A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in Clarence Brown Theatre, TN, USA.

The 16-foot-diameter clock face that hangs in the back of the stage The musical -- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, was on in Knoxville and I was keen to go and see it. In minutes after mentioning it, my generous Doc son, indulged his mum and had booked our tickets on his phone. Even though we got seats in the Q row as we booked the day before the show this was a fabulous, modern college theatre -- The Clarence Brown Theatre in the University of Tennessee campus. The seats gave us a fantastic birds eye view of the stage and ofcourse the sound was surround sound. As we walked in -- one of the last of course, as Americans always are early and never just in time, like us, the play's set had me stare in shock as we entered. The 16-foot-diameter clock face that hangs in the back of the stage, to help mark the passage of time, was an amazing back- drop, which set the tone for the musical.

Mr.Scrooge and Master Cratchit. Christmas is filled with traditions that, no matter how often they're repeated, are cherished each season. Apparently the Clarence Brown Theatre has a tradition of staging “ A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens' every year. The production of Dickens' story is one of ghosts, family and redemption. The hall was packed, with not a seat free with high energy young college kids and ofcourse Tennessee’s residents. It felt good zipping down to Knoxville in my son’s BMW and like any University, there was ample and free parking. Kids manned the parking and everything ran like clockwork. Dicken’s book is about the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who deals with his past, present and future behavior as he takes a magical journey with the help of the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future. The plays had much loved Christmas carols woven into the adaptation.

Poster of the show The book as we learn from history was written as a result of the authors desperate need for money. In 1843 Dickens and his wife were expecting his fifth child and were seriously short of cash. As Dickens wrote the book, he “ wept and laughed and wept again and he walked the dark streets of London for 15 or 20 miles a night while everyone else was in bed.”

We loved the show At odds with his publishers, he decided to self publish and worked a lavish gold embossed cover and hand coloured etchings. He kept the price low so it was affordable for everyone. The book was released just before the Christmas of 1843 and was an instant sensation, but due to the high production costs he made no profits. Plus pirated versions killed his profits still further as there were no copyright laws in England then. The UT theater has presented an adaptation of Dickens' 1843 story since 2007. The adaptation by Edward Morgan and Joseph Hanreddy has been the most loved one. “This is the third consecutive year for return of the popular Morgan-Hanreddy story that incorporates traditional Christmas music in a Victorian setting,” said the lady at the ticket counter, who checked our tickets on the phone and our ID’s. Since it was a University production, Jed Diamond, who is the UT theater department's head of acting played Scrooge. UT theater faculty member David Brian Alley played Scrooge's business partner Marley, and performed both as a dead ghost and a live miser. Visiting artist Kathleen Conlin directed the production and its cast of 31 cast members including Tiny Tim.

Costumes of 17th century England The play runs about two and a half hours with an intermission where the kids came back with bowls of ice-cream to enjoy in the depths of winter.

The Satsumas of New Orleans, USA

Alaina picking Satsumas in New Orleans The best oranges in India are from Nagpur and when winter comes we buy Kg’s of the fruit to eat in the house. Loose jackets with the most delicious flavour and taste. Infact when we were kids my parents always put Nagpuri’s into our Christmas stockings as they along with crab apples were loved by us kids and especially me. This year I thought I had missed the orange season all together, as I was in the US with my son and his family for Christmas. By the time I was to return in Jan the oranges would be gone. Then we went to New Orleans for Thanksgiving -- driving 10 hours away to Louisiana and I was introduced to the most wonderful orange of them all -- The Satsuma. They were growing in plenty on the tree in the garden, in my DIL’s aunt’s home. The tree was bending over with the weight of the fruit and she had covered them with plastic packets to save them from the Possums and Rats, who made a feast of them every night. One did not mind if they ate the fruit in their entirety, but they would just mess them up, eat a segment or two and waste the rest.

Their beautiful colour and flavour is unmatched. The plastic bags saved the fruit for all of us to enjoy and I thought it was quite wonderful, that they ripened to a wonderful bright orange in the plastic bag too. We have squirrels doing that to our pomegranates in our farm in Hoskote and we put old socks on them like my father taught us to save a few for us.I am carrying the seeds home to try and germinate in our farm. “ Let’s take a scissors and cut off the bags and let Alaina pick the fruit herself,” said Anne. And so for a happy half and hour Alaina picked the fruit carefully off the tree after taking off the plastic bags.

