Walking along....Jog Falls, Murudeshwar, Udupi - Part 1

Once again it was that time of the year when a Friday was about to seep into a weekend quietly. Friday the 14th August, 2009 being an optional holiday, I found too less takers for that on my usual friends circle. So, I was standing on 13th August, 2009 (Thursday), and was still debating as to whether or not I was game enough to travel alone. It was late in the afternoon, when I still happened to have the debate going inside, I noticed my Manager wading his way into my cubicle. This does not happen to be a very normal procedure, so I got quite engrossed in the work that I was doing. So after he landed, and I got surprised suddenly noticing him, and then exchanging the formal pleasantries , he went on to speak (at-length), as to how much he felt bored when he happened to get a big weekend during his bachelor life, as to now he has a family of his own so things don't happen to be same anymore, though he wished that he could get them back. He then casually asked as to what I was doing the next day. Suddenly, I could feel my indecisive nature vanishing away leaving instead a new me(!), who was quite sure that he will not enjoy seeing himself working in the office the next day, and that ME blurted out that I was about to leave on a trip, that I had already packed my bags, and I had to leave in some time to catch my bus, which I supposed was already waiting for me (All of which, by the way, was true!). He seemed quite amazed as to I was travelling alone, but wished me luck nonetheless for my journey. I forgot to say that day, but I wanted to thank him in earnest for that ;) .
So there I was, standing in the ever-crowded Majestic Bus Junction, hoping not to catch swine flu as it happened to be the flavor of the season, and waiting for my bus to take me to Jog falls after an over-night bus journey. The Government by then had advised against any sort of human gathering to avoid the spread of swine-flu, but some things are better said than implemented. I could see virtually a sea of people from all caste, tribe, ethnicity who were united with only two common things - their swine-flu mask and their fear for it. Somebody said something about Unity in Diversity ? Well, I thought so too. I hadn't decided on the itineary as such, only had arranged for a KSRTC Airabath one-way ticket to Jog Falls, rest all, as always, I thought will fall in place. Finally my bus was in sight, and I decided for my tired soul who was craving for some rest by then. So I decided to pull in the sheets and close my eyes.



Finally I opened my eyes at about 6am and was clueless as to where I was. I decided enquiring against it, and said fervent prayer as to my destination should not be already left behind. At about 6:30am the bus conductor announced that Jog Falls was approaching and I got ready with my belongings.



Unlike my expectation Jog Falls happened to be a small pit-stop for the bus, where it just dropped myself and went away. I had to pay a Rs2/- ticket to go inside a surrounding from where Jog Falls could be seen up-front.



Jog Falls was'nt in its majestic best, and as later one of my friends commeneted on seeing the pictures that I could have well taken a picture of my bathroom shower instead, but the quiteness of the place was in stark contrast to the hustle-bustle of the Bangalore city life.











I sat there savouring the sweet succes of proving myself that I happened to be game enough to travel alone.

It was one of those places where you realize, that for a change your mobile phone is just an useless weight in your pockets, and the world-wide-web is yet to grasp you in. All the highly advanced communication equipments fail in trying to place a call to you, and put their hands up and say 'I Cant!' and return an 'unreachable' message instead. There happens to a distance of 300 odd kms between you and your official address. You realize that the world is not so small after all and there's enough room for you to get lost. Working for a telecommunication giant, such kind of realizations do set in rarely.


I looked for a place to freshen myself up, but I only found a small restaurant to do the needful. So i skipped freshing up, instead attended my nature's call ( here they offer you paid coupes to do that work, with enough space to wriggle oneself in, and a tap that will make you an ardent/fervant admirer of the 'Save Water' campaign! ).
I got hold of a guide ( frankly, it was the otherwise! ), who agreed to show me some more spots for about a sum of Rs150/- in an auto, which I later found I could well have walked. He took me for a ride (quite literally!), and made me saw the Jog falls in its different avatars ( read Raja, Rani, Rocket ), the different names given to different falls which together comprise of the Jog falls.

It was only later that I found that there were regular steps which will take you to the bottom of the falls, but I decided to be content with what the top of the waterfall had to offer, which comprised of a small lake (kind-of), and a spine-chilling view of the water rushing down from the top to all the way down for the brave-hearts to venture into. I found people taking a dip into the water, and could not stop myself cooling my heels ( again, quite literally! ) in the water.

Life in EastManColor....Hampi unplugged...

Forbidden Thought...

Resource number 160515, sitting in cubicle number 2FA065, and utilizing resource number 12221, suddenly has a thought. Not a thought about the ongoing project though, and he seems quite confused for a moment, if all all he is to allow such non-project thought to creep in his mind during the project hours. Debating on the topic a bit, at last he allows the thoughts to settle in, and unsettle his project activities ( Am not sure as to why he at all debates on the topic, as on all the previous occasions, the post debate outcome had been similar ). He looks out of the big window by his side, which he often does and gets reminded that a bigger world exists outside his cubicle, flashes up a mysterious smile indicating he is allowing the forbidden thoughts to seep in and slowly walks out of the window ( he does this mentally, as his cubicle happens to be in the first floor ).
We present to you the images that keep coming back in his mind from the Coorg trip which he had undertaken in one cool August morning (Aug 15, Friday ) in 2008.

My World...My Cubicle...!!! Part - I

With the advent of modern technology, the World has come to be a verrrry small place. And perhaps working for a telecommunication giant has made my World even smaller. It has shrinked to a 1/5th of a cubicle!! People say i am lucky, and i do belive them too. They say that, finding your World in a cubicle in this time(read recession!!) is better than, trying to build up your scattered World all by your own. In the process of being 'Bangalored' and staying here for a year, have come across a variety of characters. Have seen people lose their jobs one fine morning, and have also seen people weary of the struggle for getting some work, giving up and returning back home. I on my part can only pray for such soals, but selfless prayers are very hard to come by, so i have given up on them.

