Abstract Angles

Lest this year go without a post

2013-12-31T22:47:00.001+05:30

Random musings
- Going to church doesn't make one holy
- Jesus had something to say about the Pharisees. I wonder how many churches would want to talk about that.
- At the end, the show does not matter
- some things don't change
- Oh, the things we deem important ...
- Everything can change. Everything.
- Most people think of you only when they want something

2012-12-10T15:31:00.001+05:30

“If you buy things that you do not need, you may soon have to sell things you need”

“Do not invest what is left after spending, instead spend after you save/invest”

[source]

The Boat

2012-09-15T22:33:00.001+05:30

From Marina Beach, Chennai

A man is sitting on his porch as flood waters rise. A woman floats by in a boat, asking if the man needs help. "No, thank you," says the man, "I'm trusting in the Lord." The waters rise higher, sending the man upstairs. A raft full of people floats by his second story window. "Get in," they say, "there's plenty of room." "No thanks," says the man, "I'm trusting in the Lord." The flood waters keep rising, pushing the man up to the roof. A helicopter swoops in, lowering its ladder for the man. "Thanks anyway," shouts the man, "I'm trusting in the Lord." Finally, the man is swept away in the torrent and drowns. At the gates of Heaven, the man asks God, "Why didn't you save me?" "What do you mean?'' replies God, "I sent two boats and a helicopter."

2012-09-15T22:33:00.000+05:30

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.
Proverbs 21:20

From here

Better

2012-05-11T19:34:00.000+05:30

From Random Moments

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32

Memories from the Past

2012-05-06T19:33:00.001+05:30

From Random Moments

Sometime last week, while I came down one morning, I found this half-eaten almond fruit. It's been a really long time since I found one - and, there was a time when I used to go scouting for these first thing in the morning!

I was in school, my grandma was still with us and we were in this small town called Palayamkottai. We lived in a huge house with an equally huge garden and, every summer we'd find a bunch of these half-eaten fruits dropped by bats.

I think it was Grandma who introduced me to the nuts - it was a lot of effort to crack the shell - But, we loved the nuts! it became a routine - for me to walk around the garden, looking for these fruits, early in the morning. With that day's find, me and Grandma would sit in our backyard, cracking them up using a stone or a hammer - trying hard not to reduce the nut to a pulp! And, then share the spoils between the two of us! :)

Great days! And, no, I didn't crack this one - I left it for some kid to find!

Shrinking and Growing

2012-03-10T13:48:00.002+05:30

From Random Moments

It's been a long time since I got a pen drive - and, yes, I've seen that really tiny 8gig one too... But, when I decided to buy two and both of them, 16 gig each, turned out to be sooo tiny.... amazing technology, I say!

Time

2012-02-12T02:32:00.000+05:30

"Never say that you have no time.
On the whole it is those who are busiest who can make time for yet more,
and those who have more leisure time who refuse to do something when asked.
What we lack is not time, but heart."
- Henri Boulard

Don't Give Up

2011-10-24T17:37:00.000+05:30

"Don't give up on love and don't ever settle for less"

A Song and a Kind Word

2011-10-12T21:55:00.000+05:30

From San Francisco, 2010

We met by chance 5 years ago - it feels like I've known you forever.
To sing and praise was your life. You always brought joy along.
Life is fleeting, you said. But, I thought you'd be around writing songs forever.

You were the irreverent saint I knew.

The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always a tomorrow. Today I am blessed. -- Maya Angelou

"Isis death has been a lesson in the shortness of life and the importance of giving each moment the best tail wagging possible. Sometimes we learn the value of unconditional love only when it is gone. Isis died of a heart attack. Isis is in the past and will never be back. We have only one life to live to the fullest every moment."

"...one person has to love first da, if the other likes being loved unconditionally by the person loving him or her, the relationship has hope."

"Just felt like dropping you a line to tell you that you are precious. "

You always had A song and a kind word.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. You will be missed.

Arul Ta'fxkz Baliah - http://www.tafxkz.info/

Layers

2011-10-10T17:39:00.000+05:30

There are so many layers in this country - some we see and others we don't. In fact, I think we all go through a couple of layers - but, there are many more beyond, on either side of the spectrum.

What's it like to spend your day under a flyover watching fancy cars and bikes go by? Would you know the difference from one kind to another? Or, what's it like to never have to get on a bus or the local train - to be escorted everywhere?

Sound of Silence

2011-06-17T22:42:00.000+05:30

From Lal Bagh, Bangalore

A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared

From Jan 2009 - Flower show at Lal Bagh

Two Colors

2011-06-16T21:10:00.000+05:30

From Jurong Bird Park

When I was beginning to wonder what's going on, someone came by and said "...thanks to you". Thank You, my friend! You didn't know what that meant to me this quiet day.

