Corporate Priest

Have you any time wondered what it is to have all those quality and performance measurement goals of corporate world applied to a common man with a merge earning to feed himself?

We have all those jazzy terms to make our life complicated. What can you do if someone intends to make it complicated? Service level agreements, performance, appraisals, quality metric blah..blah..blah....

These terms were invented for the sole purpose of not giving someone something that they rightly deserve. I truly believe so. Anyway these thoughts struck me after visiting a temple. It was about - What if a priest went to work for corporate world?

What is his qualification?
His caste? Maybe, maybe not. 

What are his skill sets to be on this job?
A couple of lines of Sanksrit chants. You may not even know if he is uttering them right!

What are his development plans?
Whats that? 

How regularly is he updating his skills?
Nothing of that kind. 

What are his people management skills?
Smile at devotees/small talk/distribute prasadams...

What are his operational activities?
Perform poojas, chant mantras, offer prasadams....anything else?

What are the SOPs he follows? Who lays down those SOPs?
Errr.....came up with funny ideas.

What are his cross functional activities?
Communicate to God, interface with Devotees...

What are the appraisal metrics on which he is assessed?
People management, YoY donation collection from Devotees.

Bonus? Perks? 
Closer proximity to God. He can now access God's jewelery? 

Such a simple job, but look how complicated a corporate world can make :)

Kolaveri!!

I heard about 'Kolaveri' few days ago. My first reaction was how could people turn so violent that they have started using these phrases in songs!!

Why this kolaveri di?

Is a Tamil song that has gone viral since less than a week and already has over 20 lakh hits; it was 10 lakh when I checked this morning :-/. There is this normal looking next door guy - in a simple black shirt singing for 'Soup' boys. What is it? A jingle for Knorr soups or something? Thats when you understand that 'soup' means 'failed'. The song is for the guys who have been jilted in love and treated like a piece of chicken in a soup!!

The song is half English- half Tamil written by Dhanush (Tamil actor and son-in-law of Rajnikanth) in his spare time; which has become a rage of sorts to everyone and anyone. Everyone seem to relate to this song and it has crossed the Southern belt; and yeah it has invoked this mass hysteria without ARR!!

The setting is a music studio; Dhanush is singing the song and its being recorded; while his wife and Shruthi Hassan looks on. No glamor, no drama, no gimmicks; just him enjoying the song as he sings. The lyrics are lunatic, meaningless and is insanely funny.

Is it the tune? I didnt find it catchy! definitely not as catchy as Ringa Ringa or Appdi Podu. Is it the lyrics? Is it the laid back drawl? Maybe its a combination of all; combined with it the sub titles in English giving out the lunatic lyrics like "White-u skin-u girl-girl-u...girl-u heart-u black-u" which takes it to an audience beyond that of a regular Tamil song.

The dialogues rendered in an utterly easy-go way in between like "What a change over mama...OK Mama..Now tune change-u"  and lyrics like "Cow-u Cow-u Holy Cow-u, I want you here-u now-u" makes it a random jam grabbing your attention and wants you to listen to the song again.

And that wonderful word. Kolaveri in Tamil means barbaric rage but it seems to be used in a mere comical sense asking the lady what is that she is angry about? "Why this kolaveri?" sung in a casual tone had captured the listener and its now a muse. I have been following tweets and rants; "Why this kolaveri di? is being used in every context and in synonyms to "Why are you cold?"

Very soon, I am sure we might find it being used for jokes pulled out on politicians. This was a bonkers hit! I dont think they expected it to be such well received. A song recorded during a break has surpassed any expectations. Very soon, get to hear the Bollywood version, remix version, club version, Cola adverts and so on.

Was it really a random incident? Or a tactical marketing strategy by Dhanush and team? Is it a fad online to grab even the silliest of things and share? Whatever his infectious grin and laid back rendering is doing wonders.

His father-in-law would have blessed it and so we are liking it for sure :P

Crunchy Carrots

The color of the carrot is enough to entice us. In Ooty fresh luscious bunch of carrots are sold everywhere.

