Belgaum

Jan 24, 2017

As a part of a Senior Citizen Group we had finished Badami in Northern Karnataka and our Tavera started moving towards Belgaum. As city came closer thanks to Mukessbhai of Jio used travel websites to locate Budget lodge for simple overnight stay. Shriniwas Lodge was found suitable and we started moving towards it.

Unfortunately, it's located in Khade Bazar which is comparable with crowded Bhendi Bazar. Why it's called Khade Bazar needs research. Finally, we reached and checked in after sunset. It was a nice place well designed by architects Shanbhag.

I said a temporary goodbye to my team and left to meet my sisters in Belgaum and enjoyed a nice huge Surmai Fry with xxx and a light dinner after a hot shower. I had bit early brekkie with by BIL Bharat of fresh Papaya, Uppit and Gajar Halwa and joined our Gang for sightseeing of Belgaum.

For a good breakfast we went to Suvarna Mandir next door to Shriniwas Hotel. It's a Udupi style popular joint. We checked our sightseeing list with Hotel Owner. He was Ashok Pai. He is perfect example of generosity of the city and reminds one of a character from books of Pu La Deshpande. He summarily scrapped our list. He provided us a free guide and asked us to visit two ancient temples located in very tiny, narrow lanes.

Thanks to Ashok Pai we covered Kapileshwar and Maruti Mandir. Both these temples are popular and worth a visit. Later, we covered two temples under Army Management. One is Military Mahadev and second Military Durga. Military Mahadev is huge under Maratha Light Infantry Training School with few restrictions on civilian visits. Next to it is ShivSmarak, a huge ground with a huge equestrian statue of Maharaj and replicas of Forts built by him around. Can Mumbai have such simple but inspiring monument?

We moved to Ramakrishna Mission located inside the Belgaum Fort. This place plus one more house near Khade Bazar are special. Swamiji himself stayed here for few days. Both properties are well preserved. One can enter here free and one is allowed to sit and do meditation. We sat for meditation to seek blessings of Swamiji. While we were leaving the Volunteers of Mission enquired about us. They strongly recommended us to visit Kamal Basti, ancient Jain temples next door. Without this guidance we would have missed a great monument.

Kamal Basti has two single story stone structures in granite. Highly polished round pillars and intricate designs which are 900 years old are outstanding and make us proud of our Jain heritage. Most spectacular thing here is a stone chandelier in shape of Lotus. That's why it's called Kamal Basti. I must confess this one monument is worth a visit to Belgaum.

Visit to Belgaum is incomplete unless you buy the local sweet Kunda. Nowadays, one can buy tinned Kunda as more and more Belgaum persons are staying faraway from Belgaum and it's a perishable item. While gang of senior citizens went shopping for it, myself and our driver Sikandar parked Tavera at corner and had nice drink two glasses each. The delightful fresh fresh foaming Sugarcane Juice and we said goodbye to Belgaum and moved towards Gokak Falls.

Got Lost and Forgot When Sunset Happened

Determined and fully equipped
To take the best sunset shot
Went to Beach however
Got lost and forgot when sunset happened

Stepped out on pure white beach gingerly
Serene, Soft, Pristine, Pure & Clean
Brand new sandle went in
Feeling like walking on sponge cake
Got lost and forgot when sunset happened

Teenage students from Kolhapur
Went berserk on beach and tide
Teachers organized them into groups
Sand castle competition to make
Absorbed in their activity, enthusiasm and energy
Got lost and forgot when sunset happened

Three kids under three years age
Frolicking and dancing in high tide waves making Masti
Deaf to shouts of Mother to come out
Watching their joy and innocence
Got lost and forgot when sunset happened

Got lost and forgot when sunset happened
Still went home happy with joy to return tomorrow!

Dreams for Tomorrow

2 x 2 Laal Dabba Bus

Sparsly populated. Many vacant seats

Started trundling towards destination

At next College bus stop

Many teenagers hopped in

And suddenly it became crowded

Both got seats but isle seats, separated

She, waiting leaped at first chance

To occupy Window seat next to him, face breeze and share music

You may guess easily what happened next, don't smile like that

She was so bold and strangely charming

He was much shy but very much interested!

Then came fuel stop at Shrungar Tali,

What a beautiful name

Means either romantic lakes? Base for romance?

Suddenly, her mobile rang

Response: Yes Mummy! Yes Mummy! Reaching in 10 minutes

This changed everything!

