Nithya R.'s Blog, page 2

Dolphin Hills

 

 

My husband is in the defence services and when he told me that he got a transfer to Vishakhapatnam aka Vizag, my face fell. As far as I knew, Vizag was a dry place with no amusement or entertainment whatsoever. But did I have a choice? So I packed my bags and followed him. 

Just before the plane was about to land, I peeped out of the window. And that was love at first sight. We were flying over the ocean and I could see the shoreline , and it was absolutely amazing. We landed and headed towards the place where we were allotted accommodation. Once we left the dirty polluted roads and the market place behind, we entered the main gates of Dolphin Hills and every curve, every bend took my breath away. The view was fantastic and the temperatures dropped by a couple or so degrees.

The house we were allotted is on the ground floor, so that givesme place for gardening too. The best part? I can see the ocean from my balcony, I can see the ocean from my door step, I can see the ocean when I go for walks, I can see the harbour when I go down, I can see ships when I go down, I can see ships when I go to the roof, I can see ships when I go for my walks, I can see the ocean AND the city when I reach the top. The night view? Mesmerizing. And oh you know what’s even better? I can see the ocean from the gym. Need I say more?  It’s like I am living in a holiday resort every day. 

We have a couple of food courts, a couple of shopping complex es and lots of parks on Dolphin Hills. It is a self sufficient place, except for a movie hall. You will have to go to the city if you want to watch a movie, or eat pizza. Pizzas don’t get delivered here, nor do most of the couriers. If you can overlook these trivialities Dolphin Hill is your dream home. 

A magnificent house on a hilltop with an ocean view. And there’s a trekking path that leads to the beach, we are yet to try that out. If we do, I’ll let you know how that goes. Will write about Yarada beach that I can see from my gym (center piece in the collage) when I come to Y because I had my share of fun over there as well. 

The Mythical Truth

The Mythical Truth.

Church Street, Bangalore

The best time I had when I lived in Bangalore, was when I worked for this company on Rest House Road. The gang was awesome and we all loved to eat. We got free food in the office, but we still loved to go out to eat atleast once a week. After a year or so, we shifted our office to another premise where we didn’t get food in the office anymore, so we hung out in the best place in the whole of Bangalore – Church Street.

Church Street is a very narrow street tucked away secretly inside Brigade Road. It has some big restaurants and cafes like Matteo, Nandos, Amoeba, Bheema’s, Mainland China,etc., but it was the smaller ones that contained the actual magic of food. Queens was my special favourite. One can never spot it if you are not familiar with the street. It’s one of those shady little shops hidden on one side of the street. The interiors are beautiful nevertheless. It gives you a comfortable cozy feeling once inside. The food is reasonably priced. Kaati Zone was another of my favourite haunts. But my colleague and best friend in the office, Amogh and I used to go to Subway every other day. We walk up to Church Street from our office, stand at the intersection and look either ways deciding where to go for lunch. If we chose the road to our left we’d end up in Kaati Zone, if we chose the road to our right, we’d end up in Subway. Probably we were a bunch of lazy leos too lazy to hunt for our food. But that was when it was just him and me. When the rest of the gang was around, we’d choose some nice place like Bheema’s which served good Andhra food. We once went to Indijoes for a farewell party. They serve wonderful sizzlers with good old classic music. Then came a new craze- Krispy Kreme. Those doughnuts were the best I had ever had. We started frequenting that place more than any other. It had to be Krispy Kreme for dessert. Krispy Kreme is solely responsible for me gaining weight – that and my laziness to exercise.  Amogh and I had fun during lunch breaks. Zoroy, a luxury chocolate store added charm to Church Street as well. I will write more about it when I reach Z.

It wasn’t just restaurants. There are many shops selling video games, clothes, gadgets, etc. There is this stationery store where I loved going just to look at pens and notebooks and inevitably ended up spending at least two or three thousands every month. I loved window shopping especially after office hours. I loved walking up and down that street to see life going by. I enjoyed Church Street better than Brigade Road or MG Road. It was like my little secret world in this busy hustle bustle of the city. It was like – yes – it was like Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. Try visiting this place the next time you are in Bangalore, or contact me for tips on what to get where and where to eat.