Clicked a couple of pics. Inspired me to write few verses. Just random words with rhymes. Dont try to find a meaning :)

I was walking along,
Found a carrot on the ground,
Look around to see to whom it belonged,
But no one was around.

Fresh green stalks,
Gave way to flowery leaf,
Is there around; a rabbit?
Instead saw perched; a parrot.

I took the carrot
thats when it started
They are a wonder
The best is down under

Loveliest of orange,
No! not a mirage,
My love is like the carrot
I heard from the parrot

What you see at the top,
Is just a tiny drop
My love; like a thunder,
Emerges from down under.

In the Wild

Two days of Dusshera holidays saw us pack our bags to foothills of Nilgiris - Masinagudi. Driving through Bandipur and then the Mudumalai forest area makes me happy. One has to go through Bandipur if you have to go to Wayanad or Ooty. The drive is peaceful amidst bamboos and other wild trees; passing along numerous sign boards mentioning to maintain silence; no use of plastic; no stopping and such. Occasional sights of bashful deers, curious langurs and if you can get lucky herds of elephants to keep one happy.

Went on a night safari and also day safari this time. At night; spotted herds and herds of elephants seeking refuge beside road. They escape the harsh mosquitoes and come to the edge of the forest.  Saw 10-20 together a couple of times. No photos. Sorry! I didnt want to introduce harsh lights on them. I felt guilty about going for the night safari; it was a private one; courtesy the resorts. The jeep drivers are not sensitive to the elephants. The driver of our jeep went very near to those herds and was heckling at them to grab their attention. He took the jeep too close for comfort and used harsh headlights on them. It was however; cute to see mother and calves; mother protective of their calf; the calf being naughty and running away while the mother pulled the calf's tail.

It always brings me immense happiness to get close with nature. Few pics

 Nilgiris

Bandipur-Mudumalai forest reserve. Spotted deers all along.

A curious langur. Another was hanging from the tree; few others curiously looking at us and maybe wondering "Who are these monkeys?"

Clicked just one picture of an elephant though herds of them were spotted at night. This was the closest we got; and enough light so didnt need to use flash. There was another gentle giant walking in the opposite direction on the road and it was scary; what if it just comes and topples the car? But he didnt bother; and we went our way.

They dont simply compare a beautiful pair of eyes to a deer's isnt it?

An ostentation of peacocks; unaware of the intruders.

A lovely sunset.  Oh yeah spotted few bison and pheasants as well.

Why?

As a teenager, whenever I disagreed with my mom; which interestingly happened more often that not; she would sternly command "Dont ask why"

Few questions dont have an answer to this obvious WHY. Certain things in life defy any rational explanation. Why; for instance, does your boss come early the day you are late and vice versa. And why does he have to barge into your cube when you are on Facebook but not when you are slogging at your job? Or much to your dismay, why would that guy you secretly admire at work walk right in front of you when you are yawning away to glory?

Not only at work! Think about this. Why do you get an important phone call only when you are watching your favorite show on TV? Or why are you struck in a traffic jam only when you are desperate to rush to a restroom? Why are you caught by a traffic cop only on the day you forget to carry your papers but never when you have it handy? Why does your car blow a tire only when you are rushing for an important meeting?

Or why is that your otherwise regular maid fail to turn up on the day you have houseful of guests? Or why is that the wine cork opener fails to be located when you have the guests? Why does your internet snap up in the middle of an online transaction; that also only after you have keyed in your credit card details?

Think, why is it sunny the whole day and pours only when you just venture out to enjoy the day? Or why do all the holidays fall on a Saturday or a Sunday cheating you of your much needed break from soul-numbing work routine? Why do you have a bad hair day when you have a presentation to make at work? Or why do they lower deposit rates in bank when you think of opening a RD?

Endless lists - why does this happen only with me? The frustration builds up and spoils the entire day as if you are the lone victim. Reactions vary depending on the discomfort these situations can cause. Some accept it as unfortunate coincidence, while others view it as everything gone haywire from the start; a devil's felony.

