New play area at Rachenahalli Lake

24th March 2019,

My toddlers being 2 years now, suffer from enochlophobia currently. The constricted park space crammed with large number of children somewhat makes them timid. Consequently, they are hesitant to step into the playing arena located at the main gate of Rachenahalli lake. Today's visit we chose the other gate which is relatively desolated than the main gate. It also has the best landscape views during the Sunset and expansive view of lake scene. As we moved further along the promenade, we were surprised by the presence of children play area newly constructed at the location. I was literally elated. Why?! because now I can eschew the main gate and enter from the north gate which would satisfy both my landscape thirst and children's play requirement. Unlike the play area at front gate, this one is not quite easily reachable. The new play area is at a distance from the gate which is negative for many visitors :D. Now, there is no need to compete for those cradles, seesaw and slides. They love swaying on the bird, and fish springers

We have a minor disadvantage though. The play area surface is covered of red soil. The sprinklers which are laid nearby extend their length to play area while watering the plants. If the watering time coincides with playtime, the mire makes it impossible to smoothly go around and play. It is disgusting while playing slides and seesaw. Hope authorities consider these aspects while carrying out daily watering.

It's new peaceful play area for children with little contention. Simultaneously I can enjoy in my old play area of landscape photography! These were the pictures captured during leisure walk on same day.

Teasing Clouds

Its raining sweat here at the coast. The icky weather is unbearable especially in towns. The pre monsoon rains are absconding and clouds are just passing by. Like contestant in fashion show, they are just floating over the sky, displaying their intensity but without any condensation. These were heavy clouds flying over the divine shri krishna math at udupi. Unfortunately, not a pinch of rain fell on the ground and thus teasing the perspired body. These clouds also aggravate ground temperature increasing the agony of people. Hopefully, the divinity interferes and rains pound the region soon. I was just hoping if we had mighty wall to dissipate those clouds and dissolve their ego. Wait a minute, the nature does not have ego, its we humans who cull the sources of rain. May be the divine lord is foreboding us on possible consequences this year?

Clouds just flaunting their might without a single drop. All you can see is downpour of saline drops from human beings.

Throughout the day, the atmosphere was gloomy but no signs of rain. The sweltering weather is unrelenting. The presence of cloud band is just exacerbating the pesky weather

With Fani cyclone fanning out its might with heavy speed and heavy rains, its still sweat here in coast. The influence of the cyclone did not have any impact in our region and its sweat unabated.

You are not alone

This is picture of visitor at someshwara beach near kundapura seated over boulders in a meditating position. Perhaps he was meditating over sea tides or benevolent nature or Lord shiva or golden horizon or it is just that he was basking under tender evening sun enjoying tropical breeze alongside. The silky waves glistened by evening sun was marvellous to behold. The scene was serene and tides were gentle. Being my maiden visit, I engaged myself loafing along the shoreline for those alluring captures than engaging in meditation.

Back to subject line! The essence of this post is not to dwell on inconsequential matter as what the beholder was upto. A landscape admirer/visitor in g+ landscape photography (no more alive) forum entitled the picture as "you are not alone". I was elated and felt befitting to the picture. Also it is appropriate to my circumstance. I love nature as well find it as companion when I am alone. Walking on the dunes of sea, treading over the path of woods, beholding those golden hour sun, dancing with the palms, dabbling with river hinterland, I never felt alone. These energizers bring back the charm in life. The time with the nature is to chase your blues away and not brag in social media.

Awaiting Pre-Monsoon rains

We have relatively bleak pre monsoon spells vis a vis bygone years. The summer is hot, the vegetation is arid. The wells have tanked and spattering of water is restricted to flowering plants. Today evening i set out with heavy perspiration hoping to beat sweltering weather to capture interesting shots.

As expected, nothing interesting cropped up except for palm shots. The tall coconut trees grouped together were the only hopes. I grabbed them as i could see with mobile camera. The nrw greens and blue skies provide fabulous tonal contrast alluring landscape photographer. There were patchy clouds  but not enough to motivate me due to severe haze. Couple more spells of rain would have been made dear to capture with sun rays seeping through clouds.

