January chronicles!

You (January) always make the people do useless resolutions and end up being the month of regrets than renewing themselves. Even though past can't be changed and looking forward to future sounds futile. Maybe, it is because you bring this meagre amount of hope to bind the thoughts and mend the minds of millions to cope up with their lives.

*Haha!* Enough of January pity drama, I guess! Now let's enter into my January diaries...

So, January is sort of special month for me. It's the month my mom was born and because of her I was born, now that's a completely different story. Anyways, In my house we don't celebrate any sort of festivals or special occasions. So, we savor each and every moment as part of celebrating our "staying alive" status I guess. 

So, January 2017 started as any other normal month for our family. We don't buy any new dresses or do any usual rituals during any festivals. Most People I have met always feel weird or surprised to know that about my life, This proves that we are that 1% that are irrelevant to this monotonous society, I guess. Anyways most of my January went off by college assignments, binge watching online videos, food and sleep. 

In few weeks Pongal approached and protests to lift the ban on Jallikattu emerged. I think internet can explain better about jallikattu than me so.... if really want to know about it google about it. It was one major event that shook the whole Tamil Nadu and envisioned the spirit and potential of the current youth. Thousands of people hoarded at Marina Beach to support the non violent protest against the ban on Jallikattu. I was not for or against this sport but I totally agree with the conservation of native breeds of India. Native breeds are the best ones that are gifted to us from nature and we don't have the authority to perish such gifts due to our selfish actions. Meanwhile, when people were burning old stuff in the name of "Bhogi" I woke up super late and started scribbling few patterns on the floor with chalk pieces in the name of kolam.

Those scribbles!

Then, started watering plants and got a surprise visitor at the gate who visited me after years. It's always nice to see visitors who doesn't annoy us with useless questions and awkward glances with overdose of fake smiles. This visitor was someone who's ecstatic just because of meeting me. I believe it's the most truly honorable and grateful moment anyone can have.

The visitor 

The next day, my family plans to go out after long time. It's been a long time since we all went to a place together so it felt a bit new to do that again. At first me and my brother were reluctant to even step outside the house as we were not ready to forfeit our relaxation time to visit a place. But my dad suggested that we will visit a place which we have never been before. We brainstormed for a while until my dad thought of taking us to Thiruvanmayur beach. I thought beaches are same even if the name and area is different. But to my surprise this beach in Chennai was different. It was completely different compared to Marina Beach. The place was serene, sand was clean, streets filled with chairs, dustbins, food trucks and carts, etc. Best of all less people and less noise. 

The beautiful sand! 

Me and my mom sat down while my dad and my brother went for a walk. Suddenly, someone sat behind us. It was a dog who just sat behind us, my mom was mortified by the sight of the stray dog sitting behind her. She moved right away. I was in awe with the beige shade and soft texture of it's fur. I seriously wanted to pat the dog's head but my mom gave me a look which I interpreted as "If you don't move away or try to touch that stray dog, I will definitely disown you as my daughter!!" So, I had to get up from my temptation to touch the dog and follow the ordinance of my mom.

The dog which sat behind us

Then we both took a stroll across the beach. We saw beautiful waves crashing the sand and came across a weird black thing. When we went near it and examined visually, we came to know it was two decayed turtle bodies. The reason for their death was unknown to me but to see such creatures to be dead made me feel bad about it. Certain things happens for no reason but still makes me feel sensitive about it. 

After witnessing this we came back to meet my brother and dad who bought some fried potato snack which was spiral in shape. It was delicious and there was an amazing hues of sunset behind us. The family day out after a long time was fulfilled and was a memorable one.

The sunset

Guess what happened the very next day. We were convinced to have another family outing. Pongal 2017 was remembered for it's Jallikattu protests by Tamil Nadu and for me it remembered by double family outings which means a lot to me. Even though we felt a bit tired I agreed to it as this time also it's a place we haven't visited yet by us. So, the name is Chembarambakkam lake and it was my duty to show the route using google maps to my dad. My dad is not tech savvy so technically I struggled patiently to show him how to handle the app. After that we rode to reach the place.

After long self doubts and enquiring the route with the public on the roads, we finally reached the majestic destination. 

Chembarambakkam lake

So, yeah this was the lake that was full during December 2015 and flooded the whole Chennai city which lead to my boredom and gave me the reason to start this blog about my own life. We can imagine the depth of how much vast power and importance this lake holds. But the sight of the lake was so calm and soothing. My dad went to the fishermen was asking about how much the fish from the lake costs and was doing fish purchase decisions. My brother was bored and annoyed that we dragged him, my mom started eating snacks and I was taking pictures. What else to do when you meet the most elegant lake of your life? I took pictures to pass the time away but mostly because the view was worthy to be captured.

The dam and it's gates

I think the place is a must visit if you love water, ripples and sunsets. I promise you all these elements made our visit worthy.

 After witnessing such a view of sunset, it was time for us to choose the lively caught lake fishes to be taken home to eat. Personally, I am not a big fan of eating fish but my mom loves to eat fish. So, we bought few fishes of about 2 kg for 200 rupees. So, it was time for us to ride back home, so we climbed the stairs and few goats passed by us. 

The goats which I haven't seen this close before

Altogether, the trip was amazing. Beautiful scenery, mesmerizing water ripples and a fascinating sunset.

Sunset at Chembarambakkam lake

And Pongal holidays ended for us like that. Afterwards same old routine followed. During this routine I came across a nice Lemon souffle recipe video on my social media account. Tempted by the video, I attempted to prepare it. Baking always sounds fancy and awesome to do but when it comes to me I try but the end results are not so good. I was so excited to try it out but my mom warned me not to do due to my past baking attempts. So, long story short: I messed it up as usual. But I didn't forget to remember it and took pics of my baked bloopers.

Fancy cup but... (see the next picture's caption)

Beautiful batter inside the cup
 but....
(see the next picture's caption, again)

Voila!
Super messed up baked product!!

I thought maybe the cup was the problem, so I didn't threw the leftover batter. I made another batch of baked regrets.

More like burnt top and raw gooey souffles!

So, That's how January 2017 ended for me. It was a very memorable month for happiness, joy, inspiration and regrets (that souffle) Life lesson learnt: Life can be unpredictable and only you can make it interesting.