I first saw her photo on Bharatmatrimony.com. She was wearing a green saree with blue border. Her hair was left open and flowing to the beat of air. She had a big smile on her face and i could see all of her teeth. She seemed to be tall in the photo, but her profile listed her height as 5 feet 2 inches. All in all, she looked like a model.
I decided to 'Express Interest' in her. I was nearly sure that my interest would either go un-noticed or it would get rejected. But, i was sure impressed with her pic, so decided to give it a shot.
Two days went by and i noticed that she had accepted my interest. I was happy beyond words. But, there was a catch. Neither me or her were premium members. That meant that we cannot exchange mails until we became premium members. Premium membership involved around 1500 rs. I wasn't in the mood to shell out so much money. Neither was i interested in letting her getaway. Kya karoon???
At this time, my mind thought of a ingenious solution. I decided to try my luck in orkut :)
Her name listed on Bharatmatrimony.com was "Pankaja Thimmaiah", i decided to search for that name on orkut. And, "Voila!" i found her at the first go ... The photo was not the same as in BM.com, but the face looked similar ... There you go, i had found my future "Half Shirt" on orkut ... It was really funny that i had not paid any money to BM.com and still found her, thanks to orkut. Hope no one at BM.com decides to sue me for this :D
Once i found her on Orkut, the logical thing was to add her as a friend. I did that with the comment, "Hi, I had contacted you on Bharatmatrimony.com". Then the wait began for her reply. Everyday, i checked my profile and there was no reply from her. I was confused as to what to do, "maybe, she doesn't like me. Maybe she found a better match"
Finally, i decided to give it one last try and left her a scrap stating "hi, you had accepted my interest in BM.com, can you please accept my friendship request?" ... It was time to hope and wait. The gamble paid off the very next day. She had accepted my friend request and asked me to forward the BM.com profile id ... ohhh, god!!!
The same day evening, i saw her online on Gtalk. Was it she who initiated the talk, or was it me? Hmmm ... i don't seem to remember. The main thing is we got talking and well, i can't divulge all that we talked about. We just talked the general things like, names, family, work etc etc. In b/w all this, she asked me my birth date.
I told her "15/09/1981"
And then she baffled me by saying "you are younger than me."
My whole dreamland crash landed with that statement. Not sure what to say or do. Should i just close the conversation here? Should i say, sorry for wasting your time.
I asked "what is your date of birth?"
she replied "july-1981"
hmmm ... it was a difference of three months. How should i proceed? i knew very well that my family would never agree. Damn man!!! i should never have raised my hopes.
But something within me was not ready to drop it. I wanted more time to think about it. Maybe, talk to my family once. So, with that idea, i told her about my family's position. I also told her that i would get back to her, once things clear up a bit in my head. She was good enough to accept.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
My stories: Faith in God
I was seeing a old mythological Hindi movie with my dad and mom on a sunday evening, thanks to doordarshan.
The ending of the movie was very interesting, the villain throws knives at the hero. The hero folds his hands and chants god's name. The knife keeps coming close and close to him. And suddenly, in a moment the knife turns into a rose. Wow!!! That's amazing. I was not sure how that happened.
I turned to my dad and asked "Pa, how did that happen?"
Dad said, "He is chanting god's name. God turned the knife into rose"
I asked the next logical question, "So, if we chant god's name, nothing will happen to us?"
"Hmmm", dad said.
I took that as an 'Yes'. That meant that if i take god's name, when someone tries to beat me, i will not get hurt. This opened up all kinds of possibilities.
I thought i was the only kid who knew this secret and wanted to show off.
Next day, in the evening after school, i approached Laxmi narayan, the class bully. He was shorter than me by half a feet.
"Laxmi", i called him.
Laxmi turned and said, "What???".
I said with full confidence, "Will u hit me?".
Laxmi was surprised and asked me "why?".
I said, "Simply".
Laxmi was confused, but he was not ready to pass up such a good opportunity.