Plastic bags save them from the possums and rats Reading up on Satsumas I learn that they are cousins of mandarin oranges, but are typically more yellow in colour and easier to peel as they are loose jackets too. This large citrus fruit is seasonal during the winter months and has such a special significance throughout New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana.”The fall chill of December marks for Louisianans, the height of the much anticipated satsuma season,” said Anne. Satsumas are cousins of mandarin oranges, but are typically more yellow in colour and easier to peel. Apparently they are sold in farmer’s markets and enjoyed in campus dining halls and added to restaurant menus. This tasty fruit seems to sneak its way into every part of New Orleans residents lives. You’re not a local until you have your favorite pop-up roadside satsuma vendor or know somebody with a satsuma tree in their yard.Anne saves a lot of the fruit to distribute to her neighbours, friends and relatives. According to the net there are five reasons why New Orleans loves satsumas: Satsuma trees are commonly seen throughout the New Orleans area. Rarely do the trees grow tall. Each tree reaps a healthy supply of oranges from late October to early February, creating a prime winter crop.In New Orleans, it’s never hard to find satsumas. They are sold at higher-end chains like Whole Foods, but even as local as the side of the county road. Residents of New Orleans are known to have their trusted source for satsumas, and many opt for the roadside pop-up merchants.

That's the size of one bunch off the tree Satsumas,are named after a former province of Japan, and are seen as symbols of abundance and good fortune during the Lunar New Year. It is common to present them to friends and family as gifts in Asian cultures. According to the Chinese-- satsumas with the leaves attached are luckier than others and guarantee more luck and wealth. Also because New Orleans is known for rich, heavy food, like gumbo and jambalaya, the satsuma offers a light and sweet flavour as a contrast to the flavour of the heavy food . They are easy to peel, full of vitamin-C, and make a prime healthy snack, jam, or juice.

A white Christmas in Maryland, Tennessee, USA

A wonderful sight to wake up to It’s early December and we had one flurry of a couple of inches of snow last night. My son and his family live in Knoxville, Tennessee and it’s a milder place, chosen by them because it reminds them of India with its trees and Smoky mountains. I love visiting and consider their home as my second home. Snow for us from India is an unusual occurrence. I hate it with all my heart as I slipped on it while studying in Swansea in Wales ten years ago and was lucky not to have hurt myself. I fell in the slush and got my leather coat covered in muck and the back of my leather boots too. Once I reached church which I was on my way, my colleagues wiped me down and I was as good as new. But the fear of breaking a bone or two while slipping on snow and black ice has stayed with me ever since. Something like being bitten by a dog as I am diabetic.

The neighbourhood wakes up to a white blanket of snow That’s the beauty of enjoying snow. Getting up and looking out of the window at this carpet of white which has magically covered all the roofs and gardens and ofcourse the cars. Luckily it’s warm enough in Tennessee not to cover the roads and make them unmotorable like it happens in Omaha, where the kids studied in a Jesuit institution called Creighton. The best as they say. Usually in Tennessee one sees snow first in Gatlinburg which has seen snow as early as October and as late as April. Though Gatlinburg may sometimes see snowfall before Thanksgiving and Christmas, these weather events are quite rare.

Even the bird feeder has a nice coat of snow According to the net, snow in Tennessee is varied from region to region. For example, in 2016, the city of Nashville got about 10 inches of snow while Memphis managed an average of about 5 inches. The National Weather Service said .4" of snow fell in Nashville as of Monday night, something that on average only happens every 19.3 years. The National Weather Service said this is the seventh time that measurable snow has occurred in the city before Nov. 11. NWS said the last time measurable snow was reported this early was in 1996. So the climate is changing, but who is listening?

White fairy dust sprinkled on the trees The kids interviewed in several places and finally chose Tennessee because it’s a great place to live if you have a good job or come here with great retirement benefits. This is because there's no income tax and property taxes are generally lower than in “blue states” as I have been told. Meanwhile each time I come and travel around the state I can see that TN cities are growing and thriving economically and the towns are booming from the time the kids came here five years ago.

Hot Rods 50’s diner in Alcoa, TN, USA

Hot Rods 50’s diner in Alcoa, Tennessee Monday is a holiday for my son and DIL. So after some binge shopping at Bargain Hunt and Ollie’s Army which I love, we headed to The Hot Rods 50’s diner. Bargain Hunt is one of my most favourite stores as we can get bargains there on branded clothes, like Gabes has in Knoxville. I mean I spied running tights for 10 $ and less which are really worth it, especially since they are Adidas or Reebok and last forever. I also got a pair of comfy walking shoes for 12$ which I could never smell in India for that price. And ofcourse a great wooden ( bamboo) cutting board for my close friend who plans to retire in India from Dubai. Then Andy arrived while we searched Ollies Army for my table mats and some hygiene products. I always shop in the US as the prices are way cheaper than India, forget the UK.

