Saturday, April 29, 2006

Tag - Simple Pleasures of Life

Tagged by Swas. I have been avoiding tags for sometime now, but this is a topic that I would like to write about.

Ten Simple Pleasures of life, not in any particular order

1) Hearing nice soothing music. As the new Airtel ad says, this is a "Nation that loves Music"

2) Making someone happy

3) Doing my own stuff like washing and ironing clothes. Though these activities are not pleasureful while performing, I like it when everything is done and I look back and feel happy about being self reliant

4) Coming back from jogging and taking pleasure from the fact that it was one of those days when I wasn't lazy

5) Hearing from/Meeting old friends

6) Solving a cryptic crossword clue or, for that matter, any puzzle

7) Someone praising my work

8) Sitting back and thinking over the difference between life 10 years back and now

9) Being in the last few pages of reading a big book and cherishing the sight of the finish line

10) Going home

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

What do they mean now?

Few incidents in the recent past have made me wonder about the meaning of our activities in life.

Some of my class-mates used to copy in most exams in college. One of them has recently quit his job and is entering the enterpreneurial world (Since there are quite a few who have done this, I hope the name of this particular person would stay anonymous). I just wonder how the copying in college exams has helped him. Even if we accept that some companies do shortlist candidates based on marks, enterpreneurship definitely doesn't count marks for anything. So, what is the net result of the unethical practices adopted during exams? I believe it is nothing. Or maybe they have a negative impact in that the person's class-mates who could currently be in influential positions might not be able to place trust on the person.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were locked in heavy tension last year because of the RajKumar kidnapping issue. Same time this year, neither Veerappan nor RajKumar exist. Just the people who suffered the tension because of them exist. Would "Irony" be a better word for the situation?

Friday, April 21, 2006

Polemic Poll Promises

When the political parties of TamilNadu gave their election promises, I felt something positive about them despite the promises sounding unrealistic. From weeks of playing the blame game, the parties at last started to market on their potential, if I can call that, rather than on the other party’s weaknesses. But then, the theme of their propaganda seems to have reverted this week. If last week's theme was "Poll Promises", then this week's theme is "Who broke the promise first". It is once again the same age old blame game with the parties saying, "They broke their previous election’s promise". Unfortunately no one is able to claim, "... and we haven't broken ours".

Thinking about it, isn't breaking a promise equivalent to cheating? Then why not make the politicians legally bound to their promises? Afterall they do swear in front of big audiences on their poll promises. I understand that the parties might end-up passing the buck to the externalities involved in implementing any policy change. But let them fight it out in the courts rather than taking comfort at the fact that their promises are currently written on thin air.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Books...

Few lines on the recent books that I read

Alchemist - This was a book that cried to move out of my pending list. Atlast! I laid my hands on it and it turned to be one of the fastest books I have completed till date. Simple language, nice story and less number of pages. The book is good, but I'm somehow not able to relate it to my life as most people seem to claim.

Foucault's Pendulum - If Alchemist was one the simplest books that I've read, then FP was at the other end of the spectrum. I crawled through 100 pages with a part of mind begging to close the book and the other half raising hope that the book might have something later-on that I might miss. But sense prevailed and I've dropped the book. I'm not sure if the culprit lay in the original script or in the translation from Italian to English. Either way, it is definitely not my kind of a read. Wikipedia says, "It is full of obscure esoteric facts about things like Kabbalah, alchemy, and conspiracy theory. The novel is an encyclopedic work, with critic and novelist Anthony Burgess suggesting that it needed an index" (Ref). I agree.

Labels:

