Listening to the world's largest Pipe Organ

Yesterday, we went to downtown Dallas to attend a Pipe Organ demonstration at the globally famous Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. This is the second Pipe Organ I am listening to... the first being at the Holy Trinity church in Bangalore. The one in Bangalore is definitely decades or perhaps centuries older than this monster of a musical instrument in Dallas. Well the demo was supposed to be held at 12.30 pm and we were there on time only to be ushered into the comfortable 2,036 seater auditorium. The comfortable seats feature covers of Mohair wool, some kind of special and expensive stuff but very comfortable. The rendition of the pipeorgan started with the player sitting in a small space in the middle of the numerous pipes through air passes when the right foot pedal or key is struck. The performance transported the sparse audience to another world... a world of melody and music. The highly entertaining performance was followed by a tour of the Meyerson Center.

Here is a bit of factual information about the Meyerson center first and then about my experience of listening to the pipe organ playing. The 485,000 sft Meyerson center was opened in September of 1989 and it took another 4-5 years to put together this massive pipe organ which has 4,535 pipes of all sizes. The smallest being just 3/4 inch to the largest being 32 ft tall. It is a wonderful example of how a municipal government, with the help of committed volunteers and patrons, can build and maintain such a masterpiece. The Meyerson center is owned and managed by the City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs, and several reputed bands such as Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Turtle Creek Chorale, Dallas Wind Symphony, and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra operate out of this space. Though this elegant building is primarily meant for musical programmes, numerous other events take place from time to time. The most common include corporate meetings and religious services. Air conditioned, spacious and luxurious lobbies are often rented out to private functions such as, meetings, seminars, awards ceremonies, trade shows & exhibits; weddings, graduations, photo and film shoots etc.

No doubt the Meyerson center is one hell of a beautiful building which exudes elegance, luxury and extravagance. But one thing I found rather disconcerting is the acrylic enamel on composite material; 4 separated color panels by artist Ellsworth Kelly. These are nothing but four straight strips of coloured acrylic and there is nothing to indicate any extra effort or artistic perception or whatsoever. But these guys had to get an artist to do that. In my opinion it is rather funny. Anyway some people have weird ideas about art and art works... I am definitely not for this kind of art.

Easy way to get extended warranty for your car

Buying a car is perhaps the easiest thing to do in the US. If you have a decent credit rating there will be more than one financier willing to provide extended credit and sell you a car. But then maintaining one in ship-shape and running is the expensive part of owning a car. Yes when you buy a fancy car you will get appreciative looks, people will suddenly show interesi in you, your family will look upon you with greater respect etc... but at the end of the day you are paying all the bills. Do you wish you had got some Extended Auto Warranty which would take care of all the repairs, maintenance, cleaning, oil change, tire change, lubes, etc? Well you almost have found one.

FinanceGenius a pioneering financial consulting company assists people like you and me who work hard to drive a good car, live in a comfortable home and have a happy family. It is a one stop shop where exhaustive information, articles, tips and other resources about Auto, Mortgage, Credit, Insurance, Student Loan, and Budgeting solutions can be found. The information available on FinanceGenius is packaged in a user-friendly and easy-to-understand lingo which will enable you to make smart and knowledgeable decisions and get the best out of every dollar you earn and invest. FinanceGenius is based in Austin, Texas, and acts as a paltform to bring together customers and corporates in a bid to offer the best possible financial opportunities for consumers. The aim of FinanceGenius is to help customers save money and access resources about Auto, Mortgage, Credit, Insurance, Student Loan, and Budgeting solutions.

One area of major expenses on the home budgeting is the automobiles. Every family has at least two cars and without Extended Auto Warranty, this takes a lot of money. On FinanceGenius the various types of warranties are demystified and explained in the most simple terms. The website explains the critical difference between warraty and insuarance. The former helps pay for repair/ replace covered parts, the latter, is a agreement whereby the insurance company agrees to pay for customers repairs in case of an accident. Depending on the type of policy insurance takes care of both vehicle damage and personal injury.

Extended Auto Warranty is nothing but something that you can buy at the showroom and according to FinanceGenius there are other people offering cheaper rates for extended warranties. But the best part of this entire exercise of visiting FinanceGenius is that you as a consumer can get information about the services, links to company websites and also to a host of other related features. The exhaustive information is bound to set you off on a thought process which will result in leveraging massive savings for you and your family.

Adventures in Wet & Willd Winter at Horne Lake Caves

Of late I seem to have become an arm chair traveller, reading and writing about places which I read about. One such interesting place I read about is the Horne Lake Caves which is supposed to be a great winter getaway. But then one has to wear snowshoes and wear protective apparel before entering the caves. There are other options at the location too, such as climbing a subterranean waterfall, walking in the snow etc.

Horne Lake Caverns
The best location to do adventurous activities such as climb up an underground waterfall, see rare crystal rock formations is the Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, Vancouver island, British Columbia, Canada. The caves offers an incredibly exciting three hour Wet and Wild Spelunking (Caving) Adventure tour, during winter and spring only. The tour concentrates on Ice Age water forces that created one of the largest and most spectacular karst systems in North America.

There are no prerequisites or caving experience required to participate in this adventure activity. You should be interested to take up the physical and mental challenges caving offers and be excited about the sense of exploration and discovery; and of course have a moderate fitness level and be above 8 years.

Natural formations inside the caves have been named after comic characters which they resemble, such as Jabba the Hut, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh, Howling Wolf and Smiling Buddha. In India I remember the Belum caves where all the formations have Indian cultural names such as Sapta svaralu, Koti Lingalu, Simha dwaram etc. Here they have names related to their culture. Human beings are the same everywhere.

