Sri Lanka!

In late July 2011, I was planning a trip to Sri Lanka - mostly cycling along the east coast. But unfortunately, it didn’t quite materialize and the plan got shelved. As a travel destination, it was always on my ‘must do’ list, because of its pristine natural beauty, and more importantly, because it was still not as commercialized as say Goa, or, Kerala. But I also wanted to do a trip quickly lest commercialization catch up, with the civil-war now over, and with the Lankan government eager to promote tourism!

So I jumped at the opportunity when my lovely aunt and uncle told me that they were doing a trip in Jan and everyone was invited! I usually like to take a lot of inputs and plan my destinations, but this one was all going to be done by a tour operator (Royal Holidays), and I thought it’d be a nice change to just sit back and see what the place has to offer. My brother, Shyam & cousin, Mridula, were on board as well and it promised to be a great family time in a beautiful country.

The visa process for Sri Lanka was simple. A short form to fill out online, pay the fees, and that was it. Everything was done and dusted online and we could just fly in to Colombo and the ‘stamping’ would be done.

Shyam & I were flying the beleaguered Kingfisher airlines from Chennai to Colombo, and were pleasantly surprised to be served beer (Kingfisher, of course!) on the plane. We landed at 2 in the afternoon to bright sunshine and a cool-ish breeze. Sri Lankan weather is typically tropical and unpredictable, so I was going to take every clear day I could get!

After waiting for about an hour for aunt & uncle to arrive, we were off, on our shining Nissan Caravan with our two guides. I found the cars in Lanka to be a confused mix of the old and the new. There were the 1960’s, boxy-looking, blue-colored-now-looking-brown sedans and there were the brand new aerodynamically designed Toyota Prius kind of vehicles. Clearly, the country had gone directly from pre-civil-war directly some 30 years on to a new set of vehicles.

Anuradhapura

Our first stop was going to be the historic city of Anuradhapura, a good 4 hour drive from Colombo. The road was a good one and the drive reminded me distinctly of the border between Tamil Nadu & Kerala – dotted with bustling villages every few minutes, and forests in between! There were ‘beware of elephants’ signs all over the place and I even managed to catch a glimpse of a couple foraging just off the road.

We reached in time for dinner at the Palm Garden Village, and were welcomed by a lovely, smiling old man; the kind who give that impression of having achieved absolute fulfillment in life. On the other hand, was me with a clearly not-fulfilled stomach! I was famished and eagerly looking forward to my first Sri Lankan meal. I began eating (and by the end of the trip I would lose count on how much fish and rice I had). At least 3 different fish dishes in every meal, very south Indian in preparation with coconut and chillies and spices. Even as I write this several days later, I’m almost drooling over my laptop just at the thought of all that yummy food!

The hotel was a decent one, reminded me of The Leela in Goa in the way it was setup, but of course there was no beach nearby. Rooms were in cottages which lay sprinkled across the pond and tree-filled landscape. We were going to get some much-needed rest before we went out exploring the ancient city in the morning.

We were up early in the morning (7ish) so we could have a heavy breakfast meal and leave. We headed to the Bodhi Tree (not the actual one, of course, but one which had come up from a branch that King Ashok had gotten planted centuries ago). The entire place was swarming with monkeys, the large langurs. Langurs are known to be relatively docile, especially compared to the common rhesus monkey, which are known to wreak havoc wherever they go. Being a Sunday, the Bodhi Tree and the accompanying temples weren’t exactly peaceful with tourists and locals swarming the place. We walked around for a while. Meanwhile, Shyam managed to get lost and we had to spend a good 15 minutes looking for him.

The grand stupa was quite a sight, and the walk around it was particularly peaceful. It was about 2 hours well spent. Despite the crowds, I left with a sense of calm. Looking back, I would surely have had Anuradhapura on my own itinerary as well, but not on a Sunday.

