The wait

That's all I do, that's all I can...
Wading through these dark desolate waters,
I know not what awaits me,
But with my fingers crossed, I still wait.

Deep rooted thoughts arise from within,
Questioning the complexity of the time to come.
Yet, with a discerning hope I move ahead;
Unbeknownst to the world lying outside.

Forbearance is a trait I have acquired,
Looking beyond the uncertainties in life.
The wait still plays a pivotal role;
Transforming, transferring, teaching.

Tomorrow is a day I look forward to,
Every passing moment captured with grace.
I know not when this sojourn will ever end,
But with my fingers crossed, I still wait.

Boy it's getting hot... Let's blame it all on global warming

Disclaimer: Article on global warming skepticism. Controversial and highly debatable topic.  Do let me know your views if you don't agree with the polemic. Trying to keep the post as short and simple as possible as it is beyond my blog's scope to cover such a vast topic. Links provided wherever necessary.
                                                 ---------------------------------------
Each day, the news about the impact of global warming is growing fantastically apocalyptic. The media, the politicians, the environmentalists, the celebrities, the Who's Who in the World, and the general public who are concerned spare no effort when it comes to turning the spotlight on this phenomenon. The ensuing popularity factor and the publicity related to this topic just cannot be ignored.

Coming to the point... The only question/s I have to ask is- Do you believe in global warming (GW)? If you do, is CO2 the main culprit?

If you had asked me the same question a few months ago, I would have probably given a big YES for an answer (maybe even cited a few examples as to how and why). But now, after being enlightened (explained later on), I simply refuse to believe that GW is to be blamed for the climatic changes that are supposedly occurring around us.

Now, before heading on to the topic, let us first look at a few definitions of the term given by leading dictionaries.

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary says "Global warming is a gradual increase in world temperatures caused by polluting gases such as carbon dioxide which are collecting in the air around the Earth and preventing heat escaping into space."

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary- "An increase in the Earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution." and

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary- "The increase in temperature of the Earth's atmosphere, that is caused by the increase of particular gases, especially carbon dioxide." 

If you go by these definitions, which I believe most of you must be well aware of, it is most likely you will infer that carbon dioxide and other air pollutants are the main reason for GW. You will also believe human beings are responsible for all the climatic changes. Well, are we? Not exactly! I believe we humans are responsible for a whole lot of other environmental concerns (oil spills, poaching, deforestation, releasing toxins into air and water, etc), but I don't believe climate has anything much to do with us, or that human CO2 has anything to do with the changes in temperatures, as claimed. 

To explain my point, let us put it this way. We seem to be attributing the current rise in temperatures to GW and the increase in carbon dioxide emissions. But, if you go by records, the Earth's temperatures have always been changing; from the Little Ice Age to the Medieval Warm Period to the Holocene Maximum.

So why make a big deal about temperatures now? There are reasons aplenty. To begin with, the recent temperature changes are happening at a time when Industrial progress and the number of automobiles are in its peak. So naturally, people are led to believe that these are the prime reasons for GW. But I believe there are far more reasons for this; reasons, that I believe have an inside truth.

The co-founder of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore claims the whole thing to be a political activist movement, and that they have become hugely influential at the global level. Politicians have used GW as a main weapon for publicity with the help of organisations such as the IPCC spearheading this cause. Dr Roy Spencer, Weather Satellite Team Leader, NASA says- "Climate scientists need there to be a problem in order to get funding." So, what better way to get it than by making GW and man made CO2 the scapegoats? I can't think of any. The whole idea is to create panic so that money automatically comes flowing to Climate Science.

Global warming is a multi-billion dollar "industry" today. The fact of the matter is, tens of thousands of jobs depend on this. So if the whole money making propaganda bubble just bursts open, their jobs will be in jeopardy. That is why it is important to keep the fire burning, while ensuring that the flames keep engulfing the truth from time to time.

Coming back to carbon dioxide, if we look at the main constituents of the Earth's atmosphere, this gas doesn't even make it to the top three. It covers only 0.038% of the Earth. In fact, more than 95% of all the greenhouse gas is water vapour (the main constituent). After all this, if we look at the percentage of CO2 that humans are adding to this (an even more minuscule figure; the focus of all concern), should we still believe man made CO2 is the cause for GW? It is said Active volcanoes produce more CO2 each year than all the factories and cars put together.

Now if you're still feeling the heat, and if the above mentioned factors are not responsible for it, then what the hell is? According to scientists, the main culprit for all the climatic changes is none other than our very own Sun God. It has been discovered that the increase in Earth's temperatures are directly proportional to the number of black spots there are in the Sun. The more the spots, the higher the temperature and vice versa. The Sun is also responsible for controlling the amount of clouds in the sky (another major cause for temperature change). Astronomers say the Little Ice Age happened when the Sun had very few spots on its face. Dr. Piers Corbyn, an acclaimed weather forecaster, gives predictions based mainly on solar observations and he bets his life on them. He also claims with conviction that CO2 has nothing to do with GW.

As for the polar bears, you don't have to sympathise with their pictures. If they have survived the Holocene Maximum and the Medieval Warm Periods, they will obviously survive this phase of the Earth's routine climate change also. They are very adaptable animals after all.

Hoping this made for an interesting read.

PS: A long hiatus indeed. Will ensure that I blog more often in future. Do watch the documentary "THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING SWINDLE" for more details on the topic. This article does not necessarily mean to conclude that people can continue polluting the environment. Be responsible citizens!!! Forget the heat... Think about all the diseases. 

Late night fiasco, Part- II

...Continued

THE JOURNEY

Villagers (in chorus): We told you not to go there. At last you came back to us.
Me: Big deal! No problem whatsoever. We're going back home.
Villager1: Come on. Don't give up so fast. We'll take you to the place you all have come to see.
Villager2: Yeah yeah. We'll take you there. You don't even have to pay us until we get you'll there safely.
Villager1 (pointing towards the hill): Can you see people with flashlights on top? We took them there.
Me: Where? I don't see anybody. Is something wrong with my eyes?
Me (beckoning to Sankarsh): Dude come let's get the hell out of here before they strip us threadbare (Old Suresh Gopi dialogue) in the jungles with their weapons and stuff.