Interestingly out of 123 of the longest and deepest caves in North America, 76 are on Vancouver Island alone. Riverbend is 387 metres (1270 feet) long and features a seven-story waterfall. Imagine climbing a water fall in the deep womb of mother earth. It is interesting and makes you enact the roles played by hollywood star Nicolas Cage in National Treasure or even Sylvester Stallone in Rambo III.

If you are someone who doesn't like getting into closed areas then there are surface adventure activities such as fishing for cutthroat and rainbow trout, canoeing, kayaking. Take a look at the pictures and you will head straight there the next long weekend.

Get ready to celebrate Valentines day

Valentines day is less than a month away. For those who don't know about Valentines day here is a small brief with large doses from Wikipedia

Valentine's Day is a day to remember Saint Valentine on his birthday February 14. Until a decade this was mainly a western world (Europe and America) festival, but looking at the consumer and market potential it has been successfully instilled in the psyche of many non-christian nations such as India, China, Thailand etc. This is the day on which lovers express their love for each other. Now the trend is to send Valentine's cards, gifts, valentines day flowers etc to the loved one.

The most common present is perhaps the valentines day flowers. The holiday became popular and associated with romantic love during the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Valentine day traditions concern with mutual exchange of love notes in the form of greeting cards, valentines day flowers, heart-shaped outlines, figure of the winged cupid etc. It was during the mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States. According to the U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates, approximately one billion valentines cards are sent annually worldwide.

Now that you know about the origin and traditions around Valentines day what would you do to make this day special for your loved one. Would you send a bunch of valentines day flowers or cards or take her out for a romantic dinner what else. Think it over and you could emerge a winner and grab the attention of your significant other and end up happier.

Ever heard of Gullah Culture of America

It all started with a press release from travel writers.com about Gullah culture of America. I had never heard about it and the release got me curious to know more. Apparently the Gullah culture is an antiquated African culture which existed in America some time ago. With its colourful past, rich history, a language of its own and intriguing heritage of arts, music, cooking, weaving, and entertainment, language, design, health, agriculture, fishing, hunting , and family traditions.

No doubt there are reams of newspaper articles and hundreds of books on native-American cultures and Indian lore. But the Gullah and Geechee cultures have been almost totally overlooked by everyone except a few hardcore research-oriented historians whose findings have been published only in niche journals and scholarly books. This is what makes the Gullah people and spaces where its culture have thrieved all the more intriguing for me. Considering their colourful festivals, enchanting music, enticing dances, captivating arts, palatable food culture, etc should have been popular among travellers and adventurers. But this is still relatively unknown.

I googled and found a few sites giving information about the Gullah culture.

Gullah Pride is a website which contains quite a lot of information about the history of this unique and colourful culture. I copied this picture and am quoting this passage about their history from the website: "The Gullah culture started with the transportation of African slaves to the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The Sea Islands served as an excellent location for the Gullah culture because of its separation from the mainland. The African slaves, who came from different regions in African, brought with them their language, culture and traditions. Collectively these traditions and languages have merged into one to form Gullah. The Gullah culture has survived over the years by Gullah elders passing down the language and traditions to their children."

American Gullah researcher, author and editorial consultant has recently released a book titled Gullah Culture in America and says that February is GULLAH CULTURE MONTH and he hopes to open a door to this remarkable world of the Gullah and its potential for travelers through his book, which according to the publishers is the first major book on this subject.

Gullah Culture in America by Wilbur Cross features a foreword by one of the most noted Gullahs in the Sea Islands and Lowcountry, Dr. Emory Campbell. This new, thoroughly researched, book explores what very few yet know as a direct link to the African continent, an almost lost culture which exists in the Sea Islands of the United States, along what is known as The Gullah Corridor, stretching from the northeast coast of Florida along the Georgia and South Carolina coastal shores to the lower reaches of North Carolina -- and little more than 30 miles inland at any point.

Currently there are over 300,000 Gullah people, many of whom speak little or no English living in isolated remote areas of the sea islands including St. Helena, Edisto, Coosaw, Ossabaw, Sapelo, Daufuskie, and Cumberland.

The book deals with all the facets of the Gullah culture in great detail, including, the History of the Gullah culture; Geography of the Gullah Corridor; Gullah tongue; Religious beliefs and places of worship; Folk medicine; Festivals and celebrations; Music, song, and dance; food etc.

Find the best dating website for you

Have you been single since a long time? Now you are well past that stage and the excitement of being single is wearing off. Do you feel like looking for someone to mingle with, perhaps go out for dinner or movie... maybe a travel buddy or an activity partner initially and see which direction things head. Maybe this could even set off a meeting with that special someone to settle down for life. But your years of singlehood has left you at cross roads and you don't know where to go to look for a date or partner. The Personals in the magazine is not helping and are leading you to deadends.

There are hundreds or even thousands of dating, matrimonial, friendship, matchmaking and similar websites online in which you could place your own Personals advertisement or look through the listings of millions of other singles like you and try and find the right partner. And obviously you being in the same community want to be part of one of these websites or dating institutions. But which one is the right one for you? Finding out that could be a frustrating and expensive experience.

The more popular Personals websites such as Perfect Match, eHarmony.com, Yahoo personals etc are all full of people who are potential dates/ partners for you. Apart from these well known sites there are a host of others which are not so well known. But who knows which site will have the maximum members who would compatible with your interests and tastes? Wouldn't it be great if there were some resource where you could read unbiased and critical reviews about these sites? Well you don't have to wait any longer for such a service. Here is one site which has reviews about all the major Personals sites, making it easy for you to choose the right service for your dating needs.

Personally I am not looking for any potential dates, but then as I browsed the site I found very useful and unbiased reviews of Internet dating services based on their costs, style, features, etc. I liked the review on Perfect Match.com which is a website which will help single men and women find the potential love of their lifes. Say if someone is looking for casual dating, this site is a strict no for them.

