Skip to main content

Featured Post

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

Preparing for Navaratri

Ten days of any festival can get quite hectic, but preparing for it is much more so, especially when there are five steps to decorate, as well as loads of craft work to make. Last year, I had posted detailed posts on my Navaratri Preparations. Those of you who havent seen them can take a look at them, as well as my Navaratri Posts here.

Here is a sneak peek into what we are into, for Navaratri 2010,which begins the day after tomorrow.

First off, is the fort - something we had to think a lot about....... but which turned out to be quite simple, once we got an idea....


A couple of boxes of Kellogs Chocos, a few leftover pieces of thermocol, and a couple of plastic bottles lying around... thats all it took.....


Here's what it looks like, finally....


And now, heres what we made with another Kellogs box.....


In case you haven't guessed yet, thats a tunnel through a mountain....


This has been made by special request - Samhith's of course!


It consumed masses of newspaper and tissues....


Does the result look anything like what its supposed to be?



And finally, here are the mountains which are supposed to make up the backdrop....



The major work seems to be done, but this is just the beginning.... there are steps to be set up, the layout planned and laid out...... and much, much more... and all I have is a day in hand.... a normal day with school, classes, et al........ Wish I had more hands to use... or a few extra hours to snatch.... I shall be back once I manage to complete the work!

Comments

  1. nice work. Couple of watch towers on top of fort would have been nice

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am sure Samhith would have had a gala time doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cool Fort! Love your theme-based gholu. Can I invite myself to see it on one of the days? :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am sure this is going to be wonderful time for Samhith.Good work there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. hey!!!! u plz come home na! u can write abt this house too.... its really mela here!!!!

    kanthi

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Shrinidhi: thanks... there are two small watchtowers at the ends.. thats what the bottles were used for... unfortunately they are rather small due to the space constriction... wish i had a huge place to make use of.. would go mad trying things out, probably!!!

    @Mridula: Samhith is actually doing little except getting in the way and dropping fevicol all over the house! as of now, there really is nothing much he can help out in, except getting me stuff and seeing what i am up to.... he will be making his blocks houses once the main stuff is ready so we know what exactly he needs to make... but it is fun!

    @Monisha: thanks a lot... your blog design is interesting....

    @Bindhu: hey, u can drop in anytime.. would love to have you here.....

    @Chitra: thanks.... i hope he likes the way it finally turns out!

    @Kanthi: that is your job... tu kya kar rahi hai???

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is so nice.
    Everything shown step by step.
    Kids would love to follow this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for following me.

    I have been thinking about gollu's a lot these days, but considering we did only one gollu when I was a kid, I am not at all sure I know how to go about it.

    Reading about last year's Navaratri has inspired me to attempt something next year.

    Are you in Bombay too? Asking because of the Matunga mention.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Haddock: Thanks.... I have been taking so many ideas from others' blogs, it felt right to show detailed steps so that others could use mine too!

    @Rayna: I just happened to stumble on your blog, and loved it!I enjoy navaratri and making all that stuff because this is the one festival where i can satisfy all my creative urges... We could never keep Golu when I was young either, but I grew up hearing about it... so u also can try it out.... I am in Chembur, chedda nagar actually... what abt u?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Simple Ideas, Turning into amazig outcomes...wow....you must have gone through a lot and at the end enjoyed the fruits of that!!! Amazing effort and passion - what is this guy and you upto next is something that I am eagerly looking out for manni - Siva

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan