Renewing Relationships

When I watched the video from British Airways, I too felt the same. As years have passed the two of us are now three, we have a beautiful daughter. Living in a city like Mumbai its only work and no time for one's self or family.

 

As my husband works 6 days a week. When he leaves for work our 2 and half year old daughter is sleeping and by the time, he reaches home my daughter is again fast asleep. We only get one sunday together but its filled with household work. Every Sunday one of the hottest topic at our home is on family time. I dont want my daughter to grow having a weak bond with her parents.

When I got married, since we are not a nuclear family, we rarely got any private time between ourselves. The emptiness in the relationship grew over a period of time and soon as they say in mumbai, you get used to it and accept it as a part of life. Now with my daughter, I wanted my hubby to have a special bond where he would get to enjoy his fatherhood apart his office work and tensions.

I actually planned a quick and short vacation which was just 2 nights and 3 days to Lonavala. That was the turning point in our lives and I could actually see the difference in him. There was a spark in our relationship, as well the bonding with my daughter was vibrant. After this trip, there was no turning back, he now himself plans short vacations so that he can spend more time with us. Madikeri and Goa were other two memorable trips that came later. These trips actually made us realise the importance we play in each other's life.

My daughter loves adventures. Trekking, beaches, visiting wild sanctuaries have become part of our itinerary. She has been an inspiration for us to enjoy nature and nourish our relationship as parents.

 

 

This is the entry for the contest - Go futher to get closer by British Airways

Beauty of the Background - (Photography)

When I keep background as Sky.. anything in front looks really gorgeous..

Just like keeping our hearts clean.. everything seems really beautiful!

 

Travelling Smart

I'm an adventurous person by nature who loves travelling to different places. I have found the most memorable camping trips that I have done, have been with a good early planning.

To plan for my trips I usually have to visit multiple sites to define my itinerary.
Pointers that make my trip
1> Travel - by road, train or air in that preference, as I have found that I make good friends during my journeys
2> Homely stay - as I have been to some big hotels but with minimal human interaction
3> Sight-seeing - itineraries to roam about when I have settled both tourist places and untapped territories
4> Food - I am a vegetarian and have a taste for spicy food. I often have to roam about before I can find a decent veg-restaurant or else I have to make do with some snacks
5> Local travelling - rentals or public transport
6> Not to forget the most important "Shopping" - I love picking the local art / traditionals items as memories of my journeys.

All these things have to be in my specified budget, which brings me to the need for checking various sites that offer good deals.

When I heard the name Skyscanner for the first time, I thought it might be useful for building my itinerary and so browsed along to get to know whether it would be easy and useful for my future bookings I was impressed to look at the results but the car rentals was a bit disappointing.

When it is related to booking flights and hotels, its a fantastic platform where you can compare and choose the best price at one glance. Besides I was impressed with the smart search option where I could find reasonable fares for the whole year. You can either choose by airlines or by the city whichever is relevant.

I decided to try and build my itinerary to Goa using the Skyscanner site.

For example I could get the entire list of flights associated with the different travel agents that showed the pricing difference.

Recent search for impressive and very useful

Hotels with Map/List was useful

Hotels Reviews and Deals helped me to decide

Car Rentals was bit disappointing as I mentioned earlier coz of the Driver's age which is mandatory for booking



[Enlarge the snapshot for better actual review]

P.S. - Overall an excellent site in terms of comparison and getting good deals for Flight and Hotel Bookings. But, unsatisfactory in terms of Car Hire.

This is my entry for the contest by skyscanner http://www.skyscanner.co.in

Ray of Hope - (Photography)

There is a ray of hope for all the dreams to be fulfilled

 

Malaysia - Paradise in Asia

I was truly excited when the contests - Malaysia Jao contest and Tourism Malaysia Blogathon in Mumbai! was announced through Blogadda.

When they asked to blog about 5 things that I would want to experience in Malaysia - I was thrilled when I visited the site Tourism Malaysia. When I browsed I found so many interesting places that were just mind-blowing. And so I have tried to pen down the best experiences I would like to have in Malaysia.

1. Facing my fears 
Being a person with a pheobia for dark places and water, would like to face my fears in a place like paradise.

Snorkelling in Pulau Redang, Kuala Terengganu and Scuba diving in Sipadan Island,Sabah




Exploring the unknown in Caves at Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak




2. Simplest pleasures with the love of my life
Being a kid with my 3yr old daughter while visiting theme parks, Legoland Theme park, Nusajaya, Johor in particular would bring back the fondest memories of my childhood days



3. Experiencing different cultures & traditions
Malaysia holds a variety of cultures & traditions that make you feel at ease even though you are away from home.

Sarawak Cultural Village - gives a flavour of the tradition music and enriches the knowledge about the lifestyle


Batu Caves, Selangor  - about the locals belief


Pekan Rabu, Kedah - some shopping time


4. Rejuvenating and Reconnecting to oneself
Relaxing on the beaches, watching the waves rise and fall in my hubby's arms or making sand castles with my little daughter and seeing her laugh is my definition of peace.

Tioman Island, Pahang


Pangkor Island, Perak


5. Living my Passion - Capturing the moment
Being my best by doing the best with my Nikon DSLR

Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak




Kinabalu Park, Sabah


Malaysia, the place to lose your inhabitions and experience free falling into ecstasy.

