AB - Life 2.0

Heading back home

2012-01-18T23:40:00.004+05:30

The conference went pretty well and I had some cool following in Twitter....

The US trip is drawing close and I'm currently at SFO heading back to Bangalore en-route Hongkong...

So what did I eat .... first few days it was Pizzas.. then slowly the Veggie Subs... then pancake with maple syrup at Newyork Newyork.... then Donuts .... then hashbrowns... then Falafel sandwich (the accompanying sauce was the spiciest in recent times) .. then Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) - basically Spinach+Feta ... lots of burgers, cakes, muffins, zero cokes, coffee, decaf, ....

Vegas was good, especially in the strip where I spent most of the time ..

Loads of shopping at the Walmart for the Kido...

Thats it.. back to India to in a couple of days !

Its been 30 ...

2012-01-13T13:11:00.004+05:30

Yes guys its been 30 years now :-)

This birthday also happens to be my longest as I'm currently at ~~Hongkong waiting to board my flight to LA.~~ ... ~~LA waiting to transfer to Vegas...~~ Ny-NY in Vegas...

I'll be in Vegas for a week to present our team's paper in a conference. I'm sure all of you tried to reach me couldn't ..... This time exactly at 12 my son and my wife wished me and then I started :-)

More updates follows...

The Year Ahead - 2012

2012-01-01T17:05:00.004+05:30

Wishing you all folks a very happy new year.....

So whats the plan for this year ? No plans, just one - Aadu !

Running for ...
After having taken a break from running events for two years, this year I'll plan to run two major events and will plan to do half-marathons (until something spruces me up for a full). As part of it, this year I'll be raising for Narayana Nethralaya ! More on that later.

Plan to do couple of drives nearby.

Yoga
I took to yoga last year, thanks to my wife's Surya Namaskar workouts. Yoga kept me in tune in the absence of running. Reading health magazines was another interest I took up.

Hope to keep posting once in a fortnight. Have a great year ahead !

ABa

Adarsh Balasubramanian

2011-11-07T14:04:00.001+05:30

We named him officially !
He is now AB - Adarsh Balasubramanian

Welcoming Junior AB

2011-10-15T19:17:00.003+05:30

Back to blogging after a long time ! So many events have happened since last time that its hard to recount everything. Things have been tight ever since. Cutting long story short...

Welcoming Adarsh !

We were expecting him in August but he decided to surprise us on July 19, 2011. Looks like he did not want to miss the "Cancer" zodiac sign !

Young lad is doing good now. More updates to follow as he grows....

ABa

2011 begins

2011-01-09T09:17:00.004+05:30

So 2011 begins and office load has finally reduced to some extent. Last year I did not participate in any major runs. Hopefully this year I'll be back to running and other goals.

Here are Chinnu-Munnu in a close up at our Kutir

And no Tam house is replete without the Rani Muthu calendar.

Pongal and Sankranthi greetings to you all !

-- AB

Ushering in 2011 - AB style

2010-12-31T22:03:00.006+05:30

Wishing you all a great new year 2011 - AB !

There goes by 2010.. "Thank you thank you and now go away" that's what the Tee reads. Welcoming 2011 as 2010 is history. My dad has this habit of giving unique gifts and this Tee was one from his hat.

We tried some muffins and almond cake and they came out perfect. We got this silicon muffin moulds that work out perfectly for muffins and giving out the right muffin shape.

Also the Pigeon eggs hatched :). Welcome to the world "chinnu" and "munnu" - the pigeon kuttis. We will update a clear pic later.

and of course the foggy days at Bangalore !

Wishing good health and love !

Pigeon guest, dinning table and farewell

2010-12-19T10:40:00.003+05:30

Last week we had quite some activity. We had a surprise visitor in our balcony. A pigeon made a small nest in our second balcony and laid couple of eggs. Right now that place is like a maternity ward :)

The eggs....

Then finally our long pending dinning table came along. At least we can make our guests sit comfortably and eat.

Thankfully we had Vinod's farewell at our place with Manjula joining us.

Time to call near and dear !

Caker Baker

2010-12-05T19:55:00.003+05:30

So what have we been up to ?

Baking cakes... Oh Yeah ! We've been trying to make a real good cake and for that fact we wanted to make a bread at home. After lots of googling and playing around with our convection microwave we made our first bread and then a banana pie+muffin.

Thanks to Ani who actually knead the dough the way we twist and mash the clothes during rugged washing. This was our first bread and came out very well.

This was made out of Maida (All purpose flour). Next we plan to use Atta (Whole wheat) and see how the result would be. Shall keep you posted !

Convection cooking works !

First Buys, Karthigai and Pizzas....

2010-11-22T22:43:00.003+05:30

After Diwali we had our first shopping spree. Electric rice cooker, convection microwave and a refrigerator. Remaining loyal to Samsung brands !

Then Karthigai with Patti ...

and finally our first home made pizza (in fact second) ...

Thats some quick update ! More as we move on....

Thala .....

2010-11-07T17:41:00.005+05:30

So this weekend we finally got some great respite from work and to top it up this was our Thala Diwali.

We had a great time with our family and cousin kids adding to that extra glitter.

As Chitti (in Eindhiran) would say "Happy Diwali Folks !"

Deja Vu

2010-10-09T15:10:00.002+05:30

Exactly around a year back A and B met to be known as AB

Oct 5, last year this time I met Ani at Barista cafe and saw her for the first time and this year we again met there to mark the first anniversary. We wanted to order the same items this time, but nay, we tried a new coffee this year.

So now its more than a year and time has just scurried across. Deja Vu !

Works commitments keeping both of us busy, so no posts for some time. Surely some new posts in the coming days. Have a great festival season ahead !

So whats cooking ?

2010-08-06T11:34:00.000+05:30

Well then I mean it literally here.

Ani has been trying lots of recipes these days and we've tried almost every cuisine. Trust me ! Our penchant for home food keeps us busy and experimenting on weekends. Its been a great learning for us and slowly moving to settle.

Some of the things that she tried:
Peas Pulav, Methi Pulav, Sattoo Paratha, Makkai ki Roti, Methi Paratha, Dark Chocolate Cake, Banana Muffins, Falafel, Humus, Rajma, Ragda Chole, Kala chana, Pesarattu & Alum chutney, Besan laddu, Seedai & kodbole, Kheer and most of the south Indian dishes you can fathom (Pongal, Idli, Red Rice Idlu, Upma, Savige, Vangi bath, Kesari, Adai, Dosai,Ragi Dosai, Aval Akki, Akki roti, Ragi Roti, ...........)... the list goes on..

Of course, most useful inputs coming in from both the Moms have added that kosher effect.

Adios !

How to Track Posts in India

2010-07-23T09:20:00.004+05:30

After having tracked so many of my letters here are various ways of tracking your posts in India if it is being carried out by India Post. This how I gathered information over years.

Registered Post International
All international mails to and from India can be traced here
IPS Web Tracking: http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking/

Most of the international items coming to India by post (not Courier) have to pass through customs check at Mumbai. Only after the Mumbai office clears the item they will directed to the domestic location. If you see your item has been stuck at Mumbai customs you can call them and check:

If the item cost is more than $100 (excluding mail charges) you could attract customs duty.

Mumbai customs post office customer care: (022) 22611791

Mumbai Customs Ref: http://www.mumbaicustoms.gov.in/scripts/public.asp

If they loose your document you are entitled for compensation (details in the above link)

Registered Post - Domestic
Domestic Registered posts cannot be tracked. Wait for at least 2-3 weeks before you call up your local post office.

For Chennai you can try this number for Registered post related: (044) 22560233

Speed Post - Domestic
Yes. Can be tracked. Check the below link and enter your tracking number there.
http://services.ptcmysore.gov.in/Speednettracking/

If it has been delayed by more than 3 days call up or email their helplines for the respective cities. Trust me they'll help and will also reply to your email.
Click on this link for more information
http://www.indiapost.gov.in/netscape/speedpost.html

Normal Post - International and National
No Way ! Just call up or visit your nearest local post office.

There is a post office call center as well in Hyderabad (for letters to and from Hyderabad). You can call them convey your issue: (040) 23463807

You need to have patience. Pincodes are very important. The letters will come for sure. It might take almost a month sometimes but it would surely come. Unfortunately there is no one-point access for all these information. Purely based on my experience.

Hope this helps. Happy snail mailing.

Kolam - Sem Manu kollam

2010-07-17T14:19:00.005+05:30

Here is Ani's Sem Manu (Red brick) Kolam (Rangoli) with red borders. The Aadi month has started and to start with this rangoli.

Personal life just keeping us tooooooooo busy !

Guess who ?

2010-06-30T20:31:00.003+05:30

Can you identify the two people below ?

Yes its we - AB !
This terrible sketch of ours was made at Chitrakala Parishad by artists in Bangalore sometime in early January this year. Neither of us could recognize each other.

Honeymoon trip - Teaser

2010-06-11T22:26:00.003+05:30

Bonjour ! So finally here are our Honeymoon trip selective snaps. It was a great trip and the best part was that we did the entire thing on our own without any tour operator.

At Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Under water aquarium - Dubai Mall, Dubai

Most of our trip was in Switzerland, couple of days in Paris (France) and around 8 hours in Dubai (UAE).

Ferry ride, Lucerne

Detailed blog entry will be available in couple of days.

No Guesses for this one... Eiffel Tower, Paris (France)

The entire trip was planned to perfection and it was eventful in many ways starting from Visa till we left Zurich (Swiss). We have lot more to share. So if you are planning a trip to Swiss you can drop in your queries here and we will be glad to help/suggest.

Disney Land, Paris

See you soon, Danke !

--- AB

Married - Wedded Bliss

2010-06-01T09:01:00.004+05:30

Happily married to Anisha !

The moment - AB

If two were one, then surely we !

Thanks to one and all who attended and wished us on our wedding. Shall share the pics very soon.

So then here I'm after a long long break from Internet. More posts will now appear in the coming days.

-- AB

Alvida - Tranquility 305

2010-03-31T21:37:00.004+05:30

Finally it has been almost 4 years since I moved into Bangalore and to this Apartment in Koramangla, Tranquility 305. Today is my last day here !

My first job, first time with roommates and so many firsts.
It has been a great great time with roomies here. To put it, Awesome !

Thanks to Biswa, Vineel, Susheel, Ritesh and Ram who had been great roomies all this while.

Moving out...placed at Parking

All those parathas from our cooks, IPL matches, TV shows like Roadies and Big Boss, Balacony talks, Terrace walks, Running around the parks and tracks, silly neighbours, live graveyards ..... man, so many memories...

Miss you all guys, Will miss Tranquility.

Now moving into a new life and a new Avtar with Anisha !

Some moving out pics:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/balsubu/305TranquilityShifting#

Mumbai - short trip

2010-03-26T17:31:00.002+05:30

So here I'm in Mumbai for a quick short trip. Took the morning 6AM flight to Mumbai (that meant I had to start by 4Am, means had to get up by 3AM)....then slept in the flight.... and reached Mumbai by 7.40AM. Then reached Babulnath (Girgaon Chowpati) for some work.

