Pleasure of living in the city called "Singara chennai"

Well the picture says it all. No no it is not any mining site, it is our own street that is dug out for the construction of storm drain, in order to cope with the oncoming season. That is not a bad idea. But why no such system so far & what were we doing all these begone seasons are rhetorical questions. Coming to the point, the residents are almost under house arrest kinda, for, on one half of the road is the deep trench and the other half is filled with the dug soil that is precariously gathered. Tho there is a sign 'road closed', at the entrance of the road, our great citizens plough thru the gap, splashing mud and dirt, and get stuck in the middle. Movement of four wheeler is totally impossible. Walking in the narrow strip of path is highly dangerous, for if you happen to trip, straight you will fall in the trench. Still our brave hearted ppl do commute up and down.
It is really painful to realize how the common man is taken for granted.This has been going on for several weeks and the officials are in no hurry still!!!!. The major problem is the mass of earth that is accumulated after digging. I have no clue why it should not be removed immediately. This project is done by the sub contract ppl, and the Chennai corporation deals with the mud and soil stuffs. So unless they remove it no further work done. Wow..what a vicious circle..in the mean time the loser is the silly residents of the street.

Ceder ridge preserve, Dallas

Last sunday (25th April) after lunch we planned an outing, somewhere near by ..and Ceder ridge came in handy. The google described it to be a sorta hillock of abt 780 ft high, and it was suppose to be a kinda natural preserve, of some wild flowers birds and native vegetation. The drive was very pleasant, thru the typical vast open lands of Texas, which is green at present. Another interesting point I noticed was the number of churches. There was a church for every half a mile.Tall compound walls hid spacious houses with large garden and garages.
The preserve was not anything the way it was described, but still had a lot to offer. The prairies were preserved with Lavender lacing, and daisies smiling in between. It was indeed great walking thru the fields. Only disappointment was, the butterfly park, where hardly any butterfly fluttered by...:(...
The uphill trail was not very steep, a gradual ascend thru thick woods. The trees and plants are of native vegetation. The feel of crisp clean air was very refreshing. The smell of raw vegetation filled the nostrils and it was a nice experience. We did spot some colorful birds, but couldnt click any for they were very swift and disappeared in the tall trees.On the whole, it was a good break from the tight weekly schedules.

April 4th..well I boarded the flight to Boston, against so many odds..at last!!..It was a BA flight for a change via London. Tho the seating was the same, uncomfortable with no leg room and an odd head rest which is exclusively designed to give one a neck sprain..the food served was palatable. But nothing was served in between the 10 and 1/2 hr flight. And the passengers literally starved and at the verge of dehydration for even water, leave alone any drinks, was not served. The reason, I came to know later, for the lack of hospitality, is that the crew was on strike and just returned for duty. What a way to travel!!. A sweet bun, Upma and a small Dosa was served for breakfast, for the flight took off early morning.Then 9 hrs later just before landing a very mini lunch was served.
I generally use the toilets in the flight very sparingly. I was pained by the way it was used/misused by our fellow country (Wo)men!!..The lady who used the loo just before me didnt bother to flush the toilet, and walked away coolly w/o any embarrassment.. I can understand why our ppl are looked down upon.The flight was 70% filled with Indians. Many aged couple, with small kids, may be grand kids traveled. I have nothing against children and their pranks, but while traveling long distance I dont dig their company, especially if they are cry babies!! And the toddlers sitting behind my seat had special strength in kicking the seat!!. I politely made a mention but in vain. The mother hardly responded. Such is the behaviour. They leave the virtue called courtesy back at home I guess, or perhaps they dont possess one.
The waiting at the Heathrow was long and the transit from terminal to terminal was a real pain. We were taken by a bus to terminal 5 for onward journey, and immigration chk was done there.
It was not a big deal, but then when the gates were announced, one more transport, by the tube was made, and then, again, a bus to a nowhere, where the flight was boarded by steep steps. I really dont understand why such things happen only to flights with more Indian passengers!!

