Some visits, interesting events ... etc.
Haven't been as good about blogging as I would have liked - but its not really my fault - most of my activities for the past week or so have been really mundane and boring, and I've been terrible about taking pictures. HOWEVER, I will continue to document the life and times of me.
Last Thursday night, we almost made some real plans to take a road trip to Mysore. I should have known better than to get all excited, because it didn't really materialize. However, I wasn't that bummed coz I wasn't really up to it anyway since I was still recovering from my bout with the cold monster the previous weekend [sucks to be sick] - btw, that home remedy did work some wonders ---- a pinch of turmeric powder in warm milk [and sugar] takes the cold away! anyhoo, yeah, so the roadtrip ended up being just a short trip to Banergatta National Park [BNP for simplicity's sake] - which is a short car ride from home.
Allow me to dust off my soap box ... ok, so I went to BNP, and at first was amused. Actually, to some extent I was somewhat impressed that they had improved a fair amount since my last visit - for the most part the animals looked healthy, and well taken care of. My amusement came from things like the collection of "varieties of pigeons" and monkeys. However, I stopped laughing when I went on the safari.
Its common knowledge that there are fewer than 1000 tigers left in India, and BNP is lucky to have 5-7 tigers; maybe more - I wasn't keeping count. We started out looking for some tigers and lions, etc. but when we found them I wasn't at all impressed with the crude manner in which that the safari bus/jeep driver was conducting himself in. To begin with, he paused for an unneccessarily long period of time probably five feet away from a lionness, which is eeirie enough. He provoked a lion by revving the engine repeatedly, stopping the safari vehicle less than ten feet from him, stopped and at the urging of some of the passengers crushed plastic water bottles to attract the lions attention - for a photo op. He really took the cake when he raised the plastic bottle, mocking the lion, making to throw it at him -- this time scaring the lion into jumping back. All of these actions gave the passengers in the safari vehicle full license to make similar noises around other cats as we continued through the course of the safari. Honestly, if this is acceptable behaviour - I'll eat my hat. Ok, I don't have a hat, maybe my chappal?
** END OF SOAP BOX NARRATION
Saturday night I was invited to the Mallya house [eh hem, not the UB group - the Mallya's of Langford Town] for dinner - and my what a spread! Its always a treat at their house ... this time dinner was Mangalorean style chicken curry and some sort of very crispy rice thing [similar to a dosa], crispy chicken, a pasta bake, aaaaaah should I go on? Desert, however, TOOK THE CAKE! I don't remember what it was called, but it was a pineapple cake, with caramel and nuts and cream, and i don't know what else -- but it was DIVINEE!!! We watched Venus beat Lindsey [AARH THAT SUCKED!], chilled for a bit w/aunty and uncle, caught up on all the news ... chilled w/Bajaj for a bit --- it was just like the old days, we chatted and sat in the breezy living room, eating aunty's magnificent desert!
After dinner I headed to Bajaj's house, coz we needed to catch up and I had this great plan to get up butt early to take pictures in Cubbon Park [didn't materialize, sadly] -- hangin out with Bajaj is always cool. Bajaj and I go WAAAAAY back -- and she is probably one of the COOLEST people that I know - mainly because she's a photographer, but ALSO coz she's COOL! :-) Seriously though, Bajaj basically spent two and a half years studying photography at the Light and Life Academy in Ooty - and has some absolutely FANTASTIC pieces to her name. Just check out her website, it is SOOOO AWESOME! [Yes, I am working on expanding my vocabulary -- until that actually happens, you'll have to deal w/words like AWESOME, COOL and RAD]. Right now she's working on an amazing project - documenting Bangalore, a compilation that is schedule to come out later this year. I can't wait.
To pull this post together, my apologies for random rants and raves ... I'll end in direct response to the purpose of this blog [read at the top of the page!] --- how much of a yankee am I? Well, I do say things like dude [adapted to yaar in India ;)], insist on converting things to dollars every now and again, complain about the crazy traffic ---- however, I have also refrained from eating a cheese burger for almost a month now[ma' dc-peeps have a true understanding of my love of cheeseburgers!], stuck to my seedy joints like punnuswamy's and sukhsagar for replenishment, have been floating on air after some fantastic south indian coffee [aaah heaven], and continue to enjoy Bangalore at its best. So yankee? who me? Eh, the yank's on a break ... check back later!
