Life as its seen & lived

Mellow Yellow Monday - Fall colors

2011-12-05T07:01:00.000-06:00

Seasons in USA are totally different compared to India. I could see a lot of variations from Winter to Spring and from Spring to Fall. The act of nature, when leaves change their colors based on the time and season is amazing. I just love mother earth for all its beauty.
I m sharing one such picture here for the Mellow Yellow Monday contest. And making a comeback here to my favorite place aka blogger space. Its a chilly Monday morning and gotta go to office again :(

Liquid - Thursday Theme

2011-06-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

Last month we have been to Denver,Colorado. I could see the city surrounded by mountains especially covered with snow. It was a pleasant sight to the eyes. When my husband told me that we are going to climb the highest peak in Denver, I was damn excited.

I almost forgot that its LIQUID thursday theme. I could go on telling about the place forever. Let me put some pictures of the same place.

On the way...ice melting and flowing in small streams.

Water puddles formed from the melting ice. As summer has already started, we can see small streams all through the road. It was a beautiful sight.

See you next week on Thursday Theme. Have fun till then.

what else other than photography...

2011-06-15T12:43:00.000-05:00

Cooking is lot more interesting other than eating. These days I feel like trying every Indian dish and experiment on my husband. He being the best critic, I get correct feedback on the dishes.
Before getting married, I just knew only to eat out in good restaurants. My mother in law made sure I get a hang of kitchen and cooking before coming to USA.
This lady Indira of Mahanandi has got awesome recipes in Andhra style. I made snacks every evening for my husband when he got back from office. Learning new recipes is making me happy. Sometimes I feel its very good to be a homemaker and do everything that pleases my husband. I know its typical Indian.

There is one more thing I want to do other than cooking. Its knitting. I love making shawls and sweaters. I am working on getting things and starting it. Find proper tutorials...visit Michaels for shopping and then go set start.

Will share pictures of cooking and knitting later. Till then have fun...

Pikes Peak Colorado - Skywatch

2011-06-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

For the first time I am participating in the Friday - Skywatch photo challenge. Its interesting to watch people take different variations of sky photos.

To watch more photos click on the image below.

Thursday challenge - MuSiC

2011-06-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

I couldnt get any idea for posting the entry this week. So I picked up one of my husbands painting of musical instrument and putting it here.

How many instruments can you see in the painting??

Shadow Shot Sunday -Bikers

2011-06-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Its summer and now we can see many bikers on road. I like the appearance of bikers with helmet,sound system and funky style. They look cool somehow.
Caught this snap on the roads of Denver,Colorado.

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday.

Summer and snow mountains

2011-06-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

For the long weekend we went to Denver,Colorado. It was mainly to visit a friend of ours. They had a baby and went to see him. We got the chance to visit the Pikes Peak mountains. They are 14110ft high above the sea level. I could view the whole Colorado peaks from that summit.
Here is the view of the summit view from the bottom of the mountain.

I loved to see the curved road ends from the summit. Aren't they lovely and interesting??

With winds at a speed greater than 40mph, I was almost flying away.

With more posts to come in future...

PS: This post is part of the Scenic Sunday Shots.

Brookside garden - 2

2011-06-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I happened to visit Brookside garden again with a family. Took some of the snaps of the flowers for this time of the month.

In April there were Bulbs and in May there other varieties of Rose flowers. Its delightful to the eyes to watch them.

My husband loved the above macro shot. Other macro shots of the flowers are below.

A feeding bird - Scenic Sunday post

2011-05-28T01:30:00.000-05:00

Nature always shows its wonders. No one can surpass a mother from anything in the world. This is one bird which took lot of earthworms in its mouth to feed its children. I was amazed at the count of worms in its tiny mouth.

Wet - Thursday Theme for this week

2011-05-26T00:17:00.000-05:00

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Wild flowers blooming in spring

2011-05-24T01:31:00.002-05:00

My everyday routine is very simple which includes cooking, cleaning and take a walk to metro station.
On the way I encounter different birds,plants and flowers. I dont know many of the flower names but the bright colors and shapes attract me alot.

One such flower has many tiny hairs shining brightly in the sun and jointly forming a round shape.

While I was taking macro snaps... the air during exhaling was making these tiny hairy strands to blow away. When the flash was on them...they were shining more beautiful than ever.

I couldnt have missed such a macro shot.. We dont have a tripod to take a macro shot and my hand was shaking terribly while capturing it. Planning to get it soon. We are also planning to update our Nikon 18-55mm lens to a 75-300mm lens. Waiting to buy them and capture fantastic shots.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Tulip

2011-05-23T07:21:00.000-05:00

Not one of Flora's brilliant race
  A form more perfect can display;
    Art could not feign more simple grace
      Nor Nature take a line away.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-05-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

Above the cloud with its shadow is the star with its light. Above all things reverence thyself.
-Pythagoras

Happy - Thursday Challenge

2011-05-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

We met an Indian family recently near our apartment. They have 3 year old kid, Arnav who is super-active and loves watching cartoons and Mahabharat on laptop. He enacts every scene of Sri Krishna from it and entertains us. Here are a few snaps caught while watching him dance.
Now this is one happy kid changing our lives everyday :)

Tiny greeny leaves

2011-05-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

In my community, apartments are like independent houses. With rains in spring of this time... our patio surroundings is covered in green.
I noticed these tiny tweeny leaf plants have grown and created an awesome background.

Adjoining our patio is a beautiful children play area. Everyday I open blinds and watch the kids playing.
Its fun to watch their actions...games... words....

It gives me immense delight and happiness to watch them.

Mellow Yellow Monday this week...

2011-05-09T08:24:00.000-05:00

Saw these beautiful flowers at Brookside garden near my house. It was an awesome experience.
This post is part of the MYM :)

Melodies of Windchimes

2011-05-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

Sometime back we got these beautiful windchimes to decorate our house.
I love the melody of these windchimes. When I m alone in the house , I just blow them to hear them.

What else is best when you can feel that there is something beyond my loneliness in the house.
I like the below one for its color and unique shape.

Yellow buds

2011-05-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

This picture is part of the Mellow Yellow Monday post for this week.

Spring in thursday theme

2011-04-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

Spring represents new life...new phase of everything.

Mellow Yellow Monday

2011-04-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

Its a site where you include your photographs with a little of Yellow every Monday.
I found it very interesting.... So here is my first contribution to the Mellow Yellow Monday #118

I loved these flowers at the Brookside garden, Silver Spring.

Tranquility - Scenic Sunday

2011-04-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

These days photography interests me alot. I have been taking some shots and didnt know what else to do with them. I found Scenic Sunday and there is nothing better than someone appreciating my photos.
Here is my first contribution to the scenic sunday.

Shadow at Cherry Blossoms

2011-04-23T23:34:00.002-05:00

Yesterday while I was browsing through some blog sites, I found an interesting blogger side... Shadow Shot Sunday. I didnt find any reason not to post my photos here.
The above picture is my first entry to the Shadow Shot Sunday.

Tangled hands and legs

2011-04-20T23:16:00.002-05:00

This weeks thursday challenge is COMPLEX.
I was wondering what to post for this week. I was having all the crazy ideas in my head and made a mess in my house. My husband gave me an idea and we implemented it.
Here is the photo of the same... the tangled hands and legs

I m not that good at photoshop but tried to post a collage of the poses given by my husband.

Creative candies

2011-04-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we went to bank on some purpose. The hours of waiting in the queue while sitting in the lobby of the bank, the bowl of candies caught my eye. Not for their sweetness but for their vibrant colors and texture.
Picked few, got them home, opened them up and here's how they posed for my photography :)

Blooming in Spring - 1

2011-04-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

Spring season is here and my surroundings are more colorful than ever. Brookside Gardens is very near to my house.I usually go there for evening walk with my camera.

Flowers give me immense happiness... they come in varied colors... dirty yellow... white...orange...blue...red...purple..pink

Thursday theme - Happy

2011-04-14T09:32:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we went to DC and found a kid happily playing with mud. His father was very happy to see him playing and was continuously taking snaps.
My husband requested him if he can also take some snaps... Here they are :)

At this point of time, I wouldn't be able to write something more happy than this...

Have fun folks... Spring is here and I m having the time of my life looking at all the budding trees around me :)

To lose a precious one

2011-04-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

Today I was going through IMH blog and was shocked to find about her daughter.
Tears were running in my eyes.
How could Indian doctors couldn't possibly save one young brilliant girl from dying.
Unbelievable!!!

Even though I don't know her, I just felt like I lost some friend.
I read her blog over and over.
I was staring at her cheerful face for a while.
I would've forgotten how to live if such a thing happened with me.

My deepest condolences for the family.. A mother.. A friend

Regards
Fellow blogger.

Thursday challenge - Reflections

2011-03-31T14:31:00.000-05:00

This weeks Thursday challenge is Reflections. I m posting pictures which I took in Houston,Texas.

My fav is the last one.... I took it in a college. It just reminds me of tranquility :)

Spring - Cherry Blossoms

2011-03-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Spring is the most beautiful season here. In Washington, cherry blossoms are extremely beautiful.
I could capture some of the shots of these flowers.

I m just loving my surroundings here. Its slowly getting greenery over here...

A new hobby - sketching

2011-03-26T08:35:00.001-05:00

Before marriage, I just knew how to appreciate art and related skills. My sweetheart(husband) is very skilled in sketching, painting and cooking. I always ran of words to describe his creativity and enthusiasm in presenting things in a more beautiful way.

