Ajay Devgn - Biography - Family

Ajay Devgn - Biography - Family

Son of Veeru Devgan and Veena Devgan. Brother of Anil Devgan. Son-in-law of Bollywood actress Tanuja Mukherjee. Spouse: Kajol (24 February 1999 û present)

Being the son of a master action director, it was only obvious that Ajay would excel in action, but he surprised the industry and audiences alike with his superb comic performance in Inder Kumaræs Ishq and his emotionally moving performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansaliæs Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, exhibiting a range that was truly rare. By then Ajay had proven that there was no genre of cinema which was alien to him and he continued to excel in each of his roles. His stellar performance in Mahesh Bhattæs Zakhm fetched him his first ever National Award. His subtle yet hard-hitting performance in Company made him a Ram Gopal Varma favorite. Ajay later worked with Ramu on Bhoot.

His first attempt at non-commercial cinema earned him rave reviews for his performance opposite Aishwarya Rai in Rituparno Ghoshæs Raincoat. In his personal life, he married leading actress Kajol on 24th February 1999. The couple has two children, a daughter, Nysa Devgan, and a son, Yug Devgan. Contrary to his on-screen image, Ajay is a rather quiet personality but yet a master prankster on the sets of his films.

The last two years have seen Ajay grow in stature. In 2009, he had some lovely films on hand, like Vipul Shahæs London Dreams, which had shades of æAmadeusæ and the laugh riot All The Best. The year 2012 has turned out even better for Ajay with releases like Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Rajneeti, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai and Aakrosh. And in Diwali, he had seen in a comic caper, Rohit Shettyæs Golmaal 3. The best is definitely yet to come for this actor. The last two years have seen Ajay grow in stature.

Ajay Devgan

In December 2010, he starred along with wifey Kajol in India’s first live action animation, Toonpur ka Superr Hero. His first release in 2011 was Madhur Bhandarkaræs widely promoted, Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji, in which he’s paired with Shazahn Padamsee. Bhandarkar’s first foray into comedy also features Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya, and Shruti Haasan.

Subsequently, he was the narrator in Yamla Pagla Deewana and did a cameo role in the Salman Khan-starred Ready. Devgan’s film Singham proved to be a milestone for him. The film grossed 100 crores net in India, making it the 7th film to do so. Devgn’s film Rascals released in December 2011. He paired up with Sanjay Dutt, in this film directed by the King of Comedy, David Dhawan. In the year 2012, his first release has been the multi-starrer thriller Tezz, which was helmed by Priyadarshan. He was last seen in the Rohit Shetty film æBol Bachchan’ which has done exceedingly well at the box office. His Diwali release Son Of Sardaar, directed by Ashwni Dhir and also starring Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjay Dutt, and Juhi Chawla, opened to huge numbers at the box-office and will surely turn out to be a big blockbuster.

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Aamir Khan - Biography - Family of Aamir Khan

 Aamir Khan  - Biography - Family of Aamir Khan

Wife: Kiran Rao (2005 to present û 1 child); Reena Dutta (1987 to 2002 û 2 children; Junaid, & Ira)

Father: Tahir Hussain

Mother: Zeenat Hussain

Brother: Faisal Khan & Farhat Khan

Sister: Nikhat Khan

Uncle: Nasir Hussain

Nephew: Imran khan

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Decoration Day

Don't you love this vintage picture? Source is here.

 I didn't remember ever hearing the history behind Memorial Day, so I finally looked it up. Did you know it was first started during the Civil War? I was rather amazed it had that deep of a history. 

Originally, it was called Decoration Day as it was set aside to decorate the graves of soldiers fallen in the line of duty. (It is thought this was based on an even older Southern tradition of once a year tidying and decorating family tombstones. It was also tradition to make a day of it and bring a picnic lunch!)

