A different view.

I pass by this road twice everyday.Once in the morning and once around 7.30 in the evening.I think it's called Devegowda road,but I am not sure.It's a short stretch of cobbled market street sandwiched between regular busy city roads.The moment I enter it,I always feel I have been transported into a different world.In a city famous for M.G.Road, Commercials, Brigade's, I would say this one quietly and proudly represents a whole different genre of lifestyle, needs, taste and noise levels.

I invariably slow down and take my time passing through this stretch.Ofcourse, the choking,disorganised traffic is one main cause for this,even so.It starts off with hardware stores,oil stained and very messy.I often see the owner sitting behind huge oil drums with a big smile on his face,wiping his fingers with a rag cloth in the feeble hope that they might look clean someday. I cross that to enter a zone of aromas of freshly baked bread and pastries.The bakery always seem to be surrounded by little kids,drooling dogs and even some adventurous horses who wouldn't mind trying a roll of bread or two,if thrown at them.

Grocery stores, stationers, dubious looking drug stores almost appear to nudge each other for some place.Every single crevice has been spotted and duly converted into one shop or another.As you inch into the traffic, a burning, pungent smell would greet you.That would be our chef of the kabab corner trying to master his recipe of chicken tikka,sacrificing a covey of those birds in the process before he gets it right.I pass through all the noise and crowd and suddenly out bursts a mosque shaking hands with a beautiful temple.The silence of the mosque and the clangorous noises from the temple are truly very symphonious.Secularism speaks!The fragrance of fresh flowers and camphor,of herbal oils,mystic powders and roots is very soothing.

Row upon row of vegetable vendors streak the road.Sometimes it gets so crowded one would have to take a U-turn at the pile of tomatoes ,a right turn near the potatoes and another right at the spinach to get back on track.In India,as we all know,the smallest roads have the biggest cows.No one does a better job at sentry duty than them.Quietly and patiently they stand,one beside every vegetable shop,unperturbed by the struggling,exasperated traffic.I see them mostly during the evening,swishing their tails,chewing their cud placidly without a worry in the world.My dear bovine buddhas!

To my left,I see a play ground that converts into a fair every other day.Giant wheels and cotton candy, corn cobs and gypsy women.It's a plethora of visual stimulus.There are garment stores with the gawdiest clothes I have ever seen.Yes ladies and gentlemen,there are people who wear golden dresses with bright shiny purple and green sequins on them.Jewelry stores that sparkle like Alladin's cave.

This whole realm lasts about 4-5 minutes.It's got it all.The flare of colors,the babble of voices,the volley of vendors,the permeating aromas,the throng of vehicles and pedestrians,dogs,cats,cows,sheep....a method and harmony in all the madness.

Everybody!!! Read and Act..

DOGGY’ S DAY OUT - CUPA DOG SHOW
A Canine Fund Raiser for Animals in aid of
A Sanctuary for Large Animals
Compassion Unlimited Plus Action - CUPA is a registered public charitable Trust for the welfare of animals based in Bangalore. From two tiny rooms in the home of its Founder President, Crystal Rogers, in October 1991, CUPA today operates from three centres. More than 10,000 wild and domestic animals pass through its portals and services range from urban stray dog control to load bearing animal relief centres, from 24 hours, 7 days a week animal shelter and emergency care center, to rehabilitation of wildlife in their indigenous forest zones.
Today, CUPA in Bangalore is synonymous with animal advocacy and welfare. There is an element of personalized care in the busy KVAFSU-CUPA Veterinary Animal Shelter at Hebbal campus that CUPA runs in the heart of Bangalore for all types of animals – stray, wounded, abused, owned or abandoned.
Due to inadequate education and large families, the owners of draught animals as per our Survey, has revealed very limited financial resources at their disposal. Hence, there is a lack of medical treatment, aid or advice on animal care. CUPA is witness to problems faced by the draught animals and farmers in remote villages who have minimal access to medical aid for their animals.
CUPA’s Out-Reach Programme, at present, organises free large animal monthly health camps reaching out to hundreds of animal of farmers, bullock carts and jutka owners. However, there is a crying need of a Sanctuary for large animals to provide the abandoned, the sick and aged large animals with proper medical aid and good care.
To realise CUPA’s dream for such a Sanctuary, a special fun - filled event
for the entire family and children of all ages has been organised in
November 2006 as
Doggy’s Day Out - A Special Dog Show
The event includes pedigree dogs as well as non- pedigree dogs. A memorable day out with your family , friends AND YOUR PET DOG. The date and venue of the event will be informed to you.
The Dog Show will be followed by an Entertainment Programme and your family and pets’ needs will be fulfilled at the variety of stalls at the Show.
To mark this occasion, we will bring out a brochure so
Come.....join hands with us and sponsor an advertisement in our brochure
as One who cares!