I realized I could spend sometime on developing some new hobbies. The best thing is that HE is always there to encourage and guide me.

This is the first charcoal sketch I have tried to draw. Need to put little more effort to get good ones...

This is the second one I have attempted. My husband was impressed by the shading but not the shape of the moon. When anyone is really good at something, its really difficult to impress them. Its rather very difficult to reach their expectation levels. I believe it is an ongoing process...

You see I didnt give up :P

And finally I could do this....

This is the result of guidance from my husband. He could tell me the flaws and improvements I could do it. I dont have the raw image, otherwise its easy to tell how better it looked now :)
I m still working on the shapes and curves of human beings :P I will publish if something is good!
Till then Good Luck to me :D

Green and turned green

2011-03-24T07:47:00.000-05:00

Last week we went to visit famous places in Washington DC.
We found the statues which were once believed to be in metal copper color turned to green.
They are pretty good... Here are some of the snaps of the same...

One of the war related statue...

I was just amazed by the details in the work....

I wonder what these statues would have looked like in original color...
Would they have been more beautiful than they are now???

Metal theme

2011-03-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

I have subscribed to a photo theme for thursday website sometime back. Damn... i was lazy enough to upload any photo... now I guess its high time I upload some photo over there...
This week theme is METAL.... can be anyone...

Here is the one...

Best park pics...

2011-02-13T23:25:00.000-06:00

This saturday I went to visit Texas A&M University at College Station, Texas. Its the alma mater of my brother. The 100mile drive to college from Houston was just awesome. I loved the country side of Texas. Here people has huge ranches which includes cattle and horses. I could almost remember all the cow-boys I have seen in the past.
"Shoot at sight for trespassing on the property" is the rule there... pretty scary though...

Country side texas... every ranch has a small pond...which is really cute...

One of the parks in College. Its very beautiful... parents were having fun with their kids at this place... students were doing their assignments as well... I remembered "The Lawn" in our college. So nostalgic!!!

The horses symbolize the vision and freedom of the country.

This pond and park is located near the George Bush Public Library. After seeing this I could say this as synonymous to tranquility.

Another view of the park. Isn't it just great??
If you are in some part of Texas, do visit College Station and you wont regret it at all...

PS: I miss my college... I want my college days back!!!!

One Friday Evening

2011-02-12T21:04:00.000-06:00

A weekend should bring lot of enthusiasm in me. This time it was totally opposite.
I was sitting in the back seat of the car and trying to catch some photographs of Houston city.
It wasnt that hard to say...

Random click to catch the shadows of trees... well... i got it though...

Sunset was brilliant... capturing while moving in a vehicle was difficult..

I wish this photo was not blurred... :( there were such nice colors at sunset

A lone tree... standing tall... waiting for spring i guess...

Ended up at Sri Swamynarayan temple,Houston. It was good to see such a huge structure in marble. All the carving was done back in India and transported here as 33000 pieces. There is no steel structure inside it.
Every thing is just joined. It was just amazing!!!

The picture right below reminded me of Birla Mandir in Hyderabad.

Boston Museum Of Fine Arts

2011-02-11T21:50:00.000-06:00

Boston is a city which is full of history.
For most of the people it reminds of England. Most of the buildings are constructed in the English style.
Its famous for some of the oldest Churches in America. The street names and building names are all of British style. Its also the place where British first arrived and settled.

Boston's museum of fine arts is one of the finest museums. It took 2 days for us to cover the entire arts museum. Some of the artifacts are amazing. I'll show few of the snaps here.

MFA building...

Various harps collected over centuries... they are just beautiful.... i have seen people playing harps only in olden movies.

This huge statue of pharoh reminded me of "The Mummy" movie. Its carved out in marble and it is magnificent.

The above are the boxes which hold mummies in the Egypt. The paintings on the box depict the history of the person dead. Also it conveys a lot about the Egyptian kingdom and its people.

I just loved this libation bowl made out of gold. It should be easily weighing 100-150grams. Its dated to 7th century BC. Its just beautiful. Click on the picture to know about the history of the bowl.

The above statue is made of marble and its the story about a prostitute.

The black granite sculpture is a very famous one describing the massacre.

I m not sure of the importance of the above artifact. But its a beak holding the moon.

This belongs to the modern art. Its the cow made from the scrap iron wire. If you carefully observe, one of is leg is missing. Its strange though.
Thats it for the museum. There are about 1000 pics that we took in the arts museum in two days. I couldnt accommodate all of them though. I will try to cover some of the other significant ones in the next post.
But for now...the above ones should be enough to give an idea of the museum :)

PS: If you are living somewhere near to Boston, visit the museum for sure. Its a nice place for art lovers.

Adios!!!

Things that kept me occupied

2011-02-11T00:12:00.000-06:00

Its been almost 3 months I have been here in Amreeka.
I have witnessed extreme cold weather compared to India while I was in Boston.
Saw snow for the first time in my life. It was a great experience though. I have shared few pictures in my previous post. They can be seen here

Because of snow I had to stick to home most of the time. My husband introduced me to anime shows for which he is a great fan.One of it is Avatar-The Last Airbender. He is here :P

Aang is the protagonist... somehow in all the anime shows.. the hero is dumb and stupid. At the end he is the one who can only defeat the enemy.

A must watch show for kids and elders as well. I loved Aang throughout the series. Infact I was dreaming about him also.... hehehee

The next anime show that kept me busy is Naruto. The Japanese shows have all the elements embed in it... like love, hate, fights and magic. These stories have unusual creatures with a weird imagination. Thats what I like about these stories.

Naruto is still an ongoing tv series. Staying tuned for more and more of adventure.As usual in this story, the protagonist is dumb and stupid. The amazing part of about him is that he gives on the fly solutions and saves himself and everyone. Isn't it fun to watch such shows. I m loving it.

If you really have some free time and want to have fun... go ahead and watch these two shows.
The negative thing about this show is that its very addictive. One cannot stop watching it at all.
I had to bear fierce looks from my husband when I told him that Naruto was in my dreams.
Heheheee... it happens and cant be helped if something is sooo good.

Have fun folks... I will write later something new.

Sunrise

2011-02-08T18:16:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken while going to New York from Boston. I loved the colors in this pics and the sunrays popping out slowly.

This is taken a little after the first one. The bright orange and yellow color of sun is simply awesome.
For more pictures of skywatch... look at Skywatch

Finally... its time :)

2011-01-17T00:31:00.000-06:00

I have been very sluggish for the past few months. Somehow I couldnt give up lazyness to write interesting things. The most interesting part of my stay in USA is the snow. Its my first ever winter here and had loads of fun... Here are few glimpses of the same :)

At the time of very bad snow storm in Boston.

View from our window. The trees...cars... roads.. .everything was covered in just overnight snow fall.

Finally I could get out of the house and take some snaps. It was freezing and by the time we took these snaps, my hands were numb already.

Atlast the final act of playing in snow.

Many more things to come ahead. Like visit to the Boston museum of Fine Arts... Connecticut trip... Temple Visit. Stay tuned folks!!!!

Back with lot more to write

2010-11-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

Dear fellow bloggers....
How have you all been?? It was a month back I took the break from blogging. I feel like its been ages I havent written anything. There were many changes in my life for the past few months.
One of the biggest change in the past few days was moving to United States of Amreeka(America). The name sounds strange but thats how my little niece calls it. I love the way she pronounces it.
So I will continue writing with exciting things happening around...

love
sweeliee...

taking a break

2010-10-07T12:24:00.000-05:00

Dear fellow bloggers/readers,

For the next couple of days, I am taking break from blogging. Lot of things are happening at my family life. As such I have been irregular in posting. But still I am conveying the message as everything gotta have a reason.

Till then ciao!!!!

Kollur & Agumbe - Karnataka

2010-09-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

After Murudeshwar, our next destination was Kollur - Mookambika temple. Believed to be one of the powerful goddess. We were traveling on the highway 206 and the roads are pretty horrible.
On the way... view of the ocean from highway.

After taking a diversion on the highway, our journey was pleasant with many bends.
Could see clouds passing through the western ghats range...

Finally we reached the temple around noon. Precisely that was the time when temple will be closed. We had to do some timepass till it opens. We went to a nearby water stream and enjoyed there.
Pics of the same here :)

Temple entrance...

After the darshan, we decided to go to Davangere while covering Agumbe. We were very hungry and went to a small hotel. We ordered for Dosa's and it was damn yummy. Try any hotel on that route and one can enjoy the food over there. Its not at all sweet incase someone is wondering, as coastal area food is sweet compared to other areas.

We reached Agumbe just after sunset and the place was chilling already. There was fog everywhere and we couldnt see anything. We wanted to stay there for a while but we had a train to catch. On the way we had a terrible experience with leeches.
That ends my Karnataka trip. It was wonderful!!!

Eco Friendly Ganesha

2010-09-27T02:58:00.001-05:00

This year I had the opportunity to celebrate Ganesh Chaturdhi at my in-laws place.
Previous day my husband made eco friendly ganesha idol with clay and grains.
Here is the pic...

Another angle :)

He has a great artistic hand and I just awed at his talent.
One can see more of his works at sriks

It happened like this....

