Happy Birthday Memeeeeeeeeeeeeee

March 31st is one day that I cannot forget in my life. Not because it's my wife's birthday and she is scary when I forget dates...No :)

Our lives are made up of tiny little moments. And who want to miss those for any reason? We certainly not :)

The specialty of this time birthday was the customized song from Isaac, which he was practicing for months - "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"...

PS: Thanks a lot to Lilly Chechi for the wonderful Pineapple cake with rich caramel topping...Must say that it was a wonderful creation.

Beautiful pineapple with rich caramel cake from Lilly Chechi and walnut coffee cake with a sweet heart for my dear...

Ani had a tough time to control Isaac's hands :)

Gift handover ceremony by Isaac..

Memories in Motion

Pagoda Point

The last place in Yercaud we visited. More close view to the population down the hill. It was beautiful to watch the houses like match boxes.

Ani made a remark on the creation of GOD. The view from here made us humble. How tiny we life forms are...

Resting In Anna Park

Not a big park or place to visit. About 1/100th of Lal Bagh. But the specialty are the trees inside. Why because, by the time we reached this place, we were so tired after long walking and trekking. And so the park turned out to be the best place to take some rest.

Boating At Big Lake

We wanted to lose some calories from this ride. And so we opted for the cycle boat. Rode the boat in awkward directions in full strength. Did we over took the speed boat? :)

Ani is afraid of boating. But this time she had full of confidence as the life jackets seemed to be in the best condition.

Had a halt in the middle of the lake. A nice place to spend.

Walk In The Rose Garden

This place is something you have to visit, if you like flowers and gardening. The harvest just got over and so we couldn't see that spectacular view, but still the nursery served the purpose.

If it was in Bangalore, a single flower would have cost 50 rupees minimum. And we got it for 20. Ani bought 4 varieties from the group.

The specialty of the garden what I felt is that, it's full of trees. But maintained well. Cool shades and lush greenery around, refreshed my mind. 

Walk In The Woods

This is on the way to the Rose Garden. You will not go wrong in your path as the stones are laid all the way down to the garden. But we did not stay in the course. Took several diversions to click pics.

And it was well maintained place that it made us to spend considerable amount of time inside.

Rose Garden View Point

Three different platforms for spectacular sight seeing. This is a very well maintained space. There are some works still going on. The authority is in a busy schedule to welcome and accommodate the season.

Gents Seat View Point

We found this really interesting. The view points seemed to be a family. The three view points which were close by were named like this:

• Gents Seat
• Ladies Seat
• Childrens Seat

Will not disappoint any of the group :)

Way to Gents Seat & Rose Garden

Moments At Sterling Rock Perch Hotel

The resort gave us the best of the best exercise. Climbing down and up the resort made our legs cry :)

The view was stunning. And so the structure was. The resort is constructed on the slope of the mountain range. As Ani told: That might have been a heaven of a project.

Stunning Views From A Height of 1500 meters Above Sea Level

What a view...The real signature of GOD's touch on nature

Embracing The Nature

In photography, the one feature I really like is the macro shot. A close look into the beauty of everything around. This time too, the flowers and the trees, the beauty of nature, got into my canvas.

Ani too started loving the macros, the below has some pics contributed by her.

Freeing The Mind

Reading newspaper early in the morning - did not happen for a long time in my life. But after the sunrise walk, when I reached back at the hotel, there was a good collection of newspapers. Thought of reading it for some time.

The room boy came with a hot steamy coffee. Enjoyed each sip and the serenity around.

Walking Around

Wanted to walk around for some time, enjoying the greenery and that special violet color flower, which was almost everywhere in Yercaud.

On the way back I noticed that the car windshield was blurred with the fog. And did the same, what everyone else does in that situation - scribbled some texts on it for fun :)

The place was so calm that, I couldn't find any other tourists around. Felt like the whole place was only for us. And that’s was the best part of the trip.

Sun Rise at Yercaud

We reached the resort by 12:45 am. Got the room in five minutes and immediately settled to embrace the bed. We were totally tired by the hair pin bend drive. 

A totally different place and atmosphere. A real feeling of vacation, away from the same usual daily life. The feeling was wonderful. 

While I travel, I prepare my mind to experience the best of that place.  Mind creates that mood. Even the minuscule things around will feel special then. And the feeling is priceless.

The place around was quiet, chilled and peaceful. Kept the alarm at 5:30 am and slept like a baby in that tranquility. 

Got up  by 6:00 am. There was an urge from inside, to get out of the bed, which usually never happens on a typical day, but always happen on a vacation. Rushed out of the hotel to walk around, to feel the Yercaud morning. Unlike the vehicle horns, the sweet talks of birds around welcomed me. It was so soothing to be around then. Fresh air kept hitting my lungs, which chilled me from the inside. I decided to walk for a few distance, towards the mountain edge, to see the spectacular view of the city. The city was still sleeping then and the white colored fog covered it like a quilt. 

Wondered and enjoyed the beauty of the nature for some time and walked back to the hotel, which presented me with the wonderful sight of sun rise. Every time I watch the sun rise, I feel like the duck egg yolk rising up. The orange color is so intense, that I tried to capture it in my frames. Enjoyed the view for some time and walked back to the hotel for a coffee.

