Courtesan's Street, Hampi

From Hampi V2

Said to have been the liveliest of all streets in Hampi, the Courtesans' Street lies in front of the Achyuta Raya's Temple - barely seen at the far end of the picture.

We, quite literally, stumbled upon this place after a day of touristy sight-seeing. We had seen the places every tourist saw - the temples, the ruins, etc., and we decided to walk around Hampi. We walked along the river, saw another set of ruins and climbed the hill. On the other side, lay the vast expanse seen here.

Of all the ruins, this was the most natural - devoid of renovations and modern props. The only place in Hampi where I felt the age of the place.

The Trip to the Fall

It's been a year since my trip to Dudhsagar, Goa last year and here's a story often told but not written so far; a story I wished to forget but one that remains etched in memory. I made a passing mention of this in the previous post - here's the full story.

We had decided to go to Dudhsagar the next morning - but, when I got up the following day, I didn't feel like getting out at 5am - so, we decided to postpone the trip. But then, when I got up at 7am, I wanted to give it a try. And so, thanks to me, we left 2 hours late and reached Colem. It was going very well - we'd been helped by one of the passers by - he'd given us very specific directions on how to reach the waterfalls.

Initially, it was quite scary to ride along the railway track - we've never done this before and Amir was hoping the bike doesn't give us any trouble till we get out. We were quite cautious along the railway track. But, once we reached the mud track, I relaxed. I took my D80 out of my bag and wanted to take pictures as we rode along the way. I have to mention, this was against my friend's word of caution to leave the camera inside and hold on to the bike. Being the smart kid I am, I refused. We'd have gone a bit further, when he was trying to negotiate an upward slope, my feet touched the ground, and before I knew it, I was trying to get on my feet - I was on the ground, holding my camera high up in the air. And, the first thing I said was "I think I am bleeding."

I had banged my head on the ground. When my friend, Amir, had a look - he freaked.

To say 'he freaked' is an understatement - and quite understandably so. Here we were, in the middle of the jungle - we'd seen no one else on our way - and he had someone with blood flowing from her head. At that time, I didn't know how bad I'd hurt myself. I thought he was getting worried for no good reason. Of course, until much later, I won't know. When he suggested we head back, I insisted on going ahead. After all, we were far into the jungle - why return without reaching the waterfall! And, that's what we did.
We reached the end of the road - and there's no way you can see the waterfall. I didn't even know in which direction it was. You walk down a couple of steps (depending on the water level) and cross the stream to reach a small patch of land in the middle. You cross again and again - before you reach the rocks right in front of the waterfall.

After resting there for a while, we decided to head back - thankfully, we made our way out without another adventure.Only when we were on the main road did I realise how bad I was hurt. We walked into the first hospital we found - ESI refused to treat without the card. Onto the next hospital and I got stitched up - my first stitches as far as I can remember!

What we call

Here's another hilarious story from my kadubari friend.

Dude goes to Abu Dhabi for an on-site assignment - he was planning to stay for a month and was stuck for 6 months. Now, that's a different story. While in Abu Dhabi, one fine day, he goes to give a demo to their clients - job's done, feedback taken, AIs noted, etc., and it is time to return. With a 1.5 hour ride ahead, he wanted to find a washroom.

So, he asks the translator "Where can I find a washroom?" The bewildered translator asks "What's that?" And, the dude explains ... to which the translator says "Oh, that one!! we call it.... ummm..... latrine"

Lunch time rant

Lunch time.
Someone said "I don't know how you manage to stay this slim. I wish I could be like you"
I wanted to tell them it is not as good as it seems ... Folks wish they could be as slim and still eat the way I do... I wish the food I eat has some effect on my weight!

War

There is a war waging in my heart - and like my best friend said today "Sometimes, I don't understand God's purpose" But then, I remind myself

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do
But I am very sure of one thing
My Lord will see me through

Life and Death

Life's given a number of experiences that do not have an obvious reason - I don't know why I had to go through them. And, for the past few days, my prayer has been about that - to be able to accept all experiences, to be able to learn from them.

