Bangalore Experience

Feels soo long since I last visited my own site..

Been a week since me here in Bangalore..Did loads of home hunting and
shopping..How is the city.Traffic is bad but guess a
fter Mumbai all this is cake walk. :-) So many malls have come up here since I last visited Bangalore in 2003..

Even after a gap of 3 yrs I was able to identify most of the roads I went thru..Considering my memory I think that is quite an acheivement..Remembered even a cyber cafe which I had visited once only during my stay :-)

Interesting it is..

Did loads of home hunting with my broker..This time I did it alone..
Different experience. Prices are exuberant..Is it really too much to ask for a small balcony and sunlight..Try searching for home and u will know what I am talking about..
But finally I am thru..Shifting yet pending ..(YM Phew smiley)

fell in love with furniture ordered..Especially the dining table and the bed..Infantry road is simply superb. if u want to get any furniture at reasonable prices that is the place to be.

Got a candle stand & perfumed candle for me..Planning to keep it on my dining table.
Been to quite a few malls for window shopping..The best part is food courts.Wonderful tasty North Indian combo meals U do not get them in North India these days..

Gulab Jamuns yummy pure khoya one's..I had forgotten the taste..So rare were theyI thought all halwaii's had taken a liking to gits and their type ..Yipee thank god that was not so.

Next week onwards would be time to resettle at new home..How am I feeling..

I'm loving it.

Trivia: New blog with no pics :-( Still some more time to go..

Bangalore Experience

Feels soo long since I last visited my own site..

Been a week since me here in Bangalore..Did loads of home hunting and
shopping..How is the city.Traffic is bad but guess a
fter Mumbai all this is cake walk. :-) So many malls have come up here since I last visited Bangalore in 2003..

Even after a gap of 3 yrs I was able to identify most of the roads I went thru..Considering my memory I think that is quite an acheivement..Remembered even a cyber cafe which I had visited once only during my stay :-)

Interesting it is..

Did loads of home hunting with my broker..This time I did it alone..
Different experience. Prices are exuberant..Is it really too much to ask for a small balcony and sunlight..Try searching for home and u will know what I am talking about..
But finally I am thru..Shifting yet pending ..(YM Phew smiley)

fell in love with furniture ordered..Especially the dining table and the bed..Infantry road is simply superb. if u want to get any furniture at reasonable prices that is the place to be.

Got a candle stand & perfumed candle for me..Planning to keep it on my dining table.
Been to quite a few malls for window shopping..The best part is food courts.Wonderful tasty North Indian combo meals U do not get them in North India these days..

Gulab Jamuns yummy pure khoya one's..I had forgotten the taste..So rare were theyI thought all halwaii's had taken a liking to gits and their type ..Yipee thank god that was not so.

Next week onwards would be time to resettle at new home..How am I feeling..

I'm loving it.

Trivia: New blog with no pics :-( Still some more time to go..

In Transit

As the title suggests I am yet to reach Bangalore. Enjoying my days at in law’s place..Are u guys winking well might be it’s ur age old prejudice speaking up hmm (YM tounge out smiley)

Came to Ahmd via Mumbai.. A gap of 2 yrs.Was it long not sure.. Got the opportunity to drive thru the roads of Mumbai..Western Express highway. Most of Mumbai years were spent travelling on the same.

Good to see the changes especially the opening of malls and eateries along the Western Express highway stretch..Always thought there was a great business opportunity there.
Met old friends during my short half a day stay..Fell in love with smit’s home balcony. Never knew such cld exist in Mumbai.. no pics there.

Been enjoying the relaxed pace of in law’s home for last few days..It is such a beautiful experience just to see birds flying, gilhari’s running while I sit in the garden and see them doing mischief’s all around.

I even saw langoor’s and peacock’s during my morning walks. Yipee I am loving it

Went to home terrace and was so enticed with the view..Here see if u can love it as much as I did

Only few pics of the lot ..Pretty aren’t they..Can’t come up with the whole album in the absence of my broadband..How I miss it. Soon will be on track.

Trivia:I am not sure of this post has any meaning without the pics I wanted to upload.Yeah cld not upload even few of them. So, I decided to go ahead without the pics..Might update the post at a later date with all the pics. Even keeping there references to pics open for you all.So u can use your imagination :-;

Till then Ciao

Bye Bye Kolkata

I am in the process of relocating..So let's see how active I wld
be on blogging scene..


