Valayar

Valayar 

 

Valayar trip

 

06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004

 

 

 

 

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Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Soon after Chettiar's marriage at Coimbatore , I left according to PJ's directions to Valayar.I stood at the bus steps and enjoyed the sights.I got down a step ahead at Valayar checkpost , had putt and banana.Time was 10:30.I was supposed to catch the train back at 11:30 to Coimbatore so that I can catch my train to Bangalore from Coimbatore.I decided to leave by bus or inquire about other trains.The train time happened to be 1:00 pm as told by the autoriksha driver who took me to the dam

There were butterflies all around the dam which I chased with my lens and took photographs of.These photos have been uploaded to imagestation with comments.The effort was so fullfilling that I started singing to myself as I walked through the jungle.Saw quite a few birds as well in a short span of two hours.

I had taken a round arc trip trp below the dam and reached the other side of the dam.Hardly half an hour to spare, I had miscalculated the time to get to the railway station ignoring the distance covered by the auto.L Subrahmayam was the name of the old guy who dropped me at the road in his Luna.I invited him for lunch but he said that he was going for a function from where he would be getting his lunch.He even took a detour to get me to the road.We shook hands and parted.

At the railway station , a railway employee befriedned me as he saw me intently chasing butterflies on the other platform with m zoom lens.That was another pleasant conversation.In the train , a boy sang Lajjavathi and entertained the crowd.While having chicken biriyani athe Coimbatore railway station , I saw the rest of my friends walking towards the Blore train.I followed them and presented the experience in full heart in the train.The passion I had felt for the butterflies was very innocent and beautiful.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 04:41 AM 

 

Sangam

Sangam 

Sangam Mekadatu and Chunchi falls

 

06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004

 

   

 

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Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Saturday(12/6/2004) :

The initial drag to the travel spanned nearly two hours.Around 1 0 clock , the biking in Kanakpura road had started.The road was quite deserted and I enjoyed the ride.We bought a pair of glasses on the way.Mithun , Lazar and Mondry were my companions.We stopped over at a military hotel on the way and had porotta and chicken/mutton.Rain started and I was very dearly neatly offered a jacket.The comaraderie was very good.I am more used to a calculated friendship than what I experienced with Lazar , Mithun and Mondry.I myself have both shades and am equally capable of both extremes.The heavy rain just increased my enthusiasm for riding.I looked quite filmy with the wet hair , jacket and big googles.The greenery that kept surprising us with it's innovations evoked ' o .. what a great place .. ' kind of reactions from me and Mondry(pillion rider) alike.We stopped over at Kanakpura to get some grub and a torch.

There were birds along the way as well that added to the charm.The goggles had killed not only the dust but also taken color away from the sceneries as I realised in time.we waited at some splendid spots and took snaps.We reached Sangam at around 6:00.A boy got in touch with us and helped us through the remaining stay at Sangam.There was a bus trip to Mekadatu from Sangam with college students.The college atmosphere evoked nostalgia and a feeling that life is passing by fast.Liked one homely girl in the crowd and enjoyed her smiles.Took some snaps at Mekadatu.Hope to see them good.The bus trip back was studded with a jamming session by Mondry's mouth organ and Mithun's voice.The college guys joined in.

Now , we were at our camping site with firewood at around 7:00 in the night.There were two helper boys - Srinivas and Chethan.Mithun and Lazar went with Srinivas to get naattukozhi(Country Chicken live) and other grub items.Chethan tended the campfire.The fire caught my attention.I started hovering around the fire with my lens trying various angles.I tried to strike a conversation with Mondry encouragin him into giving similar ideas.However , he who is working as a designer treated it more like a job.I took some snaps of the fire in bulb mode at times requesting Chethan to model.

Soon , the grub team was back.Mithun made bullseyes and stuffed them in buns.Chethan and Srinivas cleaned up the chicken and masalafied them.Mithun took two branches and ploughed it into the chicken.We took turns burning them in the fire.The bun-bullseyes kept us busy, rum in between.Soon the chicken was ready.The chicken was followed by bananas and goodday biscuits.Once the dinner was done , the drinks took more of a priority after which it was time for music.My contributions included well-sung Malayalam oldies like 'Karukaruththoru pennaanu ' , 'Alliambal kadavil' and others not to forget an enthusiastic rocking daffli(drum-like , held with one head and played by the other) session with self-composed beats.I felt honored by the attention and the enjoyment that I was able to give others.I had more of rum.Mithun and Lazar went to the river to lie down in the water.

Mondry asked me to put out the fire so that only the embers burn.I liked the suggestion.when the fire was totally out , the embers shone luke ruby mines.I took snaps.Before long , I felt quite drowsy after the heavy food and drinks and dosed off earlier than I had planned.

---- 

Sunday (13/6/2004)

Woke up early and tried to do some birding but the place was filled largely with mynahs.Tried waking others up but could not.so I biked alone for some time around the area looking for birds.At a hair pin bend , the bike did not climb as it was in third gear.In the hussle , I lost control and the bike , the camera and me fell.Felt jittery but moved on.Stopped at spots where bird calls were strong but was not particularly successful in photography.Took the ride back after nearly an hour.As the slopes were steep , I turned the bike off.The bike still sped at 50Kmph.Whenever the ride stopped due to anti-slope , I would try some birding.Eventually I was back at Sangam.Soon we were biking to the Chunchi falls.

The light pleasant green of the falls was welcome.The terrain was also interesting.I took quite a few snaps from the spot , the water falling diagonally from the left top corner of the frame to the right bottom corner , the fall and the splash and a few more.After nearly half an hour at the falls , we moved to the portion where swimming was permitted.

We had more of rum and toddy in the water.Played silly games with the 7-up two litre bottle that had the rum.the bottle floated in the water and we took our sips and passed around.Howmuchever we drank , the rum would not get over.River water was mixing in as we soon realised.Pressed the bottle down the water bed and released to watch the bottle jump unpredictably.Got a shellfish and ate it raw.Mithun and Lazar caught a fish in a towel.Played - who-can-hold-breath max game.I happened to win it.also the who-can-spit-farthest game which Mithun won.Quite drowsy, I tried another bird/butterfly session around the area.I reached a bluetiger habitat but did not take snaps as I already had one and the butterflies were not opening up well.I came back to the spot and tried to take snap of kingfishers one of which was rocksteady but too far and the other that flew off though not-that near.

