Crazy Wonders

Well you may think I have gone suddenly psyched with NICE road. But you know its just matter of Monday I put those snaps.. check these which I took on Tuesday.
Nature’s crazy wonders.
The sky was just painted by the Sun and the Clouds.

Also I suddenly saw a hi-tech Shepherd … cowboy what ever you may call.
He is on his Hero Honda and chasing his cattle and sheep . I tried taking a snap … not sure if that is clear. ( the first snap )
But I guess on these HiTech Roads you also need to get Hitech.

Drive on NICE Road

If you are a Bangalorean then NICE road is not uncommon.
NICE ( Nandi infrastructure Corridor enterprises) if I m right !!!!
This is the outer most ring road that connects up tumkur road to Hosur Road. A solid 51 kms drive.And I happen to be one of the lucky ones who often take this road just to reach my office at a reasonable time and ofcourse at a solid toll cost every day.
As I told you yesterday , its been pouring and today morning also was the same. It kept on drizzling and I as usual got on to NICE road to get to office after a good week long break.
What a sight I saw. Amazing!!!!

There was thick fog, mist all over. Infact the road clearance was visible only for a few feet in front of us. It was just like a hill station and the air was just too chill.
The sight really really delighted me. I took some snaps as you see….
That 45 min of drive was really memorable today. :-)

Dull Day

No Sunshine, no Rays
Just the clouds and rainy days
Pouring and pouring there seems no stop
Making it a dull day
I remembered the good old rhyme
Rain rain go away
Come again some other day.

Its been pouring for the last 3 days. Diwali has been quiet dampy this time. It actually feels like evening 6, but its just 2.45 in the afternoon. Not even getting sleep. I guess we all in Bangalore desperately need some sunshine.


Hope tomorrow is bright day

In Search of Laai & Batasha.

Ok does it sound like a story to you , well actually it can be narrated that way.
Today morning was that very special morning which comes every year in everyone’s life. The day of Diwali. Time to shop, eat, pray , love ( sounds like that new movie) but yes that is what we all do.
So just like each year, this year also me and vinayak set out to do our shopping for the very basics such as flowers, fruits, Laai& batasha( the prasad that is usually given during the festival after Lakshmi Pooja).( puffed rice and Sugar candy in circular shape)
We went to our good old Yeshwantpur market.. and lo do you have the space to even walk. The place was just bustling with business , the dampness every where with the rain. The bidding prices of the flowers , the heavy bargaining going on. It actually was great fun. Just in the middle of that place I stood to think, why do I love this old city so much.
Simple….. you don’t get to see this in the other side of the concrete jungle.
Your flamboyant cars have no value here, infact they just can’t enter this place.
You need to be on Nataraja service ( I mean walking) , your cycle or max your bike …:-)
Your platinum and Titanium cards are worthy to be put in the dustbin. Cash and Carry :-)
The whole market is so colourful. Ok coming back to Lai and Batasha…. This time for some reason Lai was not to be found in a few common places where we used to go, they ran out of stock. Each guy started to show us the next shop, next lane, next road to go and check if they would have. In this bargain I actually took a full view of the market. Right from the road that sold only fish , to the street that just sold flowers and fruits…. I have never seen this place fully in my life….
Finally there was just one shop who just had a handful of Lai … and I guess I need to thank my stars for that.
I was so thrilled with the happenings around, I just took a few snaps… thanks to technology. :-) as always.

By the way I saw blue, green and purple roses… have you seen it before… amazing,.

Death ....you are......

There isn’t a hiss,
When you come by
No Foot prints, no trail
But there is only cry.
Picking the best of the mangoes
And leaving the rest
With a laugh on your face
Holding lives at your behest
So brutal you are, and have no care
Oh! Death you are, and no one can dare


Death spares no one......
He keeps ticking and picking... we just watch each mango being picked up everytime... and remain so helpless.
Today , we have lost one of our respectable colleagues... and my condolences to his family in this great hour of grief...

Kole Basava, ( the tamed bull)

Have you ever heard that name before….. well if you have grown up in karnaaka or a kannadiga then it is a well known name but lost out somewhere , deep in our memory… .I had kind of forgotten this ages ago…. ,
Today I happened to go thru the interiors of bangalore for some carving work to be done…and I was standing in this shop facing the shop keeper and talking something very serious… and suddenly behind me I hear a bell….. Just turned around and Lo ….. it was “Kole basava” standing with his master.
Kole Basava means tamed bull….
He was really well decorated with a lot of ornaments, a nice silkish cloth over his whole body and a solid macho looking head gear… looks it was made of bronze….
There were quite a few of us in a around that place and the master decided to show us some tricks… instead of just asking us for money….
He would ask questions to the kole basava and it would nod its head… all it could do is nod…
Few hilarious questions and the nod would go on…. Few of us gave him some money and he left…
It has approximately been around 15 years since I saw this Kole basava….
It was such a common sight to see before in every festival, early in the morning he would be our first visitor… none of us could say no, some rice to him and some paise’s to his master would definitely go…
And with this super duper speed of urbanization we are in… He will soon be extinct.
I am glad atleast in some places he is still visiting and this folklore is still alive
Infact “kole basava” name is also given as a synonym for a person who nods his head for everything in acceptance  (with or without brains !!!!)

