Thoughts and moments !

Elections..

2009-04-27T07:56:00.003+05:30

-My friend's mother is admitted to the hospital .They stay in a remote place and the doctors said she had to be taken to a bigger hospital for the treatment which was 250 kms away. They had to hire a private vehicle to take her to the bigger hospital.But none of the private vehicles wee available due to elections !!!! Who will take care of such situations ??

-Roads were jammed yesterday near Thane due to some leader's Sabha (Meeting) going on .What if a patient had to be taken to hospital ?? God knows how they would have reached ?? who would be held responsible for such chaos?

I prayed for my friend's mother .Not sure if god heard my prayers. She could withstand for another day and then when the elections were over she was taken to the bigger hospital !!

Elections are important ,but important than life !!!???

I think the candidate who is standing for elections should do something before the elections ,proove himself and then ask for vote !! At least we wouldn't have to such rely on our hopes that he will fullfill his promises !!!!

To be or Not to be Confused...

2008-06-17T11:15:00.003+05:30

Dont ever be so confused that you make others confused and others get so confused that they are confused about whether they are confused or you are confused ...

On my two wheeler today ,with my ipod earphone plugged it and a slow song playing and synching along with the cool breeze flowing into me ..i see this guy who sees me and my big black Kinetic -TN 6287 coming and right in middle of the road he dodges ,he goes left,he goes right and then i put my breaks and he points at me and then i tell him in a loud voice " If you are so confused where to go what can i do ! " .He walks away with his laptop bag to ther other side of road to catch an auto. He had confused looks and in all his confusion i would have hit him today which i have not done in last 8-9 years of driving .What a good track record i must say and

TOUCH WOOD :) !!

Magic Pearls...

2008-06-16T11:29:00.006+05:30

Yes,Magic Pearls thats what they call it .Its there all over the streets of Bangalore now a days .nd from an onlooker and i turned to buyer of these Magic pearls yesterday evening @ Jayanagar 4th block . They are quite amazing :) . You get a packet of these pearl like things in small packaget for Rs 10 in different colors ,you have to put these small things in water and wait for 45 minutes or so to see them grown into transparent magic balls .They are king of Jelly *Ewwwww ,i dont like that texture of jelly !!* ..

But then these chota magic perals look beautiful in a glass bowl .. reminds me of those cod liver oil tablets we used to eat when we were small. I picked up the white colored ones ...

Good subject for photography :) ! below pic is a proof of that ..

Its good to play with these things ..nice ..planning to get them to office tom :) !

Small Things in Life...

2008-06-09T12:06:00.003+05:30

Some times very small things in life make you feel good . And if i have to list a few of them they are
- An unexpected call from a friend at an odd hour of the day and to hear " Just like that called up !"

- A sudden gust of wind

- A loong mail from my friend

- An sms in the midnight from someone close to you

- A drop of rain on your hand

- See a baby sleep (They look so free of any worries)

- Doing things which you used to do in your childhood

Remember the Gulmohar tree in your school from which we used to make nails and put in on our fingers.It was fun then also and now also :) !

- Getting the window seat in the bus :)

- To buy something for a person and see that smile on that person's face .

- To hear your fav song being played at neighbour's house :D

- An old photograph of yourself
Appreciating small things and finding joy in them is necessary for each one of us.In this busy life where most of us look for big packages for happiness and get dissapointed when we dont get them ,i think its easy to be happy and satisfied with such small things and which keeps you going ....
Life is what happens when you least expect it ...

Today's Breakfast is Parle - G :)

2008-05-28T08:42:00.007+05:30

What makes me write this post ?? Hmmm... i haven't had breakfast and i am hungry :( !! So I thought writing about food might help chasing away my hunger :) !! I know I know what you must be thinking "Idiot ,how can writing about food chase awat your hunger .Go and have soemthing ". See, i can read your mind .Right !!! Hmmm i am sitting and eating an entire packet of Parle - G . Yes u read it right ,Parle -G . Mom usually buys them and keeps it in the house .U C, my breakfast cost is only Rs 4 .. Aint that cheap .. Am i not Genius :) .. Do you you know the 'G' in Parle -G means Genius :D . I think Parle -G is one biscuit which every one would have eaten when the were kids and its amazing that it still continues even though there have many other brands in the market . I am sure its available in all the small shops on the roadsid also unlike other brands which are available only in the supermarkets or Fabmall /Spensecrs. I guess the simplicity,the quality and the price for which itis available is what makes it so popular from the last 65 years !!!!!

The above is what remains after i finish the entire biscuits :)

Rains .....

2008-05-23T10:02:00.004+05:30

Its been raining in Bangalore :) .. Rains ..i love rains ... and the sudden showers are most welcome :) .. Imagine driving on two wheeler towards home ..and suddenly there a sinlge big drop of rain falling on your right hand and then you see towards the sky to see where it comes from and then i continue driving ..and then there is one more on my neck then another one on my left hand and then it rains ...... It rains on my helmet ..my speedomeeter .my seat ..my bag ...The rains drops trickles down my back :) ..The sweet smell of the mud makes me smile ..and suddenly the muddy splash by the zooming auto wala spoils the mood :( ...........

Happy Independence Day

2007-08-15T09:35:00.000+05:30

Happy Independence Day

I am proud to be an Indian :) and every Independence day and Republic Day i make a Indian Flag with my own hands. I love coloring the tri colors of the flag. Get up in the mornign ,a strong hand shake and a wish "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY" from an Army officer ,my DAD :) . We make sure we keep the Indian Flag in front of my granfather's photo who was a Freedom Fighter .
I have always been patriotic about my country India.I guess it runs in the blood ,Dad being an Army officer and Grandfather a freedom fighter. Anyone speaking bad about my country in front of me would have had a nice lecture from me easily :) .Don't you dare speak anything bad about my country. I might not be doing anything great for my country but wherever possible i would love to do it :) !.

Wish yoy a Happy Independence Day India :)

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2007-08-06T06:48:00.000+05:30

They come in different shapes and sizes
They come in different colors
They come with different names
They are priceless
They are my friends

Yesterday as i sent 'Happy Friendship Day' messages to many of my friends i realised that with some of them the relationship ran to 10 years .10 years !!!!! Woooooooooow ...its a long time !!! It felt good . There are some other of them whom i have known from only 3 years but it seemed a long time i have known them and then there are others whom i have not even known for even a year but still i can relate to them . When in college i used to have loooooot of friends ,my uncle told me that all these friends of yours and their friendship will slowly diminish once they are married.It did happen with some of them but then there are others who still remain the same .The frequency of meeting them might have reduced but still the belongingness and closeness continue and i hope it continues in the years to come..

If only..

2007-08-01T14:50:00.001+05:30

'Don't you have eyes !!! Can't you see ! Its usually your dad or mom who dash me everytime they come to this corner but today you also joined the gang. I have been standing still but at least when you people move around you should open your eyes and walk right !!!! Just because i cannot speak ,talk and see, people hurt me almost daily. If only i could sing i would have sang 'Rah mein chalte ,mulakath ho gayi ,jisse darthe the wohi baath ho gayi.. aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!' .

.
Note: If only the small table in the corner , next to kitchen door to which i banged yesterday morning could speak !!!

Most Wanted!!!!

2007-07-31T08:44:00.000+05:30

Ganesh ,you too are captured ?? Ayyo ...paaaapa you .
Shot this pic during a shoot @ City Market

@ 101.2

2007-07-09T08:49:00.000+05:30

Mind plays tricks.. i guess the brain cells slowly loose control... and why am i saying this ? Why wouldn't i after i went to bathroom with my mobile phone to recharge it.

Even when the taste buds on your tounge have literally died ,you cannot feel the taste of the food you eat and you can still feel the bitter taste of the medicine and the bitterness of the 'Neem Leaves Water' (Mom's home remedy)...

Down with fever when you don't like anything ,you sure love the sms and phone from your dear ones and friends .They always make you feel better :o) .

And the best thing to have during Fever is Soup......

Updated at 4:20 p.m:

you seem to get more thirsty when you have fever ??? Usually i don't drink much of water but today i seem to have been drinking too much water.. I finished a big bottle of water and now i finished almost half of the next bottle....

Wanna Impress me ????

2007-06-22T08:51:00.000+05:30

Day before one of my friend's asked me as to "What should i do do impress you ? " .. I didnt have an answer then,so i told him that i will write a post on How do impress me ;o) ..

im·press1 (ĭm-prĕs') tr.v., -pressed, -press·ing, -press·es.

To affect strongly, often favorably: wrote down whatever impressed me during the journey; was impressed by the child's sincerity.
To produce or attempt to produce a vivid impression or image of: a scene that impressed itself on her memory; impresses the value of money on their children.
To mark or stamp with or as if with pressure: impressed a design on the hot wax.
To apply with pressure; press.

Nothing materialistic impresses me . Most of the time its the person's behaviour or attitude which has impressed me.

I am very much impressed with my aunt the way she has bought up her two small children .They are so well behaved and cute :o) . The elder one ( 5+ years old ) has so many questions to ask but my aunt makes sure she has got her answers.

My friend S by whom i was impressed the very first day i met him. His lively attitude towards life is what impressed. We were all making dinner and suddenly there was a song in TV he suddenly started to dance and even pulled others also. There have been many other occasions i have been impressed by him. The way he talks about his future life with the love of his life and his kids... [He is happily married now and getting to know the responsibilities of life ;o) ]

One of my flatmates who was younger to me impressed me by the way she used to talk to her mother . She used to talk to her mother as if she was talking to her best friend. Even i have spoken to her mother ..

My best friend's family - Last year when i went for his wedding to Kerla i met his family and whole lot of cousins .I reached at 9 o'clock in the night and the enviroment was lovely ..everyone sitting together and singing old hindi songs .Even the wedding day was fun . His Uncle and Aunt were so enthusiatic and energetic that we youngesters were nothing in front of them.

Day before yesterday i had been to this small shop to buy buttons for my dress and i met this small girl in the shop. She was in her school uninform, a 6th standard student. She was helping her mom in shop .When i asked her whether she had finished her homework ,she answered 'yes' with a nice smile.

I am really impressed with my manager who even though doesn't know the technology so well is ready to help us and do any kind of R & D on the application even at the middle of the night.

My aunt who got married at the age of 18 and came to my granny's house when all my uncles and aunts were still studying in college ( BTW my mom's is a cricket family ,11 of them) . She has looked after the house and everyone who comes to the house so well that i have always wondered how does she do it. Her morning starts at 5:30 a.m in the morning and ends at 10:30 in the night after everyone has had dinner (even the dogs and the cats) .

My friend who recently got married ,it was a love marriage ,not everyone was for it so there were problems here and there even on the day of marriage, but she was prepared for everything ,she handled it very well.

Its the small moments in other people's life where i was part and some of them have left a lasting impression in my mind...

Many a times it would have been a smile which would have impressed me... so just give me a smile and maybe i will get impressed ..even i don't get impresses ,you are sure to get a big smile back with all my 32 teeths which i am famous for ;o) ....

Below photo impressed me :o)

Note: The reason it impresses me is because i took the picture ;o) !!!!

Sincerity doesn't pay....

2007-06-21T09:25:00.000+05:30

Yesterday i felt that i have been too sincere towards my work but nobody respected it. Every single day i reach office early ,i am the first one to reach and almost the last one to leave. Any time of the day if there is work , i do it and finish it no matter how much time it takes. But then yesterday it made me think ..Is my sincerity being misused? Am i being too sincere ? And all these questions have made me stay back home and not go to office early today .. I am at home and writing this post ...

CTRL C + CNTRL V

2007-06-20T18:07:00.000+05:30

5 important lessons to learn from a humble pencil.

1. It tells you that everything you do will always leave a Mark .

2. You can always correct the mistake you make.

3. The important thing in life is what you are from inside and not from out side .

4. In life you will undergo painful sharpening which will make you better in whatever you do.

5. Finally, to be the best you can be, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

Glass full of Milk...

2007-04-18T07:13:00.000+05:30

"1 Litre Milk plz!"
"Vidyaaaa ,Drink Milk ,its getting cold!!!!
"I want cold milk!"
"I don't want the cream on top of the milk!"
"Milk is spoilt !"
"Drinking Milk everyday will make you strong like Superman "
"If you drink Milk everyday you will become fair !"
"Cat drank all the Milk !!"
"I loveeeee chocolate Milk shake !"
"Mummmy Doodhwala aaa gaya !"
"Milk is so watery,i wonder whether they add water in Milk or Milk in Water!"

Milk - A word which becomes a familiar word from the time we are born.
Fresh Milk when boiled and drink is really tasty. It comes in so many forms butter ,cream ,curds , cheese and most favorite ICE CREAM ;o) !!!
I remember mom used to take milk in steel vessels from Milk man who used to come in his cycle with aluminuim cans of Milk hanging on his cycle . He used to Pour the Milk using a container with handle through the Filter. Now a days we get milk in Packets ,Nandhini , Mother Dairy , Amul etc ,etc . You get Full cream milk ,Half cream milk and what not. In other countries you get milk which we don't even need to boil ,you can directly drink for the cartons .Then there are long life milk which can be kept for months (unopened) , skimmed milk ( for people who are fat concious) .

I used to love the doodh doodh ad on TV .

Doodh doodh doodh doodh
Doodh hai wonderful ,pee sakthe hain roz glass full
Doodh doodh doodh doodh
Thandi me daalo doodh me ice
Doodh ban gaya very nice
Piyo daily once or twice
Mil jaayega tasty surprize
Doodh hai masti in every sesason
Piyo doodh for healthy reason
Rahoge phir fit and fine ,jeeyoge past ninenty nine
Doodh doodh doodh doodh.

At my uncle's house warming ceremony ,as per the tradition the milk was being boiled on the stove and all of us were waiting for it to spill and just when it was about to spill one of my cousin's switched off the gas and scolded all of us saying "What are you all looking at the milk spilling ,why don't you switched it off" ..within a fraction of a second everyone starts scolding him back and laughing simultaneously. He stood next to me embarassed :o( !!! We still pull his legs remembering that incident !

Mom Dad plan to settle at Puttur ,Karnataka (a village ), where we have build our own house , next year.I plan to gift a COW to mom on her birthday this year , she has also agreed .

Its a long time i have had a chilled glass of Milk , i am going to do that today :o) !!!

Summer is here....

2007-04-17T06:57:00.000+05:30

Summer is here and the first thing which comes to my mind apart from the terrible heat is MANGOES ,The King of fruits. Those green Mangoes in different shapes and sizes makes my mouth water.Even as i write this post my mouth is watering. Mangoes always take me to my childhood days . We all would be lazing around and Granny wud come and tell , "why don't you people go to the 'Thota' " (similar to estate with variety of trees,most prominent would be coconut and arecnut) and pluck some mangoes. The whole gang of our cousins used to go to pluck mangoes geared with Knife ,Salt +Chilli+oil and a big stick . The sun would be shining on us ,still we wouldn't mind .We would walk on behind the other , cracking jokes and pulling each others legs. After reaching the Mango tree ,it would be difficult to decide which mango to aim for. Some of us would usually climb the mango tree (includes me too) and some even fell down from the Mango tree (Which we usually hide from the elders otherwise we would get scolding). Finally after lot of aiming ,stone throwing , 2-3 mangoes would be pluck. Someone (usually a girl) would cut the mango is abrupt peices and put it on the Banana leaf or newspaper and within minutes the mango pieces would be finished . Whoever had the seed of the Mango would do full justice to it by biting every inch possible and then he would call some random name and if the person responds ,the person with the mango seed would say "Go with the Mango seed" and throw the mango seed and everyone would have a good laughter. On the way we would eat other fruits also like Guavava ,sugarcane etc ,etc .
Mangoes in any form is tasty ,whether it is raw , ripe or in the form of pickles. Whenever i go to granny's house my granny would always tell me to learn to put pickles and then she would tell how much pickles she used to put when she was fit and healthy . In another two weeks i am off to my granny's house with full family :o) ! I won't get to meet all my cousins as everyone is in a different place and busy with their work or studies but still i get to pluck Mangoes and climb on Mango trees :o) and stilll a chance to learn to put pickles!!!

