So, it’s another year coming to an end…what with FB being flooded with photo collages of people’s lives this year, I wanted to make a note of our life this year….for eternity.
The year actually began on a worrisome note 😦 –mom almost got admitted in hospital with a bad bout of acidity in her chest which mimicked a heart attack! K who is normally a strong person got really worried that she’s had a heart attack and it resulted in him getting admitted in hospital for 3 days as he fainted due to all the tension. Luckily since it happened in the hospital and our family GP was around, they took good care of him and we were sent home in 3 days with a whole bunch of test results which all came out normal. But this is the time the hospital and doctors tend to play with your mind—and we end up getting “all” the recommended tests done, just to be on the safe side. Emotionally vulnerable—I completely understood what it meant. Because of this episode, I had to come face to face with K’s mother, sisters and their families. Though I did be civil and speak to them and re-assured them of his well being and that nothing was wrong with him, there was no reciprocation of that attitude to me–which even angered K to a huge extent. I was still an invisible figure in the hospital room. Anyways, since we don’t care too much about their attitude, we were just happy to be back home. End result was that K was found to be severely deficient in Vit D–for which he had to be on medication for a few months.
We missed out on a few bird photography trips for the first few months — but more than made it up in May with a wonderful trip to the Kolleru Bird Sanctuary in Vijayawada with a friend couple. Vijayawada is their hometown and we both were treated to some awesome hospitality by them. It was a first road trip for us out of Hyderabad in our SUV-and boy we had a fun time. We got some wonderful shots of the Spot Billed Pelicans which migrate from Siberia to this lake. We also got some beautiful shots of the Painted Storks and other birds.
June was even more awesome and something we will remember forever. We made our first trip to Tigerland—The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve to see Tigers in the wild. This is in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in central India. It is notable as Maharashtra’s oldest and largest National Park with a total area of 1727 sq km. You can read all about our adventure and Tiger sighting here.
July was indeed special – we completed a decade of our wonderful, mad, joyous, roller coaster ride of marriage. Though we have known each other for the last 18 years, been in a relationship for 14 out of them, we continue to be the best friends for the longest period of time. I could not have asked for anything better than my friend ending up as my lover and husband. We complement each other, we cover each other’s back and most importantly also drive each other up the wall. For the anniversary weekend we stayed over at a Resort chilling out and my BIL and sister surprised us by booking a dinner for us at the Taj Falaknuma Palace. This is a heritage property, built by the Nizams who ruled Hyderabad in 1880’s. The Palace was taken over by the TATA group and renovated into a Luxury Hotel. The dinner was lovely..it was arranged in the “Gol Bungalow” area – an open area restaurant with a spectacular view of the city at night and that brought down the curtains on the special day in our life.
August saw my nephew complete his 19th birthday!!..now all grown up and entering his 20’s. I was the first to see him along with his father, as a bundle of pink baby flesh 😀 . The previous year I was with him in their home in California bringing in his 18th. The same month also saw our niece(the younger sister of the one I mention in the paragraph below) flying off to the USA for her Post Grad. It is mind boggling how fast these kids grow!!! August also brought us a much awaited happy news and this is how the news broke…
K (calling me from office) – I’ve got the paper from office (in a serious tone)
Me – Why you taking paper from office? Why don’t you read the paper at home?
K – official PAPER re! you dumbhead! (and a chuckle)
Me – eh?? What does it mean???
K – I got the PAPERRRR..from office, on the letter head!!!
Finally a bulb glowed above my head and I was already doing the jiggety jig, the samba, the salsa, the Disco and the twist dance all together…….K had got his much awaited promotion as General Manager-a well deserved elevation. At 40, he had achieved a superb milestone in his career. No prices for guessing that when he came home I was all over him, engulfing him in a bear hug for a full 10 minutes chocking the breath out of him :grin:.
Sep brought us a new member into our family–the one we met for the first time, though we have known him for sometime. K’s niece is also going through the same roller coaster fight with her parents as she seeks approval for her love. It’s like our past coming alive again in front of our eyes. Her fiancé came on a vacation to India and took time out to meet us. It was great meeting him in person – a very honest, well spoken, smart and practical person–and the best part!!!!! he and I realized we have so many things in common, even as simple as the way we react to situations..Well, who said there can be only few Masterpieces! LOL! 😆 . I just wish and hope they do not have to go through as bad a struggle as we did, in trying to convince her parents.
October – another special moment …. I completed my 40th this month 🙂 . What a better way than to celebrate this milestone with family around. My sister and BIL took their vacation and came down to India–and we all went on a trip to Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan. We reached Delhi and then from there took a road trip for 4 days covering Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
Agra was the most wonderful – seeing the Iconic Taj Mahal for the first time!! 😯 . Time stood still, I could hear the slow humming of romantic music in my ears and women in white gowns floating around in the sky hovering around the Taj Mahal!!! Was it a dream? Was it real? I really don’t know, but I have heard that seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time evokes such reactions in people!. A dedication and a symbol for eternal love and there I was with my love K – holding hands and looking at the white marble with tears threatening to break my strength. The misty morning was an added effect to this wonderful structure. Yes and we did get some amazing clicks of the Taj Mahal!
The Mesmerizing Taj Mahal
The whole trip was a feast to us and we both had a blast clicking away with our cameras. I brought in my 40th Birthday in a Desert in Jaisalmer – in a lovely Resort, who also arranged a cake at the last minute on request from K. As I cut the cake with my dearest family singing for me and with hugs and kisses from them—what more could I ask for–just that this bond and happiness is always there with me.
November was special too – I had mentioned about my dearest younger brother S (but who is double my size and looks like my elder bro 🙄 , whom I have mentioned about in here) … we are brother-sister not by blood, but by emotions and love. We started out as strangers but that changed into a very special bond. This month saw him getting married–a beautiful occasion which we have all been waiting for a long long time. I do believe that “there is a time for everything” and this too was meant to happen at the right time. K and me flew down to Chennai for his wedding for a day–and a huge bear hug was just what conveyed our feelings of warmth, love and blessings. Yes, how can there be no tears–it did tumble out, but we had to suppress them. We came back home with joy that he has finally settled into marital bliss. Wish you both a wonderful and beautiful married life S and M.
December – brought my 2 BFF girl friends and their families to Hyderabad on a short holiday. We’ve known each other since 1996-and worked together for almost 7 yrs and we are still “Besties”. We all had such a fun time…so much laughter and so much madness. December also means Christmas—such a wonderful season to be in. We did up our Christmas Tree and invited our neighbourhood kids to help us put it up–that is the tradition we maintain every year. Three days of baking Rum Plum cakes, Sponge and Chocolate cakes for neighbours, friends and K’s team at office. Christmas Day we stepped into Church to wish the Lord on his birthday and to Thank Him for all his blessings. The afternoon was spent happily with mom and our friend couple over a wonderful chatty buffet spread.
Now, just a week to go and we bring in another New Year. Here’s wishing my family, friends and all of you a very Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Prosperous and Successful 2015. See y’all soon.
thoughtsrantsrambles 