And it's only half over yet. It was the week when one of the work's migration projects went live, demos were made, and my boss took off to greener pastures.
Anyways, I ain't complaining. I had shit to do :) - and I enjoyed doing it. Now comes a long weekend - tomorrow is off and I'll take friday, make it into a four day weekend and go to Coorg with Sidd and company. Should be interesting - though we don't have any place to live at yet - could be a sticky issue. I'll try to keep twitter going - unfortunately I don't have a camera so there won't be any pictures out of the trip - save the ones coming from my phone.
Life's been the same otherwise - I'm investigating a few things - trying to see if they work out. The problem with doing shit like that is that when shit don't work out, life just starts feeling like a bigger bitch that it really is. I can't somehow keep my expectations down from my own life.
Anyways, that's that for now - will update after the weekend most probably - unless we don't make it there for some reason.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A (rare) thank you to my parents
Not much to report on - the django bit is going well, as is learning some more python. Both are quiet entertaining too, I might add. Work is slow as ever. Life is slow as ever.
I was thinking about my folks the other day. I do complain about them - and most of those complains aren't baseless - they can be corroborated. But one thing I have to commend them on, and more than that, thank them for is never leaving us hanging. I mean this in general terms, but in this specific instance, I am talking about the financial support they have always given us. I am not talking about them paying our way through high school or college (in my opinion, that is a parent's responsibility - to pay for at-least 4 years of education post high-school - I plan to be ready for that) but of their extra curricular support. All through college, I never had to worry about having too little money, or not doing something I wanted to do, or not enjoying the most of college that I could - because I knew that if I were ever in trouble, my folks would be there - like a pillar - to always support me. Even now, when I moved to India and didn't have too much money to do and buy everything I wanted, they never hesitated to give me all that I asked for - and more. And I personally feel that I've been shameless about asking them to buy me things that I didn't really need, things that were pure luxury - like a new car. Yet they never hesitated, never made me think that I was asking for too much, that I was asking for something that wasn't meant for me.
And to actually broaden on this, both my parents have played the role of support structures to perfection. You know what they say about being around your parents - it makes you feel like a kid. Some people don't have that feeling, but I still do, and while I complain and give myself a hard time about allowing that, deep inside me, somewhere hidden, it gives me great comfort - I like feeling like a kid, feeling that my parents are always there - to take care of everything - fix everything (I might be overdoing this a little - to the point of making myself look like a mama's boy or some-such, but this is just to give an idea).
I remember when I first went to college, among other things, my dad told me this - always remember, there are very few problems that cannot be solved with money. I still hold that to heart - and I thank the gods that I have him, nay them, around to always support me in such times.
I was thinking about my folks the other day. I do complain about them - and most of those complains aren't baseless - they can be corroborated. But one thing I have to commend them on, and more than that, thank them for is never leaving us hanging. I mean this in general terms, but in this specific instance, I am talking about the financial support they have always given us. I am not talking about them paying our way through high school or college (in my opinion, that is a parent's responsibility - to pay for at-least 4 years of education post high-school - I plan to be ready for that) but of their extra curricular support. All through college, I never had to worry about having too little money, or not doing something I wanted to do, or not enjoying the most of college that I could - because I knew that if I were ever in trouble, my folks would be there - like a pillar - to always support me. Even now, when I moved to India and didn't have too much money to do and buy everything I wanted, they never hesitated to give me all that I asked for - and more. And I personally feel that I've been shameless about asking them to buy me things that I didn't really need, things that were pure luxury - like a new car. Yet they never hesitated, never made me think that I was asking for too much, that I was asking for something that wasn't meant for me.
And to actually broaden on this, both my parents have played the role of support structures to perfection. You know what they say about being around your parents - it makes you feel like a kid. Some people don't have that feeling, but I still do, and while I complain and give myself a hard time about allowing that, deep inside me, somewhere hidden, it gives me great comfort - I like feeling like a kid, feeling that my parents are always there - to take care of everything - fix everything (I might be overdoing this a little - to the point of making myself look like a mama's boy or some-such, but this is just to give an idea).
I remember when I first went to college, among other things, my dad told me this - always remember, there are very few problems that cannot be solved with money. I still hold that to heart - and I thank the gods that I have him, nay them, around to always support me in such times.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
WoW has lost it's luster
I have been a big fan for almost a year and a half now. However, in recent days, the games fandom has lost a citizen. My game play has gone from 2-3 hours/day to <1hour/week. For those who know me, this would seem like a miracle - I used to be totally engrossed in the game, and now I'm not. Let me recount the reasons.
