Friday, November 1, 2013

'Z' for Zest For Everything That Fascinates Me

                                                Zest For Clouds, The Sea,
                                                         And Life   

Perhaps life has given me lot of "Time", despite having to do the things,  that all normal women do in their lives, cooking, housekeeping being pulled from various directions, sometimes making us feel our time is not at all ours to use it as we would have wanted to use it.   
Yet, I somehow managed to have my own "Me Time".   In the midst of all this, I managed to do my post graduation, did a 1 year diploma course in the subject of my interest, then went ahead, and trained myself in Aerobics, Yoga and Weight training, learnt swimming etc., went and got myself 1st and the second degree of Reiki, and finally even got trained and certified to be a Reiki master: aren't you surprised?
 In the meantime, I was regularly contributing " Middles"  for Deccan Herald too.
 I remember being often asked as to how I managed to do all these things and also watch my favorite Soap Operas "The Bold And The Beautiful", "Santa Barbara", talk shows like, "Oprah Winfrey" etc. (those days i was really hooked). Of course I had no answer, for I myself didn't know how I was doing it. Although it was hectic, I somehow enjoyed that phase of my life, and I have no regrets.

I had this zest for life, I had to accomplish a lot  of things, and that too at the right time.
Soon my interest moved on to taking many spectacular cloud photographs, photographs of  our house both  interior and exterior, I never thought I had the knack to capture everything just the way I wanted. I found an excellent site to showcase our house and be appreciated, and also be  inspired by other photographs posted there by other people. This site is: houzz.com.
 Then I had another outlet and that was Flickr and also Cloud Appreciation Society, and from these sites, I made some really good friends from all over the world, sharing the same passion for photographing the clouds, the sunsets, and the sunrises. I never had so many friends in real life  as I have in the virtual world.
Of course,  how can I forget to mention the blogworld and the FB. With the internet opening up so many channels of interaction, I hardly ever felt the need to go looking for friends in the real world. Whether it is travel or food blogs, or polishing up our knowledge we have everything right here.
Okay, before I get carried away, here is what we did in the last 7 days. We decided to visit Andaman Islands for our 33rd wedding anniversary. 

We had planned a trip to the Andaman Islands some 2 months back. Some things didn't happen as planned, but on the other hand it landed us with some unplanned, yet pleasant events  before we finally landed in Andaman Islands. So no regrets here too, it was kind of serendipity,  I must say.

From the plane we could see so many Islands, so much lush greenery, everything looked picture perfect:
                                      Could it be one of the unexplored, or forbidden islands?


The blue sky, the blue sea, clouds  dancing merrily,  and the greenery, what more do you need?

 We liked Port Blair too, it is a nice little town, has many Handicraft shops, cloth shops where every shop has dresses made by Binny Cotton Mills and also materials of the same company, We stayed in Abeerdin which is right in the center of this town. Here you would find a big clock tower right in the in the center known as Ganta Ghar. Look how well lit the whole area is and the streets look very lively and bustling with activity.

We visited the Viper Island: It was hit by tsunami in December 2004.  It was the site of the jail where  the British  used to imprison convicts and political prisoners. It  has the ruins of a  gallows atop a hillock. The jail was abandoned once the Cellular Jail was constructed in 1906.  Before, the Cellular Jail,  it was this jail  in Viper Island, where the worst  kind of terror was inflicted on those who struggled to free India from the British rule.
                                           on our way to the Viper Island from Port Blair




The conditions at the jail were so notorious, that it got the name,"Viper Chain Gang Jail".Prisoners were chained together and confined during night by a chain running through couplings of irons around their legs. It was here, that these prisoners were said to be given the harshest labour, the Britishers were absolutely ruthless.

Among the ruins one cannot but feel the deafening silence........
The voices of so many freedom fighters shouting  the slogan, "Jai Hind", "Jai Bharat", " Vande Maatram" seems to be still lingering here. Every brick seems to say, I was witness to the horrors committed here....
The Cellular Jail:





One has to admire their zest for life, their zeal for freedom despite undergoing such hardships under very trying conditions, for they did not want to die without seeing their country freed from the tyranny of the British rule.
I wish we would often think of such brave people, who fought relentlessly for our country, for without them, we would hardly be breathing the free air around us, and be living  in a free world.
So this brings me to the end of the A-Z challenge, though for me  it was not a big challenge, for I never challenged myself to update everyday.
However, I would definitely update more about Andaman Islands, for there is so much to share. 
Now without delay can I expect some quick responses from all my blogger friends, what are you waiting for?
Shoot off your comments .....

Happy Deepawali!!

24 comments:

  1. I really admire your zest Rama :) Belated anniversary wishes to you and your husband, Andaman is a treasure trove, a reminder that nature is beautiful and man is an animal...Looking forward to more updates about Andaman.
    Your garden looks dazzling,wish you and your family a Happy, prosperous and safe Deepavali :)

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  2. I always admire your house, pictures, no wonder you are so accomplished person.I really like the people who have this zest for life....and like travelling so much...It is always a pleasure to read your travelogues ..
    Here is wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous Diwali!!!