Whats that person's name yaaar !!!!

2007-04-06T23:28:00.000+05:30

Somebody else recognizes you and talks to you ... you recognize that person, but don't remember the name ..you even forget how do you know him.. Mind is blank and trying to get gather bits and peices of information during the course of conversation..You have this stupidest expression on your face and the don't-ask-me-your-name fear ..The connection is being formed in your brain..
But the main link is still the missing ...THE NAME ..And luckily enough he ends the conversation and i am saved .. Aha... now i remember he is from my old company..same team ...but then whats the person's name yaaar !!! Now I sit and break my head to recollect his name and write this post...

P.S : I hope he doesn't read it ...

LUCK or DESTINY !!!!

2007-04-01T23:06:00.000+05:30

When things happen the way you wanted it to happen its good LUCK ..and when they don't turn up the way you wanted them to be , its DESTINY !!!!

She....

2007-03-26T07:50:00.000+05:30

She is sitting in a car and she is on the roads .She is wearing good clothes and she is wearing torn clothes. She is on her way to work and she is also on her work. She doesn't lift her head and she is lifting her head with the hand forward begging for money .She feels pity and she is waiting. She is feeling guilty and she is still waiting. She feels bad and she is still standing there and begging . Traffic signal goes green as she lifts her eyes ....

The first she was me and the other she was the begger lady ..

Dad and Cricket Fever

2007-03-20T06:25:00.000+05:30

Not only Dad but all of us in our family are cricket fans , but Dad is a bit more serious and rest of us come alive only when India is playing :) ! Like all Indian fans ,everytime India plays Dad has his hopes of wanting Indian team to win . Indian team does win but not all the times and the times it doesn't win one in our family gets scolding ;o) not because they are the cause but just because they were there when Dad saw the last ball of the loosing match you were in close visinity ! So when Me ,mom and Sister came to know of this fever ,we would slowly move away from the TV the moment India has signs of loosing ,but mom still doesn't learn so many a times she becomes the bakra even though we tell her to keep quite when a cricket match is going on :) !!
Coming to yesterday's match ,it was a thriller :) after Sehwag started hitting but the first few hours were tension filled . Only me and my dad were there in the house and both of us were obviously in front of the TV much before the match could start . Me on the bean bag and Dad on the chair ,there was tension in the room . Toss was a crucial thing.It was 6:15 p.m ,Toss was at 6:30 p.m . I was browsing thru the channels so as to ease the tension ,while browing DD was showing Nayan Mongya predicting the match ,His bet was on Sehwag for which the other panel members had a good laugh ,myself and dad also laughed . On Extraa Innings there was this prediction " India will win the match. India will loose two early wickets and at least one top order batsment will score a centuary". Dad commented "Even last match they predicted that India will win" . I was thinking ,would they ever dare to predict that India will loose ,i don't think so !!!! After 15 minutes of browsing the channel i was back to 'THE MOMENT' . Up went the coin in the air ,'Tails' was called by the Bermuda Captain and Tails it was .As he took the mike ,myself and Dad were waiting for him to speak and he said 'We would like bowl". I guess Dravid would have chosen to bat if he would have won the toss. Now again a wait for the clock to tick to 7 P.M for the match to start . Match started at 7 P.M . I got a stress ball and gave it to dad ;o) !!!! ( a good thing i picked up from Wimbeldon ) . First ball , no run ,then a wide , then a run , then match continues.. India scored just 3 runs when the the first wicket fell (***Warning Sign !!!!***) . Luckily the catch was taken by 115kg Bermuda guy and it was taken marvelously so situation was a bit funny but still the hopes came down by an inch . Sehwag was on the fields. After few dot balls there was a 4 :) ! And then after both the batsmen settled down there was no looking back . India made a huge record-breaking 413 runs a World Cup record. India won the match by 257 runs.

The real match will be when India takes on SriLanka on 23rd. Lot of pressure on Indian team and as Dravid said in the interview " I am more worried about my family back in India!!!" ..He surely is worried !

Good luck Team India ..

.....

2007-03-18T19:43:00.000+05:30

I have hurt my friend . It was not intentional. Friends have been my life. I have lot of friends and but only few are close friends and i have hurt one of them. I cherish every moment of the friendship i have had with them and hope to have with them in the years to come.
I am not a person who wud remember friends only when i need them . The fight is over but then the guilt is still in me and its constantly being ringing in my head and its troubling me a lot . The damage is done and repaired also but the mark still remains .I truly hope the mark will slowly fade away with time .

"I always knew looking back on the tears would make me laugh. But I never knew looking back on the laughs would make me cry."
- Unknown

p.s : This post is not a justification for my actions , its just what i am feeling right now ...

Little does he know...

2007-03-14T21:56:00.000+05:30

What might have been the conversation ?

Kid : Hello Mr and Mrs Sheep ?

Mr Sheep : Hello Kido !

Kid :This is me and this is my dad.

Mr Sheep: Ok,glad to meet you .

Kid : Do you eat only leaves ?

Mrs Sheep: No we eat Rotten tomatoes also !!

Little does the kid know about their fate ,they are fed nicely before they are being butchered and become part of somebody feast or a dinner plate!!

I never realized..

2007-02-19T09:07:00.000+05:30

Just the other day when i was driving on my two wheeler , there was a girl driving on a two wheeler in front of me and she was looking like an astronaut because the jacket she was wearing had blown because of the air. It looked really funny . I was giggling .... I never realised i will also look the same and someone behind me also must be laughing ;o) ...

A Ride to remember..

2007-02-15T07:14:00.000+05:30

7 o'clock in the morning ..with sun hiding behind the clouds ..slight breeze ..Me driving the Kinetic and mom sitting behind..i was driving on those muddy mountain roads ..away from the Bangalore Traffic...Those ups and downs were fun ..Mom not sure of the whether to take the right turn or the left turn .. People doing their early morning chores..some filling water ..and some others brushing their teeth ..and some others just opening their small shops..and there were some others who gave a strange stare at me..The bumpy roads were much better than the polluted Bangalore Roads..I enjoyed the humps and bumps ,i didnt mind them because the air was unpolluted and fresh..you could feel the fresh air in your lungs.. It was no less than a roller coaster ride ,but a roller coaster ride on the road not in mid air...

Updated on 17th Feb :
Kishore : This place is in Puttur .This ride was on the way to my house (pic below)

Thoughts...

2007-01-31T09:29:00.000+05:30

A sane person amidst two sane persons discussing about sanity becomes INSANE !!!!

All these days my two wheeler wasn't a two wheeler it was a three wheeler ..aahaa .. you forgot the spare tyre behind . Today my two wheeler is a perfect two wheeler becos the spare tyre has gone for checkup (repair ) after it was punctured by a nail yesterday !!!

Welcome Back..

2007-01-28T21:32:00.000+05:30

Long time i haven't blogged ..hmmm... the below mail from my cousin brother makes me write again ..so what do i do ? Hmmm.. i just copy paste his mail to me which i really liked ..i am sure you will like it too...

"So what if i am not there to greet you! :)
Enjoy, savor, relish home. :)
Soak your senses - the colors - saaris, flowers, food, - the sound - suprabaata, chanting of mantras, sounds from the mosque, the smell - incense sticks, spices, caphor, - the feel - warm air, tropical sun :), - the taste - enough said. ;) "

He was there in India after two years for one month and i wasn't there in India :o( !!!

Silence in broken...

2007-01-15T18:06:00.000+05:30

Untill when can somebody be quite..everything has its own limitations and patience level . I treated him so badly ,I dumped every junk thing on him and expect him to still work for me . And today it starts to growl and make noises ..I can imagine what it might be telling to me.

Mr S: What the hell do you think i am ,A dustbin ? You dont take proper care of me and expect me to work for you always. I also need attention ,I also need proper care. I cannot take whatever comes to me ,there are somethings which i don't like ,which don't suit me. You don't even give me water to drink. I can't be quite anymore ,after all i am your only Stomach.

Contagious...

2007-01-09T21:54:00.000+05:30

I thought ..Like weather affects our skins .. Mood of the people around you affects our mood too ..We all are so influenced by people around us...Sometimes we are happy to see the person sitting next to you laughing out loud ..needless to say right next moment we are there next to him /her asking the reason for his happiness and then we are also the part of their hapiness..But times when people around are not in good mood ..and its quite visible from their face we think twice to go and ask the reason ..or maybe we are looking for the right time to ask ..until then mind thinks of hundreds of reason why that person might be upset...
Happiness and Sorrow are both contagious !!!

A New Year ...

2007-01-05T12:59:00.000+05:30

Heard somewhere ..

Its a new Beginning and for every new beginning something has to end ...

Happy New Year 2007..

Missing ...

2006-12-28T01:45:00.000+05:30

Smell of newly painted house ..Everyone busy ,runnning around here and there.. giggles and laughter all around the house ..Relatives getting inside the house with big suitcases ..some yet to arrive ..some waiting in the bus stands/railway stations ,waiting to be picked up ..Granny screaming at everybody ..grand children gathering at one place and making merry ..Aunts preparing their Silk sarees and jewellaries for the D Day..uncles sitting in the hall and discussing about the cricket matches ..Non stop phone calls .. workers finsihing the last minute cleaning.. small kids crying and searching for their moms...Wedding car being decorated with flowers..Everyone tired yet happy and with smile on their faces... Wud be groom trying to talk to his wud be bride amidst all this noise :o) .. i can only visualize all these things sitting so far in UK and missing all the fun :o( at my cousing's wedding at my granny's place.. I can feel the urge to just fly and go there and meet everyone ..a rare occasion that so many of my cousins are there together after so many years ..but still there are other two who are in the same boat as mine ,so i have company ;o) !!!!

....

2006-12-25T16:07:00.000+05:30

I cannot focus on anything properly ..
"Vidya wear your glasses !!"

The number are in reverse order ont the remote.
"Vidya you are holding the remote in the reverse order!"

I can't hear anything .
"Becos i didnt say anything!"

Nothing is coming on TV
"Switch on the TV first !!!"

Something missing from his smile...

2006-11-14T03:26:00.000+05:30

He is always with a smile
He is always making others around him smile
He is always jumping around..
He is always ready to crack a joke
Full of enthusisam
Loves potato
He dreams of marrying his love
He talks about his future with his girl
He dreams about his kids
He talks of taking his kids to the school
He talks about how his wife would be waiting for him when he comes back from office ..

A person who is always cheering others and always there to make you laugh..its really to sad to see him quite and sad ..He was wearing a fake smile and was trying to be normal and as usual .He tried hard but culdn't do it . He was trying to make a conversation but nevertheless they were disconnected ..there was something bothering him ..something in his mind which made him sad..something missing from his smile... I tried my best to cheer him up..make him smile but i couldn't do much except for encouraging him and asking him not to worry...

May all you have dreamed of ,come true .. may you be showered with god's choicest blessing.. may that smile of yours which makes others smile be always be there on your face ..

Crownhill

2006-11-09T04:17:00.000+05:30

Continued from the previous post..

Crownhill ..hmmmmm..the first day i heard the name ..i thot it must be some big place with big big buildings and all the nice cars .glass building and stuff like that.. As we passed the green grasses ..orange color stack of houses ..lot of roundabouts [instead of squarish intersection ..here in Milton Keyenes there are circles joining 4 roads ..its called a roundabout] ..we reached a place where i could see a row of houses ..it was called Crownhill industry .. and the cab stopped in front on a ground floor house ..i had my own doubts as to where we had reached ..
The office looks like a factory. most of the office buildings looks the same here.. not much of traffic ..the walls are thick with windows near the roof ..not windows thru which we can see [unless you are some 20 feet high ...heee eheeeee ]..there are some AC pipes wrapped in silver wrapping running from the ceiling ...it looks quite weird !!!! There is a well built guy in the office ..who gets paid for sleeping most of the time and opening the door ..he comes in BMW to office ..what a life man ..he is the securit person ..we all envy him although he wishes us gooodmornin everyday when he opens the door for us :) !!!! There is a small vending machine ,a microwave,some chairs around a table which is our so called pantry or cafeteria..
The roads outside our office are quite scenic with yellow leaves covering the whole road ..its really beautiful.. I will post the picture tommorrow just to keep ppl coming to this blog if at all they are reading this blog still :) !!!!!

take care and have a ncie day/night ..whatever ..whichever part of the globe you are ..since ppl have started calling me NRI ,globetrekker ,UK gal ..etc,etc ...

Milton Keynes

2006-11-06T01:50:00.000+05:30

Milton Keynes .. reminds me of the Milton water bottles i used to take in school days which used to keep the water cool ..and taking the current weather the name is perfect .
Its been one week and only yesterday we figured out how the room heater system works ..untill then the house and outside temperature was the same.

Daily routine
Get up at 6 or before that ( time has still not set for me ) ..look here and there as to what to do so early in the morning ..look outside the window ..aha ..Sun rising .. Take out the camera and open the window ...feel the chill wind blowing but still click some 10 pictures of the sun rising ..Now thats called real passion for photography [heeeee heeee heeeee]..
By the time Sun is risen its 7o'clock...so time to enter the kitchen for some cooking skills.. First wash the vessels in the bsin which has been lying in the sink from last night and nobody bothered to clean them .. Cold water is out of question..We have seperate hot water and cold water taps ..so use hot water to wash the vessels also. Then prepare lunch for myself and my roomate who doesn't come out till 8..Then eat breakfast ..usually bread [Brown Bread..hmmmm diet concsious!!!! ] with Butter and jam :D [ Exceptions are always there !!!]..One major work done for the day. Now time for a bath. Once you stand under the hot water tap you don't feel like coming out. but then you don't want to spend 5 pounds from your pocket to go to office when office is paying for the travel [Home -Office -Home]. Without cream/moisturizer and two sets of clothes you are going to freeze outside. So all set to go to office. Myself and my roomate get ready and go to another house where three guys are staying. So when we enter the house we can see all of them running here and there ..gettign ready ..making breakfast ...packing their lunch..Once they are ready we all [5 of us] go to another house which is on the other side of the road ...and this is where 8 of us get into two different cabs and go to office ..to a place called Crownhill ....

To be continued...

Where am i...

2006-11-02T13:49:00.000+05:30

140 Kms per hour..
Vehicles zooming so fast on the long nice roads...
11 degree ..A chill wind blowing ..sometimes you feel your nose is almost not there ..
Two sets of clothes and on top of that one thick jacket ..
Its damn cold in Milton Keynes ,80 miles away from London ,Campbell apartments ,Apartment No 31 ..thats where i am right now at 8 o'clock in the morning sitting with the laptop and updatting the blog :o)

My room in the apartment ...

View from the window

Me and Deepwali ..

