Words that have touched my soul!!!

"I have a dream, a song to sing,To help me cope with anything.
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale,You can take the future even if you fail.
I believe in angels,Something good in everything I see.
I believe in angels,When I know the time is right for me.
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream." - Abba

As soothing as music is and as much as it can help you escape the world you're in to take you to a whole new beautiful planet, music takes the form of what your thoughts are and so every song, every word you listen to , has more meaning when you're in the exact same feeling as portrayed by the song. Music has been with me always and has lived my life with me and will continue to do so. Some songs make you laugh while some make you cry and some make you wonder! I have survived some of the best and worst times of life while listening to some of the most meaningful lyrics and some have made me believe that it was written for me. I'm sure you'd agree with me if I told you that at some point in life you'd felt the exact same way.

"In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days,
I'll always feel the same way
Whatever road you may be on,
Know you're never too far gone
My love is there wherever you may be,
Just remember that you will always be my baby." - Sara Evans

Being born into a loving family is the biggest gift anybody can get. If you've had one, you'll know the value of it and if you didn't have one, you'd value it even more. I was lucky to have the most beautiful gift of a loving happy family. One that loves me no matter what. Happiness is all we've seen and been taught.

"Sometimes I'm lazy,I get bored,I get scared,I feel ignored
I feel happy, I get silly,I choke on my own words
I make wishes, I have Dreams,And I still want to believe
Anything can happen in this world,For an ordinary girl.
So give it everything or nothin' at all,Get back on your feet when
You stumble and fall,A little luck can go a long way.
So don't you worry about what people say,Who knows when the wind may blow
For an ordinary girl..I'm just an ordinary girl."

When happiness knows no bounds, everything you say and feel is just happy.Just like my recent favourite song says:

"Let's sing to be happy, to feel things, to communicate, and be heard
Or sing out to protest, and to protect, and to harmonize with birds
Whether it's your birthday, or your dying day,it's a celebration too
Rejoice to use your voice, and give wings to any old choice
Whatever you're choosing right now, it's right where where you are
You don't need a vacation when there's nothing to escape from

Send your vibration and your undulation to the highest it can go
And trust me, hear me,If it makes you wanna sing,Just sing it."  - Jason Mraz

Smile at everything, see the little things around you, enjoy nature, appreciate everything you have,live life to the fullest and have no regrets!

"Let the rain come down and wash away my tears,
Let it feel my soul and drown my fears.
Let it shatter the world for a new sun,
New day has come!! "- Celine Deon

-Sharanya

Snakes,Leeches and the love for the wild!!!

Travel has always been about fun, exploration and people but never about wildlife and nature. Having learnt about the rain forests as a child, I've never had the opportunity to wander into one or even think about what it might be like. When one of my friends suggested that we should go on a wildlife workshop to the rain forests, I should say I was mighty excited and jumped at the opportunity. The best part about this was the I had no idea that a place by the name 'Aagumbe' existed until this trip came up. You will be surprised to know that this place is called the cherrapunji of the South as it receives maximum rainfall; locals say it's usually upto 1000mm. Lush and beautiful, it is the home to the largest population of the majestic king cobra. After learning so much about the place, I just couldn't wait to set out on the journey to get to this hidden treasure.

As part of the trip itinerary, we were given instructions to be prepared for heavy rains, lots of hungry leeches and some exotic species of flora and fauna. Leeches and snakes are the two things that can shake my gut and the amount of research that went into reading about leeches and how to protect myself from one was boundless. Tons of Internet surfing later, I was mentally prepared to face my fears of the slimy and slithering.




Like all backpackers, there was no plan. There was a destination and one backpack and we just had to get there. Two trains and one bumpy bus ride later, we landed at this green, fresh, gorgeous village of Aagumbe. Aagumbe is home to a research centre and the reserve forests which the karnataka government takes care of. We were instantly greeted by the amazing people organizing the camp and were taken on a small Orange van to the camp site. Camp site is a huge place tastefully designed such that the environment is not troubled by us humans inhabiting the area. We had little tents all laid out to perfection. Quick freshening up and settling down later, we got to meet more camp participants and the various fields they've been associated with. It was very interesting to see the amount of knowledge each of these people had about the forests and life within.



We had all finally assembled and it was time to start off with camp. After yummy breakfast, we set off on a quick walk to the nearby forest area, technically backyard (we're already living inside the forest ). I was paranoid of leeches because it was the first time I was encountering them so I spent most of my time looking down at my feet to make sure nothing was climbing on. In between my leech fight, we spotted some rare species of fungi. If I remember the name right, it was called dead man's finger because it actually looks like one. We spotted some more rare plants and birds and frogs. We then headed back to camp for a quick session on snakes.




