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 !!!

Values Lost...values found...

The Miller of the Dee by Charles Mackay There dwelt a miller, hale and bold, Beside the river Dee; He worked and sang from morn till night - No lark more blithe than he; And this the burden of his song Forever used to be:"I envy nobody - no, not I -And nobody envies me!" "Thou'rt wrong, my friend," said good King Hal, "As wrong as wrong can be; For could my heart be light as thine, I'd gladly change with thee. And tell me now, what makes thee sing, With voice so loud and free, While I am sad, though I am king,Beside the river Dee?" The miller smiled and doffed his cap, "I earn my bread," quoth he; "I love my wife, I love my friend, I love my children three; I owe no penny I can not pay,I thank the river Dee, That turns the mill that grinds the corn That feeds my babes and me." "Good friend," said Hall, and sighed the while, "Farewell, and happy be; But say no more, if thou'dst be true, That no one envies thee; Thy mealy cap is worth my crown, Thy mill my kingdom's fee; Such men as thou are England's boast, O miller of the Dee! Brought to you my Antelope Publishing As I was starting my work day today.. I get a message from my bro asking me whether I remembered the Miller of the Dee poem. He was telling me that this poem was the key to happiness and how right he was.. As I read this known poem again, immediately there was this flashback where I was memorizing the poem beacause my teacher would be giving us a test on this... and now as I went through the poem again, I was thinking to myself how easy it is to forget the basic necessities of life. We are all geared to run, run and run some more and the achievements are never over. Today if there is one river Dee there are ten millers who are willing to compete with each other for the corn and not pausing to thing that the river is drying up and the millers need to nourish the river too.. and the song would go There dwelt ten millers, hale and bold, Beside the river Dee; They worked and sang from morn till night - No lark more blithe than them; And this the burden of their song Forever would be:"we envy no other - no, we dont -But everybody should envy me!" .... Return back to our values... not lose them even as we are zipping by the fast paced life... sometimes we can put on the brake and go back to why we started running in the first place... In pursuing the HOW are we losing out the WHY...

Reflections

Artist/Band: Lonestar Song: Not A Day Goes By Album: I'm Already There Got a picture of you I carry in my heart Close my eyes to see it when the world gets dark Got a memory of you I carry in my soul I wrap it close around me when the nights get cold If you asked me how I'm doin' I'd say just fine But the truth is baby, if you could read my mind Not a day goes by that I don't think of you After all this time you're still with me it's true Somehow you remain locked so deep inside Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by I still wait for the phone in the middle of the night Thinkin' you might call me if your dreams don't turn out right And it still amazes me that I lie here in the dark Wishin' you were next to me, your head against my heart If you asked me how I'm doing I'd say just fine But the truth is baby, if you could read my mind Not a day goes by that I don't think of you After all this time you're still with me it's true Somehow you remain locked so deep inside Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by Minutes turn to hours, and the hours to days Seems it's been forever that I've felt this way Not a day goes by that I don't think of you After all this time you're still with me it's true Somehow you remain locked so deep inside Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by

As the week is rolling by I have been feeling like going back in a circle and starting from where I left back.. yes it seems a little wierd but this week started with lots of old contacts seeping in through the realms of time and reminding me of the world that I have passed through... Dreams... that I dreamt with friends sitting on the doorsteps giggling at little things without much cause. Always in the mind that we would be ever together.. And then we went our seperate ways and yes today after so many years, old friends sail past me every now and then and its always a nice feeling to feel the breeze blowing by me... the echoes of nonchalant laughter, threads of soft murmurs..... yes there are times when the wisps of time blow their fine threads across one's consciousness and I am like a little girl in a field of sunflowers trying to catch the flying cotton balls of memories. Some I grasp in my hand and some I have to let go. Yet the ones I grasp give me so much happiness to be remembered.... And now I have to come back to the concrete village and binary digits and pixelated words which need my attention. Back to the wheel of time I go. Rolling as I gather some moss here and there.... I flow...

Bangalored

Well now Bangalore might soon be a word in the dictionary. Going through the articles in Times... it had an interesting piece of news ( after a long time). Bangaloreans.. we are going to be a part of the English Language.. beware... is that good or bad ?? You decide.. Franky speaking I am not over enthused about the term coined .. but I guess we would not have much say over it ...

