The Land of Paddy Fields

It was almost there. We were doing the last minute purchases on Wednesday evening and one thing that we had to pick up was a cake for Bipin (it was his b’day the next day and we had decided to celebrate his b’day on the highway !!).

Thursday morning dawned and we were all at Doc’s place ready to hit the road. Two drivers were all set to set the street on fire with their machines (a silver grey Indica and an onyx blue Getz). Well, if you are still wondering what we were upto… Here you go.. We had planned to spend 4 full days in the forests of Waynad (one of the districts in Kerala famous for its greenery and loads of scenic locales).

Breakfast was at the usual adda, thatte idlis at Bidadi. After which, all the passengers got busy (now you have to guess.. busy doing what.. :)) and we went on and on. Reached Mysore, Gundulpet and entered the Kerala forests. I must admit the roads were awesome and a pleasure driving. It was around lunch by the time we reached the resort at Waynad (Hiliya resorts). After a sumptuous meal, we had the option of either hitting the bed or indulge in some outdoor activities and we decided to do the latter. There as a small stream that flowed through the resort and the walk to the stream was through plantations of coffee, vanilla, arcenut and elaichi (Killer Raj helped us in identifying each of these plants). The stream was not all that great and thanks to the rains, was not easy to get into the water. So the other options were cricket and badminton.

It was during cricket that we got to watch a great batsman in full flow (Kevin Pietersen aka Kumaran Neel). Well, his was the most stylish batting; it was a different story that none of the shots helped the team score runs and not to forget the neck to neck fight between Murali and Bipin. After cricket, was badminton and we not only had to play against the opponents but had stong winds as a major opponent.

Thursday evening, was mainly yummy snacks for the hard core non-veggies (the veggies had food cooked in coconut oil and green salad, the latter being a better choice), dance and come action from the T20 semis where South Africa yet again choked when they had to deliver.

At the crack of dawn on Friday, as planned set out to the all famous and not to be missed Kurva islands. There were a lot of mis-conceptions floating around that one had to cross seven streams to reach the island (thankfully was not seven seas .. :)) and there were seven islands, so on and so forth. We were accompanied by our tour guide, Aneesh who was not just a tour guide but a translator of sorts (none of us knew Malayalam and none of the locals knew anything other than Malayalam). Coming to Kurva, it was an island that could be reached by boat or by walking across the Kabini river. Due to monsoon and heavy currents, we took the boats and reached the island. It was indeed not a place to be missed. It was a typical forest where the sun rays failed to touch the earth in many places. Trees ranging from bamboo to teak to mahogany. Everything was there. Aneesh informed and showed us a tree , where the locals believed that ghosts resided in them. Interesting !!

After a fun filled time at the island, it was time to get back to the mainland and head back to the resort for lunch. Again, the quality of food exceeded our expectations and each of us ate like there was no tomorrow. And not to forget, a circle of banana peels created by Bipin.. :)

Evening, was time for some relaxation at the Pookkot lake. It was raining, inspite of that we, decided to do some boating.. in the rain. They were pedal boats and the first of the boats were steered by Bipin and Kumaran Neel and the second one by Malabar police (Mr Murali) and Killer Raj.. :). After boating, was time for some snacks and none of missed a chance to have an ice cream in the rain. What a combination, boating in the rain and ice creams immediately after, something you don’t get to do in Bangalore.

Next day, headed to another resort, Valley View avenue which was about 50 kms from Hiliya. The drive was again mind blowing, having to drive up the hills and through a thick mist cover. Even though we had a starter breakfast at Hilya (who can forget Vinaya gobbling up a whole idli) we were still longing for some snacks at Valley View after the fabulous drive. There were pooris for the second breakfast and I’m sure the care taker there was shocked by the amount of food we could consume.. :)

The whole day at Valley View was spent just lazing around and being a part of nature (the waterfalls, mist cover almost throughout the day, mountains and greenery). We did make a visit to the Kanthapura falls and not to forget Doc with his trademark umbrella where ever he went.. :)

Sunday morning and time to get back. It was hard to believe that we had spent 3 days in “The Land of Paddy Fields” (Wayanad comes from Vayal (paddy) and Naad (land)) and it seemed too short. End of it all, looks like even four full days was not enough for us to be completely satisfied, staying away from the mundane crowd at the Garden City.

What are you born to do?

