2011 Summary

2011 is a truly wonderful year to me – new home, new friends, got published, certification, and to top it all first international vacation. Hope and pray that 2012 should bring me everything I wished to my hands – the best year yet… Wishing you all a fabulous 2012… :)

The Amateur

She thinks she can write among her other skills and talents. She tends to write with a strange tone for her fictional highbrow literary readers. She is hungry for details in any situation. Her words flounce with her recordings of mysterious colors, cryptic scents, unknown resonances, peculiar flavors, and miniscule feelings. Her curiosity made her wander in wide range of topics. She has all the necessary vanity for a writer but not the insight. She starts to write something without knowing her plot. She desperately wants to reach a culmination point but not sure where her pencil is taking her.

Duty Calls

His corner office overlooked city and traffic. He took his eyes from his laptop, scanned the horizon. Months had flurried across that winter had painted a few patches of natural colors grey. He had wound himself into a cocoon, moving away from her, working on a business deal. Yesterday, he looked up while sorting slides for his presentation, whiffing her scent. She returned from gym, her angelic face hot and shiny, sporting a smile. Nothing in his world could be more perfect. He wanted to make up for their lost time. He passed a multi-million dollar deal to his colleague.

Bon Voyage

I stitched after a long time… nearly after 3 years… :)

Big Banyan Tree

I’ve talked about this for years… when we did go, it was mind-numbingly unplanned. When we left home with our chauffeur, we had no clue on the destination. I was thinking it must be one our usual exploits like Lalbagh. Thamba surprised me by picking “Nandi Hills”. We drove north discussing other places and turned west settling for “Big Banyan Tree”. Mysore road had one of its worse traffic jams. It was a welcoming change to get out of the city. At least four people asked us “go straight for three kilometers” after taking a right near Rajarajeshwari Dental College. It was about seven kilometers from Mysore road. Finally, we got there…


400 year old banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) tree is set in the backdrop of mighty monolithic hill – Savandurga. This tree is supposed to be the fourth largest in India after the ones in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, and Chennai. I’ve not seen the one in Chennai in spite of living very close to it :( This big banyan tree currently has more than 1000 aerial / prop roots and supposed to expand by a few feet every year. The green canopy spans across three acres. The main trunk is dying of some disease, hosts a Siva temple underneath. It hurts to note that most branch and trunk of this beautifully gnarled tree has been etched with graffiti by vandals. Horticultural department took the tree under their care to protect and conserve its roots.

I wished to go further to Machanabele dam and Savandurga… without lunch, we had to return after carefully picking up snacks like tender coconut and peanuts… Anyway… happy to meet the old giant at last :)

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse through my eyes… Sorry for the bad photographs…

Lalitha Ma’am

How can the year end without a whirlwind pilgrimage tour? Madurai – Pillayarpatti – Rameshwaram… I’m trying to forget the horrors of bathing in so-called scared waters (“punniya theertham”) or the food poisoning that made take frequent trips to the bathroom and confined to bed for two days. The best of this trip is meeting Lalitha ma’am, my high school biology teacher. I was surprised when a lady grabbed my arms and asked “Mercy, do you remember me?” I struggled hard to place her… Thamba knew her instantly. I was truly touched – she could remember my name and face after all these years and out of numerous students who would have walked in and out of her classroom… Not every teacher will help to shape our future… Some will leave long last impression that would stay for lives. Lalitha ma’am is one of those kinds. She is a tough bird with impeccable standards. I remember this particular incident… Amma drew an impressionist work of Nepenthes in my Botany record notebook. I do not remember what I did to annoy her later that she refused to draw human brain for Zoology record. I wanted the brain to excel the beauty of nepenthes. Hence I decided to trace the picture from book. The result - brain appeared as a minuscule version in my big record notebook. I submitted my work proudly. When she picked up mine, she called me to her table with a cold stare and asked me “what is this?” I replied innocently, “brain!” She retorted in front of all my classmates “yours?” and showed it to the class roaring with laughter. Well… my notebook was thrown out in an elegant projectile motion. That’s when I decided without any trace of doubt “Computer Science is my future” :) On a serious note, I owe a lot to her… She strived for perfection in every single thing. I’m still trying to live up to her standards…