KITES, COLOURS and INDEPENDENCE DAY.....

Dear Friends,

We haven’t really been visiting your blogs much and are sorry for being so irregular. We just hope you don’t abandon us and forget us for good! We will soon be there...Promise!

Last few days have been very, very busy but rather fun too.

  Daddy says 'Oodles and Bunches of Thankies' for your Birthday wishes. We had fun pawtying and eating HEAPS!

The best part about Daddy’s birthday is that mummy always fixes us a special Pre-B’Day Dinner, a Birthday Dinner and a Post B’day Dinner; and that is because if Daddy had a tail, ‘FOOD’ is what would have made it wag reeellly reeelly hard!!!

Now, the day after Daddy’s B’Day is our Independence Day! And isn’t that a nice excuse to continue the pawtying?

Yes, yesterday, on the 15^th of August, the entire country was splashed in Saffron, White and Green as India celebrated her 64^th Independence Day.

India has come a long way since this day in 1947. We are still fighting with problems like corruption, cross-border terrorism, insurgency and rising population. 

But we have a lot to be proud of too. Our Health care, IT, Education and Fashion Industries have seen revolutionary reforms and we can boast of world class Shopping & Entertainment destinations, Food joints and Techno gadgets, in addition to unique Holiday spots.

In New Delhi, the capital of our country, this Spirit of Freedom comes alive on the 15^th of August in the splendid display of kites that dot the city skies.

Kite flying on Independence Day has been a tradition in Delhi. There are numerous Kite-Flying Clubs in the city, some of them as old as 40 years! 

Daddy belongs from Delhi, but unfortunately we are not living there now. It is our heartfelt Hope and Ambition to be back in our beloved city soon.

Anyway, in continuance of a childhood tradition, Daddy announced we were going to fly KITES! It was a lovely morning with bright, clear skies and we raced to the terrace.

What fun! Let us help u, Daddy...

Up it went...

Straight into that tree...

 Oh No! Daddy Pull hard...

Double NO!

 Buddy, will you go get it Please?

 Ginger, that will need some fixing

Daddy, I think it is done

Finishing touches for Attempt No. 2

Come on, Daddy...One,

 ...Two...

 Ahh..ha...

 ...Finally...

Now, if one is interested in finding unique displays of our National colours,15^th August is the day you should go exploring. Mummy and Daddy did just that yesterday, while we were only too glad to go take a nap after all that activity.

And here’s what they found all over the city! 

 A Display of Paintings inspired by the National Flag 

 Interesting Family!

And then, Mummy spotted THIS...!

Daddy always says...You cannot cure shopaholics. You can just curb their tendencies. But when it comes to a Bibliomaniac Shopaholic, it proves rather difficult.
And then, when there are such temptations it is impossible!

 I really don't know where Mummy is gonna keep these! There is absolutely no space anywhere!

Hope you liked our colours

Wags,

,

SAFFRON!!

Quite some time has elapsed since we last played True Colour Thursday. Mummy wasn't up to hunting around for colours with her camera and we humoured her.
But we couldn’t let this week pass by because the colour this week is special for us. You will understand in a minute why.
The colour for this week is SAFFRON!

Saffron is one of our NATIONAL colours.
And how nice that this colour was chosen for NOW, because on the 15th of this month we shall celebrate our INDEPENDENCE DAY.

The colour SAFFRON on our National Flag along with Green and White had been chosen after much deliberation to depict and embody the essence of our large and beautiful country-INDIA.

Saffron signifies Patrotism, Sacrifice and Piety. Green is meant to symbolize Prosperity while White Peace, Purity and Simplicity.

The colour Saffron also has a religious connotation to it as it has been embraced by Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism to portray their diverse aspects.

(A Saffron gateway to a temple)

(We found this old man selling Saffron coloured Flowers used for religious rites, in one of our road trips)

Saffron actually is a very illustrious SPICE considered indispensable by an array of cultures since ancient days.
The culinary delight it provides is not only due to its bright, vibrant colour but also due to the accompanying exotic aroma.
Indian Sweets would lose their allure without Saffron colouring and flavour.

(Mummy's favourite: 'Besan ladoo' or Gram flour sweets)

 

(Daddy-made 'Paneer Khatta Meetha': Cottage cheese preparation with saffron colouring)

Arabic Coffee is considered deficient without saffron and cardamom in it.

It is an indispensible ingredient in the famous Risotto in Italy and Switzerland.

(Mummy has the recipe downloaded and promised to make some soon. Paws crossed!)

Saffron is derived from the stigma of the Crocus sativus flower. The plant blooms only for about three to four weeks and the stigma is harvested by hand to derive Saffron.

It is the bright red colour of the stigma which has made it so popular as a source of organic dye apart from its use as a spice.

We enjoyed sniffing around for Saffron. (But not many items were to be found which made us turn to GOOGLE, the surest store of ready images, for some of our illustrations as you might have guessed earlier in our post)
Here are some items we found at home.

(National Colours in Mummy's bookshelf)

(Old and faded but Saffron nontheless!)

(Mummy loves this cup-bowl)

(New cups in the cupboard!)

In case any of you wants to play this colour game just drop in HERE.

We are glad to have made acquaintance of  DOYLE and MOLLIE, our new furry friends who are keeping this meme going in BLUE’s absence. They are adorable and you must go meet them!

Hope our colours will help brighten up your weekend, Friends.
Wags,
,