Habarana

A couple of hours drive from Anuradhapura was our next stop, Habarana. We reached in time for a late lunch at our beautiful hotel, the Cinnamon Lodge. The layout was similar to the Palm Garden Village, but the rooms were far better furnished. We were up on the first floor of a cottage house that opened out to balconies on both sides with views of gardens. Monkeys were scampering all over the place, but looked more mischievous than menacing. There were several weird looking birds and animals, including a large squirrel about 4 feet long that looked like a cross between a squirrel, an otter, a beaver and a mouse. All in all, interesting, but quite ugly!

After a short nap soaking in the atmosphere, we headed off in the evening to see some ruins. After my experience of sheer grandeur in Hampi a couple of years back, it was difficult for me to really appreciate any set of ruins that I saw. And honestly, these were quite ordinary in themselves. There were a few Shiva temples as well but too little was left of them to imagine what they would have been in their heyday! There was a huge, beautiful man-made lake nearby which glimmered in the evening sun, which was the highlight for me. Evening approached pretty quickly and we headed back to the Cinnamon Lodge for some rest and dinner. On the way we booked ourselves for a ‘day in the village’ package the next day which would take us on a bullock-cart and a catamaran, and end with some home-made lunch.

The dinner and service was impeccable and the Cinnamon Lodge was quickly becoming one of my favourite hotels that I had been to. We ended the evening with Shyam treating us to some live music with his guitar.

The next day we were off for our ‘day in the village’ package at about 9.30 in the morning after our usual sumptuous breakfast (string hoppers & fish curry nicely settling in my tummy). The bullock-cart ride was bumpier than the bumpiest roller-coaster you can imagine and we were all laughing our guts out at how much fun it was! Our guide was a 20-year old IT student who spoke English in bits and pieces, including some well-rehearsed lines that were a little less fun than the ride itself.

The catamaran was waiting at the end of the bullock-cart ‘trail’. I had never been on one, but the experience was like in any other boat, except there was no sound of any motor so it was nice and quiet. We saw several species of birds, a blue kingfisher, a red horn-bill, birds standing on leaves floating on water, and many random looking ducks. It was quite clearly, the highlight of my trip till that point. I could’ve spent hours there and not realized it. We stopped on an island to have some fresh tea and take a walk around looking at some plantations. Another 15-minute catamaran ride later we were at a clearing for some well-awaited lunch. Brown rice and fish. Satisfaction!

After the meal, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest. The evening was going to be a safari jeep ride into the forest to see some elephants. It started rather promisingly with us having a whole jeep to ourselves and the forest looking dense and inviting. But, as we went in, all we could see was elephants everywhere. I could have done with some leopards and tigers! The ride was fun, what with the open-top jeep and all, and that was about it. We had paid quite a sum for the ‘safari’ and I’d surely have given a miss in hindsight!

We closed out the evening with dinner at the Chhaya Guest House which was right next to the Cinnamon Lodge, with just as good food but about 20% less expensive. They also served us our first taste of Lankan brewed beer called Lion beer. The food was excellent and the tiring safari ride made me eat more than my usual fill. The next day was going to be transit to Kandy, with stops at the Caves of Dambulla and the Spice Garden.

Dambulla-Kandy

We set off early on Tuesday morning and headed towards Dambulla. We were greeted by a gigantic golden Buddha Statue at the base of a mountain. After buying some really expensive tickets (Some 1000 Indian rupees each!) to walk up the mountain, we started our climb. The stairs were broad and safe, and there were quite a few people walking up, gasping for air, us included! On top, was what looked like a horse stable at first glance, but each entrance to the ‘stable’ was in fact an entrance to a cave. There were some stunningly worked, huge Buddha statues inside the caves (some 3-4 cave-fuls!). The ceilings and walls of the caves were covered with intricate paintings, and it was quite wondrous how all of this had survived for so many centuries. To think that this land had avoided a war for so long, but fell by the wayside in the 20^th century is quite sad.

