Month: February 2019

Kumarapuram Temple

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Temple at the Road Side – Kumarapuram

Most time when we cross this temple, my spouse tells me of her memories with this island temple in Kumarpuram. It’s the pujari whose body was covered with some kind of big boils like Small Pox. There was hardly any person who comes to worship – just a basic temple, no prasadam as it’s served in paper cups, etc.

Now times has changed, people have a new found faith in this temple and some particular day of the week, it’s crowded with devotees.

Change is a part of life, and this too is a change!

Malayalee’s Penchant for News

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What’s Breaking News!

Took this picture from Kochu Veli Express as it halted in one of the stops before Kollam en-route to it’s last stop, Kochu Veli. Such sights are common in Kerala, a state which boasts of high literacy and newspaper readership.

This makes me think – is the so called literacy good for Kerala? Or is it inhibiting change or resisting people to act on what skills they learn or know.

On a general scale, Kerala has large number of newspaper readers and for most people, any-day is incomplete without starting the day with news and coffee. The over consumption of news has it’s side effects which I feel is crippling the state.

One assumption I think is that newspapers carry lot of negative news and it can make critical of everything they come across. And, this is the plague that I find with most people of my state. They are skewed to be negative, sarcastic towards anything that’s new. I belong to this and many of my contemporaries.

Any project, proposal or a venture from anyone is resisted – from Express highway project to waste recycling plant and many more.

I may be wrong, I may be right?

What do you think? 

Clogged by Weeds

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Tributary of Veli Backwater

Blackish Water of Veli Backwater

Spot this Sight
See this view, take the Poonthi Road towards KIMS hospital. Half way through, you’ll see a bridge on the left side of the road, as the road curves to the right, on the opposite side of the apartment.

Why I took this Road less Traveled!
It’s a shortcut to reach Anayara side. I stopped at the bridge to view the blackish water of this backwater. This is lost part of Veli backwater which is covered with African payal ( Weed).

Apart from the weed that’s taking over the water body, humans too are slowly taking over this wet land by filling it with loads of mud. Slowly, slices of land will cover the dead backwater and a house will spring in these parts.

What if I had a land by the banks of this river? Will I try to cover it with mud so that I can fetch a price for the property. Well, that’s what most of the land owners are doing. Not all, but a good part of them!

Tactics the Chinese way – Salami Tactics

Is there a way to bring life back to these water bodies? I always think of some means to take the weed out of these waters, but all those looks very expensive on paper. 

How Fresh is Fresh – Mackerel

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Mackeral – One Part

Simple masala ( Chilly and turmeric paste)

Sometimes, I’m greedy and I act fickle about food. When I grew up, like many others, we often hear elders saying – don’t show tantrums with food. Do you know that there are many millions who don’t have any food on the table and your fussiness in food in not a good attitude. Be content with what you have – eat the veggies.

Today was one such day. There was squid curry, then a dry fish dish, then two vegetables. But the sight of mackeral kept for cleaning, made me stop the food halfway through. I kept the half eaten plate and then sliced and cleaned the mackeral and fried it.

After all the work and expectations, the mackeral didn’t turnout to be the one which I liked. I felt, it was not as fresh as I expected. Probably, they had kept some chemicals and made it appear fresh.

Don’t know why I’m this finicky about freshness of ayila or bangada as it’s called in Bangalore. In B’lore I don’t buy ayila as it looks too stale for me.

Today, I wonder if my understanding of freshness in fish is right or a construed thought!

Nostalgic Memories of British Library Trivandrum

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How many of you in Trivandrum remember the building, location and interior of British Library in Trivandrum. At one time, probably till late 90’s or early 2000, it was functioning in the same premises of YMCA at Statue, Trivandrum.

Why did I remember this library now?
Today while taking my scooter near Kumarapuram, I saw a man who resembled the person who had worked in British Library. He was a pleasing young man then, with thick mush – which was more like bristles on a brush. I remember him giving me some allowance when I present overdue books at the library counter. Thanks for that favor!