Going with warm memories..and wish for a new future :-)

Trivia: Home in pic is not mine but one of my favorties here

Journey

Walking down the memory lane..I was on my last visit to IFFCO
Allahabad..I spent 18yrs of my life there..Gosh sounds so stagnant to me
today..But then never felt so in those 18 yrs..Guess I still have that small town with in me somewhere




On the way back from visit to Windom falls..I fell in love with
the setting..quite surprising how suddenly u find such places which u see and say
Hey that's soo perfect..One of those kodak moments for me..





I felt this was so picture postcard like..and imagine it coming out of my mobile
camera makes me more proud..Going on a boat ride on sangam was my idea of giving ode to my grandma and ganges for one last time..
I still remember the early morming when we used to pack our aloo ka paratha's and leave with grandma for the sangam snan..(Sangam is metting of three river Ganga Yamuna and Saraswati. and it is there in Allahabad)

Half an hour my world was still in those waters..




Such a cheery pic..Have a Happy Day

check out more in Album "Sangam Vihar" at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sangita_gupa/my_photos

Rang Barse

Rang Barse has become synonymous to holi..So Happy Holi it was..

My mind has been too clutterred for the last few days to think or write..But guess this is the beauty of blogging it unclogs ur mind or at least it does for me..

It makes sures thoughts which has been haphazardly standing there are straightened out..Thoughts not necessarily important or big things but smaller ones or anything that catches your fancy..

Have u ever had that feeling when things are there running into your mind and do not leave you till you put the feeling to rest..Yeah sounds so like me

So not sure what I am gonna write..but surely purpose is to get it off my head and put it to peace

Well coming back had a wonderful and colorful holi..Trip to parasnath to pick my devarji from station turned into a picnic with all of us tagging along with chotte babu (chotte sasurji/my sasur’s younger bro)..We had poori bhaji and tasty tea at the station..

Ride was as wonderful a u can get with lovely breeze flowing and scenery hmm what can I say ..Have a look urself..

Holi had loads of colors in the morning and evening..Though evenings are only for gulal..

Mostly ppl were wearing white or shades of it..White everywhere with gulal on it is quite a pretty sight..

Me and chotte jeth

Kids show..Balli Boni Munmun and Shubham

Morning Holi Show .

Still recovering from the holi fever..Today me off to another destination..
Till then Enjoy..

Trivia: Pic at the top was from city centre holi decoration

Balloon Love

Today was shopping day..We went to City before our impending travel..And there I got my balloon
Yeah on our way back I fell in love with those balloon flower..Not I am not that fluffy soft toy or daily "I love u" balloons kindaa person..But this was little different so yeahhh I went of it..Buying it was quite a scene..Hubby trying to juggle it from taxi window..Taxi walla waiting & encouraging hubby to open the gate to get it in.. Loads of taxi shouting at top of their voices so we move ahead..

So ultimately balloon did come after all the efforts

Here is hubby..To him this has more resemblance to a sword than a petal..well as I always say perceptions differ

Ok Apart from the balloon show,got a kurta pajama for my chotte sasurji.. suit for myself and yippee a sandal for me..it is very chamak chamak but fell in love with it

Went to malgudi Junction..Pretty decent place for idli dosa lovers like me..tea was not good.. guess should have gone for south Indian coffee..

My Nib painting is finally over and today it along with two other paintings went for framing..Yeah had been due since soo long.

Last week went to Zoo as well.. Was my first visit to a zoological garden as an adult..Surprisingly I loved it..Not only was I surprised by in general good conditions in which animals live..After all the ho halla about zoo's I thought it wld be something really pathetic..But I was satisfied at least on space and water front..

Though I agree that some of the pinjra’s were small but most of them exceeded my expecations..Pics did not come out that nice..due to the sheer distance
And of course the bars between us and animals

But anyways here are some of them in case u wanna have a look at the Royal Bengal Tiger, kid king kong ..
Check out the Kolkata Zoological garden album at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sangita_gupa/my_photos
Holi is approaching and so is my travel day..Yeah tomorrow we are off

So, Wish you all a very Happy and Colorful Holi

Sunshine

Saw friend’s last episode in Star World..How I love that serial. Scene where every one picked out their own keys and placed it on the tables looked so much familiar and endearing. well yeah we did share the keys but nah it never was so many versions..Or was it??

Yesterday was a good day. Went to City Centre and imagine the surprise when I met two of my college mates there..I was like wow meeting both of u is kindaa bonus ..One friend completed my words saying “Ek ke saath ek free”..
Yeah I know I become so embarrassingly obvious at times but she took it quite sportingly..