Snake man Ajay Giri took us through some amazing snake facts and some really exciting stories about rescuing snakes from the local community. From looking at snakes as scary, poisonous creatures, for the first time, I looked at them as scared, majestic creations of nature. Although the fear in me hasn't completely left me, I think I now have a different perspective of wildlife altogether. Not just snakes but frogs, insects, mammals and every single thing in that forest had something to tell and something to learn from.

It was time for another walk and this was to spot snakes. We were lucky to spot the green vine snake and we learned a ton load about local plants and their medicinal value (Courtesy Aditya who was doing his PhD in flora and fauna in the shimoga district) . There was this one plant that could actually numb your taste palette for about twenty mins(crazy stuff ). We even spotted some exotic butterflies and a rat snake going after its prey. It's a pleasure watching these animals in their natural habitat.




I didn't risk carrying my dslr on this trip as we expected rains every minute but this was the only time I regretted not carrying it with me. So much beauty, so much to capture and I had to do it with my phone.Luckily, I was in the company of some amazing wildlife photographers and I'll make sure to use their pictures.. :P

Pictures Courtesy: Manikandan Dhayal

Beyond these short walks, everybody was very eagerly looking forward to the night trail which would've left us exploring more nocturnal creatures. Unfortunately, we were bound to our camp site due to a lone tusker strolling the locale at the exact same time. Slightly disheartened and adhering to our facilitator who declared that our safety was more important, we went on to explore the fenced area around camp site to find more amphibians like the common Indian toad, golden frog and a few other exotic species. It was then time to retire for the night. Tucked away safely in our tents , we drifted into the silent night.

Soon, it was bright. The surprising part was that the sun hadn't set until about 7pm the previous night and yet, it was early sunrise the next morning. The slightly sunny morning brought out more green vine snakes to bask in the sunlight. We were also lucky to spot some beautiful birds like the Grey Hornbill, Yellow Bulbul,Malabar Crested lark and Coucal.Soon it was time to fill up our bellies with some yummy food and head out for a trek in the Someshwara Forest reserve.


This was the point where leeches just become a part of your life because no matter what you do,the creepy slimy thing will not leave you until it's had its meal.Moving on, the trek was adventurous and we spotted more snakes (Shiels Tail,Pit Viper and a Checkered Keelback)






A 3km trek led upto the tip of a gorgeous waterfall. One with crystal clear water and the symphony of water against rocks. After spending a considerable amount of time at the waterfall , munching on some snacks and clicking photos like there was no tomorrow, it was time to head back. to base. A quick trek back took us to the entrance of the forest.A few more group pics later,we were done for the day and that was the end of camp.




Highlights of the wildlife workshop at Aagumbe for me would be:

1. The organizers (Mohammed Ismail, Ram, Vishwas and Akshay) were super meticulous with the planning of everything and their knowledge on every aspect of the rain forest was just commendable.
2. Everybody who spoke (Ajay,Ram, Ashok,Ismail) had immense patience to answer our innumerable questions on the subject.
3. Other participants in the camp were wonderful people to share their knowledge with the rest of the group (Aditya, Shwetha, Pallavi)
4. The awesome videos that showed various species, their rescue operations and the effort that's gone into preservation of these animals is just inspiring.
5. Travel was made easy with my super awesome company (we took a train from Chennai to Bangalore, Bangalore to Shimoga and then a bus to Agumbe so this was a really loooong journey and couldn't have survived it if not for my fun gang)
6. I have to say there was this special discussion on rain forests and as nature lovers what we're doing to protect them and how we could go about bringing a change in the society to encourage conservation of wildlife. (Dr.Ashok the great , was the man behind this!!)

The experience on the whole was worth everything. No power, no network and no disturbance. A weekend in sync with nature in all it's glory.I wouldn't think twice to do this all over again.

P.S. I have overcome my exorbitant fear of snakes and leeches and the wild in general.

These places of unadulterated and unexplored beauty deserve to be treated with respect and protected with love.You don't have to be an animal lover to love wildlife, you just need to be willing to make the human race live longer .If you're reading this, spread the word and help people connect with nature and understand it's importance.