If you are very new to Mumbai and want to reach a destination and don't mind spending Rs 15 per KM then you choose from a variety of prepaid/postpaid taxis. I prefer Meru cabs and as soon as you are about to leave the Arrivals exit, onto your right you'll find free phones that have direct lines to their cab's call centers. You just have to pick the phone (don't have to dial - direct lines) and give your destination and mobile number. He'll give you the cab number and you just have to go out and wait for your cab. Generally within 3-5 minutes your cab should be there (Thanks to Nitesh, my roomie who told me about this).

Passed through Shivaji park, Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Haji Ali, Mahalakshmi. From Haji Ali I knew the route and this is where two years ago I ran the Mumbai marathon. Interestingly my cabbie new about marathons and stuffs.

For lunch I wanted to go to Shivaji park. I vaguely remember a place called Prakash near Sena Bahavan when I last visited. Hiked a taxi to Sena Bhavan. The best thing about Mumbai is you just have to get into the Taxi and tell the destination and that's what I precisely did. After getting down at Sena Bhavan I went to shop in for some Chikkis(for Ani) and casually asked for Prakash restaurant. The shopkeeper said it is down the next street.

Just as I reached the Prakash I was getting into my old memories but was disappointed to see the shop closed for the day. But that didn't deter my search saboodana wada and khicdi (Aside: Ani makes them Super). Just then I found a decent looking restaurant and was able to get some Maharashtrian stuff.

-- Dhahi Missal
-- Saboo Dana wada
-- Chaas (butter milk)

I was beaming and then started to explore the nearby area Dadar and had some Kookum juice, Piyush juice (mango lassi types). Then after more walking had some Aam Panna (raw mango juice). It was sultry as usual here at Mumbai.

After great deal of walking and some phone calls I wanted to try their BEST buses but figured out there is no direct bus to Airport. Finally hiked one more taxi and reached Airport good 3 hours before my flight. So here is the blog and finishing replies to some older emails.

Until then...... have fun !

Shambo Shiv Shambo - Jr NTR

2010-03-15T20:33:00.000+05:30

This guys dances amazingly.

Wishing a Happy Ugadi to all my readers !
-- AB

Leader - Telugu Movie Review - SUPER

2010-03-13T19:04:00.004+05:30

SUPER SUPER SUPER. That's the verdict.

This bloke, Rana is just the guy Telugu cinema was waiting for. Though he comes from filmi background but I bet he is here to staty.

He is just too good and has an awesome voice and demeanor. Just wondering how he will do romantic roles but I'm sure he'll carry it well.

I'm inspired and looks like I was waiting to get inspired. Time for some personal goals again.

Shekar Kammula has made a stunner after making feel good movies before.

Go watch, Leader !

Pic Courtesy, IndiGlitz.com, dotmovie.in

Heart Break Run at Hyderabad

2010-03-08T14:38:00.004+05:30

Before you can surmise anything, this was just a run with Hyderabad Runners. After a long time I caught with fellow runners at Hyderabad for a 11.5KM heart break run.

Watch the route on the map above closely and you'll see it is in the form of heart break and thus the name.

Ran with Deviyani from Asha Hyderabad for most part of the run and then Rajesh Vetcha joined in to listen my pre and post engagement stories.

Good run and wonderful to be back running with Hyderabad Runners !

Keep Miling !

2000+ KMs of Running and still going

2010-02-20T09:21:00.000+05:30

So here it is guys, 2000KMs of running.
I started around 6.30AM at Basvangudi to do the left over 5 odd KMs. That's a nice finish and place to celebrate 2000KMs. There were another set of legs accompanying me post 2000+ Kms.

Check out my running log: http://www.weendure.com/user/balsubu

I started this log in November 2007 and in 27 months I've crossed 2K mark. Feels Good !

The idea is to do 1000KMs every year! So we are quadrupeds now (AB together)!

Keep Miling !

Adhurs - Telugu Movie after a long time

2010-02-15T09:40:00.003+05:30

Pic Courtesy: Bharatwaves.com

It had been a very long time since I'd been to a Telugu movie. Last Friday when my folks were here, my Dad and I rushed to see Jr.NTR starring "Adhurs".

Brahmanandam and NTR have just rocked. Both of us enjoyed it tremendously. Comedy was amazing and not mention the dance steps. He dances amazingly !

Jr.NTR is doing movies in similar theme which his grandfather did. This one was based on "Ramadu Bhimaddu". Until next time, Adhurs !

Awesome Puppet Show - Ananya Kids

2010-02-10T21:06:00.005+05:30

Last Friday we where at St.John's Auditorium to watch our Ananya kids perform puppet show.

Unlike previous performances this one was amazingly different. Rohit, the chief composer did a marvelous job and Ani and I were I just stunned to see this amazing show.

Great Job Kids. Truly Amazing. Don't miss out and this Friday, 12th Feb, 2010 at JSS Auditorium, Jayanagar 8th block as they have the last show at 12, 3 and 7PM respectively. MUST SEE !

More Pics in here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/balsubu/AnanyaPuppetShow

Taking plunge into politics ?

2010-01-25T11:30:00.005+05:30

Just back from a small sojourn from the Telangana region. I was there at Siddipet and Yadgiri Gutta (Telangana heart bed) last weekend.

Telangana surely looks like a serious event this time with scores and scores of prople joining the movement. Number registrations of vehilces bearing AP registration have been morphed either voluntarily or through force to "TG" - for Telangana. All the boards having "Andhra" word have been defaced to "Telangana".

Check the vehicle number above (Vehicle number smudged for privacy reasons) !

The heat is on and also the summer is slowly setting in.

Then had a quick darshan of lakshmi Narsimha swamy at Yadgiri Gutta, 3rd year in a row.

Politics and me, well NO-NO !!!

In love with Basavangudi

2010-01-20T09:09:00.006+05:30

Pic Courtesy: Flickr

No place in Bangalore must have impressed me as Basvangudi did.

I've been a big fan of Jayanagar but I'm just mesmerized by Basavangudi as it dates me back in time with my cherished childhood at Hyderabad. Koramangla and Indiranagar were the only two locations that I had spent most of my dwelling time in Bangalore.

Dodge that, said Basvangudi ! These days I've been spending so much time in and around Basvangudi and have become a temple hopper these days. Basavangudi reminds me of this typical neighbourhood teeming with normal people more on two wheelers or the Nataraja service (I mean walkers). So many bylanes, so many small shops (Kirana style), flower shops, hawkers, parks .... oh man ! I'm in love. Just can't beat it.

DVG Road
This is like "Sultan Bazaar" of Hyderabad. You name it, you'll find. I love spending lot of time just taking a stroll on this road. Just love this place.

Srinivasa Brahmin Bakery @DVG:
This is the typical "Iyengar Bakery" style. My top picks here are
Pallaya Bun
KBC - Kharra Bun Butter Congress
(Congress here colloquially refers to split groundnuts)
Apple Cake - made out of Ragi balls
Nippat (Uppittu-Nippatu is a great combination they say)

Vinayaka benne gulkand @ DVG:
This is my favourite.
Gulkand - made out of rose petal with sugar syrup served with cut bananas and butter
Dal Bhel
Congress Bhel
Bele - local bhel poori version

Ref: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2006/08/05/stories/2006080500770400.htm

This road recently bore the brunt of Vishnuvardhan fans' ire.

Gandhi Bazaar
Who doesn't know Gandhi Bazar. This is just perpendicular to DVG road. Its like the market area.

Vidhyarthi Bhavan
I'd been to Vidhyarti Bhavan several times for their Masala dosa.

Subbama Stores:
This is the place to get "holige" (sweet roti). Of course scores of other hot items

South End circle:
I just like this place and the stretch that leads towards Jayanagar.

So many circles surround this place,

Natkallapa Circle,
Aurmugham Circle,
Prof. Madha Rao Circle,
Home School Circle,
Sajjan Rao Circle,
Nagsandhra Circle.......... and the list goes on....

With inputs from Anisha

Hope For Flowers - Ananya Trust

2010-01-15T14:09:00.002+05:30

I've been involved with Ananya Trust for more than a year now. Please do buy tickets for the show to raise funds.

- AB

More at:
http://www.ananyatrust.org/e/hope-for-the-flowers_puppetry.html

See our progress through the following links: \| \| \|

Visit the friends of Ananya Trust:

2009 Glimpses

2009-12-30T15:35:00.001+05:30

Year 2009 Finally turned out to be the year that set out the change in my life.
With lots of running, cycling and job change it was, as usual an eventful year driven by my passions.

But things took more rosy turn after I moved into my new workplace and events thereafter.

It ended with I getting engaged to Anisha, for whom I'd been waiting all this while.

This is also the last year of my bachelorhood as I set myself to move on into a new life and Avtaar.

Wishing a wonderful year ahead and hope to provide more content in the coming years. Please support our running initiatives as you had been doing in the past for Asha.
http://www.ashanet.org/bangalore/marathon/runners10/balu.html

Best Wishes,

From - Anisha & Balu (AB)

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

2009-12-20T20:50:00.000+05:30

Cutee ahh !

Urban Turban - Must See

2009-12-14T15:12:00.004+05:30

Last Sunday AB were there at Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar.

Evam is a wonderful theater group and we were seeing their performance for the first time and to tell you we were not disappointed at all. It was an amazing performance and worth the money.

The person who stole all the thunder was TMK. When I saw Karthik kumar who started the day for us I knew that I saw him somewhere and I realized that he was in that Tamil movie "pozhi solla poram" (remake of Khosla ka Ghosla).

TMK sported this amazing Tamil brahmin boy's woes towards arranged marriage.

Read more about Evam at their blog:
http://evamblog.wordpress.com/

Must See.

-- AB

A Date With Reality

2009-12-05T11:22:00.002+05:30

This is a must read for all teenagers and especially the unwed !

This article appeared in "The Times of India", Dec 2nd, 2009, Bangalore edition in the Editorial section. Below is the same article.