The bike made complaining noises after the morning accident.Soon it died off amist the 45-50 Kmph ride back.The dope did have a strong effect as I rode adventurously.Once a sheep came and hit the bike but I stayed in control.Another piece of luck cam when a bike in front moved over to the middle of the road and waited for a long time ata gutter.I passed a fraction to the right of them and whooshed off.The ride was exciting because of the speed.Again we stopped over for grub.Before long I was at my Blore house happy about a good weekend.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 04:43 AM 

 

Sivanasamudram Talakkad

SivasamudramTalakadGloaterTrip 

Trip with gloaters group to Sivasamudram and Talakad

 

06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004

 

   

 

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Saturday, June 19, 2004

Friday - 3:30 Lakshya - Sanu and Aslam were here and we were waiting for Jacob to come over form Bombay - Lots of kaththi adi amidst TV watching - Jacob 

arrives - before long , the card session started - The carding went on till 6 on saturday morning after which I got switched off - At 8:30 , PravinS called 

me up and asked myself ,Binoy and Jacob to come over to his place.

Me being the only non-ECE(2000 batch) in the gloater group , felt a little out-of-place since it was natural to expect a few in the group mildly resentful 

about a non-ECE guy in the group.May be not.However , there were zero light jabs of the minimal that I had expected.I hanged on for some more time in the van while 

Sandeep was telling the love-stories of fellow gloaters and others were listening intently.the ambience was set up very fast.I personally with the 

others-can-always-think me a non ECE feeling lied low for some time.Before long , I was out of the pupa and an active participant in the trip.There were some 

digital photography sessions followed by Anthakshari.Quite a few of us liked to sing.I was a very important participant as well.I could sense an alikeness in 

the good feel that each of the singers were getting.The lyrics and the music were equally felt while the songs were being sung.Malayalam music and lyrics, 

quite impressive as they are added even more charm to our enthusiastic Anthakshari.I was totally off-guard while singing , trying to totally feel the mood of 

the song and sing it and not having a very measured approach.Mridul and Tiju had quite a good understanding of the lyrics.

The lunch distribution followed the anthakshari as the van had meanwhile reached Sivasamudram.Generally , I would come along last and have my 

food.Today , I played a morale role in the distribution , waited for others to get the food , was quite involved with the task at hand suggesting ways to do 

it.That felt good.I could see the usual me walking around as Narendran whom I gather to be a loner always minding his own business.The biriyani plus chicken 

was interspersed with some wisecracks that were well received to my joy.All along I had just been myself and it felt like I had clicked in well enough.That 

was great me being a non-ECE ;).Once we got down , there were three waterfalls to our left and a butterfly habitat to the right.Had a slight episode with 

the butterflies after which we walked down to the falls.Tried to capture some good snaps of the falls.Once we reached down , there was nothing interesting as 

I had seen enough water falls.So Job and me set out on our butterfly/birding session.We did manage to get some snaps.Noticed that Job had more enthusiasm 

than me.We were good partners all along helping each other with observation and photography.The observation details will be uploaded to the imagestation site 

as comments.This was another session of good human interaction .. hmm.

After spending roughly 2.5 hours at Sivasamudram , we moved to Talakkad.We had bought mangoes.For some time , one could see all gloaters munching 

mangoes.Tall trees by the side of a large waterbody with dry white-sand terrain.Walked through the trees for some time.There were some hanging 

branches.Mridul exhibited his tree-climbing skills to the entertainment of the crowd a few of which took photographs.Soon more followed.Rajesh tried to 

outsmart Mridul with his antics exposing himself to the danger of lungi-snatching.Sandeep took the ownership and the lungi while I took a snap.The hanging 

branches session was fun for all.

We walked back to the water.Tiju had impressive orange swimming trunks that got loud booos from the crowd.the rapport was good all over.Quite a few 

times , I have seen people who try to enjoy but are not able to do it as they are too shelled up.I have myself felt it many a time.Here , everything was just right.Job called me for a look around this habitat as well for birds and butterflies.This was a similar episode as in Sivasamudram with equal success and rapport.Job was quite committed to the cause.He was very eager to help me get good photographs as well and took good initiative towards that moving branches away from the view , insisting 

that I not take snap as it is not worth and the like.I was a little below-par with Job in the passion , the enthusiasm , the initiative and the 

comaraderie.For instance , once the birding was over , while waiting for the rest of the gang , Job suddenly slapped me hard on the back and shouted 'Raptor 

Raptor'Thankfully I did see the bird as I turned around shocked.

Soon the saner ones joined.We had a tea session.I explained the SLR focussing technique to Kalyan , Pravin etc to their delight(the joy of discovery).The next stop was 

unanticipated.This was a holy temple that had got buried in sand.A kannada guide explained the stories of each of the around seven temples that we walked 

to.Though most of us were complaining during the walk , I thoguht it was enjoyable on-the-whole in terms of the paras that are inevitable in such a 

gatherng.This was something to remember about.Job showed us an owlet which he had been seeking all aong.

The trip back was generally quiter with just a few of us playing anthakshari.Again I was tring to capture the mood of the song and sing accordingly 

with little concern for the vocal tones.This was acceptable and that was really good.It showed that all were singing with their heart in the song.The game 

stopped when the songs and the energies dried up parallelly.The dinner was at Ravi's kitchen with an IAS related discussion anchored by Raghu followed by a 

palmistry session back at STBed(Sandeep's house).I was the palmist and I could see that most of us were susceptible to palmistry.After another brief kaththi 

adi with Jojish followed by card session , I left back home with a very contented heart.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 10:22 PM 

 

2004July2ndKochiBirdBFly

2004July2ndKochiBirdBFly 

2004July2ndKochiBirdBFly

 

07/18/2004 - 07/24/2004

 

   

 

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Tuesday, July 20, 2004

There was an Indian robin just outside the master bedroom.I took my 300mm lens and poked it out of the window.My hands were shaking as I tried zooming and focussing through the grid grill.I sat on the floor first and later sat on a pillow to adjust height.Took the snaps of the robin and the sunbird that came as a lucky break.Later during the day , I stalked the robin through the compound.I got approximately 5 feet from it and got a few more snaps as well.Then there was the bird with the long curved beak that sat on the plantain five feet from the lens.Through the plantain leaves , I focussed on the spot where the bird had just flown off from.It came back another time and got captured.That was another lucky break.Then I chased butterflies through the compound to no avail.The neighborhood house sported a very smooth neat black mormon like butterfly that made it's place neatly into the roll.