KINDLY COMPLETE THE FORM GIVEN BELOW
IN BLOCK LETTERS AND RETURN TO
CUPA, 257, ICROSS, HAL II STAGE,
INDIRANAGAR, BANGALORE - 560 038
TEL: 22947300/22947301 FAX: 22293771

Name of the person/Company:
Address of Person/Company:
Tel/Mobile:
Fax:
Email:
Category of Advertisement: Please tick the relevant Category
B/W Colour
Inside FRONT cover : - Rs.20,000
Inside BACK cover : - Rs.20,000
Back cover : - Rs.25,000
Full Page : Rs.7,500 Rs.10,000
Half Page : Rs.2,500 Rs. 3,000
Quarter Page : Rs.2,500 -
Strips : Rs. 500 -
Size of Full page: 27cm X 20 cm Last date for entry of advertisement matter is 10th October 2006.
Advertisement material:

Cheques/D.D. may kindly be made in favour of ‘ CUPA’:
Please find enclosed Cash/Cheque/D.D. No ..... dt.....for Rs........
Your valued contribution - personal/Company in the brochure are welcome
Donations to CUPA are exempt from Income Tax under section 80G of the IT Act.

Karthik skydiving

My brother karthik is a very lazy person.Having defined him so accurately I needn't go into indepth explanations as to why I am putting up his experiences on my blog.He went sky diving twice near Charlotte and he hasn't bothered to write about it on his blog. After several futile attempts of coaxing him to write I have taken the task upon myself.

Today I finally saw the video and boy am I ENVIOUS!!!!Just when I was comfortably settled in the thought that after having been to Ladakh, I have conquered the world...I see this video and it thoroughly blows me away.What a magnificant experience to have.

The video is available in google video under the name 'karthik skydiving'.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=120136719761652722&q=karthik+skydiving

This is the mail he sent me describing the whole thing:

"Yeah, the skydiving experience was something that has to be felt...I can't explain it to you. But this is the sequence of events. Its called a 'tandem jump', meaning you are strapped to a harness in front of a professional instructor. So, your life is in his hands! He has the parachute. You just have an altimeter on your wrist, so you know what height you are at. Once I got into the plane, I was like...Ok, this is it! The plane rose 2000 ft with the doors open! Then they closed it. Then there was some humour and stuff like that to lighten the situation. At 12000 ft, the doors open...there is an incredible wind blowing at 140 miles an hour. Its so noisy you have to shout to hear yourself. Then the photographer jumps out as if it means absolutely nothing. That moment when I was standing at the door and looking down...god, I had my heart in my mouth. And then the instructor behind me says..."Reasy, get set, JUMP"!!!

The first 10 seconds of free fall...when you are travelling at 140 miles an hour like a bullet was mind blowing. I thought I was going to die...seriously! Then there was this cool phase when we pierced a cloud and come out of the other side in a fraction of a second! At 14000 feet when you are flying through the air at 140 miles an hour, you feel the whole thing is an illusion...an incredible, unbelievable illusion. Free fall lasted for 1 minute! Think abt falling through the skies for 1 minute...just think...1 minute is eternity when you do things like this!

Then at 5500 feet, he opened the parachute. I didn't even realize it was open. What happened was this...one moment I am whizzing through the skies like a rocket...the next moment everything is still, like a picture. When you are descending from that height in a parachute, you can't feel that you are descending because you don't feel the ground coming closer to you. It just felt like I was sitting there in the sky in the harness...I could see the sun, the clouds and everything below. God, it was simply amazing! The parachute drop lasted 5 minutes...5 minutes of pure ecstacy! And the landing was smooth...landing can be hard you know? People can fracture their legs if they don't land properly. It took me half an hour after that to get back to my senses and reality.

Those 10 seconds after the jump were petrifying and every moment after that was pure bliss. Another cool thing is the silence. When you are free falling, its damn noisy because of the speed at which you are travelling. But when the chute opens, what you hear is pure, pure silence! There is absolutely NO sound at that altitude!
So, that was the essence of the whole thing. No roller coaster ride or anything else I have ever done can match this experience. And to think some people jump from an aeroplane all the time for a living!!
Would I do it again? Hell, yes! The next thing I plan to try is bungee jumping...that's going to be another terrifying experience! After that, I should probably do more "fun" stuff than these "thrill rides"...like scuba diving or something like that. But you never know...you can be a shark's breakfast...so even scuba diving is fraught with dangers!"

Since this comes from a family member, I take the liberty to waive those copyright issues and publish it.

Facts on HIV

As a microbiologist it pains me when people talk umm...rubbish about HIV. I have encountered similar situations when it comes to other perilous organisms like the rabies virus. I have seen educated mothers telling their children not to 'look' at dogs because they have rabies.How on earth do you combat such stupidity? I do not expect everyone to know everything about infections and microorganisms, but don't these people ever think to refer or verify before they confidently talk nonsense?!

These are our so called educated masses. They have access to literature and one hopes a reasonable amount of common sense. Lately rumors have spread that HIV can be transmitted by eating pani puri!! There is something wrong with the way people think in this country. When I was doing my masters in KMC, we did HIV testing on a regular basis and also took up counseling the masses about it. We would show people pictures, graphic ones if possible, so that they would understand. We would have qualified doctors laboring over HIV for hours on end clearing misconceptions and paranoia. Yet,I have seen people adamantly sticking to their senseless beliefs. In so many instances I've seen people retaliate with answers like "doc,we understand what you are saying but believe me HIV spread via towels.....Muniappa,next door got it that way". No matter how hard we tried to clear the poor man's notions, Muniappa's mode of infection always won. My frustration is that you can do wonders when it comes to spreading awareness, you can come up with slogans and pictures to drive the nail in but when some people take leave of their senses and stubbornly stick to their bizzare beliefs, its close to impossible to break that wall.

These are some points everyone should know about HIV :

* Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) requires ONLY Blood or Semen as it's medium to transmit from one body to another.

