2013 and a 2014 look ahead…

It has been a good year, all in all. Can’t complain on any front since life’s been good. Did a couple of things, some personal achievements, some holidays and a lot of activity. And am thankful to Providence for each of these things!

For starters, we did what I never thought we would. We sold the apartment which I initially thought was our dream house, and had never intended to leave for anything in the world. Turns out our feelings weren't strong enough, and we fell out of love with the house , sold it , and moved on from it physically , emotionally and mentally, all in no time at all. The pretext was to buy a bigger apartment, which we didn’t in the end, but I guess we were both ready to move on from that old apartment. One of the most impulsive yet very well turned out decision of our lives, I must say! I thought I’d be insecure without my own house, but the bigger realization was that we were both nomads deep inside, and the obligation of not paying an EMI made us realize that we like this life better than anything else. It makes me feel free, unattached and gives me the independence to do anything I want, which I wouldn’t trade for anything! We rented a larger apartment which brings us closer to our goal of having a better social life, we spent a bomb in doing up this apartment, and are happy! That’s what matters, right!

We, the husband and I, took a hard look at how close we are to our target-retirement-assets, during the whole real estate transactions and figured out that we were both close and yet far from it, which was a good revelation to have. That makes the money goals quite clear, and we both know what we are working for, and towards. A good place to be in!

Work has been good. There is a very welcome job change, something that teaches me something new every day. And am more clear in what I want to do with my work life – To work for passion, not for money. On that note, here’s one of the most impactful lines I read this year, something that made me change quite a few things in my work life, and is currently my work signature -

When you look back at yourself six months from today and don’t feel embarrassed by your naiveté, there’s a problem. That means you’re not learning, growing.

And the decision to not have children still continues. We still are asked the same old questions about children and why we don’t have one yet, but they have decreased a lot. Either people are growing sensible or we are developing a thicker skin. Parents have accepted that we have a mind of our own, and have stopped expecting a grandchild from us. Once we got to this point, both of us have become quite open and aren't shying away from telling people that we are childless by choice !

I got a tattoo this year, my second one. Based on Impermanence, I have the line ‘Sarvam Anityam’ inked in Devanagari lipi on my wrist. Its such a pretty tattoo that I still stare at it lovingly, a full 3 months after I got it done! The lines mean what I believe in strongly, and what I try to practice every single day of my life, yet to not much success. This line also reminds me what Vipasana taught me, and how I should be detached from everything and yet be attached to everything! Unlike my first tattoo, I wasn’t scared of this second one. I was looking forward to it, I had thought about the lines a long time ago, and this was like an craving I had to crave in to! Here it is…

A great holiday happened. In fact, two great holidays. One was our regular annual vacation to Goa, where all we did was take long walks on the pristine white beaches (yes, there are a few of them even now in Goa) and drink bottles of port wine. The other was a dream vacation to Greece. It was originally planned as a getaway vacation, but I added a fitness goal to it and made it into a hiking holiday, something that worked out so well, that am now inclined to take up atleast one activity based holiday per year! There was one other vacation that happened towards the end of the year, but that wasn’t even one. It was intended to be a annual reading holiday, but turned out to be a driving holiday. We got to Mudumalai, took one look around at our surroundings, realized we were too bored by that place, and drove back to Hyderabad the next day! Just an example of how we are letting our impulses take over these days… its like the older we grow, we have more freedom! :-D

To gear up for the hiking holiday, I took up working out, something that I had never done before. Found a great instructor who is making me realize every single day what I am capable of doing with my body, and what I could do if I realize its full potential, and how my body reacts when I abuse it with crappy food. What we do is programmed strength training, and am now all set to have a few fitness goals for 2014. On that note, healthy eating has also increased. This year, even the husband has been nice enough to play along with me in eating the millet-heavy diet am laying on his table!

Read quite a bit, though not as much as I wanted to. 76 books in one year is a good number, but its not as good as 122 books in an year , no? Blogged a bit. Did a very taxing month-long project where I posted one salad recipe per day. Gave one health based talk at a hospital. Got mentioned in a newspaper, thanks to a friend who was writing the article. Did one photo shoot for someone, for which I didn’t get the credit. Yeah , yeah… lessons are always learnt!

