Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I want to speak to the design ENGINEER!

During the rainy season I completely adore the sensibility and humanness of our ancestors, even more than normal. What triggers this? Well, the old Bajaj scooters ridden by a well covered grandpa. The back wheel has this bit of RUBBER FLAP COVERING over it that prevents the water from splashing on the person riding behind the scooter! I look at all the lovely expensive bikes and cars and that simple cheap piece of rubber is missing or it's so high up that it has no use. Result: The street muck is on the poor soul's FACE! How can designers become so pathetic! Why can't people get some sense! To make the matters work those car people who zip across water filled potholes! I mean, excuse me, you are supposed to be so well EDUCATED that you can own a freaking car! Is this what they education is supposed to do to a person?

Friday, December 14, 2007

day well spent

Today, was declared a working Saturday at work. I am in absolutely no mood to work. I was browsing through the butterflies section of the INW webpage and I was so happy to see a good 10 odd species of butterflies that visit my garden. Been reading a bit more about them and the naming and the slight differences in the subspecies etc etc. Been a very informative day and my favorite one is the Mottled Emigrant closely followed by Common Mormon and Lime. Good, I feel a bit more educated today!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

what is going on?

It's really really really crazy! The political game I mean. Just 2 days back I see this crazy wacko guy screaming away on TV saying all the development work is stopped and that we need elections soon and all that crap. Well, as I was riding to work in peak hour today I noticed that traffic has been smoother and easy going since yesterday. The reason, the pothole filled KH road was freshly tarred! All in a matter of 2 days; make that nights. The guys have been sensible and have tarred the road at night when the traffic is almost non-existent rather than the previous time when they did it blocking the road during peak timings! This road for the past 1 year has been so horrible! I really am starting to like the president's rule...atleast road-wise. Most of the big roads' potholes are filled now and there seems to be someone looking at making this place get back to shape! Seems like the infrastructure follows the leaders in being in shape or out of shape! :-)

I do sometime get annoyed with democracy, with the power game and money mindedness we really lack someone who cares for IMPROVING and DEVELOPING and SUSTAINING the city/state.

Herbs and spice

I have been hearing about this restaurant in Indiranagar for quite some time and finally I managed to go there yesterday evening. It's a very nice cozy place tucked away in a discreet corner of Indiranagar. The food is simply yummy! The lasagna was actually looking like one, layered and all. Quite nice but for the spice overloaded tongues, the food might be a bit bland. The place is a frequently visited for the regulars and the owner knows the tastes of the regulars aswell. Most drop in for the desserts (which are just delicious!). Try the meringue, they are super light and super tasty!

In all a nice place to go with someone special and the owners are really sweet. The food is served quick too! ++ for that and the good service.

Monday, December 03, 2007

The best road award goes to!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together, to congragulate, and to PROTECT and SAVE this marvelous road! Our own Nanda road! The other day I was passing by MG road and was confounded by a shocking void! The trees, they are gone! It looks so bare, lifeless... lets do something, lets save Nanda road from such a disaster! Come on people! lets not give up our source of pride and inspiration!




Green, Life, Soul...



Inspiration, Creativity, Peace...

Humans, Greed, Destruction!?

"WAS the garden city"

"WAS a pensioner's paradise"

"WAS pollution free and calm"

kadlekai parshe - groundnuts fair!

Yes! This monday was a south bangalore festival, the kadlekai parshe. Tonnes of groundnut are sold on the streets of good old Basavangudi. This has been a tradition of many years now. It - similar to other things in India - has a story tagging along too. Basavangudi gets it's name from the big Basava (Bull) that was tormenting this place. Known for it's groundnut fields this region was frequented by a bull which the locals one day captured and pegged down. This bull also happened to be shiva's means of transport and hence they build a temple to pay respects to the lord and thats how the bull temple came to exist. Every year on the last monday of karthika masa (ref. hindu calender) there is a fair held here and the local produce, mainly groundnuts are sold. This has now extended to puffed rice, some sweets like bendu batthas and various other toys and household articles by the local crafts people. It draws huge crowds, is really dirt cheap and, has a totally - oh so banglorean - feel to it. :-)

As usual, there were tonnes of food stalls and hardly any dustbins around! We never loved being clean, right?



Save money, one bit when you can!



COtton canDy!! Yummy!!



Groundnuts!! how much can you eat?

Friday, November 30, 2007

funny thoughts...

If love is blind, how can we believe in love at first sight?

If you accidentally ate your own tongue, what would it taste like?

Do sore thumbs really stick out?

Why is it when your almost dead your on deaths doorstep, but when your actually dead your not in deaths house?

Why do we scrub Down and wash Up?

What’s the opposite of opposite?

If Practice makes perfect, and nobody’s perfect, then why practice?

Why are toe nail clippers bigger than finger nail clippers when your toe nails are smaller than your finger nails?

Is the opposite of “out of whack” “in whack”

If you try to fail and succeed, what did you just do?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs!

On the periodic table, why do some elements have symbols with letters that aren’t even in the word?

Why do birds not fall out of trees when they sleep?

Why do they call it “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” when they know the answer is going to be everyone?

Why does Bugs bunny walk around the cartoon naked, but puts a bathing suit on when he goes swimming?

If a terminator is someone who kills, shouldn’t an exterminator be the opposite?

How many people do you need to consider it a mass suicide/murder?

If a robber tried to rob a dance club and yelled, “Everybody get down”, would all the people start dancing?