After a stop at the Spice Garden where we looked at trees of some common spices, we headed straight for Kandy. Driving through Kandy, as we made our way to the hotel, it seemed like a typically large city and I really didn’t feel as though we would see much here. The lunch menu at our hotel, The Mahaweli Reach Hotel was rather limited and the service, non-existent. So we made our way to a restaurant in the city and had a relaxed lunch session. All through the weather had been perfect, without too much burning sun or a drop of rain.

After lunch and some rest, we were relaxing at our rooms while the ladies left for a cultural show. After 3 days of massive eating and relatively insignificant walking/climbing, I was itching to go and have a workout at the gym and decided to do that versus going for the cultural show.

We had seen enough Buddha statues in one day to give the famous tooth relic temple of Kandy a miss, so the initial two days in Kandy plan was cut short to one and we headed off to our next destination, the hill station of Nuwara Eliya.

It was going to be a long drive from Kandy up to Nuwara Eliya so we left early in the morning, about 8.30 am. On our way, we stopped at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Lush greenery, the sound of a river gushing somewhere in the background and the sound of a million chirping birds greeted us at the Gardens. As soon as I stepped in, I was quite clear that this was going to overtake the catamaran ride as my favourite place on the trip.

I’ve been to some beautifully kept gardens in Singapore, Paris & Berlin, but this garden was in a class of its own. They, in their current form, were, incidentally, made by a Britisher, after the British overthrew the reigning king of Ceylon some 200 years back. Lined by coniferous trees, perfectly trimmed grass and well-laid roads running through the 59 hectares of the gardens, it was a sight to behold.

Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya, a further 3 hours down the road is the Munnar of Sri Lanka. On the lead up to the hill top you cross endless tea gardens, so green that if you look at it long enough your eyes will not be able to distinguish any other colour! We even stopped at a tea factory to see how those leaves are converted to the black powder that we see in our kitchens. It was a fascinating process, simple, and efficient.

On reaching Nuwara Eliya, we checked into our truly grand, Grand Hotel. Huge rooms, high ceilings and furnished with old English upholstery, it had an absolutely royal feel to it. And the chilly, hill-weather completed the English experience.

There wasn’t much to do in Nuwara Eliya than enjoy the weather and views. The only real ‘tourist spot’ was the Hanuman temple and giant footsteps. We did that in the early evening hours and spent the rest of the time at the hotel. Dinner was at the hotel itself, not the usual buffet, but at the café.

We had an early start the next morning to take us to the last leg of the trip – Colombo!

Colombo & Galle

As is the case with most parts of the world, we had a relative in Colombo as well, and timed our departure from Nuwara Eliya so we would reach in time for lunch with them in Colombo! The drive was a tiring one as the road wasn’t too good and it was downhill!

We checked into the Cinnamon Grand and headed for lunch at one of the 14 restaurants in the hotel. By the time we were done, it was almost 4 pm, just about enough time to do some shopping (not for me!) and hit the gym (aye, aye!). Dinner was at the South Indian restaurant, again in the hotel, and it was pretty good.

The last day was going to be Galle, up and down. The drive from Colombo to Galle on the new highway was super-awesome, 100km in 1 hour flat! Galle welcomes you with a scenic drive right along the coast. I was instantly reminded of Marseille and Barcelona, only this was with hills on the side which really made the view all the more special. I love the sea and there was no way I was going back without a swim, what with the perfect climate (25° C!) and cool water!

We spent the afternoon lazing around at the beach and then went and met a friend of my uncle’s who took us to one of his jaw-droppingly beautiful beach-side properties. The baton had passed from the Royal Botanical Gardens to Galle.

On our drive back to Colombo for our last night in Sri Lanka, I was thinking where I would place Sri Lanka in my list of holidays. A clear #1 in terms of natural beauty, easily surpassing the likes of Goa and Kerala. Not exactly adventurous, but that’s down to the high degree of planning done by the tour operators who I thought did a good job overall. I’d have loved to see some more fauna, but then there are sanctuaries in Lanka where you can go see leopards and even whales. In the end, it was great spending time with family, something I easily forget in my urge to travel more!

