After many years, the goddess has blessed me with the skill to paint. I present this painting to her divine feet.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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*.
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!
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)
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!
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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?
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
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
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?
Wanna know more?
Sunday, February 25, 2007
pirates!
Just when I thought Pirates were movie stuff I came across this:
Curious? click here!
Is there a jack sparrow there?
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)
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
Sunsetting
Sunset
Sunsetting
Sunset
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
by the way, that's natural sunlight streaming from between the tree :-)
This is a look at my tree:
The trigger was this tiny mango fallen from my tree:
by the way, that's natural sunlight streaming from between the tree :-)
This is a look at my tree:
Hats off!
He is a Perfectionist. In play, in life, in talk and whereever else. He is as precise as a swiss watch and handles all kinds of tennis styles with ease, just like a swiss knife. He is calm on the outside like a lull before the storm and charged up like a raging storm inside. It's beyond pleasure watching him play. Roger, you rock man! Hats off to you!
Misty Mornings
Finally I managed to get out of bed early in the morning today! I went to my favourite place, lalbag and as I was jogging around the lake, I heard the familiar quack quack of my ducks! A sort of welcome call to me. The misty air was running through my hair, leaving a tingling sensation as it caressed my body and soul. I reached the far corner of the lake and as I turned the pre-dawn scattered a scarlet red across the sky and a shimmering reflection in the water. The mist laiden trees dividing the Heaven from Earth and as I watched this colour play my mind streached across the boundary and united with nature. I then jogged on and as I completed another 2 rounds, the sun peeked from behind the palms.
I usually get to savour the lovely sunset across the city's skyline and as I was watched this splendid sunrise mirrored in the lake my joy was magnified two folds. Louis armstrong with that husky raw voice was the apt choice for today's jog. (remembered a moment with my ex, he got me the pod last year around this time). As the divine morning turned towards a normal day, I headed back to a mist kissed bike.
I usually get to savour the lovely sunset across the city's skyline and as I was watched this splendid sunrise mirrored in the lake my joy was magnified two folds. Louis armstrong with that husky raw voice was the apt choice for today's jog. (remembered a moment with my ex, he got me the pod last year around this time). As the divine morning turned towards a normal day, I headed back to a mist kissed bike.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Invasion time and again
Somehow I have come to the conclusion that India has been and will be one of the richest and most sought after country in the world. Time and again outsider come here, make money, put Indians down and get lost leaving behind bad taste and memories.
It all started with the muslims invading this place a few centuries ago, looting it, polluting it and now living in it but not loving it.
Then came the Brits and the other colour changing skins from Europe (not sure why call them white when they turn red, blue and green depending on their mood). Again it was the same loot, pollute and abuse story.
Finally we got independence and got branded as a country with people to use as slaves for the so called developed but immature minded nations. The same pre-independace story in a different form, Some select people were taken to the developed countries to make it more rich, the others were used as "skilled labour" for the fast growing IT Industries's crappy clean up and maintainence work that no one enjoyed doing. If maintenance is "GOOOD" work then why do we look down upon people tending to gardens and buildings and look up at architects and landscape designers with awe? The same shit applies to IT. Now the developed countires are given "warning" that developing nations are become developed! (see this) Scared hyprocrits that they are, don't even have the courage to accept that other nations can be developed too and they have the balls to talk of world peace and growth (may be they forgot to put a note that they are talkin of their world and not Earth).
Next comes the invasion into our own country for all the Travel stories they want to make. I don't mind them making a travel show. As travellers they show a different prespective but as long as they are un-biased and openminded its fine. Ofcorse, they expect to see Europe/US in asia, which is very absurd but then again can't expect much out of narrow minded travel guides. What I really am against is why the hell do some non-indian person have to tell the world about Indian culture and cooking? Recently I was watching this chinese cooking show and the chinese woman settled elsewhere was making these chinese dishes and in between she was praising the Chinese and China's culture. On the other hand there was this other show in which some horrible firang who does not know the name of the spices used also was trying to cook some Indian food and half the time he was complaining on how spicy and fattening and what not Indian food was. Then why the bloody ***K was he making a living cooking Indian food! The same thing happened another time where they were showing Durga pooja preparation and the moron acting as the host goes about saying "The gaudy colors that Indians seem to love so much". I am shocked to see such sick comments from people who are used to "neutral" statements and of "mild" nature. Then there was this praise of Calcutta as India's literary capital and I confused. I mean, there are so many languages in India and there can never be one single place for our Country when it comes to cultural/lirerary superiority. Why can't people frame correct sentences that give out the complete facts. These are what make our country different and special and how can a Firang even be expected to understand this when most of the Indians dont! This happens time and again and it's time we raise our heads and stand for our dignity; than letting the Firangs screw us and our dignity. It's time the channels/producers recruit some "proper" people from India for shows based in India.