Why is a woman in a suit a “business person” but a man in a dress is a “transvestite”?

When pigs fart, does it smell like bacon?

Was Dawson Named After The Creek or Was The Creek Named After Dawson?

Could a tanning bed kill a vampire? If not would they get a tan?

How long is it until your relationship is considered a long-term relationship?

IF MONEY DOES NOT GROW ON TREES, WHY DO BANKS HAVE BRANCHES?
If you cut off a glowworm’s tail would it be delighted?
How do you know which armrest is yours in the movie theaters?
If you say something is indescribable, isn’t that describing it?
Do Dutch people always split the bill?
Can you sleep forever without being in coma?
Why is it called butterfingers when there is no butter or fingers in it?
If you shine a light into a mirror, do you get twice as much light?
How come it was called the Cosby Show when Billy Cosby’s character was named Heathcliff Huxtible?
If a Truck is loaded with Helium, would it weigh less than when it was empty? Wouldn’t it get better fuel mileage?
Why is the blackboard green?
Why do they call it a black light when it’s really purple?
Why do hotdogs come in packs of 8 when hotdog rolls come in packs of 10?
What do you call male ballerinas?
How come the sun makes your skin darker but your hair lighter?
If you dig a tunnel straight through the earth, will you come out with your feet first?
Why are pennies bigger than dimes?
Did they have antiques in the olden days?
Are zebras black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?
If Pringles are “so good that once you pop, you can’t stop” why do they come with a resealable lid?
Is a sleeping bag a nap sack?
What came first, the fruit or the color orange?
Where does the white go when the snow melts?
Can blind people see their dreams?
If there’s an exception to every rule, is there an exception to that rule?
Why do you click on start to exit Microsoft Windows?
Have you ever wondered why Trix are only for kids?
Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130 when you legally can’t go that fast on any road?
Why do they call it “getting your dog fixed” if afterwards it doesn’t work anymore?
If Wile Coyote had enough money for all that Acme crap, why didn’t he just buy dinner?
If masochists like to torture themselves, wouldn’t they do it best by not torturing themselves? and if so, aren’t we all masochist?
why is it called lipstick when it always comes off?
If when people freak out they are said to be “having a cow”, when cows freak out are they said to be “having a person?”
Aren’t you tired of people asking you rhetorical questions and you don’t know if they are rhetorical questions or not?
Why is a person that handles your money called a BROKER?
Why do we leave expensive cars in the driveway, when we keep worthless junk in the garage?
why do they have handicap parking spaces in front of they skating rings?
What happens if someone loses a lost and found box?
Why do they call it taking a dump? Shouldn’t it be leaving a dump?
What if the hokey-pokey really is what it’s all about?
Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?
If quizzes are quizzical then what are tests?
Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
Why do banks leave the door wide open but the pens chained to the counter?
What would happen if an Irresistible Force met an Immovable Object?
What’s the difference between a wise man and a wise guy?
If Americans throw rice at weddings, do the Chinese throw hamburgers?
how can you chop down a tree and then chop it up?
How can you hear yourself think?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

How does Santa get into a house that doesn’t have a chimney?
If you get cheated by the better business bureau, who do you complain to?
If you’re in hell, and are mad at someone, where do you tell them to go?
What would Geronimo say if he jumped out of an airplane?
What would Cheese say if they got their picture taken?
why are turds pinched off at the end?
I know you can be overwhelmed, and I know you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed?
If Barbie is so popular, then why do you have to buy her friends?
Why does Donald Duck wear a towel when he comes out of the shower, when he doesn’t usually wear any pants?
If you take an oriental person and spin him around a few times, does he become disoriented?
How come overtones and undertones are the same thing?
What would you use to dilute water?
What should one call a male ladybird?
How can military troops be deployed if they have never been ployed to begin with?
If you lived in Siberia and you wronged the Russians government, where would they send you?
Why do they call it an asteroid when its outside the hemisphere but call it a hemorrhoid when its in your ass?
If a cow laughed real hard, would milk come out her nose?
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
Aren’t all generalizations false?
Can atheists get insurance for acts of God?
Do you need a silencer if you are going to shoot a mime?
Can I get arrested for running into a Fire House yelling Movie! Movie!?
Can you be a closet claustrophobic?
Could someone ever get addicted to counseling?
If so, how could you treat them?
Did Adam and Eve have navels?

Why is it that whenever you sing to the radio, your voice is higher? Even when you have a low voice?
Why is most lunchmeat bigger than the bread?
Is there a certain temperature at which it stops being qualified as cold? At what temperature does it qualify as hot?
If you were a pastor, and you were getting married, would you hire a pastor, or would you do the wedding yourself?
Why is Joey short for Joe, when Joey has more letters?
Can someone have their head in the clouds and be down-to-earth at the same time?
If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember
that they forgot?
If you died with braces on would they take them off?
Why do mattresses have designs on them when they’re always covered with sheets?
Why do they call them “apartments” when they are all stuck together?
Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
Why do they report power outages on TV?
Why do they sell a pound cake that only weighs 12 ounces?
Why do ‘tug’boats push their barges?
Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
Why do we have hot water heaters?

