Route 2 J

yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan . . .

2012-02-15T20:39:00.001+05:30

Mumbadevi, the godess of the koli fisher tribe . . is in the modern times "MUMBAI". It still continues to expand on the reclaimed sea. Mutli rise buildings, scam tainted sky scrapers, the chawls, Dharavi, Kala Ghoda festival, Antila, ... Life in a Metro . .seen it all!

A Salon ...

Aam ras . .

Old Bombay

BEST Double Decker

Sea Stoppers :)

Antila

Colaba Bus Depot

TAJ - rock solid!

@Kala Ghoda

Joy Rides..

The famous Leopold

Muzhapilangad - the drive in beach

2012-02-01T21:06:00.001+05:30

The only beach where you are allowed to drive in style. The Muzhapilangad beach is considered the only drive in beach in this part of the world! On a weekday when there are not many tourists at this place, one can drive on this freeway for about 4kms... remember to keep you windows down and soak in the sea breeze.

Enlightenment

2012-01-23T22:19:00.001+05:30

Divine Beings . . .

Classic Play

2011-11-19T20:27:00.001+05:30

Kathakali, is all about expressions and gestures . .

Make up takes about 2 to 3 hours... the paints used are mostly natural . . and mostly done by the artists themselves!

The color palette - Black for evil, Green for Sattvika, yellow for a combined character of Sattvika and Rajasic.

Why I prefer the COLORed world over the B&W!

The gestures in play ...

Finally .. on the stage .. glamour..

and the DIVINE!

God's own Channels

2011-11-01T18:07:00.000+05:30

Vaikom, 30 kms south east of Kochi (Cochin) is the hidden away Venice of India. The narrow canals connect the entire landscape and tourists are taken through these channels on joy rides. The villagers living alonside keep themselves occupied by making ropes from coconut fiber, weaving mats from wild pineapple leaves, collecting sand from river beds, fishing and farming. The boat takes you through grooves that form a canopy while providing you the feeling of a ride through Amazon :)

Homecoming Tellicherry

2011-09-11T18:18:00.020+05:30

The enchanting west coast town by the sea, in the Malabar, the city of 'seven hills (kunnu)', Thalassery is for ever a paradise!

The northernmost part of Kothanadu was called so - Thalakkathe (north) Cheri (place). Lster to be known as Tellicherry by the British and then named Thalaserry recently.

The British settled in 1682 and set their strongholds here by the Arabain sea. They built a sea port to transport the famous Tellicherry peppers and built a fort by the sea to protect the trade (1708). An unsuccessful attack was carried out by Hyder Ali in 1781.

2011, and the town has not changed much.... the sea walls laid by Overbury still lies protecting the land from continuous erosion. The Overbury's folly is now a beautiful park where one can spend a beautiful evening with their dear ones.

The Thalaserry bus stand battered in the monsoon..

towards the old bus stand . .

Marine drive . .

a boat repair workshop at Ernholi palam . .

Moidu palam towards Dharmadam ..

The love for sea food is evident all around the Malabar..

the fish market in the town . .

ray rish (therandi). .

Was that an Octopus ?

dry fish stalls . .

Dry fish - the God's must be crazy!

Muthappan is the Hindu diety commonly worshiped in the north Malabar region. He is considered the manifestation of Shiva & Vishnu. Worship of muthappan does not follow the satvic Brahminical form of worship as seen in other temples in India. No idol worship is done but an enactment of Muthappan is carried out in temples and in the front yard of homes. Dry fish is used as an offering to Muthappan.

People of all castes, religions and nationalities are permitted to enter the temple and take part in the worship. Boiled grams and slices of coconut, burnt dry fish and toddy are offered during the worship to Muthappan and as prasadam to the devotees.

Muthappan is always accompanied by dogs. Dogs are considered sacred. You can visit the famous Parassinikadavu temple to witness this all.

St. John's Anglican Church, behind the fort is now an important historical site. Now home to the graves of some of the prominent Britishers who lived and ruled Tellicherry in some way or the other. This church has now been restored and is a protected monument.

@ the grave of Brenen. The famous Brenen college was founded by Edward Brenen in 1861.

The view of the Arabian Sea from the church . .

Herman Gundert, the German missionary who wrote the first English-Malayalam translator dictionary.

Overbury's folly is yet another intriguing place. EN Overbury, a Briton, who served as a judge at Tellicherry wanted to construct a picnic spot at the cliff. He has started but left his dream unfinished. The spot was later named as 'Overbury's folly'. One can enjoy the sweeping views of the Arabian sea from this spot...

The folly ..

The view from the watch tower . .

The Arabian sea lashing the coast..

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Drinkathalon :)

2011-08-21T17:18:00.000+05:30

! Susegad

2011-08-09T10:28:00.006+05:30

A laid back monsoon adventure . . .

Casa Anjuna

The Doodsagar falls . . . shot from the train.

Convinience . .
Grafitti

Hookah and Ganja pipes
Flea Market
Calangute approach roads . .Baywatch!
Calangute Beach
The light house at Agouda

Beach Shack - St. Valentinos

Panjim
TWWT!

The Chinese Legacy

2011-05-04T07:07:00.006+05:30

Vishu in traditional style

2011-04-26T07:30:00.001+05:30

The traditional Ola Paddakam (Palm Leaf Crackers) are the Bijilis of the season :)

Mind Vs Heart

2011-04-24T20:45:00.004+05:30

Happy Hol!

2011-03-20T15:04:00.000+05:30

PLAY SAFE !

Moon Struck again ...

2011-03-19T22:49:00.000+05:30

31000 miles closer.. do you feel a thing?

Chilli Chocolates

2011-03-07T22:54:00.002+05:30

Thanks Michael . .