2006-10-22T08:34:00.000+05:30

Deepawali - A festival of Lights , New Dresses , Lots of sweets , Crackers , Meeting people , Pooja , Lakshmi ,Shopping , Holiday ,togetherness , family ...
As a kid this was one of my favorite festivals if you can have a so called favorite in festivals also :o) .
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Why favorite ??...the sole reason being the hungama attached to it . the noise of the crackers ..the colorful flower pots ..sky filled with bright lights ..rockets [not the one which uses satelight launch vehicle ;o) ] ..sweets [i actually prefer the kara [spicy] ..the first and foremost ..it was holiday time ..no going to school ..
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Childhood memories are many ..some attached to this festival of lights are ...
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Dad used to buy crackers and then myself and my sister would divide it into two parts so that no fighting is there :o). This was one of the best times to show your boldness .. "I can burst a hydrogen bomb too " [ The green one ] ..Lighting the wick of the hydrogen bomb using a big stick and running away even before the wik has got fire ..standing there with ears closed waiting for it to burst only to realise that it never caught fire :) .. Not bursting all the crackers and keep some for later so that after everyone has finished we can burn [ Evil minds !!!! ].
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Although mom made sweets but there something about the gift boxes which friends or relatives got with them when they came home to wish .. The boxes which were wrapped in a shinny paper had more eyes on them :) .. Choclates were appreciated and but the same 'Doodh Pedas' [A sweet made out of milk] in all the boxes was dissapointment :o) !
It brings a smile on my face to think about all this things now ... So silly of me :)

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Happy Deepawali to everyone ..

Change...

2006-10-18T06:57:00.000+05:30

Change is essential.
Change in the environment .
Change in the Bus Route to office..
Change in the people i meet in the Office daily
Change in the time i get up for office..
Change in my official email id ..
Change in the name of my company i work for :) !!!!!!!

But somethings remain unchanged ..and the major one being running for things and hurridly getting ready for office !!!!!

Mom : 'Vidya ......where is your tiffin box"

Dad : 'Why don't you iron your clothes in the evening itself !!!!"

:o)

and oh yeah .. this is my 100th post which comes after a looooong gap as i was busy preparing for the change and settling down with the change :) ..

I...

2006-09-29T09:42:00.000+05:30

Kishore tagged me ...

I am thinking about what all I should in the next three days of holidays :) !
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I said ..Keep Smiling and they grin :D !!
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I want to go on a World Tour !
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I wish I could fly... [I wouldn't have to daily travel for one hour to my office ]
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I hear the rustle of leaves when wind blows by ..
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I wonder why God decided to make two genders...
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I regret that I cannot go back to my college life again.
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I am Sodankur Ramakanthan Srividya !
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I dance when I am alone in the room .. [I hope the ground floor people don't think of it as an Earthquake! ]
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I sing and everyone asks me not to sing ... Haaaa haaaa
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I cry for very silly reasons..
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I am not always eating chocolates and ice creams...
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I make with my hands weird faces and designs on the paper and scratch them ..
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I write because others read... [ok ok i know i don't write so well ..but still i am trying at least]
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I confuse myself many a times and seeing me confused others cry :( !
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I need a looooooong paid vacation ;o) !
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And since people hardly read my blog ,i am not tagging anybody. If you are reading this ,then you are automatically tagged . If you are not a blogger ,you can still get self tagged and mail it to me at srsrividya@gmail.com...

A Weekend with camera ..

2006-09-19T21:09:00.000+05:30

A Chill Saturday Morning at 7:30 A.M ..Near Anjaneya Swamy temple ..intersection of K.G.Road and Avenue Road ..14 of us from the Bangalore Weekend Shoots group with cameras joined together for a session of street photography . All of us from different fields and background but the common thing which got all of us together was photography .

It was my first time with the group but i really enjoyed it ! I didnt know anybody and had not even met any one of them. I had known few of them through the online group where all of us share photos.Intially it seemed like I was the only girl but later 4 of them joined ! Everyone with Big camera bags with all their camera gears and some others with point and shoot camera .Everyone had different cameras but the objective was the same !!!

Early morning Bangalore has got lot of activities going on .People praying from across the road ..People picking up the road side garbage ..elderly people having a chit chat on the stone bench [wearing the monkey cap to protect them for cold ..People sitting and reading newspapers on the pavement..People eating hot steaming idlis and dosa on the road side ..Vegetable Vendors selling fresh vegetables.Flower Seller ..school kids in their colorful uniforms.. road side Tea ..all sorts of activities.. It was good time capturing some common people in our cameras ..

Although common people but they were surrounded by so many colors (from photographic point of view) .14 of us with big cameras and gears attracted lot of attention .. Lot of questions asked as to whether we were from Times of India /Press or Shooting etc ,etc .we also had our part of fun telling them we were students .we were from chitraakala parishad etc ,etc .Everytime someone asked me a question i had a different answer and i was enjoying it ! As we entered the interiors of the K.R.Market there was lot of hustle bustle ...People opening their shops..People setting up their shops ..Some of them having their hot cup of tea (Even i had the road side Masala Tea ..it was good i must say!! ).

All of us entered the flower Market which was underground .flower market as the name implies was filled with flowers everywhere It was most colorful site i had ever seen in my life .Sooooo many flowers everywhere and so many colors . The smile on my face never got diminished that day .. And when people were hesitant about the camera ,i tuk a snap and showed it to them ..they were really happy to see the result so fast. The smile on their face was really wonderful ..i had the same smile on my face .I managed to get one red rose and one chrysanthum from two of the flower vendors as their token of thanks to me ..i was thrilled !!!!! It was nearing 12 in the noon ..although my legs were aching i didnt want to stop clicking ! I took around 400 shots that day and most of them came good !! It was lovely day at the street of bangalore with common people who made my day really worthwhile !Last but not the least ...a Slideshow of the outcome of the shootout ..

Home Effect

2006-09-14T09:09:00.000+05:30

No snoozing of alarm ..no need to think about what to prepare for next day ..no need to get up early and quietly enter the kitchen in wee hours of the morning .. No need to lock the 3 doors . Instead ...
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'Vidya ,yelu . 5:30 aithu !!" [Mom telling me in Kannada to getup ] [First Alarm]
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After sometime
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'Beta ,Getup its 5:45!!!" [Dad asking me to getup]
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Hmmmm .. Benefits of staying at home with the family :o) !!
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Planning to go for ' Lage Raho Munna Bhai ' this weekend with Mom and Dad .
I think its two decades that I went for a Hindi movie with Mom and Dad . It is going to be fun .
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The One way communication...

2006-09-08T12:43:00.000+05:30

I stay on the first floor ..As i was getting ready in the morning..i could hear Dad's voice ( he doesn't need a mike ,obviously , an Army man u c !!!) . He was telling somebody something .
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Dad :Chalo ,Chalo ..utto ..niklo [Hindi] [ Go Go ..get up ..get going ]
After sometime
Dad : Hogu ,hogu ..yelu [Kannada] [ Go Go..get up ]
After sometime
Dad : Go go ,get up !!! [English ]
Again after sometime
Dad : Manasaliylla ? [Malayalam ] [Don't you understand ? ]

And finally the Dog which was sitting near the staircase went away after listening the same command in 3 languages ....

After effects of being in Singapore for 1 year..

2006-09-05T10:32:00.000+05:30

* Pressing on the tap instead of rotating it !!

* Taking the water directly from the tap for drinking

* Missing the Microwave and Fridge in the office

* Searching for Tissue papers everytime

* Taking the id card sideways to swap only to realize you have to tap !

* Converting Rupees into SGD and finding it cheap only to realise later that the rikshaw fare
was damn 50 bucks !!!

* Seeing the time and adding 2.5 hours to see what time it is in Singapore

* Seeing stagnant water and remembering the fine which my friends paid for breeding
mosquito eggs :D !!

* Telling my mom and dad to eat Brown Bread

* No Low fat milk !!!! only Nandini :) !!!

Hmmm... will take time to get into the Bangalore life again .. till then enjoi maadi ..

I am Back

2006-09-02T08:54:00.000+05:30

Singapore to Bangalore - 1st September 2006 - IC 958

Guess what i saw in Zooooooooooooooo..................

2006-08-28T13:32:00.000+05:30

Saturday i had been to Zoo and guess what i saw ......... I saw my Manager ;o) ...haaaaaa haaaaaaa ..Unfortunately he was out of the cage :o( !!!!!

And guess what ..he is been telling everyone that he saw Vidya in Zoo .. haaaa haaaa haaa !!

Time for a pic ...

Team Meeting :) !!

The Clicking story ...

2006-08-23T07:47:00.000+05:30

Camera , film rolls , developing the role , putting them in albums ..all these had been there in our house from a long long time. Every time there was a special occasion or we went out, Dad would buy a new film roll . And then there would be all kinds poses given for photos ,some funny ,some silly, some stupid, some nice, some not so nice! Comments from mom to stand straight, not to show my 32 teeth, not to make monkey faces, Stand sideways, that and this !!

Out of the 36 shots most of the times half the roll would be over, sometimes even the full roll depending on the function and moments! And then depending on how busy dad would be the roll will either lie in his drawer/camera for months or would be developed the very next day. Meanwhile there will be frequent reminders from mom on how much money is being spent on photos ,printing ,film role etched. She would even mention that so much money is being spent and not all the photos come out good !!! Even after all this we have one box full of albums. There are times when myself and my sister would open the trunk and sit and see old photos ! Seeing old photos brings lot of sweet memories and lot of funny incidents !

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The craze of capturing the moments in the lens continued in me and my sister .I got a Kodak camera as a birthday gift from my dad when i joined my B.Sc. Every official or unofficial trips /picnics we went, i had the camera with me and i was very generous with clicking photos . It was a new roll in the camera always. If all the 36 shots came out good, i would be more than happy :) ! The complains regarding spending money on photos kept continuing from mom and but i didn't stop :) !!

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Most of my college events and college friends are captured by my Kodak camera. This craze continued all through my M.Sc and even when i joined work . And then when Digital cameras were in market i always felt i should have one but then i couldn't afford it. And like a good daughter i never asked my dad, but he always knew it !! So like a loving dad he gifted me a Sony Digital Camera on my 25th Birthday, what a gift to celebrate my quarter century !!

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Kodak camera became an forgotten entity ! And the Digital Camera always accompanied me in my bag. Now there were no more complaints from my mom because there was no buying the roll, developing, no complains that the photo didn't come out good !!! I made full use of my Digital camera, everything in the house was captured in the Digital Cam.. from the not-so-bad cooking of mine to new shoes, Anything and everything was a subject in my photography ( if i can call it so!! ). There used to be a time when 36 shots was more than enough but with Digital Camera in my hand 36 shots also was less for me, so i upgraded the camera memory right in time before i could go to London. The trip to London was clicking everything possible and upload it on the net so that mom-dad and my sis could see London through my photos !

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The photography continued in Singapore too , Meanwhile Dad continued his craze of clicking using the old Yashica film camera . He would takes the pictures ,get them developed ,scan them ,upload them so that i could see the pictures. I decided it was time i bought a Digital Camera for Dad ! A Camera for a Camera ! So i bought a Sony Digi Camera and sent it across through my friend who was going to India . My dad was thrilled !!

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And back in Singapore as my photography madness intensified i decided to buy a better camera with a good zoom and resolution . Panasonic FZ 5 fitted my budget and had all the things i wanted ,so in January 2006 Panasonic FZ 5 became my new companion. Since the new camera was bigger than my old Sony camera, Panasonic camera didn't accompany me always. Sony camera would still be there in my bag always. Photography became a passion, a hobby !!!

I started reading books on photography to gain some technical knowledge! A lot of experimentations! I started to take part in online contents too and i eventually won a photo contest . I even went for few photo shootouts with few of the photobloggers. My Panasonic FZ5 looked like a small kid in front of those DSLR cameras ..but still i continued capturing ever nook and corner of Singapore through my camera lens . I even opened a photoblog along with my friend Manju. Daily updating of the photo on flickr became a routine event apart from weekends bcos i don't have access to internet :( on weekends ! Clicking a photo then seeing the result was fun, sometimes the photo doesn't come as expected and sometimes the random clicks generated amazing results ! Candid shots are my favorites. Capturing people in their natural way is great ! Sometimes the picture speaks ..Many a times i see a picture I just imagine what the two people might be talking or what the lonely person must be worrying about ! clicking kids is always an delight ,their innocent actions, their cute smiles and their amazing expressions are a treasure !

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Photography is wonderful ! A wonderful hobby ! A photograph is like an visualization of the old memories in some corner of your mind and you feel nostalgic every time you see a picture !
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I write all this as i am arranging more than 14 GB of photos to be burnt in DVDs to be taken back to India or rather 14 GB of sweet memories !!

This post is incomplete without an picture ..so here goes the picture ..

Freedom

2006-08-15T08:17:00.000+05:30

Every year as Independence Day comes i feel happy and a sense of pride runs through me. My dad being in Army has indulged more patriotism not only in me but in my whole family. On the eve of Independence day, i make sure i have the Tri color with me , if at home then one tri color will be put near Grandfather's picture to salute the sacrifices he made as a freedom fighter. The love for one's own country is natural. Although there are many things in India which are not acceptable , but still i love my country. Its in our hands to make India a better country.

I love my country for its varied culture .

I love my country for its unity .

I love my country for its diversity.

I love my country for the innocent people.

I love my country for its food.

I love my country for its smell of mud.

And last but not the least .

I love my country because i was born here

and the values it has given me !

Talking of Independence and freedom , Today morning i realized that i don't even have the freedom to hoist the tri color in my cubicle on the eve of Independence Day.

Like every year this time also i had the tri color with me and i pasted it on my cubicle yesterday evening before leaving the office. As i entered the floor i was searching for any other tri color expect for mine but i couldn't find any other. Nevertheless i was happy to see the two tri colors flying on my desk. But the happiness didn't last for long . Once i met M (the same person who is suffering from FTMS), he asked me to remove the tri color from my desk. I defended saying i put it last year also ,but he was adamant on removing it ! I said i don't think it is a problem ,but he rudely said "Just removed it !". Its the position in which he is which makes him do things from me and i simply have to do it !! I removed the tri colors from my cubicle with tears rolling down ..It was an insult to my tri color !!!

I don't think a small Indian flag will create any sorts of racial indifferences , that too in a country like Singapore which is much know for its Racial Harmony .Then where is the problem ? The problem is the insecurity in him ( M ) . God save our country from such people, no wonder he has been wandering outside India from so many years !!!

Happy Independence Day

Nick Naming

2006-08-14T11:56:00.000+05:30

"Zebra Aunty!!!! , was S , My 4 year old cousin's reply when she saw this lady walking in front of us who was wearing a black and white striped Chudidar " . And we all all laughed slowly not getting the Zebra aunty's attention !

Nick naming is something which weall do ..relating a person to something!!

Nick names are something which i am good at giving . There are a lot of nick names which i have kept for others and others have kept for me !

Nick names kept by me ....

Blue Shirt : There was this guy in college during my B.Sc who used to wear a particular blue shirt 4/5 days in a week. Apparantly when i saw him in my university while i was doing my masters he was wearing the same blue shirt .

Pinku : My mallu classmate who used to turn pink when we used to tease him .I named him Pinku :) !!!

Chimney : Again one of my classmates who used to smoke a lot !

Headweight : One of the girl's in my friend's crush list who was a snob !

Joint: She was the Joint Secretary of our college . She even mentioned a thanks for christening her nick name and making it famous :) !!!

Laddu : Nick names of one of our lecturers whom we troubled a lot.. No specific reason for this nick name ...we jsut shortened her name and added a u in the end..