Another site reviewed on Prime Dating sites is Chemistry.com, which is easy to sign up site. The best part of this service is the chemistry profile form in which they ask you to answer a series of questions and based on the honest information you provide the site will define your personality and match you with people who have compatible personalities.

I had never heard about Lavalife, a rather unique internet dating service, which is known as a focused dating preferences of individual users such as dating, relationship and intimate encounters. This feature has made Lavalife increasingly popular among the several dating sites online. On Lavalife one can have live video interactions, make a backstage pass etc, features which are not offered by other Personals websites.

Apart from reviews Prime Dating site features direct links to numerous premier Personals websites, to help you embark on the journey to find the right soul mate. So what are you waiting for, go ahead and visit this Personals site and start your search.

West Bengal Reels Under Problems

It looks as if the fortunes of the communist ruled state West Bengal is on a perennial decline. Though home to some of the most patriotic and smartest people in the country, the state's large majority have been suffering from poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. The capital city Kolkata has played host to the largest number of pavement dwellers in the country. The constant flow of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh has further aggravated the problem.

Already poor and troubled the people's woes seem to be getting worse day by day. Last year the Nandigram incident hit the national headlines when farmers protesting against land acquision for establishing industries were fired upon by security forces. The fire of Nandigram had hardly died down when the metropolis of Kolkata was in floods due to excessive rains. Then recently there was the massive fire in the busy wholesale market (Burra Bazaar) area of Kolkata. And the latest is the high incidence of bird flu in poultry of the state.

The government has ordered culling of thousands of heads of poultry across the state. Investors are crying tears of blood as their fortunes go down the drain. The 2008 has begun on a sad note for Bengalis, here is a hope that as the year dawns it becomes better for them.

Read more on Deccan Herald

Suffering from back pain? Here is relief

Back pain is common among people who are working in the IT and IT Service industry and among those who are constantly travelling by motorcycle through bad roads and others. Back pain can really bog down the afflicted and take the spirit out of them and there is really no way to cure this ailment because it is more of a lifestyle problem. However there is help at hand in the form of modern technology enabled furniture, such as Massage Chairs.

Human Touch a pionneering company manufacturing Massage Chairs which combine contemporary massage technology and fashionable outlook, offers several choices. These Massage Chairs are manufactured in such a way that the massage from these chairs are as good and use the same proven techniques of professional massage therapists and chiropractors.

Human Touch has been set up with the firm belief that personal comfort and wellbeing of customers is the top priority and they should get the best. With this philosophy Human Touch® manufactures products which use only the most advanced robotic massage technology and systems in their nationally gamous and acclaimed Massage Chairs. Human Touch researchers have studied and analysed the various treatment methodologies of massage therapists, chiropractors and physicians before embarking on designing these Massage Chairs.

Every Human Touch massage chair replicates the proprietary and patented massage systems and techniques of expert massage professionals and makes your experience as close and gives you human-like massage including the rolling, kneading, compression and percussions. Some of the unique features of massage from Human Touch Massage Chairs include:
1. Full-body massage along the contours of your spine and body from neck to foot
2. 3-D movements to provide complete relief to worn and tired muscles
3. Advanced programming possible to select specific area, intensity and techniques
4. User-friendly gadgetary and controls to customise your massage experience

With a Human Touch Massage Chair at hand you don't have to worry about setting up an appointment with the Chiropractor or physician or anyone else. Just come home after a tired day, program your massage, sit back and relax your back and body.

And if you want to know more about Massage Chairs and how they work, you just have to log on to the website of Human Touch and you will get all the information you are looking for.

Google announces its endowment plans

Almost all big corporations have been doing something to give back to the society. Companies like Microsoft (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Wipro (Azim Premji Foundation), Infosys (Infosys Foundation) and host of others have been professing that they are actively involved in philanthropy and sharing their wealth with the lesser privilieged in society.

Now it is the turn of one of the most popular internet companies to step into this field. Google made an anouncement on Thursday that it had come up with a plan that begins to fulfill its four-year-old pledge to reserve 1 percent of its profit and equity to 'make the world a better place'.

Speaking on the occasion, Google officials said that, Google.org, the charity wing of the company, is expected to spend up to $175 million (Rs. 700 crore) in its first round of grants and investments over the next three years. While it is like other companies’ foundations in making grants, it will also be untraditional in making for-profit investments, encouraging Google employees to participate directly and lobbying public officials for changes in policies, company officials said.

Larry Brilliant, a medical doctor who took on the role of director of Google.org 18 months ago, said he could not even begin to count how many spending proposals he had seen. Dr. Brilliant, who moved to an ashram in northern India in the 1970s and went on to play a major role in eradicating smallpox in the country, likened his moral quandary in figuring out how to spend Google.org’s money to that faced by a saint wandering the streets of Benares.

It is interesting that Google has decided on several different initiatives and not gone on the beaten track such as funding education of girl children in India or any similar cause espoused by so many others in the world. Rather it has listed broad categories wihch it will take up and start funding.

One category predict and prevent, focuses on strengthening early warning systems in countries around the world to detect a disease before it becomes pandemic, or a drought before it becomes a famine. To attain that, DotOrg has made a grant of $5 million to a nonprofit group that Dr. Brilliant helped to set up. Known as Instedd, (Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters), the group seeks to improve data and communication networks. An additional $2.5 million has been awarded to the Global Health and Security Initiative to respond to biological threats in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and China’s Yunnan Province.

The second initaitive being funded is titled the missing middle, refers to the missing middle class in Africa and South Asia and the missing middle level of financing between microcredits and hedge funds. The third initiative, information for all, is aimed at helping developing countries provide better government services by making information available on their efforts to improve health care, roads and electrification.

