Fate, travels and festivities

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It is late Thursday night as I write this. That movie I wanted to watch – The Great Gatsby – is playing on TV. I will probably miss a good portion of it while I write this but hey, that’s what re-runs are for. The window of my living room gives me a splendid, 7th …

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10 Commandments for Entrepreneurs

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Yesterday, I came across this beautiful blog called sketchplanations – run by Jono Hey where he has used simple sketches to explain concepts. I hadn’t done sketches for a long time (except for the doodles during team meetings), and this blog made me want to sketch again. This post is a result of my sketch-craving …

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My TV woes

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[An episode from 3 months back.]

Finally after serving us for close to 10 years, our TV died on us last week.

This one was from the generation that did not require a prefix to identify it – it was just a TV. The regular old, bulky CRT TV.

I didn’t realize I had feelings for it until it died on me – I am surprised at the grief I am feeling. For a TV.

My TV was good. I have never had to take it for repairs.

Of course, it has misbehaved at times. But 2 things have helped us (my TV and me) overcome those troubled times: 1) my being a fully qualified Electronics engineer, and 2) my being handed down the single most important equipment fixing technique from my father.

The former aspect has equipped me with the skills to tell a diode from a transistor (I had successfully demonstrated this to my visiting lab examiner in my eighth semester Viva voce too), and the wisdom that a TV has many more components than just these 2 items. So I have never tried to mess with the internals.

The second, more important aspect, is the one that has fixed the niggles really. And I am going to pass this on to you now. So take a pen and note this down if you need to.

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The dawn will come. That, and some flowers.

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“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”
– Anne Lamott

I’ve started loving quotes for the power they possess to inspire and motivate us. I have gone through some tough, testing times and these little magical lines have helped me tide over them. I will keep adding some of them here, with the hope that they help you overcome your challenging times.

While on the topic of hope and light, let me show you some more pictures that can bring you joy.

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Shhhh….The party begins in 10!

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“‘We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?’ asked Piglet.
‘Even longer’, Pooh answered.“
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“shhhh…be quiet, they won’t start the party if they know you are here”, whispered my 10 year old.

Staring into the semi-darkness; illuminated only by the faint glow of a 100 stars, I lay next to him, careful not to twitch a muscle. After all, I was here to watch the most amazing party that I’d only heard a lot about. I didn’t want to risk anything that could jeopardize my chances of being part of this one of a kind, magical event.

10 minutes of total stillness went by.

Nothing.

Well, the best things in life are worth the wait, or so I’ve heard.

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My new Nikon 35 mm lens

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“Ding-dong! ding-dong!”

Our loud door bell startled me out of my lazy semi-reading-semi-watching-TV-semi-dozing Saturday afternoon.
“Must be the maid”, I thought to myself as I rose up rather reluctantly from my comfortable couch, strewing items I had stacked up around me on to the floor.

I hate getting up once I am well settled in the couch on Saturday afternoons, and so I make sure I load up the couch with everything I would need for the next few hours of blissful inactivity. This particular afternoon, I had remote controls (we have 3 of them just to operate the TV – one for the TV itself, one for the cable set-top box, and one for…coming to think of it…I don’t know what for, but I just get all of ’em just in case), a new novel I was reading (which, by the way, could put one off to sleep faster than any sleeping pill in the market, I found out), a pack of Marie biscuits (with 10 essential vitamins. Healthy. Unlike those fatty butter cookies which are yummm…err…I mean, unhealthy) and all 16 pages of that day’s newspaper.

I walked to the door leaving a trail of biscuit crumbs, newspaper pages and remote control batteries, all the while thinking who it could be at the door.

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Pilikula Heritage Village

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Pilikula Heritage Village, located in Mangalore, is a 35-acre site that recreates the typical rural ambience of Dakshina Kannada region. This is a must-visit site if you are in Mangalore.

