Jog Falls 2008

Its the moment I enjoy driving here ...

2008 and again I couldn't see jog in its full flow :-(

A frog not sure is this harmful?

Man Vs Wild

Beauty :-) it was just a moment in which I could capture this..

Beauty Vs Death

61 years of Independence

61 years of independence and this is what i see we are in a state off.
Few section of people who think we live in the best part of the world with a false pride, few section of people who think we are in pathetic state and have run away from their responsibilities and have settled happily abroad and the rest who are busy ripping across length and breadth of the country for their own materialistic gains.
I wonder many a times what we have achieved today did it really needed 61 years? I was having a thought when a government can construct road along the complete county in 4 years why does it take 3 years to complete an underpass in the city? This is one major problem we are facing today high levels of corruption but is any one bothered about this?
61 years and we have lost the social values we had in this country. Today we are nothing but bunch of copycats who have lost their identity caught between different cultures. Do we really have something in us which we should be really proud off today? Our education system is going from bad to worse. Some how i always feel education will be of use only when you know how to implement the knowledge you have gained, however at times i feel we are following mostly a system of creating monolithic robots rather than intellectuals.
61 years and i see and we are proud off it but today my national flag been brought down,burnt and a Pakistani flag hoisted in the heart of the city . Today we are in lack of bold leaders who are strong enough to decide what they want and who have a vision for my country.
61 years and I see our prime minister speak about global warming in the independence day speech, was this the need ? are we really independent? Terrorists are able to strike at will in any corner of the country, we are not able to stop infiltration along the porous borders we are not safe in our own country then why should we be proud off?
61 years after independence and many a times i still feel rest of the world treats this country as men of slaves and a country of poor. We haven't been able to improve this image in 61 long years. We only boost of our great values of past but when it comes to either implementation or the current situation we see the helpless faces.
61 years we still celebrate Gandhi's B'day but never a day we thought of implementing or understanding his ideologies. We speak of peace with terrorists (probably even Gandhi wouldn't have liked this option) who have dared enough to come to our house and kill innocent civilians.
At the end i liked a line from a newspaper " A dream is not the one which you see when you close your eyes, A dream is one which doesn't allow you to close your eyes until you see it realize". Probably we need more people with such great thoughts to lead this country. People who are constantly worried about what we are today. People who have a vision to see ahead of others. People who can command.
I wish my country men to realize the real value of independence :-). After 61 it would be 62 but what we have done between this has to be known and realized.

Agumbe

A sudden decision to drive on a weekend was chocked out and plan was made to drive to Agumbe.. one of the worlds wettest place :-) . Sripad directly landed from pune at my house from were we started towards his house, sripad had some personal work before everyone else would assemble at his house. The plan was, I would have some sleep in the mean time so that i can drive in the night however i couldn't sleep all thanks to the phone calls :-) and at the end rest of the team landed at sripad's house at around 12.30.

At last we started at around 1am at midnight, we couldn't find petrol until we crossed Nelmangala and after filling my car for full tank we stopped at a dhaba for dinner at around 2am. We had amazing roti and dal at this place and started moving towards shimoga our first stop. At times i wonder how, but certain things are beyond explanation every one in the car was sleeping i was trying to focus on the empty roads, roads were empty covered by trees on either side and silent music for my company. Roads looked like a black hole into which i was driving all of a sudden i felt like my eyes was about to close and it was happening beyond my control all of a sudden my phone began ringing it was my mom worried about my night driving :-) i could just smile thinking of her and i stopped my car after few kms for tea and then washed my face and was feeling fresh again to drive.

We reached shimoga at around 6.30 and went to my aunt's place, we got refreshed ourselves and had wonderful dosas prepared by aunt. After which we started towards agumbe at around 9 am. Our first stop was at tungabhadra dam, it was not of great interest as you are neither allowed to enter the dam nor get down to the water. We didn't spend much time here and started to move towards Sakre bailu elephant champ. This place was very great with 2 small baby elephants. It was fun to watch them playing around.

