Survived my first week with IS being away in the 10 years of our married life. Before this, it was always me going away, leaving either IS or IS and Adi at home.
And thanks in no small part to Mrudula for keeping Aditya occupied this week with Bakugans and I spy's. "Pinni" is a hit.
This week also helped me realize that IS is the root cause of all the household mess. My house looked spotless this entire week, inspite of 3-people staying at home, including Adi.
July 31, 2010
July 30, 2010
HBD Sportsman of the family
Although belated, hearty wishes still the same to Seenu. My excuse is that I celebrated a new milestone of marriage - I forgot Poonam's birthday completely (till she reminded me). If wives' birthdays fall by the wayside of the memory lane, can others' dates be far behind?
HBD ARTIST OF THE FAMILY!
many happy returns of the day Poonam!
How is the new Magnum Opus coming on?
How is the new Magnum Opus coming on?
July 26, 2010
Additional Notes to Handbook
Upon review of the handbook, the CRO has found that a couple of vital points have been omitted.
1. Diagnostic test: Before even getting into the auto, make sure the brakes, headlight and horn are working. How foolish would you feel when you tell the driver to honk & brake if the horn and brake are not working in the first place?!
2. Book reading: The auto is not a library so don't read books there. Your senses should always be on the alert. Reading in an auto is as foolish a bat flying without its radar working!
In conclusion, the CRO concludes that a perfectly safe auto drive is sadly only as real as Utopia. She concludes that it is better to walk to the destination. Amen to that!
July 24, 2010
Handbook of safe auto riding
The CRO (Chief Risk Officer) of the Singampalli family left for Kavali from Bangalore yesterday evening. This special correspondent got to observe her unique risk analysis methods in the auto we took to the bus station.
Keen followers of the CRO's methods would remember how she reigned in Viswam babai by using his Jandhyam on the banks of the Ganges. Yesterday, She surpassed that famous incident by a truly comprehensive dissertation of all the possible risks of traveling by an auto. It took about 45 minutes to complete- even John Galt would have had a tough time beating this monologue.
For the benefit of everyone, I am publishing this handbook to safe auto-riding. Copyright, Bhargavi Devi. Key points of handbook:
Correct sitting stance and grip: Sit with the feet firmly set against the front-board and anchor the hand on the side bar. Additional safety: hold on tightly to the next person, just like mountaineers link to each other on a steep incline. Otherwise, sudden lurches may pitchfork even a 35 year old person like me out of the auto. CRO demonstrated this by holding me throughout the trip.
Back seat driving: Give continuous instructions to the auto-driver on how not to drive. Horns should be honked on regular basis as other vehicles may be driven by careless/drunk/sleepy drivers. This specially applies to bike drivers. Driver should be told not to drive fast, avoid potholes, turn slowly. IMPORTANT: this has to be repeated at every pothole and turn. Additional tip: tell all this to fellow passenger also, so that he doesn't do these mistakes when he drives.
Talking etiquette: Talk in low volume, ideally in whispers. Anything higher may distract the driver, even among the cacaphony of horns, motors and other noises of the road. Also, try to not vary the volume level- speak in a monotone. The variation may also distract- that is a rookie mistake.
Giving directions to the driver: Any turnings, stoppings, startings should be informed well in advance to the driver (in a gentle tone), and not abruptly. This will ensure that the driver doesn't come to a screeching halt in the middle of traffic. When getting off, exercise extreme caution- the auto can be a booby trap no less that the ones Indiana Jones faces in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. For instance, sometimes the carpet projects slightly out of the auto- one may step on it and fall flat on to the road.
Only the paranoid survive: Like good double agents, the auto traveler is always alert and prepared for the unknown. Always keep checking all sides of the auto, the road, the sky etc for unanticipated dangers. This is the true mark of the professional.
Hope you all benefit from this treatise. Peace, Bliss and Happy Landings!
Keen followers of the CRO's methods would remember how she reigned in Viswam babai by using his Jandhyam on the banks of the Ganges. Yesterday, She surpassed that famous incident by a truly comprehensive dissertation of all the possible risks of traveling by an auto. It took about 45 minutes to complete- even John Galt would have had a tough time beating this monologue.
For the benefit of everyone, I am publishing this handbook to safe auto-riding. Copyright, Bhargavi Devi. Key points of handbook:
Correct sitting stance and grip: Sit with the feet firmly set against the front-board and anchor the hand on the side bar. Additional safety: hold on tightly to the next person, just like mountaineers link to each other on a steep incline. Otherwise, sudden lurches may pitchfork even a 35 year old person like me out of the auto. CRO demonstrated this by holding me throughout the trip.
Back seat driving: Give continuous instructions to the auto-driver on how not to drive. Horns should be honked on regular basis as other vehicles may be driven by careless/drunk/sleepy drivers. This specially applies to bike drivers. Driver should be told not to drive fast, avoid potholes, turn slowly. IMPORTANT: this has to be repeated at every pothole and turn. Additional tip: tell all this to fellow passenger also, so that he doesn't do these mistakes when he drives.
Talking etiquette: Talk in low volume, ideally in whispers. Anything higher may distract the driver, even among the cacaphony of horns, motors and other noises of the road. Also, try to not vary the volume level- speak in a monotone. The variation may also distract- that is a rookie mistake.
Giving directions to the driver: Any turnings, stoppings, startings should be informed well in advance to the driver (in a gentle tone), and not abruptly. This will ensure that the driver doesn't come to a screeching halt in the middle of traffic. When getting off, exercise extreme caution- the auto can be a booby trap no less that the ones Indiana Jones faces in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. For instance, sometimes the carpet projects slightly out of the auto- one may step on it and fall flat on to the road.
Only the paranoid survive: Like good double agents, the auto traveler is always alert and prepared for the unknown. Always keep checking all sides of the auto, the road, the sky etc for unanticipated dangers. This is the true mark of the professional.
Hope you all benefit from this treatise. Peace, Bliss and Happy Landings!
July 21, 2010
Coming Events
Most probably, in the first week of August, there will be a union of 3 grahas of Singampalli
Family in California, USA. (Vidya plans to visit Kuppamma on the occasion of Mrudula's arrival there.)
So Folks you know what they say----
ఒకతెకు జగములు వడకును
అంగనలిద్దరైన అంబుధులిన్కున్
ముగురాడువారు చేరిన
సుగుణాకర పట్టపగలె చుక్కలు పొడుచున్
So may be there will be a Total Solar Eclipse there. Let us see!
Family in California, USA. (Vidya plans to visit Kuppamma on the occasion of Mrudula's arrival there.)
So Folks you know what they say----
ఒకతెకు జగములు వడకును
అంగనలిద్దరైన అంబుధులిన్కున్
ముగురాడువారు చేరిన
సుగుణాకర పట్టపగలె చుక్కలు పొడుచున్
So may be there will be a Total Solar Eclipse there. Let us see!
July 11, 2010
Finally, Lady Luck Deserts Him
This has to rate as the bloodiest tour ever, with crashes practically in all the stages so far. But at the end of the 8th stage, the real tragedy is that Lance Armstrong had to bear the full brunt of the fickleness of lady luck.
First was the gritty, narrow and dusty cobblestone stretches of stage 2, where he had a puncture that lost him a good 1 minute over his rival Contador. Today, the 'Bleeding Carrots' team (a team with an orange jersey and a tendency to crash often) proved his nemesis, making him crash twice on a killer 9 degree gradient and eliminate him from the contention for a podium finish.
Not exactly the best way for a champion to go, with elbows and knees bleeding, and spirit broken.
Now it is pretty much in Contador's bag.
July 4, 2010
A ramble in Aphasia
Excerpt from Douglas Adam's 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency':
Professor Urban Chronotis...had a memory that he himself had once compared to the Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly, in that it was colourful, flitted prettily hither and thither, and was now, alas, almost completely extinct.
Nowadays, I empathize heartily with the prof. As Gopal Babai found out at Seenu's reception, a leaky memory for people exposes one to a minefield of embarrassments. I seem to be headed down that path myself at a pace that would be alarming if it were not farcical in terms of the spots it puts me in. Consider the various manifestations of this malediction:
1. White body effect: New names, alas, simply refuses to register. Like a perfect white body reflects away all light, my memory seems to be completely incapable of storing new name data
2. Leaky Sieve effect: Old data seems to be evaporating at a galloping rate. Even when I clench the thick muscles in my head, I cannot seem to recollect names and faces (specially at the office) that were around even 6 months ago
3. Revolving Door Effect: Even the appellations of folks I work with on a daily basis are often replaced by 'whatshisname' in my head. It is like the name was there a second ago but has now stepped out for a quick breath of fresh air, and if my luck changes, would be back in a while
The selectiveness of my memory makes it all the more intriguing. Why can I remember a blue faced Malkoha but draw a blank when it comes to round-faced Mallika?
Why can I remember that the title of the post is borrowed from the title of an O Henry short story I must have read not less than 5 years ago, but cannot figure out if the guy is Vishal or Vijay, although I meet him every day?
Are there any solutions to this vexing problem? How does one improve the stamina for remembering things?
Professor Urban Chronotis...had a memory that he himself had once compared to the Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly, in that it was colourful, flitted prettily hither and thither, and was now, alas, almost completely extinct.
Nowadays, I empathize heartily with the prof. As Gopal Babai found out at Seenu's reception, a leaky memory for people exposes one to a minefield of embarrassments. I seem to be headed down that path myself at a pace that would be alarming if it were not farcical in terms of the spots it puts me in. Consider the various manifestations of this malediction:
1. White body effect: New names, alas, simply refuses to register. Like a perfect white body reflects away all light, my memory seems to be completely incapable of storing new name data
2. Leaky Sieve effect: Old data seems to be evaporating at a galloping rate. Even when I clench the thick muscles in my head, I cannot seem to recollect names and faces (specially at the office) that were around even 6 months ago
3. Revolving Door Effect: Even the appellations of folks I work with on a daily basis are often replaced by 'whatshisname' in my head. It is like the name was there a second ago but has now stepped out for a quick breath of fresh air, and if my luck changes, would be back in a while
The selectiveness of my memory makes it all the more intriguing. Why can I remember a blue faced Malkoha but draw a blank when it comes to round-faced Mallika?
Why can I remember that the title of the post is borrowed from the title of an O Henry short story I must have read not less than 5 years ago, but cannot figure out if the guy is Vishal or Vijay, although I meet him every day?
Are there any solutions to this vexing problem? How does one improve the stamina for remembering things?
July 2, 2010
Aditya and Carnatic Music
Aditya started his music class recently and has been learning music. He is really enjoying learning the swaras, even though he complains about practice!!!!!!!
His teacher is teaching him Achyutashtakam on the side. Here are the first 3 stanzas he learned.
His teacher is teaching him Achyutashtakam on the side. Here are the first 3 stanzas he learned.
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