Finally we have rain!

Haaaa! Finally we have some rain down here in Bangalore. Spoiling the 20-20 match to be started at 8 this evening. Who cares! We are in need of this downpour. God has finally answered our prayers.

Here is a click of the mighty clouds just before he descended down to earth.


The smell of fresh mud, lovely evening with a hot cup of roadwala chai, a mirchi golgappa to add on to the list. That's pretty much of what happened in the last couple of hours. Well still in front of my mailbox answering a few critical follow-up emails.Nevertheless nothing stopped me from putting this short piece up.

Hope this awesome weather remain for some time, atleast a week from now.!!

Akshaya Trithiya/ Akha Teej

What is Akshaya Trithiya?
The third day of the Bright Lunar month Vaishakha [Shukla paksha Vaishaka maasa ] marks the auspicious day - Akshaya Trithiya.


Akshaya as its literal meaning goes - Never diminishing,eternal,imperishable - in Sanskrit - is associated with Gold as this metal is enduring and long lasting.

In the past decade this day has gained lot of prominence , rather I'd put it this way - The modern day retailers have exploited the materialistic urge in people - thus making the day very popular. Nowadays the purity is turned to marketing gimmick by most of the jewellers. However starting a new activity or buying valuables on this day is considered to bring luck and success.


Last evening as I walked into a local store to buy some groceries I heard a couple talking about the auspicious day ahead of them. She demanded a gold chain. Her husband was trying to convince her for a simple ring. She refrained from saying anything. He persuaded till she said a Okay. And finally as she did say a half willing "Yes" he was happy to have saved a couple of thousands in his bank account.

I had bought a pair of earrings couple of years ago when the golden gaga had just set in. Not sure if I tracked the rest of the year as to how much I gained of the buy.


Apart from Gold and Diamonds do we guys know the actual heritageous aspects of this special day?

Jains and Hindus consider this to be a very auspious day on their calendar. Here is a short snippet below
which tells us the day's significance.


The first of the 24 thirthankaras Rishabadeva or otherwise well known Adinatha performed penance without food and water for about 6 months and upon attaining enlightenment he set out in quest of food. The lifestyle of any monk was not known to the people of Ayodhya and they offered him with gemstones, diamonds, jewellery, elephants, horses. He sought for a morsel of food but none offered it to him. Monks do not cook food and neither do they ask for it. They only accept food when offered.He continued his fast until his grandson Shreyansha Kumara through his purna bhava smaran understood Rishabadeva's need and offered him sugarcane juice. Today Jains follow fasting as a tradition on this day to break the fast in the evening by consuming sugarcane juice.


Thus the Day of Akshay Tritiya is worshipped and said to be auspicious in Jainism because it is said to have established the very first "ahar charya" a methodology to prepare and serve food to Jain Monks.


Hindus worship Diety Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.It is believed that Sage Parashuram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu was born on this day according to Puranic scriptures. Also they say that it was this day that the Sacred Ganges river came down to Earth from Heaven. Treta Yuga is marked to have started from this auspicious day.Mythological belief says that the Lord Ganesha started writing the greatest epic known to mankind - Mahabharata to Ved Vyas's dictation.

Yet another myth around this auspicious day: In Mahabharata when Pandavas were in exile, Lord Krishna, on this Akshaya Trithiya day, presented them an 'Akshaya Paatra,' a bowl which would never go empty and produce an unlimited supply of food.


I guess that's enough information loading on you fellows. Hope you enjoy the day. May all of your lives be filled with joy and GOLD :) Tink Tink ti Tink :)

Look - Alike..

It was a usual Thursday. Nothing new but something interesting. I was commuting to office on this sweltering hot afternoon. Glancing outside the window every now and then I kept observing every little thing that fell in my sight. Some lost in their own world - while some busy bees who do not know what world actually is - walking down the road. Every motorist tending to burn up the road and the speeding cabs turning to their own set traffic rules, a limping dog trying to cross the road and what not.

After a while I switched my attention to the song running on the radio. And all of a sudden our cab driver Babu  pointed someone in a special attire on the road. I was shocked to see this so much so look - alike of our Mahatma Gandhi. And my immediate reaction was to scream and next thing to click these pics to share with you.


I was astonished and guess so are you.

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. ~ Mahatma Gandhi.

"We need a downpour"

Scorchig heat accompanied by the dust on the roads equate to "Travel Impossible" in the city of Bangalore these days. God show some sympathy. Shower is what we Bangaloreans are waiting for. The temperature is hitting high on the mercury scale. We are midway through April and no sight of pre-monsoon showers. God of Rain , do hear our prayers - "We need a downpour".

To beat this unwanted heat, small shops[gadiwalas] on the roadside have cropped up. You have a variety to choose from - An icecream candy, goli soda, sugarcane juice,Fresh sweet lime or orange juice, the Thaatiningu [fan palm], tender coconut water, sliced watermelon and more.

