Losing weight is not as tough as it sounds. Sure, it needs the usual stuff like discipline, balanced diet and crap like that. But, finally, it’s setting timed goals for yourself and going out and achieving those goals. That’s all there is to it.
January 1, 2008 – One look at the photographs from our Coorg trip made it very evident that I may be a bit on the heavier side. Ok, fine! Not a bit…a lot!! Ok, I’ll give you the numbers – 45 pounds or 20 kg over peak/ideal/healthy physical form.
On Jan 2nd, as reality hit me, I hit the gym with equal vigor. I started off with 15 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the cross-trainer 6 days a week. A quick bout of weights and strength training also went into this regimen, though not very consistently for the first month.
Feb 1st week, I was down from 92 kg to 88 kg. Whew! Quite happy with that. Not much dieting though, other than no rice on weekdays and a complete stop of sodas and bottled/canned juices. However, the weekends still involved some binging.
In Feb, I scaled things up a notch. 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the cross-trainer and 10 minutes weights. Still the same diet and nothing else changed. Oh, I did start walking up the stairs (7 floors) at work.
End of Feb, I was at 85 kg. A little less loss but still doing well. Regularity continued to be 5-6 days a week. End of March, the scales read 83 kg. Hmm…the drop rate was reducing but that’s how it is after a certain point or else we’d all disappear one day. There were quite a few lapses in the diet though, with a Delhi trip where I ate like there was no tomorrow and even had rice a few weekdays for dinner! Egad!! Bad boy!!
It’s almost the end of April now, and the weight hvers precariously between 80-81 kg. Hope to hit 70 kg by the end of the year. Wish me luck!!
Oh, almost forgot. The goals!! The March wedding in Delhi was the first one. Upcoming ones are – my nephew’s thread ceremony on May 10, my cousin’s wedding on May 25th, the wife’s birthday on August 25th and finally my own birthday in Jan. Just hope I can keep going and get back to the rakishly handsome devil that I never was!
Do roll back in for the year end report which will undoubtedly include an honorable mention of the vital statistics. Hey! there's another goal!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
IPL!!
Lucky us! We got free member passes to the first ever IPL match on Friday (April 18) that kicked off in Bangalore! The inauguration was outstanding with Shankar Mahedevan singing, gymnasts, the Redskin Cheerleaders, laser show and high energy music and effects. The game became secondary as the crowd strained to get a glimpse of their favorite stars - Shah Rukh, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Juhi Chawla (my favorite!!).
An interesting end to the festivities when we drove to the Richie Rich in Kumara Park and a friend of a friend of a friend, totally inebriated, fired a shot in the air with his gun, after one of our friends needlessly provoked him asking if he was carrying around a water gun! We got the hell of out of Dodge after that one!
An interesting end to the festivities when we drove to the Richie Rich in Kumara Park and a friend of a friend of a friend, totally inebriated, fired a shot in the air with his gun, after one of our friends needlessly provoked him asking if he was carrying around a water gun! We got the hell of out of Dodge after that one!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Family Planning
Ok, it's not what you think. Here I expound on how any occasion that calls for miniscule levels of coordination and planning are recipes for disaster in our family.
My niece (and also my cousin by some twist of fate) had her birthday recently. Her brother wanted to organize a surprise for her. The surprise comprised of the rest of the family members lying in wait and ambushing her at the crack of midnight (when she got home) and all of us shouting out in unison ‘Happy Birthday’ or something of that nature.
While chock-full of hilarity and confusion, it’s an understatement to say that things didn’t go according to the carefully laid out plan.
First, my nephew (the brother) was asked by my niece to drop her off at friend’s place for a party around 10:30 p.m. This kind of put a spanner in the works as he had asked another friend of hers to take her out in the evening and bring her back home at midnight where we were all faithfully waiting in anticipation.
Ever ready for contingencies (not!), my nephew adjusted the strategy appropriately so her friend could pick her up from the party, go out and return her home by midnight. Unfortunately, none of us really knew where my niece was or where her friend was. Frantic SMSes did nothing to allay our confusion as we were in the dark as to whether she was:
a) at the party with her other friend
b) at the party with her other friend and the friend who was in cahoots with us
c) with the cahoots friend at some other location
This might seem like funny to some, but believe me, to the great minds of our family poring over the plans with PowerPoint presentations, simulations and attack strategies, this was quite a stressful event.
Thinking on its feet, as our family is famously known for, we decided that we would run up the stairs before she entered and shout out whatever we needed to shout out from upstairs as she walked in. As it happens with most plans of this sort, we really didn’t debrief everyone on the plans. My wife, due to late nights in the last few days, was fast asleep on the sofa curled up with a shawl. A few others were not updated on the latest plan either.
Hark! We hear a car pull up outside the house. The Planning & Execution Commission (P&EC) is immobile. The door bell rings! A mad rush ensues. My cousin’s wife, showing a never before seen nimbleness, is off the blocks and upstairs in about 1.37 seconds flat. My niece tries to open the front door. My nephew stands in her way and attempts to engage her in nonsensical conversation. She glimpses a salwar-clad lady shooting up the stairs at considerable speed. Her suspicion about my nephew’s nocturnal activities is aroused and she uses the light from her cell-phone to peer into the house. The speedy lady’s husband (my cousin) is standing behind my nephew with his held out in a big wave, a big smile and a ‘Hi’ to ensure my nephew’s plans have no possibility of success, however small. In the meantime, my cousin's friend who unfortunately happened to be part of the surprise party is unsure on his line of action. My wife is fast asleep so he closes his eyes too thinking that is the surprise. He also sees the contingent trying to rush up the stairs and is in a conundrum as to which team to follow.
With all this chaos, my nephew gets a message on his cellphone from my niece’s friend indicating that my niece will be home in a couple of minutes. Damn technology! It’s never there when you need it!
The family is not one to let a minor defeat bog us down. We have bounced back. We are already in full battle-mode planning for the next surprise birthday party. To ensure there are no loose ends, we plan to involve the surprisee from the start so we are guaranteed of success…
My niece (and also my cousin by some twist of fate) had her birthday recently. Her brother wanted to organize a surprise for her. The surprise comprised of the rest of the family members lying in wait and ambushing her at the crack of midnight (when she got home) and all of us shouting out in unison ‘Happy Birthday’ or something of that nature.
While chock-full of hilarity and confusion, it’s an understatement to say that things didn’t go according to the carefully laid out plan.
