Back from Kerala!

Back from our trip to Thekkady. About 2000ft above sea level in a Tiger Reserve on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was a long journey by train to Madurai then by car for 3 hours to Tusker Trails, our hotel in Thekkady.
We went elephant- riding, we watched a riveting show of Kalaripayatu - a local form of martial art and ate - a LOT.
It was a relaxing trip and I got to splash around in the swimming pool and get out of the city - just what I wanted. The place was gorgeous and GREEN and the people were really nice and friendly and there were lots of tourists - mostly Europeans.
Here are some randoms... I'll think about posting more later! :)

little girl staring out the train window

my dad on the Tuticorin Express - our train to Madurai

night lightshaati mere saathi!on the way back to our room one night I noticed this little spider sitting like a King right in the middle of its masterpiece web...
the Periyar lake where we went for a boat ride... we saw a few animals - deer, wild pigs, blah blah... After many years in Africa and a good number of African safaris, we're a little hard to please! Wish we could've seen a Tiger!

banana chips galore!

Long forgotten sunset...

...pictures (that I never posted and recently discovered again) taken on a far-away deserted road on the outskirts of Bangalore when I went for an Airshow with Grace.

A Wedding to Remember!

So I attended a beautiful wedding yesterday at Christ Church in Byculla (which I found out was built in 1833!). My friend, Lydia from the Bombay Baptist Church (BBC) in Colaba was the beautiful and ecstatic bride!
The ceremony was really beautiful and the love that this God-made couple felt for each other was just so palpable. Unfortunately I didn't reach in time to see Lydia walk down the aisle and I didn't manage to a get a good seat so there aren't many good photos of what happened during the ceremony... The church band was playing some rocking worship songs when I entered and then after that was over, Pastor Jo from BBC who was conducting the ceremony called upon Lydia's parents to give her away and then Johann (the bridegroom's parents) also came up and prayed for the couple.
Lydia and Johann sang a beautiful song for each other:
I cherish the treasure
The treasure of you
Lifelong companion
I give myself to you
God has enabled me
To walk with you faithfully
And cherish the treasure
The treasure of you

Pastor Jo asked them if they would take each other as husband and wife and they said: "I will, with God's help" and then they exchanged their own personalised vows and gave each other rings as token of these vows and then they were married!We then moved on to the reception ground which was just next to the church building. Lydia's brother-in-law and Johann's sister were the MCs for the night and they were quite funny! The night was filled with song! Both families are very musical apparently and it was just so great! The first song was sung by two guys from BBC to the newly-weds and then the newly-weds and their respective siblings together sang "Because you loved me" by Celine Dion dedicating it to their parents.
Then there was the toast...
And then, my personal favourite bit of the evening - Lydia, who sings beautifully - sang "You light up my life" to Johann! Can you see the smile on his face? He had no idea she was going to do that and it was just to-die-for-beautiful.
After that, Smriti and I went and met the couple and gave them their gift, ate some delicious food hurriedly and ran out because Smriti had to get back to the hostel by 8:30pm by hook or by crook and I didn't want to delay too much cause I had to head back home in a SAREE and HEELS by the local trains alone...
Of course, I made it and let me blow my trumpet a little and say that I am proud of myself! :P I wore my heels after a whole year and while women travel by local train in sarees everyday like its second nature to them, I can count the number of times I have worn a saree on my fingers, so this was quite an accomplishment!

Vote of Thanks:
Sonu: For lending me her gorgeous saree!
Jo's Mommy: For draping the saree for me!
My Granny: For finding me a kind old tailor who stitched my blouse in a day for 40 bucks!
Jo: For doing my make-up and setting my hair - I'm hopelessly inexperienced at such things!
Lydia: For inviting me to the wedding and allowing me to join in their joy and seeing how God works things out so marvelously in His perfect time! Check out their website.

I am so grateful for the people in my life and that includes you, dear reader!

P.s. Learn how to drape a saree here! (I love the internet!)