Then there were the snaps I took from the park near shopping complex.There was a dragonfly(black and white - quite elegant) and a small ash-brown butterfly.As a disappointed me walked out of the park , I wass greeted by the sight of a jezbel which I followed to no avail.I walked on and sat at the park near the LIG border.There were birds but none could be photographed.Further down , I reached the park opposite Iraq aunty's house.After so much hard work with butterflies , I had decided that dragonflies are a much easier target.However a dragonfly family mocked me as I walked around in circles trying to get the perpendiclar angle.After nearly half an hour of effort , the rain called off the match.I walked back home.Saw a priniah emerge out of the trees from one LIG house and later a sunbird from another both of which were striking.However , I decided not to poke the lens into the compound.I walked on back to my house.

At the junction near my house , I saw another Jezbel.Again , I felt mocked with very few snaps in the roll and another chance passing by.As I was following the Jezbel , I noticed a sparrow at the soyus window.I took three snaps of it , the third was a lovely one occupying all of the sparrow and in perfect focus with ample time for judgement.An autodriver watched on without encouraging or discouraging.A gas distributor man smiled and encouraged.Pleasantly surprised , I returned the smile.After one good photo taken , I walked back through my street sweat forming in the afternoon sun , quite tired.I saw the gas man again and he asked ' Tharikida aano foto eduththathu ..".That was interesting.Jezbel was now there at my house as well as I walked the terrace hoping for chance birds.

I had gone with my parents to the marine drive where I took snaps as they were eager about having the snaps taken.I have not yet started having a strong enough interest in people photography yet.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 12:47 AM 

 

Mysore bike trip

MysoreBikeTrip 

MysoreBikeTrip

 

08/01/2004 - 08/07/2004

 

   

 

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Monday, August 02, 2004

MysoreTrip 

-- Up 

-- Down

-- Palace

-- Chamundi 

-- Brindavan

-- Krishna Raja Sagar 

RockFrogs - These are frogs that gets camouflaged into the rocks and you take them for granted till you see croaking rocks frog-jumping.Rockfrogs are not 

always frogs.They can be parked lorries, jeeps , bikes , tempos etc.These are ostensibly peacefully parked by the side of the road till they wake up and try to 

tip you over with their protruded ligaments.Diligence about identifying rock frogs will find you amazed at them actually being rocks and in time you start 

getting shocked at their protrusions once again.These provide more exciting entertainment at high-speed night spurts.

PseudoMedians - Medians , I have always learned is used to divide a triangle into two equivalent parts.When you take a median into consideration , it is 

imperative that you fully comprehend what it is a median of.The right angle edge of a triangle is the median of the triangle that can be formed by placing a 

lateral inversion of the triangle along the same edge.A real world example of such difficult-to-digest medians was in the form of red-white banded fences at 

the exact edge of the usable road with another equivalent black unusable sibling at the other side.Fond of medians , I generally race at 80+ through the right 

edge of the road overtaking them all.Some of these spurts met with shocks as the median was actually the outer edge of the usable road and the other half 

was the WIP version of the road and proved no deterrent to the opposing trucks.

---------------

After a less-than-three hour sleep on Friday night , I jumped out of bed as the time was already 5:15 , our planned departure time.Binoy , Deepak , shinu and 

me had set out for Mysore from our house at 6:15.Seven kilometers hence , we were at the Mysore road.The road was being widened and work was in 

progress all along the 150 kilometer route.The ride was quite slow in the initial phases with dusty guttery road and heavy heavy vehicle traffic - all buses and 

lorries and the two of our bikes.The pedestrian crowd was also on the higher side.Thankfully , things started getting better with lesser number of vehicles 

and the same bad road conditions.Our trip speed increased with sufficient time gaps for overtaking.Unable to really ride as fast as I would have liked because 

of the bad road conditions , the first stretch of medianed good road was very welcome.I raced through at 90-95 kmph.Thereafter , the ride was on the faster 

side with wider better roads and increased confidence and awakenness.I was quite impressed at my biking performance.I was riding fast but not rash.Enticer 

had proved itself good once more with great stability at high speeds.It was great pleasure to see myself march forward much ahead of my competitors with 

no close seconds.I was the smart kid on the road rushing past all the veterans.I felt like I was really doing something.The danger was real.There were quite a 

few times when I had come across dangerous situations which I handled coolly and smartly almost like an expert.Things I had to deal with included sudden 

gutters after a real good stretch of raod , sudden humps on the way , (RockFrogs)parked vehicles suddenly starting and getting on to the way , junctions that 

come up unexpectedly and ofcourse the most dangerous pseudomedians.The confident accelerations kept me happy all through the ride.

The palace was magnificent.I spent all my time taking a generous number of photographs outside the palace spending very little time inside the palace.I 

think my photographs can do all the talking with respect to the experiences in the palace.

The same holds for the short visit we had to the Krishna Raja Sagar dam.Brindavan was a disappointment.Chamundi hills was a good trip.With a 

not-so-pleasant experience earlier with low power enticer on my earlier trip to Mekadatu , I started on a low note.This was a different biking challenge for me 

with no long highways ahead of you.the road kept twisting and turning to add to the upslope.Before long , confidence set in and I was riding well though not 

in the grade of my ride to Mysore from Bangalore.This was the first time I had done real good biking.Here again , the experiences have been translated as 

photographs.

While returning from Chamundi hills , Shinu had gone ahead and I was following behind.I did not see him.As the ride reached a logical halt , Deepak ( pillion 

rider) confirmed that this is not the way we had come.We decided to add some charm to the trip by deciding to meet each other at Brindavan.The stirring 

conversation with Shinu ended on that note.Another fresh lap had started.Ten feet ahead of us , we saw Shinu and Binoy.All those roaming charges!!.Well the 

trip to Brindavan was like usual city trips within Bangalore.

