Jan Journals

Can't find a more apt title! 

My lil birdies have started Diary Writing. The 8-Year-old writes her own, 5-year-old makes me write hers. Basically, 3 out of 4 people in our family are taking notes...

14th Jan marked the usual pleasant pause.  
To recap the sail that was set 18 Years back..

Navigating work, Anchoring nautical milestones
Here is a Toast....To the Tides, To the Coasts and the Sealines. #WorkAnniversary

This Pongal we harvested books. 

After the customary Rice+Milk Boil,we went to Chennai Book fair to binge buy books. This time, more diligently. Father-Daughter Duo made a list of Sudha Murthy collection we have at home. So we bought titles we didn't own. Diary of a Wimpy Kid was added to our cart, after several rounds of negotiation.  From "lets buy it online", to "lets buy it now", we finally settled for let's buy it now. Gen Z wins!

The annual Bhagvat Gita event, kept the tone for the month. 

For "All about Art" series at school, 

we designed, a 1 min game, got shortlisted for the same. 

On the other end of this Art series, 

we quick penned a poetry, to describe our laced pottery. 

And finally, tiny flowers showed up in our balcony garden. They bloomed in the morning, faded by the evening. We learnt a lesson, that some flowers last, just for a day. #Morning Glory.

Wrap Up 2025

A quick year end note. In the descending order of recall.

• Travels get a Thumbs Up for Variety. 👍
• Celebrations showed up in well-spaced manner. 🗹
• Not to forget multiple birthday invites, where we played the role of Pick & Drop parents
• 
  School Events top the Leader Board. 📣 
• Building an Aqua City was exciting + winning. 🏅
• Making a 4.5-year-old learn, a 3 stanza Carnatic song, was happily draining and finally rewarding. 🏆
• Blogging reappeared. True to its inconsistent nature 😏- it showed up, went to slumber, then raised its head again. 
• Highlight of Year- We became PLANT PARENTS.🪴 I Love this term. Seedling tray became a part of daily vocabulary. Watering Coir tablets gave a botany lab feel. Watching seeds sprout, seed leaves grow, became a refreshing new routine.

& the Misses, which get into the "To Do List" for the Next year.

• Having a bookshelf at arms distance, and not a finished book. 👎Reading Stays Red on the Chart.
• Pick up more Non-Digital hobbies. Owning 2B, 4B, 2H, 4H Pencil set but no sketching done, is an injustice to the beautiful pencil collection. 🖉🖉🖉🖉🖉
• Redesign & Reuse- Implement DIY. A note to self - You are good at it. Make time for it! 

See you 2026!

#Blog on the Go-Deoghar Day 10

Penultimate day before heading back to the warmth of Chennai. 2025 started with Deoghar trip & ends with it. So, tomorrow signing off from this city for the 2nd time, in the same year.

Today was more of an office day. Finishing touches to what we started on my Day 1.

Removed a large chunk of redundant data. Added some new files to Drive & some new routines to the team

In between all this, came a plate of Litte Chouka. Another colleague gifted a box of Laddu. An Amla ka Acchar was also making my way, but I refused saying, no pickle lovers at home.

I am determined to head back with same count of luggage that I started my trip with. My 2 trolley cases nod in attendance.

Thank you, Jharkhand, till we meet again. & Deoghar, you have 11 posts dedicated to you on this blog. Maximum coverage, that any city has ever got on Vyo's World!  

Footnotes

Deoghar Series- Part 2  

Deoghar Diaries- Part 1 - 

#Blog on the Go- Deoghar Day 9- Sunday Treats

If you have read the previous post, you know, Team outing was a toss between Movie or Mini Trek. We chose the latter.

But what if Movie also happens? And it happened today. 1.50 PM show-Dhurandhar. Before Dhurandhar started, it was Border 2- Trailer. 

I asked my colleague, "Border Movie Dekhi hai"
Colleague-  Nahi, kab release hui?
Me - 1997

I was surprised I could recall the year so correctly. I had watched Border with my parents and family friends in Aurangabad's Goldie or Nupur Cinemas. It was a Matinee show. 

