Another Leaf from my diary

Life, What does it mean to me
a game, a path, a war, a prayer
or just a creation of GOD.

Whatever it is, its so beautiful
filled with the colors of joy
like a sunshine in the clear blue sky.

Its pure, like the water
of the rivers that flow down
the mountains of the world.

Its as vast as the universe,
the universe, which has baffled
each and every of us.

But a life is a life,
it can be as huge as an ocean,
or as small as an ant.

It can be as pretty as a rose,
and as ugly as a corpse,
depending who owns it.

Some Beautiful Moments

I had not written about some things in my account of the Habba. And the things had even slipped out of my mind. But when I was going through the snaps taken that day, that face brought back a smile to my face and all those small small but beautiful moments :-).

Well, there was this sweet little girl sitting in front of us. For her, I guess we were the performers :-D. But it felt really nice to have her attention, to make her laugh, to make her dance like we were dancing. She was soooooooo cute, we even took a snap of her with due permissions from her mother. But seriously, Kids give you that happy-happy feeling :-). They are so pure-hearted, no dirt in their mind. They remind of the good times I had in my childhood. So children will always be close to my heart :-).

In the other incident, we had turned into kids ;-). We attracted many a stares towards us by making soap bubbles in the air and that too standing on the chairs :-D. This was the most fun part of that evening. I was just thrilled and kept on blowing bubbles in the air. It again brought back some memories of my days in BITS...how me and my friends had blowed bubbles for hours together and had become an object of glance by all the passer-bys.

And last but not the least, I drove a bike. yippppeee yooooohoooooo....well this was not the first time..but yes it was after a long time :-). I am not that bad at driving the bike B-). And with few more practices like this...I will be ready to give a tough time to guys ;-).

I dont know if anyone will read this post of mine. But I am writing this coz its about all the small things that one has. The big moments are very few. That doesnt mean one cannot be happy for the rest of the time. Its these small small moments that give you Big Happiness. And writing about these things today gave me another round of that happiness :-). So, this post is for all those tinsy-winsy things that are the elixir for me to live happily in this world :-).

Saathi!!

This is a reply to a question asked to me a few days ago....

Can I forget,
Meeting a person like him?
Can I forget,
The long late night talks we had?
Can I forget,
The pampering I get from him?
Can I forget,
The "yes" for anything I say?
Can I forget,
The adoration I get from him?
Can I forget,
The things I could do, just coz of him?
Can I forget,
The best mentor I had in my life?
Can I forget,
The person to whom I can tell anything?
Can I forget,
Those eyes, that face, that smile?
Can I forget,
One of my closest friend???

The Mega Giga Events

From Friday night onwards there were three mega events as a part of bangalore habba in palace grounds. Fortunately or unfortunately i could attend only two of them. Here is my account for those two.

9th Dec:

This was the day when my ears were blessed by the enchanting music from two of India's leading personalities. One was, the living master of bansuri, Padmabhushan and PadmaVibhushan Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia. And the other maestro, one of the best known classical vocalists in India, Padmabhushan Pandit Jasraj. First, it was Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia who entralled the audience in the divine sound created by a simple bamboo stick. I, wondered, how can a instrument as simple as a flute create so much of magic. And I really admired his stamina, for he could pump in so so much of air into it for such a long time..phew!! The next was a solo performance by Pandit Jasraj. His voice was charming, soothing to hear to. Then came the best part of the show, the jugalbandi. It was like a play between two gods. The audience was held spell bound. The performance was so gripping, that I guess nobody moved. Time just flied away and it was 10 pm in the night. The show came to an end. But it left me with a yearn for more. I was satisfied, yet had a pine to listen to it all the way again. I can still close my eyes and listen to the bansuri...bringing a smile to my face. :-).

As soon as the performances by the maestros was over, we started and were coming out. I was on the second step, when I heard them say "Dhol Foundation"...I instantly turned around and asked my friend if we can see this too. Most of the people had left. But believe me, whoever stayed back would have never regretted for that.

The Dhol Foundation is a UK based band, led by Johnny kalsi. The band has five drummers...dhol waalahs, one on dholak, one on drums and two on guitars. The band has fuses the urban music with the dhols and music from the villages of punjab. This was their first performance in India. And the audience just gave in to these dhol waalahs with their "electric" dhols (yup...even i saw it for the first time). Overall, the numbers were too good....make u tap ur foots and even jump. The intensity of it I saw, when there was an elderly grey haired man jumping off his feet on the rhythm of the band. I could hardly see anyone sitting during the entire act...it just filled everyone present with so much of energy and enthu. Anyone fond of percussion instruments (which are my fav instruments) should not miss out on the "Dhol Foundation".

