Sayonara 2006

As I look back at 2006. I can see that one factor played an important role in my life in 2006- CHANGE. There were lots of minor and few major changes. I guess most of them happened for good. Yes, it is very difficult to cope up with a major change even though you know that change is the only constant factor in life. Things have not been easy. I faced many failures and few victories. I was at the abyss at one point of time. And yet my trust in Him and in life never flickered even once. In fact, now I know that life is more fun when one takes it as it comes. So I wanna go ahead with 2007 forgetting all the night mares and remembering the lessons that I have learnt in 2006.

I am definitely looking forward to the arrival of the little bundle of joy in 2007. I know there will be huge changes in my life in 2007. I know that I will have more roles to play. I know that I will have more challenges to face. But then, I know that life will be more interesting in 2007.:)

I have absolutely no resolutions at all for the coming year. I am ready to accept whatever life gives me. So with the utmost faith in the Almighty, a hope and a song in my heart, I prepare myself for 2007.

Hearty new year wishes to all of you. Hope 2007 will help you realise your dreams and bring lots of smiles on your faces.:)

WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR:)

Yippee! A goal is scored.:)

I remember the excitement and the dedication I had in my school and college days when I worked for the fulfillment of a goal. Those sleepless nights, those scraggly notes, those long phone calls with friends having discussions about the possible questions and so on; the list is endless.:) Most of the times, I would end up scoring less than the standard percentage I had set for myself. But those few times when I surpassed my expectations, the joy was boundless. The sense of achievement would reign over me for few days. But then again I would start off by setting another goal and working for it.

Looking back, I find that I have always had goals in my life. I have always had some targets to achieve. And I have found life challenging by working to reach those goals. But they have never been long term ones. In fact, I blank out when people ask me what do I want to become in life. For me, setting short-term goals is realistic.

There have been certain empty periods in my life. Why do I call them empty? Because those were the phases when I did not have any motivations and I felt that my life had come to standstill. Those were dormant phases. And then I had to shake myself up and start off all over.

Right now, I find myself in the same situation again. I definitely need a goal to keep me going. Or may be there are some hidden goals in front of me and I am yet to realize them. Well, the quest is on.:)

Falling in love with melancholic tunes

Tears well up in my eyes as I listen to Kishori Amonkar's Todi. Somehow whenever I listen to this Raga, all my hidden pains surface up. And yet I love listening to Todi!

There is an album of Jagjit and Chitra Singh dedicated to their son who passed away in an accident. Trust me when I say that I become very emotional whenever I listen to it. But I am in total love with that album.

I know that lot of us love listening to those soulful, tear-jerking numbers of Kishore Kumar again and again. And we are fully aware that those songs might rake our old wounds. Still we love those songs that touch the pain in our hearts, don't we? May be we love them 'coz they simply touch our heart and pain is such a strong emotion.

Well, as I have mentioned in my previous posts, music is so powerful that it can cause a whirlwind of emotions in your heart. And I don't think anything can equal that. But yes, this effect cannot be produced by all the musicians. There are only some who can make music that can touch one's soul. And a big salute to those great people who can touch millions and millions of hearts so easily.:)

Going back to the track

It has been exactly two months since I stopped blogging. No, no, the decision was not a conscious one. Just that the circumstances turned out to be so unpredictable that I did not find time to blog. And when I had time, I ran out of energy and thoughts. Lots of lessons learnt; lots of hardships faced in these two months. My whole life has changed. Priorities have changed. Isn't it amazing that life can suddenly take an unknown turn and then everything just changes?

Anyway, I hope to be regular in the blogging world from now on. But there is so much to write about that I do not know where to start. May be I need a day to reorganize my thoughts and then pen them down.

Orkutting world

I must confess that I am a frequent visitor to orkut. I have found some friends with whom I had lost touch for years. But the one thing that attracts me to this networking site is the concept of communities. There are numerous communities about music, books, quiz, schools, regions and so on. In most of the communities, you will find exchange of good information. Of course, there are some pointless ramblings and chatterings in between. But if you can filter the useful information that comes through, then there is nothing like it. In fact, I have gathered a lot of information through the discussions that happen in these communities.

Well, people tend to misuse or abuse such facilities. But then I think that we should really make good use of this powerful medium to learn a lot and stay connected.:)

The Man in Khadi

vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
peed paraayii jaaNe re
par-dukhkhe upakaar kare toye
man abhimaan naa aane re

I have always been a great admirer of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. No, my friend, this post is definitely not inspired by Lage Raho Munnabhai.:) It was 2nd October yesterday. Also a discussion with a friend of mine about Gandhiji sparked off this post. I felt that I had to write about this "larger than life" person.

Right from my primary school, I used to watch the film, "Gandhi" on October 2nd. The DD would telecast it every year. I never got bored of this movie. Every year, I felt that I understood the movie better. And then I got hold of "My Experiments with the Truth" five years ago. I was amazed by the truth and the honesty in that book. I also loved the way he experimented with everything and learnt lessons from his experiments. His simplicity fascinated me.

And then one day, I started reading about Bhagat Singh. The fact that Gandhiji could have saved the lives of the three brave revolutionaries was unknown to me. But Gandhiji did not do so. I also read about Gandhiji's family. I felt that his children were the ignored lot. There are also rumours about Gandhiji being partial to Jinnah. After reading all that, the impression of Gandhiji being a perfect person disappeared.

But when I think about it, I find that I have equal respect for Bhagat Singh and Gandhiji. Their paths were entirely different. But they were great personalities in their own ways.

The other day, my friend was telling me that Gandhiji was a great leader. True, he led the masses of India very effortlessly. And the majority of them trusted his abilities and leadership. He was a man who lived his life strictly bound to his principles. He fought the freedom struggle in a unique way. Certain principles of Gandhiji like Satyagraha and Ahimsa were instant inspirations with the youth of the country. Yes, Gandhiji did some mistakes. Unfortunately, they were major mistakes. But then he was not God. He was human after all. And the way he fought for freedom selflessly can never be forgotten.

I don't know how much of his principles will be followed by our and the future generations. But his simplicity, determination, and honesty will definitely continue to inspire me, as always.

About the real world, Steve Irwin............

Been away from the blogging world for quite some time now. After bathing in bliss in Himlayas, I found it a bit hard to get used to this routine again. Eveything seemed very unfamilar. I completely felt lost. But now, I am tracing back my steps and sadly getting into the routine.:) Welcome to the real world.:))

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Sometimes mere words can cause heart aches. How we wish that we could let go off the pain which was caused by those dagger-like words!!!

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Steve Irwin's death was one of the incidents that affected me. I did not watch his shows regularly. But when I watched them, his selfless love for the animals and his enthusiasm was very inspiring. In fact, I was not even aware of his last name. When my colleague informed me about his death, I did not know about which Steve was she talking about. Only when she told me that it was the croc guy, I recognized him!

My mom still grieves about his death. She is a big fan of his shows. She tells me that the sight of him crying over a dead croc was very touching.

I wonder why the best lot always disappear from this planet so early. May God give lot of strength to his family to bear this huge loss.

Conclusions

The best thing that happened to me was the trip to Himalayas. No word is sufficient
for me to express the joy I felt when I was there amidst nature. My mind was
absolutely clear and all the feelings of stress and tiredness seem to have vanished.
I think there is no better healer than nature, isn't it?

People say that peace is within us and we try to search for it everywhere else.
It is true. But I think the environment definitely matters.

Himalayas is one place which can actuate spiritual feelings even in an atheist's heart.
Every minute when I was there, I marveled at God's creation. I wondered how can man ever
feel superior. We are nothing at all in front of God's other creations. No book, no movie,
no object created by man can provide the serenity that these stupefying creations in the nature can give.

Yes, there is a bit of me wandering in Himalayas. That bit of me loiters in the gushing Alaknanda, those mysterious caves, the peaceful valleys and the gigantic, towering mountains.