Took out her daily scarf and covered her face totally

Huge dark glasses covered her eyes completely

As usual detached herself from Him

He understood situation, packed his bag. Checked everything

Disappointed watched silently as she got down and walked towards home with her friends

He stood there.....watching her....with Dreams for Tomorrow!!!

Life is an Adjustment!

The train journey even in local trains is a great learning experience. If one is traveling in Mumbai local trains, particularly in second class with Mango people then you quickly learn the norms of adjustment for fourth seat  and chance to stand in gully etc etc. Comparatively the first class guys are bit snobbish unless you are part of their regular gang.

However, the long distance train journey by cattle class or second class is totally different cup of tea or you prefer coffee. Let me share my experience.

Boarded the train in Thane at 6 am and we settled in our reserved seats. One window and the next seat with isle seat occupied by a lady who had no reservation. After train left Panvel the adjustment activity started. People started saying to each other that this stupid irctc does not our sitting arrangement and computer allots seats randomly. We want to sit together and gossip and eat and sometimes play cards too.

So as a part of the adjustment in my compartment the lady without reservation was shifted to another compartment and a guy who was sitting in front row was shifted as my new neighbour. I was occupied with reading the Economic Times and discussing with my partner which shares to buy more and which ones to dispose off etc, when suddenly I realized that my new neighbour took deep interest in the headlines of the Economic Times.

I established a friendly eye contact with him and returned my gesture with a smile. He was a smallish fair skinned guy nearly 60 or so with few teeth missing and not much money to replace them. He took next step of making some comments based on the headlines of the paper and we started discussion on this and that.

For security reasons I will not disclose his name but continue reading. His family historically belongs to Junnar which is famous for Shivneri Fort the birthplace of Shiwaji Maharaj, but he has been born and brought up in Shindewadi, Bhoiwada, Mumbai. For those who do not know this location, this is opposite Chitra Cinema. Now, you will ask me where is Chitra Cinema? The answer is it is few minutes walk from Dadar Station if you start walking towards Parel. If you ask me next question: I am not going to answer it. Just read on.

He passed out from High School when Shiv Sena was born. Rather guys like these who gave birth to the Sena. These were the times of 1970 when Mumbai (then Bombay) was populated with huge Marathi Manoos population without jobs and if jobs of typist and stenographer were taken by young Tamilians and Keralites who arrived fresh with good skills and ready to work hard.

My new friend started his career with a small job in a small Electrical Work Shop in Thane and then moved on to few odd jobs till he finally fulfilled ambition of parents and got a job in Indian Postal Service. This made him eligible to get a good wife and improved his market value in his community.

But our friend was not normal but he was abnormal. He had an eye for beauty and art. He thought in order to truly discover the meaning of lie he must pursue some kind of art. He believed this was part of his DNA and his destiny too.

He saved and borrowed money with all his energy and passion and bought a good imported camera and other equipment to pursue his hobby of photography. Now, as said earlier, our guy was abnormal so he had a strange concept that he was born to do not only photography but wildlife photography. This passion took him to various places in Maharashtra while he continued his job with Indian Postal Service in different post offices in Mumbai issuing stamps and accepting money orders and some other stupid clerical work. He continued his job because it gave him cash to pursue his photography.

Here the life of our Hero took a turn and in today;s language the TV serial moved on a different and unique track.

He had to be married and parents had selected a suitable girl for him. The problem was cash. It was imperative for him to buy a Gold Mangalsutra for the new bride. He had no cash in hand as all his savings had gone in his photography. Just like you see in many TV serials he had to make sacrifice in order to see the happiness in eyes of his parents and grand parents.

He sold all his equipment and camera in order to buy the Gold.

Our man is not an ordinary man, he is a Hero. What he did was start saving money and buy a good camera and a Video Camera as well and started part time business of covering weddings and other function. The problem was he had to do this while carrying on his postal job so income was not much but he got some satisfaction from it.

Today his daughter is nearing her graduation in a reputed college and intends to take up a Banking job. He said with great difficulty I have managed to give her a Lenovo Laptop and a Digital Camera. She is a brilliant girl and carries my genes and passion for photography. In order to fulfill her desires he has again sacrificed and sold all his equipment and has nearly stopped photography, but, he continues to visit exhibitions and keep in touch with latest equipment and technology.

As we both were to get down at Ratnagiri we exchanged pleasantries. Then with a shy smile he opened his wallet and took out his visiting card and proffered it to me. I accepted same without seeing what was printed and put in my shirt pocket.

After reaching the Resort as we were enjoying a beauty of Arabian Sea and enjoying excellent Tea with my favourite Parle G (by the way Sunil Gawaskar too copies this habit of mine) I took out the card and was utterly shocked.

