Ways to Reduce Smoking

Cigarette smoking, one of the most harmful habits. It not just affects the smoker but the people around them and the environment.

This is not a Philosophy post that is going to make you realize the harms of smoking and motivate you to reduce smoking as everyone know about the hazards of smoking and most of them still continue to smoke, and that is because habits die hard. To quit smoking is not a easy thing, and am sure that all the smokers have learned that they smoke more when they attempt to quit smoking. After countless attempts to quit and ever dragging deadline of your last cigarette, many of them have given the hopes of quitting. So, your Best bet is to Reduce rather than quitting itself. 

I being a non smoker, among a lot of smokers know for a fact that a person who smokes 20 Ciggies a day will smoke so many no matter what because they are all stuck in their routine like, a smoke with morning/evening tea, a smoke during office breaks/movie intervals, a smoke before a ride to work, smoke with pals and so on. They are all stuck in this vicious cycle, making it very difficult for not smoking up one at that hour of the day.

I have come up with some small things that you can do to reduce the amount of Nicotine intake with smoking up the same number of cigarettes each day.

1> Smoke 3/4 of the Cigarette

Once you light up a cigarette don't smoke up to till the end(butt) of the cigarette, by doing this a person who smokes 20 Cigarettes a day would have only consumed nicotine in 16 Cigarettes. By the end of the year your nicotine intake would have reduced by 1,460 cigarettes (staggering isn't it?)

2>Increase the Idle time

If you feel that you cant waste that 1/4 of the Cigarette that you paid for, or you are a person who cannot stop yourself from smoking up till the very last puff, then you must increase the gap between the puffs you take. For eg, if you take a puff every 10-15 seconds, increase the gap between the puffs to 20-25 seconds, it will have the same effect of smoking just 3/4 of a Cigarette.

3>Share Cigarette

If you have a companion in smoking then light up just one Cigarette and share it. Remember the old saying "Sharing is caring" and here its caring for your own health.

4>Dont buy more than one Cigarette

Storing a pack or few Cigarettes in your pockets/bag are the worst thing you can do. You can smoke anytime you want. Buying just one at a time will surly help you satisfy your nicotine needs for that moment, but by storing them you will smoke up more than you actually need. Also not having a cigarette handy will let you smoke less cigarettes per day

5>Chop the Cigarettes

If you are a person who always has accessibility to cigarettes and cant help yourself from smoking up one every now and then, then you must go for the smaller ones, or lighter ones. I know most of them don't like the taste of lighter ones, so I suggest you cut a part your cigarettes and store it and throw away the rest. Now every time u reach out for that smoke, you are taking in less nicotine.

Download Rupee Font For Free

`

Everyone knows that the Indian Rupee has been given a new symbol `. This is not just a  symbol to represent INR but it also shows the strength of the Indian Economy. New keyboards will have a key for this symbol. None of the fonts have this symbol and am sure all of us want to use ` instead of the traditional “Rs.” right away.

Foradian Technologies have incorporated this symbol and have created a font: 'Rupee Foradian'. It is available as a free download and that is the reason am sharing it with all of you.

Note: This is only for windows users. There might be other ways to use this for the Mac and open source users.

Steps to install the font

• Log on to http://blog.foradian.com/ site
• Download the font file. There are 3 versions and I suggest version 2 (my preference)
• Now copy and paste this font file in the fonts folder that’s found in the control panel
• Now open Microsoft Word and change the font to Rupee Foradian or sometimes it might appear as a blank, as the fonts are always in the alphabetical order u will find it in the ‘R’ list.

Step 4: Selecting the font Rupee Foradian

Step 4: The font may appear as a blank also

• After selecting the font type ~ key, found on the right of the ‘1’ key, whoa!! you have got the new rupee symbol `   

Air in my hair

Bike Trip to Manchenbele dam!!

29th July 2010, It rained the whole day and there was nothing I did on this day. With no plans for Friday I went to sleep at 11 PM and that is when I thought of going on a Bike Trip. I got on to the internet and planned out the destination and places to visit on the way.

Home,Bangalore> Big Banyan tree> ISRO Moon Mission Control Room> Savanadurga and then back Home.

It was a 170 Km ride through the city and country side. On the trip day it conditions were overcast and cloudy throughout the ride with occasional showers. I knew there would be some rain (used the weather forecaster on my phone), so we took our jackets, sunglasses and extra clothing. It was just two of us on one bike. Me and Priya started our ride at 8 AM and the first 90 minutes we covered the most horrible part of the journey, the 23 KM within the city limits.