As I stand thinking about it, I am awakened by the honking of the cars behind me.
Yep, now I realize that I am back in my city.:) I walk on with a hope that this serenity
stays with me forever.:)

Here I Come, Himalayas- The Final Day

The guide has already told us that it is going to be completely a journey by bus today. All of us are feeling a bit depressed about the end of the trip. But then we try to cheer up ourselves by playing Antakshari. We croon hindi songs all the way. I try to get a last glimpse of the mountains and the river. I hope to get back there some time again.

We reach Rishikesh at 5:30. We take a phatphati with the gujrathi family to Haridwar. Our train is at 11:30 PM. We have plenty of time left. So they advise us to go and have a look at the famous Haridwar aarti. Thanks to their generosity; we get a room at their guest house to keep our luggage. We immediately rush to the banks of Ganga where the aarti takes place. We manage to catch up with some final moments of the ritual.

It is such a big change from the silence in the mountains to the noisy crowd in Haridwar. People flock us forcing us for donations and poojas. We somehow make our way to Chotiwala ( a famous restaurant) and have our dinner. Both of us are very weary as it has been a long, tiring day. We go to the guest house, collect our luggage and leave to the railway station. All of a sudden, all the weariness has come to me, mainly because of the heat. As soon as the train arrives, we find our seats and sleep as if we have not slept for days. Needless to say, I dream of only Himalayas.:))

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 7

I get up early in the morning. But I make a mistake of not peeping out of my window. If I had done that, I would have seen the majestic Neelkant peak. Well, I hope to catch that next time.:)

Our guide informs us about the Mana village. This is supposed to be the last village of India as it is situated on the border of India and China. Most of them in our group are very tired. So few of us decide to take the bait. As it is a small group, we take a jeep.

First we see the birth place of River Saraswati. There are lots of stories about this river. It seems that Mahabharata was written in this place. When Vyasa was reciting the verses and Ganesha was writing them down, Saraswati was flowing with a roaring noise. Vyasa found this very disturbing and hence he cursed Saraswati to be visible only at the source and at Prayag.




















I have never seen any other river flowing with such a force at its source. River Saraswati's source is a very gratifying sight.

We go through the Mana village to Vyas Gufa. The villagers belong to Bhutiya tribe and they are very shy. They make very beautiful carpets. I try to capture these people in my camera but they refuse to be photographed. So I take a picture from the rear end.















Vyas Gufa is the place where Vyas recited the verses of Mahabharata. And then we go to Ganesh Gufa. There is something very special about these two places. They are non-commercial and untouched yet.

Our final destination is "Bharat Ki Aakhiri Chai Ki Dukan" ( India's last tea stall).:)) I have a tulsi chai here. I being a tea lover absolutely fall in love with this chai.

We go back to Badrinath. It is a long bus journey from there to Pipalkoti. The guide informs us that we need to spend the night at Pipalkoti. So we make some phone calls, have our dinner and get back to our rooms at Pipalkoti.

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 6

As we are behind schedule for a day, the guide gives us two options; either we can take a horse to Hemkund and then back to Govind Ghat or trek back to Govind Ghat. All of them decide to take a horse to Hemkund and then to Govind Ghat. We decide to trek down to Govind Ghat (14 kms) as we wanna enjoy the shades of nature. So we start off at 7:00 A.M. We walk at our own pace enjoying each and every creation of God. We stop by the river and spend an hour there. The water looks so pure and untouched. But it is damn freezing!















The last three kilometres seem a bit tiring, may be because of the scorching sun. I am thrilled when I reach Govind Ghat. We reach Govind Ghat at 1:15 P.M. Man, this has been my longest trek:)

We wait for the co-passengers in the bus. I then realize how actually tired I am. My feet are aching badly. But my happiness gets over the pain. Our team arrive at 3:00. The guide informs us that we will be leaving to Badrinath. All of us are so tired that we sleep all the way to Badrinath.

I am amazed at the beautiful mountains that surround the Badrinath temple. There is a small ashram on one of those mountains that attracts me. I shall be talking about it in a separate post.

We ask the hotel people for hot water as we wanna have a nice bath before we go for a darshan to the temple. We are thrilled when the hotel people get the hot water from the hot water spring. After the refreshing bath, we go to the temple. We get a special pooja done. There is an amazingly peaceful feeling in me. We visit the hot water spring. Again it is one of God's stupefying creations.

We have a very good Gujrati thali for dinner. After a long time, we are getting to eat rice. We then retire to our rooms wearily.

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 5

We get ready at 6:30 and have our breakfast. We have been having parathas all the time.:) We start our trek to Valley of flowers finally. We are told that it is totally an 8kms trek. The paths are beautiful, untouched and remote. They do not allow horses there. You have to walk or take the help of a porter. We click lot of pictures and continue our journey. River Lakshman Ganga flows all along the track. We play in its waters and admire the force with which it flows.















We get to know that we are approaching the valley of flowers as our paths are strewn with flowers.















And I stand there and look at it. Man, it is awesome. I cannot express the beauty in mere words. People call it the heaven on earth. There are mountains, the river and the vast stretch of colorful flowers. I have never seen anything like this before. And it appears more beautiful because it is not a man-made garden. It is completely God's creation!!!
















We sit on a rock and slowly try to observe the breathtaking environment that we are in. I can see the snow capped mountains far away. There are gigantic mountains all around me and I am so dwarfed. It is absolutely peaceful. You cannot really hear any sound there except may be the humming of bees and the flowing of water. I had been dreaming of going to such a place since so long. I sleep on that rock for some time. It is as if the nature is singing a lullaby. We dwell on those silent yet meaningful moments.

After a couple of hours there, I am very reluctant to leave that place. But our guide warns us that we need to cross a certain point before 12 P.M. because of a possible landslide. So we force ourselves for the return trek. We walk very slowly and silently. May be each one of us are still mentally present in the Valley of Flowers.

We reach our guest house at 2:30 P.M. We spend the rest of the day lazing around and wandering in the Ghangaria lanes.

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 4

In the morning, when I peep out from the cottage at Auli, I see a conspicuous snow capped mountain. I am very, very excited as this is my first clear view of snow. Later I get to know that the mountain I have been admiring is actually Nandadevi. Wow!















We reach Govind Ghat at 9:00 in the morning. We have our breakfast at a dhaba there. We meet two elderly Sikhs there. They warn us about a very hectic journey ahead. They ask us to take a horse to Ghangria at least as the slopes are too steep. We decide to check it out. Most of them in our group decide to take horses. The trek is for 14 kms. And this is my first major trekking expedition.:)

So we start off at 10:30. It is getting very sunny and I somehow manage to trek for 3 kms. I know that I will have to trek for 8 kms again the next day to valley of flowers. I decide that I should take a horse to conserve my energy.:)

Believe me when I say that trekking is much more easier than riding a horse on this cobbled, steep paths! The paths are so narrow and you always have to be very wary. The horse that I am sitting on looked very feeble and I am expecting it to collapse any moment. And as I expect, it fumbles over the steps twice. We stop in between for lunch. And continue our journey again.

I reach Ghangria at 4:30. It has been a very painful, strenuous ride. But yes, the pain is alleviated by the stupefying nature around.

We try calling up our folks. The phone booth guy tells us that for every minute, the charge is 15 Rs. as there are only 3 phone lines in that village. Everything is expensive here. We spend a very quiet evening, relax and get ready for the next day's trek.

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 3

All of us get dressed up optimistically for the trek, that is supposed to take place as per schedule, hoping that the landslide has stopped. If it has, then we decide to walk through the mess of mud and stones on the road and find another bus of GMVN on the other side. So we get our backpacks and trekking shoes and walk towards the landslide.

As we approach the place, we see a huge crowd there. We hear the thumping sounds of the stones, And I witness the first landslide in my life. The rocks roll down majestically with a loud thundering noise. Then all of a sudden, everything seems to stop. There is silence. I start hoping that this is the end of it. But immediately there is a big boulder rolling down again. We stand there and watch nature's fury. Even in its time of wrath, nature is breathtaking.






























