Venus vs Mars

Being in a phase where we are managing a naughty toddler and a two month old infant , my husband and I hardly see any romance in the air. I guess every other couple who passed this phase would understand what i am talking about. So a couple of days ago, we got a small break with both boys tucked away to sleep. I grabbed my chance to tune into my favorite travel channel while hubby as usual logged into his laptop. Glued to our indulgences, i suddenly remembered this was our "couple time". So i gave the idiot box a pause, turned around to look at him and whispered "I love you!". Surprisingly he responds back ..."I do too...". We gave each other a good smile. He moved closer...and then...the moment stopped.
He showed me his laptop screen and said "See this, its India's latest missile..." ...or some other war weapon and is describing its design to me! .............well well well ...Where were we? :)

I could not but stop laughing and in my laughter he got my point as well thankfully! We both laughed for quite a while on that....but isn't this why they say Men are from Mars and Women from Venus? This is what our movies thrive on. We (XX) think onions and they (XY) deliver tomatoes. :) Applies vice versa too i guess.

An extrapolation of this is seen on the social media ....

An interesting observation that i have made in the last one week is that while most of the male friends on my network on FB are posting jokes about women drivers and their behavioral pattern,  the female section have been busy forwarding Brad pits mushy mushy blog about Angelina Jolie and their love!

Well, as far it is "Happys Endings" who cares where either of us come from anyway!

Indepedence day ?

I am not sure how I should feel this morning. Today I end a journey I began on Nov 18th 2002. Today would be my last day at my first job. Ironically, its Independence day!

I had just graduated and was preparing for CAT. Along that track, I had chosen to take a small diversion to attempt an aptitude test by Infosys on the previous weekend at Bangalore. The journey and skipping tests and classes at the coaching center for CAT,  mixed with my own carelessness  added to the fact that the results at mock tests in the coaching class for MBA was dropping. Dad was worried I was losing focus not concentrating on one thing. Still, I was glad I took that chance.

When I saw my name in the selected list I was first surprised! And then worried...I was so damn sure that I might not make it that I had not brought any of my books to prepare for the next step - the interview !  Luckily, I got my bible of electric machines - BL TEREJA in a bookstore close by. When I boarded the rickety BMTC bus of Infosys the next morning I noticed the people (employees) around me were quite disconnected! I mean... no one spoke to one another in the bus. Each one of them busy in their own indulgences - some on walk man, privileged few on mp3's, some reading newspapers , some engrossed in their books, the rest...happily sleeping off. I even mailed my senior in school who was already working with Infosys asking him how much a "ROBOT" he had become.

In the last 10+ years travelling in that same bus, I have become on of them...and I know the joy of tuning into radio to hear Vasanthi Hariprakash's "Good morning Bengaluru" ! Its as refreshing as the morning cup of tea. Can't give it a miss.

I was amazed at the "look and feel" of the campus  the first time I walked into the Bangalore DC for my interview. well if you think I remember anything about the actual interview ...I Don't! :)

On Diwali night, two weeks later when my mock tests were showing poor results, daddy and I sat down to discuss my future plans. It didn't quite end well like most of our discussions at that time. :) but a little while later when I showed them the invite email from Infosys , he was in tears! it must have been one of OUR family moment!

I remember the excitement when I boarded train to Chennai with daddy. My sister and I would fight so much all those years, but I saw the sorry tears rolling down those cheeks when she came to see off that day. My best of pals from college had also come (at various stations all the way through kerala) for a quick bye bye and to wish me luck. I felt glad to have such a grand see off, and sad moving away from my closest ones.

11 years from then, there has been many many keeping moments  Infosys has given me. A new city as my second home,  many new people, many different cultures, travel...a few friends who stood by me through good and bad, awesome roomies and last but not the least...a life partner! From a happy go lucky girl straight out from college, Infosys has groomed me into the person that I am today. And I do not think either of us messed up in this make over. :)
There have been bad times but no one sticks the rotten moments in their photo album.

Looking ahead, I don't know whether I will board the same train again, but this journey is for keeps. I am definitely going to miss a lot of things out there. Quite a lot! 

I took a break from the typing, I take a look at my 2 month old, Gautham, and he smiles and coos back at me. Brings the smile back on my face. A new journey begins...



PS: pardon the spelling errors and the grammar mistakes if any. I haven't had time to proofread!







 

Home Alone....

Sometimes its the best anecdote...at least it works for me. To burn out the stress, to think and to have time of your own...to rediscover the energy within. I believe that I am my best friend. There is no other person who understands or can solve my problems better than Me, Myself.

Of course there are buddies whom i rely on for almost anything under the sun, but then there are times when you find help yourself too! It is one such day...among many. May be , Mal was right when she said i love to brood and sulk and am a bit of a loner. When the doors shut, its just shut. No one but I am allowed in. But the brooding gives me way to think and to find the energy to fight back :) Gives my mind the tolerance to go on a little further.
Why does a familiar song come into my mind..? I walk a lonely road...the only road that i have ever known....ahaan ...ahaan.....mmmmmmmm

:)

happy easter!