Whatever it is - coincidence or felony - such jinxes are part and parcel of our everyday life; strikes each one sparing none. Curse the Murphy for his laws at boisterous trick . There is little one can do about it - Plans made are unmade - by the omnipotent. What one can do is to wish the discomfort goes away sooner.

So, instead of tearing your hair (or whats left of it); its better to take the hindrances in your stride and shoo it away. 

If anything can go wrong, it will :)

Few hours at the Zoo

Visited Mysore last weekend just for a day. Mysore is a stone's throwaway from Bangalore and is a nice weekend getaway. Mysore and the surrounding areas have lots to offer - river, waterfalls, nature, culture, heritage......and the Zoo.

Mysore Zoo is one of the oldest in India and the animals are well kept in a clean environment. I was happy to see the area neat and devoid of stenches and garbage as in Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore. Security officers keep a strict vigil on visitors' activities to make sure that the animals are not harmed.

Watching the animals move about freely in their space without being bothered was nice. Few pictures here.

That special attention a tiger gets; no one other animal commands; not even the King of the Jungle. There were 6-7 cats; most of them 2-3 year old but massive enough to handle a village. Agastya; adopted by Dhoni was the attraction. It seems they released only one tiger at a time to loiter outside while others remained inside.

It was standing on the opposite side; couldnt get a close up shot

The birds and the Rhino are friends for life 

Curious?

Pack of Hyenas.

Mutual help.

 

 So tall and so gentle.

This one probably escaped from the zoo.

Struggle of a polyglot

I am very fluent in four languages and can do decent in two other languages and blabber my way out in one other language. So I will just go ahead and call myself a polyglot. Growing up in a cosmo-city as Bangalore introduces you to different culture and languages. Also, its easy and common in our country to know more than a couple of languages with so many different lingua franca.

Someone has told "know one language, you are born once but know more languages and you are born many times". It has been easy for me to pick/follow languages - maybe due to my intuitive nature and that keen interest to learn something new.

So whats the struggle with knowing more than a couple of languages. The struggle is a bit more if you are a woman. You know, its difficult to keep a straight face and behave as if you understood nothing when a group of guys pass lewd or funny comments in their native tongue. Or when you are being scolded for some mischief you committed; and want to get away. You understand whats being hurled at you and yet put up that "I dont understand" face.

Anyway, I picked up bits of Spanish during my Costa Rican vacation. Some words in Spanish are similar to English. For e.g - comprenda, agua,  ambiente, perfecta, temperatura, cafe etc. This similarity is an advantage and you can follow what is being told. Thats how we could dabble with other Indian languages that follow these sort of similar pattern right? If you have a keen mind, its easy.

Well, you sure cant master the slang and the rhythm which only a native person could. This very reason makes it tough sometimes -  for e.g. malayalam. I can speak the language but can never ever get that tone unique to the language.

I have been indulging in an amusing yet exhausting practice since the time I have known William - our Costa Rican guide. He is a gregarious guy; with special fondness to women ;-) Well, on a serious note; he is a nice fellow. Whenever we bump into each other online, we start chatting. But here is the catch. He can speak English but cant write English. So our conversation would be in; what else but Espanol.

It so happens that I can follow what he says but when I have to respond; I need a translator. At times, with his unique spelling for few words; it becomes dificil de comprender. With online translators now; its not as bad as it seems. Translators at your disposal - you dont really need to know a language. But at times; when it gets out of hand for me to respond; I just insert a smiley with a Si

It sure works. I was asked to learn Espanaol as his writing in English is bad. But that was not the reason for me to inquire about Espanol classes at a Spanish coaching class; this was an opportunity to learn a new language - a foreign language. I could not enroll for the weekend classes and now they dont have a weekend batch yet.

I was talking to William yesterday and had to go through that tedious procedure. That makes me inclined towards learning Spanish; why not? Its worlds fastest growing and it seems easy to pick up. Thinking about languages, I quit midway learning Gujarati and Punjabi. I didnt quit, my teachers stopped midway.

Gujju and Punjabi teachers, where are you?

Those 3 hours

Well, yesterday was an interesting day...of sorts.