Half an hour was spent there chatting and catching upon abt us and so many around us..
In those 30 minutes I was declared a brave woman who somehow did what all of them have been thinking . Ppl still get shocked at how can I quit a well to do job and what I do whole day..I wish I had the perfect answers.

At least the fact that it’s been five months helps them understand that I have no plans for a comeback.

One of my best friends gave birth to a baby boy..I tried so hard not to call her(I did sms her) but in the end I did.. Talked to her mother gathering all the tiny miny details..Aunty was left wondering who she was talking to..yeah she knew my name but that was it..Funny it was

Also I had hakka noodles yesterday. Since I came to Kolkata this was the first time I was having it..why I never had it in such a long time,I have no idea..Just that It happened so. I ended up blocking my throat..Not as bad but enough to get me knowing greed is bad..We all know greed is bad but at times reminders are cool

Apart from so many personal goodie’s came the great news that Nuke deal is done..

Now I am quite confused abt this whole deal..Let me try to explain..Few Nuke deal highlights that concern my query are

1. Our civilian reactors wld be under IAEA safeguards permanently
2. Nuclear fuel wld be guaranteed to the civilian reactors .

Impact of deal is India wld be De facto Nuclear Power
Now that's good and understood I am cool abt it..

Second part is abt IAEA safeguards which has made our scientists worry(and me as well).
As for scientist's worry, reports say these nuclear techniques were developed indigenously under many constraints( yeah that’s how TOI reports states it).

My worry, are we trying to say that we might not be adhering to IAEA safegueards. Well still ok but if so it leads to

· Requirement of R & D, Change in existing technology..(And we are not getting any support on this part right??)
· Applying this technology change to reactors to ensure they adhere to IAEA safeguards
· Are we putting a stop on new reactors till we have this new tech. which adheres to IAEA safeguards is in place. But then I heard NPC is planning for at least 6 new reactors

So basically I am pretty worried abt these nitty gritties .. I hope I got across my point..

Unfortunately no paper no report seems to be bothered..I have not seen a single person questioning it all..And that’s what has been pricking me since the news has come out of this Nuke deal

Is it there is something too obvious that I am missing or I am thinking too far ahead.
No I need not be a nuclear scientist to figure out questions like above..

I am sure our ppl do have the plans and answer to whatever I said above.And it’s only a case of information not being dissipated..Though I wish it had the info (if anyone can enlighten me please do)

On a lighter note weather has been cooling off for last few days.. ..A respite from the heat.. Dove’s kids are growing day by day on my balcony. Soon it would be time to pack the bags and travel.

Have a Nice Day

Trivia: I love the play of light and shadow creation in the pic..One of our rooms getting sunshine

Pretty Palash

Spring is knocking at the doors.. Can see palash(tesu ) all around me. Took this pic while on my way back home from gym.
It is quite hot here now. By 1:00 in the afternoon u will hardly see anyone around. All the shops are closed..Small vendorwalla’s lying down in the shade to catch up on their sleeps for few hours..

Roads are dusty and burning..So walking back on such an afternoon day the ‘tapak’ sound made by palash falling from the tree was a welcome.

Just peered above and saw this tree full of red palash..Bengal is so full of them..You can see red, yellow white palash flowering everywhere..

Gives every bit of color to these hot colorless afternoons .. Reminds of the coming of Festival of colors..yeah it is holi I am talking about. Palash has a special association with holi. As per veda’s (Hindu old ancient text) color from these flowers was used for holi and also brings health benefits like increase in blood circulation.

Know not about medical benefits but yeah the beauty of it surely increases my blood circulation

Today saw the Saare gama pa finals. Quality of the top 10 contestants was soo amazing..I fell for twinkle’s smile , Himani’s beauty , paresh’s accent, hemachandra’s voice

Wonderful platform and cheers for all of them to be performing bedhadak in front of so may audiences..I am sure with so many ppl from music industry talent can’t go unnoticed and everyone will make out their own destiny.. Wish them all success.

Have been hearing out about Jessica Lal murder case. With so many witnesses going hostile, I have no idea how can justice ever be delivered.. But must appreciate at least the media drive/focus which has led to at least the initiative for another trial.(hopefully will be a favorable one). We can always crib about what is not being done but definitely need to appreciate here what is being attempted. So did u send the sms..I did

Do u guys know we got no trains to places like Kohima..I was surprised recently to discover that except for capitals in NE regions(means 4 states) most of the other places have no train connectivity...First thought to appear in my mind after hearing this was, if NE ppl are doing all the agitation of non development in their areas they are not wrong at all..

