On Sugar Paper

Moving into the new house has meant leaving our little kittens behind. There were three kittens and one mother cat who made our life easier in our short-term rented ground floor apartment. It was the first time that we were living on the ground floor and for the first time had 'pets'. These stray cats came into our lives and taught us what it meant to love selflessly. It was not all that selfless though. Love, always lets us get much more than what we can give although love is not always transactional. But these kittens with their antics and cuteness, gave us enough back. There were three kittens- Poosha, Brave and Limka and Toppy (short for Top-Cat) the mother cat. Roxanne, came over to photograph them one day. She met only Brave and Limka. Ready to see the most beautiful kittens in the world? Hey! Hi! Thanks for the sausage, but I need my dose of little insects! Oh, is that what you call a camera? You think I am cute? Wait, till you see me do this....

I finished reading Albert Espinosa's The Yellow World in record time. I decided to have a reading marathon one day and finished a lot of the book. The premise of the book is that there are people who come into our lives for a short duration for a very specific purpose and then they leave. They are not friends and not lovers. The 'relationship' is short and provides the two people a very fulfilling interaction. Such people are called 'yellows'. I never engage in conversations while on a train journey. I love it when I am allotted the side upper berth as that seat is my quiet haven. Its provides the kind of private ownership that is not possible in a public train. I was on a side upper berth on my trip from Calcutta to Mumbai. There was a family consisting of parents and their two sons and another grandpa-grandson duo in my enclosure. There was one more quiet person and then there was me. The family was Catholic, spoke Konkani and were on their way to Karna...

I have developed this new habit. I wake up every morning and look at my phone first. This is a strict no-no at home. I don't look at my phone first thing, unless I have a call or I have woken up late. But these past two months in Malaysia- almost every single day it has been 'good morning phone!' The reason for it is actually reasonable! My sisters would message me before they would go to sleep which is two hours after I have slept hence I would wake up first thing to hear from them. Sometimes, VM would leave me some messages too. But most of the times, I would wake up to check messages from work- is there something I need to know before I start my day in order to prepare for my day and so forth. To be honest, there would never be anything I would have missed had I not checked my phone, first thing.  These last five days, I did something entirely different too. Watched videos on Youtube for two hours at a stretch- now that I never do. I mean NEVER. I might watch a movie for...

Before I left for Kota Kinabalu, I left my huge suitcase at KL airport. My suitcase is really big and I was a bit nervous about travelling with it.  The day I left KL was the day I left a lot of my friends behind. The previous day I was talking to one of the Fellows of TFM. She told me that once all the 'externals' (a word for foreign staff) leave she would feel helpless and sad. I told her to think of the fact that 78 Fellows and so many staff members will still be around. Whereas I was the only Indian in the organisation and I was returning all alone. I was leaving everyone- staff, fellows, friends. That statement truly hits me now. I am going to KL tomorrow to collect my luggage and to take a flight. Two of my best friends in the organisation came to send me off that day. They were with me at the luggage drop off. When I go back tomorrow I will feel extremely nostalgic, I know. I will relive some of our last conversations together and some experiences- like the restaurant wh...

I am on my first solo trip of my life. I chose Kota Kinabalu in Eastern Malaysia to be the place where I would continue to challenge myself. It has been two days and I have been having a great time. But here's the thing. I just find it unbelievable that all I have to do is think of which place I am going to visit next.  There is nobody waiting for me. No email waiting for a response (yeah, one), no work waiting to be done, nothing to worry.  I don't remember the last time I experienced this. At the moment, I am sitting by the sea and I am completely alone- there are a few birds, butterflies and a gentle breeze for company. And lots and lots of healing time for my mind. 

I have realized that I love travel. I especially enjoy journeys. They are the truest free moments of one's life. One is right in the middle of two places- the one you have left behind and the one you are supposed to be at. There is no place you are supposed to be. Road, rail, flight- I enjoy all of them. I have been taking the chance and travelling at every opportunity I get, here in Malaysia. The first few weeks, every place I went to was new and thereafter, I deliberately made plans to visit new places. The Bird Park at KL, the Museum, Sky bars (that deserves a long post by itself) and later on Malacca, Ipoh, Gemas and my latest was Penang. I have been to Penang before hence Penang is the first foreign place that I have visited twice. (Woohoo!) With my travel buddy Jimena, I have been discovering and learning. My trip to Penang, a few days ago has to be one of the best trips of my life. I rediscovered Martin, my guardian angel. Thanks also to Jimena. ...

Discovery is magic. It is. Think of another word to describe the word discover and I am not sure if anything comes closer to convey the emotion of the word other than magic. As a traveller, one is a discoverer. The person has embarked on a journey to find something- a new place, a new flavour, a new person, an experience or maybe just some peace. Every single step of that process can be a new lesson. Take for example, my first ever trip to US. It was the first time I was being abroad and there were a thousand things that were going to be my first. In an email that VM wrote to me just before I was about to leave and on knowing that I was terribly nervous, he said, that I should enjoy every bit of it. My first trip to the international airport, the first time I would be interviewed by the immigration department, the first time on an international flight and the list went on. I think discovering that the word ‘keluar’ means ‘exit’ in Malaysia, or that ‘tandas’ means toilet is also par...