* HIV cannot transmit through Saliva (mucous) i.e. even if a HIV-infected patient coughs or smooches and another person is exposed to his sputum (cough) or saliva, the virus still cannot transmit because the concentration of virus particles in sputum is almost NIL & exposure to air anyway kills the virus in fraction of seconds.

* In case the HIV-infected person gets an injury and he is bleeding, the virus can transmit to another person only if the other person has a cut/wound in his body & that too when blood from both persons comes in contact with each other (this is also very very rare unless bleeding is very high) and not otherwise.

* HIV can never survive in any other liquid medium other than blood or semen (& please for God's sake ... never in Pani Puri wala pani).

* Even if one drinks an HIV infected blood (or semen) of someone (ingestion through Gastro Intestinal track), the virus cannot survive in the acidic pH of the stomach. Highest extent of acidity is 0 (practically impossible) so imagine 1 as the pH which is in our stomach. (This pH can burn your own fingers in less than a second if you dip them in that acid).

*Exposure of less than 1 second in AIR KILLS the HIV virus (hence the story of needle pricks in cinema theatres is complete crap). Even if blood from a wound (of infected person) dries up (blood clot), the virus dies and cannot infect anyone else.

* HIV transmission is ONLY an INFECTION i.e. entrance of virus in one's body. It DOES NOT MEAN AIDS.

* An HIV-infected person (after entrance of virus) can progress to a condition of AIDS only after 8 to 10 YEARS .It is not the HIV (virus) that kills a human ..... the virus attacks immune cells (cells that fight against foreign pathogens/antigens) and hence a person's ability to fight against infections & diseases slowly diminishes and the person ultimately dies of a disease which could be as simple as TB.

* Most importantly, HIV is no longer dreadful disease ... it is "CHRONIC MANAGEABLE DISEASE" just like Diabetes or Hypertension.If there is anything you need to know about, it is that prevention of HIV is by avoiding unsafe sex, unsafe blood transfusion (check before taking) / Blood donation (use sterilized needles only) and any blood contact during an accident or where the amount of bleeding is very high.HIV also spreads from the mother to the fetus.

Reply to the open letter addressed to me ;-)

Jellicles wrote this on August 6th.

Dear Jellicles,

I am feeling as fit as a fiddle. I really hope our little adventure wasn't too harsh on you. How do I ever thank you for carrying 30 kilos of my stuff including my make-up kit and portable TV?!But then recently it has come to my notice that a pair of tweezers and an antenna are missing.I sincerely hope you haven't dropped it on that 'little hillock' you 'trekked' up.Because if you have I know, having a clear conscience as you do, you would be climbing up there once again on a special search mission.

What haven't you done for me!!!Sigh!!Such devotion to my trekking interests.But I disticntly remember telling you that at your 'age' you would need 3 extra pair of lungs, 1 extra rib cage and several tubes of 'Move balm' to aid you arthritic joints. But my agility and vitality clouded your better senses on your fitness condition and you chose to huff and puff up a hillock that was.......ummmm.......LESS THAT 1000M HIGH!!!!!

Though I confer that the expidition was gory, it was quite an eye opener on the evil, irrational side of our religion. All those animal sacrifices have been brought to the notice of animal welfare organizations and one hopes to solve the problem as it is illegal.

But getting back to your bleeding soles, my dear tenderfoot, be of stout heart. Life is full of such err...jagged moments!!Also regarding your mother, I am sure she is thrilled that I gave her citified daughter a chance to enjoy some rustic charm and get out of her expensive leather boots.

Hope to enjoy many more of such memorable moments with you.

Love,

Anushya.

Ladakh - 3

Leh as I said is like a hill station at 3500 meters. It is open to tourists only for couple of months a year.It is a lazy town, everyone walks at a snail's pace, shops open towards the afternoon and close again in a few hours for a siesta. It is strewn with German cafe's,Tibetan restaurants,rows upon rows of shops selling jewelry and souvenirs,Tibetan open markets,Kashmiri stores selling carpets that are priced in lakhs.We started our tour in Leh on a very informative note. We saw this documentary on Ladakh and its culture, the changes that the land and people were going through under the influence of tourism.The dominating religions there are Buddhism and Islam. Ladakhi's are very friendly,laid back yet very very hard working people. There is a look of serenity on all their faces. I never saw an unhappy child in those 5 days I spent there.They looked like cherubs with rosy cheeks. The Ladakhi have such enviable happy wizened faces.

Arriving at Leh is like suddenly entering an oasis after hours of travel through never-never land. The greenery and sudden burst of life splashed amidst the barren desert is a quenching and refreshing sight. The roads are narrow and lined by ancient houses made of mud and bricks. Strewn all over are Stupas and colorful Gompas. Stupas are globus structures which represent the basic principle of Buddism, i.e. interdependence of everything to everything else and the harmony that exsists between them.
Gompas are monasteries.

The shanti stupa meaning world peace in Japanese was inaugarated by the Dalai lama in 1985. It stands on top of Changspa overlooking a panoramic veiw of distant snow capped mountains cosseting an indolent,ancient town.

Hemis Monastery is one of the richest, biggest and most famous gompa in Ladakh.The monastery houses silver chortens studded with precious and semi precious stones, an impressive library of Tibetan style books, large number of thankas, various images of Buddha and frescoes including the famous "Wheel of Life".To me the monastery signified silence and comfort.

