Out of action

Due to the injury I had in Nov’05, I’m still unable to go for a normal walk. Doctor has advised me to undergo for some Physiotherapy for some 7 days. I hope this would get me back in action soon. During my recent visit to Chennai just ended up meeting only doctors more than the people, was supposed to go on a bike trip to some place with Kaatss aka TheMottaiBoss but could not make it due to the appointments with the doctor.

Help

What come's to you mind first. If u r a geek, “F1” is the first thing that comes. More things are worse then this. The great google is there to help you on any topic you need assistance. It’s been a long time since I asked someone for help. Just google it and u will find the answer. I wonder if we go at this rate one day people will forget that God is there to help us & say google will take care of the same.

Catching up

For the last one month it was the best part of my life catching on with people I have missed them for long. This includes attending a friend’s wedding from Austria. The whole weekend was eventful. Then entire gang of people who came wanted to shop for buying saree. It was a fun event. After close to 4 yrs I went of for a big shopping. Close to 7 hours was spent on shopping with a girl. I was surprised 2 sarees, 2 salwar and one skirt and a pair of sandals all done in a span of 3 hours.
Ok here is the picture of the Laura, Birgit, KS & Myself. This is the other picture where Laura is wearing anohter saree. I had to explain all the difference between a mysore silk(various patterns as well) & a pure silk saree.The other times was getting to meet some old friends and in the process get new friends as well. One such person I happened to meet last weekend. I have seen friends who carry similar passion or have similar taste. For the first time I save two friends N & S who are just the replica of one another. What a coincidence, My friend N whom I know in grenoble had come down to Chennai for her sister passing out parade in OTA @ Madras. This is one campus where I wanted to enter in Chennai for a long time. Finally it happened. Ok now with the friends part. Both these people have the same “?” look on their faces. They have not seen each other for long but still the kind of bond they share is amazing. The best part of it was S is seeing N after one year and 10 months. I’m seeing N after close to 5 months. N is one person who falls easily for all my pranks. One person on earth who still thinks what I say to her is all true inspite of getting cheated a lot many times.
What S expected was N would come and give a big hug to S, since she was seeing her after a long time, but it was very sad for S as N extended both hands and embraced both of us, all through the day I was pulling S with that. Then after all the events got over at OTA we went to airport to see off N & her family. By the time we returned it was close to 4 so freshened up and then we to Kapalieshwar temple, Santhome Church & then to the famous Marina beach.

Then I went and dropped S in my cousins house and caught up with the never seen gang. This is a gang of 6 friends who hardly meet as a whole group. True to the group name this time also one fella dropped out.

When things go wrong

If it’s destined that “things have to go wrong” come what may u do, its bound to go against. Prayers - that’s all I can do at the moment

the search ends

After a long time made it to this place, was looooonging to have the veg burger and finally discovered that the search ends just very close to my office and that too in a walk able distance. So went there and enjoyed the meal this afternoon. What a search it was, went all over the place to eat this veg burger. Didn’t want to venture into the forum mall just for this for the kind of crowd there.

Weekend trip to a Jungle

What would u call this
# U need to pack all u r food & water
# U will be escorted by a gun men all along the route
# there will be crocodiles in the water so swimming not allowed
# u r not supposed to go alone in the forest


Oh yes this is want an adventurous holiday is all about. Yep last weekend went up to the Kabani Jungle lodges & Resort and had a gr8 time.


Though this was a last minute plan still we managed to have a wonderful time. Thanks to Indu for arranging this. Friday evening we go & buy our groceries and arrange for the transportation etc. So we are all are set to leave at 6am on saturday. Here the van comes late no problem we still manage to reach Nagarahole by the afternoon. We unload the baggage and we are set to hit the Kabini river. There we see the beautiful river and there were waves like beach, so much is the impact of the wind.

Then after a visit to the tree house and other things we head back to the resort for our lunch. Oh want a bliss it is to get such a wonderful food. Then after a little rest we go an boat trip on the Kabini river cruise and watch a lot of wild animals. Then back to the resort with an exciting jeep safari, thinking we could spot some tiger or some wild animal. We were not disappointed we spotted a wild buffalos. The night was really wonderful.
On Sunday at the crack of dawn we went for the safari again hoping to spot some tiger. Then we went deep into the forest and had an elephant safari. First time on an elephant safari…. I really like it a lot. Then again went on an safari and spotted some wild animals. In all the trip was good with the sightings of sambhar, spotted deer, elephant, wild boar, wild buffalo, peacock, peahen & a lot of birds.

