My 101 Lifetime GOALS

1. OWN A SPACIOUS, AIRY HOME THAT I TRULY LOVE

2. PLANT AND TAKE CARE OF A JACKFRUIT TREE

3. HAVE A PERFECT SET OF TEETH

4. NAP WITH AN ELEPHANT

5. DRIVE ALONG THE COASTLINE FOR A 1,000 KMS

6. BUILD A 2-FEET HIGH SAND CASTLE THAT HOLDS

7. RUN A FANCY CAFE 

8. CLIMB THE 10,000 STEPS TO GIRNAR MOUNTAIN TOP

9. RAISE A PET 

10. WALK ON FIRE

11. TAKE A DIP IN ICY WATERS

12. SHOUT INTO THE MOUNTAINS

13. SMOKE POT 

14. SEE THE HIMALAYAS

15. PERFORM THE KAILASH PARVAT PARIKRAMA

16. BUILD A DOZEN FUN PRODUCTS

17. MAKE A COMIC BOOK OF MY LIFE'S EXPERIENCES

18. COMPILE 21 FUNNY EXPERIENCES THAT HAPPENED IN OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES

19. GO ON 51 TRIPS BY MYSELF

20. TALK TO 365 DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN A YEAR

21. HOLD MEXICAN JUMPING BEANS

22. DOCUMENT A THOUSAND NEW EXPERIENCES

23. GET A MASTER'S DEGREE IN A FUN, USEFUL SUBJECT

24. DO A 365-DAY CREATIVE CHALLENGE

25. SPEND A YEAR DOCUMENTING ONE MEMORY EACH DAY 

26. SPEND A YEAR TRAVELLING EVERY SINGLE WEEK OR WEEKEND

27. SPEND A YEAR WRITING EVERY SINGLE DAY

28. EXPERIENCE SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURE

29. VISIT A 100 PLACES ON MY BIKE

30. SPEND AN ENTIRE YEAR NOT BUYING CLOTHES. IF NEEDED, STITCH THEM MYSELF

31. MAKE MONEY IN 21 DIFFERENT WAYS

32. HAND OUT A 1,000 HANDMADE GIFTS

33. TAKE 21 PEOPLE OUT ON A DATE

34. CLIMB 10 FLOORS A DAY FOR A MONTH

and see what changes

35. VISIT MYSURU PALACE ON A DAY WHEN IT IS LIT UP

36. READ THE BHAGAVAD GEETA

37. LEARN FIRST-AID AND CPR

38. EAT A NEW DISH EVERY SINGLE DAY OF A YEAR

39. LEARN 101 USEFUL THINGS FREE OF CHARGE

40. MEMORIZE 21 COMPLICATED SHLOKAS

41. BUILD AN ORCHARD ON A 3 ACRE LAND IN THE WESTERN GHATS

42. FLOAT IN THE DEAD SEA

43. DE-ADDICT FROM TEA, COFFEE, WHEAT, RICE AND SUGAR 

44. KEEP MY EYESIGHT SHARP TILL I AM 60 YRS OLD

45. LEARN A SUPERNATURAL POWER

46. RIDE IN A HOT AIR BALLOON 

47. RIDE IN A ROLLER-COASTER

48. SCUBA DIVE AND SEE COLOURFUL MARINE LIFE

49. SPEND A YEAR WRITING LETTERS TO MY FUTURE SELF

write about how my life unfolded from a third person's view

50. VISIT THE FOUR AADI SHAKTIPEETH

51. LEARN SOUNDARYA LAHARI

52. LEARN LALITA SAHASRANAMA

53. LEARN LALITA TRISHATI  

55. EAT 101 NEW FRUITS

56. VISIT 101 MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN THE WORLD 

57. GO ON 101 BEAUTIFUL WALKS

58. TAKE 101 MOST BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS

59. BINGE-READ 101 BOOKS IN A SINGLE YEAR

60. DONATE MONEY TO 101 CAUSES 

61. PET 101 ANIMALS

62. SEE 101 NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD

63.  GO ON 21 TRIPS BY MYSELF

64. VISIT EVERY STATE AND UNION TERRITORY IN INDIA 

65. VISIT ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS ON EARTH

66. SEE 21 MOST BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD  

67. EXPERIENCE 21 DIFFERENT TERRAINS

68. SEE 21 DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLANTATIONS

69. EAT 101 LOCATION-SPECIFIC POPULAR FOODS WHILE BEING IN THAT LOCATION

70. GO ON 21 FUN TRIPS WITH BOBO

87. VISIT ALL 18 MAHA SHAKTI PEETHAS

88. EXPERIENCE 21 DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATIONS

89. GO ON 21 BEAUTIFUL HIKES AND TREKS

90. VISIT 101 TEMPLES THAT ARE MORE THAN A 100 YEARS OLD (2024 ONWARDS)

91. EAT 101 NEW DISHES 

92. SEE A HUNDRED NEW ANIMALS

93. PERFORM THE GOVARDHAN PARVAT PARIKRAMA

94. ENJOY AN OPEN-AIR MUSIC CONCERT

95. SEE A RUDRAKSHA TREE

96. BE GRATEFUL FOR 21 LIFE-CHANGING PEOPLE AND EVENTS  

97. WATCH 21 MOVIES WITH BOBO

98. DOCUMENT 21 LUNCH PRASADA AT TEMPLES 

99. SEE 21 DIFFERENT FRUIT TREES 

100. GROW 21 EDIBLE PLANTS IN OUR BALCONY GARDEN

101. SEE GOD

2. EAT 101 NEW FRUITS

101. Pomelo 100. Passion Fruit, from a friend's garden 99. Nectarine 98. Grapefruits, straight from a tree in Uttarakhand 97. Dragon Fruit 96. Persimmon 95. Apricots and Peaches 94. Tree Tomato(Tamarillo) in Nepal 93. Jujube(the Chinese variant) 92. Yellow Plum 91. Blackberries and Raspberries 90. Blueberries 89. Paneer Fruit(Syzygium Jambos) 88. Star fruits 87. Avocado 86. Rose apples - white, pink and red 85. Banana variants - red banana, karpooravalli, poovan, Nanjangud rasbalehannu, yelakki 84. The tiny almond inside peach seeds 83. Mangosteen 82. Ambarella(Indian Hog Plum) 81. Rambutan 80. Hazelnuts 79. Physalis 78. Yellow watermelon (the skin is yellow, the pulp is red) 77. Mango variant Kala Phad from Tamil Nadu, dark green-black skin and yellow pulp and tastes like Kesar/saffron 76. wild jackfruit a.k.a anjili chakka - a palm-sized, rather sour, jackfruit 75. Green peaches at Shillong - fully ripe fruits still have green peels 74. Soh namdong(yellow fruits) at Shillong 73. Sohiong('black fruit' - sweet and sour purplish-black berry) in Shillong 72. An extremely sweet pineapple variant grown in Shillong and exported to the Middle East 71. Kaji Nemu, the long and huge lemon from North East, weighing above 200 grams each 70. Boiled water chestnuts(Singhada) 69. tender red and yellow dates, quite sweet and crisp 68. elephant apple(au tenga) from Odisha, an eye-catching fruit that is also quite sour. elephants love this fruit 67. black carrots from Varanasi 66. apple guavas(red-skinned guavas) from Prayagraj 65. kiskara or kepula hannu, a small red wild berry that tastes like an apple, at Sthitaprajna farm near Yedthare 64. Rani pineapple from Karnataka, supposed to be sweet but turned out quite bland 63. Karonda a.k.a Carandas Plum or Bengal currant 62. 

Wishlist: 

Phalsa berry, Soursop, bread fruit, prickly pear, miracle fruit/berry, Jabuticaba, black sapota, Australian finger lime, Longan, Star apple, cranberry, different coloured corn

4. VISIT 101 MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN THE WORLD 

1. Juizhaigou National Park, China 2. Niagara State park and Niagara waterfalls, USA 3. Detian waterfalls in China bordering Vietnam 4. Sentosa Island, Singapore 5. the entire Hongkong 6. Tiger's Nest monastery a.k.a Paro Taktsang, Bhutan 7. Rinpung Dzong, the beautiful wooden bridge leading upto it, the river flowing under it, the steep road ahead to the National museum with views of snow-covered mountains in the distance at Paro in Bhuran 8. Machchapuchare and the view of Annapurna peak from there, Nepal 9. Durbar square in Kathmandu, Nepal 10. Great wall of China 11. 

1. Golden temple, Amritsar 2. Garden of Caves, Meghalaya 3. the bamboo bridge trail, Meghalaya 4. Double root bridge and it's trail of 6,000 stairs, Meghalaya 5. Mawsmai Caves, Meghalaya 6. Arwah Caves, Meghalaya 7. Mana village, Uttarakhand 8. Badrinath temple, very colourful and delightful 9. Kedarnath, Uttarakhand 10. the river side at Gangotri, Uttarakhand 11. the trail and nature at Yamunotri 12. the beach at Puri, Odisha 13. the hill-top temple of Maa Tara Tarini in Odisha 14. Jog falls and it's backwaters( with tiny fish that nibble at you) during peak rainy season, Karnataka 15. Bramhaputra river and the boat ride to the Peacock island in Guwahati, Assam 16. Brihadeeshwara temple in Thanjavur, TN 17. Airavateshwara temple in Kumbakonam, TN 18. the Aihole and Pattadakallu group of temples, Karnataka 19. Ekambareshwarar temple in Kanchipuram, TN 20. Kailasanathar temple archeological site in Kanchipuram, TN 21. The view of the Bramhaputra river from Bhuvaneshwari temple on the hill top at Kamakhya, Assam 22. the Mahalok corridor at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, MP 23. Keshav Bihari mandir in Barsana, UP 24. Kusum sarovar at Govardhan, UP 25. 

