One Life

The Kannada Wedding... the funny details

2009-07-10T22:21:00.002+05:30

Ok, I realized Indian weddings are a big business. For everybody involved. You start shopping months and month before the wedding. Even normal middle class families would throw away atleast a lac rupees on gold. And atleast 10 sarees for a bride, who in most cases would have worn sarees on her school and college farewells. Invariably all this stuff is confiscated before and after the ceremony by parents in the name of safety. So the bride would have no clue as to what she actually owns and what belongs to her mom.

Talk of sarees, there is a lot of give and take. Every aunt is gifted one and has to gift one. The bride's mom buys about 50-100 sarees before the wedding and ends up with just about that many after the wedding.

Then come the choultry guys. They charge a few lacs rupees for flower arrangements and rentals. And then the grand menu and mass cooking. Greasy yummy food 3-4 times a day for 2 days...

Trival relatives of the groom who expect extreme respect. Every groom's acquaintance who wants to be introduced to her, whether she would remember or not. General relatives who drop into the bride's room to dress up themselves and not even bother about the bride. The beauticians who work on the bride for hours and at the end get shouted at for ruining her best day, maybe because she never saw herself look that different.

In the end, it is a few (or many) lacs of rupees, 2-3 days of ceremonies, loads of strangers and a confused couple forcing day long smiles. It is just once in a life time. So you might try and as well enjoy all of it.

I feel like I was born

2009-07-08T00:47:00.000+05:30

Yeah, thats right. I feel like I am a new born who has to get all new stuff. now you see where this is heading. OK, I shopped...

Last weekend was crazy. I bought 10 tops from some malls here. Bangalore is in no ways cheap. So I blew 7. And then, I bought hair care products for one and half grand. People who have known me for a long time, would have already brushed off this post as a lie. But yeah, the stingy-pingy that I am, I decided to live my life before I die. Hence the wardrobe change!

If you are looking for a new life, start with that wardrobe.
Pick 10 pieces of clothing, not underwear ofcourse, put them in a box and shove the box away in some attic.
Shop! Hit those brands. They will definitely make you feel better. And then some rasta shopping too, if bargaining gives you a high :-)
Do the same with atleast 2-3 pairs of footwear.
If you haven't done that in a long time, or ever, you will start feeling like a new born when you return home with your shopping bags :-) :-)

Travel? Where did that go?

2009-07-05T12:33:00.003+05:30

The last chunk of Europe is not yet complete, I know. Paris! Sure, it is coming...
But before that, your's truly decided to move all the travel tales out to a different blog. Reason?

C'mon, a-few-strange-things is my life and those few strange things i like to blog about. When I see the travel readers coming by, i am just compelled to write more travel to cater. But then, I started this blog for myself. And then those ads,,, damn! greedy me!

The new blog is
http://tra-well.blogspot.com
Btw, it has my travel entries in the reverse order. Anyone, missed out the North indian adventures? Go right there and check them out...

cya

The Kannada Wedding

2009-06-28T23:29:00.000+05:30

My first cousin is getting married tomorrow and this is going to be the first wedding in close circle of relatives. Now, I have been to many weddings and found the ceremony as such, boring. In South India, we have long ceremonies and for people who can enjoy music and dance, these weddings are a drag, except for senior citizens who can talk for days about other people. Despite being not such a great fan of weddings with customs and stuff, yours' truly decided to take part actively in the wedding and be the bride's maid.

I got a round of mehandi yesterday and a bunch of new sarees. Just as I thought I was overdoing it, I heard of some aunties who were sitting in the beauty parlor all day long and for many days. Offf!
A few cousins planned to put up some dance sequences. So with all the thoughts of dancing and running around for the next two days, I already feel so stressed out and exhausted and yet, I am not performing the marriage or getting married. Wonder how people keep their energy levels...

So my schedule for tomorrow is make up woman in the morning, safe room guard through the day, make up woman during ceremony intervals and show case doll in the evening. Well, the last one because my mom plans to bribe the photographer to take some photos of me which are showable to prospective grooms. Hope to have a great time...

