Terror in INDIA.... AGAIN!!!

I have always been very proud of my country. The country is called INDIA and I am an INDIAN. Probably, for the first time in my LIFE, I don’t really have that sense of patriotism in me. The recent happenings in personal, social and political circles have dented my love for my country. The biggest blow has been because of the recent terrorist activities in Mumbai. Unknown number of terrorists have held a nation to ransom for the past 50 hours. It is not known yet (even as I am writing this) as to how many of them are present, the amount of ammunition that they possess, their nationalities and etc etc.

The reason I am ashamed about my country today is that, we are being toothless, powerless, aimless, careless cowards. In plainspeak HIJDAS!! The f###in terrorists keep raping us over and over and over again. All we do in return is bend-over. There have been innumerous attacks and blast over past decade. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is done in return. It is not impossible to keep a nation safe, however big, vast, dense or diverse it is. It just needs political and social will. The will to ensure the safety of fellow human beings. The visuals on television have disturbed me a lot. I am not able to take it off my mind. I could not watch any other channel, not even cartoons. The trauma that innocent people are going through out there in Mumbai, has hurt me a lot. No human being deserves to die in such circumstances. It’s a disgrace on us collectively, that we no longer value human life with the dignity and honor that it deserves. I wonder where the ch##iya politicians are? Safe and secure at their homes, with three-tier security? Sipping on hot chai or hot drinks?? I am very sure that Mr. Shivraj Patil, the home minister would be back on television once its safe, with his usual statements of “We will ensure that the culprits are brought to book.” Or “We will ensure that the safety and integrity of the nation is not compromised.” BALLS to him and his fake statements. There is the usual speculation of the terrorists being from across the border. Theories of they being trained in Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. If we are so sure that the terrorists and their camps are across the border, why don’t we attack them and do a clean-up job. If its not appropriate to attack Pakistan, why not attack POK, which does not belong to Pak anyways?? Are we not plain Eunuchs to be warming up and sitting with folded hands, like sitting ducks?? Why should we try to get international approval to save OUR motherland?? Whom should we get an approval from? The UN? Which is indeed an organization no better than a town municipality. The UN either does not have any powers or is just like INDIA, lazy, ignorant and the least bit bothered about matters of life and death. WHEN is INDIA going to wake up and perform its duties??

The incident has been a common point of discussion even at my workplace. Everyone has their opinion on the subject (just like the way I am having mine here J) Some people blame the government, some the Pakistanis and some even the muslims in general. While one colleague has become extremely vary of them, another has started developing a deep sense of hatred. Yet another is just not bothered about the religion, race or color of the terrorists. But, one thing is for sure, such acts do not make the community any popular. The terrorists themselves are not helping in changing this attitude, as they repeatedly call these activities as JIHAD!! Since I am an atheist and don’t really have any sort of love or hatred to any particular religion, I don’t really have an opinion on the same. I have a lot of friends and some of them are muslims as well. Some really nice, simple and gentle people who are just like any other common man on the street. BUT, they should also be very careful about the situation. They should be aware of the nefarious ideas that the politicians have, so that they get more mileage and in turn votes in the elections. The other communities too should be aware of this.

The manner in which the whole incident has been handled is also very disheartening. Its very easy to be very jingoistic and call the operation a great success. But, in reality it does leave a lot to be desired of. The NSG has no doubt done an admirable job. But, I still don’t understand as to why they would need 9 long and precious hours to reach Mumbai from Delhi? The local administration too has failed miserably. One could see a lot of civilians at close proximity to the places where the militants were present. They were seen to be trying to help victims, congratulating NSG commandos or even simply peeping or staring at whatever was happening. I agree that they were eager to help or even just curious. But, “Curiosity killed the Cat!” it is just not safe for civilians without any sort of training to be in such places. When armed and trained personnel are having a hard time, what do these morons think they could do? Infact I think they do more disservice by blocking the way of ambulances or other emergency services. They also become soft targets to the terrorists. The television news channels are also to be blamed. Though they have been doing a good job at providing information to the concerned fellow INDIANS, they are also causing damage by asking the common man to be journalists. This has lead to people taking risks to click some pictures or shoot videos on cheap cellphones. The media has also been very reckless in going too close to the actual locations to get a closer and exclusive view for their channels. This in turn puts additional burden on the hapless poor policemen. The local administration has shown its lack of planning, preparedness and logic in not cordoning off the areas or putting up barricades such that stupid, curious and dumb people do not become target practice.

Finally, I don’t know when this ordeal is going to end. I am just hoping that it ends soon with as few casualties as possible. I also hope that the coward and selfish politicians pull up their socks and act swiftly and do something about tackling terror. I do not know whether I would live for another day to write another blog, but, I do hope that I will. I would genuinely want to help the authorities in whatever way possible in such situations. But, I would not want to be a hindrance to the sincere efforts of those involved. Hoping for a happy and peaceful tomorrow.

JAI HIND!!

Also:
http://rangaaa.blogspot.com/2008/05/there-were-bomb-blasts-in-jaipur-couple.html
http://rangaaa.blogspot.com/2008/08/is-india-great-country.html

Highway On My Plate

Last weekend was pretty good. I treated some friends for dinner on Saturday. Felt good that kulla and go were there. Was happy to see them engaged. Notably missing were lee and bakra. We also kicked around bagal as it was his b’day. Was back in office yesterday. I was pretty low and sad yesterday. Guess that’s the Monday blues!

