Rainbow (Wordless Wednesday)
Awesome (Wordless Wednesday)
Straight (Wordless Wednesday)
Sweet (Wordless Wednesday)
One Tree (Wordless Wednesday)
Cannon Ball Tree (ThursdayTreeLove)
This beautiful tree with glorious fragrant flowers growing out of its main trunk goes by the unlikely common name “Cannon Ball Tree”. This is due to its large round fruit resembling cannon balls. Its botanical name is Couroupita guianensis and the species has been introduced in India. The tree belongs to the Lecythidaceae family.
The flowers are uniquely shaped almost like a Shivalinga. Hence the tree also goes by the common name Kailaspati. When plucked, the highly fragrant pretty flower stays fresh in a bowl of water for a day.
In sharp contrast, the fruit is filled with a foul smelling substance. If you look closely, some fruit are visible and seem to be strung on the trunk. If one of them falls on someone’s head, it can cause an injury!
Kailaspati is native to the Amazon rainforest but seems to be happy in India considering its gregarious flowering and fruiting! It grows to be quite tall and is an imposing sight!
I am joining Parul‘s #ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see some wonderful trees from around the world!
Surreal (Wordless Wednesday)
X for Xmas
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty four and the alphabet is X.
Among the several festivals that we celebrate, Christmas is among my favourites. Technically I do not ‘celebrate’ Christmas but possibly because I studied in a convent school, this festival has always been special to me. We always had a party in schoolwith each class having its own celebration. Sometimes they took us to the chapel and we sang carols.
Now years later, I still make it a point to listen to Christmas carols.
Besides carols, the Christmas cake is yet another favourite. I learnt to bake one from an expert baker and it is really awesome even if I say so myself.The recipe calls for advance preparation but the results are worth it.
Most shopping areas in Pune are all decked up right from start of December and its a joy to walk down the streets or in the Mall. Christmas trees are look wonderful with fairy lights and ornaments. Here are some wonderfully decorated trees from homes…
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| Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar |
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| Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar |
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| Image credit Dr Meenakshi Pande |
I am sure there are many more facets to this great celebration – family reunions being an important one.
What do you like best about Xmas?
Only two more days to go.. See you tomorrow folks…
Cheers!
W for WiFi
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty three and the alphabet is W.
WiFi is the first word that comes to my mind for this alphabet. Ofcourse water still is an important letter-word association but my choice for today’s post is WiFi.
A receptionist at a hotel in Norway told me, “We get tourists from all parts of the world. Many dont speak or understand English. Yet everyone knows one word…. WiFi!!”
That in itself shows the reach of this technology. Its the gateway to the Internet, the place where one gets information, entertainment, education and almost everything else. We extensively use WiFi. At home. In office. At airports. In hotels. Going beyond the usual ones (phone, tablets, computer, laptop) the range of WiFi connected devices at home is rising rapidly.. Fitbit, Air purifiers, refrigerators, weighing scales and who can forget the latest addition – Alexa!
Phew!
Whenever we have house guests, among the first things to be offered to them is the WiFi password!!
Here is an image received on WhatsApp that shows the scene when the family gets together with the family matriarch…
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| Image received via WhatsApp |
I am all for connectivity but I do feel its taking over our lives. We are turning into zombies as we move from screen to screen. People are immersed in their own world and I find many are unable to converse in person. Chatting via a website or App is what gets them vocal.
As someone said, the best way to get a family together is to turn off the WiFi.
Lets get together, talk, laugh, explore the great outdoors and reconnect!
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| Image received via WhatsApp |
We are at the fag end of the challenge. Only three alphabets to go.
Cheers!
V for Vegetarian
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty two and the alphabet is V.
One advantage of travelling full fare airlines is that they offer inflight meals. Their quantity and taste factor are open to debate but yes, they do offer food. One of the biggest difficulties is choosing the correct meal option when booking tickets.
I prefer to be vegetarian. To me, it simply means a meal that does not have meat. That’s it. The websites ask me to choose between Asian Veg, Vegetarian Vegan, Vegetarian Meal, Vegetarian Oriental Meal, Fruit Platter, Vegetarian Jain Meal, Vegetarian Lacto – Ovo Meal.
Phew! That’s just the veg options.. (The non-vegetarian options are equally varied.)
Choose the wrong one and you are stuck with something that is vegetarian all right but its something you dont like. I once chose Asian Veg and found myself facing a bowl full of noodles. Try eating those with flimsy plastic folks … Plus, I hate noodles unless its Maggi! I know that Jain Meals do not contain onion/garlic/root veggies so that should be a safe option. Fruit Platter is self explanatory I suppose but will it satisfy the hunger pangs at lunch time?? I am not averse to eggs so the Veg Lacto-Ovo meal may be interesting!
In India, we have to buy food on the low cost carriers – the menu usually lists many options but all may not be available. Besides the sandwich varieties, the other items are usually made by adding hot water to the dehydrated food. I have seen folks carrying their own tiffins which says more about the food than anything anyone says or writes!
I can go on with this theme but I know you have many more blogs to visit…
While it was V for violin in school, I will go with V for vegetarian and take my chances with whatever food is served 😉
What is your experience with inflight vegetarian meals? Do share!
🙂