A Birthday to Introspect

It was my Birthday yesterday. A very important one as I am stepping into the last bit of my twenties. Before I get into the details, do you know that I am a cusp, and that too of contradictory zodiac signs? Yeah! If interested, just google Leo-Virgo cusp and you’ll see. I need a Nobel Prize for handling myself! 😛

So I have these mixed emotions coursing through me. I am excited to know how the next decade will be, but also, dreading it. The fact that I couldn’t accomplish the things I thought I would by the time I was 30, kind of puts me down. I do have one more year though. I am super relieved that I finally cleared CA, an ordeal in itself.

Be that as it may, either the life lessons have increased recently or I have begun to observe life more. There are a few things that the last few months, weeks and days including this day taught me. Let me share them here:

• If you have faith in The Power, your faith along with your efforts will give you what you need. Sometimes, ever so miraculously. (The way I cleared CA)
• Sometimes, our desires aren’t fulfilled. Not attaining our desires will encourage us to explore new paths and discover other potentials (I became a freelance writer and an entrepreneur as my CA course delayed).
• There will always be two kinds of well wishers in our lives – the ones that ask us to stay put/hang on until we die and the ones that ask us to quit/try something else. Either could be right. But Listen to your body, mind, heart and soul. (I was asked to quit CA as much as I was asked to keep writing. They were well-wishers, but they weren’t me.)
• It is difficult to take the path less trodden, but you will be one among the few who experiences life in a different light (Let’s just say, being 29 and unmarried is difficult, but interesting).
• Even if you feel worthless, get up and get some work done. If you just lay there, you will in fact be unproductive and worthless. (A reminder to myself to face those goddamn interviews.)
• Always have a hobby. If you don’t have one, start doing random things and find an activity you enjoy. It helps you clear your head, enjoy your own company and appreciate yourself better.
• Your Birthday is the right time to take stock of people in your lives. More often than not, you will see the difference in your well-wishers. (Between a Birthday filled with Chocolates & gifts and another with none of those, a close friend decided to leave.)

Now on a lighter, yet important Birthday note:

• HBD sounds like an official acronym sent by a boss who is too busy to sit down and talk to you, and treats you like a vending machine that dispenses work. If you want to send a Birthday wish to someone, take the time to type the words fully or simply don’t wish. That would be much better. Honestly 🙂
• Friends to whom I haven’t spoken in years, called me. That was heart warming. I haven’t spoken to them in such a long time and yet they decided to take out their phone, dial my number and wish me. I have never done that! I should. I will, from now on. 🙂
• I learnt today that I could use the FB Birthday reminders to bond with people. I could give a personal touch to my wishes so that they smile seeing them.
  I barely wish people seeing FB reminders because I remember the birthdays of the important people in my life. Besides, I always thought that FB wishes were impersonal and mechanical. But some wishes today genuinely made me happy. Most of them were simple Birthday wishes, but in complete sentences. They struck a chord because the well wishers had taken the time to type out those words and make them more personal.There were some others that made my day. Here are two of them:Though one-sentence-wishes, the personal touch in them is unmistakable. I will, from today, make a difference in the few Birthday wishes I send out.

As for today, I feel good having spoken to a lot of old friends, and having met up with a couple of them from my innermost circle. It feels good to be remembered and to be loved. It inspires me to appreciate and love people better. 🙂

Happy Birthday to ME ❤

With Love,
~Myself ♥

 

Matrikas Journals for The Creative Minds

The little child whispered, ‘God, speak to me’. The Meadow Lark sang, but the child didn’t hear. So the child yelled, ‘God! Speak to me!!!’
And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the child didn’t hear.

The child looked around and said, ‘God, I want to see you.’ A star shone brightly but the child did not see. The child shouted, ‘God show me a miracle!’
A life was born.
But the child did not know.

So the child cried out in despair, ‘Touch me, God! And let me know you are there.’
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the child but the child brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly.

An excerpt, from my Journal, that dates back to 2006. I love diaries/journals and I have close to a dozen of them maintained for various purposes. Back during my college days, I had one in which I used to write down quotes and stories that touched me. This is one such. The moment I found something meaningful, I’d find its owner and copy it down. Our college was such that, we did not have access to computers or phones. So I wrote a lot on papers with a pen.

The benefit being, I still have those quotes and stories. They never got deleted or lost in the mess of an internet.  You see, that is the thing about journals. They will wait for you to pick them up. Even after years, you could go back and find that piece of memory still there tucked safely between the breathing pages of a yellowing old diary, the memories you thought had vanished when your brain cells died.

 

Most of the times, these journals have found me. Dated diaries from Mom’s workplace, some came as gifts, a few I stole from Mom because they looked too tempting and another set was from Matrikas. Now, I have 3 journals from Matrikas as a part of their blogger outreach programme.  Most of the journals remain half used since I either stop doing what I did with them or use them as and when I like. I did not do anything systematic with them and that kept disappointing me.

As I began to focus on my Self Development recently, I decided that it was high time I started working on a journal; more of a Life Handbook. At this opportune moment, Matrikas Paper Products send me a fascinating piece of stationary, an answer to all my questions – A Creative Journal for women.

About the Journal

 

This isn’t your typical, simple ruled or plain, dated journal. This is a creative journal with which you could experiment yourself and your limits. It is well bound with cloth and available in four designs – Butterfly, Dragonfly, Feather, and Fish each for the dreamer, thinker, writer & the one who wishes to soar not in that order.

