Wednesday Wishlist #7: A Prayer

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When I was a very small girl, due to some reason, I used to be plagued by nightmares almost every single night. As a solution to this, my parents told me to keep a rosary (prayer beads) below my pillow before I go to sleep. And surprisingly, after that my nightmares stopped (mostly). And even more strangely, on days when I would forget to place the rosary, I would again have nightmares. The pious might call this a miracle and the sceptical might not even believe me. But logically speaking, I think that by placing the rosary, I simply believed that the nightmares would go away – and therefore stopped dreaming them up. On the days that I missed, my guess is that my sub-conscious mind was still aware of the facts.

So this is my earliest memory of me ever praying for anything – although my parents tell me that when we went for the interview during school admissions, I promptly ran up to a statue of Mother Mary and prayed, and that is what convinced the nuns to give me a seat! In any case, I eventually stopped placing the rosary because of laziness and instead resorted to saying a small prayer before going to sleep, which involved, among other important things, that I shouldn’t get a nightmare. Slowly this grew into a habit. Usually, I mumble a sleepy prayer as soon as I wake up, a hurried one as I am leaving the house and a habitual one before I go to sleep.  Plus of course, if I need something desperately, on special occasions or I’m either upset or exuberant over something, I do pray.  And by praying, I don’t mean that I stand in front of pictures or statues of deities and chant anything. I just close my eyes for a minute and say my prayers, wherever I happen to be. That’s it.  

I wouldn’t call myself extremely religious. I do believe strongly in my God but for a person who has parents who never ever miss Sunday Mass and in-laws who have a whole legion of impressive churches attributed to them, I lag a lot! For one thing I don’t agree with everything that the Church teaches, including its stand on abortion, contraception and evangelisation. For example, I feel that Christianity is to an extent, if not altogether liberal, towards women. But what is this concept that a woman should cover her head in Church in order to show that she is governed by a man??! I choose to assume that instances such as these are simply miscommunications and distortions that have occurred, over the hundreds of years that this religion has been in existence.  

So I guess that whether I am a well-balanced religious person or not, I am certainly not dogmatic or fanatic about it. But there is no denying that it does provide me with comfort, hope and guidance. I recently came across a small prayer called the Serenity Prayer – and it has quickly become my favourite. The prayer is a short one but I think that the most profound lines of it are:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference. 

Isn't this a lovely prayer? What more could one ask for? It is said to be written by Reinhold Niebuhr in 1943. And the best thing about it is that it is a religion-independent prayer - which means anyone, irrespective of their religious beliefs, can say it when they feel that they need some peace in their lives. 

This simple prayer is also my wish for this Wednesday's Wishlist.

Wednesday Wishlist #6: Travel the World!

P.S: I know today is Thursday, but yesterday was super crazy and so I couldn't put up this post on Wednesday!

Up until a few years back, I had not even ventured out of South India. Although we enjoyed vacations in the southern states, other parts of India and not to mention outside India were a mystery to me. Then I got lucky and was sent abroad for onsite assignments. And needless to say, I got bitten my the travel bug!

 The first country that I ever landed in outside of India was Dubai. I still remember lugging my luggage all alone through the never-ending Dubai Airport Terminals. Little did I know, that one day not so far away into the future, I would actually come and live here! (in Dubai I mean, not the airport!) Was the universe trying to send me a message? Who knows!

I wouldn’t really classify myself as a traveloholic. For one thing, I don’t really like to go to too offbeat or overly adventurous places which might require great physical exertion or survival in treacherous conditions – mainly because I really don’t think that I am that fit. Plus I don’t like to compromise on accommodation because to me a good place to stay is also part of a great holiday experience. So clearly I am not the kind of person that one might see in all those travel channels, replete with backpacks and shorts. Yes I like my comforts!

I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the different cultures and experiences I have been exposed to so far. I believe that travelling really expands your horizons and broadens your perspectives in life. Especially for someone like me, who led a totally sheltered life, it was a great learning experience, where I had to manage everything by myself. I would make sure to arrange a trip atleast once a month – and it was also a nice way to ward off any loneliness or home-sickness that one might feel in a foreign land.