Borra Caves

 

 

Day 2 : After Anathagiri and Araku, we decided to hit Borra caves on our way back home. Borra was discovered by William King George in 1807. He was a part of the geological survey team in India back then. The tribals believe that these caves have a divine presence in them. A cow grazing over the cave accidentally fell down a large gaping hole (refer to the picture above, middle one, last row) and fell down 60 m. But surprisingly it wasn’t hurt. It walked down and found a path that led to the river that is named as Gosthani river(Gosthani means a cow’s udder). The cowherd, as he came searching for his cow, saw these caves and upon entering them found a stone that represented a Lingam. Therefore the tribals believe that God dwells in these very caves.

Borra means a hole – named after the hole through which the cow fell. Borra caves is the home to stalagmites and stalactites made naturally from limestone. The stalagmites and stalactites form natural sculptures and pillars when they join together, a process that takes make thousands of years. Some of the naturally formed sculptures were a tiger, dinosaur, Shiva Parvati, Hanuman, Shirdi Sai Baba and many more. As you go deeper down, there is a little stream of water that is yellow in color. The tribal women call it Sita’s turneric and believe that sprinkling this water helps in pregnancy and child birth and hence is very auspicious. Scientifically, the water there is very rich in iron content.

We then had to climb 150 stairs to see the Lingam that was discovered by the cowherd. Bats occupied the dark interiors and the cave stank of bat poop. But curiosity got the better of us making us tread further and further.  

Then came the difficult part – climbing up. The numerous stairs exhausted us beyond words. When we came to the mouth of the cave, a tribal family, who at that moment seemed god sent to me, had a little kiosk with soft drinks and mineral water bottles. We bought a bottle of Fanta from him, sat there and relaxed for a bit during which he and a few women were talking about something in their native language I just could not decipher. One of the elderly women still wore the traditional tribal jewelry, nose rings on either sides and in the centre of the nose. She also wore a necklace that looked like layers and layers and layers of metal coiled around her neck. 

The walk to the car park was exhausting as well. But the drive back home was blissful. It was surely a very rejuvenating holiday and we were ready to take the week head on. 

Anathagiri/Araku Valley

 

We had a long weekend and hubby and I decided to get away for a long deserved vacation. We wanted to get away from the hustle bustle of the city and go somewhere quiet. We decided to go to Araku Valley which is roughly around a 141 kms from Vishakhapatnam(that’s where we live). A friend suggested that we bunk at Ananthagiri and visit Araku and other nearby places from there. And we were glad we took her advice.

Anathagiri is 80 kms from Vishakhapatnam . We made reservations at APTDC’s Haritha Hill View Resort and drove down at 6 am. The roads were good once we left the city behind. There were a lot of hairpin bends with breath taking views all along. We reached the resort at 8am just in time for breakfast. The rooms were not ready yet, the manager asked us to go visit the waterfalls nearby while he got our room cleaned up. We drove to the falls, some parts of the road being a little perilous. It was beautiful beyond words. We parked our car a little ahead and walked down to the waterfalls. It was slippery and mossy and very narrow when we tried walking with our shoes on dry patches of land and rock. Then we took off our shoes and it got easier, although the moss and algae did make the riverbed slippery. We sat on top of the falls on rocks that exposed their backs to the sun. The cool waters that tickled our feet gave us instant rejuvenation making us forget every care we had in the world. After an hour of frolicking in the water, we headed back to the resort.

We could choose our room and we chose the one with the best view. Breath taking is an understatement. All I could see was hills and valleys. A little cottage below our room spewed smoke from something a man was cooking over firewood. And I thought, the only thing missing was a light drizzle to make it perfect. And , it was as if nature heard me. I said let there be rain, and there was rain. A lovely light drizzle in the middle of March, which is unheard of. It was so magical, i got goosebumps.

