Along Cauvery, towards Mutathi

When we finally decided to go to Mutathi after many hours of deliberation, we had nothing to base the locale except for a Google result which showed a blog with pictures of elephants and some guys basking along a river (The Cauvery, which I later came to realize!). Now, that basking along the river is what caught our attention, and also the fact that it’s a mere 120 kms from Bangalore so making it a perfect option for a one day trip. We wanted the country which would mean clean air and we wanted fun, the water would handle that I am sure! But, above all I think we wanted to ensure that we don’t have to travel a long way and not have time to enjoy the place.

The journey to Mutathi was I believe what one would usually see when you step out of Bangalore along the Kanakpura road. The fields and the hills once you leave the city walls, the roads with houses so very off the road, truly making you wonder how it is to live against the trees and hills. We see points on the route, a line of shops, followed by a trail inside where the inhabitants of the area live and I believe their only link to the city life would be these shops on the roadside. The rocky hills which you see on both sides and that too with varying colours as you move towards your end point.

Once we reach Sathanur, we also follow a trail in search of the Mutathi village, which lies close to 30 Kms inward from the Kanakpura road. Here the stretch becomes narrow and the vegetation lines your way with a few foot trails in between. As you move along, there would be a sudden downpour and then a kilometer later you would come to a completely dry stretch, and these downpours increase as you move closer towards Bheemeshwari.



Now at many spots you can loiter by the river and have a wonderful picnic, though one needs to watch out for the monkeys which are in plenty. The river is clean and in flow, with many rocks in between. It is quite a task to wade through the water and reach these rocks too or maybe since it was my first time in a flowing river! One thing I was particularly pleased about was that the water was clear and clean, something I was wary about knowing it to be a frequented spot by many who wish to have a nice day away from city! The village is some way off and on route you cross the Cauvery Fishing Camp, where you would find lovely cottages for a weekend stay. (You need to book in advance as they are usually booked during weekends) The village precisely consists of three roads of which one would be the main road where most of the shops to have some food after your 2 hour journey would be, one would lead you to the temple and the third would lead you to further along the Cauvery.

Another option which I wish to explore my next time along Cauvery would be the trek organized by the Karnataka Forest Dept, where you start off at the Elephant Camp and walk through 20 kms to reach Mutathi and then enjoy the opposite bank of the river, as what you would have seen on this route along the Kanakpura Road.

A really interesting link i came across A Booze Test !

76%LUSH

Criticize ?

Ever so often, how very easy it is to criticize someone. When we start to look back and compile all the wrongs done, then we go on a spree on adding all the mistakes which we see and it doesn't cross our mind that crticizing also has to be such that the person appreciates it. It isn't the fault of either party but usually the moment transforms us into one side which is rattling the brain to find all the small details which we tagged as fault, and the other side which is hell bent on proving that the situation would not have called the act as a fault. This becomes a fight between the accuser and the defender. When we talk about any situation why is it that we do not try to stick to the fault at hand but rather try to assimilate all such similar situations. We do it I believe to make the matter at hand more important and help the person understand what we are talking about, and as per us, we are just giving examples to re-emphasize the fact. I feel that this is where we step over from positive criticism to negative criticism. Whatever you might wish it to be, but unless it is taken in the light its expected to be, there lies no hope in driving your point across to the other party. Beyond this I believe we can only hope that our original fact isn't misunderstood !

Are cats truly as intelligent as dogs?

I personally do not know when i will stop this comparison, as anyone who i talk to has just one piece of advice for me ( me being the forever dog lover) " Do not compare a cat to a dog!" An in fact thats what i inevitably do almost everyday, maybe not out aloud but i do start to think of the various differences. Cats have a many strange moods i have noticed, something varying from docile to violent. They are times when Whisky just jumps around and happens to target my feet or hands as her enemy. I have no clue why thats true! And many a times, its just the fun in jumping and attacking a moving object, with no true intention of attack in the true sense of the word. Well... i haven't seen many dogs do this routine! But i have noticed that they also do not tend to bite and lash out in the same tone as a dog does when it is angry. Maybe the size would matter in this case to a large extend, which is why they do not make a very strong attempt at attacking.

