Eight Minutes

Here I come, hitting my blog after a brief gap, to write about nothing like Paulo Coelho's Eleven Minutes. Busy days at work kept me away from jotting down my thoughts. The month of November was exceptionally cold in Bangalore. Cyclonic storm and rains in Chennai sent mercury dipping in Bangalore too. Getting the morning cab on time and reaching work at 8 has become next to impossible. So I have been doing this exercise of taking Bangalore Metro, better known as, Namma Metro to work! 

I stay in New Tippasandra, about 2 km from Indira Nagar Metro station and work at Cunningham Road, about 2.5 km from Mahatma Gandhi Road Metro station. There are buses that ply from close to my house (Indira Nagar 80 feet road) to Shivaji Nagar (314, 314A/P/N, 139) and these buses ply via Indira Nagar CMH Road- Ulsoor- Dickenson Road- Cubbon road. A hop from Shivaji Nagar (a prominent bus terminus) onto any bus going towards Hebbal/Yelahanka/Yeshwantpur will take me to Cunningham road and a brief walk of 10 minutes to my office. 

Leaving home post 9 in the morning to reach office is a killer decision in Bangalore. To commute the distance of 11 km from my home to office, time taken ranges between 50-70 minutes due to heavy traffic congestion. Those who reside in Bangalore can definitely relate to copious time one spends in Ulsoor to reach MG Road, the most decisive bottle neck. MG Road itself has 6 signals over a stretch of 2.5 km, some of them marking "GO" Green signal at 120 or even worse 140 seconds interval. The more one slips from
9am departure from home, hits close to 9.30am or thereafter due to reasons - planned or unplanned, the more he/she will face the ire of Bangalore traffic.  Traffic is TERRIFIC.

Two weeks back, I decided to give this "two-buses" journey scheme a break. Of course, what is stated below might appear little tedious but it saved a lot of time and energises me in the morning despite the slumber that creeps into this city's environs during winter months. 

I take a brisk walk for 8 minutes to reach Indira Nagar 80ft road bus stop, board a bus to Indira Nagar Metro station, then board the Metro train and reach Mahatma Gandhi Road - my and Metro's destination. I then take a G-9 bus, right outside MG Road Metro Station to Cunningham road, again walk for 10 minutes and reach office. The total travel time despite many hops and ups-downs comes down from 60/65 min to 30/35 minutes. 

Reason - Namma Metro, however slow it wriggles on tracks laid between buildings, covers the deadly bottle neck in 8 minutes - ON DOT.

The metro train is punctual, no question of congestion up there on the tracks, seats in train during office hours are full but there is ample space to stand and standing for 8 minutes is not a pain. There is no pollution and no squeezing of fellow passengers against the ticket collector. As the metro chugs past Ulsoor, crosses Trinity circle and reaches its final stop at MG road in 8 minutes, one only thinks - WOW! ... the race against time is completed in style. 

A trip from Indiranagar to MG road by Metro costs Rs 12 per person, for now it is tad costly but I am sure that with future expansions and route completion, Metro will draw more crowd and lessen the fare. Commuters in weekdays rush hour are office goers, many who work in banks and other offices on MG road and Trinity circle. On weekends, there are all sorts of people on board, those who want to go shopping, catch a movie, enjoy a trial ride, kids who want to want to cling onto the holders inside train, swing using them as if they were Roman Rings and catch a view of the city from a height. 

The current route plies from Byappanahalli to MG Road, a short stretch I must admit, well supported by feeder buses. This eight minutes journey by Metro from Indira nagar to MG Road has helped me avoid head aches and migraines. But there is a big, nagging question I have, not one, but many ...

Bangalore has multiple railway stations at Byappanahalli, KR Puram, Bangalore East, Bangalore Cantonment, Bangalore City (Majestic), Malleshwaram, Yeshwantpur, Banaswadi and Yelahanka and more which I may not know. Why the thought of leaving Electric Multiple Units (EMU trains) on these tracks with stops at these stations never occurred to the state government? I had written twice to the decision making body when Namma Metro was planned but no avail. BEML (Bharat Earth Mowers Limited) factory located in Bangalore makes coaches for electric trains running in Chennai and Mumbai, then why does this workshop not churn out coaches for Bangalore local trains? Feeder buses now used to connect Metro could well have been used to connect all the above railway stations to prominent city centers. If there are AC electric lines already running above tracks in place, why lay a third DC rail, build many pillars, lay tracks, fell tress, dig and scoop earth out, make potholes on roads of Bangalore which are already crushed under the weight of incessant traffic during the day and heavy metro-work related machinery during night? This cannot be a case of simple overlooking or a careless flaw in planning. It only seems an orchestrated effort to start something anew as this alone brings forth fresh contracts, more money and thereby more SCAMS. 

