Misadventure is also an Adventure

Day 1 Friday was a late night with friends dropping in and that resulted in a groggy morning... but still our anticipation to hit the highway was not dimmed by this. So here was me at 6:15 dozing on the way out to Mysore ... dying for a coffee to wake me up... After an hour or so we came across Kamat Lokruchi and I was thrilled that we will be able to have some nice breakfast but one of our senior passengers told us that he had a better place to have breakfast. We respected his wishes and carried on. There were 3 people with us .. in the Jeep.. A, J and G. The rest of the crowd would be there later on. Now A being a senior journalist and having lots of contacts.. knew his way around. He was a great person to be with too. So then we stopped at Shivali MTR restaurant where we had the most delicious dosais. They are simply out of the world. If you are in the Mysore Highway I highly recommend this place to stop by for your food break. The menu is limited but delicious. On reaching Srirangapatna, we took a diversion at Hunsur... to Illavalla... ( I simply dont seem to get the phonetics right about this place. ) I drove through this wonderful road which was flanked on both sides with lush green vegetations, trees spotting bright yellow flowers and very few vehicles on the road... thanks to the trucker's strike. Meandering through the roads, doing almost 100 plus kmph... we reached the Tibetian Settlement at Bylekuppe ... near Kushalnagar.... Last time we had not driven through the settlement but this time the whole scenery was a pleasure to our eyes... who said Karnataka was not green ?? This was the greenest landscaping that I had ever seen. It felt like the paintings and drawing I used to do when I was a kid... painting the land green and drawing a meandering road between that. The Namdroling Monastery glinted its presence in the hide and seek of sunlight. We went ahead and visited the monastery and took Buddha's blessings. I shall never get enough of this monastery. The smiling Buddha looking benevolently down at me filled me with great peace and serenity. Now it was time for lunch. Call it coincidence or whatever, this time too Shirin of Dhege Restaurant was sleeping this time too when I called for her. She was dozing in her room last time too. She did not seem to recollect but after sometime she remembered me and heck we ordered a hefty lunch. For Mr A, it was not great I guess since he was a vegeterian. But for the rest G And J it was a fun experience. The taste buds of the South will never get used to the bland taste of Eastern mountain food. Momos and Beef Thuppas were the highlight of the meal. After having a meal of some 6 to 7 plates of different dishes of food... plus water plus cool drinks... the bill came upto 162/- amazing huh !! but thats the way we travel.... LOLOLOL My travel mates were surprised.. and Rocks and me were laughing away at their expressions. We always believe in travelling economically yet retaining the quality of the travel... Reaching Kushalnagar, we felt like we had reached a Ghost town. I could almost hear the refrain of a Western movie... LOL For a moment I thought we came to the wrong town. We were informed that due to some political shoot out, the whole place was under Section 144. According to that we cannot move anywhere or sit anywhere in a group of more than 5 . And I was thanking God that we were just 5 of us. The whole town had gone to sleep. There were khakhi guys everywhere. We somehow managed to find this veg place where A could have his meal. It is difficult being a vegeterian. SIGH. We found our way to the Inspection Bungalow which was a beautiful slightly dilapidated old building. A's contact had booked us in but the dicey part was that rooms might not have been available since all the Khaki guys were swarming around. After some discussion we managed to get a huge room with a big Bathroom and a big dressing room. We tried for another room but we were out of luck. ( the rooms cost us 40/- per head.... ha ha ) After a short break, where I exlpored the surroundings of a nice driveway and lots of trees and green grass... made friends with the local canine breed, we moved on to visit Harangi reservoir. We missed out on this last time since monsoon had not started and the water level was very low... This day, there was no one but a few of some wanderers like us at this place. And believe me this dam was small but water was gushing out like white snow and there was rainbow everywhere you put your eyes to... courtesy the huge spray of water.. billowing all over. After taking some shots and exploring the area some more... we headed back to the Bungalow to change and attend the mehendi function. Now I was wondering how our friend would manage given the fact that everything had come to a standstill. But standstill or not life has to go on. So the function started... we came in for the ceremony. Mind you this is not a North Indian ceremony where the friend of the bride pust mehendi and there is a lot of fuss and giggle around. This was simple... Some puja happening and after the groom donned the Mehendi and completed his rituals, it was the bride's turn. Here we were, donned in our best finery hoping to see a gala function happening. I was imagining about the food that I would get to eat.. Could not help it . I was hungry... Suddenly an aunty came up to me and asked if I would put Mehendi. I am not a Mehendi freak so I hestiated... but that aunty... almost forced me YES YES .. come come ... Myself and J thought it was great to have Mehendi on our hands... and we readily agreed. We walked up the stage where the bride was sitting. Two cones were given to us.. I thought to myself.. Ah.. so we do not get to put the mehendi.. we had to put a little Mehendi on her hand.. how quaint. I did it ... and then gave back the cone, then came the bride's response... No Pallavi you got to do the whole thing. J was doing the other hand. Whole HAND.. was she mad... I peered up and could see a group of expectant faces smiling at me..with almost grinding teeth.... Sheesh.. Then and there all my creative juices dried up. For all you know Myself and J would not be allowed to move by the aunties unless the deed was done. And both of us were definitely not Mehendi professionals. The lady concerned did not turn up so we had to do the best we could. Nothing doing... so we got to work.. me jotting down dots an dashes in the best way possible. All done... we left the stage in a hurry ... to have food... Promptly... a glass of dark rum like liquid was plonked in the table with the banana leaf and then came some rice and chicken curry no frills there. Then when I saw a beer coming towards me.. i was happy that I saw something familiar... but one hiccup of a guy... swandered drunkenly and snatched the beer from the tray... Then I thought enough was enough... I asked for a beer... and well I got a beer. Then came in the pork which I was waiting for. It was black... I said what the heck... I took one gulp... YAAAGHHH ...EGAD !!! To say that the pork was spicy would have been an understatement. It was bloody hot and I could not for the life of me find any flavour. My poor taste buds were dead... I could hear my mom saying to me " My child .. never expect too much.. expectations only bring in disappointment".. Mummmyyy !!!! ... Having had the most delicious food in a Coorgi wedding my taste buds were all alive.. Now after having that... my stomach was doing a sommersault inside.. A was lucky since he got to have some veg stuff somewhere else outside the wedding hall. We went hunting for icecreams to ease the fire in the pit... but none were to be found. We gave up and went to bed with groaning abdomens. I popped in a Pudin Hara ( I never travel without one) and felt better. But cannot blame anyone.. the party was also pressed to do the best they could inspite of the bandh .... SIGH... To top it all the aged geyser in the bathroom was smoking with sounds of PHAAT.. BOOM .. BANG... HISSSS... It so happened that water had not reached the geyser and it was boiling steam all the while.. we were lucky it did not blow up on us... I guess Lady Luck was there with me after all..... Day 2. The next day dawned to a bright morning,. J spent jogging around the long driveway, I spent walking. Had our tea, freshned up and went to the wedding hall. Kushalnagar was buzzing with life today... We attended the marraige function and did not wait to have the food. It was decided that Dhege restaurant it would be for lunch.. This time Shirin was prepared to entertain us with yum food... Observation We saw some broken crow wings being hung from the place outside where we had sat to eat. I asked Shirin why it was so... She gladly explained that if you hung crow wings in places .. crows will never come to bother you.. and it was true.. compared to last time.. there was not a single crow to disturb us... Crows' wings act as a scarecrow for the crows... What a brillant idea... now who will kill a crow for me... ??? Will dead ants and dead cockroaches dead parts have the same effect on the living Cockroaches and Ants ? I wish the logic was true for other species too.. would have saved a lot of trouble.. ( A had to look for a pure veg restaurant again .. poor gentleman..we felt really bad for him...but he was very sportive... ) Back on the highway by 2:00 and after a long winding not so peaceful drive... since the trucks were back at hammering the streets with their bulky bodies... we reached Bangalore by 7:00 and then crashed off with lush green memories of just wide open spaces .... and me at the wheel... Snaps will be up shortly... meanwhile ... thats it from this end of the cyberlink.... Destination next.. Hampi.....

