Touchy... films!

I am a true sucker for touchy emotional films, of any language. I can even list down which are the topics that are going to weep me to death, so that I can always have a box of tissues and a cup of hot chocolate ready before going to see those films. In Malayalam, it used to be the old religious movies of the type “Sree Guruvayoorappan” (about Lord Krishna) or “Sree Ayyappan”(about lord ayyappa). I know I am with the good old grandmas above 75 yrs, in that category. (Not the new generation grandmas!).Weeping my heart out, when finally the Lord gives “darshan” to the devotee. Oh..I lost count of the no:of times, I have cried then. As I know this problem of mine, I avoid seeing those kinds of films in public. That means, in seclusion, when I am sure no one will be watching, I have no problem in crying, seeing those films.

Here in Ireland, it’s something else (as I can’t get to see much religious movies, here!). The topics can be about team-spirit winning against all odds (The Mighty Ducks, Sister Act 1&2 or dead people coming to save their loved ones (like Ghost), starting from nothing and finally reaching goal thru perseverance (Homeless in Harvard) and of course all those Christmas miracles movies (there are lots of them!). Because of this I always make sure, I read synopsis, before watching one. Or else, I can land in much trouble some conditions, like opening door to a mail-man with swollen, red eyes! (ok, I have done that, once..may be twice!)

And those films inspire me a lot. That some times I write down dialogues from them or memorise them, to say that to myself over and again.(I know that’s stupid, but anything that inspires is worthy!). And only one Hindi film has inspired me in that genre. Its ‘Black’, which again comes to ‘winning-against-all-odds’! And I absolutely love Whoopi Goldberg. I fell in love with her on Ghost. Then, Sister Act 1&2. I don’t know how she handles comedy and drama so excellently. If an actor that has made me love them, its only her. Wish I could meet her in a personal level.!

What are the kinds of films that you guys like…?

For eg: my husband likes any films which are full of sound and fury and Schwarzenegger or Stallone!

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Well, it started as an evening walk...

Irish Summer time (IST) started yesterday, and now the days are getting longer and longer. I love it because, after seeing day light going off at 4 pm, this is such a relief to see sun even after 8 pm!

So, I was walking down the road with Mohd Rafi singing into my ears, “Jhalkaaaye jaam, ayiyee..aap ki ankhon ke naaam”. I thought that I will walk thru a new route, away from town. I didn’t know where I was going. After 10 minutes, I reached a stone inscribed “Welcome to BallinLough” said as “ballin-lock”. I walked for 5 more minutes and saw a small road to the left. Took that and walked down.

First I saw this stream, when there were still houses around…


Soon the road became narrower and narrower, both sides completely dense with bushes. There weren’t any houses, at all… There wasn’t even a vehicle in that moss covered road. And from where I could see an opening thru the bushes, I saw this..








Wondering about those white spots? That’s the symbol of Ireland…endless rolling grasslands and those brownish white spots in it…. Some times those fields can have electrocuted barbed wires, so I was a little bit careful, not to touch… After walking for 25 minutes, I reached a small opening in the bush from where I could touch those spots,…. well almost….

They looked so shocked seeing a trespasser in their fields! And I finally,I could get a snap of my nursery-rhyme-hero, Baa..baa.. not-black sheep!

Footnote:

A regular saying in Co.Clare:

"If the sheep is painted blue, then it's a boy sheep. If it's painted red, then it's a girl sheep. And if it's painted pink, then it's a gay sheep. And if a sheep is painted red, white, and and blue, then it is a British sheep, and the Irish don't want to have much to do with it anyway..."

No offence, pls !

Galway Getaway-last part!

Part-1

Part-2

Part3

The title 'Galway Getaway' was proposed by Raaji!

These photos are self-speaking…I fell totally in love with the nature’s beauty in Connemara. But as Rii told, I wouldn’t choose it to make there my home too, because its very very remote(imagine 13,000 acres and not a soul there!).

But in the midst of wilderness, there’s some deep spiritual beauty in there. No wonder it’s a monastery now. So much is the spirituality that surrounds it, in the deep stillness.






























..for my Indian friends, those are the daffodils!



Connemara ponies, a particular breed, which are very friendly to humans.



…and then we said thank you to the Henrys and the nuns for giving us this wonderful feast for our eyes, which would last for a life time! ..its just the beginning….

Part 3-Galway!

Part-1

Part-2


It was raining. But I don’t know if its because of my excitement, I didn’t feel it at all. The wind was very strong that it almost took the camera away from my hands. I had to hold on it to it, as if it was my life. I tied up my hair tightly, after I felt like being held away by my hair to the lake. (MAY BE...GHOSTS!) (no exaggeration!).
Every women in our coach had the worst hair day in their life that day! Our Swedish mate’s long blonde hair was standing vertically.
Kylemore Castle , in close.