For a while, I had been feeling disillusioned with the game. Nay, not the game, but the group of people (Guild) I play with. I had seen some politicking happening, people were saying something and doing something tangentially different, were recruiting new members without any respect for the group or the older guys etc. etc. The reason all this pissed me off was 'cause my main reason for playing the game wasn't the game itself, but the community surrounding it, and the few friends I had made in that virtual world. All that was breaking down now. All this had, hence, made me reduce my game play time by a little, but not too much.
Then I went to KL to visit my folks, my laptop's charger fried, and I was left without my machine for ~2 weeks. That was what broke the camel's back. I didn't miss not playing during those 2 weeks - in-fact, for some reason, I enjoyed the absence of the game. I read, slept, and did other shit I liked (or didn't...). All this meant that when I did finally have the use of my laptop again, WoW wasn't the first thing I started (like I would have done in the past). Instead, I went about doing other things - catch up on news, read blogs, learn some new systems etc. Now it's come to a place where in the last month, I have only attended the weekly guild night and haven't played the game outside of that. Most I have done other than that one morning of game play is hit the Auction house and sell all my shit. It's funny how I was broke when I was playing and now that I'm not anymore, I'm kinda rich :).
Anyways, I'm happy with this change, for now anyways. I don't feel the urge to play the game anymore. I can manage without it, and that's what I'm doing :).
For a while, I had been feeling disillusioned with the game. Nay, not the game, but the group of people (Guild) I play with. I had seen some politicking happening, people were saying something and doing something tangentially different, were recruiting new members without any respect for the group or the older guys etc. etc. The reason all this pissed me off was 'cause my main reason for playing the game wasn't the game itself, but the community surrounding it, and the few friends I had made in that virtual world. All that was breaking down now. All this had, hence, made me reduce my game play time by a little, but not too much.
Then I went to KL to visit my folks, my laptop's charger fried, and I was left without my machine for ~2 weeks. That was what broke the camel's back. I didn't miss not playing during those 2 weeks - in-fact, for some reason, I enjoyed the absence of the game. I read, slept, and did other shit I liked (or didn't...). All this meant that when I did finally have the use of my laptop again, WoW wasn't the first thing I started (like I would have done in the past). Instead, I went about doing other things - catch up on news, read blogs, learn some new systems etc. Now it's come to a place where in the last month, I have only attended the weekly guild night and haven't played the game outside of that. Most I have done other than that one morning of game play is hit the Auction house and sell all my shit. It's funny how I was broke when I was playing and now that I'm not anymore, I'm kinda rich :).
Anyways, I'm happy with this change, for now anyways. I don't feel the urge to play the game anymore. I can manage without it, and that's what I'm doing :).
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Letters from Iwo Jima - an (non)attempt at a review
I saw Letters from Iwo Jima recently and figured I should write down my thoughts on it. I had earlier seen it's companion movie - Flags of our fathers, and hadn't been quiet impressed. Letters, on the other hand, was one of the better movies I have seen recently.
It's the story of the Japanese soldiers who fought to "defend" the island of Iwo Jima from the American invaders. The main protagonists - General Kuribayashi and Saigo were shown as affable men, those who were empathetic to their fellow man, yet knew what they had to do (a misguided sense of duty in my opinion, but sense of duty nonetheless). The movie is interspersed with scenes showing their humanity, their sense of humor, their sense of right and wrong, their longing to go back home, their courage in the face of inevitable defeat and death. We got to learn what General K thought about his visit to the US, how Saigo was forced into going to war, how his wife reacted when they got the letter asking him to go to war, his kind loving words and resolute promise to his unborn baby that night. All these scenes added up to give the viewer a sense of what those times were like, how tough they were for both the sides (we have, after all, seen more than a couple movies telling the American side of the story) and how similar the various people involved were, in their feelings towards the war (I had got a taste of this in Memoirs of a Geisha too).
It was a movie that told it's story like it happened - no sugar coating, nobody was a hero, nobody was a villain. Some of the scenes where the Japanese helped an American soldier with his wounds, or where the American soldiers shot their Japanese captors were quiet endearing. By the end of things, I was left with swelled up eyes and a knot in my stomach which was saying that such things should never happen - nobody deserves death this way, nobody deserves to live life after having done the things a war makes you do.
And that, in my opinion, was the highlight of the movie - an urge to resolve to not let such things happen again - and the director through the tragic story of these men, implores us to follow up on this urge.
