That's how long this trip was. But it feels a lot longer. Consider
this :
I slept for a full two hours in the last 36. That's cos trains keep me
awake
I've been riding pillon with Muthu all day as we went Bout our
customer visits
Trichy roAds Are indian by nature
Trichy traffic is even more indian
My heavy camera bag on the shoulder helped exercise the pectoral muscles
My shirt had developed creAses from long travelling in the suitcase -
operation coverup included a sweater in the sweltering heat
Luckily the food was great and thrrefore in conclusion I shall carry
good memories - till the next time.
Now it's the rockfort express as we head back to sweet chennai.
One more day and I'm home ....

10 hours of highway driving ahead of me. Already feeling tired.
Especially since I have an overnight train to Trichy. My cuisine has
been limited vegetarian till now and has not enthralled.
The warm temperature has been a boon so far as I escaped the Delhi
chill - but that will evaporate as the perspiration begins.
There's an inordinately large amount of wall art here. Mostly
politicians from qaAmma to MK Stalin. They even have him painted on
their doors. The only plAce I'd paint a politician is on a dart board.
The locals converse with me in English and i've been warned against
using Hindi. This brings me to another conclusion that raj Thackeray
was not the first separatist / isolationist leader. Some of these Are
people who now rule us from the centre.
The drive to Vellore was quite peaceful And the road was like a light
breeze on a calm oceAn.
The foodie in me could not return to Chennai without partaking of
Ammas Biryani at the vellore bus stand. There Amidst the chaos of life
I found a great lunch and a reason to go back in six monthS.
My camera has stayed in the bag most of this trip due to time
constraints. I finally got it out on the return leg as we whizzed at
100km/h in our Maruti van.
Got in to office , refreshed , changed and headed to a ,
Chettinaad dinner with my team. The idliappams and chettinaad chicken
were amazing.
I trust my foodie habits leave my facebook friends with a feeling that
that's all I do. I work too.

I'm now on my way to Trichy and writing this in the darkness of the
Mangalore express. Tomorrow is a busy day before I catch the night
train to Chennai again.

Having watched 3 idiots last evening the mind is flying at a pace that
rivals the shatabdi express. It's fun to be an idiot rather than
stupid - and a tad useful too.
So I'm 32 and wondering how I could free my mind given the load of
tripe I've been feeding it all along. Here's somethings I could
probably do.
- live for today in the moment
- follow a path of excellence in all that I do
- focus and develop my photography skills cos that's what I'd rather
be doing in life
- do the photography for myself - my way rather than always be
explaining it to those around me
- unlearn a lot of the stuff that's been keeping the mind in check so
far.
- stop worrying so much
Allllllll is well....

.. 2 years to go for the end of the world... can't say i'm not looking forward to it :-)
wish ya' all a great year ahead....
...
..
.
and this time around i have a resolution too - one i shall endeavor to keep to.

This has been my longest ever break from the blog in the last 4 years.
Somewhere deep inside - I was coming to terms with a new found degree of "ME" as an INTROVERT.

People say that photographers are introverts cos' they prefer being behind the camera rather than in front of it. I wold have disagreed till now....

So what's all this got to do with my blog?
simple actually !!
i was bored of writing....
my photos were saying it all....
didn't think i needed another medium to convey my angst..
so i took a break.

And I'm back now!!
Nothing much has changed in life- we're still gong around the sun, though 2012 is drawing closer.
My work area has changed - handling South India now.
I have 2 ladies working under me who have changed the operating environment 
My wife still loves me. My boss who used to hate me - well he's changed... I mean - new boss!
My moustache has shortened and the waist has slimmed down.
A couple of more friends have gotten married. Two have been blessed with baby girls - Sneha & Anahita.
I'm off to Jaipur next week - then to Corbett next weekend
My sister & broinlaw are down from LALA Land on Christmas
I have no idea what Christmas gifts I should be giving folks
My fathers birthday is around the corner (1st jan) and ideas are eluding me
Farmville is progressing well - though i should actually plant a real tree too... to get the authetic farming experience.

Maybe in 2010...!!

We will not work this Monday...
We shall not let ye work either...

TRUE DEMOCRACY!!!

... or is it gundaraj?

Not all my education came inside the hallowed walls of an educational institution!
The most important lessons were what I learned from life... in passing.
I saw these 2 boys as I passed by a certain shuttered shop on my travels. One demonstrating - the other watching and imbibing. I wonder if they paid as much attention to the teacher in the classroom. Did they listen to their parents remonstrations with the same interest level as they did to each other?

the important lessons are the ones you never plan for...
the ones you never thought as a lesson.

