Udaipur - the city of lakes..

 ..and of amazing humans. We toured Udaipur and some neighbouring cities during the Diwali break. It was a 10 glorious days of mountains and lakes set in ochre land, of  palaces and forts steeped in history, of ancient temples and modern museums, of saffron sun-rises and vermillion sun-sets. There was never a dull moment as we spent all our waking hours taking in the sights, shopping for local crafts, enjoying cultural shows and savouring local and foreign cuisines. Yes, as always, for us it was gluttony before all else. 

There is so much that the three of us can talk about Udaipur- it was one of the rare vacations which each one of us termed as the most fulfilling experiences since COVID locked us up. I want to talk about the people of Udaipur. The city is known for its exceptional hospitality and that can be credited, in no small measure, for the huge inflow of foreign tourists. Every person with whom we interacted, left us feeling warm and welcome. That said, we still had a couple of unique experiences which warrant a mention. 

1. On day 1, we visited the City Palace. I had managed to get a nagging headache on my way from the airport, nothing new there. The palace was less than 1 km from our hotel. We bought tickets at the counter at about 1.30 pm, spent the afternoon marveling at the loveliness that is the palace and the sublime views of the city and lake from its various vantage points. My head started bothering me quite a bit by 5.00 pm and we promptly made it back to our lodgings for refreshments and a nap. Later that evening, we went for a cultural program close by- so enjoyable that it was the highlight of our Udaipur trip and I am grateful that we could catch the show. On the way to dinner, DH discovered that he was missing money. And it is then that we realised, 8 hours too late, that we had forgotten to collect the change at the City Palace ticket counter. It was all but a lost cause but we were about 200 meters away from the palace and I suggested that we try to get our money back. When we went back to the ticket counter, the staff had already left for the day. I explained my concern to the only person who was still at the desk. He took a few minutes to understand our concern and made a call to the person who had sold us the tickets, and put me on the line. I tried to recount our brief interaction during the afternoon in an effort to refresh the ticket-seller's memory of us. This man, not just managed to recall us but also confirmed that we had paid in excess, and requested the person at the desk to make a refund, while the husband and I gaped in amazement! I can't think of another place where this could have happened.

2. After receiving our refund from the City palace, we started looking for a suitable place for dinner. This being the first dinner in Udaipur, the husband was really keen on a traditional dal-bati-choorma thali. We spotted a few policemen patrolling outside Jagdish temple and I decided to check with them on the local restaurants. One gentleman policeman, Anil Kumar suggested Krishna dal-bati, presumably the most authentic restaurant which was about 5 km from our location. He even got an auto-rickshaw to ferry us to the place. We thanked him and his team profusely, boarded the auto and set off to Krishna. When we reached the restaurant, guess who we found at the venue! Anil ji had followed us to the restaurant to ensure that we reach the right place. He even confirmed the fare charged to us with the auto driver, lest we got overcharged. Over the next few days, while passing by  the palace or the temple, we met Anil ji a couple of more times, and he continued to guide us on our local excursions. 

Of lamp posts and academic success..

20.5.2022

Pari and I are watching a TV show depicting someone's inspirational journey from rags to riches. Both of us feel quite sad as we follow the lead character's struggle through endless hardships and abject poverty. It starts to feel really heavy, and I initiate small talk with Pari as a means to distract us from the show. 

Me: Pari, look how tough life is for this person. And he is not lone, this is the life for millions of kids around the world. 

Pari: Hmm..(uninterested and taciturn)

Me: (continuing despite no encouragement from the child) You see, how deprived he is? Just wait and watch how wildly successful he will become when he grows up. Success comes to those who beat adversity. What do you know? You are a privileged kid, lounging in aircon all day- at home and at school. 

Pari: Hmm..(knows where this leading to and evidently bored)

Me: The children who excel in all big exams are the children who study under a lamp post.

Pari: (suddenly, gets interested) theek hai.. to khareed do ek lamp post mere liye bhi!

(Alright, then buy me a lamp post too.)

I wonder if there is any point giving her any gyaan these days, or if my examples are just too dated to drive the point with kids.  We just go back to watching TV. 