Ref: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/

A Date With Reality

Our teens are ill-equipped to negotiate new social mores

Amrit Dhillon

It’s easy to visualise the Pune teenager who arranged to meet her boyfriend the day before Friendship Day recently. Just 15, she must have been flushed with excitement at the prospect of feeling special and desirable, and coming home later from the rendezvous floating in that delicious dreamy delirium that characterises the early days of a relationship. But the boyfriend brought along three friends for some ‘fun’ and they raped her in turns. The following day, the girl hanged herself. In their tragic interplay, i imagine she was seeking love while he wanted sex. Her humiliation and death reveal how the dating game in India is going horribly wrong because boys and girls are playing by different rules.
Girls are eager to explore their newfound social freedom to experience the headiness of loving and being loved. Physical desire is obviously an important part of this exploration because the hormones of a teenage girl are fizzing just as furiously as those of any young male. But girls venture into this new world almost utterly defenceless and, as mostly small-town ingénues, are vulnerable to the first predator who comes along.
So girls are filmed undressing by their boyfriends. The MMS clips are sent to friends or used for blackmail. Girls who end relationships have acid thrown on them. Girls who reject boys’ advances are stalked and threatened. In the West, young girls absorb vast amounts of information about relationships before acquiring their first boyfriend. From TV programmes and debates, magazines, playground gossip and conversations with mothers and elder sisters, they develop a sixth sense for detecting a false note or a whiff of aggression that could endanger them.
More than information, certain ideas have entered their minds. The theories of the feminist movement from the 1970s onwards in the West made women aware of the power dynamic between men and women. The ideas of Germaine Greer, Simone de Beauvoir and Betty Friedman filtered down into popular consciousness. No doubt, they were diluted and reduced to slogans by the time they reached the woman on the street but they nevertheless coloured the landscape of her mind.
This process has been absent in India where such debates have been largely confined to women’s groups and magazines such as Manushi. Here, girls plunge into the dating game intellectually blindfolded, groping (excuse the pun) for signposts as they
navigate this new terrain. They possess none of the psychological tools to discriminate between genuine and fake interest. Having had arranged marriages themselves, their mothers and elder sisters are of no help.
Quite apart from the limited help available from their families, even the wider culture around them fails to imbue girls either with sense or suspicion. How can it? For centuries, social norms have imposed strict social segregation. The new freedom for the sexes to mix is so new that society has barely woken up to its implications. Whereas in the West, relations between the sexes evolved gradually, over decades, in India, the process has been squeezed into 10-15 years, jumping from Jane Austen to Paris Hilton in the blink of an eye.
As girls, without being forewarned, rush into the arms of their beaux, they misread the signals. Exacerbating their vulnerability is the desire for male attention that virtually consumes girls at this age. Not all young men, of course, are hell-bent on abusing their new access to women. Plenty of them treat their girlfriends with respect. But many, just like the girls, misread the cues.
They see a woman in a bar wearing attractive clothes as ‘available’ because they have never been educated – by literature, films, books and newspapers – to grasp the notion that a woman can be drunk, dressed revealingly and behave suggestively but if she says ‘no’ to sex, it means no. They too are confused. All the old familiar rules have gone and it’s a free-for-all. Just the other day, at least in some circles, they were taught to believe that any woman who displayed pleasure during lovemaking, even with her own husband, was a whore. Now they have to learn that women can pose semi-naked, smoke and drink and yet must be treated as respectfully as they treat their mothers.
India has moved from segregation to mingling between the sexes without any of the attendant debates on sex, feminism and contraception. There has been no transition. Many men have leapt from believing that women should be sequestered inside the home to expecting their girlfriends to take responsibility for contraception. Girls pop the ‘morning after’ pill casually, rather than as an emergency measure. The boyfriends are happy to be carefree and few even bother to find out whether there could be repercussions on the girl’s health.
Young Indian women need to realise that many of the new sexual freedoms that were hailed initially as ‘liberating’ in the West (such as the availability of the pill) turned out to carry a heavy price. When neither side knows the rules because the rules are still being worked out, the dating game becomes potentially lethal.
The writer is a journalist.

The heart is a lonely hunter

Kalaripayattu

2009-12-03T06:51:00.002+05:30

Last weekend AB and some Team Asha runners were at NMKRV to catch up some action. We were all excited to catch up the Kalari event but more or less went in disappointed.

May be it was lack of knowledge to appreciate or the expectations were set too high.

There was this guest Croatian dancer who did something remarkable akin to ballet dancing and other mystic Maya dance that I could not fathom or comprehend. Just my two cents on this event.

Ref: http://www.indianstage.in/events/kalari.htm

Spa

2009-11-30T18:54:00.000+05:30

Did you know how the word Spa originated ?

According to Wiki:

More at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa

The term is derived from the name of the town of Spa, Belgium, whose name is known back to Roman times, when the location was called Aquae Spadanae, perhaps related to the Latin word "spargere" meaning to scatter, sprinkle or moisten

Interesting !

derring-do

2009-11-25T19:00:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I was going through the Know Your English coloumn in The Hindu. I noticed this interesting word "derring-do".

Read here more about it: http://www.hindu.com/edu/2009/11/24/stories/2009112450150402.htm

As children, when we misspelt a word, our teachers circled it, and made us rewrite it several times. Hoping that we would learn the correct spelling! When printers make an error in spelling, it sometimes results in the creation of a new word. Derring-do is one such example. The original expression as used by Chaucer was `dorrying don' meaning `daring to do'. Through a series of copying and printing errors, it became `derring-do'.

Read the actual story here: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/derring-do.html

What is interesting to note is that a word can undergo such a change because of a printing mistake and thus getting accepted !

Engaged

2009-11-20T07:01:00.000+05:30

On November 15, 2009, Anisha and Balu in the presence of their elders and well wishers got engaged as a first important step to their marriage scheduled next year.

Henceforth this blog will have Anisha as a guest contributor soon.

Otherwise content will continue to appear unabated in this space. Do visit this space !

-- Anisha and Balu

Bhoomi Network

2009-11-17T19:08:00.001+05:30

Continuing the NGO feature, today we feature Bhoomi Network. A movement for Good and Safe food.

Read more about them here: http://bhoominetwork.org/

They promote healthy food and alternate food items like millets grown organically.

The founders are also related to Prakriya school which promotes green and eco-friendly living.

Bhoomi Conference
They also have a conference on December 4th and 5th, 2009 at St. John's Auditorium, Koramangla, Bangalore to promote the same.

More Info and Registration details on the event here:
http://www.bhoomiconference.org/Conference/Home.html

Colonial Cousins

2009-11-10T20:01:00.005+05:30

Just got reminded of this song: "Krishna Ni Begane Baaro"

Now since I understand a little bit of Kannada, I also understand the meaning more correctly.

More at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Ni_Begane_Baaro

Great song and well remixed !

Chicken Bus

2009-11-08T21:49:00.000+05:30

Came across this interesting term "chicken bus".

According to Wiki:

A chicken bus (Spanish: "camioneta") is a colloquial English name for a colorful modified and decorated US school bus and transit bus that transports goods and people between communities in Honduras and Guatemala. The word "chicken" refers to the fact that rural Guatemalans regularly transport live animals on such buses, a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable. The buses are also commonly used in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_bus

(A Google search result snapshot for "chicken bus")

Know Your English - The Hindu

2009-11-06T23:02:00.000+05:30

If you are an ardent "The Hindu" fan you would hardly miss the KYE (Know Your English) by S.UPENDRAN.

Now you can read all of them online at The Hindu's online page:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/nic/kye/

Ref: http://englishwithsunil.wordpress.com/about-this-blog/

Felt wax lyrical after getting to know so wanted to share !

Kumite Session @ Ananya

2009-11-01T12:50:00.004+05:30

Cross posting from original post at Team Asha blog:
http://teamashablr.blogspot.com/2009/11/kumite-sessions-ananya.html

Team Asha is back full strength at Ananya after almost a months lull. Long weekends and midterm breaks robbed all of us of our great times at Ananya but you can't keep us waiting for long.

This Saturday we had a full throttle Karate sessions, with Sensei Manjula sparing none. All sets were repeated 100 times ! Before the Karate session we started off with for 3K tempo running.

Kumite
We then had "Kumite" sessions where we learned the aspect of sports Karate where one showcases the ability to sneak through the opponent's defenses rather than actually hurting/hitting him. This was an important aspect that needed to be conveyed to the kids as they can get carried away easily.

Then we had one of our kids, Priya sharing us her experiences in watching "kalaripayattu" show and what it demanded as a form of martial art. Then our Sensei emphasized on how much dexterity one required in performing "kalari".

Some pics in here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/teamasha8k/AnanyaKarate_Kumite

So we are back and updates will follow as usual !
Aregato !

Sholay - Revisited

2009-10-30T19:04:00.000+05:30

Just got reminded of this sequence in Sholay !

Botany Class - Telugu

2009-10-28T21:17:00.001+05:30

This song was a rage when we were kids ! Nostalgia revisited !

Team Asha

2009-10-27T19:00:00.002+05:30

Here are some of the members of this wonderful gang, Team Asha, Bangalore

(Pic Courtesy, Balaji)

Team Asha 4k/8k - Prakirya School

2009-10-24T20:21:00.003+05:30

Cross Posting from Team Asha Blog
http://teamashablr.blogspot.com/2009/10/team-asha-4k8k-prakriya.html

Wow ! What a run !
Here are some pics from the event. Hope to come up with a detailed blog report soon.

The race begins

Go Team Asha, Go !

Bravo !

Team Asha, Bangalore

Here are some pics from one of the cameras:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/teamasha8k/Asha8KPrakriya#

Will add more pics as and when we keep getting it !

Thanks to all the participants who attended it !

Nice Quote and Ted Talk

2009-10-21T18:54:00.000+05:30

Heard this in one of the Ted Talks today :-)

Alan Greenspan Quotes:

"I know that you think you know what I said. But I'm not sure whether you understood that what you heard is what I meant."

Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926 in New York City) is an American economist and was from 1987 to 2006 the Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States. He currently works as a private advisor, making speeches and providing consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC

Ref: http://www.quotes.net/quote/13488

Below is that Ted-Talk !

Winter Sets in

2009-10-16T08:04:00.001+05:30

Woke up to the first sight of fog this year in Bangalore !

Welcoming winter!

Happy Diwali to you all !

Flood Relief Fund: Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Karnataka

2009-10-15T17:45:00.006+05:30

Its time for more action on the flood relief fund. If you haven't please do donate online.

Andhra Pradesh (AP):
Use the AP Govt's online webpage to donate through credit or debit card.
http://cmo.ap.gov.in/cmrf/registration.do

Karnataka:
Check out the Govt. of Karanataka's online page here:
http://www.karunadu.gov.in/floodrelief2009/contribution.html

(No qualms whether the funds will be properly used or not)

Every rupee or dime counts !

Obesity and the stigma - The Hindu

2009-10-13T23:04:00.002+05:30

The below one appeared in "The Hindu", open page last Sunday. Truly a self-introspecting one.

Reference: http://www.thehindu.com/op/2009/10/11/stories/2009101153661200.htm

Obesity and the stigma

SRIKANTH SHARAN

My cousin, in search of an eligible bride, recently received some photos and bio-data of a girl, who was our distant relative and whom we have never seen before. My cousin found her quite eligible because of her good education, employment, wealth, beauty and very fair complexion. (The last quality is only to emphasise that she even had this additional but important qualification which we Indians seem to be obsessed with.)

On knowing this, some of our close relatives who knew her well rang us up to inform that the woman was not as slim as she was in the photos but was an obese “drum”, “rejected” an umpteen number of times and hence “unfit”. They even cautioned us not to get attracted by the hefty dowry which had been hiked only to compensate for her biggest “disqualification” (obesity). Despite such stiff opposition, we went ahead to see the girl. It was a pleasant conversation wherein my cousin expressed his desire to know the girl’s expectations and opinions about him.

