.:: Metamorphosis ::.

Personal brand... what, why, where, how?!!

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:06:00 +0000

The phrase "Personal branding" has been around since I hopped on to the internet in 1997. Tom Peters knows what he is talking about and is the acknowledged or unacknowledged guru for the internet community for spreading the word. However, this post is not about Tom Peters but about Personal Branding.

What do you mean?
Well, the general idea is that we all are unique [ but ofcourse!! ] and ought to understand our uniqueness.

What will understanding our own uniqueness do for us?
It will empower us with the knowledge of what we are capable of doing. This might help -- Seeds of Thought.

Why do we need this knowledge?
We have people, careers and homes that we love. By understanding our strengths we will harness them better and will put them to effective use. We will provide ourselves with tools that will make our lives richer. We might not know what we are missing until we find it. Or maybe we don't realise all that we are already doing, right now, and this exercise might tell us all that.

How will I do this?
There are schools helping [ largely corporate professionals ] undergo this exercise. But why fear when the internet is here!! [ :) ]. This list could help you:

1. The Brand Called You
2. The Personal Branding Blog
3. Brand Yourself

Where I can get started from?
You might already be doing it!! List all the websites that you "are on". List all the blogs that you write/bookmark/comment on.

How do I analyze?
Observe what you feel looking at all that you've said in those pages. Observe the words, the expressions. Make a list of all that [ too many lists!! ].

If this works for you please do leave a comment.

Journey of a Raindrop

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:45:00 +0000

It wrenched itself from a huge cloud. Shook free of the clutches holding it and hurtled towards the wide open arms of mother Earth. That first step from its entrapment started a long journey. That act of the rain drop to free itself inspired its innumerous siblings held captive likewise to break free as well.

Dark grey clouds chased them to grab them back into their mass but the rain drop and its siblings were too fast! Downward they all went together. Clamouring and encouraging each other to do their best. Some couldn't endure the journey and were lost but most succeeded. They were excited, enthralled to see what awaited them.

Their mother took various forms of fields and hills and oceans beneath them. Waiting to embrace them in every form she could. Further down the raindrop went... rushing towards its mother who looked forward to meeting that long lost child whom the clouds took away. Searching the vast sky for her children she waited till the clouds returned. That is when she called out to them and one of them heard her voice and responded, inspiring the others; giving them hope that they too can aspire for what the raindrop did.

Down they went. Some dancing in mid-air, some serious, some unable to express themselves, some singing songs. Birds went rushing by. Gusts of Wind stopped by to wish them luck. Some gusts bumped against them, teasing and cajoling them. Some of the raindrop's siblings teased the birds by jumping on them. The birds waved their wings and sent them down with further speed.

Blobs of dark mass became green and green turned into tree tops. Some of the raindrop's siblings liked the trees so much that they decided to make it their home. They slid down the tree tops, explored the tree and played there with their siblings who chose to make it their home too.

The raindrop saw all this and laughed. Wished them well and moved on. Its excitement increased and it increased its speed to match. Many of its siblings jumped on to everything they could see. Trees laughed and stewed flowers to welcome them. The raindrop danced through all of this and declined all the invitation from trees and plants and moved downwards.

There, Earth saw it. It saw Earth. Their joy was unmeasureable, uncontrollable. Splat! The raindrop jumped on to her. She embraced him. Splat! splat! splat! one by one the siblings all rushed to their mother.

The Sun struggled to peer through the clouds and see what the noise was all about. He smiled at the reunion. He threw rainbows across to celebrate with the raindrop and Earth.

Butterfly in Forum!

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Look what I found in Forum -- a butterfly!! Made up entirely of paper cups [ a lot of papercups to be wasted!! ]. But it does say a lot if you think about it.

I guest blogged!

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:42:00 +0000

A big Thanks to Anand for inviting me to guest blog on his blog Andyspeak. I call the post The Night.

Do let us know how you liked it :-)

Bobby da dhaba

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Bangalore loves all the good things - Technology, Food and Travel, Photography, Cultural Events, everything! That is the spirit that got me to Bobby da dhaba. This is one place where you can find good Punjabi food in Bangalore.

