Book Review : The Red Carpet by Lavanya Sankaran

Background : I happened to read about this book - Red Carpet by Lavanya Sankaran when I was reading some travel book by Jet Airways while on a flight from Delhi to Bengaluru. It said it was a book of stories set in Bangalore involving characters from the city. It got me interested. Till then, I had ordered books online only through Flipkart.com. This time, I wanted to try a different site. Bengaluru's well known book house, Blossom has an online store. I ordered the book choosing the option of cash-on-delivery. Apart from trying a different site, another important aspect which made me choose Blossom was the discount on offer which was 20%. Flipkart was offering 10%. But the book did not arrive even after 2 weeks from Blossom and there was no reply to my mails asking the status. At last, I sent one more mail saying that I am cancelling the order; no reply to that also. Back to Flipkart - order delivered in 2 days!

Kyathadevara Gudi or K Gudi Trip

Kyathadevara Gudi or K Gudi Trip was an exciting one. Spending the night in the forest is amazing. It was the month of July in 2011. On July 22, 2011 seven of us left Bangalore early in the morning. After passing via Mysore, the last 50 km stretch to K Gudi was horrible as the road was in bad shape and we were driving uphill!

K Gudi Wilderness Camp : It was past noon when we reached K Gudi and we had spotted the first animal in the forest already, an elephant. No no, it was not a wild elephant but a tamed one tied to a tree! K Gudi wilderness camp is at a perfect location in B R Hills (in Kannada Biligiri Rangana Betta) overlooking the landscape down! Why the name K Gudi - there is a small temple Kyathadevara Gudi built by Maharaja of Mysore! Soon after getting refreshed and having our lunch, we roamed around the K Gudi camp.

Tamed elephants, K Gudi

Deers, Elephants and Animals on the board! Apart from the elephants which you can find in the camp all the time, you also find spotted deers roaming freely in the area. Not afraid of human settlements in the area, watching deers up close is such an amazing experience. At the Jungle Lodges and Resorts office, in a white board names of the animals spotted on safari during last few days will be listed. We found just 2 days back, a tiger was spotted and needless to say, we were excited!

Barking Deer

Safari and Wild Elephants : At about 3 30 pm, we went on a safari into the forest. This was my first safari and thrilling it was. Just before entering the forest we could spot Soliga tribe colonies. Moving further ahead, we could spot herd of barking deers. Then, a herd of spotted deers. This was an usual sight in our journey for an hour or so. It was getting frustrated and at the same time, we were nearing a pond where another jeep carrying tourists had been parked. Something special to be sighted for sure.

Spotted deers in K Gudi

We went quiet sensing the situation. Now at the other end of the pond, some black thing moving - was it a rock or an animal? Revelation was a minute away - the black shape grew bigger as it neared the pond! Alas - a wild elephant! No, no - not just one. Three of them, one being a baby elephant. First reaction from our camp was - ugly elephants! Yes - they were ugly with a big belly. Not at all like the ones in Mysore Dasara procession. Back to the action - now the three were getting down to water. Next scene - they splashing water. Pouring water was done by one up above also - it was raining! We watched the scene for about half an hour or so. Once the elephants disappeared in the greens, we started our vehicles.

Wild elephant, K Gudi

Morning Safari : The next day we went on a safari in the morning at about 6 am. This time, with misty surroundings, it was getting even more difficult to spot the wild animals. Did we spot any? Of course - not the special ones - only barking and spotted deers.

Machan, K Gudi

Waiting at the machan : After having breakfast, we went on trekking in the forest. Well, there was a guide (from the Soliga tribe) to show us the right routes. We went to machan located near a big pond, waiting for wild animals which could come to quench their thirst! As luck would have it, none of the animals were interested in drinking water there!

Pond near the machan, K Gudi

Camp fire and Scorpion : That day night, a camp fire was set up and we seven gathered around. It was an awesome setting middle of the forest and that too in high altitudes. One incident is memorable here. As we were around the camp fire for warmth, some other creatures found it warming too! One of us said to me that some small creature is moving here(kuch keeda hai idhar). I spotted and it was a scorpion and I shouted - scorpion, scorpion. Every one jumped from their chairs except for the guy who informed me of the keeda leaving everybody wondering why. Then somebody screamed - abe bichchu hai. Now it was his turn to get scared and jump out of the chair!

Scorpion which came to the campfire

Trails and Walks : Trails leading to the Jungle lodges huts form nice walkways here. Rocks scattered in the surroundings provided ample space for our discussions or rather chit chats. Next day we were on our way back to Bangalore only to stop to admire the beauty of B R hills.

