The Chicago Visit….

It was exactly a month, after landing US,Windsor Locks Bradley International Airport, on Friday 20th March 09, I got a drive to the Hartford/Springfield/Windsor Locks Bradley International Airport, not a big one. Indeed a great drive it was. There are may people who can do things, but very few have the heart to do it, and it does makes a difference….

From here I boarded the flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport at 4.40 (EDT) pm, which took off at 5:15pm. And though it was to reach the airport at 7:04 (CDT: One hour behind) pm in Chicago as per the itinerary, the plane landed the airport at 6:05 pm.

There were big hoardings everywhere in the airport, 'Chicago: 2016 Olympic Candidate welcomes you'...As we drove towards Lake Bluff, where they stay, Sajeev said that O'Hare was the name of the Lake around which the airport was build...It was a very big airport....so was the parking area in number of floors..


Had never in my wildest dream expected to be to their residence.....on the other side of the globe....There was with them her colleague and friend, Naveen from Hyderabad. Had homely vegetarian food prepared by her, spoke for long, and they were watching the US English movie of 2002, Adaptation based on Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief, directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman.Guess its an (auto)biographical movie, of two brothers, and the author.....

Me because of a duck's cold, and Friday Mania, went off to sleep when the movie was half way through…

And next day, was the visit to one of the worlds greatest city, known as the windy city, not because it is really windy but because of the Politicians.


As the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas approached, many cities wanted to host the World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, after eight ballots, Chicago won it, leaving behind cities like New York, and Washington...New Yorkers were very angry, and started calling them by the name windy city.

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire central business district, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth and build the first skyscraper in the world. The history of skyscrapers in Chicago began with the 1885 completion of the Home Insurance Building, which is often regarded as the first steel-framed skyscraper in the world. The building was originally constructed with a height of 138 feet (42 m) and 10 stories, and was later expanded to a height of 180 feet (55 m) and 12 stories before being demolished in 1931. It was near the Castle shape building….



Undoubtedly: ‘Chicago builds itself up…Knocks down, scrapes away the rubble and starts over….’

The journey began with the millennium park, with its beautiful landscape, the latest attraction created in 2004, with the shell shaped, Kapoor sculpture,

inspired by the liquid mercury, stainlessly reflecting the entire surroundings, both land and sky....alike...the cloud gate of Chicago..


To add to the attraction here was the free hugs by men and women...

Walking which was after a month, and through the down town, we passed through the Chicago river


which though not especially long, is notable for the 19th century civil engineering feats that directed its flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin.

On the crowded streets, there were people singing and collecting money, people with coat begging…



As you approach the down town you will find tall wall like buildings, and three of them equidistant and almost the same size, they being,
The Sears Tower, at 108 stories, stands as Chicago's tallest building since its completion in 1974 and is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
The second- and third-tallest buildings in Chicago are the Aon Center and
The John Hancock Center with 100 floors, respectively.

Then we had lunch below the John Hancock Observatory…the way people smiled while taking photographs, and how soon the smile vanished was really astonishing…and the elevator within 40 seconds took us to the 94th floor observation deck where in was displayed exhibits about the city of Chicago.
Maps explaining the view in each direction…


And the live view:


To the South of the City there is part of Lake Michigan, ….Blue and lovely…..the navy pyre, amusement park, world fair place,

tall buildings..including the Sears Tower..


To the west are the big buildings, sports grounds, restaurants, Pizza originated here in 1943,


To the north is the Lake shore drive, restaurant of boat shape, with bathing suites, and the buildings….



To the east is the Lake of Michigan, 80 miles, away is the state of Michigan. Beautiful view….indeed…

The photo taken below, cost 22$, and they give it with the background of Chicago at various hours....

It seems there are people who climb the stairs and reach 100 floors, in half an hour….!!!

There it is written:
‘Butterflies in your stomach,
Tingling in your spine,
Raising your hair,
The view is sensational’

Come Kiss the sky….



Though The John is not the tallest building, the view from here is said to be the best.

We walked along the road side and on the beaches of the lake shore,


By the grace of God, the weather that day was pleasant..….