-Sharanya

The "Giant" vacation in every sense - Kasol, Himachal Pradesh

“He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.”- Friedrich Neitszche

Travelling for some is passion, for some is a hobby, for others it's fun but for me, it's a way of life. To travel is to discover , to understand and explore oneself. Over time, I've traveled with different people to different places and at different times not only to experience everything but also to learn about myself and expose myself to situations that I'd want to learn to deal with. Lessons you teach yourself are far greater than the ones life offers you. Since you now have an idea of what travel means to me and because I'm bored of all the philosophy, I shall move on to talk about my super awesome trip.

I've been wanting to blog about all my trips off late and I've just been lazy. This particular trip happened over an impromptu conversation with my office gang. Somebody quietly complained about not being able to make any trips happen this year and I said why not, let's do it. With that, it just seemed like that was all the push needed to make it happen. Within a week, we had decided destination, travel group and infact, booked onward train tickets. Too soon don't you think??? Well, the heat lasted only for so long.. :P once the tickets were booked, it took almost a month to get the group together to decide everything else.

Destination : Kasol, Himachal Pradesh.
Aim : Kheerganga Trek
Travellers: 7
First Stop : New Delhi.

Two months before the trip: Booked train tickets from Chennai to Delhi by Gareeb Rath after we decided we'd have more energy to travel by train while going and not  when coming back. Best decision ever!! You'll know why when I finish the story.

So just like all other trip plans, there's usually drama around who'll make it and who wouldn't and of course drop outs but not this time. We were very strict about all 7 making the trip and no excuses whatsoever so until the last week, threats kept going around about who was coming and who wasn't but in the end we all made it.The perfect bunch of 7 carefree, fun and awesome people.

One month before the trip: Finally made an itinerary, got everybody to put in their thoughts and decide on a suitable plan.

With multiple changes and a million blogs read, we picked the perfect plan. Everything was decided except 'Manali first or Kasol first'. This was an endless discussion because both places were accessible from Delhi. And where did we go at last, Solang Valley.. :P Wanna guess how we decided that?? We were in the middle of the road at Manali after a 32 hour train journey followed by a 14 hour bumpy bus ride when we decided to stay at a place where it snowed.. :D Oh how could
I forget, we had a break between the train and bus journey where we walked about 3Km with our luggage just to wait for half an hour to eat at the tiniest restaurant ever!! Of course, they served amazing food :) These are the little things you can never forget. I even remember the hotel name 'Kake-Da-Hotel'. So, after the meal and the bus journey and landing at Solang Valley, we reach this amazing hotel where there is snow everywhere, even outside our room. The excitement on everybody's face was priceless.

The 32 hour train journey flew by because we had fun playing, talking, lots of eating (the brownies helped too.. ;))  and of course sleeping. So by the time we got to the hotel, we were all set to take on the snow and make the most of it. A quick walk outside our hotel led us to the ropeway that took us straight to the highest point on the snow capped mountain. After endless selfies and playing around in the snow, the walking continued until one of our group members discovered this mysterious board that said 'Shiva Temple' a few KM away. The path was only  snow but everybody was up for the challenge. By this time, it was about 6pm and we had slowly started walking towards our destination amongst nothing but snow. I wanted to give up many times because we seemed to be reaching nowhere and it was getting darker and darker. Somehow, nobody else wanted to give up so I played along too. After about 2 hours, what I experienced cannot be put in words. The full moon night, the bed of stars, one little constellation , the endless scenery of snow filled mountains, the silence of the night, the peace and serenity in the air , it took my breath away. Just then, everything seemed beautiful.. nature in it's glory and the calming effect it has on you is just not describable! I wished I could spend the rest of the night there in the middle of nowhere staring at the stars and not worrying about anything in the world. Alas, good things don't last for too long. We had to move because we weren't prepared to stay there and it was getting too cold. Walking back to the hotel, we were all mesmerized by what we had just experienced and it left us speechless.

The next day, we were en route to Kasol when we suddenly decided white water rafting on Beas river would be fun!! Me, I'm terrified of water but I decided to play along and the only time I've been happy about being bulky was then because I was made to safely sit in the middle of the raft when everybody else was clutching onto the rope sitting on the edges!! Neverthelsss, it was awesome fun and it was definitely worth getting all our thermals wet.. :P

