Redefining Horizons

“You have seen more Canada than many in Ontario," said Sophia, when I finished narrating about the time we spent with our friends, Reji, Marina, Premod and Betty. My wife, her brother and I were  with Sophia, my wife's cousin and her husband Sherry for two days. “No, you haven't done the Thousand Island Cruise,” Sherry said. That’s how the four of us and Sophia's daughter reached Gananoque, the picturesque banks of the St Lawrence River to board the ferry.  Thousand Island is an archipelago of about 1,800 Islands, strewn along the St Lawrence River.  Some islands belong to the USA and the rest to Canada. The smallest island amongst them is the Hub Island, big enough to hold a small house and a few bushes and the largest among them is the Wolfe Island, approximately 124 sq kms and home to more than a 1000 people. One amongst the thousand is Heart Island, called so because of its shape. I'm not sure if the shape was nature's gift to mankind or the reverse through...

 Isthiri Poorniya?  Date - 05 Nov 2024. Time: 06:20 AM. It's cold and still dark outside. Place: Boylston, MA, USA. Mission - Catch the seven o'clock Logan Express from Framingham Bus Station so that we could reach the airport by eight o'clock. The journey from home to the Bus station typically takes about thirty minutes. Getting out of the car, getting the luggage and getting in would consume five minutes. By all calculations we had five minutes to spare. The bus typically takes about 40 to 45 minutes to reach the airport. That would allow us to be in time for checking ourselves in. The roads towards the airport get packed early in the morning with the Boston bound traffic. We had been caught in the traffic once earlier and caught the flight only because the flight had been delayed. The next bus would leave the station only at 7:30 AM. That would reach the airport only by 8:15, the earliest. I wanted to avoid gut wrenching adrenaline moments. Everything, so far, was goin...

Successful? You stand a good chance being ‘Pellattised ’ Not making much headway despite your best efforts? Are you being Pellattised? “Pellattised? There is no such English word. Did you mean, palletized?” “No. I said, Pellattised.” It is not yet in the English dictionary. I coined the word. There is a true story behind it. It happened in Ontario, Canada many years ago.  But, let me first tell you what led me to the word. My wife, her brother Issac, and I had gone on a vacation to Toronto. We stayed with Colonel Reji and his gracious wife for a few days. Reji, a fellow veteran and friend with a huge heart, was more than kind. Reji was incharge and he drew up our itinerary. The Welland Canal, an interesting feat of engineering, was our first destination. Through a well choreographed and remotely controlled process, the authorities let water flow in or out of portions of the canal called locks, to lift or lower ships. At lock number three, we witnessed a ship being lifted ten me...

  Look the other way , is an idiom unlike any other. It does not catch much attention but easily hurts . Looking the other way allows immoral or illegal acts but its benign version, which could mean many more things like, avoid, ignore, desert, abandon, let down etc, could be immensely painful to those looked away from. The literal meaning of looking the other way is straightforward as the words suggest; looking in the opposite direction. Our roads play host to both literal and literary versions of it.  Pedestrians across the world have the right of way. In many countries, pedestrians can cross the road, only at the zebra lines. If the light is not in their favour they wait or push the pedestrian button to allow them to cross. If pedestrians push the pedestrian button, they get the green to cross and the light goes red for motorists. People crossing like that wave at the motorists signalling gratitude. Pedestrians at home are more empowered. They cross roads and motorways at...

  We left our hotel in the morning and drove to the museum in Haroldswick. It was a long drive that included two ferry rides, one from Toft to Ulsta and one from Gutcher to Belmont to reach cold and windy Muness to see the remnants of a castle. There was hardly anyone around and when we came across someone, an occasional car, or a small group of cycling enthusiasts, we  waved at each other  earnestly. My wife and I were  with Dr Abe and Dr Elizabeth  vacationing  in the Shetland Islands, an archipelago in Scotland, the northernmost region of the UK. It was cold, windy, and wet. I love visiting museums and old buildings. Museums, for many, are like cemeteries, resting places for relics, reminders of tragedies and some made-up stories. Museums, to me, are roads to the past and windows to the future.  I call it, ‘ Mortui Vivos Docent .’ or 'The dead teach the living', a phrase I picked up from a book I read recently. In Latin, ‘mortui’ means ‘dead,’ ‘vivo...

“Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. This is your captain.  In a short while, we will be docking at Lerwick. We hope you enjoyed the night sailing with us.  We wish you a good time in The Shetland Islands,” streamed in the skipper's announcement. Our vacation to Scotland and beyond was a gift from Doctor Abe and Elizabeth, our exceptionally big-hearted relatives, retired doctors, and hosts. We were accompanying them on the trip to The Shetland Islands.  Abe rented a car for the journey. We drove out from Birmingham and headed to Penrith for the night. Enroute we stopped by Lake Windermere and Dove Cottage, in Grasmere. It was one of the most picturesque journeys my wife and I had ever undertaken. Surrounded by so much natural beauty, Wordsworth could not have been anything but a nature poet. At Penrith, we were invited, by my wife’s cousin, Anna and her husband, a doctor, to dinner in a countryside pub. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and everyone acknowledged each ...

  Colonel Kochu Koshy Panicker, my colleague in the army, hero of many an action, and rightfully a gallantry award winner, organised the day-long contributory cruise in the Ashtamudi Lake.  ‘KK’ is an excellent organiser. Once he takes on something, expect nothing less than the perfect. As his boss, I fearlessly delegated tasks to him and sat back without worries. I attribute my rise in ranks to teammates like him.  KK is special. He smiles even when under severe work pressure. Dr Santy, his wife, an academic, is his strength. With them around, possibilities are endless.    On the 4th of May, I drove 95 KM one way from my home with my wife and two of my grandchildren and stayed the night with the Panickers. The next morning, my wife, grandchildren, and Dr Santy travelled with me another 21 KM to join the cruise, KK and his team had organised. KK had left early to tie up things. There are a lot of houseboats in Kumarakom, that offer similar daylong cruises. This ...