Present Day Deoghar, a Matinee show again @ Eyelex Cimena. Dhurandhar followed by Pizza treat. A few selfies and with more hunger pangs left, we reached a Thelawala (roadside vendor) for Momos. 

Not to forget, my day started with Pav Bhaji for breakfast and by Evening 6.30, Pizza and Momos were added to my food chart.

So, if I were to rank todays visual and edible treats together, it will go like this..

1 Thelawala's Momos
2 Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar 
2.5 JP Dutta's Border 2 Trailer
3 Narayan's Pav Bhaji [ chef @ home]
4  xxx Outlet's Pizza

#Blog on the Go- Deoghar Day 7 & 8 - Cooking at Banka

A large chunk of Day 7 in office, went in planning for, Saturday-Day 8. Team outing - Movie or Mini Trek, was the question? Latter won the votes, and we pinned the outing location as Odni Dam - Banka. 

Starting from Deoghar we crossed Jasidih, Katuria and reached Banka in Bihar. 🚘

The Green Dot Eaters 🟢had restaurant ordered food. Red Dots lovers 🔴 went for Venue cooking feel. It was interesting to watch a Ship Broking team come equipped with modest cooking kit. Almost 12.30 PM, a Black Coal based stove & Barbeque grills were set. Never had I imagined a lighter could be used ignite cooking fire. Winter winds posed a big challenge. 

Our driver, an old village man was the Chef of the Day. He shunned the barbeque plates, and borrowed a "Handi" from local fishermen, and cooked the marinated foods on it. What was initially planned as a Mini trek, turned out to be Mini Kitchen & Destination cooking experience. The long 2 hour drive, up and down Banka, definitely worth it.  

• Chat in the Car Footnotes
• Chatt Pooja and Kaadhu Rice eating ritual associated with it.
• Saathu seems to be a Superfood of Bihar/Jharkand. Ate at home, but understood today that its deeply ingrained in their food culture. Satthu Paratha to Litti and even Sharbat.
• Kheera is a common reference to Cucumbers here.

#Blog on the Go- Deoghar Day 6

Christmas, 2 years back, we were at roof top restaurant in Pondicherry. Waiting patiently for the waiter to take our orders. With Long waiting, less staff and limited tables, a lopsided attenders vs guest ratio was also on the menu that day.

Fast forward 2025, here I am in Deoghar, cozily tucked in my room. Its 11 degrees by the night and 14 degrees by the day. Sun plays peek a boo somewhere between 11 & 1 PM.  

With Dahi Chura for breakfast, started my sun walk.Took the opposite side this time, got familiar with a nameboards on the other end, so I know my way back. Halfway through, took a Toto to Smart Baazar Mall. Same Rs 30/- fare, even though this is farther than the usual V-Mart frequent.

Enter mall premises, and we can forget the city we are in. All malls dress alike for Christmas- Santa, Xmas tree take centre stage. People also react the same way, taking Selfies by the tree. Random, incoherent, light weight shopping to appease my school going audience back home. 

Then diligently joined the long Christmas queue for payments. Locals were getting impatient, with slow billing & limited counters. But for Deoghar visitors like me, it's no pressing hurry! Merry Christmas🎅

#Blog on the Go -Deoghar Day 5

As I enter Day 5, I realize, it's a serious disservice to not write about my earlier travels and just keep updating Deoghar diaries. 

Coorg's Dubare Elephant Camp definitely needs a mention. An experience of wading through knee deep waters, forming a human chain to witness the Mighty Elephants was a spectacular treat.

Compare this, to the 2 chirpy birds here, making more noise than 4 honking vehicles. Not a moment of quietness dwells. 

6 helping hands pace through corridors setting the house in motion, even as, the Owner-Grandparents tune in to their unhurried routine.

Their tableware displays Crockery of the 90s, Frames on the walls speak of 3 generations. 

A compact kitchen, a store cubicle, a verandah, stairs leading to the terrace... all this paraphernalia has become a part of my homestay at Deoghar.