Oregon ...Amazing pics along Columbia River.

Tsunami Relief 1

After a days work!
This article is written by Priya as an account of our Trip to Nagapattinum for the relief operations.

Journey to Lands unknown…..1

Friday, 14th morning came unannounced as usual ,without any warnings whatsoever that we were going to spend one of the most memorable days of our lives ……..in our sojourn journey to the lands where ,in the recent past , catastrophe of tremendous magnitude took place , one which had been quoted as the worst tragedy of the century ….

I would like to share those memories and relish them once again as I go through the notes in my memory lanes to capture it as fresh and as unadulterated, by the passage of time.

Thursday evening, we took a bus to Pondicherry and aptly reached the place by around 10 pm. ‘First things first’ as the saying goes, we contacted the Aid India office in Pondicherry and were told to report to Nagapattnam the next day. Aid India is a Non Government Organization (NGO) which is involved with the relief work in the affected areas. We had to check in a hotel for the night and after checking our for-ever reducing ‘pocket money’, we stopped over at a pretty decent hotel for the night. It was decided by mutual consensus that all six of us (we were 2 girls, rather bright and punctual girls and 4 guys….umm no appropriate adjective comes to my mind as I write, which could describe them to the T.) would have to take the earliest bus possible and miraculously decided for the unholy time of 3.45 am the next morning at the bus stop.

So we settled for the night with the knowledge that sleep is something which will elude us for the next 4 days , and promptly got up by 3.30 in the morning and were all ready to get set and go .

We reached Nagapatnam by mid morning and immediately set out for the NGO’s office. We were asked to start for the affected villages ASAP. Before we started , our bowels were screaming for food and listening to it was very necessary for any future cooperation with them , so we filled it with what ever “kinds” of morsels that we could get our hands on ……,that day being Pongal, we had to settle for Pongal itself and trust me , I relished it completely.

Our final journey began after lunch. We were about 12 in total, including the NGO and local people and we were asked to pack ourselves in a Tata Sumo .Well that we did somehow, now I wonder how, but the Sumo, in spite of its name, couldn’t quite bear the weights of all of us and happily gave in to a puncture. Anyways, after all the ministrations, we were on our way and speedily moving towards the country side…….

The country side happened to be a village by the name of “Vellapallam”. It was a sleepy small village and the devastation was mainly caused in the ‘fishing hamlet’ of the village.
When we got our first glimpse of the shore and the mighty sea , we couldn’t comprehend that in a place like this ………..tiny , quiet and unknown to the world…………catastrophe of such magnitude could have happened . The Sea looked demure and somber …….inviting us in ……it was beautiful. Hard to imagine the forces of nature at its worst ……ugly and cruel!!!

Our first major task ,we were told was to map the entire village on paper , seemed like an easy task but in reality ,quite mammoth as we just had 2 days with us !! There were 387 houses and we had to visit each and every house and see the amount of destruction caused and collect all the required data accordingly. Most of the relief work is done ,the debris clearing is over and now what is left to do is the reconstruction …………….of infrastructure…..houses ,facilities that were lost in the waves …..Hand pumps, roads building ….boats for the fishermen ……fishing nets …..Farmers and their crops lost….cattle lost …..
Due to the strong Tsunami waves, the first lane of houses facing the shore were completely wiped out. There were in total 23 people lost ……21 dead and 2 missing.

Friday evening, we wandered in and around the village, mentally checking up things for the next day’s work. People were crowding around us ……they just wanted someone to hear their woes and their tales...…..Sadness and hope intermingled in their eyes …….

Initially it was pretty difficult to communicate with them in Tamil, but later we became ‘adept’ at conversing with them …with whatever Malayalam words that I could muster at the moment and the age-old sign language of hands and expressions . It is a very humbling experience when people around you look at you with so much faith and respect …..Just because you are “From the Shahar”…. One lady even came up to me and asked me to teach the kiddies in the small school. It was a rendering moment for me. All the village kids were with us where ever we went, some holding our hands, some looking at us with so much awe and “Stars” in their eyes …………this cute little kid “Anand Kumar “ with his very minimal knowledge of the English Language , trying to talk to us ……..for everything that he wanted to show us , he used to say ….’ I’m tree …I’m boat ……….I’m 25 …..He was telling us the boat engine is for 25 thousand rupees………’

We packed up for the day around seven in the evening .We all were sitting near the sea….it was dusk time and by God!!!!!!!!!! The place looked beautiful …..We could just sit there for hours enjoying the salty sea breeze and the silence of the place …..Just the sound of waves crashing ……. The water level had also increased a lot by evening.

We had to put up in a small town for the night …the place was ‘Vedaranyam’ .
We were given a room in a house there .It was quite late by the time we reached there so, we had to manage with bread for the dinner ………one funny anecdote to relate was that we could not find any ‘Butter’ there in the small market ……..we searched and explained with signs and all……….we could not find any butter!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways …after all the hullabaloo of the day and night, we finally settled for the night. It was too hot in the room so we all decided to sleep on the terrace under the stars and was it good???? It was Amazing….............

Tsunami Relief 2

At Vellapalam ( Fishing Colony) near Nagapattinum
This article is written by Priya as an account of our Trip to Nagapattinum for the relief operations.


Journey to Lands unknown….. 2


The next day came bright and early and we were on our way back to “Our Village” as we had started fondly calling it ……….We had breakfast in our village’s small tea shop …..Very rustic …..On dried coconut leaves, as a substitute for plates and sumptuous idlis and chutneys. From the tea shop, the way to the fishermen’s hamlet was a little distance which we covered in an open auto-like vehicle which is used to transport materials from place to place. We were fresh and raring to get back and start our work.

In the morning, we started off by collecting data as I mentioned before. We had to cover the entire village, so had to start early and be quick. We actually went to each and every house inspecting the damage done and making notes of what was needed in the area.
While doing so, we spoke to the villagers. Some of them were really keen to take us to their homes ……..they kept asking us about “Sapad” which in Tamil means food!!!!
In fact we went to a lady’s house and the lovely lady offered us coconut water from fresh coconuts taken from the trees right in front of us ……we had coconuts ……quenched our thirsts and filled our stomachs …….
In the evening, after the work was almost done, we went to the beach along with an experienced old fisherman whose face was weathered by the sea winds and he knew whatever there was to know about that belt of sand and sea …………no one ventures to the sea these days ………they all are waiting for some time before they go on with everyday tasks of earning their livelihood again. We felt the sand sink at places really deep because of the silt brought in by the waves and at some places there was quick sand also ……..pretty dangerous!!! But all in all, I did manage to bring something of the mighty Bay of Bengal with me …….some shells, some sand …..It is said that if you place your ear near the shell’s mouth, you can hear the sound of the sea ……and that’s what I did ……….the fisherman even caught a crab for me to take home …..Which of course I promptly refused!!!!


The awe inspiring thing here is the Human Spirit …..People, who have witnessed first hand, one of the worst tragedies to affect Mother Earth, were drained but they were coping ……and doing a great job at that. There was music blaring from one of the houses for the entire time that we were there …..Blatantly playing Tamil music, a strong reminder of the Theory of “Life Goes On” …….........

As we left Our village in the evening , we were a wee bit sad , we knew we wouldn’t see these people again in our lives , in whom we had found some great talking and shared laughter …enjoying those moments , trying so comically hard to talk to them in Tamil and doing a great job out of it also …………………..Meena , Abinaya - the kids ,Chitra –the beautiful young lady to whom I offered my favorite chocolate ,Salla Marie who said she’ll come with me to Hyderabad , that old woman who asked me to teach her grand children in the school , the Village Leader ‘Kalyan Sundar’,Anand Kumar and the kids posing shyly as Rajnikant in front of us ……the goat I held , the puppy I played with …………
It was time to say ‘Bon Voyage ‘to fellow villagers and move on …….

I knew I was leaving behind a beautiful place ……..with a treasure of memories and and the knowledge of learning the simple Lessons of Life ………………”Time and Tide waits for None “ …………….the Tamil music still blaring in my ears ………

We left for Nagapattnam and then for Pondicherry the same night. We wanted to experience the famous place before we finally said our Adios to this beautiful part of the country…………southern most places of India. One thing that I realized is that our country is beautiful ………….it offers amazing places to visit and myriad of cultures to relish………

We must explore our own country and explore the unknowns, realize the varied cultures, feel the Local music , enjoy the local meals , listen to the heart beats of the young hearts and cherish the kaleidoscope of memories in our hearts forever ………….

Sarvesh Miles.....

Okie this one is interesting! For the first time my blog is getting contribution from freelance writers and I get to play editor. Isn't that great.
This one came in from my mentor Kishore..the inspiration behind this blog. Read on.
---
Content censored on request by the writer.... please mail me to get a copy of the same.

Prince Charming himself...

Girish at Starbucks, Downtown, Seattle

The man caught smiling after his small "let's be friends" talk with the lady at Starbucks. The conversation lasted a good 3 mins and the lady was actually smiling at our man. .... I guess it's in the Air...

New home...same colors...


More to come. Hopefully the colors will stay....

Journey of a 1900 miles begins with......

Await a detailed account on the Journey that would find its way into the "do you it at your own risk" category.

Kick Off Party....

My own Farewell Party- it felt like I was having my retiremnt party but the only difference was everyone seemed really happy in this one. Kishore was one of the most eager participants in this -- the Joy was evident as can be seen in this pic. Raghav the principal host of the evening was late for the event due to some "pressing" engagements.
To cap the evening here's a brief on the participants in the pic:
Ashok: My roomie, thanks to occasions like these and the lunch breaks, we got time to meet and get to know each other better. Thanks for the opportunity guys.
Subbu: The ladies man from "Namma Bengalooru". This soft spoken guy is a pioneering example of what small changes can do to bring about dramatic improvements in your market value and perception. Watch out for the book titled "How to lose 10 years in 10 mins" by Subbu.

Girish: This 'gentle' giant from Mandya fell into a cauldron of Bisi Bele Bath during his infant days and has since developed a strong appetite for the same. His penchant for traditional attire is well known among all the visitors at E139.
Sarvesh: The second Indian to make a mark in the Motor racing world after Narain Karthikeyan. His popularity is such that he is a favourite among the Cops on the Freeways in the US. At this rate his matrimonial ad is going to read: 20,000 miles, 20 countries, 10 tickets....any takers?
Raghav: The smilin assasin- Raghav is who in Chennai parlance is known as 'META' stands for Most Eligible Tamilian in America. The skill sets that he possess would run into a 10 page document. His recent interests have been varied since hitting the dance floor at York plaza,
Kishore: Since this space available on this blog is limited . All comments on Superstar Kishore would be covered under his write: kishorism.
Vishaka: A smiling party person. Her keen interest and liking for Rajnikant movies has made her a hit with the South Brigade.
Tushara: Raghav's pretty friend. Sad to get to meet her on the last day at mpls.

Fal(se)ls Colours!!

Colourful....

The Big Family

The Gang at our place. Melbourne. Oct 2004

Kishorrism!!!

The world is all about mind and matter; I don't mind and you don't matter.

--- When Farooque Sheikh, host of the talk show Jeena isi ka naam hai asked Sidhu what he thinks of those who criticize his style of commentary.

To all the people who were fascinated by the way Sidhu held sway over the cricket lovers in subcontinent here is developing news. Move over Sidhu, Make way for the New Man in Public talk. Kishore aka Annaiya is redefining the way people communicate and express themselves.
Kishore Oscar Wilde is blessed with the ability to dazzle his audience with his unique command over the language and accent & more so with his understanding of the American way of life. Everyone who lands at Minnepolis from offshore run to KOW for advice on how to impress the client with effective communication and our large heated KOW being the helpful man he is,is ever ready to enlighten the ignorant ones.
To help these new struggling entrants into the big bad world of accented communication we present to you a few of the common phrases that KOW has patented and now can be used with any fear of Copy right infringement.

