Trekking Days..

The Venues included on this Life Poster :

Gerusoppa valley - Sharavati waters , Jakkor stream Near kalleshwar , Unnamed fantastic falls near Burude Jog , and Places near Sirsi.

It used to be 6 Days a week and sometimes I used to make it 7 days week with my affinity for work back in my earlier days. From now one i will call it as Phase 1 . Our core trekking team used to comb the forest every week ( On Sundays ) for new trails or pathways made by wild streams. The forest as usual is not friendly. Its always punishing and demanding . The strain it puts on you is worth it , once you are out of the green canopy and relish on the memories of ur ordeal. The sheer joy of physical exertion used to bring us back to the wild chase after an unknown stream , Go after Peak after Peak or any place near to Nature. Many streams we used to chase after were known only to the locals and it was word of mouth propagation we used to get info about next ' Green Hunt '. The days of green are vivid and enchanting with each season offering its best.

Our core team had 'Harishpant Damodharpant Dattopant Krishnapant Haripant Devnawathe' - or shortly Harish Nawathe ( Taking only the first and the last name !. Its how a traditional old timer Hindu will tell his name.. The name will include the forefathers name .. as far as u can remember ! ) , Amit and Me. This Amit is a freelance photographer with a creative approach. I have seen his creativity on Photo film. He is doing wonderful things with his analog camera. He used to chase his dreams in forest alone during the early days. He used to go to bus stop and catch the bus to remote villages , get down at the last stop and used to start his unscheduled journey from there and usually he used to come back brimming with nice experience to share with. He had that sense of direction in forest and real hard core I can say. Contrary to Amit, Harish is organised and employee of LIC of India and he is the driving force - who made all our treks a reality by getting info required and planning. Some times when I couldn't get a bike for the weekly trek , we 3 used to ride on the single bike to our dream destination , in rain , in wind and in scorching sun. We never published our treks but I chronicled each one of them with photos and points I kept. The trek was purely personal like the exercise we do in a gym. Myself and Amit were capable of the dawn to dusk trekking without food and water. We were camels on the go ! And Harish was just the opposite. With our differences we grew stronger and richer.. richer with experience.

We used every mode of communication to reach our destination.. Yezdi (1972 model) which used to run comfortably with 50-50 petrol and kerosene mixture ! , 50 cc Luna TFR ( I will some time write about this Luna rides myself and Harish took - those are one our best days till date.I Personally equate that to journeys of Ernest 'Che' Guevara chronicled in his 'The Motorcycle Diaries' ) , Cycle , Bus , Truk and Walk. During some treks we had accompanying mates who had got cars to reach the starting points. Usually our starting points used to be 20kms to 50kms away from our houses. The number used to vary. The members used to change. But core remained the same for nearly 12 years.

Memoirs:

I have to thank my father for the inculcating the habit of walking. His normal walking gait was equal to brisk walking speed. As he hailed from a small , remote village and as was a old timer, the only way to town was walking. He made walking pleasurable exercise.

Life Poster

Picture speaks for itself. Its true. My College days I used to cut all colorful photos and make a collage - then depending on the outcome , I used to give names to those collage ! . It was fun and creative also. This 'Life poster' is done with Picasa. I am looking for more diverse and more effective collage programme. Till then Picasa is the go. ..

Notes : Thanx again 'hitu. Thanx to unknown mike too !

Tribute to my thoughts

Morning was gloomy and drizzling. The expected weather !

While commuting on the train , it was my own private world - Me , Myself and My weird thoughts. Most of the time what I think or rather churn out during the journey of nearly an hour is lost , the moment i step out of the Metro trains. Its the same routine of follow the crowd. I sometime feel , I am drifting in the Human Sea. Here , there and every where. Sometimes in Human sea the currents are so dense that I can call that its elbow to elbow sea of humanity !

I can see the tension , grimness , and also drowsiness in the fellow commuter's face. Be a male or fee-male , both the same. In the stations I can hear the bouncing and echoing sounds of high heeled foot gear made by running ladies. Its fee-males that run the running show !

I think I should remember all the things i thought of , or planed to do.Many times my good thoughts are lost forever due to my negligence. Or rather my slightly laid back nature ! For me its walking and Travelling on Car or Train or any moving objects that starts chain of thoughts.

