Gulab Singh & Gulabo deh Adventures!!

Happy 2012!

2011-12-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

Goodbye 2011, you brought us surprises, happy memories and some losses. You taught us how to be strong and patient and to value and hold our near and dear ones close to us.

2012 may you be filled with love, happiness, good health and prosperity for all.

We are so grateful for all the loved ones we are surrounded by and thank god for blessing our lives with them. And we look forward to the arrival of the newest member of our family, our darling Woofy :-)

Happy New Year!

Lots of Love

M&S

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! :)

2011-12-22T07:56:00.001-08:00

♥ U Hubby for the most awesome foodie Birthday weekend in Brugge! :)

2011-12-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

I had the most amazing foodie 30th Birthday weekend in Brugge, all thanks to Hubby darlings planning :-) It was our second trip to the city and the trip was all about relaxing and eating and that is exactly what we did... all weekend long! Since I am pregnant we wanted to go somewhere small and relaxing, so we would not be tempted by any site-seeing & excessive walking which would only get very exhausting. Something we are easily tempted by and have absolutely no discipline to ignore are all the wonderful museums and palaces and churches in Europe ;-)

For our love of food and for my love of Chocolates... Hubby thought of the perfect place... Brugge!

This time around the city was so foggy all weekend long and a little chilly... which was just perfect. It was so magical and charmingly-ghostly, keeping most tourists away, making it the perfectly quiet place for us to wander about and discover as we pleased. And the food... was simply nom nom nom :-) We ate beyond what our bellies could hold and everything was so special (if anyone is looking to visit Brugge in the future we'd love to recommend a few brilliant places to eat at). My birthday gift and souvenirs from the city were the most yumm fresh dark-coco chocolate truffles from Galler (the best chocolatier in Belgium, trust me i've tried them all) and the most beautiful hand made lace-handkerchief :-)

So while I enjoy some of my chocolate truffles while I type this, you are welcome to browse through our photo album :-)

Below are some sneak peaks from the trip, but you may visit the web-link with the entire Brugge album here.

:-)

had to re-visit my favorite street :-)

the only two waffles we ate... seriously!

♥♥♥

chubbie cheeks :-)

clip-clop... clip-clop

bye bye... Brugge

Our cute little Newbie!

2011-12-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Mattu Chachi & Sunny Chachu welcome the cutest and newest member to the family! :) G&T were blessed with a gorgeous baby BOY on the 1st of Dec! We are so excited and can't get enough of our little nephew. Just want to hold & cuddle him and spend all our time watching his cute expressions.

We love you loads munchkin and are so proud to be your Chachi & Chachu.

and then Sunny-Papa took some lovely pics of Mom & Baby :)

2011-11-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

impromptu photo-shoot by Sunny somewhere in Brugge

Birthday's & Anniversary Baby Bump & Chubbie Cheeks Picture Update!!!! ;-)

2011-11-16T04:20:00.000-08:00

Sunny's Birthday Dinner with the family! (Sep'11)

Our very special & scrumptious 4th Anniversary dinner :) (Oct'11)

My very special 30th Birthday foodie weekend in Brugge :) (Nov'11)

Summer break in Gorgeous Prague!

2011-11-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

We went to Prague in late September, Hubby's extended birthday celebrations! My first visit to the city and Sunny's second. What a charming city it is, enriched in history and one of the most beautiful capital city we've been too. We were surrounded by gorgeous details all around, just our kind of place & I admired beautiful doors and intricate details to my hearts content. We walked and walked and walked till our feet swelled up & literally fell off, and we ate and ate and ate till our bellies were so full they were ready to burst (absolutely amazing Italian food, yup Italian) and took pictures of everything around to our (my) hearts content :) We lucked out with beautiful weather and gorgeous sunny long days! Here are a few teasers from our trip & a link to the entire album at the end.

(a view of the city from the Castle)

(surrounded by gorgeous buildings)

(we did a fun maternity shoot in-front of the famous Lennon Wall dedicated to the Beatle's legend)

(a view of the market square from the top of Bell Tower)

(Sunny helping the Trumpet blower)

(A view of Charles Bridge from the Castle)

(this is what happens when we are let loose to have fun in a museum)

(one of the oldest and jaw-droopingly stunning libraries we've ever come across, inside a Monastery)

(gorgeous details all around)

(time to head home)

We had an absolutely amazing time, and would highly recommend everyone to add this beautiful city to their list of places to (must) visit! :)

Link to the complete Prague Photo Album here.

A very Happy Gurpurab to all from M&S +1 :)

2011-11-10T03:04:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Happy Gurpurab!!!!

What better day than today, on Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Birthday to officially announce to the world, the awaited arrival of the newest member to our family :) I am officially 29 weeks pregnant with our first baby due on 27th Jan, boy or girl we are keeping it a surprise for the day she/he arrives! For now we have officially & lovingly nicknamed the baby 'Woofy' and as I type Woofy kicks me to say a big HELLO to you all!

We are very excited and looking forward to holding our little one for the first time and to leap into the adventurous world of parenthood. Mom & Baby are both doing well and eating and growing by the day, and Dad looks rather too fit and skinny in front of us ;-)

Woofy's Very Special Milestones: Sunny & I were very surprised and thrilled to find out about Woofy's existence on 21st of May 2011 and we took 5 pregnancy tests before we both exclaimed, this should be a solid confirmation! After which we called the unsuspecting grandparents to be who were needless to say surprised, speechless, thrilled & then started to jump up and down in excitement.

On the 4th of July we got to hear the adorable 'Woosh Woosh' heartbeat for the very first time which on the second appointment turned into a 'Woof Woof', hence explaining the nickname. The first time we heard the heartbeat it took us a while to figure out what we are listening to and what it is supposed to sound like, it must have been rather amusing for our Doctor to see our faces and our excitement after hearing it for the first time. It was a very special moment and we both grinned from ear to ear for days after and had our very own little 'Woosh Woosh' song!

(our little thumb sucker... chillaxing!)

And then on the 19th of July 2011 we saw Woofy for the very first time. It was the most exciting day for us to see this little life inside of me sucking its thumb and jumping around all over the place before it went into chillaxing mode, we could not stop giggling and were simply amazed by all of Woofy's antics. But the most precious thing Woofy did was wave at us when the ultrasound technician started the scan and both Sunny and I were stunned, that the baby actually waved at us almost to say 'Hello Mom & Dad.'

I have been able to feel Woofy's movements since my 14th week and now it's almost like a dance inside my belly where we just sit back and watch my tummy bounce around, especially in the evenings and night, so we have a little night owl on our hands. I have been so curious lately and can't wait to find out if we have a little dancer or a football player... we'll just have to wait a little longer to find out!

If we could please ask everyone who is reading this to refrain from sharing the news and/or discussing it publicly on Facebook. Thank you :)

Copenhagen Diaries - Day 1

2011-01-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

First day in an even colder city has prompted my very first new year resolution... never to leave home during the dead of winter! Winter holidays, especially Christmas & New Years should always be celebrated at home, snuggled up in a blanket with hot-cocoa in one hand and a TV remote in the other, in the warmth of ones very own home... crazy kid what were you thinking when you came up with this brilliant idea of a winter get away in Copenhagen, Denmark in the dead of winter, while all of Europe was being snowed in. The rest of the world is trying to escape the continent, not enter it... but if I look around, we are not alone...phew I was not the only one with the genius idea. But seriously having thought that, I am (as always) having a lovely time with my fav travel bud, Mr Hubby, in this very friendly, actually infectiously friendly city....so who cares about the cold, for now, since I am finally sitting indoors in a warm place, and the hot cup of coffee has helped thaw me ;-)

OK so I've only been here a few hours and already so many Danes and tourists have made my day (trip), and left a warm fuzzy feeling about this place in my heart...many strangers have gone out of their way to help us and made pleasant conversations. How often does that happen, let me think, the last time that happened I was in my all time fave sunny Tuscany :) Aaaah, I miss Italy... snap out of it, so coming back to reality and cold winter breaks. It's seriously not all that bad, there is something about this city n it's people, that turns equally lost fellow tourists into wanna-be helpful locals, who after fumbling with your map for a few seconds confess they are equally lost, ha! It's perfectly OK, considering it brought a smile on all our faces, half rather fully covered and hidden behind oversized muffler faces, slipping-sliding-balancing over snow which is now solid ice trying to find our way around, so where does the Queen live?!

We in fact had a local walk up to us twice (already) to check on us, once to encourage me to enter a private courtyard to take pictures (he saw me hanging outside the gates admiring it through my lens) and another time to make sure we were not lost when he saw us struggling with our oversize map while trying to balance ourselves on ice. This was one of many lovely encounters with the Danes in this beautiful city.

(my fave travel-bud & the mysterious private courtyard I was coaxed to enter)

(first few sights of the city - Town Hall with clock tower, Tivoli & a Church in the old part of town)

The city looks big and grand but from all the walking we did today, it seems perfectly compact and manageable at the same time, just the way we like it :) Most of the many old churches, palaces and buildings are very grand and each one unique in it's own way, tempting us to visit them all. But what we liked the most was how we let the city introduce itself to us, delightfully stumbling across slices of these beautiful buildings, and getting peeks at sections of Danish history while we lazily strolled through it old cobbled streets. Personally there is a sudden rush of childlike excitement that races through me when I explore a new city, especially an old European city, enriched with history & charm. The characters of some wonderful history-fiction book I've recently read start to dance in-front of my eyes & I want to discover it all :)

(outside Lego's Store)

One of my favorite finds was coming across the Lego store in the heart of the old city, with it's giant Lego structures standing inside... sadly it was closed by the time I discovered it, but not to worry I shall be back for a peek inside tomorrow! Lego is originally from Denmark, so it's rather special to visit a store dedicated to one my all time fave childhood pastimes.

