I hope you all enjoyed the last blog. I sure took vicarious pleasure in posting all those pictures. I truly feel like I was there. Towards the end of the posting the system started malfunctioning and would not allow me to post these last two pictures.
Baba loved Manu Bhai so much. His spirit must have personally attended Booby's wedding. Sini was the last to fade from Baba's memory. He would never miss his dear daughter's son's special day.
It is hard to believe Gana Mousa is gone. This picture is so recent that it is easy to imagine he is still here. Snehmai Mousi looks happy and lively in his company.We know the newlyweds have their blessings and through them all our ancestors blessings.
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I wanted to, but could not, put these birthday announcements too:
This pretty princess is Anamika (Seema and Sandeep's daughter). She turned five on February 19A very happy Birthday to you from all of us.
Naren was there to help Anamika finish her cake. Naren is preparing for his first residency board examination.
Good Luck Naren. We are all rooting for you.
This is Shradha, at age four months, with her doting parents. She turns one on March 2nd.
"May you live for thousand years;
Years made of fifty thousand days".
Calli, Leela and Brian's daughter, turned 12 on February 10.
Anjali, Mama and Shyam's younger daughter, turned 7 on February 27.
Happy birthday to both of you.
Best of wishes and lots of love too.
(Send us your birthday pictures to add to this announcement!)
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Delhi and Agra (contd.)
It was so very nice to meet up with Baba. We had really missed him. He and Papaji came to the airport to pick us up. Papaji is 85 years old but still staying quite active. He looks like Santa Clause but needs to put on some weight.
Biji was waiting at home. The kids, (sorry) the three young men surrounded her with hugs and American chatter. This had to be translated into Punjabi for her. The funny thing is, it did not hamper their communication even a bit. I guess love is a universal language.
Papa ji was treated to the biceps-on-steroids hugs. He bore it all with a smile.Cousins Supi and Savvy had come over to make it a tight fivesome with Suraj, Ravi and Torry.
Bablee had a slight cold but perked up just looking at us. She had lovingly set up the house for five extra guests, nine suitcases, six bags and many more extras. She guided us to our rooms and tried to show us the place for our bags
But all we wanted to do was re-connect. Biji absolutely glowed, like a candle, watching her grandsons fill the house.
The boys were given Papaji's room.
And they happily thought Papaji came with it.
They charged up the whole house with their testosterone. Their vigor made us all feel young (and tired).
Next day, to help dissipate some of their energy, Sachi took them on a tour of the usual touristy places of Delhi. Here they are standing in front of the Qutub Minar's exquisite carving.
But what truly fascinated them was this chubby parrot, living amidst history's monuments.
They loved the India Gate and the Eternal Flame burning at the unknown soldier's tomb.
This is Raj Ghat, Gandhi Ji's memorial. Gandhi is one of the few Indian figures that all Americans know about. Some others are Mother Teresa, Aishwarya Rai and the man with the longest nails of Guiness Book of Records fame.
Sachi showed them the Red fort and pointed out the platform from where the Prime minister gives his Independance Day speech. We listen to that speech every year, sitting in the family room of our home in America.
Too soon we said bye to Biji, Papaji, Supi and Savvy and embarked on the first leg of our journey - to Taj Mahal. Bablee came along with us, to guide us and give us company. She had worked very hard and made all the arrangements for us so we could enjoy the trip without any hassle. (Did we remember to thank you Bablee Mousi?).
On the way to Agra we tried pointing out important landmarks to the boys but all they had eyes for was what was passing us by on the road. Coming from the land of 'strict obedience to traffic rules' they were fascinated by the Indian traffic.
They thought the motorbykes were awesome (specially since Sachi and I have drilled into them that they are the instruments that will ultimately make humanity extinct).
They often marvelled at the number of people that crammed into small vehicles and counted them regularly to see what would be the largest possible number.
This pair with their monkeys showed up at our window at one of the traffic lights. We were all charmed by their easy companionship.
Lunch was at a very fancy Indian restuarant called Mcdonald's!! We were amused by the menu though. Only the fries and drinks looked same as in America. Paneer and chicken ruled the menu. I guess the mighty Mcdonald had to bow down to Indian taste.
Ronald looks happy to see his country men.
Here are other sites that held the boys spell bound. They did not realise that they themselves were equally novel to the street paople.
These trucks in some kind of parade were very colorful. The boys lamented that the trucks in America are too utilitarian and fixated on efficiency.The road to Agra was a delight. The boys showed us the 'incredible' in India through their eyes. We are so jaded, on our own, we would have missed it all.
We reached our destination by late afternoon. This is the walkway to the entrance gate leading to the Taj Mahal. The rays of the sun were hitting the arches at a perfect angle for photography. While walking we filled in some historical facts for Suraj, Ravi and Torry. The Tajmahal was built by the Moghal Emperor Shah Jehan in 1653 AD as a homage to his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Both of them are buried there. Its white marble came from the quarries in Jodhpur, the red stone for its gateway came from Fatehpur Sikri and the semi-precious stone inlays came from all over the world. Shah Jahan's aim was to evoke paradise on earth.
This is the entrance gate as seen from the inside and Suraj trying to give us a 'natural' smile.
The three of them were in high energy mode and loved exploring every corner of the complex open to public.
They did calm down enough to have a few portraits taken, in front of one of the world's great wonders, for posterity's sake.
In fact we all took turns posing with the Taj in the background.
It is amazing we got all these pictures with no other people walking in front of us; It was not easy though.
Ravi liked the Taj Mahal so much he wanted to take it home with him.