We use this time to do a bit of trekking in lower hills out there. We wait for a couple of hours and then return back to the guest house. We try to take a nap in the dormitory provided to us for temporary accommodation. All of us know that we are helpless and we will have to patiently wait.





Finally there is good news that the landslide has stopped and the road has been cleared. So we enthusiastically continue our bus journey. After traveling for about 4-5 kms , we find ourselves stuck in another traffic jam due to another landslide. But the good news is that the land slide has stopped and the government authority is clearing the road. Nevertheless, we are stuck at that place for a couple of hours.

It is already night by the time we arrive at Joshimath. Due to some problems with the accommodation, we are taken to Auli. It is very dark out there. But I can see that we are going through some very steep, winding crude roads. It seems a bit scary. When we reach the place, the guide tells us that it is supposed to be one of the favorite spots for skiing. But since it is summer, we cannot see any snow at Auli. Besides it is very dark. We walk wearily towards our cottage. Man, it is freezing!

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 2

We start early at seven in the morning. The guide tells us that it is going to be a long bus journey. We get introduced to the other groups in our bus. There is a bengali group of 8 members, a gujarati group of 5 members and a mumbai group of 7 members. I begin to see the gigantic mountains of Himalayas as we progress through our journey.

I learn a lot of new things in this journey. I had always believed that Ganga was the river that came from Gangotri. But then that is not completely true. We get to see some prayags ( sangam of two rivers) in this journey.

1) Deo Prayag: Sangam of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. This is the real place where Ganga is born.




2) Rudra Prayag: Sangam of Alaknanda and Mandakini.

3) Karan Prayag: Sangam of Alaknanda and Pindari

4) Nand Prayag: Sangam of Alaknanda and Nandakini

Our whole journey is along river Alaknanda. This river takes birth at a place called Alakpuri. It flows very aggressively and forcefully. So the journey amidst Himalayas and Alaknanda is beautiful.



















We stop at a river rafting camp for our breakfast. And then we continue our jouney. Though the journey is perfectly scenic, it is a bit exhausting. At 4:30 in the evening, we reach Pipalkoti. We are supposed to proceed to Joshimath. But the road is blocked due to a landslide. We can see a long queue of vehicles ahead us. We wait for a couple of hours but we are informed that the landslide is still happenning. It is 15th August. So the government people who are supposed to help are not in office. So our guide informs us that we will be staying at Pipal koti that night. Since Pipalkoti is a small village, all the people who are stuck in the traffic jam are not able to get the accomodation. Luckily, there is a guesthouse of GMVN. So we manage to get some rooms there.

We take an evening walk exploring some shops in Pipalkoti and also trying to see the landslide. But then we see that the traffic jam there is so bad that we decide to walk back to our room.
I am a little apprehensive now because we are behind our schedule. We do not know when the landslide will stop. It seems that landslides have become quite frequent there mostly because people have messed up nature's balance while installing electric ploes in the mountains. Sigh! When will man learn that he can never outpower nature??

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 1

After a couple of days' stay in the scorching heat of Delhi, I start off at an early morning in Shatabdhi Express to Haridwar. The journey reveals the dumped garbage and slums on either sides of the railway track. I am depressed when I see Yamuna being reduced to a drainage place.

After arriving at Haridwar, we take a phatphati ( a three wheeler with an engine of a bike) to Rishikesh. I enjoy the ride as I am exposed to fresh air and greenery. We get to see lot of ashrams and temples on the way.

Finally we reach the guest house of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) at Rishikesh. Even though there is a nagging tiredness, both of us decide to pay a visit to the banks of River Ganga. So we walk through the narrow lanes to an ashram on the banks of Ganges. And then, I see Ganga. Al my weariness disappears as I look at the powerful, majestic river. There is a group of people out there performing a puja. So with their recitation of shlokas in the background, both of us sit on the banks and watch Ganga dumbfounded. I have never seen such a magnanimous river ever before.














I see a sadhu meditating on the banks of the river. The view of the mountains, the river and the meditating sadhu all together make me very spiritual and philosophical. In front of other creations of God, we are midgets.


We start finding our way back to the guest house as the sun sets.

Just a note on 22nd August, 2006

I am at Delhi now, just back from a great vacation at the mountains. I will be leaving to Bangalore in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I thought that I should put together my experiences that I had in these eight days. It may not be an exact travelogue. I am just penning down all the random thoughts and experiences. I will try to divulge the details as I go on. So I shall post each day's experience.:)

We had gone on a package trip to Valley of Flowers and Badrinath in Uttaranchal. This trip was organized by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), a government organization.

I am off to an exciting vacation far in the mountains. I will let you know the details once I am back. Meanwhile you take care and have lots of fun.:))))) Adios.:)

Rangantittu

We had been to rangantittu a couple of weeks back. It was my first visit to the bird sanctuary. I think our timing for this visit was very good because we heard that they closed the sanctuary the next day, for some time.:)) I found the visit quite interesting. There were not many visitor birds because it was almost the end of the season. But I must honestly confess that the wild crocodiles there caught my attention, especially the one which was lying on a rock at the centre. Our boats went so near by to that crocodile that I was almost expecting it to jump on us any time.:))) The funny part was that a lady in our boat was not convinced that it was a live crocodile. She somehow went on justifying that it was a statue. Look at the snap and you will understand why.:))Here are some of the snaps that I clicked while we were there:

Friends

They were there with me when I was broke and shattered. They corrected me when I went wrong. They applauded my efforts when success came on my way. They were there to pay my bills when I stood there penniless and unemployed. They cried with me when they caught me shedding tears. They were there for the silly jokes, banter and laughter. They sang all those nostalgic songs with me everyday.

Most of them are still my fellow travellers and the rest have taken different paths. But they form a major chunk of my life. Yep, I am talking about FRIENDS. Life has been a joyful, fun-filled ride with them.

Wish you all a happy friendship day.:))))

Hospital, Little Champ, Kishore's Unheard Song

Hospital days again! Mom is in the hospital again. The good news is that I have not yet fought with the nurses or any of the hospital staff yet.:) Yep, they have been very helpful. Also, mom has been showing signs of improvement. Last two years have been really very difficult for her. Hopefully there are some hopes, happiness and laughter for her in the coming years.:) In spite of her pain and weariness in the hospital, she has not stopped filling the crossword.:) Way to go, Mom.:)))

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I have been watching the LITTLE CHAMP episodes of SaReGaMaPa. It is amazing to watch the little kids belting out complicated songs with so much of ease. Thanks to them- I have been getting the opportuity of listening to some rare songs. One thing that I noticed was that the parents seemed more tensed than the kids who were performing. They were acting as if it were a matter of life and death. I wish they had let the kids just enjoy their singing without thinking about the results. Among the judges, Alka Yagnik and Bappi Lahiri have been very equitable. I like the way Alka gives tips to the kids to improve further. On the whole, kudos to those little champs for giving such stunning performances.:)

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Speaking of LITTLE CHAMPS, one of the kids sang "Chanda O Chanda" on the show the other day. I was listening to it for the first time. So did a bit of research on it. The song is from "Lakhon Mein Ek" and is sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. Lata has sung the last 4 lines. So the song is dominated by Kishore Kumar. The music was composed by R.D.Burman and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi.

I am a great fan of Kishore Kumar. But I had never heard this song before. It is such a touching and very beautiful song. I have fallen in love with it. Every time I find out that there is some song of Kishore Kumar that I have not heard. I wonder how many more such gems of Kishore Kumar are yet to be discovered.:)

Classical Delight

This sunday, we had gone to a special music concert. My uncle had invited us to an all day long music concert on the occasion of Guru Poornima. The concert started at 10 AM and ended at 10:45 PM.