Why do we put suits in a garment bag and garments in a suitcase?
Why do we sing ‘Take me out to the ball game’, when we are already there?
Why do we wash bath towels? Aren’t we clean when we use them?
Why does “slow down” and “slow up” mean the same thing?
Why does an alarm clock “go off” when it begins ringing?
Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
Why doesn’t “onomatopoeia” sound like what it is?
Why don’t you ever hear about gruntled employees?
Why don’t you ever see baby pigeons?
Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?
Why is a women’s prison called a penal colony?
Why is it called a “building” when it is already built?
Why is it called a TV “set” when you only get one?
Why is it called ‘after dark’, when it is really after light?
Why is it so hard to remember how to spell MNEMONIC?
Why is it that when you’re driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio? Why is it when a door is open it’s ajar, but when a jar is open it’s not adoor?
Why is the alphabet in that order?
Is it because of that song?
Why is the word “abbreviate” so long?
Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?
Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
You know how most packages say “Open here”. What is the protocol if the package says, “Open somewhere else”?
Can fat people go skinny-dipping?
After eating, do amphibians have to wait an hour before getting out of the water?
What is another word for “thesaurus”?
What is the speed of dark?
What part of the monkey do you use a monkey wrench on?
What should you do when you see an endangered animal that is eating an endangered plant?
What’s another word for synonym?
When blind people go to the bathroom, how do they know when they are done wiping their butt?
When people lose weight, where does it go?
When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their signs?
When vultures are on their deathbed, are they ever tempted to eat themselves?
When you open a bag of cotton balls, is the top one meant to be thrown away?
When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you’re just sitting there, staring at carpeting?
When you’re sending someone styrofoam, what do you pack it in?
Why are there never any artist’s materials in a drawing room?
Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

Monday, November 19, 2007

same mistakes again and again

In Mythological stories, it was the demons who would do penence and ask a boon of the gods. However there would be catch to it and that would lead to the killing of the demon. Similarly, our recent ex-CM changed his spelling to become CM and he did become; however, he forgot to ask for how long the would be CM! Poor guy.

It was quite interesting to hear him rattle on in an interview on uplifing villagers, lower castes...blah blah blah. I would really have liked to hear him say, "I will improve the roads all over the state, which is in a sorry state! I will clean up the cities and make it cleaner and more streamlined for growth! I will make k'nataka the first state to get ride of caste bias and try and make us one strong united lot!" Nope, unfortunately, we Indians hate each other so much, we will always be expoited by others. This is just my opinion looking at the entire population as a whole rather than just a few educated individuals.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

within the grills

Today morning found this pair of beauties on the grill work at home...




And in the evening, found these guys fluttering all around the garden lamp. They however stink and are quite noisy! I have heard from my granny that it used to me an evening snack - ground nuts replacement - for some people in her village. Humans, they eat anything, really!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Dussera and Dolls

Dussera is one of my favourite times of the year. The loads of concerts to attend, the well decked up Sringeri Matt, Rama temple and the nine day celebration and feast! How I wish it's a 10 day holiday even for work!

Another tradition is to arrange the dolls at home in steps. This time I managed to keep only 1 step.


However, my collection of elephants is growing and hopefully I will have a dedicated step just for these magnificient animals!



Other than that, I managed to get a very cute Benne-Krishna for the cradle that I had painted and artificated (?is that a word?).



It's also a time when the vehicles are cleaned and worshipped along with various other tools that are used. So my comp also got worshipped (please continue to work without problems!)

Monday, October 15, 2007

Monday morning movies!

Today morning my teammate decided to give us her promotion treat. We all headed to the movie Laaga Chunari Mein Daag - Journey Of A Woman. It's AMAZING. Yes, the end was predictable, but then, the acting of Rani and Hema was superb. It brought out the raw emotions so wonderfully. Brilliantly thoughtful with a lovely ending to leave us happy yet thoughtful, of life, of society, relations, and ... of what we consider "values".

It's painful to see on film, the wild hypocritical statements we make as humans - the intelligent beings. And whats worse, is that we condemn the acts seeing them on screen, but continue to be narrow minded in reality.

ground water wastage

Most people in the city, in the well planned layouts never realise the value of water. Specially those who are a little well off. With the wonderful borewell technology and pumpsets doing the work we never bother to put a check on the amount of water we waste down the drain. What is the use of technology if one cannot get basic needs to his fellow humans? It is just so topsy turvy, the ideas and inventions.

There is a girl's hostel opposite my house. It houses maybe about 15 - 20 people in all. The water pump is perpetually on, and to make matters worse it is really really LOUD. Half hour in every hour of my stay at home goes in listening to this water getting pumped up. It just does not stop till 11 in the night! Communications fails with these people. I guess it will make more sense when the multiple floors of the building comes crashing down to be engulfed by mother earth. It's surprising to note that all the girls are students of science! Purpose of education, is to make money at all expense - I guess.

May be I should print the dying dehydrated babies' pictures we get by mail and gift it to these water wasters to post next to the taps and pump switches. Next time they may, hopefully think twice before wasting.
May be this is what prevented our ancestors from finding efficient solutions, an understanding of the human mind's recklessness.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Melancholy

Life…drifts away…without aim, without passion, without reason…
Work… financial security… better life…
It’s draining me…my energy is lost…and so are my friends…
Life…fades away as I do… drowning me…
A tiny voice asks… is it worth it… is it what you are looking for…

A hearty meal… it’s against my diet plan…
A lovely dress… it’s not a good brand…
A peaceful sleep… it’s only a day dream…
A wonderful career… it’s all a myth…

I am an achiever… I achieved nothing…
I am a looser… I lost my dreams…
My heart says… know who you are…
My brain says… how does it matter…

Life has lost its meaning…
Love has lost its passion…
Age has lost its maturity…
And Experience; its value…

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

home...