The dining room inside the Castle.



The biggest mantle piece mirror, I ever saw in my life. I was too short even to see myself in it.




Another one, saw the sculptures on the fireplace? (see the height of mirror? i am 5ft 1)



St.Benedict- Carved from a single birch trunk!

How many times Margaret must have played this for her hubby?



One oak-panelled entrance hall (there are four such halls!).The walls and floor are completely in oak. The glazing from the walls and floor made this snap, blurry.



My husband trying to be Mitchell, for a while. Again, the shining of oak panelling blurred this.




No one was there except us and may be the spirits of Mitchell and Magaret Henry. So we had to use timer to take our snaps. yep, our height difference is almost 1 whole feet!


The first book printed on Kylemore Castle. See the date? June 18, 1902. (anooj, saw the 13,000 acres)




Now there are only 17 Benedictine nuns here.(though we couldn’t see any one) And they would be leaving here on 2008, turning this Castle completely into a tourist spot.

..to be contd....in last part

Trip to Galway-Part 2

Part-1

Part-3

The major destination of our tour was Kylemore Castle which is now Kylemore Abbey, the monastic home of Benedictine nuns. Though it is a monastery now, the original castle completed in 1871,as a symbol of love, was a honeymoon castle, constructed by Mitchell Henry for his wife Margaret. Gosh, how I wished to be Margaret, for a while!! I have lost count of the no:of castles I saw here in Ireland, not to mention the one in our town centre, Athlone Castle.

Now coming back to Kylemore Castle, for me it was like seeing something coming out live from a fairy tale. Every room in there was fully furnished and arranged as if some one has just left the room, just before we came in. The huge mantelpieces were twice taller than me. Me and hubby got separated once we went inside, and there weren’t any other visitors. I ran around from one room to another, too excited to find later that I was lost. Every room was like magic for me. I was in a daze. The light, the candles, the red carpets, the wooden shining walls, the white table cloths, the chandeliers everything made me feel as though I was in another world. There wasn’t any one, even to supervise. Of course, there would have been hidden CCTVs.

Kylemore Castle



That is me, standing exactly where Magaret Henry would have stood gazing at her castle, 1000 times!


There is a Victorian walled garden in the Kylemore Estate(which is 13,ooo acres!!!) which even had glass houses. Now it is in the restoring phase. But it still looked perfect.


The white house on the right hand far corner is the 18th century glass house!




This stream is also part of the garden!

..from another angle.

There was a kind of summer-house in the garden for the Henry’s, and this seemed to be their living room. The view from this room to the garden is breath-taking.



That’s me waiting for the shuttle bus that took us from the Castle to the garden. Yea, you just can’t walk into the garden, its too far. Remember 13,000 acre premises!



to be cond....Part 3, in next blog.

Trip to Galway-Part 1

We have a major market in Trivandrum, palayam market. It’s called so because its situated in ‘Palayam’, the heart of Trivandrum city. But if you look upwards at the entrance of the market, you can see the name ‘Connemara Market’, inscribed on top of the Victorian style red colour arch. We never knew from where this name came. But my grandfather who was in British police,( before India’s Independence )told me that the market was opened by the British government and they named it that way.

And after more than 25 yrs, I came to know from where that name came.

Yesterday we went to one of the most beautiful places in Ireland.

Guess what? It was Connemara, in Co. Galway. I know now all Trivandrians who read this blog must have got enlightenment just like I did! That townplanner who was in charge of our own palayam market, more than 100 yrs ago, must have been descended from Connemara, may be?

Here in midlands we don’t have beaches. Our nearest is the west coast at Co.Galway (92 kms from Athlone). Another thing is that this county still has some areas, where people speak only Gaelic (Irish). Usually here the road signs are in both English and Irish. But there everything was in Gaelic. We felt as though we are in a foreign land. And we could see even some 18^th century Irish cottages, in good condition.

Some pictures…

looks like Guinness,flowing!
note:Those black substance under water are peat bogs,main source of fuel in Ireland.Acres of land are rich in peat,here.





South Connemara Landscape. (that's the fisherman's hut)




It was raining, so all creeks were over flowing.
note: Here in Ireland we have only 3 climates:


Its going to rain, It is raining or It has just been raining.






This was a small waterfall on the way to Connemara.












An 18th century Irish cottage, still in good condition, surrounded by stone walls.
note:there is no sand, mud or mortar in b/w these stones. I dont know how they dont fall apart.




Thru the wet coach-window! (a fluke photo,which turned out good!)


Me on top of a slippery stone wall...to get a good view of the creek below...can you see water dripping from my face, giving me a wet-chicken look!

Part 2, in next blog!