As we all stood there contemplating on how to scoot from the clutches of the two morons in front of us, the headlight from the distance reappeared all of a sudden. They had been stalking us for so long and had probably realised what was happening. The villagers fled towards the fields by the roadside, figuring out their game was up. The cops, instead of pursuing us, took a nosedive with their bikes into the fields (an unusual, unmissable feat). This gave us time to escape from the place ASAP.

With our hearts beating faster than it would have if even the voluptuous Kim Kardarshian was to stand in front of us wearing skimpy clothes, we headed towards the exit. It would have been a totally different story if the cops had taken off to pursue us instead. I could notice the fear on everybody's face.

The best suggestion I could make was to tell everybody to get home immediately and catch up on some sleep, but, except for Khader, there were no takers for it. They all wanted to roam some more. So, the next best suggestion I could make was to go to Nandi Hills, around 20 km from there. I knew the fort gates weren't going to be open until six in the morning, but we had no choice. If not Skandagiri for sunrise, then at least the good old Nandi Hills we thought.

Another short break for snacks, another fuel fill-up in Sankarsh's bike and another session of discussing the agenda later, we found ourselves on the winding roads which led us to the top. It was almost 3 am as we reached somewhere near curve 35  (of around 48), where another unexpected event awaited us.

Around a dozen bikes and half a dozen cars came stampeding downhill shouting what we least expected to hear. All we could hear was- Cops! Cops! Cops! As if the cops were after their blood like some freaking mutated vampires. Well, we poor souls had no other option but to follow suit. The herd mentality among us Indians is unprecedented I must say. Also, we had no intention of getting beaten black and blue on our derrières for no fault of ours (though we were not sure why they should do this to us).

On reaching the foothills, I casually asked one of the shopkeepers why such a ruckus is being created by the cops. He said it was all because some miscreants had created some problems a few days ago on the hills. The guy also mentioned an event that happened in front of him where a car turned turtle while manoeuvring at high speeds. The forest department too was extra cautious about people entering the hills at such odd hours.

"The price innocent people like us have to pay for the misdeeds done by some overexcited eccentric hooligans" I thought. Turning such a calm, conducive place into something which needed police protection 24/7. The cops just seemed to be so ubiquitous in these parts of the district.

So, to say the least, this is how our ambitious night (mis)adventure turned from disaster to double disaster in a few hours.

THE RETURN

Well, with sleep getting the better of us, we had to leave for home sweet home. A novel way to waste a lovely weekend, we concluded. Vowing never to indulge in such spontaneous, erratic stupidity, I took over the bike from Sankarsh. As we entered city limits I realised the bike behaving in a funny manner. It tut-tutted to a halt for err- any guesses? Yes, the fuel was over once again!!!!! That too at five in the morning.

A perfect garnish to the dish of hopelessness (as if the dish itself wasn't enough) that we had churned out staying awake the entire night. What a way to end it. A total fiasco!!!

  **THE BEGINNING**

Late night fiasco, Part- I

PROLOGUE

It was a Saturday morning. I was casually sitting at home wondering how to while away my weekend when I suddenly got pinged by Sankarsh on Facebook. Now, Sanky (as we know him) had this long pending birthday treat that he was supposed to give us from the past three months. Having fooled around ever since and having used all escape mechanisms in his "How-to-escape-from-anyone" series of books, I finally found the right time to ask him for the party.

Sanky: Hi!
Me: Hi! Wassup?
Sanky: Bro I have a plan for tonight.
Me: What's it? I'm hoping you're finally giving your birthday treat.
Sanky: No dude, I have something much better in mind.
Me: What could be better than that?
Sanky: I think we all should go for an expedition of sorts. A night expedition.
Me: Where to?
Sanky: To Skandagiri. It'll be fun man.
Me: Dude, I prefer you giving a treat instead. I'm not in for any mountaineering at night. Especially on such a short notice.
Sanky: Come on bro... The others are ready. Don't be a spoil sport.
Me: OK count me in. But don't forget how treacherous it was climbing the hill the last time we went there.
Sanky: Hey that was during the daytime. It won't be half as difficult this time.
Me: OK. I'm trusting you on this. Catch you in the evening.

THE START

With the hope of not having got myself into a predicament, I started packing my bags for the trip. Now, our trip had six people in all- Sankarsh, Rohit, Jaiprasad, Khader, my brother Amith and I. The trek uphill was going to be at least 3 hours long and we intended to spend the night there, rest for a while, and return home after seeing the supposedly famous sunrise from the summit. I had packed water, some bedsheets, clothes, a flashlight and some light food for the trip keeping all this in mind.

The biggest concern before we go for any such trips is organising everybody to meet up at one common place (usually my house; that being the protocol). A few meetings, a few hundred calls and a few thousand SMSes later everyone finally showed their faces and we were able to leave the place at 11 pm. As if the time delay was not enough already (we were supposed to leave by 8 pm), two of my close friends started having an argument about who should ride pillion on their respective bikes. These were the exact bikes we had taken to Bandipur and Ooty for our previous trip. Sankarsh and Rohit started bickering about their respective bike's inability to carry heavy "loads" for a 120 km trip. Both wanted the small built Khader to sit behind them for the fear of their tyres getting worn out or their suspensions taking a beating or something like that. I was feeling sleepy already.

After half an hour of arguing and getting nowhere, we left the place at 11.30 pm only to find out that Sankarsh's bike had run out of fuel. Feeling sleepy, getting delayed by three hours, wasting time on a non conclusive argument, and that topped with the fuel episode was reason enough for me to doubt if the trip was going to be a failure or not. Luckily, after towing his bike for a while, we found a petrol bunk on the highway. Our official ride started then.

THE JOURNEY

Having ridden for two hours with a small break in between, we reached near the base of the hill at around 2 am. As we proceeded towards it two villagers stopped us with warnings of cops having blocked the road leading to the place. They persuaded us to park our bikes in a house nearby and offered to show us an alternative path to the top. Not wanting to believe them, we headed for the base of the hill only to be stopped by err who else- the bloody cops of course. They had blocked the only approach road with stones and weren't allowing anybody in. I didn't have to go anywhere to confirm my doubts now. Our trip was indeed a failure.