The Grape Story

2011-06-16T21:04:00.000+05:30

I was heading home (the real home in Chennai) last evening. I'd gotten to the railway station at Secunderabad about half hour early and decided to walk around a bit looking for something to take home before I got into the station. I got to this lane full of vendors selling fruits - sapotas, oranges, and a lot of grapes around.

While I was buying this and that without thinking twice, there came a lady asking if she could get some grapes for a couple of Rupees - you know, the fallen ones that are sold cheaper. She was bargaining for them.

Life ain't fair!

Written on April 15, 2011

In my life - A teeny weeny moment

2011-01-11T14:32:00.000+05:30

Left work at 7:30pm - and was in the cab heading home. While we were waiting at the exit to get out of our little campus, there was a pretty little sight that lifted up my spirits. You see, I haven't been all that well of late. As I wearily waited for the half hour ride home, hoping we don't get stuck in massive traffic, I saw this nice mango tree we've got in front of our building - a branch full of flowers lit by the floodlight beneath it.... just like a Christmas tree full of stars :)

Peaks

2010-12-08T02:08:00.000+05:30

From San Francisco, 2010

They forget they see only the peaks

Dublin

2010-10-29T01:12:00.000+05:30

Here's a long due post on my short visit to Dublin. Most of the time was spent at work (and I'll not talk about that here). Instead, here's the world outside work!

To say, "Dublin is a beautiful city" is an understatement - Dublin is colorful, green, beautiful and amazing and much, much more :) One the first day, I went for a walk around the city - from Grand Canal to Grafton and Stephen's Green.

From Dublin, Ireland

The beautiful buildings and the colorful doors

From Dublin, Ireland

And, of course, the spire

From Dublin, Ireland

So, I walked miles and miles along the Grand canal and the Liffey river in beautiful Dublin - Too bad I had just 2 weeks to spend there. I hope I'll see you again, Dublin :)

The other side of Dasara

2010-10-22T18:00:00.000+05:30

Dasara - also written as Dussehra - is celebrated with much fanfare in a lot of places. One of them is Mysore - and, for the first time, I decided to travel to a really crowded place.

From Mysore

And, was it crowded?! Good heavens - it was probably one of the most crowded events I've ever been to - people going in every direction all the time and climbing on anything that would give them a good view of the procession!

More than the procession, I found the festive atmosphere, the people and all that was going on around pretty interesting. Needless to say, it was a typical crazily festive day! :)

Even as we walked towards the Mysore Palace, the roads were closed for traffic and there were people everywhere. After getting jostled mightily :( by the crowds, we found our spot by a tonga (horse-drawn cart).

From Mysore

Just looking around, you can see the amazing interest in the procession - much more than I'd anticipated. Much wilder than just passing interest :) People were everywhere - on trees, on pillars and posts, on ornamental entrances and barricades. There wasn't a single structure standing without a man standing on it!

From Mysore

There was a thief who got thrashed, people falling off from the barricades (and getting on them again) all the time, moving here and there, kids on shoulders, cameras held above... all in all, it was great fun.

Where the waves never stop...

2010-05-16T18:44:00.000+05:30

From Gokarna V2

Gokarna -- it is one of those places I've been to and would love to go again.

The waves, the relatively clean and quiet beaches, the sunset over the water, the beach, the sea life - it is quite the opposite of a typical Chennai beach! I've seen fishes of kinds (and jelly fishes too). I've seen beautiful stones and rocks - eroded by the sea and wind - leaving beautiful sculptures. I've had yummy food in those shacks where they let you hang around forever - yummy food facing the sea!

What more can I ask for? You could spend days walking around those beaches and find something new each day!

How to reach: Karwar is the nearest town. Any bus to Goa (from Hyderabad or Bangalore) should get you to Karwar. You could also get to Hubli and find your way to Karwar from there.

Red and Green

2010-05-02T20:36:00.000+05:30

From Koraput Passenger

One of the best trips I ever did was the train ride to Koraput, Orissa. The land was greener than I expected it to be and the landscape was stunningly beautiful. This picture was taken from the train - somewhere between Koraput and Vishakapatnam.

The land was being prepared for the next crop - resulting in vastness of red. The lone tree stands in the the middle of the vastness that would soon turn green. The tiny dots of people at work early in the morning, the red and green, and the vastness - they all leave a memory not easily forgotten.

It was an amazing experience to see breath-taking beauty each time I looked out of that window.

