One of my childhood wishes was going to be fulfilled! We spent many summer months with family in Kashmir but never managed to go to Ladakh. There was always a really good reason to keep it for “next time”. The reasons ranged from “road washed away”, “an avalanche has blocked the road”, “heavy snow and difficult driving conditions”, “road blockade  because of a security alert”, …. You get the picture. In those days it took a good 3 days to travel from Srinagar to Leh and it was not meant for the faint-hearted. It needed serious preparation and planning and …

The Big Sur Marathon is one of the top 10 marathon destinations in the world.
The big run happens along the scenic Highway One, skirting the rugged California coast from Big Sur to Carmel. The slogan used at Big Sur Marathon is “running on the edge of the western world”! It is indeed the case.

A few of us runners at work had decided to participate in this race as a relay team. The race is divided into 5 legs, each having its uniqueness.

Eventually, three of us ran the race. Here is our team “Geeks with Wings” at the carbo …

Very proud of my son Rahul for successfully running his first half marathon at the “Rock & Roll Half Marathon” in San Jose today! He completed the run in 2:00:58, which is impressive for a first timer.

Rahul started running seriously over the summer with some of his friends and started to enjoy it. He surprised me one day by telling me that he wanted to run a half marathon and raise funds for “Asha for Education“, a non-profit secular organization focused on basic education for underprivileged children in India. We looked at various possibilities and registered for this race. Rahul …

You must be wondering what Soldier, Monkey and Airplane has to do with swimming! I wondered too!

Well, this is the unorthodox way to propel forwards when floating on the back!  Think of standing like a soldier, arms straight like in attention. Then run your hands along the body, with fingers up to the armpit to look like a monkey. Then extend the arms across like an airplane. Lo and behold, I found myself gliding through the water and moving backward! What a wonderful feeling it is! While looking up at the grey sky, I repeated the instructions “soldier, monkey, airplane, …

As a little girl, I used to read about and stare at all the sports figures in the local newspaper, The Statesman, The Telegraph or the magazines we got at home. I admired every one of the athletes. I took to all the sports that was available in my school Kendriya Vidyalaya, including hockey and soccer, which girls did not generally play! I continued with sports when I went to IIT and IISc as well, enjoying every sport I played. This slowed down after I graduated and started working. There were other demands on my time. In the last …