Baseless discrimination

Later, during an informal chat with our relatives, I learnt to my horror that my cousin’s desire to know the bride’s opinions about him had become the joke of the day. For it seemed ridiculous even to her own parents that the girl, who was obese and hence “rejected” many times, had been asked about her opinion and expectations, as if she was not entitled to such things.

An internet search on obesity and social attitudes revealed the stereotypes, stigma and discrimination the obese people face in society and the negative attitudes these generate in them. The obese people are discriminated at home, in education, employment, social circles and are cast as lazy, gluttonous, adamant, mean and wicked. They, along with those having AIDS, are the least preferred as sexual partners/spouses and ranked far below the physically challenged and mentally ill. Obese women are not so social due to the stigma. They usually prefer obese partners in marriage.

All these reveal the discrimination and stigmatisation of the obese (especially women) which leads to low self-esteem. One of the reasons seems to be the outcome of the fashion industry which is obsessed with slimness. What is more disturbing is the commercial stigmatisation and exploitation by various enterprises as can be seen in many advertisements.

Obese people are also portrayed as gluttonous forgetting that their genetic makeup is one of the reasons for obesity and many even have a normal diet. But stigmatisation only leads to isolation, frustration and eating disorder in the obese. The most important thing is to promote positive psychological and social attitudes among and/or towards the obese in society.

Childhood and KV School pals

2009-10-10T08:04:00.007+05:30

I was there in Hyderabad for my friend Sheetal and Ramji's marriage. It was great to see them get married and I've known Sheetal from my second standard and Ramji from college days. But this was also a time to catch up with college friends.

But what came as a neat surprise was that I found my KV pals. Pals with whom I studied from my first standard. It was total nostalgia and some of whom I met after 1997 !

(Rajesh, Hemanth, Dinesh, their Pal, and I)

We all went back to 1987 from our class teachers, girls, boys, embarrassing moments, joyous moments and many more. Idiosyncrasies of each of the teachers their methods of teaching and we getting beaten in their hands. wow.. so many things.

(Chutki, Vandy, Balu and Deepthi)
Of course caught up with the SVAD gang and the S in that gang got married today. Nice to meet up with so many of them at one shot.

Now the KV gang has decided to retrace each and everyone one of us and are planning a reunion some time soon. Lets see if we get this thing out.

Pic Courtesy: Vandy

Trueroots - Why do we do this?

2009-10-09T07:42:00.000+05:30

Nice One. Reference from pal Amit Kumar's Orkut Videos !

Moral Relativism

2009-10-06T18:21:00.002+05:30

Most of us talk about morals and some of us even boast about their morals and ethics. But each of us have our own set of morals with variable degree of flexibility.

Moral relativism explores and dwells into such relative morality.

Read more about "Moral Relativism" in Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism

India Through My Soul

2009-10-04T09:58:00.002+05:30

To quote Biswa who sent this:

My classmate and his brother did a 1 month bike trip in India. His brother is a photographer and made a video out of it..

This will now take me into my next ambitious motor bike trip. From Goa To Vizag to Hyderabad from the coastal belt. 3000 odd KMs !

Dusheera Run: Gandipet - APPA - ORR - Gandipet

2009-10-01T17:30:00.001+05:30

Wow ! What a run it was. Three runners and an amazing SAG support from Vasu. Satish, Sri Hari and I set out from Gandipet at around 6AM to do a 16KM loop and it turned out to be an amazing run.

The weather and the route turned out to be perfect. The entire route and logistics was planned by Satish.

To quote Satish:

Route :http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3211225
Starting point : Gandipet

The idea is to start at Gandipet and run towards Mrigavani National Park. Then come onto the APPA-Chilkur road and run toward the ORR. At the rotary get onto the ORR and run towards the osman sagar road. At the Osman sagar road take a left and run towards gandipet. The total distance is 16.5k.

A part of this stretch was my regular route to my B.Tech. College. The roads have widened, there is an Outer Ring Road (ORR) etc.

The best part to me was the outer ring road and we had an entire 3-Lane empty for us to run. Amazing open landscape ! It was a more of those leisured and pleasured runs.

Last but not the least, Thanks to Vasu who was our SAG driver and shadowed us with all the essential support. Thanks mate !

Great run guys and as I have more long weekends to come by I'll be there positively for more such runs.

Keep Running Hyderabad !

(Pic Courtesy: Sri Hari's Mobile)

The Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards: NDTV

2009-09-29T19:01:00.001+05:30

Truly moving !

Being Vegan

2009-09-27T17:51:00.002+05:30

Today I met an interesting runner from Hyderabad runners who is a Vegan. I always had a biased view against vegans and thought it is difficult and impractical to be a vegan (make no mistake a vegan is much more austere than a normal vegetarian).

Check Wiki for more on veganism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism

Its like, the Non-vegetarian look down upon the Veggies and the Veggies look down upon Vegan and of course there are fruitarians. Again Vegetarians there are eggeterian (who also eat egg) and the real hard core ones (who don't eat onion, garlic etc).

Reference: Wiki

The point that hit me today is the vegans do not eat even diary products (biscuits, cream, milk, paneer, etc). I cannot even think of a meal or a diet plan without these. But the point that he (the Vegan) making is that how is this milk produced in the dairy farms. Most of us know but chose to ignore it.

Most of these animals are milked by practices that would astonish you and put you under immense guilt. Once these animals become incapable of producing milk they are sent to butcher houses.

Cow's Milk - What is it?

Cow's milk is a liquid secreted by the mammary glands of the adult female cow to nourish her young calf until weaned. Before the cow can produce milk, in common with other species of mammal, she must first become pregnant and give birth.
The Modern Dairy Industry

Modern dairy farming has become an intensive industry. To produce maximum milk yields, dairy cows are pushed to their physiological limits through a combination of selective breeding, high-protein feeds, and the latest technology. Along with the production of pigs, chickens and eggs, milk production has become just another factory farm operation.

Reference:
http://www.vegansociety.com/animals/exploitation/cows/dairy_cow.php

While many of us would choose to ignore this but that remains a fact and that is the milk we all drink in our Coffees and Teas. Due to the current lifestyle it is difficult for me to stop drinking milk all at once but then "milk (food) for thought" !

Hope For Flowers

2009-09-23T20:12:00.008+05:30

Team Ananya will be there with its brand new version of Hope For Flowers play with Puppets this time. If you are around Bangalore on 27th do drop by.

(Click on the above image to get to details)

Riya Meetup

2009-09-21T19:53:00.003+05:30

(Balu, Sandy, Sowmya, Dan, Sajan, Naveen)

We had a small meetup at Barista this Sunday. Dan was here in India and it was a nice opportunity for some of us to catch up.

Nice short trip for him and a nice get together. Been pretty long since we all caught up.

Telugu speaking Hindi

2009-09-08T22:04:00.001+05:30

Strictly for Telugu fans (who speak Hindi). Wonderful !

Too good ! This guy is just too good !

Teachers Day at Ananya

2009-09-05T20:37:00.003+05:30

We celebrated Teachers day at Ananya on September 5th. Luckily as it was a weekend most of us were able to make it.

When he became the President of India in 1962, some of his students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, September 5. He replied, "Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teacher's Day." Since then, Teacher's Day has been celebrated in India.

-- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1888 – April 17, 1975)

For Team Asha folks the day started as usual with a quick 3KM run with the kids and we soon started to interact with the kids during the cool down session on who the first prime minister of India was, then who was the first president, the second president and at the same time getting to know why Teachers day and Childcare's day are celebrated, the essence behind them. Then we slowly moved into Sensei Manjula's karate session. This time it was much vigorous and kids were really glued to it. We then had a break for breakfast before the day's event started to unfold.

Report card to parents

As Parents kept arriving they all were handed over their child's report card. This was to keep them abreast of how they were performing and doing in general at Ananya.

Graduation

So all the senior kids who passed out their 10th class exams had their graduation ceremony in our own Ananya style. All of them were handed over those graduation hats.

We also have a big list of kids who are going to appear for their Xth exam next summer and some who are going to take exams this October.

Ananya Alumni

There was a huge presence of former who kids who climbed through the education and life ladder through Ananya. It was wonderful to note how each one of them were settled and making waves in their careers.

Also some of them have partnered together to form their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Everyone attributed to the cordial and friendly teacher-student interaction at Ananya. As each one of the students spoke the teacher and volunteers at Ananya couldn't have been more happy. All the efforts that the team put behind for over decade has clearly borne fruits.

The Unsung Heroes: Teachers

The day was apt to honor all the teachers who were (and are) the core force behind the success of Ananya. All the teachers received huge ovation as they were all presented some nice handmade cards and flower pots as bouquets.

They have been an unflinching force that has stood by Ananya and in making what Ananya is today.

Team Asha Volunteers honored

Apart from other volunteers Team Asha volunteers were also honored. The running and Karate team has been interacting with the kids on a regular basis and we hope to continue this further.

Good job, Team Asha !

Karate Demo
Soon the kids showcased their Karate training to parents and teachers, headed by Sensei Manjula.

Presentations

Then some of the kids showcased their experience at Ananya and abroad as an ambassador of Ananya through multimedia presentations. The elan and panache they displayed during these presentation sessions were of very high quality and well narrated with all the confidence.

These kids have so much in their kitty and I'm sure we will have a lot to see.

Puppet Show

We then had a puppet show which these kids add innovation and variety every time they do it. They play looks different every time I see it.

Lunch

Lunch was served to all of us and most of us caught up with each other and had some lengthy chats. The kids also got a well deserved break after a hectic pre-noon.

We could see so many happy faces, from teachers, parents, their kids, volunteers and visitors. You all made this success of Ananya happen and just keep that going.

More pics at:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/teamasha8k/TeachersDayAnanya#

All the best to all of you and good luck. We as Team Asha shall always be there with your endeavors.

SNAFU

2009-09-03T22:30:00.003+05:30

Continuing my tryst with some interesting terms here comes SNAFU:

According to Wiki:

SNAFU is an acronym meaning Situation Normal: All F***** Up. It is sometimes bowdlerized to Situation Normal: All Fouled Up or similar.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNAFU

FUBAR was a famous term that I heard in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" !

Hyderabad Marathon and Old pals

2009-08-31T18:42:00.003+05:30

The second edition of the Hyderabad Marathon went off very well. I did a half this time and the weather stayed good as it was raining the previous two days here.

Met couple of old pals and lab mates from IIIT Hyderabad. Vardhaman, Sesh and I (as seen in the above pic).

After around the 17th KM mark the incline gradually increased and around 7.30AM the sun was also setting in real hard. But all in all it went off very well but couldn't manage a sub 2 this time.

Lots of Hyderabad runners and also members of Team Asha, Hyderabad.

Nice hometown run and its always a great feeling to be back home ! The event was very well organized and all the logistics were in perfect place. Great job organizers !

More pics in here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/balsubu/Hyd_Marathon2009#

Keep Miling !

One Crazy Ride

2009-08-22T23:59:00.000+05:30

Looks promising:

Unemployed ....