Imagination

I just wanted to share some drawings of Maansi...

Pls see the images in the bottom up, right to left approach :-) . After I uploaded I saw the problem and I am too lazy to change all over again... so please help. :-)

1. Cindrella, getting into the pumpkin carriage before the clock strikes 12
2.Classroom with that huge Red bell, to ring before time and finish classes soon :-)
3.Commonwealth Closing ceremony
4.Scenic drawing
5.copy from the deccan herald , open Sesame
6.She and her friends sailing in the Sea with Sindbad the Sailor

I just think all these kids of these days are just amazing... they beat the wits out of me..

Time to Dance

I really have this craze for dancing, that kind of runs in my blood, but past few years with the way i have put on weight, i try hard to refrain as i feel i kind of look funny. Every year ,navratri Durga pooja happens on all the 9 days in a very traditional and ethnic way in my apartment. This was the first time i was attending it....I just went to see the goddess for the pooja and then all the ladies just bang pulled me to dance with them.... for sometime felt a little odd... but then some of them were much better than me ( in weight) :-) felt like i had a lot of company of the same type.. and then there was no stop. and playing with those dandiya sticks... it was such a long time...
It makes you feel so happy, de stressed.... and so much fun

so many people came forward for this pooja...truly such festivals give a lot of opportunity to know people around you.

I just plugged some snaps, not sure if it is clear.

The Games Begin ... and what Grandeur

There have been so many wrong things happening with the CWG for the last so many months. Each one using the opportunity to make their fortunes or the others using it as the best time for mud slinging at each other or even the roof top collapsing. Each time I read the paper I would wonder ... " will the CWG ever happen".
I waited for Sunday to see the inaugaration and ..... what was it I saw......

I just remain " AAh Struck" . The way it was done .... amazing.... for a moment the whole past was buried in my mind. Watched every bit of the program. The exhibition of our art, culture and the whole concept... simply great.
Infact I think it was much much better than many of the international events i have seen. They may be technically classy... but the stuff.... is what we have....

Mera Bharat Mahaan.

Plaza Theatre – Royalty to Ruins and now mere dust…

I may probably be one of the last bangaloreans who may be writing or talking about the saga of the Plaza theatre. I can’t help but write this today, to bring out the emotions in me that has just gushed … more like a sudden death that I have just seen.
For the last couple of years Plaza theatre has been shut down but the building stood as it was with the gates locked… but today when I went on to MG road, I was just struck with a shock. There was no building there. All reduced to mere dust.
I m probably one of the younger generations to have enjoyed movies at the plaza … it has been the place where our forefathers have been to watch movies. A theatre built with a lot of taste. There have been great plays that have been showcased in this truly “heritage spot” if I can say.
I have watched so many beautiful movies and the last one that I watched was “ Ek din Chaubis Ghante” …God you would have not even heard this movie as it would have ran probably for 1 day . May be few days.
It was a movie of Nandita Das in the very early stage of her acting days and it was just me, Ram, Murali and Vinayak in the ground floor, and few couples seated in some extreme corners….
We had a ball of a time watching that movie, and analyzing actually what the story was….
The bhelpuri guy outside the cinema hall used to make some amazing stuff and the corn guy was always there with some nice tender corn…
Infact there was a watch shop and a saree shop attached, from where I had even bought a saree that I still have.
I have just pulled this link from Wikipedia if you really want to know about this place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Theatre_(Bangalore)

Bangalore has seen the death of so many such landmarks, Galaxy, Lido, Symphony( Shankarnag theatre) and now Plaza…
Lido is now in its new avatar, symphony ….building still stands and above that is our good , old Ullas hotel ( touchwood, I hope this building remains as it is) … Galaxy .,… wondering what will come up there as that place is also mere dust now and fully covered so when you cross you just can’t see what’s happening.
All these deaths in the name of urbanization. Truly tragic

monsoons are on their way

Rains are expected to hit in full swing from tomorrow .

While i am writing this , its already started drizzling..:-)

Hoping for more respite from the afternoon heat...

amazing technology

I am currently at the airport waiting for my flight back to bangalore . Flight is late for some good reason , finished reading the newspaper fully . Was wondering how to time pass. I haven't really used the internet on my mobile at all apart from downloading my mails into my pandora's box...oops mailbox . Just opened it, tried browsing thru, its pretty fast huh. typing is a bit of a pain though as the screen is tiny and so are the butttons. But for now, to kill time , its discovery . This technology is really amazing for tribals like me. Ok for now the short craze is over as my fingers are paining hitting those tiny buttons pain

Kites ------ flying high

Kites movie released in bangalore with a lot of unecessary hungama.
We got our tickets for the first day first show, doubtful if the movie was on, finally went up to the cinema hall. And bang in the intermission, comes a message
sorry for the incovenience , collect ur refund. the first half of the movie has been narrated in a very abrupt manner, unfortunately, missed the second half.