We had spell of rain with gusty winds a week back. But that is nowhere enough to turn brown to green. The wells can hardly raise with the smidgen rain but enough to cater needs of plants for a week. The plants under the umbrella of palms can sustain the wrath of sun for a while if the rains pour for 30 mins. We need some more though to survive the torching May Sun.

Even this guy was screaming hard. There weren't any green beneath his tethered region. He desperately wanted to move away but there isn't anywhere.

The only fruit in abundance nowadays. The mangoes are not yet ripe. The pineapple and its juice is the only saviour to curtail humid weather for now.

There are greens but only where there is water flow. These grow nearby the tank where excess water overflows momentarily after filling to neck.

Kent purifier replacement with local brand

After the existing KENT purifier drove me nuts for 3 long years, I finally threw the product out of my house. Yes, the most frustrating product ever I had with literally no service from company. There were many reasons to replace this junk which eventually led to tossing it out of my house. Chucking out this crap was quite easy as it was heavy on my pocket due to its frequent maintenance. The apartment being dependent on borewell water, needs decent purifier to render the water potable. In North Bangalore, the purifier is must. I do not trust bottle cans now. Public water dispenser is yet another choice but frequent visits to fill the water was out of scope. Hence water purifier was mandatory in my case.

The first choice and one of the worst choice I made was to buy KENT. Below are the non exhaustive list of agonies which finally led me to pay homage to this crap.

Poor service:

This is worst part. Whenever I called the person, he never responded on time. Only after pestering him frequently, he used to step inside the house to check. Every time, the bill was minimum Rs.500/-. One day I was so much furious that I asked him to take away the morbid box. He later assured of timely assistance in case of issues.

Unfortunately, he did not even provide the first year free service. Even I was not attentive on this.

Frequent repairs:

Some other way, this guy was falling sick often. I guess in total, I have spent more than price of the equipment for repair.

First water leakage:

Post 3 months of installation, the internal pipelines started leaking affecting the electrical circuitry and sensors. It was only after 3-4 working days, the part was repaired.

Frequent sensor malfunctioning

The sensor is vital part in triggering automatic motor shutdown. Most of the times these sensors were malfunctioning which overwhelmed the buffer container. Fortunately, we noticed this early and manually cut off power lines. The sensors were also not triggering when the water in container dipped below the mark

Recently 5k spent on overhaul but no use

Recently I spent on membrane replacement and full filter replacement. 3 months later, the purifier back to older sick state.

Pathetic motor:

The motor becomes sick often and lose potential to quickly fill up after. Sometimes we had wait for 2 hrs to completely fill the tank.

Expensive parts:

The part costs are inflated being branded company.

Switching to local brand

The aforesaid miseries led me to choose a cheaper local brand which was costing half the price as KENT. My sister had local brand which was functioning smoothly from long time and dispensing potable water better than KENT. The kent costs 16k while the brand I was about install was costing 8.5k. It is named as NOVA. The equipment comes with similar casing as KENT and has RO+UV chambers.

The installer claimed that all parts are branded. The only difference is, the parts are assembled and marketed by local guys. He promised 3 free services and quick on demand repair assistance (Has shared number and reachable over WhatsApp as well). The equipment has 12 litres of tank capacity as compared to 8 litres in KENT

Not everything is good!

No flush outlet at the bottom of tank:

I feel this was must. But I did not notice initially. Mosses develop in tank when not in use. But the installer assured that the tank will be cleaned during every service

No LED power indicator:

This is not a big disadvantage

We need to call him up when the free service is due:

This was quite annoying. But OK for the product price.

So far good but can't comment on goodness at least for an year. The hardness also within the potable range (around 40 ppm). It is difficult to vouch for such category of product within a year. May be I will write down the experience once it reaches 6 months of usage.

Eventually, the KENT was deported without any exchange price. It was an overall loss to me. The dealer said he will use it for display purpose.

