Looking back at 2009...

Looking back at some of the moments of 2009... There were some happy ones some not so happy ones, some great ones some not so great ones... These moments keep you going and keeps you craving for more... Pictures speak a thousand words so looking back at some great moments of 2009...
Me and James (Jan 2009) at Grameen... :) Met up with school mates after quite a long time...

Me with the boys at Auto expo in Palace grounds(Jan 2009) From left to right Babu, Abhi, Suppu, Sunil, BK, Me and Pradeep

An important day for my friends Ankur and Amrita's wedding (Feb 2009).. :)

My first ride with the boys.. At Manchinabele (March 2009)... From left Me, Abhi, BK and Sunil...
Me and Akhil.. Our first ride together... :) Also with us was Manish clicking the picture... At Shivanasmudram (April 2009)

Couple of young friends who took me back to my childhood... Travel friends met on the way back from Coorg(April 2009)... Thanks to my sick memory I dont remember their names..

Ride with RTMC to Cloud valley in Coorg (May 2009)...

The Rappa with RTMC.. In front of the ruins near Rappa (June 2009)...

Trip with cousins to Gopal swamy betta and Bandipur(July 2009)... Sporting a new clean shaved look.. ;) From left Karthiyayni akka, Me, Divya, Latha, Santosh and Arun anna...

Ride to Kemmangundi with RTMC again (July 2009).. Me on my bird at the end..

Akhils send off at Jalsa(August 2009)... Manish on the left and Akhil on the right.. :)

RTMC anniversary at Waynad(Oct 2009).. Anniversary party rocked totally... :)

My little cousins Madhu on the left and Manu on the right Diwali (Oct 2009)

Karting with office team mates at E zone(Nov 2009)

Finally last but not the least... The trek to kodachadri with the boys (Dec 2009)... From left Chira, BK, Suppu, Sunil, Rajanna, Me and Bharavi..

Hoping to have many more moments like these this year... :) Have a great 2010...

Kodachadri: The Trek of a lifetime

Kodachadri that was the place we were heading too this time around.. It was one trip i was apprehensive about initially, but after the forcing of the guys I had to accept to their demands and agreed to it... So the check list was made, we were planning to trek, we were planning to camp, we were planning to party... In a nutshell we were planning for a blast of a weekend...

We booked the tents and sleeping bags from BMC... We could get the tents but they were short of sleeping bags, but we managed get them with some quick thinking(Thanks to me)... After another addition to the initial group of 10 there was a new member to the gang a fledgling to our gang...

The good fellas gang comprised of Me, Sunil, Abhi, BK, Rajanna, Chira, Harish, Pradeep, Supreeth, Bharavi and the new fella Suhas... :) We had stocked up for the evening at camp site thanks to Supreeth for the drinks and Abhi for the MTR ready to eat... :)

D day(25th DEC 2009)

We all met up directly at the bus stop where a last minute check revealed that we had forgotten basic stuff like i forgot my tooth brush and we had forgotten to take cups for the next day... Once we put the luggage on the bus we were all set and there was no turning back.. :) It was a riot drive in the bus, just imagine a group of 11 guys together under the same ceiling... After some talking and bantering we all retired for the night...


Day One(26th DEC 2009)

Thanks to the ksrtc driver who drove in the ghats like an insane man who had lost his nuts... We reached kollur at 5 45 in the morning to find kollur was filled with people... To our luck it was some kind of an auspicious day and pilgrims were flocking the place... We had a tough time even to find a place to freshen up... After running around from one end of the town to the other for almost an hour we found a matta called the hegde matta that offered us shelter... It was no fancy place but we found a place to wash away our filth and get ready for a day that would be one of the most adventurous days for us... :) After a bath and a photo session we were all ready and raring to go...

We walked back to the town to have breakfast and to find a jeep that would take us to kodachadri that is about 40 kms from kollur... There was some talk about why only jeeps could go to kodachadri and i got the answer why it was that way once i took the ride... It was one helluva ride on the jeep some stomach churning experience... I am still wondering how the jeep made it all the way up to the peak... We reached the bhatta's house who runs a temple there and also gives food to people who come there...

That was the last meal we had for another day and a half... We trekked around till our lunch got ready and explored some territory around... After we were done with lunch we trekked to the camping spot which was another nice trek up hill... On the way we visited one of the caves which also houses a temple... :) We finally made it up to our camping site just in time to catch a beautiful sunset... We set up our base camp here and set off to get some fire wood for the night...

After the sunset started the party and some awesome time.. We sat there talking about totally random things keeping ourself warm with the campfire that we set up... Once it started getting cold we got into our sleeping bags and started star gazing, thanks to Sunil and Abhi who started drawing maps on the sky... :) Then we crashed for the night once it was getting real cold...

Day Two(27th DEC 2009)

We woke up early morning in the hopes of catching a good sunrise... But the weather played spoil sport and we couldnt see the sunrise because of a foggy and cloudy morning... After we lazed around the camp site clicking some pics we decided to head down to bhattas place... The trek down was beautiful as we took the longer route in search of finding a waterfall which we only heard and never saw... Finally decided against it and got back to Bhattas house...

After a light breakfast we decided to trek down from the hill top... Got our water supplies and started the descend... The trek down was long and tiring but one of the best treks we ever did... The forest was simply mind blowing... After a trek for almost 6 hrs and a leech bite to me we reached the bottom of the hill in one piece...
We caught a bus from there back to kollur and got back to hegde matta to freshen up... We were wasted and totally hungry but we dint wanna have dinner at kollur...

We were right on time to the bus stop for our bus but the bus was 45 mins late... Thanks to the traffic jam because of the over flowing pilgrims the bus got delayed for another hour... After another leg pulling session we crashed for the night...

Another traffic jam at nelamangala ensured some more delay and the driver decided to take magadi road instead and we reached the station at about 8 in the morning... Got back home by auto with Abhi and Pradeep... All in all an awesome time with the guys...

For renting tents and sleeping bags: http://www.bmcindia.org/
Few pics from the trek: http://picasaweb.google.com/deepak3565/Kodachadri25thTo28thDec2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDJ167kxPH1PA#

This is probably my last post of this year unless my mind cooks up something real soon... :) If not then have a great new years eve and an amazing 2010 guys... :)

Aasra - The Birth

A woman is born twice once when she is born and then once when she gives birth, these were the last words that were ringing in Pooja's ears as the doctors took her into the Operation theater... Rajiv stood at the door way helpless with blood all over his hands as they carried Pooja on a gurney, her shrieks of screams that sent a chill under Rajiv's spine... He was helpless, he could do nothing but wait...

It was not a regular pregnancy for the couple... Right from the start when the baby were diagnosed with Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)... Initial sensitization dint help Pooja and the baby... It was never easy for Rajiv to look at the pain and trouble Pooja went through for the baby... The doctor never really gave more than a 50% chance for both the baby and the mother to survive the pregnancy...But then Pooja was persistent and stubborn and wanted the child... So they went ahead with a lot of care...

He was in a state of shock as the doctor called him... Rajiv sank back even more as doctor spoke those dreadful words... You know the situation we are in... We are trying our best to save both the child and the mother but we need to know if you would like to have the mother or the baby... This was one decision that he never wanted to make, one choice that he never wanted to take...