A kind of irritation of not knowing the full story, made me go to the cimema hall, closer to home to pick up the next day ticket. Its pouring like crazy, but nothing can deterr as i just want to see the whole movie and be done with it. that day morning, i glanced thru the various reviews in TOI and deccan, each quiet contradictory to each other.

Got into the theatre for the last show on Sunday
LEt me tell you , Hritik is awesome. I mean he is just too perfect to be a hero.
Barbara Mori... oops, she is just too beautiful, simple, zero makeup...
both of them make a deadly pair... the story is very intense and has been narrated very very intelligently. You just need to be smart enough to follow the trail.

A few hiccups are there, but is definitely worth the watch. Songs are really really nice. Dont know why these reviews misleed people. anyways thats their personal opinion , but I even got the CD.
Planning to catch up for another show over this weekend, if the movie survives the theatres till then.

Go watch it... i liked it. :-)

The last few mangoes

Every year come summer , it was time for me to harp into my Ajji Mane Hithlu
( granny’s house backyard) to check out the mangoes. This tree was never a planned planted one. It happened to germinate on its own ,,, and just that my ajji started giving it the required water day after day.
In one of my write ups last year also , I had shared the photos of those yummy mangoes.
This year too the mangoes have ripened but only the lady who took care of them is no more and the house remains silent with no one there, I went to the silent house, opened the door headed straight to the backyard just as I did year after year and there were the mangoes, infact more mangoes than last year , all just hanging there for someone to come and pluck them. I did all the circus along with my mother to lay my hands on as much as I could get and have got them home.
I want to savor it as I know these would probably be the last few mangoes from my Ajji Mane.

Life is pretty miserable, all of us go thru this at some point, but somehow it gets really hard and choking to digest the very fact that there is a huge vacuum when your loved one leaves you.

I love your ajji and will always …

Some good things never change.

Just a few days ago, I scribbled on April showers… well I just wanted to reiterate that some good things never change like the rains in Bangalore. Once the temperature gets soaring… rains are bound to pour . Just today, the temperature was making us feel the scorching heat and suddenly in the evening, the weather changed all of a sudden with a hailstorm and then a heavy downpour. It just felt so amazing and all of you completely agree with me I am sure. Just a video I took on my mobile.
I cross my fingers, that this continues till eternity.

Morning Madhumakkhi ( honey bee)

It was morning 4.30 AM and I m getting ready to go to the airport to take the flight. All at home are fast asleep and my mom gets up to make me some tea before I leave. I open the balcony door to let some cool breeze entre the house. Along with the cool breeze enters Mr. Madhumakkhi too. He is in one of those jolly moods and he starts hovering around in the house. My mother comes out of the kitchen and looks at this guy and is worried if it would do any nuisance to my daughter. So she takes preventive steps, gets the broom and asks me to chase it out without killing it. The task looks easy and I take the broom and get after it…. Well I started climbing up the sofa to chase it away from the lights, it jumps and goes bang down under the couch, where I bend in full zoom to push it out from there. It is then in a mood to go over the TV and then the speakers and the paintings on the wall. I am now irritated that despite my attempt of almost 5 minutes, he is not ready to budge and had decided to test my patience and energy levels and along with my ongoing drama my mother goes on giving instructions on how to attack and the strategies to have it out. I finally had to show that the (evil)man was more powerful but after a good 20 minutes, sweating me out and leaving me with a bad arm pain.
Imagine what one madhumakkhi could do if it decided to teach me a lesson every day ….and see me slimmer 

april showers

Why do i love Banglaore.... namma bengaluru....

What ever you can crib about the traffic, or the pollution, the cluttered roads or the metro work... thats all fine, but there is some magic....

do you feel the april showers... its amazing

other cities are withering with Scorching heat... but bang goes bangalore...

we touch a point and after that its just showers...

i also will shorlty plug the snaps of the gulmohar trees which are in full bloom near my house...
its so enchanting...

i cant wait now to go up to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee,,,when is it pouring now...
bye

Ok just got back... rains are lashing up in the cafeteria and just ate some hot hot baggis... quiet tasty .. oily though...

yummy moments

Proud as a peacock

We had been to mysore and visited the Karanje lake. In this place there is a pretty huge lake, a large and well maintained Garden and offcourse a bird park, where you are allowed to get inside a huge cage like thing constructed that has peacocks, different types of peasants, doves, peahens, stilts , falcons etc. its a very nice feeling to actually walk by a peacock, which just decides to open up its feathers for us and show off

this one peacock, decided not just to pose for us from the front, but also gave us the rear view beauty . It truly looked so amazing and the pride with which it walks... guess thats why old saying never goes wrong..... As proud as a peacock