Her Beauty Kills

Why the hell did you meet my eye ?
I am now like a bird who can't fly

Your hellos are on the silent and beautiful side
Always making me violent and dreadful from inside

You are too cute and soft spoken
Which mercilessly leaves my heart partly broken

For me you seem to be an angel
I am elated that still I am single

Nature has impressed it's entire beauty upon you
To genuinely praise you, words in English are very few

You are the highest for me in this creation
Beside you, all my life will only be for admiration

Dodda Alada Mara

"Dodda Alada Mara" - This is not Korean language. Infact am talking about a very ancient language, the first language on this planet beyond words. Yes it is the "language of the nature"



Branches or Roots - Infact both !!



"Dodda Alada Mara"  is the kannada (an Indian Language) name for the banyan tree. This is a place very close to Bangalore about 30kms, on the way to Mysore, where this giant beast stands tall with pride. Yes this is a  huge banyan tree which is estimated to be about 400 years old. As a passionate biker, this was just the ideal place to have a half day trip on a early Sunday morning when the entire city is still sleeping. It was two of us who decided to get there in their respective bikes on that particular Sunday.

Punctured hole located

We left around 7:30 am in the morning and travelled via the outer ring road and then to the Nyce ring road (marvel of bangalore) before getting on to the Mysore road and to the coveted destination. We reached there by 9:30 am. Its not because we rode like snails in our respective Pulsar (my Cheetah) and R15, but my friend's R15 back tyre got punctured. So that extra time went into fixing it.

After a few meteres into the Bangalore-Mysore road from the Nyce ring road, take a right turn and within a few kms, you should be standing under the shadow of this biggest tree I have ever witnessed in my life. Just the sheer size of the tree humbled me as a human. Sincere salute to the immense and vast Nature and its design.



Nature transgressing the manmade boundaries



Spread across a vast area of 3 acres, this giant tree is simply huge and no camera available today can capture its beauty in its totality. But unable to overcome my exictement of sharing this unique experience, I clicked few snaps of the tree. If you feel what is great about this tree by seeing these photographs, I as a photographer has failed to justify a natural marvel in its entirety. So you need to experience it personally to understand the immensity of the nature and what it feels to stand under the shadow of this giant that stood there for almost 400 years braving all odds of the time. English language seems poor to describe my experience.





Sky Scrapper



There were few monkey around with their typical mischiveous gestures which was fun to watch and to photograph them.






Few monkey around

 All in all it was not an another regular lazy mundane Sunday. Today, I am happy and thankful to myself for making an effort to get to such a beautiful and astonishing palce on this planet and even better now I have one more unique experience to upate my blog :) :)

For further information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodda_Alada_Mara











Sri Kalahasti- Not Just Another Town in India

Recently I had an unique opportunity to be at one of the culturally and spiritually significant place called "Sri Kalahasti" in Andhra Pradesh, India. Though it was my long standing dream to visit this place, but finally much needed impetus came in the form of my cousin brother’s engagement. The bride belonged to this beautiful small town. My first and foremost impression was that the place had an undisturbed tranquility missing in most of the metropolita cities.

Since am put up at Bangalore, Karnataka (shifted from Mumbai few months back only), which is about 7 hours of road journey by Public bus transport, I had made up my mind that I have to make it to this place at any cost this time. What better time could come than my cousin and best friend’s engagement ? There were very few options in terms of direct travel to Sri Kalahasti from Bangalore, infact only one option to be precise. I blocked the bus tickets (return also on the same night of the engagement) in prior, to avoid any last time surprises. There were literally no trains to Sri Kalahasti straight from Bangalore (information for people who want to travel).


Temple complex where engagement happened

 On the journey night, I reached the bus pick up spot, 2hours in advance. I had overcompensated for the Bangalore traffic threat. Nevertheless, that gave me an opportunity to explore that new place (KR Puram), which I usually do whenever I visit a place for the first time. Consequently I could taste some local street food and had an opportunity to quench my thirst with some fresh fruit juices which were unbelievably good in comparison to the aesthetics of that place. Two hours just flew (though at times I could sense the heaviness of the time) looking at the myriad of expressions from people around, of all ages and statures. It was an attestation of how rich and unique the Nature is with its diversity.
  

Kalahasti Temple Gopuram



Finally the bus arrived after a delay of 30 minutes (not much by our standards). I got on to it and held on to a window seat. The night was pitch dark and could see head lights of distant vehicles as the stars on the dark sky. I somehow managed to sleep for few hours though.

After quite sometime, suddenly  I heard shouts of "Tirupati....Tirupati", I woke up and it was around 4 am and the temple city was already busy with its pilgrimage crowd. From the driver I learnt that it is hardly an hour of journey left to reach my coveted destination. So again I sank into my seat trying to get that few minutes of nap before what is expected to be a long busy day.

