My lagos diary in pictures

.........FINALLYYYYYY i went to lagos in July. Whatever said about it, i found it a nice place with even nicer people :).

How the one and half month passed, i do not know. On second thoughts i know !!! Partying and eating a lot. Now let the pictures do all the talking.........

Corbett, "Tals" and Binsar

.................This month (April) we went for a one week holiday to Corbett National park, Naukuchiatal and finally Binsar. In our Canter Safari in Corbett we saw many animals but not the tiger, then we went uphill to the "Tals", Nainital, Bhimtal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal......so far this was a regular holiday but the ascent upto Binsar - the temperature, ambience, the cottage and the Sanctuary at Binsar really won me over........my next holiday will be binsar and onwards....What really impressed me was the forest and the enchanting Jageshwar temples - i dont know why but these reminded me of the temples in Bali........

My 7 Days Detox at Kottakal Vaidyashala

.............Well i thought, since i will be fasting for 9 days from 5th of April why not use this opportunity to recharge and rejuvenate myself. So i went and met this Doctor and she suggested that i should do this Panchakarma treatment - which is like servicing of the car, it takes care of the deterioration process of the body and keep us healthy and balanced. So my treatment started on 5th - with Oil massage, Pudikidi ( Potali with Herbal powders heated and rubbed over the body) and then Shirodhara. The first day, i felt very tired and body was aching all over. Now today is the 4th day, i feel as if all the pain has been sucked out of my body and i feel quite light and nice.....i am not eating much, only the fast food and i sleep at night, i get good sleep. The hair is oil, i will wash it tomorrow as on Sunday we have to go for the Puja. The therapist told me that madam, after this treatment you will be fresh for 6 months.......

Tuljhapur, Pandharpur & Hyderabad

.........Wherever i think of visiting, the presiding deities promptly fulfill my wish....so our much delayed Hyderabad Trip finally materialised and we left on Friday and on the way stopped at Tuljhapur, offered our prayers , sari, Oti and prayed, then reached Hyderabad the next day. After staying there for 3 days we returned again on Wednesday and this time stopped at Pandharpur and spent the night there. Here also we saw the deity from very close and offered our prayers. It was a very fulfilling experience and more so as i travelled with both Mom and Mom-in-law.

Hyderabad was nice, we stayed with Priti and saw the light and sound show at Golkonda again, visited the Ramoji Rao city again and had Biriyani at Paradise....It was a nice trip and since this was done by car, it was more fun.

SHIRDI again

...........we went to Shirdi this week on Tueday (15th ) and came back on the next day. This was my second trip after so many years. Everything seemed different, we spent a lot of time in the temple. The next day we went to Shani Singnapore and then to Yeola, where the karigars weave orginal paithani and i ended up buying a Paithani from Soni sarees- the most expensive saree of my life till date............

Last 6 months overivew

..............I have made all these posts today for the last 6-8 months today for the simple reason, that i forget what i did and when......so this is a kind of diary that will remind me what i did and when but to sum up......last year - My 1st year of Sabbatical was very fruitful and good and i completed a lot of things i had wanted to do all my life. Jan started with Calligraphy, Feb my mom's treatment and then the trips started......then i did my gemmology ( June - July 10) and September was a big disppointment when my much hyped, planned trip to Kailash Mansarovar went phusss........well thats a long story.....but again like everything else, i believe it happened for the very best and god chose that as an opportunity to free me from the shackles which bind me.....and i know i will go again....when i don't know..............maybe this year, maybe next lets see.............after this i completed my yoga course successfully............that was the highlight of the year.
2011 has begun - By the time i realised its already Feb now.....lets see what unfolds.....so many places to go to, my list is ready.......i am ready, steady, goooooooooo..............

Kolhapur again

............Dec, 10 After coming back from Yoga in December me mom and Mil we went to Ganpatiphule again and this time we i donated for Annadana for the 10th of March, our D day.......The day trip to Kolhapur was nice as this was the second time i was going there and i bought three pairs of Kolhapuris........

My Valentine Gift !!!!

.............finally my new car arrived on 7th of Feb 11 , a very very auspicious day, the day of my Ganpati.......I brought home the car in the evening and got a Panditji to to the Pooja......Dhiren said its my Valentine gift and i was so happy and overwhlemed that i told everybody....rupali in the showroom told everyone too......this is my best valentine ever :) though valentines day has not yet come !!! and my car has this lucky number charm :)

Isha Yoga

............when i saw an ad for the 6 day inner engineering workshop( 2-8 Feb,11) being organised in Thane, i thought i must take mummy also so that she too can learn something and practice it everyday.....so we went to learn the Shambhavi Mahamudra..........what we have learnt is - learn to take responsibility, Present is everything - there is no future or past without present, accept the present , accept everything when there is no resistance there is no misery, be happy......

