Makara sankranthi sunset - 2026

Yet another Makara Sankranti sunset. The reference point in Hindu calendar where sun trajectory begins shifting north. It also marks outset of mild summer from cold winter

This season, the cold weather has been harsh and bone chilling. Never experienced unprecedented winter  weather in Bengaluru till today. I have desperately waiting for warmer Days to arrive and coincidentally, the dawn of uttarayan began with warm weather. Not sure how long it will last. The met department has predicted nippy weather till January. Hence show would go on. The clouds provided bit of warmth as a temporary relief to long cold days.

In our routine stroll at terrace, we witnessed the clouds playing hide and seek with sun. It was warm and colourful. Worth pausing the walk and getting a snap.

People make use of constant mild wind to fly kite and enjoy festivities. This is the activity which last for few days.

Not an easy task. It needs skill and experience. Many such kites were cut or grounded. Only few such were flying.

ಬ್ಯಾಕೆಂಡ್ - ೩೦

ಹಲವಾರು ದಿನದ ಬಳಿಕ ಮತ್ತೆ backend ಸರಣಿ ಸ್ವಾಗತ ಸುಸ್ವಾಗತ. ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಹಾಗೆ ಮೊಬೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. unicode ಟೈಪಿಸಲು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸೋಮಾರಿತನ. ಈಗ motivation ತಗೊಂಡು ಕಡೆಗೂ ಒಂದು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೇನೆ ನೋಡಿ!

SOUND HORD

ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳ ಇಂದ ಹೆಣ್ಣೂರು ರಿಂಗ್ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ಕಂಡ ದೃಶ್ಯ. ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಏನೂ ಅಷ್ಟು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಆದರೂ ಈ ವಾಹನದ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಬರಹ ಕಂಡು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಸಮಂಜಸ ಎನಿಸಿತು.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ sound ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ hard ಆಗಿ ಹೊಡಿಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಗಾಡಿ ಮಾವುತ ಬರೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. hard ಗಿಂತ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಅದು hord ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. 

ಅದು ಬೇರೆ ಮೂಟೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುವ ವಾಹನ. ಗಾಡಿ ಬೇರೆ pickup ಕಡಿಮೆ. flyover ಏರುವಾಗ ಪಾರ್ಟಿಗೆ ಉಸಿರೇ ಬಾರದು. ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರು timepass ಮಾಡಲು 

ಕಿವಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೆ horn ತುಂಬಾ ಜೋರಾಗಿಯೇ ಹಾಕಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. horn ಹೊಡೆದು ಹೊಡೆದು ಕಡೆಗೆ ನಾವೇ ಸಿಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ hard ಆಗುತ್ತೇವೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. 

ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದು ಅಂತಾ ಗೋತ್ತಿದೆ. ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ತಮಾಷೆಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ! ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿಯಾದರೂ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. Even a stopped clock is correct twice a day ಅನ್ನೋ ತರ!

Vandiyur Lake Park, Madurai

This was ad-hoc visit in our Madurai-Rameshwaram itinerary. We had quite tiring stay at Madurai due to lack of sleep and hit weather. The congested area nearby temple where we stayed increased our stress. The morning before heading to Rameshwaram, we were hunting for good breakfast area at the town. The nearby areas of temple town did not have good restaurants and bit unhygienic as well. The Parvathi bhavan along the Rameshwaram route was the one which looked promising. Even though some of dishes were spicy, the restaurant lives up to the mark as rated in google.

Once breakfast was done, our eyes wandered towards the lake park nestled right in front of the restaurant. This was in my wife's list of must visit place in Madurai. Even though the sun was dazzling and long journey ahead, we decided to have brief walk along the park. This was worth as well!

Here is map of lake park

We walked few metres before reaching the main gate. We spotted the park ticket counter at the entrance but did not see anyone collecting the fare. Perhaps, this is only applicable during evening hours? I assume that the morning visitors are mostly locals and arrive here to warm up.

The park is well maintained and clean. There are plenty of vegetation and greenery all around. 

Recreational facilities like boating and kids play area entertain the visitors. The boating was closed and might open during evening. We spotted the fare counter for boat ride.

Kids Ball pits arena

The lake bed was also well maintained. The lake pier was closed for ramp walk. We visited during unconventional hours looks like. Views from entrance of pier.

Seems like they allow morning hours fishing.

A large skating yard is constructed for skate learners.

