Delhi
Trips to India are always special. However, during Diwali they have an added oomph factor! This is a blog about our trip to India during Diwali.
Compared to the US - which feels like the land of grownups with sober colors, mellow tastes and soft sounds, India feels like a boisterous, unruly, spirited child. India fills your senses whenever you go, but during Diwali everything goes to another level. I was going to India for Diwali after a long time, and had forgotten just how festive the atmosphere gets. The whole family in India had gotten together in Delhi for Diwali, and my what a celebration it was!
Diwali truly overwhelmed the senses: Everything was brighter - homes were beautifully lit up with lights and diyas, big hoardings had come up all over the city prompting you to gift everything from sarees to household goods to your loved ones. There was riot of color - people had made elaborate rangolis and flower decorations outside their homes and folks were wearing their prettiest, newest, colorful clothes. A hubbub of sound - the noise of crackers starting a few days before Diwali, reaching it's peak during Diwali evening and continuing on for a few days after. A multitude of smells always hung in the air - the smog of Delhi mixed with the smell of crackers, the scent of burning incense and diya oil and ofcourse the fooood! Diwali was an absolute treat for the taste buds - we had delicious North Indian sweets - pinni, kaju barfi, gajar halwa, a gulab jamun every day for breakfast; specially made South Indian sweets and savory snacks - ladoo, muruku, suthu muruku, parupu thenga; and finally every meal was personalized - a favorite dish of every person was included in the menu every meal! I'm sure I overate 3x times atleast. The whole experience was like a mini wedding, and Abhishek and I absolutely enjoyed it!
Compared to the US - which feels like the land of grownups with sober colors, mellow tastes and soft sounds, India feels like a boisterous, unruly, spirited child. India fills your senses whenever you go, but during Diwali everything goes to another level. I was going to India for Diwali after a long time, and had forgotten just how festive the atmosphere gets. The whole family in India had gotten together in Delhi for Diwali, and my what a celebration it was!
Diwali truly overwhelmed the senses: Everything was brighter - homes were beautifully lit up with lights and diyas, big hoardings had come up all over the city prompting you to gift everything from sarees to household goods to your loved ones. There was riot of color - people had made elaborate rangolis and flower decorations outside their homes and folks were wearing their prettiest, newest, colorful clothes. A hubbub of sound - the noise of crackers starting a few days before Diwali, reaching it's peak during Diwali evening and continuing on for a few days after. A multitude of smells always hung in the air - the smog of Delhi mixed with the smell of crackers, the scent of burning incense and diya oil and ofcourse the fooood! Diwali was an absolute treat for the taste buds - we had delicious North Indian sweets - pinni, kaju barfi, gajar halwa, a gulab jamun every day for breakfast; specially made South Indian sweets and savory snacks - ladoo, muruku, suthu muruku, parupu thenga; and finally every meal was personalized - a favorite dish of every person was included in the menu every meal! I'm sure I overate 3x times atleast. The whole experience was like a mini wedding, and Abhishek and I absolutely enjoyed it!
On Diwali evening
The backdrop:
The balcony at home
Dad's in matching kurtas.
Lighting the first diya.
Rangoli inside the house. Mamma, mummy and I made the rangolis.
Bursting crackers on our roof. It was a lot of fun bursting crackers after such a long time.
View from the roof. Some of the rockets were really impressive - on similar levels as fourth of July fireworks in the US, and these were being burst by individual households.
We also did some sight seeing in Delhi. We visited the majestic Akshar Dham (unfortunately no pictures allowed) and the historic Qutub Minar. The Qutub Minar was commissioned in 1200 AD (more than a 1000 years back!), and was reconstructed again when lighting struck it in 1369 AD.
The Iron Pillar, a 7m column of iron, is located in the Qutub Minar complex and dates back to 402 AD. The pillar shows no signs of corrosion in 1600+ years! What a testament to the talent of Indian blacksmiths and craftsmen. It's just mind blowing to think that this structure has been in it's current form for more than a millenium! Like the mountains, it's seen entire civilizations and ways of life come and go - the era of the Rajput Kings, the Mughals, the British and then sovereign India.