About 2 hours later, we reach the quiet town of Kasol. Finding accomodation was a little painful but we managed to. All set for the trek next day, all we needed was a good night's sleep. Our day started early with everybody geared up to take on the huge task ahead of us - the 28 Km trek. A quick cab ride took us to Barsheni, foot of the mountain where chai , maggi and aloo paratha made up all the strength needed for the trek. There began our long 7 hour climb to the mighty Kheerganga. After panting, struggling, picture taking, resting and admiring the beauty of the parvati river, we finally reach the top of the mountain just before sunset.Not to forget the friendly village children we met on our way up. They played holi with us in exchange for chocolates that we were carrying. The smile on their faces made up for all our fatigue. No matter how tired our muscles were or how thin the air was, the scenic beauty made up for all of it. We were all cooped up in one tiny wooden room with one Bhukari to keep us warm. Slouched under layers of blankets and learning the art of smoking a chillum was the highlight of that night!! A small two foot wooden cubicle with open roof as the loo was the best. Must say, it was the most amazing view I've ever had when peeing!!! The hot spring up that mountain was just a wonder and the bed of stars at night will remind you that you are just a speck in the vast universe we belong to. The next day, the descend was quick and not as taxing as climbing up the mountain.

Now all that was left of our trip was to chill in Kasol, eat some amazing food and do some shopping. To our surprise, that quiet little town suddenly turned into mayhem with a million people landing there for the long weekend. Boy were we glad we left that day. Although with a heavy heart, we left to Bhuntar that day to take our bus back to Delhi. It was a quiet journey back.. not only because our trip was over, it was because we finally got an awesome bus with awesome seats so we could sleep well.. :P

Singing , dancing, eating, smoking, smoking up, drinking, pub hopping, sleeping, walking, shopping, fitting in, posing, clicking.. the list is endless and so was the fun we had. A trip is not just about the places you visit but also the people you are with. I was lucky and I've always been :)

This will be one of my most memorable vacations for more than a million reasons. To many more to come!!

-Sharanya

My guardian angel!!

That curly hair,  the tiny feet, the dimpled smile, that annoying shriek,
Came into my life this little freak,
Who now holds my world without a creek.

You held my hand, you hid behind my skirt, You refused to play with anything but dirt.
You smiled with unparalleled innocence,
You still made me very tense.

The joy you brought was one that couldn't be bought,
You made me proud and swell and at times, Made me lose patience and yell.

You set the bar high for any man in my life,
Because you're the charm, the wise.
You love without hesitation and yet,
You know exactly what you get.

Little did I know that one day you'd grow,
To tell me that life wasn't just a show.
I may be older but when I'm upset, I crave for the strength of your shoulder.

O my angel, my guardian angel, thank you for being there when I needed you most.
Times may change, the world might be strange, but my love for you will never be lost.

-Sharanya

My little girl... my sweet happy loving little girl!!!

You showed me happiness I had never seen,
You made the world seem lush and green,
You made me love like never before,
Now I'm just left feeling sore.
As I look though the pages of my unfinished book,
I'm reminded of every little piece of me you took.
You may have let go of me without a thought
But my love for you is more than I fought.
May you find peace and happiness wherever you go,
You'll always be in my thoughts, just so you know.

-Sharanya

Is life giving you lemons or lessons???

The famous saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" always made me wonder if the person who actually said it, just loved lemonade or really mis typed lemons for lessons. To me, life has only given lessons, some great and some painful. You tend to forget the great lessons because they're mostly ones that keep you happy while the painful ones stick around to remind you why you were given the lesson in the first place. My motto was simple, " when you never expect anything, you never get disappointed". I've lived by this my whole life until I was kicked in the ass by life to remind me that expectations are what life is all about. Disappointments will come no matter what.  Then why not expect,Why not want things or why not dream of anything under the sun.

Don't let anybody stop you  from dreaming. Don't stop yourself from wanting anything. You'll get what you want. It's the lesson life gives you. So expect, live, love, dream and want to have a life full of everything you love. If you deserve it, if life thinks you should have it, you'll have it no matter what!!!

Keep smiling
Sharanya 

Shawarma , mountains , beaches and Sheeshah - Shukran Muscat!!!