5. GO ON 101 BEAUTIFUL WALKS

1. The 16km uphill walk to Vaishnodevi darbar, in the middle of night. The path is well-lit and paved and winding. Many times, you find yourself walking alone but you can hear the 'Jai Mata di' chants from people along the path, the sight of city lights is quite beautiful. 2. Walking on the Great Wall of China, especially on a very steep section with beautiful views and turning back from there. Buying a golden medal on the wall to commemorate the visit. Reluctantly leaving after announcements are made on speakers all over the wall at 5pm. There is no restriction on how far you can walk on the wall. 3. Early morning temple trails with Bobo in Kanchipuram, before it got too warm. The temples are spaced out, the roads are good and dotted with eateries. The lanes have small houses with beautiful rangolis. 4. Walk from Thamel to the Darbar Square and back in Kathmandu, through a busy market place dodging vehicular and foot traffic. There are small, pretty temples along the way. 5. Beautiful board walks at the Juizhaigou National Park, China. Walking along waterfalls, seating areas at picturesque locations, standing right atop lakes and flowing water - it was dream like! 6. Board walk to Sentosa Island in Singapore, watching the tiny twinkling lights embedded in the wooden walkway, surrounded by water. There's a beautiful mall at one end, the Universal studios at the other, the ropeway at a distance and the metro trains overheard. 7. Walking around the Universal Studios in Singapore, watching the shows, visiting trinket shops, getting tea and sandwich, and feeling like a kid with pocket money. 8. Walking around the lanes of HK eating and drinking from tiny shops esp. the boba tea, lotus tea etc, and around a fishing island i visited there. One could buy a puffed up Puffer Fish from shops selling dry fish. The roads are paved end-to-end and are dust-free. 9. Walking around in Niagara State Park, instead of taking the tourist tram and seeing a Canadian geese family, passing by picnic tables and many flowering trees. 10. Walking 3kms uphill with Bobo to visit the museum that sits on a hill at Paro in Bhutan, stopping on the way to take photos of snow-covered mountains at a distance, stopping every few minutes to catch our breath. We had to cross a beautiful wooden bridge over a stream, take endless stairs to reach a temple and then walk steep uphill. 11. Walking 2kms by myself on a deserted, winding road from the Nandi statue to the main road at Chamundi hill in Mysuru, with noisy birds in the bushes for company. 12. Walking downhill from the hilltop temple of Bhuvaneshwari ji in Kamakhya to the main temple, with Bramhaputra river on the left and the hill on the right. The road is good and constantly reminded me of the 'tanha dil tanha safar' song. The Baglamukhi mata mandir on the hill sides was so beautiful with natural caves and water flowing inside them. 13. Walking down by myself to Mahadev Khola dham in Shillong, taking the cemented stairs between a pretty settlement, then over tiny bridges with streams flowing. It kept raining all along. 14. Walking the trail of the very beautiful Garden of Caves, Meghalaya, with clearly marked spots that follow the trail back to the entrance. Lots of stone steps. Delightful! 15. Walking the short trail to the watery and amazing Mawsmai caves and walking in ankle-deep water inside the cave, in Meghalaya. 16. Walking the beautiful trail to Arwah caves in Meghalaya, watching a few waterfalls at a distance, wooden handrails covered in moss and spider-webs with water droplets in them. 17. Walking late evening from a restaurant to the home-stay in Sohra/Cherrapunji.. it was very quiet, very dark, sparse streetlights and heavy mist. surprisingly, there were no insects chirping. it was that quiet. the most peaceful walk i have ever had! 18. A long, beautiful walk with bobo on a very pleasant morning to the kudala sangama temple, from the hotel. 19. Walking around Haridwar - along the market road to the Ganga river for the evening aarti, to the Mayadevi(the adhisthadri of Haridwar) temple in the morning, halfway up to the Manasa Devi temple, photographing old buildings and looking at the several akhadas. 20. Climbing down very narrow stairs - narrow enought to accomodate only our feet - between houses to get to the Vishwanath temple in Guptkashi. These stairs were tiresome to climb on the way back. 21. Walking through the narrow lanes in Mana between  houses near Badrinath, visiting two amazing temples - the Ghantakarna kshetrapal temple and the Vishwakarma Taposthal cave. 22. Walking through the colourful market near Triveni Sangam in Rishikesh, on narrow congested lanes and window-shopping for local products. All the ancient and prominent temples are along this lane. 23. Walking on the endless pontoon bridges during the Mahakumbh. The bridges don't move at all and feel solid. 24. Walking around the nicely done Mahalok(Mahakaleshwar temple) corridor in Ujjain, during the day and again in the evening. The lights and architecture are quite eye-catching, with lots of seating space around. 25. Walking by myself along the Shipra river in Ujjain, from Bhooki mata temple to the Karkeshwar Mahadev temple to a very peaceful ashram with many temples... to the Shipra ghat where the evening aarti is performed. The ashram had a hanuman temple where his bal-avatar is worshipped. 26. Walking along the parikrama path at Omkareshwar, on a full moon day. It was 7kms long with lots of stairs and a few settlements. The final stretch was very dark with steep descending stairs. 27. Walking the 13km girivalam a.k.a Arunachaleshwara parikrama in Tiruvannamalai barefoot, starting around 4pm and finishing by 9pm. It was a full moon day too and very beautiful at some places with peacocks cawing. The sunrise was equally beautiful. 28. a short walk along the beautiful sea beach at Puri 29. Walking in rain with an umbrella to the Varahi Mata temple in Chaurasi in Odisha surrounded by green fields, and hardly any people around. 30. Walking around the lanes of Vrindavan near Keshi ghat that had beautiful structures. It had a small town feel and there were many monkeys around. 31. Walking around the Vishram ghat visiting temples, in Mathura. 32. Walking the lanes of Varanasi and climbing a lot of stairs, near the ghats and visiting the major temples. 33. Walking through a sparsely wooded area and passing by monkeys, parrots, cows, hearing peacocks and seeing many beautiful birds during the 21km  Govardhan parikrama. 34. The beautiful stretch on the ridge of a hill, between Maan Mandir and Keshav Bihari mandir in Barsana. It was beyond beautiful with mustard fields in the valley on one side and shrubbery on the other side and the fort right ahead. 35. Walk around the IIM Bangalore campus, full of trees and beautiful roads. The campus is quite green. 36. walking 4kms from Sthitaprajna farm near Yedtare near Kolluru to the main road, amidst dense greenery of farmlands and spotting peacocks, a hornbill and multiple streams 37. walking the town of Kollur from one end to the other and checking out plantations and streams on either end of the town while it drizzled on and off 38. 

6. TAKE 101 MOST BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS

7. BINGE-READ 101 BOOKS IN A SINGLE YEAR

8. LEARN 101 USEFUL THINGS FOR FREE

1. Certificate of Participation from Amnesty International in 'Digital Security and Human Rights' - to be showcased on my resume. 2. Made a variety of pickles by following YouTube videos. 3. Learnt to cut my hair in layers. Cut my own hair and Bobo's hair several times during Covid 4. Several dishes 5. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C01 via AWS SheDares program 6. Sri Devi Khadgamala deeksha from Sivapremananda Self-Realization Centre Bengaluru 7. Shiva mantra deeksha from Sivapremananda Self-Realization Centre Bengaluru 8. Mahakali Mahamantra deeksha from SSRC Bengaluru 9. Dattatreya mantra deeksha from SSRC Bengaluru 10. Basics of Canva at a promotional online event 11. Thyroid care from a free, promotional webinar 12. Lalita Sahasranama Stotra deeksha from Sivapremananda Self-Realization Centre Bengaluru 13. Body Composition Analysis(total body weight(kgs), muscle mass(kgs), % fat) and its importance from Kiran 14. The brain-hormone connection during perimenopause, at a Women's day event organised by Miror 15. the land situation, soil-erosion due to heavy rains resulting in acidic soil, difference between Konkan belt, Tulunadu and the western ghats - by talking to various people 16. Kaliyuga Collective Sadhana deeksha from SSRC 17. difference between Banaras paan and Kolkata paan one is sweet and the other dries your mouth causing frequent thirst) 18. 

9. DONATE MONEY TO 101 CAUSES 

1. Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra for building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Feb 2021 (my largest donation ever!)

2: Sewa Nyaya Utthan foundation for their ongoing social causes. Jan 2021. 3. Tumkur Sri Siddaganga Matha Dasoha. Mar 2021 

4. Agniveer for setting up Vedic Aashrams. Apr 2021 5. Dasna Devi Mandir preservation. Apr 2021 6. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust, a cow shelter and retirement home. May 2021 7. Medical expenses of a needy boy from Melukote. May 2021 8. Koppal Jathre Dasoha, Jan 2022 9. Kamadhenu Gowshala and Foundation, for sustenance. Apr 2022 10. Bhooseva at Kateel Durga Parameshwari temple, May 2022 11. Gau Nandi Sewa Hospital, May 2022 12. Notebooks for school-going children of Tamil Nadu, Jun 2022 13. Kamadhenu Gowshala and Foundation, for sustenance. Jul 2022 14. Shri Navkar Sarvar Kendra, sponsored a few free medical kits for lumpy skin disease in cows, Sep 2022 15. Annadana Sewa, Sri Vadanbailu Padmavati Devi Temple. May 2023 16. Sri Vidya Learning Centre to setup SriVidya Jnaana Peetham in Kanchipuram. Jul 2023 17. Sewa Nyaya Utthan foundation for their ongoing social causes. Dec 2023. 18. Ugra Narasimha charitable trust for restoration of Avanamkulam Subrahmanya temple in Malappuram, Jan 2024 19. Annadana sewa to Mahamate Sri Vadanbailu Padmavati ammana temple, Jan 2024 20. Visamo Tiffin Seva by Rakesh Panchal, for feeding elderly people, Jan 2024 21. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust, for upkeep of cows Jan 2024 22. Koppal matha for resident students' welfare Jan 2024 23. Tumkur Sri Siddaganga Matha dasoha Jan 2024 24. Nidagundi Koppa Matha for Jatre, Jan 2024 25. Chaturshringi Devasthan jirnodhar Feb 2024 26. Temple restoration of Veerabhadra Swamy sametha Bhadrakali Amman at Uthiramerur, 20km from Kanchi Kamakshi Amman Temple. Feb 2024 27. Kamadhenu Gowshala and Foundation, Mar 2024 28. Anna-dana during opening ceremony of Veerabhadra Swamy sametha Bhadrakali Amman at Uthiramerur, 20km from Kanchi Kamakshi Amman Temple. Mar 2024 29. Mission Antyodaya Goraksha Charitable Trust, for fodder for cows. Mar 2024 30. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust and gowshala, Apr 2024 31. Annadana for devotees at Shantidham temple complex during Chaitra Navratri, Apr 2024 32. Gau Nandi Sewa Trust - sponspored medicine for skin-burns in cows, May 2024 33. Annadana Seva at ISKCON Bengaluru, June 2024 34. The Leprosy Mission Trust India, July 2024 35. Annadana Sewa at Saibaba temple Bannerghatta Road, Sep 2024 36. Swami Vivekananda orphanage Bengaluru, Oct 2024 37. Building Ram temple at Yamunotri foothills, Oct 2024 38. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust for looking after abandoned cows, Nov 2024 39. College fee assistance to a speech and hearing impaired girl in Bengaluru, Nov 2024 40. A priest's liver transplant operation, on Twitter. Dec 2024 41. Sewa Nyaya Utthan foundation for their ongoing social causes. Dec 2024 42. Annadana seva at Ayyappa Swamy temple, Bilekhalli. Dec 2024 43. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust for Lumpy Skin Disease medical assistance for cows, Jan 2025 44. Dasoha at Yediyuru Siddhalingeshwara temple, Jan 2025 45. Mahakumbh Annadana via Akshay Patra, Feb 2025 46. Prasada Bhojana, Sri Rama Durgamba Seva Samithi Varadahalli near Shimoga - a 1000 year old temple and Valmiki cave. Feb 2025 47. Annadana at Ujjain bhojanalaya, Mar 2025 48. Annadana at Tiruvannamalai Arulamigu Arunachaleshwara temple, Mar 2025 49. Akshaya Patra mid-day meal program(PM Poshan Abhiyaan), Apr 2025 50. Puri Jagannath Ratha Yatra Annadana Seva via Int. Goudiya Vedanta Trust, Jul 2025 51. Mission Antyodaya Goraksha Charitable Trust, Jul 2025 52. Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation to prevent child exploitation via a Supreme Court petition, Oct 2025 53. PureDevotion Foundation, sponsor a blanket for elderly women in Vrindavan, Nov 2025 54. Annadana at Chidambaram temple, Dec 2025 55. Dakshin Vrindavan Trust, Apr 2026 56. Radha Madhav Seva Trust, Apr 2026 for Jagannath Rath Yatra annadana 57. Gurukul Foundation for cow welfare, Apr 2026 58. Towards building a Hanuman ji temple in Bilekhalli Bengaluru, April 2026 59. Towards Sri Siddharoodha Swamiji's tithi celebrations 60. 

