Sunday, October 30, 2011
Petless in (Ferns) Paradise : K Achuthan
We are pet less today and we live amongst a community that did not dissuade grooming of pets. In fact we have some pet lovers who encourage pets to be groomed.
To understand what it means to have a pet, you must realise what it means not to have one. In the few days that I lost both my pets, I realise that coming home is just 'coming home'. It would be sometimes better to walk through a 'welcoming' hotel reception than coming home to a petless house. After 25 years of our marriage, I must confess that Neena and I have gone through most of the drama that we realise the importance of giving 'space' to each other. When I come home, Neena is busy teaching yoga somewhere. If Robin & Ferro were to be there, they would have greeted me in such that I would feel as though I was coming home first time as a bridegroom.
The mornings begin as though I have been a lost a found item. The way they would lick me, I would not need a razor to shave. The joy of taking them out for their first walk and to see them do their jobs, you would be so relieved that even if you have a constipation, you would thank them that they did it on your behalf. On mornings that you wake up with a hangover, taking a pet out for a walk is like having a head massage. Pet less guys will never understand this.
And then there is the ocassional fight with Neena that sometimes grows so loud that our dogs would vanish under the cots and sofas. They know when to broker peace, for when they feel that the intensity is over, they would come up to us and cosy up. All tensions vanish and the topic of dispute changes to topic of affection, their affection.
The pain of having a pet is when they fall ill. The symptoms start with them ignoring food. From then on, it is trips to the Vet. When they recover, it is although you have lost and found your Rolex watch.
We had Robin, a Dalmation, and Ferro, a Dashhund. Both left in a space of two weeks.
To have a pet is like to have a child who will never grow up rationally but will multiply emotionally. If you are not strong hearted to accept that his life span is very small and no matter how close he is to you, you must let him go, please keep a pet. Please dont keep a pet if you are not ready to accept him as your family member. He will give you joy and he will give you pains too. He would chew into your leather sofa, bite your best friend, shit in your poojs room, and will not cuddle up to you when you really want him to. Count on him to give unconditional love.
Bow, bow,
Achu
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Kerala By Road : K Achuthan
Onam greetings to you and all. I thought I had sent out the greetings yesterday but noticed this morning that the message failed to deliver.
Glad that you appreciate the places I wrote about. There are many others too, as you probably know.
The striking thing about Kerala as you enter it from other states is the stream of school children, all dressed up smartly in colourful uniforms, neat and clean, and very cheerful and chirpy. This is such a stark contrast to what happens on the other side of the border when one would see children loitring listlessly, often grazing cattle. On the not so bright side of Kerala when you travel around, is the sight of "wine shops" and bars that are over flowing with customers from wee hours in the morning. Not so much in the Malabar side but certainly every where else that I have travelled.
Kerala roadsides also have one of the best garbage clearing systems in the country and it is also relatively plastic free. One would see ice-cream vendors along the road side with a cardboard carton placed next to his vehicle where his clients would deposit the litter. All this means so much less of stray dogs. You cannot escape the countless number of billboards colourfully painted with messages most often announcing a range of footware or wares of jwellery shops. Mammotty and Mohanlal would compete even here for eyeball space. This can be an eyesore for an outsider as this would stand between him and Kerala.
I was amazed to observe some road habits of a Malayalee. An ambulance is given way instantly and even a KSRTC bus does it. This is such a contrast to what happens in Bangalore, specially, when an ambulance is just another vehilce trying to push its way. People cross the roads through cleanly marked pedestrian crossways which never happens anywhere outside Kerala. You very rarely see people squatting to ease by the roadside which is very different from the "pee"ple in other parts who use the road sides as loo's. The roadsigns on the highways are very adequate and also written in English. Despite all this, Kerala roads could turn out to be the least motarable ones when its gets shut down by "bandhs" and "hartals" which are announced in a flash and far too often.
There is no better place in India than Kerala for a traveller when it comes to roadside food. Most roadside restaurants serve tasty food in hygenic conditions and at very reasonable rates. They serve boiled warm drinking water. Tipping is not possible as you are required to settle your bill directly at the cash counter where one has direct access to the owner of the place, if you wish to pay a compliment or otherwise. And yet, you could be at the receiving end if you dare to ask for a spoon to eat as that would mean challenging the culture.