Bangalored: function� transitiveverb! Coined by Americans who frown upon outsourcing By Chidanand Rajghatta/TNN Washington: Bangalore may have become only the second modern city in the world to be turned into a verb after �Shanghaied� � a word that broadly means to force � thanks to the outsourcing controversy. An online anti-outsourcing website is marketing a Tshirt with the legend �Don�t Get Bangalored��, a term suggesting losing one�s job to outsourcing. The T-shirts, in two separate designs, are priced at $15.99. The word has already found a place in online discussions. �I am a software developer who is about to be �Bangalored�. Fine. I am not going to pout about it,�� a participant in the forum Technewsworld wrote this week. �The media write that we are in a global economy, so deal with it. Okay, I will.�� If the word sticks around, then it will quite likely make the annual addition to various dictionaries. Though there have been other geographical places that have been turned into words (called toponyms; eg Frankfurter, Marathon, Balkanisation, Finlandised, Detroit), few cities have taken a verb form. Bangalore itself is already associated with a torpedo which was devised by a British army captain in 1912. Bangalore Torpedoes were used to clear barbed wire entanglements in World War II, especially in the D-Day landings, and are in use even today. But Americans are being ribbed even while trying to make a few bucks of the outsourcing controversy. On a separate forum, an Indian named �Harish� joked that $15.99 was too high a price for a T-shirt and suggested the manufacture be outsourced. A separate website of American infotech professionals sells an even pricier T-shirt ($19.99) that reads, �My Job Went To India And All I Got Was A Stupid T-Shirt.�� The T-shirt flap aside, Bangalore has certainly entered the American lexicon. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry recently suggested at a meeting that he wanted American cities to be wired like Bangalore, perhaps not realising that for all its vaunted reputation, the city has dismal connectivity. WHAT MERRIAM-WEBSTER SAYS Shanghai (transitive verb) Inflected Form(s): Shang . haied; Shang . hai . ing Etymology: Shanghai, China; from the former use of this method to secure sailors for voyages to eastern Asia 1 a: to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug b: to put by force or threat of force into or as if into a place of detention 2: to put by trickery into an undesirable position Will �Bangalore� follow suit? Bangalore (transitive verb): outsourced, to have your work done by another

Another piece of news that had me smirking !!! Yeah smirking !!

A transfer in Vadra�s name! By Bhadra Sinha/TNN New Delhi: What was the worst that happened to you when you misspelt something in school? Being thrown out of the classroom? Apparently in India, the tradition can continue after school. Kewal Krishna Chugh, a programme officer with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has been transferred from Delhi to the Thiruvananthapuram office because he spelt a name incorrectly on an invitation card. The name? �Vadra�, as in Priyanka and Robert Vadra, not �Vadhera�, mind you � that�s how he had spelt it. The invitation in question was for the presentation ceremony of the Jawarharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, conferred on the Singapore Prime Minister on June 27. A formal complaint was lodged with the official�s senior. Chugh was served an office memorandum on June 6. He sent a written apology and explanation to his department; all the same, the next day his transfer order arrived. Aggrieved, Chugh approached the Delhi High Court. On Wednesday, Justice Manmohan Sarin stayed the transfer order, saying it was mala fide and arbitrary. In his petition, Chugh says he had been asked to include the couple in the list of invitees only on the afternoon of June 27. Unsure how the couple spelt their last name, he called up 10, Janpath and the MTNL directory service. Both said it was spelt �Vadhera�. Justice Sarin has said: �The need of accuracy in invitations which are sent to dignitaries cannot be underscored. �But should an error for which the petitioner has tendered an explanation, which appears plausible, invite a punitive transfer simply because it concerns those who are in the higher echelons of power?� With his petition, Chugh has also submitted print-outs of websites where the couple�s last name has been spelt �Vadhera�. The court has issued a notice to ICCR and asked them to file a reply on October 14.

It happens only in India.... Have a nice weekend ........