My favourite place in the whole world is of course home, which is Chennai. But apart from that, according to me the most scenic and picturesque place that I have ever visited is Rhode Island. Sparkling, azure blue waters lapping away gently, rolling emerald green laws striking a vivid contrast, statuesque mansions looming majestically, white yachts bobbing up and down in the ocean far away and quaint lighthouses standing tall – wow I can still feel the sea breeze in my hair!

My most horrible vacation so far was a trip with my parents to Darjeeling. Not that Darjeeling wasn't good. But during our stay there was a sudden bandh and so we had to retreat to a small and sleepy town in the foothills called Siliguri. We couldn't advance our flight tickets and so were stuck in a dingy hotel room for a few days instead of prancing over lush hills. Pathetic!

I guess it’s obvious that I lean more towards natural beauty than man-made wonders, but I realize that man-made structures can also be breathtaking, as they bear testimony to the extent of talent, foresight, knowledge and potential that a human is capable of possessing.

Standing on top of the Empire State Building and looking out at New York, looking up at the lighted Eiffel Tower twinkling in the night, soaking in the charm of Goa, sailing in a house boat on the backwaters of Allepey, splashing in a mountain stream in Dindugal, trying not to get blown away in windy Chicago, visiting a Amish village in Harrisburgh, getting showered by pale pink cherry blossoms in DC, posing in front of the Hollywood sign in California, gambling away in Las Vegas, peering down the depths of the Grand Canyon, getting drenched by the spray of a roaring Niagara Falls, seeing Daffodils for the first time ever and bursting out into Wordsworth’s lines, riding a camel in the desert sands of Dubai, savouring the grandeur of the Taj Mahal on our Honeymoon, paragliding and skiing in Kulu Manali – every single trip has been special indeed. For me, every trip becomes memorable not only by the place itself, but also because of the people I was with and the lovely moments that I have shared with them.

I know that I have been fortunate to visit so many different places in this world. And yet, there are so many more places which I dream of visiting atleast once in my lifetime! So here is a list of a few such places on my travel wishlist: Starting from my mother country

Mumbai: I have heard so much about this resilient city and it is the only metro that I haven’t visited yet.

Image Courtesy: travelguidemumbai

Ladakh: Only recently did I discover this place when I was planning a trip for someone. Omg! So pristine! 

Image Courtesy: travelsulekha

Amritsar: One I have never been to a Gurudwara before but have always read about The Golden temple in GK class. Secondly I really want to see the Wagah border and the changing of the guards. It might probably be the closest I would ever come to even glimpsing Pakistan. 

Image Courtesy: tamarindtours

Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Always ready for beach vacations (except during tsunamis and cyclones!)

Image Courtesy: indialine

Conoor: I have been to Ooty & Kodaikanal but not to Conoor. I've heard that it is quite a captivating place indeed.

Image Courtesy: tamilnaduellamey

Now to places outside India:

Hawaii: Although I was in the US for some time, I never had a chance to go to Hawaii. Always wanted to experience the fun spirit of these islands. Mahalo, Mahalo!  

Image Courtesy: nashville247.tv

Egypt: One word - Pyramids. Enough said.

Image Courtesy: shoreexcursions

Switzerland: Swiss chocolates and snow – any objections!?

Image Courtesy: ceoworld

Sri Lanka - Now that the civil unrest is over, hopefully someday soon, we could hop over to this tiny neighbour, with whom after all we have so much in common.

Image Coutesy: hellotravel

South-East Asian countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. Mainly because I have heard a lot of stories from a lot of people who have visited these countries – and they are some of the cheapest foreign vacations to go to!

Image Courtesy: aycalifeclub

Image Courtesy: crystalinks

China: Just for the Great Wall! 

New Zealand: My friend Padma is the culprit behind this. She tempted me with all the beautiful pictures of this country! The natural beauty in this country is astounding.  A must!

