Entries Tagged 'personal' ↓

The plane took off on a moonless night from the Bengaluru International Airport, 40 kms away from the metropolis. As the plane banked 120 degrees to the left and set a course to Mumbai, the night lights started to appear. The visibility was easily over 50 kms and I could immediately spot a jet on the final landing approach to the airport. As our plane gained altitude, the city came into view. There was something more than just the millions of lights that were visible. There was a mercury vapor colored halo around the whole city, like a cocoon around it. Mesmerizing, yes, but sadly, the halo was caused because the dust and pollution in the air were reflecting all the lights around.

How long before Bangalore loses its blue skies forever?

Just got back from a great weekend ride with Gaurav, Milind and Nikhil to Mahim beach near Kelve. Had great fun riding on the beach in pitch darkness then trying to find our camping spot again. Bad idea taking a bedsheet instead of a sleeping bag - couldn?t sleep because the bedsheet got wet because of dew.

Thanks to Nikhil, the best part was the off-road excursion off the Vajreshwari route. Some 2 kms into the road, there is a right turn towards the Balyogi ashram that?s all dirt track. The climb was mildly challenging, nothing like Arunachal, but dirttracking is what we really love anytime.

The best part by far was one of the most amazing views I?ve ever seen, right from the summit of the mountain we rode up. The panorama was mind-blowing, covering almost 180 degrees of my view. I could see hills down below which had seemed really high from the highway. From up there, I could even see the other side of those hills. It was easily over 2000 feet high. We could see the layer of smog over the whole region. On a clear day, the view would have been even better. Great place to build a house. The ashram people were laying down a new surface over the dirt track. Maybe they were planning to tar it as well. Such dirttracks don?t last forever.

We met another couple of bikers on the way up from the other side - one of them was an uncle riding a Bullet. He was totally frustrated with the track - but his face dropped further when I told him that the other side of the track is much worse. The other guy was panting as he was pushing his Avenger over the bad road.

Contrast to these dirt tracks, highways are so boring and monotonous. City car drivers drive on the highway exactly like they do in the city, cutting off people. switching lanes fast and what not. They are easily the worst on the highway because they?ve not been on highways long enough to absorb the unwritten code.

A life transformation program - Siddha Samadhi Yoga. Highly recommended.

Listening to Eddie Vedder singing the OST for Into The Wild as I drove to the office today, I started reminiscing about how much the movie had moved me. It’s an extremely unpretentious, no-frills, simple movie, reinforced by the one-band soundtrack, with Eddie Vedder providing all of the music.

There’s a wonderful relationship between the music and the visuals - both of them merge effortlessly together. The voice of Eddie Vedder is like a beacon in the ocean, something that allows the viewer to anchor on as the film progresses.

Sean Penn shows that he’s more than capable as a director, sticking to the theme of the film all throughout. He did have great material to work with, actually. The story of Christopher McCandless is very moving. As a fellow traveller, I can relate to the feelings of anxiety and euphoria that Emile Hirsch displays beautifully in the film. As a story, there’s something so real about it that it manages to affect the viewer without being over-the-top. I won’t sacrifice the plot here, better watch it and hear it yourself. I highly recommend both the soundtrack and the movie. Eddie Vedder’s comments on the soundtrack are also a very interesting read.

Since childhood, I have taken a certain amount of pride in the way my country looks in its Political Map avatar. There’s a certain balance to it - a human appearance, if I can call it that. The prettiest part by far is the “head” at the north, what with its groovy hairstyle and all. But it was not till the past few years that I realized that it has been a farce all along.

Even before Kashmir officially became part of India, portions of it were occupied by Pakistani guerilla forces tribals. Indian authorities have never been in occupation of these portions ever since. In spite of that, the government continues to depict the Political boundaries as they “should have been”.

The ground reality is that almost 60 years have passed since this debacle and people on both sides have been assimilated into their respective occupiers and the occupiers economy and culture. Granted that there are certain areas still under active dispute, such as the Siachen glacier. All I ask is that the Line of Control should be depicted in our political maps so that people like me and the younger generation is not misled into believing something that never was and never will be ours. The impression it gives is that we have lost those regions to war - on the Chinese side, maybe; but not on the Pakistan side.

Calling for a reality check and prevention of a big misunderstanding.

Above images modified from original SVG map made by Nichalp, licensed under GNU FDL 1.2