Eventually one thing i have noticed is that by the end of the day, irrespective of how they have behaved, they still wish to cuddle up on your lap and fal asleep, which is something i haven't seen in dogs. Dogs tend to be fine sleeping by themselves in some corner, but cats on the other hand seem to need a cozy safe place to sleep. This leads me to question whether they do remember what all they did through the day?

Whisky !

Hadn’t it been for the possibility of adoption, I do not know where I would have got a 2 month old kitten from! Something which initially started with my wanting for a pet pup has now ended with a kitten. I am not complaining as I am quite happy with her pranks and climbing on me too. I would have been more comfortable with a pup as I would have known what he would expect but here it’s a study which I will also be partaking to understand the feline species in greater detail. They are said to be very socializing and receptive to human beings ( as I have extensively read ), till now I do stand by this as the way I have seen her interacting with people around has been quite impressive.

One thing I do realize now is that cats are very intelligent; I have always been a very strong believer that dogs are the most intelligent, but now I suppose I can differ a little from that. My 2 month old kitten, Whisky has been very easily house broken, and she understands what’s the right and wrong. Having experience with dogs and rabbits, I had strong reasons to believe that dogs would certainly rule the intelligence category and I guess to an extend, I do believe that even now. Whisky is certainly quite intelligent but it’s yet to be seen with age how she develops in comparison to a pup. I somehow believe that I shall be right in my assumption that dogs do rule the intelligence cadre, but I am certainly ready to keep an open mind to see how Whisky grows up to be !

Frustration

Something has got me thinking, at times it is said that work should be work; play should be kept part for the well being of both, and there are also other times when play and work should be mixed as a few say. I am sure there are many reasons that either of the sides have, to stand by what they believe to be the right methodology of handling matter. I sometimes think whether we tend to misuse the liberty we get, is it that something which human beings are bound to do. Or is it that the liberty that we wish to hold in our hands will never reach our hands; the very concept of work will not enable us to have these things in our purview. It results in a conflict when its said that there will be a freedom of work style and yet there are some boundaries which are defined within which alone this freedom is allowed to open its wings to the fullest.

At one end I feel, I should maybe try to maintain a different style in work and play. I believe that alone maybe the result which may solve the issue at hand. That way I shall always be not looking to have the freedom. Then why give the pretence of freedom and then follow it by not living up to the expectation! So, all in all I believe having low expectation is the key to having your way, you way being a small one is easily met with also. This may even be seen as a non solving methodology which I have employed so that I shall be not left with a situation without an answer to my query.

Someone put a very good question to me… is love an addiction? It is an interesting question which I thought over and then decided that it would be more sensible to answer two different questions, so as to say that this question can be interpreted in two different ways.

1. Is the concept of love an addiction?
2. Is the person whom you believe you love is your addiction?

The first question can give a possible answer as yes but then to be addicted to a person is not something which seems feasible to me. A person to be an addiction has to be under the constrain that he/she will have no change whatsoever, and they will remain the same. How can human beings remain the same over a period of time, they change with the surroundings and with the circumstances, so in that case, I believe that its not possible to have a person as your addiction. The only possible way this addiction can be termed as a person, is only considering that the person doesn't change with time, or else the person's character has nothing to contribute to the addiction. In the latter case, the addiction is not based on the person concerned, but only on the consideration that the person who wishes to be addicted is addicted irrespective of the nature of the person to whom he/she is addicted.

The concept of love being an addiction as per me is a feeling which is more realisable and that's a feeling which will be completely innate to a person and not dependent at all on someone else or their being at that instant. This will also show more truth in the love which is seen for people who have been dead for years, how their presence does not affect the ones who love them but just the feeling that prevailed during their existence follows through even when they are not there anymore.

