A Poem!

Going with the trend, and getting inspired from Soo

To you, With Love…

He used to smile from high..

I know him since my grade five.

We used to talk in the night..

With an occasional laugh or a fight.

His was such a nice name..

But its not goin' to be all the same.

They may kick you from the nine's..

But not from our minds.

Pluto, we love you !

@copyrighted. Unauthorised circulation will invite criminal proceedings. All suits will be settled at the Court for Pluto Inc. , Myanmar.

Packed Jins to Sandiego

Jins too flies abroad..
Leaving just a single-handful of OPT-ians in India !
It was quick. Jins was told, you will need to fly in a week.
He ran around bought things, arranged the papers.
And yesterday was the flight. 11PM.
Gasper, Sand and me were there to see him off.
It was fun.
He came in some rags, with some stupid shoulder bag, and a
somewhat decent looking bigger baggage. And that big bag
dint have any address stuck on to it.
Gasper rushed to his AirDeccan office, got the cello-tape.
We gathered in a circle (like the famous indian cricket team hurdle)
With ppl looking on , curiously, we accomplished the task in 5 mins.
My bike key became a make-shift scissor to cut the tape :)
The last min hurry was typical Engineer style :D

Jins was a bit tensed.. Not a bit.. Quite a bit !
So we dint make a scene by crying, beating the chest etc..
Shook hands, hug and said tata bye bye.
He got into the International Deaparture, and waved one last good bye.
He hung on for another 15 minutes, and called him up.
Everything fine. So we left !
His flight to US is via Singapore. 4 hrs to reach Singapore. Then 18 hrs
non-stop to US!

News update:

Jins: daa i am from Singapore

airport

net free

chumma keri browse cheythu

around 3 manikkoor ivid edelay undaarunnu

Thirunelli Pilgrimage

One of the quick-planned trips.
A visit to the Thirunelli temple, Wayanad.
320km from Bangalore.

Flag off from KK's house on Aug19, 2006 at 8.15AM
Travellers - Rat, Bin and KK.
(guest appearance - Sashi)
Machine - WagonR
Gadgets - 1 CanonA95 digicam, 1 Nikon SLR, 1 Sony ericsson 2MP mobile cam
In stock - 2 bottle health drink, 1 bottle plain water
(item 2 was returned home in as-is condition)
:D
Sound System - Sony Xplod (secondary source), KK (primary source)
Dress - Optional. But we preferred to put on casual wear. Bin in formal

(Click to view full-size image. Applies to all pics..)

9AM : Breakfast at Outer Ring Road. Some *** Sagar hotel.
HIghlights - stupid vada, 3 birds :D

9.30AM : Wonderla (Bidadi)

10.40AM : Mandya

11.05AM : Sriranga patna
Had a tea break here at Hotel Sachin. Started at 11.30


11.35AM : Diversion to Calicut/Ooty road (205km to Calicut)

12.00PM : Nanjangud
Scenic Halt here. PHotos, mauj masti.. Started at 12.30PM



1.10PM : Gundalpet
Lunch Halt

2.05PM : Tusker !!!
A lonely one ! A big mammoth thing !
We were in car. The tusker to the right of us..
We got a hint of this from an on-coming truck, and Bin had
joked - " Why is he flyin like that? Any elephants around? "
Joke turned serious when the tusker came rushing towards us.
We retired the hands and cam into the car and FLED !



2.15PM to 2.35PM : Shootout
Right in the middle of the road..
The road was nicely shaded by the leaning bamboo sticks.
The photo objects were Rat, KK, Bin and a dog :-S
(Dog's pic is with Bin)



2.50PM : Narrow escape !
A bike carrying 2 idiots. They abruptly attempted a U-turn
right in front of us. We had to sway to the wrong side of the road,
full brakes, and back on track and stopped some 20m ahead..
Bin said something. KK screamed something. At them, of course.
I asked "What is your problem".
Decided not to get out and kick them (and in turn get beaten up :-S )
KK was very much disturbed, and he needed a break from long drive..

