A hiatus that caused an itch

I'm done giving excuses, people! I wouldn't even dare to hide under the cloak of the word 'busy', because that seems to be gaining too much of importance in my dictionary  of life. I know I sometimes seem to talk like I am some Himalayan saint but hey, aren't we all screwed in our heads. It has been four good months since I last posted and since then I have always been wanting to write about something but kept holding back saying that I have nothing new to talk about. Well, I always say that I have to give way to this extra surge of creative energy and what better and easier to take up than writing.It used to be easier said than done and like  I said, the more I thought about blogging the more frustrating it used to get; you could sort of picture the typical scene 'he loves me, he loves me not'. So, dishing all my inhibitions into the dustbin, I am very much back again with some new news and renewed energy. I have regained control of my garden from mom (don't think so much on that, I definitely didn't stage a coupe) but, just relieved her of all the duties she had towards the plants. I would dress up this blog post neatly by showing you some glimpses of my garden and the blooms that have decorated my garden during the monsoons. So here they are!

Biking - Unwinding from the shackles of sorrow

I just happened to be discussing with my friend as to what it would be like to just hop on to a bike and zoom off to an unknown destination, to run away from the monotonous routine and seek the ultimate goal that is peace. I have so often imagined that I am decked up with all this biking gear and am riding all alone on this empty highway with no one to stop me or question me or even penalize me for my mistake. Biking is not about riding fast or showing off our machine or dodging signals or crashing into vehicles. Biking simply means a one on one session with ourselves just to give some respect to ourselves for a change. The emotional connect we share with our machine as if it were  our pet horse is something we cannot put into words and explain. We some how feel that zooming off on that bike for a long ride would some how alliviate us of our problems or atleast give us a few moments of peace. This is precisely the reason so many bikers set off on long journeys or to unknown destinations not because they don't have any alternate modes of transport but simply because they love it!. Biking from my perspective is that pandora's box with unseen surprises and unknown conventions. Thus biking could be an art, a hobby or even a myth but one thing I know for sure, for people who really understand biking, even a thud into a pit should seem like a ride on the swing!


For more on biking, please visit: www.facebook.com/CastrolBiking

Grafting Roses-The new fad

Have you ever felt excited about a particular activity you in your mind take a fancy to. Well, I have. The new bug that has bitten me is grafting.With the new rose blooms being welcomed this summer I realized that I would soon need to turn into a barber and trim down the old branches.But in my opinion why waste even the pruned stems. Well grafting is just like surgery and perfection can be achieved only with experience.So,taking the almighty's name , I am embarking on this mission and that too, pretty soon!

Solitude - A Cherished Companion

Hello fellow earthlings! It so often feels like we are this mamoth crowd stuck on this planet, where, each day we are made to face situations good and bad as if, we are some guinea pigs and the almighty, a scientist. Sometimes, we keep running away from situations and after a while we just feel like sitting down and taking a break. The monotony literally bites and hence we go underground. I have been feeling the same. It seems like solitude is the only solution and much to our liking it is a very comfortable phase to move into. Offlate I more than often feel like shunning major social interactions, not because I feel insecure but, just that I cannot bring myself to agree to go with the flow. A person whom I value a lot always asks me to drop all the lousy emotional baggage and just take a dip in the river called 'life' which by my reckoning leads to the ocean of 'happiness'. But on the flip side I want to thorougly soak into the current phase and forget about the rest. I still love all the people who are close to me but just want to take a pit stop in this lengthy race. Because, we humans are meant to be social and the protocol commands that we interact with our environment and fellow humans. Obviously humans cannot take a sabatical from the daily course of life but can still try to ponder over what is currently happening to them. I believe that these phases are all dark tunnels at the end of which awaits happiness with open arms. We ought to call a truce with our inner self to be happy. So, I guess, I'll get going and do what I actually like. Who knows, I may actually bring myself some inner peace!

