Gastronomics

I recently got an assignment to translate a menu card. I should say, it was very tough and made me realize how much of a novice I am in the culinary department. I actually had to look for the English meaning for words like Lasagna and saute. I remember the time when I took my maiden flight as a teenager and was offered yogurt. I didn't even know what it was! And I completely hated pizza the first time I had it. I am always confused about the items in a menu card and comfortably settle down to what my husband orders for me in restaurants.
I was never fond of cooking and until my marriage, I never got the opportunity to, either. The house was always full of women who would never allow me to cook (not that I very much wanted to!). Then, on the eve of my wedding, I was running a high temperature, which others thought was due to my anxieties of entering a new family. The reality?- it was due to the fear of having to cook. Luckily, the first few days with the in-laws went smoothly as they didn't even allow me to prepare coffee. The actual nightmare started after a week, when my husband and I were settling down in our new house.

My mother-in-law stayed with us for a week and taught me how to prepare filter coffee. She made me stand next to her when she did the actual cooking. Once she left, I felt like I was at sea. I could not differentiate between tur dal and moong dal and often mixed them up in my preparations. I used to grind the batter for idli. but forget to add salt to it. And later on, I would wonder why the idlis were not fluffy, like how they used to be back home. I used to add entire vessel of leftover curd to the milk to ferment it and the next day, I had to endure horribly sour curd. But thanks to my husband's patience, I slowly improved (It' s another story that he became a better cook out of frustration!).

These days, I prefer not to put myself through such torture. Instead, I hand over kitchen duties to my mother and happily stay away from shows like Master Chef Australia and Master Chef India.

Obama comes to town!

The whole of India was excited by Mr. President's visit. He and his wife indeed made a charming pair. Their agility, in particular, amazed me since we are used to watching only ageing prime ministers and presidents who find it difficult to climb even couple of stairs to a podium. But while chatting with my daughters about missing out on meeting Obama in person , my younger daughter commented that she was happy that he was not visiting her school- she pitied those school children who would have had to slog for hours on end to practise their dances, speeches and behaviour in the presence of the president. The students' Diwali holidays would have been ruined!
I totally agree with her view. Even during my school days, a visit by a dignitary was a nightmare for the students. I vividly remember one such visit by a governor and how we were made to stand in Chennai's summer heat for hours together to practise welcoming him with flowers. We were made to wear pattu pavadai (heavy ones with jari borders) and deck up our hair with kunjalam (as though all the governor was here for, were our hairdos!). We stood there from morning to evening. With each passing hour, we wilted and we weren't even allowed glass of water. It was plain torture and by the time the governor arrived a full 3 hours late, we were totally exhausted and just wished he left quickly. The whole exercise of showering him with flowers and petals (by now, dried ones) lasted for less than two minutes and we had wasted two months practising for it. He hardly noticed us girls and there was no appreciation from the teachers either, for withstanding so much heat and thirst.
Forget being photographed with the governor or getting his autograph, we were only relieved to see the back of him and rushed to grab our bottles of drinking water.
Visiting presidents or prime ministers are a real pain for school children......... there is no fun or excitement left when they are being tortured through continuous practice sessions and extra hours of work. So don't believe the media about Obama's visit being great, ask the school children whether they really understood who they were meeting or whether they actually enjoyed his visit.

Devasthanada Oottaa (Temple food)

Last week I made a short trip to Dakshin Kannada. I visited Saradambika temple at Sringeri and Annapoorneswari temple at Oranadu. The temple at Orandu is situated right on top of the mountain peak and is very beautiful and serene, set in the midst of lush green mountains. Not being a very religious person, the trip was primarily to accompany my music teacher for a concert at the temple.
The most attractive part of the trip was the winding, well-laid roads around the ghats and greenery and last, but not the least, the sumptuous food served in the temples. We visited the smaller temples in and around the place and it was surprising to notice that all these temples too serve food (lunch and dinner) to the devotees. We were at a small temple at a place called Kalaseshwar near Sringeri at lunch time and though the tourist crowd was scarce, the whole village as well as the school-going children were there. They all quickly make a visit to the sanctum sanctorum and then, enjoy the food. Even the priests at the temple urge the devotees to have their food first and then take the darshan. Having the Devasthanadha Oota (meaning, food at the temple in Kannada) is considered to be very auspicious and people in and around the temple ensure that you eat well.