So all that unrest is not that unjustified..(Ok I might sound like some junkie coming from another planet..)

Now for this rail connectivity u can give any reasons like it is tribals area hilly area..Not many industries around there..But isn’t it that it was rail networks had played a major part during industrial revolution. So how can u even think of triggering development in those areas without such a basic need being fulfilled. Guess made my point. But I am still recovering from this new found fact and my unawareness about my own country..

Time for a outing.. Nah no train journey..A simple walk by the road.

Enjoy the day

Cricket Fever

Cricket season is here and so our TV is working overtime nowadays.. Got to see quite a few ads in last few days

Realized yesterday how the number of kids in advertising industry has grown over the years..I mean of the 5 ads coming up in crick break four had kids in them and the ads varied from car to insurance product…Guess it I more to catch the EQ(emotional Quotient) of us consumers rather than the fact product is meant for kids or not..

Coming to real question, does it really matter if an ad campaign has kids in it..Well for me yeah at least cute kids do catch your eyes..and their innocence.. Wat can you say..At times they are soo perfect to pass on the message..U seen that recent Hutch Ad ‘Do not click without permission’ Not a single word but still message hits u..

As for Daag Acche hein, My Daddy’s Big Car, I am saving for it, never made me change my choices but I do remember these ads for their cute quotient

Not sure if brands are getting their values, but I surely am enjoying it


Checked out the match yesterday. I am not one of those mad for cricket ppl though hubby is..But the last hour was something even a no fan like me watched wide eyed.. Shreeshanth’s body jumble, Yuvraj’s leg crumble and Dhoni’s sixers all made it quite exciting
Have u ever heard Imraan and Nasir’s analysis abt the match. There is no halla gulla Sheer facts and cool minded analysis of facts. I like that format

That is the part I cherish most and have realized whether I see the match or not I am all ears for this one.

Oops, enough of cric talk..coming to food. Yeah the one in the pic.

I love idli’s and that’s the dinner I had at the start of the weekend..Yeah I ate all of them. And the bowl u see there is the one I bought. My maid even has broken one of them.. But I dare not tell her the price. Instead told her u breaking such precious glass bowls..Be careful. Well makes more impact I hope :-;

Check out LNM’s exclusive interview on NDTV. They are running it day and night..Quite amusing to see Barkha dutt trying to provoke LNM and do I see him amused as well .. well let me know.

C ya all

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day

V- Day is here and so are the protests by Shiv Sena.. Makes for a good debates across all the channels..In NDTV 24*7 debate Ashok Singhal claimed ‘Such Days are leading to the collapse of our sanskriti’..Pat came Pooja Bhatt’s reply “Is Our culture so weak that suddenly it comes to collapse on this one day”

It is not that I am in favor of the V day or I love them..But somehow till date I can not understand shiv sena’s point. I mean they say it promotes western culture but the so does mother’s day, father’s day..All of this is coming from them right..

Personally speaking V day is no different for me. How can I suddenly be this girlie girlie being waiting for gifts and all the love which should(Note the should usage here) be showered on me on that day..Not my type..but if u look at it, there is nothing wrong in making hubby feel a little guilty over not giving me gifts

So yeah I do use the occasion for my own little purpose :-;

Yesterday saw Sudha Murthi’s interview (CNBC TV 18).Do I hear, who is she?? Ok, she is Narayan Murthi’s wife..

Hearing shuddh hindi words coming from her was a pleasure..
Quite a talkative person as opposed to Narayan Murthi. “Murthi is very shy” as she claimed..
Throughout the interview she called her husband Murthi..Was amused to hear that..
Not sure it was bcoz we are so accustomed to Mr Narayana Murthi or just that in my pa’s ma's generation never heard anybody talking abt their husband with first names..

Sudha Murthi worked for Telco and Infy.. Story goes that after seeing a Telco work ad which had footnote ‘Female Candidates need not apply, Sudha wrote to JRD abt the gender bias.

JRD himself apologized and offered her the post. Though initially she had no intention to join as she had a scholarship from US, she did join Telco after the incident as after that letter she felt she was morally responsible to take up the offer.. She became the first woman engineer at the shop floor of the company

While leaving the Telco(she said she was going to join an adventure venture) when she broke the news to JRD he said "you fought so much for the job and now you are quitting it?" She told him that her husband wanted to start the Infosys Adventure. And then JRD turned almost a soothsayer to say, "If you make lots of money you must give it back to society as you have received so much love from it."