The Doing of Business

I have been wondering off late how is it that some people seem to have a flair for business and the thought process associated with it. From where do they obtain this know how and the thinking capability such that they are known to others as to have a 'business bend of mind'? I know for one that when I think of business I see many pink pages and i think thats where things pretty much end for me! I wonder how people are able to think of so many things which are so unrelated and furthermore then eventually make it all interlinked!! How is it that they know and have a desire to know about things which have never ever crossed their path before? Maybe that I can very safely attribute to curiosity but then in that case, how do you get all those new ideas... but what ever the other things that pass through the person's mind, what amazes me the most is that interlinking power! How do they do that ... how do they know that something that they heard last night on TV or while talking to a friend over a drink is what they can use the next day when they are faced with a problem. If they didn't know that this was something that they can use the next day... but they were just trying their luck, then in that case, how do they still know that out of so many things that one hears every yesterday, this is what will solve their problem for the day? Its just an inherent understanding which prevails within a person and I believe that this is what makes that money making successful...

How is it that one thinks of things in the future ... plan the moves so as to speak... and then another interesting thought is that there are so many sub sets within business: understading people and cashing in on where it suits you the most, knowing the trends and being completely up to date with issues in relation to what one does, and above knowing all about the whole driving force: money ! It looks interesting, quite very interesting I must add, but what then decides whether you are in for that jump and knowing whether you have it in you to go ahead and succeed, in this oh so very gingerly balanced system of gaining money ! I guess I have loads to learn and lets see where that learning process shall lead to in due course...

Job ?

I have been just thinking off late what does it mean to say that you are happy in a job... (request you to not consider the fact that I am unhappy or something like that)... I am totally happy with my job... and I think I couldn't have got something better to do. When I say that I am enjoying my job I feel that maybe I am speaking too early... am I just judging the days/months/years ahead based on mere 40 days? But then the fact that there has been not a day when I felt that I should have been somewhere else... should count much more than the number of days right? I am guessing that it should :) and I have pretty strong inkling that I shall come to know whether this is true or not quite soon !

I know so many people who say that with time things happen to change and then the very same things which were the best to you might just become the usual and once that happens then will things remain the same? Somehow I have a strong feeling that for many this will translate to many issues which you might face in life... then how does this specifically say anything about a job? (this is a valid statement for almost any relationship which you might come across)... be it with friends, an item or else even with a place... I am certain that some places eventually lose out the charm with the years too. And this is usually seen to happen when things seem stagnant...which leads me to believe that it is more dependent on whether you want to have a life/job which is truly dynamic or you are satisfied with a static one?

Pink Vs Blue

I was just thinking... lately with the advent of metro sexuality and the modern man, how the standardized color sense of the years have been changed. It’s now that if you can’t carry off the pink and purple, then you are no way modern, the whites, creams and blues are considered colors of the old man and bold is young. When did this change come about? When have the color scheme changed? Well if you look at it at times, when has there been any restriction on the colors which a woman should wear? I don’t ever remember that in fact, that brings us to the age old question of inequality between men and women and as far as to my knowledge i think this has been certainly in the favor of women for once :)

How does color get aligned with a particular sex? Does it have any link to the inner aspect of the sex? A pastel color shows a soft soothing nature and does this have anything to do with its links to the female race? This is what I have come to believe...after careful speculation, the colors are based on the general feel the exude and hence the more pastel shades are attributed to women. But in case we see a man wearing a pink shirt and shouting very angrily, it’s not something which we will see as out of place, the color is something which is so superficial that once our eyes get used to it then where will there be any time/space in our heads to associate the color with the personality. Hence I guess a pink or blue shows nothing for a man or a woman, and if they did, white should surely mean that the person would have nothing to say regarding anything and h/she is as placid as the colour!

