Grand-izing all and sundry

This guy wrote a children's book and an albeit famous one and focussed on Native Indian people and their folk lores. For 10$ one can see his house, where he slept, his chest, his collections, his wife's sewing machine, her slippers, their rest room, etc etc. And of course one could take an audio tour to go around his house.

That guy helped his brother kill some outlaws and survived it. So we get to see the "intact" remains of the place where one of the good guys stayed in, the window he saw the fight from, the bed he slept in, and of course the shop from where this other photographer viewed it all. All this, with the pictures, audio tour, 3d movie, settings, mock shoot-outs and a newspaper for 20-30$

Then you get to see the art of coconut breaking, pig roasting in leaves in sand, how a performer enjoys his act as a king, his royal path where civilians are pushed aside, his laws, his wife, etc.
A song and dance affair with food in tow and reception at the entrance based on how much you pay. Flower garlands, coconut beads, shell necklaces, pictures, and the list goes on.

Do we appreciate the documenting ability, or are we too gullible and willing to empty our pockets for every person who is famous in every area we visit?

What if we did this form of documenting in India - what if with every Tipu Sultan and Shah Jahan, about 100 more king's lives and their living places were shown with audio tours to the denizens, rather than ruins of a Jahaz Mahal or a Hindola Mahal, where the hallways whisper a forgotten lore, and leave the rest to your imagination.

What if!!

Think every custom in every state showcased by the hotels and the cultural centers, wrapped around with grandeur and a dinner thrown in to the public for say 1000-2000Rs.

Imagine!!

Documentation - Where does it start and where does it end - do we fit in ? Benefit ? do we even like it or ridicule it ? or do we watch in awe as it all goes in, out, everywhere.

Food for thought on a glorious rainy Friday evening. Need a hot tea and plateful of pakoda to think it out further :-)

Revival - Part II ided by an aimless idling mind

1 year + few months odd is how long it took me to decide to pen something here, rather than access this page and go searching for foodie blogs.
So do I really have anything noteworthy to say in this blog !!

Sure - its an update on the changing world around me. Babies are on the way making everyone around wonder who is next in line. Volunteering still continues off and on though some KT's of the world feel no one else volunteers except them [:D]

The wishlist of trying sky-diving and para sailing is still intact - though river rafting is a no-no if you have non-english proficient people heading the raft. On second thoughts - sky diving can blind people supposedly so that will go into a "possiblilty" category than urge!!

Valley of the sun is still hot and making all wonder if there is a winter in the Az'ian dictionary. Fancy light rail stations are up all around, while the construction and rails on the road make the cars fly and lose some air. Driving - lets not go into that in case I get some honks!!

The urge to do up the apartment with a modernistic twist comes true finally with an added bonus of falling water:-)

Realized the dream of charcoal roast butta, embers flying off into the air and moonbeams playing off the water with the trees rustling in the background, and a log cabin (phew!! 2 gud to be true ?) in Minnesota. And with it came the accepting of the fact that despite the oh-so-pretty- sound of music-ish plains of Greer, its cabins are no match for the log cabin by the water!!

So the story of life continues and dreams of the perfect indo-chinese is still being perfected while bhindi-masala did pass the proof test :) amongst other things.

TBContd.

Mochi Mochi - Thank you blog.....

For
- Nothing better to do on a beautiful cloudy Friday afternoon
- re-initializing my RIP blog - found nothing better than a thank you note .... to all and sundry

Thank u GOD - ...............
..........
...........

for everything.....

Mochi Mochi - Thank you
Japenese squishy squishies ice creams - which just squish around till u dump it in your mouth. Tried the mango flavour - twas nice - though tearing and fighting with the covering ...didnt seem particularly enticing..

Thanks Nagi and Trader Joe, for giving us a chance for exploring food stuff never seen before :-) ...after the pistachio mousse...
No thanks for Krak boy - who swisheed and swirled and yewacked the mochi to its resting puddle in plastic. Poor mango!!

Thanks Vengy, for zimply fantabulous home-made tiramisu from some place in Mill Av. Its contesting with my Applebee's gooey Choc cake!!!! for prime position.........tough competition ...I must say....

