Rare (ThursdayTreeLove)

 Todays tree is a native and according to the book 'Trees of Pune' by Shrikant Ingalhalikar it is native to Pune.

Yet we know of only 2 individuals in the city. 

Isn't that shocking? And sad? 

And in all these years I had not gone to see the tree!! 

The tree is Adinia cordifolia or Haldu of Rubiaceae. 

So when our tree group was buzzing with news of its flowering, I just had to visit.

They grow at an area where Metro construction is on full swing. I am thankful to God these 2 trees continue to flourish growing as they do by the roadside. I pray they continue to do so.

Reaching the spot was a challenge due to lot of traffic diversions and road closures and heavy rain. But I was determined and I made it there.

The majestic duo with huge heart shaped leaves were in full bloom. The branches were full of the round flowers (like Kadamba and Kaim - not surprising as they are the same family) and a wonderful sight. 

People looked askance as I walked balancing my umbrella, navigating contruction material and cars and my phone camera.

Here is the lovely Haldu. 

Opposite heart shaped leaves

Mayflower (ThursdayTreeLove)

 May has been unusually hot this year in Pune with no signs of summer showers. Yet the trees seem to be loving the heat. 

Especially the Delonix regia of the Caesalpiniaceae family. Better known as the Gulmohor or the Mayflower. 

Presently the tree is in an leafless stage and it is fully covered with flowers. The tree blazes red or orange-red and surprisingly this colour is actually soothing even in the brilliant daylight. 

The tree beckons from a distance. The full post is here. 

Multisensory Experience (ThursdayTreeLove)

Todays post features trees differently.. Rather I am just sharing images of a unique experience that I was lucky to have last month. 

The Chicago Botanic Garden has an annual light festival called Lightscape around Christmas. Our tickets were for a 9PM entry, hence, cold was certainly what I expected but beyond that I really did not know what to look forward to. 

But what I experienced was totally mind blowing. Again, a phone camera is totally inadequate to capture the ambience but that does not stop me from sharing the images. I am sure some of our TTL bloggers from the US would have seen this or similar winter light displays. 

Getting back to the garden, we entered via a lit up archway and then walked on an about 1.25 mile-trail (about 2.01 kms) trail. Different artists had decorated each area in different themes using different lights, music and even other special effects like lasers, music, fire (all with due safety precautions!). 

Coming as I do from a tropical region, walking at below 0Deg C at night was daunting. But our hosts ensured we were warmly and securely clad which made the walk totally enjoyable and memorable. The entire visit was an grand surreal, multisensory experience. 

It was not a walk meant to identify trees. Rather I could appreciate their shapes and growth patterns which were high-lighted by the various lights. 

The moon held its own in the night sky despite the (artificial) million lights glittering below and  we could spot its reflection in the lake as well. 

Here is my humble attempt to capture memories of my visit.

I heavily recommend a visit to this garden at any time of the year and the light show if possible. I am told its tickets get sold out in November itself. 

Image credit to Rajendra Sonarikar. 

The Entrance

The Archway as soon as we entered

Joy (Wordless Wednesday)

Every morning, my small balcony garden has new delights in store. Here is a glimpse of some of them. 

Summer Coolers (Wordless Wednesday)

Summer heat is made tolerable with the uncomparable Mango Mastani and Falooda! Have one or both as you wish!!

Happy Diwali! (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.

Drops (Wordless Wednesday)

Awaiting Guests (Wordless Wednesday)

The Hidden Life Of Trees

As you may have noticed, its not often that I have posted book reviews. Today I am compelled to write about an amazing book that has accidentally come my way. Accidentally because it was spotted at our library by my husband who immediately brought it home for me! And I have been glued to it since...

The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Wohelleben is a book for all tree lovers. The author is a forester from Germany and naturally he mostly describes trees in Germany and Europe. Beech. Pine. Birch. Ash and so on...Tropical trees barely find a mention yet I am sure, the 'behaviours' that he has described is quite likely apply to trees in my part of the world too. 