The doctor disappeared inside the the operation theater after hearing to what Rajiv had to say and taking his signature on the consent form... The only thing that kept him company throughout was the thought of Pooja's smile... How she had changed his life totally... Rajiv couldn't afford to loose the one woman he loved more than anyone... He knew he had made the right decision... He knew he had taken the right choice...

As Rajiv waited through those painful hours sitting and praying... While suddenly another shriek of scream shuddered the silence of the hospital and brought Rajiv back from his trance... This scream was more of a cry and a more subtle one more like a baby's... Rajiv walked those heavy steps to the door as the doctor made his way to the door herself from the inside covered from head to toe with blood...

Rajiv dint wanna hear this... He was not ready to hear those dreadful words but it was Pooja's decision... That was what she wanted... That was what she asked for, to save the baby if such a situation occurred... Rajiv had shut down all his senses and dint want to hear what the doctor had to say... He knew what had happened and dint wanna think about it...

He went into the theater as the doctor was speaking to him, but he couldn't listen to one word the doctor was saying... Rajiv walked into the theater like a zombie without emotions, to look at Pooja... He dint want to see this scene ever in his life time, with just a trickle of tears rolling down from his eyes he saw Pooja...

Hey idiot what are you looking at come and look at your princess as Pooja spoke those words, it brought back life into Rajiv... Looking at the child in Pooja's arms looking at aasra he was the most happiest dad in the world... Yes Aasra that would be her name those were Rajiv's words as he hugged pooja and aasra... He was a Dad a PROUD DAD... :)

Mom....

Dear Mom,

People say that good things happen to good people, and truth always prevails… But then we see all this happen only in fairy tales and in movies where the hero bundles up the bad guys…

I have always been nice to people like you had taught me to be… The day I spilt the milk, the day I disrespected uncle you dint punish me but you always taught me what’s right and what’s wrong…

But the mistake that I have made is unforgivable… I don’t think anyone will ever forgive me for what I have done to you… You have always cared for my well being and taken care of me but after my marriage everything changed, you started becoming my burden… What seemed to care at some point became pestering, what was love some day became irritation…

Mom I dint know what I was doing when I put you in that old age home… In spite of the crying and denials I forced you into moving into that hell hole… Please forgive me for that dreadful day… I know now that the reason for all your crying that day was not because you were going to face a bad time there, but the reason was that you were going away from me and you couldn’t live without seeing me…

Mom I dint even lift your calls when you called me to wish me on my birthday… I just walked out of your life… Today I stand alone mom, with no one to hold me… Today when I see you in that lying down motionless... When I hold your hand now I cannot feel that warmth... The chillness is killing me mom... I cannot forgive myself for this Mom… But I know you would forgive me… You dint deserve a son like me mom…

I wish I burn in hell mom… I wish in my next birth I am your mother and you make me go through the same hell that I made you pass through…

I have been a bad son mom… I love you to eternity… Please forgive me…

Your son,

I wish, I pray to GOD I don’t get to see such a day… Please guys don’t ever do this to your parents… I hope old age homes stop to exist…

Dedicated to the best MOM in the world… Love you mom… :)

Analysis of Area 505456

Mission: Analysis of area 505456(random generated number) commonly known and referred by everyone as OFFICE… Further in the report we will refer to the area as Area 505456…
Reason: To better understand the fauna of the area, to understand the species inhabitant in the particular area and their living and eating habits…
Number of people doing the analysis: JUST ME ALONE in the JUNGLE…
Time of Analysis: 24/7 round the clock surveillance…

Initial analysis of the area revealed some shocking revelations and some shocking realities about the area… The fauna of the area majorly consists of 3 species though all of them look the same, but the behavioral attributes of each of them is totally different… The 3 species found are stated below; we now did an in-depth analysis of each of these species…
1. Sycophantinidae kismiass
2. Rebelliouso fubar
3. Loner survivorus
The in-depth analysis of these species was done from morning to evening… In the morning as the herds rush into Area 505456… Though these species are perfectly capable of locomotion they are transported by these mechanized machines that bring herds of them into area 505456…
We studied basically a few majorly influenced attributes of these species; they are enlisted as follows,
1. General behavior
2. Eating habits
3. General habitat

Sycophantinidae kismiass

General Habitat: These species can be found generally wherever the leader of the herd is around, mostly behind the herd’s alpha male.
Eating Habits: This particular species always eats with the leader of the pack or if the leader is eating with other leaders for some reason then they eat with the same species of other herds where they discuss strategy of sycophancy.
General Behavior: They follow the leader blindly and do whatever he asks them to do and also run’s errands for these guys without asking questions… Their name was formed from the way they usually flatter to the leaders of the pack… Hence the name kismiass…

Rebelliouso fubar

General Habitat: The members of this particular species can be found as far as away from the leaders as possible… They try and run away from wherever the leader’s of the pack usually dwells…
Eating Habits: The members of this species eat generally with the same species of other herds… Usually over food they discuss how much they hate the other species…
General Behavior: They usually complain about anything and everything that exist other than them… They can be found gossiping and passing comments about the other species especially of the species Sycophantinidae kismiass… Their name is derived from the rebellious nature and is the reason why they are FUBAR (f#cked up beyond all recognition)


Loner survivorus

General habitat: The members of this species are the loners and they survive dwelling alone in their own world… They can usually be found in any corner of the area ogling at nothing…
Eating habits: The members of this species usually eat alone and they don’t mingle even with the members of the same species…
General behavior: The members of this particular species can be found lost in their own world not even caring where they are and what they do… They live with their loneliness and the secret of survival is being alone… Their name was derived from their general ability to survive alone…

Summary
Also from the study I found that these species are regularly at war with each other for various reasons and circumstances… The species that fight the most are the Sycophantinidae kismiass and Rebelliouso fubar whose intellectual thinking is eons apart and they hate each other… Usually the species Sycophantinidae kismiass can be seen climbing the ladder soon because of their sycophancy but sometimes an exceptional Rebelliouso fubar also can be seen at the top of the food chain…

I hope this brief report of Area 505456 helps you to identify what species you are from… This report is totally a generic report and holds good to any Area similar to Area 505456…

Institutionalised... ????

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Schopenhauer

This holds good to all the human emotions one goes through when you are moved from your cozy spot to more dire situations... First you ridicule the decision of what happened, and then you violently oppose it and with time u accept what has perspired... Sometimes this happens while you know and sometimes it all happens subconsciously without you even having the faintest idea of what you are doing... The only thing that is permanent and happening all the time is change and change is something inevitable… The faster you pass through these 3 stages the more adaptive and the better one becomes… The word for this adaptability is institutionalized...

So have you been institutionalized...????