Weekend Expectations

Another weekend is here and this is travel time... yeah dudes and dudettes we are back on the road... and this time... I am going to take over the wheels on the highway.. Rocks tells me that highway driving and city driving is different... the villages have a unique way of looking at vehicles... and they dont care a damn... well I shall be careful with him and some friends by my side... but heck the point is that I am going to be driving down the roads to nature and open space... Destination : A Coorgi wedding of a friend's and great food.. good enough reasons to go driving to Coorg... Good is the essential ingredient to sinful living... har har har... me the foodie says so.. ************************************************************************* Observed in a conversation.. A to a dentist telling a story... (A not knowing that the other person is a dentist, but me knowing it) You know what happened... this is a story about a doctor who is a dental... .... .... Dentist : What do you mean..I am a dentist.. I am a doctor.. too... A: ahh ok .. who is not a dentist ( gets interrupted by me) Me: HUH thank god you are a dentist... Imagine if you were a Psychatrist... A would go .... this is a story about a doctor who is a mental... HAR HAR HAR !!! LMAO Dentist... : Bewildered... but gets the joke... thankfully... LOLOLOL... and she is meeting me for the first time...thank god my other pals told her.. "Ah dont worry Pallavi is like that only... " ********************************************************************** Observed again in a conversation : A talking about B to me Now B is a the South Indian equivalent of Casanova and is having a hot steamy affair with two babes.. in the office... and he is married... ( go figure that out) Now B has this habit of playing cricket with A his friends.... since his two babes have flown to US B is lonesome during the day.... so he is also not playing cricket... A: B is not playing.. cricket nowadays... Me: Why ? A : well he is missing his babes... ( smirking a little slyly) Me: ( in a particularly devlish mood) : Aaaah B must be missing his babes definitely because there is nobody to catch his balls... HAR HAR HAR HAR !!!!!! Pathetic, I know ... but what the heck I had a good laugh !! hahahaha and my day was looking great... PS: YESSSXCUSEEE me please if it offends your sentiments.. but I could not help writing about it... ******************************************************************************* I think I am going kooky... but what the heck... This week I experienced again...

