Entte Swantham Lokam

2006-12-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

I never missed any excursion trips during my school days and college life. The memories of these trips still remains fresh in my mind. But, most of the trip locations were to nearby states rather than within Kerala(the state to which, I belong). And I rarely had any vaccation trip with my family(though this is something which I wish to change in future). These may be the reasons why I missed out one of the beautiful tourist spots in Kerala - the Athirapally waterfalls.

Since I had the liberty to plan for Jamie's(my friend from US) vaccation trip, the next spot which came to my mind was Athirapally waterfalls. Anyone wondering about the first spot - please read my previous blog about our visit to Kumarakam:). Some of my collegues from office - Sunil, Khajan and Rahanesh - also joined us for the Athirapally trip.

The first spot to stop by was Kodanad - a beatiful village near Perumbavoor, situated on the banks of Periyar River . Kodanad is famous for the 'Elephant Kraal' and is of the largest elephant training centres in Kerala. We reached there by 8am, which was the correct time for us to reach coz, elephants were taken to the river side for bathing. The visitors get an opportunity to pamper the small elephants.

The 1 year old elephant took the attention of all the tourist and there was a queue for taking snaps with her. I felt so happy to stand near her, but got little tensed when she tried to catch my camera:)). By around 9am, the elephants were moved back to their resting place, while one of them was taken for the elephant ride. All my friends, except myself had an elephant ride. I felt it would be more comfortable to have a ride with my family later some time, or, to be honest, i was afraid to have a ride alone:).

The next destination was Paniyely, a favourite destination for those who cherish nature and peace. Here, we could view the Periyar river flowing out after the journey through the densely forested areas. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to view the Paniyely river. This walk was awsome as it is surrounded by the bamboo groves and majestic ethnic trees. The vistas of the river and the forests and the distant mountains, the cool river breeze and the majestic silence of the environment makes it a favourite destination for nature lovers. Since we visited during the rainy season, the rock surfaces were slippery, which prevented us from having the full view of Periyar river. We relaxed there for some time, this place is really a beauty!

We later proceeded towards the final destination of the day - Athirapally waterfalls. We could hear the roaring sound of water even at the entrance of Athirapally. Athirapally is located at the entrance of Sholayar ranges. The water falls from a height of 80 feet is splashing into the rocks below. The powerful, misty waters falling down with the backdrop of thick green forest and rocky terrain gives a scintillating experience to the visitors. Unfortunately, we couldn't watch the beauty of the waterfall for long, as we were drenched in the monsoon after a few minutes. Though I couldn't enjoy the real beauty of the fall, I decided to visit these places with my family sooner. On the way back to home, I realised why Kerala is mentioned as the 'God's own Country'. I really felt, i am lucky to belong to this beautiful place.

Kumarakam - The Beauty of Kerala

2006-11-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

It was my first day after my long leave. My mail box was filled with official mails of which I read only the important mails and left others to read it later. After having a chat with my colleagues in office, i logged on to messenger to see my online friends. I was surprised and happy to see the message of Jamie. Jamie was my colleague in my Orbitz office at Chicago where we were working together for a project.

After a short chat with Jamie, he told that he is in India for an official visit and would like to visit Kerala. I was really happy to hear that coz I never expected that I will be able to see Jamie again. I had one week time to arrange for the trip and my hubby made arrangements for a short trip during the weekend.

As planned, Jamie reached Cochin Airport by 7:30 am. We took him to our home for a small refreshment. He was very curious to see our house and our surroundings. We served him Pathiri and curry; he liked the food very much though i felt, it might have been little spicy food for him. After taking some snaps of our home, we started our journey for the day.

On the way, one of my close friend, Shami joined us for the trip. She was my roomate during my stay in US; very friendly and innocent girl. I should say I am lucky to get good friends in my life.

We first stopped at Fort Kochi to see the Kochi beech. Though it is considered as the major attraction in Kochi; honestly speaking, I didn't like the place as it was very untidy and has very stingy. The only attraction there was that we could see ' Cheena Vala' , the old method of fishing. I felt that Jamie was also not satisfied with the visit to that place.