(Gammel Strand & the frozen canal that accompanies it)

We've walked past many beautiful buildings, fountains and squares...even explored the famous Gammel Strand which was buzzing with it's colorful cafes & restaurants by the famous canal, which at this moment is frozen, so my thoughts of taking a boat ride were not properly thought & researched through ;-) Since the canal is frozen solid it has also graciously trapping with it many beautiful old wooden ships, which can be aimlessly admired at this time of the year! So no glorious summer afternoon sipping a chilled beer by the canal, quiet the opposite actually, yet this below zero winter day has made this canal site and the city it inhabits even more charming for us.

Next stop - the Queens Palace, which we very happily used as a backdrop for our very own shadow-home-production show. Being new years eve and all that, there were quiet a few TV channels crews picketing at the square along with heavy duty flood lights... you see the Queen addressees her subjects each year on New Years eve and her palace walls and the square is used as a backdrop, so in our defense we were simply adding a little color to the plain and boring background with our wall-shadow-show, until we were politely asked to leave ;-) Not to despair the (very fun) activity in question was captured in pictures... see below :)

(the Sibia's entertaining all)

It's been a long and tiring day on slippery frozen streets, but the day is not over yet, in fact it's far from it, it's new years eve n we have quiet a way to go before the town hall clock strikes 12 n for the celebrations to begin. If I were to predict that by sound & beautiful bursts of fire in the sky, the celebrations have already begun!

It's cold, it's dark, we've been walking for hrs exploring the city, and it's only 7pm, I am afraid entertaining the Queen was quiet tiring and our hungry tummies are finally revolting so it's only fair to feed them and rest our feet for a bit before we hit the streets for a second round!

11.45pm and we along with our fellow travelers (Ginny & Tony who have just landed) are at a very packed Rådhuspladsen (Copenhagen's version of Piccadilly Circus/Time Square) ready to call in the new year! I think I speak for everyone in our group when I say, I don't think we've ever been to a more exciting & scary firework display in our lives! The entire show very well might have been orchestrated by the locals. Having read more than once in guide-books & online: "extravagant one-hour long firework displays tend to be private events with precious few safety concern" did not prepare us for this! People of all ages including children were present & packed in the square, and everyone was exploding fireworks everywhere, if you were lucky they went up in the sky and on more than one occasion they got thrown in your general direction. So not only were we WoWed by their spectacular display but also had to keep an eye out to dodge and run for safety more than once ;-)

(some of the few captures of the night, I dared in the name of safety)

In the end it was a truly amazing and exhilarating experience we'll remember and narrate for years to come. Hang on I am done yet... we are not yet done with the evening. After the fireworks ended and we were absolutely sure it was safe to walk through the square, we made our way towards the old cobbled streets to soak in some more culture... and here we encountered many drunk people, some of whom were young Indian immigrants from our part of the world, and the minute they would spot Sunny & his turban, they would come running towards us to wish us a 'Happy New Year!' It was a truly lovely day and a wonderful way to start a trip in a strange, mysterious and wonderful city! Goodbye and good night for now... we have a very early start tomorrow!

(our very first pictures of 2011)

...in LoVe with Mr Darcy

2010-09-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

(image via Diary of a Girl Abroad)

Ok so I have been in LoVe with Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice ever since I read the book ages ago... and since I saw the 1995 BBC adaptation, (it would be reasonable to understand that) I have been in LoVe with Colin Firth ~ who played Mr Darcy... I watch any and every movie of his and must have watched P&P a million times (and counting) ;-)

So you can imagine how excited and disappointed I am today when I found out he lives only minutes from where I live! His wife's shop is one I frequent all the time and probably walk by his house all the time as well (only if I knew exactly which one)... and not once have I bumped into him :( Come on Mr Darcy, you can't hide from me forever... I'll find you one of these days ;-)

(image via Probert Encyclopaedia)

Mila's Daydreams!

2010-09-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

I came across this beautiful picture Blog, "Mila's Daydreams" of a new mom, who tries to imagine & capture her daughters dreams while she sleeps. What a genius & unique idea and oh so inspiring... just had to share. Everyone put your thinking cap on and take those unique & beautiful pictures, always make it fun fun fun! :)

Can't get enough of this Blog it's just too cute!

All Pictures by Adele Enersen

I'd rather be sleeping....zzzzZ!

2010-09-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's a little late... really late to be exact! I much rather be sleeping myself but my lower back went into spasm earlier today and I am in way to much pain and discomfort to sleep just yet. Plus I took some medicine and a nap in the evening hence no more sleep left in my eyes...

Not to worry, I am sure i'll be as good as new in a day or two with some rest :)

Considering I am up with not much I can do except sit straight and still, I thought I'd blog :) I have a huge stash of (never ending) pictures saved for ideas and inspiration which I go through from time to time, and as I was just browsing through a few I delightfully stumbled upon some treasures I had to share. These are a few candid portraits of very famous people that I simply love... well in most cases the people yes I do like/love... but more importantly these portraits are simply gorgeous!

Enjoy :)

Above: Julie Andrews

Above: Madhubala

Above: JFK & Jacqueline Kennedy

Above: Audrey Hepburn

Mumbai!

2010-09-08T11:28:00.001-07:00

Victoria Station, Bombay

One of my fav Blogs is Design Sponge... I follow it religiously on a daily basis and today I was very pleasantly surprised to see a city guide post on Mumbai :) It's been one of my fav cities for a long long time... Dad used to sail in and out of this big-mad-beautiful city all the time and Mom & I would often join his ship in Bombay (as I knew it then), so I got to spend a lot of time there growing up! And some of my favorite family members used to live there & we often visit them there as well (Masi, Uncle, Dolly & Nikki)... loads of fun and many wonderful memories :)

I often find myself missing the city, even craving it at times. It does remind me of home when ever I think of my time there many many years ago.

Some excellent suggestions on the post for those who might be planning on a trip to Mumbai!

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/09/mumbai-city-guide.html

Cheers!

I am back... yet again!

2010-09-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so i've said this before... I get lazy and don't blog, and that I am back... but then I am sucked back into the deep-dark world of laziness all over again... hopefully I have cured myself of this disease & hopefully I am back for good! :)

So I am obsessed with reading blogs, amongst other things like carrying my camera and my Hubby wherever I go ;-) And I often read about this and that and want to blog, but why is it that I am never around a laptop then or choose to sit a few feet away from it, so I don't have to think too much and type... I wonder why?! ;-) But I plan to make this space a bit more interesting for those of you who would still care to follow my thoughts, opinions and adventures!

What have I been up to since I last blogged... well lots and I will try to get to all of it (realistically some of it ;-)) as I continue to blog about recent activities on a regular basis!

Cheers :)

~Jungle Book - Theme Song~

2010-05-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

Gosh! Yet another piece of my childhood and cherished memories... I simply LOVE this song and still sing it all the time... hehehe :)

~Ek Anek~

2010-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Came across this video on You Tube and it brought back beautiful childhood memories :) Doordarshan rocked! And now that I look back at this video... what a fantastic job they did... a must watch for all. I am sure it will bring a smile to your face and you'll be a child again, sitting in front of your parents TV back home in India! :)

I am back... and what an amusing day!

2010-01-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have blogged... a bit too long and I am afraid only my laziness is to blame! I keep thinking I need to blog this and that, but never get around to writing it down... well enough is enough... I need to get off my lazy blogging bum and start writing again ;-) So here is getting off my butt and starting a new year/decade by blogging again! First of all a very Happy 2010 to everyone!!! :)

So much has happened since I last blogged and I will slowly update you all on our activities and adventures. But what made me come back today, is rather very interesting and amusing, and I just had to share it with everyone... as it put me in fits of laughter!!

My baby brother called me from India earlier today, he is 4 years younger to me (Sanbir AKA Chotey Miya). It had been a while since we chatted, and he had something fun to share/update me on. I was recently in India (December'09) attending my cousins wedding... and Sanbir and I were both as always together having fun and hanging around with the family (I am very close to my baby brother), and needless to say had loads of fun!! Well he called me to tell me he has been getting many calls from his school/college friends congratulating him on his recent engagement!! Of course he (and now I) was shocked & surprised to hear of this unknown development... when he asked what made everyone think of such a think he got the same reply from one and all... we saw you & your fiancee recent pictures on Facebook!! My brother and I had clicked many pictures together and he posted one of our pics as his profile picture a couple of days ago... so everyone 'jumped' to the conclusion and thought we both are engaged.... hahahahaha... when he told me this over the phone, we both just could not stop laughing!! I have asked him to leave the picture on his profile to see who else calls and what conclusions people come too ;-) So amusing... LOL

Well at least I was very happy to hear I was being matched up with a young and handsome 24 year old... so I feel very young today :o) Thank you my dear baby brother for making me laugh so much!!