NOTE:

My hatred is only towards KENT due to aforementioned problems. I have heard from colleagues and relatives that Aquaguard fares better than KENT in terms of service and maintenance. The service personnel arrives within a day whenever problem arises. Also company calls up whenever the free service is due. However, I cannot affirm the quality of Aquaguard product

Clouds unabated

Clouds unabated, Beauty unabated! Yes the upper air cyclonic circulation is drawing pre-monsoon rains into the interior Karnataka spreading greenery all around. The other joyous part is none other than evening clouds. Yesterday, I wrote about the huge cloud formation. Today we had similar clouds but not monolithic. The closely woven clouds facilitated sneaking Sun to fan out in multiple paths resulting in crepuscular rays. Unlike yesterday, there was no sign of rain. Consequently, I rode bike towards Rachenahalli lake to immerse in tropospheric festival. But the moments of such rays are ephemeral. By the time I reached lake (which is just 2 kms away), the drama concluded. I was disappointed for not embarking from office a tad early. I was well aware by my heuristics that the rays won't last longer. Fortunately, I had captured couple of scenes prior to journey towards the lakefront. The actual visuals were extremely elegant than portrayed here. That is limitation of mobile camera and my capturing ability :-). Hope you enjoy the pictures.

By the time I reached the lake, the entire sky was masked with clouds with clear indication of drama closure for the day. Hopefully my intuition will wake me early tomorrow evening towards lakefront with a wish to revisit those scenes.

A large monolithic cumulonimbus cloud

That's why I yearn for summer season when evening sky is abuzz with cloud activity. There are everyday wonders to cherish and capture. Today also when I was returning from office, this large cumulonimbus cloud pouring at a distant region caught my landscape eyes. The only gear I had was mobile camera and whatever I could capture turned out palatable. Actually, it was way broader and lengthier than in picture. The area extended a bit more. However, the mobile camera capacity is limited. I have never seen such a colossal monolithic cloud till date. The scene from lakefront would have been mouth watering to grab. The fear of looming storm did not let me to execute that plan. I was eventually contended to capture the available scene and run towards home. Hope the distant citizens are enjoying cool weather due to downpour. I hope the cloud poured to its capacity, can't vouch for that though. Enjoy the pictures for now, tomorrow's met office reports will confirm the rain-gauge readings.

How to register a complaint for failed SBI debit card transaction

Recently I had couple of failed transaction at a nearby store. Unfortunately, the message arrived late almost 30 mins later than time of debit. I was baffled seeing the debit record since the transaction had failed at the merchant end. These incidents are normal but the money does not get credited without a complaint. After scouring the internet, I did not find a satisfactory answer. This prompted to directly head to SBI online website where one could see customer care button which redirected me to CMS website of SBI. Unfortunately, I was still skeptical since the secure site of CMS was not signed by trusted authority. The browser was complaining about this. Don't be worried about the SSL error since the site is redirected from onlinesbi.

The first time I raised complaint was under merchant transaction category. However, this ticket was closed within two days without proper resolution. The reason for abrupt closure was also not stated in CMS page. I was frustrated and wanted to take matter with merchant. Before resorting to knee-jerk action, I decided to give SBI customer care a try. It was then I realized mistake. The customer care was courteous and raised a ticket on my behalf. The ticket needs to be raised under debit card category even though the failure was during merchant transaction. I guess merchant transaction failures belong to online transaction for ex: money getting debited from Netbanking while transacting with online store.

The resolution time was tentatively 45 days but the money was credited within a week. Unfortunately, without a complaint the money will not be credited back. It is almost 15 days and money got credited only after a ticket. Today on March 19th, I received resolution SMS from SBI stating the rollback of debit entry and credit to the savings account. Finally, a quite big relief. I was elated when SMS received as below

Your complaint <complaint_num> has been attended to and closed after resolution as:CUSTOMER A/C CREDITED ON 19/03/2019

Below is screenshot of categories to be chosen when debit card transaction fails.

Whenever you transact with SBI debit card, an email is also sent to registered email id. Hope you have done the same. If not, I do not know to fetch some of the details required by CMS page. Hopefully netbanking statement or SMS will have these details.

Most of the fields are well known except for few below which feels enigmatic.

Txn id: You can refer email as above
terminal ID: I guess is the POS number as present in email

Txn Amount: <Is the amount you requested>
Dispensed amount: <The amount actually dispensed>

The above two are same in case of debit card merchant transaction. May be the Txn Amount differs from Dispensed amount in case of ATM withdrawals.

For ex: You requested for 5000 whereas ATM only dispensed 3000 (due to cash crunch or server error) but 5000 was debited from your account.

Hope this article helps!

ಚುನಾವಣೆ ತಪಾಸಣೆ, ಹಳೆ ಶಿರಾಡಿ ಪ್ರಕಟಣೆ, ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಬವಣೆ

ವಿಶಾಲವಾದ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಬ್ಬಬ್ಬಾ ಏನಿದು ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಜಾಮ್. ಅಪಘಾತ ಆಯಿತೆ, ಬ್ಯಾರಿಕೇಡ್ ಸಣ್ಣದಾಯಿತೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಹಲವು ಯೋಚನೆಗಳು ತಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾರತೊಡಗಿದವು. ಅದ್ಯಾವುದೂ ಅಲ್ಲ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಚೆಕಪ್. ಇನ್ನೇನು ಹಿರಿಸಾವೆ ಬಂತೆಂದು ಹಿರಿಹಿರಿ ಹಿಗ್ಗುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ, ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಜಾಮ್ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡೆವು. ನೆಲಮಂಗಲದಿಂದ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯತನಕ ವಿಮಾನದಂತೆ ಹಾರಿಬಂದ ಕಾರು, ಒಮ್ಮೆಲೇ ಎತ್ತಿನಗಾಡಿಯಾಯಿತು. ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಗಾಡಿಗೂ ತಪಾಸಣೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ SUV, omini, truck, tempo-traveller, auto ವಾಹನಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ನಿಗಾ ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಮೂಲೆ ಮೂಲೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಚೆಕಪ್. ಊರಿಗೆ ವೋಟ್ ಹಾಕಲು ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನಮ್ಮ ವಾಹನಕ್ಕೂ ತಪಾಸಣೆ ಬಿಸಿ. ಮೊದಲೇ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಪಟ್ಟೆ ಸೆಖೆ ಅದರ ಜೊತೆ ಚೆಕಪ್ ಬಿಸಿ. ಡಿಕ್ಕಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಎರಡು ಗಜಗಾತ್ರದ ಡೈಪರ್ ಕಟ್ಟನ್ನು ಕಂಡು  ಹೆಚ್ಚೇನು ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸದೆ  ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸಾಗಹಾಕಿದರು.

ಅಷ್ಟೊತ್ತಿಗಾಗಲೇ ೨೦ ನಿಮಿಷ ಖೋತಾ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಏರುವ ದಾರಿ ಬೇರೆ, ಟ್ರಕ್ಕುಗಳು ಉಸಿರುಗಟ್ಟಿ, ದುರ್ನಾತದ ಕಾರ್ಮೋಡ ಬೀರುತ್ತಾ, ಫಿಟ್ಸ್ ರೋಗ ಬಂದಂತೆ ತೆವಳಿಕೊಂಡು ಮೇಲೇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಇಂತಹ ವಿಶಾಲವಾದ, ಅಚ್ಚುಕಟ್ಟಿನ, ಸ್ವಚ್ಛಂದವಾದ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ರಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಒದ್ದಾಟ ನೋಡಿದರೆ,  ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಇದ್ದು ಭೂರಿ ಭೋಜನವನ್ನು ಉಣ್ಣಲಾಗದೆ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮುದ್ದೆ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು ಸಾರನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ತಿನ್ನಬಹುದಾದ  ಸಿರಿವಂತನಂತಿತ್ತು! ಅವುಗಳ ಹಿಂದಿರುವ ವಾಹನದವರು  ಜೀವ ಹೋದಂತೆ ಹಾರ್ನ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನು ೨೦ ನಿಮಿಷ ವ್ಯರ್ಥವಾಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಅವುಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ನುಸುಳುವುದೇ ಮಹಾಸಾಹಸ ಎಂದರೆ ತಪ್ಪಾಗದು. ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ತಪಾಸಣೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ಹಣ, ಹೆಂಡಕ್ಕೇನೂ ಕಡಿಮೆಯೇ. ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಜನ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರ ಸಮಯ ವ್ಯರ್ಥ. ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಡೀಲ್ ಎಷ್ಟು ತಿಂಗಳ ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ಆಗಿರುತ್ತೋ ಯಾರಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ತಪಾಸಣೆ ಮಾಡುವವರು ಯಾವ ಪಾರ್ಟಿಯೊಂದಿಗೂ ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿಲ್ಲವೆನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಆಧಾರವಿದೆ. ಮೊನ್ನೆ ವರದಿ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಂಡದ ಹೊಳೆಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ ವೋಟುಗಳು ಲೆಕ್ಕವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇಷ್ಟಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲು ರಜೆ ಬೇರೆ. ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅಕ್ರಮ ಮಾಡುವವರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹಕ್ಕು ಚಲಾಯಿಸದೆ ರಜಾ ಮಜಾ ಮಾಡುವವರನ್ನೂ ಜಪ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಕೇಸ್ ದಾಖಲಿಸಬೇಕು. ಅವರು ವೋಟ್ ಹಾಕಿದ ಬಳಿಕವೇ ಕೇಸ್ ವಾಪಾಸ್ ಪಡೆಯಬೇಕು.