It has no utility.....Sir!!!

With Bangalore lanes and by lanes becoming more crowed with every passing day, the only road which I enjoy taking often is the 'memory lane'. After much consideration I have unearthed a general trend, that - among all the times when I go for a long drive into the 'memory lane', my office hours happen to give me the most fulfilling experiences. Taking into consideration this general trend, and in my search of whether this happens to be a general law applicable for every human being, am in the extensive process of testing this general trend, and so indulging in it often, but strictly for testing purposes.
In one such 'Test Case' scenario, when I was driving past my primary school, I found it was all decked up for the Annual Exhibition that was taking place then. I remembered of a very tragic incident which happened in that exhibition, and that’s the reason why this particular event, among all the numerous events that took place in our school, was etched in my 'memory lane' as a speed-breaker.
I was then in standard four or maybe five...don’t remember exactly. It was an exhibition which had seen me participating in a number of events. My solo participation included in the 'Physics' department, where I had built a Windmill. That was how it was officially. Unofficially, it was totally the brainchild of my brother. The whole model consisted of a Windmill, and a hut in which a bulb glowed, as Windmill rotated.
My other project happened to be in 'History'. Where 11 people came together to make Harappa-Mohenjo-Daro Civilizations come to life. We brought mud from the Ganges, which happened to be nearby, and made a mess of the area which was allocated to us for that purpose. Some people came up with the brilliant idea of burning the whole model, so that it will get an authentic look, but our teachers sensed where we were heading to, and threw us out of the arena.
People poured in the next afternoon, mostly relatives of the students, who took part in the exhibition. They were really impressed seeing their lads come up with wonderful science projects. Everybody was in praise of my model, and thought me as a good contender for the first slot. I on my part explained to anybody and everybody who passed by, regardless whether they showed an interest in my model - "Windmill....air flows....rotates.....wind energy....electricity generated....look inside hut....bulb glows" - this followed a broad smile, reflecting a sense of achievement. Hours passed, until it was evening. Suddenly news came in that the judges had arrived. They had a car break down on-way, and that made them late. Anyways, I prepared to take them on, with all the confidence that I had gathered from the numerous praises that I got for my model earlier.
Finally, the judges arrived. Actually, he was only one person. With a lean frame, spectacled, and having a shining bald head, having traces of past flowing hairs on them, he looked every bit the person, whom I would not at least associate with being a judge. He had a frowning face, probably because of the car breakdown. I summoned every bit of confidence that I had gather throughout the day and repeated the well rehearsed lines. He looked a tad impressed. I was in the mood of repeating my lines once more, but saw him intently gazing at the model. So I stopped, and gave them their moment of privacy. Then he looked up to me, and asked, "What is its utility?” UTILITY!!! The bomb was dropped! I hadn’t heard the term before. I searched all through my brain, what that term meant, but could come up with none. I looked here and there but could find nobody who could provide me with the answer. I looked at the judge, who was looking at me then, with an expectant face. In my desperation to answer, I blurted out, "It has no utility...Sir!” He looked horrified at my answer. He stared at me with the intense concentration, which I had only once found in the eyes of my Biology teacher, when she was studying the model of a dinosaur which we had found while on a visit to Science City. Then slowly and steadily, he moved on, his face still that of a person who had just survived a storm.
That year, I still won a prize. Better, we won a prize. It was for the Harappa-Mohenjo-Daro model that we created.
It's another story that we hardly had any contenders up there.

Extra Ordinary Story of an Ordinary IT Guy

The clock said as 5:59 am, and here i was wide awake and smiling. Confused ?? Me too. While on the usual weekdays, I hate opening my eyes even after the clock alarm goes on announcing it as 6:00 am, today's a whole lot different. I can feel something is different today.I can smell victory in this chilled morning air of Bangalore. These two days - Saturday and Sunday, I win comprehensively. Still more confused ?? Bear for a while more.....will explain. But for the moment there's some unfinished task in hand.
There !!! I can hear it !!! The sound increasing with every passing moment. I think of laughing out load, and doing a jig, but spare a thought for my roommate who is still sleeping and refrain from doing so. Poor chap !!! He does not even know, that history is being re-written with every passing moment ! Well, moving away from such trivial issues, I concentrate on the job in hand. I move slowly, waiting for the right moment to strike. There it is, in my full view, oblivious of the fact, that fate has different plans for it today. With its wailing at it's peak, i pounce on to it, as a hungry tiger pounces on its prey. With one swift stoke i press on the 'Stop Alarm' button. Done. The hunter is hunted today.
Mental asylum ?? If you are thinking that, you are dead wrong. Welcome to the extra-ordinary morning of an ordinary IT guy. For full five days, my alarm decides when i should wake up. It dictates me, and invades my freedom. I full five days, i keep mum about all the unfair treatment meted out to me, just waiting for my chance. I believe in my heart, that after every pitch black night, there comes a bright morning. And it comes, and how !! Today, i am the king. I savour the sweet aroma of victory, which happens to be in the air, for a while. I decide the timings today, not the mean, heartless, dominating machine, which takes away a bit of independence from my life, everyday. I settle my whole week's scores in the two days that I get. Having settled my scores back, I feel a little tired. All my energy which i had kept for this specific moment seems spent. I pull the sheet and go off for yet another round of sleep. This time knowing fully well, that it would be more fulfilling.