Deepavali Wishes

Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali.

We are leaving for Australia today. Deepavali is in Sydney this time :)

Trichy-il oru mazhail kaalam

It rained 10cms in Trichy and heavy rains in Karnataka resulted in the current floods in Trichy and the surrounding areas. When I spoke with my parents who live in Thiruvanaikovil yesterday, they told that the whole of Chatram Bus-stand, Chinthamani and areas around the Cauvery river were submerged. But luckily there were unaffected. A few things that they told made me think.

1. The crack in one of the banks of cauvery near Srirangam was plugged using 40 bags of sand and that prevented further water flow into the city. -- kudos to those who did the job quickly and stopped a bigger damage.

2. Why is it that Trichy has become a city dependent on the climatic changes in Karnataka?

3. When will they build proper drainage facilities on the roads near St.Joseph's College and Holy Cross College? A small rain is sufficient to flood this area.

4. During the floods yesterday, there were too many police and firemen around giving different instructions that people were totally confused and majority of the commotion was because of this.

5. People living in the low lying areas next to the river had moved to the roads and were living there with no cover over them!!!

6. Cauvery brimming with water is such an extraordinary sight that there were hundreds of people on the Cauvery Bridge.

Is it in Singapore?

A normally busy road on the CBD which also houses one of the famous tourist attractions in Singapore is blocked for a whole day... A mail is sent to all the tenants around the area and information is displayed on boards about the road block. The road block starts as early as 7am in the morning and extends upto 7pm. All buses plying through that route are redirected...All this for a film shooting!!!

That is what is happening now in Singapore, that too for a Bollywood flick!!! All this is possible becos this film is being sponsored by STB (Singapore Tourism Board).

Corruption less (in) India

Corruption in India has gone down when compared to the previous years as per this article in Rediff. Although this is really heart warming, I found a most disturbing info --- Schools and hospitals are the most corrupted organisations in Tamil Nadu. This is really worrying since schools are the foundation stones for a better future and hospitals are one of the essentials in a society. Teachers & Doctors are considered to hold noble professions and this is where we see the most corruptions in Tamil Nadu. How sad!!!

Deepavali

Shopping for Deepavali is something that we and our kids are surely going to miss. Although Deepavali is celebrated in Singapore and you get the festive feeling when you do to Little India, I have always felt that the essence of Deepavali is somehow missing. I certainly miss the crowds on the streets and shops, during the weeks nearing Deepavali...and its always a pleasure to buy for an occasion. The past few years, our Deepavali dresses are one of those we got long back or some dress sent from India. Although we prepare sweets and savouries at home, the joy of sharing it with the neighbours and friends is so restricted here. Most of all I miss the fire cracker sounds that almost makes one go mad during this time.

Oh...how I miss it all!!!

A Come Back

It's been really long since I have been to this space, although I have done a bit of blog hopping now and then...visiting some of my favourite blogs.

What started as a short break due to work pressure, turned out to be a looooooooooong one due to various reasons. I hope to start updating on a regular basis again and am really thankful for those who have been visiting during my absence.

A short update on what's been happening at my end:
Job going on as usual...but a bit better now. Have got a new colleague and so able to share the load.
The hard disk on my new machine (just two months old) in office crashed (happy it wasn't the one at home :)). But wonderful service...got it replaced with a day with all my data restored.
Home front is also good...have enrolled my daughter in a playschool to start from next Jan. We performed the "Yedu thuvakkam" (the first time she learns to write a letter) function yesterday for her.
We have planned for a trip to Australia during this month end. So, pretty busy with getting the necessary stuff ready.
A close friend and a cousin have become proud parents. Another friend in Singapore was blessed with twins. Now, she has become really busy. :)
This seems to be the month of birthdays...have attend a couple of birthday parties and there's one the coming weekend too.

So, that's for now....keep visiting :)