Early morning Visitor

Early today morning when I woke up and had a look outside my partially closed window, i was surprised to find a cherubic little birdy on my window, specifically speaking it was one of the love bird pairs. Sadly he/she was alone.

Anyone who has read Paul Coelho's Alchemist might be tempted to say that this was an omen of things to come. May be the entrance of a loved one in my life, or may be as the loneliness of the single bird - it might be the exit.
But as my blog title says, I prefer to look at the Silver Lining ;)

Omen or no omen... it was the birdy was a welcome sight to our neighborhood. Also it reminded me of my childhood friend Sunny's mini bird sanctuary at his home :) ...Who still has the same bondage to birds even today.

Thats the end to this post, ciao.

Kerala - God's Own Country

Am back after a small hiatus, blogging about my NOT so recent trip to God's Own Country - Kerala.
Why does KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) brand it as "God's Own Country" ; well the probable answer might be that, whichever place you visit in Kerala, has a unique history attached to one of its temples. This particular observation came to me through this visit, which my dad proudly claims as a tourism cum pilgrimage trip, given the fact that the number of trips to temples far outnumbered the number of different places we visited. But frankly speaking the temples of Kerala do have a really sanctimonious air around them. Even a atheist might be drawn to the pure sanctity of the places of worship. Though some of these temples have been highly commercialised, others still seem to have the mystic air surrounding them.

The second possibility for the nomenclature, a much more widely accepted one would be to say that the state is so beautiful that it definitely is home to God. Zaroor bade fursat se Kerala ko banaya hoga. Whatever be the reason, it is unerringly called so. For proof of the same, do visit my album (the link is given on the right side)
Our journey started from Perumpavoor, home to my paternal uncle. The team this time consisted of my dad, my mom and me :) . Our choice of travel mode , a Tata Indica, with Manu at the helm.Theres another thing about Kerala that has always baffled me. My body clock automatically advances an hour. The days spent there seem unusually untiring. So it is pretty much feasible to start a journey as soon as 6 in the morning, that amounts to waking up at 5.

The three day trip planned to take us to Kanyakumari (India's southernmost tip), Trivandrum (Kerala's capital), and Kumarakom (Famous backwaters).

En route Kanyakumari we were scheduled to visit a few temples (Kidangoor, and Ettamanoor)
After our scheduled pitstops at these locations we set forth on a long journey of approximately 270kms. The drive through the serpentine roadways of Kerala, kept introducing unending stretches of exotic locales. The most prominent among them being the backwaters at Allapuzha. The road trip alone proved to be much more exciting than anything else. Picturesque scenery, a good camera, lots of enthusiasm and a good photographer make the perfect recipe for a great album and it was. 3 days and 500 shots later, I realised what a trip this was.

We got to Kanyakumari at the perfect time for sunset. But the clouds played spoilsport and we were unable to see the sunset. Nonetheless the atmosphere was pretty close to perfect, the warm wafts of air feeling your skin, the waves lashing on the rocks, and the smell of the sea gratified the senses. Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Temple of Goddess Kumari.

We retired to a fundoo seafacing room, all set to wake up the next morning and hopefully witness an unmarred sun rise.

The next morning I woke up, completely enthused for watching the sun rise. Armed with a cup of coffee and my Canon S3 IS camera, I was waiting to capture the shades of orange emanating from the horizon. The colors changed from, dark blue to pink and then to orange. As the industrious fishermen cast their nets for the day, the streaks of golden sunlight broke the surface of the Indian ocean. The sun in its entirety rising out of the water, the scene couldnt be more scenic. What a beginning to the day it was!!!!

Having performed all the daily chores, we were all set to visit the Vivekananda Rock and the gigantic Thiruvalluvar (great Tamil poet) statue out in the sea. We climbed aboard a ferry which took us to both of them and back. Nothing specific to mention about either of these, except that both of them are a historians delight.

Next we proceeded towards Trivandrum, with some pitstops scheduled at local temples and a worthy place of visit 30kms from Kanyakumari - the Padmanabhapuram Palace. Unassuming as it may seem at the first look, this palace captured my interest the moment I entered it. The highly ornate wooden carvings, works of art and antiques were the things that added to the grandeur of the palace. Most of the interiors were made of wood, adroitly carved to please the king.

The next stop was Trivandrum, where we were scheduled to halt for the night. The capital has nothing much to be spoken about, except for the traffic woes, and of course Padmanabha Swamy temple. This is one of the temples which still is under the rule of a local king. Most of the temples in Kerala are otherwise managed by the temple Trusts. The temple is home to Lord Vishnu in the Ananthasayanam (sleeping) posture.