First, my nephew (the brother) was asked by my niece to drop her off at friend’s place for a party around 10:30 p.m. This kind of put a spanner in the works as he had asked another friend of hers to take her out in the evening and bring her back home at midnight where we were all faithfully waiting in anticipation.
Ever ready for contingencies (not!), my nephew adjusted the strategy appropriately so her friend could pick her up from the party, go out and return her home by midnight. Unfortunately, none of us really knew where my niece was or where her friend was. Frantic SMSes did nothing to allay our confusion as we were in the dark as to whether she was:
a) at the party with her other friend
b) at the party with her other friend and the friend who was in cahoots with us
c) with the cahoots friend at some other location
This might seem like funny to some, but believe me, to the great minds of our family poring over the plans with PowerPoint presentations, simulations and attack strategies, this was quite a stressful event.
Thinking on its feet, as our family is famously known for, we decided that we would run up the stairs before she entered and shout out whatever we needed to shout out from upstairs as she walked in. As it happens with most plans of this sort, we really didn’t debrief everyone on the plans. My wife, due to late nights in the last few days, was fast asleep on the sofa curled up with a shawl. A few others were not updated on the latest plan either.
Hark! We hear a car pull up outside the house. The Planning & Execution Commission (P&EC) is immobile. The door bell rings! A mad rush ensues. My cousin’s wife, showing a never before seen nimbleness, is off the blocks and upstairs in about 1.37 seconds flat. My niece tries to open the front door. My nephew stands in her way and attempts to engage her in nonsensical conversation. She glimpses a salwar-clad lady shooting up the stairs at considerable speed. Her suspicion about my nephew’s nocturnal activities is aroused and she uses the light from her cell-phone to peer into the house. The speedy lady’s husband (my cousin) is standing behind my nephew with his held out in a big wave, a big smile and a ‘Hi’ to ensure my nephew’s plans have no possibility of success, however small. In the meantime, my cousin's friend who unfortunately happened to be part of the surprise party is unsure on his line of action. My wife is fast asleep so he closes his eyes too thinking that is the surprise. He also sees the contingent trying to rush up the stairs and is in a conundrum as to which team to follow.
With all this chaos, my nephew gets a message on his cellphone from my niece’s friend indicating that my niece will be home in a couple of minutes. Damn technology! It’s never there when you need it!
The family is not one to let a minor defeat bog us down. We have bounced back. We are already in full battle-mode planning for the next surprise birthday party. To ensure there are no loose ends, we plan to involve the surprisee from the start so we are guaranteed of success…
The Bhadra Project
Most trips you do during vacation have some element of excitement or elevated activity. The Bhadra jungle lodge trip was not one of them. Our two families (the four of us along with Sri, Shaila and their kids) embarked on what was going to be a thoroughly uneventful but extremely enjoyable road trip. The end of March is typically a reasonable season to be in the Shimoga area, especially in the jungles. We had a hearty breakfast in Kamat (Tumkur) where the main event was when Sri & Shaila’s 2 year old Vedant proceeded to lick the underside of the table we were sitting at; two nice and full coats, just for the record.
We all did a pretty decent job of confusing our 12-seater van’s driver by using the iTrip, iPOD and radio combination. Other than that, our dour driver limited his interactions with us to occasional glares and grunts of disapproval when one of our tightly wound kids misbehaved or when we couldn’t get the van door to shut with a gentle yank.
The drive was quite beautiful with tons of greenery, shrubbery and a multitude of hues and colors alongside the road. We got to Bhadra around 2 p.m. and as my ever efficient wife had given the lodge denizens an inkling of our impending arrival, hot food awaited us. The eats were quite delectable, to say the least.
A jungle safari was going to happen at 4:30 p.m. and with Vaishnavi threatening me with dire consequences if I didn’t go along, I dragged myself off the inviting bed and sluggishly walked down to the safari jeep. Luckily for me, the jeep filleth over and we trudged back, with Shaila and me hoping for a nice nap. However, the Chennai folk in our party would have none of that and we walked down to the water with a promise from the resort people that some one would come down and provide us ‘Water Sports’. Though, this sounds like an Olympic event, what it actually means is that people jump up and down on a huge life boat-like trampoline a short distance from the shore. Luck was definitely with me that day and no one showed up so the motley crew ascended back to the cabins and I quick slunk away to take a nap.
Dinner was another big event with quite a spread of both vegetarian as well as normal food. Desperate to keep the kids occupied, a DVD was brought in as a savior and helped the children stay out of trouble and our hair for a couple of hours.
Post dinner, with all the brats safely asleep, the girls decided to read. Sri and I were quite lost and strived valiantly to imitate crickets. We personally felt that the performance was exemplary but the women, obviously jealous of our newly acquired skills did not see it that way. I must say that the crickets stopped their chirping as a result of the strong show we put up, and there is no doubt that the Bhadra Cricket Association was planning some kind of a revolt against us humans. Things became eerily silent but that didn’t stop us, as we continued chirping away. To be unbiased, we actually sounded like a cross between a duck, a cricket and a frog with some kind of severe affliction of diarrhea.
The elephant camp was up next on our program for day 2. We first watched the bathing of the elephants and were also severely reprimanded by one of the elephant washers for letting our kids get dangerously close to a alpha male tusker who seemed oblivious to our presence.
Bare-back rides on the elephants were next and Shaila had the best time here as she held on to the mahout for dear life and I’m sure he had a few joint aches after the death grip she had on his non-existent love handles.
I had a minor encounter with a 3 month old baby elephant which decided to head-butt me and pushed me a few feet despite my best attempts at holding my ground. Man, these pachyderms are incredibly powerful!
Our elephant adventures over, we returned to our beloved resort, and after some splashing around in the muddy river, as usual were the first ones in the dining area, all ready for lunch. Our feeding frenzy caught the attention of all and sundry as the entire battalion of the resort staff turned up faithfully every time our two families commenced our eating.
As there was no way out of the safari this time, I grudgingly acquiesced to go along for a nap-time conflicting jungle jaunt. Mind you, I have nothing against safaris per se. However, I have a enviably dismal track record. I’ve lived in Africa and been through the forest areas of Bandipur and Mudumalai numerous times and other than an occasional deer, have yet to sight any wildlife worthy of talking about. Readers of my Coorg trip will recall that I was party to a safari in Nagarhole which is not worth mentioning again.