10. PET 101 ANIMALS

1. Red-eared slider(turtle) - a beautfiul house pet 2. Mongoose - a rescue at Dharmasthala 3. An elephant and it's calf at Bandipur National Park 4. Shih Tzu - a friend's house pet 5. Neighbour's labrador puppy Brownie, and a blind, senior white labrador 6. cows and calves at the downstairs cattle-pen 7. goats and kids at an aunt's house 8. horses at my school 9. cats and kittens 10. the tiny/pygmy cows at Vadanbailu 11. feeding bananas to an elephant at Dharmasthala 12. Kanna, a friend's very heavy pug 13. a black mountain dog and a sweet black puppy during ABC trek in Nepal 14. a cat at the double-root bridge coffee shop that came to sit with me during a tea break 15. the three polite dogs at the double-root bridge that i hand-fed pooris to 16. the other dog on the double-root bridge trail who asked to be petted when i sat down for a while 17. a kid at kamakhya temple 18. the adorable dog at the Ananda Bhairava temple in Haridwar 19. the calf at Naimisharanya Lalita Devi temple that ate all my laddus 20. a beautiful, jet-black street dog outside my apartment 21. a beautiful black cow that walked up to me in Shimoga 22. an energetic, beautiful and dark-brown coloured golden retriever during my morning walk 23. a huge bull, a baby bull and cows while feeding them on Akshaya Tritiya 24. cows in Vrindavan 25. cows in Varanasi 26. surprisingly, a buffalo in Vrindavan 27. a Malanad Gidda cow at the Singandooru Chowdeshwari Devi temple 28. a calf at Kolluru near the Krishna temple 29. 

wishlist: a dolphin, a croc, snakes, butterflies, a yak, a flying squirrel

11. SEE 101 NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD

1. The Himalayan mountain range - at Munsiyari, the mountains at Auli, the Annapurna range in Nepal 2. Beautiful waterfalls - Hogenakal waterfalls in Tamil Nadu, Gaganchukki and Bharachukki waterfalls near Bangalore, Niagara waterfalls in USA, De Tian waterfalls in China, Nuorilang Falls and Pearl Shoal waterfalls 3. Sinkholes - Belum caves in Andhra Pradesh, Patal Bhuvaneshwar limestone cave temple at Uttarakhand 4. Limestone caves - Batu cave, Gua Tempurang, Perak Tong cave, Ling Sen Tong cave temple(all in Malaysia) 5. Beautiful Lakes of Juizhaigou National Park - Five Colour Pond, Five Flower Lake, Tiger Lake, Panda Lake, Sleeping Dragon Lake, Mirror Lake 6. An estuary - in Pondicherry, connecting the Bay of Bengal to the Chunnambar backwaters 7. Rain columns - in Bangalore 8. Heavy snowfall - in Uttarakhand, the first snowfall of the year that transformed the trees from green to white in an hour, and in Nepal. It looked like the christmas from western movies - a beautiful, wholesome experience. 9. Hailstorms - in Bangalore(got caught in one) and in Jhansi 10. Squall - in Agra 11. A white-out in Nepal 12. The aftermath of an avalanche in Nepal during the ABC trek 13. Mirages a.k.a heat haze - during summers in Jhansi, and on the way from Omkareshwar to Indore 14. Double rainbows 15. The smiley moon of Dec 1, 2008  16. Earthquakes, in Kittur and Jhansi 17. A meteor shower 18. Stratocumulus clouds 19. Starling murmurations 20. Stalagmites and stalactites in caves 21. Rainbows forming in waterfalls at eye-level and below 22. Hot-water spring at Tapovan near Joshimath in Uttarakhand 23. Algae causing water to appear blue, green and yellow at different times of the day, at the Juizhaiguo National Park in China 24. A 400-year old banyan tree sprawling over 3 acres, at Kethohalli in Bangalore 25. Hollow granite rocks shaped by water, at Mekedatu by Kaveri river, near Bangalore 26. Land-slides and mud-slides 27. Clear starry skies seen from a high altitude in Uttranchal 28. Beautiful and never-ending snow-covered mountain range all around at the Machchapuchre Base Camp, Nepal 29. seeing the sun and the moon at the same time 30. Living root bridges in Sohra - roots of rubber fig tree encouraged to grow aerially across and form a bridge to the other side of the stream flowing near the trees. the aerial roots are well-supported by other roots growing vertically downwards 31. Mawsmai caves with rain-fed water flowing in streams and collecting in pools all over 32. white rocks at Gangotri 33. sparkling white and very fine sand at Gangotri 34. super-cooled water, i.e water in liquid form when the temperatures dip below zero degree celsius... in Badrinath at minus seven degree celsius 35. Green and brown waters at the prayag points in Uttarakhand that do not mix easily 36. water coming out of rocks in a steady stream at Nagateertha in Kodachadri and in Uttarakhand. it's called 'sarai' in Hindi and it is the source of drinking water up in the hills of Uttarakhand round the year 37. every single rock smoothened into round pebbles, at the bottom of the Narmada river, at Omkareshwar  38. zero-shadow day on april 17th 2025 39. Butterfly migration - the annual butterfly migration of the blue tiger butterfly(Tirumala limniace) in Bengaluru  40. Watching Fire flies light up their bums  41. digging a hole on the beach, and watching it fill up with water 42. watching a lunar eclipse on a blood moon day  43. heavy January mist with extremely limited visibility in Vrindavan on a day the temperature dipped to 4 degree celcius 44. 

Wishlist: eternal flame in Jwala ji, marble rocks of Jabalpur, dessert-like mountainous terrain in Leh-Ladakh, Loktak lake in Manipur, Lonar crater, Deccan traps, Majuli island(river islands) in Assam, river island in Udupi, Rann of Kutch with white sand, salt flats in Rajasthan, Nelliteertha cave temple, rocky arch in Tirumala

https://nomadparadise.com/underrated-bucket-list-experiences/

13. GO ON 21 TRIPS BY MYSELF

1. China 2. Malaysia 3. Singapore 4. Nepal 5. Ujjain 6. Kamakhya 7. Chidambaram 8. Tiruvannamalai 9. Naimisharanya 10. Haridwar 11. Dhanaulti(Sri Surkanda mata temple) 12. Shillong 13. Varanasi 14. Vrindavan 15. Prayagraj 16. Barsana 17. Govardhan 18. 

15. DOCUMENT A THOUSAND UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

Documented here. 

16. VISIT A THOUSAND REALLY BEAUTIFUL PLACES

Listed here.

17. VISIT EVERY STATE AND UNION TERRITORY IN INDIA

1. Karnataka - Bengaluru, Mysore, Coorg, Avani, Dharmasthala, Kukke, Southadaka, Tumkuru, Shravan Belagola, Bandipur, Ramohalli, Srirangapatna, Belur, Kokkre Belluru, Kudala Sangama, Gajanur, Ramnagara, Ranganathittu, Tavarekoppa, Shivamogga, Aihole, Pattadakal, Badami, Udupi, Kateel, Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, Kittur, Savadatti, Kolluru, and many more. 

2. Uttarakhand - Auli, Chitai, Karnaprayag, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Munsiyari, Nainital, Ranikhet, Joshimath, Almora, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Mana, Dhanaulti, Srinagar, Guptkashi, Uttarkashi, Barkot, Dehradun and many more. 

3. Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Yercaud, Hogenakal, Kanchipuram, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Tiruvannamalai, Chidambaram

4. Uttar Pradesh - Jhansi, Agra, Lucknow, Neemsar, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Vrindavan, Barsana, Govardhan, Vindhyanchal

5. Meghalaya - Shillong, Sohra(cherrapunji), Tyrna, Mawryngkhang

6. Madhya Pradesh - Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Indore

7. Sikkim - Hasimara junction, and Jaigaon tea estates on the way to Bhutan

8. Odisha - Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark, Ganjam, Kakatpur, Chaurasi

9. Andhra Pradesh - Lepakshi, Kurnool, Tirumala

10. West Bengal - Kolkata, Darjeeling, Kalimpong

11. Assam - Guwahati, Kamakhya

12. Maharashtra - Pune, Jejuri

13. Jammu Kashmir - Jammu, Katra

14. Punjab - Amritsar

15. Pondicherry UT

16. Delhi UT 

17. Himachal Pradesh - Manali

18. Telangana - Hyderabad

19. 

Pending: Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,  Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra-Nagar Haveli-Daman-Diu, Lakshadweep

18. VISIT ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS ON EARTH

1. Asia - (India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal)

2. North America - (USA)

Pending: South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, Antarctica

19. SEE 21 MOST BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD 

1. Niagara Falls, USA 2. De Tian waterfalls, China 3. Hogenakal waterfalls, Tamil Nadu, India 4. Nuorilang Waterfall, Juizhaigou National Park, China 5. Shivanasamudra falls, Karnataka 6. Jog falls, Karnataka 7. Iruppu falls, Coorg, Karnataka 8. Pearl Shoal waterfalls, Juizhaigou National Park, China 9. an unnamed waterfall in Shimoga, Karnataka 10. Abbey falls, Coorg, Karnataka 11. Panda Falls, Juizhaigou National Park, China 12. rain-fed waterfalls everywhere in Meghalaya during monsoon 13. the multiple waterfalls in Garden of Caves in Meghalaya 14. 

wishlist: plitvice lakes, iguazu falls, dudhsagar falls

20. EXPERIENCE 21 DIFFERENT TERRAINS 

21. Snow-covered mountains(ABC trek, Nepal) - crunchy, powdery snow that's a delight to walk on, and hardened, slippery snow that's more of a nightmare. 20. Wet sandy beaches(Chennai) and sandy, shallow ocean floor 19. Wet clay soil on riverbanks and ponds in villages - sticky and your feet just sinks and your footwear gets stuck 18. hill cut and smoothened into a flat-land at the Jejuri temple. it felt very smooth and pleasantly cold to walk on 17. Moss-covered, slippery riverbanks 16. Rocky surface of hills, also when it gets wet and slippery and dangerous(savanadurga, avani, udaigiri and khandagiri caves in odisha) 15. hanging bridges - made of steel(in Nepal), of ropes, of bamboo(Meghalaya), of wood(Nepal, Bhutan), of living roots of trees(double-root and single-root bridges of Meghalaya) 14. the bottoms of caves, smoothened by flowing water(in Meghalaya) 13. (walking barefoot on)13kms of pavement for Vaishnodevi yatra... and getting blisters afterwards. 12. White, glittery, soft and very fine sand on river banks in Uttarakhand especially at Gangotri 11. super soft and fine, beige-coloured sand at the bottom of the river, at Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh mela 2025 10. rocky bottom of the clear Narmada river in Omkareshwar.. the boats here are all flat bottomed and at some stretches, passengers are unloaded and made to walk so the weight doesn't cause the boat to hit the rocks below. 9. stony bottom of the Narmada river at the sangam point... lots of stones that were all smoothened into well-rounded pebbles.. it was a pleasure to walk on them, almost like the stony paths in zen gardens 8. walking barefoor on a 14-km tar-road trail as part of giri-valam in Tiruvannamalai, TN, and getting blisters after. walking on very rough coir-carpets afterwards at the temple was quite painful. 7. thick, clumpy, cushion-like grass on lawns..very inviting but very prickly to sit on 6. 

