Eclipsing the New Year..with a Blue Moon

Not many New Year eves are celebrated the way 31st Night 2009 was celebrated.  I am a party man on 31st night, love the company of friends, light booze and lots of food and fun talk ! Add to the hysterical nostalgia when it mixes drinks and old friends every single new year we relive our entire life of fun with friends and become children.  31st 2009 was so special because I had no friends at my place, no parents, my wife and I did the celebration that was so uncommon.  'Once in a Blue moon' became so true because it was a night of a 'Blue Moon', i.e. a 2nd full moon night in the same month, add to that a Lunar eclipse. Traditional Hindu families force pregnant women to stay indoors during eclipse for the fear of harmful 'cosmic' rays which can cause harm to the unborn.  Call it crazy or unscientific, with our newborn on the way, we were not taking any chances.  A game of scrabble, a hot chocolate drink and a movie on the television was all that we did and it was an excellent beginning and an excellent end to the going year. Not as boring as I thought it would be, not as exciting as I thought it would be but it was certainly a special one good enough to be called 'Once in a Blue Moon' it will be a special New year eve that I will remember for times to come.

New Year ! New Tidings...YaY!

Hiya People, Wish you all a great new year, no resolutions till date, never made one, never could think of one for the next year, my days have been great so far so good.  With this new year comes a lot of hope, a lot of joy expected. 'Expected', 'Expecting' are words in my dictionary for the next 5 months to come.  My wife and I are expecting, can't be better than this, week count = 20 and counting fast.  With time I grow as a father to my unborn child, I have a 5 month period to prep myself up for a diaper changing, feeding young dad.
Things change fast with time, I got rotated on to a new group to enhance a skillset for the next six months at my work, expecting an arrival mid May, hoping that finance holds a new meaning with all that is going to come and joys apart I am going to rock 2010........Wish me all the luck ! Wish the world the best of luck in 2010.

The Real Lagaan...Of Pride and Honour.

1932 Mysore Football Association Game against Britishers - Pre-Independence Game - The Real Lagaan

Inset Far left sitting on the ground near the trophy and the ball, with the short Moustache my Grandfather - K.S. Narayanmurthy

Dug this out of a cupboard, half eaten picture.  I was two when he passed away and all I heard was stories, I cherish every certificate he ever had, every school record he ever had.  For me a hero who made my family what it is today and what it will be tomorrow.  He played against the British bare naked feet whilst they played with shoes.  He broke two fingers and played on said my Grandmother.  Of what we are left now are routine-bearing bag slinging IT professionals.  Add to this Swimming wins at Mysore Olympics, Being in Yerwada Jail (Nr. Pune) for participating in Dandi March and other stories galore.  Are we even close to getting everything out of life???

I hear a car honking, a smoking exhaust and then it is my work and back home.  Give me my honour ! Find me my pride !

Wayside Chapel...A HaHa I want to keepforever

THE WAYSIDE CHAPEL

An English Lady, making plans for an inexpensive visit to Switzerland, wrote to a country Inn for a room reservation. She ended the letter saying she preferred accommodation as close as possible to a WC.

You Anglophiles will recognize WC as a water closet or toilet. The Swiss innkeeper was not that well acquainted with the English, so he took the letter to his friend the parish priest and asked “What is a WC?”

The priest mulled this over for a time and then the dawn broke. “I’ve got it, he said; of course she means Wayside Chapel”. Very pleased to have his problem solved, the Innkeeper hastened to write to the English lady.

Dear Madam:

It is with great pleasure that I am able to inform you that we have a lovely room reserved for your visit and that there, indeed, is a WC. It is located only two miles from the Inn, in a beautiful grove of pine trees which give a feeling of serenity to the visitor. We will be most pleased to arrange transportation for you during your stay with us.

It may surprise you to know that our WC holds over two hundred persons per sitting. It is a good idea to go as early as possible in order to get a good seat, as sometimes standing room only is available, and is especially hard on some of the older ladies. On Sundays, a good number of people take picnic lunches and make a day of it. Others take a bus or horse carriage and usually arrive only just in time. I would recommend Madam arrange to go on Thursday evenings when there is organ accompaniment. Although the building dates back to the 12th Century, the acoustics are excellent and even the most delicate sounds may be heard in the halls.