Because we need a post everyday..

 ..even when I have no ideas or will to write, I will dig up a really old draft and make do with it. I had written this prior to living the last 1/3rd duration of my life. It is a complete post which never got posted for reasons I can't remember - perhaps I just felt too self-conscious to post it. No such hang-ups now. I take it as an opportunity to look back at my much younger self and smile!

3.2.2009

Life just keeps getting stranger.. wonder when I would know it all. My best laid plans go awry in such disappointing ways, and completely unexpected things turn so joyous. Last night was such a time, the latter one that is. It was our anniversary, and disheartened by the way the first two went off, I had no plans at all for this one. The day started early, unintentionally because we slept after midnight. I went to bed around 11.30pm and was trying to put the baby to sleep when the husband pulled out this little bag from the cupboard. It is his first gift to me since our wedding. I don't count the baby as a gift from him since she is shared by us and the rest of the family, and wasn't intentional to begin with. Well, I want a pair of platinum earrings much much more, but can do with a solitaire this time.

14 years later, that diamond pendant remains the only expensive, befitting-a-spouse gift that I have received from the husband. I certainly didn't imagine this at the time of writing the original post. I recall that at some point in our marriage, we just realized that exchanging gifts is an overhead which involves too much effort without commensurate returns in terms of satisfaction or happiness. We simply decided to discontinue the practice. We buy whatever we like, whenever we like for ourselves, without waiting for occasions or for each other. In summary, we have decommercialized our life events and it has served us well. 

The baby refusing to sleep that night, still refuses to sleep at a decent hour. However, we are not bothered by that anymore. She has an assortment of personal devices for company. And we no longer share a bedroom, bed or bedtime!

My fascination with platinum has declined in tandem with the decline in its price against gold. It is no longer perceived as the most expensive, exclusive, rare metal available for jewellery, and I no longer desire more of it. For the record, I have already passed on my platinum chain and regular-wear diamond pendants to Pari that she wears with pride.  

I have more diamonds and a bigger solitaire now, but none of it has been purchased by me. This is something that hasn't changed since. I continue to believe that I possess enough jewellery and only greed, not need can justify buying anymore. I still don't buy any jewellery except as gifts for others.  

My year in books

This is a post inspired by the erstwhile POTUS, Barack Obama, no less! End of every year, Mr Obama publishes a list of his favourite books for that year. Reading through his list, I started thinking of the books I have read over the past year. I had imagined that it would be fairly easy to compile my list as I don't read as much. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that smooth as I experienced several senior moments - firstly, not able to recall all the books, and then, not being able to determine whether I had read certain books during the current year or the last, duh! That said, following is the list of the books that I think I have started and completed during 2022, in no particular order, with my quick notes and rating. 

English:

1. A Promised Land - Barack Obama. Exhaustive & exhausting. The longest read this year. I found it worthwhile and enjoyable. 4/5

2. Will - Will Smith. Mediocre content but nevertheless, entertaining. 2.5/5

3. Beyond the Last Blue Mountain - A life of JRD - RM Lala. A quick, bordering on superficial, peek into JRD's extraordinary life. 2.5/5

4. Four Thousand Weeks - Oliver Burkeman. A satisfactory read with plenty of moments that resonated with me. 3.5/5

5. Never Split the Difference - Negotiating as if your life depending on it -Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz. Can't say I learnt enough negotiation tactics but I sure enjoyed Voss's stories. And to me, that was value enough! 3.5/5

6. Wings of Fire - APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari. A simple book, reflective of the simple yet exceptional person that Sri APJ was. Inspirational and fulfilling. 4/5

7. A man called Ove - Fredrik Backman. Emotional & heartwarming. 4.5/5

8. Anxious People - Fredrik Backman. Another story that makes the heart ache. 4.5/5

9. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman. I quite liked it. So you see the trend - heartwarming novels remain the closest to my heart. 4.5/5

10. Blandings Castle - PG Wodehouse. It is a PGW - need I say more?

11. Maus - Art Spiegelman. A graphic novel on holocaust. Always heart-wrenching, this is special because of the unusual approach. 4.5/5

