Bowled

Another long awaited team outing...but yes...it did happen...thanks to all the gold n platinum sponsors...n d organizers....

19 of us....went lunching with "The Legend Of Sikander" and bowling later on......but before I start with these 2 activities...I shud start off with the ride to Garuda Mall............

We were in Priya's car...who BTW..is a pretty confident driver...who just cant balance her gaddi on slopes....so if u happen to have a traffic signal on any of ur fly-overs...be prepared to get down n hold the gaddi from following the rules of gravity...if Priya is driving:)

We had Vids n Megha in Priya's car, apart from me....

It was like 2 ppal...with differing natures...sitting beside the other in the back seat.....

If I were singing out aloud...Meghs wud be humming the songs melodiously all to herself....

If I were jumping around....playing with the music system..complaining abt all the boring songs that we were being subjected to...thanks to Vids.....Meghs wud only sit there n smile:)

N everytime...Priya tried to show her stunts in driving...I wud threaten to call the other cars....n request them to offer me a seat......all this n more adding to Priya turning out to be a much better driver than she actually is:)

Vids n her boring songs....were putting me to sleep...n I was constantly fighting with her to get"Alllooo Chhhaaat" kinda peppy songs on the music system....

The Food at "The Legend of Sikander"

Not too much of variety for the veggies....but I loved the salads...d starters....d rasam like-tamatar soup.....n d desserts:)...n not to forget d mint chutney mixed with raitha n salt.......hehehe

It was clearly a Mounts vs St.Anns divide there......with Vids n Priya...discovering then..that I was a Mounts product n passing comments like"No wonder she is like this n like that"..Pinne

To ppal ignorant abt Mounts n St.Anns.....Mounts was like d most happening college in Bangs...n St.Anns.....well.....:)

Bowling:

I was bowling for d very 1st time....n am sure...even if I was a veteran...I wud only end up getting into the gutters...coz everytime I tried.....the ball would land up going by the sides.....only...ppal were actualling asking me if I was aiming for my neighbour's objects/pins(actually googled to find out what those white-objects were called technically:))...

To me...d game was something like a stress-buster...Imagine a person's face...u dislike d most...n then imagine throwing something at his teeth...n breaking them all apart...actually after I went in with this attitude..I was actually able to hit the "white objects"..n left only 2 of them standing...heheh

My teammates....were like all soooper in the game...with the exception of Meghs...both of us were actually competing for the bottom spot:)

But all this apart...bowling is soooper fun:)

Trippppuuuuu!!!!

Last week this time...I was wondering if I cud ever climb down the hill..I had barely managed to climb...simply coz fear had gotten the better of me.....

There is fun in fear....n believe me...u dont realise it then...u realise it after the trip is over.....

Fun...Fun...Soooper Fun...is how I will describe our trip to Skandagiri.....a twin hill located very close to Nandi Hills.....

This was one long awaited trip....d last one being 10 months earlier.....n after a certain Mr.X (ya...ya..I am back with X' and no Y's):)....complained that he was tired of weekends...doing nothing....n wanted to plan a trip.....V were only too happy....infact a certain Miss was looking forward to only the trip n nothing else...n in the weeks leading to d trip...I think...she ate...drank and slept ...thinking n planning abt the trip:)

So...U had Miss having heart attacks.....on knowing that Shw wud not be joining or abt how v would manage food on the hilltop or anything else....which d others wud have hardly cared for:)

I especially loved the trip coz we actually trekked there in the night...well..almost:).....all coz of me....hehheheh

I mean I was told that ppal r not allowed to trek there before 6am...so had insisted that we reach there only at around that time....also...I mean trekking in the daytime is also such a herculian task..how can anybody expect me to trek there in the pitch dark....

Like any1 ever listens to me:)......coz we reached there at around 4am...after being misguided by a wayward guide...n getting our Tempo Traveller do some rounding about in yavano's field....

We were picked up from my place at 2am.....the guys were actually sharp on time.....