I know these names in itself bring some soothing effect, how about having some of these everyday. Aaah!! the feeling is great. Sight of a cart full of fan palms on the road was very pleasing on one of these lazy summer afternoons. The dry climate was pleading my soul to buy some. Unfortunately, as I decide to shell out a few rupees - the signal had turned green.Our cab driver Babu had crossed the traffic signal :(
However I managed to click a picture and here it is:

                                                       © Unveil the Other Side Thaatiningu [fan palm]
Remember! - This hot summer.
* Do keep yourself hydrated.
* Stay indoors as much as possible [especially from 11 am to 4 pm]
* Apply sunscreen when you want to walk out in the sun. - No harm in planning a vacation to the beach.
* Sunglasses also provide an amount of protection to your eyes.
* Wear loose fitting clothes so that air circulates and keeps you fresh.
* Keep a bowl of water outside your house - there are lot of birds which come in serach of it.
* Do not waste water. It is very precious.
* Eat lot of fresh juicy fruits.
* Do not have heavy lunch. You will feel uncomfortable the entire day.
* Get a haircut - Its summer.. hmmmm! Time for some short hair cut.:)

Summer can really be a fun to many but you need to take care of the body a lot especially the skin and eyes.

Enjoy summer , Monsoon's round the corner. :)

"Unveil my creations - Oh Lady!"

I come across many sketches, paintings, art pieces when I surf the net. There are so many of them that I've placed in my stack wanting to paint them on glass. As I digged more and more, here is what I found - a pencil sketch.

Click here: Oh Lady!

It is a simple, rustic and beautiful at the same time. Loved the way Ranjana has poured in her imagination on the paper. Now I was so interested to bring some colors onto it. Seeking Ranjana's permission, I have tried a glass art of the original sketch. Let me know what you think of the painting.

For all you readers:A visit Ranjana's craft blog is a delight by itself for all art cravers.I have been a regular visitor since the first time I peeped into her blog. She is versatile, unique and yes definitely - creative to the core.

PS: A few more paintings are gonna make it to this space very soon. Keep a watch.

Don2 Dhamaka..

Oh oh oh!! Let me get it right guys. Am not here to provide a review of the film.I guess a lot of that has already been posted on various blogs. I have reason to title up the post this way. Read on..

It was the last week of December. Cold chilly weather in Bangalore. Temperatures hitting the minimums of the year and there we were the "Ideal 5"[My sis, Dad, Neighbour uncle ,his daughter and of course me] plan up something crazy again.[Read midnight coffee so that you get what crazyness am talking about here.]

After a rocking sunday Biriyani[Yes yes, veggie only] dinner at home, we charted out the possible shows of Don2 running in the theaters within a radius of 10km from our homes. And yes we have a pretty new multiplex nearby and luck in our favour - Local newspaper highlighted 4 shows everyday.

Sis and Myself were free from work hassles for the entire week that followed, showed thumbs up for any available time. However Uncle, dad and our good friend had to make it to work.hmmmph!!!

Monday night 10pm was targeted. Weekday and vacation time - We anticipated less crowd.On reaching the hall is when we realized the craze for Sharukh. hufff! no space to even reach the ticket counter. Adding on to our surprise the hall was completely booked. Last two seats were remaining - A sexy couple and two shabby looking guys were fighting over the booking. Yeah as expected it was the couple who won the battle - they had the tickets in their hands - which we the "Ideal 5" were gaping at, as we descend the escalator.

Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin naamumkin hain!! - Very true.

We drove back in disappointment, yet after a shot of coffee indulge at a cafe outlet located in the ground floor of the mall.

As we head home, thrilled heads of the older generation made us re-initiate the plan for the following day. It was ensured that we booked the tickets well in advance. Hmmm!! A quick ride to the booking center at 3 in the noon - 5 tickets in the middle of the theatre was in our name for that night - 10 pm show.

Ok now we go!! 9:30pm - we gear up ... Boom Boom Go... Aaj Don ko toh pakadna sirf zaroori hain!! :)

And yep we made it in time, though was caught up in a slow moving traffic for about a kilometer at that hour.

It was a first time 3D experience for both - my dad and uncle. Their enthusiasm had no bounds and the energy trickled to the younger gen in no time. Though it wasn't our first 3D entertainer we were equally excited as it was our first night-show in a theatre.

The first shot in front of us we could hear whistles from all four corners. Immersed in the sequel of the earlier one we thoroughly enjoyed the screenplay and the fight sequences. Fun to see Dad and Uncle enjoying the media bits.

And there comes the dhamaka to its ultimatum - Don ko pakadna mushkil bhi nahin aur naamumkin bhi nahin!!! :)

We finally made it - with a bowl of nachos and a bowl of pop corn!

April 2012 - Calendar shot!


The month of new blooms and colors is here - April.




* Fools day!
- How many of you got down to the pranks this year?

* Ambedkar Jayanti!

* Romans called the month Aprilis which either meant - "To open" or it might have come from the Greek Aphrodite meaning - Goddess of Love.

Any interesting facts ?

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 In a quaint rural village nestled amidst the lush greenery of Karnataka, there stood a small schoolhouse where Teacher Radha imparted knowl...