| Have you had a Shek? |
[May. 12th, 2008|11:29 pm] |
How conveniently placed this Devnarayan Badam Shek Ice Cream Center (note American spelling) is...
It's right in front of the Dheeksha Healthcare Centre, which presumably, will be required as the Shek makes its way down the consumer's system.....
And in case you thought a Shek was a big fat-nosed genial anti hero of a recent animated hit movie, you have your spelings orl rong.... |
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| Swimming...Citizen Matters.... |
[May. 9th, 2008|06:40 pm] |
I was happy that Citizen Matters wanted one of my, er, humorous articles, and I wrote one on how my friends and I learnt to swim....
Here it is
OK, off to the pool now...! |
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| Great inter-racial photograph |
[May. 9th, 2008|08:48 am] |
The photographs on India Nature Watch are a source of wonder, solace, interest, information-- and sometimes amusement.
Here's a "black and white" photograph with a witty caption...
http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=47550
What I like is the fact that someone had this thought when he took the photograph!
Off to Bannerghatta, where the next batch of the JLRNTP-1 is starting today...I do like meeting people who take the course (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mohanvee is going to be one of them) and I hope to get in a little birding, too.
Meanwhile, here's one small flower from the raceme of the Queen's Flower:
The scientific name for the tree is LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA....to me, that takes all the beauty and wonder and fun out of that tree...I know that scientific names are necessary, but...I would love to admire a Queen's Flower, but I don't think a LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA would enthuse me too much. So a rose by another name might NOT smell as sweet!
Here's more info about the tree . You would think they would put up a colour photograph (or a colour painting) of such a beautiful flower, wouldn't you? Oh no, they put in a black-and-white sketch, which brings me back to the black-and-white photograph above.... |
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| Donkey Welfare Concern by Karnataka Politician |
[May. 3rd, 2008|09:32 am] |
I put it into one of my replies to a comment on my spinach post, but it is tooooo good not to make a separate post about...
he loves donkeys
Vatal Nagaraj once decided to emulate the "rasta roko" which others had done, and decided to do an "aircraft roko" at the airport.
No, the effort was not successful, if you are asking! |
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| I T Companies are diversifying... |
[May. 2nd, 2008|01:46 am] |
I suddenly caught sight of this and had to whip out my MLC as the bus passed the sign at speed; so the pic is very shaky and blurred....
This is for mmk, yathin, sunson and knutties... and others whom I may not know!
What next? Yahoo! Ice cream? lingerie? detergent? |
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| Off to Bandipur, tiger, tiger, can you burn a little brighter? |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|08:07 pm] |
Here's my favourite shot from Bandipur ....
Bandipur has always been one of my favourite areas...and what once used to be "Prakruthi" restaurant has now morphed into the Bandipur property of JLR . Almost every room there has a beautifully painted wildlife mural .
Well, since I can do a bit of "swalpa adjust maadi" with itsalouwelylife and her UK friend, I am executing a sneak to Bandipur tomorrow.
Alas, this time I am not going just to see what I can see. Usually, that's what I do. And I come back happy with whatever I saw, but never a glimpse of any stripes.....Then, I was told by someone, when I said that I had never seen a tiger in south India: "You lack focus. You are too happy and contented with what you see, so you will never see a tiger."
OK, this time, focus, focus, focus. Ever since ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) chirdeepshetty went to take up a 2-month voluntary assignment as a naturalist there, he has apparently seen nothing but tigers. They are crawling out of the woodwork....he posted to the JLRNTP egroup about sighting 5 of them recently. And whoever has gone there from the NTP this past week....Praveen, Avinash, Amogh...have been also been doing nothing else.