He said "Ok. Where?"
I was ready for this question. I showed him my chest and said, "Hit me hard".
I folded my arms as laxmi got ready to deliver the punch. I started chanting "Om namah shivaya" repeatedly.
Laxmi lifted his arm to deliver the punch. I closed my eyes.
The next thing i knew was, i was lying on the ground with a heavy pain in my chest. I was not sure what happened! What went wrong! I was chanting god's name, then why did i feel the pain. Shouldn't his hand be blocked by god.
All the while laxmi was smiling like a cat that landed itself with a bowl of cream. He said "enuf?". When i didn't reply anything, he started laughing and went on his way. And there i was lying on by back with a hurt mixed confused expression.
I got up and went home. Dad wasn't home yet, so sat and tried to figure out the day's events with all kinds of permutation and combination.
Dad came home at 5 PM, as usual. I went straight to him and asked, "Pa, yesterday u told na that chanting god's name will protect me"
Dad said, "yes"
I continued with my question, "So, even if someone beats me nothing will happen to me right? "
Dad seemed to understand the direction i was taking with my question.
He said " Only chanting does not work, you need to have a lot of devotion towards god. Only then he (god) will protect you."
I was dumbfounded. Now what was Devotion????
This incident happened when i was in class 1 or 2. Not sure which one.
The ending of the movie was very interesting, the villain throws knives at the hero. The hero folds his hands and chants god's name. The knife keeps coming close and close to him. And suddenly, in a moment the knife turns into a rose. Wow!!! That's amazing. I was not sure how that happened.
I turned to my dad and asked "Pa, how did that happen?"
Dad said, "He is chanting god's name. God turned the knife into rose"
I asked the next logical question, "So, if we chant god's name, nothing will happen to us?"
"Hmmm", dad said.
I took that as an 'Yes'. That meant that if i take god's name, when someone tries to beat me, i will not get hurt. This opened up all kinds of possibilities.
I thought i was the only kid who knew this secret and wanted to show off.
Next day, in the evening after school, i approached Laxmi narayan, the class bully. He was shorter than me by half a feet.
"Laxmi", i called him.
Laxmi turned and said, "What???".
I said with full confidence, "Will u hit me?".
Laxmi was surprised and asked me "why?".
I said, "Simply".
Laxmi was confused, but he was not ready to pass up such a good opportunity.
He said "Ok. Where?"
I was ready for this question. I showed him my chest and said, "Hit me hard".
I folded my arms as laxmi got ready to deliver the punch. I started chanting "Om namah shivaya" repeatedly.
Laxmi lifted his arm to deliver the punch. I closed my eyes.
The next thing i knew was, i was lying on the ground with a heavy pain in my chest. I was not sure what happened! What went wrong! I was chanting god's name, then why did i feel the pain. Shouldn't his hand be blocked by god.
All the while laxmi was smiling like a cat that landed itself with a bowl of cream. He said "enuf?". When i didn't reply anything, he started laughing and went on his way. And there i was lying on by back with a hurt mixed confused expression.
I got up and went home. Dad wasn't home yet, so sat and tried to figure out the day's events with all kinds of permutation and combination.
Dad came home at 5 PM, as usual. I went straight to him and asked, "Pa, yesterday u told na that chanting god's name will protect me"
Dad said, "yes"
I continued with my question, "So, even if someone beats me nothing will happen to me right? "
Dad seemed to understand the direction i was taking with my question.
He said " Only chanting does not work, you need to have a lot of devotion towards god. Only then he (god) will protect you."
I was dumbfounded. Now what was Devotion????
This incident happened when i was in class 1 or 2. Not sure which one.
Monday, October 26, 2009
My stories: The Big Fight
"I want it", pradeep said.
"I want it, you have been keeping it with you from a lot of days!", said i.
The object of contention was a comic book that belonged to Nanda.