Saw the new pepsi commercial featuring dhoni today. liked it immensely. In the ad Dhoni is mocked for not scoring well, not studying well. He then goes on to say that he then studied bowlers, pitches, fellow players and sreesanth!!! The punch line is then “khair itni phadai ke baad ek world cup toh aa gaya, par zindagi mein pyaas rehna chaahiye”. Truth and attitude straight in the face, with loads of confidence. I could very much relate with the ad. My achievements are nowhere close to that of Dhoni, but I am happy and confident with myself. I too have the thirst for more in life, though not for pepsi or coke. Hoping some of that thirst will be quenched over the weekend as I have plans of going off-roading to sakleshpur in reddy’s JEEP!!! Should be thrilling and I am already excited!!! More on that trip after I am back.

Also, watched a show on NDTV goodtimes called “Highway On My Plate” or HOMP for short. Rocky and Mayur are traveling on the roads of INDIA exploring the amazingly diverse and mouth watering cuisines on the way. I absolutely loved the show. The concept, the presentation, the hosts are all just too good. It includes a lot of travel, which is one of my passions in life. I also like shows on food. I watch them once in a while and they remind me of one of my childhood dreams of becoming a chef!!! Food industry’s loss, no one’s gain!! But, the single most important reason that I loved the show is coz one of the guys is a veggie!! All the more reason for me to watch it as I know that there is gonna be talk about some food that I too can enjoy. Every time I watch the show, it reminds me of pomchi and the bike rides that we go on. I am vegetarian and he is not. But, both of us just love the rides!! We too have had some wonderful and satiating food on the highways. Good food on the highways make traveling that much more memorable.

That’s it from me for now. Adios amigos.

Prelude to Himalayan Odyssey 07

The idea of riding a bullet came to my mind when I saw rajesh riding a machismo. I rode his bike from my house to my shop. It was confusing, heavy, rough and tough. “aane ssakdange maga is what he had said…” I did like it, but never thought I would buy one myself.

It was sometime in early 2006 that I was pretty jobless and was searching for places to visit over the internet. I somehow stumbled upon blogs and travelogues written by bulleteers. The sheer passion with which they rode was something that caught my eye. I then started looking up the net for more information. I happened to visit royalenfield.com and saw pictures of Himalayan odyssey 2005. I was absolutely amazed at the sights and the physical challenges that the guys would have gone through. That was THE day that I decided to buy myself a bullet. Whenever I spoke to friends of mine about the bullet, all of them were in awe. “that is the best bike maga….” “Mardonwali bike hai be….” and etc etc… is what I got to hear. Some of the girls said… bulletta?? Thu… ning yak adu?? Girija, my team lead said yen huccho yeno… “togo maga… bike trip hogi maja maadana… is what lee said. In general everyone showed atleast some excitement. My parents were out of the country and hence I spoke to uncle ramanuja about buying a new bullet. “hale bullet alli iro maja, hosadralli illa kano..” was what he said. “hale bullet hutt savirakke togondu maja madu…. Aar tingl aadmele ninge bore aagutte…. Guzri ge haaki, vond mast hosa car togondu settle aagu” is what he said.

With not much idea about bullets I set off in search of one. I suddenly remembered seeing a “for sale” board hung on to a bullet on the footpath of kamraj road. There would always be quite a few bullets out there. Nanda, was the name of the mechanic who bought and sold them. “nan hatra bullet togondu England gella togond hogidare saar…” “nimge yaav budget alli beku heli…. Yaav condition alli beku heli….. kodsana” said nanda. I went home and got my uncle along (for the bargaining) test drove three bullets and finalized a 1984 STd. one. It was black and gave the classic bullet feel and sound. “yeeenu problem illa saar…. Aaaaramagi 3-4 yrs vodsi..” said nanda. He quoted 16K and we finally bought it for 13,400. rode it back home and my cousin shwtha said “thu… dabba bike…. Pulsar is good…. I am not gonna sit on it…”.