[ For those who are not aware, a dhaba is Punjabi for an eatery. The food is normally awesome. In older days a manji or khaat would be placed in the open air while the food was cooked in the dhaba kitchen. Now tables and chairs have taken the place of a manji but food is still eaten in open air. Btw, manji or khaat a is a bed with coir tied tightly to a bed structure typically found all over India. ]

The ambience - typical dhaba. No frills and fancies!! The food - amazing. The queues - long :-) People wait in the hot afternoon sun to have their lunch.

Bobby da dhaba is strategically placed; right next to the Alsur Gurudwara. Looks like a run down place [ this will change as they will be shifting to the opposite side near Photo Flash ]. Take left from the Gurudwara and you will find a shanty which [ of course ] you will not believe is the dhaba.

You place the initial order with the person at the counter and wait for your turn to sit. They call out your name and offer you a table which you will be sharing with some strangers unless you are atleast four people in your group. What I absolutely liked about the place is that while you are waiting, your initial order is being taken care of. There is none of the waiting time that fancier restaurants take.

Our methi ke paranthe just melted in our mouth!! I couldn't help eating another piece the moment the first was tasted. Lassi was good too, spicy. And paneer ke paranthe actually had lots of paneer [ which many restaurants fail to understand should be the main ingredient to have in paneer ke paranthe ]. Two people whom we shared our table with had ordered kheer as well and one of them said that he preferred the kheer in Bobby da dhaba to the one made at home!!

We ordered:

Methi ke paranthe - 4
Paneer ke pranthe - 2
Lassi - 1
Shahi Paneer - 1

Total cost -- Rs. 110/-. Pretty good for a whole meal for two people right here in Bangalore!! [ btw, the lassi is served in a tall glass so please ensure you can drink it all, I did :-) ]

This is my entry to my first online event - Latest eat-out in B'lore

Latest eat-out in B'lore

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:02:00 +0000

I am hosting an event called Latest eat-out in B'lore. This will be hosted under the umbrella - Edibles [ Edibles is where I will post all the lovely places I visit to eat :-) ].

This is the first time I am hosting an event [am absolutely nervous!! This is going to be fun!!!].

Links to this post:

Bobby da dhaba
Bangalore loves all the good things - Technology, Food and Travel, Photography, Cultural Events, everything! That is the spirit that got me to Bobby da dhaba. This is one place where you can find good Punjabi food in Bangalore... by me :-)

Silver Metro
Apart from being the famous face of the IT industry, Bangalore is soon gaining a lot of ground as a foodie's paradise. Thanks to the potpourri of cultures in the IT industry, there is a prevalent practice amongst the techies to eat out as a group. And a buffet is an arrangement that works to everyone's advantage, both in terms of variety as well as price... by Andyspeak

Veena Stores
Veena Stores is strategically located for good business. Right at the junction of 15th cross and Margosa road in Malleshwaram, very next to a bus stop. There are multiple reasons why this place is so much crowded... by The Speaking Mind

Update on Dizwell

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:28:00 +0000

For those of us who woke up late...Dizwell.com is back and doing fine!! Hurrah!! However, the treatment of the site is very different from what it used to be. [ Honestly speaking, I liked the old site better ]. Whatever reasons resulted in this new format, the new format is welcome. I'm just glad that the site that taught me a lot about Oracle is back. Just check http://www.dizwell.com. This is what I would like to say to the website owner:

Sir,

If you ever chance to visit this blog, I would like to say -- Thank you for opening the site again. To me your earlier site was like a library that I could walk into, pickup an article and take notes. I have done this quite often. Though the new format does not seem to host the older articles, I find the new articles like Automatically emailing Excel spreadsheets from Oracle insightful.

I just hope that you would again, someday, post the older articles in some section of your website.

The engine that pushes

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:13:00 +0000

This is first of a two part series on a trip to Ooty (Udhagamandalam) in Tamil Nadu.

From my place to the Satellite bus stand is going over to another corner of the city. My bus broke down in the middle of nowhere after starting from Shivaji Nagar bus stand. On top of it, we [Mother and I] had boarded the wrong bus!! The bus conductor, however, was the best I have ever met. Had it not been for his presence of mind the Ooty trip might not as well have happened. He stopped a bus passing by and requested the driver to drop us at a particular signal [he didn't give us the name of the signal]. From the signal we finally [after over 45 mins since the bus broke down] got an autorickshaw.

Poor Vish was in as much jitters as we were. I kept praying that other members of our team should not have to suffer on my account and requested Vish to carry on if we did not make it on time to the bus stand. But we did!! :-) Just 5 mins before the bus was to leave we reached. Vish had the presence of mind [everyone except me seems to have had tons of it!!] to get coupons for two cups of coffee for Mamma and I [We so badly needed that coffee!! Thank you Vish]. All of us boarded the bus and settled in.

Coimbatur

The stopover in Coimbatur was a very short one. We just walked over to the central bus stand to catch the bus for Mettupalayam. There are buses to Mettupalayam every 5 to 10 mins. The buses are in decent condition and the bus driver and conductor were very helpful people. The journey was completed in 1 hour 30 mins. It was some festival that day and lots of women dressed in red saree were seen everywhere. But they got down much before Mettupalayam.

Mettupalayam

From Mettupalayam bus stand to the railway station is a 5 mins walk. You just follow the straight road. Sights and smells of the morning could be seen and felt everywhere.

Our tickets were still waitlisted. We pleaded that we be let in the train. After all we had come to Mettupalayam for the Toy Train experience. The railway police and the guard were very helpful. They suggested that we wait for sometime till the other passengers are all seated. After a 15 [ loooooooooooong ] minute wait they suggested they can accomodate us but it would be in the compartment right next to the engine. Which is just what we wanted!! We couldn't wait to see the smoke billowing out of the engine and hear the whistle of the engine and of course all the whoosh that goes with it!!! A British couple were already seated in the compartment [ we later found that they had come packed for a long trek in Ooty ].

The engine that pushes the train

This is the engine that pushes the train! As most of the journey is uphill the engine is situated at the end of the train instead of the usual front of the train. The rythemic khat-khata-khat--khat-khata-khat--khat-khata-khat is mesmerising. Starting at 7:00 a.m. from Mettupalayam, the train reaches Ooty around 12:00 p.m. The cost of 8 people for a 5 hour [one of a lifetime journeys ride] works out to a whopping Rs.264!!!! [Yes, that is right ;-) ].

The "Toy Train" [as the Nilgiri Passenger is fondly known] stops every 45 mins to fill water for the steam engine. We had started clicking in the moving train. Some of the photos are proof to that :-) Every time the train stopped people came out and started taking photos. Often times, we had to be chided into the train by the guard who threatened smilingly he would leave us there if we did not scoot for the train. Half-heartely we moved into the train and started clicking rightaway!!

Twice the train stops near a bridge. Once, there is a brook flowing down below. The scenery here is amazing. Very dramatic. Our British couple decided to get some romantic advantage of the surroundings [ That which we Indians are willing to see in a movie, we are not ready to see in real life!! ].

There are hills, brooks, flowers, trees growing in the strangest of manners, bridges, tunnels and tons of smoke all through the way!! It is a journey of a life time. Don't miss it. Whatever your age do take the toy train once. Experience the ethereal moments that cannot be explained in words. The moments have to be felt, lived.

Toy train Bio-data

Till the moment we touched Ooty it was heaven... and then we were thrust down on earth to face the brutalities of a popular hill station.

Mothers of sons

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Headlines proclaimed -- Mumbai terror ends. I had thought once this gets over I will be more composed and will be able to put my thoughts in proper order. I had thought words will come out more naturally, easily.

So I decided to wait till the terrorists were rounded up. The day came and the wait got over.

But the terror just does not end. Television and the internet have been blaring the gory details. Children crying having lost parents, parents crying having lost children.

That moved me to other thoughts. What about the mothers of the boys [they were between 21 and 25] who held seige in Mumbai landmarks. Do these women cry on losing their sons? Do these women know where their sons are going to [and what for in the first place?]?