Waking up the next morning we headed for the backwater land - Kumarakom. One of the most beautiful places (refer to album) Kumarakom was a treat to our eyes. a 2 hour boat ride took us through the backwaters, bird sanctuary (sans the birds) and Pathiramanal - an island in between the backwaters. The recommended best time to visit is November to March. Though I would have loved to stay over in a house boats that night, but our strict schedule didnt allow us the luxury. The luxurious house boats are available from 3k to more than 20k per night. It has all the amenities one can think of. From a personal chef, to a plasma TV, you name it and you have it :)

And since its 00:00hrs now, its time to bed but before that just the all important climax ;)

After the boat ride we were again home bound, back to Perumpavoor, with lots of memories and a strong desire to go places :D. A lot of Kerala is still left unexplored, hope to cover more in the time to come. Will have to do with the memories till then :)

Toys go Hi Tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czHKEXwHOoI

Get a cool programmable robot for $996 . Is it cool or uncool?






A next gen artificial life form!!









One of the best humanoids on the planet!!!



















A robot friend? Can talk, sense, think (only a bit) on its
own!!! All for 383$

Gone are the days of GI Joe and He-Man figures. Enter the realm of robot toys.
These are not just TOYs. They are companions, teachers and entertainers.

How would like a dinosaur as a companion ?The Ugobe's Pleo for example, they brand it not as a toy or a robot, but as an artificial life form. Even the OS which runs inside it is called the LifeOS. It needs food, it needs sleep and it needs caring. It learns as it grows (not in size). It expresses happiness when it is pet, it shows indifference when ignored, looks tired when hungry and above all doesnt dirty the house like a biological pet :P

Consider the Robonova how do you teach it different moves?? Just connect it to your PC, run the support software and start twisting and turning its limbs (not so much that they come off, remember it costs 999$) . All the actions are recorded and fed back to its controller and voila it repeats everything verbatim... Use it to teach, mechanics , control systems and biology as well!!

What is it that is so special about these toys?
Is it because they are mobile , is it their resemblance to human form or is it something else?
What I vote for is the interactive experience that is shared between the child and the product. These so called "Toys" aim to develop an affinity to technology. They plan to Excite, Educate and Entertain.

And obviously who doesnt like to be in control. Be it a RC car or your life, everyone loves to be in control. Imagine imparting, life or intelligence to an otherwise stationary thing. The chance to create something always opens up your think tank.

Do these seem expensive ?? Would you trust a kid to use these?? Not waiting for an answer here... theres another consumer that the companies are looking at. It is the techie hobbyist, a techie father or the geek who finds it egotistically fulfilling to CONTROL something.

A look abroad and you'll see the kind of potential this market holds. The average age of a robot hobbyist or a roboteer in Japan is in the mid thirties. No wonder Japanese markets are flooded with robot toys. Robots have always been a crux of Japanese Innovation, primarily driven by the low workforce present in Japan.

Whether it would be a hit in India or not is a question that remains to be answered, but for now I would be more than happy if someone gifts me one of these ;)

River Rafting at Kundalika (20th Aug '07)

Wonder why the same starting comes to my mind while writing... this time too the trip was finalised after a number of retakes, may be its just bad luck or may be its His way of teaching us "try n try till u succeed". Whatever it be the outcome was nothing less than perrrrfect.

With the reporting time being 0745 and the place being 140kms from Mumbai, the day started pretty early. The team for this trip - Aniruddha, Mohit, Pathak, Ninad, Bhupi, Varun, Vijay, Nikhil and me.

Our trip organizer Varun Jain had arranged for a cosy Toyata qualis as our transportation. We were off by 0500 hours. Mission Kundalika had just begun. For people wondering what Kundalika is -
its a river ;) . The water released by the Mulshi and Bhira dams built across Kundalika , have sufficient force and punch to generate upto Grade 3 rapids.

The journey took exactly 2.5 hrs and we reached on time for reporting. 7kms from the Sutarwadi office of the adventure camp organisers we reached the starting point.

Once at the starting point we were all pumped up and ready to go, but we had to wait for the water two be released from the dam. The first of the three sirens from the control office brought relief to our anxious souls. Our instructor/guide started off by explaining the basics of rafting, safety procedures and the gear.

Second siren found us getting padded up and pushing the raft into the river. Though we looked like a bunch of hockey players cum jokers the safety gear was and is a quintessential for rafting.

Getting into the raft we paddled our way through the rocks to the main stream rafting point.

