It has been almost two months since I hiked.. It was good to get back on the trails with a short hike to Villa Montalvo.. I have never been to this one but the group I hike with has done this many times.
Apparently the draw is to watch all the big mansions on the way to the trails. So we parked in downtown Saratoga and walked an extra mile watching all the mansions. Interesting to know that there is a place like this right in our area.
People say Cupertino homes are large. Ours looks like a small Kudisai compared to any house on this hike.
we did get a great view from the top. The whole thing was 90 minutes in 5 miles and a steady climb.
But like I said, good to be back on a trail!
Hope to get back into the weekend morning hiking routine, now that I am back!
Last years Golu was a wash, because of COVID. It was also when I missed Jr. a lot as she was setting in college and getting busy.
This years Navarathri was better. I had just landed after a hectic last minute trip to Chennai just after Navarathri started. So it was nice to be invited to a few golus in the bay area. Most of the golus this year were ladies only events and that meant, not a lot of Golu pictures.. we even went to a drive by golu this year!
This year I tried to continue a thing I started in 2019.. trying to match wife's saree color with my shirt color. It was a challenge as my wardrobe, while colorful, is no match for her variety! Once I set this trend and make it fashionable, it will only be a question of time before Nalli and Pothy's start selling matching shirts to the sarees. You will hear this soon "idhu sari with blouse ma, idhu sari with blouse and Shirt!".. you heard that here first! just remember..
There were a lot of new dolls which was impressive given people managed to get these shipped here during COVID. We also visted a few folks for the first time and saw interesting dolls, some that date back a century and were handed over for generations!
This year, I was asked to sing in a few Golus and did that. Have only been singing movie songs recently, but decided to give it a try. Wife give me a smile and said "not bad!" which is as much of a compliment I can expect to get. Next year, will learn, practice and sing a few classical songs if everything goes well!
All that said, here are the pictures of the golus and some dolls that caught my eye..
Hopefully by next year, COVID is a thing of the past and we get to visit more golus. There are many families that have lost dears ones in the last year and that also reduces the number of golus we visit. When you hear "we lost a relative, so no golu this year in our house!" over and over again, the magnitude of COVID strikes you!
All these trips got me to feel somewhat normal again after that Chennai trip.
We did do a quick Saraswathi Poojai and Vijayadasami, given they both fell on working days and I was in meetings for the most part of those two days!
It would be a big miss if I forget to mention the food over the last week.. sundals, vadais of different types and sizes, payasams, pooris, kuzhi appams, etc. etc. either I got to eat them directly or San got me parcels from the ones she visited. Given I had lost 5 lbs over 15 days with the trip, have almost put all the weight back in one week now.
Wish the kids take more interest in dressing up and visiting golus in a few years once they are out of their busy high school/college life!
If I can try to learn carnatic music (again for the 4th time in my life) at this age, there is hope for them!
Wishing you all a wonderful year of learning ahead! May the godess Saraswathi bless you with learning everything you wish to learn and may you find the right guru to teach you!!
Today is a celebration for the elephant headed god Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Was able to take a few hours this morning to finish the pooja. San was busy in meetings as well, but still managed to make some yummy kozhukkattais, Vadai and Payasam.
She even recorded me this time doing the archanai for Pullaiyaar!
One kid is eating a qdoba sandwitch for lunch after attending college and standing in a long lunch line while the other kid is in school, still fighting a stomach issue after a month.
Celebrating between the two of us is still okay and we are getting used to making do with what we can, when we can.
My pulliyaar for this poojai has not changed in decades.
Looking at this one always makes me smile and be positive. Maybe it is just a habit I have developed over the decades! Think of this as one of my Horcruxes..
San clicked this while she was talking to me about how I had a deadline to finish the neivedhiyam(food offering to Ganesha prior to it being distribution worthy) before her next meeting and I look up annoyed and she clicks.... apparently this is what passes for candid photography by wifes standards.
I am not this grumpy by default. Just didn't like to be rushed for the pooja!
Then there was a kozhukkattai (dumpling) exchange with our neighbor. I got called out to the front to take a picture. My legs were numb from sitting in same place for an hour. So got up and literally wobbled out of the house as the blood returned to my feet. In my rush didn't realize that my dhoti had come undone slightly on one side! My neighbor points this out just before clicking and I make a joke on top of her joke and voila..
As long as we have great friends and San keeps laughing at my jokes, think we will be okay!
that is more like the normal me!
and a video that San took during the poojai...
Was thinking of my grandpa a lot today and my dad. They are both big on getting saamandhi poo for the poojai. Usually we have yellow crysanthemums at this time which I use. This year they are late to bloom and the plant is full of buds that have yet to open! A thousand memories ran past my eyes as I finished the poojai. Some of my happiest memories of celebrating in India are from the Pulliayaar chathurthis. Compared to that, this is a very simple celebration.
My grandpa is a memory and my dad is not in a position to do pooja anymore. All I can do is show him these photos and videos to cheer him up.
We make to with what we can, but celebrate we still do!