p.s: This is just a verbalisation of reaction to some events on TV and is not meant to hurt sentiments of anyone on EARTH.
It all started with the muslims invading this place a few centuries ago, looting it, polluting it and now living in it but not loving it.
Then came the Brits and the other colour changing skins from Europe (not sure why call them white when they turn red, blue and green depending on their mood). Again it was the same loot, pollute and abuse story.
Finally we got independence and got branded as a country with people to use as slaves for the so called developed but immature minded nations. The same pre-independace story in a different form, Some select people were taken to the developed countries to make it more rich, the others were used as "skilled labour" for the fast growing IT Industries's crappy clean up and maintainence work that no one enjoyed doing. If maintenance is "GOOOD" work then why do we look down upon people tending to gardens and buildings and look up at architects and landscape designers with awe? The same shit applies to IT. Now the developed countires are given "warning" that developing nations are become developed! (see this) Scared hyprocrits that they are, don't even have the courage to accept that other nations can be developed too and they have the balls to talk of world peace and growth (may be they forgot to put a note that they are talkin of their world and not Earth).
Next comes the invasion into our own country for all the Travel stories they want to make. I don't mind them making a travel show. As travellers they show a different prespective but as long as they are un-biased and openminded its fine. Ofcorse, they expect to see Europe/US in asia, which is very absurd but then again can't expect much out of narrow minded travel guides. What I really am against is why the hell do some non-indian person have to tell the world about Indian culture and cooking? Recently I was watching this chinese cooking show and the chinese woman settled elsewhere was making these chinese dishes and in between she was praising the Chinese and China's culture. On the other hand there was this other show in which some horrible firang who does not know the name of the spices used also was trying to cook some Indian food and half the time he was complaining on how spicy and fattening and what not Indian food was. Then why the bloody ***K was he making a living cooking Indian food! The same thing happened another time where they were showing Durga pooja preparation and the moron acting as the host goes about saying "The gaudy colors that Indians seem to love so much". I am shocked to see such sick comments from people who are used to "neutral" statements and of "mild" nature. Then there was this praise of Calcutta as India's literary capital and I confused. I mean, there are so many languages in India and there can never be one single place for our Country when it comes to cultural/lirerary superiority. Why can't people frame correct sentences that give out the complete facts. These are what make our country different and special and how can a Firang even be expected to understand this when most of the Indians dont! This happens time and again and it's time we raise our heads and stand for our dignity; than letting the Firangs screw us and our dignity. It's time the channels/producers recruit some "proper" people from India for shows based in India.
p.s: This is just a verbalisation of reaction to some events on TV and is not meant to hurt sentiments of anyone on EARTH.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Xmas!!
Ok I know this post is a little delayed but then I got the pictures only now!!
For this last christmas, I joined with a few of my friends and with a lot of help (concepts including making us practice, getting the songs and tunes) from my teacher Ivy Thomas, we made a small choir. Here are a few snaps from that party. It was one jolly good party and we sung carols in German, English, Spanish and even Japanese!
Oh ya the Santa gave me a gift too and there was free cake and coke from the maxmuller cafe.
THats me with SAntA...
Thats my instructor in the shawl. One energetic person with a fab voice!
THe entire bunch Zinging :-)
For this last christmas, I joined with a few of my friends and with a lot of help (concepts including making us practice, getting the songs and tunes) from my teacher Ivy Thomas, we made a small choir. Here are a few snaps from that party. It was one jolly good party and we sung carols in German, English, Spanish and even Japanese!
Oh ya the Santa gave me a gift too and there was free cake and coke from the maxmuller cafe.
THats me with SAntA...
Thats my instructor in the shawl. One energetic person with a fab voice!