Chocolate: This guy in office who used to come to our cubicle to ask for chocolate and keep troubling me for chocolate :) !

And if you are wondering whether i had nick names ..yes i did have .. a lot of them

Keep Smiling :I had this habit of writing Keep smiling on my bag ,note book etc ,etc ..so one of the senior guys saw this written on my bag and kept my name as Keep Smiling . After a few years when i met him he asked me whether i still have that bag with me :) !!!

Soda : In Kannada, the thick spectacles are called "Soda kannadka" and since i wear spectacles they kept my name as Soda.

Pashu :'Pashu' means cow in Malayalam .Now i don't exactly remember why i got this name but some of my mallu friends used to call me that !

There were other nick names also but Naaaaaaaah..i am not going to reveal all the names ..no way !!!!

I WON , I WON

2006-08-11T12:20:00.000+05:30

I won the first place in the weekly BSB contest (Bangalore Shutter Bugs) . The theme was Abandoned and below is the winning picture taken by me :o) !!!!

Its feels great to win !! No prizes but i get to be the judge for the next contest. Coincidently it was my suggestion last week that we should have special themes related to photography so this week going by my suggestion the special theme is Portrait. Now ,i am just a beginner so the judging is going to be tough . I plan to go to library and pick up some photography books. I don't want anyone coming back and telling me that i didnt judge properly. If i wouldn't have been the judge and a participant then i would have posted the below picture which is one of my best portrait shots ever !!

Hmmm... so what do you say :o) , Should i be the judge or the participant ?

Happy National Day Singapore ..

2006-08-08T12:46:00.000+05:30

Its Singapore's 41st National Day tomorrow (9th August ) . Everywhere in Singapore i can see the red and white flags, its so nice to see the flags. I remember that every Indian Independence Day (15th August) , i feel happy every time i see a auto fellow pass by with the Indian Tri color or a scooter fella with the flag on his scooter handle. I also make sure i have the Indian Flag with me. Sometimes remember the schooling days when we used to dress in full white and go to school....

Singapore has come a long way in these 41 years . I was seeing the documentary on Singapore Discovery channel.

The transportation system is fantastic. MRT -Mass Rapid Transportation system as it is known in Singapore is well connected and well maintained. Even the security system is good. The Roads are great and the people follow the traffic rules and its only rare that somebody honks !!!Taxis/Cabs have GPRS enabled by which any taxi in Singapore can be tracked any time and they even have route maps installed using which the driver can know where exactly to go.

There are so many races here and they all live in peace and harmony. How I wish in my country also they would live in peace and harmony. Chinese, Malay, Indians and i guess Singaporeans too ,all stay together in this small Island. People are quite helpful and humble. Although Singapore is a commercial country, culture and tradition are given equal importance.

Singapore in one country which is known for its cleanliness. Almost everything is so well maintained and organized which is the best thing what i like about Singapore. The houses are like the toy blocks of which we build buildings ..such a symmetry! Buildings are also well maintained, regular cleaning of the blocks, spraying of the medicines to keep the mosquitoes away and every day cleaning of the common garbage dumps. There are people who even come for regular checks inside the houses to check for stagnant water which might lead to breeding of mosquitoes. I know this well bcos my friends had to pay $ 100 fine for breeding mosquitoes in their bathroom ;o) !!

Amidst all the sky scrapers and tall glass buildings you can also find lot of tropical forest and trees everywhere. Its greenery everywhere and again they are well maintained.

Technology is quite advanced and they use it to the maximum. Every other person is loaded with mp3 players, laptop, digi-cam, mobile, Bluetooth, wireless ,wi-fi and what not !!!

Singapore is a major tourist hub. Lot of tourists come everyday. Main attractions being Sentosa, Singapore Z00, Bird Park, Merlion Park, Raffles Place and many other beautiful places.

And the best part is that India is not too far, its just a 4 hours journey from here :o) !!! so you actually don't feel that you are staying very far away from India ,there is even a place called 'Little India' here :) !!!

I have been in Singapore for more than one year now and it has been a good experience. Lot of things we can learn from Singapore, although its a small Island.

Happy National Day Singapore !!!!

Heights of planning

2006-08-07T12:23:00.000+05:30

M: You should plan ,you should plan !

One Day when somebody is not feeling well and calls up M to tell that he/she is not feeling

M: [Instant reaction] Is it planned or unplanned ??

FTMS

2006-08-02T14:29:00.000+05:30

FTMS is a weird kind of disease ..person who is suffering from this disease doesn't have any problems ,but the other people in his team have a tough time dealing with this...

Symptoms :

* The person likes to sit in the conference room /Meeting room most of the time.

* The person is not alone in the meeting room, either he/she is talking over the phone or with someone.

* The person suffers from high blood pressure.

* The patient loves raising his voice.

* The person calls you up immediately after he/she receives a mail where your mailid is in the To column and his/her's is in the CC column.

* The person doesn't understand the mail although its written in English and you are supposed to explain the same mail in the same language it is written.

* The person tries incorporate things from previous project to this project although it is not at all related.

* And last but not the least, he/she keeps point out your every mistakes and then tells you that you are doing a good job !!!

FTMS : First Time Manager Syndrome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The making of IDLI...

2006-08-01T07:58:00.000+05:30

Nah ..its not about the making of some movie named IDLI ..I am talking about the first time I tried making Idli last week and how they turned out to be :) !!!

There is always a first time for everything...I had tried my hands on Dosa but never on Idli so last Friday it was the first time for Idli making :) !!!

Preparation begins a day before. I asked my friend to ask his mother the correct ratio for rice and split black lentil to be soaked. He told me 4:1 i.e 4 cups of rice + 1 cup of split black lentil . So i soaked 2 cups of rice and 1/2 cup of split black lentil . Soaked it overnight and grinded it in the morning before leaving for office for it to ferment. My intuition or sixth sense whatever made me keep a plate under the bowl in which i had kept the grinded batter for fermentation so that if it over flows it doesn't dirty the kitchen platform and saves me from some of scolding from my landlady about messing her kitchen .

My landlady cooks less and cleans more ;o) !! Both the habits have its own pros and cons.. She cooks less ..so i have got the whole kitchen to myself ..but on the other side one fine day when she plans to cook she flicks the tomatoes and onions from my cover ...She cleans more. so the kitchen is clean after she cooks non-veg and i dnt have to do much of cleaning ..but then she expects me to clean even when i am rushing to office !!!

Anyways ..i am all excited in the office about the idlis ..i even tell my friend that , tom i am going to get idlis for breakfast . By the time its evening i even tell my friend that we will make small onion sambar ..so all excited i reach home ..on the way i buy small onions ..grated coconut..some green chilies and a small green mango. I tell my friend to peel the small onions (its boring to peel them) by the time i get the batter. Now this is called positive thinking. I didnt even knew how the batter would be, will we be actually making idlis?? And even if we managed to make will it be edible ?? So with all such questions.. I rush home, keep my bag and rush to the kitchen to see the idli batter .. But where is the batter ??? Missing ??

Then the landlady who is watching TV tells me that the idli batter had over flown in the afternoon so she kept it inside the fridge ... Aha...(My sixth sense worked :) )Good that i had kept the plate beneath it ! I took out the batter ,and beat it with a spoon and check its consistency ! Looked fine to me ! So i quickly change my dress ..take the batter and off to my friend's house .

So first we make chutney ..I cut the raw mango only to find that the half of the mango was spoilt but still the other half was good so i cut them into small pieces (while my dear friend was eating some of them) and put it in the mixer (grinder ..blender or whatever you call ) along with 2 green chilies and coconut ...3-4 four rounds and chutney is ready :)

Next is the famous small onion sambar ..i peel a potato, cut into pieces ..take some 2-3 small onions, cut into half ..one chopped tomato..some chilies.. heat the oil in pan ..reach for the masala box for mustard and cumin seeds ..and guess what ..it was empty ...all clear ..i call out for my friend..and then he gives me a smile and tells me that he will go and get it now. I say okay ..and peel two garlics and put it in the oil to fry ..then added the onion and tomato and potato... after frying for a while added the sambar powder ..followed by the cooked daal and water . Boil it for a while. In separate frying pan heat some oil , put some mustard seeds, cumin seeds and two dried chilies. once the mustard seeds start popping out remove it from the flame and pour a little over the chutney and a little on the sambar . If you want your sambar to look good for the photo session then pour it in a nice glass vessel and decorate it with some coriander leaves :o) !!!!

And now for the grand finale ..The IDLI.. All the circus we did to make the idlis .. Since we didnt have a proper idli cooker..we kept the idli plate on top of a vessel with a water so that the steam wud cook the idlis..and since we were beginners. we kept the cloth on the idli plate so that it doesn't stick ..
Steps :

* Wet the cloth.

* Spread it on the Idli plate.

* Pour the idli batter.

* Keep it on top of the Vessel .

* Close it with a lid.

* Once the steam starts coming out in about 5-6 minutes, open to check whether the idlis are made.

Tip : To check whether idlis are cooked insert a knife and remove it, if nothing sticks to the knife then the idlis are cooked.

* Take out the Idli plate.

* Sprinkle some water on top of it.

* Remove the cloth along with the idli ..reverse and again sprinkle some water.. and carefully take out the idlis ..

We were so happy to see the idlis :o)
And then my friend asks me did you grind the split black lentil and rice separately ?? I asked why? And then he tells me "Then only the idlis will be soft !!" . What an early realization ,as always!!!! :D !!
Nevertheless ,the idlis were edible ,the sambar was great ,had to do some minor adjustments to the chutney .. all in all it was a great dinner .. nothing remained ..everything was emptied..

The making of the IDLI was an successful event !!!!

I DID LIKE IT ( IDLI ) !!!!!!!

P.S : Photos courtsey Manju

Oh My Darlie !

2006-07-26T10:11:00.000+05:30

Oh my Darlie , oh my Darlie
As i hold you lightly
I look at you with sleepy eyes
and you look so nice.
You are tall and bright
and so very light.
You are purple and green
you were the best among the rest i had seen
As you kissed my teeth
I forgot to close the wash basin tap beneath.
You were so gentle and smooth
I could feel you in my mouth.
Oh ! My new Darlie Toothbrush
As it was time for me to rush.
I would have to be fast
don't worry this won't be the last.
I will see you again tomorrow morning
As of now ,i wud have to do lot of running.
Your company will be my old brush and the toothpaste
Till i meet you again , Take care and Take rest .

Favouritsm and Boiled Egg

2006-07-24T12:46:00.000+05:30

Boiled egg is one thing which my cousin lovesssss ... so on Sunday when aunt made boiled egg for dinner ..both of us (myself and my 4 year old cousin) sat with our shares of boiled egg . Aunt had also put round pieces of carrot on our plates . As we started eating S finished the boiled egg (which was cut into two halves) first . I was still to eat the two halves of the egg ....

S: You know how i eat egg ?

Me : How ?

S : First i eat the yellow part( the yolk) and then eat the white part.

Me : [*Taking the egg close to my mouth *] I eat it together !! :o)

Both of us ate for sometime and don't talk. I finish the first half of the egg and simultaneously eat the carrot pieces also. She eats slowly. Suddenly she takes one piece of carrot and puts it in my plate.

Me : Why?

She :You are my favorite Vidya Athigge . [ Athigge : another name for cousin/aunt]

Me : Thank you [*Hmmm ...so i am also supposed to reciprocate is it ??*]

I control my laughter thinking the very obvious that she wanted me to reciprocate the same .
I continue eating and so does she .. After sometime she takes one more carrot piece and starts putting it in my plate but this time i stop her and ask her to eat it ! And then not ignoring her hint and the love for boiled egg , i cut the half egg into two pieces and put one piece to her plate . She gives me a smile and...

She : Why ? [*Smilingly :o) *]

Me : You are my favorite ......

I don't know whether that is how i was supposed to reciprocate. Obviously given a choice she would have loved to eat boiled egg rather than those carrots ..so when she puts a piece of carrot in my plate showing her love to me ..whats the harm in giving her the piece of boiled egg which she loves a lot... I like her . She is a darling !

Kids have this cute way of letting you know things which they want :o) !!!

Distort with Photoshop

2006-07-20T14:25:00.000+05:30

Didn't have anything to write so took a picture like the one below

Open the picture in Photoshop

Select Filter->Distort->Twirl

Do this n number of times to get the below picture

Another attempt

Select Filter->Distort->Wave ,Select Type as Triangle to get the below effect

What a modern Art ;o) !!!!!

Happy photoshopping :) !!!

Imagination game ....

2006-07-18T15:08:00.000+05:30

Over the weekend i went to my uncle's place. My small cousin who is 4 years old comes near me and whispers in my ears ..

S: V has imaginary friends! [V is her 5 months old younger brother]

Me: Oh ! And how do you know that ?

S: He smiles looking at places where nobody is there !

Me : okay :o)

Kids have a great imagination. She herself has lot of imaginary friends . One of the famous ones is Vikitha, who usually is supposed to be staying with me and everytime i come its Vikitha's birthday :o) !!!
Sometimes Vikitha even calls up and i am supposed to talk to Vikitha over the toy phone imagining that Vikitha is on the other end of the phone and talking to me . Its fun :o)!!
I also have an imaginary talk !! Anything is possible in the imaginary world :o) !!!

Imagination runs wild !!!!

Now how is this for imagination ...Sky below and water on the top:o) ??

To Decide or not to decide is the question ...

2006-07-14T11:36:00.000+05:30

What to do , What not to do
Yeh kaisi mushkil hai !! [* What a difficulty is this ?*]
At least someone tell me
The solution mere bhai !!! [* Tell me a solution brother !*]

Sometimes the more time you take to make the decision ,the more difficult it becomes !!

Note: The above poem/song/verse is not my own creation :o), its mere translation and remix of the famous Rangeela song 'Kya Kare ,Kya Na Kare..."

mm/dd or dd/mm

2006-07-12T07:38:00.000+05:30

Another series of blasts ..some more innocent people killed..some other injured ..
Nothing much i can do except for surfing through the local channels here in Singapore to catch a glimpse of what is happening in my own country Or browse through all the news websites next morning to get an update of what happened !

Came across this particular article http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/12nri.htm which very much has all my feelings in it except for few !!

Read another blog http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2006/07/blasts-in-bombay.html which summed up everything i guess !

After hearing the news about bomb blasts when i was talking to my landlady , she tells me "They should be more strict in India and i reply "Its very difficult to be strict with such huge ever growing population !". As they say 'Grass is always greener on the other side' . She always has something or other to say about India and i defend myself and my country or at least try to defend ;o) !!! [*Patriotic Vidya *]

'Why young people don't join politics ?' [*??????*]

'India has become very costly now a days' ! [*Yeah just because you want to make profit in Singapore , you buy stuff from India fro 10 Rs and sell it for 5$ here *]

'So many mosquitoes in India' ! [*I think these mosquitoes bite the Non-Indians more :) *]

'I don't want my son to have Indian Friends!' [* Good for them !*]

'Indian Airlines is always late' ! [*Okay ,I agree with this : *]

'That Indian contractor took so much money for the renovation !' [* Yeah ,right ! You want cheap labor and then you complaint !!!*]

And with all these complaints now and then she calls herself an Indian ...

* A major fan of Sun TV (A famous Tamil channel) soaps . She gets so involved in seeing the serials that she starts screaming and shouting ! Sometimes i am the bakra or rather bakri ;-) to listen to what the daughter-in-law did or who kidnapped the girl or whose child it is?!!