Thiksey is an imposing monastery and one of the finest example of Ladakhi architecture. It contains numerous stupas, statues, wall paintings, swords and a large pillar engraved with the Buddha's teachings. The main prayer hall has a 15 mt high seated Buddha figure.It was getting hotter as the afternoon wore on. Th silence in this monastery was so strong ,it started to ring in my ears. All of us were feeling sleepy and having climbed several steps to get there, we all settled in one tired heap in front of the huge Buddha.One of the monks was sitting reading his scriptures.The windows behind him were open and I just couldn't imagine a more beautiful place for a monastery to be. The tall Buddha seemed to be overlooking all those bare mountains reaching far upto the horizon.

Pangong lake(14000+ft).....This lake had every shade of blue, violet, green and purples I had ever seen.Beyond this point words fail me so I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.

Then there was the cultural show we saw on our last day in Leh. I was really wondering why on earth their dances were so slow until I joined in and realised...at that altitude and with those heavy torquoise studded costumes moving a couple of steps in snychrony is a big feat.

11 days,14 friends, 1 unimaginably great trip.So many memories and momets flit by me.To end this I would really want to come up with some famous last lines but in all honesty the only thing that makes perfect sense and is the truth is......'Some experiences in life are too big or too complex that it just cannot be expressed by words or contained by even the choicest of adjectives.'

Ladakh - 2

Day 2 of our journey to Leh was dominated by 3 colors.Brown,blue and white.Piercing blue skies,puffy white clouds and more mountains in every shade of brown.Occasionally we would pass a military check post where a handful of army men wearing green uniforms would provide the only contrast to an otherwise uninhabited land.We were climbing higher and higher to the world's second highest motorable pass at 17852ft called Tanglangla.Suddenly all around us were snow capped mountains.The ones at a distance looked darker and very much like a black forest cake with all the icing. The clouds were so dense and so close to the mountain tops that their shadows were cast on them.









I don't think I can really explain the feel of that day.The smell of the barren mountains,the feel of the dust on our faces,the cold breeze layering our skin and the sun blazing at a distance trying to permeate some warmth. Many of the glaciers were melting because of which several mountains had lovely waterfalls at every other crevice.From a distance they looked like thin white ribbons.

I guess all that sand hardened over the years and the wind and erosion chiselled out wierd projections and formations on the rocks.It was interesting because we spent long hours in the car discussing and interpreting our prespectives of those formations.The journey to Tanglangla was one straight vertical road up a mountain.An ascent to almost 18000ft is a bizzare experience.The lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain disorients the person, the simple task of inhalation becomes tiresome.For some people. Here I shall proudly claim that I would have put a mountain goat to shame with my agility. I belonged there. The world is different at that height, thoughts are different, strange emotions seep in. The body feels lighter even though breathing is difficult. This was one of my favorite part of the vacation.

We reached Leh that evening caked with dust, hungry and very very happy.After having crossed 7 towering mountains and spanned 500 kms,it felt amazing to arrive.
..........contd.........

Ladakh - 1

Some experiences in life are too big or too complex that it just cannot be expressed by words or contained by even the choicest of adjectives.I had been on a road trip to Ladakh 3 weeks ago and it occured to me on my way back that a whole bunch of people I know would want to hear all about it.What would I tell them?Should I take on the Herculean task of giving them a close description or should I just leave it at "oh! it was a wonderful trip,I had a great time.You should go there someday"?

Ladakh is an experience that can never be described to anyone.It's really like being in love;noone can explain it for you,you just have to experience it yourself.But that kind of sublime logic really doesn't go down well with people who are giving you the expectant glare and the respectful silence for you to launch off into a long embellished narrative.That is why I decided that I would take the midpoint.For those of you interested,I am putting up some photos and describing only those bits.

Before I start off I wish to make this clear to all aspiring vacationers to Ladakh.Never ever fly to Leh.Those Chinese chappies who came up with some proverb that a travel was about the journey and not the destination were very right.Leh is like a hill station amidst a desert at around 12000ft.It has steep roads,lots of winding,confusing lanes filled with tourists from all over the world,framed by a panoramic veiw of snow capped mountains.But it's that road trip of 500kms from Manali to Leh that really changes a person forever.It's those 20 odd hours of journey through monstrous mountains,through the ever changing landscapes,through endless,meandering,purple roads that really alters one's outlook on life.

Manali started off with luscious mountains covered with pine trees at the foot of which rivers,streams and brooks gushed over pebbles and under bridges.Manali would always remind me of lazy streets lined with Chinese and Indian restaurants,Kashmiri shops bursting with shawls and precious gems,100's of honey-mooners (some of whom had to prove that point to themselves and others by wearing same colored clothes and walking so close to each other that they could easily have been accomodated in just one set of clothes).The mountains there were hidden by thick fog and burly branches of all those trees.

As we drove higher and higher past Rathong pass,Keylong and Darcha the greenery kept getting scarce until it just wrapped the mountains like a thin veil.As the temperatures dipped slowly,this feeble attempt of nature to keep the mountains green was dying out.The pebbles and boulders emerged between the blades of grass,almost in protest.


