Back to Bangalore after 2 days of bliss. An adventure at the start, followed by some carefully inflicted sun shots ( inspite of having lived in Kerala for long, I just could not stand this one around ) and culminating in a blissful SATSANG with GURUJI. HE spoke, sang, danced and took the crowd along on an amazing journey.
Pictures speak more than words. Enjoy them and yeah yeah COMMENT them ( for better pics the next time )
and More
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Moonlit night
Credits :
Prabha & her car :) - popularly called the seva car
Ankur - sheer patient steering skills
Vivin - for waking up@3 & Sushma for not having slept :)
After a gratifying satsang with the Guru @ the Ashram, the journey began. We started off with a brief 5 hours halt @Maddy's, where we put Ankur to sleep & discussed on the camera settings for the night's shots.
(1:00 am ) Next, we were all loaded and set to go.
Things to carry :
Lots of Chocolates & I also prefer Natura
Water ( a bottle of warm water would also be nice )
Biscuits
Music player ( in case your car does not have one )
Emergency Lamps & Powerful torches
A GPRS enabled phone - u ll know why
What to wear :
Loose fitting clothing
Sneakers
Sweaters
A Cap as well
Headed for :
Skandagiri, an utterly scenic paradise (especially for photographers) with breathtaking views of the peaks surrounding North Bangalore and a spectacular glimpse of the Sunrise.
The Way :
Drive past the silent city of Bangalore & head where the Meru cabs head to - the new airport. Now dont take the diversion to the airport but continue on the Hybd road till you hit the town of Chickbellapur.
Now ask the man( or woman) on the wheels to slow down because we would need to find the hidden Vishweshwarayya statue( we did not manage that and then what happened is worth another post.GPRS phones can come in handy here :) when you lose your way )
Wikipedia had asked us to take the left at the vishweshwarayya statue and then head towards papagni mutt & find your car a cozy alight for the night.
A two and a half hour trek, ( army men and Ankur could possibly get there in less than that time ).The ways are marked except at a few places but chances of getting lost are as good as nil. Half way through with the trek, all of us ended up tying our sweaters to our waists, gulped up a bottle of water each. With Ankur virtually pushing us up to the summit, we ran to get a nice spot for our tripod.
January nights are really cold and trust me, even with gloved hands I could hardly sense the buttons on my camera. But then ego rushed in to do its job, Maddy had began taking night shots and I had to get into action. We always fancied something out of the stove to eat but then, the 3 vegeterians had to be content with biscuits ( they had only omlettes on top :( ).
And then finally the hero for the day decided it was time to call it a DAY :) and the crowd went WOW. Never realized people could be so happy just be seeing the sun :).
Some decent shots ( nothing for a WOW here :( ) is what I had to be happy with. we trekked down in less than 45 min and we had to rush. The next destination was again Ashram where we handed over the car keys to Manisha and then Ankur babu states that his bike keys are @ home. A three wheeler takes us all home, I sleep off@Maddys till 4 and he then drops me back to the place I call home ( only call .. not really ).
Enjoy the pics and would love to go with a bigger gang soon and we can have a lot more fun. And hope I get some nice shots as well.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Yes!+ @ Koramangala
Wake up : 5 00 am
@ IHA-Koramangala : 6 15 am
. . .
. . .
This was how my day started for the past week ( though that 5:00 got to 5:30 and even 6 today :) ).. 7 days of absolute FUN, FUN and more FUN. 21 bubbling YES!+ grads passed out today - the first morning YES!+ batch in Bangalore. With Sampath and Madhuri on the leads, and quite a few of us playing our roles, the band ROCKed ON! ( adding more to the band-wagon).
A detailed post on the course can wait I guess ( already got a few calls, asking when the photos would be posted), so finally here they are.
and yeah - don't forget to comment
@ IHA-Koramangala : 6 15 am
. . .
. . .
This was how my day started for the past week ( though that 5:00 got to 5:30 and even 6 today :) ).. 7 days of absolute FUN, FUN and more FUN. 21 bubbling YES!+ grads passed out today - the first morning YES!+ batch in Bangalore. With Sampath and Madhuri on the leads, and quite a few of us playing our roles, the band ROCKed ON! ( adding more to the band-wagon).
