I need
every day

My Life beckons
I don't want to stop,
In a one way road,
No looking back.

An early morning walk

2009-11-15T10:19:00.002-05:00

A pleasant walk
A sunshine morning
The chirping sparrows
The Squeaking squirrels
The Lush green lawn
The withering leaves
A melody in the mind
The colorful maples
A cool mild breeze
A fragrance in the air
The golden yellow rays
Still missing something
Its all you dad
to chit chat as I walk
Join me ASAP

With Luv,
Kannu.

Garbarakshaambika Slogam

2009-10-21T06:55:00.003-04:00

This sloga when recited will help in safe delivery. Pregnant women can recite this anytime in a day. Safe delivery and a beautiful kid assured.

Sri maadhavi gaananasthe Garbarakshaambike
paahi bhaktham stuvantham.

Sri garbarahaapureya dhivya sowndharyayuktha sumaangalya dhathri
gaathri janithri janaanaam dhivya roopam dayathram manogyam bhavedhyam. (Sri)

Vaapithate vaamabaage vaama dhevasya dhevasya dhevi sthethathvam,
maanya varenya vadhaanya paahi garbastha janthoon thatha bhaktha logan (Sri)

Aashata maases punye, sukravaare sugandhena ghandhena libdha
Dhivyaambara kalpa vedha vaajabeyaadhi yaagastha bhakthaisthu dhrishta. (Sri)

Kalyaana dhaathrim namasye Vedikadya sthriyam garbaraksha kareem thvam;
Baalais sadha sevithaankrim garbarakshaarthu maarathu pedhayru pedham. (Sri)

Brahmosthave vibra veedhyam vaadhya goshena dhrishtam radhe sannivishtam
sarvaartha dhaathrim bajeham deva brindhairya peedyam jahan maatharam thvam (Sri)

Diwali at KG

2009-10-17T20:57:00.000-04:00

Achooo..
Thats how my Diwali day started. All our KG frends were planning for get together and potluck for Diwali. I could not participate in any of the planning actitvities. I already felt like I missed half of the fun.When I started sneezing as if my head would burst off, I kinda got worried about my potluck preparations. Closed all the windows airtight and turned the heater knob to 90 deg as I felt very cold.

Started the usual Diwali celebrations - oil bath, prayer, new dress and sweets. Every action I did reminded me all the Diwalis I celebrated with my mom, dad and bro. This is the first Diwali without them.

Bunny helped me for the potluck preparations. He cut the mangoes to prepare Kalyaana Mangai. I quickly prepared Vathal kolambu and Vadai maavu. Got ready as fast as I can, while sneezing now and then.

The theme for the potluck is kalyaana samayal. The menu is exactly the same as a marraige feast.

At 1PM, I started to Lav's home. As I entered her home, I felt very cold as the heater was switched off and all windows wide open.We were waiting for others frends to join us.
I started preparing vadai. Slowly all thr frends joined. The cheerful crowd marked the festive occasion. By the time the kids finished their lunch, everyone had their stomach growling and were almost impatiently waiting for the food to be served.
The joy in the air reached a peak when the bhandhi started.

Raj added a classic touch to the scene with Sudha Raghunathan's 'Bhojanam seyya vaarungo'.

All the men in dhothis and the ladies in saree, the feast had a dose of cultural style.

Food was served. The connoisseurs of food, had a real good feast, enjoyed the meal giving comments now and then.

It was a wonderful celebration with a fine blend of joy,tradition and entertainment.

After playing uno for sometime, we returned home, feeling completely relaxed after a very tough work week.

My home felt like a furnace compared to Lav's. I started sneezing again. May be I should let the cold air come in. I raised my windows one by one. My lips singing "bhojan seyya vaarungo". Sure this is gonna be a memorable day in my life.

Leisure

2009-10-06T10:16:00.004-04:00

William Henry Davies had enuf time to write a poem, I have enuf time to enjoy reading it.
I think, people who are interested to do some work will definetly have time to do everything. People, who just sit and relax (or listing ToDos all the time), never find time to actually do anything.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

New York Dollars

2009-10-06T06:39:00.002-04:00

I saw this term in investopedia. NY$s is how much you save even after staying in new york. This is the buying power in NY city.

New York Dollars - funds payable in New York City from interest and other charges, from deposit accounts at a New York bank, as in a correspondent banking relationship. Any check payable at a bank in New York City.