(The picture in question)

The other incident which happened this evening when I went to our local grocery store... one of the check out ladies whom I meet often smiled and said hello as I went to her counter and then enquired... you are usually here with your brother, he didn't come today, so I just smiled and said he is my husband not my brother. To which she added "oh really, you both look so alike"... LOL... so i just continued to smile and wanted to burst out laughing! Being linked up with my baby brother and being called my husbands sister, all in one day... what an amusing day ;-) I guess I should have told the check out lady, when two people are so much in love they look alike ;-)

I just had to share the amusement with you all!! :)

Introducing my BFF ~ Pranav Singh Tanwar

2009-07-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

It is with great pride, pleasure, unimaginable excitement, and an ear to ear smile I, Mattu Masi proudly introduce my BFF (Boy Friend Forever), Pranav Singh Tanwar to all!!!

Rohini & Pravesh were blessed with a beautiful baby boy on 18th June 2009 at 14.33 Melbourne time. Everything went off smoothly, and both mother and baby are healthy, happy and doing great!! Our beautiful little bundle of joy was born 3.82 Kg (8.42 pounds) & 51 cm tall. Labor pains and contractions started the night before and Masi was updated via SMS as soon as they started... at that time I was at a dinner gathering at Ginny & Tony's place with Hubby, Mamaji & Mamiji, and they all can attest to the fact that I was very much distracted and constantly checking my cell phone for more news ;-) We all were very enthusiastically and impatiently waiting to hear the news. I so wish I was near by, so I could have been there with everyone. Later that night I kept in touch with both Rajat and Pravesh (the Proud Dad) and was being regularly updated by Pravesh on the progress of the labor. At 5.55 am my time I was woken up by the much awaited text, "Congrats Masi, we are blessed with a baby boy"!! I think I must have started jumping in my sleep... within seconds I was all over the place, waking everyone and sharing the wonderful news :o)

What joy and happiness a baby brings into ones life, and every time I think of Pranav (which is a lot... well almost all the time) I am always smiling :o) I can't wait to meet him, and to hold him, and to play with him, and to spoil him rotten!! :D

He is such a beautiful baby, and I thank his parents for all the hard work, and for bringing him into our lives. Heartiest CONGRATULATIONS to the new parents, grandparents and the rest of the family!!!!

With all our love and blessings for our adorable munchkin,

Huggies & Kissies

Mattu Masi & Sunny Masarji :o)

Incredible India!!

2009-05-20T05:26:00.001-07:00

Our heart will always stay in India :)

Amazing video for the new Incredible India Ad, simply love it and now we feel like taking a 3 month long backpacking trip through India!!

No Foolin' 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2009-04-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

I came across this wonderful, quick, easy and yumm chocolate mug recipe :o) and just had to share it with you all... so the next time you crave for something sweet, some chocolate or some cake... 5 minutes is all it'll take :o) Oh yeah... make sure to use a LARGE mug, as the cake size is pretty generous! :D

Enjoy!!

What you'll need:

1 large mug

4 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa

1 large egg

3 Tbsp. milk

3 Tbsp. oil

1/4 cup chocolate chips (plus some extra for sprinkling on top when it comes out of the microwave)

a small splash of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

2. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

4. Add the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again.

5. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Remove from microwave and sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips.

6. Allow to cool a little, and then dig in!

Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the "Sixth Sense," game-changing wearable tech!

2009-04-17T03:56:00.000-07:00

I knew it... it was only a matter of time someone was going to create technology like this! I remember watching Minority Report and wondering ... does this really exist? This is really neat technology... must watch! :)

Susan Boyle

2009-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

The following video (need to go to the You Tube link to watch it) blew us away... didn't know what to expect, but felt horrible, how the judges and audience were so skeptical and were being disrespectful & laughing at Susan.

Everyone including us were blown away by her performance... absolutely brilliant!! What an amazing voice! Best of luck Susan!

Must Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

The magic of Sound of Music!

2009-04-10T07:49:00.001-07:00

Watching this video brought a big smile and I was singing and danced along :o)... Sound of Music, one of my fav childhood movies and lovely memories associated with it... summer holidays would start and mommy dear would rent the movie for all the kiddies (me, friends & cousins) to watch...

I can imagine mommy dear smiling and singing along as well!!

Although this is a T-Mobile advertisement shot in Antwerp... it's lovely to see, the magic of sound of music and all it's songs still lives!

Enjoy :o)

Childhood memories :o)

2009-04-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

... a few treasures from dear hubby's childhood :)

April Fools!!

2009-04-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a fun filled April Fools Day!!

May you fool everyone around you, and yourself are fool-proof from everyone else's attempts ;-)

Hugs

M&S

What kind of a world are we living in!

2009-02-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

An attacker threw a grenade at tourists in Cairo's famous bustling Khan el-Khalili bazaar, killing a Frenchwoman and wounding at least 17 people mostly tourists, as reported by officials. This 650 year old bazaar at any time is packed with tourists buying souvenirs, and the bazaar is widespread inside narrow gallis (streets) and is quiet a maze. The bazaar was last attacked in April 2005, when a suicide bomber killed two French citizens and an American.

When we were in Egypt, we visited this bazaar twice and it was quite an experience, a bustling market packed with vendors, locals and tourists... it was one of our favorite places, the most fun and lively bazaar we visited during our stay in Egypt. The market square is lined with outdoor cafes and restaurants and is usually packed with crowds. There are also many historic mosques (one in the square and many others close by). This bazaar is in the old part of Cairo and is always very lively. This attack on Egyptian nationals and tourists is outrageous! I can't even imagine how scared people who were there must have been during this recent attack. What sort of a world are we living in that nowhere is safe.

It's always sad to hear of attacks anywhere in the world, ones heart goes out to the loved ones of people killed, injured and attacked in these events, but today after hearing about the recent attack in Cairo, I thought about all the people we met in Egypt, especially the vendors we met and bargained with in Khan el-Khalili. I hope they are safe and their families are safe as well. Hope and pray for hatred to end, and for all of us to live in peace.

People never fail to surprise you!

2009-02-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

This one was priceless... on one of the airport reality shows on TV:

Early morning: Male Passenger at the check in counter, realizes he forgot his passport @ home, so he calls his girlfriend and asks her to drop off his passport to him at the airport... no biggie right... well not really... his girlfriend is home getting ready for work in Edinburgh, Scotland... while the guy is at an airport in London, England!

So he asks his girlfriend to catch the next flight which is in 20 minutes as that is the only flight that would make it on time for him to catch his flight from London, so he can be on his way for his vacation! The girlfriend dashes to the airport catches the flight just in time as the gates are closing, reaches London hands him his passport and is getting ready to catch her flight back home to make it to work on time... only to learn her flight has been cancelled and the next flight for Edinburgh is in 7 hours! So she sits and waits at the airport to catch her flight, while her boyfriend leaves for his skiing vacation... and while the camera crew is still on him, he drops and almost looses his passport before boarding his flight!

I could not stop laughing at this one... had to share it with you all :o)

Happy Valentines Day!!

2009-02-09T17:56:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends & Family,

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentines Day! And we both are right here waiting for you all to be our valentine ;-)

Love & Hugs

Mattu & Sunny

I stumbled on there pictures a while ago on a design site & simply loved the effect the artist had given her pictures :o) I thought it might be fun to share them with you all on Valentines Day.

We are going to be Masi & Masarji!!

2009-02-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

We have a very special announcement to make & wonderful news to share :o) Our dearest darling Bebeji aka Rohini & Pravesh are pregnant!! We are going to welcome a beautiful little niece/nephew in a few months! We've been super excited since the day we heard the news (a few months ago) and can't wait to meet the little one :o) Attached is a ultrasound picture of the little one waving at us all and saying her/his very first hello! :o)

Dearest Sis & Brother-in-Law... we are so very happy for you both!! Can't begin to tell you how happy this news has made us all... a little heads up just so you both are aware and prepared... you both will be responsible for the little ones deciplined upbringing and we'll be solely contributing towards something even more essential and important in raising a child... teaching them how to be naughty little munchkins and spoiling them rotten :o) Apologies in advance... but that is how it works ;-)

Congratulations Guys!! Super excited :D

Lots of Love

Mattu Masi & Sunny Masarji :o)

Snowman & Snow Fight time!!

2009-02-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

Now it might seem like I am snow obsessed... he he... well I won't exactly call it an obsession, after all it doesn't snow like this in London all the time... it snowed at this scale after 18 years, so it's a pretty unique phenomenon, and I am entitled to a little excitement and snow blogging obsession ;-)

Actually, dear hubby was working from home-office all day and could not leave the flat to play in the snow... had been admiring it from the window, so in the evening we went for a walk and of course had an impromptu snow-fight and made ourselves our very first snowman! :D While we walked around Kew Park, we saw lots of other snowmen creations which were much more grand... and we took some pictures to share!

If this unpredictable weather continues, who knows this snow blogging obsession might continue as well ;-)

Our snowman lost one of his eyes :-O

Christmas in February!!