It was more than a perfect day for a ride and both of us have never been to these places. Once we were out of the city limits, we enjoyed the ride. Like I said in my previous bike trip, "Riding down the country side is pure pleasure". We reached our first Destination: The Big Banyan tree. This is one of the worlds biggest trees in terms of the area covered by the tree, a staggering 2 acres. This tree hosts a lot of birds and macaques. The Banyan tree's aerial roots were like pillars of a huge building. I had never thought that looking around a tree will take an hour!

At around 11AM we left from there, with the weather conditions looking like it was still 6 in the morning. After some biking, we came across the ISRO Moon Mission Control Room. We stopped by to see the mammoth satellite dishes and then continued on the curvy roads to Manchenbele.

With few of ups and downs we reached the Dam and it was probably one of the best days to visit the dam and the reservoir. With few birds flying by and clean air with a awesome panoramic view, the reservoir looked great. The fresh breeze kept the water moving and the dark clouds above made the water appear dark. We walked down to the banks of the reservoir and sat there for some while and enjoyed the weather.

We could see the Savanadurga Rock from the dam which is 14 Km from the dam and that is where we were heading next. After 90 minutes of wandering in Manchenbele, it was biking again. By the time we started from Manchenbele, it started the drizzle and we kept riding until it started to rain. We then took shelter under a huge tree for some while. When the rain stopped we shot off to Savanadurga. Savanadurga is one of the world's biggest monolithic rocks. We wanted to trek there and we could see this rock throughout the ride from Manchenbele, but we never got there. We were only going around it and never found a way to reach it. While riding, we were so engrossed with the landscape that we went past Savanadurga and we found that we were very far away from it. So, we traced back on the same route and we saw huge rocks and stopped there to trek. We reached the top of the rock and were chilling out and that was when the rain started pouring and we took shelter under few boulders. We had to wait there for more than an hour and realized that we could have not trekked Savanadurga Rock in the rain, as it is one huge smooth rock.

Savanadurga at the back ground

The highest point of our trek.

This is where we took shelter from rain

With an hour and a half for the sun to set, we headed back. On our way back we got lost, we had a great GPS signal but we were on the roads those were not on the map. I rode like crazy and did not bother about the route, as I started to like the adventure. There would come across some occasional sign boards and we just rode to enjoy the climate. One of the sign boards did not have "Bangalore" on it at all. This is when we came back and took a different route. On our way we crossed around 5 villages.

The cost for the trip was ` 200 for both plus the cost of food. There were no entry fees anywhere and all the money that we spent was for the fuel. We did not eat anything throughout, but had a very early dinner once we were back to Bangalore.

Vrrooooommmm..!! Bikers on road

The Bikers: Arvind, Kailash, Sudhakar, Santosh, Shyam, Nitin, Ravi, Ravi Urs and Harsha
The Bikes: Pulsar 150, Pulsar 200, Fiero, and Unicorn.
Safety Car: Kumaresh in his Maruthi 800.

Distance Covered: 950KM

All were set out for a good adventure and a great ride and that is exactly what we got at the end of 3 days. We left Bangalore early in the morning and avoided the city's traffic. Once we were out of the city, it was all about riding in the empty roads with beautiful landscapes that gave us a endless supply of fresh air. A ride through the country side with a cool breeze, the pleasant weather in the morning could not be have been enjoyed better.

With a great band of friends and good bikes we were covering distance in no time or rather that is how it seemed to us. Soon we were in Bidadi, were we had a good breakfast. No prizes for guessing what we had there: thatte idly and vada.

With a safety car in place, we had all our luggage in it and unlike true bikers we had two of them in each bike. We kept changing partners and bikes throughout the trip and that kept us in good company and never got tired of biking for 3 days. 

On our way to BR hills (Biligiri Rangana Betta), we took a diversion and visited  Shivana Samudram falls and relaxed there a bit and by now the clouds were clear and weather had become sunnier. By noon we entered Biligiri Rangana Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary. This was the first time I have entered a forest region in a bike. When opposed to a view from within a car, we could see a lot more from our bikes and the weather here too was cool and enjoyable. Now our bikes slowed down to much lesser than the allowed speed limit and our curious eyes were wondering to spot some thing interesting. With riding a little more than 200KM our first day's ride came to a halt at BR hills Government Guest house. We all got some much needed rest and a food to refuel our bodies... Without having any consideration about the limitations of our body we enjoyed and partied the entire night. The fun fueled our souls and the cards and booze energised our sleepless night.

