Trifling moments of marriage ceremony

While major focal point of marriage is on bride and groom, crowd, opulence, food and rituals, I tried to capture few trivial moments from marriage. Here are some of those I gathered during marriage ceremony of closer relative. I have covered subjects/objects connected to marriage and not humans mostly!

Lets start with the celebration stage just before rituals began. The grand look comes with cost! The natural flower decoration fringed by artificial flowers. Since natural flower isn't reusable, the decorative method is expensive

The digital artist with art on his digital eye. I like those patterns on the lens perhaps visually displaying his passion. He is the one who carries the ceremony to eternity by capturing memorable moments of celebration

The remover of obstacle lord Ganesha. The CCTV watches for suspected traitor but lord reminds that he is the invisible cctv who watches our karma and indirectly influences our life

The drums were once considered as special or rare have been normalised in contemporary marriages.

The nadaswaram is another rarity nowadays. Nadaswaram is a traditional long piped instrumernt played in temple traditions. People here usually consider saxophone as standard. But the nadaswaram team was surprise and they performed flawlessly.

The coolers are must in tropical regions where the marriage halls aren't equipped with air conditioners. Even though it's exclusively for bride groom duo, presence of crowd in sabhe obstruct it's flow.

Clowns are new attraction. These were only seen during village fairs but now mark entry to marriage ceremony as well.

The palanquine & clown rests after energetic and tiring celebration.

The usual visitor during ceremonies. They try to find some food or snatch something useful for them. They are symbol of grit amongst the crowd or inevitable for survival due to diminishing vegetation?

While there are numerous arguments in favour of introducing unique ideas into marriage ceremonies, others are concerned about squandering money on unnecessary additions. Most of them feel like icing on cake which is ephemeral. While people who can afford extravagant wedding ceremonies often flaunt their celebrations, those who cannot afford them may become trapped in unnecessary spending in an attempt to keep up. While I stick to budget on most occasions, situation trap me as well and thus resulting in overspends. However there is no golden rule, I believe to stick to the budget eventually!

Minimalism

After a wonderful play at Chamadka waterfalls, a rejuvenated soul proudly drove towards Madhuru temple which was our next destination. In between the winding road, the dense forest opened up the skies quite instantly. That was coconut plantation amidst the dense vegetation.  The upper region was unused and hence dense weeds had grown owing to monsoon season.

Next comes the interesting part! This lone tree standing amidst the shrubs quite confident! It was perfect stage for capturing minimalist picture. We stopped vehicle and captured few random pics. These minimalist pictures turn out excellent if we have right surroundings. However, we find difficult to live minimalist lifestyle. We always want to be taller than others and hence choking ourselves. Minimalism has no limit nowadays. Perhaps, we need to be complacent at some point of time to enjoy such beautiful nature art!

Cassata शायरी, ಮುಂಗಾರು ಗೋಳು, el-nino ಇಂದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹಾಳು

Monsoon ಮಂಗಮಾಯ 

ಸೆಖೆ आगया 🥵

Cloud भाग गया

ಈ ತಲೆಬರಹಕ್ಕೆ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣವಿದೆ! Cassata ಮೂರು ವಿಧದ ice-cream ಒಟ್ಟು ಜೋಡಿಸಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದೇ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಕೂಡಾ ಮೂರು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಒಗ್ಗೂಡಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಒಂದು ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ ಅನ್ನಬಹುದು!

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಸಧ್ಯದ ಮುಂಗಾರಿನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಬೇಡ. El-nino is creating drought like situation. ಏನು ಮಾಡೋದು ಹೇಳಿ? ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಮುಂದೆ ನಾವ್ ಯಾವ ಲೆಕ್ಕ. ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಮಳೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ. ಆರ್ದ್ರಾ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾತಾವರಣದ ಆರ್ದ್ರತೆಯೇ ಮಾಯವಾಗಿದೆ! ಆರ್ದ್ರಾ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರದ ಆಸೆ full ಹುಸಿ ಆಯ್ತು ನೋಡಿ! ಆರ್ದ್ರಾ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಮಳೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಕೊಡೆ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡು ಕೂಡಾ ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಲ್ಲ ಕರಾವಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ! ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಮಳೆ. ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ರಜೆ ಸಿಗುವುದೇ ಈ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಮುಂಗಾರು ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಯಾಮಾರಿಸಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ! ಪುನರ್ವಸು ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ full ಚಪ್ಪೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಪುಷ್ಯ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಏನಾಗುತ್ತೊ ತಿಳಿತಿಲ್ಲ! ನಾಗದೇವರ ಆಶ್ಲೇಷಾ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರವೆ ನಮಗೆ ಗತಿ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ನಾಗರಪಂಚಮಿಯಂದು ಮಳೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ! 