It's the story of the Japanese soldiers who fought to "defend" the island of Iwo Jima from the American invaders. The main protagonists - General Kuribayashi and Saigo were shown as affable men, those who were empathetic to their fellow man, yet knew what they had to do (a misguided sense of duty in my opinion, but sense of duty nonetheless). The movie is interspersed with scenes showing their humanity, their sense of humor, their sense of right and wrong, their longing to go back home, their courage in the face of inevitable defeat and death. We got to learn what General K thought about his visit to the US, how Saigo was forced into going to war, how his wife reacted when they got the letter asking him to go to war, his kind loving words and resolute promise to his unborn baby that night. All these scenes added up to give the viewer a sense of what those times were like, how tough they were for both the sides (we have, after all, seen more than a couple movies telling the American side of the story) and how similar the various people involved were, in their feelings towards the war (I had got a taste of this in Memoirs of a Geisha too).
It was a movie that told it's story like it happened - no sugar coating, nobody was a hero, nobody was a villain. Some of the scenes where the Japanese helped an American soldier with his wounds, or where the American soldiers shot their Japanese captors were quiet endearing. By the end of things, I was left with swelled up eyes and a knot in my stomach which was saying that such things should never happen - nobody deserves death this way, nobody deserves to live life after having done the things a war makes you do.
And that, in my opinion, was the highlight of the movie - an urge to resolve to not let such things happen again - and the director through the tragic story of these men, implores us to follow up on this urge.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Visit to Mysore - Day 2
I described the first day of our trip to Mysore here. Now to talk about our second day. We got up kinda late - I got up around 8am. Did the regular morning duties, got dressed up, waited for Manu B and Shilpa B and headed down for breakfast, which was exhorbitantly priced and so, instead, we decided to check out, head out to the "city" center, grab a bite to eat and then go for some shopping - since the ladies were adamant about it. We had a buffet breakfast for Rs. 45 - not the best in the world, but it filled our stomachs - and then headed out to some store fronts. Bhabhi wanted to buy a table for her house, while Ma wanted to buy some stuff for hers. After wandering through a couple of handicraft emporiums, we ended up going about 2kms away from where we had our breakfast, to the official Govt. of Karnataka store.
That place was huge. They had clothes (and rolls of cloth to make clothes from) on the ground floor and the handicraft stuff on the first floor. We initially ended up going to the first floor where those guys took almost 1.5 hours to buy all they needed (I would describe the place, but it was like a run of the mill handicraft emporium you see in India). We then headed down where another 45 minutes or so were spent sifting through clothes. By the time we were done with all this, it was close to 1pm so we decided to head back to Bangalore.
I forgot to add that by now, Manu B and I were sick, We were both having trouble swallowing stuff, my nose was running and both of us were generally feeling pretty drained out. Nonetheless, the ladies decided to stop by at a place called Srirangapatna to see some historic parks/monuments built by Tipu Sultan. Though we never ended up going inside any of these, we drove past them and saw some lush green gardens inside. We did, however, stop at the Sangam of Kaveri. That was pretty tight. The water was nice and fresh, there wasn't too big a crowd and the view was pretty spectacular. A pretty serene place - one where I would want to have a house some day.
Anyway, that was the end of our trip. From there on out, we slept while bhabhi drove and ma talked till we reached the outskirts of B'lore. When we did finally reach there (~5pm) we decided to take the Hosur road - a new highway which connects the outskirts to the main city. It started off pretty well - it was quiet, had a good road, had entry and exit ramps, was away from everything and hence did not have people crossing from any-which-where and was in general a pleasure to drive on. Up until where the road ended. And beyond that, was nothing. No directions, no half broken road nor anybody to tell you which way to go. All there was, was a mud track, not even suitable for rally driving, with big stones and huge holes leading to nowhere (as far as I could see). Bhabhi was driving initially, and hence the underneath of the car got banged up pretty well, until Manu B took over. He drove more cautiously, and somehow or the other got us the hell out of there and onto a main (and I use that word liberally) road which we followed all the way back to their house. By the time we reached there, we were all pretty tired and I was royally pissed about that last part of the journey. I mean, how hard is it to tell people at the toll booths (which were manned, BTW) that this road leads nowhere, and that you're much better off taking the regular road into town. Also, why give directions to various parts of town when you know the road doesn't connect to them. If we hadn't had directions to a place close to our house, we would have taken a long past exit.
Anyway, to sum up the trip, it was pretty nice - though it didn't end quiet as well as it could have. Mysore was a nice place to visit - an enjoyable, quaint and nascent town. I have no doubt that soon it will be built up and busy just like B'lore - and that's just as well for the residents - but for us travellers, it will be a shame.