At Sringeri , serving the food is a very scientific and systematic process, with huge solar cookers installed inside the premises. The arrangement of the serving plates (in the shape of a pyramid) itself was a worthy sight and number of volunteers involved in the scheme is amazing.
These temples are doing such a great service to the humanity that nobody is left hungry in the villages in and around the temple. There are no beggars and people say that robbery too, is very rare.
This trip was a gentle reminder to me that temples serve not only religious purposes, but also that they serve as socially active centers. It gave me great satisfaction when I bought rice (sold at the temple premises) as my offering to the temple and donated it. I was sure that few mouths were going to be fed with that.

Blood tests

As a student, I wanted to become a doctor just like all other girls of my age, but my scores didn't allow me to become one. The closest I came to working in a hospital was as a paramedic. I worked as a laboratory technologist for a couple of years in a reputed hospital. Handling scores of patients everyday, it was a nightmare to work round the clock. Sometimes, I would be so tired at the end of the day, that preparing blood test reports as the last duty of the day used to be a very tiresome one. I never attached any importance to the numbers I put down as test values. The fact that a patient's blood sugar was too low or that his urea was high didn't matter to me. They all boiled down to just figures which I had to fill up, wind up and go home.
But now, as a responsible wife, daughter and mother, my attitude towards the blood test reports has changed drastically. Every time I take my mother to the doctor or my husband goes for a check up , I am so nervous about the test results. I don't want my husband's blood sugar level to go up by even one milligram and I can't stand the sight of a red mark (sign of high value). I pray fervently that this doesn't mean something grave. Every time I take my children for a blood test , I forge deals with God-an offering for a perfect blood test report.
The same numbers which didn't matter to me as a paramedic is of utmost importance to me now. Now I realize how much it must have mattered to that person involved; how many prayers would have been said while collecting a report. I wish I had more understanding of the responsibility I had towards the patients while preparing those reports. I wish I understood the pain of the person who saw a not- so- good report. Most of the times, our sympathy for people in distress is very superficial and we actually don't connect with their pain.
We never realize the plight of another person unless we're forced into their shoes.

I Met VISHWANANTHAN ANAND!! Twice!!!

Not many opportunities come our way, to meet celebrities in person (this, despite living amidst celebrities like Sachin and hordes of Bollywood film stars in Bandra). But years back, when I was in college, I literally rubbed shoulders with Vishwananthan Anand who was invited as Chief Guest for our college Sports Day (and the surprising aspect was that he too was a college student then). I was part of the reception committee as a member of Students' Union. We had the privilege of spending a few exclusive minutes with him. But the thought of taking his autograph slipped my mind. Now exactly 20 years later, my daughter, as a junior journalist of a newspaper got the opportunity to meet Anand again.
But the amazing feature of this celebrity was his simplicity. He still retains the boyish charms of his younger days , with lot more feathers in his cap. He is also very humble. His wife, Aruna, seems to be a pillar of support to him and personally, I was thoroughly impressed with her sweet smile and concern in giving the people who vied for Anand's attention the opportunity to chat up with him.
Anand is a truly gifted player and a gifted human being with such a supportive better-half.

Ranjithas of different colours

Recently the name Ranjitha has been in the news quite often. First it was actress Ranjitha's involvement with Nithyananda and now Ranjitha, the hockey player who has filed a complaint against her hockey coach for sexual abuse. But what amazes me is the total contrast in the reactions of these two Ranjithas for the same problem, namely, sexual abuse. Though much has been written about the video exposures of actress Ranjitha with Nithyananda, I feel she has been totally wronged by the media. The focus of exposure should have been Nithyananda and not the actress. But I also feel she didn't have the guts to stand against a "holy" man of poor moral ethics. Whereas the hockey player, despite the threat of losing her position in the team, and the prospect of giving up her passion, has chosen to stand against the wrong doing and has dared to go against the system.
But does this not reflect the attitude of women in our society towards sexual abuse? I always thought, uneducated women from lower classes are bolder than their educated counterparts in dealing with sexual abuse. A uneducated woman or even a villager doesn't mind dragging her man on to the streets to expose him, if he sexually abuses her. But the so-called educated women, from middle and upper classes of society silently put up with so much crap from the men in the family and are scared to seek legal help. I know of a highly educated acquaintance of mine being pushed to insanity by her husband, who doesn't want her to socialise or mingle with her family or friends . She is a nervous wreck and there is no trace of the once bubbly, active and highly talented girl in her. I just hope that more middle class and upper class Ranjithas, like the hockey player come out boldly, make a statement and seek justice for any wrongdoing against them.