After this we went on a boat ride on the tunga dam back waters listening few experiences of the boatmen. From here we started enjoying the beautiful forests till agumbe, the drive was spectacular we did stop and even danced on the roads. We also stopped near theertahalli to have the golibaje and mangalore buns :-)

We reached agumbe at around 2pm. It was drizzling, we reached "Dodda Mane" around 120years old house with 2 Hande :-) now Hande is a mystery with a humor . We had a small break and had a look around the wonderful house :-).This is also the house were in some part of Malgudi days the famous TV serial was shot. After finishing our lunch at this place we started walking towards the mystrerious jogi gundi falls. The best thing was on our way we met a person who started warning us not to venture into the forests and he also warned us we would never come back if we don't listen to him. He also tried to say that he was a student of some person whom we never knew :-). But it was fun mixed with fear to be challenged by someone new unexpectedly before we are trying to do something new :-).

The evergreen forests of Agumbe as expected was a mystery even though we just walked along the road until the last few meters we did find a dead snake, scorpin and lots of other insects. This place is heaven for the all the poisonous reptiles with lots of leeches all around you. We reached jogi gundi , it was beautiful green water with thick forest all around. We enjoyed in water for some time and it was here that i slipped from a rock and got struck in a awkward position before i could get up :-) but i had sprained my leg a bit.

After coming back from jogi gundi it started to rain very heavily and the visibility was very poor, we had already decided not to stay in dodda mane as it was next to road and we wanted to stay somewhere inside the forest, Boka told that he had a relative at a near by place called Vagale on the way to koppa from agumbe probably around 20 - 25kms from agumbe and we started to drive towards Vagale. It was a beautiful place in the middle of the forest and on the banks of tunga river :-).

Once we reached the home i was very tired and i don't remember anything until i got up in the morning, sleep after one and half days. I got up at 6 and along with gilli started exploring the places around, we got some good shots for my camera. Then we walked towards the banks of tunga. It was a beautiful calm river i wondered i knew swimming, it would have been a great experience to swim in this calm and quiet river .

From here we went to a house where in i had my first jack fruit of the year to eat and also some country side snacks which probably everyone enjoyed a lots. We had a wonderful lunch and started back from here and reached bangalore by around 10pm.

Team :
Gilli,Boka,Pada,Loki and Poorna
Funny moments :
Hande at Dodda mane, Dudda li tea.

Travel Details:
Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Agumbe - Vagale(Near Koppa) - Chickmangalore - Hassan - Bangalore (Drive of around 1000kms)

Contact of Dodda mane at Agumbe to stay : Kasturi Akka ( 08181- 233075).

Puzzle

Probably many a times telling something straight on face might have a momentary impact but probably making it feel what has to be told would leave an ever lasting scare...
I sat alone the breeze was strong... it rained very heavily.. my friends kept buzzing me on my mobile but i was lost... did not understand what i was trying to understand sitting here... i didn't understand anything other than the physical presence of the body... was feeling cold.. felt very lonely... but my mind kept telling me how can you be so lonely with so many wonderful friends along side you.. and you look so happy in your day to day life... yes i am like that full of happiness all around me... but then felt like am I trying to run away from myself? Everything looked like a puzzle where in i was not able to understand the problem itself :-(
Felt like i was a very happy man... but it took some time to understand that happiness was in the form of sand in my hand... never understood when it slipped... i always wonder why is that i can never visualize what is next, is it that the entire world leaves in sort of a lost world?
Its raining very heavily... i am drenched in rain and feeling really cold and my body is shivering ... felt just need some help...
well probably few thought i never understood the actions and i was dumb... but i felt there was a feeling which i kept to myself hoping not to hurt others... saw a beautiful end but yet another beginning....
I walked alone, one hand did stop me... i felt it was with me... but everything looked soo virtual.. yet soo real..

Rules are only for those who follow..

This incident happened to me yesterday evening while i was returning from office....

I was in good speed and couldn't break immediately at the signal.. i was stopped by the policemen

Police men : Why did u cross the line, cant you see its red?
Me : Where is the line here?