Fun Food :-)

2009-06-23T14:27:00.000+05:30

Since I started writing review for food joints, I thought of including this old time favorite. Kedia's Fun Food is in Jayanagar 4 block opposite to Sweet Chariot Cafe. Years ago, when I was in college and could not afford the posh Sweet Chariot Cafe but still needed a bit of spicy food, I hit this chaat shop. Since then I have been a big fan of Fun Food's chaats and parathas. They had a few stools to sit and eat but no tables. So if you have a plate of food and a glass of lassi together. Invariably on weekends when you dont get a table in a pricey restaurant, you just go to this little shop, get a couple of parathas and a fresh sweet. So that makes your good lunch of Rs.50/-

Esplanade, Bangalore

2009-06-21T19:38:00.002+05:30

Despite being a fan of experimental food, I had never really experimented Bengali cuisines. Except the sweets ofcourse. And that, because my best friend is Bengali. And now that my boss is Bengali, I had to try the rest of the Bong buffet. No regrets, I totally enjoyed the buffet at Esplanade in Koramangala.

The buffet has lesser variety for vegetarians. Well, I wasn't really expecting veg-bengali food. But yeah, they could have easily included the more common Rasgulla and Mishti Dohi and Dohi Boda.

There were 2 starters, 1 vegeterian.. like alu bajji. The other was fried fish. Maybe that wasn't a starter! They served a few starters to our table. Not sure if we ordered them. 2-3 veg dishes, a few chicken and fish dishes, luchi (that is a poori made of maida), rice and dal. One dish was a banana plant mashed to make kofta. It was sweetish tasting. and then there was banana flower mashed and fried to make a starter. This was also sweetish.

The dessert was Malpua and Sandesh. We also ordered Mishti Dohi. Good stuff.

They just served baked or fried brinjal pieces, the whole length of it. I dont know if that is Bengali or the beginning of civilization or the Chef's special.

Overall, worth the try! Rs.200/- for the lunch buffet. You can order extra sweets if you have a sweet tooth, at a reasonable cost.

Use it!!!

2009-06-19T00:36:00.003+05:30

Do you buy or possess an item and plan to preserve it till its shelf life is over and throw it away unused? If thats what you do, you may happily skip this post.

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, no money left, cigar in one hand, favourite drink in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming 'WOW-What a ride!

I read this on a blog and it set me thinking if I am using, or like my company puts it "leveraging" all the resources I have, including me. Reminds me, I need to make that list of 50 things to do before I die. What do you want to do before you die? C'mon lets know your ideas too...

Pisa and Firenze

2009-06-17T11:51:00.005+05:30

We took the morning train to Firenze (Florence). It was sunny and very Italian sun. Since this was going to be our day trip, we checked out of the hostel and carried our bag to Firenze. Deposited the backpacks at the station for 4 euros for 5 hours. Well, you don’t really have options while doing day trips unless you want to carry 20 kgs on your back for the whole day to save 5 euros.

Trains run to Pisa twice in a hour. We reached pisa around lunch time. Got into a local bus and went to see the only tourist attraction of the small town. Visited a side walk restaurant for some great Italian meal of Penne Arabiata (obviously), Pizzas (obviously) and something really nice that I tried and don’t remember. Obviously over priced for sitting next to the Leaning tower of Pisa. The tower is the only attraction of the town of Pisa. And there are loads of people posing next to it with the clichéd pose of pushing the leaning tower. Damn, now that I think of it, its so clichéd. But then, you cant even chuck Pisa out of the tour.

Back in Firenze, we walked from the station to see the masterpiece, David with his tiniest David. It is a 15 minute walk along the streets and alleys of Firenze. There was a huge queue outside the Academia and the cost was ~12 euros. There were a lot of medieval paintings by artists I hadn’t even heard of but then the main attraction of the place is David.

Michael angelo, the famous painter sculpted David. He is a historical character from the story “David and Goliath”. Just a nude 17 ft guy. But the white stone has some marvels. Till date I hadn’t seen veins and muscles on stone and David had it.

Some shots from Italy:

Places to Stay: I would suggest you do Pisa for a day trip becaus ethere is nothing other than the tower. So stay at Florence. Hostels!

Cost of Day trip to Pisa: If you have Eurail pass, you saved most of the money. So 15-20 euros for a half day

Life long competitions and the survival

2009-06-13T00:51:00.002+05:30

This started many many years back, when I was in grade 1.

