How does it feel to get back to office after Diwali is over? Well, I don't know. I was working from home intermittently over the long weekend. So today I am not even suffering from what is normally called "Monday-morning blues" :-) The office is very quiet today as many people have gone MIA. Sometimes I like it that way. I can get a lot of work done. I guess most of them will be back by tomorrow and then it will be the usual busy scene of phones ringing and people talking. For now, I am enjoying this solitude. After all, being alone doesn't always mean you are lonely ;-)

Happy Diwali Everyone!

Wish all of you a Very Very Happy, Fun-filled and Prosperous Diwali :-)

उसने कहा इतनी मुलाक़ात बहोत है
मैंने कहा रुक जाओ अभी रात बहोत है
आंसू मेरे थम जाए तो फिर शौकसे जाना
ऐसेमे कहा जाओगे बरसात बहोत है

I am sure most of you would have heard the term UFO. But do you know what is a USO? Well, I came across this term while watching a program on the Bermuda Triangle on the Discovery channel. It stands for Unidentified Submerged Object. Now all that we need is a UWO - Unidentified Walking Object :-)

It was heartening to read that the number of visitors to Gir have increased noticeably. (It's roaring biz for Gir, courtesy Big B). Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that this traffic could well be the result of Diwali holidays. But even if celebrity endorsement has a tiny part to play in this, then this model should be replicated for major tourist spots in India - not just for increasing the visitors but also for encouraging people to take a more active part in preserving our heritage. How about getting Sachin Tendulkar asking people to visit and help conserve important (but often ignored) jewels in Maharashtra?

I had mentioned on this blog before that World Cafe has now started airing episodes on the Middle East (Travel and Living channel). So far I have watched episodes on Jordan as well as Syria and they were very interesting. The latest one on Egypt was no exception either. I had never seen a purple variety of basil before in my life. The concept of pigeon farmers was a novel one too. I just wish they air more repeat telecasts of this program. :-(

एहसास मर न जाए तो इन्सान के लिए
काफी है एक राह की ठोकर लगी हुई

No, this शेर is not reflecting my "mood of the day". It just happens to be one of the many forwarded SMSs that I had saved to be posted on this blog. I have been very busy for the past couple of days and so couldn't post though I very much wanted to. :-(