Random Thoughts

ज़िन्दगी के हसीन पलों में साथ थे मेरे कितने अपने दोस्तों की हंसी से खिल उठी मेरे जीवन के हर पल मीठी आज तन्हाई की चादर ओढ़े खडी  हूँ मैं उन मीठे यादों को समेटे बेचेनियाँ दिल की मैंने  छुपायी एक मुस्कान में, जो थी थकी हुई दिल की आवाज़ किसी ने न सुनी थी सूनसान वह पुराने रस्ते भी काँटों भरी पगडंडीयों ने पेरों को नहीं मेरे टूटे दिल को हैं घायल कर दि आँसू भरी आँखों में क्यों दिखाई दिए फिर वही चेहरा, जो मैंने भुला दिए दिल की पनाहों में छुपायी यादें बिन बुलाये दस्तक देते आगए || मन को संभलते संभलते थक गयी कोई सहारा मिले यही आस लगायी आज भी बैठी हूँ अपने चौखट पर  उम्मीद लगाए कि तुम आए इस पार||

They say travelling broadens your horizon. I can't agree more! Every little bit of travel I have done in the past has added something to my life. If not anything else, the sheer joy of seeing new places and clicking a few snaps made it worthwhile. I was comfortable and happy with a set pattern of life a couple of years ago when a change came in the form of relocation. This time it wasn't just packing our things and leaving to settle down in another city across the country - we had to cross the seas and settle into another country altogether. I was aware of the need to adjust - new country, rules, climate, people, culture - everything was drastically different from what I had known all my life. Of course, any new experience brings with it a new learning. Slowly, I too adapted myself with the new way of life and the different surroundings. The thing I missed most in my new life was my birding - back in Kerala, I was lucky to be surrounded by abundant birdlife. Not a day pa...

It's been a year - when life took an unexpected turn and gave us a chance to explore hitherto unknown world, I didn't grab it with both hands. It was with some reluctance and apprehension that I packed the bags and started the journey to a new land. I didn't write about the new place - I knew India is a strong emotion that could make me look at UK in a less favorable light. So, after a year, here I am, struggling to put my thoughts across. Liverpool welcomed me with a glorious summer. I was amazed to discover the long days - day light stayed on until 10.30pm during summers. Daybreak was as early as 4 am. Although I had heard about long days, I never understood it fully until I experienced it. It was a different experience altogether. After the brief sunny days came Autumn. Adorned in all hues of yellow, orange and red, the nature looked colourful and vibrant. The colours of autumn had always looked magical in pictures and as I saw the colours changing from gre...

I am missing the leisurely walks around my home and the numerous birding opportunities back home. Living in the city definitely has its own benefits, but staying away from nature is one of its shortfalls. Having fallen in love with birds, this first winter in the foreign country was a bit harsh for me. Huddled in the cold, I did miss the sultry weather back home. But more than that, I missed the chirps and songs of my winged friends. Not a day passes without my wistfully remembering the magpie robin's song or the barbet's call. There was never a silent moment. Hearty Welcome! Of course, the spring awakens the nature here with a new life. While it was amazing to see the blossoms and newly sprouted leaves, it was more heartening to hear the birds. Thanks to the prediction of a sunny day, we visited the RSPB Marshside reserve today. Black Tailed Godwit The good connectivity between Liverpool and Southport ensured a smooth journey to Marshside reserve. As we alig...

The past few months went by in such a speed that it was a bit of shock for me when I realised that the year is almost over now and my last blog post was in April. I think that ever since I took to active blogging there has never been such a huge gap in my blogging career. Of course, there are many reasons for my not blogging as frequently as I would have loved to. But, heart in heart I was conscious of the fact that my blog was neglected. So, here I am at the start of another year, trying to keep up with the pace of time. Life during these past months was hectic and full of happenings. I finally realised my dream of trekking in the Himalayas, visited many places, saw and did many new things, actively pursued my long forgotten hobby of birdwatching - all the while trying hard to balance work and family. Sometimes life was tough, but thankfully, I never buckled under pressure for long. No matter what the challenges were, I was able to overcome them eventually. The greatest challenge...

I am an accidental environmentalist (or rather, trying to be one) and a nature enthusiast. As a person who has grown up in a village of Kerala, spending most of her childhood with trees and trying to live in a world of fantasy where she could talk to the trees and birds and the little animals inhabited in them, it is but natural that she carry a bit of that little her wherever she goes. In the past decade and half, I have had the opportunity to live in many cities of this amazing country, but I have always found that home is where the heart is – I never really grew up from being that silly girl talking to the trees and butterflies. Being a homemaker and later, a quasi-entrepreneur who work from the comforts of the home, I had very little opportunities to get out there and do things that I really wanted to. However, having a like-minded life partner made my life a lot easier than I ever cared to admit and his switching career from a busy banking sector to something else gave us ...

Recently, I read somewhere that the greatest challenge that one faces is to stay motivated. I could easily understand that. Numerous are the times that I have failed to stay motivated. I start something and continue it for sometime and then gradually, all the enthusiasm that forced me to start it gradually wanes - and one day, I completely lose the interest and give up. I am sure that many of us have gone through the same phenomenon at least once in their life time. If you are a blogger, the greatest challenge you faced would not be writing your blog or getting readers for it. I am sure that after a while, once the initial enthusiasm faded, most of us found blogging a big burden and not the enjoyable hobby that it used to be. Perhaps the single largest reason for people quitting blogging is this gradual lack of interest or the failure to sustain their motivation. As far as I am concerned, there has been plenty of reasons for the long gap between my blog posts. Some of the...