2009-08-21T20:50:00.001+05:30

So here I'm finally unemployed for the next two days before I begin a new journey !

Body Need and I Need

2009-08-20T23:16:00.002+05:30

Recently in one of my discussions I came across this Gandhian view.

"Body needs clothing, I need branded clothing"

This above statement has taken me by storm. The I need and the body need. How our lifestyles have made us incompetent.

Something to think and ruminate over !

Movie Roundup

2009-08-09T20:29:00.003+05:30

Have been watching too many movies these days and the one that stands out in English is:

Sexy Beast:

These are the starting lines from the movie in typical Brit accent from Ray Winstone:

Oh, yeah. Bloody hell. I'm sweating in here. Roasting. Boiling. Baking. Sweltering. It's like a sauna. Furnace. You can fry an egg on my stomach. Ohh, who wouldn't lap this up? It's ridiculous. Tremendous. Fantastic. Fan-dabby-dozy-tastic.

The exact Audio is in the below youtube (MUST LISTEN) the video is NOT from the movie .. so just Listen to it !

Another classic from Ben Kingsley here:

I know a bloke who knows a bloke who knows a bloke.

The Long Good Friday:

Amazing soundtracks and among the very neat ones. Typical Brit gangster movie.
Listen to the most famous OST here:

Love, Honor and Obey:

Another classic but not just about there. Also featuring Ray Winstone.

Saw some amazing Tamil movies as well. More on them at a later post !

Unnati

2009-08-04T22:25:00.003+05:30

Carrying forward my NGO series, this week I feature "Unnati", a Bangalore based NGO catering to free vocational training.

Read more about them at:
http://www.unnatiblr.org/?q=node/1

As they put it:

As on May '09, 710 youth have been trained and their families have gone above the poverty line

Thanks to Pulkit for the pointers in his blog.

The Pedal to the Mettle : Bangalore - Mysore - 146KM - Cycling Maniacs

2009-08-02T20:49:00.008+05:30

Yake, But Why ?

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.
~Albert Einstein

Do we have an answer ? No idea.

Four gypsies set out to cycle from Bangalore to Mysore. Distance 146KM. Time, 12 hours. Weather conditions, cool, breezy, hot, humid and then rainy (in fact that's how the day progressed). Call us junkies if you want to !

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling.
~James E. Starrs

This bunch was a highly motivated bunch. It was more to set personal goals, test of endurance and perseverance. After the 100KM ride couple of months back we were looking for a 100+Km distance to be covered in a single stretch and yes we did it with all the more ease this time.

The man, the machine and the power
This one reminds me of "Street Hawks" when the zooming bike goes across the streets awing everyone. This is what almost everyone from Bangalore to Mysore did as they kept on looking at us. Everyone was curious to know, some gave askance look, some stared, some jeered, some turned back twice in disbelief, some inquired, some puzzled, some gave their thumbs up and some mistook some of us to foreigners !

“The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.”
John Howard

The Journey: Tour De Mysore

Stage-I: Kickstart

We all met up near the outer ring road - Mysore road junction and by 5AM sharp we all set off by "tring tring - tring tring" and a cheer huddle ! Some of us sporting the complete bicycle attire and reflective dress for the early morning ride. Our first destination was to stop for a chai (Tea) after covering close to 20Kms.

Stage-2: Breakfast

Next destination was to stop for breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi. 40Kms from where we started we paddled our way through swiftly. Started off with kodabu and finished off with coffee.

Stage-3: In between
Next we reached Maddur Tiffnay, got the Maddur Wada, refilled water and headed towards Mandya. From now on the sun started to set in and the inclines began. We reached Mandya close to around 11.30AM and took a refreshing lemon juice break. Man, what a refreshing break it was.

This stage was eventful as Prashanth suffered some cramps and luckily he coped up with it in a jiffy.

We also saw some angry villagers blocking the roads just about where we stopped to take a water recess. They stopped a truck and threw stones at it and barged into the truck and ruffed up with driver. Later we figured out that the truck was involved in a hit and run a few minutes ago.

The stretch from Maddur to Mandya was little tough. But we did manage to survive it.

We also stopped by to have some freshly prepared jaggery (Alli Manne ?). We wanted to try this potion that gets formed during sugarcane to jaggery conversion stage. Guess we had to wait an hour more to get to it and because of time we headed forward.

And thanks to Manjula's driver who was playing our SAG driver to perfection. He was keeping in sync with us for almost every 20KMs. We had covered 100Kms by now and it was longest in a single stretch in a day for Prashant and Rajneesh.

Stage-4: Lunch

Reaching Srirangapatna was next big thing and finally we reached just in time for lunch. We visited this amazing Govt. managed river facing restaurant, Hotel Mayuri (?)and had some quick bite and really chilli gobi manchurian.

Stage-5: The Final Assault
Had a great hour's break before we headed for the last stage. It was getting overcast and within minutes it poured cats and dogs. We all regrouped at a bus shelter drenched and shivering. As the rains showed no signs of receding we decided to get drenched. Slowly but steadily with lots of cars and buses zooming at treacherous speeds and some respite from rain we finally reached the Mysore Palace.

We did the customary cycling salute after covering 146KMs in 12 hours now !

Team Effort
This cycling trip also will go down as an amazing team effort. Split in pairs of two each of us pushed each other in really torrid stretches, especially after Mandya.

We all started together and after almost every 5-6KMs caught with each other, synced up and then went ahead.

Food and The Best Masala Dosa I ever had

Food was also an interesting factor that added to this trip. We had some great food in this entire trip and post trip.

This place in Mysore, Hotel Original Mylari, serves just two things, Idli and Dosa. The best Masala Dosa I must have ever had. If you are in Mysore, you must seriously think of going here.

The Big Boys

Manjula and I had to attend Martial Arts camp at Mysore on Sunday so we decided to go back in her car with cycles hooked to it.

But here are the real two heroes, Prashanth and Rajneesh who cycled back from Mysore to Bangalore on Sunday as well. We in fact caught up with them at around Chennapatna. Great job folks, you are the true heroes !

Post Cycling and Day 2
After a great cycling ride we all headed to Sensei Rani's house for a wonderful dinner and couple of us stayed back overnight at her place.

Next day morning we left for some rock climbing stuff and it was my first hand at it.

Then we headed towards the Martial Arts workshop conducted by Sensei Rani and we also collected our yellow belts to be given to us later by our Sensei Manjula.

We had sessions on Kobudo (bow fights and blocks) and Kata using them. We attended the session till lunch and then headed back to Bangalore. We loaded the cycles back onto Manjula's car headed back to Bangalore.

We stopped by Indradhanush restaurant near Coffee Day for a neat lunch and Coffee Day for some coffee and muffins (Ohh.. food .. not again !)

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
~Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

Ashte ! And that's about it (What's next?)!

Pics Courtesy: Manjula
Comment on the wall to get more Pics !

Some Pics from Rajneesh Here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rajanishgowda/TourDeMysore#

Team Asha 8K - Independence day run!

2009-07-29T21:09:00.001+05:30

Team Asha Team 8K
( http://www.ashanet.org/bangalore/teamasha8k/ )

"Only that day dawns to which we are awake." - Henry David Thoreau

The “Team Asha Team 8K, 2009″ is a running event organized by Team Asha. The second edition of the event will focus on healthy living in a holistic sense. We will strive to create awareness about the need for sensitivity towards the environment around us. The event will create awareness about many efforts supported by Asha and Team Asha that promote healthy and environmentally sensitive choices. The event will also bring together children and adults from varying class, cultural, religious, caste or any other diverse background in promoting the cause of health and well being in the true sense. On India's 63rd Independence day, we hope to sensitize the future and current generations to the possibility of an event and a life that is truly sensitive to the environment and people from all backgrounds.

Location: Prakriya School, # 70, Chikkanayakanahalli Road, off Doddakannelli, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore-35
Map: http://www.prakriyaschool.org/campus.htm#Roadmap
Time: 8:30 A.M (Independence day celebration), 9:00 A.M Race start.
Date: Aug 15, Saturday

Terrain and location:
It will be a flat course on beaten up road / mud trail. It is in a scenic location with a lot of tree cover, off Sarjapur road. Vehicular traffic would be a minimum.

Who can run?:
Anyone above the age of 10 can participate in the run. We will have children from multiple Asha supported efforts, Prakriya School and possibly other schools running along with us on August 15th.

Prizes:
The event’s objective is to go beyond the usual ‘need for speed’ and make this a wholesome event. The event is about bringing together adults and children from varying backgrounds with running as a unifying factor. Every participant will get a T-shirt as memorabilia. As a matter of principle, there will be NO specific prizes to promote any one skill over the other.

Registration
Please do register online by clicking here - http://www.ashanet.org/bangalore/teamasha8k/register.html

A nominal registration fee of Rs.150 (per runner) would be collected at the venue to cover the cost. Prakriya School Administration is providing FREE breakfast for everyone and the registration fee also covers the cost of the T-shirt. We would strive to organize this 'no profit' event at the minimum cost and impact to the environment. If there are any proceeds from the event, it will directly go to Asha Bangalore’s efforts.

We look forward to having you run with us on August 15th for a fun-filled independence day event! Please do help us spread the word and come as friends, families or just runners :)

Go Team Asha!

If it were to be my wedding ?

2009-07-28T22:53:00.001+05:30

Nice watch:

Just dance your way through !

Maayandi Kudumbathaar - Tamil

2009-07-25T17:24:00.003+05:30

There is this sudden burst of Tamil movies that I've been watching a lot these days and the one that makes me cry is "Maayandi Kudumbathaar".

Watch the trailer below:

The movie revolves around four brothers who are the sons of "Maayandi" and each one them of respect and admire each other. In days where brothers and sisters have so much friction this movie hits upon you to think and ponder. What we really miss today is this big combined family concept where life is full of activity. Property, prejudice and other matters makes it more complicated as well.

On the property front, I strongly believe one is not supposed to leave any property to its generation. This leads to the who dirty thing of hoarding money for its coming generations to survive. Neither take in any property nor leave anything for the next ones (that's my take) !

Being eldest in family is sometimes a boon and bane. The movie emphasizes on education as well wherein the one who is pursuing education is supported my the entire family.

The characters are well scripted and do their job perfectly. Nice folk song and dances and village fares can be seen. Very good movie and must see from my side !

This is England

2009-07-21T19:31:00.000+05:30

"This is England" is a British movie that revolves around the early 80's when race and ethnic related crimes were beginning to seethe in the UK.

(Trailer below)

The backdrop of the movie features the Falkan Island war between the Argentinians and the British.

The pink heads (aka skin heads) headed the crime against the brown. Something similar to dot busters who targeted Indian women who sported dot (bindi) in the US. The movie can be drawn parallel to what we are seeing down under (Australia).

The point I'm trying to drive is, what irks a local community in its microplasam is that they want their rights and needs to fulfilled. Any particular immigrating group which tried to establish its own identity or way of living is not accepted. We can see these things even within our country when people from different states start mingling with the local communities. This is where the "ghetto" kind of living spurts in where people of a particular community all live together as a group and sometimes their living conditions are not socially acceptable w.r.t its local community.