* A Religious and God fearing person . She is so scared that last month when somebody died in neighborhood she was sitting with a god's photo in her hand with the doors closed !

* Respects the Indian culture and tries hard to makes his son follow it to ..but fails !! Makes her son wear 'Jubba' /Long Kurta when he goes to temple !

* Loves Mangoes especially from India . I hid all the mangoes i had bought from India and gave her only one :o) !!!

* Loves Indian Artifacts and item....wanted somebody to get the grinding stone from India !!! If the person is coming in Jet Star Asia then except for the Grinding Stone he won't be able to carry anything else ;o) !!!! [FYI : Jet Star Asia allows 20 kg check-in baggage]

Shame on the cruel people who are responsible for these bomb blasts ... and thanks to all the helpful Indians who helped the victims/train passengers in Mumbai !

And those of you who are wondering what the title is about - its about whether the incident/accident should be remembered as 7/11 (mm/dd format or rather 9/11 format ) or 11/7 (dd/mm format ) ???

My Condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones !!!

I am Happy that you are Happy...

2006-07-07T16:35:00.000+05:30

-----Original Message-----From: Anonymous [mailto:anonymous-comment@blogger.com]Sent: 07 July 2006 18:58To: srsrividya@gmail.comSubject: [Thoughts and moments !] 7/07/2006 06:57:36 PM

srividya,

I was browsing the net with the key word "priorities change" as something similar happened to me...But, after reading your blog I realized the 'realities of life are sour but tasty as it bears fruits....lesson learnt and am relaxed"

Shankar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice to see that my blog made at least one person happy :o) !!!! That too a mail at the end of a boring and uneventful day ....

Shankar ,whoever you are , you definitely made me happy buddy :o) !!!!

Keep Smiling and Happy Weekend !!!!!

The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

2006-07-06T12:03:00.000+05:30

Finished this book day before yesterday . Its about a girl Priya Rao who is from a typical Telugu Brahmin family ,who left India when she was 20 to US to study and now after 7 years she returns to India . She is returning with the news about her engagement to guy names Nick ,an American. The time she returns to India is the Mango Season ,hence the title . The story revolves around Priya ,her flashback into her childhood ,her orthodox grandparents ,her parents wanting her to get married to an 'Indian Boy', relatives , how Priya reveals about Nick to her family ,how her family reacts and Hyderabad. A well written book i must say .It even had some recipes in between the chapters .
It was the title 'The Mango Season' which caught my attention ..an off beat title.. very unusual..

Mango - The king of fruits is one the favorite fruits of many of us in India including me . There are so many variety of mangoes i have eaten in my Granny's house that i can't even remember their names. My mom can smell the Mango and identify which variety Mango it is . I could never do it . For me Vacation meant Granny's house and Granny's house meant 'Mangoes' ..So Vacation time was 'Mango Season' for me.

Eating Raw Mangoes ....When i used to be small (big enough to climb mango trees) , i used to go to the Mango orchard but before we could go to the Mango Orchard there were few things we used to carry ,a Knife to cut mangoes , a paste of Salt , chilli powder and oil ( I tell you ,it tastes great !!!!) packed in a piece of Banana Leaf and again wrapped in a newspaper so that the oil won't leak out ,a bottle of water and a towel to wipe all the sweat :) !!! You got to work hard to eat fresh Raw Mangoes :o) . We used to take the back doors to hide from the toddlers who would want to follow us ,but the problem was after walking a certain distance they would get tired and then we had to carry them so we used to avoid taking them :o) ..I know ..How mean of us !!!!

'Totapuri' (a variety of Mango) is very famous for eating it raw , it is not very sour , its a mixture or sweet and sour . Some of us used to climb the trees , some waiting directly under the mango to catch once it falls down ..we also used to take a long stick which is fork shaped at the end and a small gunny bag is attached so that the mango drops directly in that instead of falling down (How clever ;-) !!! ) .And if you forget the to take the knife ,search for a sharp edged stone and hit the raw mango on that to break it into pieces ..

Mango Pickles ..... The one thing whose existence is a must in our house . Like the variety of Mangoes i have eaten same goes for the pickles also . Some pickles are made by boiling the Mangoes in Salt water, some without boiling them and there are others which are made by drying the mangoes ..there are others wherein the whole mango is put (not big mangoes ,a smaller version ). My granny always told me how much pickles she used to put earlier but now she is not able to do so because of her old age. She would ask me to put pickle also .....Hmmmm.. ....putting pickle is not easy as writing a Software program ;o) !!!!

Dried Mangoes ....As if it was not enough to eat Mangoes in the mango season ,we dry the ripe mangoes so that when it is not Mango season we can relish the dried mangoes. A pulp of dozen of ripe mangoes in which a pinch of salt is added is spread on a plastic sheet and made to dry in the sun. Once one layer is dried , one more layer is spread on top of that , likewise at least 10 layers are put to make it thick and it is made sure that they are dried in the sun . I remember times that we used to run to the terrace and eat pieces of this dried mango pulp even before it was dried. So there were times when the initial rectangle or square shape in which the pulp was laid would end in an arbitrary map :o) and aunties knew whom to blame ;o) !!!

Mangoes at Lunch : There used to be fights for the mango seed during the lunch time between us cousins and granny would end up saying " When i used to be a kid i used to pick up so many mangoes and carry the basketful of mangoes ,Why don't you kids go and pluck some mangoes from the tree?" . As usual we would hear what granny said from one ear and let it go through the other ear ..

Sweet Mangoes , Sour Mangoes ,Mango stains on the dress , stomach ache after eating lot of raw mangoes ,getting hurt while climbing the mango tree , being happy for getting mango seed , crying for not getting the bigger mango piece , competing while picking up the mangoes under the mango trees ..Mango memories :o) !!!!!!!

My next read is going to be SERVING CRAZY WITH CURRY .

If not a Software Engineer. ..

2006-07-04T10:26:00.000+05:30

Clown :I know there will be lot of people who will agree to this .... I can make lot of silly faces to make people laugh or even scare them. I can crack silly jokes. My sense of humor is not all that bad. Many people call me a "Joker" and there are others who call me 'Crazy'..Every photo of mine has all my 32 teeth visible ..Some say i can go for the Close Up (Toothpaste) advertisement.. yeah right !! With all the gaps between my teeth they might as well take me for a Dental Clinic Advertisement and i might in one of those 'Before and After' poster ...posing for the 'Before' Feature :o) !!!!

A Photographer : I am not all that bad ,not so good also. But still manage to take decent shots .

Most of my posts in this blog of mine are usually accompanied with a photo .

Proof: http://inmyminds.blogspot.com/2006/06/youth.html

Some more Proof :http://flickr.com/photos/klickd/

Thanks in advance for appreciating the photos and admiring them ...!!

Advance bookings for clicking photographs for your weddings are welcome ..

Warning : I am going to charge heavily as i want to buy a DSLR camera :o)

Cook/Chef : I am a good cook ..I love trying out new dishes ..after preparing new dishes ..i love decorating them and presenting them in a decorative way ..Like adding a leaf of Coriander on top of the Curd ..or Sliding a piece of Lemon on a Glass of simple Nimbu Paani.. People often tell "Vidya you shud have done a hotel management course !!" .I used to take part in Salad Dressing completion and i did manage to get a Thrid Place once....I got this skill from my mom i guess ..She is also too good in Flower decoration and things like that . Now ...now ..please don't ask me the reciepes of the dishes i prepare ..because all of them are unique ..and everytime i make them they taste and look different ..but they are edible :) !!

Crafts Teacher :I am a creative person . I often go to a bookshop and go to Hobbies section to pick up a crafts book and flip through its pages ..I have always been interested in Crafts all through my school days . I took part in "Junk arts' wherein you have to use things which are of no use and make the best use of it. We had a period for SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work ) wherein we were taught to Stitch ,Knit ,Paint , Cook and lot of other things and i was my SUPW teachers pet :o) !!! Any function in my granny's place and i am the decoration in charge .

HR Professional : I can talk to people ..and can talk pretty well . I have no problems making friends .I can talk to anyone .like the sweeper in my old organization ..and the Cook Raju in my old office who use to give me extra chapatti during lunch time ..or the Security Guard at the gate who would always ask me about my Dad who is in Army ... There are times i spoke to the Auto Fella also .. heeee heeee . Any one offerring me a HR job ..i am ready :) !!

Interior Designer : I love decorating my home ,my room ,my cubicle .I love seeing these house renovation programs wherein some people renovate their house . I have all sorts of ideas for my own house if i am able to construct one , some day !!!!

Counselor :I get close to people very fast .Lot of people come to me with problems.. and even if i can't solve them i try to console them and give them advice . I don't know how many people take my advice and how many of them think "Who is she to give me advice ? What the hell she thinks of herself?" ...

And last but not the least ...

A Writer : A Writer of a Worst Selling Novel

Proof : http://inmyminds.blogspot.com ..haaaaa haaaa haaa...

But alas .. i am just another Software Engineer..browsing ..blogging..and working too ;-) !!!!

Reasons unknown..questions unanswered..

2006-06-30T13:45:00.000+05:30

"P is no more . He committed suicide yesterday !" was the content of the mail i got today morning with the subject 'Bad News'..

My reaction : What??

I wasn't sure whether i should post this or not ..

P was my classmate and a friend in B.Sc . A Formula One fanatic ...not the ones who would mingle with everyone but still a good company to be with ..I haven't know him very closely but as far as i have know him he wasn't a weak person . He was the moderator of our B.Sc Yahoo group ..a frequent awakener of the group when rest of us would be just waiting for somebody else to mail. During his elder's brother's marriage he fell in love with girl and got married to her last month on May 14th ..everything was just fine for him..or that is what it looked like..But yesterday he decided to put an end to his LIFE with just a not left behind saying "There is no motivation in life !" ..Everyone is left in shock and despair..

I have heard of so many suicide cases but never ever gave it thought as to why would anyone want to end his/her life . But now that someone i have known has done this , it has evolved a lot of questions in my mind. In most of the cases there are reasons ..'Love failure' ..'Failed in Exam' ..and many others. But in this case "No motivation in life" ? Was it the only reason ? There are so many questions unanswered ...What made him take such a decision? why didn't he tell his wife with whom he supposed to share everything ? Why didn't any of his friends knew ? What happens to his newly wedded wife ? Why did he do like that ? What about his parents ?

Life is so unpredictable ..Everyday is new beginning.. Problems are part of life but they shouldn't be reason to end your life !!!

May his soul rest in peace ..May god give his parents and his close ones all the strength to overcome this sadness..!!

Youth

2006-06-29T10:21:00.000+05:30

I wonder what each one of them are thinking in their minds ..maybe they are eyeing a girl ..or maybe they are thinking when they will get a job ..or maybe expecting a interview results in a day or two ... Each one of them are lost in their own train of thoughts !!
I took this shot in one of the shopping malls in Bangalore ,Garuda Mall last month when i was there with my friends. I am not sure about all of them but at least the one in the extreme left was definitely eyeing the girls promoting 'Fair and Lovely' at the ground floor of the shopping mall..
Little did they realize a girl named Vidya was eyeing them through her Panasonic FZ 5 ..zoomed to the max ..and capturing all of them in her camera !!!
And little did Vidya know that she will put this picture in one of the photo contest names BSB ( Bangalore Shutter Bugs ) for the theme of 'Youth' and get the second prize :) ........Yeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy , i got the second place for this picture !!! No prize money nothing but still , to get a rank in a competition means a looootttttttt.. !!!!
Thanks to the three guys for their expressions !!!!

Somethings weird about me..

2006-06-28T09:59:00.000+05:30

I have been tagged by Shub

I am supposed to write 6 weird facs/habits about myself . So here it goes the weird list with weird coloring :)

Given a whole bar of chocolate ,i don't finish it in a single day. I eat a piece and keep the rest in the fridge and finish it in two days or more than that . .

I don't like cats because when i was small i troubled a cat and it scratched my legs with its paws.

I have to eat something spicy if i am eating too much of sweet or vice versa ,there are times when i have sweet in one hand and a piece of mango pickle in another hand.
I used put sugar in Pulav and eat sugar with chappathi but i hate to drink milk with sugar .... yuck !!!!!

When i am sad ,i expect people to ask me why i am sad but if they ask me and i start telling them the reason then tears starting rolling down my checks !!!!

When i fight with somebody i don't talk to them even if they apologize ..its only the next day i talk to them.

I get lot of weird dreams .its usually is a mixture of whatever happened that particular day ..i remember my dreams many a times and narrate it to my friends ..during my college time few of my friends used to wait for me to come and narrate my dreams :) .. Once when i was small i got a dream that my parents died and i got up and started crying.

When i asked my friend to tell some weird things about me ..u know what he said
"YOU ARE WEIRD !!!" and then later he says "ITS REALLY WEIRD THAT I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING WEIRD ABOUT YOU".... that sums it all :) !!!

I am tagging Kishore and Mahen .

I am playing football ...

2006-06-26T12:48:00.000+05:30

What are you doing ?

How many times have people asked you this question ..even though they can see what you are doing ...

Like when i am grating the carrot for the salad my friend comes next to me and asks "What are you doing ?" or

like my dad who comes to the hall where i am sitting and seeing TV and asks me "What are you doing beta ? "
And what is my answer "I am playing football !!". Sometimes to irritate my dad i go and stand in front of him when he is shaving and ask him "Appa ,what are you doing ?" [*With a grin *] .

He knows i am purposely asking the question and then he says THE sentence which he must have heard a 101 times from me "I am playing football beta !" and then myself and my dad will laugh loudly. And then my mother will scream from the kitchen "Kya ho raha hai ?" [Whats happening ? ] and she will here a chorus voice screaming "We are playing football !!!!" ...

My dad has become so used to this answer that he has kept my name as "Football player !" ..There are times when dad would have expected the 'I am playing football" answer so he wud ask me " Vidya beta , what are you doing ? Are you playing football ?" .. And then i would show all my teethes and answer "No Appa ,i am playing cricket !!!" ... :) !!

Whats there in the name ??

2006-06-21T12:30:00.000+05:30

27 characters..... Family Name ,Father's name ,My name :)

SODANKUR RAMAKANTHAN SRIVIDYA

srividya.sodankurramakanthan@[company-i-work-for].com ..

I usually don't dictate my company id to anyone because either they will end up saying "What a looooooooooooooooong id!!!" or "Oh my god !!!" or they end up doing a spelling mistake !!!!

I always had this confusion with Surname, First Name ,Last Name ,Maiden names .etc..etc..etc . I guess even my teachers had that confusion ..I remember the days of B.Sc . Every year for 3 consecutive years..

The lecturer would come to the class..

We all wud stand and go "Goodmorning Sir/Madam ". He or She wud wish us back and we would sit down ..Then they would take out the attendance register and start calling out names one by one..

"Amar"
"Deepthi"
"Divya"
"Kishan"
"So..." [Lecutrer finding it difficult to read the name ]

"Soda...".[Lecturer finding some familiarity with the name...]

"Sodankur..."[Finally managed to read my SURNAME !!!!]

and then i wud raise my hand and say "Srividya Sir !!" /"Srividya Madam" :o [With all heads turned towards me! ]

This same process would continue for 1 week with different lecturers ...and by this time everyone knows the moment the lecturer stumbles on a name while calling the attendance its my name :o) !!

