If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater... suggest that he wear a tail. ~Fran Lebowitz

When rumours increase, and when there is an abundance of noise and clamour, believe the second report.

Damn !! yeah yeah alright i was completing the maths problem !!

Woh Kya Hain ?

I was invited to attend a "training session" in one of the 5 star hotels and I was looking forward to it , since I had never been to this hotel before. I zoom in to the entrance to be stopped by a security guard, who frisks me, this was when I was still on my bike. Asks me to open the dikki, yep the dikki,I look back and say what dikki ? this is a 2 wheeler. He is caught off guard so he looks at the fat petrol tank and says" Woh Kya Hain ? " I am flabbergasted .. I look around and say " petrol tank " ( A pulsar does have a BIG petrol tank). He keeps looking at it and I was not going to open it for him !! NO way. His attention is diverted to a Benz that comes in and he rushes off.. I breeze through to the basement. YAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPA

Coming soon ;)

Tales from Bhagya Nagaram :) also known as The City of Nizams and The City of Pearls.......

Atlast ..

Here's wishing KK and Dee many happy returns of the day ~~ Girls,now that you are 18 after being 17 for 23 years, how does it feel ?

Overheard ..

My Granny used to say ""I don't vote - it only encourages them."

Johnny was grounded for fighting at school and can't go to the movies for two weeks.

"Go to your room , you are grounded !! " an irritated George told his son Charlie. What exactly did that mean ? Being Grounded meant that it was a reduction in privileges. It meant that you couldn’t watch TV, no access to your PC or your PLAYSTATION 3, no parties, no telephone,no going out of the house except for school or it could also mean that you are securely fastened to some deeply held, basic commitments that give shape and focus to all that you do as a salesperson.Ahem..I'll go with no TV. I've never been grounded, wait a minute I was once electrocuted so to connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit can also be "grounded" right ?? Well if I were to be grounded in the early 80's, when Doordarshan was launched and cartoons were in Black and white, I would not have been sent to my room, because I didn’t have my own room :)and the only other room was the sitting room, where we had to keep our Vespa Scooter at night. Oh Yeah! i used to sit on it and my mom used to feed me dinner ;) NO TV : Well we had just one TV with 1 channel with 2 hours of transmission from 7 to 9pm ( snooze time for me) NO PC : Yeah rite NO Parties : Ahem ..Not even the Congress party ? NO going out of the house except for school: Duh!the best part was always going to school. Thank God, they didn't say no meeting Julie :)