Anyway, this time was no different. The driver and his side-kick tried their best though. We saw a few goats and dogs at first and then we entered the sanctuary. I must say the trip wasn’t too bad as the view during the drive was breath taking and we did see a few peacocks, deer and some Indian bison. Here, Shaila, for no apparent reason started clicking photographs frantically on the return journey and we were rewarded with vague images of trees, grass and a blurred image of what she claimed was a bison.
Back at the resort again, more eating, resting and some more eating. With the kids safely in bed thanks to our nanny, we played a couple of rounds of Hollywood Rummy and it was off to bed. Though we had booked the cabins for three nights, the lack of TV and constantly having to entertain our brood was too much for us and we checked out the next day after a boating trip for the guys and kids, and a re-run of the safari trip for the big girls in our group. They did have better luck and saw wild dogs just after a kill. It just has to be my damn luck!!
The drive was quite beautiful with tons of greenery, shrubbery and a multitude of hues and colors alongside the road. We got to Bhadra around 2 p.m. and as my ever efficient wife had given the lodge denizens an inkling of our impending arrival, hot food awaited us. The eats were quite delectable, to say the least.
A jungle safari was going to happen at 4:30 p.m. and with Vaishnavi threatening me with dire consequences if I didn’t go along, I dragged myself off the inviting bed and sluggishly walked down to the safari jeep. Luckily for me, the jeep filleth over and we trudged back, with Shaila and me hoping for a nice nap. However, the Chennai folk in our party would have none of that and we walked down to the water with a promise from the resort people that some one would come down and provide us ‘Water Sports’. Though, this sounds like an Olympic event, what it actually means is that people jump up and down on a huge life boat-like trampoline a short distance from the shore. Luck was definitely with me that day and no one showed up so the motley crew ascended back to the cabins and I quick slunk away to take a nap.
Dinner was another big event with quite a spread of both vegetarian as well as normal food. Desperate to keep the kids occupied, a DVD was brought in as a savior and helped the children stay out of trouble and our hair for a couple of hours.
Post dinner, with all the brats safely asleep, the girls decided to read. Sri and I were quite lost and strived valiantly to imitate crickets. We personally felt that the performance was exemplary but the women, obviously jealous of our newly acquired skills did not see it that way. I must say that the crickets stopped their chirping as a result of the strong show we put up, and there is no doubt that the Bhadra Cricket Association was planning some kind of a revolt against us humans. Things became eerily silent but that didn’t stop us, as we continued chirping away. To be unbiased, we actually sounded like a cross between a duck, a cricket and a frog with some kind of severe affliction of diarrhea.
The elephant camp was up next on our program for day 2. We first watched the bathing of the elephants and were also severely reprimanded by one of the elephant washers for letting our kids get dangerously close to a alpha male tusker who seemed oblivious to our presence.
Bare-back rides on the elephants were next and Shaila had the best time here as she held on to the mahout for dear life and I’m sure he had a few joint aches after the death grip she had on his non-existent love handles.
I had a minor encounter with a 3 month old baby elephant which decided to head-butt me and pushed me a few feet despite my best attempts at holding my ground. Man, these pachyderms are incredibly powerful!
Our elephant adventures over, we returned to our beloved resort, and after some splashing around in the muddy river, as usual were the first ones in the dining area, all ready for lunch. Our feeding frenzy caught the attention of all and sundry as the entire battalion of the resort staff turned up faithfully every time our two families commenced our eating.
As there was no way out of the safari this time, I grudgingly acquiesced to go along for a nap-time conflicting jungle jaunt. Mind you, I have nothing against safaris per se. However, I have a enviably dismal track record. I’ve lived in Africa and been through the forest areas of Bandipur and Mudumalai numerous times and other than an occasional deer, have yet to sight any wildlife worthy of talking about. Readers of my Coorg trip will recall that I was party to a safari in Nagarhole which is not worth mentioning again.
Anyway, this time was no different. The driver and his side-kick tried their best though. We saw a few goats and dogs at first and then we entered the sanctuary. I must say the trip wasn’t too bad as the view during the drive was breath taking and we did see a few peacocks, deer and some Indian bison. Here, Shaila, for no apparent reason started clicking photographs frantically on the return journey and we were rewarded with vague images of trees, grass and a blurred image of what she claimed was a bison.
Back at the resort again, more eating, resting and some more eating. With the kids safely in bed thanks to our nanny, we played a couple of rounds of Hollywood Rummy and it was off to bed. Though we had booked the cabins for three nights, the lack of TV and constantly having to entertain our brood was too much for us and we checked out the next day after a boating trip for the guys and kids, and a re-run of the safari trip for the big girls in our group. They did have better luck and saw wild dogs just after a kill. It just has to be my damn luck!!
Saturday, February 02, 2008
A boring story
If you already know all about drilling a bore for water or have no interest in knowing, read no further. For others, please put up with the painful details!
The two massive trucks plodded on to my land. One was the actual vehicle with the drilling rig and the other was the support vehicle. It's amazing how efficient the large crew is once they have placed the truck in the right position where the water diviner had zeroed in on the spot where we should get water. Curiosity was on two fronts for me. One, to see how the heck this truck would be used to drill a few hundred feet into the earth, the other. to see if the water diviner was actually correct in predicting where we would find the critical aqua.
The drilling rig, is a humongous crane like device. The diesel motor for this is a behemoth and makes a din like a factory power generator. The support vehicle contains all the tools, including drill bits, drill rods, casing pipes and the like. Drill 'bit' is quite a misnomer as it requires two strong sturdy men to lift. Actually, pretty much every tool or accessory in this ensemble is XXXL in size and weight. The spanner, for example, is about the 3 feet long!
The first step - Get a drill bit, about 8" diameter to go down about 5 feet at the exact spot that has been pre-divined. The act of drilling kicks up enough dust to remind one of a sandstorm in the desert. The bit is then removed. By the way, in parallel to the first drilling, there's a group of people removing the casing pipes from the support vehicle and the cook starts arranging all the utensils, firing up the gas stove in preparation for lunch. There’s also a team taking out the drill rods from the support vehicle.
The next step involves three men carrying the first drill rod and attaching it to a holder in the crane. The moment the rod gets clasped into the holder, a hydraulic mechanism pulls the holder and the rod with it to about 20 feet in the air. The bottom end of the rod is then fixed to the drill bit and the drilling starts in earnest. Meanwhile, a rod holder next to the 'in-use' rod is fixed with the next rod in waiting. Once the first rod disappears into the earth 15 feet or so, the next rod automatically moves into place, attaches to the first rod and so the drilling continues. The combination of drilling and high hydraulic pressure results in the hole being dug at high speed ejecting out immense quantities of dirt at first and then sand as the drill bores deeper.