2010-09-25T13:57:00.002-05:00

I knew this would happen some day in life :)
Bells would ring...
relatives would join...
friends would enjoy...
parents would be happy...
relationships would be added...
status would change...
And all of this happen just because of one thing... and its Wedding!!!!

it happened on 27th August and I m glad about it :)

Murudeshwar - Karnataka

2010-09-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Our next destination was Murudeshwar. It was getting late and we decided to stay over there for the night. We had to go through the tough ghat roads for hours together to reach Murudeshwar from Jog falls. The journey was exciting with many bends and lush greenery. There are not many villages through the route and consisted of small houses. People lived very simple in those places.
Here are few snaps of the ghat road section.

View of the river from the ghat road section.... This is the same river from the jog falls. I am really not sure of the river name :(

We reached around 10pm in Murudeshwar and it was totally occupied with all the tourists. We found it difficult to find accommodation. We stayed in a 3 star hotel at the end putting aside our budget limits. The waves sound was awesome from the room we got.

Here are few snaps of the place.

This is the view from our room. It was a terrific sight.

Early morning sight of the beach.

stones and waves :)

temple, shiv ji and our hotel standing together. This is the view from the beach :)

In the water.

Shiv ji...

That ends our Murudeshwar trip and we started to visit another place, Mukambika temple at Kollur.

Jog falls - Karnataka

2010-09-23T14:10:00.000-05:00

Our next destination was Jog falls, in Shimoga district. This place is around 30kms from sagar towards the western ghats section. Our journey was pleasant in the ghat roads and all through the 1 hour it was drizzling. There was complete greenery and road side vendors were selling pineapples which was most commonly grown. One can savour it and continue the journey.
The best time to visit Jog falls is to go during the months of July to September. Its good to reach the falls before 5pm. Once it gets dark it would be impossible to catch the view of the falls. There would be dense fog and would have to wait for hours for the fog to get cleared.The falls consist of 4 streams.The detailed description is given in the wiki pages.
Here are few of the pics of the beautiful falls... [to view images with bigger size...click on the images]

the four streams of water falls

just another view....

Another water fall beside the four streams...

with base seen...

The dense fog covering the falls. It was drizzling all through our stay there... and it was just amazing
Karnataka is as such amazing place for exploring and spending weekends. Planning is required to cover places as such.

Sigandur - Karnataka

2010-09-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

As part of my Karnataka trip, our next place was Sigandur. This place is about 30kms from Sagara. The place is formed by the backwater of a river. Its surrounded by thick forest and is the abode for many wild animals.
There is a famous temple called the Chowdeshwari temple. Assumed to be much powerful goddess and re-incarnation of Durga maatha.
Here are few of the pics taken in my frens camera.

This is on the way to Sigundur temple.

Ferry to be taken to reach the temple place.

Small islands formed by the back water. The distant seen land is where the goddess dwells.

The temple entrace. Photos are prohibited and it was raining continuously. So we couldnt capture many pics over there.
The uniqueness about this temple is that, one can wish any number of wishes infront of the goddess. The pujari will bang with some music instrument and pray to god.

The journey to the temple was excellent with greenery all over the place.

Sometimes...

2010-08-19T23:20:00.000-05:00

No words can be told to express on how we are feeling!!!
No actions can be done to make them know what we are!!!
No thoughts are enough to remember the loved ones!!!
No expectations complete one small surprise moment!!!

Ikkeri Karnataka

2010-08-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

Recently I made my last trip in Karnakata. The place we first visited is Ikkeri. The place is around 3kms from Sagara which is in Shimoga district of Karnataka. We reached the temple around 9 in the morning and it was slightly drizzling. The view was very beautiful. I could just stand in the rain and watch the beauty of the temple over there. Its all green everywhere with only pujari chanting in the temple.
Here are the few snaps attached to it.

This is the main temple entrance.... Its very unlike to other south indian temples.

This is the outside view of the temple.

The temple walls with sculpture and they are high enough.

The greenery in the temple surroundings.

The Nandi statue right outside the main temple.

The sculpture on the walls of the temple.

The high entrance on one side of the temple. There are three entrances to the temple. The sculpture is unique for each entrance of the temple.

To know the history of the temple, read the wiki link.

Tungabhadra Dam

2010-08-06T04:15:00.001-05:00

Tungabhadra river is one of the prominent river in South India. One of the dam is constructed on this river near Hospet. The view of the dam from the nearby hilltop is amazing.

The construction of the dam was started before Andhra was formed in 1942 t imeframe. It was completed in just 2-3 years in those days.There was not much of technology in those days but still it was done on such a massive river. Attaching the engineer description for reference.

The river is surrounded by hillocks on one side giving the dam a more pleasant look. There is a beautiful government guest called Vaikuntam which was constructed during Madras State. It is one of the oldest and elegant guest houses available.

The image of the foundation stone is here :)

There is a beautiful park just beside the dam. Its mostly for attracting tourists. The dam is worth visiting when you are on the way to Hampi and Bellary.

The musical fountain in the park is good. Though the place is in Karnataka, you will find lot of population who speak Telugu and songs also being played in the same language.

That was my visit to Tungabhadra dam and the historical place Hampi. Karnataka state is worth exploring.
I will come up with few more trip later.
Till then adios!!!

Hampi Photos

2010-08-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

The best thing in bangalore is enjoying your weekends by planning properly for trips in and around. One of the trip was visiting Hampi, which happened last week.
To know the history about Hampi visit wiki link.
Here are a few snaps of the place visited.

Virupaksha temple pranganam

temple wall scultpure

sculpture at the temple entrance

Monolithic ugra narasimha statue

monolithic shiv linga
There are many other temples in and around Hampi, which are worth watching.

nature at its best - part 2

2010-07-30T03:20:00.000-05:00

In my last post "nature at its best" , I have posted some pictures. Here are few more pics...

Its my "I am the Queen" photo fose!! I m a duck.... :D

Cute cub with its mom... the other cub is not interested...

White tigers...

Purple beauty...

White beauties...

PS: All these snaps are taken in Bannerghatta National Park at Bangalore. For more information visit wiki link of park .

nature at its best...

2010-07-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

After long time I took some snaps with my camera. The awesome weather and national park at Bangalore helped me in taking few awesome pics...
Here they are...
A cactus flower

Another one... "touch me not" plant flower

another one...the peacock dancing

another one...pinky lotus

another one... lillies

Will upload few more later....

I m loving...

2010-07-20T04:29:00.000-05:00

New blog template!!!! The rain drops in the background like on a window pane and the cozy color is what I am loving.
Hyderabad!!! What else we love other than being at home and eating mom made yummy dishes and watching TV.
Thats it for now!!!

July month movies

2010-07-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

Friends kept saying that VEDAM is a good movie. I couldnt believe them until I saw it. The thing is that I postponed watching it. Telugu movie world has lost it meaning these days and most of them made are commercial ones. In the end everyone wants to make money. But there are some directors and story tellers, for whom money is not a concern. They are message oriented and give audience a sense of satisfaction. When a person walks out of the theater after watching the movie, he is satisfied. One such movie is VEDAM.

Its based out of an individual we see in every day life. A poor handloom worker, a spoiled brat, a slum kid, a prostitute etc has their own story in this movie. All of them working hard for money. Who has the guts to show such things and still expect audience to watch it!!! I loved the movie and shed tears in the end.
Its one of the good telugu movie worth watching.

Got time to watch another serious telugu movie as well. Its PRASTHANAM. It was released long time back. But somehow I hate politics and faction. Killing own siblings for some bloody position, to satisfy ego, to be in power, to prove someone of their strength is horrible. The movie is all about it.
This movie can be seen once. If anyone has liked Rajneeti, Gulaal and other bihari political movies will love this.

PS:: Both the movies are little serious type. Worth watching for telugu audience.

Have guts to say straight??

2010-07-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

Many girls stay away from home these days living in a hostel. Its because some of them want to be either independent or their working conditions make them do so. There is a notion that many of the girls who live in hostel have boyfriends and come home at weird timings.
For the past few days I have been observing few girls in my hostel. For some of them, having a boy in their life is a prestige issue. For others its a mere timepass. For some others its a life related issue. Based on these criteria things change in the girls life.
Here we are considering the case of a girl(in my hostel) who is serious about the relationship with the guy. Now the life of a girl totally depends on the character of the guy if the girl is studious and calm. At times the couple may seem to be perfect like in mills&boons stories. The attitude of the guy is seen when he is either drunk or possessive about the girl or in some fight. If the guy is acting frenzy and driving the girl mad, its better to end the relation. I saw our girl shivering and crying loads in these situations. Why should she cope with such a boyfriend when she can be happy being single?

Isn't this some kind of abuse? He is always screaming and shouting at her. She's awake mostly during the night attending phone calls and trying to convince the fellow of correct reasons. There is no need for her to tolerate such a violent person. The main reason why physical/verbal abuse is so common in our country is because of our tolerant levels. We have the greatest ability to forgive man and still live with that beast. Why cant women act sensibly and have guts to say "GET LOST" outright?? What is it stopping us from doing so? If society is one of the reason, do hell with it. We formed it and its in our hands to challenge it.
Our roomies have decided to brain wash the girl to come out of such a relationship and live pleasantly. Going to motivate her to have guts and talk straight with her boyfriend. If you know any girls who are having such problems, help them and motivate them to be brave.

Death at your wish

2010-07-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

There is a famous quote:

Imagine how important death must be to have LIFE as a prerequisite!!!

