Nightclubs

Young and old alike

Scurrying into the streets in troves

Lining up night after night

All dressed up and bright

The blinding lights

Masking the darkness

The cacophony of music

Drowning the hollow silence within..

The warm and tingly drinks

Melting their worries away

The wild moves

Sending them in a trance

Flashing charming smiles

Shooting seductive glances 

Makes me wonder 

What is it their hearts seek?

Coorg Holiday

After a hectic day at work, I was eagerly looking forward to our trip to Coorg. I left office around 5 pm and came back home. After wrapping up some last minute packing, Vikram and I were off to board our bus to Bangalore. Even though sleeper buses have been in India for quite a few years now, this was the first time we were going to be travelling in one and I was quite excited at the prospect. Our bus arrived at the designated time – 9:30 pm. As soon as we stepped in, we were pleasantly surprised to see how comfortable our ride was going to be. Soon we settled in our cozy sleeper beds and before we knew it we dozed off.

The next morning, we woke up refreshed from a good night’s sleep. We reached Majestic Bus Terminus in Bangalore around 5:45 am. We were to be picked up in an Indica cab and driven to Coorg. The driver had called in advance and assured us that he was waiting for us. However, as soon as we got down, there was no sign of him. And to add to our anxiety, he was not answering his phone. Meanwhile, the local auto rickshaw drivers swooped down upon us and bombarded us with incessant requests offering a ride. After about 10 minutes of trying to evade these requests, much to our relief our driver finally called us. Without further ado, we got into the cab and were off to Coorg.

The weather was pleasant and so was the ride. The air was refreshingly cool. We stopped for breakfast on the way. As per our planned itinerary we were supposed to check-in at the hotel in Madikeri around 12 pm and then proceed for sightseeing after relaxing for a while. But the driver suggested that we finish seeing a few attractions en route and check in at the hotel around 5pm. We agreed and so we ended up touring Coorg the first day in our night pants!

Our first stop was Bylakuppe – a Tibetan settlement in the west of Mysore district. The settlements were established on land leased by the state government to accommodate some of the Tibetan refugees who came to resettle in India after 1959. We visited the Namrodoling Monastery (better known as the Golden Temple). At the entrance were the quarters where the monks lived. The monks in the settlement were dressed in their traditional attire of maroon and yellow. There were serious looking old monks as well as young monks laughing and running about. I’ve always thought of monks as serious people. So I found it amusing to see these young monks running about. After walking further down, we came across a landscaped garden where the Golden Temple stood. It was a stunning sight – vibrant and colorful. The roof had the typical curved edges that are present in Oriental structures.

When we stepped inside the temple, an oasis of calm greeted us. It felt like we were in a totally different world. Three beautiful 40 feet tall golden statues each of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus looked down upon us from above the altar. The statues are made of copper and plated with gold. They were positioned in such a way that sunlight fell directly on them giving them a surreal glow. Two huge dragons flanked the middle statue – that of Buddha. In front of the statues were rows and rows of wooden benches equipped with elaborate items for prayer.

The walls were adorned with colorful paintings depicting Gods and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology. The altar was decorated with flowers, candles and incense, and pigeons nesting amongst the golden statues flew happily around the temple. I was surprised to find that photography was allowed even inside the temple.

Outside the main temple, there were other smaller temples and another prayer hall. As we approached the prayer hall, we could hear the collective chants of hundreds of monks praying in unison and even clapping in between. After sneaking a glance at the praying monks, we moved on to see a replica of the Palyul monastery situated in Tibet.

After soaking in the beauty of the place, we moved on to check out the different stores around the temple area that sold Tibetan jewellery, handicrafts, incense and souvenirs. We bought a couple of souvenirs and proceeded to our next destination.

