Day 52 - Love and Comfort

A few days back we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary. Time flies. Sometimes it feels like yesterday that I was wooing Ani in Delhi and now its 11 years since we got married.

While I was talking to my friends about the 11th anniversary a very pertinent question was raised by someone who is not yet married. Like everyone else she asked as well as to what I had given her for the anniversary and then proceeded to talk about how much love I have for her because I gave a gift. I jokingly replied that in 11 years there is no love, only comfort feeling now. But this got me thinking: Is there love now and what is the state of that love?

Love can have different meaning at different points of your life. An of course there are different types of love as well. But let's not get into that in this post. Let's focus on a love between a husband and wife.

Even in a long-term relationship of this nature (at least long term in India) the nature of love can vary across the years. When you get married the 'love' factor is very high. You feel for your partner a lot and want to show that in emotional and physical manner. Of course the lust factor is there as well. ;-)

As the relationship gets older one tends to get caught in the daily grind and love seems to take a back seat. It is at this time that the real test of the relationship takes place. As you start living the daily life, the truth of compromises and adjustments strikes and you need to attain a good balance. Love seems to get lost and 'arguments' in terms of what one can or should do come to the fore.

But once you cross this part of the married life is when the best years begin. In my opinion this usually happens either after the first 5-6 years or after the first child turns 2. This is the time when love becomes like the background noise of the universe. Its there and has always been there but you can't see it or hear it. If you ask Radio astronomers they will tell you that the background noise of the universe is omnipresent. About 8 years into a marriage, love becomes like that. Its there but there is no need to show it at all times. The compatibility of the partners has been set and a kind of comfort factor comes in. You tend to understand each other and can almost complete each others thoughts and sentences.

I think I've come to that level in my marriage. After 11 years we almost understand each other and know what the other will think on a particular action of ours. We're comfortable with each other's presence, thoughts and actions. Love is there but it is coloured in the colour of comfort now.

What happens to this comfort factor as the marriage becomes older? I don't know......but lets re-visit that in a few years time.

Keep watching this space.

Day 51 - Patience

Think back and tell me when was the last time that you exercised extreme patience with a person or an event? What were the incidents that pushed you to the brink and made you swallow your anger and exercise restraint and patience? Remember I am talking about extremes - this is a point where you feel like throttling the other party but at the same time you can't and have to continue the discussion or the activity with a smile and with restraint. You know that you need to make the other party understand but they are really pushing you to the limit.

I am sure you are thinking about a few such incidents - maybe the road 'accident' you recently had when the bus brushed your car or maybe when your friend broke or lost something precious to you or when your girlfriend or wife just would not understand. But if you are a parent you will immediately think differently. All the above incidents are minor as compared to the patience you need to exercise with children - especially when they are between 2 to 5. These are the 'patience testing' years and if you come through these with few scars, then you should be set for life.

But the test of true patience comes in when you 3 year old falls sick. You experience a roller coaster of emotions that you wish you never have to face again. The unfortunate part is that you go through the same emotions when your child falls sick the next time.

At 3 years the child is unable to communicate properly on what is hurting them. First it breaks your heart to see your child having fever or coughing violently or sneezing. Then the child has to take medicines which they refuse to take. So you have to cajole, explain, threaten and play games to get them to have the medicines. Because of the medicines they don't eat and feel listless. This causes low energy levels and they becomes cranky and clingy. They always want to be with you and not let you go. If the child is on antibiotics then there is the issue of not wanting to eat food. That gets them more cranky and you have to somehow get them to have food and fluids. So you have to see them crying while refusing everything but still get them to have food, fluid and medicines to get them bounce back - all this while you are tired and frustrated at the whole situation because you can't do anything to make their pain go away.

Get the picture?

This, my friends, is the ultimate test of patience. How do you retain your sanity, not get angry and frustrated at the small child but still get them to do those things that will make them better is the true test of your patience. If you are a parent, when you go through this experience and emerge with physical and emotional scars you understand what patience means.

These are just some of the 'joys of parenthood' ;-)

Day 50 - Expectations

The core reason for all the 'issues' in the world is one simple word - EXPECTATIONS!

Think about it, dwell on it a bit and you will realise that all your worries, frustrations and anger stem from the simple truth that you 'expect' certain things to happen. Newton had said that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That law holds true in the physical world. In the emotional world you can add a small word to this law and it becomes 'With every action, one expects a suitable reaction'.