Today I thought of writing about my Good old trekking days back in the place I worked and worshipped ( for its natural beauty ), stretching back to a decade. My active trekking days have ended for the time being , at least. I will be posting my thoughts on the weekly treks I did back in India in the future. ( Only problem here is my dedicated time to tap the keys and a little bit of me for some creative input ).
I will not disappoint myself !

Notes:
Writing on paper is simpler and creative - I can change between ಕನ್ನಡ , English and sketches .
I love to do sketches while writing. My notebook are filled with such weird sketches.
My creative side is not accepting the Tapping the keyboard as natural thing !

Yebisu Beer Museum

On Saturday 21.04.07 , it was a sudden decision from Anil Polineni to visit the Sapporo Beer Museum. Its a Beer Museum which is unique and which can be reached by Ebisu station ( H-2) on Hibiya Line.

The origins of "Yebisu Beer" date back to 1887, when Nippon Beer Brewery started producing beer in the area then called Mita Village. The name "Yebisu" was later adopted in slightly altered form to designate the station, and "Ebisu" has since become familiar to many as the name of the surrounding town. Yebisu's century-old tradition of brewing beer is now celebrated in a new museum dedicated to the history, science and culture of the beloved beverage. The museum will take visitors to experience new world of the beer through the "MAGIC VISION THEATER" and other video equipment that employ the latest technologies.
Admission is Free. One can enjoy the Drought beer Tasting in the Museum, But its paid tasting.

Timing :
10:00a.m. - 6:00p.m.(Entrance until 5:00p.m.)Closed on Mondays and during New Year’s festivities.When Monday is a holiday, the next day will be closed

Transportation :
From Ebisu station(reached either by JR Yamanote Line, JR Saikyo Line, or Hibiya Line Subway)ride the moving expresswayto the Entrance Pavilion of Yebisu Garden Place; from there it's a three-minute walk to the Museum.



Information:
Sapporo is primarily known outside Japan as the host city for the 1972 Winter Olympics, and for the annual Snow Festival, known as yuki matsuri, which draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world. The city is also home to the eponymous Sapporo Breweries. Sapporo Breweries Limited is a Japanese company that makes beer, headquartered in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Yebisu (ヱビス, Webisu?) is a beer produced by the Sapporo Brewery. Basically Yebisu is Japanese Mythological God. He is One of the Seven Gods of Fortune. He is the Smiling God.

For further information,please call at +81-3-5423-7255 or FAX +81-3-5423-2060

Notes From me:

The buildings in the complex with red bricks are really worth watching. Totally good for a weekend outing ! More photos are there in Yebisu link Here.

An Excerpt

An excerpt which is really interesting - For all those Etymology Buffs
--many of the reasons that English spelling contains many silent letters and other complexities date from the 15th century, around the time of William Caxton's 1476 introduction the printing press in England:

"In spelling, the language was assimilating the consequences of having a civil service of French scribes, who paid little attention to the traditions of English spelling that had developed in Anglo-Saxon times. Not only did French qu arrive, replacing Old English cw (as in queen), but ch replaced c (in words such as church--Old English cirice), sh and sch replaced sc (as in ship--Old English scip), and much more. Vowels were written in a great number of ways. Much of the irregularity of modern English spelling derives from the forcing together of Old English and French systems of spelling in the Middle Ages. People struggled to find the best way of writing English throughout the period. ... Even Caxton didn't help, at times. Some of his typesetters were Dutch, and they introduced some of their own spelling conventions into their work. That is where the gh in such words as ghost comes from.

"Any desire to standardize would also have been hindered by the ... Great English Vowel Shift, [which] took place in the early 1400s. Before the shift, a word like loud would have been pronounced 'lood'; name as 'nahm'; leaf as 'layf'; mice as mees'. ...

