Happy and Peace filled New Year 2011 from the Abode

Where did the year go? The Abu winter festival will be ending shortly at mid-night.

And to you all my friends who have been reading my blog on the Abode.
A big "Thank You” for your friendship, laughs and memories during 2010.

    Here's wishing you all an enchanted Festive Season filled with Affectionate Wishes and Beautiful Thoughts.

May 2011 mark the beginning
of tons of Love, Happiness,
 Peace and Prosperity.

  And to those who need someone special, may you find that true love.
To those who need money, may your finances overflow.
 
To those who need caring, may you find a good heart.
To those who need friends, may you meet lovely people.

 
   A Prosperous New Year! 

Mount Abu December Wedding Daron weds Christina

December Wedding Daron weds Christina

Daron: - Are you nervous Christina?

Chris: - Who me? No way, remember the promise you made before coming to the floor!!

Daron: - What promise love? Yeah, yeah I recall I want touch any alcohol till after the show.

Family member:- Hey! Daron, come on over and have one with us.

Daron:- Sure, pours himself a soft drink and raises his glass in cheers.

The Group:- Hey Man! Have you lost it, It’s your wedding night and you are with your buddies, and anyway you are a guy who can drink us under the table. Why the soft???

Daron:- Sheepishly Guys don't get mad at me. I promised Christina I would not touch alcohol today as this is the first time in her life she has made a request of the man she loves. And if I do not respect her wish, I’ll have to hear this for the rest of my life

Oh, Daron, I am just a fool to have trusted you to come through for me!!

Please sweetheart, just for tonight be mine tonight. Tomorrow get sloshed. That will be all right with me.

Daron:- So guys bear with me and to everyone on the floor “Have a great time one and all, this is Daron’s call”

“THREE CHEERS”

Daron & Christina

Daron's Parents & Father in Law

You couldn't ask for a better picture 

Cheers Daron will have a drink with you tomorrow

Looks like the perfect time for the Cha-cha-cha

Feeling Good

Now that's what I call a pose

Family Celebrities 

Cliffie (MC of the show) & Junior 

Atham and Inno

A cool picture of my niece Cresu

What is this kid doing?

I love Paneer! You guys look outstanding 

'Ahhh,see how happy we are

How adorable the doting father

This is a great place to have a Ball

Oh! shucks, who's this funny-looking guy?

I can hear them yelling Anchor

Looks like everyone is having fun

That's the way ha-ha I like it

Karl and Agnes, good to see you here

Seriously, just going for a refill 

Literally, the best thing that happened in my life 

I feel on top of the world 

All I want for Christmas is a good son-in-law 

Thanks, Santa. He is on the floor.

Boy, the groom sure has made my day

No, it's not me carrying those chairs

Wish the show would never end could dance all night

Cheers! Our glasses are brilliant companions 

Love is in the air

This kitten in black sure is cute

Cheers! Remember I was here last year

Hey, I'm just trying to figure it out

Step-by-step training to make the boys come in line

Cheers! The right place to be

Quack-quack

Having the day of my life

This picture has me beating too many themes

I have to agree with this one. Everyone is having fun.

Say Paneer! and I'll eat you like cheese

This is a great place to freak out

Anyone guess

Watch your head mate

Some wallflowers look exceptional

Gosh ! what's that

Cheer !!

An interesting camera

What a wonderful day

They conducted the wedding at the school chapel! For individual snaps, go to this link.

Daron weds Christina

Boxing Day the day after Christmas Mt. Abu

I remember the day after Christmas was called Boxing Day, I was always curious as to why this day was named as such. I was told it was a day reserved for folks to visit one another to wish each other for the holidays as Christmas day was always spent at home with the family. I know for a fact it’s a bank holiday in a lot of places in the world, I don’t think it’s a holiday out here but well this year it fell on a Sunday so I guess it  turned out to be a holiday, and man some holiday it was.

All the ATM’s in Mount Abu went blink on Boxing Day putting hundreds of tourists through a lot of distress as they could not access much needed cash. I also went through the same embarrassment as I had to literally borrow a few hundred bucks to do some shopping as I was short of hard cash.