I have always wondered why good friday is good for the world in most languages i have understood when the same day is christened "dukha velli" in Malayalam. :S Logical explanations invited. That is a huge contrast of emotions. One seems happy and merry and the other is so depressing.

Whatever be it, easter brings back old memories.

Falling on a sunday every year, me and my sister would happily skip mommy's breakfast for Annie aunty's and Susi aunty's  yummy appam and stew. My mouth waters even at the thought of the soft tender appams and the magical creamy stew that came across the common wall.  

I have lived in a mixed community which meant that i got the best of all religions :D. Onam meant we distributing payasam among our neighbors. Christmas and easter meant we get something from Annie aunty, and for Eid at least until Asha chechi was around in the colony we used to get a share of some yummy biryani. There was a feeling of togetherness and it developed the value of sharing- of not just food! Their love is so unselfish and giving. 

Looking back i was just plain lucky to grow up in such a surrounding. My kids might not have the same fortune. Neither my neighbors nor I represent the older generation. I only wonder how i best i can sow the seeds of these basic values in them. May the risen lord ignite all minds.

Blooms of Bayshore -Final

Just around the pond beside jade are many flowering plants. I have not been successful in getting the names of all of them, but what i do have is some snaps for record. Shall keep updating whenever i get more information. Readers can help.

The big bright yellow flowers near to the road stand out among them all. With a red background formed by Reuellia Elengans and its own dark green leaves, it gives a colorful mix.

yellow allamandas

These are the Allamanda flowers (kolambi poovu in malayalam). They are a common tropical shrub found in most gardens and wild in the tropical region. The flowers which are trumpet shaped come in various colors - white, pink, purple, orange and yellow which is the most common variety.

purple allamandas

Family : Apocynaceae. It is interesting that the white sap of these plants are medicinal. They have antibacterial and anticancer properties. But direct exposure to the sap may sometimes cause skin irritation, itches and can cause rashes. 

Creepy Daisy is another common tropical plant which has bright yellow flowers but are much smaller and typically used by gardeners as a ground-cover. As the name suggests they are partial creepers and grow as weeds.

creepy daisy

Their bright yellow flowers which bloom all through the year and in plenty attract a lot of honey bees. Just about every other flower had a tiny bee or butterfly resting on it.

busy bee on the daisy, wedelia trilobata

Family : Asteraceae
Botanical Name: Wedelia Trilobata
It belongs to the same family as that of the sunflower, hence the same petal arrangement and similarity in looks.
Rarely, in some traditional medicines, wedelia is used to treat hepatitis, infections and to clear the placenta after birth. Am sure we would not even dreamt that there would be something medicinal about this weed !!!

Near the pebble path beside the pool is a shrub with tiny lilac colored flowers hanging down in bunches. The more attractive part are the bunches of tiny bead sized bright orange seeds hanging all over the shrub. A well named plant , golden dew drops, attract a lot of humming birds into your garden if you have them.

Golden dew drops

It is also known commonly as Pigeon berry or Sky flower plant. If i read right, the flower is known Nilkanta in Hindi.
Botanical name: Duranta Erecta
Family : Verbenaceae

pretty lilac flowers of golden dew drops

Going ahead the curve beside tower jade is a blend of bright colored flowers commonly known as "Peacock flower" for their petal shapes and long pistils. Named Rajamalli in Malayalam, they come in shades of pink, bright orange with a mix of yellow and plain yellow.

pink Peacock flower

Peacock flowers and buds

Botanical Name: Caesdpinia Pulcherrima
Family: Ceasalpiniaceae , the same as gulmohar.

orange gultura

Rajamalli Poovu orange colored

Gultera , as it is called in Hindi, is the national flower of Barbados.

yellow peacock flowers

I couldnt stop clicking the vibrant flowers and have so many snaps of them, especially since it also had a lot of butterflies and humming birds hovering around.The birds were too restless and constantly moving around flowers that were in plenty. I managed to get a shot of a dragon fly which somehow chose to sit on a dry branch rather than the flowers!

dragon fly on a dry branch

4gms of extract from the root of this plant is also said to induce abortion in the first trimester....Yewww! :)

All around the condo scattered around is one flower and we have many shades of it too. "Rugmini" in Hindi and "Thetchi poovu" in malayalam, we have its yellow, red , pink and white varieties around the condo.

pink thetchi poovu

Family :Rubiaceae
Botanical name: Ixora

ixora flowers

The red flowers are most commonly used for worship. This along with tulsi leaves and a flower named "Mandaram" forms the favorite garland of presiding deity of the famous temple in Guruvayur, Kerala.

 techi poovu, red ixora

There are many more that i found, but could not find details about them. Have not found their names yet nor have i processed the snaps properly. So not posting them in this series. I am assuming the blog has been colorful enough already; hence choosing to avoid them.  If you find time someday early in the morning, do go out yourself to check out these vibrant lives around Bayshore Park. You would be surprised at how fresh and peaceful you would feel in their company!

Blooms of Bayshore -Part 2

Walking ahead near the promenade area we find the bright yellow and orange flowers. The Canna flowers are a common sight in parts of the world that receive plenty of rain. It is known as Canna Hybrid or Canna Lily. In my home land it is "malayalamised" and christened as "Kaana Poovu" or "Vaazha Chedi" since the leaves and stem resemble that of a Banana.