14 of us set off on 2 Qualis on a long and wonderful journey.Somewhere along the way we realised we had left the whole of civilisation behind.For miles and miles ours were the only 2 cars inching slowly into the heart of those barren mountains, raising a cloud of dust in it's wake.For long stretches there were no clear roads.The rubble from the landslides were roughly thrown to a side,leaving a thin strip for vehicles to pass through.We jolted,lurched and were shaken to our bones.But I would say,the only thing noisier than the drive were our laughter and shrieks everytime we were thrown off our seats in the car.

The winds were blowing strong and uncontrolled.The chill in the air was a complete novelty to us.Cold winters are one thing, but this raw,biting climate of the desert was ruthless and unbidden.Halfway to Leh,we stopped for the night at a transit camp called Sarchu.We reached there around 9, half frozen and starving.Sarchu defines middle of nowhere.It's simply another planet.On a vast stretch of barren land between imposing, dark mountains people have pitched tents and they run hotels.There are rows of small white tents to sleep in,one large tent for the dining hall,and one tent for the staff to snuggle in.That night's dinner was unforgettable.In the freezing cold,the food was brought hot and appetizing.We had countless glasses of hot lemon tea to keep us warm.We huddled in a group to trap all that body heat.We had one chant going repeatdly...."Mind over matter".

I was awake till 2 in the night.The temperatures were hovering around 2 and 3.I watched the moon rise through those mountains, the looming shadows recede as the moon beamed on.The skies were a white sheet, studded with a zillion stars. I felt for a moment that the entire universe was looking down at me and twinkling.Shooting stars whizzed by in a frenzy.The winds squalled noisily threatening to blow away all the tents.Everything looked bigger and stronger in that silvery hue.It was so overwhelming and powerful.We slept on beds that were blocks of ice.The blankets were no better.The heat from our bodies would dissipate in seconds and so the body would go into spasms to produce more heat.We all shivered through the night,our bones and teeth rattling.

Sarchu was what really changed us all.There are people who live in this harsh climate throughout the year.The Indian army camps here even in winters when the temperature touches -20.They live on rationed food,for it has to be brought on trucks from far cities. The depleted levels of oxygen or heat means nothing to them.They live normal lives like we do in the city. What were we thinking?There was so much more to life than we could ever imagine. There is always so much more to us than we think we are capable of.In that silence,under naked skies we discovered volumes about ourselves.

....Contd....

Thomas Gray quotes.

“Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”

“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour,
The paths of glory lead but to the grave”

Memoirs of A...nushya ;-)

I spent all of last sunday at home, helping my mother spruce the house.Cleaning and rearranging is loads of fun because 1.I seldom do it,so it's a novel chore for me and 2.Many memories and treasures eventually surface from beneath forgotten piles or unopened cupboards and boxes.As I was going through a particularly lonesome,decrepit suitcase;I found some photos of my brother and myself taken eons ago.It was a lazy afternoon and my mother was reminiscing stories of our childhood.My eyelids were getting heavier and heavier.Time revolved back in concentric circles,going round and round till I was 4 or even younger in Calcutta.

I could see myself running around in a pretty blue frock with a grey teddy bear tucked under my arms,talking to myself.While my brother was sitting on the dining chair,dressed in red,coloring a book,absorbed and intent as if he were working on some blueprint of a rocket design.All through these images,I could hear my mother's voice telling me how different we both were right from the beginning.My brother being the the first born was inherently responsible,mature,focussed and quite intelligent.When he was born,she had the easiest time teaching him,be it numbers or alphabets,to tell time,play chess etc.He took to lessons like a fish to water or err.....bears to honey ;-)

Then I came along.I was the antithesis of everything he was.I was noisy and gregarious,unpredictable and least interested in anything academic.I didn't learn to tell time till quite late and I seemed hardly bothered by it.To me,desires and moods were a better guide to do anything than numbers pointed by wall clocks.My brother was quiet and reserved,interested in cerebral things.I didn't believe in wasting time over anything for more than 2 mins.I believed in equality and giving everything,be it people or things,around me a fair share of my attention. When my mother tried teaching me chess,for the first time,I swatted all the unnecessary coins off the board,marched my king right across to the other and yelled check mate.I didn't see any point in weaving thick plots,meandering slowly through a game that could finish in a couple of seconds.Before my mother could explain the intricacies of the game,my attention was already diverted to other matters.




Those were the days when "older brother" meant someone to look upto,someone who stood up for you.Much to the annoyance of my brother,I did everything he did.When we went to restaurants,I ordered all that he did.I still remember for years I went around fussing and refusing to eat capsicum because he never liked it.And all that time I would dream and drool about that vegetable I loved.I guess,independant thinking was a process I developed much later in life.It was just safer to follow his wake,for he was never wrong.Some memories remain much longer than others and I still can't forget the rains in Calcutta,when every road would be flooded,rivers of rain water flowing by our apartments.We were let off from our schools and we would spend the whole day making paper boats setting it sailing in those rivers.

W stayed in Calcutta for 8 years.For me most of the memories from there are distant and hazy because they were the first 8yrs of my life.As my mother went over so many of them that afternoon,I was so grateful for the richness in my life,of relationships and good times,of a loving family and an interesting childhood.

ZZZZZ.....