• how if your relationship with your boss is good, things really move in the right direction in your job.. the hitch is someone else messing it up because he wants priority and is obssessive about this boss not being friends with anyone... ah a nice angle....
• if you keep calm you will never face the music... you will glide through it...
• men and women both have prejudices against each other.... each one thinks that the other is complicated..
• A little Thank You for a job well done goes a long way...
• Appreciation is not always appreciated... specially if the credit goes to someone else for the work one person has done...
• there is also beauty in cut and dried tasks completed in time..
• addmitting to a fault is better than denying it altogether... admitting to a weakness is your strength...

And Life is good... you gain some you lose some....

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Cool Tip of the Week

I discovered Blog Reader thanks to Dee who built it... I think this little tool has got great potential... But works only for rediffblogs as of now... so rediff fans enjoy this... maybe you could try this ou. Could do with improvements but is a great concept... the speed needs to be improved otherwise its cool...

Am thinking of cracking up a new template ... yes I am ... hope I get the codes right... i am stuck in between now... Latest Google Logo:

A Somber Thought

I was reading up Anita Rockrick's blog and then through that I have been reading Chindu's blog... and also Toinks' following on what they were blogging about.. This is with regard to Anjum Nair who has ascended to greater heights on August 25th after fighting a losing battle with Cancer. May his soul ascend without any inhibitions... and may his family get the strength to move on..

This incident is particularly poignant since... I lost a colleague of mine some four years back.. and it was devastating to say the least.... and it brought back bittersweet memories... its been 4 years and life is just going on...

Idle Mind is a Devil's workshop

This adage is so true when it comes to India. And now more recently to Karnataka. Kannada film actors have decided on their own without any legal statement passed that kannada films should be shown first and all non Kannada films should be shown SEVEN weeks later. Now is that logical ? I fully sympathise with the Kannada Film industry but they have not churned out that great a movie to have seven weeks of showing in the house. I have seen a couple of movies and well I must say that Tamil Movies and Malayalam movies have more meat in terms of story and concept than Kannada movies. Also they are better in producing better quality movies. Instead of cribbing like a baby they can do something to improve the industry which has a lot of talented actors and directors.. they just need the right break and this is not the way to take the break... This is a democratic country and what we want to watch cannot be dictated by a handful who have nothing but money and futile ideas on their hands. Bangalore is one of the most upcoming cities and it is known to be a cosmopolitian city where all cultures can be blended well into a pot.. I guess suddenly the natives have got a sense of state patriotism at a very wrong time. maybe this same movement would have made sense some 5 years back when Bangalore was still ambling in the corridors of growth and hi tech development. Now when the population is so diverse and they are willing to give business to the film industry in general. We have not cribbed because we miss out on many good Hollywood movies..in India.. We have not cribbed when silly pictures have been shown in the theatres... thats because we had the choice and going by the logic people have the right to view stupid movies and well as good movies.. so that the appreciation factor is enhanced... I personally have nothing against the Kannada industry .. they maybe right in their own way but we as audience are the ones that have made them what they are and they are not doing something great by imposing their decisions on us. What is more important that the Kannada industry is propagating Piracy and here we have actors throughout India and the world trying to battle piracy and there these guys go and invite just that. What can be more ironical and really dumb than this? Dont they realise that they are losing their dwindling popularity anyways ? Distributors are in a fix since they dont know what to do.. Maybe they could get together and try something of their own.. but I think everything is linked and red taped I guess.. and unless this mess is sorted out Bangalore movie scene is as doomed as can be.. **************************************************************************** Fuel revolution With the fuel price going up , war being waged for fuel.. it is high time that we have an alternative source of fuel. This revolution had been predicted in By Ruth Montgomery in 1969 in one of her books how this earth would be fighting with each other for Fuel.. and how there will be a time when a source of fuel will be discovered which will result in a greener environment... and also use only Hydrogen and Oxygen for its manufacturing .... I was amazed when I read this. Today it was in the news that Honda is launching a 125 cc bike... which will run on Fuel cell technology. This will promote a greener environment. I hope India is quick to catch up on this. We need to cringe at the price hike of gas every fornight. Like every new inventions, it does have its hiccups but I guess once this thing settles in this should do the world a lot of good. Fuel cell technology will in the future be used for homes and large units... I think it is the time to celebrate and hopefully the government invests in this technology. This is reduce the dominance of some countries over the other for fuel and hopefully people can live much more peacefully without waging meaningless wars... here is an extract from Howstuffworks.com ... to know more about Fuel Cells you can click on the given links...