Breakfast @ the Haunted House

2011-01-23T13:05:00.008+05:30

.. a Sunday Brunch!

Flying Kites @ palace grounds on the 26th Jan

2011-01-23T12:27:00.001+05:30

Franky, Wolfy, Draco ...

2010-12-29T20:12:00.002+05:30

Guess the missing one!

Braille stamps and forgotten eras ..

2010-12-23T22:32:00.003+05:30

They say a picture can say a thousand words!

Start with the first if you are unable to see . . .

Sand, water and the sun . .

2010-11-01T16:48:00.002+05:30

Take a Holiday, its good for you!

Happy Rajyotsava

2010-11-01T15:02:00.002+05:30

All the way from the Mangalore Coast . .

b.e.n.g.a.l.u.r.u

2010-10-24T22:35:00.001+05:30

Trust me ... its Bangalore!

Ale'ing

2010-10-11T07:57:00.002+05:30

. . for an aching muscle :)

Sunny day visitors!

2010-08-27T08:44:00.001+05:30

After a battered night of rains, the morning was full of Sun Shine. The neighborhood looked bright and was chirpy with sounds of birds in front of the Balcony. This naughty little Squirrel fella was upto mischief. Am guessing he was teasing the Humming bird by plucking off all the flowers on the tree before it could suck nectar out of it:) This has been a routine every morning. The fella, jumps from one branch to the other and plucks every flower there and throws them on the ground. There are other visitors who come by and watch the fun. But for today, I just got the Red whiskered Bulbul!

The naughty little squirrel.

The Humming Bird.

At work!

The red whiskered bulbul - watchful of the events.

2010-07-30T08:27:00.007+05:30

Badrinath, is one among the Char Dham, a must visit hindu piligrimage centers and the abode of Lord Vishnu. The idol here is made of a solid black Saligram stone. A self manifested statues of lod Vishnu. Strangely the idol depicts Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than the usual reclined posture. Legend has it that Vishnu was chastised by a sage who saw Vishnu's consort Lakshmi massaging his feet. Vishnu then went to Badrinath to perform austerity, meditating in the padmasana for along period.

Badrinath, village - In winter the temple is closed due to heavy snowfall and the idol is shifted to Joshimath at a lower altitude. Badrinath was enshrined a piligrimage center by Adi Shankaracharya in the ninth century

View of the snow cap mountain just above our tent in Mana.

Following the great Mahabharata, the king Dhritarastra, queen Ghandhari and Kunti (he mother of the pandavas) lived the life of asceticism in the forest and died in a forest fire. Krishna Vasudeva and his unruly clan slaughtered eac other in a drunken brwal 36 years after the war and Krishnas soul went back into the supreme Vishnu. When the Pandavas learnt of this (wonder if they got an sms then !), they decided it was time for them to leave this world as well and they embarked on the great journey to heaven. They walked towards the polar mountains, towards the heavenly worlds, until one's body dropped dead. One by one Draupadi and the younger pandavas died along the way until Yudisthira was left with his companion, a dog that had followed him on his walk all along. Yudi made it to heavens gate, but was ordered to send the dog back but refused! Eventually the dog turns out to be god Dharma (Yudi's actual father), who was there to test his virtue. Once in heaven, Yudi realises that his brothers are in hell and insists on being sent back to hell to join his brothers.... This was hte final test fo rhim! It is revealed that the brothers were really in heaven. So ends the story!

The way to Heavens gate! Somewhere along the path is the Vasundhara falls, the gushing waters of this cascade falls down with a roaring sound from an elevation of 400 feet. It carries an amazing legend with it - People believe that the water falls turns away from those visitors who are not pure and clean at heart. Though a difficult destination to reach, the falls allures the visitors with its exciting charm and cool ambience. I was not to risk the test!

Draupadi Mandir - The place where Draupadi died.

2010-07-25T21:46:00.007+05:30

The heavenly Uttarakhand holds many mysteries and interesting stories . . . one such place of interest is the Mana Village, the last village on the Indian side.

The last tea shop on this side of India too..

Vyas Gufa

From Mana village, climb up the steps and you will reach Rishi Vyas gufa. It is sitting in this cave and on the rocks that Vyasa rishi wrote Mahabarata. It is said that Vyasa rishi wanted an assistant to write so fast that he did not have to repeat a single word again. So he hired Ganesh for the job. Ganesh put forth a condition that he would only scribe it if the entire Mahabharat was said in one go. But nearby, river Saraswati flowed and was terribly noisy.

So he cursed the noisy Saraswati to vanish into Paataal (deep into earth). It is unbelivable but the river just vanishes into earth and does not flow onto the other side of the stream!

Inside the gufa

Below is the noisy river just about 100 meters away from the Vyasa gufa. Play it to believe it! The other side of the bridge is absolutely dry and quiet. The Saraswati river flows underground from here ..

Saraswati vanishes from this point

The Bhim Pul on the way to Heavens door (Swarg ka Dwar). . . . . COMING SOON!

Simply Heaven

2010-07-19T20:28:00.003+05:30

One for the road . .

Oh hell NO! I was on a different trip :)

Bangalore to Thalaserry (Kannur)

2010-06-27T14:27:00.009+05:30

The road to god's own Thalaserry is now open to public after a wait of over two long years. The roads are fantastic now. Hope they remain that way for the rest

of the monsoon (if there is any). The forest cover is the same. Misty and full of forest cover.

After so many years, it was easy to mistake the road to Thalaserry from the Hunsur junction. We followed the Orange County board to Kushalnagar instead of taking the Hunsur road onto Gonnikopal. The route for the benefit of fellow travellers is - Bangalore - Chennapatna - Mandya - before Srirangapatna - take a right to deviate to the bypass road (look for Orange country board) - onto Hunsur - Stick to SH 90 (if you follow the orange county board here you will land up in Medikeri) - follow SH 90 to Gonnikopal - at the fork where it shows Virajpet and Thalaserry - take the Thalaserry road on to the Forest checkpost (its a narrow road but motorable - no pot holes)

The Lake by the checkpost.