Before returning, we did some window shopping, and then to the parking area, which is a very huge one, like a multistoried auditorium, or even bigger…I don’t know…indeed vast place….!! Difficult to find the floor where the vehicle is parked….

Chicago: “As you are so are your buildings, and as are your buildings, so are you”.

Great pleasure, and opportunity it was…Thanks to all who made it happen….


Even the night view while returning was mismerising....

Well that was the end of day one, and there was yet one more day...in the state of Illinois, with Chicago in the northeast having 66% of its population, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources timber, and petroleum in the south, is often viewed as a microcosm of the United States.

Lesson:
“Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood, make big plans, a noble logical diagram once recorded will never die, but will be a living thing…”

Mindset of Sons of Sahyas...

One of my fiends said, if a dog is born, it should be in US, for they are loved here so much!!! Away from home, when you see, so beautiful and variety of dogs around, you are reminded of elephants …..In Kerala, when you are travelling, you will definitely see at least one elephant on the road...

Elephants in Kerala are often referred to as the 'sons of the sahya.' Western Ghats (Sahyadri) Sahya mountains Range. It is the state animal of Kerala and is featured on the emblem of the Government of Kerala.




Thrissur being the cultural capital of India, Thrissur Pooram, is an especial events full of elephants, on which I need to write..but may be some other time…







The temple elephants are decorated with gold plated caparisons (nettipattom), bells, and necklaces. People mounted on the elephants hold tinselled silk parasols (muthukuda) up high, swaying white tufts (venchamaram) and peacock feather fans (aalavattom) to the rhythm of the orchestra. People looking after the elephants are called mahout (Pappan).



Guruvayurappan, is said to be the owner of the world's largest number of domesticated elephants. The world's only Elephant Palace is constructed in Punnathur Kotta, 3 km from the temple, to house the temple's elephants.

Gajarajan Guruvayoor Kesavan (1904 - December 2, 1976) is perhaps the most famous and celebrated Elephant of Kerala.


Elephants have been important in human history for thousands of years. They were popular royal gifts. Appu was the mascot of Asiad in India, and we had Ammu in Veegaland…Young and Old, all love elephants alike...



Shown each part of it, one may not be able to identify, that its an animal, so huge, but its not wild….




Well this is dedicated to Anil;Guess who is his favourate…..whose picture will you find in his laptop and camera?? Asin? Aishwaria Rai? Nain Tara? Nope….None of them…..

It’s full of elephants…..

And it is from him, that I got all these pictures, they are taken by him. And its he who prompted me to write this one...




Why do people love elephants so much?

This was send by Geena:

Awesome Yummy Cake

Yup....It was an awesome yummy cakes, to celebrate the March birthdays, and March being the beginning of Spring, the spring cake, with a spring and yellow flowers on it.....Thats cool is'nt?




Birthdays indeed are like fresh bloom flowers,
That promise us of joyful hours,
Amidst lifes garden glowing insight,
Of Gods loving crystal light!!



Awesome Yummy cake, the taste still lingers....

But the birthday boys were missing! Happy March Birthday folks!!



Also to Trainers Mom! 50th is indeed especial!

March....St. Patrics day

17th March 09 is St. Patrics day here.St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish and Irish at Heart in big cities and small towns alike with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Its a time for fun. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green! It seems the celebration is more in Chicago...




This is the picture of the Chicago River painted green for this occassion..Hey, it is not like the Chalakudy Puzha, which is naturally green, on which I will write later.and do you know what is the other especiallity of this river....

Today the whole team here, had the dinner, with , Director and Senior Managing director ...at Stone well, who told us, that this was the only river flowing backwards....We could unviel yet another talent of Susan, she even plays piano....



On the food that we had, will right soon...Inshallah!!!

For me, March has always been a month, where in there were many surprises...., things begin before, but the final surprise is in March.or at times, things begin in March..Guess its for most women...Might be because March is womens history month, International womens day. ..

Hope this march is full of positive surprises....All is well that ends well....

Though there is no much of Holi in Kerala, that is yet another especial festival, in the month of march, though there are various stories associated with it, this too is celebrated with colours and sprinkling water....with which the summer begins...with its intensity...