Oh Yes !! finally I am there !! This is Sri Kalahasti, which I knew through pages of history and experiences of other people. As expected the bus depot was a small one and not very clean and tidy. It was around 5 am and so not much crowd around except few people in the nearby tea shops. Intially puzzled about where to go and what to do ? (I did not want to disturb my cousin so early coz he is also travelling from Chennai for his engagement on that particular day only). So after making few enquiries around, I learnt that the main temple is a few kms away and I decided to walk there, enjoying the morning cool morning breeze and chirp of birds.



Streets of Kalahasti painted by evening Sun shine



In a few minutes I reached the temple which was an architecture marvel in itself. It was a huge complex and for a new comer there are more chances that one may get lost easily. Early morning rituals were already about to begin and the typical traditional (mridangam (drums) and Naadhaswaram) music was filling the air around with bliss and devotion. At once I decided that I am going nowhere and will spend time there till I get a phone call from my cousin. That was one of the most unique experience I had ever gone through. Two hours just disappeared without warning or trial.

It was then the event of the day which went exceptionally well than expected. Other than very obvious things, one memorable thing that needs a special mention here is, it seems that was a no power day. So filled with happiness inside and drenched in sweat outside (humid conditions), people had mixed emotions in their faces which was at times funny to watch. Offcourse the cuisine at Indian pre marraige (or marraige) ceremonies are always special. So after filling my belly fully, I had an invitation to go around the same temple complex which I had spent 2 hrs in the morning. But this time, I went inside, whereas in the morning I did not go inside for very obvious reasons.



Busy yet beautiful

The big temple was a cluster of many small temples put together, which were built in a scientific and aesthetic way. Description through words can never capture my experience totally and may be gravely doing injustice if I attempt to do that. It has to be experienced in person to know the depth and significance of that place. So I leave to you to experience it yourself, rather than me talking about it which may sound like just a few hollow grand words. But my sincere recommendation would be to go there atleast once in your life time and spend time quietly inside the temple and appreciate the passion and perseverance that had gone into making this giant engineering marvel.

Later in the day after the ceremony (and ofcourse sumptous lunch) when all the people departed, I was left with few hours to explore the town before bidding good bye. So in the evening I went around clicking few snaps of the town's evening life. The temple town was in its full spledour and glory during the Sandhya (sunset) time. Holy chants in the air, camphor smells all around, street foods along the streets and off course young beautiful girls made the whole town came alive when moon lit up the scene.

All in all it was an exciting and holy experience, seeing culture and spirituality shake hands at this is peculiar and beautiful place called "Sri Kalahasti"

Get there and get lost blisfully....Hari Om !!

Monday Mo(u)rnings

Long faces crawling all around,
Nothing but silence that surround

Smiles are only a few millimeters,
Joy already flew away a few kilometres

Thoughts of weekend still grasping tight,
Nothing seems to go right

Simple tasks appear as monsters,
Minds totally lacks the usual shine and luster

Mondays seem to have some mysterious difficulty flame,
To be honest, only we are to b blamed

A weekend of rest and rejuvenation,
Goes utterly waste if not put to function

Just a collection of thoughts....with a cup of tea on a Monday morning !!


Oops.....Boss calling....bye !!

A Trek to Kumara Parvata

It was one of those weekends which did not go waste with the universal excuse of rest and rejuvination. On the contrary it was  quite a challenging outing that tested  both my physical and mental strengths.

Yes it was my second trek to the three in one peaks to "Kumara Parvata" about 230kms from Bangalore, Karnataka, India. I should say it was my first of its kind trek where you keep conquering a peak with great effort and persistence only to find another one that requires probably a little more effort to reach it than the first one. In total there were 3 proper high points (peaks) apart from small ones enroute. "Kumara Parvata" is the name of the third and the highest peak which will take somewhere around 5-7 hrs of continuous effort to conquer it depending on your speed and stamina.



Trekkers at the start



We were a group of 9 people who said we don't want to go through the same routine resting phase this weekend too (as always) and lets got out and get some adrenaline rush into our bloods. So we all were like "Aaj kuch toofani karte hain" sorts of mood  (offcourse at the beginning of the trek).

Temple town at the dawn, The Subramanya

A mini bus was hired and we started at around 10 pm on the Friday night (22/02/2013) with a hope of reaching the foothills before sunrise. With passion in our hearts and luggage at our backs our journey started in the dark. A special mention about the mini bus driver is mandatory here because of whom our adventure was preponed even before reaching the foothills. That was one journey which taught me the dangerous effects of sleep debt. We tried all possible ways to keep him and our journey going. In the mean while, few of our enthusiasts had a good enough excuse to try their hand on mini bus driving too. I should say they were pretty good. At the end somehow fortunately we could reach the foothills town named Subramanya (temple town) at around 8 am safely. It was a beautiful little town. The early morning sun rays only added to its splendour which woke the photographer inside me almost instantaneously and ended up with few beautiful snaps.

