Tag: Travel

Oman- My Spring Break Vacation

Recently, for Spring Break, I got to go to Oman, in the Middle East. It was a pretty cool trip and I got to experience and see a lot of things that I’m glad I had a chance to!

There was a lot of nature around us, from the Gulf of Oman to the desert. All of it was absolutely gorgeous and amazing to see.

Additionally, we visited many popular and beautiful areas like the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and the Royal Opera House. They were both awe-inspiring!

Lastly, we saw a lot of animals! Overall, there were many cats roaming the streets, especially in the souq. When driving to the desert, we saw many camels, including one that crossed right in front of our car. And lastly, we went on a boat ride to see dolphins and ended up seeing SO many. It was so wonderful!

Overall, I really enjoyed this trip and getting to see so many amazing sights. What’s a great vacation you’ve been on?

Joshua Tree National Park

Recently, we visited California, and there, we went to Joshua Tree National Park! We got to see some amazing sights and to commemorate, I wrote a poem in the style of a Golden Shovel. A Golden Shovel poem is when the ending word, usually bolded, of each line (when read from top to bottom) forms a line from another poem. In my case, I used a line from the poem, “Joshua Tree” by A.R. Ammons. I hope you enjoy!

as i stood by the
trees, the wind
whistled by, past the rounding
of the 
rocks, through the gap
of the stones and found
me
standing still there
listening to the weeping
of too-heavy branches under
the magnificence of a
true blue sky. there it was, a Joshua
tree

My Trip To Israel

Recently, I went on a trip to Israel! Israel is one of the most culturally significant and religiously important countries in the world, as it is known as the birthplace of three religions. I got to explore a lot of amazing places when we went, so here are a few of them!

Carmel Market:

This was an amazing open air market that I was able to visit. There were a lot of food stalls, a lot of souvenir shops, and overall, it was a really nice experience. While we didn’t eat there, we did buy souvenirs and that was super fun!

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem:

While traveling, this wasn’t a major stop in our trip, however the environment of this museum was so nice and calming that I would’ve loved to stay for longer. The museum was really nicely done and I loved the architecture and symbolism of everything.

The Dead Sea:

Another place we got to visit was the Dead Sea! The Dead Sea is known for having a high salinity, which lets you float without any effort! We took some newspapers for props and ended up conducting a little science experiment with a sunhat. It was super fun!

What’s a country you would like to visit?

Mid Year Dance Festival

Recently, I went to see Chennai Music Academy’s Mid Year Dance Festival. I went on the second day and watched both Lekha Prasad (disciple of Guru Priya Murle) and P.V. Adithya (disciple of Guru Sudharani Raghunathy) perform a 4 item margam consisting of a varnam and a thillana, the other two items being unique to the performer. I enjoyed both dances immensely, especially with the more intimate area, with a smaller stage and a live orchestra.


The first dancer, Lekha Prasad, started off with an invocatory item composed by Chirumanavoor Muniswamy Mudaliar. Next, she performed a 45-50 minute varnam called Sami nee Rammana Ve composed by Tanjore Ponnayya. Her aadavus were clean and I especially liked how she used her eyes in the abhinaya sections. Her poses were also well done and were once again, clean. Her angashruti was really good. After this, she performed an Ashtapadi- Yahi Madhava- composed by Jayadeva, then ended with a thillana composed by the Tanjore Quartet. I enjoyed her performance a lot.


Next was a performance by P.V. Adithya. He started off with a Kriti composed by Mysore Vasudevachar, in which his angashruti shone. Next was a 50 minute Varnam- Sami ninne kori- composed by the Tanjore Quartet. I really enjoyed his aadavus, as they were crisp and clear. Each aadvu was completed fully and even the faster speeds were clear. I also enjoyed his abhinaya.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the performances from the Chennai Music Academy. They were both well put together and presented and I am incredibly glad I was able to see these performances!

The Miami Botanical Gardens

Recently, we traveled to Miami! While exploring the city, we discovered the Miami Botanical Gardens, a beautiful garden filled with plants and wildlife. Here’s an acrostic poem based on what I saw in the gardens!

Miami, a busy city, bustling to the brim
Isn’t just noise and hustle,
An adventure is waiting, in
Miami, so what are you waiting for?
It’s time to explore!

