In God's Own Country

Indeed, that phrase befits the description of the beautiful state of Kerala to which I had a lucky chance to ‘escape’ to during this last weekend.
Kerala being only 1 of the 2 states (other being Gujarat) that I’d never traveled to, this 3 day weekend was a good time to satiate the traveler bug in me, as well as get away from the stress of city life.
So on Thursday night, I along with 2 of my friends, Prabudh and Jeetu, took a Volvo to Kochi. We reached there next morning and had a few hours before we could catch the next bus to Munnar, so we thought of checking out some local landmarks like Fort Kochi and the old Santa Cruz Basilica built in 1505.
We reached the beautiful hill station of Munnar late in the evening and checked in to a room in the “Kanan Devan Hills Club”.

‘Kannan Devan’ is the name of Munnar special brand of tea. There are tea estates spread around all hills in this region, and we were told Tata’s have tea estates in an estimated 37,000 hectares of land here.


We had a nice dining n chat session in the open lawns of the club late into the misty night where we discussed almost everything from Indian economics to Global politics to the entertainment industry!
The next morning we checked out and left for a place called Top Station which was supposedly the highest point in the region and where we intended to camp for the night. The drive to this place was absolutely stunning, and I would not be exaggerating if I said it was better than any other hill stations I’ve seen in South India(Ooty, Kodaikanal, Coorg).

On the way there was a dam with a huge lake on the other side almost 10 kilometers long, and it offered a stellar view, arguably even better than a similar lake in Nainitaal.
Though the destination “Top Station” in itself was a kind of disappointment since we couldn’t find an open grassland where we could pitch our tents. Since this was a dense forest area with no other hotels to stay, we decided to move back to Munnar.

I think there’s something about places near coastal areas; probably the moisture and humidity in the air, that gives brilliant shades of orange, red and purple during sunrise and sunsets here, and which I somehow managed to capture even though a little blurred due to the moving jeep. (These pics have all natural colours....no modifications!)

Back in Munnar we were faced with another problem, since we arrived late and it was a festival holiday season, all hotels were fully booked. By sheer luck we found a guide who told us he could take us to an isolated cabin in the forest just outside the town. We were told that this place was normally preferred by foreigners who’re never scared of trying a (mis)adventure of this sort, and since we were anyways out for some thrill, we decided to give it a shot.
When we reached the place, it actually did look like a haunted house in the middle of nowhere. 1 of my friends immediately backed out saying he would rather return to the town with the guide and look for a place there, moreover he had to leave back early next morning due to some urgent work.

Anyways we 2 stuck to our guns and decided to spend the night here itself. The guide arranged for a bonfire just outside the house and then they left for the town.
We even found a pickaxe in the house which we kept with us and somehow at this moment, all those long forgotten horror movies of a group of friends dying in old jungle rest houses came alive in our minds.(Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, Blair Witch, House on Haunted Hill etc. etc.) And we were not even a group… just 2… easy job for any killer. Lol.
Thankfully we were carrying some “Somras” (divine nectar :p ) with us and loads of snacks, which helped soothen our frayed nerves. Pretty soon we got engrossed in another discussion on life, the past and the future, and this kept us occupied till late into midnight.
When we finally decided to have lights out I saw an ancient looking b/w picture of an old man in the back room who must’ve lived here some looong time ago, and it did unnerve us a bit, but thankfully the room we slept in had a poster of Goddess Durga on the wall, which was reassuring indeed. So cracking jokes and laughing at ghost stories, we ultimately fell asleep.
Next morning we trekked back to Munnar across 4 hills, and were captivated by the stunning views all across the way.
Post lunch it was time to bid farewell to this beautiful place and back to the artificial city life…..though rejuvenated with a thrilling trip!

Escape

A maddening city where tempers are flaring and your senses are being overpowered with extremities of all variations...

And all you want is to escape.


A vicious circle of lies,pretensions and false allegations where honesty is the name of the bird long extinct, and 'nice' guys are always meant to finish last...