Hampi on Golden Chariot

..........This was my very first trip aboard a luxury train and it was great.......It was the Hampi festival organised for 4 days from 26 Jan - 31 Jan,11.The ruins of Hampi reminded me of Ankor wat and at times i feel there is so much to see and explore in our country and we have not even seen a fraction of it. The Vittala temple was awesome, too beautiful to be described in words.......The temples of Pattadakal, Aihole and the Cave temples of Badami.......i definitely need to go again....and the topping on the cake was the coracle ride.

Panchgani Trip

................We mom-in-law, mom and praveen went for a short break to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar in Jan and returned on 14th Jan(2011). We stayed in the Blue County Resort - a club Mahindara associate resort. It was nice and then we visited Mahabaleshwar, Wai, Pratapgarh fort, Panchgani and finally on our way back the Tirpati Balaji near Pune......it was a wonderful getaway.............

Yoga course

................my yoga course which was left halfway in 2009 Nov was compelted in Nov 2010. I chose the same dates, the same bed and the same ashram and it was a real deja vu. After i completed it was a cathartic moment and I felt i have come a full circle and in hindsight it seems that whatever happened was for the best only. I got initiated into my mantra and got a spiritual name in keeping with my nature and gods grace. I also went to Rameshwaram and finally to Kodai and then to Hyderabad.It was a fruitful month. The details are posted in my Yoga diary......

Gemmology Diploma

................My long cherished wish of doing Gemmology finally materialised in the month of July(2010). Now Level 2 i have already enrolled, the exam will be in Dec 2011 and after this i will do FGA, London. One more bucket kicked :)

Take off and landing.............

..............when i did the three day paragliding course, the thrill that i felt, there are very few highs in life as yet to match that.....i think adventure sports and spirituality come to a very close.......both of us push us to our higher limits.....and challenge us to overocome insecurities, fear and our lower qualities to experience what we have never experienced.........paragliding is freedom, to float in the air just by ourselves, it puts us in touch the one of the elements air which we take for granted.....here we begin to experience wind, feel it and learn to flow with it...............and most of all it puts us in touch with our inner core..........

Prayer wheels, Salt tea and Monastery

............Rumtek Monastery, the most sacred and revered place of worship......i turned the prayer wheels sending the "om mani padme hum" chants reverberating in the universe and in my inner universe.................

From zero point to NOTHINGNESS

......what am i doing ? what is the purpose of my life? What is going to happen next ?.....and all these existential questions become negated to a big 0 or shoonya......as we realise that god and nature are one....overpowering, omnipresent and omniscient and to realise the sacred presence in pristine nature is the key to discovery of the self......

Gurudongmar Lake @ 17100 feet

...........this lake in North Sikkim located at the height of 17000+ feet, is an awesome and out of this world spectacle. Surrounded by snow clad mountains and crystal clear icy water, it is a very sacred lake and it is believed that any wish you make there comes true.....here the percentage of oxygen in the air is only 4% hence to stay here for more than an hour is not possible for most tourists.....it is an out of this world experience. A special permission is required for this visit and foreigners are not allowed to visit this lake.

Yumthang Valley - a riot of rhododendrons in bloom

.....The whole Yumthang valley, one of the most picturesque sights in the whole of sikkim, is a riot of colour in this season as Rhodendron flowers bloom throughout the trekking trail in red, white, pink and yellow.......The Shingba Rhododenron sanctuary is full of flowers in bloom as sikkim celebrates Rhodendron festival from 25 APril to 15 May.....

Tsomgo, Yak, me and the SNOWSTORM !!!

................Tsomgo lake...baba mandir, yak ride ......all this is routine tourist activity....but what happened next was a life changing experience for me.....all of a sudden at about 3.30 while returning it started raining snow, and the whole landscape in 1 hr changed from black to white...all the cars got stranded and this continued till 6 in the evening...there was ankle deep snow and about 1500 tourists and 150 vehicles were stranded at various points.

My gracious host said that i have got two options - to stay overnight in the car, or walk in the snow for about 5- 6 kms till we reach the check point. Well i definitely chose the later...as this was going to be my first trek in the snow at night and who knows i may never get the opportunity again....and it was fun. Initially i kept slipping and stumbling but once i learnt the trick of walking on soft snow with my heels and at times slip on the ice while maintaining my balance. i along with four other c0 -travellers walked for about 2 hrs in the snow till we reached the point where a taxi had come to pick us up. Back in my resort i had a hot soak in tub with lemongrass oil and salt ........Well i guess i am ready for a ski course now....
.....next day there was a news item in local and calcutta newspapers.....

....and the Hoogly flows on

21 April, 12.20, Arrival in Calcutta
.....twenty years ago, that was the last time i came to calcutta and twenty years later i get to visit the city where i spent the most formative 10 -12 years of my life. In a whirlwind tour in 24 hrs i see calcutta in a fast forward mode.....this slow moving and leisure loving city. No trip to Calcutta is complete without paying homage to the Guardian goddess at Kalighat and Dakhineshwar. It was an uplifting experience. Whether calcutta has changed in all these years or not is difficult to say but i definitely have.....