Surprises are my thing. I love being surprised and I absolutely love surprising others. That joy and excitement you see on somebody's face when they're surprised is just priceless. Thus, my trip to the royal Muscat! My first cousin/best friend/ soul sister moved to Muscat about 3 years ago post marriage and I hadn't gotten a chance to visit her. It was like a part of my life had moved away and when I had the opportunity to make a trip to visit and surprise her, I just couldn't pass :) My super awesome brother in law agreed to keeping the surprise and making it happen for me. We planned everything and he made sure it all went well. My sister had no idea she was going to pick me up from the airport. Poor girl visits the airport thinking she was going to pick up one of their friends who was coming back from a business trip. When she saw me coming out the airport, the surprise was rather subdued, a mix of emotions - happiness, excitement, disbelief.. I could see it in her eyes. Until I walked upto her and gave her a tight hug, she couldn't accept the fact that it was me and that I was there with her. That was the moment I waited for months to happen and I was satisfied as hell. Another successful surprise to my list of achievements!! :D :D

So, after the initial hungama of "How did you make it, I can't believe you're here", "oh god, my house is not ready for a guest" exclamations, I was given a super quick description of this awesome place they live in and the 'Sultan'. The 'Sultan' apparently loves his people and does anything for their well being. He also does the same for the ex-pats and people seem really happy with the place. This was all new to me because I really didn't think people liked being ruled considering how we live in a democracy and have a say in everything. Turns out, it is so much better when ruled. Rules are rules, the place is as neat as a crystal ball, the greenery for a desert is brilliant. Till I landed in Muscat, I had no idea what the place was like or where I wanted to visit. I left all of that to my brother in law. In my mind, it was a desert. A dry, highly sophisticated desert. I imagined sand, dust , camels and men in their robes and women in burkha everywhere. (Silly me!). What I saw was completely different. In my drive from the airport to where we were staying, I saw beautiful wide roads, lush greenery, small buildings with a lot of landscaping, neatly kept side lanes and mountains whichever direction you looked in. Nobody could call that a desert. I was told that the 'Sultan' had strict rules against raising tall buildings as it destroys the natural beauty of the place.What a thought!!

As a foodie, it was already time for me to explore the food scene in Muscat. 15 mins post landing there, I'm driven straight to 'Muscat Bakery' for breakfast. I wanted to try something different so ordered a Philippino Chicken Roll - This was more like a sweet bun stuffed with succulent chicken pieces'. It was amazingly tasty and filling. I also followed that up with my all time favourite - Hot Chocolate.. yummmm!!

That day, I did not realize that the remaining ten days of my vacation was going to be all about food and how it was about to drastically increase my waistline by a large number. :P

Well, all is well that ends well. I loooooved the food scene. There's not one thing you wouldn't get. My love for Shawarma reached new heights after tasting it in Muscat. It is like a melting piece of heaven in your mouth. Trust me I'm not exaggerating!!From typical mallu stuff like Pazham pori, paruppu vada and chaaya to juicy continental burgers, the place has everything. The road side Dhabawala serves you amazing butter rotis while the high end restaurateur serves you the best looking desserts with a view over looking the sea. The best part is that all of these places are open all night and they cater to every single person from a construction worker to a CEO. The street vendor's food is just as tasty as a fancy hotel.I absolutely enjoyed my falafel, shawarma , the rotis, the mezze platter and pazham pori.I never got enough of it.                                                                                                                   

We also visited this awesome resort called 'Jebel Sifah'. Basically a resort atop a mountain. A few hours drive for some amazing food and breathtaking views.

Muscat also has some beautiful beaches. This one is the 'Yithi' beach!!

There's quite a few places in and around Muscat for a short trip. We made a visit to Nizwa. It was this massive ancient fort that had loads of history attached to it. Very interesting place. We also got to go around the markets for a quick morning sale. It was an experience!! I also got to try something called the 'Kahwa'. Served in little shot glasses, this is one strong cup of coffee!!! 

The thing that caught my eye the most was the colours. The pretty pretty lanterns. I wanted to buy all them and bring them with me. The Mattrah Souk - local market was a hub for such lanterns. They literally keep you hooked to them.

Apart from this, I visited more beautiful places - the sink hole, fake grand canyons ;)

I also had the luxury of  a private show at the movie theater because we were the only ones in the theater.. :P

Some of my favourite parts of the vacation:

• The food hands down - the road side coffee shops especially. I'll never forget the Shawarma.<3
• The fact that every hotel big or small, has boxes and boxes of tissues kept out for people to use.
• The natural beauty of the place in itself although it's a desert                                                      
• The highlight of the sultanate - Sheeshah. I just fell in love with it. What an experience it is to sit in a sheeshah parlour until wee hours in the morning playing cards, ordering yummy food and chilling out with friends.I enjoyed every second of it and that's what I miss most coming back here.
• The Sultan's guards showing off in their ranger vehicle with high powered guns and everything. Makes you feel safe all the time. 
• I was lucky to be there in the first half of february when it wasn't too hot so the weather wasn't very taxing
• I got to spend my sister's birthday with her after almost three years and it was absolutely worth the visit!!
• My huge mug of coffee every morning with amazingly simple but well made breakfast. Simple pleasures in life!
• All that junk I got from the super market - the variety of chocolates!! *drool* and the super cool baking stuff that I got to wander around and pick - I was like a kid in a candy store!!!

