An intensely engaging, yet sad, read about a brilliant mind...
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all
PS - Suggest you read it completely in one go
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Tirupati Tirumala Deivasthanam (TTD)
I had ideas of other posts in mind, but this was one I had to write before anything else!
I was in Tirupati on Tuesday nd planned a trip to Tirumala early next morning with a colleague. Tirumala is what Tirupati is actually famous for.. it has the Lord Venkateshwara temple, which is supposed to be the world's most visited religious site - at an average of 60,000 pilgrims a day! (Tirupati is the city.. Tirumala is a hill a few kms from the city)
I prefer to visit a temple if its nice and quiet and peaceful. So I was a bit skeptical about going to this temple. There was going to be one helluva rush, no matter what time we went.
So we woke up at around 3 am, ready for our 'adventure'! By 3.45, we were off in a tiny Indica up the hill. The ride was interesting. At this time of the day (err night), you really don't expect too many vehicles on any road.. But there were buses upon buses, full of people, screaming up the slope! There was a jeep rammed into the side of the road, an eager driver turning too fast for his own good. It got chillier as we climbed but I was still quite comfortable in my t-shirt and jeans. It must've been like 21-22 degrees C.
4:35 am - We reached the top, had to leave our cellphones and chappals in the car.. and headed straight for the serpentine queue which had already started forming!
The queue moved quite slow. The point where we joined the queue, we really didn't know we were entering a temple. In front of us was a huge building that seemed to be full of halls, and the queue was heading right for it. As we got in, the queue split into two.. one going up a flight of stairs and another going down... Both eventually of course leading to the same destination.
As the queue moved forth, I could get glimpses of the humongous complex inside. It was a large space, prolly the size of two football fields, and on one side was the temple.
The queue then emptied out into a seating hall of sorts and the door at the far end was closed. We waited there for around 30 minutes. Without much notice, the door was pulled open and pilgrims spilled out towards another entry, again falling back into a queue. This queue finally led up to the temple, just before which, it merged with the other queue.
There were just so many people around. But there was very little noise. Occasionally someone would cry out "Govinda", and everyone would follow the 'chant', saying "Govinda' twice or thrice.
As I neared the idol, there was quite a mad rush of pilgrims as the entrance to the temple was a bit wider than the queue. The entrance to the temple is from its left side. One has to go straight towards the centre and then turn left to get a glimpse of the idol. As I moved forward, being shoved from all directions, I thought to myself.. well what's really there to it!?
But as I turned left, I had a clear view of the idol - Lord Venkateshwara.
Now, I don't really know how to explain it, but I was transfixed. There was some energy holding me at that point. My mind was clear, still, motionless, at peace. And as I reached the closest point to the idol and turned left away from it, I felt a sense of deep contentment. I walked out amongst a crowd of smiling, happy, people. Perhaps, I was smiling too...
--
It had been a great experience, and a most unexpected one at that. The cherry on the icing on the cake was the sweet laddu packet at the end, which I had, and shared gleefully with my team the next day!
I was in Tirupati on Tuesday nd planned a trip to Tirumala early next morning with a colleague. Tirumala is what Tirupati is actually famous for.. it has the Lord Venkateshwara temple, which is supposed to be the world's most visited religious site - at an average of 60,000 pilgrims a day! (Tirupati is the city.. Tirumala is a hill a few kms from the city)
I prefer to visit a temple if its nice and quiet and peaceful. So I was a bit skeptical about going to this temple. There was going to be one helluva rush, no matter what time we went.
So we woke up at around 3 am, ready for our 'adventure'! By 3.45, we were off in a tiny Indica up the hill. The ride was interesting. At this time of the day (err night), you really don't expect too many vehicles on any road.. But there were buses upon buses, full of people, screaming up the slope! There was a jeep rammed into the side of the road, an eager driver turning too fast for his own good. It got chillier as we climbed but I was still quite comfortable in my t-shirt and jeans. It must've been like 21-22 degrees C.
4:35 am - We reached the top, had to leave our cellphones and chappals in the car.. and headed straight for the serpentine queue which had already started forming!
The queue moved quite slow. The point where we joined the queue, we really didn't know we were entering a temple. In front of us was a huge building that seemed to be full of halls, and the queue was heading right for it. As we got in, the queue split into two.. one going up a flight of stairs and another going down... Both eventually of course leading to the same destination.
