time for some shopping....

I have something thats going to set a shiver down your spine...dont worry ...I just mean to say that the winter season here at ahmedabad has almost started...

People are already seen sporting their funky jackets and polo neck t-shirts...

As for me and my friends we are already stocking up the latest winter skin care creams.. :P

anyway i visited this place called "AhMEDABAD HAAT" day before yeserday and i absolutely fell in love with it...its difficult to find it if u live in any area except bodakdev...its near sandesh press....the "haat"or market consists of various things like flower pots,pots,home decor,shirts,t-shirts,kurtis and would be a hit among bag-aholic people..It also sells scented candles,cushion covers,bedsheet covers et al...I also loved the fancy diyas there..

so if you are lazing around on a lazy sunday and people in your house are dying to go out for an outing i would recommend this place...

have fun...

aavjo,

asHwIni

COME ON CHEER UP!!!

awww!!I can imagine those sad and exhausted faces staring at the computer screen and looking for some article that could finally make them happy after the've had the best time of the year these 9 nights...All your chaniya cholis and kediyas will be stuffed in a suitcase only to be seen next year...sad?dont be just keep reading ...

yes my friends the favourite gujju festival NAVRATRI is over and people just cant seem to have had enough....

IM filled with nostalgia as i recall all my garba steps and not to mention the new ones that my friends taught me eventhough I possess 2 left feet..I recall wearing those heavy but extremely beautiful hand embroidered chaniya cholis and not to mention the lovely jewellery..

I miss those days when you go home and are soooo tired but u still have to wash all that makeup and then go to sleep and not at all to mention the blisters on my feet...sniff sniff...those long waits at the beauty parlour waiting to get your skin polished for that so called "natural glow".and to top it all off I MISS SANEDO.!!.. :(

I still remember how i hummed the garba geets coming from the neighbourhood while i go to sleep waiting for tomorrows garba...

yes..it was a great time for me and all of us all i can say is "come on guys cheer up and get youself prepped up for next year!!!!!"

I cant write anymore coz my eyes are now filled with water and i cant see what im typing...

will c ya soon....now comeon give me a SMILE......

yours truly.

the gujju ben(whos not gujju by the way),

asHwIni

aavjo!

navratri is here!!!!!!!

GARBE JHOOMO RE!!!

The most awaited festival of Ahmedabad( whole of Gujarat actually)is finally here!!!!

Its time to wear those sparking embroidered chaniya cholis and kediyas and flow with the music ...ITS THE TIME TO GARBA!!!

Garba is basically a nine night festival celebrated for the goddess amba....Garba generally starts by midnight and is enjoyed till wee hours of morning.....

The celebration starts with the aarti of ambe maa in an open place preferably a ground or garden....Garba is a dance form in which people dance in concentric circles around the statue or photo of ambe maa....Garba steps consists of graceful movements which have various series of claps and turns...

Various people also fast on this day for the goddess so we can say that the goddess enjoys some very special attention in this week...

THE festival started yesterday and in no way could i miss the opening or the arti ceremony....

After the arti me and my friends started dancing to the tunes of various garba geet(songs)....some of my favourites include"lal darvaje tambu taniya","pavagad gai ti".....i hardly feel like resting...you can feel the energy and the enthusiasm of the people when they dance....on these nine nights Ahmedabad never sleeps....Every small nook and corner has its own garba...even streets are used as garba circles....I danced to the tunes and also did the traditional raas-garba which includes dancing with decorated wooden sticks...I was dressed my traditional best with all my silver ornaments and chaniya choli.....

Lal darwaja is the place to be at the time of navratri for shopping....All the authentic chaniya cholis and ornaments can be bought there....There are maybe thousands of shops selling bright chaniya cholis with their amazing mirror work....

The garba also includes "heench" ......this dance consists of rap-song like movements which is a hit among youngsters.....

I ended my day with the "chalan chalan maro"song where all the people make a human train and run around like children.....Great fun!!

well this garba is going to be a very special one for me coz tomms my b'day!!!!!!!!

yipee......

aavjo,

asHwIni....

Multi City

Aapnu Ahmedabad is quite different from other cities:

Surat..Ring Road

Bangalore

Ahmedabad SG Road

Choose your Pick

thats the spirit!!!!