Things become much clearer when you think about it. When you something you expect a certain reaction to that action. If the reaction is met you are happy and you process to the next action. If the reaction is not suitable or something that you did not expect it gives rise to frustration, distress and anger leading to a different set of actions. This is true from global issues to simple issues at home. Confused?

When India extends an olive branch to Pakistan, it hopes and expects that at least this time Pakistan will react favorably. The expectation is set. But when Pakistan attacks the Parliament we realise that our expectations are not met. As a country we get frustrated and angry and launch an offensive stance on the borders. The cycle repeats again and again but we hope that our expectations with every activity are met by them. Extend this to any conflict in the world and the core of the issues are certain expectations of each party. Simple? You bet it is.

The same hold true in your daily life as well. When you give a gift to some friend, you expect a certain reaction - surprise, happiness. If you get that you feel happy that your gift was liked, even if the reaction was not true. But if you don't get the expected reaction, you feel as if the gift was useless and the friend does not appreciate you. Even if the friend liked the gift but did not react in the way you expected. Expectations! When you say something to your loved one, you expect them to react in a particular way or with a certain statement. True, isn't it? The more you think about it the more it seems true and so simple.

The key is to live life without expectations. Is it possible? Not really but one can try. In your next few actions try not to set an expectation to them. Try to do the action without having a set reaction that you want. I assure you that you will be happy with whatever you get after that. If you say that you love someone, don't expect them to gush over it, go ga-ga or say that they love you back. Just say the words and be happy that you said them. If you buy a gift for someone, don't expect a thanks. If it comes it a bonus, if it doesn't you will be happy as you never expected it anyway.

Try it and let me know if it makes you happier. Send me comments.

Don't set any expectations in life or in other words - Karma karo, phal ki apeksha mat karo - do you work, don't focus on the results!

Day 49 - Losing my religion

Deepavali 2009 was a good one. I had my family over and it was one big Indian family affair. My parents and grandmom came down from Delhi while my sis flew in from Mumbai. The kids had a blast being spoilt with gifts from the grandparents and the aunt. Deepavali is after all the most important festival and it is always good to have your family around you.

As part of the 'days of deepavali' we had the Lakshmi Puja in the house. My Dad did the puja and in the 12 years of marraige and stay at this house, this must have been the second time that an actual full fledged Lakshmi Puja happened in my house. The first time too it was because Dad was with us. My kids watched with fascination as my Dad did the Puja and that got me thinking.

When we were growing up one of my lasting memories of Deepavali is the puja that would happen in the house when my sister and me were supposed to behave, keep quiet and not make noise. We would wait patiently for the puja to get over so that we could start bursting the crackers. But in the midst of all that we would get the gist of the puja and the reason it was being done. We would understand our religion through these rituals. We would get to know the Gods and what they stand for. We learnt to respect them and seek their blessings.

I am not a deeply religious man and so I don't know the puja's and don't perform them. So I wonder, What will my children remember? How will they learn about the rituals and their meanings? How will they get to understand their religion? Is it important? Do they need to know?

Whenever an important festival comes along, like Ganesh Chaturthi or Deepavali or Dussera, I feel a bit inadequate that I am unable to explain the intricacies of our rich culture, traditions and rituals associated with our religion because I did not learn growing up. These rituals form a basis of our culture, the understanding of our religion forms a cornerstone of our existence. So how will I be able to pass on these to my children when I myself am unaware of these.

Then larger question loom of whether it is really essential to know these things? 20 years down the line when my children grow up will they need to know these things or will religion and its meaning be different for them? My religion is my faith in God. Is faith enough or should it also have the rituals around it?

So many questions and so few answers. When I pass on the tapestry of life to them will it be a rich one or will the corner that symbolises religion be a worn out patch with loose threads?

Is my next generation losing my religion?

Day 48 - Deepavali

Deepavali is most commonly known in the world as 'festival of lights' in India probably because its associated with strings of lights across streets, multitude of diyas in house and firecrackers bursting all over the ground and sky in the night. There's light, an unfortunately also loud sound and pollution, all around!

But what is Deepavali? What can I tell my children about it?

Deepavali stems from a sanskrit word combination of 'deepa' meaning light and 'avali' meaning a row and so the literal translation of Deepavali is also 'Row of Lights'. The most common explanation for Deepavali is the return of Lord Rama from Lanka after defeating Ravana and completing his 14 years in exile. The people of Ayodhya were so happy that they wanted to show their love and affection for their returning King. Being an amavasya - no moon night - it was slated to be a very dark night and so the citizens of Ayodhya lit up rows of diyas on the streets and in their houses to show the way to Lord Rama and to turn the night into day. And from there came the name of the occasion - Deepavali, a row of lights. Almost every child in India knows this story.