ಹಾಸನದಲ್ಲೂ ಇದೆ ಗೋಳು. ಹೆಚ್ಛೆನು ವ್ಯರ್ಥವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಸೂಚನಾ ಫಲಕ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕುಕ್ಕಿತು. ಶಿರಾಡಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ವರುಷ ಕಳೆದರೂ ಇದನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದಿಲ್ಲ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ರಾಹೆ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ೪೮ ಹಾಗೆ ಇದೆ. ಈ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ  ೭೫ ಕ್ಕೆ ಮರು ನಾಮಕರಣವಾದರೂ ಲೋಕೋಪಯೋಗಿ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಇನ್ನು ೪೮ರ ಗುಂಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆ! ಗೂಗಲ್ ಮ್ಯಾಪ್ ಕೂಡಾ ೪೮ ಅಂತಾ ತೋರಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದೆ ಆದರೆ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಇದೆ. ಪೂರ್ವ-ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ರಾಹೆ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳಿಗೆ ಬೆಸ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ಉತ್ತರ-ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಮ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಬಳಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇರಲಿ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೋಣ. ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷ ಘಾಟಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಹಾಳಾಗುವುದು ಮಾಮೂಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಯವರು ಶಾಶ್ವತ ಬೋರ್ಡ್ ಹಾಕಿರಬೇಕು. ಅವರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ ಮುಂದಿನ ವರ್ಷವೂ ಇದೆ ಗೋಳು ಅಂತಾ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಾಂಕವನ್ನು ನಮೂದಿಸಿಲ್ಲ ನೋಡಿ. ಅಥವಾ ಬೋರ್ಡ್ ತೆಗೆಯಲು ಟೆಂಡರ್ ಕರೆಯಬೇಕೋ? ದೇವರೇ ಬಲ್ಲ. ಸಮಾಧಾನದ ವಿಷಯವೆಂದರೆ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ತಡವಾಗಿ ತಲುಪಲು ಘಾಟಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಾರಣವಲ್ಲ. ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ೪೦ಕಿ.ಮೀ ಘಾಟಿ ರಸ್ತೆಯನ್ನು ಸರಾಗವಾಗಿ ಒಂದು ಘಂಟೆಯ ಒಳಗೆ ಕ್ರಮಿಸಬಹುದು. ಮೊದಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ೨:೩೦ ಘಂಟೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡದ್ದು ಉಂಟು. ಇನ್ನು ಮಳೆಗಾಲ ಮತ್ತು ತದನಂತರದ ಗೋಳೇನಿದೆಯೋ ಆ ದೇವರೇ ಬಲ್ಲ! ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ತಪಾಸಣೆಯು ೩೦ ನಿಮಿಷ ನುಂಗಿಹಾಕಿದ್ದು ಸುಳ್ಳಲ್ಲ.