PS: I dint have anything else to write about on a boring Monday morning, please bear with me… :P

Paa... :D

I had to write a review about this movie because after a real real long time a bollywood movie has really done the trick and I walked out of the theater satisfied... Thanks to some great direction and story written by R. Balakrishnan and some awesome screen play, also the cinematography of PC Sriram is simply mind blowing... The cherry on the cake was actually the maestro Ilayaraja, his background music has the flavor to the movie...
The story actually revolves around this boy Auro who has this genetic disorder Progeria played by Big B brilliantly... Though Abhishek has played the second fiddle he has done a brilliant job playing his role as a politician... Vidya balan has again done a great job playing Auro's mother... Not to forget Arundhati nag who plays Auro's grandma and Vidya balans mom and to me she is the chuppa rustum of the movie... Also the kids friends of Auro have been portrayed beautifully especially this kid Vishnu... All this credit goes to the director who has steered his ship well and with great success...
Some of the scenes that totally touched me was the ending scene where Big B just talks with his eyes.... It is just too brilliantly played... Time and again the old warhorses like Big B prove again why they deserve such accolades...
Some bad things about the movie were the introduction of the cast and crew by Jaya Bachchan was totally uncalled for, also the marketing of the movie gives away clues of what the movie is about this must be taken care of... Also some of the stuff like what Abhishek does has been exaggerated and could have been avoided.. The lenght of the movie is another concern...
But then overall a real, more than satisfying experience in the theater for a Bollywood movie... Also the crew and caste must be given credit to have made a movie like this amidst all the crap that has come out of bollywood in the past year... I would give the movie 4 out 5 mainly for 4 reasons...
1) Big B and Vidya Balan's performance.
2) R Balakrishnan Direction and story.
3) PC Sriram's Cinematography.
4) Last but not the least Maestro Ilayaraja's music.

To end the movie review on a comic note if R Balakrishna made the movie in tamil then what would it be called... Yenna koduma sir ithu... :D Kudos to the guy who did the morphing got the pic by mail earlier last week... :D
Cheers till next time... Enjoy madi...

Auto Shayari... :D

I could do a collection of all the Backs of auto's in Bangalore.. There are quite a few interesting and colorful characters out there... Found another such specimen on the roads of Bangalore a few days back... :D
Wah wah wah kya baat he... :D This is what I call shayari on the go... :D
PS: Click on the photo if u cant read whats written.. :)

Cheers and have a great weekend Peeps... :D

Thanks giving... :)

Its that time of the year, a month away from Christmas... Its thanks giving season... :) I have heard people thank god, their relatives, their parents... These people actually make a difference to you as they are directly or indirectly attached to you in someway... But I would like to thank a person whom I am in no way related to, whom I have not met in years, Whom I don't know if I will recognize the next time I see them... Here is my story of how this person actually made a difference to me... :)

Its chilling cold, early in the morning at 5:15.... I am trying to run as fast as possible... Looking around for an auto or a lift to my CET tuition's... My cycle was all wrecked and so was my face from the fall I had recently so couldn't ride...
Was already late to class and was in a fix... Oh wait there is an auto...
Me: Cambridge layout barthira... ESI hospital hatra...(Will you come to cambridge layout near ESI hospital)
Auto guy: Sir one and half haguthe(one and a half times the meter)
Me: I have only 10 bucks and this guys asks for one and a half... :(
I move on running in the cold, trying to cover up from the morning fog... Its 5 20... Damn I am real late... :(
By this time I reach ulsoor police station which is deserted... The whole roadside is filled with news paper guys and one lone auto unloading milk... He looks at me and I guess he understood the turmoil and dilemma on my face...
Auto uncle: Yelappa hogbeku...(Where do you wanna go)
Me: Uncle cambridge layout hogbeku, ESI hospital hatra...
Auto: Barappa hogona..(Come I will take you)
Me: (With a wry smile) Uncle nan hatra hattu rupai irodu...(I have only ten rupees)
Auto: Neen barappa... Otho maklu neevu... Duddu naale kodu... (You come, you can give me the money tomorrow, kids like you should study)
Me: couldnt muster up anything else from a Thank you Uncle...
I reach tuitions just on time.... I give him the ten bucks and look at him... I couldnt see the face in the darkness properly and thank him again... :)
Every single day of my tuitions for over a period of 2 months this Auto guy dropped me to the tuitions sometimes with money and most of the times without taking a single penny from me... I dont remember his face or how he looks... I dont think he will ever read this post either... I dont think if I will ever be able to meet this guy...
Amidst all the scum and worthless people it is people like this who really make a difference and bring in the goodness in you... :)
Here is a big thanks to this guy who made a difference to me... Again I couldnt muster up anything other than this "THANK YOU SO MUCH UNCLE"... :)

Pehli Judai...

I was writing a lot of real life stuff lately and wanted to write some fiction now for a change... Here is my hand at fiction... Let me write a Disclaimer before people start asking me if this was me and questions like that... :)
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental...

It often happens that the small things in life have a larger impact on who you are and what you become... Though things like money and property play a big role it is the hug from mom, a smile from a friend and things like this that stay in your memory for a very long time...
This is a story about a guy who has his first separation from someone real special in his life(of course a she)... Though she doesn't know he likes her, she admires him secretly(But this story is from the guys perspective)... The stage is set in in a class where the guy and the girl are sitting and writing the last exam of the year... Though the class is full of students he imagines himself being alone in class just with her around... Even the thought of it gives him goose bumps and he craves for such a moment...
The exam gets over and the moment that everyone waits for becomes the moment he laments... He gets out of the class right before her and picks his bag and helps her find her bag too... What do I talk to her (think think, think fast)...
He: Hey how was your exam.. How did it go (how stupid was that, why cant I talk like those guys)...
She: It went well.. What about you..
He: Ya it went pretty well....
Then the awkward silence.......
He: Hmmmm so what plans for the vacation... What plans...??
She: Will go down to my hometown... You going anywhere...
He: Nope I am from here so will be at home only... Nothing much to do.. If you were here we could have met some day(what will she think of me for telling that)...
She: Ya we could have may be but then I wont be here...
He: Hmmmm ya ya..
Then again the awkward silence.......
She: Ok then let me get going I have a train to catch... Bye.. Take care.. See you after the vacations...
He: OK byee... (Secretly hoping she doesnt go, Please dont go)
Wish I could somehow stop her from going, but by every second that passes as she walks away step by step getting farther away... Wish I could freeze this moment somehow...

Nothing happens as she walks away, and he keeps on looking at her till her silhouette vanishes into thin air... He knows she will be back to college once it starts but he still watches on in anticipation if she would magically appear from somewhere... But nothing happens....

It are moments like these that remain with us to the end... Like I said before its the small things like this that play a bigger factor... Let us enjoy and live such moments...

Smuggling students...

It was in middle of engineering when the great VTU banned students from using cell fones in college... And people from my college took the word from VTU so seriously that they took it to totally another level...

There were 2 check posts set up in college in the morning, one at the gate where there were 2 guards frisking everyone that enters the campus and another check post near the main block where people coming out of the parking lot were frisked... Security level in college was totally beefed up and people with anything flashy in their hands were frisked spontaneously by bad mouthed security guards, this was worse than Section 144...

