Old Town, New Address...

Bible says: " See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns......". But they sure do make nests, so do us humans and passionately call it our home, gathering each twig with so much care and love, keeping the comfort and happiness of our baby birds in mind...Recently we changed our nest, to a more 'comfy cosy' one (borrowing Achu's vocabulary). We brought along sovereigns from all our previous nests which delicately links our memories to the paths we have travelled. Unfolding each piece of cloth, turning each page of books all brought lot of memories some of which were forgotten but always lay hidden like fire in ash. I had to be merciless in throwing certain things to which I was emotionally attached, things which have turned useless over time. That's the cruelty of time, those which were nurtured and cherished preciously turns useless over time. After all, man could never make anything non-perishable, not even feelings.

When the dawn broke in Singapore on May 8th we were prayerfully starting a new life in our new home. The pooja was conducted by the honourable priest from Sengkang temple. My journey in Singapore started from Lakeside, one of the western most part of Singapore. Maash, that's how I call Sajeev because all his friends call him so, had given me a clear picture of Singapore in the six months of our acquaintance before marriage. The moment I landed here I could breath a clean air, see clean people and clean roads, everything was neat and clean. Flat-life was not new to me as I had lived a couple of years in Kuwait while I was doing my eleventh and twelfth. Those were wonderful days, the memories of which I hold dearly to my heart. The abode Maash rented to start our new life was a new and awesome five room apartment, the details of which he kept as a secret. It was right in front of the main gate of Chinese garden. My first reaction was, oh my god,its so big, how am I going to maintain it, to which Maash just gave a smile.Our evening walks through the beautiful avenue of Tah Ching Road  and the banks of reservoir are unforgettable. We used to dream and make plans for future. I did my masters degree while staying there and it was very convenient for me as NTU was quite nearby. From that beautiful house we had to move to a house in Clementi, where I could see the hustle and bustle of a city life. I was carrying Aishwarya and came to India for delivery and started working in Motorola upon return when she was six months old, while we were staying there. From there to a JTC apartment in Khatib as I joined Motorola.Thanks to Maash as he always put my convenience before his. From Khatib to Sengkang,our present town.

We are still in the old town, but just changed address. We fell in love with the place the first time we visited here. Its one of the newly developed areas of Singapore, it has lot of empty spaces where families and enthusiasts come and fly kites on evenings and weekends, the houses here are well designed, got a sports complex, well known schools, a fruit park and a river very nearby (evening walks over the bridge, feeling the gentle breeze, is something we love to do as a family). After three years of stay we decided to look for more space for our baby birds to run around, fly around, hop around,crawl around and what not. The moment we saw this Executive apartment , we decided that its ours. We didn't bargain much about the price.Maash never bargains over things he like, a quality I really like in him. It has open space in front, it is facing North, got a couple of tall acacia in front of the house which reminds me of the cypress tree in the courtyard of my mother's house, its in the path of wind and can enjoy cool breeze all the time, and most importantly its a plain house and can view the horizon from the house. We like to craft our house from scratch ourselves. Mash spent hours designing it using google sketchup, each and every room and each and every angle, while I was giving my ideas on how things should be. We form a good team and this time around the designing was easier as it is the second time we are doing so. Once designing was over, we went around looking for contractors. The big names quoted higher prices, so we went for independent contractors and we got one which fitted our budget and personality.

We were on a tight schedule. The contractor was given only three weeks to complete it, which was really a Herculean task for him and they worked overnight to complete our work, hats off to their hard and excellent work. And thanks to my dear papa who was there to see through all the activities. He was of great help mentally as well.He is a great strength and moral support to us, his daughters.I am lucky and proud of being his daughter. Maash had his project submission and presentation. He had to spent nights working over it after office hours in between all these. Hard work never goes wasted. We felt like being tested in all the ways possible.Our new helper, Aman,was also of great help in the process of packing and unpacking. And in between Kannan started rolling over and my sweet naughty fell down from bed taking my breath away.We managed it all, together as a team and we are proud and happy that we did it all not by our merit but by God's grace....:)

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Thought for the Day

Why are treasures guarded by demons and not angels ???

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Gravity!!