Google has been reputed as a company which is highly innovative in whatever it does. And in charity, it has set a new example, forged a new trail going away from the previous examples which are already existing in the world. Let us hope that their aim to 'make the world a better place' succeedes quickly. Personally speaking I would have preferred if they had set aside a few million for research on alternative fuels, eco-friendly technologies, afforestation and recycling etc, this would have helped make the earth a better place.

Read More on New York Times

Improving traffic and making money through blogs

It is difficult to accept that we spend so much money on internet browsing without earning anything directly back. So I decided to look up the internet and find some opportunities to drive traffic to your blog and help you make money writing. I hit on this website Pay Per Post and found that this is one place where bloggers could earn loads of money blogging. Feeling interested I decided to sign up and believe me it was one of the most simplest procedures. Just fill in a form and submit your blog and you could on your way to being rich. I agree that it is difficult to make loads of money blogging. But so what if you can make enough money to pay off your utility bills and drive traffic to your blog, isn't that something great. And all you are doing is blogging about various companies products, services and offerings.

And there is immense flexibility to choose what you want to blog about. You can choose the companies/ products you wish to write about. There are at least 100 opportunities at any point in time and there are some you are eligible to take up and some you are not. So you can pick and choose your opportunities and take up those which you are comfortable blogging about.

I have signed up and myblog has been approved for commercial and paid blogging. So now I am on my way to making money online through blogging. I will keep you posted on how I am making money and how things are working out and let me see how much money I end up making in a years time. Then we will conclusively know. For now I am looking to drive traffic to my blog and make more money.

Interesting article about America's baby boom

I read this article about America's baby boom in the Dallas Morning News and found it rather interesting. Population explosion is a global reality. Everywhere there is an increase in the birth rate and decline of death rates of people. Life expectancy is becoming better and people are living longer everywhere across the world. Everybody in the world says that the nations of India and China are solely responsible for this population explosion.

But then statistics prove otherwise. In 2006 Americans had 4.3 million babies, the highest number in the past 45 years. And the reasons for this baby boom according to the article are declining use of contraceptives, lack of education, poverty and lack of access to abortions. The last reason is not that there are less hospitals but the existing ones are prohibitively expensive. And even after paying for insurance month after month you have to shell out some part of the bill.

Another article I read in the magazine Texas Wildlife that, this lady who was bit by a copper head snake had to fork out over $40,000 in medical bills and how many days was she hospitalised? Just one day. Isn't that atrocious? well... that is how America works. Luckily for her her insurance paid for most of the bill. So if you are not properly insured, you can escape death from a snake bite but the hospital bill will surely kill you.

Sunday at the Pongal Celebrations

Yesterday I was part of the Metroplex Tamil Sangam's (pronounced as 'Changam' - in a typically Tamil way). I would never attend such an event if I were in Bangalore... but then I am in US right now and like they say while in Rome be Roman I am acting out my part. The colourful function was organised in a typically Indian manner, cultural programmes, singing, dancing, yummy and lip smacking food (pongal, curd rice and vada).

Like most other such events this programme too started about 45 mins late. The Tamil Sangam (ooops.. Changam) function was a colourful and noisy affair. Anywhere we Indians go we are bound to make a racket and that is what was happening at the Plaza theater in downtown Garland. The Plaza was a movie hall promoted in the 1940s and was forced to closedown by the advent of theatre chains and multiplexes. Currently it has been converted into a auditorium for live concerts and in a display of generosity the heirs of original promoters donated the hall to the city council.

We were basically there to hold the fort for Sankara Eye Foundation an organisation which is working towards eliminating curable blindness (essentially cataract) in India by the year 2020. They have already promoted over 6 superspeciality FREE eye hospitals in Tamil Nadu (Madurai and Coimbatore), Andhra Pradesh (Guntur), Karnataka (Bangalore and Shimoga) and Gujarat (Anand) and are in the process of constructing many more.

The last programme on the agenda was a light music rendetion by Prabhu and party, for the first time in my life I actually sat through such a programme and enjoyed a little. It was the first time I had ever listened to any such live orchestra and I have no regrets. Prabhu and his associates did a good job on the music front, only pity was that all the songs were in Tamil and I couldn't understand one word of it, that was kinda boring but then it is ok... some outing better than staying at home.

If it were in India I would have been probably up some mountain or swimming in some lake enjoying nature. But in US where everything is organised and strictly enforced, one cant just jump into a river and swim or climb a mountain from whichever direction he pleases. You have to follow marked and often paved hiking trails and swim only in designated areas.... straight jacketed but then that is the way these people live.... and that is the way we live in our home country....