After completing the 3 years of my B.Sc degree just before exams we had this session with college principal where in all the final year students were there and we were being handed over a certificate as a remembrance that we studied in this particular College.. All of us were having fun ..clapping our hands ..shouting as each of our names were called ..and then i suddenly hear the person with the mike fumble ... and he goes...

"Soda ..." .."Sodankur".. [Not again ... This is not even the first few days of 1st year/2nd year/3rd year ,oh ! I C its the first time you are reading my name ..Hmmm ..then okay !! Chalega !!! ]

All my classmates turn around to me and give me a as-usual-smile :) and some of them even shout my full name !!

The certificate reads

"Dear Sodankur ...... We are happy that you were part of St.Aloysius College......"

I collect my certificate with a thanks-for-making-my-family-name-so-famous-smile and it read

My friends still remember my full name :o) !!!

In the minds of the Bus Driver

2006-06-20T09:55:00.000+05:30

Aila !!!! Yeh kaun hai ? [OMG ..who is this ?]
Apun is photo mein mast diktha hai ..bilkul hero ke mafiq !!! [Wow !! ,i look great in this photo ,just like a Hero ]

Ab apun ka intiroduction yaani ki jaan pehchan .. [Now for the introduction session]

Aey Mamu , apun is bus ka driver hai ..Bole to !! Apun yeh gadi mein tum logon ko Sentosa Island le jaayega ..Bus mein ghusne ka free ..lekin Sentosa mein entry ke time Bus ka paisa bhi vasool ho jaath hai ..Bole to ..Shaane log hain !! [I am a Bus Driver ..meaning i take people to Sentosa Island in this Bus .Entrance to this bus is free but they take the bus charge when you take the admission ticket to Sentosa ..Smart People !!]

Yeh jo bada mirror apun ke samne hai na ..woh apun ka teesra aank hai ..bole to ? peeche tapori log kya karelein hain sab dikhtha hai..Lekin.. Chokri ne kab photo liya pata hi nahi chala ..Photu sahi hai ..Lagta hai top ki photographer hai.. [This biiiig mirror in front of me is like a third eye to me ..i can see whatever everyone is doing behind but i never saw the girl taking my photo ,good shot i must say !! She must be a great photographer !;o)]

Chalo..abhi apun ka shift khatam ho gya ..ghar chalta hai...Alvida aaj ke liye ..aate rehna.. [Ok ..My shift is over so i am going home.. Bye for today ..Keep coming.]

You too.....!!!!

2006-06-16T11:53:00.000+05:30

Morning as i step outside my house hurriedly open the Metal Door which is now accompanied by a broomstick and a horseshoe so as to keep spirits away!!

Spirits ??!!! Day before in neighbors house one of the young guys (aged 30) died ..i know not the causes ..but as my owner puts it ..He was a drug addict !! May his soul rest in peace !

I rush to the stairs only to realize i can't use them since there was fresh cement applied on them which had my shoe prints. Beacuse i am not a Superwoman nor a Spiderman/Spiderwoman to skip 3 continous steps and reach on the fourth one , neither do i have looooong legs. I scolded ( in my mind of course !!) the people who did this !! " How can they just put the cement like this on the staircase which is the only way to go , expecting everyone to do some circus and reach the fourth step??? . " Miss Vidya there is also a lift which can be used !!!! Heeeee heeee .. I am sure they will put up a signboard today "Please use to LIFT !!! " or maybe

"Please don't use you indigenous skills to reach the fourth step ,please take the LIFT !!!"

So i wait for lift just to go from 2nd floor to 1st floor (In Singapore there is no ground floor..i mean 1st floor is the ground floor )....I look through the Blocks for my friend who will be waiting for me as we commute to office together .. As i reach the spot where we are supposed to meet ...i see him and there only one thing on my mouth and my mind .. "You too !!!!.... are wearing the same combination of Black Shirt and Cream Color Trousers !! " "Couldn't you wear some other color ?" "Looks like we are wearing some kind of uniform !!" 'Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ' .." Guys at office will have a nice time pass !" ..
At office , "Something special today ?" asked one of my colleagues "Everyone seems to be wearing black !!" . I said smilingly "No ,its just a coincidence !!" .
Why is that sometimes when you wear a particular color of dress out of the blue it seems that almost everyone is wearing the same color !!

Sweets from India

2006-06-14T11:48:00.000+05:30

There's the new mail icon on my system tray..

I immediately open my Inbox to check whose mail is it ? I don't even read the mail ..just the subject line of the mail makes me lock my machine and leave my desk and go to the cubicle where everyone is flocking like honeybees ... hmmmmm

Its one of those "Sweets from India" mails from my colleague who has just come back from India . And we people onsite just wait for these mails so that we can hog on all the snacks and sweets bought from India ... Some people (including me ) takes hands full of the mixture and keep at their desks so to relish it the whole day...As i am writing this blog i remembered that i had kept some snacks in my cubicle drawer ..so i am munching it now ..

Monday one more person is coming from India ..so its going to be another "Sweets from India" mail...

Nose Support !!!

2006-06-12T09:23:00.000+05:30

A Candid Shot during the Sentosa Balloon Hat Festival !!!Can you imagine a Real Man standing instead of that Sculpture !!! Haaaa haaaaa haaaaa !!

Photoshopped !!!

2006-06-09T14:13:00.000+05:30

Which software comes to mind when you think of editing a photo ? Photoshop of Course!!!
All the while i never used it , seeing so many features on that , it looked very clumsy with so many buttons. I used a simpler tool called Picasa but then when there were limitations to what i could do in Picasa i searched for a different tool. And the different tool was Photoshop , back to square one !!!! Hmmmm.....
After seeing so many photographs with selective coloring i really wanted to really try it myself but all the previous failed attempts in photoshop lead me to dissapoinment.But finally one day after lot of googling i sucseeded . I am still not aware of so many things ,just trying my hands !!! There are lot of things you can do to a photo using photoshop ,but the best i like is selective coloring like the one below.

Before

The method i followed to get this output is a little difficult and time consuming but you will be really happy with the result as i was .Of course it needs a lot of patience!!!
If you want to try try the below steps..

1. Select a picture, preferably a coloured picture !! [Make sure you keep a backup of the picture]
2. Select Layer->New Adjustment Layer->Hue/Saturation from the Menu .
3. Click Ok
4. Again Click OK.
5. Set the Saturation tab -100 and click OK.
6. Now click on the Eraser Tool .
7. Now using the eraser erase the parts you want to keep in color[eg :I erase the plastic bags !!]
8. Once done Save the image .

After

Simple isn't it :) !!!

P.S : This photo is taken by me !! So ask me before you download it okay !!!!!

Can i join FBI or CBI ?

2006-06-08T09:54:00.000+05:30

Time : 10: 30 P.M. I am just back from my office after a hectic day . I land at my friend's place who has made dinner for me :) !
My mobile phone rings..I see the screen flashing "Vasanthi calling!!! ". I pick up the phone.

V : Vidya ,Vasanthi here .. Are you at home ?
Me : No ,i will be there in one hour .I am at my friend's house !
V : I am trying to call up my son Rishi at home ,but he is not picking up .
Me : Oh!! I will go home then message you !
V : Okay Lah !!! [Lah is common word suffixed after a sentence in Singapore ]

I finish my dinner ,Yummy Akki (Rice) Roti and Capsicum curry and then my friend accompanies me till the house which is one block away. My house is on the first floor .

Its 11:30 P.M in the night.

I climb the stairs , remove my sandals keep it in the Shoe Rack . Search for my key in the bag's first zip. Open the first lock of the Metal Gate ,enter and then lock it again. Now open the second lock of the wooden door. Its supposed to be locked twice (Strict advice from my owner!! ). But ,Its locked only once . Hmmmm .. so i damn sure that her son Rishi has locked the door because he usually locks it once . I open the door ..the house looks empty and silent . Only one light in front of the pooja room is ON . I walk inside with my bag and walk towards my room door . While opening the lock of my door i turn behind to see the R's room. R's room door is not closed neither is it widely open . I get inside my room ,keep my back on the chair ,remove my watch and keep it on the table .
As i had told V that i will check and tell whether R is at home , i slowly open R's room door careful enough to not disturb him . On the bed he is sleeping covered with the bed sheet as i cud make out from the bulged bed sheet and the shapes which the bed sheet has taken from his body !! I couldn't see his head with spiky hair because of the darkness. Anyway he was at home as my owner wanted him to be ! As i turn around to go back to my room convinced that he is sleeping something caught my attention ... FAN !!!!! [Pink Panther Music ] .

He can never sleep without the fan !! How come the fan was not switched on ?? If not fan he would have switched on the AC ,but the door had been open !!! that means ????

Ahaaa!!!!!! You are caught R!!! He was not on the BED !!!!! He had just made the bed sheet bulge so as to make it look like he was sleeping but he couldn't escape from the hands of Detective Vidya ;-) [Gabbar singh Laugh ...haaaaa haaaa haaaaa haaaaaa ... Ab tera kya hoga Kalia ??]

And now ... Should i tell his mother that he was absconding from the house while she was working in the night shift ?? hmmmmm .... I decided not to tell her since in another half an hour it was her birthday so didn't feel like making her shout on him on her birthday . I just wished her "Happy Birthday Vasanthi !' right at 12 A.M ,June 8th . Set my mobile to silent mode and went to sleep .. !!!

MTR ki Jai !!!

2006-06-06T09:28:00.000+05:30

No mood to cook .. just cook rice and mix it with MTR Pulliogare Mix!!!!

No time to cook ... just cook rice and mix it with MTR Pulliogare Mix!!!!

No vegetables at home ? just cook rice and mix it with MTR Pulliogare Mix!!!!

No Pulav Mix at home ... cook the vegetables ..mix it rice and MTR Pulliogare Mix!!!

for those of you who are wondering what is this MTR Pullioagare Mix ..It is basically a tamarind paste with salt and other spices packed in a packet and sold under a brand name called MTR. MTR also has a wide range of ready to eat products which again is very famous amongst people onsite especially bachelors who don't know to cook !!

MTR Pullioagare mix has been our saviour for most of us here on an Onsite project !! If not anything else in the house ,MTR Pulliogare mix will be surely there !! ok ok....i am not any kind of brand ammabasador for MTR .. Its just that the whole of last week i have been using too much of MTR pulliogare mix ;-) !!!

Added on 15:34

Q : Tumhara Pulliogare mere Pulliogare se tasty kaise hai ? (How come your tamarind rice is tastier than mine ? )

Ans: I use MTR Pulliogare Mix !!!!!

Heeeee heeeeee heee reminds me of the old Advertisement on doordarshan :

Teacher : "Raju tumhare daanth to motiyon jaise chamak rahein hai !"

[Raju your teeths are shining like pearls]

Raju :"Kyon na ho masterji ,main Dabur ka laal Danthmanjan jo isthemal kartha hoon !"

[Why not ! Its because i use DABUR's Red Toothpowder!!!

I will tell you a Joke !!

2006-06-05T10:00:00.000+05:30

A Joke told by my cousin who is 4 years old as we walked towards a shopping mall. She told this joke in Kannada ,i have translated in English.

She : I will tell you a joke !!
Me : Okay ! Tell me.
She : Once there was Ramanna . One day with his one friend and one school boy he went for a Helicopter ride. There were only 3 parachutes in the helicopter. The Pilot suddenly said "Helicopter is spoilt! ".
Me : Okay !! [*I knew the joke so was pretending that i hadn't heard the joke before i said okay with lot of enthusiasm* ]
She : [Continuing...] With out thinking Rammana took a school bag of the school boy and jumped out !
She : "Funny no ?" [*She obviously wanting me to laugh so making sure that i know that it was the funny part !*]
Me : Ha haaa haaa haaaa.. [*Realising that she had told the punch line of the joke much before it was supposed to be said !*]

The original Joke
Ramanna along with his friend and one school boy go on a helicopter .There were only 3 parachutes on the helicopter. When the pilot announces that the helicopter engine has failed. Rammana takes a parachute bag and jumps down first. Rammanna's friend says "What shall we do now ? There were only two parachutes left now ?. The school boy replies "Don't worry Ramanna has taken my school bag and jumped !!!!" [*Applause *]

She is very much interested in crafts so i had a great idea on Saturday when i was lying on the bed lazily !! I saw the empty Ferro rocher box on my table and since the death of those 3 innocent fishes was still afresh in my find the first thing that struck to me was a Aquarium !! So i executed the project of making an aquarium with my small cousin yesterday and here is the output !!!

THE Question

2006-06-02T11:42:00.000+05:30

One year Back...

Me :When will i get a chance to go onsite ?

Now...

Me: When will i go back to India ?

THE Answer

2006-06-01T08:27:00.000+05:30

15 years back:

Q : What will you buy with all the money you saved in your PIGGY Bank ?
A : I will buy a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig CAR !! [ Excited!!!! ]

Now:

Q : What will you buy with all the money you saved in your BANK ?
A : I will buy a CAR !! [ Proud !!!! ]

An old movie ..some old memories..

2006-05-31T07:58:00.000+05:30

"Wax on ,Wax in , Breath In, Breath Out " [Dialogues from a movie Karate Kid ]. This Dialogue is where in Mr.Miagi (who agrees to teach Karate) is asking Daniel (who wants to learn Karate for self defense against some of his high school mates who were bullying Daniel) to wipe the cars following a particular patterns of movements of his hands which in turn is a Karate Technique. Daniel doesn't realize this but he follows Mr.Miagi's instructions the first ,day, second and third day . At the end of the third day he retaliates saying he is not teaching him any Karate and just making him do his household work . Only later when Mr.Miagi makes him repeat all the actions he had used for the household does he realize he had been learning the Karate movements all the three days and he didn't know at all !!Its a nice movie .

Martial Art Display at Malaysian Heritage Center

I watched the movie day before yesterday for the second time i guess and what makes me write this post is the memories it brings back from my childhood because the first time i watched this movie was when i was a kid myself. I remember joining with my cousins and seeing all Bruce Lee , Jackie Chan movies and any other movie which had Martial Arts to see all the Karate movements . Since my uncle was a Black Belt in Karate we were all really proud of him and very much keen to see Karate in the movies and relate it to him. I remember my cousin learning some techniques from my uncle and showing it off on us girls ;-) !!! My uncle had a nunchaku ( A martial art weapon ) so sometimes we used to sneak into his room and try out some stunts with 'Nunchaku' , just trying our hands u c... !! Curious as any other kids at that age would be ...!!

I am sure my cousin brother would enjoy reading this post who is right now in U.S doing his higher studies and i miss him ...!!!!

Weekend Adventure

2006-05-30T07:13:00.000+05:30

Rainy Weather.. A Stairway with old leaves ..Abandoned Hospital.. broken glass peices. broken windows ..broken doors ..Walls with paint coming out of it.. Lonely long passages.. water dripping on the sealing ..green moss on the floor... Anthills on the grills of the windows..unsued lifts..broken sinks..rusted pipes.. A perfect plot for a Hindi movie i must say ,but it was not the case . I along with five other people (Amit ,Ashish ,Imran ,Manju and Sham) went to Old changi Hospital near Changi Village on Sunday for a photo shoot out !! The place was interesting ..a perfect bhoot bangla (Haunted house ).

We climbed untill the 4th floor and explored using our cameras floor by floor. Me with my Panasonic FZ5 and Manju with his Sony DSC H1. All others had DSLRs (I should get one but i don't when will that day come !). We saw ICUs, Common rooms ,Geriatric Ward,Operating theaters , Old Lifts , Nurse's Tea Room etc, etc . The ward rooms which once upon a time might have been filled with hospital beds and patients on them ,was a empty hall with water dripping from the ceiling , rusty pipes , old swtich boards and some writings ( Someone Died here ) on the wall which was recently painted !