Temples, mosques and churches line the roadsides at such regularity that it made one of my friends to make a "north-Indianish" assumption that this is why Kerala was called "God's Own Country". You will find posters of Abdul Madani, now cooling his heels in a jail in Bangalore, proclaiming that "WILL BE BACK ONE DAY, LIKE A STORM". The road side tea stalls still have those characters that you see in Srinivasan's movies, who sit on that bench and read out from a Malayalam newspaper. In Malapuram district, two wheelers have their number plates in green, often numbered also in Arabic. "Saree Sellers", "Disco Step Cutters" would directly call out the boards that crown the shops selling sarees and the one that is a barber's shop.
So much has changed and yet so little has been lost in Kerala. As I stood by the banks of Bharatha puzha that was flowing from bank to bank, on the same spot that my father had stood in early 1940's to cross the river to get to Tirur to take a train to Madras where he did his MA Honours in MCC, I was completely at peace, like others who live in Kerala. Kerala is ahead in many ways without being in the rat race. "Roads speak our culture", said a board. Indeed it does, especially in Kerala. Travel by the roads in Kerala, and you can take in the warmth of your motherland!!
Glad that you appreciate the places I wrote about. There are many others too, as you probably know.
The striking thing about Kerala as you enter it from other states is the stream of school children, all dressed up smartly in colourful uniforms, neat and clean, and very cheerful and chirpy. This is such a stark contrast to what happens on the other side of the border when one would see children loitring listlessly, often grazing cattle. On the not so bright side of Kerala when you travel around, is the sight of "wine shops" and bars that are over flowing with customers from wee hours in the morning. Not so much in the Malabar side but certainly every where else that I have travelled.
Kerala roadsides also have one of the best garbage clearing systems in the country and it is also relatively plastic free. One would see ice-cream vendors along the road side with a cardboard carton placed next to his vehicle where his clients would deposit the litter. All this means so much less of stray dogs. You cannot escape the countless number of billboards colourfully painted with messages most often announcing a range of footware or wares of jwellery shops. Mammotty and Mohanlal would compete even here for eyeball space. This can be an eyesore for an outsider as this would stand between him and Kerala.
I was amazed to observe some road habits of a Malayalee. An ambulance is given way instantly and even a KSRTC bus does it. This is such a contrast to what happens in Bangalore, specially, when an ambulance is just another vehilce trying to push its way. People cross the roads through cleanly marked pedestrian crossways which never happens anywhere outside Kerala. You very rarely see people squatting to ease by the roadside which is very different from the "pee"ple in other parts who use the road sides as loo's. The roadsigns on the highways are very adequate and also written in English. Despite all this, Kerala roads could turn out to be the least motarable ones when its gets shut down by "bandhs" and "hartals" which are announced in a flash and far too often.
There is no better place in India than Kerala for a traveller when it comes to roadside food. Most roadside restaurants serve tasty food in hygenic conditions and at very reasonable rates. They serve boiled warm drinking water. Tipping is not possible as you are required to settle your bill directly at the cash counter where one has direct access to the owner of the place, if you wish to pay a compliment or otherwise. And yet, you could be at the receiving end if you dare to ask for a spoon to eat as that would mean challenging the culture.
Temples, mosques and churches line the roadsides at such regularity that it made one of my friends to make a "north-Indianish" assumption that this is why Kerala was called "God's Own Country". You will find posters of Abdul Madani, now cooling his heels in a jail in Bangalore, proclaiming that "WILL BE BACK ONE DAY, LIKE A STORM". The road side tea stalls still have those characters that you see in Srinivasan's movies, who sit on that bench and read out from a Malayalam newspaper. In Malapuram district, two wheelers have their number plates in green, often numbered also in Arabic. "Saree Sellers", "Disco Step Cutters" would directly call out the boards that crown the shops selling sarees and the one that is a barber's shop.
So much has changed and yet so little has been lost in Kerala. As I stood by the banks of Bharatha puzha that was flowing from bank to bank, on the same spot that my father had stood in early 1940's to cross the river to get to Tirur to take a train to Madras where he did his MA Honours in MCC, I was completely at peace, like others who live in Kerala. Kerala is ahead in many ways without being in the rat race. "Roads speak our culture", said a board. Indeed it does, especially in Kerala. Travel by the roads in Kerala, and you can take in the warmth of your motherland!!
