Petals!

This is the Clipo set which my son, Jyotiraditya loves to make designs with. He loves this set. He makes shapes and designs using this set.

When my three year old son, Jyotiraditya, came running to me and showed me this design, I thought some one must have helped him make it. It didnt seem possible that he did it on his own. Truth is that this is his first design that he made on his own. Now, he makes more and more designs. I feel so good to see him come up with new ideas, color schemes and shapes because it gives me insights into his imagination and his world. Cut off as I am from his world most of the time, these designs tell me about a brilliant mind that is unraveling its might in little ways. God bless.

This is the gateway to Prashanti Nilayam, the physical abode of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This is where I grew to believe that God doesnt exist in rock temples and crucifixes but within me. This is where I have seen Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jews treat each other not with tolerance but with genuine love. This is the only place in the world where I experience love that is without artifice and selfishness. Welcome to Prashanti Nilayam, my only home in this world, right in the heart of the Lord.

Thanks to friends who said they loved reading my blog and especially about wines, I decided to write a little more about it. Another very good friend wanted me to talk about what wines I got 'drunk' on. Truth is, I grew up in Kerala, where the society is definitely conservative about drinking wine. You cant simply drink wine at a restaurant without inspiring raised eyebrows about the kind of 'character' you have. But, it was permissible for Christmas Eve and New Year's parties. It wasnt part of a daily dinner though I am sure I wouldnt have minded that one bit. Later when I shifted to Delhi, I saw that it was no big deal to order wine for nearly every meal coz people accepted it as part of a good, evolving culture. Most restaurants and fine hotels always took care to recommend their wines. What stays in my memory was one or two occasions when my friends and I lunched at NUdelhi in GK2. We just stepped in and it felt like sheer bliss. There was such serenity that wel...

Just look at these purple beauties at Lodhi Road, New Delhi. It looks so eye catching. It looks awesome, riveting and much more. Once again, I clicked the snaps.

I am not a plant or flower expert but i couldnt help taking this photograph. It looked beautiful, green and so crisp.

“Craft” is a word that reminds me of St Andrews School in Malawi, where we had art and craft classes. I can't remember enjoying those classes much because i had no eye for detail when it came to dealing with ribbons, glue, fabrics and things like that. My sister used to be great at it. I still treasure the flowers she used to make from fabric. She used to knit, sew and make paintings with an artist's eye for things. It's amazing how different siblings can be. However, her love for crafts stayed at a hobby level. Some one in my team asked me today what I would define 'writing style' as and to be honest, I felt stumped. I was reminded of the wise words of Dr. Joseph Schlessinger, chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Yale's School of Medicine and the founder of three biotechnology companies in the US who stated "....... it's very hard to manage science when you have huge teams of people." When it comes writing style, I know what it is but whe...

I started working on a project that involves flower names and meanings. I found it really interesting to read that the language of flowers first developed in the Victorian era where people were pretty hesitant to express their feelings. I dont know if much of that has changed, at least in India, i think its still a Victorian era. In India, not every one expresses their love through flowers. No body i know does that. Maybe i know the wrong people. Whatever, the thing is sending and gifting flowers is talked of but I havent seen that happening much around me. People prefer to gift each other candles or food items, things like that....reminds me of Taslima Nasreen's novel, French Lover, where a character says that Indians can think only about food because they had been a much starved population. But yes, food is the most important aspect of any social gathering in India, that much is for sure. When I was a child, the Onam festival was something I looked forward to. Children had to col...