Never understood that phrase, until I did that. I don't know if its the colder climate or the low humidity or perhaps the lack of crowd in Colorado in comparison with Ranganaathan street, I did not drop even after 14 hrs of roaming around on Black Friday.
I knew a few things which I had to buy for sometime now and was postponing those for this day of the year. Visibly the discounts weren't that great this year if you zero'ed up on a specific product and wait for a slash on the price, Instead if one doesn't care for the brand or fine with lesser features then one might end up in a steal if one has the patience to stand in line 4 - 5 hrs in the cold for the doorbuster deals that happen when the shops open by 12:00AM. I was very specific on what to get therefore I didn't bother to brave the cold for the doorbuster deals.
I started by 8:00AM and visited some furniture shops and then the factory outlet malls followed by IKEA and then the park meadow mall. Since these were in Denver/outskirts of Denver, it was visibly the Black Friday crowd, but in comparison to the crowds in NY/CA, it was considerable and thus I was able to shop around easily. As far as electronics is concerned I sealed up a solid deal for a 40" Sony - Google LED HDTV in Sony website. It was fun to visit so many shops in a single day and I think this is the first Black Friday wherein I contributed to the economy through my shopping spree. Finished the day with a visit to the local Best Buy to check around.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Curious Case of Peppers
There are few stories that is hard to believe, one such is the story of the expensive black pepper(Tamil: Milagu), the diminished usage of long Pepper(Tamil: Kandanthippali) and the rise of Chilli Pepper(Tamil: Milagaai). These 3 commodity's history and even their etymological namings in various languages are interwoven. The spice trade route in the high seas estabilished by the portuguese in 1498 paved the way for this.
My interest in the Black Pepper was kindled by the Malayalam film "Urumi" and did some reading on Peppers. And so the story of Peppers unfolds. Prior to the Age of Discoveries, Black Pepper was native to Southern India(malabar region) and long pepper was grown in the North Western regions of India and these two were the only commodities to make the Indian cuisine hot. The european world prior to the age of discoveries used long pepper(imported from Northern India) for spicing up their cuisine as black pepper was very expensive and hard to import from South India. As the Romans thought both black and long pepper is from the same plant, they termed both as piper(actually derived from Tamil/malayalam root Pippali or Tippali) which became pepper in English.
When Vasco Da Gama estabilished the sea route to south India in 1498, Black Pepper almost became like the Dollar currency in FOREX of these days. With the continuous flow of Black pepper to Europe, long pepper's stock was going for a nose dive :) It was during this time that the Columbian Exchange happened wherein the commodities, culture etc were exchanged by the Europeans with the Americas after the Columbus discovery of America in 1492. Now the third contender chilli Pepper (a native of America) entered the scene.
The Europeans and Indians so far had known only Pepper as the source of Hotness in cuisine, therefore when they encountered Chilli, they named it based on pepper too, thats why it is called as chilli pepper (Tamil: Milagaai - Milagu(Black Pepper) + Kaai(Unripened fruit)) How intuitive!! When chillies entered India through the portuguese, it took us by storm it was far easier to cultivate than long pepper and all the cuisines made earlier with long pepper(the spiciest one at that time) was substituted with chillies. Probably is this the reason that we look up on anything foreign with awe, irrespective of whether they are the best in class or not? Right now, the only dishes in south India that I know that makes use of long Pepper is Kandanthippali Rasam and Deepavali Marunthu.
That sealed the demise of Long pepper with chilli pepper and black reigning the supremacy across all cuisines. Looking back in retrospect, the traders around the world in the 1400's and 1500's were responsible for so many things associated with our cuisines/apparel/culture etc, Its hard to believe that we never knew about Potato, Tomato, Capsicum, Beans, Chilli, Custard Apple (Sita Pazham), Corn, Guava, Groundnut, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Pineapple, Papaya prior to 1500s. All these cam from Americas through Europe. I wonder what were we eating during that time?
Some traces of foreign introduction of some vegetables and fruits are still evident in our life, for eg, During some festivals, rituals and Mangali ponduthal there is a rigid rule of what should be cooked. The curry would always be Vazhaikaai(Plantain) / Kothavarangaai(Cluster Beans) / Katharikaai (Brinjal) / Poozhanikaai (Ash gourd) / Avaraikaai (Broad Beans) / Podalangai (Snake Gourd) curry and all of them would be seasoned with coconut and not fried, Maanga(Mango) pachidi, Vazhaikaai (Plaintain) chips which clearly are made only with the indigenous vegetables and probably the rules were devised when the other vegetables existence was never known. These vegetables are also referred to as Naatu kaai (Country or local vegetables). Some vegetables and fruits never got a proper Tamil name(eg, Carrot, Beet root, Apple) and some got names referring to their history (eg, Pumpkin - Parangikaai : Parangi(Foreign) + Kaai(Unripened fruit)) Also, even though we embraced potato, tomato, guava et all with open arms, still in our house we avoid eating Pineapple, Papaya and Custard Apple giving it a suspicious look :) I hope someday there is mass production of Indian vegetables here in US, I miss the kothavarangaai, Avarakaai, Poozhanikaai, Podalangaai. I am tired of buying the same old Potato and Tomato everytime in the grocery store!!
My interest in the Black Pepper was kindled by the Malayalam film "Urumi" and did some reading on Peppers. And so the story of Peppers unfolds. Prior to the Age of Discoveries, Black Pepper was native to Southern India(malabar region) and long pepper was grown in the North Western regions of India and these two were the only commodities to make the Indian cuisine hot. The european world prior to the age of discoveries used long pepper(imported from Northern India) for spicing up their cuisine as black pepper was very expensive and hard to import from South India. As the Romans thought both black and long pepper is from the same plant, they termed both as piper(actually derived from Tamil/malayalam root Pippali or Tippali) which became pepper in English.
When Vasco Da Gama estabilished the sea route to south India in 1498, Black Pepper almost became like the Dollar currency in FOREX of these days. With the continuous flow of Black pepper to Europe, long pepper's stock was going for a nose dive :) It was during this time that the Columbian Exchange happened wherein the commodities, culture etc were exchanged by the Europeans with the Americas after the Columbus discovery of America in 1492. Now the third contender chilli Pepper (a native of America) entered the scene.
The Europeans and Indians so far had known only Pepper as the source of Hotness in cuisine, therefore when they encountered Chilli, they named it based on pepper too, thats why it is called as chilli pepper (Tamil: Milagaai - Milagu(Black Pepper) + Kaai(Unripened fruit)) How intuitive!! When chillies entered India through the portuguese, it took us by storm it was far easier to cultivate than long pepper and all the cuisines made earlier with long pepper(the spiciest one at that time) was substituted with chillies. Probably is this the reason that we look up on anything foreign with awe, irrespective of whether they are the best in class or not? Right now, the only dishes in south India that I know that makes use of long Pepper is Kandanthippali Rasam and Deepavali Marunthu.