I have been getting up every morning with neck and back ache,hardly feeling refreshed from my sleep.I feel my spine has curled up into french knots,the muscles and ligaments have teamed in and are in toto pretending to be an embroidery. I cleverly attributed it to my sleep position.Obviously,if I sleep in postures that would put a swiss acrobat to shame,then beyond doubt,my spine will be on strike.I did some research on this and I chanced upon this site which links personality to the sleep position.I had heard of this before,but read the detail today for the first time.Here goes:

The 6 different positions:

The Foetus: Those who curl up in the foetus position are described as tough on the outside but sensitive at heart. They may be shy when they first meet somebody, but soon relax.
This is the most common sleeping position, adopted by 41% of the 1,000 people who took part in the survey. More than twice as many women as men tend to adopt this position.
Log (15%): Lying on your side with both arms down by your side. These sleepers are easy going, social people who like being part of the in-crowd, and who are trusting of strangers. However, they may be gullible.
The yearner (13%): People who sleep on their side with both arms out in front are said to have an open nature, but can be suspicious, cynical. They are slow to make up their minds, but once they have taken a decision, they are unlikely ever to change it.
Soldier (8%): Lying on your back with both arms pinned to your sides. People who sleep in this position are generally quiet and reserved. They don't like a fuss, but set themselves and others high standards.
Freefall (7%): Lying on your front with your hands around the pillow, and your head turned to one side. Often gregarious and brash people, but can be nervy and thin-skinned underneath, and don't like criticism, or extreme situations.
Starfish (5%): Lying on your back with both arms up around the pillow. These sleepers make good friends because they are always ready to listen to others, and offer help when needed. They generally don't like to be the centre of attention.



People reading this,do tell me which one is yours?

Sometime back a friend of mine wrote a blog titled "Will the following people kindly get off this planet".It was a huge list starting with people who inflicted cruelty on animals and going on to those who destroyed nature,had no civic sense,etc etc.I want to add these:
1.People who are thoroughly insensitive to other people's feelings.
2.People who take emotions for granted.
3.People who are wimps and won't stand up and fight for what they believe.
4.People who wallow in self pity and use that as an excuse to weasel out of situations.
5.People who don't take their commitments seriously.
6.People who act like a matyr.
7.People who lie.
8.People who would do anything they want to and then justify it saying- life goes on.
9.People who contradict and twist situations to their benefit.

And then sometimes instead of aspiring to be like someone,it's more important to learn who not to be like.That by itself could make us a better person...

Jinny-2

We lived in chennai when we brought our Jinny boy home.Our house was a road away from the Eliots beach,with an enormous garden.The first night we brought him home,all of us sat around him in a circle and stared at him like a specimen in a formalin jar.The thing was, he gave us tough competition by staring right back at us.Now when I think back,it was almost like one of those Matrix scenes,everyone frozen in their places.Thus,the naming ceremony began.

Amma suggested names like Vittal,Ramanujam,Ananthagopalan,Muralikrishna and the likes.Appa kept fervently nodding at whatever she said in the hope that if he encouraged her,she might actually come up with short,real doggy names.My brother and I were plainly disgusted.When Shaarangapani came along,we couldn't take it anymore.We protested animatedly and told her she would soon be out of the naming game if this continued.Every single standard dog name got thrown in like Pluto,Snowy,Browny,whitey,Brutus,Fluffy and what not.All were eventually discarded because none of these names remotely justified his unique profile.Jinny meanwhile got bored and started chasing his little tail.Finally my brother came up with the brilliant suggestion 'genie'.I was at a stage where anything my brother said was impressive and gospel.I raised my voice,both my hands,cried genie to the skies and registered him in. The purity of the name lasted all of 24 hrs.We South Indians have a huge penchant for stressing syllables.My grandmother couldn't pronounce genie.She tried cheenee,chinny and other phonetically similar words.And so finally we umm...radicals had to succumb to genie's degradation to Jinny.

Jinny was such a loving pup.He would wake us up every morning and we played with him till we had to get ready for school.In the evening we would run back from our bus stops and he would be waiting eagerly at the gates.He was new,intersting and exciting.We felt responsible for him and in those responsibilites our love grew. Since he was our first pet,we had to learn how to hold him,what to feed him and how to bathe him.He was full of energy and life.We would all run to the beach and spend hours there playing.In those silent,sultry,summer nights my parents sat outside on the porch after dinner while we 3 played in the garden.Ran around one another,Jinny weaving between our legs and tripping all of us.He established a hierarchy very soon.My mother held alpha position,followed by my dad.My brother,he considered serious competition and a threat to his position and I....well,I really didn't figure. :-) He dismissed me as a harmless insect on the very first night.

Those days,when Jinny was growing up,appa never wore socks or banyans I think.Because Jinny would hunt specifically for them in the laundry pile,pick them up and run into the garden to bury it in some remote corner.No matter where we hid those socks they would end up buried in the garden looking very dead and useless.We tried giving him cheweys and biscuits to bury but none of them held the attraction like a pair of socks.Why he did this,we could never fathom. Some canine quirk I guess!!

One day when we took him for a walk along the beach road,Jinny met Spotty.Spotty was a huge black and white, over friendly, fluffy fellow.They met like long lost brothers.There was a lot of shrill barking,wagging of tails,jumping and fur flying everywhere.It was a reunion of sorts.Some days later we saw Jinny sitting near the gate in serious conversation with Spotty who was sitting across him on the other side of the gate.I have never ever seen dogs holding such serious,weighty conference like they did.No one would believe us but it did happen.