Finally, pradeep gave it to me with a hatred look. I took the book with a smug smile and gave it to Basavaraj (the son of our class master, also a good friend).
I was feeling gud about the argument win, when pradeep dropped the bomb.
"I will never talk to you again"
I did not know how to react to it. Pradeep was my best friend and i never expected such words from him. The words went straight to my mind, or was it the heart.
"Fine", i said.
This led to the Big 'raghu vs pradeep' Fight. We did not talk to each other for the next 5 years. The fight became a big entertainment source for all our friends. Nanda had a great time narrating the fight to everyone.
All this happened when we were in class 8.
I have a big smile on my face, writing this article.
p.s: pradeep thanks for bearing me thru tht fite :)
"I want it, you have been keeping it with you from a lot of days!", said i.
The object of contention was a comic book that belonged to Nanda.
Finally, pradeep gave it to me with a hatred look. I took the book with a smug smile and gave it to Basavaraj (the son of our class master, also a good friend).
I was feeling gud about the argument win, when pradeep dropped the bomb.
"I will never talk to you again"
I did not know how to react to it. Pradeep was my best friend and i never expected such words from him. The words went straight to my mind, or was it the heart.
"Fine", i said.
This led to the Big 'raghu vs pradeep' Fight. We did not talk to each other for the next 5 years. The fight became a big entertainment source for all our friends. Nanda had a great time narrating the fight to everyone.
All this happened when we were in class 8.
I have a big smile on my face, writing this article.
p.s: pradeep thanks for bearing me thru tht fite :)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Travelog: Kodachadri
== originally posted at http://raghu.mark.googlepages.com on 04/23/07 ==
Saying and Doing are two different things - i understood the real meaning of this statement during my trek to Kodachadri. It is now over 1.5 years since my trek to Kodachadri, but the memories are still fresh in my mind. This was my first trek ever and the first time i understood the real meaning of trek.
Kodachadri is a steep mountain near Kollur.It is about 40 Kms to Kodachadri from Kollur through road. Kollur is a holy place famous for its temple of the goddess mookambika. It is said that the 'moolasthana' (true source) of goddess mookambika is up in the hills of Kodachadri.
The plan to trek was mine and nanda's brainwave. We had been thinking about this for a long time but, could never make it into a reality. My early days at RelQ as a teamlead were very taxing and especially at one phase, i was under lotz of emotional stress. I finally scumbed to the pressure when i was doing a nightout. Next day morning, when nanda came to pick me up from office, he saw my pathetic state and decided to go ahead with the trek. We both hoped that the trek will give us renewed energy and serve as a break in our ever busy life. This was on Friday Morning. Nanda told me that his friend 'Guru' had recently been to Kodachadri and he had described the route in a mail. We decided to make the trek to Kodachadri. We reached Vijaynagar, and enquired about Bus tickets to Kollur. At the same time, i decided to invite Ashwin for the trek. I called up Infosys at 8AM and got connected to Ashwin. Ashwin agreed to come along (he was another guy, who was looking for a break). We booked three tickets to Kollur for the 8 PM bus. I rushed home and packed my bags (we had no idea what to take). Mom was really perplexed with these sudden plans. Nanda and i bought two pairs of Woodland Trek shoes and rushed to office. After finishing work, i went directly to the KSRTC bus stop from office at around 7.30 PM and met up with Ashwin. Nanda as usual reached late; at around 8.15 PM. We had to beg the bus driver to wait. This started our eventful 2 day journey to Kodachadri.