It has an elastic band to keep the book closed & bound, also a loop to keep the pen in place. The paper, as I had given in an earlier review, is of high quality, thick and smooth. It has a classy-cum-ethnic look and feel about it. This particular journal has been designed keeping in mind women who wish to experiment their artistic side.

What Makes this Journal a Class Apart?

1. They have ruled pages, undated, and interspersed with blank pages.  It doesn’t stop there. The blank pages are thicker than the ruled pages so that you can reveal your artistic side with colors or glues or a little something they have provided themselves for you.

 

2. If you aren’t an artsy person on blank pages, they have provided 8 adult coloring pages in which you could try out your luck. If you really miss those childhood coloring books like me, this is truly a blessing! 🙂 Have a look.

Teapot, Leaves and Flowers

 

Butterfly garden

3. Did that awe-inspire you to own one? Well I am not done yet. They have provided sheets of stickers (A Little Something ) so you could play with your imagination and make a Life Handbook from this journal. These could be used on those blank pages to make them more artistic.

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Remember the Life Handbook I mentioned about in an earlier post? This journal has everything to make that work. To make bucket-lists, plan your days, vacations, wishlists, quirky thoughts to be written down and what not! If anyone wants to maintain a journal and have no clue how to go about it, this one is a self-help. If there was anything I could change about this journal, it would be the size. I would prefer something bigger and heavier. Well, that must be just me because I always say; books? Bigger the better! 😀

Do not let your memories fade away as your brain cells vanish. Preserve them! Not in hard disks or emails. But in pen and paper. Let your fragrance linger, your fingers brush through those pages and the fingerprints remain. Let the pages yellow and give that exuberant scent of memories as you open them. Let the fragrance and the writings conjure mental images of those golden days. 🙂

 

Daintily sitting on my table with everything nice!

 

 

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PS – This is not a paid review. The journal was sent to me by Matrikas for an honest review and promotion. I haven’t honey-coated anything here. The journal is as good as one could get. I’d recommend this anytime! 🙂

 

 

 

7 Baby Steps to Self Development

I have always wanted to make waking up early, exercising, meditating and eating healthy  an integral part of my life. I am sure most of us have these in our Self Development bucket-lists. While some have successfully included a few in their routine, most of us have failed. A month ago, I realized that it was high time I took positive ownership of my life and began my research for Self development.

There is no point starting away with hefty, boring and difficult things right? It is better to start small, accomplish our goals step by step, gain our footing and then take bigger steps. So, this is what is about to happen over the next few days:

• I have taken up #BARATHON – A blogging Marathon where I will be blogging on alternate days starting 17th June.
  
• I will be providing tips on different facets of Self Development on all 7 days.
• Do not venture into them all at once as they could overwhelm you. Take them a few at a time. I will try my best to guide you.

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Today (Or the day you choose to begin), being the Day 1, I have 7 simple steps to Self Development, each of which takes only 15 minutes or lesser. If you put your heart and soul into it, you can start with all of them together.

1. Wake up, Make Your Bed, Brighten up Your Room (Time required: 2 Mins) –  Easy right?

Image Source: Jeff Finley

Making your bed is the first thing you do after you wake up and so, completing the task no matter how tiny it is, gives you a sense of accomplishment. Open the curtains, breathe in some fresh air and bask in the sunlight. Now you have triggered a good mood, made a neat bed and set a happy tone for the day.

2. Water Therapy (Time required: 5-10 mins) – Do not let the word ‘Therapy’ frighten you. All you need to do is, drink 3-4 glasses of water on an empty stomach. A few of the benefits being:

• It purifies your blood and keeps your skin healthy and clear.
• It helps in flushing out toxins from your body
• As your grandparents might have told you, it helps in your bowel movement, prevents constipation and indigestion.
• It helps the body fight against infections

Initially, it will be difficult to drink four glasses. Start with 2.5 glasses and increase the quantity every five days.

 

3. Make a Daily To-Do List (5-10 mins) – Once you freshen up, make a list of things you wish to accomplish that day.

• Put all of those tiny, huge and in between things in the list. This prepares you for the day ahead.
• Allot time limits for each of these activities and prioritize them.
• Mark each activity as and when you are done with it.
• Try completing all the activities on the list.

4. The Two Minute Rule (2 min per activity) – Now that you have a To-Do list, finish off all the activities that can be done in less than 2 minutes immediately. Returning calls, replying mails, sending important texts etc are the trivial things we tend to put off since they require less time. Eventually, we end up forgetting them. Instead, be done with them and then move on to the bigger ones.

 

5. Read/Watch a Motivational Piece (Time: 10 mins) – Try including this in the morning so that you feel motivated and look forward to your day. You get many motivational pieces and videos online. You could go for any of those. Rob Dial, Jay Shetty and Sean Stephenson are a few I follow on FB for some drops of motivation. This single activity broadens your mind and gives a positive outlook towards life.

 

6. Go Gadget Free – You wake up and, even before you open your eyes, reach for the phone. This is more of a request. This doesn’t take your time, instead saves it. Please do not open your laptop, phone or any electronic gadget for the first 1 hour of your day. If you are striving for Self Development, you need to ensure that there aren’t any distractions and that the beginning of your day is productive. Remember,

Your first hour sets the tone for your day.

