The Gulmohar tree

                                                                    image courtesy: http://randomwritins.blogspot.in/

We all wonder where the people, places and memories from our childhood went away. It's not that they went away, we just grow distant, move, things change, people pass on and finally we are left with just us. You. Me. The silence in between those spaces between us are filled with thoughts of impressions which we carry along. Sometimes, hidden deep between the recesses of our minds. Very hard to reach and very rarely reached for. But in the flash of a second, if ever that forgotten memory comes to fore, it stirs within the depth of our soul, the youth of an era that was so wonderful, so remarkably beautiful and cherished that we don't want to let go off and try to relive it as much as possible, even if it just remains a memory now.

Such is a memory of my grandfather and his Gulmohar tree. It was located right in front of my grandfather's house. Even before we could reach the house through the narrow lane, we could see the tree while we rode in the car. We could just smell home and haven watching the tree grow bigger and bigger as we drew closer.

Behind it majesty, stood our house, my grandfather's house- but 'house' all the same. Ever ready to greet us. Achachan, as we used to call him, would always be seated inside and watching through the window. As the car honked, he would rest his newspaper on the teapoy and come out to greet us. 

I would spend the rest of my summer, year after year, informing him that  it would be our last time together because when school re-opened, our results would be out, and mum would kill and bury me as promised, if I did not make it to the top of the class. He would solemnly ask me if she would really do it and I would nod. She always meant what she said. He would then make me a paper boat and we would go by the pond and watch it sail away. He was my best friend in the whole world.

After a couple of summers, the tree was gone. They had cut it away. All that was left of it when we returned was the stump. It was not good. It was not good at all. Behind the house, lay branches of the mighty tree, the tree that was meant to protect us, all dried up and rotten. We were supposed to stay under it and Achachan was meant to talk to me, under it. But it was all gone now. How could this have happened? Why didn't anyone tell me? I questioned Amma so many times. Finally she mumbled something about grandmother having a hard time sweeping off the leaves that shed every day and it was messing up the courtyard. "Oh, come on, Ma! That's what trees are meant to dooooo! My poor tree.", I lamented. But it was all over. The next year, there was no tree, there was no grandfather.

Summers would never ever be the same again. I know I can never go back to those times. No one can replace him. 

If I could connect back to those times again, I would love to talk to -

My Grandfather and the beautiful Gulmohar tree. I know most of you would tut at me wanting to speak to a tree but believe it or not, I still do :) Trees are my friends. Just as my grandfather was. He was silent but he was always there. That's why I cherish talking to him. He taught me how incredible silence is.

I would also get in touch with a very close friend, Simba, who sadly drifted away, or maybe he had always been adrift but I did not realize it. I just would like to chat with him to know why he did because I can't figure out for the life of me what went wrong...or right?  Just wish things would be back to before or the confusion settles down. I hope and pray that Simba comes back.

My mentor, Shiva, is another source of guiding light in my life and it would be great if I could get his input on a daily basis about everything on the professional front.

Daya, who was guiding me in art, is a constant source of inspiration and lesson to me that age has nothing to do with who we are. He is about 80 now and is a living example of how life should be dealt with. Even though he loves to gossip, which is not my thing, I still would like to chat with him. 

Guardian angel, I know that there are more than one in my life. I hope they stay close and help me through this wonderful journey of life.

Last but not the least, I have a Guru, who is my biggest blessing. I know that he was sent to me by the Creator and I am fiercely protective about him. It's always amazing to be in touch with him and I think he's the only person who gives me unconditional love and sees me for who I am. He protects me and guides me with the innocence of a child. He has been the guiding light in the fiercest of oppositions that I deal with.  