Lhasa apso

I was just thinking of going ahead and buying a Lhasa apso once I get my first salary… I wanted that to be the gift to myself but then somehow that was not to be. I guess it’s not possible when living almost alone and to take care of a dog is not a small thing for sure, he requires either dedicated effort from one or else he would need many to look after him in shifts, which is what I thought would be possible considering that I live with friends, but I was so surprised to find that I live with so many people who have a fear of dogs, not a morbid fear but then nevertheless who would prefer to be at the other side of the road when a dog happens to be at the same road! A real small Tibetan dog, which is said to an amazing watchdog, as loyal as a friend can be, I never did thing that this dog would also have its own set of enemies. Its not that I speak without experience, I myself had a Lhas, and he died a few years back, being 12 years old. But for his size and activity, I am sure that 12 can be very easily equated to 80 in human years. They are said to be age old Tibetan monastery watch dogs, these one foot tall dogs, with a hearing as sharp as a bat and a bite which can be quite tingling, with such specifications, it isn’t very hard to see why they tend to make the best watchdogs.

Then I started thinking about Persian cats, now I don’t have a particular liking towards the cat family, excepting of course the leopards and jaguars, else smaller versions have never been something which I have had a strong fascination with. But then thinking on the lines that I need to have some living being next with me to share my life with, come back to after work, and that it has to be small so that turned me towards cats if not small cute dogs… but then animals scurrying around seems to be the point of problem. So now I am left with no pet as yet and wondering what else to consider which wont pose as a problem to many. I am not too fascinated by birds, they have to be in a cage and that somehow feels cruel, it’s restricting their natural lifestyle. Similarly even fish, I think keeping them in an aquarium is cruel. So now by the looks of it I feel I won’t be having a pet at least not in my present settings!

Internet Interests

How often is it that when someone asks you what are your interests, the first few thoughts that cross most minds are reading, surfing the net, music, sports etc. Reading being the highly common answer as mostly it varies from those who pick up the morning newspaper to pass a glance at the days headlines, who follow a blog on the net, to the few who have to read something different before they can let their eyelids close and follow the thoughts of their mind. With the recent advent of the internet era (do not take it to be a complaint) we have seen the rise and even more stronghold the 'www' world has taken in many lives. Interests prior to its start have been pushed back, diminished or else everyone does eventually become smart, and they find a way to incorporate their past with the future. Many weave their hobbies and interests into the internet so as to attain the better of both worlds, or so they think so! Readers start to read .pdf or .doc files instead, sports freak start to play Soccer and Cricket over the internet with their avatars, music buffs start to search for the latest free download sites and so on. That leaves me with the question is there any sphere where the internet has not extended its tentacles?

Even if I start to think of my personal interests and leave aside all those who I know and especially those who I know for whom interests have almost sunken completely into the world wide web, I too am sure that I can’t say with conviction that I haven’t also in some way fitted the internet into my previously internet detached interests. I never ever had read E books in spite of the fact that I do enjoy reading a lot, but then this time around with Harry Potter being released at the beginning of the week, it left me with no option but to start reading the .pdf file before I could get my hands on the hard copy. So there, now I have used the internet and very easily mixed it up with my interest, now what waits to be seen is whether it was just a one time happening or will it be just a start to many other happenings… But I do know one of my interests which for sure can not be available on the internet. In fact I know of it being available in forms but those would never give you the true experience!

http://www.neopets.com/
http://www.marapets.com/
http://www.virtualpetsworld.com/

These sites have virtual pets wherein you adopt a baby virtual pet, feed it, play with it, put it to bed and so on. But, this certainly is not the way it feels to have a real pet in your house. One might say that these are for those who cannot keep a real pet, but I do not agree that its impossible to keep a pet of any kind... if you do not want an animal scurrying around the room, why not a fish or maybe even a bird in a cage. Or is it because you believe that a pet is not meant to be kept away from its habitat and should be left freely in nature? If that’s the case, then why all the virtual dogs and virtual kennels, just because they are virtual? So then in that case they don’t exist, which again beats the purpose of bringing in a new member to the family. I believe that there are some domains as I have shown above, where the web cannot replace reality though it certainly does try to do so…