But what I found interesting was that the day of Deepavali has significance in other religions as well. That really opened my eyes and my perspective.

In Jainism the day is celebrated as one on which Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara attained Nirvana. The lighting of lamps is symbolic substitute to denote the light of knowledge that got extinguished with his passing. This was in 527 BC.

Fast forward a few centuries and for Sikhs the day is significant as the day of return of Guru Har Bind Ji from his imprisonment by the Mughal emperor Jehangir. Guru Har Gobind Ji was imprisoned in Fort Gwalior with 52 other Hindu Kings. After freeing them he went to Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar where the devotees greeted him with lit candles and diyas.

A simple day that has significance across centuries and across religions. Amazing, isn't it?

Wearing new clothes on Deepavali signifies an ending of all bad things of the previous year and starting a new year with new feelings, new emotions and new ideas. Its a great day to reconnect with your friends and enemies. Let bygones be bygones with people with whom you fought and re-connect with them.

Start the year on a fresh note!

Wishing all of you a Very Happy Deepavali and a prosperous, safe, happy and love filled new year!

Day 47 - Slice of happiness

Cadbury's is running a latest ad campaign around the festival of Diwali which talks about sharing happiness on the occasion of Diwali and asking who you will make happy this year with a gift of Cadbury's chocolates.

Happiness is such a relative state of mind.There have been books wtitten about how to be happy and how to enjoy the feeling. Personally I don't think someone can be taught to be happy. Its personal, its intimate and its a percieved emotion. What makes you happy may not give me the same emotions. A simple smile can bring you happiness and can banish the feelings of despair and depression. The best thing is that happiness is usually not found in big events. The best slices of happiness that you will find are hidden in the crevices of daily life just waiting to peep out and make your day. The challenge lies in identifying them, accepting them and embracing these small nuggets. Its a cumulation of these small instances that stay with you and bring a smile to your face after many years. Think back and you remember simple things in life that are your slices of happiness.

I tried to do this exercise and tried to list the simple things that bring a smile to my face. Here are some slices of my happiness:

• The smile on my son's face when he sees me.
• The hug that my daughter gives me everyday when I come back from office
• The simple touch of my wife when she teases me and addresses me cutely.
• The surprise on my wife's face when I do something unexpected for her.
• A full house when my parents and sister come visiting.
• The weekend time spent with my friends (Rakhras) who are my extended family.
• The interaction between Mahir and my son Tarush.
• The time spent with my friends Sowmya, Malathi and Ruchi.
• The phone calls time with my friend almost daily.
• My first cycle, scooter and car purchase.
• Setting up house with my wife.
• Buying our first house.
• Watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S innumerable times and laughing each time at the same scenes. Sharing these with my friends and relating them to our lives.
• Getting lost in an engrossing book.
• The smell of the soil when the first rain falls.
• The smell of a new book.
• A sudden call from an old friend.
• Getting wished on your birthday from unexpected quarters.
  

These are just a few that come to my mind.

Give it a thought. What are your slices of happiness?

Day 46 - Selfless Love

Is it possible to experience or give absolutely selfless love? Have you realised that when you love someone it usually translates into certain expectations from that person as well. These could be simple things like picking up your phone when you call or talking to you when there is time, to more emphatic ones like falling in love with you too or liking you as much or doing things the way you want to.

Most of the time our love is a selfish one. We want the same emotions or the same experiences in return from the person we love. We have certain expectations and we want them fulfilled. If we don't get that, we get angry, frustrated, dejected, rejected and depressed. Mostly we forget to think from the other person's perspective and we think only from ours.

There are very few examples of selfless love and one that comes to my mind immediately is that of Mother Teresa. I have often wondered what made her come to India and spent her entire life in the care of the needy. Yes, I know...countless books have been written about it and innumerable philosophers and psychiatrists have given their explanations but what started her on her journey and made her do it? I guess she has the answer and we may never know.

Is there any time in your life that you will experience selfless love? I think there is. The only experience of absolute and complete selfless love with no expectations is the love of a child for the parent in the initial years. Note that I say - in the initial years - because as the child grows older and learns the 'tricks of life', the child too starts having expectations and sets boundaries for the level of love to be given to the parent.