We left the place with a heavy heart. As we were going back, we noticed somebody following us from a distance. It looked like a bike (from the headlights) and we suspected the cops were behind us doubting we were up to something mischievous. After a while, the lights stopped flashing from behind and we stopped again in front of the two villagers who warned us against going where we went. They carried this cocky, smug looking faces as if they had won a battle against us or something; appearing in front of us like some resurgent rulers. I didn't think it was a good idea speaking to them again.

To be continued...

The day I died

This incident happened at the time when yours truly was only four years old. He was the darling of the family. A naughty, adorable kid in his uncivilised, devil-may-care avatar . His modus operandi included doing queer things like playing with insects, performing stunts on his bicycle, breaking the flowerpots in the garden, playing with bows and arrows made of coconut leaf midribs, climbing trees, playing around the water well, etc. Now the reason why I mentioned water well  in this list is because, it landed me in deep trouble once.

I have always been fascinated by water wells. Don't know why, but the first thing I do whenever I see a well is to peep inside and see the water level. Drawing water for no apparent reason was another option I always had. In fact, I even believe that doing so gives a good workout to the triceps and latissimus dorsi (lats) muscles if done in repetitions.

Coming back to the topic... Being the brat I was, people always warned me against going near certain restricted areas within the house. The house well and the ladder which led us to the roof were the two main no-nos for me. I never understood the concept of preventing someone from doing something even when the person who is being controlled is extremely sure that nothing wrong is going to happen. You see, the phenomenon called reverse psychology was etched rather conspicuously into my small mind from a very young age. It just refused to listen. Come on, mankind has always fallen prey to such desires. Even the first man and woman weren't left alone (remember Adam & Eve's incident with the forbidden fruit?).

I realised as I was climbing the ladder (of success?) how much fun it was. I had always wanted to climb this thing, but gave up midway whenever my mother or other relatives found me doing so. My innocuous little mind was laden with mirth as I climbed the final steps of the ladder; an achievement of sorts for a four year old you could say. I had finally succeeded in achieving one of my prime goals.

Having tasted success, I had to show off this feat to someone now. So, I loitered around on top and came to the other side of my terrace from where my house maid spotted me; I waved out to her in all my innocence. I hadn't come across the saying "If you're committing a crime, make sure you commit a perfect crime" yet. She was panicked, but still she kept her cool and told me to get down from there in a very gentle manner. A manner which reminded me of the way a person would try to handle a dog which was growling at him. She didn't want me to do anything funny.

I acceded to her pleas and was on my way back when my naughty eyes spotted a coconut in one corner of the terrace. I went to get it. The maid had already gone inside to inform all the others about me.

I now walked toward the side of the house where the water well was located with the coconut in my hand. "How dare this thing land on top of my house" I thought. I peeped from the top into the well. It looked very deep from there; almost like an abyss. Sending the coconut into this "hell" was my way of retribution.

The next minute, all hell broke loose. I heard loud wails all around the house. Wails from people whose voice sounded familiar (my aunts and mum). I could hear "Our Arju mon jumped into the well", "Our Arju mon is no more" and stuff like that. The chaos was widespread. "Dude, I'm not even dead yet and look at these people screaming their lungs out for nothing" I thought to myself. This was not the way I had expected the event to have turned out. I cautiously looked below to find out what was happening and I could see a crowd gathered around the well. I spotted my mother there.

"Ammae" I shouted at her to divert everybody's attention. "I just threw a coconut into it. Did you really think I'd jump into the well???" I asked with a smile on my face. They were all relieved and happy to see me there (At least that's what I thought). I didn't realise that this moment was just the calm before the storm.

Arju mon got down immediately and ran to his mum and covered himself behind her saree. Even he was relieved that he had prudently solved this issue. Now to face other situations with the same level of thinking, he thought. But...

Arju mon's grandfather was already waiting in the hall with a long cane in his hand. What followed next is better unexplained!!! Man, the sort of things a kid has to go through for being adventurous in life. Maybe that's the reason this country took donkey's years to improve itself. :P ;-) :D

Anomalies not applicable

To tell you the truth, I'm an individual who's highly biased towards Kerala and its people. I've had this strong affinity towards them since time immemorial. So much so that, whenever anybody speaks against the state or it people, I get disturbed. I’ve come across a lot of people with various stereotypes who’re against my beliefs. My friend from Nagpur (let’s call him ‘Wise Guy’), who works as a coordinator of sorts with various hospitals across Kerala happened to be the cynical detractor this time. Here, I share with you the conversation we had on Facebook chat (I'm still wondering if this was meant to be an affront).

I: Hey wassup bro?

Wise guy: Hi I’m fine. In Trivandrum now.

I: Oh that’s cool. So, till when are you going to be there?

Wise guy: What do you mean by “cool”? I’m dying of the heat and humidity here. And I’ve to be here till March 4th.

I: Hey I said it was cool because you’ve got a chance to see the place.

Wise Guy: Dude I feel like getting out of here. I’ve had enough of Kerala.
I have started “liking” the people living here

I: ha-ha-ha... Then you should probably start searching for a nice girl from Kerala and settle there itself?

Wise Guy: I meant “Disliking”. Not liking.

I: Why what happened? What makes you say so?

Wise Guy: One of the reasons maybe that people here don’t work. Rather they make a lot of noise after doing something simple and make you feel that they’ve done something great. This was what I inferred from working here.

I: Huh???

Wise Guy: People don’t work with the intention of developing the overall organization. They only work for themselves.

I: Ok that’s the issue... You know something? Keralites are one of the most hardworking people when they go to work outside Kerala, but in their own hometowns, they may be like this. I say maybe because not all are like the way you think.

Wise Guy: They don’t even take ownership to the work they did if it happens to be a failure.

I: Dude, have you ever seen Keralites working in the Gulf or other big cities in India? I don’t think anybody else can match up to their work. I think we give the best deal when it comes to hard, fruitful work for a given price.

Wise Guy: I know bro, but I don’t understand one common phenomenon here. Why do women boast so much in this place?

Wise Guy: I find this annoying habit in every working woman I see here.

I: Huh???

Wise Guy: Yeah man. It’s true.

I: Dude it may be only with you that such things are happening. They’re probably bragging because you’re from another state, or they may be trying to impress you ;-)

Wise Guy: Nope man. It’s not only with me.