Is it money or religion or something else that prompts these women to not object. Why do these women not pull back their sons and save them from a fate that is not taking them to either life or glory.

Are these mothers of 21 year olds not mature enough to know that their sons are leaving home never to return again. It can't be poverty. That can be taken care of in other ways. Is it religion. Can a religion make a mother so insensitive as to look the other way when her son leaves never to return. Does not seem like that. Mothers don't have religions.

It is just plain a terror that will not end. But more so for the mother who knowingly sent her son never to return.

P.S.: Apologies if my thoughts are not coherent.

A very common cold

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:40:00 +0000

After a lovely trip to Coorg, I was hoping to write about its beauty and the time I had enjoyed [that will be the next post]. Instead I'm forced to write about the cold I've caught!!

I know, I don't really have to write about the not-so-uncommon common cold. But what can I do - kismat! Even my boss gives me the you-poor-thing,-you-are-so-done-for looks. [I've managed to contribute the germs to a poor colleague sitting in the US of A. All that the poor soul did was attend the same conference call with me and look what has happened to her].

Everyone is very kind, sympathetic. Cold makes everyone bring out their favourite remedies. "Take some ginger and add honey to it" [my fav actually, tastes good]. "Take about four cloves, put them in boiling water and catch the steam [catch steam ?!!]". "Put 3 or 4 leaves of tulsi in your tea" [tastes good too]. "Gargle with hot water and put some salt into it."

Then there are any number of medicines available in the market. The television advices me to take at least half-a-dozen different ones in a span of 3 mins.

The point here is that people who wouldn't give me a nod on an ordinary day give me recipes, advice and looks that make me feel like I've caught the common cold for the first time in my life. And this happens every time :-)

Fragrances of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:57:00 +0000

We can capture sounds and sights of nature... my biggest grouse is that I can't capture smells. Just walking down a road in this heat and cursing the sun, humidity [or lack thereof!], pollution, politics... and then, then you stop because between all of this a very divine smell just caught your attention! The flower that was the cause for this sweet smell [which in turn caused you to stop cursing] is normally a simple off-white or pink 4-5 petalled creation of the almighty.

Hanging from a tree, it just looks at you innocently. The fruits around it could be any size, shape or colour. Time evaporates, sun melts, humidity is of no consequence and, by the way, what is politics!! Pollution will have to wait because a flower just bloomed and spread its fragrance. That moment the meaning of the word "divine" becomes clear.

You can photograph the flower. You can [if you had very good devices for doing so] perhaps capture the very subtle sound the flower must make when blooming. But what shall we do about the fragrance. The helplessness of it hurts. I can experience it but not capture it. No perfume factories/designers can work this magic. It solely rests with the flower.

The occassional maramalligai [Literally translated, tree jasmine. The stem is long and the petals are off-white and smells just like jasmine just subtler.], champa [Also called champangi. Don't know the English word for it] and many more. Tons of other flower trees line the roads of B'lore.

Throughout the year, and especially this time of the year, some or the other tree is in bloom providing people like me some respite.

Only, if some scientist could come up with a contraption that would allow me to capture smells like that. I would love to show off a few, maybe even upload to this blog :-)

Heaven in small pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:55:00 +0000

I've always thought of Lal Bagh in that way. Tall stately trees; birds and squirrels chirping all day; people taking an easy stroll. There's no hurry in this bubble of time; no agitation. Life moves on at it's own sweet pace. The roads inside Lal Bagh are wider than many places in the Bangalore city adding to its many attractions [:-)].

With 240 acres of parks and a lake Lal Bagh is just the right place to visit if you want to take a very long stroll on an evening.

Lal Bagh is also a favourite with people who have gardens. It is nestles a huge nursery. Many a times I visit LB just for walking through the nursery. The variety of plants is amazing. Add to it the down-to-earth prices!! Someday I hope to have a garden to plant any and every tree I want. And I know where I can get them :-).

The lake in LB is also beautiful. Ducks, monkeys and lilies [and I'm sure there are fish, for you can't have ducks without them] abound in and around the lake. The fringe of the lake is adorned with coconut palms. When clouds reflect in the lake waters it makes a lovely scene to admire with your loved ones [I had my parents with me :-)].