Kyathadevara Gudi(K Gudi Temple)

B R Hills

Jungle Lodges & Resorts huts, K Gudi

Wild elephants, K Gudi

A Village Called Heggodu

Heggodu is a small village 10 kms away from Sagara  in Shivamogga district in Karnataka. It is known for its cultural activities through organization called Ninasam - which stands for Nilakanteshwara Natyaseva Samgha. It conducts a culture course every year in the month of October. For details on the same, please click here.

Here are some of the photos from the Ninasam, Heggodu and Culture workshop held in October 2011.

Shivarama Karantha Rangamandira, Heggodu

Slide.com is shutting down on March 6, 2012

Slide.com the photo sharing website is shutting down on March 6, 2012. I started using slide.com for my blog for sharing the photos 5 years ago in 2007. Google acquired slide.com on August 6, 2010 for $182 million. But an year later, on August 26, 2011 Google announced that it is shutting down slide.com.

How to check your PF balance online?

Steps to check your Provident Fund(PF) balance online.

• Go to http://www.epfindia.com/MembBal.html
• Click on the link - Click here to know the balance - at the end of the page.
• In the next link, select the PF office state from the drop down menu
• Once you select the state, select your EPFO office. This will take you to the next page.
• This page 'Member Balance Information' has provision for the entry of your PF account number, your name (as it appears on EPF slip) and your mobile number
• Instructions for entering the PF number :
• Assume you Your PF Number is KN/XXXXX/YYYYY (i.e from Karnataka)
• Then  in Employee PF Account Number field (which has 5 boxes with first 2 filled), enter XXXXX in the third box and leave the fourth box empty
• In the 5th box enter YYYYY
• Enter your name as it appears in your old PF slips
• Enter your mobile number
• Check the I Agree check box and click Submit button
• After a while you get a SMS on your mobile mentioning your PF balance. There will be 2 parts in it - EE amount and ER amount - EE is the amount contributed by the Employee and ER is the amount contributed by the Employer.

Learn Tulu Online : Part 8 - Online Tulu Language Resources

Thought of providing my readers with resources regarding Tulu language available online. Hope you will able to make good use of them.

Tulu Dictionary : Following link on www.tuluworld.org provides you to look for meanings for Tulu words. Key in transliterated tulu word in English in the search box to find the meaning. What more; if you are unsure of the word, the tool gives suggestions on the probable word too! Meanings are provided in English as well as in Kannada.

Tulu Grammar Book : This link from openlibrary.org opens up a Tulu grammar book for you. Written by Rev J Brigel and published by C Stolz (of Basel Mission Book and Tract Depository) in 1872, this wonderfully researched book is very useful for those who are serious about knowing about the ancient language. It also has audio feature, which is of great help but sometimes you may not get exact pronunciation as Tuluvas speak.

Tulu Studies : This is a blog with research findings in Tulu culture, words, place names. Very useful if you are into culture studies.

Trip to Melukote Temples, Rayagopura

Back from KRS backwaters we were at Mysore at about 3 pm that day. We had our lunch at the popular Dasaprakash hotel in Mysore. We also noticed that it is popular among foreign tourists too as we found many foreigners at the tables there. Lunch we must say was good.

Temple pond in Melukote

Melukote : Our next stop was Melukote about 50 kms from Mysore. It took us about an hour or so to reach Melukote. The temple town which is a center for Srivaishnava sect is famous for 2 temples - Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple at the hilltop and Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple. When you enter Melukote first thing you will notice is the large temple pond or pushkarini or kalyani. Numerous Kannada films were shot in this location. Remember the Nadheem Dheem Thana song from Gaalipata?

Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple, Melukote

Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple : After parking our four wheeler near the pond, we went uphill to see the Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple. Narasimha is one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu. From the hilltop you get a beautiful bird's view of the Melukote town. People were waiting for the doors of the temple to be open for the evening pooja. We waited too, though rest three in our group were reluctant to wait. The temple premises is full of notorious monkeys. So, beware of them! Meanwhile, I purchased a CD of Kannada folk songs inside the temple premises. But later I realized that it was almost double the prize as shopkeeper had pasted a different price sticker. I was surprised that in a religious place like Melukote, people do such fraud!

Raya Gopura, Melukote

Raya Gopura : As we did not have much time in the day and it was getting dark, we could not visit the Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple (but got a glimpse of it on our way) and went straightly to Raya Gopura which is famous with the film folks. If you remember the barso re song from Hindi movie - Guru, it was shot here. It is an incomplete temple structure with four rising pillars. 

House of Pu Ti Narasimhachar

House of Pu Ti Narasimhachar : In Melukote, you will also find the house of great Kannada poet - Pu Ti Narasimhachar. It was beyond the visiting hours of the house. So, we missed chance visit the memories of Pu Ti Na.