When logic speaks for itself

Boulevard of broken dreams

My dream to Ski at Courchevel still remains a dream. This ski resort is located at the heart of the 3 valleys in France, the largest ski area in the world.
This picture was taken as the Moutier train station last year as I landed up there on the last day of the season and also missed the last bus up to the resort. So the best time pass to go around the town and witness the local market during such time I took the this picture there.

Life like this

BAG BAG & BAG

Got this as a forward from one of my friend. Very creative idea - need less to say also environment friendly only unfriendly otherways

9988

What's 9988? It's not my visitor ticker nor the number of posts completed, It’s my new Honda Active vehicle number and now I’m gonna drive lighthearted in B’lore. Beware Bangloreans there is a new driver in town driving on a grey Honda. Feel free to stop me if u see me on the way and ask for drop. No pickup's ;-) It says "designed for your family" - Guess who all will get lift now - only on bike ok

Some office humor

An associate of mine who was working in a distant cubicle got some chocolates by name “KISSES” from someone who has comeback from onsite. So he was happily distributing it to “a few people only” saying kisses from me. It was my turn to get, since I was little far way from his he has to throw it in air. What would you call this when I get it. FLYING KISSES isn’t it?

It's interesting to know how they got thier name as Hershey Kisses chocolates, it's a popular theory that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during the manufacturing process.

Another favourite of mine is Jelly-Belly candies is one which I like the most. I first tasted them in Oana’s birthday party in Grenoble. It was a fun filled night. Jelly Belly's Official has 50 Flavors.

The Journey - There is a story to the birth of this.
Back in 1976, a Los Angeles candy distributor had an idea for a jelly bean made with natural flavorings. So he called up the candymakers at Jelly Belly (formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Co.) who had a reputation for making the very best candies.
Creating "true-to-life" flavors was, well, a natural evolution. The candymakers cooked up a recipe for a new kind of jelly bean -- intensely flavored throughout, with natural ingredients for flavoring whenever possible. In 1976 the first eight Jelly Belly flavors were born: Very Cherry, Lemon, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Root Beer, Grape and Licorice. Funny enough they are still some of the most popular flavors made.

Jelly Belly became the favorite candy of President Ronald Reagan, who made the beans a staple in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. Jelly Belly was also the first jelly bean in outer space it was sent on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983 as a presidential surprise for the astronauts.

Wish some one gifts me the Jelly Belly 50 Flavor Gift Box

Candle light dinner

I know what u r thinking, I’m not here to write about the V-days candle light special dinner. It’s so pathetic to know that on that day the network in the office went in search of her valentine so network was down, there was major traffic jam in Bangalore. So all not so well on that day unlike any ordinary day.
In our house of the following tasks each of us have made it to make the payments for the following:
# The water charges
# Salary for the maid
# House rent
# Cable connection charges
# Telephone bill
# Payment for the news paper

What else is missing, who paid what? Oh the Electricity bill, who paid for it? So as a result today we are enjoying the candle light dinner. When I reach home I discover that there is no power @ home. The bill has not been paid for the last 3 months it seems ;-)

Idea of Digi cam

One special photo which shares a hell lot of things. This was a picture taken when the tram just passed and these 2 guys wanted the photo in such a way the tram is behind them.
So all set and people are ready… suddenly I decided to pounce on them and by luck this picture was caught in a very nice manner. That’s when I realized that having a Digital cam is fun. True to this I shared many lovely times with the digicam I got myself after this. All u need to friends around you and one digicam. U won’t realize what time pass is it … time just flies. Many moments shared. People walk in/out of our life and what we don’t realize is the moments that are shared with those people are the best at those times, later realize how we miss them. How I miss all the fun I had - Thanks to all my friends who have been with me always - nice & understanding.

All in office

One of our lady colleague was scanning through the classified that’s on the intranet. Suddenly she said “Puppies are available for Rs.5000”.
Mr.A, who’s wife has gone onsite, who shares the same cubile with that lady, she says to him since u r wife is not there you can take it.
I happened to pass by that side and listen to this and broke into laughter. Then everything that followed is a history ;-) This picture was taken in Geneva during one of my many visits there.

