11th June to 08th August

11th June

Left Delhi for London by Vistara flight UK-17 at 2.40 pm. From aboard the flight I saw mounds of brownish clouds. They looked like piles of cotton. It has few foreigners. Mostly Indians. Vistara's in-flight magazine has more of India.

Below is given a pictorial statement of our visit to UK and Switzerland as for as possible from 11th June to 8th August 2022

11.06.2022

At the Geneva Airport

20.06.2022

Birthday celebration of Amolika 

20.06.2022

Birthday celebration of Amolika

01.07.2022

At London

01.07.2022

At London

05.07.2022

At Westminster, Big Ben,Centeral, London

05.07.2022

with Pilku at A Hotel

18.07.2022

At London

18.07.2022

At Headquarters of Nestle, Switzerland 

20.07.2022

At Geneva Lake

20.07.2022

At Geneva 

20.07.2022

At Geneva Lake

20.07.2022

At Geneva Lake

20.07.2022

At Geneva Lake

20.07.2022

At Geneva Lake

22.07.2022

In the Fields of Switzerland

22.07.2022

Near the School of Alynaha

22.07.2022

In Switzerland

22.07.2022

In Switzerland

22.07.2022

In Switzerland

22.07.2022

In Switzerland

23.07.2022

In Switzerland

23.07.2022

In Switzerland

23.07.2022

Near Statue of Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated by President of India

23.07.2022

In Switzerland

23.07.2022

After lunch with children

23.07.2022

After lunch with children in Switzerland

23.07.2022

After the last lunch in Switzerland

24.07.2022

In Switzerland

24.07.2022

In Switzerland with Ritambhara

24.07.2022

With Venita in Switzerland

24.07.2022

Venita at the Switzerland

30.07.2022

London

In Vistara on way back to India

08.08.2022

With Ritambhara Siddharth, Khyati and Alynah

 

April to 08th June

 I could not write any blogs from April to 8th June. Mainly it was due to extreme heat and humidity.

We visited London last from 30th September to 14 Oct 2019 . Now we have planned to visit London again after a gap over 2 years 8 months. We will also visit Switzerland this time where Siddharth and his family are stationed. We hope to be at these places for about 2 months and write notes on our visit in due course.

Quotable Quotes: "Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us".Samuel Smiles

18 to 28th March

We celebrated Holi at Vasant Vihar on 17 and 18th March The celebration was lively and well attended.On 17th we had a bonfire on the eve of Holi and  on 18th we played Holi with Abeer and Gulal. Significantly more senior citizens, septuagenarian and octogenarian joined in. Some photographs taken on the occasion are given below: 

19th March

Joined in celebration of fabulous 50 years of Rajat Jhori at Westin Hotel Gurgaon with the family. Some photographs taken on the occasion are given below:

22nd March

We had get together at the residence of Tarun on 22nd March to celebrate birth of grandson few days back. Some photographs has taken on the occasion are given below:

Quotable quotes : "Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit." William Penn

From 21st Feb to 17th March

 17th March

On 14th March this year we completed 55 years of our married life. In the morning we went to Iscon temple at Dwarka and spent the day there. A few photographs taken on the occasion are given below: 

A get to gather with Babloo, Neha and Akshat

The Photograph was taken by Akshat at Agra on 14th March 

Quotable Quotes : "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." John Boyle O'Reilly

15 to 20th 

In continuation of blog dated 10 to 14th, some photographs taken during the pooja are reproduced below:

Puja

At Puja

At Hawan

Offering food to the priest 

Family

Guests

Quotable Quotes :"The wish for healing has always been half of health."Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 15 to 20th 

We had an informal get-together of advocates at IIC on 17th February 2022. Apart from me, Sultan Singh, Vikas Pahwa and two others attended. We had long discussion on various subjects and shared our memories of the chamber where we worked. We were happy to know that Sultan Singh, Sr. Advocate has joined a sports body actively. We wished him success in his new association.

Quotable quotes: There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.Erma Bombeck

  

10th to 14th

We observed 'Udyapan' on 12 and 13th Jan 2022. It is a ritual which is done at the end of a fast. I have been observing Ekadasi fast for over a decade now. It has to be ended with a ritual. In this,all the Hindu gods and goddesses are invoked/worshiped to bless not only the person who kept the fast but his entire family. It takes about a couple of hours on each day. The Brahmin /Priest is given gifts of almost every kind that is needed for day-to day use such as utensils,bedstead,quilt and food items.All this cost not more than Rs.5000/-.The puja started on 12th and and ended with a havan on 13th.The photo of the family taken on the occasion is given below :      

 

 From 25th January to 09th February

On 26th Jan,India's Republic day,2022, President,PM and Defense, Minister  of India patted Virat,leading horse of President's bodyguard on the eve of its retirement after 18 years of  elite  service.It was its last parade.It was given commendation certificate by the Chief of Army staff on the day,first of its kind in the history of Indian Army.I come to know that the horses we used to ride from 1977 to 1979 in Assam,namely, Pilku's Fatima ,mine Bhagwati, Silku's Palaceguard and Babloo's youngest and naughty Sikander too had retired. I could not confirm if the they were still alive. Longevity of a horse is between 25 to 30 years. They must be dead and reborn twice/thrice by now. We pray for good life to them in whatever form they may be.

Quotable Quotes :"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."Carl Jung

 11 to 24th: Trip to Sangam with mother-in-law

An extract from my WhatsApp on memorable trip with my mother-in-law to Sangam on Makarsankranti day in 1976,addressed to Bina dated 14th Jan,2022: "Yes a memorable trip. Amma (mother-in-law),me and boatmen. Amma had big eyes and a round face. I see her reflection in Pilku. He was born and brought up under her care at Kanpur. In her last months she drew him to her.He had gone to Nepal then. On return he went straight to meet her and gave a pasmina shawl. She was quite moved,Plku told. She said ,'I remembered you and you came'.Later she told Sangita to give shawl to Venita after her death. She looked beautiful in the boat.She still blesses me."

Quotable Quotes :"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."Jimmy Dean

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 27th December to 10th January 2022

We celebrated the New Year Day on 01st January, 2022 at Taj Man Singh,New Delhi. We expected a gathering of about 50 people on the lawns of the hotel as told by the hotel management. But due to sudden spurt in Covid cases and imposition of restrictions, most of them cancelled their reservations. We were only 4-5 families consisting  of not more than 15 persons. In-fact there were many more of the staff of the hotel than the guests. The manager who took payment from us said that the hotel had lost a lot on the day. 

Decor

Quotable Quotes: "If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable". Louis D. Brandeis