So having once cancelled my train ticket for today, I went back and bought a bus ticket for tomorrow, and I am FOCUSSSSSSING as I go off. Wish me luck everyone. I have a great fear that these other tiger-sighting characters are swifty exhausting the April 2008 Tiger-Sighting Quota before I arrive there, and will do the usual "The tiger was sighted HERE yesterday" or "Look! Tiger Scat!" (That's a polite and technical way of referring to tiger shit tiger waste-products.) I even had one naturalist who enthused, "OH! It's FRESH and STEAMING!!!" as if it was a fragrant breakfast dish of idlies that he had found.
I don't want tiger claw marks, I don't want pug marks. I don't want to listen to other people's tiger-sighting stories. I WANT MY OWN TIGER SIGHTING IN SOUTH INDIA. This means YOU, you tiger hiding in the forests of Bandipur. Come on out you coquette, I want to see if you actually do exist, or are a piece of these other people's fevered imaginations....
Want to see some of my Bandipur posts?
click on this
adarshraju told me he hopes I will sight one. That was nice of him.
He also told Anush not to go with me as anyone with me would never see a tiger. That is NOT nice of him. I am deciding whether to smile at him or growl at him the next time I see him....
I do love Bandipur, tiger or no tiger. But I would prefer tiger to no tiger... Sigh. |
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| The heat |
[Apr. 23rd, 2008|09:16 am] |
I know people who are "larks" and "owls"...in a similar fashion, I know people who are "warm weather" and "cool weather" persons.
I, for example, am a CWP...Cool (actually, COLD!) Weather Person. Heat saps my energy and makes me very slothful. I can barely drag myself into the pool in the evening for the only exercise that is possible during hot weather.... Cold weather brings me alive; I can be outdoors all day long, wear extra clothes and walk or cycle all over, and am very happy, because all the extra exercise means I can eat a lot, too! I detest having my clothes stick to me with perspiration, and my hair is a damp mess....
But I know people who are equally avid WWP's. The cold or rainy weather, they say, makes THEM slothful. (KM for example says that cold weather fogs up his brain. The riposte to this is so obvious that I won't make it here.) They are comfortable only in warm weather, and many of them express the view that "sweating it out" literally means eliminating a lot of waste from the body. I don't, obviously, subscribe to this view; I think the body eliminates toxins in one way or another, no matter what the weather. To me, eliminating water through the kidneys is far more acceptable than perspiration, which makes me both wilt and stink....
In fact, much of the city-vs-city controversy here (Bangalore v. Chennai, Bangalore v. Mumbai, etc) seems to be about WWP and CWP's....in Bangalore, the cribbing starts when the temperature goes beyond 32 deg C, our short summers spoil us for the kind of heat that is seen in North India or the coastal areas, where 40 deg C plus is almost routine, when Bangalore is cool and green with the monsoons in July and August...
So..are you a HWP or a CWP? Answer in detail, using only one side of the paper, and state the reasons why. (If you use the other side of the paper, you are saving paper and hence trees, but you are using up the pencil and hence trees. You can't win.) |
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| Magzinces and Scrapes... |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|10:20 am] |
Our streets are never M T of humour; signs such as this abound:
And of course, if you get into a scrape, this is the place to bring it to!
India has been really excellent at recycling;it's only now that we are getting into the use-and-throw culture and not being thrifty and wise.
English...has a funny status in our country. Not ours, yet ours; hated as a symbol of oppression by aliens, and yet a great link language, and a gift that has allowed us to make a mark in the world.... |
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| The things that bother people.... |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|06:52 am] |
This one's definitely for my friends abroad.
Here, for any sociologist, are the issues, in one neat collection, that trouble our society in an urban Indian background:
It is worthy of note that first "marriage" appears, and it is soon followed by "husband-wife problems"...but those are different from "court" and "enemy"...!
And for those who cannot read Kannada, that's "Sairam Jyotishya Mandira". |
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| WHAT delay? |
[Apr. 10th, 2008|04:09 pm] |
premkudva's post says, "the news of the delayed commercial launch of the Airbus A380, which resulted in cancellations"
They should stop going to Tolouse (to louse?), France, and come to good old Bengaluru....NO delays, we are making frequent commercial trips...