2009-02-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

Unprecedented!!! We had not seen or heard of such things happening in 21st Century London ;-)... SNOW!... and lots of it :o) There is no stopping it, it's been snowing since yesterday and it continues! I woke up this morning and quickly ran to the window to check if it continued to snow and if there was enough all around to admire & build snowmen with... you see I had a dream, under the circumstances it could be categorized as a nightmare! ;-) The nightmare being when I woke up in the morning all the snow had melted away and everything was back to normal... cold for sure after all it is London, but snowless London... so after I discovered it has snowed a LOT, I quickly got ready to head our to take some pictures and to see everything around covered in snow. It's magnificent!... white and absolutely beautiful :o) Mostly everyone is home or working from home... as most buses and trains are not working, so lots of people on the streets with children... snow fights, snow men... it's like Christmas in February!!

Unexpected snow bring out the children in everyone, but the latest tale I heard from Ginny is a different type of snow excitement! Earlier today, she was standing in her flat and admiring the foot of snow in her balcony and contemplating building a snowman out of it, when she noticed something in the distance... one lonely couple all by themselves in the snow and she noticed the girl was in her bath robe... her curiosity grew and she stood there to see what would happen next... guess what!... the girl took off her robe and now she was wrapped in a blue towel... then to Ginny's surprise she even took off the towel and she was standing in the snow in a BIKINI!... yes a bikini in which she posed for many pictures... LOL... was it a life long dream of hers, a dare, or was she a hindi movie actress shooting for a song... humm... anything could be possible ;-) People never fail to surprise and it seems like everyone is having loads of fun!!

Home sweet home... covered in snow! :o)

I say a foot of snow ;-)!

The local pub @ Kew... deserted!

Even in this weather someone is riding his/her bike!!

And then there are others riding a different sort of bike ;-)

Let it snow!!!

2009-02-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

After two cold winters in London, I finally get to see some real snow :D Yipeee!!!!

As mentioned in the earlier blog I am not a huge fan of cold freezing temperatures, but when it comes to snow... I am a total baby... love it!! We have experienced what I call, drizzle snowed, tiny snow flakes fall but not enough for them to collect on the ground, but today is a different story, it's cold and it's been snowing, on and off all day and there is snow on the streets, cars, lawns... everywhere, it's all white... it's beautiful :) We have snow in London, which doesn't happen to often and it's magnificent!! Here are some shots we've been taking from the confines of our warm flat ;)

My heart is singing... let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... snow snow :)

A day at Camden market!

2009-01-31T15:11:00.000-08:00

After weeks of wanting to go to much heard about Camden market, today we finally went :) ... it was not the best day to step outside... the temperature was negative 2 and it felt more like negative 10... you see I am not a big fan of cold~freezing temperatures, so exaggeration on my part is allowed and acceptable :D Anyways my ears and hands were frozen even through my warm gloves and my warm cap... and by the end my face was so cold, I could not feel it, just pain! After reaching home it took two warm cups of soup to thaw me.

But apart from the cold... we had a really fun day!! Camden market has been very famous lately due to Amy Winehouse, the media always finds her drugged and drunk on the streets of Camden. Our reasons for going to Camden were not to see her or to get high, rather we had heard a lot about Camden market from other reliable sober sources, the streets being full of interesting finds to see, buy, eat and experience... sort of a street/flea/antique market. We walked around a lot and enjoyed out day... ate some yumm warm & spicy Jamaican food and poked our noses into loads of stores :) Oh what fun it was, the most exciting bit being, Sunny and I discovering an old comic book store and some old record stores... and we bought each other our favorite childhood comics. Sunny got some Commando comics (war stuff) and I got some Asterix & Obelix :D We both were rather excited after these finds... needless to say on our train ride back home and even after reaching home we have been happily engrossed in our comic books! Oh what fun it is, I actually recall some of the comments and jokes from decades ago, as I am re-reading Asterix & Cleopatra :) Fun fun fun!!!

The other amazing find was a record of a "Jabji Saabh" path... I saw a picture of Guru Gobind Singh Ji on the cover of a record and just stopped, was rather surprised, delightfully so, to find his face on a cover... was not sure if some rock band was using the image for their record or was it the real deal. So after picking up and reading the details we learnt it was actually a record of the path in the 'World Music' section :) I just had to buy it... never had I thought it would exist on a record... Mom and Dad we are going to borrow your record player and try it out on our next trip!

Hope you all are having an equally fun weekend!

Lots of love

us :)

Ellen's Animals Commercial

2009-01-25T06:07:00.001-08:00

Today is a day for sharing favorite commercials... so it seems :) Here is one last post, I love Ellen and this one of of my fav commercials!

Gorilla Cadbury Advert

2009-01-25T05:53:00.001-08:00

This is another one of our fav Cadbury ad's... this one came out last year...

Cadbury Eyebrows Dance Advert - Do The Dance!!

2009-01-25T05:40:00.001-08:00

Cadbury always makes amazing ad's, this is their latest... come on guys... try it... do the dance :o)

Indian Omaba & Hillary!!

2009-01-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

2009-01-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

Next time you have a bad day at work, or just a bad day... think about the toothbrush and the toilet paper... your day won't seem that bad ;-)

New Do!

2009-01-18T14:48:00.001-08:00

My new winter do... change is coming to America, and history is being made, so I thought why not contribute to it by changing my hair-do! ;-) Well friends, I am looking forward to the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony & Speech this Tuesday!! I still remember the time Bush Junior aka Blunder Bush was sworn in for his first term, we were in the midst of immigrating to the US, and my dear mom sat me through the entire inaugural ceremony & speech. We were moving to a new country and she strongly felt I must watch & learn... I am sure mom you must have changed your mind once the speech started ;-)... after all what would I have learnt from him...

Mom this year I will willingly, proudly & eagerly be watching the entire ceremony!

Change!

2009-01-16T03:35:00.000-08:00

Found these posters online... just had to share it with everyone :)

Few more days... and Obama joins office!

Ellen Bollywood Style!

2009-01-15T16:08:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Mala, I discovered this video!

The cast of Slumdog Millionaire show Ellen some Bollywood dance moves to A.R. Rahman's, Jai Ho!! Brilliant... loved it :o)

Precious Bebe Moments!!

2009-01-11T15:57:00.001-08:00

We love our Bebe and we love her Bebeness... we love these precious moments and look forward to them when we are spending time with Bebeji :D Life is not complete without them!

We love you Bebe and can't live without your bebeness ;-)

A day in Cairo with Bebeji & Makhmood!!

2009-01-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

24th December 2008

Bebeji (aka Rohini, Nohni, CM, Saila, Habibi, Shakira) & Mamu (aka Pravesh, Paro, Makhmood) arrived in the morning... YIPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Rohini and I go way back... school days, may be we were meant to be sisters or something... wait a minute we are sisters 'by choice' ;-) Distance or no distance we've always kept in touch, almost on a daily basis, and have been there for each other through everything! Needless to say it's always extra special to spend time together and to vacation together... for years it was just the two of us and our mums (who also happen to be best of friends, so it had been very convenient for the four of us)... but since we got married we had two new members in the equation, our hubby's... of course they didn't have a choice and knew from the beginning that they had to fit into this equation... he he... but jokes apart, luckily for the two of us our husbands get along very well with each other, and we all get along very well. Touch wood! This was our first vacation together, the four of us and we all had a wonderful time, looking forward to many more :o) I must say we both have two very special husbands who have embraced our friendship and have excepted us with warmth and love, thank you boys, we are truly blessed to have you and love you very much :o)

Getting back to the trip... Bebe & Mamu arrive in Cairo... it was too early for me to be up... we had been traveling non stop plus the all day trip to Alexandria, reaching home late, so as expected we were dead tired, and I was still asleep while hubby was in the shower... the door bell rang... rang... rang till I realized I was not dreaming and someone was really at the door, so half asleep Mattu ran to check the door, and there was Ashraf with two of her favorite people + their luggage at the door!! Yipee they are here :o) They both came in and the four of us plonked on the couch right away and started our chit chat session, while we drank our left over half a bottle of bottled water and relished fresh ladoos brought by Bebeji from India (they had just spent two months in India), shortly after we all were feeling rather hungry and cooked some maggie and hard boiled eggs for breakfast! We could not drink the milk, as our fresh one day old milk smelled and tasted so sour like khatti daahi, so we threw it away, later to learn that is how that type of milk smells and tastes... but none of us were going to drink khatta milk ;-) So no morning chai, coffee, milk or cereal for anyone...

After breakfast we all sat down to make our plans for the day and for the next few days... we also called Ashraf to guide and advise us on how to go about making arrangements. He was extremely kind and took us to the closest railway station, which happened to be Giza station to help us book our sleeper train or overnight train to Luxor. Sunny and I had tried to do this ourselves earlier in Alexandria and with no luck had failed due to the language barrier as we had not been able to get our queries answered by the booking agents. So today we had Ashraf on our side, an Egyptian who spoke fluent Arabic, but he was a bit naive about the public mode of transportation and it's workings, so after hopping from one queue to another and standing for a while we learnt that it was too late to book any sort of train ticket as they all were booked till 1st Jan! We had come too far not to go to Luxor... so we all decided to check out the expensive flight alternative and after further discussions and enquiries at the Egyptian Air airline office @ Sheraton we had 4 tickets for Luxor!!!! Departing Cairo on the 26th @ 5 am and returning the next morning on the 27th at 3 am... we already knew it was going to be one hell of a day... Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, The Nile, Luxor City and of course some surprises... we were excited and a couple of hundred pounds lighter ... yet there were happy smiles all around :-)

After we got our tickets, we were dropped off by Ashraf outside the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo... as we were famished and could not think about wandering in a museum on empty stomachs, we spotted a KFC on the other side of the road and headed towards it, not attempting to cross the main road, Egyptian style this time (i.e. dodging traffic by walking through the traffic with closed eyes) but instead we went underground and used their subway...