Continue on to the end of the ghat section will take you to Maakutta and then on to the historical bridge that separates Kerala and Karnataka on this part of the world. The Thodupuzha flows beneath with all its charm . .

The bridge separating Karnataka and Kerala.

Its always nostalgic to be back in Kerala. But this time there was no home . .

Home town blues ..

2010-05-18T07:58:00.003+05:30

In the boat ferry .... from the boat jetty of Ernakulam.

the boat jetty dockyard..

"Vinoda Yatra" .. marine drive.

Chennaipattinam

2010-05-02T13:12:00.004+05:30

A whirlwind visit to this lovely city in the middle of summer was not that bad after all. From the chilled vestibule of the Shatabdi, where I was literally shivering, was out in the burning furnace like weather in Chennai at 11.00 am in the morning. Drove straight to New Woodlands at Maylapore. The evening was spent at the iyer's engagement ceremony. Food was yummy and finger licking good. And the couple was made for each other...

The City is clean! The traffic is just like in any metro. In the midst of all, got to witness the motorcade of the CM pass by. Pity I cud not take pictures...

The night was spent on the second largest beach in the world. Or so they claim .. the beach is swarming with people who have come out in the evening to seek the warmth of the sea breeze :)
The beach is a busy place with stalls, games, horse rides and kids flying kites all around.

The next morning surprisingly a rainy day. Though we spotted rain clouds in the evening, the locals ignored them to be just passing clouds. But it rained cats and dogs.. it cooled the morning .. as though to let us enjoy and explore Chennai much better.

A morning bite at the famous Saravana Bhavan in Mylapore.. (Sorry, no patience to wait. So had to eat and then shoot :P )

The rest of the morning was spent at the gully's and by lanes, at pondy bazaar, at the Spencers mall, a Tellicherry Biriyani at the Tattukada, and then the evening at the beach again. Calm seas.. cool breeze!

Beach stalls :
American is famous too!
Mumbai chat in Chennai ? Dont miss the PEAL POORI...
MGR and Anna ... at the parrot astrologer. RAT!

The Gandhi Statue at the Marina Road.

The Ashok Stambh!

So long 'Chenni' . . . .

For the non-believers!

2010-04-15T21:39:00.002+05:30

(Not for the weak at heart!)

Here is video proof of the rain god unleashing his fury! For all you people in the dry states, here is a video of climate change in Bangalore. All in one - Dust Storm, Gusty winds and rain.

Keep an eye and an ear on the flying debris hitting the car, then the wind blowing away the hoarding on the right and dust storm towards the right of the video. The airport underpass, and then the rain lashed out like as though it was the end of the world....

I survived!

Why do EMU's eat Charcoal ?

2010-03-12T07:49:00.002+05:30

So finally the EMU bird flew in from across Australia. The Ostrich's cousin, this half ton bird is now being bred across India for their meat, oil and leather! The oil sells at 400 bucks for 100ml !!!

Chitra Sunday (read Santhe')

2010-01-31T19:58:00.007+05:30

Just another Sunday where Bangaloreans got out on a picnic and swamped the Chitrakala Parishath roads . .

The biggest and the brightest today!

2010-01-30T21:45:00.000+05:30

Oh yes, I booked my place on the moon too. The crater you see towards the bottom right is mine now. Look up the celestial home page. Book yours today!

A weekend with the royals

2010-01-14T22:23:00.001+05:30

Inspired by the Windsor Castle, the Bangalore Palace was built in 1887 in true Tudor style. The Palace hosts beautiful paintings and old photographs of the royal family. A great place to travel back in time.

Avataar in 3D

2010-01-14T22:00:00.001+05:30

Kaapi Kaapi (a coffee vending machine - 1970s)

2010-01-14T21:55:00.000+05:30

Royalty Paid!

2010-01-14T20:46:00.000+05:30

Baby Sitting

2009-12-06T22:08:00.000+05:30

Moonlight Barbeque

2009-11-08T18:51:00.003+05:30

With the Ferraboli barbeque imported from Italy, we set off on a moon lit night to put it to test. It was a challenge to get the fire started. We went the Keralite way of firing up with the dry coconut shells. We managed to get the fire started!

Menu : Fish and Chicken

And of course the thirsty ones had to be served ...

Coonoor in the Nilgiris

2009-10-04T11:34:00.000+05:30

60 ml

2009-10-04T09:22:00.005+05:30

The Chief

Warm Up

Trick run

more warm up

Steady boys ..

Captain's run

Briefing . .

At the game

A day with the Royal Challengers, RSI Bangalore.

A day at the Quarry

2009-09-06T18:56:00.007+05:30

(click to view larger image)

My First Attempt at HDR Images . . The Betahalli Menhir !

A Bottle Opener!

The Lion Face ..

Froggy Friends

2009-07-19T23:11:00.002+05:30

Seasonal Champ !

2009-07-19T22:55:00.001+05:30

The undisputed king of Tennis ... (a TV grab!)

Shanghai Salsa Night

2009-07-12T18:48:00.002+05:30

This weekend was all about Latino passion at the Shanghai Salsa. A nice chilled out restaurant in Indiranagar. Another two drinks and we could tango! We chose to sit at the lounge on the 3rd floor. The mattress type seating with pillows were inviting after a hard day at work. The food was finger licking good. The momos just melted in the mouth. And the Salsa . .

