Don't Underestimate The Power of A Common Man ! !

Well, I do not normally blog on core politics and this is my first one. I am an Aam Admi (common man, not a party member) of India :), who loves news channels at 9 for their shows by Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt, Arnab and the like for their better comedy than 'Comedy nights with Kapil'.

Common Man of R. K. Laxman

Lot has been tweeted, shared, liked (sad that FB doesn't have 'hate', 'disagree', 'sad' buttons yet), blogged on the functioning of AAP, so much so that even if Arvind Kejriwal sneezes it becomes a sensation.

I remember, sometime in 2010, my neighbour inviting me for the Lokpal movement and march happening at the Freedom park in Bangalore. Anna Hazare was in news, and it was during that time I started reading and hearing about Arvind Kejriwal. After that I have seen the movement on-and-off with the events that followed. I did not follow the pre-election news and it was a surprise when AAP had won a good number of seats in Delhi. I am sure lot of others were surprised as well. This was not expected. A good job done by AAP. Winning these many seats for a party which is less than 2 year old is indeed a big thing, and that too a state which was ruled by Congress for ten years or more.

Two things, according to me, has made this happen. One, Delhi as a place/state had lot of issues which could really engage the activists. It did have burning issues in the past two years for which the previous government did not/could not do anything substantial. Here, AAP had a significant role in getting involved in social causes and gained people's confidence. Second, Delhi is the capital as well as a small state. So all the political buzz starts here, and as I understand it had lot of scams in hand, alleged corruption in govt. office etc., which again strengthened AAP's position.

I think even the AAP top team would not have imagined that they would win so many seats in the elections, forget forming the government. Now that they have, and this making lot of accomplished professionals joining the party along with lakhs of common men and women, AAP has really come into limelight. Sounds like a fairy tale, or Rajnikath movie. Previous year beaten by Police, this year Chief minister.

Now, coming to the controversies against AAP that they are friends of Congress, unclear about policies and governance, anarchists etc. Well, I feel certain things could be true, while others are speculations.

On being friends of Congress - I happened to see and read many posts and news items on this, and thought - 'Could be'. Well, we cannot rule out anything in today's world. I happened to see the interview of Arvind Kejriwal with Rajdeep and Barkha in their respective channels. From what Arvind Kejriwal was talking, the way he was responding, I think he has substance. His clarity of thought seems to be good, and he responds to the allegations quite maturely. He looks grounded and doesn't seem to be backing, or being backed by anyone.

About being unclear about policies and governance - Could be. But we will have to give it to AAP. Like I said, they wouldn't have imagined this state would come where they will form the government. So they would not have had discussed in depth on economic policies, national issues, and their stand on various other things in detail. Let us be fair and give them some time to come out with their agenda. With what they have done in 3 weeks, looks like we can expect something, while I do agree that they seem to be in a hurry. May be they are still transitioning from their activist role to governing role. Takes time.

Till yesterday I was unsure about AAPs future. Thought that they will create this hype for few months, and fade away after that once they are out of government but still remain activists. After seeing today's interview, I am quite impressed, to be frank, the way Arvind faced the questions and the way he responded. If the same clarity drills down to the party ministers and office bearers then there is hope. Party members and volunteers can have their views and opinions but it is critical for the office bearers and spokespersons to have this clarity.

I do feel that they should have focused on Delhi now, not wanting to contest for Lok Sabha elections. All they can do is grab few seats, which otherwise would have gone to BJP as I do not believe Congress do not stand much chance this time. But again, it is better to ride the wave that is created now, take advantage of it to create a nation-wide presence, and grow the party. So may be it is okay.

I do not see a PM in Arvind for sure, and I see that in Modi, though I believe BJP is also tainted with corruption. I would say that if the necessities of nation are being met (curb inflation, generate employment, develop infrastructure, and control corruption) then who rules is not a big issue. Congress has proved that they can't. Now BJP can try. But with corruption it is again doubtful, but could be better.

My only wish for AAP is that while scaling up in number and spreading across the country, their core principles and value should not get diluted. After all, they are also human beings with minds. Power, position and money gives a better kick than anything else.

Jai Hind !

I will vote. Will you?

Kollur, and back to Bangalore

Continuation of my previous blogs Why this Kolaveri Di and Kolavara Heritage Homestay & Sringeri

Day 3: 27-October-2013

Today was supposed to be a relatively lazy day – with just 2 hours of travel, or max 3. That is what I thought.

We woke up leisurely at around 0700, and had our cup of tea. We had decided against coffee as the coffee served at Kolavera was little strong, and of a little different taste than what we preferred – and their tea was very good. So wife and I chose tea after first experience with coffee. Dad and Mom chose tea from the first time itself.

I had planned to wash my car today as it had got soiled in the past drives. There was a washing bay – to my curiosity – at the homestay. It was a proper one which we see at washing stations, where we could wash the under-body as well. I enquired with Nishchal (son of owner uncle), and he told that this is common in the planters' homes in that area. The reason being, they typically had few vehicles and could not take them to wash to the town every time. Moreover, if the washing guys say they are busy, then it could be a lot of waste of time. So, many of them built this at their homes itself. There was a water tap and a hose next to the bay, so I could wash properly and it was over in about an hour.

Breakfast was ready by 0800 which was a spread which included a different kind of dosa (batter mixed with beaten rice powder). I thought we could leave by 1100 and as per my estimate, Kollur will take 2 hours of drive, and we could reach by 1300 or max 1330 to have lunch there, or somewhere en-route.

By the time I finished washing the car, others had got ready and had breakfast. It was my turn to take bath and get ready. I took bath and got ready by around 0930 and had breakfast. We spent some time packing and loading stuff into the car. The owner uncle and autny had gone to a relative’s place in the morning. So, we had bid them goodbye in the morning itself while I was washing the car. We got ready to leave by around 1100 and bid goodbye to Nischal, wrote our comments in the guest-book and left.

We would be taking the Tirthahalli – Agumbe – Someshwara route to Kollur as advised by Nischal. The roads were good and we covered Tirthahalli in 30 min. I filled petrol from there and increased the tyre pressure also a bit as seen in the ford note while washing. It said that if there are 3-4 passengers the pressure should be 34 psi. I had been riding at 31 psi. After increasing the tyre pressure the ride quality increased. We continued to Agumbe, and the roads were excellent. It was full of plantations on both sides, or forests, or villages. It was a real pleasure to drive on that road. No wonder why Malgudi days were shot in that village. If this is feeling so nice now, how it would have been when Malgudi days were shot?