Drama in real life

My husband and I always start the week with brisk walks in the mornings in the picturesque Promenade (past midweek, the enthusiasm wanes and we totally stop going for a walk by the weekend........you know, the usual valid reasons-rains, hectic working day or got to leave early for office). These are the times we discuss our life and its problems (read argue). I have always had this humble opinion that I am a brisk walker and a more active person than my husband and at any given opportunity, I remind him of that.
On this particular day we were walking and were just about to enter the Promenade when suddenly, I felt a hand on my neck. Before I could react, I heard my better half shouting and realised that there were two guys on the bike who were trying to snatch my mangalsutra...gosh! How can this happen to me? My first reaction was to see whether the chain was intact. And then I had to rub my eyes in disbelief when I saw my usually lethargic husband chasing the thieves who were riding away on their bikes.
But the worst part was two more accomplices of the thieves who had been following on another bike started chasing my husband. All the drama was happening before my eyes and I was standing there like a stupid, dumb spectator. The whole scene had shifted to the highway and I could not actually see what was happening.........but I realised that the guys on the second bike were hitting my husband. I was shocked and suddenly realized that this incident could really turn into a nightmare........but then the thieves too , I think, were too shocked that a middle aged man can chase a bike on foot and still keep up with them. Anyhow they gave up on him and fled the scene. Thankfully, my husband was not injured and I could see the incident in a lighter vein (of course only after a few days and not immediately, silly!). Now-a-days I don't challenge him about his excercising routine or tease him saying that he can't even dream of taking part in the Mumbai Marathon.
Such an incident could have turned for the worse for us......I could have lost a valuable chain or my husband could have been injured badly........but I thank our stars that none of this happened. I have promised myself never to take my life for granted. Just one small incident or one mishap can change the entire colour of life. I think all of us must appreciate each and every day, every moment of life with more spirit and happiness.

Child abuse

Blogging after a long time! The vacation in May and few disturbing happenings made me think about what I should write. And then, the news that a pre-teen dyslexic girl was raped by her tutor has made me really want to put down my thoughts on this topic. It is sad that this girl had undergone the mental and physical torture for over four months without her parents' knowledge. I feel that this is the zenith of ignorance today's parents show towards their children. How can somebody leave such a small girl all alone at home at the mercy of such a monstrous tutor? Why is materialism given so much importance, that parents tend to think that the child needs all comforts, more than their presence? This child, who has grown up all alone and has undergone so much, won't have any respect for her parents. How can a mother ignore the signs of physical abuse in her child for so long? How many parents realize that when they are slogging far away in an office, the child could be physically abused by watchmen, servants, car drivers, courier boys or even the next door neighbour?

As a teenage girl, even after having led a protected life, with a mother around all the time for any help, I felt there was physical abuse which I had to face either while travelling or attending classes. Or while walking back home a bit late in the evenings, or sometimes even with the ward boys when I had late night duty in the hospital where I worked. I used to feel so terrible about being a girl or a woman. But when I read such articles of child abuse by teachers or even fathers, my heart bleeds for such children. People who have the moral responsibility to protect innocent children, themselves turning into monsters is really something to be taken a serious note of! Its time for mothers/women to buck up and do something against this malice. It's the duty of every mother to ensure that they are alert enough to note any change in the child and be good listeners to their children rather than being money making machines.

Tuitions and coaching classes

My daughter is in the tenth standard. The pressure on her is ten times more than the pressure I experienced. Even about ten years back, attending coaching classes or going to tuitions was considered to be for weak students and those who were unable to cope. But now it is more of a necessity, which of course, is made to seem so by the parents. They think that it is good for the child to get all the extra help, to score more marks and get admission into prestigious colleges. But from the students' point of view, it is sheer stress and nothing else. The teachers at school often complain in PTA meetings that children are always sleepy in the classes after running to various tuition classes till late evening and then doing the school homework till very late in the night. Children are exhausted with 8 hours of classes at school and another 4-5 hours at tuition classes. They hardly ever relax or play games to de-stress.
I strongly feel that with few hours of rest after returning from school and studying for a couple of hours would be more beneficial than attending these extra classes. So I have not put my daughter in any extra class and she is absolutely fine with it. But I have to admit that I have started feeling left out in the conversations among parents which is, of course, centered around the analysis of various tuition centers and how the school doesn't care about this subject or that exam etc. Let me wait and see, how this no-extra-classes decision of mine and my daughter's helps her in the Board exam. But even if she scores an average percentage I can vouch for the fact that I will be a proud mother of a daughter who has done it all by herself.