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land." G. K. Chesterton

A couple of weeks ago I read a line which said "All of life is a journey ,which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.” and our little journey to the sleepy coffee estate of Bainehare ,some 25kms from Sakaleshpur, started with a FWD. Yep a mail fwd showing awesome mountains, misty huts and a lot of trekking ( Thanks Anantha). It was more about a homestay.(,a homestay means that the traveler lives with a family for at least part of his or her trip). Travelers usually have a desire to experience the "real" culture and this is usually accomplished through a homestay. We decided to travel on the 3rd weekend of August and started planning for it. First step choose the place. Since all the others were booked we had to go with Bainehare http://www.malenaduhomestay.com/mhs/homestay_binahere.htm . We called the travel agent luckily it turned out that he stayed close to Malleswaram and he promptly came over to pick up the advance of Rs1750. He confirmed that this was for a 2 day and 1 night trip with authentic home cooked food. He also added that "they" would provide a guide and take us out sight seeing. We decided not to go with the Non Veg package which was Rs 500 extra :) a wise choice I might add. We booked the to and fro train tickets and were all set to travel on Friday night. Then it rained and rained and rained and the train was canceled :). Landslides in the GHAT section. We had to run from one KSRTC counter to another to book bus tickets but alas since it was a long weekend and more-so because the network was down,we had a horrid time. But I used my connections (AIRTEL) and managed to get 2 tickets on a VOLVO departing from Bangalore at 11.15pm. We didn’t bother about the return journey :). ( psst we couldn’t get any ). I contacted this dude , Anand who supposedly owned the coffee estate and who was supposed to be our point of Contact at the homestay. I told him that we would be arriving at Hassan at around 3am in the morning . The call got disconnected and he called back and apologized for the bad connection. It seems the network in his area was so screwed up that he was currently sitting on a tree.. I asked him if he could make arrangements to pick us up. For which he replied that it was going to be difficult since the elephants would be roaming around at that time of night. I looked at my phone, did I hear it right ? Did he just say elephants? "Gulp". and wait a minute, did he say he was sitting on a tree ?? ( I told this to my wife and she smiled, but didn’t make any comment ( RED FLAG).He assured me that by the time we arrived he would make some arrangements .Uff with that settled we were all set to enjoy the vacation. The Volvo bus was delayed by 45 minutes ( thanks to our Friday night traffic) and since the bus was half empty, we got to sit in the front seats. On this short journey I learnt that the VOLVO bus can do a max of 120kms, the daily collection is Rs 40,000 and the driver gets 2% on the ticket collection. There are always 2 drivers and the brakes are adjustable. But the best part was its mileage. 2.8kms. Yep hardly 3kms /Litre. We got off at 3.15 am and I called Anand , well actually I woke him up ;) and informed him about us being at Hassan. Firstly he thought I was someone else and then he told me about the elephants “GULP” and how they would be crossing the roads (I still wonder why they would be crossing roads, only the chicken crosses the road). I was furious. Here we were stranded in some smelly bus-stop, where every other dude had a blanky on his head and he was talking about elephants.GRR. He then said he’ll do something about it. (That was his stock line ). At 4 am , I get a call from some dude who claimed that he would be picking us up in 10 minutes and that he was referred by Mr Kishore. I was happy that we got a cab and told him where he could find us. ( I never bothered to ask who Mr Kishore was) . It was 4.45am before we were picked up and the cab turned out to be a rusty old Maruthi Omni van running on “GAS”. He told us that the road was pretty bad and that the distance was about 45 kms. We sort of fell asleep but the bumpy ride gave us nightmares. My wife thought she saw dark figures peeking through the windows and I laughed when she said she saw 2 kids standing in the middle of the road in full school uniform. I mean its 5 am and who in their right minds.. ( well it was true, I saw them too) . Then the cabbie lost his way and in the gloomy morning he stopped a lady who was standing by the road and asked her directions.She was so weird. The road was pathetic and since its always raining it was muddy and full of slush. At last we arrived to be welcomed by a couple , who introduced themselves as Mr Anand and Mrs Sumanth. ( STOP) It was at this juncture that we realized the we had relied on unknown people to pick us up at 4am,people who we had never met. Imagine the possibilities ( shudders). I never found out who the mysterious Mr Kishore was or who had asked the cabbie to pick us up. (Makes the sign of the Cross) We were shown our rooms and we sort of liked it. After a refreshing hot bath we slept for a couple of hours. At 11am we had our breakfast and Mr Anand told us that we would have to join another group of people for the sightseeing trip, in a TT. The first stop which turned out to be our only stop was what was called the BEAUTY SPOT. We reached the spot at 4pm. All we could see was mist everywhere and the distant roar of water. And then it happened. The mist cleared and we were stunned by the view. Hills ,valleys and waterfalls everywhere. Everyone was silent since they couldn’t find words to express their feelings. I was grinning from ear to ear. The journey was worth it. On the trip back we realized that Mr Anand forgot to feed us . So we stopped at one of the shops and bought some cookies and chips. It kept us going, for the time being. But every time my wifey pointed out awesome “huts” and breathtaking scenery , I couldn’t respond ,all I could see was chickens on the road and the tasty leg……..slurrrrrrrrp. I was hungry. Period. My wifey says that I was looking at her fingers hungrily, I deny it. Well the thought did cross my mind, especially since she was eating those masala lays, masala fingers..crunchy munchy. So we reach the “house” at 7 pm and had to wait till 9pm for our dinner. We wolfed down the home cooked meal and were grinning like little kids. Ofcourse I kept looking at Mr Anand who was ferrying chicken for the “Non-Veggies”. I silently cursed myself for opting for the Veggie package. But I got over the urge to chew chicken legs , uff thankfully , that was close. The next day we were up early and sort of tried looking for the “tree” from which Mr Anand made his calls ;) and ofcourse we were excited about trekking and checking out Tipu’s Fort. Mr Anand had other plans. When approached he acted surprised Trek ?Trek ? You want to go trekking? Well we sure wanted to…He was lost in thought and then said something which was ahem..too much .” I thought you guys were going back to Bangalore”. Yes Mr Anand But not after we’ve seen all the places that you and your website boasted about.. He was taken aback and then delivered his stock line ‘ Let me do something about it “. 2 hours later I demanded that he really do something and show us some places. He quickly said “Have you seen the terrace ? “ , I gave him my “ You_think_I’m_a_dodo” look and said, “ Yes we saw your TERRACE”. He was very disappointed; I almost decided to go check out the terrace again. He then called his “associates” and asked them to take us on a boat ride. Aaaha Boaty ridey..atlast some action. It was a nice walk through the coffee estate , we even saw elephant dung ;) and then they stole the boat and took us for a ride. The water level was way to high thanks to the rains.Awesome lake. We came back at 11.30 am to find that we were indeed off on a trek to Parwathammana Betta. It was a good trek and I clicked a few awesome pics. The view from the top of the hill was magnificent. We were back at the homestay at 4, where we had our late lunch. Yep they usually have their lunches late in the evening ( grr) . We were fortunate that the other group were also off to Bangalore and agreed to drop us off. We were all packed at 7 and it was pitch black.It was at this juncture that Mr Anand made his last mistake,he handed me the feedback book. I wrote just a couple of pages of what I came to the homestay to experience and see and what I really saw. Food was on top of the agenda and ofcourse the sighseeing trips were in the second line.Later I caught him reading my review with a weird expression. I bet it didn’t make any sense to him. I gave him the rest of the fees and bid him farewell. He came over to the driver of the TT and said “ If you see any elephants crossing the road, switch off the engine and don’t do anything.” Oh we were thinking of doing the Tribal dance of the ChewChewaaka Tribe ..yappppppppa.. anyway I was all set with my camera for my first encounter with the pachyderms but alas it was not to be. We reached home safe and are looking forward to our next adventure ;)

Keep your head up and don't let anything get to you.

"Thus we play the fool with the time and the spirits of the wise sit in the clouds and mock us.”

"Twinkle, twinkle little bat How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky” ~ Lewis Carroll

I think someone read one of my reviews ( Gosh was it really in the year 2005) and have taken it seriously :) .3 years later, Batman is back and suprisingly for someone who keeps track of all the big films,I did not even know that the film "The Dark Knight" had released :( grrr. I saw it yesterday and I missed the first 10 minutes of the film ( a mixup I booked the tickets twice and had to run to sell the "extra" tickets in black and blue ) . Ahem ahem I am going again to catch the missing 10 minutes. Verdict : I loved it.My wifey enjoyed it so much that she wants to watch the first part "BATMAN BEGINS" I have given her sufficient warnings :) but alas ... I used to collect the DC comics when i was ..ahem .. I sort of miss them ..anyway back to the film. I won't give out much but will ask you folks to go have a blast and watch out for the Background score too good and yeah some of the stuff is copied from " There shall be blood". Did you know that apart from Dark Knight there were 5 other Batty movies ? Batman,Batman Returns,Batman Forever,Batman and Robin and ofcourse Batman Begins. Something which i liked and explains more about why the joker was doing what he was doing :) Bruce Wayne: I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight. But this is different. They crossed the line.

Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You hammered them. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand. Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeee I AM BACK !!

A few of those ....haiiiiiiiii ones

I like this one.. its a school and psst you can see the "restroom" and just imagine.. " Miss Miss...I have to go to the toilet" uhahahaaaaaaaaaaaahaa ofcourse you have to show the pinky finger...

When i was bowled ....not by the Mountains but by a lil monk :)

On our way back we spied a bunch of lil monks playing cricket,ahem if peeping through the windows can be called spied,and as you know i am impulsive and so I jumped off,approached the kiddo's , and they smile and give me a chance to bat. So there I was rolling up my sweaters, and I swear I could hear the lil wicket keeper chanting "Om Mani Padme Hum" and his friend bowls and I heave...ahem and the result is down below :)  Mrs Vc was quick as a flash and she clicked it.. talk about timing...

I loved the backdrop...sigh*

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.

It still hasn't sunk in that i am married ! Gulp...and she keeps pinching me to remind me that i am :)

So much to write and describe , where do i start ???????????????

:) and i spill the peanuts all over the floor...

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building,write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations,analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein

 I think he missed out on cleaning the dishes, taking out the garbage, cooking that perfect meal,smiling to yourself when you are in a crowd thinking of that special someone, shopping for sarees and going “ I didn’t know that color even existed “ ,writing that perfect line, trying to hold onto 4 packages and talk on the phone concurrently..the list goes on…. 

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale. 

Want to hear the rest of the story?

Come and meet the Prince and the Princess …ok ok .it must be the magic mushrooms that I ate yesterday. 

I am marrying Mythili

on the 7th of May and of course I’ll be singing

Oh - once in your life you find someone

Who will turn your world around

Bring you up when you're feelin' down ;) 

And so I graciously invite you and your family to be a part of my wedding and shower us with blessings.

 

"To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." Mark Twain

Yep I found her ;) 

"If only God would give me a clear sign. Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank!" - Woody Allen.

I’m trying to put on some weight and so its bye bye brrom brrrrrom and back to the bus. Its been 3 months since I stopped using the bus and the driver was so happy and everyone had just one question “ Hello !! Bus pass idiya ? “ ;)

 

The first 2 days I just slept like a rock, and 60 minutes of blissful sleep really keeps me going for the rest of the day. So on the 3^rd day, I sit next to the driver and decide to have a chat with him. He’s a nice bloke and he drives a bit rash( like all BMTC drivers) but dil ka bahut kamal ka aadmi hain. We talked about politics, roads, development, Non veg, Brahmins, the monsoons , accidents, one of the other drivers, the boring passengers , the Volvo buses , the Metro and its impact on BMTC drivers. I found that he had a good sense of humor and was plain and simple. He even told me anecdotes of how he went to get his DL in a lungi :) and how he drove for 3 continuous days so that he could earn Rs 2000 extra. I liked his tag line “ You have to work until you have the strength to do so.

He even told me that he has some 100 acres of land in Shimoga.. Amidst a conversation he asked me if I was a brahmin, when I shook my head to indicate no, he said that I looked like one ..I gave him a grin ;)

Well he then went on to say how Brahmin folks were not cut out to be drivers. That was interesting. All this time I was laughing and joking and I turn and look at the fellow passengers , uff half of them were sleeping and the other half gave me a look which could have melted ice cubes…..people!

If there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor, a cat will find it and soak it up. ~J.A. McIntosh

I've been busy and will be for sometime this summer. ;) Something is cooking and it ain't baigan ka bartha !! “Good painting is like good cooking: it can be tasted, but not explained” :)

I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug ten people at a time. ~Drew Barrymore

What are you upto ?

I’m at the TownHall with my mom.My sister Nimmy is giving a Bharathanatyam performance.

Wow I didn’t know your lil sis danced …and how come I was not invited?

Because you are not family. Period.

17 minutes later

Now that was one awesome performance. And did you notice that she was oblivious of the fact that the audience even existed.

WHAT ? How did you ? Where are you ?

:) and is that your mom ? She resembles you…I mean you resemble her ;)

Stop scaring me , where are you ?

Hiding in the shadows , being your guardian angel :)

But how did you ….

28 minutes later

So is your sister ……..

DON”T

Battery down … take care ma

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh I’ll kill you.

Feb...