The Hot rod after which the diner is called. Off we went, jumping into only one car to go to the diner. Reminded me of the American Diner my friends took me to, in the Habitat Centre in New Delhi, when I went there for a conference and we all got together. Ofcourse it was much more upmarket and posh besides being expensive. This Diner in Alcoa Tennessee, is old world and quaint and can definitely look like it dates back to the ‘50’s with it’s rexine covered sofas and walls plastered with 50’s memorabilia. It has an exhaustive menu which we took time ordering from. For starters we ordered the Homemade Pimento cheese recipe made with a twist, using swiss cheese instead of sharp cheddar. The balls of cheese are lightly breaded and fried. Served with roasted red pepper cream sauce, they are to die for and the cheese is pretty hot and drippy when you bite into it.

'50's Grafitti on the wall just outside the diner I ordered a Bacon Sloppy Joe which cost. $8.99 and is their own recipe. It includes Angus beef sautéed with bacon pieces, onions, peppers and spices in a tomato sauce. The others ordered a Cajun Burger 11oz Steak burger, seasoned with cajun spices & topped with pepper jack cheese which was priced at $11.99. Served with a side of Cajun Mayo. We also ordered fried Okra on the side, which seems to be a Creole dish and pretty amazing to enjoy. For dessert we ordered Fried Swiss Cake Rolls which cost $5.99 The dish was little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls dipped in cake batter and fried to order. The rolls are served with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with fudge and topped with real whipped cream.

We all love fried okra! Their Hot Fudge Brownie which also costs $5.99 is an incredibly delicious, moist, and rich Ghirardelli brownie. Topped with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with fudge, and real whipped cream. Both desserts I could not even sniff at as I am diabetic. In typical American style, especially in small town America, there was an eating challenge on offer at the restaurant. The Chubby Challenge slaps down a giant 33 oz triple decker, smothered with American cheese, garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. The burger is served with a pound of french fries and costs $19.99

The old Juke box which still works So what is the the Chubby Challenge about? If you eat it all including the french fries, within 30 minutes of its arrival, you get a FREE Chubby T-Shirt and your picture on the walls of fame. Considering the number of people whose pictures graced the wall, this is a popular challenge on offer, and many have tried it. As meats are cooked and sliced in house daily, the burgers are 100% ground Angus chuck steak with absolutely no fillers, hand pattied in their kitchen. I could vouch for that, my Sloppy Joe was delicious.

Quaint welcoming statue as we enter They have also done their best to accommodate customers and their different special diet needs to help make every visit a pleasurable one. There is gluten free, heart healthy and vegetarian symbols next to items to help in ones decision making. But to cover their backs -- American style, the mandatory sentence -- “Please realize that although we have researched gluten and healthier options, we can not guarantee 100% accuracy.” is omnipresent on the menu card.

The past is never dead. It’s not even past in New Orleans

Historic homes on Rue Bourbon It was our second day in New Orleans and we were driving down one of the main roads in the town after going for Mass in the beautiful Loyola church. “ You can make a wish in any new church that you go to,” said my Mum when we were kids and I never fail to make a wish! They always come true. After Mass since we were down town, we decided to go to the open air market. But I kept rolling my window up and down taking pictures of the fantastic homes on either side of the road. They were definitely period homes, built in the old plantation style with porticos and pillared entrances. The tree lined roads made us take a step back in time, like time had stood still or we had somehow stopped the clock.

Another beauty which makes one gape at their grandeur As William Faulkner famously wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Nowhere does that feel more true than in New Orleans, where the city’s story is written in its brick-and-beam Creole cottages, bargeboard shotgun homes, and mid-century modern homes by the lakefront. As one realises, the history of its architecture follows the history of its people. Passing a grand mansion we were told by Anne our hostess that architect Francois Correjolles built the beautifully restored home in 1826 for a wealthy auctioneer. Over the last 193 years, the home had several affluent owners and was rented by General P.G.T. Beauregard shortly after the Civil War. With its manicured gardens and fountain, this home has one of the most beautiful courtyards in the French Quarter of the city. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street.