Masinagudi Adventures : K Achuthan
If you have not been to Mavanalla/Bokapuram near Masinagudi, I suggest you try this place once. As you drive from Gundalpet to Gudalur, after Bandipur and as you reach Thepakadu, there is a narrow bridge on the left that takes you to the elephant country called Bokapuram. On the foothills of Nilgiris (Ooty is 13 kms away if you are ready to take the 36 hair-pin bend Kalhatti road), this place is my favourite mainly because of wildlife sightings.
Cottage 6 at Casa Deep Woods is a place that I have always preferred. This is the one on the fringes of the forest and many a times we have been stranded in it, sorrounded by elephants. We have sighted a sloth bear there and have heard a tiger roar twice from approximately 200 meters away. On one ocassion, we were asked to vacate the room in a hurry at about 8 pm as there was a rouge elephant roaming around in that area. The fellow had killed 2 french tourists about 2 months ago.
I have two friends who live there. Dev Reddy owns Casa Deep Woods and he and his wife Nagina lives in a bunglow next to Casa Deep Wood. Last time when we had a drink with them, Nagina showed us the spot from where her pet dog was lifted away from the compound by a leopard. The other one is Mark who lives all alone deep inside. He once talked of an elephant that had got inside his kitchen "lifting the roof" in search of jackfruit that was kept in the fridge. He could not get out for a long time and gave Mark some very tense time. Read chetalwalk written by his father Dravidar to know more about the place.
We were there in March this year and Dev showed us a newspaper cutting stating that the forest department has declared the whole place as an elephant corridor and the court had ruled that all the resorts must close down. Dev confirmed some time back that their appeal was turned down and Bokapuram will soon stop to be a a tourist destination. We are going there this month for what we think would be our last visit to beautiful Bokapuram.
Kenneth Anderson is a Scottish gentleman who has written few books about his experiences shooting down man-eater tigers in the nilgiri biosphere. In one May when we went to pick up Shruti who was then studying in Ooty, we decided to trail a route that he had written about. With help from Dev who kindly arranged for a forest department guide and jeep, we drove deep inside. There was a certain temple that Anderson had written about and we could locate it. It is abandoned and in ruins but all that was written was there to see. Considering that the book was written in mid forties, things had not changed much. We came across some tribals, the kurumbas, who are traditional honey collectors. That by itself is a story.
Most of my outings have been inspired by wildlife and Neena and Shruti have come to accept that if they need to see me in my elements, they need to be ready for the wilderness. It has not been always fun and thrill....... we have had some very anxious moments too.
Try Masinagudi once. Even a day trip is sure to give you some thrill.
Cottage 6 at Casa Deep Woods is a place that I have always preferred. This is the one on the fringes of the forest and many a times we have been stranded in it, sorrounded by elephants. We have sighted a sloth bear there and have heard a tiger roar twice from approximately 200 meters away. On one ocassion, we were asked to vacate the room in a hurry at about 8 pm as there was a rouge elephant roaming around in that area. The fellow had killed 2 french tourists about 2 months ago.
I have two friends who live there. Dev Reddy owns Casa Deep Woods and he and his wife Nagina lives in a bunglow next to Casa Deep Wood. Last time when we had a drink with them, Nagina showed us the spot from where her pet dog was lifted away from the compound by a leopard. The other one is Mark who lives all alone deep inside. He once talked of an elephant that had got inside his kitchen "lifting the roof" in search of jackfruit that was kept in the fridge. He could not get out for a long time and gave Mark some very tense time. Read chetalwalk written by his father Dravidar to know more about the place.
We were there in March this year and Dev showed us a newspaper cutting stating that the forest department has declared the whole place as an elephant corridor and the court had ruled that all the resorts must close down. Dev confirmed some time back that their appeal was turned down and Bokapuram will soon stop to be a a tourist destination. We are going there this month for what we think would be our last visit to beautiful Bokapuram.