Day 2 started a little late that we planned and we missed the morning safari. With just a couple of hours of sleep, we got ready and we visited the very famous temple there. Then were off to see some wild elephants in Gopal Swamy Betta. The early morning ride through the dense forests of K Gudi was the slowest and one of the most enjoyed part of the forest ride. The anxiety of spotting some wild animals and the creepy feeling of the creatures that can hurt us made us enjoy the ride. We saw some deer and elephants here. Though we missed seeing any elephants in Gopal Swamy betta, the ride up the hill was a nice one. Here we visited the Gopal Swamy Temple and had a small break and we were back on track and entered Bandipur forest at afternoon and had lunch in Mudhumalai Forest. Never thought that I will ride through 3 forest reserves in 2 days on a bike. We rode through Masinagudi and reached Ooty by evening. The weather here was cooler and we were late for the boating. This was mainly because of the bikers split and total misunderstanding of the meeting points. It was fun though. After a couple of hours of shopping, we were all off to Coonoor. The weather here was very chilly and was very difficult to bike. At Coonoor Ravi had booked a home stay and it was a fully furnished huge double bedroom house with a lawn garden. By the time we reached here all of us were drained out, but that was no reason for us to stop enjoying. We had a campfire in the lawn. Even with the fire the night was unbearably cold.

Day 3, the most grueling day of all: started with slow rides in the ghat sections of Ooty. This was probably the best conditions to ride. The never ending curves, the ever changing landscape, the ups and downs, the teas, and many more best things came along with us in this ride. We visited Kothagiri View point and also trekked a bit here (the view point was a 24 KM deviation from our way back home so we rode 48 more KM.). We got down from the view point to lower lying cliffs (dunno if this was allowed). Riding through these ghats with deadly and unprotected  curves were very thrilling. My most favorite ride of the trip was this 48 KM, I tried to go as fast as I could and the there were no straight roads longer than few meters and we had to take a lot of dip turns and Nitin sitting behind me helped me in balancing the dips by moving his body at every curve. Am sure if we fell of some curve, there would have been no way to find our bodies, as the valleys were very steep. Once we were down and out of the ghats, the heat started to get on us and we were not able to bear the heat. Mettupalyam was like a grill and we all were like a chicken in the grill. The roads in Tamil Nadu are the best I have come across and we were belting in hundreds non stop. We rode like we were going to find the end of the world. We only did that so we could cover more distance before sun set. 

Our route to Bangalore was:

Coonoor  >> Mettupalyam >> Avinashi >> Perundurai >> Salem >> Dharmapuri >> Krishnagiri >> Hosur >> Bangalore.

By the time we reached Salem the sun had already set completely. After sun set we stopped for tea and later for dinner. The after dinner ride was a bit troublesome. Both me and Harsha were on one bike and both of us were sleepy. It was around 11 PM when both of us just couldn't control sleeping. I also had a power nap in a dhaba. There were a hell lot of lorries still we were ripping at 100Kmph. We entered Bangalore at 3:30 AM and we were more than happy to go over the Elevated highway. We knew our journey had come to an end and this is the last place were we could rip. We covered the 9KM highway in less than 5 minutes and here is when I touched the max speed of the trip 115Kmph and by the time we were down, our bike stopped. We had to tow to our house with the help of another bike. One of the best rides of my life

Overview of our road trip:

View Road Trip in a larger map

*zoom in and click on the places to see the details

There were a lot of great pictures take in the trip and its difficult to put them in the post, view albums here

Nitin's Album

Arvind's Album

Sudhakar's Album

Add 2 tb spoons of .... COBRA????

Last night when I opened the kitchen cupboard to take some rice, I saw a snake move very fast. It did not startle me as it moved away from me rather than coming towards me. What surprised me was, how did the snake get into a closed space. The snake was about 2 ft. and it appeared to me as a baby rat snake as there was insufficient light. I started to take out the vessels and tins one after the other. There was no way for the snake to go other than the door, where I was bending and blocking its exit. All of a sudden the snake moved towards me and spread its hood and that's when I realised that it was a cobra.

Now I had to be cautious and I shut the door. Wore my gloves and glasses and then asked my dad to get a sack to put the Cobra. I didn't want to hurt the innocent venomous striker, so I got my badminton rackets. I tried to take the Cobra like a dosa on one racket and held it tight with the other and put it in to the sack that my dad was holding. I made sure he/she was not hurt and that was quite a challenge. We let the cobra free at a far away place.

