Mailbox peak

As a kid I used to look forward to my yearly vacation trips to Bangalore. The idea of train journeys, food on stations (idly vade) , in trains , haggling with porters, auto wallas all used to be one experience, more on that some other time. Scenery, rising hills, crossing rivers , vast farm lands and cattle grazing peacefully was a significant element of this journey. Every time I saw these hills from the window, the mind wandered with numerous possibilities,

-who lives up there?
-how do they get to the top ?
-how far could they see, even wondered how if I could jump of the train hike up the hill and see it for myself.
I did something close to what I used to wonder as a kid. Hiked up to the top of a peak off of I-90 close to Seattle called the "Mail box peak". This has been by far the toughest hike I have done, not that I am an avid hiker but sure of the opinion that one should go take a hike on a gorgeous summer Seattle day.It was an early start, we were out on the roads by 7:30 on a Saturday morning ! for directions and more details click here.It was a steep peak we gain 4000 ft in 2.5 miles. The unmaintained trail added to the challenge and we took close to 3 hours to get to the top. I should say we were a touch slow, we could have done it in 2.5 hours. The hike was steep with a narrow trail, it sure tested one's endurance and mental concentration. About 2 miles of the hike displayed typical rain forest of the pacific northwest. The last .5 miles stretch is the carrot at the end of the stick, it is worth all the energy invested. Breathtaking views of the cascade range and wild flowers all along the path make it worth while. Watch the video below for a 360 degree view from the top of mail box peak. I would suggest go out do some hiking before you take on mail box and no doubts you will enjoy it.

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attention to ..

A bomb defusal expert defuses a bomb near Amraivadi Police lines in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Attention to detail or attention to the obvious here, this super trained commando does not have any cloves on, looks like these bombs are the kind which hurt everything but your hands.

In waiting for the sun rise

In waiting for the sunrise, playing with thoughts,
making stories and breaking them, to make them all over again .

Seeing light and visions of the new day to come,
bringing people to life and things I have seen before,
making memories with my thoughts,
real are these as much are the real ones.

It is not too long before the sunrise now,
I am waiting to see a new memory unfold.

Durga - early night raaga

Raag Durga for the gen-x(z) from Advaita. It is such a beautiful and powerful melody that hits one with its energy and leaves one intoxicated.



This is from the one and the only ustad Bismillah khan.



Another vocal performance by Anuradha Kuber

Mein Ban Ki Chidiya

She:Mein ban Ki chidiya, banake ban ban boalon ree..
He:Mein ban ka panchee, banake sang sang doalon ree..
She:main daal daal ud jaon, nahi pakadai main aaon
He:tum dal dal, main paath paath bin pakade kabhi na choodu sang sang doalon ree..

Hallmark of vintage Indian cinema, was made in 1936. Ahosk kumar's voice was the same even when he was really young :).

Score runs and also save wickets

The Indian government is at logger heads with the left parties (which are part of the coalition) on the nuclear deal. The left parties are threating the government to withdraw their support if the government goes ahead with the deal.

Here is what Ram Vilas Paswan said when asked, if the government faces any issues and would it be dissolved."We are trying to score runs and also save wickets, the government will stay and we will also work on the nuclear deal " - fine analogy.

Friday humor

Charlie bit my finger !

Soccer - fun evening

Yesterday after dinning at P F Chang's my fortune cookie said - "Something you have been waiting for will happen soon".

Today while on my usual evening jog and my routine of stretching around the local soccer field, I was waiting for the game to begin ( I watch these games a couple of minutes, generally a lot of fun) and wonder if I could go and kick the ball around myself.And it happened the guy across the fence called out and said

he: "hey do you play soccer.."
me:"ya.. I can play if you don't have enough players.."
me: to myself - hmm I signed up but haven't played in 14 years now.. but should be ok..

I walk up, put on the red jersey, feel the air, stretch back-front-sidewards crackle and loosen up.
The team I am playing for had players mostly from eastern European countries, tall and sharp. We were playing against green looked like most players were from Latin American countries ,short but swift.

Enjoyed next 45 minutes of fast play, blood rushing into all the vessels , supplying that much needed extra punch of oxygen.

Away from home

Bobby Bare(1963)

I'm five hundred miles away from home
Teardrops fell on mama's note when I read the things she wrote
She said we miss you son we love you come on home
Well I didn't have to pack I had it all right on my back
Now I'm five hundred miles away from home
Away from home away from home cold and tired and all alone
Yes I'm five hundred miles away from home

........

The Brothers Four


If you miss the train I'm on, You will know that I am gone, You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles. A hundred miles, a hundred miles, A hundred miles, a hundred miles, you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.....

Note the audience participation in this ...

One for the night - Shudh Kalyan - Sarod

Play this (early night) just before calling it a day. Close your eyes, lie down, relax and relish...
Click Here

Bhakti sangeet - Vachana

Over the years their have been sages, saints, thinkers disseminating seeds of spirituality. Music has been the means to reach a wider audience to strike the right chord, to induce that extra level of emotional/spiritual high.

Here is an example of bhakti sangeet, after listening to this Vachana, by Allama Prabhu a 12th century saint, I couldn't resist myself from trying to get to its meaning. I called my dear aunt (who has herself excelled in bhakti sangeet) to get a better insight.
Below are the lyrics and the gist.

Bhavadalobba devara madi,
manadal-loondu bhaktiya madi.

kayada kaiyali karya untee,
vayakke balaluvadu nooda..!

yattaneeri yettanarasuvadu,
yatta hodaraiyaa guheshwara.

Make your god(peace) yourself, build devotion/love around it.
there is not much in the hands of this mortal body,
don't go looking for it elsewhere, where you can't find it.