The drill hit solid rock at about 68 feet. The bit had to be changed at this point to drill through the rock. All the rods had to be now removed. The casing pipes were then inserted one by one for the entire depth of the hole until the start of the solid rock. Each pipe was then welded to the next and inserted into the hole one by one until about 4 feet of casing pipe was sticking out of the ground.
By this time, the activity on our land had attracted the nearby village folk. There were a lot of questions on how we got hold of this drilling company, who my cousin was and what we intended to do on this land interspersed with unsolicited advice and suggestions. Fun all the way!!
Once the casing pipes had been installed, a new drill bit was put into place and drilling once again started in earnest from 68 feet onwards. Drilling rock is obviously not a cake-walk and nothing like drilling through soil. A huge clatter of the drill, the rocks it hit against and the noise of the diesel motor ensued in wonderful cacophony.
The cook had delivered on his role by now; lunch was ready and the workers in turns had their fill of some deliciously smelling sambar, rice and vegetables. I was a bit astounded by the quantities of rice that each one ate, but then, with the amount of heavy lifting they do, they’re bound to have appetites like elephants.
We finally hit our first water source at 190'. Quite amazing actually, as the water diviner had told me that we would get water before 200'. It was great to see the water gushing out due to the pumping action. The soil and crushed stone spewing out of the hole first started to get a little wet and then a huge surge of water started. At first it was the color of cement but slowly changed color to become a little more muddy brown in appearance. Elation cannot describe how I felt. Without water, you’re pretty much dead in the water! My belief in the water diviner has also been further renewed! What a magician!!
We hit two more water sources between rocks at 290' 360' and two sources around 450'. The drill finally could go no further at 512 feet and that’s where we stopped. How do we know these measurements? Once the drilling is done, each rod is measured and counted when taking out. There were a total of 27 rods, each measuring around 19'.
The two massive trucks plodded on to my land. One was the actual vehicle with the drilling rig and the other was the support vehicle. It's amazing how efficient the large crew is once they have placed the truck in the right position where the water diviner had zeroed in on the spot where we should get water. Curiosity was on two fronts for me. One, to see how the heck this truck would be used to drill a few hundred feet into the earth, the other. to see if the water diviner was actually correct in predicting where we would find the critical aqua.
The drilling rig, is a humongous crane like device. The diesel motor for this is a behemoth and makes a din like a factory power generator. The support vehicle contains all the tools, including drill bits, drill rods, casing pipes and the like. Drill 'bit' is quite a misnomer as it requires two strong sturdy men to lift. Actually, pretty much every tool or accessory in this ensemble is XXXL in size and weight. The spanner, for example, is about the 3 feet long!
The first step - Get a drill bit, about 8" diameter to go down about 5 feet at the exact spot that has been pre-divined. The act of drilling kicks up enough dust to remind one of a sandstorm in the desert. The bit is then removed. By the way, in parallel to the first drilling, there's a group of people removing the casing pipes from the support vehicle and the cook starts arranging all the utensils, firing up the gas stove in preparation for lunch. There’s also a team taking out the drill rods from the support vehicle.
The next step involves three men carrying the first drill rod and attaching it to a holder in the crane. The moment the rod gets clasped into the holder, a hydraulic mechanism pulls the holder and the rod with it to about 20 feet in the air. The bottom end of the rod is then fixed to the drill bit and the drilling starts in earnest. Meanwhile, a rod holder next to the 'in-use' rod is fixed with the next rod in waiting. Once the first rod disappears into the earth 15 feet or so, the next rod automatically moves into place, attaches to the first rod and so the drilling continues. The combination of drilling and high hydraulic pressure results in the hole being dug at high speed ejecting out immense quantities of dirt at first and then sand as the drill bores deeper.
The drill hit solid rock at about 68 feet. The bit had to be changed at this point to drill through the rock. All the rods had to be now removed. The casing pipes were then inserted one by one for the entire depth of the hole until the start of the solid rock. Each pipe was then welded to the next and inserted into the hole one by one until about 4 feet of casing pipe was sticking out of the ground.
By this time, the activity on our land had attracted the nearby village folk. There were a lot of questions on how we got hold of this drilling company, who my cousin was and what we intended to do on this land interspersed with unsolicited advice and suggestions. Fun all the way!!
Once the casing pipes had been installed, a new drill bit was put into place and drilling once again started in earnest from 68 feet onwards. Drilling rock is obviously not a cake-walk and nothing like drilling through soil. A huge clatter of the drill, the rocks it hit against and the noise of the diesel motor ensued in wonderful cacophony.
The cook had delivered on his role by now; lunch was ready and the workers in turns had their fill of some deliciously smelling sambar, rice and vegetables. I was a bit astounded by the quantities of rice that each one ate, but then, with the amount of heavy lifting they do, they’re bound to have appetites like elephants.
We finally hit our first water source at 190'. Quite amazing actually, as the water diviner had told me that we would get water before 200'. It was great to see the water gushing out due to the pumping action. The soil and crushed stone spewing out of the hole first started to get a little wet and then a huge surge of water started. At first it was the color of cement but slowly changed color to become a little more muddy brown in appearance. Elation cannot describe how I felt. Without water, you’re pretty much dead in the water! My belief in the water diviner has also been further renewed! What a magician!!
We hit two more water sources between rocks at 290' 360' and two sources around 450'. The drill finally could go no further at 512 feet and that’s where we stopped. How do we know these measurements? Once the drilling is done, each rod is measured and counted when taking out. There were a total of 27 rods, each measuring around 19'.
After a few quick calculations with a V-Notch, the engineer/owner of the drilling company told us that we would be getting 16,200 liters/hour which is enough to supply water to 30-40 homes a month!
Stay tuned for more exciting (and upcoming) events at the farm.
Stay tuned for more exciting (and upcoming) events at the farm.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
A great vacation (with some footwear loss)!!
The year 2007 ended very well and 2008 began nicely enough too. The extended family hereafter referred to as the 'Barbarian Horde' (or just horde for short) took off to Coorg, about 14 of us, ages 4.5 - 45.5.