I am participating in the MalaysiaJao Blogathon Contest in association with BlogAdda.com

Image Courtesy - Tourism Malaysia(Official)

Reaching Out - (Photography)

Reach out... my latest try on my photographic skills

 

Feeling High - Happy Women's Day

Women can achieve anything, just Believe in Yourself.

 

Sunrise - Flamingo Watch

Caught in act - on Feb 27th, Santuary Asia had organised a Flamingo watch event at Sewri Jetty.

Caught these Flamingo, which was passing by.

 



I love this snap...:)

Dove you "Mamma"

After being inspired by the video - Go Play - Dove Play Video

Came up with this unique play - where I get compliments as well from my little dearest one.

This entry is for the contest Go Play - Dove  #DovePlay. 

Straight from the Heaven - Photography

When I look at this pic, feels like God is gonna come out this light anytime soon.

Something magical gonna happen. 

 

Hidden Beauty - Photography

 Beauty is always hidden...

You might be hidden somewhere, but I can see you.

Silent whispers - Photography

When we look around there are so many silent whispers which we miss out in our busy schedule. It can be calm and peaceful but when something goes wrong, it can have an adverse effect.

 

Silent sky... Magical view

 

 

Wave before the splash... :)

Row the Boat - Photograph

I get fascinated when I look at these boats which sail over the sea.

I can actually picturize the Rhyme - Row Row Row your Boat which I sing for my Little Angel.

 

Shine Blossom (Photography) - 100th Post

This is my 100th post... very happy to be a Photo Blogger

Got to learn so many things through Blogging.

 

The Unnoticed One - Photography

When you pass by any beaches, these pebbles and shells goes unnoticed.

But when you actually tend to observe, its beauty adds an effect to the sea.

 

Can you make a Difference? - Do Right

Doing Right - An Initiative by TATA Capital :
This Half Story is about helping hearing impaired and mute kids find a creative way of expressing themselves
The other new half stories can be done by donating or by sharing, reposting, and forwarding. Or by getting involved, inspired or just staying connected.

The journey of Doing right reaches remote areas around India where a thousands of smile are awaiting for a magical moment in their lives. Reaching the needy around the place and making their other half stories a Happy ending, This is the motive of Doing Right.

This time - It's Mumbai: Koshish, a School for Deaf and Mute kids

A Story of Koshish & little Do right - initiated by TATA Capital
In a quaint corner of Mumbai, they discovered a school humbly titled Koshish, where ENT Dr. Ajay Kothari (trustee) trains deaf and mute kids to find their voice and encourages them to celebrate their beautiful world! This school epitomises the city’s never-say-die spirit – with the teachers here trying to enable them to speak through different methods like graph method, lip reading, touching the throat to figure out the vowel sounds. Through lip reading, some kids can understand conversations even while they are on different floors.

In their effort to give their Half Story a happier ending, they decided to give Koshish 2 cameras for the school, costing Rs. 31,500/- so that students at Koshish get a chance to discover a new voice, one that has the power to speak a thousand words, one that will encourage them to dream in a city like Mumbai. This could probably enable the school to include photography in their vocational training.

Inspite of everything being right, by the grace of God, we grumble for little things. For a change, can we make a little difference in ones life by lending our hands with a little penny which can bring a thousand smiles

Have 1min 20sec?

If you wish to help complete their Half Story, you can contribute an amount or tell your friends about this story. Let the voice be heard!!!

For more details visit : http://doright.in/

I AM DOING A BIT BY SHARING, ARE YOU?
 

Photography - Capturing The Moment

(Image Courtesy: think-space.co.uk)

Photography - a subject which I would love to pursue

I would like to do my BA (Hons) in Photography from University for Creative Arts , Famham UK as they promise that their photography courses have a distinguished record and produce award-winning photographers. They offer the opportunity to study photographic practice, theory and history in the broadest possible context.

 (Image courtesy :UCA Famham)

I Believe, a person gains much knowledge if she enjoys the subject.

A picture says it all. Pictures can capture the different emotions of life - happiness, fun, excitment, sadness that unites us together. Photographs can be used to express ones emotions and talents.

There are "n" number of learnings in Photography - to get the perfect picture we need to acquire the right kind of knowledge. The growth in techonology has proved to be a boon in photography. There is a vast scope for photography, right from Fashion, Media, Arts, Landscapes to every occasion that brings joy.

It is so fasinating to see the varieties of lenses used. Every lens used has a different effect in itself. I have managed to understand a bit of the tactics of using DSLR cameras, but still feel like its just the tip of the iceberg.

After researching on UK Universities with the best curriculum in Photography, I found University for Creative Arts interesting and it provides different courses in Photography

UCA Farnham

• BA (Hons) Arts & Media
• BA (Hons) Photography
• BA (Hons) Photography (4 year course)
• MA Documentary Practices
• MFA Photography
• Graduate Diploma:
  Art & Design

UCA Rochester

• BA (Hons) Photography (Contemporary Practice)
• MA Photography

Along with the education, they provide facilities like accomodation, chance to earn while you pursue your studies.

Some of the key topics that interest me are:

• Studio practice
• Micro/Macro Photography
• Professional Skills and Work experience
• Public Exhibitions and Blogging
• Development of historical and theoretical knowledge

This entry is for the contest Knowledge Is Great, Britian . For more details visit http://knowledgeisgreat.in/

Picture says it All

Always for one problem there are n number of solutions,

requires little patience to acknowlegde it.

Trying to grow

Caught you.... 

Passing By

As I was passing thru the streets of Goa... something caught my eye