It's We, The People

I of late came across a discussion on government, politics and corruption(reminds me of Love Sex and Dhokha :P). It covered various things-from waste management to population to greedy cannibals ruling the country. Nearly all these debates narrow down to one conclusion-"The Government should make stricter rules".

I say-what rubbish. The people, i.e, we want both freedom and strict rules! Come on, we're citizens, not children. It's like we want strict supervision, but lots of freedom. We want the government to enforce stricter rules when we don't realise that we are the ones to follow them. When something adverse happens to our society, we want someone else to intervene and impose regulations on us! But when it's actually done, it'd seem like our freedom is questioned. So what does this mean? Can't we take care of ourselves? Do we need rules to lead a moral life? This seems like we are demanding our parents to buy loads of clothes for us and not wearing them at all. What will you do with the rules? Keep them in your wardrobe?

I'm not taking the government's side for heaven's sake. It's just that I feel lower than a human, who's supposed to be the most evolved and intellectual creature on earth. Given our extra-ordinarily designed brains, we shouldn't wait for something good to be announced as a compulsory regulation. Everyone knows this. Everyone wants to be right - but not alone.
For instance - we see a lot of neglected garbage heaps in the (apparently) garden city. People crib that the government has not appointed enough cleaners and workers, or better still, (other) people don't have civic sense. Well they don't realise that they're a part of such people too! And as for cleaners,  they are meant to clear the public dustbins time and again and not clean up your crap all your way on the road.
I am amused by the way unappreciated traits of others set the trend at times. If 2 or 3 people, say, throw waste at one spot(be it a corner of a field or the middle of the road), the rest throw their bit of waste at the same place. Remember, it's not their fault - it's the people who started it. When asked, they go "Others have thrown it here, so it must be a designated place.". If at all objected, they go "Who cares, all others would throw here, and I won't make a difference!
Chill, you don't have to bring about a revolution. It's okay if you don't make a difference. At least you would know that you are not the kind to litter your city just because others have.
When the anti-corruption fever was on high rise in the country a few months back, lot of anti-corruption, anti-government slogans were sung patriotically in unison by the country. I'm sure half of them would have bribed someone or the other at some point of time in their life. Half of them took part in the rallies as an excuse to bunk college.(I've even had some batch-mates say things like "I seriously don't know what Lokpal Bill is for, but I felt patriotic when I went there!" "It was fun!". Now, how 'fun'ny is that?)
Here too, you want a Lokpal Law to check corruption, but you don't want to stop corrupt practices yourself. Again - I'm not at all for corruption or against Lokpal.But it's just that I want to check myself before I point at the Government.
Rules are best implemented when keenly self imposed. The change should start from oneself. Why wait for others, why don't you change yourself? For all you know, someone else out there might be waiting for you to change!
You don't have to be an NGO or a cop or a social server to do good things. You are your own government. Go for it.

I know I sound like I've lived Gandhi's life. I shamelessly agree that his post applies to me too.
Cheers :)

Didi ki Shaadi

Inconveniences(especially caused by drunkard Mallya) neglected, the journey to Lucknow was completely different. May be I wouldn't yearn to go there again, but I don't regret going there. The place is not beautiful, but it's fun.

First, we went shopping. As we didn't have much time left, we had planned something very limited and had only one item in our list - Chikan. It is a simple, yet beautiful art on thin cloth, usually on kurtis and saris. We were a group of around around 5 ladies and 2 men(you know why :P ). We went to one store and finished our shopping in less than an hour. I selected 2 kurtis in less than 5 minutes. And I was as bored as my brother for the rest of the time. I couldn't help noticing my aunts' broken Urdu flavoured Hindi as they did their usual bit of haggling with the taxi driver and the shopkeeper.
Once you step into Lucknow, you should accustom yourself to the change in time and time sense. If they say "aadhe ghange mein pahunchenge", it means they'll take aadhaa din to reach. So I still remember my dad say "Aadhaa ghanta = Lucknow ka aadhaa ghanta!".(That was probably the only joke the driver understood - the rest were either in Kannada, or broken Hindi. :-D )


         Wedding, wherever it is-north or south or any other direction, is an exhibition of sizzling heavy sarees and dashing suits and sherwanis, array of smiles and bustling crowd all around, mouth watering, scrumptious food, and a gamut of emotions. The change is seen in the way they're done. For a person hailing from a small unnoticed corner of the western coasts, grown up witnessing quick marriages that start in the morning and end by the afternoon, this wedding, starting at dusk and ending at dawn next day, seemed a bit weird. But it was a whole new experience! If you read between the lines, they pretty much do what we do in weddings, but in a different manner. Here, I have listed out what I can recall:

• Timing: As I already mentioned, we end just after lunch, and they start just after dinner. Here, I'm only talking about the actual marriage and the rituals directly associated with it. More precisely, excluding the reception part. The muhurat is fixed sometime after breakfast and before lunch. Exactly at the time the guy ties the knot, "...pee pee pee dum dum dum..." , goes the Vaadya-band. There, the muhurat is sometime in the midnight(may be not in all cases..I'm not sure). Silence remains. We people clapped :P. 
• Similar, but different- "The change is seen in the way they're done":  The purpose of these conventional activities, anywhere in the world, are the same - lighten the atmosphere and bring the yo!-it's-a-wedding mood all alive. These activities start right from the entry of the Baaraat. There, the groom's cousins try stopping the guy from entering the premises while the bride's cousins try carrying him, despite the obstacles. [The guy came by car(not a horse -.-), btw]. Here, we do something called "eduru gummodu", where we throw hands-full of puffed rice on the groom's family and warmly welcome them. Also there's this event where the girl's behen steals the to-be-jeeju's shoes hides it, and gives it back, only after fetching money(if you're a younger sister, trust me, it's a LOT of pocket money!). Back here, at the time of Gruha Pravesha of the bride after wedding, the groom's cousins(here too, it's the girls :P) don't let them in, until he gives them the money.
• Venue, and others:  Here we shell out money on renting choultries and temples. There, to conduct a marriage, all you need is a huge lawn,where they put vast pandals and roofs and magnificently illuminate the place with sparkling lighting and vibrant colours.

Here's a description of what I saw, remember-from baaraat to bidaai:

The Baaraat is a procession led by the groom's family, announcing their arrival to the place, by loud songs and dance. Then, as described earlier, the groom and his family is welcomed. It was a long way from the gates to the stage. My cousins, with great effort, carried him for a short distance. They walked the rest, slowly, clicking photos after each step. Around 5 dulha- oriented songs would have already been played by this time. 

Somewhere near the stage, the bride's parents do what we call "Paada Puje"-washing the groom's legs and all. Remember, all this while, the bride's waiting inside. It's now that she makes her grand entry. It was a grand entry indeed. My pretty sister, clad in an elegant, red-green sequin-adorned lehenga, stepped in. Here too, she was carried by her brothers till the dias, and was followed by her sisters(including me me me) and friends. On stage, the hero and heroine exchanged garlands and posed for many a snap.

Meanwhile, more and more guests started streaming in. If you're a guest, it's like this - as you enter, you have a long row of desks to your right, with a wide variety of hot delicious dishes being served(I didn't eat half the dishes available, so ask me not to name them.). There was another food counter at the center, which, as far as I remember, served salads, rotis, and rice. It was designed to look like a dhaba. 

And as you move further from the food counter, you can see the stage and the seats in front. Greet the couple if you want to, but food first. ;-)

Most of the guests slowly started moving out. At around 10-30, the place was fairly empty. The hero and heroine are still on stage, starving. Finally, almost all guests leave, and only close ones from family and friends remain. The time is nearly 12 AM. It is now that the families sit together in a huge round table and dine. After the dinner, the preparation for the actual marriage starts. The wedding happened at a smaller part of the lawn behind the reception venue. A mantap is constructed, and beds are spead all around the mantap, for the audience. *yawn*. The wedding rituals started at around 1-30. The weather was chilled out, and damp. I insulated myself with like three layers of clothing. The youngest as I am in my family, everyone asked me to go sleep. Ha.