I rode it proudly to office the next day. Showed it to all my friends as well. The engine started spewing oil the very next day. “adu yenilla saaar…. Vond chikka spring haakidre sari hogutte” said nandu. It oil leaks never stopped even after a couple of trips to nanda’s garage. The bike felt really majestic, but was very difficult to ride. The suspension was rock hard, I could actually feel going into and out of potholes. It was a pain to start it as well. A couple of weeks later sudan called up and we planned for a trip to his farmhouse. Sab and Sudan on his Splendor Pomchi on his Pulsar and Anu with me on the bullet rode to his farm. We had a great time in the farm. We sent a couple of yelnaaru (coconut water) as well. Told Sab about the plans to go on the Himalayan odyssey. He too wanted to be on the trip. “I will ride pillion…” said Sab. “Super maga!!!” and probably a high-five later we decided to leave. This time Anu sat with Pomchi I guess. Sudan and Pomchi both left first. Anu and Pomchi waved us “bye!!” I guess. Sab hopped on and I opened the throttle. The bullet’s smooth torque pulled us along effortlessly. We were past them in no time and were laughing out loud. Sab turned back and returned a “bye!!” to the guys. The road was a single road and had a layer of sand on it on the sides. I then noticed a very steep turn to the right and also realized that I had almost reached 50kmph by then. I had been in such situation a lot of times on my CBZ and had always been in control of it. All it required for me to be in control was a smooth application of both the brakes and shift to a lower gear. But, I ended up doing none of that. A hard push at the brakes using my left foot is all I did. The relative inexperience with brakes on the left might be the reason for that. “oh f*&#!!!!!” is what I said and then Sab realized as to what was happening. In no time the bullet was on the ground and was pulling us along the tarmac. We were finally thrown off the bike (I don’t know how?) and we fell inside a dry roadside gutter. I was seeing stars. I guess when it is dark and you are lying on you back in a gutter, that is what happens. I got out of the gutter and started dusting myself. “shit!!! This is exactly what I dint want to happen… shit!!!” is what I repeatedly said. The others rushed to us. “Rangu, are you ok?” said sudan. I said I am fine and got my bike up. While putting the mammoth on the main stand I realized an electric shock sorts in my right hand. Sudan saw that and said “that is a deep cut maga….. it needs stiches..” Someone from a nearby house came by and was mumbling.. “eee jagadalli idu maamulu….. vond road hump haaki andre bolimaklu haakakk saaythare…” Sudan got directions to the nearest clinic from him and I sat on his bike. The next 3-4 kms ride was a very painful, bleeding ride. The doctor at the clinic said “saar.. nange stiches haakakke barilla… neevu MS playa dalliro hospital ge hogi….. avru haakthare” and wrapped a bandage around the wound. We came back to THE spot where the others waiting. “nan magne… crash gaurdinda sparks banthu neevu biddaga” said Pomchi. Sab had some minor cuts and I apologized to him a couple of times. Except me, none knew how to ride a bullet and so, I sat on it and kick started it. I asked Sab to sit with Sudan but he refused and came with me. The crashgaurd had a bend and the handle bar had a bend to the left as well. The handle-bar position was very akward and painful as well as I had to streach my right hand to reach the handle. We were then escorted by Sudan in the front and Pomchi just behind us. I and Sab were cracking jokes and laughing in pain. We finally reached London Hospital in MS Palya after a seemingly long 5 km ride. The doctor saw the wound and started enquiring about the accident. After the information exchange he asked me to lie down and gave a local anesthetic to the wound. He started stiching it up along with the usual chit-chat. “neev sotware engineer gala lifeu aaramu ri…” “saar, neev doctorgalige society alli sigo value namge yaavattu sigalla….. yavde matrimonial column togondru doctor ge demand jaasthi….” I said. By now Anu and Pomchi had left the small room as they could not watch the wound being stitched up. Sudan pointed at a small rash on my forehead and asked the doc “doctor, could you have a look at this? Does it need a bandage or something?” the doctor dismissed it as just a small puncture wound. I asked the doctor “so, would you put me in a tub of water to find the puncture? Hee hee….” The doctor just grinned at my joke and Sudan was too tensed to laugh I guess. We were about to leave and I wanted to ride the bull back home. But, the guys would not agree. Sudan wanted to ride the bull and wanted sab to ride his splendor. I protested, “magas, its not easy… I myself got confused. I would not want another accident here. Let me ride it.” As expected there were no takers for my idea. I then came up with another idea. “boys, lets leave the bull here. Not a soul is gonna touch this antique. I shall ride with one of u guys and lets come back in the morning and get it back home.” Again no takers. Finally, anu and sudan decided that sudan would ride the bull and sab who dint ride a geared bike, would ride the splendor. I and anu were supposed to take an auto and reach home. On the way back sudan met with an accident. To cut sudans looooong story short, he braked at a signal and lost balance and landed the big bull on a car or auto whatever. He confessed to this some weeks later. Alls well ends well and I was back home. My aunt was freaked out and she called my uncle immediately. Uncle was cool. “hogli bidu.. ning yenagilla alva.” Said he after patiently listening to my story. The stiches gave me a lot of pain for a few days and I was back at work after a days rest. “yaakri bekittu nimge idella…” said girija. “idella irbek ri madam jeevanadalli…. Ilde horde nim life thara bore aagutte” said Naveen in is usual style. “nim gal hatra yarig maathaadakke aagutte.. yeno maadkolli… Rangan, inna yerad dina rest beku andre leave togondu maneli iri.. nanu adapters testing maadthini” said girija. “super alla maga… aaramagi hogu…” said Naveen with a big grin. I dint want to get bogged down by a small accident, or I guess wanted to be macho, so I worked in pain for the next week. I started riding my CBZ almost immediately.

Life moved on and was pretty normal. “saar, fork bend aagbittide.. handle bend aagbittide.. yak saaar??? Nimge turn kaanislilva??” asked nanda my mechanic. “illa guru, stitch hakiskollo aase ittu…. Charandiyalli biddu stars nodo aase ittu…. Adakke turn nodi saha zoom allli hode.” Is what I wanted to say. But, I ended up saying “hogli bidi guru, repair maadbittu phone madi” uncle and me decided not to tell dad and mom of this as they were supposed to come back in a weeks time. I wore a full-sleeved shirt to the airport and they were surprised to see me dressed like that. Once we reached home, my parents were surprised to see the bull parked inside. “oh!!! Id bere.. naa idre togolokke bidalla antha naa ilde irovaga togondidane….” Is what my dad said, pointing to me and talking to the shop workers. That is his usual way of showing displeasure at something. Or that is his usual style I guess. Once inside and settled uncle said “bikeu togondaythu… tripu hogaythu… rakhta balinu aagaythu..” mom and dad were shocked and calmed down after a patient hearing to the whole story. After the usual “hushargi vodsakk aagalva… nee yavaglu hinge…. Helid maathu kelalla…. Aa bullet sahavasa beda andru kelalla…..” dialogues, dad said “sari, aa accident gaadi modlu maaru…. Aa kittogiro CBZ nu maari vond hosa bullete togo….”

