Tribute to Monica Bonnie

This must be first time that I am skipping the blog sequence. After that Stag the next major thing in my life is my marriage, but for this once I am going to write something down latest. My good friend Anthony is a DJ as well as a Bodhran player. Its a traditional Irish instrument and he does play it well. I have heard him talk about his teacher; 'Monica Bonnie' for the fact that she was a trend setter in early 70's and that she married an Indian brain surgeon.

She was extremely a down to earth person accepting students from all backgrounds doing her best teaching music. Its unfortunate that Ireland lost her early this year. The students and the DIT college got together and decided to put a tribute performance for her. My good friend reserved a seat for me and there I was all set to experience the first concert. The house was full and then the music began,and what a start it was!! The conductor took everyone to the ambiance instantly with "Carmina Burana ~ O Fortuna". Its the theme music of the 'old spice' after shave ad that aired in India when were kids. hair on the back of my neck stood on ends!.

Awesome is a word that would not describe my experience in totality.Then came the opera singers and god did they sing. Especially the lady singer brought out notes that seemed impossible for a human.

If a wine glass shattered anywhere in the room, I would not be surprised. Harp is a instrument that I have never seen other than in pictures. The first impression of that wonderful instrument will last for a long time in my memory. Even the way its being played is so elegant.The music is heavenly. Imagine four of them being played simultaneously!! What a TREAT!.The Indian goddesses have the "Veena" and the Irish gods have the Harp. That how I see it.I just wish I could touch its strings once.

The Traditional Irish music was put on next, with Banjos, bagpipes, Harps, trumpets, clarinet, Bodhran and everything else. It definitely gets ones' foot tapping. Very unique and very enjoyable to set up a very happy mood. A groovy composition by Carols Santana was performed,it was made all the more interesting because the singer tutored the audience with the lyrics and we all had to sing along with. TO make good music we do not need many instruments is what two very pretty girls proved. with just the Bodhran and a flute they did play an ancient Italian medieval tune which got the crown going. Simple yet fantastic. The grand Finale was that the whole band came together. All ex-pupils and current came down including the good old teachers son who played the drums. .The percussion instruments dominating the ambience, To see so many playing these magnificent instruments was definitely an experience of a life time. I enjoyed the evening very much in company of my friends company. I hope this is one of the first of a long line up of Concerts that I will go to, because for me Music is Divine!

For more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150476926909540.418934.651679539&type=1&l=2e13c5f5b3

The BIG day

Right; here I am, taking in a long breath. To pen down something that has been the most significant event in my life since birth. I have procrastinated writing this one down since the past one month considering the fact that this post of mine is the most valuable of the lot to me so cannot be done lightly. The memories that I have with this special day in my life does not need technology to hold for me, but it etched in the hard drive of my mind for good. The day which has now become a highlight of the calendar for the rest of my life is the second of November. It’s been three months since I have been in the "Engaged" status, but this is the date when FB status changed to "Married".

Activities at home has been busy like a bee hive to arrange for everything that a typical India wedding deserves, especially with a long guest list;1500 guests long! My job situation did not favour for a long extended leave, but had to make most of the two week break I took. To start with my arrival in Bangalore airport, which was highly unpleasant, is something that I will remember as a lesson learnt experience. "never lose your wallet" is the Lesson. I had spent a good two hour with the airline staff trying to fight my case that one of their staff nicked it from the craft, but then I had to make a call to get on and head to Kerala to the biggest day of my life or debate with the incompetent staff. Might be this is a brand new start for a new wallet. Headed home, with no minutes to spare on rest called up all India and UK banks where I hold account to get my cards blocked. Then after an arduous 12 hour flight, started the part two of the trip; an 9 hour drive from Bangalore to Kasargod. By brother in law did a good job at the wheel. Once I reached my uncle's home the festivities were palpable, spirits running high. Frenzy in the air all nullified my unavoidable fatigue. Go with the flow was the motive! Joined in the folks to clean up the house, began by scrubbing more than 1000 sqft of portico. That was my welcome treat! I enjoy being a part of the act rather than me being under the lime light, taking centre stage. Another news that did make me happy was one of my good friends from Pune was arriving to my native to attend my wedding. That is much appreciated for the fact that it was a 24 hour long train journey. The Day I had to pick her up from the Train station offered more to me, because my fiancée was in the town doing some shopping. It was a good opportunity to meet her and so did I. Her shyness and happiness at seeing me was apparent which is what I craved for. After receiving my friend from the station, found another excuse to rendezvous with her in the pretext of dropping her home. My friend got to meet her as well and it was a pleasant drive back to her home. From a distance I could make out that frantic activity at her place was no less than mine. Masons, Painters, cooks and decorators all working away. Wished her good luck and all the best for the Big day 48 hours away.