Imagine.. you were happily living your life and playing your games.. suddenly your mother comes and stops you and throws up a case of her friend's son/daughter coming first in class... pressurizing you to come first in class.. now you have no way out. just sit and study and wonder why that a**hole had to top his/her class

Many years later... you are happily living in your friends' circle like any other teenager... your mom has to compare you to that person's kid who got a prize in singing (or dancing or antakshari or mono acting or god knows what) ... now you are she's trying your her best to enroll you into all possible competitions to get a prize somehow. You don't get a prize atleast once a year, and your happiness just disappeared like that pimple on your nose... whatever...

Many more years later... you are happy that you got good grades and a good job... now you cant be compared to your peers (evil grin).... you mom jumps in to say you have put on weight... look at the slim girl cousins you have... they will get married earlier than you... what will uncles and aunties say about your figure...
Oh hell!!!

70's and Bobby's and Elvis's

2009-06-11T14:40:00.005+05:30

Ok, so some of you have already seen my facebook snaps from the retro party at Le Meridian. Before I start describing each person's behaviour under the influence of spirits, I say "this is one hell of a party!" , that too for a office party!

Firstly, because for once after I joined this company, I didn't perform. So I had the luxury to enter like a guest where otherwise, I would have gone along with the performers hours before the party to have stage rehearsals and lost half my day's battery. The performances! I would probably proudly say, they missed that "teeny weeny" touch, I would have added to make the performance larger than life.

This being an anniversary party, there was a huge cake and champaign, which obviously was not touched by the "common man"

And then, the bar opened. Do you need me to say more? A bunch of people started waving to the "dum maro dum" tunes and the likes, on the floor and then followed "dirty dancing", which was still ok. The DJ probably need to get back to his zamana and so played 2008 Bollywood numbers and the likes of Ramstein. By now, yours truly was completely confused what to do, because the 70s ambience was lost to headbanging and her funny clothes looked out of place, and so did she!

So she just had another drink and then started feeling in place again.

V was swaying after the music stopped and R, the kind lady she is, helped V walk on 2 legs and gave him a plateful of food. We all witnessed the over stuffed plate but V claimed the next day that he starved.

Anyway, S on the other hand mixed main course and dessert on a single plate and was happily eating away whatever he could shovel out of in his little icecream spoon, while poor P next to him got splashes and sprays.

c'mon I had to mention those :-)

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-04-28T10:46:00.004+05:30

It was my birthday on 27 April. After a few years break, I finally cut a cake :-) 2 cakes :-) :-) One at midnight and one in office
Since it fell on Akshay Trithiya, my parents gifted gold chain for their soon-to-be-married only daugher.

I got a new pair of shoes (pre-planned from my wish list) and left it at my friend's place. And the most predictable person gave me little surprises. When I opened the shoe box to generally check the fit on the eve of my b'day, I found a little gift. Surprise!!!! It was a Elizabeth Arden lipstick. Its not a famous brand in India, but I guess it is elsewhere. Anyways, after the all lipstick excitement settled in, I again opened the same shoe box and this time inside the shoe I found a little gift, a Silver ring :-)

And another surprise at the stroke of midnight! My cake and chocolates :-) Cake at midnight is probably common but with me it was never. And then its tinker, so it is even more surprising! I had a few rounds of mini facials and played.

In office, my team mates got me a cake and gave me a few more cream facials :-)

But the fun part of it all was the dinner. Me along with colleagues, went to Cable Car, a new restaurant near my place. No booze! Only vegetarian! I guess we took pictures and left since I took the camera along. Next we hopped into Baron's Inn, The Thames! Again dry and vege :-0 and more pics, but no food. Finally, we settled into La Casa, the old time fav for the good ol' food and called it a day!