The accident put a lot of doubts in my mind. Doubts such as “will I be able to ride this tough bullet on the toughest of terrains in the Himalayas?” “lets scrap this whole idea of riding o the Himalayas….” I then finally decided to sell the bull and think of the trip later. Even if I were going on the trip, I would do it on a bike that’s in very good condition, nopoint risking life and limb is what I decided. After a lot of haggling and bargaining with fiyaz (another mechanic on nandidurga road) and the good old nanda, I sold the bull back to nanda for 11,000. I did not bother much about the bullet or the Himalayan trip for a while. But, one thing was always at the corner of my mind. This trip was one of the few things that I desperately wanted to do, just for myself. I was not able to decide whether to go ahead or scrap the trip idea. I was very undecided for a while. I finally decided that I wanted to go on this trip. My mom was the one who helped me decide. “bullet togondu, Himalayan trip hog beku antha idini.”, I explained to my parents over dinner one fine night. They thought that I was joking and dismissed it with a casual “NO”. I guess my mom knew me very well and knew that I was not really joking. She thought about this and a couple of days later said “ninge jeevanadalli yenadru achive maadbeku antha idre… why don’t you study further… do you masters or MBA or whatever.. nangintha chennagi ninge gothu adar bagge.” I was confused as to why she said that. When asked she said “himalayakke bike alli hogo badlu mundakke vodi achieve maad bahudalla” is what is said. That was it. My mom helped me decide then and there, in an instant that I was going to the Himalayas on a bullet, COME WHAT MAY!. Thanks mom. I never believed that scores and studies are a true measure of a person. I have always hated the system and the people who give importance to marks and studies. I have hated almost ALL of my teachers. I guess I am a rebel. Don’t know. Don’t care. My idea of life has always been to push myself, to do something that is not ordinary. To go against all those people who make opinions about me based on my marks. To go against ALL those people who thought that I was good for nothing. I thought that riding on the Himalayas could give me the satisfaction of going one-up against all those people. I thought that conquering the Himalayas would put me on a completely different league when compared to all those morons who scored well and were considered a genius by most uncles and aunties.

happy birthday!!!!

06-09-1981 was the day I was born. Something I don’t remember, but my parents say so and all the paperwork shows the same. I can only imagine as to how happy my parents and others concerned must have been on that eventful day. I have now survived on planet earth for 27 long years. Its been good for most parts, bad sometimes and ugly in the recent past. But, I have enjoyed it either ways. I am not sure as to how long I would survive, but considering national averages, genes inherited, lifestyle and etc. I think I should be able to reach 60 or thereabouts. J

I being a stone hearted, unemotional person, have not been too excited about my own b’days. I have rarely ever celebrated them. Way back in school I would hardly be excited about my birthday nearing. I would not bother wearing colored clothes as well. I used to wear the usual school uniform even if we were allowed to do so. Most of my mates would distribute chocolates, but I don’t remember doing it ever. College days brought in some change, friends would remember, wishes came flowing, along with demands for a treat. Even then I mostly enjoyed the good times and the fun we used to have.

Though we own a bakery and prepare cakes for numerous people everyday, I have never had a cake being prepared for me. Maybe, I had one on my first b’day. J It does give me satisfaction and happiness when we sell them to the customers. The excitement, happiness and concern with which people order and collect cakes from us makes me sometimes wonder “isn’t it just another day??”

Thousands are born every single day, what does it mean to them over the coming years?? I have never had an answer. I treat it as just another day. Family and friends usually wish me. It gives me a good feeling. A feeling that I mean something to them, that I am important to them. But, mostly I have quite, simple b’days. The usual routine interspersed with lot of phone calls is how I have celebrated my b’days. I don’t know why, but I am genrally low, bored and depressed on an otherwise memorable day.

But, my last two b’days have been very different, I have ended up cutting two cakes on both occasions. Last year I was in dallas and this time around in namma bengaluru. This year it was very painful as well. The guys would just not stop kicking me. It was time for me to get my share of “birthday bumps” J it was their way of showing their love and affection I think. For a change, this year I managed to get a few gifts as well ;)

All in all, it was a good day. The past year has been very eventful. Its been a mixed bag, as life always is. Looking forward to another eventful year ahead. I am not sure as to whats in store for me. Hoping it would be good.

Adios!!

Is INDIA a great country??

The past week has got me thinking on whether our nation is GREAT?? Its probably coz of the 61^st independence day that we celebrated yesterday.

Most people are jingoistic about this question and tend to come up with an emphatic “YES!! We are the greatest nation in the world…..” ask them to explain or substantiate their claim and the immediate answer is “our culture… it’s the best in the world!!” I feel its foolish to compare cultures of different countries or eras. Undoubtedly, we have a culture that is thousands of years old. It has withstood the test of time. But, somewhere it became stagnant. It has to be flowing like a river. If its dammed, it becomes still and gets corrupt over a period of time. That is probably what happened when we were busy with driving the british out of our motherland. The colonial rule made us to stick to our way of life, more than what was required. In the process we were averse to change and came up with rules as to what was right and what is not! We did not let things change in a natural process. The resistance to change is still evident in our day-to-day life. People blindly want to follow things just coz their forefathers did so. This resistance to change is probably the single and most important reason for ALL the problems that INDIA is currently facing today. Problems such as poverty, illiteracy, casteism, ignorance, corruption and many more.

We have started taking many of these as a way of life. Infact, the problems have become so deep rooted that we have been taking them in our stride and accept it as a part of everyday life. People below the poverty line without basic comforts (or shall we call them necessities) still make up a sizeable chunk of our population. Nearly half of our countrymen (and women and children) are illiterate. We are still divided and united based on caste, religion and language. Ignorance and corruption are evils that are still rampant. To cap it all we are extremely emotional and sentimental about most things. These problems have become a part of our system. People going against the system are mocked at, threatened or are just plain emotionally blackmailed. All this has in turn led a lot of people to say “this country would never change…” infact, this attitude has forced many to look elsewhere and move out of the country for good.

With all of this the future looks really bleak. It seems like we are doomed. But, but, but, hope is eternal and we are a nation who survives on hope. Hoping that this would change, hoping that things will get better. I sometimes feel that this hope is futile and that the hope is just giving us a false sense of achievement and a chance to being jingoistic. Nevertheless, even I am hopeful. Hopeful that in the recent years there has been some change, that there has been a start. Hopeful that this would continue, or even chug along at a decent pace. This needs a lot of sacrifice from many of us. We should not become escapists and run away from our problems and difficulties. The logical thing is to be in the system and try to make a difference. It might cause a lot of pain, it might end up in a lot of failures. But, I guess we owe it to the future generations of our country. I probably would not have been able to write all of this if our forefathers had not made sacrifices, so that WE could live in an independent nation. We need to be in the system, face the reality, go thru the grind, the pain, the frustration and the failures. Like in the case of many of our freedom fighters, we might not be alive to enjoy the fruits. But, that is the only way to make my country a better place to live in.