Just trying to calculate mine...

One year in a jiffy..

2009-09-29T16:12:00.006-04:00

With heavy Storms and showers
Blinding lightning and roaring thunder,
Came to this world a little cute flower
cherubic,pink and a sweet lil wonder.

What a cute nose,
And what a big eyes
Everyone in the house,
Got a treasure in disguise

I cant wait
to watch you grow,
To change this world
With the love you show.

Luv U NJ...

2009-09-14T20:37:00.003-04:00

Back in NJ after a short stint in India. Landed here sharp at 10:30 AM as scheduled.
I always craved for flight journeys. From my childhood, the take off and landing and the aerial view of the landscape below the flight has fascinated me a lot. The size of the buildings, cars, trees slowly diminishing makes me feel like using google maps slowly minimizing the size of the map. The take off at chennai was at night, the city was twinkling with powerful lights. I tried to identify the buildings, all in vain, but it was fun. Journeys have always excited me a lot. This especially is challenging.

The view of New Jersey from plane was fabulous. Chennai has only buildings and lamps. NJ looks like a forest with some water bodies here and there. Stepping foot in Newark International Airport made me nostalgic. We are not planning to go back to our earlier home, but my hearts longs for that home. The home that is filled with happiness and luv, a great start for our beautiful life, that added a lot of beauty to the powerful bond between us.

Anyways, I missed lot of things.. The starbucks coffee, the clean roads, car drives in the highway, a different fragrance in the air and much more.
I really cudn't believe what is happening. Some things, which we long for, if they happen all of a sudden we may not be able to believe.
I saw a lady smoking today after a year's time, a rare sight in chennai. This struck me that I am in US.

:-) Hope this stay becomes as cherishable as the first one.

Luv U NJ....

Rasam (How I prepare :-) )

2009-07-30T05:00:00.001-04:00

An easy way to prepare Rasam powder..

2 cups red chili
1 cup Toor dhal
1 and 1/2 cup coriander seeds(dhaniya)
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp cummin

Microwave all the above contents for 2 mins(or till you get the flavor)
Grind it.

Rasam powder ready.

For Rasam,

Prepare the tamarind extract (Take tamarind for the size of a lemon).
Add two spoons of the Rasam powder.
Add salt to taste. (Normally one tsp will be good).
Let it boil for 5 mins
Add one tomato(cut into pieces)
Let it boil for 10 mins.
(till the tomato becomes soft).

Addd cooked and mashed toor dhal and water as required.
Let it boil.
Add 3-4 Garlic.

Once it boils, add coriander and curry leaves. Rasam is ready.

For garnishing, splutter cumin seeds in 2 tsp ghee and pour it on the rasam.

Tasty Rasam ready. :-))

Wanna be a Book Worm..

2009-07-23T02:41:00.004-04:00

We had a discussion about photoreading in our organisation.
This paved way for introspecting my book reading habit, which has considerably dwindled down as I grew up. I would say I was a voracious reader in my childhood.
But what my dad brought from his library was the only source of books.
My exposure to books was too lil to foster my needs. Slowly I have almost stopped reading anything. Its time for me to revive my reading habit.

So... Wats in my library??

American Cross Culture

2009-06-29T01:01:00.012-04:00

I got a chance to attend the American Cross culture training organized by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce. The trainer Sreemathi Ramnath did a wonderful job enlightening us about the culture differences.
Till the morning tea break, it was more an introductory session. We were running around the room trying to collect more info about everyone in the room. She was explaing about how much details we collect just from the name of the person,how we assume things and how we arrive at conculsions just based on the values of our culture.
The Iceberg theory - Our beliefs and assumptions builds our value system. Our behaviours will be based on the values. Our behaviour is visible, but our value system is not. We are making judgments based on the behaviour. We should think about their value systems before coming to conclusions.

Tea Break.

Then, she taught a simple tool to come to a judgement - DIN
D - Describe (Just describe the event with no judgements)
I - Interpret (Interpret the event based on the context/culture it
comes from)
N - Navigate (Judge)
Any judgement about things we dont know is almost always negative and not true.
She enacted a simple scene - Husband and wife, where wife behaves like a slave.
But she explained that (based on a different culture) the husband doesnt treat the wife as a slave, but he really takes care of her to an extent that he would sacrifice his own self to save her. She explained how our conclusion based on our culture was wrong.