5th oct '07:

It was 11:30 in the night and I heard my phone bell......for a few minutes i thought its because im suffering from Ringxiety but then when my sister told me to get the phone i knew it definetly WAS ringing.......

Everyone was sleeping at my house and all they could hear was me shouting on the top of my voice...:

"kya?(what?)

mandir?(temple?)

subeh subeh?(early morning?)

saat baje?(at 7?)"

so it was my friend....as we had just finished our exams she wanted to go to the iskon temple in the morning at 7......and she wanted me to come as well......After her threatening me and shouting at me I finally had to agree to go with her......

6th oct'07 6:30 am:

((((((RING RING RING RING RINg RING))))))))))))

Yup.....no ringxiety this time also.....it was my friend who knew i wont get up......

"goodmorning"she said as i stupidly was hoping that she would not smell my bad breath...

"go and have a bath...ill be there in half an hour"she said before slamming the reciever....

so i got readywith one of the few traditional clothes i have!!!

She came home at 7 (sharp).....I wanted to bash her head for waking me up at 7 on a lazy saturday morning ....but i tried to divert my mind and told her"nice shoes"......"thanx..!"she said as her face lit up.........So i took my tvs scooty and sped off(with a helmet)...she had called another friend of mine too.....

after managing to save our vehicles from a cow and cyclists we finally reached the iskon temple in ahmedabad....oh did i mention the dogs that were chasing us on the road...?

nevermind.

As we enter the temple I was amazed by its infrastructure.....the carvings and inscriptions on it are simply beautiful....the tunes of the drums,manjira,flute,"hare rama hare krishna",filled the air.......

Statues of radha and krishna were being decorated with flowers......the devotees mostly consisted of foreigners......and suddenly i felt some more pride in being an Indian... A man was singing devotional songs on the mike....the music was amazing....Almost all people were dancing except the 3 of us who were standing at a deserted corner looking at people....after the bhajan as we went to take the prasad a russian lady clad in a saree told us not to..."first men then woman...woman last"she said in a totally russian accent....

After the bhajan she asked us if we were students..."yes"...we replied...her name was Ishwari and she was a devotee since 10 years.....She told us she used to live in russia,completed her university and got inspired by the devotees in the temples there.....My friend was very curious to know more and so she went on telling us to read the bhagwat gita and mahabharat etc....

One of the things that set me back was why are girls not allowed to come and take the prasad first????Even the bell cannot be rung by ladies at the time of arti....now wat kind of a discrimination is that????

Its great to know that people are attracted to the cultures of our country and leave everything and live here....

As we stepped out of the temple,my friends curiosity levels rising,the only curiosity i had was was whether my shoes were still outside the temple..........

there they were!!!as i sat down to wear them ,my friends shoes?"(yes the ones that i said were good) were missing.........

yes she did blame me that it was my "buri nazar"that lead to her stolen shoes....

In short it was a beautiful and lively temple.......

the only thing u have to keep in mind while visiting is To feel the music and the songs, to check out the art,sculptures,statues ...you can also buy books in the temple.....

And yes PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEOGRAPHY is Not allowed inside the temple....(i learnt it the hard way!!)

and the last advice is to only wear old shoes to the temple......(with the risk of being repetitive!!)

:)

jay shri krushn...

aavjo...

asHwIni...

gandhi jayanti

on this day the great leader mohandas karamchand gandhi was born.....

i went around the city trying to find out how people celebrate this day...

very few people care!!!!
some of them are the people who turned up at the gandhi ashram in ahmedabad....

the statue of the father of the nation was given a nice wash and decorations were made at the ashram....I didnot celebrate it myself as I didnot get a leave for my tuitions as Im right now burdened with work.....

lets hope that next year ill be able to visit the ashram....

ciao

MAJAMA???

Everyone has a place thats close to their heart...a place they love,a place they can call home.....
I have a place that I call home......Its noneother than Ahmedabad!!!!!
I am addicted to everything in this place.....be it the huge number of two wheelers,the heritage monuments,the extremely friendly people,the belly filling gujarati thalis or the huge malls.......
so this blog is my record of all the things i see and do here.....
Basically its about my life-my ahmedabad.....

aavjo....
:)