Thank God it’s the last day of February. Somehow I knew something “normal” would happen this month ;) Some of the little things that I did this month were : Attended Raghavendra’s Marriage: He’s a good friend of mine and I’ve known him since my 8th standard. He had a hotel and he used to get these amazing madhur vada’s yummmmmmmy and No that was not the only reason I was friends with him, he was good in mathematics ;). He was the one who had temporary amnesia and we still make up stories on what exactly happened on that day in 1993. The marriage was held in a small town near Udupi and it was such a simple marriage sigh*.We had fun singing songs and winking at pretty young ladies ( alrite alrite i didn’t wink). The highlight was visiting Raghavendra’s ancestral home.Gosh that was something to remember and they even had their own private beach and temple…someday…. Backpacking in Black :. Went to Shabrimala and Guruvayur. I’m not religious but the cab driver Krishna, made me pray, grrr,everytime he overtook a lorry. I did feel something when I was standing next to the temple ..something weird…naah must have been dizzy with all those Lemon Soda’s that I drank while making that treacherous 4 mile walk up the mountain. Some little things that caught my eye… There are no roadhumps/speedbreakers in Kerala. There are no tender coconuts in Kerala There are more churches than temples+mosques Everyone gets a decent education because of the Christian missionaries They don’t have milk in tea shops They wear a lot of gold chains Their kids are so cute and fair……but Kerala is hot and humid ..then HOW ??? Mysore Wedding: Sajjan,one of the most talked about persons on my blog tied the knot and willingly fell into the bottomless pit. The bus journey from Bangalore to Mysore was so weird… I mean it’s the Bharaaath right, the groom’s party and we should have naach gaaana ..and disco and horses and elephants and Jasmine flowers,Chicken tikka and a bottle of rum,, Aishwarya Rai dancing to the tune of Kajraaare…ahem ..but NO, we were singing rhymes Mary had a little Lamb, London bridge is falling down and Chubby cheeks ..sigh* Why ? because the 3 little kids in the bus didn’t want to sing anything else !! duh !! and I did sing along..;) I did take some nice pics of the couple and of the mantap..will publish it soon.Oh while coming back I saw the film Saajan ;) and the songs are still WOW .. Jeeyen to jeeyen kaise bin aapkeJeeyen to jeeyen kaise bin aapkeLagta nahin dil kahin bin aapkeJeeyen to jeeyen kaise bin aapkeJeeyen to jeeyen kaise bin aapke Kaise kahoon bina tere zindagi ye kya hogiKaise kahoon bina tere zindagi ye kya hogiJaise koi saza koi badd-dua hogiJaise koi saza koi badd-dua hogiMaine kiya hai ye faislaJeena nahin hai tere bina Memories and lollypop’s : I hope to have made someone out there a wee bit happy by presenting them with a mango :) I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. ~John Ruskin

Another trip ...

Run Dude Run ...

This was a nice shot of the villager.. I was walking along and i whipped my cam and paaaaaaachak ...the roads are made of cement...sigh*

I can't control the commas :)

The past few days, ok a few weeks I've been working late nights and as someone rightly pointed out I'm starting to show my age :( Last weekend I spent an hour playing with a lil girl who was fascinated by my big nose :), yes Anand's daughter thought I was Pinocchio. He did make a comment which took me off guard, “Hey you've sort of changed over the past few months. You are no longer the loos Vc I once knew". That really shook me, but then I blamed it on the “watermelon juice" :). My mom is worried that I have black circles under my eyes and that I've hardly been getting 5 hours of sleep. I was joking with a colleague " If I leave my house on the 7th, I end up going back only on the 8th and it looks like I'm working for a Call Centre :) " The worst part is the dialogues that my mom throws at me when she opens the door at 1 am." Yawn, wait for a couple of hours and I'll prepare breakfast" or that " Why do you even bother coming home ?Take your pillow, toothbrush and teddy bear and sleep in your cubicle" . But it does have its own perks...roads with no traffic signals just dogs chasing you around, erratic cab drivers who play catch me if you can, and ofcourse the great songs on the radio and the stars :) . It's been a couple of weeks since I slept in my bedroom , that's because once I go home and have dinner in the wee hours of the morning, I sort of feel fresh and turn on the TV and after 9 days I have successfully seen " I am Legend" and " The Golden Compass" before falling asleep clutching the remote. I still have 12 movies to watch :) Yesterday was another tiring day. I was hoping that there would not be any traffic snarls , yes my friend, Bangalore has traffic jams at midnight. I was afraid that if I sort of stopped for a few seconds I would doze off. So I whizzed past all the roads to find myself caught in front of the Railway Gate. GRRR..i couldn’t take it anymore and so I parked my bike and started jogging, well it was sort of a jungle dance ..without the drums and the girls....it was a weird sight, but that's me :) I think Feb is going to be one loooooooooooong month with little or no sleep :(

"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it." -- Charles Dudley Warner