20 Feb 2010

Ever since I introduced solar system to Aishwarya, she is much interested in everything related to it. Recently I got a book named 'The Universe' from a book fair.It has lots of colourful images. Now, whenever not watching TV or not having food, she takes the book and starts asking questions.Once when she came across the word gravity, her curiosity increased and started asking questions. I told her the story of Sir Issac Newton sitting under an apple tree during which I asked her, 'do you know why apple comes down to the ground instead of flying?' Answer came immediately: 'because it doesn't have wings'!!!. I was expecting a different answer, so I asked again 'whats that?' she told 'amma, because apple does not have wings'!!!

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Fine!!

20 Feb 2010
Me and my girl like shopping together as we are interested in almost everything in the shops except that she has got a special eye for things in pink. Recently, after one of our shopping spree, we decided to have tea and snacks at Komalas. She ordered her favourite ice lemon tea without ice and I had masala tea and vada. The boy served ice lemon tea with ice and when I pointed it, he just removed the ice !!! I told that the intention was not to have it cold, he told the tea itself comes like that and he can do nothing about it!!! where should I complaint about this??? So, even though she had slight cough she was adamant in drinking the cold 'ice' lemon tea. She was taking her time enjoying it and meanwhile I was done with my drink and snack. I told her 'baby, lets make a move'. She was only half done with her drink and wanted to bring to mrt and have it. I told , 'listen ponni, we cant take drinks inside mrt and we will have to pay fine if the authorities find us having drink inside it'. 'Fine' was a new word for her and as usual she asked 'amma, what is fine?' . I told her that its something which we have to pay in the form of money as a punishment for not obeying the law. She asked 'amma, how much is the fine?' . As I didn't know the exact amount, I gave a rough estimate 'it could be around a 100 bucks' ....immediately she asked me 'amma, do you have a 100 dollars with you?'

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Adieu 2009!!

1 Jan 2010

Adieu 2009!! A year woven by the warp and weft ; joy and sorrow, interlaced with each other to form an unforgettable chapter in my life. It started on a sad note, though progressed to have a happy ending. Grown an year older mentally and physically, realising my time here is getting reduced by an year and at the moment I am still trying to figure out the real purpose of my life...Is it just to live or survive and be in the pedigree of future generations? I feel it should be greater than that...

January started with the tiredness of a beautiful vacation in India.In Feb we had a good news, our second bundle of joy was forming inside me. March came as a black spot, stealing my mother from me. She passed away on the day of her wedding anniversary, a tragic coincidence. April to July was not dramatic and went on with pregnancy related physical, emotional and hormonal changes leaving me a bit cranky at times. Thanks to Sajeev for bearing it all the time. In August my girl turned 5. September kept me on bed rest for few days and on first October we took the oath as Singaporeans. 2nd October, our boy came a month early, which made us to ascertain that man proposes but God disposes everything in our life. In November we bought our new house and in December we sold our existing one and all the while our lives revolved around our new family member. My father-in-law and mother-in-law were here to support us ever since our boy came. I would rather erase the in-law part from them as they are more to me than the traditional,universal meaning of that. Thanks to them, I am really lucky to have them as part of my life. I wish 2010 comes with more golden threads of joy to the whole world and weave our dreams to exciting reality.

So, adieu 2009, u made me cry and made me smile. I move on remembering the smiles and burying the sorrows behind me....

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Our second bundle of joy!!

12 December 2010

After a long time, I am logging in to write. Our second bundle of joy, Ashwin came on 2nd October sharing birthday with one of the great souls who ever lived on this earth, Mahatma Gandhi. Though not planned, Aishwarya was born on Indian Independence day and Ashwin on Gandhi Jayanthi. A mere joyful coincidence. Aishwarya suddenly started to appear to us like she has grown up, physically and mentally. Need to add that a bit naughtier too. She is not satisfied with one little brother and needs a little sister too to share her pink toys. And she believes that there is another little one growing in me.For me, I have become busier than ever. This pregnancy was a cake walk, except some hitches in the last minute and he came a bit earlier than the predicted date.

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Footprint!!

15 June 2009

Yesterday at bedtime Achu was trying to hide something and I just acted ignoring that. But once she was on bed I just looked at the side table and found that she had spilled some water from the cup and was hiding that from me and the spilled water had created a whitish mark on the table and from experience I knew that it will fade off in few minutes time, but she was worried that I will scold her. I acted angry and asked her "Aishwarya what have u done? what is this?" She replied calmly "Amma dont worry, thats just the footprint of the cup!!"

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Off to the country side of Singapore!!