But in the initial years the innocence of the child is so pure that the love of the child is an absolute joy. As a parent when you come home and see the innocent smile of the child, it washes away all your fatigue. Yes, I know this is so cliched but unfortunately it is also so true. Only as a parent can you experience this love in life. And when the same child cries in pain, it wrenches your heart out and you will do anything to get that smile back on the face. The child has no expectations from you and loves you for what you are, who you are and whatever you do to the child. You scold the child, shout at the child but the very next moment there is a smile and you forget everything and apologise.

Selfless love is like a gift from God which comes to you only through the smile and emotions of a child. Don't forget it and revel in these moments of pure innocent love for they will never come again.

Day 45 - Retiring at one's peak

Cricket is a passion in India. Its one sport where we have done relatively well than other sports in recent times. And that has resulted in our cricket players becoming stars and celebrities. But then again we seem to love cricketers from any country. The interesting part is that while we may hate them when they are playing, we start to like them when they retire - more so if they retire when they are at their peak. Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Geoff Boycott. Waqar Younis, Mike Gatting are just some of the names that come to mind.

What is it about liking a person when they retire at their peak? Why do we start to respect them when that happens?

When Rahul Dravid gave up his captaincy at his peak we all gave him respect and admired him for his actions. We also remember Saurav Ganguly who seemed to hang on to his captaincy and finally retired when he was at his lowest ebb. Today our respect for Dravid is much higher than that for Ganguly, although Ganguly was a much better and successful captain for India. As a mass movement what drives us to respect the peak-retirees more?

And this works in all strata of life. When a Narayan Murthy gives up his Infosys job, when a Madhuri Dixit or a Sridevi leaves movies or when Lata Mangeshkar decides to stop singing for movies, we make them into legends in our collective minds and treat them as special. If the person, however, continues in their career even when they are nor doing well, we seem to loose respect for the person. Only a few people escape that scrutiny like a Sachin Tendulkar or an Amitabh Bachchan who become legends even as they continue working. But even they have to face negative criticism along their elongated career. The same fate does not befall a Narayan Murthy, a Madhuri Dixit or a Lata Mangeshkar. They are the best.

I think this happens because as humans we revel in the fall-from-grace of a celebrity. Somewhere deep down we feel jealous of their success and want to see them fail. When we do not get an opportunity to do that, when the celebrity does not give us that chance we do not have anything low to compare their success to and the success makes a house in our minds. We make an image of the successful person and popularise that in our mind. The success becomes the person. The accolades at that time of retirement become the image of the person in our mind. We then do not forget the person at all.

And that happens when a successful person and a loved person leaves too soon as well. We remember the success, the happiness and the love of that person. A Kalpana Chawla will always be remembered as a successful astronaut. A Gina Campos Braganza will always be remembered as an entrepreneur extraordinaire, a loving friend and an ever-smiling person. She retired from life too soon but she packed ten lifetimes of us ordinary people into her one life and left behind an image of happiness and a legacy of smiles!

Day 44 - Thank you to friends

I am finding it extremely difficult to pen down another blog post after the abrupt departure of Gina on Saturday. My family and me are still coming to terms with it and finding it hard to reconcile to the fact that we will never see Gina's radiant smile and get to talk with her ever again.

God can play strange games sometimes. In this world of abject mediocrity where most of us lead our lives without leaving behind a trace, He has taken away the one person who has contributed so much to the world and to the people around her and who had so much more to give.

Gina's untimely departure (I am still finding it difficult to say the 'd' word) has exposed the fragility of life for me and how many of us go through life without saying a small word of 'Thanks' to people close to us or how we don't take time out to call a friend and say a few words to them.

So I have decided to dedicate this blog post to say 'Thanks' to the friends who had a significant impact on my life till now, in a chronological manner. The blog post may not appeal to all you readers but please bear with me for this post.

