Spread the Message !

I have the ultimate power in the world
Say my name and people shudder with fright

I just love my ability to multiply and spread pain
Age no bar sex no bar, the one I choose will sure be destroyed

Human beings try every possible means to try and stop me from spreading,
Little do they know how badly they’re gonna lose in this fight

Reports about my plunders you can read in every available medium
I’m so (in)famous throughout every country on the face of the earth

One thought recently struck me:
If I’m so famous as a killer, would saving lives make me even more popular?
If I could use my powers to heal rather than kill
Would they call me “Cancer - the Wonder cure” !

The joy of giving!

Every year I look forward to this day, when I go to the cancer institute and spend time with the children there. Kidwai Institute of Oncology is near Dairy circle, Bangalore.

Walk into the hospital premises and you’ll see 100s of people wandering around. A common feature that I’ve noticed is the look in their eyes when they see someone new, a glance of hope that someone will tell them it is going to be alright and can only get better.

We went around lunch time, most of the kids were out in the open courtyard, their mothers feeding them. As soon as they see you approaching with a packet of chocolates, they momentarily forget about their food and come running towards you. See, aunty’s got chocolates, you’ll hear them tell each other as they beckon all their friends to gather around you. The ones who come running would be those who’ve been diagnosed with cancer very recently and are yet to start treatment. There would be others who are in the midst of their treatment, frail and weak, silently lying in bed with eyes shut tight.
What’s your name you ask them in all the languages that you know, to one of them they’ll respond back saying Rakesh, Akash, Asha. Ask them where they’ve come from - Penukonda, Salem, Mysore...they’ll tell you. Which class are you studying in will fetch you answers like 2nd, 3rd or 5th standard.
Why... I don’t understand they have to go through such a misery, so early in life. No childhood pranks, no jumping around in the playground, no getting wet in the slush when it rains. All that they get to see around them is other children who are also unwell, scary people in white coats, scarier instruments piercing them and causing pain. A mother carrying a child (who couldn’t have been more than a year and a half or 2 old) just walked into the room. Blood cancer is what had been diagnosed. The child is clinging on to its mother tightly, not wanting to let go of the comfort, doesn’t even want to look at you. But once you give the child a bar of chocolate, the sheer delight you see in its eyes, the smile that spreads across its face... is just too wonderful to describe!

A group of youngsters had also come today, one of them carrying a guitar and one of their group members in a very funny cartoon costume. On seeing the group arrive, all the children gathered outside and sat down in front of them. This group must have been a part of a Christian missionary, I’m just guessing this as they were singing songs in the praise of the Lord. The songs which they sang were very catchy and they even had hand gestures to go along with the words. These guys made the children sing along with them, made them laugh out loud - momentarily making them forget where they were and the reason they were there.

To take “some” time out of our selfish lives.... for “sometime” to forget about our mundane daily problems, to be able to spend a short while with people who are in need of company….. they don’t want our money…All they need is LOVE. As my mother often says- youngsters today, can achieve so much in life, they just have to make up their minds and come together, with their efforts….the whole world will surely be better place!
WE DO CARE... right ???

Hilarious !

This is how Douglas Adams' - "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" begins...

People often ask me how they can leave the planet, so I have prepared some brief notes.

How to Leave the Planet

1. Phone NASA. Their phone number is (713) 483-3111. Explain that it's very important that you get away as soon as possible.

2. If they do not cooperate, phone any friend you may have in the White House- (202)456-1414-to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA.

3. If you don't have any friends in the White House, phone the Kremlin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-295-9051). They don't have any friends there either (at least, none to speak of), but they do seem to have a little influence, so you may as well try.

4. If that also fails, phone the Pope for guidance. His telephone number is 011-39-6-6982, and I gather his switchboard is infallible.

5. If all these attempts fail, flag down a passing flying saucer and explain that it's vitally important you get away before your phone bill arrives.

Now, shall get back to the book :)

Away for the weekend!

