The Bills of LadingThe Bills of LadingA sailors truthful account of the things these weird landlubbers are upto. 
Articles
Girl Child - Hooray !!
2009-05-26 12:11:00 Hi AllThanks for the wonderful poke from Vins for making me realize that I have been neglecting this space for the past few days. But some great news. I am now a father. Of a baby girl. :) Mean people insist that she looks like me, but I insist that she is perfectly lovely.For something to develope from spikes on a scree up there to a live thing struggling in your arms is a huge journey. And when you hold that thing in your arms, is when you realize that the journey has just begun. This is huge for us first-time parents and a bit, no very scary in most respects. So I will take time allocating proper resources to the various parts of my life including this blog.So while I neglect this space indiscriminately, please don't do the same yourselves. Love, cry, dance and laugh. Especially dance.Hope you have the most magical year ahead and the best of health to you and your family.Cheers,Velu More About: Girl , Child
Woman - Fiction 55
2009-05-19 09:32:00 Born a child and celebrated as Goddess, she was a woman. Clad in pink, frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters, she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glass ceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms, she was again a woman. More About: Fiction , Woman
A woman - fiction 55
2009-05-19 09:25:00 Born a child and celebrated as godess, she was a Woman . Clad in pink, frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters, she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glass ceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms, she was again a woman. More About: Fiction , A Woman
A woman - fiction 55
2009-05-19 07:10:00 Born a child and celebrated as goddess, she was a Woman . Clad in pink,frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters,she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glassceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms,she was again a woman. More About: Fiction , A Woman
The empty room - fiction55
2009-05-15 08:04:00 The hospital intercom rang. The pediatric ward had promised to return her baby next day after the infections were removed. Why would they call now? It was obviously a Wrong number. She let it ring for eight times before it fell silent. Then she sat on the corner of her bed and listened for footsteps. More About: Room , Empty
The look - fiction 55
2009-05-14 07:07:00 Across the room, he saw her, wildly, as if seeing her for the last time. Startled, she looked back at him, as if for the first time. Then they wheeled her to the operation theater. As the glass doors shut, he turned away from his reflection, violently, as if never wanting to see himself again. More About: Fiction
Life of birth
2009-05-11 20:27:00 Sitting down wasn't as easy for her anymore. Her huge stomach made demands on her body that made it easy for her to either keep standing or sitting. She would have kept standing if wasn't for that insane throbbing at the base of her spine. As she lowered her weight, she let out a sigh of relief. It was a long day and she would be glad once it was over.The end of the day would simply mean that it would bring the day of the birth closer by that one day. Absently she rubbed her fingers over the stretched skin of her stomach. The skin seemed to be stretched to an limit that seemed impossible. It had seemed impossibly stretched two months before, and now even though it seemed physically impossible, it had got yet more stretched. Ruefully her fingers trailed to the side of her stomach, Bunched there were the hateful stretch lines that seemed horrendously disfiguring in a mirror. At least to herself. She knew that the marks would be visible once the child came out, but at present nothing... More About: Life , Birth
Indian Truck graffiti
2009-05-07 19:49:00 The people driving trucks never let go of an opportunity to convey a message. Much like adding a signature in forums.This one says," may god bless the person who made the vehicle. He has made homeless, all the drivers."I wonder why this trend of putting messages on vehicle doesn't spread to private vehicles. All we put up are these stickers that are printed by the millions. More About: India , Indian , Graffiti , Truck
A hand for Henna
2009-05-06 22:15:00 "Come Sir, sit on the stool while I apply henna to Didi. After all, it will take some time and we can't have you standing on your first visit to my humble stall.Well it is difficult for me to remember with men sir, but for Ladies, I remember them by their hands. Sir, it is my boast that I can remember a woman's hand even ten years after I have applied Henna to it. Why only last month an Didi came here from Mumbai and I remembered her even though it was more then two years. Even Didi here has not come here after her Marriage to you. Have you taken her away from us? Ah Delhi! yes yes, like that other Didi, people come to my shop from all parts of the country.What to say sir, about my quality of work, I can only let you be the judge. Like you see these turns that I am making here on Didi's hand now? And this one? these are so delicate that hardly ten people in the whole of Maharashtra can make it. But other then that, it is the other things. I refuse to put any chemicals in my Henna... More About: Hand
Tea of life - Fiction 55
2009-05-05 08:28:00 Why couldn't life be like drinking tea, he wondered. Relaxing , Simple and without any complications. People could be like Marie biscuit, he thought - there to add taste and substance to life. Why couldn't ... He muttered an oath as the soggy buscuit broke off and disappeared into his hot tea, splashing his fingers.'PS : previous fiction55 here. More About: Life , Fiction
