Aaj Ki Kahani

We bid farewell to Siena Springs camp and were on our way to Lake Elementaita. For most of the travel, I was on the front seat clicking random pictures and asking many many questions to Moses who enthusiastically answered them. The scenery was different. The flat topped Acacia and the Mara trees were lesser in number and there were more of the yellow barked Acacia or the fever Acacia or the Naivasha thorns as it's otherwise called. These trees use barks for photosynthesis and also aid in maintaining the water table. The roots are brewed and given to women after childbirth to regain strength. There were the whistling thorn acacia too which are myrmecophyte that live in a symbiotic relationship with ants. Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake, highest elevation point of the Kenyan Rift Valley, in Maasai language Nai posha means rough water. The underground water feeds the Olkaria thermal power station, which is situated in the Hells Gate National park. The lake albeit it...

Mambo (wassup) everyone! The Siena Springs camp uses the generator from 5 am to 11 am then again at 6 pm to 11 pm. Off the grid experience! Game Drive is better if done early so we decided to leave by 6.30 giving us enough time for morning activities once the lights are turned on.Got ready and stepped out of the tent to complete darkness then rechecked the time - Sujith glared and flared at me. As the lights switched on I thought it was 5 am and woke him up, how was I to know the lights came an hour early! Our co travelers were fashionably late so we started on our drive at 7.45. We clicked pictures at the entrance of the reserve and did a bit of haggling and bought a few souvenirs from the tribal peddlers. The roof of the van was lifted up 2 feet so we could stand and watch unhindered. We were strictly advised not to step out till the drive is complete, that's another 6 hours or so! We were thrilled to see the numerous Zebras standing in various poses, most of them were o...

A cool breeze welcomed us and the airport looked very ordinary (flying out of Dubai,everything looks ordinary),  the Jomo Kenyatta International airport. We were a group of 25, 5 Tamil speaking couples with noisy kids and us. They were all neighbours in Dubai and have been vacationing together regularly. We were greeted by the travel partners of Akbar travels, a group called Sawa Sawa ('ok ok' in Swahili). A tall dark guy with a unpronounceable name gave us a speech on the expected conduct and the sights planned etc. The Tamil group shared their chapatis and pickle with us, travelling with kids they had lots of eatables, we ate in the parking lot. As we were getting ready to board the minivans (3), he asked just the 2 of us to wait as we were to be accompanied by the couple landing in the next flight from Dubai. We were tired already with the delayed flight and this irked us. After a wait of 1.5 hours, watching the varied crowd coming out of the airport mostly big groups ...

Everybody has a bucket list ...things to do, places to visit etc., all before kicking the bucket. Don't you have one?  Please do take a diary or your phone and jot down the things that come to your mind. You don't need to be past 60 or unwell to frame the list...actually its better to write one in your teens keep adding to it and striking off the activities done, giving yourself more time to empty the bucket.  Well, my list is rather long, and a tad bit ambitious in fact, there's no chance that I ll ever get to empty my bucket! I asked Sujith to list out the places he wanted to see. Where my list had 25 places, Sujith just told me 3. I was surprised, what only 3? He said he would like to refill the bucket as it empties up ...smart guy I say .So not surprisingly Sujith's places to see are all done. Lucky guy he gets to refill his bucket, aha, I had one matching with his list so I am happy to strike it off my list. On the top of my wishlist was Australia. Wat...

What happened to your hair ? Well ...I had a haircut! But why? Oh ...I was bored so just chopped it off ! But who would cut such  lengthy, healthy hair? I would...and I did .. didn't like people staring at the long hair with a few grey strands jutting out, while talking to me. Is that the look you are going for !?! Is going under the scissors and getting your hair chopped short like a boy the solution? The parlor lady was aghast at my request. Had to cajole her to cut my hair, can you believe it? I just don't like to go to the beauty salons, these totally made up girls (using up all the beauty products)have opinions about your skin type, the hair texture, the eyebrow shape and what not. I used the salons for services on my face and head alone, else she would have condemned every part  of my body! Yeah I know, I am not the epitome of perfection, I have survived this long with these imperfections. There has been no dearth of admirers either(wink wink)! So keep your opin...

God works wonders in many ways. As the saying goes " marriages are made in heaven"  The instruments in making that happen are varied.  Let me tell u a cute little love story. A young man with dreams in his eyes and hopes in his mind was idling away at home feeling a little bored . Just then he heard the black big telephone, a status symbol of the select few let out a shrill "tring tring" . With studied nonchalance he lifted the receiver and bellowed a " Hello" .The voice on the other side, sounded like music to his ears, lady on the other side asked for a person. Knowing it was a wrong call but not wanting to break the connection with the musical voice, he continued the conversation and jokingly said - the person you ask for does not live here but I do and am willing to offer my services to you, my young lady. The voice sounded perplexed and having realized that she had dialed a wrong number, apologized and was about to cut the line. Our Hero q...

I was bemused when my friend showed her son's certificate of ‘pen licence’ , it was the first I heard the term. She explained that her son’s school, which follows British curriculum, awards each milestone with a certificate and makes it a celebration. Big deal for the kids and parents alike, akin to getting a driving licence or college graduation. This got me thinking about my school days and the first time we were allowed to use pens, strictly fountain pens only and not these ball point or gel pens which you get for a dime a dozen. I vaguely remember that somewhere during the 5th or 6th grade I bought my first pen.  I posted a message in all my WA groups asking if they remembered their transition to pens from pencils.The answers received were similar to the recent legislative assembly results, with no clear mandate. Some said 4th grade others in 6th grade, a friend explained in 4.5 i.e. in the last term of the 4th grade, another one said 8th grade. He i...