Weekend, drama in glass and GPS

1. Coming to the end of the week... this week has been kind of dull, work-wise. So I'm glad its over and the weekend's started.
2. The display of glass art at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. I literally gasp out aloud at some exhibits - they are so striking. There is a fluidity and delicateness in glass, which I suppose is near impossible to achieve with any other material. And despite the delicate nature, the structures can be so bold, so strong, so dramatic... I drag my feet out of the gallery at closing time, cursing myself for not coming a little earlier. And for not carrying my camera.
3. GPS - a largely unused technolgy in India. The cab driver manouvers his way from the museum to the hotel with no difficulty with the aid of the GPS... and I find myself wishing I'd had some sort of a GPS inside the museum. I had a map, but was still hopelessly lost, at least for the first few mins...

Driver, one more and Shuka-Carmel

1. Meeting a very interesting taxi driver - he has just quit the army after 12 yrs of service and is driving a cab because he wants an easy job till he figures out what he wants to do next... he turns out to be very interesting company, and the journey back to the hotel turns out to be quite pleasant
2. Sleeping an hour extra than I had initially planned
3. Having the time in the evening to go to the market - my second trip to the Carmel market turns out to be quite productive and I find an adorable white top with black polka dots, among other things...

Is it bad luck, desparate and hats off

1. I cross a black cat's path and wonder if it will have bad luck now...
2. Desparate Housewives - who ever thought of such a twisted plot?? And then put it forth so funnily?
3. An email from Seema tai which says 'hats off to you, woman' in response to the scuba diving pics that I sent her

Breakfast, frame it and doing it the microwave way

1. I'm late and I miss the cab for office. No, that's not good, but what is good is that while I wait for another one to arrive, I can have breakfast...
2. I show Galit a picture of a flower with a honey bee on it, that I took this weekend - one that, I must mention, I'm particularly proud of... she says "you've got the touch! I'd have it framed if I were you..." It's not really that good, but her saying this pleases me to no end.
3. Getting the hang of microwave cooking - the aloo-palak sabzi turns out quite decent, and its good to eat something simple and healthy

Jaccuzzi, Chamomile anyone?... and family

1. Relaxing in the Jaccuzzi at the hotel. As the water jets gently massage my back, all the tension seeps away into the warm water.
2. Trying out Chamomile tea... I don't like it that very much, but at least now I know what all those fashionable women in novels keep drinking!
3. A long chat session with the everyone back home. Jui and Pallu are both in Nagpur, and there's much excitement... the call lasts for a good part of the hour. Its so good to hear all their voices and the familiar chit-chat

Picture perfect, first snow and new me

1. The magnificent landscapes in Israel. The vivid colours, the greenery, the neat and tidy farms, the mountains, the stately roads... they're all very impressive. We travel about 550 kms today, and for the entire journey, the view is a treat to the eyes.
2. Seeing snow for the first time in my life. Okay, I had expected something more awe-inspiring... but we only got the last of the snow at Golan Heights. But nevertheless, there's something to it when you see snow for the first time in your life.
3. Tanmoy wants to know how it is possible that I can 'tolerate' people these days, and not get frustrated of having to spend time with strangers... it's strange, really! I used to be so reticent about mixing with people I haven't known for ever, that this 'new' me who can interact with strangers and have fun in the process is quite nice to be!

Market mania, sab kuchh milega, spring and buddy

1. Hitting Tel Aviv's streets on bicycles! Natasha and I pedal off to explore the markets... Its my first expedition to Carmel market here, nd its quite a revelation. Tel Aviv's shopping is not all about malls and boutiques and quaint little shops. There's this huge, bustling open market, where vendors display their wares on stalls, and there's plenty of yelling, and bargaining, not to mention, plenty of inexpensive stuff available... My yearning for shopping and that too with another shopping freak is quite satisfied.
2. Spring is in the air and the weather is just simply perfect. One can wear something light and roam around - tis neither too hot nor too cold. The gentle sun just offsets the cool breeze, and there's so much colour around - people have gotten out their summer clothes after a long and cold winter, and there are myriad varieties of flowers sitting in colourful buckets around every other corner. There are musicians on the streets displaying their talents as people lounge about. Every now and then, you come across an impromptu party that has broken out around one of these informal bands, and people have started dancing, carried away by the lively music. For the first time I fully understand why spring is so celebrated in books!
3. After a long and tedious hunt, we finally find 'Sab Kuchh Milega' - a hippie Indian restaurant which gives delicious Indian food quite cheap. Its as if my prayers have been answered... And finally after so many days, I get to eat rotis... sighhh... us desis will remain desis! Indian food rocks!
4. After a chilly walk on the beach after sunset, Natasha and I sit down at a road side cafe for a hot cup of cappuccino and apple pie. We've only met yesterday, but we're already getting along quite well. Its good to know that she's going to be here for the next two weeks as well... so I'll never be starved for company - this especially when the people I hd become friends with here over the last 3 weeks are all slated to leave before I do!

Short n sweet, things to do and party

1. My calendar looks scary for the day - meetings continuously from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m with just one half hour break in between... now, meetings scare me! They make my eyes glaze over, a fog envelopes my mind, and I feel paralyzed in the brain... and then, mirculously, two of these meeting which have been scheduled for an hour each are done within half an hour each, and I suddenly have an extra hour in hand.
2. When it has begun to look like this weekend is going to be wasted doing nothing much other than sitting in the room watching movies and perhaps strolling on Dizengoff street or to the nearby beach (all of which are otherwise fine things to do on a weekend, but not when you have just two weekends left to explore a new country!), a plan for Saturday unfolds, and Friday starts to look good too, with shopping in the morning and the beach in the afternoon...
3. An impromptu party at my room. The menu is funny - maggi, rice, sabzi and ready to eat sambhar... but there's plenty of fun and spirits are high. Adding spice to the party is Russel Peters' stand up comedy. His timing for quips is perfect!

