Cya:)

"Shayan pen chahiya!"

"Shayan wants to write!"

"Cya, Shayan want nail polish:)" n this is closely followed with "Cya, put nail polish for achhi:)"

"Shaya wants paani....Mamma paaani chahiya!"

Mamma to Shayan: "Shonu, come here"

Shayan to Mamma: "Naaaahin"[with a naughty naughty smile]

When Shayan does masti n when he knows he will be punished, he will go to Mamma telling K..K...K.."Hugsy[meaning hug] chahiya!"

Shayan thinks Buddabaaba[ an imaginary character created by Mamma to scare Shayan as n when necessary:)] is anybody old, sporting a long moustache!

Shayan thinks any young friends who come home, sometimes with a laptop bag:) are all Pizza uncles:)

Shayan has 2 options to gotto Dr.Kini or to Dr.Girish. If you ask him his choice, he will reply back telling Dr.Girish. Y?Y?Y? coz doctor uncle give Shayan chocolatte:)

When Shayan was asked to part with a few of his toys to d maidservant's kids, Shayan throws a tantrum. When cajoled by Mamma asking him to share his toys, he cries louder!! When Mamma promises Shayan bigger toys, greed sets in and he happily gives away his toys:)

Cya loves Shayan d most, when he utters that concurring"aa" , "aa", amidst a conversation like Shayan understands everything, especially when u sit with him and explain stuff or read out stories!!

D curiosity in Shayan has so far had him pour out a bottle of groundnut oil on his head on one occasion and a Sunsilk shampoo sachet on another occasion. Note the perfect timing: After 10pm!! Much to the dismay of his Mamma, who has to be on her toes 24X7:)

Shayan thinks d gas-lighter is a gun and runs with it to Achii, pointing it out to him like an AK-47!!

Shayan thinks its cool to play with vessels and onions and coconuts n papiyas(papayas) and spoons and tumblers and uncool to play with cars!!

D glass table in our living room, has taken so much of Shayan drumming(sometimes with spoons n sometimes with a plastic cricket bat), that I must applaud its manufacturer for all its endurance!!

Just when Mamma thinks its high time Shayan got used to a life without Huggies or Pampers, Shayan tells Mamma that "Shayan buy Huggies" and ensures that he locates it in a supermarket and hugs it with all his mite:)

Offlate, Shayan has been posing for photos. But right after you click, Shayan is after u, with "Shayan see photo"

Mamma dare not enter a shop without money. Coz Shayan will either tear apart a Gems chocolatte packet or drop a Bingo or a Lays chips packet on the billing counter with so much of innocence, that it hurts,when u refuse to oblige:)

Shayan's favourite Hindi song is "Nanna munna rahi hun, desh ka sipahi hun, bolo mere sang Jai Hind!!". Very cute to hear him sing it. He swallows half the words:)

If you play the starting music of atleast 10 songs, Shayan will be able to tell you which song it is!!

Shayan sits on Cya's lap in Guruvayoor Krishna temple, located in Kerala and sings "Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Santa Claus is coming to town:)"

Shayan is cutest, when heard attempting Malayalam, so be it poda[which means go] or shakakuru[jackfruit seed] or ambada kema[hey chalu fella] or addi[hit], the last one is the most frequently used Malayalam word at home these days, the English word giving close company being "NO"

All d samaan at home is at high grounds, but Shayan has his own plans. So, every now n then, u get to c chairs being dragged to the appropriate altitudes and things heading down with Gravity!!

Shayan loves to dance, to sing his rhymes and he simply loves banging spoons on our glass table. High tolerance levels it has had, till date, I must admit, should inform d manufacturer:)

Now, I have a reputation for being very lazy when it comes to combing. Now, dunno what prompted Shayan to pick a comb one fine day and to comb my hair!! exclaiming "Shayan comb!!"

PS:

1.Shayan is Cya's almost 3 year old nephew and Cya is Seema:)...that's me BTW n acchi is Cya's father.

2.Shayan has stopped calling me Cya, this is a new development. He calls me Cma, but I still miss Cya:)

Horse's face!!

Kudre in Kannada means horse and mukh is face. N so the title.