That place was huge. They had clothes (and rolls of cloth to make clothes from) on the ground floor and the handicraft stuff on the first floor. We initially ended up going to the first floor where those guys took almost 1.5 hours to buy all they needed (I would describe the place, but it was like a run of the mill handicraft emporium you see in India). We then headed down where another 45 minutes or so were spent sifting through clothes. By the time we were done with all this, it was close to 1pm so we decided to head back to Bangalore.
I forgot to add that by now, Manu B and I were sick, We were both having trouble swallowing stuff, my nose was running and both of us were generally feeling pretty drained out. Nonetheless, the ladies decided to stop by at a place called Srirangapatna to see some historic parks/monuments built by Tipu Sultan. Though we never ended up going inside any of these, we drove past them and saw some lush green gardens inside. We did, however, stop at the Sangam of Kaveri. That was pretty tight. The water was nice and fresh, there wasn't too big a crowd and the view was pretty spectacular. A pretty serene place - one where I would want to have a house some day.
Anyway, that was the end of our trip. From there on out, we slept while bhabhi drove and ma talked till we reached the outskirts of B'lore. When we did finally reach there (~5pm) we decided to take the Hosur road - a new highway which connects the outskirts to the main city. It started off pretty well - it was quiet, had a good road, had entry and exit ramps, was away from everything and hence did not have people crossing from any-which-where and was in general a pleasure to drive on. Up until where the road ended. And beyond that, was nothing. No directions, no half broken road nor anybody to tell you which way to go. All there was, was a mud track, not even suitable for rally driving, with big stones and huge holes leading to nowhere (as far as I could see). Bhabhi was driving initially, and hence the underneath of the car got banged up pretty well, until Manu B took over. He drove more cautiously, and somehow or the other got us the hell out of there and onto a main (and I use that word liberally) road which we followed all the way back to their house. By the time we reached there, we were all pretty tired and I was royally pissed about that last part of the journey. I mean, how hard is it to tell people at the toll booths (which were manned, BTW) that this road leads nowhere, and that you're much better off taking the regular road into town. Also, why give directions to various parts of town when you know the road doesn't connect to them. If we hadn't had directions to a place close to our house, we would have taken a long past exit.
Anyway, to sum up the trip, it was pretty nice - though it didn't end quiet as well as it could have. Mysore was a nice place to visit - an enjoyable, quaint and nascent town. I have no doubt that soon it will be built up and busy just like B'lore - and that's just as well for the residents - but for us travellers, it will be a shame.
An ode to my brother
My brother recently celebrated (or maybe not) his 22'nd birthday and I realized that I haven't ever written about him. So here goes.
He's been the kind who was always troublesome. Well, to me anyways. He would pick fights with me, trouble me no end, take sides against me and in general be a royal pain in the ass. This was back when we were kids. All this changed when we both went off to college.
I guess I matured first - I had a year's headstart. He followed soon though. He went to college, didn't have the easiest of times there (IMO anyways) but he came out better for it. I guess the distance between the two of us (not seeing each other everyday) helped with the process of not fighting, and having shit to talk about when we did, too.
Anyways, towards the last year of my college and his last two years, we became kinda close - maybe for the first time. Various things bound us - our complains about our parents, our choice in women, discussions about politics, discussions about classes, looking for a job, etc. etc. We used to sit and talk on the phone for hours - like chicks or some shit, and not feel sorry for it (well, at-least I didn't feel sorry). Even when he came and lived with me for a couple of months after finishing up school, there were hardly any times when we fought. We were like the picture postcard of a happy family - one who talked, one who enjoyed each other's company, one who quarreled but it let it go soon, one who liked to eat the same things and the list goes on. Suffice it to say, we both had a good time during those 2 months.
All this is not to say that we haven't had our differences over this period. I was hugely disappointed with my trip to his college before I flew out to India. I wanted it to be memorable (given that I didn't know if/when I would come back) which it didn't end up being (and I mostly blame him for it). We also disagreed over our emotions for our parents. This list could go on for a mile, but none of that matters as much - we have overcome all that for the past few years - and I think we will keep doing so for the next few too (what happens beyond that is anybody's guess).
When I was younger, I used to tell my folks that I wish I didn't have a younger brother, or that I wish I had a sister, or that I wish they had waited longer before having a second child, and I used to believe all what I said back then, too. However, I would not change what I have right now, for the world (though I would still like to have a sister). He has taught me innumerable things, he has guided me in innumerable ways and him being around has pleased me in unmeasurable quantities. So, Mon frère, live a long and happy life - and I hope we be just as good friends in our twilight years, as we are now. Happy Birthday.