Again, they pretty much did what we would do in daytime. Dad handled the camera for quite a while. However, it had to come to the right hands :-P

As usual, the pandit-ji's lectures got boring by the minute. So I explored the situation, to make timepass out of boredom-

"I was bored..."

• The sleepier the couple were, the cute they looked.
• The groom's attire was heavier than him. So was the bride's. I wondered if the weight of the jewellery had her lose balance while walking!
• The groom wore a traditional rumal. It was beatuiful. He looked like a prince!
• My sister was no less captivating. She looked like a North Indian. Pwetty pwetty doll!!
• I looked back. Men on the chairs watched the proceedings with great effort containing their sleep.
• Laterally opposite to me was another row of chairs where old women sat  - sorry - slept. 
• To my immediate left sat ladies and gentlemen of the groom's famil. They wrapped themselves with a blanket they shared.
• My aunts who sat behind me cracked PJs. In Kannada. (Got my point? :P)

"I wondered if it had her lose balance.."

The royal rumal

Tiara?

   




































However, these things could keep me alive only momentarily. So I resorted back to listening to pandit-ji.

He spoke of istree's importance to a family, and hence, the society. And many more things I didn't even bother to listen. The couple nodded dramatically.

Then came Kanyadaan, Saptapadi and Sindoor. And I finally got a job. I hate it when the official photographers barge into the middle of my frame. Get away you idiot, I want the couple, not that thing hanging from your 

camera.  

The guy also applied Sindoor to the girl. 

After a few more events, the handsome guy from the heart of Lucknow tied the knot to the beautiful girl of the corner of the Western coasts. A loud applause broke the monotony of the situation. The guy and the girl are, at last, married :)

Here, I forgot to mention, a convention is followed-the mother should not witness the most significant events of the marriage - Sindoor and tying-the-knot.

After this, the couple was congratulated and blessed by seniors of the family.

Guess the time? It was around 4-30. And we all went to sleep. However, I actually slept for not more than 45 minutes and packed up to leave the city. The Bidaai was already over. And we left the city.

The driver surprisingly arrived on time to drop us back to the airport. His face shone with pride when he was asked "how come so early?" Is it that unusual to be punctual?

           So that was Lucknow. May be I should have spent more time there. 

Don't miss the Mayawatis posters in every street!!

              

At random.

Long time. Very long time. I'd nearly forgotten how my blog looks, so I thought I'd give a visit.
But it's not been so long since I blogged. I just didn't do it online. So basically, I haven't blog, but my mind has. Here are random I typed on my phone some time ago-

Sometime in the morning, en route Mysore, 31st October:

Passing by serenading, lush green fields on one side and sugarcane plantations with their cute grey tips dancing to the noise of the breeze, and other trees kindly waving at the polluting commuters on road, accompanied by what I categorise at good music and a nice friend lost in silence, and my own mind whimsically loitering in a wild rain forest. With music only I can hear, it seems to me that the entire bus is all calm and silent(take your earphones off for a moment, and it would be like over hundred mosquitoes having a music competition just outside your ears).
Despite the loitering, my mind, I'll never know why, is constantly revolving around one quote by Steve Jobs- "Journey is the reward". True, but irrelevant here. My mind is constantly trying to relate the statement to my current situation.
But why?

2:16 AM, 15 November:

This, as far I as I am concerned, is far from sanity - wasting 2 hours in the evening in a futile attempt to sleep, and at night read a CB book till the clock striks the void hour(00:00), again try sleeping, and again sit up and resume reading the book till eyes burn out of rage and unreasonable sleep deprivation. So I couldn't help moistening my eyes. Since I wanted to flex a bit, I chose to use the basin downstairs. I sprinkled cold water on my face. I tell you, nothing is as refreshing as this. I walked around in the hall like a zombie. I caught the sight of an outdated newspaper whose front page spoke of Mallya's p(f)light. Before it could frustrate me, I turned around, strolled for a whole and, for some reason, looked into the mirror. The image, not surprisingly, looked more funnier than it would under normal circumstances. I laughed. God, I so looked like a zombie! Well, that's genuine. Wake up in the middle of the night and looking into the mirror is not what an average human would do. But for the frantic barking of the dog, the house was pin-drop-silent. I decided to climb back to my room. With all lights off. If you didn't know, I'm freaking scared of darkness. This wasn't pitch dark anyway. The sodium vapour lamp out there on the street, right opposite to my house, not-so-sufficiently lit the staircase. I turned off all the lights. It was pitch dark at that instant. But after a quick eye adaptation process(cones go, rods come.. :P), I could manage my way back.However that didn't lessen my fright for darkness. The darkness behind me chased me a uplstairs and urged me to slam the door and lock it. I really felt someone's chasing me! But fearing the subsequent disturbance I would cause, I squeezed int my room like a mouse and gently closed the door. It's 2:30 AM. And trust me, I'm still awake. Good morning :)

P.S: This is not meant to make sense. This is something I did to kill time. You read it if you want to do the same. These mind-blogs are not for a definite purpose. Like Kolaveri. ;-)

Speaking of Kolaveri:
 Well, as an average listener of Kannada songs, I'm used to local people going berserk about meaningless but popular songs. But this song, which is, again, not meant to make sense(not completely meaningless though ;)), has driven the entire nation(and beyond) into an incomprehensible frenzy! If you haven't heard this song, you're like the most detached soul in the society. You should face questions like "You haven't heard KOLAVERI???". Don't dare think I'm criticising the lot. I'm a part of it too! Kolaveri flooder all over the net, and so did it's millions of remixes and modified versions. But could they beat the vorrijinaal??
But now there's a boulder of responsibility on Aishwarya's shoulders to keep up to the "standards" and hype created by Kolaveri. The movie should be as good as Kolaveri. :P

My eyes-u straining-u. Bye-u.

I have (many) a dream...

Asking this to myself frequently is not enough to keep me awake and aware. I must be able to answer it too. What am I upto? What is my future? What am I doing? What should I do? What will become of me?

If you hear my dreams, you will laugh your heart out, I swear. Or perhaps you will try to control. My dreams are a paragon of impracticality and limitlessness. Engineering - Higher Studies - Comfortable job, and in the end, a self sufficient, independent Me. ONLY after this, marriage etc, etc and etc. Around 8-10 years hence, this is where I want to be. Heights, isn't it?
But sitting awkwardly alone in one corner of the terrace viewing the nothingness around me with undue interest and writing crap on a sheet of paper doesn't help. I'm doing something which, I know, is not what I should do. But what should I do?
I'm losing this battle. Or am I surrendering without fighting it? These intra-human wars, fought between the different areas of the mind(usually right brain v/s left brain), are as menacing as the World Wars. The magnitudes of the havoc caused by both these Wars are the same - one is seen, and the other felt.

I'm confused. Totally. I'm as confused as I was in 7th grade. when people asked me what I want to become. When I didn't even what what constitutes engineering, I would say "I don't know, but definately not engineering." Reason: I found it too common a profession, and hence I wanted to do something different.(Haahaahaahaa)
Of course, I've made up my mind with engineering, but Where? When? How? What next?

I think I'm wasting time dreaming. How foolish, I'm doing this even though I know those Eutopian dreams will forever remain in Eutopia and never turn true for me. When it comes to dreaming, I'm super ambitious, but...

Anyway, let me wait and watch. But this is my challenge, to all those people who have predicted my future, that I will become what I want to. Well to make things clear, my intention is not to prove the sacred-ash-and-beads-adorned men false, but it is to show that even "I" can do what I want to.