Wise Guy: Here, people who are in top positions are nothing but liars and all that they want is to grab money from people in some or the other way.

I: Huh???

Wise Guy: Only a few people who are in the topmost positions are sincere in keeping up their words and bound by some principles. Others are just hopeless to work with. Because, you never know when these guys are going to cheat you. I’m telling you my experience.

I: Oh my God! You're getting really passionate about this topic.

Wise Guy: I'm telling you all this because I've met and studied the behaviour of more than a 100 people who are in very good positions in both private and public sector. That’s because I deal with these people on a daily basis.

Wise Guy: Yeah dude, they are like this, they are like that blah blah blah……Strikes, rallies, etc. They’re also bad in this, that, yada yada yada.

Wise Guy: Hey man where are you? Got bored with the foolish topic, eh?

Wise Guy: Hello????

Arjun is offline.


PS: I found many of the above "allegations" surprising. I think every individual has his/her set of biases to justify with and this was just one of those examples. I have never worked in Kerala and that is why I probably don't know of the situation there in this context, but I definitely don't want to create some unwanted and malicious prejudice against it from hearsay or without experiencing it myself. All I know is that I enjoy the place whenever I go there, I enjoy travelling, I enjoy the superfluity of natural beauty, I enjoy the local cuisine, I enjoy the company of my associates there, and I don't think I can ask for anything more. So, as of now, I'm going by only one policy. The policy I'm using for my own reasoning which says- IGNORANCE IS BLISS.

A lady's mind

I can ask you all but this kind...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Did it hurt you when I boldly opined?
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Inside her head are a million things confined...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Difficult it is to comprehend and unwind...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Surely would be happy if you at least defined...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Does she really care or is she being unkind?
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Many a brave hearts have panicked and resigned...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

To understand this we are most inclined...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Trying to know, the ultimate sufferers are us "man" kind...
What really goes on in a lady's mind?

Wasted dreams

It was on one of those dull and boring days in college when my friend Harish broke this piece of information to me. It immediately brightened me up.

"Dude, there's a cookery competition coming up in Delhi. Wow! I'm so excited"

"That's so cool! So, when are we going?" I asked, with a tone of conviction. I wasn't going to miss this opportunity for anything. It also had back up from college. 

"In October. A fortnight from now."

"Brilliant! Gives me all the time in the world to prepare for it." I said.

"What??? Don't tell me you're actually getting ready for the competition. This is so not you." he blurted out immediately.

"Who on earth said anything about the competition dude? I was speaking about preparing for the Delhi trip. Muhaha!!! Who the hell cares about the competition? We're going to lose anyways."

"You have a point there bro. Even I've wanted to visit this place all my life. We definitely can't prepare for the competition in such a short time." 

Both of us got lost in our own dreams. But somewhere, somehow, it seemed to have boiled down  to one common desire. The desire to see and witness the aura surrounding the magnificent Mughal structure; one of the wonders of the world- The TAJ MAHAL. Obviously, we couldn't be going so close to the monument and return without seeing it. It was also our first North Indian trip.

October 2006: Six friends, representing our college leave Bangalore on the train bound to Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi. After passing through some half a dozen states, visualising their diversities and being amazed at the changes from state to state, we finally reached the Capital city after a long 36 hours.

The first day of our visit was spent by running around the college campus, visiting a few places in Old Delhi like Chandni Chowk, Jumma Masjid and The Red fort, eating out, and shopping. The thought of the competition was nowhere on our minds. Being October, the weather wasn't too bad either.

A week went by. We participated in all the competitions that we had enrolled for (obviously we didn't win any), travelled by the Delhi Metro, visited some more places in Delhi such as the Lotus temple, India Gate, Connaught Place and Palika bazaar, and also planned our Agra trip within this time. My dad, who happened to be in Delhi at the time even booked a car for us to go to the capital city of the Mughal empire.

Friday, 13th October, 2006: We were ready with our packed bags for the trip to Agra. The car arrived early in the morning at 6am. Our destination was only 120 km away from us; a three hour journey from Delhi.

My friend Harish was the most excited among us all. He was a lovestruck bloke, and what more could he ask for than visiting the biggest tribute ever made for love, the Taj Mahal. He had also promised to buy his girlfriend a miniature replica of the mausoleum made out of marble as a token of his love.

Agra wasn't how I had imagined it to be. It was hot, filthy and dusty, had narrow roads mobbed with vehicles, bullock carts, people, and it even had a generous smattering of cows, as if the ones that I mentioned earlier weren't enough already. It's leather industries produced a blatant stink, while happily disposing their effluents into the river Yamuna. The water in the river resembled a big open sewage system which ran across the city. It was literally black in colour.

We reached Taj Mahal at around 10 am. As we walked towards its gates, unaware of the big shock awaiting to numb us all, a guide approached us. "Please come this way sir. I will take you through a secret entrance from where you can have a nice peek of the Taj Mahal" he shouted out in an attracting manner. "What do you mean you'll take us through a secret entrance, eh? We're not thugs or ruffians to go through some stupid secret entrance. We'll go through the main entrance and watch the structure, the right way. The way millions of people from all over the world do it." I said to him out of annoyance and sheer ignorance. I didn't want somebody to loot us of our money in this manner.

"But, the Taj Mahal remains closed for general public on Fridays. Didn't you know that?" he said with a condescending tone. "Only Muslims are allowed inside to do their Friday prayers" he added. That was enough said. We were dumbstruck already. Coming so close to the most famous monument this side of the country and not being able to go inside it was a rude shock for which we weren't prepared. We even contemplated on buying ourselves the skull caps worn by Muslims in order to gain entry, but it wasn't practical.

The "secret entrance" to catch a glimpse of the Taj came in the form of an old house located very "close" to it. We had to pay a small amount of money to the owner of the house, who in turn led us to the terrace from where we could watch the place we had come so far to see. Even this venture turned out to be disappointing as all we could see was a dull and zoomed out version of the Taj. Harish was almost in tears. We left the place after taking a few snaps of ourselves with the Taj in the background, located somewhere on the other side of the horizon. We even got a glimpse of it from the Agra Red Fort, but it didn't satiate our desire. This trip turned out to be one of the biggest ironies in my life which came with a hefty price tag too.