07 June 2009
Last week was a marathon outing week. Covered Riverside fruit park Sengkang two times, Punggol park, Pasir Ris park and as a grand finale visited Kranji countryside on Saturday. River side fruit park is near my home and is great for a good stroll in the evening with family. Its a newly developed park with cycle tracks and a small pond is there in the centre. The hustle and bustle of expressway can hinder the serenity 24/7.Punggol park is just 10 minutes drive from our home. Its frequented by people. There is a pathway surrounding a large pool and is frequented by joggers in the evening. Pasir Ris park is quite famous and it is great to entertain kids. Lot of swings and slides and kids parks are located there.

Inspired by one of our family friends, we set out to visit Kranji Countryside on a bright Saturday morning. We have never been to countryside of Singapore and couldn't imagine a spot in Singapore where we don't bump into people every other minute. Sajeev enjoyed driving along the unfrequented road and I was checking the printed map and giving him directions. We took Mandai Road,Woodlands Road, Kranji Road and Kranji Way to reach there. Along the way there are many sign boards indicating different farms. The countryside gives an 'out of Singapore' experience. There are no HDB flats, no high rise buildings and over all no crowd. Its calm, quite and serene. We drove until the last farm along Lim Chu Kang lane3 which is goat farm, Hay Dairies Pte. Ltd. There are hundreds of goats and live demo of milking goats were going on. Free breakfast and balloons were available for kids due to school holiday promotions. Goats were categorised according to the age and were kept in different cages. It is maintained quite well and Achu badly wanted to touch the lil ones.

From there we went to a farm full of cacti and other vegetables. Since there were no sheltered car parks available we had to park our car under the scalding sunlight. Bought some fresh vegetables which are not available in Singapore markets and I bought one Pistia stratiotes, often called water cabbage or water lettuce and is considered to be a native of Africa.It floats on the surface of the water its roots hanging submersed beneath floating leaves. Got one plant for 50 cents. There was a medium sized pond of Singapore's very own Koi fish and Achu, as usual, wanted to buy fish food and feed them. We let her do it, so that she will be happy. At one instant she put it all at one corner and told us that the fishes are still hungry and they need more food. I convinced her that other people are waiting out there to feed them and escaped to our car.

From there we drove to 'Max Koi Farm' . This farm impressed me a lot. One side was open and had few open ponds with green water. The landscaping was beautiful with bonsai plants on the shore. The other side had lots of deep ponds in which different groups of Koi fishes of different colours and sizes were bred. The ponds and surroundings were surprisingly neat and clean and fishes appeared healthy. Apart from Koi fish there were Arowana fishes as well. We rested there for a while since the breeze from the open pond was cooling and was much welcomed in such a bright weather.

Next was the organic farm where organic product sale was going on. Now a days whatever is labelled organic means expensive. Mushrooms,noodles, dried fruits etc were on sale. We got mushroom and dried olive, mango and prune. Outside there were different plants and veggies grown organically and wheat grass and mushrooms grown under shelter. There was a small creeper plant which caught my imagination and I took a small piece for my tiny garden back at home.

Next we went to Gardenasia ,a secret garden sanctuary,where we were welcomed by Morchoo and Titoy, two cute mascots. There were different events organised for kids and on 6/6/ it was Kampong fishing. It cost S$10 per kid. Friendly staff were helping us. We were given a small container of worms and the fishing equipments which is the old fashioned bamboo stick, a plastic thread and a hook, a bucket of water to put our catch, a

high chair and a round table. Sajeev and me conquered our fears of touching worms by touching it and carrying it in our hand, but Achu was not at all willing to experiment. She managed to touch but was far from comfortable in carrying it in her hand. She made us all laugh when she said worms are 'junk food'. We had to call for help each time we needed to hook the worms. The fishes were very smart and just took the bait and avoided the hook most of the time. We managed to catch three orange Lohan fishes. Even though a bit reluctant initially, Achu managed to pose with her catch after our constant encouragement. That was an enriching experience. She was a bit disappointed because we were not allowed to take the fishes home, instead had to put it back in the pond. There is a museum and lot of plants grown and maintained well. We were strolling along seeing plants when Sajeev pointed to a big dog sleeping peacefully in one corner. Suddenly, I felt hungry and wanted to escape. My inherent fear of dog always brings laughter to Sajeev, but I don't care as far as I am at a non-reachable distance from the dog.