Oh-oh-oh! How I wish I worked as fast as my mind that flows so rapidly! I actually sat here(here=in one corner of the terrace) to study Sound. But I - sorry - my mind drifted from Newton - Laplace - pressure - self imposed pressure - confusion - and...you know the rest!!

Good Old Times...

Good Old Tom and Jerry is back! And so are my Good Old Memories =). I still enjoy the age old episodes with the same spirits I used to, no matter how many hundreds of times I've seen them. It also reminds me of my then-sensible thoughts and opinions. Obviously, the way of thinking changes with age(best example: I used to like Hrithik before. Now, I love him. He used to look good before. Now-he's damn freaking hawt <3 ). But it made me realise how, and to what extent my ways of thinking have changed over the years.
When this cat-rat chase was new to me, I used to pity Jerry and condemn Tom's ways. It looked like The Innocent Jerry being harassed by The Villain Tom. Now when I look at it, Tom is just doing his duty, and Jerry's trying to rescue himself. I don't sympathise either of the two creatures. The very basic idea of the natural enmity between a cat and a mouse, and balance in nature, were obviously something I couldn't think of. This natural tendency, I thought, was wickedness! Aww... How I wish I could plunge into the same innocence again! Now, I also wonder what made me pity Jerry when Tom was the one that always gets battered and misshapened. Perhaps, I then had in mind that bad things happen only to bad people(Well, now I know, bad things never happen to bad people!) Now my brain unnecessarily thinks a lot while watching it. Watch cat chasing mouse - analyse situation - put yourself in each of their situations - what would I have done - aah! It's a long long process. My writing rate cannot even be compared with the rate of flow of thoughts.

So, that makes all the difference. As children, we feel. But as grown ups, we think twice before feeling. Oh human mind!
By the way, old T&J rocks. Try watching it, from 4 PM to 5 PM, only on - Cartoon Network :)
It'll d you some good, I assure you, like it's done to me!

Heegoo... unntaY!

A suggestion to DTH services: Include Kannada news channels in the entertainment packages. Because that's what people watch it for. Entertainment 24xx7. Humour unlimited!
The words "breaking news" has lost all its importance it used to assume. The world should not have changed this drastically. No wonder if you find news about developments in the Parliament merely pushed to the bottom line. Why, why get surprised, when blur short clippings of ThatGuy and Family continuously sizzle on the main TV screen. Not fair!
                                  Yeah, nor fair. He's not even handsome. He is a tall dumb ass from a high family, unfortunately born to the cutest villain that ever existed in the Kannada Film Industry. His name is..never mind. It's just that all's not well with his wife(So?). He threatened to kill his own son(Okay...?). He was boozed(National loss huh?). OK he's committed a crime by harassing his wife in one of the most uncivilized manners. Throw him behind bars man! As simple as that! OK the public ought to know of such superstar deeds - publicize it and be done with it. But what the hell  are they doing? In the name of keeping the public updated, play the same 2 or 3 clippings all day? It's purely a policeman - accused - victim business. For what joy are other actors interfering? And in favour of ThatGuy?(I know, naming him won't make a huge difference.. but.. it's okay...).
                                   Coming to the most incredible part of the story. This entertainment channel said that the victim was in the ICU. Apparently, she's suffered cigarette butt burns all over, 4 stitches in the head, severe injury in the ear. Hence ICU. The very next day, she has written a 5 page long complaint on ThatGuy! She's even discharged o the same day. Now, if you go to a hospital to get treated for an ailment as puny as common cold, they will keep you in the hospital for a min. of 1 week! That's what hospitals are these days. And how come she was allowed to recover so quickly! After having suffered such pathetic injuries, she's been able to write a complaint of five pages! God! What speedy recovery!
                                   Now coming to the most hilarious part of the story: The Producers' Association has started a trend - "Ban Her". Ban actresses for 'x' years. How sick can people get? And this female, here, has been banned on charges of having caused disharmony in ThatGuy's life. Oooh, like she hypnotised him and said "Hey You, ditch you family, 'cause I wanna flirt with you!!" She, perhaps, is a shameless bingo, that she has had an affair with ThatGuy(of all other men in the world!). But what happened to his damn rotting brains? Isn't he the main cause of disharmony in his life?
                                 And now, coming to the most agonising, disgusting, insane part of the story: Lunatic "actors" have Lunatic fans. If I think of elaborating, my CSF'll boil and smoke'll emerge out of my head! Ugh!

Finally. He's jailed. He got punishment, and obviously he wasn't happy with it. He wanted sympathy. So he planned to fall ill and weak! He was hospitalised after some time, or rather, sympathised. What logic!
And now, the star's back in jail. For God's sake.

Yell Bored Musings.

It all goes like this:
Turn it on, start, accelerate and brake brake brake!!!! Slow, take it easy. Honk - Peempeeeeem! Slowly accelerate. Lose balance and nearly fall. Legs down, release accelerator, and brake!
Of course I'm way better now.

Yeah, I'm talking about my Yell Bored Musings. Oh, I mean L-board. A learner is bound to screw up, I know.
But the (little)Learned is bound to make more mistakes, did you know? From a 1 week training in vehicle riding to now riding to college occasionally, I have been learning. Learning safely. Sudden, impulsive, accelerators, horribly controlled turns, nervousness, the will-i-be-able-to-make-it feeling, has always been pestering me. But somehow I have reached the stage of overcoming them all.
                    And now? I'm beginning to decline. What would a bacteria feel if its just born offspring is mercilessly killed? Fear is eating me up all over again. Nervousness is..er..getting on my nerves(?!). A slight thought that I have become a safe rider, which I thought would motivate me, happened to kill my conscience. Guilt is flowing all over my mind like CSF(cerebro-spinal-fluid... Right?). Souls that Frequently Undergo Enlightenment, like..ahem..me  should not make expensive mistakes when he/she/(in this case)me can't pay for it.
What did I even do, is your question. Right? See what I did:
 I bumped into an old parked car near my college on the way back home. Thankfully, luckily, by God's grace, Poorva Janmada Punya or whatever was bestowed upon me at tht time, that car was absolutely safe. Not even a scratch!
But that's not the end. It's just reduced number of problems by one. My(mother's)lovely Dio, poor thing, suffered all it could suffer. It suffered even on behalf of That Car. The awefully sexy vehicle now looks ugly and broken! Thanks to Yours Shamefully :-(
Of course I have excuses. I'm a learner, I'm so young, I was scared, first time blah blah. But does Dio know this? Does the repairer guy who, I know, is goin' to charge heftily, know this? Those excuses are constantly flowing in and out of my (empty) skull, but the mental picture of the damaged vehicle is etched in my whimsically good memory. And to add to my embarassement and distress, grade 3 girls on the street were laughing at me! How dare they! Chuck, I was not even in a mood to strain my eye balls to glance them, let alone staring them!
My fault guys. My fault. My right hand is still weak. And I realised how it's shivering when I started typing. Guilt is one thing I can't stand. I would die starving, but not with an unconfessed(is that a word? Darn, my English!) guilt. Hence this article.
Thank you readers. To some extent, you make me feel lighter. :) Cheers.

Satvam 2011

2.5 days of Satvam was so Satvam! I was very Satvam-ed all through! Satvam was Satvamly organised by our extremely Satvamous seniors with utmost Satvamness.
Wondering what's wrong with me? Nothing to worry. It's just a result of Satvamic activities in my mind.
Still wondering? Wondering why I have Satvamised the above two lines? It's because Satvam can only be Satvam, and nothing else.Satvam was not good. No, it was not even very good. It was Satvam. Just Satvam.

