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Showing posts from February, 2010

Sinners

Thursday means, I have to go to music class in the evening. It also means, another piece of Kannada movie to endure during my half hour bus journey. That's OK- after 6 months, Iam an expert at shutting out things I don't want to see/ hear without physically closing my eyes/ ears :) Yesterday, I sat at my usual place and looked out of the window, a little worried, because I hadn't had the time to practice my lesson. I was wondering if I should feign a throat pain. I dismissed that thought...my teacher's a nice man. He understands if we sound unpracticed once in a while. As I was thinking about honesty being the best policy, my attention was called to the TV screen. The hero was shouting at the heroine (in Kannada) 'If one has never fallen in love, one is a sinner'! Wha-----t???!!! Hey, that's offensive - at least, to some of the 'never fallen in love' members of the audience! On second thoughts, no, it isn't offensive. Because, in my opinion,

End Point

Memories of an hour's brisk walk, early in the morning at 'End Point', Manipal.  Lovely weather, good company- would love to repeat this experience :)

Bird Watching

Till my only child started school, I was a full time mom. Looking back, I would call it the most blissful part of my life. I have also realised that one of the best things about bringing up a child is learning new things yourself. One routine that Y & I would always look forward to was our daily evening ramble. Chatting our way along a lot of greenery, we would come across playful dogs, grazing cows, butterflies, snakes, ants and lots and lots of birds. For Y, every bird had to have a name and it was here that I would feel thoroughly challenged. Brought up in a big city, my knowledge of bird identification was limited to crows and sparrows. Of course, I could tell a pigeon from a peacock! After Y was born, a visit to the book shop in big city meant a browse through the children's books section. During one such visit, we came across a book in Kannada called Pakshi Sankula (A collection of birds) by Mr.Suresh Kulkarni - a book with paintings by the author of commonly seen bi

Valentine's Day Gifts

Ours was a marriage arranged by our families and we hardly knew each other before marriage. It was that era not-so-long ago when there were no mobile phones, letter writing was out and men were conscious of the may-be-hovering-around- after-taking-the-call dads, to talk for more than 2 minutes :D A couple of months after the wedding, Valentine's Day was nearing and I was wondering if I should be gifting something or ignoring? During my growing-up years, V's Day was something that Archie (of the comics) had to deal with. Just as I was getting out of college, Archies - the greeting card folks had begun to target the college crowd here, in South India. Strictly speaking, of course, V's Day is to acknowledge passing fancies/ one-way love/ romance that cannot happen (like St.V's), etc. That's why, the traditional V's Day gifts are perishable goodies like chocolates and flowers. Clever marketing has now turned the gift giving thing into a serious, expensive affair -

Tea Break

Some time ago, I had written about one of the best coffees to be had when one is in these parts of Karnataka. Now, let me introduce you to one of the best teas. AGUMBE.....The place reminds one of so many things..... Second only to Chirapunji, it receives the highest rainfall in Karnataka. One of the best views of the sunset can be had here, especially during the 'minimum mist season' (February). One can actually see the sun sink into the Arabian Sea some 40 km away! It is THE place to study king cobras. Romulus Whitaker of the 'Madras Snake Park' and his team of herpetologists have set up a research station here to study the less known and highly revered king cobras. Agumbe is the 'Malgudi' of Shankar Nag's famous TV serial of the 'only Doordarshan' zamaana - 'Malgudi Days'. If you are looking out for them, you can recognise some of the buildings from the serial, like Swami's home ( a 'home stay' tourist spot now!), sch