We did the obligatory stop at the Namdroling Monastery and got to Madikere late in the evening. The homestay place we'd booked was just great! Three rooms on the ground floor, a loft with wooden floors big enough for 20 people to sleep in, a wonderful Man Friday who cooked amazingly well, what more could we ask for.
Day 1 (Dec 29) - The first morning in Madikere, we took off to Dubare Elephant camp keeping military time (which means we decided we would leave at 7:30 a.m. and left at 10 a.m.). Of course, we were too late for the elephant rides though the mahouts grudgingly allowed the kids to get a mini-ride.
The horde, in a moment of delusionary adventurism, decided to walk back across the river. Our lean, muscular and agile bodies not withstanding, it was no cake-walk, to put it mildly. The rocks were slippery as hell, the current was strong and our eclectic group, not the steadiest of foot, was in deep, before we realized it. As if it to further highlight our incompetence, local boys skipped and lithely crossed the river nonchalantly. We did finally make it across, sans a pair of slippers and a cell phone back panel which mysteriously disappeared during my cousin's fall at the tail-end of the great crossing.
After a bad lunch, we set off to Talacauvery, the birth place of the the Cauvery river. Here, I was made to climb the 100 odd steps to BrahmaGiri, which is a plateau behind and above the spring where the Cauvery starts. On the way back, my sandals went missing. No idea who would want my feet wrappers!
Day 2 (Dec 30) - A visit to a real estate. This was way too cool. Coffee, pepper and other crops flourished abundantly in verdant green hills and valleys. We saw some real estate work in progress here and a few of us also tried our hand at beating the batta (rice in the husk). A few minutes of this action, and we all needed a few bananas to re-invigorate our non country selves. A short walk from there and we came upon a beautiful bungalow, at least a 100 years old. More drinks to cool ourselves and then back to the homestay. It was music night and the midnight oil was burnt as we bravely attempted songs in numerous languages.
Day 3 (Dec 31)- My cousin's wife slipped and twisted her ankle in an innocuous depression in the ground and we took this opportunity to stuff ourselves with junk food. We carried on through some of the most breath-taking country-side I have ever seen and got to Iruppu Falls in the afternoon. A few bad jokes later with the play on the word 'Falls', we reached the actual Falls where the water was ice cold. Some of the big boys in the horde dared to stand under the falling water and it apparently was exhilarating.
From here, it was on to Nagarhole wildlife sanctuary and the areas we drove through looked like Scotland, the only difference being the coffee plantations. I need to give some details of our Nagarhole safari ride as it's a safari ride that begs for details.
The safari bus was a 19-seater making the most horrendous racket. When I excitedly pointed out to a few deer on the road-side to my daughter, the driver turned back and mumbled something. I tried to catch his hastily spoken words but couldn’t. I finally got what he was saying. He was shushing me saying that I was disturbing the animals! For one, the deer couldn’t have been less bothered about our presence but, more importantly, the bus could have given a howitzer a run for it’s money in terms of the noise factor. Anyway, we gamely carried on. Every once in a while, the driver would stop the bus and dramatically peer to one side. The 19 people would instinctively turn in anticipation. The best we did was a few plants. Most of us actually fell asleep during the safari and the end of the epic adventure, our impressive score read: 63 deer, 1 peacock, 1 tame elephant and 2 diary cows.
We actually saw a full grown female bison when we were driving out of the wildlife sanctuary. Mysore was the next destination and we arrived around 9 p.m. on New Year’s eve driving through some terrible roads.
The rest of New Year’s eve was a lot of fun. More eating, a little more eating, some Hollywood Rummy, a few Nagaraj Rao jokes (this requires a separate blog entry) and lo and behold it was ‘Happy New Year’ to everyone.
It was great being in the family homestead on New Year’s day and we returned to Bangalore, sad that our holiday was over, but happy about the time we all had. Hoping to do more of these family trips in the years to come!
We did the obligatory stop at the Namdroling Monastery and got to Madikere late in the evening. The homestay place we'd booked was just great! Three rooms on the ground floor, a loft with wooden floors big enough for 20 people to sleep in, a wonderful Man Friday who cooked amazingly well, what more could we ask for.
Day 1 (Dec 29) - The first morning in Madikere, we took off to Dubare Elephant camp keeping military time (which means we decided we would leave at 7:30 a.m. and left at 10 a.m.). Of course, we were too late for the elephant rides though the mahouts grudgingly allowed the kids to get a mini-ride.
The horde, in a moment of delusionary adventurism, decided to walk back across the river. Our lean, muscular and agile bodies not withstanding, it was no cake-walk, to put it mildly. The rocks were slippery as hell, the current was strong and our eclectic group, not the steadiest of foot, was in deep, before we realized it. As if it to further highlight our incompetence, local boys skipped and lithely crossed the river nonchalantly. We did finally make it across, sans a pair of slippers and a cell phone back panel which mysteriously disappeared during my cousin's fall at the tail-end of the great crossing.
After a bad lunch, we set off to Talacauvery, the birth place of the the Cauvery river. Here, I was made to climb the 100 odd steps to BrahmaGiri, which is a plateau behind and above the spring where the Cauvery starts. On the way back, my sandals went missing. No idea who would want my feet wrappers!
Day 2 (Dec 30) - A visit to a real estate. This was way too cool. Coffee, pepper and other crops flourished abundantly in verdant green hills and valleys. We saw some real estate work in progress here and a few of us also tried our hand at beating the batta (rice in the husk). A few minutes of this action, and we all needed a few bananas to re-invigorate our non country selves. A short walk from there and we came upon a beautiful bungalow, at least a 100 years old. More drinks to cool ourselves and then back to the homestay. It was music night and the midnight oil was burnt as we bravely attempted songs in numerous languages.
Day 3 (Dec 31)- My cousin's wife slipped and twisted her ankle in an innocuous depression in the ground and we took this opportunity to stuff ourselves with junk food. We carried on through some of the most breath-taking country-side I have ever seen and got to Iruppu Falls in the afternoon. A few bad jokes later with the play on the word 'Falls', we reached the actual Falls where the water was ice cold. Some of the big boys in the horde dared to stand under the falling water and it apparently was exhilarating.
From here, it was on to Nagarhole wildlife sanctuary and the areas we drove through looked like Scotland, the only difference being the coffee plantations. I need to give some details of our Nagarhole safari ride as it's a safari ride that begs for details.