 This is not the first time that I have witnessed this scene, on many an occasion and especially on holidays I’ve seen these machines out of order. My advice to all tourists be extra careful and make sure you have some hard cash on hand especially on holidays. Abu will be crowded in the next few days as huge crowds make it up the hill to spend the New Year in this unique place. For those of you reading this blog I wish all of you a Very Happy New Year In advance as I might not get the chance to do so in the next few days as I will be busy attending weddings anniversaries and the general partying every night. Tonight I was to attend a stud party but could not make it as I had other commitments to take care off. Will be posting the latest updates on the Abode as they unfold over the next few days. 

The Year that was 2010 Mt.Abu

THE YEAR WAS    [ 2010.]

It’s been an anxious year in Mount Abu, with boundless disagreements over permitting repairs, alterations and general building. Throughout the year, I have observed the torturous progress of the cat-and-mouse game played by the Abuites and the local authorities. The authorities had used every conceivable ploy to see that no construction was going to take place in this Eco-zone of ours. This action only fanned the fire within this community to go ahead and do what one must do “BUILD ‘and build what they did. Material that had been banned from coming up the hill found its way up daily at the risk of a significant loss to the individuals. The round-the-clock authorities demolished the building that began creeping up without permission, and those who needed genuine permission for repair or boundary works took the risk of building through sheer frustration as NO permission seemed to be granted on the part of the caretakers. For the Abuites, there have been numerous individual tales of triumph and frustration.

Focus Abu’s energy ongoing green has been the buzzword for the year 2010. While a lot has been achieved in this direction, it’s only the tip of the iceberg, there’s a huge uphill task for all concerned as it requires an individual and joint response from all Abuites to see that this hill station of ours returns to a shade of its former glory. At the moment, because of government apathy, the Abu roads are in deplorable condition, a real crying shame as there is no dearth of funds. A month’s toll tax at our toll barrier in our peak season could easily fix this issue as lakhs of tourists visit this Abode.

The rain gods had been extremely generous this year, by replenishing our reservoirs and our depleted underground reserves, in fact, we had a mini monsoon season at the end of November for almost a week. The summer this year was one of the worst witnessed by the Abode. I wonder what the winter has in store for us. The frost this year has already descended way before its time, so I presume we are in for a long and cold winter. If only it snowed here, well Huh that’s wishful thinking.

The year sure has flown, I figured I’d go through my collection of photographs and put together some memorable moments of the good, the bad and the ugly, but most of all the lively and beautiful moments that make life what it is.

January and FEBRUARY:-

The month drained me of my energy and left me psychologically devastated. I knew all along that someday it would confront me with the inevitable, Takayasu's arthritis and its aftermath. They diagnosed Liz with this rare and dreaded disease at the end of 2003. Medication and constant monitoring after her initial surgeries to her toes kept this brave and loving soul going for all these years. The disease that had been under control for all these years reared its ugly head. If anyone reading this blog can read my earlier post on the outcome of this dreaded disease. I’m happy that at present Liz is coping with her fate, but we both know this is not the end, it’s only a respite like that of a cancer patient undergoing treatment.

MARCH:-

February was a month with ‘the sword of Damocles ‘hovering over my head. My physical condition had deteriorated and had I not been treated in time by my family doctor, I’m sure it would have been curtains for me. My beloved basset Bosky passed away on the 12^th of February, It really seemed like all the woes of trial and tribulation were being directed at me, Liz’s impending amputation Boski’s death and my close ordeal to popping off seemed like I was being tested for being agnostic. Well, fate had other things in store for me; today I’m here hale and hearty concluding this year-ending blog.

March steered the month with being extremely hot and dry, it was the harbinger for one of the hottest summers that we were to experience later in the year. Many a forest fire began in the month of March.

APRIL:-

First time in the history of St.Mary's School that the sports were held on the 1st of April

This year because of the scarcity and dearth of water, St. Mary’s High School had to reschedule all its programmes. For the first time in its history, they held the Annual sports in April instead of in October. Because of the precarious water shortage, all schools had to reschedule their holidays. A month's holiday was declared from the 15^th of June to the 15^th of May. There was a drastic drop in tourist traffic as the newspapers painted the situation critically.

