Conversation with X : Bapu or Idiot

where X is not in reference to any person living or dead but just a fictional character that I have created for the purpose of making my point…

X: Gandhi is an idiot.
Me: That is a pretty strong opinion. Any particular reason for that observation?
X: I do not believe in his ideologies.
Me: Like what?
X: I don’t know. But If he was not involved, we would have gained independence a lot earlier.
Me: But he was possibly the only one who could have inspired so many Indians to agree with him.
X: I’m sure there would have been others who could have also had the same influence. Gandhi was also responsible for partitioning India.
Me: And the Muslim League thought Gandhi was the only person who opposed the whole idea of partitioning India.
X: Gandhi also favored Dalits a lot.
Me: And the Dalits thought that he favored Hindus.
X: {Blank “clueless” expression on the face}
X: {after a long pause} Gandhi is an idiot!

I am not a supporter of Gandhi. But I certainly don’t think he is an idiot. Only a genius can unite an entire nation and only lunatics associate the word ‘idiot’ with such people.

Kodaikanal – Fact file

Kodaikanal is one of the most popular hill stations in India.  Situated at an altitude of about 2,133 m and covering a total area of about 21.45 sq.km this is place that is known for its sylvan beauty.

History

Kodaikanal was known to be a home for various prehistoric tribes. Locals suggested that villagers who used to stay at the base of the Palani hills, moved over to Kodai to avoid confrontation with Tippu Sultan’s forces. It is believed that under the British Raj, foreigners found it hard to survive the oppressive Tamil Nadu heat and used to die as a result of suffering from epidemic diseases.  Kodai was a perfect environment for the Britishers and it was not very far from Madurai, the famous temple city of Tamil Nadu. It did not take long for the Britishers and the other foreigners to adopt Kodai as their new home. The influence of foreigners is pretty evident. As I was traveling from Madurai towards the top of the hill, I found a forest full of pine trees. Pine trees are not usually found in these parts. The only real pine variant that is found in India is the Chir Pine, mainly restricted to Kashmir and parts of Northern Pakistan.

Major attractions

1. Silver Cascade : a small waterfall that you will see as you climb the hills on the way to the top. Ideal time to catch this would be just after the sun rise.
2. Coaker’s walk : This is narrow path that has been cut along the ridge of the south eastern side named after Lt Coaker who built in 1872.  The view of the underlying plains and the city of Madurai that this place has to offer is simply magnificent. IMO, one the most beautiful tourist attractions that Kodaikanal has to offer.
3. Boat Ride at Kodai Lake: Kodai Lake is a man-made lake that is present right at the heart of the Kodai hills.  The boat ride along this lake is a nice experience.
4. Pillar Rock View:  This place offers a nice view point of cloud-covered misty mountain tops on the front side and a few rocks on the other side that have assumed the shape of a pillar. This place is also known as Monkey Point for the huge number of monkeys that you find at this place. I would suggest to keep a close eye on these notorious chaps as to never know what they are upto.
5. Green Valley View: This place is also known as Suicide Point. Not sure if this place has recorded that many suicide attempts but it is an ideal place to commit suicide if anyone is really interested. There is no point of return whatsoever. There is a market place leading up to the Green Valley View which is usually buzzing with a lot of activity.
6. Bryant Park and Chettiar Park :  IMO, Bryant Park  is nothing special and can be skipped.  Ideal time to visit Chettiar Park would be sometime during the morning or evening.
7. Horse riding: for some reason is very popular amongst tourists here.

Shopping

Kodaikanal is famous for its home-made chocolates and also its eucalyptus oil. There are plenty of places where you can get both. My suggestion is to shop for these at the market present near the Green Valley View. Apart from this, you may also want to target Anna Salai , cottage crafts shop, which is run by Corsock (Coordinating Council for Social Concerns in Kodai). They sell crafts made by the developmental groups and the commission charged is used to help the needy.

Final Touches

Kodaikanal is without doubt one of the most beautiful places that I have had the privilege of visiting in my 8 year long stay in India. The place is blessed with abundance of natural beauty and also a lovely bunch of people who are always kind and generous to the tourists. What is significant is the fact that the locals understand the importance of maintaining the natural beauty of this place and take great pride in cleaning up the gardens and planting new trees. Unfortunately, the tourists who visit these places do not share the same sentiment and have not shown the slightest hesitation in littering the parks, gardens and forests with plastic bottles and other garbage.

How to get there

The ideal way to reach Kodaikanal is via Madurai. There are regular buses that are available from Madurai towards Kodaikanal. There are also buses from Coimbatore, Thiruchirrapalli, Dindigul and Bangalore. The closest airport is in Madurai which is about 135 kms away. Kodairoad Station is the closest railway station to Kodaikanal.

Few snaps

Arbit thoughts : Mumbai terror attack

I am finding it quite hard to get the Mumbai terror attacks out of my head for various reasons. Yesterday night, me and my mom were having this chat about whether or not I should apply to Virginia Tech. Mom was concerned because of the shoot-out incident that happened there a while back. She also asked me to consider studying in India as an option. I wonder what she thinks about the same after yesterday’s incident.

Lets face it. We are now in a world were terrorism is a harsh reality. No matter where we are, we are not safe. But we still have to counter this menace especially considering that our present (and probably our future governments) will always think about their vote bank first before taking any actions on busting/trying to bust a possible terror threat.

I just don’t understand phrases like ‘city moves on’ or ‘test of spirit of Mumbai or Mumbaikars’ or the likes that are used so often by the media. That is just cow dung.

I understand that some things will never be the same. Getting frisked at every other mall, or airport or stadium is not something anyone enjoys. But when we realize that these things are being done for our own safety, these things take a backseat. Only ignorant fools would argue that such things should be done away with.