The safari bus was a 19-seater making the most horrendous racket. When I excitedly pointed out to a few deer on the road-side to my daughter, the driver turned back and mumbled something. I tried to catch his hastily spoken words but couldn’t. I finally got what he was saying. He was shushing me saying that I was disturbing the animals! For one, the deer couldn’t have been less bothered about our presence but, more importantly, the bus could have given a howitzer a run for it’s money in terms of the noise factor. Anyway, we gamely carried on. Every once in a while, the driver would stop the bus and dramatically peer to one side. The 19 people would instinctively turn in anticipation. The best we did was a few plants. Most of us actually fell asleep during the safari and the end of the epic adventure, our impressive score read: 63 deer, 1 peacock, 1 tame elephant and 2 diary cows.
We actually saw a full grown female bison when we were driving out of the wildlife sanctuary. Mysore was the next destination and we arrived around 9 p.m. on New Year’s eve driving through some terrible roads.
The rest of New Year’s eve was a lot of fun. More eating, a little more eating, some Hollywood Rummy, a few Nagaraj Rao jokes (this requires a separate blog entry) and lo and behold it was ‘Happy New Year’ to everyone.
It was great being in the family homestead on New Year’s day and we returned to Bangalore, sad that our holiday was over, but happy about the time we all had. Hoping to do more of these family trips in the years to come!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Year in Review: Goodbye 2007
Another year drawing to close. It's been quite an eventful year. A quick recap.
I decided not to do my MBA for now and stayed back in India. I quit my job of 8 years and joined another company. I made a couple of trips to Mountain View (Bay Area) and enjoyed going there as it's a big change from Phoenix. I'm enjoying my new job; quite a lot of challenges and a great work environment.
We went through a fun-filled September as I finally bought some farm land. The registration of the land was something else as the seller had brought his entire brood to sign the papers; 11 children of his, each with their respective spouses and kids. Total chaos but also very entertaining.
Again in September, we moved to a new apartment and are still settling down. The kids love it here due to the company they have and a nice play area to get them off our hair for a while every evening.
My cousin visited us from the US and her 10 month old daughter is such an angel and a doll! The families got together for her Annaprasana. It dawned on us that our side of the family is quite obnoxious. For example, when the kids 5 and under participated in a crawling race, the barbarian horde that our family is, a mighty uproar arose and it was pretty evident who we were supporting. Then, some of us not so young at body participated in another crawling race. My cousin and I were comprehensively beaten by our nephews though we took grim satisfaction in beating the other team comprising of my dad an my cousin's father-in-law. Unfair you say? Well, all's fair when you're on all fours.
We also did a hurricane-like trip to Varanasi to attend the wife's colleague's wedding. It was a lot of fun, the train journeys in particular being the highlights. Next, a company offsite in Goa. We were put up in Taj Fort Aguada. What a wonderful hotel!
Our car is another matter. I fixed all the dents and scratches last month and two days back we were on the receiving end of a hit and run by a call center cab. Luckily, nothing happened to any of us and we were especially grateful that the kids escaped unhurt. The whole thing was quite traumatic.
We're off to Coorg on Dec 28 and back to Bangalore on the 1st of Jan after a pit stop in Mysore where we will be welcoming the new year.
No resolutions for the new year as I don't see why you need to depend on the earth going around the sun to make a resolution. So, I guess my resolution is not to make one for next year.
Thanks to everyone for reading my blog and it's great to see some of you actually taking the trouble to leave comments for me. Keep 'em coming! I love to read your comments.
Goodbye 2007. Welcome 2008
Signing out for this year. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all!!!!
I decided not to do my MBA for now and stayed back in India. I quit my job of 8 years and joined another company. I made a couple of trips to Mountain View (Bay Area) and enjoyed going there as it's a big change from Phoenix. I'm enjoying my new job; quite a lot of challenges and a great work environment.
We went through a fun-filled September as I finally bought some farm land. The registration of the land was something else as the seller had brought his entire brood to sign the papers; 11 children of his, each with their respective spouses and kids. Total chaos but also very entertaining.
Again in September, we moved to a new apartment and are still settling down. The kids love it here due to the company they have and a nice play area to get them off our hair for a while every evening.
My cousin visited us from the US and her 10 month old daughter is such an angel and a doll! The families got together for her Annaprasana. It dawned on us that our side of the family is quite obnoxious. For example, when the kids 5 and under participated in a crawling race, the barbarian horde that our family is, a mighty uproar arose and it was pretty evident who we were supporting. Then, some of us not so young at body participated in another crawling race. My cousin and I were comprehensively beaten by our nephews though we took grim satisfaction in beating the other team comprising of my dad an my cousin's father-in-law. Unfair you say? Well, all's fair when you're on all fours.
We also did a hurricane-like trip to Varanasi to attend the wife's colleague's wedding. It was a lot of fun, the train journeys in particular being the highlights. Next, a company offsite in Goa. We were put up in Taj Fort Aguada. What a wonderful hotel!
Our car is another matter. I fixed all the dents and scratches last month and two days back we were on the receiving end of a hit and run by a call center cab. Luckily, nothing happened to any of us and we were especially grateful that the kids escaped unhurt. The whole thing was quite traumatic.
We're off to Coorg on Dec 28 and back to Bangalore on the 1st of Jan after a pit stop in Mysore where we will be welcoming the new year.
No resolutions for the new year as I don't see why you need to depend on the earth going around the sun to make a resolution. So, I guess my resolution is not to make one for next year.
Thanks to everyone for reading my blog and it's great to see some of you actually taking the trouble to leave comments for me. Keep 'em coming! I love to read your comments.
Goodbye 2007. Welcome 2008
Signing out for this year. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all!!!!
The stick, the coconut and the Water Man
Okay, folks! I know it's been a long time since my last epiphany. Just been plain lazy to write and there's probably a lot of you who are relieved to see this long gap. Anyway, ready or not, here I come again in the first part of my closing out the year.
Readers who have closely monitored my blog would know that I had been on the warpath looking for farmland. Well, in September, I finally bought a small piece about 20 km from where I live in Bangalore. Not much effort on my part, but the ceaseless energy of my cousin and his colleague bore fruit after a few weeks of intense negotiations and deal making.
Now, I am officially a zamindar and feeling mighty good about the whole thing. So, now I have this land and need to figure out what to do with it.
Commencing an agricultural sojourn requires water as is obvious to anyone. My cousin once again came to my rescue and identified a water diviner. Needless to say I was not sure how this was going to work. I had vaguely heard about such a profession but had never actually seen a diviner in action.