2.55PM : Petrol break
Petrol is cheaper in Kerala by 5 rupees !
Filled full tank.
Discussed the bike incident with the pump-waalas..
The 'funny' description made them giggle too :D

3PM to 3.20PM: Tea Break @ Sultan Bathery
Tea + banana fry :-)

3.25PM : Beenachi - thats the name of a place.
Next up is Panamaram, then mananthavadi..

5PM to 5.40PM : Kaattikulam.
Halted for yet another photo shootout..
Did a mini trek to reach a flowing water body.
Did all sorts of monkey tricks over there..


5.50PM to 6.15PM : Kaaleeshwari Temple
Yet another mini upwards trek.
A peaceful serene divine atmosphere..
But this temple has a story to tell..
Had we known that we wouldnt have dared go in !
A local shikaari had been attacked by a tiger to
bits and pieces at this place, while he was offering his
prayers. The tiger pounced at him from inside the kovil!
Anyways, we had a photo shoot here..
Kaattikulam Sashi took a group photo of ours :)


6.20PM : Home.
Bin's relatives stayed here.
We were apprehensive, and thot will stay in a lodge.
But they had already made up their mind, and had
even started preparing snacks for us :-)
Nice food and nice stay are always welcome :D
A big bungalow, in the middle of the jungle!


7PM : To temple.
Its just 15mins drive from the house.

7.20PM to 7.45PM : In temple.
Dint step into the temple.
Hung around in the temple premises.
Into the temple, planned for next day, after bath.

8.15PM : Back home.
Bath..
Yummy dinner
Sleep...
________________________________________________

Sunday Aug20, 2006
Got up at 6.30
The foggy scenery was awesome!


Went to temple, had a dip in the paapa naashini.
A dip in paapa naashini is believed to get rid of all your sins!
The traditional attire of ours added to the serenity.


Spent some quality time in the temple..
Bin's Uncle is one of the big guns behind the temple.
So we had VIP treatment there !

10PM : Back home.
Breakfast - puttu + kadala . Full house !

10.45PM : Bid adieu to Uncle and Aunt
WagonR said we hav already run 348km from ground zero

Took an alternate route for the return.
Again, thru the jungle - a different jungle.
The Nagarhole wild life sanctuary.
Tons of deers.. some pigs (not the ones inside the car)
After a turn, when we saw a tusker, we almost turned
around to run.. But then, it was a trained elephant.. and
the mahots were with him :)
So we dared go out and touch the fellow.


Also had a chance to take this once-in-a-lifetime pic..
A running deer, in front of a moving car !


2.45PM : Lunch time
Hotel Heritage Shelters
Big Advertisement boards..
Big Display boards..
Big hotel..
Big interior..
But food was very much ordinary.
Bin got a chance to tune some signals here :-)
And he was reluctant to leave from this place.


3.35PM : Sriranga patna
At this point we entered the Blr-Mysore road.
Its 127 more km from here to Blr.

4.10PM : Mandya
The road is a lil bit bad for some 2-3 km.

5.06PM : Wonderla

6.15PM : Back home !

Quickly copied the photos to KK's PC.

The full set of Photos Here
Dont miss out the captions ;-)
Warning : There are 240 images! View @ur leisure time..

Tail:
1. Kaattikulam Sashi is the name of an elephant :-)
2. The full stretch was driven by KK alone. I dd not want to make it wagonR.zip :D So stayed away from the wheel.
3. Post the trip (or post the dip?) I got a cold :(
Still have it !
4. Plans for this weekend are already in the blue-print. A trip to 'some-place' 100km from here. On bike.

My Best Friend's Wedding - Part II

It was around 1.10AM when we crossed the border at Walayar.
Got up at around 5AM.
Saw some towns - dont remember the names!
Officially got up at around 7AM.
Saw Pala. The bus was almost empty by then.
Our stop was Eerattupetta. Reached there by 8AM.