The Gadget free period was an idea I got from Tara Nair‘s blog. 🙂

 

7. Keep a Gratitude List (5 min) – Keep a journal and at the end of each day, list down 3 things that happened during the day that you are grateful for. A very simple exercise. If you have to repeat any during the following days, it doesn’t matter. Continue doing this for a couple of weeks and you will notice yourself becoming more grateful and happier for all that the life has bestowed upon you. 🙂

Evidently, all the above points are very easy and doable. Do not look at them as a set of 7 tasks. Instead, approach them one at a time and you’ll easily sail through them. The only difficult part will be the gadget free time. You will get past it in a week. I assure you! Just wake up and make things happen! ❤

Image Courtesy: Dan & Lynn Ventura

Do let me know if you are taking up this Self Development Challenge and the results. Chime in your suggestions and ideas that I could incorporate in my routine. This is easy for starters, isn’t it? 🙂

 

Linking this post to the BAR-A-THON edition 2 at Blog-A-Rhythm

 

Narikulam Tharavadu and Nedungad Boat Jetty (Part II)

Read Part I of our trip here: Trip to Kuzhippilly Beach & Narikulam Tharavadu

When the previous post ended, we were seated at the Narikulam Tharavadu dining table, with widened eyes, grumbling tummies and ready to pounce on a sumptuous feast. Before I continue, I’d like to rewind a bit here.

We are a part of this amazing community on Facebook called Eat Kochi Eat. Facebook really came in handy with this group, where Cochin Foodies post their reviews about the new eateries, their discoveries and all sorts of dishes from all sorts of food joints. Within the last four months, I realized that I haven’t visited most of the must visit food joints here. And so, I already covered 4 the week after exams! 😛 This is where we got to know about this Homestay. We had added it in a ‘to-attack’ list and suggested this place to the group for our trip. Before going to Narikulam tharavadu, you are supposed to inform them about the visit, give them a list of food you’ll want and the headcount. We had ordered Chicken fry, chicken curry, beef, Fish fry, chappati & Appam. The quantity of each depended upon who likes what.

Yummilicious appam, chappati, fish fry, chicken fry, beef

The food was amazing and very much filling. In fact, almost a quarter of it was left after we were done. So, I am talking about high quantity Naadan (Authentic country-side) food, comprising entirely of non-veg at affordable prices! You read that right. The food along with Payasam (Dessert) cost us just Rs. 200 per head. I’d like to add that prices differ with the type of fish you opt for. Even so, the experience was worth much more than this.

We thanked Paul chettan for the food, clicked some more pictures and as per his suggestion, made our way to the Nedungad Boat Jetty nearby. How do I even begin to describe it? As the land tapered to end in the Kollam Kottapuram Waterway, we found ourselves surrounded by water and myriad species of birds. It cannot be compared to a normal beach or a lake view since the landscape was such that, at one point, all we could see was water. I am in loss for words and so, I’ll let my friend’s pictures speak from now on.

The path towards the Boat Jetty area is lined with coconut trees which finally tapers into the water

There was a tiny hut and some lambs playing around. 🙂

Coconut trees and backwaters – True essence of Kerala

The Boat Jetty was unplanned and the uniqueness of it made the trip all the more memorable. If you plan a visit to Kochi anytime, and if you are looking for a Homestay and authentic Malayali Non-Veg food, Narikulam Tharavadu Homestay is the best choice. I cannot comment on the Vegetarian food since we didn’t have any. Besides, I always have a soft corner for the Tamil Vegetarian dishes. So, I strongly recommend this place for the Non-vegetarians. Also, they have homestay package at Rs. 2000 per night with food for a couple. As promised in the previous post, here are the details:

Here are the details of the Homestay. Enjoy!

I sign off with a picture of us – The kachara team! The Minions! The Chipmunks! Five extreme people with entirely different characteristics that gel so well with each others’, and ofcourse the Homestay! 😛

Looks too beautiful right?

Pic Courtesy – All the images here were clicked by these guys ^ 😀

Last Minute DIY Valentine’s Day Gift

Valentine’s Day is round the corner and glaring at your face. You really don’t have the time to order anything, online, that it would find your love in a day’s time. While A Few Handpicked Things frown upon you for being so late (just kidding, it happens :P), I have decided to help you prepare a much meaningful, last minute DIY Valentine’s Day gift for your love that he/she wouldn’t forget in a long long time. Besides, it will come in handy always. 🙂

You can also gift this to your siblings, friends or parents for their birthdays. I am including the pictures of the one I gifted my sister on her birthday. If you don’t have the time to make anything, you can look into this list for some inexpensive gifts too.

A Mason Jar with Everything Nice

Everything Nice:

• Open when notes that they can open during certain circumstances.
• ‘Reasons why I love you’ chits that they can pick up from once in a while and feel good about themselves
• Toffees! We all need them  😀
• Fairy lights, glitters and thermocol balls for some bling.

Points to be noted:

1. You don’t have to be artistic to prepare this.
2. It takes less than 3 hours.
3. You don’t have to use everything in the list. You could skip a few for ease.

