The incredible Andaman Islands !!!

It is almost 2 months since my trip to Andamans - Port Blair and Havelok Island. though I have been trying to write about it, somehow I could not bring myself to find time till now. Before I go into it, let me atleast tell you that this is one vacation I have been planning to take for the last 4 years atleast, that too alone.. not sure why.. but I always kept thinking that I should go to Andamans alone... obviously at that time, I never could have imagined that it might not be very easy to be a single woman traveller :) Anyways, now that I made the trip with the bag and baggage ( family), I think I owe it to myself to document few details that will remain to be wonderful memories for a long long time to come.  

Andamans - It was a breathtaking first sight from the air, as Ajju and me kept peeping through the windows, the bluish green coastline kept coming closer and closer and then suddenly you are on a tiny piece of an island run way. Port Blair to a large extent is like any other town/ city in India.. the only big difference being - Its so much more neat and clean, less crowded, hardly any traffic, well equipped and maintained and peace ful people. ( I did also hear that the crime rate is pretty low)... Hmm should I include it as an option in my retirement plans... I would'nt know.. Since Krishnan was busy with his work, Ajju and me pretty much had the day to ourselves, with visits to the famous Cellular Jail, Aquatic museums, and all around Port Blair and enjoying yummy food...of all these places, Cellular Jail will leave a lasting memory, I guess forever as one can never imagine how any person can be put into such small cell for years together.It must have been a very sad and gruelling life and we can only feel sorry for all of them.

Havelock Island - my only regret about this trip will be that we had only 4 days, and we managed only two Islands and that too Havelock was only for 2 days. Havelock is beautiful. The resort was very nice, beautiful with its own private beach, peaceful cottages, helpful service and ofcourse... yummy food :) Though it was raining very heavily, we made our way to Radhanagar Beach. For me it was a paradise on earth :) amazingly blue green water, lovely waves, white sand, mist covered mountains and the whole beach almost to ourselves... what a wonderful time we had and I kept wishing that time will stop right there... Snorkeling was another life changing experience for me... a complete non swimmer...for someone who is scared to get into the apartment's swimming pool, it was like a big leap to float around in the Bay of Bengal with an inflated tube around. But by God, it was worth over coming that fear.. I would have never imagined myself that sometime in my life, I will actually get to see a completely different world out there below the surface of the calm seas. so many different fishes, so many different shapes, colours, speeds, corals and for almost an hour I was transferred in to a different world and to this day I keep wondering if what I saw was real or a secret screening of National Geographic...

And coming back to Port Blair, I shopped.. :) for the very very small shell made ear rings and souvenirs and loved every bit of it... the last day rushed past very fast with a trip to Ross Island and the Anthropological Museum...and when Raja, our driver for 4 days told us that we saw only 40 % of Andamans, I guess I believe him. I wish we had more time...

But then, some of the important memories of trip would also be the speed boat ride on North Passage to & fro Havelock.. the amazing power of the sea when you are on the deck of the speed boat.... the beautiful splash of sea water on your face every time the boat breaks the wave ( there are only certain things that your digicam or handicam can capture...but what you can see with your naked eye, what you can feel and the senses of things around can never be matched), the up and downs of fishing boat ride to Ross Island, the heart wrenching sound and light show at Cellular Jail, the bengali, telegu and tamil speaking people who make you feel at home, the port of Port Blair and actually seeing a local fisherman pull out a huge Sting Ray fish using jus a small hook, the local tribals who are so elusive and the spirit of Andamans in standing up again in picking up the pieces and rebuilding bit by bit , even after the devastating Tsunami in 2004...I really wish I had more time... :)

And I do know I should not say this, but after that action packed beautiful 4 days, it was a pain to come back to the unwelcoming sights of Mumbai traffic, pollution and the monsoons that are so very different and dirty from what we experienced in the Fantastic Andamans... To think that it is also a part of India....and still remains so lovely.... Incredible India indeed !

so many out there....

How many nights remain wide awake in sleep...?
How many dreams dissolve in eyes that weep…?
How many lives wait to share the feelings of love…?
How many eyes search for lost ties even now…?
How many people lead a life that’s a lie…?
How many broken hearts cry out and sigh...?
How many memories kindle a dead romance…?
How many of them do get another chance...?

This is written for a friend...J Gal....you are not alone.. there are hazaar people out there who would relate to you.. and more importantly...you are what you are because of you and you alone...your destiny need not tie you up to people who chose to walk away.. so keep going...