Rameswaram!!!

First, the bottomline. If you haven't been to Rameswaram yet, GO THERE. Go - for the ride across the sea, - for the swim on the beach, - for seeing The End of the World, - for the beautiful friendly smiling people, and last but not the least, go - for the truly awe-inspiring temple, & energy of the place.

A mid-week holiday (Wednesday) for Pongal/Sankranti, wasn't the ideal setting for traveling, but the decision (on Tuesday afternoon!) to take Thursday-Friday off and set out on a tour to Rameswaram, Madurai & Periyar wildlife sanctuary turned out to be a terrific one!

The first leg of the tour, of course, was Rameswaram. This holy city, known as the "Kasi (Varanasi) of the South" get millions of visitors every year. And, it has been on my mind (& travel radar) for quite a while. So when the opportunity presented itself, I just had to go. Of course, it didn't help that I decided so late, coz I had no train or hotel bookings whatsoever. Nevertheless, since I was traveling alone, I thought I'd manage one way or the other.

The Ride
The first bit, was easy as pie. Getting to Chennai from Tirupati. A short 4hr bus ride and I was there. Somesh's home for the night, and Wednesday evening was my train from Chennai Egmore Station for Rameswaram (No tickets!).

There are two trains from Chennai to Rameswaram (13 hrs), one at 5 in the evening and one at 8. You could take the 5 pm one if you want to be in time for the sunrise by the sea (might still not get you in time during summer I guess). The 8pm one will get you in a little later (9 am), but is sure to take you on the bridge across the sea in the early morning sun, and its sooo good, this itself makes the whole trip worth it.

Anyhow, I took the 8pm train. Got on with an unreserved ticket and thanks to the TC, got myself a seat in the 3tier AC compartment (no bribe!). This is not really a good thing to do for such a long ride. I was lucky to travel on a day when the crowd was less so could get a berth quite easily.

The train does not have a pantry car, so be sure you carry your own dinner or finish dinner before you start. I remember coz I had to make do with a couple of bananas and some juice!

I was up early in the morning so I could experience the ride across The Bridge. Rameswaram is actually an island off the east coast. Its the last bit of land, sandwiched between India and Sri Lanka. There's a bridge (abt 2km long, I think) connecting it to the mainland. As you can see in the pic, its simply awe-inspiring. The clean sea below and the cool morning breeze made this an unforgettable experience. Many of my friends who've been to Rameswaram when they were little kids remember this part of their journey very well. And twas easy to see why. (It kinda reminded me of the ride across the sea from Bombay to New Bombay, which I enjoy too. But the water there is hardly clean and the scenery is quite the opposite)

Getting around in Rameswaram, search for a room
I reached Rameswaram station at 9am and expectedly was swarmed by auto-rickshaw fellows. A ride to the temple costs about Rs25-30. But I decided to try something different and took a horse cart to a hotel suggested by the Lonely Planet guide (Hotel Tamil Nadu).

The ride was quite exciting and took me back to the days I used to ride horses close to my home in Bombay. (those 5 rs per trip thingies, who take u around for like 3 mins! =) ). Anyways, upon reaching Hotel Tamil Nadu, I learned two things : 1) The Governor of Tamil Nadu was scheduled to visit on that day (so no rooms available in that hotel due to security reasons) and 2) The Rameswaram police has a policy of not allowing single travellers to check into hotels.

Since I definitely wanted to stay the night, I headed for the police station to request for permission. The guys there helpful and decided to keep my driver's licence and my uncle's address in Chennai as 'security'. Then I went on and checked into a hotel called Island Star which is a 2 min walk from the temple. The rooms were spacious, but not very clean. At 400rs per 24hrs, it was a bit on the expensive side given the condition. (Some good hotels which were full at that time were Hotel Tamil Nadu & Rameswaram Guest house)

Snorkeling dreams
Once the room was done and dusted, I immediately headed for the (now erswhile) Children's Beach. I'd heard from friends who'd visited just over a year back that the fishermen folk there offer to take you out on a boat for some snorkeling! I was really looking forward to doing that myself. Upon reaching though, I was disappointed to learn that that had been stopped 8 months back because of an unfortunate accident where 2 lives were lost.