Things Required:

1. A Jar (I used a 1150 ml storage jar.)
2. Good quality color papers.
3. Toffees (Colorful ones to add to the quirkiness)
4. Multicolored Thermocol balls
5. Tiny envelopes (Not mandatory)

Steps to prepare the DIY Valentine’s Day Gift:

1. Prepare a list of reasons why you love him/her. I made a gift like this for my sister on her 18th birthday. It was ’36 reasons why I love you. 18 for the number of years I have known you and 18 for the years you have known me.’ You could choose a number based on his/her age or maybe a definite number such as 50 or 100. Mind you! You should make a list of reasons you love them those many times. 😛

2. Make tiny chits from color papers, write down the reasons on each paper and roll/fold them. Here are a few I wrote:

Reasons Why I Love You

 

3. Prepare a list of ‘Open When…’ notes. I made 7 of them. It went like this: Open when you are Angry, when you want some appreciation, when you are having a bad day, when you are hungry etc. In this, you could keep chits with things you’d tell them when they were in the respective situation. If this is for someone you love, you will definitely find the right words. It needn’t be lengthy. Something short would do.

Open When Notes

4. Mix them all and fill the jar with these chits, notes, interspersed with toffees and tehrmocol balls. 😀

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

5. To add the finishing touch, I made tiny tags on which I wrote about the contents of the jar. You could do that on a chart paper, cover it with cellophane (Cello/Sello) tape for that glossy look.

Tags for the Jar clumsily made 😛

And voila! Our Jar of Joy and Happiness, The DIY Valentine’s Day Gift is ready!

Little joys of life captured in a jar

Some Observations:

•  I wanted to put rice lights in here too so that I could use it as a decor item. But the 1150 ml jar cannot accomodate more than 36 chits, 7 open when notes and some toffees. Don’t even think of rice lights! Use a bigger jar for more number of chits and rice lights.
• Don’t use chart paper or ivory sheet. Use papers from craft books with thin sheets that are easier to roll. You can use white thick papers too. But normal note book papers get spoilt easily. So avoid that.
• My sister found this very helpful when she was away from us. It helped her through many low times.
• For ‘Open when notes’, I made the envelopes. You can make them, buy them or simply make bigger chits and leave them in the jar so you don’t have to spend time on envelopes.
• Most importantly, gift this to people who appreciate handmade gifts, value your time, know how you mean every single word in those chits. In short, gift it to someone who’d treasure every bit of love you throw into it. 

The importance of gifts like this is, you actually convey what you feel about the person you love. They can resort to this Happy Jar when they are low. The nice things you write about them will help them feel better about themselves. It is always a solace to know that someone somewhere loves them so much!

Do let me know if you like them and definitely let me know if you make them. Include details of the recipient’s reaction too. I’d love to know! You can comment here, or send a mail to rangelzblog@gmail.com or inbox us on Facebook, Twitter or Insta. 😀

More posts on gifting –

19 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Men

Tips & Ideas for Inexpensive Gifting

 

 

Aangan Downtown Restaurant Review

Let me begin with this: I feel like I have found treasure near my house. Having been a part of a Facebook group ‘Eat Kochi Eat’, I kept seeing great reviews about Aangan Downtown Restaurant and had added it to my must visit eateries list. If you have read my earlier posts, you’ll know that I love making lists!

Last month was Amma’s birthday and since my sister wasn’t in town, we decided to give Amma a surprise dinner whenever my sister got back. We also had fund constraints. So eventually, even if it was late, we arranged for some cash and made a quick plan. I was entrusted with choosing the restaurant since I keep listing the eateries I want to visit. Besides, I am always crying about the mouth-watering posts in the FB group.

We reached Aangan Downtown which is at Palarivattom. It isn’t at the main road and hence not very visible. If you are someone who goes by first impressions, the moment you enter, you’ll love the place. The ambiance and the staff were very welcoming. They showed us to our table and suggested some of their specials.

I am enlisting the dishes we had for the ease of reading them:

1. Soups – Have you ever felt that soup sort of decides your appetite? It is like a performance. If it starts well, it compensates for tiny flaws later on. But if starts bad, you really don’t look forward to anything that comes later.a) Cream of Vegetable Soup -Before I get onto this, I need to tell you about my Grandmother (Ammamma). She is an amazing cook! She is a tough critic and I rarely find her appreciating restaurant food. I guess you know where this is going. She absolutely loved the soup. Her exact words, if translated, would read, “I don’t think I have had a soup this delicious ever. It wasn’t spicy, but it sure was creamy with the right flavors!”
   There is a saying in Tamil, ‘Vasishtar Vayaala Brahmarishi nu Sonna‘. Vasishta is a sage and it is astounding when he mentions another sage in a good manner. (Dear Tamilians, I am really sorry for screwing up the explanation 😛 But you get it right?)b) Naadan Kozhi Soup –

   

   Naadan Kozhi Soup

   Which is Kerala chicken soup as prepared with the countryside flavor. Oh my! It was spicy in a good way with flavors that tickled our taste buds. It was quite watery with ample chunks of chicken. If you are looking for something thick and creamy, this one isn’t for you. But, I’d say the naadan kozhi soup is something you should never miss. 😀 By the end of it, I was eagerly waiting for everything we ordered.