THe entire bunch Zinging :-)
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
About bikes and technicalities
I was generally musing about how the reserve fuel thing works on my bike. I know it's just 2 intake pipes at different heights and all that but still I wanted to google it and see what comes up. I found this really nice site that has some pretty neat stuff!
The main article
The valve used to control the intake is called petcock. (don't get ideas here! funny name I know!). Click petcock to findout more.
Also, I found out why excatly I crashed into the hill last time when getting down at a bit of a high speed. Pretty nice article. Didn't know the concept of countersteering, now that I know, I shall practice it and get my reflexes used to this. The link to counter steering is here
Ok before you start making comment, yes I have had my bike for 2 years now and yes I am paying more attention to knowing it's working only now. Better late than never! :-)
The main article
The valve used to control the intake is called petcock. (don't get ideas here! funny name I know!). Click petcock to findout more.
Also, I found out why excatly I crashed into the hill last time when getting down at a bit of a high speed. Pretty nice article. Didn't know the concept of countersteering, now that I know, I shall practice it and get my reflexes used to this. The link to counter steering is here
Ok before you start making comment, yes I have had my bike for 2 years now and yes I am paying more attention to knowing it's working only now. Better late than never! :-)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
At devarayana durga.
This Sunday, I and a friend of mine decided we would go to devarayanadurga, a hill top fort on Banglore Tumkur highway. It was a lovely ride, but could not stay till sunset as I had to get back to Banglore by evening. I could not find much details of the route on the web so, here it is:
There are 2 routes to this place.
1) From banglore, go till Dobaspet. Go under the flyover and take a right. The left leads to Shivagange betta and right leads to Devarayandurga. There are 2 roads on the right, take the one that is diagonal to tumkur road and not the one perpendicular. Better to ask one of the villagers if confused. :-). This road is in quite bad shape and it's a longer approach to DDurga. On this route you get DDurga first, and then as you go towards Kyatsandra, you get another Hanuman and Shankara temple, a little further is Namada Chilume and then Siddaganga mutt (different from Siddagange betta) and a KM from there is Kyatsandra where you hit Blr-Tumkur road.
2) The other route, as you might have guessed it, is to get in from Kyatsandra side. Ride about 5 kms from Dobespet on Tumkur road and you will reach this intersection. From there, Blr->on Tumkur road, a bit after reliance A1 take the right at Kyatsandra->Siddaganga Mutt->NamadaChilume->Hanuman Temple->DDurga. The roads on this side are much better and I feel this route is shorter and faster.
Fact File:
1) For food pick any of the resturants on Tumkur road starting from Kamath to Reliance A1 but I liked the good old pavitra hotel at Kyatsandra the best :-)
2)Food is not availabe at DDurga, so better fill up before you get there. You can carry it too but then beware of monkeys. You however get tender coconut and the like.
2) Namada Chilume has a small heard of deer in an enclosure and a spring (ok water DRIPS only) from a boulder.
3) Hanuman temple - no idea how this is. Didn't go there.
4) DDurga has 2 temples, BhogaNarishma which is at the base of the hill and YogaNarsimha which is on top of the hill.
5) Road goes almost to the temple on the top. But to reach the temple you got to climb about 50 odd steps.
6) There is a small stone structure further from the temple, on a large boulder that can be reached from a steep climb through (kinda) caves and paths taken over by forest. The view from up here is worth the climb :-)
7) All these places are very cleanly kept and there are enough dustbins. Please use them and help keep our country clean instead of praising other countries. It's our responsibility! We are afterall a race that are more cultured and learned than them.
Happpy travelling!
Some Snaps below
The serpentine roads:
The temple from the top:
The fortress:
My Love:
Me!! On top of the world!! (ok top of the hill)
more here
There are 2 routes to this place.
1) From banglore, go till Dobaspet. Go under the flyover and take a right. The left leads to Shivagange betta and right leads to Devarayandurga. There are 2 roads on the right, take the one that is diagonal to tumkur road and not the one perpendicular. Better to ask one of the villagers if confused. :-). This road is in quite bad shape and it's a longer approach to DDurga. On this route you get DDurga first, and then as you go towards Kyatsandra, you get another Hanuman and Shankara temple, a little further is Namada Chilume and then Siddaganga mutt (different from Siddagange betta) and a KM from there is Kyatsandra where you hit Blr-Tumkur road.