You may have heard a lot recently about fuel cells. According to many news reports, we may soon be using the new energy-saving technology to generate electrical power for our homes and cars. The technology is extremely interesting to people in all walks of life because it offers a means of making power more efficiently and with less pollution. But how does it do this? In this article, we'll take a quick look at each of the existing or emerging fuel-cell technologies. We'll detail how one of the most promising technologies works, and we'll discuss a few potential applications of fuel cells.

What is a Fuel Cell ? Efficiency of Fuel Cells Problem With Fuel Cells

Fuel Cell Vehicles already in the market

Have you checked out Google logos... lately.. they have come up with some really natty ones... which changes everyday !! latest logo is.. So I guess that is what on my mind today..

Some Days Are Diamonds

John Denver When you ask how I've been here without you, I like to say I've been fine, and I do. But we both know the truth is hard to come by. And if I told the truth, that's not quite true. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. Some times the hard times won't leave me alone. Some times the cold winds blow a chill in my bones. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. Now the face that I see in my mirror, more and more is a stranger to me. More and more I can see there's a danger in becoming what I never thought I'd be. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. Some times the hard times won't leave me alone. Some times the cold winds blow a chill in my bones. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. Some times the hard times won't leave me alone. Some times the cold winds blow a chill in my bones. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone. This song was playing round and round in my head... and I thought what ...sense it made to live life..optimistically....though the song tugs at my heartstrings at the sadder level... Weekend went by and this week brought in a lot of work.. so have not been able to post.. Watched I Robot and Phone Booth.. I-Robot I liked I Robot.. great screenplay and a great concept.. the graphics of the movie were really well done. Will Smith got as serious as you could see him on screen. Says a lot for his versatility of donning different characters without any difficulty... Will Smith is the main protagonist of this story where he is led into a murder mystery which confounds him and because of his prejudice against robots allows him to probe into the depth of the story.. and the rest of it is all fast action.. little talk... many robots and a vision of what the 2035 would hold for you... which is not at all improbable.. The story has been inspired by Isaac Asimov's stories and director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) has a great job of it. The visualization is what I found truly impressive.. Script was good and the characters were also pretty well played. Makes one wonder if we are truly becoming slave to machines... For Asimov fans and for science fiction lovers.. this is a must see... Spiderman 2 ( this was a review I wanted to write for a long time and have not been able to) Another movie for Spiderman lovers and Marvel Comic fans. Good guys always get the better of the bad guys... but there is a shade of reality too in the stories.. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility - this was the theme that was played out in great detail.. Peter Parker has all the problems of a growing up man falling in love and how he goes through an identity crisis and finally finds his true path. Also the tones of a man accepting responsibility for his actions also says a lot in influencing the kids watching the movie.. some times just good old entertainment is what the audience needs. The villian though not by choice is Doctor Octopus who overestimates himself thus letting the technology control him instead of him controlling it ... a message there again !!! All said and done the graphics was not that great like the first part and once could easily make out when Spiderman is a graphically animated and when he is real which does not say a great deal about the job well done. Such movies depend very highly on graphics and if it is not well done, the movie loses its charm but I guess people who dont care about this will enjoy the movie anyways... so I shall not rant any further... Personally I would bet on Spiderman 1 anyday. Phone Booth Ahh now thats a movie I had avoided... given the nondescript name of the movie.. how funny.. sometimes the title matters so much... Somehow I managed to catch the making of this movie.. in the Television before the movie was screened in the Tele. I loved the way the story had evolved and decided to watch the movie.. Directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman andRobin,The Client,Bad Company,The Wiz,A Time to Kill) this was an experimental film according to him and he wanted to try something different. Shot in ten days, this movie proves the finesse of a movie which was handled with great simplicity yet with great skill. Collin Farell who is main protagonist in the movie is a smart talking, boot licking, ass licking PR man whose life is an artificial mess. He gets caught in a t�te - � - t�te with an unknown caller who is out to take his trip for god knows why. And once the phone conversation starts the story unfolds.. its good to see how a normal conversation can change to a life threatening situation and can change one's life.. connect to reality and shift priorities, so what if few lives are lost in that process.. an interesting plot and good to watch it when you are in the mood for a light thriller. ************************************************************************** Now comes my pet peeves.. I am so so so peeved .. for no reason.. why is it that ....

• The bottle of salt just disappears from the kitchen counter..just when you want it..
• The sandwich just does not get made in the way i like it...
• The chappatis just does not fluff up like my usual days...
• Somebody's car just decides to shriek like nobody's business just because somebody happened to touch it.. and I have this hair raising jhatka from my sleep induced consciousness
• You wake up with a headache that never seems to go away...
• The content that I have written for some page appears in a different page altogether...
• The help file added to the new build somehow gets to be a bygone version written by someone and I get castracized....
• my parking space at home gets taken over by another without a nod... HUH
• my favorite boots get filled with soap water...

seems like the planets are having a conspiracy theory between them against me and I wish them all the best.. dont blame me dear planets if I snap somebody's head off.... you got to take care of me then...