BIG day minus one I had nothing much to do, so being the good host that I naturally am planned for a quick visit to the most iconic tourist spot in my district for my good friend, Prajakta and one of my father's long time friend who had come down from Bangalore."Bekkal fort" was an ancient fort built by one of south India's most powerful mogul ruler,Tippu sultan.I have visited the place many times, but this visit did bring me a good smile because the monument has been take care off. Better pavements and accesses made.

Coast guards and security cameras all over made it a much safer spot to visit. My cousins who tagged along made most of it while I was escorting all of them with an umbrella. I had to take care of myself for the BIG day tomorrow. I will break it down henceforth.

Phase 1 The second half of the day is when I got to start with the formalities. I had to pay my respects to my Fathers' and Mothers' ancestral home. They were not far off, and with utmost respect and devotion with a heart full or prayer placed my offerings at both homes. An immense feeling of gratitude towards the gods for taking care of me and my family, yet clueless as to why should I be treated well. My friend was much impressed with the old architecture. While we were at 'Karicheri' home a sudden down pour did insist on us taking a good few minutes well deserved break at that holy place. An opportunity to reflect on my past and how my life will change in the next few hours to spend the rest of it with an endearing person like Ashitha turned to be an unforgettable moment. The evening had swiftly come upon us and the show has to being.

The house all kitted out with lights, a hundred chairs and several tables laid out. Two team of cooks (Veg and non-Veg) assisted by the women of the house in chopping and cleaning. Gates wide open to welcome those guests who could not make it for the wedding the next day. Closer relatives would attend the evening party as well as the next day wedding. Honestly, I knew less than 10% of the guests who arrived since I am a lad brought up in Bangalore, but my parents and uncles had invited all of them.

The children running about, the girls all huddled up gossiping and women at the kitchen and men greeting the guests and being very hospitable to them making sure every one of them had a good meal, all 550 of them! The videographer was buzzing around me like a fly which I had to tolerate since now is the time that I take centre stage and I had paid him to do that. I was asked to sleep early to prepare for the ceremonious day ahead. I have no idea were I went to sleep or at what time, all I remember was being woken up by my parents early enough. I was awaiting three of my best mates from Bangalore. Gave them a warm welcome at half five and showed them around.

Phase 2 I set about the formality of going to a temple with the camera man stalking me. It’s a nearby old temple that I have been to as long as I can remember. After posing for a few pictures with my cousins and friends headed back home to join the family for a quick breakfast. My good friend Revan had offered to gift me with the wedding shirt four years ago for which I was more than happy to accept.

Now came a very sentimental tradition of humbly accepting blessings from my uncles and Aunts. There were times when I choked up with emotions while my parents, dear uncles and aunts were blessings me. This is once a life time event, like a right of passage to the next status in an adult social life. Not to underplay the gifts that I got, all seventeen of them, all of them gold rings! My net value was increasing by the minute as each ring was slipped on to my finger.

The next event on the itinerary was dressing up of the bridegroom. A tradition which I am sure that only begun with the advent of the capturing video footage on weddings. My uncles took pride in buttoning up my shirt and setting my collar right for the momentous occasion set to befall in a few hours.

Phase -3 My little cousins had not done a great job at embellish the car with flowers, but they did do something to mark my car from an ordinary automobile to a bridegroom’s chariot. With an escort of several cars and a bus headed to the wedding hall twenty kilometres away.

At the gates of the auditorium had a sense that the bride’s team had arrived and things were well underway. I was greeted by my father in law and I just stood around welcoming many not so familiar faces and a few well known ones. I was anticipating myself to be nervous, but I was more excited. Talking with my friends who accompanied till the last minute kept the pressure off I guess. The lads signalled to me that the ‘girl’ made a royal entry chaperoned by her aunts and cousins into a packed hall. Next was my turn. No turning back after that!

