The Chickoo and the Chicken

There was an old story about the chicken and the chickoo. It warned against jumping to conclusions, remember? It went something like this; a ripened fruit/nut happened to bop a chicken on the head hard. The chicken assumed that a piece of the sky had fallen and ran helter-skelter screaming and prophesizing. Worse off were the other animals, who did not check for themselves, but rather believed what the chicken said and panicked.

And the new story is about my nephew, where he coined an amazing tease. His grandmother offered him a chickoo when he was visiting her. He immediately retorted - "nani, tu chickoo khaa, main to ghar jaake chicken khaoonga".

Treasure Island - St.Mary's

Malpe - a small fishing village is a few km from Udupi and off Malpe is a small island. You can take a 20 minute boat ride to this serene island. It is called St. Mary's Island.

The island is uninhabited and very clean. The island has a fantastic mix of small coves, beaches and rocky outcrops. It hosts tall grasses, palm trees, moluscs, crabs and small sea faring birds.

You can spend a wonderful hour climbing its cliffs and can walk around the island. Wade in the clean waters, collect some shells or just watch the sea spray. The unique feature of this little stretch are vertical hexagonal rocks, formed by volcanic activity.



This little treasure trove is a fantastic photo opportunity. In fact, I spent a lot of time experimenting with my camera. I must admit here that I did not capture any of the birds in my photographs. I always managed to scare them away. :)

A Thousand Elephants

1248 of them to be precise! They form the bottom tier of the incredibly ornate temple at Belur. Even more amazing is that no two of them are alike.

Belur is just a few hours away from Bangalore, India. The temple is more than 900 years now and is carved out of soapstone. I learnt that soapstone is easy to chisel when freshly excavated and it hardens once exposed to the elements.

The elephants are at the bottom for a reason. They represent the strength of the foundations of the structure, symbolic of the kingdom. The other animal figures include horses for speed and lions for power.

The very interesting part about the Belur architecture is that every element has a reason and story behind it. The temple is adorned with sculptures on the mahabharata, daily life, dances and Gods. Only an expert guide can help us interpret these.

Moreover, these structures took several decades to complete. Some of these artisans completed just a few statues over their complete lifetime. Amazing patience and dedication, you would agree. After all, the customers were really Kings.

When you visit Belur, do visit Halebedu and Shravanbelagola close by. Best to stay in Belur out of these places though.

The world has gone MAD

Blasts, blasts and more Blasts. Attacks everywhere, filth everywhere. Blood, bare bones and You read so much and it is so frequent.Has reached the point where I am so passive that I don’t hurt anymore.

I remember Sept 11 2001. I was at Andheri, Bombay. A news message flashed on my colleagues mobile. The phone had a small two line display. It read Line 1 - “Plane crashes into”, Line 2 –“world trade center”.

I thought that a plane had crashed into the WTC at Colaba, South Bombay.An accident! Hopefully it is late evening and most people must have left office.
Then the next line appeared – New York.

Huh? New York and plane crash? Hell! This is no accident. It’s an attack.Now who would do something as stupid as that?

By the time I left for home, I had heard about the second tower and images were already flashing on the sets.And knowing the American high handedness, I headed home with a very confused mind.Another world war? Who’s done this? Lots of @#^&*^! To whoever!

The grief lingered for several days.

Looking back, since that day, it just seems like an exponential graph of gore and more ugliness.We have had attacks in Bombay and otherwise in India later. Just last week, we had attacks in Delhi.Today when I read about the attacks at Amman, I realized that I am hardly sensitive any more.

Just another piece of news. Nothing unexpected. Nothing new. Just a new number of dead, new bodies and a new place.

Mentally also, she added

Amongst my rather interesting conversations with my more intellectual cousin, she was all praise for my personal photo album.

She remarked that I yet looked so boyish. So young! I took offense. What do you mean 'look young'? I am young.


Mentally also, she added and we smirked.

The conversation took many turns. A few things we both agreed upon - that as children, we were so carefree. Now we "often" pretend to be.

Bandra, be there

The first time I moved house, I was 12 years old. I hated my new place (Bandra). People were different. The school was different. I hated everything just because everything was different.

But I soon made great friends and discovered great places. I had Yuck neighbours(most of them), but the most wonderful neighbourhood.

Can one ever be bored of the sea? I need nothing more than waves to keep good company! Bandstand, carter road and Jogger's park make excellent company. I also love window shopping - Hill road, Turner road and Linking road delight.

I also like quiet. Actually I love Quiet! So I used to hike up zig zag road along Pali hill or go to the seafronts at night. And there is no dearth of entertainment either. Theaters hosting plays and movies abound and so do restaurants, cafes & desert parlours.



Beyond doubt, a place as interesting as its people. I am not talking of Shah rukh, Priety, Ash, Sush or the other stars who stay here. I am talking about all the people, thin and tall, round and small, famous and infamous people that make Bandra all the more interesting. Warm people, smiling people, some inert but mostly friendly.

When will I live there again? No idea...
Till then, Bandra, be there.