This post has everything to do with Kudremukh, a lovely place located around 300+ kms away from B'lore.

As with all my other posts on trekking, this one also delves into the same old giving up story-"I cant do it anymore! I wanna give up! I will sit here. You people trek to the peak and then on your way back, I will join you." But my team mates would have none of it. If Hemanth kept urging me to take small steps, to rest and to drink water in small sips and most importantly to keep going, Puneeth told me the obvious:), You have come so far, you cant give up now. Its a different story, that we kept climbing up and up, and the part where in you are almost there, atleast seemed nowhere in sight.

Now, now, now-Most of my team mates are just the sorts who run up a hill, when they spot one. They love getting themselves into any kind of adventure and they trace routes, paths and scale greater heights with ease and joy. Some of them have no places left to trek. Some of them did not spare the Himalayas also!

N then you have me: Fear of heights is in my blood. Though climbing up is clearly an uphill :) task, I always manage to do it, minus all the cribbing and all the constant chants of "amme narayana", "devi narayana","lakshmi narayana","bhadre narayana". I remember Hemnath telling me to give Narayana peace of mind:)

After you reach the top, you magically forget the fatigue, the grumbling, the challenges faced and even the chants:) A sense of accomplishment and an awesome gust of wind blowing right across your face, calming you down is a sooooper divine feeling! Its almost like you are at peace with urself and start thinking of things that mean most to you and forget the Herculian climbing down, that awaits you any moment!!

Have you heard of people who can climb up a tree, but cant get down. I fit the bill so much. How can you get down in ease, when you have either your shoes or all those loose rocks to trust? I have this constant fear of falling when I get down a hill. So, Prakash it was. The poor chap had to lend a helping hand at almost every other step-down!

I believe that when u are on a trip, u must enjoy every moment of it. Stretch urself to face challenges, have fun and fond memories of a journey,u know u wud have never taken otherwise!!

Guilty or not guilty!

My idea of a police station was that from the movies, with Gandhiji's photos and revolving wooden doors.

Happened to visit a police station today for my sister's passport verification. I must admit that getting into one is a very scary venture. For a person like me, I know when Im sitting there that a blog is waiting to be written.

Met 3 guys there. They were around 10 years old. They were asked to stay back at the station as they were accused of stealing bicycles. We were seated on a bench outside the inspector's room and they were sitting beside us. One of them was crying out loud after a passing constable slapped him hard across the face telling him "3rd time eh". I ask the boy seated beside me.."What did u steal?"..He told me "Nothing. Somebody else stole a bicycle. We were standing there watching the incident, and police arrested us."

A police constable was warning them that if he ever caught them stealing again, that would be it! He told them to work as mechanics or as carpenters or simply go to school. He told them not to steal from the places they worked. He also told them things like this is not the place for young boys like you!

Helpless as I was, I also realized that it is unfair to blame those kids. I dont know if they were guilty of the crime or not. But picture this, wat if they werent, does it really make a difference. They would still be sitting in police stations with nobody to bail them out. Y? Coz they belong to nobody. Who cares for them? Surviving each day in itself is a challenge!

Now 7, then 28!

This blog posting is dedicated to all the ppal who have ever taken the regular shuttle from Yelahanka or V.Pura to Global Village.

Once upon a time, n tat 2 a very very long time ago, there lived a gal who took a cab to work. The vehicle cud accomodate a total of 9 people n she was the odd one out. Her seat in the cab was subject to change everyday depending on the unavailability of atleast 1 extremely irregular person.

Thankfully, there came a day when the stars shone and Mr.Irregular left the organization. With a confirmed seat and wide bandwidth filters, she spent her time in learning how to nod her head only when required,when Harsha, the route co-ordinator spoke. Parties, as they were referred to then, happened in Kamat, a restaurant enroute, on B'days, anniversaries n most importantly on certain occasions only!

In course of time, the routes were bifurcated. Yelahanka and V.Pura went their separate ways. The gal with the confirmed seat was now the route co-ordinator of the V.Pura cab. We had to go in for a bigger vehicle as our company grew in size. So, a TT it was!!