"The renewed interest in classical languages and cultures, which formed part of the ethos of the Renaissance, had introduced a new perspective into spelling: etymology. Etymology is the study of the history of words, and there was a widespread view that words should show their history in the way they were spelled. These weren't classicists showing off. There was a genuine belief that it would help people if they could 'see' the original Latin in a Latin-derived English word. So someone added a b to the word typically spelled det, dett, or dette in Middle English, because the source in Latin was debitum, and it became debt, and caught on. Similarly, an o was added to peple, because it came from populum: we find both poeple and people, before the latter became the norm. An s was added to ile and iland, because of Latin insula, so we now have island. There are many more such cases. Some people nowadays find it hard to understand why there are so many 'silent letters' of this kind in English. It is because other people thought they were helping."

Original :
David Crystal, The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left, Oxford, 2006, pp. 26-9.

Dog's Eye View :

Its a dog's world and Dog's property rules are :

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If its in my mouth, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If I’m chewing something up, all the pieces are mine.
6. If its mine, it must never appear to be yours anyway.
7. If it just looks like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If its broken, it’s yours.

Memories :

Let me show you the world's ugliest dog . It got awarded also and it has died at the age of 14 years. I have seen such horrible looking ailing dogs but with deteriorating health conditions - But still struggling to live along. Good thing is they can not commit suicide ! . Let those loyal creatures have a peaceful life .

Let me write about dogs , good times and bad times and merciful times - in the near future. I have seen the death, tortures from a near quarters. Its a wild , wild world outside. And as usual its the survival of the fittest.

A Letter from Azim Premji...

Dear Wiproite,

My own successes and setbacks along the way have taught me some lessons. I wish to share them with you and hope you will find them useful.

Lesson #1: Be careful to ask what you want. You may get it.

What this means is that do not ask too little either of yourself or the others around you. What you ask is what you get. When I look back at the time when I joined Wipro, I was 21. If you ask me whether I thought that Wipro would grow so by someday, the honest answer is that I did not. But neither did I think it would not. We constantly stretched ourselves to higher and higher targets. Sometimes, it seemed possible, sometimes fanciful and sometimes plain insane. But we never stopped raising limits. And we got a lot more than what we bargained for.

Lesson # 2: Respond, don’t react

Always be aware of your emotions and learn to manage them. There is a huge difference between people who react impulsively and those who can disengage themselves and then respond at will. By choosing to respond differently, we can prevent another person from controlling our behaviour. I remember a small story that illustrates this well. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude Customer. Every morning, the Customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, “Thank you, Sir.” One day, the vendor’s assistant asked him, “Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don’t you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?” The vendor smiled and replied, “He can’t help being rude and I can’t help being polite. Why should I let his rude behaviour dictate mine?

Lesson # 3: Intuitions are important for making decisions

It is important to realize that our intuition is a very important part of decision making. Many things are recorded by our subconscious. Use both sides of the brain. Even that is not enough. Some decisions need the use of the heart as well. When you use your mind and heart together, you may get a completely new and creative answer.

Lesson # 4: Learn to work in teams

The challenges ahead are so complex that no individual will be able to face them alone. While most of our education is focused in individual strength, teaming with others is equally important. You cannot fire a missile from a canoe. Unless you build a strong network of people with complimentary skills, you will be restricted by your own limitations.

Globalisation has brought people of different origins, different upbringing and different cultures together. Ability to become an integral part of a cross-cultural team will be a must for your success.

Lesson #5: Never lose your zest and curiosity

All the available knowledge in the world is accelerating at a phenomenal rate. The whole world's codified knowledge base (all documented information in library books and electronic files) doubled every 30 years in the early 20th century. By the 1970s, the world's knowledge base doubled every seven years. Information researchers predict that by the year 2010, the world's codified knowledge will double every 11 hours. Remaining on top of what you need to know will become one of the greatest challenges for you.

The natural zest and curiosity for learning is one of the greatest drivers for keeping updated on knowledge. A child’s curiosity is insatiable because every new object is a thing of wonder and mystery. The same zest is needed to keep learning new things. I personally spend at least 10 hours every week on reading. If I do not do that, I will find myself quickly outdated.

Lesson # 6: Put yourself first

This does not mean being selfish. Nor does it mean that you must become so full of yourself that that you become vain or arrogant. It means developing your self confidence. It means, developing an inner faith in yourself that is not shaken by external events. It requires perseverance. It shows up in the ability to rebound from a setback with double enthusiasm and energy. I came across a recent Harvard Business review which describes this very effectively :

“No one can truly define success and failure for us- only we can define that for ourselves. No one can take away our dignity unless we surrender it. No one can take away our hope and pride unless we relinquish them. No one can steal our creativity, imagination and skills unless we stop thinking. No one can stop us from rebounding unless we give up.”