The ride back was harder.Having lost my glasses , I had bought another set of plain glasses that proved totally useless in terms of visibility.So I had to ride 

with naked eyes exposed to insects , dust , rain and blinding headlights.It seemed that the night journey will take longer than the day journey initially.Slowly 

I gained confidence and started accelerating as in the day.While all the morning road challenges were there , the primary new obstacle was the lack of 

visibility of the road.This gets even worse when a vehicle from the opposite direction blinds me with it's headlights.These added to the inherent danger of 

widened road suddenly giving way to shrubs , gravel , posts etc.Also there were the road workers who had all the right to make guest appearances on the 

road as part of the theatrical conversations they indulge in.They look on incredulously in the eye if honked at and I get conscious of the speed limits that I

have never kept.One huge lorry in front of you and with the low power of enticer , you dont want to try overtaking if you see one light coming at you from 

opposite side.This was really eating into our time.The solution was to break another traffic rule and I started overtaking trucks and buses through the gravel 

on the left side of the road.At one of these overtakings , I was surprised to note that the terrain was sloping acute to add to which there was a sizable pit , I 

kept my cool and thankfully emerged in front of the lorry.With not much time in hand , I needed to make the best of empty highways that sometimes 

presented itself.The hitch was that the highways consistently had road blocks in the form of tar scoops taken away by corrupt ministers or actual speed 

breakers.Indifference was what it looked like but it was more compulsion of time and the NFS to keep boredom at bay.If I do see a hump suddenly , I either 

suddenly accelerate so that the effect is not felt or apply sudden deceleration to stop just in place , the former being the more successful alternative.I was 

not tired.Nothing was telling on the ride and that felt good.I can do longer trips than this one.That was another feather in my cap.The best part of night 

journeys are well lighted highways with proper medians and zero traffic.'O man .. lights!! ' and you try the 'can you touch 100'.

Twice during the trip , caps fell from the bikes.Once just before a jeep stopped to take the cap , we managed to rach back.The second time the cap fell , we 

had almost reached bangalore and gone quite ahead on the way between Deepak's telling me through the strong breeze and me slowing down.'Potte pottae .. 

inji onnum cheyyaan pattilla ..' I like it, I said and sped on.Deepak was always a great companion.I was obviously riding dangerously with potential for ' hey 

man - be careful ' kind of remarks from the pillion.Deepak was quite sporty instead.He was enjoying the trip as much as I was.Within Bangalore , we missed a 

turn and ended up taking a longer route than necessary.

Ten minutes after we were back at our house , Binoy opened the door holding the cap.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 07:56 AM 

 

Nandi Hills 2004 Aug

NandiHillsBikeTripAug7 

NandiHillsBikeTripAug7

 

08/01/2004 - 08/07/2004

 

   

 

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Saturday, August 07, 2004

The bike trip to Nandi hills started exactly at the same time as the trip to Mysore a week later.PJ(Pravin) piloted the route while I drove.Another genum of median 

presented itself similar to the pseudomedians in the Mysore road.Both halves were good but while the onward section permitted vehicles from the opposite direction 

as well, the other section was orthodox.Initially , I got a jolt to see vehicles from the opposite side coming towards me in good numbers on my side of the 

road.Further down ( after a few construction diversions between the four way lane sections ) , I was amused to find myself at the right section of the median which 

was orthodox.A good number of lorries and tempos were coming against me in two rows overtaking each other.I rode on slow honking my presence.The excitement 

did not last long as I found a cut to the left side of the median.From then on , the road was much much better and I touched 100.While I was in charge the rest of the 

route to Nandi hills , averaging 70 , the trip had not started off quite so confidently.I was quite jittered up when a tempo crossed into the road through a both-way 

median looking only at the opposite direction.I had anticipated that before the hero takes his vehicle in , he will look in the opposite direction , see me and let me pass as I was going quite fast.I was ready for the possibility that he will look and still not stop and get in my way.However , I was shocked when he cut in without even 

looking at this side ( which was the official direction of the median ).I had to brake suddenly , I was honking strong and as I braked hard my right hand inadvertenly 

twisted the accelerator creating a lot of noise.Hero woke up , dilated his pupils , rotunded them , drained his face off blood and gaped, while I was mister 

irritated-at-injustice less and more one weary about his own lack of say over the road.Immediately following that we had our breakfast after which the goto 

to the in-charge ride met with the right label to continue.

Nandi hills was a beautiful diva in green with a black long ever twisting lining.While we were riding on her , she beckoned us to behold the beauty of the 

sights below.I switched to my wide-angle lens and got another unpleasant realisation that a wide angle lens constricts the spread sharply.The kilometers and 

kilometers of plains below could not fill a few inches of the viewfinder however you angle the camera.I gave another long look ,switched back to the zoom lens.This 

undertaking got it's say in the name of the butterflies and birds that were meant to give sudden guest appearances.Well after a pleasant ride uphill , we were inside the 

protected domain.The evergreenery glistened in the rain remains.The sun provided the anxiety hiding in the dense clouds.We had gone all the way with one of the 

primary intentions being spotting new butterfly species.Butterflies need sunshine to bask in sunshine obviously.As the trip so far had been very positive , I was 

unwilling to accept that the sun would not come out and foil things.Suddenly both of us were standing still.On our right within ten meters on a you-can-touch-it branch 

there was one vessel of a pigeon.Ok .. one more new bird for a juvenile bird watcher.So which is this bird.PJ hushed me and told me a secret.The secret was 'tell you 

later'.I took one happy snap with the vessel sitting pretty in the middle occupying enough silver oxideResigned for comprehension later , i let the lens hang .Cinish you 

have seen a rare bird.Another secret.You can spend the whole roll on this.Well the bird was already sitting perfect for us, I had taken three comfortable snaps.The silence of the bird watchers was over.I suggested that we walk closer to get a better view.One of the fundas of bird watching is not to look the bird in the eye while walking towards it.I followed the dogma and reached near the branch.I turned.Man - leaves.Two steps back - again leaves.By now the guard was off.Did you get the chessboard on the pigeon.Can you repeat the question, I thought and the bird twisted revealing a conspicuous chess board patch on the back of the neck.In that moment of sense-suspension , PJ took a snap.Pronto the bird flew off.I missed the chessboard.Well in the walk ahead , PJ explained that the vessel was Nilgiri wood pigeon an endangered bird.It was 

being spotted fifteen years after Salim ali.It was one of the four birds being sought out in the area as a rare catch.Elation was what I felt.I felt congratulated and 

hopeful for the day ahead.