My gifts collection : Gold chain, Puma walking shoes, Sony Cybershot DSC- W270 Camera, Elizabeth Arden lipstick, Silver ring, Puma tracks for my dream trip

Budget shopping and budget travel

2009-04-01T12:28:00.004+05:30

I have become a more budget person of late. I had almost become a brand ambassador for a few clothing brands in the last discount-sale season. And then one fine morning on my way to work, I stopped at an arbit shop in Koramangala, bought a shit-coloured (yeah, a very weird beige) top and wore it to work. That piece got so many compliments that it set off the trend. The next weekend I bought a few more seconds from random shops in our own middle class shopping area, Jayanagar.
End result : 1 shit-coloured top, 1 linen skirt, 1 pair cool cotton chaddi, extended interest in cost-cutting...

I was looking out for super budget places to travel next weekend and I came across Yuvashakti. It seems to be a Pune based org conducting camps and treks. I mean, even if I am from Bangalore and want to go to Manali, it doesnt matter much to go through a Pune org or a Bangalore org. I was really impressed by this one. I guess I was really looking for a local org like Yuvashakti. Hope to try one of their treks sometime.

I dont have much to write now but I assure you a big travel tale coming up :D

Quarter-life crisis starts..

2009-03-19T14:44:00.003+05:30

I am on the verge of quarter-life crisis, or so I think. I generally got bored of every existing thing in life and decided to put a few things together. So, for the first time, I got my hair ironed. When I went to office, a few good people complimented me on the model-like look. That, however, wasn't enough to satisfy me forever. And the next thing I did was go to Yash for a hair cut. He did a very satisfying job with my mop. Washed my hair, used lavish serum, cut my hair, blow dried it, asked my opinion, cut it again, sold me a good hydrating shampoo, almost sold me a straightening iron, etc.. all for a very good price. Places like Limelite have robbed me during the daytime delivering an unsatisfactory performance (I know that's a bit weird). So I was happy!

Then comes the icing. Ironed my hair again for cousin's engagement. Fishing for compliments, you may conclude obviously. But, this time it backfired. I was all happy with good people complimenting me and then a "uncle.J" had to comment on the mass I gained in the recent past. And then he found "aunt. super J" to support him in his accusation of my recent weight gain. I looked on open-mouthed for an hour before I could use the "i-touch winning walk" as my defense. But nevertheless, bad people manage to trigger quarter-life crisis even as my attempts almost suppress it out. A**holes!

A bit of the East coast

2009-03-08T13:51:00.005+05:30

We left by 8.30 in the morning to pondicherry and stopped in a small town after krishnagiri to have a snack which was supposed to fill as the long craved breakfast and the upcoming lunch. this town had 1 hotel in the bus stand and he served only plain dosa. we went to pondicherry by 2.30. ate at Satsang. Now this is a decent place. But since it was the weekend which coincided with mother's birthday ( i am guessing this is Aurobindo ashram's mother), we got no rooms in Auroville in the city. And then we drove off towards the Auroville outside the city to get a room on the beach side. I had no clue that beachside shack in Pondicherry are not like those in Goa or Gokarna. I was shattered on seeing the dingy huts with common bathooms. Even worse, i found no other woman like me there. Well, i dont consider foreigners to be women like me, thats different though. After a lot of pushing, I settled for a hut by the beach-side and it made me miserable. Don't ask me why i agreed to stay in that room. When you are tired and HAVE TO have a room, thats probably what you would do.
We headed back to the city Auroville for some electro-hindustani-fusion music and dinner.
Some vibe ticked me off, so much that I went to the city beach and didn't have that favorite ice cream at Cafe Soleil.

Next morning we went to Repo beach, the famous Auroville beach. Rented life jackets and swam for an hour. The beach just sucks up all the bad vibes and sets you up for the day. Went to Auroville for brunch. The Italian pizza maker also used some italian wooden oven. Good fun food it was!
Then some expensive shopping in the boutiques in Auroville. Then headed off to Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram was good. One small lane with firang cafes and lots of indian shopping shops. I loved it. Just like Hampi or Gokarna. Some chettinad spicy dinner at 'White Elephant' with chit-chatting with firangs and called it a day. Oh btw, Mahabalipuram is no Goa or any other chillout place on west coast. So the last order is 10.45pm, mind it!
Neva mind if you feel like Bangalore with those shutdown timings!

