The Petition

The Petition

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Rush hour

The huge bus came
rushing by

Standing on the
median of the big road

I was a bit
hesitant

After a flicker of
a second

I saw the bus
running over me...

What a relief, the
road is free

I cross over and
walk towards home.

In Hyderabad...

"Hyderabad nagina - niche mitti, upar chuna"

[Hyderabad - a precious gem, below it is the ground and on top it's lime stone]

- with this line Jahangir - our driver, introduced us to Pearl City. So we went around the historic city with a driver with the royal family tag! He also went on to become my Father-in-law's source of Paan [a concoction of betel nut and leaves] and information.

Hyderabad is one of the oldest cities of India and is the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is also called the twin city...as its merged with Secundrabad...one of its kind. We were told that the city is named after one of its queen's Hyder bano - who was a Hindu and was married to the Nizam family- it was of course a love marriage.

In three days we went all over the city, looking for places to see and food to eat :) The first place we reached was the NTR gardens..it is a wonderland kind of place with blown up figures of bugs, fruits and vegetables. There were a couple of water fountains and the dying day cast a rainbow on one of them.

From there we went to the Lumbini park - a fantastic laser and light show awaited us. It was one hour of mesmerizing visuals on fountain waters that kept us glued to the seats. But somewhere deep in my mind there was a tingling sensation of fear remembering the bomb blasts of last year.

After that great show we went to see the Birla Temple. Its on the highest point of the city and the view from there is breathtaking....unfortunately due to security reasons visitors are not allowed to take cameras along....this one is something you have to see to believe.

By the time we climbed down the steps of the temple, we were getting ready for the famous Hydrabadi biryani [a special flavoured preparation of rice with meat] :P but were too exhausted to go to the famous Paradise [the name truly fits the food available here] and decided instead to try out another outlet Bawarchi [said to be the best by locals]. Well, the try was not too satisfying and kept us longing for Paradise...

After a good night's rest we were ready to face another day under the sun. We headed to The Ramoji Film City - the biggest studio in India. Its another wonderland where snippets of entire India -and a few foreign location- could be seen within a single bus trip! The bus took us through narrow alleys of a Bombay market to reach the Taj Mahal of Agra at the end of the road and then with a turn of the road we reached the Bengali markets of Kolkata!!!

There we also acquired a first hand experience of making a movie. There were three stages of filming - shooting, sound mixing and final premier screening. In a very simplistic way we were shown what goes into the making of any movie. The scene was the famous chase from the film Sholay where Basanti [the leading lady] with her Dhanno [her beloved horse] were chased by Gabbar's gang. The guides there asked one among the visitors to come up and do the role of Basanti while they called two others to create special effects :) Well... special effect was very interesting, the two men were asked to sit on two sides of the cart body where Basanti was seating and they had to shake the cart from side to side giving a feeling that its moving and shaking over rocky terrain! Sound mixing was also interesting - they created all kinds of natural sounds just sitting in the studio! The guides asked a couple of kids to produce the various kinds of sounds and they did a great job. The premier was a big hit :D

Even after half a day of the tour Hubby dear was enthusiastic to try his hand at cricket. So we reached the nets for a shot. I have to accept, he is as good as he claims to be....scored some 60 odd runs in 5 overs! Good going all rounder!

As we returned to the hotel we were taking along a treasure of visuals to cherish for long.

The night was hot, we were tired from the full day's walk and tour. In that state of health we drove to the famous Charminaar. In the growing evening as the lights came up in the monument, it looked awesome. But the surroundings were a crowded market place with people milling all over and there is the famous bangle market of Hyderabad. Being woman that we are, myself and Mom-in-law rushed to one of the shops. We were well warned by Jahangir about the bargaining skills that we needed to hone for buying anything from this market. Rule of thumb was to half the price the salesman quoted, whatever it might be! It felt a bit weired to counter the salesman's 4500 with a 2000, but it really worked!!!! yuppie!!!

Next attraction was Irani chai under the Charminaar...yes the same one made famous by many a Hindi movie songs. Yeah it is as good as its ame is.

Next destination was the Paradise :P finally we were there....yumm its so tasty......mummmmmm and the drive on the Necklace road after that treat was another experience. This road, by the Hussain Sagar, looks like a string of jewels at night...

