RANDOM THOUGHTS

                         COLDEST PLACE ON THE PLANET TWO important events were right  around the corner,  like the 15 th Wedding Anniversary of My Son and Daughter in Law plus the 5 th Birthday of our Granddaughter Akshu .  We had so planned our visit to THE GREAT WOLF LODGE , including loading all the needed items inside the car while both our Grandkids were still  away at School . They had absolutely no idea that they were headed to a place which  had been on their minds for quite a while now  . They were given to understand that we were all  visiting a family relative's house  for a Dinner at a place slightly distant from us . Their surprise on reaching the place was one big ,  " WOW , WHAT A GRAND SURPRISE "  With reservations made some 3 Months back itself ,  the visit to the GREAT WOLF LODGE at Niagara was waiting for us despite the severe snow storm expected lat...

       NA TO KARAWAAN KI TALAASH HAI  YEH KAWWALI SAN 1960 ME BARSAAT KI RAAT NAAM KI FILM KEE HAI . IS SE PEHLE YA ISKE BAAD SAIKADON KAWALLIAN BANI HAI , LEKIN AAJ BHEE IS KAWWALI KI APNI EK ALAG SEE JAGAH HAI .  IS KAWWALI ME MAAYINAY RAKHNE WALI SAARI BAATEIN URDU ALFAAZ ME KAHEE GAYEE HAIN  . HASINA NE APNE VIDEO ME ISAY HINDI ME APNE HEE SURULEE AAWAZ ME IN URDU ALFAAZON KO HINDI ME SAMJHANAY KI KOSHISH KEE HAI  . SAHIR LUDHIANVI KEE IS GEET KO ROSHAN NE APNE SAAZ SE SANWAARA HAI . MAANA JAATA HAI KEE SAHIR SAHEB APNEY PRITAM JINKA NAAM BHEE PRITAM THAA , PYAR ME  THUKRAAYE JAANE PAR IS KAWWALI KO RACHA THAA . IS KAWWALI KO MAANA DEY , MOHAMMAD RAFI , ASHA BHONSLE AUR SUDHA MALHOTRA NE APNEE AAWAAZ DEE THEE . POORAY 12 MINUTE KEE IS GEET KO SABSE LAMBI HINDI GEET YA KAWWALI MAANA JAATA HAI .  BHARAT BHUSHAN , SHYAMA  AUR MADHUBALA PAR FILMAYEE GAYEE YEH KAWWALI AANE WALE KAYEE PIDIONE  KO YAAD DILAATE RAHEGEE . AAJ KAREEB...

       SNOWSTORM AT AJAX - 15012026  It is SNOWING rather heavily at Ajax - Toronto even as I post this Blog . Heavily , I must admit is a relative term because it is coming from a person from India who has never had the Fortune or Misfortune of being a witness to a Snowfall of any sort .  WEATHER CANADA had already warned of Heavy Snowfall from the last Weekend itself. Twenty Inches of Snowfall was expected . The Weather Monitoring and Forecasting System is so perfect here that they can Forecast the approaching Weather System or Pattern to the Exact Hour and to the Minute .  ( The actual present Temperature and what it feels like because of the windy conditions can be seen on the TV Screen Top Right . )  We in India probably have to learn a thing or two from them in this regard . It is almost a practice here in these parts to close down the Services of School Buses during such Snowfalls due to the very slippery and dangerous road conditions . Par...

  VAIKUNTA EKADESI DAY - TORONTO 2025 THE BALAJI TEMPLE AT SCARBOROUGH HAD A LOT OF VISITORS ON THE VAIKUNTA EKADESI DAY . IN FACT FINDING A PLACE FOR PARKING OUR CAR WAS DIFFICULT . THE ENTRY INTO THE TEMPLE WAS VIA 5 DIFFERENT ZONES . ALL THE ZONES LED TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN FRONT OF THE SWARGA VAASAL . THE CHANT OF THE LOUD ' GOVINDA - GOVINDA ' EVEN AS WE WAITED IN THE QUEUE FOR OUR TURN FOR THE ARCHANAI WAS SPECIAL  . THIS WAS SPECIAL AS IT ALSO COINCIDED WITH THE STAR BIRTHDAY OF KAMESH OUR SIL . THE GULAB JAMUN AND SWEET  SUJI KESARI  WAS REALLY VERY GOOD .   After the Balaji DARSHAN we planned to visit my Niece Kala and her Son Aditya for Lunch at Mississauga . The buildings on either side defied Geometry and the previous night's snow left a white haze on the structures . The lunch was elaborate . Kala and Aditya were super hosts and kept our grandkids Adhvay and Akshu fully occupied with Games and Dance .  qfew¹     ...

         CANADA GURUVAYUR TEMPLE  THE VISIT TO THE CANADA GURUVAYUR TEMPLE LOCATED AT BRAMPTON  YESTERDAY WAS A MEMORABLE ONE . IT IS SITUATED SOME 80 KMS AWAY FROM OUR PLACE AT AJAX AND A NEAR ONE HOUR DRIVE IS INVOLVED . HEAVY SNOWING HAD LEFT EVERYTHING ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ROAD IN TO A SHEET OF WHITE .  CANADA GURUVAYUR TEMPLE IS MODELLED ON THE LINES OF OUR OWN GURUVAYUR TEMPLE . EXTREMELY CLEAN  EASY AND GOOD DARSHAN IS GUARANTEED. TAKING OF PICTURES OR VIDEOS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED EXCEPT AT THE PLACE SPECIALLY EARMARKED FOR THE SAME . My niece and Aditya from Mississauga also joined us at the Temple .                PARANTHE WALI GALI  Dinner was at PARANTHE WALI GALI , परांठे वाली गली  , which simply means a lane where you can get your Paratha or simply ROTI . This is an eatery where you get your Roti in umpteen different varieties with a cup of DAL MAKHNI AND VERY THICK CURD OR DAH...

        ASSISTANT  MANAGER CONSUMABLES              துணை   மேலாளர் - உணவு           '   उप  संचालन प्रबन्धक  , भोजन सामग्री  '  I hate saying this but my exploits in the kitchen have been restricted to the making of the EARLY MORNING COFFEE and on rare occasions to the cooking of Plain Rice . I have never dared to venture beyond this . The reason is obvious .  There have however been invaluable contributions from me in the daily preparations of lunch and dinner by MY FAIR LADY of the house . Cutting of the Vegetables , காய் கறி நறுக்கும் வேலை , सब्जियां काटने का काम , this job is  assigned to me by the lady of the house before she goes for her bath each morning . Cutting of the Vegetables is not that easy a  job as one  would imagine .  Kundru needs to be cut in thin round slices or in the lengthwise way depending on the mood of the L...