Since I did not panic and noticed the snake clearly, all was well as it all ended well. Now all of us in my house are traumatised by the hallucination of the snake's presence. Our area is snake infested and I have lost count over the number of snake encounters in the vicinity, but this is the 3rd time a snake has come inside my house and that too inside the closed cupboard. The last time round, it was a Russel's viper and it almost took away my brother's life. Thank god, last night I cooked rice and not my mom, Don't know what would have happened then.

Last night, there was no power like usual and I was all alone. I thought this was the right time for some light painting and did not use any light and was busy light painting in the dark. Now I feel that there is so much that could have happened in the dark. I am so used to my house that, in the night I move around without turning on the lights. I don't think I am going to do that ever again.

I was not afraid of the one snake that I saw and caught, because I saw it and knew it was there. But am afraid of the many snakes that I don't see and feel its somewhere in the house. God's grace that nothing went wrong, but thinking about all the things that could have happened is making me hallucinate. Hope I get over this in few days.

After the 140 heart beats per second job it was time for some photography..

Venomous Visitor

Marvelous hood

Ready to strike

After the incident, one of my neighbours told us that we were lucky that the cobra came home on Tuesday and it will bring us wealth and prosperity. The lady claimed with a lot of jealousy that goddess Lakshmi (Hindu Goddess of wealth) has come home. Now lets wait and watch.. If I don't become richer by next Tuesday, am gonna throw a Cobra in her house.

First Glimpse of the Namma Metro

Namma Metro

Metro Carriage parked on the Ring road!! Lucky to spot it!!
here is few pics for all Bangaloreans

There is a rapid improvement and growth in the infrastructure of Bangalore. We must be happy to have been born in this generation to have witnessed both sides of Bangalore. What we have seen is a underdeveloped Bangalore and what we are seeing now is the developing Bangalore and all of now know that this city will soon be like the other great cities of the world.

Unbelievable!! Believe it

Who is Responsible?

Times of India: 29/04/2010

It is such a sad thing that the innocent are dying due to our doings. When will we wake up? or are we just going to not bother about it like usual. If the forest officials say 12 died then at least 25 of them would have died. I just can't imagine such a kind of death. Dying after suffering from failed organs and immovable muscles (Dehydration causes cramping of muscles). Being thirsty for days and weeks and slowly the body disobeys your intent and every step towards finding water is like walking a million kilometers, your eyes dim, you cant hear, you can barely lift yourself let alone walking.

Please lend your hands in making this planet greener. Lets stop the Global warming.

People who don't Vote.

Last Sunday, 28th march 2010, was the BBMP elections in Bangalore. Only 45% of the people turned out in spite of the election being held on a holiday. Nowadays there are so many polling centres and each centre has many electronic polling booths, so there is no question of waiting for long hours to vote. At the peak hour you might have to stand in the queue for about 15 min. Most of the educated people enjoyed their Sunday by spending their time in their couch talking politics and seeing the news for their election updates.

Should we Respect the people who don't vote?
I personally don't consider them as citizens at all.

Indians never do what they should, but what they do is crib, crib and crib about their plight. I simply don't understand why people don't take up their responsibility but feel they have every right to blame the Government for not being responsible. If the government is not responsible, its because we have not elected the right people. Its a sad thing that the hindrance to the ever developing India is, it's own citizens who don't vote.

Indians sit, talk and argue about politics for hours but on the day it matters, they prefer not to be a part of it. I hate politics but I disgust people who don't vote. I am living in a nation that is not developed, where the taxes are high, the infrastructure is not good, the cities are not clean, and I am being taxed for everything I do, etc. it is because of people who don't vote.

My solution to this:

If every Indian were given a unique Id, just like how it is in many other countries a lot of problems can be resolved including this one. This unique number or alphanumeric Id should be centralised and any activity that is related to the government should be done through this. The centralised database should hold all the details of the individual.

Now when a person applies for a passport, Driving license, Ration card, Government jobs, Bank loans in nationalised banks, pensions, bail, registering land, and wants to use other government facilities like free hospitals, free schooling, ESI, PF etc should be denied if they have not voted even once in the last 3 elections (could be local or central). All the forms should have a mandatory field for the national Id and before processing the forms, their vote status should be considered before sanctioning their request. This should not only imply for new passports, Licenses, Ration cards, etc. but for it's renewal too. This is similar to stripping the citizenship of a person until he/she votes.

Then everyone will vote at least to use the government facilities. Every labourer will vote otherwise his kids wont get free education, or they wont get a ration card, ESI etc. Every one in the middle class will vote too as they will not get a passport, Driving licence, government job, bank loans etc. Every rich person too will vote, as apart from being deprived from all the facilities they cannot register land, Buy or renew their business licenses, etc. Even a person, like a criminal who is not worried about the country will vote, as he will not be given a bail when required if he is not voted previously.