Indoors the whole day... almost

It is amazing, today was a bright and sunny day and I did nothing but stay at home all day and stir out in the late evening when temperatures dropped necessitating use of heavy jackets and winter clothes. I am amazed at myself.... all the more surprising is the fact that I didn't do much the whole day. I spent the entire day lounging around on the sofa reading substantial parts of the book Planet India by Mira Kamdar, a person of Indian origin who was born and brought up and lives in US.
Feeling claustrophobic, we finally decided to head out and hit the gym so that our sedentary bodies would get some sort of exercise. Our apartment complex has a small gym with some decent treadmills, steppers, cycles and loads of free weights. It was tough to work out after a long gap of time or is it that I am getting old?
I hit the exercise bicycle and couldn't achieve any speed higher than 19 miles per hour.... indeed that is abysmally low considering my own past track record... Telling myself to buck up and not to get bogged down by age and weight I pushed the pedals harder till streams of sweat tailed down my brow.. and my calf and thigh muscles ached out of the sudden stress and protested as they were being woken up after a long and comfortable life of no stress. After cycling for around 15 minutes, I decided to hit the mill and setting a high slope and reasonable speed I started a brisk walk on the rolling rubber mat, 10 minutes my calf legs were refusing walk and telling me to take break and stop this madness. I just willed my body to listen to me and plodded on for another 10 minutes before getting off the treadmill and wiping the buckets of sweat off my face and neck.
Now I am back at the cybercafe doing what I have been doing during the past few months in the US, browsing the internet, blogging, checking mail and noting that there are none from my friends from India. I wonder whether they have all forgotten me or are they thinking "good riddance to bad rubbish"... whatever the case maybe..... I definitely miss India for more than a few reasons... the first and foremost being the nice bright and sunny weather... it is another matter that it gets unbearably hot sometimes... next is my bike and the freedom of being able to ride whenever, wherever I please. Here I still don't have a motorcycle to ride and haven't been able to make too many biker friends in the area I live so I am stuck without independent transport... there are lot more reasons but for now this is enough.
But the good thing about being here is our creek side home. The last in the apartment block and we have the beautiful open view out of our window and when it rains the birds come in flocks and throng the creek looking for insects and scraps of food. The fantastic roads and orderly traffic (sometimes gets to my nerves) are the bonuses of being in America.

First summitter of Everest is no more

Edmund Hillary the New Zealand mountaineer who in 1953 conquered Mt. Everest along with Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay passed away. He was 88. Apart from climbing the Everest, Hillary was also the first man to drive a tractor across Antartica. He was ranked among the greatest adventurers of the 20th century.

Hillary achieved international fame when he successfully scaled Everest in 1953 along with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. The adventurous and hardy New Zealander devoted much of his life to help and improve the lives of the mountain people of Nepal.

Born in 1919 in Auckland and made a living as a beekeeper and climbed mountains as a hobby. He has successfully scaled peaks in New Zealand, Swiss Alps, The Himalayas in India, Nepal and Tibet. Despite all these achievements and fame Hillary remained a very down to earth and humble person. He lived and worked among the hill people of Nepal striving to get them benefits of modern civilisation, science and technology.

I culled out some of his pictures from the web and here they are. A great man admired for his resourcefulness, stamina and humility. The world has lost a true hero.

During the brief period of my life when I was actively into mountaineering, I had nurtured an ambition to meet with this great man. But somehow I never could make the opportunity to make the meeting happen, now due to his sad demise it will not happen at all.

Getting Mail from another RTW Biker


I got a mail from Christopher Dawe on behalf of Hubert Kriegel, a biker who is currently travelling through Columbia on his motorcycle with a sidecar. He started off from New York on February 16, 2005 and is planning to travel 10 years on the road. He just wanted information about India because his plans are to travel to India this year.



Well I wrote back apologetically saying that I was in US and not much help to him and then feeling curious I visited his website http://www.thetimelessride.com/ and voila! I was surprised to see the simplicity of the design and directness of the approach.



The site is more of a photoblog with numerous pictures of Hubert's travels on the bike and the sights he has seen on the road. I kinda feel envious that at 52 he is still up and about on the road travelling on a motorcycle... hope I will be fit and able to take time off at that age.. if I live that long by the grace of god. He has an interesting bio worthy reading... he has been doing various things for a living from running a restaurant in Paris... to being a real estate agent in New York... But being a perennial biker wanting to hit the road is what I like about him.

Super High Performance bike from Shelby and Rucker

When will India have these bikes on road? I don't think it will happen in my lifetime. We still don't have roads to run such bikes on. We have to be content with our 100-225 cc motorcycles grappling for space on choked city streets. Here is one bike I'd love to ride let us see if and when I will get an opportunity to have a go.

Shelby Automobiles Inc, Texas has teamed up with Rucker Performance, Fort Worth (Texas) to build a limited-production Shelby motorcycle. The bike was introduced at the recent Cincinnati V-Twin Expo.

"It's no secret that stuffing a powerful American motor into a lightweight chassis has been my formula for success," said Shelby, the 84-year-old chief executive of Shelby Automobiles and creator of the Cobra and several hot Mustangs.

Bill Rucker, a creative motorcycle builder who loves performance, definitely took that approach in the pro-stock-style bike.

The all new motorcycle features racing-style front forks, high-performance braking system with ceramic rotors, a Pingel electric shifting system and air-ride suspension. Carbon fibre wheels and upper body, and the other panels are aluminum.

The heart of the bike is the massive fuel-injected 128 cubic-inch twin from S&S rated at 150 horsepower, which is seven more than the Suzuki SX4 sedan. A limited number of 25 motorcycles will be available for purchase by the third quarter of 2008. So if you are looking for a high-performance twin head to Shelby Automobiles.

Back home in India we must be content with a R1 Styled 150 cc Yamaha motorcycle. Hope that will not be a damp squib like the other recent offerings by Yamaha.

Hill Climbing Sport Competition

My dear adventurer, hiker, trekker and rock climbing friends, get ready to test your fitness and agility. You have been climbing hills and hiking slopes for fun now how about doing the same for glory and to compete with others of your kind?

The Gujarat government is organising a hill climbing competition at Girnar Hill in Junagarh district. The Girnar Hill is part of a series of mountains with the highest point being at 3600 ft asl. A long, winding and knees-testing, 9,600 step ascent takes one all the way to the top-most point via several peaks. Girnar Hill, around 300 km from Ahmedabad, has around 10,000 stone steps to climb before one finally reaches the ultimate peak of Dattatreya.

The competition will be held early next month (February 3, 2008) and will be completely sponsored by the Gujarat government’s Sports, Youth Services and Cultural Activities Department and the Junagadh district administration.

The competition is open to all school and college students and categorised into 14-18 years and 19-35 years. The men in the former category have to traverse 2,200 steps uphill and downhill in a span of one hour and 15 minutes. The time limit for women in the same category is two hours.