Flashing Thoughts

Today I have been informed that my Jeep will get a brand new bumper and I am thrilled about it.. though it is going to burn a well sized hole in the pocket... did you know that how the name Kangaroo was given.. it seems that when Englishmen came to the coast of Australia and saw this animal, they asked the aborigines what that animals were.. they replied KAN GA ROO... and they named the animal thus... but actually what the bushman was telling was "Kan ga roo ... man i dont know what you are speaking"... LOLOL My nights are filled with dreams of highways... since we are planning a ride to Hampi this September and I am really looking forward to it ... Yeah another trip to Coorg too... that would be for a wedding and I have been really impressed with a Coorgi wedding...the dance the colors and specially the food... it is out of the world... Today is Rocks' Birthday... and it the beginning of another year of life.. I wish him many more years and many more good memories.. Am planning a surprise for him.. hehe !!! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK !!! Call centre vehicles have become a menace in Bangalore.. they not only disturb the general public... when they come to pick up the employees. They also drive on the roads as if they have fire on their behinds..ending up running over pedesterians and other riders. in the beginning it was Auto rickshaw drivers and the cycles that we had to worry about.. and now we have to worry about reckless call centre vehicles which are not only big but very dangerous... That reminds me of a friend who got so irritated with a Call Centre driver honking for a person beneath his apartment that he threw two eggs at the car ... LOLOL and when the driver started cursing.. he cooly came out all concerned ... asking what the matter was and see maybe somebody got irritated with him since he was excessively honking and thats why the eggs... LOLOLOL .. and the rest were all disgruntled mumbles... And by the way, if you want to go by the numbers written behind the cars... to ask for help.. mostly the response is : This number does not exist... and if you call the owner.. in case of an accident.. the owner brashly suggests... 'ok go file a court case.. I dont care'... BEAT THAT !!! Bangalore is brewing trouble trouble with the death of an old woman by a Tata Sumo (Call Centre) which led to violence and police firing in Kamakshipalya, Outer Ring Road. A sad development but thenI think something is needed to jerk the BDA to do something about the road condition in Bangalore !!! and guys next time you decide to take home your biryanis.. as in parcel them.. please make sure you get the meat.. if it is non vegetarian... I am stilled pissed at beeing cheated of good meat in my Biryani which I carried home.. last night... GRRRRR !!! The next time I order that man is going to get it from me !!! Koramangala in Bangalore has got a great Biryani joint.. THe Hyderabad or something.. opposite the Globus Showroom.. do try it if you are in that area...I got raving comments about that from friends and just when I was dreaming of a good Biryanish meal from a local joint ... I was consumed with an anticlimatic feeling of being cheated out of a dream by missing out the chicken there .. GRRRRRR I was reading this interesting ride write up of a man whom I consider my Motorcycle Guru.. Greg Fraizer. He has recently ridden through Cambodia and Vietnam... The piece was really interesting and there have been comparisons with India... which I think is very true sad but true... I guess I am better of riding in India... unless we end up building our own Motorcycle company like Greg. LOLOL So have a great weekend everyone !!!