After answering to nature's call and freshining up, we headed into a restaurant to fill our bellys to start our most awaited trek. It was around 9 am when we started our trek. With  our baggages at our backs, we were very excited to climb up the mountain at any cost. After walking through the city for distance, we reached the bottom of the mountain. We stopped there for few moments to click few snaps just before launching into the trek.

Our way through the jungles and rocky trials

It was more of a rocky climb without any pre-defined flat trials. Route was running through thick jungle cover amidst the chirping of birds and hushing of the tress. After about half an hour of climbing all of us were like steam locomotives with hussshh.....Pusshhhhh.... gasping for breath. With frequent intemittent breaks we could make it to the one and only food centre, should I call it. It tooks us around 4 hrs to get there for lunch. So with food in our plates, puzzling thoughts in our minds whether to go forward after lunch or not, we had a quite and fullfilling lunch I should say. Mind you, we were only half the way up now. It will take the same if not more effort to reach the summit, is what we understood from the local people's talk.

I sincerly admit that our group was a courageous bunch of enthusiasts , so braving the heat and body aches, all of us decided to start our journey towards the peak except one of our mates as he was down and out in dehydration. This journey was like three times tougher than the previous one. Steeper slopes, hotter winds and slippery rolling round stones. Braving all that we could reach the first Peak in 1hr. A sense of awe about the enormity of the nature filled me by the view from there. Not left with much time, we started our journey to the ultimate peak "Kumara Paravata". It took around another ~1hr to reach the second one. But this was the toughest period of the trek I should say. Many a times "Why should I move any further" thought flashed hard on my mind screen brightly. But something within me was even more strong enough to overlook that thought whenever it popped up and kept my desire and journey alive.



Me at "Sesh Parvata"



Finally when we reached the second peak (~ 600 m above MSL), all the pain and suffering I went through enroute vanished in the chill winds of the place. Few snaps ought to be clicked there. But one dissapointing fact was that this peak is "Shesh Parvata" and not "Kumara Parvata". The ultimate peak was standing tall on the other side of the valley which demands  atleast another1-2 hours of climb. It was already getting dark and we had to get back to our camp with very little time left. So the trek to "Kumara Parvata" had everything else except "Kumara Parvata" itself. We decided that lets come back exclusively to conquer this giant, "The Kumara Parvata".



Hurray I have done it !!



While on return, the next day, it was an equal fun when we all trickled down the hill cautiously. It took only half the time to get down as compared to climbing up. The return journey saw all of us to be more alive with songs and dance in the mini bus, creating new definitions for fun and excitement. Dance for songs like "Appadi Podu" and "Fevicol Se" requires special mention.

By around 5pm in the evening (sunday) I am already at home, warming my legs in the hot water and fiddling with TV remote. But my mind still in the clutches of the fun and excitment of the whole trek but somewhere a small dissappointment still prevails as I could not conquer the ultimate "Kumara Parvata".

Thanks to all my fellow companions who made this trek a very special one which will remain etched in my memory for a very long time.



Bangalore to Ooty via Bandipur/Mudhumalai in my Pulsar (Cheetah)

Firstly Happy New Year to all of you !!

As an avid bike lover who cherishes travelling long distances across districts and sometimes even States, it gives me an immense joy to share my latest unique experience of my ride on my Cheetah (Pulsar 180) from Bangalore to Ooty via Bandipur/Mudhumalai. It was a funfilled round trip of about 700kms in three days.

We were a group of 4 friends (Aravind, Alok, Prakhar and myself) with three bikes, one Fazer, one FZ-16 and of course my Cheetah. We started at 6:30am on Saturday (12/01/2013) from Whitefield, Bangalore. It was an unexpectedly cold morning. Once we crossed the city limits we were freezing even within those thick jackets and tight leather shoes. So we kept having our rides a bit slow until we struck the Nycee ring road which was mind blowing. Even the coldest winter breeze could not prevent me from touching speeds of 3 digits. In a few minutes I came to a cross road, one going Mysore way, eventually which I took. In no time I hit the Mysore road which was a bit of disappointment for me as it was small and congested than I expected it to be. So it was an extra cautious drive on Mysore-Bangalore highway.

After a few kms of drive on this highway it was time for breakfast. After a tasty breakfast of idlis (rice cakes) and Puris (wheat pancake), journey resumed in the same extra cautious way. It was another ~100kms drive to Mysore. We could covered it in less than 2hrs times. So by 11.30am to 12 noon we reached Mysore. A quick look around the ancient city and a few snaps of the famous Mysore Palace is all that was required in the heritage city as the time was a strangling factor.



Fellow Riders at Mysore doorway



From there it was another about ~80kms drive for Bandipur/Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve Forest. Though a single lane without a divider as seen in some sophisticated highways in the country, the road was as flat as a cricket pitch and helped me touch the highest speeds of the trip more consistently. By 1:30 pm we were clicking snaps at the entrance of Bandipur Tiger Reserve Forest. A few minutes of rest was sufficient as there was quite a good amount of distance to be covered to reach our coveted destination, the Ooty.

