Life is Relationships....................................

In this journey called life we come across umpteen number of people. We pause to exchange a "hi" with many.....with some we manage a shake hand.....with a few we sit down to chat and with a few others we hold a bond. Life is relationships......

The few countries I visited in the past seven years have enriched my life with beautiful bonds.....
when I tread back my memory lane , its these beautiful moments created by some wonderful friends that I am reminded of than the places I visited.

I would like to dedicate this post to four loving couple who made my days memorable in the four foreign countries I visited. There were many more lovely relationships which I still treasure today ....but these couples have surely etched their names with their infallible love and untainted friendship.

Kajiyoshi San and Sadami San of Japan

They were the most polite people I have ever come across. Sadami San was kind enough to prepare a full vegetarian course meal , when she invited me to her well decorated traditional Japanese home. Kajiyoshi San was one of the librarians in the library which was opposite to our apartment. How can I forget the knock at our apartment door at 4.30 in the morning....on our last day in Japan. We would have missed our flight , if he was not at our door step to bid a final good bye to us. He was in his seventies , but still helped us with all our luggage and dropped us at the railway station .

Mrs and Mr Jaison Shang of Taiwan

Our first day in Taiwan. My husband PP had already left for office and I was feeling homesick and far away from home. Just then the phone bell rang , and a female voice introduced herself as Mrs Jason , wife of Customer site Manager of PP's project.She was already waiting for me in the downstairs lobby , to show me around . She helped me purchase necessary groceries and fresh fruits and vegetables from the local market and I was already feeling very comfortable . The warmth and the kindness , we receive when we are far from home is so precious.

Mr Naas Ferriera and Mrs Wickie of South Africa


They were the most jovial and energetic couple I have come across. There enthusiasm and energy is so contagious , that they skillfully trap us in their magical web of love and friendship. My baby had started calling Mr Naas " abu"( meaning grandpa in our mother tongue.) Once they invited us home for dinner , which was an unique experience. Naas was cooking hot and fresh buns for us in his open hearth oven in his back yard. Each one had to prepare his or her own dinner.We were each provided with pans and small portable stoves. They had cut a variety of vegetables and cooked a huge casserole of rice and lined up a row of various spices. We could make a meal from the ingredients they had provided and eat from the pan. Each one came up with a different variety of rice which all savored in the warm embrace of friendship.

Mr George Chacko and Mrs Anuja Chacko of USA

I am glad to have met these wonderful people , who have made me and my family feel so much at home. Anuja 's support in exploring my artistic talents and also establishing a personal bond has made my life here more fruitful and enjoyable.

I feel fortunate to have been exposed to various cultures through my travels. If not for these experiences , I would have been like a frog in a pond.....leading a cloistered existence ....the nomad in me is thirsty for more travels and more experiences.....

A relaxing Dessert !

Would you like to have your favorite creamy ice cream that tickles your taste buds and swims down your esophagus ?
or,
Would your like to have aromatic and glistening gajar ka halwa with the intoxicating smell of ghee ?
Why not try the thick sweetness of palada payasam , enriched with the flavors of condensed milk ?.......
Do not mistake this for a food blog, though I have dreamt of starting one....

These are a few of my favorite desserts though the list can get longer in a jiffy. I was notorious for being a picky and fussy eater during my childhood. Though my affinity for food has deepened as I grew up , there is something that has remained constant ....my temptation for a nice dessert. You can put a full stop to your meal only with an exotic dessert! It cools down , relaxes and also rejuvenates your tired digestive system after it has to assimilate , grind and digest the heavy inputs.

The same calming and soothing effect is met when you get a good assertive foot massage at the end of long hectic day. I am fortunate to enjoy this daily doze of dessert at the end of each day, which is like a balm , and which has all the properties of a sleeping pill. And my daily therapist is none other than my husband PP.

When we were in Taiwan I grabbed the opportunity of offering my feet to a professional foot massager. The board " FOOT MASSAGE" used to be so inviting , and I always suppressed my temptation of peering into the road side massage rooms. But I finally gave in ; and on one of my usual walks to bargain for fresh vegetables from farmers , who displayed their crops in the congested and noisy streets, I stopped at one of those boards ...and found few people in a queue awaiting their turn for the massage. I too joined the group. I could also hear pleading and yelling voices from the customers who were already tasting the efficacy of the massage .It was finally my turn ... and soon realized the secrets behind the pleading and yelling voices.The half an hour massage that followed was an experience that I find difficult to put to words. You have to experience it.


The person who massaged my foot kept on talking to me in Chinese , but I was not in a state to explain that I did not follow their language .. If I opened my mouth to speak I knew I would not speak , but only scream. After the massage I was given one and a half liter of warm water , which I was supposed to drink . Even though my bladder could no longer endure the pressures from within, by the time I rushed back home .....I went back every week for more of those massages.

Though the massages were painful, it promised energizing each and every cell by removing the blocks that have piled in our body!

Here is a small video of a Taiwanese foot massage, which brought back memories.

A secret formula!!

An instant rewiring occurs in your cerebrum and within no time your priorities change, your attitude changes. The only thing that is permanent in life is change! Yes, when one takes a leap into motherhood,what occurs is a metamorphosis. One sheds the layers of youth and finds oneself suddenly embraced in the new layer of womanhood.Those thoughts which once diverged to your likes, dislikes, your passions , pursuits , your hobbies , jobs ... all now seem to converge at one core, your child.

My passions and interests blurred away into the unseen past, as I cloistered happily into the innocent warmth of my baby. His smile, giggles and baby talk filled up my whole space and time. I was away from my home land, in a new environment , surrounded by a new culture. I was not woken up by the bicycle bells of the milkman or paperwala, or by the spluttering sound of the mustard seeds in hot oil accompanied by the aroma from the kitchen. As I peered down from our eighth floor balcony all I could see was people rushing for their jobs and kids rushing to school. My husband too had to rush early to his office. But I never felt lonely, I was charmed by the unearthly beauty and love that sparkled from my baby.

When he was 4 months he turned over on his tummy gleaming with pride at his new achievement, on his new world view; at five he managed to sit upright, not yet mobile, still unable to explore new horizons.Whenever I turned on my music system ,I noticed his head and tiny hands keeping in rhythm with the music. I was excited, and in order to amuse him started to dance with the music. Like a doll which responds with the turn of a key, he would blush with peels of laughter which automatically was reflected on my face too! I wanted to amuse him more, and one day took out my precious dancing bells (Chilanka), which I had not used since I conceived. This time I had a dance music on and danced with my dancing bells, and to my amazement I found my only audience sit upright and clap his hands with a toothless smile.

I was possessed by an intense desire to perform. But circumstances were different now. I was not in India where there was more exposure and oppurtunuties for my art.Here I had a wonderful audience, my baby who never hesitated in applauding and appreciating my every move and turn. Keeping my desire burning within I danced everyday before, the best audience ever, satisfied after every performance.

Days passed, my baby was fully accustomed to every step I took and every expression that came along. One day, my husband announced the 30th Anniversary of FORD in Taiwan (Ford was a client of my husband's company) and proudly said that I was asked to perform Indian dance. The secret formula had worked once again for me. A formula???

yes! I know formula that has worked wonders for me....

"Desire + Effort = Grace" You should have a strong desire and should put in your maximum effort, you can harvest miraculous results!

I danced for the anniversary celebrations before a huge audience, but my precious little one was enjoying every move from the front row in his father's lap, applauding and smiling his toothless smile!

At the beauty parlour!

Dawn embraced daylight , Sun's mighty radiance gave way to twilight , tapestry of evening sky paced slowly into dark night's deafening silence . Days passed into weeks , weeks into months and months into years.... I bid adieu to my carefree years , and plunged into an entirely rewarding and responsible phase of my life , motherhood . As I cradled my new born , just feeling his soft tender body , just staring at his innocent little face , nothing around me seemed real except that single moment !

As I was moving ahead in this life's voyage , it was time for me to pack my bags for my next nomadic exploration . We flew to Taiwan , an island off the coast of China , with our 2 month old baby . This was not just a journey to a new culture and diverse surroundings : it was more of a journey within . It can be called a spiritual retreat . I was shedding my self centered thoughts which were now dominated by my new born baby . It was a time when my priorities unknowingly changed . I was never tired of the busy days and sleepless nights....My batteries never failed.....I was continuously charged by the unconditional love of my baby .

I loved our routine evening walks , when the tiny eyes brimmed with joy and curiosity , refusing to blink and appeared like cameras without shutters! I enjoyed trying to decipher the pictorial calligraphy on the roads , and was amused by the Chinese script . One of PP”s colleague was a victim of a very embarrassing situation once . He had once been to Taipei and was on his way back to his apartment . He was careful enough to have a slip of paper with the place he wanted to go , written in Chinese . In the bus stop , he stood with this slip of paper above his head like a placard , and his face brightened up with a smile . All passers by just stared at him as if they were watching an insane drama . He waved the large slip of paper to all the bus drivers , but in vain . When he could no longer stand the sarcastic stares , he ventured to try his hand at gesturing.... with expressive facial expressions and hand gestures he blabbered to a lady in the bus stop about his destination . She burst out into laughter at the mimicry , for she could follow English . She also pointed out that all the while he was holding his thoughtful placard upside down . How was he to know ? He made it a point to mark the top and bottom of his future placards .

Such situations can always be treasured for future entertainment .After our three months stay in Taiwan , we befriended a newly married Indian couple . We started spending our afternoon's together , our gossips filled with nostalgic memories , recipes and all girl's talk . She was a very beauty conscious person and came up with an idea of visiting the beauty saloon . Though I hesitated in the beginning , I was bribed by the luxurious thoughts of a relaxing facial .

I hung my baby on his sling and one afternoon the two of us marched towards the nearest beauty saloon . As soon as we reached there , we were pounced upon by two ladies like vultures on their well awaited prey . My friend wanted to shape her eye brows ! And she began exploring her communication skills...after a good fifteen minutes monologue she seemed successful in letting her audience grasp her thoughts ! She beamed with success as she reclined on the ornamented chair . One lady swabbed my friends face clean while the other went to collect her tools for shaping the eye brows . She returned with a new razor .....and started shaving her precious signs of beauty ! My friend was unable to move for she was soothed by a razor and my appeals seemed to vaporise in the air .Should I explain more on her looks and expression when she beheld her own reflection!

Now it was my turn...I needed a way out of this dilemma ....My only Saviour was my son who was fast asleep clinging to me ....I slided my hands on his thighs and pinched him....he burst out into loud sobs !I had succeeded ! Trying to cajole my baby I rushed out of the parlor....Shortly my friend joined me after having payed for her makeover ! She spend hours before the mirror with a black eyebrow pencil trying to make variations of curves.....and shut herself in her apartment for weeks till she thought herself presentable .

I thanked my darling with hugs and kisses , and couldn't stop my giggles at the aftereffects of handicapped communication!