Morning woes!

 

Is it possible to get lost one fine morning, driving down the same road that one has been taking to and from work every single working day in the last six months?

Seems like it is.

I DID get lost today! And it was around 10 AM in the morning!

No, I wasn’t sleep-driving and No, I was absolutely not having a hangover. It isn’t New Year’s eve yet.

Not that I ever get drunk and have a hangover. For that matter, I don’t drink at all. Rather, I can’t. Something to do with my system never being able to metabolise alcohol so that I just end up falling asleep for the next 14 hours straight. Naturally, I have never been able to figure out the pleasures of drinking!

Anyway, coming back to the point.

Yes, I knew the fog was bad. (Didn’t you notice the pictures on Shadow’s Post yesterday?) But I never imagined it would be THIS bad.

As soon as I braved out of our colony gates, I suddenly found myself in this never ending, all encompassing white blur! How was one supposed to drive when you can’t even see three metres ahead of you?

The headlamps were useless. Not entirely of course. They would, combined with the distress lights, help others spot me. But that didn’t serve my purpose. I needed to spot others!

It was daytime..late morning in fact.  And I almost missed the sharp right turn outside our gates and crashed into the thick hedge outside the school next door!

Alright. Slow down!

But now what? No car in sight to follow. Or worse,was there a car/bus/lorry right in front of me that I couldn’t see?

I tried to map the road in my brain. Come on! Of course I can do this, I told myself. I know this road like the back of my hand. (To tell you the truth, I don’t know the back of my hand that well. Why people refer to this phrase I could never fathom but it repeatedly kept coming back to me as I struggled to find one familiar landmark!)

Anyway, I did know this road perfectly well. Every curve ahead, every uneven bump, each tree at the traffic lights. I certainly could find my way to the highway and then there would be heavy traffic that I could follow.

I don’t know where exactly I took a wrong turn but I could sense I was lost in the maze of those identical roads in Dwarka. Visibility was down to just my car bonnet!

I don’t think I will ever blame those airlines when fog delays their flights. Even with the best of navigation systems it would be terrifying to take off a huge trans-ocean liner when you can barely see your headlights! (Do aircrafts have headlights or are they called something else? Well, never mind)

For one quarter of an hour, I navigated those (un)familiar roads solely helped by gut instinct and primitive sense of direction.

Wasn’t I glad when suddenly, to my left, there was traffic!

AH! I was entering the familiar high traffic zone that I always dreaded, cursed, and complained about. The stretch of about 3 kilometres which invariably messed up the average mileage of my car.

But today, I couldn’t have been happier to see the traffic crossing which always meant the start of a bumper to bumper row of cars moving at 15 km per hour!!

Guess whoever said there is a meaning and purpose in everything was right.

Today I understood the greater meaning behind traffic congestion!!

 

Technorati Tags: Delhi,Winter,Fog,Life,India

Screened!

 

See this?

This is not photo-shopped. This is the legendary Delhi fog! And at 10 AM too!

 

 

At 12 Noon!

 

This is how it looked just a week back

 

And my older brother and sister can’t be bothered to check it out! Sigh….

 

…Now they have even hogged the cosiest sleep-seats in the house!

 

 

 

Snooze..zzz..

Shadow

 

Technorati Tags: Shadow,Delhi,Fog,India,Winter

Art for Art’s Sake

‘Awaiting Expression’

For more ‘Shadow Shots’ please go visit Harriet’s beautiful meme ‘SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY’.

Technorati Tags: Photography,Art,India,Shadow Shot Sunday,Monochrome World

Coldest Christmas in 10 years!!

 

 

1.1 degrees Celsius right in the middle of Delhi. Some fog. Some humidity. No rains. Definitely no snow. Coldest ever Christmas and the coldest December day in 10 years!!

 

We elected to stay cosy indoors. Yummy food, a good movie and plenty of snoozing by the electric fire. Even the laziest,fattest Persian feline must have been out-snoozed by now!

 

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

Happy Holidays to you all.

 

Bless you…

Ginger,Buddy and Shadow

 

Technorati Tags: Christmas,Delhi,Winter,Coldest day,India

Kindness

 

As M.K.Gandhi stepped aboard a train one day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions, Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it on the track to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did so, Gandhi smiled.

“ The poor man who finds the shoes lying on the track will now have a pair he can use”, he replied.

 

It just takes a little will to be kind. Not power, not riches, not time….just a little will. You just need to find it in your heart.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Gandhi Ji,India,Indian Dog,Life,Buddy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Everyone

 

 

"For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

Hope you have a lovely time and get to enjoy heaps of table treats!

Love you

 

Pee ess: You can probably tell that Mummy has gone back to work from our now customary disappearance from the blog world.

SIGH!!