Was reading some article in the magazine, Shakthi Vikatan, Jan 2010 issue. It had quite some interesting stuff. There was a write up about a temple in Poonamallee. It is Varadharaja perumaal kovil.The speciality of the temple is that, the rays of the rising sun directly falls on the face of the Main deity during the month of Feb and March, last week. It was amazing to think about the architect marvel of such kind of construction. It is really an awesome piece of work. One cannot imagine the level of intelligence of those people involved in such projects. Definitely they must have possesed some kind of divine blessings/assistence to create such marvelous work.
Well on a lighter note, I think I have the same divine blessing too!!!, for the setting sun visits our pooja room daily before signing off, during the month of dec-jan:)

Welcome 2010

So another year passed away..365 days, gone. And here comes a new year. Wonder what is in store. The year opened up with an eclipse. Spectacular Blue moon darkened by shadow, just for a few minutes past midnite, and emerged flawless within an hour. Think it does convey something...hope the brighter part stays for long.I was up and awake till late night to take this snap. But the moon was too bright, and I had difficulty in picturing the event. Still did my best with the Canon sx20. On the new moon day we are having another eclipse, solar. This will be almost a total, 83% visible here in Chennai, and I doubt if I will be able to take a snap of it, for it occurs at midday. Sure will give it a go.
The year also started with a bang for me, as I received the news of my Book published and delivered. It is only a photo book, and I had added some write up describing the pictures. Still I am excited and cant wait to see it in person.
So all is well in Anu's world. Sofar so good. Happy 2010.

I watched it day in and day out, just like the way I watched the sky above and the ground below.It was a part of my life. But never realized, that, unlike the sky and the earth, this tree will cease to exist, that too so soon!! A silent spectator, who participated in everything that happened in my house. A willing model who posed for my pictures. I know the critters that climbed this tree, the birds that perched atop..the regular one and the rare one..It was just a slender stick with a scanty green crown when I first saw it 4 years ago when we moved in here. But soon it spread its branches with rich green bunches and grew in to a young handsome tree. It survived the storm that year, (got uprooted and planted back) and evolved in to an adult tree with strong trunk. It grew day by day and I was amazed by the nature, which has made these plants that grow to enrich the earth with minimum/nil care. Within three years it has reached a height of nearly 20 m. And this summer it blossomed for the first time. It was a wonderful scene. The shocking red may flowers swaying amidst the light green lovely leaves was a treat to the eyes. Standing out in the balcony watching this tree by itself is an experience on its own I reckon.
And everything was short lived..like all good things come to end soon, this tree which is very vulnerable, got a blow yesterday from the sudden thunder storm and fell again. This time, it was not possible to replant it for it has broken off from the prime root. Four year old tree dying is very sad indeed...but in a city where mother earth is dear, such trees cannot survive, as they need a sprawling area to spread their shallow roots. Anyway, I am sure to cherish the pleasant time I had with this tree and going to miss it terribly in coming days.

This naughty lil guy is in my Mom's place, cared by my sis in law..he knows too many things for a cat!!..I often wonder if he is a human in the form of a cat...except that he cant speak, he behaves in such a way one would start believing him to be a human...he can recognize the cars, can sense what is going on inside the house, and can make out who is a guest et al..sis in law coaches children with extra classes, and he will sit amidst them with apt attention..like any other cat he always wants to show off his pride catch, be it a squirrel or rat..my bro detest him just like all men do, and he is smart enuf to avoid direct confrontation with my bro.The minute he sees my bro's car leaves the premises, he will come inside galloping. He will come inside running when he sees my car , and will rub against my feet up and down making different tones of meaaows, as if enquiring something.Yesterday he wasnt around when I came, but saw me in the terrace. He started calling meeaaow, and came, (can you believe) upstairs looking for me..I am not a great lover of cats, but then this guy is an exception, :)