Just before entering the Reserve Forest

The drive into the Jungles of the Nilgiris in constrained speeds (40kph) was a thrilling and a very strong experience. As it was scorching heat at the noon time, as expected we could not spot any animals on our way throughout our ride inside the Reserve Forests. After about an hour, we reached the border of Karnataka, driving out of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve Forest, but immediately within a few feet, starts the border of TamilNadu, the Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve Forest (no idea to whom the  land in between belongs to). At first glance anybody could tell that Bandipur Forest is a bit more thicker jungle than Mudhumalai Forest. Not sure about the reason but this was my subtle observation.

After travelling through the Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve, a small beautiful village greeted us with chill shades and few smilling faces. We stopped there for a quick refreshment before our final leap to our hilly destination, Ooty. Time was close to 2:45pm and signboards were showing another about 36kms to be covered. So without wasting much time, we got on to our bikes and started our journey towards the Nilgiris hill top.

Foothills of Ooty

After a few minutes of drive, we reached the foothills, where an awesome scenic beauty was awaiting for us. I had to stop without choice to capture it in my cam before heading to the hilltop. The road after this was the highlight of the whole drive. We had to go through 36 hairpin bends. Even with little apprehension initially I started crossing each one of them extra cautiously. But once after first few were crossed successfully, ease prevailed within me and I actually started enjoying the later ones as they came.

It was already 3:30pm as we reached our most awaited destination, the Ooty. We decided to stay just outside the main city to save a few extra bugs that may have to be shelled out for the same quality of the rooms within the city. So we decided to stay at Fingerpost (3-5 kms from the main city). The resort was an excellent one named as Vel's Dingle Dale (strongly recommended by me). We were given a big room at nominal rate (~ Rs.2000/- per day). It was spacious enough to accommodate all 4 of us comfortably. The food served there needs a special mention. It was the tastiest food one can get if you keep the memories of the home made food aside. Cook and all the staff of the resort were cordial and helpful and made our stay a cherishable one.

During the night, there was an obvious party as we recollected the whole drive we went through the day. As we were all very tired, each one of us slept like a pig after the party and could get up at ~9 am only the next morning.

At Dodabetta Peak

This day was dedicated for sightseeing in Ooty. So we started our journey to Dodabetta, the highest peak (~2600m above MSL) of Southern India, at the junction of Eastern and the Western Ghats. It was a dream come true as we clicked snaps from the highest tip of Southern India. From there we headed to Pykara Falls. On the way there were few places which were called as Shooting spots locally, which were very beautiful and did not fail to bring out the hidden photographers in us.

Pykara Falls was also awesome, even though volume of water was very little. The enormity of the falls could be understood by just looking at the huge boulders on its beds that could have been rolled only by high pressure and high volume waters. Snaps again at different angles here. After playing in the water for about an hour, we decided to return back to the town for shopping as we were heading back to Bangalore the next day.

Wild Pigs at the Reserve Forest

The most unfortunate incident happened then, when my cheetah's clutch wire got worn out and I was stranded on the midway towards the town. As we were 4 people, it helped when Aravind carried me on his bike to the town market around 10 kms from breakdown spot. Another shock which was awaiting us was that it was a Sunday and no bike spare part shop was open. After much perseverance we could locate a bike mechanic shop open, who helped us to bring my bike down from the hill top (one of his aide actually drove down my bike about 10 kms without clutch). Then the mechanic actually pulled out a scooter wire to put on a temporary arrangement for the clutch so that I could reach Bangalore without any hiccups in between. It was his day and he charged exorbitantly, like Rs.400/- (original clutch wire costs around Rs.120/-). We had no other option but to oblige for his demand. My kind advice to all those long drive bikers is to carry an additional clutch wire with you to overcome any such hassle in your otherwise passionate beautiful journey.

Baby Elephant after its bath

Now then its time to say good bye to Ooty, next day we left pretty early (~6:30am) with a desire to locate animals in the Reserve Forest. Actually our strategy of leaving early partially worked that we could spot few wild pigs, two elephants apart from deers and peacocks. Few snaps of them were taken on the way. Our return journey was relatively quicker. We had our brunch at Mysore and then headed straight to Bangalore without much stoppage in between. By 3:30pm all were at our homes warming our feet in hot water and fiddling with our TV remotes with a satisfaction of accomplishing such a fascinating and unique task of completing a round trip of about 7ookms in about 3 days.

Thanks to all my friends who made this journey an enjoyable and a memorable one. Special thanks to the resort staff and the bike mechanic and his aide.