Send the airlines along here, Prem! |
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| Children's Adventure Camp |
[Apr. 9th, 2008|04:35 pm] |
I received an ad asking for children to be sent to a Nature Camp. Here are some excerpts:
They start off by asking, "When your kids did went out without you!"
Let me work that out and answer them.
Accomodation provided, they say, is, "separate accomodation-- for boys and girls in a dormitory"
Now if there are going to be boys AND girls in a dormitory, THAT'S going to be a great incentive for our Victorian parents...
About food, they say: "simple hygienic sumptuous veg food provided (all meals like b/fast; lunch; dinner; tea and snacks from the day 1 lunch to Day 4 dinner) All food are served hygienically and sumptuously, calculating the calories and the high proteins required for this activities."
What's simple sumptuous food?
"Served with family style"
Er...?
About the place:
"Kemmenagundi is a hill station.....it is in a Jaguar valley, rises at the height of 5,300ft ht. It is also known as Krishna Rajendra Hill station. Entire place is maintained by Department of Horticulture and they grow orchids…"
It is in a Jaguar valley? If it rises at a height of 5,300ft height, where does it set? And wow, they grow orchids!!
"Welcome the spirit of adventure!"
Oh, that's good.
But then...
"When was the last time you did for the first time? "
This flummoxed me completely. ??????
And they go on...
"Why we?"
I don't know boss, I have to find out.
Then....
"No roads, no paths, no luxuries but still you can enjoy adventure without comprising of your luxuries only with XXXX organization. Be a part of city's #1 active adventure travel company. All our camps are 100% safe and eco-friendly camps, Quality camps, Quality instructors, Quality experiences… Bring forth your actions, be a child with us, show your strengths, perseverance, confidence and adrenalin push… by adapting leave no trace ethics of your alpine style adventure camp."
Can anyone explain those last two lines, especially. Do I really want to show my adrenalin push or have no trace ethics of an alpine style adventure?
"Since a decade, XXXX is been a leader in this industry by organizing more than 800 camps with 100% safety records and mastered disaster management"
Oh...how many disasters DID they manage?
"Our camps are eco-friendly starting from your decision making to experiences. We appreciate your support of using IT into the process."
??????
"With our past experiences we master our curriculum to train all ages from 6 to 70yrs with whatever shape, size or professional background they may be. All our activities are soft skilled adventure programs designed with the topographic features."
I *am* glad they will take the child, no matter if the child's age is 6 or 70!... and no matter what shape or size!
About safety:
"Safety is the first fundamental of us. We never experiment for first time. Our entire program itinerary is mastered with past camps. All our instructors are trained and have back of their hand knowledge on the destinations"
If they never experiment for the first time..how do they get their mastery with past camps (and that disaster management experience)? And somehow, "back of their hand" knowledge doesn't inspire me with great confidence....unless they are playing tennis.
Then they go on to ask:
"Is XXXX is recognized?"
Is it is? I don't know.
So they answer:
"It is the only organization has more accreditations from"
and a list follows, which, weirdly, includes
"WANGO- World association for Non Government Organisation, USA"
Huh?
Then they say,
"Includes:
1. Food (4 cycle meals) What are cycle meals?
2. Instructor charges.
3. Forest entry fees.
4. Camping gears. (four forward and one reverse? For the cycle meals?)
5. Equipments.
6. Comfortabel chartered non a/c coach." (That's the one in which the son of Adam travelled. Comfortabel.)
Thank you, but I don't think I would entrust a child to this adventure camp...s/he might come back safe and sound, but speaking a language that I could not understand...if a child came back and asked me, "When was the last time you did for the first time? " I would NOT be able to answer, you see.