2) The other route, as you might have guessed it, is to get in from Kyatsandra side. Ride about 5 kms from Dobespet on Tumkur road and you will reach this intersection. From there, Blr->on Tumkur road, a bit after reliance A1 take the right at Kyatsandra->Siddaganga Mutt->NamadaChilume->Hanuman Temple->DDurga. The roads on this side are much better and I feel this route is shorter and faster.
Fact File:
1) For food pick any of the resturants on Tumkur road starting from Kamath to Reliance A1 but I liked the good old pavitra hotel at Kyatsandra the best :-)
2)Food is not availabe at DDurga, so better fill up before you get there. You can carry it too but then beware of monkeys. You however get tender coconut and the like.
2) Namada Chilume has a small heard of deer in an enclosure and a spring (ok water DRIPS only) from a boulder.
3) Hanuman temple - no idea how this is. Didn't go there.
4) DDurga has 2 temples, BhogaNarishma which is at the base of the hill and YogaNarsimha which is on top of the hill.
5) Road goes almost to the temple on the top. But to reach the temple you got to climb about 50 odd steps.
6) There is a small stone structure further from the temple, on a large boulder that can be reached from a steep climb through (kinda) caves and paths taken over by forest. The view from up here is worth the climb :-)
7) All these places are very cleanly kept and there are enough dustbins. Please use them and help keep our country clean instead of praising other countries. It's our responsibility! We are afterall a race that are more cultured and learned than them.
Happpy travelling!
Some Snaps below
The serpentine roads:
The temple from the top:
The fortress:
My Love:
Me!! On top of the world!! (ok top of the hill)
more here
a week with music
The new year started off with me relishing a wonderful concert and the entire week continued with that same elavating experience. The past one week I have met, spoke to and seen upclose and personally some of the most well known people in the field of carnatic classical music. I also went through some prominent changes in this last week.
The most important was in the way I appreciated carnatic music. Sitting amongst well versed students of a very great singer, cuddled up with a special frnd, getting to know the different aspects of the concert, has added a diffent dimension to my feeling and enjoing carnatic music.
I started to look at todi raga in a different sense, rather was show to see it in a different way; for me it was always a sober raga but Ravikiran painted an altogether different picture on his gotuvadyam. I got introduced to a superb singer, TM Krishna, a man with a voice that scales 3 octaves with ease, with a ring in it as clear and strong as a brass bell, whose knowledge and creativity in music is so good that people have modified songs which praise the lord krishna and they sing it in praise of TM Krishna! I also got to speak to and take the blessings of Kanyakumari, the first one to get on to my list of favourite violinists. It was a night that I shall remember, I still shiver just thinking about it. She is one of the most sweetest and charming lady I have met.
I also got to see a yaga and yagna for the ragas. It was a very pleasent and new experience for me to see scores of people singing in unison; and then later on all of them got to have lunch and leave. It was close to 3000 people! I have never been to a tyagaraja aradhana but this is how it would be I think, a goosebumpy and thrilling experience!
I was also enlightened on the fact that the richness of Mysore's artful people has not yet been completely wiped off. After watching the divine brothers, Mysore Nagaraj and Dr.Manjunath, I am glad to say all the great musicians are all not in Tamilnadu :-), we still have some left in mysore who can lift you to heaven. They brought so much of emotion into the music that I was moved to tears, once in an alap and again in one of the "neravals". As RKP sir said, this is a concert unforgettable for ten years, but to me it will be unforgettable for life, the day I got the first glimpse of these 2 gods on stage. They right now top the list of my fav violinists.
The last day was a different program, a dance drama presentation of the story of Vadiraja. it was simple but very tasteful and creatively done. It was a special program in more than one way for me but we wont go there here. It shall suffice to say, I was overjoyed watching it all.
This is one week where I got to meet legends that are and legends that are going to be, where I made a few new friends and have had a week filled with happyness every single day!
The most important was in the way I appreciated carnatic music. Sitting amongst well versed students of a very great singer, cuddled up with a special frnd, getting to know the different aspects of the concert, has added a diffent dimension to my feeling and enjoing carnatic music.