Started early to work in order to attend a mandatory training on intellectual property. Carried my breakfast of idi appams and unni appams.

Just decided on the fly to watch Pirates of the Caribbean - 4 post lunch. My 3 team mates and me - the movie was superb and Johnny Depp was impossible. I so love him even more now; after him being unfaithfully faithful to Angelica in the movie :)

Came home at 6:45; tried unlocking the front door. Thats when I doubted if the bunch of keys I carried had a key to the front door. Tried...tried...tried....remembered Robert Bruce's "Try try until you succeed" phrase and kept trying.....in vain. I remember unlocking the door with a key from this bunch. Tried again and again; realized I really had the wrong bunch.

Called up Velu, he was not picking the call; should be in Yoga session. 1 more hour before he can pick up the calls. It was raining, I was not dressed to be seated on the floor comfortably - Skin tight jean trousers; why am I in them in such situations always? Called up a friend and spoke for a while as I kept loitering but soon realized I need to save the battery charge. Hung up and chatted a while with a friend. She left for dinner.

Sat about for a while and was drowning myself in self realization. It turned out that I found myself insanely stupid, arrogantly confident, emotionally foolish and a hopeless seeker of care. It seemed better to remain ignorant so I dismissed the idea. Though I did have some arguments and counter-arguments on love. Let me save that for another post. 

I had 3 street dogs for company; not for long, just for few minutes, they were either scared or wary. They ran away.  I generally carry a book to read with me; today I did not have one. I carry a USB modem with me to connect to internet; I left it back at home. I sat for a while until my bum started aching. Got an idea! Thought of going to a supermarket and buy some stuffs to read and eat.

Realized it was raining. My tank top was thin and without sleeves, all I had was a thin bandana; wrapped it around and walked in the rain to the supermarket. Browsed for books, all they had were few magazines - fashion, auto, political, technology. decor, travel...Aaaah travel! I picked up a travel magazine and some buns. Outside in a push cart was a vendor selling boiled peanuts. Steaming peanuts in the rain..Heavenly. I packed some and got back.

Though the dogs were not hostile towards me, they were reluctant to come near me. So I thought feeding them would rest their doubts about me. They devoured the buns happily, I think they liked the jam inside the buns more. One of them came near me and I stroked its head for few seconds. They all ran away once again. I came back and seated myself comfortably, munching in the only leftover - peanuts and reading the magazine.

For someone whose passion is traveling, this magazine gave immense joy - Ladakh, Leh, Himachal, Bhutan, Goa, Kodai, Coorg, Ethiopia, Munnar, Kochi.......visualising myself in all these places. Read them all, seated idle. I hear the occasional chatter of the neighbors, while I browse my phone for mails and other updates. Read few latest blog posts while waiting for Velu to arrive.

It was 3 hours before he came. Pain in the bum was all that was left.

We are better

Note : Its a satire..Yeah I need to explicitly mention it; my earlier experience tells me so.. This is a conversation between me and my alter-ego.


The Americans can have their way. If they can do it, why can't we?

Now what is this blabber about? 

Terrorists.....Osama. He was hunted down and killed even without a trial.

Are you saying it was wrong?

You see, there is nothing like a right or a wrong. What is right for me, could be wrong for you and vice versa.

Are you the alter-ego or me?What is your concern?

The Indian government has listed 50 most wanted terrorists and all are based out of Pakistan. The media is asking why cannot we do a America-like operation to eliminate Dawood.

We cant. They could do because they are Americans; with billions of dollars of aid being given to Pakistan. They can afford to do it! They gave a new lease of life to the Afghans by driving out the Russians. They have been aiding Pakistan against the war on terror. So they can break the sovereignty of a country; raid a town and kill a terror mastermind. We cant....Period.

But......but......

Dont sulk. We Indians have done much better things to worry about not being able to mimic an American way.

Like?

Like....winning the Cricket World Cup!

Uummpphhh...

OK! Like sacrificing Mallika Sherawat to Hollywood. 

Eeewwww we are better off than having her here!

Oh ok! Like inventing the ZERO! 

Oh! Ohhh!!!