Those desiring to participate in the event can contact Devkumar Ambaliya at +91-9825261871 or at 0285630490. Ambaliya is a Junagarh official and he had set a record in climbing the Girnar hill around 1979 that was unbeaten for almost 20 years.

This Girnar competition was started in 1971 by a local newspaper, Phoolchab, as a way to mark its golden jubilee. The newspaper held the event until 1979 before handing it over to the Junagadh civic administration.

Here are some pictures of the ascent to Girnar I found on the web



Source: MSN

Pictures: Flickr and Pbase

Video of Pictures

I was just playing windows movie maker and another movie making software with some of the pictures shot during my travels in America. Here is the result a one and half minute video. I don't know how it is... but then a beginners attempt... it is too fast during some frames and too slow at others... but nevertheless I have tried to capture the best possible results.

Remembering Mahimapura

One of my favourite places around Bangalore is Mahimapura, it is also the first place I visited alone on my bike. A quaint village with a small wooded hill one one side, this is one place I have never gotten bored visiting repeatedly. Friends whom I advised to visit the place also came back with similar experiences and loved the locale. I had written couple of articles about the place in Deccan Herald. The Garuda Ranganathaswamy temple in this village is actually the jewel in its crown. While the name may not be familiar, the locale is, at least for film buffs.

Mahimapura is an inconspicuous village located off Bangalore-Pune highway. Modern development may have eluded this place, yet riches of nature, culture and tradition are found in abundance, causing excitement among a few who stumble on it. Garuda-Ranganathaswamy temple, perched on the quaint-wooded hillock in Mahimapura, is the jewel in the village's crown. The priest here says this Vijayanagara-style temple is the only one of its kind, where Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu, assumes equal importance as his master.

Mahimaranganathaswamy, the temple's presiding deity, is a mound of jaggery believed to have evolved naturally. The Vishnu idol worshiped now is said to be installed during the Vijayanagara era. The 12-foot Hanuman statue enshrined in the temple at the foot of the hillock is also a spectacular sight.

A steep climb

A steep 300 ft climb over the hill's well-hewn steps would lead us to the temple. Statues of Garuda, Hanumantha and Ranganatha (installed) are open for worship. The small structure has a square Garbagraha (sanctum-sanctorum); the Vijayanagar-style cubical pillars have carvings of leaves. The tall Shikara of the sanctum-sanctorum, built of brick, is visible from a long distance. The statue of Ranganathaswamy appears similar to the Venkataramana, with the Shankha-Chakra and Abhaya-Varadha attributes.

However, the temple in its entirety stands as an unfortunate contrast to the beauty of the deity. Many of the attractive carvings on the walls and pillars are fading due to lack of maintenance. The elegance of sculptures is spoiled by the whitewashing, rather inexplicably done for a granite structure. Prayer in the temple is conducted only in the mornings, as it's believed that divine saints visit the shrine after sunset. Despite its obscurity, Mahimapura might appear faintly familiar to some people, especially to the avid followers of Kannada films. The predominantly rural locale and the calm surroundings have triggered the imaginations of directors, who have made this the backdrop for the song-dance sequences.

The Legend
The legend behind Mahimapura though, is devoid of any such romance. Its here Garuda was on penance to purge the sin he had committed by eating the corpse of a Rakshasi (ogress). Aditi, wife of sage Kashyapa, receives two eggs from the Sun god, who tells her that two children will be born when the eggs are hatched. Aditi waits for several years and finally loses her patience, as the eggs didn't hatch. She breaks open one of them and a baby born from it without arms and legs curses her to lead a life of slavery and banishment. Afraid, Aditi prays to the Sun god, who assures her that the child born from the second egg would rescue her.

Years later, Garuda emerges from the egg and demands food from Aditi, who directs him to Sage Kashyapa. Hungry and impatient, Garuda interrupts the sage's penance and repeats his demand. The angry sage asks him to eat the corpse of the ogress. Doing so, Garuda realises his sin and seeks the sage's forgiveness. Kashyapa asks him to worship Sri Ranganathaswamy at Mahimapura to atone for his sins. After long years of penance, Lord Ranganatha appears before Garuda as Nirakari (the mound of jaggery).

The annual Jatra on the Maha Poornima day, which kicks off a fortnight of festivities, is an important occasion for the temple. The festival is accompanied by cattle fair. Rathutsava or car festival, which lures devotees from several villages, is also a major celebration at the temple. These apart, festivals like Janmashtami, Dasara (Navarathri) and Narasimha Jayanthi are also celebrated here.

Getting there.
Mahimapura is found 45 kms from Bangalore on NH 4 (B’lore-Tumkur road). At this point, a board with the village's name points left, towards a small diversion. Driving a kilometre and a half into the road would lead to the foot of the hill. The KSRTC plies three busses to Mahimapura in a day. It's also possible to reach the village by local transportation from Nelamangala.

Adding features to the blog

I have been looking through various websites and freeware providers to get new and innovative features for my blog. It is sometimes frustrating to go through various features and find that it doesn't work like you expect it to. But then what is life if everything were so easy? The same logic works in other aspects of the online computer thingy....

More than a decade ago when I first started learning computers on old 386 machines, these technology gadgets seemed as if they were capable of everything... I still remember those days (I don't know whether I should call them 'good ole days') when carrying a 5 and quarter inch floppy disc made us feel cool. Then came the CD era when a shiny gold CD was considered more valuable than the valuable metal itself. Then came the internet, like a bolt out of the blue and everyone was talking about free e-mails, Hotmail, Yahoo, Rocketmail, AltaVista and several names.