Image Courtesy: breakaway

I see that I have left out 3 entire continents – Africa, Antarctica and South America. Well of course if an opportunity arises to travel to these places I wouldn’t refuse – but right now they are not really on my priority list!

So on this Wednesday Wishlist, I wish to travel the world!(or atleast many parts of it!)

What is your favourite place in the world? Which has been your most memorable vacation so far? Which is your dream destination? I would love to know!

Wednesday Wishlist #5: Lush Treats!

Generally I have horribly bad luck in competitions which require some amount of chance. Lucky dips, lottery tickets, housey/bingo games, wheel of fortune etc etc - nope. No luck. I hardly ever win anything in such games. (I hardly ever win in any other games too, but I digress.) Over the years I gradually stopped participating in such games altogether. Then a couple of weeks back, a newspaper called 7 Days was conducting a contest over at their Facebook page. A very simple contest where they put up pictures of Lush cosmetics and we are supposed to ‘Like’ whichever ones we fancy. Every day they would pick a random winner to giveaway a Lush goodie bag. I almost didn’t click and then thought “Well what the heck? I’m not gonna lose anything!” and clicked. And voila! Not only did I win bit I was also the very first person to win!! (By this time you should have already guessed that, right?? If I had not won, this whole paragraph would have been a completely meaningless ramble!)

So anyway, I was thrilled! I don’t know how many of you have heard of Lush but they are this wonderful fresh and handmade range of personal care products. I came across them first when I was working in England. The entire street where this shop was located used to smell lovely and one just needed to follow one’s nose to find the shop! I confess that I have satisfied my cravings by simply gawking at the display and have never bought any before because as with everything else, great quality comes with a hefty price tag! And I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money. They are also extremely environment friendly using minimal chemicals and limited plastics. Most of their products come without any packaging and whatever packaging is used is also to a large extent recyclable. So obviously when someone is sending me a free goodie bag of Lush goodies, what’s not to like huh?!

I picked up the bag over this weekend and it had a pretty gift wrapped box called “Hello Gorgeous!”. I couldn’t wait to get home and look inside. I eagerly opened up the box and then sat admiring all the lovely goods inside. This gift pack is kind of Japanese themed, starting right from the cute cherry blossom print packing. Inside packed in colourful packing peanuts (and these are also bio-degradable; how great is that?!) were:

(1) An heavenly smelling Bath Ballistics Bomb named Sakura, scented with mimosa, jasmine and orange blossom.
(2) A creamy Mmm Melting Marshmallow Moment Luxury Bath Melt which is supposed to make you “melt into a pink, fluffy bed of marshmallow and cocoa butter”
(3) A tiny tin of rich Gorgeous Moisturiser to “nourish, protect and rejuvenate”
(4) A bottle of Helping Hands Hand Cream to impart “instant softness for hardworking hands (moi!)
(5) And finally a pot of Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub with “sea salt and tropical flowers”

All this plus a discount coupon! Am I lucky or what!?

I already started using most of the products and am absolutely luvin’ it!
My only small grouse is that since the hand cream has linseed oil in it, my hands kinda smell like I have been oil painting the whole day! But apart from that they are simply superb!

I usually don’t use too many cosmetics simply because I don’t really know how to use all the pastes and powders. Instead of a sultry, smokey-eyed look I would probably end up looking like a cross between a human and a raccoon. Plus I am an extremely clumsy person blessed with butter-fingers and I keep dropping stuff all the time. Once I dropped a box of black, smokey–eye mineral powder all over my white tiled floor and spent a good half-hour, cleaning away stubborn traces of what looked like black soot.

But the concept, the products and the people behind Lush are soooo awesome that I definitely want to try out all their other marvelous stuff too. I am one sucker! But a sucker for some of the best things in life!

So on today’s Wednesday Wishlist, we have Lush goodies! you see, my wishes are not always deep and poignant - sometimes I wish for quite earthy stuff too - just like any other normal girl!
Okay now I am going to soak away all my cares in a warm, sweet smelling and surreal ball of marshmallow melt! Sigh!

