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How to Get More Out of Koh Samui on a Budget – Part 1
Just weeks before our first marriage anniversary, this March, Tathagata and I found ourselves in a headspace to plan a short (somewhat weekend) trip somewhere nearby. A lot of research was done, a lot of suggestions were taken and quite a few destinations were listed in our memory notebook. But somehow none of those seemed to work out, there was always an excuse to strike each one out. In the end, we decided to drop it. Quite surprisingly (not!), a month or so later, on a Sunday evening, we ended up sitting side by side with a laptop, my debit card in hand, at the final step of booking a…
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Familiarizing with New Roots – A Visit to a Quaint Countryside
I am a god-fearing woman. I’ve been a believer for 28 years now. I believe faith is that littlest ounce of hope that pushes us to rise from the ashes of our deepest and darkest times and makes us better human beings. My faith in God has helped me find balance in life and answers in the most difficult situations. And this faith, I believe, stems from our roots. From the moment I moved into my new home, I’ve felt my in-laws’ devotion to their roots. I’ve watched them draw strength and inner peace from their belief in the God of their roots – Lord Gobindo (Krishna) and Radharani. The…
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Of Family Get-Togethers and Homecoming
I have grown up in a nuclear family. Maa, Baba and my wandering imagination. That has been my world till early 2018. And then I got married. My marriage unlocked a whole different world for me. A whole new world of relationships. I married into a large family – large enough to make the number of fingers I have seem too less to count all the siblings (let alone aunts and uncles and grandmothers) I was suddenly surrounded with. Oh my! A family too big to fit into one large house. And they were all mine – mine for life. Gradually I started to see how well-knit my new family…
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I Caught the Spring Cleaning Bug + 1 Confession
Come March and my winter-sun-soaking heart starts to slowly and dreadfully make its way towards summer. Except for the bounty of mangoes that this season brings, there isn’t a thing that would put this awfully hot, sweaty season in my looking-forward-to list. Tathagata argues – he wouldn’t trade summer for anything. As we started stowing away the woolens for the season, I caught the spring cleaning bug. There’s probably something about spring and de-cluttering. I have always seen my mother cleaning, shifting and organizing her way through the house during spring. Perhaps she passed that onto me this year. Organizing my closet has constantly been on my mind since a…
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How We Ushered in Spring With Music and Colours
I live in a country that is home to 1.37 billion people and well-above 20 festivals per year. Trust me, we cannot imagine life without festivals. So naturally every time a festival walks through the door, we get together and welcome it with open arms. No matter how different the rituals are, one thing remains common – togetherness. These festivals have a sneaky way of bringing families together. No matter where you are, come those special dates and you would feel an overpowering longing for home, for togetherness. I think a family that celebrates together, stays together. On one such special occasion, 50 people from different walks of life…
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One Year of Marriage: When the Rubber Meets the Road + 7 Lessons
Our wedding was majorly two things. Magical and fleeting. I was so busy going from one ritual to the next that before I knew it, I was unwrapping gifts! I felt different alright but I was yet to grasp the true meaning of the 3-day long ceremony. While unboxing one of those gifts I realized that a wedding is both, an end and a beginning. The end of a nerve-racking ceremony and the beginning of my marriage. When you are taking your 7 vows at the wedding altar, it is impossible to fully understand their gravity in the truest sense. You just sit side by side in front of the…
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Bali: Culinary Ecstasy
No trip is complete without food – local food, to be exact. And Bali conjured up dish after dish of mouth-watering delicacies with a pinch of yum and oh-so-much love. Being hearty eaters, we dug in. Our biggest culinary moments are all about gorging on exotic cuisines and we rarely say “No” – even if it is almost raw mussel. Our favourite things in life are big portions of food cooked with love and sunny days. Trust me, we are frugal that way. So while we were in Bali, we did what we do best. From fresh sea-food to drinks served in a treasure chest, we left no stone unturned. And today,…
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Bali: Hidden Gems
“Life keeps leading us on journeys we would never go on if it were up to us.” No matter where you are now, do this. Close your eyes and imagine sitting on top of a rock surrounded by lush greenery, listening to the pounding of a fierce waterfall only inches away from you and soaking in the water-laden breeze. This is what dreams are made of. And life took us there. No, actually Hari did. Life just played along. On Day 2 of our Bali trip, we realized that this island is way more than beaches and brew. So, we chased a waterfall instead. Turns out, in the heart of…
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Bali: Lessons on Religion & New Friendships
On the edge of a vivid green rice field awash with the first rays of sunlight, a farmer offers a slice of his breakfast to God. He smiles as he arranges banana slices, bright yellow marigold petals, frangipani, a few grains of rice and a burning incense stick on a small tray made of palm fronds. As the fragrant smoke drifts along the slope, he prays for a rich harvest. Followed by a rhythmic sweeping of brooms to clean dwellings, the day is set into motion with gratefulness to God for driving away demonic spirits and a smile as bright as the day. Welcome to Bali, a province where respect…
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Bali: A Coffee Date to Remember
We’ve all been on coffee dates. But can you recall a date where you have tasted 7 different kinds of coffee and 5 different kinds of tea? Now I can. Welcome to Cantik Agriculture Luwak Coffee – where, of the many popular Bali gems, you get to taste Luwak, Salak and Arak. It was on Day 3 of our Bali trip that our white Fortuner pulled up in front of Cantik plantation. Kadek, our young and energetic guide for the day, informed us with a laugh that ‘Cantik’ means ‘cute’. He introduced us to our Cantik guide, a smiling girl with chubby cheeks. I couldn’t quite pronounce her name. She…