This song just started playing on my ipod as I was working at office...reminded me of the recent 15 days long stay away from home...
The song is called home and singer is none other than my fav Michel Buble. :-)

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

Friday, June 29, 2007

where every you go....

Yesterday was one Crazy day. I called in sick (I sort of was…don’t recall the last time I took a leave…OMG! That’s bad… and my brains needed a break) and landed at PVR Cinemas at 9.30 in the morning! I had been drying to see a couple of movies for the past few weeks and finally I decided to do a movie triathlon. The last time I watched 3 movies back to back in a theater was waaaaaay back during my Engineering days.

I got tickets to Shrek 3 which was the first show of the day - 10.00-11.45. It is one hilarious movie. Everyone got to watch it at least once! Post movie a quick lunch break and a visit to the loo where the joke session continued.

The loo had small boards posted over it with trivia on various countries. My loo had Kenya and my friend's had Turkey. As we were joking about it a familiar ring tone...The Hutch ad's music. One of the few times the brain was so spontaneous and uncontrollable, the words were uttered even before realizing it "Where ever you go, our network follows". Hahahaha...The poor chap to whom the phone belonged must have wanted to be flushed down the drain in embarrassment.

We soon hurried out laughing to get to the next movie at 12.40 - Oceans 13. It is a little fast and the connections and story is not too obvious immediately. However, one good fast paced movie. The next movie was “The Queen”. It was scheduled to start at 2.50. Oceans 13 got over at 2.45! With barely 5 minutes for the next show, we ran from one theater to the other. The movie had not yet started so we rushed to relieve ourselves. (Tip: Don’t drink too much Coke!!) The theater was a shocker. It was literally empty! A littering of Old Victorian style Grannies - trying to pass off as Aunties - with the wag tail Husbands. (Don’t jump on me, that’s just my dramatic line). Sat through the movie, it’s a good movie but it lacked a certain character that would have defined such a tragedy - that of Queen’s dignity and mindset lost in media’s crappy pressure and that of the death of Princes Diana.
The movie got over at 5.30 and I was back home by 6. A fantastic day and a welcome (well deserved) break from the routine.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

A dream fulfilled...

A long long back, at my Big Mama's place (aunt's place per say) I had seen a wonderful portrait of a goddess. She was charismatic and had a more than divine aura. The goddess of knowledge and learning. Since then I had been wanting a similar portrait, as big and splendid as this one.

After many years, the goddess has blessed me with the skill to paint. I present this painting to her divine feet.











Sunday, May 27, 2007

Pre-monsoons in Bangy Town

Pre Monsoons in Bangalore started with a "oor habba" or festival of the town. The streets were lit up with colorful lights, the village/town goddesses were taken out on processions, a lot of folk music native to Karnataka blaring all day with prayers to the rain gods to shower their blessings.





Lo and behold! The gods did shower. The skies roared and lightning lit up the night sky. Every evening for the past couple of days has been a heavy down pour, banglore feels home again, the chill and the tingling sensation in the air, the temperatures hovering at an ideal 20 degrees or around and romance spreading it's effects on couples and lovers. I shall be good and cut out the traffic jams and over flowing sewers to retain the good feel and also, the part where I am rushing out of office to reach home before the gods decide to turn on the tap.





Today a few beauties were on display in my garden. Below is a snap shot of it. This is my favorite part of the year. Lots and lots of flowers all around and every where you look, it is colorful and vibrant! Again I am cutting out the poor souls not used to pollen in the air.




Sunday, May 20, 2007

When Indians get westernized

I really don't like to crib on my blog but then,
When the Indians get westernized, then they complain about everything that gets indianized!

A couple of things that I noticed in the past week:

1) We are rude to our own families and ultra polite and greatly helpful to acquaintances. I wonder why and how we can correct this, in the - supposed to be more enlightened - younger generation as well as in the -supposed to be more experienced - older generation

2) We are very happy to run to a forest and preserve the folk culture, it is our cultural heritage. Back home, anything and everything a Brahmin lifestyle suggests is a blunder and has to be treated with highest detest. This is how we preserving our culture.

3) An eclectic mix of French and Brazilian cooking results in delicious food where as anything getting indianized is distasteful. I am particularly pissed with the comments buy a silly fat NRI on one of the shows on Travel and Living. His remarks on the "Indianized Chinese food", on "The British gave us tea, and we indianized it", on the "stinking Masala chai" and the "road side thick distasteful tea" literally set my appetite for his blood on a boil.

4) We are more than happy to have no self respect and even happier to blame the Brits for it. After 50 or more years of Independence, it's gone from low self respect to almost none...

5) We live in the past most of the time. That's our excuse for our laziness. Like, India WAS a great country, we WERE a rich family during our grandfather’s time a century back, we HAD the greatest scholars and libraries of those times, we WERE thin like a stick a few years back.

The day we turned into Zebras

This last Sunday, a friend and I randomly decided on going out on a moderately long ride. Totally random, we just took the bike and headed out on Mysore road, did not even check the fuel in the tank nor the cash in our wallets, no sunscreen, no riding jacket, nothing, just my bike and us.