All of a sudden , my parents decided to visit my aunt, who resides in Kukke Subramanya , a small village in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, some 100 odd kms from Mangalore. My mom wanted to go on Friday and I tagged along. Getting bus tickets was a nightmare. I was thrilled that we got seats right next to the driver, 1 2 and 3. I love to look at the curves ( for the decent people out there , I mean the roads). So there I found myself , as the coolie , ( someone once said that men are born for just 2 things, the first ofcourse is to be the “Coolie” and the second is to “take all the blame”) waiting for the 10.10pm SPECIAL bus and my eyes popped out when I found that the BUS had just 1 door, the back door and ahem ahem we had to pass 50 other seats to find our 1, 2 and 3 comfy seats ,right next to the engine bonnet ( it’s that thing right next to the gear box). Mom and Dad occupied 1 and 2 and I got the number 3 seat. Since the dude who booked 4 didn’t make it, a 10 year old kid was given that seat. His father came every 20 mintues to check on him and to pamper him with chips, chokis , mineral water and a shawl. Aaaaaaah to be 10 again and NO I did not ask for chokis, I had my gum, oh rats!! I didn’t give him any. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the gear box/handle, it was missing a knob (which is used for grip) and when the driver started the bus and used both his hands to put the bus in first gear, I started praying.I won’t even describe the sounds that the engine made, the rumor was that , the bus was supposed to be scraped but due to the sudden rush to Kukke ( some special pooja), they decided that it was fit for one more trip. The conductor was a young chap who jumped on the bonnet and started talking to the driver. I later realized that he was trying to keep the driver awake.I had the most interesting journey, especially when the lil kid used my shoulder as a pillow, he thought I was some sort of teddy bear !! grr.. and the newly wedded couple aaaaha, they were acting like..a a..a.. newly wedded couples ? Well the lil kid did share his popcorn with me ;) and the best part was the conductor,yappppppa he used the bonnet as his personal bed, yep he had his own bedsheet !! I counted 8 different postures. The journey took a twist , when the conductor and driver started looking at “boards” and trying to find the right road to Kukke. Gulp!! and then the driver smiles and said “ This is the first time I am driving on this route, my regular route is Majestic to Banerghatta road “ . He even pointed out rabbits and peacocks on the way, not to mention scary stories that he had heard about Elephants blocking the road. After one of the coffee breaks , he told us that the other bus which was following us had met with an accident and unfortunately a few passengers had moved on to the other side, after hearing this my mom did not sleep a wink :) . It was amazing how this dude drove us safely to our destination, especially in the fog, the visibility was zero and the conductor was continuously cleaning the mirror, acting like a wiper, but the driver took the hairpin curves beautifully. Haiiiiiiiiii We reached the temple and lo behold !! it was like KR market, people everywhere. Grr and here I was hoping for a nice quiet break. The “pooja” that we , ok ok it was for me, grr, that I was supposed to perform , took a long time and then we decided to visit my aunt’s house. When we were passing a couple of Kalyana Mantappa’s, my dad pointed out and said “ Hey isn’t that the place where we got married”, that’s when I realized that on that day, 35 years ago, my parents had jumped into the well called matrimony. GRR..it was all planned !! and then they said..” It’s all for you kannaaa“ aaaha .. parents!! Oh the pooja was fun especially the chain pooja ….if you are performing the rituals, all your family members form a chain…ahem ahem.. that was weird.It was as if the human body conducts “blessings”. ( shakes his head)…We then went to my aunt’s house. My aunt’s house is that typical farmhouse you find in rural India, with a barn, a well and lots of coconut trees. They even have a nice verandah and lots of places to sit and chit chat. That’s what the elders were doing, while I was snapping pics. I overheard a story in which they were discussing how at the age of 2 , I sat on the edge of the well and was looking down at my own reflection in the clear water . My mom was terrified but she didn’t scream, for fear that the sudden sound would propel me into the well :) . So she came over and gave me a whack !. grr grr…all I was doing was trying to solve the Pythagoras theorem. In the evening we decided to pack our bags and the return journey was even more “ loos”. As always ( I’m not that lucky with seats ) we were seated just above the rear wheel and the driver drove as if he had to catch a plane. Grr.. When everyone was seated, this dude in front of me, says “ So who is going to tell a story”. I waited and waited and GRRR no story no bhel puri …Maybe I should have told them my life story ;)

Can't think of a caption...ummm..super whitewash dog off to bite the friendly neighbourhood spider?

Loved the V....which font is that ??

what do you see ?

The chariot ...

Kukkkkkkkkkkkkkke.....

Malgudi ....water dosa ..

The KF team ...

Awesome shot maaga...

I love my Radio , my chinese Radio :)

After 3 years and 21 promises, Kk sent me a book, via ebay via Chennai. http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553564943.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg I wonder who recommended this book ( looks at SP) Thank you Kirthi but @#$@#$@#$ 20$ you spent 20 odd dollars !!! Wait till I tell your mom. .wait wait.. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sajjan gave me a small radio which plays AM FM SW TV and WB. So now I leave office exactly at 10pm, tune into Kyun Ki Saaas Bhi Bahu thi :) and listen to it and imagine the scenes. Che I can't see what the ladies are wearing ;( Anyway, he says I can listen to Radio Ceylon and listen to oldies and occasionally I might get the local Tamil station and can learn Tamil :) He even came up with the brilliant idea of installing a DISH on my helmet which would then help me tune into all the "cable" channels :) uahhahhahhhhhhhhhahaaaaaa

For the love of GOD !! Stop hugging the ball ;)