This post has been entered to a current contest being run by Indiblogger and WeChat

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Forest Essentials Sugar Soap Neem And Aloe Vera Variant Review

Hello there! How are we all doing this week?
I have somewhat begun to make sense of things I need to get done, washed and organized most of my room, and even started to cook as of today :) Made a healthy green peas masala curry but didn't have time to make roti or chapati so ordered that from a cafeteria, and just had dinner. It was good!
Enough with the bragging, let's move on to my next product review.
Since the summer sun has hit us really hard, I have been browsing through the deodorants, talcs and soap sections in the supermarket for some really good, fragrant yet natural options out there.
I really wanted something glycerine based- a clear soap- and wasn't happy with what was out there because I had tried almost everything. I was about to pick the Medimix Lakshadi soap as I really like that one, when I remembered that I had some soap stashed away from a stay at Taj Vivanta. 

I have not seen the same online and looked up their website. I guess this particular one in their line is made for the Taj group but fret not as they have some amazing other variants which I will try as soon as I get over with these. Here's what they have to say on their site:

These soaps are made by hand using the old-fashioned cold process. Our clear sugar soaps are made with pure unprocessed Raw Cane Sugar which is a natural humectant, helps to retain moisture in the skin, along with pure cold-pressed oils like coconut oil and almond oil. Glycerine, a natural humectant, moisturizes and precents moisture loss and is softening. Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant and a natural preservative. Neem is healing, cooling, anti-septic, antibacterial and purifying. Infusions of organic fruits and flowers, natural spring water and the by-products like glycerine are retained, unlike most commercially made soaps.

It is packaged really well, the soap cased in paper inside the package is transparent. It feels really nice to hold.
It smells delicious like something super summery and fresh.
It lathers extremely well and you need very little water else you will finish this soap off in a matter of few days.
It strips your skin off any oil and does a very good job of cleaning up.
What more could one want in a soap and it's completely natural!

This is one luxury soap and doesn't come cheap but is a real pleasure to use. 
Definitely splurge on this if you have a thing for soaps! Do not miss it.

MRP-Rs.225 for 50gm
Divine +
What products have you specifically bought keeping this summer in mind?

Vision Express Rewetting Drops Review

Hello everyone!! Boy, have I missed you all :)
I took some time to get back to blogging and had some inertia when trying to start off a new post.
But here I am reviewing these drops that have helped me combat dryness when using contact lenses.
There are some solutions that have stung my eye and keeping those in mind, I decided to try this out. I started to use them three years ago and have repurchased them time and again because of how economical and good they are for the price.

It can be used for daily wear and for disposable soft contact lenses. You can view the ingredients in the above picture.
I just place one or two drops as per need in each eye and blink couple of times to get a refreshed and moisturized feeling to the cornea.

You can find these in Reliance Vision Express Stores, I like going there for all my optical needs. Even the frames that I am using currently are from there. They aren't extremely expensive when it comes to fixing lenses for your spectacles. They have a trained set of specialists in each store who check your vision for free and are extremely friendly people. Atleast, the ones in Mangalore are :)
I go to the branch at the City centre mall here.
Really good service.

As you can see, the bottle is really light and compact. All of 30ml, it can fit in your clutch or bag without occupying too much space. It's worth the price.

I have sensitive eyes and have not faced any problems with this product and would recommend the same to all of you.
Definitely see myself repurchasing this.
MRP-Rs.50 for 30ml
I'll give it 4/5 stars

Re-structuring

Reasons why you haven't heard from me yet

                                                          image courtesy: stockillustrations.com

Just after getting back home, I had a lot of back log of work, calls and orders to attend to.

           image courtesy:mausergirl.deviantart.com

People to take care of, hand overs to be sorted out and massive spring cleaning that is still going on. Work is endless.

                                                         image courtesy: google.com

Homework!! Can't say that my dog ate it.

                                             image courtesy: pantinasian.com

This image possibly has nothing to do with my week right now because I am no where near organizing my wardrobe but some day, my work space could dream to look like this! Sigh

Catch you all in the coming week.

Stay tuned and sorry to keep you waiting

Lots of love

And oh! gosh!! It's SUMMER!!!!

