A Wandering Mind

The more I see the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I want to see.....  On our Sunday visit to MNP, these butterflies were all over the place, and in fact, they seemed least bothered about us, and landed very near us, apparently in no hurry to leave....I felt they were just waiting to be photographed. Almost everyone there who had a camera took photos of these butterflies fluttering around.....

We visited the Maharashtra Nature Park after more than a month last Sunday, and the changes were startling, Where it was always green before, the monsoon had brought in an added brightness, and even Samhith noticed the wonderful smell of wet earth mingling with the fragrance of different flowers and herbs.

School is a place where kids go to learn. School is also a place where parents get together and discuss the latest happenings. I am rarely part of such discussions, since I can’t talk on anything related to clothes, jewelry, cooking or even the difficulty of finding full time housemaids! However, on my latest visit to the school, I found myself at the centre of a group of women, all talking earnestly about the ‘topic of the season’ – vacations! Almost every family had been out somewhere or the other – while some had simply been visiting their parents and grandparents, there were those like us who had roamed over India, and then there were those who had been to Europe or China. This was probably the only topic which could induce me to listen, and some of these women knew that I wrote a travel blog, so they headed over to share their travel experiences with me.

Sunsets are always a wonderful sight, but throw in some water and mountains, and the beauty is immediately multiplied. Here are a series of pics taken at the Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur, at different times of the day....

On our recent visit to Mount Abu, we walked to the lake to spend the evening. As we were awaiting our turn for the boat ride, a young boy came up to Shankar and said that he would show us some magic tricks. These days, I  don't have much patience with young chaps who accost us at tourist destinations, and would have ignored the chap, but Shankar said, "Come on, let's see what he does."

The town of Madurai is famous for many things. First on the list is of course, the Meenakshi Temple.But did you know that there is something else that the temple town is well known for? Jigarthanda ! Made from milk, china grass, sarsaparilla syrup and ice cream, this is the south Indian equivalent of the Falooda , and is much in demand during the summer.

While in Tiruppur , we decided to take Samhith to his first Tamil movie. It was also his first experience of the old fashioned single screen theatre, and he was surprised to see that there was just one huge screen in such a big place. The gallery surprised him even more, as did the cost of the ticket! The movie was ‘Ko’, one which has received rave reviews for its excellent cinematography and direction, and relates the story of a photojournalist dealing with the current political situation. Since this was Samhith’s first Tamil movie, I was a bit apprehensive about how he would manage to follow the dialogues and if he would actually sit through the three and a half hour long story. I needn’t have worried, for the visuals were stunning and the action riveting enough to transcend the language problem, and Samhith happily sat through the entire movie, just grabbing my hand or hiding his eyes at intervals when the going got too rough! After the movie, he had just one question – “Amma, wha

Most of you would know by now that I had been travelling for the whole of last month. Just before I left, I signed up for the ‘ International Postcard Swap ’ organized by Zoe of ‘ Playing by the book ’. It was a heaven sent opportunity to get Samhith more interested in writing, and also get in touch with some like-minded parents and kids!

They form an inevitable part of the coastal skyline in Southern India, and are certainly among the most useful among trees. It is sometimes compared to the ' Kalpavriksha ' - the celestial or wish fulfilling tree, since every part of the tree is used for the benefit of mankind. Yes, I am talking about the Coconut tree.

Cloth and clothing is something kids tend to take for granted. For Samhith, choosing a new dress is easy – just go to a shop, see what you like and pick it up. Considering his inquisitive bent of mind, it wasn’t long before the question came up – how are clothes made? One part was easy to explain – the stitching. For one, there are enough tailors around for him to know that cloth can be stitched in various ways, and thanks to my mom’s trusty old Singer Sewing machine, he also knows that we can stitch clothes at home! Also helpful was the fact that his uncle heads a garment manufacturing firm, and he was able to visit the factory and see how T shirts are made in bulk! However, the crux of the question remained – where does the cloth come from? How is the cloth made? Explaining about cotton and silk thread and weaving didn’t help much, and all I could do was wait for an opportunity to show him how cloth is woven.

Its been one hectic summer vacation . Over the period of one month, we traversed over 5000 Km as we spent our holidays travelling and making the most of the longest vacation of the year! We started our tour with a visit to Tiruppur, where Samhith made the most of his time with his aunt. While there, we managed to sneak in a visit to the Dhyanalinga Temple near Coimbatore. From there, we headed towards Madurai,

Roaming around as we did,  under the merciless glare of the summer sun, the only relief was in the form of these fruits which were available at every street corner. They quenched our thirst and filled our stomachs, and we needed little else to keep us going..... Here they are....

The love of a mother for her child transcends all boundaries..... that of time, caste, creed or even species! While on one hand, we were busy admiring the beautiful sculptures at this World Heritage Site, where this special bond had been immortalized in stone almost 1500 years ago.............

The first half of this year has been especially good as far as travel is concerned. I have visited so many places in the last 6 months that for the very first time, I am actually worried about forgetting details of the trip before I write them down! Which reminds me that I am seriously lagging behind with my posts !