Once Upon A Day

#OnceUponADay

Some days are happening. Some days are hectic. Some days are busy. And then there those days which leave you so tired to the core that you are up past mid night staring - not at the dark ceiling- but at the mobile screen doing worthless browsing.

The morning started with wondering how the day can be planned, as my elder son got up late and missed his school bus. When the older one misses school it takes enormous effort to convince the little one to go to school. I promised him to pick him early from the day care when I knew I will not be able to keep the promise. False promises needless to say are not a good thing to do.
#ParenthoodChallenges

We also realised it's time for pest control, we found a mouse in our dustbin! 😏
#PestFears

I left my older kid in the office all by himself but with other office employees for 2 hours and hoped that my remote management to have him picked up by my day father goes as planned, and it did without any hiccups. But that was very courageous and un-mother like to leave a kid behind and rush for that "important client meeting"
#MotherGuilt

The next few hours in office were super busy. But I wondered what I did apart from synching up with N number of people and their work while trying to balance my own office work.
#MultiTaskingAtItsBest

Post lunch was again filled with discussions and meetings making me feel like a zombie entrepreneur wondering how important coffee is in my life.
#WowIAmACEO

Evening was spent getting negative feedback from a client and trying my best not to lose the client, not to lose patience and most importantly not to lose hope.
#PersistanceIsTheKeyToSuccessfulVentures

Even more tough was to forward the feedback to the team knowing the team did good work. Well, the client was good too, the team was good and people are all good. And yet times can be bad!
#EmotionalAndPhilosophicalLoad

I was hoping to call it a day and jump into bed to get some good sleep but I realised I am a mother too. Mother of two energetic kids who wanted to enjoy Friday night and not get to bed. The morning guilt had slept and what I had turned into was a crazily shouting mother who was hoping for a magic wand to put the kids to bed!
#FrustratedMother

Well the story doesn't end here. It was by now that I realised I have developed eye infection. I happened to take a look at the mirror after 12 hours and I remembered my itching eye since noon. It looked red and infected.
Point also to be noted and highlighted, am a lady getting time to look at the mirror after 12 hours, so I should have to be super busy!
#BusyProofs
#SickDaysNoticeAhead

All medical shops are closed when I go out to buy medicine. It takes me a while to realise I am walking on FC road in my pajamas! Well there was a time when we used to dress up and go to watch "people" on FC road.
#TimesChange

Finally I get to lie on my bed but just like after a long travel you still feel the motion, I can still feel the pace of my heavy day today!

The Walk

He stormed out of the meeting room, collected his bag from his desk and headed home. Today was a bad day for him. And it had just gotten worse.

In the morning when he reached office, he couldn’t help notice her in pink dress. She was looking pretty and her smile was wider today. She was his college friend and he had a massive crush on her. But today, his smile vanished when she told him with those happily lit eyes - she was getting engaged! As she told him about Avi, he could feel his heart tear apart.

His afternoon was messed up when the bug he was trying to solve was escalated and had gotten his manager’s attention and pressure. In the evening he was discussing the solution to a new assignment at hand with his colleague Sahil, when they ended up in a not so professional verbal fight.

He stormed out of the office and started walking briskly to catch an auto back home. Why am I the one to suffer? Why does everything bad happen to only me? Lot of negative thoughts were flooding his mind. He saw a couple walk hand in hand on the road. “If only I had taken her hand and expressed my feelings before”, he thought. And why the hell didn’t Sahil understand his point? The bug was not my problem, I had taken up something extra and why has it backfired on me? Its just me. This happens only to me! Why me?!

Too many thoughts were flooding his mind not letting him think straight. Just like the too much honking all around. Why do people honk so much? Why is everyone so bad? Why is life so bad?

A group of college students were sitting casually as though they had all the time in the world. They were laughing and enjoying life. While the students took selfies, he thought, I don’t even have time for self!

An audi passed by. Wow! He noticed the man sitting inside in a blazer reading on his tablet as the driver took him home. This guy must have a lot of money. Will I ever be like him or will I forever be stuck in a job like now? But then, would this guy have enough time to enjoy life?!

Suddenly he got jolted by a man speeding on his two wheeler. He seems to be in a hurry to get back home. Great, I am not in a hurry today. I have decided to sneak some time off to calm my thoughts. Finally, a positive thought. Maybe the endorphins were acting now as he walked briskly.

As he crossed the park and heard a little kid hugging his friend and saying “sorry, lets be friends again” something struck him. He picked up his phone and called up Sahil. “Hey Sahil, I am sorry, just had a bad day. Lets discuss about your approach tomorrow.” He heard a smile in the “ok” from other end.

Suddenly he felt lighter. One of his problem was solved. It was that easy. The clouded mind was clearing itself to show a positive way ahead.

As he walked and observed so many different people busy in their own lives, he felt everyone is walking on a path they choose. When we face challenges we have to choose which path to walk? Should I take the gloomy path where I will crib all day or should I walk ahead by fighting all odds?

As one treads down the path of life, one realises the way is not all too rosy. Each has his share of problems. With every challenge one only grows stronger. You need to face and deal with every problem that comes your way. Take wise decisions, express yourself properly and in time and have the faith that “every bad phase will pass”.

His mind was no longer acting the devil by now. He knew which path to walk.

Beep. He had received a whatsapp message from her. “Hey where are you? We were supposed to go home together, I have so much to tell you about Avi!”. He switched off his phone. And continued walking with a smile. :)

Thirty Five

Thirty five is a tetrahedral number. Thirty five is the highest number one can count on his fingers using base 6. Thirty five is the atomic number of bromine which is widely used in water purification. Thirty five is the minimum age of candidates for election to the United States Presidency. 

Given that average life expectancy in the world is 70 years (according to World Factbook), thirty five years is your mid life!

Thirty five years is a good time for self evaluation. Being in thirties is beautiful. You are more mature and have more understanding of life. Society-imposed goals are no longer a torture as you have passed that age: exam marks, admissions, job, career, marriage, children - whether you have ticked all these society-imposed goals or missed any, you reach a state where you no longer care. Its the time when you begin to live life for yourself.

In mid thirties, many people are often struck by what they call as "thrisis". Its like a mini mid life crisis. This is direct outcome of your self evaluation. Its a time when you gradually and drastically shift your focus in life. You would see many people take extreme decisions in their thirties that mark drastic changes in their careers, relationships and spiritual/religious beliefs.

As I turn thirty five, I too put on a review coat and evaluated myself. Tried expressing my review results in the form of a poem! :)

With colourful threads of love

I began weaving the fabric of my life

I wanted to weave a beautiful design

Which would withstand any knife...

I roped the threads around all I loved

There were so many, I couldn't settle for any less!

I thought I was living a big life

But it soon became an entangled mess!

I couldn't sort the entangled mess

I couldn't cut the thread

I couldn't see any beautiful design 

And the colours all looked dead

I stepped aside to check my work

And what I saw broke my heart! 

I was half way through

And there was no way I could restart!

While I was busy weaving my life's fabric

I didn't realise how it had changed it's course

Was this how I had imagined it would be?

As all I can feel is remorse...

Is my life really an entangled mess?

Or do I fail to see its beauty? 

Is there a way to take it forward

Without feeling regret, hurt or guilty?

Should I brood or start afresh?

Should I shrug and simply jive?

Is this something that everyone feels

When they turn thirty five?!!

I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience!

...But that does not mean I am being arrogant! Using Meryl Streep's words to express what I believe in, what I am!

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretence, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

Living a Rustic Life

There was no tap. No running water to wash my hands. Water was poured on my hands while I washed it, and the dirty water was collected by a bucket underneath. This dirty water was used to flush the toilets, which were built for use by campers. I had come for an adventure camping at a village named Yelavli near Bhimashankar.