That is a one way only passage! To make sure that I don’t have a change of heart under the panic situation my brother in law walked me to the dais holding my hand firmly. Being sprayed by scented water by her cousins along the way made sure that nervousness sweat patches don’t stink. I have only seen so many people seated only when I went to watch Jurassic park first day first show on black ticket ages ago! Close family members and few respected elders were on the stage to orchestrate the event.

Sitting by her side on the floor with the full glare of the lights on us would make anyone nervous, but I liked the attention. With a very polite ‘Hello’ settled in quick. She definitely looked the part. Her beauty; magnanimous made me glee with a tinge of pride. The exchange of garlands, tying the sacred knot, gifting of saree and applying the sacred vermilion to her forehead was all done swiftly; BOOM! I am married! The most heart warming moment was when her father took my hands and placed it in hers and held it firmly in a reassuring way to seal the bond for eternity. It signified to me that he has passed on the responsibility of taking care of his gem of a little daughter to me now. Now it was my turn to only take care of her in more better and happier ways than her beloved father. That is a massive yet welcome obligation for me since the past 29 years.

The next event was the photography with the guests; this was one of my least favoured acts. I’d rather walk up to each one of the guests who are seated and meet and greet them, that way I get more action. But standing there as a mannequin with a true plastic smile for a couple of hours was more of retribution for getting married. I must have definitely built up my biceps shaking the hands of well over a thousand people and for the first time I realised that muscles in the face can ache. Smile hurts! Patience ran out after two hours of posing when I was almost about to throw a tantrum to have lunch. My good friends joined me to the food hall where hundreds of our guests were enjoying the feast. My friends teased me into feeding her a sweet and so did she reluctantly reciprocate. Now think of it, glad that I did it.

The last one but event was the emotional one; flood gates were bound to be opened for many. Its time she changed into the saree that I gifted and she walks out with me. In a Hindu wedding it means that she walks out of her home and into mine for good. She is more a part of my family now than her own. This can make any rock hard mother weep and her mom was miles away from being a rock. I encouraged my wife to talk to her parents while her mum was tearfully saying good bye. My father in law on the contrary was more concerned about the new shirt that I ruined because of the stains from the flower garland. After a quick paper work my father drove up the chariot to whisk her away.

Emotions were profound, but on the journey I assured her that she was in safe hands and that’s all it took for the most precious mental image of hers that I souvenir deep in my heart. A smile that speaks volumes all packed in a simple gesture of a humble smile.

Phase 4 - Many of her family members came along to drop her off. This is the final phase. The bride’s guests were treated well with juice, snacks and dry fruits.

She very ceremoniously carried a traditional lamp into the house, exemplifying the fact that she brings new light into the house. As part of the ritual we had to share a glass of milk and a banana which has a lot of message in itself. She made some offering of beetle leaves and nuts to my mother as a “accept me as your daughter” token to her new mother in law. Adorned with blessings from everyone the grand day finally concluded. Bidding good bye to her relatives and family might have been the hardest task or her but on the flip side her parents will be relieved that their daughter has been married off into a happy new home.

Phase 5- The following days were delightful with us as a newly wed couple visiting temples and many close family and relative’s home upon their invite for a wonderful meal. I being a vegetarian did not help the menu in getting more exciting; unfortunately for her. Never have I had so much eat and never have I taken so much effort in finishing it off with content and delight. Ten days flew by like hours, her company being the most delightful. As far as I am concerned she did not walk into the house with a brightly lit lamp to light up the house, she walked into my heart to light up my life.

Phase 6 – Brand new life begins for me and her…. The story continues….

My STAG-DO day!!

In every humans' life there are some milestones which determine how far has that person come along in this life.Some dare to ignore the norms, some desperately wait for each one of them to take on.I belong to the latter case. Marriage is one such occasion where milestones from different perspective, be it religious, spiritual, economical, societal or biological all meet up. Here is mine coming up in a few days, and the good lads at work choose to celebrate it.

Some kept reminding me as if it was the D day and some on a pleasant note did mention that its going to be great life ahead, I tend to agree with the latter thought.To set the mood just right, my faithful collogues at work did throw me the stag party.