Got into a Kanjirapalli bus and reached by 8.50AM.
Alex and his bro Kunjunni were there with Santro.
A jolly good trip thru rubber estates, to reach their house.
A cousin of theirs Roshan was also there in the car..
It was jokes all the way.
Discussions on why the rubber trees are planted on road-sides,
and not on roads topped the topics.

Home. A lil cute house, at a slope.
Mom n Dad greeted us at the steps..
Jokes started pouring in right from then :D
Not realising his dad was a teacher, I started lavishing literature in Malayalam :-S

Alex pushed us into restrooms to maintain peace in house..
A refreshing cold-water bath, a yummy breakfast consisting of dosa, idli and banana roast, and we were ready to go for the Big Event. We had made sure that we did no stuff in too many things into the tummy :-)
Binoy was wondering, why the golden qn was not asked yet..
But then, this conversation started.

Rat : How long will we have to wait in the church, b4 proceeding to the main attraction ?
Mom: Oh.. Ratheesh-inu ithokke oru puthuma aayirikkumallo alle..
The discussion was between me and Alex's mom, but it hit right into Bin's head :D

Another one by Alex's Dad..
Dad: What does Alex do on weekends? Do you ppl meet up ?
Rat : Nope, we seldom meet. Weekends for Alex are spent in church.
Dad: Ningal ellaarum koode ivane onnu nannaakki edukkanam

Rat/Bin :-SS


Packed the bags, stuffed them into the car, took some group photos, and we left.
Our timings are always most perfect.
The moment we stepped into the church was , when the function started.
Alex went into his usual prayer mood.. Bin seated beside alex with a blim on his face.
I had my tasks cut out.. Take max pics of the couple, and the function.
There she was seated.. Face was tight. Muscles pulled up :D
I waved at her from the front of the crowd, and she smiled..
Thats the way !! ;-)
She looked like an angel.. In her wedding gown.
A nice diamond (?) necklace, and some minimal ornaments..
Beside her was Rojo, the groom. Tall, handsome, and equally tensed :D

The rituals went on for quite some time. We took a break in between and went out of the church. Thats when we met Raman (its a girl, sofi's frnd; forgot real name). See this dialogue:
Raman: Oh, so this is Bin
Bin : Yes, this is Bin
Raman: You came just now ?
Bin : No, we came y'day itself. I mean, started y'day :-)
Raman: oh.. saw the couple ?
Bin : Yes, we were in all this time.
Raman: Saw the groom's brothers?
Bin : Nope.. Groom has only brothers (and no sisters?) :D
Raman: haha.. The groom is 27 yrs old. Brother is 17 yrs old. Youngest is in 5th grade.
Bin : Was his dad onsite, for a major part of his life ?

I pulled that idiot from there, not wanting to disturb the tranquility of the place.

Back to church.
Knot tied.
Oath taken.
Offerings given..

Yummy! Lunch time.
There was a fencing made to regulate the crowd entry.
Our dedicated effort made fence-side entry possible :)

Seated right in front of the reception stage.
Some events were going on , on-stage..
Cake cutting, tender coconut sip, ring gift, this that..

We got into the eating mood.. Finished off the table, i mean, the dishes in quick time. All the tim, there was noisy fellow with a mic in hand. He was singing !
In recognition of the song, soon after every song, I raised the left hand in a peculiar gesture and cried out 'Yo'. That inspired the singer further more :-S

Even while we were eating, the couple went for a dress change.
By the time, we had our hands washed, they came back.
Sofi came in a reddish-maroon colored Sari.
Rojo in a shining violet shirt.
They got seated for lunch.
We had to leave, to reach our home 350+ odd km away from here.
So we quickly went to their table, shook hands, handed over the *gift* and bid adieu.
Left at 2.15

Alex and Kunjunni dropped us at Erumeli Bus stand.
Got into a Kottayam bus. Reached Kottayam by 3.45.
Kottayam KSRTC Stand. Got a thru bus. Reached Thalassery at 2.20
I got into home by 2.40 !
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

My Best Friend's Wedding - Part I

I had strict orders..
To attend the function.
And I had no way out.