Now, time for lunch and we wanted to find out a nice cosy place. On the way we found a board indicating 'Sungei Buloh wetland Reservoir'. We targeted that and paid S$1 per adult and 50 cents for child. Achu reiterated to the receptionist that she is a child and not an adult and also that she is a girl not a boy. Lots of people were coming out after trekking and photography. We could see lot of professional cameras hanging around peoples neck. We had our Pav Bhaji peacefully and rested for a while. Achu made friends with an uncle from Delhi visiting his daughter in Singapore. Finally we decided to trek for a while and went in the trekking direction. There were lot of wetlands and mangroves were growing on the banks of a beautiful river. We could see lot of life inside the river and a type of fish which was constantly trying to swim against the water current. It appeared to stand still in water, not sure whether that's the whole aim in their life or not. We could see Malaysia clearly. Because of my physical situation we didn't go for much walk and walked back.

Our last destination for the day was 'Bollywood veggies' . The name has an Indian flavour. We could see lot of tropical veggies and herbs plants. We can buy organically grown vegetables and herbs, but I found it a bit expensive. One tapioca root cost S$1. The sun was not merciful and so we sat under the shade of a large tree for a while. Natures ways are always amazing, the cool feeling the tree gave amidst the blazing sun was amazing. For a while we forgot that we are in Singapore. I had an ice cream -vanilla coated with chocolate from the Bistro.

It was a wonderful day. A day of going back to mother nature and its serenity. When we live in a country like Singapore such a retreat is essential for a family to enrich the coming generation and to remind us of our childhood days when we played in the sand and didn't mind getting hands dirty and when we ran after butterflies and grasshoppers , catching it, inspecting it and letting it go!! Yes, it was a true positive retreat for the whole family!!

For more information:

http://www.haydairies.com.sg/hay/

http://www.kranjicountryside.com/

http://www.maxkoifarm.com/

http://www.sbwr.org.sg/

http://www.bollywoodveggies.com/

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Survival is for the fittest, is Earth fit to Survive?

3 June 2009

I have always believed that whatever needs to be extinct has to go extinct. Survival of which is going to be a pain for itself or the people helping it to survive. But when it comes to the survival of Mother Earth there is a second or third thought regarding my belief. Can we let anything to go extinct if we love it? Probably not. So when environmentalist are trying hard to protect an animal or bird species to prevent it from disappearing completely from the face of earth, there is a lot of love and empathy and affection behind their action.

Now, 'go green' is a slogan heard in every continent. Recently, I happened to watch a travel programme on TV. It showed massive parts of glaciers of Antarctica melting and falling down several times a day, baring the mountains of its ice clothing!! That was a scary scene. This is the ultimate result and proof of global warming now. The ice melts and the water level increase. And places which are close to sea level are under the threat of being submerged in water in near future!!. One by one will the continents disappear and will there be a massive extinction of all the species on earth?? Is there a need for a 'Noah's Arc' to be send to space to preserve all the species?

One step at a time, what can an individual among 6,784,247,386 people do to help it? I found few steps from the net and thought of jotting three of the easily doable ones for you and me.

1. Bring reusable bags for shopping. I haven't done it yet. Will definitely start this week

2. Reduce electricity usage. Clean and repair damaged appliances on time to save more.

3. Start using a reusable plastic bottle which u can always refill instead of using single use mineral water bottles.

List is long... but lets start with one tiny step at a time. Join me!! If we can increase the age of mother earth even by a single day, its worth trying whatever it takes!!

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When I was zero years old!!

21 May 2009

My enlarging tummy arises a lot of curiosity in my little girl. Today morning while having bath she was asking Sajeev:

"Acha, when I was zero years old, whose tummy was I in?"

He answered "Amma's tummy"

She asked again,"When Amma was zero years old, whose tummy was she in?"

He answered "Mommy's tummy" (she used to call my mom, "mommy")

She replied "Oh, I see, so Mommy had two babies in her tummy!!"

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Rainy day thoughts!!

15 May 2009

Its raining outside and Singapore-rain is very short lived unlike the rain back in my hometown in Kerala. Whenever I am in a relaxed mood on a rainy day, I walk back through memory lane and become a curious little girl eagerly watching through my window seeing raindrops falling from the roof top with great force on to the ground, replacing sand and making small pits along the borders of the roof on the ground, while some other drops making tiny crowns on the ground which I used to think could fit only frogs!! There used to be tall trees around the house and its different shades of lush greenery used to provide me an unknown sense of security. There was a tall cypress tree which used to bend with the heaviness of water on its leaves. All heavy rains used to bring me a fear that it could just break into pieces, but it never did.