11th Dec:

Next in pipeline was the "Bollywood Nite". We reached their on the right time. We just came in and the show was on a roll. The first performance was by a singer called Ishaan. The moment he sang the first song of the show, we thought...are we at the right place? Shall we just get up and leave? The next two songs were just adding fuel to the flame. But then came in the next performer, Lalit pandit, of the jatin-lalit fame. At that time we were like...ok. He sang some of the best numbers of his career.

Then came the best part of the show. Performance by my fav, Shaan :-) :-). The public also just went wild with Shaan on stage. He started with his first song for jatin-lalit, "Tune mujhe pehchaana nahin" from movie Raju Chacha. And then came a series of all his hit songs. My favs like "Musu Musu Haasi" and "Tanha Dil". You can see the magic of his voice everywhere, people swaying back and forth with every tone of the music. Girls going just over the top on this good looking and ever smiling hunk. He even danced for the song "Main Aisa Kyon Hoon" and "You are the one for me". And he ended his performance with the biggest hit of the year, "Dus bahaane karke le gaye dil" :-) and he took away the hearts of the all the people present in the palace grounds.

Then came a singer with one of the most sweetest voice, Alka Yagnik. She sang some really good numbers. The environment became so soothing with her melodious and balming voice. Followed up by her was a High-Energy performance by "The Dance Diva" of India, Yana Gupta. The guys just went crazy for the beautiful dame on the stage. You should have heard how the public roared and revelled.

After all the dancing and singing, there was time for some ramp walks. The first fashion show was from the Pantaloon Stores. Then was the marvellous collection from the studio of Vikram Phadnis. Got to see some of very good designs and yes ofcourse some very comely models and ooohhh some hunks too ;-).

Then Alka yagnik came again and sung yet another set of songs from her long list of hits. And lastly the day was called off with a superb item number from Yana Gupta. And with this the Bangalore Habba came to an end. I had a nice time during this Bangalore habba and will look forward to it with all the more eagerness next year :-). Till then bbye bangalore habba!!

Brewing Literature

I am back with my stories from the Bangalore Habba :-). There was a series of "Art Espressos" in many CCDs around the city. I happened to attend the last one in the M.G. Road CCD.

It was supposed to start at 10:30 pm. Me and my friend got a little late (IST you see ;-) ) and reached there around 10:45 pm. Anyways, there were not much people there but we could hear something going on. We took one of the tables and sat there. There were two people sitting on the chairs in the front and were reading into the mic. The piece they were reciting was a story of a guy and a girl which was very hilarious :-). It was follwed by yet two more readings and it was so much of fun!!

Well Art Espressos are actually readings of prose and pieces of literary work. It is really nice to actually listen to the work rather than just reading it on your own. This is widely practiced in western countries. You can actually hear readings in many book stores etc. Specially for kids. I hope this culture increases more in India and I could hear more of such things on a regular basis, not to wait for habbas for that.

The team cast that played it here consisted of two guys, names i forgot, and two girls, aditi and aviva. The way they articulated their voice and even their expressions, it was as if the piece was actually lived. It made me actually animate the whole scene so perfectly in my mind.

The best was one was in the last. In which the guy played the role of the female and the girl played the male part. Both of them were stunning in their respective roles and the air was filled with many smiles and laughter. :-)

The playground "Mood"

Why do we have moods?
Why do we suddenly feel happy or sad?
Why cant we always be in a good mood?

I am not in a very good mood today. From morning I have been feeling gloomy. Cursed everything in the world when I woke up in the morning. I drived like a jerk today. Dont have the feeling to work. Cant concentrate on anything. I even forgot my dog-collar. And the worst thing is I dont have any reason to be like this. But still I get these tantrums. I have seen people swinging in and out of good and bad mood. Just out of the blue they will start getting irritable, yell at others. It makes me think, what causes these so called mood swings.

When we experinece some feelings...like anger, happiness, stress, fear etc., the brain releases chemicals called neurotransmitters. It is the release and re-absorption of these neurotransmitters that affects how we feel. And the imbalance of these neurotransmiiters cause the mood-swings. So this the scientific side of moods.

These mood-swings could be dangerous. Coz generally people tend to be rude and alienated during these pangs of bad mood. Others might feel offended by the behaviour and the damage has been done and you dont even relaize that at that moment. I hate being in these bad moods. It makes me do stuff that is unlike me. But yeah music is the best thing, that always brings back the smile on my face and makes me feel cheerful again :-). So I am back to music and a smile on my face. Thank god for he made music, otherwise how would I survive these mood-swings!!