Some people would have been sick or out of town and couldn't have made it to their home town during elections and that is the reason a buffer should be given and should be checked for a minimal voting of once in 3 elections. Saying this, it does not mean that many of them will not vote if they have voted previously, as they might think what if am not able to vote the next time for some reason, then I would have not voted twice in a row and the next time I will be close to losing my citizenship. Nobody would want to take that risk, and vote whenever possible.

Strict rules should be imposed on the people who do not vote. I know a US citizen, who was in Bangalore when the President election was going on and she voted through post. Policies such as this has to be implemented in India too, but this is possible in US as every citizen has a Social Security Number. Without this the NRIs (Non Resident Indian) and the Indians who are out of India will find it difficult to come to India every time when there is an election and participate in it.

I am 25 and since I have been eligible to vote, there has been 4 elections, I was not able to vote the first time as I did not have a Voter's Id. I made sure I got mine and since then I have voted in 3 elections. Hope everyone votes even if strict rules have not been implemented.

Mercury Raising!!!

The sun is scorching, Cloudless days are sapping our energy, rays beating hard, heat is simply unbearable - The Summer is here, not just any, but the hottest since 1997. With most giant trees brought down in Bangalore, there is hardly any shade and a part of the surviving trees have shed their leaves. Most of the corporates and the so called wanna be environmentalists would not know this as they spend most of their time in closed space well ventilated by the heat generating Air Conditioners.

There are so many things that we do to protect ourselves from the harms of heat, we use all kinds of lotions, drink up liters of thirst quenchers, treat ourselves with a nice cold bath and a bottle of pure water is always nearby. Where do animals and birds get something to quench their thirst? Lets face the fact, we humans are the main reason for this climatic change. Most of us do nothing to reduce the global warming, let alone trying to prevent it from increasing further. Why should the other animals and birds suffer for our selfish doings. The least we can do is keep some water for them. You might have got many SMSes and E-mails regarding this. You might have either read them or forwarded it to others. Have you done your bit?

All you need to do is, keep a tray/bowl on top of your house and fill it with clean water every day. It hardly takes time. This must be a daily routine as Birds do not come close to new changes. They will monitor for few days and only after confirming its safe to them, they will come to your house. When few birds come, the others will follow. They cant get themselves a cool drink when they are thirsty.

Since my house has a basement, the terrace is 2 and 1/2 floors high. Squirrels still manage and come up here and drink the water that the pigeons spill. This is a great sight to me and makes me feel happy. It does not take time and after some days it becomes a habit and becomes a part of you.

Trivia:

Q: In Bangalore, Who cleans the dead rats on road and in garbage and save us from plague, one of the worst diseases that has brought down great dynasties in the past.?

A: If you say the corporation workers or the citizens, you are wrong. The answer is: Crow.

Q: Who plants the most trees and plants in Bangalore?

A: If your answer still is either the Government/NGOs or Citizens, you are wrong again. The answer is birds and tree animals like squirrels.

Q: Who keeps the pests under control in cities like Bangalore?

A: Animals and birds like frogs, toads, swallows, sparrows, etc.

Are you ready to clean the dead rats on the road, do you plant trees, or do you have any way to control pests? If the answer to all these is "NO", then you should reconsider your thinking about other animals and birds and save them. "DO YOUR BIT"

www.blackle.com

For all the people who want to save energy and save the planet, here is a energy saving search engine. http://www.blackle.com/

This is actually a Google custom search.

How does it save energy?

The background of the web page is Black as opposed to the regular white in Google and other search engines.

Why should we use it?

If you start using Blackle instead of Google, every time you open the search engine, you save some power, definitely not more to save some money. But, if more and more people use this every time, then the overall power saving is massive.

How much energy has it saved?

As of March 24th 2010 it has saved 1,768,939.045 Watt hours. This is enormous. Imagine the number if everyone uses Blackle every single time we search.

Bangalore Traffic Information System

The Bangalore's very own live traffic portal ( Bangalore traffic information system).
Click on the headings to go to that page.