Image Courtesy: www.makeuptemple.blogspot.com

Wednesday Wishlist #4: Where The mind Is Without Fear

The flavour of the month of August seems to be Freedom. Independence Day has just gone by. Against a backdrop of scams and corruption, an old man is igniting the spirit of patriotism among all Indians with his sheer courage and determination, not to mention debates and protests. In this scenario, a poem has been floating around in my mind. Everyone who studied in Indian schools must have come across this poem – and probably learnt it by-heart to write it out word-perfect in the exams or recite it on stage vociferously. Today, Tagore’s words seem as apt as they must have been all those years ago when he initially penned it. There are loads of things to complain about India. And yet reading these lines, brings forth a strange mix of longing, love and hope for the prosperity of my beloved motherland. It would be blasphemous to imagine my writing to be anywhere close to Tagore’s. So for my wish this Wednesday, I humbly echo his supreme words.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

-- Rabindranath Tagore

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Wednesday Wishlist # 3: Write A Book

Contemporary Indian writers in English are slowly changing the face of Indian English literature. Nowadays there are more and more books being published which are written, keeping in mind the average, educated and normal Indian that one happens to meet during the course of our everyday lives. Writers like Chetan Bhagat are said to have introduced many young Indians to reading itself. Tastes and choices have changed. Flowery prose and high-brow language are clearly not reaching the masses. Although those with a love of literature, myself included, do enjoy reading the classics and deep literary works of world renowned authors, I think that books with correct but simple language and with stories/incidents that everyone can connect with and relate to are what many people are looking out for. Whether this is for the good or bad one cannot say; but what one can say with a reasonable amount of confidence is, if you have an interesting story to tell and a fairly good way to tell it, there are people out there who are willing to listen to you.

I think that there is a secret, aspiring writer lurking behind every original blogger. Atleast there is one inside me - has been for a long time. There are new writers getting published almost everyday. I know that I could possibly self-publish, but come on! I am talented – I can find a publisher, what say ;-) Anyone interested? I’ll guarantee that I can probably nag and push and threaten and bully a minimum of 10 people to buy it! And after I sell all those books and become rich and famous, my husband will take early retirement and we will go and live at a charming little seaside cottage, happily ever after! (Although I do have my doubts about the happily ever after part. Oh well, we’ll deal with that later!)

I have no idea about what I will write but someday I will. And when I eventually do, you people out there, you better buy my book!

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Wednesday Wishlist #2: Swimming

I am a Piscean. Although, even after pouring over Linda Goodman’s books, the case whether I match up to all the Piscean qualities is open to debate, I still do belong to the Water sign. (Don’t get me started on the whole Zodiac-shifting-new sun-sign thing now please.) For the most part of my life, I have lived somewhat near to one beach or the other. I love going to the beach, love the cool breeze ruffling my hair and the lulling sound of the gushing waves and I love wetting my feet too. I think beaches are beautiful, serene and calming. So then, isn’t it a pity, that I haven’t learnt to swim yet?

Countless number of times, I have wished I could swim. Currently I live in an apartment in the desert (!) and even in Chennai, where I grew up, summers coupled with frequent power cuts are scorching enough. How jealous am I to see people going for a refreshing swim! Of course, I can go and stand in the wading pool and lamely look around - but how can it even come close to actually letting the water swirl around and envelop you, while you remain in total control of your body and your breathing!

So why haven’t I learnt to swim yet? I really don’t know. I tried a couple of times but I am simply terrified. I invariably panic and splutter and blubber and hold on for dear life to whichever poor soul is near me or to the walls/railings. And I hear that the most important point to learn swimming is not to panic. Sigh!