The name itself sounds so curious. Afterall, you are here in this world to do what ?? So I decided to take up this little quiz and here's what I was born to do ---

I was born to be a "hero". Now we are not talkin bout becomin a super hero... but you were born to help others and put others infornt of your needs. You are caring and that is your biggest strength you will do really well in those field where you have to help others like social worker or doctor...options are many

Hmmm... sounds interesting. Hope I actually get to be someone's hero .. :)

What Kind of Smile Do You Have?

A list of questions to answer and click on the "Submit" button. And voila the result is there for everyone to see..

You have an Innocent Smile
Sweet and naïve, you have a smile that is full of genuine happiness. You have a pure heart and when you smile, you mean it and everyone around you knows you do. People are attracted to your sweetness and sincerity, and find your company refreshing and enjoyable. With your open and non-judgmental smile and personality, you will often find people confiding in you.

A very flattering result ... but others have to vouch for that.. i guess.. :)

Money !!

It is August. In a small town on the South Coast of France, holiday season is in full swing, but it is raining so there is not too much business happening. Everyone is heavily in debt. Luckily, a rich Russian tourist arrives in the foyer of the small local hotel. He asks for a room and puts a €100 note on the reception counter, takes a key and goes to inspect the room located up the stairs on the third floor.

The hotel owner takes the € 100 banknote in hurry and rushes to his meat supplier to whom he owes €100.

The butcher takes the money and races to his wholesale supplier to pay his debt.

The wholesaler rushes to the farmer to pay €100 for pigs he purchased some time ago.

The farmer triumphantly gives the €100 note to a local prostitute who gave him her services on credit.

The prostitute goes quickly to the hotel, as she owed the hotel for her hourly room use to entertain clients.

At that moment, the rich Russian is coming down to reception and informs the hotel owner that the proposed room is unsatisfactory and takes his €100 back and departs.

There was no profit or income. But everyone no longer has any debt and the small town people look optimistically towards their future.

COULD THIS BE THE SOLUTION TO THE Global Financial Crisis? Or, is there a catch here?

Maybe !!!

Swine flu

This was a forward I received today and was pretty funny !! Here it goes -

It was once said that US would have a black president when pigs fly

And now… pig flu

PS : If u did not laugh, I am not responsible .. ;)

IPL 2009 - a reshuffle !!

After the 1st round of matches in the IPL, in order to even out the “playing ground”, we decided each of us would offload one of our teams. The teams to be offloaded were to be written on separate chits of paper and the person with the least number of points would take a go at selecting the new team. And this would not be disclosed till each of us had picked our new teams.

So the process started with Bips taking the lead (he was at the end of the table) and selecting his team. Bips was followed by Gopal, myself and Kumz. Each of us were happy to have got any team other than KKR (Kolkata Knightriders) who have just not been able to take off this season.

After all the selections were done, it was time to disclose the new teams and here are the new teams that each of us own:

Gopal – retained Delhi, offloaded Mumbai and got Rajasthan. Two really strong teams;
Kumz – retained Chennai, offloaded Deccan and got Mumbai. A good combination of the teams. Chennai peaking at the right time and Mumbai too can bounce back anytime with Sachin and Jayasuriya.
Adi – retained Bangalore, offloaded Rajasthan and got Deccan. Currently own two of the worst performing teams of IPL 2008, but Bangalore seem to have found some momentum under their new captain and hope they continue to retain the same and Deccan are slightly going off track after the exit of their strike bowler Fidel Edwards but hope Symonds can weave some magic.
Bips – retained Punjab, offloaded Kolkata and got back Kolkata. Bips and Kolkata – an unbreakable bond !!

Its now time to see how the new teams perform and if they prove to be lucky to their owners !!

Share birthday with...

There is this application on one of the networking sites (FB) which gives info about "Which Famous people share birthday with you" and here are the results:

Gisele Bündchen - Brazilian model and occasional actress
Carlos Santana - Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock musician and guitarist
Chris Cornell - American rock musician
Kim Carnes - American singer-songwriter
Diana Rigg - English actress
Natalie Wood - American actress
Chuck Daly - former American basketball head coach
Sir Edmund Hillary - New Zealand mountaineer and explorer
Alberto Santos-Dumont - Early pioneer of aviation

There is one more person with whom I share my birthday but is surely not as famous as any of the persons mentioned above. And that special person is my dearest mom.. :)