by P

5 | 12: Twelve Tweeple

Twitter has increasingly become a significant part of social existence. From discovering breaking news to discussing meaningful things in 140 characters, it is a fabulous platform that has been a constructive vehicle to spend time in airports, waiting rooms and all those million other places where you’re bored to death. Like Gmail often says “Important, mainly because of the people in the conversation” – Twitter is fun because of some of the … Continue reading “5 | 12: Twelve Tweeple” →

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4 | 12: Twelve Places I Stepped In

I wouldn’t really say that this has been the most exciting of years from the travel point of view. Something I intend to make up for next year. But more on that later… Although I cannot be more thankful for my London trip this February and all the excitement that came with it. It was most certainly the highlight. But here is my list of twelve captivating places I visited … Continue reading “4 | 12: Twelve Places I Stepped In” →

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3 | 12: Twelve Favourite Blog Posts

The blog has increasingly become a very important part of who I am. Sometimes when I get to work, the first thing I do after opening Microsoft Outlook is log into Blogger.com to see whether there are new posts on my reader, and then I proceed to cheer myself with the fact that someone from Sweden visited The Orange Tree. Wonder what he/she was looking for. My blog is my … Continue reading “3 | 12: Twelve Favourite Blog Posts” →

by P

2 | 12: Twelve Epicurean Delights

Glorious food.  I eat when I’m happy. I eat when I’m not. Food is my panacea. Hence the immediate need to join a gymnasium.  I’ve experienced a lot of interesting cuisines this year. Here’s the roundup! Hummus. The original version. Essentially a Middle Eastern food dip made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Absolutely must-have accompaniment with fresh shawarma. Slurrrp. Panna cotta. … Continue reading “2 | 12: Twelve Epicurean Delights” →

by P

1 | 12: Twelve Firsts

To flag off my “12 for 12” posts, I was thinking of the first-time experiences I had this year.  Although I had scuba diving and watching a movie by myself in my last year’s list, 2012 has been different in a lot of ways – and here are my firsts: Witnessed my first ballet performance. I have always been enthralled by the lithe and precision  of this dance form and … Continue reading “1 | 12: Twelve Firsts” →

by P

12 for 12

So we’re at the end of 2012. I have almost nothing to do at work, as most of the clients are expatriates and have already departed to said homelands for the holidays. As has half the team. I’ve hence decided to constructively use my time writing twelve posts for each of the twelve days leading to the last day of the year. A look back at twenty-twelve. This has me … Continue reading “12 for 12” →

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Base Shift.

And just when I thought I was getting used to the violently red and yellow walls at my new workplace, we’ve been shifted to a new location. The team has expanded so violently that there seems to be no way to accommodate us in the existing facility. Thus, came into the picture a sprawling villa at Muscat’s sort-of-posh ‘Al-Sarooj’ locale. The enclosure I sit in is in an absolute corner – so … Continue reading “Base Shift.” →

by P

Native

I’m often told that Bengali is such a beautiful language. Easy to understand. Sweet on the ears. Although, the ‘mother’ tongue is essentially Punjabi, my mother is fluent in Bengali as well. And my parents have done such a fabulous job passing it on to me. At a point of time, I could read and write effortlessly as well – but then one day I wrote Bengali in my Hindi … Continue reading “Native” →

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November Rains

Hardly anything makes me more happy than rains. I had been thinking that the year’s hundredth post should be about something happy. Somehow, the message got through, and after weeks of the Met Department predicting unstable weather, it finally poured this evening. And I found my subject. It always rains in Muscat on Fridays. I wonder why. Maybe its Mother Nature’s way of saying that this week too, shall pass 🙂 … Continue reading “November Rains” →

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The Book Of Love

What is love? Ask me, and I will sing you this song. If Peter Gabriel is around, I will have him serenade you.  If both of us aren’t here – just give this a listen and you’ll know. For those of you who haven’t watched ‘Shall We Dance’, you don’t know what you’re missing.