WHO DOES WHAT

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee." The wife replied, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee." Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me " The wife fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"

Here are some of the coolest HE-SHE blog incidents. I have really liked them and thought of sharing the same with u all.
Vee-Jays Sunday Samaiyal , Who Cooks, Party time , hello-miss hello-miss & he-she on the drive and on a serious note here is a blog site on hesays-shesays. Enjoy

Ratha Sapthami

Ratha Sapthami is the day when the sun switches over from the zodiac sign Simha Rasi to Makara Rasi on this `Magha Suddha Sapthami' day. Astronomically, the event marks a change in the trajectory of the sun's path, which affects the planetary movements. Mythologically, the sun is expected to pay obeisance to the Lord before setting out on his new path, for the facilitation of which the Lord's idol is taken out in a procession from sunrise to dusk on this day, Starting with Surya prabha to Chandra prabha Vahanams.

The annual event is observed in all the Tirumala in a grand manner. The processional idol of the respective presiding deities is taken out on the celestial carriers (Vahanams) around the temple on this day. It’s a day filled with remaking various "vahanams" used for the procession of the Lord and close to 7 different Vahanams decorated in glittering ornaments.

Staring with Surya prabha, Chinna sesha, Garuda, Hanumantha, Kalpa Vriksha, Sarva Bhupala & Chandra prabha are the Vahanams used this time. Close to all the vahanams that are used in the Brahmotsavam(10 days) are brought out on this single day - except the golden chariot. That’s the specialty of this day. Thanks to my cousin for planning this trip otherwise I would have had the opportunity to witness this gr8 event.

Ratha Sapthami - Chinna sesha Vahanam

Ratha Sapthami - Garuda Vahanam

Ratha Sapthami - Hanumantha Vahanam

Ratha Sapthami - Kalpa Vriksha Vahanam

Ratha Sapthami - Sarva Bhupala vahanam

Ratha Sapthami - Chandra prabha vahanam

Copenhagen

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it – Yes this is what I feel after a long time. Not in the literal sense, after close to 2&half months I put on my shoes and started walking. What a great relief. I’m still recovering from the injury, even now with great pain I’m walking around with the injured leg. A couple of travels in the coming days hope I would have all energy to do this cover this distance . Ok as mentioned earlier let me start with Copenhagen.


The picture here is taken in Copenhagen, one of the wonderful capitals of the world with a royal touch. Copenhagen means Merchants' Harbour(havn) in Danish, the history behind Copenhagen, capital of Denmark is located in an island called Zealand, & goes like this.
It seems there was lady who had four sons (they are represented as bulls in the picture) and she was given only one day time to make her living from sunrise to sunset. So all she did was she ploughed the land in the form a Z(zealand) and thus at the end of the day she asked god/king to give this to her for her living. Some thing like this the story goes. If anyone can give me the more detailed version of this I would be able to update here.


Copenhagen is famous for the little mermaid and for a lot of other things. I shall come to those later. This picture is taken in the city centre. This is a building which has the temperature indicator. It ranges from +25 to -20. There exist two climatic conditions, its green winter and white winter, needless to explain here why it so. It seems if the weather is bright and sunny then the lady with the cycle comes out on top and on a cold gloomy day she comes out with an umbrella. The day I went u can see her coming out on a bike there.

Oresund Bridge - Connecting Sweden & Denmark

This article from Uma reminded me that I haven’t still posted about my trip details to Copenhagen and Norway. How can I miss Norway #@#, I’m gonna spend more time towards the weekend and finish the same. In the mean time here is some amazing fact about how Sweden and Denmark are connected. Its called the Oresund bridge and this
links Copenhagen(Denmark) & Malmö(Sweden). The Oresund Bridge consists of a tunnel, a bridge and an artificial island. It’s a magnificent drive that I undertook from Malmo to Copenhagen. It was in the morning hours and I was traveling from Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden, to Copenhagen. Its an amazing site to see how the bridge enters the tunnel which is constructed in an artificial island. This was done so that the shipping is not affected due to the construction of the bridge. Here is more info on that Read on
The picture on the left gives u the ariel view and the one on right gives a side view how the bridge submerges.

Catching up

When was the last time who had a cuppa like this? I was yearning to have T like this for long, here my dream comes true in Bangalore on a Saturday evening after a playing a nice prank on one more my friend, details to follow soon.

Well dreamt

I wanted to share with you all this, A very sensitive issue beautifully dreamt . Read the dream here

This flower is a gift is for the Dream Vendor for the nice write-up.

Some thing to learn always

Every time I visited a country there was always something new to learn.