We stopped in Agumbe for a tea-break. There is a small lake there, near where the ghat begins. Not sure if there is any activity there, like boating or walk-way. I did not venture out into find out more. We had tea and checked out a store with few handicraft items, and left. The ghat section was not in very good condition, but doable. We reached Someshwara in another 30 min and followed the signages to Kollur. Road conditions deteriorated after that. I got worried a bit. But then it improved, but still not good. I continued anyways, there was nothing much to do. By now, it was almost more than an hour and Kollur did not seem another 1 hour away, it definitely seemed more.

After Someshwara the roads are patchy, with certain bad sections, okay sections and good sections which came alternatively in cycles. We passed places like Halady, Sankaranarayana and finally reached Kollur by 1430. It took 3.5 hours against my assumption of 2 hours, due to 2 main reasons. One, the distance was more than I expected. I expected around 80-90 kms, but we drove around 140 kms. Second, the roads were not good throughout. 50% of the roads were in not-so-good or bad condition.

The question now was - where to have lunch? I did not stop anywhere on the way though it was lunch time and I had seen a couple of okay-types hotels. This is the problem with me. In eagerness to reach the destination I somewhat forget these little comforts or breaks that I should be giving my fellow-travellers and myself.

To our pleasant surprise Vasudev Adigas has opened an outlet in Kollur. They are in the premises of Hotel Mookambika Palace. I had read reviews about this hotel. Being a new hotel, it had good reviews. But tariff was on the higher side – 2k for a double bedroom per night. This was the starting as they had only A/c rooms. They seemed good. But I decided against. We had lunch at Vasudev Adigas, and proceeded towards Lalithambika Guest House managed by the temple. We normally stay here, and we get rooms for 300-350 for a double room. So spending 7 times that amount for one night was hurting the mind. So I decided to take this risk. I saw the rooms and seemed okay, though in mind I was not so okay. My review about this place can be read in Tripadvisor here.

We took rest for a while. Well, with the kid, it is not rest actually if the kid is not sleeping J Wife and I normally venture out to take bath in the stream nearby. This time also we stepped out, not sure of whether we can take bath or not. Dad and Mom also came along with us, with Samyu. The place was little away from Lalithambika guest house, and normally deserted. This time we did not venture out into water but gave Samyu a bath. She was so fascinated in playing with water that she cried and howled while she was taken off from water. We also would have jumped into water but could not get a right spot where we could do so. 

We came back to the room, took bath, got ready and left for temple. The temple was not that crowded, may be because it was a working day. Had a good darshan, did our offerings and spent some time there. After darshan it was around 2030, and we proceeded towards Vasudev Adigas for dinner. I can confidently say that this place is one safe bet to have food in Kollur. I cannot guarantee any other place. Meanwhile, I had enquired about the road condition to Shimoga via Nagara. The feedback was negative stating that it is in shambles, and in some areas road never existed. So I had made up my mind to retrace the route which I took while coming. Retired to our rooms by 0900 thinking of tomorrow. It is going to be a long drive.

Day 4: 28-October-2013

We woke up by 0400 and got ready by 0500. We could not sleep properly as there we lot of mosquitoes. In fact the sleep was very bad. Luckily Samyuktha was sleeping well, and we ensured that she was covered properly. That really helped. But the sleep that I lost did affect me during the day while driving.

The temple opens around 0500 in the morning. The plan was to start immediately after the morning darshan. We were on the road by around 0545 after the darshan. The roads were empty except few vehicles once in a while. I drove with less anxiety as I knew the road conditions. Reached Someshwara by 0730, and I stopped for breakfast. Had a pretty good breakfast of Neer dosa, vada and Poori. We bought few snacks as well from here and started by around 0800. We crossed Agumbe and Tirthahalli without any stop. I wanted to stop at Sakrebylu elephant camp if possible. We reached there by around 1000 and it was open. They are open from 0830 to 1130, and it was a good experience.

There are elephants in captivity, they do bathing and feeding from 0830 to 1130 and then they are let into the forest for roaming till next day. The next day morning, the caretakers go into the jungle to bring them all back. Quite strange and unbelievable. But they do it daily, sometimes these elephants will be with other herd and it takes a hell a lot of efforts to bring them back.

So bathing time was over this time when we went, but could be near elephants. We did not do a ride though. Samyu was quite excited. She often imitates elephant and we are supposed to be acting scared when she does that. So she got to see some real elephant buddies, from 3 months old to 95 year old. 

I took Shimoga, Arsikere route to Bangalore. We took a break at Café Coffee Day for lunch. The drive was getting little heavy as I had not slept properly before. But I managed to keep the head cool and continue. We passed Tumkur, after filling petrol, and after a small break where wife wanted to buy vegetables saying it will be fresh here. Reached Bangalore by 1815 and was very tired. Luckily Samyuktha seemed fine, apart from the fact that she had been restricted into the car’s space for her movements.

Well, a vacation that was very good had come to an end. 

Kolavara Heritage Homestay & Sringeri

In continuation to my previous blog Why this Kolaveri

Day 02: 27 October 2013

Next day we woke up around 0700. Sun was getting out slowly and it was getting warmer. We did not feel too much cold as expected. Had tea, which was very good, and just lazed around. Another family who had come from Bangalore were busy making their travel plans for the day. I had not planned anything for the day and thought will do as I feel like.

The atmosphere was so calm and peaceful that I really did not feel like venturing out anywhere for the day. Just want to be with me, myself and I in that pristine surroundings. But keeping the kid and others busy was not an easy thing, and Sringeri being close (about 40 kms), thought will visit Sringeri temple. The owner suggested that we visit Sirimane falls as well, as it is just 13 kms from Sringeri. So the plan was made. I estimated that the round trip would take 3 - 4 hours. Since the plan was made by around 0930, by the time all of us got ready and left, it was 1030.

The ride to Sringeri

The owner uncle told us clear directions on how to get to the main road which goes to Sringeri. We need not trace back the route which we took while coming. There was another route which could take us to main road in the direction towards Sringeri. His directions were - "Always take left, keep taking left turn on the tarred roads till you reach the main road. It is about 5 kms from here.". I had switched on my navigator and mapped Sringeri. It also showed some directions. We started. Took the first left, then second left, and reach the third point. Now, my navigator was showing 'Go straight', but I could see a left which is a tarred road (well, how well tarred was it is another debate. It could be argued that it was not a tarred road as well.) I was in doubt. I found a local person and asked him for directions to Koppa which is en-route Sringeri. He guided us straight. So with my navigator and this person suggesting the same direction, I headed straight.

