From My Blossoming Hibiscus Garden ..

Thinking of the poem written by the great tagor ji..


.The storm clouds thickened in the sky ,thunder clouds clap the giant hands and the June showers came down.There were grey mornings of rain.Streams of diffused sunlight struggled into the mosaic tiled room.A gentle morning awash with palesunlight and promise;As I opened the windows ,I could see; the Hibiscus flower children dress out in their pink,white and reds and ranges.

They made me smile;

The winds started blowing ,bringing the crowds of flowers down.

When the rains comes down they have their holidays.

As poet Tagore says in his poem "Flowerschool":even i thought for a minute that they go to school underground.

Even i felt like asking my Amma,Do you know, mother, their home is in the sky, where the stars are.

Haven’t you seen how eager they are to get there?

Don’t you know why they are in such a hurry?

Of course, I can guess to whom they raise their arms; they have their mother as I have my own.

With its fragrance that can fill the innerself and the home with a lot of ‘calmness’and a ‘sense of peace’ there; it envelops you,the Hibiscus

Hisbiscus flowers,one of my most favourites..

The Red flower I see before me on my table may not be the same to you and me.

But do take time to enjoy them.....

Thinking of Rain,the eager garden awaits its promise

Sea,Sand and vacations

We are back after a vacation from Kerala.
A lovely vacation on the :

sunblanched,sunkissed white sea shore.endless ,Irresistible beaches,incessant blue waves boisterously clamouring among white splashes.green groves of coconuts just stop short and border the frills of the beach.waiting for each wave after wave after wave was fun.enjoying them on the feet.walking hand in hand.watching our little one holding her daddy's hand took me back to my childhood with my Dad.

 sat watching my little ones feet,thinking of the old times when my Mom would have sat watching at me.

making castles with my little one for the waves to carry them along....picking shells..

watching sunsets.as we start packing she says this is the last wave to be touched,the last one and the last one .........it went on and on.....

*All were Cherished Moments

A time well spent reflecting on things that made us happy and calm.

Wait for some more beaches ......

Remembering those gorgeously colourful "Days"-Vacations...

Back in Delhi,away from the monsoons down South.Back in thoughts,a wistful desire to return in thought.Thoughts still bind me to the land of velvety carpet of brilliant green and sloping sunbaked roofs.

Lazy moments at home,call of my Amma, all left behind miles away.morning ragas sung by my grandma.

Children learning music and veena at home.Still missing the pale afternoon sunlight and thick rain clouds behind them and the rains throughout the night.Smell of wet earth.

Gusty winds blowing the gulmohar flowers off the trees,rains lashing our windows.Its too diffcult to set my mind on anything here,but i ought to ..

Am i crying?,Yeah,a drop or two in the eyes,let me wipe it unknowingly..

Have loads to share with you all.,

Do wait for me while I drag me from my Romantic thoughts.

Rainy season-Romantic and Magical-Monsoons!

Monsoons have its own Magnetic charm.Monsoons are magical days.The romantic and vibrant season starts here.Monsoons are a part and parcel of the state.Days are dull and cloudy.

Sun plays hide and seek with us.We enjoy the long shadows in the late evening.I wait for the long shadows and take loads of pictures.Aroma of rich Brew Coffee from the Kitchen.We wait for the evening snacks to be kept on the table.Listening to the all time hot Radio Mirchi FM 98.4 .A Rain songs special episode coming up in FM....My little one learning to make paperboats from her grandpa.She jumps into the rains and gets wet when nobody is noticing.

Sparkling raindrops lingering on the flowers,the lightness in air and the fresh smell of the earth.Love watching the rains falling through the boughs of coconut palms.Makes one nostalgic ,memories flooded back.

I think of the days and yet to research on the correlation between " the first day of the school and the first heavy downpour of the season"Rain meant cool nights,scary winds that whistle through the night and drainage channels full in glory.We visited DC books store and TDC bookstore and purchased Jhumpa Lahiri's "Unaccustomed Earth"Watched the rain from inside the car at night.Drive in the car in rains is beautiful and also scary.Wonderful and amazed at the backwaters and the monsoons arriving on it.

I can hear Amma calling....

I am off to relish the home made snack of crispdosas and the coconut chutney and the tea that comes with it..

The Feel of Being at Home:)-

At home finally.,Love being at home.Loving the old mosaic tiling at home.

The fragrance of the Hibiscus,Mandaram(Kanchan),Starjasmines and Jasmines fill the rooms.The fragrance of flowers all diffused around.Home grown Mangoes,coconuts,guavas and cherries in plenty.Ringing of bells from the poojaroom.Still the same brand of Agrabatti(Cycle brand),even if others have been tried and tested.Simply in love with the sunbeams filling the rooms.

Moms old steel tumblers in which chai is served,we used to have the same ones since childhood,since i remember,years have passed by.,Mom running around busily and my little one running after her.