I became a senior citizen of the world's biggest democratic country, India, on the 25^th of April.

Cliffy and Marie Dragwich Silver Jubilee Anniversary

Colonial Houses of Abu

MAY:-

May Day in St. Mary’s School   May Day celebrations

May was hot and I mean hot this year we did not have the cool breeze that we had experienced the year before. All water holes and tube wells ran dry. Business houses and hotels had to shell out exorbitant rates for tankers of water. Business looked bleak and what the recession on our heads can you imagine the plight of this semi-arid hill station? If the rains did not break, it would force Abuites to pack up and leave this Abode of the gods for greener pastures. Thankfully, we had an abundant monsoon.

JUNE:-

The summers had now really descended on this Abode; we saw record-high temperatures. The wild animals such as the sloth bear and the leopard left the jungle to brave the premises of the humans looking for water and food. 

The month of June saw some massive sandstorms

June is the month when the first signs of the monsoons are seen, but alas, the havans and prayers to the rain god did nothing to ease the situation. It is believed that prayers moved mountains, even the water, but here the sun continued to scorch the mountainside in June. Trees planted the year before died due to lack of water. The greenery on the hill all disappeared and the trees all seemed to have dried up. Abu has seen critical years but nothing so dreadful as this year.

JULY:-

The monsoons did finally fall in July. It began on the 24^th. Then the people of this hill station were extremely apprehensive. When the rainy season finally set in the folks of this place HEAVED an enormous sigh of relief.

AUGUST:-

Finally, the rain gods had mercy on this place and blessed this place with the much-needed water to quench the parched earth. With the better-than-average monsoon life on this hill, the resort returned to normal and business once again picked up.

The news of Rajasthan and especially Mount Abu going plastic-free for better environmental protection was for a short time the talk of the town. Because of the hefty fine to be levied and imprisoned, the bags disappeared off the shelves, and paper bags and cloth bags appeared out of thin air to take their place. Today it's back to the dependence on plastic bags as with everything here has no follow-up plans.

SEPTEMBER:-

September is the month of festivals and the gathering of the gods!! Every year Abu conducts its annual marathon event. It’s a month when the tourists are welcomed with green carpets laid out by Mother Nature; it’s that time when the monsoons are most active.

It’s a special month for me as Liz gets to celebrate her birthday. I love the monsoon months as it gives me the freedom to move around this Abode in an environment I love.

OCTOBER:-

October is the month to be in ABU. Abu at this time of the year is most beautiful. It’s that time of the year when everything blends, the hillside is covered in all the hues of green; the temperature is just dandy and it’s a time for fun and frolicking the ideal time.

The annual school concert St. Mary’s School

The first Holy Communion for the young boys of the school.

The Annual School Fete for the pleasure of the visiting parents and students

NOVEMBER:-

The Diwali season went off extremely well. Thousands of tourists thronged the streets and haunts of Abu. The spectre of drought that was hanging only a few months ago was now a thing of the past.

I can’t recall Abu having continuous rain in November for almost an entire week. This unprecedented rainfall caused a mini imbalance in this Eco-zone, the birds, bees and animals were thrown off balance. This extraordinary show of the rain gods also put the human population out.

DECEMBER:-

The first week of December is a hectic time for all school-going students as it is that time of the year when they are finishing their Final Examinations. After the examinations, the students head home for their winter vacation for THREE entire months.

Mr Frost is there to greet us every morning. The day temperatures are pleasant and bearable, but the nights turn cold. The mercury hovers around +3 to -3 degrees most nights. Time is flying and I want my last message to be out before midnight,

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS|  Kalá hristúyenna | Joyeux Noel et Bonne annee | शुभ क्रिसमस | Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo |

                 Here's wishing you all an enchanted Festive Season filled with Loving Wishes and Attractive Thoughts. Once again, let me thank all of you for your good wishes and your support throughout the year 2010.

“Merry Christmas”

Bosky, my beloved basset