As the queue moved forth, I could get glimpses of the humongous complex inside. It was a large space, prolly the size of two football fields, and on one side was the temple.
The queue then emptied out into a seating hall of sorts and the door at the far end was closed. We waited there for around 30 minutes. Without much notice, the door was pulled open and pilgrims spilled out towards another entry, again falling back into a queue. This queue finally led up to the temple, just before which, it merged with the other queue.
There were just so many people around. But there was very little noise. Occasionally someone would cry out "Govinda", and everyone would follow the 'chant', saying "Govinda' twice or thrice.
As I neared the idol, there was quite a mad rush of pilgrims as the entrance to the temple was a bit wider than the queue. The entrance to the temple is from its left side. One has to go straight towards the centre and then turn left to get a glimpse of the idol. As I moved forward, being shoved from all directions, I thought to myself.. well what's really there to it!?
But as I turned left, I had a clear view of the idol - Lord Venkateshwara.
Now, I don't really know how to explain it, but I was transfixed. There was some energy holding me at that point. My mind was clear, still, motionless, at peace. And as I reached the closest point to the idol and turned left away from it, I felt a sense of deep contentment. I walked out amongst a crowd of smiling, happy, people. Perhaps, I was smiling too...
--
It had been a great experience, and a most unexpected one at that. The cherry on the icing on the cake was the sweet laddu packet at the end, which I had, and shared gleefully with my team the next day!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Wine & dine in Chennai...
Chennai had been quite a gracious host for the two weeks that I spent there. Apart from the fairly good weather though, something that really struck me was the awesome food joints sprinkled all over the city. I've really only now found the time to write a bit about em all, and hopefully my memory's still holding those experiences in near totality.
So here goes...
1. Taj Coromandel
Ambience - Fairly well lit. Well decored interiors. Live Indian music (ie flute, violin n the like) playing. Nice, comfortable seats. High ceilings. In short NIIICE..
Food - Only South Indian (various states), but thoroughly enjoyable. Do try the fried fish starters. The soups can be given a miss though. The prices are ok though.. about 800-1000 per head (without drinks)
Service - A bit on the slower side, but what the heck, its a 5 Star.. enjoy it while it lasts :-P
Company - Generally small corporate groups or families. I spotted Narain Karthikeyan as well. Good place to spend some time with the family or a quiet evening with close friends.
--
2. Bella Ciao
Ambience - Rooftop. Perfect for a breezy evening. Setup with largeish tables with mosaic kinda tiles, sposedly to give an Italian feel. Well, thanks to the Italian waitress, everything even remotely Italian, looks Italian :-P
Food - Excellent. Reminded me of Little Italy (which is there in several cities in India). Authentic Italian. Loved every bittuv it.
Service - Can get really slow when its crowded as only one person takes the orders for about a total of 10-12 tables.
Company - Young crowd mostly. Couples. Groups of friends. And a few foreigners.
--
3. Mainland China
Ambience - Fairly run-of-the-mill. Dullish. They do also keep candles on the table, but that really doesn't lighten up the atmosphere. Some really cliched music playing in the background.
Food - GOOD QUANTITY. :-) Taste's ok to good. But seriously value for money.
Service - Quick n efficient.
Company - Families. Bored couples wanting to get even more bored.
--
4. Sparks (Pub)
Ambience - Low light, with those twinkling stars in the ceiling Good music, DJ et al :-P Perfect to settle down with your drink. PS - The couches are goood.
Food - Complementary popcorns go well with beer. Rest's usual. Some really good mocktails for the teetotallers.
Service - Fairly good. No complaints as such.
Company - For some reason, this place was almost completely empty on a Saturday night, whereas its a pretty darn good pub.
--
5. 601 - The Park
Ambience - Nothing special. Well lit. Gives a feeling of being outside, whereas its really well inside.
Food - The buffet's ok. I'd have it just for the desserts though. :-P A la carte's expensive and not all that good.
Service - Shabby. Waiters seem strangely under-trained.
Company - Mostly foreigners. Oldies. CxO ish people, reading books while they eat!
--
6. Minar (Savera's rooftop)
Ambience - Again, rooftop. But very dark and the chairs are not quite comfortable.
Food - Good north Indian food. Good quantity but a touch expensive for the kind of place.
Service - Ok. Nothing to write home about.
Company - Pretty much all kindsa people.