That sealed the demise of Long pepper with chilli pepper and black reigning the supremacy across all cuisines. Looking back in retrospect, the traders around the world in the 1400's and 1500's were responsible for so many things associated with our cuisines/apparel/culture etc, Its hard to believe that we never knew about Potato, Tomato, Capsicum, Beans, Chilli, Custard Apple (Sita Pazham), Corn, Guava, Groundnut, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Pineapple, Papaya prior to 1500s. All these cam from Americas through Europe. I wonder what were we eating during that time?
Some traces of foreign introduction of some vegetables and fruits are still evident in our life, for eg, During some festivals, rituals and Mangali ponduthal there is a rigid rule of what should be cooked. The curry would always be Vazhaikaai(Plantain) / Kothavarangaai(Cluster Beans) / Katharikaai (Brinjal) / Poozhanikaai (Ash gourd) / Avaraikaai (Broad Beans) / Podalangai (Snake Gourd) curry and all of them would be seasoned with coconut and not fried, Maanga(Mango) pachidi, Vazhaikaai (Plaintain) chips which clearly are made only with the indigenous vegetables and probably the rules were devised when the other vegetables existence was never known. These vegetables are also referred to as Naatu kaai (Country or local vegetables). Some vegetables and fruits never got a proper Tamil name(eg, Carrot, Beet root, Apple) and some got names referring to their history (eg, Pumpkin - Parangikaai : Parangi(Foreign) + Kaai(Unripened fruit)) Also, even though we embraced potato, tomato, guava et all with open arms, still in our house we avoid eating Pineapple, Papaya and Custard Apple giving it a suspicious look :) I hope someday there is mass production of Indian vegetables here in US, I miss the kothavarangaai, Avarakaai, Poozhanikaai, Podalangaai. I am tired of buying the same old Potato and Tomato everytime in the grocery store!!
Thursday, April 07, 2011
World Champions!! Atlast!!
1983 is quite a long time back, and all that I know about India lifting the Cricket World Cup is from the iconic still in which Kapil Dev holds the trophy in Lords. Fast-forwarding 20 years, I was in the cross-roads of writing the MOST_IMPORTANT_EXAM of my life, the 12th standard public exam. In spite of that, I saw all the matches that India played. India had an humiliating defeat vs Australia in the qualifying round and went on to win everyone(England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri lanka to name some) else convincingly.Some of the most memorable matches were played in that world cup series, The hook shot from sachin in shoib's over(India vs Pakistan) etched in the minds of the people forever. It is comparable to the Aamir Sohail's wicket take
n by Venkatesh Prasad in the 1996 world cup!! We were basically cruising in that world cup, only to meet Australia in the finals. I had my Computer Science public exam the next day and to my horror saw India getting pelted by Ponting and his men!! I could see India loosing their hold on the World cup and myself on the computer science exam.Heart-broken, Literally everybody was in tears. I gave my best shot in the Exam and stopped watching Cricket from then on. Now and then I would just check the scores in The Hindu and come to know who won what. In 2007 world cup India had to face crushing defeat in the hands of Srilanka and Bangladesh eventually getting kicked out in the qualifying rounds itself. Towards the end of that year, I got the chance to watch IPL Ist Edition in bangalore between Chennai Super Kings & Royal Challengers, Bangalore. The crowd was crazy(that means us) and the cheer was maddening. We supported CSK and it was a crucial win for CSK, in the end
Under Dhoni, India lifted the 20-20 world cup in 2007, CSK lifted IPL - 3rd edition. Again it was the time for the World Cup in 2011 and initially, India tied/lost 2 matches but qualified easily for the quarter finals against Australia. Till then, I followed the world-cup only from the newspapers. Now the heat was on, though it was tempting, I resisted and followed only in Cricinfo that too the second half of the second Innings. Yuvaraj and Raina took India safely and knocked Australia out of the series. It was a sweet revenge for the the loss we had in 2003. I was more than happy and the next hurdle was Pakistan in Semi-finals.
The media and the politics involved took the match between India and Pakistan to the next level and inadvertently created unwanted pressure on the players on both the sides. Being Superstitious esp in cricket, I followed this match too in cricinfo and it was real fun to see the status updates in FB and Twitter. And so we moved to the finals, the celebration back in India knew no bounds, and I dutifully saw them in youtube, what else I could do? Our generation never knew how India celebrated in 1983, but I am sure it would not be anywhere close to this.
The venue for the final clash between India and Sri Lanka was Mumbai and SriLanka played first and possed a formidable score of 274!! India lost sehwag and sachin by 32 and the future looked bleak. Thankfully I didn't follow this and was sleeping peacefully paying heed to my superstitious beliefs. And when I got up and checked cricinfo, Gambhir and Dhoni was slowly but steadily closing in the gap. I knew that India is making history this time and I couldn't suppress my curiousity anymore. I started watching the match in some streaming channel. Inch by Inch we were closing on, though we lost Gambhir. Yuvraj kept the required run rate low while Dhoni was rotating the strike. When we had 11 balls and 4 runs to win, Voila!! Dhoni's finished the match with a SIX!! He scripted the masterstroke with his infamous Helicopter shot and made History!! India is now the World Champions and lifted the 2011 World Cup!!
The stadium/celebration was electrifying. The 28 year wait finally paid off and we lifted the cup in India, happiness and excitement knew no bounds. Sachin's resume is complete and Dhoni is the best Indian captian of all times. Kapil Dev's 1983
world cup trophy brought the passion for cricket into this country, Sachin's 22 year crusade in Indian cricket made young/old, rich/poor, men/women to closely follow the sport. Dhoni's 2011 world cup is a dedication to the 1.2 billion hearts which beat together irrespective of the differences in language/custom/religion, whenever India played. Never before in the whole history of mankind would one-sixth of the world population would have completely forgot everything and jumped up in joy and celebrated. The celebration was not confined to India alone, the NRIs across the world celebrated and took to the streets. The whole world felt a lot lighter that day!!It is quite a privilege to be in this era and watch this, it is one moment to cherish and recall back in posterity to the future generation....
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Following Intuitions
Sometimes out of the blue after blotting the door and while walking down the staircase, the heart perturbs and quips "Have you switched off the lights in the Living Room?" Ok, here I go to check it out and everytime it would have been properly switched off. But sometimes one tend to fight against this intuition and go forward but end up regretting later.