Twice a year LB hosts flower shows [I've not been lucky enough to go to one of these]. But I was lucky enough to be at the Mango Festival last summer [and looking forward to this year's festival]. Mangoes from all over the country pay a visit and enthrall people. I believe I have seen quite a few varieties of mangoes but what I saw at the festival was beyond words.

I saw people buying mangoes in dozens of kilos. I'm sure those mangoes would have travelled across the country!! Considering the prices at which you could get some of the rarer mango varieties no one can resist buying like that.

There is so much more to LB which I cannot cover in one post and hence, will defer till later. Perhaps, in the meanwhile more knowledgeable people will share their views by commenting in this post.

Cubbon Park

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Last weekend my buddy Vish and I went to Cubbon park to photograph the park. And this time I will not talk but let the photos do the job :-) [Sandy, this one is specially for you]

Precious Evenings

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:15:00 +0000

It's so precious to have an evening for oneself. I know what most of us would think - evening 'for' oneself...and what is so precious about it?! But for people like me who don't return from work till after nightfall, evenings are precious.

Every weekend, I try to spend the evening with my friends or family. That is special :-). But occassionally [very occassionally], I get an evening on a weekday. The colours, the smell, the sights, the sounds of evening...precious.

Women dressing up [looking fresh] and going about busy; people tired and returning from work; students returning after bunking class[:-)]; laughter of girls; children playing; teenage boys trying to grow up faster than their ages... what's the good word here - precious.

We used to go to my grandmother's place during the summer vacations. The days used to be hot and humid but the evenings... the evenings were beautiful. The huge temple we used to visit had rows of flower sellers [they are still there]. The smell of jasmine and roses twined with the colours of flowers I do not know the names of, was soothing.

Evenings meant the women in the family freshening up, dressing up, wearing your best clothes and jewellery, getting together with neighbouring girls and women and going to the temple or going for a movie. Either was welcome. The laughter, the clang of bangles and anklets, the swishing of sarees and skirts. Flowers falling in your lap when you sat would enhance the colours of your clothes.

Remnants of those evenings can still be found in these occassional precious evenings. The air still smells crisp. Women still dress up and go to temples in the evenings. The beauty of colours and smells and sights are still there. However, these evenings for people like me are rare... hence, precious!

ITPL Ho!

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:30:00 +0000

Ever wonder what to do on a Saturday afternoon when you just have a couple of hours [and no money :-)] and have to be home before dark... there's tons you can do.

Well, what my buddy Vish and I did, a couple of Saturdays ago, was ride to ITPL via Marathahalli. It had rained very light the previous night and the air still had moisture in it. The sun was up but not hurting. We capitalised on it. It was fun. Though all the factory outlets in Marathahalli were very inviting with the sale season still not over [pssst... some shops are offering buy 3 get 4!!!], we did not stop over [reason's in the previous para].

We went straight to ITPL. India Technology Park Ltd. is a tech park [obviously, what else :-) ]. Any number of national and multinational organisations feel proud to have a presence in ITPL. Construction is still in progress. Be prepared for trucks.

Some of the buildings are worth taking a look. To us, the Sri Satya Sai Baba Medical Institute was interesting not only for the good work that is being done there but also because of the beauty of the structure. Personally, I felt that it is inspired by the Vidhan Soudha. But I could be wrong. Whether inspired by Vidhan Soudha or not it is a beautiful structure. If I were a medical student or a doctor working in that building, that building would be reason enough to get up everyday and go to work.

There are quite a few glass buildings screaming "IT". Then there are others that are quiet pretend no one exists around them. What struck me was that each building has character.

There was one more place that interested us [a lot!]. San Engineering & Locomotive's building may not be considered a work of art but what they have outside the building is very interesting. They have... actually have... a steam engine!!!

We're not sure of her age. Not even as to how long she worked, or the trains she pulled, or the people she helped reach their destinations. But she stands there. Her beauty augumented by the flowering bougainvilla behind her.