The sun was still behind the clouds.Quite some time after the elating spotting, we realised that otherwise the trip was eventless .Habitats were better than 

we had anticipated but the sun was just not there.Actually I had always wanted to go to Nandi hills for the thrill of the bike trip to add to that I had the bird 

snapping.Were our justifications being alike a consequence or a coincidence.On the roll down , we braked at every butterfly flutter and tried our luck in vain.Two of 

those stopovers were eventful and served as the saving grace to the butterflying endeavour.We spotted a few new butterfly species - nawab , chocolate pansy , blue 

mormon , mormon mimicked as rose , painted lady , three ring , a striking navy blue cerulean some of which were photographed.The ride back was fine and fast.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 07:08 AM 

 

Ranganaththittu

RanganathittuKokkrebelloreAug82004 

RanganathittuKokkrebelloreAug82004

 

08/08/2004 - 08/14/2004

 

   

 

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Sunday, August 08, 2004

Buzz .. buzz.. all three of us responded involuntarily rising from the bed stretching arms into the dark groping for a hold.False alarm for the others , I woke myself up 

first , then Jemson and then Praveen.The trip to Ranganathittoo had started off after lazy breakfasts at around 9:00.All through the trip , the backseat driving was 

good with good music , conversations , green pleasant sights around and a comfortable seat.Flaunting sugarcane fields on either side of the road brought us to a 

halt.We got out of the car to feel the beauty around.All of us being butterfly enthusiasts , we were pleasantly surprised at the easy spotting of Grey pansy( a new 

butterfly to my list).Jemson,Pravin and me took out our respective cams and started pointing from the road to the fields below.Around 12 , we reached Ranganathittu.

As soon as we got out of the car , we saw a number of beautiful butterflies.Each of us had an exciting butterflying session near the parking area.After which , we had more butterflying along the lake in Ranganathittu.Ice creams and biscuits served as lunch.The exclusive-to-us-boat ride through the lake was again great with more than a roll shot during the half-hour boat trip.Good things kept on coming the next being a blue-mormon dance show at the violet flower gardens.Inspite of the mormon's flaps being extremely fervent , I shot relentlessly at 2000 shutterspeed hoping for one good snap.That was the fitting finale to a great time at the Ranganathittoo bird sanctuary.

Driven by the wonderful birding session in the Ranganathittoo boat ride , our next target was set to Kokkrebellur which was a pelicanery in a 12 

kilometer right offshoot of the mysore road after madhdhoor.Expecting to see a huge number of large pelicans , I hoped the eight films left would suffice.As it turned , 

I have three still left as it was off-season.However , the place being a beautiful village , the trip was not too much a pain to add to which we got quite a few bird snaps 

from two of our halts on the way.The next grand note to the trip was the Kolhapuri chicken and butter roti that I had for an early dinner.Around 9 at night, we were 

back at our house.Having decided that there will be a trip next weekend as well , the destination remains to be decided.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 07:29 PM 

 

Lalbagh Flower Show 2004

LalBaghFlowerShowAug142004 

LalBaghFlowerShowAug142004

 

08/15/2004 - 08/21/2004

 

   

 

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Monday, August 16, 2004

Jemson reached my house at 8 and at 9 , we were off to Lal Bagh flower show after our breakfast.I had a 100 ASA film that demanded a rock steady hand and promised a grain free result in return.He had a 200 ASA film - safer.Once we were inside the glasshouse , the flowers were pulling us from everywhere.We had a great time at photography.Common Jezbel butterfly was one pleasant surprise.I snapped a cheese-smiling foreigner holding the indian flag balloon.The greatest miss of the day was the miss whom I focussed for a long time in the pretext of shooting the glasshouse while she was walking towards me through the crowd.I was so engrossed in her beauty that I did not realise that she was directly in front of me( say 5 feet).She was aware of the prank and it showed on her face , the beauty taking on a different note.I ended up not taking her snap properly.I did take one with her side and the glasshouse as background without focussing properly.That definitely was the greatest miss of the day.Two palmfly butterflies were talking each other.We watched the show for quite a long time hoping for their rest which never happened.Jemson did take a few snaps while the butterflies had slowed down considerably while I did not as I had a 100 speed film.It was a long fruitful day , the other attractions being a Japanese lunch at Yamagam restuarant over which we had a discussion about the Japanese people , The Wall cassette from 'Planet M' , getting our snaps developed and Cded and a Palio wash.The snaps had come out quite well and the 100 ASA gamble had paid off.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 12:36 AM 

 

Savandurga trip

SavandurgaBikeTripAug152004 

SavandurgaBikeTripAug152004

 

08/15/2004 - 08/21/2004

 

   

 

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Monday, August 16, 2004

"Kal mein puraani tada waali photos dekh rahaa dha..".And today, on the independence day , the three of us ventured to Savandurga to celebrate it.The enticer 

caught all the limelight flaunting two indian flags.Is tarah azad ke saath azadi manaane ...Following the directions I had memorised from Jemson , I 

targetted Mysore road.Having made recent trips through the Mysore road , I was at home.300 year old Banyan tree read the board.Bike turned left and stopped 

when Azad received a phone call.An auto with five localites stopped to educate me the route to the old banyan tree scientifically evaluated as 300 years old 

and religiously considered 600 years old as explained by a brahmachari we met near it.Propaganda was his motive as opposed to guide money.There was one good 

moorthi near the good looking tree.However , the greatest attraction of the area was the abundance of the birds.Intending to keep in synch with Azad , I had 

decided not to do any bird watching or butterfly watching.I looked forward to birding experiences as the season does seem to be coming in fast.

The 25 kilometer winding road further down took us from the next major right turn to Savandurga.This is one of those roads you see in computer games 

like road rash.Those lovely windings were impartial to either side.I kept a good pace on the empty narrow road and enjoyed biking thoroughly,silently.With 

beautiful weather and a countryside ambience , the beauty and peace was nostalgic.It is like when you get smitten by a beautiful girl.You are so very happy 

and you are paralysed fearful of breaking the trance.Savandurga emerged with splendid defying presence.Tender coconut and goodday biscuits served as friends 

for yet another trip.The trek started.Azad wanted to take a harder tougher road up.I agreed and we started moving up a steep 80 degree ascent.Ten steps up , I chickened out fearing an acute loss of confidence midway.I sat there watching the crowd feeling and sitting quite low.I did not want to disturb Azad's 

concentration by a call.So I just hoped he is safe and started walking around.Suddenly , it dristled.People started running downwards as the rocks were 

beginning to get slippery.I walked downwards.Overconcerned about my safety , I walked along the rocks so that I get a handhold if the foot slips.The plan 

backfired as the surface by the rock inclined steep and away from the rock.I crawled under the rock and went to the other side of the rock.This route had 

been blocked by thorned shrubs.I went through all that and finally emereged on the road.

