DIVYATA

               After   h earing the  shocking news of Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation theft and earlier gold theft from Sabarimala temple, I really feel the need of a proper well-managed organizational structure at national level (not necessarily govt controlled) to collect the donation money of temples and properly utilize it in building schools that could provide good cultural, moral and religious values to the students.          Especially, at such a time when selfishness in people is so high that they can even kill their life partners to fulfill their selfish motives, one has to think as to where the modern education is lacking. News regarding d eath cases of Twisha Sharma in Indore, Ketan Agarwal in Pune, Raja Raghuvanshi in Shillong and many more such cases from different part of our country in recent past prove the growing level of inhumanity among people in India, the l and where devoted women like 'Savitri ...

                So far, not only have we seen the beautiful sea beaches (read " my  Varkala  trip ") but also have witnessed the picturesque beauty of the mountains (read "my  Munnar  trip ") of Kerala. So, now we planned to explore the forests of Kerala by visiting Thekkady.          In December end (year 2025), when I asked my husband Neeraj to visit somewhere nearby as my 02 Casual leaves were going to lapse in the year end, he denied for the plan saying that in the quarter end he would be busier than usual. However, he told me to make a plan in the 4th week of January 2026 as there were 3 continous holidays (Saturday, Sunday and Republic day). As I knew that more than exploring the new place, Neeraj would be more interested in exploring the luxuries of the hotel as always, I decided to book "Niraamaya", a famous luxury hotel chain of South India in "Thekkady, Kerala" from January 24-26, 2026. "Nira...

Just back in Kerala after a 10-day Diwali break in my hometown Haldwani! Last night, while I was on my way back from Delhi to Cochin (Indigo flight), the foul smell of people's sweat and the smell of vomiting in the plane made me think many things. I thought that although it is good that these days travelling by air is cheaper and easily accessible to common man in India, the crowd caused due to accessibility results in difficulty to maintain the cleanliness and hygine. Massive crowd present in the busy airports like Delhi sometimes gives the vibes of old-style Railway stations. Due to huge population of our country, we witness crowd at all the public places like Government hospitals, markets, bus stations, Railway stations and now in airports too. We all have a dream of living in a clean India i.e. 'Swachchh Bharat' but I think the large populace is a big hurdle in fulfilment of our dreams. We all want to get Airport-like-vibes from our Railway stations instead of existing...

नमस्कार 🙏 काफी समय से 'हिंदी' में कोई पोस्ट नहीं लिखी थी, तो सोचा, अब लिखती हूँ.  मैंने अपने पिछले पोस्ट में केरल के ' karkidakam ' महीने के बारे में जानकारी दी थी, जो कर्क राशि के नाम पर है और मॉनसून/ बारिश लेकर आता है। उससे अगला महीना chingam , जो कि सिंह राशि के नाम पर है, केरल वासियों का एक पसंदीदा महीना है क्योंकि यह अपने साथ "ओणम" त्योहार की धूमधाम लेकर आता है.  इस साल, 'ओणम' 5th सितंबर, शुक्रवार को था. मुस्लिम त्योहार मिलाद उन नबी भी उस दिन ही था. मेरे पति नीरज की 4th सितंबर, बृहस्पतिवार को भी ऑफिस की छुट्टी थी, ओणम की. तो हम लोगों ने प्लान किया कि इस वीकेंड हम लोग केरल के एक प्रमुख पर्यटन स्थल  ' वरकला'चलते हैं. वरकला ( Varkala ) केरल का एक खूबसूरत समुद्रतटीय शहर है. तो अपने-अपने offices में ओणम celebration attend करने के बाद ( मेरे ऑफिस में ओणम celebration 2nd September को था. इसमें हमें पारंपरिक क्रीम साड़ी with golden बॉर्डर पहन कर ऑफिस जाना था और एक पारंपरिक नृत्य " Thiruvathira " परफॉर्म करना था..इसके अलावा कई गेम्स थे.....

Namaskaram... 🙏.....Enjoying the monsoon season in Kerala!, which arrives earlier here, around mid-May. 😊          Kerala has unique climate with only two distinct seasons: the rainy season and non-rainy season. Unlike other parts of India, it does not experiences harsh winters or summers and the rains are more pleasent due to the moderate temperatures.      Past three months of steady rainfall has brought a refreshing dip in temperature, making the weather delightfully pleasant. However, in North India, the monsoon begins around this time, coinciding with the Hindu month of 'Saawan'. The month of Saawan aligns with the Malayalam month 'Karkidakam', showcasing the diversity and richness of Indian cultural heritage.      Actually, after shifting in Ernakulam, I have subscribed to cow milk from a local milk dairy that also sells regional fruits, organic veggies and homemade treats like ellunda (malayaman word for til ke laddu). Bein...

       Onam festival of Kerala is a colourful festival, wherein people make " Pukkalam " (i.e. regional/Malayalam word for rangoli/ decorative designs, made on floor) with flower petals and serve "sadhya" (regional word for many food items including "paysam"/Kheer served on banana leaf) to people. The festival is celebrated for 10 days, mainly on the last 04 days. This year, Onam was on September 14th, Saturday, which anyways was a holiday. However, there was a Muslim festival called Milad-un-Nabi/ Prophet Mohammad's b'day on September 16th (Monday). So, there was a chance to make plan to enjoy this weekend.        In the last week of August, my husband expressed his desire to visit Munnar this weekend. It was a pleasent surprise for me. As I am always ready to visit beautiful places, so I agreed. He asked me to check for a hotel for the weekend (Sept 14-15) online. However, he forbade me to book the hotel till next week, fearing that in case of a...