Death comes to people in many ways. Some how I felt like writing about it. Every one is scared about the thought of death. Our physical entity is gone and void is filled in our place in the lives of dear ones. Whether there is a void or not is totally dependent on the character of the person. The influence and impact a person can make in the lives of other people.

Why cant death be done at our wish, without depending on external forces and family dependencies?

Somehow I am not able to write more than this...
Will be continued later....

200th post!!!

2010-06-29T03:02:00.000-05:00

4 years is a pretty long time for anything.
And for blogging its really good time.
The journey till now had been an eventful one. This space was totally new to me and wondered why should I even write. Now it has become such an obsession that without writing, I feel that some part of mine is missing out somewhere.
Made new contacts through blogging. Know some people who actually take some time and read my blog.

Thank you all for the support!!! And I m hoping to write something good in the coming days.

A Daughter and story

2010-06-26T06:24:00.000-05:00

Off late I was occupied with some trainings at my office and meanwhile I came to know a story about a girl which moved me to the core. Its a love story and her days at in-laws place.
The girl is pretty innocent and very much true in her heart. She married a guy from her college against the wishes of the society and parents. Life was good for just one month and she decided to get pregnant so that in-laws doesn't separate from her husband. Now she is just 25 with a 2 year old kid. She manages everything at home like taking care of the kid, cooking, cleaning and office as well. Yet everyday she has to bear the taunts of her MIL(mother-in-law).
She is not allowed to stay at her mom's place for longer time. Expected to reach home before 7 everyday whatever maybe the work load at office. Dropping kid at school everyday and manage to reach office early. On top of it, her husband's attitude totally shifting a 180 degrees angle after marriage. He giving more importance to his parents rather than her being a part of family kills her everyday. MIL keeps brain washing her son about marriage.
I saw her for 10 days with a tired look on her face every morning and packing from office before 5pm in the evening. Is that how we expect to look a wife cum mother cum working employee these days? Maintaining a balance between those roles requires lot of patience and effort. Somehow women tend to manage them very well. In turn they expect support from the family. Is it more?

I heard from many of my friends that men change after marriage. Is that really true or girls never understood guys before marriage? I feel one should know enough about a guy before marriage. Its really important to know about the family of a guy as well. Finding out the expectations and building a healthy relationship is also needed these days. In this fast moving world we don't do enough justice for the relationships in our vicinity.

Every MIL was once a daughter and DIL(Daughter in law).If she doesn't understand, how can she expect DIL to understand and behave properly. There shouldn't be any differentiation between daughter and DIL. If that happens most of the time they lose their son. They end up living alone which is bad. I m not saying that its alright to leave parents and live alone. It happens because of the pressure and not being able to cope with the situation. Its equally important for a girl to treat in-laws like her parents and get along.

I felt very pity for the girl and other than giving some motivation I couldn't do anything for her. She gotta be strong and handle the situation at home making everyone understand that she is also a human and requires some attention.

Worth Noting

2010-06-14T02:54:00.002-05:00

When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature.
— Sigmund Freud
An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.
— Washington Irving
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
— Helen Keller
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
— Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken (1916)
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
— Leo Buscaglia
The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn.
— David Russell
Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too ––– even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling.
— Morrie Schwartz, TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom
If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.
— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
There are seven sins in the world: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice and politics without principle.
— Mahatma Gandhi
I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.
— Milton Berle
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.
— Albert Einstein
They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
— Tom Bodett
I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?
- John Lennon

PS: These are few of my favorite quotes!! I thought its worth sharing with my fellow blog readers

Weekend plansss

2010-06-11T05:32:00.001-05:00

The just thought of staying in Bangalore for the weekend without going home town is making me elated.
Not able to say how much excited I'm being here and visiting my dearest fren Bindu.
And also visiting my carromboard gang from my ex-company.
"ek game ho jaaye bas... aur kucch nahin chahiye"

In this process there would be shopping spree, eating spree and chatting spree.
I really wish rain god to stay away for 2 days and not even think of entering Bangalore.
If he really wants to come, I will allow him to come during night :D
Its selfish but I cant help cribbing about the traffic if it rains.
And mind you Bangalore has created history/records for worst traffic jams.

I wish you all a great weekend and I will come up with garden city stories if there is something interesting.

tring tringggg!!!

2010-06-10T05:19:00.000-05:00

Romil's mobile is ringing while he is busy working with an issue. He ignored the calls couple of times until this time when he planned to shout at the caller. After answering he could hear his wife laughing with some person. He immediately called his wife and her first word was "it works". And reminded him to come early for their sons school function.

PS: This is my first attempt for the 55 word fiction. Donno how much fiction is introduced in my story :D

Nothing But The Truth

2010-06-05T00:13:00.000-05:00

One of my hostel friend gave me a copy of movies which she had. One of them is "Nothing But The Truth". Before watching I looked into IMDB about the rating and reviews. Its not that bad and just wanted to give a try. And lemme tell you it was worth watching.
The movie is about a journalist who exposes the possible attack on a country by finding the truth from a CIA. She is unwilling to reveal the source as it would expose that person and his/her life would be made miserable. How far can one go to protect the source's confidentiality is the movie all about.
I must say Kate Beckinsale has done enough justice to the role she has played. I have seen couple of her movies like Serendipity,Pearl Harbor and Vacancy. She is equally good in all of them with different roles.
I would give 7 stars out of 10. Watch this movie over the weekend. Either download/rent DVD.
Enjoy your weekend!!!

Movies review

2010-06-02T00:29:00.000-05:00

Movie name: It happened one night

Review: Its a very very old movie. Some 1934 movie and watching it in B&W was amazing. It was the biggest hit of those times and all time favorite romantic movie. Most of the bollywood movies are adapted from that movie. The movie is about a rich pampered girl who runs away from her father. She meets a stranger on the way and they have some adventures before falling in love :)
Sometimes we should go back to the good olden day movies and enjoy the simplicity presented in them.
I would give 8 stars out of 10 for this one. Download/Rent/Borrow and watch this movie for sheer enjoyment!!!

Movie name: Moonstruck

Review: This is one of the good comedy movies ever made. I loved Cher in this movie. It also castes Nicolas Cage at a very young age. One never knows how and when we fall in love. It happens in an instant and after realizing there is no looking back. Either love or lose. Thats what all this movie is about. Instead of me telling the whole story background, its good to watch it.
I would give 7 stars out of 10 for this movie.

Nothing at all

2010-05-28T01:31:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to write because it has been long I wrote something :)
It has been one hell of a week and I have been missing many updates from bloggers.
I missed watching LOST finale episode. Planning to watch it as soon as I reach Hyderabad.
After moving to a new place, its like having a new life totally.

change is inevitable

2010-05-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

Change is the most common word we use in our everyday life!!! It really depends on the individual as to how he can cope with the change. It happens at any cost and the reactions are completely left to the individual. If you are not able to accept it, life would be miserable. Based on the acceptance levels we can say whether its good for us or bad for us. I would just want to see the positive aspects related to the change!!! It might really take sometime but the end results would be fruitful!!!
I m not here to teach some lessons. I want to share some real experiences related to change. If you are living in a very comfortable zone with a complacent mode, bring in change. It might be related to personal stuff or professional stuff. Change shows us a new way to think and adapt in the surroundings. I brought in changes to my life recently and finding it really challenging to accept it.
How do you cope with the change, taking it in a positive way or negative way??

Break Down

2010-05-18T01:23:00.000-05:00

In life many things break down. In todays world what is the most important thing that breaks down and our day goes bad!!! Nothing seems right after that.... Vehicle break down dear!!! I know its a poor joke kind to start the post!!!
My two wheeler broke down mostly during the odd times... either in the scorching sun or rainy season or in the night. I got scared couple of times and cried like a baby. Most of us get irritated and curse the first face we see in the morning!! I realized that its important to follow some steps whenever there is a break down.

Stay calm and drink some water if you have it
Check your fuel tank incase the reading meter is not properly and you know the problem.
If the above case is ruled out, check your phonebook contacts for any mechanic number and call him up
If the above doesnt work out, look at the surroundings and find out the nearest mechanic shop by asking strangers.
And most important, its important to learn some basics of vehicle and the general problems that can arise.
And last thing, give your vehicle for servicing for every 4 months.

Whenever I had some problem, I had my friends helping me out. I also came to know some good samaritans exist in the world!!! And seriously they expect nothing from us and just help people. Its really important to learn about our vehicle. My dad has been my best teacher till now. He taught me how to drive,tricks on how to kick-start, how to put center-stand and how to stay calm while driving.
The lessons learnt while driving are worth remembering for whole life. In the end, stay calm, drive carefully and follow rules sometimes(never on hyderabad roads).
Have a safe drive everyday!!!!