I am not afraid of flying (No silly, I haven't gone mad - I meant in a plane of course.) as such, but I have this irrational fear lurking within me, of flying over water. I always imagine the plane crashing and landing in water and me slowly drowning into the dark depths of the oceans. Okay, okay, I do realize that even if a person knows respectable swimming, he/she is also probably going to meet the same fate - as swimming in the ocean and swimming in the pool are two totally different things. But still!

Also what if I land up in a situation like Julia Roberts in Sleeping With The Enemy? (Hehe! AJ ut?!) Swimming would definitely come in handy, wouldn’t it ;-)

So on the Wishlist for this Wednesday: I wish that I knew to swim!

Image Courtesy: Dreamstime

Wednesday Wishlist #1: Cookbooks

I am a bookworm. Of all my hobbies if I have to choose only one, then it would be reading. I read almost anything and everything. When I had to live alone for months together without TV or Internet, one of the main reasons I survived without going mad was books.

I actually started reading quite by accident. My brother is also an avid book reader and being 6 years elder to me, he used to read/still reads a lot of books. At around 7 or 8 years of age, having a lot of idle time to kill, I started looking through the pictures of the comics that he had. It was a Little Archie book and I was so engrossed in looking at the pictures that my dad thought that I was reading earnestly and said something on the lines of “Good! You have also started reading. That is a good habit!” Having been thus (falsely) appreciated, I was too embarrassed to admit that I was only picture-gazing (Cmon! I was only a small kid!). But I felt a little guilty and so thought that I might as well read the book (See? I was a good kid.). And thus started my reading odyssey and from then on there was no turning back (the pages), so as to speak! Aside my school library, the first library I was a member of was Rajeshwari Lending Library on Kutcheri Road, Chennai. Later on I joined the Eashwari Lending Library in Gopalapuram – a small hole in the wall place, which has grown into quite a large franchise now! Every Saturday used to be ‘Library Visit Day’ and was eagerly looked forward to. If for some reason the trip got cancelled, I used to be terribly upset.

Starting with comics like Archies, Tinkle, Phantom - The Ghost Who Walks, Mandrake - The Magician, Spiderman, Superman , He-Man (you must understand that my reading choices were greatly influenced by my bro!), Casper - The Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich - The Poor Little Rich Boy, Jataka Tales, Panchatantra I think the first novels I ever read were by the quintessential kids’ favourite author Enid Blyton. (For a long time, for no apparent reason, I always imagined Enid Blyton as a guy.)

So then, after devouring all the Famous Fives, Adventurous Four, Secret Seven and even the Faraway Tree series among others, also boarding school stories like St.Clare’s and Mallory Towers, I went onto adolescent detective series like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Perry Mason, Agatha Christie and The Three Investigators. In between I also read loads of other stuff like Sweet Valley and a Tom-Sawyerish-series whose protagonist was called William, although I can’t remember the author. Then I grew up a little and started on Sidney Sheldons (and for a long time I thought Sidney Sheldon was a lady), Jeffry Archers, John Grishams, Erich Segals, Robert Ludlums, Ken Follet and Stephen King. Later my tastes diversified and now I read a whole variety of authors including J.K.Rowling, Paulo Coelho, Mario Puzo, Ayn Rand and the list goes on - much too long to list everyone here plus I'm sure to miss out on many! Also there were a lot of classics and miscellaneous books thrown in like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Gone With The Wind, Diary of Anne Frank, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and such fare along with all the non-details books at school such as Heidi and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Lately I’ve been trying to read more Indian women authors like Anita Nair, Janhavi Acharekar, Rupa Bajwa, Anita Jain not to mention a whole lot of time-pass magazines. I must say here though, that my brother’s and my tastes have grown quite apart over the years. Being the hot-shot banker that he is, he reads lots of boring (to me) finance, banking, and business related books.(I know you are reading this ;-)) On the other hand, my husband is also an ardent reader, but he refuses to read any non-fiction books. (You STILL haven't read the very first book I gave you! Hmph!!)