I started to look at todi raga in a different sense, rather was show to see it in a different way; for me it was always a sober raga but Ravikiran painted an altogether different picture on his gotuvadyam. I got introduced to a superb singer, TM Krishna, a man with a voice that scales 3 octaves with ease, with a ring in it as clear and strong as a brass bell, whose knowledge and creativity in music is so good that people have modified songs which praise the lord krishna and they sing it in praise of TM Krishna! I also got to speak to and take the blessings of Kanyakumari, the first one to get on to my list of favourite violinists. It was a night that I shall remember, I still shiver just thinking about it. She is one of the most sweetest and charming lady I have met.
I also got to see a yaga and yagna for the ragas. It was a very pleasent and new experience for me to see scores of people singing in unison; and then later on all of them got to have lunch and leave. It was close to 3000 people! I have never been to a tyagaraja aradhana but this is how it would be I think, a goosebumpy and thrilling experience!
I was also enlightened on the fact that the richness of Mysore's artful people has not yet been completely wiped off. After watching the divine brothers, Mysore Nagaraj and Dr.Manjunath, I am glad to say all the great musicians are all not in Tamilnadu :-), we still have some left in mysore who can lift you to heaven. They brought so much of emotion into the music that I was moved to tears, once in an alap and again in one of the "neravals". As RKP sir said, this is a concert unforgettable for ten years, but to me it will be unforgettable for life, the day I got the first glimpse of these 2 gods on stage. They right now top the list of my fav violinists.
The last day was a different program, a dance drama presentation of the story of Vadiraja. it was simple but very tasteful and creatively done. It was a special program in more than one way for me but we wont go there here. It shall suffice to say, I was overjoyed watching it all.
This is one week where I got to meet legends that are and legends that are going to be, where I made a few new friends and have had a week filled with happyness every single day!
Monday, December 25, 2006
A fab xmas weekend
Weekend was butt achingly fantastic!!! Me and a friend of mine decided to go out biking for 3 days. Did some 650 odd kilometers in 3 days which included a stupid accident with the side of the road, where my bike got badly damaged but thankfully we both escaped almost un-scrached. Now the repairs is gonna cost me a bomb and I dont even have insurance!! But all in all it was simply fantastic. Places visited:
Day1:
Banglore->Ramnagar->Maddur->Shivanasamudra (Bluff falls for ye english lot)->Talkad (Awesome beachy looking place)->T-Narispura (Sangam of 3 rivers)->Mysore
stayed at mysore after a nice 270Km ride of which 100kms was just mud road!
Day2:
Mysore->Nanjangudu->Gundulpet->Bandipur(missed taking a turn to our actual destination)->Gundulpet(had to ride back about 15 KM of bad roads)->Gopalswami Betta(Wanted to see elephants but missed it)->Gundulpet->Nanjangud->Mysore
In total about 200Kms mostly good roads. Left early morning and reached the misty hills while it was still misty :-) so returned back home by afternoon. Hogged on good lunch and took a nap. Evening went to chamudi hills. In total abot 220 or so kms of riding.
The stupid accident was here on the chamundi hills!
Day3:
Mysore->Srirangapatnam->Cauvery Sangam (Cauvery splits into 2 before Srirangapatna and merges after it)->Srirangapatna->CoffeeDay on mysore Road->Banglore
Did not want to rip at 100KMPH as I usually do 'cause I was not sure how the bike was doing after accident. So came at a horrible snail's pace of 60KMPH! I dont ride so slow even in the CITY!!
Now nursing a sore butt and feeling like accomplishment achieved!!
Day1:
Banglore->Ramnagar->Maddur->Shivanasamudra (Bluff falls for ye english lot)->Talkad (Awesome beachy looking place)->T-Narispura (Sangam of 3 rivers)->Mysore
stayed at mysore after a nice 270Km ride of which 100kms was just mud road!
Day2:
Mysore->Nanjangudu->Gundulpet->Bandipur(missed taking a turn to our actual destination)->Gundulpet(had to ride back about 15 KM of bad roads)->Gopalswami Betta(Wanted to see elephants but missed it)->Gundulpet->Nanjangud->Mysore
In total about 200Kms mostly good roads. Left early morning and reached the misty hills while it was still misty :-) so returned back home by afternoon. Hogged on good lunch and took a nap. Evening went to chamudi hills. In total abot 220 or so kms of riding.