Pravs..Shila n Madhu stayed back at my place...d previous nite....n that koshavathi Pravs...did not get us to sleep at all.....

Shila....Madhu n Pravs...were in trippy moods ever since they left their homes that evening.....I heard they had a lovely walk to a very famous eat-out called Gullus in Sheshadripuram...n land at my place at around 9:30...

I, on the other hand.....was busy running off to the airport, Electronics City n Brigade Road....but ya....as Pravs mentioned ....all u had to do was sit in the car.....But..hey.....it is a tiring too..ok.....

Our driver had to rush...n I had greatly told any1 who dared to call ki....Breakfast on the hilltop...We will take care...thats when Pravs gave a chamak idea...To buy bread...butter...etc...etc....

I will never forget the ride from Nilgiris to my place....carrying 2 plastic bags:(.....on a cycle:) .....of all the possible snacks..I cud lay my eyes on...it included a lot of creamy buns.....Ruffles....bla...bla..bla...

Y I mentioned the creamy buns..was coz I didnt want Mr.X' roadside fly-laden creamy buns!!!

To Journey

Sooper...tho these ppal tried their best to pull my leg for whatsoever reasons...I must add that they failed miserably in their attempts n were suitably bashed themselves:)

We played Anthakshari...n I was amazed to discover that tho...Jayesh was like this 1 big repository of songs...he was 1 person ..I cud sing better than:)

The opposition was a very weak one.....n it was a cakewalk for our team:)

Other than Masakali which they insisted on singing till the last word .....our song selection was far better than theirs.....I mean v had action...emotion...patriotism...etc..etc

Our plans of visiting the new airport for a cup of coffee....which BTW is on the way to Skandagiri...were immediately quashed by the "have to do the moonlight trek" gang....

Starting the trek

After landing there.....in the dark....I cud hardly see the altitude v were expected to climb...but I happened to mention ki...."I think I will get lost"...n the lizard did "ki"....incase u dont know what that means.....it means that it will happen....n it did!!!

Pravs was chiding me for not enjoying d trek...n tat I was constantly cribbing...ki...I dont know where Im going....I cant see where Im going...n all my constant bickerings....I even went ahead n wanted to ask the person who chose this place to trek...ki...y....Skandagiri:)...or was getting all philo...n asking ppal..as to y ppal trek...I was imagining the typical Sunday Morning scenes at home...when u get up all lazy...n have nothing in particular to do!!!

The hills were goonjifying with our names echoing......simply coz there was this group in front with the guide n our group in behind...n to gauge the relative apparent distance between the 2 groups....sound waves were used:)

The mission of the trek was to watch the sunrise ...which I was told is an awesome thing.....But leave the sunrise....after a certain point of climbing up.....n trusting that my 300 Rs ka Minnie Mouse shoes wudnt give way.....Pravs n me reached a point where in we were separated from the rest of the gang totally.....

Thank God...mobile phones worked there..or else...I really dont know what I wud have done there!!

Pravs was managing fine...stooopid gal:) was making it all seem so easy...that I felt foolish going down on all fours:)

There were a  total of 3-4 points when I used to just freeze n tell Pravs...that this is it...I remember holding on to a muddy rock...looking down n seeing the drop from there...imagining my teeth all broken after falling from there......n looking up at Pravs...n telling her....that I cant move ya....that poor gal came down on that slippery muddy slope n gave me her hand.....

I also reached a point where in I stopped fearing...n had only 1 thing on my mind...n that was to get out of the point...Pravs...n me had manged to get ourselves lost into:)

We had reached a peak point...where in ...there was this wall...part of Tippu Fort...n it was like  a dead end was for us....There were no visible paths to the right n left.....n Pravs used her Buddhi n was telling me things like....c I dont think ppal have ever trekked here...coz otherwise v were most likely to see a way between the bushes....To me..it meant ..The End.....I had climbed that stretch with trembling legs.....n was wondeting how to get down...coz even if u try to ignore the fact that ya...I cant really see all those lakes or the fields at the base of the hill....everytime I looked down......Damnit!!..that was d only thing I ever saw.......After calling Shila...who thankfully handed the phone to the guide...who asked us to walk towards the sun...all I remember doing..is clutching Pravs hand....n listening to her ...put ur leg here.....this rock is strong....or....ya...v r making it ..sort of words....n yes...d trembling stopped!!