wishlist: floating island of loktak, salt flats, volcanic ash, black sand, pink and black sands, deserts, glass-bottomed bridges

22. SEE 21 DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLANTATIONS

21. Arecanut plantation in Chikmagalur and Kollur 20. Coffee plantation in Coorg 19. Eucalyptus tree plantation in Kittur 18. marigold fields on the outskirts of Bengaluru 17. chickoo orchards in Bengaluru 16. Grape vineyards on the outskirts of Bengaluru 15. sugarcane fields in north karnataka 14. Lemon plantation on the outskirts of Chennai, owned by a colleague's  family. The farm had plenty of snakes too. 13. rose plantation in e-ctiy 12. Apple orchards in Uttarakhand, at Harshil 11. a cabbage patch in Mana, Uttarakhand 10. mustard fields between Prayagraj and Varanasi 9. Tea plantation during Bhutan trip 8. Wheat fields in Ujjain and Omkareshwar, where the crop was about 1-1.5 feet tall 7. Spinach fields and coriander fields in Ujjain 6. jasmine plantation in TN 5. rice fields in Odisha 4. Coconut groves 3. Sunflower plantation around Shimoga 2. mango groves in Bengaluru 1. 

23. EAT 101 LOCATION-SPECIFIC POPULAR FOODS WHILE BEING IN THAT LOCATION

Other countries:

1. Bean curd in Hong Kong 2. Dim sum in Hong Kong 3. Various teas in Hong Kong - lotus tea, bubble tea, mulberry tea 4. candied Hawthorn apples on a stick in Hong Kong 5. a Buddhist meal at a monastery in Hong Kong 6. Ipoh white coffee at Ipoh(Malaysia) 7. Malaysian flat noodles in Malaysia 8. Ice kachang - a tall, multi-coloured shaved ice dessert with various toppings - in Malaysia 9. Teh tarik, Malaysian pulled tea made with condensed milk, in Malaysia 10. a sweet bun in Malaysia 11. Apam Balik - Malaysia's popular peanut pancake, the thin one, in Malaysia 12. a Malaysian home-made meal at a host's house in Malaysia 13. Fried durian balls in Malaysia 14. Ema datshi - the national dish of Bhutan - in Bhutan 15. Kewa datshi in Bhutan 16. Suja(salted butter tea) in Bhutan 17. Fried tofu and tomato dish in China. 18. Vegetarian chowmein in China 19. Chinese cucumber salad in China 20. Black rice porridge/congee in China at the airport on my last day there 21. the popular Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce dish in China 22. Various noodles in China 23. Kaya jam and kaya toast in Singapore 24. Wafer ice-cream in Singapore 25. Nepali thali in Nepal 26. Donuts in USA 27. Black bean soup in a bread bowl at a Panera Bread outlet in USA 28. Flavoured coffee creamers in USA, the hazelnut creamer is the very best 29. 

Indian:

1. Agra petha in Agra - during two separate visits. The pan petha is the very best, closely followed by the orange pumpkin one 2. Dharwad peda in Dharwad 3. Misal pav in Pune 4. Kanchipuram idly in Kanchipuram at the famed Varadaraja Perumal Temple 5. Coorg coffee in Coorg, on a trip with my girl-gang who were also my colleagues 6. degree(chicory) coffee in Kumbakonam at the Sri Mangalambika Vilas coffee house est.1914 attached to the Adi Kumbeshwarar temple 7. out-of-the-world Rosogulla at a very popular eatery in Kolkata 8. jhal muri in Kolkata - churmur with mango pickles in it and heavy with mustard flavour 9. Sugar-cane juice from a jaggery-vat in sugar-cane fields, in Mandya the second highest producer of sugarcane in Karnataka 10. aloo paratha and lassi in Amritsar at the popular Kesar da dhaba 11. Kadha prasad in gurudwaras(golden temple in Amritsar, Ulsoor gurudwara in Bengaluru) 12. The famed pineapples of Meghalaya, at Shillong 13. Assam milk tea and laal saa(red tea) in Guwahati 14. Khasi thali/meal in the khasi-land Meghalaya 15. Bamboo pickle and bamboo vegetable in Meghalaya 16. Paneer and curd in Lucknow(Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of dairy products) 17. Uttarakhand apples in Uttarakhand. Harshil is a popular apple destination 18. Malaiyo followed by badam milk in Varanasi 19. Malai lassi in Varanasi 20. Banaras paan in Varanasi 21. Kachori(a savoury breakfast poori) in Varanasi 22. Banarasi Laal peda in Varanasi 23. Dry fruit thandai in Varanasi 24. Sol Kadhi in Pune 25. ALoo chi Vadi(patrode) in Pune 26. really good local coffee in Tiruvannamalai 27. tamarind rice and sweet pongal in Tamil Nadu(Tiruvannamalai) at the temple 28. Khara bun congress and apple cake at VB bakery in VVPuram Bengaluru, where these snacks were first created 29. gadbad ice-cream at the Panchatara parlour in Shimoga, where it was created 30. Indori poha(pohey) in Indore 31. rabdi lassi(with grated coconut and cashews) and rabdi badam lassi in Bhubaneshwar and Puri 32. Dahi bada aloo dum, a popular street food in Puri 33. Chhena poda in Puri, Odisha 34. GI tagged Odisha rasagulla in Puri 35. Puri Jagannath ji's Mahaprasad at the Jagannath temple, Puri 36. Mahaprasad at Bhubaneshwar Ananta Basudev temple 37. dalma - the odiya dal 38. Kanika, a sweet rice made in Odisha 39. Chhena malpua in Puri 40. sweetened parched rice snack, a specialty of Lingaraj temple, at the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar 41. Punjabi meal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar 42. Gana Homa Prasada at Ikkeri Shri Ganapati temple, near Shimoga 43. Mosoru owlakki in Shimoga 44. the dry, chewy owlakki - a popular dish of Dharmasthala, in Dharmasthala 45. a loaded lassi at the popular Prakash Lok Lassi at Haridwar 46. North Karnataka dishes - Jolad rotti, junka, maadli, yellow tamarind pickle with rock salt, devr-kutt huggi and many others, in North Karnataka 47. Chow-chow bath in Bengaluru 48. Kai holige in Bengaluru 49. Chettinad meal in Chennai 50. Grape fruit(oranges) straight from the trees in Uttranchal 51. Dal-bafla in Ujjain 52. Puneri sev paav in Pune 53. sabudana vada in Pune, a staple snack 54. milk sweets and lassi in Vrindavan 55. Masala dosa in Udupi Sagar in Udupi 56. Davangere benne dosa in Davangere 57. Nargis mandakki in Davangere 58. Tambuli in Shimoga 59. Raw jackfruit sambar in Shimoga 60. sweet pineapples including the Rani pineapple around Shimoga 61. honey cake from Iyengar bakeries in Bengaluru, where they were created 62. Mathura peda in Mathura 63. goli bajji and kokum rasam in Tulunadu 64.  

wishlist:

rava idli and chandrahara in MTR - these dishes were created here, mysuru bonda in mysuru, mysuru pak in mysuru, bisibele bath(dish created in the mysore palace) in mysuru, mysuru masala dosa, mysuru mallige idli, mangaluru buns in mangaluru, darjeeling tea in darjeeling, momos in sikkim, bombay ice-halwa and bombay sandwich in bombay, dhokla, fafda and all other snacks in gujrat, the layered cake and local alchohol in goa, lima beans in lima in peru, cocoa from the pods in south america, vodka in russia, bruschetta in italy, croissants macaroons and other pastries in france, pizzas and baked goods in italy, desserts and fruits and vegetables of different countries, eat multi-coloured corn, amritsari kulcha in amritsar, kashmiri naan and chai in kashmir, chiroti from konkan area

24. GO ON 21 FUN TRIPS WITH BOBO

1. 3-day trip to Kanchipuram 2. 3-day trip to Vadanbailu and Jog falls 3. 5-day trip to Bhutan 4. weekend trip to Dharmasthala, Kukke and Southadaka 5. day trip/drive to Shravan Belagola 6. Weekend trip to Kudala Sangama, Aihole and Pattadakallu 7. day trip to Rayakottai, TN 8. day trip to Avani 9. weekend trip to Dharwad and Saudatti Yallamma temple 10. 3 day trip to Kumbakonam, Thirumeeyachur and Tanjavur 11. day trip to Tumkur matha 12. day trip to Yediyur Siddhalingeshwara temple(Jan 2025) 13. day trip to Ashapura Mata temple near Bannerghatta National park, and drive through Ragihalli state forest 14. a two-wheeler ride to Chamrajpete, to buy crystals for my akashic records classes 15. weekend bike rides through the mango groove layout close to home 16. weekend drives to get lunch at the e-city and Jigani eateries 17. 

25. CLIMB THE 10,000 STEPS TO GIRNAR MOUNTAIN TOP

26. READ THE BHAGAVAD GEETA

27. OWN A JACKFRUIT TREE

28. DO A 365-DAY CREATIVE CHALLENGE

29. EAT A RAW RUDRAKSHA FRUIT

highly-recommended by an old shopkeeper at kamakhya... raw rudraksha fruits, dried and powdered, have a bunch of nutrients

30. DO THE KAILASH PARVAT PARIKRAMA 

31 - 48. VISIT ALL 18 MAHA SHAKTI PEETHAS 

These places and goddesses are mentioned in the Shakthi Peetha Stotram by Adi Shankaracharya:

lankayam shankaridevi... kamakshi kanchikapure (done)

pradyumne shrinkhaladevi(shringeri)... chamunda krounchapattane (done)

alampure jogulamba... srishaile bhramarambika 

kolhapure mahalakshmi... mahurye ekaveerika 

ujjainyam mahakali(done)... peethikayam puruhutika 

odhyane girijadevi... manikya dakshavatike 

harikshetre kamarupi (done) ... prayage madhaveshwari (done)

jwalayam vaishnavidevi...  gaya mangalyagourika 

varanasyam vishalakshi (done)... kashmiretu saraswati 

ashtadasha shaktipeethani yoginamapi durlabham 

sayankale pathe nityam, sarva-shatru vinashanam 

sarvarogaharam divyam sarvasampatkaram shubham

Shaktipeeth:

