Okay ... I have been silent for a Week now .. Nothing much to blog about; The usual stuff going to the office getting myself imersed in work... So nothing much is happening.
The bright part of last week was my Poole Trip. Prakash my friend from Singapore/India who had come down the previous week to London is in Poole so thought will visit that place.
An excellent country side situated in the south tip of England.
Took the 19:50 Train from Waterloo and reached Poole at around 22:30. Yes a Long ride and iPod was my company all thru the the almost three hours of gruesome travel. Hate to to travel alone.
I had called Prakash when i reached Bournemouth and he promised me that he will be waiting on the platform; and as promised he was there waiting for me.
I was starting to get real hungry and it was the same with prakash (Who was comming back from work). We went to ASDA to purchase some takeaway but unfortunately ASDA takeaways i beleive closes at 22:00 hrs. It was blow and there was no vegie take aways so thought will go to McDonalds; The Blow was that McD and BK both were closed for the day ... In London McD is open till 12:00 in the midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Walked around poole high street searching for a hotel to eat. Nothing was impresive but noticed that there is a steaming night life in Poole.
Finally entered a Balti resturant advertising itself has serving the best Indian Cusine and ironically called the TajMahal. Bought fried rice and Biriyani and walked home.
By the time we reached home i was like dying of hunger. Took a bath (Yes at 12:00 at midnight beacause i felt/smelt like a pig). Heated the food and ate it; Compared to a lot of balti resturants i had been to over the 8 months i have been UK the food here was very good had a sumptous dinner and was soon washing dishes.
Started channel surfing .. Nothing good so went to bed and sunk into my dreams whatever they were ...
Saturday opened up as a cool bright day; We had decided that we will go to Swanage a Sea side city which is supposed to be very good. After reaching the bus stop we noticed that we can get an Explorer Ticket for 6 Pounds each or 11.50 for two which will take is all the way to Bath. Seemed to be a good deal and we shifted the plan to visit Stonehenge instead.
Since the bus to Stonehenge (X3) has one service every hour we had almost 40 mints to kill; so we went to the Dolphin City which is the Super Mall in Poole ;)
Nice mall with all the usal stuff that you find in Oxford Street and Regent Street in london; There was a practice of Christmas caraols and we stood there and listened to that for sometime; One old gentleman who was the conductor the choir was also singing and he had such a good voice that i was blown over. Why dont these people are never highlighted to the public - do they shun publicity or do they never get a chance ???
It was time for the bus to Salisbury - Yes no bus to Stonehenge from Poole; have to go to salisbury and then catch a connecting Bus from there. Reached Salisbury at 13:10 a long ride on the bus almost 2 hrs.
Learnt from customer service at Salisbury bus station that we have the last bus that leaves to stonehenge and it will leave it at 14:00 hrs. Another 50 Mnts to kill so thought of going around Salisbury and finding out a nice resturant to eat.
Our Quest ended at Subway - great Sandwiches fresh and u have Veggie Delight there that is supposedly the best Sandwich i have eaten; It is a shame that there is no subway near my place/office - bought a foot long sandwich with a Tango and Cookies and they disappered within 10 mnts and we started walking back to the Bus station and took the bus to stonehenge.
I would greatly recommend going to Stonehenge in a Bus and sitting on the top of the bus; excellent views and they were very similar to Cotswolds.
Stonehenge finally an excellent place; they have done a great work maintaining the site and it makes me envy these people who charge 5.40 Pounds to get into the site. Why cannt India think something like this for it's heritage site.
There was a audio tour in 6 different languages and me being an Language fanatic took english ;) they explain the marvellous structure.
How dd man do this some 4000 Years ago when he did not have good transportation or tools how did they manage to do this. They have chiseled the stones to hold the top part in place; They say it acted as a time piece and the early man found the season thru this; but it is still a mystery how/why they did this.