Indian Idol season-5

I like to watch music programs on TV . The talent hunts and reality shows on music throw light on such great talents, that I don't want to miss some of the popular shows like Idea Star Singer on Asianet or Indian Idol on Sony. But the disturbing trend I notice in the talent shows in the north is that South Indians are completely left out. In fact, that Indian Idol should be renamed "North Indian Idol" is my strong opinion. They go to remote areas of UP and MP to hold auditions and yet, ignore even major cities like Cochin, Chennai or Hyderabad in the south. Why is there this biased view towards south? The only city they had auditions last year was Bangalore and the only South Indian singer who got selected for the final ten was eliminated in the first round itself. The fact is that this singer had already won the Asianet contest which has far superior talent than the national talent shows. Indian Idol persisted with some horrible singers till the last round due to the stupid SMS voting system. Even a person without any musical knowledge could point out that particular singers were really awful.
I am just waiting to see some South Indian talents at least this time. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee TV, at least, had one South Indian winner years back. That's the last I remember the South Indian talent being recognized on a national level. Otherwise, whether it is singing or dancing, it's North Indians all the way . I hope that the trend changes and south gets its due.
But until then, "Vadakku vazhgiradhu, therkku theigiradhu"

Friends or relatives?

During my school and college days, I always thought friends were my world and I even imagined a life and work that would involve a circle of my close friends. Even after my marriage (being the first one in this group to get married), I made it a point to keep in touch with all of them through letters (note-there were no e-mails then!) and making personal visits whenever I could. But as one friend after the other from the group got married, I noticed that their inclination towards maintaining the friendship was waning. At first, it was difficult for me to comprehend the reason. But slowly, I realized that being a woman , the importance given to the relatives of the husband's side is more and friends take a back seat. The best option for me was to develop a fresh friendship with someone my age from the close circle of relatives. Luckily for me, my co-sisters-in- law happened to be of the same age and slowly, but steadily, over the years our relationship has blossomed so beautifully that I feel developing a friendship with cousins or close relatives of the same age group is more long-lasting and practical than the ones developed in college or school.
In fact, many of my so-called close friends have not even bothered to keep in touch and I think that whenever we go through a personal high or low , it's the relatives who we are able to share it with immediately and not friends who are usually settled elsewhere. In times of crises, a cousin or an in-law is the first one we turn to, thinking that friends need not be troubled at such times. Though I do not feel the gap developed with school or college friends when we meet after years, I do miss out on the major happenings in their lives. Bonding with cousins, sisters or in-laws (when we get lucky) becomes stronger over the years. At least, that's how it's been for me.

Subtitling Parashakthi

Working from home, I've always felt that those who work in the field of entertainment are blessed. I was fascinated, especially, with the back-screen workers like dubbing artistes, technicians for special effects and subtitling writers. I was under the impression that these people would be enjoying their work because they get to watch movies during their work.
So, a couple of weeks back, when I got the offer to do a subtitling job for a company, I was thrilled, to say the least. I jumped at the offer and I was on the job the next day. The first movie I got was Parashakthi. My dream of making a huge name in the field of subtitling, like Sivaji from his first movie, took wings . I began work very enthusiastically and was boasting to people at home that I am getting paid for watching movies. But what a nightmare it turned out to be!
I had to translate every 'ohh' and 'ahh' and I could tell anyone the number of 'Kalyani's uttered in the movie, even in my sleep. I never thought I would be cursing Karunanidhi (non-stop dialogues....only the crow and cuckoo didn't talk) for something other than his politics.
The worst part of subtitling the movie was translating the songs. I thinks it's utter foolishness to try and translate a song, which is generally a play of words that sounds good only in the original language. If saying "Kalyani ran to the edge of her life" was bad enough, imagine the difficulty I went through translating "Ananda Koothadinalum Thandavakone" song in the movie.
I've vowed never to comment about the bad subtitling in movies, ever again, now that I know the effort that goes into it. And next time you watch the movie Parashakthi with subtitles, you know who not to blame!

