A day in a jungle

I met R after a decade and he was very fascinated to visit Bannerghatta. I’ve visited Bannerghatta a couple of times earlier, but never done the safari before. I was a little skeptical initially because of the heat, thought it would be difficult to walk around. Thanks to Bangalore’s weather, it rained the previous night and the day was super cool. It was a perfect day for a jungle safari. We picked up the tickets for ‘Grand Safari’ and waited in the queue for our turn. After building up some rapport with the jungle guards, they allowed us to sit in the front, so we can take some nice shots. I was under the impression that it would be of a total waste and we wouldn’t get to witness any animals. As we headed towards the jungle, we saw a herd of deer lazing and wandering around. Other than deer and peacock, we didn’t see much. As it’s raining in Bangalore, there was lush green everywhere and all ponds filled with water. Elephants were relaxing in the water.

Our next pit stop was at bear safari. As soon as the gates were opened, we saw two bears playing and fighting with each other. Oh! They looked so cute. We clicked pictures and moved towards the lion safari.
Lions were totally in a chilled up mood. It looked as if the entire family were out on a picnic. The cubs were playing with their parents under the trees on a grass carpet. While everyone was busy clicking pictures, they looked at us and didn’t really bother. They got busy rolling and cuddling up with each other. Apart from this picture perfect lion family, there were other lions (individuals) busy taking a nap in Bangalore’s best weather.

We then entered Tiger safari. I was slightly disappointed as I could not witness any. Then the guard told us that they recently got some hyper active tiger cubs. They would wander all over the fenced area and it’s difficult to get a hold of them.

We saw few white tigers, some inside the cage and some outside. The ones that were inside the cage were walking restlessly and growling at each other. The tiger’s skin looked radiant like gold. It was so huge and classy. R desperately waited for one of them to yawn, unfortunately they didn’t. He managed to click some great shots of the animals. He has a wonderful camera that captures every minute detail.

After the safari, we reached the ZOO. Though I had seen them earlier went again inside. It was nothing interesting except the snakes, particularly the rat snakes. There were so many inside the cage. We saw one rat snake gulping a chicken. I had never seen that before.

There are so many endangered species now; I think we need to preserve all of them for the next generations. Otherwise the next generation would have to only the see them on Internet. It’s very disappointing to see the way it’s taken care.

Strength

(Location: Sai Baba Temple, Mysore road)

Double- Dhamaka

Even before I could realize it’s the weekend; it’s already over. I went and visited my cousin (L) who just delivered twins (two girls). I was super excited to see them as this was the first twins ever born in the whole family. When we entered the hospital both of them were sleeping. It was wonderful to watch the bundle of joy. For some reason, I was expecting them to be identical twins, but a little disappointed when I saw them. They looked entirely different. I pounced at L with so many questions that she was tired answering them. Then I waited for a long time to click some pictures. It was hard to get a good snap because every time I was ready with the camera, the younger one (one minute difference) would cry. Though the elder one was busy sleeping, the moment she hears the other one crying, she would also start off. Finally I had to take pictures while they were sleeping.

The idea of twins is really exciting to others, but it’s difficult for parents Isn’t it? They are the ones who will bring them up. The little time I stayed in the hospital I saw how much L struggled to cope up with them. They would cry, sleep and even feel hungry at the same time. I only thought about the rosy things of having twins; dress them up identically with some rhyming names. The truth is everything is double in case of twins. The responsibility, expenses, and time would be double. Bringing up two children at the same time is challenging. I wonder if I would be ever ready for such a challenge.

What's wrong with people?

The traffic in Bangalore is terrible these days. I am sure every Bangalorean will vouch for this. I understand it’s frustrating to drive on the roads. Nonetheless, we are not entitled to abuse anyone and everyone.

One incident that happened today forced me to write this post. En route to my office, while my cab driver tried to overtake a car near the traffic signal, the girl next to our cab seemed irritated. She was so aggravated that she zipped through and overtook our cab. When she was next to our cab, She gave a dirty stare at the driver, showed him her middle finger and said ‘FU’. Poor cabbie didn’t understand what the girl said. He was bewildered, naively asked me “what did the girl say?” I was flabbergasted at the sight and didn’t know how to communicate to him.

What was the need for such a reckless behavior from the girl? Is it a big mistake that he surpassed her car?

For some reason I always feel people treat the cabbies negatively. I do agree, at times the cabbies are rude in their behavior. I too have witnessed their slapdash driving and bypassing traffic rules skills. However, I personally feel putting all of them under the same category (as bad) and treating them the same way is just not acceptable. Come on guys, let’s be sensible. Not everyone is as bad as we think and hear. Let’s just admit there are some genuine guys out there who are innocent.

PS : Girls, stop being melodramatic. Think twice before you act.

Sanju Weds Geetha

Sanju, an engineering student passed out of college goes to his hometown for a vacation. He is bowled by the beauty with a philanthropist Geetha. After a lot of perseverance Geetha finally falls in love with Sanju. Wait a minute; I am not going to kill the suspense of the movie by revealing the story. It’s better to go watch the movie without knowing the story.