Blv me you need atleast 1 Hour and Good sunlight to see this place - will go there once more during summer. It was already late for our bus and we rushed back to the bus - that was the last bus .. managed to catch it and finally we were back in salisbury and our next stop was the salisbury cathedral.
Salisbury cathedral is considered to be the best architectural marvel after St. Pauls Cathedral in London. As was said it was quite impressive; Lot of kings and queens have been inerted here and there was exemplery art work.
The only thing that stuck me as odd was that every King and Queens Statute had their hands joined together in the famous politician "Vanakkam" style. Why is that ? When did the british started doing the "Vanakam" ???
The next stop was to Bournemouth to check the night life ... Came down to bourne mouth at around 18:00 hrs wrong time to be there - blv me it was empty everybody were inside and the street were deserted. Went into a fish and chips and took too large crips and that was the end of our dinner. Crazy it was so bad that it really upset our tummy.
Took the next bus back to Poole; Went to asda got some soups, juice and crisps and went home.
I wanted to eat something so heated the soup - these baxters soups are excellent and i have really got myself hooked to them. They have a wide varitey of vegie soups and every one of them is very low on fat so it is good for your health.
Okay now this will sound crazy but again decided to go to boutrnemouth - had to see the night life there.
Joined a Group of friends there and enetered a Disco - i dont know D of disco so was standing there watching people dance was there till 2:00 in the morning and as usually drolling at the girls.
Took a taxi back home and hit the bed at 4:00 in the morning .. Prakash had to go to the office at 6:30 so went to bed.
Sunday was a very slow day - With all the activity on Saturday we were exhasuted. Walked around the Poole park went to Pizza Hut had a Stumptous meal and then came back to poole and spent the evening talking and then i boarded the train back to london at 19:30 hrs. Came home at 23:00 hrs.
Since it was the noctournal run night london waterloo was bathed in a sea of people wearing noeon track suits.
Had a Great weekend .... :)
Monday, November 29, 2004
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Nothing Much to Blog ...
The Day had been as usual .. Nothing much happened .. Worked Late came home had the usual junk ... Tallied all my accounts with MS Money; Another excellent software recently upgraded to Money 2005 - not so impressive but still have to be at the latest version.
Maybe there will be more to blog tomorrow ..
Cheers !!!!
Maybe there will be more to blog tomorrow ..
Cheers !!!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Changing Faces of politicians
I am not sure why people do that but the last statement from karunanidi was like he had forgotten everything he was talking about the Acharya and Shankara Mutt.
My friend who is a doctor in Great Yarmouth pointed me towards this article in Rediff where karunandi is now throwing all blame on J.J and proclaiming the Acharya has god incarnate. This was the same man who two weeks back said that police have done a heroic job and the Hindu endowment board should now take over the working of the Shankara Mutt and distribute the wealth among the poor. I am not sure if he knows that the Mutt runs more Homes for the Poor and Supports more poor than any other NGO.
All said and done what ever maybe the outcome i feel the Acharya has to step down from his auspicious post as the caretaker of the Mutt and hand it over to the able hands of the Junior acharya. As Cho Ramaswamy told the police will not be taking this kind of a drastic move until they are very sure that they have pinned down evidence against the acharya.
Anyways time to sign off - It has been a long day... Awaiting my vacation.
PS: My NYC plans are on the rocks at the moment :(
My friend who is a doctor in Great Yarmouth pointed me towards this article in Rediff where karunandi is now throwing all blame on J.J and proclaiming the Acharya has god incarnate. This was the same man who two weeks back said that police have done a heroic job and the Hindu endowment board should now take over the working of the Shankara Mutt and distribute the wealth among the poor. I am not sure if he knows that the Mutt runs more Homes for the Poor and Supports more poor than any other NGO.
All said and done what ever maybe the outcome i feel the Acharya has to step down from his auspicious post as the caretaker of the Mutt and hand it over to the able hands of the Junior acharya. As Cho Ramaswamy told the police will not be taking this kind of a drastic move until they are very sure that they have pinned down evidence against the acharya.