In Kerala, raining whole day is quite common... And, if there is a break during those downpour I used to jump out of the house to touch the wet leaves, to observe if any plant is damaged in my tiny garden. I used to have my own separate garden from the age of 6, where me and my cousin, who had one himself, used to grow different flower plants and we had a great deal of internal competition on whose garden is going to come up healthy and whose plant is to bear flower first. :) We had tiny water channels inside the garden, which were tiny rivers for us... and the plants were majestic trees on the banks of those rivers. Rain used to fill our rivers sometimes making it wider uprooting some of our plants.

 One interesting thing to do after rain was to make paper boats and float it in the pitches of brown water under the coconut trees. We used to get great satisfaction watching it floating .There is a plant which catches the raindrops and retains its shape and its kind of sticky. We used to pluck it out and put it inside the eyes which used to give a very cool feeling. A yummy memory is the cashew nut which my grandmother used to prepare for us after the rain.The mouth watering aroma used to drive me to where my grandma prepared it.  She used to say that this is to be done only during rainy days. The nuts have to be put inside fire under charcoal and when it is cooked properly, only she knows when, it's taken out and the hard husk is removed. That is one of the few things I have tasted with 100% liking. As I grew up I used to get a feeling of sadness when it used to rain, a longing for something or someone...that's the age... Now, still rain amuses me, though not as much as that of a curious little girl who always saw treasures in nature!!

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Fruit cake: Mother's Day special :-)

10 May 2009
Successful Fruit cake recipe: Mother's Day Special; Yes we made it :)

• Caramel ingredients and preparation
  

1. 1/4 cup sugar
2. 1 tbsp water
3. 1/4 cup warm water
4. 1tsp vanilla extract

 Heat 1/4 cup of sugar with 1 tbsp of water in medium heat stirring until the colour changes to dark brown. Once the colour becomes dark remove the pan and pour 1/4 cup of warm water and to this add 1tsp of vanilla extract. Be careful while adding warm water to the hot sugar syrup, it could sputter.

• First Mixing: ingredients and preparation

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 115 grams of butter, room temperature
3. 3 eggs

Blend sugar and butter by adding the eggs one by one.

• Second Mixing: ingredients and preparation

1. 1 cup cake flour (can use all purpose flour too, I came across cake flour in cold storage so went for it)
2. 2tsp baking powder
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1 tsp spice powder (contains cinnamon, spices and nut mug)

Mix flour, baking powder, spice powder together. To this, add caramel water and blend well. Add sugar, butter and egg mixture and blend then all together.

• Adding nuts and dried fruits.

To the above blended mixture, add 1 cup of dried fruits (raisins, cherries, dates etc.) and 1/2 cup of nuts. I added almonds and cashew nuts cut into small pieces of about 5 mm.  

• Final step.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan, and bake at 176 degree

Celsius for an hour. Once done we can remove the cake . Insert a toothpick in the middle to check whether it

s cooked properly. If baking is proper, the toothpick comes out neat and

clean. Allow it to cool down and store it in a tight container. 

Our cake came out perfect and yummy!!

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Mother's Day!!

10 May 2009

Yesterday, May 10th was Mother's Day!! Even though I slept very late in the previous night surfing net and talking to some of the friends online, I felt a rush of energy. Mother's day came with the endearng thoughts of mom. The fact that she is not on this earth made me to feel lonely in the voidness of her absence... Though the gallons of energy I used to receive after talking to mom is no more, I am at the giving end now... Time to give back what has been received. Even while going through the most difficult plight she could easily convince me that everything is going to be all right. Celebration is one thing she was very enthusiastic about... After all, life is always a celebration of being alive.

 I hope sincerely that all the mothers in this world had a wonderful Mother's day. And as the saying goes, "You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world." 

On May 8th Aishwarya came running after coming from school with a little, cute chart. It was made up of black chart paper on which the picture of a silver trophy was pasted. Below, there was an yellow rectangular paper on which she has scribbled beautifully in her budding handwriting that "This trophy goes to the World's Best Mom -Aishwarya".  I was so proud to be a mom. It might be prepared with the help of teachers and she might have copied the words form what teacher has written on the white board but, I don't care. For me its something which my little girl is whispering to me. Sometimes ignoring certain things can be bliss ;-)

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Teacher wrote my name because.......