The card obviously had his name and mobile number but it had a beautiful painting which he had made with a small village house and trees and birds. The card spoke million words about this man, our Hero. He was not a Marathi Manoos, he was not a Postal Employee but he was an Artist and a Painter who saw beauty in everything he saw with joy and wonder.

A unique human being like you and me in Search of Meaning of Life.

March 20, 2013

Marathon Story

Dear All,


Next Sunday the 20 January will be the Marathon Day and whole of Mumbai will be running in the morning. Many of you will be cheering the runners or watching them on your Telly while enjoying your Sunday cuppa......


Let me share with you my experiments with Marathon. You may find it interesting and amusing.

I have no sports background and due to big surgery when I was 5 month old baby I have allergy to dust and smoke and certain food items and my digestion continues to be extremely fragile and weak. I have to be careful what I eat/drink and how much.

It was  in Oct 2002 that I visited Breach Candy Hospital for Annual Health Check conducted by Dr M M Meraney. I was 50. The results showed that my lungs were functioning very poorly and my Cholesterol was above 200. My lifestyle sedentary with regular consumption of Alcohol on weekly basis accompanied by fried food. My height was 6' 1" and weight 75 kg.

Dr M M Meraney counselled me to undertake Yoga immediately and control diet to reduce Cholesterol. The reason being I lost my elder brother due to CHD in 1995 at age of 45. This being family history, I better be careful.

One is always busy in work and other family issues and continued with busy lifestyle with no time for what Doctor prescribed.

Then in March 2003 I was arguing with my younger son to reduce his weight and recommending him to go to Gold Gym which is close by. He replied, it is better you go yourself and show the way. I will follow you if results are good.

I took Membership of Gold Gym and started spending max 60 minutes everyday from 05:30 Hrs to 06:30 Hrs regularly and also controlled my diet and nearly stopped Alcohol. The result was bit painful as I discovered that I had a paunch and was not able to walk on treadmill for even 3 minutes. It was impossible to use Supine Cycle for 3 minutes at low resistance. Let me add here that it is very important to take Doctor's opinion before you
start any type of exercise other than normal walking.

Then came Nov 2003 when I participated in Art of Living popularised by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji. I started practicing Sudarshan Kriya regularly which helped me improve my lung condition and digestion very much.

Slowly the results started showing and I started loosing weight till I reached 68 and then slowly again climbed up to reach 71. Now, after a year or so by Jan 2004 I was able to not only walk @ 6.6 kmph for 15 minutes without getting out of breath but sometimes attempted bit of running as well for brief period of 2 minutes of so.

Then came 15th Jan 2004 Mumbai Marathon and same day I was on my trek to Matheran. My two young friends (Girish Naik and Marian Menezes) participated and completed 21km Half Marathon successfully. When I got the news in Matheran I was very excited and declared to throw a celebration party for them, which we did at Catholic Gym next week. Both guys shared their experiences which motivated me to participate next year in Mumbai Marathon.

In the meantime, I started discussing with one person in my workplace and one person in Thane and my elder son who provided me with valuable tips and became my Guru's in exercise and fitness. They became my 3 gurus.

In the meantime, I continued my practice in Gym as well as road running around Thane Talao Pali. You will recognise that treadmill running and road running is totally different. Twice my elder son also joined me to encourage me to run as well.

Then came the Mumbai Marathon of Jan 2005 where I enrolled for Half Marathon. Everybody ridiculed me that at 52 how can you think about 21km run. Are you mad ?. I did not reply to them. My plan was to run from CST to Girgaon Chowpatty which may be around 7 km and then drop out, to to my uncles place at Opera House and come home. However, to my surprise I got so excited that when I reached Mela Restaurant at Worli and a friend called out to cheer me, I came to my senses. I continued my walk/run on way back at Girgaum Chowpatty @ 12:30 Hrs I gave up. It was extremely hot and my both hands were swollen and back of my neck was stiff and painful. The Doctors from Asian Heart Hospital examined me and allowed me to continue, but I did not follow their advice.

Safety first.

Year 2005 March onwards I stopped Gym altogether and kept myself fit my Occasionally walking/running around Thane Talaopali. In the meantime I participated in Thane Varsha Marathon where I could cover about 17 kms and later gave up due to heat.