The beauty of these homes are amazing One can step over a threshold into the past when one visits these historic New Orleans homes and buildings which are open to the public. These architecturally significant buildings, which are today turned into homes, restaurants, and business establishments, can take you back generations. As a bonus, the shops associated with many of these lovely buildings have an excellent eclectic inventory of antique artefacts which we drooled over. Several are open for free by rich owners who are ready to share with visitors. Going back into American history, Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard was a New Orleans native who ordered the first shots of the Civil War fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina in April 1861. Frances Parkinson Keyes was a noted author of more than fifty books and short story collections. The Chartres Street house they lived in at separate times nearly a century apart bears both of their names and is today a French Quarter landmark. The Beauregard-Keyes House was built in 1826 for wealthy auctioneer Joseph LeCarpentier, and is a fine example of a raised center hall house. Beauregard lived in the home from 1866-68 while he was president of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad. Keyes used the home as her winter residence for 25 years, from the 1950s until her death in 1970. She wrote many of her books there, including Dinner at Antoineâ’s, The Chess Players, Madame Castelâ’s Lodger and Blue Camellia.

Another beauty that caught my eye The home features twin curved staircases, leading to a Tuscan portico. The brick-walled garden features a fine cast iron fountain and boxwood hedges. The garden’s design duplicates the original 1865 plans. The interior features a large parlor and ballroom, a rectangular dining room leading to a porch and many fine details. The Beauregard Chamber is furnished with original furnishings used by the General and his family. On view also in the house are the author --Keyes’s collections of more than 200 antique dolls and 87 tea pots. Her extensive collections of delicate fans and fascinating folk costumes are also on exhibit. A gift shop on the premises sells a number of Keyes books and other attractive souvenirs.

Standing tall and elegant Its boundaries of New Orleans as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Esplanade Avenue to the north, the Mississippi River to the east, Canal Street, Decatur Street and Iberville Street to the south and the Basin Street, St. Louis Street and North Rampart Street to the west.The French Quarter is the oldest area of the city but is more properly known as the Vieux Carre, because although founded by the French in 1718, it also reflects the art and architecture of the Spanish era. By the 1850s, the French Quarter had fallen into disrepair.

Winter is upon us everywhere in the US French engineer Adrien de Pauger laid out the streets of New Orleans in 1721 and chose one to carry the name of the French royal family ruling at the time, Rue Bourbon.In the early 1900s there was a dance hall in New Orleans called “The Big Easy.” But the nickname did not become famous until the early 1970s. That was when a Louisiana newspaper writer began calling New Orleans by this name. She compared the easy-going way of life there to the hurried pace of life in New York CityNew Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music, Creole cuisine, unique dialect, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras.

The Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans

The amazing tombs of New Orleans As we drove along one of the larger roads one morning, I saw these huge tombs sticking above the ground as we passed and was curious. Asking Anne our hostess in New Orleans, why they had such different looking cemeteries there, she said the reason for them being above ground is because Noo Orlins ( New Orleans) is below sea level! The city is sinking because they have pumped out all the ground- water. The Lake Metairie Cemetery is a rural cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana; but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road and formerly on the banks of the since filled-in Bayou Metairie.

The flowers signaled a fresh burial in this tomb Ann drove into the The Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery for me to have an up close view of the place. I just stared in disbelief at the size and grandeur of the tombs. Apparently the initial construction of at least one of these elaborate final resting places is estimated to have cost between $125,000 to $500,000, in late 20th century dollars. This site was previously a horse racing track, Metairie Race Course, founded in 1838. The race track was the site of the famous Lexington-Lecomte Race, April 1, 1854, billed as the "North against the South" race. Former President Millard Fillmore attended. While racing was suspended because of the American Civil War, it was used as a Confederate Camp (Camp Moore) until David Farragut took New Orleans for the Union in April 1862.

The biggest tomb we saw, looked larger than a house. Metairie Cemetery was built upon the grounds of the old Metairie Race Course after it went bankrupt. The race track, which was owned by the Metairie Jockey Club, refused membership to Charles T. Howard, a local resident who had gained his wealth by starting the first Louisiana State Lottery. After being refused membership, Howard vowed that the race course would become a cemetery. Sure enough, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, the track went bankrupt and Howard was able to see his curse come true. Today, Howard is buried in his tomb located on Central Avenue in the cemetery, which was built following the original oval layout of the track itself. Mr. Howard died in 1885 in Dobbs Ferry, New York when he fell from a newly purchased horse.

Tombs on either side like a massive army Metairie Cemetery has the largest collection of elaborate marble tombs and funeral statuary in the city. One of the most famous is the Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division monument, a monumental tomb of Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. The monument includes two notable works by sculptor Alexander Doyle (1857–1922):

Statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston on his horse "Fire-eater" Atop the tomb is an 1877 equestrian statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston on his horse "Fire-eater", holding binoculars in his right hand. General Johnston was for a time entombed here, but the remains were later removed to Texas. To the right of the entrance to the tomb is an 1885 life size statue represents a Confederate officer about to read the roll of the dead during the American Civil War. The statue is said to be modeled after Sergeant William Brunet of the Louisiana Guard Battery, but is intended to represent all Confederate soldiers.