Salsa has long been a popular dance in Europe and America. Off Late, in Beijing, Shang hai, and Hong Kong it has become popular. It is a combination of Latino Dance which includes: Mambo, Rumba and Cha-Cha. The good part about Salsa is that it’s easy to learn and its fun. As an instructor stated, “If you just take a one hour beginner’s lesson, you will be able to try and dance freely.” Anyone interested ?????

A 20% discount if offered to folks from the hospitality industry on Monday. Tuesday offer is for media folks. We managed a 15% after sweet takling to Xian :)

At the end of it all, there were two Cuban White Rum Coasters missing!

JERK CHICKEN !

On a dark full moon day to Skandagiri

2009-07-04T20:19:00.016+05:30

Friday's are always eventful and happy Days :) This Friday proved to be a thriller as well.
Usually a trip sheet would attract about 10-15 enthusiasts, but this one was a super whammy with a sign on of close to 100 trekkers. Most of them first timers! The challenge was to organise a 100 people to trek on a Full Moon night and, when on Friday morning, the rain gods decide to play spoil sport. We were hoping for drop outs but the crowd stuck to the challenge. We were prepared for the harshest of weather. Torches, warm clothes, water bottles and energy bars were all in the back packs.

At 12.30 in the dead of a rainy Friday night, we are at the base camp. The town and people around are asleep. But we are greeted by the forest guard who was expecting us. He was accompanied by 4 policemen who stopped us at the gates. They would not allow us to enter the forest at this unearthly hour.

For any first timer, to go to Skandagiri, you do not need permission to trek the mountains if you are a small group of trekkers. You just need to ensure that you are a group of at least 5 and you have enough armour to trek in the bushy hills. A forest guard and a few policemen hang around as usual expecting their palms to be greased. A few stood negotiating with the cops.

What you need to note is that the trek from the base to the top of Skandagiri takes approx. 2.5 hours with stops on the way. And if its a rainy and windy day, then its not advisable to hang around on the summit for long as it tends to get really cold. Be prepared to carry enough warm clothes if the weather is cold.

Since the cops held us back, we had to kill time at the base camp. We walked a few meters away and set up a bon fire to keep us warm and engaged until the cops and the forest guard gave up at 3.00 am. At 3.00 am we divided ourselves into groups of 10 with a leader in the group who would ensure that the group was together along the trek and each of the trekkers helped the other in case required. A forest guard led the first batch of trekkers and the rest of the folks followed. As we walked along the path, the torchlight’s came on, first the initial ten, then another batch and then another, soon it seemed like a trail of fire flies in the night. GPS applications were turned on. The altitude and the distance were being tracked. As the trekkers progressed, the terrain started to get tougher. The rocky terrain had started to slow the trekkers already. Narrow paths along the hill meant that we could only trail each other in a single line. There was chill in the air as we began to climb the hill. There was chillness in the air and slowly the jackets, mufflers and the caps came on.

The girls were not far behind than the guys. They were equally paced with the guys. As we gained height, a few felt the pressure build and called for frequent stops along the way. IT was cold and chilly, the wind blew the mist across our faces. A few who had capes on the jackets pulled up and strapped up to cover the face. IF you stood to relax on the way here, in the gusty cold wind, your sweat would cool and you would begin to feel colder. So it was better to keep walking up the hill.

GPS check along the way showed up that we had trekked about 2.5 kms up the hill we had more to go..

Armed with a torch light that can light up a few 100 meters, we moved on. The cold wind blower much harder against us now ..

The 'Roll-ex' Man

2009-06-07T22:43:00.004+05:30

The greatest tennis player of all time - RF! The king of all four courts . .

Spice Route

2009-05-02T10:15:00.007+05:30

Once upon a time, the remains of the great traveller Vasco da gama lay here in the small port town of Cochin (Kochi now). Vasco da gama the famous exporer set sail from Lisbon in july 1497, heading east. At that time, it was believed that the Indian ocean was not connected to any other sea. Some interesting facts and highlights from history:

* Many of his crew died from scurvy, a disease casued by the lack of Vitamin C.

* He brought along 20 armed ships in 1502 to fight the traders who resisted him in India.

* The port city Vasco da gama in Goa was named after him.

* Vasco Da Gama dies in Cochin on the Malabar coast, India on 24 December, 1524

The St. Francis Church where Vasco da gama's remains were buried until they were exhumed and transported to Lisbon.

The place of burial. Vasco da Gama died on the eve of Christmas ...

The picture of the inside of St. Francis Church.

Portuguese cemetery Kochi, Kerala.

Portuguese architecture still seen in the parts of Kochi, Kerala.

Modern day 5 Star Plus luxury cruise "EUROPA" at the port, Kochi 2009.

The Halo Effect

2009-04-22T10:06:00.001+05:30

Jaago re

2009-04-04T09:55:00.001+05:30

Be Sensible !!!

A walk in the park !

2009-03-28T22:30:00.006+05:30

An egg a day!

2009-03-17T22:53:00.003+05:30

Eating an egg a day does not increase the risk of heart diseases or stroke, they say... But for for a 50 million dollars an egg, one might just kick the bucket !

The cost of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. . . Anyone seen a dime ???

But our Thursday Egg Cult members carry on the "Egg Series"..

A Masterpiece

2009-03-15T13:45:00.002+05:30

The most beauticul and evocative masterpice from the Vijanagar Empire - Hampi.

Birds in the air

2009-02-17T22:19:00.001+05:30

Playing with FIRE ?

2009-01-31T22:34:00.001+05:30

Coalition - We are like this only

2009-01-31T21:20:00.002+05:30

Hallucination

2009-01-31T21:15:00.002+05:30

BAD dREAMS

2009-01-11T20:19:00.002+05:30

The Second Coming

2009-01-11T18:18:00.000+05:30

The Elephant Fort

2008-11-18T11:42:00.000+05:30

Punnathur Kotta is the Elephant Sanctuary of the Guruvayur Devasom. The palace or the fort houses about 60 elephants. These elephants are trained here for the temple purposes and are a great show at the Thrisur pooram festival. The elephants are well fed and looked after.