Anyway, after that we proceeded to the Vasco De Gama Church and the famous churches near by. We had a small visit to the Dutch Museum where we could see the old ornaments, sculptures and painting of the Dutch Palace. Hmm.. I left really tired and hungry after the long walk in the sun for some time. We rushed into a restaurant and had a quick lunch as we were getting late to the trip to Kumarakkam.

It was almost one and a half hour journey to Kumarakam. Jamie was taking snaps of the road sides and the house constructions and even the posters of some of the Ads in the road. He was laughing at the Advertisement saying ‘Learn English’ written in English itself. Shami started sleeping on the way to Kumarakam. One of my friend, Jiji had made all the arrangements for the boat ride which made our boat trip very easy. He was waiting for us when we reached there. Soon, we proceeded towards the Boat Jetty to catch a comfortable boat. I was really excited when I entered the boat. The trip which was in my mind for a long time is about to happen now..

Jamie and myself took the front seat. The boat moved slowly through the neighborhood of the lake. Small houses on the side, kids waiving hands, ladies washing clothes on the lake side – everything gave a very homely feeling to me. Jiji started explaining about the tourist attractions in Kerala and about the house boat. On the way, we saw the expensive hotel set up for the tourists with all the facilities including swimming pools – swimming pools near the lake, just separated by a cement wallJ . Rows and rows of coconut trees bending towards the lake is the real beauty of this place. The violet flowers and the white bird flocks over the lake elevated the beauty of the lake.

The separation from the city traffic with the peaceful atmosphere around made me memorize the beautiful moments in my life. I felt really peaceful and happy within myself. I felt that the beauty of Kumarkam reached the peak when we viewed the sunset. We stopped the boat to see the sunset. Jamie was taking lot of snaps of Kumarakam at sunset. Three hours got over very quick. After having a small refreshment from the nearby restaurant, we started our return journey back to Kochi. To everyone who get a chance to visit Kerala - don't ever miss a trip to Kumarakam - the beauty of Kerala

I'm Back

2006-06-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

After a short break I am back to my blogging..Why I took this break? Lack of time + lack of high speed internet service.

Let me introduce to my husband Raju and my daugther - Gowri. My husband is a busy Engineer traveling through out India. Though we get very little days together, we enjoy our life - sharing our thoughts, fighting each other and playing with Gowri.

And my Gowri started talking conveying her thoughts, which is really sweet to hear. But has to say that she is really naughty and will never stop running around. She is a busy kid and ofcourse fashion is her weakness:)

And me - mostly busy with my office activities and home duties. My life is going on with new changes and new adventures, which I really need to write down somehere.. Thats why I am back here;)

Roles in life

2006-03-18T02:47:00.000-08:00

My schedule starts by 5am and ends by 10pm, a life completely engaged with family life and work. Sometimes i feel, its hard to find a balance between family life and work. But, i truely enjoy my various roles as mother, wife, daugther, daughter-in-law and technical lead.
Joining the Cochi branch of IBS(my company) was really exciting. Being back with my old friends and getting introduced to the new faces. My project(Orbitz) is having a strength of about 40 members, a team with very active and enthusiatic people. I was alloted to a sub-project(air) of 10 members with more responsibilities. Supervising all the activities in the team, requires me to grasp the business and technical aspects of the team. I was not alloted a day for studying the project, and was directly put into the pool of work.
The work schedule is keeping me engaged the whole day. Sometimes, i have to stay late at office or work at home to complete my pending work. But in between my work, i find time to have a small chat with my friend, Kadeeja. Me and Kadeeja did our Bachelor's degree together and she is one of my good friends. She joined IBS last year when I was abroad and i am soo happy that she is here with me. At times, when things gets crowded, its a relief to speak out and laugh loudly with a true friend. A short break with my friend, after that, again back to my schedules...