Yelavli is a hidden village which is inaccessible by any modes of transport. To reach the village you need to hike up a 3 km distance uphill. While we hiked up Yelavli and were panting over the last few meters which were quite steep, a young boy chased us up. He was carrying a school bag on his back. He reached the top and quickly glanced down at us. We were amazed at his fitness!
"There is no school in Yelavli. There is one school in the village at the base of this hill", said Subhash. "But that school is only up to 6th grade. After that the kids need to travel another 40 mins to another village to attend a bigger school!"

Yelavli is a part of of the wild life sanctuary area near Bhimashankar. Geographically it lies to the back side of the Bhimashankar temple. The population of the village is 80. "It includes the 2 babies that were delivered recently", said Subhash proudly.

Subhash heads the tourism department of Yelavli. Yes, tourism! There were people who discovered this little village and thought of setting up a secondary means of livelihood for the villagers. An NGO named Kalpavriksh trained Subhash and a couple of others to cater to the needs of the city campers. They helped them setup 2 toilets and 2 concrete rooms. "It took 3 years to get this simple construction completed. Every brick that was used for this construction, every cement block (weighing 50 kg each), every metal rods - it all was lifted on backs and carried by people of the village up the hill!", said Subhash, who is the most learned in the village, who studied B.A. and returned back to the village. To help the people survive, to help them in their farming by imparting his knowledge about crops, to help them interact with city campers like us.

Three kids from that village named Vishal, Ganesh and Naresh showed us around. They spoke with us in a typical village-marathi dialect which we found hard to follow. Just like our kids are, these kids too were fascinated by binoculars and mobiles and cameras! But we hesitated letting them handle these gadgets! We thought they lacked basic hygiene. We thought they were unclean. And yet the 4 city kids from our group played with these 3 village kids without any bias. These kids would eventually learn to differentiate between the 2 classes...

The village has 2 electric poles, operated by solar power. The only other source of light for us was battery operated torches! The village women cooked all meals for us. It was a simple but very tasty menu! Bajri bhakri, pithla, potato bhaji, thecha, loncha, rice, dahi, varan... Some of the items like bajri, rice, potato was home grown. And some items were fetched by these women from the hill base. The women also carried lots of clean water for us from the hill base.

We enjoyed the stay. We loved the beauty and nature of the surroundings. We cleansed our lungs with clean air. We paid a meagre fare for the services the villagers offered us. We did our bit to carry back all our waste and plastic; we did not litter around.

No doubt the camping trip was awesome. What makes me wonder is - why I am more fortunate than others in this world? I have always believed that we are responsible in creating our own destiny, in shaping our future. But what about Vishal, Naresh and Ganesh? Who will be responsible in giving them a life which can be compared with what my children will get? Yes, there will be some people like Subhash from that village who stand out and act like God's secret agent. Subhash would help these kids grow well too. But what about other undiscovered villages in India?

These villages have nature and love in abundance. In our cities we have hygiene in abundance. Cant we have the perfect balance where we progress but live in harmony with nature? Cant we have that ideal eco system where we live in a world full of knowledge, awareness, hygiene and yet preserve the nature's blessings on us?

Yelavli Village

The Lonely Crow

This crow saw his own reflection on the glass window. Check out how crazy this crow acted to meet whom-he-thought-was his better half!! :)
We secretly spied on this crow from the other side of the glass window! The window looks transparent from inside and has a mirrored look from outside. The crow tried these antics for a long time, maybe for a couple of hours!
#Hilarious #FunnyVideos

"My Name is Shaikh"

"My name is Shaikh", he replied. "Madam, your mobile is safe with me. If you don't trust me take down my number!" I hurried to get a pen and scribbled his number on a newspaper lying on the table. "Madam, please believe me. I will come in 10 mins to give you your mobile. Just tell me your address properly." I had to give my address to a stranger at 10.45pm. I had no option but to trust him.

I had gone out to do weekly groceries in the evening. I was back at 7pm. After that I was busy getting the groceries in place and getting the kids to bed. It was after 10.30pm that I realized my mobile was missing! It was in my purse when I paid the bill for the groceries. I could not remember what happened to my phone after that. At 10.45pm, I called on my number and heard Shaikh answer it. He sounded genuine. It seemed logical that he will give my phone back - that's why he answered it! I had no option but to trust him. I also had an option to stay calm and really trust him - which I could not!