Overall a must visit spot if you are in Madhurai. East Madurai seems to be the best maintained part of city. The temple area did not impress us much but the aura of east, negated all those myths. Hope the authorities work to tidy up the temple and surrounding areas also!

Thanks to overnight mild thunderstorm, the morning was azure and atmosphere was clean. Though weather was sweltering

Couple of signature lake view apartments springing up in far east shore. Perhaps best bet for real estate tycoon to grab extra bucks from buyers. Lakeside residences are a boon in hot-weather regions, thanks to the cool breezes they offer—unless a mighty downpour causes the lake to overflow

Disappointing depart though. We unnecessarily squandered time nearby temple area just to witness the clumsy streets. This would been ideal evening hangout for kids with dedicated play arena and evening boating. The docked boats and ticket counter suggested that boating activity was prevalent.

That was quick stop. I wish it could have been longer. When you visit Madurai with kids, don't skip to entertain them in this park along with spiritual journey! Here is quick video from lake.

Deepawali 2024 - Strolling around Malleshwaram

Deepawali is the season when Bengaluru feels like old Bengaluru. With hardly any vehicles or people in sight, the city seems to return to the quietude of yesteryears! The city feels void with surprisingly no traffic and walkable areas. We decided to stroll through Malleshwaram Sampige Road, soaking in its Deepavali vibes for the day.

We had sweet start to day savoring Rabdi Jamoon prepared by bestie in house. Once done with relishing the dessert, we started our drive to Malleshwaram!

It was annoyingly smooth drive :-D. Hardly took 20mins to reach Malleshwaram. The entire city was out of city! Momentarily I felt like Bangalore broke free from its reputation of a traffic choked city. We also could get easy parking in Malleshwaram and quickly started our exploration. Being festival day, most of the shops were closed. But the street vendors and remaining ones were enough to cover the day. Malleshwaram felt strangely empty, devoid of its usual bustle. This seemed like Tier-2 city than a metro one.

After a short purchase by wife, we decided to hop into Asha sweets. I have heard their famous Badam Milk. We ordered Dabheli as well. It was our first eat. Perhaps that was best eat we had. TIll date, I have not found such a tasty and soft dabheli. I have been to Asha sweets thereafter for couple more times but couldn't get stock of Dabheli. They say that stock gets emptied by noon itself. Many vendors do not prepare Dabheli perhaps due to lesser shelf life? The Badam milk was too delicious as well. Thick and balanced sweetness. Just the way I want! Here are digital version to fill your tummy!

Next stop was to be unstoppable and wander more :-). We explored further and local markets had these aesthetically setup plastic garlands. Malleshwaram doesn't mean cheap, just that its full of energy!

Goodupeeda, decorative hanging nest lamp. People buy it during Deepawali festival. We generally reuse

It was lunch time and we didn't find any good restaurants. Most of them were closed due to festival. The one we found was Bharjari Bhojana was overcrowded. It implies lack of quality. Also wife was in no mood to munch south indian meals. We headed to nearby small darshini and had light food.

The famous Dosay joint of Bengaluru, the Central Tiffin Room. Not sure if it was holiday today or not. They have close timings during noon. We saw crowd slowly queuing up in front of restaurant. Perhaps, its open today. We don't prefer this famous joint anymore after no-hype maiden experience. But this joint has large fanbase in Bengaluru!

Once done, the next stop was to savor natural ice cream and wind up the day. It was long walk and was worth it. The store was relatively empty. These are the ones who started the real fruit pulp ice creams. We consumed jack fruit and one more which I dont remember now. It is worth the price. Naturals came up unique real pulp based ice creams without preservatives. They have grown into one of the most popular ice-cream brands today.

These outlets flaunt words like “natural,” “organic” and “pure.” When the whole country is filled with corruption, these words sound hilarious. May be the original outlet really used natural stuff, but the same claims by franchisees seem like hogwash. I don't see any point in paying exorbitant prices for food at franchises just assuming that purity is guaranteed.

We headed back home. Another empty signal to cross. The signal was flipping its colours for no reason. Absolutely no traffic. Authorities could have permanently shut off signal for the day I felt :-D.  It was just 20 mins drive again. This stroll  turned in food tour largely than buying anything. It was just for resetting the mood and matching the  festival frequency. Things were expensive in Malleshwaram which would get in lesser prices nearby house. The food is inevitable part of any journey and unavoidable.

The night was fully lit with fireworks and captured few of them!