2. Starters – We ordered Chicken 65 and Gobi 65. Well, the choices were too many, we needed both Veg and Non veg and so settled for these. Again, they were really good. They were the kind of ’65’s you get in any good restaurant. No extra flavors.  Crispy Gobi and well seasoned chicken with lots of crispy curry leaves. I am a fan of curry leaves. When they happen to adorn something really delicious, I ensure that the plate is empty. So we did. 😀
3. Main course –  Our expectations had reached sky high after the starters and the soup that we took a while to decide the main course. There were so many options, high expectation and too less space. If only we could borrow some tummy space from someone 😛
   After much deliberation, we landed on:a) Paneer Kizhi Biriyani for the beautiful lady aka Grandma :* – I did try a morsel and wasn’t very impressed mainly because I am not a fan of the tinge of sweet in normal dishes. Plus, it was a bit too bland for my taste.

   

   Paneer Kizhi Biriyani

   b) American Chopsuey – It was served well with a fried egg on top. It was saucy and crispy and yum in the beginning. But as I mentioned earlier, the tinge of sweet began to over-power with each morsel. On the other hand, Mom just loved it! So, I’d say the dish was perfect, just changes with each person’s taste. 🙂

   

   American Chopsuey

   c) Chicken Steak – Ooh lala! It was very soft, rich in flavour, steaming hot and with the right amount of vegetables on the side. It was a sure winner for the remaining three of us.

   

   Chicken Steak

Once we were done with our meals, when Ammamma was about to get up to wash her hands, the staff enquired if she needs a finger bowl. It was a very nice and thoughtful gesture. Not only were the staff friendly, but the owner too came up and had a little chat with us. Overall, a foodie-friendly place! 🙂

Summary:
Food – Too Good (4.9/5)
Ambience – Excellent (5/5)
Pricing – Our bill was Rs. 1200 for 4 which is very reasonable for Cochin standards, the food, the service and the amount we hogged.
Location – Palarivattom, Kochi (Click for the Location on Map)
Favorites – Both Soups and Steak

Quilled Greeting Cards

I have been hoarding some Quilling papers and tools for a long while. Since my exams are over, I decided to make some quilled greeting cards since Christmas is round the corner. Nobody sends letters or greeting cards these days since the advent of e-mails and everything that followed. Wouldn’t it be really great when someone finds that they have a real paper greeting card this Christmas?

So, I started out with my quilling and suddenly I couldn’t stop myself. Apart from the Greeting cards, I made a picture which I call, ‘The Blue Haired Girl’.

The Christmas Tree & the Presents

An Angel

All the angels & the decoration

The Blue Haired Girl

I ran out of glue and so had to stop. Else, as I had threatened my Amma, the room would have been filled with quilled Greetings. 😀

So, do you like them?

 

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 Linking this to  100 Happy Days – Day 92

 

10 Ways to Arrange Your Jewellery

Let me introduce you to my new revamped Fashion Blog – Nathni Tales. The blog is about Jewellery – finding, owning, maintaining and lots of jewellery love. Please do follow the blog 🙂

Over the years, I tried many DIY methods to store my earrings since that is what I had in abundance and I realized that, ultimately, your convenience mattered. You could arrange them in boxes or di…

Source: 10 Ways to Arrange Your Jewellery

The December Feeling

December 1, 2016 – Amma & I had gone to broadway for some shopping. Since the weather was chilly and it was drizzling, I didn’t take my two-wheeler. We booked an Uber, got down in front of Hotel Sealord and began to walk. It must have been around 7 pm. Marine Drive area was buzzing with life, twinkling with lights and every light was reflected a million times in the raindrops falling silently.

We saw the Mings Dumpling House and decided to go see what Dumplings were since I had no idea until then. Turns out, Dumplings are English for Momos (If there are people who don’t know). So, we had some steamy Momos at quite reasonable rates and then continued our walk.

As we cut across the alley towards Broadway, the black & bronze colored street lamps and the drenched, shiny roads, the streets lined with shops displaying stars, baubles and shimmering what-nots kept reminding me that December had indeed begun!

Ah speaking of Decembers in Kochi! It is one month that announces its arrival in advance. December means winter which is a heavenly time here. December means Christmas. December means streets lined with colorful lights, umpteen varieties of stars, Santa Clauses of different shapes and sizes all around, Christmas trees, twinkling, bejeweled city full of life! The signs of  these are seen from mid-November.

Rest of the city is halfway through the preparations. But broadway! Oh my! Every shop we passed was screaming ‘Christmas’. Stars, streamers, baubles, trees, Santa, and so on. And it was cold after a long time; the nice sort of cold where you just want to close your eyes, breathe in the air and the world comes to a standstill. The one that holds you back from going home.

We hopped from shop to shop, took our time as there was nobody to stop us. I remember how when I was a child, Amma used to take me with her whenever she went shopping. The two of us have been constant companions. She had her Scooty and I’d tag along, hugging her to make sure that I don’t fall off. I was quite tiny, you see! I was supposed to keep talking to her so that I didn’t doze off. Now, I take her around in my Powerpuff (Lavender Pleasure). We enjoy it as much. December is her favorite time of the year too. We love shopping, exploring places, food and looking at all the new arrivals in the market.

Image source

We enjoyed a lot yesterday. December started off well – The beginning of another end. After our shopping, we got back home and she kept telling me how wonderful it was and how we missed the brat, my sister. I kept thinking about Christmas and opened my blog for another surprise – The Snow! You can see it right? Every December, it begins to snow in my blog. Being a fan of all sorts of Snows – Jon Snow, white colored Snow & the Snow flake pattern – this adds to my December love!