My mind filled with all kinds of thoughts. He could have sold my mobile for thousands of rupees. Why does he want to return it? What if he comes to my house with bullies and ....! And since he knows my number and also my address - what if he causes more trouble? Strangely, he knew a part of my address - he knew which colony I stayed! Was he following me back home from the grocery store?

My suspicious thoughts changed into guilt when I met him.

He was a young boy, around 16 years of age. Thin and dark but his face had a bright look. He had deep set eyes which radiated honesty. He lived close by in a slum. "Madam I found your phone lying on the road out there", he said with unfeigned expression pointing out to a few meters away from my house. "Your phone has a lock code so I could not call up any of your contacts - to tell them that the phone is with me. And I waited for over 3 hours hoping someone will call up soon! I even thought of going to all the houses around this area asking if the phone belongs to them - but I was not sure if this action would be taken rightly. I was worried as well as scared - people would think I have stolen your phone! I had to hide it at home, as my parents would think I have stolen it! I really wanted to return it to its owner, but had to wait for such a long time for you to call and ask for it!"

It would have been so easy for him to sell off the phone and earn what could be like a fortune for him! He could have ignored the phone and let it get run over by a vehicle, or let it get picked up by someone else. He could have declared his right over the phone since he found it. But he didnt.

Our newspaper is filled with many depressing news today. We hear of so many examples of atrocious people. My experience and this post is to remind you that the world is not so bad. Honesty, sincerity and integrity still exist in this world. The world is still a beautiful place with genuine people like Shaikh.

If you are looking for honest people for some work, do contact me. I can refer Shaikh!

The Doctor

What a doctor means to a common man...

A quote by Swami Vivekanand hangs in my pediatrician's clinic - "A doctor tries his best to diagnose and cure the people. But he too has his limitations. He is a human just like you and me. So don't elevate him to God's status if he cures you well; and please don't despise him if he cannot!"

A doctor may not be a God. But he is more than just a human. He is a prophet, an interface between God's will and a mortal.

A doctor gives back to the society in the form of a healthy, illness-cured life. We repay his debt in the form of lots of money! A doctor is rich, busy and our only hope when we catch some illness!

As long as the doctor gives you the right medicine, he is good. As long as your health is within the acceptable healthy boundary, you are happy. The real test for everyone starts when you grow very ill! Whose test is it? Its a test of time. Test of your doctor. Test of your patience. Test of your trust - in God and in the doctor...
Why are the 2 terms - God and Doctor being referenced together? For what is assumed generically, God is associated with religion and Doctor with science. And for whats assumed generically, can religion and science co-exist? My recent hospital experience has made me believe they do!

Can a doctor be blamed for wrong diagnosis? Can a doctor be blamed for forgetting to give a medicine or forgetting one of his tasks? If he can go wrong, he needs to be a very good psychologist and HR professional too - to handle patients who have been agitated due to his mistakes!

When my 2 year old son was hospitalized, my frustration won over my patience on the 7th day. I was yelling out at the doctors and scaring the hell out of the other patients sitting at the casualty ward. A doctor had forgotten to take the kid's blood sample at the right time and later my son was being pricked over and over again to get the blood sample, while I waited outside the NICU for 20 mins hearing him cry out loud in pain! As a mother, my action was justified. As a busy doctor with lot of pressure, his action was supposed to be justified. What about this reaction from a doctor who took the blood sample - "Did I forget to take the blood sample? No! Another doctor forgot & I am just taking the sample. You are not supposed to shout at me like this!" I wondered if doctors are a community or individuals?

Thankfully my son was fine and not in danger. But what happened to a 7 year old girl next room was very sad. She had to undergo a very complex operation. And it had become even more complex, since the doctor had given a wrong diagnosis earlier. There were chances that after the operation she may not be able to be a mother! Am sure the doctor would have cured hundreds of cases before. But one wrong diagnosis would have earned him lot of malice from the girl's family. What should a doctor do in this case? Bring in the "God" element? How can he make up? Does he need to make up? If he gets loads of money when he cures a patient, should he pay back (in some way) for his mistake?

