The Rain

The rain fell down heavily
And it seemed like a song, the best song that I ever heard
And all I could do was change my path
And take the path of the rain
I lift my arms, I let myself go
I run, I run, I run to embrace the rain
I lift my arms, I feel one with the rain
And like a song I run and run, with the rain
The green meadows watch me, the shallow waters watch me
The kids wonder, the passers-by question
But I am running, running with the rain
My wings have just opened and I am flying flying with the rain
To feel the rain, to feel the joy

Allowing the bad things to come to you?

The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it..Atlas Shrugged

The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it...this is a favourite quote of mine and as I live and learn in life, I believe in these lines more and more...

I was just now reading about the suicide note that Jia Khan has left behind. Those who don't know who or what I am talking about, Jiah was an actress, a budding one who did not meet fame the way she would have liked  and coupled with personal problems, she ended her life some 10 days back by hanging herself.

Coming back to her suicide note, it seems to be all revolving around Suraj Pancholi, the son of actor Aditya Pancholi, who she was dating. In every line, she mentions rejection, rejection by her lover whether it was about her preferences, her family and worst of it all was about aborting their child.

Well, I think this is something to do about being in love, about forgetting oneself and giving the other person so much importance that you totally forget that you exist. You forget about treating yourself well, you crave for acceptance, you crave for love and attention from that person so much so that you forget you have a world of your own, your friends, your parents and your loved ones and probably a loving husband waiting somewhere...

So, when it happens that your world is just him, you can't accept the fact that you can survive without him. You have given him so much importance that you have ceased to exist and perhaps a nervous breakdown or in Jia's case, a suicide was the most logical next step.

Why could not she focus on her life instead? On her career, on her family and on her friends? Life is never about sticking to just that one choice, life is about changes,about experiences, about learning and still about being able to love. Every person or every event in life is made to happen so you learn, grow and move on. Change is the only constant factor in the arithmetic called life.

So, dear girls and ladies and even emotionally weak guys reeading this post, please make yourself important, let your life not be a waste just because of that one person. That person anyway is perhaps never going to be impacted even after the step that you have taken, it's because your act was an act of cowardice, how can someone be impacted? Suraj will probably lead his life normally and in time marry someone without that girl even impacted by all what happened. Yes, he will find a girl. You should have lived and then you would have eventually found someone who was worth you Jiah!

Luna Park Memories

Oh these rides do give you an amazing experience, to see the world from different angles, and rushing and gushing and at some point thinking that this is the end of the world.

My experience with rides almost all the time has been an initial fear, also kind of an assurance that I am locked up and so shall not fall, and when it's over, a relief, a sense of pride or achievement at having conquered the fear in me.

Back in India, I don't remember if I sat on a ride for a long time. May be I didn't get enough chances, may be I was plane scared or may be it was just too crowded! I am still thinking if I did take a ride on one of those 'melas' in Bangalore but I can't seem to remember clearly and will have to check with one of my friends when I talk to her next.

My real ride experiences happened outside though...the first one being in Luna Park, Sydney. Luna Park has created amazing memories for me in the sense that I don't remember how many times I have been there. The first one was when we walked from our office to the Park and crossed the Harbour Bridge by the evening when the lights were bright and the whole world seemed to be shining. What a memory that was, still fresh in my mind, to be walking with the stars and the cool breeze soothing you. I don't remember taking any rides that though but the experience was still great.

My next visit to Luna Park was also devoid of any rides but even then we had walked all the way from somewhere, where I can't remember well enough now.

But after that I don't know how amny times I have been there and opted for different rides at different point in time. The best one that I remember and probably the scariest one was the one which took you vertically up at 90 degrees and kept you suspended there for a while. You could see the sea from top and the buildings and all you could do was to hope the ride to end. Then they would suddenly drop you and you would think you are finished. We were in a group of 7 or 8 but only three of us dared the same. And initially I was shouting and screaming but later it went on and on and I just kept my eyes closed. What had given me the courage to go for it was the little children who enjoyed and I thought why not me?

I am trying to look up for the pics of that ride on the internet but cannot seem to find one; there is one called the Moon Ranger though which I think must be the improvised version of the one that I rode. Yes, I also remember that on my subsequent visits, this was under renovation or something and I could not probably find it.

The other rides were also good, there was one spider thing, a Tumble bug, and one Columbus ride if I remember right, some through the water and so on. Whatever it is Luna Park does hold a special space in my heart. And not just that I always remember watching with loving memories of the park whenever I was on the North Shore lane.