On Guru Poornima, usually the disciples of a guru perform. It is their way of offering tribute to their Guru. When you go to such concerts, you need to remember that you will see lots of novices as many of them will be performing for the first time. It is a great pleasure to go to such concerts because there will be no known faces and so the audience is open minded.

I go to the Guru Poornima concert every year. This year, nine of his disciples performed. And my uncle gave a grand finale to the concert. Most of the disciples were between 15-28 years. They brought so much of freshness and enthusiasm in their music. I was thrilled when I heard them presenting complicated raagas. Kudos to all of them for puting so much of hard work and dedication which definitely showed in their performances. Let me try recalling some of the raagas:
- Chaitanya sang Jogkauns ( I had heard jogkauns by Rashid Khan and it is mindblowing. I must say that Chaitanya provided fair justice to the raaga)
- Aathma sang Bilaskhani Todi ( I had heard this Todi by Ajay Pohankar. Aathma sang it very flawlessly and melodiously.)
- Kaushik sang Shudda Saarang ( I had not heard much if this Raaga. Kaushik presented the Raaga very technically and effortlessly.)
- Siri sang Pooriya Dhanashree ( She has just finished her 10th. Siri has got a very powerful voice and I must say that she is definitely on the way to carve a niche in the field of music.)
- Amritha sang Bhageshree ( I have been hearing her every Guru Poornima. every year, she seems to come up with better performances.)
- Nethra sang Vaachaspathi ( This is a very rare raaga. Netra sang it beautifully.)
- Meera sang Jeevanpuri ( I was listening to her for the first time. She has got a very impressive voice.)
- My uncle sang Oudhava Bhageshree as the final event in the concert. I had not heard this Raag before. His performance was the cherry on the cake. It is always a great pleasure to listen to him.

Hoping to attend more of such concerts in future.:)

Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya

This song is exactly what I have always felt and what I feel now. This song also expresses what I want to be. Each line is a message by itself. Yes, it is the closest to my heart. Jaidev's music added more beauty to these amazingly simple, yet rich lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. Rafi was the soul of this song. Dev Anand added more color to it.:))

Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Har fikr ko dhuye mein udata chala gaya

Barbadiyon ka sog manana fizool tha
Barbadiyon ka jashn manata chala gaya

Jo mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya
Jo kho gaya main usko bhulata chala gaya

Gham aur khushi mein fark na mehsoos ho jahaan
Main dil ko uss makaam pe lata chala gaya

U better than me? I better than u?

How can you compare two people? When we know that each one of us is unique here, how can we compare two personalities? Is it because we try to search for negativities or imperfections in people?

She is beautiful;she is ugly. He is rich;he is very poor. She sings well; he croaks. She is fair;she is dark.The list goes on and on.

Each one of us here have unique traits and characteristics. And we are all special, aren't we? Each one of us are bundled with positive and negative factors. It would be unfair to expect mirror images in all. How fair is it would be to compare Rahul Dravid to Shahrukh Khan? How fair is it to compare Sophia Loren with Medha Patkar? How can you say one is better than the other? If you carefully observe, then they become good, worse or best according to your judgement or opinion. And we judge them according to our set expectations.

Comparisons are more when two people work in the same field. There are comparisons between friends and even siblings. And the saddest part is that I know of some cases where these comparisons have actually led to lot of superiority or inferiority complexes.

Do comparisons happen when we don't accept people as they are? Do we try to find someone else in that person?

Well, I know that despite of whatever I am trying to say here, people will definitely continue with their comparisons. Maybe just turning a deaf ear to them and surging ahead with faith in ourselves is the best way to tackle these empty, hollow comparisons.:))

My condolence to those people who lost their near and dear ones in Mumbai and Srinagar blasts yesterday. It was really heartrending to see the after effects of the blasts. As mentioned in my earlier posts, I am still not very clear about what these terrorists are trying to tell us through these blasts!!! Why are they targetting the innocent masses? And if they call this JIHAAD then I think they should fight in the open and stop these cowardly acts!

My rekindled pastime:)

Kannada was a part of my school syllabus since first standard. It was the third language. But then at home, my mom used to make me read kannada books and magazines. I remember that when we went to movies, she would read out the titles written in Kannada loudly so that I could start recognizing the Kannada letters. So after all this initial training by mom, I read my first kannada novel in seventh standard. And I continued reading kannada novels all through my high school, PUC and initial years of my engineering college. At the same time, my interest in english books increased and before I knew I was busy reading english fiction. Thus my kannada novel reading discontinued. Still sometimes amidst my english novels, I would read some kannada masterpieces here and then.

Since one month, I had been feeling a bit restless. I was getting bored with the routine. So I was planning to join a class. Then I remembered that I had this membership in a private library near by. But I had never got enough time to read the books at the library. Therefore I thought that I should make use of that library and get rid of my boredom.:)

So I have started my reading spree of kannda novels again. And I must honestly confess that I have been enjoying it a lot. It had been ages since I read books of Mangala Satyan, Usha Navarathnaram, H.G.Radhadevi and so on. I am trying to finish one novel every day ( No, they are not very voluminous). I have completely stopped watching TV now. Instead I am hooked to these novels. I donno how long will I continue this rekindled hobby of mine. But at least now, I am thouroughly enjoying it. :))))

All of a sudden, my blog crashed today!!!!!!I was just getting an empty page. I tried in different browsers in vain. I asked my friends to access the page. But they also got to see the empty page. So I reset the template and tried again. It worked this time. But then I lost all my customizations.:((

Some snippets of July 4th, 2006

My friend from Assam was feeling very bad about the news coverage by the so called news channels. She was telling me that there was not even a mention of the bomb blasts that have been happenning in Assam but the Rakhi Sawant-Mika news made the headlines everywhere!!!!!!!!So are the news channels listening???????

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People in the I.T industry atleast have been busy making their lives more luxurious. But does happiness follow these comforts? Why is this word "stress" becoming so prominent? I am sure that our elders would not even have heard of this word "stress". Life is getting more and more complicated. And most of the times we find ourselves entangled in the webs that we weave. It looks like we are all searching for that "something" for our life. But then haven't the wise people told us that all the answers lie within us? Haven't they told us that all the peace and happiness rest in our souls?

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My latest crush is "Mitwa" from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. When I heard this album for the first time, I had missed out on this song. I did not like this album at all because I really had lot fo expectations from Shankar, Ehasaan and Loy. But then I listened to "Mitwa" due to my friend's reccomendation. The singer is Shafqat aamanat Ali from Fuzon. I had heard him before. But in this song, his voice touches your soul. The music directors have done a good job by choosing him for this song. No one would have sung this like him.

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I saw Fanaah sometime back. Few people told me that the movie was nothing extraordinary and that I should not really take the trouble of watching it. But then how could I afford to miss the movie with Aamir and Kajol [they are my favourites:)]!!!

Well, the story is nothing new. But the performances by the lead actors are worth watching. I wonder why Aamir and Kajol have never been paired before! I think they share a very good on screen chemistry and complement each other.

Afterglow

There are very few songs from the rock bands that have the soothing, allaying effect on me. Hence I reluctantly agreed to my friend's suggestion to listen to her current favorite song from a rock group. My mind was in turmoil then and I was planning to appease it with some classical or Celtic music. Still on my friend's insistence, I decided to listen to this song, "Afterglow" by INXS. I had not heard INXS before.

And there I sat dumbfounded when I listened to it for the first time. From then on, I have been listening to it. Indeed, a very beautiful song! It gives me an impression of sailing on a smooth sea.:)
An important trivia about this song is that the new lead singer is J.D. Fortune. Yes, you guessed it right. He was the winner of the Rock star show. He has got a very enchanting, penetrating voice. How I wish we could get such winners on our Indian Idol shows (sigh!!)!!

And by the way, I thought I heard Saarangi here and there in this song. If you guys ever happen to listen to this song, lemme know if you heard it too! And if that is Saarangi, then I must say that it is a very good fusion experimentation that they have done.