We are very proud of our unusual bell, donated by a wealthy visitor, which rings every time someone makes an offering. Unfortunately my wife has a rather delicate condition so she has not been able to attend regularly. Naturally it pains her very much not to be able to go more often.

In conclusion, we hope your visit with us will be most happy, so please let me know if you wish a seat reserved for you, for the season at the WC; there is a service charge but it will ensure you an upholstered seat. We suggest you bring your camera as the evening candle lighting ceremony in the WC is very colourful and it’s a beautiful sight to see the light playing on the fountains.

Some come with cheer – some with charity – but all leave satisfied.

Hampta and Blue Skies...Friends and Nature

If you guys are wondering what are the pic slides on your right about, I visited Hampta Pass (June 2009) a lone stretch in the far far far Himalays...about 65Kms from Manali..weening through pictursque locales, winding narrow ledges, green shrubbery, blue skies, snow capped mountains, cool breeze, creaking twigs, rustling leaves , bubbling brooks, bustling water falls, scary gorges , beautiful flowers and the eclectic splendour and grandeour of the Mighty Himalayas.  All this with just wonderful friends who brought with them tummy rolls of laughter, 3 packs of UNO cards, snug warm candle-lit-blanket-covered-tent wrapped fun ! 4 days and nights of unlimited, unbridled fun and joy. Gave me the break that I needed so much this year.  So far the best thing that happened to me in 2009.

All this as below "CUT, COPY, PASTE....From Jaishri's Blog... (What Engineers Do Best) !!

Finally we got the Altitude profile from Mukeshs MOTO whatever ;)

Heres the unedited transcript from Mukeshs mail! ;) Thank you Jahanpana Ji!!!

Altitude profile of our trek and how satellites looked at us while we trekked

Day 1: Prini to Pandu Ropa (Steepest part of trek) . Trek through Beautiful Apple gardens, dense pine trees




Distance trekked: 6.86 km
Time taken: 4h 46m
Altitude at Start: 1880 mts
Altitude at End: 2663 mts
Max alt in this stretch: 2717 mts
Avg Speed: 1.4 km/h
Total Climb: 783 mts

Day 2: Pandu Ropa to Chikka (Relatively flat but longest part of trek)
Trek through lush green Himalayan meadows, along with the stream
Distance trekked: 7.73 km
Time taken: 2h 51m
Altitude at Start: 2663 mts
Altitude at End: 2970 mts
Max alt in this stretch: 2983 mts
Avg Speed: 2.3 km/h
Total Climb: 307 mts

Day 3: Chikka to Bhalu ka dera (Steeper part of trek) Trek through the Rocky Mountains, (Unforgettable chilly River (stream) crossing)
Distance trekked: 5.77 km
Time taken: 3h 18m
Altitude at Start: 2970 mts
Altitude at End: 3562 mts
Max alt in this stretch: 3570 mts
Avg Speed: 1.7 km/h
Total Climb: 592 mts

Day 4: Bhalu ka dera to (Just close to)Hampta pass (Most Tough part of trek) Trek on the Snow and ice, along with Hampta glaciers
Distance trekked: 4.67 km
Time taken: 3h 27m
Altitude at Start: 3562 mts
Altitude at End: 4141 mts (Awesome!! Half of the Mt Everest)
Max alt in this stretch: 4141 mts
Avg Speed: 1.4 km/h
Total Climb: 579 mts
Day 4 and 5 back to prini 25.03 km, 4141 mts to 1880 mts
Whoa… Day 4 was toughest when we did the ascend to hampta and came back 2 camp sites down… Total Time taken on Day 4 : 9 Hours 57 Minutes (ascend and descend together) Covered 25.03Kms + a 4.67Km ascending trek in the snow - This in 2 days !! Was tough :)

AND THAT IS ABOUT IT............ Phew !!!

Came..Saw..Couldn't conquer !

Came here several times...hoping that I would scribble my heart away.  Unfortunately I haven't got the gift and haven't got the grit ! Started tweeting instead and found it easier...But now seems I can put up a small scratchpad without my word count hitting -ve ! TATA - Writers' Block ! Maybe the spell of cold and bucket of hot water with my feet dipped did it ! Will publish nonsense. Until then..........