Thanks Peter White - for "Dreamwalk"

Thanks to Vinod and the creators of this puzzle for this break from a 8-5 routine boring day...

http://freeweb.siol.net/danej/riverIQGame.swf

No thanks to Toshiba Laptops - they SUCK!!! ROYALLY

....

and the list shall continue when it shall.....

Tingle in thy name..

To all the awesome musicians out there.

Johnathan Butler, "Song for Elizabeth" + the conjuring of images of floating in space in blissful content==== TINGLY SENSATION !!!

Rick Braun, " Missing in Venice" + random images of Victorian paved streets with gas lamps casting dull halos of light selectively on the pavers==== TINGLY SENSATION!!!

What would one do without music .........

Its funny how some songs conjure a weird sensation thru one's body and leave ur hair all standing up, and wash one over with a multitude of emotions.

Whatever be the music w/ words, w/out words, western, hindi, carnatic, classical, instrumental, jazz, some songs just touch a little something inside and leaves one wondering why the song stayed on with them.

Thats when I wonder what life would be without music.

Indian ocean, "Torrent", "Melancholic Ecstacy ", "Village Damsel " for a desi twist.....

fantabulous....

So do discover your passion for music and tingle on...
:)

The sun switched its lights off......

and Manhattan shone on.....

Recollections from Brooklyn bridge.... watching barges in the water create ripples on the dazzling reflections of the concrete structures ablaze with light in the twilight.

Splendid - is how one would describe it - till you realize you fall short of words 'cos every minute reveals soemthing new about the city....
the haughty cyclists, the thronging of the streets with dogs and kids when the sun shines, the culinary delights....kaathi rolls.....the buildings, the universities...the people....fashion.....hmmm
too many sights and sounds to digest for a 3 - day trip.

So what does one do if there are too many options - one opts for figuring out why T-mobile signal sux on upper floors of a small 5' cube dorm room of my hostess...Ms. Amrita (kudos to her for making the space look lively and homely :) ) and then try the sampling method.

That works best for small trips I guess - where u get the feel of a city by using public transport and do the things a regular New Yorker would do ....

Sampling

1st day

included getting a subway pass, a map..
-finding the way to MOMA, roaming around and exploring the awesome zoom of my Canon S2IS,
-getting impressed with the urban street scape and also the landscaped museum court of MOMA.
- loving the helicopter suspended in the building
- walking out and roaming the shopping area (was it 5th ave?...amrita ...HELP!!!) and having hot tea at Rockefellar Center
- Union station and meeting Amrita for further explorations of the city.
- brooklyn bridge + Boom for live jazz music (latin jazz topped with tiramisu was the speciality of the day !!!) yummm
and of course meeting of 3 tucsonians in EAST COAST!!! Good times!!!

FF to 2nd day

-bfast of bagels frozen pancakes...oops !! waffles
-taking in the sights of riverside park ...purrfect - park road water Jersey!! neat sweet!!
-daffodils!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Columbia Univ darshan
- Subway Darshan
- Central Park + rain + umbrella + horse shit + ducks and figuring out why I am not photogenic
- utter confusion regarding lunch from soups to desi chinese
-and sweetest luv!!!!! - its Sarvana Bhavan yumm yumm and whoosh!!!!!!! all food polished and inside
- Shopping and trying to find clothes which suit me + are NY style
-Opinions forming that NY girls are all abt jackets!!! makes their stye look ...............different
- Home sweet home for gearing up for a nite out at CAFEE WHA - programs change to meet some frnds at a ZEN place
-So Cafe Wha + live 80's music shifts to a TO DO list in the coily backsides of my mind....
-Good time with good friends of friends and a tidal blessing of water on moi and moi noodles :) Thank god for thy blessings.......
- loungin in a lounge bar with...............80's music ....niccccccccccccccccce and friend's getting tarot readings which screw the already coiled mind
-bliss again happens with kaathi rolls at 3 in the morning
-sweetest luv...............

