B'day

Age is only but a NUMBER! A dear dear friend says it and says it loud and clear!
I protest when they say I matured because I still feel like a kid from inside! And Oh! How much I love being one!
The cliched statement-' I'm a child trapped inside an adult's body' is worth a mention here!
For ...! It is was my HAPPY HAPPY B'DAY a couple of days back!
And did I make most out of the day? Yeah I did! As the clock ticked away the day got more merry!
The excitement abt the D-day started more that a week before. And who do I need to thank for that? In alphabetical order- Ann, Dee, Geets, Nivs, Shix, Sunz, Tarj and Mom, dad n bro!
I did extensive shoppin for my B'day and I guess so did everyone else!
It was one memorable day and the happy faces in the pictures we clicked say it all.

Adventure Begins...

After a very very long sabbatical, I'm back to update my blog!

Hmmm...nearly a month back we went to Adventure Park , Midlands. And it is one experience that I'm always going to boast of. Before that day, never in my dreams also, I had imagined that I would go rafting, fishing and kayaking!!
Yes, we did all that and even more!! (Plz don't stretch your imagination on that statement!)

It was 'Apatchi' v/s ' Top Gun'.....
But no matter whosoever won the the following sports, all of us rejoiced. It was Fun all the way!! First we started by Trekking.... the breathtaking views, challenging terrain and captivating wilderness set the scene for this challenging and fun adventure. The Apatchis' hands down won. They reached the destination much before we could imagine!

High on victory, they very easily and convincingly took us in the next activity that was fishing! No regrets... for I managed to catch 3 Fishes myself...and that was an achievement!! To hook the earthworms as the bate with bare hands and with no means of sterilization or disinfection nearby and not even the thought of it on our minds.

It was time for Rafting now and also the time for us to fight back!! And WE finally came out victorious!

We lined up for Kayaking next. It was going to be a relay. Sunz gave us a brilliant start, she steered her way back before our opponent could even cross half way. Aysh and S* did their part of the job. It was left on Nirv* now. Wind did get in between her way but with help from Shikh* she managed to pull the victory!

Last event of the day was Archery. We had to face tough competition from our opponents but in the end, WE WON again.
And what more, I was able to hit right on target at the first attempt!

So, the final score was 3-2 in our favour!!

But all this would have been impossible had it not been for one person, Fads. she organised the entire trip. Faced the blunt of all the controversies but came out victorious as our Captain!!
Cheers, Fads!

I would also like to mention a note of thanks to everyone who made the day memorable and funfilled. In alphabetical order- Ackmez, Aysh, Fads, Gurmeet, Madeven, Nimmy, Nirvana, Payal, Sankar, Shikar, Shruti J, Shruti M, Suhaib, Sunaina and Vishant.

Play on, guys......

I do...

Its been said, 'Actions speak, louder than words'. But I feel the other way around!
So here is my another immature attempt at poetry on a not so fine day!...

I don't know...
For what I bleed
But I do..!

Unaware, lost, wanderin...
I walk, don't know where to,
But I do!!

My eyes tell stories...
Those unheard!
And to them, I cling on.

Behind the friendly banter...
I hide, for what i don't know.
But I do.

For they wish,
I breathe, as they command!
I don't want to.
But, still I do!

I feel ashamed.
For reasons, I don't have to.
But, I do!

I wait for a Happy Ending..
I still wait, don't know why,
But I do!

I pray, I wish, I hope...
And, I beg
To set myself free.
Yes, I do!

Article- News on sunday

When I wrote the post about my walk to Ganga Talao earlier. I thought of sending it to 'News on Sunday' a local English newspaper published in Mauritius.
I was a bit reluctant initially then after some thought into it, I finally decided to send the article...
And guess what, it got published! I was elated!

Holi Hai!!

Have colour! Will play!
Technically, this was my last Holi on this Island. And was one of the best. But the celebrations weren't that grand this time. Till about half past 10 in the morning the place looked dead. But then thanks to some high spirited juniors, colours were splashed all around.
I had been awaiting Holi like any other festival with loads of excitement! Not to be influenced by some incorrigible lads who never seem to have anything positive to say about FUN filled days like these. But do they wish I care? Even if they do, I really don't.
So Tarj, our unoffical sponsor for the Holi colours; SM, our partner in crime and I; were the first few to step into the battle field. And what happened next is history!... Drenched lots amongst us with mud, colour, smashed eggs, shoe polish, diluted shampoo greeting everyone with more of it.
It was a moment worth capturing...
But the story was different for the opposite gender most of whom were dragged and thrown into mud...and oh!! Did that taste nice?? Well, I'm not the right person to answer that :-p
In all it was another enjoyable day...
So play on.....
PS: Sunz and G*, it would have been more fun with ya guys around!! Missed ya!

A Walk to Remember

No, this post is not a review of the book and movie of the same title. The movie which has been one of my all time favorites; one I had chanced to watch on HBO while channel surfing.

Rather the 'WALK' in the fore mentioned title is that to Grand Bassin on 15^th February. Yes, you read it right, we walked almost 30km* to Grand Bassin! And, I'm still ALIVE!

Maha Shivratri is celebrated in a grand grand way in Mauritius; and in a much more grand way than one can imagine!! People walk to Grand Bassin/ Ganga Talao, one of the chief religious spot from every part of the Island. Be it the rain or the scorching sun nothing seems to drive down their spirits. And,I haven't seen the number declining in the past 4 yrs! Though, I never did opportune my self to be a part of the pilgrims. But this year, technically my last on this Island; things were a bit different or should I rather say, a LOT different.

We, ie Sunz and I, had decided to cover the journey on foot; though, a few others had also thought of joining us but a couple of days before, they had a change of plans. So, now it was left on us to carry on with it. And, never did we give a thought to, backing off.