It was 4ish pm by the time we got done with lunch, and since the museum closed at 6.30 we decided to do it another day, as we did not want to be rushed through it... later realizing the one and a half to two hours would have been more than enough ;-)

So instead we hailed a cab and headed to Cairo's very famous and old 'Khan al - Khalili' bazaar, which is a couple of hundred years old... and was one of the must visit/shop at places on Bebe & Moi list ;-) We were told it would cost us 40 LE in total to get there, so when our cabby said 10 LE we all jumped in feeling rather proud of ourselves on getting an amazing deal without any bargaining efforts! Later at our destination we understood & realized the cabby meant 10 LE each :p On our way to the market we had some pretty interesting cabbi and Bebeji moments which I would like to disclose later in a dedicated blog entries!

After reaching Khan al - Khalili we all explored the market and it's surroundings, we were in old Cairo, Muslim influenced district and there were plenty of interesting mosques and buildings to admire for their architectural design. We decided just to explore and experience the market and the vibe of the place before Bebe and I indulged in any shopping ;) We walked through old streets with beautiful carvings and buildings, admiring all merchandize being sold around us. Something everyone needs to know before you go shopping in Egypt, if you are really keen on buying something then you should enquire about it or else the shopkeepers will continue to follow & convince you to buy it, or get offended and might argue with you for wasting their time... they can get a bit aggressive! The girls were praised for their eyes, beauty and were even called 'Habibi' and 'Shakira' by many shopkeepers, to which Bebe and I responded with the same greetings... later to learn Habibi meant 'my darling' or 'I love you' and Shakira we are still not sure about as when we asked one of our cabby's he just giggled and refused to tell us ... our best guess was 'sexy'... either way, Bebe and I addressed a lot of strange men the same (unaware of the real meaning) to get a bargain...LOL!

Something we encountered a lot from the locals was, their eagerness and curiosity to know which part of the world everyone was from, and once they learnt we were Indians... they all smiled and said "Oh! You know Amitabh Bachchan"... yeah sure we dine with him all the time :p

This was truly an obsession that got on our nerves by the end of the trip... I truly mean anyone and everyone stopped us and asked, "Where you from?" or "You Indian?"...

The shopkeepers there also have very interesting one liners they love to use on tourists, some of the memorable ones I recall were:

"What can I do my friend to get your money!"... followed by "I am very honest" :D... a bit too honest my friend!

"You Indian!!... no money, no buy"

"These are real mummy bead necklaces... Cleopatra wear these"

It was truly an amazing experience and sure enough we returned to the market a few days later and were greeted by very excited shopkeepers who still remembered us and were very happy to see their Shakiras again... probably trying to think of more new ways to get our money! ;)

The two pictures above were with the shopkeeper who sold us our souvenirs, he would not let us leave till we took pictures with him... LOL... we felt like asking him for a bakshish for taking a picture of him ;)

Anyone for a 'Kabetchino' or a 'Ax Prose Caffe'

After shopping a little for souvenirs and enjoying the market, we walked around a few mosques in the neighborhood and found our way back in front of the market area where they had a row of 'alfresco' local restaurants/dhabas, so we decided to have an authentic (or so we thought) Egyptian dinner with the locals... with sheesha smoke blowing in our face, stray cats under the table, little children running up to us, beggars, shoe shiners, and non-stop interruptions by the street hawkers, trying to sell us random nonsense things while we ate. Never had we experienced this even in Indian Dhabas! Egypt walas you are truly enterprising and one of kind!

I am sorry to say this but as candidly stated by a street hawker earlier, Egyptians will try any and every way to get your money... so in the same style, waiters too try their luck to pocket some money off your bill... and keeping in tradition our waiter tried to add a little extra on to our bill, but you see it was our second night there and we were catching on ;) So we asked to see the menu again and added up the bill ourself which came out to 115 LE, and we were being asked to pay 150 LE, when we confronted him, he just giggled and said oh you must have heard me wrong, I said 115 only! This was truly an amazing day, and we were simply loving our trip... so much fun and the day was not over yet... we still had to catch a cab and get back home. The cabby we got that night was by far my favorite, an old chap (who sounded a bit sleepy, a bit drunk and a bit crazy) with a very old run down Fiat... just like the one my dad had in India :) He spoke Arabic and we spoke Hindi/Punjabi/English... yet it did not stop him from being our unofficial tour guide, and he rattled on and on the entire way home about anything & everything we passed, so much so that he stopped the car in the middle of the traffic, on a flyover to the freeway and insisted we took a snap of the market, as it was the best place for a beautiful shot! Once I realized he would not move till I took a picture... I quickly pretended to snap a picture, of course not convincing the chap and Sunny had to actually take quiet a few pictures till he was satisfied and finally moved his cab... this was hilarious... and we laughed our way home to his antics!!

At last we were home... exhausted and what a day we had... we hit the bed and slept soundly like babies, until tomorrow... a new day and a new adventure... we love Egypt!!!!

A day in Alexandria!

2009-01-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

23rd December 2008

First thing first... the most important word everyone needs to learn and add to their vocabulary after reaching Egypt is "la Shukran" meaning... "no thank you"... trust us this would be the most used and valued word during your stay in Egypt ;)

What a day we had in Alexandria! Where do I begin... the rain washed away most of our plans and we could not see everything as planned :( but we still made the most of our day and had a great time! Once we reached Alexandria we got out of the station and dodged all the cabbies running after us, as we wanted to walk and explore the city on our own :) Lesson learnt - do not trust the scale of the map printed in guide books ;) we were not aware how far things were... and to add to it, they don't have many street signs and very few locals speak or understand English or are willing to help you out. We met this fellow foreign tourist during the trip who said..."like any local knows anything here or would help out"... well it's a different case if you are willing to give some bakshish ;)

Standing outside the station wondering where to go next! We started walking in one direction hoping to get somewhere and came across beautiful old buildings which were now ruins as no one lived in them... but I could not help admire and hope someone would take it up to restore them and convert them into apartments for holiday letting or a small boutique hotel... Everything around has a thick coat of dust on it... there is so much dust and smoke in the air (inside & outside) that Sunny and I got husky smokers voices after our first day there... we were so shocked at the amount of dust and pollution in the air, and on everything around that I personally just wanted to take a water pipe and hose everything clean ...

We walked around, got lost and by mistake found the Mediterranean Sea! It was beautiful and we could see quite a few places around we wanted to visit, starting with the famous Cecile hotel, which is now called the Sofitel hotel and during the Second World War it was used by the British secret service, and hosted politicians and writers such as Winston Churchill, Somerset Maugham & Noel Coward... sadly the restoration has not quiet captured its past grandeur...

But first we decided to walk down Al Corniche ~ the drive along the Mediterranean sea leading up to Fort Qaitbey... half way there it started drizzling and soon the drizzle converted into torrential shower... we were just stunned at the amount of rain falling... aren't we supposed to be in desert country... Alexandria is an exception being so close to the sea! So we took shelter close to a building to ride out the rain and that is where we met Ahmed & Baseen, two young Egyptian boys, who tried their best to get their hands on our camera to take our picture... we are too Indian to fall for that trick ;) After a few jokes and some conversation with the boys we caught a cab to Cecile hotel, we thought we might as well get some lunch while it rained... so we hailed a cab and paid him 5 LE (this was again a very high price and needless to say we got ripped off and learned about it later when we enquired at the local tourist office... something to keep in mind, always check to get an idea on rates before you hail cabs and always bargain). After reaching Cecile hotel we got a table at their restaurant and some food, only to be disappointed, it was by far the worst meal we have ever had... it made us sad to see such wonderful historic hotels being mismanaged and run so poorly.

While we were eating the rain stopped, so we quickly forced ourselves to eat a little and headed out to visit the Roman Museum & the Roman Amphitheater... we had lots of fun finding our way to the Amphitheater... no one seemed to have heard about it and kept directing us in different directions, when we finally reached the place, we found the place by mistake... and learnt that the Roman Museum was closed, but instead we could visit the National Historic Museum. At the Roman Amphitheater site dear hubby befriended a stray cat and had a jolly time playing with it :) (highlight of the day :D)

At the Amphitheater we found a young female guide who was kind enough to give us directions to the National Museum... so we ventured out into the busy streets of Alexandria yet again on foot to find a place no one had ever heard off...LOL... luckily this time around it did not take us very long, as we stumbled on the place much quickly... the museum was small yet very interesting and we were impressed by their presentation and display especially when we compared our experience to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (which is Egypt's pride). We even got to experience a dummy Pharaoh burial chamber and see a few real mummies at the National Museum. Once we were out it was getting late and it started to pour down yet again... so we decided to head to the railway station which was close by, to sit down at the cafe inside and plan what to do next!