Here are some facts that I learnt during my trips as time comes I shall share others later.

"Galette des rois" - The story goes like this , this is a celebration of Christ being visited by the Magi, the epiphany was set to January the 6th, Also known as le jour des Rois, this is the day when the three kings are traditionally added next to the crib. Over the years, this religious festival got converted into a fun filled activity. There is a dry cake is prepared for this purpose,
The cake contains a lucky charm (une fève) which originally was a bean, a symbol of fertility. Whoever found the charm in their slice of cake, becomes King or Queen and had to buy a round of drinks for all their companions. It's a puff pastry rather flat cake or thin pie filled with almond paste or some other paste. One can eat it for breakfast or as a snack or as a dessert - is there's a reason for this tasty gateau. Now It's sold in all French bakeries and eating the galette at the beginning of January is a very popular tradition and an opportunity for families and friends to gather around the table. The person who finds the fève in their slice of galette becomes the King or Queen and is given a golden paper crown. The King or Queen then has to choose his Queen or her King, by dropping the lucky charm in their glass, that’s what they say.

The above picture is taken when my house owner gifted me a dessert before I left from Grenoble. Taking about choosing their partner here are some here are some stories in those lines.

# In Italy, the groom's tie was cut into pieces and sold to the guests at the reception. The money earned is used for the honeymoon.

# In Poland, guests pay to dance with the bride and this money is used for the honeymoon

# In old England it was traditional to bake a ring into the wedding cake as a symbol of bliss and happiness. The guest whose piece of cake contained the ring, it was said, could look forward to a full year of uninterrupted happiness.

Bonjour

Of late I have been getting a lot of forwards about France: In particular why we should learn French. One of the most interesting video I watched goes like this

In Japan, very little fat is eaten and the heart attack rate is lower then in the USA.
In France a lot of fat is eaten and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In India very little red wine is drunk and the heart attack rate is lower then in the USA.
In Spain a lot of red wine is drunk and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In Brazil people have much more sex than in Algeria , the heart attack rate is both the countries is lower then USA.
In other words : Eat, Drink , Have as much sex as u like,
What kills you is speaking English.

The below board is an hilarious one

Turning point

Here is a beautiful turning point from Jag. He says there is a lot more you get to know & understand during u r travel, this is a great analysis.
Yesterday I was thinking how I miss the public transport system. This is a very easy, economical & a convenient mode of transport, but not like how is it in India. I used to get to spend a lot of time for just myself. This is the time I used for very many things like
@ Listen to u r favorite music
@ Read the book you always wanted to
@ Make friends, I got some good few friends while traveling in tram & bus
@ A time to do some creative thinking (some of my ideas I got them are during my travel only like the wine&coffee, project dirty dozen).

World tallest building

The other day I was talking to R and was fighting, She told me that she is staying in the world tallest building in Taipei. I got into an argument saying that only Petronas Towers (452meters, 88 stories) in Kuala Lumpur are the world tallest, little did I know in the year 2004 this Taipei 101 (509 meters, 101 stories) built in Taiwan is the world tallest. So this is an update for u people - just in case u don't know.

Latte art lovers

When was the last time u have been to a coffee shop... The last time I went to Barista it was on a very chill-windy day so could not enjoy much. Waiting for next time to go there

Those who love latte art check this site LatteArt

Blue hour

What else u can ask for more for a holiday weekend:
Staying in the country side with loads of people around you,
Someone to talk to you always,
Watch girls in pattu paavadais and later they change to jean's & tops reminding u of changing times
The house u stay is surrounded by garden on all sides,
Get some food which u haven’t tasted for long
Watching the blue hour as u travel on the roads with the coconut & palm tress set as a fore-ground and later watch the full moon accompanying you all through u r journey.
This reminded me of the line which I wrote earlier
Later in the night as u r lazy to eat, get an nila sorru kind of food served to u, just take the mixed rice in hand and eat … what else u can expect from life for a holiday

HAPPY PONGAL

Got this nice wishes from R. After a long time this time I'm gonna spend some time with family on this occation.

Klueless

Many of you would have heard about KlueLESS from IIM – I got this link from a friend of mine recently. WOW gr8 fun.
Struck at 13 level – pretty bad number eeeh ...got the logic but still fighting to decode

http://www.iimi-iris.com/iris/irising/klueLESS/

Update: Spent a whole night to solve this. Phew Fantastic it is. Worth a night sleep. It’s fun to solve it with a friend. There is something more to this, I'm done with this anyway.

