My grantfather had an Elephant

Don't be fooled by the title...this is a statement generally made by people in Kerala to show off. The actual story is different.

It was to days before  Christmas... I was on leave..I got up late as usual...After brushing my teeth I was having a tea at the kitchen veranda... An elephant showed up in the empty plot next to my house.

This elephant works in the sawmill near by and takes bath in a stream near by my house. So he is not a stranger to me...but today he was doing something strange. He got in to the empty plot next to my house and started plucking coconut tree leaves.... it was interesting to watch.

Lot of natives gathered to see the elephant..most of them are villagers who are free most of the week days...they are directing the whole show..showing the elephant and the mahout which leaf can be plucked next.

It was more interesting to me because the elephant came very close to my house. Me, wife and mother all were watching his actions. He is very obedient...does exactly what the mahout says.

We took a lot of photographs and videos...watched till he left the scene with all the coconut tree leaves collected.

Bangalore to Ernakulam by car on a Hartal day

Friday evening...I was dreaming about going home next day morning by car....I planned everything...serviced the car..Filled full tank petrol..packed all my baggage.

Suddenly a call came...It was one of my friends in Cochin.He told me that the Left party called for a Hartal tomorrow in Kerala protesting against the fuel price hike by central govt.

A Hartal in Kerala means..Holiday..except that some crazy jobless people will block traffic and throw stones at vehicles..Even though its illegal to call for a Bandh day...when ruling party itself does the same, who to blame for...

Initially I thought all my plans went in vein..but later I decided to go ahead and face the Hartal..
My journey is around 550km...out of this 400km is through Tamil Nadu and remaining 150km through Kerala.

I was pretty sure that Kerala people have become so lazy even to do proper Hartal....So its highly unlikely that somebody will wait for me on the road and stop me...instead they may sit at home or waste time..

I started my journey at 5 AM early morning..with my friend as per the plan..

Bangalore to Salem...through NH-7..we passed 200km in 2.5 hours..That could be a record..as per my friend who used to travel... Driving was thrilling...the road is so smooth and straight that you can press down the gas pedal fully down...80..100..120...130..my car started vibrating like anyting...the steering wheel is floating.. yeah...I guess that's the max. I can speed in my cute little car..

We Had breakfast at Salem...Next is Salem-Coimbatore..road is pretty good..but when I reached near to the Coimbatore-Palakkad by-pass..the NH is blocked..due to some international function going on in there...We had to travel through some small interior roads to finally enter the bypass.. But once I reached the bypass...things were totally different..60km straight stretch..no vehicles on the road. I can see atleast 5km road ahead. Except for toll booths, I didnt have to stop anywhere else.

Very soon we reached  Palakkad..anybody with reasonable eye sight can easily feel the difference once we cross the Kerala border..yeah!..its green ..green everywhere.

We were actually looking for Hartal crew..unfortunately we found none..all shops are closed..nobody on the road. We could find some police men at the junctions...they are totally bored...

Palakkad-Thrissur is the next stretch...road is too bad..more pot holes and less road..that's the situation.
Since there were no much traffic..I could somehow manage the pot holes and reach Trissur. So far I couldn't find a single Hartal crew...they must be really sleeping...as the climate is too good to leave your bed room.

Next is Trissur - Ernakumlam.. the NH is partly under construction..its a mix of good and bad roads..it started drizzling a bit..And again no Hartal crew..they must be sleeping.. But when I reached Angamaly...one monkey suddenly jumped in front of my car..he is wearing a dhoti and shirt..I can see that he has a stone in this right hand..I am actually at 100km per hour..he is waving his hands to stop. He must be a Hartal crew.

I thought for a moment that this is his last day on earth..as I can certainly not stop before I hit him...
and I don't have the intention to stop either.. I didn't stop..he might have seen heaven for a second...

And I guess he might have gone back home and hugged his family..I wish if he could take an oat
not to step on National Highways on Hartal days at least..as people like me never use break pedals on Hartal days..

I reached home well before schedule....So guys... if you are planning for a long car drive in Kerala wait for a Hartal day..and don't care about the monkeys on National Highways...

A note to the leader who called for this Hartal:

My dear old man..you are too old..go to hell..you don't have vision..you are not a leader..but a
lazy idiot. Please, never ever do this to the younger generation. No country can grow by a Hartal.
You need to work day and night to develop a nation...I doubt you have ever done that in your life..

SCRABBLE is Addictive

SCRABBLE... we have this game board in our office. Fun club bought this game for employees. It all started with the Scrabble competition... I am hearing for the first time about this game when I received the fun club mail...I normally don't pay much attention to these mails.