And all you can do is escape.


A weird world where well intentioned concern is more likely to be seen as some cunning scheme with an ulterior motive or personal gain...

And all you think of is to escape.


A lifeless drudgery where days slip by with the uncanny knowledge that your untapped potential is going to a waste and that oh-so-helpless feeling that you can't do anything about it...

And all you crave is to escape.


A sickening feeling of seeing hypocrisy rule the roost all around, and standards being altered to suit the palate of the privileged few...

And you know the time has come to escape.

Da 4th TAG

Hmmm 1 would imagine I’ve run out of ideas to write something, now that I’ve been taking up so many tags lately. But hey…I feel it’s fun and I enjoy doing them.
So Phoenix_Rises tagged me with this questionnaire and here I go…

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
Ok I just have an e-book with me right now…Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
“…Even when he cheated he couldn't win, because the people he cheated against were always better at cheating too.”

2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
I can touch my clipboard. I don’t get the point.


3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Bon Jovi on MTV Unplugged


4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
5:00 PM


5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
5:05 PM.
Hmmm not bad…

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The beeps of the electronic swiping instrument at the door near my cubicle


7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
This afternoon went outside office campus for lunch


8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My current webshots desktop wallpaper…I’ve put it up here(It’s a painting!).

9. What are you wearing?
Ah…ThankGodIt’sFriday …. So I’m in my full fundoo casuals…cowboy styled leather patched Wrangler jeans and a black tee!

10. Did you dream last night?
I mostly do but I hardly remember what the exact dream was….except when I get woken up by the alarm and then put it on snooze and go back 2 sleep….
I often find myself dreaming about walking in snow covered mountains….wonder what it means….maybe I’ll do a whole post on it sometime!

11. When did you last laugh?
Saw the spoof Rendezvous with Simi Girebaal hosted by the hilarious Cyrus on MTV…. Guests were Funmohan Singh and George Tush…. Damn funny!

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
On the wall of my cubicle there’s a pin-up that says “Bus stops at the bus station, rail stops at the railway station, and this is my workstation”. :D

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Saw “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” on my comp last week ….. damn weird movie I must say…. Still Johnny Depp makes it worth a watch.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Good when you don’t have anything else to do.

15. What is the last film you saw?
“Being Cyrus”, again another dark movie …. Can’t say that I “enjoyed” it but Saif Ali Khan is a transformed actor now!

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A Harley Davidson, a Lamborghini Murcielago and a bungalow overlooking my own apple orchard somewhere high up in Himachal.


17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
Hmmm… I have a teeny weeny goatee below my lower lip that I’ve been sporting off and on for 4 years now, also i make good chai.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
There should be 1 universal religion where everyone worships a nameless God as I feel that’s the root cause of almost all conflicts worldwide.

19. Do you like to dance?
U kidding me…. OF COURSE I CAN PUT THE BLOODY DANCE FLOOR ON FIRE

20. George Bush:

My favourites amongst his gems:
"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country."
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
"The future will be better tomorrow."
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Ahaan now that’s interesting!
I lovee the traditional Indian Sanskrit names….but it wud have to be unique yet sound Kool.
Umm the girl wud be Naija – which means the daughter of wisdom ;)
But seriously I luv the name Lavanya (means a beautiful girl)


22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Arnav ( means the ocean)


23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
I don’t see any reason not to.

24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
“Ok dude you’ve been a reasonably nice guy down there….here u can have all the apsaras” ;)

25. People who may do this memo in their journal:
Hmmm now I won’t leave anyone this time !! All who’ve come here ….

(alphabetically)
Amy
Anand
Alive_n_Confused
Deepa
Dewdrop
DeVile
Ekta
Elle
Icyblue
Keshi
My_Ramblings
Nidhi
Sebia
Shikha
Shivangi
The_Ego_Has_Landed
White Forest


Just do it if you haven’t yet!

Work It Up !