Here's a detailed account of Satvam 2011:
Day1:
However Satvam the fest was, the college had to set certain limitations for us. I have not the slightest idea why the college decided to start Satvam after half a day of classes. Well, complaints apart. The events:
Persona.
This event was the most hyped, most awaited for, and one of the most Satvamous event.
It's a competition that tests your personality. It kind of helps you define yourself. You would get a better idea of Persona if you witness it yourself. Worth witnessing, you know. There are no hard and fast rules here. You should do what you are asked to. Nothing more, nothing less. There were 8 finalists. Vasanti Hariprakash, the once Morning Sunshine of Radio City, was one of the judges!!! The one who deserved to win, won. That was the end of persona.
And that was the end of Day1 for most of the crowd. There were 2 more events for the day. But hardly any Kumaranite stayed back. That was rude. I stayed back till the next event and then went home(That's just lesser rude, I know... >.>).

Day2:
This day was fun! It kickstarted with.. Duh.. Inauguration. After "Duh Inauguration" was Satvam. So Satvam kickstarted with awakening, cheerful performances by Junoon! (a 2nd years' band which sang with Karaoke. Pinki was.. No, not in brackets!) Pinki was a part of Junoon! It was their "very own, awesome, mind blowing, amazing band that gave super duper performance blah blah blah"(Pinks: :-P ).
After a short break,there was first years' dance. They were fantastic! The crowd burst into shrill shouts for each and every move. The crowd includes me, Hello.
Now comes the much awaited, rib-tickling episode of Satvam - Mad Ads!! It was hosted by my Mantally Sweet, super-cute senior-friend! Mad Ads was judged by Pradeep, an RJ from Radio City. There was an other judge too, but I'm sure only a few would remember him.(His name's Akash btw).
So, that was day2.

Day3:
Day3 stared at around 10-15 AM. With Jam. J. A. M = Just A Minute. It was "really, really, really" interesting! The jam-master was too good! Then there was quiz. Quiz was good. Now was Rhythmic Colours, the 2nd years dance competitions. They too gave excellent performances. But 1st years were better.
Now there was Film Hits competition. Our college has the best singing talents ever!
Then there was dumb charades. It had too many rounds, which made it all the more dumb. It wasn't bad eitheir. And now, Physics Department was on stage giving us full-time entertainment instead of lecture.
Then, ramp walk. This event was much awaited too! But it got a lil' too monotonous. Meanwhile, remember, it was raining heavily which made a large part the audience suffer. Yet, the crowd was as enthusiastic and encouraging. Now it was the Faded Octaves! The Rock Band! They rocked, totally!

Now was the royally hyped, amazingly organised, stupendous, fantabulous, marvellous jhakaaas etc etc etc event. Surprise! Yeah, Surprise event!!!! It was a surprise! No, it was THE surprise! Absolutely unexpected things happened on stage!
And sadly, Satvam saw it's happy ending there. Can you imagine entire college life being spent Satvamously? Like this? Fun events taking place everyday, and a surprise after every three days? Haha. Impractical, I know.
Now, read the first paragraph again. You will understand its "satva" better. So wasn't Satvam a Satvam event?
Ok guys and girls, it's time I keep dust off my books. They need strict supervision. Too much of anything, even Satvam, is bad...
Bye people, keep Satvam'ing!

En route...

I have a hurried, limited(in one word: unenjoyed) breakfast. Then, I put on my bag and say Bye to Amma. And it all starts there - a (rather boring) journey of approximately 7 minutes. As I close the gate, I say Hi to Raja(or Kariya or whatever you want to call him - sweet doggie!):

Raja of the Street

Firstly, the whether outside is very cold then. I get to hear the harsh noises made by women sweeping the area in front of their houses. Residential as my area is, it is only houses that I get to see. And of course, some provision stores at random.
And I take my second turn. From now on, it is almost 1 straight road to Kumarans'(ignoring 2 minor curves). Usually, at this point, 2 or more dogs bark vigourously at each other. This road is relatively more active than mine. Ladies and Gentlemen of Padmanabhanagar prefer to have brisk walks here, at this time. It's time for grandpa's to go back home with their friends, after, or course, some gossip with their pals.
There's a very small playfield in this never-ending street. Here probably middle aged men of the neighbourhood play badminton with one another, and keeping all their household tensions aside for the moment, they chat, gossip and refresh. Opposite the field is a provision store where I sometimes encounter Rekha Mam. She castes one of her soothing, pleasant, sunshine-like smile at me, and sometimes even speaks to me, if possible!
Here you reach the journey's most pathetic part - the small bridge over the aromatic drainage. Everyday, when I get to cross the (so-called) bridge, I just can't stop myself from thinking "What if I lose balance and fall into this gutter one fine day?" And I go on, suppressing my stupidity.
Now I enter a narrow alley(believe me: There are houses even here.). And you can view the good(actually bad) old small white building.Once I cross the gully, I get a rear view of the main building of the college. Walk around 10 metres further and Lo! That's the building! The college canteen is not open so soon, but the Taatappa's bakery sometimes is. A few students, and of course Muttappa with his stick, are at the main gate and reception.
And that's all.

No no nooo! That's not all! I get a quick glimpse of my watch and try to look serious, rush up to the second floor and run to the Edge. Usually, the teacher is late *sigh*. So I sit on my chair, huffing and panting(Oh I've ran miles!). Actually out of this (approx.) 7 minute-journey, it is only while climbing up the stairs in a hurry that I hurt my leg. :-P

Well, that's the route to Education(college) for me. A few diversions in the beginning - uphill - slightly downhill - straight to destination(college again) - minor diversions in between - pleasant smiles and encouraging talks somewhere on the way(Rekha mam) - short, uncomfortable phase(the gutter and the gully) - the tiring last minute rush - and then - There You Are!!!

Destination
(Photo Courtesy: Anusha)

Musical Evening

Two and a half hours. Yeah, Can you sit for two and a half hours cross-legged, without a break? No? You think you can't? You are wrong. You can actually do so if you're listening to magical music. Particularly, an amazing vocal performance, by maestro Fayaz Khan and his Tabla partner Trilochan. Mr. Fayaz might be a little unheard of, but it does not matter to him(To me either.). The meticulous Aalaaps and the dexterous Tabla background wonderfully blend with each other. The Harmonium(played by Fayaz Khan again), also draws plenty of attention.

Fayaz Khan is a proficient Hindustani musician and trainer. Passionate as he is, he is deeply involved while singing. The ecstasy shining in his face, while singing, brings a smile onto your faces too! He takes careful(and, most importantly, interested) listeners to a whole new world when he sings. A humble, soft-spoken, jovial man with a passion for music, and great talent too - isn't he a boon himself?

Indian classical music is a paradise by itself. You need to be highly committed and dedicated to learn classical music perfectly. If you are a great musician, you wouldn't have reached where you are without constant practice and hard work. Classical music is the Maa of all other  forms of music. Even Bollywood(or any wood for that matter) musicians started off with Classical. So, if Film songs come under the "Bollywood Music" category, they have got to be inspired by Maa Classical(I don't want to use the term "Mother". And you know why if you are from Kumarans'). If you love Rock, you don't have to hate Classical.
Having learnt it for years, I feel guilty of having lost touch now.
Now, that was not the end of The Saturday Evening. My heart was filled by exotic music, the details of which you just read(if you have read it at all). Then my tummy was filled by exotic, mouth watering, utterly delicious garama-garam Idly-Vada-Sambar-Chutney AND Masala Dosa!
We South Indians just rock! Especially when it comes to food! What variety! What taste! Oh what not! <3

My Evenings at the Terrace

Cool breeze soothing your face, blowing hair off your face. Tones and overtones resonating in your ears(thanks to earphones, lol). A view of trees, wires, houses, their terraces, solar water heaters, clothes of all colours dancing with the wind, all for a slight downward clockwise inclination of you eyeballs; and the dramatically beautiful sky with thousands of clouds floating, eagles gliding, and atop all, the sun glowing red ViBrantly(H.O.T), for an anticlockwise inclination. All in all, one can enjoy the view of the silent and serene Padmanabhanagar.