Ensuring we don't neglect the bare necessities of life, we had our breakfast at SLV (Banashankari branch) as we waited for the diviner to show up. We reached the divinee (just made up the word now) around 9 a.m. I watched in fascination as the diviner pulled out a couple of Y-shaped sticks taken from a tree. He then walked to the NE corner of the farm and what happened next was quite amazing, The stick in his hand revolved violently shaking his entire body. He pointed to the ground letting us know where we need to dig. Even more fascinating - he took out a coconut from his bag and placed it horizontally on the palm of his right hand and stretched out his hand. The coconut stood upright of it's own accord. And it only happened at that one spot on the plot.
The diviner then requested my cousin to hold the ends of the Y-stick and lo and behold, the stick turned downwards with the bottom of the Y being pulled towards the earth by an unseen force. I tried it too and the diviner placed his hands over mine and there was no doubt. I could feel the tug on the stick akin to metal being attracted to a magnet. I did the coconut thing too and sure enough, the coconut uprighted itself for me too! It wasn't as noticeable as when the diviner did it but there was absolutely no dispute that the coconut moved of it's own accord!!
My camcorder was used to capture this fantastic event. I still can't believe what happened and I am trying to find a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. All that is left to do now, is to dig and build a bore-well for the farm.
Very cool stuff!!
Readers who have closely monitored my blog would know that I had been on the warpath looking for farmland. Well, in September, I finally bought a small piece about 20 km from where I live in Bangalore. Not much effort on my part, but the ceaseless energy of my cousin and his colleague bore fruit after a few weeks of intense negotiations and deal making.
Now, I am officially a zamindar and feeling mighty good about the whole thing. So, now I have this land and need to figure out what to do with it.
Commencing an agricultural sojourn requires water as is obvious to anyone. My cousin once again came to my rescue and identified a water diviner. Needless to say I was not sure how this was going to work. I had vaguely heard about such a profession but had never actually seen a diviner in action.
Ensuring we don't neglect the bare necessities of life, we had our breakfast at SLV (Banashankari branch) as we waited for the diviner to show up. We reached the divinee (just made up the word now) around 9 a.m. I watched in fascination as the diviner pulled out a couple of Y-shaped sticks taken from a tree. He then walked to the NE corner of the farm and what happened next was quite amazing, The stick in his hand revolved violently shaking his entire body. He pointed to the ground letting us know where we need to dig. Even more fascinating - he took out a coconut from his bag and placed it horizontally on the palm of his right hand and stretched out his hand. The coconut stood upright of it's own accord. And it only happened at that one spot on the plot.
The diviner then requested my cousin to hold the ends of the Y-stick and lo and behold, the stick turned downwards with the bottom of the Y being pulled towards the earth by an unseen force. I tried it too and the diviner placed his hands over mine and there was no doubt. I could feel the tug on the stick akin to metal being attracted to a magnet. I did the coconut thing too and sure enough, the coconut uprighted itself for me too! It wasn't as noticeable as when the diviner did it but there was absolutely no dispute that the coconut moved of it's own accord!!
My camcorder was used to capture this fantastic event. I still can't believe what happened and I am trying to find a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. All that is left to do now, is to dig and build a bore-well for the farm.
Very cool stuff!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Dog, The Driver, & The Dudes
An interesting outing on Saturday (July 14) to explore farm land on the Bangalore-Mysore highway.
After setting off at 7 a.m, the motely crew(my cousin, the driver, my dog and me) made the customary stop at Shivalli. Known for it's signature Kadubu Idli, other South Indian (vegetarian only) delicacies are not bad either.
The first rumblings of trouble surfaced right then. My driver Ramu seemed to be heavily biased towards the restrooms there. Inquiry into this matter soon turned out to be moot as his discomfort and pain were evident from the way he was sweating and tottering around. Apparently it was food poisoning and he was not looking good.
I sprang to take control of the situation, placing Ramu in the back along with our trusted canine Sol and we drove to Maddur where we got him a packet of glucose and made him have some of it with water. While here, we spied an elderly gentleman making parotas on an open tava outside. We made a quick note to check this out on our return as our Shivalli meal was still sitting pretty heavily in our ample stomachs.
Mandya around 10:30. We were supposed to meet the caretaker/agent/advisor near the bus-stand but he wasn't there. So, we stopped on the side of the road and I let Sol out. As was bound to happen, he was soon the center of attraction and it looked like the slowly increasing crowd expected a few tricks and exhibition of some sort of talent from our goldie. The fact that he just sat there with his tongue hanging out didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm and expectation of the mob. The first one to touch Sol soon became the trusted expert on the subject of house-bred dogs. A frenzy of biscuit feeding and random name calling of Sol ensued.
Luckily, our agent made an appearance from thin air right then. Unluckily, Ramu had disappeared in search of the all important loo as his diarrhea was in full flow, literally.
Finally, with everyone back in the car, we now moved on to the real goal of our trip, the land. Mr. Caretaker was in the back seat, but with me in the middle, protecting him from Sol. The caretaker seemed to have a petrified ignorance of Sol’s existence.
We did see the land and on the way back, as Ramu had still not recovered from his ailments, my cousin decided to drive and I took the front seat. Now, we literally had a back seat driver!
On the way back, we stopped at the Maddur hotel where we had seen the parotas. A bulls-eye on our hotel choice. The food was outstanding and the cook, a boy of about 15 took great pride in the dishes he placed before us and constantly asked us about how we liked each dish. These were the egg parotas, chicken curry and dry mutton. Most mouth watering fare and the experience was made even more interesting by the drink order taker. I need to dwell on this a bit here so bear with me.
I asked him for a ‘Fanta’ and he wanted to know if I wanted ‘Sprite’. On clearing up this first hurdle, he wanted to know if I wanted ‘Fanta’ to drink. I nodded. Next he enquired if I wanted it right then. Convinced by my vigorous nodding, he put his hand into the cooler and got me a ‘Sprite’. I shook my head and showed him the empty bottle of ‘Fanta’ I had just polished off. We finally reached a happy conclusion and I got my ‘Fanta’
No more adventures along the way and we got back safe and sound to Bangalore by 4 p.m.
After setting off at 7 a.m, the motely crew(my cousin, the driver, my dog and me) made the customary stop at Shivalli. Known for it's signature Kadubu Idli, other South Indian (vegetarian only) delicacies are not bad either.