What does a doctor go through when he makes a mistake? Is he very hard-hearted that it doesn't matter to him? Is he really a human that it affects him - so much that he cries to God to pay off his sin?! Isn't this situation ironical? We run to a doctor when we have health problem. The doctor runs to God when he has diagnosis problem?!

I make mistakes in my work. We call them as "bugs". We track those bugs. We do an RCA (Root Cause Analysis) of those bugs. We can debug and fix those bugs. And ensure such bugs don't pop up again. Yet we don't ensure a software that's 100% bug free! But - we expect the Doctors to deliver their service without any bugs!

Every year I have to fill out a form at my office. Every year there is a question - "Which was the most challenging work you did?" And I fill up pages about how awesome code I wrote and how well I delivered it to the client! I asked the same question to a school mate, Dr Pranjali Gadgil. She replied, the most awesome work she did was stitching various parts inside the heart of a patient who was shot with a bullet and a case where conjoined twins had to be seperated! Life of a doctor must be really hard!

I am an engineer who believes everything can be fixed. Everything is in my hands and I can do it all. But when struck with medical issues, I cannot prescribe myself any medicine. I cant cure myself! Doctors can do that - so they got to be those awesome species out there! In fact, once upon a time I was so awed with doctors that I wanted to marry one! :)

After my 8 days experience in the hospital with my little kid, I faced questions from people which I didn't have answer to. Statements which made me wonder what doctors are and how people regard them. "Why did he fall this ill?", "These days local doctors cant diagnose", "These days big hospitals cant diagnose", "Doctors only want to make money", "Couldn't the doctor explain to you the root cause?"

My experience sums up the following:
1) God exists
2) You need to believe in your doctor
3) And I must make one of my kids a God... oops, I mean a Doctor!

8 Reasons Why You Must Have A Couple Of Kids

I was never too fond of children and I never dreamt that I would love being a mother of 2 ! In fact I always wondered why people ever had kids and how the hell did they manage them?!

Perceptions, ideologies and opinions are meant to change!

I realized sooner than later that having kids does not mark an end to your life. It helps you grow, learn and flourish. I felt much happier, much more content in life than I was without my kids. Here is a list of top 8 reasons why you must have at least a couple of kids:

1. Every day will be beautiful
No matter how your day has been, how cruel the world has been to you, a little hug at the end of the day will erase all your pains. With kids around, you will forget your problems and the world will be a beautiful place.

2. You will love your in-laws
When you have a couple of kids, chances are one of them will be like your in laws. And you will start understanding and loving your in laws (much more)!
 
3. You can stretch
A friend who is 10 years younger than me was recently amazed, she asked, "Like you even I spend so many hours in office. But you come back and manage the house and kids while I can do nothing but sleep!" Rewind 10 years, and I too was like her! The credit to the level one can stretch goes to their kids. Having kids makes you realize you can do so much more. With a couple of kids you will be working at your optimum efficiency level!

4. You can multitask
All of us are busy with our own lives. Now add two more lives that you need to tender. That's like increasing your work load by double. And yet, parents survive. Because they learn multitasking! So skilled will you become at multitasking that you would be able to apply it anywhere and get awesome results. If you are at office and have loads of work, you will find it no big deal if you are a parent!

5. You get a second chance
Having kids is like getting a second chance to grow up. You will be able to live life all over again in the form of your children! When you have a couple of kids one of them will be exactly like you - and you will see yourself grow up, and would be able to fix the wrongs you did while you grew up!

6. You will experience unconditional love
Kids are full of innocence. Their hearts are pure, filled with real love. While your life gets busier, kids add that sense of living. Kids teach you the true meaning of unconditional love.

