Bird of Paradise flower, taken near Imphal, Manipur, India. This is the first time I have seen it apart from pictures and it is mesmerizing!
I am participating in the Seven Days. Seven Black and White Photos of Your Life. No People. No Explanation. Challenge Someone New Each Day.
Today, I nominate Ray Colin of Me and Ray – I cannot wait to see his take on this!
Taken at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art – a special installation of the works of Gustav Metzger on the theme Remember Nature.
I was tricked nominated by Rich for this trending photo challenge and this is me participating in the Seven Days. Seven Black and White Photos of Your Life. No People. No Explanation. Challenge Someone New Each Day.
I nominate Himali Shah of Decoding Happyness to have a go at this photo challenge and add her spin to it!
Train journeys in India are my favourite. There is barely any scope for boredom or monotony. There is no telling what you may catch from the window – it could be a smiling child at a sleepy dusty station, or a boisterous family of ten people or a runaway couple embarking on an adventure.
Landscape changes every few minutes, showing distant signs of abandoned villages or brimming towns, of fields run astray with weed and scrub or of clear lines of cotton. These images are flashing through your eyes, a never ending kaleidoscope that is almost meditative. Maybe you stumble upon a secret not meant for your knowledge but you can bask upon.
A train journey in India will change you and stay with you as a palette of colours that you can never completely identify or count. It is never completely yours and is shared with hundreds of others. But you can be assured that for those fleeting breaths, it was wholeheartedly for you to consume and dive in.
Written for: Transient
Well…. The France trip happened and it happened in the best version of itself 🙂
Came back earlier this week and just getting back to my routine. I think today is when I feel I finally slept like normal and pooped like normal. That’s a sign of routine, right? And while I am still very much in a daze after diving deep in the French paradise, I am actually not unhappy that my vacation is over and the next one isn’t even visible in the far horizon. Perhaps, I am so content with the experiences of the last 17 days, I am really upbeat to embrace my day-to-day life. There is no wistfulness – the familiarity of the city, the work is something that feels good.
Not the heat though. I swear I am getting baked every time I step out.
Some more details about the trip… we had split it in three parts – 5 days of French Riviera, 5 days of the Alsace wine route and 6 days of Paris. The weather couldn’t have been better! It was cold and cloudy just on our first and last day. Otherwise clear sunshine and blue skies prettily dotted by random wisps of clouds. It screamed vacation weather! We had rented apartments at each place through AirBnB – Nice, Kaysersberg, Strasbourg and Paris. We got really lucky with our choices – warm hosts, beautiful cozy flats situated very conveniently and great company in each other 🙂
I hardly opened my WordPress app – I did see that the April A-Z Challenge is on in full swing! Some people have had some great developments and even books being released 🙂 Over the weekend, I hope to sit down and spend a good few hours to read on what I have missed.
It is GOOD to be back! Hope the travels make for some good and new writing inspiration. Sharing some pictures from the trip – will be writing about the details soon!
This month has probably been my poorest WP performance! Most of the times I manage to be a silent stalker, but this time there were days when I even forgot to open my blog. Things have been rolling from the start of the year – oh so many things on every front 🙂 Personal, Work, Travel, Food!
I have been enjoying every minute of it, even though there are times when I am barely catching my breath and processing things around me.
D was out of the country for a couple of months and is back now – I am finally close to understanding 0.1% part of what being married means. Only a few more years till I get to 2% I think! We managed a flash trip to Dubai which was pretty cool – Burj Khalifa, Desert Safari, Madinath Jumeirah, Ibn e Batuta Mall and a lovely date night by the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) being the highlights (hope you enjoy the photographs)
We came back only to be hustled off to weekend family getaways and a visit to my hometown – Ahmedabad before it melts off in the sweltering heat. I thought it would be a different experience visiting them with him after the wedding – it wasn’t. I just had to fight hard for my share of pampering with him around to steal my parents’ attention 😀
Work wise, I think I am finally in a place where I am finally confident about exploring my capacity and take on newer things. I hope things go the way they have been rolling 🙂 But before I free fall into my work in the coming year, I am off on a much-anticipated long vacation!
France… Here we come!! 🙂 A little over two weeks in French paradise …. covering parts along Cote d’azur, Alsace and Paris! We will be in Paris for Easter before heading back home. I am looking forward to the blooming spring, cozy homestays, pretty streets and of course, the wine! Add the cheese and chocolates to the bag and I might just discover the true purpose of my life 😀 Red nose and a few more extra pounds around my waist is a small price to pay!
I will try to keep up with posts as and when I get WiFi 🙂 The next two weeks will be a different source of inspiration I hope.
Meanwhile, please give any suggestions, recommendations around tours, restaurants, day trips or sights. We have a very flexible itinerary …. Rolling where our hearts and maps take us 🙂
An Armchair Perfectionist 