South Karnataka

Had been to South Karnataka on a temple pilgrimage from week ending 6th June to 11th June 2009. Covered Kollur Mookambika, Murdeshwar, Dhareshwar, Idugunji, Shringeri, Dharamstala, Kukke Subrahmanya, Kateel and Udupi. Total distance covered in excess of 1000 kms. The scenery was breathtaking throughout the entire journey starting with drive from Kundapura railway station onwards. Dense and thick forests along the way all throughout was absolutely breathtaking. Udupi was a busy town, though other places where we halted for the night viz. Kollur and Kukke Subrahmanya left a lot to be desired. Power situation is absolutely poor in these parts. Food was no problem and in fact it was scintillatingly delightful. Karnataka is a mystery left to be discovered by one and all. It was indeed beautiful. The drive up to Shringeri was breathtaking and Shringeri itself was a delight in itself. What beautiful facilities have been created there a mix of the old and the new, the heritage stone temple being almost mystical. Kukke Subrahmanya was a surprise because there were book stalls inside the temple complex itself which is a new attraction for me. Picked up Gandhi's autobiography for just rs.95/- only. Got some more books from Udupi, there were some three small stalls where we purchased lots of books that we do not get otherwise in Bombay. At every place food was served free in the temple complex itself. The method of serving food was unique in all the places and the innovative methods adopted for serving at a time, more than 1000 persons deserves to be patented. Murdeshwar had a breathtaking statue of Shiva which was about 23 foot in height and near the Arabian Sea. There were other statues as well, which was an absolute wonder.

Shirdi and Shingneshwar

Had been to Shirdi over the weekend. It is a typical, chaotic temple town with all the amenities only on one stretch of road. Go any other place, the infrastructure reeks. We got darshan pretty quickly and went on to Shingneshwar temple, an abode for Shani which was about 75 kms as per the cabmaster, but definitely more than that. It took one and half hours each way, but the scenery was pretty good with agri crops sugarcane in plenty. That temple visit was also pretty fast. Shingneshwar is somewhat like Trimbakeshwar with decrepit infrastructure. No decent eating place. Shirdi does have a Dominoes, Reebok and Adidas showrooms, plenty of bank ATMs, but really the Shirdi Municipal authorities ought to do much more for the infrastructure there. I am sure they would have raking in crores of rupees due to temple tourism. Surely they could plough back something for the tourists' comforts. There are plenty of rooms available though, even of the A.C. variety. Drinking water is a problem though, recommend to have only mineral water. On the food side, there is a Woodlands, it is quite good, buts costs a bomb to have even a breakfast there. The bus journey going was okay but coming back was almost a nightmare with the a.c. bus breaking down in Sinnar a good 21 kms away from Nashik. From Nashik we got a non-a.c. to Mumbai reaching a good 15 hours after we set off, almost double the time.

Rab Ne Bana De Jodi

Rab ne Bana de Jodi is an utter crap movie, yet another from the Yash Chopra stable. It has no story line, too many dialogues, absolutely slow paced and ham handed acting from Shahrukh Khan, possibly his worst.

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace must surely rank as one of the worst Bond movies of all time. A convoluted story of Bolivian coup makers, corruption and a dead-pan Daniel Craig make it a most boring movie. A bond movie without car chases, gadgetry is no fun at all. Only saving grace being Olga the Bond girl. Maybe the next Bond is a girl..

Oye Lucky....

Oye Lucky.... is an enthralling story of a small time burglar from a small town India, who continously evades the police with his ingenuity. Played delectably by abhay deol with three in one role by paresh rawal and sundry other small town cops, families etc. Oye Lucky is a delightfully watchable film.

Maharathi

Maharathi is a Hitchcockian type thriller, a plot which evolves all the time and keeps the viewer on the tenterhooks as much as the central protagonists, which were paresh rawal and boman irani with a delicious cameo by tara sharma, who plays the role of a sleep walking bumbling budding architect. Edge of the seat stuff.

Hello

Attempted to watch the Hindi movie "Hello" based on Chetan Bhagat's title "one night at a call centre". Had to give up within 20 minutes, it was utterly boring stuff

Shivaji - The Hero

Watched the Tamil movie, Shivaji, the Boss, starring who else, Rajnikanth. It is a mind bending kind of movie, with typical Rajni stunts interspaced with Tamil Afro pop, inane dialogues, Crouching Tiger type stunts, gravity defying, law of physics redefined mad movie which only Tamilians can afford to be aghast at.

Gurgaon

Been to Gurgaon mid-week. As compared to the hype, the city did not impress me at all. Roads were horrible, there is a permanent dust bowl in the air, there is no visible public transport system and I am told the sewerage system is virtually non-existent. So much for the emerging cities of India

Goldfish Have no Hiding Place

James Hadley Chase thrillers have remained with me for the past more than 20 years reading them intermittently. I finished yet another thriller "Goldfish Have no Hiding Place". It is a typical fast paced murder mystery with a lot of drama in it.