He's been the kind who was always troublesome. Well, to me anyways. He would pick fights with me, trouble me no end, take sides against me and in general be a royal pain in the ass. This was back when we were kids. All this changed when we both went off to college.
I guess I matured first - I had a year's headstart. He followed soon though. He went to college, didn't have the easiest of times there (IMO anyways) but he came out better for it. I guess the distance between the two of us (not seeing each other everyday) helped with the process of not fighting, and having shit to talk about when we did, too.
Anyways, towards the last year of my college and his last two years, we became kinda close - maybe for the first time. Various things bound us - our complains about our parents, our choice in women, discussions about politics, discussions about classes, looking for a job, etc. etc. We used to sit and talk on the phone for hours - like chicks or some shit, and not feel sorry for it (well, at-least I didn't feel sorry). Even when he came and lived with me for a couple of months after finishing up school, there were hardly any times when we fought. We were like the picture postcard of a happy family - one who talked, one who enjoyed each other's company, one who quarreled but it let it go soon, one who liked to eat the same things and the list goes on. Suffice it to say, we both had a good time during those 2 months.
All this is not to say that we haven't had our differences over this period. I was hugely disappointed with my trip to his college before I flew out to India. I wanted it to be memorable (given that I didn't know if/when I would come back) which it didn't end up being (and I mostly blame him for it). We also disagreed over our emotions for our parents. This list could go on for a mile, but none of that matters as much - we have overcome all that for the past few years - and I think we will keep doing so for the next few too (what happens beyond that is anybody's guess).
When I was younger, I used to tell my folks that I wish I didn't have a younger brother, or that I wish I had a sister, or that I wish they had waited longer before having a second child, and I used to believe all what I said back then, too. However, I would not change what I have right now, for the world (though I would still like to have a sister). He has taught me innumerable things, he has guided me in innumerable ways and him being around has pleased me in unmeasurable quantities. So, Mon frère, live a long and happy life - and I hope we be just as good friends in our twilight years, as we are now. Happy Birthday.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
I have given up on this country.
This is fucked up. Really. How the fuck can you justify reserving half the seats in a college for a group/class of people. Besides the fact that it is terribly unfair to other's, there is also the fact that it won't work - people who don't deserve admission into a good school, won't be able to survive the rigors even if they did.
I have just given up on Indian politics (and might I say India too). Politicians and the regular people here are so apathetic to basic common sense that it's depressing. I guess that's one of the reasons I didn't buy a TV - so that I didn't have to see this kind of BS everyday and be disappointed. Go and cry all, go and cry.
I have just given up on Indian politics (and might I say India too). Politicians and the regular people here are so apathetic to basic common sense that it's depressing. I guess that's one of the reasons I didn't buy a TV - so that I didn't have to see this kind of BS everyday and be disappointed. Go and cry all, go and cry.
Visit to Mysore - Day 1
So, my mom came over last weekend, and it being a long one (we had monday off due to Ugadi) we (my cousin, his wife, me and my mom) decided to head out to Mysore and check it out. I've been in B'lore for the last 6 months, and one of the first things you're supposed to do is go see Mysore, so following tradition, I did :).
The drive there was pleasant. As usual, getting out of Bangalore was a royal pain in the ass - even though we were driving out on sunday morning. However, once out of Bangalore, the highway to Mysore (aptly named "Mysore Road") was quiet pleasant. It's a 4-lane highway which is better than most roads I have seen in India. It's not broken, nor is it too busy. The only kink in it's armor is that it runs through a bunch of small towns and everytime you get to one of those, your speed reduces significantly. I guess I should complain about why they can't plan these things better, and why they can't have proper entry and exit ramps instead of having sudden turns _ON A HIGHWAY_ but I've learnt that none of that matters now. Good roads should suffice. It took us about 4 hours to get there - we stopped on the way at a Coffee shop to (obviously) grab some caffeine and take a break. It also allowed us to change drivers.
We had booked a hotel in Mysore the night before, so we knew where we had to go. However, for some odd reason, we did not take any directions to that hotel within the city, from the highway. No biggy though - all we did was call up the hotel, ask for some landmark and then ask people along the way for directions to that landmark. I was pretty surprised (and for a long time thought that we still hadn't entered the city) to see that the place was pretty un-cluttered. There weren't too many people, not many cars on the roads, almost no taxis (heaven!!) and the roads were pretty clean and more importantly, not broken every 2 meters. Driving into the city, I got the feel that I was in-fact driving into a hill station. We didn't have too much trouble finding the hotel, one wrong turn along the way is all. The hotel wasn't half bad either. It was a branch of Ginger Hotels and as such was pretty clean, close to international standards and pretty convenient as far as regular amenities go.