At the station we learnt that Fort Qaitbey was closed and we would not be able to visit it that day, and since it was still pouring and getting dark we thought it was not a very good idea to just walk around town anymore. Since we had return tickets for the 7.15 train and it was only 5... we had some time to kill. After enquiring with the ticketing office and the tourist information office we learnt we had no choice but to wait for the last and only train back to Cairo at 7.15. So now we were wet, tired, sleepy and hungry... we decided to sit it out in the cafe and go through our guide book and the additional information we got to plan out the next few days! People here smoke so much and everywhere... there were groups of men and women smoking and since it was pouring outside we had no choice but to ignore it and continue sitting in the cafe. My feet were wet, I was cold and I could only think of a hot shower and a warm bed... and yet I know we won't be home till after 11 pm!!!

What a day... I will never forget our visit to Alexandria, getting lost and feeling so lost, yet exploring the city in our own unique way, having a good time and laughing a lot! Sunny and I simply loved it all despite everything that happened during the day. I guess coz we both were together and it was so much fun regardless :) We would like to think... today we walked in the foot steps of Alexander the Great! We only wish we could have explored a bit more had it not rained so much. We simply loved the old building all over town with beautifully carved balconies and stunning inlay/engraved shutters & doors... with restoration written all over them!

Alexandria we came, we saw and were conquered!!

Day trip to Alexandria from Cairo

2009-01-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

23rd December 2008

7.45 am - Ramses Station (Cairo): Hubby and I arrived in Cairo this morning at 4 am and disembarked from the airplane on the runway, old school... it's been ages since I disembarked and walked on the runway, reminds me of my childhood trips with mom, when we used to visit Papa on his sailing trips. The new section of the Cairo airport looks very modern and swanky, but we were brought to the other side to a smaller section of the building to exit. Private drivers and escorts sent by hotels and companies were standing inside the security area and some were even present on the runway, with name cards to receive their guests, so if you'd like you could still be whisked away in style from your airplane itself ;) Our driver (we had asked the owner of our apartment to send someone since we would need a reliable person to take us home to drop off our bags so we could make it on time for our train to Alexandria right after) was waiting for us outside customs... The immigration kiosk officers had a very familiar attitude, very Indian... chalta hai types... we were lucky to be out very quickly.

Our cab ride from Cairo International Airport to our apartment in Giza was very interesting... our driver spoke Arabic and we...well we did not, so not much conversation apart form the occasional cab driver points his finger at a monument/historic site & told us about it in Arabic, while we respond with a dumb nod and big smile, without any clue or understanding. All this happened at 4 am when it was pitch dark... the freeways were clear of all traffic and everything looked extremely clean, magical and special :o) On our way to the apartment we also stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some milk, eggs and bread... another very interesting incident so early in our stay ;) ... two non-Arabic speaking people surrounded by Arabic speaking people, we acting out things we want, and they pointing at things we should buy, but did not want. Now I truly understand how our friends and family have felt on their first visit to India...

30 minuted later we were out of the store with 6 eggs, 1 bottle of fresh milk, 1 loaf of bread & 2 large bottles of water... and we spent less than 3 pounds! I turned to hubby and said... we should shop here often, it's so entertaining and cheap ;)

Sunny and I kept looking left & right out of our cab window, like two excited children in a toy store... expecting to spot another monument/historic site and discuss what we understood or knew about it :D At some point our cabby got so bored by the two excited self entertained children riding his cab that he decided to play some arabic music on the radio... and that is when we both almost burst out laughing... we had never expected to hear what we did... it was less of music and more of loud confusing noise... and being Bollywood children we thought we had heard it all... guess not ;)

6ish we reached out apartment and were greeted by Ashraf (the owner) and he showed us around the place... we were very impressed by the size of the place and I must say we did well staying in a flat instead of a hotel. We were advised we should leave for the station around 7 am, as we were taking the train to Alexandria for a day trip... so I thought, great, 45 minutes, we could take a quick shower, get a bite and then head out... we had not even opened our bags when Ashraf rang the bell again and informed us that the driver suggests we leave in the next 5-10 minutes to make it in time, due to morning traffic. So we grabbed our backpacks and headed out the door!

This time around the sun was out (rather quickly & it was quiet bright, I am told some equator phenomenon, as we are so close to it) and we got a better look at Cairo... it reminds me of India, may be a bit more dustier, like there is a lot more sand in the air and on everything around! The roads were busier and full of the hustle and bustle of the city... saw more local men walking around as compared to women. We reached Ramses Station a bit early... 45 minutes to be exact, so I could have taken that shower after all... oh well it will have to be later today when we return. Everyone seems to love staring at you and to know your business... strangers walk up on their own and ask your name, where you are from and what you are doing in Egypt... one just needs to ignore and move on. Since we had some time at our hands, we grabbed some coffee and cheese sandwiches and hopped on our train. Everyone seems to mistake Sunny to be Arabic and start conversing with him in Arabic...I guess the beard effect ;) I thought good sign, at least now we will blend in much easily... now only if I didn't have a camera around my neck all the time & Sunny didn't have the guide book in his hand, we would be more convincing ;)

Riding in the train to Alexandria through the suburbs and the rural areas, we both felt at home... this is exactly like India. Almost like sitting in Shatabdi and traveling from Delhi to Chandigarh! I can smell someone smoking in the first class AC chair compartment, so I guess smoking is allowed inside here... not very pleased about that, none of us are going to be too happy being passive smokers for the next 7 days. I am a bit sleepy and tired now, so will rest my eyes till we reach Alexandria... dear hubby is already fast asleep with the open guide book on his laps... we've had a very long day/trip and are exhausted!

Our Egypt Adventures Start with a Bang!!

2009-01-01T05:16:00.000-08:00

22nd December 2008

We are at Heathrow and our trip to Egypt has started with a BANG! All these months leading up to our trip we've kept a close eye on Alitalia, and today on the day of our trip, when we reached the airport we found out... our flight has been cancelled as the company is on STRIKE... yet again!! We got here at 2pm and have been standing in a never ending ticketing line to see if we can get ourselves transfered to another flight... as soon as we reach Cairo, we need to be on a train to Alexandria! Please pray this line moves... as it's been still for almost an hour now. There are a few more people in line for Egypt, rest all are for Rome... Alitalia staff informs us, rather we've all been playing chinese whispers with the information... all flights are booked, we will not be transfered to any other flight today or tomorrow, so I guess our trip is being threatened!!

I am sick of standing and sitting in this still line and I am now looking forward to going home eating and setting my butt on the couch!... Our fellow travelers Bebeji & Mamu (who are heading to Cairo from India) have been informed and even they are praying for something to work out! (fingers crossed)

Finally I heard someone yell, passengers for Egypt please come forward...RUN Sunny RUN!!!!!! There are about 10 of us and they've taken our passports... we are being transferred to Egypt Air... we have hope of getting seats there... we wait a bit more and we get boarding passes... Yipeeeeeeeee!! We are finally heading to Egypt :o) Luckily we get a direct flight as compared to our long halt flight via Rome... and we'll still be in time to make it to our train to Alexandria... phew!... that was a close call... Have always seen people on the news, sitting on the floor and on their trolleys at the airport, especially during holiday season with cancelled flights, airports shut downs due to bad weather... and today we experienced it too.

Finally! Sunny and I are sitting on a plane for Cairo - Egypt Air seats 40A & 40C, the first two emergency seats in our section with lots of leg room... one big YIPEEEE!! from both of us after a long day of standing in line after line wondering if this trip would ever start! After numerous lines at different counters, enquiries, phone calls etc etc... we are finally on our way in an ancient Egypt Air plane to an ancient land! Mummy land here we come :o)

Happy New Year!!

2008-12-31T04:33:00.000-08:00

Dearest Family & Friends,

We wish you all a very Happy New Year!!

May this year bring lots of laughter, prosperity and good health your way.

Miss you all very much, and we hope to see you all very soon :o)

Lots of Love & Hugs

Mattu & Sunny

P.S- We just returned from a fun and adventurous holiday in Egypt... we will be updating our blog shortly with pictures from our trip and stories from our travel journal :) Keep an eye out for that!

Not a good day!

2008-12-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

Tupperware, towels, containers all over the place... I feel like turning the coffee table upside down ... it would make a nice boat... just in case... We are sick and tired of our leaky flat!!

It's friday night, the lady who stays above us, knows her water is overflowing and running through her floor boards into our flat roof... yet she is out enjoying her evening while we sit and collect dripping water....Our land lady is away enjoying her weekend least concerned about checking on her flat that is getting ruined... insurance will pay and she'll get it repaired, so all good for her... what about us!? We are just frustrated and irritated after a week long affair of leaks and drips... can someone shut the water source to the flat above us... so we can sleep in peace tonight...

I got Pheasant meat from Waitrose for the first time... and found an interesting recipe to try... went out to get all the ingredients for the marination... prepared the marination and the meat went bad!! So I had to throw it all away... I hate throwing away food...

Just not my day today... and we want this drip drip... tip tip... to stop!!!!

An unusual victim of WAR!

2008-12-05T14:31:00.001-08:00

I was so worried for this pigeon after I saw it at the Imperial War Museum in London... poor chap! During WWII, pigeons were used as messengers, and they were strapped up with a mini parachute and dropped at specific spots into new territory/enemy lines/behind the or in front of the line (who knows)... they were dropped from the air~ a plane (with a secret message strapped to them). After the message was received and a reply was written to be delivered back, the pigeon was freed of it's chute and let free to fly back home! All good right.... Nooooooo!!