I did some adventure to climb the ladder and reached the terrace of the building. Clicked some shots of colorful saling boats and planes landing through the clouds !!

We found lot of bottles of canned drinks inside the building , i guess lot of people who come near the Changi Sailing club come to visit this old building too ! No wonder there were so many bottles and writing on the walls of the building !! By the time we finished exploring the building and capturing it in our camera's i was tired and hungry.. and it was getting dark ..so i didnt want to join any sort Ghost meet up in case if they have one ;-) !!!

P.S : The lonely fish in the fish tank is still alive and when i am there in the house i go ten times to see whether it is swimming or not !! Extra precautious you see !!

What more do you need to make it a not-so-good-day !!!

2006-05-26T08:23:00.000+05:30

* Hurt my gums while brushing my teeth int he morning.

* Fought with my friend and wasn't speaking to him the whole day .[ Sorry !!! ]

* Reached home and found out that 3 out of the 4 fishes in the Fish tank were dead and i was the one who was feeding them since my landlord is out of station. Was upset with this! The lonely fish was roaming around amond the dead fishes .With lot of courage i took out the three dead fishes using a basket like handle ! Even though the fishes were dead ,when i touched those delicate dead fishes with the handle i felt shiver run thru my whole body ! Their flaps looked so delicate ,they were bright orange in color but they had almost lost their color now.

I am not sure what caused their death , Did i over feed them or Was it bcos of the water not changed ?

The picture below is of the fish tank !!

* Kept rice in the microwave . The water evaporated and the microwave bowl got burnt and there was a hole! This was at 10:45 P.M in the night . I kept rice again ,not in the microwave this time !!

Lucky that i didnt get any nightmares about the fishes !!
The first thing i did today morning was to check the lonely fish in the fish tank , i was so afraid that it will also die of solitude !! It was alive and roaming around in the water !! I hope to see it again when i go back home in the evening ...

First Impression is important..

2006-05-24T11:33:00.000+05:30

What makes me say the title of this post is ..there is a new bakra in the team . So what ? There are already so many bakras in the team ,what special about this new bakra ??
He happens to be the leader of all the bakras (including me) here in my team . Yes a new manager for our project is here .So everyone has to put a good impression to him as instructed in yesterday's meeting ;-) !!!

Some people got up as soon as he came , i thought it was too much . Others went to the hotel to pick him up ..hmmm (Maska... !!) ..Everyone trying to put up the good impression ! My contribution ... NOTHING !!!!! (Except this post ..maybe i can dedicate to him.. Haaaa haaaa haaaa!)

Impressions on sand..

Not People Priorities change..

2006-05-23T09:45:00.000+05:30

I always thought people change ,but my trip to India this time made me realize that its the priorities which change not the people. I have made lot of unsuccessful attempt to meet some of my friends from 2 years now but every time they are busy with something or the other . Earlier i used to feel bad thinking they have changed after marriage ,they are not the same etc,etc ,but now i know everyone has their own priorities set ,earlier friends circle would have been the first preference but now they have bigger responsibility as wife/husband/daughter-in-law/son-in-law etc etc. I managed to meet 5 of my B.Sc friends together and last Saturday was fun...

Tinkle Smiles :)

2006-05-22T14:52:00.000+05:30

I remember when i was small and we were supposed to travel in a train ,the first thing after entering the compartment would be to go with dad to a book stall on the platform and buy a Tinkle Comic/Tinkle Digest ... oh ! What smile on our faces once the comic was there in our hands :) ..i had the same smile on my face few days back when i was travelling to Calicut from Mangalore for my Best friend's wedding . After i settled in the seat i happily took out the Tinkle Digest and started reading ..little did i realize that the small girl sitting in front of me also was reading a Tinkle ..and then both of us looked at exchanged "Tinkle" smiles.. She was reading a Tinkle Double Digest ..double the fun ..Comics are so much to fun to read ..i still love to read them...i guess it takes me back to my childhood ..

I wasn't alone on the bed..

2006-05-09T08:30:00.000+05:30

They are good at bed ,they do their work and you don't even realize... until the place where they have kissed you , becomes red and it starts itching ... Yes i am talking about BED BUGS ..who have attacked this pour soul yesterday night :o( and my hands are itching !!!

Actually my legs are also itching ..i guess its a sign that you are going to fly soon ;-) ... yes i am ..I am flying tonight to Bangalore ..yahooooooooooo... hurray!!!! So are the the bed bugs are going to miss me ?? No way!!! I can't think of them missing me or anyone else , because i am going to spray Mortien on them and lay them to rest !!!!!

May their soul rest in PI E C E !!!

Namaste

2006-05-05T15:12:00.000+05:30

As WE were walking on the streets of Chinatown talking in Hindi , suddenly someone from behind says "Namaste!" ,I also reply back with "Namaste" (with a nice smile) .
*Namaste :Its a Hindi word commonly used in Northen Part of India to greet .

And then the conversation

He : I recently went to India !!
We : Oh! Okay [ Just to hear the word India from a foreigner in a foreign country makes you feel so great! ]
He : I went to Gujarat for a wedding [Gujarat is a state in the western part of India !!]
We: Okay
He : What a wedding !!!!![ *Excited* ] . So colorful. We went for a Patel's wedding. One of my daughter's friend's wedding.
We: Ya. So you enjoyed the dancing in the wedding?[With no doubt ,Indian weddings are so colorful ]
He: [Starts Singing a folk song in Gujarathi] We had a very nice time!!
We: :o )[ A sheepish smile after listening to his Gujrathi song! ]
He : I went Kerala .One of my daughter is getting married to an Indian.
We: You went to backwaters and all ?
He: I went to Thekkadi and Munaaaaar [Munnar in his english Accent]
We: Munnar is a hill station, Beautiful place !!
He: India is so rich !! [ I realized this after i have stayed outside India for almost an year now! ]
We: [Smiles all over our face with proud] :o)
He: But Traffic Jam is a major problem
We: [Oh! No . Again a sheepish smile.] Ya ,too much of a traffic jam
He: Nobody follows any rules .
We :[Interrupting in between] There are no rules ;-)
He: Hmmm.... Ya

One lady taps him from behind asking him to board the bus
He: Okay.Bye Bye
We: [Shaking his hands] Nice meeting you .
He: Jai Shri Krishna !!! [ Its again a common greeting in Gujarat .Its like Praising Lord Krishna]
We: Jai Sri Krishna !!!

We :Myself and Ashish who were roaming around China Town photographing. It was supposed to be a photoblogger's meet ,but other cudn't make it so it was only two of us.
He was a foreigner who has recently visited India and was very much impressed by its culture ,except for the Traffic part of it .We were really proud to hear him praise our country .Its really a nice feeling to hear about our country but yes its sad to hear something bad about our country too. I wish i could do something about the Traffic system in our country !!!
After staying outside India for almost an year i have realized that Indian culture is so rich and there is so much importance to famliy values !

India is great and i have another 4 days to go my own country :o) ,INDIA here i come after 361 days !!!

Faith.

2006-05-04T16:30:00.000+05:30

Faith..Belief in
Faith in God
Faith in a Person

Faith is this week BSB Contest's theme and my contribution is the this picture.

As the poojari gets the plate of the holy lit fire (Aarthy) ,people rush to touch it and get the blessings . A FAITH , a belief that by doing so everything will be allright . I am not a very religious person ,i believe in 'Do good ,Be good' .

Unless you don't do any harm to any other creature in this world its okay . I am not the kind of person who would go and do 'Archana' when we go to a temple ,not that i am an aethist neither am i against GOD !! I feel i am bribing god ,i feel that i am putting an application with my name ,my raashi ,my gothra and asking him to something for me. And i have seen people's FAITH shake when things they prayed for , don't happen ! Do they really pray to get the things done from GOD ? Why do we pray ? Does praying has some terms and conditions attached to it ?

Praying *

* Conditions Apply

In our Brahmin community women are not supposed to do the pooja part ( i mean cleaning the god and stuff !) . Certain days of the month we are not allowed to enter the temple also. reason :They are not clean . They are not clean bcos of the periodical cycles !! But i thought its GOD who made women like that ,so why this discrimination ?

They say things are already written in your destiny and no one can change it ,then what are we praying for ? To change things or to confirm that things are in place ?So is it that you don't have FAITH in god and thats why you are praying or is it that you don't have faith in yourself ?

This is what i believe ,if you have faith in yourself and you are not harming in anybody ,you don't have to be scared of anybody !!

A trip to Melaka - Part 3

2006-05-03T09:48:00.000+05:30

Continuing from the previous post

After climbing down from the St Paul's Hill we were really tired ,wanted to drink some cold drinks or so .So we walked in search of some shop. Came across a series of shops ,picked up a bottle of Coke and Cold water.

Roamed around all the tiny shops which were like tin bunkers . Lots of items carved out of wood and bamboo were there . I particularly liked this small grinding stone made up of some kind of wood . Bought two of them for 16 RM .Cute ones .

Myself and my friend bought a cap too for 5 RM . The sun was right on top of our heads now .we decided to have our lunch . Removed the lunch box in which there was Pulliogare (Jai MTR Pulliogare Mix !!!!) . Finished the lunch sitting under a tree after which we didn't know where to go, So just took a random street and walked , it happened to be a street known as Jonker Walk famous for antique pieces.

The streets were beautiful with colored doors and windows . The narrow streets and the houses with common walls were really nice . The shops or rather shop houses had lot of antique pieces ,my mom would have loved to come to this place . Shop houses are shops which are house cum shops . These shop houses are built for tropical climate and provide maximum comfort ,health and happiness to its residents

I always wanted to buy this beautifully painted masks, so i picked up two of them ,one male and one female . There were lot of massage shops as you can see in the above picture, loved the add with a big foot :) !

As we walked through the narrow streets of Jonker walk , it started drizzling .We reached at the same point were started walking . Searched for an Indian place to eat some evening snacks and tea .Found one just across the street .A lady with a pleasant smile welcomed us .We have a plain dosa and tea which was very very sweet . Took a taxi to Melaka Central and bought the tickets direct to Singapore. The one trip was really nice ,we did miss seeing some places but all in all it was great and we spent only 25 Singapore dollars to and fro !!!!

A trip to Melaka - Part 2

2006-04-24T14:15:00.000+05:30

I know this is coming too late ,was too very busy in the office !!

Continuing from the previous post .

I had to pull my friend who was busy clicking photos ,not that i wasn't clicking !!! One thing which we didn't want to miss was an Old Dutch fort ,we decided to take a Trishaw which we bargained for 15 RM for half an hour and we thought it was a smart deal !!! As we got into the Trishaw and he pedaling ,i was pitying him that he had to pedal in this hot sun for such a long distance only to realize that the destination was 10 minutes walk from the place we took the Trishaw .And now what ? He tells us you see the place and come i will wait for you here .That's when we realized it was not a smart deal ,by the time we see the place and come it will be half an hour !!!

Anyways we entered the 'Sultanate Palace' with a entry fees of 2 RM .

With the ticket we were given two plastic bags ,i was wondering what was that for ? As we neared the steps to the palace , it was written "please remove yours shoes" ,yes the plastic bags were to put your shoes and carry it along. The palace is a replica of the original palace and is based on the sketches found. The whole palace was made up of wood .It was beautiful .

The roofs had so much of symmetry in them .

It seems that not a single nail was used in the construction of this palace. By the end of half an hour we were out and we paid him the money .

As we decided to enter the Fort nearby we heard a loud heart thumping drum sounds nearby ,so we went where the crowd was gathered . I am not sure what was the function about but the music was really attracting everyone and towards the end the drummers came out of the stage and energy with which they were beating the drums was very high .

Everyone's foots were tapping and finally the music stopped and all these drummers lay on the ground ,it was very weird .Looked as if they were all drunk.

Next we entered the fort also known A'Famosa . Built by the Portuguese in 1511 as a fortress it sustained severe structural damage during the Dutch Invasion. The British had set to destroy it but timely intervention by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1808 saved what remains of A' Famosa today.

Thru the A'Famosa building are steps which lead to St. Paul's Church. Built by a Portuguese Captain by the name of Duarte Coelho, the chapel was turned by the Dutch into a burial ground for their noble dead and renamed it 'St. Paul's Church' from the the Portuguese's 'Our Lady Of The Hill'. Old tombstones found inside the ruins are the final resting place of several Dutch and Portugese nationals .

There was a person with a guitar playing soothing music .The view from the ruins which is on top of a hill was great !!

To be continued...

A Trip to Melaka - Part 1

2006-04-18T07:17:00.000+05:30

Last Saturday Myself and my friend went across Singapore to a Historical place called Melaka .
Founded by Parameswara in 1396 who named his sultanate after the "Melaka" tree, Melaka has provided the stage on which the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English played their roles in shaping history.

We packed some tamarind rice and buns for breakfast and left house at around 5:45 A.M . Reached Woodland Checkpoint at around 6:30 AM in Bus no 950 . There wasn't much of rush since the previous day (Friday) was a public holiday . After the Singapore Immigration check again resumed the journey to Johar Bahru. Once the Malaysian Immigration check took a local bus from Johar Bahru (Larkin) bus terminal for 14.50 RM to Melaka . Bus journey was quite comfortable with leg rest and push back seats. It took exactly 3 hours to reach Meleka Central bus station.
Took a tourist map from the tourist information center and boarded a town bus no 17 which was going to Mahkota Parade. Paid 80 cents for the ticket. Unlike Singapore the buses here are Non AC ,that means you get the feel of fresh air. People looked innocent unlike Singapore where most of them looked well off !
The fellow who told us to take this bus,told us to get down when we saw red painted buildings ,we did the same thing . The distinctive red building are definitely an eye catcher.
One of the first thing visible to your eyes are the "Trishaws" (commonly know as Cycle Rickhshaw in India) .
These Trishaws are decorated with artificial flowers which make them ultra colorful. A maximum of two passengers per Trishaw [depending on the space and the people ;-) ] . they charge on hourly basis ,they take you to a particular place (which will be just a few minutes walk) and then wait for you to come back and mind you your clock is still ticking while you are enjoying the historical beauty of that building or place ! Most people might prefer the Trishaw instead of walking in the scorching sunlight.

The first red building we entered was a church namely Christ Church.This church was built by the Dutch in 1753 to commemorate the centenary of their occupation of Melaka. It took 12 years to build this church !!!!! There are people selling painting just at the entrance of the church .

Photography was not allowed inside the church . Next to this is St.Paul's Church , again a red building. There are lot of street vendors sitting selling small souveniors , hats, caps, umbrellas and other interesting things.

To be continued...

Changed ..

2006-04-17T06:54:00.000+05:30

Its a long time since i wrote in my blog ..not that many people were waiting for me to write but still , today i felt i should write something ! I have not been away from the blogging world ,i along with my friend run a photoblog which we update daily except public holidays and weekends :) . Its a easier job ,just click the photos and upload it ,of course the photos should be nice otherwise people be least bothered to come to the blog ;-) .
Meanwhile i changed the URL of my blog from http://srsrividya.blogspot.com to http://inmyminds.blogspot.com . My name in the URL was not an interesting thing to do ! And lets see how many people come here !!
Weekend visited a place called Mallaca with my friend . It was a one day trip .The place was really beautiful. More about the place in my next post ,meanwhile enjoy a pic from that place....