How can I describe that feeling which I went through? I don’t know…

I can see you through the woods...

Yercaud Hair Pin Bends

We planned for Ooty trip and cancelled it because Ani was afraid of Hair Pin Bends. But she missed out the fact that Yercaud too has a similar journey trail. On the way to Yercaud, when her daddy told her about the bends, she lost all the confidence. Was afraid about the journey. However we made it with the grace of GOD and now she is not at all worried about the bends. Now Ooty seems to be an approved destination from her :)

From Salem to Yercaud, around 25 km stretch is an uphill climb. And the time was around 11:00 pm and by the time we reached the hotel, it was 12:45 am. We switched on the GPS on the way, which was the only help for us in the whole journey. Not even a single life form around at that time expect a couple of vehicles came by.

The moment Ani saw the route projected by Google Maps; it was far more interesting :) See the map below.

On the way back from Yercaud, we drove down the hill by 2:00 in the afternoon. I felt like riding during the night time is safer than compared to the day time. At least we can expect the vehicles with their lights then.

Leaving all the above facts aside, the view from the top - STUNNING. The well illuminated Salem city, it was a breathtaking view...Resorts all the way, and tempting flora/funa...It made us to enjoy & wonder at the magnificent work of the GOD with the nature...

Eye Camp Experience

Initially I thought I am doing it for the company. However I realized later that it was something I always wanted to do. I might not be doing a great thing there. Might be writing the name of the students and their age on a piece of paper. But I do it with such happiness in heart. And when each students comes to me and when I tell them to go to their class by slipping a chocolate in their hands, that's the best moment :)

Am I alright, Doc? 

Clinic on the wheels

Waiting for their turn for the eye checkup

On a mission that matters...

Responsibility

Giving back to the society is always a responsibility. And I am proud to be a part of an organization, which values this perspective. And am happy for that opportunity to interact with a wider group of upcoming promising generation. They are the miracles of tomorrow, a generation who brings out wonderful changes around...

Sweet Weekend

Ani wanted to go for boating. But the plan got changed as Jeeju and Cechi got late. And we thought of visiting the new mall near by - Inorbit Mall in Whitefield. And the one reason why I loved that place is - calmness. There wasn't much people around. And we had a wonderful time shopping. Jeeju was kind of mad and was unable to control his shopping spree.

Wonderful time with Isaac and my dear ones...

Valentines Dine Out

That was a quick plan. Me and Ani planned for a dine out. When checked with Jeeju and cechi, they were also interested for the same. And then, after long trials of getting a car parking, we got into Nandhini Palace Hotel in Kammanahalli.

 

Might be the valentines day special, all the items we ordered were extra spicey. Jeeju's face turned red, which confirmed the dish speciality :)

 

Isaac was excited to meet new friends around. He has learned to click photos around in Ani's camera.

 

We loved the pic with Isaac with his special hug. And now blogging the dine out from Jeeju's house.

 

 

Have to go for a nice sleep. Feeling so tired today. If I embrace the bed, am sure, I will fall into the deepest sleep I had in the fast few months.

 

Hope all had a wonderful V-Day. Good Night.

Playing around with Adobe After Effects

All of a sudden I got interest into After Effects and immediately downloaded on to Simy Cechi's Laptop, which has the highest RAM capacity (4GB) in our lappy group. But the moment the application was up & running - it showed on the bottom toolbar - '76% of the RAM used'. It was tough to play around, but still made some promo videos.

Again A Thrilling Game

Played indoor cricket from last week. There are some really active guys in the group, who loves cricket. I mean mad about it. So we decided to go for a game. But with the at-most interest during the game play, it went up to 4 rounds. It was trilling & fun...

I am on the pitch after several years, 5 years. And one day of intense game (4 wickets and 0 runs, when I went to congratulate my counter part, they stumped me out. Cant blame them anyway), going through severe body pain. 

Have captured around 7 minutes of 3.5 hours game play. Wonderful moments...

Wonderful Weekend

The best part I loved this weekend - Continuous listening to God's word. And this was a week of celebration too. Pastor's wedding anniversary and his father, Jose Anathanam's Birthday celebration. Wonderful and blessed men of God...

Really good time with Ani, Chettan, Cechi & none other than my dear - Issac.

And worked on the portfolio website. I wanted to create a responsive site this time and its done.

Looking for a wonderful weekend ahead. With a thankful heart to my dear Jesus.

Let Us Eat Cake

That was a wonderful creation from Ani on this new year. A cutie decorated, colorful cake!!!

And it turned out well and good. 

Tasted yummy!!!! Thank you dear!

And the best part: Being a developer, she couldn't even start the make without a design document :)

New Year Service At Church

What is greater than getting into a new year by worshiping the name of Jesus. I enjoyed that great moment yesterday. And it was so beautiful...

Listening to the word of God, with the well wishers and lovely kids, thank God that I did not miss that moment. When it was 12 am, everyone wished each other with wonderful joy and love. Indeed a wonderful moment for me and Ani.

New year gift from the kids were really cute. And I really enjoyed the happiness on the audience face while they enjoying the dance - Priceless!!! 

Excited they are!!!

Have a wonderful year ahead in God's mercy & blessing...