So we parked our car, checked in, took a break, and then headed out again for some lunch before going to the Mysore Palace. Lunch was consumed at the Pizza Corner close to the palace following which some window shopping was done. Finally, we headed out again, for the palace.
We parked our car, walked up to the entry and paid our entry fees (oddly, "foreigners" were supposed to pay Rs. 100 for entry whereas "Indians" were to pay Rs. 20. I don't think this kind of discrimination is justified. Even if we assume that somebody can afford to pay the money, doesn't mean we should make them do it. I have not seen such practices anywhere else in the world - definitely not in the western world) and walked in. The first thing that confronted us was the number of guides hawking us for their services. The prices they quoted were too high so we moved on towards the palace thinking that we'll just buy a book and read through it (and indeed we did, later on). We were required to take our shoes off before entering the place (which again was very weird - they're called cleaners - what they do is clean the floors in the evenings - when people are no longer allowed into the place - besides it's not like you're doing such a stellar job anyways keeping the place nice and spotless) which we did - and had to pay for. We then moved into the line to finally enter the place. As soon as we did so, we were again hawked by a guide to give us a tour, and since he quoted a price my cousin was willing to pay (I wasn't too interested in hiring the services of one) we acquiesced and started the grand tour. Going from room to room, he would show us various things, that maybe we wouldn't have noticed, but even so, weren't that significant that we were really losing out on something. For example, he made a big deal of all these paintings done on the walls which were supposed to be 3D. What that meant was that all the eyes (in the paintings) followed us as we moved across the room. Not rocket science - but he made us see the each one of the paintings from various angles repeatedly. Then, once we came into an alleyway where two mirrors were fixed facing each other and he goes "Wave your hand", and we did, which was followed by "see - an infinite number of hands are waving back at you. Isn't that great". I mean seriously - this is something I can replicate in my bathroom - I don't need you to tell me this. Going through that tour, I could kind of relate to a quote I had once I heard in The Wire - "The whole world shines shit and calls it gold".
Anyways, after we had finished our tour of the palace, we walked out, made a quick stop at the souvenir shop for the place, collected our shoes and drove out towards Brindavan gardens. The drive there was decent for the most part - up until the last stretch spanning about 2 kms. The road was broken more than an old woman's face is wrinkled. That shit was so bad that you were basically hopping from one pothole to another, inevitably banging the underneath of your car. And what was even more surprising was that even though the quality of this road was so bad, they still had new and renovated speed breakers - as if any asshole would be driving at the requisite speeds on that road to warrant the creation of a speed breaker. Anyhow, we entered the place, parked our car, hit the head, paid for entry into the park, and strolled in. Now this apparently is the place where a lot of songs in 70's bollywood movies were shot - and once you walk in, you immediately realize that that's true. You have all these small fountains, and then streams of water falling down stepped stones followed by more fountains followed by an even steeper and longer "Waterfall". The whole garden is surrounded by a dam which holds out the river Kaveri, and since my cousin was adamant, we made the hike up the ramp to the top from where we could see a huge well of water on one side, and the dam releasing some of that water on the other.
We then walked back down and went to a Hotel constructed there, where we cooled down (it was a pretty hot day), had some snacks and shakes and generally just relaxed and took in the view for a little bit. Once the evening started to come in, we began to head across the park, where on the exact other side, was a "musical fountain". That hike was torture. There were way too many people, cramped up on a narrow walkway which lead to increasing perspiration, body odor, rubbing against others and an unbearable amount of heat being generated. We finally reached the place, picked out a spot to see the show, went through it (it wasn't too bad, but nothing spectacular either - I couldn't see any co-ordination between the music and the water) and then hiked back to our parking spot. By the time I sat back in, I was dying for a cold one. And, perhaps a smoke. I was burning up, wanted to just jump into a shower, and sit in there for the next two days - just to cool myself down and rid me of all the sweat. Alas, that was not to happen, since it was getting kinda late by the time we got back to the city and hence had to hurry to find something to eat. After some searching, we found a restaurant called Olive Garden (ironically) where we camped up and had our dinner - not the best food I've had, I might add, though what made it better was the surroundings as well as the fact that it was attached to a pretty fly lodge. I had my beer here too - which made things better some.
Finally, at the end of a very long day, we went back to our hotel - and as soon as I entered my room, I just flopped into the bed. My mom took a shower first, after which I took one and then went to bed.