Now imagine the next time the pigeon is flying, it might think, "hey! wait a minute the other day I was successfully able to fly and float without flapping my wings, let me try it again"... only this time the poor chap would have gone down in a tail spin... this must have really messed up the pigeons confidence and ability to lead a normal pigeon life!

More reasons why war's are bad, and we should not support them!

Egyptian Embassy we love you!

2008-12-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

This post is going to be surprisingly short... what a day at the Egyptian embassy in comparison to the Indian embassy experience a few weeks ago... I entered the Egyptian embassy with our passports/applications at 11.40 am and was out at 11.41 am... I am not even sure what happened... it was quick... I don't even remember much, I was in shock and happy :) (I think) I was able to submit both our applications and deposit the fees, get a token in return to pick up our passports later next week... all under a minute... did my watch stop... did time stop!?... did I dream this up... all those prayers and dreams for a smooth experience at an embassy, any embassy, finally paid off ;) WOW!! I just hope posting this too soon on my blog won't jinx it (fingers crossed please, everyone... I think we need it regardless... especially when it comes to visas and embassies).

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-12-05T13:33:00.001-08:00

19th November was mom's birthday and we wanted to remember her and celebrate her! So Ginny Bhaboo and I decided to throw a surprise dinner party for the boys (just the four of us) to celebrate mom :o)

The venue was Gulab and Gulabo's flat, and it was disguised as a friday night dinner with the four of us after everyone got off work (wink wink...). Ginny Bhaboo took charge to bake the cake and Gulabo took charge to create a slideshow for the boys with old and new family pictures! The plan was set and Bhaboo and Gulabo started work on their exciting projects... with unexpected hurdles along the way... Bhaboo had to bake three cakes to get it as she desired, and Gulabo had to create the slideshow in less than an hour.

Bhaboo set out to bake the pecan cake on Thursday night, which did not turn out right... so she had to bake a second one on Friday morning before work, and since she was running late, she had to shut down the oven 10 minutes early... which collapsed the cake... and she had to try again in the evening right after work, and third time was a hit! The cake was so delicious, that I am afraid i'll have to confess I was the one who gobbled up most of it ;) While all this was going on at the Anthony residence, Gulabo had her set of hurdles to jump in order to create the slideshow... First of all she decided on the slideshow on Tuesday, and hoped to scan old pictures while Gulab Singh was out for meetings, which to her luck did not happen till Friday afternoon... and to make things more interesting, Gulabo's MAC refused to connect and scan with the scanner... so Gulabo had to sneak into Gulab Singh's office while he got ready in order to use his work laptop to scan and upload the pictures... and that too in a record breaking 15 minutes. After Gulab Singh left for his meeting, leaving very little time for Gulabo to juggle cooking dinner for the party and creating the slideshow... Gulabo zipped around the flat to cook-clean-create! Since both Bhaboo and Gulabo are super-woman, they completed everything and were all set and ready in the evening! :D

The boys reached home after work, and we surprised them with the cake and the slideshow... the candles were blown by Gulabo & Anthony, and the cake was cut by Mrs Anthony and Gulab Singh :) followed by food and lots of interesting childhood stories with mom!! We ate a lot, we talked a lot and we giggled a lot... perfect recipe for a wonderful evening... Mom, wish you were here with us, and we all miss you very much and love you loads!

xoxo

Anthony Singh aka Tony Virji

Mrs Anthony aka Ginny Bhaboo

Gulab Singh aka Sunny

Gulabo aka Mattu

1st Anniversary Celebrations ~ 27th Oct 2008!!

2008-12-03T03:37:00.001-08:00

Brides Sangeet Party Video!!

2008-12-02T12:19:00.001-08:00

Hello Friends and Family!

We just learnt that we can link our YouTube account to our blog, so we are sharing some old videos from there :) We are going to flood this page with home videos soon... so watch out, for some laughs!!

This one was a slide-show created for the brides (i.e. Meeeeeeeee) sangeet party!! :) And, yes, that is mom and dad singing (coaxed by Meeee) my favorite childhood songs/rhymes in the beginning.

xoxo

Mumbai under terrorist attack!

2008-11-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

Three entire days have been spent in front of the TV - shocked, scared, worried, saddened, praying and hoping that this terror attack comes to an end, soon!! Whether we are in Mumbai or miles away from it, this violation of our security has shook us to the core...

Repeated announcements that it's all over at one or the other sites, only to be followed by gun shots and grenade explosions... WHEN WILL THIS END? Our prayers go out to the lives lost and their families, and we stand behind, salute and honor the brave soldiers and citizens who have been fighting against the terrorist, tirelessly. The real heroes are our security forces, the Commandoes, NSG, Army, Police Force, and all the civilians (staff and guests trapped inside the different sites). The Indian Media and the world media has been reporting non-stop, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, and covering the events as it happens, live on national TV... I think they need to step back and they need to be held responsible and need to understand what they are doing... can the journalists stop dramatizing the events, and can they stop giving away strategic information, which has and is only aiding the terrorists and their accompli. Enough is enough, this is not a time for the media and journalists to glorify themselves, but a time for the armed forces to carry out their mission!! Everyone except the armed forces needs to be sealed out of the areas under attack, and kept in the dark regarding critical strategic information, so the forces can carry out their mission successfully. It is clear that these terrorists are very well planned, organized and highly skilled, and that they were able to get a lot of compromising information through satellite phones and powerful walkie-talkie's, and all the information disclosed on the news channels has only helped them... please STOP!

We can only pray and hope that the media learns their lesson from this and that the armed forces are able to carry out their mission and end this... end this very soon!

I am still glued to the TV, every time I think about moving away or switching it off, I hear an explosion and sit right back... live TV - real TV... we all are addicted to it and we all encourage it, and we all are to blame... but we need to draw a line and stop!

Birthday Celebrations!!

2008-11-13T03:37:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to thank (please don't worry this is not going to turn into a Oscar acceptance speech...hopefully, even though it has started as one) friends and family for their love, wishes and blessings on my 27th birthday! I am so blessed to have you all in my life and love you all dearly :)

I had a fabulous day/birth-day, courtesy hubby dear, thank you for an amazing day, love you so much and am so blessed to have you as my life partner and best friend! Thank you Ginny B and Tony V for coming at 12 in the night with the most yummy dark chocolate cake!! It was absolutely yumm and I look very chic in my Batman shirt Ginny B ;) Thank you Papa, for being here for my birthday and making it so special!! Thank you all :)

Mom and Dad you are in California, and I know if you could have been here with us, you would have. And I know you both are always with me, no matter how near or far by distance...miss you both sooo very much and love you both sooo much. I am so grateful and thankful to be blessed with the most loving, understanding, and supporting parents! I just pray and hope that someday I can be like you both :) Thank you for your blessings!

Birthday celebrations started at 12 in the night... Papa went to bed (rather pretended to go to bed) around 11.30 while hubby dear was running in and out of our room, ruffling and scuffling with paper ;) ... 5 to 12 am.. our flat door bell rang and of course I suspected something, but our monitor didn't show anyone outside and when hubby answered the bell on the phone no one answered, so we thought someone might have rang the bell my mistake (of course a 'yeah right' went through my mind and I suspected something ;) )... so we went to check and hubby ran down and right back up before I got my flip-flops on to go out as well... he came in with a slight hidden smile and added, no one is there... lets go back in... and we went back to what we were doing ... Papa pretending to sleep, Sunny ruffling and scuffling with paper and moi sitting on my lappy :D Then exactly at 12 am... Ginny, Tony, Papa and Sunny walk in with a candle lit cake, singing my Happy Birthday song :) (for all chocolate lovers it was an absolutely yumm dark chocolate cake!)... followed by more singing, cake cutting and stuffing my mouth with the delicious cake... followed by birthday bumps! Tony V grabbed my arms, and Ginny and Sunny got one leg each... it was quiet an experience to get birthday bumps... can't recall the last time I got them ... it was an amazing start to my birthday!!

Birthday morning, I woke up and ran to take a shower and get ready... only because, our plumber was going to come and fix the boiler for which he had planned to drain out the entire hot water reserve/supply... and I had no intentions of taking a cold shower on my birthday...

One of my birthday gift/treat from hubby dear was a day of pampering and me doing nothing! So I got breakfast to start with and then a delicious lunch made by Chef Sunny!

In the evening we went for a walk to Richmond (our high street) and hubby dear got me beautiful flowers and a orchid plant... followed by getting ready for my very special birthday dinner and celebrations with Papa, G~T, Boogs and Hubzy! We went out to a thai place called "Thai Elephant" and had a lovely birthday evening... highlights were my birthday cake pictures with all the flowers (used for table and meal decorations) landing up in my hair! I was being flowerised (new word invented) by loved ones :) And Ginny B ordering a dish thinking it was going to be a nice big fried fish... but landed up being tiny fried fishes with their entire body in tact (including eyes)... it was actually quiet a yummy dish... mostly consumed by daring Tony V & Birthday Girl! :) And last but not least... Boogs dharam brasht time! Our newly converted vegetarian was given non veg food by mistake again and again and again and again... the entire night... that by the end of it she was scared to even eat the ice cream!...LOL

I had a fabulous birthday and a memorable day, thanks to everyone, specially hubby darling for making it so special!

Love you all!!

Mattu ~ Daring Birthday Girl

Euphoria... Change had come to America!!!!

2008-11-05T01:04:00.001-08:00

Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America!!!!!