After visiting the Agra Red Fort and Akbar's tomb at Sikandra, we proceeded towards Delhi. On our way back, Harish and I promised ourselves that we would come back to this place again just to see the Taj Mahal. The only conditions we had for our visit were: the next visit would be with our respective wives, and the day we visit it will definitely not be a Friday.

Reminiscence of 'Kalifo'

How gleeful I was, I realized as I lay thinking
so fast could we strike a chord I never did imagine.
Always have I desired to see you in your full glory
and now I believe that moment has finally come true.

Did that give me smile or cheers I asked myself
to have experienced your rich history and your benevolent past?
Was it the joy of discovering my roots
or finding the unexplored territorial waters of my kin?

Stranded away from reality was I in the years gone by,
to have snubbed you away from my rather unequivocal vision.
Never will this happen again, I swore to myself
as enough of losses I have to compensate for already.

Now that the door has cracked open and the gaps narrowed,
like the pages of an open book my feelings are exhibited.
This had to happen one day I told myself with conviction,
that it’s obviously better late than never again.

Do I love it or loathe it?

Have I landed up in the wrong place? Why should I stay in such a hostile environment? Sometimes I feel I was born in this place by mistake. My heart lies somewhere else. Some place far away. The hectic city life has taken its toll on me. This is indeed a dog-eat-dog world, a place overflowing with rat races. Building an association with nature has become so obsolete here. Sure we do have our parks and gardens and lakes, but we also have our development authorities felling trees by the truckloads in the name of road widening and other infrastructural projects. And in spite of all these "developments", the city doesn't have space to accommodate it's vehicular traffic. The public transport systems are jam packed and the three wheeled menace aka the auto rickshaw gets on your nerves like nobody's business. Welcome to Noise-galore, oops! Pollution-galore, nah! Population-galore, OK OK, lets just ban all this galore. Welcome to Bangalore!

To be honest, I really admired this city when I was young. Being from Bangalore was like a value addition of sorts. The weather, the cosmopolitan culture, the lifestyle. Looking back, the place was not as crowded or polluted this way. The IT revolution was unheard of and the concept of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation were still in its infancy and sounded more like fancy nomenclatures. Yes we were happy about our city's development and the cash cows coming in, but we didn't bother to realise if we had the required infrastructure to accommodate them all. Bangalore wasn't planned to be such a metropolis.

So what do we do to tackle all this? We start off with destroying our tree lined avenues, we start acquiring properties and demolishing them, we start erecting structures which, leave alone for the future, isn't even sufficient for the current level of traffic. Our roads are currently handling more than four times it's specified capacity of vehicles (add to this the number of new vehicles getting registered in 8 RTOs spread across the city and it spells Mayhem with a capital 'M').

 

Image courtesy: www.time2news.com

Whatever be the situation, the number of people migrating to the city hasn't reduced one bit. Migration in the name of studies, for work, for settlement, etc. All I hear these days is 'Old Bangaloreans' venting out their frustrations on this haphazard and unclear development. What are we planning to become? The world's most densely populated city per given square kilometer? You need to stop at least five to six times before crossing a signal in bumper to bumper peak hour traffic. No wonder blue-chip companies like Infosys and Wipro have threatened to migrate to other states if nothing is being done about the infrastructure. 

All I have to say is, city life has really reached its saturation point. Moving away from cities is in vogue. We moved to large cities expecting civilisation, better lifestyle, convenience and of course, with the intention to make good moolah. But again, with the level of developments spreading across, I feel you can live a much better life in the suburbs and rural areas with the same (if not better) convenience levels as living in a city. Back that up with a more serene environment and the freedom from--- pollution, road rage, pressure levels building up, tolerance levels going down, etc.--- and the saying, 'You CAN have your cake and eat it too' is developed.

Why rot in hell when there are other options available?

The better way to commit mandatory suicide

Disclaimer: For people who wish to get married only. A debatable topic. Only the Indian perspective covered here.

Last night, I was having this very passionate discussion with my best friend about which type of marriage is the better option- Love or arranged? My best friend was hell bent on proving that arranged marriages was the order of the day and that love marriages always landed the couple in trouble afterwards. She even cited a few live examples of the disadvantages of love marriages to prove her point. So, I thought it would be better if I throw some light on this topic from my angle.

First things first, I believe you should always look at both sides of the coin before coming to any conclusion. What with the various stereotypes that people have come up with against both types of marriages. "How can you marry someone whom you don't know anything about?" or " Doesn't knowing a person before marriage enable you to have better respect and understanding of each other?" seems to be the most common questions that a person favouring a love marriage will ask. "Love marriages don't last and will bring in a lot of complexities in the future" is what people opting for an arranged marriage seem to argue about. Both are right in their own respects, but again, not always.

We Indians are a very tolerant lot. We've tolerated the various invasions from foreign rulers, we've tolerated the hostile robbery of all our wealth, the takeover of our political boundaries by other nations, we've tolerated the British, we've even let different cultures merge into ours, and we know how to live with one spouse better that any other country does. Yes, the divorce rate in India* is just 1.1%. That means, only 11 marriages out of a 1000 end up in a divorce. Compare this to the population and the divorce rate in the USA (54.8%) and you will know what I'm talking about. Yes, I'd definitely agree that love marriages are a major failure in the US, but the overall figures show a different picture here in India. Even occidentalisation and changes in lifestyle couldn't alter the numbers much.

Coming to the main discussion, Love marriages are said to offer more freedom and comfort levels among couples. They tend to know each other's likes and dislikes and behavioural patterns well. This way, they are well adjusted to each other after marriage. This is what should happen under ideal circumstances. I say ideal because most people, according to me, don't actually understand the true concept of love. For some, it is only about acquiring physical or materialistic benefits from their partners or pursuing beauty or perfection. For some others it is only about lust. This kind of marriage should be labelled 'lust marriage' rather than be classified under love marriage. It is only the others, who pursue true love and happiness in this category who last an entire lifetime of togetherness.

Speaking about arranged marriages, they surely are the most popular kind in our country and are considered to be more secure with a high success rate. This again does not mean that arranged marriages are ideal. Some marriages under this category are strictly based on parental pressures/emotional blackmails or again, in some cases, for materialistic benefits or snob value/status. The likes of the person getting married is totally ignored sometimes.  Many people have been known to have tolerated an abusive relationship for years just for the sake of family pride and societal pressures. There are also various norms to be followed (horoscopes, astrologers, caste, dowry, status, matrimonial agencies, etc.) which makes arranged marriages a big turn off these days.