7. You will re-learn and grow
While you try to give the best to your kids, you yourself will start following the good practices. For instance, eating healthy food, following a disciplined routine and building good habits. Parents are kid's best role models. So you will try to be good yourself so that kids will learn from you. While you set an example for your kids you will be adding value to your own life too.

8. You will learn to relax
"First child eats mud. Parent calls doctor. Second child eats mud. Parent cleans out mouth. Third child eats mud. Parent wonders if she really needs to feed him lunch." As you have more children you will know that you don't have to toil needlessly - your kids will be what they are destined to. Once you stop over-worrying you can safely relax and enjoy the journey together with your kids!

Bonus Reason: You can make this world a better place
If you are reading this blog, it means you are smart! And you are bound to have smart kids. The world needs smart people and only you can add them! Wouldn't you like to make this world a better place by contributing to this world some awesome people just like you?!!

True Love

The trees looked greener. The roads were tempting. And the song was playing... Main tenu samjhawan ki, Na tere bina lagda jee...!

The moment was romantic. I remembered SRK from DDLJ. I had a big crush on him. And I detested Varun Dhawan in Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya. Maybe I have grown older and mature. Maybe more sensible? I wonder why any decent girl like Alia would fall for such a vagabond?

...But at this moment I was in love!

Yesterday's movie scenes played through my mind. Urmila Kanitkar & Adinath Kothare had been to a lovely village in the movie Anvatt. As a wanderlust, I traveled to that village in my mind trying to breathe in the cool air, trying to hear the wind speak, soaking in the greenery and getting drenched in the rains.

I saw black and blue and brown raincoats. Colorful umbrellas. Some preferred to get wet. Some closed their eyes and drove their vehicles! Some covered their back sacks with "Big Bazaar" plastic bags.

My phone beeped and I read a Whatsapp forward. It was a tip on parenting. I thought of my kids. Would they be feeling too cold? Both refused to wear jackets today. I thought of the way they welcome me back home in the evenings. Two pairs of happy eyes. The tight hugs...

...Life is beautiful... And I am so much in love!

The song changed its rhythm and I felt like dancing... Dil mein hai armaan jitne, saare jagaake naach... Tan mein badan mein jaise aag lagaake naach...!

The clouds had formed a lovely pattern in the sky. If I had to paint those clouds, I would have to use the colors alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, cadmium orange, payne's gray, burnt sienna... And even if I thought I have painted an original, I would have actually copied from the masterpiece made by God.

...I felt creative... I felt love!

Tiny drops of water were falling on the ground. I was wondering what power these drops of rain had. They could change my mood, make me feel alive. Life never felt so beautiful and the song that followed felt apt.
Yeh saajish hai boondon ki... Koi khwahish hai chup chup si... dekho na...!

A car speeding by suddenly splashed water all over my wind shield and I was jolted. It took a while for the wipers to clear the water. I looked around - I was in the midst of Hinjewadi traffic. I smiled to myself. Yes, I was smiling in the midst of the Hinjewadi traffic!

...I was feeling so happy, so peaceful. It seemed like life was full of love!

I love the monsoons. And it got to be true love. Why else would a 75 min drive to office on a crowded Monday morning be so beautiful?!

Ajivali Devrai

Ajivali is a beautiful green rustic village about 50 km from Pune. Devrai means sacred forest dedicated to the local deities or tree spirits. The forest in Ajivali is dedicated to Goddess Waghjai.

I went to Ajivali Devrai with a group of around 15 people, the monsoon trail organized by Western Routes. We started at 7am from Chandni Chowk and reached the Ajivali village by 8.30am. Ajivali is in Maval. The drive is very scenic. Coupled with lovely songs played by Shruti, my 5 year old son cuddling and enjoying the cool breeze, made the drive feel heavenly! About 1 km from the village the road was very bad. Actually there was no road, it was a mud path and our car was skidding! Thanks to the driving skills of Aditya (and me praying out loud to all Gods) we reached the village and parked our car.

Jayesh from Western Routes had carried our breakfast and tea. After a quick round of introductions, we started on one of the most wonderful monsoon trails I have ever been to!