Lunch was nice.

Afternoon, she classified culture into people culture and individual culture.America is conceived as a land of oppurtunity. The phrase 'Survival of the fittest' will easily define their culture. So, an individual's view is valued better in American culture. More emphasis will be given to task oriented values. eg: Individuality, Material success,

India or any other old civilizations developed on river beds. So sharing is the basic objective in people culture. The values which are inherited to the younger generation will be very much people oriented. Eg: hospitality, respect to elders.

Geert Hofstede did a lot of research on the way people behave based on the values/culture in which they are brought up.
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
He assigned numbers to each country on 5 different classification.
Power Distance Index
Individualism
Masculinity
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
Long-Term Orientation

Country	PDI	IDV	MAS	UAI	LTO
United States	40	91	62	46	29
Germany	35	67	66	65	31
UK	35	89	66	35	25
India	77	48	56	40	61

I am posting what I could remember, will try to refine this later.

My Mothers day wish...

2009-05-10T06:27:00.003-04:00

This blog is NOT about a unique bond, I, as a mom share with my kid.

For quite sometime, I feel the way I see this world has changed a lot. My emotional strength has thinned out considerably. Certain events, which would have never caught my attention, hurts me deep now.

A simple example: One day I was watching a news channel which telecasted a video clip of a small kid, must be 4 months old, playing with a serpent. The six foot snake kept hissing at the baby and the baby thought that the snake is playing with him and tried to hug it. I felt very helpless and frightened on watching that. Obviously I cant do anything and I felt very sure that the baby is safe. No fool will video record this event if a kids life is endangered. I just switched off the TV and tried to concentrate on something else. I thought this is not a problem to worry at all.

A few days before, I read a horror story of a eight month old kid, who survived nine horrible days on a boat that went adrift in Indian Ocean. The family has tried to flee from the war zone in SriLanka. They must have thought of India as a safe haven. A news like this would never have bothered me a year ago. As long as I am not in that situation, I would never have empathized or atleast felt sorry for those poor souls.

But motherhood has softened me that my heart bleeds whenever I learn about these incidents. I dont know who has the power to stop all these. I dont think both the government or the liberation movement are interested in saving the innocent lives. There is a dumb idiot called "UN". I doubt its very existence.

As usual I feel helpless. What can I do?
Just close the browser and not read any more of this news??

My Mother's day wish
A happy, peaceful future for all the kids in this world.

Plain Living - High Thinking

2009-03-16T01:08:00.002-04:00

Something I read from the net...

Bill Cosby, arguably the best comedian in the US, once said: “Is the glass half empty or half full? It depends on whether you are pouring or drinking.” Many of us are now on the undesirable side of long-term prosperity, either for the first time or definitely after a long time. In these vulnerable times, here are some thoughts on qualities that will help us in a recession.

Follow your heart
Some B-schools, particularly those that are not considered ‘premier’, seem to be victims of a ghastly whisper campaign. Students of these institutions, who have to opt for their specialisation, are being warned of hardships if they make a wrong choice. To me, the only wrong choice to make is to be in a field you don’t want to be in.

Sir Ken Robinson, the internationally renowned expert on creativity who has lectured passionately on education, has beseeched parents and students to pursue what they love doing. He says, “We cannot prepare for the future because the future is unknown.”

Frugality and simplicity
The Ireland-born English writer and poet Oliver Goldsmith said, “If frugality were established in the state and if our expenses were laid out to meet needs rather than superfluities of life, there might be fewer wants and even fewer pleasures, but infinitely more happiness.” My maid is a cheerful lady who lives in an 8x8 feet hut with her mother and daughter. She has aspirations, particularly for her child, and is a good bargainer when it comes to her salary. She goes about her work with a smile on her face and a song on her lips. I do hope this thought helps you imbibe and practise the next attribute.

Attitude of gratitude
Almost all holistic systems of healing, including those that claim to be life altering, have one aspect in common. They encourage you to say “thank you”, be it for the music, the food or the blue skies; whatever you take for granted. In simple terms, ‘count your blessings’. Envy on the other hand is defined as the art of counting other people’s blessings and is best kept on a tight leash.

Sense of Humour
Humour will probably seem too trivial in a time of such hardship. But to look at life seriously, one needs a sense of humour. Oscar Wilde, my favourite humourist, said: “It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.”