Maa Sri Vaishnodevi temple on Trikoota hills in Katra J&K, Savadatti Yallamma temple, Badami Sri Banashankari temple, Horanadu Sri Annapoorneshwari temple, Sringeri Sri Sharadamba temple, Kateelu Sri Durga Parameshwari temple, Kolluru Sri Mookambika temple, Sri Mayadevi in Haridwar, Sri Surkanda Devi near Dhanaulti in Uttarakhand, Sri Dhari Devi in Srinagar Uttarakhand, Sri Lalita Mahatripura Sundari in Naimisharanya, Sri Vindhyavasini in Vindhyachal near Varanasi, Sri Harsiddhi Mata in Ujjain, Maa Mangala devi in Kakatpur Odisha, Sri Chaurasi Varahi Mata in Odisha, Shri Radharani in Barsana, Sri Chowdeshwari Mata temple in Singandooru, 

49. BUILD A BUNCH OF FUN PRODUCTS

50. DRIVE ALONG THE COASTLINE FOR A 1,000 KMS

51. NAP WITH AN ELEPHANT

52. HOLD MEXICAN JUMPING BEANS

53. GET A MASTER'S DEGREE IN A FUN, USEFUL SUBJECT

54. VISIT MYSURU PALACE ON A DAY WHEN IT IS LIT UP

55. BUILD A 2-FEET HIGH SAND CASTLE THAT HOLDS

56. LEARN FIRST-AID AND CPR

60. VISIT THE FOUR AADI SHAKTIPEETH

1. Vimala Mata, Puri, Odisha --  Done

2. Tara Tarini Mata, Ganjam, Odisha -- Done

3. Kamakhya Mata, Guwahati, Assam -- Done 2x

4. Kalighat Kaali Mata, Kolkata, West Bengal 

61. SHOUT INTO THE MOUNTAINS

62. SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS - AURORA BOREALIS 

63. SEE A LIVE VOLCANO

64. SPEND A YEAR DOCUMENTING ONE MEMORY EACH DAY

65. SERVE AT THE NARMADA PARIKRAMA

66. RE-VISIT CHILDHOOD SPOTS

Pune, Jhansi, Kittur, Darjeeling

67. EAT 365 UNIQUE DISHES IN A YEAR 

68. LIVE THROUGH A DIGITAL-DETOX FOR 3 WEEKS/21 DAYS

69. HAVE A PERFECT SET OF TEETH 

70. TAKE A DIP IN ICY WATERS

71. WALK ON FIRE

72. FLOAT IN THE DEAD SEA

73. TOUCH LAVA

74. WRITE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF A YEAR

75. RUN A FANCY CAFE

76. MAKE A COMIC BOOK OF MY LIFE EXPERIENCES

77. SEW 21 CLOTHES WORTHY OF OUTDOOR WEAR, AND WEAR THEM REGULARLY

78. CLIMB 10 FLOORS A DAY FOR A MONTH

and see what changes

79. CREATE A NEW FONT

77. EXPERIENCE 21 DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATIONS

-- DONE --

1. A double-decker airplane 2. Double-decker train, the Caltrain, in USA 3. Double-decker trams for local-transportation in HK 4. Double-decker buses in Pune 5. Funicular trams - trams that go up a hill at a steep angle -  The Peak Tram in HK to visit Victoria Peak and the Penang Hill Railway, Malaysia 6. Hop-on-hop-off tourist trams - ones that go on roads - in Niagara State Park USA and Jurong Bird park Singapore 7. Rope-ways - (a) in HK Ocean Park (b) at Auli in Uttarakhand  (c) the 5.7km long gondola-ride to Lantau Island in HK (d) at Surkanda Mata temple in Uttarakhad (e) at Tara Tarinin temple in Ganjam, Odisha 8. Inflatable raft in Bangalore at a fishing lake on Bannerghatta road 9. Barges in Singandoor, Dakshin Karnataka, that ferries people and vehicles across the Sharavati river 10. Motorised boats and ferries - local transportation in HK, and to Peacock island in Guwahati 11. Coracles - at Hogenakal falls TN and Shivasamudra falls in Karnataka 12. Bamboo raft at the DeTian falls in China 13. Mono-rails - between airports in Germany, and local commute in Malaysia 14. Bullet Train a.k.a High Speed Trains in China 15. LRTs, the Light Rail Transit which is an automated single or twin car rails in Singapore. The one I took went around in a loop. 16. MRTs, the manned and unmanned Mass Rapid Transit(metro) in Singapore, HK, Delhi, Bangalore. In the unmanned ones in Singapore, you can stand right at the front or rear window. 17. Horse-back from Katra town to Vaishnodevi ji darbar, and at Kedarnath 18. Motorized cycle rickshaw at Guwahati 19. A beautiful wooden bus, the city bus of Shillong 20. Battery-operated buggy at the Bangalore railway station 21. Electric buses, cars, auto-rickshaws and two wheelers 22. A superbike trip over many days, in Uttarakhand

Wishlist: helicopter, toytrain, camel back, hot air balloon, amphibian buses that go on land and in water, micro-light airplanes, seaplane, glass-bottomed boats

78. GO ON 21 BEAUTIFUL HIKES AND TREKS

-- DONE --

1. Vaishnodevi Yatra - on foot and horse-back, 16kms each way 2. Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal over 8 days 3. Hike to Tiger's Nest Monastery, Paro, Bhutan. Took 5 hours. 4. Hike up the hill to Tango Monastery, Bhutan 5. Hike to the National Museum, Paro, Bhutan - a steep 3km uphill 6. Savandurga hill, near Bangalore, as part of office outing. 7. Day trip and hike up Avani hill with bobo, near Bangalore 8. Shravana Belagola, near Bangalore - climb up a hill face 9. Hike to Rayakottai, a fort on a hill near Bangalore 10. Hike to Skandagiri, near Bangalore 11. Hike up Ten Thousand Buddhas monastery, Pai Tau Village, HK 12. Hike to the double bridge made of living roots of trees, at Tyrna in Meghalaya - a whopping total of 6,500 stairs 13. Hike to the bamboo bridge in Mawryngkhang in Meghalaya 14. A short, beautiful hike to the Mahadev Khola dhaam, Shillong 15. A 6km round-trip, half-way hike to Yamunotri in Uttarakhand 16. The 3km uphill at Kodachadri to Sarvagnya peetha 17. The 7.5km hike during Omkareshwar Parikrama 18. 22 kms uphill and downhill to Kedarnath, on a horse-back 19. a short, fun hike up the rock-cut steps at Udaigiri and Khandagiri caves to visit the Jain temple on top 20. a 3km parikrama of Barsana, near Vrindavan 21. an exhilarating 21km parikrama of Govardhan parvat, near Vrindavan

Wishlist: Velliangiri Hill in Coimbatore TN, Ahobilam Matha in AP, Girnar Dattatreya temple, Taishan Mountain in China

79. VISIT 101 TEMPLES THAT ARE MORE THAN A 100 YEARS OLD (2024 ONWARDS)

-- DONE --

1. Khandoba temple in Jejuri near Pune. Built in the 12th century.

-- Feb 2024. 2. Shri Vitthal Rukmini Mandir a.k.a Prati Pandharpur in Vitthalwadi, Pune. Built in 1765. Each year, the Vaari to Pandharpur pilgrimage by thousands of devotees on foot, starts at this temple. -- Feb 2024 3. Trishunda Mayureshwar Ganapati temple in Pune. Built in 1770. -- Feb 2024. 4. Kasbapeth Ganapati temple in Pune, built in 1630 by Jijabai, Shivaji Maharaj's mother -- Feb 2024

5. Shri Mookambika temple in Kollur. Built and established in the 8th century by Shri Adi Shankaracharya. -- May 2024 6. Ugratara Temple in Guwahati, built in 1725 by Ahom kings -- Jul 2024 7. Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, built earlier than 1565 -- Jul 2024 8. Mahadev Khola dham in Shillong, 150 years old, it has a cave that connects to Kamakhya temple in Guwahati -- Aug 2024

< YHAI Char dham yatra, Oct 2024 > 9. Mayadevi temple and Ananda Bhairava mandir in Haridwar, build in the 11th century 10. Har Ki paudi and Ganga devi temple in Haridwar 11. Daksha Mahadev temple in Haridwar 12. Manokaamna Siddh Hanuman Peeth, near Triveni Sangam in Hrishikesh 13. Bharat Mandir, a.k.a Hrishikesh Narayan temple, in Rishikesh 14. Raghunath temple and pond in Rishikesh 15. Pracheen Kali mata temple near Triveni Sangam in Rishikesh 16. Lakhamandal Shiva temple near Barkot and Yamunontri in Uttarakhand, 5,000 years old 17. Guptkashi Vishwanath temple in Uttarakhand 18. Maa Gangotri temple in Uttarakhand 19. Hanuman Chatti temple in Uttarakhand 20. Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand 21. Gaurikund temple in Kedarnath 22. TriyugiNarayan temple in Uttarakhand 23. Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand 24. Spatik mahadev temple in Badrinath 25. GhantaKarna temple in Mana near Badrinath 26. Taposthali Sri Vishwakarma gufa in Mana near Badrinath 27. Vishnu Narayan mandir at Vishnu Prayag in Uttarakhand 28. Dhari Devi temple in Uttarakhand 29. Surkanda devi temple in Uttarakhand 30. Shri Mata Lalita Devi Shaktipeeth in Naimisharanya near Lucknow, UP 31. Hanuman Gadhi and various other temples in Naimisharanya < end of temples visited during YHAI Char dham yatra in Oct 2024 > 32. Yediyuru Sri Siddhalingeshwara temple -- Jan 2025  -- trip with Sharada didi, Jan 2025 

33. Ikkeri Sri Aghoreshwara temple 34. Varadahalli Sri Rama Durga temple and cave, about a 1000 yrs old 35. Singandooru Sri Chowdeshwari temple 36. Kargade Siddhi Vinayaka temple on the way to Singandooru 37. Hattiangadi Sri Siddhivinayaka temple, 8th century 38. Temples on Kodachadri hill 39. Sarvadnya Peetha, meditation spot of Sri Adi Shankaracharya ji on top of the Kodachadri hill 40. <> matha 

-- end of trip with Sharada didi in Jan 2025

-- Mahakumbh Mela in Feb 2025

41. Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi 42. Vishalakshi temple in Varanasi 43. Vindhyanchal Sri Vindyavasini temple 44. Gufa wali Kali mata temple in Vindhyanchal 45. Someshwar Mahadev mandir in Prayagraj 46. Sri Chakra Madhav mandir in Prayagraj 

-- end of Mahakumbh Mela in Feb 2025

-- Ujjain in Mar 2025

47. Harsiddhi mata Shaktipeeth mandir 48. Mahakaal Jyotirling mandir 49. Gadkalika Maha Shaktipeeth mandir 50. Kal Bhairav mandir 51. Karka Mahadev mandir 52. Bhooki mata mandir 53. Chintaman Ganesh temple 54. Pracheen Ujjain temples at the Shipra ghat 55. Omkareshwar Jyotirling temple at Omkareshwar 56. Mamleshwar temple at Omkareshwar 