Let it glow, let it glow, let it glow

2006-02-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

A house of our own was my dream and today I saw my home after the complete work. I dont know how to explain what I felt when I saw it - it was not just the happiness, it was the satisfaction of my dream-come-true. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for all who made this happen.
We started the house construction on May 2004. It all started with Bhoomi Pooja (prayer for God Earth) and all our prayers. With our loans and our investments, we started thinking about the house plan. Drafted many versions of the plan, and finally got the approved version of the plan.
I remember each stage of my house from the basement to the concrete work, which was done with utmost care. My father devoted his time for managing the workers and co-ordinating these activities and I would say, the full credit for this house construction goes to him. We chose the house name as 'Poornima' which means 'The clear and bright Full Moon', and pray that this house will glow with glory and happiness always :))

Pakal Pooram

2006-02-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Finally, I am back with my family. I wanted to write about my family before, but was waiting to get back to them. I am lucky to be the mother of my lovely daughter-Gowri and to be the partner of my caring husband - Nithin. We are staying with his parents.

I am staying in Cochin(also known as Ernakulam) in the state of Kerala. To mention beriefly about my place - Kerala is one of the most prosperous state of India, in the Southern end of the country. Cochin can be regarded as the commercial and industrial capital of Kerala. Cochin is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea/the Queen of the Adriatic and also as the Gateway of South India.
The festival season in Kerala has started again. Yesterday i was able to attend the utsavam(festival) - Pakalppooram of the famous Ernakulam Shiva Temple . Over 11 caparisoned elephants were lined up before the temple for Kudamattam(exchange of parasols). After the Pakalppooram, there was a fire works display of 1001 crackers. It was real beautiful display. There was a sequence of programs scheduled after that, for which we were waiting, but Gowri got scared by the massive firework sound and we had to leave as she was crying a lot.

One of my favourite spots in Chicago

2006-01-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

If someone ask me about the place which I liked the most in Chicago - i would say its the neighbourhood of the Chicago Bahai temple - a place of natural beauty and peace.

Me and my colleagues visited this place on a fine saturday. The Bahai temple is located in Wilmette, in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It took about half a hour to reach this place from our home. The roads are surrounded by tall trees and shade-loving plants and the place is really calm.

After reaching Wilmette, we had to walk for about 15 minutes to the location. Finally, we got the glimpse of the white building - the Bahai temple. The Bahai temple does have a unique architectural sytle which allows light to stream into the building from every angle. This temple is open for everyone. The factor which attracted me in this temple is the calm atmosphere which allows to spend as much as time to meditate and stay peacefully. The ornamental patterns of the temple is really marvelous. The place reminded me of the Vivekananda temple at KanyaKumari in India. The Bahai temple is surrounded by by fountains and nine formal gardens with wide variety of beautiful flowers. Those violet flowers are still fresh in my memory. From one side of the garden, we could view the beauty of the Chicago River.

We proceeded towards the beach after having some snacks. The beach was really crowded that day. My friends got ready for swimming, well, i tried my virtual swimming along with them:). It was really fun and we spent the evening playing in the beach.

But we had to get back from the beach, as there was a thunderstorm alarm. From the beach, we started roaming around the neighbourhood. There is a golf court nearby and a small lake which elevates the natural beauty of this place. For nature lovers in Chicago, i highly recommend this location.

Sania Mania

2006-01-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

My day was going good, until i browsed to find out that my favourite player lost the match, the match the whole India was looking forward to. Sania Mizra, teenage sensation of India crashed out of Australian Open Tennis loosing to Michaella Krajicek in the second round of the tournament. It was really disappointing to see that she lost in straight sets 3-6, 5-7.

There are really few Indian tennis players who gets qualified to play for grand slam tennis. And its really a great victory for Indians, when we see someone amoung us managing to get through world tournaments. Sania, seeded world no.32 is India's highest-ranked female player. She has earned huge fans all over India which the media use to refer as 'Sania Mania'. She managed to reach the 4th round of US Open last year, which is considered as one of the major milestones in her tennis career. Although she lost the Australian Open this year, i beleive, the world will find her name as the winner of a couple of grand slam tournaments sooner in the coming years.