12. Ikigai - Miralles and Garcia. Outstanding work. Worth its weight in gold! 5/5

13. Atomic habits - James Clear. I remember this being a good book, but it was early in the year and I can't remember most of it. Senior moments, here we go again! 3.5/5

14. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho. Repeat read, so 5/5

15. Sapiens - Yuval Harari. Repeat read. 5/5

16. The greatest works of Oscar Wilde - Wilde. The Oscar Wilde.. Enough said! 5/5

17. Down Under - Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson's insights on Australia. What is not to like? 4.5/5

Hindi:

1. Gaban- Premchand. Every word written by Premchand is 10/5 for me. 

2. Boodhi Kaki and other stories. - Premchand.

3. Roz Savere- Narendra Kohli - Nice read, the lack of breadth is compensated by the depth of writing. 3.5/5

4. Manto ki sarvashreth kahaniyan - Manto- Tad difficult to comprehend due to so many Urdu/Hindustani words. Awe-inspiring. 4.5/5

That's all, folks! I will edit the post if I can remember any more.

Welcoming the new year..

I want to do something creative in the last week of this year which can be used to segue into the next year on a high note. Writing a post every day for the next 30 days appears to be the simplest. It will also be an opportunity for me to finish the drafts that lay ignored for the longest time. As always, I will be drawing heavily on the inexhaustible fountain of wisdom, manifested as children in our family - Pari, my nephews and nieces. For today's post, allow me to make an exception and source my information and entertainment from the weekend's newspaper. Here is an excerpt of an interview with Charles Shobhraj from the Indian Express.

An absolutely informative and insightful read! Who could be a better judge of prison conditions across the world than a career criminal of international repute! I hope the readers of Indian Express, particularly those contemplating a stint in international crime, have filed the article for future reference. It sure will come in handy during their recce of potential crime locations. 

Of perfumes and personae

I am looking up perfumes online. Having successfully finished, mostly through spillage, the bottle of J'adore received in my wedding, I am feeling particularly adventurous and trying to find the perfect scent for me. My limited(read non-existent) knowledge of perfumes means that I have to rely on the perusal and interpretation of the subjective description given by the manufacturer. There is a factual description provided for each perfume too: top notes, middle notes, base notes, fruity, floral, wooden, citrus yada yada but perhaps, I will read that up when I am a mature user of perfumes. As of today, I have difficulty imagining how the smells of apples, roses, varnish(that is how wood smells to us) and lemons put together, stacked one upon the other in that order, will turn out. I want to ensure that the perfume suits my personality and reflects the woman that I think I am. The subjective descriptions are really helpful in this respect. I can choose to be a confident and emotional woman, or a young vibrant person. There is another that will project me as sweet and ready for a tryst with a romantic interest. Not sure if it will work on the existing husband or serve to attract new suitors - an extra-marital partner in my case. I think I will go with the first one - I am definitely confident(except when selecting perfumes) and somewhat emotional. And intelligent. Sadly, they are yet to discover the scent of intellect considering how none of the perfumes promise that characteristic. Before I can hit buy, I see another perfume which reflects the ultra-modern woman. Oh, that I most certainly am! I am considering buying this one in addition to the perfume recommended for confident and emotional women, and then layer it on top. Wearing both the perfumes together will reflect my persona to the extent possible. 

 I see Pari sitting around uselessly, playing games on the phone. I ask her the rhetorical question, more to distract her and give her eyes a momentary break from the device, than for actual advice. 

M: Pari, should I buy a perfume? 

P: (looking at the phone) hmm..

M: Which perfume do you think describes me the best? 

P: ?? 

M: What kind of woman do you think I am? Am I a confident and emotional woman, or a young vibrant one? Or would you consider me an ultra-modern woman? I want to buy one that reflects my personality, by matching it with the description on the website. 

P: Mumma, I think you are a very gullible woman.(goes back to her game) 

I think I'll just ask the brother to pick another bottle of J'adore from the airport aisles on his way to India.