29 April 2009
Yesterday dinner time, three of us, Achu, Sumedi and myself were having light talk. Me and Sumedi were trying to get stories from Achu regarding her school - teachers, friends, happenings etc. It's really sweet to hear the narration from a 4.5 year old. So, while describing one of the incidents she said:
"Amma, teacher wrote my name on the board!!"
Sumedi asked " is it because when teacher went somewhere you were talking?"
She replied " No, its because I went somewhere, teacher wrote my name" :D

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At Marina Barrage on a Good Friday!!

10 April 2009
Its both exciting as well as tiring to be pregnant. So, decision was unanimous that we will go out on this Good Friday to a place where we need not walk around. Sajeev suggested Marina Barrage and we decided to go there. Its one of Singapore's newest tourist attraction!!




Since it was a national holiday, highway showed signs of heavy jam. So we took alternate roots and managed to reach around 12:30 pm. It was a very sunny day, but we could clearly see some rain clouds forming.

The Marina Barrage is a dam in Singapore built across the Marina Channel between the reclaimed lands of Marina East and Marina South. It is a result of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s vision nearly two decades ago. What a great visionary he is!!
During heavy rain, a series of nine crest gates at the dam will be activated to release excess of water into the sea when the tide is low. As it rained in the afternoon, we were fortunate enough to see a live demonstration of this. The view of fresh water flowing into sea water could be distinctly seen by their colour difference.


We had packed Idli, Sambar and some snacks and water. Thanks to our wonderful maid Sumedi. Its always fun to have food outside and having it in a place between fresh water and sea water was a unique experience. From the dam we had a great view of the new resort- Marina sands, the Esplanade and the great Singapore Flyer along with lots of high rise buildings in the city. Even though its open to public since 1 November 2008, work is still in progress. We could see lot of activities going on around it without disturbing the visitors. Achu had nice time doing fashion show in the resting place along the dam and later we had a satisfying lunch after which I wanted to have ice cream. :) Let me blame the sunny weather ;)

After having ice cream at a cafe in the second storey, we went to the top most level. And as there were lightning warnings, we were not allowed to stand in open air. We could see rain approaching from the main land. The heavy drops making impressions in the sea as it moves closer to us.

We came down and had a visit to the 'Sustainable Singapore gallery' which tells us the whole story of Marina barrage from the great vision of Minister Mentor to the current architectural excellence. There is a mini display of how the whole system works. It suddenly felt to us that we could see a live demonstration. We ran to the second storey again and yes, the gates were open, water was flowing from fresh water reservoir to the sea.




Since it was raining heavily we decided to take rest for a while. Lots of people were sitting along the corridors , some were playing monopoly, some were enjoying their lunch, kids were playing around. We found a nice cosy place where we could get a nice glimpse of the rain. Rain always bring nostalgic feelings...something very close to heart.




Sky was clear after almost half and hour and we walked back to our car. It was a lovely day, we would definitely come back and have a great time here again.




For more information on Marina Barrage-




http://www.pub.gov.sg/marina/Pages/default.aspx

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She lives in our memories!!

10 April 2009
The priest's voice echoed in my ears, "Is there anyone else who wants to see the face one last time?". There was pin drop silence, and then the white clothe was pulled over her face!! I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry , I wanted to scream that I wont let go of her!!. In my mind I was a helpless child running around searching mom, wandering all over the places to see that face. No matter which ever corner of the world I travel to , the world cant show me that face again, never ever...

She always used to say, "I still remember the first glance of your face when you were born!!". Likewise, the image of that lovely face, the last glance of her eternal sleep will live in me forever.

Picture on the right is the last glimpse of her ashes dissolving in water. From nature, back to nature!! Is death just the absence of life? It leaves a vacuum in our minds which can never ever be filled by anything else.

She could be with God now, but could that spirit remember us? Could it be seeing us ? Lot of questions are in my mind. The very reason for my origin is suddenly vanished from the earth. The very prayers which kept me from all evil, all illness are vanished from the earth. You could have lived with us for more time mommy, you shouldn't have left us so early. I will never forgive u for this!!

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Strength

17 Feb 2009

This is not written by me, but happened to read it by chance...
Its well written and adds to your inner strength the more u read it. Here u go......

"Master self-control to tame fears or impulses to prove of what stuff I'm made. I boldly go...but a willful heart is part of my secret identity.My infinite fortitude is seen by what I do, sacrifice or defy to stand up for what I feel is right, including admitting when I'm wrong, keeping out of it or not dignifying responses provoked by moral cowards and brutes. When resolve is tested I draw on the courage of my true character from the more savage or humble virtues of my natural instincts to maintain objective by composure. This enables me to hold my toungue against bravado, repress claws at empty threats, and not turn tail in pride against passion when it's hard or inconvenient, but to persuade through self-restraint until assimilation is complete or resistance is futile."