With a huge plan in the mind for the weekend, I got myself ready on Saturday morning and was about to leave for the Eleven Mile State Park. As usual the intuition told me to take a pen along with me. I laughed at my Intuition thinking, 'why would anyone need a pen in the Isolated Prairie grassland, when there is a Frozen Lake to play with and the snow clad rocky mountains in the horizon to look at.' Probably taking some water with you makes sense and having woolen gloves is prudent enough in case the temperature dips. As I traveled the distance, the last 15 miles was indeed on a isolated gravel road with scenic spots on either side. Through the green grasses here and there have started showing their finger to winter, the overall outback was still yellowish brown. After a bumpy 15 mile drive the Eleven mile lake started unraveling itself.
The board at a distance beckoned us to the state park and some instructions that were listed there. "Pay the Park Entrance Fee here" caught my eye, and a careful reading told that we had to fill-up a Entry form and pay the fee in the "Hundial" kind of a box, stick part of the entry form on the vehicle and only then we could enter the park. Sounds simple, no queues, no manned hazzles etc. Ok, Out I go to fill-up the form, and checked my shirt & pant pockets. Nope, Nobody had a pen. Probably in the car, no luck there too. Probably we could wait for another 5 - 15 minutes, Nobody in sight, As the Spring hadn't fully set in, nobody really cared to pitch in their tents in the midst of a frozen lake. And so after a 20 minute wait, we drove back disappointed (Pona machan thirumbi vanthaan). For the next 20 miles or so there wasn't a shop to get a pen and after covering that distance, we weren't in a mood to go through the bumpy gravel road again.
Pay heed to the intuition it helps. While coming back was thinking about what my father used to say everytime I went somewhere outside "Enga ponaalum oru penna (Read Penn as ezhuthukol :) ) eduthundu po"
With a huge plan in the mind for the weekend, I got myself ready on Saturday morning and was about to leave for the Eleven Mile State Park. As usual the intuition told me to take a pen along with me. I laughed at my Intuition thinking, 'why would anyone need a pen in the Isolated Prairie grassland, when there is a Frozen Lake to play with and the snow clad rocky mountains in the horizon to look at.' Probably taking some water with you makes sense and having woolen gloves is prudent enough in case the temperature dips. As I traveled the distance, the last 15 miles was indeed on a isolated gravel road with scenic spots on either side. Through the green grasses here and there have started showing their finger to winter, the overall outback was still yellowish brown. After a bumpy 15 mile drive the Eleven mile lake started unraveling itself.
The board at a distance beckoned us to the state park and some instructions that were listed there. "Pay the Park Entrance Fee here" caught my eye, and a careful reading told that we had to fill-up a Entry form and pay the fee in the "Hundial" kind of a box, stick part of the entry form on the vehicle and only then we could enter the park. Sounds simple, no queues, no manned hazzles etc. Ok, Out I go to fill-up the form, and checked my shirt & pant pockets. Nope, Nobody had a pen. Probably in the car, no luck there too. Probably we could wait for another 5 - 15 minutes, Nobody in sight, As the Spring hadn't fully set in, nobody really cared to pitch in their tents in the midst of a frozen lake. And so after a 20 minute wait, we drove back disappointed (Pona machan thirumbi vanthaan). For the next 20 miles or so there wasn't a shop to get a pen and after covering that distance, we weren't in a mood to go through the bumpy gravel road again.
Pay heed to the intuition it helps. While coming back was thinking about what my father used to say everytime I went somewhere outside "Enga ponaalum oru penna (Read Penn as ezhuthukol :) ) eduthundu po"
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Some awesome movies
Netflix being the only pass-time, I watched some not so famous foreign language films recently. Some of them turned out to be really good.
- The Stoning of Soraya M - Farsi
- Bliss - Turkish
- Letter from Iwo Jima - Japanese
- Red Cliff: Theatrical version - Chinese
- Sophie Scholl: Final Days - German
The direction and the acting are a class apart from the stereotypes. would add more to this list as I get to know them.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Masters: In Retrospect
After I started off with my masters, I couldn't find much time to pour in my thoughts and the happenings around, but the last one and half years have been replete with so many happenings and I would like to etch it here before it gets disappeared in the sands of time. I made so many friends here and I am sure most of them are a bond for the whole of the lifetime.
Fall'09: Who am I? Where am I?
Fall'09: Who am I? Where am I?
- The Bangalore gang's midnight walk to the HSC and back to Chapin soon after we came to SUNY-SB.
- The first trip to New York City and calculated spending on each and everything. Trip to Richmond.
- The trip in the college bus to buy groceries @ Pathmark & Walmart, followed by the visit to Smith Haven Mall to do window shopping. The trips to Desi store which provides the pick-up and drop service.
- The daily cooking with Rajesh in the evenings.
- The consecutive and consistent night-outs for OS projects has inculcated the insomniacal practice and now its really tough to sleep anytime before 3:00AM. Listening to Prof.Erez Zadok's Operating System lectures. Probably after my schooling this is the first time I listened carefully to all the classes with ultimate concentration.
- The part-time web-designing job and with that I opened some kind of an money inflow in Dollars here in US.
- The Pot-Luck Lunch & birthday parties filled with josh, dance and gameplaying.
- The IGSA get-together/parties on festival days (esp the Ganpathi festival)
- The Gyan sessions @ J2146 with the tamil-gumbal
- The tightly packed days with no free time even on weekends really made one to think how much time we had wasted earlier in life.
- Watched the snowfall for the first time and played in it. Also watched the mercury dip 18 degrees below zero
- And so the semester ends with the back to back OS & Algos final exams on the same day and the horrible preparation I did in that regard.
- Understood it is prudent to take courses which one can handle than stuff oneself with complex courses and try to learn something out of it. Also learnt that the best place to study is the HSC library after the end of the finals!!
Spring'10: The New Hope!!
- Waded through the severe winter winds to the lab during the winter holidays and got appointed as the Research Assistant in Seclab.
- Trip to Montauk Point & Washington DC.
- Courses weren't tough this semester but internship hunting was!! Got calls every now and then and had tension filled phone interviews. Relieved by Ides of March, when I got the internship offer from Akamai, CA
Summer'10: Unforgettable California
- Landed in California for the internship and had the best time with the roommates. Preparing different cuisines everyday. Yummy vangibath by Shayan, crispy hummus sandwiches by Sandeep Cholae by Harit and saumitra
- Ate outside almost all the weekends and covered almost all North/South Indian restaurants in Bay Area. routine weekend visit to Castro street in Mountain view for eatery. We finished the sunday night with a footlong at the subway, in san antonio shopping mall!!
- Visited Google Multiplex, Shoreline Blvd Lake, Marin headlands, Lake Tahoe, Stanford University, Napa & Sonoma valley, Half Moon bay to name a few.