Moms special breakfast menu and evening snacks.Love always the scooter of my Dad,he has not had enough of his Bajaj.Aroma of the cooking in coconut oil.Loving the home made shampoos with Hibiscus leaves.Who doesnt love being at home,am I right?Being within the comfort of your home.....The touch,the smell,the sound and the feel are amazing.A sense of calm always prevailed ,when being at home.

While I enjoy my time at home, will you keep thinking and writing of your experiences at home?

The good news is this-Summer has come and its time for Vacations..

Kick off your shoes and enjoy the sunshine.

After a long winter with more than its share of chills ,there is plenty to look forward to in the delicious lunches at home,lip licking mom made special pickles, barefoot walks on warm beaches,picnics,travels in backwaters,scenic walks,the family tea time with special snacks and much more awaiting......

Summer is come and its time to go home .

We love travelling by trains,the sense of calmness that surrounds that travel ,lingers on with you for a while,our onward journey was by train.

Have you all ever felt that travelling by train was quite romantic?I felt it whenever i travelled:)

As serious lovers of trains...we loved waking up late in the train,enjoy a breakfast and then watch the world pass.

Enjoyable most are the Views Outside the Train Window.

The minute you look out you are greeted by the too familiar cacophony of the "Chai" "Garam Chai" "Bread omlette" "Paper le lo,Paper ".


The sights,sounds and smells were all so familiar.
They say if you haven't travelled in indian Railways,you haven't seen India!Yes the incredible India is not complete without its fascinating bit of the railways.
Passengers running after coolies,to locate particular carriages;vendors trotting up and down selling their ware,mineral water,fruits,news papaer and periodicals.

It is difficult to believe that you are seeing your fellow passengers for the first time,as the train is speeding there starts the food and life stories.




Having chai was an experience in itself.An experience not to be missed.The Chaiwallahs were an institution in themselves,unlikely to be seen anywhere .

Their cries could even penetrate the airconditioned carriages.They parade up and down with vigour to reach out to everybody,dutifully.

Earlier ,typical way of making it was with a mixture of water,tea leaves ,sugar and milk and they used to boil it ,until everything got extracted from the tea leaves.
But now it was a luke warm thin milk solution wherein they put tea bags and give you,all a part of modernisation.

The train which we took also gave hot water for us to make our tea ourselves and some snacks to munch.
The train made its way through the undulating mountains,the tunnels,the meadows ,rivers and fields.

Glimpses of Life just passed its way outside our window.

I was totally immersed in the views ,the sunsets,the farmer making his way home,the small kerosene lamps lit in the houses in the villages ,was totally woken up with a jerk which made me come back to reality:)

It was my little one who asked me ,Amma when will we reach home ?This might be one among the countless times she has asked me :),she is getting bored and irritated,while we enjoy the philosophical part of the journey.

All awesome experiences in itself :)

Favourite Movies

Thanks to Shalini who had tagged me for writing down a few of my favourite movies.

I have always been exposed to great movies, be it be in any language. I always liked vivid, realistic movies, artistic, carefully woven screenplays that never tagged movies to pure art, satisfying equally the artist, the connoisseurs and the common people. These are a lot of my favourite movies. Its quite difficult to choose some, when you are asked to. I'm a big fan of the 'realistic' ending i.e. not necessarily happy, 'everything is fine' ending. I appreciate an ending that ends in tragedy or keeps you guessing as to the 'final' outcome. That's just how I am.

Malayalam Movies

Kerala is my Home land and Malayalam my mother tongue. Malayalam is the mother tongue of more than 3.5 crore people all over the world. Malayalam films hold a special place amongst Indian language films. They have a special place in my heart as well. I have always been exposed to great Malayalam Movies. From Padmarajan, Bharathan, Sethu Madhavan, K.G.George and Mohan and have great regard for all of them. They invented what is being called a Middle path cinema and what could be termed as the golden era in Indian film history. Commercial success of these movies were in fact the thrust needed for more such directors to make more such movies. Indeed they made great movies!! Dedicated to my teenage days are the works of the Directors like Padmarajan and Bharathan. They started the middle of the road movies, and to tell you all, words fall short to tell how awesome and wonderful their movies were.

Padmarajan was my favorite. His movies were sheer poetry and you could see magical realism in them. His clinical psychoanalysis of the human mind, traversing thru the darkest alleys of the mind, portraying the various shades of human nature would linger and ask uncomfortable questions long after the movies are over.

Being basically a novelist, Padmarajan displayed a phenomenal flair for characterization and he always wrote his own screenplays. Be it the old man of "Moonnam Pakkom" (The Third Day) or the compulsive-obsessive stepfather in "Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal"(Vineyards For Us To Dwell), the characters he created could never be accused of being ordinary. The portrayal of the character of pimp named Clara in ("Thoovaana thumbigal" - Butterflies of the spraying rain - 1987) were neverthless brilliant. Clara from Thoovanathumbigal is one such. She is one, who takes to prostitution not by force, but as a willing self punishment to escape from the clutches of the society. His representation of the marginal people of the societies are in fact awesome.