We decided to go to Araku after lunch. Araku was a valley around 50 kms away from Anathagiri. The drive was again mesmerising. We saw mango trees whose trunks were as thick as banyan trees. Little grey monkeys sat on every milestone picking lice from each other and nursing their even smaller babies. A little spring trickled unexpectedly from the hill, it was like a little secret hidden , waiting to be discovered. The smell in the air was blissful. The flowers that dotted the hills were of varied colors and shapes and sizes. We entered a tribal village. The weekly fair was on and the villagers were buying and selling vegetables and fruits and meat. A baby cow, so tiny that I mistook it for a dog,  ran helter skelter towards its mother. A hen strutted about pecking for her little chicks that were no larger than my thumb. A tribal lady massaging a new born infant. Spring was in the air.

We reached Araku and to our disappointment, there was nothing much to see. We headed for the tribal museum that was a little informative. We decided we’ll head back to our room and relax for the rest of the afternoon. The resort manager had told us that there would be a tribal dance performance for us in the evening. We wanted to head back in time to catch it. Besides, hubby didnt want to drive these unknown hair pin bends after dark. We stepped out of the museum and there was this downpour. The rain drops were so huge they stung. We waited near the exit of the museum for the rain to stop. After about an hour, it came down to a drizzle. We headed towards the handicraft store where there were a lot of wooden toys and show things. There were wicker baskets and purses. We didnt buy anything though.

As we tried heading towards the car park, the rain started again. Hubby asked me to wait by the security guard’s shelter while he ran to get the car. I ran out when I saw the car and the camera that hung from my neck got wet. Hubby was upset no doubt.

We drove back to Ananthagiri, the rains making the drive even more spectacular. We reached our room and ordered for tea and some snacks to be sent up. Sadly, we were informed the tribal dance was cancelled that evening. Hubby decided to watch some television while I sat on the balcony drinking in the view along with my tea. Sadly for hubby, none of his favorite channels were on. No news, no sports, no movies. Just some Telugu channels, the language which he never understood. As for me, I seldom watch TV so it didn’t bother me in the least.

We decided to spend the rest of the evening with him playing the guitar and me singing off tune. We fell asleep very early and checked out soon after breakfast the next day and headed towards Borra Caves which I will talk about in my next post.

 

April

Crazy busy April – what with Camp NaNoWriMo, NaPoWriMo, A-Z challenge, the other book I am working on, my mother’s 50th birthday coming up in 22 days for which I haven’t even started planning …. Then there’s the garden that needs attention. We planted grass a year ago and there are only sorry remnants to tell us of the time we planted it. The house hold chores need attention around all of this too. So this month I am going to be pleasantly occupied with little or no time on my hands. Let’s hope at the end of the month I can look back at it with a smile and say, “I have been productive.” 

 

 

The Grass Root Level

Weaker Rupee by the day, rising yellow metal prices, volatile crude prices impacting fuel prices adversely, rising crimes against women, burglary, scams, murder, political unrest… these are the news that fill most of the pages in our newspapers. On the other hand, there are of course mentions of technology breakthroughs, sports, other achievements etc. too. What do we do after we read the paper? We put it away, cluck our tongues and ask “Where’s the country heading?” These topics come up again during coffee breaks and we once again give our opinions on what’s to be done, what’s not to be done and then cluck our tongues again and ask, “Why doesn’t anyone do anything about it?” Let me ask you here, why don’t YOU do anything about it?

Please note I did not say “we”. I ask what are YOU, as an individual, ought to do to help our country. Take a moment to think about the answer before you read on. I am no expert here, but there are a few things I would like to share with you on some of the topics mentioned at the outset.