Words stayed with her and lead in shaping of ‘Infosys Foundation’ she created.

Coming to JRD, her mother was French. She was initiated into Parsee religion by RD(Ratan JRD’s father). Seems this had created quite a stir in those times as parsee religion does not allow this and even had lead to a famous court case.

Courtsey : Oxford Book Store

Yeah also went to Oxford Book Store..Was an interesting visit..On my way to store noticed an adjacent building named as FreeMasons,19 park street..

Does it ring bells for you..it will if you have read Da Vinci Code..So me curious to find out more picked up a book(No did not buy :-;) abt Calcutta’s historical places in Oxford..

Wow and here is what I found was..
Earlier 53,Park Street , this has the honor of receiving Freemasonry in India ,
in the year 1730.
Now serves as the headquarters for the FreeMasons in Eastern Region.

Never knew freemason was here in India as well. Interesting

Do u know Swamy Vivekananda, JRD Tata, Motilal Nehru , C. Rajagopalachary were initiated into freemasons society.. Well I never heard this before

Ended my day laughing at this shop claiming to be in
“Shakes Peare Road” ..

Trivia:Pic above is from Kolkata Book Fair..What was I doing clicking flowers..well neighbor was in bengali book shop and I used the oppurtunity

Blogthing

Off late I have been addicted to Blogthings..U won't believe but I am capable of spending hours on it..Guess that's why my weird quotient from one of the quiz was 50% :-)

It all started with me reading in blogs about some tests results and links to taking these tests..And yeah I know I never missed an opportunity to take them..Not sure what use they are but they are kindaa funny for me..Do I believe in them?? At the outset NO but somewhere inside I look forward to the results :-)

Little contradictory and confusing..But life is patches of grey No Blacks and whites..

I have done quite some experimentations like taking the same quiz twice, changing the answers a little here and there..I found results are mostly agreeable.(Interesting point I noticed is if they are not agreeable I made myself believe I did not select the right answer or some other excuse .)

But all in all there is a belief somewhere inside which always says first test I take is always the best(as generally it has given me interesting results to date) and closest to my personality

Now this business of finding out from some one else ‘what you are’ and ‘what u shld do’ is quite funny,flattering and can be misleading..Depends on how u take it

I mean if u look at it why do I need someone else to say what I am..and that too based on some choices..But then there have so many time I have felt Gosh this is so true. Especially for the good points
Feeling like hey nobody noticed this except me..Guess it is this feel good factor which makes us go (or might be ME) go to them again and again..


So here are some of the tests I took in the order of my liking of their results..yeah I know weird way of ordering them but nowadays we are in an era where we rate everything :-; So here you go.

Your Hidden Talent

You are both very knowledgeable and creative. You tend to be full of new ideas and potential - big potential. Ideas like yours could change the world, if you build them. As long as you don't stop working on your dreams, you'll get there.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child. Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded. You cherish all of the details in life. Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Your Scholastic Strength Is Evaluating

You are great at looking at many details and putting them all together. You are talented at detecting subtle trends, accuracy, and managing change. You should major in: Statistics Speech Conflict studies Communication Finance Medicine

What Should You Major In?

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

Your IQ Is 115

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Average

Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Trivia : One of the quizzes here said I was a distant blogger :-(
So from now on planning to answer the comments and make my blog more interactive :-)

Season Rides

Fairs are the flavor of the season..Here in Kolkata , one fair’s end has been leading to the start of another..and the cycle continues till Feb Mid..So there has been Industrial Fair Flower Show Book Fair and latest Salt Lake Mela

Took hubby to the mela. Best was the Break Dance ride..yeah u heard it right.that was the name. .Hubby was shockingly amused that he was doing such a stupid thing as getting on these rides. Enjoyable moment’s

My purchase from mela was glass bowls..I am a fan of any glass cutlery.and the only thing that has till date stopped me from buying it is our gypsy like existence..Though I love packing bags every second year and going off to a new destination..Life like this has its own limitations..and one of them is any extra baggage and breakable on top of that is huge no no..

But this one time I made an exception..Nope not that bowls are very pretty but they were GLASS bowls and so damn cheap that I cld not resist it.. 5 rs per piece..Cool isn’t it..I mean even if I use it for 3 months and throw it off it wldn’t pinch..yeah so me planning to do exactly that Yipee

Currently my agenda is to eat everything possible out of it..Hubby finds it quite funny.. But I am sure he will get used to it..

