Idle musings

OUR VISIT TO JAIPUR, AGRA AND UDAIPUR     From 31-Oct-11 to 6-Nov-11, my wife and I visited Jaipur, Agra and Udaipur. We took 413 photos of which I uploaded 60 of them in Google Plus and Flickr. Somehow, I am not a big Facebook fan, but to be honest it is far superior to Google Plus, currently. In my opinion, Flickr is the coolest photo hosting site, though. If you are part of my friends and family group in Flickr, you will be able to view the set http://www.flickr.com/photos/fromkiran/sets/72157628097305692/ which has restricted access. If not, you should be able to view another set with public access at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fromkiran/sets/72157628122398470/ .     Despite the huge number of photos, there are still a lot of memories and experiences that require the written word. So, I decided to blog any way. My initial thought was to let the pictures "speak a thousand words" and not write a blog, but those words still leave something unsaid !!...

The hype over the Indian World Cup victory annoys me a little now, though it has begun to die down with IPL 4 starting yesterday. It is a fantastic achievement by the team, I agree. The final match was a thriller and I enjoyed it - particularly after India won the match and the world cup ! Yes, it was a fine win ; yes, it was a long time coming ; yes, Sachin (above all) deserves to hold the world cup medal and trophy. One week after the win, I feel that the hype is too much. In the final, there were two superstars of the sub-continent facing each other, with Sachin and Muralitharan playing. My own feeling was a feeling of sadness that one of these would have to walk away unsung, while the other would be revelling in memorable victory. I dreaded to think that Sachin would be left empty handed again and when India did win and Virat Kohli hoisted him on his shoulders, I felt happy for him. I did feel a little sorry for Muralitharan though. The celebrations have been over the top, as c...

VIRAJPET ========     On 7-May-10, our family went on a trip to Virajpet. A friend of my wife had stayed at King's Cottage ( http://www.homestayiq.com/coorg/kings_cottage+8 ) and my wife felt it would be a good change for us. We invited our respective parents - and in the end it was a large group of 9 of us that set out for King's Cottage ! The group of 9 comprised my parents; my mother's brother whom we stay with; my mother's sister who came down from Mysooru for a week long trip ; my wife's parents and brother (Raghu) and my wife (Suma) and I.         Suma and I had reserved the rooms after contacting Deepthi, the lady who manages the place along with her husband Viju. Deepthi provided us directions on the phone and Suma also downloaded a detailed map from http://www.palaceestate.co.in/images/PALACE_ESTATE_ROUTEmap.pdf which served as a useful guide.         We had booked a Tempo Traveller (TT) for the ...

KANDY AND COLOMBO My parents, my mother's brother and sister, my wife and I visited Sri Lanka during the Diwali weekend. We had a memorable 3 days. It was my uncle who spotted a deal that Sri Lankan Airlines offered : a package of 4 nights and 3 days in Sri Lanka for Rs. 28,000 for a couple, including the air fare and at least 3 star accommodation. Some information is available at http://www.srilankan-holidays.com/general/in_to_srilanka.htm# . He arranged to make the booking and it was decided that we would visit Sri Lanka during the Diwali holidays. My mother's sister came from Mysooru on Thursday morning. On 15-Oct-09, after double checking (and triple checking !!) the doors and the locks, geyser and LPG connections, we left home at 5 p.m. to catch the flight scheduled at 9:15 p.m. We thought we could reach by 6:15 p.m., but we had not reckoned with the Bengaluru traffic. Our cab driver chose the ring route from the Jnanabharati campus at Kengeri, which was new to us, instea...

    HARRY POTTER     When my wife and I visited Madikeri, I had taken Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows for the journey. Thus, I finished the series that I began reading quite some time ago, in Madikeri.     My introduction to Harry Potter began at least a couple of years ago, at my brother's house. I recall that I watched the movies "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets" before I read the books.  I think I saw Chamber of Secrets first on television before I watched the Sorcerer's Stone. The movies are shot well and the casting is good.     The novels are an easy read and present a fantastic tale - literally ! When I read the books initially, I was none too impressed. My first impression was that the book was meant for the young. Essentially, that is still true. Gradually, The Harry Potter series began to grow on me, particularly after I read The Prisoner of Azkaban. The s...

MADIKERI ONCE MORE     Last weekend, on Independence Day, my wife and I visited Madikeri. This was our second visit to the town and it continues to refresh us !     We originally planned to go by bus, but the H1N1 scare made us think twice. I was all for taking the bus but the saner and practical counsel of my wife prevailed. Travelling in a bus increases chances of catching the H1N1 and as neither of us have strong immunities to viruses, it made sense to take a private vehicle. I drive only if I have to and so we settled for the expensive (but safe) option of taking a taxi to Madikeri.     The taxi came at 7:05 in the morning, on Independence Day. It was a cloudy morning that day. All along the Bengaluru - Mysooru highway, there were students celebrating Independence Day. The tricolour flag fluttered in many places that morning. As my wife observed, the fervour of celebration was more in the rural areas beyond Mysooru.  We ate breakfas...