I believe that more than IQ or EQ, HQ or the Happiness Quotient is what we should look at. If on picking up a copy of Reader’s Digest, you go straight to ‘Laughter, the Best Medicine’, ‘Humour in Uniform’ or ‘College Rags’, you score highly on HQ.

Art Buchwald was able to find mirth even in the process of dying and wrote a book on it called Too Soon to Say Goodbye.

Grab opportunities
A young entrepreneur called Manjunath used to run an electrical products shop in Chikpet in Bangalore and worked hard to make his business a success. He noticed that it took a long time and many trips to the tea shop to get beverages like tea and coffee supplied to his shop. He also found that all the other businesses in the area faced the same problem. Therefore, he set up a hot beverage delivery service where local businesses could order tea by giving him a ‘missed call’ on his mobile. Alerted by the ‘missed call’, Manjunath sends a delivery man with tea and coffee to the customer’s premises. Today, he has a roaring business popularly called the ‘mobile tea shop’. He has also expanded the menu to include seasonal drinks like buttermilk. This may not be his ‘dream’ enterprise, but it is one that can definitely fund almost any dream of his!

In a story made popular by Abraham Lincoln, it is said that an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to present him with a sentence which should be true and appropriate at all times and in all situations. They presented him with the words: “And this too shall pass away.” Appropriate words those for these tough times for they inspire us to focus on the simple qualities required to keep marching ahead.

Expecting many more years of this beautiful life..

2008-11-28T07:15:00.000-05:00

An year ago, we were looking for a nice design for our wedding invitation
This sloga added a classical touch to our invitation.

Goddess Meenakshi, the daughter of Parvatha Rajan, smiles at Lord Siva during their wedding. Let that smile bestow us with a prosperous life.

My First Email

2008-08-26T09:57:00.025-04:00

Ever had a crush on somebody??? If so, U cud have noticed a lot of difference in u.
Elevated energy level, Increase in ur agility. U will put lot of efforts to understand ur crush and try to notice even subtle changes in the person u are interested in, trying to impress him in every possible way. Constant yet careful boasting of ur acheivements, trying to act modest and smart, sharp sense of time, getting up on time even without an alarm... The list is unlimited.

All these and much more, I noticed in me from the day my bunny called me. I remember it vividly, he called me around 7:00 AM in morning on a friday. I felt a different vibration in me when i heard his "hello". Just a casual chat. Still I could hardly remember what was spoken on that day. But somehow I felt Bunny also felt the same vibe. He gave me his email Id. I confirmed it 3/4 times, making sure i have a way to contact him in future. Cudn't speak even for 10 mins as my dad was with me. Longing for the call to last for ever, yet forced to hang up coz of the environment, I left to office in my new scooty.

My new scooty was my best friend at the time. From the day I bought it, I started speaking to it on my journey to and from office as if it were listening to me.
I named my scooty as Bucephalusss(buc).
After my bunny's call, on my way to office, I was silently telling to Buc about all my plans to send a nice email to my bunny. Ok. Only Buc knows about my excitement. After reaching office, I started collecting lot of nice greetings, good morning ecards, some funny emails and a lot of forwards hoping to bring a smile on my bunny's face. I never have worked from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in office, except on that day. Real hard work to impress my bunny. At around 6:00 PM, I sent my first mail..

I got a reply immedietly. Its not from Bunny but a failure delivery notice. Confused, I sent the mail again. Same result. DELIVERY FAILURE.
What happened??? I typed his email Id again and checked it and sent the mail. Dint work. Frustrated i sent the mail again and again and again without even making an effort to understand the problem. Enuf of sending mails, I closed my system and started back to home. As usual, Buc listened to all my silent lamentations.

At home, I sent another email..

This time I noticed something. My Bunny's email Id had the name 'Gomathi' in it. I have a friend named 'Gomathy'. She uses 'y' instead of 'i' in her name. I got used to 'Gomathy' as she is very close to me. But the common usage is 'Gomathi'. Very much proud of having found out the bug, I sent another email. This time I created an email in the name of 'Buc', hoping Buc would talk to Bunny about me. But I made another mistake. Because of repeated failure delivery notices, I sent just "Test Mail" in the subject and content. I dint send any other information. This was the first mail I sent to my Bunny.