Weekend journey

2010-05-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

I went to my native place this weekend!! And it was totally awesome except for the heat waves and scorching sun. Its SUMMER dear!!! What else do you expect!!! Thats what I kept telling myself.
The saddest thing to observe during this summer was that Godavari river is completely dried up. Its one of the prominent river in South India. All those years when I went to my native place for summer holidays I observed that Godavari river was never dried up to this extent. Somehow it was heart rendering to see such a massive river drying up. I guess its because of the Maharashtra Government, who build huge projects over the river in their state and making Andhra dry!!! Well I am not here to talk politics and stuff... just telling that our river goddess is dying and it badly needs monsoons and floods to recover itself :)
I know its a selfish thought!!! I cant help it...
While coming back from Nizamabad, I took the Vizag train which usually starts in the evening. I must say its a pleasant journey watching small villages, jungle and NH7. Everytime I look through the windows desperately trying to find out some wild animals or rare birds. Its the PEACOCKS that appear all the time :)
They are usually out in the evenings to graze in the fields and watching them through moving train is amazing!!! They gather near some water bodies to quench their thirst. I saw about 25 peacocks through my 2 hour journey. And guess what... I was relieved at such a sight... People dont kill them for their feathers anymore. They are not extinct and are happily living. I wish its the same with all other living beings as well...
My chacha was telling that there are some wild boars near our village as well and usually visit our farms in the night. They come searching for food and occasionally destroy crops. I have never seen them though and considered as dangerous. People hunt them for their meat and consider it healthy.
Well...thats how my weekend ended!!! No complaints apart from the scorching sun :P

I Wanted To...

2010-05-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

There are pencils, sketches, crayons, markers, chalk pieces, toys and papers spread all over the floor. Sara was wondering if she accidentally came to any play school. She passed through the main door again and looked across the colony. Finally she looked at the door number and saw her husband's name written above it. It was such a relief to find that she was not dreaming and its actually her house. There was no one in the hall and her mother was not seen around in the kitchen. The walls of the hall,sofa and cushions were completely scribbled with marker. She went to the kids room and saw that grandmother was helping Abhi with drawing homework.

Abhi is her 6 year old son. All of a sudden Dolly came from under the bed, showing a paper to Sara.
Dolly asked,"How are my drawings mamma? Even I wanted to draw pig,dog and cat."
That innocent expression of Dolly, who is just 4 year old brought immense happiness in Sara's face. She kissed Dolly and started cleaning up the mess.
No wonder mothers are so sweet and patient. They forget every misery for their kids.
Happy Mothers Day!!!

Revolutionary road

2010-05-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

This movie was aired on TV. I was excited to watch the Titanic duo Leonardo and Kate once again in this movie. This is a slow movie about a suburban family living a usual boring life with children. They suddenly realize they gotta do something to get rid of that boredom and plan to settle in Europe. Leonardo's acting is awesome, though I love his acting in all his movies.
Apart from the actors, the movie is sad. Showing a married couple with two kids, living in a beautiful house and still finding life to be boring and empty is something I couldn't digest. I heard of many friends saying that professional life becomes boring after some point of time. I guess its true now with the married life as well. Maybe everyone needs to be put effort to bring the joy and fun in their married life. Everything in life needs working on. Kate Winslet dying at the end made me sad.
I m tired of thinking in positive terms with life these days. I guess we should not expect anything in life. I mean there should not be any expectations from anyone, either positive or negative. Take everything that comes at that moment and decide the course of action. In this movie, the couple had lot of expectations from their life. They wanted a life with all the wishes fulfilled, happiness around and change.
Well I m still learning not to have any expectations from anyone and live peacefully. Its a little difficult to teach our heart these kind of matters :P

On the whole Revolutionary Road is a good movie and watch it with open mind!!!

king of fruits!!!

2010-05-02T01:31:00.001-05:00

In India, I think Mango is considered as the king of fruits. Its seen in market during the summer and comes in many varieties. I have loads of memories associated with mangoes.

When I was young, there were a bunch of kids who used to play together during summer holidays. It included my brother, my sister, sravan, laxmi(sravan's sister) and myself. We always used to be seen together playing in park, cycling, having lunch together and stealing mangoes!!!! Now thats the interesting part...jumping into neighborhood house and plucking small mangoes and running away!!! It used to be totally fun. Our neighbors had 4 mango trees in their garden. At around 2pm, when everyone in the house used to have hefty lunch and snore, we made the plan - the deadly plan to steal mangoes :D
Laxmi used to stand near the corner of the lane and make sure to hint us when someone was coming through this route. Sravan and my brother used to climb the 6ft wall and walk like a cat near the tree. I used to stand on the otherside of the wall waiting for the duo to drop the mangoes across the wall. After collecting the mangoes we used to run as fast as possible to either our house or to Sravan's house.
Now the feast starts by adding salt and chilli powder to the mangoes. We shared the mangoes, cut them in pieces with the pencil blade we had. Then eat them with salt and chilli powder sprinkled on the pieces with mouth slurrping and tinkling taste buds!!!! The taste of the stolen mangoes is far better than the mangoes which were purchased. I guess its the enthusiasm thats added to the mangoes which makes them special. Those were the memorable days of childhood. That very next year, Sravan and Laxmi's family left Nizamabad. I really donno where they are now. I still remember their faces though a little fading.
I guess everyone has some or the other memory associated with the mangoes. Enjoy summer with mangoes of different varieties and cherish the moments!!!

How I met a friend

2010-04-28T13:33:00.001-05:00

In life we meet many people.
Some of them are just like passing clouds.
Some of them become our shadow .
Some of them become eternal part of our life.
Some of them give inspiration and become guiding star.
Some of them become enemies as well.

Of all of them we remember those who did good and bad to us. It was about one year ago I met a person who is humble and down to earth. I m part of an organization called NSF which supported me during my graduation. This organization supports financially thousands of poor students across our country. There I met this person about whom I m going to write now. This person has completed his graduation and was already working for few NGO's. Helping people, bringing awareness among the people in his village near Guntur and supporting for the cause of the society. After speaking to him about one hour I realized how great his vision was towards doing things in life. His ideals and philosophy are excellent. It gives me inspiration to do better things in life rather than thinking for self.

Living up to being a friend requires trust and belief in the person. Trust and belief are not built overnight. One need to put effort for that. My friend gives me inspiration everyday by his positive outlook on life and the vision he has. I realized that friends are not just for hanging out and time pass. They serve a greater purpose in our life by making ourselves a better person. After seeing his work, I realized that my life is just not mine and I can bring smile on others face by spending a little time. His complete family works for betterment of society.
His name is Gurava Reddy who recently completed his MBA from Great Lakes. Also he represented Asia at the finals of social work project at the Haas Business School. His blog link is here.
I am proud to have such a friend in my life!!!
So... who gives you inspiration?? Would love to read your stories in my comments.

its unnecessary thinking

2010-04-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

Did it happen anytime that you cannot feel anything to the core?? There is no attachment of any sort to the material things around. Attachment means you cry if you lose it. You feel bad in heart for the failure of doing something. There are regrets of sort when things go wrong with you. Are you called shameless then if there is no feeling for anything? Or are you attaining some kind of sainthood in that process?? Are you sluggish then?? Oh gee!!!! There are so many questions when you realize that you dont feel anything?? Guess its the idle devil mind that makes you do think in that way.
I m sure its only the idle devil mind that makes that think in that way, otherwise we are not born that way. When you give thought again it might be correct that we dont feel because those things might not be important in our life at that point of life. There are greater things to be perceived and sought.
These are what I felt in the past few days. When I find answers to my questions, I m sure I m going to enlighten you friends :P
Till then alvida!!!

simple yet profound

2010-04-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

Sometimes its very difficult for us to make right decisions. Though at a single glance any issue may seem trivial but to give right judgement requires quite an understanding of the surroundings, its people and the due course of action. Do we really have to tamper with the decision based on the effects and be biased?? Its completely left to the individual. If the effects of the decision are only limited to a single person and beneficial to others, the responsibility is on decision maker itself. Otherwise if the decision is going to effect other lives, then the decision maker has no right to tamper or be biased on decision making.
Life gives us many opportunities to make quick and valuable decisions. After proper analysis and reasoning one should come to a conclusion. While making a decision one should give value to the ideals and virtues set for oneself. If they are crossed during this process, we are actually fighting and over powering our conscience which always guides us in the right path. One would never be the same after such an action and lose confidence when one has to act next time.
Isn't it true that most of the times our selfish motives drive in decision making? If there has not been such a motive, the world would have been a better place for living for everyone. Here the emphasis is only on the so called selfish - greedy nature of a person which effect the decision making. This greedy nature of a person deprives the right thinking, killing the conscience and corrupting mind for mere material needs.
In order to take a right decision and stand by it one needs courage. Its the courage which sprangs from the heart supported by mind, the intellectual. It gives immense happiness which is beyond measures.

The lovely bones

2010-04-14T03:58:00.000-05:00

Incase you are wondering, this is a movie about, how Susie a 14 year old girl was murdered by her neighbor and how she watches from heaven.
This is not the typical hollywood suspense thriller where, the ghost is seen and takes revenge by killing the murderer. This movie is completely shown from a different perspective of a family who lost a lovely daughter. The murderer is a psycho who has an itch for young girls and keeps killing by luring them into his trap. He observes them carefully before designing the trap.
The story line is very sensitively told from the young girls voice. The path of the heaven for the girl is a little misleading and boring in the movie. But it kept me with the emotions going on.
This movie is nominated for one Oscar and I donno for which category. I would give this movie 7 stars out of 10.

A singular blogger meet!!!

