Captivating Canada, Bewitching Belgium and N'ticing Netherlands

A few month back, I got an opportunity to go to Canada with my mom. It was an amazing tour where I got to learn about the different culture and lifestyle.


We landed in Montréal, Canada in the evening and made our way to the hotel - Château Versailles. The feeling of clean roads and such less traffic was very difficult to absorb in at first. That day we just walked down the streets of Montréal and discovered the shops and of course ; where to get our food from!


The next day, we went on a full day tour of Québec city. They are French speaking area, and so, I even got to try out my French speaking skills there! Québec city still had some melting snow and my most fav

orite part of the trip was Montmorency Falls. Running white along snow capped areas, it was a marvellous view.


On the third day, I went to the conference on domestic workers with my mom at McGill University. It was nice because I got a lot to learn via the conference. Professor Adelle Blackett, under whose guidance the event took place, was very friendly, kind and supported my coming there. I did get to learn how the conditions of the domestic workers are around the globe and how people are trying to improve it.


The next day was fun with a with a three hour trip of Montréal city in the morning. During this trip, my most favourite view was of the Olympic Stadium that I captured easily in my camera! Later in the afternoon we enjoyed going around the city taking long walks. That evening, we made our way ta a restaurant for a pizza and for the first time I actually saw teenagers on the streets!


A prominent difference is the number of poor people. Since Canada is a developed country, the amount of people below poverty line is very less, but, India being a developing country country, has a large amount of its population below the poverty line.


When I went to the café, there was one thing I was shocked to see. The Lays chips that we get in India for Rs 20 were for 2 dollars, which when converted to the Indian currency was suddenly quite expensive.


By the next day, we had sat in the bus that took us through the lovely towns of Canada, into Scarborough, Ontario. There was a sudden change in culture from French to Indian. As you know, Toronto is also called the second home of Indians and Scarborough is nothing but an outskirt.


At Scarborough, I enjoyed my first few days at the ashram. Shatrupa Baiji was very kind, helpful, funny with an endearing personality. I still remember the mouth watery pizza I ate there! I also got to make many friends along the way. My closest friends were Hina, Richa and Nidhi. All were very accepting.


The funny incident that happened once was :- we were waiting for a bus on the station. Soon the bus came and we went inside. We discovered shocking scene. All the passengers in the bus were Indian and the driver was Canadian!


We went to visit Toronto the next day. C.N Tower was the most breathtaking views of my trip. At a height of 553.3 meters it was just amazing! We reached the topmost story from a high speed lift and saw the whole city beneath us while standing on the glass floor. We even took a harbor ride from which we could see a wonderful view of the C N Tower and Toronto Stadium.


Moving our journey forward, we went to the most famous Canadian attraction - The Niagara Falls. On our way, we had a stop at the wine yard, where my adult bus mates got an opportunity to taste the Canadian special Ice Wine. Oh, and I got a tingy grape juice.


We also aw the whirlpool made by the Niagara River during the ride. Niagara Falls were a stunning view. One could see three rainbows together! From Canada, we even saw the Niagara Falls from New York. For the New Yorkers', there was a raised platform like structure made to view these astounding Falls.


We enjoyed a trip of Behind The Falls and missed The Maid of The Mist ride by just a day. Then we made our way to the restaurant with a grumbling stomach. I got to go to Wendy's which was really yummy! We even went to Louis Tussuad which was a parody or copy of Madam Tussuad.


Before going ahead with my journey let me tell you one of my favorite places places. Favorite scenic places are a lot but something other than beauty is food. I loved Timmy Horton's! I rally wish it opens in India.


I also stayed in Brampton for two days. There, I got to sty with my relatives. They were friendly and very welcoming. They took us out for a scrumptious dinner at Chopstix where I got my very first fortune cookie! The Mehta family made our stay very homey and comfortable.


Another fun part was going to the Eaton Centre in Toronto - The biggest mall in Canada. But, let me tell you, it wasn't as big s Ambiance Mall in Gurgaon, India.


Step by step, we were moving towards the end of our journey. But don't worry, we still have five days left!


The next station of our flight was The Netherlands. It was an outstanding place. Landing in Amsterdam, moving to Hoofddorp and then enjoying the tour of the countryside was stupendous. The charm of Netherlands was the tulips that grew about everywhere along with their shoes!


In Amsterdam, a pleasing welcome was given to us from my grandfather's friend and himself lawyer, Jasbeer uncle. He made our stay exciting by taking us on a very enjoyable journey of Holland. He along with his wife and kids made us enjoy every moment of our stay.


We also visited the fishermen's village in Holland which was spell bounding. I got a taste of the true city there. Hoofddorp, where we stayed was an incredible place. Separated by small streams, it had a charming view ; something that a person fantasies in fairy tales.


