A circus called marriage

Recently I attended a marriage of one of my relatives. Wedding is one ritual that I always avoided for good number of reasons. But this time I wasn't that lucky despite using all my usual tricks. Just the thought of sitting in the marriage hall and watching all those dirty monkey tricks to lure unsuspecting guys/gals into the sea of sadness made me sick. There was one more reason why I did not want to attend this wedding. For most part of my education I was away from home. So apart from my immediate family no one else recognized me. They didn't even know that I exist. But that was about to change.

My misery began even before the wedding day, on the reception night. I felt like a hapless goat when I was being introduced to all those relatives whom I have never seen in my entire life. Then began the barrage of questions. I didn't even know how to negotiate some of them but give a nervous smile. This continued through the night. Somehow I managed to sneak out after the dinner.

Next morning I realized that the marriage ceremony is exactly like a jaathre(market) where you can showcase the products you have and see other's products. This is the main attraction why parents, particularly the ones who have prospective bride or groom, always make it to the weddings. One more thing that you can notice is that the girls change dress more often than the heroin in a Ravichandran (notorious Kannada hero) movie. Guys are not that far behind. They may not change the dress so often but they do everything (even a monkey dance) to make sure that they get noticed. Parents shamelessly encourage them by all means. It gets even worse when there is a big display screen. It is like watching the shit with a magnifying glass. As if this is not sufficient there are those sitting in a corner and ridiculing the marriage/bride/groom or their family. I even heard some say "enidhru nam sose/alliyan thara baralla ivaru" (she/he is not as good as my daughter-in-law/son-in-law).

This whole marriage thing is like a chain reaction, if one gets married there will be 3 or 4 more digging their graves with the help of their parents. Once you get into this vicious cycle you only try to pull in more people and end up as a sadist trying to ruin everyone coming in contact with you. Why can't we have a much simpler approach to life? It is worth giving a thought!

PS: Contents in this post subject to without notice. If this post disappears from the blog, assume that I became insane and decided to get married.

Visa power - AP style

We have seen temples being constructed for the politicians and the movie stars but this one beats all of them. Now we have a temple for visa seekers in Andra Pradesh. A 100 year old dead banyan tree is the official 'visa god'. Birth of this 'god' is quite an interesting one. Few months back heavy rain that lashed had almost uprooted this tree. But months later another heavy storm restored it back to it's original position convincing people that the tree is having some sort of magical powers. Even an awareness program aimed at educating the people have had no effect. If you are thinking why visa why not something else? Well what else do you expect from the AP people!

New trekking shoes

Few days back I purchased a new pair of woodland trekking shoes. The 'shikar' people insisted that we get used to wearing these shoes for at least a month before trekking. I went to Bangalore Central and picked up the biggest shoe available in the store. Since yesterday I have started wearing it. I feel like a bigfoot driving around in a SUV and muscling the way past the autos and the two wheelers. People are just staying away from me and my foot. Chicks give me a look and say "Wow it is so BIG!!!"

Sexual discrimination

If you are from b'lore I am sure you know "Ebony". It is a restaurant on MG road. Though I have been to this place many times before I noticed this sign only few days back. I couldn't decide if it is a discrimination again men or women. See if you can recognize this.

Perseid meteor shower

Day: 13th Aug 2005
Perseid meteor shower is an annual phenomenon occurring in the month of August. Since this meteor shower appears to come out of the constellation Perseus it is known as perseid. Having missed this on 12th (day when the shower peaked) and 13th being the last day for this meteor shower I woke up at 3:30 in the morning (high intensity was expected between 4am and 6am) . The last of the series of alarms I had put managed to wake me up. Took a blanket and went onto the terrace. Since my brain was still rebooting it took a while to spot the perseus constellation. Now all I had to do is to sit and look up. Did manage to see some but they were no where near perseus. Just when it became 4 the whole sky was blanketed with the clouds. Fortunately after 15-20 minutes sky was clear again but there was no activity. But having woken up so early I didn't want to go back and sleep. Waited for another 30 minutes by this time my neck was already paining. I actually started praying for clouds so that I can get back to sleep. But they were no where to be seen!!! Then finally they arrived:-) It was such a relief. Even before they covered the sky I was in my bed. It will be some time before I watch another meteor shower.

Planning for the great Himalayan trek: Sources of the Ganges, Garhwal

Before I write anything about this trek, I would like to thank Anil for doing all the research and to Kodiak Networks for not giving him enough work to keep him busy.

This is very much unlike any of our previous treks. Once this is done, all we can do with weekends is to go for a hike/picnic in Agumbe forest with little kids. For the first time we are trekking for 9-10 days continuously. And none of us have done this at 16,000+ feet!!!
After doing so much of research (again thanks to Anil) we decided go with Shikar organization. They are the biggest trekking and mountaineering organization in India. Incidentally at the same time they are also handling an expedition team from UK. This is an unique opportunity for us to watch them climb Mt Satopant from the base camp at Vasuki Tal where we are planning to camp for a day at least.

Currently this is how the plan looks like...
24th Sept Morning: Fly to Delhi from B'lore
24th Sept Night: Night train to Rishikesh
25th Sept Morning: Relax in Rishikesh. Visit the various ashrams in the Yoga capital of the world and the temple at Hardwar. If possible do some rafting on the Ganges at Rishikesh. Stay at Hotel Great Ganga.
26th Sept Morning: Drive to Uttarkashi (155km). Stay at Shikar nature resort.
27th Sept Morning: Drive to Gangotri (95km). Stay at Manisha Cottage, can't wait to see this place!

Our trekking begins from here...
28th Sept: Gangotri - Bhojbasa
29th Sept: Bhojbasa - Gaumukh - Tapovan
30th Sept: Tapovan - Explore the base camps for various peaks.
1st Oct: Tapovan - Khada Pathar
2nd Oct: Khada Pathar - Nandanvan
3rd Oct: Nandanvan - Vasuki Tal (Possibly stay for a day here)
4th Oct: Vasuki Tal - Nandanvan
5th Oct: Nandanvan - Chirbasa
6th Oct: Chirbasa - Gangotri, Same day drive to Uttarkashi or Harsil
7th Oct to 9th Oct: Relax at Char Dham in Harsil valley
9th Oct Morning: Drive to Rishikesh
9th Oct Night: Train to Delhi
10th Oct Night: Fly back to B'lore

Links where you can get more information:
http://www.indiatravelclub.com/SOURCES-OF-GANGES-TREK.html
http://www.adventure-cultural-tours.com/nanda-devi-trek.html
http://www.shikhar.com/
http://www.garhwalhimalayas.com/
http://www.ibexexpeditions.com/
http://www.wildrift.com/
http://www.gmvnl.com/

PS: Hope this trek doesn't get cancelled. I really hate to delete this post.

Kod**k way of life

Well...slowly but surely Kod**k made a successful transition from a software company to a full fledged resort and health center.

This is our typical day at Kod**k.
11:00AM - Arrive at office
11:30AM - Go for a brunch and try to be back by 11:30AM
** Check mails and try acting busy **
01:00PM - Discuss where to go for lunch
02:00PM - "After lunch walk"
03:00PM - "After lunch sleep"
3:30PM to 4:15 PM - Tea and Table Tennis
** Take a break for 10-15 minutes, this is the hardest part **
4:30PM to 5:30PM - YOGA class, yes you read it correctly
5:45PM to 6:45PM - Aerobics class
** GYM - Optional **
** Table Tennis - Optional **

Does it get any better than this? But I believe we truly deserve this!

My half naked photos

Much awaited post...COMING SOON!!!