FFF to 3rd Day

-bfast of bagels frozen pancakes...oops !! waffles ,
- quick run to see statue of liberty
- learning the art of splitting company to save time in queue
-posing as statue of liberty
- run for the best spot on the ferry - courtesy amrita the incredibly efficient tour guide
- keep clicking till camera got fed up
-then journey back in a cab wondering if i am going to miss Super Shuttle and flight home...
- waiting for SuperShuttle outside the dorm - and getting scorched and seeing more dogs and kids than well .....others...
-Super Shuttle showing up and getting stuck in traffic such that I see my Jet blue terminal 30 mins before my flight (a good 3 hrs in the Shuttle spent in seeing Manhattan and ahem ...awesome??? driving skills)
-parting aerial view of the sun setting on Manhattan and the dazzling reflections of the concrete structures ablaze with light in the twilight.

Long overdue was this note on NYC but sure felt good to write about it -brings a smile to my face and leaves my tummy yearning for Sarvana Bhavan chutney and Kaathi rolls...
thnks Amrita and Nandini for making this trip a nice one (yew!!! wads wrong with me - too many thank u's to handle!!!!!)

PS - I did shift to Cingular after the trip and now am trying to search for the evasive jackets :)
am not searching for the peeping sun -cos sun is hugging me 9 hrs at a stretch in hot hot PHX.....
Pics later.....

Mist on the mountains it is..

So what would you qualify as a beautiful, breathtaking, awesome experience?
This 21st day of March in the year 2006, the thought of sipping warm tea, having hot bhajias, or wada pav, the mist settling and the dampness clinging to you, the clouds rolling and falling ominously around you, unable to bear their weight and all the lush greenery around you swaying and waiting for a deluge from the sky.............and a train chugging and appearing out of nowhere and disappearing somewhere with a purpose, leaving behind a trail of smoke through which the blackness of the tracks emerge and disappear into nothingness.........















aaahhhhhhhhhh BLISS is what you term such an experience.
Sounds familiar - feels familiar?
All it needs is a drive to any mountain on a day like today and voila..experience it!!

If in India - positively its the Ghats/Himalayas, if elsewhere its Mt. Lemon or any mountain........
Go ahead ..enjoy....

and for the "not possible right now" folks - revisit childhood and read "Five go to Mystery Moor" and "Five go off to camp".
Feel the mist, imagine packets falling from the sky, mystery trains, hidden tracks.......its all there....

b....l...i...s....s

Tagged by Krak-The Man !!

I'm Tagged ... (and hopefully "NOT FOR SALE AT 50% OFF:(" )

And now I have to write a list ....

A List of things I do to be the CHANGE..

So here goes...

Volunteer with AID

Rise early so I dont miss the sunrise and freshness of the morning.

Be AWED- keeps u firmly footed in reality

TRAVEL - to develop the "AWE" state

Collect LEGO and build - keeps the child intact within you

Keep off arrogance

Practice simplicity in thought and action

Be nice and try and get a smile on everyone's face and mine of course.

Believe in the "beyond"- too much is not known to us

Listen to "MUSIC" - liberates you..

Keep off hypocrisy

FEEL - cos its the only way you will make a change!!

(Thats all for now, more shall cross this path as the mind focuses on things I do rather than on other random inconsequential details of events happening in the immediate surroundings.)

Things I hope to do to bring some CHANGE

Contribute more to AID and other such organizations

Join a world organization like WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO

Realize "appreciation" as a way of life(am trying crazily hard)
and accept people the way they are (equally hard) and honor my friends

Be more helpful

Travel and spread / gain knowledge

Design to make the world more energy efficient

Live the "sustainable" way

Travel to outer space and realize ure nothing but a miniscule piece of nothingness in the larger picture

Believe in the power of the unknown and explore it

Strive to keep learning and explore the nth dimension

(the last 3 points = product of a permanent state of flux in the mind = questioning the purpose of existence...so feel free to ignore....:-)

So change shall occur in the next second in the act of performing any of the above deeds...

and lo behold!!... I changed, and the world changed with me .

Who shall I tag ?

The original tag man - kartik...again - cos he shld have changed from then to now
Amrita - cos i know she has a blog
for a start.....