We reached Kollur early in the morning. Rented a room and freshened ourselves. After a quick visit to the temple and a meager breakfast, we started on our way to Kodachadri. The boy from the hotel warned us that it was around 25 kms to Kodachadri on the trek route. He adviced us to reach their by means of a Jeep. But, we ignored it as nonsense. Nothing according to Guru's mail suggested 25 Kms. On the way, we bought a bottle of water (1 litre). This was supposed to be our water resource for the whole trek. We started walking on the main road with the sun beating down on us. Soon, we removed our jackets and started to sweat. After about 2 kms, we came to the place where we were supposed to deviate and enter the forest. This was the phase we were all looking forward to (and unfortunately the point from where we started suffering). The walk from here was fully uphill on a jeep track. The jeep track was wide enough for a lorry with thick trees on both sides. This was my first experience of being in a actual forest. We walked, walked n walked. Guru's route described a deviation from the Jeep track to reach a water falls known as 'Arisina Gunndi'. But guru unfortunately had not mentioned the distance. Finally after 5 -6 kms walk uphill (which saw a reduction in our water resource and some loud singing by nanda to buoy our spirits), we reached the deviation to the water falls. Now, everyone was yearning to take a dip in the cool water. Again, guru hadn't mentioned the type of terrain to reach the falls. We descended rapidly for about a Km to reach the falls.
The place was one of serenity. The season being Summer, the force of the water was not very high and hence we all had a good time. Filled up our water bottle and started on our journey back to the Jeep track, from where we would eventually reach Kodachadri. The climb back to the Jeep track proved to be toooo hard. None of us were ever exposed to ascending a hill, which was around 60 degree steep. By the time we reached the Jeep track, none of us were sure of going forward. We contemplated the idea of turning back and heading back to Kollur. It is said that humans have the maximum intent of taking risks, we proved it that day. We decided to go forward and reach our goal.
To support our resolution, the track turned out to be more easier. We walked until we reached the deviation from where we had to enter the jungle. At this point, our water resource was again very less. We found some standing water as soon as we entered the jungle and drank it to quench our thirst. But, we being from the modern world, swallowed a Crocin along with the water (as a precautionary measure). The jungle turned out to be the worst part. Climbing steeply, we were unsure of the path. Sometimes, markings on the trees showed us a path, other times, we walked blindly. All we knew was that we had to ascend until we reached the top of the hill. We were afraid of loitering in the jungle in the fear of encountering wild animals (enuciated by some sounds). We finally made it to the top of the hill and came out of the jungle to find the sun blazing hot on our backs. It was around 3 in the afternoon.
From this point, we were supposed to walk on a path for half hour to find 'Hotel Santosh'. We made it a one hour walk by getting lost occasionaly. We finally reached a small house which also served as the Hotel Santosh and a snacks shop. We asked the hotel keeper to prepare us some decent food (money was not a bar). At around 4.30, we had our Lunch. Food never tasted better. We still had two hours of climb in front of us to reach the top of Kodachadri. Initially, we planned to spend the night near the hotel and carry on with the climb the next day. But after the food and some Glucose, we decided to make the final climb. We anticipated that it would get dark by the time we reached the top. But, we still decided to carry on.
After the first 10 minutes of climbing, we knew we had made a mistake. This was the most toughest phase of the whole trek. Not because of the steepness, our bodies were wornout. As we climbed in a spiral path, we witnessed some of the most beautiful sceneries. Most of the path was covered with knee length hay, the setting sun made the whole hill golden. The scene was a treat to sore eyes. But, it started to get dark soon. I lost the battle towards the last 15 mins of climb. Nanda was of the opinion that we should sleep in some clearing. But, Ashwin was notinterested in sleeping in the jungle, he also stated that we would get freezed, if we slept in the open. So the last 15 mins of climb was pure agony. It had become very difficult for me to just place my foot in front of the other. As darkness started to creep in, we reached the top. The hill top consists of a temple, a house belonging to the temple priest and a govt maintained guest house.
We took refugee in the house of the priest. The people of the house were very nice and seeing our state, they hurried us to dinner and offered us a room to sleep in for a nominal fee. The food was toooo good. After a hard day's trek, anything would taste good. We came out of the house after dinner, and were assaulted by cold wind. The temperature had dropped and it was freezing out in the open. The sky was full of Stars. I had never seen so many stars in my life earlier. This was a moment that i will treasure a long time.