Driving Miss Daisy

Though the title has nothing to do with any of this.. a part of it does... I was reflecting on how I started my being mobile lessons and that had nothing to do with cell phones since only pagers existed and a rare Nokia 1150. I was new to Bangalore and my brother and bhabhi convinced me to learn driving. According to my genius of a brother learning how to drive would help me learn to take the control the steering wheel of life.. LOL and yeah I guess in one way he was right. My bhabhi was great .. gave me her Maruti to drive around.. Now the whole challenge was to learn the controls.. enrolled myself in a driving school and had an instructor coming to pick me up in the morning. At that time in 1996 it was only Maruti, Fiat and Ambassador.. Now one has a great range of choices.. and I remember there was no concept of fifth gear... Me: aprehensively taking the wheels Driver : Ok Amma , try now.. daunt warry you will driive and Aie am there.. you drive no... Me: OK ( having my heart hopelessly bleeping.. where have I got myself into As we are driving through Old Madras Road we were faced with heavy duty traffic.. I am frozen at the wheels watching the big trucks coming at me ( I know exactly how it feels for a deer who stands still even it knows when it is going to be hit) Driver: Go go go Amma... I am there no ... ( I see him pjuggling with two pedals right and left.. up and down and I think to myself " if I have to do this.. I am never going to learn how to drive) As we are driving through Cox Town , Cooke Town... Me: How nice ( I say to myself) .. this is such a nice place.. ( i remark) Driver: ( with an old been there done that expression) yes yes yes Amma .. Drive Me: Oh this is beautiful.. so many trees ( here I am fresh from Shillong.. seeing all the greenery reminded me of home and I could not go gushing) where are we ? Driver: (looking at me strangely) okok madam this is Cox town but we are not here for a tourist trip you drive no... ( pushing the Break and the other thing called Clutch.. Now I was only doing Break and Accelerator..) ok amma push the accelerator strongly.. Me : ( pushing the break as strongly as possible) SCREEECHHHHHHHH the car stop.. but thank God he immediately takes control and carries on and stops at the side... Driver: Aiyyo da Aiyoo Enamma ... ( all that was greek to me then) you doing beautiful beautiful and see you dont listen..see this Break and this Accelerator... Me : ( sheepishly) Yes Sir. And we plough along.. As we are driving round Ulsoor Lake... Me: ( Now I have the hang of Clutch Breaks and Accelerator and Gear. ) Screeech.. i forget everything and just press the break... my heart beating fast... blip blop blip blop.. Driver: What happened what happened ? You should never do that.. why didnt you press the clutch.. Why did you stop ? Me: ( pretty Angry that he was so blind ) Cant you see that puppy crossing the road... how can I go without letting him cross.. Driver: (now quite frustated... ) Amma, you go dog gig no waiting.. no you kill but you go ... you dont wait.. understand... blah blah.. ( i got a long lecture but was I glad that the puppy could cross.. he he) And thus continued my classes. My driver was pretty good actually. Helped me a lot during the test and then I finally got my license. But the wait and the stifled conversations with the inspector and many strategic moves... made it quite tiring but worth the while. After that a continous practice of driving ... and yeah a lot of hits and misses..(including threats from the thella wallas to take to their politician leader.. threats from the public, one broken bulb of bhabhi's car) later, I was a full fledged driver. I still remember one incident in Vasanthnagar when I was bringing back my niece from school. I dont remember but it was something she needed.. so i stopped at a small steep. told my niece to sit inside while I got the stuff. My niece was happily sitting there .. I was about to cross the road when the car started sliding backward. To my horror and then good fortune.. the window was open and I immediately opened the door and pressed the brakes. Would not have hurt much but I would have broken another of the break lights... I can still sketch the expression of bewilderment in my niece's face.. it taught me to always put on the hand brake no matter what in a Maruti when you are on a slope.. and she never lets me forget that to this day.. :) Tall little lady that she has become... Valuable lessons learnt and today I am a much confident driver and I thank my brother and bhabhi for that... Of course I owe them thanks for many other stuff... but this was one of my important milestones in my life.. for which I will always be thankful.... Though now I also owe my learnings.. and believe me I am still learning the finer tips of meandering through the traffic with my Silverline and that credit goes to me hubby who promises me that I shall never drive like a lady drives.. and he also vows to make me a good driver with good skills. Yes without bias, he is one the best drivers I have come across... he will be crossing 100 in the speedometer and you will never realise it and his control over the wheel is something I really envy.. highways, forest, ghats, included.. yeah he sighs and tells me that when I am driving for more that 15 years I too shall become like that ... SIGH 15 years a long long long time ... LOLOL I guess just like swimming all it takes is practice practice and practice... PS: To think that learning how to navigate would be so important.. Back home in Shillong we never needed a car... out of ten houses one would be having a car. And today it has become a way of life.. But given a choice I would always prefer a bike.. no matter what..