The heart-rending last one has nothing to do with me. On Tuesday, after my exam, I had to cross the road. While I was crossing, I noticed a man crossing the road too - holding what appeared to be a baby wrapped in towels. Though I don't know why - something seemed rather odd. I crossed the road, walked a bit, and looked for a share auto. One came by immediately and I got in - only to find an old lady crying and singing some sad song and she was holding the baby. She went on crying and the man had tears in his eyes too. Suddenly, he too started crying and the auto driver asked "What happened". You know what, the baby had died.

It was so sad - they were crying all the way - taking the baby home for the last time. And, I didn't know what to do.

And, I still have a lot of unanswered questions. Ain't that a part of life?

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do
But I am very sure of one thing
My Lord will see me through

Study Leave

Yup! This 10-day long break from work is my study leave. Instead of leaving all the books in my head...

I learnt to move my site to a new host - step by step
I learnt to set up a redirect
I went shopping - bought things I'd otherwise not even think of buying! Let's blame it all on my sweet sister :)
I went to the beach - a visit to Chennai without going to the beach is not complete - there's another hilarious post coming up!
I ate and ate and ate... and still remain the same 50kg!
And, for the last 2 days, I've been trying get some subject matter into my head. Which includes, statistics and probability into the questions that may be asked in the exam. Probability on statistics paper - not bad, huh?

Now, I hope... and hope... I pass those exams!

Picture This

Took the MMTS from Secunderabad to Hi-Tech amidst the downpour. For the first time ever, the train was really slow  and doubled the travel time - almost as if they were searching for something on the track! I was standing near the door for a while 'coz there was no place to sit and then found a place to sit. Among the usual crowd and baggages, there was this scene that caught my eye.

Three college kids (I presume) - two boys and one girl were seated at the end (the long seat that stretches along the entire width). One was wearing a bright yellow tshirt (with a Harry Potter-ish look), the other had a red bag - and I thought, that would be a lovely picture - the bright colors, etc. They were chatting among themselves and next to the girl sat this lady in a burkha - fully covered with only her eyes exposed.

I don't know what the three were talking about - but this lady was staring at the guy, wide-eyed!

PS: I had written this on June 9 - but wasn't sure if I should post and left it as a draft. But, even as I read it today, I can picture the scene :) Can you?

Treasures - Love, life, and memories

I am home for a week - a much needed break! And, I decided to clear up some old clothes. Now, am left feeling like a sentimental idiot. I found my school uniforms! Higher secondary (1998) and middle school (1994)! Gosh! And, then II thought, why not take some pictures. So, I spent this afternoon clicking away :) This is what you get when I am home for a week ... fun :)

found the tie-and-dye fancy things I'd made in college - looks ridiculously funny now. I found a good load of saree blouses - my inheritance from granny!! I don't think I'd ever wear them nor do I have the heart to throw them! In fact, I don't even remember why I took them.

I found a favorites dress of mine - a pretty orange one with beads and laces. I don't know about you - but I have some favorite dresses - the ones that have some special memory or just made you feel like a princess (or a prince). This one and a couple of other pretty dresses have a story behind them.
Years later, when I was no longer the kid, when I could appreciate the prettiness of a saree, I got to know that some of my prettiest dresses of younger days were made from mom's sarees. When they couldn't buy nice dresses and new material for festivals, mom would cut one of her pretty sarees and make dresses for me and my sister. This orange frock is from one of her sarees. I don't know if I'd have the heart to cut a saree as pretty as that! Mother's love!

And then, I found a bunch of letters from school pals. You know, the good old days of writing in one of those inland covers, dropping it in a postbox and hoping they haven't changed their address... and then you'd get the reply in a similar cover after a couple of weeks - or even months. No pings, no diggs, no tweets, no calls, no emails - just the good old snail mail.

And guess what - I found something that looked like a baptism dress and asked mom - it's my brother's. I can almost see a baby there :)

So, that's how I spent my day today! Remembering my childhood and thanking God for my wonderful family :)

Assumptions

Headset on?  Listening to music

Eyes closed? Sleeping

Meeting? Busy

Slim? Weak

G? Loadsa money

SLR? Great photos

Analytics? Complicated

Got any to add?

Moment - Train in Rain

I think the rains over the weekend brought this memory up again. It was one of those mid-summer trips I made this year. It was April - the time when temperature begins to get to the higher side, the sleeper coach begins to feel like a hot oven, and we hope for a surprise drizzle or shower.