Of course, this was the month in which I saw the first ray of light, so did my grandmother, on the same day, but different years, ...and this was the month of the death of my grandfather, dear friend Anisha, and too good neighbour Wilson uncle...

If wishes come in rainbow colours then I would send the Brightest one to say "HAPPINESS ALWAYS" ...Just remembered the prayer in school, We give you Thanks....Almighty God...For all the benefits, you have conferred upon today....I love you with my whole heart, and above all things, I am very sorry for having offended you, because you are so good, and I firmly resolve not to offend you any more....

The Jungle Book …By Rudyard Kipling….

Time and again, we reach here…it has been since my childhood…..

One of the all time favourate songs is from Mowgli….

‘Jungle, Jungle, Bath cheeli hey patha chala hey,…….’
Mowgli is a young boy raised by wolves in the wilds of India. Mowgli’s childhood is filled with excitement and laughter, but also with danger. Deep in the shadows lurks his sworn enemy, the ferocious man-eating tiger Shere Khan. Together with his animal friends, including Baloo, a sleepy brown bear; Bagheera, a wise black panther, and Kaa, a powerful python, the ‘man-cub’ learns about loyalty, friendship and the ways of the jungle.

Some used and still do call … Mowgli…

Jungle…is that life!!!


Finally could grab a copy of this book too…'The Jungle Book …By Rudyard Kipling….'

The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by English author Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–94. The original publications contain illustrations, some by the author's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six years of his childhood there. After about ten years in England, he went back to India and worked there for about six-and-a-half years. These stories were written when Kipling lived in Naulakha, the home he built in Dummerston, Vermont (just north of Brattleboro), in the United States.

Mexican Delight…

Here was yet another weekend, my colleagues had been to NewYork, but, I had some preoccupations and could not join them.

Finally met Abhi, and the biggest handicap here of not having a car, was resolved for a day..

Went to Bank of America, and exchanged the TC with cash….…don’t know why they said no earlier to others….the same lady of Delhi orgin, Shain Sheikh….Then we went to the mall…Macys….


behind the big horse….



After few hours of window shopping, at Disney stores, books shops, toy shops, had choclolates and the ' Starbucks Coffee' Capucinno (pronounced cap-oo-chi-no)of the Kannum Kannum Nokia fame took pictures. Purchased The Jungle Book: by Rudyard Kipling....and Abhi gifted the mugs...



We had a Mexican lunch at Rainforest Café, a wild place to shop and eat……


one of the favorite places of children, which reminded me of the Balarama Caves in Veegaland, with Kuttusan, Dagini, Luttapi….here it was monkeys, fishes, snakes, butterflies and the man carry the earth saying save the rain forest…..at Macys….I liked the place.

I had requested Abhi to order for me too since it was my first experience of Mexican food and he being more knowledgeable of the yet-to-be-experienced-yummy Mexican food! What he ordered was ‘Amazon Fajitas’ (Pronounced Fahitas) similar to that my friend who gives his heart away to anything that he comes across! Had put in his blog on ‘Xavier’……




And then things were similar:

There was the red sauce and the chapathi kind of roti; which is slightly thin and small in size, a hand full of rice which reminded me pulao, with a small quantity of salad and white cream color paste. Along with it, we were served an item of chicken with the sliced capsicum smashed, the cool coke…What he had was beef and soda…

The next session was demonstration and Abhi took the shoes of the demonstrator and me; the observer with my eyes set for learning! He placed a look-a-like-roti in his plate and placed beef (chicken) and capsicum;, the salad, the white paste and he rolled it up and held it like a pipe to blow! Yeah; now it was my turn to make my pipe; hmmm… interesting! And I succeeded in making an equally good yummy pipe! Made 4 pipes and blew it! Couldn’t have more; my stomach was full! And the bill to…but it was again courtesy….

The only difference being we did not put the rice in the roti, but had it separate. It was a great experience to have the rice with fork too.

The car stopped at our Hotel and he dropped me till the door, but did not come to our room…I Thanked him, he asked me what for…There were so many things….and after all that was the lesson we learned here, and when in Rome, we need to do as the Romans right…..