I expected a reply in the morning. Nothing was there in my mail box.

Saturday morning IST is Friday evening in NJ. He might have thought of my mail as some spam. He might not check his official email for another two days.

Monday morning, I sent another mail from my office ID, explaining about the "Test Mail". I got a long reply in the evening, monday morning US time. We started chatting quite frequently. In just two days, our relationship strengthened to such an extent that I received my valentines day gift from my bunny, a timeless gift to show that our relationship will be eternal.

One reason for my lifetime happiness

2008-08-02T14:56:00.003-04:00

Can u guess??

Ennai Kathirikai

2008-07-17T15:33:00.003-04:00

One of the best tasting recipe with the egg plants. Bunny wanted to have ennai kathirikai this week.So we bought nice round small sized brinjals from the Indian street. This is my first try. I never made ennai kathirikai before. Surprisingly it turned out very well. With Bunny's applause, I felt really proud to have prepared it..

Recipe as follows...

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Bengal gram - 1.5 tsp
Black gram - 1.5 tsp
coconut - 2 tsp
asafoetida - little amt
salt - 1.5 tsp
Red chilli - 6

Fry all the above ingredients and powder them.

Slit the brinjals into 4, still intact near the stalk.

Stuff the powder into the brinjals.

Steam cook in pressure cooker for 5 mins. ( Brinjals directly fried will consume more oil. Steam cooking improves taste and makes it more healthy to eat. )

Add oil to pan. Splutter mustard seeds and orid dhal. Add the brinjals and fry till its completely cooked.

Tasty 'Ennai Kathirikai' ready..

NewYork Yathra

2008-07-07T22:37:00.014-04:00

For quite sometime, I was longing to go on the double-deckered bus and visit the whole of newyork in a single day. We had been to all the places of interest before. Yet visiting them in a 2 days trip is different.

On the first day..

Got up lil late. We had plans from 8:00Am.. But we cudnt start that early. Slowly we got ready and left to the starting node of the trip - to the grayline service hop on point for the uptown loop.

I thought the uptown loop wudnt interest us much as we had planned for some museums and art galleries. But to my amazement, i enjoyed the first day trip a lot. The bus moved thru the street towards the colombus center - Only from this point the distance from newyork to any part of the world is calculated. Our guide, an afro american, spoke in a very clear tone, explaining a lot bout a lot of buildings in the city. Thru the streets around broadway our bus moved slowly that we cud take a lot of snaps. We passed the Lincoln center, the art school. Robin Williams had come from that school. Lot of people took snaps of the lincoln center. We crossed the Natural History Museum.

We had plans to go to Jewish Museum, but we werent in a good mood to get down there. Our guide told us a lot of stories about the most expensive apartments in the world, the Dakota apartments.. He listed all the celebrities living there. He pointed to one of the building and said Merryl Streep is in that apt. I am a big fan of Merryl Streep, so i cud recollect only her name from the looong list he gave.

The driver maneuvered the bus along the central park streets. Flabbergasted by the beaty of this man made park, I stared at the arboreal landscape with silent prayers to stay in this beautiful city for ever. Newyork may be one of the largest and populous city, may be the city with largest vehicle population. But cannot be compared with Chennai in pollution and population. Everytime me and my hubby talk about America and India, we inevitably feel jealous of residents of America for keeping the city clean. I live near a park in NJ and we go for a walk everyday. Its very refreshing. We chat all the way to the park and strut in the park for a while making our evenings very pleasent. I stayed at much closer distance to Natesan park in Chennai. Never felt like going everyday. This city is clean. I feel healthier everyday breathing in a clean air. Ok.. Back to the trip. Central park is man made and out of seven lakes in it only one is natural. Central Park covers 843 acres, which is 6% of Manhattan and is very well maintained. Still i heard the guide saying - 'Children in NewYork is not having enuf parks to play'. I wondered what we are going to do for the children of Chennai.

We crossed the conservatory garden.. Kinda started to feel hungry.. The very thought of my puliodharai and Vazhaikai podimas kindled my hunger. We had plans to go to the Metropolitan museum of art.

I had some preconceived notion about museums. Thought nobody will be interested to have a glimpse at the baubles that are centuries old. And the only reason i acceded to stop by the museum is coz its free for our credit card. But to my surprise, the entrance of the museum was overcrowded. We went to central park to finish of our lunch. Such a calm environment gave a romantic touch to our lunch. We took some snaps there. We decided to spend one full day at the central park on a later date.