The train was in the middle of nowhere - rocketing through the vast, parched land (i.e., as fast as it can go - 60kmph? :D All of a sudden, I could see dark clouds in the distance, soon it became a drizzle. Funnily, though, it was raining on one side of the train. Even as we watched either side - we could see the train get under the rain clouds and soon.... it was showers on both sides.

The Picture I did not Take - Clouds and the Moon

It was a picture of the bright moon this evening. What's special? The sky was really, really clear and you had traces of clouds around the moon. I saw this on the way home and thought it was really pretty. The black sky, bright moon, and the thin lines of clouds here and there around the moon - it was as picturesque as it can be.

Only when I got home and thought I should take a picture, I realized the reason for the beauty - it was the clear sky. By the time I came home, the sky was hazy - the typical city sky! It must have rained or at least drizzled before I left work leaving the sky clear, if only for a while.

Of Requests and Relevance

Today, I got a request via my Google Profile :O The request: "your views for my ARTICLE". But, even before I got to that, I had decided not to reply. You know why - The first line was "Hello! Sir" And, the last line was "Hope you won't disappoint me"

Reminds me of how the sales folks call up (on my DND number!). I say hello and they say good morning sir!Din't ya hear me?

It's been a long day - and this isn't my best post. But, am saving a joke for tomorrow :)

The Ride to Mysore

This is a continuation of the Coorg story posted here.

Even as we were planning our Nagarhole trip, we realised it was closer to Mysore than to Coorg. We decided to head to Mysore and the driver dropped us at a small town saying we'd get a lot of buses to Mysore and left. We stood there at the bus stop with the scorching sun above us. Given that we were (at least I was!) dressed for the 4am chill weather at Coorg, it wasn't exactly pleasant to stand in the hot sun. We crossed the road and stood under the li'l bit of shade we could find.

When the first Mysore bus came by, I realised it wasn't going to be easy getting to Mysore. It seemed like the entire world wanted to go to Mysore! Even before the bus came by, you could see the crowd rushing towards the bus to get in. After watching this scene repeat a couple of times, we decided we better try get in a bus. A couple more buses go by - but, every time we have a big crowd! Where on earth were these people coming from?!

Tired of standing in the sun, we decide we'd get in the next bus - no matter what. The next bus comes. Amir is the first one to get in, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I see baldie standing behind the crowd and watching!! This fellow was supposed to be getting into the bus - and that's when I realise dude's too polite to get into a crowded bus! Mind you, this is the same guy who said (at the beginning of the trip) that he can travel in any kinda bus :P [says he meant any type of bus - rickety to volvo - and not the crowd!]

Here we are - 3 of us outside and 1 inside the bus! We let Amir go - and baldie goes searching for a cab! Sadly, nothing works out - it's a small town, you see :) And, we are back waiting for a bus. Another bus - another crowd - and baldie says no way! A few moments later, I realise the bus was still there, crowd gone (probably inside the bus) and there was some space. I try convincing these two guys with me - and before baldie moves, the bus is gone.

Finally, I had to resort to "we better get in to the next bus - no matter what" and thankfully, Bharath agrees. Baldie says he'd hold on to my bag to get in *grin* (imagine this tall, bald guy holding on to my backback)

The next bus came by - Bharath gets in, I get in too, and for all the holding my bag he did, baldie got in a dozen people later :P Well, at least, he managed to get in!! And, for me, it was a big sigh of relief having gotten this guy into a crowded bus!

The Journey

We'd been to Coorg and planned to visit Nagarhole. We got our cab confirmed and the driver promised to be there at 4am! Yes, that early 'coz we wanted to be at the national park by 6am! As planned, we all got up and checked out at the middle of the night, bundled into the Indica. In spite of my layered clothing, I was feeling pretty chill. And, it was quite misty too as we stood outside out hotel. 

We happily started off - I never thought it would be one of the crazier rides I've ever done. Dense fog/mist, small roads, blaring headlights, sharp bends, and patches with more potholes than tar - what more can you ask for a crazy trip. Oh! don't forget the time - 4am - so, darkness too. 

Turn a bend and we were out of a town - and had the dense fog in front of us. It was like a white sheet a few meters in front of our car. As tired as I was, I was wondering how on earth the driver was still on the road and I'd doze.. a few minutes later, we are far from civilization, they din't even bother adding streetlights. So, once in a while, the fog would light up - like the headlight of a train in a tunnel. Our driver would pull over to the side - as far as he could - and blink lights hoping the truck/bus driver would notice the car in front. 