PS. I made KM read this entire post (he never reads blogs) and he says he didn't find anything funny in it. Now THAT'S funny. |
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| Ever wonder... |
[Apr. 5th, 2008|11:29 pm] |
Want to know what a girl auto looks like? I saw one in Devarayanadurga today, at the Yoganarasimha temple:
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/04/05/ever-wondered/
Can't describe the glee I feel when I see such things, and I know that I have my MLC (Mary's Lamb Camera) to capture them with. |
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| Sometimes they miss the smile.... |
[Mar. 24th, 2008|11:26 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | butterflies, humour | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | annapoorNEy vishAlAkshi...shyAmA DK Jayaraman | ] |
When people are very immersed in their subject, sometimes the humour of it escapes them. Here's an email I got on a mailing list that I belong to:
Dear xxx
Thanks
The cat was spotted on a garden plant of Mussanda at the
rest house in Miao,Arunachal Pradesh
The "cat" in question is actually a caterpillar...but the mention of a cat from a place called Miao set me laughing when the mail was quite a serious one! :)))
I never knew that there WAS a place called Miao...I can just imagine myself going to the travel agent, and him saying, "Where do you want to go?" and I reply "Miao", and he says, "When you finish your animal impersonations, will you tell me where you want to go?".... |
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| Poetry On A Truck |
[Mar. 16th, 2008|01:09 am] |
There ARE some advantages to being caught in inch-by-inch traffic. You wouldn't think so, would you? Well, here's one:
You can look at the vehicles surrounding you with great attention, because they are moving along with you for long stretches of time.
Today we went on a trip to Tumkur , a town that's about 2 hours' drive from Bangalore.
I could not get photographs of: 1. A lorry which said, All India Fright Transporters.
and 2. Another which said, MGR is God.
But..I did get the message on the back of this lorry:
jAnEy wAlEy, thErA khudA hAfiz
That means, Passerby, may God keep you safe.
And then I noticed something scribbled on the left-hand side of that message, and when we were close enough, I took this snap:
Here's what the lines say, in Hindi:
ham chalthEy hain, chamchEy jalthEy hain
yeh gAdee naheen mohabbath kA phool hai
kaun kehtA ki Dilli Bangalore sEy dhoor hai
A rough translation:
We go on, the sycophants burn with envy
This is not a vehicle, but a flower of love
Who says that Delhi is far from Bangalore?
and
kabhee Athee hai, kabhee jAthee hai
thadapthA cchOd jAthee hai
lagAkar Ag seenEy mein
bujhAnA bhool jAthee hai
which means, roughly...
Sometimes she comes, sometimes she goes,
She leaves me twitching with agony
After setting a fire in my heart
She forgets to put it out
The spelling is not the best, nor the calligraphy...but the lines are so elegant....! |
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| Got my ertia... |
[Mar. 14th, 2008|10:44 pm] |
Immediately I made my last post, I went and got my swimsuit and OFFIWENT. And frankly, when I stepped into the pre-swim shower, AND when I stepped into the pool, I regretted it. I think my eerie water-is-too-COLD cry could be heard in all the flats in my apartment building and mothers are still probably comforting their trembling toddlers. There was a fair wind blowing today, too, and it was cooler than it usually is at this time of year...... and it felt, for the first 5 or 6 laps, as if someone had filled up the pool with the contents of their just-melted ice trays. Well, I didn't actually see polar bears or the march of the penguins, but you get the...drift?
But I stuck to it, did my usual 30 laps (it's a little pool...call it a poolette, or a pooling) that's about...perhaps those 30 laps are equal to 15 full-size pool laps, maybe 20...wish it's the latter! Must find out the dimensions of our poolette...) and felt cold...in fact, for a little while, I had a complexion of a delicate and intriguing shade of blue... but was warmed by the feeling that YES... I did it! (as Higgins says in My Fair Lady).
I do love the great fresh feeling swimming gives, and also the fact that I keep my dinner all ready on the table, and come back and tuck in guiltlessly!
Thank you for the nudge, inspirethoughts!