Behind the Convention Center,
Over past the beach,
Towards the quiet side of the city,
A secret gem lies in wait, just for you
Nature blossoms, blooms, and grows, an
Incredible, inviting space
Come on in
Amazing awaits,
Let’s experience it!

Grand, open
Area, filled with
Radiance, light
Dazzling, incredible
Extraordinarily, wonderful
No time to waste!

The Beatles Tour

During our Manchester trip, we got to go to Liverpool, where I got to visit the Beatles Museum. This was an amazing opportunity as I really enjoy the Beatles’ music. The museum was filled with information from their childhood to (some of) their deaths. It was also decorated beautifully, with certain rooms dedicated to a certain song or album and other rooms showing how they became such a popular band.

After that, we decided to go on a hop on-hop off style bus tour of famous Beatles locations. This included Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and the Beatles’ childhood homes. It was amazing to see how each of these places inspired the 4 so much that they went on to write award-winning songs about them.

Libraries I Visited in Spring Break

Recently, I went to Manchester. I spent a week there and explored the city. While it was really cold, I enjoyed everywhere we went to! Some of my favorite places were the libraries. We visited Chetham’s Library in Manchester, which is the oldest public library in the world, and the Liverpool Central Library.

The Chetham’s Library first served as housing for the priests of Manchester’s Collegiate Church in 1421. Since then, it has become a library, housing many unique and rare books for over 350 years. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the library and therefore learned about the history. The library contains a few intact rooms that represent what life might have looked like for the priests and the warden that watched over them.

Later in the trip, we went to Liverpool, where we decided to visit the Liverpool Central Library. This library is relatively modern, with some beautiful older rooms. Outside the library, book titles are engraved (as shown in the first picture) and I loved the way that it looked. It was totally unique and I haven’t seen other libraries which had decorations like that before! The main room was beautiful and I especially enjoyed the second “floor” which curved around the whole room. There were also certain exhibits when we went, like an Audubon birds exhibit and a Chinese and British exhibit (last picture).

I really enjoyed visiting these libraries! Which library that you’ve visited is your favorite?

Winter Break in Chennai

Lazy morning,
Sitting on the couch,
Playing games on devices that
Aren’t mine
Chennai is the best

Eating my comfort foods,
Surrounded by my family
What new adventure
Do we have today?
Chennai is the best

Cards in my hand
Shhh…don’t show anybody
Who’s the winner?
Yes! It’s me!
Chennai is the best

Staying up late at night
What movie shall we watch today?
Laughing with my grandparents
All night long
Chennai is the best

Never wanting to go back
Feeling so sad while arriving
at the airport
I can’t want to see everyone again!
Chennai is the best

Chennai

Days lazing at home
AC on, and so is the TV
Cuddled up close with my family
I’m finally in Chennai

Eating home-made food
Reading my old comfort books
Peaceful as can be
I’m back in Chennai

Family all around
Reconnecting face-to-face
No need for tiny screens
I’m in love with Chennai

Can’t wait to see the sights
Back after two years
Old and new combined
I’m marveling at Chennai

Packing up slowly
Never wanting to leave
But school starts again soon
I have to leave Chennai

Flying away through blue skies
Knowing I’ll be back soon
To this wonderful, wonderful place
I’ll always come back to Chennai

22 Things I Look Forward to in 2022

Here are 22 things I’m looking forward to in this new year!

  1. The School For Good and Evil movie
    This is a movie that is going to be coming to Netflix based on the popular School for Good and Evil book series. I’m really excited to watch it!
  2. Traveling more
  3. Trying a new theme on my Instagram
  4. Performing more Bharatanatyam
  5. Learning more Mohiniattam items
  6. Attending more book events
  7. Improving my writing skills
  8. Attending my school’s dance event
  9. Expanding my Ninja Foodi cooking skills
  10. Discovering new authors
  11. (Hopefully) being a leader in 8th grade
    In our school, leaders lead lessons in homeroom 2 times a week. I’ve heard that leadership class and leadership camp (which you take to become a leader) is really fun.
  12. Creating a project in my MUN class with my friends
  13. Discovering more mythological tales
  14. Visiting the library more frequently
  15. Solve a New York Times crossword by myself
  16. Spending more time with family (fingers crossed)
  17. Trying more crafts
  18. Fun projects in my Texas History class
  19. Playing around with online designing
  20. Start biking more
  21. Trying new cuisines
  22. Discover/Play new board games