On the whole, definitely one of my best trips across the globe. I have soooo much more to write but I'll spare you the details my dear reader. :)

Until my next trip - Shukran Muscat for an amazing time and thank you my super awesome sister and brother in law for having me over. Love you guys!!!

-Sharanya

The mystery of life!!

The smile that slowly creeps in without your knowledge, the glow in your face that brightens up a dark room, the joy in your heart that makes you hop as you take a walk, the twinkle in your eye that makes everything seem beautiful.. such is the feeling, the feeling most talked about, the feeling of love. Not only does it make you seem unusually happy, it makes you believe that the world around you is flawless, that people around you are caring and that life itself is meaningful.

As wonderful as all this seems, there's always a down side, a dawn that comes after dusk , in between the joy and the illusion that you live in, you fail to see life itself, the irony it has to offer and the little tricks it plays on you. This new tingly feeling leaves you engulfed in a cloud of disbelief that you fail to realize the change happening to your real world. You are at a point of deception where differentiating between dreams and reality becomes a challenge.

The countless romantic movies, endless novels about love and it's intricacies show you no mercy when you're in it yourself. It might all seem worthless because what you feel cannot be put in words or even acted out for that matter. You're lost. Lost in thoughts, lost in yourself, lost in the person you love and everything else around you seems so little.

It is a mystery.. a mystery nobody has been able to uncover, a mystery that great stories like Romeo and Juliet couldn't uncover and a reminder that in everybody's life there is a time when everything around you will seem worthless against the one thing that matters most to you.

Eggs , butter and Sugar

I haven't blogged in quite a while and thought it was time for me to start again before I completely stop and not come back to doing it. Earlier, I blamed it on not having time and I just realized off late that you can make time for anything you want.One such wonder for me, has been baking!!!

From the title, you probably thought I was going to post a recipe or something but no, I just want to share my love for baking and the inspiration I've gotten to do it.The very first step for anything is encouragement and inspiration and I should say I've gotten plenty of that from my wonderful family and friends.They're all honest yet considerate with their comments and  push me to doing more.My first love for cooking started when I was in class 8, when we had to mandatorily be part of a club and I chose the cookery club.I even remember my first attempt at making Samosas and Mysore Pa. My cookery club teacher still remembers me fondly and says she always knew I'd be interested in cooking someday.Well, I guess she was right.Having a mother and a grand mother who are both terrified to let you enter the kitchen, does not help you learn too much (they were forever worried that I might burn a finger or leave the gas on). We're past that now and I do a lot of recipe searching from the internet and I pretty much torture everybody at home with my trial and errors (including my dogs.. :))

I started baking for the love of it. It made me happy because everybody I fed, was super happy. Seeing somebody else smile always makes my day.Today, baking is my stress reliever. It helps me take my mind off things that upset me. Oh , the best part is decorating a cake or a cupcake. Trust me, nothing is more soothing than that. I could spend hours and hours ganaching my cake or colouring my cupcake topper.. it's fun and relaxing. After spending a couple of years with random baking, trials and perfecting my recipes, today I proudly sell my cakes. Although I'm content with my new venture and everything , I still have that little pain of having to charge somebody for my cake. I rather enjoyed making it with all my heart and not expecting anything in return. Well, life has to go on and having a business of my own, was my next step forward.

Well, back to why I love baking. Apart from the fact that it makes me and people I love happy, the aroma that fills my home when I bake something is just scintillating. I love licking left over batter after my cakes are in the oven. I looove tasting whipped cream when it's still in the making. It gives me goosebumps when my bread rises . These little things bring great joy and they keep me wanting to do more and more of this. Loving what you do and doing what you love are two different things but when they coincide, it's a match made in heaven. My relationship with baking is definitely one such match :D :D

The wanderer in me - Lost in thoughts!!

Do you believe in souls? Afterlife? Re-birth? I do!! Nah, don't think twice, I'm not going to talk about death and what it has in store after you've left your body. I was just starting off with my thoughts and how they leave my mind every once in a while leaving me stranded in the midst of nowhere!!  I started blogging to pen down my thoughts and in the last year that flew, turns out I had a million thoughts but I just couldn't get myself to pen it down. I've gained the courage to do so now and so after a year's break, I'm back to speaking my thoughts.