After lunch, we went to Nisargadhama, which is an island formed by the river Kaveri. It had lush green trees and scenic trails to explore. We crossed a hanging rope bridge in order to reach the island. We walked the trails and at one spot stopped to have cucumber and guavas smeared with salt and chili powder. It was drizzling on and off now. We sat in wooden gazebos and climbed tree houses. We also spotted several deer in the island. The cool air and the lush greenery combined with the sound of the flowing river made the place enchanting. I saw a sign board that said “Elephant Ride” and got excited. But I was disappointed to know that it was closed during the rainy season.

By now it was around 3:30 pm and we suggested that we go straight to the hotel to check –in. But the driver said that we can also see Abbey Falls today since the crowd will be lesser compared to the next day (next day being a Saturday). So once again we agreed and drove off to Abbey Falls.

From the point where we got off the car, there were stone steps leading down to the waterfalls for about half a kilometer. We climbed down the stone steps set in the green forest. I wasn’t expecting much. I had imagined the falls to be quite small. But to our surprise it turned out be fairly big with water gushing down forcefully since it was the rainy season. We soaked in the beauty of the falls. There was also a small bridge in front of the falls where we could go and feel the mist from the falls on our faces. It felt heavenly! After spending some more time near the falls we headed back up and grabbed steaming hot cups of tea.

At around 6 pm, we checked into our hotel. We had booked in the Solitaire Exotica Resort. The resort was good but it was about 5-6 km away from Madikeri town. We walked around the resort and its surroundings and then relaxed in our room for a while. I was slightly dissatisfied that we could not go for a walk to explore Madikeri town since we were staying far from the town centre. However, it started raining heavily. So, I consoled myself saying that we would not have been able to do it anyway J

We watched TV, had dinner and slept like a log.

The next day morning, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast of aaloo parathas and tea at the resort. After breakfast, we set off for Talakaveri, which is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri. Talakaveri is about 40 km away from Madikeri accessible by winding roads leading up to the top of the hill. The air was so misty that I was wondering how on earth was the driver able to see where he was going. Thankfully we reached the top safely. A small tank had been erected at the place that is said to be the origin. There was also a small temple behind it. The water from the tank was channeled to fall on the head of a stone Nandi. The place had a divine aura to it. We threw a couple of coins in the tank hoping for some luck J After praying at the temple we climbed some 500 steps to reach the view point on top of the hill. We couldn’t get much of a view since it was very misty. But inhaling the fresh air of the mountains together with the heavy mists made the climb worth it. We spent some time at the top and then began descending the steps. At this point, it started raining heavily. Thankfully, I had an umbrella with me and both of us climbed down.

We drove back to Madikeri and on our way stopped at Triveni Sangam in Bhagamandala. It is at this place that the river Kaveri is joined by its tributary Kannike and the mythical river Sujyoti. It is considered to be a sacred confluence of rivers. We dipped our feet in the cold waters.

Next, we had lunch and post lunch we visited a view point in Madikeri called Raja’s seat. By now the rains had stopped. It was 2:30 pm and the driver dropped us off saying he would return around 5pm. Raja’s seat had a spectacular view of the valley below. We sat admiring the view for a while and then walked about the park surrounding Raja’s seat. Then, we walked in the streets of Madikeri town looking at the shops and taking in the general buzz of the small town. While walking, we came across a group of boys playing cricket in a wet muddy ground. We stopped to watch their game for some time. Then we returned to the park and bought some yummy bhel puri to eat. We also rode on the little train that runs around the park.

At around 5 pm the driver came and on our way back to the hotel we stopped at a coffee shop. Since it was Vikram’s birthday, we had 2 slices of black forest cake, after which the driver dropped us off at our hotel. We didn’t feel like being indoors. So we asked the manager of the resort if we can talk a walk in the coffee plantations which we guessed belonged to the resort. He said we could and so we strolled in the coffee plantations. As we walked, we discovered a small canal and sat by it. We looked at different interesting looking varieties of fruits growing on the trees and listened to the surprisingly loud sounds of the birds. We climbed the stairs of one of the nearby home stays to find a breathtaking view of the mountains and lush green trees washed by the rains. Then we returned to the resort where Vikram took a dip in the swimming pool. The water was cold which he found refreshing. Then, we sat in the chairs by the side of the pool where discotheque lights were put up and Hindi film songs were playing. After dinner, we hit the bed.