Then started the amazing journey to work in Ramanna's TT. An excellent driver, who taught the gal the importance of reaching the stop on time and to respect other ppal's time. Ganging up against elements of common frustration like policies, processes and a need to do something other than just sleep, got the cabmates to play DC, antakshari and other games ended in all of us bonding with the other. Who can forget Prasanna's Kannada songs, which always kept us wondering if such songs actually existed!!

This was the time when Yelahanka cab was also going through their good times, Mafia-a popular game doing the clean sweep there. Yelahanka and V.Pura met up at 8:15,that is the late night shuttle to differences of opinions, arguments, fights and a whole lot of fun. all thanks to Harish and Kishore!

With the passage of time and the company hiring the cab DJ, Sid,a lot of campus minds fresh out of college gotin their energy and spirit to the cab. A personal best moment was when the gal had given a dance show in office n had not mentioned it to anybody.When the gal lands in the cab, all of them clap and congratulate her, like she had achieved something in life,:)

Our treats were more frequent. The bakery near our office, our common hangout. We were happy till the tooofan arrived!!

Plans were already underway to merge the 2 routes with a bigger bus n when it did, there was chaos everywhere which has not subsided till date.

Cut back to the present!

Our cab today is the most happening one! The shreyas for that goes to Harsha. Today when he speaks, my filters have automatically vanished. Infact, there are days when we drag Harsha and urge him to initiate a conversation. If there is one person, who can handle anybody-good or bad, then it must be Harsha. Harsha widened the scope for fun by putting together the best of the 2 cabs:)

Be it forcing ppal to treat or holi celebs or b'day celebs or farewell celebs, our cab has a life of its own!

So, be it Suresh aka Mafia king or Shrinidhi aka If looks cud kill:) or Ravi aka chi chi or Mridula aka don or Arpitha aka Matha or Somaiah aka CEO or Chetan aka R2B:) or Sachin aka Sach-in or Prathibha aka GM:) or Jithu aka hasmukh or Uday aka wiki or Yashoda no-aka Aunty:) or Sid aka DJ, or Ravi aka no treats or Sunil aka rice prince or Srisha aka @ peace or Sangeeta aka patience galore or Prasanna aka people's manager or Ashu aka Kishore daaa;each one of us have our distinct identities and tho some of us no-longer take the cab, their memories with Route no.7 will stay on this blog forever:)So, keep reading!

A link to a very very ancient blog posting of mine on our 8:15pm cab. 2 of the tormentors no longer work with MindTree, but the tutor is still hanging around!

http://dua-my-world.blogspot.com/2009/01/815pm-this-blog-is-dedicated-to.html

Bubbles day out!

Prelude:

Adreno, an adventurer’s club organized a camp for 25 autistic children and their parents. These children study in Bubbles Centre for Autism, run by Sarbani Mallick. We[Pravs, Sid, Shekhar and me] were part of the volunteer team on this outing!!

Photos/Videos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nair.praveena/BubblesAdichunchunagri?authkey=Gv1sRgCPG588-3t46ToQE&feat=email#

In the Spirit of Easter Season...

View more presentations from M.F. Who’s Sane.

This blog starts from the end!!

Reach home last Saturday, all content and happy. .the events over the last couple of days rewinding ....bringing back oodles of fond memories!

Sarbani tells me the kids havent stop talking about the campfire!!

On our bus journey back home from Adichunchanagiri mutt, amidst the dumb charades and the singing …there was a sense of accomplishment in each one of us!!

After a morning trek with 25 kids and their parents to a hilltop and yummy breakfast ….this is what the parents had to say about our trip!!...I found it extremely moving….

I never thought my child cud do all those adventure activities..many of them their 1sts:).....like d campfire.....d rope sliding activity.....d trek.....this is the 1st time my child is seeing a place beyond home, getting to interact with other kids with absolutely no pressures of having to perform well!!