Suset at Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple, Melukote

Rayagopura, Melukote

Raya Gopura, Melukote

Srirangapatna, Meenakshipura(KRS Backwaters), Mysore

It was an unplanned or rather over-planned trip. After shortlisting many locations we finally nailed down  Mysore and nearby places for a weekend trip. Starting from Bangalore on Friday evening(2nd December 2011), four of us had our evening snacks at Shivalli MTR (near Channapatna) skipping the usual destination - Kamath Lokaruchi(near Ramanagara) :) Our next stop was our chosen resort - Young Island Resort near Srirangapatna. One nice thing about this resort is river Kaveri flows along its border!

River Kaveri near Young Island resort, Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna and Mysore : After finishing our lunch at the resort, we headed towards Mysore at about 9 30 pm. After reaching Mysore we made some unsuccessful attempts at capturing the Mysore palace at night, though only few lights were lit (not elaborate like at the time of Dasara).

Statue of Chamaraja Wodeyar, Mysore

Meenakshipura or KRS Backwaters : Next morning, one of us suggested instead of going to KRS(Krishna Raja Sagara, which was in our initial plan), why can't we explore KRS backwaters? Bingo, everyone agreed! Known also as Meenakshipura, nobody seemed to recognize that name when we asked for directions. Anyway, when we reached Meenakshipuram or KRS backwaters we had spent considerable amount time and fuel, thanks to the road guides who did not know the right route! 

Coracles parked in Meenakshipura shores

Coracle Ride : Soon after reaching Meenakshipura, coracles kept on the shore caught our eyes. Initial inquiry about a ride yielded negative response. Then we were asked to go the colony nearby to see if anybody can drive. We found one guy but the problem was he knew only Tamil and also had stammering problem. An elderly person who was speaking Kannada advised us not to move from our places when were in the coracle since if we move then there is a danger of coracle turning upside down. When we were on board other than the usual chit chat, we had the opportunity to take close shots of birds resting on rocks. On the whole, it is good place to visit if you don't mind the unclean shores!

Crane

Birds on the rock

Few more birds

Kanpur Visit : Few Observations

In December 2011, I happened to visit Kanpur. This trip was of short duration of about 2 days. Incidentally, this was my first visit to northern part of India. Here are few observations on the trip.

Lucknow Airport

Lucknow Airport : Though Kanpur has an airport, we were told to book a flight to Lucknow since flights to Kanpur usually get cancelled at the last minute. Lucknow has a small airport and a chaotic one too! Flight delays are very common. 

Ganga Bridge, near Kanpur

Leather Industry : Kanpur is famous for its leather industry. Our driver was showing us numerous factories on our way from Lucknow airport to Kanpur. Though we guys went to the local bazaar for buying leather goods but we did not buy much as we were not sure of the right prices for the items! Bargain like in any part of India, works here too! On the negative side, leather industry has been infamous for polluting river Ganga.

Kanpur City

Parking in the middle of the road : If we see parking of vehicles on either sides of the road in Bangalore, in Kanpur it is entirely different. We see vehicles parked right in the middle of the road. Well, this applies to commercial streets only(just like S P Road of Bangalore)!

Makhan Vendor

 Motichoor Laddu and Makhan : One thing everyone in the trip savoured and friends back in Bangalore wanted us to bring was Motichoor Laddu! Believed to be a favorite food of Lord Ganesha, motichoor laddus are flavor of this region. Needless to say we guys relished the taste. Also, there were roadside vendors selling special type of makhans, which match to the taste of best of ice creams! You need to taste it to believe this!

Peacock in IIT Kanpur campus

 IIT Kanpur : IIT Kanpur has a vast and green campus 15 kms away from city. It is one the first IITs to be established. Peacocks are easily spotted here and you can watch them roaming in the campus freely. Institute has a tennis court and a football ground. With green cover all over, it is the perfect place to study I thought!

Kanpur getting modern

Old city getting modern : Though majority of the buildings in the city were old, Kanpur is getting modern with glass buildings. Malls are making their way. One of the roads is named Mall Road, not sure whether it is because of the mall located there!

Mall in mall road, Kanpur

St Mary's Island, Malpe, Udupi, Karnataka

Below are the photos of St.Mary's Island off Malpe coast in Udupi district in Karnataka. I visited the place in April 2010. 

Boat carrying tourists to St.Mary's Island from Malpe harbour

Nearing St.Mary's Island, Malpe

Coconut palms in St.Mary's Island

St.Mary's Island Beach

Basaltic Rock formation in St.Mary's Island

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St.Mary's Island

Basaltic Rocks, St.Mary's Island

View of St.Mary's Island, Malpe

The Monk As Man Book Review

We in India have heard, read about Swami Vivekananda and his genius since childhood. Have you ever wondered about - how was he as a person, what hardships he had to face in his life, the food he loved, did he face any health issues? If this part of Swamiji's life interests you then you need to read Shankar's book - The Monk As Man. Apart from these facts, I also found reasons why Swami Vivekananda was accepted wholeheartedly by the people in US and Europe. Many of them became his admirers and some disciples.