But eveyone loves their freedom . . .

Chandrayan

2008-11-16T13:36:00.000+05:30

Mile'ons to go . . .

Crystal Gazing !

2008-10-18T15:33:00.000+05:30

Water Ways

2008-10-18T15:14:00.000+05:30

The red bellied piranha

2008-10-12T21:08:00.000+05:30

The red bellied piranhas of the Amazon river, the amazon leaf frog, a snorkelling session in an amazonian lake, have your hair cut with the Piranhas jaws, survive Malaria !

Dark Clouds and Blue skies

2008-08-24T13:08:00.000+05:30

One momnet it is dark and glomy and the next it is sunshine ! Life has its ways ....

High Noon

2008-08-03T09:29:00.000+05:30

A laid back weekend with a handful of flicks to watch. Top of the list is "High Noon". A western classic (1952), selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film is #27 on the American Film Institutes 2007 list of great films.

Must watch list :

* Untraceble

* Strange Wilderness

Chai and midnight snacks

2008-07-30T17:38:00.000+05:30

Necessities of life when you are on teh move. . . .

Vaseline Fan Club

2008-06-22T17:34:00.000+05:30

The above species is classified endangered ! If you know of its existence please provide the details, location and if possible procure a piece and ship to me :)

Informant will be suitably rewarded !

Fly by Night

2008-05-25T08:10:00.000+05:30

At 10.30 pm its a smooth cruise until the parking of the newly opened Bengaluru International Airportu :) BIAL (http://www.bialairport.com/) Dont be surprised if you get the message "Bandwidth Limit Exceeded" when you hot the URL!

On the 'first nite' the same applied to all the services at the BIAL. The parking exceed the limit. A chaotic night ! The authorities did not understand how they could manage the in flow. The tow away trucks just blared and ran around in circles trying to move stranded cars. The parking attendants did not know how to coordinate. It took about 30 minutes to get to park cars in the parking areas. Once inside, there is no way to get out of the parking if you did not want to park and decided to just lay by on the roads. The flights were deleayed, the ATC could not coordiante the schedules. There was chaos everywhere. The Arrival terminal saw hundreds of cabbies holding placards, waiting for their pick ups. If you had to locate you cabbie in there, one had to read through hundreds of placards that were up at the arrival terminal.

Every Parking slot taken.

Taxi way.
Car Parking . . see the traffic jam on the left most side.

Drop off lanes ..

The Main entrance.

Drop off lane again ..

The Louis Vuitton suitcase is a landmark at the airport. If you are lost or have to direct someone who has offered to pick you up from the airport, all you have to tell them is to get to the LV Suitcase !

The airline and help desk counters.

Day tripping these days

2008-04-08T14:25:00.000+05:30

These pictures will give you a clue on what I am upto these days :)

Keep tuned for more ...

Night Flight to Venus

2008-03-09T19:24:00.000+05:30

Marcia Barrett flew to Bangalore to entertain a surging mass by night at the Palace ground on 8th March, 2008. Like many, I grew in the 80s listening to Boney M hits like 'By the rivers of Babylon', 'Brown girl in the ring', 'Night flight to Venus' and many others on a Panasonic tape recorder in our ancestral home. The tapes flew all the way from Africa...

It was music to the ears after so many years now to hear them sing again.

Marcia Barrett

I was fortunate enough to sneak in to a press conference and get to meet the lead vocalist up close and get prize pictures. Marcia was gracious and chatted up with reporters who queued up for hours for her to arrive in the cafe after a lavish spread at lunch.

The pictures here are copyright and should not be used elsewhere without prior written permission.

Masterpiece by Henry Irving

2008-02-17T10:12:00.000+05:30

A weekend photo trip to the Wodeyar town in the red buses is quite an adventure. At 7.00 am, the weather in Bangalore is cloudy and there are chances of rain. We take our chances too and board a 7.30 bus to Mysore. On board they try to play one of Ravichandras's 'cheluve' movies. Every time the bus driver demonstrated his driving skills the video would get reset and start all over again. We watched the initial Rockline Production listing at least theree times and then the driver himself took pity on us and called it quits. Venks kept getting 'cricket' updates from Bylakuppe every 5 minutes...

Breakfast at Mysore, and we were all set on a local bus to Chamundi Hills. Clear blue sky was no where in picture. But guess it was not that bad either. We decided to visit the crouching nandi by walk, passing by the vendors along the road, a solid 5 kms waslk down winding roads...

A visit to Mahishasura too ...

The Crouching Nandi ..

Came down to Wodeyar town and hit the famous Ritz Hotel for a lavish lunch and couple of beer mugs..

From Ritz, we wait endlessly at eh entrace of the Mysore Palace for the gates to open .. watching life happening . .

(modes of transport)

The crowd arriving for watching the lighting extragavanza . .

(mounted Police)

Moments before the lights come on .. and bathe the Palace in lights..

Anxious people at the gates ..

The moment of truth.. the Palace in its glory . .

Illuminati .. another da vinci code ???

The Pelicans have arrived !

2007-12-29T20:28:00.000+05:30

Kokrebellur, about 80 kms from Bangalore where the migratory birds have made their first landing. The endangered spot billed pelicans have started to arive in this remote village. They seem to have a bond (an agreement of co-existence signed) with the villagers. The villagers say, its been like that for centuries now. The village got its name from these migratory birds which travel from thousands of miles, as far away in Siberia.

For now the birds have nested in two trees in the village. These are the first batch to arrive. As the seasons changes, more birds are expected..

A dragon fly checking on the birds below :)

A local villager winnowing ...