The stupid accident was here on the chamundi hills!
Day3:
Mysore->Srirangapatnam->Cauvery Sangam (Cauvery splits into 2 before Srirangapatna and merges after it)->Srirangapatna->CoffeeDay on mysore Road->Banglore
Did not want to rip at 100KMPH as I usually do 'cause I was not sure how the bike was doing after accident. So came at a horrible snail's pace of 60KMPH! I dont ride so slow even in the CITY!!
Now nursing a sore butt and feeling like accomplishment achieved!!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
weekends, working
Today has been quite boring at office. We are compensating for some holiday and hence working on a Saturday. All my friends have called me since morning and asked me "where are u? working? I thought I'll meet you today" like ya rite, you didnt feel like meeting me for the past 1 month! And there is no work too since morning! I have been chatting or reading blogs or something like that...how terrible. I wanna go home! I wanna finish of the book I am reading for the past month! I wanna go shopping, I wanna do something else!!!
I wonder how people on bench feel, I mean if this is my state in a few days how must they be feeling for like months...
I wonder how people on bench feel, I mean if this is my state in a few days how must they be feeling for like months...
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Green Valley!
Misty mountain tops, lush greenery, a lone path, a railway track, endless number of high bridges and dark tunnels, this is Karnataka’s most favorite trek route. The Sakleshpur rain road trek, a must do for anyone who calls himself a trekker. I have wanted to do this since 2 years now. This last weekend, thanks to a good friend, I made it!
We started out Friday night almost close to midnight from Bangalore. The bus took us to Sakleshpur, the nearest town, in the wee hours of the morning. After a hot cuppa and packing some breakfast, we boarded another local bus that would drop us near Maranhalli, the starting point of our trek. We took a muddy slushy path in the forest, along scattered houses for about a kilometer to reach the first bridge. This railway bridge will be our actual starting point of the 16 KM trek on the railway track. We freshened up in the crystal clear stream water and finished up our breakfast. I rolled up my tracks to leech proof my legs by a liberal dose of amruthanjan, a strong balm of sorts. I was unfortunately too late, a little fella had already crawled up and latched on and was sucking my blood. My first leech bite!!! After 4 monsoon treks in the western ghats! Took a snap of my dark parasitic friend before salting him off. After armoring with the above said balm, we go on the bridge and set off on the track.
Took some snaps at the bridge. It was quite awesome standing on the bridge at such a height and no guard rails or such stuff. Started walking, measured steps on the sleepers, almost a catwalk. Little did I know that my walking habit would need re-training after the trek! A hundred meters and we encountered our first tunnel, a good 250 meters long one. Photos shoot time again! Picked up a rusty railway bolt as a memento and moved along. The bats had all flown off as the trains have started plying, this was a bit disappointing. As we started walking into the tunnel, it became pitch dark and we switched on a few torches. But after a few minutes of walking we decided to walk in the dark for the thrill of it. Reached the end of the tunnel and realized another tunnel starts off just a few meters away! The whole track is like this, full of numerous bridges and tunnels. It’s just fantastic!
The best tunnel was close to a kilometer long, which happened to be the longest one we had encountered in the whole trip. This has some wild turns in the middle and its pitch dark, quite a challenge. The only missing element was a loved one to smooch, feel up and maybe more! As we were walking along, we heard the following sounds: “It’s going left, completely left, left yaar, left, thud, ahha!” Our foreman, an enthu daredevil had miscalculated and instead of taking a right, he had taken a left and had fallen into a not so deep rain trench close to the tunnel wall and now he sports a nice mark on his head and nose!
The best bridge was a wooden bridge, a few decades old. The wooden sleepers have not yet been replaced by iron ones and as such it is quite worn out and broken at places. This took a lot of nerve and concentration to cross. It was quite long and had a fast flowing stream underneath a few hundred feet down. It was a thrilling experience!
Towards afternoon we took a break, had just another 3 KM to our destination. We took a small path leading to a waterfall. After a cold bath and good water massage, and lunch, I slept off on a rock, head resting on my friend’s lap. It had been a while since I slept on someone’s lap… A good half hour’s rest later I woke up to a grey sky and by the time we packed and hit the track, a drizzle had begun.