Will hit you all soon with another fascinating accomplishment sooner :)

For more beautiful frozen moments please visit

https://picasaweb.google.com/108658661943637393099/BengaluruToOotyViaBandipurMudhumalai#

Happy New Year 2013

As I hear a video about the most debated topic of the day, the Delhi gang rape, I am writing this article with much grief and pain. I strongly hope the punishments be severe enough to bring fear in the minds of people who dare to attempt such barbaric acts in future.

Now amidst the year end celebrations going on all around the World, let us not forget there are many people on this same planet still struggling to fulfill their hunger, cover their bodies properly and have a decent place to stay. It will be unimaginably arrogant to blame their destinies for their present horrible situations. As we gear up to greet the new year with all enthusiasm and zeal, lets not forget these poor unfortunate souls present all around us. Let us not show blind eyes to their pathetic condition and should do whatever we could to bring smiles to these less priviledged friends around us ateleast on these festive occasions.

I am not trying to be philosophical but just trying to root myself in reality and see what can be done from my side to the underpriviledged beings around me. As small as getting them a meal, giving them your clothes and even a smile from you as you pass them can make their day. So let us take conscious efforts to do whatever we could to bring smiles on the faces of the underprivileged souls that surround us. A quote which comes to my mind right now is "A million of drops make the ocean". So if each one of us does what we could do to help these not so lucky friends as we are, I am sure that the cummulative effect with time will be stunning and beyond our imagination.

Let this new year give you right opportunities to enhance your potential and multiply your joys

Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2013

Earphones or Spouses

Hello excuse me, can you guide me where this place is ? (with address in my hand) I politely asked my fellow traveler in a not so crowed city bus on fine afternoon. There was no help, leave aside the help there was no response in the first place from that person. He was looking outside through the window lost in the undisciplined array of vehicles. I just increased my volume a few notches to grasp his attention "can you please tell me where is this place, when should I get down ? Still no response. I was puzzled with his behavior. As I had little time to waste, I took the help of another fellow passenger who willingly extended his helping hand generously.

Still the the thought why didn't the first fellow respond to my query was nagging me. For the rest of the whole journey I watched him carefully to know whether he was deaf. No evidences so far. Restlessness kept creeping through my blood into my head. Finally I could not but stop myself from directly approaching him to make him aware about the whole issue. Just when I was about to get out of my seat (moved to other vacant seat for confirming which stop to get down), he got up to get down in a hurry. That is when I understood that he was so far in a planet of his own. I mean he pulled out his earphones (his long tresses hid them so far) just as he was getting down. Now I could breathe a sigh of relief as my restlessness that was taking the form of Nilam (latest storm that hit east coast of India) just managed to cross the coast without causing much damage. Ha ha ha ha !!

Though it may look funny on the surface, such incidents portray the sad status of the youth of today. Today if you walk on the street of any city or a town, 7 out of 10 walking people will be doing a walk dance to the music that is ringing in their ears. This is true with people travelling in buses, trains and sometimes cars too. Even people can't jog in the beautiful morning weather without their earphones on. So what ? is the very obvious question which is jumping out from your mind immediately now.

If you are little sensible you can see there are a few potential hazards if not many by this careless attitude shown by such people on the road. First and foremost thing is that you are putting your very life at risk when you cross the road with the music on. Secondly people have to increase the earphone sound decibels to unwarranted limits to beat the external noisy traffic. Researches suggest that if you are listening with your earphones on for more than 2 hrs a day, you are prone to various illnesses (both mental and physical) and that is not the least, you may even go deaf with time. Thirdly psychologically you may become isolated (like my fellow passenger) not able to use the opportunity to interact with different kinds of fellow beings around you during your journey. Above all the music which so far was entertaining you and filling you with boundless joy will turn to become just a noise dampener. Anything in excess will turn detrimental.

So why do we need this ever ringing earphones in the first place? I feel we do these things to keep our minds engaged since it has become like a notorious monkey that keeps jumping from one place to another without any motive or purpose. We try to chain it through music. But actually we are fooling ourselves by doing this. The mind monkey is very cunning it will learn to dance to your music with time. So after sometime the same music which transported you to heaven will appear looking like hell (now you can relate the situation, I think :))

Am I against music or enjoyment ?, a big definite "NO" is what my response will be. Music is such a benediction and my heart pains to see it being converted into a curse. Lets enjoy the music to its core without reducing it just as earplugs to escape from our mind and mindless traffic of today. In addition, while travelling we get to meet such diverse personalities from different parts of the society, of different sex, caste, culture etc I feel it will be wise to make use of this opportunity to build relationship with people around us. Remember no matter where you are you always have an opening to learn something new if you are truly willing. That is the beauty of this creation. Lets realize it until it is too late. The sooner, the better

Now that my stop has come, I will get down and will go in search of the address. Oh no !! my earphones are not working....ha ha ha ha ... definitely not for music but for receiving the calls, I use them.