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Over the beautiful lakes of Kerala



 Had a wonderful time floating over the vast vembanattu lake near Alleppey-The Venice of the east, for a day and a half, enjoying the natural beauty of Kerala. Watching stars and sleeping peacefully in the houseboat at night. Mouth watering authentic Kerala dishes were served on the boat. The friendly crew entertained Achu and made us feel at home. All together a trip worth remembering.

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At Mac Ritchie on a Diwali Day!!

7 Nov 2008

Diwali is a day of victory of light over darkness, good over evil and everything positive over everything negative. So, its special, it should be celebrated with great zeal. For our small family, far away from near and dear ones back at home, celebrating each special day is spending time together in a way each of us enjoy to the core. So, what we all like is OUTING ...:)

This time destination is Mac Ritchie reservoir...We are on nature hunt and determined to see each nook and corner of the little red dot. I have heard from friends that its a great place to have a peaceful family day. So, we started early morning. Weather was good, no clouds and sun smiling all the time. Packed up our lunch, pav bhaji. After half an hour drive from home we are at Mac Ritchie, Singapore's first reservoir built in 1867-68. The forest around the reservoir was protected and it gives it the natural beauty. Car park was under renovation so we had to move around a bit to find a suitable place. People are jogging, exercising and few families have already occupied the banks of the reservoir, chit chatting, enjoying breakfast and playing with kids. The water is almost green in colour and there are fishes and tortoises in abundance inside. Strict reminder not to feed them are given to the visitors, reason being feeding them make them lazy and they wont look for their own food...yup it makes sense. But, still some kids are enjoying feeding them with tiny bread pieces. Ultimately this water reaches our household after several rounds of purification, so best is to preserve it the cleanest we can.

Achu was on her cycle and we walked around. There were lot of monkeys on the loose. Playing, grooming and jumping from one tree to the other. They were enjoying the freedom. None of them were afraid of human presence. We could watch them very close. Achu was ready to touch them and bring one of them home. We clicked lot of snaps and walked around. To all of our surprise Achu was hungry...one of the rarest occasions. We decided to settle for lunch...found a nice place. Spread the mat and had a nice lunch. It was yummy. While having fruit Achu entertained us by dancing to the music in my hand phone...People who walked by wished us happy Diwali...:) I should say song was a bit loud, but we were enjoying ;).


Back to the car and we were heading to the Tree Top walk. We need to travel by car a short distance get down and then start the trekking trough a rain forest. It was really sunny when we started the trekking. Achu was enjoying collecting all that she could hold in her little hand and the most important was a long stick. I was surprised to know that such a place existed in Singapore. Its resemblance to my hometown was amazing...The same plants the same weeds, the same kind of springs...it was a pleasant surprise. We walked around 2.4 km when Achu said her legs are paining. There was still 1 km plus to the tree top walk. We decided to stop and return for the time being. Sajeev went back to get the car and we waited in front of the Island Country club. Later the guard told us that only club members can bring car inside. So with his special permission Sajeev parked the car near the main gate and we walked down. The weather was changing and dark clouds were forming in the sky. We headed back home happy to have added a beautiful day to our lives!!

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At Hort Park on a Beautiful Day!!

2 Oct 2008
Weather prediction was that it’s a rainy day, that too with thunder and lightning. But that couldn’t discourage us. And this time we had Plan A and Plan B. Plan A an out door location—The Hort Park at Alexandra Road. Plan B an indoor location - The Museum. We left home at 10 o’ clock. Packed snacks, water and rain coat for Achu. We were hanging on to Plan A in spite of the cloudy weather and it took around half an hour to reach Hort Park. It started drizzling a bit, but we were determined. Car park was full and we had to wait a while. There is no entrance fee..its absolutely free. Achu was happy to get out of the car and walk through…Weather was just nice…there can’t be a more perfect weather for this. We started walking; it looked like an urban oasis in the middle of the concrete desert. The landscaping was perfect…enjoyed each bit of it. Wind was cool and people seemed to be very happy and enjoying…Lot of tropical plants and grass lands… It has glasshouses which grow plants in ideal condition and they were blooming like in heaven….especially daisies…one word to describe is awesome… There is a trekking path which leads to Kent Ridge Park. The Hort park is very picturesque and photography enthusiasts are seen everywhere clicking away nature's beauty. More info on the park can be seen from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=parks&id=17&Itemid=73