Disclaimer: This list is not an exhaustive one and features just a select of the phrases patented by KOW. These would be updated as and when neccessary. Any repercussions due to the wrong usage of these phrases would be at the sole risk of the person involved and KOW or the editors of the Blog can under no circumstances be held responsible for the same. Users are adviced to consult with KOW to understand the context in which some of these key phrases can bring out amazing results from the audiences.

Phrases:

1. "Period": This phrase\word is used when the user is fed up of the discussion and nothiin makes sense to him. The usage signals the aggressive intent and that no further discusion would be entertained. The advantage of this phrase is the last statement made before the word is used would be treated as the closing argument and hence sacrosanct.
   Example: " I am not hungry, I am cooking rice for tomorrow. Period!!!!" - Meaning: I dont want you to eat this for dinner now. Let me not catch you anywhere near it.
2. "Tell me about('t' silent here) itt": This phrase\word is used when the user wants to tell the person that he is being stupid.In simple terms the meaning is: "How stupid can you be?". The usage shows the smartness of the user and ensures that the people in the discussion know the user is well aware of the topic in discussion Example: " Toyota Corolla 1995 Model, 150K miles and 7000$??? Tell me about itt!!!!" - Meaning: "No fool would think of asking so much for a car that can now be treated as an bullock cart.."

Pachai Nirame!!! 

As people prepare to write their own Matrimonial adds. They would rather avoid the following mistakes. Found these on the mail, pretty interesting insights. Now I know what I should do or rather what I shouldn’t

[Warning- These are off Matrimony sites Grammar and spelling errors have no place in a profile description as everything is straight from the heart! Comments in colors]

• i want very simple girl. from brahmin educated family from orissa statehe is also know about RAMAYAN, GEETA BHAGABATA, and other homework(Homework?)
• Wants a woman who knows me better and can adjust with me forever. Shemay never create any difficulties in my life orher life by which the entire life can run smoothly. thank you(The principle of running life smoothly was never so easy!)
• She should be good looking and should have a service. She Shoulsd haveone brother and one sister. She should be educated. (ain't it unique !! 1brother 1 sister criteria !)
• I am a happy-go-lucky kind of person. Enjoys every moments of life. Ilove to make friendship. Becauese friendship is a first step of love. I amlooking for my dreamgirl who will love me more than i. Because i lovemyself a lot. If u think that is u then why to late come on ........ holdmy hand forever !!! (Ahh...The dilwale dulhaniya effect)
• i am simple boy.I have lot ofproblemin mylife because ofmylucknow iamlooking onegirlshe caremeandloveme lot lot lot (I don't know why but this is one of my favorites)
• My wife should be as 'Parwati' as in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and as Tulsi asin KSBKBT...... (Ok I haven't seen these soaps but I am sure he must bedemanding too much, ain't he?)
• i want a girl with no drinks if she wants she can wear jeans in housebut while steping out of house she should give recpect to our cast (by notwearing her jeans? ahem...)
• HYE I AM A GOOD LOKING GUY,WHO HAS THE CAPABILITY TO MAKE ANY BODY TOLOUGH.I BELIEVE IN GOD AND ACCORDING TO ME FRIENDS ARE THE REAL MESSENGEROF GOD. THE 3 THINGS I AM LOOKING FROM A GIRL ,THEY ARE 1.THEY MUSTBELIEVE IN GOD.2. THEY HAVE TO LIKE MY PROFFESION AND THEY SHOULD NOT GETBORED WITH ME WHEN I WILL TRY TO MAKE THEM LOUGH. (all of us are loughing)
• whatever she may be but she should feel that she is going to be someonebride and she must think of the future life if she is toolike this shewould bde called the lady of the lamp (I am clueless, I feel so lost)
• i love my patner i marriage the patner ok i search my patner and i lovethe patner ok thik hai the patner has a graduate ok(I am again clueless but I liked the use of "ok". The person is sufferingfrom "Ok-syndrome")
• HI IAM VERY COOL NUATHER OK MY HOBBY IS SEE T.V AND NEWS OK I HAVE 1 CARAND 1 BONWL OK MY MOTHER ALSO GOOD OK MY FARUET WORLD IS OK (the "oksyndrome" again)
• looking for a well groomed bride. well behaved & knowing to cookchicken. Should be familiar to handle (umm...handle?)
• HANDSOME, SMART LOOKING, TRYING IN MODELLING INTERESTED IN MEDICINE,HAVING NO GIRL FRIENDS AT ALL. BUT WAS THERE IN MY SCHOOL TIME . I SHOWEDTHEM ALL RELEASED MOVIES (umm...)
• hello i am a good charactarised man. i want to run my life happily.idivorced my first wife.her charactor is not good'. i expect the goodminded and clean habits girl who may be in the same caste or other casteaccepted ... (but credit cards not accepted) ..
• my colour is black,but my heart is white.i like social service (But, ifYou're thinkin'About my baby It don't matter if you're Black or white)
• i'm looking out for who lives in bombay, girl simple who trust me lotshould be roman catholic, LOVE ME ONLY. (Now that criteria is a must,isn't it?)
• to be married on jan-2005. working woman perferable (this guy has fixedthe marriage date too! But he is yet to find a bride. I wish him best luckon behalf of all of us. I am sure he will get one soon.)