Here goes........THANKS to

• Kushal Thakker from Sacred Heart Boys High School: for being my best friend in school and igniting my love for space and astronomy.
• Nilesh Shah, Chandrakala Anyarabhatla, Kauser Tasneem Ahmed from National College: for standing with me and shaping my life across the two years of college.
• Rajesh More from BVCOE: for being the best room mate in the initial years of engg and showing me that its OK to accept that you don't know some things and are willing to learn.
• Arvind Ganesh, Shivraj Yadav & Kaushal Mehta: for being the best friends across 19 years now and supporting me in all my stupid things. Thank you guys. I couldn't have done a lot of things without you and you know that.
• Vaishali Deore: for accepting me with my faults and being my first love. I'm sorry I hurt you in the end.
• Guneet Singh Sodhi in TSM: for having patience with me, teaching me how to ride a scooter, unconditionally giving me his scooter as I tried to woo my wife and not telling me anything. Being a key factor in me being able to woo Ani. Thank you.
• Anindita Das in TSM: for being my friend, accepting me, teaching me how to be a man, teaching me how to accept my faults, loving me and agreeing to be my wife. She is my support system and the bamboo of my life's tamboo.
• Shalini Saxena & Padmavati Nori in TSM: for teaching me that a boy and a girl can really be back slapping, running in the corridors, fighting friends.
• Preeti Narayanan in TSM & Bangalore: for taking me in when I had no place to live. We were the first true live-in friends way back in 1997.
• Nikhil Shah in Genesis: for being a great room mate in a god forsaken PG accomodation and being my friend since then.
• Gina in 3M and beyond: for being Gina. Cannot say anything more here.
• Arundhati Ghosh in BuyAsOne: for being a sounding board, teaching me things in life, being so open in mind that I can discuss anything with her and being with me for all these years.
• Sowmya Ramachandran in IBM: for bearing with my super emotional crap that I load on her. For listening, for bearing my difficult friendship, for accepting my emotions for her and still being my friend, for the ability to discuss topics that other may find ridiculous. I love her very much.
• Malathi Srinivasan from IBM: for being a great sounding board friend to whom I can go at any time to discuss esotric details in life.
• Ruchi Mohan from IBM: for being the friend with whom I can be naughty, flirty knowing that she is just as fun and mentally mad as me.
• Sanjeev & Ritu Rakhra: for being family! Our support system and much much more.
• Sandy & Deepa Rahi: for being family.

Thank you for shaping my life till now and I know a lot of you will be shaping my life for a lot more time.

PS: If your name is not here shout out at me and I'll either tell you why or apologise and include your name. :)

Day 43 - Eugenia Maria Campos Braganza

Eugenia Maria Campos Braganza (23rd Aug 1971 - 3rd Oct 2009)

Gina, as she was popularly known, cannot be described in a few words. I have tried to, but just cannot put my feelings about her on paper.

I met Gina in 1997 when I joined 3M in the Visual Systems Division as a Sales person. She was the marketing person for the division. I remember distinctly that she got me to attend a series of meetings with the WW folks who had come down to India so that I could fast track learn about the division. This was within 7 days of my joining. From the beginning I was blown away by her creativity and her talent. My first lessons in marketing were from her. Gina is my teacher.

I attended her marraige in Hyderabad in 1998 and it was by far one of the most fun christian weddings to attend. Carlton and Gina came in a bullock cart and their wedding card was one that would put a smile on your face. They moved close to our house in St. Thomas town and we would land up at their place quite often. They introduced us to Sanjeev and Ritu Rakhra who have since then become family for us. When we moved to Dheeraj Manor where we now stay, we told them and invited them over to have a look at the building. Carlton and Gina liked the place as well and they bought their flat one floor above ours. Gina is our neighbour.

In between all the above, she left 3M and started TrumpIT which grew in reputation and recogniton. She started Opus which was first of its kind in the country. Opus grew in stature year after year till it has become three Opus and O.tel. She started the first internet Radio station in India. The best part was that she did all this in the day and stil had time and energy to party with the crowd in the night. Everything she started was unique and a success. Gina is an entrepenuer extraordinaire and a rockstar.

Gina has had an effect on every single member of my family in some way or the other. She was my sister's boss at TrumpIt, my mother swears by her Goan Marguerite and says that she has never found that taste anywhere in the world, my son (2 yrs old) played with her on the last day and was inquiring about her yellow Jeep and she has been an inspiration to me. Gina is family.

Over the years we may have not kept in touch and gone separate ways but every time she saw me or my wife she had the same backslapping nature, the most amazing and welcome smile, a twinkle in her eyes and a heart big enough to accomodate the whole world. Gina is a friend.

Gina lived life on her terms. No one could dictate to her what could not be done. The rules of the world bent humble in front of her to accomodate her vision. Her employees were her friends and at the same time learnt a lot from her. Gina is an inspiration.

What can I say about the premature parting of a teacher, a mentor, a neighbour, a friend, a rockstar, an inspiration, a guiding light, a sunshine smile and a family member?

This was not the time or the way for her to go!

I am sure she will open an Opus in heaven and teach God and the angels a thing or two about living life KING SIZE.