Morning came and it was time to check out of the hotel. We had breakfast and checked out. We visited the Omkareshwara temple, a Shiva temple located at the heart of Madikeri town. The temple was built around a central pool and legend has it that the king who built this temple brought the Shivlinga from Kashi. This was our last stop at Coorg. After visiting the temple, we started our journey back to Bangalore at around 10 am. We stopped once for lunch and reached Bangalore around 4 in the evening. Our bus to Chennai was at 10:30 pm. So we had time to visit some of Vikram’s relatives living in Bangalore. We had a good time with them, had dinner together and bid them goodbye. The journey back to Chennai was also very comfortable thanks again to the sleeper coaches.

Overall, it was a very memorable trip and no doubt we enjoyed it thoroughly!

Manhattan Island Walk

This Christmas weekend, we had not planned any trip as we normally would have done on a long weekend. Instead, my husband Vikram and I were lazing around at home on the day of Christmas. That’s when he came up with this crazy idea. He suggested that we walk the entire length of Manhattan Island! The idea sounded at once crazy , brilliant and thrilling to me. We decided to do it the very next day starting from the 215^th street and ending at Battery Park. We had to take Broadway, since Broadway is the only road that runs the entire length of Manhattan. I looked up on the internet to see if anyone had attempted such a thing before and found a couple of links where people had done it before. But all of them had done it in summer, though that did not deter us in anyway. The walk had taken 6 and half hours for them to complete. I thought we could do it in 5 hours.

The next day morning, we enthusiastically left home by the 6:53 am train. After reaching New York, we took the subway to the last station in Manhattan – the 215^th street. As the train was chugging along the entire length of the island, it gave us a sense of how long it is and how much we will have to walk and it sparked nervous butterflies in our stomachs.

8:45 am: The first steps

We got off at the 215^th station and began our walk at 8:45 am. The day was cold. Thankfully we were prepared for the cold weather with layers of clothes, gloves and caps. But I was hoping that as the day progresses the sun would show up and smile down its reassuring warmth upon us. We decided to maintain a steady pace. The countdown began – 214, 213, 212… This part of Manhattan was closer to Bronx. There were tall brick buildings and not many people around (much to Vikram’s apprehensionJ). That was probably because it was a Sunday morning. Also, I felt this place was a lot colder.

A minor scare

Soon we reached 201^st street and here the pavement forked into 2 putting us in a dilemma – one going straight ahead and the other curving to the right. The one on the right was going parallel to the subway tracks above. So it probably made more sense to take that one. However, we could see the 200^th street ahead of us and chose the straight one instead. As we walked on, the pavement slowly curved away from the main road and took us along the Harlem River, which separates Manhattan from Bronx. The cool air was refreshing. But soon I began wondering why we are not seeing street numbers and instead seeing a big highway to our right. Still we walked on. My apprehension soon turned into desperation and I couldn’t wait to see some sign board showing a street number. For one insane moment, I even contemplated walking back to where the fork was and taking the other path. But Vikram asked me to keep calm since we definitely were going in the right direction. By now, it started getting even colder. After what seemed like eternity, we saw a traffic signal. I was relieved to see some people crossing the road at the signal. We hurried over to it and found to our delight that we had reached the 155^th street! We crossed the road and kept walking on 155^th street until we reached Broadway. We badly needed a break! We had a cup of coffee and snickers bar to recharge ourselves. Then once again we hit the streets.

