Photo Blog - Morning pickings

Parijatha flower believed to be brought to earth by Lord Krishna from heavenly abode. We use them extensively to perform poojas and consider holy. In childhood days or whenever we stay at native, picking fallen flowers early morning or late evening is a daily routine. They are woven to form a nice garland which then ornate the deity with natural fragrance.

It is difficult to get such flowers in Bengaluru flooded with fake vegetation and concrete structures. On my jog towards corner of layout, I found couple of trees shedding fresh flowers over the main road. There were no pickers. It was easy for me to grab plenty and use for today's pooja. There were many more but I did not have a proper container to fill them. Looks like nobody uses them extensively here but question arises why is it grown in that case. Hopefully my pickings are not considered as stolen since they were spread on public road.

I found the Parijata tree almost every corner of nearby street. Till now count stands at 3. Its good to see people plant such divine trees when city is spread with weeds

Photo Blog - Unprecedented August

Bangalore had this unique trait in recent times from weather perspective. Whenever humidity escalates, clouds gather in sky culminating in quirky downpours. Even newspaper reported mostly negative parts of it, they had inherent unparalleled positive traits. They helped in calming down heat, reduced power consumption and increased ground water table.

This year August portrays stark contrast. No rains and High humidity. That unique trait is lost I feel. It's been high humid days but without rains. There are thick clouds all around but rains are tantalizing. It feels as if monsoon playing prank on the city!

Dampened Monsoon, Damp rest!

Thanks to debilitating monsoon, Bengaluru is witnessing scorching August. The street dogs resting over damp surface is perhaps testament to sweltering weather

Our apartment too is sourcing water from tankers. There is also news that tanker provider's water table also depleting. So not sure what is the future of Bangalore water supply in coming days. Its scary to visualize the summer water needs of city!

A colorful sunset to ward-off the negativities. But that does not reduce problem. It is high time that city thinks of its own solution for water scarcity than depending on external sources. Rejuvenation of lakes, rain water harvesting to new a few!

Photo Blog - Favourite Spot!

The heap of concrete block powder is favorite spot of such street dogs. Wherever you see construction activities, at least couple of dogs would be seen drowsing over the large heap or playing on them. It gives them warm feeling on colder days and also cushion for slumber. Not sure if these powder acts as medication for these dogs or any other advantages. While walking back from saloon, I spotted this scene near under construction apartment. The dog was surprised by my halt and click but seemed lethargic to react :-). Its drowsiness showed the situation to me. This can be felt from the image as well :-D

ಇಂದಿನ ಹಾಲಿನ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ೧ನೇ ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ ಇಂದ ಹಾಲಿನ ದರ ಲೀಟರ್ ಗೆ ೩ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಳವಾಗಿದೆ. ಯಾಕೆನ್ನುವುದು ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಅಧಿಕಾರಕ್ಕೋಸ್ಕರ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿ ಭಾಗ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಿ ಈಗ ಸರಿದೂಗಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ದುಬಾರಿ ಹರಸಾಹಸ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದದ್ದೇ! ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಹಾಲಿನ ದರ ಏರಿಕೆ. ಇಂದು ನನಗೆ ಮೊದಲ ಅನುಭವವಾಯಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಿದ್ದು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಮಯ ಅಷ್ಟೇ, ಅದರ ತುಣುಕು ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. 

ನಾವು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಕೇಸರಿ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಖರೀದಿಸುವುದು. ಅಂತೆಯೇ ಎಂದಿನಂತೆ ಲೀಟರ್-ಗೆ ೪೬ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಪೇಯ್ಮೆಂಟ್ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೊರಟಾಗ ಮಾಲೀಕ ತಕ್ಷಣವೇ ತಡೆದು, 

"ಸಾರ್ ತಡೀರಿ ಈಗ ಲೀಟರ್-ಗೆ ೨೫ ರೂಪಾಯಿ. ೫೦ ಪೇ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಂದಾ" 

"ಏನ್ರೀ ೩ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ್ರು ಈಗ ೪ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಆಯಿತಾ. ಒಹೋ ಸರಕಾರ ಹೇಳೋದೊಂದು ಮಾಡೋದೊಂದು!"

"ನೋಡಿ ಸಾರ್ ಪ್ಯಾಕೆಟ್ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅರ್ಧ ಲೀಟರ್-ಗೆ ೨ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ. ೫೦ ಪೈಸೆ ಈಗ ಲೆಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ವಾ ಅದಿಕ್ಕೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ!"

ಸರಿ ಹೋಯ್ತು ಅಂತಾ ಪೇ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. 

ಹಾಗೆ ಜನ ಬರ್ತಾ ಇದ್ರೂ. "ಏನಪ್ಪಾ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜಾಸ್ತಿನಾ?!"

"ಹೂ ಸರ್! ವೋಟ್ ಹಾಕಿದಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಭವಸಬೇಕು ಈಗ!"

"ಸರಿಹೋಯ್ತು ಒಂದು ಫ್ರೀ  ಕೊಟ್ಟು ೧೦ ಕಡೆ ಕಸ್ಕೊತಾ ಇದಾರೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ!"

ಅಂದ ಹಾಗೆ, ಅರ್ಧ ಲೀಟರ್ ಗೆ ೫೦ ಪೈಸೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಏಕೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಜಾಯಿಷಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ೧೦ml ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹಾಲು ಇದೆ ಅಂತೆ. ೫೦ ಪೈಸೆ ಚಿಲ್ಲರೆ  ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತಾ ರೌಂಡ್-ಆಫ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರಂತೆ. ೧೦ml ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಇದೆಯೋ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ ಅಂತಾ ನೀವು ಚೆಕ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀರಾ? ನಾವಂತೂ ಮಾಡಲ್ಲ ಬಿಡಿ. 