ಮಂಗಳೂರು IMD ಮಾಪನ ಕಷ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ 1000mm ಗಡಿ ದಾಟಿದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ದಿನದಿಂದ ಅಲ್ಲೇ stuck ಆಗಿದೆ ಕೂಡಾ! ಇಷ್ಟು ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ 2000mm ಹತ್ರ ಬಾರಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಸುಮಾರು 53% deficit ಅಂತೆ. el-nino ಮುಗಿಯಲು ಇನ್ನೂ 1.5 ವರ್ಷ ಕಾಯಬೇಕಾಗಬಹುದು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೆ ಮಳೆಯ ಮೂಡ್ ಹೇಳುವುದು ಬಹಳ ಕಷ್ಟ. ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಘಟ್ಟಗಳು ಕೂಡಾ ಮಳೆಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಸೊರಗುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಕಾವೇರಿ ದಿನದಿಂದ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಆವಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಬರುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೀಗಾದರೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ನೀರಿನ ಅಭಾವ Novemberಯಿಂದಾನೆ ಶುರು ಆಗೋದು fix! ಹೇಳೋಕ್ಕೆ ಸುಮಾರು ಇದೆ ಆದರೆ ಬೇಸರವಾಗುತ್ತೆ. 

ನೋಡಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ವಾತಾವರಣ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನ ಶುರು ಆಗೋ ಹೊತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ. ಮುಂಜಾನೆ Sun shining brightly. Fog ಕೂಡಾ ಇಲ್ಲ. ದಟ್ಟ ಮೋಡಗಳು ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಭೋರ್ಗರೆದು ಉಳಿದ moisture ಅನ್ನು ಬಯಲು ಸೀಮೆಗೆ ಚಿಮ್ಮಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಹೊರಗೆ ಕಾಡು ಕತ್ತಲೆ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಬೀಸುವ ಚಳಿ ಗಾಳಿ. ಮನೆ ಒಳಗೆ ಬೆಚ್ಚನೆ ಕಾಫಿ ಕುಡಿದರೆ, ಹೊರಗಡೆ ಬಿಸಿ ಬೀಸಿ chats ಮತ್ತು ಬಜ್ಜಿ ಸವಿಯೋ ಸಮಯ ಇದು. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಉಲ್ಟಾ-ಪಲ್ಟ. ಈಗ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬೇಸಿಗೆಯಂತೆ ice-cream, juice ಕುಡಿಯುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ fan, AC ಕೂಡಾ ಜೋರಾಗಿ ತಿರುಗುತ್ತಿದೆ! ಕರೆಂಟ್ ತಯಾರಿಸಲು ಕೂಡಾ ಜೋಗದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರಿಲ್ಲ. "ये क्या हो गया भाई?" ?

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಆಗಸ ನೋಡಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ನೀಲಿ. "बरसो रे मेघा मेघा" ಹಾಡೋಕೆ  ಮೇಘಗಳೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. "ಮೇಘ ಬಂತು ಮೇಘ" ಅನ್ನೋಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಕರಗಿ ಹೋಗಿದೆ. ಆಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಈಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆಸೆ ಮುಟ್ಟಿಸಲು ತೇಲಿ ಬರುವ ಮೋಡಗಳು ನೋಡ ನೋಡತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ದೂರದ ಬಾನಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮರೆಯಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಮಾಯದಂತ ಮಳೆ ಸುರಿಯಲು ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯೇ ಏನಾದರೂ ಜಾದೂ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. Bengaluru skies are blantantly blue during peak monsoon July. There are no clouds even to attempt cloud seeding. The situation has deteriorated significantly. Monsoon magic is absconding. Only magic can bring rains. Kya chal raha hai bhaarat mein??!! Didn't we heed the El Niño forecasts? The dense concrete jungle of city is choking on top of this out of blue summer atmosphere. The vigorous monsoon is replaced by vigorous summer. The eternal horizon lies before you, not a speck of cloud in sight.