All these leads us to one big question. Which kind of marriage is ultimately good for you? As far as I'm concerned, it can be either. The individuals getting married must decide their ideal choice. Yes, family plays a big role in this decision, but they will not be there by your side throughout your married life. After all, a marriage is an institution formed to share love, happiness and sorrows. Doesn't matter if it's love marriage or arranged marriage.

PS: What do you think about live-in relationships? :) 
*http://www.indidivorce.com/divorce-rate-in-india.html

Wilderness Calling

The idea of having a long biking trip always sounded good to my ears. I feel it's necessary to take this much wanted break at least once every quarter (or at least sporadically). Me, being the biggest wildlife fanatic and enthusiast among my friends, thought we should do something different this time. So, when I suggested to my friends about going to Bandipur National Park, they were all for it. Seven guys willingly agreed to come for the trip. I had ruled out any forms of discrepancies and was happy about the fact that the trip would be enjoyable with eight guys in all.

As days passed by, I realised that this happiness was short-lived. Four of my dear friends, being as fickle minded as they could be, decided not to come for the trip one after the other. They came up with such lame reasons which even a fifth grader wouldn't have believed for a second. These misguided souls were none other than our sardarji friend Navjyot Singh, love-struck friend Jaiprasad, supposedly busy Girish and my very own brother Amith. As a result, this left us with four dejected and confused, but confirmed guys- Sankarsh, Rahul, Rohit and of course, yours truly. My Facebook status update on the day before we left for the trip read so- "The number of guys coming for the biking trip tomorrow has halved from the original 8. No reason to worry as, this doesn't dampen our spirits. We're marching forward no matter what. Bandipur, here we come!"

Rahul and I firmly believed against having any other make-do trip that lasted only one day in order to facilitate the other "not-coming-for-a-long-trip" schmucks. Rohit and Sankarsh soon echoed with our thoughts and shook their heads in agreement. All of us wanted to have an overnight halt in our destination and we definitely didn't have any intentions of changing our plans.

We packed our bags and set out from my house (the common meeting point) at 7 am. Now, any sane person who saw us could make out that the equation was completely wrong from the very beginning. Rohit and Rahul- both emaciated things, so thin that you could count every single bone in their bodies without even having to take an x-ray- were sitting together, while Sankarsh who was a bit on the plump side and I, the absolute embodiment of perfection (OK OK, gags and smugness apart... Of a fairly decent build) were sitting together. We were leading the way as usual because I knew the route to Bandipur like the back of my hand. What with the several trips to Kerala I have through this very route every year using various modes of transportation. I'm anyways known to be very good with directions and routes among my friend circle and family, and this is something that I can be proud of.

After a long and exhausting ride we finally reached Bandipur at 1 pm. We realised that performance bikes (TVS Apaches) were not one bit suitable for long rides such as this, but it was too late. We had already come so far. Conversely speaking, it also helped save time by making up with quicker rides, and this was important for us in order to cover up so many places in such a short time span.

My friend's dad who is an Assistant Conservator of Forests had already booked two rooms for us in the forest guest house. I learned later on that these rooms had to be booked from Bangalore itself, and that there was no way one could do direct bookings from the location. This explains the advantages of having contacts with the higher ups :Þ. Our bungalow was huge and stood out from all the 22 different themed accommodations spread across the place. The best part was, it cost us a very nominal amount- 400 bucks for one room couldn't possibly burn a deep hole in our already burned pockets (We had to stick to our budget of Rs.1000 per person and make it last the entire trip).

We were welcomed by a family of tamed elephants within the premises. After a few snaps with them, it was now time to feed our hungry stomachs. The jungle restaurant served us with some sumptuous homely food. It cost us Rs.75 per head for a vegetarian buffet.

A small nap after lunch was just what we needed to give rest to our tired bodies. We had time to catch a wink until 5 pm before we could get ready for the jungle safari organised by the forest department. At 5 pm, we decided against going for the safari after getting feedbacks from the people of the 4 pm batch who said that apart from a few deers they hadn't spotted anything else. With no intention of going back to our rooms and start gossiping like old ladies, we decided to go to Masinakudi which was just across the Tamil Nadu border (13 km away).

We spotted a lot of wild animals on our way to Masinakudi. These included a troop of grey langoors, a few wild elephants, Jungle fowls, deers, peacocks and a truckload of our common monkeys. Elephants are my favourite animal, but I was disappointed because I couldn't see another favourite animal of mine- the majestic Indian tiger, the largest cat in the world. I would've been happy if I spotted even a leopard or black panther as a condescending substitute.
Once we reached the spot, which was in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve belt, we were welcomed by the sight of a few mammoth tuskers in the elephant camp. It was here that we came across the milestone on which the following letters were printed in bold: OOTACAMUND- 30 km.

Coming so close to Ooty and not visiting the place didn't seem like a good idea to us. We decided to go to the hill-station early in the morning, the following day. The road which passes through Bandipur forest closes for vehicles after 9 pm and reopens only at 6 am. So, the only choice we had was to head back to our guest house in time or get stranded in the middle of the forest amidst wild animals; we obviously chose the former.

The open areas around our guest house was surrounded by deers. These animals come out mostly when the Sun God decides to take a break. I took a few snaps of them in the darkness and was also able to capture a  few shots of some wild boars. We then went to warm our chilly bones by the campfire that the villagers had lit up. 

During dinner, our room attendant told us that when we were out they heard a lot of tiger alerts. It was supposed to be the tiger mating season and the voice was supposedly of a male tiger searching for a partner.

I was the first one to wake up the following morning after a very peaceful sleep. The noise of the vehicles moving through the main road woke me up. It was 6 am in the morning; this signalled that the gates had been opened for vehicular movement. I immediately finished all my morning duties and woke the others. Rahul, being my room mate, got ready immediately. Rohit and Sankarsh, who usually never woke up before 11 am during their holidays were cosily wrapped under their blankets when I went to wake them up. In my haste to get back to Bandipur before 12 pm (Check out time), I didn't even let them do their morning duties. They quickly got ready and we left after we took a few snaps of the herd of deer grazing outside our room. I knew they wouldn't be around when we return.