Day three and we still had to cover a lot of places and very little time at hand :( we headed straight to the Golkonda Fort. The dilapidated fort of the Nizam's stands as a testimonial of the scientific brilliance of ancient India. The hub of the fort lies at the top of a hill - takes 700 plus steps to reach the top - now think how would the king get water up there? Surprise!!! they had a technique to pump water from the ground level ponds up the hill for the king - without using any machine. Broken pipe lines could be seen engraved on the stone walls. The pipes have a few more qualities...they are made of mud and lime stone - mud kept the water cool and the limestone absorbed any poison that the traitors or enemies might have mixed at the source of water. Amazing isn't it?

The fort also had a telegraphic communication system. The architecture was such that from certain points in the fort when you clap your hands the sound is carried to the top of the hill. A specific combination of claps could well convey a message to the king. Apart from this, the architecture didn't allow any conspiracy to survive. Whatever one spoke at the visitors quarters could be heard from the floor above where the sentries stood in alert. Time constraint didn't allow us to explore the hub above the 700 steps and also the diamond mine in the fort....something left for the next visit.

Moving back to the city we headed for the amusing and amazing Sudha Car Museum. This is a store house of unique cars modelled by a person called Sudhakar. There was a car in the shape of bed, one like cup and saucer, one another like a computer and so many! You can check that out any many @ http://www.sudhacars.net/

From the museum we reached the Chamillah Palace. It's one of the newer palaces in Hyderabad and houses a huge collection of the Nizam's life time - clothes, furniture, cutlery, weapons what not.

And at last we reached the Salarjung Museum. Its a very famous and has an enormous collection of things by one man - Salarjung. Of all the things there I had heard of the "Rebbecca". Its a statue carved out of one piece of marble and depicts an Italian lady covered in veil and is drenched. It is very hard to believe that its not real and is just a stone carving. The folds of cloth the silhouette of her face....everything is so real as if I a clap my hands and she would come to life...

With that ended our tour of Hyderabad ... lots remaining to be explored. But how could we leave that place without having tasted the famous sheek kabab and rumali roti? We headed to Kababish [another amazing place to try out food in Hyderabad] to taste just that. yummmmmm again!

Jehangir then dropped us at the railway station...time was up but with a desire to come back we board the train.

Water Water Everywhere....

It was the day before my birthday. I went shopping with hubby and in-laws. As the day closed our eight hands started to pain - no we aren't the types who walk on hand - but the sheer weight of the shopping bags...

We started our long trip back home. Four of us crammed in an auto with our bodies and the bags. There was hardy any more place for anything else.

After numerous red lights and traffic jams the destination was in sight. While 'de-auto-ing' we realized our legs had gone numb. It was difficult to stand and take steps...so we decided to wait a couple of minutes before moving into the building.

Chit chat was on when one lady staying on the ground floor of our building came rushing and asked "Are you staying in F4?" (We hardly know anyone in this building given our office timings!)
On receiving an affirmative reply she said, "you left some water taps running and the water is flowing out!!" I could not create a clear picture of the situation in my mind and just kept walking towards the lift lobby. Just as I stepped into the lobby the whole thing struck hard! Water had reached the ground floor all the way from our fourth floor flat!

"S***!!" was all that came to my mind. I opened the lift door and as I was moving in, water droplets fell on my head....I was terrified of what would have happened inside the flat!

We opened the door and walked into a pool of water...it was everywhere...originated in the kitchen and moved to the hall and then negotiated a small turn and flooded the guest room.

Instinctively four of us started to clean up with whatever we could lay our hands on...we put on the fans in full speed, opened all the windows for free flow of air and were trying to push the water out of our home.

After half an hour of hard work we were able to clear most of the water and waited for the rest to dry off.

Phew!! What a day it turned out to be....it started with a drought - there was no water in the morning and we had to run around to get it (which resulted in the open tap) and in the evening we had to drive it out of our home!

Leap Year!!

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November;

All the rest have thirty-one

Save February, she alone

Hath eight days and a score

Til leap year gives her one day more.

February 29th is a day when some are happy as well as not! you will be saying that whats so special about this...every other day brings with it its share of joy and tear? Well, they are happy because finally their birthday returned and sad because it doesnt every year!

This is a special day for anyone...employers feel good they wont have to pay employees for this one day! Employees feel virtuous having provided voluntary services :)

There is a host of things assosiated with the leap year. Let me add a couple of links here which store some interesting information on leap year. Hope you have a great time reading them.

http://www.leapyearday.com/hr/about.html

http://www.mystro.com/feb29today.htm

Also would like to wish a Happy Birthday to all the leap day babies and specially to our friend KJM who turns 7 today :)

Could not miss out on this opportunity to post on the leap day :D

The Flight

My feelings -
are jotted down,
With flawless ease
on this paper brown
I have given them
the pleasing right -
To rise above
and soar in flight
They keep on flying
in solitude
Where besides me
none else intrude...