I was only worried about the road condition here. There is one more risk that the navigation tool might suggest roads which were there when it's software was update. The road could be there now or need not be there as well and the condition of the road was also not certain. 

The road straight was not good. It was narrow and broken. But I went ahead. The navigator kept showing me directions and I followed. Asked one more person on the way for Srigneri and he also pointed in the same direction. So I was happy. By now we had traveled more than 5 kms from Kolavara and I was certain that navigator is showing me a different (and shorter??) route to the main road. I had missed what the owner uncle had told, at that junction. 

The route was very scenic through the woods, bamboo forests and water-bodies. Roads were there, but not good. Finally reached the main road and headed towards Sringeri. Superb roads from there, and driving was fun too with the winding and curving roads. So, in short, we did a longer stretch on the bad roads and lesser on good roads than what we would have done if followed owner uncle's directions. But, we did save lot of distance in that process, at least 7-8 kms.

Sringeri

Reached Sringeri in almost an hour from the homestay. There was rush since it was a Sunday. Had darshan at the Vidyashankara temple and Sharadadevi temple. There was some new construction happening there since our last visit in 2009. There is a Gopuram which is 127 mts which is under construction, and there is a new temple for Shankaracharya which is almost complete. There were 2 elephants and one cow which were blessing people (trained to do so). Tip their masters, they will bless you and you can take photos with them. We wanted to take Samyu closer to an elephant and did so. She was not scared, but was amused to see the elephants and cow.

Next destination was Sirimane falls. Asked for directions and headed towards the falls.

Sirimane falls

The route from Sringeri to Sirimane falls was good. First few kms were on the main road, and then a right which was going in the direction of the falls. The roads were in good shape and was mostly empty. Passed through good vegetation, small villages. I love this kind of place. Vast green spaces, farms, woods, streams, and fresh air. In about 8kms we reached a temple town of Kigga. The road from this point was narrow, and was not of good surface. In about 5 kms we reached the falls. It is pretty far from main road, about 10 kms. 

The falls are tucked inside thick vegetation, and nobody can guess there is a falls nearby. We parked at the parking slot, took the tickets and started descending the steps towards the falls. It was a superb view, and the falls were great. Unlike other falls, this was a safe one where one could take bath safely right under the falls.

We did not plan to take bath, and had to get back for lunch at the homestay. It was already past 1300 hours and it would take minimum 1.5 hours to reach back. So we spent around 15 - 20 min there while Janaki ventured to get her feet wet, and for few snaps. We returned to the car and started back to the homestay. The route was same, and this time I took the route suggested by the owner uncle. It was longer on good roads and shorter on bad roads.

Reached homestay at about 1430 and went straight for lunch. Lunch was simple, tasty and nutritious. We were a bit tired after the quick trip, and so we got back to the rooms, took a good nap. Evening was again time for roaming around and a chat with the son of the owner. He took us around the area showing the crops that are being cultivated, their pond, mini-waterfall, and other plantations. It was a nice, informal, and informative chat with him. It was getting dark by the time we got back.

They had put up the camp fire by then and few of us assembled around it for chatting. By around 2000 hours dinner was served, and was usual stuff - good and healthy. We slept off early as we had to head to Kollur tomorrow morning. Another eventful day came to an end.

Why this Kolaveri Di - Kolavara Homestay, Sringeri, Tirthahalli and Kollur

Prelogue

It has been a long pending plan of me to visit the Malnad area of Karnataka. The plan got postponed for quite a while, and it happened finally in Oct 2013. While searching for places to visit in Malnad, I had come across few stay options. They were mostly homestays, since there were only very few or no hotels in some places. The places to visit included Tirthahalli, Sringeri and the towns around them.

The plot

This October I decided to go there for few days. The plan was to drive to to Tirthahalli, spend couple of days there, visit Kollur Mookambika Devi temple and return to Bangalore. I wanted to spend 2 lazy days in Tirthahalli just to cut-off from the daily hectic routine, and then visit the temple.

Shortlisted Kolavara homestay for stay in Tirthahalli. Did the bookings by calling them and confirming availability, and later on transferring an advance amount. I did not want to do any advance booking at Kollur since I will be reaching there on a Monday and rooms should be available since it is a weekday.

Day 01: 26 October 2013

We were 4 adults (me, my wife and my parents) and my daughter Samyuktha who is just 14 months old. The plan was to start by 0400, and reach Tirthahali by lunch time. Started finally around 0430 from Bangalore, passed Yeshwantpur in 30 min and Tumkur in about another 1 hour. Traffic was there but relatively less. Took the Tumkur bye-pass to take the road to Gubbi, Tiptur, Arsikere and Bhadravathi.

The break

We broke at around 0800 before reaching Arsikere to have our packed breakfast. We were carrying idlis and chutney for breakfast. I was lucky enough to find a place with a seat and toilet to break for food. This seemed like a new shop in the making. The roads  were good throughout except the Tumkur bye-pass which is about 7-8 kms.

There seemed to be a small play area in the making, as we could see a couple of swings. Samyu enjoyed the swing and was reluctant to come out from it. We all had idlis, and fed Samyu as well. The total break was about 30-40 mins and continued our journey towards Bhadra dam.

Bhadra Dam

We wanted to visit Bhadra dam as well to see the place where Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meditated for 10 days in 1982 after which he conceived Sudarshan Kriya. This spot is next to the dam, attached to the Tourist Banglow. We reached the place in about an hour after taking a detour from the highway. We could take the car up to a certain point to one end of the dam. We could not enter the dam since we did not have prior permission. We walked towards the Tourist Banglow, but to our disappointment we found this to be locked. Nobody seemed to be there.

We waited for few min, and then 2 fellows came in a scooter, who looked like the caretakers of this place. When I checked with them on entering the premises, they denied, saying that we need prior permission to enter. This permission has to be got from the Bhadra Project office which is about 3 km away. We taking permission meant another 1 hour delay here (time to go and come back with permission, and visiting this place again will take away 1 hour minimum). So we decided against it and started off to our next destination - Tirthahalli.

Bhadra Dam to Kolavara

Here, while driving from Bhadra dam to Tirthahally, I could have done a clever thing, which I thought about. But decided against it since it was risky, being with a family. There is a road which you could take to Koppa via. Narasimharajapura from Bhadra dam. You need not touch Shimoga to reach Tirthahalli in that case, and can cut down on travel time. This could have saved about 20 kms. But I did not take this route since I was not sure about the road conditions. If the road condition was bad, it would have been pretty difficult to drive with family. So I decided to take the more safer Shimoga route. Below is the route which I could have taken (in Blue) and the route which I took (in red).

The roads were good throughout. Took the Shimoga bye-pass and entered the road to Tirthahalli. The road surface is too good and drive was cool. The only drawback is that there are no good break points in between.  Folks inside were getting impatient since we did not break anywhere else for a tea or coffee. So after taking the right from Tirthahalli I stopped at a small shop where we all had tea, bajji and biscuts. This seemed to pacify them a bit.

Meanwhile I asked for directions to the homestay and they guided me properly. But I overlooked one point and hence lost my way taking a wrong right wandering off about 7 kms. Finally called them again and got the correct update. Finally reached there by around 1430 hours. All of us were tired and were hungry as well. We had lunch and went to the rooms allotted to us.

Kolavara Heritage

This heritage homestay is located off Tirthahalli - Koppa route, about 7 kms from the main highway. Kolavara is the name of their family, which is now the name of the village. So you might see sign boards in Kannada towards this place but nothing in English. There are no boards put by the family for the homestay on the way apart from the few boards which are there once you are really close to the homestay.

Once you reach there it is so silent, serene and calm. There are no houses nearby, and you are amidst a plantation. The house is maintained well, and tastefully done with antique furniture and curios. There is a huge central courtyard which houses a tulsi plant in the middle which adds to the serrenity. There are lounge spaces on 2 sides of this courtyard. One side is the main part of the house which the family uses, and the other side has the rooms where the guests are housed.

We arrived for lunch at Kolavara and was greeted by the owner of the homestay along with his son, who currently manages the plantation and homestay. They ensured that we felt at home right from the moment we stepped out. We were taken to the dining area which is big and is adjacent to the house. It is open, clean and has some entertainment options like tv, carrom and newspapers. The lunch was buffet style with fixed menu. Food was authentic, malnad cuisine, and healthy. We are vegetarians and hence cannot comment on their non-veg fare. But I think that should also be good.

After food we went to our rooms, got freshened up and rested for a while. We did not have any plans for an outing that day. So we wanted to go slow, enjoy the surroundings and roam around for a while. We had coffee by around 1730 and it was already getting dark in that area. We spoke to the owner to understand about this locality. It was so nice to be away from the city, with no phone calls, no tv, no access to internet, not much unwanted thoughts.

My wife and I played a game of table tennis, and carrom. Dinner was ready by around 2000 hours which was again buffet style. Food was of same, high quality, served generously. It was interesting to note that they had provided some innovative and interesting desserts using brown bread and white bread. Later on we came to know that it is the owner's wife who manages the show in kitchen with her helpers. She is also interested in flori-culture and gardening which was very evident with the landscaped surfaces, bonsai and orchids of different varieties displayed across the compound. We were even invited to do wine tasting - the wines prepared by the owner's wife again. They had some interesting wines - banana wine, arecanut wife, and the usual grape wine. It seems she had even prepared jack-fruit wine earlier, but that was not available now. Had dinner and roamed around the property for a while doing chit-chat and finally went to sleep at around 2200 hours.

Kochi - Bangalore: A different route

I had been to Kochi for a week during 1st week of Oct. Came back through a scenic route: Ernakulam-Thrissur-Shoranur-Ottapalam-Nilambur-Gudalur-Gundlupet-Chamranagar-Bangalore. The reason why I chose this route was I wanted to drop at a relative's place in Ottapalam. We broke the journey in Nilambur where we stayed in KTDC Nilambur overnight. Pretty decent hotel.

This route is around  490 km as per my odo, (but Google maps shows 509 km) whereas the normal route through Kovai-Salem is around 550 km. Wanted to try this one as this was the unexplored one in my list. Very scenic and good route, but might take the same time or more as the alternate route since the roads are not so wide (2 lane throughout) and has some rough patches here and there. The beauty of this route is that after about 25 km Nilambur, there is forest section, and then it is forest for the next 3 hours, which passes through Mudumalai and Bandipur wildlife sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively.

There are very high possibilities of wildlife sightings, especially during dawn and dusk. We passed through this stretch around 6.30 am to 7.30 am which was apt for sightings. We saw deer and elephants - one lone tusker even charged on us. This guy seemed to be an Ottayan (lone tusker) , was on the roadside facing the opposite direction and hence could not spot us fast. It was just when we passed him he saw us and came charging a few meters. By then we had gone sufficiently ahead.

Wished I had a good camera and a brave navigator to capture this. Dad was finding it difficult to capture this with his mobile camera and he was scared too :)

In fact, if you search Google for routes between Kochi and Bangalore, three routes show up. One is through Kovai-Salem (around 540 km), second through NH 209 passing through Satyamangalam, Chamrajnagar, and Kollegal and third one is the route which I took this time.

I will be off to Kannur may be next week. Will post the updates after that on that route.

Love you.

Gopu

Guruvayoor, Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram

The next leg of the journey was to Guruvayoor for Samyu's Choorunu (Annaprasam). It is a ceremony where the baby is given rice for the first time. In Kerala, it is normally given it at a temple. So Guruvayoor it was for Samyuktha.

The drive to Guruvayoor was through Aluva, Thiruvairanikulam, Angamaly, and Thrissur. We had to attend a wedding at the famous Thiruvairanikulam Sree Mahadeva Temple and so we decided to proceed from there to Guruvayoor. From Thiruvairanikulam I used the Garmin to guide me to the main road and it did the job pretty well guiding me to the Kalady-Angamaly road. From there on it was known to me and reached Guruvayoor by 4.15pm. Enquired about the function after checking in at the hotel. It was planned to be done next day morning. Rest of the day was at leisure, roaming around the temple and having the darshan at night. Samyuktha was all excited to be at a new place with both sides grandparents around.

Next day, had the function, did Tulabharam (an offering where a substance like banana, butter or anything is offered to the diety which wieghs as much as the devotee, Samyu in this case) and had darshan.

 We left Guruvayoor by around 2pm and took the Thriprayar, Kodungalloor route and reached home by around 5 pm. This route took longer time though distance was short.

Next day, the plan was to start around 10am and to reach Kollam. I had planned it this was as the drive to Kanyakumari from Kochi would be too long as the roads are 2-way with lots of traffic. Hence the plan to break the journey at Kollam. Started as per the plan, and had lunch at the KTDC hotel at Alapuzha. It was a good meal. We reached Kollam around 4pm. All through this journey I had booked the rooms in Govt owned properties to check out how it will be. The property in Kollam was by KTDC and was okay. The location was very good, as it was next to the lake and all rooms were overlooking the lake. We had plans to go for a boat ride in house boat, but since no boat was available, dropped the plan.

Went to the beach in the evening, and it was a good beach. Had dinner from a good, small hotel and returned to the hotel.

Here is my review of KTDC Tamarind Kollam which is published in Tripadvisor:
"I stopped over in Kollam for one night on the way to Kanyakumari from Kochi. Booking was done through KTDC website and I got 15% discount since I did it online. Check-in process was simple, staff were courteous and overall the place was clean and neat. The location of this property was very good - overlooking the lake. We did not order food from their restaurant since I knew that it will take time and there won't be much choices. Hence I had no disappointments on food front. Overall, a good value for money option for a budget traveler. Frankly, I do not expect great service from KTDC hotels, but one thing I know is that KTDC has awesome properties in great locations which are not maintained to the same degree but has basic hygiene and cleanliness. Hence I choose them purposely on my trips. This too, was good as it met my expectations."

Next day morning we left by around 7 am with plans to have dinner from Tvm. The roads were less crowded but then too there were too many vehicles for this time of the day. Kerala is really crowded. Dropped in at Ginger in Tvm for breakfast. This was on the Tvm by-pass and was convenient for us since we had to bye-pass the city. Here again, I used the Garmin to guide me and it did it's job perfectly. In 1 hours time I was driving past Tvm to Kanyakumari. Never I had to stop, or ask anyone or got confused. The road from Tvm to Kanyakumari is a real nightmare. Very narrow roads, too much traffic and indiscipline. The distance from Tvm to Kk is about 100 kms but took a well 3 hours. And I am given to understand that it was like this ever since.

Reached Kk by around 1.30 pm and checked into Hotel Tamil Nadu which is a superb property by Tamil Nadu Government. Had lunch at their restaurant where the food was simple and good. In the afternoon we planned to visit the Vivekanada rock memorial. It was a nice experience - the boat ride, the cave, and the island. In the evening we stepped out towards the watch tower but it began to rain. So we had to rush back to the room. The day ended like that.

Next day morning we had the darshan, visited Gandhi mantap, had breakfast and started back to Tvm. Here is my review of Hotel Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari which is published in Tripadvisor:
"Location, Location, Location. This is the best thing about this hotel. I read reviews on this hotel online and had booked twin cottages online for one night. Booking process was simple and straight. Check-in process was smooth and the service of the staff was also good. The rooms were very spacious and is great value for money. I do not think any other hotel would provide such great rooms are this price. I think almost all rooms are sea facing, and only very few could be non sea-facing - not sure about this though. The property was clean and neat throughout, and it spreads over lot of land, and hence does not feel like a hotel. All attractions are nearby and walk-able distance from this place. The restaurant served good food. (We only had lunch at the restaurant.) Overall, the place is awesome to stay in Kanyakumari."

The Legendary Lungi

Just as the national bird of Kerala is Mosquito, her national dress is 'Lungi'. Pronounced as 'Lu' as in loo and 'ngi ' as in 'mongey', a lungi can be identified by its floral or window-curtain pattern. 'Mundu' is the white variation of lungi and is worn on special occasions like hartal or bandh days, weddings and Onam.

Lungi is simple and 'down to earth' like the mallu wearing it. Lungi is the beginning and the end of evolution in its category.You  cant provide it with gills to allow it to breathe more freely .Wearing something on the top half of your body is optional when you are wearing a lungi. Lungi is a strategic dress. It's like a one-size-fits-all bottoms for Keralites.

The technique of wearing a lungi/mundu is passed on from generation to generation through word of mouth like the British Constitution. If you think it is an easy task wearing it, just try it once! It requires techniques like breath control and yoga that is a notch higher than sudarshan kriya of AOL. A lungi/mundu when perfectly worn won't come off even in a quake of 8 on the richter scale. A lungi is not attached to the waist using duct tape, staple, rope or velcro. It's a bit of mallu magic whose formula is a closely guarded secret like the Coca Cola chemicals.

A lungi can be worn 'Full Mast' or 'Half Mast' like a national flag. A 'Full Mast' lungi is when you are showing respect to an elderly or the dead. Wearing it at full mast has lots of disadvantages. A major disadvantage is when a dog runs after you. When you are wearing a lungi/mundu at full mast, the advantage is mainly for the female onlookers who are spared the ordeal of swooning at the sight of hairy legs.

Wearing a lungi 'Half Mast' is when you wear it exposing yourself like those C grade movie starlets. A mallu can play cricket, football or simbly run when the lungi is worn at half mast. A mallu can even climb a coconut tree wearing lungi in half mast. "It's not good manners, especially for ladies from decent families, to look up at a mallu climbing a coconut tree"- Confucius (or is it Abdul Kalam?)

Most mallus do the traditional dance kudiyattam. Kudi means drinking alcohol and yattam, spelled as aattam, means random movement of the male body. Note that 'y' is silent. When you are drinking, you drink, there is no 'y'. Any alcohol related "festival" can be enjoyed to the maximum when you are topless with lungi and a towel tied around the head. "Half mast lungi makes it easy to dance and shake legs" says Candelaria Amaranto, a Salsa teacher from Spain after watching 'kudiyaattam' .

The 'Lungi Wearing Mallu Union' [LUWMU, pronounced LOVE MU], an NGO which works towards the 'upliftment' of the lungi, strongly disapprove of the GenNext tendency of wearing Bermudas under the lungi. Bermudas under the lungi is a conspiracy by the CIA. It's a disgrace to see a person wearing burmuda with corporate logos under his lungi. What they don't know is how much these corporates are limiting their freedom of movement and ex-pression.

A mallu wears lungi round the year, all weather, all season. A mallu celebrates winter by wearing a colourful lungi with a floral pattern. Lungi provides good ventilation and brings down the heat between legs. A mallu is scared of global warming more than anyone else in the world.

A lungi/mundu can be worn any time of the day/night. It doubles as blanket at night. It also doubles up as a swing, swimwear, sleeping bag, parachute, facemask while entering/exiting toddy shops, shopping basket and water filter while fishing in ponds and rivers. It also has recreational uses like in 'Lungi/mundu pulling', a pastime in households having more than one male member. Lungi pulling competitions are held outside toddy shops all over Kerala during Onam and Vishu. When these lungis are decommissioned from service, they become table cloths. Thus the humble lungi is a cradle to grave appendage.

(The credit for this article goes to the author, unknown as of now. I'm sharing this in my blog for your information and knowledge enrichment.)

For more information on Mallu, and what that means, please read i-yaame-mallu

The Pursuit of Happyness

"Hey, there needs to be a spell check done", was the first reaction that I had when I saw the movie title. It said Happyness, and not Happiness.

Sometime I wonder the change in scenario; where a studious student during my times was having all set of dictionaries - English-English, English-English-Hindi, English-English-Malayalam and all sorts of combinations. We were encouraged (rather threatened) to look up these heafty stuff to find the correct spelling and meaning. So we knew most of the spelling correctly. But this generation just hits the spell-check button and bingo all the wrong spellings are corrected and also the system throws up the suggestion for grammar too. So the result is, if you have to write down something in a paper, the student is blank regarding the spelling.

The point I was trying to tell is, the movie is good. And, I'm not trying to give a review of that. What left me thinking is that, what made that guy to rise up in life? Money? Wealth? Luxury? (By the way, money and wealth are two different things).

My earlier boss used to tell me, "Money is the only motivator for most of them". I look back. Did I work with all the enthusiasm just because I got the money I wanted? Mostly, No.

Money is an attraction, but cannot be a motivator, I believe. When somebody takes up a new job offer, money, of course, is an attraction. Once inside and on the job, the attraction remains for sometime. But after sometime he/she gets used to it, and its no more an attraction or motivation.

The driving factors might be a sense of satisfaction of doing something good, some recognition of good work, promotion, etc. Some folks may not be so focused on the satisfaction part, as long as the month-end sms comes from the bank. But here too, its not motivation, its complacency.

Another breed just cannot stand the concept that you are working 'for' someone, and starts up something new which gives him/her a kick. May be 5% have this mindset, but only 0.5% get ahead and do something. Others do a SWOT analysis, and finally decide to stick on to the month-end sms lifestyle.

Here, one thing to note is that all have some wishes, desires and dreams.

All of us have lot of wishes - like, "I wish this country had better infrastructure", "I wish I had XYZ car", "I wish I had a monthly income of Rs. ABC".

If you ask them very firmly, "Do you really want all these things?", they might answer, "Well, not really. I am okay with the current setup". They are driven by the fear of failure and since they are not ready to move out of the comfort zone, they remain where they are with their wishes.

A few in this group think of doing something about it. They analyse the pros and cons, see what they could possibly do, and see a few options. They are turning a wish into a higher level - a desire. But many stop at this level, due to the lack of confidence, complacency, or no proper guidance.

Very few actually turn these desires into their dreams, set goals, and chart an action plan to achieve them. And they make a difference to their own life, and to life of people who are associated with them.

What I felt is that its not important what the dreamers achieve, whether it is a plush house, a few luxury cars, or a hefty bank account. If the person is focused, and sensible, it is more important on what he/she, as an individual, as human being, become in that process of achieving his dreams.

If we look around we will see people in all the categories, and which set do each of us belong to?

Cheers!

The clutter free life

Bang!! I turned around and saw a huge pile of junk being dumped in the junk shop. It was a pleasent evening and I had got out for a walk. This thought stuck my mind - A shop for junk stuff.

It made me realise that anything sells! Also that all of us have lot of junk to give - both in our house and mind. There are tens and thousands of thoughts that cross our mind, and if you observe, only a few thoughts comes again. Most of them are not relevant at all, but stays somewhere in the background of our mind. Same is the case with things. Look around our house, and if you look closely you will realise that most of the stuff around us are not used or ages. There might be bits of papers, used bus or train tickets, notices all are lying around us.

Clutter is common. You find it everywhere. People love it. Be it house, public place, office, mind. We feel something is very important and keep it; or just neglect it saying its unimportant. I made it a habit to hit the Delete & Refresh button very often in my life and mind. Remove all those unwanted stuff from your life physically and mentally. Then you will see that a new life comes, a new energy. Think about it. If you have not used a particular stuff in your house for past 6 months, then mostly you will never use it. There is something fresh and new awaiting but unless we hit the Delete and Refresh button, the new stuff won't happen.

And I reached home to find that I am yet to hit the Delete and Refresh button for my mind for that day. Want to know how? Ask me.

Cheers!

Gokarna, Idigunji, Murudeshwar and Kollur

It was a pretty long wait at the Jayanagar 4th Block pick-up point for theVRL Roadlines. The bus that I had booked to Gokarna was a sleeper cum sitting. I had opted for the sitting option being a little worried about the sleeping option. Gokarna had only bus option from Bangalore, no direct train, or else take a flight to Goa and head back to Gokarna via road, about a couple of hours I guess.

Gokarna is a sleepy little town in the coastal Karnataka but a famous place due to two things. Temple and beaches. The Shiva temple is considered to be very special due to the Jyothir lingam of Shiva. And the beaches are clean and isolated by rocks and hills.

More than 30 min of waiting and couple of frowns from Janaki, we were inside the bus. The intensity of frowns got stronger when we realised that the sleeping option was better as it looked more spacious and comfortable. I somehow 'tried' justifying my choice of sitting option and left Jayanagar by around 8.30 pm. When it left Bangalore it was almost past 10 pm.

It was around 9.30 next morning when we finally reached the little town. Got down and was picked up by the vehicle of Om beach Resort where I had booked for the stay. I had been to Gokarna about 6-7 years back and had known that there were few hotels. This time I wanted to have more beaches also along with the divinity in the trip, and so Om beach resort was chosen.

Little did I know that the 'beach' term in that name was a misnomer. The Om beach was pretty far, around 4kms from the resort. I had got a hint from the website I had visited so not very disappointing. Resort was pretty good, and had to hurry for breakfast as it was about to close by 10am. Food was good and had a quick nap after food. At around 4 pm we visited the Om beach. The resort had a drop and pick-up facility to the beach for the guests. It was drizzling and later the shower was strong.

There are about 5 beaches in Gokarna. Kudle, Om, Paradise, Town, and Long beach. All these are separated by hillocks. These beaches are frequented by foreigners who come to camp in here. There are several cafes (don’t have high expectations, it’s too far from Cafe Coffee Day and stuff like that. These are simple coconut-leaf roofed, semi-brick buildings where they offer basic food and shelter).

We strolled along the beach which was almost deserted. The sea was calm and I took bath and we both meditated for a while on the rocks. It was so nice, that the mind automatically comes to the present moment and no thoughts disturb you.