On the tour of the Amsterdam city, we got to visit Madam Tussuad and got to click pictures along with many leaders, actors and sportsmen. We did the famous ship ride and saw the spectacular view of the seven canals.


Our next stop was Belgium. We sat in a bullet train and entered the beautiful country. A bus ride showed us the phenomenal viw of the parliament as well. Stopping at the Atomium - The atomic structure made of nine atoms we saw the spectacle of beauty shimmer. On the inside, it had steep escalators making us reach to the various floors with their exhibitions.


On coming out of the Atomium, we went to look at Mini Europe, made in Brussels, Belgium. Miniature models of all important places stood there. Most favorite of them were the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.


Here was the end of my educational and fun tour. Yup, I almost forgot...I got loads of Belgian chocolates as well!


On my next tour, I wish to see all the beautiful places in the world. And, because everything and everyone is beautiful, I want to see each and every part of this amazing and beautiful paradise!

Life's Worth

Hey everyone!

I am back with another self composed poem! I hope you like it :D

Life's worth

The rays of the shining sun,
the thrill of the morning run.
The whispering of the birds in skies above,
the bewitching beauty of a dove.

The twinkling diamonds in the sky,
the vibrant colours of a butterfly.
The foggy winds on a winter day,
the crackling great if the month of May.

The daffodils in the little pot,
the new born child in a little cot.
The peaceful aura of the beach,
the destiny that is within reach.

The honking cars and clustered streets,
the lack of knowledge and happy treats.
The accidents, sorrow and meaningless skidding,
is nothing but a part of life's bidding.

All is a work of science and fiction,
caught in q strangeness of word-less addiction,
But like the axis of the earth,
Life keeps us grounded, aware of it's worth.

I hope you liked it and I will see you next time!
Srish. Xx

Cellphone Etiquette

Technology can be our best friend and can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story,our own ability to have a thought or a day dream, to imagine something wonderful, because we are too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria to the office on the cellphone. - Steven Spielberg

Every individual I see around me holds in his hand a metal toy. This toy is nothing else but a cellphone. Living in this modern world each and every individual has a lifestyle which involves technology. Mobile phones have helped shrink the world and made sending and receiving messages from across the globe easy and it is all available at the click of a single button. But with that comes the responsibility for people to have proper mannerism and etiquette to use their mobiles at a public setting. Many individuals talk loudly where everyone in a ten mile radius of the person is aware of this individual. Many like to  answer their phone in places like the cinema which causes a nuisance and disrupts the movie. Many also answer their phones in meeting or funerals. So maybe it's time that we laid down a few phone etiquettes that every individual who owns a mobile must follow:

• talk in a low volume when you are in a public place/setting
• keep your phone on either silent or vibrator mode during meetings
• please avoid loud phone conversations during a funeral, that is just disrespectful.
• move away from the crowd around you (if you can) while answering a call

These are some of the things a cell phone owner must always follow. If we can all pitch in a bit, we would have a better society to live in! This was my short rant on cellphone etiquettes. I hope you guys liked it and the few mannerisms that I suggested. What annoys you about other cellphone users?

I will see you all next time
Srish. Xx

Faith

“Faith is like electricity. You can’t see it, but you can see the light.”

When the tears stream down

and you are scared, you fear to drown

in this sea of darkness and doubt;

Then close your eyes and say a prayer

to the heaven above, up there.

Faith and hope go hand in hand

to help you reach a bower, a different land.

Being afraid will do no good,

it is time that you understood.

So take out a moment of peace now

you do not need to worry about the how?

He can work wonders in his magic ways

bathe you in bright sunny rays.

All those times when confusion strikes,

see the world in a different light.

You will eventually find your way,

each moment of life would be a soirée

I hope you liked this short self composed poem on faith! I will see you next time :) 

Srishti

Living Life The Harry Potter Way

Hey Guys!

J.K Rowling blessed us all with the most magical (literally) and powerful novel series that we have ever read. Her writing is not only inspiring, but spreads the beautiful message of friendship and love in the most subtle way possible. So, I wrote a little poem on living life the Potter way!

A Very Potter World

Love is the elixir of life,

It possesses more magic

than the philosopher's stone.

It possesses more greatness 

than Albus Dumbledore could ever achieve.

It possesses more power,

power enough to change the world.

Like Harry had faith in Ron and Hermione

a friendship so sacred

which destroyed horcruxes

and the devil himself.

He who must not be named

was after all, just as strong

as his weakest link.

For if it hadn't been the genius

of Neville Longbottom

the wizard world would have lost,

a great hero, and an even greater leader.

If it was not Ginny Weasley 

her bravery and passion

Harry may not have achieved,

all that he did.

