Brahmopadesham in Mangalore

24.7.11

Mangaloreans do things in style. This summer my nephew Rahul had his Brahmopadesam ( aka thread ceremony ). This is a coming of age Hindu ritual.This occasion meant to be an austere event is becoming very elaborate of late. The ceremony vies with a chota mota wedding in pageantry. Here are a few snaps that capture the essence of the ceremony.

The Bat Colony of Kothrud, Pune

26.6.11

I will expand this post over time.Wanted to commit myself to the topic.

Changing times: My kids got better marks.

26.6.11

I will expand this post over time. Wanted to commit myself to the topic.

Changing Times: My kids' phones are smarter

26.6.11

I make do with a plain vanilla Samsung Guru. Most of my clients do not allow phones with cameras on their premises. That really restricts and simplifies the choice. Prior to this I used to carry around for ages a Nokia 1100 ( the torchwalla phone! ). This model is like the Ambassador among mobiles. I really had no reason to change it, till one of my friendly customers jokingly told me that he'll give me a price hike if required, but I must change my mobile. In the good old days, you were the car you drove. These days you are the gizmos you flash.I am not much of a gizmocentric , but sooner or later, I will have to move to a net enabled phone. Or be left behind in the professional rat race.Dunno whether tablets will be the end all.Will have to keep an eye on that.

The quirkiest thing I have done is whistle a tune as a ringtone. Soon I plan to record a birdsong and make that my ringtone.We are still blessed with them in the neighborhood .

My son uses a Nokia XpressMusic. Most of his spare time he is into MP3 music and headphones.

The daughter wangled a Nokia C6-00 courtesy her 10th std marks.This gizmo has a piano type sliding and QWERT key baord. The functions are so many, I have told her to explore the possibilities on her own.

Long Drives: 2011

26.6.11

This blogpost is going to be long. Summary of the long drives I did so far this year:

1. Pune Dharwad Goa Dandeli Pune

Day 1 Pune Dharwad
Day 2 Dharwad
Day 3 Dharwad Panaji Madgao
Day 4 Car Repairs in Goa
Day 5 Return journey to Pune

2. Pune Sirsi Mangalore Goa Gaganbavda Kolhapur Pune

Day 1 Pune lunch at Belgaum, Sirsi via Dharwad Haliyal Yellapur
Speeding ticket at Dharwad: Archaic speed limit of 40km/hr.
Day 2 Catching up with folks in Sirsi, Ganapati temple,Marikamba temple, Church and drive to Mangalore via Murudeshwar
Day 7 Mangalore to Shringeri, Chimutgundi and back via Kudremukh National Park
Day 8 Mangalore to Panaji via Murdeshwar , Awarsa, Karwar
Day 9 Colva beach, Mangueshi and Shantadurga temples, Dona Paula via Bambolim plateau
Day 10 Boat ride in Colva,Benaulim, Betalbatim and Majorda beach in the evening
Day 11 Aguada, Calangute, Anjuna beaches. Sawantwadi, Kudal, Kankavli, Gaganbavda, Kolhapur ( Mahalakshmi temple )and back to Pune

3. Pune Mumbai Pune ( 3x )
4. Pune Kolhapur Pune

Will update, peppered with photos over the coming days.

Lavasa Lake City, Pune

Drove down to Lavasa on 27.3.11. Here are a few pics.

Fiat Palio

18.1.11

Purchased pre owned Fiat Palio on Makar Sankranti day ( 15.1 ). It has logged 53k and has been well touched up by Wheel Deal near Golibar maidan, Pune. Tested for fuel efficiency in city driving w/o A/C. That's what I will be doing most of the time. Gives a decent 12kmpl. Probably will test on highway in 1st week of Feb. Planning a drive to Dharwad and back.Frills include power windows, central locking, power steering, rear wiper, heater and Blaupunkt system.