Kenneth Anderson is a Scottish gentleman who has written few books about his experiences shooting down man-eater tigers in the nilgiri biosphere. In one May when we went to pick up Shruti who was then studying in Ooty, we decided to trail a route that he had written about. With help from Dev who kindly arranged for a forest department guide and jeep, we drove deep inside. There was a certain temple that Anderson had written about and we could locate it. It is abandoned and in ruins but all that was written was there to see. Considering that the book was written in mid forties, things had not changed much. We came across some tribals, the kurumbas, who are traditional honey collectors. That by itself is a story.
Most of my outings have been inspired by wildlife and Neena and Shruti have come to accept that if they need to see me in my elements, they need to be ready for the wilderness. It has not been always fun and thrill....... we have had some very anxious moments too.
Try Masinagudi once. Even a day trip is sure to give you some thrill.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Guruvayoor-Bangalore : K Achuthan
I had a trip of my life. Left Guruvayoor at 6 am, Ponnani-Kuttipuram-Valancherry-Peruthanmlla-Nelambur-Gudallur-Gundalprt-Mysore-Bangalore.
To start with, it was a drive along the coast of Arabian sea. A twist at Thavannur and it took us to the ghats of the Malabar. A little drive away and we were into the plantation area. Madhu, by the way, the best ever breakfast break that we have had was at Angadipuram. They served a vada with dosha.
The road was broken, understandably because of rains. We couldnt have asked for a better mosaic of Kerala. Coast, hills, forest, etc. To say that it was one of our best ever drives would be an understatement. Kerala is truely Gods Own Country.
Between Gudallur and Gundelpet was just forest and we were stopped by elephants..
It is great to drive along such routes if you have a partner who can encourage you to go into the unknown. Neena was just that. . We broke journey at Windflower at Mysore and if you are looking for some good Indian-continental dishes, this is the place. We stayed overnight at his place and took a drive into the Mysore city and Neena could not resist buying a Mysore silk saree.
Altogether a a lovely outing and I recommend you all to drive this way. I know that Madhu does it every now and then I am I jelous of him.
To start with, it was a drive along the coast of Arabian sea. A twist at Thavannur and it took us to the ghats of the Malabar. A little drive away and we were into the plantation area. Madhu, by the way, the best ever breakfast break that we have had was at Angadipuram. They served a vada with dosha.
The road was broken, understandably because of rains. We couldnt have asked for a better mosaic of Kerala. Coast, hills, forest, etc. To say that it was one of our best ever drives would be an understatement. Kerala is truely Gods Own Country.
Between Gudallur and Gundelpet was just forest and we were stopped by elephants..
It is great to drive along such routes if you have a partner who can encourage you to go into the unknown. Neena was just that. . We broke journey at Windflower at Mysore and if you are looking for some good Indian-continental dishes, this is the place. We stayed overnight at his place and took a drive into the Mysore city and Neena could not resist buying a Mysore silk saree.
Altogether a a lovely outing and I recommend you all to drive this way. I know that Madhu does it every now and then I am I jelous of him.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
NR Narayanamurthy (NRN- A Tribute : K Achuthan
To those of us who have interfaced actively with the corporate world, we know what Murty has done. Infosys is only but one organisation that he built. He influenced many to build companies modeled after Infosys. I am a great fan of this person.
I have met Narayan Murty only once. He came up to shake hands with me. This was in the Sankar's Book Stall in the old Bangalore airport and I was browsing through a copy of the recently launched book, "Giving" written by Bill Clinton. Murty shook hands with me to congratulate me for buying the book, which I had not bought but did after that handshake. I had the presence of mind to have him autograph my copy.
" Four friends from Mysore shared everything in life, including their ambitions and so when one was left behind on Platform No 2 in the Mysore Railway Station, waving to the others who were leaving for Chennai to join IIT, he had a steely determination. The frail boy went on to employ many IIT'ians. His father could not afford to send him to IIT. He is your Narayan Murty", wrote Sudha Murty after her husband in her beautifully written book, "Wise and Otherwise".
NRN Murty retires today. Apart from the book autographed by him, I have another valuable treassure. It is a photo of NRN bending down to touch the feet of Kalam. When I feel down, I look up at this picture.
Dear NRN Murty, if I had the platform to invite your attention, I would have made this message flowery. Since I dont and yet have a captive audience to myself, I say in simple words that you have inspired me.