We rode on Mysore road and took a deviation to reach the big banyan tree. The road is BADD! We decided to ride further on to Manchanabele, a small dam and a mini-bird watching paradise. Here the road gets WORSE. We managed to reach there a little before the sun started to get unbearable. After sitting at the waterside till the sun started to burn our skin (really brief period) we decided to head back and have breakfast. We did spot some very beautiful birds and the lack of a good camera was felt badly. Managed with my fone camera are some fotos below:

Some village boys more than happy to dance and pose, playing in the waters and splashing it all over.


The cute girl on the tree, completely camera shy and who refused to turn her face around.


The granny walking along the lone road, right out of the past century!


No justice to the view of Savandurga from this camera at all!


On the way back the bike conked! The engine suddenly started to rev at a high RPM even at idling! Tried the windows trick - switch off and switch on (computer engineers you see!), tried the good old way of shaking and starting but NOTHING! The thought of having to push it all the way back was quite scary. Manu called up his friend, a bike expert, to see if we could try and do a telefono-mechanics job. After an analysis he gave up and a service station was the only option. "But wait a minute; see if the choke is on". It was! Switching it off solved the problem! Glad it was not a real problem. We were back on the saddle, with a sigh of relief, and rode to the big banyan.

JUST FOR EMPHASIS:
If engine revs higher at idling, check the choke, might be ON!
If the headlight is on always, check the pass button might be jammed ON!

For details on Manchanabele see here.

The Big Banyan, tender coconut, some pictures, a little rest and decided to go to kamath lokaruchi for food. The fuel was almost in reserve but decided we can manage it and by the time we arrived there, we were running on reserves and so was the bike. Our tummies were begging for food. Jolada rotti was quite tasty @ LR and we guzzled down a few gallons of butter milk and washed our burning skin under the cool waters. I coaxed Manu to also try and make it to Kanva reservoir, with the confidence that the bike's reserves would be sufficient, and thankfully it was. But the site @ kanva was not as pleasant as it was last time. There was a lot of construction work and the road across the reservoir was closed.

By this time the heat had started to tire us. We took frequent breaks along the way back to the main road. I wish there were a few benches along the way. We briefly discussed on how our civilization, in India, had seen the peak and now is on it’s declining path. The era of Ashoka and the likes where the roads were lined by shading trees and enough rest houses on the way and now, there is not even a drop of water to quench the parched throat. It's just pollution and selfishness that abounds all around stifling the people's values just like the summers' heat.

We reached Mysore road and without much adu, I filled some fuel at the first fuel station we saw. We were already low on cash and there were no WORKING ATMs in any of the towns along the way. The heat must be getting to them too. I filled only a liter of fuel for the way back. I am so glad the bikes give good mileage.

Reached home tired, exhausted and tanned to at least 5 shades darker! My arms look very very funny, striped like a Zebra. No more summer time rides was the decision.

Friday, May 11, 2007

pay more, get less...new age principles

Every time I get out of coffee day, I keep making a oath never to return to such a lousy place again and to stick around to good old banglore cafes.

Just for facts, herez the comparision:

note: Waiter is the guy at CCD and Server is our local hotel boy

1) The waiter comes up with a pad and pen and jots down the order. Still I get a cappachino instead of a latte. He takes orders from may be 4 tables for about 20 items.

The server takes orders from about 15 tables for about 50 different items with various variations and it almost never goes wrong!

2) The order is place, food never delivered, and the bill arrives. To make things worse, the waiter comes up and asks if I want anything ELSE!!

The server gets the food in almost a jiffy, asks if you need any thing else with it, enquires if its ok, makes small talk, literally treats you like a guest at home and then gives the bill. He is happy if you tip him or not, wishes you a good day regardless of the tip and make you want to come back to the place!

3) It takes half hour to make a coffee with all the latest gadgets and still it comes cold and very light! He never remembers you!

I get the coffee IMMEDIATELY, and with the desired variation. If you are a regular (visit 3 times) he even remembers your requirement!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

street play

Boys will be boys, despite starting to work and putting on lots of fat! This was what I realised as the guy next to me suddenly zoomed and made crazy turns and dips to overtake me. Pondering on, I realised that this sudden behaviour was triggered by a simple thing. A slight twist of the throttle...I had revd my engine high and the man thought I wanted to have a drag race on MG early morning in peak hour traffic! What a dim wit!

On a deeper analysis, I have done the ripping and crazy riding also. I have timed these trips to office and they are almost always the same, how ever much of rash riding I did! After a small accident, (need to clarify that I was riding very slowly!! bloody oil spills) I was riding slowly since braking was a bit of a difficulty and I had to use clutch control, I realise that it still took the same time to get to work with much less tension! Sorry to give you the typical good ending, yes I ride much less rashly these days, but ya once in a while I love the engine and the pillion screaming ;-)

Oh, I got a nice sticker to post on my bike, it says "Honk if you are Constipated". Hope the honking behind me gets lesser *keeping fingers crossed*.

a tribute to my collegues in a different country

pong, dong, long, mong, tong...ong ang ong...

Ok thats literally the sounds that they make in the name of speaking english. Call me rasist or whatever, I dont care. Im fedup of trying to figure out what they are speaking!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Thoughts @ 4AM!

I just can't sleep. There are so many things thats coming to my mind, so here I am, at 4AM typing them out for you. I have made streams of thoughts revolving around one core area but before that I have put down the conclusion questions for those who dont want to read the streams (I urge you to read it though, atleast that part that is you with respect to me)


I would like to ask:


1) Are we so scared or irresponsible that we don't want to protect and stand up for the very land that we live, earn, eat and drink from?

