Sights and tastes of summer.

Rows of watermelons,






tender coconut,









juicy yellow mangoes (esp bangnapalli),




fresh tender cucumber (veliri pinju) all lined up neatly in the vendor's push carts, and not forgettting the bunches of palm kernels (nungu) hung from those road side trees by vendors......thanda thanda lime juice, fresh sugarcane juice with lemon ........piles of earthen pots waiting to be taken home and filled with cool water.......waiting impatiently to be taken to the beach..........



a new flavour of icecream to try every night.............



sleeping under the stars at night.

Some of the most unforgettable summer experiences of my life.

Photo credit : fotosearch.com

In Circles

Every now and then people get caught in a web, a cycle that refuses to be broken. U do the same things, think the same way day after day. U want to change but it doesnt happen. U go through irritation, then anger, then frustration and then finally total breakdown.

Am in that cycle right now, I want to break it, come out, but I cant, or is it wont? I hate monotony but yet am monotonous. What is it that is stopping me from breaking free? I dont know! Its not confusion that stops me, I know what I want to do! No, its something else.......! But what?

Explosive Clouds!

Sitting lazily on the couch, I was watching one of those never-ending serials when I spotted this "explosive" cloud outside my window. Looking just like the mushroom cloud over a nuclear explosion.

All I wanted to do was get some books......

It was a hot afternoon and I was in the community libary searching for some books to read. I was pulling out some books off the rack when I saw a pair of lips interlocked on the other side. My first reaction was amusement, and I started to laugh. I must have startled the couple, for they paused for a couple of seconds and then to my surprise, just got back to what they were doing. For a second I was embarrassed, for it was like I didn’t exist. I just dumped the books and moved on to another row. After some time I returned to the row to continue my search. This time there was no one about and I was kind of relieved. Was just walking out with my book, when I caught a pair of mismatched legs at one blind corner. Now I was more than curious, I didn’t care if I was interrupting or anything, I just walked up the corner and was met with the same couple in….ahem……an embrace….that’s decently putting it. This time I had a better look at the pair, both in school uniform, just about 15-16 maybe much younger. Now, I couldn’t just stand there looking at them, so I walked…..rather jumped over them….and went to another section and started browsing through the books. Inside my head, I was asking myself “Am they disturbing me or am I?”. I frankly didn’t know. I just finished my browsing and walked out, and as for the couple, I think they must have just continued on.

Bollywood in Cannes.

Scanning through the Cannes news, I noticed our Indian maidens all decked up in western designer outfits. Its sad to see our "cultural representatives" choosing Armani and Cavalli instead of exposing our rich cultural variety. Ash should know better, last year her wardrobe was Indian but dull so she was criticised. But this year instead of finding a better designer, she chose the easy way.

Broke the code....

Da Vinci fever still hasnt reduced for me.....finally i took the Da Vinci online web quest. The last two hours was full of frustration, fun, amusement and awe. Finally i completed the code, of course with a little help from Google, and just one spoiler.....but on the whole is was quite an experience.

If you like puzzles and will do a bit extra to have fun, I recommend this web quest.

Cast in a magic spell.

Just back from watching Da Vinci Code.........still open mouthed, still in awe........spellbounding is just not word enough. The movie was very good, though the ending has been altered a bit, nevertheless full justice done. Graphics simply fantasic. Casting good, though I felt Silas could have been a bit more "cruel", and as for other roles - good choice of actors.

Enjoyed every bit of the movie!!! I feel ppl should just forget their inhibitions and just see the movie - as a movie for I think the director has made a good film. It doesnt matter what the critics are saying, cos the movie has generated such an interest, that it is bound to be noticed anyway.

A few hours more..

waiting excitedly for the evening to set in, so i can see the Da Vinci Code. What a tour of Lourve museum it going to be!

Am just hoping i dont get disappointed with the movie. It sometimes happens when a book is made into a movie. Harry Potter movies though visually fantastic have not been true to the book. If u like reading books, u will know how a book unfolds in ur mind. When u compare that to the movie, the movie is never that interesting. All to do with the way we look at things.

There u r!

Da Vinci Furor

The increasing protests mounted against the movie "Da Vinci Code" is doing only one thing - making the film more intriguing and so, as a result more people are going to watch it.

Are we so religiously weak that we cant make out fact from fiction? People who read fiction dont always believe all those extraordinary situations actually exsists, or do they? Its ok for people to boycott seeing the film, but why should they prevent the rest of the crowd from watching it.

Its funny that people in India dont protest against the increasing violence, atrocities protrayed against women and the hatred spread against neighbouring countries through so called patriotic films.

Am just thinking out loud, dont want to hurt anybody's sentiments.

Hide and Seek

Took some shots of the beautiful full moon today. Everytime I got ready with the camera, the moon hide behind a cloud. I was almost giving up when the finally, the moon decided to show up.

Toilet Woes

Yeah its a touchy subject, not to be discussed openly but I do want to make a point. Dirty restrooms shows dirty habits.

I expected toilets in S'pore to be neat and clean to match its clean image, so it was till I entered the local library restroom today. Gosh, even if u had a urgent call of nature, u wouldnt want to be in there. Floor all wet, toilet paper everywhere soaking and the stench unbearable. I was surprised bcos even the restrooms in the hawker centre's are cleaner, given the fact that max usage would be these restrooms.

Even though the infrastructure is good, its sad to see ppl r not utilizing it properly. Today was a bad experience, I hope things get better soon.

SHOCK!!!