Murphy's Law Strikes Again and we celebrate Independence Day Our Way

Here I was thinking about having a nice weekend when my lady luck went off on a holiday making Murphy have a field day with me... And I read somewhere that there is order in chaos.... seems to be fitting when it comes to my life... Was planning Freedom Jam with friends... Maddie, Noufal, the Biker gang.... on Saturday... As usual I go to my meditation class... by chance ..there I get to pick and angel card .. we did that just to take a break.... the message was " Dont be troubled by the appearance of disharmony all around.. live in light" I was wondering what it meant and why such a cryptic message was there in store for me... when others got simple messages such as " search for the wisdom in you" etc etc ... I was wondering to myself "am i missing something there ... where was the disharmony.. things were going pretty cool... except the fact that while dropping Maddie home the other evening.. I had a riff raff with an Auto driver... but that was a long time back... " But somewhere behind my subconcious was tingling with a sensation of something about to happen... which would not be pleasant.. I usually get this feeling when disaster is about to strike ... LOL... call it crazy.. I was extra careful that day in driving... I almost missed a rushing Auto.. trying to go in an overtaking frenzy... I was thanking my diminishing lucky stars that I was saved... Otherwise driving back home was usual.. the usual traffic.. the usual auto drivers.. creating chaos in the road... the usual woman crossing the road without seeing the cars... the usual old man ... showing his hand and crossing the road.... Whoa !!! and I think I spoke too soon. As usual I reach home planning to call up friends to get ready for the jam... I am parking in the usual place where I park and I take the jeep a little too inside the pillar making the front fender stick ... and dunno what happened then I do a reverse and the front fender peeled off with a SCREECH and CLANG of metal being ripped apart... which literally broke my heart and limbs,.... I think it must have been a scratch in the wheel guards,..... I see security running and coming.. my heart goes Thump a Thump.. Blippety Blaatter ... and I am praying that everything is ok.. When I get down to see, Rocks also rides in and sees the whole thing happening in front of his eyes.. what can be worse that committing a sin and then commiting it in front of the very person you dont want to ... EEEKSSS... my front fender looks as if a monster just peeled it off ... Life's Irony or what.. I had my first crash in my own parking lot... well I guess the silver lining is that I did not injure anyone... My heart goes down to its knees.. and lies there... I am heartbroken... The whole evening goes for a six... I was in the middle of disharmony alright... Rocks is furious... But mistakes happen and I guess.. this time it was entirely my fault... I wish that there was a BIG hole that I could disappear into... oh where is that hole when you need it so much...I wish I could have frozen there just like a cartoon till everything righted itself but that was not to be... I had to face the ugly and despairing result of my dilapidated grey cells... WHAT WAS I THINKING ?.... As if it is not enough... Rocks is roaring at me like the Leonine entity that he is... man I feel like a small mole.. with horns... I bawl like a baby... feel like a criminal... angry at myself... and yet a bit detached... he roars at me again.. and he is justified... I am not... It is NOT nice to be in the wrong... he rants and raves.. I feel smaller and smaller... pin drop silence... at home.. both are feeling miserable... I think about that message..I find salvation in light... . and somehow knowing that things will be alright and this was to happen... I guess the universe is testing me again ... but all is not lost.. I pray for redemption and I beg for forgiveness... I remember to be in light.. but saying is one.. and doing is another.. meditation helps me... alleviates me from the problem at hand and tells me that solution is not far away... and heck shit happens... you gotta face it ... OKAY dudette.. bring it on !!! Tomorrow is another day... A new day dawns !!! After sleeping restlessly on it.... I get up to a new day... Rocks is also cool.. and well we do have an independence day to look forward to.... he apologises for shouting at me... ( me feels pretty good.. my day is made... ) Independence Day.. the bikers decide to have a Independence Day ride.. we wait for the gang to meet up at Bellary and then ride up through the roads of Bangalore.. catching lot of envious eyes... and took lots of snaps from one of the biker's camera.. did some video recording too with another.. so my hands were full... Lady Luck was smiling at me again !!! I realize that Murphy was still hanging out with me... when my old friend , my old Camera went dead... totally refused to focus or do anything.. I banged, I prayed, I cajoled... but heck... nothing doing... I had to accept the inevitable.. time to get a new one.. I acknowledge that power of Murphy and sit quiet.. till that jinx feeling goes away and it does... We meet up with many new riders and there one of our close rider friends tells me that the Jeep disaster was not that bad and well it could be fixed easily. Some tinkering would fix that up ... cool !! I shall still not rest in peace until it is fixed... we go and see a few garages where we can fix it up... with the help of our biker friend ... Lady Luck back at my side... the world rights itself back in position... Hallellujah !!! I have been saved... After the ride I convince the gang to check out the amazing cake exhibition in Bangalore Central put up by my close friend Susan and the Baking institute where she works.. The gang is more interested in getting to know my friend.. DUH am I surprised ? They had put up 100 cakes related to Independence Day and it looked nice... with an explanation for each theme... from Patriotic leaders to National Fruit theme cake... to.. you name it !!! very Creative By the way, if you guys or girls need to order affordable cakes for birthdays or occasions... Susan is the person to contact... do mail me and I shall give you her contact.. She does some amazing chocolates too.. You must try them... for guys you could go for those amazing liquor chocolates... she makes... for those special occasions... Hmmm shameless advertising but heck ... if it helps her why not !! And then the gang thumps off to Pecos... where we have the most delicious.. Allwyn/ Halloween Chicken, Tacos, etc etc... and down lots of beer.. a typical biker meet... and then meet my friend Indira, a Venezuelan who is painting the town pink with her Purple and Pink Bullet .. named Lollipop.. She looks cool .... and if you think pink does not look good you got to think again... She is my girl... I am waiting when I can do up something like that for me... maybe a mustard yellow.. combo should be catchy enough or a red and black... Yeah .. now my cells are generating electricity .... And the weekend does not seem so bad after all !!! For the ride pics you can click here. PS: If you want to know how to cook Seafood properly ..... Read this...