Another thing I loved about his movies were their titles, unique names were given to each of the films - they were rather like the ones found for short stories, and always just so apt. Its rather difficult to pinpoint the best movies Padmarajan directed; he's done far too many different kinds of movies with more than a mere semblance of competence to make it that easy. But somehow there was some factor common underlying that seemed to me like a thread which used to connect his films together. Identifying his films from the main stream films were quite easy.

My fav movies from his Oeuvre:

"Aparan" (The Other - 1988) was a classic screen play. Would you hate yourself ? What if there is another person who looks like you and you are caught for all the wrong doings by the other look alike person. The screenplay never shows the other person, until the climax of the movie. The movie had one of the finest performance by Jayaram.

"Idavela"(Interval)-which is the story of 4 friends hanging out for 10 days. And the story develops with lots of funny moments in between them. Each Movie constitues lots of touching characters .

"Innale" (Yesterday - 1990) and "Koodevide" (Where is the nest-1981) were adaptations from the Tamil novel s."Namakku Paarkkaam Munthiri Thoppu" (Vineyards for us to dwell) , were inspired by the biblical romance of Solomon and his vineyard. It was truly romantic. Starts off like a simple love-story, but the characters take on a life all of their own after half an hour, and keep you engrossed until the very end.

Then there was "Deshadanakkili Karayarilla" (Birds That Migrate Don't Shed Tears). Narrating a tragic tale of how the meek, submissive partner of the duo tries to break away from the influence of her dominant & brash other half, the director never once resorts to the familiar filmi trappings (such as a flashback exonerating the perpetuator of everything); unpredictable twists and turns make this an amazing ride all the way through.

"Kariyilakattuole" (Like a Draft of Dry Leaves) adopts a story-telling technique totally diferent for his usual films.

Who could guess the climax of" Moonampaakkam" (On the third day). Like his screenplay with the sudden twist of happenings towards the end, his life also suddenly came to an abrupt end on one fine morning, His last movie was "Nyan Gandarvan"(I Gandharva), which displayed the relation between Gandarva(Angel) and a Woman. The master of Cinema died at the early age of 55(He did only few films) but each one different from one another. Still all remember him through his strong characters portrayed and personified in glory.

Hindi Movies

I was not exposed to a lot of Hindi movies during the school days, other than the weekly hindi movies which we used to see through the Television,(doordarshan). I still remember, my father, who was a strict disciplinarian, allowed us to watch them on certain conditions. Provided we finish our weekend studies dutifully. Somehow we managed to watch a few. Oldies were a fav in doordarshan, at that time. Still memories are ringing of movies seen at that time. Among them the favourite Romantic flicks were Awara, Bobby, Mera naam Joker, Aradhana, Kashmir Ki Kali, Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah, Love Story, Ek Duje ke Liye, Saath Saath, Arth, Abhimaan and so many others were my all time favourites.

Most of the Hindi movies were seen when i moved to Pune to do my graduation. At that time also Romantic movies remained a weakness. You have to blame the teenage hormones for that. Then the all time favourites were Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Maine Pyar Kiya, Bombay, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Baazigar, Darr, Roja and many and many favourites.

English Movies

My intoruduction to the language English has to be dedicated to My dad, an English Professor. His language, portrayal of the characters, blending into the characters when he used to teach us, flair for the language and so many nuances which influenced me to have grip on the Language and thats what I am now. As any other child, I was also not too keen to understand the foreign language and its nuances. But my Dad took great pains in teaching the language and taking us to English movies, which used to visit our town very rarely.

I still remember the first movies I saw with him on the big screen, It was A Mad Mad Mad World. I was small, around 8 years of age. I still rememeber some scenes from them. The movie which my Dad took us and gave a lasting impression on me was "The Sound of Music", I still remember cloths made from curtains and Brown paper packages tied with string. I still remember Maria who gives the children a taste of a more fulfilling, joyous life than they have ever known, and they come to love her very dearly. A memorable movie.

The list of favourite movies in Hollywood industry is quite long. There are really heart warming, touching and extremely romantic ones which i like. A peek into some of them I like are Casablanca, Under the Tuscan Sun, Cliffhanger, Bond Series, Oceans Eleven, Jurassic Park, My Best Friends Wedding and many others......

There are alot of Tamil movies I watch and a lot of them which are my personal favs and even Bengali that I have recently started developing interest for.

What I cherish are the memories of the movie and the characters to live within us for quite some time. Movies are a good exercise for your brain as there are lots of elements to think off after the movie!