The Pleasure of Giving:)

I must confess that I love giving gifts to people. I love their smiles and expressions when they receive the gifts. It is more fun when you give surprise gifts to people.:) I always find that gifts are more meaningful when you give people what they always wanted to buy. But then it is not very easy to find out what the person wants and even if you get to know, you will have to check if that is within your budget. :D

Most of them find it tough to get the right gifts for the right people. A couple of days back, my friend was complaining to me that she was getting a bit jaded about her husband's gifts. She said that she found the gifts from him quite bizarre. Once he gave her a huge painting and my friend, who barely understood art, did not even understand the head or the tail of that piece. Next time, he gave her this western classical CD. And she said that she never opened it till to date.:) Now I know that her husband is a very, very good human being. My friend feared that she would hurt his feelings if she spoke to him about the gifts.:)

Another friend of mine finds it tough to select gifts for people. So she prefers taking people to the shop, asking them to select whatever they want and then buying it for them. She says that she finds this more satisfying because atleast she knows that they are getting what they want!:)

Some people find this whole process of buying gifts very complicated so they resort to giving money as a gift. Now, you can also get gift certificates from different shops. But that reminds me of an experience that I had. One of the organizations, that I worked with before, had gifted us with a gift certificate worth Rs.1000 at one of the very reputed, expensive home stores. But we started discovering that most of the useful items there were priced much, much above Rs.1000.:) So then we had to buy things which we did not want and the only reason we bought them was that those items cost less.:)

Well, whatever it is, I am definitely in love with the giving part. The concept of gifts might sound very materialistic to some. But for me , they give abundant pleasure. As I mentioned before, the smiles on the faces are very priceless and remind me about the joy of giving.:)

Aaa....aaaa...aakshiiii!!

I have been sneezing and sneezing since one week. This common ( I wonder why it is called common!!!) cold is getting nastier and nastier. I start sneezing all of a sudden and take people by surprise ( or shall i say shock??) . Just when I am at an interesting point of narration, I sneeze. As I am crossing the most busiest road, I sneeze. When there is a pin drop silence in the conference room, I sneeze. And the problem is that, it does not end with one sneeze. It is a chain of sneezings. And my state after this series of sneezings is absolutely hapless. I feel so sapped out of energy and I become so teary-eyed. Many a times, people mistake that I am sobbing and they come to console me or give me suspicious glances.:)

An interesting trivia about sneezing that I got from abcnews.com (may be i will feel better about sneezing after I read this!!):

So what does your sneeze say about you?

If you're a single sneezer that turns away when you sneeze, Wood would classify you as a "nice sneezer." These people are characterized as being warm, helpful, supportive and nurturing of others.

Or are you the type to let a big loud sneeze out? These sneezers, or "get it done" sneezers, are found to be fast, decisive and to the point. They typically make the best leaders.

Do you always keep tissues handy and cover your mouth when you feel a sneeze coming? These are the "be right" sneezers and are typically the careful, accurate, deep-thinking type.

The last group are the "enthusiastic" sneezers, Wood said. These are the people with sneezes you notice — such as your grandfather whose sneezes perhaps terrify you, or your co-worker who always sneezes five times. The enthusiastic sneezers were found to be charismatic and social and have the ability to motivate others.

Another trivia from abcnews.com again:

It turns out your sneeze may not be as original as you think. According to researchers, a sneeze style may be a genetic trait passed down from generation to generation.

"There is a certain innate pattern to the way we sneeze, and it probably is genetic in some ways," said Dr. Frederic Little, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University.

Dad, are you listening? Aaaaa...aaakshiiiiiii....

Tishnagi

I think the lyrics of this song TISHNAGI by Shaan are very meaningful. I also liked the way Shaan has sung this.
Few lines from the song:

Naa koi kami hai
Naa hai kisise ranjish koi
Yu to har khushi hai
Phir bhi jaane kyun main khush nahi
Aye meri zindagi
Jane kiski talaash mein hain sabhi
Bas itanaa bataa kab bujhegi meri tishnagi

A melancholic song

I know her from my childhood. She stayed at our house for some time during her job hunt phase. I was very surprised when I got the news that she had announced at home that she had found her to-be-husband herself. It was somewhat a revolutionary act considering the type of conservative household she came from. She did not ask anyone's consent and went ahead with the marriage.

After her marriage, I did not see much of her. I heard that even her mom's family did not see much of her too. Someone also told me that she had left her job. I also heard rumours that her husband was a very passive man and would not work at all. Life went on and her memories were blurred. All of a sudden, one day she came to our house unannounced. But this time, she was not alone. She had come with her family- her husband and two kids. We got to know that her husband had been trying out all new ventures in vain. He had lost all the money that he had. Now they wanted to go to Mysore and start some new venture there. She knew that my dad had a house at Mysore. So she wanted to know if he could rent it out to them. My parents generously agreed to their request.

And she disappeared again. Through my dad, I got to know that her family was going through financial crisis and were not paying the rent regularly. This went on for a couple of years. Somewhere I felt that she was taking advantage of my parents' softheartedness. She appeared at our doorstep again after a couple of years. This time she had come to tell us that she and her family would be moving to another house in Mysore itself. This time she looked very pale and weak. Her kids ate as if they had not eaten since months.

Life moved on and I forgot about her again until today. My mom told me that she and her family had come home. There are chances that she is suffering from leukemia. Her husband has a non-earning business. They are trying to put their kids in some ashram because they are not able to take care of them. And now a relative of theirs has volunteered to pay for the Upanayana of their elder son. And finally her husband wants to come to Bangalore to take up some job.

What a life! Is this destiny or self trodden path? Who should be blamed for this state? I have no answers at all.

A Little While, A Little While


A little while, a little while,
The weary task is put away,
And I can sing and I can smile,
Alike, while I have holiday.

Why wilt thou go, my harassed heart,
What thought, what scene invites thee now?
What spot, or near or far,
Has rest for thee, my weary brow?

There is a spot, mid barren hills,
Where winter howls, and driving rain;
But if the dreary tempest chills,
There is a light that warms again.

The house is old, the trees are bare,
Moonless above bends twilight's dome;
But what on earth is half so dear,
So longed for, as the hearth of home?

The mute bird sitting on the stone,
The dank moss dripping from the wall,
The thorn-trees gaunt, the walks o'ergrown,
I love them, how I love them all!

Still, as I mused, the naked room,
The alien firelight died away,
And from the midst of cheerless gloom
I passed to bright unclouded day.

A little and a lone green lane
That opened on a common wide;
A distant, dreamy, dim blue chain
Of mountains circling every side;

A heaven so clear, an earth so calm,
So sweet, so soft, so hushed an air;
And, deepening still the dream-like charm,
Wild moor-sheep feeding everywhere.

That was the scene, I knew it well;
I knew the turfy pathway's sweep
That, winding o'er each billowy swell,
Marked out the tracks of wandering sheep.

Even as I stood with raptured eye,
Absorbed in bliss so deep and dear,
My hour of rest had fleeted by,
And back came labour, bondage, care.

Emily Brontë

My Return Journey

It has been a week since I reached Bangalore.

The whole tour was a very memorable one except few hiccups here and there. Of course, you already know about the lost camera( ouch, that hurts!). But I think the return journey from San Francisco to Bangalore is one of the horrifying experinces I ever had. So the following is an account of my return journey:

I was supposed to fly by British Airways from San Francisco at 4:30 on 2nd June,2006, reach Heathrow at 11:00 AM on 3rd June, 2006 and then take the connecting flight (British Airways) to Bangalore at 14:05 on 3rd June,2006. But when I reached the San Francisco airport, I found that the flight was delayed by 5 hours. So the flight would be at 9:30 PM instead of 4:30 PM. The British Airways staff said that they would put me on Virgin Atlantic till Heathrow as the flight was delayed. So they asked me to check in at Virgin Atlantic counter. But the Virgin Atlantic people told me that they would not do a through check in till Bangalore as British Airways had not asked them to do so. So I ran back to the British Airways counter to clarify on this. They insisted that I fly by Virgin Atlantic so that I would not miss the connecting flight at Heathrow. They said that I would have to re-check in my luggage at Heathrow. I did not think it was practical because I would have only 2 hours at Heathrow. But then the British Airways staff insisted on this. So I agreed to fly by Virgin Atlantic to Heathrow.