So coming to the point of this post. I had spoken about my love for cooking shows here. But for all my ramblings on how much I love books and cooking, I happen to own just a single cookbook, 'Cakes & Bakes', which I had picked up at some book fair. Much before I even started cooking, I had created a scrapbook of sorts, noting down recipes that I would like to try out alongside some drool-worthy pictures that I cut out from newspapers or magazines. Unfortunately, after I actually started cooking, I could not find that scrapbook :-(

After regularly blowing away a huge chunk of money on buying books, the husband and I decided to go frugal and enrolled at the Public Library here. So on every trip I make sure to pick up an interesting cookbook. One such book, I picked up was Anjum's New Indian, by the BBC celebrity chef Anjum Anand. I have not seen any of her shows so I wasn't sure about trying out her recipes but I did anyway. I must say that all turned out to be yummy! Although I did increase the heat quotient significantly as her chilli quantities seemed rather tame-more suited for the "firang" tongue! The book is organised into sections for Light Meals & Snacks, Seafood, Chicken, Meat, Vegetables, Beans & Lentils , Rice & Bread, Raitas a& Chutneys and Desserts. So far I've only tried out some chicken recipes (Sorry NS!) including Punjabi Chicken Curry, Black Maharashtrian Style Chicken, The Raj's Chicken Cutlet, Punjabi Chicken Curry, Goan Chicken and Potato Stew and Chicken with Pickling Spices but I soon intend to try out a few dishes from the other categories too.

Even with all the lovely cooking blogs that one can find at the touch of a button these days, I still enjoy cookbooks. I really like going through the list of ingredients and ticking them off in my mind and comparing the processes involved. But most of all - here I touch base with some primal, subconscious urge - I absolutely adore gawking at the pictures! And if they come accompanied with interesting stories or anecdotes, what's not to like!? Beautifully illustrated cookbooks are such a joy to behold!

And therefore, this Wednesday's Wishlist Item is Cookbooks!

A Fresh Perspective & A New Approach

The downside of having a creatively satisfying job is that I don’t blog that often as I used to. Usually when I go for a short period of time without expressing myself creatively, I have this compelling urge to blog. But having that urge met by my digital publishing job as well as my travel consultant one (now, now, don't be jealous!), I find that I am neglecting my personal space over here. Obviously lack of new and interesting content translates to a drop in the number of people visiting Abstract Admissions. And let me be honest. I do like having many people - some whom I know personally and some whom I don’t – read my (brilliant!) thoughts, laugh at my (witty) jokes, nod at my clever (!) insights and generally appreciate this little corner of mine in the vast and ever-widening blogosphere. I get so excited when someone drops a new comment and I am thrilled to hear from someone about their opinion on my blog. In fact, sometimes it even surprises me that there are other people out there who like reading what I write :-)

So this being the state of affairs, I decided that my blog needed more focused attention. Therefore from this week onwards, I intend to blog regularly atleast twice a week. For maintaining this discipline, I thought of choosing a couple of particular subjects that I can talk/write about every week. I pondered over Tip Tuesdays, but frankly I really don’t know any great tips and I would probably be shelling out some rather lame advice which everyone already knows anyway. I thought of Sexy Saturdays, but well, let’s just say that my knowledge is pretty limited there too ;-) Whiny Wednesdays? Nah, I crib too much already, without even having an allocated day for my complaining! After bouncing around many such great (!) ideas I finally settled on two: Wednesday Wishlist and TGIF.

Wednesday Wishlist, as the name suggests is for me to share anything that I yearn for. (No, not just 3 wishes-that is only if you are a genie). If you think that I am being a spoilt, greedy and ungrateful brat, think again. This is where Thank God Its Friday comes into the picture. Every Friday, I am going to count my blessings and write about one thing that I am thankful for.

So there! With this new (to me) approach, I hope to maintain a steady blogging pace. This would help me in improving my writing skills and help you read interesting (Yes I know I think too much of myself ;-)) stuff! Plus it would help me live a more meaningful life by truly realizing how blessed I am and help you lead a meaningful life by making you realize... er, what are the things that you could possibly gift me ;-) Smart, huh?!

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