We should be strong and fight back.

Mumbai terror attacks

As me and my colleagues were enjoying a nice friendly game of CounterStrike, little did we know that some something similar was happening in Mumbai, in reality, at about the same time.

Shame on those who were responsible for such acts of cowardice!

Open Letter to Matthew Hayden

Matthew,

We in India understand and appreciate the Aussie culture. We understand what Adam Gilchrist is trying to say in his book titled True Colors. We are obviously not blind in noticing that while you and your team are on the field playing some tough cricket, you also don’t mind hurling ugly abuses at the opposition with an uncontrolled use of the four letter word. But we also understand that all that cussing is forgotten with a simple hand shake and a beer after the game. It is as simple as that and there is nothing personal ! Fine! Accepted !

Even you wouldn’t deny the fact that some of your best performances have come in India. We adore you and love to watch you bat out here.

But when you take cheap shots like this or like this, we lose all that respect that we have for you as a player and as a person.

Please Grow Up! Your team was beaten comprehensively.  Admit it like a good sportsman and start focusing on what went wrong instead.

Your fan

Vivek Tulsidas

Explore Bangalore – 3

Last Saturday was unique for two reasons. It was going to be the first time I was going to watch a Bond movie( Quantum of Solace) at a theatre (Urvashi) . And I had also decided that since I am near Lalbagh, I might as well have my breakfast at Mavalli Tiffin Room (aka MTR), a place that I had never visited before.

So I started early from my place at Thippasandra in order to beat the Saturday morning traffic through Richmond Road.

MTR is a pretty well-known brand. Their ready-to-eat packaged food items are popular amongst Indians who are very particular about their food-habits and who have to travel abroad frequently.

The place was packed! It was a real struggle to get in and find yourself a seat. I somehow managed to find myself a seat and then started looking around for someone who can take my order. Unfortunately, the place seemed to be very understaffed. I finally managed to catch a staff member’s attention and placed my order : one masala dosa and a coffee. The coffee was something that I was really looking forward to. I had heard a lot about it.

As I sat there waiting for my dosa and coffee to arrive, I looked around. I noticed that rava idli was a popular choice here as every fifth person seemed to be ordering that. The staff, though smaller in number, were efficient. I noticed the kitchen on the corner. There were people walking in and out, most of them the staff as expected but there were other people too.  The rest of them were just seated like me were laughing, casually chatting , seriously discussing whilst enjoying their breakfast.

I did not realise this but I had waited for 15+ minutes easily and my order had still not arrived. Luckily I had enough time to spare before the movie began. The order did arrive eventually. The dosa was nothing much to write home about. Pretty standard stuff. It was different from the regular dosa available in Bangalore in the sense that it was a tad bit thicker and served with just the chutney minus the sambhar ala SLV Coffee Bar. The same thing, however, did not apply to the coffee. It was mind-blowing!

Overall, MTR is a nice place. I think a bit over-priced at the end of the day but thats just my opinion.

Oh and in case you are wondering, the Bond movie was a total disappointment.

Obama it is

The big news over the past week has been the one concerning Obama’s victory in the recently concluded US elections. And while a few people (mostly McCain supporters) haven’t quite come to terms with this yet, the fact is that Obama fought the elections in a very smart and convincing manner.

I have my own reasons for taking a keen interest in this new, significant development in world politics. Mostly because I plan to do my higher studies in United States. So Obama’s decisions will also impact my life ( actually given the current scenario, it might impact my life whether I am in India or US).

So what will Obama do? What ‘change’ , a word that he used throughout in his election campaign, is he going to bring? More closer to home, how are his decisions going to affect my countrymen? Is he really going to bring in policies to cut outsourcing and thereby render my countrymen jobless? These are questions that everyone seems to be having on their minds back here.

The second concern is regarding Pakistan. How is Obama’s administration going to handle Indo-Pak issues ? Is this going to be any different from what the Bush-Rice partnership did during their time in the office?

Obama’s first assignment, however, is going to be to working towards getting the US economy back on its feet.

We shall see.

Jumbo

I would be lying if I told you that I was not surprised when Anil Kumble announced his retirement. In fact, I was pretty sure that he would play for atleast another season. Guess I was wrong.

It is a touch disappointing though that he decided to quit when the media and the experts were raising question marks on his bowling form and his captaincy. For Kumble, this is nothing new. He has faced the wrath of media,selectors captains and public right throughout his cricketing career. It is also unfortunate that he gets to lead his team in an era where liking and praising Dhoni for any small achievement seems to be the ‘in-thing’.

Cheers to India’s most potent match-winning bowler!

Wishing all my readers…

a very Happy Diwali !

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Every once in a while we come across a movie which seems to focus on one central theme but in the process tries to answer all our questions that we do not want to ask ourselves or anyone else for various reasons. Mumbai Meri Jaan is one such movie. In every sense, this movie is apt for modern-day India.

This movie is based on the serial blasts that took place in Mumbai on Jul, 2006. The movie tries to gauge the impact of the incident on the lives of a journalist ( Soha Ali Khan), a patriotic ‘aam-aadmi’ working for a corporate organisation (Madhavan), a policeman on the verge of retiring ( Paresh Rawal), a computer dealer and also a hindu-fanatic ( K K Menon) and a tamilian coffee-vendor (Irfan Khan).

I particularly enjoyed Paresh Rawal’s and Irfan Khan’s acting. These are too contrasting roles. Paresh’s part involves a lot more dialogues as compared to Irrfan’s but it is amazing how both manage to deliver such powerful performances.

It is disappointing to know that movies like Aamir and Mumbai Meri Jaan do not receive the kind of attention that they deserve.

Rating : 4.5/5