Photo Blog - Sparse Clouds

It has been frigid and soggy weather in Bengaluru city last week nearly for 5 days. The temperature dipped to 24C during mid day making it coldest during summer season. The weather mirrored hill station vibes in city with clothes barely drying and people snuggling blankets throughout the day. I too was engaged in frequent gulping of hot coffee and munching weird cravings. The nights looked longer with icy weather interrupting the daily routine. The sleeps turned longer, the body turned lethargic and food consumption went higher :-). It was too hard to pass that ordeal despite lasting for few days. The rains bothered a lot since they were non-stop drizzles thus irking the daily commuters. Even we had to juggle with raincoats while carrying kids to & from school. Even though the rains lasted for longer time, the volume wasn't up to mark. It hardly rained 50mm in span of 5 days but the days were taxing.

At last, Sunday saw the bright presence of Sun but not with full might. The days are still chill and allergic too! Every evening it used to rain. We finally got some respite from evening showers and sparse clouds paved way for evening Sun as well. This weather led us to lake nearby house and thus capture. Storms bring lot of charm eventually over the ground. The reflections and greenery are eternal healers of city life. I was happy with final outcome of our walk, weather, and picture too!

Photo Blog - The Royal Avenue

It has been busy week with family shifting to new location within Bengaluru. The current location is as lively as earlier one but slightly hot. I miss Amruthahalli lake and bengaluru vibes of previous stay. The current location hosts streak of apartments all along with lesser vegetation. This was taken in one of morning walk while scanning the neighborhood for familiarity.

The apartments could be seen throughout the street. The trees seems to be lost lives or affected by deep concrete base?

Not everything is as royal as seen in picture

As concrete bloom

Threat on nature looms

It has been long time since spring passed, but trees still stays bland

And the roads are caved in to threat level. Soon they may reach dangerous mark

The depth of collapse is difficult to gauge if it rains!

Photo Blog - The Legend!

It is rarity to see this legend nowadays. The AMBASSADOR car which is a sturdy, heavily built, people friendly car was discontinued for some reasons. The car used to be overcrowded and heavy baggage. Still it sustained the wrath of human 

The magnificent beast we spotted seemed to have been unused for long. The assumption stemmed from the plants shrouding the LEGEND. Surprisingly, the exteriors are in good condition :-). It means unused but yet maintained. Not sure! Yet another possibility is that owner parking in this location regularly. It looks to be rare possibility since the branches of plant is in good condition and at the same time, the owner would park it in neat location.

A respect to the LEGEND via monochrome image

A summer evening at Maravanthe Beach

This should have been written earlier but the sluggishness to edit pictures delays the blog post frequently. I have finally decided to write about the summer experiences in Maravanthe beach. Here how it goes!

7th May 2023

Oceans have tremendous ability to calm your mind. The sound of waves, the sunset along the horizon, the energetic tides are healers and boosters of life. It has been hectic year so far with native visit pending from nearly 5 months. The primary reason was kids schools, new school hunting for 1st standard and new house hunting. The hectic work of school hunting and new rent house eventually ended on positive note which ushered us to plan native visit.

My in-laws are constructing house close to Udupi. They will be vacating the current house near Kundapura soon. Therefore it was needed visit to Maravanthe beach to relish the memories. Unsure when we will have visit again to this beautiful heaven. On a fine evening, we decided to spend time along the sprawling shore of Maravanthe beach.

The tides were high and sunset was due. The barging tides struck the boulders and raise high showing its might. The crowd was high being Sunday! This beach is not friendly geographically in terms of play. Still mad tourists risk their lives for inconsequential selfies. The other part of it was, the scenes were apt for shooting sea tides. I captured few from mobile camera.

Someone was showing up frequently beneath the sand.

Giant waves dominated the evening. I am not sure if I can frequently visit Marvanthe from now onwards. Here are the majority pictures I captured during serene evening to relive the memories.

The sunset beside sea is tranquil.

Once finished with beach activity, we had darshan of deities situated in Mahavaraha temple beside souparnika river and sought blessings for our new beginnings.

Hear the roar of sea via video!

Photo Blog - Before the Storm

The monsoon is making slow progress which is providing additional room for thunderstorms to flourish in Bengaluru. The sluggish progress of monsoon has forced school authorities to postpone schools indefinitely till rains arrive. This grave situation is rare is coastal Karnataka but that rarity has arrived. Let's pray for healthy monsoon hereafter!

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru city continues to receive healthy rains. Daily 20mm rains made sure that city has enough water reserves. It was surprise storm few days back here in Bengaluru. The evening rains always surprising and pours without a hint. The skies were blue with few distant cloud. Suddenly clouds from west pushed towards our area and it poured for 30mins with thick droplets. This is the scene before storm

And this is how storm looked during night!

Photo Blog - Alone yet strong!

This is the picture I took at rural part of Mulbagal town. I was captivated by the scenery en-route to Garuda temple at koladevi near mulbagal. I even had found Pied Kingfisher here. During my subsequent visit to Kurudumale Ganesha temple to attend Benne Alankara for Lord, I planned sojourn to this beautiful lake. The nearby field hosted this large coconut tree amidst the agricultural land. The clouds above provided beautiful landscape.

The tree stood tall withstanding wind and rain. Perhaps it is stronger and tall. Even though surrounded by myriads of crop, it can still stand stronger! We also need stand tall and stronger in life despite all circumstances. Be in right path as well! It can withstand any amount invasion or bullying over the times. The tree taught me a good lesson that day. The winds were strong and tree was alone. Still it stood high and strong. I felt as if it spoke to me "Till I am alive, I will stay strong!"

We stopped by the lake for a while. I couldn't spot pied kingfisher this time.

Felt blessed after having darshan of Lord Ganesha at Kurudumale adorned with Benne!