I have met Narayan Murty only once. He came up to shake hands with me. This was in the Sankar's Book Stall in the old Bangalore airport and I was browsing through a copy of the recently launched book, "Giving" written by Bill Clinton. Murty shook hands with me to congratulate me for buying the book, which I had not bought but did after that handshake. I had the presence of mind to have him autograph my copy.
" Four friends from Mysore shared everything in life, including their ambitions and so when one was left behind on Platform No 2 in the Mysore Railway Station, waving to the others who were leaving for Chennai to join IIT, he had a steely determination. The frail boy went on to employ many IIT'ians. His father could not afford to send him to IIT. He is your Narayan Murty", wrote Sudha Murty after her husband in her beautifully written book, "Wise and Otherwise".
NRN Murty retires today. Apart from the book autographed by him, I have another valuable treassure. It is a photo of NRN bending down to touch the feet of Kalam. When I feel down, I look up at this picture.
Dear NRN Murty, if I had the platform to invite your attention, I would have made this message flowery. Since I dont and yet have a captive audience to myself, I say in simple words that you have inspired me.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tribute to Teachers : An Address by Madhav Das at the School Reunion
Welcome, fellow alumni. By sheer love for the school and the wonderful years that we had here, we've turned back the calendar to the seventies, eighties and nineties. And sixties for a very few..
This morning, I have been chewing on every bit of event and milestone of those years. But, gradually, a trickle of memories became a river, immersing me in a flood of recollections --all pleasant. Time has mercifully erased any unpleasant ones.
Mata Pita Guru Deivam is an old saying which means Mother, Father and Teachers are equal to God. While parents gave life to our body , teachers gave life to our soul. For us on the benches, the teachers, were all intelligent. All beautiful. All heroes. All wonderful.
The year, 1974, was a great deal more than just our finishing year ― the year we went our separate ways and began our lives as young adults. Today, we’re all together again to remember those wonderful times we spent at KVK ― when we were together almost every day ― studied together ― went through play and pastime together ― when we formed many of the values we now hold dear, and many of the most intimate, precious and lasting friendships of our lives. We love this school ― and the teachers that the school and students have been privileged to benefit from….. believe many of you are here today because you share these feelings.
All in all, those were great days to grow up. We had no internet, neither did we have Wikipedia. Either the books had it, or the teachers. As we learnt and our knowledge grew, so did our bonds with teachers. We were not confined to books alone but free to play, and frolic, and engage with each other.
So we grew up- the teachers imbibed in us the purpose of achieving. We were anxious to learn and to read though, actually, some of us never appreciated "Far From the Madding Crowd". We knew the algebraic equations, the mysteries of heat and light, Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies and Kabir’s Dohas. For all the questions on why we were learning all of this when it did not make much sense then, it is life’s challenges and demands ,later, which placed our school learning and experiences in perspective. We thank you, teachers, for persisting with us.
Think of the teachers we had in those days! They taught us to be and think as winners. Vijayalakshmi Teacher told us about The Wealth of Nations, she would have been a sure winner in these days of economic uncertainty. Mohandas Master knew that we could only find our station in life if we could learn to speak and write correct and understandable English. Krishnamoorthy Sir opened our eyes to the colorful and reaction-filled world of chemicals, Soudamini Miss laid the foundations for our love for the flora and fauna. Each of them, Vasudevan Master in Sanskrit, Satyanarayana Sir in Maths and Padmanabhan Sir in History threw open the big wide world in their own remarkable way. And Sugathan Sir kept the whole high school playing and running, and seeing that we were amongst the best in the state and in the Sangathan.. We respected and somewhat feared our teachers but over-all knew them as friends.
And as I say this, I know each of you are reliving your great experiences with your respective teachers. God bless them all.
Think of the things we learned in everyday life: how to work for the things we needed and wanted, how to help each other when the going was tough, where to look for information, how to plan for the future, how to stand on our own two feet when we were put on the spot.
Think of the confidence we had in each other. The students were the brightest. The sports teams were always the winners. The athletes were the fastest. The studious toppers were the most accomplished. We had pride in the school- easily the best school in Calicut then.
We have never been short in good teachers and perseverant students. We have been sustained by purpose, by pride, by success of the alumni, and by academic and sporting excellence amongst peer schools. Even after so many years, we still look at this as our own.
