Cat talk.

I`m neither a cat-person nor a dog-person. I like both of them, and at times the balance could tilt in either way depending on the situation or the cuteness of the animal involved. So, since my last post was on a dog(s) and I`ve been told its time for another post, I thought I`d restore the balance with a post on cats. Watch this!

Chuckie becomes a mommy!

Finally, its happened....the impossibly cute and incredibly small Chuckie has given birth. Even at the peak of her pregnancy her abdomen looked as if she just had a good meal and drew a lot of astonished comments when we mentioned she was pregnant.


Chuckie has just just given birth to 4 teeny weeny cuties. Its hard to imagine how anything can be cuter than our Chuckie but I`m assured the pups are incredibly cute too!...and Chuck`s maternal instincts have kicked in...As my sis-in-law - Japna -puts it Chuck`s become a " wise and expert mum. If you saw her you'd imagine she has been raising pups all her life".



I wish I was at home to see it all with my own eyes.

An Air India horror story.

After what has possibly been the most eventful and enjoyable holiday of my life, I`m back in the U.K again. It`s bad enough leaving your loved ones and heading back to a foreign country, but my send off was to be far worse!
The day before departure, I was called up by Air India and told that my flight from Mumbai to London had been changed from AI133 to AI131. I was only too happy as i got a few extra hours to spend at home. Anyhow my journey from home started 4:00 AM on the 4th morning.
On checking in I was told that my flight from Cochin to Mumbai had be changed and that I was to head over there on an Indian airlines flight instead. I guess that was just a sign of the trend that was to follow.
AI 131 was scheduled to take off from Mumbai at 1:00PM on the 4th, but on reaching mumbai I was told it was delayed by an hour. I would have been surprised if it hadnt - Air india being what it is!
Thus, expecting to board at 2.00 PM we waited at the lounge. However 2`O clock streched to 3 and there still was not even an announcement. At 3:30 however an official came over to express his regret that the public address was not working! furthermore boarding would happen only at 4:30 as some component of the plane had to be replaced!
When 4:30 streched into 5:00 and the passengers began to vent their frustration, we were made to assemble at the gates. 15 mins later we were redirected to another gate! and then one person at a time was allowed to board! The passports (which had already passed through emigration and security) of each passenger was screened once again as if we were criminals!! It seemed to be a blatant effort by Air India to play for time.
Finally, around 5:30 we were told that the plane was about to take off. We let out a collective cheer when finally the plane did start to taxi. However that turned out to be very much premature! Just as it almost lifted off, the take off was aborted! It was then announced after 5 minutes of suspense, that one of the plane`s engines had a level of vibration that was above permissible levels and thus had to be checked out by engineers, thus we would have to disembark and wait until then! I had only heard of such things happening to other unlucky people, but now I was living it out!
After making us wait in the plane for another 30-40 mins we were finally taken back to the terminal where we were told that we just had to wait till something concrete was known about the plane`s fate. People protested, a woman fainted...all to no avail..Air india officials continued to do what they do best - spread chaos!
We were now asked to go to the airport restaurant and have dinner. However, the restaurant refused to serve the 200 passengers as they had not recived any official communication from Air India! We sat around for another hour or so, while a few helpful passengers sought out the Airline officials and negotiated! Finally dinner was served and it was announced that the flight would not take off for the day but that it would be ready for departure the next day at 8:00 AM. Thus we were to be put up at a hotel overnight, but only after they impounded our passports, besides, our checked in luggage would not be returned to us!!
Having little energy left to argue , we accepted our fate and sat through more formalities and blunders by the airline officials before finally making it into our rooms at what was surprisingly an excellent 5 start hotel (The Orchid). We were allowed a free 3 minute telephone call (as if in jail) and were told that we would be notified of any change in departure time.
Meanwhile I came down with a full fledged fever and barely managed to drag myself into the inviting bed so that I could rise at 5:30 and be at the lobby to be picked up for the airport by 6:00.
However, when I dragged myself down at 6:00, the next morning, we were told that there was a delay and that the flight would`nt take off till 11:00 thus pick up would have to wait another 2 hours! I would say that most of the passengers had murderous intentions on their mind by this point! Some wise passenger called up Air India posing to be from the British High Commision and was able to get assurances from them that the flight would indeed happen at 11:00. Others were satiated by reading about their fate in the day`s newspaper....Me, I was shivering with a fever and was just relieved to be able to sleep a few more hours.

Finally pick up did happen - at almost 9:00 and we did manage to get on the plane. Every positive sign towards the flight happening was cheered on by the passengers. The captain`s arrival, the arrival of the crew, the opening of gates etc, but to me I could`nt differentiate the boos from the cheers. We finally did take off at around 11:45 AM .


10 uneventful hours later, we landed in London, Heathrow, almost a day later than we were to have reached. Most of us were just relieved to have survived the ordeal with our sanity intact. It took me another 3 hours and two bus rides before I arrived at my house in Bristol. I hope that thats the first and the last time I have to put myself through such an experience. One word of advise- for myself and others - Avoid travelling Air India if possible! The extra money spent on other airlines is perhaps worth it!

I`m back at work on Monday morning. I wish I was somewhere else and I miss what I`ve left behind at home, but I guess life has to go on and we just have to adapt. I hope to get back into my stride soon enough. I wish all of you a very happy new year.

We are Engaged.

..and thats it, Rosa and I are officially engaged! As most of you are already aware,
Boxing day (26th Dec) 2007 marked the big day. In a short but significant ceremony, we duly consented to being engaged to be married, at the altar of St Mary`s church Bharanaganam.
The ceremony basically consisted of the priest asking us if we were willing to get engaged to each other under our own free will (oh yes!) and under the rules of the catholic church.
This was followed by Rosa and I exchanging the engagement rings which had previously been blessed by the priest.We were then ushered into the priest`s chambers along with the witnesses, where as per (the parish`s) legal requirements we each signed our consents, duly attested by the witnesses.
A lunch reception followed where the guests were treated to a sumptuous menu. Unfortunately for Rosa and me, being at the centre of attention was not the most digestible of experiences and our plates were loaded lightly. Whatever food managed to leave the plate and find its way into our stomachs was even lighter!
Once done with lunch we then headed off into the crowd of guests, bracing ourselves for another round of introductions to each others families and friends. A barrage of names, house names and intricate family tree details were mentioned at each introduction ....leaving us a little more confused than ever! I was assured that thats the way everyone feels but it would all gradually sink in!!
In a couple of hours the guests started to depart and the reception drew to a close. I have been to several engagements over the years, but not once did I put myself in the shoes of the prospective groom and imagine what it would be like. Now having gone through the whole thing I think the best way to summarise the whole experience would be to say - I feel Engaged!
Rosa and I would like to thank all of you, from far and near who could make it for the function. We would also like to thank those of you who couldnt make it yet bore us in their thoughts on the occasion.

Almost two months of eventful holidays have come to an end and I am now headed back to U.K. They say all good things come to an end, but not for us...For Rosa and me it is just the start. I hope to be able to announce a date for our wedding soon and I hope all of you will be able to join us on the occasion. Till then watch this space.
Photos for my engagement can be accessed at http://flickr.com/photos/71936641@N00/sets/72157603550612969/
P.S:
My younger brother was not far behind and hardly a week passed before Jacob and his Fiancee - Diya got engaged. Here`s a pic of the cute couple.

Photo`s for His engagement can be accessed at http://flickr.com/photos/71936641@N00/sets/72157603594830670/