Well inspite of all this people including me used to smuggle in fones into college... To counter this they organised surprise checks during classes and during labs... Again as far as we were concerned we really dint give a damn about it... :)

Now the question everyone would be asking is how did I and others manage to smuggle in the fones... Now we do stay in India and when terrorists can come in and go as they will we can smuggle in small cell fones into college... Some people stuffed it deep in their socks and some in their pants too... I dint wanna try all this as it was too risky for various reasons... :)

One fine day when I woke this thought occured to me why dint I think of this before... ;) Well this is what I did, I took an old hard bound notebook and cut through the pages in the center this created a cavity inside to store fones inside it... It looked something like this... :)




















And here you have it, you could put the fone inside and hold the notebook in your hand and could smuggle in the fone right under their noses at any time of the day... :)

Have a great weekend guys... :)

Black board tragedy... PART 2 Appeal and Hearings...

This second day of the tragedy while issue at hand had actually sunk in and by this time I was contemplating on the future plan of action rather than what had happened... I told mom what had transpired in college and after a much debate and convincing at home she agreed to come along with me...
Next day in college was another disaster.. I learnt another lesson... There are two kinds of people with power... One kind use the power when it is required and the other kind who show their power just to prove they wear the pants... I met both these species on this particular day and out found how to find such people from under their skins...
Mom and me waited for a couple of hours just to meet the princi who was just sitting in his chamber having tea and biscuits while he wanted to make us wait just to prove he was the alpha male... Finally he called us and Gouthams dad into his room and started off his rambling..

Pricipal: So you people are the parents of these rowdies, this is an act of total indiscipline and indeference.
Me: Sir but this was a total accident we dint mean to break the board...
(That took him totally off guard, he dint expect me to back answer him, my first little victory)
Pricipal: I dont know all that, i think we have to rusticate you from the college(He told this to prove that he was the alpha male and the reason that i had intimidated him)
Gouthams dad: Sir this is totally unreasonable, i think we can pay for the board instead of spoiling their future.
Principal:(in his mind, now we are talking) Calls his secretary and says get that ledger...
Me:(Saw a sinister smile on the fellows face, if its money you wanted you should have asked before)
Principal:(well it was the marks ledger that she got, Looking at our mid term marks he was stunned he had least expected the toppers of the class to do such a thing) Well you guys seem to be doing well in class, why did you do such a horific thing..
Me and Goutham at the same time: Sir it was an accident...
Principal: OK fine.. I think the board costs about 4k you can get it replaced by paying 2k each...

What happened after this was something that i had least expected to happen...

Me: Thats too much to pay sir, i dont think we can afford so much...
Principal: OK then you can pay 1k each..
Me:(WTF was that did he just reduce the money he asked, now i pounced) Sir we cant afford that much too we can pay a max of 500 Rs...(This was a blady fish market)
Principal: OK then you can pay money to the cashier and take reciepts for it.......
Me and everyone with a sigh of relief that we got a good deal done....

Paid the fellows and got reciepts, this was one incident which made me believe that shit happens with everyone but then, thats why they invented toilet paper to clean it off.. :)

See you later guys till then Maja madi... :D

Black board tragedy... PART 1 The broken Shards...

We would have learnt lots of lessons from the black board... But there are things that the board has taught me, which I am sure no one else has even dreamt of learning...
One such incident for the readers of this blog... :)

One lazy afternoon in my 1st PUC class room... After the usual change of class there was a big ruckus in the classroom... People talking and shouting and you know the normal stuff that inevitably happens in every classroom when there is no lecturer in the classroom(ideally)...
I get a brainwave in my devious little devil of a mind...
Me: Macha goutham you pretend like you are pushing me and i will go fall on someone da...
Goutham: Seri da, nice idea... :)
1st launch- Successful
Me: thud... :) Sorry macha goutham pushed me off... ;)
2nd launch- Successful
Me: Thud.. No dude he pushed me.. dont take tension... ;)
3rd launch- Target acquired (But target had already seen the earlier launches so he was eluding the attack)
Goutham: Macha we ought to get him da...
Me: Ya ya macha seriously.. Push me...
Goutham: Here you go (with a shove)
Me: Running from the push... ;) Behind the target and goutham running behind me we had no clue where we were heading to... Target in the front, me behind him and goutham behind me... The next second before we know a huge noise...
The three of us rammed into the black board shattering it to pieces... And down came the whole board with an even bigger sound...
The whole class was pinched with silence with what had transformed... With the three of us in the spotlight.. The class was divided half of them were scared what would happen to them the other half were happy there wont be any classes for sometime... :)
And in came the Hitler with the army our HOD... By this time we were all back to our places like we dint know what had happened...
HOD:(Totally furious,at the top of his voice) Who did this...
Class: Totally silent.. (Me, Goutham and target please dont say it was us)
HOD: If you guys dont tell me who did this your whole class will be suspended...

Again the class was divided, one half were scared they will loose their classes and the other were happy that they wont have classes... But still the whole class decided to be silent... :)

HOD: OK that does it.. Now for the personal interrogation... You there tell me who did it...???
Student: I dont know sir i was out at that time...
HOD: You... Then you.. you...
it kept on going till it reached the target... This time he couldnt elude the HOD's clutches... I had my heart in my mouth...
Target: Sir Deepak pushed me to the board and i fell on it sir...
Me: (Damn thats the first nail on my coffin, Well if i am going down i am going down in a glory and with company) Sir goutham pushed me and i fell on Target sir...
Goutham: Sir it was totally an accident sir i tripped on the dias and fell on Deepak who in turn fell on the target and smashed the board...
Me: (Well that was pretty much on target) Yes sir thats what happened.. It was a total accident...
HOD: You stupid fools... Who do you think you are... Blah blah blah... dah dah dah... Che che che... #$%%# #% *%%#&% %*#&.. Beep Beep Beep Beep....
Me:(Shaapaaa.. Thank god its over) Sir we are sorry sir.. This wont happen again(I would be damned if i do such a thing again) it was an accident sir...

The infamous three in unison.. We are sorry sir..

HOD: Nothing doing... I want to meet your parents first thing tomorrow morning.. Till then you guys are suspended...

There was no plea or an appeal at high court... We were just damned by the Sessions court without any chance of a bail plea... :( Doomed for life till our next hearing... This time in the evidence box would be our parents...
To be continueed...???? :D

Up up and away..... :)

Well here I am again to write another review.. I was feeling all sad that my last 2 posts were about sad things and wanted to write something good and happy... Sunday afternoon lying lazily I decided to watch the animated movie UP and that was the one of the best decisions I made the whole day... :) I had missed this movie earlier in the theatres due to various reasons but then better late than never... :)

To talk about the movie, the way the movie starts is just too beautiful... The movie goes in a symphony and you just start moving with the music... The way a guy and a girl fall in love because of the common interests they have.. How they save up money to go to South america but because of some or the other family reason they use their savings and before they realise they are old in the daily struggle of life... The melody with which the story moves on is just too much to handle... :) Every scene is so moving and it just makes you feel so connected...

Then the whole gas balloon thing carrying the house was nicely pictured, it might sound a little stupid but then one must remember that its an animated movie... The rest of the movie carries on forward with the other characters playing their roles beautifully with some real good humour which made me laugh like a kid... :)

Overall a beautifully made movie which left me totally satisfied and happy with the whole story... Pixar just out do themselves each and every time they release a new movie... Way to go guys... :)

2012 Disaster of a Disaster movie.... :(

Ah here i am writing my first movie review on my blog.. :D
The fact that I am writing my first review excites me but the point that the movie turned out to be crappy totally makes me unhappy... It was one movie i was looking forward for from a very long time... But like everything in 2009 the movie just let me down and turned out to be a total disaster..... :(

I am surprised that Some people actually ended up liking the movie.. I got a headache watching the damn movie... Some of the bad points of the movie...