In Bondage!!

Yup....so true...life is flowing and we are flowing along.....Indeed in Bondage!! We crave for liberty, fight for it and finally at times feel we have achieved it, but there is always, something controlling us, an unknown force....why, where ....no one knows....

‘Most people would probably describe their lives as routine, or even mundane. Ask them what’s new or exciting and they’ll probably respond with, ‘same’ or ‘same old’. Every day our schedules are pretty much written in stone: From the time we get up until the time we finally put our heads back down on the pillow, routine is apparent in most of what we do.

Sure there are days that either surprise us positively or negatively (either when something unexpected and exciting happens or when something disastrous and disappointing occurs). But for the most part, life is ordinary and routine.

This was the learning from the only place visited so far, after landing Connecticut, which was this Church of Saint Patric on Sunday, 8th March 2009.




The mass was more or less similar, but there was discipline, and a charming order and queue row wise, when people moved to accept the holy bread in circular motion… could see bonded families, the breeze was cool.



On way saw Miss Porter's School in Farmington, where Jacqueline "Jackie" Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis wife of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and First Lady during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 studied in 1944–1947. She is remembered for her style and elegance.




Schools, Churches and houses here cannot be easily distinguished. There are not many name boards. Also there are no boundries for anything…except at the rarest of the rare places. Houses are like the picture we learn to make house when in school with slooping roof, and chimney….So that there is heat in the room and during snow fall, it could easily slide down. Also most of them are movable, and they are made of woods….




Also the lesson for the day was: Attending something is different from fully participating. ……

Let us make a difference….

Time Change....

Daylight Saving Time begins each year at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March. We need to Move clocks ahead one hour at the start of Daylight Saving Time.

Standard Time begins each year at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. We need to Move clocks back one hour at the resumption of Standard Time. Daylight Saving time and Time zones are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, not by NIST.

In 2009, Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8 and ends on Nov.1.

So the TV news, and everywhere this is the buzzword now, asking/reminding all to keep a track of the time....There is a loss/gain of time....

So long the difference between India and US was 10.30 hours, going forwad it would be 9.30 hours (i.e. India is -2.5 + 12 for easy calculation)

They say it is for the farmers...and help save energy....Moreover there are five different time zones within US itself.

Guess what would happen if there would be such a situation in India!!!

I stood like a tree.....

Monday, March 2nd 2009, morning when we moved the curtains in the room, it was white white and white...snow white everywhere, couldn’t see the roads....Don't know how the driver managed to drop us to office...Most of them in office were on leave.

Accumalations snarled traffic, travel, as storm pounded East cost with more than a foot of snow.

It wasn’t colder than a well-digger's elbow. That's called "a duck's cold" in French — So — "How cold was it?" I don't have a Johnny Carson answer to that. But then it would have been -5ºC That's about +25ºF. There were heaters everwhere, in the office, hotel rooms, cars...



I just can’t imagine; there are places like that. Thanks to the divine for making me live it….

Thanks to snow; I was back to action. Bye bye to paracetamol….which had kept me going for a week, might be because of jet lag.

It was very filmy, and we took so many pictures that day….and had send across to friends….and the responses where:

‘Are these pictures downloaded from google’?




‘Are these pictures real and taken by you...seems like pictures seen on Christmas greeting cards....lovely.......’

‘You haven’t changed much though. Any of us could have easily recognized you. Even after 17 years.’

And here goes the lines from Prabhu, who motivated me put up the articles in blog today:



I stood like a tree;
Like a tree without leaves!
In the midst of a whiteout;
Alone in the bliss!
I stood like a tree;
My frail arms, apart!
I stood like tree; a tree without leaves!

The peels of heaven;
The shimmering white!
Falling on me; mounting on me!
I neither did run;
I neither did wink!
(Eh, I didn’t either wish)
I stood like a tree; a tree without leaves!!

.. I thought of putting this up here, as there has been no updates in his blog for quite some times, and definitely, thats how trees out here are at this point of time!!!

and so goes the title of this blog...