But the tallest guy is my team laughed at me for not knowing about this game. I argued...with him. Its not required to know!!

I see people sitting around a chess like board arranging letters in some weird manner...who cares.
Crazy people!!! Daily after I take my evening tea..I will take a look at this madness for a moment and leave...

Days passed...one day..when I was doing my daily look.. I started suggesting words to a friend...some of them worked...I did this often there after....I realized the pleasure you get when you form words that connects... Heeeahhh.. Its interesting.....

Then another day... I sat down to play a game... I learned the rules....I made words that connects...some of my words are strange..I myself don't know the meaning....But if you can convince..you can make new words :)

Nowadays I find myself playing this game quite often...its addictive...

So my dear friends never start playing this game... Its like like any other addiction....stay away!!

He is cooking

Yes.. He is cooking...."He" is none other than "Me..Myself and Irene.." Sorry... Irene is not there....That's actually the name of a Jim Carrey movie... Its just me..and myself. :)

So what is he cooking.....I am a lazy cook.. lazy people prefer more with less effort... So my recipes are simple and scientific....all the items that I cook will have almost similar ingredients. The most common ones I use are green chillies, onions,  mustard seeds, and sun flower oil. Thats it...

So recently I tried a breakfast item... Its called "Uppu mavu" in Malayalam..If you ask me the English word...Its  "Salt mango tree" I don't know if there is any other name  for this in English... I realized that I can prepare this delicious item from my regular ingredients. So I bought some Suji ( Rava ).

First attempt....heated pan, oil, mustard seeds....water, salt.... And then Rava.... I stated stirring..thinking that I will get solid SMT( Salt Mango Tree)... but even after 10 minutes of stirring.. its still liquid....and more than half of Rava is sticking to the pan...Failure.... I tasted a bit ...That's all I got from the pan.

I generally don't give up so easily....

Next  attempt also failed due to excess water...
Third attempt... Last time I had used more water...so this time I should not add more water...heated pan, oil, mustard seeds....water, salt.... And then Rava....  I started stirring....Good..it looks good..then I felt..hey...its called SMT so I should add some more salt isnt it. I added one full spoon salt. Its ready within 5minutes..

I have washed a plate and taken the SMT on it..My mouth is watering...I am really hungry.... I took a spoon full and tasted....Shhhhhhit.... its full of salt... I tried to complete the first spoon..But I had to abort the mission..soon..I threw it in to the waste basket..

I could get it working only after next two trials..Now I can prepare eatable SMT.

So that's how he is cooking.. if you know any recipes..with my ingredients....let me know I will try it.

Infection de la gorge

I am suffering from "Infection de la gorge".... Nothing to be worried....Its common throat infection....

Symptoms are throat irritation, feverishness, sometimes stomach pain.... I was suffering from these symptoms from the last 1 week.

Like any modern Indian guy..I searched Google with my symptoms... I got two suggestion.

1. Increase height of pillow while sleeping..
2. Eat 2 hours before going to sleep. ( Its really hard for me...)

I decided to try some home remedies initially...started sleeping in double pillows, started drinking plenty of water....stopped my regular morning Tea. Cut down the number of teas that I take in office. Its hard.. but I drank hot water instead...Nothing helped.. still same symptoms...

So last Saturday I went to a small clinic nearby.. took medicine for 2 days....

But later I realised that the doctor was fake... he was an Ayurvedic doctor and he prescribed me Antibiotic medicines for two days....It didnt help.... most probably the he don't know the correct dose required.

Waited another two days..and today is a holiday..I decided to go to a proper hospital...But I am new in this place..I don't where  the hospital is.. Again opened Google...searched list of nearby hospitals... Found one very nearby....Met a doctor...told her the complete story....

She told me that there is some kind of infection. It could be either started from throat to stomach or vice versa.

She prescribed the following.

1. Salt water gargling 4 times a day ( this is a MUST )
2. Antibiotics for 5 days.
3. Some pills for stomach ache.

Plus,
Stop eating non-veg, have lot of curd, butter milk..

While coming back from hospital I did some shopping in Reliance fresh mall. Took some bananas and fruits..and then I noticed the ice cream box. Did she tell me to skip ice creams??? No she didn't...I picked up one.

Lets see what happens !!!

How a God takes birth ?

Da Vinci Code....I watched this movie 2 or 3 years after its released.... I never got a chance before...