"Me" being me they had to alter the norms of a typical Irish stag party. All things had to be mellowed down by a factor of a million. That was exactly what I wanted as well. A very normal boring night out for them is a high adrenalin party for me.(standards vary for each individual). The entire team decided to go out on a bowling night to Stillorgan. Nothing begins here without the tradition of paying due respect to the Irish gods at the local pub. We back at home, do "Ganesh" prayer and here all starts with a "Guinness" prayer and I agree the latter formality is more fun.Three cars full of excited Lads all set in a pensive mood to out do each other at the game.

Three lanes to start with to sort out the best from each team and then to put the best, mediocre and the elite; in three groups. I belonged to the elite group. Dave, the chief organiser of such social events had the mots majestic way of bowling. which starts of with a gentle push of the bowling ball down the alley ending with a moonwalk. A few other who believed that muscle power is all what is needed, actually did prove the point.The bowling pins were running for the lives even before the ball got to them!!. Some who have spent much time testing software were in the same mode testing the strength of the bowling alley's wooden floor.

I was not that bad myself,but more than the score board, which read "BADASS" I enjoyed the humour of Brain and other lads. Thankfully humour was in abundance thanks to Dave convincing the leisure plex management to get our own Beers into the place. After a good few games, we decided to move on to the next most skill full game. The Bowling alley is some where I have been before, but a pool table is 'NOT'.I very well knew that I had no change of even getting the tip of the stick strike the ball, but divided into it. Apparently college lads spend most of their good academic time here on this game, so naturally everyone around me were very good at this. The only job I had was to sit and watch them play in awe. Few of them even snubbed me to get out of their way and wanted me to sit in some corner with the camera.

It truly is a skill full game and what puts me to shame is these guys play better when they are under the influence and me on the other hand....hmmmmm... lets not go there. It was well past 11 pm and what was too late for me is what was just a start for the rest. Hunger occupied most of our minds and we all headed to the big golden M to feast. Once done all hoped to the nearest watering hole. the McGowan pub. The theme was all Halloween in there. everyone settled in. A few of them prepared to leave and of all people I who was supposed to be the last man standing given that it was my "Stag-do" was the first legging to the exit. A few of the hardy ones were up just to drink for the sun rise. None the less, This is my first, last and only Stag do which I loved the most. The gesture of my good mates here is what I appreciated the most. I had two outlooks now, one being the climax of my bachelor day has been marked for good the other now I look forward for the next celebration, for the last time if you allow me to indulge. "I definitely agree with the latter".

Back to Square One

 Come September 1st 2011, it has been once year since I moved from Ireland to UK, but on Sept the 5th, 2011 I am back to Square one. The square where I started my life abroad back in early 2008. This beautiful square is Dublin. I moved back to the same work place where I was working earlier. I call it 'goodwill' some may say its 'luck' , what ever the reason may be I am really glad that I have moved back. Its true that this city is not as advanced as London, but still there is something warm about Dublin. It might be because I know this place so well that, its taken the place of my 'Home away from Home' spot. I must thank many of my ex collogues here who really have the heart of gold to make sure I get back here even after many unavoidable circumstances delayed me by two months. To add to my surprise I moved back into the very same house that I lived in when I left Dublin. Things could not fall into place better than this. My fond memories in Dublin was this is the place where i took to running. To celebrate my own arrival back to 'Home away from Home' on a Friday morning, i came across an entry ticket for a half marathon run in the magnificent phoenix park which I grabbed within a heart beat (impulsive is my middle name). Then my mind functioned after a few months delay, bringing a flashing Red Neon lit sign on my face, 'NO TRAINING!'. Its been two months since i ran and the max I have run is 6 km then. So how could I ever make a 22 km run then! 99% of me said, there is no way I cannot finish it, but some where in there the good side of me saud, give it your best.