After reaching the hill-top n treating ourselves to the horribly puli orange-musambi hybrid fruits....rock-tamatar smashing....v had an uphill task....again..."THE CLIMB DOWN"

Even before I climbed up....I remember warning all those who cared... that the climb down was gonna be no easy task....but I was wrong....

The climb down was sooooper fun...all thanks to Jayesh...Sachin...Dinesh....Shila...Pravs...n Madhu......

U had Jayesh giving us gyaan to walk in Amberish style...sideways....while climbing down muddy paths for better grip.....or Sachin talk abt snakes jumping out of snake holes....or appreciating the flora n fauna around.....all to Shila's fury....who didnt want Sachin to get distracted by the sights n sounds around him....n focus on getting them down the hill safely:)

There was this dog...which kept following us.....from the hill-yop to the base...n I kept wondering who was attracting it amongst us...d most:)

Half the time...the guys were giving us pep talks...like v r almost there......just there....half a km only.....all this even when v had 3 more kms ...I think.....But ya...all that pep talk worked....

After a while...my trekking standards returned n I didnt need help.....n was silently laughing my heart out...when I saw Pravs n Shila take help...I was wondering...these ppal cant do so much also:):)

V posed n posed for any1 who wanted to take our pictures....n sang n sang.....n in no time...v were done with the trek.....

Drive Back:)

Our Drivers...Swami n his friend...were these soooper cool ppal.....n when I mentioned that if anybody dares to play that "Hale Pathre Hale Kapda" song once again...I will jump out of the TT....after playing with the playlist...they got that song...n asked me to get out:)

Enjoyed the Dumb-C ...on d way back.....which had my acting skills out:)

Unfortunately everybody was very tired n had dozed off...to me it was unimaginable..so I went to Pravs n Shila....n v gals...had some lovely times....

My acknowledgements in typical Cluny Style....remember Vote of Thanks:)

Pravs insisted that I thank every other person who got up n down d hill....for giving me a chance to trek...or d ppal on the road...for getting me there...But I have my preferences:):)

Drivers: Soooper Cool....n it seems they told Shila...that it was such a fun thing for them to endure some of us in our asli swaroopas:)

Rajesh, Dinesh, Jayesh n Sachin...I think u guys were hearing me sing for d 1st time....wud love to know if u thought it needed any more Dum....

Jayesh...Sachin...Dinesh...thanks for giving us haaath:)..n making the climb -down a memorable one!!

CJ.....Poor gal hurt herself while climbing up....but she didnt crib...she didnt let that dampen her spirit....or stop her from pulling my leg:).....Even though she was alone..she never even once made the others feel guilty..n kept telling us that she was enjoying the sunrise from the spot we had left her in......Love ur energy...Gal:)

Madhu....was an absolute revelation to me....n needless to say...tho...she is not a Clunyite.....she acts very much like us:)

Raga: This guy hardly let me sing...coz every time I started...he would correct my lyrics...telling me...it was a "AAA" here or a "paa" here...heheheh....probably a strategy to stop me from singing...but it didnt work:)

Uday: Had just landed straight from the US to Skandagiri.....Must have been a tiring 1....

Shila, Jayesh n Sachin...U guys need not feel guilty and all....that v got lost...come on..U didnt even know...its ok.....I guess d experience in itself was enriching:)

Shila n Pravs: Is there anything left for me to say??