2010-04-12T02:07:00.001-05:00

I always wondered how many different types of bloggers existed in this world, me being a tiny part of it. It was realized on 11th April 2010 in Hyderabad at the IndiBlogger meet. I had my own apprehensions about the meet but it turned out to be different when I was welcomed by Nafisa!!! She was the one who called me up and confirmed me attending for the meet. I was glad she identified me :)
There was a huge turnout and was excited looking at the board where people were already tweeting about the meet!!! Twitter ki Zindabad!!!
The welcome video of Hitler sent by a German indiblogger was hilarious. It was followed by 30 seconds of fame where you get to know all the bloggers. There were stock experts, writers, fashion students, gadget freaks, techies, critics, cooking experts and recruiters at the meet. Damn... I just dont write anything specific and write everything under the sun.
The next session was getting to know each other with charts. Its a totally funny event with bloggers writing their ids on the chart and interacting with others.It was followed by quiz. Riyaz took the quiz and got to know interesting things about fake Steve Jobs, trade red paper clip to house and Six degrees of separation. Snacks were a delight followed by the photo session.

Thanks to IndiBlogger, I actually met two readers of my blog. They are satya and rambabu and also loads of other friends. Also came to know about some of the notable blogs. It would be great if such meetings are often!!!

I told her!!!!

2010-04-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

Hyderabad is famous for L.V.Prasad Eye Hospital. Many old people come here for their cataract and other operations. Today was one such crowded day near the bus stop at that hospital. As such the bus in which I was commuting was empty and stopped at the hospital for the people to hop in. The bus was full by the time we started to move from that stop. Many old people got into the bus along with their kids. Usually in the State run buses there are few Ladies seats and one senior citizens seat. Old people occupied their seat but still many were standing which was sad.
I was sitting comfortably in a seat and sacrificed it for a mother with a one year old kid. Then I saw that there was a 70 year old frail woman begging a 25 old girl to give some space to sit. The girl was adamant and just moved a little bit and gave a corner portion for the old woman to sit. As the bus was moving, the old woman was not able to balance herself and slipping from her seat most of the time.

I went to that girl and said,"I hope tomorrow you wouldn't beg for a seat just like this old woman. You can stand and make her sit comfortably atleast considering her age". I told her on the face. I wasn't scared. Her face turned pale and I just got down the bus as I reached my house.

Generally these kind of situations make my blood boil. How can some girls act so senselessly and irresponsibly?
Giving respect and helping gives a sense of satisfaction and relief. I hope people put this words in their hearts always and act human!!!

Cursed for being old??

2010-04-04T14:01:00.001-05:00

Recently I came to know about the death of a grandmother who lives in the same village as mine. She didnt die because she was old. She died because no one took care of her and she was having little pride in approaching other relatives for help. For 3 days she didnt eat anything itseems and neighbors had to break the house as she didnt open the house in the morning. She was just stoned to death on a mat. Her grandsons and grand-daughters were called later in the evening. Was she cursed for being old??? Is it her fault that she aged giving birth to sons and daughters and raising them, making them eligible so that they leave her at the end??

When I was a kid I remember growing up in her house. She used to welcome me everytime when I used to go there for summer holidays. She always lived alone as far as I remember because her daughter-in-law never allowed her son to come near her mom. She managed with the money that came from the little land she hand.

If I were given a sword or gun, I would kill all those f****** sons. No one has the right to abandon their aged parents however mean they might have been!!!! I am so ashamed of her sons and daughters who couldn't take care of her.

I mean what is our life for?? Just to earn money...get enough education....get married...have sex...have kids...have a house...give money to parents if required!!! Is that all?? Where have all the moral values gone which we were taught when we were kids??? I see so many people leaving their parents in old age homes and settling in foreign countries for the richness and comfort. Where are we heading in the fast moving world leaving ourselves??

Being old should never become a curse. There should be some hard and fast rules made in the constitution in my opinion. First of all, parents should plan well for their retirement. Save enough for the worst times to come. Never get tempted to give everything to sons and daughters. They got their life and can earn enough.

Secondly, maintain a good friends circle and be happy always. If things doesn't work out well at home always have a back up plan, like an old age home with the savings available. If one is not physically capable, then I pray sons are kind enough to take care of them.

Dare to watch Dhruva

2010-03-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

I think I was in 6th standard when there was a story about Dhruva, a young prince who was son of Uttanapada in English textbooks. And the story ended with Dhruva becoming a Pole star which is visible to the naked eyes. At that time my teacher has told me that one can see the star in the north direction at 4am very brightly in the sky. I was determined to see Pole star the next day.
During those days, we lived in a small house where our bathroom was outside and stairs adjacent to it. I got up around 4am in the morning, opened the door quietly and was about to step out when I heard my mom whispering something. I told her that I would pee and come quickly. It was very dark outside and the stars were shining very brightly up in the sky. I climbed the stairs slowly without making any sounds and was evaluating which was north direction. In front of our house there was a Hanuman temple and as was the rule Gods face east direction. So if he is facing east, just to the left of him would be north. I saw the star and I was so delighted to look at it, that I forgot its so dark and I was alone. I heard some creepy sound near the terrace wall with a sudden blow of wind. I had goosebumps all over my body after listening to that. I didnt even dare looking in that direction. All sorts of thoughts came into my mind in that moment. It could be some ghost, creature, bird, kidnapper and I donno what not. I ran very fast into the house climbing down the stairs, asked mom to lock the door and curled myself with the bedsheet trying to forget the incident.
For few days I was scared to go to my building terrace. That was what happened when I dared to watch Dhruva aka Pole star.

PS: After 1 week I went to my building terrace with my brother and saw that it was just a plastic cover attached to the iron rods that made the sound :D
Uff...that cover had almost taken the life out of me!!!

To greed, all nature is insufficient

2010-03-26T05:37:00.000-05:00

Note: This story is told in rural india to children before going to sleep. Its kind of fairy tale with a moral in it.
One hair queen

Once upon a time there lived a King who had two beautiful wives. First wife had only 1 hair and second wife had 2 hairs. King wasn't happy with the first wife having only 1 hair and sent her to exile. First wife, devastated by the kings behavior was crying horribly in the jungle when from no where appeared an old woman and asked what was wrong with her. She told the whole story to her. After listening to the story, the old woman has told her to follow few steps. First to stop crying and be brave. Second, to walk 3 miles north to find a lake and to take a dip 3 times in its water. She wished her good luck and disappeared.
First wife followed the steps told by the old woman and took 3 dips in the water. She got her complete hair back and was looking more beautiful than before. She was more happy than one could imagine.She went back to the kingdom, bowing before the king and asked him to accept her as his wife again. The king was amazed and accepted her.

Meanwhile he sent second wife to exile on the same grounds. She followed the foot steps of the first wife and met the same old woman on the way.
She gave the exact same steps as told to first wife. Second wife turned into a beautiful lady after 3rd dip. The next moment she thought she would become more beautiful by taking few more dips. Alas!!! Her greed had ruined everything. She lost her beauty,hair and looked wrecked. She cursed herself for being greedy.
Finally she went to the king for his forgiveness and asked him to accept her. The king couldn't forgive her and told her that her greed has taken everything from her. The king and his first wife lived happily ever after!!!!

Moral:There is no cure for greed. We just have to be content with what we have. The more we want, the more we are losing our SELF.

why does it happen only to me??

2010-03-25T03:32:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks, I have become lazy enough to do any work at home. Was just spending my time at home with my Sherlock Holmes and other books. In the mean while I lost the habit of getting up early in the morning. So to regain my usual habits I thought of putting an alarm clock for 7am and happily slept.
I woke up when my mom said its half past 8.
Half past 8!!! You should be kidding me. I just saw my alarm clock. It was still showing 6:50am. I vaguely remember seeing the watch twice and hitting my pillow again. Ofcourse it showed the same time and I never realized that it has stopped working. Why does it happen to me?? When I really think of changing and putting myself together for better.... weird things like this happen... for months together that alarm clock has been working properly and all of a sudden it stopped working...and that too at 6:50am!!! Isnt it strange????

This isnt just the one incident that happened. I m going to tell another one. Sometimes when I m too tired of driving my two-wheeler, I prefer to use public transportation. To my office there are two routes, of which one is the cleanest and the shortest. The difficult part is that very few busus ply on that route. The moment I m crossing the road to reach the busstop, the bus which i have to get into would be just leaving. I wouldnt dare to catch a running bus. And I would desperately wait for another bus to come which would never come. Why does it happen??
And to add something to it... After waiting for 30 mins and not getting right one I chose the wrong bus and get into it. After travelling some distance, I see the right bus going right beside mine and curse my luck.
Damn!!! Couldnt I wait few more mins???
I cant jump out of this bus and get into that.
Thats the irony. Why does such things happen only with me??

talking to me...

2010-03-22T03:39:00.001-05:00

Weird as it sounds talking to me
Thoughts of butterflies over my head
Flying all the way forming a rainbow
Rainbow reminding me of drizzling rain
Rain drops touching my face in open air
Salty are they when felt by taste buds
Letting a wrinkle when closed my eyes
Dancing clouds in between my brows
Forming images as they move from place
Where I can see myself talking to me

Running on in my mind

2010-03-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

I was always interested in detective serials and novels but never knew that I would be mad at one until now. Recently I saw Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey and Jude Law. Though I read his stories in school days I was not much interested then. But now its completely a different story. By some instinct I ran into Landmark near Somajiguda and got the two volumes of Sherlock Holmes adventures which were there. At first I couldnt find the Volume I of his adventures. I made the shopkeeper to search his entire database to check if there are really any copies and to find out where they are misplaced and get me one. He did it. He got it for me. Mean while I couldn't resist buying Ruskin Bond's another book. It happens being a freak and roaming in such a world of books where its impossible to glance at overwhelming number of books and resisting to buy.