iPhone Life - From Dada
2009-05-04 15:36:00 ' As I was making all sort of shameless efforts to collect sympathy after my Gall bladder operation, (Still accepting sympathies !) , I got this magazine from my elder brother in the mail. He had picked it up during his last trip to the US as he knew how smitten I was with my iPhone.' The iPhone Life is a new publication and this was the second issue that they have come out with. You can also find them on the net at their website. If you interested, you can get the soft copy of this very magazine for free at their website.' The magazine itself is excellent if you have an iPhone, and has tips for people who are just starting off with their iPhones and also some for people who have theirs for much longer. Apart from these, there are ofcourse many in-depth reviews of various App's and accessories. For example, one of the tips was that you can now get some great blog or website such as the "Bills of Lading" on your iPhone. To do that, simply open the website in your safari web-brow... More About: Iphone
The Dog Saint of Nagpur
2009-05-02 18:17:00 Nagpur is still a city of small bylanes and rustic bunglows. I had taken a stroll around Dharam peth area and came upon this statue in one of the bylanes. I an not sure who/what this is supposed to represent, but going by the vermellion marks on the image, evidently it is held in great affection or esteem.There is ofcourse precedence for dog saints as this website explains, so I don't see why we in Nagpur can't have one for ourselves.View Larger Map More About: Nagpur , Saint
Giripeth Post office - Nagpur
2009-05-02 11:45:00 Below post also included in my Philatelic blog..As I have put up in the title bar, I have a weakness of taking my pictures with post offices or post boxes. I got an opportunity to do it yesterday and I wasn't going to pass up on it. The Giripeth post office in Nagpur has a very rustic look to it, like it might have existed in this state for more then 50 years. And it really might have had. My wife is form the locality and she claims to have seen the post office in the same state since memory serves her. That would put the age of the post office anywhere from five years to twentyfive - depending on who is telling my wifes age!The Post box outside actually looks like it had fallen in one of the stronger monsoon winds and is now firmly propped up in place with a cement base. But nothing much seems to be holding up the building, with its beautiful tiled roof and wooden latticed front. It is really hot in Nagpur, with temperatures reaching up to 47 Deg C yesterday. But because of the c... More About: Office , Post Office
Mr Gorbachev - Tear down this wall
2009-04-28 11:15:00 Yesterday I was trying out another GPS based application on my iphone - the GPSLite from motionX. I liked the app from its description because apparently you could mark waypoints on it, simply by clicking photo's on the way, and the iphone would geotag the pictures and save it on your track. Later, when you share your track by email, or on facebook, your whole track would be visible along with the pictures of what you saw along the way.I did take a short trip across nagpur with the app to try it out, but evidently things didn't work out as expected as the pictures just didn't come up on the map. I'll have to work a bit more on the app, because this is another application that opens new levels on the integration of our everyday devices. Also geo-tagging of pictures is something which I have been wanting to do for some time.The above picture is somewhere near the end of the track and the writing on the wall says that the wall is about to fall and requests that no one sit below th... More About: Tear , Wall , Gorbachev
GPS tracking on the iphone
2009-04-27 10:57:00 I have been checking out the amazing applications available on the Iphone for some time, and these days, I am trying out a couple of apps that deal with GPS and other navigation based applications.One of the applications has been released by the people at Instamapper, whose blog can be seen here , and is called the "GPS Tracker". A very neat application that allows you to share your position or track live to the audience on your website or even on your blog. Not only that, you could even embed the map on your facebook profile.One of the neat examples for the practical uses of this app can be found on the "Team twitchy blog of its Rickshaw run." Its their blog of an amazing journey from Shillong to Goa in a Auto Rickshaw. These guys have just completed their journey on the 25th of April and are probably getting some well deserved beers on the beaches of Goa.I'm not planning to venture off on a cross country auto rickshaw journey anytime soon, but the possibilities unravelled are sim... More About: Tracking
Celebrating Shit
2009-04-20 18:03:00 Today was day 2 after my gall bladder was removed and the pain is much better. I got it removed because of a huge stone that had gotten itself lodged there, "allegedly" due to my unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits.One of the things I learned from this episode was that they remove the whole Gall bladder when you ask them politely to remove the stone. Another thing was that when you celebrate the ability to shit, it makes you realize that there really are a lot more reasons to celebrate in life. More About: Shit
Fiction 55 - The cobbler
2009-04-15 19:20:00 He slipped on the shoe that the cobbler gave back."It will break?" She asked"No madam, my gaurentee." Said the cobbler."How much?""What you feel sir.""No you tell.""I can say twenty-five, but you give what you think is right.""Okay take ten."walking away, she said, "... should have given only five."PS : My first attempt at Fiction 55 , inspired by Vinnie.
