New Year on the Farm

What a great Hindu New Year. A new year is a reminder that we can start a new path in life at any time we choose- be it Hindu new year, calendar new year, Chinese New Year-any religion or culture. I like to think of every day as a new beginning, so new year is a reminder of where I have come in life and where I am going. I analyze that everyday anyway.

Crops, fireworks, food, and 30 some people. What was a great gathering at a large farmland in a nearby town. We took tour of the farm, and it was beautiful. Nice to see greenery after being in city for so long. We ate fresh fruit-jamfad- (the freshest you can get) right off the farm! The food was great too! Farm food cooked in a different like of oven all together-delicious! simple yet full-filling! I enjoyed it.

My adventures in India so far- more yet to come- I am not stopping here.

Urban congested alleys full of goats, buffaloes, children playing, neighbors chit-chattering
Small villages- the typical village like scene- simplicity defined
Larger towns
4 story high roof tops
cruising on motorcycles through the serene, peaceful, yet bumpy roads through the farm lands to villages
Overcrowded rikshaw/chagda rides with 6-12 people stuffed in one vehicle
Getting lost, find my way, and creating new mental map memories
Shopping in the City revisiting those places I had gone to with my grandmother :)
Eating on farmland
Eating at food carts (be careful)
Drawing Rangoli on front porch
Random walks in town and city

Rangoli - hand drawn artwork done during Diwali and Hindu New Year

Monkey eating leaves in backyard- two monkeys knocked down the neighbor's motorcycle!

Farm land on Hindu New Year

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars”
—     Kahlil Gibran

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
—     Maya Angelou

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”
—     The Dalai Lama 

I'm addicted to quotes. There are some lessons that only life can teach, but there are quotes re-affirm those lessons, and meanings-those are up to us to interpret.