Now comes the interesting part of my Sherlock Holmes journey. I have started reading his adventures putting myself in the shoes of Dr.Watson. His description of Holmes and the reasoning he gives is so excellent that I couldnt stop thinking in the same way. Whenever Holmes is describing a crime scene with blood stains, foot prints, nature of murder and the character of the person, I couldnt stop imagining myself being there and looking at everything like a freak and wondering how the hell does he do that!!!! Watson being a doctor and as naive as he could be and as surprised as he can be and as shocked as he can be when Holmes comes to a conclusion based on his reasoning and theory on the facts given which can be like a single hair, I m dumbfounded!!!
When Holmes is waiting for a criminal in a big castle to catch him and he breathes heavily, with Watson limping and imagining things to himself, I could feel the same things happening to me in my mind. When there are no cases with Holmes and he is puffing cocaine and sounding boorish, I could imaging myself being and reading the same way in my mind. Maybe thats the power of our mind. Our imagination can reach greater levels what we can actually think of. Thats what the author has proved.
To know more about analogy and reasoning skills one should read Sherlock Holmes. Narration by Watson is excellent. I must say that Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle is simply great with his imagination and writing power. He could give the world a great detective character who has ever lived in the form of Holmes and a noble trustworthy human being in the form of Watson. I have just completed few of the adventures in the Volume I. There are many more stories to be completed and perceived.
I have become a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and cherish my reading of his adventures all through my life!!!!
I guess it doesnt really matter at what age you read this book. It just matters how thrilled you are on reading this and how much you appreciate it.

Imaginary world

2010-03-16T14:03:00.001-05:00

I live in an imaginary world
where men are as kind as ever
where helping hands are really for that cause
where kids smile make your day by taking sorrows away
where the first sight is always a good one
I live in such an imaginary world!!!

I live in an imaginary world
where the gentle wind touch makes you smile
where the flowers sway as you pass by
where the birds chirp giving you thoughts
where the fairies makes your dreams come true
where the prince of my dreams is with me

I live in an imaginary world!!!
I live in such an imaginary world!!!!!

Reality vs Idealism

2010-03-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

The other day I saw a program on TV in which many actors were talking about "Reality vs Idealism". The correct meaning of idealism doesn't exist in our world now. Its completely diluted in the current scenario. Some people would still keep it as a shining star which might show the way, yet they wont reach that stage.
Idealism would mean different to different people and it also varies with the context. For a politician the word wouldn't exist in his dictionary. When the word 'politics' is known, at the same moment 'idealism' is killed. The works and deeds which look great in the eye of idealism, are never reached to its reality. Should science and implementation be applied to idealism, reality is evolved. Take any context, any industry and any person the result would be the same. Should anyone try to achieve to it?? Before asking this question, I must ask if anyone is willing to follow it even. Our weakness and selfish ambitions comes into picture during implementation. In this phase, idealism and reality are pulled apart, so far that we doubt what was to exist actually.
Am I making any sense??
For example, lets think about the case of our politicians. In idealism, they are supposed to keep the promises made to its people and work for the welfare of them. What is in its reality??? The moment they are on the throne, the horns of greed pop up instantly and take them far away from their duties. The decision making factor in the critical development is left to an uneducated minister who doesnt understand the ABCDs of project. For the next elections, the promises of idealism are made which are never seen in reality.

The whole system in the case of a idealist world be free channels of development and prosperity and open window system. It should have been a cake walk for the people to are part of it. In reality its never so. The system is made so complex that once we enter it, its impossible to return in a single piece without getting influenced.

I m out of words now because in reality I m not a good essayist!!!

airshow pics

2010-03-09T03:31:00.000-06:00

During the March 1st week there was the Aviation show. I could catch some pics from my camera though it doesnt have proper zoom.

It looks like a rainbow :) but its not. During this feat one of the plane crashed killing both the pilots and a civilian. The pilot couldnt control the plane after it has reached some depth. It directly hit a 3 floored building. Thats the sad story of the aviation show 2010 in Hyderabad.

I know you would

2010-03-05T03:05:00.000-06:00

"Momma... today is 4th march... and you know what!!!", the 4 year old Sweety was shouting to catch her mom's attention who is busy swinging fingers on the keypad of her laptop. Lina is working from home as Sweety's nanny got sick.
Lina,"what baby??"
Sweety,"you forgot what is on 4th??"
Lina,"what is it??"
Sweety,"I know you would. I m sad!!". Saying that she ran away into her room.
Lina could hear soft sobs from kids room and found Sweety in the closet holding Tutu.
"I m sorry kiddo,tell me what is it", said Lina.
"Today is Tutu's birthday. You promised to make a cake and celebrate."
"Okay fine. Lets go and make yummy cake and party in the kitchen!!!"

Tutu is an abandoned piglet which Sweety found near her school and kept it as her pet since then.

You are okay

2010-02-27T12:53:00.000-06:00

Reena was sitting on a couch with one hand over the forehead and twisting the ring over her ring finger and wondering how she would cope with the situation at hand. She was deeply concerned about moving from one place to another. Anyone looking at her with swollen and reddened eyes, can say that she hasn't slept properly for days and not ate enough.
Her four year old daughter moves near the couch slowly with a soft teddy in her hand and touches her mom on the cheek and says,"You are okay mom!!!!We will deal with it." That move her by daughter gave enough strength to Reena to handle the infidelity by her husband. She has filed a divorce in the court and was wondering how her life would be being a single mother and living in a different city altogether.

The house of 1000 mirrors

2010-02-24T22:02:00.000-06:00

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place known as the

House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place

and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the

stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway

with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his

great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little

dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great

smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and

friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a

wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as

the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs

and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the

1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them

and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he

left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go

back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do

you see in the faces of the people you meet?

PS: I got this wonderful story from a book. And I just loved it!!!

Letter to headmaster

2010-02-23T04:20:00.000-06:00

A letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Headmaster of a school in
which his son was studying. It contains an advice, which is still
relevant today for executives, workers, teachers, parents and
students.

A WORD TO TEACHERS
=================================================
"He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just and are not true. But teach him if you can the wonder of books... but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fall than to cheat... Teach to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him he is wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentlepeople and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone getting on the bandwagon...

Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can how to laugh when he is sad... Teach him there is no shame in tears.

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to be aware of too much sweetness.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders, but never to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob... and stand and fight if thinks he is right.

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient. Let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will have faith in humankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow my son!

- Abraham Lincoln"

A wooden box of things

2010-02-18T12:24:00.000-06:00

Meeti, has lots of friends in her school. She the most active and brilliant girl of her class. Btw she is in 3rd class. Everyday her mom puts snacks, nuts and fruits in her box. She explains her the need to eat good food and the varieties of things available from nature. She has to answer everything as Meeti has enough questions popping from her little head.
One day Meeti saw her friend eating biscuits from a box which is named as some supplements. She was wondering why her friend is not eating fruits or anything which is natural. Her friend answer saying that the biscuits have enough proteins, minerals and enzymes etc etc. She couldn't understand the actual reason behind that.
At home she bombarded her mother with questions regarding supplements. Her mom replied that its one way of eating and being healthy when we dont have natural things at hand. Meeti asked,"what if tomorrow we dont get natural things and should we eat tablets?". Her mom,"May be. It might happen in the next couple of years because no one would have enough land to produce things and eat synthesized food." Again Meeti asked,"Is that how people would survive on moon if they go there?".
After two days she came to her mom asking her to buy a wooden box. Her mom had no idea on why would she need a wooden box when there is enough space in wardrobe. She got one box for Meeti. For the next one week, Meeti was busy arranging things in her box. Her mom couldn't understand anything as to what her daughter is busy with. Next day Meeti asked her mom to give some wheat.
Before giving her mom asked,"why do you need those grains?"
Meeti,"I want to have a sample of wheat in my box."
Her mom,"But why?"
Meeti," I want to remember how grains are,nuts are,fruits are and I am collecting them in my box. I will see them when i grow big and use in my garden. We will eat tablets na and seeing them in exhibition... Will the seeds be okay so long mom?"

Not to become like you!!!

2010-02-17T07:09:00.000-06:00

Sriram and Anjali has a lovely kid,Chintu of 10 years old. His parents have a different work style and life. Both are busy making money and trying to give a comfortable life to Chintu when he grows up. Mean while the kid is trying to learn most of the things about his school and daily activities from his grandmother(fathers mother). Even though she is quite elderly, she is taking care of Chintu in a much better way by giving him love,care,affection and attention.
      Anjali is making conscious effort to be close to her kid and never making him feel her loss because of her hectic schedule. Something is bothering Chintu all the time. He keeps thinking why his mother cant stay at home and help him do his homework. Why his mother doesnt read him bedtime stories and sing a lullaby. Why his father doesn't find time to watch cartoon with him?? Is that all about being in a family and achieving nothing great beyond our limits? Every day during his walk with his grand mother in the park, he observes many stray animals, beggars, homeless people and untidiness everywhere around him. No one is bothered about it actually. He is unhappy looking at the sight of his surroundings.
     At night he goes to his parents room and says this to his father,"I dont want to become like you!!!". On asking for the reason, he says, " I want to do something different than you do. Make my surroundings a better place to live."
     A small thought can have huge effect in our life and others as well.