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    1. Thanks Renu. I also love travelogues, and many times they are as good as having been there in person. Have all the fun this holiday season!

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  3. Though there are many movies made based on this place, visiting the actual place gives a different experience.
    Every brick seems to say, I was witness to the horrors committed here....
    One of the places I have yet to visit.

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    1. Strangely while we were there, the movie Siraisalai, a very touching and well made movie on the freedom fighters was aired on TV. It had such good actors like Prabhu (Sivaji's son), Delhi Ganesh, Taboo, Mohanlal, and another Malayalam actor whose name i don't remember, the late Amrish puri, and others. It was in Tamil.
      Some places reminded us of the sad history of our country, and some places were pure fun.
      Andaman is really a beautiful place, still has that unspoiled look, but I feel it is soon going to become like other tourist places in India. Better visit before all the beauty is lost.

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  4. Once again Deepavali Greetings
    We all know you are a versatile and multifaceted lady but never knew the vast range of your accomplishments.But one thing we are certain about is your photographic skill as seen in this post.Keep learning more and more of new things for there is no limit to human capability.
    The writeup on Andaman jail then and now,the torture our freedom fighters underwent has been dealt with touchingly.Are we grateful to those who sacrificed their lives and careers solely for the freedom of the country expecting nothing else in return?Do we remember them sincerely?I doubt.
    Thanks a lot for the post

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    1. Thanks KP.
      It is worse than the Alcatraz prison. However, escape from both these prisons were impossible, because of the way they were built.

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  5. Rema, a very interesting post on your zest for activities and the effort for accomplishing them.The photographs are laudable.We obtained the freedom because of the sweat of great patriots who we reburied under negligence. But now we are chained in the corruption of politicians.

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  6. Thanks rudraprayaga. Conditions today in our country is really very bad.

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  7. I havent been quick to respond! To be very honest, you have been one of the most inspiring persons I have ever met in my life! The zest you show just leaps on to us :-)
    So glad you could do this lovely trip, I look forward to more details soon and of course complete with your lovely photographs. You have a natural flair for photography and that shows.
    Loved the way you decorated the table with Diyas to idlis:-)

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    1. Thanks for all the lovely compliments, padmaja.
      I would also love to know about your Jordan trip, why don't you blog about it?
      Take care.

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  8. Belated anniversary wishes.
    I was quite disappointed and pained by the callousness of the administration in preserving the pristine gift that Andamans is.This was what I felt after five days some years ago in the Andamans.

    And then talking about the memorial - the cellular prison , isnt it that only a small part of it is preserved?
    There was this Lt Governor of the islands , one Mallu Congress politician who used his tenure to plunder timber from the islands. And in the few years he tenured he made money for a generation and more.

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    1. Thanks Anil. For a few years a very nice gentleman, who was known to us was the Lt Governor of Andaman Islands, he had invited us so many times to come and visit this beautiful place, but somehow we could never make it, while he was there.
      It is sad that, the Mallu Congress fellow showed his true colors just like other members of his party.

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  9. Belated anniversary wishes to you, Rama. That's a beautiful visual tour of the Andamans. Glad you had a good time there. About your zest for life, oh yes, i can vouch for that. Have been following your blogposts and it reflects on your post. Hope you enjoyed diwali.

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    1. Thanks Asha for your kind wishes. I am so glad you like my blogs.
      Diwali is just another holiday for us, as we have stopped celebrating any festival from a long time. Somehow the charm has gone. The photos you see me posting of Diwali are quite old.

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  10. Absolutely great tour! the destinations and buildings looking beautiful in your photos.
    thanks for sharing your experience .

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  11. Belated Wedding anniversary wishes, Rama!

    I have always admired you for what you are. And I love your house. Your photographs are lovely....the list goes on!

    I never knew so many details of Andaman. Knew just the basics.

    Anilkurup's information is shocking.

    I have heard that the island is full of greenery. One day I too must visit.

    Thanks for the interesting post, Rama!

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    1. Thanks Sandhya. Yes Andaman is a very beautiful place, still quite clean, and local transport and the people there are quite good. in fact the Auto fellows also don't over charge despite knowing that we are tourists. The weather was hot just like Chennai. You must visit is fast before more and more people start coming and spoiling the beauty of this place.
      My desire it to visit Ladakh too, before it starts attracting too many tourists.

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  12. Interesting post. Awesome Blog Thank you :)

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  13. Thanks Ashwini. Yes the whole challenge is finally over, and I am glad I could somehow come up with something for each letter, it can be quite exhausting, I wonder how people could keep with it on a daily basis.
    Yes sometime things just happen and when they are surprisingly good, it is all the more enjoyable.

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  14. Wow!! You are truly and achiever and you inspire me a lot!! Belated wishes for the anniversary :)

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