Scratches of conversation...

........... as I am working... someone whom i respect a lot comes to me and asks me X : hi what are you doing Me : I am fine *smile* X : So how did you reach home that day Me : Oh I got my vehicle... and also gave a couple of friends a lift .... X : Oh that van of yours.. Me : (with a pained and a DUH expression) .....VAN .. excuse me thats a BOLERO..a jeep... an SUV... (for heaven's sake... this after this person has already seen my Jeep.. GRRRR ... and also drives a vehicle... I can understand if a person is not aware of cars.. but well .. uhhhh.. oh anyways.... whatever...) While driving and giving a few friends a lift..... X : so are you married A : yes I am B : oh you dont look married... Me : Silent Smirk ... Hit is on ..... X : Oh you know Marraige.. I tell you... you should never marry a convent girl.. A : Uh why ? B : (Curious expression) X : Convent girls demand too much, aiyyo .. car, work, etc etc .. you should never marry one. You will be in trouble, I say. Me : Dying to give him a whack !! ( and he did not know to his great fortune that he was being driven and taken home by a convent girl navigating through all the roads which were really bad... HUH.. so much for an opinion...talk about prejudices...) A : GRRRRR !! After sometime.... X : Oh you know I feel it is really difficult for a working woman to manage home A : ( Sympathetically and glad that the topic has changed to much clamer waters) yes it is ... B : another curious expression wondering where the conversation is leading to... Me : Praying for their destination to come faster... before I blurted out any statement that would start a fight.. X : who cooks when you are working A : oh my husband helps me out and we do it together and sometimes he cooks ... sometimes I do... when either of us reach early... Me : Hmmm yeah same here X : Oh my God !! I would never dream of doing that.. you know my wife is working and I have a kid.. I cant take it.. you know.. her coming late and who will look after the kid.. I want her to quit job you know... aiiyoo it is too much... Girls should not work.. blah blah blah... and more blah.... and all because I dont want to help her you know... why should I ? I am not like the husbands who want to help wives.. what is that ? maybe because of that I feel like that no. Enna Sir ?? ( AH HA you said it...) A : Dumbfounded B : Getting the drift wisely keeping silent.... Me : Praying for divine intervention clutching my steering wheels and concentrating on letting them down at the nearest possible stop. Stopped the car but the blah blah went on .. till I very sweetly that I have to go a different way and they needed to get down.. and it was nice to know them ( GNASSHHHHH... GRRR...) And I rush off before I could get any more disgusted... put on some Jazz to calm my frayed nerves.. and carry on .... A : Still dumbfounded.. and regretting she ever opened her mouth... but royally pissed End of a hectic day made more hectic by prejudiced observation which can make even a non femininist's skin crawl.. and believe me I am a moderate feminist.. nothing great and I usually dont believe in the burning the bra lot but this conversation makes me realise that we sometimes need extreme gender lessons or stay rooted to that place where they were taught the such basic lessons of life... Huh now that is out of me.. I can relax... LOLOL Finally finally finally .. I removed the Google ad tag... from my template... Yeaaaaaaa !! Thanks to Gautam's and Ishtiaque's help.... Been trying to remove the ad for sometime with no clue as to how to go about it ... SIGH !!!

A time of no cable land

Just when you thought that you are leading a normal life something has to jinx it.. and this time it was the Cable Strike.. which not only affected the the Cable Network ( that was the least of my problems) it also affected the internet access.. Thanks to the BESCOM officials who went out on a cutting spree without even thinking whether the cable was the phone cable or the Internet Cable. Result : A day or two without the net and I realised how much my work was affected without it... my creativity also slowed down.. LOL.. not that I am a computer freak though my livelihood depends on it.. I would much prefer to burrow my nose in a book or get lost in the world of music and sound... still given the fact that the information which is available through the net is fast and easy... I guess it makes a lot of a difference... It is a sad incident that precipitated the whole thing.. the death of a young kid when he tripped on a Cable which was hanging on to the electric wire... may his soul rest in peace...