Police men : Its understood that you shouldn't cross beyond this..., give me your driving licence and other documents.
Me : Take this.. but sir when there is no line how can u expect me to stop at such speed i would have fallen down from my bike .. neither i have jumped the signal

Police men: Give me 100Rs.
Me : Give me the bill if you think i have broken law.

Police men: (Goes to his bike, gets the latest gizmo black berry and pulls out a bill for 100Rs )
Me : I don't agree to you sir that i have broken any rules, this is unfair.

Police men : Here is your bill. Pay it... and sign here..
Me: (Before signing i wrote in the bill - "I don't agree that i have broken any law, this is unfair" and signed)

Police men : Do you think you have done something great writing like this?
Me : No but at least i am happy that i have protested against you in my own ways. However i know that i am not going to get anything out of it. I also know that, it neither matters you or the government.

Police men : I might have to answer my seniors for what you have written.
Me : Thats your problem.


Felt bad that every day probably only people who follow law gets caught by these men in uniform. I see hundreds of people breaking signal everyday and i have never seen police catching them. If it is law then even overtaking from left is breaking of law.. but do we really follow such rules?Probably we cannot because we don't have an infrastructure to follow these rules, however we have police men who wanna fine you when ever they feel like rather than catching every person who breaks law :-)

I am not saying either i was right or the policemen was wrong. But what i am trying to say is.. only people who are at least trying to follow the laws gets penalized ... as they are the easy victims :-)

Cry

I saw the clouds it was dark.. I saw it coming... I wished to talk but i couldn't...god forgive me for the sin :-( .. I wished to see a face with smile... but i couldn't..god forgive me for the sin :-( ... a drop of tear rolled on my cheek ...but rain drops took care no one noticed..

Here i have fallen down.. i lift my head to see for help.. i see few faces with advice, few faces who curse me, few faces who smile.. and few faces with lost hope ..I see it coming.. never wanted to see it... now i stand to face it.. i am in the middle of a road completely drenched in rain.. wat next?

I didn't understand what i am doing? But i was right, that i was wrong... people whom i wished would help pulled their hands back in the time of need... i understand i am standing alone drenched in rain :-( i understand this is the beginning :-(

But my spirits want me to get up and walk...

Hero Pen

Yesterday i was searching for something in my draw in my home and all of a sudden i found a hero pen . Well i remembered a childhood incident of mine when i saw this pen.. probably i was in 6th std and i had a passion for hero pen.. and i wanted to have one for myself... but that was a time when my parents were in crunch of a situation constructing our house and the financial status of the family was very tight...

Now i wonder Rs.25 was so valued during the period that i had to receive so much of beating from my father that day... i remember having been beaten so much for demanding the pen immediately... i wounder even though i was used to get beaten every now and then certain moments always remains in your mind as a child.. I remember at that moment probably i never understood the situation and i was in my own world.. dreaming for the pen.. and the beating had shattered my desires...

Well my father did understand my feelings probably he had brought me a new hero pen the next day.. well well this was valued treasure for me :-) i was very happy and this pen was my lucky pen till my 12th.. i wrote every test, every exam, every notes with this pen :-) . As a child i was so much attached to the pen that i used to think i would do badly in my exams if i don't use this pen. Probably now i would be laughing at my belief of childhood :-)

I tried to search this pen yesterday and i didn't get it :-( i wondered, have i lost the feel i had in my childhood? Probably i have lost the value of a hero pen which was just Rs.25 but can i ever forgot the incident i was attached to, with the pen?

Hunger

It was around 9pm, i came out of the hotel after a very heavy dinner.. it was a bit too much for dinner. I was walking towards my bike when all of a sudden a small kid stopped me begging...

What should i have done?

If i had given money probably i would have encouraged him for begging..and more over the fact is many a times the money we give is always snatched by their parents.. so i never encouraged giving money...

Should have asked him to earn his food? probably that would not be worth either... as i would be encouraging child labor in that case..

Could we have given some food to this kid? Many a times i had seen these kids are not that very fascinated of our food.Until they are really hungry..What actually matters to them is money!!

