A world class airport awaits you!

Last Sunday night, i witnessed my return journey from India to Germany..

To my utter surprise, i was quite happy to see a guard offering me a trolley with a smile, for my luggage at the IGI airport..

Everywhere, i saw the banners displaying in bold:

..

" A world class airport awaits you, till then inconvenience is regretted !! "

Hats off to you GMR guys !!

Leveraging on their recent success by marvellously renovating the Hyderabad international airport, am sure the efficiency and comfort of the passengers at IGI too is going to increase manifold.

Looks like India is all geared to host Common Wealth games in 2010.

Tourists from Jamaica who seemed to be spellbound by the diversity of India were sitting close to my seat in the waiting room. They also appreciated the efforts by GMR and wished the best for the future.

I was surprisingly given a royal treatment by the Alitalian crew..Courtesy the Italian flag on my T-shirt and BVB football cap on my head..)

The day unveiled one more pleasant surprise for me inside the plane..)

Guess who was sitting with me..??

A European lady in her mid thirties...

She sounded very listless in the waiting room, guess really tröubled by Delhi's scorching heat..)

Very innocently she asked me,

" Why is Delhi always so dirty,

why r people always cleaning,

Guess they have to start cleaning the very moment they have finished..))"

She happened to be a renowned social anthropologist, visiting Delhi University frequently for delivering lectures over diverse social topics!!

Probably a google search on her name " Britta Ohm" will throw a lot of light on her current projects in India ranging from Indianizing transnational television to Indian Software Revolution..

Her book on Indo Nationalism Globalization will be published soon costing 600 INR..

She almost took my interview..Wont be really surprised if i see my name in some of her upcoming books..!

I was really happy to be back to my charming city, Düsseldorf.. and enjoy the mesmerizing snowfall here!

We discovered a new city Wuppertal today, quite famous for covering the entire city by its suspended monorail ...the aerial ferry over the river wupper almost felt like a ride on a roller coaster..

There r still so many places yet to be explored..! .
.
Inspired by old hindi melodies these days, here i go with one of my favorites from the movie Anand..



Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune,
Sapne, surile sapne,
Kuch hansee ke, kuch gum ke,
Teri ankhon ke saye churaye rasili yaadon ne,
Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke...
.
.

Choti baaten,
Choti choti baaton ki hai yaadein bani,
Bhoole nahin bithi hui ek choti ghadi,
Janam janam se, aankhen bichaaye,
tere liye in rahon mein,
Maine tere liye ...
.
.


Bhole bhale,
Bhole bhale dil ko behlate rahe,
Tanhai mein tere khayalon ko sajate rahe,
Kabhi kabhi tho, aavaaz dekar, mujhko jagaya khabon ne,
Maine tere liye ...
.
.

Roothi raatein,
Roothi hui raaton ko jagaya kabhi,
Tere liye bithi subah ko bulaya kabhi,
Tere bina bhi, tere liye hi,
diye jalaye raaton mein,
Maine tere liye ...
.
.

(:O:) The Color Wheel (:O:)

I'm having the best days of my life at my home nowadays..but surprisingly since last 3 days..i am missing my second home..my office in Germany...) very difficult to be away from work for long..

Even Indian newspapers don't fascinate me much these days...full of troubling news..From discussions trying to figure out if Obama can deliver, to the stress factor among school kids committing suicide...such a sad state !

Though life is kinda tough everywhere, but i guess in India we've a habit of multiplying our stress by a factor of 10 ourselves...without any concrete reason..Aren't we born to celebrate life...for life is so beautiful..Lets give our best n forget the rest.. Remember there used to be a heliocentric theory by Nicolas Copernicus, claiming the Sun at the centre of the solar system..which had to be replaced by elliptical orbits to fit the data better...

Just like Science is ever dynamic, so is the human mind..
Stagnation in any form can lead to serious problems..

Lets remember that there can be nothing as "final"..every act or authority is questionable...!........!

Hey tomorrow is the festival of colors..Holi..
I m so excited..

Hope God bestows each one with His favorite wheel of colors having all the exciting shades of the spectrum while spreading Love, Success, Health & Happiness in abundance..

Feel like sharing life's little instructions, rediscovered at my relative's place:

1. Talk slow, but think quick.

2. Be an original, if that means being a little eccentric, so be it.

3. Everyone deserves a birthday cake.Never celebrate a birthday without one.

4. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

5. Remember the ones who love you.

6. Go home for the holidays.

7. Don't take everything too seriously.

8. Do the right thing, regardless of what others think.

9. Don't judge people by their relatives.

10. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.

11. Volunteer - Sometimes the jobs no one wants conceal big opportunities.

Dedicatedly following point 6 these days...Happy Holi!!

The Speaking Tree

I've grown up reading "The Speaking Tree" column in the Indian Express.
It has taught me the essence of giving n sharing...for it beautifully embraces in it the virtues reqd by all to survive happily..and help us develop an attitude of gratitude for all the mercy of the Great God on us, eventually leading to catharsis.

Last weekend, i happened to attend one of my distant relatives place..i was so moved to see their love n affection for their paralysed dog..When i asked dear uncle, he told me that it was 15 days old when we brought it to our house..so touching..

I guess problems in life are inevitable..but how we deal with them determines our altitude..a positive attitude towards them will surely lead to tapping of our full potential..

I received a forward from an astrologer, Jenna where she has metaphorically explained what tapping of incredible potential means:

Imagine a person who has never known any modern technology (for example someone living in the heart of a dense jungle). One day this person is given a radio tuned in to a very precise radio station and he finds it suddenly extraordinary to be able to listen to music through what is essentially a small box.

