I needs the new bicycles...

So my regular mode of transport has been causing me some problems lately. And unfortunately, the guys who service it haven't been able to pin point the problem... So I am in a bit of a mess. I mean, my lumala is. Things are coming off. All the plastic bits, the pedal crank makes loud sounds. The gears don't shift properly. But I must persist with this. At least till I get some money to get a new cycle. sigh...

Realisation strikes yet again at the wrong time...

That there is a thin line separating being proactive and being creepy.

I think I crossed that line yesterday.

from being borderline proactive, to being borderline creepy, I can look back and say, I've done it all!

Yet, I take little comfort in knowing that I'll laugh at this 10 years later.

my story in COMIX.INDIA volume 2 - girl power!

my story in COMIX.INDIA volume 2 - girl power!
Originally uploaded by DraconianRain

finally published! Hopefully the first of many more to come! :D

The drawback of being proactive

Two years ago at the flower market at Mehrauli two men on a motorcycle dropped a polythene bag with a tiffin box in it. A young boy picked it up to return it to them. The two men refused to take it and sped away, leaving the boy with the bag, which exploded while in his hand, killing him instantly.

And what was the boy's fault?

-Being proactive.

Being proactive got him killed.

In the age we live in, how can we be proactive without hurting, not anyone else, but ourself.

In our everyday life, a simple gesture, a small comment, a mild reaction or a little good deed is so easily misunderstood. Everyone's on the edge of their seats as if something is about to happen. And at the slightest provocation, we leap out of our skin to be something we were not meant to be.

Lately, I have been getting hurt being proactive. So should I forget myself and be as indifferent to myself and everything?

As always, it's not a choice i'm being allowed to make. Everyone else seems to want to make it for me.

The keeper of secrets

I can keep secrets to myself very well. Any secret that comes to me stays with me, and the chain ends there. Secrets are fun to keep... but after a while I am burdened and I want to tell someone else but I can't... Because I'm not meant to. They aren't meant to be divulged.

Secrets can make or break anyone. Secrets can win someone a war. Secrets can keep relationships from falling apart. Secrets make the keeper eternally powerful. Secrets can keep a lot of people happy...

But most secrets I know are about myself. Isn't life disappointing?

Yoga with the kids...

My yoga teacher asked me to join in for a kids yoga class yesterday. I thought it would be fun to work out with kids aged 6 onwards. They have so much energy just waiting to be dispelled! This yoga session is specially for them being extremely fast, taxing and complex!

As we sat to pray before we started yoga, almost everyone started getting restless. At that age, no one likes to sit in one place in one position for too long! But even the prayer was much more fun with this batch. Kids have no social inhibitions... no stigmas and no consciousness. They don't hold back. they just do everything to the fullest and their efforts are unrestrained... And when you are with so many kids like that, you become free from within. With unrestrained efforts... no inhibitions. you are just one with the strong energy vibrations surrounding you.

And its fun to watch children doing all those yogasans and making it look just too easy. This batch was noisy and funny... where everyone encouraged each other to do what they are told to, there was an air of exigency and excitement. And before I knew it- an hour had passed, and the rigorous regime has culminated with 20 fast cycles of halasan and paschimotanasan back to back, and it was finally time for shavasana for recovery... where no one could close their eyes, or lie still. Not even me! I rolled to the side and got up with the others and went down. We all got onto our bicycles and had a small conversation about them and the accidents we have had... I think I made some friends!

Kids are so carefree... so happy. They can forget about their worries and troubles so easily. They ask questions unabashedly, innocently. They don't hide their thoughts. That art is acquired much later in life. Their friendship and companionship is unconditional, unbiased. I realised I was so happy being with them and being like them, that I decided that very instant to attend this class every Saturday evening!

And my latest crazy is:

The bright blue big gym ball thats the latest addition to my room! The one I sit, swirl, twirl, twist, bend and bounce on... All that while working! What a way to sit on your butt, yet have fun!

SSB Pinhole camera version 2

Presenting the new and improved Sweet Shop Box (SSB) pinhole camera.

my experiments with intuitive and improvised cooking - II

The making of the seasonal Panha and easy raw mango pickle :)

For the last few days, every time I looked out of the window, I saw lovely green raw mangoes dangling from a mango tree. Todays I finally decided to pluck out a few and make panha. Panha or 'aam panna' is a seasonal drink prepared with the pulp of raw mangoes.

