Dekha Ek Khwab

One of my all time favourite songs is this one from the Hindi movie Silsila – “Dekha Ek Khwab.” This could be because my dad had those old time gramophone record collection and one of the records had this song. Also one of our video cassette collections was the movie itself. So I have been hearing this song from quite a long time back.

Whenever I used to see Rekha walking through the carpet of flowers, a visual riot, I would always sigh dreamily from the sheer beauty of that scene, the quintessential Yash Raj movie scene that was.

Well Edinburgh is blooming similarly and the parks are being planted with lovely collections of tulips of various colours and other varieties of flowers. Whoever is in charge of this lovely exercise is also making sure that the flowers are colour coordinated as well.

During the weekend we went to a park in the neighbourhood and there we discovered not just blooming lush flowers but also well tended to shrubs, some even in the formation of ducks!! :)  

(check out the duck shaped shubs on the right side of the picture)

There were large trees in the middle and benches in abundance, any one could just walk in with their book and settle down for a peaceful read. Or as in the modern era, could walk in with their laptop and net away. :)

If any of our heroines had to do the Silsila scene today then I think Edinburgh would not fall shy in providing a location for the shoot. :)

On the funny side, I did enjoy the serenity and peace that the scene afforded when I went in for a leisurely walk. However, when today I in my ever lasting battle of bulge went to a similar scene at the Royal Botanical Garden, for my fast walking-cum-slow jogging exercise session, I was none the too impressed with it. :) I guess I was too busy cursing the whites for making gardens that are so damn big that after going around it once you can almost feel the blood rushing to your head.

Guess that just goes to show how fickle my mind is. :)

Savings don’t come easy

So we heard about this great place called CostCo which is an amazing store where you get stuff at cheap rates, infact so cheap that other retail stores buy from CostCo, stock up in their own stores and sell. So its like you are supposed to get at warehouse price and less. CostCo sells all your typical household stuff and food items, like your groceries, your rice, pulses, frozen meat or vegetables, chocolates, bathroom cleaners, bed sheets, clocks, clothes, suitcases, stamps, camera’s, vitamins, shaving accessories and creams, beauty creams and god knows what else.

This place is also situated outside city limits but then distance hath no challenge, so we trooped out to CostCo during the weekend to make our bucks stretch more than they usually would. How pleased we were to pick up Rice – 5kgs for 5 pounds, 3ltr oil, 5 kgs of Sugar and a few more such things. But hey one glitch, the place doesn’t give out shopping bags, so you need to bring it from home. Duh Huh!!! So what do we do with the stuff?!!! How do we take it home?

The good lord provides in mysterious ways I say!

Along with us was a new friend whom we had met only that day, he was Shaiwal’s friend’s friend and he wanted to tag along to CostCo since he was going to India next weekend and he wanted to get stuff for family back home. Well it so happened that the guy also needed a suitcase! Hehehe guess what got packed into his suitcase in the first instance.

 

Whoa!! What amazing savings, so we all went back home weary from the shopping strain mentally patting our shoulders for the savings made. Actually the boys were bone tired not from the shopping strain but actually having to carry all the stuff back home. I could almost hear their bones creak each time they moved.

The thing is we never learn to leave well enough alone, we always tend to dig more and that’s exactly what we did. So even though a few arms were bruised and no one was in any shape to move around, back at home we decided to check out HOW MUCH of a saving we actually did make. After all sleep would be so much sweeter. :) That was the thought, until we discovered that there wasn’t a price difference at all, the neighbourhood Tesco or Sainsbury were selling at pretty much the same prices, give or take 10 pence either ways.

Our mothers would have made us wash our mouths with Detol if they heard the abuses that followed hence. But hey, what to say, guess savings don’t come easy do they?

oh yeah one interesting thing about Costco, they try to lure customers to buy food stuff by handing out free samples like pastries, fish fry, chicken kebab, gummy bears, chickpea salads, etc...all in small quantities. However, if a person were to try one each of all the food samples being handed out, i assure you, you wouldnt need lunch or dinner that day.

Gerard Butler

I keep getting to watch English movies these days which has Gerard Butler, not very many mind you but enough for an impression to have formed.

First it was this movie called the Ugly Truth and it was hilarious and romantic, and the hero seemed very nice not just to look at but in emotions as well. However, I didn’t bother to get to know the name of the hero at the time. Then suddenly all the buses plying in Edinburgh were painted over on the sides with the latest movie to be released – “The Bounty Hunter.” Gerard Butler was in that movie as well and that’s when I got to know his name. Lovely movie by the way – the Bounty Hunter.

When we got the five pound video rental deal for five movies which you can keep for a week then one of the first movies we borrowed was P.S. I Love you. Awesome, touching movie which makes you feel the love between the lead pair one of whom was Gerard. Suddenly then, this guy seemed a bit familiar so I checked up on the movie “300”. Yep Gerard Butler strikes again.