Next morning we lazed, ate, hired bicycles and went sight seeing. I don't understand what aversion men have towards sight-seeing. But when I am a part of the group, I don't give too many options. So, we checked out the famous Shore temples and Five Rathas. These are really nice, except they are very old, a lot more ancient than Hampi. The intricacy of design is less and then subject to erosion from sea winds, leaves hardly any design with the shore temples of Mahabalipuram.

Saree shopping in Kanchipuram marked an expensive end to this road trip. You just have to enter a shop, and bargain insanely in this little town. The shop I went to was a shop facing the road, a bit inside was the owner's house and the backyard was the silk saree looms. Thats like a tiny factory. But these family-run-super-bargain busninesses are slightly different and un-marwadi fashioned model. Anyway, I just liked the idea that they served good home-made filter coffee and let me shop in leisure showing me each saree atleast 5-7 times :D
Some stuff I picked.

Good, Bad and almost Ugly

2009-03-02T21:58:00.003+05:30

There are some general stuff I wanted to write about. Good and bad. So lets start with the pleasanter of the things. I know I am a short lady, and nowadays a bit plump too. But I walked the ramp for my Company's function when the CEO and a few other visitors came to India. And guess what? I won the best model award which happened to be an ipod. I was so glad to see 16Gb through the cover that I didnt veen open it till the morning after this fashion show-10 year celebrations-dinner, drinks and dance-party. And then I opened it and realized it is "ipod touch". I probably lived the luckiest part of my life already, now!!!

Just as life is bright and sunny, I read a mail from the HR mentioning the attacks on women on streets of Bangalore and who to reach out in case of difficulty in commuting. Nice that my company HR showed some concern. But the lack of concern from the police and government is so alarming. SO the situation is: women walking or driving alone on any road at any time of the day or night can be chased by a bunch of hooligans who will shout abuses at you, throw pink paint on you, punch you, pull out your clothes and physically abuse you. Not only are women is western wear being targeted, but also salwar-kameez clad ladies. The initiative might have been by Mutalik gang but the physical abuse part is definitely by sexually frustrated losers who want to unleash the inner loserness. I have been independent, physically and mentally for most part of my adult life. BUT now if I have to walk up to the neighborhood milk shop, I have to think twice. The rational part of me relates a situation like this to terrorism. It is no different when you have to live in constant fear. What kind of a life do live when you are in constant fear of being sexually abused despite living in a democracy? Can a small bottle of pepper spray boost the morale enough to face a bunch of hooligans? Who, in authority, answers these helpless questions anyway?

Quirk 5 tag

2009-02-25T19:09:00.001+05:30

1. blog-dreaming: When I am on vacations, I think of the next travelogue, like a dedicated blogger.. And when I get back and open the blog, I hardly feel like typing out anything. Now, don't ask me how I complete my travelogues..Somehow :)

2. i have one flat eyebrow and one arched eyebrow. Now, any XX chromosome counterpart would understand what an important quirk this is!

3. everytime I elate that i found the right guy, it takes me the exact same downward curve in the shortest possible time :( :(

4. when I see people signing off as "we love you", i think they are doing emotional atyachar

5. i lose hair when i use expensive shampoos. i am just used to cheap sh*t in life

..c'mon feel free to pick up this tag if you haven't already been tagged ;-)

Recession thoughts aloud

2009-02-18T23:58:00.002+05:30

Introspection is one thing you can't let go of, during recession especially. If you want to know why, it's because when the economy is booming, you have the job to over-perform and grab bonus. But when it comes to saving your job during recession, then you have all the f***ing time in the universe to introspect.

Anyway, enough of introspection. What I was introspecting to write about was actually the effect of recession on managerial jobs, especially the people's managerial roles. Damn! no one would have probably freaked out as much as those poor political souls. And what happens as a result? Ask me,,, I assure you I am the best person to tell you the effect. You burn another ass in the wake of saving your own. That's all! Most likely, my dear reader, you are just the bakra in a political drama, don't fret! Every dog has its day. And you will become a manager one day!

These are the times when I JUST LOVE DILBERT!