Where to go

This is some thing which I encounter often only in Bangalore. In the recent 2 months of my stay here when ever I go to people asking for direction this is how the conversation turns out as

After u reach Mekari circle there is a right which leads to xxx.
Yes I know
Don’t take that road.
Do u know the road that takes u to Yeshwanthpur?
Yes I know the straight one
Don’t take that road.
Then I should take right one?
Yes but u should go to the extreme end of the road so that u can avoid subway.

Thanks angel

Many things untold leave an inerasable mark in heart. Bad for few, good for many. Thanks for R being there to help me on. God sent angel to me.

Bon appétit

Lets analyse what are the similarities between wine tasting in France and coffee tasting in India especially, if you are traveling by the great Indian railways. This source of inspiration for writing this article was due to my numerous travels made during the holidays by Indian Railways.

Many hands make good coffee or a wine, I hope everyone will agree with me. In spite of being a teetotaler I have learnt a lot about wine. People don’t accept that fact that I don’t drink wine when we get-together for some drinks, I talk so much about them. Wine tasting & coffee tasting by itself has a lot to learn.

Learn more these topics on Coffee & Wine can be learnt.


Red, Rose & White wine are there. For the coffee we have light, medium & strong, I mean the quantity of water not the milk thickness in India. A good cup of coffee is the legacy of the people who grow, pick, process, roast, and serve it.
But if u go for a coffee shop in India u get these option (Reminds me of the Kotak securities advertisement)
Cappuccino or Espresso
Coffee – Black or white
Sugar – with or without
With Sugar – White or brown
Beans – various varieties to chose from
Roasted – Mild, medium or strong (Just the beans, not the coffee on the stove)
All this for just a cup of coffee ….
Ok now let’s go back to the similarities between wine & coffee. The observation process that requires your eyes, nose and palate, for the coffee with milk and sugar.

Using your eyes:
Wine: Check the reflection of light on the wine n shining of the liquid. More it shines, younger it is.
Coffee: Check the reflection of light on the coffee, the more it’s transparent the lighter the coffee is or in other words the less the milk is there.
Some diamonds sparkle more than others, some wines shine more than others. If u observe the same phenomenon in the coffee straight go ahead and throw that in the bin.

Viscosity can be a geographical indicator or a measure of residual sugar. Watch the streams of wine that run down the sides of the glass after you swirl it.
Wine: An oily look indicates a high level of alcohol.
Coffee: The non-sticky look indicates a high level of water some time if the sugar content is also high u will get the sticky look.

On to clarity: Looking through the side of the glass, preferably against a dark background, try to see if any particles are suspended in it.
Wine: The better-the wine is very clear. A cloudy wine will lack finesse.
Coffee: The better-the coffee is opaque. Any sign of translucent indicates the lack of quality.

I’m not discussing about the color of the wine or coffee here. That will be an article by itself.

Smell: Now you have to smell it, first just smell it simply as it is. Then stir it little bit and smell it. Try this 3 - 4 times.
Wine: The smell is a strong indicator it tells us where the wine was stored, the kind of soil it was grown all these can be found with this property.
Coffee: The same can be applied. Be careful not to stir for long as it will get cold and go taste less. The smell is a very strong indicator for the coffee. Some people add brick powder so that u can get a color but the smell can come in hand to help you in this regard.

Taste: Now finally take it in mouth. But wait, wait, wait...just take it in mouth, don't swallow it.
Wine: Keep it there for a while, that will increase the temperature of wine upto the body temperature and also let a little amount of air go in the mouth and mix with the wine
Coffee: Keep it there for a while, a word of caution. Don’t blame me if it’s piping hot as you get in some parts of south India. But the initial taste itself will tell you if you consume the whole glass or just throw it down.

Gift from my friend

Bon Vacances

Happy new year to all.

Had a fantastic holidays. Went and stayed in my brothers house and visited lots of places. Invariably had been spending the nights only on traveling by which I ensure I get to spend the day time with family & friends. Went to Nellore from there to Vizag over to Chennai and then to Kumbakonam and then back to Bangalore finally. Thought it was a very tiring trip still managed to complete 90% of the plan I made for these trips.

The biggest event is meeting the guy who has given up his single and available status, since I was injured and was grounded he came and visited me. He even offered to buy a coffee for me. Thank dude for the same. Next time we meet kindly make sure u invite me for lunch or dinner ;-)