Interesting! So I decided to do a bit of reading on the actor and I found out to my delight that he is Scottish. It’s not like he is Indian and all but now that I am in Scotland and I like these people around me, I find them far less cunning than the Brits, I feel an affinity towards anything Scottish. :)

The guy was born in Glasgow, lived a bit in Montreal, Canada before coming back to Scotland to live here. 40 years of age now and he is also the main lead of the movie Attila the Hun, has in the initial days done bit roles including a small one in a James Bond Movie – Tomorrow Never Dies.

Actually though, the guy started out learning for law, passed out of Glasgow University of Law and then even joined a Law firm there. However, he soon quit after being asked by his seniors for one good reason why they shouldn’t fire him in the first place. How clichéd!!! You fight for your passion then the rest falls in place, rest being money, fame and power!

An interesting Indian angle to this guy’s life, he was rumoured to have been seeing Priyanka Chopra, yep our very own Bollywood Diva. Seems they met at a Dubai Hotel Opening and then later were spotted at lunch together in Chicago. However, in all fairness, being in the industry that they are in, it could all be smoke WITHOUT any fire.

Anyways the guy is an amazing actor, if you would like to watch some time pass movies try PS I Love You, Ugly Truth and Bounty Hunter. All quite cute.

Mallu

Yesterday Shaiwal mentioned there was another Indian store in Edinburgh other than the two we already knew about. Since I needed a few pulses and masala’s I decided to set out to discover it. I should have realised when I saw the name that it would have something to do more with South India than North India. The name of the store is Janatha stores with an ‘H’. :)

Well it seemed quite near on Google maps so I dispensed with the bus and instead walked, boy my legs lay testament to that walk!!! I think I could have cut them off yesterday and the rest of my body would have been singing Hallelujah.

Once I reached I was a bit taken aback to see a few Kerala brands like Melam pickles, double horse iddiyapam mix, puttu mix and palappam mix….so on so forth. I was even more taken aback to see a sign written in Malayalam pointing to where the beef was!!! I was in familiar territory. :)

Turns out that the owner is from Trivandrum and has been running the shop for 4 and a half years now. I checked with him on the job scene and moaned about me not able to get even an interview going. Well, it was nice to meet a new person and talk a bit in Malayalam. :)

He showed two newspapers which were meant for the Indian community and which were free. I picked a copy each and was happy to read it all of yesterday night. It was a bit of old news but still it was Indian news. Had articles like Indian Student Visa Racket busted. Oh and my favourite article, a lady was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her husband using an ancient Indian poisonous herb found in the foothills of Himalayas. The herb as per mythology is what caused Lord Shiva to have a blue neck!!! Whoaaaa heavy stuff!! :D

One of the newspapers “Kerala Link” is for the malayalee’s and it had a few articles written in Malayalam too, seems the newspaper has been in circulation for 15 years now! Cool eh?

Water of Leith

I have been hearing of the water of Leith for quite sometime now and it was always described as this walk that you had to do if you were in Edinburgh. It was supposed to be quite something. So when I had to go over to the NHS to get myself registered and I found that the water of Leith was close by from the NHS and the place I stay, I decided I needed to give it a try.

It turned out to be this walkway right beside a river and it didn’t look all that impressive on first glance. However, as I walked down the path, it suddenly felt as if I was in one of those Jane Austen novels and I almost reached out to straighten my bonnet. :)

The walkway is quite secluded; I did see, an old uncle bicycling, one jogging and one fishing. Although the walkway ran parallel to a busy street I could barely hear the traffic, it was as if the walkway was in a world of its own. This walkway is around 20 kms long and cuts across Edinburgh, its called the silver thread in a ribbon of green. How poetic! :) It’s called the water of Leith since the river runs right up to this place called Leith.

I just need to figure out now, how to rope in Shaiwal to walk if not the entire length then at least a good part of it. There is even supposed to be a water of Leith visitor centre in the middle which has an interactive exhibition on wildlife and the heritage of the river. It would be nice to see it, don’t you think?

By the way I did finish my registration with NHS- National Health Services. Everyone staying in UK is eligible for and mandatory needs to register with NHS and the nearest General Physician under it. You are entitled to free medical treatment under the NHS, however the catch is that the treatment is available only during weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm, so we need to fall ill during that time else call 999 and go in for emergency care!!! :)

We got our landline connected yesterday. It’s been a sore issue with us, since we put in our application last week of March and got the connection only now and it will take another 21 days to get our broadband connection for which we need the landline. I must admit though that the British Telecom Engineer who came to connect our landline impressed me. There was a slight disturbance in the tone, once he got the landline connected. Something which I didn’t notice on first hearing coz you are used to such cracks in voice. He spent almost 4 hours getting it corrected and was fully satisfied only after the tone was crystal clear. In between I felt a little sorry for him, so I mentioned to him that we were having the landline installed only for broadband so if the crackle didn’t hinder that then we had no issues as we weren’t planning on making any calls through the landline. He replied, “oh but I just can’t leave it like that, it’s not right!”

So now we have a landline installed and I thought this is cool, only to be informed that BT does not provide you with the telephone instrument and the earlier one which was lying in our house was not working properly. So I need to get a new phone. I was also given a lecture how faulty equipment if used could create trouble with the line and then having a BT engineer out to rectify that would cost me a bundle! Boy what a dipper!

Well am off now to the market, need to post a letter, go to the Norway embassy to enquire on Schengen visa formalities and do a spot of comparative shopping in a few Indian stores. I also need to renew my bus pass. Lots to do people, catch you tomorrow, have a great day. :)

Arthur's seat

Don’t get drenched in the rain, you’ll get ill…haven’t you heard that like umpteen number of times while growing up? And every time you did get drenched and you did fall ill your mum would invariably let you know how disappointed she was at you having neglected her pearls of wisdom! Just that when you are all grown up and you don’t fall ill nearly one third the times you used to when you were a child you tend to forget those pearls of wisdom. Well reality bit me yesterday when I fell ill after getting drenched in the rain. :( My mum is still as disappointed as she was then :( Sheesh! What’s with Mr. Rain and making you ill! Anyways back on my feet today.

This weekend we decided to explore the Arthur’s seat here in Edinburgh, it’s an inactive volcano, which at the top provides you with an amazing panoramic view of the city. A good bit of a trek for about 30 to 60 minutes depending on the track you take and the speed you maintain. The city authorities have tracks winding from both sides of the mountain while one is a bit steep the other is not so much so. We were a motley group of five who decided on the trek that day and each at varying speeds. :)

(Thats Shaiwal walking towards the mountain)

The beauty of the mountain is that it’s got lawns on all sides and reminds you of all those Madhuri Dixit songs where she glides across the greens with a dupatta flying behind and the water sprinklers on. You don’t get to reach to right up to the top, I presume it must be a whole there being a volcano and all, but you do go up to the second highest level and you feel like if you jump you can catch a bit of the clouds….almost. :)

Right at the top of Arthur’s seat when you look down at the Edinburgh city, you can see the Edinburgh castle prominently and all the city buildings clustered around. It sort of made me think if God were up there and looking down at us then perhaps he would get a similar view only in a much bigger scale. Perhaps he sits there and contemplates what next to do with each country and its people while looking upon it. :)

(Me at the top with the city view behind)

While walking at the base of the mountain, it actually feels like you are in the lap of mother earth donned in a lawn green sari and you feel content. You just feel so happy to be alive. I got everyone to run for the heck of it, the boys were a bit difficult to convince but then they got right into the mood of things. Soon the five of us were running against the wind and feeling glorious. As if we were back in our childhood with not a care in the world and the illusion was deliciously lovely to have while it lasted.

Anyways to give you a little bit of history on this mountain, it seems to have erupted last around 350 million years back, so I guess that means we are safe now. It’s also sometimes referred to as the Lion head as the set of mountains resemble a crouching lion. However, why its called the Arthur’s seat is still a mystery, some theories state this mountain as the scene for many a fight, some say the name could have been a corruption from the real Scottish name Ard-na-said meaning the height of arrows and still others trace back the name to a famous poem comparing a famous local warrior to King Arthur. Well whatever the theory the name has stuck. :)

[Source - http://www.wyrdology.com/edinburgh/tourism/arthurs-seat.html]

Skype Rocks

I know this is old news and that the internet made everyone in the world about as close distance-wise as your neighbour long back!! However, I still got the kick of my life when I first chatted with my parents and in laws on Skype. It’s amazing to be able to see them on the video chat and talk to them without worrying about my ISD bill. Feels as if they were right there in the room, I even managed to show them Shaiwal taking out the trash!! :)

The great part is I have both sides scrambling to learn how to hook up on the net and start Skype coz they think it’s pretty amazing that they can see us while talking. So while previously my mum couldn’t care less about the internet revolution now she wants to be part of it.

My brother poor guy about 4 yrs back persevered to teach her how to access at least the cookery sites, thinking it was a brilliant idea to get mum onto the net by luring her with her favourite past times but then TV was an easier alternate and a known devil so she happily stopped using the net as soon his back was turned.

My dad on the other hand couldn’t be smugger coz he was one of the first ones to ride the waves of the internet revolution. I still remember him getting my brother and me the commodore 64 when I hadn’t even reached high school and he asked us to learn programming. Ya right!!! Well after trying one or two programmes which got the screen to show “RUN” completely covering on the screen, we turned to the more interesting part – Games! Sadly though high school happened, friends came, gossip started and well so did a bit of studies…so the computer and the internet took a back seat for us for a little while. My dad on the other hand kept discovering it and so now he gets to show off to my mum and charge her for internet classes and usage :) Way to go dad!

Well checked up a bit on Skype and here is a little trivia on the company. It initially started out with the name Sky peer to peer which was later shortened to Skyper and finally to the well known Skype. In 2009 Q3 the Skype to Skype minutes recorded were 27.7 billions. Guess its definitely not ONLY me who thinks that Skype rocks. :)