Last week was sarswati pooja..Had loads of sweets and special Prasad of bengal..Also went to neighbor’s relatives.. My ma in law says tum kahan kahan pahunch jaati ho J

Pooja was fun..Sarswati idol had half moon like shiva’s idol generally has..yeah guess all gods are made to look so alike that even makers forget what r they doing....Best part was food..

Bengali with loads of vegetables and sweets..Misthi Dahi(Dahi made in mitti I handi..Is a speciality here) was real good..and I am always a huge fan of tomato chatni.. yummy

End of the pooja was marked by an adda session and tea..(Bengali have this habit of getting together in respective areas called para and do loads of gapbaazi called adda). Interesting discussion on living in India vs living abroad..Gosh there has not been an iota of change since the days we used to discuss the topic and today when these new kids were doing it

All n all good trip..Highlight was the discussion below on our way back

Neighbor(on seeing a Doberman): They cut tail of Dobermans to make them ferocious
Her Son(All curious) : why , why does that make them ferocious
Neighbor (Little uncomfortable) : Their nervous system goes all awry
Son(Very angry and agitated by now as he sees no reason)
: Why what r u saying..We humans with one legs are not ferocious..
Sangita : Loud laugh
Neighbor(Agitated) : Tumi ekdum boka (U r a fool)
Neighbor : looking at me angrily

Yeah that’s what I did.i know...Now promise to go back to the kid with the details..

Trivia:After some searching found cutting the tails was a practice done as these pets were used for hunting..and it was thought their tails might get caught in the bush.

Kolkata Book fair 2006

Impressive Aren't they..Image power ..

Welcome aborad to 31st Kolkata Book Fair. Gave it a visit yesterday..Sounds quite old to me..I mean if u look at it fair started even before I was born..

Largest in Asia and largest attended ever in the world..Later attribute I believe is more due to sheer population we have rather than anything else..But still need to appreciate that at least nowadays ppl are back to book buying spree’s and publication do try hard at their end in luring them young..

Most of the parents were there to buy books for their kids..With the pretty hardcovers loads of pics and thinner size, they are easy on the pockets of the parents and minds of the kids..So much so that even I read those old kids tales standing there J
Sleeping beauty, Snow white Good to see them from time to time..

Mentioning of them reminds me of a teleserial Fairy Tale Theatres.Way back when I was a child must be in 80’s sometime I guess ..Not sure how many of u saw it.. Though I do not remember who was the producer director but some of the stories and images have stayed with me till date..Yummy.. I can watch it over and over again.Wish I could get my hands on to it..I ld like to tell me children one day, see I grew up watching this ..hmm

Ok now coming back to books,what I liked was the fact of breaking collection into separates stories per book..(Like separating Sherlock homes stories in a pocket book format..) Heard that sales are bettering day by day .Aggressive Marketing has its own advantages at times..

However quite surprisingly, somehow adult section was not as well defined as I would have liked it to be..I mean yeah u got loads of books for kids,growing up kids even sleaze section..But what abt the average avid reader..I felt quite left out there.. and discount a feeble amount of 10 percent.. Personally speaking I found the collection at Landmark, Oxford and Crossword far better..

I wanna go one more time..
This time will ensure checking out all the four entrances based on Spanish theme. I did click few book stalls..Check Kolkata Book fair 2006 album at
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sangita_gupa/my_photos

For food I had sweet rice..This was a delicacy my grand ma used to prepare for us..Been years since I had that. Even though taste had a little weird connotation to it I lapped it over with a nostalgic aroma.

Day full of books,food and festivities. Yipee

Another Quote
‘Logic can take you from A to B. Imagination everywhere’

Trivia:Pics above are from Book Fair stalls. To me they mean freedom of expression, money(sponsorship) and knowledge (esp to kids)..All three fairly important for us to keep us growing ..

Tagged

Sherry tagged me..Now it is vary embarassing to say I have read abt being tagged it in other's blog but I was not very sure what it exactly is all about..

I mean do I just need to write anything under the sun about me..

But then she saved me by giving a set of rules..I am soo relieved..

Now here are the set of rules

1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. Need to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game & leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again

Perfect Lover ..Definition itself has undergone such a huge change over span of years for me .Thank God I never got one as per my once upon a time thoughts ..