Pandit Venkatesh Kumar renders it so powerfully and soulfully that it is hard to shield oneself from getting overwhelmed by the music and the message it conveys.

Hill Train

listen to the "Hill Train..."

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One of my very favorite sounds tracks growing up.
Composer: Anand Shankar

man anand.. anand

Raag - Ahir Bhairav
Beautiful rendition.
Movie: Vijeta (a must watch for a parallel/art cinema buff)

ummm..!

3 scopes of breyers vanilla , 3 strawberries, half pear , half ripe banana with sprinkled golden resins all floating atop thick mango juice.....

nice ad ...

Updated.. full ad

Janappa the friendly barber...

Sunday mornings would start early the day there was an appointment with the village barber Janappa. Janappa a middle aged man a full time worker at the local mill carried the legacy giving hair trims to every one from the vegetable vendor to the village head. He would be there at the doorstep sharp at 7 ringing the bell and calling out "sahebra". Janappa would be greeted with a hot cup of tea before he got down to business. He sipped the tea and savored every sip "surring" it before he swallowed.

He had a compact box for his equipment much like a surgeon's case. It had some sharp scissors, shaving blades, a small green cup with soap which had a neat depression right in the middle, one that had formed due to regular use. Janappa was skilled in his art and took pride in it. He had a rhythm in his style, much like that of a percussionist following a certain pattern of beats. He would get into his form like a performer and end his beat cycles in anticipation of a round of applause.He snapped and snapped moved carefully along soft skin lines near the ears
made round edges at the back cleaning all the hair on the neck. Jannappa didn't end at trimming hair, his specialty was the refreshing head massage after the hair cut. He beat the top and the sides, pulled ears at regular intervals, like a drummer hitting the drums the snare and tinkering the cymbal occasionally.

While he did this there was an air of importance that clouded him, he gloated on how all powerful, weak, big or small had to bow their heads for him. How his profession was a great equalizer.This was such an event that it made it for waking up early on a Sunday morning.

Raag Nand, Lata and Ghalib.

I am a frequent visitor of Ranjan Parrikars articles on classical music. Last night while I was sampling renditions in raag Nand I stumbled upon this beautiful sher sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Click here to listen.

It sounded so beautiful that I had to look for its meaning and I found it on this blog.
The message sure fills one with its profoundness and to top it Lata Mangeshkar's voice; her eloquence is simply divine.

Credits:
The below section is from sukhanwar-ghalib.blogspot.com.

naqsh fariyaadii hai kis kii shoKhii-e-tahariir kaa
kaaGazii hai pairahan har paikar-e-tasviir kaa

[naqsh:copy/print, fariyaad: complaint, tahariir: writing]
[kaaGazii: delicate, pairahan: dress, paikar: appearance]

In this sher Ghalib complains about the existence of mankind to the Creator. ‘Naqsh’ represents mankind, which complains to the creator represented here by the ‘Tahrir’ of which it is a part. O God!, why did you create me in your playfulness? The second line elaborates this complaint by saying, “Kagazi hai pairahan har paikar-e-tasveer ka”. In ancient Persia, there was this tradition of wearing paper attire whenever any complainant went to the Sultan for the redressal of his grievance. So Ghalib laments that all existence is nothing but a complaint.

Holi Hai !

Aayi aayi rangon ki holi |
Khushiyon se bharne ham sab ki jholi ||

Udati hai rang gulabli |
dhodeti har jag ki kharabi ||

Neela jo hath se choote |
roothe preetam ka man loote ||

Hara jo ud ud aaye |
tan man ki klesh mitaye ||

Aayi aayi rangon ki holi |
Khushiyon se bharne ham sab ki jholi ||

Cricket Ka Karamyudh

Very well made ad, some observations.

• They have sold this idea of cricket where teams don't play for their nations. It is interesting the way they have branded it as "Karma yudh". The players play to exhibit their best skills, the best of what they have practiced for years.
• Very impressed by the music and the tempo it builds, it makes it seem big and important.
• Finally well made graphics, this ad makes the point and makes it effectively.

The world's largest experiment

Attended this lecture by Uwe Bratzler a physicist on what is said to be "the world's largest experiment".

This experiment is an attempt to simulate the bing bang which occurred around 15 billion years ago. The summary of the talk better explains the experiment. The large hadron collider is expected to produce the elusive Higgs boson ("God Particle"), and throw some light on how other elementary particles acquire mass.

Apart from such deep theories on particle physics, the quest is to answer the fundamental questions around the evolution of universe. Wouldn't we all all want to know how did it all start, from nothing to something and how it would all end.

This first stanza is in Sanskrit (Rig Veda, Book 10, Hymn 129)

nāsadāsīn no sadāsīt tadānīṃ nāsīd rajo no vyomāparo yat |
kimāvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmannambhaḥ kimāsīd ghahanaṃ ghabhīram ||

Srishti se pehle sat nahin thaa, asat bhi nahin
Antariksh bhi nahin, aakaash bhee nahin thaa.
Chhipaa thaa kyaa, kahaan, kisne dhaka thaa?
Us pal to agam, atal jal bhi kahaan thaa.

Truth/Good did not exist before the Universe came to be
Neither did Untruth/Evil
Neither did Space
Neither did the sky
What was hidden? Where?
Who had covered it?
At that moment
Unmoving, strong ocean was not there either

-credits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Ek_Khoj

listen to these beautiful lines here



The above lines were made famous by the show "Discovery Of India"( it was played in the title track).

These are the very questions which men pondered upon might have some answers after this experiment.

More on CERN and their experimental setup.