We reached the destination station, Yedakumeri at around 5.30. The station master had setup quarters and the workers had moved on. After a bit of negotiation, we managed to get a room to stay for in the night. It was a diesel generator room, thankfully not running, the floor was not swept for ages and the slight smell of diesel oil hung in the air. No complaints, adjust and survive is the motto. The cook there agreed to give us hot water but no food as they were low on supplies, so just had cuppo noodles and a shot of whiskey and some vodka to keep warm and then sat down with the station master for a chat till 10 and then we hit sack.
Our initial plans for the next day was to cut across the forest, walk up 5KM and reach a near by village and catch a bus from there. Due to heavy rains, the path had an overgrowth of vegetation and would be infested with leaches. So, we made and alternative plan and kept this as a last resort. The station master told us that a goods train would be passing by at some unknown hour in the night, and he told us he could stop it briefly but it was for us to convince the driver to give us a ride. In the mean while another group of software guys had also come along and the station master refused to give them shelter and they ended up sleeping in the open-aired waiting room. People skills training does not seem to be effective enough.
The next day round 3 we were woken up and the station master told us to hurry. The train was almost there and was chugging along slowly. We all hopped on to the train and soon it started to move with a harsh jerk to warn us of its “non-passenger-friendly” way. Somehow I feel that the station master had sort of convinced the driver to take us - over radio. Oh that was the first time I saw what GSM-R is used for. And along with us the other group also tagged along. We all huddled up like sheep in the small coach and the since it was dark outside and there is not electricity in goods wagons, the other team were using all their torches. After some time all switched off except this one guy, all dressed up like a cowboy but hardly had the courage. He kept it on till I finally got annoyed and asked him to switch it off.
What an experience it was! The dark, the rattling train, the tunnels and bridges, the greenery, the mist and the emerging twilight. We reached Subramanya, a temple town with busses connecting to Bangalore at around 7. From there we took a jeep to the bus-stand half hour away. The jeep was stuffed, that’s the best way to describe it. I was practically in the driver’s seat and he in turn was almost leaning out and driving! 4 people in the front and 6 in the back and the luggage! And the man is ripping across in the Ghats! Whao! We reached the bus stand, caught the first bus to Bangalore and after a gruesome 9 hour ride reached home at 6 in the evening. The first 3 hours was in the Ghats section and man was it awesome! One fabulous trip done and many more to go!
The snaps are here by the way.
We started out Friday night almost close to midnight from Bangalore. The bus took us to Sakleshpur, the nearest town, in the wee hours of the morning. After a hot cuppa and packing some breakfast, we boarded another local bus that would drop us near Maranhalli, the starting point of our trek. We took a muddy slushy path in the forest, along scattered houses for about a kilometer to reach the first bridge. This railway bridge will be our actual starting point of the 16 KM trek on the railway track. We freshened up in the crystal clear stream water and finished up our breakfast. I rolled up my tracks to leech proof my legs by a liberal dose of amruthanjan, a strong balm of sorts. I was unfortunately too late, a little fella had already crawled up and latched on and was sucking my blood. My first leech bite!!! After 4 monsoon treks in the western ghats! Took a snap of my dark parasitic friend before salting him off. After armoring with the above said balm, we go on the bridge and set off on the track.
Took some snaps at the bridge. It was quite awesome standing on the bridge at such a height and no guard rails or such stuff. Started walking, measured steps on the sleepers, almost a catwalk. Little did I know that my walking habit would need re-training after the trek! A hundred meters and we encountered our first tunnel, a good 250 meters long one. Photos shoot time again! Picked up a rusty railway bolt as a memento and moved along. The bats had all flown off as the trains have started plying, this was a bit disappointing. As we started walking into the tunnel, it became pitch dark and we switched on a few torches. But after a few minutes of walking we decided to walk in the dark for the thrill of it. Reached the end of the tunnel and realized another tunnel starts off just a few meters away! The whole track is like this, full of numerous bridges and tunnels. It’s just fantastic!
The best tunnel was close to a kilometer long, which happened to be the longest one we had encountered in the whole trip. This has some wild turns in the middle and its pitch dark, quite a challenge. The only missing element was a loved one to smooch, feel up and maybe more! As we were walking along, we heard the following sounds: “It’s going left, completely left, left yaar, left, thud, ahha!” Our foreman, an enthu daredevil had miscalculated and instead of taking a right, he had taken a left and had fallen into a not so deep rain trench close to the tunnel wall and now he sports a nice mark on his head and nose!
