Posts Tagged Fun / Leisure
There are two things that fueled this
(a) I am an Indian to the core and
(b) I simply love literature
Let me explain those two a little. I am an Indian to the core. I can (and do) love Greek food, English fiction, American (monster) trucks, Japanese furniture and crafts, Chinese calligraphy and beads and several many other from all over the globe, but deep down I have India in me. I love my country – its rich and varied heritage, culture, being a part of this colourful, soulful community. Naturally what follows is a love for all our festivals and celebrations. Being able to enjoy Diwali, Eid and Christmas in a small town in Goa is an experience unlike any other. I also love our national festivals and days – Independence day, Republic day and even Children’s day 
Secondly, I simply love literature. Fiction mostly. I get really carried away, misty eyed even when I read something beautiful. (Remember Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant? Or Heidi by Johanna Spyri?)
So when Children’s day came by this year I tried to combine these two seemingly unrelated ideas. Here’s what we did at home:
- - I scripted “Merchant of Venice” by W. Shakespeare into a skit in Hindi
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- – Hindi’ized it (Shylock became Thakur Ratan Singh)
- – Slashed etcetras from the plot (I had only 5 actors, one of whom was a 3 yr old!)
- Broke down everything into scenes, dialogues
- Explained the story, each character and scene to my 5-actor (children) crew
- - Our kids’ tuition teacher and her sister along with Bhaiya became our judges. Tuition teacher’s family was audience.
- - Bhabhi took up make-up-artist-cum-hostess role.
- - My husband Chiran put on his cameraman’s cap
- - Practiced. Practiced. Practiced.
- - Rehearsed. Rehearsed. Rehearsed.
The result? It was through and through fun. Kids and elders all worked together as a team. Come to think of it, how often do we really manage that? 
I’ll be uploading the video shortly on YouTube. Watch this space for a link..
Last year this time around I was obsessed with interior designing. I looked up internet (obviously), local books shops, anything I could lay my hands on for scraps on info on how to create a harmonious, functional and beautiful looking room.
We purchased our house in 2005. An apartment on the ground floor in Ghaziabad, U.P that was just right. If you look at it from outside it’s a nondescript, yet-another three storey building. But inside the ground floor apartment is my personal heaven. (Or at least I wanted it to be )
Between paying off home loan and stuff we kept the plan for renovation-beautification on hold until last year, when we managed to put some cash away for this purpose. That’s when I decided to pursue my dream. In the course of searching for proper guidance I discovered the site called Universal Class and found that they have online courses, rich with content and well within the budget. I ended up taking their course on Interior Decorating and also managed to get a certificate of outstanding performance through the assignments I submitted. (Yeah, modesty is my middle name 
)
Armed with all this info I created a floor plan and a mood board for my house.
We did get major pieces of furniture created (mostly wall mounted so as to save floor area), painting for all the rooms, added wall art pieces and other accessories.
How’s that?
If we use the internet in a constructive way, there are millions of learning, growing opportunities out there. In today’s world knowledge is really at your finger-tips, may it be from any field, any area.
I used the site “Universal Class” for interior decoration stuff, but that’s not all that they do. They have 100’s of courses in various areas (from Entrepreneurship to Medicine related, from Mathematics to Crafts) which people with less time and resources can avail of.
So, what are you waiting for? Head out to your favorite learning place on the net and start working on your dream today.., And yes, don’t forget to share with us and rest of our readers if you know of any such learning centers / courses which they can benefit from
If the Ladakh trip had me bewitched, it would hardly be a surprise that I so wanted to get close to nature again. But, being a resident of Delhi, I was not too sure of how that could become a reality.
But as they say, “where there is a will…”. Some Googling for opportunities to be with nature within the city gave me the idea of “Heritage walks” conducted by a group, “Delhi Heritage Walks(DHW)” every weekend.
That is how the Saturday morning found me thrilled, half smiling to myself, leaving early to see Delhi in full swing. Even at the early hour, the driving was crazy and honking incessant. Me and my friends, somehow managed to reach on time.
Guided by archaeologists from the DHW, we entered the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Sprawling over 100 acres of land this is where buildings from all periods of India’s conquer-and-build history stand. Mosques, tombs, guard towers, living quarters, and minarets – stone witnesses to the romance and hatred, bloody wars and progressive, peaceful times, poor servants and beautiful princes. Each seems to whisper to you in their own silence, tell you tales of their proud yesterday and neglected today; beckon you to understand and empathize for their uncertain future.
As we began our walk and the walk leader from DHW explained the monuments and the history behind them, I was ashamed I shunned away from history as a subject in school! Never did I know before that the rich heritage of India can be so alluring. As per one of the archaeologists, it is only here that you have remains from almost every era of Delhi’s history from the early Hindu settlements to the more recent British times.
Among the attractions were the beautiful Jamali Kamali mosque, an adjoining tomb that has beautifully preserved interior with lovely red and blue plaster work on the ceiling, the Balban’s tomb although somewhat dilapidated and a stepwell – “Gandhak-ki-Baoli” – considered to be the oldest in Delhi. As the walk came to conclude, I was left feeling hungry to know more…
So, if you too want a sneak peek into the past, take one of these heritage walks and rest assured it would be a walk to remember. Here’s where you can visit to know how to…
http://www.delhiheritagewalks.com/
OR
http://www.intach.org/pdf/DelhiHeritageWalk.pdf
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