And there is no way we can take care of others, unless we take care of ourselves.

Lesson # 7: Have a broader social vision

While there is every reason to be excited about the future, we must not forget that we will face many challenges as well. By 2015, we will have 829 million strong workforce. That will make India home to 18% of global working-age population. The key challenge is to transform that into a globally competitive work-force.

This will not be an easy task. Despite all the rapid economic expansion seen in recent years, job growth in India still trails the rise in working-age population. It is important that gains are spread across this spectrum, so that the divide between the employed and the under-employed, is minimised. Education is a crucial enabler that can make this growth as equitable as possible.

Lesson # 8: Play to win

Playing to win is not the same as playing dirty. It is not about winning all the time or winning at any cost. Playing to win is having the intensity to stretch to the maximum and bringing our best foot forward. Winning means focusing on the game. The score board tells you where you are going, but don’t concentrate too much on it. If you can focus on the ball, the scores will move by themselves. I recently came across this story that I thought I would share with you

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen. He returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal- some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – and asked them to help themselves to coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, you were more concerned about comparing your cups but what you really wanted was coffee. Yet you spent all your time eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to contain Life, but cannot really change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by over concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee."

I wish you all every success in your career and your life.


Azim Premji

Note:

This letter is provided by KSR. Thanx KSR.

The IT Life....

There are 2 people always next to you:

1 - The PM (Project Manager), giving a pleasant smile every time he sees you.

2 - The TL (Team Leader), busy in scheduling work for u ..... And busy in his world.

In between its you, who struggles with Coding or testing. The perfect picture is given below...... {Team leader -- U --PM}

Mortal Wishes

The list below has things I always wanted to do , some atleast once , some mastery over them , and some for sheer fun, Some I would like do over the years , with my slight laid back nature !.Some may look crazy. Some my look too idiosyncratic. But list is genuine ! and Personal. Knowing the power of psyche , I strongly believe , when we dream and think about dream with a will and desire , the road to success will be realised from known and unknown sources.


The list is not in any particular order. And as and when there is an achievment the list will be updated.


1. To visit Exotic Foreign lands. ( am in one such country with diversity)

2. To be able to write with both hands - being Ambidextrous. (successful to certain extent)

3. To learn atleast one foreign language to read and speak.
3.a - depending on my success I can add more languages. Really fascinated by polyglots.

4. To watch earth from space.











5. Learn Guitar
6. To trekk across Aghnashini river , the total length - Non stop.
7. To view all the falls I visited so far from a glider to have a aerial perception.
8. To ride a harley davidson bike.
9. Free Rock Climbing.
10. To Kayak across the total length of River Kali and River Sharavati.











11. Visit Easter Island and other major polynesian islands.
12. Visit Chile.

Notes:

thanx - rohit; for making my wishes public. All these days my wishes were kept in a diary (which is left back in India ), viewed and reviewed only by me. I will be updating it regularly now onwards.

My Views

Space ship from Sci-fi movie ? Just the night lamp - In my room !

Deep down the edges of Solar Systems Looming Death star !

The Bird is Free :

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.1922 — 2007

It was back in 1995. The Sundays were best spent on roads , rather combing the activity filled roads of over crowded Bangalore. On such a stroll down the narrow roads of Chickpet , my self and frend Satish happended to peer in to a second hand bookstall as usual. Searching for priceless bootie among the discarded books. He happened to Pick a a book with no front cover but the rest of it intact. When I glanced over his shoulder, I could see some simple drawings filled the pages. It was queer and stood apart from the rest of the books. When the bargain was done , it was i, who pulled the money out of the wallet first and paid Rs.25 for it and still i have that novel with me, cosily lying in my library..The book was ' Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt vonnegut.jr.He is best known for such classic novels as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle. But incidently I do not have these two novels. It was pretty interesting to read his ' Break fast of champions'

The satirical novelist Kurt vonnegut.jr who was 84 , died on 11.Apr.He was the kind of writer who made people _ young people, especially _ want to write. He wrote the kinds of books you pass around.He also filled the book with some of his own simple felt-tip pen drawings, intending to illustrate various aspects of life. It was real smile !