The GM Diet Story

2009-02-16T11:57:00.004+05:30

GM diet was a rage sometime in 2004-06. And now, about 4 years later, I decided to take it up and feel 10-17 lbs lighter. The diet is a good cleanser, but for weight loss, hmmm...
Well, by the end of the first day, I actually noticed that I had lost ~2 kgs by eating water melons. i was so impressed and thought that would be a trend to lose 2 kgs everyday. Damn! what a fool I was.
The second day, I cheated and had a milky coffee with loads of sugar. If that wasn't enough, I had salads with lavish dressings too.
As the diet progressed (which means it keeps on adding more to the diet intake), my cheating also increased. But then, all the time I was guilt-conscious.

Result: By the end of the 7th day, I felt miserably cheated. The diet had totally cheated me. I had deprived myself of good food, cheated on the diet and ended up losing hardly any mass.

I just went around telling people that I lost 3 kgs and felt a lot cleaner and lighter. Damn!

think... think! @#$%^

2009-02-13T12:43:00.003+05:30

I read this and totally fell in love with it
I have no problem being submissive.. .he just has to be worthy

And this on friday, the 13th, one day before Valentine's! Hmmm, wonder what awaits... nothing would still be better

Pink Campaign..

2009-02-09T17:27:00.003+05:30

In opposition to the Sena's atrocities towards people celebrating LOVE, this is Pink Chaddi Campaign
The reason I would support this campaign is simple. In a democracy no one can tell me what to do and what not. If someone can form a group to gain a political hold, its not my interest to support them.

Since I mentioned not supporting the Sene for putting a Ban on V-Day, I shall also mention my disrespect for a people's representative who said "you should take care of your children. what can we do?".. well, if you cant do anything about hooligans abusing women on the street, why should we elect you to hold office? to support your "make money" campaign? No way!

However, I cant help putting up this sad picture...

Homeless

2009-02-05T15:10:00.004+05:30

You dont need a luxurious and cozy place to feel at home. Yeah! I knew this. I also knew that you need a bunch of loving people to feel at home. But what i genuinely feel is, you need a place to call it HOME. Thats probably why I feel homeless.
All I ask when I ask a place is not a just a roof over my head, but a roof under which I have liberty to throw my stuff around and not have it moved when I come back next. If you are the kind who likes to live in a cocoon of self created mess, you can never live happily with cleanliness freaks, or anybody.

My life has reduced to:
if i eat, i grow fat
if i drink, i throw it up
if i keep my cheque book at home, i lose it

Somebody adopt me! ... if you give me place in your garage, dont clean it!

Boring bits of me

2009-01-27T00:23:00.002+05:30

She colored me sunshine with this tag!

1)What is your occupation? a consultant through the day, an artist at night and a traveler on weekends..
2)What colour are your socks now? i am barefoot now..
3)What are you listening to now? street dogs barking...
4)What was the last thing you ate? chocolates :-) :-)
5)Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6)Last person you spoke to on phone? V
7)Do you like the person who sent you this? yeah, though I dont know her personally
8)How old are you today? 24, the ideal-indian-girl-age to get married
9)What is your favourite sport to watch on TV? table tennis
10)What are your favourite drinks? Mojito, Sex on the beach, filter coffee
11)Have you ever dyed your hair ? Yes, brown streaks.
12)Favourite food? Omlette
13)Last movie watched? Quantum of Solace, I guess
14)Favourite day of the year? My Birthday!
15)How do you vent out your anger? I cry
16)Favourite toy as a child? My barbie doll to who I gave multiple haircuts till she finally became un-barbie-ish ugly
17)Favourite season? Summer.
18)Do you want your friends to email you? Yes, ofcourse! Not crappy forwards though.
19)When was the last time you cried? sometime last week
20)What is on the floor of your closet? My expensive silk clothes
21)Who is the friend you have had the longest? Ach, I guess
22)What did you do last night? Dream of random things that I cant remember a bit of..
23)What are you most afraid of? layoffs, marriage..
24)Plain,cheese or spicy hamburger? Cheese :-(
25)Favourite dog breed? German Shepherd.
26)Favorite day of the week? Saturday, with an extra holiday ahead :-)
27)How many states have you lived in? Only 1
28)Diamond or pearl? Diamonds, anyday!
29)What is your wish for this new year? That some nice miracles happen :D
30)New year resolutions? To travel to places I haven't visited earlier.

And I tag Manasa, Sandeep, Mampi, Sindhu, Santosh, Praddy, Stygian Sailor, RRach..