Questions remain and concerns grow on the change of scape of a city I have always loved since the day I landed. But as I even reckon them .. eight minutes are over and I prepare to get down at MG Road station. 

Additions to my Baking Paraphernalia

On Saturday, Sep 10, 2011, I made a visit along with my husband to the Institute of Baking and Cake Art, Bangalore. I wanted to purchase a few items that will help me bake better and more. The institute is well known in Bangalore for providing excellent courses in baking for both novices and experts. Through Suma's blog - Cakes and More, I learnt that the institute sells all essential elements for baking goodies.

I am providing the link to the post on Suma's blog below - http://sumarowjee.blogspot.com/2010/05/institute-of-baking-and-cake-art.html

The institute is tucked near and behind the Richmond Road flyover, on Mission road, in the direction one would take from Richmond Circle to approach KH road/Lalbagh, in the first floor of an old building.

When I first purchased my Microwave/Convection/Grill combi oven, I grabbed an aluminium square cake tin, an aluminium brownie tray, a hand/manual egg beater (coil shaped) and a sieve from a nearby Casio supermarket on New Tippsandra road. Most shops in Bangalore are well stocked with basic supplies like baking powder, cocoa powder, vanilla essence and self raising flour. With a limited inventory to start with, I made vanilla butter sponge cake, dates and fruit cake and chocolate brownies a couple of times, over and over again. All of the above were a thorough hit with my friends at work and my relatives.

I wanted to experiment more now and mature as a baker at home. Suma's blog provides diverse baking recipes with appropriate illustrations and can bring out the budding Nigella in each one of us.

Below is the list I prepared before hitting IBCA stores. It helped me as I did not test the patience of vendors at the store, the customer who went in before me had driven them nuts by guessing indefinitely on what she wanted.

1) Round cake tin - aluminium - 6 inch
2) Round cake tin - aluminium - 8 inch
3) Bundt cake tin - aluminium
4) Muffin moulds (single * 6) made of aluminium
5) Pie mould with removable base in aluminium
6) Bread tin (with lid made of tin) - makes bread 400g
7) Chocolate chips - 100g
8) Chocolate vermicelli - 100g (I bought the chocolate brown colored ones, these are available in many other colors and flavors too)
9) Cream of Tartar - 100g (this is the minimum quantity available)
10) Wheat Gluten 100g (minimum quantity available)
11) Gloripan yeast - 100 g
12) Morde compound dark chocolate (bar)
13) Morde compound milk chocolate (bar)
14) Vanilla super essence
15) Almond essence
16) Cling wrap foil (1 box)
17) Butter paper (5pcs)

Items 16 and 17 can be procured from most shops, I added them to the above list for convenience.
The purchase of all above items listed was made for a total of Rs 1300.

To have an insight into the courses that IBCA offers to a commoner, please refer to - http://www.ibcablr.com/school.html


Baker smart is the online stores of IBCA, Bangalore - http://www.ibcablr.com/bakersmart.html

You may refer to this link to have an idea of what the stores at IBCA sells, but the listing here is not exhaustive. Lots more is on offer at the stores, it is good to visit the place in person if you stay in Bangalore.

Caramel - is the cake store/outlet of IBCA located in Shanti Nagar - http://www.ibcablr.com/cakeorder.html. One can place an order for cake at this site as per ones' requirements.

IBCA can be followed on Facebook, they have a blog - iBake and a issue a publication - Bakery World  that provide vital information related to baking.

I would like to thank Suma (http://sumarowjee.blogspot.com/) heartily for providing me the right direction both in baking lessons and in procurement of baking essentials. Now, the baking mania shall begin!

A Special Gift ...

My office colleague and friend Juhi had been to her hometown - Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, a month back. She got back and gave me a special gift- a salwar suit material with Bagh print on it.

I am crazily fond of sarees and crafts work from India's heartland - the state of Madhya Pradesh. There is a special fondness I nurse for Chanderi and Maheshwari sarees. In a handlooms fair, which occurs at quite regular intervals in Bangalore, an unexplainable attractive force draws me to the outlet exhibiting Chanderi and Maheswari sarees. Their typical cotton cloth/salwar suits with vegetable dye based block prints on them in various colors offer the most comfortable and elegant wear during hot and humid Indian summers.

Thanks Juhi :) for this special gift. Below are two pictures of the Bagh print salwar kameez material she gifted me. I completely adore the bold paisley motifs on the cloth. (Paisley motifs - in the shape of a droplet are a regular pattern in Indian/Pakistani cotton cloth and even figure in mehandi designs)

The suit material is in black and olive green colors and I am terribly sorry for the poor picture quality - all that was possible from my Nokia 3110c phone, one can hardly make out the colors.
I swear to replace them soon with better pictures taken on Nikon DSC.

Stapled onto the dress material was a small note on Bagh Prints. Through this blog post, I want to share that information with one and all.

BAGH prints derive their name from the small town of Bagh in Dhar district of western Madhya Pradesh. The Bagh printers migrated from Sindh (now in Pakistan) over 1000 years ago due to unconducive environment and atrocities of rulers. Their art is deeply influenced by the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Aulia.


The process of Bagh printing is painstakingly tedious process; a single piece of cloth undergoes various transformations over25-30 days before it is finally ready for sale. Only natural material is used in the process. The fabric is treated by Khara method where it is soaked in Sanchora (raw sea salt) , non refined castor oil and goat dung, dried three times in succession. After the final drying, it is dipped into a solution of Baheda or Harada powder.


The red color for painting is made using seed of tamarind mixed with alum. The black color is prepared using iron filings and jaggery left together for 15-20 days. Printing is done with wood (Kor, Saaj, Kalam, Burra) blocks on cloth spread on tables. The cloth is dried for 15 days, washed in flowing river water and boiled in water mixed with Dhavadi flowers and roots of Aal tree in a copper vessel.


Next time you wear Bagh, spare a thought for the artisan whose infinite labour of love has caressed the fabric to perfection.

Apart from handloom fairs, fabrics with Bagh prints and sarees from Madhya Pradesh are available in the permanent state government owned handlooms outlet (Madhya Pradesh State Emporium) by the name - Mrignayanee, located in Kormangala BDA complex, Bangalore.
So when are you grabbing a Bagh print salwar material for yourself ?

Out of HIBERNATION !!

A brief hiatus of one month is over and I am alive, back to my blog in full vigor.

Away from e-mail, Facebook, blogosphere, summarily to say, the Internet accompanied by minimal mobile communication, my hibernation phase appears to have got over. Re iterating one of the well known dialouges in my head, from one of my Bollywood favorites - Jab we Met - I feel, I missed a train over the last month. However, such significant gaps are necessary and enjoyable in a way and I have caught my train back, finally :)

It is monsoon time in Bangalore but rains are sparse and scanty. A brief shower blessed the  Bangaloreans yesterday evening. We armed ourselves with our umbrellas and set out to explore a new eatery. Personally, it appeared as if life got stuck and moved slowly in May-June 2011 - may be due to  long, summer days or better said, the summer solstice effect.

The pretext of walking down avenues with tree cover (amongst the few that are left currently in Bangalore) and having sumptuous meal in an eatery offered great scope to break from the mundane set up. Over 5 years of stay in Bangalore, we have become regulars at the Konark,a vegetarian restaurant on Residency Road; Adigas, opposite Indiranagar BDA complex and small eateries on Tippsandra Main road. The advertisement on Times of India newspaper dated July7, 2011 pulled us to a new place - Sanjeevanam in Koramangala. Located on the Inner Ring Road, opposite Kendriya Sadan, close to Madiwala junction, this place offers healthy and unique vegetarian delights. The restaurant is run by makers of "Medimix soap" - the Cholayil. We visited the place at 8 pm and there were a variety of dosas, a meal combo, many soups, juices and desserts on the menu.

We binged on a roasted garlic dosa, a ragi keerai (ragi-spinach) adai, vazhapoo (banana flower) cutlets, ela adai (a dessert from Kerala), ginger coffee (that used no coffee beans) and banana-wheat pudding. The offering on the menu is completely different and highly delectable. The ginger coffee knocked out in one shot, the sinus headache and sore throat I nursed carefully for over a week. I bought some ginger coffee mix and palm candy from their stores/outlet, outside the restaurant, as a weapon against future instances of sinusitis and dry cough.

I would suggest that one visits this place to experiment with unique, healthy yet tasty vegetarian dishes. Sanjeevanam will make you believe that when a dish becomes healthy, it actually does not miss out its taste quotient. I picked up a few cues for culinary experimentation from the menu in Sanjeevanam. The meal above cost us Rs 387 inclusive of all taxes. So that sufficiently explains the fiscal outcome of the visit.

Sanjeevanam cannot be made as regular an affair like visits to Shanti Sagar for a singleton in Bangalore but it offers a great and genuinely different experience, a well deserved break from boredom/routine stuff. Much like the Bournville chocolate, a visit to Sanjeevanam points out - "you need to EARN IT" :)

Pune's CadB, now in B'lore

How would you like a Friday evening stroll down Brigade Road, a sumptuous meal at one of its many food joints and end it with a drink of thick, dusky chocolate shake. Perfect ten!!

This blog post is about the serendipitous discovery of one of the most delectable drinks I have ever had. Friday brings immense respite to me; the fervor with which I wait for it has only surged with time. A stroll down Brigade road and MG road on a Friday without hurry and worry of next day’s chores, watching people unwind from their sphere of flit and flutter, refreshes one immensely. Brightly lit shops doing brisk business, multiple eateries teeming with young crowd, cars and bikes honking to get into Rex Theatre for a night show of the latest release, all this and much more, in this part of the city, pumps a new lease of energy into lackadaisical souls weary from the week's toil. Viswa and I had a meek dinner at Stars and Stripes, a small restaurant, opposite Eva Mall, on Brigade Road last Friday. After the meal, we needed something to rejuvenate our sweet tooth.

A few feet away from this restaurant, after Kanti sweets shop, diagonally opposite to Eva Mall (Brigade Road) and directly opposite to St.Joseph’s college of commerce, existed our new find - the CadB outlet. The shop had alluring pictures of chocolate shakes and everything super-yummily chocolicious. These pictures provided a warm promise of a sweet surprise in store for us.

The menu card bore names like CadB - a thick brown chocolate shake and CadM - a thick white chocolate shake, the major highlights in the outlet. Their exotic variants were walnut topped CadB, Coconut blended CadM, Hazelnut CadB (Ferrero Rocher), Roasted almond CadB, Dry Fruit CadB, all available in both medium and large quantities. The shopkeeper politely explained that these thick, creamy shakes offered a unique taste.

We ordered a CadB (medium) priced at Rs 50. Topped with crushed, rich chocolate flakes, this dark brown beauty enticed us thoroughly with its divine but sinful taste. The shopkeeper was true to his word and the drink was truly one of its kind. In just one attempt, the dark temptation seemed irresistible. We ordered a CadB Hazelnut (medium) priced at Rs 80. An opulent offering of finely ground hazelnuts atop grated chocolate, floating on thick, dark chocolate potion provided a magical experience that enriched our taste buds.

From our conversation with the shopkeeper, we inferred that CadB is a highly popular chain in Pune with 20-30 outlets meeting demands of many who queued up to relish its yummilicious offerings. CadB’s sole outlet in Bangalore is on Brigade Road, the one we visited and is about four months old. The menu also lists 30 flavors of thick shakes and mastanis (thick shakes with lavish topping of ice cream) – mango, butterscotch, roasted almond, custard apple to name a few. There are chocolate sandwich and cheese-corn sandwich for people who to intend to take a quick bite along with a drink. Strategically located opposite a college, the outlet already has its share of loyal customers and is beginning to get popular amongst others.

From my first experience at CadB, I would award it a neat 100. The residents of Pune are definitely gifted to have indulged in CadB for longer than us in Bangalore. While I have earmarked a Friday, about 2-3 months from now, to pamper myself with another CadB, I only wish time flies fast (the way it normally does) to expedite another sinful indulgence.

A plunge into a tall glass filled with thick, creamy chocolate is sheer BLISS !!!

Note -
Contact details of CadB outlet –
Shop #1, St.Patrick’s Complex, Opposite St.Joseph’s Commerce College,
Kanti Sweets lane, Brigade Road, Bangalore
11 am to 11 pm (open on all days)
Ph: 8147543894, 8088810816

Happy Diwali !!

Diwali 2010 was truly different for me in that Viswa and I were in Bangalore. Diwali 2007-9 were spent in Chennai in company of our parents. Bursting crackers and digging into sweets and great food were the major activities then.

This Diwali, we purchased an assembled PC/desktop for our home on Nov 5, 2010. Both Viswa and I needed a desktop to surf Internet, edit documents, download and upload stuff. We both detest gaming to a great and equal extent. Therefore, we came up with a no-frills/minimalistic configuration and completed the deal for Rs 16,600


Details of PC configuration are as below -
Processor - Intel Pentium Dual core E5500 (2.8 GHz clock, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)
Mother board and chip set - Intel G31 express chipset with Gigabyte Mother board (Taiwanese make - GIGABYTE G31M-ES2L) that supports DDR2 memory. The motherboard has 4 USB ports at back and 4 on the front panel.
Memory (RAM) - Transcend 1 Gb DDR2 memory at 800 MHz
Hard disk - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 (7200 rpm SATA hard disk drive) 500 GB capacity
SMPS - Mron (450W)
Cabinet - Zebronics basic cabinet (similar to model - Raunak)
Keyboard and Mouse - wired keyboard and mouse package from Microsoft (Microsoft wired keyboard and mouse 500 series)
Monitor - DELL 18.5" TFT


Purchase details are as below -
Date: Nov 5, 2010
Place/Shop details: IT Gain Computers, #1, AM Lane, SP Road, Bangalore - 560 002. Ph 080-42108651
(SP Road in Bangalore is fanous for multiple shops trading in electronic goods, computers and accessories, mobiles etc. The market is similar to Richie street, Chennai)

***************************************************************************

As for other activities during Diwali, we watched Endhiran movie in Cauvery Theatre, Sankey Road, Bangalore. We happily devoured samosas with sweet/sour tamarind chutney, sheera (a sweet dish made of chiroti rava), paneer bhurji, cucumber raitha, vegetable pulav, potato smileys, rava dosa with coconut chutney that I made at home. We had a brief, namesake session bursting crackers - 4 boxes of sparklers and 2 lar crackers at night and lit some diyas to decorate our house. It was a very quiet and simple Diwali.

Do you belong to the CREAMY layer ?

Not talking of reservations, economic disparities/advantages and the related CREAMY layer. This is purely about ICE CREAM INDULGENCE.

Lunch table conversations at office in the last few weeks have been revolving around a certain ice cream parlor/chain - NATURALS (Ice cream of JUHU scheme from Mumbai). People who have resided in Mumbai for an appreciably long period have been going GA GA about it.
I visited the website - http://www.naturalicecreams.in/ and the craving began instantly.

Last Sunday, an evening stroll down 100 ft Road in Koramanagala, starting from Sony World Junction, led Viswa and me to a "Naturals" outlet. Yes, serendipity - we spotted a Naturals Ice cream of Juhu scheme (since 1984) parlor on 100 ft road, Koramangala, after Umerkot Restaurant.

We decided to try out three flavors - tender coconut, mango and papaya-pineapple. A single scoop in a cup/cone is priced at Rs 33 and the waffle cone attracts an extra 5 Rs. The ice cream is truly OUT OF THE WORLD ! Especially the tender coconut flavour melts in your mouth stealthily leaving behind tiny pieces of malai (tender coconut chunks), that's what one calls ambrosia and we felt like GODS there. The mango ice cream was no less sumptuous, fresh, ripe mango pieces blended in rich ice cream made us drool for more. The papaya-pineapple flavor was also equally refreshing.

The ice cream indulgence continued for a second day as if the earlier quota was not enough. We visited another outlet of Naturals Ice cream at St.Marks Road (House of Lords, opposite SBI main branch) on Monday and dug into a feast of mango and tender coconut ice creams, pretty addictive flavors, I must admit.

We left with a vow to come back, try other flavors like Chikoo, Water Melon and Kala jamoon - the flavors of the season. We express many thanks to Mr. Kamath, who just did not stop with an idli-dosa outlet like most others from his clan, for his innovative recipes, for a refreshing thought that has elevated the taste of ice creams to an entirely unparalleled level.

From conversations, I inferred, there are many Mumbaikars who reminisce the Naturals experience and talk about it at length, feel Bangalore is a home away from home with the opening of Naturals outlets. There are others who have religiously thrived on its flavors for an year or two and now consider eating it, an old age custom.

For us, the first timers, it is just the beginning, our love for Naturals ice cream will remain on a NEVER SAY DIE high note.

I always felt Dinshaw ice cream (I had them as a child on my visit to Nagpur, used to have them while getting back to Chennai from Delhi at Nagpur Railway station during my college-home trips) was the undisputed winner in ice cream business. At places where Dinshaw was not available, I felt happy and content with Kwality Walls. A visit to Naturals ice cream parlor has shuffled the top order. Definitely, it is Naturals on spot no 1 for me.

To Bangaloreans, in case you want to belong to this creamy layer, rush to the nearest Naturals parlour :)

IPL3 Musings (Note 2)

Not good at poetry, just tried my hand at it.
Some of the lines below struck me as I travelled in rain, past Chinnaswamy Stadium on Apr 21, 2010. Got a chance to complete it post semi final 1 of IPL 3 session :)

Thunder jolted the Bangalore sky,
Lightning struck heavily and ripped it apart,
We were to host semi finals here ... (sigh)

Anyways, that would not have happened for weather was insane.
Pollard, Rayadu did the magic to get Mumbai Indians through, whilst challengers shrunk in pain,
Bangaloreans hurried back home to watch their team win,
battling the rain that left enough moisture,
But Royal Challengers Bangalore appeared totally out of form and only lacklustre.
Interesting, it will be if Chennai Super Kings lose today, for they have not been shrewd !
Then RCB and CSK will clash on Saturday; guess it will no less tense than India – Pak feud.

IPL 3 Musings (Note 1)

The league matches of IPL 3 are all over. Overall, it has been a fantastic feeling to play host, as a nation, to IPL 3. However, the last few days have left a couple of issues to ponder. These are not directly linked to the players and their performances, but are related to the league, its policies and organizing committee; some associated events. The league has earned quick disrepute in abundant proportions, much in the same fashion, it ascended the ladder to splendor and fanfare in its first season.
First of all, this one episode, narrated below, threw me back in complete disbelief.

Saturday, Apr 17, 2010 witnessed two blasts outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, close to an hour before the match between RCB and Mumbai Indians. The match had a delayed start and the next day morning's search unearthed few bombs that luckily did not explode. When questioned, the police commissioner reasoned there was'nt enough light for a thorough check the previous evening, the match had to go on, that was the top priority, after which the search in broad daylight next day morning continued and revealed more unexploded bombs.