But as I learnt more and worked extensively on computers I slowly became aware of the inherent drawbacks and frustrations one has to face while trying to get tasks accomplished. Sudden system crashes, especially when you are working on the important project and not saved all the changes. Codes which seem perfectly fine when you debug but don't work when installed on the webpage. Websites which look different in different computers ... oh not to mention in different browsers too...

Now I have learnt to optimise and make peace. Just yesterday I had one of the most frustrating experiences trying to set up an RSS feed on my blog. Even now though the feed seems to be working with 11 subscribers, I don't know what the feed url of my blog is.... maybe I will figure out some day in the future. Let us hope so...

Gokak Falls – Karnataka’s Niagara

A relatively unknown but exotic tourist getaway is Karnataka’s Gokak falls. Often compared to the globally famous Niagara falls this thundering waterbody is sited in the Belgaum district of Karnataka state. Sited in a picture postcard location between two tall, craggy cliffs in Gokak falls is an ideal soul-soothing destination.

One can hear the roar of the fall much before it actually comes into sight. Gokak falls is formed when the Ghataprabha river after flowing through the black soil plains enters the rocky belt of Gokak where the flow of the river is broken by a tableland about 180 ft above the neighbouring valley, forcing the river to take a giant leap over the sandstone cliff, into a horseshoe shaped gorge. The falling river makes a thundering noise.

This is one of the few falls which one can get to the top and look down into the gorge where the water is falling down into the dizzying depths. The closer one gets to the fall and the louder one hears the roar of the water falling down into the valley is deafening. The sound makes it difficult to even make simple conversation and one has to shout hoarse to be heard. A walk along the cliffs beside the jumping waters is a soothing experience and provides panoramic views of rugged cliffs and water. Being an open space there is always a cool breeze bringing with it a gentle spray of moisture from the waterfalls.

The horseshoe shaped waterfall spans a breadth of 177 meters as it sweeps over the brink of the cliff, presents an awe-inspiring sight. The best time to view and enjoy the glory of the Gokak falls is from June-October when it rains in the region. According to the Mysore State Gazetteer Gokak falls was discovered in 1885 by British explorers, who described the falls thus: “Except in width and colour of water, the general features of the fall, its height, shape and rapidity above are very much like those of the Niagara.”

Soon after the discovery of the falls, the British established the Gokak Water Power and Manufacturing Company – a textile mill – with an investment of Rs.20 lakh. Later in 1907-08 the company installed an electric turbine to generate hydro-electricity. The town’s colonial past is resplendent in the mill’s elegant stone buildings. The mill and the power plant are operational even today and the main activity of the former is conversion of Cotton into yarn.

Another important historical landmark here is the 210-metre long hanging wooden bridge built across the river built in 1907 to enable workers from nearby villages to cross the river and arrive at work. A walk on this century old creaking bridge – on which only 30 people are allowed at a time – is a thrilling experience. One can view the breathtaking vista of the waterfalls directly below as one walks across the bridge.

The riverside temple dedicated to Lord Mahalingeshwara. Locally known as Tarakeshwara temple (as described in an inscription dated 1153 A.D of Ratta Kartaveerya III found inside the temple), the Mahalingeshwara temple is a large and sprawling structure built in the Later Chalukyan style of architecture. The temple has a garbhagriha, (sanctum), an ardhamantapa and a spacious but open mukhamantapa (frontal courtyard). The sanctum with its tall Shikara adorned with exquisite sculptures is a sight to behold.

Getting there
Road. Gokak Falls is a mere six km from Gokak town and 71 km from Belgaum. Every 15 minutes a bus departs from Belgaum’s Khade Bazaar bus terminus to Gokak.
Rail. Ghataprabha railway station about 3 km from Gokak town is the nearest railhead. The Gokak falls is about 7 km from the railway station.
Air. Belgaum has a civilian airport at Sambra. Deccan Aviation operates regular flights from all major cities across the country.

More Pictures of the Falls

Al Ain - Garden City of Gulf

I visited UAE towards the end of 2004 and had written about the country in various publications. Just thought I'd repost one of them on my blog too. Enjoy reading.

Al Ain sited close to the UAE-Oman border about 135 km from Dubai is attracting a large and growing number of leisure tourists who wish to take a break after a hectic shopping spree. Al Ain offers a plethora of rest and recreation opportunities, historical monuments, sports facilities and lots and lots of greenery. Naturally endowed with several large oasis’ Al Ain (pop. 500,000) is a green low-rise city sited in the shade of the Jebel Hafit mountains. Surrounded by awesome red sand dunes and the rugged craggy mountains, Al Ain is linked by excellent roads to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Blessed with generous groundwater resources and self-renewing aquifers, Al Ain is one of the most fertile agricultural areas of the UAE, often described as the ‘garden city of the Gulf’. Indeed ‘Al Ain’ in Arabic means ‘spring’ and the region with its ancient but efficient non-mechanised falaj irrigation system boasts sprawling date and fruit plantations.
Attractions in Al AinThe most popular tourist attraction here is the Al Ain Oasis. Sited in the epicentre of a cool date plantation and divided into numerous well-maintained date farms, the oasis is thronged by tourists who walk in quiet shades in lush greenery.
Another equally popular locale in the city is the Al Ain Zoo and Aquarium, the largest in the Middle East. Spread over 400 hectares, the zoo is home to a wide variety of animal and marine species including elephants, tigers, bears and other animals peculiar to the desert.
Although Al Ain boasts over 42 forts, the best examples of Arab fort architecture are the Jahili Fort — a large restored fort structure with distinctive corner turrets; Mujairib Fort comprising a main and smaller fort, a 50 ft tall watchtower, surrounded by a park and children’s playground; Hili Fort with its ornate entrance and sprawling courtyard, Al Rumeilah famous for its sandstone architecture and the Murabba, and Mazyad forts.
Also visit the Al Ain Museum known for its excellent collection of archaeological and ethnographic exhibits, antiquated gold pendants and an impressive coin collection apart from an array of gifts received by UAE’s president from visiting statesmen and royalty.
Leisure sports activities.Most visitors from the subcontinent dazzled, by the malls and shopping arcades of Dubai and Sharjah don’t know it, but the UAE also offers exceptionally well-developed desert and water sports opportunities. For the sports-minded and adventurous, there are several options such as camel safaris, desert camping, sand and grass golf, dune bashing, etc. Popular indigenous spectator sports include Camel racing and Dog racing.
Al Ain – Fact file Best time to visit. October-March is the best time. April-July is the hottest period and could prove fatal to those who can’t bear the sun’s heat.
Getting there.Air. The nearest international airport is Dubai (135 km), which is well connected with frequent flights from Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Cochin.
Accommodation and nightlife.As a well-developed leisure destination, Al Ain boasts three 5-star resort hotels — The Hilton, The Intercontinental and Rotana hotels, all set in expansive and meticulously landscaped environments. Al Ain also has a vibrant nightlife in its restaurants, bars, discotheques and night clubs. Top-end (Dhs.500-1,000): Intercontinental Palm Oasis Resort, Hilton International, Al Ain Rotana Hotel. Mid-range and Budget (Dhs.200-500): Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet, Green Desert Hotel.Note: 1 UAE DH = Rs.13