• Here you can find the optimal routes between any two places in Bangalore.
• Auto-fares.
• Bus routes and stops, etc.
• Carpooling: Do you want to pool a car but don't know who travels in the same route everyday?? There are almost 2000 poolers in this site, you just might find some some
  
• Directions: A detailed map of Bangalore shows the best routes , Type in the start place and the destination and it will give you the best route, distance and approx. auto fare . (it also takes care of the one ways, so you will never get lost while coming back. Now no auto guy can con you)
• Live Traffic feed: Check out the Traffic section to get the live traffic feed. Before you leave your house you can check this and select the route to your destination depending upon the traffic status: Smooth, Slow or Delay
• Check out the unpaid fines with your Vehicle number!!! If you have violated any traffic law and the cop was not able to get hold of you or there was no cop there, Don't think you were not charged for that.. you will be fined as nowadays there are camera in all most all junctions as well the Cops have blackberry to file a note on you immediately. So, check the fines section.
• Airport: Now using the BIA Shuttles to reach the airport has become easy, check here to get the routes of the shuttles, their major stops and the timings.
• Public Offices: Finding out the nearest traffic police station, RTOs and Bangalore One offices are just a click away. There is no need to ask anyone, as most of them do not know about the latest offices that were opened recently.
• Parking: Parking space availability is updated every 5 minutes. Do you want to know if there is parking space in Garuda Mall before getting there. Thats no difficulty now.
• You can also get this on your phone, all you have to do is download this application to your GPRS phone.
  

There are lots more in this site http://www.btis.in/. I have been following this site for more than a year now and its features are improving with time. The site has a lot of applications that has to be run, hence it might appear a bit slow. Be patient.

All the people who crib about the traffic problems in Bangalore, Please stop cribbing and use this site. The Government has done a great job. We always crib, point fingers and always want some one else to solve our problems. Wake up and lets start solving our own problems. "The Government has done their bit, Lets do our bit"

This is a great way to reduce traffic and pollution(both noise and air) due to traffic. in Bangalore. Remember if you are a Bangalorean, you must take advantage of staying in the IT capital.

Places I visited In 2009

1> Mysore, Karnataka.

About 13 of us went to Mysore in a Tempo Traveller to attend our friend's Wedding. It was one hilarious and funny trip. We had loads of fun on our way. The Vehicle was arranged by my friend Ram. We had a well planned pick up schedule and everything went on well.

2> Calicuit/Kozhikode, Kerala.

Me, Reagan, Shuaib, Shankar and Rajendra went to Calicuit to attend Nishad's Wedding. This was a major misadventure as we went by car and the car was hired by Shuaib and it had a lot of problems... like no documents, the wheels were neither aligned nor balanced, There were two punctures on the way and once the tire burst. On our way back the gears gave up and the 5th and reverse gears did not work. The mechanic tried to con us there. We left Bangalore at 5 AM and at noon we were still in Mandya. We went through Mysore.

3> Darmastala, Karnataka (2)

I went on a Pilgrimage to Darmastala once each by car and Bus. Once I even got my head shaved there, as a part of the ritual. When we went by car we at Kunigal for Dinner.

4> Kukke, Karnataka

Me, my cousin Santosh and our friend went to Kukke Subramanya temple by bus.

5>Muthathi & Kanva Reservoir & Cauvery, Karnataka

7 of my class mates including me went on to a one day trip to Muthathi, Cauvery and Kanva Reservoir. We had no destination in our mind so on a fine morning all of us just left our house and hit the highway. We just saw the sign board and kept going. After 6 long months we guys met. So, it was lot of fun. We had Breakfast at Bididhi and lunch in Chennapatna.

6 & 7> Tiger Ranch, Bandipur Forest reserve, Karnataka

13 of us went to Tiger Ranch in 3 cars. This is one of my best wild life adventure trip that I have had. We encountered a lot of Wild animals. We also went to a Safari in <7> Madhu Malai Forest Reserve, Tamil Nadu which is around 30 KM from the Tiger ranch as the Safari in TN is much cheaper. We stayed there over night and the next day on our way back we stopped at Chennapatana for dinner and went through Mysore just to see the City as it was during Dussera. Mysore was like a city of lights and celebration.

8> Chennai, Tamil Nadu (4)

I visited Chennai four times. Three times I traveled alone in train. First time was for my treatment. Second time was for my IELTS exam. Third time, I went there to look after my friend's Store as she was going to US for a long vacation. Once I went to Chennai with my family to attend my Uncle's funeral.

9 & 10> Wayanad, Kerala

Me and 6 of my friends from college went to a 2 day trip to Kerala, we visited many places. We trekked in Eddakal Caves which was inhabited 4,000 years ago. We went to a falls called Soojipara in Kerala. <10> On our way back we went to a falls in karnataka called Irrupu. We were also in time for a evening Safari in Nagarhole forest reserve, Karnataka.