While checking in, the Virgin Atlantic staff told me that the baggage restriction was 23 kgs and not 32 kgs ( 32 kgs was the maximum weight specified by British Airways). So I had to pay the extra weight charges.

So amidst all this chaos, I could not properly bid farwell to my aunt and uncle. My mind was all befuddled about what would happen next and if I would be able to handle the situation at Heathrow.

Unfortunately the Virgin Atlantic flight from San Francisco was delayed too by 3 hours. So I reached Heathrow at 13:30 on 3rd June. I went to the baggage counter to claim my luggage as I had to re-check in. But then the airport authorities refused to give my baggage as I did not have the UK visa. And by then I had missed my connecting flight too. So I had to go to the British Airways counter. But the task of approaching the counter itself was so tiresome because of the tight security. And also these terminals are so far that I had to catch a bus every time.

I narrated my story to British Airways staff. They booked me on a flight on Virgin Atlantic to Mumbai at 18:30 on the same day and then on another flight from Mumbai to Bangalore. They were not sure about the baggage problem. So they asked me to approach Virgin Atlantic for this.
I had to catch a bus again to terminal three. When I spoke to them, the Virgin Atlantic staff told me that they had already sent the baggage to British Airways. By this time, I was very, very tired and depressed. So I told them that I would not be able to go back to British Airways and
requested them to do something about it. They called up British Airways and then gave the baggage number. They told me that most probably I would have to lodge a complaint about missing luggage at Mumbai.

So before boarding the Heathrow-Mumbai flight, I spoke to the crew responsible for baggage. And thankfully, my luggage had arrived!!!

I reached Mumbai at 7:30 AM on 4th June. I had to re-check in my luggage for the next flight at 10:30 AM to Bangalore. Finally I reached Bangalore at 12:45 PM on 4th June.

Phew! That was quite a long story.:) Now when I look back at this experience, I know this incident made me wiser and stronger. I guess that is what bad experinces are for, aren't they?

Life

Life, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?
Rapidly, merrily,
Life's sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily
Enjoy them as they fly!
What though Death at times steps in,
And calls our Best away?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O'er hope, a heavy sway?
Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!

- Charlotte Bronte

Notes from Belmont-3

The first place that we went for sight seeing was FILOLI. This stands for "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” Filoli Center consists of a huge mansion and acres and acres of beautiful garden. This place is almost 91 years old. I must say that the garden was one of the best scenic places I have ever seen. And the noteworthy point is that it is so well maintained. The tour was more interesting because of the spicy, peppered descriptions given by Charolotte ( our guide).:)

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The sky looked quite clear on Saturday. And so we decided that the day was ideal to visit the Napa valley. The drive to Napa valley itself was so beautiful. The places were strewn with vineyards and lovely, colorful roses. We went to two wineries: Domaine Chandon and Artesa. The tour at Domaine Chandon mainly focussed on the process of wine making. But Artesa was the treasure house of nature. The scenery was absolutely amazing. I was so lost in this beauty that I misplaced my camera here. Nopes, I could not get it back. I realized that I had lost the camera only when we reached Golden Gate and by then, it was too late.

For two days, I felt very miserable and depressed. I had captured so many beautiful pictures and I had bought the camera for this trip. I tried calling up people, posting messages on the Net about the camera and various other things to get it back in vain. Well, I guess this was the only downcast incident of my whole trip.:(

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On Tuesday, our director took us to this whirlwind trip of San Francisco. I must say that we enjoyed this part- thanks to our director who knew every nook and corner of the city. We went to the beach, the windmill, Salsalito ( Houses are very stunning here), Fisherman's wharf ( Loved the view of Alcatraz Island and sea lions), and Pier 39 and China town ( Shopping paradise).

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We went to Stanford University yesterday. We had a guided tour there and the guide was a student of the university. The architecture of the buildings are very appealing and the campus is so beautiful. It was a great experience to take a walk in one of the reputed universities.:)

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Right now, I am enjoying my stay at my aunt's place at Cupertino. I am relishing the companionship of my seven year old little sister ( She is standing next to me and asking me to change the "cousin" part to "sister":)))). I must honestly say that I am learning lots from her.:))))

So now I will bid adieu and I will keep posting updates on this trip. :))))

Notes from Belmont-2

New place, new faces, new setup, new country- many people expected us to experience a culture shock. But it did not happen to us. In fact, we thought that we saw lot of similarities between Bangalore and this place. But few major differences that stood out were:

- TRAFFIC!!!! People here stick to the traffic rules and the lane system ( Hallo, are my fellow Bangaloreans listening??). They stop at the STOP sign (!!!!!). They stop when the pedestrians cross the street!!!! And of course, they stop at a red light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- ISOLATED ROADS! I am so used to the hustle-bustle of Bangalore. I am so used to looking at the overcrowded streets. So I found it a little strange to see the isolated roads or places here. And this roaring silence made me realize that I definitely love my noisy, lively Bangalore.:)

Notes from Belmont-1

It has been quite some time since I blogged. Probably it is one of the longest breaks that I have taken from the blogging world. :)

Am here in Belmont for a couple of weeks. The journey from Bangalore to this place was damn tiring ( Yep, still trying to recover from the jetlag). But it was a different feeling altogether when we reached this place. A different, developed country, clear roads, zooming cars, lots of greenery in between and the absence of the crowd on the streets hit us as we travelled to this place.:)

So far, so good:)) My notes will continue for the next 2 weeks.:)

I have always been a great fan of William Wordsworth's poems. May be because he was also a nature lover.:) The following poem has been one of my favourites:

FORESIGHT

THAT is work of waste and ruin--
Do as Charles and I are doing!
Strawberry-blossoms, one and all,
We must spare them--here are many:
Look at it--the flower is small,
Small and low, though fair as any:
Do not touch it! summers two
I am older, Anne, than you.

Pull the primrose, sister Anne!
Pull as many as you can.
--Here are daisies, take your fill;
Pansies, and the cuckoo-flower:
Of the lofty daffodil
Make your bed, or make your bower;
Fill your lap, and fill your bosom;
Only spare the strawberry-blossom!

Primroses, the Spring may love them--
Summer knows but little of them:
Violets, a barren kind,
Withered on the ground must lie;
Daisies leave no fruit behind
When the pretty flowerets die;
Pluck them, and another year
As many will be blowing here.

God has given a kindlier power
To the favoured strawberry-flower.
Hither soon as spring is fled
You and Charles and I will walk;
Lurking berries, ripe and red,
Then will hang on every stalk,
Each within its leafy bower;
And for that promise spare the flower!

Which song am I hooked to now??:)

It is "Chand Sifarish" from Fanaa. I heard it first on my bro's comp. When I heard it, i thought that Rahman was the music director. But then I got to know that Jatin-Lait had composed music for this film. But I donno why I still get the Rahman feel in this song.:) This has been sung by Shaan and Kailash Kher and believe me, they have done a very good job (especially shaan- this is one of his best songs). I donno about the rest of the songs of Fanaa. Yep, I need to listen to them before buying the CD.:)

May their souls rest in peace

Pramod Mahajan surrendered to death after a long battle. I was not an ardent admirer of Pramod Mahajan but still felt sad because of the way he met the end. As long as I have seen, he had always been a sort of PRO for BJP. I heard him in some debates and found him a good speaker. Definitely he did not deserve this kind of death, that too from his own sibling!
Well, sometimes one wonders how far the negative feelings can take us? Man's biggest enemy is man himself, isn't it?