What the parley was,we soon got to know.Jinny got up from his place with a purposeful glint in his eyes.He marched right into the house and traipsed out with a tennis ball in his mouth.He placed the ball by the gate and nudged it with his nose so that it rolled outside and was caught promptly by Spotty.Then Jinny did something I have seldom seen any untrained dog do.He took a couple of paces back,tautened his muscles,lowered his neck and front legs and charged at the gate.When he almost reached the gate,he took a phenominal leap and landed on the other side effortlessly on his paws.It was like something out of the movie -speed,where that bus accelerates to tremendous speeds,reaches the edge ,brakes and flies over the unbuilt part. Both buddies gave us a victorious look and then galloped with the ball towards the beach.This was their plan,their little scheme.They looked so handsome,like heroes riding into the sunset as winners.

Even years later when we mentioned Spotty,Jinny's ear would perk up and he would look expectantly for his best friend.We drove down from Chennai to Bangalore when we shifted.Five of us plus Jinny in our aging Fiat car.It was a very sad cinematic scene for us to part these two great friends.Spotty ran behind the car for a long time and Jinny hung his head out of the window looking at his friend for as long as he could.I wish we had taken Spotty along with us.Today I dream of having a house full of dogs,full of frienship and love.Today I know there will always be space in my heart and my home for one more animal,for one more friend.I wish I could take that stand then.Jinny and Spotty would have enriched our lives so much more.

Some love quotes I like

"Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in love." Albert Einstein

"How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?" Albert Einstein

"Do you love me because I am beautiful,or am I beautiful because you love me?"Cinderella

"Men always want to be a woman's first love,women like to be a man's last romance." Oscar Wilde

"LOVE: The irresistable desire to be irresistibly desired."Mark Twain

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires,and a touch that never hurts."Charles Dickens

All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon the sand. Ella Wheeler Wilcox

There is no remedy for love but to love more. Henry David Thoreau

When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. Albert Camus (1913-1960)

"I judge how much a man cares for a woman by the space he allots her under a jointly shared umbrella."Jimmy Cannon

Large animal camp.

The animal welfare organisation I volunteer for conducted a large animal camp last week.We have adopted a village which is remote in terms of veterinary help as well as the distance from the highway.When we reached there,we were welcomed by a huge crowd of cows,bulls,sheeps,assorted Indian dogs and many hens which were scampering about,trying not to get under any hooves.It was lovely and fresh in the morning,the sheeps were highly quizzical wrinkling their pink noses at the ambulance and us.The cattle ofcourse were the epitome of nonchanlance,chewing their cud.They couldn't be too bothered by a couple of outsiders and a large white ambulance.In the cow community,ruminating is serious business considering they have 4 stomachs to fill and they can't possible let themselves be distracted.

I love villages.I've spent many summers with my grandparents in our village learning to ride a bullock cart,taking care of all the farm animals and lazing about on the huge pile of hay.It doesn't matter which state it is, all the villages are similar in many aspects.The same smell of cows and cowdung,old hay,hot milk,and ofcourse all the flowers that bloom ,the smell of authentic, organic cooking.Everyone is busy in the morning.The men leave early for the fields and the women clean the houses.In south Indian villages the rangoli forms an important and mandatory decoration in front of the house.The front yard is first swept,cleaned with water and then smeared with fresh cowdung.Then before it dries,the rangoli is drawn.The color combination is very beautiful of pristine white rangoli powder on a background of greeshish brown.

This village was a little dirty but nothing that I hadn't seen before.We started treating all the animals one by one.I spoke to a vet from the government hospital who had come to help us out and the various facts he told me was highly disheartening.This village was primarily a dairy community because of lack of irrigation and dependence on monsoon for agriculture.So their cows were the means to their income.These animals were highly malnourished and full of problems.The breed used for milk production was the HF.When a cow calved,if the calf was male ,then it was immediately sent to the slaughter house for the bulls of the HF breed served no use in agriculture.The poor little thing would be sold to butchers before it even got its first meal.If the cow didn't produce sufficient milk then it would be slaughtered.So for this animal life is a very vicious cycle.It gets very little food,so it's malnourished,therefore it has problems in conceiving or combatting contagious diseases.If it's ill or doesn't calve then it becomes a liability to the breeder,who stops feeding it.The cow gets weaker and weaker until it is sold to slaughter houses.

The life of these animals is gauranteed only if it produces the required amount of milk!!!Their lives are dependant on that one fluid!!

Most of the times the villagers are helpless because of the economic constraints.It's not that they care any less for their animals but they are unable to give it the quality of life it deserves.The problem is huge, going beyond the boundries of animal welfare and merging with realm of human difficulties and issues.

The day was long and tiring.We achieved a lot yet realized we had barely touched the tip of the iceberg.There was so much to be done.I enjoyed every minute of that day.The air was clean,the only sounds were of birds chirping and cows mooing.An occasional dog would register it's presence with a bark.The people were hospitable and friendly.Over 100 animals were treated that day.It was a lot of hard work but personally...I couldn't have toiled for a better cause.

Hehehe.......

I love this weather.Just before it rains,it gets dark and cloudy,a cool breeze blowing.I love to stand around and look at others hurrying for various reasons.From my balcony,I see so many scurrying souls below.Children rushing out of the swimming pool,mothers removing all the clothes hung out on the balconies,walkers turning back home.Our apartment has loads of pigeons and I see them being buffeted by the wind,while they bravely fight it head on to get to their shelter.The eagles on the other hand are in total control.They glide better,faster and they cut the wind with efficient ease.