If you look at his works , For countless teenagers, reading Vonnegut was as much an entry into adult life as your first beer. The world became funnier, more dangerous, more exciting. If you were looking to send up authority, question life's meaning or face the worst and keep your sense of humor, Vonnegut was your teacher.

His writings are remembered for world-weary gentleness, warmth, and comedy. And he was pretty darned imaginative, too, with his funny looking , insightful drawings and the words that rolled out from him.

The Cage is empty and Bird has been set free. May his soul rest in peace .

Notes : The cage was drawn by dead author himself.

I'M-POSSIBLE

Vanilla Ice Cream that puzzled General motors!!!!

This is a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive.

Pls read on.....

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:
"This is the second time I have written to you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night, but the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem.....You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds "What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?"

The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway. The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighborhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner me, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The Engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, they got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started.

The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas uses, time to drive back and forth etc.

In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavor.
Now, the question for the Engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Eureka - Time was now the problem - not the vanilla ice cream!!!! The engineer quickly came up with the answer: "vapor lock". It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Bystanders View:

Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be simple only when we find the solution, with cool thinking.

Rmember : Impossible is Just I'm-possible
What really matters is your attitude and your perception.

A Discussion

FINDING TRUE GOD
1) Does burning the oil lamps, electrical bulbs around pictures in the name of God help in burning your EGO? It just burns a hole in your pockets. That is it.

2) If God can see all at any time, does he need those flickering weak lamps to see around your house and temples?

3) If God is everywhere, then how can you lock him up in your ‘God’s room’?

4) If God is with you always, why are you searching him in the temples, churches and mosques?

5) If God is ONE, then why does he need so many places to live when people don’t have shelter over the head?

6) If people become ghosts & spirits after death, then why are all worshiping the ghosts of king Ram, Krishna or Jesus?

7) Has anyone taken the photograph of God to think that he looks as funny and fat like Ganapati or voluptuous like Durga? Do educated people today need to celebrate these creatures’ festivals just because some politician or saint advised without giving a thought about the nature? Move with time, please.

8) Why can’t people today gather for a WISE reason & purpose of helping the poor, disabled or old people instead of wasting public money?

9) Why do ‘nature-worshipping’ Hindus contribute and support the ‘destruction’ of the same by disposing dirt/faeces/ half-burnt corpse/idols in the ever-shrinking rivers, burn wood by felling trees to burn corpse and to perform rituals, gathering in huge numbers to pollute the environment?

10) Why do the Christians still believe in miracles of a virgin giving birth? How can they be called ‘educators’ while they are so superstitious and are still searching GOD in the thin air?
11) Why does the religion Islam which starts with the word ‘PEACE’ has successfully terrorized the world?

12) When half of the world does not carry out the customs, traditions and rituals and still LIVING WELL, then why the other half wastes money on these silly customs?

13) When you believe that God created EVERYTHING in this universe, why do you worship those fraud saints and sadhus?

14) How is that even educated people can’t differentiate between mythology (fabricated stories) & reality?

15) Why do parents force children believe in thousands of years lies and force them to waste money on non-essential customs? These are the parents who throw a fuss when the children want a new book/pen!

16) How is that you don’t know that a religious person is a fraud and a spiritual person is non-religious?

17) Does God need to be given BRIBES… when he is one who is GIVING ALL TO US? Isn’t it like filling the ocean with water?

18) Why do you need to decorate and dress this GOD? Why does he need to go for a fashion parade when billions don’t have clothes to cover their dignity?

19) Why do you need to FEED this GOD when he has all & gives us all? Or is this God permanently hungry? Billions of living beings don’t have a morsel to eat that you want to feed this imaginary being!

20) How is that you are never thinking of donating that amount saved (may be even Rs.10/) from burning that wasteful lamp, decorating this GOD, performing silly and useless rituals?

21) How is that every greedy and ambitious person ends up in ‘Art of living’ classes with high levels of stress where as those who take life as it comes and be humble don’t need any of these guidance?