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By the time we could condole Suryanaraya's death, the issue of his bigamy came up. It is sad that his family got to know about his second marriage after his death. And the worst part was that his first wife tried to commit suicide. Rather than grieving over his death, I thought people were actually fighting for rights over his dead body there!!!!!

Coming to the main issue, terrorism seems to have found its path through kidnapping, threatening to kill if the demands are met and then anyways going ahead with beheading. I wonder where they have got this idea that they will meet their goal by committing such inhumane crimes!!

I often wonder about why packaging oneself is so important now a days. Is the wrapper more crucial than the thing or the content inside?? Do we form an opinion about a person by looking at the packaging rather than his/her inner persona? How fair is this way of forming opinions? So what will happen to those opinions when the package will wear off one day???

I might be wrong. But for me, each one of them is special in their own way. None of my relationships or friendships would be based on the type of packaging. I love people because of what they are, and not what they appear to be!!:))))

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.
- Confucious

Yesterday,I watched the kannada play, "Neenaanadre Naaneenena" at Ranga Shankara.

I have not been to many plays before. I remember very vaguely of going to "Nodi Swamy Naavirodhe Heege" kannada play when I was in second standard. So yesterday was a very new, fresh and exciting experience to me.

It was based on the kannada version of "Comedy of Errors". At every comic instance, we audience would break into loud laughter. The actors did a very good job. I wondered aloud about how they actually delivered those lengthy dialogues with so much of ease. The sets were very simple, yet creative.

There were lot of well-known faces in the crowd. And I kept bugging Ravi about who they were and in which serials/movies did they act.:)

It was a great, electrifying experience. Everything seemed so real and simple. It was remarkable to see the house full. Kudos to Arundhati Nag for breathing life into plays by building Ranga Shankara. I think she has actually given a very genuine tribute to Shankar Nag through Ranga Shankara.

Classical music is spirituality for me. Every time I listen to classical music, I am amazed at its allaying power. No matter how much I am disturbed, when I sit and listen to classical music, I retrieve my peace of mind. Someone rightly said the other day that it is after all musical nirvana. So very true! I definitely feel very fortunate to have been introduced to this form of spirituality.

So here I sit sipping coffee, listening to the best of Bhimsen Joshi and feeling gratified for this life.:)

Got this in a mail today:)

Tough times never last!

During one of the worst phases of my life, I was very crest fallen. That was a time when I had lost faith in myself. I had loads of self pity attitude- Why me? Everything seemed very hazy. It was at this time I came across the book, "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!" by Robert.H.Schuller. I was not a staunch believer of philosophical books then. Even then I started reading this book; maybe it was a mere timepass. Slowly I got hooked onto this book. I almost started living this book. I tried practising the concepts mentioned in this book. And I must say, it worked! I think above all, this book gave me hope. I then passed on this book to others who needed hope.

Today as I was walking through my office, I found the same book on my colleague's desk. Just when I have been going through some grave, depressing situations, I found this book yet again. And yes, I did not waste my time. I borrowed the book from my colleague and now it lies on my desk. Yep, I shall read it again ( for the umpteenth time). Who knows, it might work again!:))

Equanimity- That is a very tough goal.

It is very difficult to accept both happiness and sadness, victory and failure with a calm, composed mind. We tend to become overjoyed in times of happiness and fall to abyss in case of sorrow. I have seen some people who have actually reached this goal. And I have always been amazed watching them. I hope I will be able to attain equanimity sometime soon. Atleast I have started working for it. Let us see how far I can go!

About Annavru ( that is the nickname of Rajkumar)

I had been planning to write a post on Rajkumar since a long time. But then somehow I kept postponing it. But when I heard of his demise, I decided to pen my thoughts about him immediately.

I have grown up with Rajkumar's movies. I have always found them interesting. Most of his movies were unique and family watchable. People say that he was best at mythological roles. But I think he provided justice to most of the roles he performed. Be it the potter in "Bhaktha Kumbara", or the unemployed guy in "Bhagayada Lakshmi Baramma", or the strict father in "Bhaagyavantharu", or the altruistic rich guy in "Kasturi Nivasa"- his performances were memorable.

He spoke excellent pure kannada. He had a perfect dialect and he varied it with the roles he played accordingly. I have seen many literary figures falter while trying to speak pure kannada. But Rajkumar spoke "shuddha" kannada very easily and impeccably.

The best part about him was that he was a fantabulous singer. He has been a national award recipient for playback singing. I always felt that he had a very versatile voice.

Dr.Rajkumar refused to cash on his demi God status. He declined to join politics, unlike his peers in the other south Indian states.

From whatever I have seen of him, or read about him, I know that he was very simple, humble and disciplined. And I think these are the virtues that gave him a permanent place in the hearts of kannadigas


About the riots that followed Annavru's death

When I saw people burning vehicles, petrol bunks and pelting stones, I was really bewildered for a moment. And you could see the same people waving and grinning at the cameras. Who were these people? It did not look as if they were mournful about Raj's death. It was really painful to see his family vainly requesting the mob to move away so that they could perform the last rites. The mob did not even let Raj's family grieve over his death. What a shameful act!!!

If these people were "true fans", then they would have given a very good tribute to Annavru. If they were upset about his death, then they could have grieved instead of making others grieve. It is sad to see that the misdeeds of these hooligans, these fanatics have brought a bad name to the fans of Dr.Rajkumar.

Finally, I feel that Rajkumar will always be alive through his films and songs. That is the best part of being an artist, isn't it? An artist always is immortal through his/her art.

Mis(s)-nomer......oops!!!

Yesterday as I was busy window-shopping, I thought I saw a familiar face near the shop. She too was staring at me. I knew that she was my college mate. But I could not recollect her name even though I tried hard. And before I could think further, she said,"Hi Madhooo". I managed a "Hi" and then a strange voice in my heart told me that her name was X. And I have great faith in the slogan of Hindi films which says- Listen to your heart always. So I started suffixing her name in whatever I spoke to her. Finally, at the end of the conversation, she gave me her phone number. I was trying to store the number under name X in my mobile. And then she said,"Madhooo, my name is Y, and not X". I don't think I have to describe further how I felt at that time.:)) Sigh..................one more in the list of my misnomer mishaps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got this in a mail today.:)

Why do we have to let our moods control us instead of us controlling our moods?

Why do we like to hide behind frowns instead of smiles?

These are some snaps of my native place and my grandpa's place ( Ajjana Mane):)))))

"I finally feel like I am alive again. I feel so good. To be able to step outside anytime, to feel the sun directly on your face -- to see the whole sky. These are luxuries that we just don't appreciate every day."
- Jill Carroll after her release

Desik

I always feel very euphoric when I meet Mani Sir. My association with Mani Sir and his SOCARE IND started about one and a half years back.

It all started when I was looking out for an orphanage to celebrate a birthday. At that time, my sis-in-law mentioned a place where her friend's kid had celebrated her birthday. I had expected Desik ( Mani Sir's house in Rajajinagar) to be like any other orphanage. But it turned out to be very different.
SOCARE Ind (Society’s Care for Indigent)is a home for mainly the children of convicts
who have been deprived of basic necessities. SOCARE Ind provides food, shelter and education to the kids. SOCARE Ind was started by a retired bank employee, Mr. Mani and his wife Mrs. Saroja Mani in June 1999. Mr. Mani hails from lower mid class family working for a national bank. But that did not stop him from the desire to lend a helping hand to the children in desperate need of help. In fact, he runs this orphanage in his house itself.