The happening attributes I want in my perfect lover.

Target :Male

1.Should give me space loads and loads of it..Yeah I hate being in anything
closed be it rooms, spaces or whatever..Do not sit on my head and tell me what to
do, how to do..Suggest and leave

2.Should be able to take my bouts of anger in mature manner and let me see on
what I missed on those grand hysteric moments

3.Should be intelligent,knowledigble and provide good insights on any thing we chat..
Have to be intelligent than me (Yeah I consider myself quite intelligent..Does that sound arrogant well let it be)

4. Should have the ability to think on the feet..Absolutely important

5.Should be able to tolerate my eccentricities. No need to love them but
never hate them..

6.Commitment & Respect..This I believe goes without even saying it

7.Shld pamper me at times..Note the word at times here

Gosh can I be more demanding than that.. Guess enough..

Now who do I make the victim..Ok guys here u go

Me
AngelDust
Rauf

Hey anobody else out there who wanna get tagged..

Ok so I have broken a few rules but fine rules are meant to be bent and broken..
Not bad

Phew ..Over to others

Trivia: Pic above is with hubby..Both of us amused at being clicked together after a long gap :-)
Cheers to us..

My Thoughts on Sonia

Few days back I was watching Sonia Gandhi’s interview by rajdeep..This led me thinking about her and what it must feel like to go through such a long personal and professional journey on one’s own..

Sonia Gandhi..Her name always spells an aura of awe, brevity and mystery for me..
Not that I am a political follower of Gandhi’s or Congress or any party for that matter..
But it is Sonia the person who has always made me wonder.

I know not much about her personal life apart from what is covered in media what is written about her in public domain and of course the way she has conducted herself amid all the controversies, all the adversaries..

Whenever there has been a debate on her foreign origin, on her poor Hindi communication skills, I have wondered as an individual what must have transpired in her mind to come to an alien country take on its customs, it ppl as one’s own and then to face such allegations from time to time. To me it is eccentric especially when you have no one to hold to, with a husband dead , ma in law long before gone..and two young children to be taken care of..

So many times I have thought only way I wld have reacted was ‘This country took my husband away, his whole family away, now wants to take my freedom away and then next target wld be my own children..I will not let that happen at any cost’ and then wld have gone back to my origins at the first given opportunity..

But she was different and that’s what lets me appreciate her..

Once she wld have started working actively into congress I am sure she wld have her own doubts on ppl accepting her, her learning graph and the unfortunate fate of all the Gandhi’s in past..

Also how can we forget issues raking her political career.. Issues of foreign origin ,her not speaking Hindi well and Indian citizenship

I find the issue of foreign origin quite interesting. How come a person who take’s her husband’s land as her own, works for the vision of her family rises out of personal trauma to work in her own way for the country is still not an Indian.. I find it an irony that her own children are considered Indian but not the mother who bore them..

For Sonia connecting to rural India would have been a huge task personally and professionally..Considering the barriers she had of language, origin .. she has surpassed them all..Being considered an icon for rural India itself says it all..Some of u might say polls are all raked up, but I must they might not be totally correct but have to be indicative of some trend being seen..A personal triumph for her.

I am not saying here that she is a great leader or something..That might be separate debate.. but wrt to challenges that life throws at us she has risen to every opportunity in the best possible manner she cld have .

Self Learning is a difficult task believe me.. and she has done it with élan..

Oops am I resurrecting Sonia Gandhi..Well nope just trying to portray a sketch of what I think ‘Sonia Gandhi an Individual’ must be like or must have thought

Opinions can very well differ..Some one might agree more with a view that she is a well scheming person who saw the power seat waiting for next gen of Gandhi’s and could not let it go..Everything she has done is a part of a bigger scene and the ultimate motive of seeing her own children on the pedestal somewhere their father their grandmother stood..

Now only thing I can say to that is being in democracy all of us have a right to
thought J
But I admire her for her spirit and her silent ways.

Now over to another quote I find amusing :
‘I am not not crazy, just in bad Mood for last 30 years’

Amazing Lives

Excess of everything is bad..so true Guess for last few days I had been so engrossed in my photographic world ,from taking the pics to putting them on blog making albums goshh..I am tired and now I feel like I am done with for next few days..(nope not weeks I guess, J)..

My mind is sooo empty today..this is a very rare feeling as generally it is stocked up piled up with so many things going on..Slept like a log yesterday Imagine it was only 8 in the night and I was already exhausted and on the bed..

