The Street Arts

Noticed this on the way to office. There are several ones on the way. Beautifully crafted city.

A Different Morning

Got up at 5 in the morning and simply gazed through the window and enjoyed the drizzle. Took a walk through the street at 7 sipping a hot coffee. 12 degree made the walk short.

The city is just waking up

Hot coffee made some sense finally.

The streets are so empty in the morning

On a morning walk

88th Birthday - Creative Way

Ani wanted to make her grand mom's birthday a bit creative. She came up with the idea on designing a fabulous 88th birthday invitation, a blackboard fact sheet, finger print impression tree, cute cake with an awesome caption and a wonderful dinner. Loved it!

View photos here

A Day Is A Blessing

Life is a perfect mix of happiness and challenges. Enjoying every piece of it(ignoring the unwanted ones), is a real blessing of God.

It was a long day yesterday. Work, home, birthday celebration - one of those memorable moments which gets added to the past.

Got up at 4:30 in the morning(which I never like) and dropped daddy at the central station(which I don't want to miss). Enjoyed a sip of tea from a near by shop on the way, bought a newspaper(usually never happens) and flipped through the main news, spent sometime walking in the near by park and drove back home. Wonderful morning!

A good smile is so powerful (like a medicine)and fresh. When Ikey gets up in the morning, he looks at everyone and smiles like he does it for the first time. It is from the heart and it touches everybody around.

Spent sometime with him at the balcony. He was so playful and vibrant.

What if everybody had these innocent baby smiles from the heart? No way. For us it is just another day to conquer(?)...

You will be missed

Ammama - seriously it was an early departure. We all miss you.

Looks Like a Banner? It's Nappy

I delayed this post for a very long time. It was so late that this became an action item in my To Do list, tracked  by Ani. And when Ani tracks it, it is recommended to finish this at the earliest for a good sleep :)

The picture above might look like a banner decoration for some peace related conference. So well arranged on a string and perfect triangle shape, there is nothing wrong if you think that it is for decoration :) Those are the nappies undergoing the usual washing process by Ani.

It is so comfortable to handle Ikey in the diapers. So comfortable that I don't have to worry about changing it every 6 hours or so. I can handle him so easier without fearing the natural leak every other minute.

And so when Ani came up with the nappy plan, I rejected it vehemently that Ani had a tough time to convince me about the benefits of using the nappies. Being a loving father, all those 'comfortabiltiy' facts lured me into using the nappies for Ikey. 

It is fun to watch how Ani treats all those nappy collection she has. She washes it every day and sun dry it like given in the picture. Once dried, takes it one by one, fold it so beautifully and keeps it in a stack. She loves to do it. Sometimes I even felt that it is her hobby.

This made my life easy. When playing with Ikey, all I have to do is to keep this nappy stack next to me. When he leaks, throw the old one to a bucket and pick a new one and continue. Washing, cleaning and drying all belongs to Ani.

I did realize the fact that how she makes my life easy now :)

Happy For Them

Owning a house is not just a thing. It is a miracle when God bless with the best of the things.
And I was glad to join my dear ones yesterday for their house dedication. Happy for them!

Thunder, Lightning & Little Bit Of Rain

Bangalore is chilling these days. It was getting hotter last week then the rain blessed the place. Evenings are great now. That look of the sky when it is about to rain, I love that.

To beat the traffic and to reach office in less than 15 minutes, I travel on scooter these days. However not a good option while it rains. It's not that I don't like to drive in the rain, but by the time I reach home, the dirt paints my cloths and my face, which I hate.

So decided to switch between the car and the bike, based on the weather predictions. However, that didn't work. It doesn't rain when I take the car and when on Scooter, it rains :)

Once reach back home, Ikey will be eagerly waiting for my arrival. He greets with a great smile and then we give mom some rest.

The best thing what we love is to watch the rain from the balcony. That cool wind and the little touch of water on our face, we enjoy that. Even though Ikey doesn't know about the rain and other stuffs, I often educate him on it.

It is raining outside now and I can hear the thunder. I am going to have a wonderful sleep today. Sleep + voice of the rain - a very great combination. I hope that am not the only one out there, who enjoys it.

Another Sweet Day

I had my first birthday since Ikey arrived and now Ani had the chance. Happy to be his parents and for this wonderful day!

Salt, Chilli and Mangoes

Year end vacations aka summer vacations were awaited with much anticipation during our childhood days. This is the time where we indulge with friends and games followed by activities like swimming and mango harvesting etc. 

Oh yes - mango harvesting from any tress which came in front of us were fun. Doesn't matter to whom it belonged to. No one complained about plucking couple of mangoes from their trees during the summer time.

And we had our own and widely accepted recipe to eat mangoes. Make salt and chilli powder mix, dip the mango in it and enjoy!. Wink your eyes due to the extreme sourness from the fresh mango and continue to eat.

It is still the best way to enjoy fresh Kerala mangoes.