Trying to install a feed

It is really frustrating. For the past 3 hours, I have been working and trying to put in place a proper RSS feed to my blog. It is another matter that, my blog may not attract even a single subscriber, but still I want to install this to learn how this damn thing works.

I get strange messages like "Parse Error", "url wrong", mistaken feed and what more... I wonder how techies manage to work around all the bugs and still write so much code for softwares... they must have loads of brains or loads of patience... unfortunately I don't have former and I am running out of the latter. But my perisistence is what is keeping me glued to this so I think I will work more and figure it out finally.

If any of you know anything do send me a mail.

New Year - Old Routine

The new year is already 3 days old and it has been boring as ever. On new years eve we went out for dinner and visited a desi night club... and believe me this is one place which is definitely not Texas Size... the cramped place was crawling with people... all in various states of drunken stupor dancing away to glory... trying to usher the new year....

Feeling claustrophobic and suffocated by the wafting cigarette smoke we beat a hasty retreat. I was shocked to see a long line of people waiting in the biting cold to get into the night club. "These guys are crazy" I thought... wanting to get into that cramped, suffocating, airless space.. wonder what they were expecting to do there...

Anyway since that day I have been hanging around at home doing nothing much but reading books. I finished the book How Walmart is Destroying America and the World in which veteran journalist Bill Quinn explains the various negative impacts of the largest retailer in the world. How Walmart has virtually closed down most of the independent grocery stores and drugstores? How Walmart is a greedy company with no sentiment? How Walmart exploits its employees (associates) by paying measly wages and no health and other benefits? and other important questions are answered in this book. The author explains that for every 100 jobs created by Walmart, 150 people lose their livelihoods... not just jobs but they lose livelihood... the sole source of their living.

Reading this book it is scary to think what might happen to India when this retail giant enters and conquers the country. Already there are more than 800 million who eke out a living with less than $2 daily... there might be more added to that number. That is so much for bad news. Let me finish here before I get too cynical....

Happy New Year 2008

A year has gone by and I don't know what I have been doing.... first quarter was spent on the tour... second quarter getting back into groove of work and professional life, third and fourth quarter just flew by...

Now a new year is staring at me in the face... I was browsing the net for various ways in which one can send wishes online and found these different ways... check it out I am sure you will find it interesting. I visited this online greetings site... New-Year.in... year an Indian domain name... and found all these great graphics... check it out.. it may be too late for this year.. but if you remember or book mark this site you can use it next year.

Hiking in Arbor Hills

Yesterday we went to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve for a walk. A welcome change after being cooped up indoors through the weekend. The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is located close to our home... maybe about 2-3 miles. It is a 200-acre open area with concrete walking/ hiking trails and off road mountain bike and hiking trails. The Preserve offers a close-to-nature experience with an abundance of serenity and an escape from the chaos of urban sprawl. Arbor hills hosts several species of plants, trees and animals and with several brooks and creeks flowing through the preserve it is an ideal place to spend a quiet afternoon amidst nature. Speaking about fauna Arbor Hills supports a variety of rats, birds, bats, Rabbits and fish in the creeks. A pond at one extreme of the preserve serves to stock up fish.

There are over 2 miles of concrete trails, unpaved hiking paths and a bike trail. One can spend the whole day hiking, walking and visiting the various spots of the nature preserve. This is just not for hikers and adventurers, for families with children there is a Playground, Paved recreational trail (approx. 4.4 miles), Natural unpaved trails for pedestrians, designated off-road cycling trail (approx. 2 miles), a natural biofilter for cleaning surface run-off from the parking lot before it reenters the ground water tables and an observation tower which offers some fantstic sunset views.

Yesterday was my third visit to the Nature Preserve and this time I had remembered to carry the camera to take some pictures. And yesterday we explored the most in the park, we went to almost every nook and corner of the preserve crossing creeks, walking over rickety wooden bridges, along off road trails, along the railway tracks which forms one border of the preserve, along the fish-filled creek etc. A truly invigorating experiece.

One peculiarity I noticed in the park is the totally brown and leafless trees contiguous to lush green ones. The former has shed leaves due to fall and the latter continues to be green and unaffected by the fall. There are trees which don't have any leaves but are full of colourful fruits, red, yellow, brown, green etc, so the tree in effect looks red and attractive. Felt good watching these and capturing these unique sights in the camera.

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve Pictures


Click here for a map of Arbor Hills