Delectable Squares (Wordless Wednesday)

Wordless Wednesday will be on a one month break.
Spice Of Life! continues unabated with the April AtoZ Challenge.
Take Care!

Sweets Anyone?

Anybody wants to buy Cotton Candy??

Rest and Recuperation

I expect this is a post that should get me some brownie points and boost popularity with those who find excuses to not exercise. Yes, you are right in thinking that Rest IS important when exercising. 

Why? 

Simply because it gives time for the muscles to recuperate and for broken muscle fibres (they are broken down during when doing resistance training) to repair. Its this repair process that increases our BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and makes the muscles stronger and bigger (over time). 

Obviously by rest I do not mean sleeping or becoming a couch potato. It simply means a day without your regular workout. For those who have specific fitness goals it can mean exercising a different group of muscles with a different workout or activity. There should be an interval of about six to eight hours between exercise sessions.Obviously I refer to those who exercise to stay fit not high performance athletes or those with specific health goals.

Besides rest as I have described above, one needs to get adequate sleep at night. It is the best healer for our body and mind. Overexercising can cause many problems and in this case more is not always better. 

So go ahead and take a break once a week in your workout. You've earned it.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: All suggestions are general in nature. Readers are advised to exercise caution before implementing them and seek expert advise about what is suitable for their specific needs. 

Indulgence

When I chose to write about exercising for fitness for this 2014 AtoZ Blogathon, I was a bit apprehensive that all of my posts would end up being ‘preachy’ Don’t do this, Don’t do that, Do this, Do that... 

This post is deliberately meant to break the trend. Continuous exercising and adhering to proper diets can become boring. In fact the restrictions and strict regimen can be a turn off and I speak from experience.  That’s when I came across this wonderful article that gave a rational point of view. As long as one follows fitness guidelines for most of the week its OK to indulge oneself once in a while. That means sleeping in late on a day or skipping a workout or even giving in to temptation of a plate of fries or fried chicken. An indulgence can be a motivator of sorts, something to look forward to. Remember to strike a balance.

Here are some tips before you indulge:

Plan ahead: If you have an invitation to a party then accordingly modify the other meals of the day to low calorie, high fibre ones. Then go ahead and tuck into the cake but be regular in the diet and exercise in following days. Trust me, whatever its benefits, the indulgence is not worth erasing days of hard work already put in.

Split: Share a serving with your friend which will reduce the number of calories you consume. Its quite common restaurant order here for one smoothie topped with icecream but served in two glasses. Its called 1X2 (one by two) or 2X3 and so on depending on the group size. Cool!

If you have worked hard, you have earned this ‘break’.   

Photo courtesy @puneribaker

Take a break: Taking a day off from exercise is actually good for the body especially when doing resistance training. This is because the muscles get a chance to rebuild so they become bigger and stronger. 

Go on. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All suggestions are general in nature. Readers are advised to exercise caution before implementing them and seek expert advise about what is suitable for their specific needs.

Stunning Stupas at Sanchi

The usual factors for choosing a holiday destination for most of us are the Local Attractions (Music, Arts History, Geography, etc), Shopping, Food, Nature, family/friends (at times this helps in NOT choosing a particular place) and so on. After my visit to Hampi, the presence of a UNESCO World Heritage site has become a big plus in the decision process. This explains why we seized the chance to visit Bhopal.

Located in central India, Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh state and I had often transited this city during train journeys but had never actually stayed there. Sanchi is located to the north east of Bhopal at a distance of about 45 kms. It is home to the Buddhist monuments - the Stupas that show case Buddhist art and architecture. This is designated as Unesco World Heritage Site. It dates back to some time in the 3rd century BC and was constructed by Emperor Ashoka. After its hey day period, it was ignored and forgotten for several hundred years. It was re-discovered and then explored and developed by British Officers during the Raj. There are plenty of reviews and descriptions of this site available on the internet so I would not like to repeat those. This page on the website of the Archeological Survey of India offers excellent information.