In Mani Sir's words- “While cycling to work everyday I used to cross the Bangalore Central Jail. I often saw children crying outside the jail watching haplessly their elder locked inside the prison. I used to wonder about the future of these young lives. With no empathy and support from the society what kind of life will they be able to lead. Hence, the first thing I did after my retirement was open a long term shelter for these unfortunate children. Since I did not have any money and my children were settled in the US,I contributed my house for the cause,” says Mr Mani. (This excerpt has been taken from an inetview of Mani Sir to Deccan Herald.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan042005/spt1.asp)

Every time I go to Desik, Mani Sir tells me about the background of the kids staying there. Believe me, those kids have seen more of life than us. There are kids whose both the parents are in prison. There is a kid whose mother was killed by the father itself and now the father is in the prison. Such are the stories of those kids at Desik.

I got to know that this organization is in need of funds. Mani Sir tries to give the best of education to these kids. He also ensures that they lead a normal life. So they are in need of financial help. Of course, few of us contribute regularly there. But more help would be welcome.

Every time I visit Desik, those innocent eyes haunt me. It hurts to think that those kids are actually struggling for their basic needs. But at least they have Mani Sir with them. What about those who are still on streets and who have taken felonious paths to earn their food??!!

For those of you who want to know more about this organization:
http://www.socare.org/
http://socare.blogspot.com/2005/11/socare-primer.html

Yippee!!!!!Jill Carroll was finally released unharmed. What a news! This news has really made my day today.:) Yep, my faith in humanity, life and God has become more stronger.:)

For more information:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0331/p01s01-woiq.html?s=yv2

Scorching heat, sweat trickling down the face, wide roads, very few traffic jams, crowded beach, silk sarees and jewellery, lots of tamil, loads of fun with my cousin, uncle and aunt, lots of window shopping, a bit of stress- they all sum up my stay at Chennai for the last 2 days.:)

Inquilab Zindabad

Today is the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of the three heroes of Indian Freedom struggle- Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Raj Guru. Yesterday I received a mail about the same. And I religiously forwarded it to all my friends.:) I do not know how many people read it and how many of them discarded it as spam. Sometimes people develop so much of aversion towards forwarded mails that they miss out on some good content.:)

I got to know about three heroes for the first time through my history text books. Probably there were 2 paras dedicated for them. So they did not catch my attention then. In 2002, I watched the movie- The Legend of Bhagat Singh(yep, movies help some times;)). And since then I have been totally awed by Bhagat Singh. I googled for more information about him and I came across his letters, his lectures and so on. As someone told me the other day that sacrificing your life selflessly for your country is the greatest heroic deed. Yes, indeed! And even now I am amazed about the fact that these three heroes embraced death so courageously.

Some of the quotes of Bhagat Singh that I got from Web:

--> The war neither began with us nor is it going to end with our lives. It is the inevitable consequence of the historic events and the existing environments. Our humble sacrifices shall be only a link in the chain that has very accurately been beautified by the unparalleled sacrifice of Mr. Das and most tragic but noblest sacrifice of Comrade Bhagawati Charan and the glorious death of our dear warrior Azad.

-->in a letter to his father:My life is not so precious, at least to me, as you may probably think it to be. It is not at all worth buying at the cost of my principles.

-the youth will have to spread this revolutionary message to the far corner of the country. They have to awaken crores of slum-dwellers of the industrial areas and villagers living in worn-out cottages, so that we will be independent and the exploitation of man by man will become an impossibility.

More information about Bhagat Singh on http://www.shahidbhagatsingh.org/

Inquilab Zindabad

Why do PEPSI and COMPAQ ads look similar to me- is it because more importance is given to the KHAN rather than on the product he is endorsing?;)

Let the tears flow

I have always wondered about why people consider tears as a sign of weakness! How can tears help in justifying if a person is courageous or not? For me, tears are ways of expressing pain or sadness. Yep, they can also convey happiness sometimes. They are forms of expression. Shedding tears is one of those impulsive reactions.

In fact, I have known people who shed tears and yet, they are known for their courage. My grandma has gone through lots of tragedies in her life. And believe me, she is the most optimistic person I have ever come across. She breaks into tears very easily. But then she believes that whatever happens is for good. She tells me that tears lighten her burden. She says that tears take away all the stress from her. In that way, she never stacks away her emotions. She feels that this could be one of the secrets of her good health.:)

Be it a man or a woman, I think shedding tears is a very natural phenomenon.

"Have a good cry, wash out your heart. If you keep it inside it'll tear you apart." -- Dr. Hook

"Why do all good things come to an end?"- that was my question when we left our native place day before yesterday.:) Those three days of vacation just zoomed by. Meeting people, spending lazy afternoons at grandpa's place, visiting the temple, a bit of trekking, lots of walking and spending quality time with nature definitely were very refreshful. It was completely a remote life without mobile phones, T.V, radio, newspapers and so on. In fact, when we stepped into Bangalore and when we heard the racket of the vehicles here, we felt like strangers. The calm, placid environment that we experienced in those three days seemed to evaporate as soon as we landed here.:)

Well, after all those attempts of mine to make you jealous, lemme get on to a serious note. One thing what we found was that most houses in our village are inhabited by only elderly couples. Most of the youngsters have immigrated to towns and cities in search of name, fame and money. Somehow the serene, quiet, rural life does not seem to appeal to them. They are in fact awed by the metropolitan glitter. I donno why this situation reminds me of the musk deer that goes in search of fragrance without realizing the fact that it secretes the most fragrant and valuable musk!!

I am leaving to my native place tonight. And I know that I have not stopped grinning since I got to know that we will be visiting our native place.:) Yep, just the thought of being there is so rejuvenating. During my school days, I would be there for every summer and Dasara vacation. I remember all of us grandchildren wailing when the vacation would be over.:) We would eagerly wait for the next vacation. In fact, we would start making plans even before the exams ( Exams were normally followed by holidays). So today I have been feeling that at least some things have not changed. I still look forward to visit my grandpa's place. I am still excited about going there. Grandpa is no more and we grandkids don't meet so regularly. Still I hope that our grandpa's place will always be there for us because it represents fun, frolic, laughter, music and nature, of course.

As I sit listening to this beautiful piece of music by Unnikrishnan, a feeling of exaltation envelops me. I feel as if I am sitting in an old temple in front of the statue of Lord Krishna. And I look at Krishna's idol with complete love and devotion. I sit there without any desire or wish. I am not begging Lord Krishna for anything or for anyone. I am not asking anything for myself. I am in total unison with the music being played and devotion for Krishna. I am at total peace.

My great grandma (Ajjamma) passed away today. She had been bedridden recently. She was 93.

It seems that my great grandpa expired at a young age leaving my Ajjamma with two children. During those days, the life of a widow was not at all a bed of roses. In spite of that, Ajjamma lived very courageously. She had to work very hard to give a decent life to her children. My grandma fondly remembers that Ajjamma would never refuse anything that her kids asked for. In spite of difficult circumstances, she never asked anyone for help.

I always found her very patient. I never saw her angry even for a moment. She was a perfect host and she would never let anyone go without at least a cup of tea. She was very particular about cleanliness. The image of Ajjamma in a red cotton saree smiling with her sparkling white will always remain with me. I derive lot of inspiration from her.

May her soul rest in peace.

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I finished reading Durgasthamana yesterday. I must say that it has been one of the best books I have ever read so far. I was moved to tears after reading the climax. I was actually thrilled to think that it is a true story afterall. Bravery, courage, sacrifice, patriotism- those feelings were all for real. Wow! Salutation to those warriors, their families and TaRaSu for portraying their stories.

Some responses of auto drivers when you tell then your destination:
- He nods his head vertically or horizontally
- He looks at you as if you were an alien and grunts a "No" with a very disgusting look
- He stops for a second, listens to you and just zooms away. ( and u stand there thinking if he did say something!!!!)
- He looks at you with pity and then demands 20 extra bucks.
- He contemplates on your destination. You grab this opportunity and immediately sit in the auto.

Well, some drivers don't even give you a chance to observe their response. They just drive by your side as if you were invisible or you didn't exist.

As I am writing this post, I can hear my colleague grumbling about the long wait for autos every morning.