ಎರಡು ವಾರದ ಹಿಂದಷ್ಟೇ ಮೋಡಗಳಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿ ತುಳುಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಆಕಾಶ ಆಗಲೇ ಬರಡಾಗಿದೆ. ಜೂನ್ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭದಲ್ಲೇ ಕುಂಟುತ್ತಾ ಸಾಗಿದ್ದ ಮುಂಗಾರು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಆಸೆ ಚಿಗುರಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಂಕಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು ಆತಂಕಕ್ಕೀಡುಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಬಹುಶಃ ಈಗ ಕರಾವಳಿಯವರು "ಮಾಯದಂತ ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ಬಂತಣ್ಣ ಮಳೆಗಾಲದ ಇಳೆಗೆ" ಎಂದು ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಮಾರ್ಪಾಡು ಮಾಡಬಹುದು! ಹೇಗೆ ಮುಂದುವರೆದರೆ ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ ನೀರಿಗೆ ತಮಿಳುನಾಡು - ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಕಾಳಗ fix!

ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಶಾಲೆ ಬಳಿ ತೆಗೆದ ಚಿತ್ರ. ತೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಡಯ್ಯಾ, ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ನೀರಿಲ್ಲ ಬಾರಯ್ಯ ಅಂತಾ ದಮ್ಮಯ್ಯ ಹಾಕುವಂತಾಗಿದೆ

ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ವಾರ ಅಂತೆ. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಮಳೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಗಬಹುದು ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಅದು ನಿಜವಾಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸೋಣ. ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಒಣಹವೆಯೇ ನಮಗೆ ಗತಿ :-(. ಬೇರೆ weather modelಗಳು August ಮಧ್ಯದ ವರೆಗೆ ಇದೇ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಇದಂತೂ ಭಯಾನಕ ಸುದ್ದಿಯೇ! ಆಗಸ್ಟ್  ಮಧ್ಯ ಭಾಗದಿಂದ ಹಿಂದೂ ಮಹಾಸಾಗರದಲ್ಲಿ postive IOD ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಳೆ ಬರಬಹುದೆಂಬ ಆಶೆ. ಆ ಆಸೆ ಹುಸಿಯಾಗದಿರಲಿ.  

ಮುಗಿಸುವ ಮುನ್ನ  ಒಂದು ಶಾಯರಿ . ಏನೋ ತಮಾಷೆ ಅನ್ನಬಹುದು ಆದರೆ ಇದೊಂದು poignant moment ಅಂದರೂ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಲ್ಲ :-(

el-nino ಬಂತು

ಗಾಳಿ-ಮೋಡಗಳು ಓಡಿಹೋಯಿತು 

ಮಳೆ ಮರೆಯಾಯಿತು 

ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಶುರು ಆಯಿತು!

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!

ನಾನು blog-ನಲ್ಲಿ ಗೋಳು ಹೊಯ್ಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇ ತಡ ಮತ್ತೆ ವಕ್ಕರಿಸಿದವು ಮೋಡಗಳು! ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಹೊಂಡ ಮುಚ್ಚುವ ಮಹಾನಗರ ಪಾಲಿಕೆಯ patch work-ನಂತೆ, ನಾನಿದ್ದೀನಿ ಅಂತಾ ತೋರಿಕೆಯ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಹನಿ ಸುರಿದು ಹೋಯಿತು ನೋಡಿ. ಬಂತಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನ! After weeks of sparse monsoon rain, there is finally a glimmer of hope today! ಎಷ್ಟು ದಿನದ ಈ ನಾಟಕ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಮುಂದಿನ ದಿನಗಳೇ ಹೇಳಬೇಕು! 

ಕರಾವಳಿಯಲ್ಲೂ ಮಳೆ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿವಾಗಿದೆ ಅಂತಾ ಕೇಳೋಕೆ ಬಹಳ ಖುಷಿಯಾಗಿದೆ ಕೂಡಾ! ಮುಂಗಾರನ್ನು ಅವಮಾನಿಸಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ full raise ಆಗಿದೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ 😂. ಬೇಕಾಬಿಟ್ಟಿ ಮಳೆ ಸುರಿಸಿಯೇ ಬಿಡ್ತು. IMD ಇಂದ ಯಾವ warning ಕೂಡಾ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಧೋ ಎಂದು ಮಳೆ ಸುರಿದಿದೆ. ಅಂಕೋಲಾದಲ್ಲಿ ೨೭೦mm ಸುರಿದಿದೆ ಮಾರ್ರೆ 😂. Quirky monsoon ಅಥವಾ ಪಿರ್ಕಿ monsoon, ಏನಾದ್ರೂ ಹೆಸರು ಕೊಡಿ. ಒಟ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಳೆ ಅಂತೂ ಮತ್ತೆ ಶುರುವಾಯಿತು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೇಳೋದು IMD ಅವ್ರು warning ಕೊಡೋದು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಬೇಕು. ಕೊಟ್ಟ ತಕ್ಷಣ ಬಿಸಿಲು ವಕ್ಕರಿಸಿಬಿಡುತ್ತೆ ನೋಡಿ! What a turn around man was this monsoon blast!