Friends… where shall I begin and where shall I end. Without being too sentimental, let me just say in one sentence what I feel about the people in my life. I am truly thankful to God (am almost an atheist, so that’s saying a lot!) for all the delightful people in my life today, every single one of them. I might not meet them every single day, some I haven't met in months, but all of them that matter are still a part of my life. Over the years, I’ve figured out that I need to keep away from people who don’t add a positive influence to my life, and have been largely successful too.  Guess that’s one of the perks of growing older… you discover whom you like to hang out with , you discover your own self via the people you are with. And yet again, am truly truly thankful to each of my friends. And I hope to be as good a friend to them all as they are to me. Like I always tell the husband, we must’ve done something right in our past lives to be blessed to be around such wonderful people.

2014 brings with it a lot of plans, decisions, goals and hopes!

There is an obligatory fitness goal, which I intend to reach this year. Yes, there’s nothing better than fitting into less sized clothes, and smiling as people ask you if you’ve lost weight.
I’ll hope to read to at least 50 books this year. Unlike my old apartment where it was only me and the husband, there is a thriving social life in this new place that we moved into. So anything more than 4 books a month would mean that am missing out some good girlfriends time! :-)
May be another tattoo, but am not sure. :-)
Take my food blog a little more seriously. And invest in it. On that note, take my food photography a little more seriously too. Both of them need a lot of TLC!
Meet more of my old friends. Meet more new interesting people. Keep people who don’t mean well out of my life.
Take more holidays, one every quarter, may be! ;-)
Keep working for passion!
Hang out more with the adorable daughters and sons of my friends. And with those wonderful nieces and nephews am gifted with!

Lets hope that the Universe lets me follow each of these plans through this new year. And wish you all a very happy new year! :-)

A Grecian Holiday!

This September, we went on a dream vacation... a full 10 day hiking holiday in Greece. We ate great food, walked a lot and had loads of fun during these 10 days. It was like a trip down the history books lane, what with every corner of Greece reminding us of a little something we read back in school. Pythagoras, Delphi, Parthenon were just some of the historical aspects that we enjoyed while in Greece!

God, I need to backup a bit and go from the beginning... I've been like this ever since I got back from Greece. You ask me a question, and I start rambling about how nice a holiday it was there.
Sometime ago, I read an article on The Hindu Metro edition about someone's cycling holiday in Tuscany. I read the entire holiday, took note of the website given in the article and mentioned to a friend sitting beside me that someday I'd like to go on a holiday like that. She laughed at yet another item being added to my travel-wish-list, and said I could do all that if I find someone who can plan it all for me. Obviously, I couldnt do it all by myself, she said. As discouraging as they might be, I saw value in what she said, and decided to go with someone experienced. Thats when I realized I had taken note of the company mentioned in the article - The Active Holiday Company, and decided to get in touch with them, when I was ready for a holiday.

After searching through their list of holidays for over a month, and mulling on leave dates with the husband, I finally narrowed down on a hiking holiday to Greece, and got in touch with folks at The Active Holiday Company. Gauri & Uday , the founders of this company, promptly got in touch with me, read my zillion emails patiently, gave me all the suggestions they could, gave me an itinerary that I loved and even helped me through the visa process.
You see, I did not want to go with a pre-decided holiday, and had a list of other places that I wanted to visit in Greece, all of which were addressed in this new custom-made itinerary. And since this was an activity holiday, 5 hikes were baked into the itinerary.

 

Yes, as usual, the husband didn't get involved in any aspect of holiday planning and left it all to me... someday I'd like to travel with a person like me, who would plan all details of a vacation, and all I have to do is to just show up, and of course, pay! :-P

Only after we reached Greece and started our first walk did I realize how well planned the holiday had turned out to be. Every night was taken care of, every hotel knew we were arriving, every walk had enough details given and every place was what we expected it to be. And considering that we were given enough information about various travel options within Greece, we could get a flavor of the life the locals live.

We travelled in metro trains in Athens; took city buses in all the major cities - Athens, Chania, Delphi, Fira, travelled in ferries when we were island hopping from Athens - Hydra - Athens, Athens - Santorini, Santorini - Crete; and even in taxis where required.

We had not opted for meals in any of the hotels, and so had plenty of opportunity to eat the local food, plenty of it, all fresh and yummy at every place we visited. I can say this with authority now that as far as food is concerned I dont think I will get better vegetarian food anywhere in the world outside of India! Yes, Greek food is awesome. Greek vegetarian food is heavenly, and Greek ingredients are out of this world. I could not get enough of the olive oils, olive pates, tzazikis, feta cheeses and roasted vegetables, so much that I carried most of them back home. I am going to do a full feature on Greek food on my food blog, The Meal Algorithm, very soon.

