You must have passed by...

I always liked looking at this building.. umm.. it always reminded me of Paragon chappals.

The Gods are calling.....

St Patricks in the evening sky..

NETS

The Golf course

Don't you dare change that RADIO channel...a review..

Damadji Angana Hai Padhare : One of the best songs I have heard this year.I love the way Himmi bhai has sung the lines :
kabhi sochta hoon
zindagi bhi kya mazaak hai
tum mile jaane kaisa ittefaq hai

kahe tho-sa naina ladaye re........ohhooooooooo
Shaam Ho Chali Hai : Interesting song, since Shreya comes into the picture after 2 minutes..
Teri Meri Dosti Ka Aasman : Instant MTR Rava idly hit.. don't be surprised if you hear this playing on the Radio again and again...
Piya Jaise Ladoo Motichur Wale : Rekha Bhardwaj at her best .. areh baba she sang Genda PhooL and Raat Ke Dhai Baje .. Himmesh comes and goes in this song.. Its like he is in the background...Can't wait to listen to Remix version of this classical song :)
Jaaaneman... Sigh...sigh.. sigh...
Zindagi Jaise Ek Radio >>> its like a folk song.. ting ting ting ting. ..

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmm lazy afternoons

Aaaha

My wife says : Why do you wanna buy an exercise bike when you can as well buy a real bicycle , at least it will take you places . ( double meaning intended)

Popcorn and branded sweet cold water also known as Softdrink.

The Proposal : It’s supposed to be Romantic ( rolls his eyes) eeeeeew I fell asleep twice. Terminator 4 Awesome effects reminded me of Dark Knight . Worth a watch. Transformers 2 : Too long a film even if it had Miss Fox, too much of action and too little popcorn. A collectible none the less.. Kaminey : I think this was by far the best film that I have watched this year. This film reminded me of “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. Go watch it today. Magadheera : Check the official site http://magadheera.com/page.html One of the films worth watching this year. Though the first half is just like any typical South Indian movie, the movie gathers momentum with a well-done horse-chasing-hero-chasing-bus scene. The songs are good but some dance sequences are eww. The set could have used another coat of paint ( or pixels ) but overall a movie worth Rs 150 /- Hats off to the dude who selected the Great Rann of Kutch for some of the scenes. PS: Aaamir Khan will be interested in making a remake : )

How to Build a Campfire

1. Split dead limb into fragments and shave one fragment into slivers. 2. Bandage left thumb. 3. Chop other fragments into smaller fragments. 4. Bandage left foot. 5. Make a structure of slivers (including those embedded in the hand). 6. Light match. 7. Light match. 8. Repeat "A Scout is cheerful" and light match. 9. Apply match to slivers, add wood fragments, and blow gently into base of flames. 10. Apply burn ointment to nose. 11. When fire is burning, collect more wood. 12. When fire is burning well, add all remaining firewood. 13. After thunderstorm has passed, repeat the above steps.

Damn, I could have done the same :)

A little boy came home from the playground with a bloody nose, black eye, and torn clothing. It was obvious he'd been in a bad fight and lost. While his father was patching him up, he asked his son what happened. "Well, Dad," said the boy, "I challenged Larry to a duel. And, you know, I gave him his choice of weapons." "Uh-huh," said the father, "that seems fair." "I know, but I never thought he'd choose his big sister!"

Modi said: "We promise we will return next year bigger and better."