____

Here is a link that I found interesting Wild Mood Swings

And also this...just for fun :D

What Mood Are You In?

Bangalore habba!!

Translation in English: Celebrating Bangalore

But it is much more than celebrating Bangalore. It is a celebration of art and culture. It is a celebration of the long lost spirit of creativity. It gives a platform for all the contemporary artists in a variety of genres to come forward and let their arts be known. It doesnt only promote the classic and folk art forms but the modern art forms too. It is even more important in a place like bangalore, where we have people from very diverse cultural backgrounds. And for software professionals like me, it is a delighful treat of the things that are almost out of my life.

In Bangalore Habba, you can listen to great music and see some fantastic dances. Now these are the major events happening in habba. Infact my most awaited event will be the jugalbandi of Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Hari prasad chourasia and the performance by Amaan and Ayan Ali Bangash.

Apart from these mega events, there are many small small and very interesting things happening in the habba. You can see some Street plays, Street Magic, Literature readings, watch some outstanding movies, good theatrical performances, some sports too (even adventure sports), a vintage car rally, fashion shows, and my most favorite "The Artist's Walkway".

I first had a feel of the habba when I went to "The Artist's Walkway" yesterday. The M. G. Road Boulevard is converted into a walkway where artists can come and promote their arts through small kiosks on the boulevard. I was really amazed at the variety of arts that I got to see at same place. The thing that attracted me the most was exhibits by a few photographers. I even bought some photographs in the form of postcards :-). Then there was this small street play by few girls. It was very intersting and very well done, with a message for the society. Then there was this puppet show and even the ghoomar dance :-). There were many painting exhibits too. And yeah, if u want a caricature or a portrait done of yours...land up in the walkway :-).

Overall habba is an entralling experience which every bangalorean and non-bangaloreans should try and catch. Though its tough to get time out of our busy schedules, but believe me you wont regret taking that time out of it and going for an event in habba. I feel lucky that I got such a golden chance of experiencing this celebration :-). Will keep telling interesting picks from the events that I will attend :-).

Any one interested for more information, can visit Bangalore Habba.

SE7EN

This is in response to the tag from raja ....

SE7EN Things I Plan to do:

• Travel more frequently and to more exotic locations
  
• Do a PhD
  
• Buy a camera and take loads of snaps
• Keep updating my blog
• Get up early and do yoga
  
• Buy a pulsar and race with the guys in bangalore
  
• Keep planning :D
  

SE7EN Things I can do:

• Watch TV
  
• Eat a lot
• Be a Walter Mitty
• Use the IM services to the max
• Sleep at wee hours
• Fill my gmail inbox
• Keep yapping
  

SE7EN Things I can't do:

• Become an astronaut
• Marry my love "moon"
• Sing well
  
• Grow taller
• See my moon daily
  
• Get up early
  
• May be gain some weight
  

SE7EN Things I say most often:

• Guss it
• Hey Bhagwaan
• Hmmmm
• Stupid Idiot
• Accchhha
• Ohhhkkkk
• Helllloooo
  

SE7EN persons I want to tag:

• Vini
• Mipple
• Samyak
• prince
• pommu
• Magician
  
• cutie

I found this quiet interesting...made me think what I can do...that part was the most difficult one *chuckle*.

Abacus

Yesterday, I was sitting with my 5 year old niece and was helping her do her homework. Then she took out an "abacus" and started doing the mathematics problems. I was amazed at the speed with which she solved difficult mathematical problems. I always knew what an abacus was but never tried to use it till yesterday. So I learnt how to use abacus :-).

First of all, the origin of the word. Its a Latin word with its origins in the Greek words abax or abakon (meaning 'table' or 'tablet'). Which possibly originated from abak meaning sand. It is believed that our ancestors used to make a makeshift arrangement for calculating by using sand. Abacus is, thus, the first calculating device. The early humans didnt have the notion of numbers and used abacus for the means of calculation, instead hands and fingers were used for calculations. But the traders needed calculating devices for calculating large numbers till the numbers were invented. Abacus is one of the most widely used calculating device.

Abacus, unlike the modern day calculators, dont perform the calculations by themselves. They are just a calculating aid for keeping the track of sums, carrys etc and the actual calculation is done in the head by the person operating the abacus.

The abacus has gone through many forms and adaptations. There are three different versions of abacus in use currently. They are the chinese suan pan, the japanese soroban, and the russian schoty. The one my niece had was the japanese one and this is what I learned to use. Abacus are still used a lot in Japan and China. You move into a store and see the shopkeepers still uses abacus for calculating the bill amount.