-- end of Ujjain in Mar 2025

57. Tiruvannamalai Arulamigu Arunachaleshwara temple and all associated temples -- Mar 2025 58. Shri Bande Mahakali temple in Bengaluru, build in 1522 -- May 2025 59. Chidambaram Natarajar temple and Sivakami amman temple, built between 10th to 12th century -- Jun 2025 60. Thillai Kaliamman temple in Chidambaram, built in the 13th century -- Jun 2025 61. Puri Jagannath temple -- Aug 2025 62. Bimala Devi shaktipeeth, Jagannath dham Puri -- Aug 2025 63. Tara Tarani Maha Shaktipeeth, Ganjam district Odisha -- Aug 2025 64. Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar -- Aug 2025 65. Ananta Basudev temple in Bhubaneshwar -- Aug 2025 66. Varahi Mata Temple at Chaurasi, Odisha -- Aug 2025 67. Maa Mangala Devi temple at Kakatpur, Odisha -- Aug 2025 68. Tamdi Jogeshwari (grama devata and Durga mata) Mandir, dated 9th century, in Pune -- Nov 2025 69. Tulshibaug Ram mandir in Pune, built in the 18th century -- Nov 2025 70. Durga Mata shaktipeeth in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 71. Pracheen Hanuman ji temple at Banaras junction -- Jan 2026 72. Shree 1001 Ganesh ji temple at Banaras, on Sakat Chaturthi day  -- Jan 2026 73. Banke Bihari Mandir in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 74. Radha Damodar mandir in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 75. Radha Vallabh mandir in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 76. Hanuman ji mandir at Dashashwamedh ghat, Varanasi -- Jan 2026 77. Hanuman ji mandir at Keshi ghat, Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 78. Katyayani mata mandir in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 79. Gopeshwar Mahadev mandir in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 80. Nidhivan in Vrindavan -- Jan 2026 81. Gehwarvan in Barsana -- Jan 2026 82. Radha Rani main temple in Barsana -- Jan 2026 83. Krodh Mahal temple in Barsana -- Jan 2026 84. Maan mandir in Barsana -- Jan 2026 85. Daan Bihari mandir, before the fort temple -- Jan 2026 86. The kund during Barsana parikrama -- Jan 2026 87. The temple across the kund in Barsana -- Jan 2026 88. Gehvar Van in Barsana -- Jan 2026 89. Prem Sarovar in Barsana -- Jan 2026 90. Daan Ghati mandir in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 91. Manas Ganga in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 92. Radha kund in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 93. Shyam kund in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 94. Giriraj mukharavind in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 95. the Dau bhaiyya temple in Govardhan -- Jan 2026 96. Alopi mata(Madhaveshwari) shaktipeeth in Prayagraj -- Jan 2026 97. Lalita Kameshwar mandir in Prayagraj -- Jan 2026 98. Mankameshwar Mandir in Prayagraj -- Jan 2026 99. Dhundi Ganapati Mandir in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 100. Shree 10008 Siddha Ganapati mandir in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 101. Shree 1008 Akshayvat Hanuman ji mandir in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 102. Bala Tripura Sundari temple in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 103. Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari temple in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 104. Rajarajeshwari temple in in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 105. Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 106. Kashi Vishalakshi shaktipeeth in Varanasi -- Jan 2026 107. Pancha Kroshi mandir in Varanai -- Jan 2026 108. Shri Mallikarjuna swamy and Bramarambika mata temple in Togarsi -- Mar 2026 109. Kolluru Mookambika temple -- Mar 2026 110. Singandoor Chowdeshwari temple -- Mar 2026 111. 

80. EAT 101 NEW DISHES 

-- DONE --

1. Rhododendron(an edible flower, and the national flower of Nepal, used especially to dislodge fish bone stuck in someone's throat) 2. Ema Datshi (a chilli - cheese dish), the national dish of Bhutan 3. Kewa Datshi(potato - cheese dish) at Bhutan 4. Kaya(green-coloured jam made of eggs, coconut, pandan leaves and sugar, Singapore) 5. Tao Bao (steamed bun with sweet red bean filling, Malaysia) 6. Dim sum(multi-course meal of dumplings, Hong Kong) 7. Black rice porridge (China) 8. Amarula(South African liquor made of Marula fruits, cream and sugar, has a strong vanilla taste, quite expensive) 9. Suja(salted butter tea, Bhutan) 10. French Crepe(in USA) 11. Cendol(Malaysian ice-cream) 12. Plum Tea, Lotus tea, bubble(sago) tea of various flavours(HK) 13. Bean curd(tofu with sweet syrup of red-bean, HK) 14. Black bean soup in breadbowls(Panera, USA) 15. Pretzels - both sweet and savoury, donuts and bagels (USA) 16. Pan cakes with maple syrup(USA) 17. Baklava, at a turkish baklava outlet in Bengaluru 18. Hazelnut-flavoured creamer(thick sweetened milk to add to tea/coffee, USA) 19. Madeleine(shell-shaped, buttery tiny cakes, from France) 20. Butter from France 21. Malaysian flat noodles (vegetarian version) 22. White coffee of Ipoh at Ipoh 23. Teh Tarik(Malaysian pulled tea, made with condensed milk) 24. Fried Tofu in China 25. Sweet potato fries at a casino in Niagara, USA 26. A Buddhist meal in Po Lin monastery, Lantau Island, HK 27. Candied Hawthorne on stick, HK 28. Aubergine Parmigiana, at a restaurant in USA 29. Pineapple bun, HK 30. Turkish Delight, made by a colleague's wife 31. Banoffee cupcakes, baked by a star chef(a Le Cordon Bleu grad) who's also a friend's daughter 32. Croissant - plain and chocolate(pain au chocalat) - from Paris 33. Baguette from Paris 34. Nepali thali in Kathmandu and at tea-houses on the ABC trail, Nepal 35. Chocolates(liqueurs) from France - filled with rum and other liquors 36. Russian Medovik(layered cake) from a bakery in Benglauru 37. Macarons from a bakery in Bengaluru 38. Nougat from Paris 39. Belgian waffles from an outlet in Bengaluru 40. Tim Tam from Australia by Australian colleagues 41. cheesecakes 42. 

Indian:

1. Patishapta(Bengali sweet made only during festivals) 2. Pootharekulu(an Andhra sweet) from Hyderabad 3. Gulladaki Unde(a North Karnataka sweet made over 4 days) 4. Chhena Poda(an Oriya sweet) 5. Paan-flavoured petha(at Agra) and other flavours 6. Alu cha fadfada(made of colocasia leaves, Maharashtra) - a wedding(ours) specialty 7. Amrakhand and Anarsa(Maharashtra sweets) 8. Kokum - as dried peels used in curry, as sol kadhi(kokum in coconut milk) drink, as sweet-n-sour chutney, as rasam 9. Thoothukudi Macarons from Thoothukudi TN 10. Tirunelveli halwa(dripping in ghee) from Tirunelveli TN 11. Onam sadya - the elaborate Kerala festival meal 12. Mangalore buns(soft, sweet puri made of banana and jaggery) and goli bajji 13. Sooji kakara pitha(festival sweet of Orissa) 14. Sattu paratha and chana-dal puri(dishes from Bihar) 15. Kotthu paratha(Tamil Nadu) 16. Dabeli, fafda and green papaya chutney(Gujrati snacks) 17. Phool makhana(a.k.a fox nuts or lotus seeds) 18. Nuchchina Unde from Karnataka 19. Jhal muri in Calcutta(on a train), with mustard oil, pickle and the works 20. Mawa Kachori, anjeer kalakand and Paneer jalebi (Rajasthani delicacies) 21. Betel-leaf flavoured wine from Coorg 22. Maddur vada from Maddur 23. Ooty varkey from Ooty 24. Hazelnut chocolate and dark chocolate 70% from Ooty(the cacao pods are grown in Ooty) 25. Kumbakonam degree(chicory) coffee in Kumbakonam 26. Mallige Idly in Bengaluru 27. Sabakki idli(sabudana and dill) in Bengaluru 28. Misal pav in Pune 29. Raagi halbai a.k.a raagi manni and rice manni/halbai, in Bengaluru 30. Chhurpi(hard nuggets made of yak milk) from Sikkim 31. Kanchipuram idli  at Varadaraja  Perumal temple, Kanchipuram 32. Khara sundal prasad at Udupi Sri Krishna temple - unusually delicious 33. Kadubu - the cylindrical, savoury idly 34. Khasi thali in Shillong - rice with bamboo pickle, peppered radishes and more, with everything being quite spicy 35. the famed Lal Chawal(red rice) of Uttarakhand with very high iron content 36. Fig pickle from Uttarakhand 37. bhakri - wheat bhakri and bajra bhakri from Gujarat 38. Singhada chaat - boiled water chestnuts with spices 39. the delicious, spiced salts from Uttarakhad 40. Salam pak from Gujarat - the winter dessert 41. Ghari, another popular dessert from Gujarat 42. Pundi and owlakki mosru in Shimoga 44. GaNa homa prasada at Hattiangadi Siddhivinayaka temple, with sugarcane bits in it 45. jackfruit papad 46. Malaiyo followed by badam milk in Varanasi 47. Malai lassi in Varanasi 48. Dry-fruit thandai in Banaras 49. Banaras paan in Varanasi 50. Kachori(a savoury breakfast poori) in Varanasi 51. the popular Banarasi laal peda in Varanasi 52. ALu vadi a.k.a patrode in Pune 53. Dal bafla in Ujjain 54. Kada prashad(wheat flour halwa at the golden temple in Amritsar and in Ulsoor gurudwara) 55. dalma - the odiya dal in Puri 56. Mahaprasad at Puri Jagannath temple made from a 900 yr old recipe 57. Kanika, the sweet rice at Puri Jagannath temple 58. Khaja, a popular local sweet at Puri 59. the GI-tagged odiya rasagulla - dense and not as fun as the West Bengal rosagulla 60. rabdi lassi in Bhubaneshwar, with grated coconut and cashews 61. dahi bada aloo dum, a popular chat in Puri 64. chappan bhog(powder) at Puri Jagannath temple 62. chhena malpua, an Odiya sweet 63. sweet parched-rice snack at the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar 64. a delicious rabdi with milk solids' chunks in them, at Puri 65. Sev paav, loaded with cheese, in Pune 66. Naankhatai(sweet cookies) from Surat 67. Farmas(savoury cookies) from Surat 68. Sukhdi(a ginger-based sweet) from Surat 69. Methi mathri from Surat 70. Kheer Mohan and Mewa bati - sweets in Vrindavan and Varanasi 71. calcutta paan at a pooja, dries your mouth making you drink water all day long 72. jackfruit payasa(jackfruit chunks, chanda dal and jaggery) in Tulunadu 73. puttu, the Kerala staple made with rice flour and  grated fresh coconut, and paired with kadla(brown grams) sabji 74. paan-flavoured and jamun-flavoured vodka 75. 