Sajeev's college is just next door and we had a glimpse of that. Achu desperately wanted to see Acha's class. We proceeded to the tree-top walk (Nature walk) across the Alexandra Arch. It was just great. There were small railings and Achu hesitated to walk since she was able to see the ground from such a height through the railings. We boosted her morale saying that she is such a brave girl and it paid off and she was rewarded with a handshake after we finished the walk. She was excited :) We returned back and when we reached our Mitsu, Achu whispered to it "lets go to Suntech city. ok?" ... We went to Suntech to see the Motor show and took home wonderful memories of a beautiful day!!

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At Labrador Park on National Day!

18 Aug 2008
It was a long weekend...So as usual, we were planning to go out and have a nice family time. We have covered almost all part of Singapore. And there is a list of ‘don’t want to go often’ places. Keeping all those places apart, I was searching Internet thoroughly. There are certain conditions like, the place should not be crowded (Sajeev don’t like crowded places), Achu should enjoy being there. And then I should have a nice scenery to take lots and lots of photos…Internet listed a lot of places and a name struck my eye—Labrador park. Its unique. I was curious, then my search was focused on this park. It seemed to fit all our prerequisites and there we went.

It was a lovely day, August 9, 2008, National day of Singapore. We started off in our sporty Lancer Elegance!! We almost reached the park and the first thing I noticed is the lush greenery…nature has nourished the trees and plants so fabulously. Nature untouched, if I borrow one of my friend’s words, this can be compared to a virgin forest. The British have used this place to keep arms and ammunition. It s blessed with fantastic panoramic view of the sea from a platform .So, a strategic position for wars etc. Forget about those things…Lets enjoy nature. Walking along the trails is an awesome experience, and there are sign boards which read ‘beware of falling branches’…looks cool na? We walked and saw few remnants of guns and information boards on the way describing about the war etc.

Coming down the slop we reached the sea shore. The sea is deep and we could see ships anchored not far from the shore. So, there is a safety rail between the sea and the land. Achu was obviously not fascinated since she was dreaming of playing in the sand from the moment I started talking about this park. But she got a stick, which she carried along, playing all the while and even brought it home. Its still kept safely outside our home. Whenever she see it, she will ask my permission whether she can take it inside house, I say no. It continues till date.

As usual, I took a lot of snaps and we enjoyed the day!! We will definitely go back to enjoy the serene nature and its lush greenery far from the madding crowd!!

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8 June 2008

Mommy I love you

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Before your mind treads into the dark realm of oblivion,

Before the delicate web of relations get tangled in your memory,

Before time travels back and forth and dazzles your thoughts,

Before sleepless nights becomes a routine and dampen your cheeks with tears

Before you forget who I am to you…..

I want to be with you!!!!!!

I have grown in you, grown with you……

We have laughed together, cried together…….

You have taught me, you have punished me…

You have shown light in my way,

I laugh and smile, crying hard inside,

I feel the happiness in my life sinking away.

I love and take care, missing your love and care for me,

None will ever bestow such an unconditional love.

I can’t be a better mother,

I can’t be a better friend,

I can’t be anything better than you Mom, I love you…

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Dinner time

7 April 2008
Yesterday, Achu was having dinner and I was feeding her as usual. It was a usual a time of emotional rollercoaster-anger, frustration, happiness, sadness and you name it. I had kept some fresh grapes on the table to be taken after dinner. In the middle of her dinner she ran to the table to take it…I was fuming, and my blood pressure was shooting up and I was all set to scream…Then, she came running towards me, smiling, and told me ‘amma this is for you, open your mouth’…….Girl, only you could wither away my anger in such an innocent way!!

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Motherhood!!!

31 March 2008

So, today I felt like writing about being a mother. I would say that its that moment in which you become really selfless. Your mind leaves you and dwell on another small thing that means everything to you. You stop thinking about you completely. You will start crying with that little being, sleeping with it, getting sick together with that, and everything....its so precious for you!! It happened to me three and a half years before. And the feeling is growing everyday eating the little self that remains in me...I still remember the little eyes that never took its gaze away from me...I can see it now if I close my eyes for a while...There were sleepless nights, dark circles around the eyes...but nothing mattered...all that mattered is SHE.

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