Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • Weekend gifts.

    Welcome back!

    I never thought I’d be one of those people who look forward to a weekend because frankly for me almost every day is like a weekend  In fact my weekends are busier than my weekdays as I don’t have other people’s work schedules to work my day around.

    Last weekend began with 9 chocolate cupcakes made by Daughter No. 1’s school friend. This young lady is a professional pasty chef so need I say more? These are really the best cupcakes in town as are her other desserts.

    The weekend was spent in Pune where we shopped and shopped but didn’t drop. It was fun going through the crowded streets in bumpy rickshaw rides. Pune’s rickshaws are getting hard to comeby and a word of advise to any traveler to Pune : pre-book a rickshaw for a day if you intend doing some serious shopping as most drivers refuse to take you where you want to go. And as for hiring a taxi – forget it. The streets are too crowded for humans let alone cars.

     This weekend’s gift was this gorgeous break in my monsoon sky just as the sun was about to set! I’m sure after a really wet and grey week, we will enjoy some dry weather.

  • Happy Holidays Lord Vishnu

    Welcome back!

    Last week there was a sensational revelation in the papers : a huge fortune was discovered in the vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvanantapuram. This magnificent temple is priceless enough without this material wealth as it has the most gorgeous carvings and statue of the Lord. With such earthly riches at his disposal, it is no wonder then that Lord Vishnu can go on a four month holiday every year.

    Yesterday was the first day of  His holidays and He will be away till Kartik Ekadashi ( the 11th day of the month of Kartik, the eighth month of the Hindu lunar calendar). Ashadhi Ekadashi is a day of fasting and marks the four month period of austerity, prayer and watchfulness. Since Lord Vishnu, the protector of the universe is not around, it falls on us mere mortals to look after ourselves.

    While four months seems like a long time to go for a break, Anna Shetty reminded me while I prepared to observe this period  that when Lord Vishnu blinks it is the equivalent of a 1000 human years so how much does that make four human months in Lord Vishnu’s time? It is a minuscule fraction and surely He is entitled to that?Vishnu Anathashayanam Padmanabhay Temple Picture

  • Sky from Shang Hai

    I’ve just returned from a trip and still can’t get over the wonder that was China. There are really no words to describe this amazing country. The roads are cleaner and better than those I’ve seen anywhere else before, the architecture is amazing and above all the people are simply warm and caring. I loved the food in China especially the crisp green vegetables and the delicately spiced meats.

    View from the Bund during at sunset
    On our first evening in Shanghai we visited the Bund, the famous waterfront along the Huangpu river. Lined with majestic colonial buildings housing banks and famous hotels, these remnants of Western influence have now been dwarfed by the wonders created by modern China.However their beauty has been preserved and today one can walk down the waterfront which is cleaned up and free of messy fishing boats and appreciate the old “living architecture” interspersed with the grand statement made by modern China.: majestic, tall structures reaching out to the sky . These modern structures with  coloured glass glinting the sun have an almost surreal  beauty when lit up at night. As we cruised down the river we were treated to a night skyline truly unrivaled by any in the world.
    the Shanghai night sky
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