Dove Silk Glow Body Silk Cream Review

I steer towards any launches by Dove and when this cream was at a drug store, I picked it up. I have been very lazy with applying creams especially with the heat in Mangalore. But I can happily say now that I am almost about to finish using this.
I also like the tub packaging. I just think it's really pretty and looks angelic on my bed side table. When I had googled about it, I found they have another variant called Fresh Touch but that was not available here. I would have definitely opted for that as I love their variants especially the cucumber versions for their soothing smell and coolness.
However, this is no country cousin :)

It is quite thick in texture when you look at it but when you hold it, it feels quite light. It looks like a pale gold yellow to me.
The smell is very soothing. On application, it just soaks up into my skin and doesn't leave any form of greasiness behind. The skin just drinks it up. So I really love it. It also feels very comforting and makes the skin feel lovely and soft. There is a nice smell that lingers. A Dove-y smell :)

MRP- Rs.180
Really love it for how well it works.

Fitness Gear Haul Update Part 1

Hello Everyone :)
The sales are coming to an end and I have been busy out shopping but mainly for essentials. Since my gym gear was looking so drab and worn out, I thought I need to get new stuff to wear. I need a pair of shoes too since I really wore out my Nike air, they were so comfy and they lasted long. Wish they could have lasted longer though for the price you pay. They were very comfy and useful nevertheless.

This part of the haul was done earlier before the sale season began. I thought I had put them up but to my surprise I had missed out. I got these lovely tees at FBB. They were too cute to resist. I, especially, love the ones with spirited writing. Can't resist. Had to get them. Just wish they make tees in a thicker and more durable material.

I needed work wear too so I got two new shirts. They were really good quality. The cut is alright but strictly only for work wear or grocery shopping, it is not fancy for a date or a meeting :)

These were bought from Reliance Trends, they have on and off flash sales, sometimes the deals are too good to miss.

At times you get really good stuff but the fit is not exactly all that great so I think twice before I buy anything.

I got two prints in the same style. This one is floral. I love floral. I got a similar cotton shirt in blue but with white dots. I love dotted stuff, tiny dots though, not a polka dotted person here.

I am attaching the bill for your reference. You can see how economical this store can get. It pays to save your pennies for a rainy day sometimes :)

Then I moved on to mega mart. The mega mart in Mangalore is really small but it has good stuff too.

I got this for the gym. It's super comfy and has pink detailing. I think grey and pink go so well. I am looking for trainers in the same colour scheme. These are from the brand IRIS.

And if you want to find the most comfiest pair of socks in the world then you have to get these. They are hands down THE best pair I have ever tried. So comfy and so cosy, I am so spoilt. If I get any other pair that don't live up to these, I don't use them.

They are from the Men's Range but who is not guilty of shopping in the Men's section. *hands raised*

They are made by Adidas. They are made with arch compression technology, so good for flat footed people like moi. And it is anti-microbial. Germs, you can't catch me!!

I did shop a wee bit more, so I will update the next haul in the coming up posts. Do stay tuned and stay happy :) Take care all of you. 

Lots of love

CC

Head and Shoulders Anti Dandruff Shampoo Review

I do not have the issue of dandruff but I wanted to try out this shampoo. I generally do not use Head and Shoulders brand of shampoos because of the same reason. Though this anti-hairfall range of theirs quite interested me.

There was nothing particularly noticeable about the smell. It looked slightly orange cream in colour. Very creamy consistency. Quite thick. Lathers very well and you do not need this much for it to give good lather.

I can't comment on the efficacy to treat dandruff but it doesn't give me that over all good feel over my other shampoos.

I do not see myself getting this again. They have a lemon variant. I am tempted to try just for the smell but I think I should refrain.

Before I completely strike this one off, I have to add that I know two people who really love this shampoo so you could give it a shot but for me it's a sure miss.

MRP- Rs.135 for 170ml