Most of the people are skeptical about the effectiveness of an instrument that looks so simple and primitive. But believe me, once you use it...u will find thats its very accurate and very easy to use. And the best part is they are very fast too. And with a little bit of mastery in using abacus, one can actually calculate wihtout using an abacus...this is called using an abacus visually. It is much more simpler and much more effective way of calculations. After getting the feel of the abacus....i will prefer using abacus in place of electronic calculators.

for those who are interested in learning how to use an abacus...
Abacus tutorial

Huh!!!

God!! why am I staying in this city?? *sigh*

I am vexed, aggravated, frustrated, angry and above all tired of my daily travel from home to office and then back home. I dont want to start for office in the morning and similarly for home in the evening. I, literally, dread the voyage...yes it seems like a voyage. A daily fight through the always jam traffic, wading through the sea of vehicles. I feel like I am trapped...which makes me feel uncomfortable...I cant move in any direction...have to stand helplessly. And wait for the damned traffic to move....with strange people wading past me. Seriously, people think that "ye road unke baap ki jaagir hai". And footpath also. Its not a less headache to walk on these roads too.

Over the top the 'mashallah' roads, with uncountable potholes. I have seen the worse-than-worst roads after coming to this city. And the rains.....this city has started making me dislike rains. Overdose of anything is not good....and here we are getting too much overdose of rain. Already the roads were a hindrance test...with the rains it has become a roller coaster ride to drive on the roads of bangalore. It tests all parts of the body for tolerating high stress. If somebody is very healthy and fit...dont worry driving on these roads will soon make you go consult a doctor.

I dont have any hopes of getting the problems solved...and I will have to go through the torment of drving through the roads of bangalore daily!! Huh!!

Milte hain break mein!!

Channel 1: A "K" series serial
Channel 2: A torture-to-the-ear song
Channel 3: A stupid talk show
Channel 4: Same gory news
Channel 5: A "India losing" match
Channel 6: A multi-starrer "forget-your-brain" movie
Channel 7: A Take-no-money game show
Channel 8: Advertisements

Finally I got something to watch.

Watching a television has become such a headache now a days. The number of channels is touching the sky...but its all quantity and no quality. But that chota sa (oops...wrongly said...that lamba sa actually) break in between is such a refreshment. The advertising industry has really come a long way. There was a time when people used to curse advertisements but now I can see people forwading ads on emails too!! (even i do that ;-) ) There are all sorts of advertisements...but by watching advertisements I get a little bit of everything in a small span of time...which is an important factor for a busy person like me :-D.

There are advertisements which will make you smile, laugh, definitely not cry ;-), some will make you scoff, some will give you a reason to make fun of. With all the celebrities buttressing all sorts of products...whats the need of movies now and cricket too ;-). And yeah...you get to see the cutest babies in india in all those huggies etc ads :-)...choooo chweeeet!!

Hey!! who can forget that surf excel ad - "chaila!! tune maara isko..tujhe abhi dekhta hoon...aur maaro aur maaro....sorry keh raha hai....waapas nahin karna" wowww...it brings a smile on my face even when I think about it. I remember...one of my colleague's two year old son wont eat food untill he sees this ad. Even I can watch that ad for I dont know how many number of times.

Then there is this ad of some paint...."kaat kaat...darta kyon hai....main hoon na...bindaas kaat...papa...chintoo...pata nahin subah se kuch katai shatai kar raha hai" a cutie cutie ad :*

Then those SBI ads...specially the "Chimanlal charlie" ad...its damn hilarious =)).

There are so many of them I guess I can dedicate an entire blog to them ;-)

In a nutshell, advertisements are complete entertainer and the most watched things in todays myriad and most of the time non sense world of television.

A Thousand Desires

These lines are from a song from the movie hazaron khwahishein aisi....


A Thousand Desires such as these
A thousand moments to set this night on fire
Reach out and you can touch them
You can touch them with your silences
You can reach them with your lust
Rivers, mountains, rain
Rain against a torrid hillscape
A thousand
A thousand desires such as these

I loved rain as a child
As a lost young man
Empty landscapes bleached by a tired sun
And then
And then
Suddenly it came like a dark unknown woman
Her eyes scorched my silences
Her body wrapped itself around me like a summer without end

Pause me
Hold me
Reach me where no man has gone
Crossing the seven seas
With the wings of fire
I fly towards nowhere
And you
Rivers, mountains, rain
Rain against the scorched landscape of pain

A Thousand Desires such as these
A thousand moments to set this night on fire
Reach out and you can touch them
You can touch them with your silences
You can reach them with your lust
Rivers, mountains, rain
Rain against a torrid hillscape
A thousand
A thousand desires such as these

You!!