I love the smell of earth before it rains.For those of you,who might be remotely interested - The smell is called Geosmin caused by a group of bacteria and algae.It's so refreshing and stimulating.When the earth gets very hot and the first drop of rain falls on it,I can almost hear it let out a sizzle of heat,closing it's eyes and sighing,waiting to be quenched.I love the sound the heavier drops make when they hit the earth.How they spread out into a blob with many arms ending in tiny pear shaped drops.They form a huge bulge before they are soaked up wantonly by the parched earth and in few seconds they are gone.

I stood for so long getting soaked in the rain,so many thoughts running in my head.It was just me,the winds and the water it sprayed towards me.So cold and yet so comforting.

I've been reading...

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,

pray that the road is long,

full of adventure,full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the angry poseidon - do not fear them:

You will never find such as these on your path

if your thoughts remain lofty,if a fine

emotion touches your spirit and your body.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,

if you do not carry them within your soul,

if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.

That the summer mornings are many,when,

with such pleasure,with such joy,

you will enter ports seen for the first time;

stop at Phoenician markets,

and purchase fine merchandise,

mother-of-pearl and coral,amber and ebony,

and sensual perfumes of all kinds,

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for many years;

and to anchor at the island when you are old,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would never have set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor,Ithaca has not decieved you.

Wise as you have become,with so much experience,

You must already have understood what Ithaca means.

-Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)

**********************************************

According to the writer Jorge Luis Borges,the idea of the Zahir comes from the Islamic tradition and is thought to have arisen at some point in the 18th century.Zahir,in Arabic,means visible,present,incapable of going unnoticed.It is someone or something which,once we have come into contact with them or it,gradually occupies our every thought,until we can think of nothing else.This can be considered either a state of holiness or madness

-Faubourg Saint-Peres

Decisions decisions decisions......

I got an interview call few weeks ago.The job profile was very interesting.I loved the office.My interview went excellent.Everything was fine until the HR guys told me I would have to submit all my original marks card from 10th std onwards.They would hold onto it for a period of 2 years.2 years????Thats the way these companies retain their employees??Not by providing challenging jobs or an attractive pay packet but by confining them by these underhanded ways.Is it even legal?

Their point is that...They feel once the freshers get trained, they leap to another job so fast that they would put a leopard to shame.In the end, the company becomes a mere training centre.They lose a lot in terms of resource and time.The first year,the fresher is on probation,gets trained and in the second,he or she is expected to give back unto the company,what the company has trained them for.At the end of 2 years they would return the certificates.They claim that in case of "genuine" reasons like relocation or marriage where the spouse is leaving India,they would ..ummm...release us so to speak.

My argument is this....
1.Genuine is a broad and relative term.I say,if at the end of 1 year into a job,I get an offer from some other place which has a better profile and an even better growth potential for me,then wouldn't that be a genuine reason for me to shift?Loyalty is a wonderful trait,but should be at the cost of my career advancement,that too right at the beginning of it?
2.There is always the safety issue.Ofcourse,I know they won't use my certificates as tissue paper but a commercial organisation withholding academic certificates still unsettles me.Ok,here is a hypothetical scenario of an extreme case.What if the company gets sold to someone else during that 2 year period and the new chappies lose my certs.Then what??
3.Won't it be a psychological disadvantage to the employee at any point?There is no guarantee to anything.If I like the job,my boss,my colleagues then 2 years would seem negligible time but in the reverse case,I would suffer every second of it.More because I know I could'nt get out for 2 years which would prolong and drag till eternity.My enthusiasm would plummet and the quality of work would flag.Is it worth retaining any employee even then?

I spoke to N number of people.I got shuttled between the for and against of the arguement.
"2 years is hardly anytime to dedicate to something thats worth it,so don't worry,it'll fly by."
"Don't take it up,when freedom is denied,nothing makes up for it"
"You must prioritize."
"This industry has great potential"
"No,don't bother.Other better opportunities will come your way"
"Where and how do you see yourself 5 years from now?"

Everyone confused me till the point I couldn't hear their voices anymore.I felt I was sitting watching some tennis match,my thoughts moving left and right,wondering which side played the better game.This couldn't continue for too long.I was given 2 days to decide and I decided.I refused the job offer they made.My logic was that I would never be convinced of their method of retaining employees no matter how great the industry was.To me my sense of freedom is more important than any incentive a company can give.

I felt a little sad for a couple of days.I had to give up on a job that seemed interesting all because of one policy.I thought of the person who took the job instead of me.Then I forgot all about it till I got a call today from them.They were willing to hike my pay if I would join them.Hehehe...the conversation was lovely.I was excited to work for them all over again until they crowned it again with the policy.Well they couldn't bend it or waive it just for me but they were willing to do anything else that would help me take the job.

Wow!I guess thats what it feels like to be in demand,sought after but as this isn't a suspense or mystery story you all know what my answer was......

:-(

Some wounds I feel are too deep to ever heal. They are caused by breach of strong barriers of love, trust or faith. Time and space do nothing to balm them. They keep festering and they infect happiness and peace of mind. You keep pretending it’s not there but life has changed because of it. You try to keep it at bay so you can function normally but with each attempt it advances, gets taller and taller, until one day like a tidal wave nothing would hold it back. What if it engulfed me someday? How do I fight something so painful yet so strong?