My other memories of the Luna Park are ofcourse the friends I have been with there and one occasion we did taste some delicious chicken which we could never find again...memories are but one-time specials...

Located at:  1 Olympic Dr  Milsons Point NSW 2061, Australia
How to reach: Just a few minutes walk from Milson's Point train station

The Dream Ride

Oh God, I do have the funniest of dreams. Last evening, I spoke of rides with a friend of mine and we talked of what we have done, what we can and what we will never do. We shared pics, analyzed those and talked about what we like, what scares us and what we had left undone. I will write something on that but first let me write about the dream I had last night.

Well, I saw my hometown, the bylanes and the street where I had spent my each growing day. And then I saw that just across the most happening place there in our colony, that is where the annual Pujas are held, where wedding and birthday celebrations take place, there was a ride, and it was like a long boat. Well well! I saw myself sitting there with some people I knew from my childhood, saw the steep slide downwards and knew it would be fun. I also could see some water bodies around. In reality that area does have a steep and I was mighty glad that they introduced something like this.

And when we rode down, it was fun, it was a great experience having something like this right in the middle of the small town and then the speed was just good for everyone's taste. I rode down and then got off when the ride was done with a sense of pride, the pride coming from the fact that I was kind of an expert with rides and this one was easy.

Then we got down a flight of steps, all too familiar as we had grown up there and followed the others just to get back. Oh but then this girl managed to climb through the stones and the rocks and I could see myself stranded there because I could not go up further, there was not enough space for me to climb. I waited as to what to do next when I woke up...and I smiled for I was not stranded and amazed at the power of my thoughts and dreams...

Temples around the world

Oh that's an email that has reached me from time to time and everytime I recieve one as a forward from someone, I look at it to see if I can strike off one from my list of to-see temples, the big ones around the world and specifically outside India. So this is one post which I will need to update from time to time and would love doing that, and may be feel proud and blessed.

Apparently most of these temples have been built for Lord Venkateswara and since I go by this email forward, I don't really know about other temples built for other Gods and Goddesses. Well, the other God who leaves his mark around is Swaminarayan. No offence meant, I am just analysing and I might well be wrong!

And many of these temples are in the US and this reminds me of a friend who asked me once  if I knew what USA stands for. According to him, it stands for 'United States of Andhra Pradesh'. Smiles.

I have also been to Sai baba temples but I think the list here precisely talks about the temple architecture, the build and beauty and the two Sai baba temples I have visited outside India have simple structures.

It's actually quite a list:

1. LordVenkateshwara Temple, Birmingham, United Kingdom - No no, not being to Birmingham even once.

2. MalibuHindu Temple, Malibu, California,US - It's just Tampa in US that I have visited and so no for this one as well.

3. Shiva-VishnuTemple, Livermore, California,US - No, no this one yet.

4. LordVishnu Temple, Angkor, Cambodia  - I haven't visited Cambodia either, seems like a lot of places around the world to go and visit and not so much time for the same.

5. Prambanan Shiva Temple, Central Java, Indonesia - Never been there too.

6. SriVenkateswara Swami Temple of Greater Chicago - Aurora, Illinois, United States - A 'No' again...Oh what have I seen. Nothing???

7. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Toronto, Canada - Anytime soon, well I am hoping, hoping and hoping.

8. Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Washington DC, United States  - No

9. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London (Neasden Temple) - An 'yes' for this finally and this was my first weekend in London and yes it was after changing stations and a long walk too. And then some traditional Gujarati food followed. And when we were getting back it was so cold that we were almost freezing as we waited in the bus stop. Other than that, everything in London is centrally air-conditioned and it was fun even in Feb/March.

10. SriMurugan Temple “Batu Caves”, Penang, Malaysia - 'No' to this one as well, atleast I have said 'yes' to one place.

11. SriVenkateswara Temple, Bridgewater, NJ, US - No, but will I make it soon?

12. Mother Temple of Besakih, Bali, Indonesia - No

13. MuruganTemple, Sydney, Australia - Yes yes yes, on my first Sydney visit I went there and what a walk that was! So tiring! But getting there was such a great experience and yes beautifully constructed too. Memories!

14. Venkateswara Swami temple, Riverdale near Atlanta, Georgia, US - No

15. SriVenkateswara Swami Temple, Helensburgh, Sydney, Australia - Yes, to this one as well. Loved that day, very special it was.