Alternative living in Bangalore Due to the cable strike, after cribbing and complaining, the Bangalore public decided to take to the roads... families, friends, neighborhoods.. as one drove by MG Road or Residency Road after midnight too, the road was blocked with traffic and people walking and playing ... which is a fun thing I guess.. And see what we are missing when we are glued to the idiot box. Lots of healthy fun... Kids started to play which has almost become a forgotten pastime due to the advent of video games and TV programmes... Tragedy galore.. Here Bangalore was coming to terms with life without the idiot box... and there were children in Kumbakoam, Tamil Nadu, being burnt to death.. just because their teacher told them not to leave the places.. what shoudl be the limit of obedience and why did the adults not think that fire of any kind is dangerous and fatal ? Why ? The answer to this may never be sought since what we think and how the event actually unfolds are two different things... when I saw the burnt tiffin boxes in the paper and in the TV, I could only imagine the peril and the pain of the kids who were charred to death... an unfortunate incident which could have been avoided.. but then I guess it was not foreseen... May their souls rest in peace... Personal Alternative And what was I doing while the others took to the streets.. well i was watching some good movies and reading some nice books and catching on my beauty sleep.. Basic stuff I guess but matters a lot when you get the time to do it once in a while.. and of course driving around town.. doing a bit of offroading which was a challenge but could face it without hassle.. Had been to Eagle Ridge for some company function and drove down there with my hunky Silverline and WHOA mama, the roads where a driver's nightmare but I guess Silverline's dream.. it plonked and swerved but was steady on the wheels and took me to my destination without a squeal... yeah baby this is what I call driving... and I am definitely getting my confidence back on Bangalore roads... Eagle Ridge is a nice place I guess but the food sucks.. so avoid it if you want to have a good lunch but its definitely the place to have a corporate day out.. with lots of games and activities thrown in.. you could also do horse riding, play volleyball, basketball, create a disc of your own... and party hard... Connected with long lost friends and it feels good to get in touch with old friends... real good. Wanted to join Mahindra's Great Escape Event... which is happening this weekend... in Goa but unfortunately Rocks has a conference so we will not be able to make it.. Boo hoo... but plan to join it definitely next year... yeaaaa... Click here to view info about last Great Escape Event .. this was awesome... Watched Jimmy Neutron Animation movie, Deewar ( the new one), Lakhsya, Shrek 2. Jimmy Neutron is total animation fun.. and if you like animation movies, you could watch them... its never ending fun with lots of humor thrown in .. Deewar the new movie starring Amitabh B, Akhsay Khanna, Amrita Rao, Tanuja, Sanjay Dutt etc etc ... was an OK movie.. good for timepass but a little nervy... I guess you should be able to handle it if you like Hindi movies... Less songs.. more script and well good storyline but again weak continuation of the story... Lakshya a nice movie as a whole and well the theme was a repeat of Behind Enemy Lines where there is only one hero which is a little difficult to digest when it comes to war stories... But I liked Preity Zinta and the relationship between her and Hrithik... She tried to do a La Barka Dutt which I guess came out well but the story could have elaborated on her character... Personally its a sham of a war story after watching LOC and well I guess its a movie for a movie's sake.. you could give it a try. Amitabh does not have much of a presence.. In fact all the characters coudl have been developed more.. the cinematography was good and I guess you can just see it one time and forget about it... Shrek 2 ... a lovely movie.. a total fun timepass.. again if you like animation this rocks and it is a good as the first part... and you could have a good laugh over the charcters and the way the story has been wounded confusing all the fairy tales together.... Blogger has come up with a cool editor now... just like Blogdrive... easy on the keyboard I must say ... Well thats it I guess for now.. and this is another week... Click here to read about our Kemmanagundi Trip on the Royal Enfield Website.. next on line... Andhra Pradesh.. yipeeee... Highways... here we come... Met Jottingz today and it was charming to talk to her.. am i glad that I started blogging.. have been introduced to such nice people...