22) If all our ancestor saints, sadhus and rishis were crooked, arrogant and foul mouthed; why to follow them even today?

23) When you declare you trust NONE BUT THE POWER OF GOD, why do you then trust the power of pearl, diamond and corals more? Did it ever strike you that diamond is just another piece of rock HE has created?!

24) If you are truly educated, then how is that you don’t want to stand up for the RIGHT VIEWS, RIGHT PRINCIPLES AND RIGHT DUTIES?

God is not lost to find him; he is not physically present to feed and to shelter him. For the gullible idiot everything is a miracle. For a thinker it is all science. For a spiritual person it is just mind over the matter. His virtual presence and thought is required to make us humble, clean, sincere and honest. God exists in essence and effect of life. It is that feeling wherein the TRUE GOD lives!!

(with thanx to Mrs. Rekha Ram for her insights..)

Notes:

"What is the atheist's symbol?"
A simple black circle. It has the following characteristics in common with atheism:
It is simple.
It is whole.
It is unbroken.
It is obvious.
It is all-encompassing.
It is strong.
It has nothing to do with any religion or belief system

And, it makes for quite a small image file.

After Thots:

• I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.
• God made hundreds of millions of planets and wonderful species. But, by the time he got to us, he was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

What is Love & Marriage ................?

To all of you who are married and all others who aren't....

One day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is love? How can I find it?" His teacher answered, "There is a vast wheat field in front. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found love." Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with empty hands, having picked nothing.

His teacher asked, "Why did you not pick any stalk?" Plato answered, "Because I could only pick once, and yet I could not turn back. I did find the most magnificent stalk, but did not know if there were any better ones ahead, so I did not pick it. As I walked further, the stalks that I saw were not as good as the earlier one, so I did not pick any in the end. His teacher then said, "And that is love."

On another day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is marriage? How can I Find it?" His teacher answered, "There is a thriving forest in front. Walk forward without turning back, and chop down only one tree. If you find the tallest tree, then you have found marriage". Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with a tree. The tree was not thriving, and it was not tall either. It was only an ordinary tree. His teacher asked, "Why did you chop down such an ordinary tree?" Plato answered, "Because of my previous experience. I had walked through the field, but returned with empty hands. This time, I saw this tree, and I felt that it was not bad, so I chopped it down and brought it back. I did not want to miss the opportunity."

His teacher then said, "And that is marriage. You see son Love is the most beautiful thing to happen to a person, its an opportunity but you don't realize its worth when you have it but only when its gone like the field of stalks. Marriage like the tree you chopped , it's a compromise."

Bystanders view:

So don't let your love go away from you.........................

otherwise u will have to compromise with the marriage..........

XX vs XY

HER DIARY :

Day night, I thought he was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a cafe to have some coffee. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that Iwas a bit late, but he made no comment.Conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk, he agreed but he kept quiet and absent.IAsked him what was wrong - he said, "Nothing."I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry.

On the way home I told him that I loved him, he simply smiled and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior; I don't know why he didn't say, "I love u, too."When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore.He just sat there and watched TV. He seemed distant and absent.Finally I decided to go to bed. About 10 minutes later he came to bed.

I decided that I could not take it anymore, so I decided to confront him with the situation but he had fallen asleep.I started crying and cried until I too fell asleep. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

HIS DIARY :

Today India lost the cricket match against Pakistan. DAAM IT.

Notes:

NOW that's called Simplicity of Men Vs Complexity of Women !!!

Story Time

Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed? The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand Rupees.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill." The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer ......................... Rs. 2.00
Knowing where to tap ............................. Rs. 9998.00

Notes:

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference

Colors..

Colors.

Its Enchanting. Mesmerising at times . Absolutely fantastic when presented live . Vivid when viewed with child's curiosity. Captivating when spring blooms. Absolutely , there is flow of life in color.
Dumbstruck at the altar of an artist. Framed on the celluloid of photographer. Magnifying the beauty that is already present. Blissfully displaying on petals of flowers.
Colors.
Its life that is dream. By living a dream you awake to the fluid flow of blend of colors.
Thanx for the color else , else life would have been monotonous.

Mother ..

A MOTHERS LOVE by Author Unknown

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:
For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00 For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge
For all the nights that I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years: No Charge
For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge
Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you." And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL".