These thoughts made me come to the conclusion that INDIA is not a great country. Its just another country with loads of problems and tons of good things about it.

JAI HIND!!

FCGI trek

being in the midst of nature has always given me a lot of pleasure. it induces a sense of calmness into my boring life. whenever i get the feeling "ade kittogiro lifeuu", i tend to visit the forests or mountains, either on my bike or go on a trek.
this time around i and pomchi decided to join the trek that was organized by the FCG trekking club. the plan was to trek to bramhagiri from irupu falls. we left the FCG office by 9 PM i guess, on friday. the trekkers were a group of young guys, most of whom were just out of college. spending time with them reminded me of my good old days in college. :-) the ride in the TT to srimangala was very uncomfortable. the seats were cramped and i coud not sleep. after a while it got so bad that i moved around some of the bags to make space on the floor. i then slept on the TT floor for the rest of the journey!!! after a light breakfast we headed out towards the forest to start our trek. the forest officials did not let us go to bramhagiri and instead sent us over to narkani. two forest office guides were to assist us in our endeavour.
before we started smruti asked us to apply the mixture of "nashya + kobbre yenne" to safegaurd ourselves from leeches. i thought that there wont be any leeches in the forest at this time of the year and decided not to bother. this i later realized, was a big mistake. we started our trek by following the guide who led us into the forest. it was dense and very little sunlight could reach the soil. hence, the ground was damp and was covered with moist leaves. this was an early indication of this to come. :) the route was pretty steep and the surroundings were absolutely beautifull. slowly we moved ahead to realize that we could not afford to stop and enjoy the nature. every small stop would mean a few leeches clinging on to our shoes and then slowly moving inside or move up towards our knees!

this was a first time experience to most of the trekkers and they were naturally freaked out by these blood sucking otherwise harmless creatures. none of us were prepared and most of them would stop after a few paces to check and also pullout the creatures that were clinging on to their legs. it was surprising to see our guides not wearing shoes. they were trekking using hawai chappals!! on hindsight, this seems the best way to tackle leeches. we then moved faster to reach a bright and sunny place where it was safe to rest. the place was very pretty. the low lying clouds and the complete greenery made for a splendid setting. we could feel the clouds moving and also feel it cutting thru us and the betta. after the customary leech removal session we moved ahead to the tip of the betta. on the way i and pomchi found a dead and decaying snake!! on the top we joked around about the leeches. our imagination was that would surely be on the "leech news" channel where the leeches would be bragging about their success stories of the day. 30 humans to suck on would surely be breaking news we thought. :-)
after a small lunch we headed back towards our dorm. on the way we even had a puncture!! a puncture is turnng out to become very common on all my recent trips.
the evening was very colorful and enjoyable with all of us gathering around a pool-side campfire. most of them were in high spirits and this was followed by a session of dancing. all of us had a good night's sleep after a tiring day.

the next morning we decided to visit irupu falls before heading back to b'lore. this was my second visit to irupu. once there, i had fond memories of my last visit there with kulla, mulla, sudan and lee boy. once near the falls a few of us decided to venture up further and reach the tip of the falls. so, off we went. it was very narow and steep route. after a while we met a few locals we said we were trespassers and had to get prior permission from the forest officials. even then we went up further and after a while decided to get back. on the way back we got to see some natural spectacular scenes. the top-view of the falls was very exciting. bhaskar (venki would lovingly call him duryodhana!!) loved the natural beauty so much that he stood there for a long time and was not ready to get back!!! ;-) we missed charan's binoculars a lot when we were up there. with that we could have had a closer and better view of curvacious rocks and forests down under. nevertheless we managed to have a good time and then also managed to get bhaskar down and back into the cab. the ride back to b'lore was smooth and tiring. all of us were cursing the fact that had to get back to the grind the next morning. but, that is life!!

indians eat too much food!! ??

last week i read george bush, the president of usa making a statement that the growing economies of India and China is making the people there eat more, hence causing food prices around the globe to go up. i was not at all surprised at the statement. only the stupid mr. bush can make such absurd statements. i am back in bangalore after a 9 month stay in dallas and was amazed that such an ironic statement was made by the president of a counrty that takes pride in splurging.
firstly, the people there tend to overeat. they then become obese and spend money on weight reducing regimens. ultimately most of them remain obese and eat more and more. more than what is required for survival or a decent healthy living. secondly, and more baffling was the fact that you have to buy large quantities of anything and everything you buy. the idea is to encourage the consumer to buy more of the same product. this is done by using "economies of scale". for eg. you get more milk for a comparatively lesser price. it seems to be a win-win situation where the producer sells more, makes more money and at the same time the comsumer get more at a lesser cost. but, the catch here is that food products are perishable, safety and hygenie standards expected are high. all of these products have a very small shelf-life and most people tend to dump the stale food. there is a big lobby behind not selling smaller quantities at resonable prices. the amounts of food that people wasted there made me very sad. the millions of starving people back home would immediately come to my mind.
contrast this with the scenario in most Indian middle-class households like mine. we buy in small quatities if the product has a very small shelf-life. (a liter of milk a day for a family of 3 for eg.) none of us are obese, nor are we sick and starved. we either eat edible leftovers or give them away to hungry road-side beggars. Indians tend to share food even in restaurants!!!! (this is save money mostly, ;-) but, it does save food as well) mr. bush's statement is not only baseless, it is also kiddish. you dont expect a big bully to complain!! ;-)
India could face an acute shortage of food in the coming few years. this is not because of higher consumption, but coz of the fancy, short-sighted plan called SEZ. most of these special economic zones are carved out from agricultural land. at this pace the backbone of the country might be broken sooner than expected. in a few decades from now, what will future generations of India eat?? software?? or something produced from these SEZ's?? its high time the babus and netas realize that land is a limited commodity and fertile agricultural land is precious. the SEZ's just solve existing problems temporarily and crop up bigger and larger problems. it is imperative for a counrty of a billion to be self-reliant on food. if we are to reach a situation where we need to export food, it may wreak havoc with our economy. :( like what fuel prices are doing to the growing economy now.
the solution to this is to use wastelands or barren land to build and promote SEZ's. care should also be taken to preserve the forest cover in the country. another reason for the popularity of SEZ's is that they provide tax-breaks. we should ensure that this is not misused by the large corporations.