Metropolitan museum of art was nowhere near my idea of a museum. It had an exquisite collection of knickknacks from various civilizations. By the time we finished the egyptian civilization, my legs didnt budge to move further. Still we forced ourselves thru the Victorian and American art galleries. We missed the Greek and Roman though. Final visit to the museum gift shop hoping to buy some souvenir. Nothing was affordable. I liked one Ganesha idol, worth may be aroud 350 Rs, sold at $350.. The Price kept a check on my urge to buy Ganesh idols whenever i see them.

Night tour...

We hopped on our bus to continue on our NY tour. Next the night loop. Near times square we hopped off to have a veggie delight at the nearest subway. I liked subway veggie delights with honey mustard.. Hunger free, we started on our next journey. NY is excellent in the night. Timesquare- empire state - Manhattan bridge - brooklyn - Manhattan bridge again - back to time square - this is the night loop. Bunny was testing the our camera performance in the night effect. Got some nice snaps.

Around 11:oo PM, we took a train and reached home. Exhausted physically, but with a sense of achievement mentally - donno why - our first day of NY trip comes to an end.

Will continue about the second day trip in my next post..

I posted some snaps on my foto blog
http://colorfoto.blogspot.com

Inner Peace

2008-06-18T14:10:00.003-04:00

In an effort to craft the beauty of my mind, I was doing a lot of googling about some interesting arts/activities I could learn/pursue. I believe music , painting, dancing and similar activities keep our mind agile, enhancing our concentration on day to day activities. I came across the following in one webpage..

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging other people.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of interest in conflict.
A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom).
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Yes, I agree with this 100%. I am trying the above hoping the converse to work. Believe me, the results are excellent.

I take a lot of inspiration from my sweet lil bro
check his blog - http://scriberocky.wordpress.com/

Singing the tunes of my heart...

2008-06-18T13:56:00.002-04:00

Following is from John keats "Ode on a Grecian Urn". Once u read it, u get a picture of an eternal music, which is music of our heart, not audible to our sensual ears.. Not sure why i like these lines.

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;

Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,

Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:

Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave

Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;

Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,

Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;

She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,

For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

VIEW FROM MY WINDOW

2008-02-12T14:45:00.001-05:00

This is wat i c everyday. The view from my window. I cherish the moments i watch the cars, the school kids, the church ,the sky... Everything I c thru this window looks beautiful.. I wud say this is my America..

Chenna masala

2008-01-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

chenna - 500 gm.
onion -3
tomato -2
chilli powder -tea sp.
coriander powder -tea sp.
green chilli -3
ginger finely chopped -tea sp
garlic finely chopped -4 tea sp
coconut grated -cup
aniseed{saunf} -tea SP
cinnamon -1"pices 3nos
cardamom -3
mustard seeds -1
tea sp curry leaf -two
stems coriander leaf enough to garnish.
oil -2table sp.
salt - to taste
Preparation
1. Soak chenna in water 4-5 hr. Until it is tender.
2. cook in a pressure cooker.
3. chop tomato, onion and green chilli
4.heat the oil, break mustard, add curry leaves first, then chopped tomato, onion and green chilli.mix it well.keep in a medium fire, stir occasionally until golden brown.
5.in a frying pan fry coconut till golden brown, turn the fire to low, add chilli power, coriander powder,aniseed,cinnamon mix well. take out from fire, leave for few minutes and grind with water.
6.add this masala to the fried onion, mix well, when oil separates add chenna,ginger,garlic and salt.boil for 5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle coriander leaves.

Veg Biriyani

2008-01-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

Ingredients
Rice 2 cups Beans 1/2 cup (chopped) Carrots 1/2 cup (chopped) Peas 1/2 cup Potatoes 1/2 cup (chopped) Cauliflower 1/2 cup (chopped) Onions 3 Green chillies 4-5 Ginger - garlic paste 1 tbsp. Cloves 3-4 Cinnamon 1 piece Elachi 3-4 Bay leaf 2 Red Chilli powder 2 tsp. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp. Coriander powder 1 tsp. Garam masala Powder 1 tsp. Jeera powder 1 tsp. Ghee 3 tbsp. Mint leaves 1 bunch Coriander Leaves 1 bunch Salt to taste Cashews, raisins & Pistachios 1 cup Saffron 2 strands put in warm water

