Guru Hitched

Had a wonderful trip to Hospet...what was the occasion you may think, that was Gurudutt, a close friend of mine getting MARRIED!!. ...it was really a kind of shock that came to us when he did inform 2 months back. How the days rolled by well I just kept wondering. There was this hectic task for us...wondering what "what do u present this guy". At last we zeroed on a one small thing with acceptance of everybody. Now comes the biggest part of this, organize get everybody for this. Boy that was really tiresome!!! Kudos to the contact info maintained by the shorty Pramod and getting on everybody's nerve for this (with a little...and i mean little support from DON!). Days rolled by and at last after some taunting text messages.. Things started to roll by. All set and ready to go...oops! Forgot the camera...really an important thing to capture all those wonderful moments. It was the day we were supposed to leave ...it was 8 PM and time was ticking very fast I had not been home yet. Thanks to some good driving by the auto driver and his timely usage of the shortcut routes I finally managed to get home on time.

The moment to depart to Hospet had finally arrived. Phones were ringing constantly “man you ready? Have you started? Have you taken everything?” It was decided that it would be Pramod, Chetan and Dharmlingiah (DG) and me who would be making to wedding. Tickets were reserved to avoid last moment rush. I reached the bus station and the gang joins me there. Lol! What do we have DON is coming too. Lucky the seats were available. Hence started our journey to Hospet. Next stop HOSPET. I woke up at approx. 6 am to know that we were only a few KM from reaching. Others started to wake up too. Calls were made to the groom and our stay was arranged at Mallige. After a good Poori aka Puri (an Indian dish) session in a restaurant we started off to Mallige. The reception was not to start till late in the evening. We had the day till evening. Here our DG played the host. Crash landed at his uncle’s home. After a great insist from his aunt had a wonderful breakfast. A typical breakfast in the North Karnataka style and Capsicum bajji’s (Indian name for fries) 

After borrowing the car from his uncle we dashed off to Tungabhadra dam. Now that was a place worth visiting. We had a good time there looking at the majestic view of the dam and the area surrounding it. We also happened to walk up till the circuit house all the way till the top. Man were dead tired there but was really a worth with some lighter moments there. Well then it was back to the hotel to get ready for day 1. Got ready completely and off we dashed to Kampli. This place is now around 30 Km from Hospet. A rich agricultural land, full of green fields a typical village atmosphere. The road along is pleasure to those eyes, coming straight out of the concrete jungle. a visual treat. On the way to Kampli you pass by Hampi (which is a renowned UNESCO recognized heritage site).

There we were at the place and our guy was in the middle of some ceremony that was taking place. Boy was he excited that day and the face had a glow never seen before. After the rituals and the tiring photography session his dad handed him over to us. Here were we into action; task: get the groom ready. All at once jumped to task and got him trimmed and all set for the occasion. There look at that proud moment we all shared after getting our man ready for part-I of his big moment. 

Post the function back we started to Hospet after a good dinner that night. Tomorrow was the day for our man and we would not want to miss a single moment of this. That night saw the arrival of some more boys, Bharath, Arun Mankani and Srikanth Katti. After a good night’s sleep, again were we ready to take off for the main day.

The next day’s entire journey had discussions from the college days (definitely feeling nostalgic here) - the workshop, the classes, the hostel days. There we were again at the place for the wedding. Here we were joined by a gang of lot many others. There was Ramesh Bhavi, Manjunath Bangali, Prashanth Lagubagi and Basavareddy. Had a nice time, old friends meeting after a very long time. The wedding was for sure held in the most splendid way. Thrilled were all we to be part of our good friend’s wedding. Wishing the new couple it was then time to say good bye to all once again before departing to Bangalore.

Bond…James Bond

James Bond is back with SKYFALL. Yes I am talking about the new movie in the James Bond movie line up – SKYFALL. James Bond is known for his 3G’s – Gadgets, Girls and Guns has always entertained the audience on these 3 fronts. Many reviews have come after the movie. Many have felt disappointed for this movie does not have much of Bond’s trademark 3 G’s. If you got to understand this movie a little background about the Bond story is definitely needed. An avid James Bond follower would definitely know this.