The Guthu House – a traditional house of the region, Kambala Track (Buffalo race track), Nagabana (a shrine dedicated to serpents), artisan corners, and gardens (areca, coconut) are all turning out to be great tourist attractions in Mangalore.

A trip to Pilikula Heritage village can be included in your Mangalore trip itinerary even if you are looking for adventure activities in Mangalore since there is a Zoo, a lake for boating and a water park nearby.

This Pilikula Heritage village blog is a record of my visit to the site as part of a Nikon Photo walk that was held in Mangalore. Read on.

Nikon Photo Walk to Pilikula Heritage Village

June 22, Sunday: I wake up earlier than usual, excited at the prospect of meeting fellow photographers at the Photo Walk organized by Nikon in Mangalore to Pilikula Heritage Village.

I get dressed and drive to Pilikula, an interesting area located about 15 KMs off Mangalore city that contains a fabulous zoo, a biological park and an artisan village.

I reach on time (9. 15 AM) and notice that a group had already formed at the entrance. I join them and get introduced to the group.

The organizers informed us that we would all drive to the artisan village, a.k.a, the Heritage Village and spend some time there shooting pictures.

pilikula heritage village walk

Artisan homes in pilikula heritage village

The place is quiet and beautiful. The typical rural atmosphere of Dakshina Kannada has been recreated in Heritage Village. The dwellings of the various types of artisans reflect their work. Visitors could interact with the artisans, and could also try their hand at some of the stuff the artisans do.
Below are some photos from my Photo Walk.

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Sultan Bateri: Tipu’s Watch Tower

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“Mangalore was an important town…Sultan Bateri, a watchtower…built by Tipu Sultan..”

What?!

This is big! I am actually sharing real estate with one of history’s greatest, though in a different timeline! I am standing at the entrance of a queer little monument; a watchtower built of black stones by Tipu Sultan in the 1700’s called Sultan Bateri. It looks like a mini fortress, with mounting places for canyons.

The blue information board erected by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) informs me (with a minor spelling error in Tipu’s name) that this watch tower was built to contain the entrance of warships into the Gurupur river. The name Sultan Bateri evolved from ‘Sultan’s Battery’, where Battery meant firing of cannons.

But the strangest part about this historic monument is this: there is absolutely no perceptible importance/protection assigned to it by locals/authorities. It leads to the low profile life of an abandoned building!

You would probably not give it a second glance if you are ever in this area. I myself had been to this place many a time during my aimless evening rides but had never stopped to examine it carefully.

Not to mention the mindless graffiti and scribbling (well, now the whole world knows that Suresh is in love with Sini) that locals and visitors have left on this monument which has withstood the test of time.

A stairway leads you to the top of the monument from where you get a good view of the river. There is also an underground storage area (locked) that was used to store gun powder.
Here are some photos from my visit.

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Go, Goa, Gone!

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When my wife picked Goa as the vacation destination for this summer, a Garfield style smile popped up unknowingly on my face. This was the smile of a foodie for whom Goa reminded him of one and only one specific taste – a taste that had withstood the test of time, a taste that had …

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Can’t innovate anymore, my ass!

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Apple Cartoon

Apple’s WWDC has is an event that the world enjoys watching. It is a legendary platform where new products are announced, stats are thrown up, and apps are showcased. These very well orchestrated events must require a lot of prep work. Well, I was imagining how they do it, and this cartoon depicts my imagination. …

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Neither here nor there.

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Frustrated cartoon

A recent research showed that among people in the Indian IT services sector who quit their jobs after at least 10 years of service, 95% of them were Middle Managers! How come the Middle Management resignation rate is so high? Is it because it is a ‘neither here nor there’ kind of role? (It neither …

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Another day at the gym

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Day at the gym

Did I mention that I’ve a new gym membership? I did that in my earlier post, didn’t I. Like I said, I try new gyms every year in the hope of finally sticking to one, so that I can break down my 1 pack into 6 or 8 (or whatever number is in fashion now). …

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