We took to bed early, in the hopes of catching the sunrise. Before we went to bed, everyone of us swallowed a Antibiotic to counter any illness. I swallowed two pain killers to abate the pain in my leg.
Next morning, we woke up late. I woke to a leaden sensation in my leg. Nanda had a bad stomach. Ashwin seemed to be the fittest of us. After a bath and breakfast, we visited the temple. In front of the temple stands a long rod of unknown metal that is placed deep into the ground. The priest informed us that the pole was there from centuries. The pole did not show even a trace of oxidation (rust). The priest their informed us that a short way up the hill connected to another temple. We started on our way to that temple, and to my horror discovered that i was unable to walk. Heavy pain buffeted me with every step i took. At this point, i decided that i couldn't go further. I stayed back and let nanda and ashwin visit the temple. I swallowed two more pain killers. With three pain killers coursing through my body, i expected the pain to reduce soon. Alas, the pain never reduced. Once both the guys returned, we decided that we couldn't walk back. We took the help of the priest family and got the jeep drivers to agree for a lift till kollur. We thanked the priest family and started on our way back to Kollur. All three of us had to travel in different jeeps, bcoz they already had passengers from kollur.
The jeep ride was worser than i imagined. But, full marks to the driver who had to drive at the edge of the narrow road. One inch difference and we would go down the hill. As we were coming back, the jeep driver enquired about our journey to kodachadri. When i told him that we traveled thru the jungle, he was dumbfounded. He later revealed that the forest was the house of many wild animals including Tiger. This news shocked me to the core. We reached kollur in the afternoon.
We had booked return tickets upon arrival in Kollur and visited the temple to while away the time until it became night. The return back to bangalore was uneventful and we reached bangalore on monday morning.
I had to suffer with leg pain until wednesday. But, the pain reminded me of the enormous journey that we had undertaken. It taught me that things aren't easy as they seem.
Recently, i noticed an article on the web which stated that the metal has been identified as 'Iron' in its purest form. The article also stated that researchers were unable to come with any reasonable explanation as to how, such a pure form of Iron was produced.
Today, when i look back on the trek to kodachadri and compare it with some of the other treks that i have undertaken till today, i understand that the trek to kodachadri taught me quite a few lessons that i carried over to the other treks. I look forward to visit Kodachadri again. Hope it becomes true, soon.
Saying and Doing are two different things - i understood the real meaning of this statement during my trek to Kodachadri. It is now over 1.5 years since my trek to Kodachadri, but the memories are still fresh in my mind. This was my first trek ever and the first time i understood the real meaning of trek.
Kodachadri is a steep mountain near Kollur.It is about 40 Kms to Kodachadri from Kollur through road. Kollur is a holy place famous for its temple of the goddess mookambika. It is said that the 'moolasthana' (true source) of goddess mookambika is up in the hills of Kodachadri.
The plan to trek was mine and nanda's brainwave. We had been thinking about this for a long time but, could never make it into a reality. My early days at RelQ as a teamlead were very taxing and especially at one phase, i was under lotz of emotional stress. I finally scumbed to the pressure when i was doing a nightout. Next day morning, when nanda came to pick me up from office, he saw my pathetic state and decided to go ahead with the trek. We both hoped that the trek will give us renewed energy and serve as a break in our ever busy life. This was on Friday Morning. Nanda told me that his friend 'Guru' had recently been to Kodachadri and he had described the route in a mail. We decided to make the trek to Kodachadri. We reached Vijaynagar, and enquired about Bus tickets to Kollur. At the same time, i decided to invite Ashwin for the trek. I called up Infosys at 8AM and got connected to Ashwin. Ashwin agreed to come along (he was another guy, who was looking for a break). We booked three tickets to Kollur for the 8 PM bus. I rushed home and packed my bags (we had no idea what to take). Mom was really perplexed with these sudden plans. Nanda and i bought two pairs of Woodland Trek shoes and rushed to office. After finishing work, i went directly to the KSRTC bus stop from office at around 7.30 PM and met up with Ashwin. Nanda as usual reached late; at around 8.15 PM. We had to beg the bus driver to wait. This started our eventful 2 day journey to Kodachadri.
