this is pretty much my last post of the year... pretty much the last moor... the last sigh....
-----------------------------
We did have an awesome trek. 5000 ft of wild(ly) imposing raw terrain. (Wow!! That is just the phrase!) For the whole of the 10km trek (one way), there would been hardly a flat stretch of 300m-400m. And much of it was an inclination of 45 degrees or more which ensured that climbing down was as tough as the onward journey.
After a full 32 hours, my thighs and calf muscles are still aching for the grind! ;)
There were quite a few technicalities/fundaas involved. For example, people sometimes mistake the Kshesh Giri as the final accessible point and return. But there is a way through the forest and a dry waterfall (if it is not dry, you gotta take another circuitous route round the rocks) to take you to Pushpa Giri, the highest point of Kumara Parvatha, the second highest peak in Karnataka ?)
And another, the forest officials had banned trekking beyond the checkpost due to one researcher/scientist getting lost (and found after a week or so) during the August rains and the subsequent negative publicity. We were the first guys to get the permission after the ban, thanks to our efforts and my cousin's friend whose mother is with the Wildlife Dept, Aranya Bhavan. (After us, some 4 groups sneaked on to the top!)
If not for Mr. Bhattre at Giri Gadde, providing food and shelter midway, I think it would been impossible a trek to the top.
BTW, that dry waterfall wall fulfilled my dreams of rock climbing! :)
I would post the pics, Bhattre's phone number and some more sometime next year. For now, I gotta get ready for my HYD-CNAI flight..
-----------------------------
I saw her.. in the (very same exact) white embroidered baba (or bebe or babe or beba brand) salwar. And my mind skipped a beat.. heart beat a retreat..
-----------------------------
as another year draws to a close..
my dreams are yet unfulfilled..
are they turning sour?
or is it just my wants.. ?
Bhaskar
(May the Force and the Peace be with you in the New Year!)
Monday, December 26, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Surreal World
Received by email from my cousin here.. Kalps, (Honeywell) Bangalore
--------------------------
Toys, in their different forms of engineering, colors and designs are the source of my interest of late!
From hot wheels to squeaky dolls, from game boys to Barbie girls, from flying UFOs to the down-to-earth spinning tops, the mechanisms and their creativity do not cease to amaze me.
So, this time when I had been to visit my cousin who had come from Australia, I was all geared up to relate to her little girl. A cute little one, who talks only in English, yet can understand every word of my Tamil.
She was not that interested in talking to me this time as she had another little girl for company. And there was something else too, with which she was very busy with. From time to time, she checked on a little dial that was tied along a colorful wire. I was getting curious as to what it could be and mentally guessed that it could be a small video game.
But when the other girl was checking on it too, my curiosity started eating me up. What could be on the dial that the girls checked often, without spending more than a minute every time they visited that contraption that lay placidly on the hall sofa? Logic started reasoning with my guess, that if it were a video game, then the kids would be holding it in their palms and not part away from it, till the time they win or lose the game. So what could it be?!
"What is that?” popped out my question to the little girls. “TamaGotchi" was something they seem to convey to me. It sounded Greek and Latin to me and I started wondering if Australia was moving towards their native language just like the numerous Indian city names are being renamed in their native tongues.
"It’s a virtual pet" answered my cousin's husband to my confused and querying brows.
"What’s that!!!" repeated a shocked me. "A virutal pet? How could it be?”
The kid answered to that now, "She is sleeping" and showed me the "she", who was a little "zzz" in the middle of oval shaped dial.
What is sleeping and where? asked me, who could not fathom where the kid is pointing to. Mustn’t the pet have a body? eyes? ears? a tongue to wag? or a pretty whisker that can tickle? or a fin to shake? or a pretty beak that can poke and nibble?
No! It needn’t! was what I understood from my cousin. This is a virtual pet that is being programmed along with the oval contraption. It would be born, it would cry for milk, (you should press a button to feed it milk), it would want to pee (another button to change the nappy), it would sleep (make it cozy - a button again, but I could see only a max of 3 buttons on the dial!). So all you need is to name the pet, feed it, change its dirty underwear and rock it to sleep. If you dare to ignore its hunger pangs, your pet would shrivel and die. And beware of the pet's early demise, as your kid might go into a depression as what is happening with the kids in many of the developed countries who are addicted to this toy. The last feature was a punch on my senses! If you are sure of your pet's sex, you can connect across a network and satisfy the sexual urges of your pet by finding it a suitable groom or a bride!
Gosh! It was becoming too virtual (weird?) to the human in me!
How could you have a pet only on a dial? How could you feed with the press of the buttons? How can you change nappies without the traditional wipes and Johnson’s powder? How can you mate without the traditional touch? How can you cry without a running nose?
Maybe I am getting old? Maybe I am not able to replace the old with the new? Maybe I am unable to free myself from the known?