Mahajan family

Recent news about Pramod Mahajan's brother , Pravin Mahajan's death made me ponder about the state of their mother. Do these sons ever think about what their mother would go through because of their actions? The newspaper article stated that their father had been a strict disciplinarian, who brought up all the children with good values and had faced lot of hardship to give them a good life. But the mother, witnessing her sons making such a mess of their lives, would have felt that all these values have had no effect in their upbringing.
I have known a few families where the children have gone astray despite the parents being sincere and honest in their efforts to bring them up with good values. Sometimes I wonder whether a strict disciplinarian father has a negative effect on his children. Children have such an overdose of discipline that they decide to take the opposite path, in rebellion. I have also come across families where the parents paid no attention to their children, who have grown up to have a good life.
So, whether all our efforts to be excellent parents to our children is really going to have any relevance in our children's lives is a real mystery...........we can only hope and pray for our children's welfare, after coming across such families as the Mahajans'.

Three women: Different Strokes

Weddings are always thrilling for me, as I get the chance to meet new faces, hear lots of family news and of course,relish good food. This time, three women who I met at the wedding struck me as different and they influenced me in different ways. The first one was a highly successful, middle aged woman who has travelled a lot and is doing great in her career. But she put me off by talking only about herself and by not bothering to show some common courtesy. She was so full of herself that after a while, all of us started feeling suffocated and wanted to move away. No doubt, she is a very successful career women who has balanced her personal life equally well. But then, showing no interest in others or showing no regard for the experience of the elders in the family just made me feel strongly that being grounded, having humility and applying the saying "Katradhu kai mann alavu, kallathathu ulgalavu" would make us realize that education and money alone don't equate to experience and knowledge.
The second lady was again a successful career women, but she has no airs about it. She is so simple and down to earth that it is difficult to believe that she is such an achiever. She was very simple in her dressing, despite the established custom of wearing Kanjivarams and jewelery for the wedding. We came to know about her achievements only through others and I learnt the valuable lesson that your achievements would speak for themselves and that there is no need to blow your own trumpet.
On the way back, during the train journey, our co-passenger was an old lady in her 80's who had amazing energy and was enthusiastically playing cards with her grandchildren. Although she could not converse in Hindi or English, she managed to carry on a conversation with her grand-daughter-in-law (who spoke only Marathi) and it was a delight to see people of two different generations , conversing with no common language between them. This old woman was so affectionate, even to her co-passengers, that all the children in the compartment came running to her when she called them. She was a perfect, living example of how one can enjoy life and be happy even at that age and thus, prove the saying "Anbirrkkum undo adaikkum thazh?" right.
Definitely, lots to learn from these women..........

Cyclathon in Bandra

Yesterday was car-free day in certain parts of Bandra. It was a welcome change to see people walking happily on the roads without having to worry about the speeding vehicles. Hundreds of children cycling down the roads in colorful headgears were a pleasant sight. I just hope that such car free days are organized more often. It will give us the luxury of walking on traffic free roads and having a peaceful day without the constant honking of vehicles.

Our greed for accumulating material luxuries has led to us losing so many other invaluable and environment- friendly practices. We have given up using the ammikal and aatukall (grinding stones) and have switched over to grinders and mixers and pay thousands of rupees to gyms-only to do the same sort of exercise that these ancient grinding stones would have given us. We are not satisfied with having one small vehicle for the family, we want huge cars and have lost the habit of walking or cycling in and around our neighborhood. Our children are not allowed to travel to school by public transport, but we are ready to shell out huge sums to pay for the school vans. Then we go hoarse, talking about global warming.

Of late, some of the ancient practices are coming back and I am very glad about these changes. Nowadays my grocer packs things in paper pouches or he wraps them in paper. On the personal level, I am slowly moving away from plastic and trying to use traditional cleaning materials like thengai naar for washing the utensils, salt water for cleaning the furnitures etc. I certainly miss my grandmas and grandpas at this juncture, as their advice for eco-friendly measures like these would have been invaluable.

