.disorientation.

last year, you might have read the news of Sq Leader Chaitanya missing on Mt. Everest. he had approached the summit from the northen ridge, a difficult climb in itself, and then, apparently, got caught in a blizzard. well, it turned out that he was known to my friend, and he (my friend) had a CD containing photos and videos of the climb. the video was very terrifying and disorienting. even at about 7000 meters, near the ABC (Advanced Base Camp), the narrator is gasping for breath and coughing deeply. the words and sentences are incoherent. then, on the summit, the weather is extremely harsh and unpredictable; the words come in gasps; entire sentences are repeated (“here we see… we see the north… the north ridge.. and there is the … the north… ridge”). it is chilling to hear that hysteric voice and thrilling to see the view from the summit. and it kind of erases all benchmarks known to me; all my treks are left behind in one fell swoop; at those altitudes, every meter of climb is an eternity…

then, to cap it all, i was offered a job position today (infact, two positions), just when i was about to end my current assignment, and thinking i would take another bout of rest (from work). now i will have to rethink my plan of driving down the Manali-Leh highway this July. (i am wondering why have i been, in the past few months, doing all this trekking and leading a sort-of vagrant life. am i pushing myself further, or just running away from something?).

in other news, i am finally getting a hang of greek mythology (certain parts atleast). there are many different versions, but the one i am reading goes like this..

out of Chaos are born Gaia (the Earth), Tartarus (the Underworld), Nyx (the darkness of the night), and Erebus (the darkness of the Underworld). Chaos originally meant ‘gape’ or ’space’ and not ‘disorder’.

from Gaia is born Oranos (or Uranus, the sky), and from them are born the Titans, the Cyclopes and other such giants. the next part is rather gory, but well that’s the way it is. now, it is prophesized that Oranos will be displaced by his own children, and so he banishes them deep into Gaia, inside Tartarus. but this causes immense pain to Gaia, and she urges her children to castrate their father, Oranos. Kronos (or Saturn, or time) is a Titan, who castrates his father, Oranos, casting the severed genitals into the sea and steals his powers. From Oranos’ blood come forth the Gigantes, and other creatures, and from the genitals, comes forth Aphrodite (or Venus, goddess of Love and beauty)!

out of Kronos and Rhea (or Moon, another offspring of Oranos + Gaia) are born Posideon and Hades (and others). now, Kronos, who is also prophesised to be castrated and deposed by his son, tries to avoid his fate by devouring his young, but he is finally overthrown by Zeus (or Jupiter), and banished into Tartarus. Zeus steals all the powers of Kronos and forces him (Kronos) to disgorge the other children in reverse order of swallowing. he then plays a dominant role thereafter, presiding over the Olympian Pantheon.

with her brother Erebus, Nyx (night) gives birth to Aether (atmosphere) and Hemera (day). later, on her own, Nyx gives birth to many dark and deceptive creatures like, Momus “blame”, Ponos “toil”, Moros “fate”, Thanatos “death”, Hypnos “sleep”, the Oneiroi “the tribe of dreams”, the Hesperides, the Keres and Fates, Nemesis, Apate “deception”, Philotes “friendship”, Geras “age”, and Eris “strife”.

ok, long post, but atleast i got something right.

Loose pebbles

Hmm.. a bike trip got cancelled today (we were planning to go star gazing in the moon-less night), it was raining outside, and I had nothing better to do than sit at home and surf. (That’s what I usually do anyway, but feels good to say it So more random nothings…

Been looking at a lot of photos/photographers lately.

Here’s one in a league of his own. I can’t select any favourties; all photos are classy. But especially checkout the macro series.

Then, there’s this Flickr group : Bird Guide. It has some really cool collection of bird shots with names and taxonomical details. I spot quite a few birds on treks and it is high time I befriended these .. erm.. naked chicks!

So here is some basic information on resident birds found in India (mostly for my reference).

Finches, are the seed-eaters, usually found on the ground picking up seeds. They are the largest family of birds. They have stout, conical bills that they use to crack open seeds with. Finches are considered the most developed of all birds!

Swallows & Martins (that’s not a bookstore or coffee-shop name, btw) are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations to hunting insects on the wing are a slender streamlined body, and long pointed wings. They are seen rummaging through their plumes, looking for insects trapped in their feathers. The name martin tends to be used for the squarer-tailed species, and the name swallow for the more fork-tailed species.

Herons are wading birds. Some are named as egrets or bitterns. The egrets are not a biologically distinct group from the herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes. According to one study, Herons were named among the most intelligent birds. The Indian Pond Heron is a small, stocky species with a short neck, short thick bill and buff-brown back. It is a very common species in India, where it is often quite tame and easily approachable. It can often be seen foraging around rubbish heaps on the outskirts of villages, as well as in more natural habitats.

Some amazing facts…

* Arctic Terns migrate twice every year from Arctic to Antarctica and back (over 19,000 km one way!). The average Arctic Tern in its life will travel a distance equal to going to the moon and back.

* The Sarus Crane, found in India, is the tallest flying bird.

Read more at Birding in India.

Saccharin?

For some this blog might seem rather too sweet, and, well, that is intentional. Not the sweetness, but the way of looking at life. I don’t intend to make it syrupy, but I don’t intend to write about the deepest, darkest facts of life either. I would rather bite the bullet and keep mum.

In the words of Plum,
“There are only two ways of writing a novel. One is mine, making the thing a sort of musical comedy without music, and ignoring real life altogether; the other is going down deep into life and not caring a damn.”
___________

While on the topic, checkout the following links about Wodehouse,
The genius of Wodehouse
George Orwell and Wodehouse
___________

And talking of genius, here’s a quote I stumbled upon,

I have put my genius into my life, whereas all I have put into my work is my talent.
- Oscal Wilde

Belur, Halebidu and Kemmengundi

Day 01

early start. 5.30 am near The Forum. cup of strong tea on MG road. breakfast of large round idlis, 7am Nelamangala. quick entry onto Hassan road.

cool breeze, sweet air, fresh tarmac, smouldering tyres, a few brief halts and a detour to Shravanbelgola.

 

 

quick but taxing climb up the hill. temple crowded to the brim. we relax outside on the sunny face of the hill, and drink-in the scene. the hippy starts meditating. NNG (no nonsense guy) goes exploring to the other side of the hill and reports alien sightings. NTFB (no time for break) plops down and sleeps in uncharacteristic style. FNML (friendly neighbourhood Mona Lisa) and BLD get chummy. me and DV pass comments in charactersictic style. peace ensues. the world stops turning. the sun does move a few degrees on its course.

we hop down the hill and have lunch at a Jain Bhojanalay (5×6 room lighted by a 25 watt not-so-incadescent bulb). delicious meal of phulkas, two types of vegetables, dal, rice, butter milk. we eat atleast a dozen phulkas each, in the dark, hoping no one notices.

no more, no less

The wizard fumbles inside the magic hat and pulls out yet another random statistic,
98.76% of all relationships are doomed before they even have a chance to begin.

The trick is to be un-diplomatic right from the start. If it was meant to be, it will stick. Corollary: The more brittle they are, the quicker they fall apart. Which means, lesser emotional baggage, fewer filmi dialogues and more time saved.

Of course, everything needs to be given a second chance; a fresh beginning and a new perspective. But at no point is there a need to cut corners and compromise. It is still possible to be a gentle-being inside that rigid facade. It's a tight rope to walk, but it's fun.

Recent Treks

—> O Gudde
March '06
 

—> O Gudde part deux
April '06

[Covered by oneirodynic: OG 1, OG 2]