But I know that no virtual touch can replace the traditional cozy cuddles and hugs to your cute poodle, no simulated feeling can replace the love that you feel towards a wiggling fish in your pond, no programmed behavior can replace the unpredictability of your cute little cat!
Mess is what makes life a wonderful art... to live, cuddle, love, play and cry. Real tears, real teeth, real touch, real growls and real hungry howls... reality bites but I do have a problem with the virtual highs!…
A virtually true!,
Kalps
--------------------------
Toys, in their different forms of engineering, colors and designs are the source of my interest of late!
From hot wheels to squeaky dolls, from game boys to Barbie girls, from flying UFOs to the down-to-earth spinning tops, the mechanisms and their creativity do not cease to amaze me.
So, this time when I had been to visit my cousin who had come from Australia, I was all geared up to relate to her little girl. A cute little one, who talks only in English, yet can understand every word of my Tamil.
She was not that interested in talking to me this time as she had another little girl for company. And there was something else too, with which she was very busy with. From time to time, she checked on a little dial that was tied along a colorful wire. I was getting curious as to what it could be and mentally guessed that it could be a small video game.
But when the other girl was checking on it too, my curiosity started eating me up. What could be on the dial that the girls checked often, without spending more than a minute every time they visited that contraption that lay placidly on the hall sofa? Logic started reasoning with my guess, that if it were a video game, then the kids would be holding it in their palms and not part away from it, till the time they win or lose the game. So what could it be?!
"What is that?” popped out my question to the little girls. “TamaGotchi" was something they seem to convey to me. It sounded Greek and Latin to me and I started wondering if Australia was moving towards their native language just like the numerous Indian city names are being renamed in their native tongues.
"It’s a virtual pet" answered my cousin's husband to my confused and querying brows.
"What’s that!!!" repeated a shocked me. "A virutal pet? How could it be?”
The kid answered to that now, "She is sleeping" and showed me the "she", who was a little "zzz" in the middle of oval shaped dial.
What is sleeping and where? asked me, who could not fathom where the kid is pointing to. Mustn’t the pet have a body? eyes? ears? a tongue to wag? or a pretty whisker that can tickle? or a fin to shake? or a pretty beak that can poke and nibble?
No! It needn’t! was what I understood from my cousin. This is a virtual pet that is being programmed along with the oval contraption. It would be born, it would cry for milk, (you should press a button to feed it milk), it would want to pee (another button to change the nappy), it would sleep (make it cozy - a button again, but I could see only a max of 3 buttons on the dial!). So all you need is to name the pet, feed it, change its dirty underwear and rock it to sleep. If you dare to ignore its hunger pangs, your pet would shrivel and die. And beware of the pet's early demise, as your kid might go into a depression as what is happening with the kids in many of the developed countries who are addicted to this toy. The last feature was a punch on my senses! If you are sure of your pet's sex, you can connect across a network and satisfy the sexual urges of your pet by finding it a suitable groom or a bride!
Gosh! It was becoming too virtual (weird?) to the human in me!
How could you have a pet only on a dial? How could you feed with the press of the buttons? How can you change nappies without the traditional wipes and Johnson’s powder? How can you mate without the traditional touch? How can you cry without a running nose?
Maybe I am getting old? Maybe I am not able to replace the old with the new? Maybe I am unable to free myself from the known?
But I know that no virtual touch can replace the traditional cozy cuddles and hugs to your cute poodle, no simulated feeling can replace the love that you feel towards a wiggling fish in your pond, no programmed behavior can replace the unpredictability of your cute little cat!
Mess is what makes life a wonderful art... to live, cuddle, love, play and cry. Real tears, real teeth, real touch, real growls and real hungry howls... reality bites but I do have a problem with the virtual highs!…
A virtually true!,
Kalps
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Tirupati et al
It was a good trip.. quite different from my usual experience. The last couple of times I had been there with my cousins and relatives.. This time it was just the three of us, me and my parents. The last few times we had climbed up the hill/stairs.. This time we went on a package tour (AP Tourism). The last...we could see the sun. This time.. it was cold, drizzling and foggy (hardly any visibility.. 20m or so.. and the driver still managed to drive decently fast and safe downhill)
-----------------------------------
Disclaimer: A collage of my imagination/observation....
I didnt notice her when she boarded the coach. I had drowned myself in AR Rahman on my iPod. It was only after a couple of minutes of her staring at me did i notice.. quite a pleasant face, sharp eyes, neck-length hair. And there was nothing awkward about her stare... or her mother's. yes, they were 5 of them.. in fact, 6... she, her parents, her sister, bro-in-law and their small cute a-few-months-old baby.
I gave them a faint smile.. and got back to my music. It was only when the bus stopped for our dinner that I got to see them more. They seemed a loving family.. warm and friendly. Everyone was showering their attention on the newly born. And the baby was enjoying it all through! Once in a while, she would turn my side and give me a known-you-long kinda look.