Go to Google Earth. Go to Bangalore. Go to Casa Ansal Apartments...and that little dot going up and down, up and down, up and down....is ME!! :))))
Tra-la, off to Lalbagh tomorrow morning... |
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| Quite a Puzzle |
[Mar. 13th, 2008|11:45 am] |
This car owner created more of a puzzle than he knew....
This one's for jace whose astute spotting/posting of great stuff like this, often has me smiling through the day. |
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| I am sick of acronyms and initials.... |
[Mar. 8th, 2008|04:30 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | humour, initials | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy still | ] |
| [ | music |
| | IANLTA ...I Am Not Listening To Anything | ] |
I find it very difficult to deal with initials. Those letters that, to everyone else, seem to denote something meaningful, but to me, remain just that....having just seen pictures on INW (India Nature Watch) of the CSE (Crested Serpent Eagle) and posted from LRK (goodness knows what or where that is)... (update, that's the Little Rann of Kutch, in Gujarat, apparently!) I feel that initials are just things invented so that the user can appear more knowledgeable and jargon-enabled than the non-initials person. Even when I can work out part of it, I can't work out the whole. I used to keep reading aout SGNP and realized that the NP was probably National Park, but it took me a long while to work out that SG was Sanjay Gandhi. (FG and IG had RG and SG, you know, and RG married SG and they had PG and RG,who are trying their hand at extending the dynasty . SG married MG but IG threw her out after SG died, and VG is not in the polictical picture yet.)
And even when I *know* what the initials stand for, sometimes the initials and acronyms suggest hilarious things to my mind. AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, if you can pronounce that) makes me say, "Ayya, DMK!"... a kind of excited exclamation. COMED-K (the joint entrance exam for Medical,Engineering, and Dental students, Karnataka) makes me add a "Y" at the end of the COMED and laugh at the way the unfeeling authorities have been playing with the lives of hapless young students for the past few years. (COMEDY-K would also describe the political scenario of Karnataka very well.)
IWPTRTFNOTAB. (I Want People To Refer To the Full Names of Things, Animals, and Birds.) So please, I don't want to hear about LBV's and RRP's (Long-Billed Vultures and Rose-Ringed Parakeets) or I will GUIS (Go Up In Smoke.)
However, I do LOVE witty cross-lingual acronyms like:
KEB (Kai Enthi Bhavan, describing the little Darshini eateries that dot Bangalore..."kai enthi" means "holding in one's hand" and refers to the way patrons stand up in these joints, either at tall tables, or holding their food plates in their hands.)
VIP (VAy IllA Poocchi..."insect without a voice"..to describe an overly meek and mild person)
HMT (Half Mottai Thalai..."half head bald"..obviously to describe one with a slipping hairline)
I would love to hear some other cross-lingual ones like that.... |
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| 2007 cc |
[Feb. 29th, 2008|06:37 am] |
When my son-in-law was here, he noticed that autorickshaws in Bangalore often have other car brand names such as "Volvo" and "Benz" written on them, and also incredibly inflated engine capacities, such as "1000 cc" and "2000 cc". Well, this auto decided that 2000 cc was old hat, and decided to be more modern:
I am waiting for the first 2008 cc autorickshaw on the roads, and hope I have my MLC (Mary's Lamb Camera) with me when I do spot it!
I had done a post on these autos, and the messages they carry, for Metroblogs at
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/automessages.phtml
I do enjoy carting my MLC along as I traverse this wonderful city that I call home! |
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| Two notices... |
[Feb. 26th, 2008|05:20 pm] |
This one was in the Hindu Temple of St Louis:
I was very tickled because a) the temple seems to have such a list of do's and dont's ... and the assumption seems to be that the reader IS wearing shorts!
And this one was in a Starbucks Cafe:
Nothing is simple any more. Everything is earth-friendly or supporting left-handed dyslexic abandoned abused minority women or something like that....but...what on EARTH is 10% post-consumer fiber and 60% post-conumer fiber??? Sounds so impressive...but what does it mean? And after all that "We are committed to..." stuff, is that line, "intended for single use..."! |
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sleepy
rushed