Yea finally after a gap of about 2 months I’ve managed to rejoin a gym, this time the one at my workplace itself. Even though working out without any company can be monotonous and difficult to maintain as a routine, yet the importance of some kind of a daily workout can just not be overemphasized, especially considering the sedentary lifestyle of most of today’s young generation.

I think I can trace my penchant for fitness to my roots – my great grandfather who expired last year at age 97 used to religiously take his morning walks till I saw him last. To the best of my knowledge he never suffered from any major ailment, used to read without using spectacles and best of all – took his tea with full 2 teaspoons of sugar…. A rarity beyond age 40 these days! My grandfather also continues uninterrupted with his Yoga and walks to this day…ever since my granny passed away he keeps touring around the country and on tough pilgrimages…all thanks to his fitness level. Though unfortunately my dad had to stop gymming after suffering a back injury during his body building days….. which shows how cautious one should be with heavy weight training.
So even while I wasn’t ‘working out’ in a gym, I used to ensure that I did my daily dose of the bare minimum activity required….using stairs instead of the lift at home and work, a nightly walk to the local restaurant for dinner etc. besides some basic simple exercises that I’ll share with you.
To begin with any kind of exercise, you must first know your body type and hence the category of workouts that would best suit your requirements. Those who’re fortunate enough to be blessed with a lean framed body that doesn’t accumulate much fat despite voracious eating habits, can easily concentrate more on weight training exercises to shapen up and strengthen the muscles, while those with a broader and heavier frame with tendency to gain weight should focus more on stamina building cardiovascular workouts that also help them to keep flexible, such as jogging(or treadmill), aerobics etc.
Ideal Height-Weight Chart
Again it depends on what’s your ultimate goal…pumping up those muscles or loosing that extra flab.

In case you’ve joined a gym there are any number of workouts that the instructor can help you out with, however I’ll discuss the ones you can do at home and still be fighting fit. You can do these at any time of the day (at least a 2 hour gap after a meal) and they just take around 30 to 45 minutes of your precious time.

1.Warm up/ Cardio :
To start off, just find any open space like your balcony/terrace and start with warming up by stretching and then jogging / skipping for a minimum of 10-15 minutes.

2.Push-Ups:
Lie flat on the ground with your stomach against the floor. Place you palms on the ground just below shoulder level and raise your entire body in a straight line, then back down and repeat. Females can take upto 2 sets of 20 each while guys should increase to about 100 – 2 sets of 50 each. Good for strengthening the arms and shoulders.

3.Crunches:
Lie flat on you back, keep both hands behind your head and slowly raise your upper half to a 45 degree angle, then move back and repeat in 2 sets of 20 each. Awesome for working up the upper abdominal muscles of your tummy.

4.Leg Raises:
Keep lying flat on your back, join both feet together and raise both your legs slowly upwards to a 90 degree angle with the floor, then slowly bring them down and keep them suspended just above the ground. Repeat in 2 sets of 20 each and you’ll feel that ugly fat on your lower abs melting away. Also good for hamstrings.

5.Sit-Ups:
Stand straight and hold a chair or any waist level object with 1 hand for support. Raise your left leg and fold it behind the erect right leg. Now bend your right knee and sit all the way down and then slowly raise yourself up. Repeat for about 20 times and then the same with the other leg. Great for knees and shins.

That’s It! Still it’s unfortunate that an overwhelming majority of us Indians continue to ignore the basic minimum workout needed by their body mostly citing excuses such as ‘unnecessary narcissism’ to paucity of time. Well my friend, if Anil Ambani can take out 1.5 hours daily from his schedule for his body, I’m sure we all can spare at least half an hour.
Remember your body is just another machine, and like any machine needs to be constantly oiled and checked to prevent repair by a mechanic, so should you work up this one to prevent damage control by a doctor later. It’s not just about a longer life, but a healthier one where you can make full use of this God given tool.

It’s your body.
Love it.
Pamper it.
Take care of it.
It just might be the only thing that would serve you till your last moment on this planet.