By around 6.30 pm we headed back to resort in the same vehicle of resort (again, don’t have high expectation, it is not a limo that comes but a cranky Mahindra jeep which probably was the first one from Mahindra.) A quick shower and we planned to go to the temple. The auto-rickshaws charge a bomb there. For a 2 km trip they charge around Rs. 50!! With no option left we opted for an auto to the temple for Rs. 100 for round trip + waiting.

Incidentally it was Maha-Pradosham or Sani-Pradosham which was considered to be very auspicious to visit Shiva temple. There was no much rush, and as soon as we reached a priest (there are many sub/assistant/deputy priests) came to us and started taking inside the temple as if we had asked him to be there. I ignored him as I knew that there are such people who come uninvited and make us do all sorts of so called pujas and finally give us a bill which has many zeros in it. To avoid that I told, in the Kannada I knew, that we are fine alone. We made some donations to the temple, and took a ticket for a small puja which we could do alone. Some other priest came and made us do the puja, and it was nice as there was less crowd and we could touch the Shiva linga, which is one speciality of this place, that we can do the puja on our own. Back to auto, and back to resort for dinner and hit the bed.

We had booked a cab to Kollur. Since there were a couple of temples Idagunji and Murudeshwar on the way, we visited them too. Idagunji is an old Ganapati temple about 4km away from the highway. Murudeshwar is a beach temple town, much like Gokarna. Its is more famous for the World's largest Shiva statue. The temple is on a beach and has a resort like feeling in the temple premises. There are beaches on both sides where water sports are in full swing.

We had a quick lunch and then hopped in to head towards Kollur, and reached Kollur by around 2.30 pm.

This was the first leg of the 2 weeks trip that we had during the 2nd week of November. Watch this space for more.

Long Time!!

Woooh!! 5 months! Its been long time since I posted anything.

• Films release and flop or become hit in 5 months.
• Countries go on war, and return to peace in 5 months.
• People jump multiple jobs in 5 months.
• Mosquitoes take birth, die and again take birth (may be as a mosquito again or not, not sure) in 5 months. (FYI: The average life span of a female mosquito is 3 to 100 days; the male lives 10 to 20 days.)
• Marriages are made and broken in 5 months.
• Companies are born and go broke in 5 months.

But still here I am, not writing anything for 5 months. Don't know why, but I get this strange feeling of wanting a very private and thought free space to have my creative juices flowing in the brain. This is very bad because as you can see, I end up doing nothing. So may be I will jot down something at least every week.

I am not yet into tweeter, may be I should have a look at it. Anybody there who tried that? Any advice/warning??

(Btw, I am really surprised on how the celebrities mange to have a blog and write daily on that. Really surprising to me. Is it really written by them or somebody is writing for them? Not sure)

Believe it or not !!!

There are 2 types of people in this world. First, who knows about a particular thing. Second, who believes about the same thing.

Tune to Class VIII B. Teacher, who has a spiritual inclination, was taking a new chapter and at some point asked, “How many of you believe in God?” All, except this particular child, raised their hand.

Surprised at this the teacher asked this child, “Why? You don’t believe in God?” The child replies, “No. I know God. I don’t need to believe in God.” The child continues, “Ma’am, I don’t need to believe that you are standing in front of me. I know that you are in front of me.”

We believe in something which we don’t know, or which we are not sure of. We don’t believe in something that we know. I have to believe that there is Grand Canyon or Niagara falls because I have not seen them. (Of course I may be convinced that they are there, but then too there is some degree of uncertainty)

At the same time I do not need to believe that there is Taj Mahal, or that you, the reader, exist. I know that its there.


Another school of thought: Whether we believe in something or know something, things are there as they are. We believing it or knowing it does not change it anything. For our own comfort and convenience we either know it, believe it or disbelieve it. The fact does not change, it remains.

Shambho!!

Shambho!!

Thats how lord Shiva transforms the world, and tonight is Shivaratri.


The thought of transforming my blog was also there in my mind for quite some time. And the day could not get better than today, being Shivaratri.

Continuos transformation is required in every creation, to keep everything new, fresh and alive. Nature takes care of this aspect so beautifully, every leaf blossoms, ripens and then falls off to join the earth, and again it becomes a part of the plant.

So, we, as humans, should transform ourself to getting better. Good thought? :-)

Love
Gopu

The Consultant and the Shepherd

Its story time again! This time I would like to share a story about the (so called) corporate consultants, who will study, analyze, the problems or challenges, suggest solutions and fix the problems (hopefully). Hope you enjoy it.

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One day a consultant was traveling in a car by the countryside when he came across a big herd of sheep. He slowed down to allow the herd to cross the road. Behind the head was the shepherd who managed the herd.
He stopped the car to take a break, and during that time he spoke to the shepherd. The consultant told him that he will tell him exactly how many sheep were in the herd, and in return the shepherd should give him a sheep as his fee. The innocent shepherd agreed. After 10-15 minutes of studies and analysis, the consultant replies, “You have got 257 sheep in your herd.”

The shepherd agreed that it was correct and told him that the consultant could choose one sheep from the herd. The consultant chose his sheep, put it in his car and when he was about to leave the shepherd asked him, “Aren’t you a consultant?” Surprised, the consultant replies, “Yes, but how did you come to know?”

The shepherd said, “I could figure it out in 3 instances. First, you offered me your service even without me asking for it. Secondly, you gave some information which I already know. You did not tell me anything new that I did not know about my business. Thirdly, you have taken my dog and put in your car thinking it’s a sheep, which shows that you have absolutely no idea about my business and its nature.”

Are you in Programming or in Management?

I came across this bit in the internet and found it very amusing. Thought I will share it with you. :-)
In someway it talks about the truth, isn't it?
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A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below.

He descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The woman below replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”


“You must be a programmer,” said the balloonist.

“I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”

The woman below responded, “You must be in Management.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”

Live and Let Die

Beep…Beep…!!

I was having lunch at my office when this message popped up in my mobile. I took the mobile out from my pocket with great difficulty and read the message which looked like this:
‘News flash: Inflation touches 11.43%, an all time high in 13 years. Sensex down 445 points, Nifty down 113 points. Log on to moneycontrol.com for more details.’

I got irritated, what is this inflation got to do with me. Ok, Sensex and Nifty I can understand as I have also invested in a small way (after hearing the India shining story and all). So Sensex & Nifty didn’t irritate me as much as this inflation figure. After lunch, I was still thinking about it. Inflation: a term that I didn’t know much about in school days. Theoretically I knew something about it in college days, but I never bothered to think too much about it as I thought it is something to do with the Economists and Statisticians in this world.

