Silent story of the royal tombs

I am just back from a mind blowing trip to Coorg. Coorg is a hilly district occupying a prt of Western Ghats of India. Places of visit are generally Talakaveri, Iruppu falls, Abbi falls, Dubare, Kaveri Nisargadhama, Bhagamandala, Nagarhole and the fort situated in the heart of Madikeri town.

Talacauvery











Brahmagiri hills











Tibetan Monastery











Abbi Falls



















On the way to Abbi falls, there was this secluded area, partly damaged; children playing cricket. The only visible portion was the dome of the building; which seemed as if the building was an Islamic structure; maybe a mosque. My curiosity led me to explore more. There was no one around; and at first that intimidated me. There was very little information about the monument itself.
There were two similar buildings built in Indo-Saracenic style; with domes and minarets; misleading me to think it were a mosque. But I observed the carvings of Bulls and Dwarapalakas(gate keepers) and Ganesha carvings; it was then I realised these were not a mosque but a strcture built in Indo-Saracenic style.
Those monuments held the mortal remains of the royals of Coorg. The nobles were worshippers of Shiva. There were statues of Nandi(sacred bull) all over. That was because their tombs were watched over by Shiva's vehicle - the Nandi.

The monument had magnificent carvings of Dwarapalakas, the Nandi and intricate details carved on the window sills built of stone.

One of the twin monument with minarets and dome

The dome and minaret part of the structure with Nandi on all four corners and a brass flag with an "Om"

A Dwarapakala

A window adorned with intricate carvings

A closer view of the window sill; such intricate carvings with the Kannada letter "V" denoting the kingdom of "veeranadu"

Another amazing piece of art

But one specific work of art that emphasized the creativity of the then people was an image of the face of Lord Ganesh if seen from top view. The same image as seen from side view depicts Narasimha(Lion) swallowing a snake? Probably....

Front View

Side View

It was well worth my detour I must say!

Owl at our deserted pantry

Reached office today, as usual went to have breakfast at our cafeteria...one of our friends calls up.............................
The pantry also doubled up as the break room. They closed its operation as there was already a pantry and they didn't want a second one on the same floor.
So this break room was deserted..Occasionally people go by, to gaze out of the window sipping coffee. All one could see were glass buildings opposite..Yahoo...Microsoft...ANZ...IBM...

Yeah, coming back to the friend calling up, she says "I saw an owl in the pantry". I gobble up my 2 idlis and run to see the owl... It was beautiful!; sleeping unaware of its audience..2 more guys passed the room and seeing our curiosity, they stepped in to see the owl; and one said "You saw an Owl..its bad luck!". I was like "What the heck!...The owl saw us..so its bad luck for the owl"....
I wanted to capture the moment; so ran back to my cube and got my camera and click..click..click...

Never Give Up!

My schedule went haywire for the last 10 days. I had to finish off a critical work in very short period of time. I was still learning about it; had very less time to actually learn as I faced all sorts of queer infrastructure issues; and then the day to start it off came by and I was left with just 3 days to finish that off and lot of stake involved; for me and the team.
It was not that the work in my hand was not done earlier; it was just that I was doing it for the first time. All I had was a single page document giving in few details which I assumed was all that's needed. How I was wrong.
I got some idea after talking to a peer who had worked on it already. I was happy that there was someone to whom I could ask my queries however silly that would be. But there were few hidden infrastructure issues unknown to us and it seemed a rather silly analysis of the issues; yet it were true.
Well, we all assume; draw a line and assume these are how things must be; these are how things are and don't go beyond to check the authenticity of our belief. So when these issues stare at us like the cat Tom staring at the tiny mouse Jerry...we are aghast. These "how can that be possible" issues did cause a few hard moments.
But I knew that these too shall pass away and at the end of it; whatever it may be; this task has to be completed. I for one; being an impatient lady; also brought about barriers in the progress.
But I well knew I had to complete it well within the time at any cost. The only thing that was coming to my mind was one picture that I recall having seen on the Internet depicting the "Never say die" spirit. (I remember having received a mail as a forward. I took a copy of the picture and pasted it in my cube in my previous organization. When I quit the organization; I never wanted to leave the picture behind; and thus carried it with me. Even though there are many pictures similar on the net...here's my copy..)

I did learn a few things out of this episode.

• Never assume things. Be open-minded to learn new things. Don't have a laid-back attitude that this is just similar to other.
  
• Expect the unexpected. Its easy to shrug away and say "Such things can never happen". Dig through and you would be shocked to learn how ignorant you have been.
• Don't look for shortcuts. It seems easier; but there's much more hidden underneath. Don't miss out on tinier details as they are the ones most important.
  

It would be very inappropriate for me to sign off this blog without thanking PR for all his help. He came in to work even with his illness to help me out with whatever ways possible for him; patiently correcting my silly mistakes made due to my impatience; answering all my queries.

IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU PR.

Necessary Evil???

I see this billboard each day morning and evening I pass on this road to and from my workplace.
I have cropped the snap here to showcase just on the thought I have in my mind. Just to give a gist of it, its a real estate ad from India's one of the top real estate property company. I have cropped off the name and logo of the firm along with its contact data which is irrelevant here for us.
If one sees this ad, it clearly states penthouses for sale for nature lovers. A happy couple supporting the statement. I am intrigued by the costume the lady is wearing in this picture. Its a bit too revealing; unnecessary for an advertisement aiming to sell penthouses harbored amidst nature. It would have made sense to show greenery, birds, kids playing in the park etc.

Is this a marketing strategy to capture young minds? I think so. I would like to confess that the costume the lady has got here is *acceptable* compared to the more worse stuff that comes on TV. Take any product advertisement on media, you can see a glamorous lady selling the product; dressed skimpily. That's even if the product is independent of the genders. One would just look and drool over...and then what? Does it really prompt the buyer to go for the product? Certainly not!!!

Remember the Carl's Jr burger advertisement in which Paris Hilton in a seductive swim-suit holding a burger in her hand.
What was the impact due to this?
It may have back-fired as most of the American family felt it offensive for an American way of life! or it may have helped Carl's Jr to actually gain free publicity by this uproar. This ad surely generated millions and millions of free publicity all over the world for Carl's Jr and to Paris millions of dollar payment!

Few may have a counter-argument, but ultimately if a product is good, you don't need any senseless gimmicks. The quality speaks for itself.

Why is a Ship called SHE?

This picture was taken last year January. We guys were roaming around San Francisco well around 9:30 PM. Most of the shops were closed. I noticed a souvenir shop somewhere near The Embarcadero which displayed a piece of cloth probably a table cloth or something..I am not sure. But the words on them were humorous..Coaxed the guys to stop by and we had a laugh reading the text on the cloth..

Happy Happy Happy New Year!!

One more year passed by;
A new year has dawned....
Fresh beginnings....
New resolutions....
New learning....
Newer mistakes....
New dreams....
Newer relationships; while cherishing the older ones...
Let this year bring us peace and happiness and let us all spread joy with good cheer.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!