Probably all of us as teenagers have tried our hand at poetry...this week I have picked one of my poems from then...sometime in the tenth standard :)
There are a bunch of them....maybe they will at last be read by someone else!

CUBED!

Sitting in the dingy crumpled office room, I would often dream of some posh office. The dream was there even before I landed the job in that not-remotely-posh office. The comforts of a small working unit notwithstanding, the mind’s eye were always looking for ‘beauty’.

Friends contributed a lot to the dream and so did the rightly-so idiot-box. Then there were titanic influences of the Holly-n-Bolly-wood. There was no escape from those spacious reception, state-of-the-art buildings, lavish interiors and to go with that well groomed people, crisp dresses and currency of course! Everything and everyone seemed to pronounce the same verdict – if you are not part of that lot, you have not achieved a thing in life.

“Tong” – a stroke of luck and I found myself receiving an appointment letter from one of those coveted companies housed in one of those state-of-the-art buildings. Life changed. Colleagues in the old office looked up at me with renewed reverence. Well, I was the chosen one for the big leap. I was happy. More dreams were now hovering on the edge.

Day one and I felt lost. So many faces – all new, some tensed, some carefree, some angry, some happy. And I was confused and terrified dwarfed by the hugeness.
After some looking around I found the place – the much dreamt cube - my cube – and I was happy again. At last, a corner to myself. I had lots of plans to make this corner my own. Lot of things needed to be done...

Half month down the line, I was ready with the environment. Sitting snugly in a corner was my pet stuffed monkey – two pictures of the family, a small cactus, one fancy coffee mug, a designer water bottle and a laughing Buddha to take care of my luck in this new world.

The neighbouring cubites were curious about my preparations. Some just looked, some smiled and some talked. Oblivious to all my collection kept growing each day.
With ‘new joinee’ tag now beginning to fade, work pressure slowly started piling up. Every day the log off time seemed to drift away in the night. The long calls, deadlines, performance and anonymity.

Lost appetite, lost food, lost friends, lost time, lost my-self. The two day weekends transformed into extended sleep hours. Irritated, short tempered, depressed – that’s what I became. Somehow the thought of returning to the cubicle everyday was repulsive – but no option – I had chosen it!

It was my dream which turned into a nightmare...I wished to be in a beautiful cube and ended up being cubed!!

Captivating Kodai

Kodaikanal is a small hill station in Tamil Nadu. It is situated at an altitude of about 2,133-m high and covers an area of 21.45-sq-km with a population of around 40,000 whose prime occupation is agriculture and tourism.
We had a chance to visit this lovely place last weekend. Though winter is not a 'season' to visit the town this season has its own charm.
We took a train from Chennai to a small station called Kodai road where we landed in the early hours of Saturday. There was a car to pick us up from there. The journey through the twining roads on the mountain was a beauty. There were patches where we moved through the clouds which seemed trapped in the valley!

Considering we stay in Chennai the drop in temperature was huge for us. Added to it was the fact that when we landed in Kodai - as it is fondly called -it started to rain. We were shuddering and went straight up to our room in the resort and under the blanket!
In the afternoon the rain stopped for some time and we took a chance to go around the town. The narrow roads went up and down like a serpent. We could see the clouds covering the ends of the roads and the top of the mountains! And there were chocolates....and chocolates...everywhere every shop had an offering of homemade delicious chocolates rich with fruits and nuts...yummmm!
Sunday was true to its name and came along with the Sun. It was a bright, sunny, crispy and cold morning. We went out on a full day tour along with others from the resort. There are so many beautiful and breadth taking views of the valley and we kept moving from one to the other. Croaker's walk, Green valley view, pillar rocks, pine forest, lake view, the shanti valley, palani mountain view and a couple of temples and park filled our day, heart and mind. The day ended on the Kodai Lake where we hired a shikara and went for a ride.