11, 12 & 13> Sabri Malai, Kerala

About 7 of us went on a Pilgrimage to Ayappa Temple in Sabri Malai. We Climbed the hill and there was a huge crowd waiting to enter the temple. It started to rain when we were climbing the hill as well as when we were waiting in the queue. We stayed there over night to get the prasad early in the morning and we left. This was a 3 day trip in a Tempo Traveler and we stopped at many places for breakfast, lunch and dinner. <12> Madhurai, Tamil Nadu: On our way back, we tool a deviation and went to Madhurai Meenakshi Amman Kovil, to take blessings from goddess Meenakshi. This temple is one of the ancient marvels and has more than 1000 huge Pillars, which are more than 12 feet tall and each pillar is sculpted out of a single stone. <13> Palani, Tamil Nadu: We also visited Palani Murugan Kovil, another ancient temple. We had stayed over night in Palani and climbed the hill first thing in the morning after our bath only to join a very long queue that lasted more than 5 hours. On our way we stopped at Kutralam, Tamil Nadu which is a famous tourist spot. The falls there is supposed to cure people of their body pain. All we have to do is get a herbal massage and sit under the falls and allow the force of the water to relive your pain.

14> Ellagiri Hills, Tamil Nadu

I along with 4 of my relatives went to Ellagiri hills by train, where we had our annual family get together. About 50 of my relatives had made to the gathering and it was a two day get together and we had a hotel booked on the hills just beside the huge man made lake.

I had a good year and I would like to thank all my friends and family members who traveled with me and also I want to thank my Brother Gokul who funded me for most of my trips.

Water Scarcity

Rain Water Harvesting is the solution to water scarcity. Please Harvest the clean water. If Calvin can we can too....

If we don't, it will leave a "scar" on the "city". Wake up and prevent water "scarcity".

Chitra Santhe 2010

Like always there was a huge turn out and lakhs of people came to the Annual Chitra Santhe, Including the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Click on the pics to enlarge

My Sister in my mom's stall

There were 1,450 stalls and the entire road was jam packed, I just took snaps of very few paintings as I was very keen on looking at the paintings and not clicking pics. There were some great paintings that was much better than all those famous artists, whose paintings gets sold for millions.

Its great to see people coming with friends and family. I believe that every parent should bring their children here. Many kids were getting themselves a portrait done and some were interested in getting a tattoo done.

Some folk artist. It is a great recognition for such artists. She is still using Coconut shell instead of a palette. She has used bright colours and natural dye.

I met few of my friends after a long time and also got to see different kinds of artistic people and their enthusiasm in the event. One more big reason to love Bangalore. Though it was such a sunny day, the canopy of the trees made it a very cool place. Kumara Krupa road, seemed like a never ending art gallery.

Chitra Santhe 2010

Another event in Bangalore that happens every year!!!

Its a Painting Exhibition called Chitra Santhe that is held on Kumara Krupa Road. It generally has about 1300 Artists or more, who come from all parts of the nation to display their art work. On this day the Entire road is filled with artists and their paintings.

Generally it is held in the last Sunday of December. In 2008 it was not held due to some reason and since then it is being held on the last Sunday of January. Lakhs of art enthusiasts and Artists come to view this wonderful event which is a feast to our eyes. Its a Must watch for all who have eyes and a mind to appreciate art work.

I loyally have been visiting this every year. One of the main reason is that, my mom is an artist and she also displays her artwork there.

There is a stall allotted for all the applicants. They get a Table and a couple of chairs. You can find all kind of paintings. You name the type of painting and there will be an artist for that. You will also get to know the different types of paintings and get to see others' innovation.

This event is organised by Chitrakala Parishath, its for all budding artists as well as for professionals, art students, and also for people whom painting is a hobby. From 2009 they have started a screening test, which involves the applicant to send photographs of two of his/her work. This year round they have started to charge a nominal fee of Rs. 100 in the form of DD that has to be given along with the application form. This is to make sure that they get people who are interested and not those who are applying just to while away their time. We Indians always try to take advantage of things that we get easily and free, dont we?

Some people waste their stalls, or dont even come after they are being allotted a stall. Please remember, Someone deserving who did not get a stall could have got the stall.

Chitrakala Parishath also has 5 year course in painting and these students are the volunteers for the event. They are so helpful and hard working. The traffic on that road is stopped for that one day and there are a lot of Cops deputed there to take care of the proceedings.

It is always very crowded and not once any crime has been reported. Once when I was there, S M Krishna who was then the Chief Minister of Karnataka had come and everything still went on smoothly and nothing was affected. Since the Kumara Krupa Road is next to the golf course and either sides of the road has huge trees, the air is very clean in spite of the huge crowd. So, there is no reason to miss this!!!