Sir Alfred Nobel... invented Dynamite!!
Quite an explosive it is.

Now they've gone and given the NOBEL PEACE prize to Mr. O.
My congratulations to him on this win..... he's under 50 and achieved what most spend their lifetimes dreaming about.

Certain thoughts come to mind as I draw an analogy between the current awardee and a high school bully. Many a teacher has made the bully the class monitor in the hope that he will now be forced to use his forceful measures for peaceful purposes. The logic is rock solid - but more often than not - the class discipline is torn to shreds. The bully uses the opportunity to ramrod his way ahead.

Young Calvin doesn't really stand a chance in Hades when his toy is stolen and smashed by Moe the class bully.
Now let's see what's in Store for Iran, Iraq, the Afghans..... and the rest of the world - that the man has been appreciated for his plans - but not delivered results....

Those are still sometime away.

There's a crazy lil feeling at the bottom of my stomach.
Something tells me that CHANGE is coming.
I mean change is life's BIG story - but nobody expects it when it happens.

This particular element of change has been playing in my head for a while now...
Its not about anyone element in my life.... it's like a whole lot of stuff that keeps flitting in and out and somehow i can't make up my bald mind.

On the work front - challenges are welcome. Idiots are not. Yet I spend a lot of my "productive" time figuring out ways of dealing with them. The work has to go on despite low-down idiots who make the world a more complex place to live in.

On the personal front - been doing a lot, traveling a bit , happily married , cut down on my boozing - but I need to do more... it's like saying i'm running against myself all the time - endeavoring to do things differently - to do them better - to be creative

On my Photography - I look back at what i used to shoot and compare that with today... I almost always end up cringing... did I actually shoot like that
On my computer gaming - have become slower - age is catching up
On working out - gotta restart that....
...
..
.
peace be upon me!!


The wrath of a woman scorned...

Hell hath no fury... so spoke a famous wise man. Many an Adam has learned not to mess with Eve ever since. Numerous examples abound in the mindspace that talk of what happens when you piss off the wrong woman (actually, any woman) - as a certain Mr.Bobbit would hate to recount.

My idea behind this post is not to scare men from the obvious end that comes about when you get caught doing the morally incorrect. My point is that there aren’t angry young men around today.... The women are doing all the “anger management”.

The only angry man that history seems to recount is Lord Shiva with his third eye. Closer to home - bollywood tales focus on Mr. Bacchan in the 70s. But there is a visible dearth of sensibly angry young men. Before that was Adolf Hitler and the Kaiser. Not quite the icons one would hope to follow. The angry male touted as a creature that resents authority and rules longing to wreak havoc on any and all, planning revenge for the wrongs done unto it.

Angry men are touted as warmongers rather than creatures in rebellion against established conventional half truths inspiring creativity. A myth that some day shall be dispelled.
I examined some common scenarios that we encounter on a regular basis.
You get angry at work - antisocial, can’t work as a team member, bad influence
You get angry at home - wife beater, no tolerance
You get angry on the road - road rage, Dillwallah
You shout at a subordinate - HARI SADU

In any of the above mentioned cases - an angry woman is said to be fighting for her rights. She is brave, heroic & a modern day Rani of Jhansi.

Why this disparity?
My learned friends from the female gender will point out the rise of the oppressed woman finally freed from the yokels of the Male. They’re liberated... fighting a minority battle on behalf of those as yet oppressed.

There once was a baldy....no not me!!
some called him Gaand(hi), some called him Bapu...

He screwed this nation and our next door neighbors!!
All in the name of WORLD PEACE!!
..more like pieces.....

They named this practice... GANDUGIRI

Kolkata is a foodie's paradise... and it's not expensive either.
I've been hogging to the extent I risked an upset tummy!!

A few friends have already left sureptious comments on my facebook status updates stating that they weren't to happy about my methods of driving them green with envy using food as a medium.

Well everyone has had the mishti in Kolkata.
I sampled the other stuff..

The Rolls at BEDWIN in Golpark


The devilled crabs & beef Steaks at Mocambo - long waiting lines till the evening (for lunch)


The Chelo Kebabs at Peter Cat - especially mouthwatering


The Chingdi Maach (Prawns - Big Ones) at home
The Kosha Mangsho that was prepared in my honor
The churmur that mother got home (no pics of this one since ity disappeared pretty fast)
The Chinese Food at Fung Fa in Tangra!!
The Kolkata Paan ... with all the added condiments.

Still not done with the all that this city has to offer... I hope to be back for more... soon