Vanya | #ThursdayTreeLove - 21

Makalidurga, June 2020

In June, we stepped out of home for the first time after staying in for three whole months. We went out for a long drive to this place called Makalidurga, which is around 60kms away from the city. The drive was peaceful and when we reached there, there was no one at all! We stepped out the car, spent some time admiring the view and left after a while. After months of being of being at home, this felt like such a refreshing break.

34 On 34

I stopped doing birthday posts a few years ago, although I don't recall why. Sub-consciously I had stopped writing life-updates or other personal stuff on the blog. It was mainly because people became too nosy and felt that they had a say in everything I do. It was also because my blog-posts were becoming coffee table conversations and were being discussed on whatsapp groups which I'm not a part of but got all the updates to (involuntarily, obviously!). Personally, I'm someone who hates gossip, let alone be the topic! With time, I realized that people will talk no matter what. Over the past few months, the blog has been becoming more about blog-hops and book reviews and was losing its personal touch. It all changes now.

Action Replay + Gratitude List: July 2020

Image Source

Back in March, when this whole self-isolation charade started, I never thought we'd still be here in August. It was pretty obvious, but the mind refused to believe. August is my birthday month and it is usually a month that keeps me happy and exuberant. July has been comforting too and it helped me strike a balance between the old and the new normal. July has been a highly productive month and it kept me busy, just the way I like it. I have crazy deadlines at work and it kept me busy for most of the day. Thanks to a planned routine I was able to manage my time quite effectively and this helped me have a clear and calm mind.

Book Review: The Far Field - Madhuri Vijay

Title: The Far Field
Author: Madhuri Vijay
Publisher: Fourth Estate India (12 July 2019)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Price: Rs. 472 on Amazon
Pages: 440

Award winning books are a tricky read, you either love them or hate them. After abandoning 'The White Tiger' and 'The God of Small Things' after a chapter or two, I never thought I'll go back to reading award winning books. This year, since I wanted to read diverse books, I've been open to reading them. The Booker Prize winning 'Girl, Woman, Other' was a splendid read and it gave me the boost to go ahead and read more of them. This book won the JCB Award in 2019 and I had bought the book back in November, but never got to reading it. Although, the reason I bought the book was its gorgeous cover! The reviews I read of this was mixed and hence this book remained on my shelf for a while. This month, I picked it up with zero expectations.

Umrao | #ThursdayTreeLove - 20

Big Banyan Tree, Bangalore - July 2020

Last weekend, we decided to take a break from monotony and went out for a long drive. We enjoy such drives now as this is the closest it comes to traveling during these times. We usually drive up to some place in the outskirts of the city, get out of the car only when there are no or very few people around and get some takeaway pizza or cheesecake on our way back. Tiny moments of bliss, I tell you.

Coping With Change

Image Source

Sorted. That is a word people often use to describe me. I'm someone who is very planned, has a set routine and like to have things under my control. This is how it works the best for me and keeps my life going smooth. This helps me have a good work-life balance and gives me time to pursue my interests and passions. When COVID happened, life turned upside down for all of us. The situation forced us to change in our own way. But, how easy is it to change? More often than not when people realize that something is wrong with them or something is wrong with their life, only then they analyze the situation and decide to make a change. It comes from within and it is considerably easy to make that change. When unforeseen circumstances tend to bring a change to our daily life, it is not easy to be okay with it. It wasn't easy for me either.

Light & Love | #WordlessWednesday - 23

Burger Factory, Anjuna - Goa 2019

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

~ Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches