Thoughts

Slow Realization

Posted on by Archana K B / 2 Comments
I was making dosa batter today morning, when the mixie suddenly stopped. I complained or cribbed as usual to RK, that the mixie has gone kaput. My mind had already thought of the future events.That we had to repair it in the evening in the coming weekdays, that I would need to keep reminding him, that I would have to try to find time to go and repair it, and that I would have the guilt of killed the mixie somehow. All in fractions of second.

And then, he replied, you need to reset the button at the bottom of the mixie. And he did it. The mixie worked. It was as simple as that.
It was just my futile mind which is so restless and seeking for topic seeds to catch and grow itself to a big tree to become fruitless ,wasting space in my garden of mind.
He went onto say a remarkable philosophical thought. On overload, the mixie just stopped working and became silent, just like his character sometimes. Impressed. Considering the fact, that I am more philosophical than him.
Haven’t you seen that film scene?  When people around keep talking saying this and that, and the reel rolls around the central character and shows silence, as if all the surroundings and the talks go over the head without getting being heard. It means there are so many typical characters who draws a blank.
So what reply did I came up with? That I am like a pressure cooker!
Strange na, how day to day incidents gives more answers at this age. Is this what they call to gain experience through aging?
A few years ago, when I was younger, there were only questions in my mind, and I was struggling to get answers. There were huge brainstorming sessions within myself, like the chess pieces movements, to reach a justifiable answer. Some of the thoughts became posts of this blog. Now, I feel answers appear more faster, and even if I do not get, I have understood and believe that the answer would surface some day, later, as we live by everyday.
So what do I do nowadays ? Just live the moment, without worrying who am I, what is my purpose, and write this damn blog post. Because if I don’t vent it out here, the pressure cooker inside me is going to blow up soon.
Bangalore life/Photography/Reviews

Photography Workshop

Posted on by Archana K B / 4 Comments

I got my first point and shoot when I was in college. I do not remember what drove me up to buy that, but I remember I did a review at Techenclave. It was a Canon Powershot A400.

In July 2013, I attended basic photography workshop from Bhaskar Dutta.

After quitting job, and reaching Bangalore after marriage, I remember carrying RK to Lalbagh to quench my photography thirst. And then two consecutive years for the flower show.

I had been searching for the workshops in Bangalore but most of them were conducted by wildlife photographic experts and professionals, in one or two days, over the weekend at big hotels at the heart of the city. I kept prodding him to get a DSLR initially, but after N was born, I rarely got time to take photos, and if at all I did, it was with my phone camera. But then, in December 2012, we got our first DSLR, Canon 600D. For 38k, it was quite expensive, but RK is like that sometimes, unlike me, who will keep thinking for long whether to buy or not and will skip at the end.

This one by The Academy of Photo Art, was very close at walking distance, and conducted at his home, near Marathahalli, only on Sundays, for 4 weeks. The distance attracted me very much and I jumped in at the last moment, without giving much thought.

The basic topics were covered beautifully and detailed explanation were given. There would be printed notes for the same, and some cheat sheets, which you think would be useful for later, but will not touch it ever afterwards. Why? Because that would be the lesson you take after the classes. That only practice can make you perfect and nothing else. There would be simple practical sessions in between. But at present its indoor photography. Complimentary snacks and drinks are provided.

It was already six months after we got the SLR, and so we had gone through major tutorials available online, regarding aperture and exposure. But in-class theory and interaction can clarify many lingering doubts and provide very good foundation.  I was expecting more on practical sessions and complex settings like white balance, metering modes but it was to be covered only in the advanced courses.

Now onto what I liked. Bhaskar was way too cool and down-to-earth than I expected. To be frank, I never completely read his long introductory page fully, which spoke of his achievements and runs two pages long. I assumed there would be a studio room with chairs and tables, just like a headmaster at his home tuition class. But he was like the next-door neighbour, who was just trying to share with others whatever info he mastered on its own. And this makes you very much at ease. His stories on his photos inspires you to weave a story for yourself and makes you think in angles you have not ever thought before. There were weekly assignments which I looked forward to. Not that you were given star badges, but I realized it was something you needed as a photographer. Ideas and prompts. Just like blogging.

I have been hooked onto various online groups since then, to motivate myself to get more photos. Thanks to this session, I also got Photoshop installed after ages. The last stint was during the college, when I was active at the Techenclave forums and Deviant Art. The new Flickr and 500px along with the Facebook groups overflow my daily dose of photo cup. 

Won’t you catch me there? At Flickr and 500px?

Bangalore life/Travel

Trip to Ooty

Posted on by Archana K B / 3 Comments

For Ganesh Chaturthi weekend, we went off to Ooty. I already told you that the road trips are growing on me.

We started at around 5.20am on Saturday and reached our hotel just in time for lunch, around 2pm. This includes 1 hour break at Kamat Upachar, Mysore for breakfast. The Mysore road was good, but the bumps at every nook and corner took away the icing, and also the cake! We could only touch 100kmph and that too at very few stretches. The route we covered included the two forest areas, Bandipur and Mudumalai. The silent and serene ride through both the forests scored the top points in our whole trip. We spotted lots of deer, few peacocks with tails down, lots of monkeys and a lone elephant.

Ooty was crowded, especially the city center, the botanical garden and the boat house! The climate was too misty and chilling cold (and September 1st week is off-season!) but what I liked about the place is the flowers. Even in such harsh climate, there were flowers here and there. We stayed near Doddabetta Junction at the Highland Hotel. The food and stay was good. 

The tea estates looked good and green. We visited the Doddabetta tea factory and museum. This was the first time, I entered tea estate and factory. The process is shown clearly, and as expected everyone came out with tea packets. Obviously, the complimentary cardamom tea was awesome.

The Doddabetta peak was supposed to be good, but we reached there at wrong time, when it was fully covered with mist, and we could not see anything other than white.

Some things I missed were the “Shanti Sagar” or “Saravana Bhavan” kind-of restaurants where in we expect to get decent food at an average price. We did do our research before embarking to Ooty, but could not get any results.

On our way back, we entered the NICE road from nearby Kengeri to Hosur exit, and climbed onto Hosur expressway and then to Outer ring road. There was less traffic apart from the lorries, and we could speed upto 80-90kmph, thereby reducing the travel time. One-way trip took us around 7 hours excluding restaurant breaks.

So will we go again? Of course yes, but next time we would try to cover less visited places nearby, say Coonoor, or the waterfalls we saw on the Masinagudi curves, or the forest safari etc.

Note:- At the Tamilnadu border, a policeman enquired about our whereabouts and demanded Rs.50 as entrance enroute Ooty. This was unexpected as it was not mentioned in internet during my research.

 

Thoughts

Independence day weekend 2013

Posted on by Archana K B / 3 Comments

Last weekend was a long one Aug 15 to 18th, with RK taking leave on Friday. We had plans initially to go for a weekend getaway, but as always, we were late in our planning, and we were still searching for places to go and scouting for hotels on 14th night. Searched for all the places under 150km minus Mysore, but we could not get any good hotel bookings. Finally, we went to Club Cabana along with another RK’s friend and family. Again on Friday, we could not make up any plans and ended up being at home, sulking for ruining our holiday. And at night, we just decided, we would have a long drive to Yelagiri, and if we get any rooms, would stay there or come back.

Over the last year, with our new Honda Jazz car, we have made few short trips, and the ride was quite enjoyable enough to grow on me. The only hesitation was N has to get used to the long drives without throwing up. Every journey which has been more than one hour, including the Majestic trip, has been problematic with N throwing up, and getting cranky, crying before and after. The truth is, I needed to get adjusted to her queasiness. Two long trips in 2012, one to Mysore, which should be short technically, but turned too long, and then to Mahabalipuram in December, has ignited me the passion for travel, which belonged to RK, and which I have been evading all along.

The Yelagiri trip was uneventful, and was a pleasure ride. As written in online reviews, there was nothing much to see, apart from a nature park and boating on the lake. Though called poor man’s Ooty, it was no where close to the original paradise. Maybe the timing was wrong. We started at around 10.30am and reached around 2pm in time for the buffet at Sterling resort, Marigold Ridge. The rooms were available, the weather was cloudy and good, but Bangalore was way cooler and I was not impressed with the so-called hill station. So we drove back to wind up at 10pm. 

Sunday was remaining, and I was eager to make use of it to do some home errands and shopping. By the time, morning laziness wore off, the film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara started on TV. It was a long pending movie on my list, and we ended up watching amidst all the advertisements till 3pm. Day gone. I did liked the film and theme which matched to my wavelength, but the reality is very few can dare and travel like that. The impracticality combined with the view of arranged marriage conflict let me down.

The weekend grocery shopping was not to be missed, and though we tried to combine it with regular shopping, Bangalore streets and malls were too crowded. The offers did not offer great collection, the trial rooms were packed, and N was getting hungry ( a recently formed tactic of wanting to eat whenever we go out) and late, and it was more than enough to drain my shopping spirit and call the shots.

All in all, the weekend has left me wanting me more to quench my travel thirst, and has triggered the planning organizer module/activity in me now. 

Next weekend holiday and the target is Ganesh Chaturthi, September 9. Wish me luck!

books/Reviews

Chanakyaneeti

Posted on by Archana K B / 2 Comments

I was never interested in politics. But still, this book, Chanakya’s Chant was on the must-read list at the stores, during a sale, when I went on a book-buying spree. I did know bits and pieces of Chanakya so got it home, without second thoughts.

The start was good and gripping. The quotes were amazing and sharp as if arrows are shot at the bull’s eye every now and then. But by the time I was middle way through I lost interest. There is not much suspense since the story is known already, and the method chosen did not entice me much. I had believed that Chanakya was a great mastermind, but if the story is true, he has lost my respect. Agreed that, in politics, there is no place for friendships or humanity, but I cannot ever glorify such a victory based on double-games.

There are other historical stories which shows different persona of kings and rulers. Say, Jodha and Akbar, or the love of Shah Jahan for Mumtaz. The warrior aspect of the Indian rulers were huge contrast to the personal life according to the history. I still cannot digest the heartfelt love of Shah Jahan for creating TajMahal, for he is supposed to cut off hands of those labourers after the completion of TajMahal. Some say its selfish love, but when the limit is crossed, its just selfishness with the absence of love.