Sitting completely on the parapet(both the legs on it, I mean), my back resting on the stone wall is another experience. (That's a direct drop-point to the street below, mind you :P ). The waves produced by the guitar, drums and a gamut of instruments setting your eardrums and mind into vibration. Eyes shut down to rest, and mind opens up to contemplate. 

Twenty minutes pass by like a second. And the music is over. A pause to my contemplation. Eyes open. I give the trees and houses around me a where-on-earth-am-i look, and later realise my position, and get down the parapet like a monkey. That's so rejuvenating!

Terrace - a whole new world - a paradise for me. It is not empty; it is overfilled with peace. I am not lonely there; i have myself as a company. It is not silent there; breeze makes all the noise. It fills optimism in me.

             

                      Enough of philosophy for today. I know you're fed up.

Jana Change Kelthare...

SRI KUMARANS CHILDRENS' HOME COMPOSITE PRE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

What a long name! What a long day! Things are so different outside Carmel!
I would like to quote Jaychi(who actually would've quoted someone else :P ) "Change is the constant".
I have observes such huge differences between life in my school and in college. Of course I had expected that a lot of things would change, but at a slower rate. PUC, I thought, is a transition from school to college. But it doesn't seem to be so. It is a whole new world by itself. Not that I have not adjusted to the surroundings, but I am surprised to see this sudden change in my life. I know, that what I am finding new and shocking is a common affair even one step away from Carmel. Atleast A2. At least My Circle of Friends. But this is all new for me. FOR ME, I said.

Boys>girls>how-she-looks>what-she's-wearing>boyfriend>girlfriend>pair-up>Sheela Ki jawani>Jalebi Bai>Bhaag Bhaag>Bow Bow>Blah Blah. This is mostly what girls around me speak. The girl next to me draws even diagrams in pen, while the N's behind me takes trouble(yeah, looks like trouble for me..) in taking their pencil, scale, eraser out and neatly carve the lines and curves on the Classmate. While Physics teacher says "pencil ella marthbidi, neevella PUC ivaaga, ella pen-nalle geechbidbeku!!" while Maths teacher says, "Yif I find any book with the (co-aardinate) axes drawn in pen, I will throw that book alaang with the student!"*fingers oscillating to and fro pointing at herself and us alternatively*. When there is such drastic change from a Physics class to a Math class, I wonder how you can call Prunco itself as a transition!
         One more interesting thing is that, it is "let offs" instead of substitions and tresspassing of Games. We don't have games here though. I had never expected let offs in Kumarans! Aish and I were completely obsessed with the word in the beginning! Let off!! Wow! Let off!! We have already got 2-3 let offs and I'm so happy, hoping for more and more and more..!
         Just one month, I have sort of adapted to this Kumaran-lifestyle, and so sooner that that, to counteract the acclimatization, the time table has changed. We have Lab! I'm sure it's goin' to be Yo. Timings are quite fine. Only that I should run to lab immediately after C.Edj. Only 4 classes per day on 3 days of the week. Cool na? I am waiting or Monday, i.e tomorrow morning!
             Okay, I need to displaaees myself faar frooom the compyuutaar.(Chandan Sir :D ).

My First Day

As I had thought I got up at 5:30 AM when Appa Dearest woke me up. It had been my daily routine to get up early in 10th, but never have taken bath so early. I always bathe in natural light conditions you know! Ok let me skip the obvious activities and jump to Kumarans.

I am the first of my friends to enter the college. At 8 AM. No, not to help the Aayammas(or whatever they're called there) sweep the floor. I am always early to college thanks to Carrier Edj :P. I saw the notice board where class-section details were put up. I saw which class I belong to and my friends belong to. Then I saw the time. Sharp 8. So I asked the Security man as to where the classes are going on. He pointed the infinity behind him and said "ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಇದೆ!". I kept gaping at the infinity and then thought he might be talking about the stairs. With no other choice, I just rushed up the stairs. I seemed to be the Lone Loser on the 1st floor of Kumarans. The how can I be what I am without making a fool of myself? 

I saw a staff room. I went forward. I saw a khaaali class. Next to it was a class with a few girls and boys. They looked like 2nd PUC students writing an exam. So I dint want to disturb them. I went even further and the other class was empty too. I had already grabbed the boys' and girls' attention, mind you. Not very surprising though. Just walking to and fro with a sheepish look on my face will seem funny to anyone. Thrice I oscillated like a fool. And thrice did the students look at me and my idiotic act. Then finally I asked them: "Career Edge...?". The girl who looked the most studious nodded her head and pointed at her desk, as if to say, "Yes, you sheep, this is where your sacrifice will happen!!!!" I just got in and dumped myself next to her. Actually Bridge Course classes had started long before. But this was the 1st class I was attending. She was revising the previous day's portions then. Then the classes went on. I understood 95% of what he taught. 

Then, we were supposed to assemble in the ground, freshers as we were. I was very happy and only little surprised to see my 5 year old friend Aishwarya! We are in the same class again, after 5 years! Some purohit said some shloka, made us repeat some after him, and then we were led to our classes. The class teacher came late.

He himself says that we are "unfortunate" to have got him as our class teacher. He claims to be extremely strict. Umm.. Let's see. There was no classes on 6th.

It was today we got classes and met our teachers. Nice staff I guess. I hope so too!

                         So to conclude, it was nice getting into Kumarans. Instead of complaining of the Bad and the Ugly of Kumarans, I want to practise to appreciate the Good of the college. I have no regrets on joining the college. I'm happy with my present company of acquaintances. Well there's always a good company of "friends" for the rest of my life, wholly comprising of an immortal entity - A2.

Preparation for My First Day

Hi all. Given below is an informal report of the much hyped My First Day. So much hyped as if it were to be the first ever day of my life. Fine, let me get started. First things first. There was this orientation on 2nd June.

The orientation day was actually meant to introduce the dignitaries, viz Mrs.Meenakshi Balakrishnan alias Mother, Raviraj Bhat alias RRB Sir and Counsellor(Forgot her name. Oops! But nice lady...). RRB Sir tried to look strict and serious by repeating good habits.
                                        "Be regular. Be punctual. Atendance is compulsary. Be good. Be decently dressed..."
               And thus he went on. Be that, be this. The rest were fine. Seniors and PU pass outs inspired us with their sky-reaching marks(bad adjective, I know :-/). I lost count of my inevitable yawns and was fed up of applauding. The entire program was managed by II PU volunteers(I hate to call them seniors!). Kumarans' left me at 12:30 PM. (Ussappa!).
                                      Then there was my grandad's funeral, and then off I went to my uncle's house. My aunt is one of the best company I can get. We are unique like poles that don't repel. I like variety of food. Junk food, to be precise. So does she. She talks a lot. So do I. She took me all around RR Nagar to fill in our shtomakk with absolute junk and make dinner out of it!  Imagine a Golgappa, Pani Puri, Vada Pav AND ChocoCake on the same day! We went to Gopalan the next day and roamed. Know what, I got my cartoon drawn there! Amma had come there too. And that's the end of RR Nagar. I came back home. I would have stayed there a day more, but for Career. Career Edge I mean! I had to be there for admission stuff.
                                      Then came my 0th day. Read it as zero-th day. I mean the day before 1st! 5th of June 2011. I kept my bag ready. I also tried on the dress I wanted to wear today. And at night I could not afford to sleep late. Had to get up at 5:30 AM. And yeah, after two months - two long months that just fled away like a chased rabbit, I asked my father to wake me up so early! He gave me a are-you-really-my-daughter-Vidha3 look and nodded his head with a mild smile. I grinned back at him. Very strictly restricting myself from music while sleeping, I tried to sleep. Still resisting the temptation, I tried to sleep without music. I realised that even "I" can do things with slight determination. I thought even giving up the slightest temptaion requires a lot of determination. Ah! Now I know why I am lazy! I finally slept at the same time I would have slept if I listened to music. May be around 11:30-12 I fell asleep. I know, too late for 5:30. But I did get up as soon as my father woke me up.
                      *yaaawn*I thought I will blog about "today". But I see that I wrote one article on the preparation itself! I better sleep before mom or dad comes and reminds me I have college tomorrow and I have to wake up early and all that nonsense that I know!
To be continued.

ಅನಿಸುತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಇಂದು..

ಪರಿಸರ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆಯ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು!! 

ಈ ಪರಿಸಾದ ದಿನಕ್ಕೂ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೂ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಮಾಡೋಣ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿತು, ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಈ ಭಾಷೆ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ. ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ, ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ ಎಂದು ಬಾಯಿ ಬಡೆದುಕೊಳೋಕಿಂತ ನಾನೇ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಾದ್ರೂ ಬರೆಯೋಣ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿತು. ಹೇಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಈ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ನಿಂದ  ಕಾಗದ ಉಳಿಸಿ ಉಪಕಾರ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ(ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಇನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಉಪಕಾರವಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ನಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದೂ ಗೊತ್ತು). ಆಗಾಗ ಹೀಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಯ ಅಧ್ಯಯನವನ್ನು ಏಳನೇ ತರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲೇ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದ ನನಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಎಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಬರುತ್ತೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಆಗಾಗ ನಾನೇ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಸರಿ ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ನಂಬಿಕೆ. ನೀವೇನಂತೀರಾ?

ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ನನ್ನದು. ಫಲಿತಾಂಶ ಈ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ನ ಓದುಗರಾದ ನಿಮ್ಮದು.  

ಓದುಗರೇ, ನಿಮ್ಮ  ಸಹನೆ ಹಾಗು ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗನ್ನು ಓದುವ ಉದಾರ ಮನಸನ್ನು ನಾನು ಅಭಿನಂದಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ ಹೀಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಿ. ಇಲ್ಲ ಎಂದರೆ "ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿಲ್ಲ!" ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿ. ಅದೂ ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರೋತಾಹವೇ ತಾನೇ?

ಈಗ ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಜಾಹೀರಾತು ಸಾಕು. ನನ್ನ ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಪರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿದ್ದು ಸಾಕು. ಈಗ ಪರಿಸರದ ದಿನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚಿಸೋಣ. 

ಈ ದಿನವು ಪರಿಸರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪರಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮೂಡಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅರಣ್ಯ, ಬೆಟ್ಟ, ಸಮುದ್ರ, ನದಿ, ಮರ, ಮುಂತಾದವುಗಳ ಮಹತ್ವವನ್ನು ನಮಗೆ ಸಾರಿ ಸಾರಿ ತಿಳಿಸುವ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ. ನಮ್ಮ ಪರಿಸರದ ಈ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಂಗಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಜೀವ ಜಂತುಗಳು ಬದುಕಿರಲಾರರು ಎಂದು ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳಿಗಂತೂ  ನಮಗಿಂತ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗಿರುವ ಸತ್ಯ ಇದು. ಆದರೂ ನಮಗೆ, ನಮ್ಮಂಥ "ಬುದ್ಧಿಜೀವಿಗಳಿಗೆ" ಯಾಕೆ ಬೇಕು ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡುವುದನ್ನು ಜ್ಞಾಪಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ದಿನ?

ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿಕಾರಿಗಳು, ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರಾದ ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿ, ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಮುಂತಾದವರ "ನೆನಪಿಗೆ" ಅವರ ಜನ್ಮದಿನವನ್ನು ಜಯಂತಿ ಎಂದು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದೇನು ಪರಿಸರ ಜಯಂತಿಯೇ? ಅಂದರೆ ಪರಿಸರ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ತೀರ್ಮಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಎಂದಾಯ್ತಲ್ಲ! ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥಿ ಮಾನವನಿಗೆ ಪರಿಸರ ಬೇಡವಾಯಿತೆ? ಆದರೂ ತನಗೆ ಸಿಗದದ್ದು ಬೇರೆ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಿಗಬಾರದೆಂದು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳ ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ನಾಶ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆಯೇ? ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸದಿದ್ದರೂ ಪರಿಸರದ ಹಣೆಬರಹ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಪರಿಸರಕ್ಕೇನು ಲಾಭ/ನಷ್ಟ ಆಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗೆ ದಿವಸಗಳು, ಘಂಟೆಗಳನ್ನು ಪರಿಸರಕ್ಕೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ಅದರ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗತಿ ಬದಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಏನೋ, ತಿಂಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಥವಾ ವಾರಕ್ಕೆ, weekdayಯ ಒಂದು ಘಂಟೆ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ತನ್ನು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರೂ ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸದಿದ್ದರೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವಾದರೂ ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರಿ ಆಗಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ಹೀಗೆ ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಘಂಟೆಗೆ Earth Hour ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರಿಟ್ಟು, ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಅರ್ಧದಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಪಾಲಿಸದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಇದು ಯಾವ Earth Hour? 

ಪರಿಸರ ಉಳಿಸಲು ಮಾಡಬಹುದಾದ ಅಳಿಲು ಸೇವೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಡಿಸಿ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ಶಾಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಮೂರನೇ ತರಗತಿಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳೂ ಭಾಷಣಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ರಸ್ತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಸದ ರಾಶಿಯ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ದೊಡ್ಡದೊಂದು ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಅಂಟಿಸಿ "ಸ್ವಚ್ಚ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ" ಎಂದು ಗುಂಡುಗುಂಡಾದ ಅಕ್ಷರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ನಿಮಗೇ ಗೊತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ.

ಇನ್ನು ನೀವುಂಟು, ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪರಿಸರವುಂಟು. ಬದುಕಿರಿ, ಬದುಕಲು ಬಿಡಿ. 

ಜಯಶ್ರೀ, ತಲೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟು ಹೋಯಿತಾ? ಇದನ್ನು ಓದಲು ಎಷ್ಟು ಹೊತ್ತು ಬೇಕಾಯಿತು? :-P 

Yes, it's my Maavana Mane!

Family! Aww what a Family!
I would like to requote my gTalk status: Me and my nieces and my nephews and my cousins and my uncles and my aunts! Phew! What A Huge family!