1) The movie was totally unreal.
2) The scenes were so repetitive the same old scenes were shown some 15 different times.
3) The movie was a 3 hours long and the show was not appealing...
4) The story was stitched well.

Now for the good points..

1) The problem was found by an indian and the ship was built by the chinese now thats spot on...
2) The way Yuri starts the Bentley saying "Engine start" that was damn cool and i was the only guy in the theatre laughing and clapping..
3) The CGI is pretty good..

Overall i feel the movie was a waste of time and a disaster of a disaster movie... :( Another movie that let the vieweres down atleast me.. :(

Bad Hair day... :(

Woke up with a bad mood... Not particularly because of anything but just dint feel right... The day went on smooth, I was just thinking i hope no one gets the brunt of this anger with no reason...

Time 1430: Phone rings, unknown number...

Me:(Looks like another whack job) Hello...
Call Center Guy: Is this Deepak..
Me: YES(Like you dint know when u were dialing me)
Call Center Guy: Sir you are one of the chosen customers, We are offering you a life time free credit card... Would you...(All in the same breath)
Me: (cutting him off) Anna how many cards do u want me to take from the same bank. Sab ratta marke bol raha he kya... You want me to buy u a card and give you or what...????
Call Center Guy: Sorry sir........
Me: Cut the call....

This post was to say Sorry dude whoever u are nothing personal.. Was just having a bad day like you...

Cheers guys, Have a great weekend.. :)

Class work.... ????

The following takes place in school.... The scene is set in 6th grade, where teacher holds up a note book in her hand showing it to the entire class... Whats so special with the notebook, she turns the pages all the notes are precisely written.. But wait this is not it, she turns them backwards and all that comes out is empty pages with nothing written... The entire classes attention turns to a puny little kid standing in front of the class... This would be the single most embarrassing moment in any kids life... The kid sniffs, wait is he crying (not yet the kid is resilient)... All he wanted to do was to vanish off from the scene without a trace but that was impossible... The only option left was to think.. Think of the times he had not written his notes in class and what had gone wrong and the teacher found out about it...The thought goes deeper...

24hrs earlier....
Teacher: Children please submit your classwork notebooks...
Students one by one go and place their books on the teachers table... Our kid is in a royal dilemma of whether submitting it or not giving it... Either ways he would be screwed... The bulb glows over the head of the kid a flash of an idea... He turns to the page from where he had written his notes and places the book in the middle of the pile just in time, before the teacher gives him a cold glare(Was that a bad omen) well time would tell...

Snapping back to reality, the kid just gets the cold glare again from the teacher.. That was like dejavu from the previous day(does that mean more bad luck)... It was just not his day at all... As every second kept ticking by, while another thought glides over his head...

Half an Hour earlier.......
Teacher: Children please collect back your classworks... She distributes it to everyone one by one...
The kid with a heart in his mouth was just waiting for the moment... Did he get caught...????
Teacher: xxxxxx take your book..
Kid: Takes his note book with a heavy heart and finally takes it back sits back at his place... Looks like the storm is abated... He checks his book it is not corrected... He checks frantically again no red marks at all anywhere... Whats happening here, did the teacher forget to do her classwork for gods sake..???
Kid: (standing up) Mam my book is not corrected(why did i do that, did i just dig my own grave)...
Teacher: Aah come my boy i was waiting for you only...
Kid: Damn man why in the world did i do that.. He takes those steps inching towards his crucifixion...
Teacher: Children look at this notebook (Blank pages turn up)... (Looking at the kid) you must be ashamed of yourself for doing such a thing...
After a grueling session of what to do and what not to do,How the kid is a bad example and people should not follow him, he gets let off provided he finishes his class work the next day...

24 hours later........ (of which 20 sleep less hours for the kid)
In the teachers cabin...
Kid: Mam i have completed by classwork...
Teacher: Just put that book over there and leave...
Kid: (is that it, Why in the world did i write the whole night) Promptly puts the notebook away and walks out.....

For the teacher it was just another day at the school.. For the kid, It was one day that he would want to erase from his school life...

Night out at the Forum value mall.....

Wed morning i wake with a thought in my head, a thought that something was missing... There was emptiness then i realised that its been ages since i met a couple of my friends Praveen and Goutham... With this thought early in the morning i was really low and when i logged into my comp Eureka i found Prem(Praveen's bro online) got Praveen's number from him and found out that Praveen was online too... We spoke for a brief moment and decided to meet up on saturday...
Weekend came and i went off to Praveen's place in the evening at about 5... I was very glad to see Praveen we sat around chatting about the old times waiting for Goutham to come... Goutham was taking time so we decided to go hang around this new mall in Bangalore... The first look at the mall from the outside was pretty normal, once we parked the car and entered the mall i got one of the most astounding views.. This place was huge like a couple of the real forum malls combined...
One thing saddening was that the place was filled with factory outlets, for gods sake we might be a developing country but then we are not some third world country to deserve discarded stuff... Discussing all this we were dilly dallying around this mammoth of a mall just window shopping.. :)
Finally Goutham arrived and we decided to have Italian food in a restaurant in the mall... Praveen and Goutham were new to this cuisine so i was trying to explain to them the stuff that we get and different type of the pastas and the guy at the resto came to our rescue suggesting some food for us... :)We had a great dinner and gave him a good tip and left back home...
After another chat session at Praveen's and Goutham's place i decided to leave for the night back home... Reached back home by about 11 to catch the presentation of the match which we had won..

All in all a great day...

Oh wait i am getting that thought again.. Who is it this time...????

Catch you later... :)

Five day weeks it is...

I was just having a discussion with my team mate as to how I have had 5 day weeks since school through college and now work.. I am so used to or institutionalised to this 5 day week culture right from school... But then i was wondering I have never waited for the weekend to come as I wait for it now...
Scene from office from Monday through Friday is like this...
Monday: Monday blues a term that we dint know existed haunts us... Damn I dint feel like coming to office today.. Yaar aaj kaam karne ka mann nahi kar raha he..
Tuesday: Tuesdayyyyyyyy(yaaawning).... Saala yeh time nikalta hi nahi he.. Aaj bhi saala kaam karne ka mann nahi kar raha he..
Wednesday: After Monday and Tuesday even the week says W T F (if you know what i mean).. OK almost there take a deep breathe just a couple of days to go... Same old story no mooood to work :)
Thur day: Arey yaar i woke up in the morning and it felt like it was a Friday today.. Alas it is not Friday still, another day to go still... No prizes for guessing the right answer aaj bhi mann nahi he yaar..
Friday: Swipe in early into office so that i can leave early back home... ;) My standard dialogue Happys the Fridays guys.. aaj tho fun filled Friday he aaj tho kuch kaam nahi hone waala.. ;)
Saturday and Sunday: Pardyyy time.. Dik chik dik chik dik chik....

