peace of mind

Bliss!!!

Bliss!!!

Bliss!!!

I just got hired :D :D

zzzZZZZzzzzZZZzzzzzzz!! i want it to get over soon !!!

Sand in my shoooooooes

Of all the places i intend to go...Orissa was never on the list!

It was not such a happy trip...mixed with the the pressure of performing well in skill city.

Studded with the emptiness of defeat, a potpourri of emotions.

But the best part was my friends(teamwork & team-spirit it was after all :P), the thrill of outbound activities( yes we drenched and got messy like never ever!), konark sun temple and the beach abound with happiness of a kid...the sand slipping under our feet!!!

Reflection of Roots

She had waited for this moment all her life. She had longed to see those faces, faces that were part of her occasional dreams. She had pleaded, prayed and vowed to meet those relations who were so close to her and yet so far... She had visualized this day in various possible ways, it was after all going to be a life altering day for her, if at all that day arrived!

The day arrived so suddenly and impulsively that she could not understand the gravity of it at that moment. Was it a moment of rejoice or sorrow? Was it going to change anything for her at all? She was told that she is now big enough to understand life and its ways. She can now see those faces and reason out her lessons of life from them!! It was a brief meeting that was like a life long journey. She saw her past and future in those eyes, she cried and laughed at the same time.

One pair of eyes were cold and opaque, another deep with emotions and miseries to tell about..She dint know what to do, where to look at and whom to trust. And just as it had started so quickly it ended abruptly...it was time to leave. She was glad to leave, to get back into her cocooned world of comfort where she does not have to think or bother.She never felt so small before. But she was leaving a part of her behind forever..she was sorry to leave after all...Alas! but that was the way of life, she was told and she was big enough to understand it now.

memories & lyrics

I never felt magic crazy as this

I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea

I never held emotion in the palm of my hand

Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree

But now you're here

Bright in my northern sky :)

When you dont need to worry

When no ones in a hurry

When no one steps on my dreams

When people understand what I mean

there ll be days like this !!

czeched out!!

Praha ~ the place to beee :)

Jugni chali vekhan Paris te Rome, par ja vadi Prague,

jenu dekh dil gaya odha aa...je rehna te ithe ni tah hor nai kithe.

I was enchanted by this fairyland..its simply purrfect for me..beautiful, peaceful and magical!!

As soon as I had put my feet here, something told me that I can live forever in this small town and never get tired of it..I can live here and be anyone I wish to be - a painter, a poet, a photographer, a philosopher :-).

I equally enjoyed hiking in the rain and the sunlit stroll in the main square. The medieval castle was full of mystery just as the scientific tower was complete with history. (lol!). The people were friendly, the Easter market was fun and the supermarket cheap!! What else could u ask for???

Here are some of my favourite clicks :

Some listings!

Unfortunately my exchange term has come to an end and I have not been able to write anything about the months spend in Norway. I had all the words formed up in my mind i just could not type them out:-( But now almost a month after coming back,albit I am sad that I could not spend more time there, I can happily say that Norway was one of the most beautiful part of my life. I miss the cold, I miss the clean streets, I miss the bus no 37 , I miss the river behind my house,I miss my supercool college building,I miss the strangers I met everyday,I miss getting yogurt from ICA/Kiwi and coffee at amigo,I miss being alone, I miss the stupid conversations I had with people I barely knew...I miss Oslo !!

I donno what to say when people ask whether going to Norway was the right decision...or did I learn something out of it..I am never good at yes/no questions!!
I could not make the most out of the four months...there were many things I wished to see or do but could not...but there were others that i managed to do:

I survived(yeah thats the biggest one !!)
I bought snow boots(a big deal for me)
I saw Opera ( in the most exquisite Opera house)
I learned to ski(although could not master it)
I went to Rome and Venice(another dream come true)
I learned to cook(the hard way!)
I made some wonderful friends(and many acquintences)
I collected postcards(yay!)
I spend some quality time with my parents(huh..over skype)
I watched FRIENDS all over again(and missed my own much more!!)
I felt respect and pride for my country even more(and mutual understanding for fellow Asians)
I came closer to identifying myself :)


some more and I am glad I went to Norway and hope to go there sometime again for my unfulfilled dreams!! amen !!

the first of firsts

Ha so began my journey! Loaded with extra layers of sweaters, extra baggage full of snacks(i was afraid i will starve to death!!) and a fur coat i could not fit into...i finally managed to board my delayed flight. Reached the transit destination - Zurich only to find that i have missed my connecting flight! Huh...another small hurdle...even the breathtaking locations of switzerland cant cheer you up if you have to while away the entire day on an airport terminal. Well i finally landed in Oslo at the end of the day(and helped by a friendly norwegian couple) ..i got into the shuttle train..as the train began to speed away i got my first view of snow :) and then it hit me for the first time- i have reached my wonderland! my dream has come true!! Somehow dragging and dropping myself and my luggage..i reached the central station(fire alarm was up there) to meet my pick up buddy. Together we reached the bus stand and i felt the much awaited COLD ( the sensation that you get at minus 25 degrees or rather the senselessness !!). Some more drag-drop on the bus and i reached my apartment(my nest for the next few months). The first week was the most difficult time of all! My room temperature dropped by 10 degrees, I lost my phone and all my contacts, I survived the extreme torturous cold. The few things that kept me going were the support from the Norwegian family friends(thank you Per and Brita) and the glittering snow(i dared not touch it but loved it).

contd...

Well, skipping the before journey toil(may be for a later post !), I set my self up for the biggest adventure of my life...and headed into the unknown for an exchange semester in Norway!!

My friends were agast (u crazy?? all alone?? no one from here has been there before!! its freaking cold man!! no daylight!!soo expensive!!! u have gone nuts :P) and then there was this impeding question of why Norway? Well well...I have chosen one of the best business school in Europe which is perhaps better than the numero uno school in my country. Each year, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) produces the Human Development Report, which ranks the countries of the world according to such factors as income, education and life expectancy. In 2009 UNDP ranked Norway as the best country in the world to live in, for the ninth year in a row (UNDP statistics). Meanwhile as my country is ranked 134th...wont it be nice to experience how is it to live in such a place??

The truth was I never thought all this, Norway was painted in my young mind as a fairytale land from a very long time. Long since my uncle had been there, almost about a decade ago, I was awed by this land of mid night sun..I wanted to be there, to feel its air, to put my feet on that snow covered ground, to roam free in those endless nights of the cold winter, to get lost in those deep forests and sail through those breathtaking fjords...yes thats why I decided to go to Norway...my Forks from Twilight!!

And strangely enough all the while I was busy preparing for my journey I never thought about how it would be or how will I manage to survive alone in that cold dark place..I just went along completing all the formalities..leaving everything on the future..

14th Feb, 2010
Saint Valentine's Day!!
Well, it would have been more appropriate to go out and have fun tonight, but here I am snuggled under the blanket eating chocolate chip cookies and writing about my journey so far....
Journey?? Yes!! my journey to reclaim my rose, my journey to discover the world and my journey to unravel myself...phew!!
It all started about six months back when I had this mere idea of going on a student exchange...and why not, after-all one of my life long dream has been to travel around the world and to add to it I was already working for the international relations in my college...
Ah, but its not like you have an idea and you grab your backpack and off you go flying...well not at least in my part of the world :)
And so I had to toil and struggle even before my adventurous journey began...
to be continued...