Interesting .... finally i got to know that Jesus Christ was married had kids... Anyway how does it matter to christanity.... if he is the son of God...he can do anything.... why would man think or decide what God should do...  The Gods, religions..and everything that follows are man made...   man decides and Gods obey...

I was just wondering..how a God of the size Jesus is formed.... God man's are are always there...For instance if we take  India.. there are many living God's...but they never gained the popularity or credibility similar to Jesus....

The reason may be that world is more connected... TV, satellites, telephone and internet. So very less chance for false information like... Blind man was cured by a God.. Yes...If any such incident is reported... you will find videos in youtube... debates in BBC... So spreading a false information is very difficult...or impossible.

People have freedom.... there's no need for a Saviour.... Even if somebody claims to be a saviour there is no resistance...no suffering.. So to prospective Gods... "No pain no gain".

Powerful and popular heroes are born only when there is a  powerful villain.

I am back

Yes. I am back after away for almost a month and a half. And the good news is that I got  a new house....exactly the one I was looking for. I moved in to the new house 1 month ago. It took me a month to actually settle down here....The main difficulty was to get an Internet connection.

The major internet service providers like Airtel or Hathway don't have network in this area. Most of my neighbours uses Tata Indicom WiMax.. Its expensive and useless..

Then there was one more provider I have never heard before. RailWire, provided by the great Indian Railways. I heard about it on the same day I landed here..but I was doubtful about their connectivity and service.

They provide internet through direct LAN cable to your home. Direct Lan to Home...DLTH ?? I don't know what people call it. First time I heard about it from my friend in Chennai.. He was using a Sify connection...but he was not happy with it.

http://www.railwire.co.in/

The most tempting thing about RailWire is that its damn cheap.  256kbps-Unlimited @ 320 Rs./Per Month...
For similar plan Airtel is charging 800 Rs. per month.. Tempting but risky..

Finally I decided to take the risk and took a  RailWire connection. Surprisingly the speed and connectivity is very good. Its been a day since I got the connection...I am getting 256 kbps up/down consistently...

I am impressed...

House Hunt 2010

Finding a good house in Bangalore is herculean task.I have gone through this many times before.. But it was in the same area where I live.But this time I have to find a house somewhere else...far away from my current area.My office is shifting to a place 27 Kms away from my present house. I did a measurement this Saturday.

There is no way, I must shift. I can not drive 27 Kms everyday because It takes hell a lot of time to travel 27 Kms in peak hours in Bangalore.

I tried through my friends first.. I started from Koramangala some of my friends live there.It seems one part of Koramangala is only for Millionaires. The other part is just the opposite.I could locate a few houses...but there is not parking facility...That's a major criteria for me.

OK. fine ..I decided to see another area..So visited HSR layout with my friends.There were a lot of good houses...good location..but I was lost after some time..The area is too wide. And no trace of human beings on the roads. Felt like I am in some alien land.We searched some time for TO-LET boards. But we found none.

Ok. That's fine..Good things don't happen so easily. we moved to another area. This time we have an agent with us.People say agents are the best people for anything..but you need to pay them one months rent as brokerage.

He boasted us about a lot of houses in his custody and showed a few of them. None were good. All of them looked like haunted apartments.

Disappointing....But I still have hope...now a days I am going through a lot of these..So I have become more experience in keeping hope...even when I don't see a remote possibility of it happening in near future.After all hope is the thing that keeps us alive.

I registered in www.sulekha.com, an online classified and yellow pages service. I short listed a few house owners in the Airport road area.. Their rent seemed cheap compared to market rates.Visited the area.... whole day... tiring search. First thing area was not good. Secondly all the houses are pretty old...looks they were constructed in British colonial period. I couldn't finalized any..

I contacted one of of my old colleague.. I visited a few houses with him..The first one was a really haunted one.Second one looked like a joined family in Tamil Nadu...Five houses in one row..Women and grandma's were siting out side with kids and small babies...One of them is doing  zoozoo in the middle of the small courtyard. For a moment I imagined about me doing baby sitting....No No.. I don't want this..

Third one was on 2nd floor..But the rent they asked was not worth it. The last one was a good house..in good residential area.. have car parking..semi-furnished.. Looked like the one I had in mind....The broker said owner is willing to let out.I am yet to talk to the owner...

Traffic police fined me again

They did it again....This time they fined me for jumping the signal. I know for sure that it was green when I  crossed the signal...I am so angry that.... smoke is coming out of my ears....

It was around 8 PM..I was crossing the Sadasiva Nagar  signal.. as soon as I crossed, a police man stopped me. He told me to park my car because I jumped the signal.. I told him several times that "It was GREEN"..."It was GREEN"..