The Iron Pillar, a 7m column of iron, is located in the Qutub Minar complex and dates back to 402 AD. The pillar shows no signs of corrosion in 1600+ years! What a testament to the talent of Indian blacksmiths and craftsmen. It's just mind blowing to think that this structure has been in it's current form for more than a millenium! Like the mountains, it's seen entire civilizations and ways of life come and go - the era of the Rajput Kings, the Mughals, the British and then sovereign India.
At Qutub Minar:
As I was walking around Akshar Dham and Qutub Minar I remember thinking about something from the book "Gone Girl". The protagonist, Nick, in the book says that as a generation we've never seen anything for the first time. Everything that we see today we've already seen before in a book, movie or TV show where the pictures, video or music are perfectly tuned to manipulate our emotions and elicit a strong reaction. That is why when we see it for ourselves we are usually underwhelmed.
In the US most places of interest are very well documented online. You can see visitors pictures and read their reviews beforehand, so you pretty much know what to expect. Therefore sometimes it so happens that places look better online than in real life. In India however, there's usually not that much information online. I've observed many times when I visit a new touristy place in India I am always pretty impressed and pleasantly surprised, since I went with no expectations. Also made me think of one of Daddy's favorite sayings - Expectations reduce joy!
Something to think about for our next trip.
In the US most places of interest are very well documented online. You can see visitors pictures and read their reviews beforehand, so you pretty much know what to expect. Therefore sometimes it so happens that places look better online than in real life. In India however, there's usually not that much information online. I've observed many times when I visit a new touristy place in India I am always pretty impressed and pleasantly surprised, since I went with no expectations. Also made me think of one of Daddy's favorite sayings - Expectations reduce joy!
Something to think about for our next trip.
Finally, no trip in India is complete without visiting some family and friends.
Chand Uncle and aunty visit:
Visiting Nanima:
Then it was time for our next destination, Chennai!
Chennai
Growing up, I spent a lot of my summers at Thatha patti's house in Chennai. One of our favorite activities was going to the beach.
As a kid I used to love going to the beach. As soon as we parked our car at the beach, apparently I would run out towards the water and one or all of thatha, patti, mummy and daddy would chase after me :) Some pictures of me at the beach running and being chased!
As a kid I used to love going to the beach. As soon as we parked our car at the beach, apparently I would run out towards the water and one or all of thatha, patti, mummy and daddy would chase after me :) Some pictures of me at the beach running and being chased!
Enjoying the beach, as I got a little older too. Here with Rama Attai.
And still loving it! A favorite pass time of the Venugopal family!
The sea water had become black due to the constant rain.
We stayed indoors most of the time in Chennai because of the rain. California has been in a drought for 6-7 years, so we were very much enjoying relaxing while listening to the rain.
We stayed indoors most of the time in Chennai because of the rain. California has been in a drought for 6-7 years, so we were very much enjoying relaxing while listening to the rain.
Relaxing afternoon!
It rained throughout the day and the night. The picture below is what we woke up to the next morning. For reference, a gate is roughly 5-6 ft tall, and the water logging is half way up to the gate.
We left Chennai a day or two after this. It got much, much worse a few weeks after we left. Rama attai's house was caught right in the middle of the fury of the rain gods and the Adyar river.
Apparently when Rama attai woke up early one morning she stepped into a pool of water in her bedroom! The previous night water had not even entered their parking area (which is a few feet below the house level) and they all had gone to sleep peacefully. A barrage upstream of the Adyar river had been opened in the night because of which the water level in the river was rising very rapidly. At 4.30am when she woke up the water was ankle deep. By 6.30am, water had come reached the chest level!! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps - water rising that fast. Thatha, patti, rama attai and sneha quickly rushed to the first floor with a few essential things. They were stuck there for 2 days without power, limited water and very little food. We lost communication with them on the first day they were stranded on the first floor. Daddy then drove from Hyderabad to Chennai navigating inundated roads and bridges to finally rescue them by boat!! Some very anxious moments for us all. They are all safe now, though Rama attai's house was completely wrecked inside. A layer of sludge coated everything. They have tried to salvage what they can, but it is certainly going to be a long recovery.