I feel; would you care?
I think; will you be there to share?
I reach; would you come back to where you left me long ago?
I walk; will you be around to say “Let’s go"?
I sit; would you count the stars for me?
I speak; will you break the silence with me?
I smile; would you become a sparkle of joy?
I cry; will you continue your life and enjoy?

Seeking you !

When I sit alone, most often,
I try to reach out and seek you...
Gradually you become a blurred collage
Of images & memories which are very few...

Nothing !

I wanted to write about quite a few things in the past few months..but somehow nothing got translated on to this webpage... nothing was that important.. but I thought of writing about the Mumbai Marathon...which I could never attend... ( we could not wake in time for that..) :)... and then about the horrible traffic....... the mutliple trips to the beaches.. ( I love the waves but the beaches in and around Mumbai are not worth it actually..).... discovering whole new things for Ajay to do... like Judo tournaments on weekend...dance classes... guitar lessons...skating practises.. Cyclothons.... and parents running like mad next to cycling kids.... and in between all this, the panic of preparing for the 5th standard semester end exams.... and then again chasing the husband to complete long pending tasks......and to top all that...all the multiple things at office....hmmm

inspite of all that.. actually theres nothing to write about....infact i feel lost and empty and that there is nothing on my mind..... life goes on......nothing happens any more... no matter what happens... :) thats one confusing state of mind...

There is no love !

In one insane moment of love,
She seem to have let go of you
She doesn’t belong to you any more
And the truth rapped her that never did you

She dwells in the deep bowels of earth
Where love and life are not so near
She doesn’t try to reach out any more
But when you miss her, will you atleast shed a tear

Phases of life seems to have zoomed by
Even as she stood there and tried to stop
Memories seeped and sank into the sands
From which more loveless lives seem to crop

The stars sprinkle their light across the skies
Waiting for your measured steps like the tide
While the moon shines down on her grave from above
She tries to push back the waves to find her place to hide

She searched her world for love in the midst
Of the broken bits of life; in sleep
Faces faded away even from the dreams,
There is no love; no more love that’s deep!

Glass walls !!!

Glass walls threaten to engulf
Even as the heart aches for your sight
Nothing matters any more
As the senses, no longer are right
Thoughts seem to suspend the trust and hope
That you will find the way back someway
Insane thoughts run down as tears
Haunting every night and everyday
Please don’t come into the dreams
As the longing intensifies for your presence more
Fade away even from the thoughts,
As it’s crushing the heart’s core !!!

Loving the languages !!!

All around me I see people speaking in different languages and it makes me only more curious to learn new ones... even as Ajju struggles to settle down at Mumbai, one of the main reasons being lack of fluency while conversing in Hindi and thus in turn resulting in failed attempts at making new friends that age , a tiny thought kept nudging through my head... Even though we have quite a few Telugu families around, I have noticed a couple of kids who can't even speak one word of the mother tongue. As we go ahead with our lives, is it not our duty to keep our kids aware of our roots? how far does the concept of speaking in mother tongue at home work these days....how many families actually think it to be important to bring up the kids exposing them to our real cultures, traditions and values? The fast paced cosmetic life seem to have taken over us so much that at times we fail to notice that we have left behind our true identities and personalities.

I remember learning to read & write Telugu in school as a second language in spite of being in English medium. I remember my granny teaching me to read & write Tamil at home grilling into me the importance of learning extra languages. Hindi and English had also become an integral part of our school lives by then. When I moved to Chennai, I could not help but thank my grandma for her farsightedness and it made so much of sense to know Tamil being in a state that is stuck in regional feelings. Here I also found my new friends from the neighbouring state of Kerala and I've got to mention this is one language I will probably never be able to read or write as it sounds so complicated. It took me few years to understand the dialogues as a whole and even more time to learn to utter few meaningful words without making my friends feel embarrassed. Did I forget to mention about my husband being born and brought up in Kolkatta which somehow makes him feel like a Bengali at heart always? ....through the years, as we made rounds of Durga Pujor pandals and Bengali sweet shops and restaurants... and also visiting Kolkatta couple of times, somehow makes me long to learn this mishti language. Being in Bangalore for the last 10 years had added Kannada to the family along with bits of slang picked up from my son's friends.

Somewhere during the course of time, I made it a point to ensure that my son picks up all these languages and puts them to use with appropriate people. When we moved to Mumbai some 4 months ago, it only increased my excitement that eventually I might end up picking up some Marathi for myself while my son kept trying to come to terms with French which sounds even stranger every time we open the school books. I have got to admit that he ends up giggling at the weird sounds that come out of me when I try to learn French from him... I am loving it !!! :)

P.S: I also did manage to hire a whole bunch of German speaking people for my earlier work assignment without knowing one bit of German. :)