Greek Love

When its summer time, what could be better than a beach and sand; a mountain on the side maybe.. Isn’t it awesome to have best of both worlds! Nice warm sun in the afternoon and very chill evenings that you actually pull out your cardigan (or in my case buy one)! Thats how I describe Greece, the land of amazing views, history, culture and food! There could be no better place in June and July to visit if you’re thinking romance.

Greece does not need to be an expensive affair. Planning the trip according to your needs and comfort is the fun part. I personally love the initial prep that goes into planning a holiday. I sat endless nights with my fiancé to plan hotels, travel bookings, what else to see while enjoying a glass of wine and some take away food.

After the initial struggle to get the visa in place we were all excited about our honeymoon! Its funny how so many of my friends have told me that as their D day for the wedding approaches, each one seems to be optimistic and looking forward to the trip after the wedding more than the wedding day itself! I must admit both of us weren't any different, we were beaming and looking forward to the Greek experience.

View from our Hotel in Santorini

We took our flights early June and stayed in for a good ten days. Both of us are enthusiast but I am more of a realist; I kept my foot down and wanted to spend quality time in places rather than travel all over Greece (one can always return to see more right). So we started with the mystic Santorini, one of the beautiful islands of Cyclades. For those of you who are dreamers, I am sure each one of you must have wondered which place is this when you saw the white houses with blue roofs with the sea on one side in a picture. Well that is Santorini’s most picturesque caldera view. Funny thing but Standard Chartered had a whole big picture of the caldera view put as part of their credit card promotion in the lifts at my office, I would always get into that lift and calmly smile, little did I know I will be going to witness it for whole 3 nights! The volcanic islands was a day trip we both enjoyed but could not take a dip since we had a small accident the day before and thus i recommend taking the big bikes rather than a scooty or simply hire a car, its easy and very effective to travel.

The famous Oia sunset (Santorini)

Our next stop was Mykonos, also known as the party island. Yes it did justice to its reputation, we were relaxing on a beach at noon and suddenly the music got louder at 4pm and everybody (young kids) started to dance like crazy. For me a party means evenings and late nights so this was a whole new way to see how much you can party. Everybody was drunk by 6pm just as we decided we felt too old for this stuff and left by 7pm. They say Paradise beach is the best for these early evening parties.




Obviously the market scene here was also very lively, actually I cannot discount Santorini for that too. Both the places have lovely markets, designer jewelers and high end watches seem to be the flavor of the month. Good food and drinks at all spots to refresh your holiday. Mykonos tourist area can be all walked around. There are few old mills which make a tourist spot for clicking pictures here as well. Infact, I will link a few videos we made over there to give you a feel (pls don't laugh at the quality of the video).

Lastly, we did Athens, the mystical land of Gods and Goddesses. The stories seem alive as you walk around Acropolis. There was so much to do here that 3 days seemed a little unfair. Lonely planet helped us in figuring out the most secretive restaurants and the dishes to choose in there. There is a beautiful street full of roadside shops and sellers that goes unto the Acropolis hill, I loved walking up and down just absorbing the culture Greece had to offer. Off course I cannot end without mentioning the opera we witnessed though the story was simple but the experience was overwhelming.

We came back with a smile on our faces and lots of small gifts for our extended family now. Trips aren't complete with the last minute memorabilia that you pick for family. 

To Fast or Not to Fast

So a bunch of my married friends observed Karva Chauth yesterday night. For those who do not understand what that means can google or simply understand it as a Hindu ritual where the wife fasts for the long life of her husband (without water) and finally breaks her fast after seeing the moon and then her husband through a netted vessel in the night. Bizzare, right? Is there any scientific proof that it helps? No, but there are these beautiful historic tales and situations when wives have done this and brought back their husbands from the clutches of death!

Now, I don’t have a problem with the entire thing and I respect women who fast for their husbands but I do have a problem with everything becoming a social activity (read hundreds of pictures of husband wives on Facebook showing them all dressed and breaking their fasts). Why this need of public display. What does it solve? Is it to be socially accepted as husband and wife by our society? Or is it simply that we have very few festivals to celebrate?

So a friend of mine pinged me asking if I am keeping the fast. I had considered keeping one only if my husband would fast for me I said. Thankfully, she is also a logic driven female and said she had to keep it last year since it was two days after the wedding and all eyes were towards the new bahu and now she is contemplating. Well our new generation is confused whether to blindly follow our mothers or to stand up and say, let me decide what I wanna do, let me have a healthy discussion and weigh options, let me be me.

I would love to see a more equal society where “mere pati mera devta hai” does not stand true any more. I know it would hurt peoples sentiments (read my granny). But I am equally surprised and happy that I can at least speak to them and tell them that I too can make my decisions! Recently I told my granny that I don’t need a mangal surta around my neck, red sindoor on my head, bangles and many more things on me to show that I am married just as my husband. I am equally committed and she just smiled! That’s a good start… 

Nothing is Everything..

Well the title of this article may seem odd to many but this revelation happens to each one of us. I may want to warn you right at the start that this state of nothingness may be both productive and counter productive.  Some people may enjoy this state to the utmost and may never want to leave it which then becomes a question to each and every average man's life.

Okay, to rest some raised eyebrows let me try and bring some context to what I mean when I say nothing is a state. Recently, I quit my high paying job as a banker to pursue my dream. I have a very supporting husband, 2 loving set of parents, friends and family. I had been upset with how my career had been shaping out, I felt I was losing control and that my work was not turning out the way I had pictured it in B School or in my dreams. All seems fair so far right? No! When I mention that I quit to pursue my dream, did I tell you my dream? Did I tell you that I haven’t really figured out what I want to do even after spending 27 years on earth in the most fortunate circumstances possible! Now, I have reached a state of nothingness, I have nothing going on… or so I imagine. Nothing as far as work is considered that used to take the good part of my 24 hours. I often sit down with a paper to jot down things I like to do and come up with an awesome list but when it comes to relate it to work, it seems unlikely that I become a dancer, artist, party organizer or a fashionista that makes similar sort of dough that I minted earlier. I am the happiest when I am left alone to dance or cook!

I haven’t still told you the something part. Well, have you ever imagined that when you embrace the fact that there is suddenly all this time in your hand that you can allocate to new stuff or things you always wanted to do, how would that feel? I feel soo awesome, I feel I am like superwoman again who can decide her own future, who can choose to either travel or start my own firm! I have the power to choose my own new job and also my life. I feel beautiful and am relooking at my body that I have been ignoring since the time I got married. I am giving more time to relationships.

My state of nothing has finally given me the time to introspect and rejuvenate. I will start to again challenge myself to achieve new heights, new goals, new hobbies. Its an exciting phase, I wish that each one of you also gets to be as lucky as I am. Each human being deserves to smile and slow down to reinvent and find their somethings….