Preparation
Wash & Soak Rice for 1-2 hrs. Heat ghee in Vessel. Add Cloves, Cinnamon, Elachi, Bay leaf etc. Allow it to Splutter. Then add the Rice & fry on low flame until rice is crispy. This will take approx. 15 mts. Once the Rice has been fried add water. Add 4 cups of water. Add salt & then cover & cook until the rice is done. In the meantime, Grind 2 Onions to a fine paste & keep it aside separately. Also grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves & green Chilies. Keep this too aside separately. Heat oil / Ghee in a kadai. Fry the Onion paste until Light brown. Then add the Ginger-garlic paste. Saute it until done. Then add the Chopped vegetables & Mix all of them together & fry until the vegetables are done. Then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder & jeera powder & mix all together. Then add the Ground paste of mint-coriander & green chillies & Mix it along very well. Check salt .Cover & cook. Do not add water. Once it is cooked, Switch off the gas. Chop the remaining Onion & fry it in Ghee until Golden brown. Keep it aside. Also fry the nuts & raisins. Take a Serving Vessel. Add a layer of rice in the bottom. Then add the gravy on top of it. Again add a layer of rice on top of that & then again add the remaining gravy on top of it. Now add the remaining rice & decorate with fried onions, nuts & saffron. Just before serving Mix all together Serve hot with Raita.

First day in US

2008-01-08T16:21:00.000-05:00

First day at New Jersey was quite interesting for me.
We reached the Newark international airport by sunday afternoon. When I boarded the flight in Brussels airport, one of the passengers scared me enquiring about the snow storm in NJ. This was my first trip to such a cold country. All the worst snow storms i had seen in the movies came to my mind. The flight was supposed to reach by 11:00. But it whirled round n round and the landing happened two hours later.I had a weird feeling for those 2 hours, as our flight moved in and out of the clouds, with a lot of turbulance. The airport looked beautiful with the snowclad runway and the hazy atmosphere. After 30 minutes at immigration, we got our luggages at the baggage claim.
We had planned earlier to book a car and do lot of shopping after reaching home. We came to our new home by 3:30 PM. Both of us were very hungry but we dint have enuf time to have our lunch, as the flight wasted our two hours of shopping time.
We hurriedly started towards walmart.
Setting up a new home couldn't be more fun. We bought watever we saw in walmart. With 2 shopping carts full, i felt i became the object of attention to many people there. I am listing here all the items that may be useful for setting up a new home.
By evening, I started experiencing a mild drowsiness. This must be the jet lag. My husband still looked fresh and he did the whole shopping. We had peppermint mocha which quenched our thirst and hunger to some extent. On our way back to home, we bought all the groceries and vegetables needed for the next day cooking.
Our grahapravesham happened at 10:30PM. We started our life at our new home in states with the traditional 'milk boiling' ceremony.Had the chappathis we brought for our flight trip. Within minutes we were sound asleep.

Almost everything that happened on this day was completely planned. Credit goes to my husband.
1. The car we hired was wonderful. Ford Edge helped us in all aspects. For such a shopping and transferring all the luggages we bring in the flight, I would suggest this SUV.
2. Whatever we need to buy in walmart - we made a list and classified them based on their priority and the frequency of purchase(either we have to purchase every month or one time investment).
3. List of groceries required for the month.
4. Maps and travel direction printouts to n fro our home to the shops. Google helped us a lot in this regard. We had the print outs of google maps and directions. The car had the GPS in it. And with this much organised traffic, driving becomes a pleasure.
5. Cameras and batteries as i felt clikclik all i c. But I cudnt take much snaps as i felt very hungry. Lesson learnt - Fill ur tummy b4 going out in US. Shopping takes minimum 3 hours.
6. Good quality winter gears - jackets, ear grips, gloves and shoes.

All these we decided in advance. This helped us a lot in our trip.

My Trip to America

2007-12-29T12:35:00.001-05:00

This blog is about my trip to new jersey with my husband. We came here a week after our marraige, so NJ looks doubly beautiful to us.
Me and my husband started our life in NJ by setting up a new home for us.
I would luv to write our experiences in setting up our sweet home, our trips to New york and the Indian life we are enjoying in America.