We took pictures of her and us on her :-) [My ambition as a kid was to be a driver on a steam engine !! Well... I got only this far] One more interesting thing about her is a snake. Probably a water snake but a snake nevertheless. I took a picture of the snake but at Vish's suggestion I took a small video. Some day my kids are going to be soooooo proud of me.

In less than two hours we had a smashing time. I've been told you carry your own party, so true :-)

Dizwell

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:24:00 +0000

One of my favourite sites on Oracle - Dizwell Informatics - has been shut out for visitors. This post is not to crib about the "whys" and "oh my Gods!". This post is an attempt to reach the site owner and tell him --

Sir,

Your reason to shut out visitors is valid [though I'm not aware of what happened to result in this and despite reading about it on your site I'm not able to understand it fully]. It's your personal website and the rest of us should have the maturity to respect that.

I want you to know that your site gave me some very good articles to read. Thank you for posting such interesting/informative articles.

Though I tried to reach you to let you know this, there was no way I could. There's not even a page to say thanks.

I hope that some day you will once again share with us your researches on Oracle related matters. I'm not sure if this post will ever reach you, but if it does, I shall be very glad of at least having had the opportunity to thank you.

A God for everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:14:00 +0000

Everyone needs a God. I'm not sure if this need arises because we need our wishes to be granted or it is just that we need to gather strength from somewhere beyond ourselves.

A joy, a secret, a wish... so many things can be shared with that someone whose existence we are still debating.

Tiny temples, churches and mosques jostle for space beside traffic filled roads. If it is not a structure where one can stand in and pray then it is a small statue covered enough to protect it from the elements and a little space for the person praying to stand near it. An earthen lamp or a candle declares someone visited; someone prayed.

Faith makes so many things bearable. A pain that cannot be expressed aloud is best alleviated standing before a deity. Just looking at the statue without thinking a single word and believing that the deity understands is medicine enough for the mind and soul.

God created man or man created God is immaterial, what matters is the belief that someone knows, listens, forgives, understands, judges impartially. Someone is there.

"Lakes" in B'lore

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:05:00 +0000

Bangalore had some good rains this year. This was invitation to check out the outskirts. My buddies and I decided to take a look and what we found was pleasantly surprising. Reason - there are still plenty of ponds that fill up every time it rains. They are scenic.

In the dry days people use them for all sorts of purposes. Then it rains. Now the ponds assert who they are. And who they are is attracting a lot of attention.

Builders have realised that B'lore is better known for its natural beauty so why spoil it! Two beautiful ponds that we saw had builders queuing up to buy the land around them and turn them into the centrepiece for an apartment complex. A move much more welcome than drying and filling up the ponds and then using them for construction. Of course, the "lake view" apartments/villas will be much costlier than some other place but at least this preserves the water and beauty reserves of B'lore.

One of my cousins has bought land near such a "lake". The builder has taken up the charge of cleaning up the lake and maintaining it. A small amphitheater has been built on one side. A wire wall has been built around the lake so as to prevent kids from falling in. Both these put together gives young children and their families lovely open space as well as safety.

More such endeavours can be seen. Perhaps in the coming years B'lore will once more gain the reputation of being a city of lakes and gardens.

Mannequin

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:06:00 +0000

My cab to work passes market areas with shops, people and bad roads in abundance. There is this one particular shop that makes me want to look at it everyday. The shop is itself is obscure. Had it not been for the mannequins one may not notice the shop itself. There are 6 mannequins at the shop entrance; all lined so as to face the road [the road itself is another story :-)].

There is nothing unusually remarkable about the other mannequins either. They are normal, everyday mannequins that wear the shop clothes without any expression. They are lifeless [all mannequins are, I know that :-)]. The one that catches my eye is not what one observes on a normal basis. It has a great body, like all mannequins do. But other than that nothing about it is
"perfect".

Her hair is cropped very short. She is not pretty. Her long arms are kept a little away from the body. A toothless guffaw matches the expression of the arms to say that she is laughing about something. Though I'm not aware of her pet joke, still I never fail to look at her when my cab passes her shop.

I do like to sometimes guess what she might be laughing about [a dumb act you might say!!]. Maybe she is gregarious and is happy about the number of people around her or maybe she is just pepped up about the scene on the road. Whatever the reason, her sense of humour is infectious.