The next day, the race starts at 10:00 ad I am chatting away with my folks back in India till 9:10, then in a haste change and picked up my rickety old bike and cycled to the park which is 9 km away!! I was already panting by the time i get there only to see the first set of sub 1:30 runners take off. I ran to back of the line which is the sub 2:00 category, changed clothes right by the side of the track and left the clothes in a bag out in the open hoping that It would not be stolen.Realised I had no pins to wear my race number. I spot few electricians who helped me by duct taping the number on me!. 10:20 is when I begin my run and there it starts; the long journey. But to my good luck the first 16 kms my pace was good, then when the tough gets going the going gets tough. Every step was a challenge. But this time the big difference was at no point did I ever feel that I must stop and quit, the only voice in my head was finish, finish! the last 4 kms is where i was walking for majority of the trail with a limp, finally i see the 800 met to go sign which just was a adrenalin shot, then comes the 400 met sign and the worst happens, a good gust of wind just took my race number flying away into the park.

My timing chip was on that and it does not make sense to finish without that.With a limp chased it and caught it, I could see folks along side cheering me saying, 'Hold on to it mate, you can do it' with applause. Never has a piece of paper been more precious to me. I would say it meant more than a paper with a huge denomination on it.

The finish line was more dear than anything to me. so it was a Arduous 22 km in 2 hours 22 minutes. All digits in 2 in a memorable way to remember my first Half Marathon and my second entry to this wonderful country.I dedicate this run to my most important person.Hoping next year she will around to cheer me on on my full Marathon. (...gradually Badri walks away from the computer with a limp....)

Native Divine

The past sixty blogs of mine has so far been about my travels and the sights; but for the first time I am breaking the tradition. I do feel there is a stronger need to publicise or make aware of another tradition which has no written books, no schools,no training institutes to teach. Its an art form that has been passed down from generation to generation amongst a certain sect of people for the betterment of everyone in the village. Since childhood, on my month long vacations to my native in Kerala I used to catch a glimpse of such divine rituals that I now hold it close to my heart.
I must also confess that I am not a subject matter expert, but I can sure share my cherished memories. As I said earlier there is no literature about this art form hence I can share what I was told and what I had witnessed.
These rituals are normally held at the ancestral homes of a family. Each ancestral home houses the costume and weapons of the demi god of that respective ancestral home. The property of the god is well taken care off by the family members all year round. All family members across generations once an year pool to set up a fund to arrange for this ceremony. Its held so that family members can share their grievance to the lord and get solution from his/her holiness. It is also done to please the god and get to hear what he/she has to say to the family. So this ritual is the opportunity where the spirit of the demi god is invited into a human body and this Oracle becomes the bridge from the human world to the divine world.
There is no one common demi god; an unique demi god for each ancestral home is believed to take care of her children (all members of the family).
Offerings are made in produce and flesh. Each family bring their produce and poultry for few of the selective demi goods to be offered as sacrifice to prepare an elaborate meal for everyone in the village.
There is no invite list for such a ritual. All members of the family are required if they want to avoid the wrath of their mother Godess; villages also come around to pick up some spare blessings.
Normally in a ritual like this a single demi god is not summoned, a lord superior is also summoned who is a general lord for all people. You may say the manager god of the demi god. All gods do not behave the same.They have a distinct character associated with them and this goes for their elaborate costume as well. We have a very vocal and serious god (vishnu murthy),a comical god (kulliyan),agressive godess (chamundi) and and passive god and so on. Their nature of conversation and the tone makes a sea of difference even to the blind who are not able to visually make out the difference in the costumes and facial expression.
The Oracle (person in which the spirit of the lord resides temporarily) has a lot of preparation before he is willing to summon the lord into himself. It all begins the previous night where the team gather up and start preparing the costumes. These costumes are made from the tender top leaves of the coconut tree, threads from the plantain etc. The bright colours for the make up are all ingredients offered by nature. While the team works on the costume, a priest will prepare the sanctum where the performance will take place. This involves laying out the gear(chest plate) and weapons of the demi god.
Once the stage is set, the performer enters assisted by his team mates to the sanctum.The priest recites prayers while the performer meditates to enter into a trance like situation. His loud anklets build the tension as he shakes his legs and arms in frenzy. His team mates attend to the drums and clappers where the sound ambience is set. Pensive mood sets in the crowd gathered around in eagerness to witness a divine event of their beloved lord making an appearance via this human form.
Eventually the Oracle's expression says it all that he has been possessed. His dance begins to match the rhythm of the drum finally to break out with a language that is ancient. His words, expressions and vibrant movement clearly show that he is not himself any more.
Some of these Oracle do things that is out of the ordinary. For example run and fall into burning mound of charcoal. So reluctant to get off that he has to be pulled off from the amber glowing heap. I have once witnessed a demi god run fast and jump into a dried up well only to be pulled up by the villagers. Nor are they hurt, Tired or back to normalcy. When possessed the oracle posses stamina that is super human. With the head gear weighing as much as themselves they go about dancing, chanting, singing and running for hours on end. Most of the time the oracle takes up chest plate of the gods that are made of brass and weaponry which is far from feather light. The performance normally ends with the oracle loosing conciousness or being helped by his assistants when he collapses.


