Leafing through a bunch of extraordinary memories
It heartens us to reflect on the excellent time we had with parents after three long years, fraught with gloom of covid and loss of lives close to us.
Their three-month stay was short, but far from stagnated into quotidian routine. Each day was marked special by unveiling a place new to them and we all did our bit to make the most of it. Trip-planner (Som) chalked out and conducted tours immaculately, our son accommodated as much as he could with his chockabloc Year-11 schedule, and the coordinator (Dona) did what she does the best - stay cool and keep others sane during rush hours. Pushing aside their age-related ailments, parents matched up with our energy and strides to admire the idyllic places along the craggy, blue coastline, soak in the flavours of iconic precincts, and experience distinctive events with a zeal like there was no tomorrow.
This is a lesson they have ingrained in us by now - be active. Just like an insatiable urge to assault peaks fuels a mountaineer's indefatigable endeavours, curiosity drives these two diminutive figures to attain new heights. They are nothing short of living legends who we ought to follow to keep ourselves going as we age.
The days were a blur with these outings that'll be etched in our memory forever. But the best part of all was rejuvenation of the sweetest bond that grandparents share with grandchild. Celebrating 16th birthday of our son with them was cherry on the pie!
While every bit was precious, the most remarkable moment was commemorating one of the rarest milestones of life - 50th anniversary of parents. We thank each of you who deluged their day with the warmth of wishes around their health, happiness, and many more years of togetherness!
It's not a fluke that Vivid Sydney started just as they were wrapping up the last-minute shopping and packing; it was planned well ahead! Mustering all the courage to set out at sub-10 temperatures in the evenings to experience the vibes of this much-awaited annual event paid off. They were thrilled and amazed to watch the iconic sails of Opera House lit up with vibrant light shows, Darling Habour decked up with dazzling laser shows, the night skies above Circular Quay speckled with spectacular drone shows. An army of a thousand drones marched up to the sky to put up spellbinding display of forms. The sparkly pink, purple, blue illuminated drones seamlessly rearranged themselves within seconds to shift shapes as if they were dancing to Dumbledore's wave of Elder Wand! This earmarked our first ever experience of such aerial orchestration.
Jamai Shashthi, a day to pamper sons-in-law and a quintessential Bengali ritual, was tucked amid these unforgettable days. It's only the third time in 21 years that we observed it together - needless to mention how coveted this was!
Meeting up friends and family, trying new types of fish and food, encounter with endemic animals - kangaroos in the wild at the caravan park by Canjola Lake, lorikeets and noisy miners clinging on to ice-cream like banksias, sulphur-crested cockatoos and kookaburras waking them to a raucous dawn - were other mention-worthy highlights of their trip.
As much as we wish, time wouldn't stop! So, here's wishing them a safe journey back, and we look forward to meeting them soon. Hope the cheerful time spent together attenuates the sting of moist eyes and choked voices on either side of the steadfast wall at security check and beyond.
Here are some glimpses of frames we shared in and around Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne.
5th March: Office, ferry from Barungaroo to Circular Quay, Opera House and Botanical Garden
11th March: Hawkesbury
12th March: Cremorne Point, ISKCON
18th March: Manly, Chatswood, train replacement bus from Gordon
19th March: stayed home due to soaring temperatures
25th March: Bondi
26th March: Milson's Point, Luna Park, Harbour Bridge walk, Observatory
1st April: Rhodes IKEA
2nd April: stayed home due to heavy showers
5th April: Waitara, Wahroonga
7th April: Watson's Bay, St Mary's Cathedral, Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park, QV Building, Strathfield
8th April: Otford Lookout, Stanwell Tops, Helensburgh Temple, Sea Cliff Bridge
9th April: Blue Mountains - Lincoln's Rock, The Three Sisters, passed by Wentworth Falls Lake
10th April: Birdie Beach, Norah Head, The Entrance
12th April: Museum tour by Jishnu
14th April: Nan Tien, Kiama, Gerora Beach via Gerrigong, Shoalhaven Heads
15th April: Hyams Beach, Conjola Lake, Ulladulla
16th April: Canberra - Australian War Memorial, Ainslie Lookout, Burley Griffin Lake, National Carillon Tower, Parliament
17th April: Lake George, The Big Merino at Goulburn
20th April: Office interiors
21st April: Waverton Ball's Head by Jishnu
22nd April: Bahai Temple, Palm Beach, Newport Beach, Fisherman's Beach by the golf course
23rd April: La Perouse, Ramkrishna Mission
25th April: ANZAC Day holiday - Brighton-Le-Sands by Dona
29th April: Macquarie University Mall (Big W)
30th April: Naman's Place, Harris Park
4th May: Office cafe area, Opera House
6th May: Fish Market, Paddy's Market, Darling Harbour
7th May: Hornsby Mall
13th May: Hornsby Mall, Mother's Day decorations
14th May: Rofe Park
15th May: Melbourne, Sangha's new home
16th May: City exploration, Himu, Titin dinner meet
17th May: Great Ocean Road Trip
18th May: Docklands, lunch with Himu, Sydney
20th May: Picnic at Parramatta; parents at Rofe
21st May: University of Sydney
25th May: Jamai Shashthi
26th May: Vivid Sydney Circular Quay
27th May: Botuk
28th May: Vivid Sydney Darling Habour, Drone Show at Circular Quay
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