A lot has changed over the last one year - new experiences, new friends, new relationships, new happiness, new pain and so much more. I learned more than I ever did during my entire life. As per the popular phase "Single and Young", I'm living the dream but how far do people actually dream of this? Often, I'm left asking myself if I'm living the life I want to and most times, the very convincing part of my brain says "Yes, absolutely. You're happy, you have an amazing life, what's there to complain" but the sensible part of my brain knows that that's just an illusion,a way of surpassing the doubts that arise in my mind.If you're wondering what I'm getting at, you're on the right track because I'm left with the same thought over and over again.

Our society binds us by cliche. A girl who is well educated and who's part of a decent middle class family, is meant to be married, settled and bearing children by the time she's 25. why? Because that's the ideal age for everything. Some of the very logical reasons I've heard for this cliche "You can have children while you're still young and you'll grow with them. Helps with reducing the generation gap", "The society will not talk about our family", "It'll be difficult to find a boy once you're over 25 years old".I'm not one of those girls who is going to fight this cliche and try and change the way parents think but I'm one of those thousands of girls who wished she'd find a way to break free from this cliched society and to make a life of her own choice without having to hurt her family. I think every girl deserves to know what it feels like to be loved and wanted before she gets into a life long commitment with a stranger with the promise of keeping a family together. I've seen this over generations where women go through a series of compromises because they're bound by marriage. Starting from my mother to my cousins to even my grand mothers, I've seen this happen. Sure, they're all happy and content with the life they're living but are they really??? How many of these women can touch their heart and say they've gotten everything they ever deserved and that they're truly happy?? Maybe none. That's the irony. You may seem completely happy outside but women possess the incredible talent of hiding their tears behind the joy they see in people they love.

If you're not in my generation, you're probably frowning at my post. Well, I won't blame you, it's how the society around us is. I don't hate our society, I just wished it were a little more liberal. Liberal in the sense that nobody should verbally torture a girl's parents if the girl decides to live life on her terms. I might sound rebellious and harsh with my thoughts but if you were in my shoes, you'd understand. I "Was" one of those girls who always dreamt of marriage and a family and the responsibility that came with it. My parents had an arranged marriage and I see how happy they are. I believed it worked. But, there is a breaking point to every thought you have. There is a limit to your belief and patience. I still believe that there will be magic and that there will be a man who can stand by me for the rest of my life, but I want to be given the choice to wait for that magic to happen.

I'm not a pessimist. I never was. I believed in fairy tales. I believed in the little joys life brings with it. I believed everything good will happen to those who believe it will. You know the one thing that can change your belief in everything, it's the long painful process of finding a suitable groom. Trust me, I'm not ranting, this is fact. I don't know how many of you will agree but I know there will be women who will. You'll feel the pain if you've had to go through the grueling process of having to look through a matrimonial profile and decide in a second if the guy will be suitable to share the rest of your life with. Oh and mind you, this was fun three years ago when my parents first started this groom searching process. I'd participate will all excitement to read through all the profiles and laugh at some of the horrible things people expect from the girl - I mean literally horrible!!! Leave alone expectations, the way men describe themselves are even more hilarious. Slowly, this routine went on and on and nothing would proceed because either I wouldn't like the guy or the guy wouldn't like me or our horoscopes wouldn't match or worst of all, the guy will be a complete creep! All this was okay, it's just part of the process and I was okay with it. The fun part ended when everybody started looking at me as being the reason for the marriage not happening. Oh hey guys, this is harsh reality, don't get offended - Some of the basic qualifications to find a suitable groom is for the girl to be thin, pretty and fair. Education, character and similar values hold no place anymore.Back in the years when education and liberal thoughts were a rarirty, women were looked upon. All that mattered was her beauty and her ability to handle the kitchen. Now, so many years into this modern free world and yet, the institution called marriage hasn't changed. Beauty still matters and so does the fact that the girl should be shorter than the guy and should be earning lesser than him.

I dream of that day when there will be a change, when people will no longer look at a one page profile and a few photos and decide if their life is worth spending with. I dream of the day when parents stop asking their daughters to become slim and besutiful so they can upload a nice picture onto the matrimonial profile. I dream of the day when the guy who calls you to take things forward is not a creep. I dream of the day when the society no longer cares if you're 30 and not married. I dream of the day when there will be no judgement on your character. I dream of the day when the power of choice is mine!!!

Dream On!!!!!