Then came 16th January 2006 and Mumbai Marathon again. This time I was more mentally prepared but less physically prepared which I discovered around Christmas. I joined Gold Gym again on 2nd Jan 06 and started my workouts again. I took complete rest on 15th and was ready for Half Marathon on Sunday morning with my wife Sushma to cheer me at Capitol Cinema (opp CST). The Flyover at Kemp's Corner and hill of Jaslok Hospital were real problems both ways. I was compelled to walk up the hill both ways but I took advantage of the slope fully and run full throttle and finally was able to run the last mile and finish the race with timing of 3 hrs 10 minutes and 2 seconds.

Conclusion:

With regular and consistent Exercise, Diet Control and Yoga (Sudarshan Kriya) you can improve your body and health and even at 53 complete the half Marathon. Along with me was my friend from our Trekking Club Mr Vinay Nigudkar @ 67 the 'youngest' amongst my friends. So what is stopping you?

Just wear your running shoes and start ..................I did complete half marathon again in 2007 however due to one reason or another have not participated again. Hope to do it next year again.

Being Judgmental

Dear Friends:

Today is the time to narrate you briefly a simple and small story from Mahabharata, the great epic of India. Kagola was sincere and devout person but with limited intelligent. His son was Ashtavakra ( twisted in eight places- physically handicapped) who got twisted in womb when Father Kagola made mistakes, while reciting Vedas. Kagola married Sujata who was daughter of Uddalaka, the great master. For more details read:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtavakra

Ashtavakra defeated Vandi, main Guru of Raja Janak and took revenge for injustice done to his Father.

The moral of this Mahabharata story taken from the book by Chakravarty Rajagopalachari is:

A son (child) need not be like his Father. A father who is physically weak may have a strong son and an ignorant father may have a scholarly and intelligent son. And vice-versa.

Secondly, it is wrong to assess the greatness of a person based on his physical appearance or age. External appearances are deceptive.

Therefore, as Kahlil Gibran and Shakespeare and our own 'Natsamrat' says your children are not your children. Do not take undue pride or blame for the success or failure of your children in life. One can of course derive satisfaction from the fact that we did our best to provide him/her the amenities to the best of one's earning capacity and spent quality time with them. 

Also, the child can not blame the parents for anything except questioning why he was brought in to this world without his prior permission.

I was reminded of this story today because of a discussion with a young person wanting to get married. This person claims we can judge a person by seeing a photograph and obviously I disagreed as usual. The modern psychology to confirms this as well as our great epic.

David Lewis, British Psychologist has demonstrated with examples how we make mistake of judging people purely based on photograph or some times very few clues.

The only way is face to face meeting with an open mind. This meeting is the only source to get reliable data to make a good decision. This meeting is the foundation of the structure of our future relationship with that person. Here, I am strongly reminded of a memorable scene in the film 'English Vinglish' where Sri Devi makes that wonderful speech at the end of the movie raising a toast to the happiness of newly married couple. Do you?

I hope each one of us makes own research and frames appropriate questions in order to make an informed choice. 

This applies in all our relationships within family or in business too. Implementing this can be a good way to start a new year. The problem is we are discarding our great epics without examining them and acting blindly. Throwing away baby with bath water. 

Kaya Diet Plan - Best Even Seen

This is one of the finest diet plan I ever came across. The reason being this is specially prepared for smooth skin and long hair which everyone wants.

Another thing about this plan is it covers each one of us with sweet tooth by providing something sweet to eat after a meal and at the same time provides good nutrition which is essential for good skin and hair.

So try it out and share your experiences on the blog.

Morning
5 Almonds soaked overnight in Milk
or 2 Teaspoons of almond and walnut powder when you get up in the morning

Breakfast
A red cocktail (1 carrot, 1/2 beetroot, 2 tomatoes) minus alcohol of course!
Soy Milk. 
Hard Boiled Eggs. 3 times a week
Upma. Ideally prepared from Lapsi (Broken Wheat)
Large serving of Papaya or Watermelon

Lunch
Butter Milk (Chhas)
Sprouts Salad consisting of carrots, potato, lime juice (4 times in week)
Chapatis made with mixing soy flour.
Rice 2/3 times a week
Fish Grilled/Broiled 4 times a week
Greens. Palak. Methi. Green Peas. Plenty
One small Tilka Laddoo ( Sesame Seeds)

Dinner
Yogurt with few flax seeds
Salad added with groundnut powder, cucumber to stated above
Soup of fresh vegetables with multigrain bread
Daal made of Rajma, Black Eyed Peas (not the hip hop variety) once a week
Chicken 2/3 times a week
One Date (Khajoor)

In between if you feel hungry have plenty of Chhas and Water. Lots of it.