81. SEE A HUNDRED NEW ANIMALS

--- D-O-N-E ---

100. Takin(the national animal of Bhutan, at the Motithang Preserve at Thimpu) 99. Red-eared slider(a native turtle of South America, house pet) 98. Sea Lions(natural habitat at Pier 39, San Francisco) 97. Siberian Husky(someone's pet at HK) 96. Asian Water Monitor Lizard(natural habitat, Malaysia) 95. Puffer fish(a dead one, at the fish market HK) 94. Sea cucumbers(live ones at the fish market, HK) 93. Oysters(fish market, HK) 92. Oriental magpie and Asian Azure-winged magpie(natural habitat, China) 91. Red-billed blue magpie (natural habitat, Uttarakhand) 90. Chipmunk(natural habitat, Niagara State Park) 89. Canadian geese(natural habitat, USA) 88. Seagulls(natural habitat, India, HK, USA) 87. Kalij pheasant(natural habitat in Uttarakhand) 86. Scaly breasted munia(a beautiful small bird of Bangalore) 85. Barn owl(natural habitat, Bangalore) 84. Shikra(natural habitat, Bangalore) 83. Barn swallow(natural habitat, Bangalore) 82. Purple Moorhen(a.k.a swamp hen, lakes of Bangalore) 81. wasp moths - Euchromia Polymena and Hubner's (natural habitat, Karnataka) 80. moth - Cyana perornata(natural habitat, Karnataka) 79. Giant Panda(Ocean Park Hong Kong) 78. Pygmy Marmoset(a palm-sized monkey, at the Singapore zoo) 77. Orangutan(Singapore zoo) 76. Common Starling(natural habitat, USA) 75. Starfish(aquarium) 74. Jellyfish and Sea Jellies(aquarium) 73. Manta Rays(aquarium) 72. Stingrays(aquarium) 71. Manatee and baby(aquarium enclosures) 70. Leafy Seadragon(aquarium) 69. Sharks and Hammerhead sharks(aquarium) 68. Guitarfish(aquarium) 67. Chambered Nautilus(aquarium) 66. Garden Eels and Electric Eels(aquarium) 65. Sawfish(aquarium, HK) 64. Seahorse(aquarium and fish markets) 63. Dolphins(enclosures in aquarium, HK) 62. Seals(enclosures in aquarium, HK)  61. Arctic Fox(enclosures) 60. Anaconda(enclosures in zoo) 59. Sturgeons(aquarium) 58. Otters(enclosures in zoo) 57.  Koala(enclosures in zoo) 56. Golden snub-nosed monkey(zoo) 55. Mandrill(zoo)  54. Lemur(zoo) 53. Tamarins(zoo) 52. Proboscis monkey(zoo) 51. Sloth(zoo) 50. Slow Loris(zoo) 49. Komodo Dragons(zoo) 48. Babirusa(pig with tusks, zoo) 47. Capybara(zoo) 46. Iguana(Bannerghatta National park enclosure, Bangalore) 45. Mouse deer(zoo) 44. Tapir(zoo)  43. Giant Tortoise(zoo) 42. Possums(zoo) 41. Meerkat(zoo) 40. Nyala and Bongo(African antelopes, zoo) 39. Oryx(zoo) 38. Eland(zoo) 37. Ibex(zoo) 36. Hyena(zoo) 35. Tarantula(zoo) 34. Gecko and Salamanders(zoo) 33. Malayan Flying Fox(zoo, large herbivore bats) 32. Hornbills(bird enclosures and around Kolluru) 31. Flamingo(bird enclosures) 30. Macaws, Parakeets, Cockatoos, Lories and Lorikeets(bird enclosures) 29. Wood duck(bird enclosures) 28. Toucans(bird enclosures) 27. Cassowary(bird enclosures) 26. Violet Turaco(bird enclosures) 25. Currawong(bird enclosures) 24. Kiwi(bird enclosures) 23. Nicobar Pigeon (bird enclosures) 22. Red-wattled lapwing(natural habitat, Corbett National Park) 21. Himalayan Monal(bird enclosure, Jurong bird park) 20. Malayan and Crested peacock pheasant(Jurong Bird park) 19. Helmeted Guinea fowl(bird enclosure) 18. Victoria Crowned pigeon(bird enclosure) 17. Ostriches(bird enclosure) 16. Emu(bird enclosure) 15. Laughingthrushes and doves(bird enclosure) 14. Chameleons(zoo) 13. Temminck's tragopan(bird enclosure) 12. Bird-of-paradise(bird enclosure) 11. Terrapins(zoo) 10. Falcons and Vultures(bird enclosure) 9. Oriole(bird enclosure) 8. Baboons and Chimpanzees(zoo) 7. Siamang(zoo) 6. White-faced Saki(zoo) 5. Cheetah(zoo) 4. Wallaby(zoo) 3. Pygmy Hippopotamus(zoo) 2. Saddle-billed storks(bird enclosure) 1. Sand boa(natural habitat, Karnataka)

Barking deer(Motithang Preserve, Bhutan), Piranha(aquarium, HK) Penguins(aquarium enclosures) White-capped Redstart(natural habitat, Uttarakhand and China) White-bellied treepie(natural habitat, Chamundi hills Mysore) Pelicans, painted storks, Ibis and cattle egrets(natural habitat, Kokkre Bellur), Alligator Gars and Tinfoil Barbs and Giant Gowrami fish(Lalithodyana aquarium at Dharmasthala), Malnad Gidda cow(natural habitat, Sagara), a very heavy pug at a friends house named Kanna, Siberian seagulls at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh mela

82. SEE THE HIMALAYAS

--- D-O-N-E ---

1. the Panchachuli peaks at Munsiyari, Uttarakhand(India)

2. the Annapurna range via ABC trek(Nepal)

3. Kedarnath peak and Kedarnath Dome at Kedarnath temple

4. view of Kedarnath, Nanda Devi and Bandarpunch peaks of Himalayan ranges from Surkanda Devi temple in Dhanaulti, Uttarakhand(India)

83. RAISE A PET

-- DONE --

1. Tinnu, my dear turtle

2. A snail that lived with Tinnu

84. LEARN SRI VIDYA SADHANA 

-- DONE --

85. RIDE A ROLLER-COASTER

-- DONE -- 

Universal Studios, Singapore

86. DE-ADDICT FROM TEA, COFFEE, WHEAT, RICE AND SUGAR 

de-addict is to go without a craving

-- DONE --

87. VISIT KEDARNATH

-- DONE -- 

September 2024

88. VISIT MAA VAISHNO DEVI JI AT KATRA, J&K

-- DONE --

89. VISIT NAIMISHARANYA

-- DONE --

September 2024

90. DO THE GOVARDHAN PARVAT PARIKRAMA

-- DONE --

January 2026

91. ENJOY AN OPEN-AIR MUSIC CONCERT

-- DONE -- 

92. SMOKE POT

--- DONE --- 

93. SEE A RUDRAKSHA TREE

-- DONE -- 

saw a rudraksha tree with green fruits at Harihar Ashram temple complex in Haridwar. The original goal was to SEE A RUDRAKSHA TREE WITH PURPLE FRUITS... birds eat the fruit as soon as it turns purple and ripe, as the fruit turns sweet at this stage. it's rare and very difficult to find a purple rudraksha fruit spared by the birds

94. BE GRATEFUL FOR 21 LIFE-CHANGING PEOPLE AND EVENTS 

-- DONE --

1. grateful for dad's job that allowed us to travel all over the country, attend different schools, and learn so much more. bro and i were both born in jabalpur, attended school first in pune and then in jhansi. i then went to kittur while dad retired and we settled in hubli where i went to college. 2. grateful that my dad was so loving and kind. it didn't dawn on me until much later when a dear friend who had lost her dad recollected how terrified she was of her dad. bobo's dad too. 3. grateful that my mom has been so grounded and religious. 4. grateful for getting hired soon after college, the year the y2k bug had caused an upheaval in the IT industry. 5. grateful for oracle and the opportunities it provided. it helped me buy a second home and my first car and travel to a bunch of countries and enrich my life in so many ways. 6. grateful for a loving, smart and supportive husband - 80% annoying and 20% a really great partner. he cooks, cleans and takes care of most of the finances. 7. grateful for my non-intrusive in-laws. their living in a different city has been such a blessing! 8. grateful for tinnu, the turtle for all the emotional fulfillment. taking care of him, coming home to him and worrying endlessly for his health was all too cathartic. 9. grateful for supportive friends at different stages of life - school friends, neighbours, cousins, college friends, colleagues et al. 10. grateful for two dear friends from school for being my pillar of strength during school-days - shilpa a.g and veena tuppad. 11. grateful for the beautiful rented home bobo and i live in. it's huge, well-ventilated, has lovely balconies and more beautiful than a home we could have ever asked for! plus, we have great neighbours. it's been so much fun. 12. grateful for my batchmates from school who keep me socially active. without their constant pushing, i would have missed so much in life. 13. grateful for finding the path of SriVidya sadhana. i wish i had found it much much earlier. 14. grateful for sandhya, my batchmate, for keeping me on track with my SriVidya practice without her, i wouldn't have completed the levels in good time. 15. grateful for sharada didi, my school senior who I met during one of the SriVidya classes, for offering me a spot on the chandi homa in kollur, in May 2024. 16. grateful to sharada di for taking me along on a weeklong trip to Shimoga, Jan 2025 that had a visit to Singandoor Choudeshwari temple, Ikkeri and many other fun and spiritual places. 17. grateful to sandhya who master-minded our trip to Mahakumbh 2025 and to Varanasi, and made all the arrangements. without her initiative and boundless energy, i would have never attended the Mahakumbh - the single most important event of this century. 18. grateful to the lone sadhu that appeared from nowhere, walked ahead and mentally helped me climb a long flight of stairs during the Omkareshwar parikrama. without him to lead the way, i would have taken much longer to climb the stairs while it was getting darker by the minute. 19. grateful to the two sadhus from Maharashtra that walked me through the final stretch of the Omkareshwar parikrama that was particularly dark with steep steps and no houses around, reinforcing my belief in surrenderance and eternal protection. they were both on their Narmada parikrama. 20. grateful to the young guy who gave me a ride to Karkeshwar Mahadev temple at Ujjain with the Tropic of Cancer marker, when I stopped him to ask for directions... the temple was quite far and the way to it didn't look inviting. he then pointed me to Bhooki mata mandir across the river and the way to the Shipra river-side aarti thus enriching my spiritual experience 100x. he also introduced me to folks at the temple who then gave me tons of prasad. 21. grateful for the bubbly nephew Vaibhav who brings limitless joy to mom and hence keeps me from worrying about her. 22. grateful to my sister-in-law Juee for keeping us worry-free by looking after mom-in-law and for having a son and keeping us from getting pestered over not having children. 23. grateful for the friend(kiran) i made during meghalaya trip, and the one(rajesh) i made during mahakumbh, both of who are fun accomplices and keep me in high spirits. 24. grateful to kiran for initiating the Puri trip and enabling visits to Jagannath ji and Maa Tara Tarini(I had been wanting to visit this temple from so many years), and helping me buy the cooking pot from Anand bazar. 25. grateful to my supportive colleagues and friends, Sucheta and Sunanda who supported me endlessly when dad passed away, and to Vijay Joshi who remotely arranged for a much-needed blood-donor. 26. 

