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I got this from a friend and found it worth sharing. Watch Louie Schwartzberg as he talks about Gratitude in life and see his pictorial demonstration. It is marvelous and makes me want to thank each moment of my life.
Enjoy,
Paras
During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the Director how do
You determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
‘Well,’ said the Director, ‘we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a
teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.’
‘Oh, I understand,’ I said. ‘A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.’
‘No.’ said the Director, ‘A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?’
The following website contains comprehensive information on many NRI topics/issues such as OCI/PIO card, PAN card, Taxes, Investing in India etc. It seems especially helpful for people who are moving to India or planning to live there for a longer period of time. Please feel free to share this information with your family and friends.
Website: http://nriinformation.com/
-Paras
Family, Please read our blog entry about our recent trip to Lake District.
We left on 3rd Sep and returned on 10th Sep. Here is a Google Maps of our trip – http://g.co/maps/zwtwq
We rented a car for the weekend as we thought it would be useful to navigate around in Lake District and give us more flexibility, it was a good decision to rent a car. We had reserved an Economy car but as luck would have it, when we went to the car dealer – we got a Vauxhall Astra – Sports edition (a free upgrade from the economy)- http://tinyurl.com/6zwnlcr (this was our car, just had a different color).
We were able to dump all our belongings for the week in the back seat and boot of the car. We had rented a cottage – Briscoe Mill for a week in Egremont, Western Lake District. We made this our base and covered all of Lake District in a week.
Day 1 – We left Milton Keynes around noon and drove straight up our way to Lake District, we stopped at Chester on our way, it was a diversion of around 15 miles but worth a stop. It has beautiful high streets and houses, a city with a historic touch. Walked a little bit before it began to rain and we headed back in the car to drive to our cottage. Chester was about half way. The road from the motor way to our cottage in Lake District was a winding road and it took us over 2 hours to cover a distance of 75 miles. When we got to our cottage, it was dark.
Day 2 – We planned to do some hiking and driving around. We had heard a lot about Hardknott Pass – it is one of the most difficult roads to drive on in UK, it has a steep incline of around 40 degrees and is a winding one way road with valley on one side and mountains on the other. We hiked few miles on Scafell Pike which is the highest peak in England. We drove to Coniston Lake which is one of the bigger lakes, the view was just outstanding and there were ducks swimming in the water, we wished to boat there but as it was 5 pm, shops close and we drove back to our cottage.
Day 3 – We did some local sightseeing of the town we lived in, there is a small river that flows right by the cottage we lived. And as it was raining a bit, stayed indoors and played some board games. Khyati and I have found a new love for board games, we played Monopoly, Scrabble and attempted Risk which looks as a cool game.
Day 4 – The weather was again supposed to be rainy so we chose to cover lakes nearby our place and do the coastal route. If you are aware about Pacific Coast Highway 1, this was similar, just the water wasn’t blue but a beautiful drive. Some of the other lakes in Lake District are inhabited and you will see a lot less people. Lake Ennerdale is one such lake, it’s beautiful, saw a gorgeous waterfall from the top of the mountains. It was very windy and cold but Khyati and I attempted to take pictures without our winter jackets, just for the fun of it. The temperature must be around 5 deg.
Day 5 – We decided to explore the Steam Railway, this is the smallest narrow gauge railway in the world. You can see some pictures of the railway, it was a fun 7 mile journey from the coast to the foothills of the mountain. Checked out some old mills and churches, again – very isolated town, felt like we were disconnected from the world but a place worth being.
Day 6 – It was my birthday today and Khyati had planned surprises for me throughout the day. We planned to do a hike to a waterfall and did boating in Lake Windermere. Lake Windermere is the largest fresh water lake in England, the boat was a motor boat and we were allowed to cruise at speeds of 10 miles an hour. Khyati and I took turns to ride the boat and take some pictures. A one hour well spent boating.
All these locations had limited cell phone coverage so for you who called on my birthday and could not reach me, that’s the reason… hehe
Day 7 – It was our last day and we had to drive back to Milton Keynes. We started around noon from our cottage and decided to stop in York. It’s again a very historic town which I believe, has the feel of Vienna. It has a small river that flows through the center of the city and people take a boat cruise. We also saw the statue of Constantine – The great Roman Emperor in the city. We took one more rest break on our way and ended our journey at around 9 pm on 9th Sep.
In total, we drove close to 1000 miles. It was a great vacation and would recommend this place to everyone.
You can check out our pictures here -
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2073185029403.2109220.1238223882&l=42d0e05c1e&type=1
much love,
k & p
It’s Summer in the UK, weather is beautiful, longer days, occasional rainfall and greenery all over is what we witness around us. Khyati has been in the UK for over a month and has adjusted well. My work is going great, learning a lot of new stuff and dealing with European clients. We have toured London, Oxford and Leicester so far and visited few friends from these places. Also, going to Lake District in the 1st week of Sept – check out more info at Lake District
Please see our pictures from our recent Oxford and Leicester visit – Oxford Pics
We miss you all and remember you guys a lot, excited to see everybody during Nimit bhai’ wedding.
We have booked tickets and are arriving on 25th Dec 2011 and leaving on 21st Jan 2012.
Here are our contact details in the UK:
here is a picture of Khyati and I doing indoor rock climbing in Milton Keynes, Khyati is on the left and I am on the right and we are climbing our way to the top on this rock and in life.
much love,
khyati & paras
(Tumse milke aisa laga
Tumse milke armaan hue poore dil ke) – 2
Ae meri jaane wafa
Teri meri meri teri ek jaan hai
Saath tere rahenge sada, tumse na honge judaa
Tumse milke aisa laga
Tumse milke armaan hue poore dil ke
Mere sanam, teri kasam chhodenge ab na yeh haath
Yeh zindagi
you have shown us how easy it is to live life with a smile. love always, miss you…
- khyati and paras
The highly coveted India Pakistan semi final was rigged, what a shame in the name of cricket! hear for yourself…
Came across this on Twitter and it’s worth sharing, we don’t need a day to celebrate father’s day… to you, dad…
Time flies so fast when I am with you but I count seconds when you are away and wait in anticipation to talk to you or meet you next… You have come in my life as a breeze and life is as good as it gets. Wishing my fiancee and to be wife a very Happy 1st Birthday,
much love, now and always…
paras
Greetings from UK to everyone,
How are you all? I am doing very well and settling in Milton Keynes. Work has started in full swing, I am enjoying it. I live in a shared accommodation with an Indian family close to work. I take the bus every day and recently purchased a bicycle which I hope to use for my commute once the weather soothes down a little bit.
Few notable differences between life here and in CA:
- I wear formals everyday to work
- Public transportation here is very good, Milton Keynes and other cities around here are very commuter friendly. There is a separate bike path which connects the entire city and is really well maintained.
- People use the word “Please” for almost everything and I am getting used to it.
- I thought that I might have trouble understanding the English accent here but it’s not that bad.
- People use the word “Cheers” at the end of each conversation.
- I see comparatively smaller cars than in the US.
- Driving in UK is similar to India and opposite to the way in US
- Weather change is huge, I haven’t seen snow so far but it gets close to freezing, I am fine with the coats, ear muffs and the gloves.
Overall, a great place, clean city, friendly people and I seem to like it here. I am excited about my wedding in May this year and I hope to see you all, can’t wait to celebrate and enjoy with all of you…
I have a cell phone now – +44 7517 622 837 , will stay in touch.
Attached are few pictures,
Me biking in Milton Keynes
Suited up for a client meeting
Touring the town of Oxford
Streets in Oxford, UK
Khyati and me at Mumbai airport
regards – paras