Notes :
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. ~ Mark Twain
Always obey your parents - when they are present- Mark Twain

A Remembrance

He was a man of words, who waited for a better years to come and in the waiting he lost the interest in life for a moment - the moment of detachment and ended his life in a gory way.

It was a pity to see the noble soul departing the body in a hurry and haste , that after his end , he even left his deserted body for the feeding of stray dogs , vultures and animals on the prowl.

An end one should not wish for an enemy also, was his. He embraced the death boldly for the principles he adhered to.It was not the expected end for a man of his financial knowledge , Common sense , humbleness , managerial skills. He was a work horse . He tirelessly used to work hour after hour and still be happy.

He was a Good father , Good friend , Good Husband.

I Just remembered him. The emotions were too strong.
May his soul rest in peace.

Notes from me:
It was a tree of life . It sheltered and fed all the people who came to it and passed by . It was a source of inspiration for all around . A wood cutter , who was also once sheltered saw only the fortune he could make by cutting the tree of life and fed 'poison'. Now on that road only memories of the tree prevail. Dead stub of the tree remains to tell the story of bygone era of glory.

ದಮ್ಮು

ನನ್ನ ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪ
ಎಳೆಯುತಿದ್ದ
ಕಾಡಿ-ಬೇಡಿ-ಬೀಡಿ 'ದಮ್ಮು'

ಈಗ ಯಾರಿಗೂ
ಬೇಡ-ಬಿಡಿ
ಅವನ Prob-'ಲಮ್ಮು'
ಕಾರಣ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಈಗ
Extreme-'ದಮ್ಮು'


Notes from me:
Watch out - Cockroaches are getting cancers !
http://www.jokesgallery.com/joke.php?joke=4824&id=1

Thoughts Wander

Dream- Hallucination-Haze-fantasy-fantastic-unreal-vibrant-cool-Ingenious-Reverie-wild-exotic-charm-beautiful-vision-desire-calm-glide-cloud9-relishing-watchful-Haunting

i let the Thoughts wander when ever i watch a nice picture. i just relax and watch the feeling flow thro me. Its exciting and playful. Its broken thots that i picked up by words and presented above. The movie clip is from 'A series of Unfortunate Events' .

i do the same when i am contemplating and one with nature during my solo walks.

Note: i wonder, why - i am always small compared to I . There is a joy in being small and Humble.

Small Story

Sixth Sense

A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her prayers which she ended by saying "God bless Mommy, God bless daddy, God bless grandma and good-bye grandpa."
The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye grandpa?"
The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do." The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence.

A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her prayers, which went like this: "God bless Mommy, God Bless daddy and good-bye grandma."
The next day the grandmother died. Oh my god, thought the father, this kid is in contact with the other side.

Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the dad heard her say, "God bless Mommy and good-bye daddy."
He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay. He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound.

Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home. When he got home his wife said "I've never seen you work so late, what's the matter?" He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."
She said "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened to me. This morning our neighbour James dropped dead on our porch."

Notes From Me:

• The difference between a husband and a lover is the difference between day and night.
• While forgiving say - ' I forgive you, but I don't forget ! '
• Guns don't kill people... Husbands who come home early kill people.

Fastest Thing ..

Four guys, one each from Harvard, Yale, MIT University and SANTA SINGH from Punjab University were to be interviewed for a prestigious job. One common question was asked to all 4 of them.

INTERVIEWER: WHICH IS THE FASTEST THING IN THE WORLD?

YALE guy: Its light, nothing can travel faster than light

HARVARD Guy: It's the Thought; b'coz thought is so fast it comes instantly in your mind.

MIT guy: Its Blink, you can blink and its hard to realize you blinked

SANTA SINGH: Its loose motion

INTERVIEWER: (Shocked to hear Santa's reply, asked) "WHY"?
SANTA SINGH: Last night after dinner, I was lying in my bed and I got the worst stomach cramps, and before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHTS, it was over!!!!

A Story..

A new vacuum cleaner salesman knocked on the door on the first house of the street.

A tall lady answered the door.Before she could speak, the enthusiastic salesman barged into the living room and opened a big black plastic bag and poured all the cow droppings onto the carpet.