About the actor

For a die-hard Bond fan if you have followed all the Bond franchisee religiously you would definitely be entertained and happy to know that Daniel Craig has played the role of a maturing James Bond here. As a heads up to those who read this, all the Bond series featuring Daniel Craig as James Bond shows how the James Bond we know was made. Simply putting it this way – Daniel Craig played the role of James Bond in the making. If you got this fact right then you would definitely enjoy the movie. Let’s talk about the movie now.

Sky fall

The past of M is back to haunt her and the entire MI6 is under attack – its agents who have infiltrated are being exposed – MI6 building is bombed. Can James Bond come to the rescue and restore MI6’s glory back?

The movie begins with Bond trying to meet one of the MI6 agents who was murdered. His laptop is severely damaged and hard disk stolen which contains information about all the secret service agents in hiding and those who have infiltrated the terrorist organizations. This leads to a chase, with Bond trying to catch the assassin with the help of another fellow agent Eve. MI6 is on the line and keeps feeding her with instructions. The assassin and Bond jump on a train and a fight begins. The MI6 agent who was with Bond gets herself ready to shoot the assassin, is however not sure of taking her shot as she is afraid that she may hit Bond. M orders her to take the shot and she hits Bond – who falls from the train into a river. The assassin waves at her thanking her for letting him escape with the hard disk. Bond is declared killed in action.

Back in London “M” is questioned by the Government and pressurized for a forced retirement, to which she declines stating that she would face the enquiry rather than quitting. The PM appoints Gareth Mallory –ex IRA to ensure a smooth transition. On her way to M gets to know that MI6 office is attacked by a computer hacker. The trace leads that the computer used to hack was none another than M’s own computer at her office. This is followed by a blast in the MI6 office killing some agents. This completely shocks M.

Bond who survived the fall from the train is uses the opportunity to lead an incognito life. He learns of the attack on MI6 from a news broadcast. M after a long day at office returns home to find Bond at her home. Bond and M have a conversation, after which Bond is reassigned to work with MI6. Bond then arrives at the new make shift MI6 HQ, which was an underground barrack used by Churchill in WW. Mallory insists that Bond should first pass the regular tests to prove his fitness level. During one of the tests bond realizes that the shoulder injury he received from his fall from the train is excessive. He cuts the wound to remove some shrapnel’s and sends it for some tests. Bond in a meeting with M and Mallory is informed that he has passed the tests and is given the assignment to find about the latest mystery clouding MI6. Bond is informed that the same assassin who attacked Bond earlier is in Shanghai. Bond then meets the new Quartermaster – this is scene where James Bond as a character meets ‘Q’ for the first time. Q hands him his gadgets or toys as he calls them as usual. This time there are only 2 – a radio transmitter and a gun which only Bond can fire as it has been configured to his palm prints.

Bond leaves for Shanghai and tracks the assassin down. The assassin during one of his mission kills a man before involving in a scuffle with Bond. The assassin is killed by fall from the building before Bond gets to know who his employer was. Bond finds 2 things here – a chip from a Casino and observes a girl at the place where the target was assassinated. Bond goes to the Casino, with Eve present there. He cashes the chip only to run into the girl he saw earlier. He tries to befriend her – to learn her name is Severine. She warns Bond, that the only way to get her is to kill her employer and she would wait for him at her boat. Bond begins to leave but is attacked by the goons, whom he over powers together with Eve. Severine and Bond reach an island – their target destination, however are captured. Meanwhile M receives a message stating some MI6 agent’s secret identity will be revealed. The assassination videos of those agents are then released worldwide. Severine and Bond are taken to different locations. Here Bond meets the main antagonist – Raoul Silva. Bond learns that Silva was a former MI6 agent who went rogue and is responsible for all the recent attacks on MI6. Silva informs Bond that he (Bond) had failed all the tests, to be only passed by M overruling all the decisions. He then takes Bond for a test to showcase his skills. The target is Severine. Bond fails to hit the glass on her head; Silva does hit the target and also kills Severine. Silva begins to celebrate only to show Bond how incompetent he is. Bond seizes the opportunity to kill all of Silva’s men and mentioning to Silva that he has activated a Radio transponder. The military arrive and arrest Silva. It is revealed here that Bond failed the test on purpose to thrown Silva off guard as he had previously hacked MI6 and had all the access to MI6 computers. Silva is taken to London, all are happy to learn that the man behind the attack is captured. During his meeting with M, Silva reveals how M betrayed him for 6 other agents when he was the best. He tried to kill himself by using cyanide, only which did not kill him, but left him with scars on his face. Q tries to check what was in Silva’s computer. He connects the computer to the network only to learn that this was all part of Silva’s plan. Silva had bettered the technology created by Q and by connecting the computer to MI6 network he has killed the security system of MI6. His capture and coming to London was all part of Silva’s plan. Silva escapes using an underground and reaches a tube station. His men waiting there help him with a uniform. Q tries to track Silva, with Bond chasing him. Q finds that Silva has disguised as a Police officer. Bond chases Silva who throws him off the track with the bomb causing a local tube train to crash and Bond escaping before being hit.

