My family really doesn’t know what they are missing. It’s not as though I didn’t try. The plan was for all four of us to come here but, the first hurdle was to align dates of four people living in the same house under the same surname, probably as difficult as achieving celestial harmony where Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn align. (The next such alignment is due on 25th January 2025, make a note, must watch!) One reluctant team member (no prizes for guessing who) tried endlessly for days to coordinate this collaboration. Dates were finalized, changed, & re-changed to suit everyone. The decision-making for the destination was left to our offspring. Big mistake. In the span of a couple of hours, we traveled the world. From Rishikesh to Sri Lanka, Bali to Goa, Hampi to Pondicherry, and many more exotic places, we went back and forth in our heads. If this travel were counted in miles, it would have taken us halfway to any one of those destinations. After providing more options than the 20-course tasting menu at Noma, or a hypothetical 100-course menu, my prodigal son, without ceremony, announced he didn’t want to go anymore. And immediately, the other son followed suit, as did the father. “Let’s chill at home together,” they said. Together? The last time I saw all of us together was in the Diwali photograph. Upset would be the understatement of the century to describe how I felt. So, I decided to go alone. But a decision like this does not come without its moral dilemmas. Ranging from doubt (Should I go? Or shouldn’t I?), guilt (How can I go alone without my family?), to major guilt (How can I spend so much on myself?). I’m thankful to my parents for giving me middle-class values, but the problem is, those same values often undervalue me. According to them, anything besides food on our plate, a roof over our head, & clothes on our body is an exorbitant indulgence, and definitely invalid for a woman who chooses to travel alone without her family. “What will you even do alone? How will you enjoy without your family? Isn’t it too expensive for one person? What a waste, it would’ve been so much better with everyone.” …continue to read in comments 👇
Then it was only about now. And now it’s all about then. @tajcorbettresort @elevenupindia @p.munola #WildernessCalling #TajCorbett #TajWildernessEscape #RejuvenateAtTajCorbett #Travel #Wildlife #Holiday #TravelDiaries
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
The year end posts/stories almost seems like a norm and as I was selecting pictures for this post I realised how rich and dense it has been. This year has been like the places I visited. Deep seas, rushing rivers, high mountains and dry deserts. All in one. I have experienced the depths of pain ,the height of exhilaration, dry arid spells of nothingness and the gushing fullness of life. It’s had me lose and find myself in equal measures but most importantly it has made me grateful for all that I am blessed with. I wish and hope and pray 2025 keeps all of us loved, happy, healthy, safe, adventurous and blessed A very very happy new year to all of you and your loved ones. P.S: I was the first to wish you! 😁❤️
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The Ganges. ✨ #SheExplores #SheTravels #Ganga #GangaRiver #SheWrites
Love you my sunshine baby more than I can show and more than you will ever know. Bad it’s really just as simple as that. ❤️❤️❤️
How many til ka laddus are too many laddus, there’s no counting here till you reach The one that’s meant for you or the ones you are searching for. My mom and grandmom used to get a small sigdi specially for this. They used to put it onto the kitchen floor with a big kadhai and mix the sticky mixture of til (sesame seeds) and gudh(jaggery) with might and mind. The consistency couldn’t be too easy to manipulate neither too stubborn to not be malleable. And while it was hot they would roll it into balls of sweetness, festivities and celebrations. I was allowed to be a part of this rolling with joy process, until it came to a special few laddus which only they made and I wasn’t a privy to. Mom and ma (I used to call my Nani Ma) would roll this mixture around a coin of any denomination until it was invisible. 1 rupee or 25 paise or a 5 rupee coin would be deeply embedded in the laddus no trace of it on the outside. And all the kids got one of those laddus as a surprise gift. Considering they were made and stored in my kitchen until they were distributed gave me enough opportunity to go through multiple laddus before I found one with a coin. Careful to not bite too hard, I didn’t want to break a tooth biting into the coin, chipping at it bit by bit, Hands sticky with a sweet fragrance of sesame, licking fingers and the coin clean before washing it and putting it in my piggy bank. And then there was puran poli, or rassam and lemon rice or sarson da saag and roti. One of those few days in the year when various festivals are celebrated together. Pongal, makar sankranti, bihu, lohri. And what better way to celebrate than with food. Sharing the flavour of various homes and making it a part of your dna not very different from your neighbour’s. Continuing in comments… #HappyMakarsakranti #HappyFestivities #SheWrites #Festivals #unityindiversity