Ajivali is a less explored spot around Pune and hence was not crowded and was clean. The walk to the forest is a gradual climb up the hill. The path is muddy and I suggest that you must wear floaters (no shoes, no socks).

Cool waterfalls, refreshing shades of green, a nice group of friends with the lovely background of brown mountains and gray clouds made me realize the power of nature - what an AC room, cushion chairs and warm beds cant do to a drained soul. I felt energized to keep me going for a couple of weeks! I envied the villagers who stayed in their huts there. And I felt guilty how we plunder this heaven to get materialistic pleasures that don't last long!

After about 30-45 mins we reached the devrai. It is a dense forest of trees growing 60 - 70 feet tall which form a canopy over the forest and makes it feel enchanted! There is a decent temple in the forest but again you realize that nature wins over the man-made temple. You will like everything other than the temple :) They say that you must not take away anything from the forest or the Goddess will get enraged and cause some calamity. Put your science in this belief and it does make sense!

We found a lot of littler, plastic bags, plates in the forest at some cozy picnic spots. I wondered - people left their littler but took away a part of the clean and natural forest. Fear if you believe in God, Think if you believe in science - And carry your litter back with you!

Bhimashankar

I had been to a weekend trip to Bhimashankar with The Western Routes. A very well organised and refreshing trip it was!

We left at 6.30 am from Pune, had breakfast en route and reached Bhimashankar Temple around 10.30 am. The Temple is not so grand. There weren't many people that day and yet it was crowded and congested inside. After taking darshan we started our walk into the Bhimashankar jungle. It is a beautiful forest! The main attraction of the forest is the giant squirrels. We were unfortunate to spot any! They say the best time to spot them is between 7 to 9am or 4 to 6pm. We spent around 2 hours at the forest and then reached our hotel, Blue Mormon, at 2.30pm to have a lovely and much needed lunch!

We checked into our rooms. The rooms are decent and clean. There is a Lake in the resort where we enjoyed swimming!

We were a group of 17 people. We enjoyed the evening playing dumb sheras. Then we had dinner and went for a night trail. The night walk seemed scary initially. But once I had passed the scary phase, I realised it was beautiful! We sat on the ground in the dark looking up at the sky- which was clear. Thousands of tiny stars twinkled and took us into a peaceful, dreamy world!

We got up the next day and after a lovely breakfast we went for a trek to the Nagphani point. The day was cloudy. And though we hoped it would rain, it didn't! It didn't rain a single drop through out our trip! Yes, June end and the monsoons have refused to visit this part of the world, not even at a place like Bhimashankar!  Coming back to the trek... It is not a hard trek. Most of it is a walk along the slopes. Not too much of rock climbing. It didn't take us too long to teach the top. The view from the top was breath taking!

Though we did not hurry and enjoyed all points on way, we reached down by 11.30am. So we went back to the resort for another dip in the lake! We had lunch and left Bhimashankar at 3pm. Were back home by 7.30 pm with 1 leisure break on way at hotel Purohit.

The trip can also be done in 1 day. You should start from Pune at 6am. Go directly to the Temple parking and do the Nagphani trek. You should be done by 12.30. Go to Blue Mormon resort, have lunch, relax, swim in the lake.  Leave the resort at 3.30pm and then do the jungle walk. Leave Bhimashankar by 6.30pm to reach back home at a decent time.

Do note that the parking near the Temple is a big chaos. For the trek and jungle walk, you need to park near the Temple. Tip - Park your vehicle as far from the Temple as possible else you may spend too much time trying to get out of the parking lot!

My UK Trip

I had been to London on a 2.5 week vacation. I planned the trip just with my 2 kids aged 5yrs and 2yrs. Though most people were amazed at how I managed the 2 kids on this trip, I was more amazed at how wonderful this vacation treated me! :)

Here is a brief of my travel (itinerary) in London & UK.

Day 1:
We took a train to Victoria station. Walked around to see the Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Hyde Park. The highlight of the day was kids chasing the pigeons at the Hyde Park! It was a very rainy day, but we enjoyed thoroughly. There is a small rose garden in the Hyde Park - I found it very romantic.