--
7. Malgudi
Ambience - Similar to the Taj Coromandel, but of course without much the grandeur. A magician walks around showing magic tricks. Interiors seem like a room of a palace that wasn't really done up as much as a room in a palace should be done up.
Food - Pukka South Indian, but again can't resist a comparison with the Taj.. its pretty ordinary.
Service - On the slower side.
Company - Big families. Small families. Not really a place to go n hang out with friends, unless ALL of you are crazy bout South Indian food.
---
And that's 'bout it.. went to a few others like Northern Spicey, Opal Inn & Tangerine.. all of which were ok ok. Tangerine has a live band though that played some good music.
So Chennai sprang quite a surprise on me by treating me to some excellent lunches & dinners. But I must not forget the "Meals" & "Mini-Meals" available in most restaurants round the corner. They are the closest that I can get to home food, and to me, still the best food available anywhere outsida home.. :-)
So here goes...
1. Taj Coromandel
Ambience - Fairly well lit. Well decored interiors. Live Indian music (ie flute, violin n the like) playing. Nice, comfortable seats. High ceilings. In short NIIICE..
Food - Only South Indian (various states), but thoroughly enjoyable. Do try the fried fish starters. The soups can be given a miss though. The prices are ok though.. about 800-1000 per head (without drinks)
Service - A bit on the slower side, but what the heck, its a 5 Star.. enjoy it while it lasts :-P
Company - Generally small corporate groups or families. I spotted Narain Karthikeyan as well. Good place to spend some time with the family or a quiet evening with close friends.
--
2. Bella Ciao
Ambience - Rooftop. Perfect for a breezy evening. Setup with largeish tables with mosaic kinda tiles, sposedly to give an Italian feel. Well, thanks to the Italian waitress, everything even remotely Italian, looks Italian :-P
Food - Excellent. Reminded me of Little Italy (which is there in several cities in India). Authentic Italian. Loved every bittuv it.
Service - Can get really slow when its crowded as only one person takes the orders for about a total of 10-12 tables.
Company - Young crowd mostly. Couples. Groups of friends. And a few foreigners.
--
3. Mainland China
Ambience - Fairly run-of-the-mill. Dullish. They do also keep candles on the table, but that really doesn't lighten up the atmosphere. Some really cliched music playing in the background.
Food - GOOD QUANTITY. :-) Taste's ok to good. But seriously value for money.
Service - Quick n efficient.
Company - Families. Bored couples wanting to get even more bored.
--
4. Sparks (Pub)
Ambience - Low light, with those twinkling stars in the ceiling Good music, DJ et al :-P Perfect to settle down with your drink. PS - The couches are goood.
Food - Complementary popcorns go well with beer. Rest's usual. Some really good mocktails for the teetotallers.
Service - Fairly good. No complaints as such.
Company - For some reason, this place was almost completely empty on a Saturday night, whereas its a pretty darn good pub.
--
5. 601 - The Park
Ambience - Nothing special. Well lit. Gives a feeling of being outside, whereas its really well inside.
Food - The buffet's ok. I'd have it just for the desserts though. :-P A la carte's expensive and not all that good.
Service - Shabby. Waiters seem strangely under-trained.
Company - Mostly foreigners. Oldies. CxO ish people, reading books while they eat!
--
6. Minar (Savera's rooftop)
Ambience - Again, rooftop. But very dark and the chairs are not quite comfortable.
Food - Good north Indian food. Good quantity but a touch expensive for the kind of place.
Service - Ok. Nothing to write home about.
Company - Pretty much all kindsa people.
--
7. Malgudi
Ambience - Similar to the Taj Coromandel, but of course without much the grandeur. A magician walks around showing magic tricks. Interiors seem like a room of a palace that wasn't really done up as much as a room in a palace should be done up.
Food - Pukka South Indian, but again can't resist a comparison with the Taj.. its pretty ordinary.
Service - On the slower side.
Company - Big families. Small families. Not really a place to go n hang out with friends, unless ALL of you are crazy bout South Indian food.
---
And that's 'bout it.. went to a few others like Northern Spicey, Opal Inn & Tangerine.. all of which were ok ok. Tangerine has a live band though that played some good music.
So Chennai sprang quite a surprise on me by treating me to some excellent lunches & dinners. But I must not forget the "Meals" & "Mini-Meals" available in most restaurants round the corner. They are the closest that I can get to home food, and to me, still the best food available anywhere outsida home.. :-)
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