Her sense of dress is also very good. A fact that says the person who dresses her up each day also seems to like her as much as I do. Perhaps, he/she too is trying to guess at her joke.

But my cab does not stop there. It has to go on... and it does. There are other attractions on the way. Then again there is tomorrow...

September clouds

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:19:00 +0000

It is a 40 minute ride from home to work. A very long 40 minutes :-) with all the honking and traffic jams. Still there are few moments of respite as long as you avoid looking at the goings on. There are clouds in the sky; lovely September clouds; clean, white, all their dirt and water washed away in the previous months.

It is a huge community up in the sky. Big clouds, flying in the horizon; smaller clouds rushing to join them. Ever expanding, dividing, mutating clouds. Some of them still carrying a little bit of grey in them and looking like they are either trying to stand out or trying very hard to fit in and not succeeding. Still there are lots of clouds in the sky, wherever you look.

Looking at this play in the sky, without realising it, I am seven; running barefoot in the open. The fact that thorns along the way have scratched my feet, and my feet are bleeding, is totally lost on me. All I can see are clouds and feel the crisp September air rushing against me. The sun hangs heavy in the sky, either watching me or watching the clouds, I'm not sure which. All I
know is that I want to run along with the clouds and I'm following my heart's desire. I can afford to do that, I'm only seven :-) and seven year olds are not expected to think beyond running and playing.

I'm brought back to today by a single tear in my eye that does not wish to fall. It brings memories of pains and pleasures since then. A sense of loss and a sense of gain enter the mind simultaneously. Things move on just like those clouds. I wonder if these clouds ever age or do they only mutate!!

The day is bright and the sun hangs heavy in the sky. The air is crisp. Somethings don't change :-)

Skandagiri

noreply@blogger.com (Metamorphosis) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:58:00 +0000

Skandagiri is about 70 kms. from Bangalore. This trek is known for the cloud formation atop the Skandagiri hill once the sun comes up in the morning. Hence, this was to be a moonlight trek [Though it ended up as a torchlight trek is another matter... he he he].

There were 13 of us including the guide [who joined from a village in the foothills of Skandagiri called Kalavarahalli]. We started from B'lore somewhere around 6:30 p.m. in a tempo traveller. I did not know most of the people who joined us for the trek but this was a bunch I was to become friends with and did not know at that time.

This trek was Vish's idea. He had been planning and chasing all of us for over a month. He did a bang job of organising it. There was Shobha, who brought her famous tripod. I had met her previously on last Diwali. Then, there was Asha, Sounder, Sanman, Arun, Gautam, Harish, Surya. Shobha, Sanman, Sounder, Asha, Harish are all seasoned trekkers. At about 7:30 we stopped in a place called Chikkaballapur for dinner. The place in itself was not good. But when you are with a group joking and laughing it hardly matters.

By the time we finished dinner it was already 9:00. We had to move now. We reached Kalavarahalli around 9:45. There our guide met us. He knew the terrain very well and walked up like a goat with Shobha following suit.

Our guide told us that there are two routes, one which is shorter and also steeper and the other which is winding and longer. Hands down we chose the latter :-) We wanted to enjoy the trek not hurt ourselves. There is no defined path way. You just keep climbing and finding out the way between the stones and boulders. None of the guys grumbled. Sanman skidded twice. Sounder couldn't speak after sometime. Shobha and Asha are goats!

One person, however, grumbled a lot! and cribbed! and complained! ... and that person was me!!! LOL. I was a first time [yes, there will be more] trekker. I was under the impression that the 12.5 kms walk to Vaishno Devi had prepared me for all this. But little did I know what this trek was to make me endure!! My knees have been under a bad spell lately; add to it a sheer lack of activity and cramps at night because of inactivity... a lovely concoction for disaster. I may not have the stamina, or exceptional health but I have my stubbornness and, on that trek, lovely people.

Everyone understood my predicament and no one complained! Even now thinking of how each one helped me or accepted that I'm slow, and that too without a word of objection, humbles me. Generous, generous people!!