Gina will be missed very badly! May you find as much love and happiness in heaven as you did on earth.

Day 42 - Gandhiji

Mahatma Gandhi would have been 140 years old today if he was alive. The question of what he would have thought of today's India just does not arise as he would not have lived this long.

Even if we assume that he would have lived till a ripe old age of 100, he would have seen the India of 1969 which was still in a way the India that he fought for to give independence to. We still had the license raj and corruption was still there. His protege and favorite person - Jawaharlal Nehru - would have passed away a few years back in 1964, the Congress Party that he helped to become a guiding force would split into two factions, Indira Gandhi - grand daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru - would be the Prime Minister of India, man would land on the moon, Pele would score his 1000th goal, Concorde would have its first flight and many other things would happen in the world.

But the question to ask really is that if he would have lived to a ripe old age of 100, would we as Indians still have revered him the way we do today? It's a very difficult question to answer and one that has no right answer. Mahatma Gandhi's assasination in 1948 was so shocking and so premature for Indians that it was obvious that we raised him to a status of God. Not that this was a wrong thing to do. C'mon, let's face it - he was the most important reason we got independence in 1947 and there in lies the catch.

Mahatma Gandhi was the leader and a beacon for Indians at that time with a simple objective of getting India's independence. In the mind of Indians his main KRA was to get India independent. He was the man for that job. In 1947 that job was completed and he had attained the pinnacle of his life. What next? The running of the country had already passed on to the 'real' politicians. What was to be Gandhiji's new role in the new free India? I think that question would have haunted the new India if he would have lived long. How would we have treated Gandhiji if he had lived to be 100? Would we have revered him the way we do today or a little bit less?

My personal views are that he would have got sidelined as the running of the country would have been taken over by the politicians. His work, in the first few years, would have been to unite India and get the princely states to join India. He would probably have done a great job of that but as India would have started building herself, he would have got sidelined. Politicians would have told him that he had attained what he set out to do and that it was time for him to rest and relax, which he would not have been able to. He would have been treated like a man retired from him job and being asked by everyone to 'take it easy' when the man himself has so many thing that he can accomplish and is not ready to retire. These are my personal views.

In a way, his premature death in 1948 was like a person leaving the stage at the peak of his career. The person is always remembered as THE GREATEST and as a benchmark. The premature leaving of Gandhiji left such a void in India that it could be filled only by loving him more and by reminding ourselves of his ideals, his beliefs and his faith. As a country we did that beautifully on paper but we forgot to practice them.

With passing generations, 2nd October has become just another holiday, a dry day for some, to watch re-runs of movies like Gandhi and more recently 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' and to try and explain to our children who he was and what he stood for.

Wonder what India will do in 10 years time when it is Gandhiji's 150th birthday on 2nd October 2019. Will we be opulant and go overboard in our 'celebrations' or will we try to follow his path?

Only time will tell. I am sure Gandhiji is smiling from somewhere!

Day 41 - Ten Places

I was watching a program on Discovery Travel and Living last night which spoke about 10 places to see before you die. This was the first time I caught the program but I guess what they do is get some well known person and ask them the question, then go to those places to show you why its a must-see place.

The program last evening spoke about Great Wall of China, Mount Fuji, Angkor Wat and few other places. It got me thinking on what are the ten places that I want to see before I die.

Here is my list, in no specific order of priority:

1. Grand Canyon, USA
   
2. Shuttle Launch from Florida, USA
   
3. Eiffel Tower, Paris
4. Colosseum, Rome
5. Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
6. Christ The Redeemer, Rio de Janerio
7. The Pyramids, Egypt
8. Great Wall, China
9. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
10. Lhasa, Tibet

But after putting down this list, I realised that all these were outside India. I thought about my close friend - Malathi - who is currently doing a trip to Delhi and Agra just to see those places and realised that there are probably many places in my own country that I have not seen and that rival the grandeur of the above places.

So I got down to listing the 10 places in India that I would like to see and here is my list, again in no order of priority:

1. Taj Mahal, Agra
2. Qutub Minar & Red Fort, Delhi
3. Temples of Love, Kahjuraho
4. Statue of Bahubali, Shravanabelagola
5. Sun Temple, Konark
6. Ruins of Hampi, Karnataka
7. Golden Temple, Amritsar
8. Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan
9. View of Mount Kanchenjunga & Ladakh
   
10. Rameswaram Temple, Tamil Nadu

Do you have a list of your own? I wonder if I will be able to complete this list before the time comes.