Two more tendercoconuts and we were on our way back.Azad was thrilled by his trek and admitted that it was a wrong decision to venture it.Already evening and I just had a bike ride for a solace.Well , there were lots of good looking sparrows around.The sparrows had so well merged 

into the civilisation that I had no trouble taking my fill with the birds.That was certainly good.We decided to give me the opportunity to take some good 

landscape photographs to make up for the trek.We moved back slowly stopping at every interesting landscape.Once , to get a good snap , I did a little bit of 

trekking to reach the proper point.After a few such shots , we got hungry.

Yamunaa dhaba's kolhapuri chicken , chilly chicked and tandoori rotis served as the lunch as well as the dinner.Here again , the ambience was 

rustic and relaxing.this was where the trek adventures were unravelled.There was a point at which Azad got scared and thought that he will just sit there and 

call me so that I would get some help to bring him down.Another challenge was that the you-cant-turn-back trek did not show signs of ending.The Thrill was the reward.As a matter of fact , the night ride through Mysore road is equally dangerous.We sang a number of Hindi songs starting with 'Yeh Dil - Deewaana'.We shouted quite hard.Around nine , we were back in Bangalore.

Posted by cinish narayanan on 10:30 AM 

 

Jog falls trip

JogFallsSep4,5,2004 

JogFallsSep4,5,2004

 

09/05/2004 - 09/11/2004

 

   

 

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Monday, September 06, 2004

A three day weekend immediately after a weekend at home and jog falls at 370 kms , the trip wish materialised with Azad's phone call on Saturday morning.After 

booking return train ticket- waiting list for Sunday , we set out to Shimoga from the KSRTC stand saturday morning.The privatised road stretch to Tumkur was 

amazing.I missed my bike that had to take rest for fear of rain.Well after that , the road was normal with two-way traffic on one side of the median , gutters , a few 

good stretches , curves and all those everyday blues of being a road.The road sights were very green and pleasant almost all through with lovely weather as well.We 

reached Shimoga around 5:30.

Tunga anicut was the venue for the shimoga gamble.There were prospects for some photography in the dam.One hour later , we were on the bus to Jog 

falls.When we were almost there , the Malayalee driver befriended me and suggested the youth hostel for accomodation after dinner at Kargal.Well after dinner , 

there were no rooms in the youth hostel or at Jog falls and we ended up taking a lodge at Kargal spending hundred bucks on auto trips.

Sunrise at jog falls was the plan for Sunday as we slept exhausted at 12 saturday night with the same auto driver arranged to pick us at five.Romantic as it 

sounded , Jog falls does not sport sunrises and sunsets is what the localites had been telling us.When I woke up to the Nokia alarm at 5 , there was bright light 

through the window.Sun rose this early or what and I slept and so did the auto driver.Well the sunrise at falls plan would not have materialised anyway for three 

reasons - one the autodriver did not arrive , two the clouds hid the sun and three , the tube light outside our room.After a bakery breakfast , we were at the jog falls 

once again with the same driver.

Magnificent , porsche , regal , grand , breathtaking were the genre of adjectives to which I associated the jog falls and the amazing terrain.The camera 

came to life and started absorbing compositions in.It was interrupted by the jeep trip to the view points around.The involuntary honking of the jeep added humor to 

the beauty .At the raja falls , the tallest of the four , we lied down on the rocks and looked directly down parallel to the falls.Amazing as the sights were , we were 

allowed very little time for photography.The camera was again let loose like a kid in an icecream parlor.The rolls ammunition was lying cold in my bag at the lodge as 

we decided to bring just one bag to the falls.This was just another of my carelessness-luck sequences with the roll shop seen immediately after in time and place of the 

shock.After a quick for-namesake stops at the viewpoints around , we were back at the Jog Falls Central.

After a bread-omelette breakfast , we started the long trek down to the bottom of the falls through the rock steps.At every turn , there were small 

refreshment stall entrepreneurs who trek the stuff down and up daily for a living.There were a number of new beautiful butterflies around but I had to foresake them 

for possible greater natural beauty prospects.Farsightedness.Even otherwise , you can't expect the butterfly to wait for a lens change.Birds and dragonflies were also 

quite high in number.Startling ones included a violet mormon and a dragonfly with bright teal spread-out wings.I seriously contemplated staying another day.Soon we 

were at the falls base and I tried more photography.This was a more deliberate session where I was trying to capture beauty objectively.I could sense my 

inexperience.The cam was back in the bag and we decided to feel the falls waterwise.Through the chilled water , we waded and reached even closer to the falls.I 

wanted to take some more snaps from where I was , the closest that I had been to the falls.I requested Azad to bring the camera in his waterproof bag as I was a bad 

swimmer.He was good enough to go back and bring the camera.More snaps a few with Azad.We had had our fill.Around 3 , we trekked back.This was hard and I 

should say I did well climbing up.Azad who had done more swimming was more tired and came in after me.

We had our lunch , relaxed , left for Kargal , left for Shimoga , left for Bangalore.The return tickets had not got confirmed.However , as we were early at 

the station , we got upper births in the general compartment and slept peacefully tired......( The train did present a few jerks to the trip.The reservation ticket needed 

to be cancelled by the TT as the computerised cancellation time was over.So I got the ticket cancelled by the TT and ended up boarding the train at the general bogie 

section at the opposite end.I found myself a good looking seat next to the window female, sent an SMS to Azad that 'I am in the train'.After sometime , I got a 

message from him 'Where are you'.I replied saying that 'I might doze off inside another bogie before the next station.'After some more time , he called me and asked 

me 'Where I was' in a very concerned tone and also that he could not hear me as his cell battery was low.I concluded that he had not received my SMSs , probably 

thinks that I might be stuck in Shimoga and may start working things out.I had to reach him.At the next crossing stop , I got down , ran and got to the next general 

compartment , checked for him , panted.I did this again four times.The guard showed the green torch.The next stop was Marikere.I ran through the platform to the 

next bogie which was a reservation compartment.I had planned to walk through to the other end.The doors were locked one after the other and I kept running bogie 

by bogie risking the train.Ten bogies hence was the right one.Azad was sleeping peacefully having received the SMSs late.Is it always better late than never?There was a man on my berth.We had to eat a little of his brain to get him out after which we slept peacefully tired. )

Posted by cinish narayanan on 12:12 AM 

 

Brazil-Holland QuarterFinal WorldCup 2010

When dutch header two followed dutch header one into the Brazilian goal , I froze in silence front of my TV.I can still feel an emptiness in me.I am no die-hard Brazilian fan but all the same somehow I found it hard to digest.