Ani wanted to go back to the above memory lane when we saw bunch of mangoes all around. And it was great to go back to the good old childhood days!

New Facts Of Life

Traveling to Kerala is always a much anticipated event for me and Ani now. The apartment life is so boring these days that we really need a change every two months. Then we drive down to our wonderful Kerala (except the climate >sweating<).

A run away vacation. However, this time it was more exciting for us as Ikey joined the trip. He has only seen the white roof and ever running fan since his birth. On Fridays and Sunday’s, on the way to the church, he will see some electric post through the car window. That’s it. 

He didn't have any idea on what fresh air means or how the sky look great through a tree filled backyard. So we decided to take backyard stroll on the day we reached Kerala. 

We spent an hour on the backyard, enjoyed the shades from the tall trees and got to know the flowers and lots of fresh air. Ikey enjoyed and smiled at us like never before.

Visiting Home Town For The First Time

That was a long awaited journey for us. Taking Ikey for the first time to our home town in Kerala. There were lot of people awaiting to see him for the first time. We were thrilled, but little worried on whether the journey will make him uncomfortable. However, he was all good and enjoyed the trip.

So it took 2.5 hours extra than we usually need to travel. We started off at 4:15 am in the morning. Wrapped him and assigned sift wise care from Ani and Mummy. 

Me and Ani enjoyed the drive always. In-fact, Ani was so excited as she is having the first long journey after an year. And that reflected. It was fun talking and discussing various things in this world, all through the journey. 

Mummy used to be uncomfortable during the car journey. However, as Ikey was in her arms, she forgot about everything else. Engaging him and telling him about the things around, she too enjoyed the moments.

Surpassing the Western Ghats and approaching the Tamilnadu-Palakkad border, lies this signage. Welcome To Kerala State. 

This was the primary character in our journey's photography script. Ani noted this before and suggested to have a click with Ikey at this point.

The sad part is that it reminds how things are kept under ignorance by the Kerala authorities. How much will it take to paint it and keep it clean? 

The one factor of Bangalore-Kerala journey remained the same. The pit-stop at Saravana Bhavan hotel. We didn't want to miss it for any reason. So we took a break...

The ultimate combination as far as I am concerned for breakfast. Fresh crispy vada + Ghee roasted pongal + signature sambar + Freshly grinded coconut chutney. Happiness!

The energy booster. After a 6+ hours of drive, this coffee does the magic

Ani's favorite Ghee Roast + Sides

Mummy's Favorite Masala Dosa + Sides. I tried to click the masala mix inside :)

Ani is never happy with her first order. So came the second one. The pyramid ghee roast + sides. 

I never ignore a good restaurant nor forget to appreciate. Long live!

On the way, Ani noticed a palm fruit seller. Her grandma loves it. And she wanted to get some for her. So a pit-stop which is not in the script.

Showcased to lure in the customers. And Ani fell in it.

Practice makes a person perfect. He prepares the order in seconds.

I don't like this anyway. But Ani tasted it and said it was yummy. 

A special trip for us and for all our dear ones.

All Moments Are To Savour

Oh yes! Busy days going on. Busy at office, busy at home, busy with traveling. However, all these comes packed with tons of joy and happiness. The tiredness is getting over by being with the dear ones.

The Fun Parenting

Today is January 26th and while watching the Live Republic Parade in Doordarshan, with Ani, I was thinking about how our life got changed since Ikey came in to our life. 

Meanwhile, Ikey was enjoying his new gift from his Peppa, which arrived just then. That gave me sometime to ponder on some of the interesting facts, pertaining to him and us.

We both loved sleeping on weekends. Sleeping late nights on Friday's and getting up late by 11:00 AM in the morning. We enjoyed those moments. 

However, it isn't the same anymore. Our sleeping pattern's got changed. Now it is more disciplined. And we have to thank him for teaching us a tight scheduled life style.

A change in character is an obvious need when looking after a baby. While Ani improved with all the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, two of those gifts benefited me the most, which I had the least in my life.

I was telling Ani towards the coming of Ikey into this world - "I am not going to help you at the night time to take care of Ikey. I have to go to office and got work which are of high priority. I need proper sleep for my head to work just perfect. So don't expect me to get up in the middle of the night and help you."

And Ani said OK. 

However the things weren't the same as I thought. I realized the fact that that fatherhood factor inside me will not allow me to sleep, listening to all those sweet midnight music show happening around. So I began to get up, support Ani, help her with the diaper changing and all the other assistance required. 

That wasn't bad. I wasn't tired in the morning, not feeling any dizziness. It was just a myth and I lived with it for years. Man, I would have had a lot of productive time.

Nothing else matters these days for us, than watching him smiling while we spent time with him.

That is priceless.

Second Highest Bridge In The World

It was another busy day searching for a destination to visit. Spend an hour and planned 3 places to visit. Royal Gorge was the first one in the sequence. 

The main reason to visit this place? This bridge was the highest bridge in the WORLD till 2001, when it's position was replaced by the Liuguanghe Bridge in China.