Buggy world

2007-12-28T20:21:00.000+05:30

A buggy world all around us. You just have to look :)

The place to find such creatures ...

A watch tower just for the purpose !

another long Drive . .

2007-12-23T11:37:00.000+05:30

Its holiday season and festivities all around. A drive to work took an unbelievable 45 mins compared to an hour and thirty minutes. The roads are deserted and the policeman has switched to the automatic mode.

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, after downing a couple of the latest Kingfisher Draugh Beer. we hit the road to the International Airport and on to Nandi hills.

Here is letting the pictures speak for themselves...

A view of Nandi hills from the drive . .

At railway crossing along the route . .
Kids with improvised toys . .

Am an expert too ... need help ?

baan-anna

2007-12-16T10:48:00.000+05:30

In Kanzal country this is how it's pronounced -
~baan.anna

Bengaluru Habba is back

2007-12-02T16:13:00.001+05:30

The Habba is back to Bengaluru. The name has changed and so has a lot of its cultural spots. Nevertheless, the pomp and glory still exists in the usual addas. A Lazy Sunday noon trip for a glimpse of the folk art and anticipation of finding decor for the walls. Nothing seemed interesting, the artisans have not improvised or innovated in ages. The same piece of art as the last year and the year before .. and before. I knew I would not be disppointed with my camera though. So folks, here is the folk art in pictures.

Care for a moon walk ?

2007-11-25T20:44:00.000+05:30

My first attempt to land on the moon has been successful :) Now, dreams dont seem that far away ! The first shot of the moon and am already in love with my Astronomical skills. Ok, I was only kidding . . am only star gazing . .

Click on the picture for a better view of the craters on the moon.

Sense the Temperature - Think snow Flakes ;)

2007-11-16T11:27:00.000+05:30

Oh yes, Winter is here in Bangalore and its not been this cold in 16 years. The temperature has dropped to about 12.5 'C and as lower in wooded areas in Bangalore. Diwali is just gone by and the jingle bells are not far away. What a festive season this is ...

Eerulli Jam

2007-10-19T16:09:00.000+05:30

Onion Jam, thats what it is in Bengaluru !

The place to be if you want to master the art of motoring. Every possible puzzle for you to slove. From a maze of traffic one ways to surprise "u" turns to "merry-go-rounds" - Pick one every day.

Now this one is unique. An early morning start to avoid the peak 9'o clock rush hour. An unusual jam at the notorious outer ring road. Traffic is piled up for miles on all sides. There are no rules for this one. Traffic is one way on either side of the road. On the left side vehicles are coming on to you and on the right side, again, vehicles are coming on to you. Hope you figured out which side of the road I am on. If you have, you have a license to drive anywhere in the world :)

Unique - A traffic Jam caused by tons and tons of Onions!

Truck loads of Onions and miles and miles of it, into Bengaluru. The Government suspended Onion export for 15 days to stabilise the soaring prices in the market (Rs.24 a kilo.) and to ensure adequate stocks in teh domestic market. The rains in AP, Karnataka and MH affected the supply of Onions into these local markets. Trucks with tons and tons of Onions from the stock were sent into Bengaluru. The AMC yard which could not accomodate the trucks closed the gates on them. The trucks with Onions were piled up along the roads leading up to the yard causing a huge pile up of traffic all along the outer ring road.

We cried for help. Dialled Radiocity to get other commuters to know of the unique puzzle. We dialled the Aviation industry for emergency evacuation. Well meri jaan, yeh hai India.

Did we have 911 in India?

Well 103 worked! In about 20 minutes of "no-go", a cop arrived at the scene and restored some order.

Why Onions make you cry!!!

FireFlies

2007-10-07T21:58:00.000+05:30

~ ~ ~

A Lazy afternoon trip in search of FireFlies ! The Coleoptra among the beetles, the glow worms . . . . and their bioluminescence to attract mates . . got me on a cold light trail . Along the Kanakapura Road, just a little after Sri Ravishankar's Ashram, look out on the right side of the road for a FireFlies sign board. Keep on the track for about 3 kms and you would end up by the lake and another sign post "Fire Flies".

Someday I want to watch the Firefly systematics !
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I promised to return to this place for the February Jam . . watch out !!

Heaven on Earth

2007-08-04T09:29:00.000+05:30

The latest discovery this week is a place in paradise, in the midst of god's own country, a cosy hill top home called "Hill View". Situated in Vaduvanchal, which is located in the Wayanad district of Kerala. The place is situated in between the Calicut – Ooty Road via Wayanad.

Vaduvanchal is located in the Wayanad district of Kerala. The place is situated in between the Calicut – Ootty Road via Wayanad. The place lies in the National Highway 212 for 70 Kms and the next 20 Kms in the State Highway.

If you want to wake up to morning like these, and discover heaven on Earth .. you know who to contact !

On a Monsoon trail . .

2007-07-15T18:41:00.000+05:30

Yet another Monsoon experience this weekend ! The rain in the catchment area has been unrelenting so far. The Cauvery River is in spate. The villagers all around are busy ploughing their fields and sowing seeds.

The mulberry plantations line the entire strech of land. Silk is silenty being spun in the country side. The silk worms are fed and happily cuddled up in their cocoons. Little do they realise that they will have a watery end. Its interesting to know how carefully they are raised in controlled temperatures, protected from flies and insects. Silkworms have enormous apetite, they binge on the mulberry leaves, day and night. After 4-5 weeks they have eaten enough and have grown to 3 inches long and nearly 1 inch thick. Now it stops eating and is ready to spin its cocoon. Three days of spinning its head in an 8 like movement the cocoon is ready. Now the 'gravy' part - the cocoon is soaked in water to kill the worm and to allow the workers to locate the end of the silk thread for the spinning machines ... and transformed to Kimonos and beautiful Silk Sarees! A kimono requires about 2100 silkworms.

