Closing my eyes . . .

I do not know what am I to do.


The astrologers say that Dec 13 will be the most auspicious day.

For her, the most important event is the taali kettu ( tying the mangalsutra) so that has to be done during this time.

For him, the most important event is the phere so that has to be done on the same day.

The taali kettu has to be in Guruvayoor (a famous temple near Cochin) as amma has said to the lord that she shall do that.

The phere have to be arranged at the same place for it to happen on the same day.

My brother will not be here from the US of A till Dec 26th, so anyday after that will be the rest of the wedding ceremonies.

His family does not understand how can you have the wedding ceremonies and then return back without the bride.

Amma will not have me going till the completion of all wedding ceremonies post Dec 26.

From his side, relatives flying in from abroad can not stay for over 10 days for the reception after the Dec 26th.


I am tired.

I do not know what am I to do.

Talakad

A few weeks back, we visited Talakad, a few hours drive from Bangalore. We took the Mysore road, took a left turn at Maddur. From there another 50 kms inward on a bumpy, gravel road lands you at this real nice sandy river bank.

This small village is called Talakad. This is where they have 1000 s of temples from 12th century covered with sand, and just 6 have been excavated by the Archaelogical department of India.

We started after a hearty brunch at Peco's around noon, and we were close to Maddur by 1:30ish.. but we got whirled up in a hot pursuit frenzy with a Maruti Baleno and hit speeds of 140kms/hr on the Bangalore - Mysore highway on a Maruti WagonR. After we drove past Maddur, we realized that maybe they are off to Mysore, and promptly took an U-turn and headed in towards Talakad. A 10km stretch from here is good but the rest is all a mess. Some broken up pieces of road is all I could find, and with the bullock carts and bikes in between, you really can not and more over should not drive too fast. We reached Talakad and took a guide (for Rs.100) to show us around the place/temples and provide some explanations. Well, the kid (yes the guide was a Class X kid) did know bits and pieces about history but then he explained he studied in a Kannada medium school and hence his English is not perfect. I was impressed that he knew how to explain himself, and could convey most of the history to our understanding.

Guide take aways

• The older temples are from the Ganga dynasty, and the main temple of the village is from the Chola dynasty.
• Here is where you will find a natural brown Shiva Lingam, as compared to the black ones which are the most common
• This is the region where Cauvery takes a bend and hence quite slow and shallow. You can almost wade through to the opposite bank.
• Forest cucumbers are very common in this area and is used as a teeth cleaner ( Toothpaste)
• Cashew trees are also very common here

After the temple walk, which was through hot sand, barefoot and across a slightly hilly terrain, we decided to hit the Cauvery. We did not go into the water, as it looked quite unclean, and also there were far too many people inside bathing and swimming. We instead had a mango bar and relaxed on the bank watching all the kids jumping and mothers trying to ensure they do not hurt themselves.

Here are a few pictures of the temples and others. The scorching heat and walking bare foot on the hot sand resulted in less clicking andmore dodging to find shade below trees!

Gifting ideas, anyone?

A bunch of flowers? – She will like it, but naah, I think something nicer.

A book? – I just got her something interesting to read last month

Clothes? - That’s something she always seems to love :)


These are my thoughts, one day before Mother’s day.

I thought about sending her flowers as a surprise, but for some reason I did not want to send something which would wilt with time. Then that would land me a card, in fact I love cards. I have cards which were sent to me over 15 years back. That is something I would send anyways, but what about the gift that I want to buy?

I want to buy a mother-daughter or a family photo frame and get a recent picture and send it across. Or maybe I should wrap it in a nice kurta which she might like. That would be I guess perfect in her eyes :)

I choked up when I read this one, and offered a silent prayer for giving me the most perfect mom for me. Any question, and I ask her. Any confusion, and I talk to her. I am so grateful.

So now I shall start on that, and till I get done, if you have any other ideas, do drop a comment.

In search of an elixir

Eyes look down
a dryness in the mouth
words choke up
a mind blank, maybe not

The mind has a plan
not a coherent one
the world has a plan
not yet revealed

Thinking of what to do
thinking of what can be done
thinking of what was done
thinking of how to pave a path

Thoughts creep up
but soon slide down
wonder what I search
unknown to me, and to you

Emotional Atyachaars

Tagged by IHM, and a very interesting tag, so here goes...

1 to 10 of my Emotional Atyachaars

1. Being an ardent animal lover, an everyday sight on the streets, which I completely despise is people scaring stray dogs away by throwing items at the poor stray just looking for some food even if it might be the waste on your plate
2. Drivers not stopping for animals to cross the road. I feel there are very few occasions that one comes across an animal in the middle of the road, and I believe, if you just slow down a little, they will happily skip across to safety
   
   Now after the animal bit...
   
   
3. I am quite finicky about people wasting water.. while washing dishes, having a shower, or when they simply do not close the tap properly
4. In my kitchen, usually you will not see things lying about. Most of them are in their places. When someone uses my kitchen, I just expect it to be left the same way, and when it doesn't happen... X(
5. I get thoroughly irked in an official setting, when people are not understanding to others' feelings and personal commitments
6. Will never understand and want nothing to do with those who think that what a woman wears has anything to do with how anyone should behave with her
   
   Okie... now I got to admit, I am finding it a little difficult to go beyond this.. but these are some things which have happened in the past and I do know that I become extremely uncomfortable in these situations
   
   
7. I feel really sad when grown up children speak rudely to their parents
8. I get completely frustrated when someone remains silent after taking offence to something which I have (not) said/done
   
9. I grit my teeth and clench my fists at road side romeos and their cuckoo whistling and loud laughter
10. I never seem to understand those parents who sit on the pavement and make their kids perform at the traffic signal to earn the family bread... and I never give any coins here either. I think you should be dignified enough to move your a** and earn your living.. by doing whatever you can

Do you think this is an interesting tag? Please do take it up.

How many times do you let the phone ring?

I have seen people letting the phone line connect and then allow the phone to ring over 20 times... making sure anyone in the vicinity would have turned deaf by then! And moreover, at times, in a matter of seconds the person will call back again. Why?

Wasn't it very obvious the person concerned was not at the seat, so maybe trying a different number, or waiting and calling in another half/one hour might just get the person concerned on the line for you !

How many times do you let the phone ring when you are calling someone?

5 times? 10 times? 20 times? or somewhere in between?

I usually let the phone ring just about 5-6 times, and by then if the person has not picked up, I assume they are busy and call back later. In fact, on cellphones I end up letting the line go through for just 4- 5 rings. They will anyhow get the missed call, and return the call!

Here too exceptions are there, like I know my mom would take sometime to dig her cellphone out of her handbag and attend the call :)

Passing by....

I was planning to put this down a long time back... but work caught up and some bad memory too.

On the way to work on a thursday morning... 

B: We need to return this faucet we got the day before, it does not serve the purpose and no point keeping it.

A: We can check whether the shop is open, and return it right now. It won't take more than a few minutes.

After a few mins, when the shop came up on the left side...

A: The shop is open, lets stop by and return it. Do you want me to run up and return it?

B: I am just wondering, maybe we should not return it to him first thing in the morning. You know... the first customer sort of... 

A: Hmm.... I guess we can anyways return it in the evening too... we would not have to cross this busy road too in that case ;)

It's good to know those who do care for others' feelings, even if they might not believe it them...