That was the first day of our trip - quiet a long post, but I wanted to list out everything. I will (hopefully) write about our second day soon.
Edit: The second part of this post is available here.
The drive there was pleasant. As usual, getting out of Bangalore was a royal pain in the ass - even though we were driving out on sunday morning. However, once out of Bangalore, the highway to Mysore (aptly named "Mysore Road") was quiet pleasant. It's a 4-lane highway which is better than most roads I have seen in India. It's not broken, nor is it too busy. The only kink in it's armor is that it runs through a bunch of small towns and everytime you get to one of those, your speed reduces significantly. I guess I should complain about why they can't plan these things better, and why they can't have proper entry and exit ramps instead of having sudden turns _ON A HIGHWAY_ but I've learnt that none of that matters now. Good roads should suffice. It took us about 4 hours to get there - we stopped on the way at a Coffee shop to (obviously) grab some caffeine and take a break. It also allowed us to change drivers.
We had booked a hotel in Mysore the night before, so we knew where we had to go. However, for some odd reason, we did not take any directions to that hotel within the city, from the highway. No biggy though - all we did was call up the hotel, ask for some landmark and then ask people along the way for directions to that landmark. I was pretty surprised (and for a long time thought that we still hadn't entered the city) to see that the place was pretty un-cluttered. There weren't too many people, not many cars on the roads, almost no taxis (heaven!!) and the roads were pretty clean and more importantly, not broken every 2 meters. Driving into the city, I got the feel that I was in-fact driving into a hill station. We didn't have too much trouble finding the hotel, one wrong turn along the way is all. The hotel wasn't half bad either. It was a branch of Ginger Hotels and as such was pretty clean, close to international standards and pretty convenient as far as regular amenities go.
So we parked our car, checked in, took a break, and then headed out again for some lunch before going to the Mysore Palace. Lunch was consumed at the Pizza Corner close to the palace following which some window shopping was done. Finally, we headed out again, for the palace.
We parked our car, walked up to the entry and paid our entry fees (oddly, "foreigners" were supposed to pay Rs. 100 for entry whereas "Indians" were to pay Rs. 20. I don't think this kind of discrimination is justified. Even if we assume that somebody can afford to pay the money, doesn't mean we should make them do it. I have not seen such practices anywhere else in the world - definitely not in the western world) and walked in. The first thing that confronted us was the number of guides hawking us for their services. The prices they quoted were too high so we moved on towards the palace thinking that we'll just buy a book and read through it (and indeed we did, later on). We were required to take our shoes off before entering the place (which again was very weird - they're called cleaners - what they do is clean the floors in the evenings - when people are no longer allowed into the place - besides it's not like you're doing such a stellar job anyways keeping the place nice and spotless) which we did - and had to pay for. We then moved into the line to finally enter the place. As soon as we did so, we were again hawked by a guide to give us a tour, and since he quoted a price my cousin was willing to pay (I wasn't too interested in hiring the services of one) we acquiesced and started the grand tour. Going from room to room, he would show us various things, that maybe we wouldn't have noticed, but even so, weren't that significant that we were really losing out on something. For example, he made a big deal of all these paintings done on the walls which were supposed to be 3D. What that meant was that all the eyes (in the paintings) followed us as we moved across the room. Not rocket science - but he made us see the each one of the paintings from various angles repeatedly. Then, once we came into an alleyway where two mirrors were fixed facing each other and he goes "Wave your hand", and we did, which was followed by "see - an infinite number of hands are waving back at you. Isn't that great". I mean seriously - this is something I can replicate in my bathroom - I don't need you to tell me this. Going through that tour, I could kind of relate to a quote I had once I heard in The Wire - "The whole world shines shit and calls it gold".
Anyways, after we had finished our tour of the palace, we walked out, made a quick stop at the souvenir shop for the place, collected our shoes and drove out towards Brindavan gardens. The drive there was decent for the most part - up until the last stretch spanning about 2 kms. The road was broken more than an old woman's face is wrinkled. That shit was so bad that you were basically hopping from one pothole to another, inevitably banging the underneath of your car. And what was even more surprising was that even though the quality of this road was so bad, they still had new and renovated speed breakers - as if any asshole would be driving at the requisite speeds on that road to warrant the creation of a speed breaker. Anyhow, we entered the place, parked our car, hit the head, paid for entry into the park, and strolled in. Now this apparently is the place where a lot of songs in 70's bollywood movies were shot - and once you walk in, you immediately realize that that's true. You have all these small fountains, and then streams of water falling down stepped stones followed by more fountains followed by an even steeper and longer "Waterfall". The whole garden is surrounded by a dam which holds out the river Kaveri, and since my cousin was adamant, we made the hike up the ramp to the top from where we could see a huge well of water on one side, and the dam releasing some of that water on the other.