That's definitely the most nonsensical explanation I have ever heard. May be the Police Commissioner did'nt realize there is'nt enough light to sanitze the whole stadium, that 40000 people and cricket players cannot be held bait to a lurking danger, that the match better stand postponed, saving lives of people and godly figures - the cricketers is the top priority.

During lunch, on Monday, I heard a group of colleagues discuss heavily, in Kannada and English, on why CSK did not deserve to make it to top 4. The Bangalore home team, RCB is a contender in the semis, there was no room for dejection. However, more than happiness of seeing the home team through, there was anguish on why/how CSK made it to the semis.

On Monday evening, I happened to overhear a conversation of a group of teenagers after my swimming class. "Why did the blast happen here, why did it not happen in Chennai? Or why did it not happen before the Chennai Super Kings vs Kings X1 Punjab match? Crap, CSK too has entered the semis". I was taken aback at the way these people spewed animosity against a neighboring state.

Pakistan and India have remained foes for six decades now, yet when reports on blasts killing many in Peshawar or Lahore appears, I am sure we don’t say – "Yes, they deserve it." Or when terror attack occurred in Mumbai or Pune, we never questioned, "Why Mumbai, why not Islamabad or Lahore?" If such thoughts for neighbouring nations were ruthless and unwarranted, how can animosity between states in the same country be justified?

The conversation between teenagers literally paralyzed me. I pondered on where they picked such strong animosity from at such young age. From home, from school? The hostility between the two states finds its roots in the issue of Cauvery river water sharing. The issue has always been overplayed before elections as a political trump card by various parties. Water Sharing Disputes Tribunal has the complete, essential information to decide on actions necessary. Let dirty politics be played only by politicians, let it not engulf arts, sports, literature and other unallied fields. Let future generations not choose hatred as a natural instinct.

It is unfortunate that the state had to witness two blasts before a league match and meekly give up its role of playing host for two semi final matches. There is disappointment lurking in all of us, let that not transform to ugly hatred for another state in our own country.

There are immigrants from all over in Bangalore – from Kerala, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, North India and many parts of Karnataka. The city has swelled, unable to take the inflow. No faction of immigrants is solely responsible for the exponential change in urban scape in Bangalore.

Let us get one thing clear, there is enough hostility brewing between nations, tension over man made boundaries, fanaticism in name of religion already; more than required animosity that makes our future bleak. One mad/wrong move by one warring group can destroy the whole world’s peace. Let us not add one more dimension to this through national/inter state hatred. Petty politicians will continue to turn one Indian citizen against another. Our only and last resort as an Indian citizen is to resist these attempts, fervently. If we follow suit and instill separatist thoughts in future generations, we might soon create the need to remove lessons on "Unity in Diversity" from our school books.

The next time, your child cuts a cake, ensure that he/she is not cutting a cake that is shaped like North India/Bihar like Raj Thackeray; your child questions on what is Telengana, ensure you don't spew venom by saying coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema have taken it all and left a region deprived, and that is Telengana. Time wasted in imbibing these wrong lessons can be usefully spent in educating oneself, becoming more tolerant and capable to grab the required opportunity. India is one nation and we do not possess dual citizenship. We are all Indian citizens, we make sense as one nation, not as individual states; definitely not as warring factions waiting to slit each other’s throat for the most preposterous reasons.

Lalbagh Flower Show

Jan 26, 2010 – we, as a nation, celebrated 60 years of Indian republic. The Lalbagh gardens that adorn Bangalore hosted a flower show; open to public from Jan 19 to Jan 27, 2010 with an entry fee of Rs 40 per adult.

The highlight of the flower show was the floral Qutub Minar set up in the glass house. The usually empty glass house was decorated with heaps of annual flowers, arranged to form small hillocks at the corners. Rows of orchids, periwinkle, celosia wool flower, cockscomb, zinnia, dahlia, daisies, annual chrysanthemum, verbena, phlox, heliotrope and larkspur flowers added color to the glass house interiors.

Standing tall, in the middle of the glass house, was the floral Qutub Minar, crafted carefully and packed tightly with roses of different colors. There were two gateways on either side of the Minar, made completely out of roses. The structure of a lady with a water pot in hand prepared out of roses, at the entrance to the glass house, welcomed visitors. Towards the exit, after the Minar, were some floral/horticultural arrangements depicting some important festivals of India like Christmas, Ramzan, Diwali, Holi, Dassera etc.

Plants and flowers were exhibited by BDA, BBMP and Yelahanka rail wheel factory; these plants were ranked in a competition and the toppers were displayed in the glass house. Overall, the flower show at Lalbagh turned out to be a sweet, visual treat to Bangalore! Thanks to the organizers for such a wonderful display and kudos to their efforts!

Five Years ....