The Epic birthday wish

2010-04-30T03:55:00.000+05:30

From Randomness

Here's the story:
My friend calls at 12:08 am -- I was sleeping, of course!

I wake up at 8am - and call him. No luck! He doesn't take the call.

Two hours later, I come back to our room to find a missed call - I call back again... and no luck again.

Post lunch, once more, I find a missed call and... you guessed it! I called again! And, no luck again!

This went on and on... all day long!

At 10:30 pm I was in bed, checking the messages - and, I got a call; he said "Don't say another word! Let me tell you what I've been trying to say for the past 22 hours....Happy Birthday loos!!"

Qualifies for the epic-est b'day wish ever! :D

2009 - The year that was

2010-02-26T01:50:00.000+05:30

Coorg. Hampi. Koraput. Wayanad. Tests. OT. exams. Study leave. medicines. new place. rock. metal. e71. assignments. hyderabad-chennai-hyderabad. love. hospital. loss. shopping. gifts. family. friends. gained. lost.

void.

Courtesan's Street, Hampi

2009-12-23T18:35:00.000+05:30

From Hampi V2

Said to have been the liveliest of all streets in Hampi, the Courtesans' Street lies in front of the Achyuta Raya's Temple - barely seen at the far end of the picture.

We, quite literally, stumbled upon this place after a day of touristy sight-seeing. We had seen the places every tourist saw - the temples, the ruins, etc., and we decided to walk around Hampi. We walked along the river, saw another set of ruins and climbed the hill. On the other side, lay the vast expanse seen here.

Of all the ruins, this was the most natural - devoid of renovations and modern props. The only place in Hampi where I felt the age of the place.

The Trip to the Fall

2009-11-23T20:42:00.000+05:30

It's been a year since my trip to Dudhsagar, Goa last year and here's a story often told but not written so far; a story I wished to forget but one that remains etched in memory. I made a passing mention of this in the previous post - here's the full story.

We had decided to go to Dudhsagar the next morning - but, when I got up the following day, I didn't feel like getting out at 5am - so, we decided to postpone the trip. But then, when I got up at 7am, I wanted to give it a try. And so, thanks to me, we left 2 hours late and reached Colem. It was going very well - we'd been helped by one of the passers by - he'd given us very specific directions on how to reach the waterfalls.

Initially, it was quite scary to ride along the railway track - we've never done this before and Amir was hoping the bike doesn't give us any trouble till we get out. We were quite cautious along the railway track. But, once we reached the mud track, I relaxed. I took my D80 out of my bag and wanted to take pictures as we rode along the way. I have to mention, this was against my friend's word of caution to leave the camera inside and hold on to the bike. Being the smart kid I am, I refused. We'd have gone a bit further, when he was trying to negotiate an upward slope, my feet touched the ground, and before I knew it, I was trying to get on my feet - I was on the ground, holding my camera high up in the air. And, the first thing I said was "I think I am bleeding."

I had banged my head on the ground. When my friend, Amir, had a look - he freaked.

To say 'he freaked' is an understatement - and quite understandably so. Here we were, in the middle of the jungle - we'd seen no one else on our way - and he had someone with blood flowing from her head. At that time, I didn't know how bad I'd hurt myself. I thought he was getting worried for no good reason. Of course, until much later, I won't know. When he suggested we head back, I insisted on going ahead. After all, we were far into the jungle - why return without reaching the waterfall! And, that's what we did.
We reached the end of the road - and there's no way you can see the waterfall. I didn't even know in which direction it was. You walk down a couple of steps (depending on the water level) and cross the stream to reach a small patch of land in the middle. You cross again and again - before you reach the rocks right in front of the waterfall.

After resting there for a while, we decided to head back - thankfully, we made our way out without another adventure.Only when we were on the main road did I realise how bad I was hurt. We walked into the first hospital we found - ESI refused to treat without the card. Onto the next hospital and I got stitched up - my first stitches as far as I can remember!

What we call

2009-11-22T19:53:00.000+05:30

Here's another hilarious story from my kadubari friend.

Dude goes to Abu Dhabi for an on-site assignment - he was planning to stay for a month and was stuck for 6 months. Now, that's a different story. While in Abu Dhabi, one fine day, he goes to give a demo to their clients - job's done, feedback taken, AIs noted, etc., and it is time to return. With a 1.5 hour ride ahead, he wanted to find a washroom.

So, he asks the translator "Where can I find a washroom?" The bewildered translator asks "What's that?" And, the dude explains ... to which the translator says "Oh, that one!! we call it.... ummm..... latrine"