- Extensive trip to SFO and covered the important must-see places like Golden Gate, Baker's beach, 4 KM coastal walk along the beach and cliff, Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, Crooked street Westfield Mall et all
- Meetups with Stony Brook gang in the Bay Area
- Started back to Stony Brook with cherished memories to remember for a lifetime
Fall'10: All Well that Ends Well
- The inflow of Fall'10 new faces into the department
- Trip to Niagara Falls!!
- Everyday chitchats at Rajesh/Sharath's & Aaliya's place
- The gruelling days with the search for full-time job and added to that the Network Programming projects and Comp bio assignments and project. Trips to places across US for job interviews, and secured the job with LSI.
- The last kick-ass birthday party with everyone getting their Ass-kicked is something which everyone would remember
- Hurray!! Completed the last exam of the Master's program.
- Trip to Atlantic City and lost money in Casino!!
- New Year's eve with SBU group in New York City. Dinner at Hotel Saravana Bhavan. Jan 1st 00:00 2011 at Brooklyn Bridge!!
- Visit to the infamous American Museum of Natural History, NY and Rockefeller Center.
- Trip to New Jersey with Subbu and meetup with Kumaran. Stunning views of NY skyline from Newport.
- Successfully completed the work at Seclab and bid adieu to SB and NY.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Kaapi, You ROCK!!
Coffee alias Kaapi is a good thing, infact the best of things. Though the transition from 80:20 chicory blend coffee in a stainless steel tumbler to Starbucks french roast coffee in a microwavable cup has taken place, it still amuses me.
When I was told that coffee found its way into India from Arabia, through the sufi saint Baba Budangiri only in the 1600s, I couldn't digest that fact, who could have? Coffee and Tamil Brahmins are inseparable and I grew up for around 20 years drinking the Madras style Filter Coffee. And I could not think of a lifestyle without coffee, prior to 1600s. Similar to the English style Tavern, The Coffee Houses sprung across India in the late 1700s. The Iconic Indian Coffee House setup in the early 1900s is still patronized by many. True to the phrase "Old wine in a new bottle" Cafe Coffee day et all sprang up recently adding more hip to it.
When I used to getup early to prepare for exams, and with a coffee cup in hand I used to think that someday, I should wake up early and enjoy this coffee seeing the sunrise, without the tension of exams or hurry-burry. Also having hot coffee on a dark rainy day afternoon sitting in the portico had been on my wishlist for long too. Someday... Someday.
Some times, even if the coffee is bad, it is the company of people and the environment which makes it heavenly. The cherished ones in my life include the coffee time chats with Vineet, Bharat and Amber @ HP, the 2 hour pattrais @ Annan Kadai in Madurai with Sens, Sri, Subbi, Musi & vanni. the all-alone coffee times in CCD, madurai and bangalore. The best coffee include the Madras style tumbler coffee @ my home and the one in Murali Kaapi Kadai, Srirangam.
On the lighter side, Coffee gets a pat on its back, for it helps a bachelor to take the first step with the words "How about a cup of Coffee?" Someday... Someday :)
PS: While I had just spent time for a blogspot about Coffee, Mark Pendergrast had written a whole book on coffee "Uncommon Grounds: The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World"
When I was told that coffee found its way into India from Arabia, through the sufi saint Baba Budangiri only in the 1600s, I couldn't digest that fact, who could have? Coffee and Tamil Brahmins are inseparable and I grew up for around 20 years drinking the Madras style Filter Coffee. And I could not think of a lifestyle without coffee, prior to 1600s. Similar to the English style Tavern, The Coffee Houses sprung across India in the late 1700s. The Iconic Indian Coffee House setup in the early 1900s is still patronized by many. True to the phrase "Old wine in a new bottle" Cafe Coffee day et all sprang up recently adding more hip to it.
When I used to getup early to prepare for exams, and with a coffee cup in hand I used to think that someday, I should wake up early and enjoy this coffee seeing the sunrise, without the tension of exams or hurry-burry. Also having hot coffee on a dark rainy day afternoon sitting in the portico had been on my wishlist for long too. Someday... Someday.
Some times, even if the coffee is bad, it is the company of people and the environment which makes it heavenly. The cherished ones in my life include the coffee time chats with Vineet, Bharat and Amber @ HP, the 2 hour pattrais @ Annan Kadai in Madurai with Sens, Sri, Subbi, Musi & vanni. the all-alone coffee times in CCD, madurai and bangalore. The best coffee include the Madras style tumbler coffee @ my home and the one in Murali Kaapi Kadai, Srirangam.
On the lighter side, Coffee gets a pat on its back, for it helps a bachelor to take the first step with the words "How about a cup of Coffee?" Someday... Someday :)
PS: While I had just spent time for a blogspot about Coffee, Mark Pendergrast had written a whole book on coffee "Uncommon Grounds: The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World"
Thursday, January 28, 2010
And So I Move On
I seriously don't like change, especially when it comes to leaving behind a job and the people whom I was associated with. I was working as a web designer in the department and it was real fun to be with those people who used to work there. From now on, I am going to pursue as a Research Assistant in the Secure Systems Lab under the guidance of Prof.Sekar, I am really excited for securing that position, for I was dreaming to get this position from the last semester and thinking about the challenging tasks that are going to come down my way, a Master's student can't ask for anything better than this.
But, it again boils down to saying good-bye to my friends in that web design & tech support team. Thats the problem with me, I get attached to people and the place really fast. Bye - Bye guys (Andrew, Richard, Pratik, Akshay & Ilya) It was my pleasure to work with you people and Thanks JAG for everything. And so I move on from one to another uncertain where my destiny lies, but with an optimistic confidence that everything happens for a good reason.
But, it again boils down to saying good-bye to my friends in that web design & tech support team. Thats the problem with me, I get attached to people and the place really fast. Bye - Bye guys (Andrew, Richard, Pratik, Akshay & Ilya) It was my pleasure to work with you people and Thanks JAG for everything. And so I move on from one to another uncertain where my destiny lies, but with an optimistic confidence that everything happens for a good reason.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Aayirathil Oruvan (Tamil Movie)
Aayirathil Oruvan, an adventure fantasy film thinly touching along the lines of Indiana Jones, King Solomon Mines has broken the monotonous, boring and judgeable storyline in the Tamil Industry. A real bold step by director Selvaraghavan and I expect and wish success for this film. Nobody would have expected a historical adventure film from selvaraghavan who is well known for his masterpieces like 7G Rainbow colony, Kaadhal Kondaen which are more related to love and relationships.