Last Thursday night, we almost made some real plans to take a road trip to Mysore. I should have known better than to get all excited, because it didn't really materialize. However, I wasn't that bummed coz I wasn't really up to it anyway since I was still recovering from my bout with the cold monster the previous weekend [sucks to be sick] - btw, that home remedy did work some wonders ---- a pinch of turmeric powder in warm milk [and sugar] takes the cold away! anyhoo, yeah, so the roadtrip ended up being just a short trip to Banergatta National Park [BNP for simplicity's sake] - which is a short car ride from home.
Allow me to dust off my soap box ... ok, so I went to BNP, and at first was amused. Actually, to some extent I was somewhat impressed that they had improved a fair amount since my last visit - for the most part the animals looked healthy, and well taken care of. My amusement came from things like the collection of "varieties of pigeons" and monkeys. However, I stopped laughing when I went on the safari.
Its common knowledge that there are fewer than 1000 tigers left in India, and BNP is lucky to have 5-7 tigers; maybe more - I wasn't keeping count. We started out looking for some tigers and lions, etc. but when we found them I wasn't at all impressed with the crude manner in which that the safari bus/jeep driver was conducting himself in. To begin with, he paused for an unneccessarily long period of time probably five feet away from a lionness, which is eeirie enough. He provoked a lion by revving the engine repeatedly, stopping the safari vehicle less than ten feet from him, stopped and at the urging of some of the passengers crushed plastic water bottles to attract the lions attention - for a photo op. He really took the cake when he raised the plastic bottle, mocking the lion, making to throw it at him -- this time scaring the lion into jumping back. All of these actions gave the passengers in the safari vehicle full license to make similar noises around other cats as we continued through the course of the safari. Honestly, if this is acceptable behaviour - I'll eat my hat. Ok, I don't have a hat, maybe my chappal?
** END OF SOAP BOX NARRATION
Saturday night I was invited to the Mallya house [eh hem, not the UB group - the Mallya's of Langford Town] for dinner - and my what a spread! Its always a treat at their house ... this time dinner was Mangalorean style chicken curry and some sort of very crispy rice thing [similar to a dosa], crispy chicken, a pasta bake, aaaaaah should I go on? Desert, however, TOOK THE CAKE! I don't remember what it was called, but it was a pineapple cake, with caramel and nuts and cream, and i don't know what else -- but it was DIVINEE!!! We watched Venus beat Lindsey [AARH THAT SUCKED!], chilled for a bit w/aunty and uncle, caught up on all the news ... chilled w/Bajaj for a bit --- it was just like the old days, we chatted and sat in the breezy living room, eating aunty's magnificent desert!
After dinner I headed to Bajaj's house, coz we needed to catch up and I had this great plan to get up butt early to take pictures in Cubbon Park [didn't materialize, sadly] -- hangin out with Bajaj is always cool. Bajaj and I go WAAAAAY back -- and she is probably one of the COOLEST people that I know - mainly because she's a photographer, but ALSO coz she's COOL! :-) Seriously though, Bajaj basically spent two and a half years studying photography at the Light and Life Academy in Ooty - and has some absolutely FANTASTIC pieces to her name. Just check out her website, it is SOOOO AWESOME! [Yes, I am working on expanding my vocabulary -- until that actually happens, you'll have to deal w/words like AWESOME, COOL and RAD]. Right now she's working on an amazing project - documenting Bangalore, a compilation that is schedule to come out later this year. I can't wait.
To pull this post together, my apologies for random rants and raves ... I'll end in direct response to the purpose of this blog [read at the top of the page!] --- how much of a yankee am I? Well, I do say things like dude [adapted to yaar in India ;)], insist on converting things to dollars every now and again, complain about the crazy traffic ---- however, I have also refrained from eating a cheese burger for almost a month now[ma' dc-peeps have a true understanding of my love of cheeseburgers!], stuck to my seedy joints like punnuswamy's and sukhsagar for replenishment, have been floating on air after some fantastic south indian coffee [aaah heaven], and continue to enjoy Bangalore at its best. So yankee? who me? Eh, the yank's on a break ... check back later!
posted by zai5h at Tuesday, July 05, 2005
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