This Holi was our first after marriage. During our courtship we never had a chance to be together on Holi. Also, this festival is not very prominent down south.

On March 11th, we were at my in-laws place in Kanpur. There was a huge party organized there, and many guests from my father-in-law’s factory were invited. There was music and also a live dhol band! There was a chaat counter which served delicious pani puri and chaat! My husband was the prankster. He would bring buckets of coloured water and empty them over unsuspecting people! He drenched me, mum-in-law and sis-in-law on many an occasion! The water that day was pretty cold but a few minutes in the Sun would dry out the clothes, only to be the target of those buckets again! And he is such a sprinter that there was no use chasing him with a bucket of my own!

Soon, the guests poured in. Everyone was very warm towards me and wished me on my first holi as a wedded woman. My husband was tireless and continued to drench the guests one by one! Later, all the people gathered to dance to the music being played! Now this part is something that doesn’t come to me easily at all! We are not used to dancing at family gatherings down south. Thus it was all the more tough for me to dance with my in-laws! It was the same situation I faced during the Sangeet ceremony of my marriage! All the ladies had gathered and I was supposed to pitch in a step here and there. I would get up and just stand, the moves just would not come to me! Then my husband was asked to dance with me and with him beside me I managed a little jig! Yes, I can be a good spectator to such events, but actually participating in them, is quite a task!

Soon after lunch, which was also organized for the guests, we had bath and freshened up. It was such a tiring day, more so for my husband, running around with those water-laden buckets, that we immediately fell asleep for some time! In the evening, the family gathered over a cup of tea and Holi sweets and we had a nice time in discussions over myriad topics!

By 10 PM, it was time for us to pack our bags and return to Delhi. Neither of us managed to get more leave, especially since we are planning a long vacation in the second week of April.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and yes, my near and dear ones have made it very memorable for me!

Belated Holi wishes from ViSa…

Cheers.
Keep Loving.
ViSa.

We watched both the movies last weekend. Well, what do I comment on them! I didn’t find either of them exceptionally good. Delhi 6 takes off on a good note, but I felt the makers could not sustain the same as the story progressed towards the second half, and by the time movie climaxed, it was utter confusion! Abhishek’s reasons to stay on in India after spending his entire life in the USA, especially after going through certain horrendous experiences in India, are not quite convincing. But Sonam Kapoor really rocks throughout the movie! She is like a whiff of fresh air – full of life and energetic! She breezes through the movie with ease. The other highlight of the movie is the beautiful dove – Masakali. She is as beautiful as the wonderful song picturized on her! Apart from these few points, the movie is a damp squib. Nothing much to write about.

The other one – Slumdog Millionaire. Phew! This movie has taken the entire world by storm! And after watching the movie, I certainly couldn’t see what all the fuss was about! There have been better storylines in Indian Cinema and the music score was most definitely not Rahman’s best. The only differentiating factor here was that the movie was made by a Westner. Though I have nothing against that, in fact I very much believe in the global citizen concept, but the point is just because it is made by a Westner the movie has been hyped more than what it is truly worth. Good cinema must be appreciated no matter whom it is made by. Moreover, certain scenes in the movie are too disturbing – I wept uncontrollably at a couple of them. But then again, I am an abnormally sensitive person. Even otherwise, there was too much of violence involved! Yet, there was a subtle message about life being the greatest teacher of all! There are a few gaps in the storyline which I could not really fathom – for instance, how do the kids suddenly start speaking in English, or how do they jump to Agra from Mumbai.

The sweep it made at the Oscars would make any Indian proud! I am no exception! Freida looked so much more glamorous than she did in the movie! Anil Kapoor was as excited as a little child at the circus the very first time!

The next movie we are looking forward to is 13B. There is a severe dearth of good horror movies in Bollywood. Hope this one quenches, at least in part, the thirst of horror-lovers.

Cheers.
Keep Loving!
ViSa..

Another week devoured by the ceaseless pace of Time. The whole weekend lies ahead! Friday nights are the most exciting…followed by the entire Saturday. Come Sunday and the inevitable thoughts of the impending week dilute the joy of the remaining holiday. And then it takes an effort to push out such thoughts and remind oneself that one must enjoy the present, and not worry about future etc…

Yeah…the week, though, was very hectic as usual…in spite of having a cook and a domestic help employed at home! One nasty habit I must get rid of is the addiction to the Internet. After reaching home, without even changing my clothes, I reach out for the system. And once you are into the World Wide Web, there are a thousand and one things that need to be done – I mean there is such a deluge of information! My thirst for knowledge is just insatiable.