The film has been receiving either very good positive reviews or very bad negative reviews, because the director has stepped out of the stereotypes and has give
n something different. But I would recommend people to watch this film and then come to a conclusion on their own. What appeals more is the inclusion of our own history ie chola dynasty in the story with some imagination added to it. The first half is too good, where they cross the obstacles to reach the place where the lost civilization is expected to reside. The next half isn't that very spine chilling but much better than "Yet Another Movie in the Industry"
The director could have avoided the usage of black magic, sacrifices et all associated with the chola dynasty which I really doubt if
it existed then. I am still wondering why the people were shown in rags and with a very dark skin. probably to make a difference that they were away and lost for a long time. The usage of gross language could have been avoided too. Leaving behind these, I acknowledge that it is a bold attempt and the way to go. Kudos to the lead cast and the crew who has made this film. I am waiting for the film's DVD to be released soon.
The film has been receiving either very good positive reviews or very bad negative reviews, because the director has stepped out of the stereotypes and has give
n something different. But I would recommend people to watch this film and then come to a conclusion on their own. What appeals more is the inclusion of our own history ie chola dynasty in the story with some imagination added to it. The first half is too good, where they cross the obstacles to reach the place where the lost civilization is expected to reside. The next half isn't that very spine chilling but much better than "Yet Another Movie in the Industry"The director could have avoided the usage of black magic, sacrifices et all associated with the chola dynasty which I really doubt if
it existed then. I am still wondering why the people were shown in rags and with a very dark skin. probably to make a difference that they were away and lost for a long time. The usage of gross language could have been avoided too. Leaving behind these, I acknowledge that it is a bold attempt and the way to go. Kudos to the lead cast and the crew who has made this film. I am waiting for the film's DVD to be released soon.Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thanksgiving
If someone asks me the similarity between deepavali holidays, pongal holidays back in India and the Thanksgiving holidays down here, there is only one. You start planning to study the whole semester syllabus in this 3 - 4 days holiday(very realistic plan, eh?), and as usual end up waking up with monday morning blues realizing the very fact that the books weren't even touched during the holidays(taking solace on the thought that there is always Plan-B).
After hearing about the Great Black Friday discounted thanksgiving sale, Keeping the academics aside, I applied serious thought on the goods that I might need in the near future (ie, until the next Thanksgiving), probably an external hard disk? (No use pal, Pirated films/torrents are banned here. the whole purpose of owning a external hard disk is lost). I considered everything from iPhone to ingi-marappa(Ginger-candy), nothing clicked.
Before zeroing up on anything, I was in smith haven mall along with KB moving from apple store to JC Penny et all stores in the mall. My already stocked up wardrobe prevented me from going for any dress purchase and after 6 hours of roaming in the mall, I still came out empty handed. Habba, my wallet wasn't deflated by this Thanksgiving, Hope the same trend continues until I am a student desi.
After hearing about the Great Black Friday discounted thanksgiving sale, Keeping the academics aside, I applied serious thought on the goods that I might need in the near future (ie, until the next Thanksgiving), probably an external hard disk? (No use pal, Pirated films/torrents are banned here. the whole purpose of owning a external hard disk is lost). I considered everything from iPhone to ingi-marappa(Ginger-candy), nothing clicked.
Before zeroing up on anything, I was in smith haven mall along with KB moving from apple store to JC Penny et all stores in the mall. My already stocked up wardrobe prevented me from going for any dress purchase and after 6 hours of roaming in the mall, I still came out empty handed. Habba, my wallet wasn't deflated by this Thanksgiving, Hope the same trend continues until I am a student desi.
Solution for the annoying ticking sound problem in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)
Recently I upgraded from ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) to ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala). From the moment it booted it gave this annoying ticking sound through the speakers and also through the headphone every 10 -15 seconds. Grrr...
Extensive googling lead me to the solution. here it goes,
* Open /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
* Goto the last line and comment out
options snd-hda-intel power_save=10 power_save_controller=N
* Now restart or reload the module and this annoying sound problem would stop for good.
Courtesy: I thank the ubuntu forum members for posting the solution. The reason behind this bug and detailed discussion could be found in the following links
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2009-May/008239.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1311206&highlight=power_save
Extensive googling lead me to the solution. here it goes,
* Open /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
* Goto the last line and comment out
options snd-hda-intel power_save=10 power_save_controller=N
* Now restart or reload the module and this annoying sound problem would stop for good.
Courtesy: I thank the ubuntu forum members for posting the solution. The reason behind this bug and detailed discussion could be found in the following links
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2009-May/008239.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1311206&highlight=power_save
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Magadheera
Of Late, as kollywood is facing a dry run, in terms of giving super hits, I started watching other language films. In the past one month, I saw some good Telugu flix like Happy, Desamuduru, Tholiprema, and Magadheera. And Magadheera topped all in terms of the grandeur, storyline and screenplay.Though Magadheera's storyline slightly resembled jackie chan starring "Myth" and the real life story of Prithivi Raj Chauhan & Samyuktha, I wouldn't underplay the storywriter's contribution. The technical brilliance in terms of the sets, stunts, fast screenplay/direction and heart melting music are the backbone for the film.The chemistry between Ram charan and Kajal had worked out really well.Ram Charan with his well built physic and commanding looks dominated the film followed by Kajal with her princess looks and dressings.
The Epical part of Magadheera is the best part of all.The Love for each other had been portrayed really well. The film had been shot at Rann of Kutch, Gujarat and then in Rajasthan and they had come out really well.The Epical battle is shot without any exaggerated stunts and thats why it is so real and final scenes of the Epic are so so touchy :( In fact, the epic love story, has kindled my desire to read through some of notable love stories in Indian History. No doubt Magadheera is a super hit in Andhra and far!!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Goodies!! Goodies!!
* 1GB USB stick from Vmware
* T-Shirt from Bloomberg,
* Laptop keyboard Night lighter from Morgan Stanley
* Rucksack from Computer Associates (CA)
* Radium ball with built-in LED Circuitry from Riverbed
* Key chain from Falconstar
* Wall board + writer from Vmware
* Soda bottle opener from Acoustics concepts
* Unlimited Tasty Veg Pizza hosted by Microsoft and yummy dinner hosted by Vmware,
Thats all I could muster in a two and half hour job fair drive that happened in our college :) While this year gonna_be_pass-outs were trying hard to push-in their resumes down the stack, we freshers took this opportunity to grab them all. Because I was naive(curse my shyness and what_would_she_think_mentality), I missed out on some company T-shirts and backpacks :(
Some machakaarans like KB laid hands on Nikon CoolPix cameras too!! இப்படிக்கு அடுத்த ஸ்ப்à®°ிà®™் ஜாப் பாயர் இனாà®®ிà®±்காக (கூட்டிஎஸ்) காக்கா போல் காத்துக்கொண்டிà®°ுக்குà®®் à®®ாணவன்!!!