Let us start with the current burning issue – Crimes against women! Be it outraging the modesty of women or the acid attack. These are the serious issues indicative of a retrograde cancerous society. How do you think these can be handled? Passing of legislation and stricter “Law” alone is not the only solution. This needs to be handled more from a grass root level. The least to mention is the value system. At one end we are proud of our Indian tradition, but when it comes to application of value system in a society everything vanishes. Our society is nothing but a set of hypocrites. Family is different whereas outside your home is different. We need to seriously evaluate the value system which is imbibed during the formative age. Starting right from the family, the schooling – all these matters for development of a healthy mind. Even trivial aspects we all need to pay certain attention – like one could start off by cleaning up your language, saying NO to obscene jokes, belittling the feminine gender and trash talk that demean women. Discourage any discussions that suggest that women are lower than men.

There is a lot you can do to improve our economy. Do not invest in yellow metal, do not buy or use imported products. You can instead use wholly Indian products. We do manufacture things that are nowhere lesser in quality than foreign goods. Pay taxes on time. Use car-pooling or public transport to reduce fuel consumption. This could a lot better to the nation avoiding the drain of dollar reserves to purchase the 90% of the crude oil requirement to meet the demands of the petroleum demands of the nation. If your work place is closer to where you live, use a bicycle to commute to work. You will be reducing greatly on gym and hospital charges as well. Reducing the consumption of fuels also helps one to avoid the damages to the environment and help reduce share of reducing greenhouse gasses.

You can eradicate poverty and malnutrition by doing your bit in contributing to the poor. Keep aside a very little portion of your earnings and help just one poor person get at least one nutritious meal a day. It will make a huge difference.

Corruption is dancing in every nook and corner. Stop corruption by cleaning yourself up first. Put your foot down and say NO to bribes. Let probity be an innate nature that pride a citizen.

When you go to the USA or Singapore or any other place, you marvel at the cleanliness and the spotless streets. You look around for a dustbin to throw your soda can or chocolate wrapper. Why don’t you do that here, in India? DO NOT blame the government for what you have done or could’ve done. Stop dumping garbage on the streets and stop others from doing it as well. Adopt a street and make sure that street is your responsibility. Keeping your neighbourhood clean will also put an end to the stray dog menace.

Do not flaunt your jewellery when you go for your morning walks, wear a scarf or clothes that hide your chains. Do not tempt the chain snatchers. Or else lead a life of simplicity where life is less complex.

These are just a few tips I wanted to share with you. Like I said, I am no expert. I leave it to your discretion on how you would do things differently and save yourself and the country. So what are you going to do now?

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Toozio – My Happy Place

‘Lady, do you know what you’re getting into?’ asked the hefty bald sales director from behind his desk. I nodded enthusiastically silently promising myself that if I got this job, I would give it my hundred percent.

On the 2nd of April 2012, I was welcomed into the Toozio family by the CEO, Mr. GD. There was another person besides Kailash, the sales director who interviewed me. His name was Rohit I learned later and he was the marketing director. I started out in the marketing department since Mahi, the marketing person was going on a long leave. Couple of days into the job and I fell in love with the company. Kailash was hilarious and sweet. He was a well balanced boss who knew how to spoil his team rotten and be a hard task master when he had to be. He left after a month or so for some reason.

I dont remember who joined first, Amogh or Avik. Avik initially kept to himself and sat in his corner with his head buried in work all the time. It took us a while to pull him out of his shell, but once he opened up, there was no stopping him. He cracked us up so much, he had us doubled over in laughter by imitating people we knew.

We went on a great many team lunches together. Kailash was always ordering food and I put on massive weight after joining this company. I repeat, I loved my job here. Most importantly I fell in love with myself after joining this company, Toozio brought out the best in me. And like I had promised I gave Toozio my hundred percent, I even turned into a workoholic. I worked late nights, I worked on Sundays…

There were many people who came and went, but it was Mahi, Amogh, Avik and me who grew the closest. Then Kailash too left. I started reporting to Rohit. We shared the same tastes in dogs and food. He was the best boss I’ve ever had. What amazed me about the man was that there was nothing he didnt know about. He was very knowledgable and Amogh and I looked up to him as our idol.