History has been made, this was a dream, and today it has become reality... Barack Obama is the first African-America President of the United States of America. Today we all have done it!! The highest turnout of voters in the history of America, unprecedented turnout (64%), and we all have done it!

It is a moment of change in America and a moment of change for the world, we are very optimistic and hopeful. A new generations of politics is here. We needed change... we wanted change... and, we got change!!! A sense of great excitement and enthusiasm has taken over!

Heartiest Congratulations to all!!!!

I voted for the first time in my life, in my adopted nation, and so did my mom, and we both are so very proud and happy :o)

Congratulations Chachiji!!

2008-11-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Caring for students: Anjum Sibia, Reader in Psychology at NCERT (left) and others at a conference in Bangalore on Monday.

Bangalore: Students’ feelings and emotions impact their learning ability to a certain extent, according to a research study headed by Anjum Sibia, Reader in Psychology at the National Council for Educational Research and Training.

Ms. Sibia presented a few details of her paper titled “Caring for students’ feelings” at the three-day national conference on the social and emotional environment of students, organised by The Teacher Foundation, here on Monday.

Maya Menon from the foundation said that the conference aims to be a forum for academics and researchers, officials of government department, school administrators and classroom practitioners to come together and share their ideas, experiences and concerns with a concerted view to making schools gentler and happier places of learning.

About the research, she said it was taken up with an objective to attempting to understand students’ emotions influencing their learning as perceived by them in the context of self, home, peers and schools. The NCERT research was taken up in five regions in the country, with a sampling of over 1,000 students from classes seven, nine and 11 in each region.

The tools of the research were open-ended questions, critical incidents and incomplete sentences. According to the interim findings of the research, students express a wide range of emotions in relation to learning. They express different categories of emotions with differing frequencies. The research also showed that positive emotions, such as joy and interest, arose in safe contexts. Also, among students of classes nine and 11, boys expressed more feelings, both positive and negative, than girls. She said that the research showed that amongst all the different feelings of students, the most sighted feeling was linked to teacher behaviour.

A short film titled ‘Shades of our schools’ by Gautam Sonti was screened on the occasion. The film captured the interactions that happen between teachers and students in classrooms, playgrounds, corridors and staff rooms!

Change we need ~ vote for OBAMA!!

2008-11-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hindi/Punjabi no longer a secret language in Videsh!

2008-11-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Today Papa and I went to Indian Embassy in London to get my OCI stamp... big YAY for that first!! I could write a book about my day at the embassy, some other day maybe, today I want to discuss an embarrassment caused by something we Indians often venture into abroad! Speaking with fellow Desis in our secret HIndi/Punjabi, thinking none of the non-desis understands, and we speak our mind, braving it with what ever comes to mind! ;)

Getting back to the story at hand, Papa and I had to drop off the passport @ the embassy by 12pm and pick it up after 3pm, so we decided to walk and explore central london, and landed up in Convent Garden (2 minutes walk from the embassy)... lots of shops, street shows/entertainment, and street stalls of food and interesting creations by aspiring artists, lots for passers-by to browse. While we were browsing though the Janpat style stalls, we came across art work of an artist I had previously seen on a previous visit to the same place. This artist - 'Chris' had copied his work from another very famous artist (can't recall his name), as i have seen his work before and jigsaws are also available in his work. But anyways, Chris claimed it was his own work/creation, when I had last seen it, so I began to share my story with dad in Punjabi. Today, Chris was not present at his stall, instead a Brit friend of his was filling in for him. So while we were browsing through the cards, he started to tell me how it takes Chris one year to create his work and it's inspired from another famous artist (basically he started to tell me something I had been discussing with Dad in Punjabi, on his own, which I found a bit strange as I had not enquired or initiated the conversation ~ Brit Sales people unlike American's don't take any interest in helping/talking to customers). Anyways by the end of it I landed up buying a card and when he retuned my change, he also added a 'shukriya' with a cheeky grin, to which I was astonished and embarrassed! The chap understood everything I had been saying about his artist friend being a copy cat... which was true, but the moral of the story ~ Gone are the days when Hindi/Punjabi was our secret language against the Videshi's ;)

Diwali 2008!

2008-11-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Diwali @ G&T's place with the family! Delicious food ~ yummy chana-puri's, beautiful diya-decorations courtesy Ginny!, firecrackers - we only lighted some phuljharis (and watched other peoples firecracker show from inside the house, as it was too cold to stay outside for long), lots of gup-shup, a little wind, a little rain, and a little snow at places... fabulous Diwali 2008 in London!

Some of us did brave it and go out to the balcony of G&T's penthouse, no 65! to light up some firecrackers, but after a few phuljharis we needed to thaw ourselves (specially Ginny & I), so we all ran back in and watched the surrounding firework shows from neighboring borough, from our cozy glass house :o), the view was perfect!

Thank you Ginny and Tony for making the evening so special, beautiful, and perfect as always! It's wonderful to be together for celebrations and you both always make it extra special for us :o) We really enjoyed our time, and looking forward to many more celebrations with you both!! :)

Love & Hugs

Gulabo & Gulab Singh

Please vote in with your comments!

2008-10-29T08:35:00.001-07:00

What do you think happened right after this picture was taken?!?!?!

Note: We kindly request everyone to write in their version of the before and after of this picture, as Sunny's cheeks future are depending on your comments.

Gulab Singh & Gulabo dah photo session!!

2008-10-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

Gulab Singh and Gulabo wore their best gulabi outfits for their 1st wedding anniversary!! And how could we have celebrated this evening without being reminded of what occurred a year earlier... a proper photo session involving poses we were coaxed into... and here are some of those memorable pictures :o)

Please don't miss the window pictures, one of which even shows Gulabo feeding her Gulab Singh a gulab ka petal!! :D

1st Wedding Anniversary!!

2008-10-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

First of all thank you to all friends and family for their wonderful wishes and love. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives, and truly cherished every one's wishes, and we are two very happy and lucky bachas!

We had a wonderful day on the 27th and a memorable and an extremely fun night with Papa, Ginny, Tony, Cami, Nanak & Boogie!! (+ the Chinese man mesmerized by the belly dancers... can't leave him out... more about him a little later). And we missed everyone else who could not be there... will surely make it up and have more celebrations with everyone, when we see you next!

We all wanted to do something fun, so we decided to go somewhere with live music and some dancing, when I say dancing, it was meant to be for all of us, not the belly dancers ;) So the hunt for a nice restaurant in London that served good food, live music, dancing, tasteful ambiance etc etc began... not an easy task I must confess... after much google searching in our very comfy PJ's, on our couch, while sitting in front of the TV, we read countless reviews, till we finally came across Pasha, a Moroccan restaurant with a ethnic and tasteful ambiance.

Invitations were sent out!

On the day, we all met at the restaurant as and when everyone got off work (since it was a Monday some of us were working - when I say us, it basically means everyone else but me, but for that day dear hubby was with me in the not working club :o) ). The evening started with a quick photo session where Gulab Singh and Gulabo posed with each other, family members, furniture fittings at the restaurant and even a gulab ka petal! Then there was lots of yumm food, chatting and catching up with everyone... lots of laughter and fun, for which we are so thankful to everyone for their company and their love! Around 9 pm... is when the dancing fun started... the restaurant had professional belly dancers decent into the dining area while everyone was enjoying their dinner. All of us were enjoying this till we discovered the Chinese guy sitting on the next table!! And that is where Boogies obsession and true love for him came out and instead of taking pictures of the belly dancers or us, she took a million pictures of the Chinese guy and all his priceless expressions while watching the show.... ha ha... it was absolutely hilarious!! After we were done with our dinner there was more laughter, chatting, picture taking and lots of seat switching... basically all the ladies were sitting away from each other through out the evening, and it was only a matter of time we all sat around each other to giggled and gossiped :)

All in all it was a memorable evening and we had a brilliant time with everyone :) Thank you so much for making the day so special!

Lots of Love

Mattu & Sunny

Watch out this space for more stories & pictures from the night!

Happy Diwali!!!

2008-10-28T03:43:00.000-07:00

Wishing all loved ones a very Happy Diwali!!

May this Diwali bring good health, love, happiness, and prosperity to all :)

Lots of Love

Gulab Singh & Gulabo :)

24th Oct 2007 ~ Shagan

2008-10-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

The day the wedding festivities officially began with the Shagan ceremony @ sector 34 Gurduwara! The Groom was fed, over fed, and stuffed with ladoos by friends and family. No one was merciful nor did they spare the poor chap. I am afraid the experience of this day has been so traumatising that it has made him quit ladoos for life!...ha ha... Now we both are eagerly waiting for opportunities to reciprocate the ladoo love to our much loved younger cousins :)

Sunny was living in Cardiff, Wales & Mattu was living in Sacramento, California, 4522 nautical miles away, so how did it all begin?

2008-10-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

29th Jan 2007 ~ We were introduced by a common friend Rohini aka Bebeji!

The Mehta family was out common link and brought this all about. Mehta Uncle and Sibia Papa have been fast friends from their NDA days, and the Sandhu family and Mehta family have been very close since their daughters Mattu & Rohini became friends in school. The Mehta & Sibia family thought about introducing us and talked to the Sandhu family... a very excited and enthusiastic Bebeji took it on and introduced us... and that is where it all began!