Evening of 12th August, 2005 -– finally the much awaited long weekend was here. We (my parents and I) decided we'’d drive down to Mysore and then go to Bandipur from there.
As planned, we left home at 6.30 AM 13th morning, not wanting to get stuck in traffic. The 4-lane highway to Mysore is still being laid, and this can cause a bit of a frustration to the person who is driving because for every 4-5 kms that you get to drive at top speed, you are forced to take a diversion and drive on the other side of the road along with the oncoming traffic. We stopped for breakfast at a place in Maddur and then reached Mysore at about 10 AM.
We checked into the hotel, left our bag and baggage there, took a cab and started off on our journey. On the way we saw so many fields full of sunflowers. It was such delight!
About 23 kms from Mysore is Nanjangud, very famous for its Nanjundeshwara temple. What fascinated me about this temple is its copper colour. Every other temple that I can think of is painted in blue, green, red... and made as multi-coloured as possible.
After crossing Gundalpet village, on the right hand side, there'’s a road leading to Gopala Swamy Betta. My friends had told me that this was a must -see. On the way up, we stopped to take some pictures. Our driver pointed out deep into the forest where we were able to spot a herd of elephants romping around. We quickly fetched binoculars from the car sighted an elephant family happily moving along with its little one. Unfortunately it was too far off and I was not able to take a picture of it. When we reached the top, the weather was just wonderful. It being a cloudy day, it was very windy up there and the light drizzle just made it perfect.
We had been told that the safari at Bandipur was from 4-6 PM only, so we had to now hurry without any further stops. Bandipur was filled with people. I guess there were more visitors there than wild animals. Even before getting into the area reserved for safari, we could see deer prancing around and crossing the road.
There were even elephants been taken to the lake for a drink. For the safari, a trip in the usual bus costs Rs.25, if you want an open jeep it costs you Rs.1500. We thought it would be worth it to take the jeep but then, sadly the jeep had been booked for the next two days.... (we later on found out, that this had been good-- in a way)
So, off we went on the safari, looking out in every possible direction, trying to spot elephants, bears and maybe even a tiger. As wefurtherfuther into the forest, we spotted lots n lots of deer, a couple of peacocks, elephants which ran away and quickly hid themselves behind bushes, well away from our sight. So in all, we lots lots of deer and monkeys. Even if we had managed to go by the jeep, this is all we'’d have seen : ) Having done with the safari, we went back to see the elephants which were now ready to gives rides.

Back in Mysore, we had dinner at the hotel and retired for the day, listening to the pitter patter of the rain outside and the constant grrrr.... of the AC that slowly took over.
Sunday morning after breakfast, we went to the palace gates and tried to take a few shots of the beauty which lay within.
From there we headed out to the KRS dam which houses Brindavan gardens. Walking amongst the numerous fountains its not too difficult visualise a Jayapradha and a Jitendra doing a dance number with lots of jhatkas and matkas in their ever so colourful garb!

2 weeks back, the water level in the dam had risen so much that it had overflowed and the garden had to be closed to the public. So we were assured of lots n lots of water at the dam. Sure enough, the water wasup toled upto the brim. It was just amazing to see the huge mass of water which spread out in every direction.
Having ticked off all the places we wanted to see this time, we headed back to Bangalore. We had lunch at the same place where we'd had breakfast the previous day. In a few hours time we were back in Bangalore and at home. Thus ended the journey from the wild jungles of Bandipur, we were back at the concrete jungle called Bangalore!

You can view all the photos here :)

feeling lousy...

Just don't know why this lousy feeling creeps up once in a while. Been feeling this way right from morning. Could it have anything to do with the weather?? hm... its been cloudy and dull... but then I love the rain..so, that should have cheered me up, but no!
Got home and been listening to "Saawariya" from Swades over and over again... why this of all songs... I don't know, but just feel like listening to it....
2 more days and then its the long weekend... well that thought does bring a broad smile on my face :)

100 photos......

Came across this very interesting website which hosts 100 photos of events which changed the world.....check them out here.

Annual day ....music class

Last Sunday, was the annual day in my music class. This day, every year, all the students of my music teacher have to perform on stage along with pakka vaadhyam. I was to sing one keerthanam and one devaranaama. The keerthanam was one, which I was confident of and had practised thoroughly, but the devaranama was one which was decided in the last minute after lots of rejections by my music teacher. This particular song is a toughie because it was a ragamalika with the ragams changing from hamsanandi – brindavani to shivaranjani. How much ever I practised... it just didn’t seem to have the effect which my teacher’s voice produced.
My cousin sis had come down for the weekend after a real long time, my orkut friends were having a meet… I wanted to be with these people. I was cribbing that everything had to happen on the same day. It was either all or none.
Anyway, the Sunday function went on really well..(ahem..despite of my singing) ;). The icing on the cake was the song which my teacher sang, it was so moving that many people had tears in their eyes when she finished. Its really rare to find such talent!
I was speaking to my teacher today, and she told me a very funny incident. After the function got over that day, one small kid came up to her and said very disappointedl.."aunty.. you sang better than me". Being very amused, my teacher told her "yes dear, if I didn’t, you wouldn’t come to me to learn" and she quickly added "when you grow up, you will sing better than me" to which the kid plainly replied.. "no..even then you will only sing better" and walked away! What innocence :)