Rose Garden, Hyde Park

Day 2:
We went to the Kensington Palace. There is a Princess Diana memorial kids play park in the Kensington Garden. The Kensington Garden has too many bold squirrels running around! It was another wonderful day, despite the intermittent rains!

Princess Diana Memorial Children's Play Park

Day 3:
We started from East Croydon, took a train to London Bridge. Walked the bridge and went near the Southbank. It was the beginning of a bright and sunny day with the wonderful view of the Tower of London on one side and London Bridge at the other side! Then we took an underground tube to Canary Wharf. Canary Wharf is more developed with huge buildings around. From there we took a DLR to Greenwich. We made a mistake - we should have got down at Cutty Sark instead of Greenwich. Greenwich isn't as beautiful a village, but I saw too many kids and prams there! :)
We saw the GMT line, Royal Observatory and then took a cruise to London Bridge. If I ever decide to stay in London, I decided where I will live - there were some beautiful houses along the River Thames looking down across a breathtaking view! :) We then walked up to London Eye and saw the London from the top!

Thames River and Big Ben, from London Eye

Day 4:
Morning was spent lazing around. Then we went to Reading at my friend's house. Evening we strolled around the Reading downtown and did some quick shopping there.

Day 5:
We went to Oxford. I loved it! I think I can spend few weeks just staying at Oxford. Or better still - I wish I can come here to study! :) In the evening, Sonali treated me with scone and tea - a typical British tea-time snacks. It was yummy! Oxford now ranks at number 1 in my list of "best places". (Sydney ranks at 2 and New York at 3)

Scone and Tea

Day 6:
We had a lovely walk along the river at Reading. The best part of the day was feeding the ducks! And then a fight broke amongst the ducks and one hungry and bully duck beat the rest and ran towards us - he wanted to practically eat all the bread out of our hands! He scared the hell out of us & we ran away!

Ducks and Swans at the river in Reading

Day 7:
We had pre booked our tickets to the Chessington World of Adventures. It is a themed park with some rides and zoo and sea life. My 5yr old kid enjoyed a lot while my brother got thoroughly bored! We visited on a Monday hoping it wont be crowded but were surprised to see so many people even on a Monday. Each ride had a queue with around 30mins of waiting time! My feedback for this place is 3 out of 5 stars. If you really want to see the place, plan a 2 day trip. If 1 day trip, try to reach as early as possible.

Sea Life at Chessington World of Adventures

Day 8:
After a lovely but tiring week, its but necessary to spend time at home doing nothing and just relaxing! Hey - "nothing" is not really apt on vacation. My brother bought a remote controlled helicopter and we enjoyed flying it today!

Day 9:
We took a take a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We started at 5am in the morning! That day was a terrible rainy day, and considering our day had started very early morning, we just went out for a short stroll around the hotel which was located at the City Center.

Scott Monument, Edinburgh

Day 10:
Our plan was to take a bus tour to the Scottish Highlands. But kids below 3 yrs are not allowed on the bus. We had not carried our driving license so could not hire a car either. So we toured Edinburgh in double decker buses to realize Edinburgh is a beautiful city!

Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh

Day 11:
We went to Gorgie Farm in the city, did some shopping on Princess Street and took a late evening train back to London. The day was sunny and warm, so in 3 days we got to see 3 types of weather - rainy, cloudy and sunny!

Gorgie City Farm, Edinburgh

Day 12:
It was a Saturday and we lazed at home chatting with my cousin in East Croydon. We went out in the evening, had dinner at Pizza Express and saw London by night. Piccadelli Circus area was crazy on Saturday mid night - it was heavily crowded and all people were in celebration mood! Wonder when the partying in London ends on a Saturday night!

Trafalgar Square

Day 14:
We went to Wimbledon town with a college friend and his family. Wimbledon is a very sophisticated city. In the evening I went to Wembley to meet another cousin over dinner and stayed at her house.

Wimbledon

Day 15:
Bag packing time! We had to fly back the next day!