Visit to Gundbala

I had been to my native village Hudgod during first week of June . During this vacation I paid a visit to Gundbala. People who hail from Uttara Kannada district are familiar with the pilgrim importance of the place. A small village located in midst of the Western Ghats Gundbala is synonymous with Yakshagana, a famous folk art of Karnataka. Lord Lakshmi Venkatesh and Aanjaneya(Hanuman) are the presiding deities of temple and every night there is a performance of Yakshagana for the Lord. The Yakshagana performance is carried out during non-rainy months, the performance starts during the month of December and ends by May last week before the monsoon begins. The interesting fact is that all the performances are for the Lord. The performances are part of harake(sacred vow) that is pledged by a devotee for a return of favour. Here are some snaps:

The temple gate which faces the Yakshagana ground. The temple is located among the coconut and arecanut plantations.

The entrance of the temple.

The deity of Gundbala.

The Yakshagana ground with the stage, during the day. The stage faces the deity.

The Yakshagana ground during night. The play starts at night after the arati to the deity and continues till early morning(snap taken by my brother).

A Yakshagana artist performing in a play(snap taken by my brother).

Another picture of the artist(snap taken by my brother).

We visit Gundbala every year. This year I could not attend the Yakshagana plays at night but paid a visit to the temple during the day. My family had reached the place 2 days earlier to attend a thread ceremony and they attended the night pooja and the play.

Guests at home Part - II

This is a followup to my previous post. The nest is intact and mummy bird is busy giving warmth to the eggs. Oh yes, there is another egg added to the bird family. I dared not to go near the nest and have been watching the developments from a distance. However I have not seen the daddy bird this weekend. Looks like it's job was to help the mummy bird build the nest and once the job was done, it has absconded. The mummy bird is in nest all day / night. I wonder how she is able to survive without food. That's all for this post. Wait for the next update. Until then take care and keep reading...

Ps: For previous post, click here.

Guests at home - Part I

This weekend I had guests at my home. Two birds came and built a nest on the hibiscus plant. The hibiscus plant is more than 3 years old and it has grown into a tall shrub. It is capable of providing the shade and shelter to small birds. The daddy bird is more courageous and it has got used to human presence quickly. Today it was hopping on the ground near by searching for dry leaves for the nest. It was not perturbed and went about its work even after seeing me nearby. On the other hand the mummy bird spends most of the time sitting in the nest providing warmth to its egg. It is bit timid and if it sees any person nearby, it flies a distance and sits on the wall and waits till the person goes away. Here are some pics:

The mummy bird sitting in the nest. Took this snap when it was not looking around. But as soon as she heard the camera click she flew away and sat on the nearby wall. See below:

There she is. I went around the shrub and peeped in and saw the valuable possession of the bird family, see below:

Just see the how beautiful they have made the nest using dry thin twigs. Nature's beauty indeed.

I will provide an update on further developments in the bird family soon. Keep reading :)

Ps: I don't what species these birds belong to and hence cannot name them. Do let me know if you identify them. Also, the egg is very small in size when compared to the normal hen's egg. I zoomed the shot here to get a better view and that's why it appears big.

Last line: Have you come across any such bird families in your garden. If so then please share it here. I am waiting to hear :)

TED Link: Talk by VS Ramachandran

I have been following the TED talks for a while now. Yesterday while digging the archives, I came across this wonderful talk by V S Ramachandran. Ramachandran is a neurologist and currently is the director of Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego. During the talk he describes the complicated functions of the brain using example of three disorders. His mesmerizing talk keeps you engaged through out. Have a look and I am sure you will enjoy it as well.

Ps: You can get more info about VS Ramachandran here.

Sleeplessness

It is 2:12 a.m. and I am unable to sleep. Well, I did try sleeping. I hit the bed at 11p.m. after devouring couple of chapters from a novel. And I think I slept (or was I dreaming or was my mind racing through various thoughts), just then I heard a loud thud and I woke up. I heard it near the window and thought there was a thief outside. Though my eyes were closed, I felt as if someone was staring at me. I didn't dare to open my eyes... what if I see a scary figure before me!!! However after few minutes of God chanting and repeated cycles of self assurances , I mustered up courage to open my eyes. The lights in my neighbor's house were on. Probably the sound originated from their house (as an evidence, I could here some more now...). Phew!!! Since then I am not able to resume my sleep. Just to make myself sleepy, I switched on my laptop and browsed for a while and re-read my mails. Staring at computer/laptop screen for a while tires your eyes and I am was trying to tire myself. That's how I ended up writing this post at this odd hour.
Ooops!! it is 2:28 a.m., the clock tells me that I have another 2 hours more before the alarm strikes. I have a long day at office tomorrow and the fact that I am not sleepy yet is scarring me. Anyways I will try acting as if I am asleep. Hope that helps and I will really fall asleep. Bye for now.