Anyways time to sign off - It has been a long day... Awaiting my vacation.
PS: My NYC plans are on the rocks at the moment :(
Monday, November 22, 2004
Weekend @ Greewich
The weekend just went past in a whiz. Prakash my mate from NIIT Mylapore and who was with me in Singapore was here on project work. Went around with him to places in London. The Weather was a killer but still managed to get along to a lot of places.
Nostalgic memories when i took him around Buckingham Palace and Greenwich where i had gone to with my parents when they were here on their way to US of A.
Apart from those nostalgic memories myself and Prakash had a wonderful time. As usual had an harrowing time on the tube; There were a few lines on the network that were working. Not sure why they want to do their work on a weekend and not during the night time.
Though the weather was a bit pissy there was no shortage of tourists and buckingham palace as usual was over-crowded. People just keep waiting in front of the palace; maybe to see the queen but one has to understand that the queen resides in Windsor Castle and seldom visits the buckingham palace.
Anyways coming back to the title of my post; Greenwich - one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen in a city. Located just minutes from the city the vast expanse of greenery and unspoiled vegetation makes this place an all-time favorite for me. Greenwich houses the National Maritime museum and the Royal Observatory home of the Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian Line. You will get stunning views of Canary Wharf from near the Cutty Sark. Don't forget to snap it up on your next Visit; Photos soon to come.
The funny part of the Royal Observatory is that though the entry is free they issue tickets and one person sits and checks those tickets. Maybe they want to keep track of the number of people visiting the royal observatory; but they could have done something innovative, the English being the inventors.
The Other thing inside that museum is the impressive display of the Clocks that were built by the British for their travel in sea.
Greenwich is also the home of the University of Greenwich; Planning to do a course there more on that another day.
Apart from Greenwich the next thing that we did over the weekend was eat two buffets.
Chennai Dosa; The best restaurant i have eaten in London that serves Authentic Indian/South Indian food. Unlike the bangladeshi joints that do their oily British style dishes.
Chennai dosa has opened a new Vegetarian restaurant that servers a Breakfast Buffet, Lunch and Dinner Buffets. It is real excellent and highly recommended. Please book a seat before you venture to that place on weekends.
It was a great weekend had loads of fun. Thanks to Prakash and Bala sir for that.
Nostalgic memories when i took him around Buckingham Palace and Greenwich where i had gone to with my parents when they were here on their way to US of A.
Apart from those nostalgic memories myself and Prakash had a wonderful time. As usual had an harrowing time on the tube; There were a few lines on the network that were working. Not sure why they want to do their work on a weekend and not during the night time.
Though the weather was a bit pissy there was no shortage of tourists and buckingham palace as usual was over-crowded. People just keep waiting in front of the palace; maybe to see the queen but one has to understand that the queen resides in Windsor Castle and seldom visits the buckingham palace.
Anyways coming back to the title of my post; Greenwich - one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen in a city. Located just minutes from the city the vast expanse of greenery and unspoiled vegetation makes this place an all-time favorite for me. Greenwich houses the National Maritime museum and the Royal Observatory home of the Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian Line. You will get stunning views of Canary Wharf from near the Cutty Sark. Don't forget to snap it up on your next Visit; Photos soon to come.
The funny part of the Royal Observatory is that though the entry is free they issue tickets and one person sits and checks those tickets. Maybe they want to keep track of the number of people visiting the royal observatory; but they could have done something innovative, the English being the inventors.
The Other thing inside that museum is the impressive display of the Clocks that were built by the British for their travel in sea.
Greenwich is also the home of the University of Greenwich; Planning to do a course there more on that another day.
Apart from Greenwich the next thing that we did over the weekend was eat two buffets.
Chennai Dosa; The best restaurant i have eaten in London that serves Authentic Indian/South Indian food. Unlike the bangladeshi joints that do their oily British style dishes.