My system had decided to let the world know that it was allergic to something around[I still think it was Sid :)]….so amidst a whole lot of sneezing …comes the report from Day-1 at the camp…

V set out at around 2:30 to the campsite, which had the kids colouring on sheets with rocks and tree barks as bases….tyre tunnels…obstacle courses, log crossing, rope ladder climbing, rope sliding ….all these arrangements were done in the wild… with Neel and Hedher[ Bubbles volunteers] working with Dilip from Adreno and chalking out tailor made programmes for the autistic kids ....at the same time making the most of the facilities that Adreno had to offer. Neel and Hedher even made personal visits to the camp to overlook the facilities and to ensure that Aaal waazz well:)

That the kids had fun..there is no doubt at all…But that they wanted more and more of it….Im sure of it…….. Let me also add that it is extremely difficult to actually think that these children have a problem....Can never forget the kids who kept coming back to try out the rope sliding activity as many as 3 times each!!

Mannan was the 1^st kid to try the rope sliding activity, something which looked scary even to us!!

All the kids tried out the rope-sliding activity all thanks to Praveena and Siddharth who not only motivated them, but did all that they cud to put the kids to ease!!...I must also mention that when it was my turn...Pravs n Sid stepped back...n let me handle the situation at hand myself...Friends...anthe..Hmmmmph!!

The amazement on the kid's faces when they literally went flying like apnaa sooooperman or bahar ka Krisshhh....will not leave me!!

Back to the cottages, the children were made to collect twigs and start the fire ....thats when little Gokul got a big branch and a big fire out:)

There were kids who were so happy to be with other kids their age...that all they did was to keep running around ....chasing frogs n insects:)

It was extremely cute to c the mothers give their little ones a wash late in the evening after an entire day of trekking....they had these hose pipes which were spraying water on these kids...much to their joy n our envy:)

Rewind to the pre-preparations ….n dunno what I would have done without Shilpa’s help.

Now, I was working out of a different office the whole of last week, so I could hardly do any of the co-ordination thing... Ppal who r regular readers of my blog[If there are any:)]...wud have heard this a million times before .....that whenever u set out to do something good...things fall in place... out of nowhere!!

So our dear old Shilpa steps in...working out the transport details with Moses and Dilip and also in collecting funds.

I am really sorry ... Indu, Rindy and Krathika….for not getting back to you regarding the trip details in time….I remember calling Krathika the night before the trip, urging her to come:)

All due to limited channels of communication , I kept thinking that we were still off to Savanadurga, but an elephant had run amok and so we had to shift our plans to Adichunchanagiri mutt.

Sarbani and team spent nearly a week in advance preparing the kids for the trip and familiarizing them with the sequence of events at the camp, simply coz autistic kids find it very difficult, when expected to react to anything out of the ordinary!

And now the start!!

Starts out with an email to Sarbani, who runs Bubbles Centre for Autism. Now, we have known her for 4 long years. Bubbles does amazingly creative and structured programmes for children with special needs so effortlessly, that I have always been in awe of the place n the ambience it has!!

Sarbani replies back telling me ... they are looking at organizing a nature camp for the kids with an overnight stay in a village...n wanted to know if I knew of any places....Now turns out..that I did know of one person who is a "know-all" when it comes to treks, trips, adventure, etc...

So I call him n he gives me multiple options...n then refers my case to a colleague from office...

I am then introduced to Adreno, an adventurer's club and tats when v took a hiatus n Sarbani n the Bubbles team took over!!

I wont thank the volunteers....but I must tell this....Be it all that karab singing...especially Pravs....or the standing out there in the hot sun helping 30 kids get onto that rope sliding activity, giving them instructions...making them feel comfortable....Siddharth and Pravs did an amazing job motivating the kids and giving them all the support they needed...Sid has carried around 30 kids that day....telling them to feel that they r on a sofa...or to fly like soooperman....in the rope sliding activity!!

Whether it was Neel's b'day celebs or Pravs haunted story narration n Prajwal's n my sighting of a "ghostly figure" at 4:30am...who was doing Yoga....this was 1 soooooooper trip....

Who can forget Daisy Aunty's shayari and her fondness for old Hindi songs that existed even before my parents were born....

Our intention was to provide an opportunity to autistic kids and their parents to enjoy a fun-filled day!!.. V set out to make a difference....n V did!!

Some ppal can write so well...Helloo...Not me...But Neel....Do read her write-up..Its just excellent!!

http://www.bubbles-bangalore.blogspot.com/search/label/Blog?max-results=100

Getaways!