A detailed post on the course can wait I guess ( already got a few calls, asking when the photos would be posted), so finally here they are.
and yeah - don't forget to comment
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Love Letter
My third post and we already have a guest writer on this valentines day special post on " What not to write to your Valentine ". Ladies & Gentlemen - introducing Greg - a fun loving charismatic character,an amateur guitarist, my room mate and a great friend. Greggg!!!!
Love Letter writing - Classic Style, Vol I
To the one who makes my world go round,
Dakshyini, my my, how you've changed.Remember the time when we used to talk forever and on and on about nothing in particular? Remember how we jumped and played and how,I, chivalrous that I am, let you win in all our hide-n-seek games? Now, when I look back, in hindsight, I know that I was the winner.
Remember how I brushed your hair, sticky as it was, when you said you felt a wobble in your brain? Those were the times !
I remember it like it was yesterday.No, not even yesterday; I know that shaky voice is always in my heart.The twinkle in your eye and the dimples on your chin and your ears; God, how can I forget those ears, with lobes forming out like the underbelly of a sleeping giant. And your face, beautiful as it is, makes me realize what life is, and what it could have been.
Now as war looms on the horizon and the recession hitting new lows I really must talk to you as soon as possible.
My sweet forever, if not for anything, at least for the memory of the most beautiful times we've had, I know you'll call.
Awaiting your reply, and life.
-Greg
Love Letter writing - Classic Style, Vol I
To the one who makes my world go round,
Dakshyini, my my, how you've changed.Remember the time when we used to talk forever and on and on about nothing in particular? Remember how we jumped and played and how,I, chivalrous that I am, let you win in all our hide-n-seek games? Now, when I look back, in hindsight, I know that I was the winner.
Remember how I brushed your hair, sticky as it was, when you said you felt a wobble in your brain? Those were the times !
I remember it like it was yesterday.No, not even yesterday; I know that shaky voice is always in my heart.The twinkle in your eye and the dimples on your chin and your ears; God, how can I forget those ears, with lobes forming out like the underbelly of a sleeping giant. And your face, beautiful as it is, makes me realize what life is, and what it could have been.
Now as war looms on the horizon and the recession hitting new lows I really must talk to you as soon as possible.
My sweet forever, if not for anything, at least for the memory of the most beautiful times we've had, I know you'll call.
Awaiting your reply, and life.
-Greg
Monday, February 09, 2009
The Shobana Nite @ the Ashram
Little did I know when Swati n me (Swati - the new entry into the YES!+ wagon .. a passionate fashion designer and a budding volunteer ) bumped to Maddy's place asking for the lens, waking him n sushma ( n probably even sushma's mom ) up from their late afternoon nap , that I would be treated to a truly celestial display of classical Bharatanatyam by none other than Shobana. All I had in mind was that there were many celebrities around for the International Womens Conference, and that my DSLR must not miss them.
For someone who grew up watching Shobana movies ( almost every Sunday evening on TV ), this super-talented National award winning actress was to my senses - the epitome of beauty.
After a really really short trip up the gardens and a quick munch @ vishala, we ( swati, lalit n me) rushed to the Yagnashala ( for now the pro-show arena ). The chairs were already occupied and the security volunteer was in no mood to let me in and that was when the 70-300 lens came in handy ... ( all I heard was someone shouting - unko andar bhej do, photographer hain , and then there was no looking back ). I quickly hogged on the seat on the top stair ensuring a nice view of the stage and then the magic began.
Shobana .. in between the performance walked on to the stage .. explaing through her elaborate gestures which enthralled the blessed gathering (by then Swati as well crept her way into the cordoned area some how .. ask her how). Shobana's depiction of the Indian woman through mudras is still afresh ( pic 6 n 7 ). The curtain raiser was followed by depiction of the Dasavatharams, then followed by a display featuring tales from Durga stories. The talented performers also tapped foot to some Classical western music, bringing the crowd to a standstill.