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Principles Put To Sleep

Karthick was feeling uncomfortable. He was one of the many software engineers who alternate between Chennai and Bangalore on weekends owing to different work and home locations. He was used to planning his trips early and travelling by train comfortably, that is, until this time. Karthi's ticket was waitlisted for this journey and ended up becoming RAC on the day of travel. The price paid for being lethargic at planning was sharing a seat with another passenger.
The ticket collector came at around 11:00 pm and said that he can allocate a berth to Karthi only after checking for vacant seats. Karthi waited eagerly for the TC to return back and allot him a seat. There was a berth free in Karthi's bay and Karthi wanted to just get on it and catch some sleep. Time was passing painfully slowly and there was no sign of the TC. Karthi decided to board the free berth and rest till the TC came back. It was 12:30 am when Karthi woke up to the TC's call.
Karthi: "This berth is free. Can you please confirm my ticket for this berth?"
TC: "Sure. You need to pay a small amount for it"
K: "Pay? I guess you have mistaken. I have a ticket in RAC. I just want it confirmed"
TC: "Yes, but you need to pay for it. Nothing much, just Rs.50"
Karthi was shaken out of his half-asleep mode by the TC's “nothing-great” attitude towards asking for a bribe. He took his bag and moved out of the berth. Karthi woke up the person with whom he was sharing the seat earlier and requested him to sit. When Karthi explained the TC's demand for money, the other person gave Karthi an irate look and turned towards the TC. He argued with the TC for few seconds and then thrust 20 Rupees on his hands and left for the free berth with an askew look at Karthi as if to say, "Can't you afford Rs.20? Why the hell did you wake me up for this?"
Though Karthi was taken back by the behaviour of his fellow passenger, he had another dilemma at hand. Now that there was no one to share the seat with, can Karthi sleep in the free seat? Or will it be against his principles for which he had left the other berth?
Karthi’s brain was functioning slowly due to lack of sleep and he decided to think over his decision the next morning...... as he stretched into a full sleeping pose on the seat.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna is the neighbouring district of Mandya. Sri-Ranga-Patnam gets its name from the famous Ranganathar temple in the town.
Srirangapatna is one of the Pancharanga Kshetras in the course of the river Kaveri. The other four are Srirangam near Tiruchirappalli, Tiruvindalur near Mayiladuturai, Kumbhakonam and Koyiladi near Tiruchirappalli all in Tamilnadu, along the Kaveri as the river meanders in an easterly direction. Srirangapatna is also known as Aadi Rangam, Srirangam as Antha Rangam and Sivasamudram in Karnataka as Madhyarangam.(Ref)

History has Srirangapatna as the capital of Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali. The town has now turned into a tourist center. I could see bunches of people here and there circling foreign tourists. May be it is the "Athithi devo bhava" mentality.

Ranganathaswamy Temple






A Glance of the Fort


Sceneries on the Way


Labels:

Monday, April 03, 2006

Maddur

Maddur is a town part of the Mandya district, which is about 90 kms from Bangalore in the Mysore-Bangalore highway. I couldn't help but notice the numerous colleges in Mandya. There was a college per 2 minutes of drive. Anyways, our destination was the Narasimha Swamy temple.



Ugra Narasimha Swamy Temple


Frescoes on the Inner Walls of the Temple










Ugra Narasimha Swamy Temple - Side View From Inside


Ramar Temple


Maddur is also referred to as Arjunapuri after a legend from the Mahabharatha, according to which Arjuna once requested Krishna to display the Ugra Narasimha avatara. Krishna felt the avatara would be too powerful to see directly and created the image in stone. The temple of Ugra Narasimha is an example of architectural splendour. The seven-ft tall image of Narasimha in shining black stone, with eight hands and three eyes, slaying Hiranyakashipu and wearing his viscera as a garland is fearful indeed. There are numerous shrines in the temple complex and the inner walls are decorated with attractive frescoes. The sculptures in the temple are also in fine shape, a reflection of the craftsmanship and skill of the creators.

Labels:

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Mysore Trip - Doddamallur

Couple of weeks back (18th and 19th of March) we went on a trip to Mysore. More than Mysore itself, the places on the way were very interesting. I'll post some of the photos in the next few blogs.
Let us start with Doddamallur.
The Ramaprameya swamy temple of Doddamallur is on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, about 60 kms from Bangalore.


Temple Gopuram


Sculptures in the Gopuram


Temple Side View



Purandaradasa Mandapam at the Entrance
Legend has it that Lord Rāma stayed here, in Dakshina Ayodhya, for many years and during this time, he worshipped Lord Aprameya. Hence Lord Aprameya is also known as Srirāmāprameya. Lord Rāma also performed Homams and other rituals in this place and even to this day, there are remnants of the structures where he conducted the Yagnams.
The specialty of the temple is it is standing on sand and not on any solid foundation. It appears from the style of construction of the temple, that it was expanded during the regimes of certain kings who ruled Mallur in the past.
Facing the Rajagopuram, is the Purandaradasa Mantapam, a tribute to the composer of the famous krithi “Jagadoddharana Adisidalu Yashoda” which immortalizes his ecstasy on seeing the Navaneetha Krishna here, for generations to come

Labels: