Sharjah International Book Festival

I am a lover of books... I love walking into a crossword (or any bookshop, for that matter), finding a cozy nook and flipping through books... I love the feeling of holding a book in my hands, smelling its pages and reading its blurb... I get totally excited by seeing  a new book... Sometimes, even talking about a new book gives me an adrenaline rush... Now that doesn't mean that I am a voracious reader... Strange, isn't it? I know... How much ever I love being taken into a different world through books, I always find something more lovable to do... I need a very quiet, lonesome place to start reading a book.. Most often,  my laptop, TV, mobile phone or magazines take up my free time.. But once I do get hooked on to a book, I find it really hard to keep it down...   I love sitting alone at a  coffee shop and enjoying a book, sometimes enjoying the coffee more than the book (esply if its cold coffee with whipped cream)...But I love immersing in a book the best, when I am travelling.. That is when I have very few things to distract me..except, ofcourse the fellow travellers who want to distract.. But then books are the best excuse to keep them at bay....

There is no wonder then that the Sharjah Book Fair excited me.. I get to walk into a hall full of books!!. That thrilled me to the core...So, me and V did go to the fair and I had a good time being amidst the books. Well, I didn't buy any books though.. Ofcorz, we are Indians who do the conversion math after all!.. So I carefully noted some book titles to be bought during my next visit to India...

When I asked V to click a pic of mine, he obliged readily, but not before making me pose with this book titled "Why men marry bitches".. He tells me he could have easily co-authored the book :D

                           (click the image for a larger view)

This is the Live Cooking Corner.. Many internationally acclaimed chefs whip up their recipes in front of us.. Sanjeev Kapoor and Vicky Ratnani were also among them... But unfornately, I had to give it a miss.. I was really starving, and went as close as I could get to the cooking corner, hoping that I would get to sample something.. But tough luck :P

Another click from the Fair...

Doobai Diaries...

Unlike most Malayali girls from middle-class families, I NEVER wanted to marry a man working in the Middle East. I was pretty much sure that I would be living in India all my life, in one of the metros preferably. This is not because I was fiercely patriotic or anything. But it is because I was pretty sure that I would make it big in my life, and living in India, kind of facilitated it. Becoming successful internationally was a tall order. Gee ;).

On a more serious note, I wanted to be closer to home, not too far away from my parents, sister and a lot of relatives we Indians are entitled to have. Even though, I love novelty and excitement, I am very much a creature of habit. Home sickness can sometimes get the better of me. So venturing too far away from my home town was never part of my plans. But there is a nomad in me, who loves to travel the world and explore. The nomad in me has places to see, things to do, cultures to absorb, cuisines to try out and adventures to get psyched out in. But even though I love holidaying in exotic locations, moving to a new country with a stranger freaked me out.


 When my parents were out looking for a groom, I made it very clear that I do not want to marry a  guy who is based in a foreign country. But I realized that what matters in the end is to have a great life with a good partner. And by focusing on guys who are based only in India, I am limiting my chances of finding a good partner. Slowly, I opened myself up to the idea of settling abroad. But I decided that Middle East would be last on my priority list. Stories about the exorbitant heat, traffic jams,  astronomical house rents, bad quality of water etc turned me off. But my life took an unexpected turn when I fell in love with a  guy based in Dubai. I eventually married him  and shifted base to Dubai.


 I remember the day I left my home country, with copious amount of tears rolling down my cheeks and my heart heavy with sorrow, fears and doubts. Accustoming to my new life was a tough task. A new country, a new home, new people, new relatives, new lifestyle, new routine, new responsibilities, new surroundings, new currency and expensive calls to India... Sigh! But despite the difficulties, I began to take a liking towards Dubai. I loved the clean roads, centrally-air conditioned flats, humongous malls, fast cars, beautiful beaches, lovely parks, an actual winter, lots of places to hangout, and lots of interesting events happening there. Even though I always missed my home town Cochin in particular, and my home country in general, I embraced my new land of residence. I made little discoveries along the way. I marvelled at some,  and wrinkled my nose at some others. This blog is mostly about my life here - the little adventures I make and the mundane, every day triviality.