The Journey:
The 14km run down the river was marked with sections with names like Morning Headache, John Carrey, Double F$%(*@# etc each having its own peculiarity. The morning headache proved to be a nice wake up call to all of us who expected a pleasant start. Bumping over it with reached a couple of consecutive (thats why the name "double #$(*@#" ) wet points. One was a down fall while the other one was a uplift. The experience was nothing less than a ride on a roller coaster, albeit a wet and a natural one. The water splashing on your face, the energy put into steering the raft, and the thrilling scheme of things to come really gets your adrenaline pumping.
The rapids really got us working hard on the paddles and finally taking us out. After the rapids ended we were in for a surprise when our guide informed us that we could swim in the river if we wanted to.
Not to pass on such an opportunity all of us lukkhas jumped in...and oh man...that was it...from swimming pool to a river the difference wasn't much (thanks to the life jackets), but the chance to get a taste of nature was exhilarating.
We were swimming in maximally clothed conditions for the first time, right from t-shirts to shoes.

Getting into the raft we paddled and reached the end our run. Now there was one task remaining - getting the raft up a small incline till the transport vehicle. And this proved to be the toughest of them all :D .
Exhausted, we climbed a bit more and got a rick to the Sutarwadi office where our qualis was waiting.
And the end seems familiar again, we dug into a meal of vada pav and bhajiyas with garam masala chai. All is well, that ends well :)

Whatever be the reasons for signing up on a adventure trip - bored from work pressure, to explore nature, spending time with loved ones etc, at the end of the day you feel satiated, you feel victorious, you get a break and a chance to start the next day afresh.
It takes only little to reclaim your life........

Look for more photos in my album on the right side

Mahuli Trek (15 Aug '07)

After n number of discussions, canceled plans, reschedulings etc we finally decided the day and venue for the trek. 15th Aug, freedom not only from britishers, but also from mundane activities of a typical office going guy, and the venue chosen Mahuli fort.
The group consisted of 8 people -
Vijay, Swati, Michelle, Priyanka, Naveen, Tarun, Shirish and me.

After rendezvousing at Thane station, a slow local to Kasara got us to the first step of our destination - Asangaon station. A typical rainy day in Mumbai, the day was freckled with rain showers and sunny moments.

Coming out of the station the question whether to take a rickshaw till Mahuli or walk the distance loomed over us. Thinking of the answer wasted enough time, such that all available rickshaws got depleted one by one.
Finally the distance (10kms to base of the hill) and the time required to reach there made us hire a rickshaw. A hefty fare of around Rs.100 got us to the base of the hill.

The scene which flashed in front of us when we got out of the rick left us city slickers awe struck

Feeling closer to nature than ever before we decided to start our trek.
At the base there is a temple of Lord Shiva. A map in the temple showed the directions to the top of the fort. The temple doubles up as an emergency shelter as well for tired trekkers.

Armed with the map and a will to conquer we started off.

Treading over a path formed by trekkers and villagers, we soon reached a stream. The map wanted us to follow the stream directed us to follow the stream. A quick confirmation from a villager, and we set off walking through the stream. After lots of initial slippings ( the rainy season really had us here) we started gaining pace.

After some time we reached a clearing branching to two paths, one going downwards and the other upwards. The map couldn't seem to help us here. Not the ones to start moving down Vijay and me suggested the path leading up. Heated discussions, and arguments later ;) we managed to move up :D . Some minutes later all we could see were two cows grazing and lots of cow dung (why the hell did the cows climb on the hill for a meal?? Surely they would have seen the grass at the ground level). Exchanging remarks, sarcasms and we retraced our steps and started moving towards the path leading downwards, from where we positively heard sounds of inhabitation.

Moving further we reached a beautiful waterfall. We had just reached it when again the slippery rocks did us in. One our trekkers slipped and suffered a toe nail breakage. (Tip: Never wear floaters for a Trek. Shoes protect your feet.) Vijay who aspired to be a doctor once, took charge and attended to the patient. Once settled, we enjoyed the waterfall and had lunch.

The unfortunate turn of events called for a change of plans. After doing some desi dressing on the toe, we started our journey back to base.

The journey back was uneventful. Back to the base we called for a rickshaw again, yes the rickshaw guy Pramod was smart enough to hand over his cell no. to us for a return journey.

Back in Asangaon we crossed over and had a sumptuous snack of the omnipresent vada pav and chai.

The journey back always is a drab, and this one wasn't too different either.
Reaching home, my office guy alter ego took over and life was back to normal.

" Darn those mosquitoes:
Tip : Use a mosquito repellent cream on your body before proceeding for a trek.
Yes the mosquitoes we quite a pain in the a$$ throughout the trek. "

Look for more photos in my album on the right side