2) Are we really "The Indian Crab", who dont want all to progress together but are more keen on bringing down other's progress or being so selfish that only we want to progress? If yes, do we want to continue to be them despite knowing it?

3)Are rational thinking and human nature to adapt and accept, washed out from us, that the land we live in is not our's, but the land we left behind is always the one we protect?

4) Are we not able to see "IT" as a means of getting this Nation to be one strong county but we use it to make it more divided and make the divide stand out more starkly!


A reply to a different argument:


Situation is the Cauvery water dispute. A friend of mine, a tamil settled in Karnataka, asked, what if all the tamilians in Bangalore boycott offices - His complaint was about not getting tamil TV channels - and prove to the Government of their influence and presence.

My reply:
Boycott offices but go say "We too live in Karnataka, this is our home now, we use the water from here, this land's growth matters to us, justice to this place is our right, be just and come to a fair decision - to our land - the land that is sharing it's waters freely over so many decades. Give it something back for giving you the lifeline of precious water instead of just being more greedy". It's time for you all who live in this place, to call this place your home and stand up to protect it. Else, there might come a time when the water and money is all gone and just like the gardens are gone from the garden city, the people might too from the city...

The water from Karnataka gave Tamilnadu the lifeline, just like a mother's blood gave life to the child in the womb, like a friend's help revived a weak one. It's time the child and friend to grows up and becomes self sufficient, time to protect the Mother instead of just gnashing at the womb for more blood. Time to become a responsible child than to just become a arrogant mindless brat. (In my own personification.) Time to stop asking for more free help and instead get to be self reliant and repay with gratification.


The thought streams are here:



Stream1 - My Family:


At a function, 4 generations of the family - grandparents, parents, us and the next generation. There is a constant stream of talk, switching between kannada and Telgu effortlessly. In the 200 or so people about 3 grandparents and one entire sub-family (father, mother, children - a new addition to our family by marriage) can't speak Kannada. Most of us are good enough in Kannada to completely express ourselves - from screaming to sweet talking. Some have gone further and have studied this language with Masters and PhDs. Ofcorse, Telgu is not forgotten but happily intersperced in the conversation. It's an easy switchover, infact so easy, that till now we have not seen them as seperate languages, or that I am supposed to be partial to Telgu or Kannada. For us, both are mother tongues. Afterall, we live here and we use all this land's resources and that empowers us to say, THIS IS MY CULTURE TOO!


Stream2 - My Office:


At work we are a mixed crowd. There are Mallus, Tamils, Telgus, Northies and a couple of us Kannadigas. The outsiders plan to stay here for upwards of a decade atleast if not more. Strangely, only 1 person in that set is making a concious effort to inculcate this culture and calls bangalore her Home. It feels as if everyone else has an aversion to Karnataka and it's culture. It's looked upon almost as a criminal offence to absorb this culture. There are almost 70% outsiders in my team, they come here to bangalore, use all the infrastructure available and never once want to call it their place. Never once care to make a difference. They prefer to remain outsiders living inside. How can one expect to be accepted and united if such is the mindset? Whatever happened to the responsibility to the land that gives one the food he eats, the water that he drinks and the space to live in? Is this mind block fair? Human? Why blame someone when there is bias in one's own self?


Stream3 - My Friends:


I have friends who are kannadigas as well as those who have moved here for work. Those who have moved in have built houses here, have families here. Most also know the local language and culture. There are also those who are otherwise too. Those who isolate themselves behind the shut doors of their homes and tele-port back to "their" land from within their tele-visions. Those to whom it hardly matters what happens to the land they live in. They come out only to brashly point fingers at everyone else when something happes to their comforts but never to live with the locals. It pains that most of them are people who don't want to know about the local culture, who's families are not known to each other and they have not grown to become a tight bond but have remained - just friends. Gone are days of "aunty's coffee and snacks", "the parents' talks and gossips", "the sit at home, with the family and talk", I dont know their family and they dont know me; ofcorse the families don't knowing each other at all. Sometimes it's 'cause of language barrier, but more often it's a person's own barrier. Thanks to those few with whom I have bonded and not just remained friends.

Monday, March 05, 2007

couple of my fav songs's lyrics

Just felt like sharing these with you.


Anyone To Love




Another night, another drink
Another time to contemplate and think
Will I ever, ever have anyone to love

It's not that I don't try
Maybe I try too hard
Seems like I'm living a lie
So there's a game I just won't learn
And I wonder will I always be alone
I take a sip and wonder
Why I haven't anyone to love

I guess I'll say goodnight
My drink's done and it's morning light
Sorry my friend but you see
What other ending could there be
And I wonder will I always be alone?
I take a drink and wonder
Will I ever have anyone to love?


Guess I'm Falling For You



When I look into your eyes
I see sunshine
The coulds are blown away
I hope you're here to stay
'Cause I've got me needing more of you
Guess I'm falling for you

You walk away
My eyes caress you
Then you turn and smile
You've caught me thinkin' of love with you
Guess I'm falling, I may be falling for you

Since I met you days are brighter
Life's uneven loads are lighter
When I hear you whisper the words I long to hear dear
Now I look into your eyes
I'm lost in knowing that you are all I want
My need for you is growing
Guess I'm falling, I think I'm falling for you
Think about falling for me too


Ive got a crush on you



How glad the many millions of annabelles and lillians
Would be to capture me
But you had such persistence, you wore down my resistance
I fell and it was swell

Im your big and brave and handsome romeo
How I won you I shall never never know
Its not that youre attractive
But, oh, my heart grew active
When you came into view

Ive got a crush on you, sweetie pie
All the day and night-time give me sigh
I never had the least notion that
I could fall with so much emotion

Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage we could share
The world will pardon my mush
cause I have got a crush on you

Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage
That we could share
The world will pardon my mush
cause I have got a crush, my baby, on you

Monday, February 26, 2007

married men!