 

Day 16 Post Surgery. Our puppy brother is doing just fine.

No licking the wound. Absolutely NO attempt at removing the stitches. They are gone now anyway. COLLARLESS recovery achieved!

Back to full duties.

Pigeons and Magpies invading our balcony chased, the night guard with the loud whistle admonished for waking up the neighbourhood, every dried fallen leaf investigated (It is fall! Our potted plants are shedding and changing colours and looking sad), every stray on the street reminded once again that the neighbourhood park is exclusively our territory.

And yes, he is back to herding us all to bed at night. SIGH!

Does he imagine he is the pack leader?

Well, we don’t mind as much as long as he doesn’t boss us around. Besides we were a bit sad to see him so subdued after the surgery. The first couple of days he wasn’t himself. The generalised weakness post surgery wasn’t the only reason. Our super brave pup seemed rather jarred by the vet experience. Tail tucked in, ears folded, scared eyes – poor dear boy. Was it such a scary experience for him?

That is why we are so glad he is back to his normal self. Tail definitely upturned into his trademark ‘J’, super active 15 hours a day.

Our Puppy brother is all repaired and we are just so thankful for it.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the warm thoughts you’d sent our way.

We indeed are thankful for you, our friends, today and always….

 

 

Technorati Tags: India,Shadow,Thanksgiving,Friendship,Life

ALL IS WELL AT OUR END

 

Shadow’s back home! And he is doing absolutely fine.

The vet was very impressed too. He was awake and wagging away when Mummy went to see him just 15 minutes after the surgery and then stood up and growled, albeit feebly, at the large doggy waiting outside within just 30 minutes.

Even on his way back home, he insisted on sitting up and pondering over the terrible state of the traffic. Daddy had a hard time trying to make him lie down.

 

 

We are being extra careful not to let him exert himself. Shadow seems to be in a hurry to get going.

Not only did he not forget to mark his favourite lamp-post but also pricked up his ears at the rustling in the usual squirrel hide-outs during his walk today evening! And this when he is still unsteady on his paws!!

We always heard Mixed Breed Indian Dogs are tough and extremely sturdy. Shadow proved it today. We are so proud of him.

 

He had some chicken soup in the evening and loads of water. He doesn’t seem to be in pain now and readily let Mummy dress the wound after he was back from his walk.

He is fast asleep now.

Very unlike him, of course. He herds us all every night and insists we settle down before him. Tonight after dinner, again some chicken but this time real meat and bones, he seemed too tired and sleepy to bother.

It is such a relief watching him sleeping peacefully. He has shown no interest in his wound site at all. So he gets to be without the terrible E-Collar. We don’t know about later, when he is back to his active self. But for now, he is settled into our warmest blanket on the cosiest bed WITHOUT THE COLLAR.

Me and Buddy are sleeping with Daddy tonight while Shadow sleeps with Mummy in the other room. We don’t like this arrangement at all. But then it is necessary. At least for tonight.

Sleep tight, Baby Boy. And heal soon and heal well.

 

We are so very Thankful and Grateful for all of you, Our Blog-Friends out there. Shadow would have said ‘Thankies’ for all your healing thoughts, we know. Only he is dreaming deep dreams right now. So we are saying it on his behalf.

 

Wags,

Ginger and Buddy

 

 

Technorati Tags: Shadow. Surgery,Neutering,Ginger and Buddy,Indian Dog,Delhi,India

SHADOW’S Surgery

 

Thank You very much, Friends from the bottom of our hearts for your love and wishes for Shadow.

May we now ask you to send in your prayers for him for tomorrow?

 

You see, he is scheduled to have his neutering surgery tomorrow morning.

The vet said he is a very healthy pup and doing very well and is absolutely fit for surgery. But we are still a little worried.

Well, make that VERY worried. Just the thought of our tiny little baby boy going in for surgery, however routine, is freaking us out.

We think this is a good time otherwise for him to have this surgery now. Mummy will be home for the next few days as she is still recuperating. So, he shall always have company, loads of hugs the entire day and needn’t be scared or anything.

He is a BIG pup now - 1.4 years old. He SHOULD be alright. Besides, he is SUCH an active, forever hungry, forever ready to play pup. He SHOULD recover fast.

 

Tonight, at our home, all the paws and fingers and toes are crossed.

Hope by this time tomorrow we can get back to you to say ‘he has eaten his dinner and gone to sleep’.

 

Touchwood!

