Besotted with History

My face, arms and feet are sunburned after four days of roaming in the hot sun of North Karnataka. Having filled my eyes and head with the magnificent carvings of Pattadakal, Badami, Aihole and Bijapur, I'm having trouble appreciating any structure which is less than four hundred years old.

There was just so much to see and I think we could've spent two more days without feeling enough of it. But I was worried about Anu and my parents, that they would be fatigued. I think I underestimated their capacity.

I wasn't sure how popular these monuments were but our experience was a little dampened by huge crowds everywhere we went; of school children. It seems they were on a Government scheme to promote Karnataka tourism and they came from far flung areas. And it felt like they followed us all through. Gol Gumbaz especially felt too noisy, given the dome's capability to enhance all sounds. The guide said the best time to visit it was at 6:30 in the morning, when there wasn't a crowd. We appreciated his words all the more after reaching the top through through the narrow flight of stairs, worried that a stampede might break out anytime.

But all these places, more so the areas around than the monuments themselves, can do with a good amount of facelift. I felt especially letdown by the approach roads to Badami and Bijapur monuments. I don't understand why the entry fees can't be hiked(in some places, there is no fee at all) and that money used to provide better facilities. There are museums with so many beautiful and ancient carvings and you want to know more about them but there is not even a word about them to see. It's disappointing. Like injustice to them.

Bijapur seemed far more syncretic than I've ever seen anywhere. In all the mosques and dargahs we visited, there were more Hindus, of all ages, than Muslims. But I'm miffed that they don't allow women inside any of them; not even into the tomb of a woman!

Brainwaves

My brain is playing tricks on me. There was a newspaper headline, "Art is About Looking Inwards" and I read it as, "Art is About Looking Awards". And worse, it was only the wrong grammar of my sentence that made me look twice and realize the mistake and not the intent. 

Hidden Lines

A friend of mine said I just had to colour my hair black and there would be a line for me. I laughed and asked her what the line was for. She blushed and laughed. I said I wasn't looking for one anyway.

But is that what we want? 

The Aftermath

Yeah, as usual, I'm in a highly excited and overwhelmed state. I met all except one of my mother's cousins and many of their children and it's too much feeling of bonhomie for one night. And not one snobbish person. Even the usual ones have turned extremely nice and put me to shame. Anyway, I can bet this is the last time I'm meeting most of them.

And V met a lady there who she sees in her office bus everyday. Turns out she's a distant relative. V is thrilled.

I wonder how many relatives, near and far, I must have in Bangalore. 

Celebratory Woes

Attending a wedding reception tonight. My mother's side this time. I rarely retain the enthusiasm by the time I reach the date but today there is a bonus. I'm going with V! I don't remember when we went out last. It took a lot of effort from both me and my mother to get her to agree. The girl gets annoying with her stubbornness sometimes. But her company is worth all that. So I'm looking forward to facing some snobbish people tonight, with a lot of cheer. 

The Learning Years

Eating Rajma and thinking of Sonia, our( Shab and I) neighbour in Hyderabad's Ameerpet. She was our companion and had given us Rajma one day. Shab and I weren't cooking those days and the homemade Rajma was very welcome and it was also the first time I'd ever tasted it. I of course liked it and wanted the recipe. She said it contained tomatoes. I was surprised because I couldn't find any traces. And Sonia had used the opportunity to show off, as if it was some magic. It was Shab who later enlightened me on pureeing. It had never occured to me that tomatoes could be used that way too.

Thinking of it, I knew next to nothing of cooking then. Except for using a cooker, heating things, making tea and rolling rotis. So I'm grateful to a host of people including N, Shab and her father for making me believe that cooking was easy and worth it. But because of my predominantly non-native learning, I sometimes feel handicapped when it comes to traditional cooking.

Rishi has had a great year so far. He has done exceedingly well in everything he's touched this year and there are so many watching his progress now. Gets me worried sometimes. 

Escape Route

If there is one thing I'm immensely grateful for right now, it's the Mute option on my softphone. It's particularly helpful when you are part of every long call that happens in the team. 