Ok now you can also go and cry and weep just like women! Infact, it might help you get rid of your annoying wifey :-)


Wanna know more?

Sunday, February 25, 2007

pirates!

Just when I thought Pirates were movie stuff I came across this:


Pirates seize UN ship off Somalia


Curious? click here!


Is there a jack sparrow there?

weekend with the teachers

This weekend my sister had arranged a concert of sorts at her place. Among the people singing were my teacher and my teacher's teacher. It was quite an emotional moment since it's been quite sometime since I saw my teacher on stage. I was reminded of the first time I saw her sing, at a temple close to home, I was may be 10 then :-) and her voice, that deep sonorous voice of her's still makes me go crazy!


Grand meshtru(on the lines of grand parents)

My meshtru(teacher)

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

water woes

Yesterday I was reading a nice book which happpens to illustrate some examples of thinking differently and working on facts and data.

Problem I decided to take up was the Cauvery water dispute. I have tried my best to be impartial in these statements.

Let us list the facts:
1. Cauvery finds most of it's water source in Karnataka in the form of rainfalls.
2. The rain fall here is so abundant that the water is enough for the south region of the state and a little more to spare.
3. The reason for good rainfall - abundant forest which have NOT been destroyed for cultivation.
4. Since the rain water falls in the state, it belongs to this state. So also because the forests are maintained in this state and the crazy infrastructure costs that come with such a terrain. If any one has seen Coorg and Mangalore, they will realise the expense of maintaining roads in these regions.
5. TN has a lot of cultivable land but they depend on Karnataka's rain and water instead of the eastern monsoon.

The argument is that Karnataka collects the water and release it for free to TN, Under the name of national resource and one nation argument. Fine, under this argument why does TN not give away a part of it's produce to Karnataka in return for supplying the water. Afterall we are one nation. This would most definitely not be acceptable. So the best solution is that TN buys water from Karnataka. Depending on the water availability this would be released to TN. It does not justify for one state to give away the MOST PRECIOUS comodity for free to some other state for free. One nation argument is more apt when people are concerned. The number of Tamilians living in Bangalore using this state's infrastructure is enormous and no body every questioned their living here. As Indians this is their right but when it comes to resources it sould be handled with impartiality. Not just for political reasons.

Monday, February 12, 2007

India and education

"The statistics state that India annually produces some 4,500 doctorates as against 40,000 PhDs in China every year." - TOI.

Reading this in the times the first thing that came to my mind was Quota and the number of Institutions. Since 1960s the number of premier Institutions have remained the same, the seats are also the same number, the quotas have gone up like crazy. It would be nice to see a statistics on the number of PhDs Indians have got in the US.

The number of people in India has also gone up. Read: the number of Intelligent Smart capable people. Those are people who can not really afford to go to the US and get a PhD. Those numbers are steadily going up and our fantastic government/s is least bit bothered. Votes and vote bank politics is all that matters. Unless we all do something about it, one of the oldest and greatest civilizations on Earth will also become a fine example of having progressed, not forwards but backwards.

I applaud the way the Chinese have used their greatest asset - Human Population and converted their country into a bubbling economy with good infrastructure, good education and brought the country forward. I also appreciate the way they have made a place for themselve and preserved their culture than blindly adopting the West. However one thing that lacks in that country is freedom and once they get that, they will become invincible.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

as THE week sets in...

Last night out of the blues I remembered a song, Chal Chale and I downloaded it. The music started bringing with it a sweet stinging memory. The most well remembered moments around this song, the lush green Coorg, v driving in the jeep, the mist and the wet roads, and since then this song has been Chalu, Ive been playing it over and over again. One of those songs that just keep you wanting more.









On a thoughtful and innovative note, I am glad that flash drives and non-moving-parts-based storage was invented. The optic disk still gets ruined with repeted play back but the other has no wear and tear. Absolutely clear sound without the hum of the rotating disk. Im talking about my mobile and Ipod by the way. Im glad sony has a good sound quality, quite crystal clear I could say. Music systems should implement serial port based playback of files. That would really be the next step. May be even 2 ports, that assists in copying, reducing the dependancy on the computer for copying. Playing from phones, pods, and a host of other devices would become easier.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

1957

I wish I was not born in this bloody mess of a 21st century. I wish I had some courage to get up and do what I wish to, what my heart draws towards instead of being stuck in this stinking pot of IT. The only time I get to be me is the teary ride on my bike. Yes these days when I get on my bike, my pod is churning out the music of the Gods. Invariably a traffic signal happens to be the only time when I can hear my ipod. In those few moments I am moved and torn and elavated and all at the same time. This is too much for a small person like me and the tears just rollout. Today I was listening to this old copy of GNB and Chowdiah's concert.I wish I was born in their time, where making money was not so much of an issue, where IT was not the only employment, where going abroad was not the only ambition and life was lived all through and not just in the 20s and 30s, where education meant more than just MS/MBA. I wish this internal conflict ends soon and when I break out from my cocoon I am a beautiful butterful and not an ugly moth.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Kamadhenu kalpavruksha

That's the name of my latest painting. Some snaps of it below below.