Back on track

There were more people in the streets now and with renewed vigor we kept a steady pace going. While walking we came across a beautiful church and saw that its doors were slightly ajar. We slipped in giving it a gentle push and sat down in the last bench. The church’s roof was very beautiful. There were a few people seated in the front rows and a man started playing some soft music on an instrument. It was very soothing. We sat there for about 5 minutes and then resumed our walk. We reached the 142^nd street at around 10:15 am and I thought we were maintaining a pretty good pace and at this rate we could easily finish in about 4 and half hours. Of course, at that time I was oblivious of the impending storm!

At 11’o clock we reached the 104^th street and stopped at McDonalds. After a short break, we continued our walk excited that we would soon see the double digit street numbers. That’s when it started. Little flakes of snow started falling. They looked pretty, innocent. At that time no one could have thought they would eventually cause nearly 10,000 flights to be cancelled and leave thousands stranded. The streets seemed even more crowded now that it was almost midday and we were closer to the city. Soon a thin layer of snow covered the sidewalks. It also started becoming windy. We were surprised to find that pretty soon we felt like having another break. The snow was making us very cold and slowing us down. As we were approaching the 75^th street at around 11:45, we came across Starbucks looking irresistibly inviting. We decided to halt yet again. We resumed at 12. By now it was snowing heavily and the wind had picked up too. At 12:30 we reached the 44^th street. My hands were totally numb. We couldn’t keep up the same pace with which we had started. We stopped at a shop for about 10 minutes and then kept going.

Caught in the blizzard

The heavy snowing soon turned into a raging blizzard. For the next few streets, we didn’t talk much. We didn’t even lookup because the wind was sweeping the snow straight into our faces. We had to slow down considerably. After walking for about an hour we reached the 12^th street. We wanted a break but with the destination so close (or so we thought) I didn’t want to stop. Little did we know that we were going to be in for a rude shock.

Just when I was excitedly getting ready to make the final countdown, we couldn’t find street number 11 after 12. Instead there was some other street. After walking down some 6 to 7 streets, we saw the signboard showing 11^th street! Oh my God! This was too bad. Just when we thought we were reaching the finish! The same pattern continued. We couldn’t find 10^th street until we walked about 7 more streets. By now we were really exhausted and freezing. It was 2’o clock. We had to take a break. This time we had some hot soup and stayed inside for about half an hour watching the raging blizzard. We asked how far Battery Park was and the lady at the restaurant told us it was at least 45 minutes away! No way! Thoughts of quitting crossed our minds. But no! How could we after coming so far!

All’s Well that Ends Well

And so on we went. Every step was an effort to say the least. What would I have not given to see a signboard saying ‘Battery Park’! The howling winds made the snow fly about in all directions making it very difficult to keep looking ahead. Visibility also reduced drastically. We carried on like this for another 30 minutes. We just couldn’t go any further and got into a subway station that we came across. On the map there, we saw that we were agonizingly close to reaching our destination. Mustering every ounce of strength left in us we walked on for another 15 minutes when at last I could faintly make out Battery Park in the distance. We felt a mad rush of excitement and hurried towards it. Lo and behold! There it was – the Battery Park and the South Ferry subway station behind it. We had done it! I looked at the watch. It was 3:15 pm. It had taken us 6 and half hours to complete the distance of 13.1 miles. But it didn’t matter. I let the amazing feeling wash over me. It was priceless!

After we reached home (we were lucky to get home before services were cancelled!), we learnt that the blizzard would continue through the night. In all, it dumped around 20 inches of snow (32 inches in some parts) with wind gusts reaching up to 80mph bringing the city to a standstill. Now , its 2 days since the blizzard and things are slowly crawling back to normal. But I am sure we will cherish the memory of that day for years to come!

Art of Chaos

As I was browsing through television channels last evening, this particular phrase on one of the channels caught my attention “Art of Chaos”. Before I had time to focus on what it was all about, a commercial came and the channel moved on to its next programme. But it stayed on in my mind and I began mulling over it.

What does it mean? How can chaos be related to art?