4 days at uncles house was so packed up! There was no chances of getting bored! I was well occupied with all sorts of activities like babysitting(Sha and sometimes Shri), eat home-made junk(Ra Athge! :) ), do some household work, play carrom, play songs for the babies(CuppyCake Song, Laughing Baby And Dinka Chika, LOL). Every moment I kept silently moaning or rather regretting, that I should have had my camera. I also kept wishing that I had an SLR all for myself. Those innocent faces, the bright eyes, the unspiteful smiles, some without upper canines, mother's love, grandma's love - how lovely to experience! How photogenic! You should once visit their house during summer holidays. You find kids of all kinds - one who talks breathlessly beyond her age, one who thinks he's a hero of all blockbusters(Enthiran, Wanted and Magadheera to name a few :P), the hyperactive one who's crazy of action flicks and chewing gum and junk food and what not(this one's not a kid actually - quite older), the fussy one who likes to watch fighting scenes, the fussier one who is just fond of crying, the strange one and the relatively silent, short tempered and tensed one who feels ignored, (I know Vybs you're naming them all ;') ), then.... then....Yeah the bit stubborn one who is a bit cunning but a bit better than the fussy ones as she doesn't cry as frequently as they do. May be you might get bugged off with noise pollution and the silly squibbles, but if you are the kind to watch the world around you and make conclusions out of it(conclusions, not comments; and "make" conclusions, not "jump" into them), you must visit them. P.S: You need hell lot of patience!
                                It's totally different from the silent, calm atmosphere of Atharva. Every holidays I have to pay a visit to Shrimata - Nanna Mavana Mane! Otherwise the "Simhada Mari Sainya" will not spare me. By the way SMS (SimhadaMariSainya) has been one of the kids' favourite Kannada movie. I watched so many movies- Magadheera, Arundhati, Arya, Arya2(Yeah, only Telugu! Hardly understood a dialog by myself!), Golmaal 3(!1st half)!
            Kids are always amazing. Naughty or cunning or irritating, kids are kids. They still have some innocence left in them. May be they appear selfish sometimes, but that is a face of innocence. Rich or poor, kids are always happy. They build their own world around them. They spread their cheer all around. They bring smile onto others face even when they cry. No kid can escape from being cute. Whatever they do is cute. Even when they cry they are cute. Should I mention how cute they are when they smile? However it does not mean they should be let to do whtever they like. It depends you know. Strictness is sometimes required. Fine, leave the kids to themselves and come back to my Maavana Mane.
                                   I have two sisters there(I mean sisters-in-law). Very sweet and talkative ones. I like their company. Umm.. I don't think I've left out any detail. I'll go to bed before I get scolded again from Mommy Dearest. It's close to Eleven. Eleven o' clock is just nothing to some of my nocturnal sweethearts, but in my house it's like 3 AM! Bye g'naite!
Jaychi, GooNaa!

Oh! I have a blog!

Ya.. I have a blog. I keep forgetting this. No I'm in no mood at all to continue with the so-called travelogue. So many things happened after that at home. Let me write about that.

First thing I can remember: L-A-L-B-A-G-H! We were only 5.(or FIVE?!God!). We hogged at Maiyyas'. Bill reached a thousand. O lord.. Imagine how hungry we were! We ate pastry also!! That's one day we will not forget(we=those who came).

Next day my Vybsie came to my house! Obviously it was good!

On 18th of April I went to Mysore for 3 days. Residential Yoga program conducted by Sadhguru himself. I think I am very lucky. He is extra-ordinary. I think you all should meet Him once. No you have to meet Him. This should be experienced, not explained. The volunteers(mom was one of them :) ), the singers, the dance, Isha Home School students, the arrangements, the discipline... Woah! You cannot find it elsewhere, I swear! We stayed at Ginger. The stay was comfortable. On the way back, 3 kids accompanied us. They gave us good entertainment. They asked me riddles and stuff like that. And all that while I had thought I have lost my camera. Whenever I thought of it I could hear my hammering heart, reminding me of Appa's lectures about responsibility. No I'm not ridiculing them. I do deserve them. He's right. He's always right. And Lo! I found it the next morning deep inside the bag! 20th was bro's b'day. He was not here :(. But I had brought a gift for him. Gift Of Shimla! When he was back on 29th he saw it. He liked it! 24th was Rajkumar's bday. I think I saw some Raj movie on that day. Mostly Sampattige Saval. I just love it. Manjula was so slim and cute!

Hey hey... Wait wait.. Rewind. 29-28-Ritvik's Bday!!-27-26-25-24-Over-23-Akshatha's Bday-22-and-21st!!
The Unplanned Get Together. But..Uh-ho Akshata missing! But she was mentally present anyway! She spoke to us on phone. Deepti's sis Deeksha had come too! We ate Bisi Bele Bath and "I" ate shavge paysa! Nippattu was there too! It was nice meeting everyone after Garuda, and some after Lalbagh and Maiyyas.

Ok fast forward: I mean, "go back to the next page :P" (Aww Lakshmi Mam!!!)
Shopping! With Amma! Ah at last I'm spending time with Amma! Gandhi Bazar made a handsome profit thanks to Souji! Bought dresses, jewels, etc for myself. Rather, Amma bought them all for me. I felt very bad for the massive money-drain. Around 5000 bucks would have been saved, had I not bought new dresses. (Duh, it's just once in a while yaar. Stop whining and go on.) Ok then on May 3rd there was Mehendi at Souji's place, but due to MoT problems I got it done at GB(Gandhi Bazar guys!). It was nice. Very nice. Gandhi Bazar is boring for some people, what to do.. For me it is the best when it omes to shopping! From the next day it is Souji madve! She was so excited! And, perhaps, still is! She was looking drop dead gorgeous through the wedding. She has to, it's her marriage after all!
The wedding went on really well but for a long time! I got a chance to just click, click and only click in Abhi;'s SLR. That was real fun! I shot pics from my camera too! So Mrs.Souji is my neighbour now! Yippee!

OK.. Next part - Break Ke Baad

Day4: Delhi

This was our last day in Delhi. Shunti didn't want to have us anymore :P So we dumped ourselves at Baba Inn! Well it was only one night stay there. The surroundings of the rather new hotel is conjested, but the hotel is good inside(Except for the lack of hot water). We had very few places left in Delhi. Jantar Mantar, Dilli Haat and Sarojini Market. Then, off to Shimla.

1.Jantar Mantar
Nothing much to say about it. It is supposedly an astronomical marvel. But we didn'l understand how it works. But we got good pitures. I got some of the best potraits of Jaychi! Then we moved on to Dilli Haat. We learnt the basics of bargaining here!

Jantar Mantar

Jantat Mantar -2

2.Dilli Haat
A traditional shopping complex. You get traditional goods of all kinds from all states here. There are a variety of restaurants too - Tamil Nadu Restaurant, Andhra Restaurant, Rajasthani, Gujarati and so on! We chose Rajasthani food. It was nice. I had never tasted Rajasthani before. Then we thought of resting a bit and then start shopping, but came to know that Sarojini Market is just a stone's throw from Dilli Haat. So went to the Market right away.

Welcome

Bangles

Gujarati Ghagras n Cholis

Rajasthani Restaurant

3.Sarojini Market
This reminds me of the Jaynagar shopping complex. This is much bigger than the Jaynagar one though. Bargaining didn't work much in 2 shops only. But in rest of the shops we saved a lot. When we came back to Baba, we tried on all the clothes we bought and CLICKED! It was exciting! We were quite satisfied with our selections and bargaining abilities! At least it will help us for the shopping we would do in Bangalore!

Typical Marketplace

Shopping!

So this is how we killed time in our room. Click, Click and FACEBOOK! The "Shopping Spree" photo is already profiled, and comments are already flooding! And SomeOne's so thrilled at the quick response, and is pouncing on me! :P But when the number of comments reduced, we said good night to Bangalore, and slept.

Day3: Agra

Our day3 also happened to be the day of World Cup Semifinals between India and Pakistan. All my friends met at Mani's place and watched the match together. But we only depended on the commentry we listened to on the radio. We left Shunti early at around 6:15 AM. On the way we had our breakfast at Sagar Ratna in a place called Kosi in Uttar Pradesh. We saw 2 limbed monkeys controlling 4 limbed monkeys and pitied the latter. Then we reached a place called Sikandra on the way to Agra. Akbar's tomb is located in Sikandra.

One monkey helping the other earn

1.Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra
Akbar, before his death, had built his tomb himself. In other words, can we say he dug his own grave? Anyway this tomb is also a silent place with not many tourists. His tomb, I guess, is not as popular as his granddaughter-in-law's. It is hardly crowded. As soon as you enter, you see intriguing designs etched on the wall and ceilings. Urdu writings are seen too. Then you are led to a passage which gets more and more darkened as you move forward. Now you actually reach the tomb. The chamber is half-lit by a bulb. A person says something and shouts "Allah-hu-Akbar", which echoes for a long time. Then we come out of it and move on to a wide pathway nearby, where, when you stand exactly below the tip of any of the domes and make a sound, you hear a distinct echo(reminded me of physics: Sound, the Unsound chapter!). Now we continue our journey towards Agra.

