A weaver's village

I was recently in this village of kodiyaala, a few kilometers away from my home town(Sakkare Nagara - Mandya) known for its handlooms and cotton sarees.

While people shopped busily and heavily, I watched Gurappa and other weavers add vibrant colors to the sarees - each a masterpiece.

The villages and its people have something in them that makes me feel not just awed but almost jealous.Its something more than just their simplistic lifestyle that draws me..I cant be sure..
(I know, I know, you will say that i must have found it homely given that Mandya is almost a village.. FYI, Mandya now has a MORE and a FabMall and Safal, you know :P )






Gururajappa


Satisha in the powerloom

Every time i happen to see a distant airplane
making its flight in the bangalore night-sky,
i mistake it to be a firefly.

And i end up feeling cheated, every single time!

Happy Feet

Skip steps while climbing down the stairs..
Splash jump into the rain puddles..
& kick stones during the long walks.. :)


P.S: Pic taken at Mettupalyam, Ooty, India.

Make cork balls on your own!! A visual guide with 7 all-easy steps!

What? Cork balls
Who are eligible? All who still have in them, alive, the spirit of playing lagori.
Who aren't? All hudGiru[and hudGuru] who have soft & clean manicured hands. All kids who know about nothing else but video games.
What one would require? 6-7 Katti Kaayi [The dried pods of the rain tree], A stone to grind.
Where? Some decent place in your garden which has a flat surface[Preferably a stone slab under the shade of a mango tree]
When? Summer's the best time.
How?

Keep all materials ready[Parents can get non-cooperative at times like these].

Step 1 - Grind the KattiKaayis till you can separate the seeds and the sides. Keep the seeds aside [They can be put into use while playing Chowkabaara or Moshi].









Step 2 - Now grind them. Grind and Pound. Grind. Pound [For atleast 1/2 an hour].Grind till you feel they are fine and pasty-pasty.









Step 3 - See if you can proceed with making a ball out of the paste. Else goto Step 2.










Step 4 - Follow beNNeyammas'[butter-seller] method of giving the ball a perfect spherical shape [If you've not seen any, come visit Mandya sometime]
Step 5 - Roll your fresh & all-sticky ball over a little Rangoli pudi. Allow it to dry for sometime. Yes! Dirty hands, they leave you with! [ Doesn't matter much,does it? Especially when you don't mind your not-so-clean mind.. :b]




Step 6 - Oil your palms with coconut oil and gently roll the fresh cork ball in between till the surface absorbs enough oil.

Step 7 - Keep out of reach of birdies/cat-ies/kittens/puppies/doggies/humans while you let it dry for 3-4 days.

Now your hand-made cork ball is all ready! Lo! Go play Lagori!!

P.S - Queries welcome. Any attempts made, please keep me informed.

Naanenadru *XYZ aagidre, en en maadtidde gotta?

There has been a lot of "music" in my life lately.At office i hum 12x5 to keep my sanity level in check for the most weaselish of weasels are my co-workers -
>>>Mizzz.M to my left-hand side who is still too "young" to even understand what i speak, that a smile or a you-are-so-too-much look is all i get back for all the wise cracks i come up with[ok!ok! Mr.u-know-who, my jokes ARE wise relative to the "wisdom & wit" of my co-workers is all i mean. But, i know my score is still 3.5/5];

>>>Mizter.U to my right-hand side who thinks i'm a "beri beast seengar" and that i'm a " beri beri beast kannada tutor" [Thank you beri beri much. I hope it'll be very late before somebody dare tell you how polite "Hegidyo Magane?" "Nange kelsa madi taley keDtiDe" "Baavige haaru hogu" "Maga ootakke eLo" sound in kannada]

>>>>I'll dare not mention how amazing a master-piece another team-mate of mine is. Probability is more that he'll sue me for referring to him in an "unprofessional" & "unethical" manner in my blog damaging his wonderful "reputation" of being a "true professional" [My brain is still functional. All thanks to you, Mr.A. I enjoy nothing more than the "heated" arguments we share all day long,5 days a week. I can even get to the extent of getting sentimental & saying -"My work life would've been so dull & dry without someone like you in our cubicle"]