About the book : The Monk As Man - the unknown life of Swami Vivekananda explores the facts of Swamiji's life which are hitherto unknown to many readers. The book is divided into 5 chapters - A Monk and His Mother, Emperor, Monk and Cook in One, The Monk Who Loved Tea, Swamiji's Health and Thirty-nine Years, Five Months and Twenty-four Days. Mani Shankar Mukherjee better known as Shankar is a popular name in Bengal literature. Original book written in Bengali by him has sold over one lakh copies.

Family Feuds/Legal Battles : Narendranath Dutta(12 January 1863 - 4 July 1902) was born in a wealthy Bengali family. But as fate would have it, family lost everything in legal suits. Litigations involving his mother Bhubaneshwari Dasi and coparceners went on for several years(1880 to 1902) till Swamiji's last days. This was constant source of worry for Swami Vivekananda. This is a major aspect of his life covered in this book. Also, though Swamiji had renounced his familial ties he continued to support his family thus shouldering his responsibilities. 

Source of Inspiration : It would be surprising to know that Swami Vivekananda, who is well known for his eloquent speeches and powerful writing in English, scored only 47 out of 100 in English in entrance examination, 46 in First Arts Standard and 56 in Bachelor of Arts. This should serve as a great source of inspiration for those who get disheartened by their poor marks in examinations. At least they should realize that they have to face bigger examination called life.

Bengali Cuisine : If you are alien to Bengali cuisine, this book presents glimpses of the same. Reader is introduced to variety of Bengali dishes. Only downside here is that if you are unfamiliar of these dishes, then it is difficult to taste its flavour in this writing. One of Swami Vivekananda's favourite snack in Kachuri. But I could not make anything of this food inspite of its description given in English. You would be delighted to know that Swamiji was an excellent cook too. He used to cook for his disciples in India and abroad. Also, he used to experiment with Indian and western cuisines. This apart, his take on the type of food Indians should have to keep themselves fit and healthy keeps readers glued. After reading the chapter on food and Vivekananda, I felt  elated about my love and perfectionist outlook towards food!

Swami Vivekananda and Tea : From the book, we also come to know that Swami Vivekananda was a prominent advocate of tea! Did you know that there are 5 common words for tea in Sanskrit - shleshwari, girivit, shyamaparni, atandri and kamalarasa. When municipality authorities increased taxes on the math stating that it was Narendranath Dutta's private garden house with tea being frequently served, Swamiji sued Bally municipality and won the case! Swami Vivekananda's insight into the use of tea in different nations forms an interesting read. He was of the opinion that tea should be had without adding milk.

Health Issues : Many people conclude that Swami Vivekananda was healthy and fit looking at the Chicago style posters (based on photograph by Thomas Harrison). But do you know that he suffered from insomnia or trouble in getting sleep? He also suffered from indigestion, gastroenteritis and other stomach ailments. He had lost vision in his right eye due to diabetes. He consulted doctors following various forms of medicine both in India and abroad. In spite of these health complications, Swamiji relentlessly worked towards promoting Vedanta and building the Ramakrishna Mission. But there are references where he emphasizes that he had overworked.

Universal Love : One prominent thing I noticed in this book about Vivekananda was his acceptance and love towards everybody. When he went to US and England, he treated everyone as his own. He learnt their customs, followed them, respected their culture and never got chauvinistic about his Indian origin and culture. Also, he was very objective in his approach. If he has to condemn something, he would do so irrespective its origin. I think this impartial approach, objective sense and universal acceptance is what made Swami Vivekananda so popular in the west and why he is revered even today.

Touching Last Lines : Last chapter had a great impact on me. It describes the day of Swami Vivekananda's death. In someway, it summarizes the whole life of Swamiji. I will not say much about this as  I think it is best read on your own. But 2 things I would like to mention here.
1. Once Sister Nivedita was asked to explain the difference between Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda, to which she answered that Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is the symbol of all that India has thought about for the past 5,000 years and Swami Vivekananda is the symbol of all that India will think for the next 1,500 years. How true, isn't it?
2. In a very prescient letter to Josephine Macleod, Swami Vivekananda gladly awaits his death having completed his duties and mentions - 'Behind my work was ambition, behind my love was personality, behind my purity was fear, behind my guidance the thrust of power! Now they are vanishing, and I drift. I come! Mother, I come!'
Needless to say my respect towards Swami Vivekananda grew even more after reading this and especially after that last few lines!

Repetitiveness: One thing about the book which annoyed me is its repetitiveness. I mean few incidents getting mentioned again and again. Though this is inevitable in some cases for getting readers reminded of the background, other times you feel it is avoidable.