Relationships and all the hoopla

I many a times wonder as to how do people claim that they have a perfect relationship. What aptly defines a relationship I absolutely do not know. Is their any specific mechanism which clearly defines the maintenance parameters for a relationship? Well, I, on most of the occasions find myself to be confused about my relationships, especially my friendships. I on the one hand call people my best friends but do not feel that from my heart at times. Frankly speaking, I feel that I have to fake my concern and have to forcefully keep in touch. Everything seems abnormal because the very relationships that are meant to be natural for humans turn out to be painstaking and miserable. I am definitely not a loner and do not want to be one but, I just stand bemused at my own doings and thinking. I definitely love the people who care for me but at times just fail to understand whether constant communication is the only basis for trust? Is constant shadowing always a necessity?  However, at this moment I wish to dish out all these  idiotic thoughts and stare at my plants as, with no emotional investment they are some of my most loyal friends. I guess, at the end, relationships between a person and other people is a necessity for existance but enjoying your personal space and spending quality time inside your cocoon is also a necessity for growth.

Gardener gone berserk

Well, I am back to my days of experimenting with veggies but this time my plans are a little mamoth for the space I have been allotted. So this is it - 'I am going to grow sweet pumpkins'. I know that the gardeners out there would burst out laughing but, hey, what is wrong with a little bit of fun, right? If it is any consolation to the conventional gardeners, even my mom burst out laughing. But that doesnot bother me at all. Now, since I have challenged myself , I am all set to sow the sweet pumpkin seeds. Let us all see the way things shape up. Kudos and happy gardening!

My childhood- A Memory Or Just a dream

CHILDHOOD……….. AS I REMEMBER IT

How happy were those days….

When we were so very small,

When problems seemed petty

With worries not too many.

When, a single toothless smile

Would make us a celebrity

With words too few

Crying would surely do

Toys were our life

And acquiring them seemed to be our only goal

Gone are those days………..

When, we were innocent

And pure at heart

Just like young baby birds

We were yet to make a start

Ambitions didn’t exist

And emotions mattered a swat

When people gave us candies

And, we jumped into their arms

Rummaging through those memories

I fail to recognize the baby,

The smile in the picture

Seems to be lost on my face.

O’h, I wish I were that baby again

So I could leap into the arms of my parents again

I wish I could go back in time

When innocence was bliss

And imagination was heaven.

-By Nishanth Raghuram

Blooms Everywhere

It has been a while folks and I have come back to writing after a long time and the reason for my sabatical was my career and secondly my garden. Well, the other side of me is a proffesional and so I need to hone that part of myself. Secondly, I was tending to my garden. I was welcomed home with a flower shower as I may describe it. The balcony was decorated with plenty of yellow chrysanthemums that my grandmother had given to me as baby sapplings. The other pink variety that I have had literally creeped onto the neighbouring plants. I know that I sound so childish in describing my garden but hey, my plants are so very dear to me and I wouldn't leave a stone un turned in bragging about them. I had also sown a few seeds of the 'French Beans' and they have grown into beautiful plants and have yielded a healthy produce of beans. Could you ever put a price on such kind of happiness, I think it is priceless.Every morning, I wake up to the chirping of birds in my garden and it feels like I a rain forest of some sort. I wish to grow so many more plants and vegetables but alas! the limited space and the crowding pots leave little scope.  But cribbing makes no sense and to nake you all happy I am posting some pictures of my garden, hope you guys love it! 

Confusions Galore

I have been pretty busy over the past two and a half weeks,completing the last bits of duties associated with being an engineering student. What really gets me thinking is, the typical question people put to you regarding your aims and goals and what you wish to really do in future. I am generally stoned because I know what my dreams are but I am not able to pick from among them. Secondly, even after growing into a young man, I very often find myself answering questions on goals just like a child answering that he wants to become a train driver. Besides, it so often happens that I have conflicts between my proffessional and personal dreams that I get completely flustered. But what I really know is that I sure am going to be a good human being,with a large heart.

Beautiful Chrysanthemums

I am back again after a long hiatus which I forcefully took to completely tend to my plants. I had sort of camped in my terrace whilr feeding my plants with some organic delights. I knew that all this work would pay off because plants receprocate love by growing healthy and bearing beautiful blossoms. I was in for a treat this time because all of my chrysanthemum saplings had grown big had beautiful flowers adorning them. I can just not wait to share my happiness with you all, so here are some photos of my chrysanthemums