Many thanks!

Rayna gave me this lovely award a long time ago, after which I sat on it for a very long time, almost a year :(
Thank you, and sorry for not having acknowledged it for so long. I think it is much too late to pass this on, but let me thank Rayna herself for bringing so much sunshine into my life with her brilliant writing, wonderful photographs, delightful sons, incredible warmth and her kindness.
I am glad to have you in my life, and hope to meet you in the real world someday soon!


Sanand gave me The Versatile Blogger award just a few days ago. He does not blog very frequently, but his personal integrity shines through in whatever he writes.
Thank you for considering me worthy of this award. I am supposed to share some little known facts about myself, which is difficult, because I'm sure I've shared all the shareable stuff already!
Let's see what I can rustle up:
1. I can survive for days without watching any TV at all. I also act very dumb around the TV- I watch very silly stuff when I do watch. I need to watch it at least a little more intelligently than I do now.
2. I optimistically pile up newspapers to read again, and then never get round to doing that. Most annoying, since I love my Sunday papers and never manage to do justice to them.
3. There are some people whom I actually find repugnant, whom I find it very difficult to interact with. It might not be their fault, but......
4. I love doing up my house. Very simple stuff, but a lot of thought and effort goes into it.
5. Since I can be very lazy, I'm happy if the SRE travels for a day or two. Longer tours get very lonely though, so I go in for huge cleaning/tidying projects which tire me out.
6. I can happily re-read books that I like, even immediately after finishing them the first time.
7. I'm very fond of lightly steamed vegetables!

Having shared these rather inane facts about me, let me proceed to the good part: passing on this award!
Yasmeen Sait is an old friend but a recent blogger, who writes about various aspects of her life, of different cities, of fascinating people. I love being connected to her life through her blog.
Kiran Manral needs no introduction. She can write about anything from weddings to weighing scales with great elan. She is one of those people who actually make a difference to this often terrible world we live in. Her commitment to what she believes in is just amazing.
Choxbox and I started blogging around the same time. She writes about food, kids, cities, museums, books, her contribution to society and so much more, and generates huge amounts of positive energy. I haven't met her yet, but I know I will, some day.
Uttara writes brilliantly on Hindustani classical music, gardening, law, politics, feminism, dogs, her many travels, and so much more. Definitely versatile!
And last but not least, Salil Chaturvedi, whom I am proud to call my friend. His blog is a delightful storehouse of poetry, photographs, plants, nature, very profound philosophy, and so much more. The award may not mean very much to him, but is an excuse to send my readers to visit him.