Shila: Was soooper cute with her constant Sachin Bashing.....But it was sooper fun for all of us to just listen to her blah-blah-blah:)

Pravs: I know u enjoyed it as much as I did.....but there will be a day...when I can pout better than u:)

N finally am glad that u ppal didnt listen to me abt not opting for d moonlight trek:)...n yes....Mr.X for choosing Skandagiri betta......

Surprised:)

Parents got me a new dress for Vishu...festival yesterday....n all this right under my nose:)

I had not a clue....

Achan hands me a "plastic" bag with a red n black salwar...I was sooo happy that atleast my parents give me such lovely surprises:)...there r some others naaa....never mind :)

Their next mission is to get me a phone.......but atleast this time arnd ...I want to surprise them....:)

Aaaamir effects!!

Watched the 2nd half of Rajeev Khandelwal's Aamir yesterday... brilliant movie!!!

It is a very touchy story...n d characterization sooper ......

I especially loved the way you connect with the protaganist when he is in a dilemma or when you pity his condition...can understand wat he is going thro......n wonder y it happened to him...

Got me thinking......on how life can change all of a sudden.....n things may not always stay d same !!

N these can be stuff that u might not be necessarily prepared for!!

Reminds me of a conversation we had in d evening cab back home...which revolved around "recession"...alternate careers......

Things these days are bad in every other company.....n if sources r to be trusted...things r gonna stay bad for many more months to come....how does one put up with a situation like this....

I was telling Sid, Som n Kir that what if I were a father of 2 kids....n had fees to pay...bills to pay...EMI to pay....n if I lose my job.....how do u expect me to survive...forget abt the d depression........How do u expect one to just take on a situation that is far from what one is  used to!!

All 3 of them agreed that d best idea would be to open a Cane Crush shop...considering d fact that it was summer...n d one newly opened outlet near my place was doing brisk business.....its always crowded....n doesnt seem to have any of the recession symptoms!!

Then they were on the lookout for many such similar ventures...where in u r sure that recession rahe ya naa rahe....U still manage to earn ur livelihood....

Another idea was about opening up an open air theatre or a mall or to go join an educational institution...

After laying the alternate career options aside, Sid gave me one Gyaan..when I reminded him that we werent considering the practical way out......I was telling him stuff like if ppal r really determined.....they will find a way out....in terms of compromise in pay or work...ultimately its all about survival...Sid told me just 1 thing... that we ppal in the IT industry hype things so much.....in short v r d most insecure...thanks to d good times v have enjoyed...coz uncertainity or job insecurity lies in every other profession...not just the IT one....

Irrespective of d profession....there is just 1 thing in common.... accept d reality n find d means to survive!!

Deepu....

We lost our 22 year old cousin to the waters of Periyar in December, last year. A few weeks before he passed away, his journey to the Gulf was almost confirmed, but there were some problems with some numbers in his Visa...n so he had to wait for a couple of weeks more. 

He had gone on a Saturday evening with his friends to the Periyar river closeby for a swim, after getting fish from the market and leaving it with his mother......

He did not know swimming.......n when he stepped into the water...he lost his balance and was taken into the quick sand......

His friends didnt realize that their friend was missing...but by the time they did....it was too late....my cousin had lost his life....

We visited their house.....I saw his photo..I was seeing him after 15 years.....he was simply the best looking guy in the family.....

His family is shattered... shocked.....his mother tells us ...I have never found a reason to be angry with my son....simply coz he never did anything to hurt her......

She tells us that he was very happy to be leaving to Dubai ....as he wanted to share his family's responsiblities....

His sister was silently crying...n all I cud think of was y....y....did it happen to them?

I didnt know what to tell her...I didnt know what to tell my aunt...I didnt know how to tell them not to cry.....when each n every moment of their lives reminds them of him......

I remember seeing Deepu as a kid.....who would shy away from the rest of his cousins....and today..I cant just bring myself to think about what has happened to him and to his family....

As we left their house, I saw a ray of hope .....I saw them smile......I saw them forget their sorrow for a moment....all thanks to an extremely naughty 6 year old boy who lives closeby.n who made his way into the house with a badminton racket......n who does enough masti in school...to ensure that the teacher gets him seated in between the girls:).....

