African sunset

Just back from a fantastic week long vacation to Maasai Mara and Zanzibar with a whole lot of lovely photographs. This one is my favourite. Shot at sunset, it reminded me of the photography class I attended during my masters in Mass Communications. We were told that sunrise and sunset are the magic hours to do photography in. We were heading back to the camp after a wonderful evening safari and our driver was eager to get back before it got too dark. We saw this herd of Thomson gazelles and impalas and they made a beautiful sight against the setting sun.

Since the Maasai Mara is just one degree away from the Equator sunrise and sunset takes only a minute so we had to act fast. Besides we wanted to catch this herd in our frame so this picture was taken in a hurry but the result is beautiful.

RIP Bala

Today happens to be the birthday of an ex-colleague of mine. His name was Balakrishna and we were at Reliance Communications back in 2007, when I had a short stint with Reliance just before moving to Dubai. Earlier this year I learnt that Bala died of a massive heart attack. The news was shocking and unbelievable because Bala was not even forty, but I guess I eventually came to terms with it so much so that I even forgot about it.
When I logged in to Facebook this morning I got the notification reminding me that it's Bala's birthday. It was a weird feeling. It's as if the person were still alive even though you know that he is not. Another colleague had wished him on his wall and I figured that she had no clue that Bala was no more. So I wrote to her and she was as shocked as I was when I had first heard the news. She then went on to say that she is taking a break from work because she's expecting her first baby in January. And then it hit me, yet again...the beauty....the cruelty (depending on how you look at it) of the universe...the continuity of the cycle of birth and death. I informed one person about the death of another and she told me that she was going to give birth soon. It's fascinating, mysterious and beautiful at the same time, isn't it?

First post of 2012

I wish I could attribute my long silence on the blog to more exciting reasons but alas that's not the case. It so turned out, one fine day in early December last year, that my husband got a call from home saying that his mother was in hospital due to a wound that led to complications thanks (or no thanks) to her diabetes. The result: 54 days on and she is still in hospital, but thankfully recovering well. Three valuable lessons learnt are as follows:
1. Exercise for just 20 minutes a day but do that diligently. If you are diabetic there is no way you can skip this one.
2. When you start feeling any pain, anywhere, go the doctor to get that checked. My MIL thought she had a muscle pull and did not go to the doctor till many days later, and that has cost her a long stay in hospital not to mention the pain and a (very) hefty hospital bill.
3. Learn to read the signs your body gives you. For example the kind of diet/exercise you have maintained over the last few days will immediately reflect on your skin. So if you start noticing pimples you know it's a sign to stop and make amends quickly - whether diabetic or not.
With that I'm off to the gym now for my 20 minutes of exercise. Of course, sometimes I literally drag my feet there but I have always come out of the gym feeling fitter and more energized. So here's to a fitter 2012 and Mummy if you ever read this - please take care of yourself and do not give us a scare like you did this time!