Yes,coming back to the senseless point that my life has gotten musical..
>>>It was with a friend & non-weasel colleague i had a conversation about my fascination for the named and the unnamed. Ever since I've been exhaustively listing down all the names of Indian classical ragas and My!My!My! what names,i say!!
Here are a few -

Asavari     AmritVarshini     Bageshree     BasantMukhari     Chandraprabha     Dhavalashree     
LalitGauri     Haunskinkini     Hamshika     Janasammohini     KesariKalyani    GopiKambhoji     
Basanti     Khambavati     Keervani     Lajwanti     Kaumari     Lalitavari     Lankeshree 
Madhuranjani     HaunsManjiri    AmbaManohari     ChittaMohini     Nilambari;     Kalavati
KaamVardhini     KumudPrabha     NaagSaraswati    Sawani     Shobhavari      JaiJaiwanti
Shreevanti     Sindhoora      Sohini     Lachari     UdayRaviChandrika;     HansNaad 
PuriyaDhanashree    Sawani     Yaamini     VrindaavaniSaarang     Patdeepaki    Purvi


If i were to mother the 101 kauravas i would have had all girls to name them after the Ragas or if i were Krishna with 16K gopikas, i would rename some 250-odd of them after the Ragas. There can be other possibilities..like who others i can name after Ragas, but, *Ahem* *Ahem* 200-odd! OMG! :b :b

It ain't a pleasant feeling when you see someone else weaving a dream for you while you are still occupied in a world your own..when you are still splashing angry colors of your sulkings & choosing colors for all your longings..when you are still so occupied in adorning your world that whenever your shift your gaze to look up, you choose a star each time from the infinity to fill your own night sky..

I've returned here often..many more times than i've chosen to leave..
And every time the contrast strikes, so bold.
And like never before, i wish that this place live.

How many you have, Man??

People all around were so engrossed conversing in groups their own, where we had none. If we hadn't sat together, i would be occupied in watching the squirrels hurry around and nothing else. At lunch, a few days back, when i'd least expected it, we spoke about it - loneliness. I remember that the very first time i'd spoken to her, i knew she had as many people in her life as i have in mine.

A little human universe we build for ourselves; hand-picking people from around us, we let our lives revolve around them.. Placing them in the center of our being, we try to shapen our lives..a purpose we try to find..a meaning we all look out for..; a name, we give it..new relationships we define..

Sometimes when you start awing at how beautiful a universe you've built, it suddenly turns ugly.. And you notice that its an island you have been building! A misfitting piece you've built, it feels..and you are left mercilessly to ponder over what jigsaw puzzle it was that you were trying to solve..!


Whenever i mess up a piece of code, my manager says - 'Start from the scratch,Sahana! Its so good that one almost always can give oneself the choice to start afresh'

We wanderers,ever seeking the lonlier path.....

Baavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna

Baavre se mann ki dekho Baavri hain baatein
Baavri si dhadkanein hain Baavri hain saansein

Baavri si karvaton se nindiya door bhaage
Baavre se nain chaahein
Baavre jharokhon se
Baavre nazaaron ko takna

Baavre se is jahaan mein
Baavra ek saath ho
Is sayaani bheed mein
Bas haathon mein tera haath ho
Baavri si dhun ho koi
Baavra ek raag ho
Baavre se pair chaahein
Baavre taraanon ke
Baavre se bol pe thirakna
- Swanand Kirkire

At the pantry,during a tea break, they all heard me hum..I knew that they would ask me to sing out aloud and i knew that then,i would even stop humming..

Sometimes when i hum a tune, I portray you in my mind..you would ask me neither to be louder nor would you ask me to change my song....You would wait till i hummed a tune and you would listen with a dreamy intent gaze and a tender smile on your lips..losing yourself in the tune till you find me somewhere there,as lost as you..

Religion.Fervor.And its Hues.

A piece of art can only BE , not be MADE.















































Location - Kukke Subrahmanya , Karnataka , India.