Ginger & Buddy

 

Technorati Tags: Ginger,Buddy,Shadow,Neutering Surgery

SHADOW’S 1st GOTCH DAY :)

 

‘You come to me a blessing I know
Lent to me from above
To teach me to be soft & kind
And giving of all mankind
How I look in those bright brown eyes
my hearts melts - sweet and kind
I treasure you now
Your job so big
and mine so small
For I know nothing of forgiveness
as most of mankind
and you only in return ask for
a pat or game of fetch , meal and water
I will do this without a problem
for you touch my heart and soul
But my four legged friend
If you teach me the
unconditional love that you have
I know the world can be a better place

……Author Unknown

 

 

We love you, Shadow Baby. From the very bottom of our hearts……

Thank you for being a part of our lives. We will never forget that you chose us to be your family out of all the pawple you must have met out there on the streets.

‘Happy Gotcha Day’

 

Warmest and tightest hugs from Mummy n Daddy, Licks n wags from us, Ginger n Buddy

 

Technorati Tags: Shadow,Indian Dog,Gotcha Day,Family,Love,Life

CHURCH SIGNS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No.1 - Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours long and the pay low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world!

 

No.2 - When the restaurant next to a church put out a big sign that said ‘OPEN on SUNDAYS’, the church reciprocated with its own: ‘We are open on Sundays too’!

 

No.3 - Looking at the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance soon…!!

 

 

The pictures above are of the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception at Panaji, Goa.

Located in the heart of this beautiful, quaint little city, this is one of the first Churches to be built in Goa estimated around AD1540s. It was originally a chapel and was elevated to a church in 1600s.

The great bell of the Church is only second in size to that of the famous Se Cathedral in Old Goa. It wasn’t originally there but was moved to this church from the ruined Augustinian monastery in Aguada in 1841, when  Panjim became the capital city of Goa. It is known now as the "Bell of the Inquisition" 

 

The Red laterite four tiered staircase which makes a dazzling contrast to the immaculate white church entrance was built in 1870.

The very simple interior is dedicated to Mary. There is however an altar dedicated to Jesus and a chapel of St.Xavier, the Patron Saint of Goa.

Photography was prohibited inside the chapel so there aren’t any pictures to show.

The serenity inside is complimented only too beautifully by the fresh breeze that blows in, bringing with it the smells of the sea just a few miles away…

In spite of being in the heart of the city, this very pretty church and the churchyard is some place where you can be at peace with yourself….

 

Technorati Tags: Church,Goa,Humour,Photography,India,Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception,Panaji,Panjim

,

A Long Evening Drive

 

Just settling down after an active evening.

Mummy was getting quite jittery after being cooped up inside for the last 234156000 days. She says she knows the exact number of tiles on our floors, the exact number of turns in the design at the base of the ceiling fans and every little spec of dust on the far end of the bookshelf!

It was time, we decided, we take her out for a long drive. Daddy insists she isn’t still strong enough to walk us but she has mended enough to go for a quiet outing.

Fresh evening air, a little misty with the hint of autumn chill. Head sticking out of the car window, ears flapping in the wind…a perfect drive.

We watched the big airplanes landing and taking off.

 

 

 

The rich neon lights made psychedelic patterns as we zoomed by and the soft breeze rustled the tree leaves framed against them.

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we went to pick up some grocery and stuff. We are supposed to have custard pudding for dessert tonight and there weren’t any fruits at home.

Mummy is a tad tired from all the activity and says her tummy hurts a little, but she certainly appears invigorated. We must do this again soon.

 

Have a good weekend, Friends

 

Wags,

Ginger, Buddy & Shadow

 

Technorati Tags: India,Delhi,Night Drive,Outing,Family

Life Size Legends and Festivities

 

On 26th of October, we celebrated the very beautiful festival of lights Diwali.

Last year, if you remember, this day became all the more special for us all due to a very endearing reason.

The date: 7th of Nov.The day: Sunday.

Our lives changed forever when our little brother Shadow literally walked into our home and decided to adopt us, bringing with him so much love and warmth.

(In case you’d missed it, you can read his story HERE n HERE)

It was a simple affair this time. Mummy was just back from the hospital and not strong enough to potter around arranging for an elaborate event.

We put up our lights and lamps,went out with Daddy and got back some of Mummy’s favourite sweets for her. Daddy played chef and cooked up a lovely dinner. Afterwards, we settled down for a Johnny Depp movie.

Except for the loud crackers and fireworks part, we love everything about this festival, especially the myriad sweets and savouries. You’ll be glad to know that Ginger wasn’t as scared or as badly affected this time by the terribly loud crackers. She went for her walk readily, ate her dinner - albeit tentatively, and slept well.

The Diwali spirit must be rubbing off on her!

 

The city of Delhi literally comes to life on Diwali. Food, colourful lights, sweets, flowers - you name it and it is just everywhere. The enthusiasm is catching.

But this time we couldn’t really venture out due to Mummy’s surgery. So there aren’t many Diwali pictures to share. But we hope you will like a few others we are sharing today -  some beautiful moods of the festivities preceding Diwali.