Above is the tiny bone picture frame of a  relative who gave his life in the Civil War. I am honored to have in our family history collection. His name was James L. Hall, he served in a Pennsylvania company and died in Andersonville Prison at the age of 34. Even though he isn't a direct descendant (his sister was my 4th great-grandmother), it is fascinating this little portrait has been handed down generation by generation.  

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, remembering the soldiers who have fallen, yet celebrating the American life they fought for! 

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Remembering.......

Since I have been doing genealogy the last couple of weeks, I thought it would be a fitting post to share a veteran in my family history. Our family like most, is full of veterans, men who have fought and served through all of this country's battles. Recently, I have been researching a Civil War veteran. We have our fair share of Civil War soldiers on the family tree, but this one is special, we have a picture of him!

His name is David Miller. He was born in 1833 to a War of 1812 veteran in Pennsylvania. For some time he has been quite a mystery. I have finally discovered his parents and grandparents names, which I am very excited about! I don't have a lot of other information on him though. He did return from the war, but died not too long after. He was a farmer, working land he inherited from his father. He had five children that lived their whole lives in the same area

This year is the 100th anniversary of WWI. It was very touching to see the memorial at the Tower of London that Hope & Wander posted about.

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Fall means: Family, Fireball, and Fun!

Friday, work could not end soon enough! I was off a little early, picked up a treat for my mom, and went to my new main gym for cardio, squats, and weights. The good thing about being back at Fitness Connection is the lateral cardio machine; I love that thing! I had to break it in with 30 fast minutes.

When I finished at the gym, I rushed home and was greeted by my mom and her new boyfriend Hutch. They drove down to spend the night with me!

I took and shower and got ready, then we pre-gamed a little at my apartment. My moms newest obsession is Fireball whisky (thanks to me, I created a monster) so she was ready to get the night started with a shot. We then went uptown for dinner, drinks, and a lot of laughs. We had such a great time. Hutch seems crazy about my mom and she the same-- her happiness is all that matters to me. 

We were not out too late Friday night because my body is working hard to fight off a cold. I was tired early. 

We were all up bright and early on Saturday morning and decided to go out to a local restaurant known for delicious, home cooked breakfast. I had buttermilk pancakes and bacon. It tasted just as good as the picture looks! I never ever have breakfast food like that so I savored it. 

After breakfast we came back to my apartment. I packed and mom and Hutch left to explore Charlotte. I then took off to Raleigh to spend the night with my sister and brother in law.

I got to my sisters around 1:30 PM. She made me a fresh fruit and kale smoothie for lunch and we chatted, then we went out and did some shopping. After we finished, we decided to go out for a jog around the lake and trail behind her apartment complex. It was absolutely beautiful and a great way to get the evening started.

After we finished our long jog, it was time to get ready for the evening. We then went downtown to one of my favorite places to have dinner called "Busy Bee Cafe". We were seated on the roof (a must for me) and I had my favorite "Queen Bee"cocktail, and their vegetarian spinach "burger". 

Once we had dinner and a cocktail, all three of us were feeling tired, plus I was feeling my cold starting to take over, so we went back to their apartment. We all cuddled up in the living room and rented "Million Dollar Arm". I lasted 5 minutes before I was knocked out.

When I woke up this morning, I felt awful. I forced myself to get the drive back to Charlotte over with though, so I left my sister's as soon as I got up. I made a pit stop for medicine when I got into town then came  home. I felt bad, but I forced myself to deep clean my apartment instead of rest. My place was a mess and I am the type who cannot rest when there is a mess. Plus if I forced myself to clean, I could get rid of any germs. 

I scrubbed my apartment for about 3 hours: washing sheets, 2 other loads of laundry, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and Cloroxing. I took a bath once I finished then planted myself on the couch. Now I feel worse than before, of course, ha, so I am off to take a little more cold medicine and get to bed early. 

I had an absolutely blast this weekend and this cooler weather is more than welcome in my opinion, I just hate the colds than come along with it!