So I decided to pre-pone my plan of visiting the temple from the afternoon to the morning.

The Temple
The famous Ramanathaswamy temple is an imposing structure. The west facing side of the temple is the one that you first see while making your way from the station. Its quite a sight, especially with the sun in the background. The east facing side (in the pic here), was undergoing some renovation and was patched up with dry leaves. It kinda looked like the place where you would indeed find monkeys (ref Lord Hanuman).

The 'procedure' for visiting the temple is to start with a dip in the sea. Its a 2 min walk from the temple. After this, one directly proceeds to the temple and has a wash in each of the 22 wells that are there. It supposedly washes away all the sins you have committed. While I don't necessarily subscribe to that view, I still wanted to do it just to get a better feel of the place. The dip in the sea, around 1130 am, was rather cold, but fun. With wet clothes, I proceeded right to the temple. There is an entry fee of some 20 bucks and for 50-100rs per head, a 'guide' will offer to take you around each of the 22 wells and ensure you get head washed from each of em! Walking around with naked wet feet on the warm temple floor (which is open to the sky) felt awesome. The architecture inside the temple is simply breathtaking. One could get lost in the maze of long corridoors and intricate designs. After rushing through bathing from water from the 22 wells, I finally had some time to explore and feel the energy of the temple. There are several areas within it which were nice and quiet and give me a sense of deep peace. The mind stays alert and the eyes are wide open in wonder and awe. The place gives a poignant sense of being at some other place, at some other time.

The temple visit was certainly a high point of my Rameswaram trip. But there was more to come, entirely different experiences and thouroughly enjoyable all the same.

Lunch
The stomach started churning asking for its due after the soul stirring morning. Rameswaram has all (Indian) varieties of food on the menu - Gujarati, Punjabi, Bombay chaat, Bengali and of course traditional South Indian fare. For me the choice was (of course) South Indian meals replete with sambhar, rasam, curd, rice, curries and papads - the works!

Then, around 2ish, I took off for Dhanushkodi, a fishing village which is essentially the last inhabited point in India, before the sea divide with Sri Lanka. Its about a 1 hr ride out by the local town bus (number 3) from Rameswaram. Auto drivers will offer to drive you there and back for about 300rs, but it greatly limits your time and also costs a bomb compared to the bus which costs like 5-10rs.

Ride to Dhanushkodi
The bus to Dhanushkodi finally arrived at around 3pm. Apparently, because of the Governor's visit, buses were held up at the bus station. But after the hour or so's wait, the ride was quite fun. The people on the bus were warm and friendly and gave me tips on what to do once I reach the last stop. They told me that the bus actually doesn't go upto Dhanushkodi; rather it stops about 3 km before that. After that, there is no road and one needs to walk it up or take this ride on a van which costs about 100rs to and fro per person. 1km further down (so a total of 4km from where the bus drops you), is Sangam (the meeting place of the oceans), the 'End of the World'!! The vans will take you there as well (and back).

I also met a German couple on the bus and was shocked to know that the guy was a POSTMAN back in Germany and the girl was unemployed! I wondered to myself how many postmen from India have gone visiting any other state, forget another country a million miles away! (I also learned that the Oktoberfest in Germany is not really a good time to visit there as its crazy expensive and too crowded!)

Dhanushkodi (bus stand) to Sangam
Once I reached the bus stand, I had to squeeze myself onto a van departing from there to go to the Sangam. I was on a van with some 15nuns from a nearby Church! I sat next to the driver and although I got a really good view, the fumes spewing out of the engine box (between the driver and me) were quite scary!