Seeing loads of biographies since last few days.Courtsey History Channel.....Few interesting ones..
First one that interest me was Mario Puzo.. Mario wanted to be gangster as a young child..Being born in an immigrant family.. and spent earlier childhood years , in Manhattan's West Side , he had seen mafia at quite close quarters.. It was only his mother’s strict disciplinary actions that ensure he never had his childhood dream come true..

Reason we got a GodFather..A classic even in today’s time

He had written 2 novels before Godfather..Both gave him literary success and he was tagged a great writer in making..but none gave him the much needed money to support his family of five children

That is when he set to write a commercial novel and after an effort of 3 years came out ‘The GodFather’.. Mario even apologized for writing this saying this was never the best of his work


Another one that I watched and it really impressed me was Martina Navratilova..Might be lots of tennis fans out there already know but some of the facts I knew for the first time were an eye opener for me..They might explain her aggressiveness to a certain extent..or I like to believe so

She was already winning matches at 16 yrs of age for her country..but was under tough scanner from Czechoslovakia for her so called American manners.. she was made to share her prize money with Czechoslovakia’s federation.. Seems a very little of the amount was actually trickling to her.. Czech government even tried to restrict her from moving around and forcing her not to travel to US ..In the end she decided to defect to her own country and the cost was quite high..She did not see her family for another decade..

Imagine an 18 yr old in an alien country with no family and support..Well rest is history as we all know more or less abt her wins and her journey in tennis..

Good to see there are amazing ppl with a more amazing life and determination in this world

Trivia:Pic above is the pond I cross when I go for my painting class..

Science City

Here is the Part 2 of my trip dedicated to science City..A novel idea to popularise science across various factions and it does interest you..
The Science City, Calcutta was opened on July 1, 1997 by the the National Council of Science Museums and has been a hit with crowds ever since..
There are always new demonstrations coming up to ensure every visit is an unique one..This was my fourth visit and as interesting as ever..

Gear Up for the trip..





First View Inside the premises.. of the Space Theatre dome , Zoo and Main Entrance all in one go







Huge attraction for Kids..Outside the premises









Toy Train First Ride of the Day.Nice way to do an inspection of the area we are to uncover



Entrance to Evolution Park.Depicts our own evolution and habitat of age old animals..Moving models of dinosaurs are an absolute hit with kids..U can hear shreiking sounds inside..Nope not of dinosaurs but kids






Walk on Piano.U walk and it plays






Van De Graaff..Named after the inventor it produces high velocity electrons..Enough to raise hairs of the trial person and give electric shocks to ppl touching her. They did the demonstration on me :-(








Mirror magic Best section for the fun..Mirror Maze was show stealer..U got to be inside Mirror maze to get the experience.






Caterpillar ride..They did not allow us to be in there :-( So we shot the pic :-)









Maze on our way out..Explains number of scientific concepts in playful manner..



Yeah So here ends our small wonder trip..Hope u enjoyed :-)

Buzzing Days

Last few days have been buzzing with activity..(Of late I realized most of my blogs start with busy word so trying to change from that monotonous tone)..

My Devar was here to spend his break from the college..We did quite a roaming around time with our long walks to city centre..Yeah we voted hubby out for taxi with a vote of 2 to 1.

Last few days have seen me covering Kolkata from city centre to Victoria to Science city..Sharing those moments





Memo Shop..This carriage was used in one of the oldest steam engines in Kolkata and later on added here as a tourist attraction.







Sleeping Beauty..Vicky in deep sleep





Makar Sakranti Celebrations.Yipee we had our own traditional Dahi chooda and Goodh..(Hubby says write jaggery..:-))





Park Day for us.colorful isn't it..Though missing the bathing chirping kids who generally make it more colorful :-)








I always stop by gazing in awe at this tree .Check the spooky branches







Musical Fountain Extravanza..Absolutely breathless.We had mesemerizing half an hour here with those waters swaying to the beats of bollywood..Starting from dola re to oh hansini by kishore kumar to instrumental..Diffcult to capture the beauty of the moment but here it is..




Ride on the bagghi against the backdrop of Victoria Memorial. I always find it very romantic..









Our Last stop after a hectic day..Flurry's New cake decoration on display

Always fascinated by Chandeliers. One of the twin pairs at Flurry's..

We on our way back after an hectic day.Wedding reception in the lake..Sounds exotic..and Looked exotic as well

End of a Bright Day..Wish you all a happy Makar Sakranti