For if the Weasley twins

had not supported Harry,

a mark of courage and bravery

the dark mark would have survived,

they help relief be revived.

It was friendship, love

faith and trust

more important, 

than the chosen one himself.

I hope you guys enjoyed a Harry Potter inspired poem!

See you next time
Srish. xx 

A Beautiful World

Hey guys! 

A very happy new year to all my readers! I guess we will finally get to time travel this year (atleast I hope so). Today I wrote a short poem that I would like to share with you all!

Butterflies, Breeze and Sunshine

Like little butterflies fluttering away

Singing the song of the wind

Like flowers blooming 

and the raindrops pattering down.

Like the new plants that grow

the beautiful nature's rhyme

Like the stars that light up the evening sky

and the rainbow spreads colour and joy.

Like the gusto of the wind, 

which spreads a shiny breeze

Like the song of a nightingale

and squirrels peeping through the leaves.

Like the Sun shining so bright

awakening our souls with light.

Like the new born baby's cry

the sweet song that says hello to life.

Like all the beautiful things in the world

a relation built on love and trust

To family, life and friends all dear

Your love is lovely, ohh, I just shed a tear!

I hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments :) 

Loads of love and best wishes for the new year

Srishti

Trekking Technology

Through the fires, wheels, sails, transport and communication, science has now evolved as a new era. Communication and technology has become a part of every person’s universe and, you and I are no exceptions. I could say that it all started with a ‘big bang’, however, for me, it all started with Star Trek.

Star Trek introduced us to communicators, which are now well known devices named ‘cell phones’. The personal computers that we use in everyday work, originated as a spark of an idea in the popular continuing series as well. To track a location, technology has developed a Global Positioning System, which now adorns our automobiles, for when we need to find our way. A sliding door for when we walk in and a tablet to play all our favorite android games on, today’s technology has it all. However, what is surprising is that it all existed once before. It all started in 1966, almost 47 years ago, by a television series, Star Trek.

With the world progressing at today’s pace, it is evident that new inventions are still being made at this very moment. However, the question that arises is - what next?

We can cure world hunger by an innovative technology such as replicators. Replicators are a device which can replicate any known material thing. One can easily imagine replicating food and clothes and sending that to the less fortunate. However, for that, the man must not be as selfish as he is today. It may as well be seen possible in the near future, for scientists have developed a hamburger from lab grown meat.

The most famous device anyone could ever think of is probably a transporter. Every generation has seen transporters in fiction. Whether it is star trek or an episode of Doraemon, it is amazing to think that one could travel miles with the snap of their fingers. The possible drawbacks of this are there, of course, just as they are with any other technology. There is a possibility that our limbs may not materialize the same way or that we may lose a part of ourselves at one place whilst the rest of us is elsewhere.

With the excess of everyday traffic, we could help lower it by travelling in space. We could have our own space travelers and travel like the Jetsons. This would not only lower the traffic levels but would make travelling possible at a much faster speed. After reading about the flying car in Harry Potter, it is believable that a transport system such as that may exist some day.

If it was at all possible, and one could find a way to efficiently dispose off nuclear waste, nuclear reactors could be a common thing. They could be used to run cities and towns efficiently. And hence, we could shake hands with an epoch of zero power cuts.

Frequent visit to our doctors is essential to maintain proper health. Per contra, it is not always that the disease is diagnosed. Now, one can imagine a device which can check and diagnose any problem with the patient by just a sample study of their blood. It may be possible that such a device may put doctors out of work, but would still be efficient for the people who need to test medication to get healthy.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody showed a possibility of linking twins. By eating a certain sweet, their thoughts and actions became one. It also introduced that by eating a certain type of meal, humans would be able to communicate with whales. We can imagine a device such as that being formed. With the help of this device, an individual could speak with various other mammals, reptiles and birds. This could contribute to a harmonious society. It would also tell us what these species other than us think of.

There is another device whose invention excites me. Imagine a device which looks similar to a wristband that could send waves to control our brain. These waves would sort out and act as an ‘antivirus’ for our brain. It would help filter our thoughts, sort them into separate folders, and these folders could be accessed when required. By the help of these, we could stay focused on the task at hand and not let our emotions disturb our logic.

However, at this rate of technological advancement, it is essential to look at the environment around us. Filling up with smoke and dust, the acid rains and the increasing global warming is a threat to the biotic society. To cure global warming, inventors could work forth to develop artificial ozone. This layer could then be stretched in the stratosphere as per the human requirements. This would not only help survival, but will also make Earth a healthy place to live on once again.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. These inventions, not only make life easier but also help in laying a good foundation for new seeds to be planted. For this reason, just as Kurt Vonnegut has said, “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.”