Something new something old

Finally got another template.. I have yet to fix a couple of stuff but its working as of now... yeaaaa.. I have started a new album which will have pictures clicked by me on my travels.. maybe like looking at the lesser explored India through my lenses... Yipeee... Its midweek already.. and I have shifted places in this company for 6 times.. I think its written on my face that instability is my middle name... Sheesh I sorely need a shot of Vodka.. the weather and the mood demands it.. but i have to contend with just thinking about it really strongly.. hehehe !!! SMIRK.. Suddenly I am reminded of this song for no reason.. The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin.. This is the springtime of my loving - the second season I am to know You are the sunlight in my growing - so little warmth I've felt before. It isn't hard to feel me glowing - I watched the fire that grew so low. It is the summer of my smiles - flee from me Keepers of the Gloom. Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune. Ain't so hard to recognize - These things are clear to all from time to time. Talk Talk - I've felt the coldness of my winter I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us... But I know that I love you so These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall This is the wonder of devotion - I see the torch we all must hold. This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall.

Monday Appetisers.

A misty morning.. thus making me feel like Garfield today.. and just when I was going to burow my face in the pillow back to the la la Land... I heard this beautiful song which Frank Sintara was crooning... oh that made my day... Angel Eyes Hey drink up all you people Order anything you see And have fun you happy people The laugh and the drinks on me Try to think that love�s not around Still it�s uncomfortably near My poor old heart ain�t gaining any ground Because my angel eyes ain�t here Angel eyes, that old devil sent They glow unbearably bright Need I say that my love�s mispent Mispent with angel eyes tonight So drink up all of you people Order anything you see And have fun you happy people The drink and the laughs on me Pardon me but I got to run The fact�s uncommonly clear I got to find who�s now the number one And why my angel eyes ain�t here Excuse me while I disappear Sometimes I miss having a pet so much.. Had friends coming over for lunch with their pet Berli.. who is a 3 month old labrador.. We had a lovely time.. with the puppy running all around the house.. lots of beer and meat flowing around.. and great company too... sometimes weekends are made for this.. just chilling out ... hmmm or is it the age ... LOLOL...ahh the joys of unbridled life.. just scampering from here and there secure in the knowledge that you are taken care of and loved... not a worry here.. not a worry there.. Works for a dog I guess.. but would be boring for the homo sapiens... Afer French .. Its Tai Chi... have planned to take my spiritual explorations further by opting for Tai Chi... Hatha Yoga never worked for me .. so thought to complement my inner work with this.. and here begins a week with lot of hope and rains... LOLOL F1 thoughts Schumacher wins the race at Silverstone again but kudos to Kimi Raikkonen who made it with sheer guts.. thank god for his new car which ran fantastically. Barrichello tried his best to outwit Kimi but I guess this time Kimi was not giving up.. was real glad for him.. Trulli had a bad scrap which made my heart stop for a moment but he was very lucky to come out of that. Sato also made the same mistake but got out ok. Trulli's Renault was smashed up with his tyres flying all over and the car circling round and round... GAWK !! Goes to show how much FI has improved when it comes to safety. Compared to the crashes which took so many great lives.. on the track.. the effort to play safe at all times.. have made race watching more comfortable and enjoyable. Was rooting for Montoya and Jenson Button too.. Button has created a record of scoring the highest points without winning a Grand Prix. Good for him.. Pet Peeve of the week / perhaps the whole year Those breaks on the motorbikes which make music.. this is the new implementation which has added to the already enough noise pollution that we have to bear... just when you thought that you were getting used to the traffic there is this strange wanderer in their Splendours and KBs making funny music when they break.. startling the life out of me.. In addition to the mobile ringtones you hear on the road.. you have to contend with singing breaks.. beat that.. and heres to innovation at his noisy best !!! You will never know where to look your pockets or at your neighbor.. LOL.. And I thought that the public would be satisfied with fixing blue break lights... along with the default red ones...

Rains and more rains..

