Take Time to Smell the Roses ..(In Memorandum)

Whenever I heard or read that statement, I said to myself well sure, roses, I do take the time, I know what they smell like don't I?

The recent tragic loss of a friend however put things into perspective. Amol Chauhan, a friend from high-school, died tragically in a plane crash..he was 28! Given, we were never close friends and had lost touch over time, but the bonds you create in school cannot easily be washed away with time, all 300 of us (yes 300 students in our graduating class of '95) shared 10-13 years of our lives together, we learnt the same things, dreamt the same dreams, shared the same aspirations.

At 28, I figure, Amol, like each of us had plans for his future and was busy working on realizing them, he like each of us, had unfulfilled dreams and unspoken ideas designed to take him and his career places. I can only hope, that unlike me at least, he never got so busy in working towards his goals that he forgot why he set those goals in the first place.

In retrospect, I find that my approach towards life needs tweaking. Here I was so engrossed in the rat-race , in the game of survival of the fittest I was so busy striving to be the fittest of them all, that I never really did take the time to smell the proverbial roses.

I'm not promoting any life-altering changes here, I believe at this point in time and at this age, it is important for us to concentrate on our careers, to achieve all that we set out to achieve and to set ourselves high goals. However, I'm suggesting that one of those goals should now also be to live life to its fullest every single day, and that includes letting our loved ones know we love them and to do the things that we've been putting off to tomorrow today!

For my part, I hugged my surprised husband a little tighter today, I called home and spoke to my parents for hours and hours and finally..on my way home, I stopped by the local flower shop and walked in, taking in the enchanting fragrances that overwhelmed me, I stopped at a bouquet of Roses and took a deep breath..and oh my god! they smelled lovely.

In Memory of Amol - Son, Husband and Friend. May his Soul Rest in Peace

The Fat and Thin of it!

According to Darwin's Theory : it took millions and millions of years of evolution for us to get where we are today. I wonder how much longer will it take for the average Indian mind to advance (sociologically mind you not intellectually).

The average Indian mindset is still bogged down by seemingly inconsequential issues like who's thinking what of me and what will people say if I do or don't do this and that. Married women are still rated in terms of how well/how much they cook or how much they can clean and not how well they may be doing in their careers.Men are still considered to be breadwinners even when their wives might be earning as much or more.

And the funniest observation yet, if a man does not put on weight and gain a pot belly after marriage, it is generally considered the wife's fault for not "taking care" of her husband, while if a woman puts on weight after marriage she's let herself go!

Unbelievable? yet true! Indians obsess about being fat rather than being thin..like they say..it happens only in India! Well, I think its high time we stopped thinking of people in terms of how they look and if we do have to think in those terms let think Fit not Fat !

For my part, my husbands actually lost some fat since we've been married, he's pretty fit if I may say so myself and as for the "what will people say!" syndrome, those people be damned, we're 28 , fit and loving it!

My Sudden Liking for Cricket Explained

My last Blog surprised my brother a little bit, apparently a long cricket blog and from a girl at that, is quiet uncommon (at least among the people we know) and that got me to thinking... Why do I suddenly love Cricket enough to write about it?

I was never a cricket fan per se, yes, I used to follow the game when I was in India and yes I have seen a "live" one day match at Wankhede and totally enjoyed it, but the game I really remember watching with interest back then is Tennis. I was up and up on the rankings, the players and even had favourite tennis players who I was extremely passionate about..not so much with cricket though..

Best I can see, things changed when I came to the USofA. The further you go from your country, the more dearly you cling to the things you most associate with it. And this I find not just applies to sports but to everything.

So it was here that I found my mother tongue..yes, in India, I used to talk, think and even dream in English, my mother tongue (Gujarati) was my second language, and I admittedly was not very good at it. Now, while I still think and dream in English, I find myself talking more and more in Gujarati whenever i find a fellow Gujarati friend here and that as actually helped improve my command over that language as well!

It is here in the US that I understand the value of Mia Familia, where in India I respected my parents I also rebelled and threw tantrums to get my way, now I just listen to what they have to say and find it easier to admit what I always knew..that they are right about everything!

Festivals, which seemed to be just another social fling in India, here are sorely missed and hence celebrated as much / as closely as possible.I find I yearn to wear the Indian salwar kameez and eat Indian food here, more than I ever did while I was in India and could do these things more often.

And finally, move over Tennis, Cricket..the game loved by my 1 billion brothers and sisters is here to stay. It reminds me of Sunday afternoons spent in front of the TV set with the whole family, while mom's made hot nashta in the kitchen, it reminds me of the huge crowds that gather outside the local Electronics store showing the cricket matches on their TV Sets, it reminds me of the collective whoops and sighs that seem to rise out of the country with every boundary or wicket. Cricket therefore, has ceased to be just a game..but has become a symbol, a symbol of a country where I spent the Best Years of My Life so far..and so..I love cricket.