Seeing Daddy respond to this disaster was an important lesson for easily excited/panicked me. When daddy was driving from Hyderabad to Chennai, we had no information about how Rama Attai, Sneha, Thatha and Patti were, how the situation was in their neighborhood, how far Daddy would be able to drive, what will he be able to do when he got there. I was asking him are you tensed about how they are, how you will get to the house etc. He was saying I am very calm, I am actually singing songs right now. It is very important to stay calm because getting anxious will only drain you of energy and not enable you to think clearly. You have to keep your energy so that when you are actually there you can work well and think clearly. Tension never helps in emergency, keep a calm mind.
I've seen Abhishek also react very calmly in the face of problems, saying "What has happened has already happened, let's just see how to respond.". It's a really nice way to live. I hope to learn to become calmer in the face of disasters. I think whenever faced with a big problem, I should reflect back on the Chennai floods situation and think - is my sitatution as bad as that? And even that was not soo bad in the end.
Apparently when Rama attai woke up early one morning she stepped into a pool of water in her bedroom! The previous night water had not even entered their parking area (which is a few feet below the house level) and they all had gone to sleep peacefully. A barrage upstream of the Adyar river had been opened in the night because of which the water level in the river was rising very rapidly. At 4.30am when she woke up the water was ankle deep. By 6.30am, water had come reached the chest level!! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps - water rising that fast. Thatha, patti, rama attai and sneha quickly rushed to the first floor with a few essential things. They were stuck there for 2 days without power, limited water and very little food. We lost communication with them on the first day they were stranded on the first floor. Daddy then drove from Hyderabad to Chennai navigating inundated roads and bridges to finally rescue them by boat!! Some very anxious moments for us all. They are all safe now, though Rama attai's house was completely wrecked inside. A layer of sludge coated everything. They have tried to salvage what they can, but it is certainly going to be a long recovery.
Seeing Daddy respond to this disaster was an important lesson for easily excited/panicked me. When daddy was driving from Hyderabad to Chennai, we had no information about how Rama Attai, Sneha, Thatha and Patti were, how the situation was in their neighborhood, how far Daddy would be able to drive, what will he be able to do when he got there. I was asking him are you tensed about how they are, how you will get to the house etc. He was saying I am very calm, I am actually singing songs right now. It is very important to stay calm because getting anxious will only drain you of energy and not enable you to think clearly. You have to keep your energy so that when you are actually there you can work well and think clearly. Tension never helps in emergency, keep a calm mind.
I've seen Abhishek also react very calmly in the face of problems, saying "What has happened has already happened, let's just see how to respond.". It's a really nice way to live. I hope to learn to become calmer in the face of disasters. I think whenever faced with a big problem, I should reflect back on the Chennai floods situation and think - is my sitatution as bad as that? And even that was not soo bad in the end.
A picture of us all on our last day in Chennai. Then onwards home - to Hyderabad!
Hyderabad and Srisailam
Mamma, papa and Rishabh joined us from Delhi during our time in Hyderabad. There was no agenda while we were there, all just relaxed, sat around and watched some movies. We ate some great food at home and outside - ate at Paradise (what trip to Hyderabad is complete without biryani?), appams (Abhishek's first time, and he loved them). Here are some pictures at Hyderabad.
And then, for family honeymoon 2 (the first one was in Kausani), we all did a road trip to Srisailam!
OK, so nostalgia made me go back and look at our Kausani photos. Here's a few. This was just after our wedding.
OK, so nostalgia made me go back and look at our Kausani photos. Here's a few. This was just after our wedding.
So back to the Srisailam visit. Srisalam is a temple town around 250 km south of Secunderabad. The temple at Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas or temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. The small, picturesque town sits on the banks of the Krishna River.
Some pictures from our drive:
Some pictures from our drive:
The Srisailam temple is very old and ancient. It was nice to see that the temple and town were well maintained. The temple was not very crowded and there was a feeling of peace and tranquility all around. We went for darshan to the temple in the evening as well as early morning. Some pictures from our evening darshan:
Darshan early morning:
All to soon the vacation was over and it was time to get back. After our Srisailam trip we returned to Delhi for a bit, and then came back to the US. Thank you everyone for a truly wonderful, relaxing and memorable holiday!
Much love!!
Much love!!