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The City

My Dad has been working on a temporary assignment in New York City for some time and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him, as well as one of my favorite cities, before his assignment was over. To top it all off, my Mom was game too, so we decided to all meet up in the city and do a bit of exploring.

The great thing is that my parents have both been there long enough that they were not as interested in the touristy side of things, so we did what I love, which is to wander around the neighborhoods exploring, eating and people watching. Also, they have both been doing a fair bit of walking and so they had built up a good stamina. In addition, they have figured out the subway system and enjoy utilizing the public transportation options. As you may know, my parents live in a very rural, mountainous area where there are only about 12 neighbors in a 50 mile radius, so it was fun and interesting to see them in a city setting. My Mom has discovered a new-found love for blogging, and was snapping photos of everything along the way.

I arrived very late on Friday, after taking an after work flight from San Francisco. I thought this (and the three hour time difference) would cause me to sleep in a bit, but we were up the next day around 6 and were ready for some action! We started by meeting in Central Park. Dad and I ran there and Mom walked. After meeting up, I went for an additional few miles while they headed down toward the breakfast place. Later, I met them in Hell's Kitchen at the Galaxy Diner, which was okay, but was nothing special.

Who you gonna call?

Afterward, we headed down to the Staten Island ferry, them via subway and me via the East river. We took the ferry over to Staten Island, which is free, and affords a really nice view of the Statue of Liberty and the city skyline. After we got back to Manhattan, we wandered up toward SoHo. We wanted to get a nice pastrami sandwich at Katz' deli, which is where one of the scenes in When Harry Met Sally was filmed. However, it was overcrowded and overpriced, so we walked over to Chinatown and had a really great pho at Pho Grand.

Mural along High Line

On Sunday, we got up and headed toward the High Line. Once again, I ran and my parents took the subway. The funny thing is that I beat them every time! We walked along the High Line to Chelsea and stopped for a bagel and coffee, before heading down through the meat packing district to Tribeca, where we were going to see the Ghostbusters firehouse. It looked just like it did in the movie! Next, we headed over to Brooklyn and took a really nice walk along the promenade and over to Dumbo, where we rode the merry go round and ate yummy pizza.

Brooklyn Promenade

After a shower and a small break for me, I headed back out to meet Mom and Dad in the upper East side, where we were planning on having dinner. However, it was pouring rain and it took me a long time to make my way up to see them. I even had to buy a $5 umbrella from the guy on the street! I finally got up to meet them, and we wandered around the upper East side to the Heidelberg, where we ate pig knuckles and sauerkraut and drank liters of beer. I think with this, I sufficiently tired the parents out, because as soon as we got home, everyone pretty much passed right out!

Manhattan Bridge

Monday was Labor Day, and we got up, went for a run, and then met up with a coworker of Dads (and a former coworker of mine) for breakfast at The Comfort Diner, where I had the most delicious lemon ricotta pancakes! To walk off the pancakes, we headed back over to the East River and then just sat in the shade and watched the boats on the river for a while.

Run / Walk Schedule

That night I took a bus to the Newark airport where I flew to Germany, but that is a story for another day!

What is your favorite thing to do in a big city? What is your favorite city to visit? Do you ever split up your runs into smaller pieces?

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Weekend Recap: Blissful for No Reason

This weekend was simply wonderful. However, there was nothing magnificent that happened... and I did my own thing mostly; but I really, really enjoyed myself. 

Friday I worked a half day then took off to Greensboro, NC to take care of my grandmother who is recovering from a brutal neck surgery. My Papa is still recovering from a double leg break in March, and even though he is a LOT better, they still needed help around the house. They are my anchors, so I take advantage of any excuse to go to stay with them. 

When I arrived to Greensboro, I ran a couple of errands for my grandmother; picked up medicines and a neck pad, picked up her favorite magazine "Marie Claire", and a couple of Redbox movies. I wanted to do anything to try and lift her spirits. She is super active just like I am, so being down was not fun for her. 