Goal Keeping and My Broken Finger

Games and injuries are almost inseparable and this statement becomes a fact in case of football. Recently our team (Energy Hawks) was getting ready for a corporate tournament starting next month. Since our aspirations were high, we started our practice sessions pretty early, this time a month in advance.



My Swollen left ring finger

 Me being the goal keeper of my team, was always at d receiving end (fate of a Goalie :)). One the very first day of the practice we started out with warm up sessions. It was nice to see almost the whole team together on the ground pushing and pulling. Our bodies were little stiff as most of them have returned to the ground after about one year time. Sedentary lifestyle of the corporates would put even the fastest man Usain Bolt in slow motion mode, so we were trying to make our bodies take our instructions. So after the warm out, there were sessions of dribbling and then long shoots at the goal. One goal post and am the only goal keeper and there are almost 15 people firing at you from all directions. Now you can understand why I mentioned that I am always at the receiving end. So that’s how Goal keeper job goes and the most important thing is that I enjoy to b at the receiving end every time. I thrive well under pressure and I feel that’s what makes me a strong last line of defense between the opposition and the goal post.

Plastered finger

After a few minutes of corner practice, it’s now time for my favorite one (not anymore though :( ), the penalty kicks. I always enjoyed stopping penalty kicks. With good anticipation and quick reflexes, I always try to outwit the shooter. One after the other people started shooting, I could save few (really tough ones) and tried desperately to save others too in vain. After a while I was tired coz goal keeping during penalty is really resource intensive, demands lot of alertness and concentration. At this point of time did this incident happen, when one of my friends shot the ball and it came in a very awkward height (close to my right ribs). In an attempt to stop it with both hands, my hands went in the direction of the ball. Ouch…!! The ball kissed the ring finger of my left hand and then rebounced with the same force. I was in a deadly pain. Even after that I kept for few more hits, and then the pain kept on increasing. Only now did I realize that I had done something to my finger.

My team mates saw me that I was uncomfortable and bit concerned, so they extended their helping hands to me. On that night I drove back to my home in the bike (clutching was painful yet manageable). The whole night I was not able to sleep because of pain and the finger got swollen badly (figure).

Next day two of my team mates took me to the hospital and then through X-ray it was identified as a hairline fracture. So now that it is plastered (figure) for 3 weeks’ time, I am desperately praying to God that my finger should get healed soon, so that I can play the tournament (13th August, 2012). Hope God is listening to me :))

Finger may be broken but not my aspiration certainly. I am not ready to settle for anything but “The Champion” title :)))

My New Companion-SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 2

My search for an excellent and versatile tablet ended when I happened to see this unique marvel from the Korean giant in electronics, the Samsung company. By now you would have guessed about the coveted gadget which I am talking about. Yes it is none other that the sleek and stylish Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Once laying your eyes on it, you cannot resist yourself from seeing it again, a definite head turner !! I was literally pulled towards it mercilessly. I had no other option but to buy it. Now I am the proud owner of this tabby and the quote which comes to my mind at this point of time about my tabby is "Owner's pride, neighbour's envy".

For Specifications http://asia.cnet.com/product/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7-0-dual-core-processor-1ghz-7-inch-display-45919072.htm

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 2 7+ - Whitty

Instead of listing out its features, which can be done more effectively by google search, I like to share my firsthand experience of my tabby in first few days of touch and operations. The first look will suggest you that the tablet is perfectly sleek and stylish which will make you to acknowlege the creativity of the person who designed it. After operating in the usual 3-4" screens of the mobiles till now, it feels totally different to work in this huge 7" monster. You no longer have eye strains and waterings due to small fonts and next to invisble displays of the regular phones. You can do social networking with much ease and satisfaction. Experience of watching videos in such a clear LED screen is beyond the grasp of words. Its automatic brightness adjustment sensor keeps the screen always visible whether you walking on the road on the night of new moon or sitting right below the mercury light of highest intensity. Sound quality is very good. The touch interface is heavenly. It will put the woman awarded with the most soft and radiant skin on this planet to shame very easily. Provided with 3MP rear camera and a front facing camera of little bit lesser resolution, photography and videography is an enjoyable experience.

Now my laptop is resting since the arrival of my tabby, as all his works are performed by his small smart brother. Still don't worry big bro, there are certain things for which I cannot do without your help. Cheer up !! With only a few days of arrival, my tabby has already consuming most of time and keeping me engaged all day amidst my other busy chores. All said and done I feel I have only explored less than 5% of it and can't wait to get to it time and again. Exploration work is underway and once explored exploitation will follow. "Kar lo duniya mutti me" (Grasp the World into your fist) is a famous hindi adage and seems very apt for my tabby in my hand.

One line that can summarise my experience with my tabby so far is "Loads of fun with great lot of surprises and still coming"

Now where has my tabby gone.....Oh my new application got downloaded and I am going to play withit now...Ok bye bye for now and catch you later with another unique experience.

Oh that looks a great application...........Where to start........