May be that's the way we all humans are. We just cannot withstand it ! More to ponder than preach !

Roomies - Al Vida !

2009-07-18T18:51:00.007+05:30

As two my of close roommates relocate, here is Ram's take on all of us.

All of them is related to running and that is one thing common to all of us.

It has been great living with you Biswa for three years. And yeah Ram we will miss your coffee and "ching on" fundas !

“A memory lasts forever, Never does it die. True friends stay together And never said goodbye”

Miss you all ! That's 305 tranquility for you !

-- Millet-Runner !

DK Pattammal - Obituray

2009-07-17T08:32:00.003+05:30

(Pic Courtesy: The Hindu)

I hardly listen to Tamil songs and specially when it comes to carnatic and devotional songs there are only few who I listen to.

DK Pattamal left for heavenly abode yesterday.

I remember her unique voice that stands out during one of the Jana Gana Mana song renditions by Rahman and Bharat Bala.

Below is the video that I was talking about:

You can listen to her voice at time: 33-37 seconds.

Long live her legacy !

Pasanga - Tamil

2009-07-15T19:23:00.003+05:30

Pasanaga (Kids) is a neat Tamil movie that has captured idiosyncrasies in a subtle manner.

The movie is a must see for all the kids who know Tamil and must be played across all schools across Tamil Nadu, especially in the Govt. schools. If it can be dubbed in other regional languages it would be wonderful.

Trailer below:

The movie has some wonderful characters and the mobile phone ring tones are aptly used to describe certain moods and characters as the movie progresses.

A situation where the kids drive an imaginary scooter and car took me back to my childhod.. Brrrrrrrrrr......

A nice movie and must see !

24th Main

2009-07-10T21:01:00.006+05:30

24th Main is a veg restaurant located on 24th main, JP Nagar.

After the Asha 8K run, around half a dozen of us crash landed here. Guess during weekdays they have a buffet priced around 129 buks (+taxes). But as it was a Saturday we tried their ala carte and is a pretty decent place to have food, especially if you want to have a leisure lunch or dinner.

The interiors are pretty neat, appealing and soothing to the eyes.

Pretty much like the European cafes.

Nice place to try out !

Mumbai Marathon 2010

2009-07-10T19:35:00.002+05:30

There you go !

More at their homepage, register online now:

http://mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com/index1.html

Good Luck !

Beat It - Dr K Chaudhry

2009-07-06T21:30:00.003+05:30

Respect !! Dr Chow ! Respect !!

This is really sucks man ! Summer of 69 below :-)

Courtesy: Rampee

The Yellow Belt Saga

2009-07-04T19:14:00.008+05:30

Once upon a time in China, some believe around the year one double-ought three, head priest of the White Lotus Clan, Pai Mei, was walking down the road, contemplating whatever it is that a man of Pai Mei's infinite power contemplates – which is another way of saying "who knows?" – when a Shaolin monk appeared on the road, traveling in the opposite direction. As the monk and the priest crossed paths, Pai Mei, in a practically unfathomable display of generosity, gave the monk the slightest of nods. The nod was not returned.

Now, was it the intention of the Shaolin monk to insult Pai Mei? Or did he just fail to see the generous social gesture? The motives of the monk remain unknown. What is known were the consequences.

The next morning Pai Mei appeared at the Shaolin Temple and demanded of the Temple's head abbot that he offer Pai Mei his neck to repay the insult. The Abbot at first tried to console Pai Mei, only to find Pai Mei was inconsolable.

So began the massacre of the Shaolin Temple and all sixty of the monks inside at the fists of the White Lotus. And so began the legend of Pai Mei's five-point-palm-exploding-heart technique.

-- Bill, Kill Bill 2

This may sound trivial for some but then this was more than a saga for all of us. This quote is just to give an introduction, but read on below !

"The ultimate aim of the art of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the characters of its participants."
- Gichin Funakoshi

Two months ago when we met our master, we had no idea that she would be our bellwether guiding us using her "empty hands". Karate as a form of personal strength and to gain extra control over oneself was one of the sole motivation.

It all began at our "Dojo" (school) at Ananya this summer when we were training with kids for the Sunfeast 10K and during one of our breakfast discussions the idea of "Karate" cropped in as a cross training from a photographer who was capturing us at the volleyball matches with the kids. Who knew that she would become our Sensei who would lead all of us into this odyssey which seems like a journey in progress now.

We asked her, "onegaishimasu Sensei", Please teach me/us and that is how it all began. Tuesdays and Saturdays after the run we all diligently went through classes and practiced extensively during the last two weeks.

Today as America celebrated its independence we headed towards the first step, the Yellow Belt and all of us came out in flying colors.

What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.
--Morpheus, The Matrix

This is what was that was going through during the endurance tests. Our Morpheous was Sensei Manjula under whom we've trained for the last two months. I could hear her chip in when I was about to give up during the endurance training and she occurred to me like Morpheous.

Though I just about reached the end, it was one heck of an endurance. Though I've been running all this while but I guess on the endurance aspect I've got a long long way to go and I'm sure as I graduate through these early days we all will come out much stronger.

Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND ACHIEVE!!!

-- Bruce Lee

This just a baby step that we all have taken and I'm sure there is a long way to go.

Aregato to Sensei Manjula, Sensei Rani and my training mates Vinodh, Narmada and Banna !
Thanks to George, Suman and Shivamma for a wonderful breakfast and lunch. Ananya is more than a home to all of us.

I'll finally end it with an anonymous quote below:

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”

(Pic Courtesy: Sensei Manjula)

TR - English Lessons

2009-07-01T07:56:00.002+05:30

This is really Sucks man ! English at its best in a trial room. Must See !

TR Rocks !

UBI caritas et amor, Deus ibi est (Latin)

2009-06-28T18:00:00.000+05:30

So what does the above latin phrase translate to ?

UBI caritas et amor, Deus ibi est (Latin)
WHERE charity and love are, God is there.

If you've attended to any of the serving or sermon at a church or any gospel you might have heard this during the choir session.

I came across this in a wonderful movie that I watched this Sunday, "Doubt". Doubt is an amazing move which revolves around this word "doubt" and how it actually takes over we humans, just that the context here is from the parish.

Catch the Trailer below:

The performances are just perfect !

"Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty"

But the point that I'm driving home is that "doubt" can be such a dampener in any relationship. Once a person comes into this mental block by inadvertently forcing oneself to believe something sham about another person, there is unfounded belief that takes over him and doubt is one such thing.

Once doubt takes control over you then I guess there is no way you can extricate out of that doubt.

Good movie, do watch at leisure !

What did Indians Eat before Rice and Wheat ?

2009-06-27T20:28:00.006+05:30

So what do you think our forefathers used to eat centuries ago ? How old are rice and wheat?

There have been some surveys that millets are much older than rice and wheat
(Ref: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=166480)

As Rice and Wheat have become staple diet across the Indian subcontinent then why is that now, rice has been looked down as a strict no-no at later years of our lifestyle. Well the reason is simple, "polished rice". As a lifestyle change in recent decades we are all now used to polished rice which is devoid of all essential fiber and nutrients. This is where rice began to loose out to wheat. Otherwise calorie (energy) wise both are same. The generation before the 1980's was more involved with physical work as part of their regular work and lifestyle, so the rice that was consumed was well accounted for. But as we moved into this century our lifestyle and work became more sedentary and this misfit is gaining notoriety for rice.

So when did we start eating rice ?

I'm not sure but rice and wheat became our stable diet but the polished rice concept came into being around the time of Britishers and was considered to be rich man's rice. Unpolished rice is still associated with the poor but ironically that is what is more beneficial to our health.

Green Revolution

We all know how the green revolution helped us in achieving self reliance on our food security but what it also did was to promote food grains like wheat and rice to a greater extent and healthier options like millets reduced in area of cultivation.
(Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution_in_India)

http://www.indiaonestop.com/Greenrevolution.htm

Millets can grow in regions where there is water scarcity and that is why in many dry region millets are the staple diet [Rajasthan(Bajra), Telangana and Raylseema Region in AP, south Maharashta and North Karnataka (Jonna - Jowar), South Karnataka (Ragi) etc].

Learn more about agriculture in India here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India

Just my two cents and I may be incorrect in certain conclusions. Please do correct me if I'm wrong and do share your views.

Try millets !

Obituary : Michael Jackson (MJ)

2009-06-26T15:11:00.004+05:30

As a kid I grew up listening to names such as Tracy Chapman, Samantha Fox, Abba, Boney M and others. But the real impact I had was when I saw Michael Jackson dance and sing. The real superstar when I was a kid.

Dangerous was a very intriguing album and I remember possessing an original audio cassette of it as well.

Long Live MJ !

Team Asha 8k Run - Logisitics Meeting

2009-06-21T16:19:00.005+05:30

(Meetup at my place)

The Team met twice, once in Ananya and next at my place to discuss and take stock about how we were doing in various aspects for the race at Valley School.

Nice "kutti" group that spends more time in digressing and coming back to the original intended topic later !

But then, all this planning and minute details helped. Fortunately this group really doesn't spend too much time in pondering to take a decision. Once taken we stick to it and we are like "open source" !

Finally the event went off very well and more on the race and event ~~in a day or two~~ visit the Team Asha blog!

Some media coverage for the event:
Citizen Matters, from Manjula Sridhar.
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1169-asha-8k-run-kanakapura-road-valley-school

Come, run with us. Train, Run and Educate !

Corporates seeking out bloggers

2009-06-21T08:37:00.001+05:30

Corporates seeking out bloggers

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Masilamani - Superrraaa !

2009-06-19T21:46:00.003+05:30

Tamil rap and mass appeal !

Yo ! Yo !

Aathichudi - Vijay Antony

2009-06-14T12:52:00.004+05:30

I'm a big fan of Vijay Antony and Naka Muka is my favourite. Another latest favourite is: Aathichudi

This genre which we call as "Mass" invigorates any person. Until I find another Vijay Antony song, Adios !

BTW, the last 30 seconds has an amazing dance sequence which I want to master one day ! Dancing is the next big thing in pipeline.

The 100KM Cycling Duo

2009-06-08T17:58:00.012+05:30

Bike Bala Bike

We all talk, discuss and ruminate a lot about many things and set certain targets and goals. Long distance cycling has been a long pending activity and this Sunday we jammed for a big one.

Manjula and I have been planning some long distance ride for sometime and it was this Sunday that was waiting to happen. Thanks to her initiative, she was able to gather around eight of us.

The Route

(Entering Tamil Nadu)

We all met up at Sarjapur Road and started towards Sarjapur. Soon we crossed into Tamil Nadu towards Bagalur. From Bagalur we headed towards Jain Farms. The total distance was close to 35KM.

Jain Farms

Jain Farms is an amazing place to spend with family. Specially on weekends you'll find nice recreational activities and there are amazing trails for cycling and running.