Once that vehicle goes by, we'd continue our ride in the dark with the white sheet leading us! I didn't realize I had dozed off until we reached this final stretch of the road -that was as bumpy as any can be. Any of our city roads mutilated by the civic roads would be put to shame. It was as if no two inches were at the same level. From there on, it was a slow, painful, bumpy ride - through the mist. Hoping against hope we'd turn a corner and find the park.
 

From Coorg

Two and a half hours later, we finally reached the park around 6:30am. Phew! Wasn't I relieved to be off that ride. Sadly, the park itself didn't turn up anything as interesting as this ride. We had a crazy ride back to Mysore too - but, I guess, I'll save that for another day!

Memories: The Frog

There is this moment from my childhood stuck in my head for no good reason - well, at least I can't think of a reason. 

Place: Our home in Palayamkottai. It was a mansion (by today's standards) - a huge, old house with big granite blocks for steps, tiled roof, and a huge garden. The garden was big enough for us to dig trenches for water - we had a lot of banana trees, a coconut tree, a bunch of neem trees, a tamarind tree, cotton trees, papaya, drumstick (with the caterpillars), a big bush shoeflower, mom's flower garden, and granny's greens patch. And, we had a lot of space to play after all these. It is a best of all places I've lived in. 

Anyways, I didn't mean to describe that place so much! What I wanted to talk about was a frog that sneaked in everyday. Those days, dad had a bicycle and nothing more. And, every night, we'd find this huge froggie on the seat of the bicycle. It was quite a mystery how this guy got there - because the doors and windows and pretty fine mesh to keep the insects out and the cycle was parked inside. Well, it was a mystery until we caught mister froggie making his way in. He was squeezing his way through the mesh - and I couldn't believe he could do that! 

And ya, that's the moment I so clearly remember - some kinda freeze frame moment!

Memories: The Earliest

I've been thinking about those moments ages ago - and I tried to remember which one's the earliest. I think the earliest was either watching a procession of elephants or watching my sister go off a slide into the mud. I don't know which one's earlier - both happened when I must have been around 2-3 years old. As ridiculous as it may seem, these moments are like freeze frame in my head. 

I can still see my sister wearing the striped dress with big red, white dots - she happily came down the slide without seeing the muddy ground -thanks to the rain. And, we had to go home, across the road, for her to change!

The Mumbai Kadubari Factory

It's all about my friend and his adventure:

My dear friend goes to Mumbai on a business trip and gets to stay in a pretty new hotel. One evening, he tells the autowallah to take him to the hotel, and the autowallah doesn't know the place. So, he gives directions and when they reached the hotel, he asked the auto driver if there's any other common landmark to get to the hotel. "If you say kadubaari ke saamne [meaning: near kadubaari]... everyone will know " said the auto driver. 

The next evening again, another autowallah doesn't know the hotel - so, he says kadubaari ke saamne - the autowallah goes to a few others standing nearby, they have an autowallah conference, and he comes back with a smile saying he'll take them - and took them to the correct place.

Now, this dude is curious to know about this 'kadubaari' [I bet you are too...]- asks around and doesn't get a sure answer. The day they were to move out of that hotel, lady luck smiles on him. He finds the same autowallah who gave him this kadubaari tip. The moment he gets in the auto, he asks "Bhaiyya, yeh kadubaari kya hai?" The autowallah signals him to wait, drives for a short distance and stops. He points to a building in the distance and....

Update: here's the version update from the dude himself!!

autowallah: "uthar dhekiyee.. oh compound wall hai naa... oh factory hai"
my friend: bhaiya kadubari ek factory hai???
autowallah: haa.. haaa... isko bolega cadbury... CADBURY!... yeh chocolate hai naa.. ooh banayega uthar... bahuth famous hai"
my friend: !!????!!!

Can you guess what that was? ... the autowallah says "Woh Cadbury factory hai! Chocolate factory........." :P

I found this story so funny, I still laugh thinking about it.  On top of it, he says "can you imagine what those autowallahs must of thought of me - fellow works in an IT company and doesn't even know to say Cadbury! :)

Hope you had a good laugh there! 

Disclaimer: If I got any of that Hindi wrong, please leave the correct message in a comment.