I had the rare privilege of watching a “Throw ball tournament” and boy did I have fun :) uahhahahhaaaaaha. It was a ladies tournament and I was sort of the official photographer. Well Sita ( name changed , well she did threaten to break all my 206 bones and psssst she’s strong ) wanted me to cheer her team and so on a hot Saturday morning, I found myself watching a bunch of girls throwing and catching a ball .., well I know its "throw ball" but I was taken aback when I overheard them discussing “strategy” and who the weak link in the opponent's team was and the fact that they should target girl number 10 who was not good at catching the ball. Me being Me.. I even pointed out to the ladies that I found it weird that they could even think about this stuff...ahem ahem..If looks could kill, I would have been chopped and marinated for the local crows. ( gulp) For more rules on the unknown game…http://www.batss.org/thorowball_20Game_rules.htm Some of the rules that I learnt on the court was : You can and have to catch the ball with your fingers/palms No wrists No rolling the ball No 3 girls in the same straight line No jumping and catching the ball No jumping and throwing the ball Definitely NO HUGGING THE BALL Stuff I caught “girls” doing on the court : Polishing nails Use the mobile to call mommy, to update her on the scores Ogling at the guys standing at the sidelines Ogling at the girls playing Commenting on the way the KF team was dressed ;) Applying Fair and Lovely Applying lip balm and Occasionally spraying MOVE The team that I was supposed to cheer was supported by 3 other people (including the 2 extra players) but they did win the first 2 matches comfortably . Unfortunately Sita broke a broken finger nail and was sad,nope not because of the finger nail,but the fact that she didn’t play as per her expectations. I think she was trying too hard and not enjoying the game. ( after a round of encouragement and a pat on the shoulder , she played really well ;) ) Well after the first match I was a bit bored and then ...they arrived.Praaaaamapaaaaaaaaaaaara dressed in red, the KF team. They looked a bit tired; I bet they just came off a flight. If all the other teams wore track suits (local colors) and they just came to play, these young dare devils in red shorts were dressed to play :) .Well they did play well, especially the captain Asthma (name changed) she had a weird serve. She just threw the ball high up in the air and it took a looooooooong time to come down and the opposition usually goofed up when they tried to catch it. The twin sisters (something to do with the twin towers and nothing to do with legs) were the star attraction. The other "teams" were jealous of them, no no not because of the fact that the twins wore "makeup" and “eyeliner” but the fact that they hugged each other after every point..uahhahaaaaaaaaaaaahaa Girls!! Uff Back to the game.,well our team did win 2 games and moved on to the Semi Finals.I was a bit apprehensive about cheering.. all the encouraging words I know are shown below and which cannot be used in this scenario. Comeon GUYS , Beauty dude, Lovely catch amigo Maccha move in, Watch the ball,watch the ball &#$*#*$# what do you think you are doing !! Watch his hands Watch his legs (imagine me shouting..watch her legs ;) uahhahhaaaaaaaaaahaha ) Guys lets go for the kill. Well I did say " Lovely" just once when Sita returned a serve and I got a hard look from one of the extra players...(sniff) So I decided to be on the safer side and I smiled and kept my mouth closed for the rest of the game. The 3rd match was a humdinger and unfortunately my team lost :( , and I did some analysis and found the root cause for the failure. It was because these "coding" engineers had always taken a good siesta after a hearty lunch and on Saturday they actually took a 30 minute break by sprawling on the pavement( Duh!!) Oh and the fact that the other team were targeting our team's "weak" players could also have been one of the factors. They were disheartened after the loss but were informed that they could actually play for the 3rd place. Something is better than nothing :) I was hoping to see my team play against the KF team,alas..it didn’t materialize and HELLO I would have supported my team ..duh !! So the next day ( Sunday, yep I was there too) they did win (it seems they changed the strategy, ahem ahem) but the truth is that I winked at the opponent team captain and she lost her concentration and so...you get the picture right...Psst the KF team actually lost on Sunday,even though they had a lot of support , especially the 8 dude’s from the other court,the guys playing the volleyball match, yep they were cheering them on…. So over the weekend I had pleasant nightmares : Girls screaming MINE MINE, ( of course they were talking about the ball and not me) Service ma, beauty ma , cover her cover her,and of course the whistles ( girls of course) Stuff that I Overheard: One of the girls who was playing shouted this to the girl who was serving: Can you please finish the game fast? I am worried about my complexion! Can you stop ogling at the KF team and cheer our team ?!! Refreeeeee time please, I broke a nail !! Encouraging words not to be used in a Ladies Throw ball tournament: Come-on girls, break a finger nail Can you please Stop Hugging the ball ;) By the way Sita was one of the best players and I am proud of her ;) pssst the refree actually asked her which team she played and all..gotha..gotha..( beams) I just went through the pics and I was surprised to find so many good shots and I’ve been invited for the next outing in the month of MARCH :) ……..haiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii haiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

It's fun.. the caption actually reads.. Pray for us...irony...(shakes his head)

This is one of the churches that i..sort of drop by once a year...its usually empty :)

Brrr..its cold :)

A smile is something you can't give away; it always comes back to you. ~Author Unknown

What's that line. . Love is like a bird, set it free, if it was yours it'll come back or else..( scratches his head) naaah.. My definition is so much better...

Love is like a little fat flying pink pig, if it can fly, let it go...or else..ahem.. pork chops :)

Something in the eyes..or was it the color pink :)

 

Balefire ....

 

Nobody said it was easy

Aww It’s such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m goin’ back to the start

 

Ahhooooooooooooooooo

Ahhooooooooooooooooo

Ahhooooooooooooooooo

Ahhooooooooooooooooo

 

 

Super duper ding dong song..and i'm thinking of the next story and i think i've got the theme..ahem well atleast the last line will be :

As i looked into her eyes, I could feel my heart skip a beat.I found myself falling into the deep abyss. It was the only time i wished i was someone other than who i was, i wished i was superman.

 

 

Why is the sun called the sun and not the daughter ? ( che che gender bias).

 

Has anyone seen the latest Beyonce and Shakira song : Beautiful Liar ?? I was so confused :(  I did’nt know where to look , too much of distraction.

 

I just realized that God was playing a joke on me...you see, he's put me, all alone on this boat in the middle of a river and has given me a silver fork to paddle uahhahhaaaaaaahha

 

God ..I’m a goner ……. Psssssssst  where’s BF .. that blog fan of mine…che I miss her..sigh*…

Deepavu Ninnade gaLiyu ninnade, aaradirali beLaku

Oh the title is from a kannada folk song...which means..'Everything is yours- the lamp and the wind ....do not put off the light of life- the shore/bank (as in river) belong to you, oh Lord, so does the boat in which we sail-do not let the life drown/get washed away'  Sigh*

 

Saaaaab Maya hain ....( Wonder where she is...)

 

I had one of those days yesterday , no the ice-cream didn’t fall off and the soup didn’t stain my tie ( no i don’t wear a tie and definitely not a pink shirt).I spoke to many people and realized that we all have our own chinnu munnu troubles, yet we smile and make others smile.

 

A wife waiting for her husband to come back from his offshore trip, and how it got delayed for the nth time, how she wrote a dov letter. Sigh* and then ended by threatening to marry someone else ;) uahhahahhahahhhhhhhhahaaa

 

Another conversation with someone who was so depressed he wanted to cheer people up!! His efforts at acting loos was worth an applause. He called me a " nice chap" ..grrr and on top of it called me a maven ( it means some sort of loos wizard),i gave him some nice pattars...:)

 

A "deep" conversation with someone who was fighting against nature, ( No he was not fishing in Greenland) , he was fighting with his body and I hope he gets into the Indian Bridge team. Why? Not everyone gets to say .. psst see that skinny dude , well he comments on my blog ( beam beam ).