Getaways can do miracles to shoo away boredom in one's life..they can also be wonderful learning experiences....n ends up adding quite a lot of spice n colour to ur tastes:)

Was travelling with my friend's family from B'lore to Thornagallu in Bellary, last week.

1st,I lost my spectacles in the train....n got it back yes....after quite a commotion...I was sleeping on the Upper berth n it had fallen off sometime during the course of the night....Ppal sleeping on the lower berth were quite convinced that it had fallen out, as they had opened the window sometime in the night....

2nd, I lost my chappals after leaving it outside the temple....only mine were gone!!...n ya...ended up walking barefoot, with the blessings of the sun-god...

3rd, survived the bad road journey from Bellary to Mantralayam.....this is 1 ride I wont forget in a hurry!!...all coz the Karnataka n the AP Govts r still to make up their minds on who will get the roads done...

How can I miss out our driver's shortkut....he wanted to save a 20 km ride on a good road...so he takes us on a route that has never seen an invention called "tar" n with ups n downs all through the never ending 15 km ride at 7:30 pm ...in an area that was surrounded in pitch-darkness...n with no signs of light or any human habitation for miles altogether.....

Our vehicle was quite an antique piece and wud require regular attention, every now n then...with our driver getting under the car....in 1 such attempt...the poor guy had to bid goodbye to his pants:)....n had to make - do with a dhothi adorned over the pants....

4th, was amazed by the sort of facilities n infrastructure at the Jindal Steel Plant.....excellent is an understatement.....they literally have a kingdom of their own!!

5th, passed by cotton n red chilly fields.....was actually requested by a kid's mother to take her daughter's pic....here it is...

6th, gotto c different lifestyles of the ppal from the loadsa villages v passed....the highlight being their mode of transportation.....atleast 40 ppal found their place either inside, on the periphery or atop their chutku...tata sumo kinda vehicles.....It was almost like U had ppal popping out of every corner from their vehicles:)

Actually gotto c more number of women working in the fields than the menfolk:)

7th, was almost red-faced:)...well only coz of the soil there...I remember washing my face after getting back home...n seeing a red-patch of mud on the towel....I repeated the face-washing thing twice after that...But with repeatedly fading reflections on the towel!!

If I can write so much abt a 2-day trip...just imagine what I will do....if I take longer trips...God save the blog-readers:)

Discrimination in today's era!

V r blessed with such wonderful cultures, customs n traditions!

V share a whole lot of diversity too in terms of caste, creed, religion, colour, etc....

V r also cursed with adversity in our diversity!!

Im not playing with words or for words here.....Im just referring to an incident that I faced in a temple, where preference was given to ppal just coz they belonged to a higher caste!![High in wat terms...I dont understand....To me ... a person is high only coz of his karma]

If this can happen today.....wat is the solution to prevent it?

I dont want to get into the sympathizing part to the ppal who r inflicted with such discrimination...but is there a way out?

I can change the way I think....But do I take the trouble of changing how the world thinks?

The truth today is that....I will blog abt it....but do nothing else abt it!!

What is SS?

Always thought of it as something that u do to help ppal in need or to make a difference in other ppal's lives....

But its a lot more than that!!

Met a doctor today who has done a whole lot of SS her entire life....she used to visit villages n treat patients free of cost n have her pals pool in money to fund medicines....

I was mighty impressed with all that she had to tell....about how the villagers looked up to her service n about how she was constantly motivated to do her bit ...even though she was managing her career, family n kids apart from her commitment to the villages 2 days a week...

Then she told me of an incident...happened sometime in the early eighties...when she was a visiting doctor to a village near Nandi Hills n was asked to take another specialist from B'lore to visit a very ill patient from the village...but on the behest of her other colleagues....she had to drop the plan ....as she was new and unassertive n didnt really understand the gravity of the situation....

The specialist ended up not going ...n the patient dying!!

From then onwards, she stopped making these visits, as she tells me that if you want to venture into SS, do it only if you can do it responsibly n with a commitment which understands that sometimes u end up doing things which get caught between the circle of life and death!!

So, what is SS finally?...I think u got my point!

Life's many courses!!

Ur just the kinda person...who loves travelling....U'll be the 1st 1 to take ur car with ur family in it to places both near n far....U just love the thought of getting away from the monotony of everyday life to places that make it to nature's wonders or to unheard or unseen towns n villages....