Acknowledgement is the Real Gift for a Creator

When you have taken birth on this planet, your life as a series of activities has also started. Eating, drinking, playing, reading, running etc are some of the lot, and no one can escape from this strong programming of this nature. There is no escape route whatsoever. The only choice which is left with you is that how are you performing these otherwise inevitable activities, whether joyfully or miserably, either willingly or with resistance. That is all u need to think about and frankly speaking that is all that can be done by you. All others ideas you are filled with is all just pure fantasy.


Out of the mundane lot of activities that you are forced to perform in your daily life, there are certain activities which you do heart fully and for which you can’t wait to do them. You are overwhelming with joy when doing them. Because of your love towards them they become effortless and the results are creative. Each one of us have such a thing or even better things in life, where we are ready to invest our lives on it. Many times we don’t do our close to heart works because of the expectations of people around us and due to unnecessary insecurities, most of us end up doing things throughout our lives which we would not even have dreamt in the worst of our nightmares. Things which are not close to our heart, when done every day just become so mundane and mechanical that the very thought of doing them fills us with grief. So we don’t involve much in those inevitable works but just do it for the sake of them. In the process the quality of those works or relationships suffer and the results are visible today with people around you. This all happens because people don’t have any idea about their wellbeing and what they need to do enhance their life. This is all unfortunately sheer ignorance of themselves and the gift called life.

Me as a person has no other choice either to go through the mundane activities of life. But I make sure that I do them with willingness and do not allow them to control my mood swings. Just a shift in your perspective towards life ushers substantial changes needed for better life and believe me that is all it takes. Apart from drumming, driving, photography, one of the close to my heart hobby is writing. So what do I write about? I don’t have any specific style of expression or taste or choice of topics, I write down my own experiences of life which are profound and have impact on me. It’s more of a sharing of a newly found wisdom pearl in the ocean of life, where still countless pearls are lying to be discovered. I write when I am happy, I write when I am unhappy, I write when I am thrilled, I write when I feel cheated, I write when I am bored, I write when I need to share, I write when I read something and I write when I feel I should write. That should give you an idea how amateur writer/author I am.

Acknowledment is the real gift for a creator

My articles for me were just child’s scribbling on a piece of paper, which only he understands and cherishes. I thought nobody could understand my scribbling which is nothing but my thoughts that arise as waves in my heart ocean. I was proved wrong when my poem was awarded as the best poem in the Poetry competition held in our Organization during the occasion of Environment Day, 2012. Even though some of my friends kept telling me that am a good author and should consider writing as a serious hobby, I always felt that they are fulfilling the duties of a true friend (person who likes who you are and what you do, no matter what). Acknowledgment is the real gift for an author/artist is the wisdom I gained from this competition.

My poem title “Mother Earth” (article below) was about our dear Earth who carries all of us on her lap with love and compassion but in turn we foolishly outrage her modesty. In a way my anger go an expression through these 16 lines. I strongly feel that it is our prime duty to take of the planet ,our first home in which we live, in the fullest possible way. Else we can proudly call ourselves as intellectual fools who shoot ourselves in our own foot.

“Live and Let Live” is one thing that comes to my mind at this point of time. So let us live happily and let our dear mother Earth also live joyfully.

Why this Kolaveri di ?

" Why this Kolaveri di ?" needs no explanation from me. The whole world shook to its rythmn. Even people who could not comprehend its meaning were not able to resist hearing it time and again. I heard that Japanese had brought out their own version (in their mother tongue) of the song. Such was the impact of this peppy number. Within a few days, this song had around 10 million hits in youtube which never happened before and I doubt will happen in future too. Even elders can't resist shaking their legs when their ear drums were bombarded by the sound "Why this Kolaveri di ? "

Dhanush

But most importantly, Why this Kolaveri di ?, took the national awardee south Indian hero called Dhanush to the heights of popularity overnight. It may never seem to be oversaid to tell that people went crazy for him after he lent his voice to this typical tamil coated english number. He became the hero of the masses. His stardom reached such pinnacles that there were talks that he would direct an Hindi movie with the all time great, Big B.


One may wonder that these are all things which world knew very well and why am I just making this blog-post look like a page in the book of modern history ?? Ok justification is as follows...

Myself

Now after this very song scaling the peaks of popularity, I had to sacrifice my own name. One may wonder why ? Now people no longer call me by my name, they either address me as Kolaveri or Dhanush. Everybody knows that this song has got Dhanush the lable of a star of international acclaim. But what no one knows is that this  same peppy number has totally dissolved my own identity (may be many people like me). My six letter name (Deepak) got replaced almost instantly after the advent of this number, not only among my friends, even my collegues and even worse among my relatives too. Now my cricket mates know me by the name of Kolaveri only. If I don't respond to that calling the next sound with higher pitch comes immediately as "hey Dhanush...can't you hear me "...!!. The reason cited is that I am a xerox of Dhanush.