GD initially used to scare me – he being the CEO and all that. Once I got to know him, I realized he was a very modest person and fun to hang around with. He made me laugh a lot. Now when I think of it, I’ve spent most of my time in Toozio laughing. This was a swell team. GD, Rohit and Ashwin, another director were very approachable and supportive. Rohit always stuck his neck out for me and Ashwin made sure I never got into trouble. He double checked my work before I presented it to Rohit or GD. Whatever praises I’ve got from either of them, the credit goes entirely to Ashwin.

I knew my bosses liked me a lot, but it was on my last day I realized how much. I got a farewell like no one had ever got. Rohit wasn’t around and I had hoped like hell he’d turn up but he didn’t and I felt too shy to ask him. GD and Ashwin hugged me and said they were proud of me. Amogh gifted me a beautiful pen, never knew he had this soft side to him and Avik -I knew I had found a friend for life in him.

This morning, I woke up with a sore throat, made myself a cup of hot tea, sipped it slowly and looked at the clock. It was 7.30 and I didnt know how to fill the rest of the day. At about 10, I imagined theoffice buzzing with activity and laughter echoing everywhere. The very thought had me smiling silly.

To answer Kailash’s question during my interview, I had gotten into my happy place !

Nostalgia

Nostalgia.

Nostalgia

I went to visit my grandmother the other day. I go there once in a while, but this time it was different. I paid more attention to the roads that led me there.

I passed by my old school. I stopped for a brief minute to admire that building where I had spent some of the best years of my life. The stage where I used to read a chapter from the Bible during the school assembly every morning. I remember I had to say “This is the word of the Lord” and 100′s of school girls in  red pinafores and  cream blouses used to repeat “Praise be to the Lord”. There was this one chapter about Moses and those lines were not the word of the Lord, so I decided to skip the routine. My principal, Sr. Leonie called me to her office and chided me saying I was being disrespectful towards the Lord and I will be punished on judgement day. I cried to sleep that night. That’s what a convent could do to you. I laughed to myself when I remembered that. That was the same stage where on my annual day I had danced to Ricky Martin’s Cup of Life. My mother was so proud that she stood in everyone’s way to take pictures of me. I had them lying somewhere in my dresser. Must look for them. Then there was the school grounds where we played so many games and I won the 3rd prize for running for 2 years consecutively. Boy that was something. Ask me to run from my door to the street today, I’ll be panting even before I leave my porch. The roads where I used to cycle back home with friends took me back to the time when I was once trying to show off and a neighbor of mine came up behind me and said “Will you please make it clear which way do you want to ride? It’ll save people driving behind you a  lot of confusion”.

I remembered my pre-degree days with my closest friends Daisey and Diana. The bus we went to college in, 314 H. We made Diana walk close to 4 kms though she had a bus stop right next to her house just so we could travel together. The conductor had a gold tooth and  we used to laugh every time we saw him. There was this bus stop where my friends and me , we used to wait for the bus to take us home or somewhere close by home. I remember there was this guy who called  Daisey and asked her about me. Boy how we laughed. I passed by the little bakery where we once saw 3 boys smoking and one of them put his cigarette down immediately when he saw us. A few feet later, Diana blushed and told me that the boy was her boyfriend. Gosh I was stunned. Diana had a boyfriend at age 16? Jeez ! She freaked me out. I passed by the ice cream cart on the roadside where Daisey had once bribed me with ice cream if I walked an extra mile home (we got a bus that dropped us further away from home and I was mad at her for making me go on that bus). I was in bed with food poisoning for a week after I ate that ice cream. That guy was still there? Wow !

I reached my dear grandma’s house and went to the terrace to relive my younger days. My grandfather and I used to have our evening tea on the terrace everyday. But besides that , there was nothing else to remind me of my childhood days. The neighbourhood had changed so much after I left . There used to be lots of eucalyptus trees and very few houses miles apart from each other. Now that place was so noisy and crowded and polluted that it snapped me back from the past pretty rudely.