That's shock with a capital S H O C K!!!!

My heart broke, my hopes crushed.......am more than shocked......am flabbergasted.


And the reason :

Chris Daughtry was booted out of American Idol today............!!!!!!!!!!!!


Though I like Taylor equally, i expected Chris to cruise to the semi finals....the judges thought so too. Just goes to show that public voting is so unpredictable. Did they go by Katherine's looks and overlook her lyrics goof-up, must be. She's escaped more than once.


Ok, got to see who cruise through the next round.....hope its Taylor vs Elliot.

Hike in petrol and LPG prices?

Just read abt the possible hike in petrol and LPG , its alarming. How can they increase the essential commodities so steeply? Imagine paying nearly 400 rs for a single refill of gas.....gosh it will be tough. If for ever price rise, if the govt hikes the salaries then it is manageable....but with the existing salary package, if a person has to spend a extra 114 rs per month just on gas.....it wont be feasible.

When is the govt actually going to think for the ppl's welfare?

Power of Smile

5-6 years back, I came across this poem "A Simple Smile" and liked it a lot. Kinda inspirational, one of my fav!

A Simple Smile
(author : unknown)

She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.
He remembered past kindnesses of a friend
And wrote him a thank you letter.

The friend was so pleased with the thank you
That he left a large tip after lunch.
The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip,
Bet the whole thing on a hunch.

The next day she picked up her winnings,
And gave part to a man on the street.
The man on the street was grateful;
For two days he'd had nothing to eat.

After he finished his dinner,
He left for his small dingy room.
(He didn't know at that moment
that he might be facing his doom.)

On the way he picked up a shivering puppy
And took him home to get warm.
The puppy was very grateful
To be in out of the storm.

That night the house caught on fire.
The puppy barked the alarm.
He barked till he woke the whole household
And saved everybody from harm.

One of the boys that he rescued
Grew up to be President.
All this because of a simple smile
That hadn't cost a cent.

To run or not to run

........that is the question for 4-something Budhia Singh who wants to run 65 km marathon to make a record. I dont know what to make of the human rights commision's statements abt the kid's run.....the medical reports find him anemic.....PT Usha doesnt want him to run......Budhia's coach is presistent.

If the boy is medically fit, why shouldnt he attempt the record...?

Streaks

One of those "by chance" photos I took.

{ See the enlarged version for a clear view of the jet }

Memories of my trip to Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Camp Site Osia Sand Dune, outskirts of Jodhpur


Inside the camp site.
Umed Bhavan in the background, taken from Fort MehranGarh.

Above photo is a shot of Umed Bhavan, Jodhpur.

The majestic Mehran Garh fort taken en route.

Politics - flavour of the week

Walking down the road, I was surprised to see posters of political parties all over the place. Then i remembered it was polling day today here in Singapore. Compare how election time is in Chennai, u will find this place is so dull. No cutouts, no loud speakers, no party men distributing freebies, no road-side (acutally occupying 1/2 the road) late-night meetings, no surprise visits from famous film personalities and no traffic jams. Gosh, i do miss chennai.

Monday chennai goes to polls.....i would be in the voters list too. Last time i voted for a independent candidate, someone i hadnt heard of, because i didnt want to favour either major party. Its a very common thing. Many party ppl come home, talk to us abt how good their party is and ask us to vote. Some meet us at the voting booth and try to give away freebies. Some even tried to intimidate us!Of a total of 2586 candidates, 1222 are indepedent....and i dont know even 1, how am i supposed to trust them....?

As a citizen i have to do my duty but i dont see much hope. When i am not satisfied with any of the candidates, i should have an option to vote for none. Do we already have such a option....i dont know.

Maybe a govt run totally by independents would be good.....it should be tried atleast once.

Labour of Love

Literally, the photo above was a labour of love! My love for capturing beautiful things in my camera. Why labour of love u ask? Well, that's because I had to stand on my toes, evading the buzzing line of tourist, also making sure I dont get any heads in the way, while trying to get the best shot. That sure was tough!!

This was when I had been to Agra a few months back, it was a superb experience. Looking at photos of Taj, I used to wonder how a building could look so beautiful - Photography trick, special effects all came to mind. But when I actually was at the Taj, I could feel the magic.

Special place, special feelings, special person, special effects.

Reflections

Moments of Madness

Every had those moments when u know u r wrong but dont want to admit it? I know am wrong...i know am being an idiot.......i know i'm hurting the other person.....but why dont i stop?? I cant seem to find the answer! At that crazy moment i just want to make my point......nothing else matters. But when the moment passes I know i made a mistake. Those moments of madness do a lot of damage but am lucky my loved ones understand and forgive me.

Sticky Couch

Watching Pretty Women now.....wow! what a movie.......love to watch over and over again...:) Also saw A few good men, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Radio. For someone who sleeps through most movies, I surprisingly sat throu and enjoyed all these movies. Esp Pretty Women and Radio.

Guess its movie time for me now, generally i end up doing things in a spree. I have reading sprees, shopping sprees, "play solitaire" sprees, "learn cooking" sprees, "clean the house" sprees, and so much more. Its like a itch, I start doing something and stop only when I am sick of it.

With so many channels to watch, I should be at the sticky couch for another week or so. :)

Hmmm

Ever wondered
why women get so excited when they go shopping and men by electronic equipment,
why women like pinks and guys hate pink,
why women like gossip and guys dont bother with it
why women like salads and guys fried chicken
why women like organize their wardrobe and guys dont know what a wardrobe is