U discover places.....have a wonderful time....a break thoroughly deserved ...n then ....

Comes a trip where ur world comes crashing down.....An accident....a head-on collison that cud have gotten fatal....but u thank ur stars that u got through the ordeal n lived to tell ur story....

Will u be afraid of taking another trip post the ill-fated one?

No,comes the reply....simply coz u lived through that one only to see many more!!

V all face roadblocks where in things v take for granted come to a grand halt....n v take a back-seat...

But what is important to me here is this person's outlook in life.....that u learn to put ur life back together.....all the pieces ...that is...n to take on to another journey...another course!

Hampi rocks!

Im not gonna start writing abt all the things that v did in a chronological order......M just gonna talk abt chasing ur dreams:)

I've always been an ardent history lover...History to me is a figment of imagination n a story waiting to unfold...

Seeing a signboard which said Hampi-4kms got me all excited....n d 1st thought that came to my mind when I saw the place...was thanks Sowmya!

Sowmya was kind enuf to take me with her family to visit Hampi..n I think I have already made it extremely explicit that this is one place that I have always wanted to c!!

Sowmya n me were having this conversation a couple of months ago abt visiting Hampi...n when she called me early this month asking me if I wanted to join...All I told her was...C ya...I want to c Hampi....book tickets whenever u want...But Im coming!!

Hampi had a very mystical influence on me....When I was standing infront of the Vittala temple, facing stone structures built to entertain traders from all over the world....for a moment ...I was actually visualizing traders selling gold, gems n other precious stones n a crowded market place...to me at that moment none of it was 500 years ago...It was almost like it was happening there right infront of me!!

The Purandhara [famous poet of that era] shelter, built right beside the Tungabhadra river literally had a "cooling" effect on me....:)....Not that it was very sunny outside....But it was almost like I was at peace with myself....I was actually smiling inside....Just happy to be there!!

I was telling Sowmya that if u leave me here for a few more hours, I will come up with the most beautiful verses ever heard by mankind.....Too much I know for my standards that is:)...Im sure my friends have already heard enuf...ya ...ya..Im referring to my lunch-table pals at work..Im at my philosophical best after food gets into my system at lunch-time:)

V, Indians were indeed outnumbered there by foreign tourists.....loads of them clicking photos ....asking the guides numerous questions n learning about our culture n history!!

There are plenty of places that u get to visit in and around Hampi....some of them temples...d others palaces...then the Queen's bath:)....n the royal stables.....n so on....

Wat strikes u most is not only the archaeological brilliance ...but the fact that even in those days ppal had provisions and access to some of the best facilities in terms of layout of their structures, their irrigation n sewage systems .....

U do feel bad seeing the ruins at Hampi....But the thought that the place has seen so many generations come n go...so many historical moments ....n ofcourse the winds of change across the sands of time:).....most of the structures were destroyed by the Mughals n the deities stolen from temples....but Hampi even today is a standing testimony to the great culture our country has!!

2 things I will never forget: Being asked if v were foreigns:) actually by a bunch of schoolkids n a small schoolkid actually running towards me n touching me n running back ...this she did twice...n I was left standing there wondering[actually I was smiling to myself:)] as to why she did that!!

If you want to see Hampi the way I saw it with a little more details on the monuments...do read this:

*Hampi Unplugged-Part 1

**Hampi Unplugged -Part 2

Hampi Unplugged-Part 1

Vitthala Temple

Home to the famed stone chariot, a beautiful kalyana mantapa, sabha[conference] mantapa and a sangeetha mantapa.

Excellent ways they had of ensuring that rain water did not stay on the stone structures, but perculated down easily....

Some of the sculptures have various interpretations when viewed from different angles!!

If you touch the pillars in the sangeetha mantapa, you can actually hear the sounds of Sa re ga ma...n that of various musical instruments.

Rings aligned to the top corners and the bottom corners of the mantapas, used to have curtains laid across and the reverberations of the music generated used to actually last half a km away!!

The stone chariot actually moved once upon a time, hard to imagine that it did!!

V also didnt miss a 300 year old tree in this very campus!!