Monday morning was equally good and we thought of going for some trekking. We saw a 500 year old tree on the way...still standing strong. The first place we went that day was Pambar Falls. To reach that one needs to go across a wall from the road and then keep going downhill for sometime till you see the wonderful cascading water body. We had to walk across the water rather hop over the boulders and stones. Once on the other side we realised we were in the forest proper!! The realisation was a chilling one. I asked the guide if there were any animals in there. He coolly said that there are mostly bison in the forest which wouldn’t come out during day and there are a few cheetahs. I was glad he told me! Then after a pause the guide went on to reveal that there are lots of pythons but no other poisonous snakes!! I couldn’t thank him enough for the information to which he grinned and said "But you don’t worry madam".
The track continued and after countless hurdles we reached another part of the cascading water body but here it was called the Vettakanal Falls - named after the village it flowed in. Next to that was a cave called the Lion's cave. It seems a couple of years ago a cheetah was staying there with its cubs. Once the cheetah wandered into one of the villages from where the forest officials captured it and sent it to the Vandaloor Zoo in Chennai. However, the cubs were still in the forest.
That was all to see there and we started to backtrack. Once on the road we felt relieved that we returned without meeting either the cheetah or the python :)
The next destination was a place called the Dolphin's nose. That’s one piece of rock hanging from the mountain top and gives a breadth taking view. But the catch was the steep downhill road that needed to be crossed to reach that spot. The road was full of big rocks, small stones, mud patches and tree roots. It was about a kilometre long stretch and took about an hour to reach the point. But we were beaten in the race by the clouds who suddenly appeared from nowhere and settled in the mountains. Yet the place was beautiful and scary. There was also an Echo point nearby. We tried some names but probably the clouds ate up our words :)
When we started to comeback we realised that the going downhill was the easiest thing we did that morning! It took a lot of time and lot of pauses before we reached our car.
That evening was our train to Chennai and we bid good bye to captivating Kodai.

Taare Zameen Par

Ishaan and Nikumbh Sir make an awesome pair. We know the Guru since a long time and its a habit to see the characters played by him come alive. The student did his part well and for a long time he will be remembered as Ishaan rather than Darsheel - his real name.

There was not a moment in the movie where we couldn't relate to the characters or the situations. Some we have gone through ourselves and others we have seen around us.

The reactions of the child to his situation and the people around him touches our heart. Some are funny, some strange while some others outrageous....but isn't that how we would react in a similar situation?

There are quite a few moments to carry back home. Like the one in song "Maa", the scene where Nikumbh admonishes Ishaan's parents, when Ishaan turns to see Nikumbh's painting, Ishaan's reaction after receiving the prize, the closing scene, of course the flip book and the entire gamot of emotions it evokes. All of these and many more beautiful moments created by the debutant director Aamir Khan which will last in our memories for a long time.

Its a simple story with a strong message and is a wonderful narrative. The music and the lyrics add to the story and touches a chord in every heart.

I would like to Congratulate Aamir, Amol Gupte, Deepa Bhatia, Prasoon Joshi, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the entire team for giving to us such a soulful creation.

I just have one observation, in a class of forty the teacher wouldn't be calling each one by their full name at least not all the teachers of all the schools!

Dear Readers, this one is a MUST WATCH and that too a couple of times at least!!

After watching the movie last Monday night myself and hubby have just been talking about this one :)

This post is an entry to the Reel-Life Bloggers contest organized by wogma.com andreviewgang.com

Sleeper in the Bus

Last Wednesday night I boarded the bus to Bangalore.

You may ask, what’s so special in that? Why are you telling this to us?
Well here is the twist! This was no ordinary bus. This is some vehicle I had been wanting to travel in, for quite a few months now. Let me start the story from the beginning...
Couple of months back my uncle had come to visit Chennai among other places in the south of India. They were to travel to Bangalore from here. They chose to travel by bus – the sleeper bus! This was the first time I heard of the concept. I, however, could not visualise how it would be in reality. So had to wait till the day when they would board the bus.
“WOW”... that’s what I said after peeking into the bus. It was a very tempting thing. A never before idea! Immediately I wanted to travel in one of those and started pestering my hubby to plan a trip to Bangalore :)
And finally, last Wednesday it was the moment! We were travelling to Bangalore – and in a SLEEPER BUS :) I stepped in with a big grin pasted on my face.
These buses have two tiers of bed arranged as 2-1. We had the first two-seater on the upper bunk. Climbing up was a bit of adventure given my no-gym structure. But it was worth the effort. There were pillows tucked under the cover and also a soft warm blanket. The AC above could be adjusted to suit our needs and also there was a curtain to shut out the rest of the bus.
It was such a different feeling. Lying under the blanket I could see the whole city pass by. The same roads which I traversed hundred times a day for various work just moved by. I could see the lower portions of the flyover which otherwise go unnoticed; the top of the skyscrapers; the street lights; the billboards; the sky... It was like looking at the world from a different angle. Unfortunately it was very late in the night and not many vehicle or people were on the road. I’m sure that would also look different when seen from under.
The excitement kept me awake till there was nothing else to see outside other than the darkness....