Each one of them at some point held my hand and helped me move up. The camaraderie that I felt at those moments is indescribable.... so much for sentimental stuff !!! :-)

We took a lot of stops. sometimes because of me and sometimes because someone slipped or sometimes because someone was thirsty. All these stops gave us an opportunity to look around [wherever we could in that dark!!] and enjoy the beauty of the climb. We took photos or simply energised ourselves for the walk.

All the while we kept asking the guide how long it was to take us to the top! I suspect we were the slowest bunch he had ever walked with!! [poor guy] Of course, he replied and of course we did not like the answers!! LOL. Still, cribbing and joking, resting and admiring we walked along.

About 2 or 3 kms up the way [which, by the way, our guide told us was only 10% covered] we reached a huge boulder. It stood on a slant to the hill forming a roof. The gutsy amongst us [everyone except me :-)] walked upto the foot of the rock and sat there. Exhausted, poor me, I sat at the mouth and just lied back. I so badly needed that rest.

Lying down like that and looking at that rock made me wonder about the days when that rock was created. The tales it could tell me of the travellers who rested there before us, where it came from, how it came about to be where it was. I wondered how it must have come down hurtling and searching for a spot where it could rest. Then, it must have found that place - scenic, breathtaking and yet offering it much needed comfort. Then eons later a bunch of people came and rested there; finding similar peace in its lap.

Our guide began coaxing us to make a move as we had a long way to cover. Once again I grimaced, took a picture of the rock and moved.We walked further up taking a lot more breaks.

We reached the top somewhere around 11:30 p.m. We had been promised a temple where we could sleep and spend the night. The night was windy and cloudy. At that height clouds sail past you and leave you bedewed. Fun!!!

The temple is a stone structure probably never completed. The main entrance leads to a small room with floor on both sides. This room opens into another bigger room that can on a good day host about 8 people. This room again opens into a sanctum sanctorum. Neither the room nor the sanctum sanctorum have a flooring. The roof leaks. No one has any idea who attempted to build the temple or why was it never completed.

Behind the temple there is a similar structure. The pillars have caved in. The entire structure was dilapidated. The main temple has pillars that were never completely carved and are being used to sit upon by tourists.

Another thing that needs mentioning here is that on the way to the temple there was a stone structure in the shape of a tiny room. In this structure there was a small opening that had been closed off.

We tried to brave all of this and spread some polythene sheets and sleep on the floor. I tried to do the same but realised soon that I was not prepared to take the cold floor. I offered my place to anyone who would be brave to attempt the feat and Asha took up the challenge. Brave sleepy girl!!

Sunish had slept long ago!! Asha took my place. Sounder managed in whatever way he could. Sanman followed suit. Shoba, Gautam and Surya spent the entire night sitting outside the temple. Vish and I tried to walk to and fro and tried to keep ourselves warm.

Dawn broke very slowly. Never have I welcomed the sun like I did then! Slowly and persistently the dawn broke. My teeth chattered and Gautam and Vish have photos to prove... lol.

Winds gathered speed. Gathering Sounder and Shobha was the toughest. They couldn't have enough of the dangers that the lovely spot afforded. Somehow the feat was attempted. We paid up for all that we had bought over the night and left the place.

The journey was not without breaks. These were longer as now we could see clearly and photograph easily. Rounding up everyone after each stop was not easy. Left to them they would have gladly stayed there the entire day :-)

Reaching ground was pleasant. Now I didn't have to battle slippery rocks and moist earth. But by now most of our bunch had walked past us. Vish had hurt himself and I decided to stay by his side. So, there were were Sanman, Gautam, Vish and myself.

It was a lovely trip. I enjoyed it despite cribbing and complaining. The grand hills and the panorama, the wide canvas of the earth kept reminding me of the Creator. I wish I had larger eyes and sharper intellect to capture the sights. A poet once said he needs a thousand eyes to admire the beauty of the Mother. I feel like that.

Sometime, climbing down, I once again thought of the days when the hills were in the making. Or perhaps there were huge dinosaurs that, roamed those hills. for them these hills may not have felt as huge as I felt.