The Gang

We had a great time folks and I hope this is just the start of our cycle trips. Six of them left back to Bangalore before lunch and only Manjula and I were left to leave post lunch.

Breakfast

As soon as we reached in we were served with south Indian breakfast. Looked like we earned it. Hot hot pongal was what I was looking for in the second round.

Pottery

I tried some hand at pottery. The person who taught me was a retired school teacher and was doing this at his age.

Slumber

My afternoon catnaps are almost never missed. Here is a pic below where you can see me taking a siesta.

Lunch

Well then after a great short nap sumptuous lunch was awaiting us. Here is where we decided to make this trip a 100KM deal.

The 100KM Duo
(Warning: Some Math involved)

Manjula and I were left now to go back to Bangalore and we were hell bent to round it off at 100KMs. We had to cover around 24KM to make it 100KM. So we decided to go 12KMs towards Mallur. But immediately after 5KMs from Jain Farms the roads became pathetic. So we decided to go back towards Jain Farms. So of the extra 24KMs we had covered 10KMs. So we were left with 14 more KMs.

We moved towards Hosur from Bagalur now. Hosur is at a distance of 12KM from Bagalur. So we had to go until the 5KM (12-5 = 7) KM mark and then turn back towards Bagalur again (so 7+7=14KM).

As we started cycling towards Housr the roads were predominantly up hill and the wind was against us. Just making it all the more impossible. But we were determined and pulled and encouraged each other. It was getting tough but then we wanted to reach Bagalur badly and we did. This last 24KM took us almost two hours.

Winners are not quitters: There were some Plan-B options but we decided to stick to our original plan. The only concern was lack of sunlight and traffic. But then the idea was to reach Sarjapur by 6ish and we were there ON DOT. Had an amazing coconut water (Village style - No straws) and we were all charged up an it was just matter of time we were in Bangalore.

One-Arse Cycling

Have you ever cycled seated on just one side of your butt. Yes, I did as we moved into our 50+ Kms the arse was beginning to cave in and I had to find comfort by shifting my butt. As this was my longest cycle ride the endurance levels needs to be upped now.

To counter the pain we also decided to walk the uphill at some stretches. Must have walked close to one KM. Soon we reached the outskirts near Agaara lake and headed to our respective homes. Wow what an effort. Night was a big PITA (Pain in the A**) !

Reminded me of Saif Ali Khna's dialogue in DCH (Dil Chata Hai):

"Tumko kya lagtha hai, main takhiyein pe roj baitha hoon"
(What do you thin? Do I daily sit on a pillow ?)

Just the Start:

This is just the start and the next one is a trip to Nandi hills (70+70Kms) and by October reach Mysore ! Do you think we can do it.. well keep watching this wall !

Great cycling with you pal ! Lets do it !

More Pics in here: http://picasaweb.google.com/balsubu/100KmCycling#
Pic Courtesy for the blog: Manjula

Team Asha Team 8K - Updated

2009-06-05T18:55:00.004+05:30

( http://www.ashanet.org/bangalore/teamasha8k/ )

The “Team Asha Team 8K, 2009″ is a running event organized by Team Asha. The primary objective of this event is to create awareness about Asha’s efforts and kick start our Team Asha “Training” programs. The team of runners who run marathons, half marathons, 10Kms or even ultra marathons constitute ‘Team Asha’ and we fund raise to support Asha’s efforts.

Run details
Location: Valley school, Bangalore.
Date: 20th June, Saturday
Time: 8:30 A.M

The run will start at 9 A.M sharp and reporting time is no later than 8:30 A.M

There are a lot of BMTC buses to the pick up point on Kanakpura road from Banshankari - Most of the 211, 214 and 215 series would reach this point (ask for the SILK FARM bus stop).

Terrain and location
The entire route is scenic with lush greenery and beautiful streams lacing the landscape of Valley school. The terrain will be a mix of road, soft trail and even stretches of rugged rock trails with some steep uphills. Beginners or first timers are advised to walk the uphills cautiously.

Who can run?
Anyone above the age of 10 can participate in the run. We will have children from multiple Asha supported efforts running along with us on June 20th.

Prizes
The event’s objective is to go beyond the usual ‘need for speed’ and make this a wholesome event. The event is about bringing together adults and children from varying backgrounds with running as a unifying factor. Prizes would be awarded for different aspects of running together rather than just speed. There will be interesting categories for prizes and every participant will get a T-shirt as memorabilia.

Registration
Please do register online by clicking here - http://www.ashanet.org/bangalore/teamasha8k/register.html

A nominal registration fee of Rs.150 would be collected at the venue to cover the cost. We would strive to organize this event at the minimum cost and impact to the environment. If there are any proceeds from the event, it will directly go to Asha Bangalore’s efforts.

We look forward to having you run with us on June 20th for a fun-filled team running event! Please do help us spread the word and come as friends, families or just runners :)

Go Team Asha!

Rang De: Make a difference today

2009-06-04T13:48:00.002+05:30

Continuing my feature on NGOs in India here comes Rang De. Read more at their webpage by clicking the below link !

Rang De: Make a difference today

Its more like the micro financing concept !

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Sunfeast 10k 2009, Ananya and Team Asha

2009-06-03T19:01:00.004+05:30

The 12 week long journey

This year's Sunfeast 10k generated enough excitement and believe me it looked like the entire Bengalooru (aka Bangalore) was there to run. Team Asha Runner, Santosh, now involved with Runner's High chalked out training schedule for Ananya and Thulir kids. Some Asha Runners whom you must have been following up in this blog got involved with Ananya. We added variety by adding Karate, some Frisbee, some volley ball, some cycling and of course lots running and strides to make this entire exercise all the more enjoyable.

This small team from Team Asha has bonded so well with Ananya that Tuesdays and Saturdays we are invariably present at Ananya. The entire place has so much energy and we fell all the more part of Ananya.

Art Work in Progress

Our last Saturday run which also happened to be the last saturday as part of the training schedule ironically did not feature a run (as it was rest according to the training plan). So we all sat down to prepare some posters to cheer Ananya, Asha and Runner's high. Thanks to Narmada and Vinbot for all the charts and colors.

Thanks to Agnus, a volunteer at Ananya who spearheaded this session.

More pics in here (Pic Courtesy: Vinbot's mobile camera):
http://picasaweb.google.com/balsubu/AnanyaDrawing#

We were served Tea three times and it also included a special Tea from Assam which one of our volunteer brought it all the way from Assam during her backpacking trips. As usual we had Idlies first soaked in Sambar and accompanied by chutney. We set forth some logistics and transportation plans for the race day.

Thanks to Pramodh, another Team Asha runner for the conveyance to make sure the kids reached the venue in time. Pramodh also ran his longest at the Sunfeast 10K. I'm sure half marathon is just the next target for him this year.

The Race
We all met at the Cubbon gate and Mallaya road junction. Luckily we had a pre-paid parking at UB city. Kids from Ananya got this cool drum and we all had fun and frolic. I was on (runner's) high and was up to this famous Hyderabadi dance step "Teen Maar" (Three times) which turned out to be a total (dis)graceful dance steps from my side, but nevertheless I had fun !

That's me above

All the kids were up for Majja run and the Thulir kids and Team Asha runners were up for the open 10K without chip category. All of us finished our runs to our utmost satisfaction and I'm sure we will improve as we progress. Met so many Asha runners and thousands running for their good cause. My roomies, Ritesh and Rampee manged to put in a great show in their first ever attempt. Good job boys.

Brainless Twits
Some runners just have no patience and in the gallery where they were seated started to jump from the fence instead of using the normal entry into the stadium. Brainless twits and I'm sure they needed some cane from the cops. I'm sure India is far far away from order and civility. So many men and women who look prudent and educated where doing this and finally one of them got hurt. Mob mentality !

Post Run

Some Kids Cheering for us

Post run we all met again at the same spot. Our Sensei looked like had cracked this run and her cycling stint seemed to have worked wonders for her. She was also in trance and no stopping her now. We had more fun discussing about the event and stuff and the Thulir kids and some Team Asha runners headed back to Ananya to spend the night there (envy you guys). More report on that awaited(I understand they had a ball).

My Tsunamikas

Here are my little cute Tsunamikas at the corners. I used Tsunamikas to pin my bib. Very cute ones.

Learn more Tsunamika at http://www.tsunamika.org/

Many Asha, Ananya and Thulir runners also pinned Tsunamikas across their bibs.

A Big Thank you

This could not have been possible but for your support folks !

Thanks to fellow Ananya-Asha runners who helped us in raising funds.

Thanks to Bata for giving us shoes and socks at very low discounted rates.
Thanks to Runner's High and Printo for Tee Shirts and other Ananya related paraphernalia.

Thanks to Sensei Manjula for giving Karate a humble beginning at Ananya and I'm sure things would get in proper fold when kids are back full strength.
Thanks to Shashi for persevering with us and making us feel very much part of Ananya.
Thanks to Sivamma's Kitchen (I mean Sivamma herself), George and his wife (We owe you three a surprise) and of course all the wonderful kids and voulnteers at Ananya with whom we had gala time through running.

Also, thanks to Thulir kids who prepared on their own accord (with inputs from Santhosh).

This is just the beginning of our interactions with Ananya and we will keep you posted through mail and blog about our activities. We personally thank all the Asha runners who have helped us in this sojourn at Ananya.

If I've missed anyone then it must be my unwitting brain that must have overlooked you :-(

Looking Ahead
We are going to continue this Asha-Ananya initiative and will get in full swing from this month onwards. We will be there from this Saturday onwards. Want to join us ?

Until then, Keep miling and Stay Fit !
Go Team Asha, Ananya and Thulir.

Other Pics, Courtesy: Santhosh. All rights are reserved by the respective photographers !

My Maggi

2009-05-29T18:37:00.008+05:30

The word Maggi takes me back some 20 years when Maggi noodles was almost my staple diet.

It was/is called "Maggi 2 minutes noodle". What fascinated me as a kid towards Maggi was that it was "yummy" when served hot alongside that ketchup. The very idea of taking in those long noodle stripes made it all the more exciting for breakfast.

But the thing that got me totally into Maggi was the Maggi club. Right behind the noodle packet there was a small note that encouraged kids like me to join the Maggi club. All that one had to do was to collect 5 Maggi packets and cut into the shape as shown below and mail it to their address.

In return they used send us amazing gifts and membership cards. Maggi only knows, but as years progressed I had amassed a few dozen cards, each had a small variation of my name. Like Uncle Pai for Tinkle comics, we had Doodle Dee for Maggi.

The sheer number of letters and goodies I used to get from Maggi made my postman very envious. My grandfather actually started calling me "Maggi Balasubramanian". Believe me until the age of 20 I used to get these goodies. Maggie birdhouse and jigsaw puzzle were some priced possessions and among my peers I was an avid collector of Maggi packets and goodies. There have been times when I used to get Maggi packets from my grandmother's place, neighbours, local trash and wherever I could get my hands on. Coming from a strict vegetarian family getting home an empty Maggi Chicken packet was a taboo. But I had to smuggle it in order to post those empty packets in exchange for those goodies.