The best bridge was a wooden bridge, a few decades old. The wooden sleepers have not yet been replaced by iron ones and as such it is quite worn out and broken at places. This took a lot of nerve and concentration to cross. It was quite long and had a fast flowing stream underneath a few hundred feet down. It was a thrilling experience!
Towards afternoon we took a break, had just another 3 KM to our destination. We took a small path leading to a waterfall. After a cold bath and good water massage, and lunch, I slept off on a rock, head resting on my friend’s lap. It had been a while since I slept on someone’s lap… A good half hour’s rest later I woke up to a grey sky and by the time we packed and hit the track, a drizzle had begun.
We reached the destination station, Yedakumeri at around 5.30. The station master had setup quarters and the workers had moved on. After a bit of negotiation, we managed to get a room to stay for in the night. It was a diesel generator room, thankfully not running, the floor was not swept for ages and the slight smell of diesel oil hung in the air. No complaints, adjust and survive is the motto. The cook there agreed to give us hot water but no food as they were low on supplies, so just had cuppo noodles and a shot of whiskey and some vodka to keep warm and then sat down with the station master for a chat till 10 and then we hit sack.
Our initial plans for the next day was to cut across the forest, walk up 5KM and reach a near by village and catch a bus from there. Due to heavy rains, the path had an overgrowth of vegetation and would be infested with leaches. So, we made and alternative plan and kept this as a last resort. The station master told us that a goods train would be passing by at some unknown hour in the night, and he told us he could stop it briefly but it was for us to convince the driver to give us a ride. In the mean while another group of software guys had also come along and the station master refused to give them shelter and they ended up sleeping in the open-aired waiting room. People skills training does not seem to be effective enough.
The next day round 3 we were woken up and the station master told us to hurry. The train was almost there and was chugging along slowly. We all hopped on to the train and soon it started to move with a harsh jerk to warn us of its “non-passenger-friendly” way. Somehow I feel that the station master had sort of convinced the driver to take us - over radio. Oh that was the first time I saw what GSM-R is used for. And along with us the other group also tagged along. We all huddled up like sheep in the small coach and the since it was dark outside and there is not electricity in goods wagons, the other team were using all their torches. After some time all switched off except this one guy, all dressed up like a cowboy but hardly had the courage. He kept it on till I finally got annoyed and asked him to switch it off.
What an experience it was! The dark, the rattling train, the tunnels and bridges, the greenery, the mist and the emerging twilight. We reached Subramanya, a temple town with busses connecting to Bangalore at around 7. From there we took a jeep to the bus-stand half hour away. The jeep was stuffed, that’s the best way to describe it. I was practically in the driver’s seat and he in turn was almost leaning out and driving! 4 people in the front and 6 in the back and the luggage! And the man is ripping across in the Ghats! Whao! We reached the bus stand, caught the first bus to Bangalore and after a gruesome 9 hour ride reached home at 6 in the evening. The first 3 hours was in the Ghats section and man was it awesome! One fabulous trip done and many more to go!
The snaps are here by the way.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Passport!
Today I saw this sign on the passport road.
If this is the state of the road leading to the passport then which way do we go with our passports? No wonder we have a lot of confused travellers! :)
If this is the state of the road leading to the passport then which way do we go with our passports? No wonder we have a lot of confused travellers! :)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Reservations in India.
Today's headlines scream out to the public that "Our Prime Minister's Grandsons are ill and have Dengue". I so hope and wish that as an eye opener one of the grand child must be treated by merit students and the other by reservation students exclusively. That will I hope show to the PM how he is playing with his citizens and give him an understanding between basic education for all and professional courses on which lives depend.
According to our history, a good King would treating his citizens as his children. But our nation is in such sick political hands. Let the PM disprove this by treating his children like all his other citizens!
Don'd blame me for wanting to be under a great able king than under such lousy sick politicians.
According to our history, a good King would treating his citizens as his children. But our nation is in such sick political hands. Let the PM disprove this by treating his children like all his other citizens!
Don'd blame me for wanting to be under a great able king than under such lousy sick politicians.
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