Talking about food to eat in Greece, I cannot forget the awesome hospitality extended by the Greeks. They were in financial troubles, petrol is super expensive in Greece, they clearly were trying hard to make ends meet with the meagre sales they were making in the markets and the heavy taxes they were paying, but had the adorable Greek pride on. There wasn't a single negative word spoken about the country, or a single remark at how they were doing. To the outside world, they were perfect and gracious hosts.

Every meal is served with a on-the-house dessert of grapes or a shot of Mastiha, a liqueur made out of a tree resin, one of the most heavenly drinks I'll ever have or Raki, a fermented liqueur made of honey. As far as alcohol is concerned, I think the Greeks have mastered it all. They have an alcohol derived out of every edible and yummy ingredient. Ouzo made out of fennels, Mastiha from the tree resin, Honey raki, Tsikodia from some spices , Peppermint liqueur ... you name it and they have it.

I tried capturing a bit of Greece through my lens, and am quite happy with my pics. I carried a Canon Rebel Xsi throughout the trip, and shot most of these pics using the standard kit lens, in landscape mode. I, of course, did a lot of reading up, because I was apprehensive about the harshness sun can create in the pics, and was so glad that they all came out perfect! :-)

Here's my short take on each of the places we visited -
Athens - A beautiful, quaint capital city. You can finish sightseeing this entire city in 2 days, if you plan it right. We took a walking tour through the major sightseeing spots in the city and ate only in the restaurants in Monastiraki square, the most happening place of Athens. Seeing the Parthenon is an unforgettable experience.


The Temple of Zeus in Athens

Parthenon

Hydra - One of the most beautiful islands in Greece. If you've been there, you know how tough it is to say this statement, but in my experience, this is true. Its your first introduction to the azure skies and white houses, and its also an island which has absolutely no vehicles on it, and a port full of eateries. A ferry from Piraeus will get you to Hydra in less than 90 min. We did a 8km walk on this island over a day trip and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The main port of Hydra, in a 'C' shape

Another mini-port in Hydra

Delphi - If you are a science student, you MUST visit this place. If you are a history student , you MUST visit this place. Oh, what the heck, if you've been to school, you MUST go here. Its a very little and beautiful town, with ancient ruins. Plan to stay overnight, and visit the ruins once more before you return. The European trail E4 goes via Delphi and walking a portion of it is a good experience.

Temple of Apollo, also where the Navel of the earth is!

Temple of Athena

Santorini - Out of all the places I've visited in Greece, this place is the one that we looked forward to the most, and the one that has disappointed us the most. Yes, it is beautiful. But its not something you wont see anywhere in Greece. Its extremely crowded in every place in Santorini - Fira and Oia, and the hotels obviously have seen a lot of tourists to be genuinely nice to you. Sightseeing doesnt have a lot to do there, except for that one most photographed church in Oia. Had it not been for the 10 km walk we did from Fira to Oia, we would've been very very bored for the 3 days we spent there. If this isnt on your bucket list, give this place a miss and go to other nearby islands like Paros or Naxos.

The two ends of the caldera on Thira, the biggest island on Santorini.
On your left is the town of Akrotiri, and its Oia on the right

There you go! Now that you've seen this church,
you can safely give Santorini a miss! ;-)

Crete - The largest island in Greece, and the one where the density of the olive trees is the most, this place stood up to everything that we read up on it. My next visit to Greece will definitely be to Crete, and to the charming town of Chania. We did the tough 16 km hike in Samaria Gorge which was deeply satisfying on a personal level to both the body and the eyes. This place is one heck of a natural beauty. Extremely beautiful, especially at the end of a tiring walk ;-) Also, lying down on the beach overlooking the Libyan sea made me feel quite accomplished! ;-)

The gorgeous town of Heraklion!

The Venetian harbor and lighthouse in Chania!

Ah, the joy this sign gave us. The end of the 13km walk inside Samaria!

This marked the end of the 16km walk inside Samaria.
Over to the Libyan sea from here

Greeks believe a lot in the concept of evil eye, which I found quite nice actually, which is why I carried back lots of them for friends back home. Little signature bottles of Ouzo, olive oil soaps and olive oil bottles make other awesome souvenirs - not very expensive, but still feel like a bit of Greece in your pocket.

