AshTalksHobbies

Yes, this can be a hobby! Some people, like my mom, just love visiting zoos. She has gone to the zoo in Delhi, Chennai, Nainital, Hyderabad and Trivandrum. We happen to live near the Vandalur zoo in Chennai. We’ve been here quite often. Here are some pics from Vandalur zoo. Taking young children to zoos is a good idea to enable them to see a variety of animals. The tiger temple in Thailand is famous, too. One does feel sad to see animals outside their habitat and living in bad conditions and in cages in circuses and commercial display like the Dolphin City that once existed in Chennai. All four dolphins apparently died since they were not in a conducive environment. Most zoos, however, are well equipped with facilities and staff who are well-trained zoologists with a good knowledge of animal psychology. They have veterinary doctors affiliated with them to help the animals. Most animals do not breed well in captivity, but it is a joy to behold tiger cubs or other ...

I would say yoga is a way of life and more than a hobby, but I’m including it here as a form of exercise for those looking to modify their lifestyles. When I lived in Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai, for a brief while in 2011 or so, I had a lady come home and teach my mom and me yoga. It was with slow movements.  In 2013, I joined Bharat Thakur’s yoga classes in Indira Nagar, Bangalore, and my perception of yoga underwent a drastic change. It was so aerobic and there was so much movement. I lost inches quickly and also used to perspire a great deal during the sessions. I later did yoga with 136.1 yoga studio in Indira Nagar, which has since shut down. These sessions were slower, but not as slow as the ones I did in Tiruvanmiyur. It was hatha yoga. In 2015, I signed up for classes in a 1000 yoga in Brookefield, Bangalore, and the sessions were similar to the ones I’d experienced in 136.1. But by then I was older and I felt the slow pace of yoga was more suited for my body. It helped me ...

There are certain kinds of people who just can’t be content with the humdrum of everyday life. They seek out adventure and are daredevils. These are the people who bungee jump, paraglide and take part in X-treme sports. My earlier post on U is for Underwater Pursuits   covered some of these, but today, I will continue with those that can be done on land and in air, too. Here’s a link that discusses adventure sports in India.  Although I wouldn’t really call myself a daredevil, I have done parasailing twice ( Once in Thailand and once in Ibiza), rappelling( in Mahabalipuram, Chennai) , trekking ( in Munnar), hot-air ballooning in Corbett and caving in Araku Valley, Vishakhapatnam. The rappelling in Mahabalipuram was at Silversands resort and was a day trip from Cognizant where I was working then. We had to scale a tall outcrop of rock, which was almost vertical. We had to hold on to small ledges that were carved into the rock, and we were also secured by a rope i...

Who doesn’t like watching the telly, Netflix, Amazon Prime or any of the other streaming platforms? It’s a popular pastime, especially now during the lockdown. People always called the TV the idiot box, but over time, the quality of the shows have improved dramatically and there is content for every kind of sensibility out there. I’m not an inveterate TV watcher, but my mom simply cannot do without the TV to de-stress. Her favourite shows, as are mine, include Two Broke Girls, Mike and Molly, The Big Bang Theory, Superstore and other comedies. On Netflix, I’ve enjoyed Sacred Games, Atypical, Sex Education, and other shows. On Amazon Prime, I’ve mostly watched movies. I’ve also watched a couple of Man vs. wild shows featuring our PM and another starring Rajnikanth. There is a show for every kind of mood and every kind of person. I don’t consume much news on TV and rely on online publications to get my news. My dad watches Christiane Amanpour’s show and also a lot of ...

I’ve already touched upon gardening as a hobby in my post G is for gardening . But I have dedicated a special post for vegetable gardens here. Every adult should consume at least 300 gm of vegetables daily. In times such as these, you might not be able to get a good supply of fresh vegetables. The vegetables might have been plucked many days earlier and might contain chemicals and pesticides. Growing your own vegetable garden is a wonderful way to have steady access to fresh, organic vegetables free from pesticides. You have total control of the soil, water, manure and nutrients you use for your little kitchen garden. Here's a picture of my dad tending to his kitchen garden. A beginner can grow beans, ladies finger, lime, curry leaves, brinjal, tomato, cucumber, greens of various types, etc in a kitchen garden. Good soil is needed and many of these varieties can be planted as seeds. Curry leaves are an important part of the garden as they contain useful medicina...

There are a whole bunch of activities that can be done underwater, starting with scuba diving and snorkeling. I haven’t done either although I had the opportunity to do it on my trip to Ibiza in 2012. Some of my friends who accompanied me on the trip to Ibiza did take part in scuba diving, but I decided to give it a miss. I did take part in parasailing though in Ibiza and other adventure sports in other countries.    My friend who came on the Ibiza trip with me used to do scuba diving in Africa, too. She has done a course and obtained a certificate in scuba diving. She enjoyed it immensely, but it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Another friend has learned scuba diving in the Andamans. As the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara shows us, it gives some people a unique experience to enjoy marine life in its habitat. Here's a picture of the Mediterranean sea that I took on my trip while seated on a speedboat with my friends.  Even on my trip to Thailand, when I went pa...