Dangerous curves ahead...

Seems like the person who was assigned the task of coming up with catchy phrases for the road signs through the Ladakh region did a fabulous job. Not only are you fascinated by the scenery through the drive - majestic mountains, the blue, blue sky, the never ending stream of water; you also get solid entertainment in the form of road signs. Some of the messages are downright sleazy, some funny and some others thought provoking; all of them however do drive home the point - road safety!



Here's a list of some of them, in no particular order. 

- Don't lose your nerves, when you see curves. 
- The enemy of the road - speed, liquor and overload.
- Speed is like a knife that cuts life. 
- Feel the curves, do not test them. 
- Feel the curves, don't hug them. 
- I am curvaceous. Be slow. 
- Driving faster can cause disaster. 
- Be soft on my curves. 
- I love you, but not so fast. 
- A spill, a slip, a hospital trip. 
- If married, divorce speed.
- If engaged, go steady. 
- If single, watch for curves. 

Oneandhaff is sometimes justified.

Oneandhaff is the standard response while engaging in conversation with an auto driver in Bangalore. While it typically irks me and I respond with a "You only go!", or "Have you lost your mind?” there are some trips made that make it worth the oneandhaff. 

A couple of weeks back I sat in an auto that a certain Mr. Waseem rode (Do you drive or ride an auto?). It was one of those pimped up rickshaws with flashing blue and green lights, a music system with speakers that belted out Bollywood music (you could hear it before you could see it) and a small book shelf! The man itself seemed delighted at the prospect of transporting yet another passenger, with whom he could share his personal taste in music and interior decoration. And he was quick and mostly irreverent - THIS IS MY ROAD is what his auto screamed out as it inched its way through traffic. 

On a regular day I would politely ask the aforementioned Waseem Bhai to reduce the volume, so I could listen to music or hear myself think over the cacophony of sounds. On that day however, I couldn't help but note that I was bobbing my head and tapping my feet to the music. For somebody who typically requires several hot drinks to do the needful while standing on two feet, this was certainly a new, never before felt feeling. It was almost as if Mr. Waseem had planned it all, designed his rickshaw so people could dance to his tunes. 

Life lesson learnt - If you can’t beat them, join them... it guarantees ample fun!

So the next time you hear someone tell you "Oneandhaff", please look inside the auto to see if it has pretty lights, music and a book shelf, and a certain Mr. Waseem at the helm, before you scoff, say something nasty and walk away. 

Image Courtesy: http://iyermatter.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/indian-transformers-autorickshawbot/

Animalia

One of the things I really enjoyed doing on my trip to Kashmir was taking pictures of all the animals that we came across. From majestic horses to pot-bellied marmots to birds I couldn't identify to random strays, I was in awe of everything. Here are some of the beauties I met. 

Gulab and Mehendi - Gulmarg

Horses - Gulmarg

Ducks in the water - Nagin Lake, Srinagar

Dog at Tibetan Market - Leh

Oneandaf horned domestic cow - Leh

Goat - Turtuk

Magpies on a wire - Turtuk 

Bactrian Camel - Nubra Valley

Himalayan Marmots - Near Pangong Lake 

Horses - Near Pangong Lake

Duck - Pangong Lake

Surprised Cat - Jalianwalla Bagh, Amritsar

Prelude to Ladakh

When Mark Twain wrote "cheer in every face and a spring in every step", I am certain he not only meant the glorious Sunday that Tom Sawyer and his boys were out to have, but also the feeling when he set out on a journey, long dreamt of, leaving everything else behind. This is exactly how I am feeling at this very moment. 

So after three years of planning and going elsewhere, our Ladakh trip has finally materialised. My girls and I are only a couple of hours away from having to pull out our jackets and caps. Brrrr... the excitement is chilling me! (For those who don't get the pun, it's an old MTV reference). 

So we didn't really have to pull out our jackets and caps for a good part of the holiday. It was bloody hot. 

Here is a picture of Drass. 

It must have been about 30 degrees the day we were there. So much for the warm clothes!

Sharan and The Fat Cat

Everything around me seems to be on pause mode. It's time I pushed the button and moved on. And I turn to Ms. Sharanya Ramprakash for inspiration. 

Sharan is an old friend; I've known her for over 5 years now and I think she's one of the coolest people around. So this week, I shamelessly promote her, so that she will be forced to buy me many, many drinks when I meet her next. 

Sharan is many things. 

rescuer of week old kittens
auteur and actor extraordinaire
funny woman
writer 
drama queen

A couple of months back, Sharan added yet another feather to her already well accomplished cap. She has changed the lives of a good number of children - kids who are in her words, stuck between the pavement and nowhere. In her pretty house in South Bangalore, she teaches them how to draw, write, express and very simply put, be children. She has chronicled her time with them here: http://fatcatfoundation.wordpress.com. It makes for a fantastic read, it has beautiful pictures of little feet and most importantly, it inspires me to want to do more. 

Sharan, I absolutely love how you follow your heart. I think the world needs many more of you. 

Singing songs of freedom

School assembly was always defined by the watchword for the week. Watchword was typically a theme that was selected by a particular class and for the entire week, the class would have to put up a 5 to 10 minute performance sort of thing based on the theme, so as to inspire everybody. The is could be a skit or a reading of quotes or a song, pretty much anything. Even the choir would pick songs that seemed as relevant as possible to the chosen theme. And since I studied in a convent, it was inevitable that the theme was heavily moral laden. 

When I was a young lass in Class 4 B, my class teacher was this wonderful woman called Ms. Hyacinth. (I always wondered why her parents named her after an invasive aquatic weed. Truth be told, I am yet to make sense of it). Nevertheless, she was this petite, short haired and superbly intelligent woman. She was also one of the first people who literally threw me to the sharks to face two of my fears - stage fright and singing in public.  

So it was 4 B's turn to do the watchword for the week and we chose the theme "Freedom". Ms. Hyacinth made sure that as many people as possible got to participate.  I don't recall auditions for these little performances that we had to put up; whether one had talent or not, it was important that everybody got a chance to participate. Some quoted famous sayings, while others wore kurtas and dhotis with neta caps and reenacted the Indian Freedom Struggle. I sang! 

And so arrived one of my finest stage performances. I was made to wear a brown shawl with a yellow beak made of chart paper. I had to move my hands up and down as if imitating the flapping wings of a bird, and walk back and forth on the stage. All this while I belted George Baker's Una Paloma Blanca. 

And for some reason today I remembered how I felt that day. As I started singing, my voice quavered. With each new line, my voice grew stronger and I grew more confident. I also distinctively remember trying to remembering to flap my wings every few seconds, so I would successfully pass off as a bird. It was also one of the first tunes I learnt to play on the piano, with melody and chords. To this day, every time I play it, I try to sing along.  

Everything about that day was perfect. Almost everything actually. The one thing we got wrong was the colour of the shawl - it should have been white for Una Paloma Blanca means "A White Dove" in Spanish. 

For my magic box...

a patch of green from my mother's garden
the moon when it's giving a thin sliver of a smile
the silhouette of a tree on a purple night sky
a giant swing on a lake front 
my still menagerie of animal figures 
chocolates - all sorts
a picture of us by the sea
enough music to last me seventeen decades
the cat and dog to whom i am 'most favourite human'
my bookshelf
a hammock 
brightly coloured flip flops 
my faded and worn out black t-shirt

these are some of the things I want to put away in a box... the box that I will take with me when I leave...