Nah its not Oh! Ohhh!! Its 0 as in 2-O-O-O in Two thousand.

I am still not convinced.

Why dont you accept that we have given the world far better stuffs to lead a good standard of living?

Give me one good point to agree.

Ass-jet! 

What?

Yeah Ass-jet. We have a simpler and cleaner way to wash than wiping off our asses with papers! 

Yeah! You are right! Hail the Ass-jet!

:-) 

Musings

I have always restricted myself from publishing offbeat posts. Offbeat for me - my personal state of being or random ramblings. It is not that I have been predictable. I dont like to be predictable; it gives me an insatiable pleasure when I do things off the track; off the mundane path - only to do something more to satisfy my thirst. If it is current affairs for some time; it would be humor and fiction other days or I would enjoy throwing in few verses of what I would call poetry. With respect to what I post here - I refrain from writing about my personal stuffs; rather on subjects that people can relate to and share their views on them. There is that sense of satisfaction when you learn and let others learn as well.

These being my thoughts; I never attempt to write about things going on with me. Either I think its too trivial and normal or I tend to think people might think I am flaunting. Amrit suggested I write about my home and I was dismissing the idea supporting with reasons that the readers might think I am showing off. But he encouraged me to go ahead and convinced me that it wont be a show off.

Anyway today I just want to write about nothing in general; but just write. What you call letting your hair down once in a while. I have never been busy ever in my life; that I can say "I didnt find time". For me 24 hours is sufficient; but I do tend to give the ever tried and tested "No time" excuse if I am not able to do something for different reasons - be it lack of interest, contemplation or favorable space. Now that its lean period at work; free for next 1 month at the minimum, I have been wondering what do I do to kill my time.

I am known for procrastinating for indefinite period. I was supposed to join Spanish classes and I am yet to. Prior to that I inquired about Tanjore painting classes and was prepared to join but I had to travel out of country on work and later when I came back; I just left at that. I was thinking of joining some photography classes to learn the techniques and make use of my beast(Nikon D7000) better. Thats also in back burner now. I could brush up my skills or learn some new stuffs at work. I am not doing them either.

I have all the time in the world. Even otherwise I had time. It makes me wonder if people are really that busy when they say they have no time. Is it that they cant manage time or that they are inefficient or is something wrong with me? If you folks remember I used to post regularly while in US even with my hands full with work. But this ability to find time for everything intimidates me. One of my blogger friend mentioned that she is not finding time to write! and here I was finding so much time. I could keep writing; my other personality told me "Stop! Dont post frequently! Are you that jobless?"

I know of many bloggers who have quit blogging due to lack of time. Will it ever happen to me? Or will I quit writing when I dont find anything substantial to write anymore or when I feel my quality is demeaning? Or what if something happens to me? What will happen to my 270+ posts? Who will hold the copyright? Who will manage there on?

Many such thoughts....about life, love, respect, purpose in life among other worries like "why is the rose bud taking these many days to bloom?" or "when will they restore my internet connection?" or "how to make place for a new pair of shoes?". There are other serious worries as well about loan and career and family and such. But they dont give me sleepless nights as the rose bud or lack of space for a new pair of shoes would give. But life goes on among all these worries. Each day I see this caretaker's family living in a makeshift made from tarpaulin in our apartment's car parking area.  The family worked as construction laborers and now are assisting the builder in another project. 2 kids - a girl and a boy. They are always cheerful; the family always happy. They cook outside using wood. Its the way of the world that those who construct houses for others have no roof under them. But I find them contended; I gave away a doll and soft balls to those kids and the smile on their faces was worthless.

They dont have to worry about which toy to choose to play with - the only one is their precious one. Their parents dont have to worry about curtains and drapes to adorn their makeshift home. They have 3 dogs for company. They form such a lovely community. The lady comes running to open the gates when we take our car out. The girl comes to fetch the garbage every morning. I feel uncomfortable. When she came this morning I gave her a pack of biscuits and sweetly told her I would take care of the garbage. I told them not to do such service for me and that I dont like anybody doing my work. I feel embarrassed; hope they understood. What is wrong in cleaning your own dirt?

