an epitaph

Miss Vishwa my friend.

A sixty-five year old dad of 3 - who i recently lost to cancer. It has been tough coming out of the shock of his sickness and death. He was a very soft, kind, patient, humane being and a one who cld relate to young and old alike.

We grew close to each other in the last 3 yrs, after a few tough negative experiences between our families. I am actually his nephew's wife. But he took a liking for me and warmed up to me. He never made me feel in these few years that he was an UNCLE-IN-LAW :)

A man who gave up his individuality for the sake of his family. He was the rock and the foundation of his family. A man, who I wld describe as a SPONGE. He absorbed the unwanted effects of the atmosphere and the undulating ground realities.

I can never forget the way he handled pain - the unflinching grit with which he pushed himself unassumingly so as to not to trouble his near and dear ones, not to even make much mention of his pain. The aches of his heart, his dreams, desires, wishes and beautiful moments of his life - would be painted in the core of my heart for a long time to come.

Not to forget to mention his efforts to learn cooking and babysitting, at the ripe age of 64 - to take care of his Daughter and Grand daughter in the U.S. Recipes were learnt over internet voice chats with his wife, in India. Babysitting of course- practically.

A man who chose to love - an unconditional love till the last breath.

I am going to miss this friend of mine - yet another to have lost a little too early in my association- Selva my 83yr old Boyfriend ;) U remember? - being the other. Their association has taught me great things.

Hope and pray with all of my heart that he is in The Eternal Rest of God and that God takes care of His Life Breath (PROGENY AND FAMILY).

Few men have I come across in my life with such virtuous qualities at the peak of Life and Power. Of course he was not Infallible but his good nature outdid his negatives.

A man worthy of his name - the Ruler of the World

yet another advertisement

an advertisement for Viking innerwear :)

tenth anniversary

Hi people :) nice to be back after a hiatus of around 10 months. Meanwhile lot of changes, got adjusted and so now am back into the foray.
Had been on a fabulous trip with hubby recently for our tenth anniversary - actually lured my husband into it. Mistakenly told him that Kutrallam Falls is just 350 kms from Chennai [which is where we live now] but the truth is that it is around 650kms ;) . Drove down, in our poor santro that has already covered around 62000 kms in a span of 3.5 yrs.
2 hrs later i checked the kms as i had a faint doubt :0, only to discover the actual distance but hubby was mentally dreaming of the falls by then -- fortunately for me :).
Another 4 hrs later he asked abt the water at the falls. I said, "It shld normally be fine by now but i dont know for sure :( "
Such was the start of our 5 day journey as Kutrallam was just a sudden plan. Our actual plan was to go to Velankanni and the Nagapattinam district for all the 4-5 days.
At the end of the 18hr journey, hubby was game for a shower at the falls at 11 p.m. in the night. And was it MIND BOGGLING! Never was a shower ever so refreshing and awesome. It has to be a Must Experience in the itenary of a one who wants to taste the beauty of India. It was thrilling and superb.
Came out of the falls for dinner {roadside dosa and omlette, hot mirchi bajjis too were an option} and then went right back till around 3 a.m. It was fascinating [ all the more so as my hubby is definitely not nocturnal and that day was one of those very rare days where in he gave up his sleep willingly for something much better]. Also enjoyed an oil massage before the second entry ;)
The next day took us to Tirunelveli for Halwa and Kanyakumari for a fab sight of the ferocious sea. Once again - falls and dinner in Rahmath Kadai - Sengkottai
Monday afternoon left for Velankanni and Wednesday early morn returned to base.
Best gift that i got - the remark from hubby that this was his best ever trip as i was and am the Navigator always :) by god's grace.
High Point of the entire trip - we had switched off our mobiles and were all to ourselves. Discovered the anxiety-free life of a mobile-less vacation.
Waiting eagerly for the next trip.

P.S. That saturday was the very day on which kutrallam had fair amt of rain in the noon and that was the night that we reached to a welcoming falls. 2 days after that, the access to the falls was denied due to very heavy rains and the coming week saw no falls due to lack of rains.
And man Must i thanks God for my experience with him, hubby and the falls ;)

cute cuter cutest :)

say cheeeeesssssssssse

And I said think of me --- and this was the response -- ain't I happy with the product? ;)

the smoking rock- hoggenakkal

tree tomato

An attempt to have an ear piece of a tree tomato found in the wild of Kotagiri

remember dombragambatti? the real village

Yes, a real village in India that i have visited for the first time in 31 years - one of its kind in this modern era. Very simple and warm people - an experience worthy of a life-time