The Best Of 2008

Remembering some of the good stuff of the year gone by:

Tag: The Photo Tag (July)

SMS: From Sharan "You're going to have a daughter, Tina." It was totally out of the blue and well, I hope so. (October)
Bloggers' Meet: With Nithya and Sharan(yan) in Coimbatore.

Movies: Amazing Grace and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (October)
Shopping: MAX! In Bangalore, with Jo. (November)Event: The Jazz concert I went to at the NCPA. It was a treat from a junior from school - Neville. I will forever be grateful for that. It was magic. (January)

Blog Discovery: Confessions of a CF Husband

Dinner: At the Georges' with Sharan, Sonu, Jo and Antu (October)

Journey: To Ooty with some of best friends! (October)Eating Place: The American Express Bakery in Bandra - thanks to Jo! (July)

Book: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Oh, it blew me away. (November)
Re-union: With Niru in Bombay! I'm SO glad you came! (February)Realisation: Ooty is BEAUTIFUL and I will never get enough of it! Holiday: With family in Nagpur (December)
Photo: The mischievous school boys at Coimbatore bus-stand... (October)

Activity: Taking photos during K'SCOPE 2008 (September)

Sunset: Nagpur Sunsets are just gorgeous! Maybe because you can actually see it cause there are no tall buildings all over the place. I've really enjoyed sitting on the balcony at my uncle's place and watching the sun go down leaving behind breathtaking twilight colours. (December)

There's so much more but that could take a while.

Your mercies are new every morning, Lord.
I thank you...
For the abundant joy.
For lessons learnt.
For friends.
Family
2008.
You.

You humble me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You Are Big.

Nagpur is so gloriously quiet and empty for miles and miles. It's shocking after Bombay where its hard to find an inch of empty space. This is my Christmas gift from God - Silence, Cool Weather and Sunshine, Family and Empty Spaces. Thank You.

“And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” - Luke 16-20

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

"When Christ entered our world, He didn't come to brighten our Decembers, but to transform our lives."
- Rich Miller

Miles To Go (Ooty Trip Part 5)

There's something about Sepia that colour photography can't do. I'm not sure what it is - but I LOVE it!

At Cafe Coffee Day, Ooty - we were having an animated conversation about something; no idea what!

These beautiful benches were placed outside the tea factory
"the woods are lovely, dark and deep"

ring a bell?? if not - read the poem below.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Cuppa Tea?

Some photos from trespassing in the Brooklands tea gardens in Coonoor - a 45 minute drive from Ooty.

And a visit at the tea factory in Ooty where they show you how its really done and then give you a hot cup of chai-tea at the end of the tour and twist your arm into buying some of that delicious tea and souvenirs...

You can't really tell but I'm being all daring and standing on a high rock and everything. Hee hee. "I'm on top of the world!"

The Hills Are Alive (Ooty Trip Part 4)

After the long train journey from Bombay to Coimbatore and breakfast with the bloggers we hopped onto a local deluxe bus which would drive us up the winding roads upto Ooty for a Rs.60/= We were pretty impressed by this cause we were expecting it to cost more... We voluntarily sat three to two seats on this journey - I'm not sure why. We did pay for 5. I think it started with wanting to take a photo or because the view was good on this side and then we just stayed that way till we reached Ooty... Here's the part that baffles me. I lived in Ooty for 5 years while I was at school at Hebron and I've done this road-trip... let's see ummm atleast 8 times each year - once up after the summer holidays, down during the ten-day break in october, up after the break, down for the christmas holidays, up again after the holidays, down during the easter break, up after the break and then finally down for the summer holidays. Yeah, that's 8 So 8 times 5 - that's about 40 times! Plus the couple of times that I went up after I graduated - add another four. 44. And yet until I went up again this time with Jo, Sonu, Antu and Sharan somehow it was like I was noticing how gorgeous those hills are for the first time...

civilisation meets nature

beautiful waterfalls in the mountains

walking in the clouds