* T-Shirt from Bloomberg,
* Laptop keyboard Night lighter from Morgan Stanley
* Rucksack from Computer Associates (CA)
* Radium ball with built-in LED Circuitry from Riverbed
* Key chain from Falconstar
* Wall board + writer from Vmware
* Soda bottle opener from Acoustics concepts
* Unlimited Tasty Veg Pizza hosted by Microsoft and yummy dinner hosted by Vmware,
Thats all I could muster in a two and half hour job fair drive that happened in our college :) While this year gonna_be_pass-outs were trying hard to push-in their resumes down the stack, we freshers took this opportunity to grab them all. Because I was naive(curse my shyness and what_would_she_think_mentality), I missed out on some company T-shirts and backpacks :(
Some machakaarans like KB laid hands on Nikon CoolPix cameras too!! இப்படிக்கு அடுத்த ஸ்ப்à®°ிà®™் ஜாப் பாயர் இனாà®®ிà®±்காக (கூட்டிஎஸ்) காக்கா போல் காத்துக்கொண்டிà®°ுக்குà®®் à®®ாணவன்!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
All Alone, Along the Broadway
The last weekend trip to New York City gave me the much needed confidence, and this weekend I went alone to NY - Penn Station. Reminiscing the walk along the 5th Avenue that I did last week, I wanted to try out the oldest north-south through-fare "The Broadway" this time. I knew I was looking at a 4.8KM walk from Penn Station to my destination @ Allen Street which is in the middle of Chinatown. Keeping the ever viewable, mist shrouded(It was cold and raining) Empire State building spire as my guide, I ended up in broadway.
yatra. My next pit-stop was Union Square, a historic intersection in the broadway.Union Square hosts the infamous Union Square Greenmarket Taking some snaps and apples, I moved into the Union Square park, which I heard has a statue of Mahatma Gandhiji. I went around the park and an active inquisitor followed me throughout, whether out of curiosity or perhaps for the apples that I had in my bag :) This stuart l
ittle showed no signs of fear and I took some snaps, u bet!! After moving around the park twice or more, I could not locate the Mahatma's statue. A fellow Indian manning the nearby newspaper stand pointed the direction in which I could find the statue. With a nod and a smile, I started moving in the direction he pointed. At a few steps from the main park, there was a small enclosed garden and atlast I found Mahatma Gandhiji statue in Union Square. I considered my sole purpose of the walking through the broadway fulfilled and headed towards
allen street through Bowery unknowing of the high drama that was about to unfold in the Allen street. Contd... in the next post.Friday, September 04, 2009
Recipies for life
Gone are the days when I used to dream of damn good chicks. Toor dal and spices from India shows up now and then in my dreams giving me a Deja vu experience. What looked attractive when I was in India doesn't get my attention anymore and what was common to get back home doesn't find a place here.
I have been away from home for around 6 years now, and my perspective continues to change and so does my understanding of life. From being a die-hard hotel food fan six years back, I converted myself to a connoisseur of home food after my 2 year stint in the college hostel. The next 4 years, I managed to eat at some hotel everyday and moved on. Though I know cooking, I never really did that full-time, now that I am donning that role too, slowly it dawns on me the travails of cooking everyday's every meal!!! So far, I never realized how hard it would be for my mother to cook day-in and day-out.
Guyz, If you are studying and staying with your parents, Its the best part of your life enjoy and eat well. If you are working somewhere in India and staying away from your home, do not wail for not getting good old home food, you always have the option and ability to pay and have some real good food at some hotel nearby. If you are staying in a foreign country, where the word "VEGETARIAN" is never heard of, where vegetables are stocked for weeks if not for months together, where people don't have any staple food like "RICE" or "WHEAT", where people live on DIET_PEPSI and DIET_COKE and call them as "SODAS", where vegetables are costlier than chicken, meat, beef and pork, where people cook once and "MICROWAVE" the rest of their life, where people call bread by different names like bagel, muffin and bun the only striking difference being the shape, where veg food means lettuce leaves + sliced tomato + chopped onion, where spices and dal prices gives you a heart-attack and the monthly grocery bill is the reason for your receding hairline well, you are not entirely alone. Find some solace in whatever you cook and in the fact "good chicks always like good chefs!!!"
I have been away from home for around 6 years now, and my perspective continues to change and so does my understanding of life. From being a die-hard hotel food fan six years back, I converted myself to a connoisseur of home food after my 2 year stint in the college hostel. The next 4 years, I managed to eat at some hotel everyday and moved on. Though I know cooking, I never really did that full-time, now that I am donning that role too, slowly it dawns on me the travails of cooking everyday's every meal!!! So far, I never realized how hard it would be for my mother to cook day-in and day-out.
Guyz, If you are studying and staying with your parents, Its the best part of your life enjoy and eat well. If you are working somewhere in India and staying away from your home, do not wail for not getting good old home food, you always have the option and ability to pay and have some real good food at some hotel nearby. If you are staying in a foreign country, where the word "VEGETARIAN" is never heard of, where vegetables are stocked for weeks if not for months together, where people don't have any staple food like "RICE" or "WHEAT", where people live on DIET_PEPSI and DIET_COKE and call them as "SODAS", where vegetables are costlier than chicken, meat, beef and pork, where people cook once and "MICROWAVE" the rest of their life, where people call bread by different names like bagel, muffin and bun the only striking difference being the shape, where veg food means lettuce leaves + sliced tomato + chopped onion, where spices and dal prices gives you a heart-attack and the monthly grocery bill is the reason for your receding hairline well, you are not entirely alone. Find some solace in whatever you cook and in the fact "good chicks always like good chefs!!!"
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Resident Alien??
Accustoming to a new place is tough, and to a new place in another country is even more tougher. In the last 6 days of my stay here, I had some weird happenings and I would enlist them here
* The bank employee said "Thank You" 10 times in 2 minutes. Be it when I handed over the application form or when I confirmed the spelling of my name or when I typed the PIN first time, and when I typed it second time to confirm again I got a "Thank You" In return, I said "You are Welcome" twice after which I felt very awkward and stopped saying anything.
* These days when I go out, I prepare a short answer for the question "How are you doing?" Almost all whom your eyes meet up with ask that question. And by the time with an Indian accent I start saying something, they are out of earshot. Sometimes I look at the ground and walk or before anyone asks I quip the question and walk away he he!!! eppadi??
* The roads are all deserted (in comparison with our Indian traffic) and it is hard to find any houses/shops on either side of the highway, because of this all roads looks the same to me, and I cant keep anything as landmark to understand which part of the road I am in!!!
* After the long lecture about Fire alarm in the international orientation, and also the advice from seniors about how the whole world comes to you if you raise an fire alarm in this part of the world, I actually saw an alarm going up in college, and like we used to do in India at the HP office, I walked lethargically down the corridor, and hey presto the door opened and people were pouring out and almost ran over scaring the shit out of me!! By the time I came out of the building, Police, Fire brigade, etc etc were there on the entrance. I came back home and decided to have a chappathi and reheated it in the microwave. The timing I gave for it was more and it started smoking off. Knowing very well that the Fire alarm is going to go off any moment, my friend and myself took the oven and ran out of the house and opened it, and started waving the smoke out of it. Oh God!! we were saved!!! I stopped using the microwave after that.