There are also many Caricature and Portrait artists and you can get one done for yourself starting from Rs.50 and goes up to Rs.150

I am hoping to meet you all there!!!!!!!

3 idiots comedy speech

Hi all,

Everyone who has seen the movie would want to see it again and all of them who hasn't seen it can have a good laugh!!!

This is the Scene after Rancho (Aamir Khan) changes the words Chamatkar to Balatkar in the Speech that is made by Chatur (Omi) AKA Silencer.

Enjoi the funny scene,

Also in the scene are Sharman Joshi, Madhavan and Boman Irani.

sorry for pirating the scene!!!!!

Please support Antipiracy.....

Bangalore: Flower Show 2010

Lalbagh, Bangalore:

This year the Lalbagh's Annual Flower Show is organised very well. There is ample parking space availabe and lot of cops have been dutied there. This is one of the famous events of Bangalore and happens during the 3rd and 4th week of January and it is called the "Republic day flower show"

Like Always the glass house is a spectacle to watch. Above, Varieties of Cockscomb

The Vegetable competition was great, as we get to see different breeds of vegetables and that makes us think "Oh I didn't know that this vegetable came in this colour too, or this size" and "Oh I never thought we could grow all these in pots"

Grapes Grown in pots

Purple, Black, Light green, Dark green, almost white Chillies

Flower Show also was great

One of the columns showing different shades of red, orange, green and yellow.

There were many photographers to capture the marvels of nature. If god made plants and flowers and made them beautiful then man made breeds and made them artistic. This is the one of those humans interventions in nature that I like.

There are so many Stalls installed this time and you will get all kind of seeds, bulbs and samplings. The nursery in lalbagh, which is open throughout the year is also very well maintained and provides a large verity of plants. All at a affordable price. Once you go there and see the available variety of flowering plants, you will get good ideas to decorate your house with plants.

Its a must visit place for all horticulturists, as you get all kinds of garden tools, equipments and plants including grass, Indian crotons, xerophytes (cacti), Bonsais and all kinds of flowering plants.

This time round there were a lot for foreigners, Photography enthusiasts and true Bangaloreans visiting the Flower show.

The best part is: the air is lighter, unpolluted and cool, and we can hear and see a lot of birds. Feels like Bangalore.

My Contribution to Keep Bangalore as Bangalore

There is a huge decrease in the number of birds in Urban Bangalore. Chopping down of trees has led to loss of habitat and loss of food for these aerial animals. When I was a small boy, there were lot of crows and sparrows in the city and I very well remember, everyday I woke up as soon as the Sparrows starts chirping, it would be some time just before 6AM. But now there are not many birds remaining in the city and saving them is our responsibility. There are many things that I do as a Citizen of Bangalore and this is one of it.

I feed more than 40 odd different kinds of pigeons and doves and 4-6 Crows and Ravens, and quench the thirst of many more birds like Mynas...

It all started on a fine sunny day when I saw a couple of wandering pigeons stopping by my house to drink water. We had cleaned our Solar Heater and there was a lot of stagnant water. That was the time I thought, what would have they done if there was no water and it was very hot that day. So I Started keeping some water for them in a small cup and they started coming regularly. Then I kept some ragi for them and they wouldn't eat that.


There were some pigeon droppings so I knew that the pigeons used to come daily and one day I put some wheat and the next day morning when I checked on it, the floor was clean. Slowly the number of pigeons increased and now I put nearly Half a Kilo of grains per day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Now it has been more than a year and a half since these birds have started to stop at my place for food and every week I have to clean the pigeon's droppings as they are highly corrosive. They are always on time so, I try to be on time as well. Some times Kids from the Neighbourhood come to see them and it makes me feel good.

I have also spotted a Peregrine Falcon in my neighbourhood, Every now and then I see it wandering around and some times sitting in a place for a long time. Its one of the most endangered species and they generally are found in rocky regions. They are the "Fastest bird alive" they can reach up to a speed of 320Kmph in a dive. The reason this majestic bird was here is because it's staple food is pigeon. So, may be indirectly I have helped the Falcon as well.

Since I read about animals and see a lot of wildlife documentary I was able to identify the bird.

It would make so much difference if everyone does their bit to save Bangalore and the planet. You might never know, you just might help the nature more than you intend to, Just like when we harm the nature, we harm it more than we think we have harmed it, as everything is inter-related and the effects ripples to others in the ecosystem.