Your face....
Calm and Serene as still waters
Your Eyes....
The burning heat of a wild fire
Your lips....
Arousing a thousand desires
Your Smile....
The lamp of life in darkness
Your Touch....
A spike of current
Your Voice....
The chime of knoll on the church
You....
Embracing n cuddling in my thoughts

War of the Mails!!

The two sides in the battle field are - the snail mail or the letters and the very fast and very popular e-mail. Now i guess most of the people will stop reading further, coz they will say that e-mail wins without even coming into the battlefield. But for me its not the case. E-mails have not won over letters.

E-mails are much faster much easier and now a days the most preffered...or shall I say the only preffered....way of communication. Technology wise, and even having more and more people accessing e-mails, is ever increasing. Who had actually thought that e-mails will be such a huge thing in such a less time. I still remember i had my first account when I was in my first year...that too me and my friend went to an internet cafe (which were a little rare thing to find in those times) just out of curiosity. Infact, we didnt even know how to open an internet website!! But now we can see children using internet and e-mails.

Now about the other side of the coin. Though e-mails are faster, cheaper (ofcourse now-a-days e-mails are much cheaper and to people like me its free ;-) ) and blah blah blah. They dont have the human touch. The e-mails dont have that charm. Infact e-mails have dimished the charm of the letters too. But still letters are letters. You can hold them in your hand, you can preserve them forever. I still have all the letters written to me since my childhood and still brings tears into my eyes. It has a personal touch of the writer....the hand writing. You can relate more to a letter rather than an e-mail. And especially if u are still not addicted to the technologically advanced gizmos and have still that human feel left in you.

So in my opinion letters were the best and will always remain the best. Though even I have not written letters for a long time...out of utter laziness, but am gonna start writing letters again. That wait for the letter and then when it arrives...opening the envelope...its so good. Also I dont want to get lost in this cyber virtual world. I want something that is real...tangible...to remind me of my friends. So that years after also..when I open my treasure trove of letters..I can remember all my friends as I had known them always. May be am way too sentimental about things. But these are small small things which brings happiness in life...smile on my face. And so I dont mind doing that...even if people call me crazy...I will keep writing letters.

Meghdhanusha

On my way

Above the lake

Was a sky so blue

Like the ocean hue

With cotton strew

As the bunch of clouds

The moon at its shine

To give a bright sight

And a colorful bow

To tie the gift for me.

la pioggia!!

The sky is filled with silver clouds,
making the noise of thunders aloud.
The God's gentle and soothing shower,
watering that sweet little flower.
Hear, the music of the breeze,
swaying back and forth, the huge trees.
Enjoy, the music of the little rain droplets,
falling on the new formed water palettes.
Dance, on the thunders in the background,
and in between a frog on the round.
Smell, the freshness of the earth,
as if its a rebirth.
Cheer up, coz its that time of the year,
to sing and dance with the nature dear.
With everything around so real, so green,
I hope it does not turn into a dream.

I like rains a lot ;-)

Life!!

Life, a simple little word,
carrying the meaning of whole world.
Life, with all its mystery and irony,
is not worth any money.
Life, with all its ups and downs,
gives us the power of sensitivity.
Life, with its strongness and fragility,
teaches us the best lessons to learn.
Life, with all its love and hate,
is not mere, the lines of fate.
Life, is a mirror of us,
reflecting our deeds and doings.
Life, is in our hand, whether,
to make it a blooming flower
or the worst ever nightmare.
think and think to dare.

some dried leaves

Some pages dropped while reading through an old diary of mine. They were some poems that I had written long long time ago. So next few posts I will post those on the blog.

Ek Bheegi Bheegi Raat!!

This was the day I was waiting for a long time. My first concert ever . And the sequence of incidents that happened will never let me forget it also . I had loads of work in office but still managed to complete most of it so that I don’t get late to the concert…was really excited to reach there. Me, adi, vini and pommu were supposed to meet at my PG at 5:30 pm but thanks to my very punctual friends, adi and vini came at 5:45 pm. And then we three kept waiting for pommu. While we were waiting…it started drizzling a little and within a minute it was pouring like anything . I got worried…I didn’t want to get drenched…some health problem. But for seeing the A R Rehman show I was ready to risk anything so decided to carry on. Well so at around 6:30 pm our dear pommu called and we came to know that he is nearby only…so we went there to give him a welcome but we were in for a surprise. There was this cute girl with pommu . The first reaction was…me and vini looking at each other with an amazed face .