So, after a good night's sleep, we set out in the morning. Here, I would not forget to mention a note of thanks to Sunz for bearing with my tantrums and apprehension before the start of the journey. Though, I had got reassurance from all ends owing to my, very high tendency of falling into a hypoglycemic state. [ Mom, if you are reading this, then the situation isn't as grave as your imagination stretches to, with mention of 'hypoglycemic state'; I'm just being a bit melodramatic!!.... I'm fine.... Eating well]. Still, I was a bit uncertain about my chances of covering the entire distance on foot. And as for Sunz, since she had done it a couple of times before, so it was yet another trip for her. Though, this time it was going to be a longer one, since we decided to walk from Belle Rive rather than Curepipe.

As we headed on, we saw many colourful processions, on the other side of the road. And enthusiastic but tried, groups of people returning back. We kept going, without halt until we reached the ' Millennium Monument' which was our first stop. From there we had a breath taking view of the area, we had been living around since the past 4 yrs!! And,never did we take out time from our mundane routine to appreciate the beauty, amidst which we had been living!! And apparently, this monument corresponds to the center of the Island and was inaugurated on 31^st Dec,1999!

Our second halt was at Curepipe, where we hurriedly had some potato wedges and Pepsi, to energize ourselves. We then crossed Winners ( a super mart) and few other shops and houses on the way, to reach a long wide road, which seemed to be never ending. We had been walking for almost 3 and a half hours now. The road got wider and we were able to spot many more processions, pilgrims and stalls on the way. There were acres of sugarcane plantation on the either side of the road and way beyond stood huge mountains with their empowering dominance. The picturesque surroundings were worth admiring.

What followed were occasional showers, shoe bites, greetings & reassurance from fellow pilgrims, stalls with goodies, Mare-aux-vacoas Reservoir, new musical compositions by us, cool breeze, fatigue, reassurance again, constant inquiries by us about the distance left and a never ending road.....

But we were nearing Gangs Talao now, our legs were failing us,we had been walking for more than 6 hrs!!
In the fog, when we vaguely spotted the huge statue of Shivji from far, we shrieked with joy!! FINALLY! FINALLY! We were THERE!

The trip back, is yet another story!!... of which, I may never write.... but will always remember.....

And before ending this post, I would like to thank many friends for their concern, few amongst them being Ann, Asha, Nad and Tarj [ in alphabetical order]. And, I owe an apology, thanks and gratefulness to someone for whom I hold high regards and respect. Also a prayer and good wishes & luck to the person who helped us sail through......

And, thanks to Sunz, my friend, companion and guide on this adventurous trip without whom this 'walk to remember' would never have been possible. Thx a million, babes!!

Singapore Trip

Happy New Year to all of ya!! I know its a bit late though..

My New Year celebrations were grand this time; I saw fireworks at Marina Bay, Singapore. Well, I had been promised of this Singapore trip for a long time now and was glad that we were finally going. So, as a part of the preparations I bought uber device... a Nokia N series! Suitcases were packed all thx to mom :-p; I do become lazy when I touch down home...

Our flight was pre-poned by a few hrs on 29th Dec to avoid the low visibility conditions. There was a bit of turbulence on the way but everything got in control and we landed safely in the Lion city. The airport was HUGE we had to walk on a series of travellators to finally reach the immigration counter. I was amazed to see innumerable duty free shops and the wide array of products on display. Thus assuring me that it was a good shopping destination :-p

During our 3 day visit we had decided to stay at Marina Mandarin which was quite near to airport and to Marina Square for obvious reasons. We had a comfortable stay there. The hotel like the airport was also HUGE and had a delightful ambiance! After a nights rest we set out to explore the city.

DAY 1- SENTOSA
It took Mom & Papa nearly an hour to drag me out of the bed. After the daily ablutions and with an empty tummy we set out. We decided to take MRT to Harbourfront and from there cover the rest of the way by the cable car. It took us a while to finally reach the MRT station and to get accustomed to the ticketing. Since this was my first trip to a foreign land not to count Nepal and Mauritius in that; so everything was new and fascinating for me! Thx to the Delhi metro which has educated us a bit on this front otherwise even getting through the bars to reach the platform would have also made us look like fools...hehehehe...
So after reaching Harbourfront we took out our S$3 deposit on the three tickets and made our way on the escalators to reach a local food court. To give our empty stomachs a treat we ordered some rice with some chicken curry!! Well, we had ordered that but I can't really say that we were given that!!..Mom & Papa also had juice to gulp down the food!

We were then trying to locate the ticketing counter for the cable cars but all we saw was this HUGE line with almost 200 people queuing up!! Some price to pay for going in the peak tourist season. Finally after nearly an hour long wait we got our tickets issued.

At Sentosa, we first went to the UNDERWATER WORLD oceanarium home to more than 2,500 fishes from 250 different species. On travellator in the tunnel we saw and clicked pictures of the marine creatures. It was fascinating the way the place has been constructed.

Our next stop was CINEMANIA and Papa and I really enjoyed the ride in our computer-synchronised motion seats!! We were going literally at breakneck speed and those unexpected turns, halts, bumps, jolts made the ride even more thrilling! Its one experience I can boast of! Though I left my seat happy after the 10mins ride complaining it got over so soon ; Mom was glad that it was over.

We then went to the BUTTERFLY PARK.... well, no doubt the place was beautiful but wasn't of much interest to me but anyhow we clicked some nice pics there.

Lastly we went to see the MUSICAL FOUNTAINS and the laser show which Masarji had highly recommended. It was awesome. The theme- Magical Sentosa!! They had made it a beautiful mix of colours, animated characters with rhythmically synchronized rising and falling of the water fountains. Kiki, the animated monkey of Sentosa was simply adorable.