random things in random order

there are these swings i walk past whenever i walk through the park to get to my house. i love particularly one swing there because it is a good height above the ground, perfect for a big baby like me (only i can call myself that!), and when you swing forward and up, you get this beautiful view above the bushes of the field and the sky infront. as i walked past it for the gazillionth time, i decided today was the day (that day). it was the perfect moment. the park was empty, the evening was cool and still bright, and i pretty much had all the time in the world. i put my bag and laptop down and i was up, up and away. not more than a month ago, i was doing the exact same thing by lake michigan (looks more like michigan ocean). i took this picture while on those michigan swings.

i like to take pictures of my shoes in different places. these shoes have been many places and seen me through so much. italy, india, germany, czech, hungary, america and wherever else i've missed out. i should begin a photo album just for these shoes.

this was in prague last may while paddling on the river.

maybe i'll put a link or slideshow here of last summer's photos. and melt and reenie goes to wildwood has been left with a hanging storyline...hmmmm...

back to swings in michigan. papa, jeevan and i had taken a morning stroll to the lakeshore that friday (i think). we found these swings by the lake and hopped on. this is a funny shot of jeevan and me!

jeevan flying off the swings.

the rest of the pictures we took in new york and chicago can be found on these photo slideshows below (click on the links for the full album).


The Mahtanis in New York Dec ’06


The Mahtanis in Chicago, Dec 06

ok back to the swings nearer home. if you walked past those swings that day, you'd have seen a girl taking pictures of her feet while swinging like a mad monkey! and this is what she captured...

enough about swings. lets move on to museums. last wednesday, my brothers came to fetch me from school in the evening and wanted a tour. little did we know that the tour would bring us to (into) the newly-renovated national museum. we were really, really, really impressed. and furthermore, we got in for free. it was a darn good deal. here are some random pictures. here you go, prav.

in the fashion gallery...


in the food gallery. the bottles contain all sorts of spices and if u see a flower like thing sticking out next to me, it's actually this cool contraption where you pull this ring and put your nose over the flower-looking thing and get to smell that particular spice.



there were other really interesting stuff there as well and for a while, we felt like we were back at MoMA (museum of modern art) in new york. great job!

and yesterday, my mom got back from the states. she brought back a whole lot of goodies. she actually went there for work but on the way back, even her boss had to help her hand-carry some stuff onto the plane! madness! but it's all good! and here's one of the treasures she brought back, kindly donated by a couple in san francisco (maurice and seana, if you ever come here, thank you!).

we present to you...


the TEN-POUND bar of belgium chocolate!!!


after deliberating for the longest time deciding what to do with it, we decided to eat it. we came up with an ingenius plan. we'd slice a few pieces each week and store the rest. i think this bar could last us till june!!! NOT!!! chocolate doesn't last long in the mahtani's fridge. we're like vultures around chocolate!

isn't this insane? with a chopping board and everything. it really takes alot of effort to do this...

aside from swings and museums and chocolates, i am feeling much better now. it's good that i realised the mess that was cluttering my mind and cleared it up. noone said springcleaning was easy.