At Sangam
This place is just mindblowingly beautiful. Sea on three sides, crystal clear water, cool breeze - if ever God wanted to give us people on Earth a feeler of Heaven, THIS was it.

Some of the birds I saw there reminded me of the ones I'd seen in Australia, with curved beaks et al. The whole experience was just surreal. Of course, I couldn't resist the urge to go for a swim in the water and headed straight in for a nice time in the sea. The water felt cool and combined with the sun shining in the horizon, the feeling was outta this world!!

Sangam to Dhanushkodi (the actual remnants of the village)
Once done, we headed back towards the bus stand before stopping on the remnants of the old village of Dhanushkodi. It was ravaged by a cyclone in '64 and has been uninhabited since. There're a couple of stalls selling beads, shells and the like, but all the stuff, Saravana Kumar, my friendly van-driver assister, tells me, is from Rameswaram. The trip back will remain in my mind for a long long time to come. After the scary seat next to the driver, I decided to be on TOP of the van for the return ride. It was absolutely unbelievable!! As the van snaked through the sandy beach and skirted over the water, I held on for dear life while watching the Sun set and ensuring I didn't get blown away by the breeze :-P

If you ever happen to go there, please DO make this ride on top of the van... It will be worth way waayyy more than the 100 bucks you'll pay for it!!

Back at the bus stand

On getting back, right on time for the sunset, I discovered a small canteen right on the beach selling parathas and omelet (11rs for one of each!). Sprinkled with some salt from the sea, it was the perfect end to the perfect day in Rameswaram.

As I waited for the bus (back to Rameswarm) to arrive, Saravana Kumar, the van-driver-assister told me a couple of things more about Dhanushkodi. He said the best time was to visit on a Monday, as it was always the least crowded on that day. He also got a bit philosophical as he was drawing water from a well, when he added "This is the life, sir... I like it... I'm so happy"

Ride back to Rameswaram

After the goodbyes to Saravana Kumar and the nuns, I boarded the bus back to Rameswaram which was choc-a-bloc full with locals headed back to 'the city'. The ride was peaceful all the same and I made it back to Rameswaram in time for dinner.

Next morning - sunrise

After a good night's sleep I was up early to catch the rising Sun. It is a must-have experience when you're in Rameswaram. A small crowd is gathered at the shore close to the temple to witness this daily event. For me, the experience was special. There was a calm about in the air and an anticipation and air of optimism and positiveness. You know you're going to be there, and you know you're going to witness something regular as well as special - made special by the place and the praying people around you.

And that, my friends, was Rameswaram, which now has a special place in my heart.

Aamby, Chennai & parties

Life in the last 1 1/2 months has just flown by with P&G. Flying around from city to city, attending trainings, presentations, cocktails, dinners, parties interspersed with some skin-tanning, back-breaking market work!

The mother of all parties though was at Aamby valley last week (Thu & Fri). Now this place, between Bombay & Pune is just unbelievable in the monsoons. You might remember going to some places and seeing clouds floating around what would seem like just a few meters above you... and then there are times, in the plane for example, where you get to see clouds below you.. but then you'd wonder, hey where do I actually get to be 'amongst' these clouds... For the first time in my life, I can say, I was quite literally among them at Aamby Valley. The clouds were there, just there floating around, and you could go touch!

The two days spent there were terrific. Sporting activities like a military training ground, shooting range, remote controlled race-car driving.. I loved it all... And then the party at night... where we danced, and we danced and we danced. It reminded me of the parties we used to have in college. I'd thought I'd never get such parties again. But Aamby... was good.

From the chilly hill-tops of Aamby, I've now moved to the (currently) breezy and hot coast of Chennai. This city, as well known for its lack of hot women (or any women for that matter) as for its delectable lunch meals, has been quite a good host to me so far. The weather's been ok, not too hot, nice breeze blowing throughout the day, much like Bombay, though I'd love to have a shower here and there once in a while. The hotel (hotel Savera) is decent. The people in office are cool and fun to be with. All in all, looks well set up for the next two weeks.

xx

Wake up!