Theme : Color

2006-03-20T16:32:00.000+05:30

What do you do when the theme for this week's BSB Weekly contest is Color and you are sitting at home with nothing much to do..

Here is what you can do..

What do you need ?

1. A Camera
2. A Black or White Sheet for Background
3. Set of Color Pencils
4. A Brightly Lit Area

What to do?

Find a flat and hard surface which is brightly Lit . Arrange the Color Pencils in whatever way you like ( Make use of your Creativity ) and Click !! Simple Isn't it ? :)
The color Pencils weren't sharpened so i sharpened it ,when i was sharpening the pencils ,the pencil leads looked really interesting so i tried a few shots with them also :)

These are my results

Comments are very much appreciated :) !

Chats and Tatoos....

2006-03-17T16:22:00.000+05:30

Weekend had been to East Coast Park..the sudden decision to go out was made at 6:30 P.M .

Reached the place at around 8 ..except for distant ship lights and noise of waves ..there was nothing much we could do... Tried to capture the moon ..but all the attempts were unsuccessful..

Had Pani Puri , Dahi Papdi , Samosa Chat , Masala Dosa , Plain Dosa and Iddiyappam ... No i didnt have all of those ..We shared of course !! After the cold dosas at Komala's we went for a stroll along the shops. A Friend of mine decided to have a Tatoo on his hand so here are the pictures . After going through the whole he decided to have a SCORPION Tattoo... quite Funky !!! Hmmmm....

And finally the output

The Tattoo lasted only for one day ,since my friend is a very hygienic person and prefers to take bath everyday :) !!!!

10 Things about ...

2006-03-13T17:29:00.000+05:30

Saw this movie yesterday names "Because of Winn-Dixie" . Its actually a book by Kate Dicamillo . It was a cute little movie.
Its a story about a girl Opal and her dog Winn-Dixie . She comes to a new town with her Preacher father . She has no friends but she makes a lot of friends because of this dog Winn-Dixie (as goes the Title) . She names Winn Dixie after the grocery store where she finds him.

There was one thing in the movie which i liked a lot ,Opal's mother is no more and she asks her father to tell 10 things about her mother and her father does tell 10 things about her mother . And when she loses her dog Winn-Dixie , she tries to remember 10 things about her Dog so that she can remember him with the 10 things about him ,if he never comes back again .

So how difficult is it to write 10 things about a person you know ?I tried to jot down 10 things about my sister

1. She loves to laugh out loud.
2. She loves to read books
3. She is very bold
4. She is very sensitive
5. She is good at sports
6. She is very much worried about her hairstyle and dress ;-)
7. She is a kind person .
8. She is very strict about cleanliness
9. She loves good food and doesn't care about money when it comes to eating
10. She is quite adventurous

Can you write 10 things about a person you know ? Obviously good things ;-) ,trust me its difficult !!! Heeeee heeee !!!!

Woman's Day ?

2006-03-09T07:45:00.000+05:30

Only one day to celebrate Woman's day !! Isn't that unfair ? What about other days ?

How many people wished me ? 5 people wished me ,out of wish 3 were male ! Not bad at all !

How did i celebrate ? Was there in the office from morning 8 till evening 8 . In between i get a call from a Aunt who happens to be my father's colleagues wife and they are here in Singapore for a visit. After the usual questions of "How are you? ,How is Singapore? " , there comes a comment or information (whatever you want to call ! ) " N is getting married! (N is their 25 year old son ) ,you should have been the one who should have been getting married now "!!

What do i say ? "Yeah Aunty ,i was shocked to hear that he is getting married. " (What can i do if he was so desperate to get married !!! ) . This is still okay ,but she keeps filling my mom's ears also, saying "Vidya should have got married now !!" and then when i call up my mom will covey this aunt's regards @#$%@#!&*! . I agree to the point but that doesn't mean i marry to any Tom/Dick or Harry right ? Is it my mistake that i am not getting the right kind of guy !!!! Marriages are made in Heaven ,so i guess god is taking sometime to send that right person from Heaven ;-) !!! Heeee heeee heeee

Other than a hectic and tiring day , Read some blogs on things we don't talk about .

Some Food for thought ....

Person A : Person A's Wife is pregnant
Person B : Person B is Person A's colleague

Person B to Person A : What yaar ,you are saving a lot of money ?
Person A : What to do yaar ? If it is a GIRL , i have to save money right??

Belated wishes on Woman's Day !

Happy Budday Papa !

2006-03-07T07:53:00.000+05:30

Happy Birthday To you..

Happy Birthday To you..

Happy Birthday Dear Appa!

Yup ,today is my Dad's birthday . March 7th . 7 is his lucky number . He is Lt. Colonel in the Army even in the house ;-) . I call him Appa ,Pa ,Papa .I am the only elder daughter of my dad . He calls me Vidya ,Beta (Son) ,Beti ( Daughter) .Sometimes Vidya prefixed with Beta (Vidya Beta). Another one is a younger daughter (Sindhu Beta ).
He loves cricket although he is very good at Basket Ball. His Jersey number was 7. He is known for his 3 pointer shots from outside the semicircle . He used to get SportsStar magazine (which is now replaced by Business Today/Economic times) . I remember all the cut outs from the SportsStar magazine he used to have ,i am sure they must be still there. He used to play Tennis also. Actually he loves all sports and cricket comes on top of his list . And the day India loses a match someone in the house is bound to get scolded ! Usually Mom is the victim. When he watches India playing he is so tensed up that he will keep fiddling with the remote ,its fun watching him do that. He was born and brought up in Salem, Tamil Nadu .His name 'Ramakanthan' quite resembles a Tamilian name(His full name is Sodankur Thimmanabhat Ramakanthan ,i inherit the Sodankur and Ramakanthan + Srividya to make my full name as Sodankur Ramakanthan Srividya ) :o) . Many people remember me because of my long name. He can Read, Write and Speak Tamil very well .Its because of him that i started watching Tamil movies and can manage talking in Tamil or as they say i can kill Tamil ( no offense please ). He speaks Kannada not so fluent but okay okay (chalega kind ) . At home we all speak Hindi most of the time since we were in North India . Only when Dad has to speak something personal he speaks in Kannada ,anything official then it is English , and if you don't understand it once that's about it , you have had it from him!!
His sense of humor is great ,whenever me and my sister crack a joke he doesn't understand it but he laughs and both of us know that he didn't understand it so we also laugh !!!! But some of the very silly jokes ,he laughs out very loud !!! He has a very good hand writing (no ,i didnt inherit that from him !!Saaadly. But my handwriting not so bad also !). He remembers all the birthdays and anniversaries in our family and makes sure to wish them. I did get this habit from him but off late i purposely forget some birthdays ;-) !!! His General knowledge is also very good . He reads newspaper daily without fail and ofcourse the Share market . Now a days he is busy with mom in the kitchen garden, watering the plants .

He turns 55 today !!! Happy Birthday once again Appa !

Weekend Activity

2006-03-06T10:47:00.000+05:30

Posted this picture ,since weekend i planned to sleep ..but didn't. I was in front of the Idiot Box watching 3 bakwas (nonsense) movies .. no cable at home since owner has not paid the bill so they cut the cable .. In two days i watched 4 movies and "Inner & Outer World of Sharukh Khan". Out of the four movies only the Tamil movie on Vasantham Central was good . Sharukh's CD was just talk and talk with a cigarette in his hand all the time. Looked as if he was promoting Smoking !!! A good thing which i did over the weekend was to go to Library ,return the books which was due from one week ,check my mails and picked up 4 books (Two from Photography and Two from Teenage Fiction ) . Not a avid reader of books but want to cultivate the habit ,so i prefer reading books which has big fonts and the cover of the book should appeal to me although they say "Don't judge a book by its cover " . How i judge a book is to read a few lines from the first chapter of the book, if i have the i-can-read-this-book feeling, then pick it up.
Evening as myself and my friend were sitting in the wooden bench and chatting , saw this small kid talking to a CAT !!!! The cat was busy scratching its body when this small kid who was coming with is mom stopped and sat down to talk to the CAT . So cute ....!!! He kept telling few words in Chinese\Malay but the ungrateful cat was busy scratching and didn't give any attention to the small kid .When the cat turned its head ,the kid got up and sat in front of the cat so that the kid could see cat's face . Finally his mom asked him to come, and just before the kid goes ,he say "Bye Bye" to the cat . So cute na !!!!

This is not the picture of the same cat but the cat is from the same locality though ...

Humpty Dumpty !

2006-03-01T09:38:00.000+05:30

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Humpty Dumpty was not looking at all

Humpty Dumpty was busy calling her friend

Humpty Dumpty fell in the Ditch in front

Humpty Dumpty had a sheepish smile :o) on her face

Nothing happend , except the dirt on the hands and knee

And of course Humpty Dumpty was non other than ME :o) !!!!

Something Sweet :) !

2006-02-24T16:29:00.000+05:30

They 'Three' we 'Two'
Now what to do ?
They were quite attractive in golden and brown
Although they weren't wearing any crown
I decide "Divide and Rule"
Now,Isn't that cool ?
One for me and one for you
Again One for me and
None for You .....
Haaaaa haaaa haaa

Hmmm..They tasted great ...ok ok ..For those of you who are wondering what those three were ..They were chocolates and none other than the famous Ferrero Rocher [*Applause*].
A pack of three chocolates which myself and my friend ate it for evening snack at office and i wrote this not so seemingly funny poem and posted it on my blog expecting people to read it and laugh .....

Photo Courtesy Manju

Something Hot !!!!!!

2006-02-22T14:10:00.000+05:30

On a Bright evening 4 of us decided to go to Sembawang Hot Water Springs.

I obviously take the camera so does another person. Panasonic Vs Nikon Is it ? She takes a Water bottle and is fully excited about the hot water springs ..Expectations were high.. Never before had i seen a hot water spring .. maybe a hot water shower daily ...haaa haaa haa ..so four of us march under the bright sky ..As we walk beside the prohibited and fenced Military Area ...me leading the troop.. suddenly there is hue and cry .."Come here Come here i will show you something" ...It was a Millipede. She was so excited about it . We touched( actually troubled ) the poor Millepede and it cuddled into a 'Chakalli' (A Spiral shaped snack famous in southern India!! ) . I moved it to the side and she asks me "Why ?" so i told her "So that nobody stamps it!" ..and we continue our march. She walks with me holding my hand . Then along the fence of the prohibited area there is a Gate which doesn't mention anything about the Hot water Springs ..but i assume it is THE place and we enter ..then again come a question "Why are we going here ,we are not supposed to go here ?" ..I tell her ..rather try to scare her that "Come we will see the military area and we will see how they shoot " .She gets scared and pulls me back saying "No i don't want to go " .. Then i tell her "No i was just kidding !! " . There was a path with bushes on both the sides ,a family was coming with all umbrellas in their hands .. Then there was a man with a cage which he had covered with a cloth and he was whistling ..i think he was catching birds ..anyways we passed him and proceeded ahead ..What do we see.. A big area ..A big brick building in between ..but where is the so called Hot water Spring ?? No Spring at all...All i can see is a squarish fenced place ..Chairs hanging on the fence ..lot of buckets ..People sitting on the chair and their legs inside the buckets ..and Taps ...Hmmmm... So hot water comes from those taps.. How do we confirm ? Obviously put your hand ...Heeeee heeeee .. Yes indeed it was hot !

So what big deal ..Hot water comes in my house also .Y should i walk all the way to see this.. He says Let's taste it and see.. "Hmmmmm ...Its tastes Sulphur" .. I see him and say "Is it ?" ( I have never tasted Sulphur :) ) ..I don't taste it .. So what next ? Follow the crowd ..Take a bucket ..fill it hot steaming water and dip your legs and sit . They did try it .I was busy capturing the smoke from the tap ..But i was left changing the Shutter speed and Aperture ..Couldn't get the Smoke :) .. Water was too hot ...How to cool it ? Idea ..Remember how they cool the tea in the Chai (Tea in Hindi ) shops in India ..Pour it from a greater height .It will get cold ..the same method .

Time to go ..Empty the buckets. keep them upside down ..and we are going back ..The Bird catcher is still trying to catch the birds ..I wanted to click his photo but he looked a bit scary ..I did see a nice bird sitting in his cage. Tried some macro shots with bougavillas ..but i need to practice more ..I capture few shots of the Sunset as we go ..

As we walked back home both of us were hungry ..Plans were being made to boil the egg and eat . Two eggs and three people ..what an injustice.. So what is to be done ...so there is a suggestion from her .. "I have an idea ..you and appa share one egg and i will eat one egg " ..Aha !! Smart kid ! Rest of us laugh at that as we wait to cross the traffic signal...

Many Smiles :)

2006-02-21T15:09:00.000+05:30

My entry for this weeks BSB-smile on Bangalore Shutter Bugs group on Flickr

Everyone has a different smile ..some show all their teeths ( ..I know i know ..i am a good example of that..all my 32 teeths can be seen) and some just smile without showing their wonderful teeths.Some with a cute dimple like the one in the above picture.
Just a smile on your make can do wonders .. In the earlier place where i used to work as a trainee ,starting with a just a smile daily ,i made a friend with a cook in the office canteen . He was so sweet that he used to keep extra Payasam (Dessert ) for me even if i used to come late for lunch . Even when i visited the old company to inform them that i was going onsite i went to meet him ,that day also he made me sit and eat payasam .He was very happy that i came to meet him . His name was Raju.
I have heard that we Indians don't smile ,its not the same with Non-Indians ,even if they don't know you they don't mind giving you a smile ,thats one thing i like about these people . Its really nice to get a sweet and pleasent smile from somebody ..makes you feel happy ..Isn't it !! At least it makes me smile :) ..Sometimes just a smile on your face makes the other person wonder...

Try this ..look at a person and give a smile ..I am sure he/she will smile back and ask you "Why are you smiling ? ".. .I usally do this with my friend !! I am sure he will smile when he read this !!! Heeeee heeee heee

A smile costs nothing ,but creates much ...so Keep Smiling :o)

A walk thru Arab Street ...continues

2006-02-15T11:32:00.000+05:30

Continued from the previous post ...
During the Martial Arts display ,this particular photographer kept blocking the people and was busy clicking photos untill one of the foreign tourists tapped him on his shoulder ,oh! what a look he gave @$%#!!!!! :) . U can see him in the background . I hope he doesn't come across this blog ;-) !!!

Some of the visitors also tried balancing the sword ... No we didnt try as we were busy clicking the pictures :D . There was one girl who was trying from a long time to balance the sword and after a lot of concentration she finally did manage to blanace the sword. I did get the shot of her achivement.
What an Achivement !!! :) ..

There was this person who seemed to be welcoming all the people who gave us some scented grass and told us "Keep it under your pillow ,Heaven will come to you :) " and after a pause he told "and the second time you will got to Heaven " ..I am not quite sure what he meant ; ) . He kept welcoming the visitors and telling them about the swords and how old the sword were.
We have there till 1 o'clock after which our stomachs started growling and making noises. As we went in search for a place to eat we saw some old buildings ,i must say beautifully carved and colorful windows all along the street. All the houses were in one color and the windows in a different color. Some doors had some simple hand made designs around them ,reminded me of old Indian mud houses which would decorated by ladies of the family.

A colorful window

Decorated Door on the Arab Street

Perpendicular to Arab street is Baghdad Street :D .All the street names are familiar names. I even saw a shop named Alibaba :) and Alladin . Lot of carpet shops were there. The street was full of textile shops.

All in all the day was really colorful :).