Canna Hybrid

Botanical Name : Canna Hybrid, Family : Cannanaceae. It is known i guess as "keli" in Hindi. The flowers are typically orange or red or a combination of these two colors with a slight mix of yellow here and there.

Purpose is mostly ornamental. But the interesting facts came out when i read more about these plants. Their seeds are used to make beads for jewelry. The rhizhome (swollen underground stem) is used for starch and in animal fodder. The tender shoots are used as vegetables and young seeds to make tortillas.
Some remote regions in India produce alcohol from this plant! WOW...dats some use i could have never imagined.
Some musical instruments like Kayamb are made from parts of the plant in a french ruled island named "Reunion", SW of Mauritius.

Another interesting fact is that in Thailand these flowers are popular gifts during fathers day. I wish i could post some better images that came out of photoshop but the blog allows only limited formats.

a variety of Indian Shot Flower / Canna

Now comes a flower that i have grown up with! Literally found in every other house in Kerala, its a standard tropical shrub. Different colors, different varieties... The Hibiscus flower of Chembaruthi in Malayalam. "Gurhal" in hindi if i am not wrong. The most common flower color being red, followed by white. I have seen pink, yellow and orange of these too. Rarely seen flowers that have double shades as well.

Chembaruthi Poovu or Gurhal flower

 Family : Malvaceae. The shrub is mostly used for ornamental purpose, but it has many other uses in my home state.

Hibiscus flower

Hibiscus and Bougainvillea are the most common shrubs used for landscaping on road partitions, on highways around India ...esp southern states.

One more snap of Hibiscus

I have a different variety in my house at Trivandrum which has double the petal layers and the pistil is smaller and thicker. We used to make garlands of the petals along with jasmine and other flowers in the garden for special occasions and pooja. The leaves of hibiscus are ground into fine paste and the green juice is sewed to make something called "thali". It is applied on the scalp to prevent dandruff. This also cools the scalp and is a big stress buster. Used in mostly all Ayurvedic hair treatments. Mom used to put couple of these leaves into the hair oil along with Tulsi and Neem leaves. 

to be contd...

The Colorful Blooms of Bayshore Park

We all suffer from longsightedness occasionally. Our eyes wander around things far off so much that  we often miss out of the beauty surrounding us completely. There is a saying in malayalam that goes "muttathe mullakku manamilla". (Meaning the jasmine in your own garden doesn't have an enchanting fragrance").

So today morning I set off for a stroll around Bayshore park discovering that fragrance. It was indeed a very refreshing walk. The air was clean after a rainy morning and the earth smelled fresh. My new DSLR gave me company while i went on a clicking spree.

I should mention two people on this blog. My husband for presenting me the DSLR i have been waiting so long for. We bought it last month to celebrate 2 birthdays (mine and his) and our anniversary.

Dedicate this series to one of my favourite teachers at school, the one who propelled us to look at the beauty of nature around the campus. My interest in life science (biology)  and nature has been because of him i guess. This series is for Mathew Sir.

Clicking was an easy job. But after that came the task of finding some details about each of these flowers and plants and a little this and that about it. Googling the names for some of them took long, then came the task of finding details of their botanical names and family. I hope that its come out clear and neat , the way i intended it to be. It has been couple of days of effort and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed preparing this.

Bayshore is famously green.  Being one of the biggest condos in Singapore,with lots of trees and open spaces. It is one of the biggest reasons that we moved in here - the open space and greenery, the trees and flowers , fountains, beautifully maintained.

There were flowers in all shapes sizes and color. Starting off on a series of blogs that will bring together the blooms i saw at Bayshore. Walk with me around the condo and have a look at the vibrant colors around. 

Straight out of the elevator and into the lobby , i was welcomed by the tender looking bright red flowers that bow onto the walk way near the taxi bay. I dont know their local names or the indian ones, but they sure look pretty.
Botanical Name - Ruellia Elegans from the Family : Acanthaceae.

Ruellia Elegans!... Elegant indeed.

 They are used mostly as ornamental plants. Some vareities of this family are medicinal but some others are known or suspected to be poisonous too.

slightly improved image of the same flower 

Their bright colors attract humming birds and butterflies. It is true as i could see couple of humming birds and dragon flies around. Could not get a click of that though.

Red flowers near the play area pond make a beautiful sight.

Walking down towards the taxi stand , there are these giant trees which give a typical rainforest look. They are all over Singapore. Most of the trees around the condo have their names kept in a board near by. All of these trees have parasite plants over them. Some are orchids (non flowering) and others are creepers.

Bougainvillias..opposite the shopping complex. Though they hang over the open canal with some slurry water, these flowers change the image and look of the place completely.

Bougainvillias or Paper flower

Botanical Name : Bougainvillia spectalis. These plants belong to  the family Nyctaginaceae.

 Kadalasu Poovu in Malayalam (Paper flower)

These flowers are mostly limited to their ornamental usage. They grow indoor also with limited sunlight and bloom all through the year. The sap from their stems sometimes causes itch.

to be ctnd....