If it weren't for the amount of sports I watched and played, I could have safely been called a geek. An ardent fan of The National Geographic Channel & The Discovery Channel, I am often frowned upon by my "I love VH1 / MTV / Channel V" brother :-D

The NGC programming is fantastic. The well-written scripts, clear enunciation and breathtaking photography (and off late, digital imagery) make it a pleasurable experience. My favourite programs are nearly always ones which focus on some of the endangered species. I think such programmes deserve special attention from the government as they can go a long way in educating the masses about how grave the situation is. Maybe, it could offer some concessions to the channel for 'x' hours of such programming. There's a lot of stuff about dinosaurs and pre-historic creatures, which although thoroughly entertaining, doesn't fall under the purview of the 'special attention' I mentioned.

Take for example, the Siberian Tiger, the world's largest cat. Oh what I'd give to see it in the wild some day!! A most magnificent animal. I've seen several programmes dedicated to it, each one of them leaving me awestruck, but also sad. Sad, because there are only about 500 left in the wild today. There was a time when thousands of these beautiful creatures roamed the snowy forests of Russia and China. But a century of savage hunting & logging by irresponsible and selfish humans brought the population into double-digits! Its with the support & education by channels like the NGC that this figure is up to where it is today.

I was wondering how it would be to go on a tour to Siberia and its surrounding regions. A quick google search helped me to this link. Its an Australian Adventure Travel company and has a tour which sounds quite exciting.

Noticeably, I couldn't quickly find any Indian companies which seem to organize such exotic tours. Maybe they operate in a very niche market and are not really visible on the net. But this does look like a possible business opportunity. I know there have been b-plans presented with tours and tie-ups for such kind of places within the country, but there is a chance to build like a world-wide brand which does ONLY such kind of tours. If its sold well to the right people, maybe it could do well.

Coming to the Discovery Channel, unfortunately I lost interest once our cable operator started beaming only the Hindi version, which sucks, quite a bit. Earlier, the programmes on Health, Science and Technology were engaging and informative. I'd go to the extent of saying that I learnt more from the DC than from some of my text-books. Now, sadly, the channel seems to be veering towards sensationalist programming, like one of the several terrible news channels around... trying to make a suspense thriller out of some natural situation, complete with acting, props et al. But that's what the public seems to be demanding.

Look around the newspapers and you'll know what I'm talking about. The Times of India has been reduced to a newspaper with lots of sleazy pics, snippets of gore and some semblance of 'real news' in between. (And not to mention endless ads).

Check out the Pg.4 from today's TOI. This, apparently, is CITY 'news'. When is the world going to wake up!?!?

Flying high

It was a typical Bombay summer morning. Clear blue sky, the sun was out, the crows had started crattering, and a bunch of bright green parrots with even brighter red beaks flew by making their presence felt. A gentle sea breeze drifted into the house as if wishing everyone a good morning.

Suddenly a shrill shriek ripped through the apparent chaos. The crows were silenced for a moment. The parrots had flown off, far into the distance. Almost instantaneously, an excited young boy ran through to the window of his house and bared it open. There it stood, on the terrace of the next building, the queen of the Bombay skies, a magnificent bird, the Black Kite. Its sharp, piercing eyes looked straight at the boy for a moment. The boy was awestruck. And just as he thought he was the luckiest person alive to witness this majestic bird of prey, it gave out another cry. Reacting to it, the boy gave out his own imitation of the cry, almost like an extended, high-pitched, horse's neigh.

As if stunned by the sound and looking for its source, the bird frantically scanned the horizon, its head bobbing from side to side, its eyes searching. And then, as quickly as the whole episode had started, it came to an end. The bird unfolded its massive wings and glided off, riding the waves of breeze flowing in from the sea.

So continued the love-affair of the boy and the birds; flying high, birds of prey.