This incident will make you understand my real plight in depth. Today I went to an insurance agent for my two wheeler insurance renewal. Agent was not there, so I had to wait for sometime. When he came inside, as he approached me he had a surprised and puzzled look in his face that made me uncomfortable. But eventually we were at business instantly discussing about the insurance policy renewal (still wondering about the puzzle look of him). Now to pay the premium I had to draw money in the nearby ATM and he was grateful enough to accompany me to the ATM to recive the premium amount. As we were waiting for our turn in the queue, I could not resist myself from asking the reason behind the puzzled look of his a few minutes earlier. Pat came the reply from him with a smile, he told, as he entered he saw me and felt tha Dhanush has come to his office and was surprised by that fact. He exclaimed with joy that I look exactly like Dhanush (he had seen him @ Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last week) and anyone can mistake me for him.

As always I had no other option but smile calmly with agreement (eventhough am not sure). Now one question which I am desperately waiting to ask Dhanush is "Why this Kolaveri da ?"

My Mother

The Earth

Oh!  My Mother Earth..

It is in you that all of us reside,

Embraced by your compassion on every side

Beauty of you lies in your vastness,

Yet you keep every being in your closeness


What we comprehend about you is very little,

Your beauty is seen in every tiny beetle

These mortal minds keep guessing about your birth
Not realizing your real worth


Nonstop is your journey around the sun,

Showing us the way how life should be won

You emotions are seen in different seasons,

To be joyful should I have any more reasons?


Mindless mankind is stripping you of your own glory,

Not realizing that they are digging their own graves in hurry

Tears of gratitude fill my eyes,

May this human race pay heed to your cries!!


Walking on this planet sensibly is the prime need of the hour. If our mother Earth is not happy, definitely we cannot be.....

Oh It is You !!

 

  When adrenaline is gushing through your nerves, only two things attract you, one is the latest gadgets and/or sporty automobiles and the second one is off course the hot beautiful babes. This time around fortunately or unfortunately I was pulled mercilessly towards this machine without any choice.

MAURITI SUZUKI KIZASHI


That evening, after an exhaustive football match, I was returning back to my home on my bike (me a goal keeper). It was then I found this sleek stunning machine just whizzing past me…zoooommmm !! Just by the glimpse of the rear light design I can recognize the maker of any car (am crazy about cars and bikes) and name it with ease. But this particular one just took me by surprise, I never happened to see such a design of the rear lights ever before nor such sleekest curvy structured body. All the models stored in my brain library refused to match with this one. Now I understood that I have just seen something entirely new for the first time. In an effort to know that machine further, I just throttled my bike (cheetah, I call it) to reach near it.


MAURITI SUZUKI KIZASHI



After much persuasion I could go beside that black sleek curvy monster. From the side view still I was not able to make out the parent of this child. One could say that dimensions matched with Honda Accord in general and its design was a mixture of Maruti Suzuki SX4 and Honda Civic with first look appearance. Finally the traffic signal approached (I was already praying that signal should be red for ever) and that gave me an opportunity to have a closer look at this beauty. Wow is the only word that can describe this blacky. Just went week on my knees just by the look of it. Do people call this love at first sight? I don’t know, but thatz how I felt at that moment.
 So you are already waiting to know her identity I know. A few more words will make you….?? . Ok ok….She is none other than the brand new KIZASHI from Maruti Suzuki. Happened to see her in pictures during the launch a few month ago but she just swept me off my feet when she stood beside me.


Distinct striking feature which I liked the most were the two exhaust pipes on the rear corners enhanced with silver eye shaped lining. Just superb…!!


Still adrenaline gushing through my nerves, may be this time around I will be attracted to an hot chic!!

A Beautiful Flower in my Garden

First day did I see you?

The Beautiful Flower

    little did I know you?

I sat beside you,

    least knowing that the moment was pregnant with possibility of such a beautiful relationship

Your first smile at me,

    made me admire the child hidden within you

Those first few words of mine,

    a desperate attempt to know you a little further

In your warmth,

    has my entire being melting

Time God was kind enough,

    to bring us together for whatever reasons

Entire planet may dissolve in your beautiful love,

    People like you are very few 

When you are around, I cannot help myself,

    but smiling insanely without choice

Those same old roads which I travel,

    suddenly started looking beautiful with you around

My journeys with you were long in measurements,

    but to me they were actually very short and impermanent

With your blessed bubbly energy,

    My heart always feels that synergy

With me, your every talk may not be of relevance,

    but am already in a state of transcendence

Not only are your praises beautiful,

    your sweet scoldings are also wonderful

Like a gentle wind did you blow into mine,

    only to uproot my very core unknown

Hope this beautiful bird may live in my life garden forever,

    may or may not happen now and here

Oh ! my friend whose name starts with R,

    without you my life may go bare

Whatever I say about you,  never becomes too much,

    please always stay in touch