The weekend is when I look forward to pursue my interests – reading, writing, travelling. Reading starts with the daily newspaper and can diversify into other mediums through the day. I am working on an article I wish to submit to a national newspaper soon. Coming to travelling, I plan to go shopping tomorrow, that is after watching the movie Delhi 6. Yeah…my husband and I are going to watch this movie tomorrow! It was a long wait for this movie. The song ‘Masakali’ was the attention-grabber, which prompted us to watch the trailers as well. And from what we saw, Sonam Kapoor looks adorable! I didn’t think much of her in Saawariya…but she looks stunning in her latest! Simple, elegant and the perfect girl-next-door. The song genda-phool is interesting too. But I can’t understand why ‘Sasural’ is compared to Marigold. More about the movie after watching it unfold…

The global economic situation does not seem in a hurry to recover. It has had far-reaching implications, some of them most amusing, as we keep reading in the media. Personally, both of us are trying to switch to better, challenging roles, but we hardly find a way to do so. This leads to much frustration and a dented morale, but the key is to keep the faith and hold on. Life has taught me very well to cling to God no matter what the situation. And I follow this to the T. I have seen miracles happening in my very life when all else seemed to have failed. As The Alchemist advices: ‘When you want something very badly, the entire Universe conspires to help you have it.’

I am giving ample time to the Universe to concoct a beautiful conspiracy! And by the way, that line from Alchemist is one of my most favorite!

Cheers!
Keep Loving,
ViSa.

As another day draws to a close, I can’t help but wistfully wish for a few more hours in a day! Time was such a luxury before marriage happened – lazing around, doing nothing, spending hours in front of the television, lathering up face/hair packs – were all such a commonality! My husband is one of the most supportive husbands any woman could possibly have. There are no targets set for me. Yet, responsibility is an intrinsic part of marriage. Your conscience keeps nagging at you – to do something meaningful, worthwhile – something, anything!

I have always loved writing – and reading, but have had time for neither. I start a book and leave it midway. It’s one of my most irksome habits! But there are some things in life for which time needs to be squeezed out, things that can’t be compromised. This blog is one such thing. It’s a chronicle of our lives, and we are determined to keep it going – being a little infrequent once in a while is alright!

Apart from this, I have this burning desire to write an article or create a tool in SAP – that’s the technology I work in, professionally. I keep going through the articles in SAP Professional Journal and wonder when I would be able to contribute on similar lines. It involves tremendous hard work, as does anything else in life, to understand the topic of your article through and through before you are ready to assemble your knowledge in a coherent manner. And this in turn involves reading – so it’s a viscious circle.

In addition to my profession, and more importantly, I have my dear husband to take care of. He has a tendency to remain lean no matter what I cook. But more than the weight, I strive to keep his heart on the right track. Again, I read a lot on what is best for the heart, health in general, and take steps to incorporate all tips into our diet. The results were very encouraging, in our last month health check up, which literally baffled the doctors and they requested us to provide them heart-friendly tips instead! But it doesn’t stop with one good result – it’s an ongoing process and this is another of those aspects of life that just cannot be compromised on.

I love to watch Balika Vadhu on Colors and Kahin to Hoga on Star Utsav. Of course, these are much lower in the priority list, but I don’t miss them if I can help it!

Then there are the stock markets to watch, analyze and pick the stocks/mutual funds to invest in (these tasks are rather time consuming), movies to watch, songs to listen to, groceries to be bought, catch up on sleep…the list goes on!

It scares me to think of the scenario when our kids come along!

But I know that while faith makes all things possible, love makes all things easy!

Cheers!
Keep Loving!
ViSa..

For almost 10 months our blog has been lying dormant. We have revived it just a couple of days back and have not even informed anyone in our circle of friends, virtual or otherwise, about it. So I hardly expect any comments right away for this post, except for some chance stumblers.

Point is – our first wedding anniversary is getting closer and we are exploring options for a perfect summer escapade! We prefer some lesser known hill station which is just as spectacular and adventurous! So anyone who comes by may please drop in their suggestions…!

Meanwhile, we are busy googling it away…!

Cheers!
Keep loving..
ViSa.

Good to be blogging again! Did I say again? A little known fact of us is that we used to blog even before marraige, but it was an anonymous one. Reasons for doing so were plenty – but here we are, out of the veil, into the open. There are a lot of risks involved when we write as ourselves – what we reveal, to what extent we reveal and so on, but let’s not bother about that right now!!

We have always loved this concept of blogging, recording day-to-day events, tiny experiences with profound impact – it’s so much fun to read them down the line! There was a lot of uncertainity involved regarding when we would get married, how soon will it take our parents to get convinced and give their consent to our marriage – our previous blog was privy to all our myriad emotions – fears, tears, joys, anxiety and lots more. We had lots of online friends too, who would support us, empathize with our feelings, in short who’d been with us through all our grey and hay days! Though it was an anonymous blog, the feelings expressed were very much real and when someone out there is reading through them, it is an immense satisfaction in itself. We take this opportunity to thank them all!

Looking at the more recent happenings – we have been married for ten months now..and it feels just like yesterday, at times and at others, like an eternity. With Lord Hanuman’s choicest blessings upon us, our world is a cosy little place of happiness, love and everlasting beauty! True, the daily grind does take a toll on us sometimes, but when we return home, our love nurses us back to vigor and life!

Lots to share with this blog of ours, our dear friends and well wishers. The VISA saga will unfold, one post at a time! Come…be a part of the VISA experience!

Cheers
Keep Loving
ViSa

ViSa will start blogging at www.visaparadise.com effective today. While there were no updates to our website, there have been lot of developments in our life. We have setup our little home and have settled well in our respective jobs.

We will continue to post regularly on this blog and keep expanding the website.

Cheers
Keep Loving
ViSa