Meanwhile M is facing an enquiry by the British Government involving the recent attacks on MI6 and her handling of the situation. Silva is on his way to kill her and reaches the building. A fight starts between Silva’s men and MI6. Mallory and Eve rescue all the government officials. Mallory is shot in the arm. Bond causes Silva and his men to retreat. Bond takes M away. He switches his car from M’s Jaguar to his classic Aston Martin (This was one of my favorite part of the movie and perfect tribute to the first Bond Movie as it was the same car used 50 years ago). Bond takes M to SKYFALL, his childhood home. Here he meets the game keeper. Silva’s men are all killed by Bond, M and the game keeper. Silva arrives in his chopper with more men. Bond sends M and the game keeper away from the house using the secret tunnel in the house that leads to the chapel. Silva drops some grenades in to the house. Bond then uses an existing Cylinder and a dynamite to bring down Silva’s chopper. He uses the tunnel to escape. Meanwhile, Silva notes a torch light far away to learn that M has escaped. He decides to follow them, but waits for Bond mid-way. He confronts Bond with his only man left on a frozen lake. Bond takes them off, by shooting the ice and killing Silva’s last man. Silva meanwhile makes his way to the chapel and forces his gun into M's hand where he begs her to kill them both. Bond reaches in time to kill Silva with a Knife only to learn that M has been wounded mortally. M dies in Bonds arm leaving behind an emotional Bond. Bond comes back to London, where Eve meets him on a roof top and hands him a statue of Bull dog that M left for him. They both formally introduce themselves. Eve introduces herself as Eve Money Penny and she is taking a desk job reiterating Bond’s earlier remarks that field duty is not meant for all. Bond reports for duty at MI6 with Mallory as the new M and getting his next assignment. The stage is now all set for Dr. No and the James Bond that we know.

En route….Gokarna

Day 1 - Planning

Ideas come in all sizes and about weird things…. One such, knocked at us in Oct, 07…Lets run to Gokarna every one beckoned. The most tough task was ahead..who are the members for the trip. Then the counting started with me, Jose, Sangeeta, Pappu, Kiran, Nishag, Pinky, Vanmathi and then there were bridge people. Journey started started at 5 in the morning….the trip took us through Arsikere,Bhadravathi….and there was Sagar. Its impossible that you come to Sagar and get away without visiting the Jog. So after a lunch and a session of Pan we found ourselves heading to Jog falls which was never the part of our plan. A little detour accepted. 

There it was the breathtaking view at the Jog falls. Now after taking a good look at this amazing place we were back on our way to our real destination…GOKARNA. After a going through the curvy routes we managed to get there at 10 in the night. Dead tired from the journey everyone just slept deciding to wake up early in the morning.

Day 2…encounter with the nature's beauty at Gokarna Beach 

The sun was really golden at that hour in the morning. Well describing our journey till here really made me forget to give the name of the exact location; this was OM beach. Overlooking the Arabian Sea on the Konkan Coast is the town of Gokarna, 12 Km from the Gokarna town is Om beach and is easily accessible by road. The beach is in the shape of OM (as in Sanskrit) which gives the beach its name. There is a small lodge on this beach which is real good. Back to my description of the journey, we hit the beach in the early morning, finishing the morning watch of the sunrise then it was time for some fun in the water. Splashing water, diving in it, waiting for the waves to through us to the shore man it was really an awesome place. 

Water water everywhere, lots of fun we had over there. It was time to bid adios to this place which was really feast to the eyes to continue with our next part of the journey to Murudeshwar. Hey but stop what after the fun at the beach…it was breakfast time. Hot mash potatoes with mushrooms and lemon tea, yummy. It was time to leave this beautiful place, with the beauty of the beach leaving a lasting impression and fade away from our sight as we continued our journey. Next stop Murudeshwar. Oops !! how about a group snap…and click there we had it. 