Once we got started the boys wanted their picture in all sorts of combinations.
Hera is the whole gang. We have many (I mean many) more that we are saving for later enjoyment.
This is a replica of the actual tomb which is housed in the hall below. That hall is no more open to the public. The carving in the marble looks like delicate lace work. The place had spiritual feel to it.
A remarkable combination of fine art, scientific calculation, outstanding technical skill, sensuous charm and its essentially spiritual ambience makes the Taj Mahal truly unique.
Its layout is so perfect and construction so flawlwess that every angle is awe inspiring. We stayed there way past the sunset and saw it in its many moods.
The river Jamuna flowing behind it gives it an ethereal tranquility.
It truly is paradise on earth. Subdued by the sight the boys agreed.
We left as the light faded and the place closed for the night.
We drove through half the night to reach our next destination - Jaipur.
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She rules our hearts and occupies all our time when she comes to visit.
She loves all the new things we teach her. Here Ravi is showing her the universal American greeting - High Five.
This is Suraj and Surina, supposedly cleaning up after she made a mess.
A cute smile for a cute boy. She is definitely a people person.
We have had so much snow and such cold temperatures this year that she has spent most of the time indoors.
Look at this Tundra outside our door.
Occassionally, the sun comes out and dressed in all sorts of winter protection she ventures out.
She is curious about the snow and touches and squeezes it.
Jyoti and Jeff are such good parents. They make us proud.
Surina loves the girl in the mirror.
She loves playing with balls. If we seat her in the middle of tennis balls, rolling them at her from all directions, she squeals with glee.
She has many toys that she is slowly learning to take apart and then put together.
Peek-a-boo.
She is quite fond of books. This one - How Big is Elmo? - is her favourite. We are so tired of reading it to her. She has many other books but this is the one she always picks.
This is how she hides from me when in trouble.
She is curious about everything that is up high
Or beyond her reach
Or has been labelled - NO - by us.
She is absolutely ecstatic when she thinks we are chasing her and cannot catch her.
One of her favourite places to go is the prayer room. She grandly dons her great-great grandmother's mala and goes around ringing the bell.
Here she is trying to put the mala back on the Darbar Sahib (Sikh holy book)
We reached our destination by late afternoon. This is the walkway to the entrance gate leading to the Taj Mahal. The rays of the sun were hitting the arches at a perfect angle for photography. While walking we filled in some historical facts for Suraj, Ravi and Torry. The Tajmahal was built by the Moghal Emperor Shah Jehan in 1653 AD as a homage to his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Both of them are buried there. Its white marble came from the quarries in Jodhpur, the red stone for its gateway came from Fatehpur Sikri and the semi-precious stone inlays came from all over the world. Shah Jahan's aim was to evoke paradise on earth.
This is the entrance gate as seen from the inside and Suraj trying to give us a 'natural' smile.
The three of them were in high energy mode and loved exploring every corner of the complex open to public.
They did calm down enough to have a few portraits taken, in front of one of the world's great wonders, for posterity's sake.
In fact we all took turns posing with the Taj in the background.
It is amazing we got all these pictures with no other people walking in front of us; It was not easy though.
Ravi liked the Taj Mahal so much he wanted to take it home with him.
Once we got started the boys wanted their picture in all sorts of combinations.
Hera is the whole gang. We have many (I mean many) more that we are saving for later enjoyment.
This is a replica of the actual tomb which is housed in the hall below. That hall is no more open to the public. The carving in the marble looks like delicate lace work. The place had spiritual feel to it.
A remarkable combination of fine art, scientific calculation, outstanding technical skill, sensuous charm and its essentially spiritual ambience makes the Taj Mahal truly unique.
Its layout is so perfect and construction so flawlwess that every angle is awe inspiring. We stayed there way past the sunset and saw it in its many moods.
The river Jamuna flowing behind it gives it an ethereal tranquility.It truly is paradise on earth. Subdued by the sight the boys agreed.
We left as the light faded and the place closed for the night.
We drove through half the night to reach our next destination - Jaipur.
*****************
I cannot close this piece without including a few pictures of Surina.
She rules our hearts and occupies all our time when she comes to visit.
She loves all the new things we teach her. Here Ravi is showing her the universal American greeting - High Five.
This is Suraj and Surina, supposedly cleaning up after she made a mess.
A cute smile for a cute boy. She is definitely a people person.
We have had so much snow and such cold temperatures this year that she has spent most of the time indoors.
Look at this Tundra outside our door.
Occassionally, the sun comes out and dressed in all sorts of winter protection she ventures out.
She is curious about the snow and touches and squeezes it.
Jyoti and Jeff are such good parents. They make us proud.
Surina loves the girl in the mirror.
She loves playing with balls. If we seat her in the middle of tennis balls, rolling them at her from all directions, she squeals with glee.
She has many toys that she is slowly learning to take apart and then put together.
Peek-a-boo.
She is quite fond of books. This one - How Big is Elmo? - is her favourite. We are so tired of reading it to her. She has many other books but this is the one she always picks.
This is how she hides from me when in trouble.
She is curious about everything that is up high
Or beyond her reach
Or has been labelled - NO - by us.
She is absolutely ecstatic when she thinks we are chasing her and cannot catch her.
One of her favourite places to go is the prayer room. She grandly dons her great-great grandmother's mala and goes around ringing the bell.
Here she is trying to put the mala back on the Darbar Sahib (Sikh holy book)
Then she goes and kisses all the pictures. What better offering is there!
With this I bid good bye till next time.