Chitrasante 2009

2009-01-26T23:13:00.008+05:30

I finally took part in Chitrasante on 25 Jan 2009.
the event was inaugurated by the chief minister of Karnataka. I liked the folk dances which were a part of the kickoff. Chitrasante literally means Art Fair. And that was exactly the scene for over a lac people from different states across the country, who came all the way to be a part of this event. The crowd was strong and almost consistent. But then the excuse for most middle class people would have been a low cost family outing with feeding their kids popcorn and cotton candy while they strolled by the stalls throwing a glance at otherwise priceless art.

It was an actual street fair for artists and paintings. The entire KumaraKrupa road was taken up for this event and every 3 feet was marked a stall on the pavement on both sides of the road.
Initially I mixed my artworks with another group but then moved them to my own stall later in the day. A friend printed some photographs and set up his shop along with mine. I had one print of a certain sunset photograph I had taken. That sold!

Well the success story of the day is: your's truly sold the digital art Rhythm a few minutes before winding up the stall.

ChitraSante 2009

2009-01-24T22:09:00.002+05:30

I am also going to be a part Chitrasante which is happening all day in Bangalore tomorrow.
I would really like to see you guys, (atleast Bangalore bloggers :-)) come over.

Goa in 2009

2009-01-22T15:50:00.008+05:30

Last weekend I was off to Anjuna beach in Goa. Now if you are thinking why-repeat-travel-tales, then yeah, good point! But I would say a place is like a sensuous woman (in my case sensuous man) who takes time to seduce you. Hence the repeated trips to the same destinations.
Flying by Indigo was like the description of Air Deccan a few years before the take over. Infact, KF Deccan gives you complimentary snacks as compared to the Rs.120/- sandwich on Indigo.
We landed in the afternoon, hired 2 Activa bikes and went straight to Sea Princess Guest house, the place run by 4 sisters. No nakra, no GM this time. They rented out the rooms for 400 a day. Impressive start!
After lunch and drinks and some more stuff, spread over Antonio's and Cafe Lilliput (which btw is among the popular cafes at Anjuna). The Mojitos at Lilliput felt like

"the whole western ghats was in my cup"

A late siesta geared us all up for the rest of the night. Woke up at 11.30pm and went to Baga. Hit Cocktails and Dreams for 'n' Kamakazi shots and ate up 'm' pastries. Banofie pie is my favorite, not sure if thats true only when I am drunk or even otherwise :-)
Lazed on the beach trying to light our own campfire till 4-5am, by pouring expensive whiskey into the fire and cheap fenny into us!
Then we went to Mambos to dance till almost sunrise. Taught ABCD to speak local language

"bindaas mein kundhal kundhal ke fenny maara"

Went back to some roadside cafe on the Baga street for more. The bar stools were almost on the road and the bartender mixed us a half Kamakazi shot less. The bartender asked H if he was really old or why did he have so much of white hair. ABCD said the dairy milk chocolate was pretty good!

The next 2 days were just relaxing on the beach, swimming, eating, drinking, shopping, braiding hair, yours truly driving alone late night to find medical shops :)...

The last day at Goa 3 people decided to check out sight seeing places and take photographs for the sake of civilized people back home. We rode to Fort Chapora (the Dil Chahata Hai place). On the way back, yours truly rode at full speed. Not very surprisingly, a few metallic pieces flew out of the bike and the boys riding behind thought it was my brakes or engine part. said

"oh hell, did she need that?"

We stopped and realized I was riding with stuffed loose capri pockets with money, coins, cell phone, shades pouch, lighter, more miscellaneous stuff. It was my phone pieces. Motorola L7i looks like a piece of rock and weighs the same, just behaves a bit bad with memory and speed. But he put up a surprisingly strong act with the fall and worked the exact same after assembling the pieces. I still cant get over it man! I had almost prepared to shell out dough for a new phone :-)

For the return, Air India felt much better than Indigo. We got free food and good food and not-so-ugly stewards.

Some gyan for Goa vacationers: Fly to Goa! There's no feeling better than the feel of the holiday destination in just 1 hour, as compared to a 14 hour train or bus journey where you are waiting endlessly to start your vacation.