The silence of rainforest!

Post departing from Kukke Subramanya en-route to Chamadka waterfalls, this trail of road enticed us. I pulled over the car and captured few shots. Being fag end of monsoon season, the vegetation was clean and fresh. The roads were cleanly laid and lane marked. The vehicle presence of absent which enabled me to capture some good shots of man made trail combined with nature's own construction. The atmosphere was dead quiet with zero human activity. All the sound was from nature's own activity like screeching bugs, pitter patter of rain drops hopping through canopy,

Rainforests bait me, on top of it, the waterfalls amidst such forests seduce me. Thats how my demeanour is and its difficult explain. Whenever I see forests, the addiction of picturising it. This captivating scene of evergreen forests forced me to halt the car and take a picture. Such was majesty of this place.

No matter how hard you hit the gas, such lovely distractions pause your drive. In this silence and glamour of rainforest, the road is seem to be peaceful spectator.

Chamadka waterfalls near Kukke Subramanya

Yet another waterfall which was marked for visit. We thought of visiting the same day as we visited Kundadka falls but dark clouds & clouds refrained us from visit. We parked the visit to next day en-route to Madhuru temple. We woke up early and checked out from hotel at 6:30AM.  We sought final blessings of Lord Subramanya till we revisit.

After morning breakfast from nearby cafe, we started our journey towards chamadka falls. The nature through the drive was mesmerising with dense vegetation flanking the road. Such thick forest shrouds the area with darkness. The light drizzles and shining Sun kept the vegetation fresh and scintillating. Here is how the darkness feels like.

There were multiple deviations to reach waterfalls. At times narrow, sometimes steep and sometimes potholed (I must say craters!). The entire path barring few known villages, were flanked by think forests. The silenced forest communicated through chirping birds, roaring streams, dripping raindrops and noisy bugs. Throughout the journey, we enjoyed the forests and peekaboo of sun through those pristine forest. The monsoon season has rejuvenated the jungle with verdancy. The constant rains with little break have kept the forest charm alive and that charm enabled us to enjoy the roaring waterfalls despite being monsoon dependent.

Final few stretches were difficult to drive. With constant curves, narrow roads, deep valleys, thick forests, zero human presence, made it a  nerve-wrenching affair. Fortunately, the mobile network did not abandon us. There were many scenic beauties to celebrate en-route but our focus was solely on reaching waterfalls first. Our car had real work out bending through winding roads, treading through uphill roads and squatting through pot-holed paths.

Despite the navigation guiding us clearly, the skepticism amplified as car cut through thick forests. It became tough to trust anyone except humans. The forest path had feeble human presence which kept us edgy. The moment we spotted humans, we enquired on the correctness of route to waterfalls. They politely assured that we are on track! Once we reached the navigation pinned spot, the signboards cleared all our apprehension. The waterfall signboard had clear arrow-mark and smoothe trail to proceed further. We parked the car adjacent to road and strolled towards waterfall.

The tiny bridge once we cross, the forest trail leads us to forked trail. One reaches a house and other to waterfall. Absolute zero human presence again. The best time enjoy waterfall with water not gushy, ample space and no noise. The rapids along the trail affirmed that it leads to a waterfall. Few meters of trail walk led us to steps leading to viewpoint. Eventually, the most cheering moment for us after reaching waterfall. The roar of water was benign and nothing risky here. The viewpoint has majestic  view of waterfall. We captured the moments at the spot but restricted playing. Since there was long journey ahead, we had to just content with beholding the splendour.

Myself and kids took the rugged the trail and had yet another view of the waterfall. The trail had caved in and difficult to negotiate despite the short distance. The waterfall is of cascade type means multiple jumps before the main waterfall plunges. The trail and base are not too risky unless you try to be over adventurous. The waterfall gets its name from chamadka village nearby. The best time would be during monsoon season only when rains take break. Since the waterfall originated from tributary of major river, the spring is not guaranteed to be perennial. We were lucky to have zero human presence during the lucky day.

It was wonderful stay for around 45mins before departing for our next destination. No rains, bright sunshine, pleasant sky and roaring streams, the perfect weather combo to enjoy waterfalls! Please do not litter the waterfalls and have safe enjoyment.

A short to conclude the blog!