The first rumblings of trouble surfaced right then. My driver Ramu seemed to be heavily biased towards the restrooms there. Inquiry into this matter soon turned out to be moot as his discomfort and pain were evident from the way he was sweating and tottering around. Apparently it was food poisoning and he was not looking good.
I sprang to take control of the situation, placing Ramu in the back along with our trusted canine Sol and we drove to Maddur where we got him a packet of glucose and made him have some of it with water. While here, we spied an elderly gentleman making parotas on an open tava outside. We made a quick note to check this out on our return as our Shivalli meal was still sitting pretty heavily in our ample stomachs.
Mandya around 10:30. We were supposed to meet the caretaker/agent/advisor near the bus-stand but he wasn't there. So, we stopped on the side of the road and I let Sol out. As was bound to happen, he was soon the center of attraction and it looked like the slowly increasing crowd expected a few tricks and exhibition of some sort of talent from our goldie. The fact that he just sat there with his tongue hanging out didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm and expectation of the mob. The first one to touch Sol soon became the trusted expert on the subject of house-bred dogs. A frenzy of biscuit feeding and random name calling of Sol ensued.
Luckily, our agent made an appearance from thin air right then. Unluckily, Ramu had disappeared in search of the all important loo as his diarrhea was in full flow, literally.
Finally, with everyone back in the car, we now moved on to the real goal of our trip, the land. Mr. Caretaker was in the back seat, but with me in the middle, protecting him from Sol. The caretaker seemed to have a petrified ignorance of Sol’s existence.
We did see the land and on the way back, as Ramu had still not recovered from his ailments, my cousin decided to drive and I took the front seat. Now, we literally had a back seat driver!
On the way back, we stopped at the Maddur hotel where we had seen the parotas. A bulls-eye on our hotel choice. The food was outstanding and the cook, a boy of about 15 took great pride in the dishes he placed before us and constantly asked us about how we liked each dish. These were the egg parotas, chicken curry and dry mutton. Most mouth watering fare and the experience was made even more interesting by the drink order taker. I need to dwell on this a bit here so bear with me.
I asked him for a ‘Fanta’ and he wanted to know if I wanted ‘Sprite’. On clearing up this first hurdle, he wanted to know if I wanted ‘Fanta’ to drink. I nodded. Next he enquired if I wanted it right then. Convinced by my vigorous nodding, he put his hand into the cooler and got me a ‘Sprite’. I shook my head and showed him the empty bottle of ‘Fanta’ I had just polished off. We finally reached a happy conclusion and I got my ‘Fanta’
No more adventures along the way and we got back safe and sound to Bangalore by 4 p.m.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Father
This is a bit delayed but thought I'd post some of what my wiser half sent me on Father's day. For daughters only though!
"Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad"
There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.
"The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, 'Daddy, I need to ask you something,' he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan."
Someday I may find my Prince Charming, but my daddy will always be my king.
"Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad"
There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.
"The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, 'Daddy, I need to ask you something,' he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan."
Someday I may find my Prince Charming, but my daddy will always be my king.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Mum about M.U.M
I know I'm onto something big here. It's that feeling you get when you find the starting point of a thread that can only lead to a saga of epic proportions, a magnum opus of a discovery, an invention, a life changing moment...
Now, I may be revealing a deep dark brotherhood kind of secret which everyone in the know, is aware of but is terrified to talk about. Then again, it may be something that is so obvious that I am an idiot for ever questioning the act. In the former case, I'm sorry guys!
If you are not male, and are in the reading throes of this epiphany, bully for you! You go girl! If you are male, and yet have never encountered the phenomenon about to be revealed, please read the sign carefully, the next time.
Okay, no more dilly dallying. Let's get to the brunt of it. To brass tacks as they say. Tally ho and all that!
WHY DO MEN SPIT INTO URINALS???????????
And, just out of curiousity, why are men mum about this and go about life as if it never happens?
Hmmm.....
The nascent notion of Men's Urinal Mystery (MUM) initially began it's life traipsing merrily in my head along with millions of other thoughts all jostling for prime time brain space,but as the mystery deepened -- 'BAM'...it was the top priority.
At first, in my usual unbiased way, I thought it was only us Indians. Then, lo and behold, I saw a Caucasian do it in the US, a Filipino in the Philippines, and that's when the mystery manifested itself to me in its full glory.
By the way, I have no answers here, so if you want to keep reading and expecting one, sorry. However, there are numerous hypotheses proposed here and I would like to get a feel for which one is the most sound, and if a new idea should present itself to you (as you ponder this creme de la creme du nature mystique), go for it!
Okay, here are my suppositions in absolutely no particular order.
DISCLAIMERS
Now, I may be revealing a deep dark brotherhood kind of secret which everyone in the know, is aware of but is terrified to talk about. Then again, it may be something that is so obvious that I am an idiot for ever questioning the act. In the former case, I'm sorry guys!
If you are not male, and are in the reading throes of this epiphany, bully for you! You go girl! If you are male, and yet have never encountered the phenomenon about to be revealed, please read the sign carefully, the next time.
Okay, no more dilly dallying. Let's get to the brunt of it. To brass tacks as they say. Tally ho and all that!
WHY DO MEN SPIT INTO URINALS???????????
And, just out of curiousity, why are men mum about this and go about life as if it never happens?
Hmmm.....
The nascent notion of Men's Urinal Mystery (MUM) initially began it's life traipsing merrily in my head along with millions of other thoughts all jostling for prime time brain space,but as the mystery deepened -- 'BAM'...it was the top priority.
At first, in my usual unbiased way, I thought it was only us Indians. Then, lo and behold, I saw a Caucasian do it in the US, a Filipino in the Philippines, and that's when the mystery manifested itself to me in its full glory.
By the way, I have no answers here, so if you want to keep reading and expecting one, sorry. However, there are numerous hypotheses proposed here and I would like to get a feel for which one is the most sound, and if a new idea should present itself to you (as you ponder this creme de la creme du nature mystique), go for it!
Okay, here are my suppositions in absolutely no particular order.
- We would like to encourage all possible participants to shed out some fluid during the act
- There's the glob of saliva that is actually being saved for this special occasion
- We feel extremely disgusted with something down there, either personal or urinal
- It's an involuntary impulse and the act just doesn't seem complete without that 'and take that' finale
- Actually, the one above was my last idea
DISCLAIMERS
- No urinals were hurt during the making of this article
- I claim no knowledge of French, so whatever is in here, is whatever is in here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)