     It was probably the best goal I can think of in the world cup.It was beautiful coordination.A corner headed backwards to be headed sideways on to the goal by Schneider.Well , thereafter Brazil never came back.Brazil did not show anything of worldclass to handle the tight spot they were in.They had lost the game in the 70th minute when Dutch hit the second goal.That was a disappointment.

    The beginning of the match had seen Brazil take the lead in the tenth minute or so and one could feel the airs of an overconfident winner.Brazil was not at all prepared to fight from back.The attitude towards the game that Brazil had displayed in the first round against South Korea was not there in this game.Maicon had scored an amazing goal and was humbled to have got through the tight competition from South Korea.

     Today , Brazil was all airs and once they were down on the scoreboard , all eleven of them lost their balls.They never fought back.

    I still feel unsure on where my emotions are.This is the first match in the worldcup so far that has really touched me.I have watched so far  just to watch a good game not caring much on who wins.I am more of an Argentina fan.So in that sense,it is good for me.But no, I am not happy.I am shocked(low decibel).

   Guess , it is like it is totally unexpected and I am not able to come to terms with this.... 

Goa-May2010

As I sit at my desk with the formidable challenge of blogging the 7 day vacation at Goa last week , I have to notice how much effort is being put into a relaxation vacation and after.We had hired a car which I drove to our destinations and the weather was also a little hot.Hence , most of the days were exhausting and as soon as I land back at the resort(11 PM or later), I just slump and sleep.Photo uploads and putting in the comments/location information is again time consuming. And after all this hard work , there is still lot of vacation left in Goa and I would definitely like to return back.
So , we had landed Saturday(May 15) evening 5 PM+ at the Vasco da Gama airport and had taken a prepaid taxi to Royal Palms,Benaulim. The road to benaulim brought in a lot of nostalgia to both of us.(Grihaadhurathwam).We felt like we were going to our village in Kerala.It was Kerala everywhere all along the way.I even considered taking photographs from here and matching the scenes in Kerala with another set of photographs.It was more of Kerala than Kerala. The road sides were wider and felt lushier too - the only striking difference was the pigs in the fields.The winding roads were also Kerala-like but ofcourse the people were different - their attire and look was totally different.Before we got enough of it , we were at the resort at around 6 PM.Moved around the resort for some time (RoyalPalmsResort) 
Settled down slowly as there was still a week to go and no plans/information at all except for some of the names that Sunil had mentioned to me and Divya's colleagues had mentioned to her.As we were getting accustomed to the facilities at the resort , I read and re-read a spa menu.Next day , I got myself a full-body ayurvedic one-hour message before lunch.This was so refreshing that I can still feel the refresh.Moved around in the resort - played a couple of games of snooker/carroms, gained some information on the places to visit and then got the massage done.
We should be doing something today or else the trend would set in and the entire vacation could confine to the resort.So post-lunch ( Pork Vindaloo and Fish Curry ) , we decided to walk on to the Benaulim beach.While walking , a shop owner-lady offered Activa for rent.We took this and covered Benaulim/Colva beaches.As we had seen a lot of Kerala on our way in , we were apprehensive on whether Goa would live up to expectations. This apprehension fuelled up as Colva/Benaulim beaches matched closely with beaches in Kannur.(ColvaBenaulimSnaps)
Feeling the need to pep up things a bit,we hired a Zen for the next day and planned to cover the most sought Old Goa church and nearby places the next day. Magnificent church.The sun got better of Niya and we could not bear the walking time from the road to the next monument in the sun. We were forced to search for an AC experience and we cut short Old Goa and drove to Panjim where a Ginger hotel provided us the AC convenience as we had our lazy lunch.Zen had AC but the knob would not go to the blue cool section.Divya even gave Niya a bath and this set Niya back where she belonged.Not wanting to make this another slow day of the trip , we drove to Calagunte beach and on the way also saw Aguada fort.(OldGoaAguadaFortCalagunteBeach)
Next day,the Activa owner offered a Wagon R and I decided to take the leap and hire this for the rest of the vacation week though there was no real plans on how to use/where to go etc.There was also a carroms tournament on this day at the resort.Carroms currently being favorite pastime at the office, played and won well.As suggested by the travel desk,we drove to Paradise beach.The car was much better , the roads were good , AC was good and life in Goa had improved.
The main highlight of the entire trip is a tie between Paradise Beach in Palolem,South Goa and Dudh Sagar,water falls.Paradise beach is very beautiful.It is not like Paradise.It is paradise. Quite , slow , extremely beautiful - It is like mother nature has welcomed you with full heart and you are being showered so much love and abundance that you are overwhelmed.You are on a high just by being here and giving up...This particular day, this was the only spot in our plan and hence we were also not in a hurry and was in that sense better attuned to receive the beauty and love.Love might sound a little off-the-board but just think about it and tell me - what is it that you feel when you are in a place that is really serene.It is not just the beauty.One does feel something deeper. (ParadiseBeachSnaps)
Wednesday had been earmarked for shopping at the Flea Market , Anjuna Beach.We had allotted time and money for this. However to our disappointment, market was off-season. Centering Anjuna , we visited nearby places.Baga beach and Vagator beach were both beautiful.These are in North Goa which is more tourism than South Goa.By this time, we had seen so many beaches that we were bored of them and wanted a different experience now.Green sanctuaries/national parks/waterfalls - something like that.(AnjunaBeach)
Had another round of discussion with the travel desk.I used to take lot of time and would give myself time not just to take in the information but also let a decision become on which of the choices offered strikes best.It was decided that Friday was earmarked for Dudh Sagar falls and Thursday for Sahakari spice farm which is the only good green place viable.Sanctuaries were not up to the mark as per our host.Hopeful for a green experience , I took two tickets to Sahakari Spice Farm at 450 Rs per head believing that the ticket price would get accounted for by the beauty.More ticket price should hence mean more green experience.
But Sahakari farm was a ploy.What they offer is a lunch , a lemon grass tea and a half-hour guided tour to see 10 spice plants.Divya had predicted this and I was caught in the defensive.Only justification I could find for the travel desk is that it would because we are Keralites that the marginal utility was not good enough.But the place was green and beautiful and I did some walking around by myself and there were lots of birds and butterflies but there was no time.The lunch was however excellent and the ritual of pouring acitrona oil mixed water down the back after the guided tour was striking as the chilled water saw most of the visitors giving a surprise shreek as the guide pours down the water.