India smoke map
2009-04-14 14:37:00 A few posts back, I had mentioned a Nasa picture showing smoke from wood and dung chip fires hanging over north India . I finally got around to it and dug it up from thr NASA website. You can see the smoke stretching from Punjab to bihar in the picture.The red dots are actual fires. These are the fires lit up in Punjab after harvest to clear the fields. An amazing picture to put things in perspective. More About: Smoke
Ice cream at india gate
2009-04-13 11:02:00 Over the last couple of months, I have become a Delhi-wala. One of thethings that you just have to do to earn this distinction is to eaticecream at the India gate at midnight.It used to be a grand sight a couple of years ago, with the India gatelit up at one end and the grand rashtrapati bhavan on the other end.It's probably a good thing that they have stopped lighting up Themonuments these days, but it definitely does take away a bit of charmfrom the whole exercise.Yet, not to be denied their pound of fun, people still flock to theice cream wala's . It Was the begining of the long weekend so wholefamilies with children in tow were walking in the grass along therajpath.Great fun it was till cops came along and shooed off all the icecream wala's at midnight. A most recommended activity - eating icecream at the India gate. More About: Gate , Ice Cream , Cream
Chandni chowk
2009-04-12 18:06:00 .In the lanes that join or leave chandni Chowk in Delhi , lies a whole another world. As you enter these lanes, thew buildings close in on you and mostly illegal wiring closes in a net on your head. Yet inspite of this, you can still see the original latticed work on th balconies and grills - an indication of possibly better dyas in the years gone by..
The red fort
2009-04-06 03:59:00 Had gone to chandni chowk at Delhi a couple of days back with Jayati . The atmosphere out in that part of the town is amazing. Gorges ourselves on the food out there like 'Dahi wada' and jalebi etc and even has boondi is ladoo at a shop that's been around since the early 1700's.Great fun it was except for the fact thatHad gone there on a very distracting work. I think I'll have to go there again one of these days again. Atleast to take a somewhat decent picture of the red fort. More About: Fort
The roadside shop
2009-04-04 10:15:00 This is a picture of the part of the shop where I bought the glass thingy yesterday. There so Many amazing picture frames being sold there for less than a dollar each, that I Couldn't resist a few days back and picked up about half a dozen of them..I have now been put under restraining orders by puja not to approach within twenty feet of another frame selling shop.. More About: Shop
Today's buy
2009-04-03 18:04:00 Bought this piece in a flea shop on mehrauli- Gurgaon road. They were asking for 300 Rupees for it, but I managed to haggle it down to 100 rupees ( a little more than 2 USD) .I'm still not sure what practical use it might be put to, but i'm sure we'll think of something!
Nizamuddin railway station
2009-03-29 05:06:00 Reached Delhi pretty much on time to complete the trip.This grafiti was painted near the car park. More About: Station
Good morning
2009-03-29 03:32:00 The train crossed bhopal and Jhansi in the night and we Passed mathura about 0630 hrs. The train is still about half an hour late, so I should be reaching about eight.As I stood in the doorway I could smell the smoke off the wood fires and the cowdung chips. I remember seeing a NASA picture showing the whole of the north India covered in the smoke off these fires. More About: Morning , Good , Good Morning
Ghodadongri
2009-03-28 13:56:00 The train barely stopped here at the small station of ghodadongri..Sitting in an airconditioned compartment distances you from whatever is going on outside and I miss the feel of the smells and the shouts of porters at the way stations and the hasty negotiations on the cost of poha or a plate of samosas purchased through the Window. And I miss the rush or wind in the face from the endless Indian plains and the metal shutters that had to be dropped down when it rained in the middle of the night..I remember that a train journey used to be accompanied with a strong iron smell that would permeate every cloth that you wore. I just don't get it anymore. Must be all those years of sailing on rustbuckets that killed my iron smell..
Free kick on the train
2009-03-28 10:36:00 I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw a picture. :).Has anyone ever heard I this brand? Apparently it is made by the premanchal breweies in distt. Raisen (MP) More About: Free , Train , Kick
iPhone app tryout- the writepad
2009-03-28 10:21:00 Travelling by train does give me enough time to waste and I was not going to let the opportunity go to waste .I had uploaded the writepad APP from Prasad on my iPhone and was determined to See how it would work . I must declare right away that I have nothing against the keyboard of the iphone . Its just that using the finger to do the writing Seemed to be a neat alternate to have at my fingertip :)As Such I have used it to type this Post and must Say that I am rather impressed with the result. Though I have taken the better Part of an hour to get these words out , the Progress toward the end was Much faster , with me belting out upto three small words at a time .The hand gestures Such as for return or for space are easy to remember and once you get used to the app, rather fun. Getting the long words out is still a challa nge , but Somet{in g I will hopefully get better at :]-- This message was composed with PhatWare WritePad 1.6.Sent from my iPhone More About: Iphone
Train trip
More articles from this author:2009-03-28 08:11:00 Off on another train trip. This time on the gondwana express (2409), from nagpur to Delhi .Have armed myself with a tiffin box, and collection of hemmingway and laxman stories and some optimism.Happy travelling! More About: Train , Trip 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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