We talked of the legends associated with Diwali in an earlier post.

Today we are posting pictures bringing to life the legends associated with a few other festivals linked to this special festival of lights.

Diwali is not a date linked event but one that is celebrated on the darkest night of the lunar cycle, on the 20th day after Dussehra.

Dussehra is the last day of Navratri and falls on the 10th day of the waxing moon during the Hindu month of Ashvin (around September or October)

Dussehra also celebrated as Vijaya Dasami is the culmination of a 10 day long festival that marks the victory of good over evil.

Some parts of India celebrate it as Durga Puja to symbolise the fight and ultimate triumph of the warrior Goddess Durga over the Buffalo-demon Mahishasura.

 

(The powerful Warrior Goddess Durga bearing 10 types of weapons in 5 pairs of hands!)

 

 

 

Others celebrate it as Navaratri - 10 days of fast, colourful rituals and festivities. Yet others indulge in Ram Lila- a theatrical enactment of the life of Lord Rama who slays the ten-headed Demon King Ravana. This stretches over nine days preceding Dussehra.

On the tenth day, larger than life effigies of King Ravana, his son Meghnath and brother Kumbhakarna are set to fire.

 

 

 

 

 

(The Effigies in Production! The X-large hulls are of dried bamboo so they light up easily. The hollow insides are stuffed with firecrackers!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Unsung Artisans)

 

Whatever the legend, they all talk about the victory of good over evil and inspire people to choose Right over Wrong in their everyday lives.

 

The message to be taken is to conquer the inner demon and lead a simpler, gentler life.

 

 

GRANT US PEACE

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

 

Pee Ess: We only just bumped into Mimi’s Peace Meme. And though we are late, we are joining in. Better Late than Never, Huh?

Pee Pee Ess: THANKS Heaps for all your Good wishes for Mummy. She is mending well and feeling much better too.

 

Technorati Tags: India,Diwali,Dussehra,Navaratri,Durga Puja,Legends,Delhi,Dona Nobis Pacem,Peace

WHILE WE WERE AWAY….

 

It has been so long…just too long…

We thought we had things sorted – a photo post 3-4 times a week, one proper post per week and at least once a week blog visits when we go visit all our friends.

But nothing has been going according to plan. We just couldn’t keep up. Then again, there isn’t much one can do if your secretary/typist falls sick without arranging for a replacement.

Yes, Friends.

Our Mummy had taken an off from everything. She has had a surgery.

Now, don’t you lose fur worrying about it.

She needed to have this surgery for some abdominal ailment for quite sometime and was just postponing it. So this was an elective surgery and nothing like a terribly worrisome emergency.

Anyway, she is mending and mending quite well too. She is more like her usual self, though she isn’t fully active and still not going with us for our walks. Something about us being too boisterous.

Nonsense!

We have been such good pups all throughout her surgery & recovery period. We have been snuggling a lot and keeping her nice and warm. Never once have we jumped up on her demanding to play, except of course the day she came back from the hospital. Couldn’t help it – she was gone for over 24 hours and we were really worried.

Apart from that one episode, we have been very careful not to stress her. We don’t want her going off to the hospital again. A sleepy, slow Mummy is better than No mummy any day!

We are really thankful Mummy found the Most Wonderful doctor for herself. She had been ignoring her problems for so long the state of her insides was pretty complicated.

Not only did the doctor do a wonderful job on her (we got to see the video of her surgery!) he was very kind and caring and took good care of her all throughout.

Dog Bless him!

And guess what? He lives with a little Weiner Pup named ‘Bertie’.

Well, well! We certainly approve Mummy’s choice of doctors. We haven’t met him yet but from what we hear of him, we think he would smell quite alright. After all a Weiner pawson can’t be all that wrong. What do you think?

Anyway, Mummy is on the mend. And of course the best part of the whole episode is that she has been at home all this time. The whole day, with us!

It is another matter that she sleeps most of the time. But then, it isn’t all that bad. The weather here is changing. We have the first inklings of a real winter. The mornings are chilly and it is dark now when we go for our evening walks. Soon, Mummy says, the mornings will be dark and cold too.

This will be our first real winter. Hyderabad winters never got cold and dark, just a wee bit misty.

Well, let’s wait and watch how different it is going to be here in Delhi.

 

 

 

 

For now, we are enjoying the warm sun that shines softly through the morning mist, the crackling of the fallen leaves, the soft blankets and spicy evening treats…

 

‘But I do feel a little teeny right now that I'm just about ready to start, and winter is entering. Half past autumn has arrived’
….Gordon Parks

 

Wags n Licks,

Ginger, Buddy n Shadow

 

Technorati Tags: Mummy's surgery,Delhi,Winter,India,Family