Its as simple as that..

C'mon India..Dikha Do!

Cricket is a second religion to most people in India, that said, when the Indian cricketers fail to meet the high standards set by the general public on their performance, there is bound to be discontent.

India's match against Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup is only a case in point. A higly paid, highly trained, "seasoned" cricketing team like India, lost..and lost badly to a fairly new and inexperienced side, and to add fuel to the fire, it happened during a World Cup....opening up the (previously unimagined) possibility of a shameful first round exit for the Indian side.

To this, the Indians reacted by raising their voices on the streets, burning a few posters and storming an under construction house of one of the cricketers and causing some damage.But is this reaction getting the point accross?

Dont get me wrong now, I'm all for reactions.. any kind of reactions from my fellow Indians, because Indians by nature are a quiet lot, they barely seem to react to "issues" anymore, for the most part, the common Indian has given up hope it seems. So after the recent bomb blasts that rocked the very epicenter of Mumbai's routine..the Railways..the world marvelled at the strength of the mumbaiites as life went "back to normal the very next day", while the rest of us wondered at the lack of passion shown by the general public. A thing like the blasts..in any other country..would've incensed the public, they would've asked the government for answers, for revenge, for better infrastructure..while in India..we acted as though not much had changed.

So the show of passion by the general population in this Indian defeat, pleasantly surprised me. However, once that is done..a more sensible (in my opinion) response should be for the Indians to wonder, why do we pay our cricketers the high salaries that we do? why not pay them based solely on performance? why do we allow cricketers to become actors..when clearly that seems to be distracting them from the one task which is theirs to do..play cricket..why dont we ..the Indians..decide to proactively NOT use any product our so called cricketers support in their advertisments..which will prompt the advertisors not to go to them..hence leaving our cricketers with little choice but to practise in their "spare" time..

Why dont we more voiceferously voice our opinions when a player who is clearly not performing well, is chosen to be on the team solely because the captain wants him? Team India needs to realize..that they are just that..Team INDIA..the represent us, our hopes, our sporting dreams.. and that is not something to be taken lightly..a player needs to perform to be on the team..a captain needs to lead to be the captain..and our selectors need to select based on performance..not on the captains whims.

We treat our players like demi-gods..in exchange we demand they perform. No one can expect them to win all matches..but we expect them to play like the world class players we think they are..we expect them to excel in all parts of the game..we definately dont expect them to reply on the wins or losses of a third team to decide their fate!

This opinion of-course is not solely based on this one game that Team India lost..its based on their past performances..its based on the fact that our players lack the killer instict..its based on the fact that some of our players are growing too big for their breeches..

Team India needs to perform..for itself and for its 1 billion supporters..or we need to find ourselves some new demi-gods.

Maui no ka oi.

Aloha! I just came back from the land of beautiful sunsets and even more beautiful sunrises, and the experience leaves a lot to talk about..so here goes.

While flying in, the hawaiian islands seem to rise out like an oasis in the middle of the sea, the first sight that greets you as u land in Maui is the warm sunshine, the amazing surf, and everything oh! so green..in January too !

First, we rented a Jeep convertible (perfect for 2, and I might add it seemed to be the car of choice of a lot of couples on the island). The drive from the Kahului Airport to Lahaina (where we were staying) was breathtaking, a neverending stretch of sea and sand on one side and green mountains and fog on the other side. We stopped a number of times on the way just to drink in the view.

We reached our hotel, the Royal Lahaina, soon enough and got checked in. Our room was one with a view.. the gardens below and the sea and sand directly ahead and cold champagne as a welcome drink!

After settling in we went down to check out the activities, we were registered for the Royal Lahaina Luau that evening, and since we had a couple of hours before we needed to get ready for that, we decided a quick dip in the ocean was called for. The water was perfect, or at least to us..after the cold LA water it seemed perfect !

The Royal Lahaina Luau is supposed to be one of the best on the island..we were given shell Lei's as we stood at the enterance, the evening started with an explanation of what a Luau means, the traditional removing the pig from the underground clay pit ceremony, and some Hula lessons (Hula btw is a very very difficult dance unless your hips can jiggle like jello). By then the sun was setting and we enjoyed our very first Maui sunset..By now, the Mai-tai's were flowing freely.. the food was ready..and while we started to enjoy dinner..the show started! the various different forms of the Hula, followed by a stunning fire show brought the evening to a beautiful end.

The next morning we left for the town of Hana, for all first time goers, I higly recommend the Road to Hana CD (also available in a cassette format), we got it from the expedia activity center right below our hotel. You pop the CD in as you start, and it tells you of all the points to see along the way, it also tells you when its time to stop and restart the CD (there are no road signs on the road to Hana, so the CD uses mile markers which is extremely handy), also leave early..since its a full day trip (unless you plan to spend the night in Hana).

