Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Greenery..amidst the sand.

Towards the very south of Kuwait, close to the Saudi border...is this place called Wafra, which if you look on google maps is in way contrary to the other wise plain dry dessert terrain of the region. It will be all green and its all individual farm houses.
 
 
 
From vegetables to fruits to ostrichs....a not bad a hide out during the "good weather times". Just sharing some of the images clciked during such a farm house visit. This one is more commercial one..with research labs and hi-fi means of cultivation being adopted.
 

Most cultivation is indoors in nicely shaded spaces equipped with huge fans for aeration and well planned irrigation lines.

 soil - free cultivation means have been adopted for these. No wonder, they are expensive compared to other salad leaves ;) 

 

 strawberries

 Tomatoes

 Cabbages
 
 those are the indoor shaded areas
 
 
and few more clicked about 4 years back....
 
 




a loyal assistant :)

 
 


Uncle..can I have some of these for my mommie..and, can I have it for free  ???


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Thanks Lord...for today, my world is intact.


“The summer is HOT here?”……”Yes”
“The winter is cold?” ….”Yes”

“The months of weather change (cant use the term spring and autumn- they are more polished) are a mix of all – dust, rain, humidity, sand, at times hot, at times cold ?..and you definitely fall sick especially at this time of the year “ …….”Yes, very true”
..then..why in the world are you people ever complaining that Kuwait weather is soo soo unpredictable ???

 

….that was a portion from an article that I read in the newspaper sometime back (words not exactly the same..but the content is)..written by a British..on how his home country has drastically changed in the weather front…the rainy summers… how its soo grey almost year round…and why there is a bulk influx of Britishers to Australia in search of some proper summer sunshine.
The weather is getting bad..true…and so is the case everywhere..but, alteast..can’t we be just grateful to God that its manageable for us..atleast where we are right now.  
The first thing to catch my eye today morning was the images in the newspaper of the flattened terrain and the debris after the large, destructive tornado plowed its way through Moore, Oklahoma – May 20th. Just a look at those images and can you really stop yourself from saying..”Thanks God..atleast we are still surviving, our kids are so pleacefully asleep.
 
Once I did wonder…God forbid, something bad happens..and how prepared are we to face it ? With the best conditions that you are together with your family, during crisis…and not separated…what would you make a dash for at the very first place? Kids, food ? passport ? medicines ? dress? I would just panic and go plain blank. Absolutely nothing would work.
 
Just a simple powercut which is very uncommon here (compared to Kerala, where it is very much apart of your daily routine) and you panic..where are the candles? You just don’t have any…except for the show candles which you have kept in your collection to be using just as a décor during get-togethers. And no match boxes or lighter either ! You never needed them anyways. The cooking range is on auto-ignition, and your husband doesn’t smoke (another BIG thanks God ! ;) ). The only time you think about a lighter is when its your kids birthday and you need to light the birthday candles. (Atleast the kids are more smart these days. They turn on the assistive light in the mobile phone).
 
The virulent mother nature fuming in wrat and using all its available forms – water, wind, earth… to take the sting out. .But..over what ?? Innocent lives ??
 
The calm sea turn to mammoth waves – the tsunamis

The cool breeze that lifts up that kite now morphs into gigantic destructive swirlwinds wiping out an entire county – the tornadoes….
You are having a cozy time watching your favourite TV show and the next moment, your roof is atop you. The earth has quaked.

US, Philipines, Australia, China, Bangladesh….the factory building collapsing…and if these are just not enough…the man-made “madness” is Syria.

 (she could just be you...that baby could just be yours..and you have nowhere to go)
It’s really disturbing how the newspapers highlight such painful pictures right on the front page, and even bigger sized images if they have small kids in there…lying mutilated covered in blood and mud. You humiliated a naked woman in front of her daughters..and we punish you by cutting you into chunks ! …. News featured last week about the common plights in Syria.
Really really disturbing..and the more disturbing these news are..the more again, you need to be thankful to God..for atleast today and now..you are safe…your family is safe..you have a home to go back to…and the roads are still there to take you back.
(this one...definitely scares me ! )
 
 (unlike my other posts which are always full of images..there are very few here. Don't want much disturbing pictures..there's enough and more out there in the papers, over the internet)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The technicality in sports - behind the scene equations

There's this magazine called "BULLETIN" by Red Bull which comes free with the news paper once or twice a month (honestly, have not bothered to check the frequency of its arrival)
 
 
Well..i am definitely not a sports person, unlike my husband who is in their college allumini sports team - be it cricket, football or volleyball. But got to admit...ever since they started featuring the Redbull Stratos Jump by Felix Baumgartner...i was literally looking forward to it. How a simple wish to jump from the top-MOST....and how they go around getting it done. It was just ultimate. I was a keen follower fo that particular feature.
 
 
The entire details are well in this site. Think..you have a dream..and is determined to work it out..go out and contact the Red Bull guys. They knows exactly how to get things done.
 
And the next attractive part of this magazine..is them featuring one sport per issue and the "technical equations" behind it. What works best for each sport.
  

 

 
You see that ??


just got me wondering..God ! do you really need soo much calculations  just to be throwing a ball ??


 


 
maths + physics = sports ???
 
again..at the end of the day...just can't help myself from wondering..."why can't some really rich inflential person have a dream....that I AM GOING TO ERADICATE CANCER FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH...and they get going with the ultimate team - The Red Bulls...and just GET IT DONE !!!
 