Lazy days

Robbie Williams Lazy days calling to you Come out and play, the future lies with you Now you can be sure love is the cure What we're searching for is to have a jolly good time Crazy days but you'll get me through And here I'll stay holding on to you Now you can be sure our thoughts unpure We'll unlock the door and we will have a jolly good time It can happen in any season We don't need any reason to sit around and wait The world can change in a second So I find the sunshine beckons me To open up the gate and dream And dreamLazy days, don't let them get you down Wear your smile, I don't want to see you frown Don't let them get you down It can happen in any season We don't need any reason to sit around and wait The world can change in a second So I find the sunshine beckons me To open up the gate and dream And dream Then we will have a jolly good time Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah..... This is how I feel today.. It is one of those days when I want to reach the sky and I have limitations.. what do I do ? Do I brood about it ? Or do I carry on ? Am i doing the right thing ? Do I need to do something more... learning is always great. Maybe I need to do something different.. like put on my travelling shoes.. LOL Cant explain this feeling of restlessness.. i think I need a challenge or a change of highways... Thinking is not going to solve anything.. so I guess I got to do something about it ... yes I am ... Romance.. the thought was seeping in me yesterday evening ... as I was having a tete a tete with Rocks at Shioks.. over a glass of Litchi Daquiri, Tequila Sunrise and a Salty Dog.. ( those are cocktails)... its always nice to have a quite dinner with that special someone... ah yes !! Madhu did a great job of sprucing up a great dinner.. We were early birds .. and lounged with great music and great food. Click here if you would like to have a peep at the menu.. The cocktails are priced from 135 to 175 which I thought was a good price tag... What is your idea of romance ? My tryst with romance.....

• When I had my first crush.. It was one of those... you see me I see you yet we dont see each other... LOL it was so cute..
• When I used to immerse myself in those Mills and Boons and get carried away with the story...
• Having a Lollipop...
• Writing love letters... (that reminds me of the song " Love letters in the Sand" by Pat Boone)
• Crooning to a love song..
• When I read Wordsworth... and Shakespeare
• When I used to walk around Wards Lake in Shillong..
• When I was walking by the mountainous path .. with no one around and just the chirping of birds accompanying me...
• In the smell of fresh pines...
• Rows of pine trees...
• In a cup of tea watching the rain falling down the Pine leaves...
• Sheltering myself under a pine tree from the heavy downpour..
• Playing in the rain with friends...
• The first date... the first blush...
• Dating high up in the mountains watching the rain come by ... across the hills..
• Playing with the rainshadow effect .. a rain here and no rain there...
• Pastel shades... of beige blue pink and orange...
• The fresh smell of a new book
• Fancy Stationery... specially well designed notepads...
• Mistletoe rule in Christmas...
• Sunrise by the highway when you can see a red ball of fire ...
• Canopied beds.... and huge bathrooms with the works... hehe
• Still waters ... and just me to look at my reflection...
• Colonial Architecture...
• When a baby nestles in my neck trying to fall asleep...
• The movie Gone With the Wind
• The sound of the stream gushing by as I am studying late hours...
• Playing in the clear water of the same stream...
• Not knowing what the future holds...
• Fulfilling my dreams....

And dudes and dudettes .. you all have a nice weekend there.. And for those who are going to the Freedom Jam here is some info as to its where and how.

A SPLATTT!!!! and thats all there is

I'm Like A Bird Artist: Nelly Furtado You're beautiful and that's for sure Your never ever fade Your lovely, but it's not for sure And i won't ever (?) And all my love is grey And all my love is true I'm like a birdI only fly away I don't know where my soul is I don't know where my home is (And baby all I need for you to know is) Your faith in me brings me to tears Even after all these years And it pains me so much to tell That you don't know me that well and all my love is grey and all my love is true I'm like a birdI only fly away I don't know where my soul is I don't know where my home is (And baby all I need for you to know is) It's not that I wanna say good-bye It's just that evey time you try to Tell me, me that you love me (oh) Each and every single dayI know that I'll have to eventually give u away And all my love is grey And all my love is true (yeah) And i'm just scared That we may fall through I'm like a bird I'll only fly away I don't know where my soul is I don't know where my home is (And baby all I need for you to know is) This is in dedication to the little pigeon who flew to its death.. today morning.. As I was walking to my office.. I suddenly hear a SPLATTT !!! And there was this little bird with a bewildered expression in its eyes of what had just occurred.. It bled while the security took it up in his hands and let it rest somewhere else.. I could not believe it... My building is full of them pigeons and they keep vrooming in their coop... I have made friends with a few .. who have a way to dress up depending on the weather.. they swell up their feathers looking really cute to beat the rain.. as I have my tea they look down at me from their perch.. vroomming in their language.. I do not believe in keeping birds as pets so its a pleasure watching these free birds do thei own thing flying up and above and then resting their tired wings... Today one of them was too tired to navigate through the air I guess and just went SPLATTT !!! I remember laughing at this noise when I used to watch the Roadrunner Cartoon.. and everytime he fell to those deep recesses, the sound was a flat... SPLATT... Today it was for real and it was no longer funny... I just pray that the little soul was released out if its misery... SIGH !!! Anyways on a brighter note I have put up some snaps here .. this are the photos of the last to last meet when Vighy was in Bangalore.. and we had an informal meet... Sorry for the delay Maddie and Vighy ... heheh ....