I thought of a railway station in a crowded city milling with different kinds of people. There are the business men dressed in expensive suits waiting for their all important meeting. There is the casual traveler waiting to explore new places. And then there is the family going to attend a wedding with aged parents, hyperactive kids running about and the list goes on…the railway guards, the coolies, the tea stalls, the newspaper stands, the eateries. Just when you think it can’t get more chaotic than this, a loud horn goes off, a train chugs along and all hell breaks loose. People scramble to get into the train. There are yells of “The AC compartment is on the other end”, “I cant find my ticket “,“I left my bag where we were waiting” . And yet.. once people settle into their seats, secure their luggage, and say their goodbyes, the noises die down a bit. Finally, as the train leaves the station, it leaves behind a momentary calm… a calm that is as fickle as a soap bubble. Doesn’t this unending cycle have a rhythm to it? Isn’t this art?

I also thought of other examples. The chaotic scene outside a school building in the morning where hundreds of kids walk into its campus yelling, jumping and laughing and yet there is an order in the way they file into different classes with their neatly ironed uniforms. A strong gust of wind rustling the leaves of trees and blowing about sand in the air and yet the wind has a direction and purpose.

And finally my cluttered desktop with absolutely no order and yet I manage to do all that I need to do!

Later I learnt from Wikipedia that “Art of Chaos is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Art of Chaos… the name is an attempt to convey how these early 20-something guys fight everyday to make sense of the world around them... essentially building from the meaningful and positive things in the chaos that is life. But there’s real chaos at play in their music, too – a constant tension between the hard rock rhythms, and deceptively catchy melodies – that’s always one step away from tipping the music over into pandemonium.”

He Did it!!!

The night of 22 Feb 2009 would undoubtedly go down as a shining moment in the history of Indian cinema! As I and millions of others around the world were glued to our television sets watching the 81st Academy Awards ceremony unfold, A.R.Rahman, the badhshah of music, the immensely talented maestro,created history on the red carpet as he was presented the Academy Awards for the best original score and the best individual song. I am absolutely delighted for him! It is such an honour for India.

He has proved beyond doubt that he is one of the best music directors in the world. Time and again he has cast his magic spell by rendering soul stirring music that has appealed to people of all generations and has contributed to music of all genres. He is a genius, and yet after all this success and fame, the air of simplicity and humility that he graciously carries is indeed inspiring.

I loved the song ‘Jai Ho’ which won him the award. But I believe he has delivered even better songs than this particular one. In fact I would say this honour, which he so rightfully deserves, should have come much earlier. By no means do I think that the Oscars are the ultimate and only an Oscar is a true recognition of one’s abilities. Even if Rahman had not bagged this award, his abilities wouldn’t have been questioned. But still, by getting this he has carved his name in gold in the field of music.From this time on, it is inevitable that he will be much sought after across the globe and i hope he will still continue to enthrall us with his music in the Indian arena and be an inspiration to scores of aspiring music directors

I join the millions of people in wishing him heartfelt congratulations on this remarkable achievement. As director Bharat Bala, aptly said, Rahman is the true slumdog millionaire.Hats off to this silent achiever! Jai Ho!

A very long weekend indeed..

Tomorrow being President’s day, it is a holiday for some of my friends here. As a result, most of them have gone out of town for the long weekend. Since I have to go to work tomorrow, I didn’t make any such plans. But, in a way it was still a loooooonnnnng weekend for me. Given the fact that every weekend I invariably end up going out somewhere, the prospect of spending two full days at home alone seemed reasonable enough. In fact, I even looked forward to spending some quality time with myself.

I spent these two days reading, listening to songs, figuring out how to file my tax returns, solving crossword puzzles, watching movies, organizing the clothes in my closet- something which has been long due and catching up with friends over phone. I usually don’t cook on weekends. And in spite of having nothing much to do, it wasn’t enough to drive me into cooking!!

