Random notes from our Kerala visit.

Thrissur: Anaiyootu
Originally uploaded by Jillako.

- The "stew" served with Aapam has no mallu name, it is called stew even by the locals
- 98% of the males sport facial hair
- Everything (and apparently *everything*) is unionized.
- Elite hotel in Guruvayur looks the same after 11 years. The mosquitos were giant sized though, I don't remember that part.
- Temples are generally smaller and the approach to the dieties is from the side so you literally only get a few seconds before you have to move on. Forget waiting for the "arathy" to be shown.
- @Guruvayur - Churidhars are considered pants and not allowed in the temple so women can rent a mundu and wear it with their churidhar tops resulting in a peculiar looking female dress.
- @Guruvayur - If you look like a foreigner you'll probably be questioned a number of times to verify you are really hindu. However, if you look like a local you will not have trouble getting in even if you are muslim or christian.
- True story from our visit: After the Anaiyootu, two mahouts were walking an elephant to the owner's residence when they got into a fight and went their own ways - leaving the elephant scot-free!! Residents were terrified to see an elephant walking about town on its own and called in the police who had to take care of the matter!
- Always pack an umbrella, especially around the monsoon.
- Pay attention to notices asking you to take care of your valuables, even if they are in temples. My father's wallet was picked, and from the front pocket too.
- Kerala is beautiful
- I loved the architecture of the temples and older homes. I wish I had pictures.
- To see the money from gulf expats at work, just drive the road from Thrissur to Guruvayur. The houses speak for themselves.
- I still have plenty to see in Kerala!

P.S.: Plenty of pics @ Flickr, as always. Comments welcome & encouraged. :)

We're back and fatter than ever!

Vistas from the train en route to Courtallam
Originally uploaded by Jillako.

Heheh! Here's a picture from our train trip to beautiful Courtallam (Kutrallam, in Tamil). I had a swell time. Darrell got his first real taste of rural Tamil Nadu. We had lots of local food, snacks and sweets.
Highlights of the 2 day trip were the waterfalls, of course and the musical pillars at the Nellai-appar temple in Tirunelveli. It was also good to catch up with close family in Tirunelveli - my grandmother and chinna-thatha :)
Lots more pictures from our trip on Flickr, be sure to check them out and leave any comments :)

Bombay rocked by blasts, back to normal in 24 hours

Anybody who cares to watch or read news has already heard about last night's horrific blasts in Bombay a.k.a. Mumbai. One has to appreciate the resolve with which the common people in Bombay have handled the situation. Plenty has been said about the official handling of the response to the blast, one word sums it up best - inadequate. The authorities are woefully ill-equipped or ill-prepared to respond to such emergencies. I hope this will spur some changes to the system.
Being in Madras has allowed me to watch detailed coverage in the media about the blasts and the response. I applaud the local folks of Bombay who stepped up to take charge and handle the evacuation of the dead and the wounded to the nearby hospitals. After seeing their response to the deadly blasts, I am not at all surprised that the city is nearly back to normal a day after the blasts.
I hope that the perpetrators are brought to trial and justice delivered. With no clues or claims of responsiblity yet, it might take a while.

Darrell arrives in Madras

Darrell arrives in Madras
Originally uploaded by Jillako.

My parents gave Darrell the traditional welcome with kumkum and flower garland.

Somasundaram playground on a Sunday!

Somasundaram playground on a Sunday!
Originally uploaded by Jillako.

Here's the scene from my parents' house in Madras. We arrived on a Sunday - the busiest day on the playground. There are innumerable cricket games going on simultaneously.

Rachna..

I had a wonderful visit to Florida and a great 3rd year anniversary all by myself. In fact, I enjoyed the quiet weekend alone. I didn't step out of the house on Saturday. Played this game called Animal Crossing for nearly 2 days non stop. So much so that I'm dreaming about the virtual world. So I have limited myself to only 45 mins on the regular work days. Its been really hot here last couple of days.

Oh yeah, coming back to the original topic...my florida trip. Rachna, my niece, is absolutely cute and adorable. She talks so much in tamil. I'm going to make conscious effort to speak in tamil. She said all these tamil words like "kuppai", "kuppai thoti", "daji mattum, ba-blah mattum"(raji only,bala only). She calls raji as daji not amma and balaji as ba-blah not appa. Her expressions and smile can win anyone over. Ofcourse, you better know tamil to talk to her. Her vocabulary is astounding. She speaks tanglish like no other. She says Oopusu(oops - she adds a "su" to any word). Its so funny, even when i'm typing this, I can't help but smile. We went to a mall nearby and got her a Bulid-a-bear bunny. Its actually fun to see her laughing so much. She enjoyed the whole buying the skin and the voice, adding the fluff, bathing and dressing her bunny. I enjoyed the part where she was asked to get a heart for the bunny (cute red heart), she had to say something and kiss it to make it starting beating. Read more about it on build a bear site.

Enough said.. Take a look at her pictures.
Nice Photos

Cute Rachna
Rachna and me
My favorite picture of her
Raji, rachna and myself
Rachna bathing Tracy

A month's wine - June 2006

A month's wine - June 2006
Originally uploaded by Jillako.

Alright, last post before I take off on my flight. Here's last month's wine :) Lots of good stuff.
This month's wine consumption is going to be understandably low, since I don't have much wine available in Madras :)

Heading home this week; Happy 4th

Yup, it's time to visit Madras! I've been looking forward to visiting home for a while. Right now is the longest stretch I have spent without visiting home by far.. 3 years, the previous maximum being about 1 year.
Lots going on right now, both at work and home. I am trying to tie up lots of loose ends before I get out of here and hence the silence on the blog front. I hope to have frequent updates when I am on vacation though.
I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the golf driving range with Darrell to practice my swing. And practice it needs - lots of it. Maybe over the summer :)
I can already hear fireworks in the background - today is the 4th Of July - Independence Day here in the U.S. of A. It really is the closest thing to Diwali. I shall have to try shooting some pictures in the night.
App has been away on a mini vacation with her sister and family in lovely Florida. Maybe you'll have an update from her when she gets in tomorrow, who can say?