Raindrops are falling on my head I'm just like a guy whose feet are too big for his bed Nothin� seems to fit Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling So I just did me some talking to the sun And I said I didn�t like the way he got things done Sleeping on the job Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling But there�s one thi-i-ing I know The blues they send to meet me won�t defeat me It won�t be long till happiness steps up to gree-ee-eet me 'Cau-au-ause raindrops keep falling on my head Hahh, but that doesn�t mean my eyes will soon be turning red Cryin�s not for me �Cause I�m never gonna stop the rain by complaining Because I�m free-ee-ee-ee-ee Nothings worrying me-ee-ee Raindrops keep falling on my head Hahh, but that doesn�t mean my eyes will soon be turning red Cryin�s not for me �Cause I�m never gonna stop the rain by complaining Because I�m free-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee Nothin�s worrying me-ee-ee Just musing.... ruminating.. Yesterday Banglore experienced another bout of heavy shower and though it was pleasant to be inside the office waiting to be picked up by R, I was thinking of different times when I was stuck in between showers. Rains in Shillong.. the land where we had the highest rainfall record not so long back Rains would belt down from all directions making walking in the rain fun.. getting drenched in the rain would be a fun activity and there were hardly any puddles .. and whatever was there was clean so you could splash around as much as you wanted without getting really dirty.. after the rains the whole mountain would be as if someone had literally washed each leaf for a big Sunday party.. AHHHH the feel of a hot tea after getting deliberately soaked in the rain and cozying up with a good book watching the pine trees swinging crack by crack shaking the water off the leaves... yes a beauty only nature can provide... Rains in Kerela Recently experienced one of the common coastal showers in Kannur and it poured big drops for three hours but after that the whole town was back to normal.. no water logging anywhere.. and no one would believe that just a few seconds back.. it would hurt to just go out in the rain... Sheesh.. Watched as it rained in the sea.. and i guess I could somehow relate to the words "Swelled with Pride" watching the sea swell up to its glory... it was a thrilling experience.. Rains in Mumbai Got caught in a bad shower in Juhu... was not a great experience... except that I was afraid that we would not be able to make it to the train.. and the taxi driver.. who was driving with one hand while his other hand worked as a wiper.. he gave up after sometime and we reached the station.. with my heart beating since I had experienced the sea just beating down on the road like nobody's business and I did not find anything beautiful in that.. guess the sea was really angry that day !!! :) Rains in Assam Wading through muddy water and fields.. wading is the key word.. Knee deep water is common but everyone takes it in their stride... its fun... in a different way.. the earth soaks in all the water after sometime.. and well I usually avoided venturing out during times as this.. It was fun but definitely not clean... :) Rains in Wayanad Forest Oh this was the most beautiful experience I had.. We were waiting to fix one of the bikes in the forest and we were lashed with big droplets of rains from nowhere..when the rain announced its arrival through the woods.. I thought that it was a woodpecker pecking wood.. :).. and in seconds we were drenched.. I was dancing in the rain.. it was strong but pleasant.. I cannot explain riding in the rain.. with the deep forest sheltering you and blooming in the shower.. Rains in Karnataka Just experienced monsoon in Karnataka on the way to Kemmangundi.. its like nature is playing hide and seek with you.. a rain cloud here and a rain cloud there.. some shower here and some shower there and dry in betweem giving you the chance to dry yourself.. and a nice breeze blowing to take the wetness away.. a kiss of rain I must say.. Rains in Bangalore Bangalore was really pleasant at one time not so many years back with the population still being small and the drainage system being ok.. now.. during the rains we have people dying... by fluke.. roads beng flooded .. mini rivers flowing through the lanes making it impossible for bikes or cars to ply on these roads... and imagine we have strong rains just once or twice in a year but causes so many casualities.. have we forgotten to strive for the balance with nature... which is necessary to co exist... Rains give me a shudder now but I wish I could go back to those days when I could enjoy the oncoming of rains.. and the monsoon... without worrying about what it havoc it would cause just because of the negligence of the concerned people... SIGH... I guess its time to respect nature and the limits that a city can provide for the population.. Updated my photo blog with my travel pics... CLICK HERE to view it :)

Music in my ears

Yesterday went and got ourselves a Worldspace Radio.. Fundo music and fundo channels.. Anybody who likes music...must try this ... Radio gaga is on... baby !!! It rocks... Tried Mainland China yesterday !! Was good !!! Had heard about the Authentic Chinese Food but well its Indianised no doubt but service and food and the ambience was great... Had some snacks in KC Das... well I must tell you that this place has renovated surely but the quality of food has gone down. I guess the sweets are OK but the Samosas and the Kachoris are not what they were some time back.. Off with the good old days and in with the new hep but mechanical days... Today morning I dont know what I was thinking.. I got out of the Auto and left my tiffin box in it ... BOO HOOOO am feeling so bad.. I am having a losing spree... I lost my pyara sa sun glasses and now my pyara sa tiffin bag... BAWLLLLLLLLLL WAAAHHH But heck what is gone is gone... tomorrow is another day... My world is in a tizzy !!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!! some lost some gained and life goes on !!!!