By evening, I felt kinda cooped up at home. The weather was pleasant and so I went out for a walk. I grabbed something to munch at a Mexican eat out and took a seat by the window. I had hoped to see at least some people, if not a milling crowd. However, the restaurant was almost empty but for one or two tables being occupied. So I ended up watching the cars whiz past on the road outside. Then I went to a store nearby and spent some time simply checking out stuff in the different aisles. Today I got up late and then treated myself to a soothing bubble bath complete with melodious music at my very own home spa!

Many people get Monday morning blues. I am a person who usually gets Sunday evening blues. But today is an exception. I actually find myself looking forward to going to work tomorrow. Even though I wouldn’t exactly say that I got bored, I do admit that the silence of an empty apartment combined with not meeting anybody for two days did get to me a bit! No wonder, I just can’t wait to get out and get going somewhere next weekend :-)

A Ride in the Cop’s Car!

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and none of us were in any mood to cook. So we set out to have lunch at an Indian restaurant called ‘Flavor of India’. The food was delicious and the day was perfect. Or so it seemed then. Little did we know what lay ahead in store for us. After lunch, we thought of heading back home and having a nice cozy afternoon nap.
With these thoughts in mind, we were driving back home in Vikram’s car, when all of a sudden the car seemed to wobble a bit and made odd sounds. To our horror and panic, we saw smoke billowing out of the bonnet!! And this, while we were cruising along at around 65 mph on the Interstate 270! Thanks to Vikram’s quick response, he changed lanes and managed to pull over to the shoulder. I shudder to think of what would have happened had the car decided to let off steam right in the middle of the expressway!

We immediately got out of the car. Oil was leaking or rather I should say flowing out. It was freezing outside. Since we didn’t have plans of going anywhere else, I had left behind my gloves and earmuffs at home. And little did I know that it was the wrong day I had chosen to make a style statement, for I had left my nice, cozy (but not very pretty) jacket and instead was sporting a stylish new (but not very warm) hoodie, that I had bought the day before for a price I later found hard to digest! It was biting cold and though the sun was trying to peep out of the clouds, the strong winds made sure that even the little warmth that it provided was pushed into oblivion. Having gathered our shaken selves, we contemplated the best thing to do in a situation like this. Bala called another friend and he suggested calling up the insurance company. So Vikram called up the insurance company. Meanwhile, the smoke had died down a bit and it was so freaking cold that we decided to get back inside the car even though I did have my own apprehensions about the car blowing up!

While Vikram was speaking to the officer from the insurance company, a cop car pulled over behind us. The police officer came and asked us what was up. He opened the bonnet and had a look at it and declared that the water pump had broken, even as I wondered why oil was leaking out of a broken water pump! He was also doubtful about the insurance company covering that cost (adding on to Vikram’s tension am sure!). Then, he called for a tow vehicle to tow the car to the service centre. Since, there was nothing else to do a right then, the officer suggested we go back home and he offered to arrange transport for the four of us. We told him we were only half a mile away from home. So he said he would give us a ride back home in his police car instead. I must admit I was thrilled at the prospect!

So there we were, in the police car for the first time in our lives. Akshatha sat in the front next to the officer and the three of us sat in the back seat, the seat meant for criminals! There was a thick mesh separating the front seats from the back (lest the criminals try to attack I presumed), leaving very little leg room. But of course, it would be too much to complain because but for the cop’s car we would have been stranded in the highway and ended up spending I don’t know how much for a cab ride back home. The officer drove us home and stopped the car in the parking lot of my apartment. I tried to open the door but realized that I couldn’t do so as it was locked and could be opened only from the outside. In police cars, the back doors automatically get locked (after all they are meant to lock up criminals!). So Akshatha opened it for us and we got out thanking the officer. The confused look on the faces of two people in the car behind us as they saw us get out of a cop’s car laughing was indeed amusing! The cop drove away and just when I thought it was all over, we realized that we had left the iPod in the cop’s car!!! Some days can be crazy!

P.S: We got back the iPod later :-) I still can’t say ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ until we hear anything about the car. It’s still at the service centre!