95. WATCH 21 MOVIES WITH BOBO

-- DONE --

1. John Wick 4  2. The Sea Beast 3. Soul 4. Ferdinand 

5. Extra Ordinary - putting the normal in paranormal.

6. Encanto 7. The Box - animated short movie 8. Logan Lucky

9. Sweet Cocoon - animated short movie 10. Godzilla minus one

11. Gnome - animated short movie 12. Thor - Love and Thunder

13. Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings 14. Dr.Dolittle 2 

15. The Lost City 16. Free Guy 17. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 

18. Rings of Power - season 1 19. Leo - animated full length movie 

20. The Menu 21. Glass Onion 22. Wolfs 23. Mahavtar Narasimha

96. DOCUMENT 21 LUNCH PRASADA AT TEMPLES

-- DONE --

Lunches: 

1. Tumkur Siddaganga Matha 2. Dharmasthala Manjunatha temple 3. Kukke Subramanya Temple 4. Gorvanahalli Mahalakshmi temple 5. Kateelu Durga Parameshwari Temple 6. Golden temple at Amritsar(dinner and morning tea) 7. Koppal matha 8. Nidagundi Koppa Matha, with a baby deer hanging around. 9. Banashankari Ammana Temple in Bangalore 10. Vadanbailu Padmavati Ammana temple at Vadanbailu in Shimoga(breakfast, lunch and dinner, sweet milk tea in the morning and sweet milk tea in the evening) 11. Thirumeyachur Lalitambika temple 12. Sai baba temple on Post Office Road, Bannerghatta, Bangalore 13. Kamakhya Mata Mandir, Kamakhya near Guwahati in Assam 14. Lunch at the Sivapremananda Self-Realization Centre in Bengaluru 15. Shivaganga temple 16. Sri Mookambika temple in Kolluru 17. Yediyur Siddhalingeshwara temple 18. Singandoor Sri Chowdeshwari temple 19. Hattiangadi Sri Siddhivinayaka Devasthana 20. Haranahalli Sri Siddhalingeshwara Matha 21. Ujjain Sri Mahakaal temple 22. Sri Ashapura Mata Mandir on Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru 23. Thillai Natarajar temple in Chidambaram 24. Mahaprasad at Shri Puri Jagannath dham 25. Rice kheer known as khiri, at Ananta Vasudev temple in Bhubaneshwar (Tirumala, Puri and Ananta Vasudev temple serve maha-prasada) 26. Malihiremath Matha at the Mallikarjuna temple in Togarsi near Shimoga 27. Sri Siddharoodha Ashrama at Jayanagar, Bengaluru 28. 

wholesome prasada after darshan at:

1. Venkateshwara temple at Tavarkere road, Bengaluru - a different dish each day 2. ISKCON temple in Bengaluru 3. Ganesha Temple in Koramangala, Bengaluru - piping hot halwa 4. Golden temple in Amritsar - kada prashad dripping with ghee served directly into your palms (also getting served glucon-d water instead of plain water in summer) 5. Bawe Wali Mata Mahakali Mandir in Jammu (halwa prasada by temple and lunch by devotees) 6. Sai baba temple at Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru 7. Thirumeyachur Lalitambika temple - sweet pongal dripping in ghee, and savoury rice 8. Udupi Sri Krishna temple - sundal with sugar 9. Sivapremananda Self-Realization Centre in Bengaluru 10. A wholesome birthday party treat at Mrs.Annapurna's home where Bala, bala Ganapati and bala Krishna live - 3 gulab jamuns, a piece of the birthday cake, popcorn, potato chips, masala buttermilk, laddu, sweet pongal 11. Ulsoor gurudwara - fruit bowl with ice-cream 12. Dhari devi temple in Uttarakhand - thick white poha with sweet bits in it 13. Hanumanji temple in Rishikesh - two motichoor laddu and tons of sweet boondi 14. Hanuman Chatti on the way to Badrinath - sweet boondi 15. Swamy Ayyappa temple in Vijaya Bank Layout, Bengaluru - sweet poha 16. Gad Kalika mandir in Ujjain - dry sugary sweets 17. Tomato bath and panchamruta at Shri Bande Mahakali temple in Bengaluru 18. 

97. SEE 21 DIFFERENT FRUIT TREES 

-- DONE -- 

1. Tamarillo(tree tomato) tree in Nepal 2. Pomelo tree in Indiranagar Bengaluru 3. Avocado tree in Bengaluru 4. Grapefruit trees in Uttaranchal 5. Cashew trees in Joga near Shimoga 6. Pineapple shrubs on the hiking trails in Meghalaya 7. Sol Nongam(yellow fruit) trees in Meghalaya 8. Pear trees laden with fruits, all over Meghalaya 9. Star fruit tree in Guwahati 10. Coconut palms everywhere 11. Mango trees 12. Guava trees 13. Chickoo trees 14. Jackfruit trees 15. Papaya 16. Banana 17. Pomegranate trees 18 Custard apple trees 19. Jamun trees 20. Ber trees 21. Fig trees 22. Gooseberry trees 23. Date palms 24. Palmyra palms 25. Lemon trees  26. Tamarind trees 27. Sugarcane(more of a grass than a fruit) 28. Bel trees 29. Grape vines 30. Apple trees in Uttarakhand 31. Almond trees 32. Ram phal tree in Pune 33. 

98. GROW 21 EDIBLE PLANTS IN OUR BALCONY GARDEN 

-- D-O-N-E --

1. Tulsi - a staple plant of all households 2. lemongrass - an antimicrobial, to be used to flavour/infuse water and make tea or add to tea.. quite tasty 3. aloe vera - anti-inflammatory, used for sunburns, healthy skin, wounds and for adding to drinks.. quite easy to eat it too 4. insulin plant - lowers blood glucose levels, a leaf to be eaten everyday... grows like weed 5. ajwain patta - for stomach ache and cough, great to flavour buttermilk and make pakodas.. grows like weed too 6. giloy - antimicrobial and anti-ageing, the leaf is edible.. ate the leaves many times during covid, though the roots are said to have medicinal properties 7. curry leaf - a daily staple 8. Pirandai a.k.a Asthisamharaka or Hadjod - for bone density and bone strength.. yet to use it. grows easily 9. capsicum - got a bunch of tiny fruits, very sweet 10. sweet potato - a surprise.. the leaves were edible too 11. ash gourd - go a single ash-gourd for a dozen flowers.. learnt much later that these need to be pollinated by hand 12. fennel(saunf) - an amazing plant.. couldn't get enough of eating it's leaves  13. spinach  14. gongura(roselle) from seeds 15.  fenugreek (methi) 16. sweet corn 17. red amaranth, from cuttings 18. yellow cherry tomato - from the batch given to us by our neighbours 19. betel leaf - great for it's iron content.. did not grow well 20. mustard greens - from store-bought mustard seeds 21. jalapeno chillies - from a store-bought batch of chillies 22. dill leaves 23. coriander 

wishlist: sugar cane, pandanus(biriyani patta), bamboo, a healthy betel leaf vine

99. RUN A 5K WHEN I AM 50

100. SPEND A YEAR TALKING TO 365 DIFFERENT PEOPLE FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES AND HAVE A MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION WITH EACH PERSON

FIRST attempt - Jul 21, 2024 to Jul 20, 2025. People talked to: 226

SECOND attempt - Aug 15, 2025 to Aug 14, 2026. People talked to: ~150

THIRD attempt - Sep 1st, 2026 to Aug 31st, 2027

family: 

1. Chittu momma 2.Ashutosh 3. Mom 4. Juee 5. Vidya from Sudi 6. Mom-in-law 7. Deepakka 8. 

friends:

1. Vidya from Miror 2. Kiran 3. Nandini 4. Sharada di 5. Gayatri di 6. Mallesh Uncle(sharada didi's husband) 7. Rajesh 8. Srivatsa 9. 

aquaintances: 

1. Veeresh from KCS 2. Sandhya from KCS 3. Shankar Narayan sir from Yedthare 4. Shweta from Shankar sir's group 5. Deepa from Shankar sir's group 6. Tiara, Deepa's daughter 7. Mahesh from Shankar sir's group 8. two other guys from Shankar sir's group, one of who runs a vegan potluck at cubbon park 9. Kavya from KCS 10. The elderly lady from KCS 11. Manjula akka 12. Sharada akka 13. Abhishek, the tenant 14. A lady from KCS 15. Krishnappa ji, our old watchman 16. Sarojamma, a maid 17. Putali, the common-area maid 18. 

strangers:

1. two shopkeepers at the 100yrs old shop, that melted silver out of Vidya 's saree 2. Shreeti, Nandini's friend 3. Naveen, Nandini's brother 4. the associate director at Naveen's studio, an engg. grad who works in film-making 5. Ahish, a doc friend of Nandini's 6. the main doc at Aikya hosp. with Nandini 7. Jyoti, a doc and another dr. who was a senior embryologist at Aikya 8. The jr. embryogolist at Aikya 9. 

101. SEE GOD

-- DONE --

The final and the most important goal of my life. 

Instance #1: This happened during the Char-dham yatra in October 2024 when we visited the 5,000 year old Lakhamandir Shiva temple on the way to Barkot. After a wholesome darshan, as we were preparing to leave, a small boy - a toddler - singled me out and ran towards me with outstretched arms. I picked him up, found his dad, and entertained the child for a while. We took a bunch of selfies together. He was light-weight, fair skinned with light-brown curly and wispy hair, very loving, and snuggled comfortably in my arms. It was the most comfortable, no-fuss encounter I have ever had with a child. 

After the trip, I checked with Guruji and got a lovely confirmation! 

Instance #2: During Omkareshwar parikrama on 13th March 2025. Turned out I was the only person doing the parikrama instead of many people. I had started late in the evening and was eager to cover as much ground as I could before the sun went down. The stairs every now and then were slowing me down significantly. Then I came across a really big flight of stairs, and felt my heart cry out at the amount of time it would take, given I would stop every now and then to catch my breath.

Out of nowhere, a young fair sadhu passed me by and climbed the stairs ahead of me. He had a short stick in his right hand, he wore white dhoti, had tied half his hair up and had rudraksha mala around his neck. I had no doubt in my mind. I just focussed on his feet climbing the stairs and followed him. In record time, I was on top of the stairs without having stopped and I wasn't even out of breath. I forgot to look for the sadhu.

Instance #3: During the Omkareshwar parikrama, the last 1km stretch was in complete darkness, steep stairs and no houses around. I was quite worried and took a few steps back to ask the watchman of a temple who was closing the gates of the path I had just passed by - indicative of no returning - the guy shouted back saying there are two sadhus coming and I should join them. The sadhus from Maharashtra were on their Narmada parikrama pilgrimage and spoke to me about spiritual stuff and parted way once there were better lights. Eternally grateful

Instance #4: the five small girls who passed me by on the Char Dham Yatra lunch break.. and the girl in the middle turned around and smiled at me. I had been meditating the previous days on Haridwar Adhisthadri Devi(group of five goddesses including Kamakhya mata)

Instance #5: I had been agonizing over what sweets to take to Vrindavan for baby Krishna given I would be into my 3rd day of trip and fresh sweets were out of question. As soon as I entered the supermarket, a small boy about 3 yrs old ran to me and tried to give me some lolipops from the store and kept pointing at the aisle where they were kept. I got the hint and bought tons of confectioneries for the trip. 

Goals Completed: 28

Goals Pending:     73