Consumed by wanderlust

Love the thought packing bags, wrapping up work, finishing hurried last minute calls, picking outfits to wear, planning things to do, capturing numerous shots, grabbing the itinerary and tickets, trying different cuisines, waiting to board a flight / train and lastly getting to the holiday destination! The joy of virtually running the trip in my mind is unbeatable; say prepping for a trip is way more exciting than the trip itself!

I think I have inherited the wanderlust from my parents, mostly my dad. As a child I have been out on a holiday every summer and winter vacation. Save a few, been to most of the states in the country. Every place oozing its own flavor, custom, culture, people and food forming fond memoirs as we traveled along.

I recollect one of my most favorite vacations in Rajasthan, India. Biting into hot juicy jalebis from the street, surfing through colorful bright tie & dye fabric, walking past the reflection of little glittering mirrors, trying on sequin shawls,  bargaining for jhootis, hogging on hot paranthas and cold lassi in the hot sultry afternoon, tasting camel milk and curd, dancing to traditional folklore in chowki dhani  (a cultural amusement park) , riding on camels and elephants, touring through the embellished palaces or just driving through the busy streets of Jaipur, there is so much more to the desert land than one can imagine. The scenic boat rides in Udaipur, temples & palaces encircled by the lake, even the sand dunes of Jodhpur glamorized by bollywood are worth a visit. Rajasthan reeks its culture, color scintillating your senses. Kudos to Rajasthan tourism for bringing its hertiage to life. Hmm...Love Rajasthan!

Reeling back to the today, I have the whole world to explore - newer cultures, exotic food, unexplored ventures. My travel wish list never seems to go through a dry phase! Introducing it to cyber space.

• Australia & New Zealand have always fascinated me, specially the bungy jump in Auckland, New Zealand and Coral reefs in Aussie. Waiting for land of the kiwis to extend an invitation.

• Egypt - Been drawn to Eygpt and its culture since forever. The Pyraminds, Sphinx, sandy deserts, the Nile, the rich history, the soil cleopatra tread on is definitely worth a visit.

• South Africa - Cape town, sun city, wild African safaris. South Africa has its own charm and a must see on my list

• Hawaii - Need I not say more? Love water sports or just anything fun. Does'nt make one feel ridiculous even in colorful large print and orchid garlands!  Can't wait to say 'Aloha' Hawaii!

• Europe -  Im not too much of a nature lover, but Europe definitely has much more than picturesque locales. A lot of catching up on History before I hit the musee of Paris read musey of Pari, the churches in Vatican and Rome, the gondolas of Venice, the colosseum, Swiss Alps, the list is endless (Not so well informed to have a things to do yet) 

Thus, Dreaming on...

My tryst with English

In an effort not to sound too unpatriotic, I confess my love for the English language. I pride myself in our country (India), it's rich heritage, the culture and its diversity! But I also love the languages it taught me which includes English - foreign by all means.

The English influence is predominant across the asian sub-continent owing to the British rule for nearly a century. One can navigate from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, with the help of friendly native Indians who willingly guide anyone with their broken English. Road signs, billboards, posters , menu cards, vehicle registration , application forms, etc are all in English.  Its ironical to even call it a foreign language anymore, its like a native tongue to most of the educated Indians.  

As for me, I grew up learning English in a little convent back home. Our proficient teachers effortlessly taught us to enjoy and appreciate the language.  Reading and learning new words was always a pleasure. Be it the lovely poems or our non detail class / grammar classes,  the language always intrigued me to learn more.I  loved all our grammar classes and thoroughly relished learning original Shakespeare plays (Very grateful to Mrs Juliana for making it so interesting)

The only flip side of mastering, living and dreaming in English was, I lost out on our very own rich literature. Not that I am proud of it, but I can barely read in my mother tongue nor speak without faltering in our national language. But when it comes to English, there are no hassles - its almost like second nature. My mom often contemplates the amazing rich Tamil literature I missed out reading because I can't read in my own mother tongue as much I can in a foreign language! 

On the other hand, staying afloat in this maddening competitive world, knowing English is only a value added asset! One should give due credit to the language, because of which I sit here in Silicon Valley writing this blog and living my dreams. But my love for the language is way beyond and I enjoy using it in everyday life to express myself , to quench my literary thirsts, to pen my thoughts and so much more. I know I could have survived without it,  but can only imagine how different life would have been!

P.S: Pardon me if this sounded anything like an analytical reasoning essay. Im still trying to overcome writer's block people.