Once I arrived to their house, I cleaned up and some organizing. Then my Papa and I made steaks vegetables on the grill. We always grill out when I come up, it's one of my favorite things to do with them. 

I must have been more tired than I thought; because after dinner, I spent time with my grandma then I was asleep by 10 PM. That is unheard of for me on the weekends. 

Saturday morning I was up really early getting the rest of the cleaning done. As I was about to leave to drive back to Charlotte, my grandma called me into her bedroom and surprised me with the cutest new purse. She said she saw it at DSW before her surgery and thought I would love it. She knows me so well; black and white purses are my favorite!

I arrived back to Charlotte around 1 PM. I was so fatigued from the long drive and waking up early to clean, that I did not feel like working out. I decided to do laundry and clean my apartment instead. 

Once I got that out of the way, I had a burst of energy. However, I did not want to go out to dinner or drinking, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I realized that I had a ton of errands I needed to get out of the way, and decided to take a shower and get ready, and make an evening of it.

Little did I know just how fun an evening of running errands could be, ha.

My first stop was Starbucks. I was craving my favorite blackberry tea. When I drove up to the window, the Barista was being so flirty -- I don't know even if he was 18 yet! I then went to pay for my drink, but he handed my debit card back to me and told me it was on the house. I never get hit on, so I thought it was super cute. I will be a cougar in no time!

After Starbucks I ran by Kohls and PetSmart. Then I picked up a sweet treat at my favorite cupcake place in the world; SAS. Look at all of the options they have! I chose the Neapolitan one. It was really good, but too much icing. I am opposite from a lot of people: my favorite part of a cupcake is the bread. Icing makes me nauseous. 

After I picked up my treat, I went to Target then Ulta. "Sexy Hair" products were on sale for buy 1 get 1 free, I had a coupon for a free Calvin Klein mascara, and then another coupon for $3.50 off my total purchase. Yep, just being a diva on a budget. 

As I walk up to the check out counter, I noticed one of my old co-workers from Urban Active Fitness was working at the register. When it was my turn, I was walked up to him and said "Hey stranger!". He blankly stared at me for a second, then realized who I was. He did not even recognize me because he said I looked so different. I have not seen him in a LONG time and he could not believe how much weight I have lost. It was one of the best feelings in the world. He then me gave me all kinds of free samples with my purchase. My night was officially made.

After I left Ulta, I ran into the grocery store. As I was walking out, a man rolled down the window in his jeep and complimented my wedge heels. I could not believe what all was happening, but damn it was great! At that point, I wished I had more errands to run so hopefully this positivity would keep coming, ha! But it was late and I was tired, so I went home. 

Sunday I was well rested and ready to hike. I took off to the mountains and had 10 miles on my agenda. It was very hot, but I like it that way. I like sweating out toxins and water weight. I felt "hulk" like strength when I started, and power walked almost the entire time. I was even making better time than when I interval train with jogging. However, the last quarter mile leading up the mountain started to kick my butt. I was hurting bad. Then after that quarter mile, I had another quarter mile of 350 steps that lead to the very top. I thought I was going to die at this point; my side was hurting and my heart was beating out of my chest. I did not stop, I put one foot in front of the other, and I made it!

Once I finished my hike, I drove home so I could clean up and get ready for church. It was part 5 and the last week of the series #DeathToSelfie. As usual, it was food for soul. I think this sermon was probably the one I needed most. The topic was about something I always try to live by: turning pain into strength, sorrow into happiness. You can call something like it is... but how easy is that? Call it what you want it to be and make it change. 

After church, I excitedly drove to the movies to see "The Giver". I am so happy this book was turned into a movie. To make it even better, I gained enough points for a free movie ticket! "The Giver" was a wonderful movie; but it needed to be a lot longer than it was. There were so many details left out, and it felt kind of rushed. I did learn though, that they are making more of them, so it should workout. It is definitely worth seeing though. The message in it is beautiful. 