Thursday had started off foolishly.There was no real plans left - no places that we really wanted to go to.Divya read through the guide and we decided to drive to Lotolim village which had been give a 3* rating in the guide written by a foreign author.Travel is indeed a very popular experience in the west much like movies. Lotolim village was the unexpected icing.The guide just spoke of the village being very beautiful with beautiful whitewashed houses.Looked like a perception that might not match ours.To our luck , there was a unique Big Foot museum and a conducted tour of old ancient house which saved not only the evening but overshot and saved the day as well.(AnjunaBeachSahakariFarmSnaps)
  Lotolim museum was unique and had a model village and guides in the various sections of the village explaining the livelihoods of the old goan life.There was also a single-rock sculpture of Mira Bhai(Longest in the world - Part of Limca Records).The sculptor is the museum owner and Divya had actually seen him around.Big Foot is a pretty unique name right - the story behind is unique as follows.A rich kind man kept giving off his riches in charity.Another man took advantage and cheated him and he ended up beggar in the streets.Even as a beggar, he would give off the food he got to the street children.God appeared and offered him anything he wanted.He said , just give me a space in the land to stand on one foot and pray.He prayed on one foot and when his appraisal came,God took him to heaven with a light as in one of those Mahabharatha-Ramayana serials.The impression of his foot is in this museum and you can touch it and pray and your wish would come true provided you don't speak about this to anyone.There is also a notice board of news paper clippings/letters of "Wish came true - Thank you Big Foot".
A novel museum , a fable , some Kokum juice , visit to a grand old heritage home - everything just made the day in a most unique way.(LotolimVillageBigFootSnaps)
Come Friday and we were off to Dudh Sagar.Drove car to Marga , took train to Colem , gypsy to Dudh Sagar.Beautiful place.Falls as such would not compare with Athirappalli falls but on the whole it was good with beautiful green surroundings.Once cameras consumed in as much of falls , I went in to the water and stood under the left falls and had a good time.Muthu had a great time as well and would cry out when pulled out of the water.Allotment of 3 hours is what you get for a Gypsy.As the return train was still 2 hours + ahead , we walked down to the river bed and gave Muthu further opportunity at the water much to her glee.Another good trip came to an end and we reached the train and I slept in the train till the train started from Colem. Train journey is again green and pleasant.(DudhSagarSnaps)
7 PM was the cutoff time for the car and we reached on the dot.Having relinquished our mode for further travel,we focussed on food tourism and ordered ourselves various of the Goan top ten dishes - Crab Xec Xec , King Fish Amot Tik , Bebinca dessert , Pork Sausage , Chicken Cafreal , Prawns Xacuti etc. They were all real mouth watering..
The trip did not come to a smooth relaxed ending.22nd May Morning TV was about the Mangalore air crash.The news had set the tone for the day as we felt sober and concerned.While  going to airport with Muthu in my lap, I suddenly felt like a mortal middle-aged father.There was an abrupt change in the hue.The return flight was caught in turbulence on landing due to the Laila cyclone.Rare air travellers like us were unfamiliar with this.Women in the plane were all praying ferevently with eyes closed.Once we landed safe,the pilot announcement was as follows : "Though we started 10 mins late from Goa,we have managed to land safely in Bangalore at the right time..".Was the pilot himself a little unsure?!!

Niya's First Birthday

The party is scheduled from 7 PM on Feb 13th @ BFC Restuarant , Koramangala.Carrying the cake from the bakery in 7th Sector to the restuarant in 1st sector is the first challenge.Elaborately packed in the form of a pyramid over the cake base , Shajichettan and Deepthi held on to the cake carefully while my driving space was squeezed into a tricycle riding posture.Slowly and carefully , we reached the restuarant and could see a KL registration car in front of us.
Hardly expecting it to be true , I passed the comment - "It is a KL registration car- might be one of our guests."Much to my surprise , it was Binoy'a and Deepak;s family.To add to this , we could see Sudhakaran Maashu and teacher waiting at the restuarant.As Binoy went further to park the car , Shajichettan and myself took the cake to the 2nd floor party hall.While coming down , I told Mash and Teacher that I was going to get my daughter.
Drove hurriedly and got Niya , Divya , My mother and Divya's mother to the restuarant.We had reached 5 minutes past 7.Soon people started trickling in and the event had taken off pretty quickly.Totally unprepared , I had even forgotten that there are certain sequence of activities that need to be done - Cake cutting , Dinner etc.I was happily playing with kids , chatting with different groups while Divya felt uneasy at the disarray that this was turning out to be.
Sanath and Aashish ( Divya's cousins) had set up the music system between my first visit and second visit to the hall.SBI Branch Manager was one of the distinguished guests known only to me and hence I kept finding time to go talk to him.
Rameez was on his way from Kerala in his car.He was coming a day early so that he could attend this function.I felt I should wait for him to arrive for the cake cutting to start.Most of us were college friends of mine or Divyas and hence I did not bother much about keeping them waiting.Same held good for our relatives.In between all this , a few elder family friends got delayed as Rameez came in shortly after 8 PM.
As soon as Rameez and family turned up, we started the cake cutting ceremony which went off pretty well.Niya actually blew off the candle , pretty good for a first birthday!Photographer started clicking off.He started getting in groups to pose for photographs.Divya started complaining to me at this trend while I felt otherwise and we were having arguments on the stage!!Well , as things turned out , the arranged photography sessions quickly died down.
Once I got a gap from photography , Sanath instructed me to invite the guests for dinner.I followed his instructions and soon a queue came into being waiting for the food.Meanwhile , I ensured that BFC service ensured that all the guests were given a piece of the cake.The delay in starting which loomed as a drawback in the initial phase of the party had gone off and now things were more at ease.People liked the food.Some of my friends told me so as well.
Then there was the hurry for getting the right return gifts to the right kids.While this was a scheduled party , this was impromptu as well in that very less thought had gone into how the execution would be.Niya was having the hardest time dressed as a princess.Dressed as a princess , she felt suffocated and Divya being the understanding mother had quickly changed her dress into something more comfortable.However , the rush was still annoying her and she was crying pretty often as was her other batchmates.
Once all the guests had left , group of relatives were left.I had again set myself into a not-a-care-in-the-world mode.I was in the mood to let the night go for another hour or so talking non-chalantly about things that don't matter.Well,soon I went down to settle the bill and the return home started as well soon after the bill payment as everyone else had by then reached the respective cars.
On the whole,it was a very positive experience.I have hardly been at the giving end of any social experience and this one was pretty encouraging.Thanks a lot to all of us who took the time and trouble to make it!