Woman's day out

At 40, with two school going children and a punishing schedule of translations, I hardly get the time to be myself. But last week was a nice one, where I could relive my youthful days.
A bunch of friends who have become closer to me through the kids decided to have a get-together and it turned out to be the most memorable evenings in a long time for me.
We met for tea and snacks and decided to have North Indian fare for snacks. All the dishes turned out to be super good and we had a great time relishing them, chatting, teasing, pulling each other's leg. There was no gossip about mamiyars and nathanars and no crying on shoulders about worries or ordeals. It was plain fun, joking and laughing out loud and playing a couple of rounds of Chinese Whispers. The children were trying to calm us down, but we were on a roll.
I felt that such get-togethers can be great stress busters. And the best part was to be reprimanded by children for our childish behaviour!
I'd like to be a child once in a while like this!

Competitions

In Mumbai, Jan and Feb are months of Carnatic music competitions at various sabhas. In fact, the competition timings at two or three sabhas clash, so that the participants have to rush from one end of the city to another, if they want to display their talent. But having accompanied my daughter to various music competitions in the past 3 years, I notice that these competitions are rigged like the elections at Bihar( and a lot of other states). Most of the winners are students of the same institute irrespective of whether they sing well or not. Then my question is, why do they invite outsiders as participants? They might as well have an in-house competition and give away all the prizes to their own students.

Judging competitions, I think, is by itself an art. Talent doesn't need recognition, it will automatically shine with opportunities. But hard work and sincerity needs appreciation. If only 3 or 4 extremely talented contestants win the competitions at all the places, other children who really try hard and work at their shortcomings are left out and never recognized. I don't think Balamurali Krishna or Nithyashree had to win competitions to showcase their talent. But ordinary people with ordinary talent, but extraordinary sincerity and hard-work need to be appreciated.

Competitions are necessary only to give a platform for the talent. But, such rigged competitions serve no purpose. Each child is special and has its place in the world and I suggest we leave it at that.

Fear factor -live show

We live in a 7-storey building and our compound, consisting of 3 buildings, is undergoing renovation and painting. All these years, the favourite pastime of the women in the building would be to discuss the pathetic state of our buildings and how it can very soon become a heritage site. The building has not seen paint for more than 25 years and the pipes and sewage connections seem to be on the verge of breaking down any time.

So when the building renovation circular came to us (it comes every year) we laughed it off as usual. But this time , for real , they have started the process. I had to rub my eyes in disbelief and pinch myself to understand -it has actually started! Oh my! Do I regret that this work has started?

When huge poles were set up for the workers to climb the facade of the building, never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that these workers would all be in their 20s - hanging on to poles and passing on ropes and planks and huge iron frames without any protection. None of them wear shoes or a helmet; there are no machines to help them in any way. Everything is done manually; that too when they are standing on thin wooden planks tied to the loose poles by ropes. Its like watching fear factor live everyday. I am unable to concentrate on my household work and have to run out each time I hear a loud thud praying that it isn't one of the workers who have fallen off.

I feel this can happen only in India. I even wonder whether these workers have any insurance or get compensation for any injury they may suffer. The fastest growing country in the world is yet to get decent machines to help construction workers. I have noticed automatic platforms which lift workers to any point at any floor on the facade of the building in Singapore. These platforms are covered with proper grills and the workers are well equipped with proper protection equipment.

I really wonder how I can help this section of labourers in India. Being a housewife, these are the times when I feel troubled that I don't have the access or clout to do something to make the scenario better. I wish I had entered politics and had the power to change things.

End of another eventful year

Beach at Ganapatipule

Ended 2009 on a high note, having had a great time with the family. We took a trip to Ganapthipule and Kolhapur. We were getting together as a family, for a trip after a very, very long time. I have always enjoyed going on trips as part of a huge unit rather than just a group of 3 or 4 . There are distinct disadvantages of meal time pauses taking more than an hour or getting ready on time for outings or being delayed due to the large numbers but it's still worth it, as the travelling time is made enjoyable by playing

games, Antakshari etc. Someone comes up with a witty comment, somebody else makes a blunder which is fun. And all these happenings become part of the family anecdotes for years later.

This has been my second trip to the Konkan region within 3 months and I have come to like it so much that given a choice, would like to settle down there after retirement. The endless views of meadows, streams, mountains and quiet life is very endearing and makes one pine for that peaceful surrounding after a leading a hectic life in Mumbai.

Looking forward to such great times and great trips in 2010 too.

Wish you all a very happy and enjoyable year.