Mera Bharat Mahan

With so much colour and customs all over, India comes across as an interesting place. I have had the opportunity to travel to a couple of corners of the county and observe the cultural nuances of the Hindus. Let me share some of them here.
Respect
In the east (Bengal) to show respect and to ask for blessings one touches the feet of elders, every time. In the north (Punjab/Delhi) and in the south (Tamil Nadu) this seems optional. I have seen people in the north just bend a bit and mostly with the left hand try and touch the knee :)
Religious tradition
It is a custom to cover the head when going to a temple in both east and north. However covering ones head is considered bad and against the religion in the south.
Marriage
In the east the groom gets to wear the ‘topor’ which is a type of hat and the bride has her head covered and a tiara like ‘mukut’ at the time of marriage – however the face remains visible. In the north the groom’s face is covered by a ‘sehra’ – string of flowers and a ‘pagadi’ turban on the head. The bride has her head and face covered with the ‘chunri’ – a decorated piece of clothing. Unlike these, in south both the bride and the groom are not required to cover their head or face.
Food
This is the most interesting section :)
East and south live on rice while north prefers chapati/roti. Then again in south I have seen people struggle with dry tomato rice or lemon rice with a dry side-dish an effort similar to the north or east where the chapati is eaten with dry side dish. Food at any marriage or similar function in south and part of north is essentially vegetarian while the east feasts on non-vegetarian food.

Ouch!

Last Friday I found myself on the dentist’s chair after a long time. Though I had been on that chair for more than a dozen times in life earlier, I was scared. This time it wasn’t just picking up a tooth or blocking up a cavity but an Operation.

The room felt colder than outside. I asked the nurse to increase the room temperature but that didn’t give rise to the temperature inside me.

I was scared and was waiting for my husband to be there besides me. The doc probably sensed that and told its okay to wait for him. But as always I had to show that I was “brave” and so I asked the doc to go on.

As the anaesthetic injection started its activity in my mouth my husband walked in. I was relieved, relax and ready.

Oh these dentists talk so much! But in a way that helps...he told me for the umpteenth time that there would be no pain just some pressure and that everything would be all right....and he started tugging and pulling...huff and puff.... and then with a child like happiness the doc said to my husband “She didn’t know it”....and I knew that the bloody tooth was out. He stitched up my gum and I was ready to be released.

Now I sat there wondering what’s stored next...reassured that nothing much is going to happen I was back home.

Food became an object of reverence. Though I was hungry I couldn’t eat much.

As I woke up next morning I found my face had doubled on the right side! Oh my my! ...how odd it looked and how bad was the pain.

Everyone around me (though were aware of the pain) couldn’t suppress a chuckle at the sight. Some even said I look like some cartoon character – though couldn’t specify which one!

It’s the third day today but am yet to be 100% cured...hoping all’s well soon and I am back to being myself.

Eternal Truth

Couple of days back a sudden violent realisation came upon me. The Eternal Truth "this is just one life"! One continuous process where one grows older and moves thorough the different stages of life. Though the roles change with the changing circumstances but essentially the character remains the same. Like those never ending Balaji production's daily soaps!
When I spoke of this to my husband and friends they said "Yeh, that’s already known to us. What took you so long to understand?"
That set me thinking, why was I amazed by this thought NOW? This is what has been happening ever since I was born. This is what has been told to me a zillion times "study well if you want to do something in life, this is just one time you got". But then all those statements made their mark only now. Now, when half the time is already wasted, now when life is transformed into a boring rigmarole - home to office to home? Why now?
Probably that’s the key, my life. The way it’s shaping up or rather not :) the things that I wanted to do but never got around to do; the things I wanted to accomplish but never had the courage.
Or perhaps it’s the deep influence of our movies, where each actor plays a different character and goes through its full life story a different one each time. Being the kind of dreamer that I am I conjured that there will be a different character to be played after this one is over...may be.
Whatever it is, just as the saying goes its better late than never! This realisation made me think about life and what can be done now to make it worthwhile. The first in the direction is to let the world know what goes on in my mind :) and this is the place I have chosen.