Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Heart Break


World has a song,
A music, a rhythm.
Wonderful, if we could match,
Its beat, understand its language.
Hum along and be happy,
For what we are, What we do.
Alas! often very many fail,
Wrecking their dreams, their "self".
I too has lost the song, though not sad,
Or disappointed, only wishing I knew,
Who I am.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Light house, Kochi


The day I went to Light House at PuduVypeen(New Vypeen), Kochi was the day after the long week of rain. Though it is our rainy season, it was unusual for a whole week of rain during August, especially when Onam, the harvest festival was around. The weather men said it was some kind of low pressure formed in the sea around the Indian peninsula. Around these days, the historic flooding of Pakistan and Kashmir was in the news.
From the High Court Junction, I took a Paravoor bus and got down at "Vallappu" Bus stop. Light house was one and a half kilometers away from there. Only few buses plied through the Light House area and they went through some other route less frequently. So the only option I had was to hire an Auto rickshaw or walk. I decided to walk. It took me nearly thirty minutes to walk up to the light house in that hot afternoon, the country side all around was a beauty as New Vypeen is not yet part of the mad constructional development going on all around Kochi.
The beach adjacent to the light house is almost bare and lonely, only the local fishermen use that part of the land. Since it was raining very bad these few days most of the fishermen had their boats towed up on the land, some of them had their boat oiled and nets repaired whey they were out of work. The notice there said, "Please do not sit on the boat" which meant those who visit the light house do mess with their livelihood too..:):)
These two boys came up behind me on their bike, they were very friendly and posed for me gladly. I was delighted when a picture of them I posted on Flickr had many visitors.
Its not often Foreign tourist come to this beach here for sun bathing. This lady who came with her auto rickshaw driver from Fort Kochi had the whole beach to herself. I hope she had a beautiful vacation and went back home with beautiful memories. We still have to work hard on our infrastructure, transport, decent affordable lodging, restaurants etc..
Even for my tropical skin, the afternoon sun was little too much. I had to use this umbrella a lot. Surprisingly there was only one big tree in that whole beach with some shade. Naturally it was crowded under the tree. Some beach dogs and some men including me..
Some thirty years ago, our country side was like this, with fresh water fields on both sides, mud road between them, wooden post for electrical cables. Now we hardly see such sight. Puduvypeen is perhaps one of the few places remaining. The fact is its so far out from Main town Kochi. Though the locals have some safety issues with the fuel storage tanks that are coming up in their area, I do wish them good and prosperity one way or the other.

Indeed my trip to Light House was a joy indeed.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Pangha Festival




During the Onam season, at Durbar Hall, The Kerala lalit Kala Academy organized a "Pangha Festival" bringing together different kinds of Panghas from different parts of India.


On the day I visited, on a Monday after the holidays, the visitors were few. The curator told me during the festival holidays the crowd was huge.

Durbar Hall is a beautiful venue to hold such events. I always like being there.

Its big windows and glasses brings in a lot of light and breeze. The place is maintained spotlessly clean.

Inside the hall, they had fluorescent lighting, which did not help me much with the pictures. The festival was colorful and they had a lot of collection of panghas, almost from every South Eastern Asian countries and from those states where handicrafts are promoted well.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Attha Chamayam

Years ago, when I was student at a school in Tripunithura, "Attha Chamayam was an yearly even which I attended without fail. Even today, all the schools in the town have an holiday. It is such a festivity.Attha Chamayam, brings back the memories of olden times, when The Kochi Maha Raja used to Pass through this same route on his way to The Thrikkakara temple for the beginning of the Onam festival.
Over the years, this procession has maintained the colors and the high spirit. Maybe in the coming years it will be a big time tourist attraction as our State develops its potential.
I stood all the while along with many hundreds near the statue junction, waiting for hours for the procession to arrive. My legs gave out or else could have moved to a different less crowded location and clicked more clearer pictures. An opportunity lost.
Street parade at Tripunithura, Kerala.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Farewell


MathewKutty Chayan is dead. We will remember you fondly K. M. Mathew of "Manorama".

Flowers


Wayside beauties. Eye catchers.

Flowers


what can we do, flowers are so beautiful, cant help admiring them...:):):

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Wooden Fire


Some of our curries taste really good on wooden fire. We hardly use the wooden fire these days.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Thoughts


Be still My heart, dont lead me to..
Ruins, the devil in my own thoughts,
Leaves me at my enemy's mercy....

Done and defeated, hopelessly lost,
In my own failed dreams.

My heart....fill me with hope and dare,
Once again!
:)

Friday, May 21, 2010

Edavam


Aha! the rain again...!!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Dr. Henry Edwards Robert

The gentleman who gave Bill gates and Paul Allen their first break, when he allowed them to write a software which was called Altair basic which would help people program the computer Altair 8800 which Dr. Robert was selling.

Albuquerque in New Mexico, thats where Micro Instrumentation and telemetry Services (MITS) Dr. Roberts company was located.

He died on April first, 2010 at the age of 68 after a long bout of pneumonia.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Production




I got a wonderful opportunity lately to be part of a catering production festival of a Hotel management Institute. It gave me not only the chance to know a lot of names in continental cuisine but to taste them as well. I was overjoyed when they invited me on an evening to actually try their effort.

Volvo


High time we had a bus like this in Kochi. Fares are slightly higher compared to other local buses, but the Volvo experience is worth the extra notes. The air condition, the seats, the bell, the big wide sliding doors, the low floor, the hand grips on the roof rail, the front glass, just about everything Volvo has caught our fancy. If this is the way world outside lives, perhaps we in this small town, is missing a lot in life.

I really do hope, as technology and modern means of living sweeps our small town, we learn the way of doing things in a new way efficiently without forgetting why its done that way.