We reached Kollur early in the morning. Rented a room and freshened ourselves. After a quick visit to the temple and a meager breakfast, we started on our way to Kodachadri. The boy from the hotel warned us that it was around 25 kms to Kodachadri on the trek route. He adviced us to reach their by means of a Jeep. But, we ignored it as nonsense. Nothing according to Guru's mail suggested 25 Kms. On the way, we bought a bottle of water (1 litre). This was supposed to be our water resource for the whole trek. We started walking on the main road with the sun beating down on us. Soon, we removed our jackets and started to sweat. After about 2 kms, we came to the place where we were supposed to deviate and enter the forest. This was the phase we were all looking forward to (and unfortunately the point from where we started suffering). The walk from here was fully uphill on a jeep track. The jeep track was wide enough for a lorry with thick trees on both sides. This was my first experience of being in a actual forest. We walked, walked n walked. Guru's route described a deviation from the Jeep track to reach a water falls known as 'Arisina Gunndi'. But guru unfortunately had not mentioned the distance. Finally after 5 -6 kms walk uphill (which saw a reduction in our water resource and some loud singing by nanda to buoy our spirits), we reached the deviation to the water falls. Now, everyone was yearning to take a dip in the cool water. Again, guru hadn't mentioned the type of terrain to reach the falls. We descended rapidly for about a Km to reach the falls.
The place was one of serenity. The season being Summer, the force of the water was not very high and hence we all had a good time. Filled up our water bottle and started on our journey back to the Jeep track, from where we would eventually reach Kodachadri. The climb back to the Jeep track proved to be toooo hard. None of us were ever exposed to ascending a hill, which was around 60 degree steep. By the time we reached the Jeep track, none of us were sure of going forward. We contemplated the idea of turning back and heading back to Kollur. It is said that humans have the maximum intent of taking risks, we proved it that day. We decided to go forward and reach our goal.
To support our resolution, the track turned out to be more easier. We walked until we reached the deviation from where we had to enter the jungle. At this point, our water resource was again very less. We found some standing water as soon as we entered the jungle and drank it to quench our thirst. But, we being from the modern world, swallowed a Crocin along with the water (as a precautionary measure). The jungle turned out to be the worst part. Climbing steeply, we were unsure of the path. Sometimes, markings on the trees showed us a path, other times, we walked blindly. All we knew was that we had to ascend until we reached the top of the hill. We were afraid of loitering in the jungle in the fear of encountering wild animals (enuciated by some sounds). We finally made it to the top of the hill and came out of the jungle to find the sun blazing hot on our backs. It was around 3 in the afternoon.
From this point, we were supposed to walk on a path for half hour to find 'Hotel Santosh'. We made it a one hour walk by getting lost occasionaly. We finally reached a small house which also served as the Hotel Santosh and a snacks shop. We asked the hotel keeper to prepare us some decent food (money was not a bar). At around 4.30, we had our Lunch. Food never tasted better. We still had two hours of climb in front of us to reach the top of Kodachadri. Initially, we planned to spend the night near the hotel and carry on with the climb the next day. But after the food and some Glucose, we decided to make the final climb. We anticipated that it would get dark by the time we reached the top. But, we still decided to carry on.
After the first 10 minutes of climbing, we knew we had made a mistake. This was the most toughest phase of the whole trek. Not because of the steepness, our bodies were wornout. As we climbed in a spiral path, we witnessed some of the most beautiful sceneries. Most of the path was covered with knee length hay, the setting sun made the whole hill golden. The scene was a treat to sore eyes. But, it started to get dark soon. I lost the battle towards the last 15 mins of climb. Nanda was of the opinion that we should sleep in some clearing. But, Ashwin was notinterested in sleeping in the jungle, he also stated that we would get freezed, if we slept in the open. So the last 15 mins of climb was pure agony. It had become very difficult for me to just place my foot in front of the other. As darkness started to creep in, we reached the top. The hill top consists of a temple, a house belonging to the temple priest and a govt maintained guest house.
We took refugee in the house of the priest. The people of the house were very nice and seeing our state, they hurried us to dinner and offered us a room to sleep in for a nominal fee. The food was toooo good. After a hard day's trek, anything would taste good. We came out of the house after dinner, and were assaulted by cold wind. The temperature had dropped and it was freezing out in the open. The sky was full of Stars. I had never seen so many stars in my life earlier. This was a moment that i will treasure a long time.
We took to bed early, in the hopes of catching the sunrise. Before we went to bed, everyone of us swallowed a Antibiotic to counter any illness. I swallowed two pain killers to abate the pain in my leg.
Next morning, we woke up late. I woke to a leaden sensation in my leg. Nanda had a bad stomach. Ashwin seemed to be the fittest of us. After a bath and breakfast, we visited the temple. In front of the temple stands a long rod of unknown metal that is placed deep into the ground. The priest informed us that the pole was there from centuries. The pole did not show even a trace of oxidation (rust). The priest their informed us that a short way up the hill connected to another temple. We started on our way to that temple, and to my horror discovered that i was unable to walk. Heavy pain buffeted me with every step i took. At this point, i decided that i couldn't go further. I stayed back and let nanda and ashwin visit the temple. I swallowed two more pain killers. With three pain killers coursing through my body, i expected the pain to reduce soon. Alas, the pain never reduced. Once both the guys returned, we decided that we couldn't walk back. We took the help of the priest family and got the jeep drivers to agree for a lift till kollur. We thanked the priest family and started on our way back to Kollur. All three of us had to travel in different jeeps, bcoz they already had passengers from kollur.
The jeep ride was worser than i imagined. But, full marks to the driver who had to drive at the edge of the narrow road. One inch difference and we would go down the hill. As we were coming back, the jeep driver enquired about our journey to kodachadri. When i told him that we traveled thru the jungle, he was dumbfounded. He later revealed that the forest was the house of many wild animals including Tiger. This news shocked me to the core. We reached kollur in the afternoon.
We had booked return tickets upon arrival in Kollur and visited the temple to while away the time until it became night. The return back to bangalore was uneventful and we reached bangalore on monday morning.
I had to suffer with leg pain until wednesday. But, the pain reminded me of the enormous journey that we had undertaken. It taught me that things aren't easy as they seem.
Recently, i noticed an article on the web which stated that the metal has been identified as 'Iron' in its purest form. The article also stated that researchers were unable to come with any reasonable explanation as to how, such a pure form of Iron was produced.
Today, when i look back on the trek to kodachadri and compare it with some of the other treks that i have undertaken till today, i understand that the trek to kodachadri taught me quite a few lessons that i carried over to the other treks. I look forward to visit Kodachadri again. Hope it becomes true, soon.
Are you Aged?
== originally posted at http://raghu.mark.googlepages.com on 4/17/07 ==
Its been quite some time since i wrote a article like this. After Landmark education, i had stopped thinking so deeply. But, some of the recent events have made me go back and put my thought process into work.
There was this question that was thrown at me quite sometime back "Are we getting old" ? and this question really led me to the edge of the cliff. "Are we old to do somethings?", "Are we realizing our age?" and so on ...
Many say that the age between 20 - 30 is full of confusions. confusion about work, confusion about love, confusion about life .... sirf confusion hi confusion.
I see a lot of these people (ppl b/w the age group of 20 - 30) trying to act as if they have aged considerably. Many even go to the extent of hating young people (age group: 10 - 20). I was afraid, i would become one of them. These people, if they can't do something, give the pretense of age and wisdom ... is this correct?
Well, i did quite a bit of thinking and recollecting about this. I remember a mail from a guy, who after quite a lot of affairs and failures finally realized that it is just a passing infatuation. He wrote "as i started getting older, i realized that love is not what we think. I have now given up all affairs and waiting for my marriage to be fixed by my family." Was he right in his assumption? Maybe, he was ... maybe, he was not. But, one thing i realized very recently was that he couldn't make those relationships work and hence gave up. He gave up the battle decided to retire. His choice may have been correct .. it really does not matter.
Similarly, i went through some more cases where the person gives up something owing to age. I remember my friend saying " i can't trek anymore. my age is gone". What did he really mean by that? Physically, he is still strong as a Bull. What made him owe it to the age? Do we become wise as we go ahead in our life? or, is it the opposite? One of my friend says " we start realizing the value of life and understand that taking risks is not worth it". This maybe true ... but, isn't everything in life a big risk ... what are we trying to run from? What is it that makes us feel aged? WHY, was the question.
And today morning, while travelling in the auto, something flashed through my mind ... it was not the answer to all those questions. But, it was the realization that "WE ARE NOT AGING, WE ARE AGING OURSELVES". This is a bit difficult to explain. Its our mind that is telling us that we have aged, it is our habits that are telling us that we have aged. It is the people around us, who are telling that we have aged. How does age relate to whatever you want to do? It is ABSURD.
Its time people come out of that wrong notion. I wrote this whole thing hoping that someone out there will realize the mistake that we are doing .... anyway, i have understood it. And, that is what really matters to me.
- raghu
Its been quite some time since i wrote a article like this. After Landmark education, i had stopped thinking so deeply. But, some of the recent events have made me go back and put my thought process into work.
There was this question that was thrown at me quite sometime back "Are we getting old" ? and this question really led me to the edge of the cliff. "Are we old to do somethings?", "Are we realizing our age?" and so on ...
Many say that the age between 20 - 30 is full of confusions. confusion about work, confusion about love, confusion about life .... sirf confusion hi confusion.
I see a lot of these people (ppl b/w the age group of 20 - 30) trying to act as if they have aged considerably. Many even go to the extent of hating young people (age group: 10 - 20). I was afraid, i would become one of them. These people, if they can't do something, give the pretense of age and wisdom ... is this correct?
Well, i did quite a bit of thinking and recollecting about this. I remember a mail from a guy, who after quite a lot of affairs and failures finally realized that it is just a passing infatuation. He wrote "as i started getting older, i realized that love is not what we think. I have now given up all affairs and waiting for my marriage to be fixed by my family." Was he right in his assumption? Maybe, he was ... maybe, he was not. But, one thing i realized very recently was that he couldn't make those relationships work and hence gave up. He gave up the battle decided to retire. His choice may have been correct .. it really does not matter.
Similarly, i went through some more cases where the person gives up something owing to age. I remember my friend saying " i can't trek anymore. my age is gone". What did he really mean by that? Physically, he is still strong as a Bull. What made him owe it to the age? Do we become wise as we go ahead in our life? or, is it the opposite? One of my friend says " we start realizing the value of life and understand that taking risks is not worth it". This maybe true ... but, isn't everything in life a big risk ... what are we trying to run from? What is it that makes us feel aged? WHY, was the question.
And today morning, while travelling in the auto, something flashed through my mind ... it was not the answer to all those questions. But, it was the realization that "WE ARE NOT AGING, WE ARE AGING OURSELVES". This is a bit difficult to explain. Its our mind that is telling us that we have aged, it is our habits that are telling us that we have aged. It is the people around us, who are telling that we have aged. How does age relate to whatever you want to do? It is ABSURD.
Its time people come out of that wrong notion. I wrote this whole thing hoping that someone out there will realize the mistake that we are doing .... anyway, i have understood it. And, that is what really matters to me.
- raghu
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