blasts in jaipur - terrorism in India

there were bomb blasts in jaipur a couple of days earlier. some seven blasts rocked the city of jaipur. this is not the first time that there have been blasts in India. this is also not an one-off terrorist act on our soil. bomb blasts have become a regular thing in our country. the blasts in hyderabad, malegaon, mumbai, new delhi, varanasi and etc etc... there have also been other acts of terrorism. our successive governments have repeatedly failed to control these acts of terrorism. it makes me feel that we are a nation of "hijda's". it also gives me a feeling that we are bunch of "good-for-nothings" who just eat, make babies and watch cricket. its a matter of national shame that we have tolerated this for so many decades. its a disgrace to humanity, to the democracy that we like and enjoy. all that the fu##ing politicians do is make bloddy statements after every blast. thousands and thousands of our brothers and sisters have been killed or maimed over the years. the ch##iya politicians are just not bothered. more painful is the fact that people in general have started to take this for granted. not many people seem to be bothered about the loss of innocent lives. "hmm... yesterday hyderabad.. today jaipur.. tomorrow it could happen in our city..." is what is commonly heard from people. some smypathy thrown at the families of people and we tend to move on with our daily routines. some people are more worried about the fate of IPL, aishwarya's dress, rakhi sawant's cleavage and etc etc. some dumb-fu##'s dont even know that people are dead in jaipur. we are no different from the fu##in politicians. we are the bast###s who elect them. "we will ensure that the culprits are punished" is a common statement from the corrupt leaders. the max that they do is pay a visit to the hospitals and promise aid and make sure that they are on national television. this whole laidback attitude makes me feel sick. when are we going to change? will we ever change? we have a lot to learn from countries like Israel and USA. the way they tackle terrorism with an iron fist is relly commendable. "we are a huje nation, our population does not allow us to do the same" , "solving big problems like terrorism is not easy" are some of the statements i have heard from people. this is absolutely bull-shit. we just lack the will to do it. we do have the capability to solve the problem. but, we seem to just passs the buck. the cops would be vigilant for a few days and then get back to their usual "chalta hai" attitude for a few thousand rupees in bribe. there has to be some solution to this problem. i have no clue as what or how this could be solved. but, i would be willing to do my part for it. hoping things change for the better.

My Top 10 Bike-rides

after quite a few bike trips i decided to come up with my own "top 10 bike trips"
this is entirely my perspective.
here we go:
10: yelagiri
the ride to this small lesser know hill station in tamil nadu was very pleasing.
9: yercaud
the yecaud ride is memorable because this was my first trip on my bullet. it was very close to the himalayan odyssey 07 and i just wanted to get used to the bullet.
8: all the rides to sakleshpura
sakleshpura was a short distance from hassan. but the route was a dream. it had straight stretches where we could test the top-speeds of our bikes, also it had high speed corners where we could test our riding skills by bending the bike as far as possible. the rides would with the boys in class, some 5-6 bikes. we would mostly go to manjarabad fort and get back. the trips would be planned during a lecture and we would just bunk the next class and get back before lunch!! i and poo poo would also ride to sakleshpura, sometime late in the night, just for kicks. it would be shivering cold and pitch dark. the rides to sakleshpura had to be in the top 10 as i have very fond memories with friends on this route.
7: gaganachukki - talkad
this was one of my first rides on the CBZ. those were the days when only speed mattered. :-) i was not very experienced and it was a very good learning ride. still remember that i had a puncture near talkad. the headlight also stopped working on the way back. this is probably the only trip with my oxford friends.
6: mangalore
this is a notorious trip!! i and kulla wanted to play around in a beach, since the nearest one was is mangalore we decided to go there!!! :-) i rode at breakneck speeds on shiradi ghat from hassan to mangalore. we played around in the beach and rested in a cousin's place and got back to hassan the same evening. the trip later became notorious coz my cousin told my dad that i had ridden my bike there whereas i had told them that i used a KSRTC bus!!! :-( hee hee.... all in all it was a very high-speed ride in the ghats.
5: muthodi - kudremukh - horanadu
we wanted to do something over the republic day 07 weekend. we decided to hit some forest on our bikes. off we went to muthodi forest. once there we decided to go to kudremukh. the green scenery here is absolutely spectacular. the long winding roads were a treat to the eyes as well as to the bike. we then went to horanadu before heading back home in b'lore.
4: karwar and jog
unofficial trips (unknown @ home) always give that extra satisfaction. this trip was not at all planned and we just packed a bag and left. we got to see the majestic jog during one of the best monsoons in ages. riding on wet roads in high speed corners is one the highlights of the trip. its probably the best unplanned trip that i have ever been on.
3: twin trips to mullayangiri
hassan to mullayangiri in the rainy season is special. twice in two days with different people is AWESOME!! the roads were slippery and visibility was poor due to fog (at noon!!). the landscape was wet and absolutely beautiful. there is no prettier sight than seeing cloud covered mountains from the highest peak in karnataka.
2: kodachadri - agumbe
this trip was planned and executed within a week of me landing in bangalore from dallas. it took a lot of courage to finish this trip sucessfully after lee and darpan crashed up. the off-road routes were too good. the ride to kodachadri in darkness was pure madness. we got a first-hand view of nature's splendour on this ride.
1: himalayan odyssey 2007
not much to say about this. the ride, the weather, winds, cold, rain, unforgiving terrain, bad gearbox springs, screwed up transport of bikes, lack of oxygen and etc etc.... made this one of my most memorable trips ever. some pics are @ http://picasaweb.google.com/rangan.iyengar/HimalayanOdyssey2007