Today is my last Monday off for "summer hours". I have thoroughly enjoyed my 3-day weekends. I slept in, food prepped, lifted weights, and now it's time catch up on blogs and get some writing done. 

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Unexpected

Every once in awhile I do something and end up with a really amazing picture. Usually I don't know what I did, but this time I had the camera on continuous while rotating it. Not sure if I could do it again, but it is pretty cool......

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Healing and Independence Weekend

Well, I tell you guys one thing, you all make it hard for me to wallow in my self-pitty. 
I feel selfish because of the support you all have shown me. What I mean by that is: I have so many friends and readers that genuinely seem to care, so for me to just sit around be sad is selfish. From the bottom of my heart and soul all I can say is wow and thank you so, so much. Your emails helped me more than you will know or realize. Whenever I would start slipping back into a dark place, I would get a notification of another email. Your words and stories really did help. 
I am finally starting to get back to a better place. I am not back to 'me' yet, but I am slowly but surely getting there. It is still a process, and one that I have to keep pushing through with, so bare with me a little longer. My heart is coming alive again as well, in a much different outcome than I thought. I hope to elaborate on that soon. 
Peace. I finally feel peace. I do not wake up dreading the day, I am energized, my heart beats slowly, but strong. I can smile. I haven't cried in 2 days. The sun is finally starting to shine on my soul. 

Even though I have been sad, life has still been happening. Work has been busier than it ever has, which has me in a million different directions. It is getting difficult and takes away from this blog some, but my job is what keeps my life afloat so of course it must take priority. Thursday, I bought a new car. My old Mustang was one of the biggest stresses in my life. It was a money pit and I finally had enough. I am in love with my Camry! It is so fancy and classy. I feel like a million bucks driving it. I have still been working out and eating clean; I am down 58 pounds now. I pushed through my plateau and lost 3 pounds last week, so I feel good. Admittedly, I think a lot of it was I just could not eat, but still. Ha. My fourth of July weekend was a lot of fun and filled with family. I spent time with my grandparents and my sister and her boyfriend Dave stayed the weekend with me. Friday we had dinner at a new restaurant in town called "Lure" then watched live music and fireworks. Saturday, my sister and I got massages, Starbucks, worked out, then spent the night with my sister and Dave enjoying dinner, drinks, and UFC. Yesterday I spent the day running errands, cleaning, and prepping for the week. My long weekend was just what I needed. I feel like now I am getting back in the game. The game of life. I have two new recipes to share soon as well. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone!

Oh and I turn 25 years old in 23 days, ah! I can't believe it. 

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My Top Secret Weekend Recap!

I wish writing about my "top secret weekend" would include stories of how Dewayne "The Rock" Johnson professed his love for me, took me on a tropical vacation, and romantically proposed... but... not so much, ha. My top secret weekend was all about surprising my mom and dad, and I could not write about my plans on here before since they read my blog. I really put my heart into this weekend so I did not want anything to ruin it. It was both Father's Day and my mom's birthday! Both of them I had no idea I was coming. I made little white lies stating why I couldn't come. Little did they know...
Friday after a crazy busy day at work, I went to the gym for a leg workout. I pushed hard and felt great. After I went to get groceries. Once I got home, I got to work preparing my mother's birthday cake. Her favorite dessert is "s'mores" so I wanted to make a cake going with that theme. Naturally I checked on Pintrest earlier in the week, but the ideas on there were too grandiose for me. Thus I made my own! Y'all know I love creating recipes so I thought I would give a shot. I made a chocolate fudge cake with vanilla and marshmallow mix as the icing, then topped it with graham cracker crumbs and a caramel drizzle. It did not look at that pretty, but everyone loved it.