 

With another loos party who just couldn't make up her mind...  and I even gave her the black lipstick :) but no ..sigh*

 

 

 

I love this song :) for all the wrong reasons .....

 tu yaad na aaye aaisa koi din nahi
tujhe bhul jana jaana mumkin nahi
tu yaad na aaye aaisa koi din nahi

main karta hoon laakh bahane
par bin tere dil na maane
jitna tujhko bhoolna chahu
utna hi tujhe paas main paaun

wah wah ........

"There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.”

 

 

Rajesh was wondering why his right eye was fluttering like an insect attracted to a lamp. He knew it was a bad omen and hoped that it was  just be an allergic reaction to the lemon juice.The gang was taking a "dum" break and someone mentioned that it was  Amavas". Rajesh looks at Prakash and advices" Prakash, its late, you better go home now, we can take care of the rest of the work tomorrow ". Prakash nods his head and goes home The rest of the gang go back to work and at 10.30pm, they decide to call it a day.

 

The feeling of something going amiss was still strong in Rajesh. The traffic was thin and as always all the signals turned green just for him. He smiled and tried humming a song .He saw the poodle of water and tired to turn left , the front tyre skidded on the slippery surface and Rajesh tumbled from his bike. His head hit the asphated road with a bang and the bike hit the footpath. Rajesh had a grin on his face and as he looked at the stars he wished for a few minutes of dreamless sleep. He shook his head and was helped to his feet by Ramu the auto driver.Before he could count 3,he was surrounded by people. The auto driver's face looked anxious, "Paani  ? " . Rajesh shook his head, " No thank you, I am alright", He walks over to his bike, switches off the engine.The people follow him , he looks at the water on the road and smiles. One of the onlookers comes up and gives Rajesh his mobile, which surprisingly was still intact.The autodriver says " Are you alright ? , you had a bad fall " , Rajesh smiles yet again, thanks the maker of his ISI mark wala helmet , starts the bike, and vrooms off.

 

45 minutes later, as he parks his bike in the garage, he feels a tinge of pain on his left shoulder. He shrugs it off and knocks on the door.He doesn't inform his mom about the incident and after dinner,secretly applies "iodex" to his left shoulder and tries to get some sleep

 

At 2am, he wakes up from a terrifying dream and realises that he is having difficulty breathing and he thought that he had broken a rib close to the heart. His left hand and shoulder where not responding to his brain waves and then he visualised himself as he fell on the road, bingo ,he had fallen on his left shoulder.The pain was too much to bear and he couldn't get up.He decided to skip work and meet Dr Sheshan first thing in the morning.

 

6am : There is a knock on his door, his wake up call and he cannot get up to open the door.So he picks up his moblie and calls up the landline and informs his mom that he's going a bit late to office and wants to sleep for a few more hours.

 

10am : He struggles to get off the bed and after 10 agonising minutes he makes it to the kitchen and tells his mom about the "little" accident and promises to go meet the doctor asap.

 

11am: The doctor makes Rajesh do a couple of nerve racking exercises which resembled the African " Kookawamba " tribe's war dance and delivers the judgement : " Nothing to worry about, you've torn a ligament on your shoulder, you will be well after 3 days, Get your wounds dressed up, get a tetanus shot and don't do any heavy lifting and ofcourse no sports"

 

11 :05am : Rajesh looks on as 3 lady doctors are busy discussing a case,atleast that's what he thought they were doing. Maybe something in the lines of "CSI : MIAMI " . One of the doctors calls him inside and he is shocked at what he overhears. The doctors were discussing the latest film Welcome and Anil Kapoor's acting.

 

11:15am : Sister Niveditha, who is 20 years old, looks at Rajesh and points him towards the bed. She brings in 3 different bottles of clear liquid and cotton swabs. Rajesh tries in vain to guess which bottle contained tincture. Niveditha looks up and enquires

" How did this happen " ?

Rajesh : " I fell off the bike, last night"

Niveditha : ' Where you drunk ? "

Rajesh gives a charming smile and grimaces as she applies tincture and defends himself " No, had to work late ".

 

 Niveditha of course doesn't believe him, and gets ready for the tetanus injection. Rajesh rolls up his sleeves, she "shakes her head " and says "No i will have to give it down there.." Rajesh is embarrassed but obliges and waits for the "prick", he involuntarily shakes his leg when he feels the prick. He calms down and thanks the Nurse, who for some reason has a smile plastered on her face.

 

Rajesh limps out of the hospital .....humming ...

 

He :Suno Aarti.., Ye Jo Phoolon Ki Belen Nazar Aati Hain Na,
Darasal Ye Belein Nahin Hai, Arabi Main Aayaten Likhi Huyi Hain.
Ise Din Ke Vaqt Dekhna Chahiye.., Bilkul Saaf Nazar Aati Hain.
Din Ke Vaqt Ye Paani Se Bharaa Rahataa Hai.
Din Ke Vaqt.., Jab Ye Fuwhare...

She: Kyon Din Ki Baaten Kar Rahe Ho.
Kahaan Aa Paaungi Main Din Ke Vaqt?

He: Ye Jo Chaand Hai Na, Ise Raat Main Dekhnaa...
Ye Din Main Nahin Nikaltaa ..

She: Ye To Jaroor Nikaltaa Hogaa

He: Haan.., Lekin Beech Mein Amaavas Aa Jaati Hai.
Waise To Amaavas Pandra Dinon Ke Hothi Hai, Lekin Is Baar Bahut Lambi Thhi

She: Nau Baras Lambi Thhi Naa ?