During the limited time of his divine state members of the ancestral home approach him with grievances affecting them seeking for a possible solution. Some times the oracle himself speaks of incidents that are so secretive with only one person being aware of it. These are the moments when a non believer turns in. The god then speaks of any dissatisfaction he/she has had with the prayer offerings to him and suggests corrective measure. Most of the time a devotee who takes up the responsibility of fixing as per the guidelines of his holiness end up with satisfaction and his issues gone. Its a taboo to mock at the lords as they get easily upset and their wrath is not what is within tolerable limits. I have witnessed kids from cities who mocked only to face his anger and an year later they had to come back from Mumbai only to conduct this whole ceremony again to apologies and ask for forgiveness. No less torture of the unexplained kind would drive a family to part with such huge expense and laborious long journey.
One notable aspect that astounds me but at the same time annoys me is the sect of people who are only allowed to perform the ritual or play the drums are of the lower caste in the society. Shamefully called as untouchable class. I am perplexed by the fact that people of this so called lower caste are given the privilege of being the gods of the upper class and for that short duration when they perform they get all the respect!! This caste system is one aspect that I am ashamed off in our culture.

The irony of the situation of me writing the blog is I had paused midway for an hour to watch the live telecast of the launch of the Juno space probe which will rendezvous Jupiter 5 years from now. Its the largest deep space probe ever to be launched.

I as an avid science enthusiast who digs deep into the cause of every single occurrence in nature.Naturally I am supposed to find it hard to buy into the belief or superstition. But the truth is I think I have found the thin line which divides these two worlds and I am glad to be on the fence and look both ways and appreciate the true beauty what god has offered me to witness in this tiny lifetime of mine. On one side of the fence trillions are spent to find answers and yet not all have been answered on the other side far lesser has been spent in blind belief and not all answers are there yet. Folks on both grounds in an eternal 'Pursuit of Peace'. As far as my agenda for this insignificant life of mine is to try my best to preserve this rich art form for the next generation, wishing for the miracles of science and blessings of the lords to empower me.

For more pictures: http://goo.gl/rB3sc

Nationality of God: Keralaite

I have a new formula, a new blog initiation hurdle is directly proportional to the volume of experience which is intended to be shared. Lessons are learnt from experience; the past one month has been such a wonderful vast experience for me that when my fingers touch the keypad to write a blog,then its like deer caught in the headlamps! Don't know what to do! I Spent quite some time editing the photographs and finally decided that its time for me to sit down and clear out the channel from my memory unit to the output unit (fingers).

I flew to my home city Bangalore on June 17th, just to spend a day there and got going to my native place, Kasargod which is the northern most tip of Kerala. The drive through the western Ghats which are soaring mountain terrain adorned with thick jungles by the grace of the torrential monsoon was magical. I had undermined Monsoon all my life and now after 29 years is when I realise its full potential. Rains that nurture life does show its fury. Some times the rains are so heavy that I had to stop my car even if it has its wiper at full speed because the windscreen is a wash with gallons of water.
I have never seen life in its full splendor ever so much before. Forest flora and fauna take a life of their own.The noise of the creatures with the thunderous noise of torrential streams made me appreciate the true beauty of this god blessed country.
Even when it comes to fruits or vegetable, running to the Tesco's is not an option at all. Food is what is grown around us. Nature offered us more that 5 types of fruits and numerous vegetables right in the plantation that we lived in. No food has ever been more tasty than the food we produce..
I visisited many temples in the district, each one having a different level of serenity and godliness to it. Out of it the most impulsive visit was to a temple called Kukke Subramanya which is deep in a jungle. A 100 kilometre drive to this place made me feel that its worth the effort. . With the lords divine blessing the journey continues. Another hair raising experience I had was a visit to a temple where I was part of a ritual to offer prayers to a god who takes care of any hurdles in life. I was sitting for close to an hour next to a priest who spent a good part of one hour earlier to decorate the place with rice,leaves,lamps and Vermillion and Turmeric powder. Just watching him perform this would make even a non believer into a religious chap. He chanted away uttering my name many a times fully engrossed with different hand movements. I did feel sanctified and blessed by the end of the ritual.