-Sharanya

The cocoon called Work!! - Is it???

"Work is Worship" says ancient history.Well, I say "Work is the worst ship if you don't enjoy the sea".
I joined work straight out of college and it's been almost 5 years since.When I was in college, all I wanted to do was to get out and start working.Little did I realize that I was taking on a huge responsibility on me. The happy, fun me didn't want to get used to the busy work life.Alas, time had to move on and here I am being busy as ever having learnt to deal with work life.

When I started my career, I hated it!!I literally hated it because all I wanted to do was to go back to college life and not have to worry about anything. All I ever wanted to do was to bunk classes, watch movies and hang out with friends (What else is college life about.. ;)).But yet, I knew that wasn't going to happen so I stuck on. Slowly, I learnt to make the best of what I had.I made more friends at work. I started to like going to my work place.Then I realized that the only way for me to enjoy work would be to start liking it.What to do, I'm an electrical engineer who dreamt of becoming a journalist but ended up as a software engineer.There was no way I could ever like what I was doing!!It's not what I wanted!!So then, my next way of dealing with this situation was with a distraction.I made sure that I always had something to look forward to the weekend so that I could push the five working days as quickly as possible.Now that really seemed to help.My weekends were busier than weekdays and I started enjoying that.

I should say, social media played such a vital role in my life.It helped me discover my love for baking and gave me the direction for it as well.It taught me that people loved me for who I was and for what I do.It helped me re-discover my love for food and find like minded people who do.With all this, I finally got my perfectly balanced work and personal life.I now know that by doing everything I love, I'm finally making up for not liking my job so much.After all these years, I can proudly say that I've found my happy place.I love my work and I simply love my personal life.I just hope nothing ever changes so then I wouldn't need another five years to find my happy place again.. :D

Note:For all those who share my thoughts about work being the last place you'd want to be, don't worry!!That'll change as years go by but that feeling will never go away until you find your passion and give it enough importance!!!

Happy Searching!!

-Sharanya
Keep Smiling.. :)

"It's all Greek and Latin!!!"- Tasty Nonetheless!!

I'm a big big fan of the TV show 'Masterchef Australia' and my favourite chef happens to be 'George Calombaris' and George happens to be Greek.Greek food is all about the love and eating big meals sitting together around the table. I've always been fascinated by the culture and the cuisine.The elaborate cooking with simple yet elegant ingredients has always been something to look forward to.So for somebody who is so influenced by Greek cuisine just by watching it on TV, there was just one place that could satisfy my curiosity about authentic Greek food and that is 'Kryptos by Willi'.

The recent showcase that happened at Kryptos was more of a family get together than a showcase itself.We were all seated around a huge table.Welcoming, chatting, laughing and sharing food was a beautiful evening spent in the company of fellow foodies.We had a wonderful menu lined up for the evening and I couldn't wait to tuck in and enjoy it.

Starters:
Mixed Vegetarian Mezze Platter
Mix Regular Platter Mezze

The word 'Mezze' itself means assortment of small dishes.Both the vegetarian and the non vegetarian platters were fireworks in the mouth with small burst of flavours with each bite.

Cream Of Asparagus Soup
I love asparagus and it's flavour and it couldn't have been presented any better.The soup was cold and neat.Some of us even went for seconds.

It was time for main course and our taste buds had been tickled with the yummy starters and soup.We had three dishes for the non vegetarians


1. Chicken in Lemon Sauce
2. Lamb Mousakka
3. Filled Chicken Kebab

The stand outs in each of these dishes were the unique flavours and the distinction each of it carried.The chicken is lemon sauce was brilliant because of the mild yet lovely flavour of the lemon and the melt in the mouth chicken.The lamb mousakka was also cooked to perfection.

Next up was the vegetarian main course and we were served some delightful dishes.My favourite was the Spinach and Feta Pie.I simply loved how the pastry was baked to perfection and the paneer cubes in the Kebab Paneer were grilled to perfection.

1. Rice Stuffed Peppers
2. Kebab Paneer
3. Spinach and Feta Pie

No matter how stuffed you are, there's always space for dessert.It was time for dessert and there's nothing better than Baklava to end a perfect meal.Delicately placed filo pastry lined with layers of nuts in a balance of sweet and crunch.. it was a bite of heaven.The pannacotta was very good too but I stuck to my Baklava. :)

1.Baklava
2.Panacotta

On the whole, if you want to feel the love of Greek food and fall in love with it all over again, Kryptos is the place to be.


http://www.tuscanakryptos.in/