ಇವರಿಗೆ ತಪಾಸಣೆ ನಮಗೆ ಬವಣೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಅರ್ಧ ತಾಸು ಹಾಳಾಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಉಡುಪಿ ತನಕ ಹೋಗಬೇಕು ಆದಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ತಲುಪಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವ ತವಕ ಕೂಡ ಯಾಕಂದ್ರೆ ಸುಡು ಬಿಸಿಲು ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಬೆವರಿನ ಹರಿವು. ಏನು ಮಾಡೋದು. ಅವರದ್ದು ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ ನಮ್ಮದು ಸಮಯ ವ್ಯಯ. ಪಾಪ ಬಿಸಿಲಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡೋದು ಸುಲಭನಾ! ಅವರದ್ದು ಬೇರೆಯೇ ಬವಣೆ.

ಯಾಕೋ ದಿನವೇ ಸರಿ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಎಡಿಯೂರು ಪಕ್ಕ ಸ್ವಾತಿ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಅರೆಬೆಂದ ಇಡ್ಲಿ ವಡೆ, ರುಚಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ದೋಸೆ ಪಲ್ಯ ತಿಂದು ನಮ್ಮ ಪರ್ಸ್ ಸುಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡೆವು. ಒಂದು ಪ್ಲೇಟ್ ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ಅಥವಾ ಒಂದು ಪ್ಲೇಟ್ ಇಡ್ಲಿ-ವಡೆಗೆ (೨ಇಡ್ಲಿ-೧ವಡೆ) ಬರೋಬ್ಬರಿ ೮೦ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಎಂಟಿಆರ್ ಕೂಡಾ ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಅಗ್ಗ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ. ಸಾಲದಕ್ಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಜ್ಯೂಸ್ ಕೂಡಾ ಅಷ್ಟಕ್ಕಷ್ಟೇ. ಕಲ್ಲಂಗಡಿ ರಸಕ್ಕೆ ಅದೇನು ೮೦ ರೂಪಾಯಿನೋ ನಾ ತಿಳಿಯೇ. ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಚನ್ನರಾಯಪಟ್ಟಣ ಬೈಪಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಲೋಟ ಕಬ್ಬಿನಹಾಲು ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ಒಂದು ಎಳನೀರು ಕುಡಿಯುವುದೇ ಲೇಸು. ಹೆಚ್ಚೆಂದರೆ ೩೫ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಖರ್ಚು ಅಷ್ಟೇ! ನೀವು ಈ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಪಕ್ಕ ಇರುವ ಮಯೂರ ಹೋಟೆಲಿಗೂ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ. ಸ್ವಾತಿಗಿಂತ ಎಷ್ಟೊ ಬೆಟರ್. ದುಡ್ಡು ಕೂಡಾ ಕಡಿಮೆ. ಏನಂದರೆ ಎಡಿಯೂರು ಪೇಟೆ ಸುತ್ತು ಹಾಕಿ ಬರಬೇಕು ಅಷ್ಟೇ! ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸ್ವಾತಿ ಹೋಟೆಲಿನ ಬಿಲ್ಲು ನೋಡಿ ನಿಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತೆ! ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ ಊಟಕ್ಕೆ ಉಪ್ಪಿನಂಗಡಿಯ ಆದಿತ್ಯ ಹೋಟೆಲನ್ನು ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆವು. ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ ಊಟ ಆದರೂ ಸರಿ ಇರಬಹುದೆಂಬ ಆಸೆ ಕೂಡಾ ನಿರಾಸೆಯಾಯಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಾ ತಂದೂರಿ ರೋಟಿ ಹುಳಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಕರಾವಳಿಯ ಸೆಖೆಗೆ ಇರಬೇಕು ಅಥವಾ ನಿನ್ನೆಯದ್ದೇ? ಅವರಿಗೇ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಸೈಡ್ ಡಿಶ್ ಕೂಡಾ ಸರಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ರೋಟಿಗೆ ಇದ್ದಿಲು ಅಂಟಿಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ದುಡ್ಡಿಗೆ ಬೆಲೆಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಂತಾಗಿದೆ ಈಗಿನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ :(. ಸಂತಸದ ವಿಷಯವೆಂದರೆ ಮೊಸರನ್ನ ಬಹಳ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಮೊಸರನ್ನ ರೋಟಿಯ ಬೇಸರವನ್ನು ಮಾಸಿದ್ದು ಸುಳ್ಳಲ್ಲ.