For some of us, this is our first trip back to school. For many batches, there has been resounding set of networks that have been built on Facebook and the like. Good luck to all of them in this remarkable journey of reconnecting and reliving those memorable years at school.
Read Out A Poem by Kevin William Huff
Teachers
Paint their minds
and guide their thoughts
Share their achievements
and advise their faults
Inspire a Love
of knowledge and truth
As you light the path
Which leads our youth
For our future brightens
with each lesson you teach
Each smile you lengthen
Each goal you help reach
For the dawn of each poet
each philosopher and king
Begins with a Teacher
And the wisdom they bring
This morning, I have been chewing on every bit of event and milestone of those years. But, gradually, a trickle of memories became a river, immersing me in a flood of recollections --all pleasant. Time has mercifully erased any unpleasant ones.
Mata Pita Guru Deivam is an old saying which means Mother, Father and Teachers are equal to God. While parents gave life to our body , teachers gave life to our soul. For us on the benches, the teachers, were all intelligent. All beautiful. All heroes. All wonderful.
The year, 1974, was a great deal more than just our finishing year ― the year we went our separate ways and began our lives as young adults. Today, we’re all together again to remember those wonderful times we spent at KVK ― when we were together almost every day ― studied together ― went through play and pastime together ― when we formed many of the values we now hold dear, and many of the most intimate, precious and lasting friendships of our lives. We love this school ― and the teachers that the school and students have been privileged to benefit from….. believe many of you are here today because you share these feelings.
All in all, those were great days to grow up. We had no internet, neither did we have Wikipedia. Either the books had it, or the teachers. As we learnt and our knowledge grew, so did our bonds with teachers. We were not confined to books alone but free to play, and frolic, and engage with each other.
So we grew up- the teachers imbibed in us the purpose of achieving. We were anxious to learn and to read though, actually, some of us never appreciated "Far From the Madding Crowd". We knew the algebraic equations, the mysteries of heat and light, Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies and Kabir’s Dohas. For all the questions on why we were learning all of this when it did not make much sense then, it is life’s challenges and demands ,later, which placed our school learning and experiences in perspective. We thank you, teachers, for persisting with us.
Think of the teachers we had in those days! They taught us to be and think as winners. Vijayalakshmi Teacher told us about The Wealth of Nations, she would have been a sure winner in these days of economic uncertainty. Mohandas Master knew that we could only find our station in life if we could learn to speak and write correct and understandable English. Krishnamoorthy Sir opened our eyes to the colorful and reaction-filled world of chemicals, Soudamini Miss laid the foundations for our love for the flora and fauna. Each of them, Vasudevan Master in Sanskrit, Satyanarayana Sir in Maths and Padmanabhan Sir in History threw open the big wide world in their own remarkable way. And Sugathan Sir kept the whole high school playing and running, and seeing that we were amongst the best in the state and in the Sangathan.. We respected and somewhat feared our teachers but over-all knew them as friends.
And as I say this, I know each of you are reliving your great experiences with your respective teachers. God bless them all.
Think of the things we learned in everyday life: how to work for the things we needed and wanted, how to help each other when the going was tough, where to look for information, how to plan for the future, how to stand on our own two feet when we were put on the spot.
Think of the confidence we had in each other. The students were the brightest. The sports teams were always the winners. The athletes were the fastest. The studious toppers were the most accomplished. We had pride in the school- easily the best school in Calicut then.
We have never been short in good teachers and perseverant students. We have been sustained by purpose, by pride, by success of the alumni, and by academic and sporting excellence amongst peer schools. Even after so many years, we still look at this as our own.
For some of us, this is our first trip back to school. For many batches, there has been resounding set of networks that have been built on Facebook and the like. Good luck to all of them in this remarkable journey of reconnecting and reliving those memorable years at school.
Read Out A Poem by Kevin William Huff
Teachers
Paint their minds
and guide their thoughts
Share their achievements
and advise their faults
Inspire a Love
of knowledge and truth
As you light the path
Which leads our youth
For our future brightens
with each lesson you teach
Each smile you lengthen
Each goal you help reach
For the dawn of each poet
each philosopher and king
Begins with a Teacher
And the wisdom they bring
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