I was amazed at this creation for all through the journey. A construction masterpiece by itself. Unlike the bridge in China, this isn't made of concrete, but with big chunks of metal, all over the place.

And can you believe the fact that this bridge was built in just six months. That was an amazing fact for me.

The sad part - in June 2013, the areas was destroyed by a severe wild fire. Almost the entire park and the facilities were burned to flames. Only the bridge stood the ground. 

The entire place looked deserted due to this event. Hope they will rebuild the old glorious day of this park.

Stroller Trial

Sometimes none of the positions work for Ikey. That is when I tried placing him in the stroller. Thought it might work, but he was very sad about that. 

Lesson learned  - It is not the time for the stroller yet. 

Diaper Changing Fun

Diaper Change - That is one thing my friends used to tease me when Ikey was close to come out to this world. 

To be frank, diaper change is not a tough job for me, except when it happens between some urgent work. 

Still patient and smiling, we make Ikey the happiest person in the world.

How to Grill & Bake fun on a Christmas?

Whats more fun than spending time together on a Christmas night. That is what we planned. Decided to do a grilling session for preparing the Christmas dinner.

Confirmed the menu the day before and Ani led the shopping for the items. 

Invitation & Menu

It was real fun to prepare the recipes for the grilling. Prawns, Chicken, Fish Fillets were all ready the day before. Perfect marination overnight.

The tough part as usual is to make the charcoal burn. We bought some Weber charcoal and lighter, which made the job easier compared to the last time.

The charcoal burned in few minutes, however cechi took all the efforts to make it burn :) Excellent job!

The prawns ready to grill on the skewers

Ani wanted to engage full heartedly to the grilling, however she did the complete job of marinating the items for us to grill.

Get smoked :)

Yummy prawns BBQ in the make

Fish Fillets

Encouraging the charcoal cubes in between

Veg Biriyani and Fish Fillets

Ready for dinner

Ani's creative shot :)

Ani tried the fruit cake for Christmas the first time. To be frank, it was awesome. The main ingredient is the wine soaked dry fruits. 

It was a real yummy deal.

Altogether a fun filled and joyous Christmas night...

When to grill next?

How to beat the Bangalore Winter

Grilling is fun

To be frank, climate is the main reason why I hate Kerala and love Bangalore. Climate, I can't compromise.

Many says that Bangalore is not the old Bangalore anymore. IT development and real estate is killing Bangalore at a faster rate (who is worried about it anyway).

Inspite of all these concerns, Bangalore winter is still good. It is a chilled December for me and Ani. While I enjoy the climate, Ani is not liking it much. Especially Isaac and mummy are facing troubles due to this climate.

It was on my birthday, Ani gifted me with a small charcoal grill set. I was excited to grill at the very moment. But for that I need to get some charcoal.

Took the bike and went around my place to get some charcoal. Nowhere they are selling it. Finally went into a BBQ restaurant and bought some charcoal for INR 60/kg.

Marinated the chicken with the traditional Tandoori Chicken recipe. And started the grilling by 9 pm.

But the tough part was to lighten up the charcoal. It took my life to make it burn as I didn't have the right tools to do it :)

Freezing cold outside, but the heat from the grill was so soothing.

However at the end of the grilling - satisfaction made me to SMILE.

BTW - the chicken was yummy :)

Getting grilled in the traditional way

Ready to savor...

Dallas Farmers Market Walk

This place was great to spent time

It was another weekend and while planing for the place to visit, Dallas Farmers Market popped out from one of the travel catalog. Decided to visit the place for one another reason - cooking.

Wanted to cook chicken curry that needed some fresh vegetable. Can see the place and get some veggies too. That was the real intention :)

That was a fantastic place to spent time. Clean and vibrant place. Spent almost three hours, visiting the stalls at the market, trying out the food and clicking the pictures around. 

The market consist of 4 huge sheds.

Shed 1

Local Farmers: sell their own produce grown within a 150-mile radius of Dallas. Farmers display a "Verified Local Farmer" designation.

Produce Dealers: resell refrigerated produce, including food shipped from out of state

Shed 2

Eateries, specialty foods, and food related products

Shed 3

Produce Dealers: resell refrigerated produce, including food shipped from out of state

Shed 4

Wholesale Produce Dealers: sell large quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit

Just got out of the farm - fresh :)

Home made vinegar

Tempting and yummy veggies called me to pick them up. However I controlled myself because of the limited travel budget :)

Those were so cute to watch. They shied in the afteroon sun light

Veggie varieties...

Deal of the day

Creative minded vendor with her stall

Yummy juicy Caribbean honey covered grilled chicken...Heavenly...

After almost 3 hours, got out from the market and took a stroll around the place.

The neighborhood 

The signature gate 

Tractor prototype

A nursery next to the market. Well maintained, clean and extremely beautiful

More details: http://dallasfarmersmarket.org/visit/plan-a-visit/