2005 Recap

2006-01-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

2005 was really an exciting year in my life. The year I first travelled abroad, and that too, to the beautiful city of Chicago. I didn't know much about Chicago, but for the fact that it was known as the Windy City.

Me and my colleagues came here for an onsite assignment from my company for 6 months. We reached Chicago in the freezing temperatures of February. Initially, it was difficult for me to adjust due to the effects of jet lag and the sudden climate change, not to mention that I was very homesick. But that apart, i was also very excited to see the heavy snow and experience the new culture.

It was a real change for me - from the cosiness of family life to a life with my friends. I was with a bunch of new people with whom I have never been before, though we were at the same office. We used to spend our weekends roaming around Chicago, soaking in the sights and experiencing the culture.

I visited many spots in Chicago starting from the Sears Tower, Shed Aquarium, Adler Platenorium to some exciting places like Six Flags amusement park, ESPN Zone.

In between, I had a great time playing various games from cricket, throwball, cards to board games like scrabble and chess. When it comes to cooking, i should admit that the boys were far better cooks than the girls:). I was fortunate to have made a couple of new friends this year, which made my life away from my family, much easier.

My office is in downtown Chicago right opposite the Sears Tower. My official work was not challenging intially, but luckily I was moved to a new project which made me very happy and also really busy.But the onsite assignment got extended again and again which made me more and more homesick.

Today, I had a talk with my boss and he confirmed my return date will be early February. I felt really happy to hear the news. Finally I am going home, to my family, to my life. I am sure, I am gonna miss my Chicago life once I go back, but I will be taking with me the golden memories of the year 2005.

To my dearest friend

2006-01-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

When I turn back to my old days, there is something special which I realise.. I am always gifted with true friends, friends to whom I can discuss a wide range of topics, from my silly mistakes and funny things which happen to my life to the deep worries and the problems in my life. Those talks make me laugh a lot and lessen my brudens. My friends always provide me the right advice and support to proceed further. I cherish the memories which I had with my best friend - Indu.

Me and Indu studied together in college. Initially, we were not very comfortable with each other as our choices were really different. I really dont remember what made her add me to her friends-list. After first year, when the hostel rooms were shuffled, we happened to share the same room. And thats how we started to know each other a lot. Everyday, after the college, we used to discuss about our day and about each and every thoughts regarding it. There was nothing to worry, even if you fail in some subject or had a fight with someone. Because, I knew that, there is always my friend to support me and make me happy. Hmm.. Those were the golden times of my life. Now both of us are seperated into different families. Indu is married to Biju and now she is settled in Kuwait. She is having a beautiful daugther, Malu and she is a working mom. I am very happy for all she has in her life. We use to chat and mail each other. Though, we are not updated with the current topics in each others life,deep down i realise the friendship we have is still pure as a fresh rose. Indu, I am proud to be your friend and I am sure this friendship will last forever. Wish you all the best in ur future..

Listen to Nature

2005-12-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

Wherever i look, i just see barren trees only. Trees without any leaves or any flowers. A few months before, this place was filled with so much of life. The same trees were covered with green leaves, small white and rose flowers. Gosh, the place looks completely different from what it looked before. Now, when I look at these trees, there is some feeling of sadness or loneliness in them.

Isn't there a similarity between transformation in these trees and our lifes? It makes me think about the ups and downs in my lifes, the happiness and the sufferings in my life. Like the season changes, my life switches between happy and sad incidents. During my happy days, it warns me from being overexcited. In the midst of my little worries, this inspires to beleive that my tree will be filled with flowers soon and gives me hope for the future. I love watching nature and its always my inspiration for life.