The stylish beautiful shobana was then honored by the Lady-in-Charge, our own beloved Bhanumaa, the sensous performance was followed up by some scintillating rendering of Sufi Music by Zila Hussain Khan ( to know more about her, I would advise you contact Prabha, she was her escort for 3 whole days ). With me n Swati shouting Atif at the sound "Sufi", this show was rather dull. Adding to that was the hunger, we rushed to the canteen to find it closed.
We had made up our minds on a Dominos order @ Bhaskars place, but as always in the ashram, everything was taken care of, Abhay messaging us to get to the Kitchen first floor. Tell u what, even dal n roti tasted as good as hand tossed cheese burst pizza's.
We munched dinner as we discussed the performance and our plans for the next day's followup, with Shailendra da giving us the instructions, Abhay chipping in his thoughts and Jasminder ( a YES!+ teacher from Chandigarh, whose sweater Swati would later borrow for the ride back to Bangalore ). Tt was almost 10 : 30 and we were set to make our 30 km ride back from heaven to earth.
Finally after dropping chwati, got home by 11 45 to find a full scale interview on with Lamboo (a tall classmate of mine) on the hot seat and Greg (my room-mate)n Kumsim (another batchmate), playing the bad guys. I ran into connect my camera to the computer and could not wait any long to see the pictures. After breathing a sigh of relief I joined Lamboo in bullying Greg n later Kumsim as they took the hot seats, finally hitting the bed @ 4 setting an alarm for 8 for the sunday follow-up :) .. a long interesting blessed saturday (extending into the sunday :))
For someone who grew up watching Shobana movies ( almost every Sunday evening on TV ), this super-talented National award winning actress was to my senses - the epitome of beauty.
After a really really short trip up the gardens and a quick munch @ vishala, we ( swati, lalit n me) rushed to the Yagnashala ( for now the pro-show arena ). The chairs were already occupied and the security volunteer was in no mood to let me in and that was when the 70-300 lens came in handy ... ( all I heard was someone shouting - unko andar bhej do, photographer hain , and then there was no looking back ). I quickly hogged on the seat on the top stair ensuring a nice view of the stage and then the magic began.
Shobana .. in between the performance walked on to the stage .. explaing through her elaborate gestures which enthralled the blessed gathering (by then Swati as well crept her way into the cordoned area some how .. ask her how). Shobana's depiction of the Indian woman through mudras is still afresh ( pic 6 n 7 ). The curtain raiser was followed by depiction of the Dasavatharams, then followed by a display featuring tales from Durga stories. The talented performers also tapped foot to some Classical western music, bringing the crowd to a standstill.
The stylish beautiful shobana was then honored by the Lady-in-Charge, our own beloved Bhanumaa, the sensous performance was followed up by some scintillating rendering of Sufi Music by Zila Hussain Khan ( to know more about her, I would advise you contact Prabha, she was her escort for 3 whole days ). With me n Swati shouting Atif at the sound "Sufi", this show was rather dull. Adding to that was the hunger, we rushed to the canteen to find it closed.
We had made up our minds on a Dominos order @ Bhaskars place, but as always in the ashram, everything was taken care of, Abhay messaging us to get to the Kitchen first floor. Tell u what, even dal n roti tasted as good as hand tossed cheese burst pizza's.
We munched dinner as we discussed the performance and our plans for the next day's followup, with Shailendra da giving us the instructions, Abhay chipping in his thoughts and Jasminder ( a YES!+ teacher from Chandigarh, whose sweater Swati would later borrow for the ride back to Bangalore ). Tt was almost 10 : 30 and we were set to make our 30 km ride back from heaven to earth.