Another memory that I cherish the most was the visit to my ancestral home. The home that gives me the Initial 'K' in my name. This is the home that ties down several generations of my humongous family who has the Initial K (Karicheri). The house is where the demi god of our household; 'Korathiamma' resides. I visited this home with utmost humbleness praying for her blessings. . This home is several hundred years old and regularly elaborate ceremonies have been performed to keep the Godess happy.Its the mothers' who carry the blood line for us,that means I am the end of the road, but my sister will take the initial forward to the next generation and so on.
My home in Kerala is in the middle of arecanut and coconut plantation, which is hard to get to place but great to live in place. Water so pure that if flows unadulterated through the thick jungles forming swelled up streams are mush better than the Evian water you pay for. Trees all around giving you the purest of dust free air makes you feel to relaxed. I used to get the bang for the zero buck I have given to be here. used to take a shower at a tiny waterfall everyday.
Nothing else felt so refreshing and my mind was always reluctant to get off that stream. The plantation floor was thick with many wild plants growing to make the best of the rain and the slender rays of the sun. It did give me a feeling that we as humans are sharing this rich planet with so many other creatures who can rightfully claim the same space as theirs. Alas if they don't have a will, but none the less they can stay on. I enjoyed meeting the guests of this undergrowth. The vividity of the shapes and size, colours and pattern amazes me.I witnessed snake many times but hardly had my camera with me on those occasions, so once I decided to capture some of these respected creatures and in a matter of ten minutes spotted two of them.
. The wonderful attitude of folks from Kerala are they understand we all creatures must co exist. It so happened once that on a journey to a relatives place through the jungle in the thick of the night a python was crossing the road and no one panicked, all waited for it to pass on not even discussing about the incident. If everyone agrees to the fact that we all share the same space and we gain mutual respect, then this beautiful planet of ours would brim with more unfathomable life forms only to appreciate it.
The high light of this trip was a life changer for me, this is the trip that has finally tethered me down. The trip that finally made me meet my life partner. The traditional arranged marriage process was quick where I hardly had a glimpse at her for 10 minutes and got to hear less than 100 words from her and I had to decide if that is the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. For such a critical decision, things happened in a humble fashion.Engaged I am.I am glad things turned out the way they have and now I realise the effect of all the rituals and offerings to all the lords. The Lord knows what I need.My prayers have been answered. My Ashitha.

For more pictures: http://goo.gl/m0kIj

The Natural history Museum

There has been more than 50 posts on my blog so far, but almost all of them has been regarding places that I have visited i.e. a city or a county but for the first time here I am writing a blog about a single place in a large city. A single monument open to public which perplexed me for that fact that how could such a well run, super interesting place be run for free!. Then I remembered about my salary slip and got to know how. I feel its worth it now. I have spent more than 14 hours at the natural history museum in two sessions in-spite of which I still feel I could put another 7 more hours and learn new things from this fantastic place. The welcoming sight of a large dinosaur skeleton sets the mood for the sights that one will cherish later on. This museum has been here open to public since 1835 and the Dinosaur has been greeting visitors for more than 100 years. That speaks about the heritage of this monument. The museum has various sections like Dinosaurs, Human life, Geology, Insects and many others, each one better than the other. Its not just a museum, but there are many scientists, palaeontologists,entomologist and archaeologists working here at the lower floors where there is a labyrinth of shelves stocked with fossils and bones.
I started with the Dinosaur exhbit and what amazed me the most was the Animatronic Dino's there. I can imagine how enthralled the kids will be at the sight of these Dino's that moved and made noise because I was. The ambiance was set to take us to the Jurassic era. Most of the atrifact there did speak about the non commercial story of Dinos that is generally not depicted in movies. For example herbivore Dino's has pebbles in their belly to help grind food and the chicken does the same! Here is a video to give you a glimpse of what I saw.