ದುಡ್ಡು ಸುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡಿದಕ್ಕೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿ ಶುಲ್ಕ. ಟೋಲ್ ಶುಲ್ಕ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಆದರೆ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂತದ್ದೂ ಬದಲಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಎಕ್ಸ್-ಪ್ರೆಸ್ಸ್ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅದೇ ವೇಗ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸುವ ಬ್ಯಾರಿಕೇಡ್, ಒಂದಿಷ್ಟು ಹಂಪುಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ತಪ್ಪು ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಲಿಸುವ ವಾಹನಗಳು.

ಮತ್ತೆ ಎಲೆಕ್ಷನ್ ಬೊಗಳೆ!

ಕುಟುಂಬ ರಾಜಕಾರಣ ಮಾಡುವವರು ನಮ್ಮ ಊರಿನ ಜನರ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸಿಎಂ ಆದ ನಂತರ ಹಳೆ ಮೈಸೂರು ಪ್ರಾಂತ್ಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಾಳಜಿ ತೋರಿಸುವವರು ಎಷ್ಟು ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯುಳ್ಳವರು? ಕುಟುಂಬ ಉದ್ಧಾರ ಮಾಡುವವರು ಆಡಳಿತ ಚುಕ್ಕಾಣಿ ಹಿಡಿದರೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರ ಕಷ್ಟಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಜತನದಿಂದ ಆಲಿಸುವರು? ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೇ ಕುಟುಂಬ ರಾಜಕಾರಣವನ್ನು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕವಾಗಿ ಸಮರ್ಥಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇಂತಹವರನ್ನು ಅಧಿಕಾರಕ್ಕೇರಿಸಿದ ನಾವು ನೀವು ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರೇ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲದವರು!

ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಕರಾವಳಿಯ ಜನತೆಗೆ ಸಿಎಂನ ಮುಂದಿನ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಪಾಠ ಹೀಗಿರಬಹುದು!

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆವರು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ವಾತಾವರಣಕ್ಕೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಮಳೆಗಂತೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಬಯಲು ಸೀಮೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಳೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವಾಹ ಬಂದು ಸಮುದ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಪೋಲಾಗುವಷ್ಟು ಮಳೆಯ ರೌದ್ರನರ್ತನ. ಈ ಮಳೆಗೆ ಬಯಲು ಸೀಮೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುರಿಯಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನುವಷ್ಟೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯಿಲ್ಲವೇ! ಕಡಲಿಗಂತೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆ. ಮಳೆಗಾಲ ಶುರುವಾಯಿತೆಂದರೆ ಅದ್ಯಾಕೆ ಅದರ ಜಾಗ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಆಕ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತೋ! ನಾವು ಕುಟುಂಬದವರಿಗೆ ಆಸ್ತಿ, ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪಟ್ಟ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಜನ ಆಡ್ಕೋತಾರೆ. ಈ ಸಮುದ್ರದ ಆಕ್ರಮಣ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಯಾರು ಮಾತು ಎತ್ತಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಬಲವಾದ ವಾದ ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಬಹುದು ನಮ್ಮ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯುಳ್ಳ ಸಿಎಂ.

ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಾವಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯಿಲ್ಲದವು ಎನ್ನುವ ಬಲವಾದ ಸಮರ್ಥನೆ ಸಿಎಂ ಅವರಿಂದ ಕೇಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಗ್ರಹಚಾರ ಮುಂದಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಒಕ್ಕರಿಸಬಹುದು.