Looking Back!

What do I remember about the British library which had a good collection of fiction and non-fiction books? Which book did I read? Did I ever finish a book?

I remember the faces of three to four people who worked there – one lady was my friend’s friend’s mom. Maybe.

Then there was another young girl – mostly wore sari, pleasing young lady at the counter. She had pimples, if my memory is right.

The security guy, who wore the tag and kept our bag at the counter.

Another good feeling was the air conditioned interior which was my temporary stop-over place to cool myself after roaming around the city.

The carpeted interior, clean neat shelves, books that was arranged by topic, etc

Upon entering the building, the left side was the reference side, where there was always people sitting with a pile of books, taking notes. Probably, some of them might have become bureaucrats or now warming their seat in some corporation or Govt Secretariat.

Once or twice I watched the video, and mostly I took magazines, some ILTES magazines with English quiz at the end. One phrase or idiom I still remember from that magazine is “Two to Tango”.

The white interior, the sofa with handsome cushion to relax, read and dream. I used to feel like a big man then, taking topics such as Ethics and so on. I don’t remember reading the any of these big titles, expect for one book.

It was the time, when I had a rage for stock market. The book on Technical Analysis is the only one when I read it all. Most other times, I came to the library to pay over dues and it always pinched my wallet. Still, I continued the tendency to keep the books without returning it on time.

  1. What are your memories with this library? 
  2. Did you meet new people, or make new friendship?
  3. Do you miss this place in Trivandrum, like I do?
  4. What happened to the books that filled the shelf?
  5. Why did they stop this in Trivandrum?
  6. Is it possible to bring it back? 
  7. Did the people loose their job or they continue to work with British government?

Domlur Locality Close to ISRO Quarters

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Lonely Street View

Road Ahead

This road leading towards Cambridge Layout was widened last year. If I can remember it, it took more than a year to complete the process. Recently I noticed that they have named it Aryabatta Bridge. This name might be given because of the proximity of ISRO quarters.

At some time of the day, it’s very quite, other times, it’s a busy road which takes commuters from Cambridge and towards Domlur BDA side. Once a person told my wife that there were instances of chain snatching and mugging. So, be aware of this, especially when you’re waking this part on a lonely day like this.

As a person who stays in this locality, I’ve used this road from the past 12 years – often to go to office at Koramangala or to buy fish at NLP fish stall at Domlur.

Thanks to this wide new road, there’s no need to navigate the portholes or get honked for blocking the way. 

Launch of Cut by Sreemoyee at Park

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Book Launch of Cut by Sreemoyee 

At the venue early on – Photo at Park Hotel

This is the first book launch I’m attending in 2019. Not that I keep getting invite to other book launches, but it’s my first chance in the year to visit any of the big places in Bangalore. I should first thank Sreemoyee for sending me the invite for the launch of her book Cut in Bangalore.

About the book Launch
There’s one thing I have to share about this book launch and the previous one Status Single is her meticulous plan, the well articulated words, choice of panelists, etc. This book like others previous two books, she has divulged into a new topic and a topic which are a bit controversial.

I’m yet to read this book. Shall share my two cents on it later.

Wishing the best to Sree!

Life Tips from James Altucher – Print This!

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James Altucher Tips

After subscribing to Feedly, I added quite number of blogs for daily reading. Though, I don’t get time to read it daily, I keep skipping the feeds, to pick few from the pool.

Today, decided to read a blog from James Altucher. Found the poster with 8 practical tips for improving life. Wish schools, officers or Government offices has space to pin such posters.

Will such points provoke people to change, think or act differently?

Just few words on a poster or life-tips from a non-fiction book doesn’t get absorbed by the reader. It takes more than just sticking a poster on the wall or skipping through a book, get any effect on the readers intellect. There should be focused approach on learning from the points covered, retrospection and absorption.