The weather started getting cooler as soon as we touched the foothills of the Nilgiris. After riding through 36 hairpin bends in the ghat section and almost developing a frost bite due to the low temperature (3°C), we stopped for a snack around 5 km before Ooty. By then, the other three so desperately wanted to take a dump that they kept pestering me to ask the locals if there were any toilets around. Me, being the only one who could speak in Tamil, had no other choice but to help them out. It was after all due to my haste that they were suffering now. The locals said that our only resort was to get to Ooty.

One wise guy had told us the previous evening that Ooty was just half an hour from Masinakudi; it was nowhere close to it. We left our room by 6:45 am and reached Ooty at 9:30 am. The first thing Rohit did was to search for a toilet. His stomach was paining terribly and according to Sankarsh, he was cursing me badly all along the way. After relieving themselves, we headed towards Doddabetta, the highest peak in the Nilgiris. I had figured out by then that the visit to Ooty was only for name's sake.

The vista from atop Doddabetta was just fantastic. The vast ocean of clouds below us, the beautifully contoured valley, the view of the town and its houses, etc. gave me a chance to take some brilliant photography. We even had our breakfast from the restaurant there. It was during breakfast that Rohit flared up even more. He and I wanted to see the entire place before going back to Bangalore and were even willing to extend our stay whereas Rahul and Sankarsh's thinking did not agree with us one bit. Rahul wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible because he wasn't accustomed to such cold weather and Sankarsh said he had to get back at any cost, without giving any obvious reasons as to why. So, I agreed to going back.

Rohit left the place making such a face that even a grumpy old man would have hung his head down in shame at the sight (is this a bad metaphor?). We left Ooty at 11 am and reached our guest house on time at 12 pm. The ride downhill was much faster that we had expected. Once we reached, Rohit and Rahul, who reached a little earlier told us that they got chased by a wild elephant when they stopped to take a photo. Even Sankarsh and I had seen the same elephant by the road side (see pic). I quickly had a bath and we checked out immediately. We still had one place left in our itinerary before we could head back home- Mysore.

After taking a few snaps of the Mysore Palace and satiating our hunger, we headed towards the Mysore zoo. It was my last chance of seeing the tiger before I got home. Tigers have always fascinated me. The largest of the big cats, its size and beauty is just awe-inspiring. We reached the tiger enclosure during the feeding time. We just kept watching how the big males were chewing through big bones like as though it were some pappadam. The animosity that these caged animals had towards its feeders were displayed blatantly by the powerful snarls and violent actions the tigers showed whenever they passed by. We thanked our stars that we didn't come across such a ferocious animal in its natural habitat.

We came out of the zoo at 6 pm and immediately left for Bangalore. The ride back home took us four hours as I controlled the speed of both the bikes. Highways are dangerous especially at night. For me, safety is of utmost priority when it comes to such things. This is not where wild things should be done.

At the end of it all, our statistics read so- 4 friends, 2 bikes, 4 destinations, 668 km, 39 hours, 14 litres of fuel/bike= Rs.1100 per person
The experience= Priceless and wild!

My God! What a 'Mala': Peregrination of a different kind

"A bunch of mad men herding around like wildebeests through the forest, taking all the pain in the world possible, just to see a small brass idol placed on top of a mountain"- this was exactly what I was thinking while I was walking through the Periyar Tiger Reserve's forest track path that led us to Pampa.

Jan 4: My uncle, his friend and I left Erumeli at around 3:30 pm with all the paraphernalia that a swamy usually carries along. This route, known as the velliya paadam, was reputed for its treacherous and notorious path through deep forests, mountains, valleys, streams, occasional wild animals, and what not. To add insult to injury, "God" had very wisely garnished the path not with flowers, but with sharp stones, gravel, thorns, and tree roots. "What's the big deal in it? Any amateur backpacker can do this easily isn't it?" you may ask ignorantly. Yes anybody can. In fact, any chowderhead who has legs can do it. But, try doing the same feat barefooted and you will know exactly what I'm speaking about. It is for this reason that I consider the Sabarimala swamis to be one of the most extreme backpackers in the world.

Handling the rough and uneven terrain complete with a side-bag that is used to carry all their gear, and another bag (irumudi kettu) which is filled with coconuts and rice neatly balanced on their heads requires immense determination and strength (physical and mental). The side-bag gives you sore shoulders because it only has one strap to carry all the weight with, and the headgear leaves you with a bad neck. Leave alone the benefits of doing such things, the only thing I inferred out of this whole exercise was- whoever invented these torturous ways in their quest to see Lord Ayyappan's idol must have been the biggest goddamn masochist of his times.

We came to a halt at 11 pm after covering exactly half the distance (27 km), for a small nap of five hours. With many resting enclosures and food joints built by the forest department all along the way, it wasn't difficult for us to finally get a place to sleep. These places, as I realised later, were a boon for us swamis because it not only provided us with food and shelter during our respite, but it also helped keep the wild animals away from us with the help of the generator they used for lighting the place. The commotion that the people inside and outside these shelters made, was another deterrent.

The sleep I had that night, in spite of all the turmoil around me, was one of the most relieving and satisfying experiences I've had in my entire life.

Jan 5: It was really cold outside and my feet were hurting like crazy, but I had to wake up. We still had a lot to cover and according to my uncle, five hours of sleep was much more than the usual three hours he slept whenever he went there alone. We marched forward and joined the other swamis who were ever-present on the track which led us to the holy shrine. We walked for another four hours and stopped for breakfast near the base of the gruesome and deadly Karimala.

We were advised not to eat a lot as the climb was supposed to be extremely tiresome for our bodies to handle. Not just that, even the descend downhill was supposed to be one of the most difficult phases of this entire traditional route journey. No wonder the swamis chanted Karimala ketam/erakkam kateenam kateenam every now and then. The steep climb uphill seemed endless and at the end of every peak out of a total of seven that make up the Karimala I was left gasping for breath. After another five hours of ups and downs, with some respite in between and with both my feet torn underneath, we finally reached Pampa at 3 pm. We had lunch from here and then I got my feet examined by the attender in one of the medical assistance centres. Since the doctor was missing, I had to make do with some hydrogen peroxide solution poured on the wound and some pain killer tablets given by the attender. I knew this wasn't going to help.