Half a bottle of wine and a whole lot of Truth!!!

Ashok in a confessional mood on Friday evening!

Anil Ambani couldn't have been more happier. What with the business opportunity that Ashok's profound statement had predicted for him in the telecom industry. It's people like Ashok who would ensure that the Telecom revolution that India is seeing would continue for quite sometime in the future albiet a little help from IT giants that are ushering in the "offshoring" model.

Ashok had a strict routine during his onsite assignment.

6:00 Am - Up & Ready
6:07 Am - Offshore Status call ( Read offshore as Wifey)
7:07 Am - Breakfast Time
7:30 Am - off to office
9:00 Am - Offshore update call ( This is a standard call to inform Wifey that he has reached office safely)
11:00 Am - Work Actually begins. ( thats cos offshore has to get some sleep )
5:00 Pm- Start back to home.
6:00 Pm - Back home
6:15 Pm - Start preparing Dinner ( you dont have a choice if you have a social animal for a roomate who refuses to stay in the house)
7: 37 Pm - Offshore status Call ( Note the time is 6:07 Am at Offhore)
9:30 Pm - Time to get off the phone and catch a Quick dinner allowing Wifey to get to her office.
10:30 Pm - Offshore call again untill as long as offshore work environment permits.

Photo evidence at : http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ekkannan/album?.dir=f598&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ekkannan/my_photos

• This routine would be modified during the weekends with all the office related activties being replaced by prolonged offshore call.

On Friday 9\30, Ashok in an Candid interview over a bottle of wine confessed to spending half his salary on Calling Cards. His explanation " for the state I am in now, seperated by seven seas, priorities have changed and I would rather be on the phone with my wife rather than do anything else ". This kind of behavior is commonly seen among people with any one of the below mentioned conditions.

1. Wife at different location
2. Girlfriend\Boyfriend at different location
3. Just engaged ( forget the location - they could be still be across the street but need to be on the phone)
4. Just married - These wouldnt report to work.

Telecom companies would do well to pay IT companies in India a share of the spoils so as to ensure they get more people onto any of the above categories to keep the telephone lines busy.

In the mean time Ashok is making plans to get himself a direct hotline to Hyderabad what with the amount of business he has given in the past few months. He is being treated as an High Volume Preffered Customer by Reliance.