The entire painting


Border flowers


Kalpavruksha


Wings and Shawl


Pecock tail


Jewelery

Friday, February 02, 2007

odd man!

Today I went to give my bike for servicing. To get back home I usually take a auto but today I just hopped on to a bus. This is the first time after almost 2 years I am taking a bus. There I was, dangling by one hand, the other holding the helmet and in a Bus. The looks I got, well, I felt like an outcast almost.As I was buying the 6rs ticket, I was thinking of my college days when I would take this bus, fight with the conductor that my pass was valid for this route, all for a 1 rupee bus ticket. I was also reminded of how thin I used to be and how much stronger when, halfway to home, my arms started to hurt like hell. May be I should take the bus more often, but then, that would mean more than 2 hours travelling...Ok plans ditched unless absolutely needed, but it's a far better and cheaper option compared to autos.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Music and Meaning

Thanks to a great personality, I was intoroduced to one of the divine singers of this age, TM Krisshna. Since the day I heard him in a concert around newyear's, I have been dying for more. Yesterday a good friend and I were at Planet M and I picked up a CD of the man with the brass voice. Today was listeneing to it on my way to office. At the busy MG road traffic signal this fantastic voice is doing this neraval and in a moment, at the busy signal, my mood elavated. The joy became so profound that tears burst forth. What is it that makes me so happy? It's not words, but just the 7 swaras and the play with it. Or, may be it's just the flow. The ups and downs and the interlacing of it. There are a million things that carnatic music holds in itself. What would be life without music...beautiful but then lacking in beauty.







More on TMKrishna

Monday, January 29, 2007

Random thoughts from a single origin

Love is like sand in hand, hold it too loose and it flies away, squeeze it too hard and it slips away.

Expectation - Translitereation from kannada: If it does not bend as a sapling, will it bend as a tree.

Nip it in the bud - even if you hope it might bloom into a flower - if the bud wants to rush to become a flower, wants all the attention, a bud that is weak or does not understand that there are other buds in the plant but sucks all the sap away.

One bad stands out despire a hundred good.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Sunsets

I work on one of the tall buildings in the city. I am on the 10th floor and the pantry overlooks the Southern side of the city. There is nothing that obstructs my view. The sunsets are the best thing here. See some shots I took on my phone. I pray to god, next time make me an Eagle.

SunsettingPhotobucket - Video and Image Hosting

SunsetPhotobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Manfredi Triathlon

This month has seen me devouring 3 fantastic books. All by the Italian writer, Valerio Massimo Manfredi. The titles:
Empire of Dragons
The Oracle
The Talisman of Troy

He is a fantastic writer who is a master at interleaving history and fiction. All the books are very good but the best was Empire of the Dragon. It has a good blend of war, struggle to survive, for power, of deceit and valor, ego and it's breaking, travel, history and fable.

My next on must read by Manfredi:
Last Legion
Alexander collection

Please note, I am accepting gifts, in case someone is feeling like you know what to get me :-)

More on Manfredi

cast in sugar

India, Tradition, Classical, Customs, Festival, Festive food, Festival Preparations, these are words that ignite a sort of passion in me. Somehow, I feel we are a lost generation. We are neither Indians nor Westerners, we try to ape the westerners and we succeed in being apes. I don’t even see the point of trying to become like them when they are so not ready to accept us even as humans, let alone as "them". Why do we want to become part of the hypocrisy? The worst is the kind of outlook we have towards our own language and customs and the "not so well off as us" people. Why do we want to spit at ourselves? The worst thing in the world is internal conflict of a man against himself and accepting to be degraded. I see a lot of people from my own generation going through it. The internal conflict is how they identify themselves as, in reality they are Indians but are supposed to be western in behavior. We can see clearly that being modern is not all about drinking and partying but in making our nation strong, getting our infrastructure right, getting back to being a developed country. It is sickening to be called cheap labor, to be thrown tit-bits, leftovers and rotten junk and being told that we are the IT capital. This is against what we read in our history, what we see in our grandparents and we are left lost. There is absolutely no respect for the generation, from the elders nor from peers. Everyone knows we are doing nothing great and in such a case where does the respect come from? The money is there, but the respect and dignity, it's just not there. Sometimes I hate our previous generation, for not being the kind who taught us to care for our own values, for wavering and loosing identity and many other reasons the top of which is the desire for money in dollars and for respecting dollars and not humans.

These were random musings as I was making the cast sugar sweets for the harvest festival. We are like the sugar casts, tasty and sweet but not strong, who melt away easily and loose our identity but then essential for flavor.


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Saturday, January 27, 2007

Memory down tea-lane

Not too long back, everyday evening I used to have friends over at home. It was not the posh - get slosh kind of crowd but just the boy next door, level headed bram-boy, kind of friends. I would make tea, we would sit at the steps of the front door overlooking into the garden and talk. Anything, right from academics to music to sex. We would spend a hour or so together and they would get back home. It was such a filling experience. Since work started this custom has stopped. Everyone is now grownup, all are busy, and the void is growing bigger in the heart. I wonder why at office colleagues remain acquaintances and never become friends.


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mango season's here!

:-) Can't wait to have the mango flower chutney, tender mango pickles, raw mangos with salt and chilli power not to forget the juicy mangos.

The trigger was this tiny mango fallen from my tree:

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by the way, that's natural sunlight streaming from between the tree :-)

This is a look at my tree:

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