For few more days I think I will have lot of thoughts pondering in my mind; time to reflect and act on few things. I cant keep my mind idle. As I ponder and reflect, I will continue to learn.

Mauritius - The End

There was one special thing that I wanted to see - Nymphaeaceae or the great water lilies with humongous leaves. The Botanical Garden of Pamplemousses has a variety of them among others as palm trees, spices etc. Its amazing to see how this tropical garden has been preserved for centuries. Everything here seems over sized.

The last day was spent in visiting the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden at Pamplemousse. Before this was the visit to Mauritian Glass factory. cum museum at Phoenix where skilled craftsmen make exquisite varieties of glass wares from recycled glass. Used bottles and glasses are brought back to life with a decorative edge. The museum houses glass footprints and hands of fame of famous personalities from around the world. It also has a nice gallery where objects like table, chairs are all made out of glass, mirrors which manipulate your image and a souvenir shop to pick hand made glasses.

Among other things, handcrafted models of famous ships with patience, made by hand to revive the memories of these sailing ships long ago which was part of histories being made are most beautiful. Each model is an exact replica of the original one - with the sails, masts, canons and all that exquisitely handcrafted. The blueprints are acquired from maritime museums all around the world and then faithfully reproduced on a miniature scale accurate to the last scale from the hull to the deck, railings, lifeboats, ropes, figure-heads....
Be it the Marie-Rose, the Bounty, the Santa Maria or the Sao Raphael or the Titanic...nothing is missing. They are exact replica of the original.

The Mauritian Glass Factory - display as to How to say glass around the world. Check if your native tongue is in here.

Many objects - single component- Glass

Chairs and center table

Man at work. Molding and designing artifacts.

The workshop

It has a souvenir shop to pick up glass artifacts. not to miss the offset glass and glass Dodos. I got them as souvenirs :)

Dodos. 

Bus Stop. Can you imagine boarding a bus each day to your work with such a gorgeous background for your view? 

I used a public restroom, this is how the view is next to it :)

At the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden. Nymphae of all colors.

The leaves of Victoria Amazonica. They have large leaves which can be upto 3 m in diameter.

I was waiting to see this massive leaves for a long time; after seeing them on TV. What I saw disappointed me; the leaves were withered and were not as massive as they should be. Then I saw this notice put beside the pond.

A baby leaf

I could not get enough of it. Even though they were not as huge as they were supposed to me, they were still huge.

Gleaming under the sun....

Few others

I just loved the way the water drop was resting on the leaf.

A lavender one.

There were lot of trees and palms

The

Administrative office.

A model ship making workshop cum store. Each piece takes 2-3 months to finish. They cost anywhere between 300-1000$. The lady was showing me many ship models. When I mentioned I wanted Santa Maria, she was amazed and said "You do know about ships. You are choosing a special one too. Not many tourists have a least idea about ships, they fail to appreciate it."

I bought a Santa Maria as a souvenir. Santa Maria de la Inmaculada Concepción was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus on his maiden voyage to the New world in the 15th century. 

This one here is Royal Caroline 1749.

Wasa 1628 Spanish warship. The ship sank after sailing less than a nautical mile into her maiden voyage.

Soleil Royal - French 104-gun ship.

I forgot which one is this :( There were so many replicas that it was overhwelming.

A artwork at the Caudon water front area.

Posta Museum. It was past 5 and so was shut :(

the Mauritius General Post Office. Old French colonial building.

 

Market where I bought some fruits to munch on. 

This blue glass facade building houses British Airway office.

 

Restaurants by the sea. It was here that I had my "glasse" experience.

 

My husband enjoying the ambiance.  

 

Mauritius lacks historical significant monuments, spectacular view points, natural wonders or anything of that sort. One can see few colonial buildings in French style. Its a place for lazing around and relaxing.