Only few days away from the year 2010, here comes a new post on my blog, ushering a new beginning. A new year is waiting to unfold just as rapidly as the year 2009 passed. Come Jan 2010, I complete 5 years of stay in Bangalore, more fondly known as Bengaluru. The city has so far offered me fond memories, multiple things to like, few things to hate as well.

I landed here on a cold morning in Jan 2005 to work as an intern at LSI Logic India Pvt. Ltd. Practically awake throughout the overnight train journey, waiting for Bangalore Cantonment; I left Chennai to get into bustling life of a working woman. Many of my friends from BITS, Pilani worked in Bangalore and a big group was involved in internship (part of our curriculum) too at Bangalore. Within a few days of my stay at Bangalore, I got it all, Cauvery emporium, Brigade Road, Corner House DBC, Sweet Chariot, MTR, Airport Road and Majestic.

Five years have passed, I continue to explore this city, its wide tree lined avenues, narrow streets filled with shops, its many parks and lakes, a city with a persistent charm, superb weather and a calm demeanor that has embraced me for 5 years, provided me work, shelter, food and fun.

Thinking back, I am urged to jot down five things I like about Bangalore. There are many more, but I am going to make an attempt to keep the TOP5 in the list below as a mark of completing 5 years in the city. Here they are –

1) Inner Ring Road – Might seem an absurd choice for the traffic that sprawls on it in the core hours, but I used to travel on it daily in Jan 2005 from Jeevan Bima Nagar to Bannerghatta Road to reach LSI office. Winding like a formula one track, seamless and of course slippery, with sight of airplanes flying so low, you could almost touch it, this road is a lovely artery. I have met with an accident on this road, so that leaves an element of awe mixed with fear in my head but I still give it the top spot. Inner ring road is first thing I liked in Bangalore.

2) Food – I can bet conveniently, there is no state in South India that offers such varied, tasty, yummy vegetarian delicacies as Karnataka does and in particular, Bangalore. Thanks to the city, I have gained many kilos compared to my college days. Be it the chocolate mousse cake of Sweet Chariot, the many juice junctions offering Butter Fruit shake (I hadn’t seen the fruit until I came to Bangalore), the many Sagar restaurants with busy people standing and gobbling Hot Idli Vada with sweetish, red sambar, be it a sumptuous MTR meal, Akki roti and Ragi roti of Halli Mane, Malleshwaram; Coffee at Brindavan, MG Road; Mangalore Buns and many other delicacies at Halli Thindi opposite Bull temple, ghee laden Masala Dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan ... the list goes on, Bangalore is truly a foodie's paradise. I still cannot forget my first day at Shanti Sagar, Koramangala, when the server asked me – “Sambar aa Separate aa” and I blinked. Food at Bangalore is awesome, great quality and taste in highly affordable price.

3) Weather – Many times, I have thought along these lines – “Ohh, this dress, I wore it twice last week, guess can wear it once more before washing”. Never so hot, never sweaty, pleasant all the time, the city has high quotients of serenity attached to it. I pray, we all work to preserve this precious aspect of the city, for being a Chennai resident, I know how difficult it is when one experiences only hot, hotter, hottest seasons through the year. A long time Chennai resident may perhaps not know how to spell WINTER. Guess I got it right due to my stay @Bangalore. :)

4) Parks, lakes – Every area has many well-maintained parks, thanks to BBMP. I am trying to shed those extra kilos I gained by running in these parks. Beautiful lakes are strewn across the city – I have visited the Hessarghatta Lake, Agara Lake, Hebbal Lake, Ulsoor Lake and Madiwala Lake. I know that the number of lakes is fast diminishing due to ongoing spree of construction activities. Ironically, my office building is atop a lake. This is an open plea, please do not claim land from lakes/fill lakes to create construction plots. To worsen it, after committing the sin, please do not give it a misnomer – “Re-claiming land”.

5) Strong parton to arts and cultural activities - Bharatanatyam, Karnataka’s folk dances, mandolin, violin, Carnatic concerts, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Kailash Kher, many English rock bands, birth place of many renowned Hindustani classical singers, Karnataka has many credentials in the fields of arts, crafts and sports. In the five-year period, I have attended multiple concerts conducted by Times of India, Bengaluru and during Bengaluru Habba. I have seen people of all ages enjoy music in the open at Palace Grounds and such events/crowds remind me of my college days. Chennai has a very formal set up of Carnatic music festival every December, which may not cater to as big an audience. The Bengaluru Habba Crafts Fair held this year at Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat, Kumara Krupa Road, Bangalore was a treat to the city’s residents. The aegis this city provides, to arts and crafts is immense and this is a strong reason why I love Bangalore. Not to leave cricket behind, Karnataka has for long, contributed brilliantly to the Indian Cricket team. I have been lucky to watch a T20 match between Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers of IPL First Edition at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