He asked me my license..the usual trick...I took out license and given to him..He took me to another AH.
I told him the same... "It was GREEN"..."It was GREEN".. No response ...Grrrr...I shouted.. IT WAS G-R-E-E-N. He did not even look at me... He is busy operating his Blackberry...

Finally he said..either pay 100 Rs. fine or take court notice.. Hmm..court notice..I know..what that is..I had an incident before..I had chosen court notice instead at that time..but when I reached court, they did not accept it..They said its a fake slip to scare people...there is no case...nothing..

So I confidently said..Ok give me court notice.. He said..I will cease your car..(another trick)...Ohoho...
You will cease my car for jumping signal ???

By that time lot of people assembled..I noticed...a queue forming behind me..they all told me in feeble voices.."Yes It was green" and they were murmuring each other..."Yes it was green" "It was green"....

Oh!..I have lot of supporters now..I shouted again.."This is unfair"..I asked the police man "Do you have proof that I jumped the signal?"..He said yes we have cameras all around this signal....

Finally my supporters told me "Bhaiyya fine dedo.. and get out of it." Ok. Ok... I felt that it is better to listen to them..than to waste the rest of the day..proving that I did not jump the signal....

Meanwhile I saw another funny incident..one guy..is giving 70 Rs. bribe to escape from 100Rs. fine..
He is almost hugging the police man, begging to accept it....who to blame for these ??? pathetic!!

I know for sure, whatever happened today was planned..It's a big scam..they are collecting a lot of money as fine and bribe too....
May be their they did not meet their monthly fine collection target..
Or May be its time to pay house rent..buy sarees and lipsticks for wives..

Today they stopped a lot of vehicles...the last ones who cross, before the signal stops are the victims..

To protest against this injustice.. I jumped the next 5 signals...even when it was red...By the time I reached home..I was relaxed that I saved 400 Rs..You must be thinking how..Its simple mathematics.

Jumping 5 signals, Fine = 500 Rs. But actually I paid 100 Rs. Only. So... profit 500-100 = 400 Rs.
Smart isn't it?

Solar eclipse 2010 as seen from Bangalore, India

What are these people doing?...Yes they are watching the solar eclipse from Bangalore planetarium. Today everything was favorable for me to watch this wonderful event. Planetarium was just 100 meters away  from my office...sky was clear....timing was convinient..

I reaching planetarium by 1.10 PM..there was a big crowd...Photographers carrying long camera lenses...TV channels... vehicles with big dish antenna mounted on it...I was really excited..I felt like I am part of some big event....

I also bought a filter goggles to watch the eclipse..I paid Rs.25... The eclipse in Bangalore was around 80-85%...the sunlight was dim like its going to rain soon...But if you look at the sky...you wont find the rain clouds...

There are multiple reflecting telescopes installed in the open space...They will show you a reflected image of the eclipse...so that you dont have to look directly to the sun.. But they steal the real excitement....

There is some sort of psychological impact also...whether scientists agree with it or not...I felt something...unusual...after sometime..I had a headache like feeling...not exactly a headache.... my friends also told they are experiencing same like me....may be I can say that....the dim sunlight...scary shadows..etc.gives you a sad feeling or... a fear that... the world is going to end now.

The shadows of trees...they become magical..the small holes between the leaves..they all take the shape of the eclipsed sun....this is really amazing....especially if you are in a place with lot of trees...and bangalore city is known for trees... I have captured the shadows of trees in Millers road during the solar eclipse shown below.

My Little Cousin Master Ostin

This is my little cousin Ostin. We call him "Mottu" with love. This time when I went home for two days, he was there.He is the youngest amoung my cousins..just 9. He easily mingles with people....keeps on asking questions. There is no end to his questions...And its very difficult to answer his questions as they are thought provoking.. At the same time funny too..

He is born and bought up in Mount Abu...he visits Kerala during his winter vacation...When he comes, home is filled with lot of fun and energy...His favorite past time is watching TV...and don't try interfere in that...He wants full control of the remote..

Sunday morning I was in sitting in the veranda and reading newspaper he was sitting next to me..He was talking to me..I did not pay much attention to him as I was reading news paper...After some time...he tried to interrupted me...it didn't work.

After serveral attempts suddenly he asked me a question..."Who makes this newspaper?" I said.... "Manorama News Paper Company" He is not interested in the answer..his aim is to turn my attention...Immediately he asked another question. "Who makes currecy notes?" ...I said.."India Goverment"...