Even if I had a way out, I would have gone for the wedding :D
How can you miss your best friends's wedding ?
S is getting married !!!

It was a long weekend, and tickets were the hot property around. But thanks to S, she had arranged for our bus tickets. Binoy and I geared up for the trip. Just the previous day, we had been to forum shopping mall to get a gift for the would-be-couple.
Getting the gift was just 5 min's task.
Selecting the right card took some 20 odd mins..
Well, the gift is one-of-a-kind thing. Keep guessing what it would be :-)
(will jot it down in the last episode)

Friday, Aug11, 6PM.
Madiwala.
Wedding is tomorrow 10.30AM near Erumeli, in Kottayam district of Kerala. Bus leaves only at 7PM. Idiots, they wrote departing time 6PM in the ticket. Anyways, that gave us some time for preparing a detailed scan report of the area. Boy, it was a good rocking collection :D

Bus started by 7.15PM.
The first 30 mins were spent finishing off the free-100-sms quota :)
Binoy almost kicked me twice for my non-stop tapping on the mobile keypad. Finally, with 9 msg's to spare, we reached Hosur - Roaming started :(
In the mean time, another interesting thing happened..
The bus was playing a super (s)hit movie - Lokanathan IAS. Full volume. Ppl were in a frenzy. Not knowing whether to scream or to jump out of the window. Some went into sleep.. Some switched on their personal mp3 players. I was all the time on mobile. Bus at high speed, probably past 65kmphr.
All of a sudden, brakes were applied.
The bus made a sharp turn, finally stopped on the wrong side of the road, at an intersection.
A truck had just made an orthogonal transit in front of us!
The driver was sleeping or what ?!
He guided the bus back on track, and we proceeded with therest of the trip...

Let me quickly narrate the dinner incident too, b4 winding up. Bus stopped at the usual place (forgot the name) We waited for long, for our chapathi. The waiter came with porota. Idiot. We waited again.. Finally came our chapathi. Finished it. Sang a song, did a dance, paid the bill and strolled slowly to the bus - to see the driver, red-eyed, shouting slogans in familiar short-lettered words. The bus was filled up, ready to go, and they had been waiting for 2 idiots, reportedly for 10 minutes :D

Back to seat.
Enjoyed the limelight.. :-S
And dozed off to sleep..
MP3 player playing 'Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'...

My Best Friend's Wedding

Coming Soon...
On a screen near you !

Road Tax ?

On Monday, the last calendar day of July, I had been on a bike trip.
An official one, it was. 62km in total.
The route was the very infamous (among the IT community) Hosur Road.
(nicely nicknamed HR).
The morning trip was cool - given the fact that I entered the "infamous"
stretch at madiwala by 7.30AM and e-gressed* from HR by 7.55AM.
I even went to the stretch of generating electrical signals in my brain
which deciphered to "Why do all these ppl make so much of fuss about HR?"

I got a feel of what ppl call 'traffic' in the evening..
What took 20-25 odd mins in the morning ran into 1 long hour!
That too, there was not an inch of space on the flat, levelled portion
of the medium - which ppl call road.
I had the privilege - rather, my bike tyre had the privilege - to touch the
road for a few select seconds. All other time, it was mountain-biking.
Why am I paying Road tax ???????!!!

But in the end... the interesting and worthwhile(?) fact is..
I reached back in one piece :-)

* -> jargon usage is apologised. I wanted to stress on the point that
I had been to the EC office, thru HR, for an L2/L3 training..
OSI/OSPF/QoS/ToS/VPI/VCI/stump,stuna,stock....