Mauritius Continued

Continuing from my previous post, some more of Mauritius. I indulged in two adventures there. The first one is under-sea walking. You have a solar-powered oxygen kit that you wear like an helmet and tie heavy belts accentuated with heavy stones and get under the sea. The heavy belt is to help you stay put under water and the oxygen kit helmet is to help you breathe. The water was chill in the beginning but then you get one with the sea. The instructors get good care and monitor your comfort-ability regularly. Its quite an experience to have your feet buried deep in the sad while water overhead tries to push you away. Those colorful and beautiful fishes around you swim effortlessly and you marvel at their agility. As we held out our hands to feed them, they nibble tiny bits of food and swim away. An instructor grabbed a tiny sea snail and handed it over to me. I held that tiny thing for sometime and later don't know when I dropped it.

If this was once-in-a-lifetime experience, para sailing was another level of fun. Though I wouldn't call it adventurous; my husband did scream and shout. He was chiding me for being calm and laughing; and was wondering why I was not scared! Looking at the turquoise water and the deep blue sea forming a natural boundary and those pearly white sands was ecstatic. Para sailing did not give me an adrenaline rush! I am waiting for sky diving to happen! Hopefully soon!!

Another queer but amusing thing I noticed was how Indian names were Mauritian-ized. "Manju" spelt as "Manjoo", "Gokul" as "Gocool" and so on. We could go up to the door of the Prime Minister's office and take a snap! How cool is that. The landscape is volcanic; the hills surrounding have a spiky edges to them and not having seen such hills and mountains earlier; they did look a bit artificial.

One thing I marveled about the place was public toilets - well maintained and clean. Whenever I used public toilets I was scared of being nagged for money as it happens here. But none of that kind happened. 

Few pictures.

A lady at work helping keep the place clean at Grand Bay.

The oily noodles I mentioned in my last post. Could not eat 1 spoon of it. I felt bad when I had to leave the food when the lady who prepared it asked if I didnt like it. I lied that I was feeling sick. she believed me and told me to take care :-(

This one gave us company and I was glad that I didnt have to throw away the noodles. She ate it all.

A lovely dog. Was loitering around in this park.

Streets of Port Louis - the capital. 

This is what I was talking about. :)

A traffic policeman manning the traffic in front of the PM's office. The roads are narrow.

Again here is the Mauritian version of "Ranganathan Srinivasan"

Corridor of Prime Minister's office. He was out of town; else maybe I would have had an audience with him :-P

A church on the hill top. I forgot its name. French is difficult than Spanish. But I heard that this church has been pictured in lotta Bollywood movies. It was past 5 PM and the church was shut! I came to know that people dont work/loiter beyond 5 and everything shuts down!!

Port Louis as seen from the church

The next day, it was 9:30 AM and we did not have beach wear. So forced this chap to open his shop so that we could buy some beach wears. Got some awesome stuff  - sarongs with fishes printed on them. 

Catamaran! Do you remember the song "Churake Dil Mera" - Akshay Kumar and Shilpa Shetty? Yeah the song was filmed in this island on some catamaran. Not this one; but the island is Ile Aux Cerfs

People live here. The island is so gorgeous and heaven. Our guide for the day Kishan told he stays here. 

Kishan

 

I dont know its name. It had a long tail and was cute.

Waterfall adjacent to the sea. 

The stage for Para sailing. At Ile Aux Cerf, after visiting the waterfall,  came back for Para sailing.

These guys have to try hard to control the parachute and that the guests are not hurt and land safely. They do this every 5 minutes. 

 

Thats me!!

After para sailing, a leisurely drink, playing in the sand and the turquoise water . People were relaxed, sun bathing in nude forgetting all the worries of the world :)

Rest area. 

The sea, translucent and transparent, so clean and tidy.

 Paradise? Probably...maybe...sure! I had not seen earlier such a clear blue sky, sun shine just right, clear blue water and white sands. I do not remember how long I played, but I did play in the waters for a long long time.

Lot of star fishes hit the shore. As big as one's palm, pinkish.

And some sea urchin's shell - in colors of black and purple.

After playing, a BBQ buffet. As I do not eat meat, my options were limited but I did not mind it. This view was more than sufficient.

Can you see them? Now thats romantic!

Secluded, calm and pristine. 

All for yourself....