Every morning over the past month, I’ve been discussing the T20 matches with a couple of colleagues of mine. I always believed that Bangalore RC represented the “ true Indian spirit” or in other words the Indian Cricket team. I knew that on their day, they would snatch defeat from the clutches of victory and vice versa ;) . I have never been elated when Sachin got out ,but when Mumbai played against Bangalore, I did just that and it felt weird. There were times when I rooted for the young players like Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma even though they were smashing Bangalore’s bowlers, for the mere fact that they being in form is good for the India Cricket team.I’ve been following the matches on the ipl official website ( which officially *****) and lately on rediff.com. I did try to watch the match on the net, but they still have a long way to go. Yesterday’s match was a typical Indian final. It was like one of the Australia vs India matches. I being an optimistic Indian, was hoping that our very own Robin would fire when it was needed most. We still had 4 overs and we needed 7.5 runs per over. A couple of big hits would have finished the match, but Robin did the sensible thing, he took a single and then he took more singles, I thought he had a plan. He wanted the others to go for the big shots, take some risks, Smart dude.It was the 18th over and I was still hoping that he would take charge since we were down to the last 2 wickets, but Robin had other plans, he took more singles. Then came the penultimate over, Kumble on strike, he takes a single and Robin the MAN is on strike. Here’s what happened in the next 5 balls 19.2: RP Singh to R Uthappa, Uthappa has been hit on the glove or forearm. 130/9 19.3: RP Singh to R Uthappa, Uthappa comes down the track and does well to defend it. 130/9 I think he has a plan. 19.4: RP Singh to R Uthappa, Driven through the leg side by Uthappa and they run across for a couple of runs. 132/9 Aaaha, to win RC needed 12 runs, I think he wants to hit 2 sixes and finish the match in style, just like Rohit Sharma. 19.5: RP Singh to R Uthappa, FOUR! This one was straight and took the thigh pad running fine down the leg side for four leg byes. 136/9 Oho.. I bet RP Singh will bowl a NO BALL and Robin will hit both the balls for boundaries? 20: RP Singh to R Uthappa, It's been lofted over Mid-on by Uthappa for a single. That will be enough as Hyderabad win. 137/9 Is the match over ?? ;) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ An American report: We crossed chickens with cows.The new breed Simultaneously produces milk, meat and eggs. Report from France: We crossed flies and bees. The hybrid flies over the trash fields and produces honey. Report from India: We crossed a melon with cockroaches. When you cut this melon, seeds run away by themselves

My Grandpa, the Blacksmith!

* from the fishing net. My grandfather worked in a blacksmith shop when he was a boy, and he  used to tell me, when I was a little boy myself, how he had toughened  himself up so he could stand the rigors of blacksmithing. One story was how he had developed his arm and shoulder muscles. He  said he would stand outside behind the house and, with a 5 pound  potato sack in each hand, extend his arms straight out from his sides  and hold them there as long as he could. After awhile he tried 10 pound potato sacks, then 50 pound potato  sacks and finally he got to where he could lift a 100 pound potato  sack in each hand and hold his arms straight out for more than a full minute! Next, he started putting potatoes in the sacks.

Cheers !!

An unforgettable song, beautiful choreography, a great idea to brighten the day! Hope the trains weren't running on time! Enjoy. This is at the Central Railway Station in Antwerp where, on a Monday morning, with no warning to the passengers passing through the station, a recording of Julie Andrews came over the public address system. As the bemused passengers watch in amazement . . . . (Don't assume it's unrehearsed. It took 200 dancers and 4 weeks of preparation, but the effect is for you to decide.)

A walk in the clouds

 She awoke just before SubbaLakshmi could sing the morning raga. It had been so, for the past few years. She was excited. She looked for her new Nike shoes and the fresh pair of puma socks.She liked pink. She wore her latest Adidas track suit and tiptoed out of the bedroom not willing to wake her snoring husband. 

She said “Good morning” to the milkwala and pluging in the ipod, lost in the world of Limpbizkit belting out numbers that her mom would have called “kaka paat”, she jogged her way to the park.

Teenagers practising "catch" stopped to stare at this "Yo" granny !

Not to be continued...

Haha !!

"A gossip is one who talks to you about others, a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself."  Lisa Kirk

http://bangaloredailyphoto.blogspot.com/ 

Just doing my duty... gulp ....

Bodyguards protect Percival Q. Gringflabble, alleged Mafia accountant, as he arrives at the Federal courthouse to testify against his employers.

Birds in the sky...

Trying very hard to blog....

aaaaaaaargh..

Crash landing...

Take off..

Paragliding at Hoskote...i was there :)

And the sun goes down !!

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 ?