Sanju weds Geetha is a well made movie with apt script. The USP of the movie is the cinematography and performances. The rain, mist and the clouds are shot really well. While watching this movie on a hot summer day, anyone would crave to get drenched in the rains. The director should be given credit to handle such a serious subject very maturely with a good selection of characters. Kudos to him for making a beautiful film without item numbers and double meaning dialogues. The first half of the movie is fast paced with the combination of romance, comedy and action sequence. The second half tends to be a little slow paced. Kitty’s and Ramya’s performances are brilliant. The on-screen chemistry between the duo is worth watching. Ramya looks very natural (less make up) as a next door girl. Though it’s Ramya centric movie from start to end, Kitty steals away the audience with his exceptional acting skills. Undoubtedly Kitty is a versatile actor who has matured over the years. He is a great asset to the Industry.

Having said that, the minor shortcomings of the movie could have been avoided. Director seems to be hell bent in turning the movie into a tragic end.

• Geetha’s character is so popular in that small town, but difficult to trace her when she goes missing. People don’t recognize her when she wandering away.
• How come her parents let her stroll on a rainy day when she is pregnant and suffering from memory loss?
• Geetha’s uncle being one of the best criminal lawyers couldn’t think of getting Sanju out of the jail at the earliest.
• How did the prisoner get three lakh rupees inside the jail? Is the security system inside the jail so feeble?

This is the best performance of Ramya in her career; she looks stunning in her tastefully selected salwars and sarees. Kitty too looks young with his weight loss. Although I personally feel he has underplayed his character in some scenes. He is one of the greatest actors who has done some challenging roles in the past. They haven’t made use of his potential to the fullest. The movie has some great music. I loved the location of the song ‘Gaganave bagi’. Even the background scores has added up value in the movie. The song which depicts the cultural activity in the jail was not needed, it’s a total spoiler.

In spite of all the glitches, you would not stop enjoying the movie. Please go to the theaters and do watch. It’s is a perfect family entertainer.

"Cup of Pride"

Who doesn’t want to take this beautiful piece home? Everyone wants to own this right? At last India took away the cup tussling against Srilanka. What a magnificent victory for team India! We had to wait 28 years for this to happen again. When all of us were still rejoicing the victory against Pakistan, here comes yet another moment to cherish. Team India bags the world cup. We are the world champions for the second time. Way to go!! Men in blue made India proud. They also broke many myths about the game.

• First hosting nation to win the world cup
• First one to win without someone hitting a century
• First one to win without winning a toss and chasing the score.

I can go on and on about the wonderful day. It was an awesome match, worth watching every minute. It’s the best way to give farewell to Sachin, the legend of the cricket world. It was fantastic to see every player’s effort in winning this match. A true team spirit was displayed. Though there was a bit of disappointment initially, rest of the players picked up the pace and maintained the momentum. This actually proved that we don’t have to always rely on any individual (Sachin/Sehwag). Indian’s showcased a brilliant performance in terms of fielding and bowling (except the batting powerplay). The never give up attitude lead them towards the victory.

Zaheer: Mr. Dependable of the Indian team. Dude, you got three maiden overs. What a control on your bowling! Thanks for getting those two crucial wickets.

Sreesanth: Stop getting pissed and showing off your aggression for all wrong reasons. You were a good bowler, it is history now. It’s high time you show some action. You were fortunate to be a part of the winning team. Do not relax any more.

Dilshan: The pallu effect helped you to get some quick runs. Isn’t it? That was a brilliant catch. I loved the way you caught the ball

Jayawardene: Kudos to you for getting 103 runs! Your partnership with Kulasekara and Perera helped Lankans to post a challenging total to India. Did you actually followed what your wife said (stay there), when you finished your fifty runs?

Malinga: The bowler with the golden hair was unstoppable in taking the two big wickets. We know that you were happy for not letting Sachin hit his century, doesn’t mean you run all over the field like a maniac.

Sangakkara: A true gentleman and a sports person. You spoke really well during the presentation. Undoubtedly Srilankan’s are great players. As you said, the best side won the match at the end.

Muralitharan: A bitter farewell for you from your team. We all know how much this win mattered to you as this was your last match too. We all respect your contribution to cricket.

Sachin: We dreamt of you completing your 100th century in your home grounds. Nevertheless, your team bid farewell to you by giving you the World cup title. What more do we need? This is the moment we were all waiting for.

Sehwag: Oops what happened to you? Were you trying to give a chance to the rest of them? Never mind we are happy we won the world cup!

Gambhir: You are one gutsy player for rebuilding the innings for India. We give you a standing ovation for the spirit you displayed. If you hadn’t handled the pressure we would have collapsed. You were the one who stood and gave an outstanding performance, when we needed the most. It was sad seeing you getting out at 97.

Virat: A youngest kid on the block. You are one enthusiastic player in the team. I loved the way you spoke about Sachin in the presentation. Stay focused and follow your mentors.

Yuvi: A perfect all-rounder. Man of the tournament; it says it all. Thanks for playing this well in the entire tournament.

Dhoni: A perfect captain not only made wise strategies but also contributed individually. You played the perfect knocks. You proved to be there with your team when in crisis.

Thanks for getting the world cup and making us proud. It's a dream come true for every Indian :-)