So here's what I did:

1. Looked out of my window every day to see green mangoes

2. Plucked a few

3. Washed them and soaked them in water for 15 mins

4. Kept one raw mango aside for some quick fix pickle.

5. Put them in a pressure cooker.

6. Pressure cooked the raw mangoes

7. Let the raw mangoes cool down.

8. chopped the one raw mango kept aside

9. Added some salt and a bit of sugar and some chilly powder and mixed well.

10. Heated a bit of oil and gave it a tadka of mustard seeds and turmeric powder.

11. Kept the pickle aside.

12. Separated the peels and the seeds from the cooked mango pulp. and mix it with water it was cooked in.

13. Added jaggery (gud/gur/gul) for sweetness

14. Mixed it all up... and let the jaggery melt. Then mixed it again after a while.

15. Took some of this concentrate and mixed it with cold water. Garnished it with a tulsi leaf, and it tasted wonderful!

Enjoy :)

After months of uncertainty, I finally managed to put in place of my old one, a new computer...

Phew...

एका हत्ती आणि गाढवाची गोष्टा

पेरूचा झाडावर हत्ती बसलेला.
एक गाढव झाडावर चाडत.
हत्ती: कशाला आलास?
गाढव: सफरचंद खायला.
हत्ती: गाढव! हे पेरू चे झाड आहे...
गाढव: मी सफरचंद खिष्यात आनलाय ना...!

sakal published an article on my homemade lenses

sakal published an article on my homemade lenses
Originally uploaded by DraconianRain

Finally some recognition! Sakal published an article on my lens building hobby!

That was it...

That was it…

Her forehead was dripping with sweat. Shirt was already wet with it. As she looked up the other side to see him wiping his face with his sleeve similarly sweat drenched, she picked up the shuttlecock that lay near her feet. Slowly… judging… his speed, strength and remaining stamina. She shifted to the right court and blew on the right palm, holding the racquet, then on the shuttle… right leg slightly bent at the knee and behind the left one. Swung her racqueted right arm while simultaneously releasing the shuttle from her left hand fingers, the racquet making contact with the shuttle with a clean sound, but misjudged.

Even as she was coming to terms with misjudged flight, He was ready for anything. As he leapt high his knees bent, body straightened and then arched backwards with his outstretched arm reaching out for the shuttle. Wrist finishing off the near perfect smash… She cringed at the sight of the shuttle shooting straight at her, but managed to get her left foot to move forward. Not wanting to lose her vantage position, she let her right leg stretched as far as possible behind her, with her head down yet looking at the shuttle… The racquet head in the outstretched right hand managed to make contact with the shuttle before it smashed to the ground. One touch was enough to get the shuttle very close to the net on the right. As she recovered, she saw him through the corner of her eye… deftly … lest she lost sight of the shuttle. Anticipation brought him closer to the service line and with a free movement of the wrist; he flicked the shuttle towards the baseline. Never letting his sight away from the shuttle, he stood his ground, legs apart, slightly bent, waiting for a weak return…

Her early recovery held her at a small advantage. She deftly took two long steps back… her back arched as she took a glance at his ready form… on the left court. She... from her left court and strong grip on the racquet made a firm contact with the shuttle and flicked… enough for the momentum to stop till it dropped just beyond the net before the service line… And she thought she had him in a spot… forgetting he held an advantage of being closer to the service line. His eyes gleamed as he stretched out to hit a flat swift return. But he misjudged her reflexes. She was off in a flash towards the right court with a full stretch and hit straight and flat towards his right court.

His eyes almost popped out as he smashed the shuttle back…

She felt the sweat on her neck, forehead, back and stomach and had a flashing glimpse of his face gleaming with triumph. But she had to go for it. As she took a great stride and bent her left leg forward, right leg stretched straight behind her, her body stretched forward, almost doubling up, stomach touching the thigh, arm stretched and head down. Her racquet managed to reach the shuttle. The power of the previous shot rebounding the shuttle back.

But she watched in despair as it hit the hem of the net... and fell back in her court... she held her sweat drenched hair and forehead...
He smiled... hopped towards the shuttle and picked it up and said... 'chal... Love all'

That was it...

she had just lost the toss...