Well then me, vini, and The Girl caught a rick and started towards the nearest gate of palace ground..And adi and pommu were to catch another rick and come. It had stopped raining by the time we reached palace grounds. When we got out of the auto…as the fate had set for us…it started pouring again. We went and took shelter beneath a small cabin sort of thing. Then came adi and pommu. Now we were thoroughly confused as to where is the entrance for the show. We generally started in one direction…it was pouring so me and vini took the shelter of her jacket (for anyone else we would have been looking like a gf and a bf ). Well we changed our direction of search three times and finally with a bit of enquiry came to know that we are at the entirely wrong side of the palace grounds. So we caught a rick again and started for that other side. Can u imagine…5 of us in a single rick…and ofcourse The Girl was sitting next to our shy and blushing pommu . In between the rick also sayed no to go any further…poor adi had to push the auto with four people sitting inside .

Finally we were in front of the gate for the correct entrance. But nobody was ready to get out…come on…it was pouring like hell. We were supposed to meet Mipple in there. The doubt had arisen in everyone’s mind…may be the concert stands cancelled. So we called up Mipple to find that out…and to our relief…no sign of cancellation still. We got into the palace grounds and finally with wandering here and there finally got into the concert area. So there we were in for the concert…all drenched and loaded with mud...but hey…we cant see anything and over the top there was nothing happening on the stage. After some time Mipple also joined us with two of his friends. But what to do…the concert seemed to be totally washed out with, I guess less than fourth of public than expected. Well we were in a state of confusion, whether to stay back and just linger around or to go and have some food (Mipple was the most hungry out of the lot ) in a nice restaurant and pass time. By the time all this happened we all got split…so finally me, Adi, Vini and Mipple were left. Actually we didn’t want to disturb pommu .

I had started wondering…should I ever go for any concert again…seriously I was cursing my fate. But as its rightly said…..everything happens for some or the other good. The rain actually helped us. Yes….because of the less amount of junta turning up we could actually move forward…so we kept on moving forward and finally landed up in the Rs. 2500 stall… . . And guess what we saw…... … pommu and The Girl standing in one corner and dancing . There Mipple and Adi brought many chairs and we stood on top of stack of chairs. Now this was an amazing sight. Can say that my actual concert experience started now .

The concert was just superb…minblowing…better than what I had expected. Heard many beautiful songs . Danced a lot that too standing on the chairs . Mipple, Adi and Vini did some “keechad dance” also . And the best treat to my ears was “Shivmani on drums”. He is the god the percussions. Used to listen him always but it was very different this time…seeing him perform in person…seeing his hands move with the beats…it was an out of the world experience. The junta just stood spell bound. I just held my breath for the time his drumsticks kept hitting the drums. It was a mesmerizing moment… ...But all good things come to an end *sigh*. There was one another good thing that I specially remember…the song 'Humma Humma' in rap style..that was cool. Well with that we actually thought that we had enough of the concert and it was already 11:30 pm. So we decided to leave. But The Girl didn’t want to leave…then how can our dear pommu leave. So we left both of them in their sweet little world and left the place.

From the moment we stepped out…vini was constantly searching for water…for washing her feet which was I think covered with an inch of mud *eeee*. Mipple gave her a very good idea and our very intelligent billi did as she was told to and thus successfully doubled the layer of mud ….sorry vini…I still cant stop laughing at that .

Well then we decided to go to ‘pizza hut’ to have our dinner. We caught a rick and reached the place which was almost deserted. Hey am getting a situational song in my mind …char murkh is shahar mein…raat mein aur baarish mein…khaana dhoodhne nikle… … . First, we found a ‘New Shanti Sagar’ and tried to get something there…but our hard luck they were closed. Next thing, we went to the ‘Pizza Hut’. We asked them…instead could say implored in front of them…to give us any damn thing that is available. But the oven had gone stone cold . With all the persuasion from the ladies side also they could only provide us with pepsi…huh!! But they tried a lot . Well then we thought of atleast going to CCD and have some pastries or something. On our way to CCD vini saw a restaurant in the corner…’Big Chef’…it was a Chinese restaurant. I went inside and asked if anything was left. But I got a big NO . Then Mipple said that may be he can handle this. He went inside and we stood outside wondering that what can he do. After two minutes he came out and asked that whether we can eat ‘daal and rice’ . I was just amazed…how the hell he did it. Then came to know that it was the magic of language. Mipple knew Nepalese . We were treated so well by them. And that ‘daal and rice’ was soooo good. I was so happy to know that people like them are still in this world .