I found out her name.. And then I noticed that her sister walked with a slight limp. Even she did. (I was wondering.. whats that? some kinda hereditary disorder or what.. but their parents seemed fine..) In a way, my respect for the guy (bro-in-law) increased. He has married someone with a walking disability (though quite slight a limp). It is quite rare to find somebody like that.. someone who values the person rather than their physical structure.. someone who didnt let the others' feelings of 'looking good or bad' cloud his own judgement..
And thus, we continued the journey up the hill and into the night.
Early morning, we reached our destination and were allotted our cottages at the resort on top. We met again at breakfast at the restaurant and thats when I noticed the thick, long, curved scar on the bro-in-law's face.
And I saw her crying.. rather sobbing.. Her family was trying to console her. Thats when I noticed her legs' finger rings..'metti'.. the like Hindus wear after marriage.
It seems.. she lost her husband a few months back in an accident at the same place.. when they and her sister's family were traveling downhill in their car.. and it took a tumble....
-----------------------------------
Disclaimer: A collage of my imagination/observation....
I didnt notice her when she boarded the coach. I had drowned myself in AR Rahman on my iPod. It was only after a couple of minutes of her staring at me did i notice.. quite a pleasant face, sharp eyes, neck-length hair. And there was nothing awkward about her stare... or her mother's. yes, they were 5 of them.. in fact, 6... she, her parents, her sister, bro-in-law and their small cute a-few-months-old baby.
I gave them a faint smile.. and got back to my music. It was only when the bus stopped for our dinner that I got to see them more. They seemed a loving family.. warm and friendly. Everyone was showering their attention on the newly born. And the baby was enjoying it all through! Once in a while, she would turn my side and give me a known-you-long kinda look.
I found out her name.. And then I noticed that her sister walked with a slight limp. Even she did. (I was wondering.. whats that? some kinda hereditary disorder or what.. but their parents seemed fine..) In a way, my respect for the guy (bro-in-law) increased. He has married someone with a walking disability (though quite slight a limp). It is quite rare to find somebody like that.. someone who values the person rather than their physical structure.. someone who didnt let the others' feelings of 'looking good or bad' cloud his own judgement..
And thus, we continued the journey up the hill and into the night.
Early morning, we reached our destination and were allotted our cottages at the resort on top. We met again at breakfast at the restaurant and thats when I noticed the thick, long, curved scar on the bro-in-law's face.
And I saw her crying.. rather sobbing.. Her family was trying to console her. Thats when I noticed her legs' finger rings..'metti'.. the like Hindus wear after marriage.
It seems.. she lost her husband a few months back in an accident at the same place.. when they and her sister's family were traveling downhill in their car.. and it took a tumble....
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Travel Bug..
no updates for sometime... a bit busy at work and otherwise.. its time to chill..
The travel bug has bit me again... soon (over the weekend), I will be going to Tirupati with my parents. And then, the weekend next, me cousins & friends are trekking at Kumara Parvatha (near Kukke Subramanya)...it is an 18km trekk up to the mountain peak. read this!
Followed by travel to Hyderabad and Chennai. You asking why? just that my onsite customers would be off during christmas eve and then, Go Air gave me free tickets... so here I go!!
(try and catch me enroute :)
Bhaskar
The travel bug has bit me again... soon (over the weekend), I will be going to Tirupati with my parents. And then, the weekend next, me cousins & friends are trekking at Kumara Parvatha (near Kukke Subramanya)...it is an 18km trekk up to the mountain peak. read this!
Followed by travel to Hyderabad and Chennai. You asking why? just that my onsite customers would be off during christmas eve and then, Go Air gave me free tickets... so here I go!!
(try and catch me enroute :)
Bhaskar
Sunday, December 11, 2005
in US? you can help this kid
My college friend Seena's 2.5 year old son, Viraj is suffering from Leukemia. And Viraj needs a bone marrow transplant. They live in Phoenix, Arizona. There are a number of bone marrow match drives arranged in Phoenix, Tempe and other cities in Arizona to help Viraj find a bone marrow match.
Details of the drives can be found in the following link. http://virajpillai.org/
Kindly forward this message to your friends, relatives etc. Your help is really appreciated.
Thanks.
AK.
( Ananthakrishnan Ananthanarayanan
hydroqual.com )
Details of the drives can be found in the following link. http://virajpillai.org/
Kindly forward this message to your friends, relatives etc. Your help is really appreciated.
Thanks.
AK.
( Ananthakrishnan Ananthanarayanan
hydroqual.com )
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sweet Revenge!
The best revenge on the person who wronged you is to forgive and forget that person...
Thats just what I am trying to do... it is pretty exciting and i might even succeed at it!!
Bhaskar
Thats just what I am trying to do... it is pretty exciting and i might even succeed at it!!
Bhaskar
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Eternal Life!
Javeda Zindagi I love this song from the movie, Anwar... just melts my heart every time I hear it. (Courtesy: musicmania from ...