Fresh n fragrant, nostalgia and evening nap

1. My clothes that have been laundered here at the hotel have a delightful fragrance that fills the wardrobe... and when I use the fresh towels, or put on one of the blouses or T-shirts over my head, I like to take a deep breath.
2. Seema Tai, one of my cousins who used to be in Jerusalem very many years ago is thrilled by the pictures I send her, and writes me an email saying how she is reliving all her old days through my pictures.
3. I come back to the hotel early today, because I have a headache, and catch up on some badly needed sleep. I wake up feeling much better, and then have some hot lemon tea... the vapours waft through to my nose, and it feels so good on a chilly evening.

It's free, come what may and encore!

1. Talking to my grandma over Google talk - she sounds so astonished and delighted to hear my voice. She's initially worried that I'm spending too much money over an international call, and finds it hard to believe that it's free!
2. Many mishaps later (we first melt a vessel in the microwave, then the microwave starts emiting sparks), we finally manage to cook a mixed veg 'kolhapuri'... and it turns out surprisingly good... the fruits of hard labour are indeed tasty! Perhaps fate had mercy on us when we wouldn't give up.
3. Looking at the pics taken at Eilat, I feel the thrill once again and as usual, fall in love with my camera all over again...

Guides, cool and ghar ka khana...

1. Natalie and Galit keep trying to help me find out places that I can visit on my own during the week.
2. The temperature that had soared in the past few days comes down a bit and in the late evening, the breeze is actually quite cold... pleasant days are back again :-)
3. I make khichdi in the little microwave in the hotel room. Somehow, it feels so good to eat Indian food after so many days! There's no doubt that the food here is very tasty, but I guess one craves for the food one has grown up on, and however simple it might be, there's a certain contentment in it...

Shalom!

Shalom Everyone! Its been long break from blogging for me, but not one that I've regretted. I have been very busy travelling - first I travelled to Karnataka for Shenoy's wedding and after a whirlwind of a week, I set foot in Israel. The whole experience has been quite a rich one.

Israel is one wonderful country and I think I fell in love with it on my way to the hotel from the airport! I'm staying in a very busy part of Tel Aviv called as Dizengoff and the Dizengoff circle is such a happy and cheerful place that one instantly feels relaxed and cheerful there!

The people, the food, Tel Aviv, the magnificent roads, the rich culture that you can feel in the air, all of it forms such a heady cocktail, that I was quite intoxicated for my first few days here. Then of course we went sight seeing to Jaffa, Masada and then to the Dead Sea over the weekend. All this activity has kept me so busy and so much has been happening in life that blogging had to take a slight back-seat... Only now has some normalcy been restored after the initial excitement of being in a new country has lessened somewhat and something of routine has been created for the weekday (the weekends will, without exception, rock!). I hope to get back to 3BTing from tomorrow, though really, right now, life ain't 'ain't that bad'... its great!

End of the week, fruit and the uber cool surprise

1. Kabballah Sabbath today turns out to be one joyous occassion. For some reason, everyone is in a boistrous mood, and there's plenty of laughter and leg pulling. And as I come back to my desk, I find that my step is jaunty and I'm laughing easily. The friday mood has caught on with me, or perhaps the realization, that the week's over, and that I'm going to be on leave on Monday and Tuesday!
2. Talking to mum n dad on gtalk - the fruit of a lengthy and tedious phonecall in which I explain in excruciating detail every step that must be followed to download gtalk, install it and get it running on their PC. The fruit is, of course, very sweet!
3. Because Aparna can't keep a secret, she lets on that I have a super duper uber cool birthday gift waiting to reach me. And while I'm still recovering from an amazement-induced speech disorder, she mentions that her hubby might travel to Israel and she might tag along. I do so pray that their trip may materialize and that our visits to Israel coincide.

Extra time, that's done and f(e)ast

1. Getting up just half an hour earlier makes such a difference to my day. I get the time to take a bath and get ready for office before the driving class. So I'm ready really early, and even though I take the time out to visit Kaka and drop a package at his place, I'm still earlier than I usually am in office...
2. Getting 90% ticks on my To Do list :-)
3. The cook has washed the sabudana (sago) for making khichdi tomorrow. I think nothing of it till mum mentions that its MahaShivratri tomorrow and asks me if I'm going to observe a fast (for the uninitiated, our fasts are not really fasts. Far from it! We're allowed certain foods, and we turn them into feasts!). That's when the sabudana khichdi suddenly clicks!

I was there too, panacea and the promise of youth

1. Finding some nice pics of me in Dipti's album.... I'd forgotten she'd taken pics at the Ganpatipule outing too... All my folks, especially grandma, who saw the pictures I had taken, complained that there were too few pics of me (since I was the one manning the camera, of course!). They'll be happy now.
2. I've felt low and restless and not altogether chipper all day. But when I get into the car and drive it to the showroom to get the registration papers and number and then back, I'm somehow cured. And this inspite of having to drive in the heavy peak-hour traffic. (And btw, the number's familiar too - 8428. But I dunno why!)
3. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee Marathi started with their latest season last week, so my Monday and Tuesday nights are spoken for, for the nest few months. This season, all the contestants are aged 40 and above. And while I had my doubts about how good they'd be (forgive me!) when this was announced, my doubts have not only been laid to rest, but my expectations have also been surpassed. Much unlinke the youngsters who had participated in the earlier seasons, these artists have a certain maturity to their voices and their much superior and detailed riyaaz shows through... And they all are so genuinely happy to have been given such a platform at a stage in their life when they have almost given up hope of ever singing for such a large audience...