The road to Hana is one with over 600 turns and there are many parts where the road only allows one car to pass @ a time, the drive starts with the Twin Falls , accessible after a short trek, when we reached the first fall, we were the only ones there! so it felt like being in a movie, where the honeymoon couple has their own private waterfall surrounded by raw nature..it was so very romantic..it was perfect (for lack of a better word) .

Furthur along the way, enjoy breathtaking views, breathe in the fresh smell of wild flowers as you drive past rain forests, stop to look at water crashing against lava rocks, enjoy black sand beaches and explore caves..if that isnt enough..once you drive a little past Hana..you reach the final "point" of the day..the 7 sacred pools, these are basically 7 waterfalls, each with their own "pool", feeding into one another.

The Pools are part of the Haleakala National park and there's a small fee involved for visiting the park, however the entry is valid for 3 days, so if you plan on visiting the Haleakala Volcanic craters as well, keep the entry ticket and you can reuse it when you go to see the craters!

The first of these 7 pools is about 2 miles inland and is supposed to be the tallest fall, unfortunately we reached the spot a little late for making the 2 mile trek, so we took the shorter treks, which take you to the pools near the shoreline, and as the pictures depict it was lovely!. However, do try to make it in time for the 4 mile trip (2 miles each way), its supposed to be the best trail on the island, replete with Bamboo trees!

The next day was our snorkelling trip! it was our first time ever..so that in itself had us excited, but nothing could have prepared us for how truly amazing an experience it was. There are many snorkelling tour operators out there, we took the one organized by Pacific Whale Foundation, the guides were amazingly knowledgeable and extremely friendly, they had a crash course in snorkelling for us first timers, and they even had a guided underwater tour, where they pointed out all the fishes and corals of interest to the group. Besides the great guides an added advantage is all the money goes towards saving Whales!

Now, for the snorkelling itself..what can I say..its like swimming inside an aquarium tank..but better! the fishes come right upto your face...the corals are a thing of beauty. We first went to Molokini, a small horse shoe shaped island, and enjoyed the snorkelling there, at Molokini we found many different varieties of Fish, and also the currents were not too strong, so it was a great way to start the trip. After Molokini, we went towards Lanai, a bigger island, on the way there, we spotted Dolphins!, these lovely creatures playfully swam along the boat, they love the waves the boats create according to our guides..and they jumped and swam and gave us a lovely show. We also had the pleasure of seeing humpback whales! These whales known as "gentle giants" due to their non hurtful nature, migrate to hawaii in january to give birth to young ones, and you can also see them from the beach in clear weather!

Snorkelling in lanai was a great experience too, bigger corals , you could almost touch them without going too deep, and you really felt like you were right in the middle of the ocean there! After all this swimming we were extremely hungry..and the tour also included a BBQ!!..so while we snorkelled, the guides got to BBQing the perfect burgers for us! did i already say how great it was? well..it was awesome!!!!!

On coming back to the hotel, we relaxed a little, since the morning had us tired, and then dressed up for a night in Lahaina Town. Its a lovely town, and offers many places for a romantic sea side dinner. The shops are great too for a little shopping spree.

The next day, was our last day in beautiful Maui..we checked out from the hotel in the morning, and drove up to the Haleakala Crater. The drive again is beautiful, extremely different from the Drive to Hana, but as you climb the mountain, you seem to rise above the clouds..and eventually the clouds form a blanket below you and you feel like you're in heaven!

Mount Haleakala is a volcano which last erupted sometime in the 17th Century. Its home to a wide variety of endangered plants and the craters themselves offer some of the most stunning sunrise views. Again, unfortunately we missed the sunrise, but what is recommended is go up to see the sunrise, and then bike down the mountain, there are many tour operators who offer to take you up the mountain in a van to enjoy the sunrise, and then bike down!

After spending some time to take in the dead beauty of the craters we drove down towards the airport. It was time to say good-bye Maui sadly..we brought back a whole lot of memories and promised each other we'd be back..soooon! Till then ppl..as they say in Hawaii .."Hang Loose"!

Today on CNN..

My parents always said a good start sets the tone for the rest of your day, now if that were really true, I'd be having a really bad year!

They say bad news make good news stories, I wonder why though. Have you ever wanted to wake up to the face of a man who open fired in a school full of innocent kids or to the graphic images of a war torn country? I know I havent.

Yet, day after day these stories make our front pages and morning news. Granted they're news worthy and should be reported, but do they have to be the burnt toast that goes with my morning coffee? People build towers ..yet I only read about bombs that bring them down..people climb mountains..yet I only read about people who die climbing down..

Maybe its wishful thinking to ask for a permanent change, so how about this..once a week, the Times , CNN , the LA Times and all you providers of our morning manna, decide to change your reporting formats..good news first..good stories later..go on..make my Sunday!