Well then we caught a rick to go to my PG as Adi’s bike was parked there and they had to drop me too. But it was raining like crazy at that time. So we all sat at the steps of my PG and started talking…with me and Adi in mostly the listening mode . We sat there for an hour or so. It was so much of fun to sit in the rain and chat that too at 1 in the night . It was nearly 2 am when the others left and thus ended the day.

Overall, this was something different than usual. That walking in the rain under one jacket. That dancing on top of the chairs. That roaming on road for search of food at 12 in the night that too totally drenched and full of mud. That dinner at the ‘Big Chef’. That chatting at the steps of my PG. Will remember these moments and cherish them forever. .

Team Outing!!

It was 6:11 AM when I started my bike....(shucks...why did i wake up 15 mins late...was supposed to reach office by 6). It too me precisely 6 minutes to reach office and another 2 minutes to reach my floor. That makes it 6:19. As I reached my floor I expected a bunch of people to be there and ready to scold me...but but but...there are only 3 people. Anyways, we waited and waited and waited, people came in at a very slow pace. Finally at 7:30, we decided to finish our wait. And we ended up in a group of 18, which was supposed to be of 30. So finally we were on the road :).

Our journey was made enjoyable by having various games amongst us and some brilliant performances. Can you imagine, i was made the captain of one team :D. We took a break in between for breakfast. I ate a new variety of idli :). And we were again on the road. The journey was long...infact pretty long...actually the driver took a shortcut :D ;). "Are we going on the right way?" "Does the driver know the place?" "I guess we will reach there by tomorrow!!"...were the general expressions coming from everyone gazing outside the window as if its about to come. But finally we got off the road at 1:05...yes...dont open your eyes wide open...we did reach at 1:05 :D. The first thing I saw in Talakad was this...

Talakad is the river bank of Cauvery. But looks more like a shore with sand and all. Infact, Talakad means "Sand Dunes". We had a nice time in Talakad, though none of us ladies got into water...but it was fun watching others play in the water :D. And the best pleasure was to watch Rishit play in water (he is a two year old sweet boy :)). Anyways, we did boating also, that too twice in a round boat aka tappa aka...ooops...i forgot the kannad name of it...sorry!! Have a look at the boat....


Can you imagine we went round and round in that boat :D. I was not able to stand up after that, walked like a drunk :D. And how can I forget the boat walla...He was 73 years old and spoke in english. He said he passed SSC in 1955, great na.

After that we went to a temple. A temple which looked as if it came out of my school history books. The architecture was fabulous. Took rows of snaps over there. Here are a few glimpse out of it....




Well our next destination was Sivansamudram. I will classify that place in some of the most beautiful places I have been to. Take a look... The two falls are just amazing. The nature seems to be at her bloom.


I just couldnt help myself from clicking on and on. Went crazy for taking the snaps. There was one other interesting thing in sivansamudram...lots of monkeys....specially small ones...chooo cute.

Well then started our outdoor games. The first two "one minute" games were quiet funny and innovative. Had a good time laughing over it. Then came "the tug of war". This was my first time at it...before this no one ever thought me worth to be taken in a tug of war :( :(..anyways...our team consisted of no heavy body builders but but but..we came out clear winners...yipppeee :) :).

Now it was time for us to get back to the road and head back to bangalore. I didnt feel like leaving, we were having so much of fun.

But wait, the fun didnt get over yet ;). We had a long round of Dumb C. That was the most enthued thing in the entire trip. Each and everyone participated with so much of zeal and josh. We even had a round of the "original Dumb C". It was sooooooooooo much of fun. In the end there was a tie between my team and another team for the first place, and we lost the "battle" by just a hair's difference. But the spirit of playing was good.

We reached office at 11:10. Anyways, so here ends my first team outing. In the start I was very skeptical to go. I hardly knew anyone in the team. Felt that I will be left out. But it turned out the other way. This became an Ice-Breaker for me. Now, I feel that I belong to this team and am not any outsider...which i used to feel before this trip. I just hope I have many more good moments like this in future :).

I kno am sounding too formal...but believe me this is what I am feeling.

TLTE

I know i should have posted this a long time back. i apologize for the delay.

"The Longest Thread Ever"

A place where strangers met

chatted with each other

pulled some legs

smiled in everyone's joys

sulked in the sorrows

and entered into

a bond of

friendship!!

A glimpse outta the trip!!

My jaunt to Kodai Kanal!!

Kodai the wonderland!!

It was an exotic trip to the land of the greens. Wherever you turn your head, only the green meets your eyes. An amazing place to get your batteries recharged [:D].