Sometimes I wonder

2010-02-16T12:22:00.001-06:00

How can a human be different from another in so many different ways. And there are some trillion people in the world and all are different?? Everyone acts differently but only few stand for correct values and stand high. Like Mother Teresa, Gandhi and Mandela. What gave them the power to be so?? Were they were so selfless??

Now why we are so selfish??

The right balance

2010-02-14T10:50:00.000-06:00

Today, I mean sunday there is a open page in The Hindu newspaper. One can write views about any issue and get it published. I saw a beautiful article and cant wait to share it with everybody. Its the response to "STAY AT HOME MOM". A women has to manage many different things being a homemaker and mom to kids and working simultaneously.
The author quotes a poem by Elizabeth Ralph Mertz, "Accomplishments".

When Aristotle wrote his books,
When Milton searched for rhyme,
Did they have toddlers at the knee
Requesting dinner time?
When Dante contemplated hell,
Or Shakespeare penned a sonnet,
Did Junior interrupt to say
His cake had ketchup on it?
When Socrates was teaching youth
And Plato wrote the Phaedo,
Were they the ones to clean the mess
The children made with Play-doh?
If Edumund Burke had had to work
On all his kids' ablutions,
Would he have had the time and strength
To speak on Revolutions?
When Homer wrote his Illiad
Or Aesop told a fable,
Were they concerned about whose turn
it was to set the table?
When Newton fussed with calculus
Or labored in his lab
Did he compare the whiteness of
His laundry done with Fab?
Did food get bought when Darwin sought
The origin of the species;
Or did he have to hush the tots,
And tell them not to tease, please?
When Holmes and Brandels donned their robes
And gave their wise opinions,
Was laundry piled up four feet high?
With socks mixed up with linens?
How much greater, then, the task
Of those who manage both, Who juggle scholarship with child
Developement and growth.
And how much greater is the praise
For those who persevere
And finish their advanced degrees
and take up a career!

Hats off to those women who manage successfully!!!!

Are we secure in this social world??

2010-02-12T03:15:00.000-06:00

Today we have innumerable social networking sites. We provide our personal information and add friends and be in touch with them. But how safe is that information?? Can it be breached and used by others??
Sometime back for free messaging i have used some service. It constantly sends e-mails to my friends without me opting for it. The first time I have logged in, it had all my friends list saved. Its sending some junk mails to every of my friend. How disgusting!!!! What will my friends think of me??

This is what happens when we want to be in touch with everyone and know more details about whats happening in the world. We give our valuable information and exposing to the world by saying..."this is me!!! you got anything to say".

Today facebook, orkut and gmail store as much information as possible about a user. They know what are you doing currently and log every details. Each and every detail is stored in their databases. like when you were last logged in, whom did you chat with, what is your chat history, what are your photos, whom did u block, what do u hate, what do u love and what not!!!
Is there a guarantee that when you delete your profile from the social networking site, all of the profile information is deleted from their databases?? And that the details are not shown in any search results?? Try me!!! I really dont think so.

Also how safe are we with respect to the identity theft?? There are many cases of identity theft, killings based on the social networking life and making another persons life horrible. We dont want any trouble with respect to our personal life? Two years back it was possible to create an anonymous account in Orkut and bother anyone. Now we have a level of privacy enabled and it really works.

Before even registering with any site, know more details about the privacy policies and dont blindly register with any site. Give only a certain level of information unless explicitly needed. Think twice before giving any information. Aren't we good with the in-person social gatherings and phone calls??

What else is there for us in future?? LBS... Location Based Services... We can be tracked even if we are in restroom. Every smart phone these days comes with GPS and its easy to get our location. I m not sure if I want to buy a smart phone in the future. I want my friends to know me but not every place I m in. I would need some kind of privacy in my personal life. Wouldn't we want that??

Lets make our present world a better place to live. And obviously we dont to think about going to ancient world where man a better social animal. Lets do the innovations which will benefit the human race and not make us idle. Lets not make our life very easy and brain useless.
Remember movie Wall-E!!!!

why so gloomy and pessimistic??

2010-02-10T23:51:00.000-06:00

I have started reading novels and works of great authors seriously and consciously only 3 years back. I came across many authors who explain the story and go with the flow in a very simple and profound way. Some of them make it complex by using words which are relatively unknown to the reader. Or maybe the reader is naive and just started. What I want to say here is that every author has got its own style and way of writing.

Let me say that some authors write a novel in a very optimistic way and some write in a pessimistic, gloomy way. If you read the classic novel, "wuthering heights" its the saddest one I ever read. I couldnt bear the gloomyness and the pathetic characters in that book. I must say its a great love story written with sadism.

There are other authors who write science fiction, suspense thrillers, vampires, fairy tales,philosophy comedy and horror. I could enjoy fairy tales, science fiction, vampires and comedy. Ofcourse love stories as well from authors like Erich Segal. I have also enjoyed works of Ayn Rand, JD Salinger , Mitch Albom, Alcott, Dumas and few telugu authors.

From the kind of novels a person likes, an individuals taste is known. So maybe I live in a dream world where I assume every person is good becoz I believe in fairy tales and stuff. Also I love happy endings :) I cant stand the sad novels.
Thats my trait. Whats yours??

The blind side

2010-02-04T22:07:00.000-06:00

I have heard good reviews about this extra ordinary true story which is made into a movie,"the blind side". And I must tell you its awesome. Sandra Bullock's acting is real good compared to any other movie of hers. Ofcourse I like this actress because of her funny and jovial acting.

In these days of racial feelings, its not easy to adopt a black and give him food and home. These are the perfect people you will find in real life who try to make a difference in somebody's life. Quentin as Big Mike has given good performance in this movie. No wonder this movie has got 2 Oscar nominations.

I would give 4 stars out of 5 for this movie. And I bet you will love SJ boy in this movie.

Go ahead... download...or get DVD...watch it and have loads of fun!!! And appreciate the goodness that still exists in this mean world!!!!

picturisque sunset

2010-01-30T08:47:00.001-06:00

This is the sunset picture near my village lake!!!! Somehow I liked the reflection of the hill and sun in water.

Region and its festivals

2010-01-23T13:14:00.001-06:00

Every region has its own culture and importance. Our country being the diversified with many religions, castes, creed and sects, there would be many reasons to celebrate.
I am from Andhra Pradesh(not sure if tmrw i would be eligible to use that word).The place where I come from has a mix of Maharashtra as well. And I just love the people in my place in the way they live and mix with each other.
When I was young, I used to go across the fields with my grandfather and my grandmother used to celebrate every small occasion related to fields and all festivals. I didnt understand at that time what they meant as I was just happy eating delicious food made for that occasion( kids...cant help) :D
Now they make perfect sense to me. I just want to list few of the occasions my grandmother used to celebrate being a farmers wife :)

1. Ugadi - Its telugu new year. It brings lots of hopes to the people and pray that their year goes well. My grandfather used to ask us to pick few grains of wheat from his hand. He used to count them and classify as even or odd. Based on that he used to say whether its going to be good or bad year for us. He also used to see panchang and read out about the year. It was a memorable time and now we just celebrate ugadi and do nothing more than puja and eatables. Its sad that my elders forgot the tradition.

2. Mirugu - Its a occasion welcoming the monsoon gods. Its usually celebrated in June. People used to go to forest making some eatables and used to have lots of fun and offer prayers. I remember going few times with my aunts and cousins when I was young. On that day it used to drizzle for sure whatever may be the temperature. For the past few years, its not raining on that day and no one makes a trip to forest. Priorities change and climate change and nature is showing its worst features!!! Monsoons are not on proper times and life is becoming difficult to farmers.

3. Naagula panchami - its an occasion to pray snake god and villagers used to believe more on snake god. The simple reason being snakes help farmers in keeping away rats and mice and protect fields. In my village there was a big ant hill where snakes dwell. We used to pour milk and pray to Shiva on that day!!! It used to be good watching women in traditional attire.

.... to be continued

pictures

2010-01-19T13:01:00.000-06:00

Sometime back one of my fren was asking why I havent been updating any pictures and writing regularly??
Well, the obvious answer was laziness... but i thought to overcome it and post some pictures here

The below picture is the rangoli made on Sankranthi at our house.... its just beautiful and my sister has chosen vibrant colors to make it elegant...

This is my bday cake which I cut in december :P it was a yummy yummy fruit cake.
The bakery from which it is got is famous in hyd(its name is Vacs bakery). Visit this bakery for excellent pastries whenever you drop in hyd :)

This is my favorite village art. I got it from a mela and loved the professions shown it.
Identify them if you can??

This winter my rose plant has bloomed with lots of flowers... And this pic has one of it...
isnt it beautiful???

I will update more as soon as I capture!!!

Go get your mother!!!!

2010-01-17T13:41:00.000-06:00

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a nearby mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny silver walls that moved apart and back together again by themselves.
The lad asked, "What is this, father?"

The father, having never seen an elevator, responded, "I have no idea what it is."

While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched as small circles lit up above the walls.

The walls opened up again and a beautiful twenty-four-year-old woman stepped out.

The father looked at his son anxiously and said, "Go get your mother."

PS: Now this is one of the best joke i have ever read.... I just wanted to share it with you!!!!
Have some fun.... and my next post would be really something about our culture...
watch out :)