100 Happy Days – Day 91

As I sign off, linking my first Christmas post in this blog, I wrote 6 years back: Smile – The Joy of Christmas. It has been six years, this blog. Can you believe it?

Christmas posts from 2015:

The Christmas Spirit

Found My Christmas Lights

You see? December isn’t just a month. It is a feeling <3.

Trip to Kuzhippilly Beach & Narikulam Tharavadu

100 Happy Days – Day 90

I had made a bucketlist 2016 when this year began and one of the elements in it was to make at least 5 trips this year. I don’t think the number went very well. But as unexpected as life could be, I found myself in a few immensely beautiful places a couple of days back – Kuzhippilly Beach, Narikulam Tharavadu and Nedungad Boat Jetty.

Writing professional exams could just wear you off big time. So, the five of us and a qualified CA decided to meet up, spend a night together and go on a trip the next day. Nothing fancy, somewhere in or around Kochi. After a night full of clicking pictures, non-stop chattering and barely few hours of sleep, we drowsily picked ourselves up and went for breakfast. Nothing else could shun your drowsiness better than food. So after the breakfast, we were on fire! We made our way to our first destination. The Kuzhippilly beach.

Lined with pine trees and rusted benches, this beach is more beautiful than the famous Cherai beach. Situated in the outskirts of Kochi, Kuzhippilly beach is around 4 kms (Source: Google Map) away from Cherai. For those who prefer less crowd and more shade, this place is the best option. With lots of tiny brown crabs (I think they are called Sand Crabs) running around and emerging from the sand, and the thatched roof Umbrellas, this is one of the most picturesque beaches near Kochi.

Pine trees at the Beach

We spent about 2 hours in the waters, clicking pictures & walking amidst the shady pine trees. We found a beautiful shell and, after ensuring that the owner had deserted his home, my friend pocketed it.

When the thought of food started creeping into our heads, we made our way to destination number two, the highlight of the trip (Food always comes first) – Narikulam Tharavadu.

A View enroute to Narikulam Tharavadu

Those white cranes were everywhere!

Tharavadu is generally an ancestral home in Kerala where people lived as a joint family. Nowadays, most of these families have split and live separately, but many of the ancestral homes remain. Situated near St. Augustine Church, Nedungad, Nayarambalam, is the Narikulam Tharavadu. Set amidst the lap of nature, with greenery all around and a canal behind it; they have preserved the house so well that, if you are a Keralite, a wave of nostalgia hits you the moment you enter the premises. Such houses are the true essence of Kerala.

Paul chettan gave us a very warm welcome and patiently explained everything about the place. He answered all our queries, showed us around and made us feel at home. As they went about preparing our food, we were left to explore the place.

One of the things that fascinated me was, the way they had managed waste and artifacts that were no longer in use. They had used dried seeds and parts of the palm tree to decorate the house. We even found two shoes outside with plants in them. They also had grown plants in an old, rusted Kindi (pitcher) and an Aattukallu (Wet Grinder). The base stone, Arakkallu from the grinding Apparatus was used as the base for the pitcher. They gave an aesthetic look, placed around the Nadumuttam (The central area with a meshed ceiling) and never for a second did they seem out of place.

The plant in the pitcher placed atop the base of the grinder. What you see behind is the Nadumuttam.

My favorite part about these houses is the Nadumuttam. During the day, it is the source of natural light that gives a mellow glow to the surroundings and during the night, you can watch the stars. Don’t get me started on how it looks when it begins to rain. I can’t believe that these houses are dwindling with time!

A peek at the interiors of a typical tharavadu

We spent a lot of time outside, near the canal awed at the abundance of nature, clicking pictures and wondering why we never got to know about this place earlier. A photographer’s paradise, my friends simply couldn’t stop clicking pictures. Our grumbling tummies showed us the way to the dining table and now I’d call it a Foodie’s paradise too!

So we saw this irresistible spread on the table… Er… Isn’t the post getting a bit too lengthy? Besides, I am reminded of all the food we ate that day and I so need a break. I’ll be back with part 2 of this post; all the yummy food and a surprise thereafter. Heads up: The Food part is focused on the Non-vegetarians & it is going to be a bit heavy. So, ensure that you are filled up. If you wish to visit this Homestay, the details will be given in the next post – Narikulam Tharavadu and Nedungad Boat Jetty (Part II)🙂

Image courtesy for the first 3 pics – My dear friend Hrusheekesh Anilkumar

A Peahen in my Enchanted Woods

100 Happy Days – Day 89

This green patch of woods and the canal behind my apartment have always been close to my heart. They remind me of the Enchanted woods in Enid Blyton’s Faraway tree series. I could sit looking at them for hours, weaving stories in my head.

They get all the more irresistible when it rains. During the monsoons, the intensity of the green multiplies manifold and the brown of the trees get browner. The contrast of the green against the brown makes the place look magical & the term ‘Emerald woods’ would come to my mind.

I remember making a Haiku inspired by the place.

The place is infested with snakes and sometimes I find tiny turtles in the canal. Birds of various kinds flock in & out – Cranes, kingfishers, Mynah, Pigeons, Parrots, Black fork-tailed birds and much more whose names I don’t know. But today was a first for me as I found this huge, brown bird walking through the woods. My suspicions were confirmed after I stared at it in awe for a long while. The white head crest and the long neck could never be mistaken.