But now I was thinking about it. What is inflation? Simply put it means the rate at which value of Rupee decreases (I don’t think it ever increases). So if it is 10%, for e.g., it means next year, you will have to pay Rs.110, for an item which is worth Rs.100 now. I went to a website to know more about it. It told me that inflation was around 5-7 % normally and it had risen to 11% off late. As I understood (and felt with increase of prices in almost everything) we have to pay extra for everything. Fuel prices increased, which lead to increase of prices of all other commodities. After looking at the figures and news in the website I concluded: ‘Live and Let Die’.

Of course I like Bond movies of gadgets and girls, but this title of one Bond movie is in a different context and has a different meaning. I go by the Buddhist philosophy of removing our desires, which are the root cause of all the miseries in life. So the statement “Live and Let Die’ means: ‘You Live and let all your desires/ ambitions/ wishes Die’.

Here are some practical steps on how you can beat inflation and earn & save more.
1. Walk: Don’t use any mode of transport, no bikes/ scooters, no cars, not even public transport because those prices are also increasing. Walking is good for health, and also prevents and cures many current-age diseases like obesity, hypertension etc. Only in case of emergencies use public transport, that too, try not to take tickets.

2. Fast: Fast 3-4 days a week. Fasting is a very effective way to balance mind and body. It even saves you the hefty food bills in your budget. Fasting helps reduce weight and tone your body (Fitness freaks, are you listening??) If possible don’t eat anything at all.

3. Don’t go to school: Don’t send children to school. Home schooling is the best. It saves lakhs of rupees spent on education which just don’t actually educate kids but ruins them. Anyways home schooling is the best till they are 15. After that if necessary send them to some government college, avail all reservations possible to minimize cost. Motivate them by stories of college drop-outs like Bill Gates, and see if something works.

4. Turn Spiritual: Practice meditation, try to kill the desires in you, those disturbing thoughts of latest designs in Shoppers Stop, Levi’s, Nike, Reebok and the like. Practice to renounce everything, live a minimal life. Use clothing only when it’s absolutely necessary, and that too very minimal. Get motivated from Bollywood actresses who practice this point (they are ardent followers of Gandhiji’s philosophy of minimal clothing).

Also there is another point which relates to inflation. This is regarding the salary hikes in companies. (Hope my manager reads this!!!) As I already mentioned if inflation is 10% it means you will need Rs.110 to buy an item which is worth Rs.100 today. So you getting a hike of 10% just means that your salary is adjusted to inflation, or in simple words, your salary is kept the same. Only if you are getting a hike of above 10% can you afford to buy something extra. And if you are getting a hike of anything below 10%, say 7%, you will not be able to afford the thing (which is worth Rs.110) which you are able to afford before the hike. In effect, your salary is being reduced if your hike is below the rate of inflation.

Even if you didn’t know what inflation is by the above examples you must have got an idea on what it is about. Now you are ready to device your own ways and means to beat inflation or be ahead of it.

Traffic Blues : Confessions of a driver

It took me almost 3 months to post this blog. But its because I have this Love-Hate relationship with the Internet. At times I fall deeply in love with it and never move away from the computer, and the next full month I would be just logging in to check the mails and nothing else. This has affected my communication in terms of chatting and the number of mails that I sent and receive. So if anyone can suggest a solution for this, Please Help!!!

Driving is one other thing that fall prey to my Love-Hate syndrome. At times its my passion and some other time its a boredom. Over the years I have driven through many palaces. Germany, Swiss, Austria, Belgium,.... Well, they are places where I would like to drive. The places where I drive around is the Incredible India's south.

The one area of oneness that I see in Indians, where all people share the same values and culture, apart from the political culture of looting people, is in driving. Well, the be precise, there are no values, no rules, no sympathy or emotions in driving as far as I have seen.

No, I am not talking about you. You are nice, caring and compassionate driver who is always concerned about the fellow drivers and passengers. I know that you also follow all the rules of driving, and never break a law. I am talking about those other rascals who just see vehicle and its purpose as their birth right.

A saying goes, "In Africa, a Lion wakes up to learn that it has to run faster than the slowest Zebra to be alive. And a Zebra wakes up to realize that it has to run faster than the fastest Lion in order to survive. So it doesn't matter what you are, you will have to keep running faster to be alive."

I was trying to draw a corollary between the above statement and driving in India. I have heard that the roads are worst in India and the traffic systems are poor when compared to international standards. I learned driving in the streets of Kochi, but then the traffic was too less. During those times, I used to leave hands while driving a bike to show all signals and not break the law. But here in B'lore I see many people doing the same thing (many times both hands) but hands are used to comb the hair or to pat the babes in the backseat. I was scared of driving in the 'crowded' cities of metros where the traffic rules were(supposed to be) very stringent. But over a period of time I also have become used to it, like many others.

Once I had a strange experience. I was traveling in B'lore with my friend, who was driving his friends bike. And the police was there to check and as usual asked a fine of Rs 1000. There were not even a single document for the bike and my friend began to cook up stories. I stood there, shivering, as he had come to receive me at the bus stand and it was my first trip in Bike in B'lore. He started saying to police that his Dad was in Army and his Uncle was in police and it went on. I stood there dumbstruck. I have never heard of any police uncle and his Dad known to me, was not in Army. Then guess what, the rates started coming down to 500, 300, 100 and you wont believe it, we gave Rs 10 to the police and left. This is the case in B'lore and I am not lying.

We cant just blame the law enforcing agencies. They are underpaid. And thanks to the media, they also hear about India's booming economy, that GDP is going to touch 8%, that 50% of India's population is under 30, and about the rising income levels and high percentage of disposable income of Indian youth. When MNC s of the world can en cash this rising and disposable income, why cant the responsible law-keepers do the same. We cant blame them. Today, people spend Rs.500 to see a single movie in PVR at Forum Mall in B'lore. Its not the millionaires who see them, its our own friends. so you can imagine the kind of 'disposable' income. (In Kerala, about 16 people can watch the same movie in a good theatre and 10 people in the best ones).

Newspapers write about "crumbling Infrastructure" in B'lore. The head honchos of IT firms complain about it. But the real pain of this 'crumbling' thing is not felt by the politicians or heads of companies. Its the common man, see the BMTC buses, the scooters, the mopeds. They pay the fine for that.

People are ignorant about good driving habits. They need education. Overtaking from left is a way of life here. Squeesing in through any narrow path, no matter if its footpath or someones plot, is a habit. And in a land where even the police say "Laws are made to break", who cares?