Misplaced Faith

It's amusing to know the kind of misconceptions born-and-brought-up-in-the-city people have about a small-town counterparts. I experienced it for the first time and a lot when I joined Engineering college. The expectation is that you are designed to preserve the so-called cultural purity. It's funny when they talk in that tone on your behalf to a third person. That you are not capable of certain 'transgressions', which are almost their birthright. As if you are a different species. And they do that even in today's times is more annoying. 

Shouldn't Blogger have an option to show me which of my posts have attachments? 

Mixed Flavours

Lesson of the day - It's okay to bring work home. It's nice to work from home. But when you are cooking, do not design the code. Not all palyas have the wherewithal to take ground sambar masala and remaining edible.

A very wishful wish - I should have two copies of myself. 

Magic Makers

Two things I'm very grateful for in my kitchen - coconut(and oil) and ghee. 

Travails

There is Kasaravalli Fest in Suchitra Film Society this weekend. Screening of Ghatashradhdha and Koormavatara today and a documentary and felicitation tomorrow. I read about it yesterday, was very excited but most of my plans don't bear fruit so kept myself under check. But you know what, I went to Suchitra today. I did. And guess what? I didn't watch anything. As usual, I tried to club it with another errand and I was late and the show was full. There were another 15-20 people like me but I came from the farthest so I hope I gave them all some solace. Waiting for the next show was impossible so I started back immediately. Of course I'm disappointed but not so much too. First, I love the place. It was love at first sight but also the only sight in the last eight years so my love didn't really translate into a serious engagement. Anyway, I love the concept, the environ and the locality and it's one of my dreams to live there some time. Second, I now know that I can do it; withstand the pressure from my family to stay put at home(Rishi was the only one who said I should go). And also, they know that I can do it so I hope it sets a precedence.

I would've also become a member of the Society today, had I carried my photo. The guy asked me thrice when I could come next to complete the enrollment but I had no answer. I wanted to tell him that the only way for me to come in the very near future was by becoming a member. Now I have the half-filled form with me. May be I should try in the middle of the week. 

Langzaam Progress

It's become a sort of masochistic pleasure of mine to watch movies in the languages I'm learning on Duolingo and realise that I'm no better at understanding them than I was three months ago. 

Calling Names

I get irritated when I hear people being called Abdul, even in movies. May be more so after I met my colleague Shabbir. I was handling a Support ticket from a Vietnamese Bank when I was told Abdul Shabbir was the guy onsite I could get more info from. I messaged him. He gave me the info and in the end, asked me how I knew his name. I asked him what he meant. He said I was the first colleague to call him Shabbir, everyone else only called him Abdul. I said I had had classmates with similar names. I mean, when you have to address multiple Mohammeds and Abduls, you figure that they've got a unique and many a times, nicer sounding names next to them. Anyway, Shabbir and I've had a great rapport since then. 

Tough Trek

Next two months are going to be a nightmare on the work front but I'm excited after a long time. I'm looking forward to the grind.

The last one month has been quite a bit of running around, what with my name change and all. But it's all too late for the Singapore trip. And now for no reason, P isn't interested in going at all. He says there is nothing there and I'm going just for the heck of it. He wants to go to Maldives. I don't care for Maldives! 

Gantumoote

Watched Gantumoote. It's set in my generation but I guess many of that era will wonder which utopia the movie belongs to; where high school students can make out with such freedom. Bangalore may have been, I don't know. I'll never forget that I was made to feel like a sinner for poking M's back and trying to catch his attention in 1st grade.

But Salman Khan was a heartthrob even in a place like mine. He was in many girls' notebooks those days, charming them with his sparkling eyes. I wasn't the type, though. Of course keeping heroes anywhere near me was disastrous at home but I was more interested in tennis and cricket players anyway. Sampras and Dravid ruled the roost in my study room.

But then, why is it that the girl is always considered a guy's weekness? The hero feels that way when things go wrong. I mean, that feeling is everywhere. Look at Kohli Or Nadal recently; nobody asks them if they are doing better because they got married. The wife or the partner is only a burden that their talent should manage and do well despite.

And yeah, the boy(hero) stops the girl from biting her nails, saying it's a bad habit, early on in their encounters. But after that, goes on a biting spree himself. May be it was indicative of something but I couldn't figure that.