I found a brown Peahen in my Emerald woods, behind my apartment! ❤

PS – I couldn’t take a picture of the Peahen since it was too far away and blended well amidst the greens & browns. This is my very own magical woods as seen from my window 🙂

Letters, Rains, Books, Conversations – A Friendship

100 Happy Days – Day 88

Happiness is friendship in rain, with book, through letters and conversation.

It was 6.50 am. The queue began from the first floor, stretched through the staircase to the ground floor and out. I was on the staircase closer to the first floor. I heard Carnatic music emanating from the room filled with 50-60 youngsters; CA students. A guy with curly hair and sacred ash on his forehead emerged from the crowd, took out his phone and answered the call, cutting off the Carnatic music.

I walked into the classroom after my registration. A friend gestured me to come forward, for he had saved a seat for me. As I took my place beside him, I looked around to get acquainted with my neighbours and there he was, right in front of me. I glimpsed a drawing in his notebook. A rough sketch of Lord Shiva. There was a Shloka written next to it. I asked him about it and as he explained it, I made a mental note to read more on it. But soon, I forgot. I must ask him again. Or maybe, he’ll tell me if he reads this. 😉

*****

In a while, Gopikrishnan, the guy with the Bhasma on his forehead and immense love for Carnatic, and I became friends and then, there was no looking back.

We have these deep conversations at times, but we could easily talk silly too. They happen very rarely; maybe twice or thrice a year. But, it doesn’t matter. It is easy to pick up from where we had left. But mostly, we don’t have to pick up from where we had left. We could simply start a conversation with absolutely no back history.

During one such conversation, we realised that both of us loved writing letters. From then on, we started exchanging handwritten letters. (Heck! That was when I realised that most of the post boxes never functioned.) Whenever I saw the blue inland letter waiting for me in the hall, I knew where it came from. Sometimes, I’d tear it open right away. Sometimes, I’d keep it safely and opened it when I could read it peacefully.

Each of your friends add value to your life in different ways. Gkris, as he calls himself, prods my inner consciousness through our conversations and letters. The things he says, give new perspectives to my thoughts. His words have the power to make me see new things, take me to a new world where things needn’t really work as per a set of rule books.  There is a spiritual connection underlying our friendship and this is what makes it special.

While we spoke about so many things, bonded over books, music, movies, poems, quotes, ideologies and TV shows, we couldn’t meet. When I was free, he never came to my place. When he came, I wasn’t here. And so, after  three long years, it was time to meet.

*****

I picked him up from a common point and we stood there and spoke, oblivious to the place and the time. After a lot of discussions, we decided to go to a mall though we preferred a peaceful place amidst nature. On our way, the rain beat down from nowhere. Though we took shelter initially, the next time we were on the road, the rain couldn’t stop us. Both of us being rain lovers, decided to embrace the drizzle and continued. After a while, I heard him laugh ever so softly.

“What is it?”, I asked.

“You don’t want to know.”

“Now I do. Tell me!”

“Your hair brushes against my face every now and then. Um… and the smell. It smells so good.”

“I know”, I said.

“What is it with Women’s hair really? What smells so good? It isn’t Shampoo.”

“I don’t know. But I agree, it does smell good.” 😀

(The conversation ended there. It was later on that I got to know about Pheromones and remembered this conversation we had.)

Mall is a sad replacement for these rains, I thought. But not after we entered the mall and veered into the crossword book-store. Time flew as we bonded over books. Well read as he was, he showed me the books he liked, he suggested me some, he narrated some of the stories, his eyes twinkled as he described his book-shelf; a mini library.

During the conversation, he picked two books that I hadn’t read and asked me to pick one for myself. I was over-whelmed for that was the first time someone was gifting me a book. I asked him to choose since I had no clue about the two. He gave a gist of both the books and asked me to choose. Since both seemed interesting, I picked one randomly.

Later, as I was sipping a cup of tea, he spoke of his wanderlust, his experiences, and experiments during his journeys. He suggested places I’d like and he described beautiful sights. His plate was empty and yet, I was sipping my tea. He took the book he gave me and scribbled something in it. As he handed me the book, he said, ‘I have underlined some sentences in this book. Don’t read it beforehand.’ and I kept my word.

I returned home that day with the satisfaction you get only after you meet a close friend. When some people say goodbye and leave, we feel low. But when I dropped him off, I didn’t feel sad. Our bond wasn’t made through meetings. It was through words, letters and conversations. As long as the letters were exchanged, the conversations continued and music prevailed, this bond would exist.

While there are those friendships; the ones with lots of backstories of trips, heartbreaks, jokes, pranks and much more, there are some friendships that are subtle yet deep in their roots. One isn’t better or worse than the other. As I mentioned earlier, every friend adds value to you. One need not meet them or talk to them often, face tough or funny situations with them or go on trips. Probably, there are just a few silent moments together, just a few stray words exchanged. The bond speaks for itself.

This post has been written in association with Chaayos & Blogchatter on occasion of Friendship Day

The Seed Bookmark

100 Happy Days – Day 87

My uncle was showing us around Lawrence School, Lovedale where he gives guitar lessons to the students. After almost an hour of wandering around the huge, beautiful place, we decided to visit one last area and call it a day.

As we were descending the stairs, I came across these dried twigs with tiny tulip-shaped buds in the end. Something creative came to my mind and I grabbed a handful of those twigs. I wanted to collect more. But I wasn’t sure that I could carry them safely back home. They looked dried and brittle.