Jee Mein Aata Hai, Tere Daaman Mein, Sar Jhuka Ke Ham, Rote Rahe, Rote Rahe
Teri Bhi Aankho Mein, Aansuo Ki, Nami To Nahi

 

 

Here you go..this what my biology Mam once said...

 If you place a frog in boiling water, it will jump right back out. But if you put the frog in cold water and heat it gradually, it will sit there and slowly roast alive.

 

Tales of Battani, the pea, aahem the kid next door .......yep the monkey cap kid...

 It’s the annual school day and the “drama” was titled Bhaktha Prahlad.

 

The kids who were supposed to play Hiranyakashyap and  Prahlad had a fight and were not on speaking terms ( it was the scent rubber , Oh!! come-on Strawberry flavor). The scene they were performing was the one in which Hiranyakashyap is questioning  Prahlad about Lord Hari and his very existence. You do know that Hirnakashyap, wanting eternal power, asked Brahma to grant him with a Vardaan. That his death not be caused by man or beast, with a weapon or without a weapon, during the day or the night, indoors or outdoors, on earth or in the sky.

 

The stage is set , with “the Narasimha “ avatar ( naah it’s Battani, the kid, ) hiding in the 3^rd pillar. The script was written in such a way that Hiranyakashyap was supposed to break pillar 1,then pillar 2 and then at last pillar 3. So the play goes on and ….

 

Hiranyakashyap: Uhahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahhaaaaaaaaaaaa Oye  Prahlad come here…you keep harping about your Lord Hari, tell me is he everywhere ..

Prahlad: Yes my Lord!

Hiranyakashyap: Ooooooooho. .is He in this pillar ? ( points to pillar 1)

Prahlad: Yes my Lord !

 

Hiranyakashyap picks up his “mace” and WHAM breaks pillar 1  and laughs “ Uhahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaa  Oho Now let me see your LORD come out of this pillar”..so saying he sits down on the floor glaring at Prahlad….

 

 Prahlad is shocked !!  the Drama teacher Miss Nalini faints, Narasimha who was supposed to materialize out of pillar 3, panics and runs to the restroom ……. he runs out the  backdoor,makes an exit from the stage,takes a wrong turn and finds himself in-between the audience . He smiles and touches a shoulder “psst Rajesh move move make way “ and approaches the stage and shouts “ Oye demon king, pull me up “.. Hiranyakashyap is bemused but pulls him up..and looks on …Prahlad bows and gives a 60 watt smile .

 

Narasimha roars ” GRRRRRRRRRRRR Oye Hiranyakashyap do you think I’m your house  servant to obey you and come out of any pillar that you point out ? Haaaaaaaaaaak thu……..  I am NARASIMHA I can come out of whatever I want, even from the audience………..Hah!!

 

The audience is ROTFL….

Billlllllllllllllllllllllllllo Rani ....

ishq karke tujhse dewaana betaab hua barbaad hua
bhool gaya apna bhi naam jab naam tera ise yaad hua

 

ye hai jo majnu

inhe kya main samjhoon

roz ho jaate hai yeh kisi na kisi pe fida…….are haaan

aaj iske piche haiiiiiii

kal uske piche….shawa

kya thikana hai inka ki ho jaaye kab laapata

hoooo………inki mohabbat resham ka jaal hai

haiiiii………. deewangi bhi inki ek chaal hai

ho billo rani

ho billo rani kaho to abhi jaan de doon

 

wah wah …. Download it here

http://download.apunkabollywood.com/songs/Audio/indian/movies/Dhan%20Dhana%20Dhan...%20Goal%20(2007)/01%20-%20Billo%20Rani%20-%20Anand%20Raaj%20Anand,%20Richa%20sharma%20@%20Fmw11.com.mp3

:(

I'm sorry

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~Mark Twain

Its new year's eve and i'm trying to get this router to " work" grrrrrrrrr, hold on (chews on a piece of cake and ofcourse potato chips, damn no wonder i have a pimple on my nose). Late last night i was with Angilina Jolie and Uma Thurman ( cough cough) I have no idea why , but every Dec 31 , i fall sick. Something to do with everyone's adrenalin pumping up...( shrugs) , atleast its not like one of the friends that i know. You see, every last week of Dec-first week of Jan, one of his relatives, passes on to the other side or meets with an accident. I know I know you dont believe it, but i was there !!. Wait let me call him and find out if ...( thank god nothing bad has happened ;) ) Oh last night i was watching ToooombRaider( It's supposed to be pronounced that way: tooooom and not like Bomb) and Kill Bill, nothing to spice up your life with blood ,gore, a samurai sword and Uma aunty :) and at sharp 12, ( i fell asleep at 11.30pm) , there are shouts and i see that Uma aunty is fighting with 28 japanese kids and girls are "ooooooohing" . I wake up from my stupor, its that girls hostel ,,grrrrrrrr..dont they ever sleep. The boys hostel, boys (duh !!) were bursting crackers and the girls where watching it. So it sounds something like this .. ting ting toong , plaaaaachak, oooooooooooooooh, BOOM, ting tong , whack, ooooooooooooh , Booom. Yep sounds from Kill Bill and the girls hostel. Then i get a host(3) of messages , wishing me a happy new year and if its from one of my ex-students i would ..." GO STUDY !! GO GO" and ofcourse throw in a :) one smart @!#@ replied back saying, " My exams are over". And oh ! a couple of days ago I went to Anand's new house, an apartment situated right in front of a beautiful temple and the Malleswaram Railway station. Posh location .So all day long they have trains passing by and people ringing the bell " tong tong" and to top it he's got a 7 month old kid. She's so cute, she looked at me and smiled and didnt let go of my finger ;) .