Finally after dropping chwati, got home by 11 45 to find a full scale interview on with Lamboo (a tall classmate of mine) on the hot seat and Greg (my room-mate)n Kumsim (another batchmate), playing the bad guys. I ran into connect my camera to the computer and could not wait any long to see the pictures. After breathing a sigh of relief I joined Lamboo in bullying Greg n later Kumsim as they took the hot seats, finally hitting the bed @ 4 setting an alarm for 8 for the sunday follow-up :) .. a long interesting blessed saturday (extending into the sunday :))
My first post
Blog no : 5
Just managed to delete the other 4 from blogger .. took another promise that this one is going to be better than 4 of its ancestors .. thats not a tough task .. a third post would get this one through :)
Been a mixed bag coming into 2009 .. have been days that have forced me to ponder and enjoy the mystery of life .. walked in from a hectic last quarter 0f 2008 .. and running into an even hectic 2009 .. with events lined up .. with plans all as good as accomplished .. all to once again realize that Life is a mystery .. and it s better LIVED than imagined :)
So with castles crashing one after the other .. it was time for the new designs to take shape .. but this time around .. designs are going to be adaptive .. lets call it resistant to a topple ( clue : dont built them tall ) ..
Now doing a lot of things that I have always loved to do but kept on hold waiting for things to happen ( like a frog waiting for a fly .. for more on that watch the video: LIVING A MYSTERY - Guruji )
A proud owner of a DSLR now, ensuring that I make its money worth , clicking almost everything .. taking good time off for photos and I can feel the difference.. I am really getting better at it :) .. ( if u feel otherwise, please let me know )
Traveled around quite a bit ( by my 2008 standards .. quite a lot )
Bannerghatta National Park to Goa to Skandagiri to Wayanad, shooting @ dogshows to pro-shows, and of course been really lucky to get some amazing shots of Guruji .. a dedicated post on all these can sail me through the objective .. and since Life is a mystery ,, lets see how it goes :)
Helped organize couple of YES!+ courses around IndiraNagar and now beginning to get back into that heavenly state of joy , which multiplies after every course .. Watching people literally get transformed .. Making some great friends ,, Creating some absolutely wonderful memories to cherish .. 2008 set with Ashok bhayya s first IndiraNagar YES!+ and Madhuri kiciking off the 2009 campaign with a truly blissful YES!+ .. a YES!+ that I really enjoyed organizing .. and as we say .. each ones the best only till the next .. so the next one s lined up this Thursday @ Koramangala.. would drive down the Inner Ring Road @ 6 in the morning ( summer s come :( ) .. again Mad n Sampath taking lead ..
Just managed to delete the other 4 from blogger .. took another promise that this one is going to be better than 4 of its ancestors .. thats not a tough task .. a third post would get this one through :)
Been a mixed bag coming into 2009 .. have been days that have forced me to ponder and enjoy the mystery of life .. walked in from a hectic last quarter 0f 2008 .. and running into an even hectic 2009 .. with events lined up .. with plans all as good as accomplished .. all to once again realize that Life is a mystery .. and it s better LIVED than imagined :)
So with castles crashing one after the other .. it was time for the new designs to take shape .. but this time around .. designs are going to be adaptive .. lets call it resistant to a topple ( clue : dont built them tall ) ..
Now doing a lot of things that I have always loved to do but kept on hold waiting for things to happen ( like a frog waiting for a fly .. for more on that watch the video: LIVING A MYSTERY - Guruji )
A proud owner of a DSLR now, ensuring that I make its money worth , clicking almost everything .. taking good time off for photos and I can feel the difference.. I am really getting better at it :) .. ( if u feel otherwise, please let me know )
Traveled around quite a bit ( by my 2008 standards .. quite a lot )
Bannerghatta National Park to Goa to Skandagiri to Wayanad, shooting @ dogshows to pro-shows, and of course been really lucky to get some amazing shots of Guruji .. a dedicated post on all these can sail me through the objective .. and since Life is a mystery ,, lets see how it goes :)
Helped organize couple of YES!+ courses around IndiraNagar and now beginning to get back into that heavenly state of joy , which multiplies after every course .. Watching people literally get transformed .. Making some great friends ,, Creating some absolutely wonderful memories to cherish .. 2008 set with Ashok bhayya s first IndiraNagar YES!+ and Madhuri kiciking off the 2009 campaign with a truly blissful YES!+ .. a YES!+ that I really enjoyed organizing .. and as we say .. each ones the best only till the next .. so the next one s lined up this Thursday @ Koramangala.. would drive down the Inner Ring Road @ 6 in the morning ( summer s come :( ) .. again Mad n Sampath taking lead ..
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