After I reached home, I was dejected to find that many of those seeds had fallen off. Yet, I decided to go forward with my plan. After around an hour, I was too happy with myself. I made one set which I have kept aside for a certain purpose. I noticed another twig with just a bunch of seeds on the tips. I worked on that and voila! 😀

I painted it with an intention to make myself a bookmark:

It was later on I realized that, they were Eucalyptus seeds.

Conversing With the Waves

100 Happy Days – Day 86

Happiness is a chair, a book and the threshold of an Ocean and not knowing which one makes you happier.

Every Bibliophile’s dream – A serene spot with a view, some peace and a book. Behold! An evening at the beach, watching the waves breaking against the rocks, holding a book and finding a nice spot to read.

The Book facing the Sea

I flipped a few pages as the Ocean’s music filled my ears. There was a feeble breeze and the rocks were drenched with water from both the Sea and from the drizzle that had just stopped. The tides were high, way before twilight and it looked as though the Sea would rise any time and gobble me up. I thought it was the rains, but it was something else.

I had come to this very same beach yesterday. I sat atop a bench, cross-legged, closed my eyes and tried to meditate. It took me barely few minutes to abandon my efforts. Not because I couldn’t sit still, but because of what was before me. I looked around at all the people meditating. How could one close his eyes while facing these magnificent waters, I wondered.

Now, I was mocking myself. I walked to this very same beach with a book in hand. How could I delve in one’s ecstasy and ignore the other? I couldn’t read. Not as long as I wanted to watch the Ocean. And I couldn’t watch the waves if I read. I wanted them both – my spouse and my love.

 

But Alas! I couldn’t handle them both

The Sea threatened, in her deep throaty voice, to swallow me up. Oh! Well, that explains the angry high tides. I must have hurt her pride by bringing along my Love. Sure enough, the book remained untouched while I conversed with the waves.

 

Stand Up Comedy Live – Kenny Sebastian

100 Happy Days – Day 85

Happiness is watching Stand up Comedy live

Kenny Sebastian. It hasn’t been too long since I came across the name. I was browsing through FB one day, when I came across an article about his video. It revolved around how Indians had a ‘paavam mode’ that came on at times, specially when abroad. You can watch it here. It is barely 7 mins.

I was on a laughter riot after which I began to dig for more videos. I kept talking to my sister about him and then we watched a couple of videos together. I wanted to watch one of his live performances and even tweeted once saying I wished he would perform in Kochi.

Later some day, I came across his tweet that said he was performing in 8 cities and that Kochi was among them. I immediately checked the site, venue, rates, date and time and realised that the performance would be from 8-10 PM at place quite far away from my house. The place is busy until 9PM, but 10 PM was too late and unsafe for women. Kochi lacks night life. This meant that someone had to accompany me. So, I put off booking the tickets until the last moment.

When the day approached, there was no one who could accompany me and I sort of felt bad. My folks were fine with me going out at any hour provided I had someone to accompany me. I had the freedom, but was unable to exercise it because of the society. I totally understood them.  It was one of those moments when I wished that I were a guy.

The thought made me all the more miserable. I didn’t mind not having any company. I wanted to go alone. I wanted to enjoy stuff by myself. I gave it a lot of thought and then, feeling very dejected, did what most of the people do. Lament on twitter. 😛

Missing @knowkenny‘s show 2day as it ends late(For Kochi stds) & my family thinks I’m too dangerous to go out at that time 😛 #Heartbroken

— Ranjini S (@RanjiniSkr) February 6, 2016

I went about my moaning and moping for a while and the next time I checked my mail, I had a reply from Kenneth Sebastian himself. I hurriedly opened my twitter and to my utter disbelief, he said:

Kenneth Sebastian

It ends at 9pm! It’s from 8 to 9! Come on convince your folks! Pleezzzzzz @RanjiniSkr

— Kenny Sebastian (@knowkenny) February 6, 2016

I sat there smiling broadly for the next ten minutes. I didn’t know what was more overwhelming; that the show ended at 9PM or the fact that Kenny had decided to reply. How could anyone not go for the show after receiving a tweet like that? Pleezzzzzz he had said. 😀 9PM made it easier to convince my folks, book tickets and take off. For the next two hours, I couldn’t wipe that smile off my face.

After an hour of awesomeness, we were told that we could take pictures with Kenny. I was dejected because my phone was ‘hospitalized’ and I didn’t have any with camera. I requested a bunch of girls if they could take my picture and send it to me. They agreed. I had a quick chat with Kenny, took a picture and was on my way home.

Yesterday was special in many ways:

• That was the First Live Stand up comedy I attended.
• It was the first time I tried so much to watch a show.
• I had a celebrity replying to my tweet. (He replies to pretty much everyone.)
• I ventured out alone for something. I am the kind of person who looks for company whenever I go out. The reason being, when I am alone, I feel like I’m easily spotted while I’m with someone, I sort of feel invisible. Sort of like, getting drowned in a crowd. I should learn to be comfortable alone. It is on my bucket-list 2016.

If you liked the video, do watch rest of his shows and if you want to watch a live performance, you might just get lucky. And so ended a beautiful Saturday for me. How was it for you folks? 🙂

Images from Kenny Sebastian’s twitter handle.