Times change people change and so do our needs and requirements..

Favorite Ice cream parlours In Bangalore.... :-)

Well i was contemplating about this particular topic for quite sometime now.. I was just waiting for the right time to post this up so that others can use up the details too.. :)

There is this myth about ice creams that it is only for kids and adults are not supposed to eat them, but then this is totally atrocious i say.. We too should have an equal opportunity to have one thing that could be had at anytime of the day, as far as i am concerned.. Without being ridiculed and made fun of.. ;)

So with that being said some of the ice cream getaways that i generally go to are as follows,

1) Edge : This particular ice cream joint was discovered during the college days when money was hard to come by, but we still wanted to have good ice cream.. Now we couldnt afford the corner houses and the baskin robbins's so to our rescue came edge.. With equally good ice cream and a great menu and variety edge easily became our ice cream adda... We used to go down to this place and have 4 scoops of ice creams which was by far our favorite as we got to eat 4 flavours of ice creams, and guess what it cost us just 70 bucks for 4 scoops, now thats wonderful both to the pocket and to the taste buds.. Not to forget the great time all the boys had bantering and teasing Abhi as he went for ice creams that the other guy bought.. Boy as the cliche saying goes "Those were the days".. This place is very close to forum and is in pretty central location and which every guy in bangalore would know, if you still dont know what place i am talking about then u guys need to grow up.. :)
Here is the screen shot of the map to the place.. :) Find the place i am talking about and Edge of course.. :)


2) Bowring institute: This place again is a very famous place that has been around for quite sometime... This place is very well known for the kulfis we get here for a very cheap prize too.. :) This place is right in between bowring institute and the petrol bunk and right opposite Stracey memorial school on St. Marks road.. This place is nearby Koshys and hard rock cafe so u are never away from some activity... There are about 5 to 6 flavours of kulfis that one can get here at throw away prices of 16 to 17 bucks a candy.. If one is not a big kulfi fan then u also get other ice creams too made by these guys.. Also the lassi here is simply awesome.. :) Normally on a given night we would have about 2 to 3 kulfis each whenever we go by this place, sometimes we just come here to have kulfis...
Here is the screen shot of the map to the place... :)


What are u guys waiting for, get out there and slog oodles of ice cream till you are satiated.. Who knows i might meet you there.. ;)

Rock and Rollllll..... :-)

I was just thinking as to how I could start this next post… But I was not able to think of a good start to it at all… So I just decided to start it just like this…
Dance is one of those art forms that have a great influence in the way we think and the way we live… From the unadulterated spasm like tribal dance to the fully trained and pristine bharatnatyam to the limber and flexible Ballet and the romantic and busy Salsa…. Dance is one art form which depends entirely on the culture and the way we grow up and the dance form relates to the very roots of our culture…

I am not here to talk about the dances I have mentioned above… My perception of dance is basically to go with the music rather than trained movements to make sure u are with the music… The whole point of dancing for me is for every part and every muscle of your body craving to move to the music… This might seem a bit erotic but alas this could be a mating ritual in some tribes where the best dancer gets to marry the girl… ;)

One such dance form where I can relate and at least termed that I am dancing is called the DAPPANGUTHU… This is more of a local to South India where we dance to let out our frustrations… Well I found a great description to how to perform this form of dance on wiki recently (courtesy my cousin Poornima akka) and I was astonished at the way how someone can explain such a dance in words well to say the guy who has explained this has done a great job…

For all whose who wanna kuthu follow the link I say….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dappan_koothu

Riding gear : Armoured Jackets and Gloves

Picture this you are riding and something unexpected happens and then you have a fall… Would you like to get up and dust yourself and ride on home or would you like to be carried on over a stretcher to the hospital… Well if it was me I would choose the first option… That’s what we are here to talk about…

The second most prone part of body that’s bound to get injured is the torso or to be more specific elbows and the shoulders… The first thing that hits the ground when you have a fall are your elbows and they can get dislocated very easily and not to forget the bruises that one can get because of the scraping on the ground…

Since we are talking about safety here let me cut the chase and get to the point and tell what one can do to avoid being carried away… ARMOURED JACKETS and ARMOURED GLOVES are for the modern day riders there are a huge number of brands that are in the market that make riding jackets and gloves with all kinds of armor embedded in them to name a few you have alpine stars, thor and the cramster which I own… On a more generic way of classifying them jackets come in two varieties the touring ones and the city ones and then you also have the summer meshed jackets…

The cramsters I own have CE approved armor which is the standard armor approval entity that sets the standard for armor production… I realized the importance of the cramsters when I had the fall and virtually no damage at all to me… But there is an important thing one has to realize that using riding jacket is a precautionary measure and not a free license to go out there and ride like a moron…
Here is a picture of my cramster jackets and gloves…



Here are a few links from where you can get some real good riding jackets and other gear in Bangalore…
http://www.cramster.in/default.php
http://orionmotors.in/Alpinestars.aspx
Catch you all later for other gear soon… Till then Ride safe… 

Riding Gear : Either the HELMET or A HELLMATE

Well the question why we need gear while riding seems ridiculous to some layman or any man passing by seeing u wear all that gear… Well the answer to that question would be... Dude step into my shoes you will understand why… :-)

The first ride I did on my new bike was with sandals and a simple t shirt and a rickety old helmet… and then I realized I was a potential organ donor in the making… Since my first ride I have matured as a rider and got some neat gear from a shop accessible to me, it was a little on the expensive side but then nothing more expensive than life…

There are 3 basic weak points in every body which are most prone to damage or injury when someone falls off a bike…

1) The head

2) Your torso predominantly your elbows and shoulders

3) The legs predominantly the knees and the ankles.

Firstly the head that’s like the most important part of the body… Most of the fatal accidents that happen due to falls without a helmet… hence a good neat helmet that can stand a crash… And when I say a helmet I mean a full faced helmet not a open one or not the one that opens up if we press a little button…

I dint want a fancy looking helmet which shines in the dark or has fancy stickering I just wanted a good old fashioned helmet which hold up and protect you when you need it in a dire situation…

I picked up this AGV from JC road in Bangalore for 2400 Indian rupees which looks classy and is also very comfortable to wear and holds your head perfectly… The visor is perfectly clear and gives a great view of the road and to top it all up its removable to make it easy to clean it up… The padding inside also is detachable and can be cleaned and fitted back again…

There are quite a few shops on JC road that sell AGV’s and different other brands of helmets in case someone needs to get one… Also there are a few shops branded shops that sell AGV’s and other brands of helmets like the one opposite to forum called Orion motors…

Check out the link below….

http://orionmotors.in/Helmets.aspx

Catch you all later with the other gear soon… Till then Ride safe… :-)

Ride to the tallest peak in Karnataka.. Kemmangundi..

Well the ride to Kemmangundi was something that i was looking out for a very long time.. Some facts about the Kemmangundi its the highest peak in Karnataka.. We were to get to Kemmangundi via the longer route through Hassan and belure and halebidu..