Planning for Sadhya

2005-12-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

One of the sites which i browse frequently is the www.vietnamesegod.blogspot.com and the blogs regarding the delicious Vietnam dishes attracts me the most. Those writing inspired me to write about Kerala foods. The usual Kerala lunch consist of rice, a gravy curry, a vegetable dish(usually called thoran) and a spicy fish curry. The abandance of coconut trees in Kerala makes us use a lot of coconut flavour in the food items. We are specialized in making diverse and delicious vegetarian food and we prefer the non-veg dishes to be spicy and red hot. Beleive me, these hot dishes are really delicious. On festivals and special occasions, we prepare a vegetarian feast named 'Sadhya' for lunch. This usually consists of almost ten different curries and atleast one sweet dish named as 'payasam'.

I remember the last Onam (the festival of Kerala), when we prepared the sadhya at home. Me and my mother woke up very early to make all dishes without any flaw. We prepared aviyal(yellow coloured vegetable dish with gravy), sambar(spicy lentil mixture),parippu curry(peas dish),pappadam, kuttu curry(spicy mixed vegetable dish), cabbage thoran, moru curry(curd dish), inji curry(ginger dish), pineapple curry, kichadi(curd dish with cuccumber) and theeyal(fried coconut gravy dish with vegetables). Payasam is always the domain of my father and nobody else is allowed to involve in that. The whole cooking finished just before the lunch time and I was exhausted by that time.We had a great time while having lunch - serving food and sharing moments. As i expected, my family appreciated me for the great effort i put for it. I wonder why ladies take a lot of effort for preparing these many dishes. Is it for the happiness we feel while serving the family a great lunch? Is it for the joyful moments which we share in a family? Or is it the inner craving to get appreciated from the family? Whatever be the reason, as the days for the next festival getting closer, i have in my mind the list of variety dishes for making the Sadhya, the most special and memorable one.

My Dream came true

2005-12-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

I have a list of things, which I wish I could do, but almost certain that it is not possible anymore.This includes my desire to learn swimming, skating and classical dance. Now, after being in Chicago during winter, i realise that one of my dreams is coming true. Skating.
My friend is an expert in skating and with him i went to the ice skating rink at Millenium Park. I rented ice skates for the first time in my life. I tightened my shoes and tried to stand up holding my friend's hands. Hmm, I felt comfortable. We walked towards the skating ground and waited while they polished the rink. Once they were done, everyone started racing onto the rink. I waited for sometime and then, I tried to stand on the ice holding both my hands on the side rails. It was not as easy as I expected. I was almost falling down even after holding on with both hands. Later, my friend told me to remove my hands from the rail and try to move forward, leaning slightly forwards while skating. I tried this technique by removing one hand and it seemed to be working.
During my second round over the ice, I was able to skate without holding my hands on the rails. Though, i fell down twice, loosing my balance i wasn't feeling tired. May be it was because of my strong desire to learn skating or the happiness i felt on realising my dream. Thinking about this later that night, I realised that there is nothing impossible in life. We just have to wait for the right opportunity and grab the chance.

Blizzard

2005-12-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

"There is a heavy blizzard outside, looks like we will get around 6 inches today" Jamie told me while we were taking a break at work. Blizzard, its a new thing to me,because in Kerala the temperature doesn't even go below 20C. I got up from my seat to have a look at the Chicago crowd at the downtown. But what I could see was heavy snow swirling and twisting making a huge layer of snow in the roads. The roads were empty unlike the usual crowd you see at this time.
The way back to my apartment was really difficult. It took me almost an hour to drive home, instead of the usual 10 minutes. When I got down I could see 6-8 inches of snow covering the road. I almost fell down while I was walking to my apartment. After reaching home, I switched on the TV to watch my regular programs, but a flash news came up in between. I was shocked to hear that a flight at Midway airport had skidded off the runway. Fortunately, all the people in the flight were safe.
I took a glimpse through the window to look at the weather outside. It was still snowing heavily,but I saw some kids throwing snow balls at each other and playing around in the snow. It was really beautiful to see the trees and bushes fully covered with snow. I felt as if Chicago is getting prepared for Christmas way ahead of schedule.