Our wedding anniversary celebration @ our son’s place in Bengaluru.

We reached Bengaluru from Hyderabad yesterday - 8th May, to be with our son and daughter-in-law for few days. And today – 9th May, being our wedding anniversary; our children have celebrated it making it a very happy and memorable day for us. It started with a visit to the Temple in the morning, sweets and food all day long, a delicious Red Velvet Anniversary Cake in the evening from Just Like Mum’s, followed by Candlelight sumptuous Italian and Mediterranean dinner at 100 ft Boutique Restaurant. Here are photographs of the celebration:

Inspiring and motivational quotes based on stars.

There are lots of things that can provide inspiration and motivation to help us in leading a successful and happy life - proverbs, wise quotations, fables, good books, good movies, lives of great men and women…seeing other people who have accomplished great things and seeing other people who have overcome adversity and even the sheer beauty of nature can teach us a lot.  Having mentioned nature in this context, here is an awesome picture of the night sky with a smile and a message we should always remember. And this is followed by many more inspirational quotations based on stars that we can see on most nights, from anywhere in the world.

“Happiness is always there. You just have to choose to see it. There’s no point dwelling in the dark and ignoring the light of the stars.” – Carrie Hope Flethcher.

“Everyone’s a star and deserves the right to twinkle.” – Marilyn Monroe.

 “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare.

“Son, brother, father, lover, friend…there is room in the heart for all the affections, as there is room in heaven for all the stars.” – Victor Hugo.

“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” – Stephen Hawking.

“I’m a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds.” – Mike Tyson.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde.

“What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?” – E.M. Forster.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” – Marcus Aurelius.

“Things are as they are. Looking out at the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, or between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts.

“Those are the same stars, and that is the same moon, that look down upon your brothers and sisters, and which they see as they look up to them, though they are ever so far away from us, and each other.” – Sojoumer Truth.

“You got to try and reach for the stars or try and achieve the unreachable.” – Cathy Freeman.

 “Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.” – Omar N. Bradley.

“Turn your scars into stars.” – Robert H. Schuller.

“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.” – Leo Burnett.

“Quietness is the beginning of virtue. To be silent is to be beautiful. Stars do not make a noise.” – James Stephens.

“It isn’t a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.” – Benjamin E. Mays.

“Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.” – Beck.

“How is it they live in such harmony the billions of stars – when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds about someone they know.” – Thomas Aquinas.

“Men are like the stars; some generate their own light while others reflect the brilliance they receive.” – Jose Marti.

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.”

“Happiness is actually found in simple things, such as taking my nephew around the island by bicycle or seeing the stars at night.” – Andrea Hirata.

“Women are like stars…only one can make your dreams come true!”

I wish earthquakes become extinct like volcanoes or less intense and harmless.

Less than a week ago on 22nd April, on the occasion of Earth Day I posted an article to my blog in praise of Mother Earth and how it is supporting every life on Earth so magnanimously and how we have to safeguard this environment for our own good and the welfare of future generations. And just three days later on 25th April an earthquake – an inevitable weakness of Mother Earth strikes Nepal causing large scale destruction to life and property. This high magnitude earthquake (7.8) has virtually destroyed Nepal, killing over 4,300 people, injuring over 8,500 and bringing down several buildings and smaller dwellings. For the living, the loss of family members and friends and their dwellings and the aftershocks, torrential rains, avalanches and the landslides are causing heartrending misery. The earthquake brought sorrow to India too, as it has killed 72 people and injured over 100 people.

Most countries of the world especially ours – India is helping Nepal in every possible way round the clock and evacuating thousands of Indians stranded in Nepal. Individuals like us who feel the pain should try and contribute whatever we can through various channels that are opening up to help the suffering people of Nepal.  

I wish and pray that the people of Nepal would bravely overcome their grief and losses and that the kind Nations of the world would continue to help them until they lead normal and content lives.

And as for the earthquakes, I wish they become extinct like the volcanoes and the gigantic deadly beasts like the dinosaurs, or less intense and harmless.

A midsummer day’s dream!

To beat the horrid heat of summer,

Nothing like an air conditioner,

Fruits and drinks from the freezer,

And dreams of such weather!

Earth Day Message – 2015.

Today is Earth Day. Earth Day is celebrated every year on 22nd April. It was chosen by the United Nations Organization in 1970, and today Earth Day is being observed and celebrated in more than 192 countries. On this day events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The Earth Day serves to evaluate and think about why and how to preserve our beloved planet, our home.

On our Planet Earth we have everything we need, abundant rainfall, which creates rivers, lakes, ponds and ground water, providing us the most essential water, not only for us but for the entire fauna and flora of the world.  We have plenty of air that is keeping us alive every moment. We have the other source of life - light and heat from the Sun. And there is plenty of food in the form of plants, trees, grains, vegetables, fruits and countless other bounties. That is why, with respect and fondness we refer to our planet as Mother Earth.  

However all this the planet is providing us is getting dangerously polluted and compromised and may end up one day if we do not take proper care. We are fast destroying everything that is given free of charge to us, through industrial and vehicular pollution of water and air. Deforestation and creation of toxic and indestructible industrial and domestic waste are other evils that we are carrying out on a large scale unmindful of the dangerous consequences. Earth Day observation has grown increasingly around the world to create awareness of all these problems and what we can do about it. It is just not the responsibility of the Governments and the local authorities but there is much we can do to keep our Earth healthy...for example conserving water, preventing unnecessary vehicular pollution, using recycled paper and packing material, avoiding plastic bags and cautious dumping of waste.

Some wise man rightly said “The wealth of the Nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity…that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. That’s where all the economic activity and jobs come from. These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world”. So true, let us all strive for it.

Food presentation and plating, equates food to poetry!

Sandwiches cut in shapes taste better!

Food presentation and plating, equates food to poetry!