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi

Simple Joys

All our daily efforts are almost always only geared for one thing and one thing only.. getting joy out of life. Being at peace with our inner selves and people around us. We get trapped in the rat race in our search for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

In this process we often forget to enjoy simple things in our lives. They lighten the daily drudgery and ensure we don't forget how to smile. Can you immediately recall a few such simple joys...

Here is my list:
Encountering consecutive green traffic lights in the morning rush hour
Finding a Rs100 bill forgotten in the pocket of a coat from the last winter
Eliciting a smile from a beautiful stranger in a the train

At all times, sighting a pair of mynahs always lifts my spirits as I vaguely recollect something from my childhood " ... Two for Joy..."

Two for Joy

King of fruits

Can there be any one fruit that can be crowned 'King' among its brethren? For us here in Maharashtra, there is not much of a contest really! And the title goes to...

Mango.... Alphonso mangoes to be precise. Though botanically all types of mangoes (and there are several - each variety is of a different size/taste and ripens at different times) go by the same name Mangifera indica

The Mango is a summer fruit that first puts in an appearance sometime in late February in its raw form. The green paisley shaped fruit is devoured raw, added to foods, chutneys to lend a unique sour taste or made into a refreshing drink called Panha. The ripe fruit (and I refer to the Alphonso variety) are usually available by end April and subject to the flowering and weather conditions earlier in a year, the produce is available all through May.

Like all fruits it can be consumed raw but it can be added to many dishes to lend its own unique flavour. Icecream, Milk shakes, Kulfi, Shrikhand, Sooji halwa (semolina), even rice and stuffed rotis (flat indian bread made with wheat flour) are just a few examples and the only bar will be the Chef's creativity!

Make sure you eat mangoes this summer, not just any mango, the Alphonso!
And ignore calorie counting if you want to truly enjoy it.

Stay young at heart

Its that time of the year again, the summer is over and winter is just making its presence felt....
The slight nip in the early morning air (in Pune) is fast dispelled as the sun rises makes its way up over the horizon... The markets are blazing with colour - from flowers, lanterns (आकाश कंदील ), blinking coloured lights.. just to name a few.
Its Divali and time to feast and enjoy.

Something Special...

Our tenure at Bhuj was among the most memorable for me. Besides the wonderful people we met there, I was honoured to get an opportunity to work with the lovely children of Dhanvantri School. Founded and managed by the dynamic Dr Shantuben Patel this is a one stop halt that caters to all needs (education, therapy and counselling) of special children. I am richer from this experience and from everything I have learnt from Shantuben.

At the outset let me make it clear, that the school is forever filled with joy and laughter and optimism. This arises from the diminutive soft spoken power house called Shantuben!  The school was razed to the ground in the 2001 earthquake yet Shantuben and the teachers relentlessly worked on. Their efforts have resulted in a beautiful new complex that offers succour to special children from in and around Bhuj.

There are several large-hearted benefactors that help keep this noble venture going and the school recently got a wonderful new gift- a school bus. The gift was made all the more special as the one and only Big B, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan did the honours by presenting the bus keys to Shantuben.

Garland Competition for London 2012 Olympics

This is an interesting news that I must share with you all....
For Details, click here  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15204357) and here (http://www.bgci.org/education/fairchild-challengebgciglobalcompetition2011/ ).

This BBC article talks about botanic gardens around the world who have a competition for children aged 11-19 years to design a wreath made of indigenous (native) species for the 2012 Summer Olympics at London. The aim is the get children to learn about their native plants while creating something beautiful. Photos of the winning entries will be displayed during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Considering the huge number of beautiful fragrant blooms in our country I do hope there are some entries from India.
Good Luck!
Archana