Millions would be soo greatful for this cause.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The MANTRA of Compassion


   I had this small stint working for an architect..back home in India… as a free   hand artist helping him with the perspectives and renderings..and one of our projects was entirely based on Buddhist architecture. He even went all the way upto Nepal to study on it, and once back..our entire office was adorned with artifacts of the region and Buddhist chants being played 24X7.
 
 
For a person whose speed of work was directly proportional to the tempo of the music…well…it did me no good. My paint brush would move in synchronization with the chants…VERY VERY SLOW….and could never finish my work on time.
 
 

But anyways..this one was different..and I likd it (I cud definitely not be listening to the whole half n hour of it without getting impatient..(I go for faster numbers ;)..and I am defintely not a buddhist. )
 
 
Just happened to come across this after over a decade, and definitely felt it very refreshing and soothing.
 

Om Mani Padme Hum – The Mantra of Compassion.

 "The mantra Om Mani Päme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful. Meaning of the 6 syllables :

Om - to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity,
Ma - helps perfect the practice of pure ethics
Ni - helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience.
Pä- helps to achieve perfection of perseverance,
Me - helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration
Hum -helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.

"So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom”.)
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm3SD5kxFM
 
(Got no clue y i cant upload the video here ..the search says youtube video not found..while its very much in there. At times blogger is really wierd..so..sharing the links for the timebeing.)

  

 

..and..coming back to my interests in this region....personally for me, i really enjoyed working on that particular project, coz i like the architectural style there..especially the roof detailings..and the added colours which definitely brings in a mood of cheerfulness. Places which I am very keen on visiting at one point of time, in my life. (hope my husband sees this ;) )

 


cute enough
 
u see the typical style in the roofs?


 
thats a seriously complicates stuff



a bit way tooo colouful
 


 
 
 
 

 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

W.O.R.D.S - you need them....you don't need them

well..there was a time when my entire world revolved around just one thing -
M U S I C.
 
Eat music..sleep music..study music .
 
We had and still have have at home this really old tape recorder that my father had brought while he was a teenager, prroudly saying that he was the first person to buy a music player then at his time, amongst his friends. A time when National and Panasonic was one single entity.
(just managed to find a picture from google exactly similar as what we still have at home. its an antique piece by now!)
 
The first thing i do entering my room once back from school was to on the tape - recorder and it could go on and on even while i fall sleep late at night. And...one of my all time favourites was this lovely slow number "WORDS"..by Boyzone. My brother was to hard rock while me was to these cute boybands - Boyzone, Westlife.....and girlbands too - Spice girls....so so.... which he used to mock as "baby-bands"."
 
I specifically liked that song coz that was a personal excuse kind for me, saying you have to be speaking and speaking to express yourself....you have to be soo full of WORDS. (for the big-mouthed girl that i was)..after all thats what the 5 handsome boys are singing.  
  


It was my first year of Engineering and the time when you are extra-cautious, writing the first lab assignment..coz, you want your record book to be super neat..with absolutely no rub marks and in the best of your handwriting. One mistake, and i used to tear off the entire page and rewrite it all over again.
 
 And again..it was the same song.."WORDS" by Boyzone that was being played and i was writing..believing that wow! my pages does look good.  
 
But..got the record book back after correction and there was this big circle and question mark in red.

It was my civil lab record and the first chapter was familiarization of various lab equipments and tools and what did i write ????

TAPE : A tape is a measuring device which is used to take your heart away !!!!!!! 



ooh noo !!!!

those who are familiar with the song will know exactly what has happened.

The tape in the book and the tape that was being played..just overlapped !!!

well..its better that at times, you just dont mix these two things together :)

She doesnt mix these two things anymore..she's all grown up (really !!!)..but certain things just wouldn't change. She still is a big mouth ;)
..........
...................
...............................
...............
.......

think of all the "hours" of antics that Bollywood need to come up with...to express one single theme -

LOVE !


climb up and dance at the top most point of the cliff....


the piercing resonant music...(not all..i admit)

 
 boisterous dance sequences...(again..not all)

and of course, action, stunts..gunshooots...

God ! this one is just too much!
......
.............
...................
.........
.....

on the very very contrary..is this sweet  American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film - UP.

Up was released on May 29, 2009 and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film to do so.[4] The film became a great financial success, accumulating over $731 million in its theatrical release. . The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a nomination, following Beauty and the Beast


well..its not the financial victory of the movie that i am highlighting..rather...how the entire essence of "living in love..till death do us apart" has been soo beautifully....sooo beautifully depicted...
in just about

4 MINUTES !!!

and that too....in

UNSPOKEN WORDS !!!

......from the random-toothed, pranky, tomboy little girl ..to the young pretty bride who is seen doing carpentry works right in her bride's dress...to the lovely caring old lady.....

.....from the timid shy little boy to the grumpy old man....

that's Carl and Ellie.

one of the best love stories - all in

JUST 4 WORDLESS MINUTES.

watch the link below - esp from 2-6 mins. Its just too good. At the later scenes, we can even feel the tears in his eyes. Very well depicted.
 
 


thats one  gorgeous scene !!


But again…it’s a Hollywood number..you definitely can’t challenge them. After a particular stage, the 78 year old grump Carl does what even Rajnikanth wouldn’t consider giving a try – The tens of thousands of balloons that lifted his entire house up and beyond the continent…is ..now his backpack!!!  From one point of time…the balloons, his home, the big-fat little chap, are all tied to his shoulderswhile trecking through the wilderness ! Oh well….alright..no questions asked.
Kadhayil chodhyam ella!!!

but..at the end of the day..i have just one question to myself...

do i really need words to express myself ??