Day 2 ...extended trip

Murudeshwar is a small town located on the west coast, well known for its statue of Lord Shiva and the temple right on the shore. On reaching this place, the first thing that we did was took a small boat ride. The view of the statue that we got from here was real good. Standing in front of this gigantic figure makes you really look small. The beach here wasn't real good as the Om beach. After the visits to the temple it was dinner time. There was a big table set for us and then the feast began. After this heavy dinner it was time to return. 

Well a trip that is to last in our memories for ever. Well just the trip and the fun here makes it more memorable…na I don’t think so. Well for the desert what do we have. Tring …tring a phone call from Bangalore….Hurray Pinkly and me got promoted….then the rest as all say “it time for some celebration and congratulate me”. I knew what was coming ahead. “Its time for some bump’s.” Got that badly all courtesy of Jose and Pappu. Well started our voyage back to where we all belonged home sweet home Bangalore.

Shivaganga – our one weekend getaway

One Saturday night....now normally stories begin this way. October 2nd was just another day at home, when my old buddy Sujnan decided to call me and soon after a very short conversation he landed at my place. The talk soon turned out to a discussion to a weekend getaway. Google to rescue and Shivaganga was shortlisted. Sreeja was told about the plan and there we had a third member. All was decided to start at 7:30 in the morning –Sujnan to pick us up and drive us. Within an hour the time was moved up to 8:30 (with Sreeja being made responsible for makeup activities courtesy Sujnan). Then the 8:30 moved to 9:30. And from 9:30 it did not change. So at last we did start, taking the NICE road headed towards our destination. Passing by couple of toll booths, we nearly missed the turn to Shivaganga. Thanks to Sujnan who spotted the signboard just in time.

As we neared we started to feel hungry. The hunger made us realize that we had missed breakfast as we had planned to start early. The chakkali I carried suddenly started to taste really good. We reached our destination and after parking the car had a few photo sessions. Kick started our task, food hunt. This began with some tender coconut and some purchase of water bottles which we forgot to get from our homes. After climbing the initial steps we reached the main temple of Gangadhareshwara. This is a nice small temple on the hill top dedicated to Lord Shiva. The best part of the temple is you would see Ghee converting to butter here. Any visitor to Shivaganga must see this. A real treat to the eyes. Buy tickets for the pooja here, this would make it easy for you to get the better view of the deity and the change process of ghee. The ticket costs you around Rs. 100 /- The complete pooja took around 45 min (approx.). During this time Sujnan made his way out from as it was very hot in the temple and thanks to the power outage. We managed to get the best glimpses of the Ghee to Butter changing phenomenon. After collecting all the Prasad we did not waste any time in finishing it. Thus began our journey uphill. Following the path way up the hill to the place where you get water way up the hill. The good part of the walk uphill is there are many stalls set up by the local people where you could pick up some soft drinks, water, cucumbers. The only sad part of it is there is no proper place to dump the waste, so people dump it on the way obviously making the place dirty.

Some cucumbers really made us feel better and fill us with some energy to continue on our voyage. On reaching the top we got to know that that this is another place which the visitors would not miss. En route in the temple we realized that we need to walk in the water, which was really cold and makes you feel good if you have travelled in the sun all the way up. Then came the point where you are supposed to put your hand in a small hole where you could feel the water bubbling up and going down. As the locals say you get water in your hand you are saint and all your wicked deeds are washed away else......

So were we the saints, did we get our sins washed away, well nobody knows that but yes we all managed to get water in our hands. After this the way to come out is a real fun you would have to crawl your way out or stay low. After the tiresome journey up we decided to hit the road and make our way home. The climb down the hill was good as we also managed to get the glimpse of the view from the hill top. Tired and hungry we managed to reach Bangalore very soon. And then a small brunch at Anand Bhavan. Dropping Sreeja home we managed to catch on some of our old day stories, what were the days and so on. After a short stay at her place it was time to bid adios to all and make our self-way back to our sweet home and feel the Monday blue’s and think returning to work the next day.

Travel Tip: 

· For travelers from Bangalore after Nelamangala watch on the left side you would see a big petrol station. Keep a watch for the board on your left after this. You won’t see it coming.