I then put mom's gifts together. She has had a really hard year; between her MS, separation, and other family problems, it has been really, really difficult for her. So for her birthday this year, I really wanted to make it personal and fun. I got her a sterling silver necklace engraved with the word "Gammy" and a personalized photo book filled with pictures of me, my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and other family members. My nephew Brantley means the world to mom - he is her reason for living. She loves being a "gammy".  After I finished her cake and putting her gifts together, I packed, got a shower, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow on my bed. I was worn out. 

Saturday morning when I woke up, I wanted to go to the gym before making the drive back to my hometown. But I was so sore I could barely walk. When I got out of bed, I felt like a walking zombie. So, I scratched that, threw the rest of my things together, and took off. I arrived to my brother's around 2 PM. I walked in with mama's cake and gifts, and the look was on her face was priceless. Can you guys believe she is 51 years old? She looks so good, and not a drop of plastic surgery. I know I look older than I am, but so did she when she was my age, so I am looking forward to getting older, ha!

The rest of the afternoon my sister-in-law and I did my "Hot Mess Express" workout outside then came back to start getting ready. Mom thought her cake and gifts were her birthday, but no, I had more up my sleeve! My extended family is not very close. I wish we were-- I want the kind of family where you get together for dinners, parties, events, and such every weekend. Unfortunately everyone has their own thing going on, so it isn't like that. However, for my mom's birthday, because she has been having such a hard time, I knew I had to get everyone together to surprise her for dinner. Everyone came through and mom was literally shocked when we got to the restaurant; she could not believe everyone was there. I felt the same way. It filled my heart with so much joy to have my family together like that!

We literally had the best time. My mom had a lot to drink - I totally have her hooked on Fireball whiskey now! Actually, everyone had quite a bit to drink... except me. I am getting old and boring now. I ordered my favorite shot "Royal Flush" and only drank about half of it, I just wasn't feeling it. But I had a blast listening to everyone else.I don't even remember how many shots of tequila and whiskey my family consumed. I have to give a big shout out to my old high school friend and fellow cheerleader, Tara, for taking such amazing care of us!

We even ordered my nephew a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri so he would not feel left out, ha!

This morning I was up bright and early to drive to the next town over to surprise my dad at church. I was actually really worried about surprising him! When I talked to him on the phone yesterday, he sounded really disappointed that "I couldn't come". I felt so bad that I almost told him. Also he was telling about how his new cancer medication is hurting his legs and feet so bad that he probably was not going to go. But God knew my step-mom and I's plan, and I got a text this morning from her saying that he felt well and was going to church. When I got there, tapped my dad on his shoulder, I saw him slightly turn his head to politely say hello back, and finally after about 10 seconds or so, he realized it was me. He was so shocked and it was the best feeling. My dad is such a fighter, and despite of his awful cancer, he tries so hard everyday to live as normal as possible. It was "Youth Sunday" at church and one teenager shared her testimonial about her faith, and it was really moving. I related so much as she spoke about going through such a difficult heartbreak. Once church was over, we had lunch together, then dad and I watched the DVD I got him. My dad LOVES "The Beatles" so I bought him all of the episodes of "The Ed Sullivan Show" that they starred on. We had a blast watching it -- he was singing and dancing around in his recliner.

I left my dad's around 3 PM to take off to Greensboro to spend time with my wonderful grandparents. I am SO close to them - they are like another set of parents for me. I had to spend time with my papa for Father's Day. My grandmother and I had a relaxing time sitting outside in her new outdoor room that she recently had screened in. There is nothing better than sitting out in the country, listening to the birds, feeling the warm sun, and talking with people who means so much to you. Then for dinner, papa made his famous porkchops on the grill. It was a lot of fun.

I'm now in my "bedroom" at their house -- the upstairs loft. I decided to stay the night with them because I simply love staying here; it's home. Plus I am exhausted. I am happy to be off of work tomorrow, but have a lot to do when I get back to Charlotte. Food prep, cleaning, and the gym, of course. I am ready to break my plateau and see some good results! But first, a good night of sleep. Tomorrow I will resume taking on the world...

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