What would take one hours of reading to understand will just take a few minutes to understand with the exhibits, I must admit that I went though this section twice.. The next section was marine and animal life. As I walked in this massive hall my jaw dropped at the sight of a full size model of a giant blue whale! the largest living creature ever to be on Earth ( yes even Dino's were not this big).
The skeletons of these large mammals overhung the models giving a very good perception. There was loads I learnt from this spectacular place. For example a whale uses 90% of its lung capacity compared to a human which is 15%.Whale milk is made of 45% fat as to a human milk which is 5%. This is for the offspring to gain weight as quickly as possible but as an infant it already weights 3 tonnes! There is an illusive whale that lives around the Antarctic which has a fairytale unicorn kind of horn and one in 500 of these beautiful creature called Narwhal has 2 of them.The use of this point long horn is not to poke and intimidate fellow mates but to use it to direct the sound waves!
Many of you reading this might have seen innumerable pictures of whales and wondering where is the lips of a whale and how does it ever open it. Hope this picture on the left explains.
One more interesting fact i learnt was that 80% of the space in the head of a sperm whale is a tank filled with wax. It solidifies the wax and warms it to make it liquid to me a buoyancy tank. So that its easier to float or Dive!
The yellow section over the skull is the bulbous Wax tank.
The rules of nature sometimes feels so unreal that the largest creature on earth only feeds on the smallest. zooplankton and phytoplankton, using not a super sharp canine teeth that we imagine large monsters to have but humble comb like tooth to filter the water from its food.
As I wanlked further to see more I let the child in me do the thing it likes the most. Draw. Here is my attempt.

Going further I explored the insect section where the fabulous world of insects which is so critical to the ecology was exhibited with large scale models telling a story to remember. For example a one cubic feet of earth on a forest surface is on average home to 3000 types of insects which is a testimny to the fact that till this very day insectologist discover hundreds of new species in the jungles of papua new guinea and amazon.



On my second session of the following weekend I was lucky enough to participate in a live seminar about bats in the museum where a member from one of the bat clubs had come to share knowledge about Bats. I did get the chance to have some bat poo on my hands to grind them to fine dust just to make the point that its not slimy!. I also learnt that Bats are extremely clean creature because they have to fly hence they groom themselves well, but not they don't clean their toilets at all which is good because their poo is an extremely good manure. Bats on an average live for 30 years which totally took me by surprise. That is long for such a small and active creature. The common belief that bats are blind was dispelled and their hearing capability was far superior to us was reinstated. I did get the opportunity to see a live bat and to even touch it. I was the only adult amongst the kids standing tall to do this, I am not shy in hiding my excitement.The kids and I walked with the same grin on the smile thinking "Bats are super Cool" The next section was about mineralogy. This was a bit on the technical side because there was thousands, I kid you not thousands. A section called the Vault housed some of the most expensive stones like rarest of rare diamonds and Lunar rock samples along with some asteroids and meteorites. On every single sample the chemical composition was mentioned which did not much good for me but the colours, vibrance, texture one them facinated me.
. I came to know that most of the asteroids that made it to earth surface are nothing but chunks of Iron in purest form. The crystalline structure on a the cross section is what scientist study to understand how the raw materials for the creation of our home was even before earth formed. yes they are all much older than our own Earth!
All in all the, no matter where I go the museums are still hold the number one places on my places to visit list, not that it kills time, but when you walk out the doors you walk out with more information than what you had when you walked in.That too for FREE!

On the lighter side of things I did travel to east ham with my mates to see the Indianess of this part of the metropolitan city and I did see it evidently. It looked like a street right from India. I did head to my favourite south Indian restaurant, 'Sharavana Bhavan' which was also here to enjoy a mouth watering pancake called 'Masala Dosa'.. Followed by the supposedly hilarious movie 'hang over part two' at the O2 arena.. I also got the opportunity to witness a brazalian samba dance group. The beats and the hip shaking beautiful girls did make me stay ans watch for a few minutes.

For more pictures:
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