* No one is allowed to wash their clothes in buckets and hang it in the balcony!!! One has to use the washing machine and drier only!!! To cap it all, one cant find a tap either in the toilet(that everyone knows) or in the bathroom (only a shower would be there!!)
* One good thing I did this week was enrolling with freewheels in college. Freewheels is an NGO organization who have a great passion for biking. I was given a cycle frame and I have to attend 3 classes 2 hrs each to assemble the whole cycle, End of the Day, I could keep the cycle with me till I leave the college. Thats cool isn't it?? If my father asks me what the hell did you learn from US after I return back. I could atleast tell him, I learnt how to fix a puncture!!! :)
* The bank employee said "Thank You" 10 times in 2 minutes. Be it when I handed over the application form or when I confirmed the spelling of my name or when I typed the PIN first time, and when I typed it second time to confirm again I got a "Thank You" In return, I said "You are Welcome" twice after which I felt very awkward and stopped saying anything.
* These days when I go out, I prepare a short answer for the question "How are you doing?" Almost all whom your eyes meet up with ask that question. And by the time with an Indian accent I start saying something, they are out of earshot. Sometimes I look at the ground and walk or before anyone asks I quip the question and walk away he he!!! eppadi??
* The roads are all deserted (in comparison with our Indian traffic) and it is hard to find any houses/shops on either side of the highway, because of this all roads looks the same to me, and I cant keep anything as landmark to understand which part of the road I am in!!!
* After the long lecture about Fire alarm in the international orientation, and also the advice from seniors about how the whole world comes to you if you raise an fire alarm in this part of the world, I actually saw an alarm going up in college, and like we used to do in India at the HP office, I walked lethargically down the corridor, and hey presto the door opened and people were pouring out and almost ran over scaring the shit out of me!! By the time I came out of the building, Police, Fire brigade, etc etc were there on the entrance. I came back home and decided to have a chappathi and reheated it in the microwave. The timing I gave for it was more and it started smoking off. Knowing very well that the Fire alarm is going to go off any moment, my friend and myself took the oven and ran out of the house and opened it, and started waving the smoke out of it. Oh God!! we were saved!!! I stopped using the microwave after that.
* No one is allowed to wash their clothes in buckets and hang it in the balcony!!! One has to use the washing machine and drier only!!! To cap it all, one cant find a tap either in the toilet(that everyone knows) or in the bathroom (only a shower would be there!!)
* One good thing I did this week was enrolling with freewheels in college. Freewheels is an NGO organization who have a great passion for biking. I was given a cycle frame and I have to attend 3 classes 2 hrs each to assemble the whole cycle, End of the Day, I could keep the cycle with me till I leave the college. Thats cool isn't it?? If my father asks me what the hell did you learn from US after I return back. I could atleast tell him, I learnt how to fix a puncture!!! :)
FF EXP
And so I started from bangalore, leaving behind everything I own and I like. BIAL was good, and started giving the already-in-the-foreign-country-effect.There the whole bangalore group(15) was there, and so we entered in bidding adieu to the near and dear.The normal fear in the first flight experience from Bangalore -> chennai was not to be seen as we were travelling as a group. In chennai, the airport has become so bad, that it resembled a railway station.For the night we stayed at the retiring room in the airport @ 400/bed. Next day morning, we checked-in @ British airways, only to know that we wont get the seats together!!
The Plane was really big and somehow I swapped seats with a French lady to sit alongside Sharath. The flight's chief air-hostess resembled Bianca Castafiore of TinTin series, that I even thought of asking her to sing us "God save the Queen" :) I saw the flight takeoff in broad daylight for the first time from inside as the BLR->CHN was a night flight. 10.25 hr flight with the entertainment system programmes going around in loops drove me mad. Also, the breakfast was given in Indian breakfast time and the lunch in London Lunch time(Breakfast to lunch duration gap is 9hrs. Grr!!!).The plane circled around London and we saw the Big Ben, London bridge, and the new Olympic stadium being built near R.Thames.We got down at heathrow,London and was amazed at the consecutive flight take-off and landing taking place.
We ran across the Terminal-5 to catch our next connecting from London to New york which was in just 45 Min. The airport is truly out of the world and it is indeed unfortunate that we had to run off to our gate. The flight was waiting because of us, and we settled in slowly and then took-off to JFK. The person next to me was an American, and the next 3 hrs was a great comedy as he saw Ghajini-Hindi in the entertainment system and we both(myself and Rajesh) translated the same for him. At the end, he swore that he would buy a DVD of this and keep it next to memento in his DVD collection. :) The LON->JFK flight had a lot of entertainment channels and it kept me on the go. We landed in New York -JFK and I was received by my sister, Brother-in-law and in-laws. The First Flight EXPerience is one that many would remember throughout the life and I am no exception
The Plane was really big and somehow I swapped seats with a French lady to sit alongside Sharath. The flight's chief air-hostess resembled Bianca Castafiore of TinTin series, that I even thought of asking her to sing us "God save the Queen" :) I saw the flight takeoff in broad daylight for the first time from inside as the BLR->CHN was a night flight. 10.25 hr flight with the entertainment system programmes going around in loops drove me mad. Also, the breakfast was given in Indian breakfast time and the lunch in London Lunch time(Breakfast to lunch duration gap is 9hrs. Grr!!!).The plane circled around London and we saw the Big Ben, London bridge, and the new Olympic stadium being built near R.Thames.We got down at heathrow,London and was amazed at the consecutive flight take-off and landing taking place.
We ran across the Terminal-5 to catch our next connecting from London to New york which was in just 45 Min. The airport is truly out of the world and it is indeed unfortunate that we had to run off to our gate. The flight was waiting because of us, and we settled in slowly and then took-off to JFK. The person next to me was an American, and the next 3 hrs was a great comedy as he saw Ghajini-Hindi in the entertainment system and we both(myself and Rajesh) translated the same for him. At the end, he swore that he would buy a DVD of this and keep it next to memento in his DVD collection. :) The LON->JFK flight had a lot of entertainment channels and it kept me on the go. We landed in New York -JFK and I was received by my sister, Brother-in-law and in-laws. The First Flight EXPerience is one that many would remember throughout the life and I am no exception
Friday, July 17, 2009
Change - III
It's now official(I mean, things are finalized), and I can post it in my blog, the news what so far only my closest circle knows. No, I am not getting married, (Although some my friends and classmates are getting ready :( ) I am moving to New York from Mid August to pursue my Masters in Computer Science at The State University of New York @ Stony Brook aka Stony Brook University :)
The last one and half years, I was preparing for this. Wrote the GRE in last September and TOEFL in October and managed to scalp 1370 and 110 respectively. How I wished for a single window system for the US universities like we have for Engineering/Medicine here in TN for it was the toughest part of the process. Preparing the Statement of Purpose and getting the Recommendation letters was the next stage. Once through with the application part in early January, it was followed by an infinite wait, and in March, I got the first admit from Clemson University followed closely by University of California, Irvine, Arizona State University, University of Maryland - Baltimore County, North Carolina State University , State University of New York- Stony Brook and Ohio State University. The strike rate was much better than what I had thought (0.7)
Selecting SUNY-SB over others wasn't difficult for it is the best in Computer Science, ranks much better than others, fees is comparatively cheaper and more than that, some of my seniors and close friends are already there. what else would one need above all this? Getting the I20 docs took some time and eventually scaled the tension-filled visa interview and got the US visa stamped in the passport.