My fears came true when I entered the Pampa river for a bath. Both my feet started burning very badly as soon as I entered the holy river for a dip. After cleansing our sweaty and tired bodies, and washing away our "sins", we entered the foothill of Neelimala, the abode of Lord Ayyappan. From there, it was a good 6 km walk uphill, a distance which would have normally taken us one hour to climb, but because of the sheer number of devotees present, it took us- I kid you not- nine damn hours. It was virtually slower than even wind erosion. We finally reached the Sannidhanam at 12:30 am the following day.

Jan 6: I was rudely awakened by the cops at 1:30 am for having dozed off in between one of the unused railings that formed a serpentine path that led us to the sanctifying 18 steps. But, the only problem was that we had got there a bit late (the shrine closes at 11 pm and reopens only at 4 am). So, we had no other option, but to wait in the biggest queue I had ever seen in my entire life for another 3.5 hours. This didn't seem to be a big deal, what with all the hurdles we had crossed to reach this place in comparison. The analgesic wasn't working at all  as was reflected by the writhing pain on both my feet, but I was helpless. The only hope I had was to get it dressed with medication after my darshanam.

At 4 am, a divine voice got us all excited. It was the voice of Yesudas, the famous singer who was blessed with a child after his first visit to this temple, singing the Suprabatham. This song reckons the opening of the shrine for its devotees. This was an indication for the tumultuous crowd to start moving once again- this time around, towards the 18 steps that ultimately led all of them to the sanctum sanctorum for all sanctification.

We broke our coconuts near the entrance of the 18 steps and proceeded towards the shrine. It was while climbing the 18 steps that I realised I didn't need to take any effort at all. All that you had to do was to stand there and the policemen standing on either sides would automatically lift you like gunny bags (literally) and push you upwards. Wow! What a ride. My uncle told me later on that I should have stood in the centre of the line, where the cops couldn't lay their hands on me. But what left me satisfied at the end of it all was that I was able to get a good darshanam of Lord Ayyappa. A small brass idol inside the sanctum sanctorum which was being smeared all over with clarified butter. Without pondering much, I glibly led myself to believe that the efforts were all worth it.

After coming back to the Sannidhanam, I laid my towel on the balcony of the Sabarimala post office and put myself in 'deep slumber' mode. After all, who could be satisfied with just one hour of sleep, eh? I was awoken by my uncle at 9 am so that we could scoot from the place. On our way back, I entered the Government dispensary where the doctor gave me a tetanus injection and his attender neatly dressed the wound for me in order to prevent further infections. I also bought myself a pair of slippers. I could "officially" wear one now. Phew!

I covered up a lot of my pending sleep on the various bus and train journeys that I took to get back home. It was such a good feeling to return to the (un)civilised world once again. A world of vices. After all, I had learned the hard way that being religious to such an extreme degree was definitely not my cup of tea.

PS: It is entirely a matter of personal choice to follow any such religious beliefs. If this is one's way of finding solace and peace of mind, so be it. The Sabarimala swamis are doing exactly that and I don't have anything to complain about. It only increases my respect towards them. Swamy Sharanam! 

2010: Resolutions for the new year

As I said, I live on to write about more memories and occurrences in 2010. To be honest, I've never made any New year resolutions in my 23 years of existence. So, when it comes to actually having one, I'm sceptical about it. Two contradicting thoughts hit my mind immediately- Will it materialise just because I have a written evidence to keep me reminded about, or will it fade away into oblivion like most people's resolutions do? I don't know. But whatever it is, I don't see any harm in trying it out, all the while hoping to get the best out of this currently mundane lifestyle of mine. With no intentions whatsoever to bite off more than I can chew, I jot down five of my resolutions for this year (not necessarily in the order of importance).

Resolution No.1: Get a six pack at any cost.

For someone whose first priority is health, this definitely reflects a good start for a new year resolution. Building a great abdomen has always found the topmost spot in the "Arjun's to-do-list". The only problem however, is that I've been misplacing this list off and on- so much so- that I desperately needed to make a new list that doesn't get lost. Hence, this blog-post.

Mind you, it's not child's play to build a good looking abdomen. In fact, for most people, this area remains to be the most neglected part of their body. So, how am I going to do it? To start off, I need to reorganise three things:  My eating habits, my exercise regimen, and of course, my dedication levels. I mean, what good is such a resolution if somebody worth his salt cannot perform it with such alacrity? The motivation should firstly come from within. Expect another post on this once the mission is accomplished (obviously before this year ends).

Resolution No.2: Improving my photography skills

The inspiration for this resolution came in the form of a brand new Nikon digital camera that my dad bought for the family last week and this. I've always been intrigued by photography. The phrase "a picture speaks a thousand words" is indeed true and I hope to let my pictures do the talking. Maybe, in the form of a photo-blog which I've always wanted to create. My passion for travelling further improves the scope for this interest of mine which I eventually want to transform into a hobby. What say?

Resolution No.3: Improve my blog

Could I miss out this one? This blog of mine is one of my best friends, and making my blog-posts more articulate and realistic finds the top spot/s in this agenda. Writing has, of late, become my forte and I definitely want to capitalise on this one. Gone are the days when I did nothing when interesting thoughts lingered in my mind. Now all those will find a warm place in my blog and documented and preserved carefully for everyone's perusal by none other than yours truly.

Resolution No.4: Learn the guitar

One of my favourite musical instruments. Being a hardcore heavy metal fan for many years now (7 years to be precise), there were times when I wanted to learn the guitar more than I wanted my next breath. Hopefully, once I start working, I will be able to buy myself a good "Axe". After all, shouldn't there be someone to replace the reverent Yngwie Malmsteen or Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani after their retirement? \m/ \m/

Resolution No.5: Read a lot more

As of now, though I've read quite a bit, I don't find the patience to read lengthy books. It just doesn't fit in my present time-table. Exercising the mind is equally important as exercising the body, and what better way to do this than read? Hopefully reading won't cross ways with my favourite activity- writing. So, take a break while I finish my latest novel. Until then, au revoir!

PS: Hoping I've not put myself into a self-spun predicament with these resolutions.