He is not happy with the answer...He continued...who is printing....it?...I said somebody...some machine will be printing...he replied.."Then they can take any note from it right?" I thought for a moment..I am caught!!!... yes why not..the guy who is supervising the currecy printer can take a bundle from it...isnt it?

I didnt surrender..so I said...police will be watching them when they print the notes..so they can not take it...He replied..then the police can take money right??....Finally I said...no they are good people..so they can not. I returned back to reading...

I wanted to be with him some more days..but I had to leave on sunday evening to reach office...Next time when I visit home probably he won't be there..his school will reopen soon and he will be going back..

Saving a little kitten

It is around 10.00PM. I was preparing my dinner..suddenly I heard dogs barking in my veranda..
I opened the door and found a cute little kitten being attacked by two adult street dogs
Insane...!!  I felt really angry...don't they have common sense? two big dogs attacking a small baby cat.

I took out the broom from my kitchen and chased the dogs...I locked the gate so that they don't enter again..
came  back to the kitten..its terrified....crying and shivering...

I felt like picking it up and consoling...but..I don't touch pet animals..as we never had any pets in my family...
my mother hates bringing pet animals inside house. Frankly speaking.. I like them only from  a distance...I really like them a lot.

I told her...don't cry...the dogs are away and they will not come back....she still crying..I took another a soft broom and pushed her back..and said.. Go..Go..she is not moving....I moved to the other side and pushed a bit hard..she moved.. to the other side..

Now the tone of her cry changed....She is looking at me...I felt like..she is saying thanks and adopt me..Meanwhile a boy from the next apartment came...He likes pets..I asked him.. Is this your cat? He said No...Though he gave me a tip...Uncle...go away for sometime and come back..I went inside the apartment to close the main door.I saw the little kitten following me....crying myavuuuu....myavuuu...

Oh! God..I became her savior...her hero...she wants shelter in my apartment. But I can not take her inside...I can not sleep when a cat is inside my room..A difficult situation...Anyway she can sleep in my veranda without fear...The dogs cannot come in as I have closed the grills.

She cried a lot near my main door...I watched her through windows..She is waiting for me to open the door for her...I felt like I am the worst human being on earth...I did not open the door...now she is sleeping in the veranda..as I write this article....

A Journey with the pilgrims

Last Friday I traveled to my home town...as usual by train..Bangalore-Ernakulam Express. I had reserved a berth in the sleeper coach..

There's nothing unusual about it..I travel quite often..once or twice in a month.. But this time as soon as I entered my coach...I felt something different..its full of people in black attire..yes..I can easily identify them..they are pilgrims to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The people sitting in my coupe is staring at me..I felt little uneasy..but I gave a nice smile at them...one of them suddenly asked a question...I couldn't guess their language initially... but I understood the question..they are asking which is my seat..I told 13 middle berth.

Very soon other people with similar dress code surrounded me...they are looking at me as if I am a monkey in zoo..and I felt that they are not happy with me siting in that place...But I have no choice..I told myself...All is Well...All is well..the famous slogan from 3 idiots..

They started asking me weird questions...I figured out that they are speaking Telugu..but its not the standard telugu I have heard from my friends....I could not  understand many questions..and we don't have any other language in common....they know only Telugu...

One among them.a very young guy...looks like the most educated in their group... started speaking to me in broken English..but we used hand signals a lot to connect words..

He asked me "Job..?.Job..?." then he types on a virtual keyboard in the air..I got it ..he is asking what is my job..I told in the same way... I typed a in the virtual keyboard in the air and said..Computer... Oh! oh!...they looked at each other....Next immediate question....Salary..? Salary...? I replied.. No.. Salary...

Then this guy gave a lecture to the other guys..which I did not understand...may be he told...This guy is doing computer job without salary!!...This I could make out from their sympathetic look..But what I actually meant to say was that I can not tell you my salary..!!

Meanwhile other people started coming to the coupe and I figured out that these people did not have a confirmed berth....but they were not willing to move from here. Since nobody knows Telugu ...and nobody is able to convince them that this is not their seat...it was really funny...finally TTR came and asked them to move out....

I have never faced such a situation in India before...I thought I can speak to all Indian's somehow...Telugu is the only south Indian language....which I can not handle...and there are people in remote areas ..not getting proper education and exposure..It was shocking to realize this fact when India is growing at an all time high rate!!

Lots of things but no time

Today morning I just returned from a trip...then office..so feeling very sleepy and tired.
I have lots of things on my head to write...Most probably will start writing from tomorrow....