Whew!! It had been a tight rope walking all these days, managing the job and the aspiration to pursue MS. Now comes the most difficult part, leaving India... Change is always tough, and every change teaches some important lessons in life. What I would miss the most, needs a separate blog post by itself and hence I am leaving it for now.
Now waiting for Change - III to take over after the successful Change - II (Madurai to Bangalore) which happened two years back.
The last one and half years, I was preparing for this. Wrote the GRE in last September and TOEFL in October and managed to scalp 1370 and 110 respectively. How I wished for a single window system for the US universities like we have for Engineering/Medicine here in TN for it was the toughest part of the process. Preparing the Statement of Purpose and getting the Recommendation letters was the next stage. Once through with the application part in early January, it was followed by an infinite wait, and in March, I got the first admit from Clemson University followed closely by University of California, Irvine, Arizona State University, University of Maryland - Baltimore County, North Carolina State University , State University of New York- Stony Brook and Ohio State University. The strike rate was much better than what I had thought (0.7)
Selecting SUNY-SB over others wasn't difficult for it is the best in Computer Science, ranks much better than others, fees is comparatively cheaper and more than that, some of my seniors and close friends are already there. what else would one need above all this? Getting the I20 docs took some time and eventually scaled the tension-filled visa interview and got the US visa stamped in the passport.
Whew!! It had been a tight rope walking all these days, managing the job and the aspiration to pursue MS. Now comes the most difficult part, leaving India... Change is always tough, and every change teaches some important lessons in life. What I would miss the most, needs a separate blog post by itself and hence I am leaving it for now.
Now waiting for Change - III to take over after the successful Change - II (Madurai to Bangalore) which happened two years back.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Into the Wild
"Into the Wild" is a travelogue movie sticking along the lines of "Motorcycle Diaries". It accounts the travel adventures of Christopher Mccandless from Atlanta to Alaska through Arizona, California and South Dakota and his stay in the unbearable Alaskan cold for 4 months. The film is a visual treat to nature lovers and people who have a strong inclination towards travelling. The tragedy in the end is quite disturbing.The film is adapted from the novel "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer which in turn is inspired from the real life story of Christopher Mccandless. Through the protagonist's thought process, the film also dwells on the purpose of life and the pitiable state where the human society heads. The script writer must have experienced and savoured such thoughts and has come out with such scripts.
"I mean, the core of man's spirit comes from new experiences."
Though the central character's travels and adventures kindles a fire for outing in us, Going into the wild without any preparation or tools and his underestimation of the risks involved sometimes irks and I believe the tragedy in the end is a consequence of his own foolhardy. After all, Human life more valuable than any adventure.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Kemmannugundi Trip
What started off as an ambitious trek started to fall apart as murphy's law reigned over the two days in whatever we did. This time the tripmates were Muthu, pramod, prabhu, DP, Sens, Subbi, Musi, Bharathi, Peter and thirukumaran. Armed with the Survey of India Maps and a compass, we boarded the shimoga express and got down @ Tarikere. From there we took a bus to Lingdanahalli and from there a Tata Ace(Kutti Yana) to Kemmannugundi. Finishing off the Idlies @ the Guest house canteen we boarded the jeep to reach the start of the trekking trail from KG to Mullayanagiri.Our plan was to Camp
that night @ Galikere. The nascent greenish cover due to the recent monsoon showers made a whole place a dreamland to be in.Enjoying the view and taking snaps then and there we moved on. At one point the trail started to lead through some dense cover and before we could enter that, Leeches started their attack.To avert them we took a detour from the trail to the top of the nearby mountain. At the top we rested and cleared up the sticking leeches and started moving forward.Again the dense cover obstracted our way, and the impending danger of another leech attack sent shivers
down the spine. A light discussion revealed that even if we cross the forest cover uneventfully, another 6-7 hour trek awaits us to reach Galikere is what we estimated. Let down by this info, leech attack and the dense fog which covered up the whole trail we reluctantly retreated back. Taking a long circuitous route we were back in square one.
that night @ Galikere. The nascent greenish cover due to the recent monsoon showers made a whole place a dreamland to be in.Enjoying the view and taking snaps then and there we moved on. At one point the trail started to lead through some dense cover and before we could enter that, Leeches started their attack.To avert them we took a detour from the trail to the top of the nearby mountain. At the top we rested and cleared up the sticking leeches and started moving forward.Again the dense cover obstracted our way, and the impending danger of another leech attack sent shivers
down the spine. A light discussion revealed that even if we cross the forest cover uneventfully, another 6-7 hour trek awaits us to reach Galikere is what we estimated. Let down by this info, leech attack and the dense fog which covered up the whole trail we reluctantly retreated back. Taking a long circuitous route we were back in square one.We rested our bones at a nearby scenic pond and continued with the lunch. Two or three trips back and forth from the start of the trail to KG town by walk to figure out a way to reach Galikere exhausted us and the efforts too went in vain as the jeep driver were scared to drive back from galikere after 6. Nowhere to stay(as one of the tent had a damaged rod) , we stayed for the night at the guesthouse. Next day, we hired two jeeps and we went through to Hebbe falls. It was a real jungle safari by all means (bumpy trail which a 4wheel drive alone could survive, thick forest cover) A punctured tyre saw us walking a little extra through the greenish path to the falls. The leech kept us
at bay and finally we reached the falls. We were the only group at the falls by that time and we had a really good time bathing and playing in the waters. A marathon run through the unwinding path to the jeep to escape the leeches did the trick and we reached KG back in time to catch the bus to Tarikere. From there we came to Chickmagalur and from there to bangalore.This place for sure needs another visit during the monsoons with much better planning. Probably next time we should take the route from Mullaiyangiri to KG.
Visit http://picasaweb.google.com/kpraveen85/Kemmanugundi for pics
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