We then walked back down and went to a Hotel constructed there, where we cooled down (it was a pretty hot day), had some snacks and shakes and generally just relaxed and took in the view for a little bit. Once the evening started to come in, we began to head across the park, where on the exact other side, was a "musical fountain". That hike was torture. There were way too many people, cramped up on a narrow walkway which lead to increasing perspiration, body odor, rubbing against others and an unbearable amount of heat being generated. We finally reached the place, picked out a spot to see the show, went through it (it wasn't too bad, but nothing spectacular either - I couldn't see any co-ordination between the music and the water) and then hiked back to our parking spot. By the time I sat back in, I was dying for a cold one. And, perhaps a smoke. I was burning up, wanted to just jump into a shower, and sit in there for the next two days - just to cool myself down and rid me of all the sweat. Alas, that was not to happen, since it was getting kinda late by the time we got back to the city and hence had to hurry to find something to eat. After some searching, we found a restaurant called Olive Garden (ironically) where we camped up and had our dinner - not the best food I've had, I might add, though what made it better was the surroundings as well as the fact that it was attached to a pretty fly lodge. I had my beer here too - which made things better some.
Finally, at the end of a very long day, we went back to our hotel - and as soon as I entered my room, I just flopped into the bed. My mom took a shower first, after which I took one and then went to bed.
That was the first day of our trip - quiet a long post, but I wanted to list out everything. I will (hopefully) write about our second day soon.
Edit: The second part of this post is available here.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Still without my laptop
Unfortunately, I still don't have the use of my laptop, though hopefully, today should see the end of that. And quiet fitting too, 'cause tonight, I should be done reading Shogun. It's been quiet amazing to me that I've read the book in less than a week. It's 1200+ pages for the uninitiated.
But what's been ever better is the satisfaction I have got from the book. I get the feeling that it hasn't tried to short change you - trick you into not having to tell you things. It tells you everything you want to know - maybe not right away, but nonetheless - and then some. The details of how Japanese society worked in those days, how people thought, how they behaved, how they survived, how they fought, how they killed, how they treated other's (and the list goes on) continues to enamor me. But the most satisfying part about the book has been about how the politics of the day played out. The trickery, the ambitious forward planning, the treason for more land/women/honor et al were all highly satisfying. There is only one place parts of said statements are missing - the climax. It ends in such a way that leaves you wanting. There was all this foreplay to a war, which never comes. There is no definitive ending - only thoughts (though the book gives u hints as to what to make of that) which give you the feeling that 100-150 pages more should have been written to play out the war and the make the book feel complete. However, I'm not complaining - I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
My next read is going to be Lolita followed by Babyji - both of which I bought yesterday. I'm excited. During my drive back, I was reading the foreword to Lolita (when the traffic was at a standstill) and I realized that I'll probably need a dictionary to read through the whole thing. So that might be something I will keep in mind when the actual reading gets started - which might not until after next week when my mother leaves.
P.S. - The first half of this post written a couple days back and the second half now. Hence, maybe some inconsistencies.
But what's been ever better is the satisfaction I have got from the book. I get the feeling that it hasn't tried to short change you - trick you into not having to tell you things. It tells you everything you want to know - maybe not right away, but nonetheless - and then some. The details of how Japanese society worked in those days, how people thought, how they behaved, how they survived, how they fought, how they killed, how they treated other's (and the list goes on) continues to enamor me. But the most satisfying part about the book has been about how the politics of the day played out. The trickery, the ambitious forward planning, the treason for more land/women/honor et al were all highly satisfying. There is only one place parts of said statements are missing - the climax. It ends in such a way that leaves you wanting. There was all this foreplay to a war, which never comes. There is no definitive ending - only thoughts (though the book gives u hints as to what to make of that) which give you the feeling that 100-150 pages more should have been written to play out the war and the make the book feel complete. However, I'm not complaining - I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
My next read is going to be Lolita followed by Babyji - both of which I bought yesterday. I'm excited. During my drive back, I was reading the foreword to Lolita (when the traffic was at a standstill) and I realized that I'll probably need a dictionary to read through the whole thing. So that might be something I will keep in mind when the actual reading gets started - which might not until after next week when my mother leaves.
P.S. - The first half of this post written a couple days back and the second half now. Hence, maybe some inconsistencies.
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