The trail leads us all the way to Maekaedatu ~ Goats Leap . .

Wonder if she really wanted to leap :)

Meanwhile, the rest of the sober partners cooled their heels alongside. .

Ideal for a rafting adventure. Anyone wanna join ?.. on the next Monsoon Mission :))

Monsoon Wedding

2007-07-02T09:37:00.000+05:30

A perfect time for romance! A perfect time for a monsoon wedding, set in small town name Talkad (tal'kaad) along the river Caveri. Talakad has mysteriously been covered by sand. As many as 30 temples are covered under heaps of sand. Legend has it that it was a curse of a Queen. Dumplings of sand as if out of nowhere... but the country side is lush green and picturesque. The south west monsoon is active and the wind blows at enormous speed. The country side is continuosly lashed by rains every five minutes ..

Its soothing to drive down in the rains. The country side smells fresh, every once in a while you want to pull aside and pull in some fresh stock of oxygen into your lungs as you strech yourself and prepare for the next strech of bad roads. The in roads to the tourist spots in most of Karnataka are pathetic. Well, no one complains . . as long as it gives you a dirt track ride and adventure you can rber!

The Bride and the Groom showering colored rice on each other. A feel of rain ?

We intended to visit the sculptures at Somnathpur, but the rains were heavy on our side. We decided to get to dry lands as early as possible. Somnathpur will be another day !

A little over 10 kms from the city, there are no signs of rain. Just overcast dark skies and dry chilly winds blowing all the time. Just a rainbow ..

Congratulations Sweat!

;)

Cyanoacrylate-Phobia

2007-06-25T10:34:00.000+05:30

Am now a self delacred Cyanoacrylate-Phobic! I hereby swear, any future attempts to glue broken things will be undertaken only with protective gear. More like the ones they use when disposing bombs or mines :)

Not just once, but everytime I have attempted to mend broken things, I have ended up sticking my fingers together or having discovered that my fingers are stiff due to overflow of the Cyanoacrylate substance onto my fingers or hands. The 4 cm tube is a piece of arsenal that needs special handling. However hard I try to keep the deadly liquid from flowing over to my hands, i end up sticking my fingers together or a piece of plastic bonded to my skin.

On research, I have discovered that even though Super Glue is incredibly strong, it has one weakness - Acetone. Easily found in nail polish removers !

Btw, Did you know why girls are staying away from nail polish removers ?

Moods at Sunset

2007-06-10T13:39:00.001+05:30

TouchMeNot

2007-06-10T13:22:00.000+05:30

Seismonastic movements - The cause of the touch-me-not effect is a loss of turgor pressure. The movement is caused by "a rapid loss of pressure in strategically situated cells that cause the leaves to droop right before one’s eyes".

Flower heads of a shy plant :)

SunShades

2007-06-10T13:02:00.000+05:30

A dramatic hue in the skies in Mysore !

While on earth silence is enforced . .

Mounted Police Patrolling the streets in Mysore.

Car Pooling

2007-06-10T12:10:00.000+05:30

When it rains, it brings along misery. like it did to me. Well, it was no cyclone Gonu, but a 5 minute heavy downpour. The notorious inner ring road in front of Pizza Hut was choc-a-block with traffic. There was at least 3 foot water on the roads, as I inched through traffic I reliased what was causing the traffic pile up. The smaller vehicles like the popular autoricksaw was literally a piece of toy floating on water. I paddled myself to keep to the right of the road thinking the water level will be lesser on that side. That was a bad choice.. as other bigger vehicles bussed passed, it created waves ! Soon I could hear waves crashing alongside my car and I was dreading what was in store. I looked up ahead and could see and endless vast of water all over. For a moment 'Titanic' was playing 'fist show' in my mind :) As I cruised along, I saw a stranded Auto ahead.. I tried to brake and kill the speed but I was flating as well. I grabbed the wheels and turn it left with all my might, the car just flaoted on to the right. I took no chances, stepped on the pedal and cruised as fast as i could. Causing waves as i cruised ....

45 minutes of paddling and I reached the shore !

Well, cant imagine a 'gonu' striking us. We'd all be gone ..

Time for Noah's arc yet ?????

A Different Route now!

2007-05-11T20:31:00.000+05:30

Finally bid goodbye to route2j this month. Since the start of this weeek, am being driven by the black beauty again :) The traffic has not eased up a bit in an year since I have been on route2j. The mess on tha roads is the same. The people screaming and getting at each others throats on the road. The cows all around the place. Acting like break inspectors for the BBMP roads . .

The once charming Brigade Road is only about 15 minutes drive now. But the old charm and glory all lost to the mega malls all around. Few people, the once rushed up avenue, is in shambles, few shops, mega discounts but no takers, only the road side hawkers making business as usual.

Well, am still learning to fly . . taking baby steps for now.

Mayhem

2007-04-29T15:05:00.000+05:30

Bangalore's landmark May flowers are in Full bloom ! The 'Gulmohr' tree makes Banglore a true Garden City at this time of the year. They call it the 'flame of the forest'. Legend has it that the tree is named gulmohur because its flower looks like gul (rose) and the leaf spread appears like the feathers of a mor (peacock).

Other flowering trees like the Rain Flower tree too are in bloom. Just awaiting the rain god's to open up on them.

Celebrate the flamboyant Gulmohur, and the wonderful Season . .

Oh ! btw, MAY DAY ! MAY DAY!

Invoking the Supernatural

2007-04-15T18:14:00.000+05:30

'Theyyam' is a special performance to seek blessings for the household and offer prayers to the ancestors. It is a popular ritual of Kannur, north of Kerala. Read on more from the link . .