He is told that to listen to this music he need only press the 'on' button without having to do anything else to listen to this music. This person thinks this radio is a wonderful invention and then spends a number of years listening to this radio and to the same program as the radio stays on the same station all of the time.

And then one day someone else comes along and shows him that there are a multitude of other stations and frequencies to listen to with many other programs that can be as interesting as the first....

We all are in the position of this person and our potential can be compared to this radio. Our potential is not yet fully exploited and we are not yet aware of certain of your hidden talents. ..




My princess charming ( my 7 year old niece) was covering her school notebook..i felt so happy reading the " Points to Remember" section on the back side of the cover, i'm sure it will serve as a sweet flashback for all my dear blogging frds:


1. Education begins a gentleman, conversation completes him.

2. It is education that forms the common mind just as the twig is bent the tree is inclined.

3. Education relations make the strongest tie.

4. Education has for its object the formation of character.

5. The treasure of education is greater than all other treasure of the world.

6. The relationship between student and teacher is just like a son and father.

7. Those people are never alone who have healthy thinking.


I just realised that with my recent posts, i've started sounding like an 80 yr old preaching aunt.-:D...but i really cant help myself, these small small events move me so much!

Hey but that can't be...Some of my wisdom teeth are still coming..

I found some tips to keep our teeth healthy at the dentist's place:


1. Brush twice a day.

2. Floss regularly to prevent tooth decay.

3. Use flouride Rinse method to strengthen the outer enamel of the teeth.

4. Try to avoid Soda and cola like drinks, to be replaced by milk, water and juices.

5. Avoid chewing tobacco and smoking.

6. Avoid alcohol, it has the risk of developing cancer in mouth.

7. Healthy diet consumption.

8. Visit a dentist at least twice an year..

I've been surely following the last point to a great extent..)

Happy Shivratri!

Hurrah.......... I am back to India.......n i have loads to share..


My journey started on Monday morning at 4, with a lady taxi driver coming to drop me at the airport..making me realise that i had spent an year in a very safe zone..!!



I had to change my flight at Milan, Italy.. The beautiful hills surrounded by old pine trees heavily covered in snow, looked amazing from the top..

The 7 hour stretch from Milan to Delhi was beautifully wrapped by talks with my fellow Indians, discussions about life at foreign land..and what not..)

Though i must admit that the untidy Indira Gandhi airport, and the heavy showcase of jewellery and make up by the Indian beauties almost turned me off..(

Ahha...there i saw my brother and my father dying to see the apple of their eye..(me) .....and then my joy knew no bounds.....The 4 hour journey to my hometown in Karnal (Haryana) looked so short n sweet...

Since the moment i have landed at my place...i can hardly find any spare time...Meeting my relatives after a long span was so soothing...

I showed all my pics and played all my songs and Bhajans..opened gifts...The excitement was at the peak..Recently realised that my neighbours' toddler kids were fascinated to meet me as well...They were so innocent, i could not help remembering my childhood days..quoting some of their sweet talks:

" Aap humare saath patang udhayoge..

Hum aapke ghar bat-ball khelenge to aapke ghar ke sheeshe tut jayenge..)

Mere Papa to itne bade ho gaye, abhi bhi school jate hain.. pata hai kaun se..Mere..)))

Mene apne Dost ko ek thapad maara, voh dur jaakar gira..usko hospital lekar gaye hain...***

Mein bade hokar pilot banunga..aisa maharaj ji ne kha tha..!!

Aap mere ghar aayoge, please abhi aa jayo..))) "

so sweet!!!

Oh yes..Today being Maha Shivratri.. i am on fast....May the Great God shower His choicest of blessings on all of us..

This week and the coming one, i'm busy with lots of religious ceremonies..

Today we waited in a long queue in the Shiva temple while chanting the holy names in unison..

2 days from now, there is Mata Bhagwati Jagran at our place ..and the next week i"ll be visiting Maa Vaishno Devi shrine after so many years..I am too excited...My friends are really angry with me, for i am not able to call them..I really want to talk to them in peace..So Sorry...Dont forget me..i will call you soon in a week or two..)))

With so many activites queued up, i surely have been assigned some tasks by my mother..the ones i like to do the most..cleaning every possible corner of my home and designing invitation cards for the Jagran to be distributed within the colony..

I luv to clean my house..and dont want any help from the maid..For if we have made our house dirty, no one else shd be responsible for cleaning it...This leads to a frequent altercation between me n my brother...and we just love them...i missed these fights so much in the last one year..!

Oh Yes...please have a look at the invitation cards designed by me..

Many thanks to hindikamal.com for their enriching vocabulary:

मा जगदंबा की असीम कृपा से हमे 8 मार्च, शनिवार, रात्रि 10 बजे माता का जागरण आयोजित करने का परम सौभाग्य प्राप्त हुआ है।
आपसे विनम्र आग्रह है कि आप सपरिवर पधार कर हमे अनुग्रहित करें एवं माता का शुभ आशीर्वाद प्राप्त करें !!

दर्शानाभिलाषी,
गुप्ता परिवार

147-P, सेक्टर 7
अर्बन-अस्टेट, करनाल

My father just gave me a compliment for designing it well...)

Lets hope my neighbours like it too..

Time to catch up with my frds' posts..Really busy..Just got another work, this time assigned by my father..)

Have a good Day!