Well i don't know what i could have done, nothing struck to my mind at that point and i came back home... but one thing did strike to my mind that i did over eat a bit and probably i could have avoided it and probably it could have reached a hungry child's stomach :-(

Felt hunger is really very bad..

Vote !! Does it matter?

Few don't belive they should vote, few don't understand the value of their vote, few just say how will their vote make a difference?
I was very dejected when the news read bangalore urban recorded the lowest turnout for the first phase of assembly elections only 44% franchised their vote . Also read an interesting article like neither the rich nor the middle class get affected by the outcome of the elections.Its always the poor who are interested in the elections and the promises made by the respective political parties..
I felt very bad meeting friends in my own office at least 7 of them, so called well educated people who had been cribbing all these days regarding the infrastructure, blaming governments for every opportunity they were given to speak :-) and when it mattered the most they just couldn't do what was required the most. Well felt like these are the kind of people who just speak without any idea of their actions... neither they are worth... Well what worse was the excuses you get to hear... Felt like these people have lost the right to speak about either of the government or any other issues in karnataka for at least 5 years from now :-). These are the people who wanna stay at this place, wanna use all the benefits of this place and just scrap it when its a mess...
Voting was a legitimate right of citizen who believes in democracy, a person who doesn't vote doesn't have the right to speak about the issues coming out of the democratic system...
Well hats off to the election commissioner for his outstanding work during the current election process were in there was no huge cutouts, no proxy votes and had seen very little corruption... amazing work... the least thing that was expected from educated people was to come out and vote... At least i hope to see better outcome for the 2nd and 3rd phase of elections.

Śhrârddha

My parents wanted me to drive them to tumkur for annual rights (shrarddha) of my grandmother. Looking at the religious acts i wondered why should we do the same and what is the purpose of the same... well that thing drived me into knowing the facts of why? Well what better way than to dig into the books... As per Hindu mythology "Garuda Purana" also called the book of the dead is the one which tells exactly why and what has to be done...

After reading the book i was not very convinced since few of the facts in this book looks like a bit adulterated because i saw a bit of stress on the castes, these books are basically believed to be derivatives of the Vedas. However in Rigveda it clearly mentions that castes are based on your acts and so called Brahmana who doesn't stick to the acts of a Brahmana will be automatically demoted to shudra however even in this book at the end he does accept the fact that a a person cannot be bharmana by birth.. hence forth its clear that there is no caste by birth :-)

What astonished me reading this book was how can someone write anything imaginatory with such strong views. It exactly deals with issues connected with death, particularly funeral rites and the metaphysics of reincarnation. But what i felt which lacks in this book is the explanation as to why? It lacks the explanation as to why it has to be done..

Well but i should really accept the fact the way things has been explained... its horrifying, the cruelest things possible to man kind has been narrated... probably to bring in the fear of death.. in the common man to avoid doing anything bad :-) but its crazy to feel the horrifying facts explained.. well these were few interesting things which i found in this book and is considered wrong in the current day practices

1. If there is no son the wife, should perform the rights, and if no wife the brother; or a Brâhmiṇ's pupil or a proper kinsman should perform them. Well i have never seen any women doing the same :-)

2. A man or a woman who performs the rites for a friend, by this sacrament for the helpless departed, obtains the fruit of tens of millions of sacrifices. However we consider it very inauspicious to do these ceremonies :-)

3. Chapter 15 in this book explains about rebirth i was really astonished with the precession and the way they have explained about birth of a child. It tells everything about menstruation cycle of a women, perfect day to unite with man, food required for a good and healthy child, development of the various organs of the child inside the womb...everything, well well looking at this perfection of science i always end up in confusion how did they ever know these things?

Well to end with it doesn't look like everything is wrong but reading few of the chapters it gives a belief like a hidden science which is unexplored. Everything has a defined number like 10rice balls for the dead, relating the body to the 5 elements, 10-12-15-30 days of final rights,explaining the menustration cycle of women... many of these numbers looks like very mathematical this couldn't be sidelined as fake...but its interesting to understand and know what it means..