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Cheers!(hic!!!)

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  Waking up early this morning I curiously opened the messages.     A video of girls being interviewed popped up. They were proudly declaring their choice of drinks. I was struck by the casual manner in which they were projected in the media without hiding their identity. During the discussions that ensued in the group several issues came up starting with gender issues, parental control, drugs not to speak of political parties taking mileage of such issues etc.     Elders seem to feel that today’s youngsters are a confused lot with no idea of their priorities. Many parents forget to live, sacrificing their time and money to their duties of bringing up the next generation, imposing their hopes and desires on them. To justify the need for parental control another video showing girls gorging on food and drinks in a toddy shop was also circulated. It could be such videos are fake, circulated to instigate ire against girls in general in a society where men feel they are losing control or po
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Thoughts from life

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  When doing simple things in life one comes across solutions for complex problems -  Like for example; unravelling a line of stitching. It is only with guidance one comes to know that this is a simple task if done from the right side but can get awfully complicated from the wrong side. Also when doing it the right way if one faces difficulties try from another spot. Choose a spot away from a point where one desires it to be unravelled, insert the hook and pull, not too hard that it will break. One gets the clear picture of the line of stitching, making sure that what is being pulled is the stitch and not the warp or weft of the cloth. Now pull hard enough to break the thread and then choose the spot that is crumpled due to the pull and hook the thread and pull. In this way one can unravel the whole line in seconds. If one gets to a point of difficulty leave that after a few attempts and go to another spot to come back later when most of the line of stitching has come off from the reve
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An evening on Centre Island, Toronto, Canada

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  Spent a wonderful evening last Friday with Elizabeth(Gina) & Thomas(Kunju) who were kind enough to travel all the way from Missisauga to downtown Toronto to pick me up. Our plan was to park the car and take the ferry to Centre Island. From Church street to the Ferry terminal was about 3-4kms but road work taken up during summer made us go up and down a few streets confusing me. I believed after my evening walks that I knew downtown Toronto like the back of my hand but it proved otherwise!!! We soon reached the place and drove into the parking lot, making our way up in the lift. The lift opened up into a beautiful area in what Gina later explained to me was a part of the PATH.  The PATH is a mostly underground pedestrian walkway network in downtown Toronto that spans more than 30 kilometres of restaurants, shopping, services and entertainment. The walkway facilitates pedestrian linkages to public transit, accommodating more than 200,000 business-day commuters as well as tourists a
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My New York State of mind at the Columbia University commencement

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   COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, CITY OF NEW YORK UNIVERITY COMMENCEMENT MAY 18, 2022 As we waited with bated breath for the Academic Procession to start the excitement of the Graduates and their friends and families was palpable. Dressed in their Sunday best the guests peered over the hundreds of bobbing heads to see if they could identify their own progeny from among the couple of thousands gathered in their distinctive blue University academic regalia or robe, waving balloons and flags.  Draped in a golden yellow traditional Saree from Kerala that was shining  in the spring sunlight I watched with pride as I ruminated over the more personal departmental ceremony that was held a couple of days back where the students were called to the podium and felicitated for the good work they had done to complete their graduation. The air was mesmerising on both the days, with blue skies and white clouds and spring in the air added to the happiness all around. A batch of students who had faced the pandem
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From the Himalayas to the Appalachian Plateau

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XXXI. Into this Universe, and Why not knowing, Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing: And out of it, as Wind along the Waste, I know not Whither, willy-nilly blowing.  (The Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam - Poem by Omar Khayyam Translated into English in 1859 by Edward FitzGerald) As my plane touched down at the airport once again a tornado was brewing up along the East Coast of USA. The joy of a safe landing and the pleasure of meeting up with my daughter's family, especially my granddaughter made me feel relaxed. Soon we were winding our way home and my daughter was regaling me with her plans for the little one's vacation. "Mom" she said" don't bother to unpack for next week we are going on a drive to Poughkeepsie"!!!"Whazzat?" I said? Was it jetlag or the English accent ? I could not make out the name but I kept quiet reluctant to publicize the fact that I did not understand! One week whizzed by and soon we were all pack
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Location: Minnewaska State Park Preserve, 5281 Route 44-55, Kerhonkson, NY 12446, USA
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Winding down the way back home!

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Life flows by faster than the waters of the Ganges, fortunately not so turbulent now possibly because it has reached the plains and called for a more mature outlook on life now that I am a grandmother. The memories of a happy childhood are once again flowering in me, thanks to my school friends in the whatsapp group! Delhi, the city I made my home, looks washed and decorated with bright green leaves, washed clean after the rains,  with Shivamalli flowers, that used to be  carpeted  at the entrance to our home in Kerala, smiled and nodded their heads in recognition. Two winters spent mollycoddling my grandchild, while heavy snowladen trees and cold winds blew outside, took me back to the hardships natives  faced  living in the Himalayas. Central heating was probably unheard in these remote areas. Eating food that gives warmth and sharing, spreading the inborn warmth among themselves and their cattle, made these people more warm hearted, I guess. We, the four sisters, continued ou
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Sisters' Act - Madam Log ka kahani

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On the top of the world! "I am on the top of the world looking down on creation......" the words of the song kept ringing in my head as we wound our way through the steep and curvy mountain ranges of Garwahl and Kumaon  ranges of the Himalayas. At times verdant green and inviting, at other times dark and foreboding or reaching to heaven and the blue sky or  twinkling stars! Our journey started with an early morning rush to the New Delhi railway station to catch the Shatabdi  to Haridwar - the Sister Act or Madam Log's Travels had started. A very comfortable journey plied with coffee, tea and breakfast helped put us into the positive mood despite the newspapers predicting precarious landslides on our route. A once in a while whiff of perfumed toilet air as the door opened was the only reminder of the shit we were passing by. A Toyota Innova waited for us at the station and we were whisked to the foot of the Mansa Devi Temple for our cable ride to the top to g
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