Akbar's tomb - Entrance

Interior designing?

Passage leading to the Tomb

Echoes!

2.Wah Taj!
You all know about this Wonder. I need not explain to you who built it for what joy, or how beautiful it is. You have seen evough photos. I will just describe the disgusting crowd which made me feel nauseatic. We get tickets from a place a bit far off the Taj. from there, no vehicles allowed. Eco friendly battery powered vehicles take us from there to the Taj. Now that we have got down, guys who call themselves guides ask if we want guides. Whether we say Yes or No, they will go on. We thought a government guide will be a good choice. So one guy brings another and starts pestering us. "No", we said. Two more guys came to us. We
rejected and went our way. Now that we have reached, it's checking time! They check our bags with great interest. Eatables are prohibited, and we had brought "obbattu" and some fruits. The lady asked us to keep it
in a shop. There was competition even for this. There was a row of numerous souveneir shops. They wanted us to keep our things there, and when we ruturn to get them back, they will obviously make us buy something in their shop. We kept it in some shop and returned. Now that we have come inside, it is the photograhers' turn. They want to take a photo of we holding the Taj in the tip, we jumping in front of Taj, and
many more weird poses. We were happy with our own cameras. It was freaking hot and sunny there! Our feet were burning when we had to walk on the marble floor without slippers. We get in. Photography is prohitibited inside. We could see the graves from a distance. When you shout, it echoes. Some youth found it amusing, as if he had never heard an echo. He kept on shouting and then got a punch from the person
who, I think, was supposed to maintain peace inside the monument. We went into other chambers, only to see families lying down on the floor and resting, as if it's their lawn. I saw a woman go to a corner, turn to a wall, and change her clothes! God help them! We went out of the hall and saw the Yamuna flowing. We could see the Agra Fort. So that was Taj. We went to the souveneir shop and bought miniature Taj Mahals. We returned to the ticket counter by the battery vehicle and got into our Innova. What next? Agra Fort.

Wah! Taj!

River Yamuna

Agra Fort from Taj Mahal

Battery powered vehicles

3.Agra Fort
Agra Fort is quite close the Taj Mahal. It is a replica of the Red Fort at Delhi. This is where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by Mr.Aurangzeb, his very son. He could view the Taj from his jail. We also viewed Taj Mahal from there. Here too, you find Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas. It seems to me like a world of marble!

Agra Fort

Close up

Tallness!

Diwan-e-Aam

Arcs

Taj from Agra fort

Arc-ictecture

Next we had lunch at an Udupi Krishna Bhavan. Jaychi and I had North Indian food there(:P), but after the South Indian lemon rice. Food was good there. It reminded me of my mom's lemon rice(yum!). Next we went to Krishna's birth place, Mathura. It was full of cows. It stinked! On the way we had glimpses of the cricket match in the televisions of the roadside shops. We went to the temple. There were not only wal paintings, but ceiling paintings too! Jaychi and I couldn't just imagine how the painters managed it. Right next to it is a mosque. And people are okay with it (And may they be okay with it forever!). And that was the end of it. We left Mathura to back to Delhi. We didn't have time to go to Brindavan. So back to Delhi. We reached Delhi at night. The next day was our last day in Delhi. I watched the remaining match and slept, while Jaychi dozed off before the end. And lo! India Won! YAY! Good night!

Day2: Delhi

Of course we had our breakfast and left Shunti for more sightseeing. Food there is so-so. Not too good, not too bad either. We went to Red Fort. Opposite to Red Fort are a Jain temple and a birds hospital.

1.Red Fort
Red Fort is a huge complex. It was once the Mughals' property, now a historic monument of national importance. As you enter, to the right, you can find a park called the August 15 Park. There are many more structures inside the complex - like the Diwan-e-aam, Diwan-e-Khaas, Moti Mahal, to name a few. There is Chatta Chowk, which is sort of a passage with numerous small shops. You get glistening purses, clay show items, stoles, shawls and artificial jewellery. Also, there is a museum where you can find paintings, murals and other objects related to the Indian Freedom Struggle. Like any other place in New Delhi, it is neatly maintained, and the lawns and flowers add to the beauty.

Laal Kila

Handbags, Chatta Chowk

Masks, Chatta Chowk

The Museum

2.Akshardham Temple
A temple with a golden shrine of Swaminarayan, Akshardham temple is an architectural marvel. It gives immense delight to the eyes, firstly because of its splendor, and secondly because cameras and mobiles are not allowed. Leave apart cameras, there is a lengthy list of prohibited things - Shampoo, marker pen, soap, to name a VERY few. So first you go through a long evaluation process. You are checked thrice in a row! Once you're declared harmless, you're let in. You're let in to see a humungous temple. Each entrance is highly decorated. One such entrtance has got hundreds peacock heads beautifully carved in it! (I am not sure of the number though.. I still feel it is around 280 but rounded it off to the vaguest possible number I could think of..). It's called the Mayur Dwaar. There is a huge hall meant for selling things like booklets, and promoting their activities such as boat ride. Mindblowing photographs are also hung on the wall. Then we come out of it and go straight to the temple. Its interior is entirely marble. Intricate designs are skillfully carved out of marble pillars. At the centre is the golden shrine of Swaminarayan. He's surrounded by his golden disciples. There are tall doors on all four sides, but only one is open, through which tourists like us enter and exit. Then there is a Bhojanalay. We decide to eat there. I thought it is like these "dharma chatras" here, so half heartedly followed my dear companion. But it was not a Bhojanalay, it was a Food Court. Yeah both mean the same, but the tone makes a difference. Like, you everything from plain rice-dal to pizza here. Here too, food was so-so, but we had enough. (We didn't have pizza). Jaychi ate a kulfi and I drank sugarcane juice. So lunch over. Bye Akshardham!

Akshardham Temple

3.Lotus Temple
Also known as the Bahai Temple it is a silent place meant for peple of all castes, creed and religion. It is a place to keep your mouth and eyes shut and listen to verses from The Gita, The Bible, The Quran, Teh Guru Granth Sahib. Volunteers read them out aloud, while we sit with eyes closed. Utter silence is maintained. Outside is a neatly kept lawn growing many flowers, with a pathway leading to the Temple. There is an open pool at the basement where I don't think people swim. People just sit near the pool and take snaps. This place is crowded too, but once you come inside and close your eyes, it seems like you are the only one there. At least that is expected to happen. So we have seen Lotus Temple. "Salaam wale qum" Qutb!

Lotus Temple

4.Qutb Minar
When we say Qutb Minar, we usually don't mention about the rather unpopular structures in its surrounding. There are many more structures around it, like the Alai Minar, Alaudin Khilji's Tomb and college, Iltutmish's tomb, Smith's Folly, etc. Jaychi and I got an audio guide. It would have been really helpful if we had followed it strictly. But it was an old map and a lot had changed. Some construction was still going on. It was very informative, however. As usual my camera towards the end of the day.

Qutb Minar

College and Tomb of Allaudin Khilji

Alai Minar

There was still time, and no idea how Mrs.Rashtrapatni, our friend, came to know of this. She called us for a second cup of tea! :P We went and took better photos, of course because it was not dark yet. We decided against revisiting India Gate, as we had got good photos and the lighting there was sufficient at night. We went to Connaught Place and ate at Saravana Bhavan(I liked the Dosa there!). Jayashree and I went to the nearby Pizza Hut at Connaught Place, and got a Pizza parceled. We went back to Shunti and freshed ourselves. It was decided that we are going to Agra the next day. We switched on the Idiot Screen(not Box in this case, as it is flat screen). We watched the last quarter of Titanic and simultaneously had pijja. Very touching movie. Should see the whole movie once... Yeah after all this we slept. Jaychi must have read Twilight for a while and then slept. I'm not sure. Good night Delhi!