If you are planning to go on a zara-hatke holiday, have time to spare, and the patience to train for it (oh yes, some basic training is required. I don't recommend a direct couch-to-16km-walk approach myself), then I strongly urge you to go on an activity holiday like this... will make you feel rejuvenated, accomplished and happy for years to come. And yes, I definitely am visiting Greece again (given that I only want to see a dozen more countries to tick them off my bucket list, I will be visiting each country I've been to, atleast one more time! ;-)) and this time, I will do more island hopping!

Some of the common sights in Greece...

 

A regular run-of-the-mill street!

Not everything is white and blue in Greece

Kafka-esque moments abound!

Some graffiti on the walls!

Wise enough to be foolish

By now, its common knowledge that I am wary of books by Indian authors. My dislike for Chetan Bhagat is well documented, I could not finish Jhumpa Lahiri's last book, I have read only one book by Aravind Adiga and have never even read Amitav Ghosh. Vikram Seth is different, he doesn't get into this league of writers at all!

So when I picked up this book, I was sceptical. I had attended the book launch and heard some great things about the book by people there, I saw the author speak, I also read the quotes behind the book cover. But the book snob in me was still a bit sceptic. Then, I read the booklet that came along with the book, something like a sort of introduction to the book and the author's style, and noticed myself getting excited.

 

And once I started the book, I was pleasantly surprised. As I got more into the book, I noticed myself getting interested more and more in the story. And by the time I was midway into the book I knew I liked the book. I was engrossed in the plot , completely and finished it in one go, cover to cover in 3 hours!
This is a fictionalized memoir of the author's life, with her drawing inspiration from various incidents in her life to put in the story. The style is narrative and its apparent that the author is the narrator. But when you start reading the book, you forget that this is a novel because it doesn't feel like fiction or that it is a memoir because it is not boring, self-indulgent or preachy.
What I liked best about this book is the flow of the story. It starts at a logical point in the author's life, and ends at another logical point. The writing is breezy, almost as if a friend is narrating her story to you, but it doesn't really have the conversational style, which is a welcome change.
There is humour in parts without the author sound funny because she has to but because the incident is funny, and the English is something you and I would use in our regular conversation, not some flowery language.
Its also an incredibly honest book, touching various serious issues that a regular Indian girl will see around her or happen to her. The author touches a bit upon the expectations the society sets for an Indian girl as she is growing up, the boy-girl child discrimination that most girls see in their houses and the child molestation issues, and yet makes sure that this is not a serious book. The tone of writing is not pat-me-on-the-back-I've-done-so-good-in-spite-of-having-so-many-issues , but is very as a matter of fact look-here-is-my-life-there-are-the-people-that-touched-it.
In my opinion, it is also very difficult to write a memoir and ensure that the reader does not get to know too much about the author's life, because when you are writing a memoir, you do not know how much information is too much. For example, one minute you are talking about having boyfriends and your views on sex and another minute you could put in a little too much detail for the reader's liking. I did not notice that in this book, which again talks a lot about the author's ability to tell a good story.
The treatment of all the various characters in the book is also very pleasant, even when the author talks about the not-so-good people in her life. You cannot help but applaud the maturity of the person if most of these incidents have actually happened in her life for real. And the relationships the author has had with each of these characters evolves as the book progresses and you can feel it in the words used.

At the book launch, I heard the author say that she didn't intend this to be a Booker prize standard book, and she wrote it because she had a story to tell. I liked the honesty behind that statement. All of us have a story to tell, its how you tell it that matters. And I think this is a very well told story, something that might not win awards but will win hearts.

Also don't let the booklet judge you the book. In my honest opinion, the author did not chose the best passages to be in the booklet, the ones in there are just ordinary if you compare it with the rest of the book!
Yes, the book is much much better than the booklet will you think it is.

I will not call this a story of a rebel or a revolutionary tale of an Indian girl. To me, this is a story of a regular Indian girl who has lived her life the way she wants to without getting bogged down by the expectations that she has to live upto and worrying about judgement.

If you are a girl reading this book, you will identify with a lot of aspects in this book. At many parts it feels like the author is talking about your life, at other parts, you might feel that you should've behaved like the author has. It will also appeal to the feminist in you, not the bra-burning one, but the am-equal-to-a-man-in-every-respect and I-have-a-right-to-live-my-life-the-way-I-want-to one.
If you are a man reading this book, depending on how evolved you are, you will feel various degrees of surprise at the honesty in this book, and also get a peek into the mind of most modern Indian girls of this day.