Chennai dosa has opened a new Vegetarian restaurant that servers a Breakfast Buffet, Lunch and Dinner Buffets. It is real excellent and highly recommended. Please book a seat before you venture to that place on weekends.
It was a great weekend had loads of fun. Thanks to Prakash and Bala sir for that.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Why Me ?
Received this in a mail from my friend J.V. Balaji [No Blog so No Link].
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of CANCER. From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed :
"Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
The world over -- 5 crore children start playing tennis, 50 lakh learn to play tennis, 5 lakh learn
professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbeldon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?". And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?"
Happiness keeps u Sweet,
Trials keep u Strong,
Sorrow keeps u Human,
Failure Keeps u Humble,
Success keeps u Glowing,
But only God Keeps u Going.
Friday, November 19, 2004
VishwaThulasi by Sumathy Ram
A few weeks back - before i started bloging - i saw VishwaThulasi; actually saw it twice; an excellent movie well written script and a slow moving touching performance by Nandita Das & Mamooty.
Thought there is nothing much to the story and me converting myself into a small screen freak after i landed myself in UK; i was easily able to guess the plot and the story.
Why did i see it twice ?
For the music. [& ofcourse Nandita Das]
Awesome performance by the Legends Illayaraja and MSV [Should it be said the other way]. Every song is a gem both for the music and the lyrics. The titles told that the lyrics have been written by Sumathy Ram and Illayaraja. Again the maestro proving himself to be versatile.
It is a shame that this kind of music/film is not appreciated by many people; that explains why it did not feature itself in any of the Top 10's in SunTV. Not sure of the other channels as i am only blessed to watch suntv and ktv in UK ;)
The other funny part is my favorite Online Music page has not put this movie. There is only a review of the movie; Interested to read it click here.
Hats off to Sumathy Ram and the team [which goes unnamed] on this classic piece of art they have produced.
I am eagerly awaiting the video cassette release of Morning
Ragaa another Musical masterpiece.
Will keep u posted on that.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mahalakshmi Temple @ East Ham, London
I have been going to the Mahalakshmi Temple at EastHam for almost all the Pradosham's after coming to UK; Pradosham is done quite well though i miss the Pradosham in Kapaleeshwarar Kovil i am happy that i am able to make it to the temple and see the Abishekam.
Never noticed it all the while until my father pointed out to me that bang opposite the kovil is a Funeral Home used by Muslims. Was quite surprised... A funeral Home or a Mayana Bhumi is supposed to be well outside the City and here it is .. Bang in the Centre on the High Street of East Ham. There are houses all around the funeral home. Gives me the creeps to even think about staying in those houses.
Okay okay .. I am not superstitious and all but i have heard my fair amount and read a fair amount of books on this and i believe that there is a lot of reason for keeping the Mayana Bhumi outside the city or in places where there is not much habitation.
To know more about pradosham and read the meaning of Rudram and Chamakam in the English visit this site.
[shameless advert mode on]
An Excellent site which i came across when i created this entry in Wikipedia.
[shameless advert mode off]
Subashitha
There are several slokas in Sanskrit which are called "Subashitha" meaning "good saying".
Quoting one of them below:-
"Gathanu gathiko loka,
Na jana paramarthana,
Sethor saikatha lingena,
Nashtam me thamra bhajanam"
which means
"People follow in the track by which another one goes.
Without understanding the true reason,
By making the sand Linga in Rameswaram,
I lost my copper vessel"
There is a story behind this Subashitha
Once a very learned pundit went to Rameswaram alone to take bath in the sea. He had a copper vessel with him.While going to take bath he kept the vessel on the shore and covered it with sand in the form of Linga so that he can identify the spot quickly, Other people watching this well known Pundit thought that this must be a sacred rite.So each of them rushed to the nearby shop, purchased a copper pot, kept it on the sand and made sand lingam over it. When the pundit
returned after the bath he saw only rows of sand lingams and naturally could not identify his pot. Thus he lost it.
Inspite of thousands of years even today this Subashitha is very much true.
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