The hill station is centerd around the kodai lake. The kodai lake will confuse you. It appears to be a small lake but as you take a round trip, it seems neverending!!! and imagine we took a round trip on bicycle [:)]. That was the most beautiful ride i had ever taken, along the side of the kodai lake. There are many other attractions in and out of kodai. I loved the flora which i got to see there.

And yeah...one very important point. The falls of kodai are fabulous [;)]. They are just beyond your imagination [:D]. I guess all my trip-mates will strongly agree to it and we all will advice you all to never leave out the best part of kodai [/)].

If a person loves nature, kodai is heaven then. How much I wished that I had a house there and can spend all my weekends in the arms of the mother nature, with peace everywhere. I could take a cycle ride around the lake daily then [:)][:)]. Really kodai was just like a beautiful dream and I crave to be back in that dream again. [:)]

http://www.kodaikanal.com

Refreshing!!

I had gone into a hibernation for a long time. I have hazaar reasons to give and defend myself but this time i will be honest. Actually its more to my laziness than anything else. So here I am ready to start afresh. And this time I will make it sure that I dont become lazy again.

Civilization

this question crossed my mind once again y'ay...."wat has civilization given to us?"
civilization has given us lots and lots of things...

it has given us reasons to hate people
it has given us reasons to kill people
it has given us reasons to abandon nature
it has given us reasons to become selfish
it has given us reasons to commint treachery
it has given us reasons to make people cry
it has given us reasons to commit crimes
it has given us reasons to forget god
it has given us reasons to become conceited
it has given us reasons to be unsatisfied and unhappy

in short it has made us an uncivilized unhumane beast....

do we really need such a civilization...it was lot better in the primitive times....it was lot better when we didnt have technology to kill people....it was lot better when we didnt have the desire for money and power....it was lot better when there was no politics...it was lot better when there was no corruption....it was lot better when people had love and happiness in their heart...it was lot better when humans were humane....

kaash...that time could come back again....

sometimes!!

sometimes, i feel that i m alone in this world
sometimes, every moment seems unreal
sometimes, the music doesnt sound melodious
sometimes, the colors dont seem bright
sometimes, nothing can make me smile
sometimes, anything can make me cry
sometimes, i crave for nothing
sometimes, i grieve over everything
sometimes, the heart skips a beat
sometimes, i feel as if i dont exist


i get senti like this only "sometimes"

barkha bahaar

a drop of hope, filled with joy, touched my cheeks as i was standing on the gate, feeling the cool breeze running through my hair. it was a great relief from all the heat of past few days. soon it started pouring and i was elated :).

its been long since i smelled the fragrance of wet soil
its been long since i felt the chill in the breeze
its been long since i heard water drops on the roof
its been long since trees sway and danced with the wind
its been long when the sky roared in happiness
its been long since earth's thirst was quenched
its been long since i had such a pleasnt evening

i hope my every evening of mine be filled with the pleasure of watching it rain, of feeling the serenity inside me, the serenity of the earth and the serenity of the atmosphere around me.

Kosha - a treasure

"come again."
"what does your name mean?"
"Is it a hindi word?"
"you are a guy or a girl?" (when i meet someone on net)
"never heard of this name."
"is it usha."

these are many of the questions that i face near about daily. so thought y not write a blog about my name and let people know about it.

in simple words kosha means treasure. the root word over here is 'kosh'.

its origin is from sanskrit. in sanskrit the word 'kosh' or 'kosha' means sheath, a covering.
it is believed that a human soul is covered by five different koshas, namely annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anadamaya. these sheaths are composed of food, energy, intellect, intuition and bliss. interesting, right.

now something from history too. everyone might have heard the name of chitralekha. she had a sister called roopkosha, she was supposed to be a treasure of beauty. for my name the roop was dropped and kosha was retained :).

i am glad my parents christened me as kosha.

anybody with a different name than usual, please comment. i will be more than glad to increase my list of good names.

The First Step

Into the world of blogs. Here i come.
well this is the first time i m writing a blog. its not that i didnt know about their existence till now. but there were reasons of minee that kept me from posting a blog of my own.
my tryst with blogs started during my second year in college. i accidently stumbled on rediff blogs, read an entry and was too interested in it. i started coming there regularly and always thought that one day i will also start writing my blogs, i wrote many a times but had a complex. all those blogs which i read were so nice, so well written. i felt like a wretched being, who does not know how to write. i found myself despicable. and then so many new things started in life i completely forgot about the blogs.
years later through the TLTE blogs, i was once again confronted by the blog world. at first that fear came back to me but then i realized, a realisation of my being, my self, my ego. i dont bother now that i m not that good a writer, may be i m not good with words, but i will write, i will share my ideas with people. this is what blogs are all about. right.
so i step into this terrene.