Maggi was a rage during my early teens. Today Maggi is an emergency and pro-lazy man's food. All it requires is two minutes and that secretive Masala. When you are hungry and in no mood to go out or cook then Maggi is the best bet. This one item you'd find in almost every Indian household. Nowadays you'll find Maggi in various forms, from Atta noodles to Cup noodles but the taste remains the same. Mothers loved it as it was easy on them and they could customize it my adding loads and loads of vegetables to make sure their kids got all the nutrient intake.

This post is dedicated to Maggi and all you Maggi lovers out there. So have you eaten Maggi off late ?

Decision Engine: Bing

2009-05-29T11:33:00.002+05:30

So the Microsoft folks are going to launch a better search engine which they call "Decision Engine"

http://www.decisionengine.com/Default.html

Bing.com will be out soon :-)

We will have to see what Google does now to refine !

Introducing Rampee

2009-05-25T22:47:00.002+05:30

Here you go guys !

Rampee comes as this amazing designer whom you want to check out.

He is an interaction design student from NID and can be reached at his website and has his own personal blog as well.

Visit him at www.rampee.com

and his blog @ http://blog.rampee.com

Farming with folks at Ananya

2009-05-24T18:12:00.003+05:30

Borrowed from my original post at Team Asha blog:
http://teamashablr.blogspot.com/2009/05/ananya-run-farming.html

To describe what Vinodh, a Team Asha Runner, says about Ananya

Ananya is a Magical place, and has so much to offer.. Today, It taught us farming. George was so enthusiastic to share with us the process/techniques. [Start->Programs->MicroSoft Farming??? - No] We ploughed the field, planted the Ginger/Bean sprouts, manured and watered them. This is the closest, I'll ever get to real-working for a while. Totally fulfilling experience.

Team Asha Rythu (Farming) Sangha: Sriram (Senior scientist), Vinodh, (The real farmer), Narmada (Officer on Spl.duty), Manjula (~~Female~~ Senior Vice President), Banna (Apprentice), Sucksman Balu(PR)

Indeed it is. Some of Asha runners who have been running with the Ananya kids for over two month now have just been takne over by its sheer beauty and setting. Our beloved George is back and this Saturday we learned how to plant ginger and beans. How to make the ginger sprout a priori, how to plough the area, how to locate a shaded area and then how to place the ginger (spruoted region facing upside-down), and then how and where to place the manure (the manure is actually collected from the organic waste within Ananya) and the how to shade the enitre plouged region with dry leaves which by itself would become a manure in the coming weeks. Then we moved towards beans and our dear George explained on how to use the axe effectively and then how to place the bean seeds.

As Vinodh explains again:

It was only 9 am, and I was already having so much fun..

Shivamma's kitchen beckoned us. Idlies floating in Sambhar and hot masala tea.. Wow.. We discussed various things over breakfast. The group is getting crazier by the day. We'll take over Bangalore one day.

Read more on what Vinodh has to share here:
http://vinning.blogspot.com/2009/05/awesome-saturday.html

We are just waiting for all the kids come on 30th May and all set for the 31st Sunfeast run. Make no mistake, this doesn't stop here as this Asha-Ananya initiative is just the beginning and miles to go before we.....

Until then, Keep Miling ! Go Team Asha and Ananya ! All the very best for Sunfeast run on May 31st 2009 !

Canvas Shoe Update:
Some of the Asha runners who have been running with Ananya kids have also manged to raise enough funds to give all the kids at Ananya canvas running shoes. I've been talking to the higher-ups at "Bata" and they have agreed to give us canvas shoes at a discounted price. Once a very good discounted price is obtained I'll feature them for their gesture. Keep reading this space to know more !

Pic Courtesy: Vinodh's mobile camera phone.

Ultimate Frisbee

2009-05-15T10:30:00.000+05:30

Ultimate ! After considerable dilly dallying finally I had my first match with Ultimate Frisbee Bangalore folks. After great swim on Wednesday night getting up on Thursday early morning is a battle. Reached police grounds near cubbon road by 6.15AM and caught up with Naani.

Naani took all the fresher/intro lessons and vroom we settled as teams. By 7AM almost 12 of us were ready to hit the field. I was slowly getting the knack of things and I guess it will take me at least 5-6 matches before I get in the groove.

This sport requires really fast running skills. You'll really start appreciating Rugby and American Football once you start playing Ultimate. Keeping aside the violent streak away from Rugby and American Football, I guess Ultimate is an ultra cool and testing sport. Once you understand and get the feel of Frisbee then all that you have to do is play clever dodging with your defender. Its a wonderful test for endurance as well.

This is a very cool group and you need to be on your toes every time. Check them out in Yahoo Groups: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bangalore_ultimate/

They generally meet up every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday near Police Grounds, Cubbon Road, Bangalore !

Catch you there on Thursday mornings ! Time out for now !

Coorg, Kukke and Horandu: A Family Sojourn

2009-05-01T10:35:00.007+05:30

The summer has been blazing this time and what better place to be in with family than Coorg. My folks came down here to beat the summers at Hyderabad. Initially we were planning to spend at a village supported by an NGO but because of logistics we decided to make it a much more pleasured trip and it turned out to be a great one.

Bylakuppe

This is a Tibbetian resettlement place and houses the Golden Temple (a Buddhist Monastery). A must see place for the first timers and I suggest you must reach here just before 1PM. Exactly at 1PM the monks start their daily prayers here.

It is really soothing to hear their prayers and hymns. Take an empty Tea cup and they will serve you Tea for free during this time.

Destination Coorg:
Coorg (Madekeri) is around 260KM from Bangalore. Three main stations form the critical sections of Coorg. Somwarpet, Virajpet and Madekeri. Generally Coorg refers to Madekeri colloquially. Coorg or Kodagu is a south-eastern district of Karnataka which borders with Wayand district of Kerala towards south.

How to reach:
Bangalore - Maddur - Mandya - Srirangapatana - (take the bypass, don't go to Mysore) - (get onto Mysore - Mangalore road) Hunsur - Bylakuppe - Khushal Nagar - Madkeri

If you are planning to reach towards Virajpet, then you need to take a deviation at Hunsur. this is also the route to reach Nagarahole National Park (aka Rajiv Gandhi National Park) and Irupu falls.

Where to stay:
Coorg has this wonderful concept of "home stays". Generally a bungalow is rented out to you with all the facilities including breakfast, lunch and dinner (and of course unlimited Coffee and Tea). There these home stays located right in the middle of Coffee estates and one such home stay I'll recommend here is the "Estate Stay" run by Indu and Mary Pooviah.

Estate Stay:

This is located at a distance of 8KM from Madekeri.
How to reach: Just take the Madekri-Mangalore road and try to reach this place called "Madenad". You'll find this on your left.

Tariff:
The idea is rent out the entire place for 5000 rupees for 10 people (500 per head) and additionally 250 per person extra thereafter per day (24 hours). I guess the all three meals of a day are included.

They charge Rs 1250 for a double-bed room. Call them up for the latest charges.

Contact: Indu Pooivah: 08272 236545
Website: http://www.coorgestatestay.com/

My Indu Pooviah is an amazing charming person who is fighting fit at his age. The hospitality which they show is truly overwhelming and humbling. Both Mr Indu and his wife Mary aunti are amazing people. They will take care of you very well.

At the Estate Stay you can go on trekking to never visited places (Trekking charges may be extra) and also cycling locally. There are enough tents also available just in case you want to campfire outside in between the coffee plantations. This home stay is spread across a very wide area and its a must see and live place, at least for city dwellers like us.

No mobile signal at all, so no annoying calls. Luckily they have a BSNL landline which you use in case of emergency. Some of the areas in Coorg only have BSNL movile signals.

Food:

Coorg is known for non-vegetarian food. Pork is the most popular of all. But though do have a quite a lot varieties of vegetarian as well mostly rice balls, puttu and others.

They arranged a camp fire for all of us and we had a great Antyakshari competition between the sobers and not-so-sobers. There are lots of fire-flies (jugno) which you'll love to watch. Mr Indu Pooviah will also take you to a small trek up and down hill to show his estate and fields. You name a fruit he has a tree for it and he is very knowledgeable and can give you amazing minute details about Coorg and its people. He is a big encyclopedia and you can learn a lot from him.

There are four very well trained dogs that you'll find here and you can play with them as well. And for all those not-so-sober people do take in a wine bottle with you to have it over camp fire and you'll enjoy the setting. There is plenty of coffee for the sobers !

Surprisingly they offered a place for our driver to sleep and gave me food for free. It seems they don't charge for the drivers which was very accommodating of them.

Tala Cauvery
This is the place from where river Cauvery originates and as the rain waters fill in it reaches all the way to Tamil Nadu until it meets in Bay of Bengal.

This one is just 35KM from Madekeri.

Kukke Subramanya:

This was one temple we missed last time. At the backdrop is the famous KP - Kumara Paravatha, a favourite among trekkers. Kukke Subramanya is at a distance of 80KM from Madekeri. We did not know that it was so near and our friendly neighbours at the Estate Stay told us about this.

How To reach:
From Madekeri take the Mangalore route and go towards Sulia. From Sulia you can reach Kukke.

The temple is closed from 1.30-3.30PM. You can have the temple free food there during this time as well. Most of these temples have free food and really very tasty.

This temple is famous for the "Sarpa Dosha" or the "Manglik" related stuff.

Horanadu

This is my family's most favourite place and we wanted to be here next time for sure when we visited it first two years ago.

Horanadu houses goddess Annapoorneshwari. This is a unique temple where one gets to see the goddess after having a free temple meal. Everyone gets to eat here and nothing more gratifying than this temple. The 9.30PM aarthi is the most awaited.

This place is also known as "Male Nadu", meaning that this place is always raining.

Aval Akki (Rice flakes) is the most popular breakfast in the temple and is my favourite these days. The day we were there it was "Akshaya Trithiya" and considerable crowd presence.

To reach here from Kukke, you'll have to reach Dharmasthala (62KM from Kukke Subramanya) and pass through KudreMukh and then reach Horanadu. The temple accommodation costs just Rs80 for a double bed room.

Sringeri is very close by from Dharmasthala and Horanadu as well (guess close to 40KM).

You can catch up with some Neeru Dosa and udupi Bunse in and around here.

Take a photo tour here: http://picasaweb.google.com/balsubu/CoorgKukkeHoranadu#

Feel free to drop in a line or two if you need help in route or places.

Inglorious Basterds 2009

2009-04-26T14:19:00.006+05:30

QT is finally back with the much awaited "Inglorious Basterds". Coming this Fall !
If you've seen all the QT movies then this is the one my boys ! Check out the stylish trailer below.

Notice the change in spelling of the B word.
QT - Quentin Tarantino !

There Goes my Vote

2009-04-23T12:34:00.003+05:30

There I go for the first time ever. Finally as a citizen of India I've voted and exercised my franchise.

Feels good !
(Pic Courtesy: Rampee)