Weekend Maladies

Meeting friends was the highlight of the weekend. Sunday called in the day for the Bangalore Blog meet and though I kept forgetting about it, I had Maddie remind me about it and thank god for small mercies. As usual we met in Barista. Maddie kept inferring that Noufal had a thing going on with the waitress so that is why we were frequenting that place the nth time. Myself and Moony were the first to reach there and after chatting for a while we met a Chennai blogger, Suds or better known as Sudhon. He was passing by and saying his goodbyes to his friends and was it was nice of him to meet us too. As we were just getting warmed up with the conversation of now and then... Noufal and Aditya caught up with us along with Mridul, Ganesh, MMN(Manoj). Maddie was on her way and after we found a corner for ourselves, Maddie came in and she started to urge, blackmail, threaten, plead, etc to Srikanth to join us. We wanted to see him since he would be off to the US for his PhD. Srikanth managed to make it in a while, thanks a lot for that and then there was this question of which Dhaba to go. As the crowd was deliberating on it, Mridul was "vegetating"... in his own words and did not want to move. Maddie decided to get some books for herself which tempted me too to have a peep and I ended up buying some books too.. and getting a complimentary book about slangs in that process.. (Why is it that almost all the complimentary things are not the ones that I want... SIGH !! ) Noufal's patience was strechted with the JOkes surrounding him and his bombay dreams. Anyways, lunch decision made we ambled on to Baggini Dhaba where we had a hurried lunch. I tasted the vegetable platter for the first time thanks to Maddie and Srikant. Oh yes we were met there by Sheetal and Zakira. Srikanth did the genttleman thing to write down most of the blog names for Sheetal.. and Zakira was encouraged to start a blog.. I was pretty enthused about meeting these new friends of ours. Was nice exchanging pleasantaries with them over pegs of Vodka, Bacardi Lemon, etc... and comparing notes about Salman Khan (who happened to be favourite of Sheetal and some others.. I had a personal favourite in Vin Diesel.. :) ) and nail polishes, filling our stomachs with food we said our goodbyes and carried on our way.. and thus ended the third blogger's meet in Bangalore.. not before Maddie had her shot with her tomato red nail polish. Snaps of the meet are here.. PS: Anybody interested in the Freedom Jam can make it on the August 14th. Its time to get rocking Bangalore!!!

Laid to rest and now back in action

The whole weekend and the four days of the week... I had the opportunity to see life passing by without doing a damn thing about it.. reason.. a bug that decided to bite me and put me to sleep and roaming in the realms of senseless dizzydom... wading in wools of different colors that was supposed to be my brain. But Ta Da !!! I am back in action now and no one can stop me from going online... yes no one... ********************************************************************************* Observed in MG Road... just after Kids kemp.. a Signboard... TVS Centra... the Diet bike.. For heaven's sake... I have heard of diet cola, diet gums, diet this diet that... but diet bike... huh besides drinking less petrol which it proclaims... where else does the fitness quotient figure out here !! HUHUH !!! ************************************************* As I was trying to divert my mind with some entertainment during my days of confinement.. I watched a couple of movies.... Cold Mountain... Now this is a movie I would like to see when I am really feeling that the world is going slowly by me... this is a slow movie and very well done. It will take sometime for you to get into the movie but once you are in it.. you might start liking it.. OK not a movie for people who like fast paced stories. This is as slow as it gets but it has a beautiful way of unwinding the story which makes you feel through it.. I got the same feeling when I watched Legend Of the Falls. You have to got to get inside the story to appreciate it. So if you want to take things slow.. go get this movie.. Nicole Kidman does a great job in the character of Ada who waits for her beloved Mr Innman to come home from a futile war. She faces the terrible result of war. Of having to live by herself in not so friendly surroundings..And this side is the story of Mr Innman played by Jude Law who dares to face the harshest of the harshest circumstances just to return back to his love... in Ruby played by Renee Zelwegger is worth a mention... where she acts as the sassy girl doing a man's job at a time when ladies were meant to be just ladies and look pretty. Kill Bill 2 I hate watching a sequel first and then the main movie... but I did it this time.. I am catching the main story this 14th of Kill Bill when they air it on TV. Anyway, as far as action movie goes... this is a cool one. Ok Uma looks a little emaciated here but other than that she did a good imitation of an action girl and well I like Quentin Tarantino's movies. The story is "timepass" but the direction is amazing. Camera work is very unique Quentin style. Lots of Closeups and bang slap action. Just when you think that the action is going to work this way it happens the other way... I guess thats how he captures the audience's attention.. and thats what a good director can do to a silly story with no bones... definitley worth watching it if you are just chilling out... Dev I had heard that this movie was doing well according to my friends so just got it for the heck of it and well I was surprised that it was actually not that bad.. if you can ignore the screamings of hindu muslim shouts... ( I think this has become the favourite subject of the directors). The magic of Govind Nihalini is still there I suppose. I liked it the way the story was handled. And I guess it will give food for thought if you want to think and well though the movie is a commercial movie it does have a touch of realism here and there.. and well I think it is a good watch... The Fast and the Furious I watched the movie in good old tele.. and well I loved it. The action, the fast pace of the story, the look, the cars (Whoa Mama) everything made it a good watch.. I have yet to see Too Fast Too Furious. ********************************************************************************** As I am still billowing in and out of my lolling head full of wool... will be back with more later !!!