The pseudo Egyptian sphinx Other notable monuments in Metairie Cemetery include: the pseudo-Egyptian pyramid which really looks quite weird; Laure Beauregard Larendon's tomb, which features Moorish details and beautiful stained glass;the Moriarty tomb with a marble monument with a height of 60 feet (18 m) tall, which required the construction of a temporary special spur railroad line to transport the monument's building materials to the cemetery.

New Orleans or the 'Big Easy'

Sugar coated Beingets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. Whenever I visit my son in the US he makes sure that we do a couple of fun trips during my time spent with them. This time,we were going to New Orleans for 6 days, spending them with my DIL’s relatives. “You say Noo Orlins,” he said, “ not New Orleens like we say,” he explained and ofcourse my grand- daughter giggled!.

Harrahs the casino in down town New Orleans My sons MIL had moved to Tennessee to help them with the kids, both being docs and so it meant, we needed a larger car to travel to Lousiana in comfort -- driving down rather than fly. So he bought a huge Pilot 8 seater for us to sit in comfort and carry our luggage too. New Orleans is a Louisiana city on the Mississippi River, near the Gulf of Mexico. Nicknamed the "Big Easy," it's known for its round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live-music scene and spicy, unusual cuisine reflecting its history as a melting pot of French, African and American cultures. Like in my home state of Goa, New Orleans is known for its Mardi Gras, the late-winter carnival famed for raucous costumed parades and street parties. I have seen raucous parades in The Netherlands as a student, but I have heard these are pretty wild.

The iconic Fleur de lis seen all over New Orleans All over the city I could see the the fleur de lis which has become the symbol of New Orleans especially, after Katrina. It is symbolic in many ways. Spiritually, it represents an Iris, a beautiful purple bloom that symbolizes the holy Trinity. Fleur is French for flower, de meaning of and li meaning three. It is the symbol of the New Orleans Saints. But while it is now seen as the mark of the state, it was once used to mark slaves says an article on the net. "Code noir, those words are French and mean black code," said slave historian Dr. Ibrahima Seck. The black code was a set of regulations adopted in Louisiana in 1724 from other French colonies around the world, meant to govern the state's slave population. Seck said those rules included branding slaves with the fleur de lis as punishment for running away.

The famous Bayou's of New Orleans But there is a scary part of New Orleans which makes my son swear he would never live there. Flooding and the Katrina hurricane were so destructive primarily because levees around New Orleans, Louisiana failed. Levees are water barriers built to prevent flooding (parts of New Orleans have an elevation that is lower than sea level). Hurricane Katrina flattened the city as it was a Category 5 hurricane. It made landfall on Louisiana in August 2005, causing catastrophic damage, particularly in the city and the surrounding areas, and over 1,200 deaths. Very heavy winds also contributed to the damage, but flooding was the most destructive.

All of us in a park feeding the birds According to recent crime data, New Orleans' violent crime rate is almost three times than the rest of America. Infact while we visited there had been a shooting on the street we had visited the day before with ten people seriously shot. New Orleans is sinking, according to a study using NASA airborne radar. The subsidence, or sinking rates, of the city and surrounding areas is caused by naturally occurring geologic and human-caused processes.The subsidence is primarily caused by groundwater pumping and surface water pumping (known as dewatering).

Enjoying ourselves at Cafe du Monde The food here is in a class of it’s own. I loved Gumbo and enjoyed eating it with a freshly fried dosa rather than rice! Crawfish Etouffee, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice,. Beignets & Po-Boys the food is in a category I have never tasted before. Our visit at night to Cafe Café du Monde was a must do according to Anne our hostess. It’s a renowned open-air coffee shop located on Decatur Street and we had to wait in line for a table it’s that packed! We enjoyed Beignets with coffee like everyone else around us were and it was amazing to see so many Indian tourists around, though they were American Indian, not like me out of India.

The steamboat Creole Queen on which we chugged down the Missippi river What I enjoyed most of all was the steam boat trip which my son took me for. It was expensive at 42$ each ticket. The steam- boat Creole Queen, brought up images I had wallowed in as a little girl reading books written by Mark Twain. He was the beloved, bewhiskered author of such American classics as "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"and "The Prince and the Pauper." Mark Twain was known originally as Samuel Clemens from Hannibal, Missouri. There he played in the mud with the boy who would appear in his books as Huck Finn and adored a girl across the street who would inspire Becky Thatcher. Apparently more than 130 years after Twain wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," you can visit Hannibal and tour his childhood home almost exactly as it was when he lived there -- there's even a white picket fence waiting to be whitewashed.