"Madam, if I could not clean this up with the use of this new powerful vacuum cleaner, I will EAT all this s...!" exclaimed the eager salesman.

"Do you need chilli sauce or ketchup with that" asked the lady.

The bewildered salesman asked, "Why, madam?"

"We just moved in, & there's no electricity in the house!"

MORAL: Gather All resources be4 working on any project...

Crazy English

'Arigato gozaimasu' - to buddy Rohit

English is a Crazy Language

Let's face it -- English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one loose tooth, 2 leese teeth? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo or a truck by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? Lift a thumb to thumb a lift? Table a plan in order to plan a table?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly?"

How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another. Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who *are* spring chickens or who would actually hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is "crazy man" an insult, while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man!" is a compliment (as when applauding a jazz performance.)

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

Metro Trains

Metro Train Journey to my work place takes nearly 45 Minutes. Its very hard to find the trains empty as shown in the second photo. The real scenario is as in first photo. If you are on the opposite lane during the rush hour ie. against the crowd you will find the second scenario. Both from a 'gaijin'-foreigner's view ! Entry fee for any station is 160 JY in Metro. Most of the people on the train will be dozing - standing , sitting and dangling ! . Or else they will be reading some books. Mostly cartoon books. ( These people are real crazy abot cartoons ) . They never look you in the eye. All with bowed head , closed eyes , hearing to music if they carry their ipod, or Usb Players. I have even seen people playing games on their gadgets or on mobiles.

Good thing abot travel is on top of the doors there is a display . It displays the next station approaching in English like ' Next Kayabacho (H-12)' and after that it keeps displaying the Japanese letters. You have to be observing - if you are newbie - of course !

Even the doors which is going to be opened is also announced. 'Hidarigawa' - Left side and 'Migigawa' for the right side. Just get accustomed to the things and one will start noticing a whole new world !

Every station will display the station Number and Name . Along with it Previous station and Next station in line are also displayed , with the station name . That is the good thing .

There is a courtesy seat at both ends of the compartment. Its meant for People who have seen the better days , Pregnant women , Patients and People with broken legs . A sign asks you to Switch -off the mobile near courtesy seats. I forgot to mention - If people are not reading or dozing , they are meddling with their flapped mobiles. Almost all mobiles will be showing off some odd things hanging from the mobile in place of tags.

Through out the night the train services are not available.

Books

ಎನಾದರೂ ಬರೆಯೋಣ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ, ಬರವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾದ ವಿಚಾರ ಮನದೆದುರು ಪಾಸಾಗಿ ಹೋದರು ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾರದ ಉದಾಸೀನತೆ ಎನ್ನಲೆ ? ವಾ Creative Input ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಂಕಾಗಿ ಕುಳಿತ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ 'ಪಾಪಾ' ಎನ್ನಲೇ ? ಕೆಲಸ,ಕೆಲಸ, ಮೂರೂ ಹೊತ್ತು ಕೆಲಸ...ಸೃಜನಶೀಲತೆಗೆ ಆಸ್ಪದ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ? ಓದಲು ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ ಪುಸ್ತಕಕ್ಕೇ ಗತಿ ಇಲ್ಲಾ..ಇನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ತರಲಿ ? ಗೆಳೆಯ ರೋಹಿತ ಭಾರತಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಾಗಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕಳೆಯುವ ಬಹಳ ಸಮಯ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪುಸ್ತಕವನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕುವ ಭರಾಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ.ಈಗ ಅದರ ಅರಿವು ನನಗಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಏನಾದರು ತಲೆಗೆ input ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ Creative output ಬರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ.ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ ನನ್ನದೇ ಗ್ರಂಥಾಲಯ ಹೊಂದಿದ ನನಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ Internet ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ Online Books ಲಭ್ಯ. ಆದರೂ ಈ Sunday 2 ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಹೊಂದಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಯಿತು.
1. Tom Sawyer and Huckle berry finn by Mark Twain
2. Ulysses by James joyce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#Ulysses
( Second Book I am reading it for the first time... Let me .. )

It was free books offered by our real estate agent - Mr. Anton Scherer.
Thanx - keep up the gud work Anton !