ನಮ್ಮ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವೋಟ್ ಹಾಕಲು ಎಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಉತ್ಸಾಹ. ಬೆವರಿನ ಹರಿವನ್ನು ಲೆಕ್ಕಿಸದೆ ಕರಾವಳಿಯವರು ಬೆಳಗ್ಗಿನ ಜಾವದಿಂದಲೇ ಮತ ಚಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಾಲದೆಂಬಂತೆ ವೀಕ್ಷಕರು ಬಂದು ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ವೋಟ್ ಹಾಕಿದಿರ ಎಂದು ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿ  ಶ್ರಮಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಶೇಕಡಾ ೭೮ ಜನ ಮತ ಚಲಾಯಿಸಿದ್ದು ಕರಾವಳಿ ಜನರು ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ ಪಡುವ ವಿಷಯ. ನೀವು ಕೂಡಾ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹಕ್ಕನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿಬಾರಿ ತಪ್ಪದೆ ಚಲಾಯಿಸಿ ಕೃತಾರ್ಥರಾಗಿ. ಮತ ಹಾಕದೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪ ಪಡಬೇಡಿ. ಸರಣಿ ರಜೆ ಇದೆ ಎಂದು ಮಜಾ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೋಗಿ ಮುಂದಿನ ದಿನದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತವನ್ನು ಹರಾಜಿಗೆ ಇಡುವಂತಹ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ನೀಡಬೇಡಿ.

ಬೊಗಳೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ ನನ್ನ ಮತ ಕೂಡಾ ಚಲಾಯಿಸಿ ಬಂದೆ ನಾನು ಕಲಿತ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ!

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ವೋಟರ್ಸ್ ಎಲ್ಲಿದಿರಪ್ಪ
ವೋಟರ್ ಟರ್ನ್ ಔಟ್ 50 ದಾಟಿಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲಪ್ಪ!

ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಕಡಲಿನ ತೆರೆಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಜಳಕ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ, ಸಂಜೆಯ ತಿಳಿ ಬಿಸಿಲಿನ ಮುಗ್ಧತೆಯನ್ನು ಆನಂದಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಸೆಲ್ಫಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಜಾಲತಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಮೇಲೇರಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಸಿಂಪ್ಲಿ ಎಂಜಾಯ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಕಣ್ರೀ!

ವೋಟ್ ನಂತರ ಸಂಜೆ ಕಾಪು ಸಮುದ್ರ ತೀರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದೆವು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮೈಸೂರು ಕಾರುಗಳದ್ದೇ ಕಾರುಬಾರು. ಊರಿನವರೆ ಇರಬಹುದೆಂದು ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಜೂಮ್ ಕಾರ್, ಡ್ರೈವ್ ಜೀ ಯದ್ದೇ ಕಾರುಬಾರು. ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತಿರುಗಲು ಹೋಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಜನಗಳೇ ದೇಶದ ಅವಸ್ಥಯೇ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸದಾ ಸೋಷಿಯಲ್ ನೆಟ್-ವರ್ಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೊಗಳೆ ಬಿಡುವುದು.

ಬವಣೆಯಿಂದಾಚೆಗೆ, ಕಾಪು ಸಮುದ್ರ ತೀರದ ಸೂರ್ಯಾಸ್ತದ ಸೊಬಗು ಎಂತಹವರನ್ನೂ ಮೋಡಿ ಮಾಡುವುದು.

ಕೊನೆಯ ಮಾತು:

ಭವ್ಯ ಭಾರತದ ಕನಸು ನನಸಾಗಿಸಿ
ಕುಟುಂಬ ರಾಜಕಾರಣ ತೊಲಗಿಸಿ
ನ್ಯಾಯ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು 'ಕೈ'ಕೆಳಗಿಳಿಸಿ

Spring blossoms

The following spring moments were captured at Rachenahalli Lake, Bangalore during our jaunt along promenade. The trees are fresh with green, the sun is blistering and the flowers are lush with colors. This is the flourishing part pf Rachenahalli lake away from the crowd.

The butterflies too enjoying fresh nectar

Even cloud activity also blossoms with the onset of summer.

The activity is incomplete without the dazzling sunset pictures