Kodachadri - Agumbe bike trip

When i was in Dallas, i relly missed the bike trips that we enjoyed the most. So, when it was confirmed that i would land in bangalore sometime in april, we decided to go on a bike trip to... someplace. :-)

Since my bike was in a bad shape after my himalayan odyssey 2007 i got it fairly fixed the very next day i landed in bangalore. Initially myself and pomchi were supposed to go solo, but darpan and leelu also decided to join us. Our plan was to leave b'lore on may 1st and reach murudeshwar, kodachadri on the 2nd, agumbe on the 3rd and back to b'lore on the 4th of may 2008.

Our plan was to leave b'lore early within 6 AM, but ultimately managed to leave nelamangala only by 8.30 AM, all thanks to the lazy ass leelu who woke up when i reached his house to pick him up!!!! when at his door he signalled that is gonna take a bath!! he is the root cause of ALL delays in ALL our trips. to kill time i woke up navya and bakra at 6 on a holiday. ;-) the ride to nelamangala was a pain due to heavy traffic and road-widening projects on the route. we joined pomchi and darpan who were waiting there for us. the ride to tumkur was smooth and boring on the 4 lane NH. not long ago this streach was notorious for traffic jams and accidents, a good job by NHAI has solved the problem. leelu switched bikes and rode with darpan after a while. we had a good breakfast at tiptur and rode towards kadur. i stopped for some yelaneeru just outside beeroor at a railway crossing. pomchi joined me and some 10 mins later he got a call from leelu saying "maga aaykondvi.. skid aaythu.." we rushed to the spot to see darpan very tense and somewhat shaken. lee was in a lot of pain. the bike seemed intact, but the guys seemed like bhikaris with their clothes completely torn.

the good thing about the bad roads in India is that they pass through lots of villages and the people there are very helpful when there is an accident. with some help i rushed the guys to a nearby hospital in an auto. the hospital seemed good enough for such a small town. darpan was now very tensed and still in shock. "doctor, internal bleeding check maadi... doctor, x-ray tegdu internal bleeding aagidiya antha check madi..." was what he ordered the doc, pointing to his huge tummy. leelu was as usual laidback and cool, though in a lot of pain. to assure darpan we got an x-ray of his tummy!! which turned out to be a blank sheet. :) all four of us then had some chai and laughed out the whole incident. we took a few pics of the patients as well. life moves ooon and we had a good laugh at the situation. we then transferred the guys to a lodge in kadur. most of them were full coz of the upcoming elections. after lunch at masala dhaba we decided to watch "tashan" in one of the local tents, just to kill time. the movie was sad and we walked out after ogling at kareena in a couple of songs.
we sent the guys back to b'lore with help from a couple of darpan's friends. i and pomchi decided to continue the trip and not go back. it took a lot of courage from us to go ahead with the trip. its never easy to see your friends crash up and limp around and still hop on to the bike to finish the trip. nan maklu aaykond mele even we lost some confidence. we then made some changes to our plan and skipped murudeshwar and decided to go to kodachadri directly from kadur. we rode to shimoga and met badani at the bhadra dam in lakavalli. "neev bike mele bari scam madode aaythu kandrilla" is what he said in his own unique style about leelu and darpan. i sorely missed leelu in shimoga as we had decided to go to our usual restaurant and have dosa there. amazingly no in shimoga knew the route to kodachadri. "sagara hogi ne hogbeku saar" said one. we had decided on shimoga-ayanuru-hosanagara-nagar-kodachadri the previous night using our map! we reached ripponpet after ayanuru and some 3 kms further pomchi had a puncture on his front wheel. i went into the town to get someone to fix it, but not one was available or willing to come. "savkarru helde naa yelligu baralla saar" said one. "wheel togobanri haakodana" said another. we then removed the wheel and got it fixed. we rode on towards nagar and then sampekatte. we then spent the next 2 hours or more covering 9 kms towards kodachadri. the road is non-existant and there are huge rocks on the road. only 4WD jeeps use the road (so-called) to ferry passengers to kodachadri. the road seemed in the same state some 5 yrs ago. after the first 2 kms it was pretty dark and we had to rely on our headlights. they were not of great help coz of the mist. the route was very steep and we had to cover the entire distance in first gear. the loose sand and the gravel made sure that the tyres did not have adequate grip and we would skid quite a lot. the technique here is to not slow down too much as the bike would go then stop or start going back downhill. there has to be some momentum maintained to ride over the rocks and also to ensure that the bike dint come to a halt, which would make it extremely difficult to balance as the surface is uneven and very steep. we had no other option but, reach the top as it was too very dangerous to ride back downhill with limited visibility. i was not getting much power from my bike as the throtle seemed to be very hard. i would still stop at regular intervals to ensure that pomchi was on track. at one point i had to ride over a very steep place, but i did not have enough speed and ultimately the bike came to a halt. the best thing to do at this time is to get off the bike swiftly and make sure that the bike is smoothly lowered on to the ground. ayesha at HO-07 would do this perfectly. it seemed ages since we started and the destination was no-where in sight. the forest, darkness, mist and bad road made the situation pretty scary. every once-in-awhile we would see a jeep and ask "inna yesht doora ide saar??". "inna yeradoovare km ide hogi" was the reply. the jeeps and the jeep drivers were our only hope for survival if something went wrong. :-) after a long ride we could see some lights and we had finally made it to kodachadri in 1 peice. we had a sense of achievement and satisfacion once we reached our destination. we managed to get a matress, bed and pillows in a corner of the dormitory available.