Bangalore-->Magadi-->Kunigal-->Channaraypatna-->Hassan-->Belur-->Chikmagalur-->Baba budangiri-->Kemmangundi

Managed to reach the meeting point before time like i was the first person to reach then Ronald rolled in and we waited for sometime while everyone poured in. Vijay was there to see us off and there was no rain like everyone expected and that was a blessing.... We left and met the other gang at the NICE road junction.. From there it was all Patrang wonlee to the breakfast point at kunigal to have some super thatte idly's and vada and coffee.. :)

After that was all pure riding as we had to cover like another 2oo odd kms.. Next stop was at the kamat in Hassan after a long ditance of patrang everyone wanted a break.. Filled up some fuel here and had a break waiting for thomas to roll in have to tell about this guy, he rides his bullet at 6okmph and respect his resilience and patience great riding man... Once he came we started riding again and reached Chikmagalur in time for lunch and had a sumptuous meal... Filled up petrol here just to be on the safer side and started riding from here.. Once the hills started showing up it started getting real beautiful.. It was a sight i will never ever forget my life... :)

The ride to the top of the hill was about 20 kms and it took us about 2 hrs to do it doing some photo stops and a couple of chai stops.. We reached baba budangiri and it started to pour and

visibility reduced, it was a great challenge riding in the slush and the slippery roads or atleast what was left of the roads.. Managed to reach the place of stay by 4 30 and this place was really really beautiful... Freshened up or rather changed to dry clothes and the party was arranged at another forest guest house nearby so managed to hitch a ride in one of the cars of the shimoga guys as i was in no position to ride in the dark... Reached and started the feast and hogged some nice kababs... After some friendly bantering with the guys we decided to get back as i wanted to leave early in the morning.. Got back to the room and hit the bed and had a great sleep..

Woke up early and got ready and left with a few guys.. The group was Rajeev, Susu maams, Rajeevs nephew sidharth, little johnny aritra, thomas and myself.. We were taking the shorter route back home the route we were going to take was,

Kemmangundi-->Lingadalli-->Birur-->Arasikere-->Tiptur-->Tumkur-->Bangalore

This was going to be a 220 km ride back home precisely so we hit the road and told our byes to the place vowing to come back some time sooner or later.. We did good speeds with a nice formation with the Thomas being the sweep and Rajeev being the point... Had breakfast in birur a heavy one too as we were planning to have lunch in bangalore.. :-)

We were doing great speeds with just a couple of chai stops as it was getting a little sunny and we were getting a little drowsy.. ;) Managed to reach the Tumkur toll booth at 11 and we were only 4 of us.. Aritra had over shot us and we had no clue where the bugger was and Thomas we were not sure about him as we were doing very good speeds.. So we eventually decided to start to bangalore..

Tumkur road was just a straight road and nothing other than road all the way.. So instead of crusing all the way we just decided to blast off the whole distance we did the last stretch of 60 odd kms in a very short span of time.. Reached Bangalore at about 1 and told my byes to Rajeev and sid and reached home at about 1 30...

Super riding with RTMC.. RTMC ishtyle.. :-)

Feel my love... :-)

I was riding back home after meeting a friend in padhbanabnagar.. Was somewhere near thyagarajnar when this auto guy was standing out from the crowd... There was something written on the back of the auto in all colour and in a catchy fashion... Well writing tonnes about it wont suffice what i can say with a picture.. Certainly some real wise person once said "A picture speaks a thousand Words"...
I have no clue what the auto driver wanted to say or what he was trying to say... Well later then my cousin and my friend told me its a dialogue from a very famous hindi movie Darr which was later made in Kannada my our own Upendra uncle... Well now i understand where the auto drivers of bangalore get their inspiration from.. :-)

Bangalore drivers and what not..!!! Part two... The chronicles of the night rider.. :-)

I had two choices with me either choose the first choice or let fate decide what happens to me when i ram into the car... Well i took my fate in my hands and braked and that too the discs and that was the worst decision that i ever took... The bike skid and i lost control of it to gain back the upper hand i put my right leg down and this was my second bad decision... My leg got stuck and turned the wrong way and the bike just fell on my knee... I was sandwiched between the bike and the road.. Was stuck under the bike for eternity while the car guy dint even stop to see what had encountered and just turned and sped away...

I was just lying there till a few kind souls ran up to lift me up... My knee was hurting a little and i sat on the pavement till the pain eased up a little and i crossed the road gingerely to do a damage report on my bike and myself.. I just reached the pavement and something real scary happened that took my life away for a second.. The right knee just buckled and bent in an angle in which it is not supposed to bend... :(

Thousands of thoughts were running in my head have i dislocated my knee, broken the knee cap will i be able to walk again or worst ride again... It was like all the forces on earth just wanted something bad to happen to me that day... It was 11 in the night and i was guessing this was not the end of the night so soon.. Not so soooon... :(

Bangalore drivers and what not...!!!! Part one

It was a normal day in office finished up the usual work and met sheetal and was heading back home late in the night at about 10. Was in all my senses and and was riding like Mr. Nice guy... Avoiding all the nagging and stupid riders and drivers of bangalore i was with all my knack of riding was riding real safe... Reached the flyover and got down and the road was pretty empty but still i was not doing 50kmph well i consider that not to be very fast.. Was taking the taking a left on 18th main and this innova guy was taking a right from 100ft road well it should have struck me that time that here was the biggest fool of an Ass who doesnt know a shit about driving was turning but neverthless i was tailing this guy with a little distance after the subway this idiot did the unthinkable... He just braked and turned left without any signal or indicator at this point of time i had two choices...
1) Brake and try to stop or skid and fall down.. or
2) Ram into the back of the car and escape with minor injuries and have the satisfaction of screwing the fackers car.
Wait fot the choice i took and the events that unfolded on the dreadfull day...

A round trip through Shravanabelagola and Ranganthittu

It was a long due ride with Sheetal had to plan out something somewhere. Worked out the logistics with Akhil and then planned a ride to ranganthittu which was later changed to shravana belagola. We wanted to hit the road early in the morning on Saturday everything was fixed me and Sheetal on one bike and Akhil would be riding with Suman as pillion.

I had a brainwave early in the morning when I woke up to do ranganthittu from shravana belagola wanted to find out the route and ended up getting late to start and dint find out the route too. Well finally started from home at about 5 30 to pick Sheetal from deve gowda petrol bunk then left to meet Akhil at vijaynagar and left from there at about 6. The route decided was
Bangalore --> Magadi --> Kunigal --> Shravana belagola

Road from Bangalore to Magadi was a little crowded with early morning traffic but then we just tackled it well and managed to get out of Magadi in a piece then was the scenic roads from Magadi to Kunigal the whole route was like a maze with unexpected tricky twists and turns. Reached Kunigal for some amazing thatte idli’s and vada’s hit the road again shravana belagola was 70 kms from Kunigal and we were real early so we stopped at the coffee day on way for some refreshments.

Got back on the road and managed to reach shravana belagola in about half an hour at 12. Parked our bikes and started climbing the huge hill reached the top clicked some pics of the huge daunting statue and started the descent downwards had some decent Jain lunch and hit the road by 1.