Kerala bytes!!

I land pretty early at the railway station...n was amazed seeing the level of technological progress our country seems to have made...I mean..U have touchscreens....displaying train routes...timings.....

I was happy to see my collague from work at the station.....after v got chatting ...I discovered that she actually stayed pretty close to my place in Kerala......

We left B'lore by Gharibrath....a Laloo Prasad Yadav initiative ....a neat train....if any1's planning a trip to Kerala.....

I love the scenery in Kerals....the many bridges...the greenery...the konna poovu(yellow flowers) laden trees.....n our place in Kerals...has the famous river Periyar.......running across its length n breadth....

I love my granny...to me...she is the woman ...I always yearn to be.....very loving.....very caring.....goes to any lengths to make her grandchildren happy.....makes a whole lot of personal sacrifices.....is very hardworking.....despite the fact that she has horrible leg pains.....that didnt stop her from making fish curry us.....

I always seem wiser to myself...when she is around.....I also end up being a lot more resourceful than I usually am....when she is with me.....Like all grannies...she also tells me a whole lot of stories.....n these are our ancestral stories.....n I love hearing them....simply coz my granny is a wonderful narrator....she does not preach.....but her stories will always leave you with a lot to think about....

My friends back in B'lore were meeting up to play Badminton....but thanks to my cousins....I ended up playing it too...tho ..I ended up losing badly to them....d funniest part to me ..was that one of them was cheating so badly.....n in so many ways ..he reminded me of me...when I cheat...that I almost didnt have the strength to retaliate.....n was sitting like a cornered oldie:)

Oldie on d advantage:)

Till date, I have always done the running around for the oldies in my family...but for a change...I had my 10 year old cousin do it for me this time around:).....hehehhe....After the feast...I made him run almost a mile to get me payasam...tho...I was feeling a lil guilty for making him do that...for d 1st time ever...after taking d glass from him....I felt even more guilty:)

Ya...ya.....u know that I had my shot at badminton with my cousins...but everytime d cock landed on the rooftop or on the field closeby.....I used my aging power to full advantage...n ordered the chultus to retrieve the cocks for us.....

So much to write...dunno whr to start???

After doing some thinking...n thanking..I decide...It will be Kerala....so...ppal....If u have nothing else to do in life:)....go along...n read my Kerala trip narrative....

I now know y I am like this.....actually d fact is that I share a whole lot of characteristics with a lot of other relatives or cousins in my family....

For eg....I am never fair when it comes to games....that in no way means that I cheat.....but I do end up creating a huge ruckus n end up fighting with almost everyone who dares to play with me.....My cousins are all like that....either it is a universal fact....or its just that its in our blood:)

Pinnne.....

heheheh.....Almost every other member in my family...starting from the real chultus to the old grannies use this word......n wat does it mean...kinda translates to "Yeah Right"...in Manglish.....

The Bonding...

Its really strange....I was meeting cousins...who I had seen years ago.......or relatives who had seen me when I was in school...now that was a really long time ago:).....but strangely ....V seemed to connect.....n ended up having a blast together....The icing on the cake...I was actually asked by one of our distant relatives...if I was a 15 year old:)...heheheh..I was on cloud nine.....maybe it had to do with the fact that I was only hanging around with them....but that doesnt mean that I shud look their age right:)...this is Cma at her peak...contradicting n counter-contradicting herself...heheheh

Dressy facts....

Tho I hardly take time out to shop or go buy clothes...or do other guurrrly stuff...I try n avoid wearing the same dress if I know that someone in office has the same dress.....

Now how do u suppose I felt...when my cousin and I land up to the same function wearing the same dress....My sister had got me the dress from B'lore...n that cousin had got hers from Kerals....n My...Oh..My....we had almost everybody there...who came up to us and told us...Uniformaaaaa.....chechecheche.....