the next morning pomchi was famous even before he woke up!! (we did not get bedsheets the previous night and we had to sleep in the cold). all the other trekkers woke up early and were taking pictures of pomchi as he was sleeping on the matress and using the bed as a bedsheet!! a funny sight indeed. the early morning view was very beautiful. the clouds and the greenery was very pleasant and relaxing. all the difficulties of the previous day seemed worth it after the breathtaking view. after a small trek to sarvangna peetha we had a light breakfast and decided to leave to agumbe. my bullet was already short on petrol the previous night, so we filled it up with a liter of petrol from pomchi's bike. "maga yerad sari anthu pakka beelthini" is what pomchi said of our ride back down. i said "maga confident agi iro.. correct agi vodsu yenu aagalla". finally we said bye to kodachadri and started headig back. every turn and every slope was a challenge. going downhill is never easy, it requires a lot of skill. i told pomchi things like "magi neutral alli vodis beda, first alli hodi" and etc etc...

every now and then we would wonder as to how we went uphill on this streach in the night with a lot of fog!!!!! just the thought made us proud. we made a few stops and took a few pictues and enjoyed the nature. the ride back downhill took more time than goin uphill. to give you an idea of our speeds, a group of trekkers were keeping pace with us!!! and beating us at times!! :-) pomchi fell off his bike twice at the same place!!! the second one was too funny.. he fell in front of his bike. hee hee. this was the same place where i fell off my bike the previous night!! we finally managed to complete the off-road ride safely and reached sampekatte safely. we then headed towards nagar and filled in some petrol for the bullet there. we also saw a small fort which was pretty decent. we rode to teerthahalli where we stopped by for petrol and lunch. the small town was crowded with election observers and most of the restaurants were packed. we expected the ride to agumbe from there to be tough with lots of ghats, but it turned out to be a simple streach of road.

we booked a lodge in agumbe and the owner provided us with two guides to show us around. the guides were cricket playing 10th std kids. they seemed to be innocent kids who were excited to sit on our bikes. they took us to barkhana first. we did another off-road ride in the dense forest to reach the place. half-way thru we had to stop our bikes and walk as a tree was blocking our path. we trekked to barkhana viewpoint from there. the view there was absolutely breath-taking!!! it was one of the best views i had ever seen. it was green dense forests all around. "akasmika shooting aagidd ille anna" said our enthusiastic guide. "rajkumar avru ide maradinda nethadiddu!!" said another. we took pictures and were in awe of the place. we then did another small off-road ride to jogi-gundi falls. then we rode to sunset point which is famous in agumbe. the sunset was great but the big crowd did not allow us to enjoy it peacefully. i got my bike fixed at a local mechanic who told us not to miss kundadri betta. "neev adanna nodidre vapasse hogalla saar" he said. we decided to visit the place and then leave to b'lore the next day.

we woke up early and left to kundadri betta. the mist on the road had not cleared yet and visibility was not that great. the ride to the betta was steep but the road was a good single lane road. the view atop was a disappointment as the cloud cover did not let us enjoy the sunrise or the scenic beauty. we waited for half an hour and then decided to leave to sringeri. we had breakfast in sringeri and visited sirimane falls. we again had to do a small off-road ride to reach the falls. the falls was good but, had less amount of water. it was one of the most well-maintained places that i have seen in India. the forest dept. has done a great job out here. though we could enter the falls for a bath we left as we had to ride back all the way to b'lore. the route from sringeri to balehonnur was a smooth ride with lots of fast corners which gave us a good opportunity to bend our bikes and enjoy the ride! we had coffee in our favorite coffee shop in balehonnur. while there we were recollecting our ride a year ago in these parts with badani, leelu and murthy. that ride was on my CBZ and this on my bullet. we then reached chickmagalur and then hassan where we went to out usual hangout "satish angadi" and had a slice. we both recollected out good old days in hassan three years ago. time flies!!! the ride from hassan to b'lore was boring and also we were extremely tired after riding so much over the past three days. the off-road rides did take a lot out of us. in bellur cross i said to pomchi "sisya, ee streach na next time inda out-source maadana..." hee hee. from there we safely reached our homes by 7.30 PM.

overall it was a GREAT trip. except the first day crash, this trip was very satisfying and challenging. the highlight of the trip was off-roading to kodachadri at night.

some pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/rangan.iyengar/KodachadriAndAgumbe

duration: 4 days

route: b'lore-tumkur-tiptur-kadur-beeroor-kadur-bhadravati-shimoga-ripponpet-ripponpet-ripponpet-ripponpet- nagar-sampekatte-kodachadri-nagar-teerthalli-agumbe-kundadri-sringeri-balehonnur-chickmagalur-hassan-b'lore

distance: roughly 1100 kms

petrol: roughly 30 liters

first!

i have been wanting to do this (blogging) from a long long time.
but, somehow i did not have the will or the time to give it a start. ;)

the past few weeks have been dry and uneventful.
i have been a wee bit irritable and low.. (which is rare in my case)
my stay in dallas is slowly coming to an end.
the countdown has begun and i should be back home in bangalore in the next fortnight.

was getting bugged.... so, went to the dallas flight museum near the dallas lovefield airport...
sandeep, who is a colleague of mine in AT&T also tagged along..
that is an F-16 out there.

ok. i am hoping that i would continue to blog.
time will tell!! :)