MindTree Carnival

This post will not be verbose as the usual ones. :) Enjoy the visual descriptions.

Venue: Bangalore International Exhibition Center, Tumkur Road
Date: 02 Jan 2010
Occasion: MindTree 10th anniversary celebration

The entrance to the venue...

Dollu kunita at the entrance

Lamp and the floral display

The carnival being inaugurated by Ashok Soota...

Hands with Mehendi, applied by an artist at the carnival

Swaratma band performing on the stage

Drunjam: an attempt to create a world record in progress... People gathered were given percussion instruments and they had to play it according to a rhythm.Of course there were others to guide. There were around 7000-8000 people gathered in the hall.

Drunjam: set of instruments that were used by me and Anu during the event.

The stage from a distance.

Another show by Edmundo, the illusionist

Fireworks: the last event, lasted for about 20 mins

Last but not the least, my caricature drawn by an artist

That's all for now. Till the next post, God bless.

A typical matrimonial conversation

Reporting a matrimonial conversation between two Konkani Maayi's during my annual trip to native:

Maayi 1: That girl's horoscope matched it seems. But there is one small problem. She is elder to the boy by 2-3 months.

Maayi 2: Aiyoo... That doesnt matter these days. I have seen girls marrying guys 2-3 yrs younger to them. Times have changed..

Maayi 1: Hmmm... let them decide then. (Turning towards me) Hey are there any good amchi girl in your firm?(She asked as if I had the list of all the people at my work place.) My xxx's son is a MBA and works in blore. He is preferring a software girl who is working in blore.

(I give them a million dollar smile.)

Me: There might be some. But I hardly know them.

Maayi 1: Let me know if you come across any.

Me: (Smile again) Sure. I will call you if I get to know any such girl.

(Continuing with the conversation...)

Maayi 1: Hey did you come across any profiles for XYZ. Poor thing they are not finding a suitable match for her. She says that she is OK with any handicapped guy but he should be educated. She is a MA in Sociology you see so she expects her future husband to be at least a graduate and employed.

Maayi 2: No... I am not finding any suitable profiles for her. The last one(guy's profile) was crippled but wasn’t educated. He was rejected.

(Turning towards me)

Maayi 2: XYZ is a innocent girl. She had done MA in Sociology. But she has a small problem. Her one/two nerves to the brain are slightly twisted so she takes slightly more time to respond to things. This apart, she is able to carry out all her daily routines independently without any one'e help. She even did her post graduation in a big city like YYY. She says that even if the guy is a handicap she is OK with it. But he has to be a graduate and employed...

Does your firm employ handicap people?(I knew what was coming...) Do you know any handicap person eligible for marriage? (I was right :). I dont know any handicap person at my work place.)

Me: They do employ. There are very few. But I don’t know them.

Maayi 2: Let me know if you come across any such profile.

Me: Sure. I will let you know.

Maayi 2: It would have been better if she had loved any guy and married... (BINGO... this was unexpected)

Maayi 1: Yeah, I agree with you. At least it will relive us of the tension. They are trying to get her married and nothing (guys) is coming by. I don’t understand why don’t such people fall in love. The normal ones fall for people from other caste when we don’t want them to do so. This girl can at least start looking around.

Maayi 2: She is not that type of girl ma (‘that type’?, I didn’t understand what type… but didn’t feel safe to ask). Hmmm… Anyways let us pray that all goes well with her.

(Turning towards me) Hey are they looking for you at your place? (Finally, I am their target L . I give them a BIG smile.)

Me: Yeah, they are.

Maayi 2: What type of guy do you prefer? (Aaaaahhhhhhh… Please spare me...)

(Another million dollar smile from me.)

Maayi 1: May be you need a guy who is a software engineer settled in blore. Isn’t it?

(I didn’t answer. I gave a BIG smile. Just then something caught their attention and the conversation digressed to some other topic. I was spared at last… Phew!!!)