A performer, prepares for the trance, sleeping on a bed of fire.

If you thought i was a couch potato, think again !

Up Close.
There is no stage of curtains for these shows. The devotees just stand around and the dancer who propitiates the deity has to reside in these rituals which last to over 12 hours.

Another Incarnation . .

After morphing into the god or goddess, the danceer runs into the courtyard and dances in a pocessed manner.

A sneak peak at face painting prior to the show.

The bizzare head dresses, costumes and body painting and trance like performances are very extraordinary.

Am i Scary enough ?

The costumes are made out of natural materials like coconut leaves and bark. The paint is made from natural resources too.

Oh well, yes thats just to prove a point that the vibrance of the show is the colors ! And, here is another BRAVEHEART. The kids are usually placed in the hands of the deity to invoke blessing. But I can bet, the kid can never fear anything ever again. A true Malabar kid!

The term ‘theyyam’ is derived from the word ‘Daivam’, meaning divine.
Ever wonder why god comes to Earth in inhuman forms ?
What is global Warming ? As if anyone cares . . .

Marooned on the Paradise Isle

2007-03-24T12:14:00.000+05:30

Each place on earth seems like the best . . and better than the other!

Driving over 130 kmph in a star lit night on the Bangalore Mangalore highway can give you the highs. The traffic is less this night and a few that are on the roads are zipping past at matching speeds. Its dangerous to drive in the dark of the night, but the trick is to drive on 'auto-pilot'.

Along the route, there are burning tyres, felled trees and armed Policemen. A fire engine dousing the fire in the middle of the road. Policemen guide us around the burnign tyres and urge us to move on. War zone ? No, we learn there is trouble and its a bandh called by some political party this day.

We dawn upon the Paradise Isle at unearthy hour. The guard at the gates refuses to let us in. After thrusting the required papers, he lets us in.

At the breakfast table the Manager tells us the entire town is shut business and its a bandh! It means - grounded!

Well, the bandh turned out to our advantage. The Paradise Isle wore a deserted look. Few people out on the road and none at the beach which would swell with people on a regular day.

The boatmen agreed to smuggle us to the St. Mary's Island for 800 bucks! A 20 minutes boat ride from the Paradise Isle.

The only habitants of the island . .

Crystal clear waters and pure white sand ...

A couple of hours in the sun and sand .. the tan lines began to show up. The men folk would wanna stay, but the ladies had to save their skin :)

Back on the jet . .

Leaving St. Mary's Island . .

Back on land to a wonderful Sunset . .

Back to Malpe Town

aati kya Khandalaa ?

2007-03-06T22:21:00.000+05:30

At first you miss a flight that has been preponed 6 hrs from original scheduled time :) Ever heard of that ??? No one complains! Imagine if it was the railways. The train is scheduled to leave at 6.15 pm and they take off at noon the same day.

Well, the rush hour had begun. If not work, it was rush hour back home when at 11.00 am we realise that the flight that was to take off at 6.15 pm was bout to take off in an hour and fifteen minutes. Pack your bags .. stuff in what you can grab and run. Drove like i was on a jet plane .. the midnight beauty took me 1hr15mins to reach the Airport. An Air Deccan assistant at the door signed the ticket promptly - "Arrived at 12.15"! We pleaded at the counter to let us board.. "an urgent matter Sir, we have to get on that plane" .. "Sir, matter most urgent" .. who the hell cares.. cant you see the security staff have cleared the plane to take off, blurted a shrewed Cat at the counter, while the beauties gave us a coy smile :) We were like stranded passengers.. approached another airline .. and got a spot fare deal done for the next day to Pune. Next day got a couple of hours early to the Airport (Mr. Bean style) and lounged about at the Airport. The flight took off on time.

Shot a couple of pics from the plane.

But while landing at the Military base at Pune, it was made clear that no aerial photography was allowed.

On the road again and on to Khandala. The date with Colonel, the bomb disposal expert had to be skipped if we had to keep our date with Aamir Khan at Khandala .. so on to Khandala ..

the winding roads.. and mile long tunnels ..

Valley view

And finally .. the shooting point .. and the whole purpose of "aati kya khandala!"
( in 70 mm, Eastman Color ) ok am color blind :))

Oxytocin Poisoning . .

2007-02-14T11:14:00.000+05:30

Valentine special mood-o-meter :)

Air Traffic Control - Aero India 2007

2007-02-12T09:11:00.000+05:30

A wonderful Aviation weekend. The entire Bangalore was out on the road to Bellary .. blocking the entire strech leading to the New International Airpot :) Cars and Jeeps parked all along the road and people climbing on to any vantage point that gives you a great view of the runway and the planes taking off. Why bother on a 300 buck ticket and hours of Q! when you can take beautiful shots from mid-air (wink!)

Click the AERO INDIA 2007 link on the photography section to see the extravaganza!

People atop buses along the bellary route ..

The Government is quick to respond. They send in city swap buses so people can take a swap of the show!

Together, can we buy an Airplane ?

Life is usual for a villager .. grazing his sheep ..
Looks above casually to see the flying machines.

A new lens on test.

Dazed ! whata SHOW!!

Mom, the show is over. Am walking home...

Volcanic Adventures

2007-01-28T14:11:00.000+05:30

Back on earth from one of the most adventurous trips I have ever had. Been there done that !

Been at the mouth of a Volcano.
Cuddled a Real Tiger.
Got licked by a Python.
and ..

Well, its not what you are thinking ;)
Check out some pics from my Manila Diary on the links on the right.

Postcard from the London icon

2007-01-06T14:11:00.000+05:30

Yet Another Sunset

2006-12-31T20:22:00.000+05:30

Wishing all Humans on Earth P.E.A.C.E

Spidey Sense!

2006-12-26T09:51:00.000+05:30