· Eat light – you will have to climb up the hill, carry water, careful with the camera as there are lot of monkeys in the vicinity of the temple. Start early to avoid walking in the heat.

Matheran…… Nature’s beauty preserved

Matheran……not a familiar destination for people who haven’t been to this part of Maharashtra. It is nested in one of beautiful Khandala ghat region. For people who are really tired of their daily routine…this place is a real and a quick getaway. A beautiful little place is an hour’s journey from Bombay by train. Get on to any train that goes to NERUL; yes that’s the station you will have to alight to get to Matheran. For spending a good part of the day here start early from Bombay. 

Travel facts: Board a train from Mumbai – it’s the fastest way to get there.

A bird’s eye view of the place is seen as the train approaches Nerul station. The amazing silence here makes you wonder are you really away from those crazy vehicles and the large crowd that you see every day around you?. You can hire a taxi till the top of the hill, beyond which vehicles are a strict NO. During summer you also take a toy train till the parking place, which also is a smooth but slow ride, giving you the utmost view of the place.

Travel Facts: “no vehicles allowed beyond a certain point. How do you continue? A good trekking experience or simply get a horse”

From the point that you will alight from the taxi / train, the real experience of Matheran begins. Get a horse (that should cost you around 300 /- a horse – one way recommended – price as in 2008) unless you feel the urge for a long trek. Our journey (Sudipto, Vishal, Yatna, Bharat, Aatish, Sowmik and Me) to Matheran started at 7 am with rains expected anytime. On reaching the point it was rain rain everywhere. We bought some make shift rain coats available ready at the stores there. From here the horseback ride started. The horses here were named after some famous sports personalities like Dhoni, Ganguly, Sachin and so on. The guide who would accompany you with the horses is the best reliable man who would show you around. We were shown a couple of different places around where each view is different. 

Travel tip: Be gentle to the horses as many are siblings and their feelings are easily hurt…..that’s a personal experience.

There is a mall stream of water flowing through Matheran as seen from different places changes its size. After a journey of close to 3 hours and some good tea sessions in between we stopped for a little long where we reached a place and had a good look at the stream that we saw earlier, wondering if it was the same thin stream that we were looking at the top of the hill. After a tiresome journey it was time to make our trip back to the base camp. We paid around Rs 50 /- per horse as an addition for the wonderful ride, the guide was kind enough to get biscuits out of the money only for the horses and not pocket them. After a good round of vadapaav, onion pakoda and Mirchi bajji’s and chai it was time to get back. Two and a half hours later Bombay was in sight and the journey ended.

Me

Here I am, this is me..quoting Bryan Adams from his 2002 hit. I am Sanjay Shenoy and this my blog, where I just word out the some thoughts of my mind. 

Who am I?
I am one among you, but like all of you and like any other human being on this lonely planet, I do put on many hats. So when asked I put together it in this way - a son, a student, brother, an uncle, an employee, a friend and much more and some in the making. Being Human is more important then being a human being.

Some thing more about me 

I was raised in Bangalore. Had a lovely childhood, amma and anu (mom and dad) in Konkani have been by world. Listening to those many stories from them ranging from mythology, those with morals, those from their everyday work, geography, stories about the different places, festivals we celebrate and the most important story called ...life. 

I grew up a in a little artistic way, studied Bharatanatyam for 7 years long years, which was a life experience. Made me look at life in an artistic way. The school, the college, different phases of life events - make friends, have fun with them, laugh cry with them, some of them you may never meet, meet new people, read many things, set new priorities, travel, again meet some more people. The experience with making it to the car festivals, the navaratri processions, made it to mingle with lot of friends and cousins. The cricket matches, lagori, football, the rains, the cycle, oh the list is endless. Then there were and are exploring new ventures, with a job. Sought to seek travel and visit many unexplored places – Kudremukh, Mysore, Gokarna, Hyderabad, Mysore, Madikeri, Hampi, Bijapur, Karwar, and the list goes on. Events and fests like the Mysore Dussehra, Mangalore Car Festival, Bangalore Kadlekai Parishe & Avarekaalu Mela, experience underwater diving, awesome ones.

My blogs are about 
They are about many things. I am not an avid blogger. I blog on various topics and thoughts are not limited to a specific topics. I did not know or enjoy the blogging experience till I started it. The experience is really different.

What can you do?
Oh yes..you can contribute too. Got an idea or a thought...share it lets blog together