Since we were early Sheetal wanted to do ranganthittu too so did everyone so we decided to take the route through Mysore which was 80kms from shravana belagola. So now the route back to Bangalore was
Shravana belagola --> ranganthittu --> Shrirangapatna --> Maddur --> Bidadi --> Bangalore

The roads from shravana belagola to ranganthittu are the best country roads I have done this far. It was awesome with all the greenery and windings. Some amazing stretch of country roads and to top it the weather was simply brilliant. Touched 130 kmph speed on one stretch here. Reached ranganthittu and clicked some pictures of Crocs and hit the road at 5 30 and started getting dark.

Stopped on the way at Mc Donald’s for some burger and some rest, driving back in the dark with people driving with high beams on the opposite side was hell and it was really difficult to keep up a good speed. Managed to reach Bangalore by about 9 30 in the night.

All in all a great ride and some good time on the road… :)

Blues

After a tiring day I come back home do my homework then I wait for the most exciting part of the day my dad takes me on his lambretta to MG road, me standing in the front of the scooter I can smell the freshness in the air and it’s such a relieving experience. This can be exciting for any young boy going out with your dad especially when the weather is so pleasant. We reach MG road and there are hardly people on the road we reach zero traffic Ulsoor to MG road in 5 mins. I get my favorite cone ice cream and we take a walk on brigade road and MG road my dad showing me around all the shops. We were connecting like adults he was not holding my hand the reason I couldn’t get lost in the crowd because there wasn’t one.

This was the same thing we used to do every day throughout my childhood days. People who are reading this must be wondering what I am writing about right now is it my DAD. Well I wanted to write about someone that my dad introduced me to when I was born BANGALORE.

Bangalore the place where I was born so were my dad and mom. Garden city that’s what Bangalore was called like everyone says “nothing like the good old days” those were the days when MG road was covered with trees right from Ulsoor and a trek for a small kid can be walk from Ulsoor to MG road without any assistance. Those were the days when the minimum amount for an auto was 4 rupees and the auto drivers were actually friendly. People were friendly you could speak to anyone and there was no discrimination everyone was a good guy.

I still remember the day my brother was born. Walking was a favorite pastime for me with my dad and we thought lets walk from Ulsoor to CMH road where the hospital was and I was really excited to see my little brother and my mom. It was October and the rains had just finished their magic and the whole city looked like it had just gone for a laundry. Well the sewerage system of Bangalore was actually fine those days the municipality was called Bangalore city corporation (BCC). So we are taking this walk and my dad stops to take a smoke and he lets my hand go and I see this big puddle of water and I go straight for it and jump into it the joy it gave was just unimaginable.

The scene today when I go to MG road or brigade road there are peddlers on the road there is no parking place the road is clogged with traffic people are shouting at each other it gives you such a dreaded feeling about the place. You take a walk on CMH road its blazing hot and dust all over the metro construction going on has done more damage than help to US. All my favorite friends whom I used to meet on the way from school all those beautiful tree are now down and dead and new shops have come up brands are ruling the city now.

Back then people were respected for what they are now people are respected if he is wearing Adidas or Nike. City is run by retail stores and super markets. Not that I am too old but the youth nowadays are out of the charts where has that innocence gone that we had when we grew up which has totally gone away. The education system has changed upside down all the public schools have now become international schools. All the fun the kids now have is on computer games rather than scraping your knees on the ground when you have a fall while playing some arbitrary game. Globalization has some serious side effects it has changed our lives upside down.

Once Bangalore was a pensioner’s paradise now a pensioner can’t even dream of settling down in Bangalore the cost of living has gone above the budget they had for retirement. There is no mutual respect when you walk on the road if someone bumps into you by mistake it could actually end up in a fist fight which could be ended in a simple sorry. I hope the times are changing for the greater good for Bangalore.

Wish I had a rewind button like those old VCR’s I would want to go back to those good old days of Bangalore. The fresh breeze on my face, the dust free air, friendly people, tall trees and pleasant weather all that Bangalore was known for. :-)

Rapping at The Rappa

With hang over of Cloud valley still lingering in the head there was another ride planned to The Rappa. The most relieving thing about the ride was it was away from the dreaded Mysore road which we take on almost all rides and riding back on a Sunday on Mysore road is the nightmare of any rider with maniacs driving like they do in the city.

Rappa is close to Hassan about 230 kms from Bangalore. This time around there was a big bunch that had signed in for the ride about 40 of us were all set to hit the road. The route that was planned is
Bangalore-->Magadi-->Kunigal-->Channarayapatna-->Hassan-->Rappa

I was getting used to all this riding every weekend(almost every weekend) so the anxiety had died down a little so could get some good sleep on Friday night. Meeting point was Mekhri Circle at 6 30. Praisy would join me on 100ft road and we would ride from there to Mekhri Circle together. I was just leaving from my house a gentle drizzle started which turned out to become a pretty heavy rain. Met Praisy at 12th main indiranagar and we left to Mekhri circle in the rain. We were kinda late so couldn’t catch up with people who were already there, we left as soon as we reached Mekhri circle.

First stop was at Kunigal for breakfast the whole route through Magadi was a blessing away from nellamangala traffic. The road was full of twists and turns and a biker’s paradise provided we are in control of the bike. Reached Kunigal by8 and had some brilliant thatte idli’s and some amazing vada’s. Hit the road after some coffee from here it full on patrang wonlee. Everyone was in a mood of clipping through the roads. The roads were pretty decent too. Next regroup point was outside Channarayapatna for some tender coconuts and then from there the next stop was just outside Hassan where Biju was waiting for us to lead us to The Rappa.

We were welcomed by 3 amazing dogs Brownie (Irish setter), Shadow (Bassett Hound) and Shunti (American Spitz). And one haunting long Rock Python. They were our official guide around The Rappa. After a much awaited lunch we headed to the water for kayaking. It was an awesome experience me and Ratish went kayaking about 8 kms almost till the dam. It was a tiring and muscle building experience. After all the fun we realized that our Aritra (Little Johnny) was missing. He had shot away swimming alone without any life jackets and went missing. It was a horrifying experience for everyone. We had search parties sent to find him but no sign of him everyone was pessimistic about what happened to this fellow.

Later Vijay gets a call from little Johnny saying the currents took him away towards the dam and I kind soul picked him up and dropped in some village. The villagers must have thought this guy must have been some extinct bear of some kind coming out of the water. ;) Somehow prashi went and picked up and came back to the base camp. It was relieving to know that nothing serious had happened.

Then was the party in the evening it was superb to say the least we had a camp fire for the cold and people were enjoying their drinks I was having a gala time talking to guys and with the music and my usual drink Pepsi neat. The icing on the cake was the local folk music that they had arranged. It was simply awesome and I just let go and danced like a maniac. Then we had dinner and started talking all kinds of random stuff about ride experiences and stuff like that. Then we decided to retire for the night and hit the bed.

The mornings when we leave are the most difficult part of any ride when we have to head back. We decided to leave late take some pictures on the way at the ruins of the church and then head back to Bangalore. The ruins were simple great we got some real cool pics here. Had lunch on the way at kamat and again the full patrang wonlee. Praisy had a minor break down on the way but got it fixed also Ratish had a minor fall thanks to the riding gear it was nothing serious.

Reached Bangalore at about 6 and was home by about 6 30. Awesome ride and an amazingly planned trip to the Rappa.