Thoughtful gifts

              Everyone loves gifts.....they make you feel special, and loved. In today's fast paced world, where we really don't take the time to slow down, relax, mull things over, put our feelings in perspective, the most obvious choice for gifts is something that has a cool price tag, looks classy and appealing. But a real gift is one that has the ability to touch the heart of the person you're gifting it to.

              A gift that brings back nostalgic memories, that captures the essence of that person's inner most desires, that says, you truely care and hence have spent that time to hunt for the perfect gift. A gift that has the "price" tag of affection, care and love.

             This birthday, I received one such lovely, adorable gift. 

  

Thank you my friend for the lovely gesture.........    

P.S. the books were gifted too.....by a very special person :)

Hampi "rocks"!

Its my B'day this month. Six years back, when I was still in India, we took a trip to Hampi on my B'day. Situated in Karnataka, Hampi is an ancient, rocky town, and the rock formations and the temples that are strewn around the place are simply mind blowing. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, and the stark beauty of the place bears testimony to the legacy left by the Vijaynagar Empire that once ruled that region during the 14th Century.

The rock formations are just amazing:

So is the temple architecture that resonates with the stark beauty of the surrounding landscape....

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I especially liked the rock engravings, some of which depict episodes from the Ramayana. Interestingly, it is said that while on his mission to rescue Sita from the clutches of Ravana, Rama and Lakshmana took the help of the monkey army led by Sugreev who stayed in the valleys of Hampi. With their help, he built the stone bridge across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka, and eventually killed Ravana and rescued Sita.

We even crossed a river on round boats made of bamboo and palm leaves to reach the Sugreeva valley, and the whole experience was fun. We even encountered scenes of bucolic life, cattle and all, and the unhurried sense of life there was really nice.

 

And yes, Hampi also is famous for the Tungabhadra Dam.