But what bothers me at large and of late is the exponential phase of construction activities in Bangalore with big, tall buildings covered by glass, aluminium composite panels cropping up everywhere, pushing agriculturists entirely out of scene. There are many railway stations in Bangalore - apart from Majestic, at Yeshwanthpur, Malleshwaram, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Banaswadi, Byapannahalli, Krishnarajapuram, Whitefield, Cantonement, Bangalore East and yet there is no EMU train service. The current metro activities run parallel, onlooking the KR Puram and Byapanahalli stations, yet it is unclear to me how organizations/committees cannot think of running EMU trains on it as an immediate and viable soultion rather than felling trees, cutting roads to half the size and spoiling the beauty of once majestic and wide MG Road, Jayanagar South End circle etc

And how meaningful are these plans to go underground near city market for Metro construction? Why add more to the already existing chaos? There is an immediate need of a bus terminus at City Market but government has not heeded to it at all.

And let us not close the KSRTC bus terminus for the sake of Metro. Well planned and laid out, big terminus like the Kempegowda bus station must not fall an easy prey to the ongoing Metro activities. True, I have resided in Bangalore for only 5 years and I see a whale of change, some definitely not for the good for all of us, inmates of this city from birth will certainly attach more value to their home for long. I look forward to 2010 with a small prayer - let us all preserve the beauty and serenity of this city. I definitely love Bangalore :)

Aero India 2009

Here I present a short write up on the Aero Show 2009 that took place from Feb 11- 15 at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bangalore. This was the 7th Aero India show, organized by Ministry of Defence, Government of India and also managed by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) after 6 successful editions of the exhibition from 1996 -2007.

The defence exhibition was a breathtaking experience and I was struck with awe at the flight displays presented by exhibitors, both indigenous and foreign. At the same time, there is an equal share of anger too with the English daily, Times of India that provided threadbare details of the event of such scale.

Viswa and I went on the last day of the exhibition, a Sunday (Feb 15), reaching the venue by the special BMTC bus service from Shivaji Nagar bus terminus to Yelahanka Air Base. We reached the venue at 10.10 am amidst huge roars from the aircrafts that sped through the blue, clear sky. There are two shows each day starting from day 1 of the exhibition and I must say, having stayed for both, that these two are pretty different. We saw solo air flight performances by three fighter aircrafts, followed by a solo rendition of a glider and helicopter in the morning session before we witnessed superb, unparalleled air stunts by the Saarang team of IAF on Dhruv copters. Four choppers in perfect unison performed stunts like loop formations, fly past/cross paths with just enough room for their rotors, dolphin leap and my favourite of all – the reverse motion of a chopper to join the other three. The chopper moving in the reverse direction literally performed the act of moonwalk in sky.

Moving into afternoon hours, we saw three choppers, one lifting a jeep, two others a human chain, then 13 paratroopers, from the Akaashganga Sky diving team descending in style. After this there was a short recess when the crowd dispersed to grab lunch. The second show of the day began at 2.30 pm and we stuck on, this time closer to the speakers from where we could clearly hear descriptions of each aircraft, its vital statistics and details of the commander/officer who flew it.

To start with, the whale-like B 70 of the US Air force took off the runway. As it soared into the sky, we wondered how it was able to lift itself and keep afloat. The behemoth steered in different angles and every time it flew over us, we only wondered if the sky was enough for it.

The second event in the afternoon show was the flight acrobatics by LCA. This was a marvellous display where unbelievable heights were reached, free fall was attempted a couple of times, swift change of angles and flight with belly upwards occurred. The next on show was a solo display, no less than that of LCA, by the British aircraft, Hawk. A white colored and relatively meek glider Hansa 3 took to sky thereafter.

Now was the time for the star performance and the landmark event of the Aero Show – performance by the Suryakiran team of IAF, anticipating which we decided to linger on at the venue even after the end of the first show. Our patience did pay off.

Six Kiran aircrafts, maintained prim and proper since 1960 leapt into the sky in two groups, each of 3 aircrafts. It was a sheer visual treat seeing the six aircrafts fly in close proximity making shapes of V and T, loops, barrel rolls and flying past, leaving trails of tricolour. The stage was set aptly with “Vande Mataram” song by AR Rahman playing in the background from the speakers. It evoked a great sense of national pride in all. We stood erect, heads held as high as possible to record every swift action of the 6 aircrafts. A highly talented team, with unquestionable precision, leaving not even hairline room for error/doubt raced with supreme control in the sky, headed by one Mr. Curian in such sync that the crowd could not do much but call for an “encore”. The team performed the final act of splitting along different trajectories after having flown closely, it appeared equivalent to a flower pot cracker in the sky.

The Saarang team performed again in the afternoon, this time, the moon walk act was missing and the 13 paratroopers again descended down the sky. The Aero Show 2009 drew to a close and was a stupendous success. We returned home filled with excitement, with a vow to get back after two years.