16. VelmuruganGnana Muneeswarar Temple, Rivervale Crescent Sengkang,Singapore - I would love to visit Singapore someday, only the airport is what I have seen of Singapore.

17. Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam - Pearland, Texas, US - No

18. Ekta Mandir, Irving, Texas, US - No

19. SriVenkateshwara Temple - New Jersey - No

20. SriLakshmi Temple - Ashland, MA, US - No

21. SriVenkateswara Swami Temple, Pittsburgh, US - No

22. ShivaVishnu Temple of South Florida Inc, FL, US - No, but someday I might!

23. Shiva - Vishnu Temple of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia - Yes, with my friend and her husband and again a beautiful place to be at. I cherish my Melbourne visit, my friend and her husband did everything to make me feel happy.

24. SriMurugan Temple, London, UK - Now, how did I miss that? I spent 6 months in London and not been there. It's shame considering how well connected London is and I could have made it there easily.

25. QuadCity Hindu Temple , Rock Island, IL, US - no

26. SriPrasanna Venkateswara Swami Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, US - no, and now I don't mind saying 'No' since I have had a few 'Yes's.

27. Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Singapore - Singapore will happen one day am sure.

And I am going to add some from my list as well if you like:

1. Hindu Temple, Tampa - Just a short visit the other day and though the architecture of the temple much resembled the Venkateswara temples and yes it was a Vishnu temple, but seemed to be run by the Gujarati community.

If you wanted to visit, the address is 5509 Lynn Rd  Tampa, FL 33624. Have  a blessed time there.

Valentine's Park

That was just a little walk from where I lived in London and wasn't it amazing? And why do I write about it now? Well, I have been talking of walks in the recent past and that has dominated my thought process so much that I finally walked the Lettuce Lake park in Tampa. It was amazing for sure and big, but Valentine's park holds a special place in my mind, and oh no, its not because of the name of the park!

Valentine's park is big too, and green! I love the greenary in London, and specially after the rains, it looks all washed and cleaned and shining, shining brught green that is.

And there are so many different varietes of flowers there and whenever we went there we clicked pictures and pictures and pictures. It never seemed enough because every area in the part was worth a capture.
And they do organise shows there from time to time and I know it must be fun just to get there and enjoy a cool evening, just sit on those benches, get lost in some thoughts or read a book. And they have enough place to play, cycle and yes if I remember right, boating facility is also available. 

It has been 3 years now, I was there in 2010 but my visit to the Lettuce Lake park yesterday brought back memories afresh and just not that it was a coincidence that a friend I happened to know while in London called me up the same day and we spoke about our time there, memories created here and there, and still continuing with the journey.

That was just a little walk from where I lived in London and wasn't it amazing? And why do I write about it now? Well, I have been talking of walks in the recent past and that has dominated my thought process so much that I finally walked the Lettuce Lake park in Tampa. It was amazing for sure and big, but Valentine's park holds a special place in my mind, and oh no, its not because of the name of the park!
Valentine's park is big too, and green! I love the greenary in London, and specially after the rains, it looks all washed and cleaned and shining, shining brught green that is.

And there are so many different varietes of flowers there and whenever we went there we clicked pictures and pictures and pictures. It never seemed enough because every area in the part was worth a capture.
And they do organise shows there from time to time and I know it must be fun just to get there and enjoy a cool evening, just sit on those benches, get lost in some thoughts or read a book. And they have enough place to play, cycle and yes if I remember right, boating facility is also available. 

It has been 3 years now, I was there in 2010 but my visit to the Lettuce Lake park yesterday brought back memories afresh and just not that it was a coincidence that a friend I happened to know while in London called me up the same day and we spoke about our time there, memories created here and there, and still continuing with the journey.

The Walk

Only a couple of days back I was complaining that there are no places in Tampa where you could go for a long walk. And then suddenly I remembered why yes, there is the Lettuce Park. And so today, instead of just lazing around, I decided to go. And it was a lovely evening and I walked I could hear the birds chirping and the insects going tittar tatter. I did take my camera long so I could get a few pics to share with all.

It surprises me that the walk did not tire me inspite of my going for a walk after a long time and this pleases me and encourages me to venture out again, may be soon.

One day I would love to capture the sun rise in the Lettuce park, between the trees and the rays falling on the lake waters but I would need to give my lazy bones some real push.

So, if you have some time in the early morning or late evenings, go out there and walk your heart out. You will love it.  You could take your pets for a walk or your grandchildren for a swing ride or simply runa round the playground. Walk or run, you will love it.