Starting New

Happy New Year All! 2014 is upon us. The first day of a new year is a chance to start afresh. Most of us resolve to make changes in the new year. Some vow to hit the gym more often, others decide they're gonna learn a new skill, and then there are those who choose to get more serious and focus on financial or professional stability.

Well, this year I have a few resolutions as well. Sounds kinda corny but maybe a list of goals to achieve might be in order to ensure that I have a plan in place to reach said goals. With a little determination and dedication I hope I can see these to fruition. So what are these resolutions you ask? Well here's the list - 

Read More!
I am a slow reader. It takes me around a month (sometimes six!) to complete a book. Also I'm kinda easily distracted by the telly. As a result the number of books I consume in a year is abysmal. This year I want to change all that and read loads more. I haven't set a goal yet but I definitely want to aim for more than one book per month.

Get Fit!
I'll be honest, I'm pretty overweight, to the point that my excess weight has caused much concern as my cholesterol levels are through the roof. I sincerely hope my attempts at curbing my binge sessions as well as increased exercise and fitness routines help battle the bulge way before the year comes to a draw.

Learn Something!
They say learning never stops. So here it is, this year I want to learn a new skill. Am unsure what's this new skill. Could be a new language, a new trait or maybe even a new dance style. But something new needs to be added to my (rather small) list of abilities and talents

Snap Away!
I developed a passion for photography in early 2010 and was quite regular in my photo-walks. Unfortunately that momentum slowed in the last 2 years. This year I am hoping to kick start the passion and possibly even make it much more.

Blog Often!
And of course I need to buck up and blog more often. Not only to keep my readers engaged but also to have a creative outlet for my thoughts and opinions. Keeping that in mind I guess I need to start writing more from the heart and not cater to someone else's standards or expectations. So here goes the first of many such personal blog posts.

So that's my small list of resolutions for this new year. Granted they're not too grand but then again all big things start off small. Who knows, if I'm able to stick to these resolutions this year, next year may see me making some bigger, bolder commitments!

Here's hoping that I keep my resolutions intact and also that my blog post inspires you to make some of your own solid resolutions for this new year as well. 

The Lucky One.

Raj was a having a terrible day, the worst in a line of truly bad ones. All day he'd been the victim of a cosmic conspiracy which was out to ruin his aspirations, goals and everything in between.

Or so he thought all day. 

He missed his usual train to work and ended up reaching an hour late to the office. That would've been alright had this not been the day of the big meeting with all the associates. His tardiness caught the bosses' eyes and cost him that coveted promotion he was eyeing all year. 

Or so he thought all morning.

Afternoon did not bring any respite with Raj having to skip lunch to work on an absolutely critical presentation. It didn't help that his co-workers were out on a fabulous team lunch at a newly opened fine dining restaurant. He knew they ditched him on purpose.
Or so he thought all afternoon.

As if things weren't bad enough already, Simran, his date for the evening, called up and cancelled on him. He was absolutely certain she was cheating on him and seeing that weasel Prem from management.
Or so he thought all evening.

As the work-day came to an end, Raj felt he was possibly the unluckiest person in the world. He decided to simply call it quits and head to the pub across the street for a stiff drink to drown his sorrows.

As he made his way across the street he noticed a small crowd gathered. Walking closer to the crowd he saw they were witnessing a performance by what appeared to be school kids, no older than 10. Although he wasn't in the mood to appreciate performances, the energetic movements of the dancing children were hard to ignore.

The dances continued for another ten minutes and Raj found himself glued to the ground as he felt overwhelmed with awe of the spirits of these little angelic children. As their performance drew to an end, the children all huddled around one of the performers, the youngest and the most energetic of the lot, and held up a banner with an arrow seemingly pointing to the child who was the centre of attention. Raj began reading the wordings of the banner. What he read made him wince -

"This is Ajay. He is 8 years old. He is HIV+ Please help support him with a small contribution"

Raj stepped back. Suddenly all the sorrows, the troubles, the hinderances he had faced all day seemed inconsequential. Here was a child, who for no fault of his own, was suffering from a disease with no cure and for whom the future held nothing but bleakness. Yet he was smiling, dancing and living his life.

And so Raj thought, for the rest of his life, he was the lucky one.

Wanderlust - Siem Reap

The Angkor Wat Temple at dawn.

Despite not being the capital of Cambodia, Siem Reap is probably more famous than the capital city (which is Phnom Penh by the way!). Why you ask? Well simply because of the world famous Angkor temples that lie a few kilometres on the outskirts of the town. In fact, almost all of the tourist traffic to this town is driven by these stunning testaments to humanity's devotion to the gods.

Interestingly, although the iconic Angkor Wat temple is featured in most travel brochures for Siem Reap, they are but a fraction